Church

Are You a Seventh-day Adventist? Can anybody Tell that you are?

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Hundreds of years ago, with unerring accuracy, the Apostle Paul described the end times, which would surround society in general, and God’s professed people in particular. “Perilous times shall come,” he wrote in 2 Timothy 3:1. Various versions of Scripture render this warning sign posted by Paul as “difficult times will come,” “Times of great stress and trouble, hard to deal with and hard to bear.” One version says, “I want you to realize that as bad as times are now [in a.d. 66], this is nothing compared to the perilous times of the last days.”

Choose Ye This Day

Whichever rendering you prefer, the textual context of this warning describes the conditions of the end times that will affect and test the character and spirituality of all people. While 2 Timothy 3 and 4 could be given a wider application, nothing could be more tragic than to miss the application of these Scriptures to Adventism as today constituted. Furthermore, nothing would please Satan more than for God’s professed people to keep reading this biblical warning only “historically” as in the past, or “prophetically” as in the future. If we are ever going to benefit from this warning, then at some point in our experience and growth in character development, we must read and teach this warning as applying to us today! Therefore, 2 Timothy 3:1 would be read, not perilous times “shall come,” “could come,” or “may come,” but “have come.”

Far too many within the Adventist community believe that some time in the future the world conditions will be of such a nature that they will be led to take a bold stand for the truth, and pattern their lifestyle accordingly. But nothing could be more difficult and most unlikely. Generally, the end of such thinking in spiritual matters is disastrous. Without a doubt, such a mentality avoids and postpones the present preparation desperately needed for it delays dealing with the issues confronting us all today. It produces a quality of Adventists who oppose and resist correction. The duties imposed by present truth anger them, and unwittingly, but nevertheless by a choice, they become persecutors of their own brethren. This pattern of living and thinking confirms people deeper in Laodiceanism, and allies them with the popular churches of the world.

“Many are quieting a troubled conscience with the thought that they can change a course of evil when they choose; that they can trifle with the invitations of mercy, and yet be again and again impressed. They think that after doing despite to the spirit of grace, after casting their influence on the side of Satan, in a moment of terrible extremity they can change their course. But this is not so easily done. The experience, the education of a lifetime, has so thoroughly molded the character that few then desire to receive the image of Jesus.” Love Unlimited, 33.

Popular Deception—Do Nothing

And then there is another deception just as popular as the one described above, and just as perilous and fatal to Adventism. It is apparent everywhere. Clerics like it, teach it, and encourage it. It makes the membership “spectators” instead of “participants.” It has defrauded the membership from carrying out the divine assignment of the priesthood of all believers. It is doing nothing in a religious crisis; it is leaving for God to do that which He has mandated for us to do! This idea has so affected our belief that the teachings of the fallen churches have, in part, become ours. “You cannot stop sinning,” is heard in many of the Adventist churches, and it has become so bold that without hesitation, the teaching that you will continue to sin until Jesus returns, is widely spread.

This do-nothing concept Ellen White was inspired to label as an “astonishing deception,” and “apostasy,” and though rehearsing the history of Israel in this context, the Lord’s messenger makes it applicable to us in this day. The do-nothing, wait-and-see deception, she calls a “crime.”

“If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in time of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime, and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God.” Testimonies to the Church, vol. 3, 281.

The apostles’ warning and Ellen White’s testimony come painfully close to home to the Adventist community! Characteristics visible among the professed people of God are accurately described in the chapters of Timothy referred to above. The “perilous times” here mentioned are to prevail “in the last days.” To what time shall we apply this expression, “in the last days?” We have been so spiritually sedated by the ways of this world, accepting their praises, preoccupied with maintaining an acceptable image, lavishing in the fellowship of other churches, that Apostle Paul’s prophetic warning has been relegated to the times and events that mark the final test. But what a shocking revelation it must be to many to realize that we have been living in the last days, the perilous times that precede the “final test.” Expressions such as “the last days,” “perilous times,” “time of trouble,” “little time of trouble,” need to be applied to the present times. Ellen White places these perilous times of trouble while “Christ is still in the heavenly sanctuary,” and “while the work of salvation is closing.” Early Writings, 85. Lest anyone conclude that these scriptural warnings applied to our present time is unwarranted, consider the following from the Inspired writings:

“A storm is coming, relentless in its fury. Are we prepared to meet it? We need not say the perils of the last days are soon to come upon us. Already they have come.” Testimonies to the Church, vol. 8, 315. (Italics supplied.)

And this is not the only statement making this application. Two more should suffice:

“We are living in the perils of the last days.” Manuscript 148, Notebook Leaflets, 53.

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.’ (1 Timothy 4:1.) The time of this apostasy is here. Every conceivable effort will be made to throw doubt upon the positions that we have occupied for over half a century.” Letter 410, August 26, 1907.

Please Stand Up

If the above statements are correct, then the Scriptures, the Testimonies and these perilous times call for the real Seventh-day Adventist to stand up! Would you please stand up and identify yourself by the message you are proclaiming, the work you are doing, and by the lifestyle you are living? Was it not Jesus who said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”? Just think of it, we have been living in the end time, surrounded by the perils of the last days prophesied almost 2,000 years ago, and did not even know it!

“We must learn to stand alone and depend wholly upon God. The sooner we learn this the better.” Early Writings, 105.

The list of characteristics mentioned in 2 Timothy 3 and 4 is quite indicting. They are applicable to all Adventists in general, and to some in particular. The truth is that the entire list applies to Adventism. We have just arbitrarily selected several of the characteristics for the purpose of this presentation:

  1. Boasters
  2. Blasphemers
  3. Unholy
  4. Traitors
  5. Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof
  6. Ever-learning, never coming to the knowledge of the truth
  7. Will not endure sound doctrine
  8. Turn away their ears from the truth

Heavy charges, would you not say? Very much so, and these characteristics must be so damaging to character development, that Apostle Paul, under inspiration, called the real Adventist, the truthful Adventist, to action—”from such turn away.” Why such a drastic move? The experience of the first Christian Church is used by Ellen White to give us the reasons and to teach us our duty, as unpleasant as it may be, when such conditions continue to exist.

“But there is no union between the Prince of Light and the prince of darkness, and there can be no union between their followers. When Christians consented to unite with those who were but half converted from paganism, they entered upon a path which led farther and farther from the truth. Satan exulted that he had succeeded in deceiving so large a number of the followers of Christ. He then brought his power to bear more fully upon them, and inspired them to persecute those who remained true to God. None understood so well how to oppose the true Christian faith as did those who had once been its defenders, and these apostate Christians, uniting with their half-pagan companions, directed their warfare against the most essential features of the doctrines of Christ.

“It required a desperate struggle for those who would be faithful to stand firm against the deceptions and abominations which were disguised in sacerdotal garments and introduced into the church. The Bible was not accepted as the standard of faith. The doctrine of religious freedom was termed heresy, and its upholders were hated and proscribed.

“After a long and severe conflict, the faithful few decided to dissolve all union with the apostate church if she still refused to free herself from falsehood and idolatry. They saw that separation was an absolute necessity if they would obey the word of God. They dared not tolerate errors fatal to their own souls, and set an example which would imperil the faith of their children and children’s children. To secure peace and unity they were ready to make any concession consistent with fidelity to God; but they felt that even peace would be too dearly purchased at the sacrifice of principle. If unity could be secured only by the compromise of truth and righteousness, then let there be difference, and even war.” The Great Controversy, 45.

They Will Put You Out of the Synagogue

By now, many of you who are reading this article may be stirred with displeasure and even anger; and that is good! But remember the Scripture admonition, “sin not, and give no place to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26, 27. But wait, have you thought it through? That which may unsettle and disturb most is the truthfulness of the condition within the professed Adventist family. The issue is that the message is either true or false. We either live in “the perilous times” or we do not. We are either in the end of time or we are not. Either the Three Angels’ Messages have done their work in our lives or they have not. We are either ready to enter the judgment session to be judged, or not!

Some of the members have been terrorized with the threat of being put out of the “synagogue,” if they become vocal; others, not having done their homework by studying for themselves, have been intimidated with “Remnant Church not Babylon” sermons—a technique that the ministry has used for decades hoping to keep the world-wide membership docile. But who said the Seventh-day Adventist church as constituted and functioning today, is the remnant church? Where is the evidence for that notion? Neither secular nor biblical history supports the infallibility idea that has been projected by misapplying this statement through the years. Adventism never taught the infallibility of any church in the past! That is not Protestant theology. Only those who are not the remnant church, but want to appear they are, make this claim! No Seventh-day Adventist group can claim the distinction of being the remnant church before the judgment has done its work—investigated the records and rendered its verdict in keeping with the unerring record of righteousness! And by the way, nowhere in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy writings does it say that “a backsliding church” (Signs of the Times, February 19, 1894) “drifting to sea without chart or compass” (Christ Our Righteousness 50, 51. 1937 edition,) charged as having “become a harlot” (Testimonies, vol. 8, 250,) can “never” become a part of Babylon or receive the same condemnation! To the surprise of many, the truth of the matter is, in fact, quite the opposite. Ellen White did sound the warning; “we are in danger of becoming a sister of fallen Babylon.” Letter 57, 1886. Why were you not told this before?

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are living in these perilous end times; we have acted a part in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy; we have been given the opportunity by God to act and react to the perils of the last days. What testimony have we borne? Every choice we have made in issues that have arisen in the family, the church or society at large has served to shape our character for the final pronouncement, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation 22:11. The final test does not fit us for salvation, it only reveals whether the preparation was made.

Given the nature of this public presentation, we cannot dwell in detail upon the individual application of the issues as they affect us personally. It is hoped that each will draw out the lesson for himself, “for God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. However, let it be clearly understood that we have reached a sad chapter in the history of Adventism. There must be no uncertainty about the spiritual condition that exists within the broad spectrum of the professed people of God. Whether we care to admit it or not, the fact is that Adventism which started in 1844 is not what we have today. And when we lose the power of the truth, the loss is made up by coercion and man-made laws bringing us to one of the main issues of the Third Angel’s Message.

Whatever Happened to Religious Liberty?

Whatever happened to the religious liberty principles and doctrines that our Adventist forefathers contended for and taught as being part of the Three Angels’ Messages? Has that divine plant gone to seed? Do we now believe in religious liberty and freedom of conscience only for ourselves, while we deny it to others? Such perversion breeds persecution and invites tyranny. It does that which even God does not do. It violates the God-given freedom of choice and coerces the conscience of anyone and everyone that displeases. This divine principle of liberty of conscience and freedom of choice, given and bequeathed by God to mankind, offered in the Garden of Eden to our first parents, exemplified by the Lord Jesus Christ through His death on the cross, contended for by the first disciples of Christ, restored by the great Reformation of the 16th century, and again recognized and legislatively provided for by that divinely Inspired document, the Constitution of the United States of America, then embedded in the end-time message of Revelation 14:6–12, to be presented to the world by God’s people has been the basis and reason for heaven’s blessing that has followed all those who have recognized this principle, defended it, and regarded it as sacred.

Yet, sinister forces, working under satanic direction, have always tried to eliminate this freedom under one pretext or another. By divine revelation prophecy has indicated that when our nation, combined with apostate religious powers, shall mandate, by use and force of law, to deny the “free exercise” of this divine right to choose to follow the dictates of conscience, this should be a signal that God’s special favor and recognition are being removed. The result can only be devastating. But what if this divine principle is denied to believers within the family of Adventism? The words of Christ uttered to Jerusalem (the church), “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate,” Matthew 23:38, can only mean one thing—rejection! “Any house becomes a house of desolation when God leaves it.” Church Membership, 8.

It is right here at this point many become confused in their understanding. They conclude that the prediction of Christ, “your house is left unto you desolate,” means that the house (religious denomination, church) ceases to exist. But not so. Its existence continues. It functions. It progresses. It is vocal and still claims the former promises of God. It remains a recognizable entity in the world and by the world, but it operates without the divine approval or presence of God in its midst. Its so-called success, as the world sees it, is due to its having become, as Jesus said, “a house of merchandise.” John 2:16, Testimonies, vol. 8, 250. And how only can a “house of merchandise” function when the divine presence is lacking? The only way that a “house of merchandise” in a worldly environment can protect itself is by trademark laws enforced against others through state laws! Has this scenario, generally referred to by Christ almost 2,000 years ago and applied by Ellen White 97 years ago, found, at least in part if not in totality, fulfillment in our time? The use of a name, that at one time identified the faith and belief of God’s people, has now been applied to a house of merchandise to protect “goods and services.” Yet, just such an experience made headlines that not only received attention from Christians in particular, but the world in general. Every Seventh-day Adventist should make it their business to be acquainted with this issue, and prayerfully see the larger picture at stake here. On March 13, 2000, the Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists petitioned the Court for an injunction (a judicial order) that would compel and require, under the threat of punishment, that none but those whose names are on the records of the merchandising Seventh-day Adventist church, with headquarters in Maryland, may use the name “Seventh-day Adventist” as an expression of this historic faith.

Our Disgraceful Witness

What a disgraceful witness to the universe and the world—Adventists suing Adventists! Those who, because of their employment or vested interests, try to excuse or defend, or simply do nothing to condemn such abomination, and also those who continue to support with their tithes and offerings have become a persecuting party against their brethren. By this action every rule of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy counsel has been violated, and also by this action the leadership has, by their office representing the entire membership, made every individual member throughout the world a party to this unrighteousness.

“Church members [through their leadership] who appeal to the courts of the world show that they have chosen the world as their judge, and their names are registered in heaven as one with unbelievers.” Manuscript 64, 1898.

So what then is a true Adventist to do under such circumstance? The answer is simple and straightforward. “Duties change in character with the increase of light.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 435. Just stand up and be counted! Disassociate yourself from its fellowship. Stop financing this persecution with your tithes and offerings, lest you be partakers of the sins of those who are promoting this work.

“Today, men are choosing Barabbas and saying, ‘Crucify Christ.’ They will do this in the person of His saints.” Testimonies to the Battle Creek Church, 27.

“When brethren manifest the spirit of the dragon, it is time to exert your liberty….” Testimonies, vol. 4, 245.

Adventism has fragmented into many groups for various reasons, from the most conservative to the most liberal. And make no mistake; the issues that have brought about this fracturing have not yet been solved as some hoped—within the structured church. Therefore, the fragmentation continues. Perilous times have come. They are here! And the results have been hazardous. Leadership has been frantically trying to keep intact the membership that supplied the gross revenue. They resent being questioned. The pleas from membership to change the direction of policies, mergers with non-Adventists and fraternization with Babylon and her daughters go unheeded. They have become a law unto themselves. Fundamental truths that made Seventh-day Adventists a unique and peculiar people at the outset are gradually but consistently attacked and undermined. Flagrant disbelief in the directives found in the Spirit of Prophecy writings is common and frequent.

To Excuse the Existing Situation is to Defend It!

This presentation should not be construed as a tirade against every Seventh-day Adventist. To the contrary, it is to show that the enemy of all righteousness, through men, has succeeded to introduce a worldly system within Adventism that is diluting the precious message that is designed to prepare people for eternity. To excuse the situation existing is to defend it. Do not do it! Let the authoritative word of God do its work, and may we each benefit from its warnings.

The divine messages that carved out the Advent believers from the other communions and set them aside as a distinct people have well nigh lost their sanctifying power, its preserving property. We are brain-damaged by the forces of the world. The secular tide is proving too strong, and we are voluntarily giving up our distinctiveness. We’ve been mesmerized by the educational norms of the world to the point that what started in 1844 is not what we have today. It is immoral to claim that we have a message that is designed to convert the world, when that work has not been accomplished in us.

But let it be heard loud and clear, that there are some, a very small number, who still believe that those historic messages of Revelation 14 still mean what they meant when first given. The application of these truths today carries the same divine mandate that stirred the world when the message was first given. “We have no new message,” wrote the Lord’s Messenger in the Review and Herald, January 19, 1905. “We are to proclaim the message that in 1843 and 1844 brought us out of the other churches.”

That being so, the message, “Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come,” must go out as the final warning to professed Adventists and to the world! “Worship Him,” not “our church,” “our educational accomplishments and institutions, not even our name” but “Him that made heaven and earth.” “It was to separate the church of Christ from the corrupting influence of the world that the First Angel’s Message was given.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 231.

The Second Message cannot and must not be separated or divorced from the first. Make no mistake; this message applies to all the churches that have rejected present truth. The message was designed to separate and keep distinct God’s people from all others. “This message announced the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the First Message….Thus are represented those churches that cling to the doctrines and traditions of Rome and follow her worldly practices.” Their fall “is announced in the Second Angel’s Message.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 232, 233.

The Third Message draws a sharp distinction between the Sabbath observer and the entire rest of the world. It is a separating wall. There is no partnership or fellowship with any who do not acknowledge the binding claims of all the law of God.

“I saw that the holy Sabbath is and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers; and that the Sabbath is the great question, to unite the hearts of God’s dear, waiting saints.” Early Writings, 33.

“Satan rejoices when he can lead souls to follow mistaken ideas, until their names are blotted out of the Book of Life and recorded among the names of the unjust.” This Day With God, 322.

The heavenly diagnostician has clearly spelled out our sickness. Do not argue with the True Witness.

Is there a remedy, and is there hope? The majority will reject the remedy, that has been predicted, but you, dear reader, can be made willing to accept the counsel of the True Witness and inherit, not only the following promise, but life eternal:

“Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” Revelation 3:10.

“…In this Scripture is brought to view the hour of temptation that is to try them that dwell upon the earth. We are now living in this trying hour. There is no escape for any from this conflict.” Review and Herald, July 9, 1908.

Please, for Christ’s sake, stand up and be counted!

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John Nicolici is an ordained minister, living in Sacramento, California, providing a teaching and support ministry within the Adventist community of self-supporting ministries and home churches.

A Leader’s Character

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A new beginning, a new experiment, a nation for the people, ruled by the people, but under God. The Europeans did not think this would work. They thought it would end up in anarchy and ruin. Two hundred plus some years ago, our forefathers set out to establish a new nation, and, as Lincoln said, “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” This was an altogether new experiment, one that amazed the world, that a nation could be ruled by its own citizens, but under God.

In 1787, several of the greatest minds America has ever produced gathered in Philadelphia to attend what became known as the Constitutional Convention. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Governor Morris, and others were in attendance to write a constitution. They knew they were sailing in uncharted waters, they knew they were embarking on a new, untried plan to unify the colonies under one nation. And it was a unification that was to affect all nations. As Morris prophesied when he said, “The whole human race will be affected by the proceedings of this convention.” Morris’ declaration cannot be disputed. After the Constitution became the supreme law in the United States on March 4, 1789, America quickly ascended to astounding heights—becoming the most powerful and dominant nation the world has ever known.

To what extent can the awesome development and growth be attributed in America’s humble beginning? In the Bible, Jesus likened the kingdom of God to a mustard seed ‘which is indeed the least of all seeds: but when grown it is the greatest among herbs.” Matthew 13:32. And, as in the parable of the sower in the field, Christ said that unless that small seed starts right, in fertile ground, it can never develop. (See Matthew 13.)

As far as human governments go, the United States started about as right as any government that man has ever produced. Critics may say what they will about why it started right, but the founding fathers agreed on one issue, it was founded upon religion and morality. These are the two fundamental building blocks upon which America was built.

A “New Israel”

The founding fathers may not have known that America’s earliest settlers were, in fact, descendants of Israel, but they likened America to a “New Israel.” Historians and political commentators alike recognize this fact.

William Bennett wrote, “What made this country different from all others was a prevalent belief that God played a direct and active hand in founding a people. Like the Jerusalem of old, America’s ‘New Jerusalem’ was to become God’s promised land to the oppressed—an example to all humankind.” Our Sacred Honor, 366.

Probably the first American statesman to see a parallel between the Exodus and early American history was Benjamin Franklin. According to Milt Machlin, author of Joshua’s Altar, Franklin “described the independent colony on America’s shores as ‘God’s new Israel.’

“Without God’s blessing,” Bennett wrote, “many of the founders, especially Washington, believed that this country would never have come into being.” It was a belief that it was God’s will for America to stretch from sea to shining sea.

Fundamental Building Blocks of American Society

George Washington, America’s first President, championed this cause: that high morals and sincere religion had to be the fundamental building blocks of American society if it was to succeed and prosper. In his first Inaugural Address, on April 30, 1789, President Washington said, “The foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality.” In other words, what we do in our homes does matter! For Washington, this was not a peripheral issue. It was the foundation of our national policy!

At the end of his presidential oath, Washington added the words, “So help me, God.” Every President since has followed in his tradition. And, according to Washington Irving, after our first President concluded his oath, he bowed down humbly and kissed the Bible. Without religion and morality, Washington knew the American “experiment” was doomed to fail.

Benjamin Franklin, a self-proclaimed non-churchgoer, was, nevertheless, very religious. In his autobiography he listed 13 points to follow for attaining moral perfection, the last of which was to imitate Jesus. During the Constitutional Convention, when the delegates arrived at an impasse, it was Franklin who offered this solution: “Pray for the assistance of heaven.” How’s that for a non-churchgoer!

In his Notes on the State of Virginia, even Thomas Jefferson, not considered very religious by many, demanded this of the American people: “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?”

If you do not have access to American history in your home, take a trip to the library and read some. Check out a book on American history and study for yourself. You might learn some things that you never knew. See what priority our forefathers placed upon religion and morality. It was the chief cornerstone upon which this country was built.

The Power to Govern Ourselves According to the Ten Commandments

John Adams, our second President, said, “Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.” And James Madison said, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not on the power of government, but upon the capacity of each and every one of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”

James Madison knew that “the whole future of American civilization” was at stake! And if we Americans fail to govern ourselves by the Ten Commandments, this country is going to collapse into anarchy! The same holds true for any country. Madison gave us a wonderful definition of character and its importance. It is also his prophecy for America.

Our Founding Fathers created the constitution. It will be perilous if we ignore their deep understanding. The Constitution was established only for a people with strong morals. But we have degenerated greatly in this area. Without character our liberties will lead to deep division and anarchy. Only character can halt this natural flow of events!

What makes our forefathers’ statements so weighty is that they agree with God!

The Civil War almost destroyed America. Only the faith of Lincoln and the American people got us through that tragedy.

In 1954, Supreme Court Chief Justice, Earl Warren, wrote, “I believe the entire Bill of Rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the Bible and their belief in it.” Our forefathers knew that decaying morals meant a decaying nation!

Justice Stewart Potter said, it was impossible to define character. But many of our forefathers knew character meant not committing adultery and not lying. They knew that character meant keeping the Ten Commandments.

Is Character Necessary for Leadership?

The Bible reveals that character and effective leadership are as inseparable as oxygen and fire.

There are many references to God-fearing leaders in the Bible. God also recorded many of their weaknesses. King David was called a man after God’s own heart, (See Acts 13:22) but then he committed adultery, lied, and committed murder. Did that mean David was able to get away with his crimes? No. Let us look in the Bible to find out what happened. When God confronted David about his sin, David knew that no matter how he fooled his people into believing that he was a righteous leader, he could not fool God. David was overwhelmed with shame and remorse. He replied sorrowfully, “I have sinned against the Lord.” 2 Samuel 12:13. David repented (See Psalm 51.) He changed from his wickedness and God forgave him.

Facing the Consequences

However, the aftermath of David’s interlude with sin was not pretty. He suffered, and so did the nation. Even though he repented, God told him the sword would never pass from his house. While he was alive, (See 2 Samuel 12:10.) Israel was always at war.

God also told David, “I will raise up evil against you out of thine own house.” 2 Samuel 12:11. David’s son, Absalom, tried to kill his father. During Absalom’s rebellion, Israel erupted into civil war, during which tens of thousands of David’s own countrymen were slaughtered. Adonijah, another son of David, also rebelled against his father. On top of all that trouble, God sentenced to death the child Bathsheba conceived in adultery. This was the chain of events David’s sin triggered, and it would have been far worse if he had not repented.

Joseph was a man of upstanding character. Egypt prospered under his direction. In fact, when a dreadful famine struck the region, surrounding nations came to Joseph for help because he saved the excess during prosperous times. He did not lavishly spend more than he had. He saved for the future. He did not borrow from others to pay off mounting debts. He had no debts. All of Egypt and the surrounding nations benefited.

The Character of Their Leader is the Character of the People

After Joseph died and a new king arose who did not know Joseph, the new king feared the power and wealth of the Israelites, so he made slaves of them. For over 400 years the Israelites were subjugated to their Egyptian taskmasters. Then God delivered the ancient Israelites out of Egypt by the hand of one of their own, Moses. At last freed from religious persecution and the oppression of slavery, they departed with shouts of joy and singing praises to God. At Mt. Sinai, God delivered His moral code of ethics to Moses on two stone tablets. Then Moses returned to the people and told them all God had said and what God expected of them in morality and religion. If they agreed to abide by this strict moral standard, in return, they could have absolute freedom and abundant prosperity. Very quickly the people answered in unison, “All that the Lord hath said, we will do.” Exodus 24:7.

But they did not! Shortly into their journey, the Israelites became more concerned about their desire and lusts than they were about what was right in God’s eyes. And so they wandered around in the wilderness for 40 years, prohibited by God from entering the Promised Land. After their generation died, a new one matured which trusted in the words of Joshua, Moses’ successor. With a high hand, they crossed the Jordan River, routed the walled city of Jerico and settled in the Promised Land—a prosperous land flowing with milk and honey. Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and prospered and had success.

But when Joshua died, Israel lost an extraordinary leader. They also lost their passion for serving God and for subjecting themselves to an exalted moral standard; they turned to other religions. They were morally deteriorated. Their families divided, the nation suffered. Occasionally, while in the midst of a sore trial, the people would cry out to God for deliverance, and God would respond. He would send a leader who feared Him and kept His Commandments; a leader who was a man of truth; who was not led away by his own lusts. And that upright statesman would lead them out of the hole they had dug for themselves.

But when that leader died, they again forgot their God. Finally, it says in Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

So what was the end result of their miraculous deliverance from the oppression of Egypt? Anarchy! There was no standard or purpose. There was no real political authority. Everyone continued to do what seemed right in their own eyes. And the final outcome of their anarchy? The great nation of Israel was eventually ripped apart and separated into two nations, the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. God pled with both kingdoms to return to their past history that had afforded them much prosperity, but they rejected God’s pleas and His law—to their own shame.

In 721 B.C., the people of the northern kingdom of Israel were uprooted out of their own land by the ruthless and cruel Assyrian nation, thrust into slavery, and lost from world view to this day. Judah did not fare much better. They were overrun by the Babylonian Empire and made slaves in 604 B.C.

After such a promising start, the ancient nation of Israel rejected God and His moral standard, turned to anarchy, became divided, and eventually went into captivity.

Spiritual Applications

Our ancestors—biblical Israel—fell as a nation because every man was doing what he thought was right. That means the people did not trust their press, their politicians, or their religious leaders. What is the answer? Well, the answer is in today’s headlines, and everywhere we look! The people were profoundly degenerate and cared only for themselves. That led to their downfall.

The Bible tells us how to handle these situations; however, there is no relief if we do not heed. Any good history book will teach us that we are on a collision course with disaster. Today, “New Israel” is on course to follow in the same path our ancestors took. We have forsaken our God and the ideals of our forefathers. Every man does what he deems right. No one seems to care about the character of our leaders. Why should we, when we do not care about our own character?

Today, Americans reason that religion and morality are nice, but certainly not necessary for the overall well being of the nation. We have been led to falsely assume that private morality and public duty are separate issues. George Washington and Abraham Lincoln would have been appalled.

America may not care about the morality of its leaders, but what does God think? Does He care? The answer to that question is the most distressing of all. (See 2 Samuel 23:3, Proverbs 29:2, 4, Proverbs 29:12, Proverbs 29:14.)

“The anger of the Lord shall not return, until He have executed, and till He have performed the thoughts of His heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly,” [understand thoroughly] Jeremiah 23:20.

How could this prophecy be any clearer? We see it happening all around! These prophecies are being fulfilled now.

Why God is Angry

Here is why God is so angry. “I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.” Jeremiah 23:14.

Where is all of this leading? Our leaders lead the people into the most disgusting sexual sins of all. It is the grossest kind of immorality. That is the way lust works. A person starts with one lust. It soon fails to stimulate his evil desire. Then he twists his mind to a more disgusting lust until we have become Sodom and Gomorrah!

God thunders that our Sodom and Gomorrah society condemns all of us! Our nation has rebelled against our Creator, the living God. The depth of our sins is staggering. America spends over $4 billion annually on pornography. Of course this is only one problem. Our people have “sown the wind, and shall reap the whirlwind.” Hosea 8:7.

If we do not stop this process, our nation will become like Sodom and Gomorrah (see Genesis 19.) Then God will have to destroy us like He did them! “Behold a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.” Jeremiah 23:19.

God is going to send a grievous whirlwind—the great tribulation. That is going to be the worst time of suffering ever. (See Daniel 12:1.)

It has been said; any free society founded upon liberty, yet without a sacred moral code to govern the actions of individuals cannot stand. It can only end in anarchy. Because America has forsaken the ideals of our Founding Fathers, because we have forsaken our God—that is where we are headed!

As it turns out, the Europeans were right…The grand American experiment has failed!

Which Church is Going Through? Part III

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There is a text in the Bible that says, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3. No matter how wonderful the building is that you build, if the foundation is not solid, if it is not secure, it can all go to ruin. Every one of you have seen instances, perhaps on television, when a flood swept away large houses. In Matthew 7, Jesus told a story about the man who built his house on the rock and the man who built his house on the sand. When the storm came, one house did not have a foundation. This is true not just for physical buildings. Jesus did not tell that story just so we would know how to build our house. What house was Jesus talking about? What does the Bible say is the house of God? Look at 1 Timothy 3:15 “…if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” If the church is built on the rock, it will stand the storm. But every church that is not built on the rock is going to get blown away. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said to Peter, “…you are Peter, [Petros: that is a stone] and on this rock [petra: that is a large rock or boulder] I will build My church.” Jesus is the living rock. If the church is built on the right foundation, it will go through. Every church that is built on the right foundation will go through and every church that is not built on the right foundation will not go through. It is very important to know what the foundation is because otherwise we will not know which church is going through. Let me give you an illustration on that.

There are texts in the Bible that tell us to flee from Babylon. How can you flee from something if you do not even know what it is? Have you ever thought about that?

Who is the Church of God?

There are texts in the Bible that tell us that we should seek to find the way to Zion. We know Zion is a symbol of God’s church. But, how can you go to Zion if you do not know what Zion is? I receive many letters from historic Seventh-day Adventists who do not know what Zion is. I also have books on the subject. What these books and letters tell me is a common misconception and a common false theory about the foundation of the church. These letters and books tell me that the church organization is the church. Have you ever heard that? These people tell me that the church organization is the church, and they send me stacks of material with references from the Spirit of Prophecy or from the Bible. I have read all of these references very carefully and I have not found one statement yet that says that the church organization is the church. I have read the books where they have attempted to prove this point, and I have read all of the statements and all of the inspired statements in these books. There is not one statement, I believe, in the Spirit of Prophecy, which defines the church this way. Not even one! There are many statements in Inspired writings, however, that exactly define God’s church. We read some of those in our previous articles.

In Acts of the Apostles, page 11 Ellen White says, “from the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church.” That is a statement that people have spent a tremendous amount of time trying to explain or get around. They say that is about something that is invisible. But if you read the whole context, it is not talking about anything invisible, it is talking about something very visible that you can see. Or the one in Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, page 296 that is also in the SDA Bible Commentary, page 949, tells us who it is that composes the church of God. It says it is those that keep God’s commandments. It is those that live by every word that proceeds out of the Lord’s mouth. That is who it is.

The Faith of Jesus

One of the commandments that first began to be broken in heaven by Lucifer was the ninth commandment. The ninth commandment says that you shall not bear false witness. Did you know that it is very possible for a person who comes to church, who is a Christian, and who is a member of a church to bear false witness? How does a person become a member of a church, and what does it mean to become a member of a church? When a person studies the Bible and they learn the truth of this Book, they learn about the commandments of God and decide that they are going to keep all the commandments of God, including the fourth one. They learn about the faith of Jesus. The faith of Jesus is a faith that gives you the power to change your life—to obey. You receive divine power through the Holy Spirit to live a new life. That is recorded all through the New Testament. (Romans 8; Romans 6; 1 John 3.) When a person studies those things and wants to be part of this group that it talks about in Revelation 14:12—those who keep the commandments of God, those who have the faith of Jesus, they will be one of those who will be ready to go to heaven when Jesus comes, and I want to be part of that group.

What does the Lord tell people to do if they want to be part of His church? What did He say to His disciples just before He left? He said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” Mark 16:15, 16. So when a person decides they are going to live by every word in the Bible, and they say that is what they choose to do; they leave aside their sinful life. The apostle Paul spoke to people in the Corinthian church who had been involved in all kinds of sin, and I want to tell you, friend, if you want to be saved, you can be saved. There is nobody who cannot be saved because they are too bad of a sinner. God can save every single one of us. Look what it says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” Paul lists a whole bunch of terrible sins. He says these people are not going to be in the kingdom of God. But notice verse 11: “And such were some of you.” There were people in the Corinthian church who had been sodomites, thieves and adulterers; they had been involved in every kind of sin. Paul said those people are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. Some of them were like this, but notice what happened to them: “…but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” Ibid. These people had been involved in every kind of sin that you can think of. He lists a whole bunch of awful ones right there in verses 9 and 10. He said the people who do these things are not going to be in the kingdom of God. You were like this, but you have been washed. Washed! What are you washed in? Revelation 1:5 says, “To Him Who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” Washed—you cannot get sin out of your life with just water. But Jesus came and washed us from our sins with His blood.

There may be some whom the devil has tempted so much that you have felt like you will have to give up. You think you are so bad you cannot make it. You are no worse than these people were. These people were saved. God is no respecter of persons. God can save you. Is that good news? I am so happy when I preach the gospel. In fact, if I could not share this good news, I do not know if I could preach. How would you like it if a preacher got up to preach and said, “Look, some of you here can be saved because you are in this category, and some of you are such bad sinners that you cannot be saved. You are just stuck. You might as well leave the church right now because you cannot make it.” How would you like to hear that? That would be bad news would it not? But the word ‘gospel,’ means the glad tidings, the good news, “…that Christ Jesus came [Paul said] into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15.

Paul was a bad sinner; he was a murderer. Can God save murderers? Yes! The apostle Paul is going to be in heaven, and he was a murderer. The people he murdered were not criminals. They were the most holy men and women on the face of the earth. But Paul was changed; he was washed. Do you want to be washed from your sins? Are you willing to commit your life to Christ and say, ‘Lord, I am committing my life to You. I will follow You. I am surrendering to You; please wash me from my sins.’ That is what it means to get baptized. When you are baptized, that is a symbol of the fact that your sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus.

God’s People Have Two Qualifications

Remember we were looking at the ninth commandment? Is it possible for me to make all of that profession, and then not follow through? Is that possible? It not only is possible, but it has happened hundreds of millions of times. What if I make a profession but then I do not live according to my profession? You see, there is a church that is God’s people by profession. God’s remnant church, by profession, are those who call themselves Seventh-day Adventists. Seventh-day Adventists are the only people in the world who meet the specifications in Revelation 14:12. This text specifies who God’s people are going to be in the last days; and they have two qualifications.

First, they keep the commandments of God. James 2:10 says that if you keep all the law but you offend in one point you have broken it all. The Ten Commandments are not ten laws; the Ten Commandments are one law. Always remember that. (See Exodus 24:12.) If you break any one of the precepts, you have broken the whole law. God’s last day people will be people who keep all ten of the Ten Commandments.

Secondly, they have the faith of Jesus. I love to talk about the faith of Jesus. Do you have the faith of Jesus? What does the faith of Jesus do? If you have the same kind of faith that Jesus had, you are trusting God completely that He is going to get you through each test. Jesus prayed to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane because He was afraid. Have you ever been afraid? Do you know why Jesus was afraid? Jesus was afraid that His humanity would not be able to stand the test, because He knew what test was coming; He knew He was going to the cross. He was afraid that His humanity would not endure. So He prayed. Did God answer His prayer? A mighty angel came from heaven to strengthen Him. Not to take away the test, but to strengthen Him. That is the faith of Jesus. Are you having any tests? Do you ever become afraid and say, “Oh, Lord, I will never make it. I will not be able to survive this test; I am going to fall; what am I going to do?” Do you ever feel like that? What is the faith of Jesus? The faith of Jesus is when you are depending on God and crying out to Him to give you the power and the strength to get you through whatever test it is that you are facing.

A Form of Godliness

There is a church that is God’s chosen people by profession. They claim to believe Revelation 14:12, to be part of that group; and some of these people really are that group. Unfortunately, some make a profession, but their profession is not true. They are breaking the ninth commandment. Often the professed church of God has gone so far in apostasy that it has persecuted the true church. This is predicted to happen at the end. “He [God] draws the dividing line between those who bear His name by profession and those whose character shows them to be His children.” Signs of the Times, June 30, 1881. God draws the dividing line, and some people are on one side of the line and some people are on the other side of that line. All the people make a profession, but where is the line? The line is between those who simply make a profession and those who show by their character that their profession is true. On which side of the line are you?

“Not their profession, but the fruit they bear, shows the character of the true. Many have a form of godliness, their names are upon the church records but they have a spotted record in heaven.” Appeal to the Battle Creek Church. It is not the profession, but the fruit. This is the difference between the wheat and the tares. The wheat bears fruit. The tares do not bear fruit. They look just like wheat for a long time, but in the harvest time there is no fruit. The Bible tells us what the fruit is in Galatians 5:22, 23. It talks about the fruit of the Spirit. If you really have the Holy Spirit inside and it is not just a profession, some fruit will appear in your life. Even if you have committed all of those sins that we just read about in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 10, the Holy Spirit can purify your heart and give you love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, self-control, and temperance. All of those things the Holy Spirit can produce in your life no matter what your past has been. Is that good news? The gospel, Christianity, is a miracle religion. The person who has been beating his wife, stops. He does not just make a profession; he actually changes his behavior. The person who has been an alcoholic, stops using that poison. The person who has been a profligate, living an immoral life, becomes faithful and true. Their family, their spouse, can depend on them. The gospel actually changes their life. We all need to make the profession, but the profession needs to be true.

The Truth is to Change My Life

It would be better for us if we had never seen the light of truth than to profess to accept it and not be sanctified by it. If I profess to accept the truth, the truth is to change my life. Like we read in the last part of 2 Peter 2, it would be better if a person never even knew the truth than to know it and not be changed in character and in life. The good news of the gospel is that God wants to change your heart and mine through the Holy Spirit so that our profession becomes real and there is actually spiritual fruit in our lives. Because if there is not fruit in the life, the time is near when we are going to be separated. The wheat and the tares are going to be separated. It is a scary subject, but it is true and it is going to happen. It is not only going to happen, but it is happening right now. There is plenty of Inspired instruction that shows that clearly.

There is a reason that we have to spend so much time talking about who and what is the church, if you do not understand who and what it is, at the end you are going to be lost, because you will be going from the wrong place to the wrong place. Now if you are going from the wrong place and you are going to the wrong place, how can you be saved? In other words, if you think this is the church and you are running towards it, but it is not; and if you think that that is not the church and so you are running from it and it is the church, what is your situation? You are lost. Let us think this text through, and let us remember the inspired definitions of who and what the church is.

They Went Out From Us

The only thing that you can depend on is inspiration. There must be a “thus saith the Lord” for what you believe if you are going to be saved. In 1 John 2:19, it says, “They went out from us.” Who is the ‘us’? Is ‘us’ the church organization? Be careful! Who is the ‘us’? If you read from 1 John 1 up to 1 John 2:19, you should be able to figure out who the ‘us’ is, because it tells who the ‘us’ is. For instance, look at 1 John 2:13. It says, “…I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.” Look at verse 14. He says again, “…and you have overcome the wicked one.” John calls these people His little children and he specifies in the first part of chapter 2, verses 3-11, the test of those who really know God. Notice, he says in verses 3 and 4, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Where is he drawing the line? It is those who keep the commandments. Does that sound similar to Revelation 14:12? Continuing in verse 6 we read, ” He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” He has the faith of Jesus. These are the people who are overcoming. These are the people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. That is who the ‘us’ is.

Then who are the ‘they’? Look at verse 19 again. “They went out from us.” Now the us are the people who are keeping God’s commandments. They are the people who have the faith of Jesus because they are walking like He walked. (See 1 John 2:6.) These are the people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. That is who the us is in verse 19. Then who are the ‘they’? It says, “They went out from us.” They used to be part of us then. Or did they? Have you read the whole verse yet? They went out from us, but they were not of us. How do you explain that? They used to be here with us, but they were not of us. Continuing in verse 19 we read, “If ‘they’ had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” How do you explain that? They were apparently church members; they were part of the church, but they were not really, they just professed to be. Apparently they were church members; they were apparently part of us, but not really. This verse is worth a lot of study. “They went out from us.” They left those who were keeping the commandments of God and had the faith of Jesus. They left them. That does not necessarily mean that they left the church building or quit going to church. The Spirit of Prophecy makes that very clear.

Which Church is Going Through? – Part IV

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A Denominated People

What makes a church God’s denominated people? Are you part of God’s denominated people? When Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven, when He looks down, you and I will be standing here in this world. I have thought about this so many times. When Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven, I want to start to lift off from this world. Do you? Can you make yourself rise? No way! If you are going to be part of the church that is going to triumph and go with the Lord, He has to recognize that you are a part of His church because that is who He is coming to take to heaven.

Revelation 19 makes it very clear that Jesus is coming back to this world to get His church, His bride. So when Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven, He has to recognize those who are a part of His church. Will He recognize someone just because they are a Seventh-day Adventist? I have a big shock for you. There will be many Seventh-day Adventist people whom He will not recognize; and their feet will stay right on the ground. They will never leave the earth. They are going to have an argument with the Lord. They will say, “But Lord, we are part of your people. We were evangelists, we were ministers, we were leaders.” Jesus talked about this in Matthew 7.

I remember when I was a child, we used to think that these people whom God would not recognize were the people in the Sunday-keeping churches who do not keep the commandments of God. Were we ever wrong! I am not saying that He will recognize the Sunday keeping churches, but He is not going to recognize all of us either.

A Form of Godliness

“It is possible for me to offer the Saviour outward homage, to be Christians in profession, to have a form of godliness, while the heart, whose loyalty He prizes above all else, is estranged from Him. Such ones have a name to live, but they are dead.” Upward Look, 301.

Mrs. White says it is possible to have a form of godliness, to make a profession of godliness; in other words to physically be part of God’s true people, and yet the heart is on something else. Now she is going to open up a veil and you are going to look into the future: “To the marriage supper of the Lamb will come many who have not on the wedding garment—the robe [Christ] purchased for them with His lifeblood. From lips that never make a mistake come the words, ‘Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?’ Matthew 22:12. Those [thus] addressed are speechless. They know that words would be useless. The truth, with its sanctifying power, has not been brought into the soul, and the tongue that once spoke so readily of the truth is now silent. The words are then spoken, ‘Take them out of My presence. They are not worthy to taste of My supper’ (cf. Luke 14:24). As they are separated from the loyal ones, Christ looks upon them with deep sorrow.” Ibid.

Banned from the Feast

Does Jesus want you to be lost? No! He is going to have great sorrow if you are not saved. The next sentence describes who these people are. “They occupied high positions of trust in God’s work.” Who are these people? These are Seventh-day Adventists, and I want to tell you they are not the church janitor. Who are they? They are the leaders. They are people who occupied high positions of trust in God’s work, and they think that they are saved, but they are not. They come to the wedding supper, but they are not allowed in.

“From the quivering lips of Christ come the mournful words of regret, ‘I loved them; I gave My life for them; but they persisted in rejecting My pleadings, and continued in sin. ‘O that thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes.’

“Today Christ is looking with sadness upon those whose characters He must, at last, refuse to acknowledge. Inflated with self-sufficiency, they hope that it will be well with their souls. But at the last great day, the mirror of detection reveals to them the evil that their hearts have practiced, and shows them at the same time the impossibility of reform. Every effort was made to bring them to repentance. But they refused to humble their hearts. Now the bitter lamentation is heard, ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved’” (cf. Jeremiah 8:20).” Ibid.

You Must Overcome Sin

There are going to be a lot of Seventh-day Adventists saying, “The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and I am not saved.” Why? Because they continued in sin. Friend of mine, do not think that you can continue in the most secret sin and have salvation, because it is not so. Your wife, your husband, your family, your employer, nobody else may know, but if you are living in sin today, you are lost. You cannot be saved in sin. You must overcome sin. You must be saved from sin.

“What a scene is this! I pass over the ground again and again, bowed down in an agony that no tongue can express, as I see the end of the many, many who have refused to receive their Saviour.” Ibid.

The Lord wants to save you, but He cannot save you in your sins. He can save you from sin if you are willing. When you are baptized, you make a public confession that you are through with sin and that you are going to arise to walk in newness of life. Read Romans 6. That is what baptism means. The person who is still living in sin cannot be baptized until he has left his sins behind, through the power of the Holy Spirit. When you are baptized, what you are publicly saying is, “I am through with sin, I am going to follow Jesus, and by the power of His Holy Spirit I am going to live the Christian life.” It would be too bad to be baptized in vain, wouldn’t it? But see, if I am baptized and then I continue to live in sin, I have made a profession that I would let sin go, but my profession is a lie.

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

What makes a church God’s denominated people? When Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven, and He looks at us, what makes Him say, “These people belong to Me. They are part of my church; they are coming with Me.” This is so simple that I do not know how we could ever get mixed up on it, but there seems to be a lot of Bible students who are thoroughly confused on this point. They write me letters and send me all types of information, and they think that the denominated people are people who belong to a certain organization. Let us see what the Spirit of Prophecy says.

“…I was considering this matter in the night season, it seemed as if One stood up in the midst of us and pointed us back to the Israelites as an illustration of a distinct people, denominated of God.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 19, 38.

There, somebody says; there it is; the Israelites were a distinct people; they were denominated of God. What we have to belong to is this. Who are these distinct people denominated of God? Look at the next sentence: “That which made them denominational was”— How would you fill in the blank? Oh, somebody says, “I know what it is; they belong to this organization.” That is not what it says. “They were the descendants of Abraham.” That is not what it says. “They followed Moses.” That is not what it says. Here is what it says. “That which made them denominational was the observance of God’s commandments.”

I do not know how to emphasize this enough! From the beginning of the great controversy, clear to the end, the point of controversy is the law of God. That was the issue in heaven. That was the issue with the children of Israel. That was the issue at the cross. That was the issue with the early church. That was the issue in Martin Luther’s time. That is the issue today! The dividing line, what it is that makes you denominational, what it is that makes you part of God’s people, is whether you keep the commandments of God. Is that hard to understand?

She says, “We are Seventh-day Adventists. This is a fitting name, for we keep the seventh-day Sabbath, and look for the Second Advent of our Lord in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Even with respect to the name indicating some of the peculiar points of faith distinguishing us from other Christians, we are denominational. In keeping the Sabbath that God declares should be kept holy as a sign between Himself and His people, we show to the world that we are His peculiar, chosen people—a people whom He has denominated.” Ibid. p. 40.

Sealed by God

Do you keep the Sabbath? If you keep the Sabbath, that is a special sign that you read about in Exodus 31; and again in Ezekiel 20. It is also mentioned in Hebrews 4, and it is referred to over and over again in the book of Revelation. The Sabbath is a special sign called God’s seal, or His mark. If you keep it, that is a special sign that you are one of God’s denominated people. You can’t keep the Sabbath unless you keep all the rest of the commandments. You cannot keep the Sabbath and run around with your neighbor’s wife, because it says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” You cannot keep the Sabbath holy if you are practicing unholiness with your neighbor’s wife; so you have to keep the seventh commandment to keep the fourth. If you go through all the rest of the commandments, you also have to keep them to keep the fourth. You cannot lie to your wife or to your husband and keep the Sabbath; that is impossible because then you are not holy. The law is holy, and you have to be in harmony with the law to be a holy person. You have to be in harmony with the law to keep the Sabbath holy. That is why the Sabbath is a special sign, because if you keep it, you will keep all the other commandments. You cannot keep it without keeping the rest.

Committed to God

“When you come to the point where you decide to serve God, you are denominational.” Ibid., 52. I am denominational, strictly denominational, that is all. Are you? I have decided to serve the Lord. Have you decided to serve the Lord? This day, not yesterday, today, I have committed my life to the Lord. I am not bragging about it; I am just telling you the facts. Today I have committed my life to the Lord; everything that I have for now and for the future I have committed to Him. I have decided to serve Him. So I am denominational. I am strictly denominational.

“In the name of the Lord we are to identify ourselves as Seventh-day Adventists. If any one among us is ashamed of our colors, and wishes to stand under another banner, let him do so as a private individual, not as a representative of Seventh-day Adventist medical missionary work.” Battle Creek Letters, 52.

So, are you denominational? I hope you are. Are you part of the people whom God has denominated? “As a people we are looked upon as peculiar. Our position and faith distinguish us from every other denomination.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 138. These words point us out as God’s denominated people.” Read also Testimonies, vol. 9, page 18, where it talks about the Sabbath. When Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven there is going to be a church waiting here that is going to go through, and they are going to go up to meet Him in the clouds.

Judged by What You Know

I want to address, for just a moment, something that may be troubling some of your minds. This question comes up very often. I had a Sabbath-keeping lady ask me what is going to happen to her dead husband. She said, “My husband was a very sincere Christian. He loved and followed the Lord, but he did not know about the Sabbath. What is going to happen to him?” The Bible answers that question. 2 Corinthians 8:12 says; “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” God knows exactly what you understand and what you do not understand. We are not passing judgment on anybody in the world who does not understand all that the Bible teaches. We are not passing judgment on anybody, but here is the catch. The Bible says; “…the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” Proverbs 4:18. (NKJV.) Paul said, “…the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30. (KJV.)

There was a time when very few people in the world even had a copy of the Bible, but is that true today? No. Everybody in the world can have a copy of the Bible today. God has poured upon this generation more spiritual light than any previous generation. So when somebody asks me, “Is my relative, who died and who was not keeping the Sabbath, going to be saved?” I cannot pass judgment, but I will give you two points. We already went over one in 2 Corinthians 8:12. If you are living up to all the light that you have, God accepts you. But here is the catch, nobody will be lost because they were deceived and sincerely believed an error. Even Eve was not lost in the Garden of Eden for that reason. She was deceived, but that was not the reason she was banished from the garden. Why was Eve sent out of the Garden when she was deceived? It was not because she believed the serpent, it was because she rejected and disbelieved the Lord. You are not lost because you sincerely believed an error and you did not know the truth. Nobody will be lost because of that. If you learn about the truth and you reject the truth, then you are lost. God cannot trust you in heaven. If you know truth and are not practicing it and are not doing it, God cannot trust you. He cannot save you, and you are not going to go to heaven when Jesus comes.

Planted in the Midst

I know some will think this is a strange question, and wonder why I am even asking it. The reason I am going to ask it is because there are so many people who believe it. Do God and the devil ever work together? A lot of people think they do. A lot of people would not be so confused, if every time they read the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy they always understood that God and the devil never do anything together.

The following statement was written to the Battle Creek Church to professed Seventh-day Adventists; “These are the true feelings of a large class in Battle Creek. Satan exults at his success in controlling the minds of so many who profess to be Christians. He has deceived them, benumbed their sensibilities, and planted his hellish banner right in their midst.” Appeal to the Battle Creek Church, 2. Right in the midst of what? Right in the midst of the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She says the devil has planted his banner right there! “…and they are so completely deceived that they know not that it is he. The people have not erected graven images, yet their sin is no less in the sight of God. They worship mammon. They love worldly gain. Some will make any sacrifice of conscience to obtain their object. God’s professed people [the professed church] are selfish and self-caring. They love the things of this world, and have fellowship with the works of darkness.” Ibid. Can you have fellowship with darkness and light at the same time? Read 1 Corinthians 10. It tells you point blank that you cannot.

“They have pleasure in unrighteousness. They have not love toward God, nor love for their neighbors. They are idolaters—worse, far worse, in the sight of God, than the heathen graven–image worshipers who have no knowledge of a better way.” Ibid., 3. Of course they are the true church, aren’t they? Do you believe that God and the devil work together? Mrs. White said that the devil has set up his banner right in the middle of professed Christians, and they did not know it. They were following him and worshipping him. They did not love God; they were not following Him; they were having fellowship with darkness and not with light, and you say that is God’s true church? Do God and the devil work together? No! If you can always keep it straight in your mind that God and the devil never do anything in co-partnership, you will be able to figure out who and what the church is.

Separation Continues

The wheat and the tares are being separated right now, and it is going to be all over one of these days. Before some people wake up it is going to be too late, and they are going to find out that they are lost. I do not want it to be any of you. I have prayed a lot as I have seen what is happening to God’s professed people. I have said, “Lord, I do not know what I can do, but if there is any way, please use me as a humble instrument to save some out of this trap that they are in.” Do not ever feel at ease and say, “I am a Seventh-day Adventist; I belong to the right organization, and therefore I am going to be saved.” It is not so. Your character has to be in harmony with what you believe.

The reason I am telling you these things is because I want every single one of you to be saved. You can be, if you are willing to commit your life to Him and say, “Lord, I am surrendering totally to you.” The Holy Spirit is powerful enough to clean up your life and my life, to clean up our minds, our tongues, our bodies, and our actions. Do you want Jesus to recognize you as one of His when He comes in the clouds? Do you want to be part of the church that is going to go through? If that is what you want, make a commitment to the Lord, and say, “Lord, I want to be washed; I want to be sanctified; I want to be justified; I want you to save me from sin. I want to be part of the group that is going to go through.”

Counsels and Doctrines

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Strife Within the Church

Why is strife so common in the home church movement today? What has the devil done that has caused so much dissension and how will it be remedied? These are certainly questions that we should be asking ourselves, and there is not one simple answer.

I believe a good share of the problems we see today are the result of a common misunderstanding. Many today are confused about the difference between inspired counsel and inspired law or doctrine. You may be asking, “Can that really be so very important?” You may not think so at first glance, but in fact, the consequences of this misunderstanding can, and are, causing great harm in many churches and families today.

Let us begin our study by first looking at a lesson that Jesus taught in the eighth chapter of John. In this chapter is recorded the very familiar story of the woman taken in adultery. “Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came unto Him; and He sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not. So when they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

Judge Not

It is clear that Jesus did not condone this women’s sin. He instructed her, “Go and sin no more.” But rather, this story was given to teach us a lesson. So often we are quick to judge someone, while we ignore the sins (sometimes even the very sins of which are condemning another) that dwell within our own hearts. I wonder, if Jesus was with us in person today, observing all the strife that is within the church, if he would not again stoop down to write in the sand all the faults and shortcomings of those who are condemning their brethren for not dressing or eating or doing something in the way that they feel is correct.

Today, the scene of this pitiful woman is repeated again and again, only with different circumstances. Brothers and sisters are brought before our private “judgment seat” and condemned for wearing the wrong clothing or eating the wrong food, while we commend ourselves for being such godly Christians. God’s prophet warned, “The ruling, driving, storming spirits need to take their hands off and turn their attention to themselves. Their own destitution of the Spirit of God is the reason of their unquiet, censorious, condemning spirit.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 285.

Think back in your own experience, how many divisions have you seen in churches and families because of this condemning spirit? It is breaking up churches and families everywhere in the world. And so the devil delights, for it is his game plan to divide and conquer homes, churches, husbands and wives. It is his goal to do everything he possibly can to stir up strife, suspicion and fanaticism to divide God’s people, for he knows that united we will stand and divided we will fall.

When Should We Separate?

Should we separate ourselves from a person or group of people that do not eat, dress, etc., exactly as we think they should? Let us look more closely at this subject of separation and unity from an inspired outlook, and notice why there will be a true need for separation in the last days.

“As trials thicken around us, both separation and unity will be seen in our ranks. Some who are now ready to take up weapons of warfare will in times of real peril make it manifest that they have not built upon the solid rock; they will yield to temptation. Those who have had great light and precious privileges, but have not improved them, will, under one pretext or another, go out from us. Not having received the love of the truth, they will be taken in the delusions of the enemy; they will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, and will depart from the faith.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 400, 401. [Emphasis supplied.]

Are there times when there should not be a separation? “A house divided against itself cannot stand. When Christians contend, Satan comes in to take control. How often has he succeeded in destroying the peace and harmony of churches. What fierce controversies, what bitterness, what hatred, has a very little matter started! What hopes have been blasted, how many families have been rent asunder by discord and contention!

“Paul charged his brethren to beware lest in trying to correct the faults of others they should commit sins equally great themselves. He warns them that hatred, emulation, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, and envyings are as truly the works of the flesh as are lasciviousness, adultery, drunkenness, and murder, and will as surely close the gate of heaven against the guilty.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 244. [Emphasis supplied.]

Separate from Unsound Doctrine

It is perfectly appropriate, and necessary, to sever ties with a church that is not teaching sound doctrine. But is it appropriate to leave a church that is teaching sound doctrine, but where some may be dressing or eating a little differently than we think they should be? These types of issues (where the questions concern inspired counsel not law) are splitting up churches all over the world. Could it be that in fact the real problem is that we are cherishing the age-old sin of pride that Lucifer had in heaven.

“He sought to gain control of heavenly beings, to draw them away from their Creator, and to win their homage to himself. Therefore he misrepresented God, attributing to Him the desire for self-exaltation. With his own evil characteristics he sought to invest the loving Creator. Thus he deceived angels. Thus he deceived men. He led them to doubt the word of God, and to distrust His goodness. Because God is a God of justice and terrible majesty, Satan caused them to look upon Him as severe and unforgiving. Thus he drew men to join him in rebellion against God, and the night of woe settled down upon the world.” The Desire of Ages, 21, 22.

What is Counsel?

Before we study a Biblical example of the difference between counsel and law, let’s look at the simple dictionary definition of the two words. Counsel is “a mutual exchange of ideas. Advice.” Law is “the rules of conduct established by an authority or any rule expected to be observed.” Webster’s New World Dictionary. And we know that God’s divine laws are “immutable, unchangeable, eternal.” Maranatha, 177.

In the very beginning, in the Garden of Eden, God made a distinction between counsel and law. In the instructions given to Adam and Eve regarding the tree of knowledge there was both counsel and law. The law, if disobeyed, would lead to death.

“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom had had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” “And the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17. [Emphasis supplied.]

Counsel vs Command

God told our first parents that they were not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil or they would die. “Adam and Eve were permitted to partake of every tree in the garden save one. There was a single prohibition. The forbidden tree was as attractive and lovely as any of the trees in the garden. It was called the tree of knowledge because in partaking of that tree of which God had said, “Thou shalt not eat of it,” they would have a knowledge of sin, an experience in disobedience.” Confrontation, 12.

In the following quotations, see if you can find the counsel that God gave which Eve ignored. “Eve had wandered near the forbidden tree, and her curiosity was aroused to know how death could be concealed in the fruit of this fair tree. She was surprised to hear her queries taken up and repeated by a strange voice. ‘Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ Eve was not aware that she had revealed her thoughts in audibly conversing with herself; therefore, she was greatly astonished to hear her queries repeated by a serpent. She really thought that the serpent had a knowledge of her thoughts, and that he must be very wise.

“She answered him, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’ And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’” Ibid., 13.

“Eve had overstated the words of God’s command. He had said to Adam and Eve, ‘But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ In Eve’s controversy with the serpent, she added ‘Neither shall ye touch it.’ Here the subtlety of the serpent appeared. This statement of Eve gave him advantage; he plucked the fruit and placed it in her hand, using her own words, He hath said, If ye touch it, ye shall die. You see no harm comes to you from touching the fruit, neither will you receive any harm by eating it.” Ibid., 14.

God counseled Adam and Eve not to go near the tree because there Satan would have access to them. But it was not a sin that would cost them their lives, if they did. If you are being tempted, that is not a sin. The temptation becomes sin when you yield to that temptation either in your mind or when you act upon it.

What other counsel did God give Adam and Eve? “The angels had cautioned Eve to beware of separating herself from her husband while occupied in their daily labor in the garden; with him she would be in less danger from temptation than if she were alone. But absorbed in her pleasing task, she unconsciously wandered from his side. On perceiving that she was alone, she felt an apprehension of danger, but dismissed her fears, deciding that she had sufficient wisdom and strength to discern evil and to withstand it. Unmindful of the angels’ caution, she soon found herself gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the forbidden tree.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 53, 54.

Was it a sin for Eve to wander from the side of her husband? No, it says that the angels cautioned her to beware if she should be separated from Adam’s side because she would place herself in unnecessary danger. The only place Satan could have access to the pair in Eden was at the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “The angels charged them to closely follow the instructions God had given them in reference to the tree of knowledge, for in perfect obedience they were safe, and this fallen foe could then have no power to deceive them.” Lift Him Up, 20. [Emphasis supplied.]

The Problem with Fanaticism

All of God’s counsel is given for our good, and how much hardship and misery it would have saved our first parents if they followed God’s counsel. When they ignored God’s counsels they placed themselves in a position where they could more easily be lead into sin. However, we need to understand the definition of sin. “Our only definition of sin is that given in the Word of God; it is ‘the transgression of the law;’ it is the outworking of a principle at war with the great law of love which is the foundation of the divine government.” The Great Controversy, 492. This is the only definition given in the Bible of what sin is. It is breaking God’s law, either in the mind or openly.

However, sometimes we want to go beyond what the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy say in order to try to make it support our own ideas. This is what the Spirit of Prophecy calls “fanaticism.” As fanaticism takes a firm hold on a group or person criticism always follows. This particular point becomes the only subject discussed and studied and those who do not agree with our cherished opinion are chastised and condemned.

Sister White faced many types of fanaticism in her day. In Early Writings, 22, she gives this account. “At this time there was fanaticism in Maine. Some refrained wholly from labor and disfellowshiped all those who would not receive their views on this point, and some other things, which they held to be religious duties. God revealed these errors to me in vision and sent me to His erring children to declare them; but many of them wholly rejected the message, and charged me with conforming to the world.”

“In every age Satan has sought to impair the efforts of God’s servants by introducing into the church a spirit of fanaticism. Thus it was in Paul’s day, and thus it was in later centuries during the time of the Reformation. Wycliffe, Luther, and many others, who blessed the world by their influence and their faith, encountered the wiles by which the enemy seeks to lead into fanaticism overzealous, unbalanced, and unsanctified minds.” Acts of the Apostles, 348.

She warned a certain brother, “I consider you to be in positive peril. I present this because I know that you are in great danger of being seduced by Satan. We are living in a time when every phase of fanaticism will press its way in among believers and unbelievers. Satan will come in, speaking lies in hypocrisy. Everything that he can invent to deceive men and women will be brought forward.” Medical Ministry, 114. [Emphasis supplied.]

We are certainly living in that day and age right now. The devil has stolen a march upon us. He has successfully wounded the revival and reformation movement within Adventism today by the fanatical theories that are coming into the church. He is using men and women who have unbalanced minds to bring in some form or another of fanaticism to divide and conquer. And friend, we must each be on guard because the devil has been studying human nature for nearly six thousand years and he has designed some fanaticism to exactly fit each of our personalities and temperaments.

We have many lessons to learn. May God help us that we might each surrender our lives and our opinions to Him that He may cleanse us from the root of bitterness and the condemning spirit which destroys unity and impedes the gospel work. There is no longer time to waste in bickering and strife, there is world waiting to be warned. May the Lord bless each of you.

No King, but Caesar

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In the Scriptures, our robe, or our clothing, is used as a symbol of our character. We see this in the experience of Adam and Eve. They had a robe of light, representing a righteous character. When they sinned and lost that covering, they made some fig-leaf garments to replace it. These artificial garments have become synonymous with righteousness by works, but they are not acceptable.

In place of the garment of leaves, the Lord prepared a garment for them from the skin of an animal. This garment, which cost the life of the innocent animal, was symbolic of the garment of Christ’s righteousness, which cost the life of His own Son and which all who will be saved must wear.

In Revelation 19:7–8, we find our clothing referred to as our works: “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” As acts are repeated, they become habits, and those habits become character.

You can read in Ephesians 5 concerning the church, that the church will be arrayed in linen, a garment of character that will be without spot or wrinkle, without blemish. Speaking of Armageddon, we read: “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” Revelation 16:15. If your garment is torn or becomes spotted or wrinkled, you will not be ready for Armageddon.

Consecrated Robes

The Old Testament speaks of one robe that was a special symbol, and that was the robe worn by the high priest. “The pattern of the priestly robes was made known to Moses in the mount. Every article the high priest was to wear, and the way it should be made, were specified. These garments were consecrated to a most solemn purpose. By them was represented the character of the great antitype, Jesus Christ.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1104.

Because it represented Christ’s character, under no condition was this robe to be torn or rent. The penalty for failing to comply with this requirement was death. The Jews, however, had gotten together and had written a church manual that contained rules differing from those in the Bible. According to their church manual, there was one exception to God’s rule. In the case of blasphemy, in order to show his horror; the high priest was allowed to tear his robe. It is quite obvious that Caiaphas placed a higher value on the church manual than on the Bible. (See Matthew 26:57-65.) By the way, in those days you could not even be a high priest unless you were willing to go along with the church manual. That was a prerequisite.

So when Caiaphas tore his robe, though his action was approved of by the church manual, according to God’s Word he was deserving of death. Of course, nothing like this could ever happen again, could it?

“We want to understand the time in which we live. We do not half understand it. We do not half take it in. My heart trembles in me when I think of what a foe we have to meet, and how poorly we are prepared to meet him. 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.…” Selected Messages, Book 1, 406.

The condition of Israel then, according to Ellen White, was representative of our experience just before the Second Coming of Jesus. Jesus told the people of His day, “…you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” Matthew 15:6.

Properly Constituted Church Authority

Have you ever heard of a “duly appointed leader”? Or have you ever head the phrase, “properly constituted church authority”? Was Caiaphas a duly appointed leader? Well, who is a duly appointed leader? This is something that we need to understand.

“For thus rending his garment in pretended zeal, the high priest might have been arraigned before the Sanhedrin. He had done the very thing that the Lord had commanded should not be done. Standing under the condemnation of God, he pronounced sentence on Christ as a blasphemer. He performed all his action toward Christ as a priestly judge, as an officiating high priest, but he was not this by the appointment of God. The priestly robe he rent in order to impress the people with his horror of the sin of blasphemy covered a heart full of wickedness. He was acting under the inspiration of Satan.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1105.

Was he duly appointed? No! He was not appointed by God. Who was directing his actions? Satan. Do God and the devil ever work in partnership? No! Never! The Bible is very clear on that. “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:21. It does not say you should not; it says you cannot. You can have it one way or the other, but not both.

“…Under a gorgeous priestly dress, he was fulfilling the work of the enemy of God.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1106.

Is it properly constituted church authority to do the work of the devil? No! Now notice the next sentence. “This has been done again and again.…” Ibid.

By Whose Authority?

Let me ask you this question. How much authority did Caiaphas have?

“With Caiaphas the Jewish high priesthood ended. This proud, overbearing, wicked man proved his unworthiness ever to have worn the garments of the high priest. He had neither capacity, nor authority from heaven.…” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 387.

How much authority did he have? Though he had what they called properly constituted church authority; he had no authority from heaven.

“He had not one ray of light from heaven to show him what the work of the priest was, or for what the office had been instituted. Such ministration could make nothing perfect, for in itself it was utterly corrupt. The priests were tyrannous and deceptive, and full of ambitious schemes. The grace of God had nought to do with this.” Ibid. 388.

Profession vs Reality

“Oh,” but someone says, “he was the high priest.” Well, let us just look at that for a moment. Was he the high priest? Now remember, it was several years before a.d. 34. Was Caiaphas the leader of God’s people? No! No, he was not. “Virtually Caiaphas was no high priest.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1101.

Was he the high priest or was he not the high priest? He was not the high priest, though he may have been so by profession. Do you see why we say that there is a difference between the professed church and the true church? There is a difference, and in a time of apostasy, there is a great difference. We have been trying to teach people this for a few years now, but it is so ingrained in them, that unless the Holy Spirit works on their minds, they never understand the point. Profession and reality are not necessarily the same thing.

How is it with you today? Is your character in harmony with your profession? If it is not, your profession is telling a lie, and you can never go to heaven, although you call yourself a Seventh-day Adventist. If the things you profess to believe are not a reality in your life, your life is a lie, because your character is not in harmony with your profession.

“He [Caiaphas] was uncircumcised in heart. With the other priests he instructed the people to choose Barabbas instead of Christ.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 388.

Rending the Robe

When Caiaphas asked Jesus if He was really the Christ and Jesus replied that He was, Caiaphas tore his robe. Why did Caiaphas tear his garment? He did it deliberately, and he did it for a reason. It was a custom among the Jews that whenever one of their relatives had died, they would tear their clothes as a way of expressing extreme sorrow and grief. The Lord had prohibited the priests from doing this, but, as was pointed out earlier, they had found a way around God’s clear command.

The experience Christ was subjected to was repeated many times during the Protestant Reformation. First, the Protestant Reformers were excommunicated, or disfellowshipped, from their churches. When this did not stop the Reformation, they were placed in prison. Finally, when other measures had failed to suppress their activities, it was determined that they must die. The men who were responsible for the deaths would maintain that they hated to treat them so, but that they were left with no choice. This is what Caiaphas was telling Jesus. In essence, he was saying, “I am going to have to kill you because of your theological errors, and I am so sorry about it.” The trouble with such a statement was that Caiaphas was not really sorry at all. Ellen White makes this very clear.

“So perverted had the priesthood become that when Christ declared Himself the Son of God, Caiaphas, in pretended horror, rent his robe, and accused the Holy One of Israel of blasphemy.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1104.

It is wrong to pretend under any circumstance, but the worse kind of pretense is when you pretend to be pious. That is the kind of pretension this was—he was pretending to be in terrible sorrow and shock, and it was not even so. This made the act even more wicked than it would have been otherwise.

We Will Not Have This Man

By the way, have any of you ever noticed any letters that begin something like, “I am so sorry to have to inform you,” and then go on to explain the unpleasant action they have been forced to take? Friend, you had better never tell someone you are sorry if it is not really the truth, because God hates pretense.

Caiaphas also showed that he did not realize, if he ever knew, what his robe represented. It represented the character of the One standing before him. It was terrible blasphemy for him to tear his robe, because Christ’s character had not been torn; it had never been defiled.

When he tore his robe, he said, in effect, “We will not have this Man to rule over us.” What had he done? He separated himself from God. Remember now, he was a representative of the whole Jewish nation, but he separated himself from God.

God has given to you and to me the power of choice, and I want to tell you, He honors our power of choice. People say, “Well, the church is going through.” Do you believe that we have the power of choice? Did Caiaphas have the power of choice? Certainly, he did. He made a choice, and God honored his choice. I want to tell you, friends, God honors people’s choices.

An Unchurched People

“In Christ the shadow reached its substance, the type its antitype. Well might Caiaphas rend his clothes in horror for himself and for the nation; for they were separating themselves from God, and were fast becoming a people unchurched by Jehovah. Surely the candlestick was being removed out of its place.” Ibid., 1109.

What were they doing? They were becoming an unchurched people. Do you want a synonym for that? That means they were disfellowshipping themselves. By this act, Caiaphas was separating, or divorcing, himself from God; and everyone who followed his example, yielding to his influence, was doing the same thing.

By the way, they still went to church; they went to the building; they said the same prayers; they went through the same service. They still had the same organization; they still had the same bank account; they still had the same name; but they were disfellowshipped, and they did not even know it.

If they had been striving to be in harmony with God’s will and to obey Him, Caiaphas would have been killed for the crime he had committed, but they decided instead to follow him.

God Accepts Our Choice

What was God’s response?

“When Caiaphas rent his garment, his act was significant of the place that the Jewish nation as a nation would thereafter occupy toward God. The once favored people of God were separating themselves from Him, and were fast becoming a people disowned by Jehovah.” The Desire of Ages, 709.

God accepted the choice that Caiaphas made; and God is watching the choices that you and I are making, the choices that every minister is making and the choices that every church is making. God is going to respond in keeping with the decision of each person.

Here is what happened when Jesus died on the cross: “It was not the hand of the priest that rent from top to bottom the gorgeous veil that divided the holy from the most holy place. It was the hand of God. When Christ cried out, ‘It is finished,’ the Holy Watcher that was an unseen guest at Belshazzar’s feast pronounced the Jewish nation to be a nation unchurched.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1109.

Do you realize that this was some time before a.d. 34?

When Caiaphas rent his garment, there was more than one rending that took place. We have been looking at the outward rending of the garment of the high priest and its spiritual significance. It was a symbolic act of the separation, the divorcing of God’s people from Himself. When was this act completed? It was completed when the priest said, “…We have no king but Caesar.” John 19:15.

The church is to be the bride, the wife of Christ; but if that church chooses to depart from the Lord and to form an alliance with the state, it has said, in effect, “We will no longer have the Lord to be our ruler.” You cannot have two masters; it is impossible. No church or religious group can go to the state for the enforcement of their religious teachings without having left the Lord, and God will recognize that choice.

Divorced by God

Are you aware that the Spirit of Prophecy says that there are three things the Lord will do when the church goes to the state for assistance in enforcing her decrees?

  1. He will not hear their prayers. If that was the only thing to happen, that would be so serious that it should shake us to the bottom of our foundation.
  2. He will take the Holy Spirit away from them. Without the Holy Spirit, you are lost.
  3. They will be written in the book of heaven as unbelievers. (See Selected Messages, Book 3, 299–302.) If you are written in heaven as unbelievers, you are not even part of the church. You have torn the garment; you have separated yourself from the Lord.

There is a true rending of the garment, however.

“Christ mourned for the transgression of every human being. He bore even the guiltiness of Caiaphas, knowing the hypocrisy that dwelt in his soul, while for pretense he rent his robe. Christ did not rend His robe, but His soul was rent. His garment of human flesh was rent as He hung on the cross, the sin–bearer of the race. By His suffering and death a new and living way was opened.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1105.

Jesus had an inner rending of His soul, and friend, you and I must enter into that experience if we are going to be saved.

“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;…Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil.” Joel 2: 1, 12, 13. KJV.

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son.…” Zechariah 12:10. NKJV.

Who Killed Jesus?

What are these verses talking about? Oh, friend. When Jesus hung on the cross, it was your sin that pierced Him and it was my sin that pierced Him. The past, present and future are all alike to God. God saw you, and that is why Jesus came and died on the cross. When He hung on that cross, His heart was pierced; it was torn for you. The tearing of His flesh, His hands and His feet is just a symbol, or a type, of the real pain that was in His heart. The pain in His heart was so great, Ellen White says, that the physical pain was hardly felt. (See Desire of Ages, 753.)

We do not realize how bad sin is until we come to Calvary, and even then we cannot fully comprehend it.

Have you ever met parents who had only one child and that child died? The Lord says that is the way His people are going to mourn in the last days. They are going to mourn as parents mourn who have lost their only child and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

“Many today who claim to be Christians are in danger of rending their garments, making an outward show of repentance, when their hearts are not softened nor subdued. This is why so many continue to make failures in the Christian life. An outward appearance of sorrow is shown for wrong, but their repentance is not that which needs not to be repented of. [See 2 Corinthians 7:10]. May God grant to His church true contrition for sin. Oh that we might feel the necessity of revealing true sorrow for wrong-doing!” Review and Herald, June 12, 1900.

Unity, at What Cost?

Did you know that there was one garment that was not torn that day? Jesus had on an outer garment that the Bible says was without seam. As it had no seam, the soldiers decided not to tear it. Prophecy said that it would not be torn; it said they would cast lots for it. Do you realize the significance of this?

“Christ’s seamless garment is a representation of the unity that should exist in the church.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, 371.

You are never going to have unity with just profession, but if you have a group of people who have had the true rending of the heart and not the garment, you are going to have a true unity. One of the most exciting things that I am finding as I travel all over the world is that God is drawing together faithful, historic Seventh-day Adventists—just little groups here and there—and they are having the most marvelous experience of unity that I have ever seen. There is no question that God is going to have a united movement at the end. The only question is, am I going to be part of it?

Satan is determined that this unity will never happen, but it is going to happen anyway. I would consider it the greatest privilege of my life if I could just have a little part in it. How about you?

That seamless robe represents the unity that is to exist among Christ’s true believers, and it must never be torn. We must always think of that seamless robe in all of our dealings with each other. We are not to tear it. The body of Christ is one body, and when one part suffers, all of the body suffers.

Christ’s seamless robe represents the unity that is to exist among His true followers until the end of time. Do you want to be part of it?

The General Conference Inquisition

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Inasmuch as we believe the General Conference has launched an Inquisition, which may result in the separation from the church of several thousand believers, it will be necessary for our response to be couched in unvarnished terms and expressed with unmistakable clarity. We would prefer to not do this, but the circumstances make it necessary.

The Apostasy Begins

Let us take a moment to explain the background and to establish the context of the present situation. Several years ago certain of us, who were Seventh-day Adventist ministers with many years of experience in the work of the church and in proclaiming the truths of the Bible, became aware that some utterly false Calvinistic doctrines were being brought into our church’s theology. We endeavored to alert our church leaders regarding the problem, in full confidence that appropriate corrective measures would promptly be taken. To our surprise and dismay, our warnings were ignored, and we were dealt with as “troublemakers” who were disturbing the peace of the church.

We eventually began to warn church members ourselves, by whatever means we could. This gave rise to a number of ministries, programs, publications (both books and magazines), schools, etc. But administrative resistance to our work increased and hardened into bitter hostility. A book called Issues was published by the leaders of the North American Division, which, along with other absurdities, alleged that we were trying to “force” our own peculiar ideas on the church. It described us as a “cancer” on the body of Christ, which needed to be cut out. This, remember, was because we were warning church members about the invasion of false doctrines into our church and were defending the historic Seventh-day Adventist faith in its purity.

Now the General Conference leadership has decided that the time for that surgery has come. Hence the Inquisition. An Inquisitorial Committee was set up, which did its work and published a report in the Adventist Review and in Ministry magazine. It is this report that is the subject of this response.

The Inquisitorial Committee

This group is represented as being most august, qualified and competent, but this cannot be taken seriously. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” (See Matthew 7:20.) The committee has testified to its own incompetence and unfairness by the report that it has produced and is now spreading around the world by every possible means. The report is filled with accusations against historic Adventists, which range from the utterly false to the outrageously false. There is absolutely no way that a competent, fair and factual investigation could have produced such a report as this.

The Inquisitorial Procedure

The procedure consists of three parts: an “investigation” (see above), some meetings, and the issuance of an ultimatum. According to the ultimatum, the accused historic Adventist leaders are being given twelve months in which to “repent” and bow to the authority of the Inquisitors or suffer the consequences. There is no hint that there will be any fair trial in which the accused might be given an opportunity to defend themselves. They must simply accept the judgment of the Inquisitors as infallible—all of which reminds us of the Catholic Inquisition in Spain.

A word about the “meetings” referred to above. They may be represented as “fair hearings,” but they were nothing of the kind. They were only occasions in which the historic Adventist leaders had to spend time responding to barrages of false accusations. Their concerns about apostasy in the church were never considered. Nothing remotely resembling a fair and factual hearing has ever occurred.

The Inquisitorial Falsehoods

Inquisitions work with falsehoods and misrepresentations. This is their stock in trade. Unfortunately, the General Conference Inquisition is no exception to this rule. The process begins with a seemingly innocuous statement in the introduction:

…they affirmed agreement on many of the major elements of the

Seventh-day Adventist faith. Adventist Review, August 2000 (Emphasis supplied.)

A totally truthful statement would have said all, not many. Using the word many prepares the reader’s mind for the assertion to come later, that the historic Adventists are holding and promoting some theological ideas that are simply their own private and peculiar opinions. This is absolutely and unconditionally false. We have originated no part of our teachings. We are not promoting our own opinions. We are defending the faith that we were taught when we joined the church, that we were taught again in Adventist schools, that we read in Adventist publications until the 1950s, and that are now set forth in the official statement of faith, Seventh-day Adventists Believe. And the accusations get worse.

The Inquisitorial Ultimatum

In the Inquisitorial Ultimatum it is alleged that we have added a “new fundamental belief” to the doctrines of the church that:

“Such change illustrates an independence from the church in doctrinal matters, as they constitute their own particular views into tests of faith, independent from the remainder of the church. Adventist Review, August 2000.

The alleged new doctrine is that Christ “took upon Himself our fallen nature.” The claim is set forth that this is only our own particular view and that such a statement has never been part of the Seventh-day Adventist Baptismal Vow or of official statements of fundamental beliefs.

Note that the allegation has two parts. First, the idea that Christ took upon Himself our fallen nature is simply our own particular view. This is not only false; it is outrageously false. It is an insult to the reader’s intelligence.

Research Proves Us Right

While serving as chairman of a department in the Far Eastern Theological Seminary, I engaged in research on this subject. I found in the historical literature of the church a total of 1200 written statements that Christ took upon His divine nature our fallen nature, yet without sin. These statements were published between the years 1852 and 1952 in the church’s journals and books. The testimony of the church to the world was clear, consistent and wholly uniform during this time. But in 1957 the infamous book Questions on Doctrine was published. This book totally repudiated the long standing position of the church concerning the nature of Christ and used utterly disgraceful methods to introduce a new view, that Christ took upon Himself the unfallen nature of Adam. A recent volume, Touched With Our Feelings, by Dr. J. R. Zurcher, a noted Adventist scholar of Switzerland, details how and by whom this was done.

Who were the authors of these 1200 published statements that Christ took upon His divine nature our fallen nature? Eight hundred of them were written by Adventism’s first line of leadership. The list includes General Conference presidents, vice-presidents, and secretaries; union and local conference presidents; college presidents and professors; Signs of the Times, Review and Herald and other magazine editors; and other ministers and writers. See my book, The Word Was Made Flesh, for a chronological listing of them all.

What of the other 400 of the 1200 statements? They were written and published by Ellen White, God’s chosen messenger to the remnant church.

False Reasoning and Misrepresentations

So what of the allegation that this is only our own particular view? Do you see now why I wrote (above) that this allegation is not only false, but it is outrageously false? It ignores the testimony of Adventism’s first line of leadership in 1200 published statements, of which a full 400 were from the inspired pen of Ellen White, and it advances the ludicrously false accusation that the idea that Christ took upon His divine nature our fallen nature is only our own particular view. Can misrepresentation be greater than this?

I pause here to point out that this kind of misrepresentation has been a consistent characteristic of the Calvinistic apostasy from its very beginning. When the book Questions on Doctrine was published in 1957 it led the way with a grossly false statement about the nature of Christ. From then until now that example has been unscrupulously followed by the teachers of false Calvinistic doctrines among us. Their writings abound in self-contradiction, false reasoning, and outright misrepresentations. I have written elsewhere about these matters, and so will not restate them here.

This leads us to the other Inquisitorial allegation, that the statement that Christ took upon His divine nature the fallen nature of man has never appeared in any official statement of our faith.

Continuing and Authoritative Source of Truth

If you will secure a copy of the 1980 statement of our faith, which is called “Seventh-day Adventists Believe—27 Doctrines,” (SDAs Believe), and which was made official at the General Conference of that year, and turn to page 216, this is what you will find:

Seventh-day Adventists Believe…One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord’s messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Emphasis supplied.)

If Ellen White’s writings are thus officially described in our statement of faith as a continuing and authoritative source of truth, and she wrote 400 times that Christ came to this earth in the human nature of fallen man, how can it be said that this has never been a part of any statement of faith?

And the more meaningful question is this: In view of the fact that our doctrine of the nature of Christ had been testified to in our publications 1200 times by Adventism’s first line of leadership, including 400 statements by Ellen White, why was this not included in the statement of faith? It certainly should have been.

A statement of faith is a report. It is supposed to tell us what a group believes. The only certain way of getting this information is to examine what the group members have written. This provides evidence that cannot be challenged. To add to it something that the church has not believed would be most improper. To leave out of it something that the church has believed would be equally improper. That would make it a false report. In view of the enormous body of written evidence that our church believed that Christ took upon His divine nature the human nature of fallen man, to leave that out of the statement of faith was in itself a misrepresentation. And we continue.

(Do not misunderstand or misapply the reference to the Bible as “the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.” Ellen White’s writings pass this test with flying colors.)

Turning the Accusation back on the Inquisitors

One of the more significant of the Inquisitorial accusations against the historic Adventists is that we use the writings of Ellen White “selectively,” quoting passages that seem to support our views and ignoring other passages. We are going to have to turn this false accusation very firmly and very forcefully back on the Inquisitors. There is an abundance of evidence.

What did the church leaders do with the 400 Ellen White statements that Christ took upon Himself the human nature of fallen man, that I researched out and sent to them? They simply ignored them.

What did they do with her more than 2000 statements that, by the power of God, man can stop sinning (which Calvinism denies), that I researched out and sent to them? They simply ignored them.

What are they doing right now with her clear and Scriptural testimony against law suits between church members? They are simply ignoring them, while they continue to launch more and more lawsuits against members. (They try to cover up by having the members expelled from the church before the suits, so that they can claim that they are not suing members.) This technical charge may serve to mislead church members, but will it mislead the God of truth and righteousness? What do you think?

What are they doing right now with her writings against a false unity that is based on false doctrines? They are simply ignoring them, while they continue to publish her appeals for unity. Look carefully at these quotations:

Christ Calls for Unity Based upon Truth

I urge our brethren to unify upon a true, Scriptural basis. 17 Manuscript Releases, vol. 17, 306.

“We have a testing message to give, and I am instructed to say to our people, ‘Unify, unify.’ But we are not to unify with those who are departing from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 412.

“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. He calls sin and impenitence by the right name. He does not gloss over wrongdoing with a coat of untempered mortar. I urge our brethren to unify upon a true, Scriptural basis.” Notebook Leaflets, vol. 2, 164.

“We are all to unify on the proper basis of unity.” Testimonies for the Church Containing Messages and Warning and Instruction to Seventh-day Adventists, 55.

“…harmony and co-operation must be maintained without compromising one principle of truth.” Counsels to Writers and Editors, 79.

The Ostrich with its Head in the Sand

Thus there can be no unity between Adventism and Calvinism. Several vitally important principles of truth are being grievously compromised at many levels of the Seventh-day Adventist Church today, and we who have pointed this out have been called troublemakers. We are now being told that if we do not stop sounding the alarm, we will suffer the consequences. Consider this comparison: A ship is traveling through the ocean, and a crewman discovers a dangerous leak in the hold. He rushes to notify the captain and is met with a stern rebuke. “Keep quiet,” the captain says, “you are disturbing the peace of the passengers.” The crewman persists, and so the captain orders him thrown overboard. Will this save the ship? What do you think?

“Duly Constituted Church Authority”

Another Inquisitorial accusation against us is that the historic Adventists refuse to submit to “duly constituted church authority,” unless it agrees with “their own particular views.” This is wholly false. We believe in “duly constituted church authority” as firmly as anyone does. But we do not put church authority over Bible authority. No true Seventh-day Adventist does. And we emphatically do not advance our own particular views as to the meaning of the Scriptures. We accept the statement of faith in SDAs Believe. But if we are forced to choose between Scripture and the authority of men unsupported by Scripture, we will without hesitation take our stand upon the Scripture. No true Seventh-day Adventist would do otherwise. We reject as unconditionally false the following Inquisitorial accusation:

Hope International and associates appear to have taken the position that their interpretation of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy is the final arbiter over the Church… Adventist Review, August 2000 (Emphasis supplied.)

We say again, in response to this recurring allegation, that we are doing no such thing. We are defending the faith of our fathers, not our own interpretations. Every point of our faith is on record in the book SDAs Believe. To call this our own interpretation is emphatically to bear false witness against us. We protest against this misrepresentation and call upon all fair-minded persons to protest with us.

You Be the Judge

There is only one of the main Inquisitorial accusations against us that is partially true. Most of us have testified that there is apostasy in the church. Some others have become so appalled and disheartened by the kind of thing that we are examining here, and other similar things, that they have gone further and said the church is in apostasy. Who has it right? I submit that there is room for honest and reasonable men to disagree on this point. When we look at the false Calvinistic doctrines being preached in so many of our churches, being taught by so many teachers in our colleges and seminaries, being published in so many of the magazines and books coming from our presses, it is hard to avoid a sense of profound discouragement about the church. Yet we are warned by God’s messenger that there will be a great apostasy in the church in the last days. In Testimonies, vol. 8, 41, we read of a great last day interchange, when “companies” will leave us and “tribes” will take their place.

How does it all fit together? When our concerns seem to overwhelm us, we may benefit by looking at this statement:

“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. ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matthew 18:20). Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church.” The Upward Look, 315.

We Can’t Do it with Theology

By this time there must surely be some large questions forming in your mind. Why all of this shadow boxing? Why are the historic Adventists continually being accused of doing so many things that they are not doing? In order to help you understand, let me tell you about a personal experience of mine.

I was standing at the door of a room where all of the Union presidents of the North American Division were in council. I had an appointment with them, and I was waiting for my proper time to step into the room. As I stood and waited, I heard one of the presidents say to the others:

“We have to find some way to stop Ron Spear, but we can’t do it with theology, because there is nothing wrong with his theology.“

Please read those words again, slowly and thoughtfully. Say them out loud. Do it several times. When you have these words firmly fixed in your mind, you are prepared to understand the strange things that are happening in the increasing tension between the church organization and the historic Adventist people and their ministries. Let us ask some questions:

Why are the historic ministry leaders being accused of being rebels?

We have to stop them, but we can’t do it with theology.

Why are they being accused of refusing to submit to church authority?

We have to stop them, but we can’t do it with theology.

Why are they being called troublemakers?

We have to stop them, but we can’t do it with theology.

Why are they being accused of being critical?

We have to stop them, but we can’t do it with theology.

Why are they being accused of starting another church?

We have to stop them, but we can’t do it with theology.

Why are they being faulted for doing things that other groups are not faulted for, such as

printing, publishing, meeting separately, etc.?

We have to stop them, but we can’t do it with theology.

Why can’t you stop them with theology?

Because there is nothing wrong with their theology.

If there is nothing wrong with their theology, why do they need to be stopped?

Because they are rebels, critics, and troublemakers, who refuse to submit to our authority.

So the dog chases its tail, around and around and around. More could be added, but perhaps this is enough to give you the picture. Obviously there is something strangely wrong here. What is it? Bear in mind, dear reader, that it is all about theology. The questions that the historic Adventist people and their ministries are raising are theological questions. Their concerns about the false doctrines being preached in our churches and taught in our schools are theological concerns. Many of the historic Adventists recognize these false doctrines as the very ones they left behind when they came out of Babylonish churches to join the Adventist church.

Dust in the Air

Theological questions require theological answers. Exercises of church authority will not do. Evasive answers will not do. They are simply throwing dust in the air. They are applications of the ancient principle that “those who have evidence will present their evidence, while those who do not have evidence will attack the man.” The historic Adventist ministry leaders are not evil men. They are not rebels, critics, and troublemakers. They are dedicated and sincere men who have given their lives to the service of the church. They have brought thousands of people into the church, and they have a right to be concerned when they see those people being fed the soul destroying poison of false doctrines.

And they are entirely correct in their position that teachers of false doctrines have no authority. They believe in “duly constituted church authority” as firmly as anyone else does. But God has never authorized and will never authorize anyone to teach false doctrines. No teacher of false doctrines could possibly have “duly constituted church authority.” And neither could any church administrator, who supports and protects a teacher of false doctrines, have “duly constituted church authority.” How much authority did the high priest Caiaphas have over Christ? Absolutely none. How much authority did the Sanhedrin have over Stephen and Paul? Absolutely none. How much authority do teachers of false doctrine have over us today? Absolutely none. Consider this quotation: “We see here that the men in authority are not always to be obeyed, even though they may profess to be teachers of Bible doctrine.” Testimonies to Ministers, 69.

You Cannot “Balance” Truth with Error

A General Conference vice-president wrote to me that my messages should be more “balanced.” I answered that I could understand how two truths, such as law and grace, can be kept in balance, but I saw no way that truth could be balanced with falsehood. I do not think we would like to hear a man say, “I have been telling the truth all morning. This afternoon I must tell some lies in order to stay in balance.” In similar vein, another high ranking church official alleged that when a church member stops giving his financial support to the church, he is violating his baptismal vow. This overlooks the fact that the baptismal vow, like the marriage vow, is a reciprocal vow, not an individual vow. The church vows to tell the truth about God. The member vows to give financial support to that truth-telling. If the church breaks its vow, and starts telling untruths about God, it no longer has any right to claim the member’s financial support.

Several references have been made in this article to the false doctrines of Calvinism that have invaded our church. How has this been done? By skullduggery.

When the book Questions on Doctrine was published in 1957 its secret authors put in it a statement of the false Calvinistic doctrine that Christ came to this earth in the human nature of the unfallen Adam, rather than in fallen human nature, as believed and taught by Seventh-day Adventists. A ludicrous attempt was made to show that even Ellen White believed the false Calvinistic doctrine, in spite of her 400 published statements to the contrary. This is how they misused one of her statements in order to accomplish their purpose:

On pages 650-651 of Questions on Doctrine the secret authors presented a passage on the nature of Christ over which they placed this heading:

“TOOK SINLESS HUMAN NATURE”

On pages 497-499 of the book Movement of Destiny, which was published four years later as a follow-up to Questions on Doctrine, L. E. Froom presents a similar statement over which he places this heading:

“TOOK SINLESS NATURE OF ADAM BEFORE FALL”

Both headings are followed by a series of brief quotations from Ellen White, including this line: “He did not in the least participate in sin.”

If you look at those three lines for a moment, you will surely have some questions. What sin was there in the sinless nature of Adam before his fall in which Christ might have participated? None whatever. There was no sin of any kind in Adam before his fall. Why, then, did Ellen White write such a senseless statement? What was the matter with Ellen White? Deeply perplexed, we go to the source, and discover that as Ellen White wrote it, the statement actually looked like this: “In taking upon Himself man’s nature in its fallen condition, Christ did not in the least participate in its sin.” Selected Messages, vol.1, 256. (Emphasis supplied.)

Secret Writers Violate Context

The secret writers of Questions on Doctrine cut her sentence in half, laid the first half aside and put in the last half beneath their own contrary headings. We gaze at this in disbelief. This is the ultimate violation of context. The writer has been represented as having said the exact opposite of what she actually did say. This was done by a scholar with a Doctor of Philosophy degree, a seminary professor. And this is not an isolated example. It is typical. In my book, The Word Was Made Flesh, I devote 33 pages to exposing, point by point, the wrongful manipulations of evidence in the paragraph presented by Dr. Froom. I also present conclusive evidence that the statement given to Walter Martin that our church had never believed that Christ came to earth in the human nature of fallen man was a methodological monstrosity and a historical fraud. How could it happen? In common parlance this is called skullduggery (underhanded or unscrupulous behavior.) That is how the false doctrines of Calvinism were brought into our church, and that is how they have been maintained and promoted ever since.

What has been the result of this gigantic fraud being perpetrated upon the Adventist people? Confusion, dissension, strife, and plummeting church standards. Our colleges and university Bible departments are in a free fall. The falsities of higher criticism are being taught, and the teaching of evolution is being urged. A videotape has been sent out from the headquarters of the North American Division of the General Conference, giving ministers detailed instructions as to how to convert all of their churches into centers for celebration worship (read Satan worship).

The teaching of a false doctrine about the nature of Christ has made an enormous difference. If Christ came to earth in the unfallen human nature of Adam, He could not have been tempted as we are tempted, and it would be altogether unfair for us to be called upon to live like He lived. That would be impossible. He could not be our example, but only our substitute. Thus this false doctrine of Calvinism leads directly to the second false doctrine of Calvinism, that Christians can never stop sinning, even through the power of God.

Amazing New “Doctrine” Appears

The two false doctrines are inseparably linked together. Where one goes, the other goes. Within a remarkably short time, as theological trends go, Adventist congregations all over the country were listening in astonishment to sermons affirming as truth the false Calvinistic doctrine that Christians cannot stop sinning, even through the power of God. A very highly placed theologian at the theological seminary at Andrews University became so enamored with this false doctrine that he actually began to teach that Christians sin because God wants them to sin. Here are his exact words: “It is by the wisdom, not by the impotence of God that no believer is ever perfect here below. The Lord so conducts the saints in this life that there should always remain something to give them freely when they ask, or to pardon them mercifully when they confess to Him.—From notes that he wrote and passed out to a class of ministers. (Emphasis supplied.)

The Inquisitors allege that the historic ministries are supporting “dissidents” in other countries of the world. We have no way of investigating this claim, and we are hindered by a credibility problem. If we cannot believe what the Inquisitors write about this country, why should we believe what they write about other countries?

Love for the Pure, Unvarnished Truth

The lowest point in the list of Inquisitorial false accusations is reached in the statement that it is criticism of the church that keeps the historic ministries going. This unchristian slur is entirely unjustifiable. It is grossly false. Nothing could be further from the truth. What keeps the historic ministries going is the love and devotion of the historic Adventist people to the pristine purity of the true Seventh-day Adventist faith and their desire to preserve that faith undefiled by the false doctrines of Calvinism and Liberalism. It is the steadfast and stubborn refusal of church leaders to recognize this that is a large part of the problem.

This is why we are confronted today with the appalling spectacle of a large group of high ranking church leaders sitting down together to concoct a list of totally false accusations against church members, whose only crime is that they will not accept the apostasy that is sweeping through the church. Thus the leaders align themselves with the apostasy. The grossly false accusations that the Inquisitors have prepared and published would compare favorably with the work of the Catholic Inquisitors in Spain.

Do I expect that this rebuttal will cause the Inquisitors to turn back from their folly? Not really. Once men have rebelled against truth in its purity and embarked on a course that can only be maintained by monstrous misrepresentations, it is unlikely that evidence of any kind will dissuade them. Ellen White wrote in Selected Messages, Book 2, 393: “I question whether genuine rebellion is ever curable.”

I have written this rebuttal for the church members. Many of them have been so deceived by the false accusations, along with the firm refusal to recognize that the present problem is a theological problem, that they are bewildered and confused. I trust that this article will help clarify the situation in their minds.

“Reform,” is Our Cry

One of the most frequently repeated false accusations against us is that we are wanting to start a separate church. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are trying to reform the church that we have loved and served all of our adult lives. But it is sobering to compare our situation with that of the Reformers. Neither Luther, nor Calvin, nor Wesley wanted to start a separate church. They all wanted to reform their own churches. But the stubborn resistance and opposition of authoritarian church leaders made reformation within the churches utterly impossible.

“When the Reformers preached the Word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church; but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light, and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth.” The Desire of Ages, 232. (Emphasis supplied.)

It has been said that those who cannot learn from history are condemned to repeat history. We had hoped and we had prayed that this would not prove to be true in our church. We had shared the hope expressed by Ellen White in these words: “We hoped that there would not be the necessity for another coming out.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, 357. (Emphasis supplied.)

Spiritual Suicide

But with the General Conference Inquisition moving in on us, what shall we do? Should we tremble in fear and agree to accept the false authority and the false doctrines if they will just let us stay in the church?

God forbid! That would be spiritual suicide. We will stand firmly on this truth:

“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. ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matthew 18:20). Where Christ is even among the humble few, that is Christ’s church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church.” The Upward Look, 315.

The Lord who inspired those words is watching over us and saying: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake: Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven. …” Matthew 5:11, 12.

The Sacred Duty of Disobedience

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Most converts to the Seventh-day Adventist faith are required to sort out their thoughts about authority and obedience quite early in their experience. When the challenge came to me, I was a teenager working on Friday nights. I had learned about the Sabbath truth and was feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit. But I was under the authority of the owner of the plywood factory where I worked, and friends warned me that I would be fired if I did not work on Friday nights. On the other hand, God had commanded Sabbath observance. What should I do? I had to think it through carefully. I finally came to the conclusion that I had a sacred duty to disobey the factory owner and to obey God.

Choose Ye this Day

Thousands of other converts to our faith have had similar experiences. They have been brought to the realization that, strange as it may seem, under certain circumstances disobedience can be a duty, even a sacred duty. For many, the challenge came, as it did to me, at the very beginning of their Christian life. And for many the experience has been repeated quite frequently as they have made their way through life. Soldiers have had to disobey their officers; students have had to disobey their principals and teachers; citizens have had to disobey government officials, and members of some churches have had to disobey their church leaders in order to obey God. This has led to the formulation of clear concepts of authority in the minds of most Seventh-day Adventists. When forced to make a choice between obeying God or man, they unhesitatingly choose to obey God. They consider that, under such circumstances, they have a sacred duty of disobedience to man.

It would be well if such choices were forced upon us only outside of the church, but the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy make it clear that it can happen within the church. In Acts 5:17–20 we find the record of a situation in which church leaders commanded the apostles to not preach any more about Christ and imprisoned them, but an angel opened the prison doors and ordered them to go back to the temple and continue preaching. Thus, they had a sacred duty of disobedience to church leaders.

Ellen White’s inspired comments on this situation are most instructive. She writes: “’The angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.’ We see here that the men in authority are not always to be obeyed, even though they may profess to be teachers of Bible doctrine.…Because those who were once the depositaries of truth became unfaithful to their sacred trust, the Lord chose others who would receive the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and would advocate truths that were not in accordance with the ideas of the religious leaders.” Testimonies to Ministers, 69, 70.

An even more startling passage is found on page 81: “But unless the truth is enthroned in the heart, and a thorough transition takes place from darkness to light, those who handle sacred responsibilities are ministers of darkness, blind leaders of the blind.” Ibid.

A Horrifying Situation

This is appalling. We can hardly imagine such a horrifying situation. What could be the cause of such a condition? Look again at the first quotation above. A careful reading of this entire chapter in Testimonies to Ministers will reveal that the issue is truth, sacred truth. The word “truth” is used over and over in the chapter. Church leaders have an obligation to the truth of the Bible. This is a sacred trust. If they become unfaithful to this sacred trust by ignoring or rejecting the truth of the Bible, they become ministers of darkness in their handling of sacred responsibilities. What then of those who nevertheless obey them? On page 91 where there are three usages of the word “truth” we find this warning: “I call upon God’s people to open their eyes. When you sanction or carry out the decisions of men who, as you know, are not in harmony with truth and righteousness, you weaken your own faith and lose your relish for communion with God.” Ibid.

There is, then, such a thing as a sacred duty of disobedience even within the church. This grim reality forces us to look at our leaders, as our prophet admonishes us to do, with open eyes. The history of Israel places a tragic example before us: “The Jews perished as a nation because they were drawn from the truth of the Bible by their rulers, priests, and elders. Had they heeded the lessons of Jesus, and searched the Scriptures for themselves, they would not have perished.” Ibid., 109.

Ministers of Darkness

They were drawn from the truths of the Bible by their church leaders. Obviously there is nothing about high position that guarantees spiritual authority. Church authority is grounded in Scripture and is limited by Scripture. In order for the church and its leaders to speak with “duly constituted church authority,” they must say about sin what God says about it in His Holy Word. “She [the church] must say about sin what God says about it.” The Desire of Ages, 84.

If church leaders reject the Scriptural definitions of sin and advance their own human opinions as “duly constituted church authority,” they betray their sacred trust, they blaspheme God, and they become ministers of darkness. We then have a sacred duty to disobey them.

The Sin of Christians Suing Christians

No sin that is mentioned in the Bible is defined more clearly, or denounced more emphatically, than the sin of Christians suing Christians in worldly courts. “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you. because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?” 1 Corinthians 6:1–8.

To this unmistakably clear admonition from the Apostle Paul must be added the equally clear and emphatic warning from Ellen White: “Those who justify their course of action in going to law, and that with their brethren in the church, are acting out the spirit that developed the rebellion in heaven.” A Message to our Physicians, 5. We must understand this to be the spirit of Satan.

“Lawsuits between brethren are a reproach to the cause of truth. Christians who go to law with one another expose the church to the ridicule of her enemies and cause the powers of darkness to triumph. They are wounding Christ afresh and putting Him to open shame.” Acts of the Apostles, 306.

“I have written largely in regard to Christians who believe the truth placing their cases in courts of law to obtain redress. In doing this, they are biting and devouring one another in every sense of the world. ‘to be consumed one of another.’ They cast aside the inspired counsel God has given, and in the face of the message He gives they do the very thing He has told them not to do. Such men may as well stop praying to God, for He will not hear their prayers. They insult Jehovah, and He will leave them to become the subjects of Satan until they shall see their folly and seek the Lord by confession of their sins.” Selected Messages, Book 3, 302.

Read that paragraph again, and then prepare yourself for a shock. “Why,” you are probably asking, “are these grim warnings being published to our readers?”

Because, dear reader, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is now launching a series of lawsuits against Seventh-day Adventists.

Duly Constituted Church Authority

Why are these Seventh-day Adventists being sued? For the “crime” of correctly identifying themselves as Seventh-day Adventists. The first successful suit was against Pastor John Marik and his congregation in Hawaii. Now they have succeeded again with Pastor Rafael Perez and his congregation in Florida. Though the case was won by the General Conference in a Federal court, it is now being appealed, and the final outcome is uncertain. Meanwhile, many other suits are in preparation, in a demonstration of total contempt for both the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy.

The procedure, with some variations, is as follows:

A group of true Seventh-day Adventists is found whose members are worshipping separately, in a home or some suitable place in an effort to protect themselves from the false doctrines that are being taught in many Seventh-day Adventist churches today.

The group is ordered to stop using the name “Seventh-day Adventist.”

If they do not obey this order, they are disfellowshipped on the charge of failing to obey “duly constituted church authority.”

Then it is announced that a group of non-Adventists has been found using our church name. It is claimed that it is all right to sue them, since they are “non-Adventists.”

But are they really non-Adventists? Most emphatically not! They are believing, teaching, and practicing the true Seventh-day Adventist faith, with no corruptions from Liberalism, Calvinism or Modernism. This fact is carefully obscured by the misrepresentations that they are troublemakers and rebels who are “refusing to submit to duly constituted church authority.” Their appeals to church leaders to consider the theological problems with which they are concerned are ignored.

Therefore, when confronted with a choice between submitting to the threat of a lawsuit conducted in total contempt of both the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy, they consider it their sacred duty to disobey men in order that they may obey God. They hold that authority, which is exercised in contempt of Scripture, cannot be “duly constituted.” Under these circumstances they believe that there is a sacred duty of disobedience to man and obedience to God.

One Day Closer to “Home”

Distressing as these apostate prosecutions (persecutions) may be, they should not discourage us. We have been clearly forewarned. God’s special messenger, Ellen White, has written that in the last days our worst enemies will be those who once shared our faith.

“As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the Third Angel’s Message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position, and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren.” The Faith I Live By, 336.

How comforting it is to know that our heavenly Father is not surprised or shaken by all of this, as we may be. He knew all about it and gave us an abundance of advance information to bolster our courage. When we see these things happening, we need not panic nor be discouraged. We can remind ourselves that the prophecies must be fulfilled, and say with Jesus: “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28.

Keeping Pace with the Light

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“…the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” Proverbs 4:18. Notice, this verse does not say the room of the just, but the path of the just. As you walk that path, if you stay on it, the light is going to become brighter and brighter. But it is also true, friend, that if you do not keep walking on the path, the light is going to become darkness, because the light is moving.

What is Present Truth?

The Bible talks about present truth. (See 2 Peter 1:12.) There are some truths that are timeless, but there is some truth that is present truth, and what is present truth today, is not exactly the same as present truth was a hundred years ago.

I believe that very soon God’s servants are going to have to preach things that they never thought they would have to preach. We are in a situation very similar to the Jews in the time of Christ. The devil had manipulated them into a situation, through what they had been taught, so that they were ready to reject the truth. They had developed a series of criteria which they believed Jesus would meet if He was the Messiah. Interestingly enough, they based these expectations on the Old Testament. Jesus did not, however, meet their criteria. It is interesting to note, in the study of history, that almost every time prophecy is fulfilled, it is not fulfilled in the way that was expected.

Seventh-day Adventists have wondered what Ellen White meant when she said, “I was shown the startling fact that but a small portion of those who now profess the truth will be sanctified by it and be saved.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 608. Very soon we are going to find out what she meant.

Refusing to Follow the Light

This concept that spiritual light is moving and the person who does not keep walking in the light finds himself in the dark, explains many spiritual phenomena that are happening all around us that otherwise would be very confusing. A few years ago, two Seventh-day Adventist ministers came to question me. One of them said something like this: “Do you believe that the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization was ordained by God? Well, do you or do you not?” Let me ask you some questions: Do you believe that the Jewish church organization was ordained by God or that He had a hand in setting it up? Yes, He did. Was there a time that the Jews were in the light? Yes, there was. The Jews had been called by God and chosen as His special people. They had been in the light. They had the same spirit of prophecy. They had all of the Old Testament, that is the spirit of prophecy. But, when the light moved, they did not move with it. God had more light for them, but they would not accept it. They stayed put, and as a result, they were left in the dark.

Jesus is the light of the world. I want you to notice Revelation 14:4 and what it says about the 144,000. “…These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” When the Light (Jesus) moves, the 144,000 follow. The problem today is that when the Light moves there are so many people who do not follow it; they stay put. They are left in the dark and are then spiritually blind. There was a time when they were in the Light; but the Light moved, and they did not move with it. “As the Light and Life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation.” The Desire of Ages, 232.

Did you notice that she said this has taken place in every succeeding generation? Again and again the history of Christ’s withdrawal from Judea has been repeated.” When the Reformers preached the Word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church; but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light.…” Ibid.

What happened? The religious leaders refused to walk in the light. “…and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth.” Ibid. Everyone who does not love the truth is going to be deceived and lost.

“Few are listening for the voice of God, and ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in order to declare the plain teaching of the Word of God.” Ibid.

Did you know that there are many people who no longer believe that this statement can apply today? Have you ever heard people say, “Well, the cycles have to stop somewhere, and they stopped in 1863 because that is when we incorporated”? The trouble with that statement is that the book where Mrs. White gives this warning, The Desire of Ages, was not even written until l898.

Disfellowshipped and Persecuted

We are living in a time that a few years ago no one expected to see. We believed that when persecution came, it would come from outside of the church. We failed to understand what Ellen White meant when she said that we have far more to fear from within than from without. (See Selected Messages. Book 1, 122.) Who would have thought that, in Adventism, the apostasy would become so great that in many places it would become spiritually dangerous to even attend the local Seventh-day Adventist Church because error was being “forced home to the people.” (See Early Writings, 125.) We were not expecting the true and faithful Seventh-day Adventists to be disfellowshipped and persecuted by their former brethren all over the world, as is taking place today. But when we go to the inspired writings, we see all of this prophesied—we just did not understand it!

People have come to believe that these things would not happen until after the national Sunday law. Friends, that is a dangerous deception, as we are beginning to see. The national Sunday law does not initiate the shaking; it brings the shaking to a climax! Those who are waiting until the Sunday law test comes to take a bold, unyielding stand for the truth are simply preparing to receive the mark of the beast.

You see, when anyone rejects the light of truth that God has given to this people, he has turned his back on the light and goes out into darkness. He may still call himself a Seventh-day Adventist, but if he does not believe the First Angel’s Message and the truth of the Investigative Judgment beginning in 1844, he has gone into darkness. You cannot, with safety, go to his church and listen to him preach. When a person rejects the truth of the great day of atonement that began in 1844 and says that instead of afflicting the soul (see Leviticus 16:29, 30) it is time to celebrate, he has gone out into darkness.

If a preacher says that you will sin until Jesus comes, he has accepted Satan’s fatal sophistry (see The Great Controversy, 489), and you dare not go and listen to him preach lest you be deceived and lose your own soul.

Finally, if you are not hearing the historic doctrines of Adventism preached in your church, if you are hearing the same kinds of sermons that you could hear in any other church, then you are endangering your soul if you do not do one of two things. Either find a historic Seventh-day Adventist congregation or start a home church where you can teach the truth, at least to your own family.

Our opportunities for learning and knowing God’s last message to a perishing world and being prepared for what is coming on the world, are very limited at best. We dare not allow ourselves and our families to be exposed to either heretical preaching or “peace and safety” messages that come just before destruction.

Ring-leaders in Apostasy

“I saw that we have no time to throw away in listening to fables. Our minds should not be thus diverted, but should be occupied with the present truth, and seeking wisdom that we may obtain a more thorough knowledge of our position, that with meekness we may be able to give a reason of our hope from the Scriptures. While false doctrines and dangerous errors are pressed upon the mind, it cannot be dwelling upon the truth which is to fit and prepare the house of Israel to stand in the day of the Lord.” Early Writings, 125.

Every Sabbath, after church, you should be more fitted to stand in the day of the Lord than you were before you entered the church that morning. But the prophet wrote sadly, “Those who have been regarded as worthy and righteous prove to be ring-leaders in apostasy and examples in indifference and in the abuse of God’s mercies. Their wicked course He will tolerate no longer, and in His wrath He deals with them without mercy.

“It is with reluctance that the Lord withdraws His presence from those who have been blessed with great light and who have felt the power of the word in ministering to others. They were once His faithful servants, favored with His presence and guidance; but they departed from Him and led others into error, and therefore are brought under the divine displeasure.…

“Not all who profess to keep the Sabbath will be sealed. There are many, even among those who teach the truth to others, who will not receive the seal of God in their foreheads. They had the light of the truth, they knew their Master’s will, they understood every point of our faith, but they had not corresponding works. These who were so familiar with prophecy and the treasures of divine wisdom should have acted their faith. They should have commanded their households after them, that by a well-ordered family they might present to the world the influence of the truth upon the human heart.

“By their lack of devotion and piety, and their failure to reach a high religious standard, they make other souls contented with their position. Men of finite judgment cannot see that in patterning after these men who have so often opened to them the treasures of God’s Word, they will surely endanger their souls. Jesus is the only true pattern. Everyone must now search the Bible for himself upon his knees before God, with the humble, teachable heart of a child, if he would know what the Lord requires of him. However high any minister may have stood in the favor of God, if he neglects to follow out the light given him of God, if he refuses to be taught as a little child, he will go into darkness and satanic delusions and will lead others in the same path.…

“What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation? Those who are uniting with the world are receiving the worldly mold and preparing for the mark of the beast.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 212–216.

Friends, it is a dangerous thing to fail to advance in the opening providence of God. The Light is moving. Are you moving with it, or are you in the dark?

The Narrow Path

Early in her experience, Ellen White saw a vision about this light. You can read this vision in Early Writings, 15-20. In other places in her writings, she speaks about the light that was set up at the beginning of the path that the Advent Company was traveling that shone all of the way up to the Holy City. This path is narrow; and if you do not have light on the path, you are going to stumble and fall off.

What was that light that was set up at the beginning? Sister White says that it was the Midnight Cry. The Midnight Cry was based on the Bible prophecies of Daniel 8 and 9 and Revelation 14:6, 7—the message of the 2300 days, the sanctuary and the investigative judgment. The devil knows that if we reject these truths, we will stumble and fall off of the path. It is amazing how successful the devil has been in leading us to reject them.

We have been told that, “When the power of God testifies as to what is truth, that truth is to stand forever as the truth. No after suppositions contrary to the light God has given are to be entertained.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 161. Yet, there are Adventist teachers and ministers today who no longer believe these truths.

Friend, if you are in the situation where you listen to this error, you are in the dark; you are going to lose your way. The Lord is not going to work a miracle to save you; you have turned your back on the light. This idea that you can have a spirit of free inquiry and ask any question you want to is not according to the Scriptures. Jesus rebuked people for their doubt. If these truths are not being upheld in your church, your church is in the dark.

The Christian’s Journey

Ellen White describes a very impressive dream. “…I dreamed of being with a large body of people. A portion of this assembly started out prepared to journey. We had heavily loaded wagons. As we journeyed, the road seemed to ascend. On one side of this road was a deep precipice; on the other was a high, smooth, white wall, like the hard finish upon plastered rooms. As we journeyed on, the road grew narrower and steeper. In some places it seemed so very narrow that we concluded that we could no longer travel with the loaded wagons. We then loosed them from the horses, took a portion of the luggage from the wagons and placed it upon the horses, and journeyed on horseback. As we progressed, the path still continued to grow narrow. We were obliged to press close to the wall, to save ourselves from falling off the narrow road down the steep precipice. As we did this, the luggage on the horses pressed against the wall and caused us to sway toward the precipice. We feared that we should fall and be dashed in pieces on the rocks. We then cut the luggage from the horses, and it fell over the precipice. We continued on horseback, greatly fearing, as we came to the narrower places in the road, that we should lose our balance and fall. At such times a hand seemed to take the bridle and guide us over the perilous way. As the path grew more narrow, we decided that we could no longer go with safety on horseback, and we left the horses and went on foot, in single file, one following in the footsteps of another. At this point small cords were let down from the top of the pure white wall; these we eagerly grasped, to aid us in keeping our balance upon the path. As we traveled, the cord moved along with us. The path finally became so narrow that we concluded that we could travel more safely without our shoes, so we slipped them from our feet and went on some distance without them. Soon it was decided that we could travel more safely without our stockings; these were removed, and we journeyed on with bare feet.

[One of the most interesting points of this dream is that several changes were made. They began with heavily loaded wagons, then changed to horses with a portion of the luggage, to horses with no luggage, to single file on foot, to removing their shoes, and finally to removing their stockings.]

The Cords of Faith

“We then thought of those who had not accustomed themselves to privations and hardships. Where were such now? They were not in the company. At every change some were left behind, and those only remained who had accustomed themselves to endure hardships. The privations of the way only made these more eager to press on to the end. Our danger of falling from the pathway increased. We pressed close to the white wall, yet could not place our feet fully upon the path, for it was too narrow. We then suspended nearly our whole weight upon the cords, exclaiming: ‘We have hold from above! We have hold from above!’ The same words were uttered by all the company in the narrow pathway. As we heard the sounds of mirth and revelry that seemed to come from the abyss below, we shuddered. We heard the profane oath, the vulgar jest, and low, vile songs. We heard the war song and the dance song. We heard instrumental music and loud laughter, mingled with cursing and cries of anguish and bitter wailing, and were more anxious than ever to keep upon the narrow, difficult pathway. Much of the time we were compelled to suspend our whole weight upon the cords, which increased in size as we progressed.

“I noticed that the beautiful white wall was stained with blood. It caused a feeling of regret to see the wall thus stained. This feeling, however, lasted but for a moment, as I soon thought that it was all as it should be. Those who are following after will know that others have passed the narrow, difficult way before them, and will conclude that if others were able to pursue their onward course, they can do the same. And as the blood shall be pressed from their aching feet, they will not faint with discouragement; but, seeing the blood upon the wall, they will know that others have endured the same pain.

Trusting Wholly Upon God

“At length we came to a large chasm, at which our path ended. There was nothing now to guide the feet, nothing upon which to rest them. Our whole reliance must be upon the cords, which had increased in size until they were as large as our bodies. Here we were for a time thrown into perplexity and distress. We inquired in fearful whispers: ‘To what is the cord attached?’ My husband was just before me. Large drops of sweat were falling from his brow, the veins in his neck and temples were increased to double their usual size, and suppressed, agonizing groans came from his lips. The sweat was dropping from my face, and I felt such anguish as I had never felt before. A fearful struggle was before us. Should we fail here, all the difficulties of our journey had been experienced for nought.

“Before us, on the other side of the chasm, was a beautiful field of green grass, about six inches high. I could not see the sun; but bright, soft beams of light, resembling fine gold and silver, were resting upon this field. Nothing I had seen upon earth could compare in beauty and glory with this field. But could we succeed in reaching it? was the anxious inquiry. Should the cord break, we must perish. Again, in whispered anguish the words were breathed: ‘What holds the cord?’ For a moment we hesitated to venture. Then we exclaimed: ‘Our only hope is to trust wholly to the cord. It has been our dependence all the difficult way. It will not fail us now.’ Still we were hesitating and distressed. The words were then spoken: ‘God holds the cord. We need not fear.’ These words were then repeated by those behind us, accompanied with: ‘He will not fail us now. He has brought us thus far in safety.’

“My husband then swung himself over the fearful abyss into the beautiful field beyond. I immediately followed. And, oh, what a sense of relief and gratitude to God we felt! I heard voices raised in triumphant praise to God. I was happy, perfectly happy.

“I awoke and found that from the anxiety I had experienced in passing over the difficult route, every nerve in my body seemed to be in a tremor. This dream needs no comment. It made such an impression upon my mind that probably every item in it will be vivid before me while my memory shall continue.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 594–597.

The light, friends, is moving. Are you keeping up with the providence of God? Are you aware that the road we are traveling is getting narrower? Have you noticed it? How are you going to stay on the path and keep up with the providence of God? The only way is to have faith. Those cords represent faith.

A few years ago a good friend of mine told me that he was sorry that I had worked so many years for the Adventist denomination and now had to give up all of my retirement benefits. Let me tell you, if you stay on the road all the way to the end, you are going to give up much more than your retirement benefits, but what is that compared with what you will gain?

Oh friends of mine, how much time are you spending in prayer? If you are energetic enough to get up and pray, God will hear and answer.

“Where there is no active labor for others, love wanes, and faith grows dim.” The Desire of Ages, 825. You must not only study your Bible and pray you must be actively involved in missionary work. If you are not, ask the Lord to show you what to do to become involved in some type of outreach program spreading the Third Angel’s Message.

When you come to this place in your experience, will you have a faith that will hold you? Do you want the Lord to let down a cord of faith today so that you can get a hold from above? If so, make a commitment that from this day forward, you will faithfully walk in the light as God sheds it upon your pathway.

Worship the Lord in Holiness

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Worship is a very serious topic. I am deeply concerned and troubled about the current worship trends. In a recent discussion among some Christian ministers, I heard one make the statement, “You can never negotiate the gospel message. It is non-negotiable.”

Worship Style is Not Negotiable

Like the gospel message, worship style is not negotiable. Why do I say that? Because God has plainly lain out the kind of worship man is to follow.

“And it shall come to pass [If the Word says it will come to pass, you can believe it will come to pass,] that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 66:23. Heaven is God’s throne. What will take place in heaven at His throne? I see an important word; the key word in this reading is “worship.”

We are going to worship God in heaven. As I began to think about this message, I turned to my wife, Marjorie, and I said, “I cannot believe this. What are we thinking about as a people?”

After reading Isaiah 66, some serious questions must be asked:

Is Jesus coming soon?

What kind of worship will we attend in heaven?

Will we have the type of worship that is being promoted on the videos, “Are you ready for Church?” and “Are You Ready for Worship?” If you have not seen these videos, you need to see them. [Editor’s Note: These videos are available from Steps to Life.]

Will we have the type of worship displayed by the youth at the General Conference session in Toronto, Canada? It was worse, as far as I am concerned, because it went to every nook and corner of the world. So the answer is, absolutely not! We will not have that kind of worship in heaven.

Where do the General Conference leaders get the idea that we will have the type of worship in heaven or in the new earth that consists of dancing around, clapping hands and playing drums? Will this be the style of worship in the new church and the true church in heaven? No, it will not.

Habakkuk 2:20 says, “…the Lord is in His holy temple. let all the earth keep silence before Him.”

God Gave the Order of His Service

“…God Himself gave the order of His service, exalting it high above everything of a temporal nature.” Child Guidance, 540. Is that not a powerful statement?

A great man of the Bible spoke of the sacredness of the place where the Lord dwells. “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place!” What did he say? “How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:16, 17.

Think of the General Conference session and of the “Are You Ready for Worship?” video in context with this text. Would God want to attend such a place? “God is high and holy; and to the humble, believing soul, His house on earth, the place where His people meet for worship, is as the gate of heaven.” The Faith I Live By, 188. As the gate of heaven!

What will heaven be like? Have we ever thought about that? If we did, would we act like we are doing in our churches across this country today?

Our Church, a Sanctuary?

Is our church a sanctuary? Is it a place set aside for worship? Is God supposed to be there? “And let them [He is speaking here of the people.] make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8.

“Those who assemble to worship Him should put away every evil thing. [Did they put away every evil thing on those videos or at the General Conference session? I do not think so.] Unless they worship Him in spirit and truth and in the beauty of holiness [Do you want to guess what is written next?], their coming together will be of no avail.” The Faith I Live, 189. In other words, He cannot place a blessing on it.

Totally Unacceptable to God

This is what we need to consider. With a turning away from Scripture and from the Spirit of Prophecy explanations of the true worship of God in His holy temple, there has come in a worship style that is totally unacceptable to God.

The current style of worship and of music are driving, and will drive, the presence of the Lord away. I believe that! God, in His time, will deal with the irreverence. What is the problem? Many have forgotten that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (See Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10.) O worship the Lord in holiness.

The Gate of Heaven

“…the Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Habakkuk 2:20. Does that not mean reverence to you? “God Himself gave the order of His service, exalting it high above everything of a temporal nature.” The Faith I Live By, 189. Now notice this: “God is high and holy; and to the humble, believing soul, His house on earth, the place [sanctuary, church, a place of worship] where His people meet for worship, is as the gate of heaven.” Ibid., 188.

Does that sound like church is a boring place to be? My wife and I have watched the video—”Are You Ready for Church?”—and have witnessed over two hours of the last of the General Conference session regarding the method of worship by the young people with the puppet show that was shown to all the world. Then Jan Paulson, (President of the General Conference) put his blessing on it and had prayer, encouraging them to move forward with it. My heart aches!

It is Not Okay!

I have never been so concerned as to where the Seventh-day Adventist Church is headed in confusion and the wrong type of worship that will be used, as I now am. How many will be misled by this? What concerns me is if down the road you will not hear, “Well, the Conference does it.” “The leaders do it, so it must be okay.” The only thing is, it is not okay because the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy say it is not.

Many Seventh-day Adventists have lost sight of respecting the unseen presence of God the Father, Christ and the angels in our midst at worship time. I got to thinking and it has just struck me so powerfully.

Remember Exodus 3:5 where God instructed Moses to take off his shoes and told him that he was standing on holy ground? The ground was made holy by the presence of God. Who are we, then, to say we will do as we please? How does God feel about it? Look at Joshua 5:15. God told Joshua the same thing: “Remove your shoes.” Why? “You are on holy ground.”

The presence of God in the worship service today is openly violated by many. I hear now, quite often, the statement, “Church is boring, dull, dead.” Brother and Sister, I am going to tell you to be careful. I urge you, be careful of these words. If our daily relationship to God is on a personal, consecrated basis (Did you catch that?) church worship will not be boring.

Church is not a nightclub. A church is not a place to have fun and games. It is a place to reverence God. If the service is boring, then the people who make up the church are doing something wrong, and they might need to look at how they are addressing God. There may need to be a change in the worship service to make it proven and acceptable worship to God and of God, rather than acceptable to man or to the congregation.

Let me share a deep concern that I have. This concern is based upon the thinking of many church people today regarding how they worship, their respect for church worship and so forth.

What would you do, how would our members react if we had to offer animal sacrifices? Are you thankful that you do not have to do this?

“‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.’ Romans 12:1 …Every morning and evening a lamb of a year old was burned upon the altar, with its appropriate meat offering, thus symbolizing the daily consecration of the nation to Jehovah, and their constant dependence upon the atoning blood of Christ. God expressly directed that every offering presented for the service of the sanctuary should be [perfect] ‘without blemish…’ Only an offering ‘without blemish’ could be a symbol of His perfect purity who was to offer Himself as ‘a Lamb without blemish and without spot.’ 1 Peter 1:19. The apostle Paul points to these sacrifices as an illustration of what the followers of Christ are to become.” The Faith I Live By, 196.

Morning and Evening Prayer

Are we one of these followers? We are to become perfect! He says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.… The hours appointed for the morning and the evening sacrifice were regarded as sacred, and they came to be observed as the set time for worship throughout the Jewish nation…. In this custom, Christians have an example for morning and evening prayer.” Ibid.

Should we still do that? “While God condemns a mere round of ceremonies, without the spirit of worship, He looks with great pleasure upon those who love Him, bowing morning and evening to seek pardon for sins committed, to present their requests for needed blessings.” Ibid.

What do we get from this? If you had to bring a lamb when you came to church, what kind of lamb would you have to bring? You would have to bring one without blemish. Would He accept anything less? No. The question is, Would you like to have to do that every Sabbath?

So let us go a little bit farther with this. We are told we are to keep silent before Him; “The house is the sanctuary for the family.…” Ibid.,189. What house? “The house is the sanctuary for the family, and the closet or the grove the most retired place for individual worship; but the church is the sanctuary for the congregation.” Ibid. So, in other words, there needs to be a little sanctuary in your home. Our home should be a place where angels love to dwell. (See The Adventist Home, 19, 426.)

“In the name of Jesus we may come before Him with confidence, but we must not approach Him with the boldness of presumption. [Oh, it does not make any difference. He will enjoy what I am doing here, jumping around and clapping my hands, as long as I am praising Him.], as though He were on a level with ourselves.” The Faith I Live By, 189. That is the problem. He is not on the same level we are.

“There are those who address the great and all-powerful and holy God, who dwelleth in light unapproachable, as they would address an equal, or even an inferior. There are those who conduct themselves in His house as they would not presume to do in the audience– chamber of an earthy ruler.” Ibid. Do you get that picture? These earthly rulers, like the Queen of England, when people go near them, they reverence them, do they not?

True Reverence

“These should remember that they are in His sight whom seraphim adore. Those who assemble to worship Him should put away every evil thing. Unless they worship Him in spirit and truth and in the beauty of holiness, their coming together will be of no avail.” Ibid.

So you only have a form, but notice the next sentence. “It is your privilege, dear young friends, to glorify God upon the earth. In order to do this, you must direct your minds away from things that are superficial, frivolous, and unimportant, to those that are of eternal worth.” Ibid.

This has to do with the sanctuary. Jacob said the Lord is in this place. He realized the Lord was there. “True reverence for God is inspired by a sense of His infinite greatness and a realization of His presence….. [Not by jumping up and down!] God is high and holy; and to the humble, believing soul, His house on earth, the place where His people meet for worship, is as the gate of heaven. The song of praise, the words spoken by Christ’s ministers, are God’s appointed agencies to prepare a people for the church above.” Ibid., 188. There we will go from one Sabbath to another worshiping Him.

Is that the kind of worship that we have been talking about? Is that the kind of worship we are going to get ready and take with us? No. “The song of praise, the words spoken by Christ’s ministers, are God’s appointed agencies to prepare a people for the church above, for that loftier worship into which there can enter nothing that is impure.… God sees every [How much? All!.] irreverent thought or action, and it is registered in the books of heaven.” Ibid.

Practice Reverence

Those things that we saw in the videos and at the General Conference session, did that skip detection? “Nothing is hid from His all–searching eye. If you have formed in any degree the habit of inattention and indifference in the house of God, exercise the powers you have to correct it…. Practice reverence until it becomes a part of yourself.” Ibid.

You know, I cannot play a piano but my wife can. Why? She has done something that I have not done. She has practiced! Anybody who can play a piano has to spend many hours in practice. And here it says we are to practice. “Practice reverence until it becomes a part of you.”

If we had to carry out the sacrificial services today, how many people would be attending with the mindset of what this has just said to us? How does this compare with the slackness many are showing in worshiping God today? How many would come to worship if they had to sacrifice an animal? If we have a hard time coming to church and recognizing that it is the place where God’s presence dwells, and if we find it is a chore, what would we think about bringing an animal?

You know about the sanctuary service. Did everybody roam around in the olden times, just wherever they wanted to, go in when they wanted, and bring whatever animal they wanted to bring? No, they did not.

I hear a lot of times that we are too stern; we are too rigid, and we want too much order. But I tell you, God is a God of order. Are we thankful that Jesus was willing to sacrifice His blood once and for all? Are we thankful enough that we, as worshipers, show Jesus reverence for the love that He has shown for us?

Worship Services an Abomination

It would not be easy for me to bring a little innocent lamb. I will admit that. But the Lamb has already been slain. I do not have to do that. Are you getting my point here? We have been carrying on services in our churches across this country that are nothing but an abomination!

Hebrews 9:13, 14 tells us of the continually applied blood.”‘For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ… purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?’ [The] Redeemer… urges them to accept the salvation He offers them. The heifer, having been slain in a most solemn manner, the priest, clothed in pure white garments, took the blood in his hands as it issued from the body of the victim and cast it toward the temple seven times.…” The Faith I Live By, 200.

Are you not so thankful as we read this that Christ has made the sacrifice and we do not have to do it? “The body of the heifer was burned to ashes, which signified a whole and ample sacrifice.… This ceremony was repeated several times… and was done as a purification from sin. Thus Christ, in His own spotless righteousness, after shedding His precious blood, enters into the holy place to cleanse the sanctuary. And there the crimson current is brought into the service of reconciling God to man. Some may look upon this slaying of the heifer as a meaningless ceremony. [I am not so sure but what if this were done today we would say, “It is too big a deal. Let us just cut it out.”], but it was done by the command of God and bears a deep significance that has not lost its application to the present time.… If it was necessary in ancient times for the unclean to be purified by the blood of sprinkling, how essential for those living in the perils of the last days [Are we?], and exposed to the temptations of Satan, to have the blood of Christ applied to their [our] hearts daily.” Ibid., 200.

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 9:12.

I want to paint the scene here again. “In the spring of A.D. 31, Christ, the true Sacrifice, was offered on Calvary. When Christ on the cross cried out, ‘It is finished,’ the veil of the temple was rent in twain. This veil was significant to the Jewish nation. It was of most costly material, of purple and gold, and was of great length and breadth. At the moment when Christ breathed His last, there were witnesses in the temple who beheld the strong, heavy material rent by unseen hands from top to bottom. This act signified to the heavenly universe, and to a world corrupted by sin. [Is this world corrupted by sin today?] that a new and living way had been opened to the fallen race, that all sacrificial offerings terminated in the one great offering of the Son of God.” The Faith I Live By, 201.

Those who are promoting such services need to have a new look, a new realization that Christ died for them individually. Acts 5:29 says, “…We ought to obey God rather than men.” Can we not at least, as people called out of darkness to the marvelous light, worship God in a manner that will lead to eternal life?

Take a Long, Hard Look

I am speaking plainly here. I believe with all my heart that there is a great need for independent, home churches to take a hard look at the manner in which they address the matter of how to worship God in His holy temple. What you will do with it is up to you. I hope and pray that you will take this and heed it. We have to become converted people, dear ones. I do not know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know one thing, and that is that the Lord has laid a heavy burden on my heart.

With the worship I saw on the “Are You Ready for Worship?” and “Are You Ready for Church?” videos and the General Conference session, “Worship Decorum,” I think we, as a people, need an altar call. I know this one thing for sure, in the not too distant future, God is going to deal with this situation, whether we like it or not.

The world is sick, it is dying. Recently there were one thousand earthquakes in one day. This is unheard of. In the past, a thousand earthquakes probably would not happen in 30 years.

People are killing. People have all kinds of beliefs. We need to return to the Word of God. The sad part is, God called a people; He called Seventh-day Adventists out of darkness into light, and we are beginning to make a miserable mess of it. He is going to poll each one of us individually, to see where we stand.

Jesus is coming. He is going to come whether we like it or not, whether we are ready or not. We can have all of the opinionated ideas we want, but unless they are based upon God’s Word they are useless.

We need to be studying line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. The Bible has not been written in a consecutive type order. You have to search. If we study line upon line, and precept upon precept, the Holy Spirit will show us what truth is and what life is.