James Edson White

“ Instead of offering in sacrifice a lamb, which only could represent [77] the sacrifice of Christ, he brought the fruits of the ground. He thought as sometimes people do now, that what we have to offer is good enough, even if it is not just what the Lord calls for.
In Cain's offering there was nothing to point to the offering of Christ. There was no blood showing that death follows sin, and that Christ was to bear it for us. It was in every way contrary to God's plan, and so it showed no faith. There was therefore no Gospel in it, and no salvation. ”

“ If we refuse to let God help us do right, we are out of harmony, or at war with Him and Heaven. We then come into harmony, or union, with Satan and his angels, and when sin is destroyed we must perish with it.
Sin makes people unhappy, and God hates it because He loves everybody. Happiness can be found only in obedience, or doing right.
Before sin reached Eden, Adam and Eve knew nothing of evil. ”

“ And "he had power over the Angel, and prevailed; he wept and made supplication unto Him; he found Him in Bethel." And the Angel said unto him, "What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And He said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel [A prince of God] ; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." ”

“ The armies of Israel gathered, but Moses said to them, "Go not up, for the Lord is not among you." They had lost their opportunity, and if they went up God would not fight for them.
But the army of Israel was a vast multitude of over half a million solders. They now felt able to attack their enemies. So against the command of God they went up to battle with the armies of the Canaanites that had come out to meet them.
But the ark of God remained in camp, and so did Moses and Aaron, Caleb and Joshua. Without a leader, and forsaken of God, the army of Israel was defeated with great slaughter. ”

“ God only could really give life to the staff of Aaron. Neither the devil nor his servants can give life to anything. But the sorcerers had deceived the people and made their work look like God's work.
By thus deceiving Pharaoh they destroyed the effect of God's miracle, and so the king's heart was hardened against letting Israel go. Satan is ever counterfeiting, or imitating, the work of God. He often makes his lies appear like God's truth. In this way he leads many away from God.
Then God sent ten terrible plagues upon the land of Egypt. ”

“ The faith of the people was not strong enough to endure the long separation from their leader. They did not think he would return to them. They said, "As for this Moses, . . . we wot not what has become of him."
They came to Aaron and said to him, "Up, make us gods, which shall go before us." They would make to themselves a calf as their leader to take the place of Moses, and then go on to the promised land without him. The old habits of idol worship in Egypt had come back to them.
So Israel brought their ornaments of gold to Aaron, and he made of them a golden calf. ”

“ The only safe course is to take God's law just as He gave it on Sinai, and obey it as He gave it. Of those who will be alive when Christ comes it is written, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God." ”

“ As all the wicked were destroyed from the earth, the Lord made a new start with the family of faithful Noah, to raise up a people that would obey Him and be finally redeemed, or brought back to the first dominion.
Jesus said, "As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." ”

“ See what He says about it:—
"The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. But the tares are the children of the wicked one. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are the angels." ”

“ Holding on to sin they perished with it, as many will perish in the last great "lake of fire" "prepared for the devil and his angels." That fire is not being prepared for man; heaven is being fitted up for him. Oh that all would accept it!
Jesus said, "In my Father's house are many mansions; I go to prepare a place for you." Which place are we preparing ourselves for? We are to make the choice.
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GOD had promised Abraham that he should be the father of a great nation, and that the land of Canaan should be their home. ”

“ Lucifer had a vast army at his command, and he felt strong enough to defy God.
But rebellion could not be allowed in Heaven. The rebel host must be disposed of in some way. God could destroy them at once, for if He could create them He could also destroy them.
But Lucifer had charged God with being partial and severe, and claimed that the laws of Jehovah were not needed in Heaven. So God allowed the rebellion to develop and do its work, that all the universe might see the awful results of sin, and the final fate of sinners. This will be an object lesson through all eternity. ”

“ But no person can love everybody without a change of heart. "Ye must be born again," said Jesus. This change, or new life, comes by believing that God will change us. It is only when we stop believing right that we stop doing right. ”

“ David said, "The earth hath He given to the children of men." Psalms 115:16.
Man was also to be ruler of all that was on the earth. [67] For the Lord said, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Genesis 1:28.
Even the beasts loved man and delighted to obey him. There was no fear in that wonderful home. All was love, and happiness, and peace.
Christ and the beautiful angels from Heaven often visited the happy pair in Eden. ”

“ Heaven will be filled with commandment-keeping people; for it is written, "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14.
We can not keep these commandments ourselves any more than the children of Israel could in the wilderness. It is for this that Christ died on Calvary. Through Him we can have forgiveness for our sins, and receive help to overcome sin and obey the law of God.
While Moses was in the mount God gave him instructions for building the sanctuary. ”

“ It would make them wise in the knowledge of evil, and the Lord did not want them to know anything of evil. Such knowledge brings death.
But Satan lied when he said, "Ye shall not surely die," and he knew it. He has been telling this lie ever since. The Lord has said, "The soul that sinneth it shall die."
Eve believed the devil instead of God. She ate of the fruit and gave to Adam, and he ate of it.
The first result of their sin was shame. They saw that they were naked. Then they made themselves aprons of fig leaves, and hid themselves so that none should see them. Sin always brings shame. ”

“ The Lord blessed Abraham still more because he had obeyed Him.
Abraham was willing that Isaac should die, believing it to be best, just as God was willing that Jesus should die for us, knowing it to be best.
Isaac was willing to lay down his own life, just as Jesus was willing to lay down His life for us.
Abraham was spared the awful sorrow of seeing his son die. Another victim was found. But no one could take the place of Jesus. His Father and all the angels in Heaven had to see His dreadful death; and it was all for us.
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Jacob Deceiving His Father. ”

“ Paul calls Satan "The prince of the power of the air." Ephesians 2:2. He it is who causes the terrible cyclones, the tidal waves, and other awful disasters. Only the restraining hand of God prevents him from bringing destruction to the world more awful than it has yet known.
In Hebrews 2:14, we learn that the devil has "the power of death." This is so because sin brought death, and Satan is the author of sin. He claims all who die as his. ”

“ Then God spake to Moses, and told him that Israel had been so rebellious that those who came out of Egypt should never enter the land of promise. They should wander in the wilderness forty years until they died, and when their children were grown He would bring them into the land.
But Caleb and Joshua had been faithful to God. These two were excepted, and of all the men that left Egypt, only these two should finally enter Canaan. The other ten spies, who had caused Israel to sin, were smitten by the plague, and died in the sight of all Israel. ”

“ Man can not change one single commandment of God's law. If he tries to do so, it is then only a commandment of men. The worship of those who make or keep such commandments is useless, for God will not accept it. Christ said of those who do so, "But in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." ”

“ When Moses and Aaron came before Pharaoh and told him what the Lord had said, he answered, "Who is the Lord that I should let Israel go?" The Hebrew slaves were very valuable to the Egyptians, and they wanted to keep them, and make them do their hard work.
Pharaoh asked them to show a miracle to prove that their God had sent them. Then they performed one of the wonders that the Lord had given to Moses. Aaron cast down his rod, [120] and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh called in his sorcerers, who were wicked men claiming to have power to do wonderful things. ”

“ A man despised may be living out the principles taught by Christ, better than the ones who despise him.
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AFTER three years and a half of ministry, Jesus came to Jerusalem to eat the last passover. From the supper room He went with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus knew that the time for His suffering and death had now come, and He went to the garden for one last season of prayer to His Father.
We can never understand the terrible sufferings of Christ in Gethsemane. He was to suffer for the sins of the world. He must feel the displeasure which God has for sin. ”

“ In Heaven Satan's influence was so great that he was able to deceive and lead into rebellion nearly half the angels. His power to deceive man is very great.
With such power and influence at his command, we can never overcome the devil in our own strength. When we let go our hold upon God we go onto the enemy's ground, and are "taken captive by him at his will." ”

“ But when the stone was rolled away, Jesus cried, "Lazarus, come forth!" At the call of the Life-giver, he that had been dead came to the door of the sepulcher. And Jesus said, "Loose him, and let him go." These miracles show that Jesus can break the power of death. When He shall again come to this earth He will bring the final reward to His people. See Revelation 22:12.
Paul based his future hope on the resurrection. "For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins. ”

“ Before Jesus came to this earth He was a great King in heaven. Paul says He was "equal with God." Philippians 2:6.
We can never understand how the Son of God, the great King of heaven, could come to this earth as a babe. This is one of God's great mysteries.
But he did come in just this way. He was born in a manger in Bethlehem. Coming in this humble manner, the priests and rulers of Israel were not ready to receive this Babe as their Saviour. They were looking for Him to come as a great King, in pomp and splendor. ”

“ So it is with one who lets himself be controlled by the evil instead of by the good. The word devil is like the word evil, and means the same. To do evil is to do as the devil wishes us to do. Put d before evil, and you will see where evil comes from.
A slave can not get free from a cruel master. He has no money to buy his own freedom, and no power to get away. If he tries to escape, he is followed and caught, and brought back again to work for his hateful owner.
Adam and Eve really sold themselves to Satan—the evil, the devil—by doing as he wanted them to do. ”

“ Paul declared that Christ, by His death, opened the way by which He "might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Hebrews 2:14.
The Lord says through the prophet Ezekiel, "I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes. . . . Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." Ezekiel 28:18, 19.
Then, with the stain of sin entirely removed, God will have a clean universe, as free from sin as it was before rebellion entered heaven.
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The Dominion of All Created Things Was Given to Man. ”

“ But the people wanted to be like the nations around them. So the elders came to Samuel and said, "Make us a king to judge us like all the nations."
Samuel was a prophet of the Lord, and had been the judge of Israel for many years. Their demand for a king displeased him, for he felt that the people had rejected him.
But the Lord told Samuel to do as they asked, "for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me." And the Lord chose Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, to be king. ”

“ He would show to the world that their idols could not help them nor give them any real success.
It is always best to trust and obey the true God. He alone can give true happiness and success. Some people now trust in their riches. Some trust in their strength. Some trust in their education. But almost every day we hear of some rich man who has lost his wealth, some strong man who loses his strength by sickness, some educated man who has failed in his work. ”

“ Jesus bought us back after we had sold ourselves to Satan.
"Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price," "the precious blood [the life] of Christ." 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; 1 Peter 1:18, 19.
This "good news," or Gospel of Salvation, was told to Adam and Eve as well as to the shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem hundreds of years afterward, so that all could have a chance to obey God by being made free from the power of Satan.
"They traded their happiness for the knowledge of wrong."
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CAIN and Abel were the first brothers who ever lived on the earth. ”

“ Now get your Bible and read the forty-first and forty-second chapters of the book of Genesis, and see what these dreams were, and how the Lord got Joseph out of prison and made him ruler of Egypt.
When the dreadful famine came, he had corn saved up to keep the Egyptians from starving. Thus the Lord often uses good people to provide for the needs of those who are evil. ”