the silver trumpet, vol. 1, no. 3

THE SILVER TRUMPETLet Elohim arise, let Their enemies be scattered; and let those

who hate Them flee from Their Presence. - Ps. 68:1

Vol. 1, No. 3 Feast of Tabernacles Ethanim (October 11-18, 2014)

Yahweh spoke to Moses, Make two trumpets of silver; you are to makethem from a single hammered piece. And they shall be for assembling thecommunity and for directing the traveling of the camps. When they blowthem both, all the community must come to you to the entrance of the tentof meeting. But if they blow with one trumpet, then the leaders, the headsof the thousands of Israel must assemble themselves. When you blow analarm, then the camps that are located on the east side must begin to move.And when you blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that arelocated on the south side must begin to move. An alarm must be soundedfor their journeys. But when you assemble the community, you must blow,but you must not sound an alarm. The sons of Aaron, the priests, must blowthe trumpets; and they will be to you for an eternal ordinance throughoutyour generations. If you go to war in your land against an adversary whoopposes you, then you must sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you willbe remembered before Yahweh your Elohim, and you will be saved fromyour enemies. Also in the time when you rejoice, such as on your appointedfestivals and at the beginnings of your months, you must blow with yourtrumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifces of your peaceofferings, so that they may be a memorial for you before your Elohim: I amYahweh your Elohim. - Numbers 10:1-10

The Silver Trumpet Vol. 1 No. 3 1

That You May Never Fall The Butter and Honey of Your Calling and Election

by Trent Wilde

brothers and sisters, make every effort to confrm your callingand election, for by doing these things, you will never fall into sin. -2 Peter 1:10

The burdened cry of this message is, has been, and will be, All ofyou, be shaken and stop sinning! (Psalm 4:4). The proclamation thatyou are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked (Rev. 3:17) hasbeen sounding in your ears and has made an unmistakeableimpression upon the hearts of all listening. The message of the TrueWitness must be correct (3T 252). The message of righteousness hasroused in you who have heard it a longing and a desire to be free fromyour sins.

Some, upon learning their true standing before our HeavenlyFamily, have become discouraged, even straying further into sinbecause of thinking that there is nothing that can be done to gainvictory over sin. The enemy has deceived some into thinking that theyhave asked, and now it only remains for them to wait till our Saviorfnally decides to grant them a new life of righteousness.

I have been decidedly shown that these views are all wrong. It istrue that we are to see our own hopelessness and cry out, Our bonesare dry, our hope is lost; we are utterly cut off, (Eze. 37:11) but wemust never lose sight of the fact that the Son of Man came to seekand to save the lost (Luke 19:10) and that in Christ there are nodisappointed hopes (1T 504). I have been shown that the attitude ofpassively waiting for our Heavenly Family to give us Theirrighteousness is, in truth, not a default position, but a choice. It is amanifestation of doubt and disbelief in the word of Wisdom as well asa manifestation of holding on to perverted views of our Gods'character. This view naturally results in believing that our HeavenlyFamily withholds Their righteousness from Their children while theybeg for it. This view is a result of the deception that the individual isall right and that they have done everything that they could have,while our Heavenly Family is unjust, leaving Their people helplesslylost and subject to the ways of the world.

The truth is that it is always us sinful humans who are resistant to

2 The Silver Trumpet Vol. 1 No. 3

our Heavenly Family while They are eager, and even anxious, to giveus Their righteousness and are doing everything possible eachmoment to get us to accept it. They do not require that we reach untoheaven before we can claim Their righteousness.

This commandment I am giving you today is not too diffcult foryou, nor is it too remote. It is not in heaven, as though one must say,Who will go up to heaven to get it for us and proclaim it to us sowe may obey it? And it is not across the sea, as though one mustsay, Who will cross over to the other side of the sea and get it forus and proclaim it to us so we may obey it? For the thing is verynear you it is even in your mouth and in your mind so that you cando it. Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on theone hand, and death and disaster on the other. What I amcommanding you today is to love Yahweh your Gods, to walk in hisways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and hisordinances. - Deuteronomy 30:11-16 (See also Romans 10:6-10)

Behold, now is the day of salvation. - 1 Corinthians 6:2

This is what righteousness by faith tells us. Let God be true, andevery man a liar (Rom. 3:4).

I was shown God's people waiting for some change to take place a compelling power to take hold of them. But they will bedisappointed, for they are wrong. They must act, they must takehold of the work themselves and earnestly cry to God for a trueknowledge of themselves.1

Do not wait for some further evidence of Their love. Their word,their righteousness is already made manifest unto you and upon youby the preaching of the gospel, for therein the righteousness of Godis revealed (Rom. 1:17). Please read Deuteronomy 30:11-16 againand ask, Is this true? Do you believe it? Again, let God be true, andevery man a liar (Rom. 3:4). If you fnd yourself disbelieving it,saying, It cannot be that I can simply choose and They will give meTheir righteousness, - then call yourself a liar. You can now, in thismoment, acknowledge that it is true you can acknowledge that ifyou haven't received the righteousness of Christ it is because there issomething in your heart which keeps pushing Wisdom away.

1 Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, p. 261


What must you do if you have found yourself asking forrighteousness, acknowledging that They are freely offering it to you,but knowing that you are continually pushing away Wisdom and thusrefusing to receive forgiveness of sins?

God leads His people on, step by step. He brings them up todifferent points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endureat one point, but fall off at the next. At every advanced point theheart is tested and tried a little closer. If the professed people ofGod fnd their hearts opposed to this straight work, it shouldconvince them that they have a work to do to overcome, if theywould not be spewed out of the mouth of the Lord. Said the angel:God will bring His work closer and closer to test and prove everyone of His people. Some are willing to receive one point; butwhen God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from itand stand back, because they fnd that it strikes directly at somecherished idol. Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts thatshuts out Jesus. They prize something higher than the truth, and their heartsare not prepared to receive Jesus. Individuals are tested and proveda length of time to see if they will sacrifce their idols and heed thecounsel of the True Witness. If any will not be purifed throughobeying the truth, and overcome their selfshness, their pride, andevil passions, the angels of God have the charge: They are joinedto their idols, let them alone, and they pass on to their work,leaving these with their sinful traits unsubdued, to the control ofevil angels. Those who come up to every point, and stand everytest, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counselof the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thusbe ftted for translation.2

The tests are trials of life are to reveal to us our idols that we maycast them away. When we have our idols revealed to us, we must bewilling to give them up, no matter the cost. We are to overcome in thestrength of the mighty one (HS 155), and we must overcome even asChrist overcame (Rev. 3:21).

God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast holdupon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection ofcharacter.

And how this is accomplished, Christ has shown us. By what



means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan? By the word ofGod. Only by the word could He resist temptation. It is written, Hesaid. And unto us are given exceeding great and preciouspromises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature,having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2Peter 1:4. Every promise in Gods word is ours. By every word thatproceedeth out of the mouth of God are we to live. When assailedby temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self,but to the power of the word. All its strength is yours. Thy word,says the psalmist, have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin againstThee. By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths ofthe destroyer. Psalm 119:11; 17:4.3

The prophecies of Isaiah foretold Christ's dependance upon theword in symbolic language thus-wise:

Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the eviland choose the good. - Isaiah 7:15

If it is the butter and honey of the word of our Heavenly Familywhich Christ needed to overcome temptation, then surely we have noother way.4

Since He gained knowledge as we may do, His intimateacquaintance with the Scriptures show how diligently His earlyyears were given to the study of God's word.5

As a child, Christ had to learn of his identity and mission from thescriptures. By the knowledge he thus gained, he was able to move withexactness. He expected much; therefore he attempted much (DA73). If we are to overcome every temptation and fulfll our calling,there is no other way than to follow in his footsteps. It is vitallyimportant then that we search through the scriptures to learn ourcalling and diligently seek to make it sure. Let us start with a prophecy

3 Desire of Ages, p. 1234 That this is so is also emphasized by the fact that the Immanuel of Isaiah 7 who

eats the butter and honey is actually, in its perfect fulfllment, a symbol of Gods' people in these latter days rather than Christ at his frst advent. This is discussed in War News Forecast, Tract No. 14 by Victor Houteff as well as Signs and Wonders in Modern Israel, Parts 1 & 2 by Benjamin Roden.

5 Desire of Ages, p. 70


concerning this latter-day message of true revival and redemptionfrom sin:

The Spirit of the lord Yahweh is upon me; because Yahweh hasanointed me to preach good tidings to the meek: He has sent me tobind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, andthe opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim theacceptable year of Yahweh, and the day of vengeance of our Gods;to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn inZion, to give unto them a turban instead of ashes, the oil of joyinstead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of the spirit ofheaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, theplanting of Yahweh, that he might be glorifed. - Isaiah 61:1-3

For reasons discussed elsewhere,6 this prophecy fnds its directfulfllment in this our day, in the day when a message is sent to deliverthose represented as mourning in Zion from their sins and whichproclaims that the day of vengeance is at hand.7 Those of whom thisprophecy speaks are evidently overwhelmed with a spirit of heaviness,brokenhearted, and captive to sin. Our Heavenly Family, however,sends them a message glad tidings which is to give them a turban,oil, and a new garment that they might be called trees (leaders) ofrighteousness. To those who heed this message (by accepting theturban, oil, and garments) it is said,

You will be called the Priests of Yahweh: and you will be calledServants of our Gods. - Isaiah 61:6

The question now begging to be asked is, do you believe Isaiah 61?Do you believe that this prophecy is now very present truth and that itpertains in some way to you? If so, you can now with confdence knowyour calling. You are called to be priests and are elected unto works ofrighteousness (Eph. 2:10).

If this prophecy really is present truth, what should we expect?Should we not expect someone to present us with a turban, with oil,

6 See our studies such as The Two Messiahs and Jesus' Christ.7 Isaiah 61 had a partial fulfllment with Christ's own ministry while he was here on

earth as evidenced by his quotation of it in Luke 4:18-19. What is striking about his quotation of it though, is that he stops part way through a sentence (just before the mention of the day of vengeance) then rolled up the scroll and sat down. Evidently, it was not yet time to proclaim the day of vengeance.


and with a new garment? But what is this turban, what is this oil, andwhat is this garment? Since those who receive these things are calledpriests, we might expect that it has something to do with priesthood.

Not only are we to gain the knowledge of our potential identityand mission from prophecy, but also from types, for the types andsymbols of the ceremonial service are a depiction of the real gospelprogram (AA 14).

We have already learned in this message that the history of theexodus is a type for the experience we are now undergoing. TheShekinah is on the move, the silver trumpet is being blown, thesanctuary is being cleansed, and we are to be dwelling in booths, forthis land is not our own, and thus we are on our way to the PromisedLand. All these aspects of truth are foreshadowed in the festivalsystem. The silver trumpet being blown is fantastically emphasized onthe Day of Loud Blasts, the cleansing of the sanctuary is pictured onthe Day of Atonement, and the dwelling in booths by the Feast ofTabernacles. As we are now in the latter feast, and since the purposeof this feast is ultimately to show forth the truth of Yahweh dwellingamong us8 (which is also the purpose of the sanctuary Ex. 25:8), andsince the Feast of Tabernacles is also the time of the year with moresacrifces than any other time (Num. 29:12-40), it makes sense that ourHeavenly Family would now reveal and explain to us our call topriesthood.

If we are called into priesthood, there must be types to show it;likewise, if there are types showing the establishment of priesthood,there must be an anti-typical fulfllment. We know that the presenttruth during the times of the apostles was the transferal of theceremonial system from type to anti-type. We have also learned thatthe true anti-typical observance of the ceremonial system was takenaway from us during the dark ages. Therefore, there is a need in thisour day for a consecration of the priesthood, just as there was in thedays of our types. This brings us to

The Consecration of the Priesthood in Type and Anti-Type

There are two passages in the Old Testament which speak directlyto the rituals involved in consecrating the priests. The frst, found in

8 See our video study, Tabernacle Among Us.


Exodus 29, prescribes the ceremonial rites before they were performedand the second, found in Leviticus 8, describes the rites after they hadalready taken place. Studying both together through the lens ofInspiration is our only sure way to understand the anti-typicalsignifcance of each aspect of the ritual. We will compare the twopassages side by side, section by section, as we proceed:

Now this is what you areto do for them to consecratethem so that they may ministeras my priests. Take a youngbull and two rams withoutblemish; and bread madewithout yeast, and perfor-ated cakes without yeastmixed with oil, and waferswithout yeast spread with oil you are to make themusing fne wheat flour. Youare to put them in onebasket and present them inthe basket, along with thebull and the two rams. -Exodus 29:1-3

Then the LORD spoke toMoses: 'Take Aaron and hissons with him, and thegarments, the anointing oil,the sin offering bull, the tworams, and the basket ofunleavened bread, andassemble the whole congre-gation at the entrance of theMeeting Tent.' So Moses didjust as the LORD commandedhim, and the congregationassembled at the entrance ofthe Meeting Tent. ThenMoses said to the congre-gation: 'This is what theLORD has commanded to bedone.' - Leviticus 8:1-5

The frst important point we should take notice of is the fact thatthe purpose for the consecration ritual is so clearly stated. We are toldthat these things must be done so that they may minister as mypriests. To state it in reverse: If you want to know what you must doin order that you may minister as a priest of Yahweh (Isa. 61:6), thischapter tells you! We should praise our Heavenly Family for laying ourduty out before us so clearly.

Not only is it important for us to know the purpose for these things,but we should also know who is doing them to and for us. In the type,there was no priesthood established prior to this consecration ritualand therefore Moses, being the mediator of the old covenant,performed all the priestly functions during this consecration ceremony.The Epistle to the Hebrews uses this fact to show us how Christ, as themediator of the new covenant, is our High Priest (Heb. 9:19; 3:1-6).We should understand from this that in the setting up of the latter-day


anti-typical priesthood, Christ stands where Moses stood in the type.In addition to learning the purpose for this ritual and the parties

involved, we also learn what sacrifces and offerings were to bepresented as well as the other items necessary for performing theritual. Each of these aspects has their particular meaning in the anti-type. An important aspect which Leviticus preserves for us is theoccurrence of the assembling of the congregation before the meetingtent at the time of this ritual. Of particular interest to the readers ofthis periodical is the fact that the assembly of the congregation wasbrought about by the blowing of the silver trumpets (Num. 10:3).

You are to present Aaronand his sons at the entranceof the tent of meeting. Youare to wash them with water

and take the garments andclothe Aaron with the tunic,the robe of the ephod, theephod, and the breastpiece;you are to fasten the ephodon him by using the skillfullywoven waistband.

You are to put the turbanon his head and put the holydiadem on the turban. -Exodus 29:4-6

So Moses brought Aaronand his sons forward andwashed them with water.

Then he put the tunic on Aaron,wrapped the sash around him, andclothed him with the robe. Next heput the ephod on him and placed onhim the decorated band of theephod, and fastened the ephodclosely to him with the band. Hethen set the breastpiece on him andput the Urim and Thummim intothe breastpiece.

Finally, he set the turban on hishead and attached the gold plate, theholy diadem, to the front of theturban just as the LORD had com-manded Moses. - Leviticus 8:6-9

The frst part of the ritual to be done for each candidate for priest-hood is the washing with water. The water symbolized the Spirit ofTruth (John 7:38-39) and the cleansing by it represents the washingaway of sins. As we are told in new covenant writings:

he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have donebut on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth andthe renewing of the Holy Spirit Titus 3:59

9 See also Ps. 51:2, 7; Isa. 1:16; Jer. 4:14; and Zech. 13:1.


As we have learned in this message, this washing away of our sins isnot a fction or theory, but is a reality.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed! - John 8:36

Yes, this washing removes our sins as far away from us as the east isfrom the west (Ps. 103:12).

Aaron was then to be clothed with a new set of apparel, eachaspect of which has special signifcance.10 The scriptures do not hidethe meaning of these new garments from us:

You must make garments of holiness for your brother Aaron, forglory and for beauty. You are to speak to all who are speciallyskilled, whom I have flled with the spirit of wisdom, so that theymay make Aarons garments to sanctify him that he may minister asmy priest. - Exodus 28:2-311

Although this text is clear enough, it will be helpful for us to take alook at a yet clearer passage; namely, the third chapter of Zechariah.This passage, in a very specifc sense, is concerned with the establish-ment of the latter-day anti-typical priesthood.The historical context ofthis passage is, not coincidentally, at a time when the priesthood had tobe consecrated due to its dissolution at the destruction of the templeby the Babylonians seventy years earlier. As has been taught in theRod and Branch messages for years, the period of the restoration ofthe temple in the days of Zechariah is a type for the restoration of thechurch, in its glory in the last days.12 Adding to this the fact thatZechariah's prophecies were not fulflled in his day, nor in any daysince, it becomes apparent that if his prophecies are to be fulflled atall, they must be fulflled in these latter days. As Ellen White put it,

Zechariah's vision of Joshua and the Angel applies with peculiarforce to the experience of God's people in the closing up of thegreat day of atonement.13

10 For a more thorough analysis of the high priestly garments please see The Silver Trumpet, Vol. 1, No. 4.

11 See also Job 29:14; Ps. 132:9, 16; Isa. 61:10; Rom. 13:14; and Rev. 19:8.12 See Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, Nos. 10-11 by Victor Houteff and Revival and

Reformation by Benjamin Roden.13 Testimonies for the Church, Vo. 5, p. 472


Let us consider the prophecy then:

Next I saw Joshua the high priest standing before the angel ofYahweh, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.Yahweh said to Satan, May Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! MayYahweh, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Isnt this man likea burning stick snatched from the fre? Now Joshua was dressed ingarments of excrement14 as he stood there before the angel. Theangel spoke up to those standing all around, Remove his flthyclothes. Then he said to Joshua, I have freely forgiven youriniquity and will dress you in fne clothing. Then I spoke up, Leta clean turban be put on his head. So they put a clean turban onhis head and clothed him, while the angel of Yahweh stood nearby.- Zechariah 3:1-5

This passage is plain enough concerning the point in question andtherefore does not need any detailed explanation. We will, though,offer one statement from one of the messengers sent to the church in1888 in order to make the meaning of the garments beyond question:

Notice in the above account that the taking away of the flthygarments is the same as causing the iniquity to pass from theperson. And so we fnd that when Christ covers us with the robe ofHis own righteousness, He does not furnish a cloak for sin but takesthe sin away. And this shows that the forgiveness of sins issomething more than a mere form, something more than a mereentry in the books of record in heaven, to the effect that the sin hasbeen canceled. The forgiveness of sins is a reality; it is somethingtangible, something that vitally affects the individual. It actuallyclears him from guilt, and if he is cleared from guilt, is justifed,made righteous, he has certainly undergone a radical change. He is,indeed, another person, for he obtained this righteousness for theremission of sins, in Christ. It was obtained only by putting onChrist. But if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. 2Corinthians 5:17. And so the full and free forgiveness of sins carrieswith it that wonderful and miraculous change known as the newbirth, for a man cannot become a new creature except by a newbirth. This is the same as having a new, or a clean, heart.15

14 The Hebrew word tso'im () used here literally means excrement. This literal translation portrays all the more vividly the detestable nature of sin, not unlike the depictions given in Isaiah 64:6 and Philippians 3:8.

15 Christ and His Righteousness, p. 65 by E.J. Waggoner


The priesthood which our Heavenly Family is working to bringabout at this time is a priesthood of the Melchizedek order.16 SinceMelchizedek means King (or Queen) of Righteousness it must bethat we are to be a priesthood of righteousness working to ministerrighteousness. It is therefore necessary that every priest to minister inthis kingdom of righteousness have his sins washed away and his bodyclothed with the garments of the righteousness of Christ.

You are to take theanointing oil and pour it onhis head and anoint him. Youare to present his sons andclothe them with tunics andwrap the sashes aroundAaron and his sons and putheadbands on them, and sothe ministry of priesthoodwill belong to them by aperpetual ordinance. Thusyou are to consecrate Aaronand his sons. - Exodus 29:7-9

He then poured some ofthe anointing oil on thehead of Aaron and anointedhim to consecrate him.Moses also brought forwardAarons sons, clothed themwith tunics, wrapped sashesaround them, and wrappedheadbands on them just asthe LORD had commandedMoses. - Leviticus 8:12-13

According to these scriptures, it is after the high priest is clothedand anointed that the other priests receive their garments. Thisprovides scriptural substantiation for a well known statement by VictorHouteff:

The frst one to be given the garment is Joshua, the high priest,the highest offcial in the church. If he has not the garment, thenno one else has it either. From this we see that the genuine revivaland reformation starts at the head, not at the feet, and that beforeone is given the right to put the garment on, his iniquity is takenaway -- he repents of his sins, and the Lord blots them out.17

The lesson here to be learned from these prophetic types is that thecleansing from sin and the reception of the righteousness of Christ isfrst and of primary importance. All have sinned and fallen short ofthe glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and all have resisted the pleadings of theSpirit. It is evident that after the putting together of the bones and the

16 Read Hebrews 7.17 Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 8 p. 23


laying on of sinews, flesh, skin and the crying out of Ezekiel for theSpirit to come and breath life into the dry bones, as represented inEzekiel 37, the resurrection must begin somewhere. These propheciesshow us that at the time when the Spirit comes to resurrect the drybones, there will be someone who will stop resisting Her and will allowHer to breath new life into him. Since our Heavenly Family has norespect of one person above another, and since They would notwithhold forgiveness of sins from any who are willing to receive it,even for a moment, it is evident that the frst one to receive Their lifeis simply the frst one who let Them give it to him.

In the exodus type, it was the work of Moses to clothe Aaron allAaron had to do was allow him. In the second temple type it was thework of the angel of Yahweh to clothe Joshua and he simply had tonot resist. Here in the days of the consecration of the anti-typicalpriesthood, it is Christ who clothes this anti-typical high priest withrighteousness all he had to do was be willing. Finally, just as it wassimply willingness on the part of this anti-typical high priest whichenabled him to receive the garment change, just so it can only be thewillingness of others which will enable them to receive their newgarments. To put it another way, those who are willing will receive therighteousness of Christ and thus become priests while those who arenot willing will remain clothed in flthy garments.

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power - Psalm110:3

The Purifcation Bull

You are to present the bullat the front of the tent ofmeeting, and Aaron and hissons are to put their handson the head of the bull. Youare to kill the bull before theLORD at the entrance to thetent of meeting

and take some of theblood of the bull and put iton the horns of the altar

Then he brought near thesin offering bull and Aaronand his sons laid their handson the head of the sinoffering bull, and he slaugh-tered it.

Moses then took the bloodand put it all around on thehorns of the altar with his


with your fnger; all the restof the blood you are to pourout at the base of the altar.

You are to take all the fatthat covers the entrails, andthe lobe that is above theliver, and the two kidneysand the fat that is on them,and burn them on the altar.

But the meat of the bull,its skin, and its dung you areto burn up outside thecamp. It is the purifcationoffering. - Exodus 29:10-14

fnger and decontaminatedthe altar, and he poured outthe rest of the blood at thebase of the altar and soconsecrated it to makeatonement on it.

Then he took all the fat onthe entrails, the protrudinglobe of the liver, and the twokidneys and their fat, andMoses offered it all up insmoke on the altar,

but the rest of the bull itshide, its flesh, and its dung he completely burned upoutside the camp just as theLORD had commanded Moses.- Leviticus 8:14-17

On one hand, we are told to present [our] bodies a living sacrifce,holy, acceptable unto God (Rom. 12:1). On the other hand, we aretold that Christ was the great antitype of all their sacrifcial offerings(3SG 304). How do these two ideas correlate? The answer was giventhrough Paul:

do you not know that as many as were baptized into ChristJesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buriedwith him through baptism into death We know that our old manwas crucifed with him so that the body of sin would be destroyedso that we would no longer serve sin. For someone who has died hasbeen freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that wewill also live with him. - Romans 6:3-4, 6-8

I have been crucifed with Christ, and it is no longer I who live,but Christ lives in me - Galatians 2:20

So you see, our death to self (to sin) is really the death of Christ.He gave up all, and so must we. The thought is that we must forsake(die to) all our own ways and thoughts (Isa. 55:7). We must give up alljust as Christ gave up all. This makes it easy to understand how the


death of the animal could symbolize Christ's death, but yet, at thesame time, our death. So, in reality, the sacrifce described hererepresents the person, or persons, as they make the death of Christtheir own.

Dying to self is being freed from sin (Rom. 6:7). Therefore, the frstsacrifce is the purifcation offering, for it symbolizes the purifcationfrom sin, as we shall see.

Aaron and his sons were to place their hands on the bull signifyingit as their representative. The bull was then slain and some of its bloodwas put on the horns of the altar as a symbol of the giving of the livesof the soon-to-be priests to our Heavenly Family.18 The rest of theblood was poured out at the base of the altar signifying the emptyingout of self of each priestly candidate as they take on the character ofChrist who also emptied himself of self (Phil. 2:7). To the life whichhas now been utterly drained from them it can now rightfully be said,for dust thou art, and unto dust hast thou returned (Gen. 3:19).

The entirety of the sacrifce was not acceptable to Yahweh, andtherefore it could not all be offered. The parts which could be offeredeach have their own meaning, as is also true of the parts which couldnot be offered. The portions which could be offered up were the partsresponsible for digestion and blood purifcation, as well as the fatcovering them.

The ancient Hebrew people, in harmony with the other peopleswho formed their broader social context, viewed the entrails, orinnards, as the seat of thoughts and desires in a similar way to how wemoderns view the brain as the seat of thoughts. The entrails thenrepresent the inner man the identity that makes a person who theyare. To put it another way, it is the framework of the mind unique tothe individual which makes them capable of processing information,or, in the language of the type, digesting food.19 We are told inJeremiah,

I will put my law in their 'inward parts' (lit. entrails) -Jeremiah 31:3320

18 This is so because the four horns represent the four members of the Godhead. See The Four Horns of the Altars of the Sanctuary by Doug Mitchell.

19 We state things in this way because food is often used as a symbol for truth in the scriptures; for example Ps. 119:103; Jer. 15:16; Eze. 3:3; Rev. 10:10.

20 Ps. 5:9; 51:12; 64:7; Prov. 14:33; 26:24 are among other examples.


The liver and the kidneys, as part of the entrails, were ancientlyviewed in a similar manner. The word for liver, kavad (), also meansheavy. This is understandable since, comparatively speaking, theliver is the heaviest of the organs. It was thus viewed as the seat ofemotions.

So my heart (lit. liver) rejoices and I am happy - Psalm 16:921

Of the kidneys we are told,

Praise Yahweh who counsels me; yes, during the night my kidneysinstruct me. - Psalm 16:922

Therefore, since the reasoning capabilities are that which are ableto instruct, admonish, teach, and correct, it is they which are repre-sented by the kidneys, that which was anciently viewed as the seat ofreason.

Notice that it was the fat of the entrails which was to be taken, notthe entrails themselves. Likewise, it was the lobe of the liver (a fattymass at its opening)23 which was to be offered. The kidneys, however,were an exception, not only was the fat on them to be offered, but alsothe kidneys themselves. Fat is commonly used to represent the bestportion of a thing (Num. 18:12, 29, 30, 32; Ps. 81:16; 147:14)24 andtherefore shows that it is only the best of the inner man, and the bestof the emotions, which can be offered up as an acceptable sacrifce.The reasoning capabilities though, being so vital in the making ofdecisions are to be offered flesh and fat, upon the altar of sacrifce. Itmust be remembered that even though these parts of the animal wereable to be offered on the altar, it does not show their anti-typicalcounterparts have any merits in themselves. To those who place anymerit upon these things, Christ says,

21 See also Ps. 30:12; 108:1.22 See also Ps. 7:10; 26:2.23 Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains, 3866 yoteret (): liver lobe24 Most translations do not render the term chelev () as fat in these verses in an

attempt to better translate the meaning of the phrases rather than give a grammatically literal word-for-word translation. Psalm 147:14 will serve as a ftting example. The KJV renders it, He maketh peace in thy border, and flleth thee with the fnest of the wheat. The last phrase, more mechanically translated, would read, the fat of the wheat. This principle applies to all the above referred to passages.


You are fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altarwhich sanctifes the gift? - Matthew 23:19

Furthermore, the offering up of these parts of the body as asacrifce consisted in consuming them with fre, showing that thesefaculties must be utterly consumed by the Spirit and thus purifed.

The rest of the bull its flesh, skin, and dung, were to be burnedoutside the camp. There are only two places where sacrifces could beburned; one was the altar of burnt offering, and the other wasoutside the camp. Understanding the meaning of one will mostcertainly help us understand the meaning of the other. The followingis perhaps the clearest demonstration of the meaning of the altar:

Moses came and told thepeople all the LORDs wordsand all the decisions.

All the people answeredtogether, We are willing to doall the words that the LORD hassaid, and Moses wrote downall the words of the LORD.

He sent young Israelitemen, and they offered burntofferings and sacrifced youngbulls for peace offerings to theLORD.

Moses took half of the bloodand put it in bowls, and half ofthe blood he splashed on thealtar. - Exodus 24:3-6

He took the Book of theCovenant and read it aloudto the people,

and they said, We arewilling to do and obey allthat the LORD has spoken.

So Moses took the blood andsplashed it on the peopleand said, This is the bloodof the covenant that theLORD has made with you inaccordance with all thesewords. - Exodus 24:7-8

That the above description of the ratifcation of the Sinai covenantrepeats itself is obvious. To display the parallels visually though, weoffer this simple table.

1. Moses tells the words of thecovenant to Israel2. The people say they will obey3. Moses splashes blood on thealtar

4. Moses reads the Book of theCovenant to Israelites5. The people say they will obey6. Moses splashes blood on thepeople


The matter becomes all the more plain when we include theportion of the above quoted passage which we omitted earlier:

Early in the morning he built an altar at the foot of themountain and arranged twelve standing stones according to thetwelve tribes of Israel. - Exodus 24:4

From the above parallel, as well as from the construction of thealtar, we are left with the plain truth that the altar represents thenation of Israel. Outside the camp must then represent somethingoutside of Israel. Outside the camp is the place where lepers were tolive (Lev. 13:46), where the unclean must go (Deut. 23:10), wherehuman waste was to be disposed of (Deut. 23:12), and where thebodies of Nadab and Abihu were taken after their death (Lev. 10:4-5).Those who either had defled or would defle Israel had to be removedfrom her and thus be outside the camp. The writer of Hebrews picksup on this to demonstrate yet more clearly its meaning:

For the bodies of those animals whose blood the high priestbrings into the sanctuary as an offering for sin are burned outsidethe camp. Therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, Jesusalso suffered outside the camp. We must go out to him, then,outside the camp, bearing his abuse. - Hebrews 13:11-13

Jesus, being cast out and left in the hands of sinners, sufferedoutside the camp. For us to go outside the camp is for us to go outsideof Israel the people whose lord is Yahweh, and dwell in the territoryof the Gentiles, under the rulership of the wicked gods. Paul uses thissame principle to teach the truth of justifcation by faith by saying,

We who are Jews by nature, and not lawless Gentiles, knowingthat a man is not justifed by works of law, but by the faith of JesusChrist, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might bejustifed by the faith of Christ, and not by works of law; for byworks of law shall no flesh be justifed. - Galatians 2:15-16

The thought here is that Jews, unlike the other nations, have thedivine laws, and yet even they could not be justifed by these laws, butinstead had to be justifed by faith in Christ just as the Gentiles. Theground of the Gentiles is the ground without any law by which one


can be justifed, and so, in order to be saved, one must enter onto theground of the Gentiles and grasp a hold of the faith of Christ. Thissame truth was declared by Peter when reporting and defending theconversion of the Gentiles before the church at Jerusalem when hesaid, we [Jews] shall be saved, even as they [Gentiles] (Acts 15:11).25

The truth is that one must see himself as a Gentile a servant ofthe wicked gods and not of Yahweh, in order to even see their need tograsp ahold of the promises and receive justifcation by faith.

In sum, anything taken outside the camp was considered to beapart from Israel and instead, upon Gentile ground in the dominionof the wicked gods. The parts of the purifcation bull which were to beburned outside the camp then, represent the parts of an individualwhich cannot be purifed, but rather must be cut off, returned to theplace of their origin, and destroyed.

The specific parts mentioned which were required to be broughtoutside the camp and burned were the flesh, the skin, and the dung.The flesh represents the body of sin or rather, the body which isactuated by the mind of sin; in other words, the sinful desires (Rom.6:6; 7:5; 8:4-9, 12-13). The skin represents self-righteousness,26 and thedung represents the product or fruit of the carnal mind, which is sinand death.27

To put it all together, the offering of the purifcation bull representsthe cleansing from sin of the priestly candidate. It represents thepurifcation of the individual from sin along with the destruction ofthe body of sin, the ridding of their own righteousness, the forsakingof their own thoughts, and the death of the old man.

The Burnt Offering Ram

You are to take one ram,and Aaron and his sons areto lay their hands on the

Then he presented theburnt offering ram andAaron and his sons laid their

25 This same truth was explained by A.T. Jones in The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Oct. 3, 1899.

26 See Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 8, p. 18 where Victor Houteff explains concerning the Laodicean angel, ... his being naked, not having on any clothes, denotes that he has no righteousness save his own the righteousness with which he was born his bare skin.

27 See Shepherd's Rod, Pocket Edition, p. 80 and Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 39, p. 16 where dung baked bread is explained to be private interpretation a product of the carnal mind.


rams head, and you are tokill the ram and take itsblood and splash it allaround on the altar.

Then you are to cut theram into pieces and washthe entrails and its legs andput them on its pieces andon its head

and burn the whole ramon the altar. It is a burntoffering to the LORD, asoothing aroma; it is anoffering made by fre to theLORD. - Exodus 29:15-18

hands on the head of theram, and he slaughtered it.Moses then splashed theblood against the altarssides.

Then he cut the ram intoparts, and Moses offered thehead, the parts, and thesuet28 up in smoke, but theentrails and the legs hewashed with water,

and Moses offered thewhole ram up in smoke onthe altar it was a burntoffering for a soothingaroma, a gift to the LORD,just as the LORD had com-manded Moses. - Leviticus8:18-21

By placing their hands on the ram, the soon-to-be priests wereindicating that they were now to be represented by a new animal.Anti-typically, after having one's sins taken away and the body of sindestroyed, one becomes a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). This newcreature is less lofty than the frst, showing that a humbling had takenplace. Though humbled, this new creature would be whollyacceptable, unlike the previous offering.

The blood of this ram represents the life which flows through theveins of the newly reborn child of our Heavenly Family. That life,being the life of Christ can be and must be spread to the whole houseof Israel as represented by splashing it against the sides of the altar.

The ram was to be cut in pieces to show the everlasting and irre-versible nature of the covenant.

I will punish those people who have violated their covenant withme. I will make them like the calf they cut in two and passedbetween its pieces. - Jeremiah 34:18

28 the hard, fatty tissues found around the kidneys of sheep and cattle. - The NET Bible, study note for Lev. 1:8


This is teaching the same truth as we fnd in the New Testamentthat,

it is impossible in the case of those who have once beenenlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the HolySpirit, tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the comingage, and then have fallen away, to renew them again to repentance,since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all overagain and holding him up to contempt. - Hebrews 6:4-6

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of thetruth, there remains no more sacrifce for sins, but only a certainfearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fre that will consumethe adversaries. Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put todeath without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.How much greater punishment do you suppose a person deserveswho tramples underfoot the Son of God, and who counts the bloodof the covenant by which he was made holy, to be an unholy thing,and insults the Spirit of grace? - Hebrews 10:26-29

If, after letting the old man die and the new man (Christ in you,the hope of glory) live, one puts the new man to death, what life hashe left? - None. The new man must now live the life of Christ, whichis according to the Spirit. The washing of the entrails and the legsdemonstrates that the digestion of truth and the walking in it will be,from that point on, only according to the Spirit. Thus, this newcreature would be wholly acceptable and even a soothing aroma toour Heavenly Family.

These frst two sacrifces are symbolical of the experiences ofjustifcation and sanctifcation which each priestly candidate mustundergo as prerequisites to his (or her) becoming a priest in ourHeavenly Family's kingdom. There is yet another sacrifce which wasgiven as an ordination offering for the priests. This was followed by aperiod of seven days in which the priests were to remain in the courtof the tabernacle. The space remaining in this issue of The SilverTrumpet does not permit us to expound upon these aspects, especiallysince any writing about the ram of ordination has potential to bequite lengthy. Moreover, Wisdom has not yet revealed all of theremaining symbols of the ritual. The light coming up to this point,and not extending beyond it at this time, is designed to emphasize tous the need to understand and live the light already given, and surely if


we do this, the rest will come quickly.

This then is the message we have heard from him and declare toyou: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we saywe have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie andare not living according to the truth. But if we walk in the light ashe himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, andthe blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. - 1 John 1:5-7

Land Search Updateby Teresa Wilde

Such exciting times we live in! I am happy to report that ourheavenly Family has been showing us some wonderful things inrelation to land and freedom, and confrming Their providence inbringing us to Ontario. As we've been looking for property, wediscovered that Ontario has a fairly large amount of unorganizedtownships just a few hours north of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).These unorganized townships provide the freedom we are looking forin regard to building and zoning laws. The fact is that there aren't any!In many of the organized townships, you are only allowed to have onedwelling house and there are major restrictions regarding otheraccessory buildings you may, or may not, erect. Prior to any building,you would need a permit. Not so, in an unorganized township. Thereare no restrictions regarding the type of structure or number ofdwelling houses that may be erected on the property. Nor are thererestrictions as to the type of business that can be done. Many peopleview these unorganized townships as reminiscent of the days whenpeople were fleeing to the Americas in search of freedom. It hasbecome apparent that we will likely need to locate in an unorganizedtownship in order to best serve our heavenly Family, as well as thosewho follow Them.

We are now in the North Bay area and are driving through theunorganized townships, stopping from time to time to talk to peoplewho live here and give them our information in case they know of anyland for sale that meets the needs of the Branch Association. We alsohave a realtor looking for us and we will be contacting more realtors in


the area to see if they have any listings that are suitable.Thank you all for your prayers! Even if it takes until next spring to

fnd the right property, we know that our heavenly Family will provideexactly what is needed, when it is needed, in order to carry on the workin an orderly and effcient way.

Questions and Answers

IS THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD DONE AWAY?

Question No. 5:You have said on a number of occasions that the Levitical

priesthood is done away with and that we are to now be priestsaccording to the Melchizedek order, but Ezekiel prophecies the workof the Levitical priesthood going on even in the future. Could it bethat it was just the high priesthood that was changed? Please explain.Answer:

To clear the seeming discrepancy, we will start with quoting apassage from Hebrews:

So if perfection had in fact been possible through the Leviticalpriesthood for on that basis the people received the law whatfurther need would there have been for another priest to arise, saidto be in the order of Melchizedek and not in Aarons order? Forwhen the priesthood changes, a change in the law must come as well.Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to a differenttribe, and no one from that tribe has ever offciated at the altar. Forit is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses saidnothing about priests in connection with that tribe. And this is evenclearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, whohas become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descentbut by the power of an indestructible life. For here is the testimonyabout him: You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. On theone hand a former command is set aside because it is weak anduseless, for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand abetter hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. -Hebrews 7:11-19


Here, the writer of Hebrews distinguishes between the idea ofpriesthood () and the idea of order (). One will noticethat in verse 12 the change is not in the order () but rather in thepriesthood (). Since the frst priesthood mentioned was theLevitical and since it is said to be imperfect yes, even weak anduseless for bringing about perfection, then it is evident that it is the lawin relation to this priesthood that was set aside. Moreover, thecontinuity of thought flowing from verses 12-14 makes it clear that thepriesthood which was changed is the Levitical since the contrast isbetween that tribe and a different tribe. Two more passages fromHebrews will leave the position of its author beyond question:

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We have such ahigh priest, one who sat down at the right hand of the throne ofthe Majesty in heaven, a minister in the sanctuary and the truetabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up. For every high priest isappointed to offer both gifts and sacrifces. So this one too had tohave something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not bea priest, since there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribedby the law. The place where they serve is a sketch and shadow ofthe heavenly sanctuary, just as Moses was warned by God as he wasabout to complete the tabernacle. For he says, See that you makeeverything according to the design shown to you on the mountain.But now Jesus has obtained a superior ministry, since the covenantthat he mediates is also better and is enacted on better promises.

For if that frst covenant had been faultless, no one would havelooked for a second one. But showing its fault, God says to them,

Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will completea new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house ofJudah.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, onthe day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regardfor them, says the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house ofIsrael after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in theirminds and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be theirGod and they will be my people.

And there will be no need at all for each one to teach hiscountryman or each one to teach his brother saying, Know theLord, since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.

For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will


remember no longer. When he says, new, he makes the frst obsolete. Now what is

growing obsolete and aging is about to disappear. - Hebrews 8:1-13 Here, Jesus' priesthood is explicitly stated to be a heavenly

priesthood, one which differs from the earthly priesthood which, as itis stated, was still then in operation (vs. 4-5). The priesthood whichserved during that time was doubtless the Levitical priesthood, whoserved according to the frst covenant, the one from Sinai.

Now the frst covenant, in fact, had regulations for worship andits earthly sanctuary. - Hebrews 9:1

The record left us in the Pentateuch establishes defnitely that thepriesthood which was established under the frst covenant was theLevitical priesthood. The author of Hebrews defnitely teaches that thispriesthood and the services which they performed had fault (Heb. 8:7-8) and that the new covenant makes the frst obsolete. Within thiscontext the writer of Hebrews correctly prophecies that the old systemwould soon disappear, as it did in 70 AD.

Later, in the tenth chapter, he contrasts the earthly sanctuarysystem and its sacrifces with the heavenly sanctuary system and itssacrifces and states, He abolishes the frst to establish the second(Heb. 10:9).

The position of the writer of Hebrews now being made plain, wehave no choice but to accept it if indeed it did come by inspiration.That said, this same principles must also hold true for Ezekiel; namely,if it came by inspiration, we must accept its truth. We must also allowEzekiel to defne its own terms. First to be noted is the fact that Ezekiel,while speaking in the language of the type, conveys many thoughtsthat either make no sense in the type, or flatly contradict it. It isbecause of these known facts that Ezekiel was nearly left out of therabbinical canon.29

The truth is, either Ezekiel is a nonsensical conglomeration of

29 The history of this is partially preserved for us in the writings of the rabbis. For example, Rav Judah in Rav's name said, 'Verily that man, Hananiah ben Hezekiah is his name, is to be remembered for blessing for, but for him, the book of Ezekiel would have been hidden, for its words contradict the Torah. What did he do? Three hundred barrels of oil were taken up to him, and he sat in an upper chamber and reconciled them. - b. Shabb. 13b


bizarre visions which have no play in reality, and is thus uninspired, orEzekiel is inspired and we have simply failed to understand its meaning.Our studies on Ezekiel 5 and Ezekiel 16 provide ample evidencedemonstrating that Ezekiel's prophecies are for the last days and thatthe fgures spoken of in his prophecies, although given the titles ofancient fgures, can only be the latter-day fgures to which the typespointed.

The prophecy of Ezekiel's temple shares the language of the rest ofhis book in that it prophesies future events in the language of the type.It is true that when speaking of the latter-day anti-typical priesthood,Ezekiel describes the sacrifces as animal sacrifces and the priests asLevites. To be more precise however, the priests are explicitly stated tobe Zadokite priests (Eze. 40:46; 43:19; 44:15; 48:11). A careful exam-ination of the priestly services described in these chapters will revealthat these latter-day priests will be keeping the ceremonial law in amanner very different from regulations for the Levitical priesthood asoutlined in Leviticus. If these eschatological Zadokite priests are tosimply be Levitical priests under levitical law, they will evidently becorrupting the ceremonies and thus profaning the temple. Thisthough, according to Ezekiel, could not be the case since it is stated thatwhen this temple is established, it will not be polluted (Eze. 43:7).

If these Zadokite priests are not corrupting the temple service, theymust be operating according to some regulations other than thatdescribed in Leviticus, and thus are serving according to a 'changedlaw' (Heb. 7:12). Since it was the same Spirit which inspired bothEzekiel and Hebrews and since they both describe a new priesthood30

with new priestly regulations, it stands to reason that they are bothdescribing the same thing. This becomes yet clearer when we considerthat the reason for the new priesthood as described in Hebrews is tominister righteousness. The old priesthood could not actually providefreedom from sin, therefore this new priesthood would be establishedin order to accomplish this purpose. Since righteousness is freedomfrom sin, then this would be a priesthood of righteousness. The nameMelchizedek literally means King (or Queen) of righteousness. It isnot coincidental, that the priests of Ezekiel are said to be the sons ofZadok - literally, sons of righteousness.31

30 In Ezekiel, the priesthood is strictly Zadokite, which is a stipulation not found in levitical law.

31 There is no difference between Zedek and Zadok in ancient Hebrew.


To state this truth in yet clearer terms the sons of Zadok ofEzekiel's temple are typological for the priesthood of righteousness,which is the priesthood which serves under the order of Melchizedek.This is established when reading the broader context of the templepassages in Ezekiel, for they describe the making of a new covenant(Eze. 36:26-27) which is one and the same with that described inHebrews. This new covenant is then described as the Davidic covenant(Eze. 37:24-28) which includes the rulership of the twelve tribes by anantitypical Davidic fgure. It is evident that the Zadokite priesthood(the priesthood of righteousness) is the priesthood of the new covenant(the covenant of David), as the Levitical priesthood was the priesthoodof the old covenant.32

CAN YOU PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF EZEKIEL 16?

Question No. 6:Your online video presentations of Ezekiel 16 are too lengthy for

me to view at the present time. Would you be able to provide me witha summary of their contents?Answer:

It would be our pleasure. First, Ezekiel 16 presents seven majorfgures: (1) God, (2) Jerusalem the Mother, (3) The lovers of Jerusalemthe Mother, (4) Samaria, (5) Sodom, (6) Jerusalem the Daughter, and(7) the respective daughters of Samaria, Sodom, and Jerusalem theDaughter.

Upon examining the chapter, it quickly becomes apparent thatJerusalem the Mother represents the nation of Israel from the time ofAbraham (vs. 3) up till the fnal punishment of the Jews (vs. 35-43)which is still yet future.

The 44th verse marks a transition of focus from Jerusalem theMother to Jerusalem the Daughter. Samaria and Sodom are alsointroduced at this point as sisters to Jerusalem the Daughter. Uponinvestigation, the Spirit-led disciple will discover that these titles mustrefer to some entities other than the ancient fgures known by thosesame names. A few reasons for this being the case are as follows:

32 The connection of the Zadokite priesthood of chapters 40-48 with the antitypical David of chapter 37 and the new covenant of chapter 36 is legitimated not only from the context of the chapters themselves, but also from the fact that Zadok was the high priest during the reign of David of old.


1. The ten-tribe kingdom, the capital of which was Samaria, wasalready long since scattered at the time Ezekiel wrote and it wouldhave therefore been either meaningless or too late for him to bewriting concerning them.

2. The historical Samaria was not older than Jerusalem as is thecase with this Samaria (vs. 46).

3. Sodom was already long since destroyed when Ezekiel wrotethis prophecy, and yet he prophesied that certain things would happento Sodom future from his own time.

4. The historical Sodom was not younger than Jerusalem as isthe case with this Sodom (vs. 46).

5. The historical Jerusalem is not descended from the Amoritesand Hittites as is this Jerusalem (vs. 3).

In the video presentations mentioned by the questioner, we showthat the fgures and events in relation to Samaria, Sodom, andJerusalem the Daughter all transpire in these last days. We also sharestrong scriptural evidence which identifes these three sisters as,

1. Samaria The Seventh-day Adventist Church2. Sodom The Davidian SDA Church3. Jerusalem the Daughter The Branch Davidian SDA Church

The SDA church took on the title Samaria due to apostatizingfrom the true faith as did the Samaria of old, among other reasons.The Davidian SDA movement, though it possesses advanced truthfrom that of the SDA, has committed greater abominations than they,which are dealt with in Ezekiel 16. The Branch movement, it isdeclared, has done worse than both of her two sisters.

We recommend every studious reader to prayerfully analyze bothour video presentations on the chapter and our study Ezekiel 16 ThreeSisters and Their Mother by Doug Mitchell in order to make yourselvesacquainted with the reasons for understanding this chapter as we do.

This chapter, though one of the most woeful of all holy writ, endswith a splendor far surpassing its misery. The scriptures reveal that ourHeavenly Family chooses the foolish things of the world to confoundthe wise (1 Cor. 1:27). So, They will take Jerusalem the Daughter, andwith her make an everlasting covenant. In the video presentations onthis chapter, it is shown that this everlasting covenant is comprised of


(1) a new heart, (2) Yahweh being our Elohim, (3) the restoration tothe land of Canaan, (4) the restoration of the house of David underthe antitypical David, and (5) life forevermore.

WHAT DOES 'GOD IS SPIRIT' MEAN?

Question No. 7:John 4:24 says that God is spirit, but you teach that all the

members of the Godhead are physical. How do you deal with thepassage in John?Answer:

The answer to your question can be found by reading our articleDivine Plurality, Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 19-42.

A Personal Testimony

SEARCHING FOR TRUTH TO BE SET FREE

I have been searching for the truth since my earliest memories inthe Catholic church. I received a Catholic education, and canremember being so confused by it. I was taught both evolution, andthe story of Adam and Eve. I can remember, as a child, staring at thestained glass window depicting the crucifxion behind the altar of mychurch. We would recite the "Mystery of Faith" as a congregation:"Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again." I wonderedwhy He was coming again, since most of the earths population hadalready died and was in their assigned places...being heaven, hell orpurgatory! Was He going to leave them up there? Why would He needto come back if we were already with Him upon death?

At nineteen, I became a born again Christian. I was still intenton learning everything I could about the return of Christ, thanks tothat Mystery of Faith still in the back of my head. I rejected the pre-tribulation dispensational teachings of Left Behind fame. It was inclear conflict with the plain teaching of scripture on the topic. I couldnot, on my own, make heads or tails of the book of Revelationhowever! I just knew what was not true! I found the seventh-daySabbath in my late twenties, but gave up on it after only a month of


trying to keep it. I fgured the whole Christian world could not bewrong!

I was also disturbed by the doctrine of eternal torment. It kept meawake many nights! I was obviously very uneasy about the necessaryaccompanying doctrine of cheap grace. The scriptures seemed tome to say two different things. I was again very frustrated and confused.

In 2009 the scripture, You shall know the truth and the truth shallset you free, John 8:32, was continually brought to my mind. Ipondered frequently on why this was happening. What didnt I know?Jesus was the truth, the Word was truth, and there was a Spirit ofTruth. I guessed that I really didnt know who they were. Even moreprofound to me were the implications of this scripturethat simplyknowing this truth would make me free indeed.

Then came the day a friend visited a bible study I held weekly inmy home. She brought a video about the secret societies by a mannamed Walter Veith. The video opened with the above scripture fromJohns gospel. My heart started to pound because I knew beyond adoubt that this was what the Lord wanted me to know. This man knewthe truth! We did not know he was a Seventh Day Adventist. None ofus in the room were SDA, or knew anything about them. Everyonebailed when they found out about his denomination, but I washooked. I became a Seventh Day Adventist just over a year later.

I thought that it would be in keeping the Sabbath that I would beset free. Psalm 119 says that Thy commandments are truth, so Iassumed that was the missing truth. I believed that by doing this onething, NOTHING, I would be freed from sin by resting in Christ. TheSabbath, I believed, would empower me to keep the rest of thecommandments.

Then I began teaching Sabbath school. The lessons drew me intodeeper studies on the subjects presented. I quickly found the Rodmessage, although it took me awhile to realize that the web sites I wassearching were not mainstream SDA. I gave a few Rod messages incomplete ignorance to this fact. Everyone was on the edge of theirseats as we went through the visions of Zechariah Davidian style.Sometimes ignorance is bliss!

Not long after that, I held a bible study on the Tabernacle in myhome with some non SDA friends. One friend wanted to know whatthe four horns on the altar symbolized. She was very persistent andunsatisfed with my answers. I did more searching, and of course


landed on a Branch Davidian site. For whatever reason, I startedreading the article without noticing the large Branch Davidian headerat the top! The contents blew me away! It made so much sense, butthis time I knew this was not mainstream! I scrolled to the top of thepage to fnd the shocking logo.

I began to research David Koresh and the Waco event. He didntseem very Christian to me, but the fact that the United Statesgovernment and military took such an interest in destroying thesepeople made me curious as to what they knew. I found out about LoisRoden, and searched everywhere for her booksAmazon, Ebay, butall I could fnd was a book about the Branch Davidians, which myhusband bought for me. It was flled with basic facts and biographiesof the characters in the saga, and put forward a dismissive analysis ofthe sect.

This made me very sad, because in the midst of all of this, Irealized that I was still not free. Paul was right, righteousness does notcome by keeping the law. Like I could even keep it anyway! Keepingthe Sabbath was not the key to sinlessness I had hoped for. SeventhDay Adventists were no better than Evangelical Protestants, whichwere no better than Catholics, which were no better than atheists. Iwas hoping that the Branch Davidians knew the truth, but that didntlook very promising.

As I continued in my Sabbath school lessons, I became morefrustrated with their teachings on grace and the law, which come upvery frequently by the way. The lessons put forth an amalgamationsalvation by grace and the law. You are saved by grace, completely, butyou should keep the law because you are saved, but you actually betterkeep it, or you will be just like the Babylonians, and you had betterworship on Saturday and not Sunday, or you are going to receive theMark of the Beast and be cast into the Lake of Fire, but thank Godfor His grace. The SDAs believe there is some kind of acceptableamount of sin covered by grace, but if you cross that invisible line, youwill be lost. This is actually what Evangelical Protestants believe too.You just try your hardest to keep the commandments and grace takescare of the rest. Once again, I was so very confused. They arecompletely opposed to each other. You are either saved by grace, orsaved by the law. There can be no in between!

My pastor tried to help me with my conundrum to no avail. I toldhim that I knew one thing about God, that one day He would reveal


salvation to me, and until then, I would not understand it. In the mean time, couldnt give up on Lois Roden. I fnally resorted

to YouTube and found a woman who was reading one of her books!This gave me hope! And there was this guy on the same channelcalled Latest News for Mother. Just like when I frst listened toWalter Veith, I knew they knew something! I saw a video called ASinless Life! and watched it a few times! Yes, this is exciting, thisrighteousness by faith! I realize now that I hadnt really known thetruth very much at all! I didnt know Jesus, The Father, and defnitelynot the Mother and Daughter. I still barely know them, but it is a startin the right direction! I am no more righteous today than I was as aCatholic, but my knowledge of the truth has grown. I could not be setfree until I knew the truth, because then I would have never knownwho they were. Is it even possible to be set free without knowing them?I dont know. I will say that I dont know anyone who says they are free.

I have found this message to be so compelling for everyoneIveshared this with atheists, evangelicals and SDAs. Almost everyone is atleast interested, because they know deep down they have a disconnectwith righteousness, and therefore a disconnect with our HeavenlyFamily. I am inviting people over every Sabbath at 4 p.m. to listen toBranch topics, which are seemingly endless! There have been differentpeople attending every Sabbath, but I hope a consistent group willform. Ellen White said, the truth can stand to be tested. Praise Godfor that!

The Spirit of Truth is being given to us to guide us into all truth.The fact that she is described as a guide tells me two things. First, thatwe dont know where we are to go, and second, that we need someoneto take us there! I noticed in scripture that the word leader is barelyused in comparison to the word follower! I couldnt fnd one placewhere we are told to lead anyone anywhere! The law leads someone toChrist, not I! Paul was a follower; he said follow me as I followChrist! Jesus was a follower; He only did what He saw His fatherdoing. Those we think of as leaders: Abraham, Moses, David, wereactually the worlds greatest followers! They followed the Shekinah,and it is no different for us! (Please excuse my poor Branch lingo).

Blessings to you all! Ed and I have really enjoyed listening to andlearning from each of you!

Mary ZebrowskiMI, USA


Health Principlesby Trent Wilde

Fashion is deteriorating the intellect and eating out thespirituality of our people. Obedience to fashion is pervading ourSeventh-day Adventist churches and is doing more than any otherpower to separate our people from God.33

Just one of the ways in which fashion is separating people fromGod is by destroying health. True health reform is strictly principlebased. Every believer in present truth must make it a priority to learnand abide by these principles. Two principles which lie at thefoundation of dress reform are health and modesty. The approach todress which is so common today needs to change, and this changemust begin with those professing to be candidates for the wave-sheaf.

What shall be the motivating factors behind our decisions in dress?Should it be appearance or influence or sensuality? - Decidedly No!When we dress in such a way as to ft a particular style or to portrayourselves in a certain way in order either to impress others or feelgood about ourselves, we do a great disservice to more minds than werealize. We must become accustomed to choosing our clothes withreference to health, modesty, and economy.

Much has been written upon these subjects and the instructiongiven must be obeyed. We are being watched by more than this world,and it should matter to us to dress in a way which glorifes ourHeavenly Family. If you must look homeless as did our dear Brotherwhen he walked through the streets of Judea in order to live up to thestandards of dress reform, then let it be an honor to so mirror ourMessiah. Let your costly attire be the white robes of the righteousnessof Christ.

Notices

1Our weekly and festal meetings will, at least for now, no longer be



held on Webex, but rather will be hosted using a service known asFreeConferenceCall. Here are the call-in numbers:

Australia: +61 (0) 3 8672 0180Canada: (605) 562-3107Kenya: +254 (0) 20 5231002United States: (605) 562-3130

The access code for all countries is 93775334

The times for the meetings this weekend will be:Friday Night 8:00 (EST)Saturday Night 8:00 (EST)

Note: When using Webex, the weekly meeting invitationslisted the starting time according to the Pacifc Time Zone. From nowon we will be listing the meeting times according to the EasternStandard Time Zone.

In order to avoid unnecessary background noises, which can bediffcult to edit out of the recordings, we request that all participantskeep themselves on mute except when speaking. You can mute orunmute yourself by hitting *6. Also, if at any point during a meetingyou receive another call on the same phone, please end the meetingcall and then call back when you have fnished the other conversation.When a participant has the meeting on hold, there is a beep whichoccurs every few seconds which would disturb the meeting anddramatically reduce the quality of the recording.

2With each issue of The Silver Trumpet we hope to include

contributions from those investigating and examining present truth.These contributions may be testimonies of how the message hasimpacted you, reports of how the work is going in your area, or storiesof trials you have undergone on account of the message. It could behealth tips, recipes, poems, articles, etc. Whatever it may be, pleasesend it in that it may be published and thus become anencouragement to others.

34 See the most recent issue of The Silver Trumpet for up-to-date information.


OVERCOMING SIN

How fercely does the conflict rage within,While striving to subdue some cherished sin;What shall be done? The idol is most dear,And often is the victim vanquished here.

Though trivial it may seem, sins poisonous dartWill sting the conscience and will wound the heart,

Destroy the peace and condemnation bring,And drive us from the shelter of His wing.

In view of this, who dare a sin commit?Our cherished idols we must all submit;

As one small leak the largest ship will sink,So one dear sin, will lead to ruins brink.

While love for sin in any form remains,Though not committed, we are still in chains;

Sins must be broken off by righteousness,And then will God deliver, own and bless.

No condemnation then all peace within,Untrammeled freedom from the love of sin;

Oh! blessed freedom! nought can then controlThe heavenward flight and rapture of the soul.

Unknown

the silver trumpet, vol. 1, no. 3

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