There are several definitions in the dictionary, but to keep it simple I'll cite just two. Presumption is "to venture without positive permission," and having "unreasonable confidence in divine favor."
There are good reasons why Hophni & Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were also called "sons of Belial" (1 Sam. 2:12-17, 22-24). They assumed that their office as priests entitled them to special treatment and that their sins would be overlooked by the Lord because of their high position, but in this they were sadly mistaken. As they ventured out without permission with the ark of God to do battle with the Philistines, they were both slain and the ark captured by the enemies of Israel. They died because of the sin of presumption.
And then there were the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu. These two priests presumed that any old fire for their censers would do, but God called it "strange fire" (Lev. 10:1, 2). And because they offered that which the Lord commanded them not, "there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord."
Another example that comes to mind is Uzzah. He, you'll remember, presumptuously put forth his hand to steady the ark as "the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God" (2 Sam. 6:6, 7). In Patriarchs and Prophets, pg 705, 706 it says, "The fate of Uzzah was a divine judg-ment upon the violation of a most explicit command. . . None but the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were to touch it. . . The divine direction was, 'The sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.' Numbers 4:15 . . . Upon Uzzah rested the greater guilt of presumption. Trans-gression of God's law had lessened his sense of its sa-credness, and with unconfessed sins upon him he had, in face of the divine prohibition, presumed to touch the symbol of God's presence."
In another instance, God gave King Saul opportunity after opportunity to straighten up and fly right, but he presumed time after time, that as king, he could disregard the word of the Lord with impunity. As the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight against Israel, Saul waited a week for the prophet Samuel to show up as promised (1 Sam. 10:8). But because Saul failed to encourage the people with confidence in God during this tarrying time, much of his army deserted him. Then in an effort to bolster the courage of those who remained, and because of impatience on Saul's part, he decided to sacrifice the burnt offering himself before the time appointed by Samuel had fully expired. "And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; . . . and Samuel said, What hast thou done? . . . thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: But now thy kingdom shall not continue: . . ." (1 Sam. 13:8-14).
At a later date Samuel told Saul to "go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox or sheep, camel and ass" (1 Sam. 15:3). But did Saul obey? No, he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and spared the best of the sheep, and fatlings, and lambs, and all that was good. And what was the result of Saul's presumptuous sin? "And Samuel said unto Saul, . . . thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel" (1 Sam. 15:26).
Because it took some time for the word of the Lord to be fulfilled, Saul continued on in his reckless presumption and his last rebellious act was to enquire information from a witch at Endor as to the outcome of an impending battle with the Philistines. And what was the final outcome of Saul's last presumptuous sin? "And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith ; lest these uncircum-cised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it" (1 Sam. 31:3, 4).
". . . Saul presumed upon his (own) exaltation, and dishonored God by unbelief and disobedience. Though when first called to the throne he was humble and self-distrustful, success made him self-confident. The very first victory of his reign had kindled that pride of heart which was his greatest danger. The valor and military skill displayed in the deliverance of Jabesh-gilead had roused the enthusiasm of the whole nation. The people honored their king, forgetting that he was but the agent by whom God had wrought; and though at first Saul ascribed the glory to God, he afterward took honor to himself. He lost sight of his dependence upon God, and in heart departed from the Lord. Thus the way was prepared for his sin of presumption and sacrilege at Gilgal. The same blind self-confidence led him to reject Samuel's reproof. Saul acknowledged Samuel to be a prophet sent from God; hence he should have accepted the reproof, though he could not himself see that he had sinned. Had he been willing to see and confess his error, this bitter experience would have proved a safe-guard for the future." Patriarchs and Prophets, pg 633
"His {Saul's} venturing to disregard the command of God through the prophet was against the dictates of reason and sound judgment. His fatal presumption must be attributed to satanic sorcery. Saul had manifested great zeal in suppressing idolatry and witchcraft; yet in his disobedience to the divine command he had been actuated by the same spirit of opposition to God and had been as really inspired by Satan as are those who practice sorcery; and when reproved, he had added stubbornness to rebellion." Patriarchs and Prophets, pg 635.
And what more can be said of the sin of presumption? Space fails me to tell of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; the men of Beth-Shemesh who presumed to look into the ark; of Esau who sold his birthright and presumed he could buy it back at pleasure; of the presumptuous doctrine of faith without works; and of the prayer of presumption as recorded in Psalm 66:18.
Psalm 19:13 says, "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be innocent from the great transgression." Oh friend, presumption is a "great transgression", and if we think we stand, we better take heed lest we fall (1 Cor. 10:12).
If there is any question in your mind at this point as to the seriousness of the sin of presumption, please read the following inspired statements from God's last day messenger to the remnant.
Redemption Vol. 2, pgs 87, 88 "There are many who fail to distinguish between the rashness of presumption and the intelligent confidence of faith . . . God has given man precious promises upon condition of faith and obedience; but they are not to sustain him in any rash act. If men needlessly place themselves in peril, and go where God does not require them to go, and self-confidently expose themselves to danger, disregarding the dictates of reason, God will not work a miracle to relieve them. He will not send his angels to preserve any from being burned if they choose to place themselves in the fire."
Evangelism, pg. 561 "In the history of men we learn how dangerous is prosperity. It is not the men who have lost their money and their property who are in the greatest danger, but those who have obtained a fortune and are placed in a high position. . . . Adversity may depress, but prosperity elevates to presumption."
Gospel Workers, pg 260 "Only he who has true faith is secure
against presumption, for presumption is Satan's counterfeit of faith.
"Faith claims God's promises and brings forth fruit in obedience.
Presumption also claims the promises, but uses them as Satan did, to
excuse transgression. Faith would have led our first parents to trust the
love of God and to obey His commands. Presumption led them to transgress
His law, believing that His great love would save them from the consequences
of their sin."
Signs of the Times May 18, 1882 pr. 30 "Those who, knowing their danger, will yet venture into places of worldly, demoralizing amusement, or who will poison the mind with the literary productions of the skeptic, or the sensualist, are guilty of presumption. God does not give his angels charge to keep those who choose to walk in forbidden paths."
Dear friend, please don't presume that you can disregard the plain counsel of the Lord without suffering the consequences. If you think you can ignore health reform, or claim that you are uninformed about worldly amusements, or unacquainted with the great responsibilities resting upon you if you have a high position in the cause of God, you will undoubtedly become guilty of the great transgression of presumption; because Testimonies, Vol. 4, pg. 44 tells us that "presumption is a common temptation and as Satan assails men with this, he obtains the victory nine times out of ten."
Pretty high success rate, isn't it? Please don't allow yourself to be one of Satan's victims.
The first epistle to the Thessalonians may seem to teach that the apostles expected the coming of Christ to Judgment in their day. Indeed, it is evident that such an idea was received from it by the Thessalonian church. Hence it was, that in his second epistle to them, Paul found it necessary to speak explicitly on the point. He tells them that the coming of Christ to the Judgment could not take place until the great apostasy; and as the result of that apostasy, that the Man of Sin should be revealed, showing himself that he is God, and exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped. That this mystery of iniquity is the great Romish apostasy, none but a Papist will deny.
Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he had told them of these things when he was yet with them. And where could Paul have learned this fact, which he had thus stated to them? He was accustomed to reason from the Scriptures, and not to deal in assertion. Hence it is very evident that he refers to the prophecy of Daniel, which in its seventh chapter has given the successive events which intervened between its time and the Judgment. In this series of events it has with wonderful precision described the power to which Paul has referred as the Man of Sin. No Protestant will deny the identity of Daniel's little horn and Paul's Man of Sin. And as Daniel has brought it into a series of events which ends with the Judgment and the setting up of the everlasting kingdom, it was an easy matter for Paul to tell where in this series of events he stood, and whether the Judgment was its next event or not. The apostle, therefore, plainly tells him that that day was not at hand. For the Man of Sin, the little horn, must arise and perform his predicted work, and when that should be accomplished, the coming of Christ should transpire, to consume "the Wicked" with its brightness.
Now when was the little horn to arise? Daniel was told that it should arise after the ten horns upon the forth beast; or , in other words, after the fourth empire should be divided into ten kingdoms, which was accomplished about five hundred years after Christ. The Judgment therefore could not come prior to that time. But how long was this little horn to have power to wear out the saints? Daniel informs us that it should be for "a time and times, and the dividing of time." How long is this period? Rev. xii shows that it is 1260 prophetic days, or years. Verses 6, 14. It follows therefore that the apostle carries the mind forward five hundred years to the development of the Man of Sin, and thence 1260 years for his triumph, before the Judgment could be preached as an event immediately impending. Whoever will carefully read Dan. vii, will get the original of Paul's argument in 2 Thess. ii, and will not fail to see the force of his statement.
The papal supremacy began 538, and ended in 1798 with the overthrow of the Pope's temporal power. The warning of Paul against a false proclamation respecting the Judgment at hand, therefore, expires at that time, and not before. For we have then reached the point of time where the last important even in Dan. vii, before the Judgment has transpired. An angel from Heaven preaching the hour of God's Judgment come, many years in the past, would be giving a different gospel from that preached by Paul. Those who locate the an-gel of Rev. xiv, 6, 7, in past ages, virtually place upon his head the anathema of Paul in Gal. i, 8.
And what is of very deep interest, the point of time at which Paul's warning expires is the commencement of the time of the end--the very point to which the visions of Daniel were closed up and sealed. Compare chapter xi, 33, 35; vii, 25, and the fact that the 1260 years' persecution of the saints terminates with the commencement of the time of the end, will appear obvious. How gloriously does this view of the subject make the truth of God shine out! For the warning of the apostle against a false proclamation of the Judgment at hand, expires at the very point where the seal is taken from those prophecies which show when the Judgment sits. And it is respecting this period, the time of the end, that it is said, Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge [on the very subject which was before concealed] shall be increased. Then the time of the end is the period in which the Judgment-hour cry, and the subsequent messages are to be given. Dan. viii,17, 26; xii, 4, 9. --to be continued
We have now reformatted the Gospel Workers Bible study lessons booklet and have it available with a comb binding, table of contents, and a scripture index. If you would be interested in receiving one, or several for a group study, please contact us for details.
Another day I woke up feeling like I was coming down with the flu or something. Dr. Richard Schulze says when you feel something like that coming on, stop eating and drink juice to let the body heal itself. His bowel cleansing formula #2 has charcoal and flaxseed and other ingredients to help pull toxins out of the system. So I took a dose of that with my juice for "breakfast" and drank lots of water. By noon I was back to normal.
Some of you have asked how my eye is doing. As you recall I shared how
I have used Vitamin C in mega doses when I feel the problem starting up.
Just this morning I was calculating that it has been 8 ½ months since my
last visit to the doctor for this problem. Last year I was experiencing
symptoms about every 2-4 months. I praise the Lord for leading me to the
Vitamin C therapy.
--Cindy Jones
Dear Brother Jack
Thank you for the lessons and
books. At times it's very difficult to get resources in prison in search
of the truth is a very vital part to our walk as Christians. I am at the
point of needing a Bible with word studies, like the Thompson study chain
or a Key Note Study Bible in NIV, NKJV, or ESV. Do y'all have any
resources for these Bibles with a Strong's in them? It sure would be a
blessing. I sure get a lot of truth out of your lessons.
AK, Texas
Dear Brother Jack
Hey there, How are ya?
Thanks again for the lessons. I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the
Book Steps to Christ. When can you send me more? I've been interested in
just about all the books that have been quoted The Great Controversy,
The Desire of Ages. Do you have any other books by Ellen White?
I'll read all that you can send. Thank you very much Sir.
AK, Texas
Because of some changes in the focus and direction of our ministry we will be sending only a monthly cassette from now on. Occasionally there may be more than one per month, but for the most part we'll try to get one out around the first of each month. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter.
If you have not been receiving at least our monthly cassette but would like to, please let us know and we would be glad to add you to the list.
In His Service,
Jack and Cindy Jones