Hidden Eyes and Closed Ears

 Copyright by Joe Crews.
  All rights reserved.

Some of the most astonishing prophecies in the Bible have to do 
with the proportion of people who will be saved at the coming of 
Christ.  Jesus clearly taught that only a comparative few would 
be ready to inherit His kingdom.  He said, "Enter ye in at the 
strait gate:  for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that 
leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth 
unto life, and few there be that find it."  Matthew 7:13, 14.
In Luke 18:8, by asking a very penetrating question, Jesus 
implied that the "few" might be even less than we could hope or 
imagine.  "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he 
find faith on the earth?"  Again, the Master spoke of the final 
separation in these words:  "And as it was in the days of Noe, 
so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man."  Luke 17:26.  
Only eight people were saved from the flood and "as it was then" 
so shall it be at His coming.  Other Bible writers and prophets 
use similar language to portray the "little flock," the 
"remnant," and the "few" who will prove faithful to the very 
end.
The fact that so few will be saved is not nearly as shocking as 
the reason given in the Bible for their loss.  It seems obvious 
that great multitudes will be excluded from heaven even though 
they professed Christ, worshiped Him regularly, and spend much 
of their time doing wonderful works in His name.  Jesus said, 
"Not every one 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."  
Matthew 7:21-23.
These verses reveal that the earth will be flooded with a lot of 
false religion in the last days.  Millions will be spending 
their time, their effort, and their money in promoting a 
religion that involves apparent miracles, apparent spiritual 
gifts, and much enthusiastic activity.  All of this is 
explicitly spelled out in the teaching of our Lord.  Yet those 
many will finally be utterly rejected by Jesus and shut out of 
heaven.  Talk about startling truth!  More people need to get 
their eyes open to this little-understood situation that will 
characterize the end time.  Then we need to find out how to 
avoid the vast spiritual delusions which will cause so many 
religious people to be lost.
Why will they be rejected in spite of their devoted worship and 
ministry in the name of Jesus?  It has caused some people almost 
to despair of salvation.  How can one know that his own religion 
will not finally be found in this category?  Let us seriously 
look for the answers to these questions.  Our salvation does not 
depend upon our sincerity, but upon finding the truth in God's 
Word and obeying it!

Obedience Is the Acid Test
of a Valid Religion

The first point we must understand is this:  RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY 
IS QUITE USELESS IF WE ARE NOT DOING THE WILL OF GOD.  Christ 
declared that calling on God's name, and even leading out in 
great selfless humanitarian programs, will be wasted if 
obedience to God's will is excluded.  Mark this fact upon the 
table of your mind and never forget it--the Scriptures exalt 
OBEDIENCE as the distinguishing test of a valid religion.  Those 
who engage ever so fully in the preaching the name of Jesus--
with time, talent, and money--and do not keep His commandments, 
cannot meet the approval of God.  In fact, because they are not 
obeying Christ, such worshipers actually open a door by which 
Satan can enter unrecognized and work miracles through them, IN 
THE NAME OF JESUS, which they ascribe to the power of God.  The 
plaintive plea, "Have we not prophesied ... and in Thy name cast 
out devils?"  is proof positive that their miracles had been 
done by some other power than that of Christ, albeit in His 
name.  If Jesus never knew them, who else could work such 
miracles?  Only  Satan.  The Bible speaks of "the spirits of 
devils, working miracles," in Revelation 16:14.
By the way, what did Jesus mean when He said, "I never knew you:  
depart from me, ye that work iniquity"?  How does one really 
come to "know" the Lord?  The beloved John tells us, "Whosoever 
sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."  1 John 3:6.  "He 
that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a 
liar, and the truth is not in him."  1 John 2:4.  Knowing Him 
means we obey Him.  Biblically, it is impossible to be a true 
child of God while refusing to obey the commandments of God.  
Willful disobedience cuts off the relationship, drives away the 
Holy Spirit by which we are sealed, and effectively removes the 
individual from the position of grace.
Now we begin to see how simple it is to test the religious 
spirits that are in the world today.  It is time that we look 
past the stimulating music, the spellbinding oratory, and even 
the exciting witnessing programs and apply the test set up by 
the great Author of all truth--Jesus Himself.  He made it 
exceedingly clear that the original requirements of God have 
remained unchanged.  The condition of obedience which would have 
kept man in Eden becomes the condition for his restoration to 
Eden.  "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  John 14:15.

Love Is Not Legalism

We must not fail to emphasize at this point that element of love 
which must also attend all acceptable obedience.  Forcing the 
forms of compliance without a personal love-experience with 
Christ the Saviour is fully as fatal a mistake as omitting all 
obedience.  Jesus had to deal with the cold formalism of the 
Pharisees over and over again.  And because He so thoroughly 
condemned the program of salvation by works, many have hastily 
assumed that He considered obedience unimportant.  Now we need 
to see the beautiful balance in Christ's doctrine of faith and 
works.  He taught that obeying in order to be saved is the worst 
kind of legalism, but obeying because we are saved is the acid 
test of a true religious experience.  Obedience follows true 
faith just as surely as day follows night.  Incidentally, the 
word "legalist" has been thrown around with too much abandon.  I 
greatly fear that many sincere Christians have been accused of 
legalism only because their love for Christ led them to be more 
particular in their obedience than their accusers.  Never forget 
that a legalist is one who believes that he can be saved by his 
works.  The person who keeps the commandments because he doesn't 
want to displease the God he loves is not a legalist at all.  
The old argument is often heard, "I'd rather see a happy, loving 
Christian who doesn't keep all of the commandments than to see 
an unloving one who strictly obeys the law."  Why try to measure 
degrees of guilt?  Both are completely wrong.  Our feelings have 
nothing to do with it.  Christ has established the standard of 
measurement.  Nothing less than a "faith which worketh by love" 
will be accepted.
But let us return to the alarming proposition that most of 
mankind will be lost, including the fervent religious activists.  
Worship is commanded in the Bible and is a necessary ingredient 
of true religion, but will a host of worshiping Christians be 
lost?  Jesus said, "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for 
doctrines the commandments of men."  Matthew 15:9.  Another 
shattering statement of truth!  People will engage in vain 
worship if they reject true doctrine in favor of man's 
tradition.

When Is Worship Vain?

On several occasions Jesus urged the necessity of walking in all 
known truth.  "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had 
not had sin:  but now they have no cloak for their sin."  John 
15:22.  "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin:  but now ye 
say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth."  John 9:41.  When a 
man learns a point of truth in the Bible and refuses to obey it, 
he is guilty of practicing sin.  Such a man is fighting the Holy 
Spirit whose primary work is to guide into all truth.  This 
refusal to obey hardens the conscience, causing the Holy Spirit 
to finally withdraw and leads to the unpardonable sin.  No 
wonder such worship is vain.  By rejecting the commandments of 
God in favor of human traditions, the Holy Spirit is spurned.  
According to Acts 5:32 only those who obey are eligible to be 
filled with the Spirit.
Let us pause now and consider the profound significance of what 
we have discovered.  The vast majority of people will be lost, 
including many who work miracles in Christ's name, worship Him, 
and claim to know Him as His children.  The reason they will be 
lost is that they do not love Him enough to keep all of His 
commandments.  For some reason these ardent church workers have 
learned to look lightly upon the law of God.  Most of them 
consider it legalism to believe that disobedience could keep 
them out of heaven.  Satan has blinded their eyes to the 
beautiful, intimate relationship of love and obedience.  
Millions of Protestant Christians have actually been taught that 
their obedience or disobedience can have no effect whatever upon 
their ultimate salvation.
In view of the deep-rooted tradition of popular Christianity 
today, we can see how Satan has manipulated millions into a 
state of mind to reject the claims of God's moral law.  Under 
the twisted interpretation of a cheap grace (someone has called 
it "sloppy agape") the stage has been set for the devil's master 
strategy of deception.  The final contest between truth and 
error will revolve around the basic issue of loyalty or 
disloyalty, obedience or disobedience.  And the focus will be 
squarely on the fourth commandment which contains the great 
distinctive sign of God's creative power and authority.

Sunday--A Tradition of Man

It seems more than coincidental that Jesus spelled out 
"traditions of men" as the false doctrine that would lead into 
vain worship.  The chief tradition today which has turned 
multitudes from keeping the Ten Commandments is the doctrine of 
Sunday-keeping.  Almost any Christian of any persuasion can 
defend and extol nine of the Ten Commandments.  It is only the 
Sabbath which has stirred deep hatred and prejudice against the 
holy law of God.
Who inspired that attitude of contempt for the only part of the 
Bible which God wrote with His own hand?  How have so many 
millions been led to equate obedience with legalism?  The 
tragedy is that ministers have largely been responsible for 
turning people away from obedience.  Repeatedly in my 
evangelistic crusades people tell me of angry tirades made by 
their own pastors against the Sabbath.  Unable to give any Bible 
reason for Sunday observance, and frustrated by the insistent 
questions of their flock, many pastors turn to emotional attacks 
upon the validity of the law.  I have found that these attacks 
generally follow two lines of argument.  The fundamentalist 
group of preachers emphasizes the "spirit of the law" while 
insisting that the letter is not binding.  This allows for the 
specific seventh day to be set aside for Sunday.  The other 
group of more liberal theologians contends that no special day 
of worship is necessary and the believer is entirely free from 
all claims of the law.
Since sin is defined in the Bible as "the transgression of the 
law," and Paul affirms that "Where no law is, there is no 
transgression," any attack on the law serves only to weaken 
man's convictions about sin.  1 John 3:4; Romans 4:15.  James 
tells us that the breaking of even one commandment is a 
violation of all ten, and constitutes transgression or sin 
(James 2:10-12).
Is it a serious matter to tear down confidence in this great 
hand-written moral code of God?  Do men take sin more lightly 
when they lose faith in the authority of the Ten Commandments?  
Without question they do.  The strange circumstance of ministers 
teaching people to sin is not easy to comprehend.  It is only 
when we study the great lines of prophecy concerning these last 
days that we can begin to understand the phenomenon.  
Apparently, God had to deal with unfaithful pastors in both Old 
and New Testament times.  Some strong judgments had to be 
pronounced against the shepherds who misled the flock.  Watchmen 
who would not tell the truth about approaching dangers were held 
accountable for the deaths which resulted.  Such preachers are 
actually turned into agents of the evil one.  Paul wrote, "And 
no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of 
light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be 
transformed as the ministers of righteousness."  2 Corinthians 
11:14, 15. 
Only the inspired Book would label these ministers in such a 
blunt manner.  Apparently, God looks upon such men as actual 
ministers of Satan because they fear to tell the truth and, 
instead, give their own ideas.  It is time to understand the 
great conspiracy of Satan to lead men of the cloth--high-placed 
religious leaders--to teach perverse doctrines in the name of 
Christ.  Paul predicted that "the time will come when they will 
not endure sound doctrine ... And they shall turn away their 
ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."  2 
Timothy 4:3, 4.
It is interesting to note that these last-day teachers are 
described as turning their ears away from the truth.  This means 
that they saw it, understood it, but did not want to acknowledge 
it.  God made exactly the same charge against His priests in the 
Old Testament.  "Her priests have violated my law, and have 
profaned mine holy things:  they have put no difference between 
the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference 
between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from 
my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them."  Ezekiel 22:26.
The priests of the Old Testament hid their eyes from the Sabbath 
and the ministers of the last days would turn their ears from 
the truth.  How tragic!  In other words, they would see it but 
would try to get away from it by refusing to keep looking.  I 
have often talked to ministers of various persuasions on the 
subject of the Sabbath.  Some have honestly admitted that 
Saturday is the true Lord's day of the Bible.  Others reject it 
for various reasons.  A few just could not believe that God was 
so particular about which day to observe.  They reasoned that 
God would be understanding with those who found it more 
convenient to keep a different day than the seventh day.  Some 
ministers that I talked with do not really accept the Bible as 
the inspired Word of God.

Preachers in Doubt

It is shocking to realize how skepticism and higher criticism 
have robbed many pastors of their faith in the Bible.  Even many 
of the old-line conservative evangelical denominations are 
becoming riddled with doubts about the inspiration of the 
Scriptures.  Often that is used to justify their rejection of 
the Sabbath.
In one Amazing Facts crusade I spent an interesting afternoon 
with a Southern Baptist minister who had requested an interview 
on the Sabbath subject.  Some of his members were attending the 
Amazing Facts crusade and had questioned him about what they had 
learned.  For the first time in his life he delved into the 
subject in order to find answers for his people.  Then he asked 
me to meet him in his church office.  I listened in amazement as 
he explained why he could not accept the Sabbath.   I was amazed 
because the Southern Baptists have had the historic reputation 
of being fundamental, Bible-believing Christians.  But this 
young man, who graduated from the Louisville Southern Baptist 
Seminary in 1975, did not believe in the Genesis story of 
creation.  He denied the flood story and affirmed his belief in 
evolution as the explanation of man's existence.  He explicitly 
rejected the story of Jonah and the whale.  Finally, I asked him 
if he believed in the virgin birth of Jesus.  His answer was, "I 
don't believe it is necessary to believe in the virgin birth to 
be saved."
I wish I could tell you that this attitude is exceptional among 
the Baptists, but it is not.  This pastor assured me that over 
half of the Southern Baptist ministers believed just like he 
did.  I certainly hope he is mistaken about that estimation, and 
I'm frankly of the opinion that he was exaggerating the numbers.  
Nevertheless, I'm convinced that the majority of this young 
preacher's classmates had lost their faith in the inspired Word 
while studying at the seminary, just as he had.
Finally, under close questioning, he weakly affirmed some kind 
of personal faith in the virgin birth even though he didn't 
think it was too important.  I asked him if his congregation 
knew about his views on the Bible, and he assured me that they 
did not.  He did not dare preach the things that he believed.  I 
said, "Dave, if your church knew what you have expressed to us, 
they would fire you on the spot."  I could understand perfectly 
why he was afraid to preach his convictions.
It should not be too great a surprise to see this wave of 
skepticism growing.  Basically, it is one of the signs of the 
end of time.  We are watching prophecy being fulfilled before 
our eyes.  What I have just told you is only one of the dramatic 
signs that Jesus is coming very soon.
Do you wonder how the seminaries and great denominations have 
drifted into this sort of open doubt of the Word of God?  One 
reason is obvious.  By denying the Sabbath they opened the door 
to doubts about the literal six-day creation.  Another easy step 
led to the vast periods assigned to evolution.  God gave the 
Sabbath as a divine reminder of His sovereign creative power.  
Representing His authority as the only true God, the Sabbath was 
to be a weekly reminder that the only God deserving of worship 
is the One who alone had the power to create and recreate.  As a 
sign of both creation and redemption, observance of the Sabbath 
would be a perpetual protection against the evil of evolution as 
well as modernism.  When the churches rejected the Sabbath, they 
also rejected the strongest bulwark which would have protected 
them from the kind of deadly disbelief which the young minister 
expressed.  No man can be an evolutionist or a modernist who 
truly believes and keeps the Sabbath.

If the Sabbath Can Be Changed
Then the Bible Can Be Changed

This state of confusing doubt is also the fruit of antinomianism 
which has been so widely espoused.  By trying to do away with 
the moral law of the Ten Commandments, the churches have 
compromised the doctrine of an infallible Bible.  If the Sabbath 
can be explained away, if the great basic moral law can be 
nullified, then almost any other part of the Bible can be 
rationalized.  And it has been, by millions who were taught to 
do so by the preacher behind the pulpit.
What does God think about those who have created this shameful 
breach in His law?  Through the prophet Malachi God describes 
the failure of His ministers to uphold the law:  "For the 
priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the 
law at his mouth:  for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.  
But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to 
stumble at the law ... according as ye have not kept my ways, 
but have been partial in the law."  Malachi 2:7-9.
God charges the preachers with being partial in the law.  That 
means they preached part of it but not all of it.  They caused 
people to stumble at the law, which indicates that they 
influenced people to break it.  Throughout the Old Testament God 
outlined the development of a Satan-inspired program to set 
aside His law.
Closing this subject, I would like to trace one chain of such 
prophecies, all links of which are related by a common symbol.  
I want you to notice the connecting thread which is picked up by 
both major and minor prophets and woven through their writings.

God's Law--A Protecting Wall

The chief symbol of God's law seems to be that of a wall, and it 
is used extensively throughout the Old Testament.  Isaiah 
dramatically represented disobedience to the law as a break in 
the wall.  "This is a rebellious people ... children that will 
not hear the law of the Lord. ... Therefore this iniquity shall 
be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high 
wall."  Isaiah 30:9-13.
Follow closely now as we allow other inspired writers to enlarge 
upon this basic concept of the breached wall.  Ezekiel indicated 
that some transgressors of the law would try to cover their act 
of sin by smoothing over the break in the wall.  Unfortunately, 
they would substitute some weak, counterfeit material to make 
the wall look good but which would not prove to be acceptable at 
all.  "Woe unto the foolish prophets. ... Ye have not gone up 
into the gaps, neither made up the hedge ... and one built up a 
wall, and lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar."  Ezekiel 
13:3-10.
Here God rebukes the spiritual leaders for not making up the 
gaps and breaches in the wall.  As the watchmen on the walls 
they were to be the very first ones to notice any weakness and 
to warn of the break immediately and make restoration of the 
defenses.  In this case, not only were the priests not making 
proper repair of the breach but were condoning a dangerous 
substitute of weak materials which God  could not approve.  The 
untempered mortar represents an effort to gloss over the 
seriousness of the defect by false teaching instead of leading 
the people back to full obedience.  Repeatedly God had to warn 
the priests against weakening the authority of His law.  Malachi 
warned the priests:  "Ye have caused many to stumble at the law 
... ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law."  
Malachi 2:8-9.  It was such an attitude that caused God to 
rebuke them for daubing the wall with untempered mortar.
The Wall Broken--
The Sabbath Breach

Now we are ready to establish the interesting fact that the 
primary breach in the law had to do with the fourth commandment.  
The prophet picked up the theme of the wall again in Ezekiel 
22:26-28.  "Her priests have violated my law, and profaned mine 
holy things ... and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths. ... 
And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar ... 
saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken."
Here we have a specific breach of the law (Sabbath breaking) 
connected with the untempered daubing.  Again, it is the 
priests, or preachers, themselves who are responsible for the 
error.  As we have already noted, they have broken the law by 
hiding their eyes from the Sabbath.  This indicates that they 
clearly saw it but deliberately turned away and refused to 
recognize or obey it.  But what does it mean that they daubed 
the wall with untempered mortar?  It doesn't take a lot of 
intelligence to see that they were trying to fill up the Sabbath 
breaking with counterfeit material that did not really restore 
the wall at all.
Furthermore, they would try to make it seem that God had 
approved what they had done, saying, "Thus saith the Lord God, 
when the Lord hath not spoken."
Question:  Have religious leaders tried to put some false, 
unscriptural day in place of the true Sabbath and tried to make 
it appear that God condones it?  Indeed they have!  Instead of 
restoring the true seventh-day Sabbath, which had been breached 
by pagan infiltration of the early church, they brought in a day 
dedicated to ancient sun worship.  Without a line of biblical 
authority they honored that day with the title "Lord's Day" and 
continually say, "Thus saith the Lord, when the Lord hath not 
spoken."

God Measures the Wall

Does the Lord indeed approve of this unholy tampering with His 
perfect law?  Jesus said, "In vain they do worship me, teaching 
for doctrines the commandments of men."  Matthew 15:9.  No 
amount of  daubing with foreign, untempered material can make 
the wall whole again.  Only the restoration of the original 
material, the seventh day of the week, can satisfy the great 
plumbline of God's scrutiny.  He is the Author of that law--the 
builder of the wall--and He will accept nothing less than the 
full original strength and proportion.  "Thus he shewed me:  
and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, 
with a plumbline in his hand. ... Then said the Lord, Behold, I 
will set a plumbline in the midst of my people."  Amos 7:7, 8.  
A plumbline is used to determine the exact straightness of a 
wall, and God will measure His people by His holy law.  Jesus 
declared that even worship is vain and empty when the 
commandments of men are taught instead of His commandments.  
"Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your 
tradition."  Matthew 15:6.  By these words Christ surely 
established that tradition will be used to nullify His law.  
Thus we can see how the untempered mortar represents the 
tradition of Sunday worship, which is applied to the breach in 
the law.  The result is the institution of a section of wall 
which is alien to the original, perfect one.
Someone may object that we are taking verses out of context and 
that the wall symbol does not refer to God's law in these modern 
days.  The prophet Ezekiel indicated that the counterfeit wall 
would be daubed with untempered mortar in the last days, and 
that the seven last plagues would bring its total destruction.  
"Say unto them that daub it with untempered mortar, that it 
shall fall ... and a stormy wind shall rend it."  Ezekiel 13:11.

Wall-Daubers
Destroyed by the Plagues

Does the Bible give us any information about the time of this 
great deluge of hail?  John the revelator describes the event in 
these words:  "And there fell upon men a great hail out of 
heaven _ and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the 
hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great."  Revelation  
16:21.
Here is evidence that the false wall of tradition will be dealt 
with at the time of the seven last plagues.  God speaks of that 
judgment on the wall as "my wrath" in Ezekiel 13:14-15.  "So 
will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered 
mortar _ and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the 
midst thereof. _ Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall 
and upon them that have daubed it."  What is His wrath?
God refers to the seven last plagues as His wrath:  "Seven 
angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up 
the wrath of God."  Revelation 15:1.  Do you get the picture 
now?  His wrath in the destruction of the counterfeit wall is 
accomplished by the overflowing hail, which is one of the last 
plagues, also designated as God's wrath.  This places the 
judgment on the wall-daubers at the end of time when the seven 
last plagues are poured out.
But how can we be sure that this untempered mortar is truly the 
tradition of Sunday worship?  In case there is any doubt 
remaining on this point, please weigh this final proof.  The 
wrath of God falls ONLY upon those who have the mark of the 
beast.  "If any man worship the beast _ and receive his mark _ 
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God."  
Revelation 14:9, 10.
Now let's do some reasoning together.  The facts of God's Word 
are before us.  Since the seven last plagues fall only upon 
those who have the mark of the beast, and since the counterfeit 
wall-builders receive the plagues, we have to conclude that the 
wall-builders have the mark.  We have already shown that the 
Sunday tradition was used in the daubing.  Does this mean that 
Sunday-keeping is connected with the mark of the beast?  Indeed 
it does.  For a full explanation of this fascinating connection, 
write for the free booklet, THE BEAST, THE DRAGON, AND THE 
WOMAN.  Even without looking into the subject any further we can 
see that those who daub the wall (change God's law) are Sunday 
advocates and that they also receive the plagues which fall ONLY 
upon those who have the mark of the beast.  One would have to be 
blind to miss the fact that the mark is tied closely to Sunday-
keeping.
Let us now pursue the wall symbolism further in the writings of 
the Old Testament prophets.  God was deeply concerned about the 
gap or breach that had been made in His law.  He is quoted as 
saying, "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up 
the hedge, and stand in the gap before me."  Ezekiel 22:30.
In view of the diversionary tactics of daubing tradition into 
the breach, creating a false wall, God is represented by the 
prophet as searching for someone who will "make up the hedge" 
and "stand in the gap."  What a picture is presented here!  Did 
God find those who would have the courage to restore unpopular 
truth?  Does the Bible finally describe the faithful rebuilding 
of the wall to meet the specifications of God's plumbline?
Let Isaiah take up the thread now and paint the final picture.  
"And they that shall be of thee (of God) shall ... be called, 
The repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in.  
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy 
pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the 
holy of the Lord, honourable _" Isaiah 58:12, 13.
Here, without any equivocation, we find a clear description of 
those who will repair the breach and restore the original wall.  
It is those who turn back to the true Sabbath, and who enter 
into the work of clearing the debris of tradition, so that the 
Sabbath may again glow as the delight of God's people--a holy 
day and honorable.  Freed from the false allusions cast by 
antinomians and libertines, the law of God will be recognized as 
the great moral standard of grace-saved Christians--evidence of 
a genuine love relationship with Jesus. 
Gathering up these golden threads of Bible truth, we can 
summarize the prophetic story very easily and quickly.  In the 
last days great thrusts will be made by false shepherds to 
weaken the authority of God's law.
Influential religious groups will join forces to lead people to 
reject the true Sabbath.  By setting aside the fourth 
commandment, a breach is made in the law which is represented as 
a protecting wall.  While counterfeit material is used to 
restore the gap in the form of Sunday worship, God finds a 
people who will be called the repairers of the breach and who 
turn back to keeping the true Sabbath.  Those who try to change 
His law by substituting the pagan day of the sun receive the 
mark of the beast and experience the punishment of the seven 
last plagues.
But let us close this discouraging prophetic picture on a note 
of hope and assurance.  Not all will be found tearing down or 
trying to change God's law.  In the book of Revelation God 
points out His saints and describes them in these words:  "Here 
is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the 
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."  Revelation 14:12.  
A remnant will not go along with the traditions of men.  They 
will not accept any substitute for the requirements of God.  As 
the last end-piece of the apostolic church, they are 
characterized by loving Jesus supremely and keeping His 
commandments.  Satan's final desperate battle against God will 
take place over the loyalty of this little group.  Here's the 
way John viewed that clash:  "And the dragon was wroth with the 
woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which 
keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus 
Christ."  Revelation 12:17.
May God grant you the courage to be a part of that remnant 
church which has the faith of Jesus, the testimony of Jesus, and 
keeps all of His commandments.  These truly may be designated as 
the saints.
In summary, note how link upon link of related texts show the 
fortunes and misfortunes of the wall--God's law.
1.	The wall represents God's law.  A breach in the wall 
represents breaking the law (iniquity).  Isaiah 30:9-13, "This 
is a rebellious people _ children that will not hear the law of 
the Lord _ therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach 
ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall."
2.	False ministers did not repair the break.  But they did try 
to mend the gap with weak, untempered mortar, a counterfeit 
material.  Ezekiel 13:3-14, "Woe unto the foolish prophets _ ye 
have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge _ and 
one built up a wall, and lo, others daubed it with untempered 
mortar."
3.	The breach in the wall was the Sabbath, which the preachers 
saw, but hid their eyes from it.  Instead of restoring the true 
Sabbath, they used the pagan Sunday (untempered mortar) as a 
substitute, claiming that the Lord said it was all right, when 
"the Lord hath not spoken."  Ezekiel 22:26-28, "Her priests have 
violated my law, and profaned mine holy things _ and have hid 
their eyes from my sabbaths _ and her prophets have daubed them 
with untempered mortar _ saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when 
the Lord hath not spoken."
4.	The counterfeit wall (Sunday) will be revealed and 
destroyed when the plagues fall (hail).  Ezekiel 13:11, "Say 
unto them that daub it with untempered mortar that it shall 
fall:  there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great 
hailstones, shall fall and a stormy wind shall fall; and a 
stormy wind shall rend it."
5.	Hail is one of the seven last plagues.  Revelation 16:21, 
"And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven _ and men 
blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague 
thereof was exceeding great."
6.	The plagues are called "the wrath of God."  Revelation 
15:1, "Seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them 
is filled up the wrath of God."
7.	The wrath of God (plagues) fall on those who have the mark 
of the beast.  Revelation 14:9, 10, "If any man worship the 
beast _ and receive his mark _ The same shall drink of the wine 
of the wrath of God."
8.	God's wrath (plagues) fall on those who used the untempered 
mortar (Sunday).  The plagues and destruction prove that these 
events take place at the end of the world and that these 
prophecies apply to our day.  Ezekiel 13:13-15, "I will even 
rend it _ and great hailstones in my fury to consume it.  So 
will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered 
mortar _ Thus will I accomplish my wrath upon the wall and upon 
them that have daubed it."
9.	God looked for those who would repair the gap or breach in 
His law correctly.  Ezekiel 22:30, "And I sought for a man among 
them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before 
me."
10.	God finds those who will repair the breach.  They will 
restore the true Sabbath to its right place.  Isaiah 58:12, 13, 
"And they that shall be of thee _ shalt be called, The repairer 
of the breach, The restorer of the paths to dwell in.  If thou 
turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on 
my holy day."

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