“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it… For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery” Ephesians 5:25, 31, 32.

The mysterious union between one man and one woman in the home, the mysterious union of marriage is presented here by the inspired apostle as a symbol of the union between Christ and His church. Speaking of both He says:

“This is a”  What?  “This is a … mystery” Ephesians 5:32.

In the New Testament the word “mystery” does not mean something that nobody ever understands. The word mystery is applied to that which is known only to the initiated. It is something that can be known, but known only by those who experience it; who enter into the mystery. The apostle is telling us here that it is possible for one man and one woman to share that mystery.

We have been studying the home as a little heaven on earth, a little heaven to go to heaven in.We have been studying it as a little copy in this world of God’s great home above. For the purpose of our study this afternoon, I would like to have you think of this mystery of the union between husband and wife as represented and illustrated by the mystery of the most holy place.

As the most holy place was the central point of the whole sanctuary service, so the union of one man with one woman is fundamental in the structure and in the experience of the Christian home. I might just mention here so that you get the picture, that I see further parallels in the other areas. For example, the sanctuary as a whole, we may think of as the family. The sanctuary with the court surrounding it, we may think of as the church. And outside, we may think of as the world.

There is a type of love and an expression of love that is proper in each one of those areas. There is a love we are to have for everybody in the world. The good Samaritan as he passed on the Jericho road saw that wounded man by the wayside. He did not stop to ask who he was, or whether he belonged to his nation, his race, his church, his religion. He was a human being that needed help. He gave him what he needed. That was love, wasn’t it? Love in action. This is as broad as the world.

But there is a type of love that belongs to brothers and sisters in the church that does not belong to the world at all. You can meditate on the difference in those two things. For example, we are not to find our close friends in the world. The friendship of this world is enmity with God (James 4:4). We are to reach out to be friendly with the world in the sense that we extend a helping hand to them, but we do not experience fellowship there. Fellowship is inside the court; inside the church.

Another illustration of this – 2 Corinthians 6:14: “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers” 2 Corinthians 6:14.

A true Christian will not even consider marrying a non-Christian. Is that correct? We won’t take a lot of time on that. You are familiar with those facts. It might be well for you to look up some references on that. They are covered very clearly in Adventist Home and Messages to Young People. My point is that there is a closeness within the circle of the church which should never be considered out in the world as to friendship and association and love. But, there is a closeness within the family that is not found in the church as far as the expression of love is concerned. We will study more of this as we go along.

So I want you to think of these various areas. But keep in mind this: The center of it all, and that which gives meaning to the whole, is that inner mystery of the most holy place. The home is the sanctuary of the affections, so as we look at this most holy place, we think, dear friends, of this mystery of union between man and woman. The most holy place of a woman’s heart is to be entered by only one man. I want to repeat that expression, that statement. The most holy place of a woman’s heart is to be entered by only one man. And of course, the converse is true. The most holy place of a man’s heart is to be entered only by one woman.

Where is the proof for this? It rests fundamentally in the law of God in the seventh commandment – Exodus 20:14, five words: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” Exodus 20:14.

I want you to think of this a little here, and analyze this. “Adultery” comes from the same root that we get the word “adulterate.” And what does “adulterate” mean? The dictionary says that to adulterate is to make impure or inferior by a mixture of other ingredients. Very much to the point.

If you will look in the dictionary, you will find that these words “adultery,” “adulterate,” “adulteration,” come from two Latin words – “add,” meaning “to” and “alter,” meaning “other” or “different.” A turning to something or somebody other than belongs there, this is adulteration, adultery. And to do that is to adulterate, to make impure or inferior by a mixture of other ingredients.

The seventh commandment then forbids any adulteration. We ask, how many are to be included? You notice in Ephesians 5, that we have just read, the Bible makes it clear:

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two” Ephesians 5:31, (Not three or half a dozen.)

“They two shall be” What? “One flesh” Ephesians 5:31. This is God’s plan, my friends, and anything different is adultery. It is adulteration. And this the law of God forbids.

We all understand this more or less. Some more, some less. But I want to tell you something, friends. I dare to say (and I am including the teacher of the class) that none of us here have fully grasped all that there is in this wonderful principle. I invite you to study it with me, not merely to today, but in the coming classes, because whatever God does He has tremendous reasons for.

May I point out to you, friends, that this is a unique relationship. In other human relationships we may have more or less. For instance, a father and mother may have one child, two, three, four, half a dozen, a dozen. That’s all right. And there is nothing about that, that dilutes the quality of the love. When a father and mother have two children, they do not take the love and split it in half and each one only gets half of what one would get if there were only one, do they? Why, no.

So with brothers and sisters. There may be just two of them or half a dozen or a dozen, and that all works out fine. There is love enough to go around. So it is with uncles and aunts and cousins and all the rest. But here we come to a relationship which may I say is just the opposite. It is exclusive, commanded to be exclusive.

You remember in the Bible times in certain ages, there was polygamy. And what a curse it was. You know, here is a man who takes two women. Now let me tell you something interesting. Not only does each woman in that case not get a full amount like a child would get with a parent, each one doesn’t even get half as much. Why? Because God didn’t make it that way. That is the answer. That is the only answer.

It is not a matter of reasoning it out in human philosophy. God has made it that way:  “They two shall be one flesh” Ephesians 5:31. Not they three, four or half a dozen. And you think of the sorrows in Jacob’s family. Think of the sorrows in David’s family. They are written down there in the Bible to teach us this very lesson: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” Exodus 20:14. “They two shall be one flesh” Ephesians 5:31. Not several.

In the world around us today, while there is a certain amount of unofficial polygamy, fornication, there is a tremendous amount of what may be thought of as consecutive polygamy. Here is a couple. They are married for a time. Then they separate, get a divorce, and each one gets another partner and so on and on and on. In some ways (You notice I said in some ways) this is even worse than polygamy. It is very hard on the children, very hard.

If you have time it will pay to read the pages on divorce here in Adventist Home. In this class I can only introduce these great subjects and give us a background of certain principles. But there is room for a great deal of reading outside of the material we are covering. We are on then this fundamental fact that the inner place of the home, the most holy place, is the union of one man with one woman. And there is a mystery there which is known only by those who experience it. “Oh,” somebody says, “But I want to know about it, and I am not married.”

Well, dear ones, if you will just let me say this very kindly, there is no way to know it without being married. “Oh, then I want to get married quick.” Well, then I hasten to tell you this, my friends, most of the people who are married have never known the mystery.

“Oh.” Yes, this is true. You will understand this more fully as we continue with our class. So just getting married doesn’t make people know the mystery. It is the mystery of love. It is the mystery of the blended life. It is the mystery of two natures joined together so that they become one. And I may say dear friends, that this is something that even when people are led by God, and the Lord Himself has planned for them to be married, nevertheless they do not learn about it all at once.

You might just like to notice page 105 of Adventist Home. Take a look at that: “To gain a proper understanding of the marriage relation is the work of a lifetime” Adventist Home, page 105. How long? “Those who marry enter a school from which they are never in this life to be graduated” Adventist Home, page 105. And then the next paragraph: “The real union of the two in wedlock is the work of the afteryears” Adventist Home, page 105. Very well then.

Now, I wish you would look at Adventist Home, page 177. We are dealing now, remember, with the most holy place, and the world is not in there. The other members of the church are not in there. The other members of the family are not in there. The children are not in there. The grandparents are not in there. Nobody else is in there, just the husband and wife. They two. Now we will read it in plain English, not in symbolism, but literally:

“There is a sacred circle around every family which should be preserved. No other one has any right in that sacred circle. The husband and wife should be all to each other” Adventist Home, page 177.

That is quite a bit, isn’t it? You see, if a husband gives part of it to somebody else, then he is not giving all to his wife. And if a wife gives part of it to some other man or anybody else, man or women, then she is not giving it all to her husband. There is something about this kind of love, this expression of love, which, I repeat, by its very nature is exclusive. And let me explain one of God’s great purposes in this. It is to give us a picture of the exclusive relationship between God and each soul. God admits of no rivals. The first commandment is clear:

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” Exodus 20:3. And in the second commandment He sets Himself forth as a jealous God. As a husband is jealous of anyone who would attempt to invade the home, he is jealous about his wife, properly (I know there is a selfish, insane jealously, I am not talking about that. I am talking about a true love jealousy.), God has that toward us. Nobody in this world is to share the place in your heart that is made for God. There is a room in your heart, let me put it this way,a throne room, that nobody but God is to occupy. You’ll remeber that we studied about this at the close of our last lesson (lesson 2):

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with” Matthew 22:37, What? “All thy heart” Matthew 22:37. That is it. And here in the marriage state we have a beautiful and wonderful and mysterious illustration of this. So back to our statement:

“There is a sacred circle around every family which should be preserved. No other one has any right in that sacred circle” Adventist Home, page 177.

And it means just exactly what it says. No other one, nobody: “The husband and wife should be all to each other. The wife should have no secrets to keep from her husband and let others know, and the husband should have no secrets to keep from his wife to relate to others. The heart of his wife should be the grave for the faults of her husband, and the heart of the husband the grave for his wife’s faults” Adventist Home, page 177.

Tell me, friends, in the ancient sanctuary did they have a place in there to cover up sins? Do you know what sins were covered with? Blood. And the blood represents life, and the life is love. That is what it takes to cover sins. “Above all things, have fervent [love] … among yourselves: for [love] … shall cover the multitude of sins” 1 Peter 4:8.

Oh, friends, it is a wonderful thing to know that somebody loves you enough that you are perfectly safe with them. I was telling someone not long ago that they could visit my wife for weeks at a time and never find out any about my faults. You would never hear her say one thing about my faults and mistakes. And it is not that she has such a wonderful husband. She just loves me. That is all. I am perfectly safe.

Here is the interesting thing. She knows more about my faults than anyone in the world. Yes. But I am just as safe as I can be. I do not have to wonder, “Well, I wonder what she is telling about my faults.” I am perfectly safe. Isn’t that nice? Oh, how good the Lord is.

“The heart of his wife should be the grave for the faults of her husband, and the heart of the husband the grave for his wife’s faults. Never should either party indulge in a joke at the expense of the other’s feelings” Adventist Home, page 177.

Did you ever see that happen? Ah, dear ones, the world is full of it. “I have been shown that there should be a sacred shield around every family” Adventist Home, page 177.

Now notice the next paragraph, how it backs this up:

“The home circle should be regarded as a sacred place, a symbol of heaven, a mirror in which to reflect ourselves. Friends, and acquaintances we may have, but in the home life they are not to meddle” Adventist Home, page 177.

They belong out, if they are in the family, in the holy place. If they are not, either in the court or out in the camp or on out somewhere, not in the most holy place. “Friends, and acquaintances we may have, but in the home life they are not to meddle” Adventist Home, page 177.

In Page 337 of this same book. You will see a little bit later on in this class, I am going to be studying with you, how to find and marry the proper mate, but we are not prepared to understand how to find and marry the proper mate until we study what it is all about.

“Oh, how many lives are made bitter by the breaking down of the walls which inclose the privacies of every family, and which are calculated to preserve its purity and sanctity!” Adventist Home, page 337.

Tell me, friends, what would you think about one of the priest making a hole in one of the walls of the most holy place and inviting people to come up and take a look? That would be sacrilege, wouldn’t it, friends? Yes. He would have died. That is what would have happened.

“Oh, how many lives are made bitter by the breaking down of the walls which inclose the privacies of every family, and which are calculated to preserve its purity and sanctity!” Adventist Home, page 337. Read the whole paragraph, then turn over to page 338:

“When a woman relates her family troubles or complains of her husband to another man, she violates her marriage vows” Adventist Home, page 338.

Oh, is that what it says? Did I read it right? That is right. “She dishonors her husband and breaks down the wall erected to preserve the sanctity of the marriage relation” Adventist Home, page 338. Read the whole paragraph.

Well, dear friends, I thank the Lord that there is a sanctuary. I thank the Lord there is a most holy place. I thank the Lord for the glory that is there. And I thank the Lord for the walls and the veils which enclose the privacy, the intimacies, the mysteries of that wonderful union.

This is enough for now, we have enough to think about, pray about, and ask the Lord to make a part of our life. In our next class we shall continue in our study of the science of love and the inspired blueprint of the christian home. How to have heaven on earth.

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 Home is the symbol of heaven, and we are to make all things according to the pattern shown in the mount. God had Moses make in this world a sanctuary that He might dwell among us. The sanctuary was a little house for God fashioned after His great house in heaven. And every home is to be a little house for God fashioned after His dwelling place in heaven.

So, we are going to study in class dear reader, along these lines, that we may have here on earth a little heaven to go to heaven in.

We noted in our first study the structure, the building itself, which we compared to what? Order, rules. There is something rigid about that. We need something rigid. But if all we have is a structure, it is empty. The thing that made the sanctuary wonderful is this, dear friends, God lived there. Does Jesus live at your house? If He does, it is a sanctuary. If He does not, it isn’t a sanctuary even if it should have golden walls, right? That is right. God is love. Where is that? 1 John 4:8.

Notice Adventist Home. Turn to page 18, a beautiful little statement, next to the last line on

the page:

“Every home should be” What?

“A place of love” Adventist Home, page 18. “Every home should be a place of love” Adventist Home, page18.

Love is well represented by light. Selfishness and hatred suggest darkness. The earth today is dark. Gross darkness covers the people (Isaiah 60:2). But in every dwelling of the saints there is to be light, for it is written:

“God is light and in him is no darkness at all” 1 John 1:5.

In the sanctuary both in heaven and on earth, we see the beautiful light. I want to study this

light with you in our online class today, and other symbols in the sanctuary for the presence of God and for the love of God.

Looking at the sanctuary, what was revealed there between the cherubim? What was the Shekinah? The presence of God. That is right. Was there light there? Oh, yes (1Tim. 6:15, 16). And there were times that, that light and glory there in the most holy place shone out in such brilliance that the priest ministering in this first apartment had to retire to the door of the sanctuary.

And of course, there were rays of that, that then shone on out. Yes, God is light, and the light is love. In the holy place of the sanctuary, do we see any light? Yes. The purpose of the seven-branched candlestick was to give what? Light. But this is not the only light and the only evidence and symbol of God’s presence. There on the golden altar a fire was burning all the time, and what was ascending as the result? The smoke of incense, fragrant perfume filling both apartments and on out into the court and into the camp.

Here, again, we have a beautiful symbol of love. Light is pleasant as the wise man says (Ecc. 11:7). Incense is fragrant. Both of these may represent, for us, the love that fills heaven, and that God desires shall fill our homes because they fill our hearts.

Now, let us go still farther out. Out there in the court, any light or fire out there? Yes. If you would come to the tabernacle, suppose in the evening, or in the early morning while the stars were still shining, would you see light here in the court? Yes.

I want you to see something very interesting before we get through with our study today, about that fire on that altar. Keep it in mind. We will come to it later. My point is this, you have from the entrance into the court right on through the sanctuary, burning and shining lights.

If you will turn to Matthew 5:15, I want to pick up a New Testament application in the words

• of our Lord, and I want you to see how He links this with the home in figure:

“Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a” What? “Candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house”Matthew 5:15. And the house we are studying in this class is the home. The sanctuary of the home is to be filled with light.

“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”Matthew 5:16.

  The light is from God, but it shines in the lives of His children. That light is manifest in good

works. That is the light of love revealed in a practical way: in cutting wood, in washing

dishes, in cooking meals, making beds, making gardens, sweeping the porch, taking care of

the baby, and a hundred and one other practical ways. And notice Jesus puts it where? In the

house.

Ah, my dear friends, how many people have the idea that the way to shine is to go somewhere! But the light that shines the farthest, shines the brightest nearest home. Is that right? A trip never made anybody a missionary. Foreign missionaries are first home missionaries.

“Those who would be true missionaries in foreign fields must first be true missionaries in the home. Those who desire to work in the Master’s vineyard must prepare themselves for this by a careful cultivation of the little piece of vineyard He has intrusted to their care.”  {MYP 143.4} 

 In fact, if God sends them to foreign fields, when they get there, they are to be at home, and they will still be home missionaries. Our first place of service, our first place of love is in the home.

You remember we dwelt on that at the close of our study in the first lesson. Turn again to Messages to Young People, the last page:

“It is by faithfulness to duty in the parental home that the youth are to prepare themselves for homes of their own. Let them here practice self-denial, and manifest kindness, courtesy, and Christian sympathy. Thus love will be kept warm in the heart” Messages to Young People, page 466.

You know, generations ago in some countries where most of the warmth came from a fireplace, and most of the cooking was done there, sometimes when a new home was started, the bride would carry from the home of her mother and father, coals from that fire, that fireplace around which she had been brought up. And from those coals the fire in the new home was started – a beautiful figure, a beautiful symbol. And that is what this is talking about.

The place to experience love is not after we are married, friends. In fact, may I put it this way: he who marries because he has never experienced love, and hopes that by marrying he will experience it, does not know the nature of love. He does not know God’s plan for love.

“It is by faithfulness to duty in the parental home that the youth are to prepare themselves for homes of their own. Let them here practice self-denial, and manifest kindness, courtesy, and Christian sympathy. Thus love will be kept warm in the heart” Messages to Young People, page 466.

(And the rest of the paragraph is meaningful.)

My point is this, dear friends: Love is not just for husband and wife, it is for everybody. It is for every member of the family and every relationship of life. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” 1 John 4:8.

Oh, I am so thankful for this wonderful love shining in the heart, burning in the heart; shining in the home, burning in the home. Jesus says here that it gives light to all who are in the house. Turn please to Luke 8, here is an additional detail that I like:

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which entereth in may see the light” Luke 8:16.

My dear friends, if love is burning in our homes, if it is shining in the hearts of the members of the home, all who enter into that home will see what? The light, the light of love. Oh, that it may indeed be so. This is indeed making home a missionary agency.

Turn now to Adventist Home, page 37, right on this point. Oh, this is a beautiful paragraph:

“From every Christian home a holy light should shine forth”Adventist Home, page 37.

Will you read this with me? (Note: dear reader, please be sure to make reference to this page and literally read it for yourself from the Spirit of Prophecy. I want you to see this for yourself and be able to help others to make their homes a little heaven on earth-a place of love. Notice the quotation it is wonderful):

“From every Christian home a holy light should shine forth. Love should be revealed in action. It should flow out in all home intercourse, showing itself in thoughtful kindness, in gentle, unselfish courtesy. There are homes where this principle is carried out – homes where God is worshiped and truest love reigns. From these homes morning and evening prayer ascends to God as sweet incense, and His mercies and blessings descend upon the suppliants like the morning dew” Adventist Home, page 37.

Isn’t that a beautiful picture? Beautiful figures. Now, you notice there in that quotation we have brought in to us here, not merely the figure of the light, but the incense. There are two altars that God has placed in connection with His sanctuary: one at the door, the altar of burnt offering; one within, the altar of incense.

 Let’s take a thought or two on each one of them. Leviticus 6:12, 13. This is speaking of the altar of burnt offering at the door of the sanctuary:

“And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings” Leviticus 6:12.

Now, notice that thirteenth verse: “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out” Leviticus 6:13.

God intends that in our homes, friends, the light of love shall never cease, the fire of love shall never go out. But do you know why that fire never went out on the altar? How did it start, by the way? God kindled that fire. But why did it not go out? The priest kept adding fuel.

I want you to notice that twelfth verse again:  “The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it” Leviticus 6:12.

Take your Adventist Home, page 212. See something wonderful here. Would the fire have gone out if the priest had not kept putting the sacrifice on it? Yes. Every morning, every evening, he put on the wood, put on the lamb.

“All members of the family center in the father. He is the lawmaker, illustrating in his own manly bearing the sterner virtues… The father is in one sense the” What? “The priest of the household” Adventist Home, page 212.

Now, in a reference that I may give at another time, it is clearly stated that the mother is to do that work when the father either is absent, or the father is not able to function. In other words (Watch the point!), no home is to be without this sacrifice, morning and evening. And if you are all by yourself (dear reader), like out on an errand for God someplace or without a functioning husband or spouse, remember, wherever you are can be a Bethel. Jacob found it so, didn’t he?

 But we are talking now about the ideal, ordinary situation: 

“The father is in one sense the priest of the household, laying upon the altar of God the morning and evening sacrifice” Adventist Home, page 212.

Oh, what a picture, now, back to Leviticus 6:13: “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out” Leviticus 6:13.

Dear ones, if at times the fire of love burns low in your home, your heart, it may be that the morning sacrifice was neglected. It may be that the evening sacrifice was omitted.  

“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out” Leviticus 6:13.

God will kindle the fire, my friends, when we come to Him and are converted, born again. But we have to keep putting the fuel on, as we study God’s word, as we pray, as we confess our sins, as we yield our bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God. If we want a home where love shines, where love burns, remember we must keep presenting the sacrifice morning and evening.

Let’s go a little further. Turn please nto Exodus 30, and notice the altar that is in the sanctuary. This altar is not called the brazen alter but is the golden altar of incense, within the veil. Here, too, is fire, the fire of God – the incense filling the sanctuary and out into the court with fragrance:

  “And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations” Exodus 30:7, 8.

Do you see, friends, in this that Jesus is suggesting that our homes should be pleaseant, happy places, places of pleasure, places of enjoyment, places where people like to be? Light, warmth, fragrance, incense – all these suggest that which is attractive and pleasurable. For truly light is “sweet” and “pleasant” Ecc. 11:7.

Notice this next verse:  “Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon” Exodus 30:9.

In other scriptures you will find that God had a special incense prepared that was to be used only in the sanctuary. And He forbad the use of any other recipe. My dear friends, we need not only love in the home, but we want to be sure it is divine love. Again, that fire that was upon the altar, both in the court and within the veil, where did that fire originate? In heaven. Do you remember two young men who one day thought that it didn’t make any difference what fire they used just so it was fire? What were their names? Nadab and Abihu. Put in your notes Leviticus 10:1, 2. They offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not:

“And there went out fire from before the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord” Leviticus 10:2.

My dear friends, it is not enough that we love. Don’t miss this! It must be divine love. The world today is having many experiences in what they call love, but the question is, is it divine love, or is it merely lustful passion? Was it kindled from heaven, or is it a mere human impulse? Notice this expression in Adventist Home, page 68:

“Human love should draw its closest bonds from divine love. Only where Christ reigns can there be deep, true, unselfish affection” Adventist Home, page 68.

I ask again. Does it make any difference where we get our fire? Where we get our incense? Oh, it makes all the difference in the world. Thank God, friends, for the privilege of having fire on our altars that has been kindled by God Himself. What do you say?

How can we get this type of love in our hearts and home ? Turn to Matthew 22:37, 38. Here is the recipe:

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” Matthew 22:37, 38.

The first thing to know about love is this: that we are to give to God how much of our love? All of it? Well, how much will there be left for my wife? None. How much will there be left for my children? None. How much for my brother? None. How much for my sister? None. Now some people are afraid of that. But never be afraid of what scripture says it will work it alright!

Now, notice very carefully what the scripture say again in Matthew 22:37, Thou shalt do what?

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with”  What? “All thine heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” Matthew 22:37-39.

The second commandment is the one the calls for love for our neighbors (and in the context that we are studying in the Christian home, that is love experience by the family). But this is not the first commandment. It is the what? Second. My point is this, that we can never love our neighbor as we should until we have first given all our love to God.

This is another way of saying that true love coming from heaven is to be bestowed as He directs. Just as we have no right to spend our money foolishly, we have no right to bestow our love foolishly. Just as we look to God in the expenditure of money, we look to Him in the bestowal of affection.

Turn to Adventist Home, page 54, “Guard the Affections,” the last six lines:

“You have, then, to guard the affections, not letting them go out and fasten upon improper objects. Jesus has purchased you with His own life; you belong to Him; therefore He is to be consulted in all things, as to how the powers of your mind and the affections of your heart shall be employed” Adventist Home, page 54.

If Samson had learned this lesson he never would have loved Delilah. If David had learned this lesson he would never have looked twice at Bathsheba. The first thing that we need to learn about love is that all our love belongs to who? God. And that we are to therefore give Him all our love, and then let Him direct us, guide us in the bestowal of all our love.

And if we will learn this lesson, I say if we really learn this lesson of love, our homes can be transformed into a little heaven upon earth:

“Home should be made all that the word implies. It should be a little heaven upon earth, a place where the affections are cultivated instead of being studiously repressed. Our happiness depends upon this cultivation of love, sympathy, and true courtesy to one another. The sweetest type of heaven is a home where the Spirit of the Lord presides. If the will of God is fulfilled, the husband and wife will respect each other and cultivate love and confidence.  {AH 15} 

Dear reader, you can begin receiving this love today. Right where you are, whisper a prayer to Jesus, that He might fill your heart and home with this love today!

“Supreme love for God and unselfish love for one another–this is the best gift that our heavenly Father can bestow. This love is not an impulse but a divine principle, a permanent power. The unconsecrated heart cannot originate or produce it. Only in the heart where Jesus reigns is it found. “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). In the heart renewed by divine grace, love is the ruling principle of action.–AA 551

You remember that this work of preparation has been presented under the figure of the coming of Elijah. John the Baptist came before the Saviour’s first appearing to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Jesus said that he fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah coming. This prophecy is being fulfilled again in the work of the great threefold message. 

I want you to notice, dear friends, that in all three cases, in the first literal Elijah, in the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning his return in the work of John the Baptist, and in the work of this movement, the gift of prophecy is leading out. This is true in all these three cases. It was the gift of prophecy that made Elijah’s work so powerful. Right? It was the gift of prophecy that enabled John the Baptist to accomplish his mission. It has been, and is, and will be, the gift of prophecy in this movement that will make us successful as individuals and as a church, in completing our assignment and developing the characters that shall be translated from this earth without seeing death. 

Our first text in our class today is Matthew 17:11. (Note: I pray that every reader online will take notes. It would be good to devote a whole notebook for this class that we will take together on the christian home. Look up the references in both the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy and share it with others). Please bring your Bibles,  Adventist Home and Messages to Young People to each class. We will draw upon these inspired sources for our information. Because, dear friends, while there are some things concerning astronomy, many of them, that we can learn outside the Bible, and so with physics and chemistry, and so forth, most of that which we need to know in this course must come from inspired sources if it is to be of any real value to us. And we are fortunate in having so many inspired instructions on these wonderful subjects. Back to our text in Matthew 17:11. You all have it. Will you read it with me? “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things” Matthew 17:11.

What is Elijah’s work? To restore. What does restore mean? To put back in its place, is that right? Right? You remember the Bible speaks of a man who has stolen something: if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed. And we are told that in the time of the end every divine institution is to be restored. This is why the Sabbath is such an outstanding sign of this work and this message. The seal of God is being restored to the law. But every divine institute is to be restored.

 I wish you would turn to Messages to Young People, page 324 and we will notice a very interesting sentence here. Someone mentioned that to restore means not only to put back, but to put it back like it was. This is true. “The restoration and uplifting of humanity begins” Where? “In the home” Messages to Young People, page 324.

 So in this class on the Christian home, we are dealing with the foundation. We are dealing with the basics. “The restoration and uplifting of humanity begins in the home” Messages to Young People, page 324.

 Will you repeat those ten words with me? “The restoration and uplifting of humanity begins in the home” Messages to Young People, page 324. I would like for you to memorize that sentence. Some of you probably have it already. Shall we say it once again? “The restoration and uplifting of humanity begins in the home” Messages to Young People, page 324.

 I want you to see that in the Bible. Malachi 4:5, 6. The very last note sounded in the Old Testament as the shadows fall on the ancient dispensation. This last note is a note of cheer and courage, pointing to the coming of Elijah to restore all things. And notice where it begins:

 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” Malachi 4:5, 6.

 Does he begin with the home? Very definitely. (Dear reader please feel to participate in this class, take notes and read the references. Write down both the questions and answers. Most of our questions are to direct us to the text or quotation that we are looking at. And so in most cases, if we will look at what we are reading, we will find the answer to the question.)  

I wish you would take Adventist Home and turn to page 15. So far we have read that Elijah comes to restore all things. He begins this work with the home, turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to their fathers. The work of this message is to prepare us for heaven. And in order to get ready for heaven, we must have heaven on earth. And this is what Elijah is seeking to do. “Home should be made all that the word implies. It should be a little heaven upon earth” Adventist Home, page 15.

 What is home to be? A little heaven upon earth. Another place it speaks of it as a little heaven to go to heaven in. Isn’t that nice? I like that. A little heaven to go to heaven in (Review and Herald, April 4, 1891). 

Now, I want to ask you something. Was there ever anything made in this world that was made to be a copy of, from heaven and of heaven? What was it? The sanctuary. Who made it? Moses made it. Who gave him the pattern? God. Where did he go to get the pattern? Up into that Mount Sinai. When we read the book of Hebrews we see that there was more to what Moses saw than just some blueprints. He actually saw something in heaven. What was it? The heavenly sanctuary, the heavenly temple.

 What does a sanctuary mean? A dwelling place. And as used in the Bible, it most often relates to a dwelling place for whom? God. So it is written: “And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them” Exodus 25:8. God wanted to dwell with us down here in this world. So He said, “Make Me a sanctuary.” And “Moses,” He said, “Make Me a little house down in this world like My home in heaven.” And to every father and mother in this world comes the message, “Make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.”

I want you to turn to Hebrews 8:5. Note the instructions that accompany this call. Speaking of the priests who ministered in that ancient tabernacle, Paul says:

 “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount” Hebrews 8:5.

 What was Moses to do? Make all things according to what? The pattern. And where did he see it? In the mount. But what he saw, Paul says, were heavenly things. He saw God’s house in heaven, and he made a house for Him down here, a little house copied after the great house in heaven. Can you think of any higher honor or greater privilege that could come to anyone in this world than to have your home such a sanctuary? This is your privilege, my dear friends.

 Everybody here, whether you know it or not, is a part of what we are studying about and what we are talking about. Whether you are married or unmarried, parents or children, brothers or sisters, there is a place for you in the total plan. As we study from class to class and week to week, that will become very clear. Nobody needs to think, “Well, now I am left out of this.” No, you are not left out at all. You are very important. You are vital. You are precious. You belong, at least it is your privilege to belong. So, don’t miss anything thinking, “Well, I guess this is not for me.” Yes, it is for you, and be sure to get it. Salt it down. Make all things according to what? The pattern. What pattern?

The pattern shown to thee in the mount. May I dwell on this point? It was a pattern shown by revelation. Moses did not devise the pattern. He did not sit down and think up a plan. His work was to behold the heavenly original and copy it with exactitude. Is this true? Can you do better than that in your home?

 Would you be satisfied with any less? Ah, friends, what a privilege we have. Watch! If my little home is to be a copy of that heavenly home, and God has had Moses make a little copy down in this world, to help us understand what is going on up there, would it not be a good thing for me to study this earthly copy, and learn some lessons about the heavenly sanctuary? And in turn, learn from that precious lessons about how my home is to be organized, managed, structured, carried on. Is that right? This is what I want to do with you in this course. Oh, my dear friends, I am so thankful for the privilege of studying these things with you, and to study them in the light of the sanctuary; the sanctuary in heaven from which the glorious light is shining down. Now in your Adventist Home, look at page 17:

 “God would have our families” Adventist Home, page 17, What? “Symbols of the family in heaven” Adventist Home, page 17. 

Is your home a symbol of the family in heaven? If it is, the neighbors, as they look on, as they visit from time to time, if there is anything in their hearts responsive to heaven, they will learn more about heaven by knowing more about you and your home. Is that right? This is our privilege. There is no higher missionary work, my friends, than to just demonstrate here in this world what heaven is like.

Now, I am going to begin that study with you today. I am not going to complete it. But I would like to have you notice two very important things about the sanctuary, as you view it.

The first is the building itself, the structure, the walls, if you please, of which the building is built. I would have you look upon that today as order. And I would like to have you copy

this little statement of just five words:

“Order is heaven’s first law” Counsels on Health, page 101.Will you read or repeat that with me? “Order is heaven’s first law” Counsels on Health, page 101.

 Can you picture a sanctuary without walls? There would be no building, would there? A home without order is a contradiction.

  Do you know what order is? Well, order is (1) a place for everything and everything in its place; (2) a time for everything and everything on time. Is that the way they do things in heaven? Somebody says, “You have me discouraged already.”

 Well, listen, dear ones, the sanctuary was not built in a day. Your sanctuary will not be perfected in a day. Did you suppose the people who were working on that building looked at the pattern every day? I am sure they did, because when they got through, God moved in. And as in the original creation, He saw everything, and behold, it was very good.   “Order is heaven’s first law” Counsels on Health, page 101.

 Now look at your Adventist Home, just across the page on page 16:  “Every Christian home should have”  What? “Rules” Adventist Home, page 16.

Do you believe that? Do you really believe it? Do you like it? Well, I will tell you, dear friends, if a cold wind is howling, I am glad for some walls. If there is a wolf outside, I am glad for some walls. If there is a thief prowling around, I am glad for some walls. What do you say?

Is there a cold wind blowing out in this selfish world today? Are there wolves prowling in this licentious, wicked generation? Are there thieves who would steal away the jewels of virtue and love and unity and loyalty? Are there? Thank God, there is a sanctuary. If we can get inside those golden walls, thank God, we have a refuge, a wonderful refuge. The sanctuary in heaven? Yes. The church – that’s God’s sanctuary on earth? Yes. But in this class I am studying the sanctuary of the home. And oh, what a sanctuary it is – a symbol of the home in heaven.

So, as you think of these golden walls of the sanctuary, I want you to think of the rules of the home, the order of the home, the structure of the home, the organization of the home. Tell me, do you think there is anything very rigid about the walls? I was about to say, I hope so. After all, that is what walls are for, isn’t it? We are living in a generation that has lost respect for law and order. But if you will allow me to say it, they didn’t have much to lose, because their parents didn’t have very much.  

But Elijah is to come and restore all things. Does he bring us back to the law of God? Does he bring us back to the Sabbath? Does he bring us back to rules and order in the home? Yes. And oh, my friends, to see this as the copy of the heavenly temple, this is glory. I know there are such things as laws and rules that are tyrannical. I know there are such things as dictators and dictatorships. I know there are such things as families where force and iron discipline pervert and distort any image of God in heaven. That is not what we are talking about. We are talking about the reality, the true, the genuine, the great original – the family of God in heaven.

And friends, is there law there (in heaven)? Is there order? Did it even become the object, the point of a rebellion, once? Riots in the streets did not start with the twentieth century. Rising up against the establishment is not original with this generation. It didn’t even start on earth. It started where? In heaven. And right on this point of whether law is or is not essential, whether order is or is not a benefit. Oh, I thank God that Elijah has come to restore all things. What do you say?

Yes, every Christian home should have rules. But now, listen. The sanctuary is more than a building. It is a dwelling place for God. And God is love (1 John 4:8). God is light (1 John 1:5). When you look at the sanctuary on earth, copied after the one in heaven, do you see light there? Do you see light in the holy place in those glowing candlesticks, in that heaven kindled flame on the altar of incense? And then, beyond the inner veil, do you see the holy light of the Shekinah above the mercy seat?

Ah, friends, what would the sanctuary be without God? Just some walls. And what is the order and structure of you home without the light of love? Just a structure. Oh, I thank God that the purpose of the building is that the light of the glory of God may be revealed. What do you say? And the purpose of rules, the structure, the organization, is that the light of the glory of the love of God may be revealed.

Turn, please, to Messages to Young People, page 466. Here is one of the most wonderful statements in inspiration. The last paragraph of this wonderful book:

“True love is a high and holy principle, altogether different in character from that love which is awakened by impulse, and which suddenly dies when severely tested. It is by faithfulness to duty in the parental home that the youth are to prepare themselves for homes of their own. Let them here practice self-denial, and manifest kindness, courtesy, and Christian sympathy. Thus love will be kept warm in the heart” Messages to Young People, page 466.

Where is the place for me to get ready to head a Christian home? In what home? In the parental home. The place to learn to cook is in a kitchen, right? The place to learn to nurse is in a sanitarium or hospital. The place to learn to successfully carry on a home is in a home.

But I want to tell you something, friends. If I am interested in learning health cookery, I had better get in a health kitchen, right? Not in a hamburger joint. And oh, I thank God that every one of us who wishes, can learn this wonderful science of love; love within the structure of order and discipline.

Notice, the young are to prepare themselves for homes of their own in faithfulness to duty in the parental home. Now turn to page 326 of this same little book, Messages to Young People

and notice how this is emphasized:

 “The highest duty that devolves upon youth is in their own homes, blessing father and mother, brothers and sisters, by affection and true interest” Messages to Young People, page 326.

 The whole page is wonderful. This is what, for young people? The highest duty. Thank God.

 Now, in Adventist Home, page 35. Turn to that, please. I want you to notice that the Christian home is not only a training ground for those who are going to establish homes of their own, this is the best training ground for missionaries:

 “Missionaries for the Master are best prepared for work abroad in the Christian household, where God is feared, where God is loved, where God is worshiped, where faithfulness has become second nature, where haphazard, careless inattention to home duties is not permitted, where quiet communion with God is looked upon as essential to the faithful performance of daily duties” Adventist Home, page 35.

This section of the website will be especially dedicated to developing an army of youth who can be rightly trained as God’s missionaries for the purpose Glorifying God, being of service to their fellowman, and preparing a people for the final crisis and soon coming of Jesus. For we are told :

“With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained, might furnish, how soon the message of a crucified, risen, and soon-coming Saviour might be carried to the whole world! How soon might the end come,–the end of suffering and sorrow and sin! How soon, in place of a possession here, with its blight of sin and pain, our children might receive their inheritance where “the righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever”; where “the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick,” and “the voice of weeping shall be no more heard.”–”Counsels to Teachers, Parents, and Students,” p. 555.  {MYP 196.1}

 ”When properly conducted, church schools will be the means of lifting the standard of truth in the places where they are established; for children who are receiving a Christian education will be witnesses for Christ. As Jesus in the temple solved the mysteries which priests and rulers had not discerned, so in the closing work of this earth children who have been rightly educated will in their simplicity speak words which will be an astonishment to men who now talk of “higher education.” As the children sang in the temple courts, “Hosanna; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord,” so in these last days children’s voices will be raised to give the last message of warning to a perishing world. When heavenly intelligences see that men are no longer permitted to present the truth, the Spirit of God will come upon the children, and they will do a work in the proclamation of the truth which the older workers cannot do, because their way will be hedged up.  {6T 202.2}

     “Our church schools are ordained by God to prepare the children for this great work. Here children are to be instructed in the special truths for this time and in practical missionary work. They are to enlist in the army of workers to help the sick and the suffering. Children can take part in the medical missionary work and by their jots and tittles can help to carry it forward. Their investments may be small, but every little helps, and by their efforts many souls will be won to the truth. By them God’s message will be made known and His saving health to all nations. Then let the church carry a burden for the lambs of the flock. Let the children be educated and trained to do service for God, for they are the Lord’s heritage.”  {6T 203.1}

If you are interested in receiving inspired lessons on parenting, raising children, and how to live, please leave a reply in the comment box

If you are interesting in signing up for this free class, please leave a reply in the comment box.

This section is designed to take some of the most important phases of the Christian home and show heavens blue print of how to have heaven in a world that is following the plan of hell! We will study God’s practical and perfect  counsels given us in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy.

We will study  such themes as :

Relationships: (Association and Friendships, Courtship–How to prepare for marriage, Marriage and to restore marriages, How to restore boken homes and relationships etc)

We will look at God’s counels for Home Training (How to train and raise children), Dress Reform, Christian Recreation, Family Evangelism and much more…

In short, we will study God’s plan for and in the Christian Home, for we are told that the home is the most powerful ageny in society and the last work of reform must work in reforming the christian home. Notice some of the following quotations from which we gather these points:

“Society is composed of families, and is what the heads of families make it. Out of the heart are “the issues of life”; and the heart of the community, of the church, and of the nation is the household. The well-being of society, the success of the church, the prosperity of the nation, depend upon home influences.  {AH 15.1}

“Those who bear the last message of mercy to the world should feel it their duty to instruct parents in regard to home religion. Their great reformatory movement must begin in presenting to fathers and mothers and children the principles of the law of God. As the claims of the law are presented, and men and women are convicted of their duty to render obedience, show them the responsibility of their decision, not only for themselves but for their children. Show that obedience to God’s Word is our only safeguard against the evils that are sweeping the world to destruction.  {CG 556.3}

“In the home the foundation is laid for the prosperity of the church. The influences that rule in the home life are carried into the church life; therefore church duties should first begin in the home. {AH 318.5}
     “When we have good home religion, we will have excellent meeting religion. Hold the fort at home. Consecrate your family to God, and then speak and act at home as a Christian. Be kind and forbearing and patient at home, knowing that you are teachers. Every mother is a teacher, and every mother should be a learner in the school of Christ that she may know how to teach, that she may give the right mold, the right form of character to her children.  {AH 319.1}
     “Where there is a lack of home religion, a profession of faith is valueless. . . . Many are deceiving themselves by thinking that the character will be transformed at the coming of Christ, but there will be no conversion of heart at His appearing. Our defects of character must here be repented of, and through the grace of Christ we must overcome them while probation shall last. This is the place for fitting up for the family above.  {AH 319.2}
     Home religion is greatly needed, and our words in the home should be of a right character, or our testimonies in the church will amount to nothing. Unless you manifest meekness, kindness, and courtesy in your home, your religion will be vain. If there were more genuine home religion, there would be more power in the church.  {AH 319.3}

“It is no small matter for a family to stand as representatives of Jesus, keeping God’s law in an unbelieving community. We are required to be living epistles known and read of all men. This position involves fearful responsibilities.  {AH 31.3}
     “One well-ordered, well-disciplined family tells more in behalf of Christianity than all the sermons that can be preached. Such a family gives evidence that the parents have been successful in following God’s directions, and that their children will serve Him in the church. Their influence grows; for as they impart, they receive to impart again. The father and mother find helpers in their children, who give to others the instruction received in the home. The neighborhood in which they live is helped, for in it they have become enriched for time and for eternity. The whole family is engaged in the service of the Master; and by their godly example, others are inspired to be faithful and true to God in dealing with His flock, His beautiful flock.  {AH 32.1}
     The greatest evidence of the power of Christianity that can be presented to the world is a well-ordered, well-disciplined family. This will recommend the truth as nothing else can, for it is a living witness of its practical power upon the heart.  {AH 32.2}
     The best test of the Christianity of a home is the type of character begotten by its influence. Actions speak louder than the most positive profession of godliness.  {AH 32.3}
     Our business in this world . . . is to see what virtues we can teach our children and our families to possess, that they shall have an influence upon other families, and thus we can be an educating power although we never enter into the desk. A well-ordered, a well-disciplined family in the sight of God is more precious than fine gold, even than the golden wedge of Ophir.  {AH 32.4}

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