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Where Is God’s True Israel?
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“Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city,” which has “made
all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” God
has given spiritual Israel the message, “Come out of her, My people,
lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.”
Verse
8
;
18:4
. As the captive exiles obeyed the message, “Flee from
the midst of Babylon” (
Jeremiah 51:6
), so those who fear God are
withdrawing from spiritual Babylon. Soon they are to stand in the
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heavenly Canaan as trophies of divine grace.
When the promised Messiah was about to appear, the message
of Christ’s forerunner was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand!”
Matthew 3:2
. Today, in the spirit and power of John
the Baptist, messengers whom God has appointed are alerting a
judgment-bound world to the closing of probation and Christ’s ap-
pearance as King of kings and Lord of lords. The responsibility rests
on His church to warn those who are standing on the brink of eternal
ruin. The principles in the great controversy must be made plain to
every human being who will listen.
In these final hours the Lord expects His church to rally to action
as never before. Those whom Christ has made free through His
precious truth are to proclaim the praises of Him who called them
out of darkness into His marvelous light. The blessings He so
liberally bestowed, they are to communicate to every people. Every
true disciple is to radiate an influence of life, courage, and true
healing.
Light Will Penetrate the World’s Darkness
The coming of Christ will take place in the darkest period of
earth’s history, when Satan will work “with all unrighteous decep-
tion.”
2 Thessalonians 2:10
. We see his working in the many heresies
and delusions of these days. His deceptions are even contaminating
the professed churches of Christ. The great apostasy will develop
into darkness deep as midnight. But out of that darkness God’s light
will shine. To His people God says, “Arise, shine; for your light has
come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.”
Isaiah 60:1
.
At Nazareth Christ said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He
has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the