Welcome to the fifth presentation in this series of seven on last day events. I'm Ken Norton, speaker director for the Voice of Prophecy. We have covered a lot of ground already in this series and I wanna restate something I shared during the first presentation, even though we are going over in detail the sequence of last day events, the heart of this series is not about timelines and knowing the exact order of how things are going to unfold. It's about knowing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior now and experiencing a relationship with him in the present that will prepare you for anything that comes in the future. And that is at the heart of this presentation as well. Let's pray to begin. God in heaven, I pray once again you will enlighten our eyes and open our hearts, Lord, that we may be prepared for your second coming. Lord, this is our heart's prayer. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Since this is part two on the topic of The Shaking, let's take a few moments to recap some of the main points from the last presentation. In part one, we laid the scriptural foundation that right before Jesus comes again, his church on earth will go through an intense experience known as the Shaking. We answered the questions, what does the Shaking mean? When does the Shaking take place? We looked briefly at the answer to the question, why would God allow his church to be shaken? We saw in the parable of the weeds and tares that Jesus said he would separate out of his church all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness. This purging has a purpose. God will use his church right before the close of probation to proclaim the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. But before the gospel can go forth in power, his church has to be made ready to proclaim it, and his people have to be prepared to receive the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We answered the question, who or what is shaken out through the study on the two missing tribes from Revelation chapter seven. We saw that the self-righteous, world loving children of Ephraim and the fault finding, gossiping, bitter spirited children of Dan were not included in the final tally of those who will make up God's spiritual Israel in the very last days. In this presentation, our focus will be on answering the last two questions. What causes the Shaking and how will we know when the Shaking is happening? In order to understand what causes the Shaking at the end of time, it's important that we understand what caused The Shaking, the great Shaking at the beginning of time. And here is the account of that first shaking. And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him. The Shaking is not a new concept. It took place in heaven. Satan, the instigator of rebellion was shaken out and quite a few angels were shaken out with him. Let's go back a few verses to see some important details that caused this event. Here is a summary of that heavenly shaking. And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born. We often overlook something in this passage that is key to understanding how a third of the angels ended up being cast out of heaven with Satan. Look at this sentence carefully. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. What threw a third of the angels to the earth? His tail. Do you remember the principles of how to interpret prophecy that we covered in a previous presentation? What is our next step to figure out how to decipher what tail means? We go looking for it in other places in Scripture. I wanna preempt this by saying that when we unlock what tail means, we will find the underlying cause, not only of the first great shaking at the beginning of time, but it will also reveal what will be the main cause of the Shaking at the end of time. We find the key to unlock this prophecy code in Isaiah chapter nine. For the people do not turn to him who strikes them, nor do they seek the Lord of hosts. Therefore, the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel, palm branch and bulrush, in one day. The elder and honorable, he is the head. The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. Using this text as a prophetic key, we find that the word tail in prophecy has to do with lying and deception. And what was the lie that a third of the angels fell for? A few chapters later, Isaiah tells us. How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. A third of the angels believed Satan when he said he was going to do this. They were deceived into believing that Satan deserved to be like the Most High and they wanted to ascend with him to rule the universe. They believed that he could do it along with a package of many other lies. They trusted Satan, they distrusted God, they were deceived and they were cast out of heaven with Satan. Satan, the false prophet and his tail, his lies, were responsible for the angels being thrown down to the earth. They were shaken out of heaven. It is evident through these passages and others that the last great weapon used against the church will be the same one used in the beginning, lies, misrepresentation, intent, distortion of truth, all summed up in one word, deception. In his attack, Satan will use several different forms of deception that will cause a mighty shaking of God's last day church. The first cause of the Shaking will be heresies and false theories. Have you ever received communication from someone who wanted you to watch a video or read something online and when you started watching or reading it, you realize this is not what we believe as Seventh-day Adventists? They may even claim to be Adventists, but what they are sharing undermines or goes directly against one of the core beliefs of the church. This is happening a lot these days. Beyond the fact that instant communication makes this much easier than it used to be, I believe there are two primary reasons why we are seeing an increase in the spread of false teachings within the church. I wanna read this from Testimonies, Volume five, page 707. God will arouse his people. If other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat. The Lord calls upon all who believe his word to awake out of sleep. Their faith must be firmly founded upon the word of God so that when the testing time shall come and they are brought before councils to answer for their faith, they may be able to give a reason for the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear. Even though Satan is the instigator of false teachings, God allows heresies to come in among his people because he wants them to know the truth for themselves. He allows these things so that his people are prepared for the trying times ahead and will have their faith firmly founded on the word of God. We read this from the book Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing. God means that truth shall be brought to the front and become the subject of examination and discussion. Even through the contempt placed upon it, the minds of the people must be agitated. Every controversy is God's means of awakening minds that otherwise might slumber. In the book Evangelism, Ellen White makes a direct connection between the lies that Satan circulates and the Shaking. The light given me has been very forcible that many would go out from us giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. The Lord desires that every soul who claims to believe the truth shall have an intelligent knowledge of what is truth. False prophets will arise and will deceive many. Everything is to be shaken that can be shaken. Then does it not become everyone to understand the reasons for our faith? In place of having so many sermons, there should be a more close searching of the word of God, opening the Scriptures text by text and searching for the strong evidences that sustain the fundamental doctrines that have brought us where we now are upon the platform of eternal truth. Ellen White even predicted that in the future, from her time, people would leave the Adventist church after being deceived by a very specific false theory. Her prediction was a hundred percent accurate. In the future, deception of every kind is to arise and we want solid ground for our feet. The enemy will bring in false theories such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith. In the late 1970s and the early eighties, this prediction was fulfilled. In just one region of the world, the church lost 180 pastors. Forty percent of the clergy workforce left because they no longer believed the doctrine of the sanctuary. Heresies are not a new method of attack. The apostle Paul predicted that heresies would come into the church soon after his death. He said, for I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. As just stated, the first reason God allows heresies is to awaken his people and get them back into his word. The second reason is that heresies reveal the true spirit of the believer. In the last presentation, we looked at the characteristics of the two tribes of spiritual Israel, Ephraim and Dan who are shaken out at the end according to Revelation chapter seven. One tribe is self-righteous and world loving, and the other is fault finding and bitter spirited. Which of these two groups are most susceptible to being deceived by heresies and false theories? You might be surprised. This from the book Testimonies to Ministers. God's spirit has illuminated every page of Holy Writ, but there are those upon whom it makes little impression because it is imperfectly understood. When the Shaking comes by the introduction of false theories, these surface readers anchored nowhere are like shifting sand. They slide into any position to suit the tenor of their feelings of bitterness. As we saw in our last presentation, the judgmental, bitter backbiters represented by the tribe of Dan are shaken out of the church at the end. These are church members who are very critical of others. They're always seeming to find fault with both church members and church leaders alike. They're gossipers who accuse and condemn and are void of the spirit of Jesus. Some in this camp are surface readers. They have never studied much, but they're in church and they cause problems because of their critical spirit. There are others in the tribe of Dan who are often very knowledgeable about truth and they may know their Bibles really well, but they're void of the tenderness, gentleness and genuine love that is the fruit of a personal relationship with Jesus. They too cause trouble because of their critical and bitter spirit. Interestingly, it is this group that is especially prone to being deceived by false theories and heresies. Why? Because it is only through the spirit of God that spiritual discernment is given to know truth from error. And because this group is void of his spirit, they can easily be deceived. So the natural question is how do we protect ourselves from being deceived through heresies and false theories? There are two ways. First, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Your first line of defense against false theories is to study the word of God. Know it from cover to cover. As the psalmist says, let truth be your shield and your buckler. Here again is that famous quote from the book The Great Controversy that we read earlier. None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict. First, study the word. Secondly, study yourself. Paul says to the Corinthian church, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you are disqualified. Deal honestly with your own soul. If you struggle with having a critical or bitter spirit, there is only one solution. Let Jesus in. Spend time with him. It is only by abiding in him that we can bear fruit. Without him we can do nothing. But if he is in us, the love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control will be evident to all and it will be a great shield against deception. May God help us stay out of the camp of Dan and give us clear spiritual discernment to see heresy or false theories for what they really are, the tail of Satan trying to sweep God's people out of the church. The first major cause of the Shaking will come from heresies and false theories. This will clear out of the church the tribe of Dan, the bitter backbiters. The second cause will be the Sunday law and corresponding persecution. This will shake the spiritual tribe of Ephraim out of the church. Here is the connection between the Sunday law, The Shaking, and shaking out the Ephraimites. From an article written by Ellen White in 1892. An apostate church will unite with the powers of earth and hell to place upon the forehead or in the hand the mark of the beast and prevail upon the children of God to worship the beast and his image. They will seek to compel them to renounce their allegiance to God's law and yield homage to the papacy. Then will come the times which will try men's souls. For the confederacy of apostasy will demand that the loyal subjects of God shall renounce the law of Jehovah and repudiate the truth of his word. Then will the gold be separated from the dross and it will be made apparent who are the godly, who are the loyal and true and who are the disloyal, the dross and the tinsel. What clouds of chaff will then be borne away by the fan of God! Where now our eyes can discover only rich floors of wheat will be chaff blown away with the fan of God. Everyone who is not centered in Christ will fail to stand the test and ordeal of that day. While those who are clothed with Christ's righteousness will stand firm to truth and duty. Those who have trusted in their own righteousness will be ranged under the black banner of the prince of darkness. We learned from the last presentation that the tribe of Ephraim had strong character traits of self-dependency and self-righteousness. They were also characterized as loving the world more than they loved God. Here's what happens to this group when the Sunday law is enforced. The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than to subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment and death. At the very time the Sunday law is being enforced, something incredible takes place. As the bitter and worldly minded are leaving the church in droves, there will be a huge influx at the same time of people pouring into the church and taking their stand with the commandment-keeping people of God. Look at this vision of Ellen White as she describes what happens during the Shaking time. In vision, I saw two armies in terrible conflict. One army was led by banners bearing the world's insignia. The other was led by the blood stained banner of Prince Emanuel. Standard after standard was left to trail in the dust as company after company from the Lord's army joined the foe and tribe after tribe from the ranks of the enemy united with the commandment-keeping people of God. An angel flying in the midst of heaven put the standard of Emmanuel into many hands while a mighty general cried out with a loud voice. Come into line. Let those who are loyal to the commandments of God and the testimony of Christ now take their position. Come out from among them and be separate and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you and will be a father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters. Let all who will come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. In another vision of The Shaking, Mrs. White describes the same flow out of the church and the flow in. 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 persevere, 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. At that time, there will be a great exchange that takes place. The bitter, the worldly minded, the careless, indifferent in the church shaken out. Those in spiritual Babylon who respond to the call, come out of her, my people, they come flooding in. The Shaking will be caused by heresies and false theories. The Shaking will be caused by the Sunday law and the persecution. And lastly, the Shaking will be caused by the straight testimony. I'm about to read a long quote, but I feel it is necessary to share the entire section where Ellen White describes one of the major causes of the Shaking. She is sharing in detail a vision she had early in her ministry back in 1857. Let's read this. November 20, 1857. I was shown the people of God and saw them mightily shaken. Some with strong faith and agonizing cries were 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 countenance. While large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads, now and then their faces would light up with the marks of God's approval and again the same solemn, earnest, anxious look would settle upon them. Evil angels crowded around them, pressing their darkness upon them to shut out Jesus from their view that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness that surrounded them and they distrust God and murmur against him. Their only safety was in keeping their eyes directly upward. Angels of God had charge over his people and as the poisonous atmosphere from the evil angels was pressed around these anxious ones, the heavenly angels were continually wafting their wings over them to scatter the thick darkness. 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. The angels of God left these and I saw them hastening to the assistance of those who were struggling with all their energies to resist the evil angels and trying to help themselves by calling upon God with perseverance. But the angels left those who made no effort to help themselves and I lost sight of them. As the praying ones continued their earnest cries, a ray of light from Jesus would at times come to them to encourage their hearts and light up their countenance. 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 the straight testimony, they will rise up against it and this will cause a shaking among God's people. 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 and all that truly receive it will obey it and be purified. It's a very sobering vision and it may sound a little confusing at the end, especially this sentence. The Shaking will be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the true witness to the Laodiceans. What does this mean? Before we look at Revelation three, where much of this terminology comes from, we need to understand what straight testimony means. We don't use this phrase today, but in Ellen White's time when someone spoke the straight testimony, they were speaking the purest honest truth. Ellen White says that the counsel of the true witness to the Laodiceans will cause some people to declare the honest truth about something and some will not, and this will be one of the causes of the Shaking. Who is the true witness? According to Revelation one, five, it's Jesus. And what is his counsel to the Laodiceans? We find the answer in Revelation chapter three. Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. God's last church on earth before the second coming of Jesus is identified in Revelation three as the church of Laodicea. It has members who believe that they are spiritually rich or wealthy and have need of nothing. Jesus shares the honest truth with them by telling them you are mistaken, actually you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Then Jesus counsels the Laodiceans to come to him to buy gold and white garments and eye salve because they lack these things. So according to one Peter one, six and seven, gold is faith. According to Isaiah 54:17, a white raiment or a white garment is Christ's righteousness and eye salve is understood as being spiritual discernment given by the Holy Spirit. According to Ellen White's vision, one of the causes of the Shaking is that there will be a group who refuses to believe that they are truly wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. They don't feel like they lack anything and they become upset when they are told differently. Look at this part of the vision again. This counsel 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 the straight testimony, they will rise up against it and this will cause a shaking among God's people. The ones who pour forth the straight truth are the ones who acknowledge their brokenness and their complete dependence upon Jesus as the only source for righteousness and salvation. They pray the prayer, oh God, I know my righteousness is as filthy rags. I can do nothing to save myself. I am wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. I lack so many things. Jesus, I ask that you give me your faith, your righteousness, and open my eyes to see things just as you see them. Oh God, save me. The proud and haughty in the church at that time believe that their good deeds and their righteousness is enough and they rise up against any such humbled, honest declaration and this causes a shaking in the church. At that time, the proud and haughty will be shaken out. Ellen White's vision matches exactly the Shaking passage in Zephaniah three that we looked at in the last presentation. In that day, you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds in which you transgress against me. For then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth for they shall feed their flocks and lie down and no one shall make them afraid. I love the way Jesus finishes his counsel to the Laodicean church with a tender invitation. Revelation chapter three, verse 20. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me. He's knocking on every heart's door for entrance. Brothers and sisters, I appeal to you. If you haven't opened that door wide, do it now. Jesus longs to come in and spend time with you. As we bring this presentation to a close, I wanna share a quote by Ellen White that leads us into our next topic on the Latter Rain and on the Loud Cry. It is from one of her visions concerning the Shaking and its connection to the Loud Cry. Let's read together. Said the angel, listen. Soon I heard a voice that sounded like many musical instruments, all in perfect strains, sweet and harmonious. It surpassed any music I had ever heard. It seemed to be so full of mercy, compassion, and elevating holy joy. It thrilled through my whole being. Said the angel, look. My attention was then turned to the company I had seen who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying with 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 firmly 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. I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth in great power. It had effect. I saw those who had been bound, some wives had been bound by their husbands and some children had been bound by their parents. The honest who had been held or prevented from hearing the truth now eagerly laid hold of it. All fear of their relatives was gone. The truth alone was exalted to them. It was dear and more precious than life. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth. 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. Brothers and sisters, the Shaking is coming, heresies and false theories, the Sunday law and persecution, the proud and haughty who will rise up in the church. All this is coming, but right now Jesus is standing and knocking. He stands outside the door. In his one hand, he holds gold with a white garment draped over his arm. In his other hand, he grips a bottle of eye salve. He is ready to offer his faith, his righteousness and his Holy Spirit to any who will open the door. If you have not already, will you open it and invite him in? I would like to pray for you. God in heaven, we acknowledge together that we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. God, we follow your counsel. We come to you asking for your faith and your righteousness and your Holy Spirit, Lord, that will help us to see things exactly as you see them. Lord, we know we need this and we accept them today from your hands. I wanna pray all of this in the mighty name of Jesus. I wanna pray for every family and everyone watching that you help us, Lord, to be ready for your coming. Jesus, we give ourselves to you now in your name. Amen.