God has always had a people whom He looks upon as the apple of His eye. In the very beginning, during the creation week, He made in His own image a man who bore His characteristics, and also He made a help meet (suitable) for him; God’s plan was that from them would come a multitude of people who would be an extension of His family, to love and serve Him and who would reverence and obey Him. But, from the study of His word, we learn that that plan was altered by a great deceiver, and disaster was the result. Now what would happen?

It was to Abraham that God had made the promise that from his seed a great nation would be raised up, a nation with whom He would make a covenant, or an agreement. This covenant contained three points. The first was of God’s promises (Galatians 3:16, 17); the second was His conditions or their obedience to His will (Deuteronomy 4:13); the third was that there would be a means with which to meet the conditions (Isaiah 42:1, 6). This nation would remain the chosen of God as long as they honored the covenant that He had made with them.

Later in their history God raised up the man Moses, who would be used to lead His chosen ones out of the bondage of Egypt in which they found themselves. They had come under this bondage because of their failure to honor the agreement that had been made with God. They also had joined themselves with the heathen idolaters and failed to honor the law of God.

As they grew weary of their affliction of slavery, many welcomed the help which would be sent to them, that of freedom from their plight. Because they were still God’s chosen people, He desired to set them free and deliver them to a better land where they might be free to serve Him and obey His precepts. While they were in slavery, they had lost sight of the requirements of God and were not living in obedience to Him. It was while they were in the midst of their affliction and could not help themselves that God set forth a plan by which they could overcome the obstacles before them.

How did the events work out in the history of ancient Israel, and what can we learn from them in our lives today? Do we find ourselves in a similar situation? And what will take place in the future? Where does the message of hope fit in for us?

The same enemy, the deceiver of souls, who brought disruption into the lives of the inhabitants of the Garden of Eden, has been and still is at work. In all ages he has sought to falsely accuse those who are the seekers of the mercy and favor of God. But, in Genesis 3:15, the promise is found that some day he will receive his just reward.

As the nation of Israel wandered across the desert wilderness after having been rescued from Egypt, that same deceiver went with them and brought constant disruption into their lives. They murmured and complained to Moses about almost everything, and at one point some of them voiced that they wanted to return to Egypt where they could have the food and other things that they desired. If they had remained faithful to the God who was leading them, they would have reached the promised land in a shorter period of time than the forty years which it took. Because of their many complaints and their failure to remain, once again, obedient to the covenant which God had made with them, the majority of them died along the way. It was their children who finally entered the land of promise.

These children who were able to occupy the land of promise did not all remain faithful to the God who was still wanting to lead them. As they failed to honor and obey Him, they lost many battles and experienced captivity again at the hand of their enemies. The temple which had been built was destroyed along with the city of Jerusalem.

Again and again God gave His people warnings and reproofs through the prophets; so great was His desire to save them and bring prosperity to them, that He wanted them to remember the covenant made between Him and them, that He would be their God and they would be His people. They needed to see their guilt and repent humbly before Him. Messages of encouragement were sent to them that they would once again be delivered from captivity and be restored to their own land where they could glorify God by being obedient to Him. Indeed, this was to bring to them a message of hope.

The prophet Zechariah was given a vision of Joshua, the high priest, and the Angel, who was Christ, revealing the situation which would exist for His people then and into the future. The deceiver who has been working continually to discourage God’s people would not give up his battle for supremacy. As we read in Zechariah 3:1, 3, Joshua was seen clothed, as it were, in filthy garments standing before the Angel, pleading mercy for his people in their dire affliction.

As this plea for mercy is going on, Satan arises boldly and brings accusations against the people and presents to them a reminder of their transgressions as the reason they should not be restored to the favor of God. “[Satan] claims them as his prey, and demands that they be given into his hands.

“[Joshua] the high priest cannot defend himself or his people from Satan’s accusations. He does not claim that Israel is free from fault. In filthy garments, symbolizing the sins of the people, which he bears as their representative, he stands before the Angel, confessing their guilt, yet pointing to their repentance and humiliation, and relying upon the mercy of a sin-pardoning Redeemer. In faith he claims the promises of God.”1

We read in Zechariah 3:2, “And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Here, once again, we can recognize a message of hope extended to God’s people in the face of their enemy.

It is Satan’s hope that their faith will be destroyed and their allegiance will be turned away from God. “As [Satan] influenced the heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the near future he will stir up the wicked powers of earth to destroy the people of God. All will be required to render obedience to human edicts in violation of the divine law. Those who will be true to God and to duty will be menaced, denounced, and proscribed. They will ‘be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends’ (Luke 21:16).”2

What is our message of hope today, and where do we find it?

We are now standing on the edges of the promised land, waiting for our Guide to come and lead us in through the massive gates into that beautiful city that has been prepared for the faithful commandment-keeping people of God. Our experiences have been similar to those of ancient Israel and we, as they each one had to do, have to determine our destiny. We have choices to make regarding who we will follow: the One who has brought us out of the bondage of sin and darkness, or the one who continues to try to deceive us into believing that we will be benefited by following his way.

Just as Israel experienced, we find that there are many obstacles placed before us which we in our own strength cannot overcome. We, like them, may at times experience fear as the enemy throws into our pathway powerful forces of difficulties. At these times we must do as Joshua did and seek for the assurance of divine guidance and help. And as he uttered his need for help, he encountered the warrior with a sword drawn, ready for battle. Joshua then knew that this was none other than Christ who had been leading the Israelites through the trials of the desert wilderness. With this assurance of help, his courage became strong to go forward to conquer the enemy according to the instructions given him.

This, also, must be our experience.

In the world today we see many signs of tribulation and trouble. Humanity is suffering from the onslaughts of the evil one and his agents as they attack the physical, mental, and spiritual welfare of people everywhere. It seems that on every side destruction is occurring, and multitudes are being attacked, even destroyed. By the false teaching that originates with the enemy of our souls, he is seeking to lead many closer to destruction rather than to life eternal.

The great controversy rages more intensely between Christ and His holy angels and Satan and his host of evil spirits. Just as ancient Israel found themselves in terrible bondage and did not realize that there was a wonderful work of God about to happen in their behalf for their deliverance, there is likewise a plan in place for the deliverance of God’s faithful ones from the bondage in which Satan wishes to now engulf them.

The time is coming upon us when God’s faithful, obedient followers, will be accused of failure to obey the edicts of the land and of those making claims against them. Just as it was with Joshua, the high priest, who made a plea for his people, there is a High Priest who, even now, is pleading in behalf of His people. Just as the prophet Zechariah saw in vision how Joshua was entreating the mercy of God for his people, so we have that same assurance of a High Priest pleading our cases before God.

Because the Israelites had been chosen to preserve the knowledge of God in the earth, they had aroused the hatred of Satan toward themselves. And because God’s chosen people of today have been called out of darkness and commissioned to carry the truth of things to come throughout the earth, the ire of the enemy is being kindled against them.

The loud cry of the third angel of Revelation 14:9–11, with its warnings and admonitions, will be given by the obedient followers of God. As verse 12 states, “Here is the patience (persistence) of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”

“The Lord desires to see the work of proclaiming the third angel’s message carried forward with increasing efficiency. As He has worked in all ages to give victories to His people, so in this age He longs to carry to a triumphant fulfillment His purposes for His church. He bids His believing saints to advance unitedly, going from strength to greater strength, from faith to increased assurance and confidence in the truth and righteousness of His cause.”3

Herein lies our assurance that we will be led by His hand and protected by His strength as we go forward in obedience to Him.

In the fourteenth chapter of John, verses 1–3, we read concerning the ascension of Jesus back into heaven following His sojourn on earth. His promise to His disciples, then as well as to all who should follow afterward, was that He would prepare for them a place and would come again to receive them into that heavenly home, the promised land, as it were, to once again be with Him. Hebrews 4:14 states, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.”

As our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, as is mentioned in Hebrews 8:1, 2, His ministry is going on now and will do so until He is ready to return to earth. He is ministering in our behalf, just as the priests ministered in behalf of the people of Israel in the earthly sanctuary. Why do we now need the ministry of a High Priest in heaven?

As we look back to the Garden of Eden and remember what took place there, when the perfect pair disobeyed God’s instruction and were led into wrong-doing by the instigator of sin, and also follow the history of God’s chosen people as they lived in disobedience to Him and His law, we can see how far humanity has digressed from His will for them. Even though Adam had sinned, he was not to be left in his fallen state, to perish at the hand of the enemy.

In the experience of Joshua, he was assured that the people would receive the means by which they could be pardoned and have their sins forgiven and blotted out. Through faith in Christ they were to be restored back into God’s favor. “Christ was their hope, their defense, their justification and redemption, as He is the hope of His church today.”4

When we sin, terrible stains are left upon our character. These are also found on our records in the books in heaven. There is nothing of ourselves that we can do to remove these stains. There is something that we must be willing to do, however, and that is to truly be repentant of our wrongs and confess them before the only One who can plead our pardon before God and claim that His blood was shed for our cleansing. As we read in 1 John 1:7, we find that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin; verse 9 tells us that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We must accept the cleansing blood of the One who died for us.

It is at this time that Jesus, as our High Priest, is ministering in the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary. When a repentant sinner confesses his or her sins and, by faith, claims atonement through the blood of Christ for them, he or she will have pardoned written for them in the books of heaven. Through divine power, he or she will develop a righteous character through obedience to the commandments. When the case is examined by the Judge, those sins are blotted out and the name is retained in the book of life. The work of the High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary is like unto that which was done in the earthly sanctuary, and the day of atonement served the same purpose.

As the penitents confess their sins and ask for forgiveness by claiming the cleansing power of the blood of the Lamb, Jesus does not excuse the sin but lifts His wounded hands before the Father and the holy angels and claims that He knows them by name and has them graven on the palms of His hands; just as the words that were spoken to Joshua, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Christ clothes His faithful ones with His own righteousness so that He may present them to His Father, “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Ephesians 5:27).

While the door of salvation remains open, we must walk through it and be saved by His grace which is so freely given.

When the priest ministered in the most holy place and was cleansed, the confessed and pardoned sins of the people of the congregation were blotted out and placed upon the scapegoat and carried far away into the wilderness. Thus it will be when the sins that have been confessed will be placed upon the head of Satan with whom they originated, and he, with them and all his evil agents, will be destroyed from off the face of the earth. Then all things can be made new again!

“As the people of God afflict their souls before Him, pleading for purity of heart, the command is given, ‘Take away the filthy garments’ from them, and the encouraging words are spoken, ‘Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment’ (Zechariah 3:4). The spotless robe of Christ’s righteousness is placed upon the tried, tempted, yet faithful children of God. The despised remnant are clothed in glorious apparel, nevermore to be defiled by the corruptions of the world. Their names are retained in the Lamb’s book of life, enrolled among the faithful of all ages. They have resisted the wiles of the deceiver; they have not been turned from their loyalty by the dragon’s roar. Now they are eternally secure from the tempter’s devices. Their sins are transferred to the originator of sin. And the remnant are not only pardoned and accepted, but honored. ‘A fair miter’ is set upon their heads (verse 5). They are to be as kings and priests unto God. While Satan was urging his accusations and seeking to destroy this company, holy angels, unseen, were passing to and fro, placing upon them the seal of the living God. These are they that stand upon Mount Zion with the Lamb, having the Father’s name written in their foreheads.”5

As we diligently cry unto the Lord, seeking for purification of character, we need to realize that the seal of God will not be placed upon us as long as one spot or stain remains. Now the time of urgency is upon us; there is no time for delay.

“Now is reached the complete fulfillment of those words of the Angel: ‘Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth My servant the Branch’ (verse 8). Christ is revealed as the Redeemer and Deliverer of His people. Now indeed are the remnant ‘men wondered at,’ as the tears and humiliation of their pilgrimage give place to joy and honor in the presence of God and the Lamb.”6

Amen!