Articles – Page 560 – Steps to Life

Keys to the Storehouse – The Circuit of Beneficence

October 25, 2017 by Judy Hallingstad

The word beneficence means active goodness. Most people are unaware of any circuit of beneficence working around them. Oh how selfish the heart of man has become in living to itself!

“There is nothing, save the selfish heart of man, that lives unto itself.

No bird that cleaves the air, no animal that moves upon the ground, but ministers to some other life.
There is no leaf of the forest, or lowly blade of grass, but has its ministry.
Every tree and shrub and leaf pours forth that element of life without which neither man nor animal could live;
and man and animal, in turn, minister to the life of tree and shrub and leaf.
The flowers breathe fragrance and unfold their beauty in blessing to the world.
The sun sheds its light to gladden a thousand worlds.
The ocean, itself the source of all our springs and fountains, receives the streams from every land, but takes to give.
The mists ascending from its bosom fall in showers to water the earth, that it may bring forth and bud.” The Desire of Ages, 20, 21.

Even the joy of the angels is in giving!

“The angels of glory find their joy in giving –

giving love and tireless watchcare to souls that are fallen and unholy.
Heavenly beings woo the hearts of men;
they bring to this dark world light from the courts above;
by gentle and patient ministry they move upon the human spirit, to bring the lost into a fellowship with Christ which is even closer than they themselves can know.” Ibid., 21.

This circuit of beneficence, this active goodness, is going on all around us, but few are aware.

“But turning from all lesser representations, we behold God in Jesus. Looking unto Jesus we see that it is the glory of our God to give. … All things Christ received from God, but He took to give. So in the heavenly courts, in His ministry for all created beings: through the beloved Son, the Father’s life flows out to all; through the Son it returns, in praise and joyous service, a tide of love, to the great Source of all.

And thus through Christ the circuit of beneficence is complete, representing the character of the great Giver, the law of life.” Ibid.

Lucifer, the covering cherub, chose not to be part of the circuit, that active goodness, in heaven and is no longer walking in heavenly places. How do you choose? Are you a part of that beneficent circuit?

Father: I was not aware of the active goodness, that circuit, working around me. But now I want to be part of it each moment. Remove the selfishness from my heart that I may continually walk with Jesus and the angels. Help me to remember that all I receive from You, physically, mentally and spiritually, is to be joined into that circuit of beneficence—that active goodness, that it may flow continually. Amen.

Current Events – The Red Moon – A Harbinger of Doom?

October 25, 2017 by Jana Wagner

The moon passed through Earth’s shadow on Sunday, September 27, in a dazzling total lunar eclipse during a perigee full moon, better known as a “supermoon.”

Supermoons occur when the moon reaches its full phase at or near the satellite’s closest approach to Earth, and appears abnormally large and bright as a result. The September 27 event is quite special; the last supermoon eclipse occurred in 1982, and the next won’t take place until 2033. The total lunar eclipse wowed sky-gazers around the world with a dazzling show as the full perigee moon crossed into Earth’s shadow and took on a blood-red hue. http://news.yahoo.com/supermoon-lunar-eclipse-2015-full-blood-moon-coverage-212938334.html.

According to ancient Jewish tradition, a lunar eclipse is a harbinger of bad things for Israel. If that eclipse is blood red, that is a sign that war is coming. And blood red moons that happen during Biblical festivals seem to be particularly significant. There was a “tetrad” of blood red moons that fell during Passover 1967, the Feast of Tabernacles 1967, Passover 1968 and the Feast of Tabernacles 1968. And of course the 1967 war during which Israel took full control of Jerusalem took place during that time period. There was also a “tetrad” of blood red moons that fell during Passover 1949, the Feast of Tabernacles 1949, Passover 1950 and the Feast of Tabernacles 1950. If you know your history, you already are aware that the Israeli War of Independence ended on July 20th, 1949. So does the blood red moon tetrad of 2014 and 2015 signal that another season of war is now upon us?

The Jewish Talmud (book of tradition/interpretation) says, “When the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel. If its face is as red as blood, (it is a sign that) the sword is coming to the world.”

Whether or not this is a coincidence, Jesus did warn that there would be signs in the heavens before He would return.

“The savior gives signs of His coming, and more than this He fixes the time when the first of these signs shall appear: ‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.’ ” The Faith I Live By, 344. [Emphasis added.]

While we do indeed need to be mindful of Bible prophecy, our main efforts should be striving to be among the 144,000, which involves overcoming the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Note this counsel: “Our only sure defense against besetting sins is prayer, daily and hourly prayer. Not one day zealous and the next careless, but through watchfulness and earnestness becoming vitalized by intercourse with God.” Our Father Cares, 244.

If we are familiar with God’s word though daily study, we will not only recognize end-time events as they occur, but we will also be prepared in heart and home to meet each day’s challenges as they occur.

Guilty Once; Guilty Ten Times Over

October 25, 2017 by Brenda Douay

“He who willfully breaks one commandment, does not, in spirit and truth, keep any of them. ‘Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all’ (James 2:10).” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 51

The law of God can be summed up in one word—love. That word is a principle, not an emotion or a feeling. It is the basis for the government of God and of His law, which is the foundation of His government.

Through a study of Adam and Eve and how in one sin they broke every commandment, it is the purpose and goal of this article 1) to illustrate the truth that the ten commandments are in reality one connected whole; and 2) to show the breadth and depth of the commandments when we study them as they should be studied, from a spiritual standpoint.

I think many people read the surface of the commandments and think, “I am pretty good; I have never killed anyone.” Or, “I am OK; I have never committed adultery.” This kind of reasoning could go on indefinitely. Another way we read and understand the Ten Commandments is “the letter of the law”—I don’t swear, I don’t tell blatant lies. But this is not how God sees His law. There is a depth and a connectedness, broad principles connected with the commandments, this holy law of God, that I fear we may have never fully recognized.

So, let’s begin at the very beginning and study through each one of the commandments to see how in that one act of eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve broke the whole law, all Ten Commandments. We cannot cover these things in depth here, but will examine brief illustrations of these two points that the Ten Commandments are one harmonious whole, and the depth of the principles that they express. It is for you to study more deeply into these truths.

Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” What does it mean to have a “god” before the God of heaven? “Whatever we cherish that tends to lessen our love for God or to interfere with the service due Him, of that do we make a god.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 305. In that choice, that decision to eat of the forbidden fruit or not to eat, was the choice, the decision of allegiance—worship—of God, or of Lucifer. They chose Lucifer. They broke the first commandment by placing their love, their service, their allegiance elsewhere than with God.

Exodus 20:4–6: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

Just what does it mean to “make for yourself an idol”? Does that mean worshiping something tangible, such as the heathen nations have done with idols of wood and stone? By all means. But it goes deeper than that. “Are we worshipers of Jehovah, or of Baal? of the living God, or of idols? No outward shrines may be visible, there may be no image for the eye to rest upon; yet we may be practicing idolatry. It is as easy to make an idol of cherished ideas or objects as to fashion gods of wood or stone. Thousands have a false conception of God and His attributes. They are as verily serving a false god as were the servants of Baal. God is a God of truth. Justice and mercy are the attributes of His throne.” The Review and Herald, December 3, 1908.

Eve cherished the idea of entering a higher sphere than was assigned her. Adam made the creature, Eve, an idol, above God, his Creator. One of the dictionary definitions of idol is “somebody or something greatly admired or loved, often to excess.” Did Adam admire and love Eve to excess? Absolutely. Where should his greatest love and loyalty have been? With God.

Exodus 20:7: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” This goes far deeper than swearing or using God’s name in a light or trifling manner. Do you claim the name of Christian? What does it mean to be a Christian? “When you took the name of Christian you promised in this life to prepare for the higher life in the kingdom of God. To be a Christian means to be Christlike.” In Heavenly Places, 286. The Psalmist says, “Holy and reverend is His name.” Psalm 111:9 KJV. Were they taking the name of God in vain? By all means. When we take the name Christian it means that we are Christlike.

Exodus 20:8–11: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” What must we be in order to keep the Sabbath day holy? “In order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy.” The Desire of Ages, 283. When Adam and Eve sinned, were they any longer holy? No. Therefore, could they obey the fourth commandment? No, they could not. Therefore, they broke the fourth commandment when they ate the forbidden fruit.

Exodus 20:12: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”

Now we have moved from those laws which outline our duty to God to those which express our duty to one another. Do you think they broke these as well? Understand that each law is not just for the physical world, but even more has a spiritual application. The Psalmist said, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” (Psalm 19:7). Conversion of the soul is a spiritual situation, and the law of the Lord is the basis for conversion.

Adam and Eve, as we stated earlier, were children of God. If that is true then their father was God Himself. In distrusting Him, in disobeying Him, they dishonored Him. It is interesting in Patriarchs and Prophets, 308, what Inspiration declares this commandment enjoins: “The fifth commandment requires children not only to yield respect, submission, and obedience to their parents, but also to … guard their reputation.” In their act of disobedience, Adam and Eve disregarded the reputation of God and upheld the claims of the great rebel, that God’s law needed improvement and that it could not be obeyed. In this one act, they supported and upheld Satan’s accusations against God!

Exodus 20:13: “You shall not murder.” In eating of the fruit Adam and Eve brought death on themselves. The sentence of death, physical, mental, spiritual; eternal death. Patriarchs and Prophets, 308, sheds this light on the sixth commandment: “All acts of injustice that tend to shorten life … are violations of the sixth commandment.” Though they lived to be over nine hundred years old, they shortened their lives in eating of the tree.

Another consideration with this commandment is the reality of the foundation of life. From where do we get life? We receive life, every breath, every moment of every day, from God. Sin cannot exist in His presence; so every time we sin, we are choosing to separate ourselves from the Life-giver; we are choosing … murder. Inspiration also tells us that when we sin, always, without qualification, always someone else suffers. Remember what we read earlier? “All acts of injustice that tend to shorten life … are violations of the sixth commandment.” And above all, when we sin, we are responsible, in a very concrete way, for the death of Jesus. We lift the knife against Him as surely as did Adam when offering the first sacrifice of a lamb. These are very sobering thoughts.

Exodus 20:14: “You shall not commit adultery.” This may be a little more difficult to understand. In the second commandment we read: “for, I the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” Why is God pictured as a jealous God? Note these words from Patriarchs and Prophets, 306: “The close and sacred relation of God to His people is represented under the figure of marriage. Idolatry being spiritual adultery, the displeasure of God against it is fitly called jealousy.” If our relationship to God is symbolized through the figure of marriage, whenever we depart from that relationship we are committing adultery. Any time we reject confession, repentance, turning from sin, living a victorious Christian life; in short, any time we live outside the provisions of the new covenant we are committing spiritual adultery. The only way we can overcome is through the plan of redemption. Then any time we are outside of that, we are playing the harlot. We are choosing another husband than Christ.

Exodus 20:15: “You shall not steal.” To whom did that tree belong, and the fruit of that tree? It belonged to God, and God had given very explicit direction not to eat of that tree. But even deeper than that, and this principle is applicable to every single one of us, to whom do we belong? Are we our own? “Humans are His property, and they are God’s by creation and by redemption.” Christ Triumphant, 15. We are not our own. We belong to God. When Adam and Eve sinned, they took what was God’s by right—their hearts, their souls, their very bodies—and gave them to the devil. Every time we sin, we are making the same choice. Listen to the words of John the Beloved: “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning.” I John 3:8.

“We cannot be Christians while we live to please ourselves. We must enter in through the strait gate of self-denial, if we follow the Master. This strait, self-denying path is too narrow for many to walk in who profess godliness. They want an easier path and are climbing up some other way. They refuse to follow in the footsteps of our Redeemer. Christ calls all such thieves and robbers (John 10:8). They take the name of Christian, which does not belong to them, because they do not represent in their life the life of Christ. They claim the privileges which belong to the sons of God while they are none of His. They live selfish lives upon the earth and have done nothing for the truth and the salvation of souls as they ought to have done. Sad indeed for these self-deceived ones. They will never see heaven, because they are not willing to share the shame, the reproach, that Jesus suffered for them.” This Day With God, 155.

Exodus 20:16: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This commandment correlates a little bit with what we studied about the third commandment. In fact, are you seeing the truth of our opening statement, “He who willfully breaks one commandment, does not, in spirit and truth, keep any of them”? When we take the name “Christian” we are claiming to honor this name, to be living in obedience to His law. We are to be witness to God. “Let not those who take the name of Christian forget that they are to honor this name.” A Place Called Oakwood, 104. “Those who take the name of Christian pledge themselves to be true to God. They are bound up with Him and the heavenly angels in family relation. … Their actions in every respect are to be such as become saints. All that is unbecoming is to be discarded. They are to live a new and holy life.” In Heavenly Places, 286. In bearing the relationship of “child of God,” when they ate of the forbidden fruit, were they bearing witness to the holy name of their Father? When they sinned, were they exonerating God, or were they bearing false witness against Him? You see, God said His law could be obeyed. His law is fair and just and reasonable. Satan accused God before the universe, stating that His law could not be obeyed; that it was unfair, unreasonable, unjust. For whom were Adam and Eve bearing witness when they partook of the forbidden fruit?

Exodus 20:17: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” We easily see that Eve wanted that which was not hers, and that led to her partaking of the fruit. But there is much more behind what she did than merely coveting the fruit. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.” Genesis 3:6. Eve made the same mistake that Lucifer made in the courts of heaven. She wanted a position which was not hers. She “saw that the tree was … desirable to make one wise.” And she reaped the same consequences as those Lucifer reaped. “In attempting to rise above her original position, she fell far below it.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 59. This was the result for Lucifer. This was the result for Eve, and it is the result for all who aspire for that which does not belong to them.

The purpose of this study is not to be theoretical, or simply an interesting series of events or teachings. The purpose of this study is to connect, from the depths of our souls, the fact that God’s law reaches to every fiber of our lives, every moment of every day. What are the driving principles behind our decisions, our choices? You see, in every choice of life, from the smallest, whether to take another bite of food, to those we consider important, every one of these choices needs to be made in light of the broad and deep principles of God’s law.

The bottom line is this: Is God first, or is He not? It seems that it is no accident that the first commandment, at its root, deals with what we worship. What has priority in our lives? Is it God, or is it something, anything, else? If God is truly our first love, our first priority, the object of our loyalty, then we will keep all the other commandments.

God’s law is truly a law of principle, the principle of love. When God proclaimed His law to Israel, it was done in an awesome manner. Inspiration tells it like this: “Such were the sacred precepts of the Decalogue, spoken amid thunder and flame, and with a wonderful display of the power and majesty of the great Lawgiver. God accompanied the proclamation of His law with exhibitions of His power and glory, that His people might never forget the scene, and that they might be impressed with profound veneration for the Author of the law, the Creator of heaven and earth. He would also show to all men the sacredness, the importance, and the permanence of His law.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 309.

Just as the keeping of God’s law would have been the greatest blessing and good to Adam and Eve, so it will be for us. Just as breaking one of the commandments, thereby breaking all, was a tremendous curse to them, so it will be for us. It is my prayer that we learn the lesson God has so mercifully preserved for us that we may avoid the terrible consequences of sin. Let us heed the words of the Psalmist, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1, 2.

All Bible quotes NKJV unless otherwise noted.

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.

Choose Whom You Will Serve

October 25, 2017 by Evan Sadler

A BIBLICAL INDICTMENT AGAINST ALL WHO WOULD USE FORCE IN RELIGIOUS MATTERS

Prior to Pope Francis’ visit to America in September, his Advisor, Jeffrey Sachs said that the Pope would challenge the American ideal of individual choice in matters of religion and conscience. It was also reported that the pope would encourage a family day. It seems to have escaped his mind that Americans in “the land of the free” can already rest on Sunday as a family if they so choose. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees them the freedom to choose whatever day of rest they want without interference from the government.

What is the Pope up to?

The Catholic Church has always been an enemy of separation of church and state. The pope’s plan to encourage a Sunday law will be forced on all. Those who choose to keep God’s seventh day Sabbath holy will be eventually branded as criminals and persecuted. Those who forget history are bound to repeat it. Is it now time that we better understand where the American ideal of separation of church and state came from, what it cost, and what we can do to preserve this God-given right.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:7–9.

Our first parents, Adam and Eve, though they were put in a perfect environment, chose to sin. As a simple test to prove loyalty to their Creator, they were prohibited from eating the fruit from one tree in the Garden of Eden. Satan deceived Eve. She ate the fruit and gave it to Adam and they lost their right to live in their garden home.

After Satan had caused the fall of Adam and Eve, he claimed this world as his own. The plan of salvation put in place to restore fallen man from his sinful condition could only be successful if he was given free choice.

In heaven, we are told that Michael (Christ) fought against the devil, who was thrown out of heaven as a result. However, when Christ came into this dark world, which was under Satan’s dominion, He never fought physically for its recovery. He knew that would have proved nothing to the unfallen worlds in vindicating God’s Holy Law, His character, and His plan of Salvation.

Satan had accused God of being a dictator. He claimed a victory in Adam’s fall, claiming that it was impossible for humans to keep God’s law and that there was fault with the Law Giver. God and His Law had to be vindicated, and doubt had to be removed from the minds of the unfallen worlds. God is love and only through love could He draw this lost world back. The plan of salvation would not only vindicate God but would save lost humanity from their sins.

The inhabitants of the unfallen worlds could see that Satan had won control of this world by tempting our first parents to choose to transgress God’s law, just as he had caused the ruin of one third of the heavenly host. God’s eternal and perfect law had been broken, and the only way the world could be won back was through the shedding of blood to pay the penalty for a broken law. “… and without shedding of blood is no remission [of sin].” Hebrews 9:22.

Satan was cast out of heaven for breaking God’s law, and the universe would see the inconsistency if God had not allowed death to come upon Adam and Eve, who, like Satan, had transgressed God’s law. He could not penalize Satan for transgression and then excuse our first parents for the same offence.

The story is told of a judge who fined all who came before him who had been found guilty, because the law had to be upheld. One day his own son came before him and many whispered that the judge would let him off. Much to their surprise, his own son was fined heavily. Then, because he was his father, the judge put his hand into his own pocket and paid his son’s fine. No one could say that justice had not been done. Justice and mercy had met. So it was with God. Adam and Eve had to be punished because His law had to be upheld. Then He paid the fine Himself by sending Jesus Christ to die in our place.

God loves His creatures. “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. By His death the law was magnified and made honorable.

“The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honourable.” Isaiah 42:21. Jesus kept His Father’s commandments. “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” John 15:10. Jesus asks us to do the same. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15.

Some might think that because Jesus fought and won in heaven, why couldn’t He come to this earth and again take the sword to Satan and his angels, and then take us all back to heaven? The problem with that argument is that when we get back to heaven we would continue to take the sword to each other. God’s plan of salvation has provided power for all those who choose to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and live a victorious life. The old carnal man must choose to die and be born again. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20.

The whole plan to recover this lost world of sin and death was to be one of choice alone. Christ said that His kingdom is not of this world, for if it were, then His servants would fight (see John 18:36). Because of this principle He separated the church from the state, for if these powers were united, force would replace choice, and the gospel message would fail.

There are many examples in Scripture of the exercise of freedom of choice. Satan chose to rebel in Heaven. Our first parents chose to transgress. Choices were made before the flood, in Sodom and Gomorrah, and at the golden calf. The three worthies in Babylon chose to be loyal to God. Judas chose to betray Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Peter chose to deny Christ several times. The unbelieving Jews chose to reject Christ.

The common people chose to follow Jesus. Christ chose to die for us on Calvary.

Two thieves were crucified with Jesus—one chose to accept Him and sadly the other thief chose to reject Him.

When Christ started His church on earth, force was never used to compel those who heard Him preach. He would harm nobody. “A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.” Isaiah 42:3.

On one occasion when Jesus and His disciples were rejected while passing through a Samaritan village, His disciples wished to take revenge. Instead, Christ gave them a lesson in love and tolerance towards those who chose to reject their message: “And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.” Luke 9:54–56.

Because Christ’s kingdom was not of this world, He rejected those who tried to make Him a king on this earth. Caesar could not forgive but Christ could forgive seventy times seven the vilest sinners who truly repented (see Matthew 18:22). “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone.” John 6:15.

Christ had told His followers that they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood (figuratively). That meant that they had to take His victorious life into their hearts. At this stage most of His followers chose to leave Him. He never tried to compel them to come back. “From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?” John 6:66, 67.

Christ preached the gospel; some chose to accept Him while others chose to reject Him. Christ never used violence and coercion to obtain converts. Some who believe in the church/state union say that Jesus used force when He cleansed the temple. However, there is no record of anyone being physically harmed by Christ. The only harm done was to the egos and pockets of the moneychangers. To try and use this example as an excuse for full scale genocide defies all credibility.

Jesus taught the disciples that there was to be no force used when they preached the gospel to the world. At Pentecost, Peter preached with the power of the Holy Spirit. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then they that gladly received His word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Acts 2:38, 41. Three thousand souls chose to accept Jesus without coercion. In Acts 4:4 five thousand chose Jesus as their Saviour. In Acts 5:14 multitudes of both men and women chose to believe. In Acts 6:7 a great company of priests chose to become obedient to the faith. In Acts 7:57 most of the leaders chose to stop their ears. In Acts 8:37 the Ethiopian chose to accept Jesus Christ. In Acts 13:42–51 the Gentiles chose to accept Christ but many of the Jews chose to reject the gospel message. They expelled both Paul and Barnabas from their coasts. The disciples chose to shake off the dust from their feet and went to Iconium.

There is no record of the first church ever having used force to attain conversions. Conversely, the unbelieving Jews continually chose to use violence against their former fellows who had chosen to become followers of Christ.

The following Bible verses show that all those who claim to be followers of gentle Jesus and advocate the use of force in religious matters are not His disciples despite their profession:

“These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” John 16:1, 2. The Bible warned us that there would be a time coming when force would be used, but it also said that false doctrines would be introduced. These two factors (force and false doctrine) would unite to bring forth the man of sin. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” II Thessalonians 2:3.

The following verses also predict that error would come into the church and be forced upon the people: Acts 20:28–31; II Peter 2:1, 2; I Timothy 4:1–4; II Timothy 4:3, 4; II Corinthians 4:2. Christ admonished us to read the Book of Daniel (Matthew 24:15). In Daniel 7:25 there is prophesied that a power would arise out of pagan Rome and it would “wear out the saints of the Most High” who chose to remain loyal to Jesus and His doctrine. In Daniel 11:33 and 35, it says that this same religio-political power would kill God’s children. They would “fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days” (1260 years). Protestant Bible students historically believe that these prophecies were fulfilled by the papacy in the Dark Ages, which, to be politically correct are now called the Middle Ages.

This blasphemous religious power had united itself to the state. That act contradicted Christ’s command to the first church (see Matthew 22:21). This was the first step in using the arm of the state to force millions to choose a false worship against their conscience. This power claimed this world to be its kingdom, which also contradicts Christ’s statement that His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36).

“Pope Urban II, inspirer of the first Crusade, decreed that all heretics were to be tortured and killed.” A Woman Rides the Beast, 246, by Dave Hunt. “St. Thomas Aquinas [the darling of the Catholic Church] taught that non-Catholics, or heretics, could, after a second warning, be legitimately killed. His exact words are: ‘they have merited to be excluded from the earth by death.’ ” St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, vol. 4, 90. “There is no greater offence than heresy … and therefore it must be rooted out with fire and sword.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911, vol. 14, 767. The Catholic church claimed the right to kill all those who chose to believe differently from what the church taught, even if that teaching conflicted with the plainest Scripture.

Christ, on the contrary, had told us to “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44. Christ gave all a choice in religious matters, but popery believes in force.

“The absurd and erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience are a most pestilential error—a pest, of all others, most to be dreaded in a state.” Pope Pius IX, Encyclical Letter of August 15, 1854. [Emphasis added.]

“One eighteenth Century historian, Walter James, counted 95 popes who claimed to have divine power to depose kings.” Vicars of Christ, by Peter de Rosa, page 355. This is a far cry from their claimed first pope Peter who said, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors.” I Peter 2:13, 14, first part.

“Archbishop Kendrick, says: We confess that the Roman Catholic Church is intolerant, that is to say, that it uses all the means in its power for the extirpation of error and sin; but this intolerance is the logical and necessary consequence of its infallibility. She alone has the right to be intolerant, because she alone has the truth. The Church tolerates heretics where she is obliged to do so; but she hates them mortally, and employs all her force to secure their annihilation. When the Catholics shall here be in possession of a considerable majority which will certainly be the case by and by, although the time may long be deferred, then religious liberty will have come to an end in the Republic of the United States. Our enemies know that we do not pretend to be better than our Church, and in what concerns this, her history is open to the eyes of all. They know then, how the Roman Church dealt with heretics in the Middle Ages, and how she deals with them to-day, everywhere she has the power.” Shepherd of the Valley, (St. Louis, Mo.), 1876.

“The church has the right to require that the Catholic religion shall be the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all others.” Pope Pius IX Syllabus Errorum, December 1864.

“I want to hear some American stand up and shout: ‘Give us justice. Give us decency and to hell with the Constitution.’ ” The Catholic News, July 25, 1963.

“Our work is to make America Catholic … and our hearts shall leap toward it with crusader enthusiasm.” Bishop Ireland, Baltimore Catholic Council, 1890.

“The word of God teaches that these scenes are to be repeated as Roman Catholics and Protestants shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday.” The Great Controversy, 578. “And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes. … is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.” Ibid., 581.

“The pacific tone of Rome in the United States does not imply a change of heart. She is tolerant where she is helpless. Says Bishop O’Connor: ‘Religious liberty is merely endured until the opposite can be carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world.’ … The archbishop of St. Louis once said: ‘Heresy and unbelief are crimes; and in Christian countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance, where all the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an essential part of the law of the land, they are punished as other crimes.’ ” Ibid., 565.

“The Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world, covering with apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed herself in Christlike garments; but she is unchanged. Every principle of the papacy that existed in past ages exists today. The doctrines devised in the darkest ages are still held. Let none deceive themselves. The papacy that Protestants are now so ready to honor is the same that ruled the world in the days of the Reformation, when men of God stood up, at the peril of their lives, to expose her iniquity. She possesses the same pride and arrogant assumption that lorded it over kings and princes, and claimed the prerogatives of God. Her spirit is no less cruel and despotic now than when she crushed out human liberty and slew the saints of the Most High.

“The papacy is just what prophecy declared that she would be, the apostasy of the latter times (II Thessalonians 2:3, 4). It is a part of her policy to assume the character which will best accomplish her purpose; but beneath the variable appearance of the chameleon she conceals the invariable venom of the serpent. ‘Faith ought not to be kept with heretics, nor persons suspected of heresy’ (Lenfant, volume 1, page 516), she declares. Shall this power, whose record for a thousand years is written in the blood of the saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?” Ibid., 571.

Seventh-day Adventists know that there are two significant powers mentioned in Revelation 13. We recognize them to be the resurrected papacy and the United States of America. America, the land of free choice in religious matters, has succumbed to its age-old foe from which her ancestors fled nearly four hundred years ago. Sleepy America has taken her wonderful liberties for granted. The people have been seduced and subdued by a mysterious stupor and are infatuated by sports, amusements, revelry and making money.

It is in this atmosphere that Pope Francis came to America to present to the U. S. Government the plan (or conspiracy?) for a New World Order to deal with global warming and the problems of humanity. He also presented at the World Family Day in Philadelphia the need for Sunday rest. Pope Francis is being idolized as the solver of the world’s problems. These problems are being used as an excuse to sell Catholicism to America as the only remedy.

As the pope and a confirmed Jesuit, he sincerely believes that he can resort to any means to rid the world of all who do not accept his “remedy.” He believes, as a “good” Jesuit, that he can take the wealth of America and distribute it to the slums of the world, the majority of which are Roman Catholic.

Even more alarmingly, the top Vatican adviser, Jeffery Sachs reported prior to the pope’s visit that he would directly challenge the ‘American idea’ of God-given rights embodied in the Declaration of Independence. The Catholic Church’s view, confirmed by the ‘Holy Father’ in veiled messages, has always been that the orderly development of a civil, pluralistic society, required that the authentic spirit of religion not be confined to personal conscience. Catholicism must supersede the Protestant belief of individual choice in religious matters for his planned New World Order.

We are seeing the sure word of prophecy springing forth into reality before our very eyes. The two powers of Revelation 13 are uniting, and soon, no man shall buy or sell unless he receives the Mark of the Beast (see Revelation 13:16). After this economic boycott will come death to all those who choose to refuse to receive the Mark of the Beast (see Revelation 13:15).

There is a storm coming relentless in its fury. Rome is to regain its lost ascendancy. The three worthies on the plain of Dura chose to honor God and accept the consequences. The great majority chose to take the easy way out. Soon all the world must choose between the Mark of the Beast and the Seal of God. Man’s extremities are God’s opportunities. His biddings are also His enablings. We can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us. Soon Jesus will return and take all those who have chosen Him as their Saviour to heaven. Anything we must suffer of this earth for the glory of God is nothing compared with the eternal life to come. He that tries to save his life will lose it, and he who is prepared to lose it will save his soul (Matthew 16:25). “But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” I Corinthians 2:9.

Evan Sadler is the director of Hope International (NZ) Ltd. He is passionate about sharing the warning messages of Revelation 14 on his many travels throughout the United States of America and his home country, New Zealand. He may be contacted by email at: office@hopeinternational.co.nz.

The True Witness Speaks

May 13, 2020October 25, 2017 by Hazel Hendricks

The Teachings of the Shepherd’s Rod in the Light of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy

(This book was written and published many years ago. Reprinted with permission of the author.)

Author’s Preface

The Shepherd’s Rod teachings came to me in the autumn of 1933. A book was sent to me which I was asked to read through twice before saying anything to anyone. I received it with joy, for across the page were the words, “The 144,000—A Call for Reformation.” Just what I was interested in!

I became an ardent supporter of the Shepherd’s Rod. Though I had read the Bible through at least three times and the Testimonies and other writings of the Spirit of Prophecy almost as many times, I could not see that this new teaching was false; so the words and entreaties of friend and ministers fell as stones at my feet. I worked all the more to give this doctrine to others.

I realize now why I could not see the falsehoods the Shepherd’s Rod teachings contain. I was so busy searching through the Spirit of Prophecy writings to find quotations and statements to harmonize with the Shepherd’s Rod that the thought never came to me that I was taking the truth out of its setting and placing it in the framework of error. How differently I would approach the matter now! I would leave the quotations from the Spirit of Prophecy just were they belonged and read from cover to cover and from book to book, then judge between truth and error. I would bring the teachings to the light of the Spirit of Prophecy.

It took seven years to bring me to my senses. Seven years of perplexity, confusion, heartache, darkness, gloom, loneliness, and suffering, mentally, physically, and spiritually, finally brought me to the place where my eyes could be opened. But as I cried out for the Lord to open my eyes and let me see what was wrong, whether I was untrue to the Shepherd’s Rod or to the Seventh-day Adventist church, I began to receive light.

The following blessed assurances were realized in my experience:

“Satan can present a counterfeit so closely resembling the truth that it deceives those who are willing to be deceived;…but it is impossible for him to hold under his power one soul who honestly desires, at whatever cost, to know the truth.” The Great Controversy, 528

“God will open the eyes of honest souls to understand the cruel work of those who scatter and divide. He will mark those who cause divisions, that every honest one may escape from Satan’s snare.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 334

I send this booklet out with a prayer that it will be of some help to those who have been led astray, as well as to those who have remained upon the true platform. My heart goes out to those in deception; for I know just how they were ensnared, and how hard it is to get free. I had declared many times that if the Shepherd’s Rod were not true, nothing was. But sincerely and honestly believing a lie does not make it true.

“God will not condemn any at the judgment because they honestly believed a lie, or conscientiously cherished error; but it will be because they neglected the opportunities of making themselves acquainted with truth.” Testimonies to Ministers, 437

Let us study the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy as we have never studied before, and may truth be so embedded in our minds and hearts that we will stand unshaken against the delusions of these last days. My desire now is to help those who have been deceived, and to redeem the time that is past. I pray and beseech all those who are now in the clutches of the enemy of truth to step back upon the platform of the three angels’ messages, that the prayer of Christ may be fulfilled: “That they all may be one.”

Appreciation is hereby expressed for the hearty reception accorded the first edition of this booklet and for the many expressions of gratitude from those who have been helped by it to avoid or renounce this Shepherd’s Rod delusion.

With some clarifying revisions this edition is sent forth with the prayer that it may continue to be a blessing to the remnant church. May God help us all to realize that “God has a church upon the earth, who are his chosen people,” that “He is leading, not stray offshoots,…but a people.” (Testimonies to Ministers, 61); and to believe what Ellen White wrote to the General Conference session before her death, that “the God of Israel is still guiding His people, and that He will continue to be with them, even to the end.” The Remnant Church, 70

Hazel Hendricks

[Italics are mine throughout unless otherwise noted.—H.H.]

Introduction

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20
“We are forewarned that there would be false prophets in the last days, and the Bible gives a test by which to try their teachings, in order that we may distinguish between the true and the false. The grand test is the law of God, which is applied both to the prophesyings and to the moral character of the prophets. If there were to be no true prophesyings in the last days, how much easier to have stated the fact, and thus cut off all chance for deception, than to give a test by which to try them, as if there would be the genuine as well as the false.”—R.F. Cottrell in Early Writings, 138

Because in the last days there are the true as well as the false prophets, we are not to despise prophesyings, for we have the promise, “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” Joel 2:28

“The words of a true prophet will harmonize with the law of God and the testimony of all previous prophets of God. One who claims to be a prophet may fulfill every other test, but if his instruction is contrary to the Bible and the testimonies, he proves himself to be false.” S.N. Haskell, Bible Handbook, 138, 139

“Truth is straight, plain, clear, and stands out boldly in its own defense; but it is not so with error. It is so winding and twisting that it needs a multitude of words to explain it in its crooked form.” Early Writings, 96

Chapter 1: When is the Kingdom Set Up?

The culmination of the teachings of the Shepherd’s Rod is the setting up of the kingdom of God during the loud cry and before the second, visible coming of Christ. Many texts of Scripture are quoted along with passages from the Spirit of Prophecy to try to prove this point, but let the Spirit of Prophecy speak for itself without any other interpretation, and we shall see the truth.

Will the kingdom of God, the kingdom of glory, be set up wholly or in part, at any time before the second, visible coming of Christ?

The Shepherd’s Rod—”‘And in mercy shall the throne be established: and He shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.’ Isaiah 16:5

“The fact that the establishment of Christ’s throne, according to this scripture, is yet in the future, and that He is to set His throne in the tabernacle of David on the earth, which He did not at His first coming, it proves that this time in the antitypical reign He will sit on the throne of David; and as He is to judge, and seek judgment, and hasten righteousness while sitting on the throne, it further proves that He will do this before the close of probation, for He cannot hasten righteousness after the door of probation (righteousness) has been closed to all nations.” Tract 8, 86

The Spirit of Prophecy—”Not until the personal advent of Christ can his people receive the kingdom. The Saviour said: ‘When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ We have seen by the scriptures just given that when the Son of man comes, the dead are raised incorruptible, and the living are changed. By this great change they are prepared to receive the kingdom; for Paul says, ‘Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.’ Man in his present state is mortal, corruptible; but the kingdom of God will be incorruptible, enduring forever. Therefore man in his present state cannot enter into the kingdom of God. But when Jesus comes, he confers immortality upon his people; and then he calls them to inherit the kingdom of which they have hitherto been only heirs.” The Great Controversy, 322, 323

“So the throne of glory represents the kingdom of glory; and this kingdom is referred to in the Saviour’s words, ‘When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations.’ This kingdom is yet future. It is not to be set up until the second of advent Christ.” Ibid., 347

“About His coming cluster the glories of that ‘restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.’ Then the long-continued rule of evil shall be broken; the ‘kingdoms of this world’ will become ‘the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.’ ‘The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.’ ‘The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.’ He shall be ‘for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His people.’

“It is then that the peaceful and long-desired kingdom of the Messiah shall be established under the whole heaven.” Ibid., 301, 301

The Spirit of Prophecy plainly tells us that the kingdom of God will not be set up in part or wholly before the second, visible coming of Christ; that man cannot enter the kingdom until he is changed from mortal to immortal, which change cannot take place until Christ comes.

The Throne of David

The Shepherd’s Rod quotes many Bible texts that speak of David and Israel, to prove the setting up of the kingdom of God before the close of probation. To the surface reader, to the inexperienced, and to those who do not “dig deep” it is confusing, but if one will bear in mind what the Spirit of Prophecy says, it is clear that the kingdom of God cannot be set up until the Second Advent. Let us take some of the texts that are quoted by the Shepherd’s Rod and see what light the Spirit of Prophecy throws on them.

The Shepherd’s Rod—”Again we read in Hosea 3:4,5 that the children of Israel were to ‘abide many days without a king;’ which has been their lot unto our time ever since from the days when they were led into Babylonish captivity. But ‘afterward,’ some time in the future says the Scripture, ‘shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.

“When this prophecy was made, David, the king of ancient Israel, had been dead for many years. Therefore, the David of Hosea’s prophecy can only be the antitypical king who reigns in the ‘latter days’—our time. Thus we see that, out of the twelve tribes, all those, and only those, who ‘fear the Lord and His goodness’ (not the unconverted Jews who even deny the divinity of Christ) shall be gathered together, and shall appoint themselves one ‘head’ or ‘king’—David in antitype.” Tract 8, 11, 12

The Spirit of Prophecy—”The prophecies of judgment delivered by Amos and Hosea were accompanied by predictions of future glory. To the ten tribes, long rebellious and impenitent, was given no promise of complete restoration to their former power in Palestine. Until the end of time, they were to be ‘wanderers among the nations.’ But through Hosea was given a prophecy that set before them the privilege of having a part in the final restoration that is to be made to the people of God at the close of earth’s history, when Christ shall appear as King of kings and Lord of lords. ‘Many days,’ the prophet declared, the ten tribes were to abide ‘without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim.’ ‘Afterward,’ the prophet continued, ‘shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.’’ Prophets and Kings, 298

“To the ‘profane wicked prince’ had come the day of final reckoning. ‘Remove the diadem,’ the Lord decreed, ‘and take off the crown.’ Not until Christ Himself should set up his kingdom was Judah again to be permitted to have a king. ‘I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it,’ was the divine edict concerning the throne of the house of David; and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him,’” Ibid., 451

“He ‘shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne.’ Not now ‘upon the throne of His glory;’ the kingdom of glory has not been yet ushered in. Not until His work as a mediator shall be ended, will God ‘give unto Him the throne of His father David,’ a kingdom of which ‘there shall be no end.’” The Great Controversy, 416

We see by the above quotations from the Spirit of Prophecy that there is to be no king on the throne of David until Christ Himself shall receive it when He appears as King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the one raised up to sit on David’s throne. See Acts 2:29-30.

The Cleansing Fountain

The Shepherd’s Rod—”Speaking of the time when the descendants of the two ancient kingdoms, Judah and Israel, are to be gathered together with the antitypical David as their king, the prophet Zechariah says: ‘In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness.’ Zechariah 13:1

“The fact that ‘to the house of David’ there is a fountain opened ‘for sin and for uncleanness,’ proves that the consolidation of these two kingdoms is accomplished, and that then the gospel is proclaimed in all the world, because no one can by that ‘fountain’ have his sin and uncleanness washed away after the close of probation.” Tract 8, 17, 18 (Italics theirs.)

In other words, the Shepherd’s Rod teaches that there can be no “house of David” until the kingdoms of Judah and Israel are literally reunited on this earth, and that after this union takes place, the gospel is proclaimed to all the world. But according to the Spirit of Prophecy, a spiritual “house of David” is referred to, and the “fountain” signifies the divine provisions for our salvation.

The Spirit of Prophecy—”In order to gain a proper knowledge of ourselves, it is necessary to look into the mirror, and there discovering our own defects, avail ourselves of the blood of Christ, the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, in which we may wash our robes of character and remove the stains of sin. But many refuse to see their errors and correct them; they do not want a true knowledge of themselves.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 58, 59

“To Jeremiah, Christ is ‘the fountain of living waters;’ to Zechariah, ‘a fountain opened…for sin and for uncleanness.’” Patriarchs and Prophets, 413

“Christ came as the Great Physician to heal the wounds that sin has made in the human family, and His Spirit, working through His servants, imparts to sin-sick, suffering human beings a mighty healing power, that is efficacious for the body and the soul. ‘In that day,’ says the Scriptures, ‘there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.’ (Zechariah 13:1) The waters of this fountain contain medicinal properties that will heal both physical and spiritual infirmities.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 227

The Ensign of Isaiah Eleven

The Shepherd’s Rod—”The above quoted scriptures [Isaiah 11:2-5; Revelation 22:16] plainly show that from the ‘stem’ of Jesse came the ‘rod’ (David), and that from the rod sprang the Branch (Christ). Therefore, ‘in that day’—in our time—David the visible king and Christ the invisible King of kings shall constitute the ‘ensign,’ and ‘to it shall the Gentiles seek,’ and His ‘rest’ (or His resting place,—the location, where the ‘rod’ or ensign stands), and ‘it’ (the kingdom) ‘shall be glorious,’ proving that the church, or kingdom, shall be without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. Saith the Lord, ‘I will make the place of My feet glorious.’ (Isaiah 60:13)” Tract 8, 42

These passages are used by the Shepherd’s Rod to prove that Judah and Israel will be united into a literal kingdom under David as king. But the Spirit of Prophecy gives no such idea.

The Spirit of Prophecy—”The groups of missionaries in heathen lands have been likened by the prophet to ensigns set up for the guidance of those who are looking for the light of truth.

“’In that day,’ says Isaiah, ‘there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious; and it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people….And He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.’” Isaiah 11:10-12 Prophets and Kings, 375, 376

Broken in Pieces

The Shepherd’s Rod—”The Prophet Daniel plainly declares that ‘in the days of these kings,’ and not after their destruction, ‘shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,’ and that instead of Christ’s second advent, as understood by some, it is ‘the kingdom’ that ‘shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,’ and thus it shall fill ‘the whole earth.’” Tract 8, 56. Daniel 2:44, 35

Thus the Shepherd’s Rod teaches that a kingdom which is set up before Christ’s second coming will break in pieces and consume all these other kingdoms before Christ appears.

The Spirit of Prophecy—”Our kingdom is not of this world. We are waiting for our Lord from heaven to come to earth to put down all authority and power, and set up His everlasting kingdom.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 360, 361

Where and When Perfect Safety?

The Shepherd’s Rod—”The following scripture reveals the fact that at the time God shall use this spiritual kingdom to smite the nations, it will be in perfect safety as though in heaven. ‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the cow. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea’ Isaiah 11:6-9″ Tract 8, 57, 58

The Spirit of Prophecy—”Those who accept the teachings of God’s Word will not be wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. And yet, ‘eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.’ Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the Paradise of God.

“In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters….’My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.’…There ‘the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.’ ‘Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree.’ ‘the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;…and a little child shall lead them.’ ‘They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,’ saith the Lord.” The Great Controversy, 675, 676

The Shepherd’s Rod places the above pictured scene, which the Spirit of Prophecy says is in the new earth, or Paradise of God, in a kingdom on this earth before the second coming of Christ. As the Spirit of Prophecy has plainly stated that the kingdom cannot be set up before the second, personal coming of Christ nor the saints receive the kingdom, the Shepherd’s Rod falls before the test. Does it not seem ridiculous to claim that the Shepherd’s Rod teachings are in perfect harmony with the Spirit of Prophecy?

“This Man”

The Shepherd’s Rod also endeavors to bolster its theory of a temporal kingdom of David before the close of probation by Jesus’ parable of the pounds.

The Shepherd’s Rod—”but as they ‘sent a message after Him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us,’ it is plain that before Christ’s return, the kingdom is to be set up….There is to be a ‘man’ in Christ’s visible stead reigning over them. Hence, while probation lingered, and while by ‘simple means’ He is ‘taking the reins in His own hands’ (Testimonies to Ministers, 300), they said to Christ in their message, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ Hence ‘this man’ is the antitypical David, the ‘simple means’—the visible king, and Christ the invisible King, as He was in the exodus movement—the type.” Tract 8, 63 (Italics theirs.)

Note that when one goes into error, to what length it will take him, as the above application of Luke 19:14 shows. But let the Spirit of Prophecy speak again:

The Spirit of Prophecy—”The whole wicked world stand arraigned at the bar of God, on the charge of high treason against the government of Heaven. They have none to plead their cause; they are without excuse; and the sentence of eternal death is pronounced against them….All see that their exclusion from heaven is just. By their lives they have declared” ‘We will not have this Jesus to reign over us.’” The Great Controversy, 688

“On whose side are we? The world cast Christ out; the heavens received Him. Man, finite man, rejected the Prince of life; God, our Sovereign Ruler, received Him into the heavens. God has exalted Him….We must all think candidly. Will you have this man Christ Jesus to rule over you, or will you have Barabbas?” Testimonies to Ministers, 139

“This man” referred to is none other than Christ Himself, and not a human man reigning in His stead, as the Shepherd’s Rod would have us to believe.

In a careful study of the teachings of the Shepherd’s Rod as compared with the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, one can see that the restoration of a literal Israel and the promises to them on condition of the obedience, and the promises and prophecies of the restoration of spiritual Israel, have been confused and intermingled and mixed in with one another. From this intermingling and twisting and misapplication, the doctrine of the setting up of the kingdom before the second, visible coming of Christ is obtained. But if the reader will carefully study the book, Prophets and Kings, which deals with the restoration of literal and spiritual Israel and the promises made to both, all will made plain.

The Covenants

Let us note some examples of misapplication of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy by the Shepherd’s Rod. Take the old and the new covenant. The old covenant is found in Exodus 19:5-8, and the new is found in Jeremiah 31:31-34. Please read these texts in your Bible.

The Shepherd’s Rod—”The old ‘covenant or agreement between God and His people was upon the promises of both parties based thus….[Deuteronomy 28:1-9 and Exodus 19:8 are quoted in the tract. Please read them.]

“The above paragraph describes the first covenant, which covers the period from the time it was made to the imminent and final ingathering of the twelve tribes as a kingdom, and which covenant has been broken by the Old and New Testament churches until this very day….But the new covenant, which the Lord is now about to make, is to be unlike the old. The commandments of God (Exodus 20:1-17) will not be written on tables of stone (Exodus 31:18), but ‘in fleshy tables of the heart,’ and at that time all shall ‘know the Lord,….from the least of them unto the greatest of them’—exhibiting a church without tares. Jeremiah 31:34

“This is the second covenant, which God is about to make, and the law God, being written on the heart, will be perfectly kept; then, and not before, will the blessings, which His ancient people failed to realize, be fully ours.” Tract 8, 68-70 (Italics theirs.)

Notice that the Shepherd’s Rod says that the old covenant is the only one in existence and that the new covenant is yet to be made; that the old covenant covers the period from the time it was made to the gathering in of the twelve tribes into a kingdom. The Spirit of Prophecy will correct this false teaching and give the truth of the matter. To state that the new covenant is yet future is virtually to deny that Christ has come in the flesh, which we are told false prophets do. 2 John 7

The Spirit of Prophecy—”As the Bible presents two laws, one changeless and eternal, the other provisional and temporary, so there are two covenants. The covenant of grace was first made with man in Eden, when after the Fall, there was given a divine promise that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head. To all men this covenant offered pardon, and the assisting grace of God for future obedience through faith in Christ. It also promised them eternal life on condition of fidelity to God’s law. Thus the patriarchs received the hope of salvation.

“This same covenant was renewed to Abraham in the promise, ‘In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. This promise pointed to Christ….

“Though this covenant was made with Adam and renewed to Abraham, it could not be ratified until the death of Christ. It had existed by the promise of God since the first intimation of redemption had been given; it had been accepted by faith; yet when ratified by Christ, it is called a new covenant. The law of God was the basis of this covenant, which was simply an arrangement for bringing men again into harmony with the divine will, placing them where they could obey God’s law.

“‘Another compact—called in Scripture the ‘old’ covenant—was formed between God and Israel at Sinai, and was then ratified by the blood of a sacrifice. The Abrahamic covenant was ratified by the blood of Christ, and it is called the ‘second,’ or ‘new’ covenant, because the blood by which it was sealed was shed after the blood of the first covenant. That the new covenant was valid in the days of Abraham, is evident from the fact that it was then confirmed both by the promise and by the oath of God,—the ‘two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie.’” Patriarchs and Prophets, 370, 371

“Every time a soul is converted, and learns to love God and keep his commandments, the promise of God is fulfilled, ‘A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.’” The Desire of Ages, 407

Here, as is so often true, the teaching of the Shepherd’s Rod is in absolute contradiction to the Spirit of Prophecy. The Shepherd’s Rod doctrines cannot be additional light, as it is claimed, for whatever new light may come will not contradict what God has given before.

A Warning

Let the reader bear in mind that all these texts of Scripture referred to or quoted by the Shepherd’s Rod are to substantiate the theory of the setting up of a kingdom before the second coming of Christ; but please keep in mind the statements of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy that the kingdom is not set until the second coming of Christ. The kingdom cannot be established before that time because it is incorruptible and eternal, and flesh and blood cannot inherit it. Man is mortal and will not receive immortality until Christ comes. The second coming of Christ cannot be counterfeited, “for as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall the coming of the Son of man be.”

Light to the Gentiles

The Shepherd’s Rod—”‘And He said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel’ only: ‘I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth.’ (Isaiah 49:1-6) In other words, those (of ‘Israel’) who declare the sealing message of the 144,000 to the church, shall also declare God’s glory among the Gentiles, thus be His salvation unto the end of the earth, and bring all their brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations. Isaiah 66:19, 20

Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to him whom man despiseth’ (that is, the one whom they called, ‘this man,’ (Luke 19:14…) ‘to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall choose thee.’” Tract 8, (Rev. Ed.), 86

The Spirit of Prophecy—”The prophet was permitted to look down the centuries to the time of the advent of the promised Messiah….This glorious light of the world was to bring salvation to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Of the work before Him, the prophet heard the eternal Father declare: ‘It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth.’ ‘In an acceptable time have I heard Thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped Thee: and I will preserve Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that Thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves.’ ‘Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west: and these from the land of Sinim.’

“Looking on still farther through the ages, the prophet beheld the literal fulfillment of these glorious promises. He saw the bearers of the glad tidings of salvation going to the ends of the earth, to every kindred and people. He heard the Lord saying of the gospel church, ‘Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream….’

“Jehovah declared to the prophet that He would send His witnesses ‘unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud,…to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off’….

“The prophet heard the voice of God calling His church to her appointed work, that the way might be prepared for the ushering in of His everlasting kingdom. The Message was unmistakably plain: ‘Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee….’ These prophecies of a great spiritual awakening in a time of gross darkness, are today meeting fulfillment in the advancing lines of mission stations that are reaching out into the benighted regions of earth.” Prophets and Kings, 373-375

Let us consider the statement the Shepherd’s Rod makes concerning “Him whom man despiseth” (Isaiah 49:7), interpreting it to mean “this man” whom they would not have rule over them (Luke 19:14). This is interpreted by the Spirit of Prophecy as follows:

“The work of redemption involves consequences of which it is difficult for man to have any conception….As the sinner, drawn by the power of Christ, approaches the uplifted cross, and prostrates himself before it, there is a new creation. A new heart is given him. He becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus….Great as is the shame and degradation through sin, even greater will be the honor and exaltation through redeeming love. To human beings striving for conformity to the divine image there is imparted an outlay of heaven’s treasure, an excellency of power, that will place them higher than even the angels who have never fallen.

“‘Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth,…Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall choose thee.’

“‘For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’” Christ’s Object Lessons, 162, 163

The Two Pipes

Let us now take up some of the statements made concerning the symbols found in Zechariah. Please read Zechariah 4:1-6, 12-14.

Following are the comments made by the Shepherd’s Rod. Note the idea conveyed as compared with that expressed by the Spirit of Prophecy:

The Shepherd’s Rod—”The two pipes through which the oil is carried into the bowl, can only represent the channels (prophets) through whom the oil is transferred from the Bible into the bowl, in the period during which both olive trees (Old and New Testaments) live—in the Christian Era.

“Let the reader take a searching look at the visual illustration on page 19, and he will see the utter impossibility of the candlestick’s (the church membership’s) and the tubes’ (ministers’) themselves, extracting oil direct from the olive trees. The interpretation of the Scriptures, therefore, being entrusted to the two pipes (prophets) in the Christian Era shows that ‘no prophecy of the Scriptures is of any private interpretation,’ but is of inspiration only….

“The interpreters (the two golden pipes), therefore, are the only ones who are enabled to bring forth meat in due season (golden oil) from the Scriptures (olive trees) into the storehouse (golden bowl) of present truth, and by the aid of the ministers (seven tubes) to pass on the oil to the church (candlestick), that it might illumine with the light of life this dark and dying world of ours.” Tract 6, revised, 23, 24

The Spirit of Prophecy—”The continued communication of the Holy Spirit to the church is represented by the prophet Zechariah under another figure, which contains a wonderful lesson of encouragement for us….

“From the two olive trees, the golden oil was emptied through golden pipes into the bowl of the candlestick and thence into the golden lamps that gave light to the sanctuary. So from the holy ones that stand in God’s presence, His Spirit is imparted to human instrumentalities that are consecrated to His service. The mission of the two anointed ones is to communicate light and power to God’s people. It is to receive blessing for us that they stand in God’s presence. As the olive trees empty themselves into the golden pipes, so the heavenly messengers seek to communicate all that they receive from God. The whole heavenly treasure awaits our demand and reception; and as we receive the blessing, we in our turn are to impart it. Thus it is that the holy lamps are fed, and the church becomes a light bearer in the world.

“This is the work that the Lord would have every soul prepared to do at this time, when the four angels are holding the four winds, that they shall not blow until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads….We should daily receive the holy oil, that we may impart to others….From the two olive trees the golden oil of goodness, patience, longsuffering, gentleness, love….The dispensation in which we are now living is to be, to those that ask, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit.” Testimonies to Ministers, 509-511

“Let every man who enters the pulpit know that when he has angels from heaven in his audience. And when these angels empty from themselves the golden oil of truth into the heart of him who is teaching the word, then the application of the truth will be a solemn, serious matter. The angel messengers will expel sin from the heart, unless the door of the heart is padlocked and Christ is refused admission….

“The Holy Spirit is doing its work on the hearts. But if the ministers have not first received their message from heaven, if they have not drawn their own supplies from the refreshing, life-giving stream, how can they let that flow forth which they have not received?…A man may lavish all the treasures of his learning, he may exhaust the moral energies of his nature, and yet accomplish nothing, because he himself has not received the golden oil from the heavenly messengers….If the Christian minister receives the golden oil, he has life.” Ibid., 338

The Shepherd’s Rod says that it is impossible for the people or ministers to obtain the oil directly from the Bible, but that they must obtain it through a prophet; but the Spirit of Prophecy tells us that the minister must obtain the golden oil directly from the heavenly messengers, or angels. The teaching of the Shepherd’s Rod on this point is a subtle device of the enemy to cause men to trust in the arm of flesh.

“The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Thus the Spirit is represented in the prophecy of Zechariah….Without the Spirit of God a knowledge of His Word is of no avail. The theory of truth, unaccompanied by the Holy Spirit, cannot quicken the soul or sanctify the heart.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 407, 408

The author of the Shepherd’s Rod would convey the thought to God’s people that they can obtain knowldege of the Scriptures only through him. According to his teachings on this very point, the thought he wishes to convey in his tract is that the two pipes represent Mrs. E.G. White and himself; and as Mrs. White is dead, that leaves him to communicate the “oil” to the church. He claims that the church, was without the Spirit of Prophecy from 1915 to 1930, that is, from Sister White’s death to the beginning of his revelations. The Spirit of Prophecy tells us that the “oil” represents the Holy Spirit, and each one of us can obtain this “oil” only through faith and prayer. Each one is to ask for it of God, and when it is obtained, then the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the character.

The Overcomers

The Shepherd’s Rod—”The church of the Laodiceans, being the last of the seven churches, is the last section of the Christian church in which the wheat and the tares are commingled. The overcomers, the marked ones, from it, those who hear the Rod, begin the eighth section of the church—the one symbolized by the ‘barn’ (Matthew 13:30) and by the ‘vessels’ (verse 48), also by the ‘golden candlestick, of Zechariah 4. Of her the Lord says:… ‘The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.’” Tract 9, 61, 62 (second revised edition)

The Spirit of Prophecy—Now note the application of Isaiah 62:3 in the Spirit of Prophecy. “There is the new Jerusalem, the metropolis of the glorified new earth, ‘a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a diadem in the hand of thy God.’ ‘Her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.’ ‘The nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.’ Saith the Lord, ‘I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people.’ ‘The tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.’” The Great Controversy, 676

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name.” Revelation 3:12

In the quotation from the Shepherd’s Rod, the author states that the overcomers, or marked ones, are those who hear the Rod and who are gathered into the kingdom, “barn,” or place of safety, before the second coming of Christ; and that the church shall be called by a new name and shall “be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.” (Isaiah 62:3) But the Spirit of Prophecy definitely places this scene after the coming of Christ, and says that it is the New Jerusalem, that is “a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God,” and it is at that time that the overcomers receive their new name.

Prophecies Concerning Literal and Spiritual Israel

Theories concerning the setting up of a temporal kingdom of David are due to a misinterpretation of Old Testament prophecies. The Jews of the time of Christ misunderstood these prophecies and so were expecting the Messiah to set up an earthly kingdom at that time. Likewise, thousands of Christians of our day have fallen into a similar error, and are expecting the literal fulfillment of these prophecies by the establishment of a kingdom of David in old Jerusalem.

The Shepherd’s Rod has taken the prophecies concerning literal Israel, including promises given to them on the condition of obedience, and uses all of them to apply literally to spiritual Israel, thus forming the theory of the setting up of the kingdom on this side of the second of Christ.

Few seem to realize the great purpose of God to be fulfilled through Israel, His chosen people. In the introductory chapter of Prophets and Kings we are told that “it was God’s purpose that by the revelation of His character through Israel men should be drawn unto Him. To all the world the gospel invitation was to be given. Through the teaching of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before the nations, and all who would look unto Him should live. All who….turned from idolatry to the worship of the true God, were to unite themselves with His chosen people.” And the astonishing statement is made that “As the numbers of Israel increased, they were to enlarge their borders, until their kingdom should embrace the world.” (Prophets and Kings, 19) Through Jeremiah the Lord had told His people that if they would be faithful to God in the observance of the Sabbath, Jerusalem would “remain forever.” Jeremiah 17:24, 25

How different would have been the history of our world had Israel fulfilled God’s great purpose for them. “But,” says Mrs. White, “ancient Israel did not fulfill God’s purpose. The Lord declared: ‘I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?’ (Jeremiah 2:21) ‘Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself.’ (Hosea 10:1).” Ibid.

We are also told that “the withdrawal of divine favor during the period of the exile led many to repentance; yet after their return to the land of promise, the Jewish people repeated the mistakes of former generations.” Ibid., 21. Thus Israel failed, and many glorious promises made on condition of obedience have never been fulfilled nor ever will be. Finally, Israel, as a nation, rejected and crucified their Messiah, and ceased to be the chosen people of God; and the kingdom of David shall be no more “until he comes whose right it is.” Ezekiel 21:27. At that time—His second coming—”the Lord shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32, 33. Not a temporal kingdom with some earthly representative of King David on the throne, but the eternal kingdom of Christ in the earth made new. Let us review some of the promises to Israel and see where and when they apply to spiritual Israel.

The Shepherd’s Rod—The Shepherd’s Rod teaches that “the Scriptures plainly point out that the Gentiles will be driven out of the Holy Land. [Zechariah 1:19-21 quoted.] ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts: My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.’ Zechariah 1:17

“Zechariah then saw the powers that had ‘scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem,’ symbolized by four horns. Immediately afterward he saw four carpenters, representing the agencies used by the Lord in restoring His people and the house of His worship….See Zechariah 18-21.

“God had commanded that Jerusalem be rebuilt; the vision of the measuring of the city was an assurance that He would give comfort and strength to His afflicted ones, and fulfill to them the promises of His everlasting covenant. His protecting care, He declared, would be like ‘a wall of fire round about;’ and through them His glory would be revealed to all the sons of men. That which He was accomplishing for His people was to be known in all the earth. ‘Cry out and shout, thou inhabitants of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.’ Isaiah 12:1-5” Prophets and Kings, 580, 581

Concerning the time when Nebuchadnezzar’s armies were about to take the walls of Zion by storm, the Spirit of Prophecy says:

“The city was soon to fall into the hand of the Chaldeans; its gates and palaces were to be set on fire and burned; but, notwithstanding the fact that destruction was imminent, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were to be carried away captive, nevertheless the eternal purpose of Jehovah for Israel was yet to be fulfilled. In further answer to the prayer of His servant, the Lord declared concerning those upon whom His chastisements were falling:

“‘Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in Mine anger, and in My fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: and I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away form them, to do them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from Me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with My whole heart and with My whole soul.’ (Jeremiah 32:37-41)…

“In confirmation of these assurances of deliverance and restoration, ‘the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

‘Thus saith the Lord the Maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is His name; call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;…I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first….
“‘Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.’ Jeremiah 33:1-14.

“Thus was the church of God comforted in one of the darkest hours of her long conflict with the forces of evil. Satan had seemingly triumphed in his efforts to destroy Israel; but the Lord was overruling the events of the present, and during the years that were to follow, His people were to have opportunity to redeem the past….

“Humbled in the sight of the nations, those who once had been recognized as favored of Heaven above all other peoples of the earth were to learn in exile the lesson of obedience so necessary for their future happiness. Until they have learned this lesson, God could not do for them all that He desired to do….To the prophet was given the message:

“‘He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.” Jeremiah 31:10-12 Ibid., 471-476

The reader will notice that the above quotations from the Spirit of Prophecy were promises made to Israel at the time they were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Turn to page 551 of Prophets and Kings, where begins the story of “The Return of the Exiles.” The promises made through Jeremiah are beginning to be fulfilled. Please read this and following chapters to get the complete history.

“‘At the end of the years of humiliating exile, God graciously gave to His people Israel, through Zechariah, the assurance: ‘I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.’ (Zechariah 8:3)…

“These promises were conditional on obedience. The sins that had characterized the Israelites prior to the captivity, were not to be repeated.” Ibid., 704 (Italics supplied.)

But the Israelites failed, and thus separated themselves from God.

“Through messages such as those borne by Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, as well as through oppression from heathen foes, the Israelites finally learned the lesson that true prosperity depends upon the obedience to the law of God. But with many of the people, obedience was not the outflow of faith and love. Their motives were selfish. Outward service was rendered as a means of attaining national greatness. The chosen people did not become the light of the world, but shut themselves away from the world as a safeguard against being seduced into idolatry….Thus ‘going about to establish their own righteousness,’ they built themselves up in a self-sufficient formalism….Thus Satan had succeeded inn preparing the hearts of the people to reject the Saviour when He should appear. Their own pride of heart, and their false conceptions of His character and mission, would prevent them from honestly weighing the evidences of His Messiahship.” Ibid., 708-710.

“Christ would have averted the doom of the Jewish nation if the people had received Him….They determined that they would not receive Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. They rejected the Light of the world, and henceforth their lives were surrounded with darkness as the darkness of midnight. The doom foretold came upon the Jewish nation. Ibid., 712

In the previous quotations we have been studying the history of literal Israel and the promises made to them upon condition of obedience. Israel failed, and thus received the promises only in part. Now let us study spiritual Israel and see how these promises will be fulfilled in them.

Promises to be Fulfilled to Spiritual Israel

“That which God purposed to do for the world through Israel, the chosen nation, He will finally accomplish through His church on earth today. He has ‘let out His vineyard unto other husbandmen,’ even to His covenant-keeping people, who faithfully ‘render Him the fruits in their seasons.’ Never has the Lord been without true representatives on this earth who have made His interests their own. These witnesses for God are numbered among spiritual Israel, and to them will be fulfilled all the covenant promises made by Jehovah to His ancient people.

“Today the church of God is free to carry forward to completion the divine plan for the salvation of a lost race….God’s church on earth was as verily in captivity during this long period of relentless persecution, as were the children of Israel held captive in Babylon, during the period of the exile.

“But, thank God, His church is no longer in bondage. To spiritual Israel have been restored the privileges accorded the people of God at the time of their deliverance from Babylon. In every part of the earth men and women are responding to the Heaven-sent message which John the revelator prophesied would be proclaimed prior to the second coming of Christ: ‘Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.’

“No longer have the hosts of evil power to keep the church captive; for ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city,’ which hath ‘made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication;’ and to spiritual Israel is given the message, ‘Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.’ (Revelation 14:8; 18:4) As the captive exiles heeded the message, ‘Flee out of the midst of Babylon,’ and were restored to the Land of Promise, so those who fear God today are heeding the message to withdraw from spiritual Babylon, and soon they are to stand as trophies of divine grace in the earth made new, the heavenly Canaan.” Ibid., 713-715.

“‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’ (Isaiah 60:1) Christ is coming with power and great glory. He is coming with His own glory, and with the glory of the Father. And the holy angels will attend Him on His way. While all the world is plunged in darkness, there will be light in every dwelling of the saints. They will catch the first light of His second appearing. The unsullied light will shine from His splendor, and Christ the Redeemer will be admired by all who have served Him. While the wicked flee, Christ’s followers will rejoice in His presence.

“Then it is that the redeemed from among men will receive their promised inheritance. Thus God’s purpose for Israel will meet with literal fulfillment. That which God purposes, man is powerless to disannul. Even amid the working of evil, God’s purposes have been moving steadily forward to their accomplishment. It was thus with the house of Israel throughout the history of the divided monarchy; it is thus with spiritual Israel today.

“The seer of Patmos, looking down through the ages to the time of this restoration of Israel in the earth made new, testified:

“’I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.’ (Revelation 7:9-10)” Ibid., 720, 721.

Could the truth be more clearly expressed that the restoration of Israel is “in the new earth,” and not in old Jerusalem?

Peace and Safety

In misleading the people to believe that God’s people will be in a kingdom, set up before the close of probation, in a place of “perfect peace and absolute safety,” the Shepherd’s Rod is joining in the last day “peace and safety” cry foretold by the apostle Paul. (1 Thessalonians 5:3) What a different picture is given by the Spirit of Prophecy!

“When the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who honor the law of God, there will be, in different lands, a simultaneous movement for their destruction….

“The people of God—some in prison cells, some hidden in solitary retreats in the forests and the mountains—still plead for divine protection, while in every quarter companies of armed men, urged on by hosts of evil angels, are preparing for the work of death. It is now, in the hour of utmost extremity, that the God of Israel will interpose for the deliverance of His chosen….

“With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey, when, lo, a dense blackness, deeper than the darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens and seems to encircle each praying company….

“It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people.” The Great Controversy, 635, 636 (Italics supplied.)

“The living righteous are changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.’ At the voice of God they were glorified; now they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet their Lord in the air.” Ibid., 645.

In Early Writings we have the same scene pictured again. One does not find the saints of God in a kingdom of “perfect peace and absolute safety,” but quite the contrary. Not until they stand around the throne in heaven, do we see them in perfect peace and safety.

“I saw the saints leaving the cities and villages, and associating together in companies, and living in the most solitary places. Angels provided them food and water, while the wicked were suffering from hunger and thirst. Then I saw the leading men of the earth consulting together, and Satan and his angels busy around them. I saw a writing, copies of which were scattered in different parts of the land, giving orders that unless the saints should yield their peculiar faith, giving up the Sabbath, and observe the first day of the week, the people were at liberty after a certain time, to put them to death. But in this hour of trial the saints were calm and composed, trusting in God and leaning upon His promise that a way of escape would be made for them. In some places, before the time for the decree to be executed, the wicked rushed upon the saints to slay them; but angels in the form of men of war fought for them….

“Soon I saw the saints suffering great mental anguish. They seemed to be surrounded by the wicked inhabitants of the earth. Every appearance was against them. Some began to fear that God had at last left them to perish by the hand of the wicked….

“It was an hour of fearful, terrible agony to the saints. Day and night they cried unto God for deliverance….Like Jacob, they were wrestling with God….

“As the saints left the cities and villages, they were pursued by the wicked, who sought to slay them. But the swords that were raised to kill God’s people broke and fell as powerless as a straw. Angels of God shielded the saints. As they cried day and night for deliverance, their cry came up before the Lord.” Early Writings, 282-285

Foundations of Our Faith

The Shepherd’s Rod group claims to believe in the inspiration of Mrs. White’s writings, but confronted with such explicit quotations as these from her pen, the only possible answer is that she did not understand about the setting up of the kingdom of David. For instance, the leader of this group was asked how he harmonized his exposition of Zechariah 14:4, concerning the Lord descending on the mount of Olives before the close of probation, with the statement in Early Writings, pages 51 and 53, that this will be fulfilled at the close of the thousand years, when the New Jerusalem descends to the earth. His answer was that what Sister White said was all right, but that hers was a secondary application. Christ would descend at the end of the thousand years, said he, but the primary application of this passage is to the coming of David. He did not explain how the Mount of Olives could twice part asunder and become a great valley.

Is this new doctrine of the kingdom of David being set up in Jerusalem before the close of probation a part of this Advent message? Perhaps the greatest and most comprehensive revelation that came through Ellen White was the wonderful representation of the great conflict between good and evil, from the fall of Satan to the restitution of the new earth. She tells us how in the early days of this message, the little group of believers earnestly prayed for guidance in their search for truth, and how at times, explanations would be made to her in vision. She said: “A line of truth extending that from that time to the time when we shall enter the city of God, was made plain to me.” In telling of this, she said further: “Many of our people do not realize how firmly the foundation of our faith has been laid.” Series B, no. 2, 57, 56

Let us consider what the acceptance of this central doctrine of the Shepherd’s Rod, “present truth” (falsely so-called), would mean to “the foundations of our faith.”

In 1856 Mrs. White was given a vision in which most of what she had been shown ten years before was repeated, concerning this “line of truth,” covering the last events in the great conflict. She was then instructed to write it out. In obedience to this instruction we have that remarkable series of books on the conflict of the ages. How clearly and specifically the closing events are delineated—the sealing, the loud cry, the time of trouble, the seven last plagues, the second coming of Christ, the judgment of the wicked dead, when the saints shall reign as priests and kings, to the parting of asunder of the Mount of Olives and the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, the second resurrection, the second death, and the purification of the earth by fire, on to the earth made new with New Jerusalem as the capital of the universe.

Is it conceivable, after a hundred years of preaching this revealed “line of truth,” more than half of that time under the instruction and counsel of the Lord’s messenger that God would now reveal to us that one of the most important events in the history of the great conflict had been omitted: namely—the setting up of a temporal kingdom of David before the close of probation and the second coming of Christ? Certainly some “do not realize how firmly the foundation of our faith has been laid.”

The Return to Palestine

This false doctrine of the establishment of a kingdom of David in Palestine before the close of probation leads this Shepherd’s Rod group into an error against which we were warned in the early days of the Advent Movement. While, as far as we know, this particular fantastic theory of “the land of our fathers” becoming “our final and superb dressing chamber” for entrance into heaven, had not been advanced at that time, the truths stated and the warning given are certainly pertinent at this time. The Lord’s messenger wrote:

“Then I was pointed to some who are in the great error of believing that it is their duty to go to old Jerusalem, and think that they have a work to do there before the Lord comes. Such a view is calculated to take the mind and interest from the present work of the Lord, under the message of the third angel; for those who think that they are yet to go to Jerusalem, will have their minds there, and their means will be withheld from the cause of present truth, to get themselves and others there….I also saw that old Jerusalem never would be built up; and that Satan was doing his utmost to lead the minds of the children of the Lord into these things now, in the gathering time, to keep them from throwing their whole interest into the present work of the Lord, and to cause them to neglect the necessary preparation for the day of the Lord.” Early Writings, 75, 76

Believers in the Shepherd’s Rod are doing the very things against which the Spirit of Prophecy here warns us. Some whom I know are saving up their means to get to Palestine, and their minds and interests are centered there. To be sure, they give many reasons that may be different from those stated above, but the evil results are just the same whatever the inducement. Satan certainly would present other reasons to deceive, and this false doctrine of the kingdom is his strongest.

A False Foundation

The setting up of the kingdom before the close of probation and, therefore, before the second coming of Christ, is the foundation of all the Shepherd’s Rod teachings; and as it is contrary to the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, as has been clearly shown, it is a false doctrine. Thus, all the other points of doctrine presented by the Shepherd’s Rod which lead up to this main issue of the kingdom, can be proved false in like manner.

A Solemn Warning

Let everyone prayerfully consider the following statement and solemn warning from the Spirit of Prophecy. What is said here fits into my own experience to the very detail:

“My soul is much burdened, for I know what is before us. Every conceivable deception will be brought to bear upon those who have not a daily, living connection with God. In our work no side issues must be advanced until there has been a thorough examination of the ideas entertained, that it may be ascertained from what source they have originated. Satan’s angels are wise to do evil, and they will create that which some will claim to be advanced light, will proclaim as new and wonderful things, and yet while in some respects the message is truth, it will be mingled with men’s inventions, and will teach for doctrines the commandments of men. If there was ever a time when we should watch and pray in real earnest, it is now. There may be supposable things that appear as good things, and yet they need to be carefully considered with much prayer; for they are specious devices of the enemy to lead souls in a path which lies so close to the path of truth that it will be scarcely distinguishable from the path which leads to holiness and heaven. But the eye of faith may discern that it is diverging from the right path, though positively right, but after a while it is seen to be widely divergent from the path of safety, from the path which leads to holiness and heaven. My brethren, I warn you to make straight paths for your feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way.” Testimonies to Ministers, 229

Let us now take up some of the separate issues that lead to the false doctrine of the kingdom.

Chapter 2: Ezekiel 9

A subject of which the Shepherd’s Rod makes an issue almost as strongly and as falsely as the kingdom, is Ezekiel 9. Let us bring this also to the light of the Spirit of Prophecy:

The Shepherd’s Rod—”According to Ezekiel 2:3; 3:1, 4, 5, 7, the prophet was to bear his message to the whole ‘house of Israel’ (the term ‘house of Israel,’ denoting either all twleve tribes or only the ten tribes as the case might be). Yet he did not understand the meaning of the vision. Had he, he would have explained it, rather than declaring: ‘I came to them of the captivity of Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.’ Ezekiel 3:15

“Since at the time of the vision, the house of Judah, the two-tribe kingdom, was in captivity in the land of the Chaldeans, and the house of Israel, the ten-tribe kingdom, was in dispersion among the nations whither it had been carried away and scattered some years before (2 Kings 17:6), there was no possibility of Ezekiel’s delivering the message to them. And as it is to both the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Ezekiel 9:9),—the twelve tribes,—consequently it was prophetic in Ezekiel’s time….

“And finally as no slaughter such as the one described in Ezekiel 9 has ever occurred, its fulfillment is obviously yet future.” Tract 1, 11, 12, second revised edition. (Italics theirs.)

These are rather astonishing statements. Is it true that Ezekiel did not understand the meaning of the message he was sent to deliver? Is it true that he did not go to those to whom he was told to go? And is it true that the dire predictions of punishment to be visited upon those who led God’s people into idolatrous worship were never fulfilled? Let us see.

Ezekiel’s Vision and Predictions

The Spirit of Prophecy—”While Jeremiah continued to bear his testimony in the land of Judah, the prophet Ezekiel was raised up from among the captives in Babylon, to warn and to comfort the exiles, and also to confirm the word of the Lord that was being spoken through Jeremiah. During the years that remained of Zedekiah’s reign, Ezekiel made very plain the folly of trusting to the false predictions of those who were causing the captives to hope for an early return to Jerusalem. He was also instructed to foretell, by means of a variety of symbols and solemn messages, the siege and utter destruction of Jerusalem.

“In the sixth year of the reign of Zedekiah, the Lord revealed to Ezekiel in vision some of the abominations that were being practiced in Jerusalem, and within the gate of the Lord’s house, and even in the inner court. The chambers of images, and the pictured idols, ‘every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel’ (Ezekiel 8:10)—all these in rapid succession passed before the astonished gaze of the prophet.

“Those who should have been spiritual leaders among the people, ‘the ancients of the house of Israel,’ to the number of seventy, were seen offering incense before the idolatrous representations that had been introduced into hidden chambers within the sacred precincts of the temple court. ‘The Lord seeth us not,’ the men of Judah flattered themselves as they engaged in their heathenish practices; ‘the Lord hath forsaken the earth,’ they blasphemously declared. Ezekiel 8:11, 12.

“There were still ‘greater abominations’ for the prophet to behold. At a gate leading from the outer to the inner court he was shown ‘women weeping for Tammuz;’ and within ‘the inner court of the Lord’s house,…at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshiped the sun toward the east.’ Ezekiel 8:13-16.

“And now the glorious Being who accompanied Ezekiel throughout this astonishing vision of wickedness in high places in the land of Judah, inquired of the prophet: ‘Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke Me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.’ (Verses 17, 18)…

“The day of doom for the kingdom of Judah set before them the hope of averting the severest of His judgments. ‘Should ye be utterly unpunished?’ He inquired. ‘Ye shall not be unpunished.’

“Even these words were received with mocking derision. ‘The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth,’ declared the impenitent. But through Ezekiel this denial of the sure word of prophecy was sternly rebuked. ‘Tell them,’ the Lord declared, ‘I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, the days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God.’

“’Again,’ testifies Ezekiel, ‘the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, behold they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are afar off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of My words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.’” Ezekiel 12:26-28 Prophets and Kings, 448-450.

The second section of the book of Ezekiel, chapters eight to nineteen, opens with the account of the vision given “in the sixth year; in the sixth month; in the fifth day of the month.” The eighth chapter consists of a series of scenes of the heathen abominations that were being practiced in the holy temple of God in Jerusalem. The last words of this chapter introduce the account in the ninth chapter, of the punishment to be meted out to the perpetrators of this terrible desecration of God’s house of worship. The Lord said to Ezekiel: “Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them.” Ezekiel 8:17, 18.

It is very plain to be seen that chapter nine is a continuation of chapter eight, where under the symbol of “men” with slaughter weapons, the execution of God’s judgment is foretold. First a mark was to be placed on the foreheads of those in the city who were sighing and crying for the abominations that were done, and then they went forth to slay, without mercy, all upon whom no mark had been placed.

Shepherd’s Rod Claims Refuted

It is certainly evident from these considerations that Ezekiel understood the message to be given, and gave it: He was raised up to “warn” and “comfort” the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. The Lord said to Ezekiel: “All my works that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.” Ezekiel 3:10. That surely indicates understanding of all God’s messages, including Ezekiel 9.

We are told that “through Jeremiah in Jerusalem, through Daniel in the court of Babylon, through Ezekiel on the banks of the Chebar, the Lord in mercy made clear His eternal purpose, and gave assurance of His willingness to fulfill to His chosen people the promises recorded in the writings of Moses.” Prophets and Kings, 464. It is also said in Prophets and Kings that “Ezekiel made very plain” the falsity of predictions that the exiles would soon return to Jerusalem. Evidently he understood and made plain all that God revealed to him.

As to whether Ezekiel really went to those to whom the Lord commissioned him to deliver His message, we learn that three times in chapters two and three he was commanded to go. “I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation.” (Verse 7) “Then,” says Ezekiel, “I came to them of the captivity of Telabib.” Verse 15.

Certainly there is no reason to assume that Ezekiel’s message did not reach the whole house of Israel then residing in the region of that eastern country where the prophet himself was an exile.

We have here some rather strange reasoning on the part of the leader and spokesman of the Shepherd’s Rod. On the basis of Ezekiel’s statement that at Telabib, he “sat where they sat, and remained there astonished [overwhelmed,—A.R.V.] among them seven days,” he concludes that Ezekiel did not understand the meaning of the vision, and that “had he, he would have explained it.” Does the fact that he remained among them seven days prove that the Lord’s messenger was dumb? Mrs. White says that the visions received by Ezekiel had “in rapid succession passed before the astonished gaze of the prophet.” The very thought of the utter destruction of the city of God and the slaughter of the priests, princes, and people because of their apostasy must have been terrible to contemplate, both to Ezekiel and the other exiles. Doubtless, too, Ezekiel’s astonishment was due to the fact that the captives did not accept his message, even though he had been warned that they would not hearken unto him. Verse 7.

The final argument of the Shepherd’s Rod on their theory of Ezekiel nine is that this prediction has never been fulfilled; therefore it must be in the future. Incidentally, it may be said that this Shepherd’s Rod theory sounds like an echo of what was being said in Jerusalem by those who were resisting the warnings of Ezekiel. The vision, they said “is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are afar off.” What was the Lord’s answer? “Thus saith the Lord God; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 12:27, 28) Ezekiel nine is among the words which God had spoken, and there is abundant evidence that all these predictions were fulfilled.

As already quoted from Prophets and Kings “the day of doom of the kingdom of Judah was fast approaching” and there was no longer any “hope of averting the severest of His judgments.” And what judgment could be more severe than the slaughter of the religious and civil leaders and the people? the Lord told Ezekiel to say, “The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.” (Ezekiel 12:23) Ezekiel nine is an integral part of one of those evil men and women in Jerusalem who had engaged in sun worship and practiced other heathenish abominations were marked for slaughter in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. Ezekiel’s message was given by means of symbols. It is clear from the record that the Lord used human agents in carrying out His decree. Again and again the slaughter of the impenitent in Jerusalem is foretold, a reiteration of the prediction in Ezekiel nine. In chapter 21 we read: “Thus saith the Lord; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished: it is sharpened to make a sore slaughter.” (Verses 9, 10) “This sword is sharpened,….to give it into the hand of the slayer.” (Verse 11) “It shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon My people.” (Verse 12) “It is the sword of the great men that are slain.” (Verse 14) “I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for their slaughter.” Verse 15.

It was the Lord’s decree, and He chose Nebuchadnezzar to execute the decree. “Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchanezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof.” Jeremiah 25:9.

Predictions Literally Fulfilled

We find the history of the fulfillment of these prophecies in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. The writer of Second Chronicles thus sums up the causes and the final outcome in this tragic episode in the history of God’s chosen people.

“All the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all that abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by His messenger, rising up betimes, and sending; because He had compassion on His people, and on His dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought upon them the king of the Chaldees who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: He gave them all into his hand.” 2 Chronicles 36:14-17.

As a conclusive evidence to Ezekiel and to us that these predictions against Jerusalem were fulfilled, it is significant that on the very day of the beginning of their fulfillment, the Lord revealed it to Ezekiel in Babylon. “Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.” Ezekiel 24:1, 2.

It was also revealed to Ezekiel that he would have the account of the destruction from an eye witness who escaped. “He that escapeth in that day shall come unto thee, to cause to hear it with thine ears.” (Ezekiel 24:26) And this promise to the prophet was fulfilled. “And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.” Ezekiel 33:21

“In the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, ‘Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem,’ to besiege the city, The outlook for Judah was hopeless. ‘Behold, I am against thee,’ the Lord Himself declared through Ezekiel. ‘I the Lord have drawn forth My sword out of the sheath: it shall not return any more….Every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water.’ ‘I will pour out Mine indignation upon thee, I will blow against thee in the fire of My wrath, and deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and skillful to destroy.’ Ezekiel 21:3, 5-7, 31” Prophets and Kings, 452.

“The enemy swept down like a resistless avalanche, and devastated the city. The Hebrew armies were beaten back in confusion. The nation was conquered. Zedekiah was taken prisoner, and his sons were slain before his eyes. The king was led away from Jerusalem a captive, his eyes were put out, and after arriving in Babylon he perished miserably. The beautiful temple that for more than four centuries had crowned the summit of Mount Zion, was not spared by the Chaldeans. ‘They burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.’ 2 Chronicles 36:10” Ibid., 458, 459.

“But now Zion was utterly destroyed; the people of God were in their captivity. Overwhelmed with grief, the prophet exclaimed: ‘How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow!’” Ibid., 461, 462.

From these inspired records is it not perfectly clear that all that the Lord foretold through Ezekiel was fulfilled? In Prophets and Kings, 448, quoted above, we are told that Ezekiel was “instructed to foretell, by means of a variety of symbols and solemn messages, the siege and utter destruction of Jerusalem.” These warnings and predictions were faithfully given, with the assurance that “none” (not one) of God’s words should be prolonged, and that the time was near. The Lord said to them that it would be “in our days.” The Lord said to them that it would be “in your days.” The Lord even named the agent He had chosen for execution of his judgments against Jerusalem. Then we have the Sacred Record that those foretellings were fulfilled.

But in the face of all this the false prophet of the Shepherd’s Rod, claiming to speak by inspiration, announces that “no slaughter such as the one described in Ezekiel 9 has ever occurred,” but is yet to be fulfilled by the slaughter of Seventh-day Adventists.

Can anyone with an open mind fail to see that all Ezekiel’s predictions were fulfilled in the retribution that came upon Jerusalem, her leaders, and the people at the hands of the Chaldeans?

Note—Sad to say, in spite of this terrible punishment of His chosen people for their idolatry, and the mercy of God in permitting them to return and restore the temple and government, they eventually failed to carry out His purpose for them. “By the Babylonian captivity the Israelites were effectually cured of the worship of graven images,” but they failed to learn the all-important lesson of complete dependence on God for salvation. The principle of salvation by works which “lay at the foundation of every heathen religion” now became “the principle of the Jewish religion.” “The people whom God had called to be the pillar and ground of the truth” became “representatives of Satan.” The Desire of Ages, 29, 36 Their rejection of their Messiah sealed the doom of the Jewish nation. “Looking for the last time upon the interior of the temple, Jesus said with mournful pathos, ‘Behold your house is left unto you desolate.’” Ibid, 620. The final siege and destruction of Jerusalem, which Jesus had predicted (Matthew 24), was one of the most bloody and pitiful in the annals of history.

“In the destruction of the impenitent city,” says, Mrs. White, Jesus “saw a symbol of the final destruction of the world.” Thus both the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 636 B.C. and its final destruction by Titus in A.D. 70 are referred to by the Spirit of Prophecy as examples, or symbols of the general destruction of the wicked at the end of the great conflict of the ages.

Last-Day Fulfillment of Ezekiel Nine

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [“types,” margin]: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11.

In times of crises in the agelong conflict between good and evil, there have been outstanding places, events, and personalities which naturally have become designation symbols for future generations. Thus we have “Babylon” and “Jezebel” to symbolize apostasy in the Christian dispensation, and “Elijah” with a special message from God just before the second coming of Christ. Likewise Ezekiel’s symbolic vision, in a time of all but universal apostasy, with a man going through Jerusalem placing a mark on the faithful servants of God, and the subsequent slaughter of all others, has been used by the Lord’s messenger to the remnant church as an illustration or symbol of the sealing of God’s servants just before the close of probation and the general destruction of the wicked.

As already stated, the Shepherd’s Rod teaches that Ezekiel did not understand the meaning of the vision recorded in his ninth chapter, and that therefore he did not give it and that his prediction has never been fulfilled. These statements have clearly been disproved in what has gone before. It is claimed that the meaning of this prophecy has now been revealed through the inspired leader of this offshoot, and that it will be fulfilled by the slaughter of Seventh-day Adventists who reject the teachings of the Shepherd’s Rod, that this slaughter is literal and imminent and will take place just before or at the beginning of the loud cry.

Recognizing that Mrs. White, in The Great Controversy, applies Ezekiel nine to the final slaughter of all the wicked, the Shepherd’s Rod claims that she teaches that there are to be two fulfillments of this prophecy—first the slaughter of Laodicean Seventh-day Adventists before the finishing of God’s work in the earth, and later the general slaughter of the wicked after probation has closed.

Let us see what the Spirit of Prophecy really says. Did Mrs. White see two slaughters: one on the church and then another on the world?

In chapter 41 of The Great Controversy we have a vivid picture of the final judgment to “fall upon Babylon in the day of the visitation of God’s wrath,” (page 653), and upon all the people of the world, who now realize that the time of their salvation has past. Among those in despair there are ministers who have been false shepherds, who have “sacrificed truth to gain the favor of men,” and who by “setting aside the divine precept,” have contributed to the terrible condition of lawlessness and corruption.

“The people see that they have been deluded. They accuse one another of having led them to destruction; but all unite in heaping their bitterest condemnation upon the minister. Unfaithful pastors have prophesied smooth things; they have led their hearers to make void the law of God and to persecute those who would keep it holy. Now, in their despair, these teachers confess before the world their work of deception. The multitudes are filled with fury. ‘We are lost!’ they cry, ‘and you are the cause of our ruin;’ and they turn upon the false shepherds. The very ones that once admired them most will pronounce the most dreadful curses upon them. The very hands that once crowned them with laurels, will be raised for their destruction. The swords which were to slay God’s people, are now employed to destroy their enemies. Everywhere there is strife and bloodshed.

“’A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword.’ (Jeremiah 25:31)….The time has come for God to vindicate the authority of His downtrodden law. Now the controversy is not alone with Satan, but with men. ‘The Lord hath a controversy with the nations;’ ‘He will give them that are wicked to the sword.’

“The mark of deliverance has been set upon those ‘that sigh and that cry for all that abominations that be done.’ Now the angel of death goes forth, represented in Ezekiel’s vision by the men with the slaughtering weapons, to whom the command is given: ‘Slay utterly old and young, both maid, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.’ Says the prophet: ‘They began at the ancient men which were before the house.’ (Ezekiel 9:1-6.) The work of destruction begins among those who have professed to be the spiritual guardians of the people. The false watchmen are the first to fall. There are none to pity or to spare. Men, women, maidens, and little children perish together.

“’The Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.’ (Isaiah 26:21)….

“At the coming of Christ the wicked are blotted from the face of the whole earth,—consumed with the spirit of His mouth, and destroyed by the brightness of His glory. Christ takes His people to the city of God, and the earth is emptied of its inhabitants.” The Great Controversy, 655-657.

Here we have a vivid description of the final act in God’s “controversy with the nations” and will all who have stood on the side of Satan, including the unfaithful shepherds in the churches. It is the end of the great controversy. The destruction of sinners is complete. The saints are taken to heaven, and the earth is left desolate, “emptied of its inhabitants.” It is the final destruction of the wicked world, of which the destruction of old Jerusalem was a symbol. The question is, Will there be a slaughter of unfaithful Seventh-day Adventists at some time previous to the general destruction of the wicked?

In the Testimonies to the Church, where the Lord’s servant has faithfully rebuked sin, and warned ministers and people of the coming destruction that awaits the unfaithful, very naturally she has made use of the symbolic vision of Ezekiel nine. We quote quite fully what she has written. Speaking of the “duty to reprove sin” “among those who profess to be His commandment-keeping people” she says:

“The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God’s professed people. This is forcibly set forth by the prophet’s illustration of the last work under the figure of the men each having a slaughter weapon in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. ‘And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.’

“Who are standing in the counsel of God at this time? Is it those who virtually excuse wrongs among the professed people of God, and who murmur in their hearts, if not openly, against those who would reprove sin? Is it those who take their stand against them, and sympathize with those who commit wrong? No, indeed! Unless they repent, and leave the work of Satan in oppressing those who have the burden of the work, and in holding up the hands of sinners in Zion, they will never receive the mark of God’s sealing approval. They will fall in the general destruction of the wicked, represented by the work of the five men bearing slaughter weapons. Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those ‘that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done’ in the church. Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even sighing and crying. Read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel.

“But the general slaughter of all those who do not thus see the wide contrast between sin and righteousness, and do not feel as those do who stand in the counsel of God and receive the mark, is described in the order to the five men with slaughter weapons: ‘Go ye after him through the city, and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.’” Testimonies, vol. 3, 266, 267.

The foregoing quotation is one used by the Shepherd’s to prove that there is a special fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but it does not say so.

What does the Spirit of Prophecy say is “represented by the work of the five men bearing slaughter weapons”? Answer: “The general destruction of the wicked.” And who is it that Mrs. White says “will never receive the mark of God’s sealing approval,” but “will fall in the general destruction of the wicked”? Answer: It is “those who commit wrong.” It is the ones who oppress “those who have the burden of the work” and hold up “the hands of sinners in Zion [the church].” Unless the people in the church “repent,” they will not be sealed, but will go down “in the general destruction of the wicked.”

If the leader of the Shepherd’s Rod is speaking by inspiration, as he claims, would he contradict what the Lord revealed through Mrs. White? His only defense is to say that Mrs. White did not understand fully the two slaughters. There is not an intimation or the faintest suggestion in the Spirit of Prophecy that the slaughter of the unfaithful in the Laodicean church. The explanation is that this refers to the “general slaughter of all those who do not thus see the wide contrast between sin and righteousness.”

Let us turn to the Spirit of Prophecy again and get another view of the same subject. In a chapter on “The Seal of God,” in Testimonies, vol. 5, we read:

“‘He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.’…

“Jesus is about to leave the mercy seat of the heavenly sanctuary, to put on garments of vengeance, and pour out His wrath in judgments upon those who have not responded to the light God has given them….With unerring accuracy, the Infinite One still keeps an account with all nations. While His mercy is tendered, with calls to repentance, this account will remain open; but when the figures reach a certain amount which God has fixed, the ministry of His wrath commences. The account is closed. Divine patience ceases. There is no more pleading of mercy in their behalf.

“The command is: ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.’ These sighing, crying ones [in Jerusalem] had been holding forth the words of life; they had reproved, counseled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonoring God, repented and humbled their hearts before Him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking.

“In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings….

“The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: ‘Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare.’…

“Here we see that the church—the Lord’s sanctuary—was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust….

“No superiority of rank, dignity, or worldly wisdom, no position in sacred office, will preserve men from sacrificing principle, when left to their own deceitful hearts. 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….

“The day of God’s vengeance is just upon us. The seal of God will be placed upon the foreheads of those only who sigh and cry for the abominations done in the land. Those who link in sympathy with the world are eating and drinking with the drunken, and will surely be destroyed with the workers of iniquity. ‘The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.’

“Our own course of action will determine whether we shall receive the seal of the living God, or be cut down by the destroying weapons. Already a few drops of God’s wrath have fallen upon the earth; but when the seven last plagues shall be poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, then it will be forever too late to repent, and find shelter. No atoning blood will then wash away the stains of sin.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 207-212.

The Shepherd’s Rod teaches that the 144,000 cannot be perfected and fitted for translation until they go to Palestine as citizens of that perfect kingdom of David. We are told that “as long as His people are commingling with the tares, and live among the Gentiles, they can never be fitted for translation.” But that is not the teaching of the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy, as all Seventh-day Adventist Bible students know. The following from Testimonies, vol. 5, gives a true picture of the final struggles of the people of God in the days of purification of the church and the sealing of the 144,000.

“While the followers of Christ have sinned, they have not given themselves to the control of evil. They have put away their sins, and have sought the Lord in humility and contrition, and the Divine Advocate pleads in their behalf….

“The assaults of Satan are strong, his delusions are terrible; but the Lord’s eye is upon His people. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but Jesus will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. Their earthliness must be removed that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected; unbelief must be overcome; faith, hope, and patience are to be developed.

“The people of God are sighing and crying for the abominations done in the land. With tears they warn the wicked of their danger in trampling upon the divine law, and with unutterable sorrow they humble themselves before the Lord on account of their own transgressions. The wicked mock their sorrow, ridicule their solemn appeals, and sneer at what they term their weakness. But the anguish and humiliation of God’s people is unmistakable evidence that they are gaining the strength and nobility of character lost in consequence of sin….

“The faithful, praying ones are, as it were, shut in with God. They themselves know not how securely they are shielded. Urged on by Satan, the rulers of this world are seeking to destroy them; but could their eyes be opened, as were the eyes of Elisha’s servant at Dothan, they would see the angels of God encamped about them, by their brightness and glory holding in check the hosts of darkness.

“As the people of God afflict their souls before Him, pleading for purity of heart the command is given, ‘Take away the filthy garments from them,’ and the encouraging words are spoken, ‘Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.’ The spotless robe of Christ’s righteousness is placed upon the tried, tempted, yet faithful children of God, the despised remnant are clothed in glorious apparel, nevermore to be defiled by the corruptions of the world. Their names are retained in the Lamb’s book of life, enrolled among the faithful of all ages. They have resisted the wiles of the deceiver; they have not been turned from their loyalty by the dragon’s roar. Now they are….not only pardoned and accepted, but honored. A ‘fair miter’ is set upon their heads. They are to be as kings and priests unto God. While Satan was urging his accusations, and seeking to destroy this company, holy angels, unseen, were passing to and fro, placing upon them the seal of the living God. These are they that stand upon Mount Zion with the Lamb, having the Father’s name written in their foreheads. They sing the new song before the throne, that song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. ‘These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God.’” Testimonies, vol. 5, 474-476.

In the quotations given above, the whole truth of the subject of Ezekiel 9 is clearly stated.

There is no mention made of a kingdom set up before Christ comes, with the people of God, especially the 144,00, safely within; but just the opposite. The 144,000 are particularly mentioned during the time of Jacob’s trouble. They are in anguish and trouble, with the enemy of God’s law seeking to destroy them. They are purified during this time, and not in a perfect kingdom of David in old Palestine, without which, says the Shepherd’s Rod, “they can never be fitted for translation.” Their pilgrimage on this earth is over, and now they stand before the throne of God.

Surely, it behooves every Seventh-day Adventist to study as never before to know what the Spirit of Prophecy really teaches, that he may not be ensnared by the terrible delusions of Satan, who will if possible deceive the very elect. Every one of us must be fortified by the truth and with God’s Holy Spirit if he is to stand.

Chapter 3—The 144,444:

Where Were the 144,000 Seen?

As stated above, the teachings of the Shepherd’s Rod center in the theory of a kingdom of David to be set up in old Jerusalem before the close of probation and the Second Advent. The 144,000, it is said, will have been sealed and will be the sinless citizens of that perfect kingdom of David. From Jerusalem as a center they are to go as missionaries to give the “loud cry” to all the world, the results of which, it is claimed, will be the conversion of the great multitude mentioned in Revelation 7:9.

Therefore, in harmony with this theory, it must be that John in vision (Revelation 14:1) saw the 144,000 stand not on Mount Zion in heaven, but on earth.

The Shepherd’s Rod—”Let it be carefully noted that in his vision John saw the 144,000 stand not on Mount Zion in heaven, but upon earth, for had it not been otherwise, he would not say ‘and I heard a voice from heaven.’” Tract 8, 4

“In view of the fact that the 144,000 stood on Mount Zion while the elders and the beasts were before the throne, the 144,000 were, therefore, sealed while the judgment was in session. Moreover, Christ being seen with them in His symbolical form (a lamb), again proves that they stand with Him in Mount Zion during probationary time—while the judgment is in session.” Ibid., 6, 7.

The Spirit of Prophecy—”In holy vision the prophet saw the ultimate triumph of God’s remnant church. He writes:

“’I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory….stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.’ Revelation 15:2, 3.

“’And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.’ (Revelation 14:1) In this world their minds were consecrated to God; they served Him with the intellect and with the heart; and now He can place His name ‘in their foreheads.’ ‘And they shall reign for ever and ever.’…

“’These are they which follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.’ The vision of the prophet pictures them as standing on Mount Zion, girt for holy service, clothed in white linen, which is the righteousness of the saints. But all who follow the Lamb in heaven must first have followed Him on earth, not fretfully or capriciously, but in trustful, loving, willing obedience, as the flock follows the shepherd.

“’I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps; and they sung as it were a new song before the throne…and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth….In their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.’” Acts of the Apostles, 590, 591.

“While John was shown the last great struggles of the church with the earthly powers, he was also permitted to behold the final victory and deliverance of the faithful. He saw the church brought into deadly conflict with the beast and his image, and the worship of that beast enforced on pain of death. But looking beyond the smoke and din of the battle, he beheld a company upon Mount Zion with the Lamb, having, instead of the mark of the beast, the ‘Father’s name written in their foreheads.’ And again he saw ‘them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God,’ and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 752, 753.

“We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass, when Jesus brought the crowns, and with His own right hand placed them on our heads. He gave us harps of gold and palms of victory. Here on the sea of glass the 144,000 stood in a perfect square.” Ibid., vol. 1, 60, 61.

“Upon the crystal sea before the throne, that sea of glass as it were mingled with fire,—so resplendent is it with the glory of God,—are gathered the company that have ‘gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name.’ (Revelation 15:2) With the Lamb upon Mount Zion, ‘having the harps of God,’ they stand, the hundred and forty and four thousand that were redeemed from among men;….And they sing ‘a new song’ before the throne, a song which no man can learn save the hundred and forty and four thousand. It is the song of Moses and the Lamb,—a song of deliverance. None but the hundred and forty-four thousand can learn that song; for it is the song of their experience,—an experience such as no other company have ever had….These, having been translated from the earth, from among the earth, from among the living, are counted as ‘the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb.’ (Revelation 14:1-5; 15:3) ‘These are they which came out of great tribulation’ (Revelation 7:14-17); they have passed through the time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation; they have endured the anguish of the time of Jacob’s trouble; they have stood without an Intercessor through the final outpouring of God’s judgments. But they have been delivered, for they have ‘washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’ ‘In their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault, before God. ‘Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.’” The Great Controversy, 648, 649.

It is plain by the foregoing quotations that the Spirit of Prophecy places this scene in heaven. It is the time of “ultimate triumph,” “the final victory and deliverance” of the church. The 144,000 are no longer “in the world.” It has taken seven days to ascend to the sea of glass, and there, with the Lamb upon Mount Zion, stand the 144,000.

The Shepherd’s Rod—”As the 144,000 are the ‘first fruits,’ there must be second fruits, for where there is first, there must also be second. And as the first fruits, there must also be second. And as the first fruits are the ‘servants of God,’ they must subsequently be sent to all nations to gather second fruits (Isaiah 66:19, 20)—the great multitude of Revelation 7:9, whom John saw after viewing the sealing of the 144,000.” Tract 8, 16, 17.

This theory is false, because the 144,000 stand in heaven, after “final victory and deliverance,” “having been translated from earth, from among the living.” Therefore they cannot “subsequently be sent to all nations to gather the second fruits.” The fact that they are servants of God does not prove the theory, for in Revelation 22:3 we read concerning the new earth: “There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him.” Further, we have the following definite comment on Isaiah 66:19:

The Spirit of Prophecy—”Jehovah declared to the prophet that He would send His witnesses ‘unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud,….to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off.’…

“The prophet heard the voice of God calling His church to her appointed work, that the way might be prepared for the ushering in of His everlasting kingdom….

“These prophecies of a great spiritual awakening in a time of gross darkness, are today meeting fulfillment in the advancing lines of mission stations that are reaching out into the benighted regions of earth.” Prophets and Kings, 374, 375.

An Army With Banners

In the closing chapter of Prophets and Kings, “Visions of Future Glory,” we have a vivid picture of the last great struggle of the church militant and her glorious triumph. No picture is given of a haven of “perfect safety as though in heaven,” for we are told that “the darkest hour of the church’s struggle with the powers of evil, is that which immediately precedes the day of her final deliverance. But none who trust in God need fear; for ‘when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall,’ God will be to His church ‘a refuge from the storm’ (Isaiah 25:4)….The day of wrath to the enemies of God is the day of final deliverance to His church.” Prophets and Kings, 725-727.

But of this remnant church purified in the fires of affliction, it is said, “Clad in the armor of Christ’s righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. ‘Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners,’ she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer.” Ibid., 725. This does not mean the gathering in of the “great multitude” by the 144,000 as the Shepherd’s Rod would have us believe. In this time of test there is a mighty struggle with foes from without and within, but it is a time of personal victory and the final triumph of the church. In speaking of this time “when the test will come to every soul,” the Spirit of Prophecy has said:

“When trees without fruit are cut down as cumberers of the ground, when multitudes of false brethren are distinguished from the true, then the hidden ones will be revealed to view, and with hosannas range under the banner of Christ. Those who have been timid and self-distrustful will declare themselves openly for Christ and His truth. The most weak and hesitating in the church will be as David—willing to do and dare. The deeper the night for God’s people, the more brilliant the stars. Satan will sorely harass the faithful; but, in the name of Jesus, they will come off more than conquerors. Then will the church of Christ appear’ fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banner.’” Testimonies, vol. 1, 353.

“I was shown that the seven last plagues will be poured out after Jesus leaves the sanctuary. Said the angel, ‘It is the wrath of God and the Lamb that causes the destruction or death of the wicked. At the voice of God the saints will be mighty and terrible as an army with banners; but they will not then execute the judgment written. The execution of the judgment will be at the close of the one thousand years.’” Early Writings, 52.

The Wheat and the Tares

This theory of the slaughter of the unfaithful in the Laodicean church and the establishment of a kingdom of David before the close of probation, calls, of course, for the separation of the good from the bad in the church before the end. The Shepherd’s Rod, therefore, teaches that “the harvest is the loud cry of the third angel’s message,” and that the “tares” are separated from the “wheat” at this time. Let the Spirit of Prophecy speak again:

“It is the privilege of every Christian, not only to look for, but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Were all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and Christ would come to gather the precious grain.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

“This warning is brought to view in Revelation 14. Here is a threefold message represented as proclaimed by heavenly beings, and immediately followed by the coming of the Son of man ‘to reap the harvest of the earth.’” The Great Controversy, 311.

“The wheat and tares grow together until the harvest, the end of the world. Then the tares are bound in bundles to be burned, and the wheat is gathered into the garner of God. ‘Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.’” Christ’s Object Lessons, 75.

“Again, these parables teach that there is to be no probation after the judgment. When the work of the gospel is completed, there immediately follows the separation between the good and the evil, and the destiny of each class is forever fixed.” Ibid., 123.

Now let us quote the paragraph containing the sentence used so much by the Shepherd’s Rod:

“Many will be in heaven who their neighbors supposed would never enter there. Man judges from appearance, but God judges the heart. The tares and the wheat are to grow together until the harvest; and the harvest is the end of probationary time.” Ibid., 72

It is just the last sentence in the above quotation which is used by the Shepherd’s Rod. Notice that it does not say the last part of probationary time, but the end; and to fit in with the other quotations, it could mean only what has already been stated above in all other quotations.

It would make too large a volume to take up every point of controversy; neither is it necessary with the main issues proved false. Let the reader bear in mind this one principle: To find the truth of any subject mentioned in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, get all the statements on that one subject and put them together as one whole. Then the reader will have a full understanding of the truth brought forth, and thus will not be confused when points of controversy arise, as one would if only quotations or texts are taken here and there, separate from the context.

Chapter 4: Warning Against Deception

It will be found who bear false messages will not have a high sense of honor and integrity. They will deceive the people, and mix up with their error the Testimonies of Sister White, and use her name to give influence to their work. They make such selections from the Testimonies as they think they can twist to support their positions, and place them in a setting of falsehood, so that their error may have weight and be accepted by the people. They misinterpret and misapply that which God has given to the church to warn, counsel, reprove, comfort, and encourage those who shall make up the remnant people of God….

“Those who advocate error will say, ‘The Lord saith,’ ‘when the Lord hath not spoken.’ They testify to falsehood, and not to truth.” Testimonies to Ministers, 42, 43.

“When men arise, claiming to have a message from God, but instead of warring against principalities and powers, and their rulers of the darkness of this world, they form a hollow square, and turn the weapons of warfare against the church militant, be afraid of them. They do not bear the divine credentials. God has not given them any such burden of labor. They would tear down that which God would restore by the Laodicean message.” Ibid., 22, 23.

“The conflict is to wax fiercer and fiercer. Satan will take the field and personate Christ. He will misrepresent, misapply, and pervert everything he possibly can, to deceive, if possible, the very elect. Even in our day there have been and will continue to be entire families who have once rejoiced in the truth, but who will lose faith because of calumnies and falsehoods brought to them in regard to those whom they have loved and with whom they have had sweet counsel.” Ibid., 411.

To those who may misled into thinking the Shepherd’s Rod must be true because of the interpretations of figures and symbols, I would refer to these statements:

“Others, who have an active imagination, seize upon the figures and symbols of Holy Writ, interpret them to suit their fancy, with little “regard to the testimonies of Scripture as its own interpreter, and then they present their vagaries as teachings of the Bible.” The Great Controversy, 521.

Misguided Efforts to Reform the Church

“There are little companies continually rising who believe that God is only with the very few, the very scattered, and their influence is to tear down and scatter that which God’s servants build up. Restless minds who want to be seeing and believing something new continually, are constantly arising, some in one place and some in another, all doing a special work for the enemy, yet claiming to have the truth. They stand separate from the people whom God is leading out and prospering, and through whom He is to do His great work. They are continually expressing their fears that the body of Sabbath keepers are becoming like the world….Some of these profess to have the gifts among them; but are led by the influence and teachings of these gifts to hold in doubt those upon whom God has laid the special burden of His work, and to lead off a class from the body. The people, who, in accordance with God’s word, are putting forth every effort to be one, who are established in the message of the third angel, are looked upon with suspicion, for the reason that they are extending their labor and are gathering souls into the truth….One man arises with wild, erroneous views, and claims that God has sent him with new and glorious light, and all must believe what he brings.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 417, 418.

What is it that Satan would rejoice to do?

“O how Satan would rejoice to get in among this people, and disorganize the work at a time when thorough organization is essential, and will be the greatest power to keep out spurious uprisings, and to refute claims not endorsed by the work of God!” Testimonies to Ministers, 228.

We are told in an official publication of the Shepherd’s Rod that this organization “exists solely to accomplish a divinely appointed work within the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, wherein it therefore strictly confines its activities.” According to this there is no burden for salvation of sinners, either at home or abroad, who never heard or accepted the Advent message. The words of Mrs. White, quoted above, are definitely applicable to the members of this offshoot. Let us repeat: “When men arise claiming to have a message from God, but instead of warning against principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, they form a hollow square, and turn the weapons of warfare against the church militant, be afraid of them.”

This is a very accurate description of the Shepherd’s Rod work. It is negative. Church leaders are called “conference prelates” who yield to “demon power” “to prolong the lukewarm condition indefinitely,” and there are many like denunciations. And what is the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy? “Be afraid of them.” The following counsel seems very applicable to those who pursue such a course.

“Those who would be overcomers must be drawn out of themselves; and the only thing which will accomplish this great work, is to become intensely interested in the salvation of others. This does not mean that you are to convert men to your way of doing, or to compel them to view things in the same light as you do; but you are to seek to present the truth as it is in Jesus, and laboring to be a blessing to others, you will be blessed of God abundantly. That you have done and are doing something to enlarge the boundaries of the kingdom of God in rescuing poor souls from Satan’s yoke of superstition and error, will rejoice the heart, and broaden your ideas and plans….Some of you will consider it your privilege to leave your homes that you may labor in the islands of the sea, and rescue souls from the bondage of sin and error. As you gain a new and deeper experience, you will learn what it is to pray in the Holy Spirit; and those who are backslidden from God will be reclaimed, and there will be more anxious manifested to learn of Jesus to be meek and lowly of heart, than to point out the mistakes and errors of your brethren.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 207, 208.

Organization and the Platform of Truth

“Our work was not sustained by large gifts or legacies; for we have few wealthy men among us. What is the secret of our prosperity? We have moved under the orders of the Captain of our salvation. God has blessed our united efforts. The truth has spread and flourished. Institutions have multiplied. The mustard seed has grown to a great tree. The system of organization has proved to a great tree. The system of organization has proved a grand success….

“Let none entertain the thought that we can dispense with organization. It has cost us much study and many prayers for wisdom, that we know God has answered, to erect this structure. It has been built up by His direction, through much sacrifice and conflict. Let none of our brethren be so deceived as to attempt to tear it down, for you will thus bring in a condition of things that you do not dream of. In the name of the Lord I declare to you that it is to stand, strengthened, established, and settled.” Testimonies to Ministers, 27, 28.

“God is leading a people out from the world upon the exalted platform of eternal truth, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. He will discipline and fit up His people. They will not be at variance, one believing one thing and another having faith and views entirely opposite, each moving independently of the body. Through the diversity of the gifts and governments that He has placed in the church, they will all come to the unity of the faith. If one man takes his views of Bible truth without regard to the opinion of his brethren, and justifies his course, alleging that he has a right to his own peculiar views, and then presses them upon others , how can he be fulfilling the prayer of Christ?” Ibid., 29, 30.

“Ministers who have preached the truth with all zeal and earnestness may apostatize and join the ranks of our enemies, but does this turn the truth of God into a lie? ‘Nevertheless,’ says the apostle, ‘the foundation of God standeth sure.’ The faith and feelings of men may change; but the truth of God, never. The third angel’s message is sounding; it is infallible….

“It is as certain that we have the truth as that God lives; and Satan, with all his arts and hellish power, cannot change the truth of God into a lie….

“The Lord has singled us out and made us subjects of His marvelous mercy. Shall we be charmed with the pratings of the apostate? Shall we choose to take our stand with Satan and his host?…Rather let it be our prayer: ‘Lord, put enmity between me and the serpent.’ If we are not at enmity with his works of darkness, his powerful folds encircle us, and his sting is ready at any moment to be driven to our hearts. We should count him a deadly foe. We should oppose him in the name of Christ. Our work is still onward. We must battle for every inch of ground. Let all who name the name of Christ clothe themselves with the armor of righteousness.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 595, 596.

“I saw a company who stood well guarded and firm, giving no countenance to those who would unsettle the established faith of the body. God looked upon them with approbation. I was shown three steps—the first, second, and third angels’ messages. Said my accompanying angel, ‘Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages. The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance. The destiny of souls hangs upon the manner in which they are received.’ I was again brought down through these messages, and saw how dearly the people of God had purchased their experience. It had been obtained through much suffering and severe conflict. God had led them along step by step, until He had placed them upon a solid, immovable platform. I saw individuals approach the platform and examine the foundation. Some with rejoicing immediately stepped upon it. Others commenced to find fault with the foundation. They wished improvements made, and then the platform would be more perfect, and the people much happier. Some stepped off the platform to examine it and declared it to be laid wrong. But I saw that nearly all stood firm upon the platform and exhorted those who had stepped off to cease their complaints; for God was the Master Builder, and they were fighting against Him.” Early Writings, 258, 259.

“Words of power have been sent by God and by Christ to this people, bringing them out from the world, point by point, into the clear light of present truth. With lips touched by holy fire, God’s servants have proclaimed the message. The divine utterance has set its seal to the genuineness of the truth proclaimed.” Gospel Workers, 307.

“Perilous times are before us. Everyone who has a knowledge of the truth should awake and place himself, body, and spirit, under the discipline of God. The enemy is on our track. We must be wide awake, on our guard against him. We must put on the whole armor of God. We must follow the directions given through the Spirit of Prophecy. We must love and obey the truth for this time. This will save us from accepting strong delusions. God has spoken to us through His Word. He has spoken to us through the testimonies to the church and through the books that have helped to make plain our present duty and the position that we should now occupy….

“Let not erroneous theories receive countenance from the people who ought to be standing firm on the platform of eternal truth. God calls upon us to hold firmly to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority.” Ibid., 308.

“Abundant light has been given to our people in these last days. Whether or not my life is spared, my writings will constantly speak, and their work will go forward as long as time shall last. My writings are kept on file in the office, and even though I should not live, these words that have been given to me by the Lord will still have life and will speak to the people….Never have testimonies been more clearly brought before the people than those that have been recently traced by my pen. God bids me urge upon the attention of our people the importance of their study. Let this work begin now. Then, whether I am permitted to labor or am laid away to rest until Jesus comes, these messages are immortalized….Every conceivable thing will be brought in to deceive, if possible the very elect; but the Lord will certainly take care of His work.” Selected Messages, bk. 1, 55-57.

The White Truth

October 25, 2017 by John J. Grosboll

The “ shut door ” has been one of the most contentious subjects in Adventism for some time. Of all Adventist doctrines, probably none has been more attacked by those opposing Adventism than this doctrine. D. M. Canwright and Desmond Ford both challenged the concept.

Walter Ray, a Seventh-day Adventist minister who not only lost confidence and faith in the Spirit of Prophecy wrote the book, The White Lie (copyright 1982), in which he attacks Ellen White, not just of plagiarism, but accuses her of more serious wrongs.

This is not a book that I would advise anybody to read. I am not afraid of facts, but Ellen White warned about reading books written by infidel authors. She wrote,

“Suffer not yourselves to open the lids of a book that is questionable. There is a hellish fascination in the literature of Satan. It is the powerful battery by which he tears down a simple religious faith. Never feel that you are strong enough to read infidel books; for they contain a poison like that of asps.” The Faith I Live By, 241.

This book is full of sarcasm, sneering remarks, and criticism. It is the interpretation of the facts that are of great concern. Ellen White did not plagiarize. It was one of the subjects on which she was attacked in The White Lie. After it was published, John J. Robertson, an Adventist minister, wrote the book, The White Truth to refute Walter Ray’s arguments.

The doctrine of the shut door is not something that was invented by Seventh-day Adventists. It is taught throughout the Bible. Jesus also taught it. Genesis 7:16 reads: “So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him, and the LORD shut him in.” In Noah’s day clearly there was a shut door. Noah and his family, which comprised all who obeyed and entered the ark, were shut in and saved from the flood. The rest of the world were shut out and drowned in the flood waters—they were lost. When you start to understand it, the shut door is a very emotional doctrine because it refers to a time when some will be shut in and some will be shut out. Those who are shut in will be saved and those who are shut out will be lost.

Matthew 25:10–13 records the parable of ten virgins. Jesus said, “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Again, some are shut in while others are shut out.

In Luke 13:23–30, it says, “Then one said to Him, ‘Lord, are there few who are saved?’ And He said to them. ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, “Lord, Lord, open for us,” and He will answer and say to you, “I do not know you, where you are from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.” But He will say, “I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.” There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. They will come from the east and the west, and the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.’ ”

Seventh-day Adventists believe that after the great disappointment on October 22, 1844, the door was shut. The Bible records a number of times when the door has been shut: in Noah’s day, in Abraham’s day, in Christ’s day and again in 1844. Revelation 3:7, 8 reads: “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens. I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word and have not denied My name.” ’ ”

The angel goes on to say in verse 9, “Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.” When does this happen?

God’s people are going to be delivered from the death decree at midnight (see Revelation 13:15). This is elaborated on in the last chapters of The Great Controversy as well as many other places in Ellen White’s writings. “While the cloud was passing from the Holiest to the East, which took a number of days, the synagogue of Satan worshipped at the saints’ feet.” Maranatha, 287. This will happen for a number of days between the death decree and the time of Jesus’ coming.

Satan also has a church. It is called the synagogue of Satan. They say they are Jews but do not the works of Abraham. It is a very large church, much larger than God’s church in this world. We are told who those people are in A Word to the Little Flock, 12. It says, “You think, that those who worship before the saint’s feet (Revelation 3:9), will at last be saved. Here I must differ with you; for God shew me that this class were professed Adventists, who had fallen away, and ‘crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame’ (Hebrews 6:6). And in the ‘hour of temptation’ (Revelation 3:10), which is yet to come, to show out every one’s true character, they will know that they are forever lost; and overwhelmed with anguish of spirit, they will bow at the saint’s feet.”

It is those who claim that they are Jews (spiritual Israel) who will come and worship at the saint’s feet. They are Adventists who give up the Sabbath in the time of the Sunday law crisis. Tragically, they may be people whom you now know and who do not “endure to the end” (Matthew 10:22).

Revelation 3:7, 8 tells about a door that was open and a door that was shut. Some who try to discredit Ellen White’s prophetic gift like to say that she believed that the door was shut in 1844 and that she was mistaken. She comments on this in Selected Messages, vol. 1, 63: “For a time after the disappointment in 1844, I did hold, in common with the advent body, that the door of mercy was then forever closed to the world. This position was taken before my first vision was given me. It was the light given me of God that corrected our error, and enabled us to see the true position.

“I am still a believer in the shut-door theory, but not in the sense in which we at first employed the term or in which it is employed by my opponents.

“There was a shut door in Noah’s day. There was at that time a withdrawal of the Spirit of God from the sinful race that perished in the waters of the Flood. God Himself gave the shut-door message to Noah:

“My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:3).” [Emphasis added.]

It is the Holy Spirit that leads us to true repentance. Many people feel sorrow for the consequences of their sins, however, they do not repent. When the Holy Spirit is grieved away by numerous rejections to His promptings, that person will never be converted. The door of opportunity for them is shut. Shutting the door is removing the Holy Spirit.

“There was a shut door in the days of Abraham. Mercy ceased to plead with the inhabitants of Sodom, and all but Lot, with his wife and two daughters, were consumed by the fire sent down from heaven.

“There was a shut door in Christ’s day. The Son of God declared to the unbelieving Jews of that generation, ‘Your house is left unto you desolate’ (Matthew 23:38).” Ibid.

In 1844 the door was shut for multitudes of people, not only in America, but also in Europe and other countries. The Holy Spirit was behind the development of what we call, “The Second Advent Movement.” The Holy Spirit inspired many people in different churches around the world, including the Roman Catholic Church, that Jesus was coming soon. The Day of Judgment had arrived. The first angel’s message of Revelation 14:6 was preached by William Miller with ministers Himes, Litch and Fitch as well as others. Shortly after in the summer of 1844, the second angel’s message was preached.

The second angel’s message announced the fall of Babylon in 1844. Babylon consisted of the people and the churches that rejected, the first message. It is very serious at any time to reject the pleading of the Holy Spirit. When people rejected the message of the judgment hour and that Jesus was coming soon, they committed the unpardonable sin. There are some people today calling themselves Adventists who do not accept the doctrine of the investigative judgment. If those who refused to accept the present truth in 1844 became Babylon, would the same result happen again? Is God still the same?

Ellen White wrote, “I was shown in vision, and I still believe, that there was a shut door in 1844. All who saw the light of the first and second angels’ messages and rejected that light, were left in darkness. And those who accepted it and received the Holy Spirit which attended the proclamation of the message from heaven, and who afterward renounced their faith and pronounced their experience a delusion, thereby rejected the Spirit of God, and it no longer pleaded with them.” Ibid.

That same dangerous situation is still present today. Many people have renounced doctrines that they once held as truth and have been left in darkness because the Spirit of God no longer pleads with them. We need to pray that we’ll never get in that kind of situation. It happened to Lucifer in the courts of heaven. In the first chapter of Patriarchs and Prophets, 39, Ellen White wrote that he was convinced that what he thought about doing was wrong but continued believing that he had such a high position that it would be too humbling to admit that he had made a mistake.

Pride is very dangerous, causing people to defend an incorrect position instead of humbly admitting they have made a mistake. We need to willingly say, Lord, I made a mistake. What I understood and have been teaching is wrong and I want to get that corrected.

We cannot, without guilt, reject the warnings that God sends to us. When Noah preached to get into the ark, salvation depended on whether or not they accepted and acted on that message. Those who hear and understand the three angels’ messages and reject them turn away from the Lord and will eventually seal their doom. It is these messages that will determine the eternal destiny of all who live in this world in the last generation.

“Because they rejected the warning, the Spirit of God was withdrawn from the sinful race, and they perished in the waters of the flood. In the time of Abraham, mercy ceased to plead with the guilty inhabitants of Sodom, and all but Lot with his wife and two daughters were consumed by the fire sent down from heaven. So in the days of Christ. The Son of God declared to the unbelieving Jews of that generation, ‘Your house is left unto you desolate’ (Matthew 23:39). Looking down to the last days, the same infinite power declares, concerning those who ‘received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,’ ‘For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness’ (II Thessalonians 2:10, 11). As they reject the teachings of His Word, God withdraws His Spirit, and leaves them to the deceptions which they love.” Early Writings, 45.

It is evident today that God’s Spirit is being withdrawn. We are experiencing more natural disasters. Society is sinking to a moral low. We are told that the entire world will be devastated more than Jerusalem at the time of its destruction in A.D. 70. You can read a description of that in the first chapter of The Great Controversy.

When God sends a warning and it is rejected, His Spirit is withdrawn. This can happen, not just to nations or churches, but also in a family or to an individual. The Lord pleads, but so many refuse to listen and act on the information. However, He does not give up easily on people. The most common way that the unpardonable sin is committed is by persistently rejecting or neglecting the pleading of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit leaves you, you are shut out from salvation. Our only safety is to heed the promptings of the Spirit. Inquire of the Lord an understanding of His plans for you on a daily basis. He has many ways to make it evident what to do and what not to do.

Be aware that continual resistance to the message that the Lord sends to a person results in the door of mercy being shut, just as it happened in Noah’s day and to the Jews in Christ’s day. It happened in 1844 and it will happen again. The pen of Inspiration says,

“The Jews were left in total darkness, to continue their useless sacrifices and offerings. The ministration of types and shadows had ceased. That door by which men had formerly found access to God, was no longer open.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 269, 270.

Men had formerly found access to God through that door. When they came to worship in the sanctuary, the Lord accepted their animal sacrifice. It showed that they had faith in the coming Redeemer and their sins were forgiven. “That door by which men had formerly found access to God, was no longer open. The Jews had refused to seek Him in the only way whereby He could then be found, through the ministration in the sanctuary in Heaven. Therefore they found no communion with God. To them the door was shut.” Ibid., 270.

When God shuts the door to salvation it cannot be reopened however, there are still people trying to open the door today. The early Christians were also confused on this point; so Paul addressed it in the book of Hebrews and other places in the New Testament.

“The condition of the unbelieving Jews illustrates the condition of the careless and unbelieving among professed Christians, who are willingly ignorant of the work of our merciful High Priest. In the typical service, when the high priest entered the most holy place, all Israel were required to gather about the sanctuary, and in the most solemn manner humble their souls before God, that they might receive the pardon of their sins, and not be cut off from the congregation. How much more essential in this anti-typical day of atonement that we understand the work of our High Priest, and know what duties are required of us.” Ibid.

In 1844 the door into the Holy Place, the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, by which Christ had been approached since Pentecost, was shut. It was the way to salvation for a time until it was shut and another door was opened, the door into the most holy place. We read in Revelation 3 that when God shuts something, no man can open it.

“Because so many good Christians have fallen asleep in the triumphs of faith and have not kept the true Sabbath, they were doubting about its being a test for us now.

“The enemies of the present truth have been trying to open the door of the holy place, that Jesus has shut, and to close the door of the most holy place, which He opened in 1844, where the ark is, containing the two tables of stone on which are written the ten commandments by the finger of Jehovah.” Early Writings, 43.

While people continually try to pry open the door that God has shut, they keep closed the door He opened that clearly reveals the blessing of the Sabbath commandment.

In 1844, the Adventist people did not understand the truth about the heavenly sanctuary, but when they started to study they realized that everything in the earthly sanctuary was just a type of the sanctuary in heaven. They discovered that the contents in the heavenly sanctuary would be the same in the most holy place as were in the earthly sanctuary. Reading Revelation 11:19, they saw that the Ark of the Covenant was there and inside it were the Ten Commandments written on two tables of stone. Within the heavenly sanctuary is the great original. The one on earth was only a copy. These searchers after truth, being Sunday worshipers at that time, were shocked when reading the fourth commandment. They realized that this commandment, part of the Law of God, was in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in heaven where Jesus was, and they were not keeping the true Sabbath. They realized then that they had some repenting to do, some confession to make, and some changing to do.

Ellen White was not the first one that understood this. Joseph Bates and some others understood it before she did and when they first told her about it, she couldn’t comprehend that it would be that important, much like many people today. Then the Lord gave her a vision in which she was taken inside the most holy place where Jesus opened the ark and showed her the Ten Commandments.

She said she saw a halo of light around the fourth commandment, the most important of all the ten. It gives authority to the rest of the law because it is the one that identifies the Lawgiver and His authority.

These faithful students of the Word studied the Sabbath in connection with the Sanctuary. Although they had preached the first angel’s message and the second in 1844, they realized when they read Revelation 14 that they had not been preaching the whole message. With the first and second messages there was the third message that did not end in Revelation 14:11, but included verse 12, which reads:

“Here is the patience of the holy people (or the steadfast endurance of the saints); here are those that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (literal translation).

Ellen White said after that, “We know that we have the truth.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 6, 252.

During this time the devil was fighting to try to keep people from becoming convinced of these things, the three angels’ messages that today we call “present truth.” That term was not coined by Seventh-day Adventists; it was used by the apostle Peter in his writing when he said, “… being confirmed in the present truth.” II Peter 1:12 literal translation.

There has been a present truth in every age. In the apostle Paul’s day it was that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. The central focus of every message the apostles preached was that Jesus was the Messiah. People believed at the risk of being killed.

Present truth in Noah’s day was that a flood was coming. An ark was prepared to save the people who believed. To accept or reject the offer of mercy determined the destiny of the people.

When the Adventists began to preach the present truth of the three angels of Revelation, the first and second messages determined the destiny of those who rejected it in 1844 when the door shut. The eternal destiny of every single person in the world will be determined on his or her response to the third message. Ellen White wrote, “God has begun to draw this covering over His people, and it will soon be drawn over all who are to have a shelter in the day of slaughter.” Early Writings, 44.

This covering is protection from the seven last plagues to come. “Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth and to cause them to waver. I saw a covering that God was drawing over His people to protect them in the time of trouble; and every soul that was decided on the truth and was pure in heart was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty. …

“I saw that Satan was working through agents in a number of ways. He was at work through ministers who have rejected the truth and are given over to strong delusions to believe a lie that they might be damned. While they were preaching or praying, some would fall prostrate and helpless, not by the power of the Holy Ghost, but by the power of Satan breathed upon these agents, and through them to the people. While preaching, praying, or conversing, some professed Adventists who had rejected present truth used mesmerism to gain adherents, and the people would rejoice in this influence, for they thought it was the Holy Ghost. Some even that used it were so far in the darkness and deception of the devil that they thought it was the power of God.” Early Writings, 43, 44.

The very same thing is happening again today. There are Adventist preachers in some of our largest churches that instead of preaching the present truth are using spiritualistic exercises on the people. “I saw some who were not standing stiffly for present truth. Their knees were trembling, and their feet sliding, because they were not firmly planted on the truth, and the covering of Almighty God could not be drawn over them while they were thus trembling.” Ibid., 44.

Many Adventists today are wavering and God cannot draw over them His covering of protection while they are undecided on what is right and what is wrong. If you have not been attacked yet, you will be by these forms of spiritualism designed to affect God’s people instead of preaching the present truth for today, the three angels’ messages.

The all-important thing at this time of earth’s history is to prepare for the second coming of Christ. Therefore worship with like believers, for the door of mercy is soon to be shut. Some will be shut inside like the wise virgins (Matthew 25) and safe in the ark like Noah’s family. All the others will be shut out.

When probation closes, all decisions will have been made and the door will be permanently shut. Those on the inside will be those who were established on present truth, not just intellectually but in their heart and in their life. All others will be shut out. We are living in “a most solemn period of earth’s history.” The Signs of the Times, February 23, 1882.

Concerning the three angels’ messages, Ellen White said that they are infallible. “We have received the light of the three angels’ messages; and we now need to come decidedly to the front and take our position on the side of truth.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, 21.

All who take their position on these messages and understand their significance and stand on that position will triumph with them.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Editorial – Be Ready

October 25, 2017 by John J. Grosboll

The second advent movement was raised up to proclaim God’s last message of mercy and warning to the world, the message contained in Revelation 14:6–12. This message is, first of all, a message of judgment. The judgment is a major theme of the Bible. Moses, David, Solomon, the prophets and the apostles speak about it again and again. Ellen White had a dream concerning the executive judgment 35 years and one day after the great disappointment in 1844, described in volume 4 of the Testimonies. May you not be in the number that she vividly described from this dream:

“Another book was opened, wherein were recorded the sins of those who profess the truth. Under the general heading of selfishness came every other sin. …

“One class were registered as cumberers of the ground. As the piercing eye of the Judge rested upon these, their sins of neglect were distinctly revealed. … They had not such confessions to make as had the vile and basely corrupt; but, like the fig tree, they were cursed because they bore no fruit. …

“This class had made self supreme, laboring only for selfish interests. …

“The names of all who profess the truth were mentioned. Some were reproved for their unbelief, others for having been slothful servants. … Each was to demonstrate a living faith in his family and in his neighborhood, by showing kindness to the poor, sympathizing with the afflicted, engaging in missionary labor, and by aiding the cause of God with his means. …

“The words spoken to these were most solemn: ‘You are weighed in the balances, and found wanting (Daniel 5:27). You have neglected spiritual responsibilities because of busy activity in temporal matters. …’

“The question was then asked: ‘Why have you not washed your robes of character and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14)? God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that through Him it might be saved (John 3:17). My love for you has been more self-denying than a mother’s love. It was that I might blot out your dark record of iniquity, and put the cup of salvation to your lips, that I suffered the death of the cross, bearing the weight and curse of your guilt. The pangs of death, and the horrors of the darkness of the tomb, I endured, that I might conquer him who had the power of death, unbar the prison house, and open for you the gates of life. That life of bliss which I purchased for you at such a cost, you have disregarded.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 384–387. [Emphasis author’s.]

The Poverty of a Cause

October 25, 2017 by Ralph Larson

Can the cause of Calvinistic theology, on the issue of Christ’s human nature, and the introduction of these Calvinistic doctrines into our Seventh-day Adventist faith be defended with valid biblical and/or Spirit of Prophecy evidence?

That the answer is “No” seems to be apparent even to the supporters of the Calvinistic cause. That is why they have repeatedly refused to enter into any theological discussion with those of us who are standing in defense of our spiritual heritage, our historic faith.

Our hundreds of personal appeals have been ignored. The mass of evidence that we have set forth has brought no response. The attitude of “Let’s close ranks and stonewall it” has prevailed among the Calvinists.

The defense of the Calvinistic doctrines, rather than depending on biblical or Spirit of Prophecy evidence, has generally consisted of two basic strategies: (1) personal attacks against the defenders of our historic faith, which range from the superficial to the wildly inaccurate and irresponsible, and (2) an incredibly perverse distortion of the doctrine of church authority, whereby it is maintained that it is a violation of church order for a church member to protest against the introduction of false doctrines into our faith. Thus it had been until the recent Review broke ranks.

THE REVIEW BREAKS RANKS

In a series of editorials that appeared on July 8 and 22 and on August 12, 19, and 26, 1993, the senior editor of the Review stepped out from behind the “Let’s stonewall it” position and ventured to make a defense of Calvinism. He chose to defend the Calvinistic doctrine that our Lord came to this earth in the human nature of the unfallen Adam as opposed to the historic Seventh-day Adventist doctrine that Christ came to earth in the human nature of fallen man, as attested to by 400 statements by Ellen White and 800 statements by other church leaders, all published before 1957.

We greet this venture with mingled sadness and satisfaction. While it can only bring sadness to our hearts when we see the Review openly advocating error, we nevertheless rejoice that an opportunity is now given to concerned church members to evaluate the evidence that is being offered to support the cause of Calvinism. We believe that such an evaluation, when compared with the evidence being presented in defense of our historic position, can only bring positive results and will clearly reveal the abject poverty of the Calvinistic cause.

THE USE OF BIBLICAL EVIDENCE

The Review editor introduces his treatment of the scriptural evidence with this question and answer: “But what does the Bible indicate concerning His nature—was it pre-fall or post-fall? The Scriptures don’t give a specific answer….”

We ask, “Are these scriptures not specific?”

Romans 1:3: “Made of the seed of David according to the flesh.”
Hebrews 2:11: “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren.”
Hebrews 2:14: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same….”
Hebrews 2:16: “For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham.”
Hebrews 2:17: “Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren….”

In order to weaken the force of Hebrews 2:16, the Review editor states, without documentation, that the words, “He took on Him the seed of Abraham,” should be translated, “He concerns Himself with, or helps, Abraham’s descendants.”

Not in my Greek New Testament, which presents both of the words took in this verse in the form of the Greek word lambano (using English letters).
Not in my first Greek Grammar (Davis) which gives the meaning of lambano as “take, receive.”
Not in my second Greek Grammar (Dana and Mantey) which also gives the meaning of lambano as “take, receive.” Not in my Strong’s Concordance which gives the meaning of lambano as “take, get hold of, seize, obtain, etc.”
Not in my Young’s Concordance, which gives the meaning of lambano as “accept, attain, have, hold, obtain, receive, take, take upon oneself, etc.”
Not in my Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, which says of lambano: “The original etymological meaning is ‘to grasp’ or ‘to seize.’”
Not according to Ellen White, in whose writings we find passages like this:

“The Redeemer of the world might have come attended by ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of angels; but instead of this He clothed His divinity with humanity, made Himself of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, For verily he took not on HIm the nature of angels but He took on Him the seed of Abraham.” Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, December 15, 1957. [All emphasis supplied]

Please examine this statement carefully and notice the three scriptural passages that Ellen White links together. Philippians 2:7: “Made Himself of no reputation, took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made [Romans 8:3] in the likeness of sinful flesh. [Hebrews 2:16] For verily He took on Him the seed of Abraham.”

We direct your attention to this because the Review editor labors strenuously (forty-four lines in article three) to convince us that these three scriptural passages cannot be properly associated together. His disagreement with the Spirit of Prophecy here is total and complete. The disagreement is lent added emphasis by Ellen White’s other usages of Romans 8:3. “God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”

In her twenty-eight usages of Paul’s expression, “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” we find fifteen equivalencies in which she equates “likeness of sinful flesh” with expressions of her own. These expressions include “our nature” four times; “human nature” three times; “nature of man” twice; “in all things (points) like His brethren” three times. Her emphasis in all of these passages using the words “in the likeness of sinful flesh” is on similarity, not dissimilarity.

Next, we observe six non-equivalencies in which the emphasis is on contrast rather than similarity. In these statements we read that the “likeness of sinful flesh” made Him different from the angels (three times) and different from the unfallen Adam (twice). Then there is an interesting passage in which she contrasts “flesh” with “sinful flesh”:

“He took our infirmities. He was not only made flesh, but He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh.” Letter 106, 1896

Finally, among these twenty-eight usages of Paul’s words “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” we find two extremely powerful inclusive equivalencies in which Paul’s words are equated with more than one of her own expressions. In the Signs of the Times, February 20, 1893, Ellen White wrote:

“He was to take upon Himself our nature …He had taken upon Himself the nature of man…made in the likeness of sinful flesh…one with the fallen race.”

Notice carefully the inclusive equivalencies: Our nature equals human nature equals likeness of sinful flesh equals one with the fallen race. Surely these statements should remove all doubt and satisfy all questions as to what Ellen White intended us to understand from her usage of Paul’s words, “in the likeness of sinful flesh.”

At this point, someone is likely to say, “But I was taught that Ellen White’s role was strictly pastoral, that she was not a theologian and that she has no authority in doctrinal matters. I was taught that she only approved of the various points of our faith after they had been studied out by others.”

Many of us were taught that. It took me a while to discover that there was not a word of truth in that teaching. Space does not permit us to deal fully with the problem in this article. We will address it later. Meanwhile, we may gain an impression of the monstrous misrepresentation which characterizes that teaching by comparing Selected Messages, bk. 1, 206, 207, with L.E. Froom’s Movement of Destiny, 110.

THE USE OF SPIRIT OF PROPHECY EVIDENCE

In an unpraiseworthy attempt to make it appear that Ellen White’s writings are “apparently contradictory” and that “In Ellen White’s writing we seem to find two opposing lines of thought,” the Review editor sets forth this quotation in his fourth article:

“He vanquished Satan in the same nature over which in Eden Satan obtained the victory.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 924

Taken by itself, this sentence could mean either that Christ overcame in human nature as contrasted with divine nature, which He never used to deliver Himself from temptation, or in unfallen human nature as contrasted with fallen human nature. But notice what happens when we read the sentence in its context as it appeared in the original source, The Youth’s Instructor, April 25, 1901:

“When Christ bowed His head and died, He bore the pillars of Satan’s kingdom with Him to the earth. He vanquished Satan in the same nature over which in Eden Satan obtained the victory. The enemy was overcome by Christ in His human nature. The power of the Saviour’s Godhead was hidden. He overcame in human nature, relying upon God for power. This is the privilege of all. In proportion to our faith will be our victory.” The Youth’s Instructor, April 25, 1901

Surely it is apparent that Ellen White is here contrasting human nature with divine nature, rather than contrasting two different aspects of human nature. It would be useless to argue that to overcome in the nature of the unfallen Adam is the privilege of all.

It is certainly not my privilege to meet the enemy of my soul in the unfallen nature of Adam. Is it yours? Or do we not all have to face Satan in our fallen human natures and learn that “in proportion to our faith will be our victory”?

Confronted with such a glaring abuse of evidence as this, some readers will no doubt feel that the discussion need proceed no further. But in order to be systematic, we will consider the Review editor’s other uses of Ellen White’s writings in which, unfortunately there is no noticeable improvement.

THE BAKER LETTER

The two longest Spirit of Prophecy quotations used by the Review editor in articles one and four are credited to the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1128.

The original source is a lengthy personal letter that Ellen White, who was in Australia, wrote to an apparently discouraged young minister in Tasmania, Elder W.L.H. Baker. The Review editor introduces his excerpts from this letter with the words, “Ellen White cautions us.”

Actually, this was not a general message addressed to us. It was a personal and private letter directed to an individual minister who had a particular problem which we do not have. What was his problem? We may learn about it by observing that in her letter Ellen White told Baker ten times that Christ never sinned.

She also warned him against spending too much time reading the writings of the church fathers and against presenting Christ to the people as one “altogether human, such an one as ourselves.”

There were some church fathers who advocated a doctrine of the Incarnation called Adoptionism. This was a concept that Christ, though perhaps born of a virgin, was not born as the Son of God but was altogether human, such an one as ourselves. At the climax of His spiritual progress, He was adopted to be the Son of God. Before His adoption He could have sinned, and most probably did, according to this teaching. We discuss the Baker letter in detail in our book The Word Was Made Flesh.

Here we will simply point out the problems:

The letter was written in 1895-96, a two year period in which more than 250 public statements that Christ had come to earth in the human nature of fallen man had been made by our church leaders. Nineteen of these statements had been published by Ellen White herself, and she had written strong approval of some statements made by others. Why would she then rebuke Baker for believing the same things? She rather rebuked him for carrying the idea too far and losing sight of the fact that Jesus never sinned.

Ellen White appealed in Testimonies, vol. 5, 696, that if we wanted to know what she believed, we should read her published works. Although she lived and published profusely for twenty years after writing the Baker letter, she never published it. It remained in her files sixty-two years until in 1957 the writers of Questions on Doctrine used it to offset Ellen White’s 400 statements that Christ came to earth in the human nature of fallen man!

The Baker letter contains no statement that Christ came to earth in the human nature of the unfallen Adam, but it contains statements that are interpreted to mean that. Then these interpretations are set forth as evidence that Ellen White contradicted herself.

“Altogether human” and “Divine-Human” are opposite poles in meaning. There could be no divine nature in a Christ who is “altogether human, such an one as ourselves.”

THE SECOND ADAM

Ellen White referred to Christ as “the second Adam” quite frequently. Need we be uncertain as to what she meant by this?

No, indeed. In 1874 she wrote four articles in the Review and Herald in which she presented a detailed comparison of the temptations of Christ with the temptations of Adam and referred to Christ as “the second Adam.” (See Review and Herald, 1874, issues of February 24, March3, July 28 and August 4.) From these articles we glean the following lines:

“Through His humiliation and poverty Christ would identify Himself with the weaknesses of the fallen race….The great work of redemption could be carried out only by the Redeemer taking the place of fallen Adam….The King of Glory proposed to humble Himself to fallen humanity! He would place His feet in Adam’s steps. He would take man’s fallen nature.”

“The Son of God humbled Himself and took man’s nature after the race had wandered four thousand years from Eden….In behalf of the race, with the weaknesses of fallen man upon Him….”

“The humanity of Christ reached to the very depths of human wretchedness, and identified itself with the weaknesses and necessities of fallen man.”

We remind the reader that it is within this immediate context that Ellen White refers to Christ as the second Adam. And of course, all of this is within the larger context of her 400 statements that witness to the same truth. Against this background we must evaluate the Review editor’s argument that by referring to Christ as the second Adam, she was indicating that He came in the human nature of the unfallen Adam, something she absolutely never says.

This is another example of how Calvinism places an alien interpretation of Ellen White’s words. Then this interpretation is set forth as an evidence that she makes apparently contradictory statements and that her writings contain two opposing lines of thought. The disagreements are not between Ellen White and herself. They are between Ellen White and her Calvinistic interpreters.

Against this background, we must evaluate the Review editor’s use of Ellen White references to the unfathomable mystery of the Incarnation as an indication that we cannot be sure what human nature Christ came in. Her 400 statements that He came to earth in the human nature of fallen man would permit no such conclusion.

The Review editor, having set forth alien interpretations of certain Ellen White statements as evidence that she spoke on both sides of the issue, then adds, “We could list many more statements in support of each side” (article four).

Here he greatly overreaches himself. We have no choice but to firmly challenge this statement and advise our readers that the Review editor can do no such thing. May I here present a quotation from page 273-274 of our research volume, The Word Was Made Flesh:

“Untold numbers of Seventh-day Adventists just cannot believe that a mistake was made by the authors of Questions on Doctrine, et. al., and they feel confident that somewhere there must be a statement by Ellen White that Christ came to earth in the human nature of the unfallen Adam.

“Very well. I hereby offer a reward of $1,000.00 to the first person who will find that quotation and deliver it to me.”

This offer was kept open for a period of one year after the book was published. Though thousands of gift copies were sent at considerable expense to our church leaders and theologians, there was not a single response from any of them to my offer. If the Review editor knew of many such statements, why did he not accept the challenge and claim this reward? The question could have been settled seven years ago! Is it now becoming clear why the Calvinists have tried to avoid theological discussions? Perhaps the reasons will appear even more clearly as we consider the Review editor’s methodology.

PROBLEMS OF METHODOLOGY

The Review editor ascribes to himself a somewhat neutral position, affirming that it is not his purpose “to try to prove that one side is ‘right and the other ‘wrong.’” But by the end of the series, he has clearly aligned himself with the Calvinistic doctrines and has employed a methodology which we cannot accept.

Perjorative terms. In contrast to those who hold the Calvinistic view of the nature of Christ, those who hold to the historic SDA view are characterized by these words and phrases:

Have made it a matter of controversy
A more insistent group
The most vocal advocates
The outspoken proponents
They feel so angry with church leaders
The most vociferous advocates
They force a sinful nature on Christ
They are possibly driven by pride and legalism
Wanting to contribute to their own salvation

Space limitations preclude a point by point refutation of these personal thrusts, but we will here state that they are all inaccurate, prejudicial and inflammatory. They are yet another demonstration of the time-tested principle of discussion seen so often in Calvinistic writings called the argument ad hominem (against the man), that those who have evidence will present their evidence, while those who do not have evidence will attack the man. Thus, personal thrusts of this kind should be recognized as indications of the poverty of a cause.

INCORRECT ACCUSATIONS

Twice the Review editor indicates that we who are clinging to the historical SDA position regarding the human nature of Christ are accusing those who disagree with us on this point to be guilty of apostasy. I have not yet met or heard of a person who assumes any such attitude. Those historic Adventists with whom I am acquainted are convinced that persons who hold a wrong doctrine of Christ are very likely to continue in a wrong direction, embracing false doctrines of justification, sanctification, original sin, the sanctuary, and the Spirit of Prophecy. They point to present conditions in the church which strongly support this opinion, but they do not apply the term apostasy to the opposing view on the nature of Christ in itself.

Neither do the historic Adventists believe that Christ was just like us or exactly like us, as the Review editor alleges. The editor creates confusion by skipping back and forth between references to Christ and references to the human nature of Christ. Historic Adventists have never proposed that Christ, who has a Divine-Human nature, is like ourselves, who have only human natures. Actually they have not even proposed that the human nature of Christ is just or exactly like ours. They rather follow the Scriptures, the Spirit of Prophecy, and not a few eminent scholars who say that His human nature was like ours in all points except sin.

The historic SDA’s have never proposed or even hinted that the church should return to the Arian view of Christ (that He was a created being) once held by a few of our pioneers. The question of the human nature of Christ has no relation whatever to Arianism. To state or imply that our use of the word historic commits us to Arianism is about as logical as to insist that it commits us to observing the Sunday Sabbath, as all of our pioneers did before they learned about the true Sabbath.

The Calvinists first tried to fasten on us the term traditional Adventists, knowing full well how offensive the idea of following tradition is to most Adventist people. When we defeated their purpose by identifying ourselves as “historic Adventists,” they then shifted to the new “guilty by association” tactic of trying to identify us with Arianism. Guilt by association is a weak argument at best, but when the implied association is without any basis in fact, guilt by association is no argument at all.

QUESIONS AND ANSWERS

In his fourth article, the Review editor poses a question:

Did Ellen White favor the prelapsarian or the postlapsarian view?”

We might expect that a reference to the fact that she wrote 400 statements supporting the postlapsarian view, and not a single statement supporting the prelapsarian view (remember the $1,000.00 offer?) would provide a satisfactory answer to this question. But instead of this, the editor answers an altogether different question, which has not been asked. Here is his answer: “In her thousands of comments about Jesus’ humanity, she nowhere calls this matter one of the pillars of the Adventist faith.”

We observe:

This provides no answer whatever to the question that was posted. It is an adroit sidestep.

While it is true that Ellen White does not describe the humanity of Jesus as a pillar of our faith, it is equally true that she did not so describe His virgin birth, His incarnation, His resurrection or His second coming. Are we to conclude that these truths are therefore so insignificant and unimportant that divisions of thought regarding them should not be a matter of concern? Suppose some of our members openly denied any or all of these truths. Would we yet consider them faithful Seventh-day Adventists?

If Ellen White’s 400 statements that Christ came in the human nature of fallen man do not satisfy us, what is the real problem? Would we be satisfied with 4,000 or 40,000? Hardly. The problem is not with the evidence. It is with our stubborn, unbelieving hearts. Confronted with a similar problem, Jesus said that some persons would not believe though one rose from the dead. What a horrible condition to be in! May God deliver us!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO US?

To summarize: We have found that the Review editor’s five articles in defense of the Calvinistic doctrine that our Lord came to this earth in the human nature of the unfallen Adam do not bear up well under investigation. The writer has employed rejection of Spirit of Prophecy evidence, accusing Ellen White of contradicting herself, using a Spirit of Prophecy quotation in total violation of its context, withholding Spirit of Prophecy evidence from his readers, and representing a subject about which Ellen White and our pioneers had no doubts at all so if it were so mysterious that we can hardly hope to understand it.

This mystery technique has a long history, from the fall of Lucifer to the present:

“Everything that was simple he [Satan] shrouded in mystery, and by artful perversion cast doubt upon the plainest statements of Jehovah.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 41

“These [Jewish] teachers spoke with uncertainty, interpreting the Scriptures to mean one thing, and then another. This left the people in great confusion.” Review and Herald, March 5, 1901

“The same thing is done today. The Word of God is made to appear mysterious and obscure in order to excuse transgression of His law.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 39

We will find it helpful, when confronted with challenges about mysteries, to distinguish between the what and the how. We can know what Jesus did, in coming from heaven to be born of a virgin and to take the human nature of fallen man. These truths are clearly stated and can easily be understood and embraced. This is not to say that we can explain how He did it, nor is any such explanation necessary. Confusion occurs when we lose sight of the distinction between the what and the how.

When to the above list of grievous problems are added the personal thrusts, the judgment of motives, and the inaccurate accusations, all wrapped in words of praise to Jesus, the picture is depressing indeed. We regret the necessity of placing before our readers such a somber picture of present conditions at the Review.

We regret even more the necessity of pointing out that these Review articles do not differ in any significant degree from the other defenses of this Calvinistic doctrine that have been attempted since its first recommendation to us in the book Questions on Doctrine in 1957.

In our book, The Word Was Made Flesh, a 365 page research report, we have set forth the fully documented evidence which demonstrates conclusively that the statement about the human nature of Christ in QOD is a methodological monstrosity and an historical fraud. And it appeared to establish a pattern that has been followed by most, if not all, of the defenders of Calvinism from 1957, until now.

And in imitation of teachers of error in all ages, leading Calvinistic Adventists have now launched a massive campaign to thrust out of the church those who wish to be true to our historic faith.

We would identify the first major move in that campaign as the publication of the Issues book by the officers of the North American Division. The second move may well be the Review articles that we have just examined. The third appears to be looming up before us in the proposed changes in our church organization, completely contrary to the counsels of the Lord, that will place greater power in the hands of fewer men and will give to conference committees the authority to disfellowship members from local churches! (See Vance Ferrell’s Pilgrims’ Rest, October, 1993.)

Should this alarm us? Not at all. It should cause us to look up and to lift up our heads, for our redemption draweth nigh. But it should alert us to the fact that we are now entering a very dangerous phase of our pilgrimage. We must proceed with our guidebooks—the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy—always close at hand. We cannot afford to place blind confidence in any human being or in any human organization. We must be prepared to stand alone and to suffer for our faith, if necessary.

“We have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Life Sketches, 196

“Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.” Isaiah 26:20

The End

The Fear of God or the Fear of Man

October 25, 2017 by John J. Grosboll

I want us to consider just one word. It is a four letter word and it is spelled F-E-A-R. Fear began in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 3:9, 10) and from that time till the present day, we have lived with it. Fear is one of the strongest emotions we experience, but there is a time coming very soon when there will be no more fear. We read about it in the book of Isaiah. “Thus says your Lord, the LORD and your God, who pleads the cause of His people: ‘See I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shall no longer drink it.’” Isaiah 51:22 NKJV

Fear, like other emotions, can have a good effect or it can have an evil one, causing a person to lose his soul.

Let us briefly consider the good effect of fear. The good effect of fear is the fear of God. The first part of the first angel’s message says, “Fear God and give glory to Him.” We are living in a generation where there is little fear of God, but we should be afraid to disobey Him or to do anything that is in any way displeasing to Him. There is nothing wrong with this kind of fear. Fearing God has to do with reverence, respect and with the realization of His holy character.

There is another kind of fear, however, that is not holy or healthy in its effect. In fact, it is very detrimental and has caused millions of people to lose their soul. This is the type of fear that was experienced by the parents of the man Jesus cured of blindness. We find this story recorded in John 9.

“They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of Him, that He hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.” John 9:13-18

The Pharisees were in a real dilemma. They were determined not to accept the evidence before them, so they called the parents of the man, “And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that He was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.” John 9:19-22

This is a most amazing development. Try to put yourself in the situation of these parents. One of the things that parents watch for in their babies is to see the look of recognition in their child’s face. Imagine how you would feel if you watched day after day and it never took place. As you watched your baby, you realized that he could not see. You took him to the most skillful physician and he told you that there was nothing he could do for him. Can you imagine the heart breaking realization, that your son was blind and would never see?

Now, suppose that this son suddenly received his sight, and someone asks you, “What happened?” Can you imagine yourself saying, “I don’t know,” when you knew very well how he received his sight? These parents knew how their boy received his sight; it was going all over town like a prairie fire, but they were in such bondage to fear that they lied.

The Bible tells us that people who lie are going to hell. The last two chapters of the Bible states this three times. In one place it says no liars will be on the inside of the city, and another time it says that they will all be on the outside and burn up. Another time it says no one will enter into the city who is a liar. God wanted to be sure that no one was mistaken on that point.

These people were in such fear of being put out of the synagogue, that is, disfellowshipped, that they were willing to jeopardize their eternal life. There are many today who listen to and believe the truth in secret because they do not want the people they work with or the people they go to church with to find out about it.

Well, what happens when a person has this fear? Did these people confess Christ? No. Can you be saved if you do not confess Christ? No. Have you ever met a Seventh-day Adventist who was afraid of being disfellowshipped? I want you to see how serious this is. “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise of men more than the praise of God. Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.’” John 12:42-45 NKJV

We are not talking about some phenomenon that just affected a handful of people. There were thousands of people in this situation. Even some of the people who were eventually saved lost a great deal because of their fear. Joseph of Arimathea was one of those people. He was a disciple of Jesus, but nobody knew it because he was afraid of the Jews. See John 19:38. As a result, he never got to associate with Jesus during the time of Jesus’ ministry. During all of the rest of his life, he had to remember that when the Majesty of heaven was here and he could have been with Him just like the rest of the disciples, he missed out because of fear.

Someone says to me, “Oh, in the structure of Adventism, there are people like Joseph of Arimathea, like Nicodemus.” Yes, there are thousands of Seventh-day Adventists in this situation. They are afraid to stand up and do what they know is right because of fear; and if they do not stand up for the truth, they are going to miss out. One of these days the latter rain, the loud cry, is going to come, but God is not going to allow anyone to participate in the latter rain and the loud cry who is afraid to stand up for the truth. God may snatch some of them out of the fire, as Jesus saved the thief on the cross at the eleventh hour, but they are missing out on the grandest opportunity that Adventists have ever had, because we are standing in a position right now, where, if we will stand up for the truth, God will use us to finish His work.

You cannot be saved without being involved in God’s work. If fear is keeping you from being vitally involved in the Lord’s work, you must get over that fear or you will be lost. In Revelation 21:8, there is a list of people who are going to experience the second death. The first to be mentioned are the cowardly. A coward is a person who is full of fear.

The church leaders of Jesus’ time were afraid of the Roman power. “Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, ‘What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.’” John 11:47, 48 NKJV

Is there anybody in Adventism today who is afraid of the Roman power? Yes, there is. They do not even want us to hand out The Great Controversy. They are afraid to tell the truth. While we want to be loving and kind whatever we do, we want to tell the truth. It is not loving to do otherwise. The world is rapidly going to destruction. Can we sit by and watch them be destroyed and say nothing and yet profess that we love them?
What happened to the people in Christ’s time who were afraid of the Roman power? The same people who were afraid of the Roman power were destroyed by it. Do not think that if you decide you are not gong to say anything that you are going to be saved when the trouble comes, because just like the people of Christ’s time, you will be destroyed anyway.

What is the solution to overcoming this universal human emotion that is so powerful and that the devil has used so successfully? The solution is knowing that God is with you. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NKJV

Notice what Jesus said about fear as He was sending his disciples out to preach. “Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:26-33 NKJV

When God is with you, you do not need to be afraid of anything. Our problem is in developing enough faith to believe that. You will never conquer fear unless you have enough faith to believe these Scriptures. Learning to have a perfect faith and trust in God is absolutely essential to our preparation for the times of trouble that the world is entering into today.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17 NKJV. The Word of God is the medium through which faith comes. If you want to have faith, you need to have a Bible memorization program.

The second thing you must do, if you want to have faith, is to have an active prayer life. Jesus said that the kind of faith that moves mountains is not obtained except by prayer and fasting. See Matthew 17:19-21.

We are headed into a time when the whole world is going to be gripped in fear such as they cannot imagine. The Bible says, “Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitants of the earth. And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and foundations of the earth are shaken.” Isaiah 24:17,18 NKJV

One of the other prophets said this fear is like running from a lion and then meeting a bear. Then when you get away from the bear and run into the house and lean on the wall, a serpent bites you. See Amos 5:19. When that time comes, there is going to be no release from that terror for the people of this world. The fear is going to get worse and worse until Jesus comes. Revelation 6 says that every free man, every bondman or slave and all of the captains, the kings, the mighty men, all of them, ran and hid in the rocks and the mountains and asked for the mountains to fall on them. The fear that is going to come on the people of this world is going to become so great that they are going to look up at the mountains and cry, “Please, just bury us alive.”

There is going to be some fear for God’s people, too. “For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.’” Jeremiah 30:5-7 NKJV

The little tests and trials that God allows to come to you and me now are to get us ready for that time. Our troubles do not just spring out of the ground. God has a purpose; He is preparing you for what is coming. One of the wonderful things about being a Christian is that God sees in the future what is going to happen to you, and by the things He allows to come to you now, He is preparing you for what is going to happen in the future. If you postpone giving your life to Christ, He will have less time to get you ready. He will have to put you through a crash course, giving you a lot of trouble in a shorter period of time. As soon as you realize that you are in a position that you can do nothing for yourself, God can start to work in your life.

As I have studied The Great Controversy, I have been impressed that the time of trouble is not going to be as bad for some people as for others. The reason for this is that there will be some people at the beginning of trouble who will have already developed mature faith and have perfect trust in the Lord. There will be others, however, who, even if they do endure the test, will have to learn the lesson of faith under the terrible weight of discouragement.

Have you seen God at work in your life lately? Have you given Him permission to allow you to have some trials so that you can learn to trust Him, or are you just trying to take care of yourself and build so much security that you do not need to depend upon God? As we see God helping us in the little trials and tribulations that we have along the way, our faith grows. This is something serious to think about.

There are many wonderful promises concerning the Christian. We are told that “We can never be placed in a position for which God has not made provision.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 173. Isn’t that exciting? Our Lord is equal to any emergency. If you are called to go through the fiery furnace for Jesus’ sake, He will be with you just as He was with the three Hebrew worthies. We are told that God would send every angel in heaven to the aid of one who trusts Him. Rather than allow him to be overcome. See Testimonies, vol. 7, 17. Christ never forsakes one of his followers in combat. Faith brings us the power of omnipotence.

There is something else that will deliver you from fear. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness [assurance] in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because he first loved us.” 1John 4:15-19 NKJV

If you have had enough of fear and torment in your life and want perfect faith so that you can have the victory over sin in your life, I invite you to fully commit yourself to the Lord just now and to ask Him to work in your life to help you develop true faith in Him. When you have this faith and it is perfected, you will lose all of your fear.

The End

The Birth of the King

October 25, 2017 by Marshall Grosboll

From Wichita, Kansas to Kongsberg, Norway, and around the world, the colorful sights and delightful sounds of Christmas once again pervade the earth. Many Christians observe Christmas as a commemoration of the birth of Lord Jesus in lowly Bethlehem. Though in all probability it is not His birthday, let us use this time of Christian awareness to review the events surrounding that glorious occasion.

“When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son” for whom it was proclaimed that “of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.” He was to sit “upon the throne of David, and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and justice from that time forward, even forever.” “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.” Galatians 4:4; Isaiah 9:7,6

Thus, according to Scripture, when Jesus was “born,” He was to sit upon the “throne of David” and to establish the kingdom in justice and peace. Though the chosen nation should suffer economic chaos, theological apostasy and political corruption, its members were sure it would ultimately recover, for the Messiah would once again bring justice and peace, prosperity and dominion to God’s people.

Was not “the government” to be upon His shoulder”? And does the government not refer to the leaders and authorities of the nation? Thus the people confidently looked to their leaders to proclaim the Messiah King.

While the world of Israel thus looked expectantly toward Jerusalem for the birth announcement of their Saviour and King, a newborn babe lay sleeping on the beaten-down straw, under strips of linen, in a Bethlehem barn. He was a normal-looking infant, born of peasant stock. He was the Messiah, the Creator of the universe. The future of Israel’s prosperity and existence lay huddled beside Him.

Angels, bursting with eagerness to tell the good news, flew from house to house, synagogue to synagogue, throughout the length and breadth of Judea, searching for receptive hearts, to announce the birth of this newborn Son. They searched. Where were the 7,000 faithful of Elijah’s day? Though Elijah had not known their whereabouts, these angels had known every name and address. But now they searched in vain! Yet the people of Israel were zealous Sabbath keepers. They sent their children to the rabbinical schools and daily studied the Scriptures. And most of all, they were of the lineage of Abraham, loyal Jews, as demonstrated by their loyalty to their human leaders.

In one classroom an angel lingers as a scholar lectures his students. “It is nearly time for the Messiah to come,” he says. The angel starts forward with breathtaking joy—has he found a worthy group? He readies to lighten the room and share the good news, but the teacher continues:

“Be aware, however, that the historic beliefs, based upon simple Bible statements, must today be balanced with modern scholasticism. Rabbi Benikel, for example, in his recent dissertation of the linguistic origins of Daniel, which has received the endorsement of Rabbi Honohan, points out several exegetical problems with the theory of the Babylonian origin of Daniel. He asserts that portions of Daniel were written during the early Maccabean period and that the Messiah prophecy was an attempt to strengthen the support of Judas Maccabeus in his resistance to the Antiochan occupation of Judea. The Sanhedrin Council has yet to decide on this theory, but Rabbi Benikel, understandably, has not wanted to submit it to their jurisprudence until he has more support in the council.”

The angel folds his wings and turns to leave. The professor drones on—Rabbi El-Sevens has also shown problems with the year-day theory. This theory, he says, developed as a result of Israel’s disappointment when the Messiah did not come when expected shortly after Cyrus’ decree….But the angel has gone. The rejection of the Messiah had already begun.

Thus it was the “angels came….unseen to Jerusalem, to the appointed expositors of the Sacred Oracles, and the ministers of God’s house….Yet Jerusalem was not preparing to welcome her Redeemer. With amazement the heavenly messengers beheld the indifference of the people whom God had called to communicate to the world the light of sacred truth….They rehearsed their meaningless prayers, and performed the rites of worship to be seen by men, but in their strife for riches and worldly honor they were not prepared for the revelation of the Messiah.” The Desire of Ages, 43, 44

The angel returns from his search to the hayloft headquarters of Bethlehem: “I’ve searched the classrooms of Judea,” he reports. “The teachers are expounding the Scriptures, but they are very proud and degree-oriented. ‘They love…to be called…Rabbi.’ (Matthew 23:6-7) The students’ minds are ‘crowded with material that…[is] worthless’ and they are so busy with their biblical studies that they have no time for ‘quiet hours to spend with God.’ Thus they do ‘not hear His voice speaking to the heart.’ The Desire of Ages, 69. They have elevated human philosophy above simple faith and have ‘set human teaching above God’s word.’ Christ’s Object Lessons, 304. They pray before every class, but there is no real desire for divine enlightenment. I am sad to report that I have not been able to find a single classroom of Judea within which I could give the glad tidings of Jesus’ birth. Even if I had told them, unless it was endorsed by the Sanhedrin and came through the official channels, they would not have believed it.”

“That’s the kind of reports we’re getting from all over,” was the answer from the coordinating angel. “It’s pretty bleak. If we could even find some in individual dwellings with whom we could share the good news, but the angels visiting the homes report that the people have ‘respected the priests and rabbis for their intelligence and apparent piety’ for so long, that ‘in all religious matters they [have] yielded implicit obedience to their authority.’” The Desire of Ages, 611. They have almost made their human leaders infallible.

“We have found two persons, however, named Simeon and Anna, who are ‘just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel’ and filled with the Holy Spirit. See Luke 2:29, 36. Of course, they are so old that few will listen. What’s more, Anna is a prophetess, and you know how the testimony of the Spirit has been received of late. Completely made of none effect by many, I fear.

“Another detachment of angels have found some philosophers in Persia who are sincere seekers for truth. They have the writings of Balaam. Possibly we can reach them through their belief in astrology. Balaam said, ‘A Star shall come out of Jacob’ (Numbers 24:17): Now, if we make a visible star arise over Bethlehem…”

But the commander was interrupted by the entrance of another angel who appears radiant with joy—”I’ve found some who believe!” he announces. “There are some shepherds herding their sheep right outside this very city,” he says, “who are praying and meditating on the Scripture and are expecting the Christ to come!”

“But who will listen to shepherds?” asks one of the angels standing nearby. “They have no degrees, no preaching license, no literary or oratorical skills, no friends in the synagogue, no influence at all—if they preach this gospel it will turn many away!”

“But God is no respecter of persons” responds the angel. “They are worthy and I must tell them.”

“We’re all coming,” responds the commander. “You are the only one who has had success tonight—we’re joining you!”

That night the lowly shepherds became the best and only true theologians of Israel. They did not know four of five variant possibilities of prophetic interpretations; they could not quote rabbinical sources; they did not even know the dictionary definition of exegis, but they knew the truth. True theology is the process of humbly arriving at truth, not the process of proudly elucidating human speculation.

Those who do not understand or believe in God’s holy Sabbath are not theologians. They may be sincere, but they are not theologians. The most common and illiterate person who understands and keeps the Sabbath is a greater theologian than the wisest scholar who is ignorant of such a basic, plain truth of the Bible. Those who do not understand the closing events of earth’s history as delineated in Daniel, the Revelation, and The Great Controversy, are not theologians. Those who do not understand the power of Christ to deliver from sin, of the plain and simple gospel story of who Jesus was—”the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3)—are not theologians Those who have known and rejected God’s voice through the Spirit of Prophecy may be applauded for their great speculative skills, but their wisdom is no greater than was that of the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day—they are not theologians. And if the church, or individuals, permit themselves to be educated by these broken cisterns, they will be deceived and rejected by God as were the Jews in Jesus’ day.

As in Jesus’ day, “There are men among us in responsible positions who hold that the opinions of a few conceited philosophers, so called, are more to be trusted than the truths of the Bible, or the testimonies of the Holy Spirit. Such a faith as that of Paul, Peter, or John is considered old-fashioned and insufferable at the present day….God has shown me that these men are…to prove a scourge to our people. They are wise above what is written. This unbelief of the very truths of God’s Word because human judgment cannot comprehend the mysteries of His work is found…in most of our schools and comes into the lessons of the nurseries.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 79

Few so-called scholars are true theologians, and few theologians are recognized scholars. Jesus said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” Matthew 11:25

As with ancient Israel at Christ’s first coming, so with modern Israel “in the last solemn work” before His Second Coming—”few great men will be engaged.” They “have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent…[and] did not keep pace with the light….God will work a work in our day that but few anticipate. He will raise up and exalt among us those [like the shepherds] who are taught rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the outward training of scientific institutions….God will manifest that He is not dependent on learned, self-important mortals.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 80,82

In Jesus’ day the people had been led to believe that God’s work depended upon the priests and rabbis, as “we have been inclined to think that where there are no faithful ministers there can be no true Christian, but this is not the case. God has promised that where the shepherds are not true He will take charge of the flock Himself. God has never made the flock wholly dependent upon human instrumentalities.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 80

The Jewish people could not fathom the Lord ever forsaking them. Their leaders had emphasized the texts that spoke of their eternal heritage to the exclusion of texts that spoke of the conditions of prosperity. This led to a false sense of security in the system. They forgot that God has not made Himself dependent upon any man, nation or church. Anyone, such as John the Baptist, who said, “God can raise up children to Himself from these stones,” was thought of as a schismatic and separationist. The question they asked both John and Jesus was, “By what authority do you do these things?”—What rabbi, priest, or synagogue has endorsed you?

The rejection of Jesus and the destruction of a nation followed a very simple path: 1) The leaders became political with only an outward appearance of piety in order to retain the people’s confidence and support. 2) The educational system elevated the human above the divine. 3) The people were taught that all questions of administration or policy must be submitted to ecclesiastical authority and that only those under such authority could preach, write or teach. 4) The people were taught that the chosen nation would continue to be blessed, regardless of what it did. 5) The people were led to believe that the work of the Lord consisted totally of the political system than in control of the nation. God was not recognized as the Head of His church as stated in Ephesians 1:22-23. The Lord Himself was obliged to go through the “proper channels” of the church. No one could ever hope to be the Messiah without the Sanhedrin’s recognition.

Following the anointing of Jesus at His baptism, the Father gave proof of Jesus’ Messiahship. But the one proof he was lacking was the official approval of the church—or at least what the people thought was the church.

Of course, Jesus was the church. He was the government. For “where Christ is, even among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, for the presence for the high and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church.” The Upward Look, 315

No human council or organization, either today, in Martin Luther’s day, or in Jesus’ day can either establish or annul a church body by mere human fiat. The true church in Jesus’ day was not the temple in Jerusalem, but the believers that surrounded Jesus. This has constituted the church “in every age.” This is the church that “the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against,” and “is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard.” Acts of the Apostles, 11-12. But to even suggest such a thing in Jesus’ day would have been considered divisive, insubordinate and apostate. Thus the leaders were able to take a whole nation with them to ruin in their rejection of the humble King of Israel. The leaders were too proud, entrenched and educated to follow Jesus or to submit to His authority, and the people cast their lot with the priests.

Witness one of the most dramatic of Jesus’ healings. The man was born blind, the result, supposedly, of a curse from the parents’ or grandparents’ sins. But Jesus made clay, packed it upon his eyes, and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.

The man came seeing and rejoicing. Though he had never seen Jesus, he knew that He was the Messiah, and acknowledged Him so before the priests. The priests knew this man. They knew he had been blind from birth. They had tried to suggest in previous healings of Jesus, that it was by sleight of hand, but they could not deny this miracle. Neither could they accept the One who performed it, for it was done by Jesus, who was not under their authority or jurisdiction. To acknowledge Him would mean to humble themselves. It could possibly lead to the whole moral and economic collapse of their system. Tithes and offerings would probably start flowing to Jesus. Their own authority would be limited. If they should yield their authority here, what would prevent any and every other upstart from beginning his own ministry? What would preserve the “purity of the church? To their way of thinking, the whole prosperity of a nation depended upon their handling of this case in such a way as to deprive Jesus of His glory and yet retain the confidence of the people. It would require the utmost skill in administrative tact and crisis management.

“So they…called the man who was blind, and said to him ‘Give God the glory! We know that this Man [Jesus] is a sinner.’” But the healed man would not relinquish his faith in Jesus. “Then they reviled him and said, ‘You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples.’” John 9:24, 28

As one last attempt to break through the stubborn resistance of the Jews, Jesus raised a man to life who had been dead for four days. The priests knew that they could not refute this miracle. In their hearts they knew that He was divine. But to acknowledge Him now would destroy their whole social, economic and political system. And to their way of thinking, it would therefore destroy God’s church. That, as “faithful stewards,” they could not allow. Thus Caiaphas said, “It is [more] expedient for us that one man should die for the people,….[than] that the whole nation should perish.” John 11:50

Corruption and political maneuvering they could permit; but someone calling for repentance, someone speaking without their authority, they could not tolerate. When the decision came to choose between Barabbas or Christ, they unanimously, save for Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, demanded Barabbas, and the multitudes followed suit.

“At the time of the first advent of Christ to our world, the men who composed the Sanhedrin exercised their authority in controlling men according to their will,” and the people blindly accepted their dominion. Testimonies to Ministers, 301. In their acceptance of human authority they rejected God’s. And thought the true church of Israel never fell, the human machinery that the people thought was the church did.

“The sin of ancient Israel was in disregarding the express will of God and following their own way according to the leadings of unsanctified hearts. Modern Israel are fast following in their footsteps and the displeasure of the Lord is as surely resting upon them.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 94

“The religion of many among us will be the religion of apostate Israel, because they love their own way, and forsake the way of the Lord….I know that a work must be done for the people, or many will not be prepared to receive the light of the angel sent down from heaven to lighten the whole earth with His glory.” Testimonies to Ministers, 468-469

When the earth was lightened with the glory of the angels at Jesus’ first coming, few were ready to receive it—only the humblest were lightened by their glory. Just so, another angel is to lighten the earth before Jesus’ Second Coming. Again, only the humblest will receive His glory. The church purified, is going through. But not everything that purports to be the church today is going to triumph with it. Only the pure and holy are going to triumph. Nothing that in any way bespeaks corruption or political maneuvering will survive.

“The Lord Jesus will always have a chosen people to serve Him. When the Jewish people rejected Christ, the Prince of life, He took from them the kingdom of God and gave it unto the Gentiles. God will continue to work on this principle with every branch of His work. When a church proves unfaithful to the work of the Lord, whatever their position may be, however high and sacred their calling, the Lord can no longer walk with them. Others are then chosen to bear important responsibilities.” The Upward Look, 131

“Let a church become proud and boastful, not depending on God, not exalting His power, and that church will surely be left by the Lord to be brought down to the ground.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 127

Throughout the land it is Christmas time again. Though the origins of Christmas preceded the Christian Era, let us review the meaning of the Bethlehem scene. While all eyes were fastened upon Jerusalem for the official birth announcement of their Saviour and King, a newborn babe lay sleeping on beaten-down straw, under strips of linen, in a Bethlehem barn. While the church went on with its forms and ceremonies and Sabbath rituals, the lowly shepherds were bowing beside His cradle. They were the true theologians of Israel, but none would accept their inspired announcement. There in that cradle of Bethlehem lay the government of Israel. The prosperity of a nation, a church, a people, lay huddled beside Him. Though many rejected Him, God’s true church accepted Him. That church sill lives!

This article by the late Marshall Grosboll was first published in Our Firm Foundation Magazine, December, 1987.

Editor’s Note: The truth on “Who and what is the Church” is clearly presented in this article. We have in the past and continue to teach this same truth that Marshall taught in 1987, which we believe is true to the Word of God.