Church

News Update from the South Pacific

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Burning, Killing, and Going to Court

The following [except for comments in brackets] is taken by permission from the January 1997 issue of The Anchor. This is only a small portion of the account.

Pastor Ahomed and Brother Jonathan Gray were set upon by a group of local men in Madang, Papua New Guinea. A group began stoning Jonathan, as the blows came he prayed that God would help him and as the men dropped their stones Jonathan picked up his bag and walked straight through them returning to the airport building to find that Pastor Ahomed was under attack. A group of men began poking, slapping and threatening to kill him. Jonathan Gray was told by this group that if he ever returned to PNG they would kill him too. Jonathan Gray asked if this person was an SDA to which he replied that he was. [It should be remembered that according to Great Controversy, 628, these professed Seventh-day Adventists will be held guilty of murder in the judgment if this is not made right. Please continue to pray that Jonathan Gray will suffer no permanent injury to his vision from the broken blood vessel in one of his eyes.]

About 300 kilometers from Madang Pastor Kul and the laymen were asked by conference church elders, deacons and others to come out to the main road and tell them more of their work. Hoping for another chance to witness, they accepted this invitation. But it was a trap. The moment Pastor Kul and his laymen were clear of the safety of the house, more Conference supporters materialized from the surrounding bush area, and commenced a vicious attack upon them. Pastor Kul and the laymen were punched, kicked, beaten and chased. One was struck unconscious, and had to be taken to a hospital. Several laymen received gashes to their faces, bleeding noses, and significant bruising all over. Some could not afterwards eat because of painful jaws and teeth, and swollen lips.

Pastor Kul was the central focus of this assault. Throwing sticks at him, they chased him into the little laymen’s church. There around the pulpit, they punched and kicked him to the floor. [In the House of God!] Several laymen rescued him and carried him to the house for safety. By this time, the whole village, including numerous non-Adventists, had gathered around. While the crowd watched, one Conference attacker stood and, pointing to the laymen’s church, defiantly announced, “My name is . . . I am going to burn down this building.” Even the non-Adventists pled with him not to do it, but to no avail. He lit a match, and the church burned to the ground. Many cried, including a host of non-Adventist onlookers. “It is very clear,” they said, “who is on God’s side.” They were not referring to the Seventh-day Adventist Conference church leaders. [If its obvious to non-Adventists, why isn’t it abundantly clear to Adventists?]

Pastor Kul called all who had been attacked to join in prayer and ask God to forgive their persecutors.

[If you have read the letters in last month’s magazine and the one in this magazine you know that the structure (General Conference and subsidiaries) are threatening believers of whom they disapprove with lawsuits.] The plot has been completely lost: The spirit exhibited by our Savior in Mark 9:38-42 is not seen; the registered title deeds holding Association is NOT the “Church.” It is a faceless entity supposedly holding in trust the assets of all Seventh-day Adventists. God recognizes as a church, a congregation of believers from two or three to any number having Jesus in the midst. How dare these hired servants claim the exclusiveness that was one of the mistakes of the Jewish organization at the time of the first advent? Their actions do not exhibit any faith that God can and will provide for the needs of His work! Or do they know the agenda so intimately that they recognize that God is no longer in the house, that He is knocking at the door of individual hearts (Revelation 3) and as in the days after Christ’s ascension, a program of persecution and destruction is in place.

Driven With the Wind

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On November 15 and 16, 1996, Elder Willard Santee, a minister of the Oregon Conference, delivered a series of five messages in a tent on the grounds of Prophecy Countdown in Mt. Dora, Florida. As a result of these messages, as well as some more private conversations, the leader of Prophecy Countdown, John Osborne, along with some of his staff, responded to an altar call by Elder Santee in which he appealed to them to “return to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

As he stood on the platform beside Santee, John Osborne said, “I don’t want to be a historic Seventh-day Adventist.”

These words created consternation on the part of many historic Seventh-day Adventists who have been trusting in the leadership of John Osborne and have been giving generous financial support to his ministry. What did these words mean?

A historic Seventh-day Adventist is by definition a person who is holding steadfastly to the principles of truth that were established by the pioneers of our church, and that have been repeatedly confirmed and re-confirmed by the testimony of the Holy Spirit. Had John Osborne decided to abandon these principles of truth? This was the question that troubled many hearts, and triggered many anxious inquiries. An apparent attempt to answer these questions was made one week later by Dianne Osborne, the president of Prophecy Countdown. She stood before the television cameras and made a statement that included these lines:

“We are seeking to have unity with God’s Church, but we will not unify with apostasy. We must be separate from the evil practices, from apostasy, and from sin both inside and outside the church . . . We realize that you cannot go where error is being preached, nor allow your children to go where error is being taught . . . We will continue to defend the truth.”

Thus the question about abandoning the historic principles of our faith appears to have been answered, at least for the time being. But the entire situation is calling forth another kind of question, which is proper and valid. Members of the historic Seventh-day Adventist community are asking, “What did Elder Santee tell the people of Prophecy Countdown? Did he present new evidence or new light that we all should be considering? Did he point out evidence that we have overlooked? What relevance do his messages have to the entire community of historic Seventh-day Adventists?”

In order to present an accurate answer to these questions, I have listened very carefully to the five messages presented by Elder Santee, and have reached conclusions that I will now share with you. I will first make some general observations as an overview.

  1. Elder Santee brought forth no new light, presented no new evidence, and advanced no new or overlooked principles of truth. All of the Biblical materials and Spirit of Prophecy materials that he used are very familiar to historic Seventh-day Adventists.
  2. Elder Santee’s burden of concern appeared to be for individuals or groups who had, a) separated themselves from the organized Seventh-day Adventist Church for invalid reasons; b) were fighting the organized church and manifesting unchristian hatred and contempt for its leaders and members; c) were calling the organized Seventh-day Adventist Church Babylon and calling people to come out of her; and, d) were engaging in theological hair-splitting and needless discussions of theological questions and the nature of Christ.

It is immediately apparent that these descriptions could be properly applied to only a minuscule portion of the members of the historic Seventh-day Adventist community, perhaps one or two percent. The vast majority of them are still members of the organized church, (and this includes John Osborne and his family). Most of the very few who are now separated from the “organized church” did not withdraw of their own volition, but were disfellowshipped over their protests. It would be wildly inaccurate to describe them as persons who had separated themselves from the church for invalid reasons. They are neither fighting the church nor manifesting hatred and contempt for its leaders or members, and they would not dream of calling the church Babylon. Their clinging to the principles of our historic faith is most emphatically not theological hair-splitting. So with whom is Elder Santee contending?

My conclusion is that Elder Santee’s messages may have limited application to those few persons who fit his descriptions, but to the vast majority of the members of the historic Seventh-day Adventist community they have no relevance at all. He appears to be contending with imaginary foes—shadow boxing.

The central theme of Elder Santee’s presentations seemed to be that there can never be any justification for separating oneself from the church for the reasons stated above. I view this from the sidelines, so to speak, as one not involved in the situation. But I do have some questions. Was it wrong for the first Christians to leave the Jewish church, for the Protestants to leave the Catholic church, for the Methodists to leave the Anglican church, and for our pioneers to leave the Protestant churches? If Elder Santee’s reasoning is correct, then these persons should have all stayed in their churches and left it to the Lord to clean the churches up. That is what he urges his hearers to do now. As evidence to support this position, he argues that in spite of the wickedness of the Jewish church, Jesus put His name on the books of that church and never took it off. (Actually, the name of Jesus was put on the Jewish church books by Joseph and Mary, when Jesus was a babe in arms. Jesus had nothing to do with it.)

Elder Santee concedes that there is much apostasy in the organized church, even going beyond most historic Adventists by stating that the church is in apostasy. Few of us would go that far. Most of us have pointed out apostasy in the organized church, but have not regarded the church as in apostasy. That might be an over-statement. Elder Santee does say this, but nevertheless affirms in another place that the church is “right on course.” I do not understand how one can hold to both of these positions. Nor do I understand how Elder Santee can urge his hearers on the one hand to be silent in the church and make no criticisms of evil doing, and on the other hand quote Ellen White statements that vigorously condemn such silence. Does she not call for men who are not afraid to call sin by its right name? (See Education, 57.)

Elder Santee manifests a curious unawareness that we who are trying to protect ourselves from error are dealing with theological problems. He sets forth an illustration that he says God gave to him. It consists of two circles which represent two kinds of church members, the “Liberals” and the “Conservatives,” and he states that the two circles are drawing apart. But as they draw apart, there is created a small ellipse where the two circles overlap. This is where God wants us to be, Elder Santee says, in the ellipse in the center, which is partly liberal and partly conservative.

But we are not primarily concerned about the differences between liberals and conservatives. Our major concern is theological. And one has only to recognize this fact and change the labels in the circles from “Liberal” and “Conservative,” to “True Theology” and “False Theology” to see the inappropriateness of this illustration. Does God want us to have a theology that is partly true and partly false? Have we not been warned that truth mixed with error is more dangerous than error alone? (See Great Controversy, 587.)

We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan’s devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility.

As for seeking unity by theological compromise, the inspired messenger is equally clear: “Christ calls for unity. But He does not call for us to unify on wrong practices. The God of heaven draws a sharp contrast between pure, elevating, ennobling truth and false, misleading doctrines . . . I urge our brethren to unify on a true, scriptural basis.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 175.

“We are to unify, but not upon a platform of error.” Series B, Freedom in Christ, 47.

The same unawareness of the theological dimensions of our problem is seen in Elder Santee’s description of his own experience. He devotes almost one entire message to a harrowing description of his own sufferings when he was put out of the ministry by “the brethren.” It seems that “the brethren” had dealt with a case of adultery and wanted Santee to stay out of the matter, but he insisted on dealing with it himself. For this, he says, he was put out of the ministry. If his report of the situation is accurate and fair, (which we have no way of knowing) we sympathize with him, but we see no connection between this and our theological problems in the church. To compare this experience with the experience of those who are being put out of the church because they will not accept false theology is hardly appropriate. Procedural problems and theological apostasy are two different categories.

A third and even more astonishing example of Elder Santee’s theological unawareness is placed before us in a passage in which he describes the contributions of a correct theology that have been made by various religious groups. He credits the Greek Orthodox church with getting rid of the doctrine of papal infallibility, and the Anglicans with getting rid of Mariolatry; he credits Lutherans for a true doctrine of justification and the Methodists for a true doctrine of sanctification; he credits the Congregationalists and Presbyterians for getting rid of excessive form and ceremony in worship and the Baptists for getting rid of sprinkling as a method of baptism; he credits Millerite, George Storrs for correcting the immortal soul error and the Seventh-day Baptists for correcting the error of the day of worship. He concludes this litany with the stunning statement that: “the Seventh-day Adventists contributed nothing at all.”

This leaves us gasping! Is this man a Seventh-day Adventist minister? Has he never heard of the sanctuary doctrine, that Ellen White describes as: “the very message that has made us a separate people, and has given character and power to our work.” Counsels to Writers and Editors, 54.

Elder Santee’s use of both the Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy is curious, to say the least. In a lengthy exposition of Exodus, chapter 32, he labors to prove that Moses was never angry with Aaron on the matter of the golden calf, but rather that he was always tender, gentle, and kind, both to Aaron and the people. He quotes verses both before and after verses 26-28 in which Moses is described as calling the faithful to his side, and then ordering them to take their swords and go through the camp and “slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.” This command of Moses resulted in the slaughter of 3000 men, but

Elder Santee does not read these verses, for obvious reasons. They would not fit his theory very well.

Similarly, he quotes words from Series B, Part 1, 15, in which Ellen White writes, “No longer consent to listen without protest to the perversion of truth,” and asserts that this means to protest on your knees. This is in harmony with his teaching that church members should make no comment on evils that they see in the church, but only pray about them. In like manner he refers to Ellen White’s warnings against listening to error, but limits her warning to errors presented by non-Adventist teachers and preachers. One can hardly feel comfortable with such handling of inspired writings, nor with his reference to himself and others as “secondary prophets.” We are left to speculate as to what this might mean.

The general tenor of all of the messages was to support Elder Santee’s doctrine that there is no salvation outside of the organized church. This is inferred and implied throughout all of the messages and was firmly and clearly stated in these two passages: “If I want to be in God’s kingdom, I must be part of the organized church,” and “You are going to be lost if you are outside of the church.”

These strong affirmations were followed by an appeal to “return to the church.” We find this puzzling in view of these realities.

  1. Probably 99% of all historic Seventh-day Adventists have never left the “church,” and have no intention of ever leaving the “church” unless forced out by being disfellowshipped.
  2. John Osborne, to whom Elder Santee’s words were presumably addressed, has never left the “church.” He and his family have for years held membership in a church in California.
  3. As noted before, the historic Seventh-day Adventists are not calling the church Babylon, or calling people to come out of her. They are rather trying as best they can to survive spiritually and spread the Three Angels’ Messages to all the world. They understand from statements like the following that listening to error greatly diminishes their chances of survival.

“No error can sanctify the soul . . . Sanctification comes not through error, but through belief in the truth.” Review and Herald, September 30, 1890.

“Truth sanctifies. Error corrupts.” Review and Herald, December 2, 1875.

“Error is falsehood and deception. Those who partake of it must suffer in consequence.” Upward Look, 125.

“Error is never harmless. It never sanctifies, but always brings confusion and dissension. It is always dangerous.” Counsels to Writers and Editors, 47.

“There is in error and unbelief that which bewilders and bewitches the mind.” Selected Messages,vol. 1, 46.

“I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings . . . God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings, where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffeting of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels, and the light around us becomes contaminated with darkness.” Early Writings, 124.

This makes it impossible for us to accept Elder Santee’s recommendations that we attend worship services where error is presented, and simply ignore the error. This is far too dangerous to be attempted, and the inspired warnings against it are unmistakably clear. We firmly reject the proposition that we are attacking the church, or fighting against the church. If one can not speak against sin without attacking the church, what does that say about the church? If one can not speak against apostasy without attacking the church, what does that say about the church?

We have to recognize that if a church leader is misusing his office and performing evil actions, and if church members protest against the evil actions, probably the best defense that the church leader could contrive would be to set up a shrill cry that: “The church is being attacked! The church is being attacked! Come to the defense of the church everybody! Defend the church! Protect the church!”

The Lord will deal with such persons as He sees best. We can safely leave that problem to Him. Meanwhile we are faced with a very practical problem. How shall we avoid the apostasy that is raging in the church today, and survive the great shaking time that will purge all unworthy elements out?

If Elder Santee wants to be helpful, let him cease his shadow boxing with imaginary foes, and address himself realistically to this grimly relevant question. He concedes that there is great apostasy in the church, even saying that the church is in apostasy. The word “apostasy” denotes a departure from theological truth. In disregard of the inspired warnings about listening to error, Elder Santee counsels us to continue worshiping in the churches where theological untruths are being presented, and to remain silent and do nothing but pray about the evils we see and hear. He seems to feel that to do other than this is to be guilty of attacking the church and fighting against the church.

We can only pray that his understanding will be improved, and that he will be able to offer better counsel to us. Until this happens, we will just have to say that he is not really speaking to the historic Seventh-day Adventist community, or ministering to our needs. In the final analysis, the church is described in these words: “God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations, it is the people who love God and keep His commandments.” Upward Look, 315.

The Shadow of the Stanton Controversy, part 1

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Two brethren, one whose name was Stanton, after attending the General Conference in the first months of 1893, published a pamphlet called the Loud Cry. In this tract the Seventh-day Adventist Church was denounced as Babylon (the great Spiritual Babylon of Revelation 18), and it called upon the people to come out of her. This tract was widely circulated.

In Wellington, New Zealand, these pamphlets came to the post office with instruction to the postmaster to distribute them to Seventh-day Adventists. Ellen White who was there during this time began writing pointed rebuttals against this pamphlet, and the two men publishing and circulating it.

The Stanton manuscripts, if they may be called that, have been used far and near by people in the General Conference, in local conferences, and by some self-supporting ministries. It is concluded from these articles that special ministries do not have a right to exist, or at least do not have a right to promote and organize home churches, and that such people are condemned by God through the Spirit of Prophecy.

Some of these manuscripts, written in 1893, were published in The Review and Herald during August through October, 1893 and in November of 1956. Some of them were later published in Testimonies to Ministers (see the first 62 pages), and in various devotional compilations, in volumes two and three of Selected Messages and in Notebook Leaflets. As you can see, someone can quote to you, apparently from all over the Spirit of Prophecy writings on this topic, but when you look it up they are really quoting from these “Stanton manuscripts.”

 

A Weapon Against Historic Adventism

 

These articles have been used to try to persuade people of the following: it is wrong to start home churches, it is contrary to the Spirit of Prophecy not to be in a conference church, and you are listening to and following the devil if you are not subject to the conference, etc. Any series of articles, used this extensively in an attempt to prove the revival and reformation movement within Adventism to be a false movement, is certainly deserving of serious study. If we are deceived about the most fundamental issues of our faith, it is certainly time that we knew about it.

A number of attacks against historic Adventists, meeting in home churches, have been launched using statements from these articles. The authors and speakers apparently believed that these statements conclusively proved historic Adventists to be in error.

One of the main attacks against the revival and reformation movement within Adventism has been over the issue of who and what is the church. When observing arguments, which were intended to prove that Ellen White taught that the church was the “organization,” it is curious that some of the main statements quoted are from the Stanton manuscripts. Since these manuscripts are thought to be able to destroy our understanding of who and what the church is, and force us, for conscience sake, to submit to control by conferences, we need to find out exactly what Ellen White was teaching in these manuscripts.

 

Context

 

All Ellen White statements and Bible statements have a context. In her writings, Ellen White repeatedly urged that time and place be considered: “Regarding the testimonies, nothing is ignored; nothing is cast aside; but time and place must be considered. Nothing must be done untimely.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 57. Part of the context is the time and the place, and part is the way that words are used in the paragraph (the linguistic context).

If the Stanton manuscripts teach that the organization is the church, or if they teach that historic Adventists are in error, we should find in them a “plain thus saith the Lord” to show us how to change our beliefs. (See Great Controversy, 595.)

 

Consistant or Conflifting?

 

If these manuscripts teach a different definition of the church than the explicit statements historic Adventists have already found in the inspired writings, then we are in dire difficulty. Truth does not contradict itself. Ellen White said: “All truth, whether in nature or in revelation, is consistent with itself in all its manifestations.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 114. The Bible also says, that “no lie is of the truth.” 1 John 2:21. If these manuscripts teach a different definition of the church than all other inspired writings, then we have a severe problem.

One of the reasons for the theological problems in Adventism today is that so many have tried to give Ellen White a rubber nose—force her writings to teach opposite and contradictory things. As a result, anyone who believes these distorted views eventually loses confidence in the testimonies of God’s Spirit. They are then ripe for the last delusion among God’s professed people, namely: “The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish.’ Proverbs 29:18. Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God’s remnant people in the true testimony.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 48.

For example, an historic Adventist quotes Ellen White’s statement that, “from the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth.” Acts of the Apostles, 11. This is an unrestricted definition statement. Its time context is universal, and it has no time limit. It states that it is that way now (perfect tense) and has been this way all the way “from the beginning” and refers to it “in every age.” Not only this but the context of the statement is unrestricted in regard to place. The church described is not local, but the church in the “world,” the “earth” and the church in “earth” and “heaven.” But a theological opponent tries to refute this universal statement by quoting a statement from the Stanton manuscripts, attempting to show that the church is something completely different than how it is defined in the first chapter of The Acts of the Apostles. Two things that are both true cannot be in opposition to each other. This problem has been recognized for a long time and many ministers and teachers have attempted to add qualifications to the definition statements of the church in the The Acts of the Apostles in order to force Ellen White’s definitions to agree with their definition statements. The most common way of doing this is to create models in which there is more than one true church.

 

Definition

 

It would be advisable for anyone who decides to tell historic Adventists that they are wrong about their definition of the church, and then attempts to prove it from the Stanton manuscripts, to first know how Ellen White defines the church in the Stanton manuscripts. Surely this would be the only fair course if we are searching for the truth. A prophet must be allowed to define the terms he or she is using, and certainly it would be utterly presumptuous for us to place our own preconceived definitions on terms that the prophet had explicitly defined.

Surprising as it may seem, in the Stanton manuscripts, Ellen White defines who and what the church is approximately a dozen times! Let us look at how she herself defines the church in these articles. The following quotations are all from the Stanton manuscripts. The actual definition statement is in italics.

Definition 1: This first definition is a definition by antithesis—Ellen White defines what the true church is NOT:

“The world was stirred by the enmity of Satan, and when asked to choose between the Son of God and the criminal Barabbas, they chose a robber and murderer rather than Jesus. The ignorant multitudes were led, by the deceptive reasonings of those in high position, to reject the Son of God, and choose a robber and murderer in his stead. Let us all remember that we are still in a world where Jesus, the Son of God, was rejected and crucified, where the guilt of despising Christ, and preferring a robber rather than the spotless Lamb of God, still rests. Unless we individually repent toward God because of transgression of his law, and exercise faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, whom the world has rejected, we shall lie under the full condemnation that the action of choosing Barabbas instead of Christ, merited. The whole world stands charged to-day with the deliberate rejection and murder of the Son of God. The word bears record that Jews and Gentiles, kings, governors, ministers, priests, and people, —all classes and sects who reveal the same spirit of envy, hatred, prejudice, and unbelief manifested by those who put to death the Son of God,—would act the same part were the opportunity granted, as did the Jews and people of the time of Christ. They would be partakers of the same spirit that demanded the death of the Son of God.” The Review and Herald, August 22, 1893. [All emphasis supplied] (A religious denomination can be defined as a sect.)

Conclusion: The church is not any group or denomination who reveals a spirit of envy, hatred, prejudice and unbelief; such as the Jews did at the time of Christ’s crucifixion.

Definition 2: “In the scene representing the work of Christ for us [the church], and the determined accusation of Satan against us, Joshua stands as the high priest, and makes request in behalf of God’s commandment-keeping people. At the time, Satan represents the people of God as great sinners, and presents before God the list of sins he has tempted them to commit through their lifetime, and urges that because of their transgressions, they be given into his hands to destroy. He urges that they should not be protected by ministering angels against the confederacy of evil. He is full of anger because he cannot bind the people of God into bundles with the world, to render to him complete allegiance. Kings, and rulers, and governors have placed upon themselves the brand of antichrist, and are represented as the dragon who goes to make war with the saints,—with those who keep the commandments of God, and who have the faith of Jesus. In their enmity against the people of God, they show themselves guilty also of the choice of Barabbas instead of Christ.” The Review and Herald, August 29,1893.

Conclusion: The church is the people of God who keep His commandments and have the faith of Jesus. (The faith of Jesus is a faith that is sufficient to give victory over sin.)

Definition 3: “However weak and compassed with infirmity the people of God may be, those who turn from disloyalty to God in this wicked and perverse generation, and come back to their allegiance, standing to vindicate the holy law of God, making up the breach made by the man of sin under the direction of Satan, will be accounted the children of God, and through the righteousness of Christ will stand perfect before God. Truth will not always lie in the dust to be trampled under foot of men. It will be magnified and made honorable; it will yet arise and shine forth in all its natural luster, and will stand fast forever and ever.” The Review and Herald,August 29, 1893.

Conclusion: The church keeps God’s commandments and is especially singled out in these manuscripts as keeping the Sabbath—it is those who keep the Sabbath commandment who are making up the breach. (See Isaiah 58:12–14.)

Definition 4: The church is “the people whom God is leading.” The Review and Herald, August 29, 1893.

Definition 5: “At the great heart of the work, men opened their treasures of light, and while the Lord was pouring out His Spirit upon the people, did these men receive of the heavenly anointing? While the deep movings of the Spirit of God were made manifest among the people, and souls were being converted, and hard hearts broken, there were those who were listening to the suggestions of Satan, and they were inspired with zeal from beneath to go forth and proclaim that the very people receiving of the Holy Spirit, who are to receive the latter rain and the glory that is to lighten the whole earth, were Babylon. Did the Lord give these messengers their message?—No; for it was not a message of truth.” The Review and Herald, September 5, 1893.

Conclusion: The church is the people who are receiving the Holy Spirit, and who are to receive the latter rain and give the loud cry of Revelation 18.

Definition 6: “God has a church on earth who are lifting up the down-trodden law, and presenting to the world the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. The church is the depositary of the wealth of the riches of the grace of Christ, and through the church eventually will be made manifest the final and full display of the love of God to the world that is to be lightened with its glory. The prayer of Christ that His church may be one as He was one with his Father, will finally be answered. The rich dowry of the Holy Spirit will be given, and through its constant supply to the people of God, they will become witnesses in the world of the power of God unto salvation.” The Review and Herald, September 5, 1893.

Conclusion: The church are those exalting the law, presenting to the world the gospel and who will make a final and full display of the love of God to the world (the loud cry).

Definition 7: (Repeats the third definition) “There is but one church in the world who are at the present time standing in the breach, and making up the hedge, building up the old waste places.” The Review and Herald, September 5, 1893. This statement again points out God’s true church in the last days as being a Sabbath-keeping church.

Definition 8: (Repeats second definition) “Those who keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus” The Review and Herald, September 5, 1893.

Definition 9: “The whole world is filled with hatred of those who proclaim the binding claims of the law of God, and the church who are loyal to Jehovah must engage in no ordinary conflict.” The Review and Herald, September 5, 1893.

Definition 10: “God has a church, a chosen people, and could all see as I have seen, how closely Christ identifies Himself with His people, no such message would be heard as the one that denounces the church as Babylon. God has a people who are laborers together with Him, and they have gone straightforward, having His glory in view.” The Review and Herald, October 17, 1893.

Conclusion: The church is a people who are laborers together with God.

Definition 11: “Beware of those who arise with a great burden to denounce the church. The chosen ones who are standing and breasting the storm of opposition from the world, and are uplifting the downtrodden commandments of God to exalt them as honorable and holy, are indeed the light of the world.” The Review and Herald, November 8, 1956.

Definition 12: “The church, His chosen people, who are keeping His commandments,” The Review and Herald, November 8, 1956.

 

The Spirit of Prophecy Vindicated

 

We hope to later look at a number of charges made against historic Adventists using the Stanton manuscripts. Always remember that Ellen White emphatically and explicitly defined what she meant by the word “church” in these articles, and our conclusions must never be based on a different definition of the church than the prophet was using.

We are also much relieved to find out that her definitions in these articles are precisely and exactly consistent with all her other definitions of the true church in her writings, and her claim to the gift of prophecy is not in jeopardy on this issue. She does not have a rubber nose, saying that the true church is one thing in one place, and is something completely different or opposite in another place. All sincere students of the Spirit of Prophecy may rest assured that Ellen White is consistent on this topic in all her writings. She says that “from the beginning faithful souls have constituted the church on earth,” and nobody need listen to false conclusions of those who try to give her a rubber nose saying, that the church includes both the faithful and the unfaithful, in direct contradiction to the Spirit of Prophecy. The Spirit of Prophecy is internally consistent and does not give conflicting and contradictory messages, like we erring men are apt to do.

PartII

Sinful Independence, part 3

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The Basis For True Authority

But though they tried, and verily thought they had succeeded, they could not disfellowship Jesus from the church. Jesus was the church. They merely succeeded in disfellowshipping themselves from the true church. For God “has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:22, 23.

The church is still to be “built upon Christ as its foundation; it is to obey Christ as its head. It is not to depend upon man, or be controlled by man. Many claim that a position of trust in the church gives them authority to dictate what other men shall believe and what they shall do. This claim God does not sanction. The Saviour declares, ‘All ye are brethren.’ All are exposed to temptations, and are liable to error. Upon no finite being can we depend for guidance. The Rock of faith is the living presence of Christ in the church. Upon this the weakest may depend, and those who think themselves the strongest will prove to be the weakest, unless they make Christ their efficiency. ‘Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm.’ . . .Jeremiah 17:5.” Desire of Ages, 414. “This principle bears with equal weight upon a question that has long agitated the Christian world,—the question of apostolic succession. Descent from Abraham was proved, not by name and lineage, but by likeness of character. So the apostolic succession rests not upon the transmission of ecclesiastical authority, but upon spiritual relationship. A life actuated by the apostles’ spirit, the belief and teaching of the truth they taught, this is the true evidence of apostolic succession. This is what constitutes men the successors of the first teachers of the gospel.” Ibid., 467.

Within Christ’s church there is to be no hierarchical, centralized, controlling power that supersedes the headship of Christ. As the messenger of the Lord said, “Battle Creek is not to be the center of God’s work. God alone can fill this place.” Testimonies to Ministers, 375. There is a place for order, but it is to be a simple, humble order, always uplifting the primacy of Christ. For “He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18.

Thus, as Christ is the head of the body, He is always to “have the preeminence.” Whenever the church assumes preeminence over Christ or His word, it thereby becomes an idol to the people.

Christ created the structure—it is holy—but it is always to remain subservient to the Word and to Christ as its head. Anything that supersedes God becomes a false God. That is what the Jews did with their temple. The temple became more important than the truth, or even God’s dear Son. A word of criticism spoken against the temple was worse than a false teaching being taught from its precincts. The final charge brought against Christ was that He spoke against the temple.

In view of this danger of making the system and its leadership a false God, Ellen White has a whole chapter in Testimonies to Ministers entitled, “Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me”—she was referring to Battle Creek, its system and the leadership. She also warns that “the trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ—how the enemy sought every occasion to take control of the minds of the Jews, and today he is seeking to blind the minds of God’s servants, that they may not be able to discern the precious truth.” Selected Messages, vol. 1, 406.

Jesus was rejected by most because He was not sanctioned by the visible church, and those who rejected Him were lost. According to the Spirit of Prophecy, this will likewise be our test. “To stand in defense of truth and righteousness when the majority forsake us, to fight the battles of the Lord when champions are few—this will be our test.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 136.

 

The Head Of The Church

 

“And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.” 1 Corinthians 12:28. God is the One who has promised to place various gifts in the church. When the church is pure, God is the One who calls and ordains through His chosen instrumentalities. He chooses through the official channels when He can, but when He cannot, He will call people directly, as in the case of David and John the Baptist. Never has God turned the entire control of His church over to human instrumentalities.

The Lord wants to direct His heritage and His church far more than we give Him opportunity to do. “If ministers and men in positions of authority will get out of the way, and let the Holy Spirit move upon the minds of the lay brethren, God will direct them what to do for the honor of his name. Let men have freedom to carry out that which the Holy Spirit indicates. Do not put the shackles upon humble men whom God would use.” Review and Herald, July 9, 1895.

It is not being independent for humble men and women whom God has called to act upon their God given responsibilities. In various places around the world I have been told by laymen that they cannot even give a Bible study without the pastor’s permission. In most places, a layman is not even permitted to hold a prayer meeting in his own home, if it is called a prayer meeting, without the church’s permission —and if the pastor wants to come in and take control, he assumes that prerogative. Not long ago I was asked to have some meetings in one of the major cities of America. Previous to my coming they had had Ron Spear and Colin Standish in to speak. This meeting was held in a private hall and one of the local elders was in attendance and expressed great appreciation for the meetings. However, the pastor of the largest church in town, where this layman held office and membership, asked him not to have these meetings. The layman, however, felt that the Lord wanted these meetings, and as they were not a part of any church function or on church property, and as those who were asked to speak were all ordained Seventh-day Adventist ministers and members in good and regular standing, he felt impressed to quietly go on with the meetings. He had no intention of having a conflict with the pastor, but was simply trying to serve the Lord. Yet, because of his supposed “independence” from the pastor, he was duly disciplined by the church by way of official censor and removed from being an elder.

But who was acting independently—the layman or the pastor? There is no law in the Bible, or even the manual, forbidding people from getting together and reading and studying the Bible together. For the pastor to arbitrarily make these rules is independence indeed! During the Dark Ages it was against the law to hold private meetings, but America guarantees that right—have we lost it in the church? It is “Satan . . . [who] works to restrict religious liberty, and to bring into the religious world a species of slavery. Organizations, institutions, unless kept by the power of God, will work under Satan’s dictation to bring men under the control of men . . . His methods are practiced even among Seventh-day Adventists, who claim to have advanced truth.” Testimonies to Ministers, 366.

Today if someone tries to raise up a new congregation or hold a meeting for Bible study and prayer, the question asked is: “By whose authority are you holding these meetings?” That was the question that was asked of John the Baptist and Jesus. “Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?’ ” Matthew 21:23.

“Laws and rules are being made at the centers of the work that will soon be broken into atoms . . . The Lord does not ask permission of those in responsible positions when He wishes to use certain ones as His agents for the promulgation of truth . . . Those who know the truth are to be worked by the Holy Spirit, and not themselves to try to work the Spirit. If the cords are drawn much tighter, if the rules are made much finer, if men continue to bind their fellow laborers closer and closer to the commandments of men, many will be stirred by the Spirit of God to break every shackle, and assert their liberty in Christ Jesus.” Review and Herald, July 23, 1895.

God has appointed leadership to act under Him, but never in His place. There is a place for organization —heaven is a place of order. God’s church, all through the ages, has been a place of order. The Old Testament church was a church of order, and God’s church today is to be just as ordered and orderly as was the Old Testament church. There is a place for leadership, a place for elders, a place for deacons and administrators. But their job description was never intended to be that of being the head of the church or of controlling the church, but rather they were to be the servants of God to the people. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25–28.

Do you suppose that I, or anyone else, could ever get to the place where we could supersede God’s authority in the church? We could try, but that would be a false, sinful and assumed authority that God and His true people would not recognize anymore than John the Baptist did. (See Desire of Ages, 132.) Suppose that I had charisma and good leadership abilities, made a lot of friends, and made some good business or political decisions and so began to climb the corporate ladder in the church until I got to the very top. Could I ever get to the place where I had enough authority to supersede God’s authority? Could I tell someone whom God had called to preach, for example, that God had not called him to preach, as they told John the Baptist and Jesus? I could tell him, but no matter how much authority I might have assumed or think I had, I could never get enough authority to supersede God’s authority. That would be the epitome of independence. But in my blind presumption, I would probably think that the person whom God had called and who was merely fulfilling His God-given mission was being independent because he had not listened to me!—what pride!

“But,” someone might insist, “someone must have that kind of authority in order to maintain order in the church.” That is exactly the claim of the papal church. “It is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world . . . God has never given a hint in His word that He has appointed any man to be the head of the church.” Great Controversy, 50, 51.

While God has not given any man the authority to say who cannot preach when the Holy Spirit has made it plainly evident that God has called him to preach, likewise God has not given any man the authority to say that someone can or should preach whom God has not called. No local church should ever be forced by some higher human authority to allow a conference–appointed pastor or leader to speak when the congregation and elders feel, based upon biblical evidence, that God has not called him to speak.

In fact, for men to receive those sent to them from the conference whom God has not sent, causes them to become independent from God along with the pastor, and results in the withdrawal of God’s blessings. “As there are woes for those who preach the truth while they are unsanctified in heart and life, so there are woes for those who receive and maintain the unsanctified in the position which they cannot fill.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 552. “There are fearful woes for those who preach the truth, but are not sanctified by it, and also for those who consent to receive and maintain the unsanctified to minister to them in word and doctrine.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 261, 262.

Yet, how many ministers whom God has never recognized are lauded and applauded by men, and how many ministers have been scourged and even put to death who were the chosen instrumentalities of God.

For a central, ruling authority to assume controlling power over the local membership, telling them who will preach to them and who will not preach to them, is to place one’s self in the place of God over the people. God has entrusted to His people certain inalienable rights and obligations, such as the right and the obligation to carefully and prayerfully decide who they will receive and maintain to minister to them. The Bible predicted that there would come a power that would seek to put itself in the place of God. “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4. That, in a special way refers to the papacy of the Middle Ages, and we can adopt some of the same policies, until we are “following in the track of Romanism.” Testimonies to Ministers, 362.

“The high-handed power that has been developed, as though position has made men gods, makes me afraid, and ought to cause fear. It is a curse wherever and by whomsoever it is exercised. This lording it over God’s heritage will create such a disgust of man’s jurisdiction that a state of insubordination will result . . . The spirit of domination is extending to the presidents of our conferences . . .They are following in the track of Romanism . . .Rule, rule, has been their course of action. Satan has had an opportunity of representing himself.” Testimonies to Ministers, 361–363.

These statements from the Spirit of Prophecy were not written to imply that the church does not, or should not, have proper authority. The church is to have a great amount of authority under God. When a point or a decision can be shown from God’s word and from the leading of the Holy Spirit to be from the Lord, the leaders are to have a great deal of authority. Whenever the church utters the utterances of God, it is as the voice of God. But when they become independent of God and assume authority such as the Sanhedrin assumed, then they are no longer the voice of God. It was when the leaders were becoming independent of God, that Ellen White said, “That these men should stand in a sacred place, to be as the voice of God to the people, as we once believed the General Conference to be,—that is past.” General Conference Bulletin, April 3, 1901.

 

God Supported Ministries Alive and Well?

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Despite the rumors and even some attempted efforts to slow down or stop the independent ministries, we can say “God is still in control.”

What a time we are living in! The shaking seems to have become more intense and many are “flying” in different directions. All seem to be saying, “This is the way to go, come with us.”

Now, as never before, we must be students of the Word. Many are being deceived by the wiles of the devil. Scripture is being twisted, if not out and out disregarded. I am talking about God’s professed people.

May I give some personal advice to each one of you? Because the movement is shifting around, do not make any sudden changes in your position without seeking God through fasting and prayer.

Ask yourself a few questions. Has God been leading you in the past? Are there evidences of His leading? Has your experience with Him been growing daily? If you are sure God has brought you this far, whether in a God supported ministry, home church, independent church, you may be alone, or whatever the case may be, why go back and retrace your steps? God always wants us to continue forward, advance, advance, advance in our experience.

We here at Behold the Lamb Ministry, as well as many other faithful ministries, sense the need to “put the hammer down” before it is too late.

We are being aroused out of our sleep as the Holy Spirit is impressing us once again at this time to go back on Satellite TV. And by His power begin to revive and call back into unity those whose hearts and minds are stayed upon Christ and whose effort will be in the saving of souls by proclaiming and living the Three Angels’ Messages. Pray that God will open a way for this effort.

Once again, we must go back to square one and settle the question once and for all, “Who and what is the church?”

Is the Bible not clear? Is the Spirit of Prophecy not clear? The Bible does say that spiritual things are “spiritually discerned.” I Corinthians 2:14.

“Speak in the demonstration of the Spirit, and with the power which God alone can impart . . . Faithful, God-sent messengers are a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men, not because they place themselves in high position, but because they show that they are strengthened and helped by the Spirit.” Manuscript 165,1899.

We must as a people begin to understand how the New Testament churches were set up and operated and begin to follow that blue-print.

Notice this statement: “His [Paul’s] instruction in his letters to the churches of his day is instruction to the church of God to the end of time.” Letter 332, 1907. [All emphasis supplied.]

Once again we need to be reminded that God works with us as individuals. “We need individually to sit at the feet of Jesus, and listen to His words of instruction.” Manuscript 84, 1901.

Jesus taught us about His church and who could be a part of it and the only one who had to approve it was Him. Praise God!

We must not return to Egypt. We must not return to a structure that is deep in apostasy, for God’s counsel is always the same, in every situation, structure or independent. Separate from sin! God means what He says. Is it not about time we stopped saying, “Yes, but, but, but, and be obedient? Are we goats or sheep?

We must follow the New Testament in its teaching about the “church” and those who labor in its behalf.

Many of God’s ministers are condemned and shunned because they were not “called by man or ordained by man or paid by man.” Notice what God’s servant says about this. “As a gospel minister, it was Paul’s privilege to claim a support from those for whom he labored . . . He did not receive wages for his labor, though as a minister of the gospel, this was his right . . . Paul did not depend upon man for his ordination. He had received from the Lord his commission and ordination.” Manuscript 74, 1903.

Would, that today, men might be found with faith to do as Paul did, men who would preach the gospel, not looking to men for their reward, but willing to receive their reward in souls.

“Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” I Corinthians 9:14.

We at Behold the Lamb Ministry must continue on as God has directed. We understand “who constitutes the Church.” How about you? How are we to interpret these Scriptures such as I Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:5; and Matthew 18:20?

I Corinthians 16:19 speaks about Aquila and Priscilla and their “church that is in their house.”

Romans 16:5 says: “Greet the church that is in their house.” Matthew 18:20 tells us “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Since Jesus is the head of the church, where He is, we may find the real church!

These are simple but clear passages and cannot be overlooked at the peril of our souls.

Let us go back to “square one” for just a moment so we can be reminded of a few simple quotes that just might keep us from going too far in the north forty.

Upward Look, 315, says: “God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments.”

This statement is beautiful! It is clear! We cannot misunderstand this point! Praise the Lord! How about this one that has been about “worn out” by many yet not understood?

The Acts of the Apostles, 11: “From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth .” It is clear. If you live on this earth and are faithful, you are the church. Is that not great?

We must realize that God requires certain things of His people as individuals. Should we not ask the Lord for ourselves? Should we not seek the will of the Lord and not worry about the judgment or opinion of man? How wonderful the thought of a revival where the whole body of Christ would be revived. Sad to say, according to Selected Messages, vol. 1, 122, “That time will never come. . .We must enter upon the work individually.”

“Error is never harmless.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 292. Therefore, because of so much error and apostasy, many have found it necessary to establish separate worship services apart from the structure.

If we are to follow Christ fully, it must be done “if it be over the heads of ministers and presidents.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 369.

“Let those who suppose the voice of the General Conference to be the voice of God, become one with God before they utter their opinion.” Letter to Elder Haskell, November 16, 1899. Let us go a little farther on the subject. “The people have lost confidence in those who have the management of the work, yet we hear that the voice of the Conference is the voice of God. Every time I have heard this, I have thought it almost blasphemy. The voice of the Conference ought to be the voice of God, but it is not.” Manuscript 37, 8, 1901.

Do we individually realize our true position? I am sure “some” do. But what about the “large multitude”? Voices are still needed who will call sin by its right name and are watchmen on the walls.

We must continue our position now as never before. Trust in God as you know He has led in the past and will continue until He comes. Let us by God’s grace be ready.

Behold the Lamb Ministries

P.O. Box 2030

Herrin, Illinois 62948

1-800-238-BTLM

 

Getting Physical

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Recently, a historic Adventist minister was visiting believers in another historic Adventist church in a nearby city in Papua New Guinea. Before he left some members of a mission church connected with the union, division and General Conference) said they wanted to speak with him. He consented to this, but when he went to speak with them, instead of speaking with him they began to beat him up, slugging and kicking him. Fortunately he escaped without mortal injuries and went to Australia. I talked with him on the telephone while he was recovering.

Let us ask some simple, basic questions. Are people in the New Jerusalem going to invite you to talk with them and then to beat you because you do not understand something the way that they do? That is unthinkable isn’t it? If I have invited another Adventist to talk to me and instead I kicked and slugged him, will I be allowed to go through the pearly gates? The whole angelic host would stand up to bar my entrance. They have gone through this before and will not tolerate it again. (See Revelation 12:7–9.) People who do this sort of thing are manifesting who their real ruler is and it is not Jesus Christ. Is there any way for individuals who do things like this to be saved? There is only one way. Peter said to those who were guilty of killing Jesus, to repent and be converted (Acts 2 & 3). (These people were professed Sabbathkeepers, they were the true church by profession but their character proved them children of the devil, John 8:44.) To repent means to have a change of heart, to be sorry enough for your sins, to quit. My dear friend in structure Adventism, nobody can be saved in sin. To be forgiven of the guilt of stoning or any violence first must come repentance, then confession. (“If I have sinned against my neighbor in word or action, I should make confession to him.” Review and Herald, February 9, 1897.)

You can never be saved just by having your sins forgiven. You must overcome—quit sinning—that is the fruit that shows the repentance was real (Matthew 3:8). No doubt other differences will arise, we will again have opportunity to demonstrate to the universe how we will behave when somebody else sees the evidence entirely different than we do—we will have more opportunities to demonstrate that we are at last overcomers. The universe is watching to see which of us will finally overcome—quit sinning and thereby prove our repentance to be more than profession.

 

An Adventist’s Problem

 

There are other perspectives to this incident that we need to ponder. If a brother stones or beats up another brother, are the rest of us who profess the same faith innocent if we do not protest? If we are silent when somebody is injured, if we put off the day of doom and “cause the seat of violence to come near,” if we go on singing, eating and drinking, being anointed with the best ointments and not being grieved for the “affliction of Joseph” eternal destruction will result (Amos 6:3, 6).

What if somebody says in his heart, “I feel really bad about it,” but is silent?

“Silence gives consent.” 1888 Materials, 1298.

Structure Adventists cannot say that “we” are not involved because that person is in a different family or church or conference or union or division because in reality they are a part of the sisterhood of churches throughout the world that are part of the same general conference—the people who did the beating up are part of the same General Conference that you are a part of if you belong to a mission or conference church. If you do not protest evil you will be accounted part of the evil that you supported by your money, membership and influence. “We are to be our brother’s keeper, not his destroyer.” Review and Herald, May 29, 1894. Every professed Adventist church and institution and minister in the world who remains silent is implicated in this crime. It is very serious to support those who are fostering an evil work. “There are fearful woes for those who preach the truth, but are not sanctified by it, and also for those who consent to receive and maintain the unsanctified to minister to them in word and doctrine.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 261, 262.

We cannot say before the recording angel that we did not know. Could you say, I did not know that any Adventists were stoning one another or beating up one another or seeking the arm of the state to enforce the rules of the church? Can any Adventist not know of even one of these things? Are you sure that you want to claim ignorance to the judge at the end of the world? Do you want to explain to Him why you were silent and did not protest iniquity among God’s professed people? Surely you would acknowledge that people who belong to mission or conference churches are God’s professed people. Surely you do not believe that God’s professed people can take other Adventists with whom they disagree about religion and beat them up or stone them. Pertinent Ellen White statements: “When he [Nehemiah] saw wrong principles being acted upon, he did not stand by as an onlooker, and by his silence give consent. He did not leave the people to conclude that he was standing on the wrong side. He took a firm, unyielding stand for the right.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 1135

“We need men who will not hold their peace when they see evils coming in and wrongs being done. We need men who will refuse to give consent by silence to unjust actions.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 9, 156.

I have decided by the grace of God to be one of those men, how about you? “I shall no longer hold my peace. I am bidden to cry aloud, and spare not. I have tried in every way to bring about the needed reformation, and save the souls of those who are following a wrong course. But I cannot go on as I have been going. When every effort has been made to save their souls, and yet all is in vain, we must cry aloud and spare not, lest our silence be interpreted to mean consent. The time has come when each one must stand in his lot and place, prepared to call sin, sin, and righteousness, righteousness.” Loma Linda Messages, 48.

 

 

Spiritualism and Adventism

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When we look at the parameters of the teaching of spiritualism outlined in the Spirit of Prophecy, it is shocking to see how many of them are found in Adventism, dressed up. In The Great Controversy, 588, Ellen White makes it clear that in the end time, spiritualism will claim to be Christian. For many years Seventh-day Adventists have felt immune to spiritualism because we understand the state of the dead.

Seventh-day Adventists are protected, for instance, from apparitions of the Virgin Mary because we know who that is. However, Ellen White reveals that impersonating the dead is only one error of spiritualism. The primary tactic of spiritualism is calling evil good and darkness light. (See Isaiah 5.) God’s curse is upon those guilty of this. As a consequence, the distinction between righteousness and sin is lost.

Someone objects, “Do not preach that. Someone will not like it.” That happened in New Guinea and caused the rise of the historic Adventist movement in that country. There were people preaching the Third Angel’s Message on the street and the structure administration said in effect, “Do not do that.” They replied that they had to do this to have a clear conscience.

The New Testament teaches that we should separate sin from the church. Sin is darkness and truth is light. But the teachings of spiritualism cause people to separate the one who is against sin from the church. That is the reason for the historic Adventist movement in Hungary. The New Testament teaches that light and darkness are always to be separated. (See 2 Corinthians 6:14¨C17.)

Spiritualism advocates joining the darkness when the New Testament says that light and darkness have no fellowship. (See II Corinthians 6:14.) The historic Seventh-day Adventist movement developed in Zaire because people said, “We must separate from darkness, and not become part of those who are breaking God’s law.” God said to the apostle Paul, I have called you to turn the Gentiles from the power of Satan to the power of God, to turn them from darkness to light. (See Acts 26:18.)

You must either separate from the darkness or become a part of it. That is happening today in Adventism. If you listen to error, it will take control of your mind and you will not know what has happened. (See Early Writings, 124¨C125.)

What do you do about open sin? In Russia many true-and-faithful Seventh-day Adventists were forced to act independently and separate from the structure because they were pressured by the state to send their children to school on Sabbath. Sadly large numbers of professed Adventists choose the easy way, the way of violating the law of God, in order to avoid persecution by the state. This is not a story of just an isolated person here or there, but of faithful Adventists who were saddened by the apostasy of the professed Adventists around them. Ellen White says. “How can fathers consent to their children attending school on the Sabbath, or any part of the Sabbath?” Manuscript Release, vol. 5, 79.

Spiritualism condones a life of sensual indulgence and involves a sensual religion. (See Medical Ministry, 101 and Testimonies, vol. 8, 295.)

Spiritualism makes gods out of men. This is one of the first teachings of spiritualism. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent told Eve the forbidden fruit would make her like God. Heathen religions and spiritualism have taught that ever since. In heaven there is a King and He is God. The devil imitated that and men were made gods. That is the origin of human monarchies, kingly power, and the divine right of kings.

If a man, or a group of men become conscience for the whole group, you no longer have the individual conscience. Men becoming “god” is also a teaching of Romanism. They say you must be in harmony with the community of faith. Their leaders are so strong, they believe they can alter God’s law. But no man or group of men, not even the General Conference in session has the authority to change anything God said. The idea that men can act as God and speak as the voice of God, even changing the Word of God is a teaching of spiritualism.

When wickedness is being done, and you are not protesting it, but, financially supporting it, what account of your stewardship will you give in the day of God? Do you know what is being done with many millions of dollars of tithe paid to the structure? They are using it to try to destroy truth. In Rogue River, Oregon, just recently, a letter was received from the General Conference warning them not to use the name “Seventh-day Adventist” anymore. This is also happening in New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. What will happen if they do? We know that in the past,with John Merrick, they spent many thousands of dollars and put him in jail for using the name.

It is a paradox that our close friends in the corporate structure pay their tithe money to destroy us. That is literally what is happening. Our friends are giving their money and that money is being used to destroy historic Adventists all over the world. This is a form of making a god out of men. Men have decided to be conscience for their fellow men. The Spirit of Prophecy teaches that we should investigate what is being done with the tithes and offerings. These people who are being harassed believe all the historic doctrines of Seventh-day Adventists and are trying to live in harmony with those beliefs. They are opposed for standing up for truth and spreading the Third Angel’s Message. If the true and faithful are harassed but the sinners in Zion are not, you have a classic situation of calling good evil and evil good, a classic identifying mark of spiritualism.

Another primary teaching of spiritualism is that what is, is right. This is a common teaching throughout academia and in society today. That means the natural state of man is good and therefore you develop the good within you. This came out of pantheism, which Ellen White said was the alpha of deadly heresies and a spiritualistic theory. If God is in all, then actually you are God. This philosophy is being used today in psychological counseling.

Another popular error of spiritualism has become a common teaching in Adventism today. It is that God will not condemn and therefore you should not reprove anyone reproof is unchristian. But reproof is so we can learn where we are in error. Its object is to show us how to put our lives in harmony with God’s Word. Since God does not change, we must do the changing. If we stay out of harmony with God we cannot be saved. The Bible says God is going to condemn. (See Romans 2; 2 Peter 2, 3; Revelation 14:9¨C12 and 2 Thessalonians 2.)

God’s faithful servants, just before Jesus comes, are to give a straighter testimony than John the Baptist. Otherwise, God will not recognize them as His servants. (See Testimonies, vol. 1, 321.) I would rather be in trouble with men than with God. If what I say steps on someone’s toes, I am sorry that you feel hurt, but I cannot apologize if it is from the Word of God.

Then there is the second chance theory. In the Catholic Church if you do not make it here, hopefully you will be able to make it in Purgatory after a while. Some Protestants believe in a millennium of peace when everyone will get a second chance. The Eastern Religions believe in reincarnation you can have many chances. In the religion of the Bible you are having your second chance right now. The first chance was lost in the Garden of Eden. If you are not saved before you die, you are not saved at all. God is going to condemn the wicked in the judgment.

The fruit of the teaching that “God will not condemn” is that it does not matter what you do, just live as you please, heaven is your home. You have probably heard that you will keep sinning until Jesus comes and then He will save you that is some of the same philosophy. We did not have this error in Adventism in the past. All this comes from spiritualism.

This is the same lie that the devil told Eve in the Garden of Eden. God said: You eat of this fruit, you will die. The devil said, You can sin and not die. And the devil is still telling that lie. That is spiritualism. One of the first effects of spiritualism is that people lose control of their mind, thoughts and imagination. Ellen White described this happening in her day. Some Seventh-day Adventist ministers were dissatisfied with their wives. They did not know they were following spiritualism. They just thought they were unhappy. But the devil was in control of their minds. (See Medical Ministry, 101.) They imagined, when they saw an attractive woman, that they could have a relationship with her and even have children by her in heaven. Ellen White said there was no hope for them unless they were converted. She wrote to a minister who was involved in this thinking and said, “Stop, right where you are.”

People think there is some secret going on in their mind and no one knows about it. Actually, the devil is in control of their minds and they do not even know it. They are under spiritualistic control and in the day of judgment, husbands and wives will find out things about each other they never knew before.

When a person is used by the Holy Spirit and is following Jesus, the Lord gives them the power to control their imagination. They are not imagining evil things. When evil imaginings are carried out, people think it happened all of a sudden. It was not sudden at all. Evil thoughts had been fostered for a long time. Satan will present enticing allurements and sensual thoughts to the followers of Christ in the last days. In Patriarchs and Prophets, 453¨C461, we are given approximately twenty different ways that the devil works so that people break the seventh commandment and their home will be destroyed.

If we want to be in the kingdom of heaven, by the grace of God, our imagination needs to be purified, or we are not going to be there. The devil works in many ways to make people lose control of their minds. (See Testimonies, vol. 8, 295.)

Another characteristic of spiritualistic religion is that the religion is sensational. It appeals to the senses, involving body movements of both preachers and parishioners, music, and the subject material for sermons. Ellen White reveals that we are going to have sensationalism in Adventist Churches just before the end of time. (See Selected Messages, vol. 2, 36.)

Another characteristic of spiritualism in religion is referred to in Medical Ministry, 97. It says, “restraint” is decreased and people lose their sense of obligation to others. Jesus Himself sensed His obligation to others. He even had pity on a wounded bird or a hurt animal. And His infinite compassion for the fallen race was so great that it led Him by choice to come to this world as a man to die on Calvary. Jesus said, “No man takes My life from Me. I lay it down of Myself.”

When people lose their sense of obligation to others, they become self-centered and develop sensual minds. The temptations to sensuality are multitudinous today. Many pictures in store windows, tabloids, newspapers and magazines, on videos and television are abominable and sinister. There is a master intelligence trying to get control of your mind.

How does the devil get control?

Diet. Ellen White writes about flesh foods and dairy products. Animals have serious diseases today. But even if animal foods were healthful, they tend to stimulate the sensual, sexual passions. The devil is intense on creating every type of delectable, tasty and appetizing animal food, because that is one way he is trying to get control of your mind.

Through the eyes. What we see has a tremendous effect upon the mind. We must surrender our mind to God daily and ask that the Holy Spirit be in control of our eyes and our mind. What are you looking at? If you are deliberately looking at sensual and awful pictures, the Lord cannot protect you. That is the sin of presumption. What are you reading? A characteristic of spiritualistic pollution is a sensual bond through your eyes and ears to stimulate sensuality so that you will not be in a position to receive the Holy Spirit. (See Medical Ministry, 101.)

Through self-indulgence. What kind of life are you living? Are you just doing whatever you feel like? Eating whatever tastes good? Or are you in control of your life? Are you controlling your thoughts? Your appetites? Your passions? What was the sin of the antediluvians? Ellen White says their sin was in carrying to excess that which was not sin in itself.

The devil comes to the people of this generation through phrenology, psychology and mesmerism. (See Testimonies, vol. 1, 290.) This is another characteristic of spiritualistic religion. Our modern word is hypnotism. Psychology books that do not agree with the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy are wrong. Have you heard of Ericksonian hypnosis? This type of hypnosis does not necessarily put a person into a full trance. It is induced simply in casual conversation. By using suggestion, you exert a strong influence over their minds so they obey you. The newest development in Ericksonian hypnosis is called neurolinguistic programming. This has taken over our society. We cannot even go to a used car lot today without a salesman using NLP on us. We received advertising that was sent out to salesmen and business men and its message was, “Come to this seminar. We will teach you how to do NLP to increase your sales, and show you how to be more successful in business.” It is also in the media. Today it is everywhere. Only the Lord can protect us from it.
Would you ever have thought that something like NLP could come into Adventism? But today we have pastors trained in NLP. People trained in NLP will not tell you what they are doing. They think you will not notice them practicing it. But when we find them using the techniques the hypnotists do, what are you supposed to believe? Our only protection is to stay close to the Lord and stay away from anyone who is practicing NLP.

Another characteristic of spiritualism is that people believe they have inherent power in themselves to accomplish good work. (See Testimonies, vol. 1, 294.)

Another characteristic of spiritualism is the lack of time for meditation and prayer. (See Testimonies, vol. 1, 295.) How much time do you spend in meditation and prayer? Are you talking to the Lord before you get up in the morning? As you go through the work day? Are you asking the Lord to control your mind through His Spirit?

A characteristic of spiritualistic religion is called free love. (See Testimonies, vol. 8, 292.)

God ordained love in the marriage relationship. There are parameters for our safety. But the devil wants to destroy these walls of protection. When I was a boy, a couple in our church was divorced. The men in the church were shocked that Seventh-day Adventists got a divorce. Things were different in the Adventist Church then. We claimed not to believe in free love. What really is the difference between polygamy and marrying and divorcing and marrying and divorcing?

The Bible still says the same thing about divorce. In Malachi 2, God says He hates it. According to the Bible, there is only one reason anyone has a right to remarry. Some Adventists are not straight on this point. The only Biblical reason that allows remarriage after divorce, is if your spouse committed adultery. (See Testimonies, vol. 8, 292.)

“Man’s great danger is in being self-deceived, indulging self-sufficiency, and thus separating from God, the source of his strength. Our natural tendencies, unless corrected by the Holy Spirit of God, have in them the seeds of moral death. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we cannot resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 315, 316. His Divine power helps us overcome. The difference is eternal life or eternal death. In Revelation 2 and 3 the promises to the Seven Churches are given to overcomers.

Another teaching of spiritualism is that each mind will judge itself. That destroys the First Angel’s Message and the Biblical doctrine of the judgment. Could this happen in Adventism? In the last few decades Adventist people have been disputing about the doctrine of the investigative judgment. People do not like it. The Bible says God is going to judge every person who has ever lived. (See John 5.)’

The argument that the devil gave to the angels in heaven was that true knowledge places men above law. Unbelievable! As a young pastor in a conference church in Adventism, if I showed a statement from inspiration, that was the end of the discussion. That is the way it used to be. But today some will argue with the Word of God. That is a teaching of spiritualism, placing your own mind above the Word of God and His law. (See Romans 3:19.)

The last teaching of spiritualism is similar to the devil’s lie to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He said all sins committed are innocent. I was shocked some months ago when studying a book recommended by Seventh-day Adventist leaders and published by an SDA publishing house. This book said that when you sin under grace, this sin does not bring condemnation. What does this mean? Sin is sin. What is this idea that I am saved now and if I sin, I am going to be saved anyway? When you sin, you are lost unless that sin is repented of, confessed and forsaken. There is no such thing as salvation in sin.

The idea that you can be under grace and keep sinning, is one of spiritualism’s most dangerous guises. Some preachers in Adventism are teaching this heresy today. Are you discouraged by the devil because it seems you cannot overcome some sin? Go to the Lord and say, Lord, I am surrendering everything to You: my mind, my will, my all. I am choosing to follow You. Lord, there is sin in my life. But I am willing to do anything, be anything, surrender anything to you. Please, work in my life and save me from my sins. He will answer your prayer. No matter what the sin is, the Lord will help you to overcome. He will take away your past guilt and give you power enough to overcome. No sin is innocent. There is no such thing as sinning under grace and still having a relationship with the Lord.

Many of these teachings of spiritualism are coming into our church. What are we going to do? What has happened? “In His Word, the Lord declared what He would do for Israel if they would obey His voice. But the leaders of the people yielded to the temptations of Satan, and God could not give them the blessings He designed them to have, because they did not obey His voice but listened to the voice and policy of Lucifer. This experience will be repeated in the last years of the history of the people of God, who have been established by His grace and power.” Manuscript Release vol. 13, 379.

 

Seventh-day Adventists are the people of God established by His grace and power in these last years. The above quotation says the experience ancient Israel went through is going to be repeated in the last years among God’s people. Are we in the last years now?

We are living in that time. We have to pray, Lord Jesus, keep me free from all the doctrines, and teachings, and characteristics of spiritualism. I do not want anything to do with it. The devil will deceive and control as many as he can. God has promised to give us “eyesalve to recognize Satan’s deceptions; power to become sons of God; deliverance from the bondage of sin; and freedom to have eternal life through Jesus Christ. “(See Revelation 3:18; John 1:12; James 4:7; John 8:32 and Hebrews 2:15.)

Letter from Australia

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7th November 1996

Dear Pastor Grosboll,

I have just completed reading your article “A Lesson from Australia” in the September 96 issue of Land Marks. I have found this article very interesting.

It was in the late 1980’s when my husband Peter and I began to get interested in what was happening in Seventh-day Adventism in Australia. We were concerned about what our children were being taught at Avondale College and of some of the student activities happening there. From 1984-90 our five children attended Avondale. At first we neither realized the seriousness or implications of what was happening. We spoke to some about the concerns we had, but were told “not to be critical.”

Then Ron Spear and Marshall Grosboll (and their wives) came to Albury. We asked them to stay with us, and organized a meeting at our home. I can still remember how Ron quoted SOP by memory—it was amazing to us. Marshall took a talk on the Nature of Christ.

After they left we started searching. We soon found ourselves unpopular with our local church Pastor. We searched for truth in our local church and found emptiness. At this time there was a group of about 30 in our church who were meeting with us who were also searching for truth. We knew that we couldn’t stay in a church that was not preparing us for Christ’s soon coming, so we decided to run our own church. We tried to become a Branch Sabbath School and applied to the Conference, but were ignored because we did not go through the “right channels.” We knew that we couldn’t take any new converts to our local Conference Church.

So in 1990 we decided to become a Congregational Church. We ran Sabbath School, Church and Outreach programmes, preaching and teaching the True Advent Doctrine. Then when my husband Peter baptised someone, our local conference church used this as an excuse to disfellowship him and two other men who were also leading out at our church because they did not follow properly constituted church authority, and belonged to a divisive movement.

We continued to meet as a church and had different speakers come to us from America. This caused us problems as they were telling us to go back to the church. Some of our people became confused and went back to the Conference church. After this happened a few times we decided to stop having any visiting preachers and our local men did all the preaching.

We were amazed at these preachers. They were not working for the conference, they were brought to Australia by Independent Ministries, yet they were saying “go back to the church.” At this stage I had only just started hearing about Independent Ministries. Most Australians had the belief that if one was not under the conference, they were not real Seventh-day Adventists. Yet many of these visiting speakers ran or worked for Independent Ministries in America. If they would be doing their same work in Australia, they would not be accepted here.

So much confusion has been caused because our people do not understand what God’s true church is. They mistakenly keep thinking it is the “conference”. We have seen countless people stop attending Independent Camp Meetings—they feel they must go back to “the church,” or if they cannot face the apostasy in their conference church they would sooner stay at home alone rather than worship with us because we have “formed a new church.” We have seen attendance dwindle from hundreds down to small groups.

Not only did we face this confusion, but our pulpit has been used by people with strange theology who see a ready made audience for their way off theology. This has caused us problems when some of our members were influenced by them. It seemed as soon as we gained a few more members, someone would come along and they would leave. We have had issues of separationism, pictures as idols, futurism, corporate responsibility and many more.

Currently we are at our lowest membership for quite some time with a few families leaving. About 20 attend each Sabbath. Yes, Satan has been at work in our church but we also see God’s great blessings. We hear wonderful sermons about being prepared for Christ’s coming. My husband Peter is the original preacher left and he preaches most of the sermons. He finds it difficult to find the time to prepare these as he holds down a full time job in the workforce.

There is much more I could write but time does not permit me to do this. I am so grateful that at long last other people can see the problem in Australia. We have seen the gradual change over years, of some of the visiting ministers, as apostasy deepens in the SDA church. They seem to understand our position and we are not now dismissed as “offshoots.” We are very grateful of the support of Russell Standish, Tom Turner and O.K. Anderson.

Thank you for your magazine. I enjoy the articles and appreciate the effort that goes into these.

May God continue to bless you,
Name Withheld

The Valley of Deceitfulness

by

In Isaiah 28, we find a special message sent to us by God. Here is portrayed that which we are soon to face. “Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, who will bring them down to the earth with His hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, will be trampled underfoot; and the glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valley, like the first fruit before the summer,which an observer sees; he eats it up while it is still in his hand.” Isaiah 28:1–4.

The valley of deceitfulness can look fair. There can be many beautiful flowers in it. Those in charge of the valley can be fat with the gifts of God’s professed people. But, the appearance is deceptive because the judgment of God hangs over His professed people today because we have disregarded the voice of His messenger. We have cast it aside if it called us to reform, and we have obeyed only that which has gone along with our natural inclination. Then, to prove that we are obeying the Spirit of Prophecy, we have held up that part of the counsel which goes along with our inclination. It is for this reason that the judgment of God hangs over His people today. However beautiful the flowers in the valley of deceitfulness may be, destruction and judgment are coming from the Lord. If God’s people today are to know where they are in the stream of time, they must have the heavenly eyesalve.

Many men who once might have given godly counsel to God’s people , today, are no longer fit to give that counsel because they have failed to stand against the prevailing apostasy. They have stood, watching it take place, but they have continued to make strange alliances with the falsehood. Perhaps these men, themselves, are trying to live righteous lives, but this is not enough. If one does not stand up against apostasy, they are no longer fit to be messengers to God’s people .

To illustrate this point, let us draw from the rich, but terrible history of the conflict between the Waldenses and the papacy. If we do not learn from the mistakes of history, we are destined to repeat them.

Before we look at this history let me share a short story with you.

A few years ago our family visited a Pennsylvania colony called the Ephrata Cloister. Here, many years ago, there lived a group who kept the seventh-day Sabbath. They introduced the seventh-day Sabbath to the Baptists. The Baptists who accepted this truth became the Seventh-day Baptists, who in turn, later shared this truth with those who became Seventh-day Adventists.

I remember the guide showing us into the print room where the old-fashioned press was located. The press had a long handle, which, when pulled down, lowered the plate, leaving an impression on the paper. This process was repeated again and again, all day long. Because the labor was very wearying to the people , the handle became known as the devil’s tail.

The guide explained to us that there were more copies of the Bible printed here than of any other book. But, do you know what book ranked second in the number of copies to be printed? Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. It was the second most widely read book in the United States of America. Our forefathers used to read these history stories to their children. This foundational knowledge helped to make us a Protestant nation. Our people knew history then. The following story is one they would have read.

In the book, History of Protestantism by Wylie, a story is recorded of God’s people during the seventeenth century. In 1655, a decree was made calling for the complete extermination of the Waldenses. Army after army attempted to carry this out, only to meet with failure. After a short time of inactivity, General Pianeza determined he was going to do that which others had failed to do. As he began his march, the Waldenses became aware of his plans and they sent ambassadors down to the town of Turin to plead with the army to leave them alone.

The governor in Turin stalled the Waldensian representatives, while the papal armies were secretly gathering, hoping to deceive them as to their real intentions. A meeting was arranged with the Waldensian representatives for April 17, 1655. At about two o’clock in the morning, on the day of the meeting, General Pianeza’s army surrounded the city. Three hundred of his army of 15,000 men slipped under the city wall and made an attack on Sabbath morning, April 17.

The Waldenses, totally unprepared for the attack, hastily threw up a barricade, which the invading soldiers stormed. So stoutly did the Waldenses resist that after three hours of intense fighting, the papal soldiers, who had been unable to make any advance at all, were driven back.

At one o’clock the next morning, one of General Pianeza’s colonels, who knew the territory, sent a flanking recruitment to storm the town from behind. The Waldenses turned about-face, pierced the enemy rank, held the soldiers back and escaped to the mountains. In the whole encounter, which involved much bloody fighting, there were only three Waldensian soldiers killed.

The Vaudois (Waldenses) were once more in the mountains, their families having previously been transported up because of the threat of war. They watched the valley below as their orchards were cut down and their homes burned. On Monday, the nineteenth, and the day that followed, a series of skirmishes took place. The Vaudois, although poorly armed and vastly outnumbered, were victorious on every point, causing the popish soldiers to fall back, carrying wondrous tales of the Vaudois valor and heroism, and infusing panic into the rest of the troops.

Pianeza now began to have misgivings. As he recalled history, he was haunted by the memory of other mighty armies that had perished on these mountains. He determined to resort to deceit Before daybreak on Wednesday, the twenty-first of April, he announced by sound of trumpet, his willingness to receive the Vaudois deputies and treat for peace. Delegates set out for his camp headquarters and, on arrival, were treated with utmost courtesy and sumptuously entertained. Pianeza expressed the utmost regret for the excesses committed by his soldiers, which he assured them had been done contrary to orders. He protested that he had only come into their valleys to track a few fugitives who had disobeyed Gastaldo’s order. He said that the higher communes had nothing to fear, but that if each would admit a single regiment for a few days, in token of their loyalty, all war would be amicably ended. Despite the warnings of the more discerning pastors, especially Pastor Leger, Pianeza was able to convince the Vaudois of his sincerity, and accomplished by craft that which he had been unable to do by open warfare. The Waldenses opened the passes to their valleys and the doors of their dwellings to the soldiers of Pianeza.

The first two days were passed in comparative peace—the soldiers eating at the same table, sleeping under the same roof and conversing freely with their destined victims. This interval was needed to allow for every preparation to be made for what was to follow. The enemy now occupied the towns, the villages, the cottages, and the roads throughout the valleys.

At last the blow fell with the sudden crash of a thunderbolt. At four o’clock on the morning of Sabbath, April 24, 1655, the signal was given and in an instant a thousand assassins began the work of death. In a moment, dismay, horror, agony and woe overspread the Valleys of Lucerna and Angrogna. The cries and groans of the dying were echoed and reechoed from the rocks around. It seemed as if the mountains had taken up a wailing for the slaughter of their children. “Our Valley of Lucerna,” exclaimed Pastor Leger, “which was like a Goshen, was now converted into a Mount Etna, darting forth cinders and fire and flames. The earth resembled a furnace,and the air was filled with a darkness like that of Egypt, which might be felt, from the smoke of towns, villages, temples, mansions, granges, and buildings, all burning in the flames of the Vatican.” History of Protestantism, 484.
The soldiers were not content with the quick dispatch of the sword; they invented new and hitherto unheard-of modes of torture and death. No man to this day dare write in plain words all the disgusting and horrible deeds of these men; their wickedness can never be all known because it can never be all told.
Uncontrollable grief seized the hearts of the survivors at the sight of their brethren slain, their country devastated and their church overthrown. “Oh that my head were waters,” exclaimed Leger, “and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow.” Ibid., 485.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.” 1 Timothy 4:1–3.
Look carefully at verse two: “Speaking lies and hypocrisy.” If you allow the first part of this verse,”speaking lies and hypocrisy,” to lodge in your heart, the second half of the verse is the result—”having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” The conscience is seared by speaking lies and by hypocrisy. If the lies start living in our heart and we start acting out these lies, we are preparing our conscience to be “seared by a hot iron” so that we have no conscience left.

Let us remember the fact that, in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, ministers have been trained in NLP and imaging, a form of mind control that is basic in the spiritual exercises of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. (In the above story we see the end result of that type of training—the priesthood have a dead conscience.) Today men are using these things on their unsuspecting congregations. We saw some of the fruits through the disfellowshipping of members and disbanding of churches. Now we are seeing threats of law-suits. In the islands of the South Pacific we are even hearing of historic Adventists being stoned and their churches being burned down by people from the SDA structure. Are these persecutions that have been mentioned good fruit or bad fruit? Open warfare or persecution is actually less dangerous than the apparently sweet friendship and the pleasant smile on the faces of those that are not opposing the apostasy! That is the tactic that is confusing historic Adventists right now. We have not seen the end of these apparent friends yet; the fruit of “friendship” may be more bitter than the fruit of persecution. Jesus said, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” Matthew 12:33. “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Matthew 7:17, 18.

What the Vaudois had power and valor to do in open confrontation, they were unable to do when they gave in to deceit. The deceit cloaked the murder in the wicked ones’ hearts. In Proverbs 12:5 we read: “The counsels of the wicked are deceitful.”

Do not be fooled; the devil knows that what he cannot do through open confrontation, he can often accomplish through the deceitfulness of pretended friendship. If you accept the proposals of such, it will be as fatal to your salvation and that of your family as was the Waldenses’ accepting of their murderers into their homes.

The devil has studied history; he knows what tricks will work. We would be extremely naive to believe that he will not use them on us. He is seeking to do through peace and unity what he has been unable to do by force.

“When God’s people voluntarily unite with the worldly and the unconsecrated, and give them the preeminence, they will be led away from Him by the unsanctified influence under which they have placed themselves. For a short time there may be nothing seriously objectionable; but minds that have not been brought under the control of the Spirit of God will not take readily to those things which savor of truth and righteousness. If they had had heretofore any relish for spiritual things they would have placed themselves in the ranks of Jesus Christ. The two classes are controlled by different masters and are opposites in their purposes, hopes, tastes, and desires.” Counsels to Teachers, 542.

This is the reason that the issue of who and what the church is, is one you must understand. If you are confused on this issue and you believe that there is a set of men which you need to go to for counsel (regardless of their betrayal of sacred trust in upholding wickedness in others), you will lose your soul. In His instruction to His disciples, Jesus warned them to beware of men. “They were not to put implicit confidence in those who knew not God, and open to them their counsels; for this would give Satan’s agents an advantage.

Man’s inventions often counterwork God’s plans. Those who build the temple of the Lord, are to build according to the pattern shown in the mount,—the divine similitude. God is dishonored and the gospel is betrayed when His servants depend on the counsel of men who are not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Worldly wisdom is foolishness with God. Those who rely upon it, will surely err.” Desire of Ages, 354.

Do not go to the Pharisees and the Sadducees and try to unite with them in an evangelistic endeavor or some other seemingly worthy project. Do not get up in front of church and try to speak words that will please both the children of darkness and the children of light.

“‘The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show.’ The gospel of the grace of God, with its spirit of self-abnegation, can never be in harmony with the spirit of the world. The two principles are antagonistic.” Review and Herald, January 18, 1906. (All emphasis supplied.) What does it mean when it says never? NEVER! When those who were professing truth, but were not bringing forth its fruits in their life, came to John the Baptist, he refused to baptize them. In fact, he called them vipers, or deadly snakes.

Before the cobra strikes, it hypnotizes its victim. In the same manner, the Waldenses were first lulled to sleep with a treaty of peace. Then, when they least expected it, the death blow was struck.

It says of John the Baptist’s harsh denunciation of religious leaders of his day: “This sect [the Sadducees] was largely composed of unworthy characters, many of whom were licentious in their habits. By the word ‘vipers’ John meant those who were malignant and antagonistic, bitterly opposed to the expressed will of God.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1077.

Is malignant a safe situation to be in? It is deadly! Though they were the leaders of God’s professed church, it was not safe to follow them. Can we see the importance of the issue who and what is the church?

The devil is striving to lull the whole world into a fatal sleep from which they will not awaken until it is too late. I am so thankful that there are some people who are standing up and warning the people before they are struck by the poisonous snake.

“Those who have the mind of Christ will let the light shine forth to the world in good works, but that light will bring about a division. Shall the light therefore be hid under a bed or under a bushel, because it will mark a distinction between the followers of Christ and the world? It must be apparent that the believers in the truth are antagonistic to the serpent and to his seed.” Signs of the Times, April 9, 1894.

The fear of being branded as “uncooperative” or “uncharitable” leads many to join and work with those they have no confidence in, and become involved in activities about which they have grave reservations. We are to stand up against the apostasy and not be content to remain in the shadows, mingling on the fringes. There are vipers in the camp today. With subtlety and deceit they will seek to deceive you. Do not listen to their talk of peace.

“The words of Jesus addressed to this generation may well be regarded with sorrow and awe. He asks, ‘When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?’ Christ looked down the ages, and with prophetic eye marked the conflict between the antagonistic principles of truth and error. He saw how real Christianity would become almost extinct in the world, so that at His second advent He would find a state of society similar to that which existed before the flood. The world will be engaged in festivity and amusement, in theatrical shows, in the indulgence of base passions. Intemperance of every grade would exist, and even the churches would be demoralized, and the Bible would be neglected and desecrated. He saw that the desperate revelries of the last days would only be interrupted by the judgments of God.” Signs of the Times, April 21, 1890.

Judgments are coming. Do not try to secure peace by your silence. Regardless of the motive, beware of entering into any kind of agreement for peace with the children of darkness. You will be taking a step toward Babylon. “Peace is too dearly obtained if purchased by the smallest concession to Satan’s agencies.” Signs of the Times, November 8, 1899.

“The opposition of the children of disobedience is excited by a Christianity that is spiritual . . . That peace and harmony which are secured by mutual concessions to avoid all differences of opinion are not worthy of the name.” Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1, 244.

“We are to make no concessions to the enemy. [What is a concession? Giving in.] We are not to change one principle of the truth that we have received from God. We cannot hold converse with those who are in league with evil angels. Christ never purchased peace by compromise.” Notebook Leaflets, 124.

Friends, no one should feel that he is so strong that he is safe to enter into discussions with people who are in league with evil angels in order to keep peace. None of us are safe from deception. Our only safety is in being kept by holy angels. If, however, we go where the Lord has not bidden us go, we forfeit their protection.

Do not think you are doing a soul winning endeavor when you join in evangelism with ministerswho are not speaking up against the apostasy. You are preparing to be destroyed. God did not protect the Waldenses when they entered into an unauthorized treaty with the powers of darkness. Do you believe He will deal differently with us?

If we do not learn the lessons of history, we are insuring that we will share the bitter results of the same mistakes.

People who are teaching NLP and practicing it on our people are wicked men; and those who hold these men’s hands in quietness are partakers of their sins. The Word of God says, “Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.” Isaiah 28:1–4.

The judgments of God are far bigger than any of us. Our only safety when the storm breaks is to be found under the sheltering hand of God. There is no other safety.
“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9–11.

Everyone in this world is either going to have a new heart, a heart of truth and righteousness, or they will enter into a league with “peaceful and loving” representatives of falsehood and be deceived by a strong delusion. Which is it going to be for you?

Sinful Independence, part 2

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John Was Independent of the Sanhedrin

When God called John the Baptist, a prophet equal with Moses (Matthew 11:11), to prepare the way for Jesus’ first coming, leaders like Korah were in charge of the church. Though John was faithful to the church, he did not recognize the authority of these self-appointed leaders and he fearlessly reproved them for their pride and arrogance. “John had not recognized the authority of the Sanhedrin by seeking their sanction for his work; and he had reproved rulers and people, Pharisees and Sadducees alike.” Desire of Ages, 132.
John’s calling and authority did not come from man, but from God, and John the Baptist respected the authority of heaven. The Sanhedrin, the highest human authority in the church, had tried to assume prerogatives and authority that belonged to God alone, thus making themselves independent of God. John the Baptist did not join in their independence by submitting himself to them. Moreover, he reproved rulers and elders just as well as the common people—he was no respecter of persons. Though some would consider that criticism of the leadership, John recognized clearly that sin in one was as bad as sin in another, and public sins, that were unrepented of, needed to be publicly reproved.

When John the Baptist “saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them . . . ‘bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father,” For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ ” Matthew 3:7–10.

John taught the people not to put full faith in any system, profession of personal piety, or institution—for “every tree which does not bear good fruit” will be “cut down.” Every person, congregation, conference, institution, or ministry, however large or small, that becomes independent from God will be cut down. “God has a church . . . It is the people who love God and keep His commandments.” Upward Look, 315. God’s church, His people who are totally dependent upon Him and who “follow the lamb wherever He goes,” Revelation 14:4, will go through to the end, and they will go through unitedly as a body of Christ. Yet it must be understood that the movement is much more than systems, buildings and legal documents. When the Seventh-day Adventist headquarters at Battle Creek became independent, God burned it down; but the church itself survived, and will ultimately triumph. We want to triumph with it. God is not going to start a new church or a new movement, but the movement must be purified from every element of independence from Him.

God’s Promises Are Conditional

The Jews thought that because they could trace their lineage and system back to Abraham, they were secure; but John said that God was not dependent upon them to have a people—He could take the stony hearts of the Gentiles and graft them into the true stock. In commenting upon John’s message, Ellen White elaborates: “Not by its name, but by its fruit, is the value of a tree determined. If the fruit is worthless, the name [Jew, Israel, Christian or Seventh-day Adventist] cannot save the tree from destruction. John declared to the Jews that their standing before God was to be decided by their character and life. Profession was worthless . . . If their life and character were not in harmony with God’s law, they were not His people.” Desire of Ages, 107.

Somehow John did not seem to understand, as the leaders did, that the church (which to them meant the visible structure that was under their control) was going through regardless. “The Jews had misinterpreted God’s promise of eternal favor to Israel: ‘Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever. Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.’ Jeremiah 31:35–37. The Jews regarded their natural descent from Abraham as giving them a claim to this promise. But they overlooked the conditions which God had specified.” The Acts of the Apostles, 106.

The Jews trusted in these promises of the Bible—that they, as a people, would last forever, as long as the sun and moon existed. They could tauntingly argue with John the Baptist, asking, “Is the sun still shining, John? You see then, God must not have cast us off.” But they had overlooked the conditions upon which the promises were based. John assuredly warned them that “every tree which does not bear good fruit” will be cut down and “thrown into the fire”—even Israel and Jerusalem!

When John warned the church that God could work without them, in their eyes he committed the unpardonable sin. Instead of taking his message to heart and working to purify the church so that the conditions of acceptance with God could be fulfilled, they sought to silence the reprover. To them the church was the structure of buildings and the human leadership in Jerusalem, and that system was as secure in their eyes as the throne of God itself. Yet, “from the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church.” The Acts of the Apostles, 11. Never has the Lord, either anciently or today, made His work or His church totally dependent on physical structure. God removed the structure in Jesus’ day, but the true church survived. Throughout the Old Testament God had promised that “in the place where it was said . . . ‘You are not My people,’ there it shall be said to them, ‘You are the sons of the living God.’ ” Hosea 1:10. As it is today, so it was then, God was not dependent upon the established church to preserve a people. He could raise up children to Abraham from the stony hearts of the Gentiles, for “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29.

John warned that, “not by its name, but by its fruit, is the value of a tree determined. If the fruit is worthless, the name cannot save the tree from destruction.” Desire of Ages, 107. When God’s people begin to worry about the semantics of their name, seeking to protect the words themselves by crucifying people who use it, as they did Jesus upon the cross, it is a sure sign that they have lost the true significance of the name. The primary purpose of a name is to signify the character within. If Jesus had not called Himself a Jew, the Jewish leaders would not have put Him to death.

John the Baptist’s Message is Needed Today

It is time again for the message and ministry of John the Baptist to come to God’s heritage in order that we might be prepared for Jesus’ second coming. Today we are called to do a work similar to that of John the Baptist, and to give the same message in even stronger terms, yet in a spirit of love. “In this fearful time, just before Christ is to come the second time, God’s faithful preachers will have to bear a still more pointed testimony than was borne by John the Baptist. A responsible, important work is before them; and those who speak smooth things, God will not acknowledge as His shepherds. A fearful woe is upon them.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 321. It is a fearful thing to be a minister and speak smooth and popular messages that please the people. Though they may receive the credentials and tithes of the conference, God does not acknowledge them as His ministers.

” ‘Peace and safety’ is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God’s people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 211.

Jesus—Our Example

Probably the only person in the Bible who talked straighter than John the Baptist, as God’s preachers today are to do, was Jesus. When Jesus met the religious leaders, He did not simply call them poisonous snakes, as John had done; He plainly stated that they were the children of Satan. The Jews had argued with Him that they were assuredly God’s people because they had the official name and the official organization that had been sacredly handed down for centuries, John 8:39–41, but Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me . . .You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” John 8:42–44. You may think you represent God because you have the official name and represent the official organization, but if your life is not in harmony with God’s expressed will, you are most assuredly not His representatives.

When Jesus came, He was viewed from the very beginning as being independent; but of all the people on earth, He was the least independent person who ever lived. He said, “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” John 5:30. Jesus was the least independent minister who ever lived, as far as His own will was concerned, but He was independent from the church organization on earth because they had become independent of God. He would like to have been united with them, but He could not unite with them and remain dependent on His Father, for the two were not in harmony. As the Bible says: “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Amos 3:3.

Thus, to outward appearances, He manifested what appeared to be an independent attitude. “Under the synagogue teachers the youth were instructed in the countless regulations which as orthodox Israelites they were expected to observe. But Jesus did not interest Himself in these matters. From childhood He acted independently.” Jesus was viewed as being independent, but what was He independent from? Let us finish the sentence. “From childhood He acted independently of the rabbinical laws. The Scriptures of the Old Testament were His constant study, and the words, ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ were ever upon His lips.” Desire of Ages, 84.

If one wants to cause trouble, let him ask for the authority from the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy when confronted by the church manual. But that is the kind of trouble Jesus caused. (It was because we did not want our church to become like the Jewish church that we decided not to have a church manual when it was first proposed in 1883, but the decision was reversed in the General Conference of 1931.)

Though Jesus tried “in every gentle and submissive way . . . to please those with whom He came in contact . . . He would not be easily influenced by their teaching.” Desire of Ages, 85. The priests could not tolerate this spirit of independence in Jesus. “They urged Him to receive the maxims and traditions that had been handed down from the ancient rabbis, but He asked for their authority in Holy Writ. He would hear every word that proceeds from the mouth of God; but He could not obey the inventions of men.” Ibid. I can hear them urging Him: “Jesus, don’t you believe that this is God’s church?” “Yes,” He would answer. “Well, don’t you believe that God has guided and directed in this church down through the ages?” “Yes,” He would answer again. “Then you must believe the practices and teachings of this church which have been decided upon and practiced for centuries. You don’t believe that all these rabbis were wrong, do you?” (Notice,it was the “maxims and traditions that had been handed down from ancient rabbis” which they urged upon Jesus.) But Jesus would simply answer, “Where does it teach that in the Bible?”

Even Jesus’ own mother, who was a converted person and a conscientious member of the church, thought Jesus was too independent. “Mary often remonstrated with Jesus, and urged Him to conform to the usages of the rabbis.” Desire of Ages, 90. What a trial this must have been for Jesus. All alone Jesus bore His fidelity to truth. He was misunderstood by the best people in church—they could not understand how any sincere, consecrated person could become so independent from the teaching of the much respected rabbis of the past and present, since they had been ordained of God.

For Jesus, there was no inspired manual other than the holy Word of God. But so hierarchical had the church become that they knew of no other way that the church could function other than by man made rules, authority and a strong, Jerusalem centered structure. But Jesus elevated truth above structure.

Jesus was viewed as being so independent of the structure that the leaders of the church decided that if He was allowed to continue He would destroy the church—and there is no question that their power structure would have been destroyed. “He who was the foundation of the ritual and economy of Israel would be looked upon as its enemy and destroyer.” Desire of Ages, 111. The pious leaders of the church tried to prevent His influence from destroying the church in every way possible. They tried to prove Him wrong. They warned the people against listening to Him. They prevented Him from speaking in the churches. They spread lies and rumors about Him and His ministry. They tried everything to limit His influence (and they were quite successful at this), but nothing seemed to stop Him. Finally, as a last resort, they “regretfully” decided that they must put Him to death. They undoubtedly “hated” to do this, but the church must be preserved—its reputation and name must be protected from such irresponsible people as Barabbas and Jesus.

Jesus and Barabbas, of course, were quite different —one was a murderer and one was a life giver. But they were both independent, and of the two, Jesus was the most dangerous because His doctrines and practices fooled the common people. And once the spirit of independence gets started, they figured that there was no way to protect the church. It was inconceivable to them that God could protect and preserve His church if they would purify themselves and call upon Him for His protection —no, if they did not preserve it, the church would be destroyed. It was either Jesus or the church. John 11:50. Therefore, Jesus must be destroyed so that the church could survive. “If He stands in the way of Israel’s well-being, is it not doing God a service to remove Him? Better that one man perish than that the whole nation be destroyed. . . In their opinion, He had set aside the priesthood. He had refused to acknowledge the theology of the rabbinical schools. He had exposed the evil practices of the priests, and had irreparably hurt their influence . . . Satan told them that in order to maintain their authority, they must put Jesus to death. This counsel they followed . . . Such was their deception that they were well pleased with themselves. They regarded themselves as patriots, who were seeking the nation’s salvation.” Ibid., 540–541. Thus Jesus was disfellowshipped and the people who disfellowshipped Him thought they had saved the church from some great independent calamity that was threatening their very existence.