Index to this page.
Is there New Light Coming in the Last Days?—
What is New Light?—
How Should We Study New Light?—
To Whom is New Light Given?—
How Will New Light be Taught to Others?—
Guard the New Light—
What if New Light is Refused?—
Take Care In Receiving “New Light”—
Futher Study: By A. T. Jones
What is New Light? Download this page as PDF.
Is there New Light Coming in the Last Days?—
“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
Prov 4:18
“The question has been asked me, “Do you think that the Lord has any more light for us as a people?” I answer that
He has light that is new to us, and
yet it is precious old light that is to shine forth from the Word of truth. We have only the glimmerings of the rays of the light that is yet to come to us. We are not making the most of the light which the Lord has already given us, and thus we fail to receive the increased light; we do not walk in light already shed upon us.” {1SM 401.2}
“You want every ray of light which God may impart through any of His agencies. Seat yourselves as children at the feet of Jesus to learn the truth as it is in Him. You should
fear to pass judgment upon any new light upon the Bible
until, upon your knees with humble hearts, you have searched its pages and sought wisdom of God to know what is truth.
I hope you do not take it for granted that there is no more light or truth to be given to us, for I know this is not true.
There are before us broad fields of truth yet to be explored, and every portion of these fields is to be ploughed and dug over with painstaking effort to find the truth-glorious, precious truth-which exalts Jesus, but humbles us to the place of learners.” {Lt43-1888.5}
“Many gems are yet scattered that are to be gathered together to become the property of the remnant people of God.” {CSW 34.1}
“The Reformation did not, as many suppose, end with Luther.
It is to be continued to the close of this world's history. Luther had a great work to do in reflecting to others the light which God had permitted to shine upon him; yet he did not receive all the light which was to be given to the world. From that time to this,
new light has been
continually shining upon the Scriptures, and new truths have been
constantly unfolding.” {GC 148.4}
“We must not for a moment think that there is no more light, no more truth, to be given us. We are in danger of becoming careless, by our indifference losing the sanctifying power of truth, and composing ourselves with the thought, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” [
Rev 3:17.] While we
must hold fast to the truths which we have already received,
we must not look with suspicion upon any new light that God may send.” {GW 310.4}
“
We are to know more than we do at the present time. We are to comprehend the deep things of God. There are themes to be dwelt upon which are worthy of more than a passing notice. Angels have desired to look into the truths which are revealed to the people who are searching God’s Word and with contrite hearts praying for wisdom, for greater lengths and breadths and heights of that knowledge which God alone can give.” {1MR 195.3}
What is New Light?—
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
1Cor 3:11
“Said my Guide, “There is much light yet to shine forth
from the law of God and the gospel of righteousness. This message, understood in its true character, and proclaimed in the Spirit, will lighten the earth with its glory. The great decisive question is to be brought before all nations, tongues, and peoples. The closing work of the third angel’s message will be attended with a power that will send the rays of the Sun of Righteousness into all the highways and byways of life, and decisions will be made for God.” —Ms 15, 1888, p. 5. {2MR 58.2}
“It is His will that they should be
ever moving forward to receive the
increased and ever-increasing light which is shining for them.” {5T 708.3}
“In every age there is a
new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The
old truths are all essential;
new truth is not independent of the
old, but an
unfolding of it. It is only as the
old truths are understood that we can comprehend the
new. . . But it is the light which shines in the
fresh unfolding of truth that glorifies the
old. He who rejects or neglects the
new does not really possess the
old.
For him it loses its vital power and becomes but a lifeless form.” {COL 127.4}
“
No one mind can do this work alone. Although we have in trust the grandest and most important truth ever presented to the world,
we are only babes, as far as understanding truth in all its bearings is concerned. Christ is the great teacher, and that which He revealed to John,
we are to tax our minds to understand and clearly to define. We are facing the most important issues that men have ever been called upon to meet.” {CW 29.2}
“The solemn messages that have been given in their order in the Revelation are to
occupy the first place in the minds of God’s people.
Nothing else is to be allowed to engross our attention.” {8T 302.1}
“When the books of Daniel and Revelation are better understood, believers will have
an entirely different religious experience. They will be given such
glimpses of the open gates of heaven that heart and mind will be impressed with the character that all must develop in order to realize the blessedness which is to be the reward of the pure in heart.” {TM 114.3}
“When we as a people understand what this book [Revelation] means to us, there will be seen among us
a great revival. We do not understand fully the lessons that it teaches, notwithstanding the injunction given us to search and study it.” {TM 113.2}
How Should We Study New Light?—
“My son, if thou wilt
receive my words, and
hide my commandments with thee; So that thou
incline thine ear unto wisdom, and
apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou
criest after knowledge, and
liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” Prov 2:1-5.
“In the past teachers have declared Daniel and the Revelation to be sealed books, and the people have turned from them. The veil whose apparent mystery has kept many from lifting it, God’s own hand has withdrawn from these portions of His word. The very name “Revelation” contradicts the statement that it is a sealed book. “Revelation” means that something of importance is revealed. The truths of this book are addressed to those living in these last days. We are standing with the veil removed in the holy place of sacred things.
We are not to stand without.
We are to enter, not with careless, irreverent thoughts, not with impetuous footsteps, but with reverence and godly fear. We are nearing the time when the prophecies of the book of Revelation are to be fulfilled. . . . {TM 113.3}
“We have the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy.
Priceless gems are to be found in the word of God . Those who search this word should
keep the mind clear. Never should they
indulge perverted appetite in eating or drinking. {TM 114.1}
“If they do this,
the brain will be confused;
they will be unable to bear the strain of digging deep to find out the meaning of those things which relate to the closing scenes of this earth’s history.” {TM 114.2}
“
We should give our best energies to the service of God, in doing that work which will outlive the mere transitory things of this life.
We commit sin when we talk of our weakness and inability. It is an offense to God for his children to do this, when Jesus, through taking upon himself the nature of man, has exalted humanity, and has brought the fallen race into favor with God,
and has opened to us the resources of power and the treasures of his grace. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
Rom 8:32. {RH, October 30, 1888 par. 6}
To Whom is New Light Given?—
“New light will ever be revealed on the word of God to him who is in
living connection with the Sun of Righteousness. Let no one come to the conclusion that there is no more truth to be revealed. The
diligent, prayerful seeker for truth will find precious rays of light yet to shine forth from the word of God.” {CSW 34.1}
“If we would receive the light of the glorious angel that shall lighten the earth with his glory, let us see to it that
our hearts are cleansed,
emptied of self, and
turned toward heaven, that they may be ready for the latter rain.” {ST, August 1, 1892 par. 14}
“But there must be no neglect of the grace represented by the former rain.
Only those who are living up to the light they have will receive greater light. Unless we are
daily advancing in the exemplification of the active Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or receive it.” {TM 507.1}
“Questions were asked at that time. “Sister White, do you think that the Lord has any new and increased light for us as a people?” I answered, “Most assuredly. I do not only think so, but can speak understandingly. I know that there is precious truth to be unfolded to us
if we are the people that are to stand in the day of God’s preparation.” {3SM 174.1}
How Will New Light be Given?—
“Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.” Joel 2:23
“Many . . . will be seen hurrying hither and thither,
constrained by the Spirit of God to bring the light to others. The truth, the Word of God,
is as a fire in their bones,
filling them with a burning desire to enlighten those who sit in darkness. Many, even among the uneducated, now proclaim the words of the Lord.
Children are impelled by the Spirit to go forth and declare the message from heaven. The Spirit is poured out upon all who will yield to its promptings, and, casting off all man’s machinery, his binding rules and cautious methods,
they will declare the truth with the might of the Spirit’s power. Multitudes will receive the faith and join the armies of the Lord.” —Review and Herald, July 23, 1895. {Ev 700.1}
“Servants of God, with their
faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven.
By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given.
Miracles will be wrought, the
sick will be healed, and
signs and wonders will follow the believers.
Satan also works with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.” {Ev 700.2}
“Another angel was to come from heaven with a message, and the whole earth was to be lightened with his glory. It would be impossible for us to state just how this additional light would come. It might come in a
very unexpected manner, in a way that
would not agree with the ideas that many have conceived. It is not at all unlikely, or contrary to the ways and works of God, to send light to His people in
unexpected ways.” —Letter 22, 1889. {13MR 334.2}
Guard the New Light—
“I was shown three steps— the first, second, and third angels’ messages. Said my accompanying angel, “
Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages. The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance. The destiny of souls hangs upon the manner in which they are received.” EW 258.3
What if New Light is Refused?—
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 4:6
“When God’s people are at ease and satisfied with their present enlightenment, we may be sure that
He will not favor them. It is His will that they should be ever moving forward to receive the increased and ever-increasing light which is shining for them.” {5T 708.3}
“An unwillingness to yield up
preconceived opinions, and to
accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord’s message through Brethren [E.J.] Waggoner and [A.T.] Jones. By
exciting that opposition Satan succeeded in
shutting away from our people, in a great measure,
the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them. The enemy prevented them from obtaining that efficiency which might have been theirs in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost. The light that is to lighten the whole earth with its glory was
resisted,
and by the action of our own brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world.” {1SM 234.6}
“There is to be in the [Seventh-day Adventist] churches a wonderful manifestation of the power of God, but it will not move upon those who have not humbled themselves before the Lord, and opened the door of the heart by confession and repentance. In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something which in their blindness
they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it. Because the Lord does not work
according to their ideas and expectations they will oppose the work. “Why,” they say, “should we not know the Spirit of God, when we have been in the work so many years?” —RH Extra, Dec. 23, 1890. {LDE 209.3}
“The third angel’s message will
not be comprehended, the light which will lighten the earth with its glory will be called
a false light, by those
who refuse to walk in its advancing glory.” —RH May 27, 1890. {LDE 210.1}
“The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in
the land. But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf of
the church because its members are doing after the manner of the world.” —5T 209, 210 (1882). {LDE 83.1}
“The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The observance of the false sabbath will be urged upon us. The contest will be between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. Those who have
yielded step by step to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will then yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. At that time the
gold will be separated from the dross. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it.
Many a star that we have admired for its brilliance will then go out in darkness. Those who have
assumed the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will then appear in the shame of their own nakedness.” {PK 188.1}
“As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth,
abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition.” —GC 608 (1911). {LDE 180.6}
“The church may appear as about to fall,
but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out--the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place.” —2SM 380 (1886). {LDE 180.5}
Take Care In Receiving “New Light”—
“We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2Pet 1:16. {CTr 363.1}
“We are to pray for divine enlightenment, and at the same time we should be careful about receiving everything termed new light. . . . I have been shown that it is the device of the enemy to divert minds to some obscure or unimportant point, something that is not fully revealed or is not essential to salvation. . . . {CTr 363.2}
“We must let the principles of the third angel’s message stand out clear and distinct. The great pillars of our faith will hold all the weight that can be placed upon them. —Manuscript 82, 1894 (Review and Herald, Nov. 4, 1965). {CTr 363.3}
“Our ministers must cease to dwell upon their peculiar ideas, with the feeling,
“You must see the point as I do, or you cannot be saved.” Away with this egotism! The great work to be done in every case is to win souls to Christ. . . . {CTr 363.4}
“There is a time of trouble coming to the people of God, but we are not to keep that constantly before the people, and rein them up to have a time of trouble beforehand. There is to be a shaking among God’s people; but this is not the present truth to carry to the churches; it will be the result of refusing the truth presented. {CTr 363.5}
“The ministers should not feel that they have some wonderful advanced ideas, and unless all receive these, they will be shaken out, and a people will arise to go forward and upward to the victory. Satan’s object is accomplished just as surely when people run ahead of Christ and do the work He has never entrusted to their hands, as when they remain in the Laodicean state, lukewarm, feeling rich and increased with goods, and in need of nothing.
The two classes are equally stumbling blocks. {CTr 363.6}
“Some zealous ones who are aiming and straining every energy for originality have made a grave mistake in trying to get something startling, wonderful, entrancing, before the people, something that they think others do not comprehend.
But often they do not themselves know what they are talking about. . . . {CTr 363.7}
“
Some are naturally combative. . . . They would like to enter into controversy, [they] would like to fight for their particular ideas; but they should lay this aside, for it is not developing the Christian graces.
Work with all your power to answer the prayer of Christ, that His disciples may be one as He is one with the Father.” —Ibid. (Review and Herald, Nov. 11, 1965). {CTr 363.8}
