p. 471 | A REMNANT PEOPLE

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 4, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 30.

A REMNANT PEOPLE.

God calls this people, whom he will call out by this message, the "remnant."

"But in the last days it shall come to pass, . . . saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation; and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even forever." Micah 4: 1-7.

A "remnant" is that which "remains after a part is removed."—Webster. It is the last part of a thing. Hence, the "remnant" of God's people would be the last part of the church, or that part which would be living on the earth in the last days, just before the Saviour comes. They are to be called out after the signs have been fulfilled,—the darkening of the sun and moon:—

"And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. [This locates the time to which this prophecy applies, i. e., the darkening of the sun and moon.] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem [i. e., the true church of God] shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said [he then tells us in which, or what part of the church, namely, the remnant], and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." Joel 2: 30-32.

It thus becomes a matter of interest and importance to us to know what the characteristics of that "remnant" church will be, so that we may know just how to find, or locate, it, for, says the Lord, in it "shall be deliverance" and salvation,—in it will be the saving truth of God. And upon this point the Lord has not left us in darkness by any means:—

"And the dragon was wroth with the woman [i. e., the church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12: 17; 14: 12.

Here, then, we have discovered what their characteristics will be. They are to "keep the commandments of God," and "have the testimony of Jesus Christ," which is the "spirit of prophecy." Rev. 19: 10. But how many of God's commandments can we break and still be called commandment keepers?—Not one. James says:—

"For whosoever shall keep [profess to keep] the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. [He then illustrates the point] For that law [margin] that said, Do not commit adultery [it is the Decalogue that says that, and thus he indicates that to be the law he was talking about], said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. [He then calls this law the law of liberty, and gives us to understand that it will be the rule in the judgment, and says:] So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." James 2: 10-12.

Whosoever shall break this law in "one point," will stand in that day condemned as "guilty of all," says the apostle. It is the logic of sin to involve him who yields to transgress the law, in a violation of not merely a part, but the whole. He who will knowingly offend in one point, will do so in all, whenever it is expedient to so do, or whenever they do not meet his own mind; and, hence, he is justly charged with being guilty of breaking them all. I remember reading a little illustration a few years ago which so aptly illustrates this point that I cannot forbear giving it in this connection.

A certain man, it was said, came out to one of the Western States, and bought a piece of land, and laid it out for improvement into just ten lots,—one for the house, and one for the barn, and one for the orchard, and another for the vineyard, etc. He returned, and sent one of his sons out to improve the farm according to the specifications which he had given him. In the course of time he came West again, to see how his son was getting along. He was then taken around over the place, and found everything performed just as he had commanded, until he came to the lot that had been laid off for the vineyard, when, lo! there was no vineyard there. He called to his son, and demanded an explanation:—

"Why, my son, haven't you obeyed me?"

"But," answered he, "I have obeyed you, father."

"How, then, does it come that there is no vineyard here?"

"Oh," said he, "I didn't like this place; it didn't suit my mind, and so I just set it over on the other side of the hill!"

"Well, you have not obeyed me in a single thing," said his father, whereupon his son looked at him in perfect astonishment, as if he thought his father was beside himself, or going mad.

"Why," said he, "father, didn't I build that house just where you told me to? and the barn? and the orchard?" etc.

"Yes, but, my son, when you came and saw the place I had marked out for the house, the barn, and the orchard, etc., it met your mind, it suited your will exactly, didn't it? But when you came to the place for the vineyard, you didn't like it very well, it didn't suit your mind, did it? And, instead of obeying me, you just set it over on the other side of the hill. Now, sir, this was the only place where your will and my will came in conflict; and when they did come in conflict, which did you obey, your will, or mine?—You know that you obeyed your own. And what assurance, sir, have I beneath the sun that if the place for the house, or the barn, or the orchard, or any of the others, had not suited you, you would have put them where I told you?—Just none whatever. The fact is you have simply obeyed the dictates of your own will, your own mind, in this whole thing."

Who can fail to see the correctness or justice of this charge? And just so he who violates one point in the law of God, simply because it does not meet his mind, or suit his convenience, is as certainly guilty of a violation of all, and is properly so accused. He is only obeying himself, or his own will. There is no escape from the justice of this

conclusion. And in this connection I kindly suggest to all a careful consideration of the law, and especially of the fourth commandment (Ex. 20: 8-11), and see if our lives correspond to its claims; and then bear in mind the above illustration, and what the Lord has said in James 2: 10-12. May we then, with the Psalmist, pray: "O let me not wander from thy commandments." "Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path." "Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight." Ps. 119: 10; 27: 11; 119: 35.