Reconciliation Predicted in Bible Prophecy
I have been thinking of the ministry of reconciliation lately. I have been surprised to find that the ministry of reconciliation was foretold in Bible prophecy!
Daniel 9:24 (KJV) “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity…”
As one writer puts it:
People will learn of the reconciliation for iniquity and of the everlasting righteousness which the Messiah has brought in through His sacrifice. Many will be brought to share the glorious liberty of the sons of God and will stand with God’s people to welcome the soon coming in power and glory, of our Lord and Saviour. 7T 149.2
The part of Bible prophecy about reconciliation is directly connected, I believe, to the Indigenous Reconciliation Ministry God is calling all churches to. Another paragraph that details Biblical reconciliation ministry in more detail reads as follows:
People will learn of the reconciliation for iniquity and of the everlasting righteousness which the Messiah has brought in through His sacrifice. The cross of Calvary is the great center. This truth acted upon will make Christ’s sacrifice effectual. This is that which Gabriel revealed to Daniel in answer to fervent prayer. It was of this that Moses and Elijah and Christ talked at His transfiguration. By the humiliation of the cross, He was to bring everlasting deliverance to all who would walk after Him, giving positive evidence that they are separated from the world (4BC 1172.6)
The Bible Has a Special Message About Reconciliation
What special message of entreaty has God sent to us through His appointed messengers?
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ; and God, as it were, is exhorting you through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, “Be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor 5:20)
Through whom is this reconciliation made?
All things are from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (2 Cor 5:18)
What was required to bring about this reconciliation?
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His own Son, much more then, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Rom 5:10-11)
A Divine Remedy for Sin
The atonement of Christ is not a mere skillful way to have our sins pardoned; it is a divine remedy for the cure of transgression and the restoration of spiritual health. It is the Heaven-ordained means by which the righteousness of Christ may be not only upon us but in our hearts and characters. {6BC 1074.2}
What basis for reconciliation was made by Christ’s death?
For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things to Himself; by Him, whether the things on the earth, or the things in heaven. (Col 1:19-20)
How was Jesus treated?
“Jesus was treated as we deserve that we might be treated as He deserves.” (DA 25)
[Jesus} was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isa 53:5)
It was not alone by dying on the cross that Christ accomplished His work of saving [humanity]. The disgrace and suffering and humiliation was a part of His mission. “He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” This entire penalty Christ bore for the sins of the transgressor; He has borne the punishment for every person and for this reason Jesus can ransom every soul, however fallen their condition, if they will accept the law of God as his standard of righteousness. {4BC 1147.5}
As Christians, we must note here in particular something that is sometimes controversial. Many of us will say “the cross is enough,” but do we realize here, exactly what we are saying? According to Isaiah 53, and other passages, when we say, “the cross,” it denotes a suite or group of doctrines that we collectively can call “the cross.” The Incarnation, the life before His three-year ministry, His trials by religious leaders, His death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, are collectively known as “the cross.” The Bible is clear in Romans 5:10 where it tells us “We will be saved by his son’s life,” and that life is what the Bible views, collectively, as “the cross.” “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”(John 1:4)
What did John declare concerning Jesus?
On the next day, John sees Jesus coming to him, and he says, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)
To what place did Jesus carry these sins?
Who Himself bore our sins WITHIN HIS OWN BODY on the tree, so that we, being dead to sins, may live unto righteousness; by Whose stripes you were healed. (1 Pet 2:24)
A Bridge Over the Gulf
By transgression man was severed from God, the communion between them was broken; but Jesus Christ died upon the cross of Calvary, bearing in His body the sins of the whole world, and the gulf between heaven and earth was bridged by that cross. Christ leads men to the gulf, and points to the bridge by which it is spanned, saying, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” {7BC 941.8}
In thus reconciling the world unto Himself, what attitude did God take towards fallen humanity? And all things are from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given to us THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION; Which is, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them; and He has entrusted to us this message of reconciliation. (2 Cor 5:18-19)
Satan Sees in Christ a Manifestation of God’s Character
There stood in the world One who was a perfect representative of the Father, one whose character and practices refuted Satan’s misrepresentation of God. Satan had charged upon God the attribute he himself possessed. Now in Christ he saw God revealed in His true character–a compassionate, merciful Father, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to Him in repentance, and have eternal life {6BC 1101.7}
What has made it all possible for God to treat sinners with such love, mercy, and grace?
All of us were like sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the LORD gave [Jesus}the punishment we deserved. (Isa 53:6, CEV)
It was/is because of our disobedience that we were separated from God. “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, that he will not hear.” (Isa 59:2) Even though we have so often refused to obey, God’s great love to us all at the Creation has been shed on all generations since that time. Not willing that anyone should perish, God the Father manifests the same love, in giving His only begotten Son, that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
Unity, Purpose, and Joy of Reconciliation
Exactly how did Jesus reconcile all people to God through the cross?
On the cross Christ did away with our hatred for each other. He also made peace between us and God by uniting Jews and Gentiles in one body. Christ came and preached peace to you Gentiles, who were far from God, and peace to us Jews, who were near God. And because of Christ, all of us can come to the Father by the same Spirit. (Eph 2:16-18, CEV)
What is the one, great purpose of reconciliation?
You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his son became a human and died. So, God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I have become a servant of this message. (Col 1:21-23, CEV)
Through whom is the reconciliation received?
Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life. And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us. (Rom 5:10-11)
None but the Son of God could accomplish our redemption; for only He who was in the bosom of the Father could declare Him. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it manifest. Nothing less than the infinite sacrifice made by Christ on behalf of fallen man could express the Father’s love to lost humanity. {SC 14.2}
“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” He gave Him not only to live among men, to bear their sins, and die their sacrifice. He gave Him to the fallen race. Christ was to identify Himself with the interests and needs of humanity. He who was one with God has linked Himself with the children of men by ties that are never to be broken. Jesus is “not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:11); He is our Sacrifice, our Advocate, our brother, bearing our human form before the Father’s throne, and through eternal ages one with the race He has redeemed–the Son of man. And all this that man might be uplifted from the ruin and degradation of sin that he might reflect the love of God and share the joy of holiness. {SC 14.3}
The price paid for our redemption, the infinite sacrifice of our heavenly Father in giving His Son to die for us, should give us exalted conceptions of what we may become through Christ. As the inspired apostle John beheld the height, the depth, the breadth of the Father’s love toward the perishing race, he was filled with adoration and reverence; and, failing to find suitable language in which to express the greatness and tenderness of this love, he called upon the world to behold it. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 3:1. What a value this places upon man! Through transgression the sons of man become subjects of Satan. Through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ the sons of Adam may become the sons of God. By assuming human nature, Christ elevates humanity. Fallen men are placed were, through connection with Christ, they may indeed become worthy of the name “sons of God.” {SC 15.1}
Such love is without a parallel. Children of the heavenly King! Precious promise! Theme for the most profound meditation! The matchless love of God for a world that did not love Him! The thought has a subduing power upon the soul and brings the mind into captivity to the will of God. The more we study the divine character in the light of the cross, the more we see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice, and the more clearly, we discern innumerable evidence of a love that is infinite and a tender pity surpassing a mother’s yearning sympathy for her wayward child. {SC 15.2}
All have sinned and are not good enough to share God’s divine greatness. They are made right with God by his grace. This is a gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. God gave Jesus to forgive people’s sins through their faith in him. God can forgive them because the blood sacrifice of Jesus pays for their sins. God gave Jesus to show that he always does what is right and fair. He was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. And in our own time he still does what is right. God worked all this out in a way that allows him to judge people fairly and still make right any person who has faith in Jesus. (Rom 3:23-25, ERV)
The Father Abundantly Satisfied
The atonement that has been made for us by Christ is wholly and abundantly satisfactory to the Father. God can be just, and yet the justifier of those who believe. {6BC 1071.7}
This mercy and goodness are wholly undeserved. The grace of Christ is freely to justify the sinner without merit or claim on his part. Justification is a full, complete pardon of sin. The moment a sinner accepts Christ by faith, that moment he is pardoned. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and he is no more to doubt God’s forgiving grace. {6BC 1071.8}
There is nothing in faith that makes faith our Saviour. Faith cannot remove our guilt. Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all of them that believe. The justification comes through the merits of Jesus Christ. He has paid the price for the sinner’s redemption. Yet it is only through faith in His blood that Jesus can justify the believer. {6BC 1071.9} The Bible says that Jesus is our Savior and that Jesus reconciled our iniquity by “the cross.” Faith is never our Savior, Jesus is. “The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said: Here is THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN of the world!” (John 1:29)
The sinner cannot depend upon [their] own good works as a means of justification. [They] must come to the point where [they] will renounce all [their] sin and embrace one degree of light after another as it shines upon his pathway. (2 Pet 3:18). We simply grasp by [the hand of faith] the free and ample provision made in the blood of Christ. We believe the promises of God, which through Christ are made unto him sanctification and righteousness and redemption. And if he follows Jesus, he will walk humbly in the light, rejoicing in the light and diffusing that light to others. Being justified by faith, we carry cheerfulness with [us] in [our] obedience in all [our] life. Peace with God is the result of what Christ is to [us]. The souls who are in subordination to God, who honor Him, and are doers of His Word, will receive divine enlightenment. In the precious Word of God there is purity and loftiness as well as beauty that, unless assisted by God, the highest powers of [humanity] cannot attain to {6BC 1071.10}
“…Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Eph 5:25-27)
In this beautiful passage from Ephesians 5, the Apostle is talking about how husbands are to love their wives. This is the perfect model of Biblical reconciliation. Loving one another “as Christ loved the Church.” Imagine what a wonderful world it would be if we all started to do this kind of reconciliation!
Only One Source of Light
Christ “loved the church and gave himself for it.” It is the purchase of His blood. The divine Son of God is seen walking amid the seven golden candlesticks. Jesus Himself supplies the oil to these burning lamps. He it is that kindles the flame. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” {6BC 1118.7}
No candlestick, no church, shines of itself. From Christ emanates all its light. The church in heaven today is only the complement of the church on earth; but it is higher, grander–perfect. The same divine illumination is to continue through eternal ages. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the light thereof. No church can have light if it fails to diffuse the glory it receives from the throne of God (MS 1a, 1890). {6BC 1118.8}
Now is the time to start sharing the light of our reconciliation, our true Biblical reconciliation, with all whom Jesus has set in our path. It is God’s Word through His Spirit that cleanses/reconciles us all. “Sanctify them through Your truth. Your Word is truth.” (John 17:17)
For we ourselves also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, slaving for various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, THROUGH THE WASHING OF REGENERATION AND RENEWAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.(Tit 3:3-7).
The love of our heavenly Father in the gift of His only-begotten Son to the world, is enough to inspire every soul, to melt every hard, loveless heart into contrition and tenderness; and yet shall heavenly intelligences see in those for whom Christ died, insensibility to His love, hardness of heart, and no response of gratitude and affection to the Giver of all good things? Shall affairs of minor importance absorb the whole power of the being, and the love of God meet no return? Shall the Sun of Righteousness shine in vain? In view of what God has done, could His claims be less upon you? Have we hearts that can be touched, that can be impressed with divine love? Are we willing to be chosen vessels? Has not God His eye upon us, and has He not bidden us to send forth His message of light? We need an increase of faith. We must wait, we must watch, we must pray, we must work, pleading that the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon us abundantly, that we may be lights in the world. {FE 198.1}
Jesus looked upon the world in its fallen state with infinite pity. He took humanity upon Himself that He might touch and elevate humanity. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He reached to the very depth of human misery and woe, to take man as He found him, a being tainted with corruption, degraded with vice, depraved by sin, and united with Satan in apostasy, and elevate him to a seat upon His throne. But it was written of Him that “He shall not fail nor be discouraged,” and He went forth in the path of self-denial and self-sacrifice, giving us an example that we should follow in His steps. We should work as did Jesus, departing from our own pleasure, turning away from Satan’s bribes, despising ease, and abhorring selfishness, that we may seek and save that which is lost, bringing souls from darkness into light, into the sunshine of God’s love. We have been commissioned to go forth and preach the gospel to every creature. We are to bring to the lost the tidings that Christ can forgive sin, can renew the nature, can clothe the soul in the garments of His righteousness, bring the sinner to His right mind, and teach him and fit him up to be a laborer together with God. {FE 199.1}
The converted soul lives in Christ. His darkness passes away, and a new and heavenly light shines into his soul. “He that wins souls is wise.” “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.” What is done through the co-operation of men with God is a work that shall never perish but endure through the eternal ages. He that makes God his wisdom, that grows up into the full stature of a man in Christ Jesus, will stand before kings, before the so-called great men of the world, and show forth the praises of Him who hath called him out of darkness into His marvelous light. Science and literature cannot bring into the darkened mind of men the light which the glorious gospel of the Son of God can bring. The Son of God alone can do the great work of illuminating the soul. No wonder Paul exclaims
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”
The gospel of Christ becomes personality in those who believe, and makes them living epistles, known and read of all men. In this way the leaven of godliness passes into the multitude. The heavenly intelligences can discern the true elements of greatness in character; for only goodness is esteemed as efficiency with God. {FE 199.2}
The true “ministry of reconciliation”, starts with The Holy Spirit, then it flows into us, and then it flows out to all whom Jesus sets in our daily path. This is the reconciliation that is predicted in Bible prophecy and in the three angel’s message of Rev 14:6-12)