Why Do We Scare Them ?

[colporteur]

   I have a good pastor friend. While talking one day he said that in his evangelistic meetings he focuses on the second coming of Christ. He said the Mark of the Beast scares people. Hmmm. I don't know but it sounds like this is either down played or omitted from his series. I understand that the MOB can be presented in the wrong way and all by itself that message does not give hope. Maybe this pastor does include this in his series or in follow up but I know that increasingly this part of the message is down played, not given at all, or ever and some ministers do not even believe the Bible's fundamental teaching on prophecy anymore.

Cancer and Alzhiemers scares people but we talk about it. Isis, Ferguson Missouri and rioting in Baltimore scares people and the earth quake in Nepal scares people but we talk about it especially if it directly affects us. It seems to me that to talk about the second coming of Jesus but to leave off the Three Angel's messages is like giving a blind man directions but not telling him about the open man hole in front of him. Will he be scared when he falls into the sewer eight feet below ?  We are concerned about kidnappers and drug dealers but we do not fail to warn our children about talking to strangers. We live in a scary world where unless we are careful we can get hurt ... hurt real bad. Warnings are a necessary part of life whether they involve just the physical or the spiritual.

[colporteur]

 Was the Lord and Noah scaring people for 120 years ?   Was God scaring Pharaoh ? How dos God wake up Laodicea ? With a whisper ?

[Richard Myers]

The three angels message is the most fearful message found in Scripture. We are not at liberty to water it down any more than we ought to water down the Laodicean message. We are to give it just as it reads.

If we want to fail in our effort, we can altar the order in which we give the three angels message. Some insist on presenting the third message before the first. That is contrary to the light we have been given. We are to give the gospel message first, then the mark of the beast.

The devil always has two sides of error so that he can capture as many as possible.

As for scary things being preached, how about fire and brimstone as the Baptists preach?  That surely get the attention of some sinners. Burning forever would scare many who know they are not going to heaven. So, we ought to present the  truth to set aside the  lie of eternal torment, but not leave out the burning of the sinner until sins have been paid for. That is not pleasant,  but ought to be presented if we love the sinner. This has nothing to do with the mark of the beast, it is the first angels message and has its place in converting a sinner into a saint. The  following explains why we present the truth of justice.

"And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." Jude 1:22,23.

[Ed Sutton]

When the silver trumpet is blown, the volume is maxed, and Christ shouts loud enough to wake the dead, and shake Heaven and Earth, and ignite the whole sky.

[Immanuel]

Those who are scared are the ones who need it most. Believers in Christ know that He will sustain them through any crisis in this world including the final great crisis. If one doesn't know God they should be scared because they are going to be on the wrong side of eternity unless they repent.

Too often we are bogged down with trying to figure out whether or not we should be preaching the everlasting gospel. Christ gave the commission to go, preach, and baptize. He did not say, go, preach, and baptize only if it doesn't scare people, or only if it will bring in the large majority of people, or only if it is a message that is pleasing to you and them. He merely told us to go.

We need to go and preach the message that He gave us because He knows exactly what humanity needs.

"In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. On them is shining wonderful light from the word of God. They have been given a work of the most solemn import--the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention." - Testimonies for the Church vol. 9 p. 19

[colporteur]

True, if we are unfaithful there is good reason to be scared. A warning by its very nature has an element of fear in it or else it would cease to be a warning. Why would we warn someone against something that has no consequences ? In a fallen world there cannot be a message of good news without a message of bad news for those who do not accept the good news. And if we fear to warn the people do we really believe the flip side of the gospel ?  There is hope, and peace, and assurance in making the right choice however fear and loss is the result of making the wrong choice. If that were not true the Bible would not speak of eternal loss and the lake of fire.

A child that truly loves their parent will obey them out of love. However, discipline is a wake up call when the child is tempted to take the parent's love for granted. In a perfect world like heaven before sin, fear and scary things were not known. Now that there is something to be afraid of that must be incorporated in our message.

Someone might say that with perfect love for God there is no need to hear any message that is fearful. That may be true but how many have a perfect love for God and if they do they certainly did not inherit it. While me grow in grace the warnings in Scripture help keep us from being presumptuous and careless. Were that not necessary the Lord could have omitted a large segment of the Scriptures and spoke only of peace and safety. In our permissive society that's what many desire to hear.

I think we as SDAs in particular have a syndrome. Not sure what to call it but because the gospel is so much rejected we are tempted to think the message must change in order to win souls. We might have more baptisms by changing the message but not win more souls. Few baptisms leads to the thinking that the message must be the problem and we forget that the road to heaven is narrow and few there be that find it. We forget than only 8 living entered the ark. We are so conditioned by an atmosphere of sin that we tend to think that large masses of these nice but disobedient people could not be lost. The gospel has never been popular to high numbers of people. If we change it to be so we no longer have the gospel. We have Lucifer's philosophy and that harmonizes very well with the fallen nature and with eternal loss.