Introduction.
Before we begin to look at the shaking, we must look back at some of the things that have historically brought humanity to where we are today, spiritually, which eventually will cause the shaking that for us, in our time, is not so far into the future.
God created man to live forever with his Creator in the Garden of Eden. Man was given the freedom to choose what he wanted, a freedom with responsibility. As long as they did not break God’s commandments, everything was fine, but it wasn’t long before Satan managed to trick humans into breaking God’s commandments, and they were banished from the Garden of Eden and God’s presence.
When Cain and Abel were old enough to offer sacrifices themselves, we see that God’s people were divided into two groups after Cain killed Abel. Now things are happening quickly. Cain had moved away from his parents and had taken one of his sisters with him, and we can call Cain and his descendants the line of Cain. These form the lineage of the group of people that the Bible calls “the daughters of men” (Genesis 6:2). Shortly after this, Adam and Eve had a third son, Seth, and in Genesis 4:26 it says that and Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. These form the lineage of the group of people that the Bible calls “the sons of God” (Genesis 6:2), and we can call them the line of Seth.
After this division, which was Satan’s first attempt to destroy mankind completely, mankind has been divided into these two groups. When God created man, it was for them to live forever with their God and Creator, but Satan destroyed this by deceiving humans, and since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden, sin has developed at supersonic speed. When God confronts them with what they have done, they are not willing to take the blame for what they have done. Adam blames Eve and God by saying, The woman whom thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat, (Genesis 3:12). Eve blames the serpent and God, saying, The serpent (implied as Thou created) deceived me, and I ate, (Genesis 3:13). Only a few years after this, their older son killed his younger brother. This shows how quickly sin developed and spread.
Since then, the spiritual battle between good and evil, between Christ and Satan, has been fought on this planet. More than a thousand years later we come to the great flood, and we read the following in Genesis 6:5-8: And God saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
When Noah built the Ark, he also preached the gospel of salvation, and all who wanted to turn away from their evil ways and seek the Lord could join the Ark, but as it says, the wickedness of men was great in the earth. In a way, we can call this a shaking. For it is through the last shaking that God’s faithful remnant will remain standing, while the rest of humanity will perish. For the first time we see that the Lord has chosen a small remnant, Noah and his sons and their wives, eight people in all. These were faithful to God. Since then, God has always had a small remnant of faithful people on earth, who have put God’s word and law before themselves and who have given their lives to the service of the Lord. In this way, God has always preserved a small remnant on earth from the beginning until today, to keep God’s word pure and undefiled by paganism.
Humanity was thus divided into two groups, 1) the line of Seth and 2) the line of Cain. This is how humanity is divided in our time as well. There are only two groups of people, and group 1) are those who make up God’s small remnant in the end times, while group 2) are all the other people living on earth. This does not mean that everyone in group 1) is saved and ready for heaven, or that everyone in group 2) is lost, not yet, because there are many in the first group who will be lost, while there are many in the second group who will seek God, find salvation and be counted in the first group.
Unfortunately, there are many who call themselves Christians who claim that everyone will be saved in the end. This is called universalism and is based on Satan’s biggest and first lie: Ye shall not surely die, (Genesis 3:4). Jesus himself says it this way in Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
As we see, it is not enough for us to call ourselves Christians. These words refer to those who believe that they are saved, those who call upon the name of the Lord, have preached the word of God (prophesied), and have even done many wonderful works and cast out demons. But it is not enough to do such works, because their hearts are not in heaven. If their hearts were in heaven, they would have done God’s will and then they would have loved God and kept all of God’s ten commandments. In John 14:21, God says: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Having God’s commandments is the knowledge of the commandments, knowing what the commandments expect of us. Keeping the commandments is following God’s ten commandments as they are recorded in the Bible, and then there is a special commandment that is critical for most of the world’s population, it is God’s fourth commandment. For as James says: For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one [point] (i.e. breaks a commandment), he is guilty of all, (James 2:10). This means that those who keep Sunday as their day of rest break God’s commandments and thereby are guilty of the whole law as James expresses it.
I try as best I can, with God’s help, to keep God’s ten commandments. Not to be saved, because the commandments cannot save me, but because God first loved me, (1 John 4:10), and has saved me. This is one of the reasons why I want to keep God’s Ten Commandments, all of God’s Ten Commandments as they are written in Exodus chapter 20. Another reason is that by keeping God’s Ten Commandments I recognize God as the supreme authority in my life.
So we have these two groups, 11) the line of Seth and 2) the line of Cain, of which group 1) are those who love God and show it by keeping God’s Ten Commandments, and group 2) are those who choose to keep the commandments as they have been changed by the Catholic Church. These do not love God according to John. But the end has not yet been set for mankind. There is still time to come out of Babylon, the confusion that prevails in all denominations and in the secular world.
As we entered the 19th century, God raised up William Miller shortly after the American/English War of 1812-1815. Miller began to study the Bible, and eventually Ellen G. White heard about Miller’s preaching, and she joined the Advent movement and in 1844 she received her first visions. From the Advent movement that Miller founded, an interdenominational movement grew that eventually took the name Seventh-day Adventists. This church is God’s end-time church, God’s remnant in the last days, and will fulfil God’s plan. But it will not happen without great problems.
We are in the centre of the great conflict that rages in the spiritual world, and if there is one thing Satan hates more than anything else, it is this small, peculiar and strange group of Seventh-day Adventists who hold God’s commandments and God’s word in high esteem, and honor God the Creator as the only God. These are the people, and this is the church that Satan hates above all else on earth, and which he has set as his goal to destroy completely.
To accomplish this, God’s end-time church is infiltrated by non-Adventists to influence the others in the church, and in this way lead them away from God’s light. This is a well-tried plan of Satan, and one that he used after the Reformation became a reality through Luther in the early 16th century. Even before Luther died, Satan, through his agents, had managed to split the Reformation by having the new converts find new points to reform. But, instead of uniting and becoming stronger, they drifted apart in different directions and began to compete with each other.
What is the purpose of the shaking, and which of the two groups mentioned above is the one that is being shaken? As we saw above, God’s end-time church is being destroyed from within. These are nominal leaders and nominal members, and strangers who infiltrate the church precisely to destroy it. But, God has a plan for His end-time church, which is the group I call 1) the line of Seth. This church shall not be destroyed, but it is to be purified and cleansed so that it reflects God’s purity. We can call this plan the Shaking.
All Bible texts are from the King James Version 1611/1769, unless otherwise stated.
The coming shaking.
The coming shaking will soon hit God’s end-time church with full force, and when that day comes and the shaking sets in, it will also become apparent that there are also two groups of people among the Seventh-day Adventists; those who follow Jesus where He goes, and those who go the way they choose. Those who follow Jesus are those who have built their lives on the Rock and these will stand through the shaking while those who have built their lives on sand will be washed away. But God does not give up on the nominal Adventists so easily. In Revelation 3:2 He makes the following appeal to all people who are not in the right place in relation to their God and Creator. There He says: Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. This is because God desires all to be saved, but He compels no one.
Regarding what lies ahead, Ellen G. White says: As trials thicken around us, both separation and unity will be seen in our ranks. Some who are now ready to take up weapons of warfare will in times of real peril make it manifest that they have not built upon the solid rock; they will yield to temptation. Those who have had great light and precious privileges but have not improved them will, under one pretext or another, go out from us, (Last Days Event 175.2).
It seems as if the church is about to fall, but God is in full control in this area as well. God’s end-time church, also called the Laodicean church, receives a call from Jesus in Revelation 3:19, which we must read with John 14:21.
In John 14:21 Jesus says to the church: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
In Revelation 3:19 Jesus says this to the church: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten be zealous therefore, and repent
God loves all people, and He asks all people on earth to seek Him so that He can rebuke and discipline us. This is to prepare them for eternity and heaven. They must be cleansed from all that is wrong, unclean and sin, for in heaven there is no evil.
When the shaking comes, the result will be like when one separates the chaff from the grain when one throws the grain and chaff into the air, the chaff blows away while the grain remains. Even in places where it seems that there are only faithful members of God’s end-time church, the wind will do its job and separate the chaff. And because of this, it will appear as if the entire end-time church of God is about to fall. Should this happen, it would be a huge victory for Satan. But as we have just seen, there will be many faithful ones who will hold to the pure doctrine.
The preparation for what will shake the church in the end times is already in full swing. In Testimony Treasures, volume 1, Ellen G. White tells of a vision she had: Said the angel: God will bring His work closer and closer to test and prove every one of His people. Some are willing to receive one point; but God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back, because they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol. Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus. They prize something higher than the truth, and their hearts are not prepared to receive Jesus. Individuals are tested and proved a length of time to see if they will sacrifice their idols and heed the counsel of the True Witness. If any will not be purified through obeying the truth, and overcome their selfishness, their pride, and evil passions, the angels of God have the charge: They are joined to their idols, let them alone, and they [the angels] pass on to their work, leaving these with their sinful traits unsubdued, to the control of evil angels. Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation, (64.3).
Slowly but surely, elements have crept into God’s end-time church with the intention of destroying it. These people can be anything from leaders, at all levels, to ordinary members. Before we enter the last days when the Sunday law will be implemented, the three angels’ messages, the straightforward testimony, must be preached with power. This is what will lead to the great and dramatic change in our church community.
What is important is that those who will preach the straightforward testimony must have developed a Christ-like character. It is a prerequisite that this entire group is together in the same spiritual place and have the same goal and desire. In other words, they must be like the first church that was in Jerusalem shortly after Jesus died on the cross. About the early church, we read this in the Acts of the Apostles:
These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren, (1:14) … and … And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, (2:1).
These are those who over time have prepared themselves for the second coming of Jesus, and who have sanctified themselves by spending much time with God in studying the Bible and persevering in prayer. They have also searched their hearts for hidden sins and got rid of them. This is the group that is similar to the early church, and it is these who will continue with one accord in prayer and supplication and be all with one accord in one place.
This is where God’s end-time church must come in order for the straightforward testimony to have the desired effect. In Early Writings, Ellen G. White says: I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle. Firmness and great earnestness were expressed in their countenances; large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads. Now and then their faces would light up with the marks of God’s approbation, and again the same solemn, earnest, anxious look would settle upon them, (269.1).
It is when this group begins to preach the straightforward testimony that great things will happen, and the desired effect of the straightforward testimony will be visible both in God’s end-time church and among others outside this church. In God’s end-time church, many will awaken and repent and follow those who preach the message, while others will leave the church because their hearts have hardened over time and are unable to accept the straightforward testimony. This will be a terrible time in the church, but it is absolutely necessary, for now are the final preparations before Jesus’ return.
Further, Ellen G. White writes in Early Writings: Some, I saw, did not participate in this work of agonizing and pleading. They seemed indifferent and careless. They were not resisting the darkness around them, and it shut them in like a thick cloud, (270.1) … / and / … I saw that the testimony of the True Witness has not been half heeded. The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded. This testimony must work deep repentance; all who truly receive it will obey it and be purified, (270.3).
In our day there is extensive cooperation between all denominations and congregations under the Catholic ecumenical umbrella. The SDA is also an associate member of the ecumenical cooperation, and our church leaders emphasize that we are only observers, and they justify this by saying that then we as a church can tell other churches about our faith and thereby have a unique opportunity to influence others. I wonder if it doesn’t also apply the other way around, that our representatives in the ecumenical forums are exposed to untimely influence and pressure? Ecumenical cooperation is based on a minimum common multiple, or so to speak, they should focus on the little they have in common and completely ignore everything that separates them.
Pope Francis is calling all Christians, along with other religions, to unite – and of course under the Pope’s umbrella. Jesus and the Bible are clear that we are to separate ourselves from the world and the pagan religions and the fallen churches. In Genesis 12:1, God tells Abram to leave his family because 1) they were a bad influence on Abraham, and 2) God wanted to use him in a special way. In Revelation 18:4, God says through John that those who hear the preaching and accept it should leave (come out of her) Babylon so that they do not take part in her sins. God has not changed anything, but the papacy is trying to nullify the word of God – also in this area.
We see clear signs that ecumenism is beginning to make itself felt in our church community. There is a clear change in the rhetoric used, and leaders both locally and globally are submitting to the regime of ecumenical cooperation. The end-time message is no longer preached in our churches, and what our pioneers considered important has today been swept under the rug.
Those who have been involved in ecumenical cooperation and are promoting this in God’s end-time church, will thereby oppose this straightforward testimony, and they will therefore be shaken out of God’s people. I believe the shaking will hit our church with full force before long, and then, as I have mentioned, all those who have actively participated in ecumenical cooperation will be shaken out of our ranks, for God wants a pure and undefiled church in the absolute end-time. These are the ones who will bring the final warning to a world that is shrouded in the ecumenical fog and the darkness of the devil.
Is what we are now seeing the beginning of the dangerous omega apostasy? We will have an answer to this question in a relatively short time. But it harmonizes perfectly with everything else that we can see unfolding before our eyes. God will judge all those who commit what God Himself calls the abominations that are done in His temple, and as for God’s own end-time church, it will be shaken by what Ellen G. White calls the forthright testimony.
Those who are not shaken out are God’s true remnant, are those who have hungered and thirsted for the truth that is more important to them than life itself here on earth. About those Ellen G. White says the following in Early Writings: … and the truth alone was exalted to them. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth; it was dearer and more precious than life. I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, “It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel, (271.2) … / and / … This testimony must work deep repentance; all who truly receive it will obey it and be purified, (270.3).
What does the Bible say about the shaking? This word is not used in the Bible, but similar expressions to “shaken” are found in Amos 9:9. There it says: For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as [corn] is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. Here the prophet says that Israel will be shaken so that all who do not meet God’s requirements will be shaken out. The prophet also guarantees that no one who is faithful will be shaken out. Israel is also used of God’s people in New Testament times. Israel is not only carnal Israel but also spiritual Israel.
To the church in the last days, Jesus says in Revelation 3:15-18: I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.
How does this relate to the shaking? Some Seventh-day Adventists are indifferent = lukewarm and are therefore easy prey for the enemy. Others again are proud because they are members of the church that has received the greatest light on Bible truths, and say that they are rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing. These are also easy prey for the enemy.
But fortunately, there are some who are on fire, and who have already purchased both…
… gold tried in the fire, which means having developed strong faith through trials
… white raiment, which means they are justified in the name of Jesus Christ, and
… eye salve, which means they are blessed with the Holy Spirit.
These are those who daily prepare for Jesus’ return, and these the enemy will not be able to defeat because they have surrendered themselves 100% to God and are willing to follow Jesus wherever he goes even if it costs them their lives.
Our task as God’s end-time church is to proclaim the end-time message clearly and distinctly, but we cannot do that without proper preparation. When we have made all the necessary preparations, we will proclaim the everlasting gospel that consists of the three angels’ messages. We all know the three angels’ messages found in Revelation 14:6-11. They begin with these words: And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
When we preach this with anointing and with the power of the Holy Spirit, this testimony will have its effect both outside our church and not least within our own church. It is this message that will cause the shaking. Ellen G. White says in Early Writings: I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God’s people, (270.2).
As soon as the plain testimony is preached, the Shaking will begin in full force. Now those who will not accept the plain testimony will begin to leave God’s end-time church, and soon it will seem as if the whole church is falling apart, but God is in control of events. Ellen G. White says in Guide to the Church 2: The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place, (380.2).
This is what Jesus is talking about in the parable of the wheat and the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30:
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
In 1 Timothy 4:1 Paul speaks of the great falling away that will come in the last days: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. We will see this in connection with the straightforward testimony being preached by the Spirit of God.
What will be the result of the shaking?
Ellen G. White says in Early Writings: Said the angel, List ye! Soon I heard a voice like many musical instruments all sounding in perfect strains, sweet and harmonious. It surpassed any music I had ever heard, seeming to be full of mercy, compassion, and elevating, holy joy. It thrilled through my whole being. Said the angel, Look ye! My attention then turned to the company I had seen, who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying in agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers. Their countenances expressed the severe conflict which they had endured, the agonizing struggle they had passed through. Yet their features, marked with severe internal anguish, now shone with the light and glory of heaven. They had obtained the victory, and it called forth from them the deepest gratitude and holy, sacred joy, (270.4) … The numbers of this company had lessened. Some had been shaken out and left by the way. The careless and indifferent, who did not join with those who prized victory and salvation enough to perseveringly plead and agonize for it, did not obtain it, and they were left behind in darkness, and their places were immediately filled by others taking hold of the truth and coming into the ranks. Evil angels still pressed around them, but could have no power over them, (271.1).
The shaking is one of the last things that will affect God’s end-time church. When this is done, God’s church will appear pure and sanctified before the Lord, without spot or blemish in the sight of God. All who could not bear to hear the plain testimony have left God’s end-time church. But their places will not be left empty, because the preaching of the straightforward testimony will bear abundant fruit. The preaching of the Loud Cry, Revelation 14:6-11 and 18:4, will influence those of God’s people, who at this time are still in Babylon = the fallen churches, so that they will hear the cry: Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues, (Revelation 18:4).
When they get out of the fallen churches they have only one place to go, and that is to seek God’s end-time church, and unite with those the Bible describes in Revelation 14:12: … they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, … … and in Revelation 12:17: … which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.