ISSUES: Adventist Inquisition, Section V

SECTION FIVE: INQUISITION
Chapter XI – How Shall We Relate To The Great Adventist Inquisition?

by Dr. Ralph Larson

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trusted, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? Jeremiah 12: 5.

The Jordan is swelling. The horsemen are here. By their publication of the Issues tract and book, the North American Division leaders, no doubt acting in counsel with General Conference leaders, have clearly announced their intention of seeking out those who have been associating with and supporting “certain private organizations” and dealing with them as a cancer in the body of the church, which must be cut out. This will be the historic Adventist’s reward for persistently calling for loyalty to our historic faith and for insistently raising questions about unauthorized changes in our church’s doctrines.

It will be no small task. The Historic Movement is growing very rapidly in North America and has adherents numbering in the thousands. It also has sympathizers in high places who will come forward like Nicodemus when circumstances require such an action. In overseas divisions, excepting Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe, those who hold to our historic faith are the overwhelming majority. Most of the members in mission fields will be astonished beyond measure when they learn that in North America church members are being disciplined for believing the very doctrines that those in the mission fields have been taught and still hold.

As one considers the magnitude of this Inquisition, the question is likely to occur, Would it not be simpler and easier to just repudiate the unauthorized changes in our doctrines and return to the purity of our faith? But it does not appear that this solution to the problem is even being considered.

This is unfortunate. Such an approach would have brought a positive solution to the problem, rather than a negative solution. Surgery would not be necessary. The dissidents would cease to be dissident and would joyfully give full support to the church administration. Tithes and offerings would flow through the regular channels, and the independent ministries would willingly go out of business because they would no longer be needed.

But we must accept the grim reality. Given the choice between reforming our theology or silencing the voices of those who are calling for reform, the North American Division leaders appear to have chosen the latter course. This is a fateful decision. It will touch off such a “witch- hunt” as has never before been seen in Adventism, although it has been seen before in the history of Christianity.

The early Christians were hounded out of the Jewish synagogues; the Protestants were hounded out of the Catholic church; and the Millerite Adventists were hounded out of the Protestant churches, all for the same reason. All were reacting against apostasy in the church and calling for reform. In each case the church authorities refused to consider reform and chose rather to silence the Reformers’ voices.

The Pharisees had just cut one off from the fold because he had acknowledged that Jesus had wrought a wonderful miracle, and had opened his eyes. . . . They were false shepherds indeed, and sought to scatter the sheep. … in no gentle manner they thrust him out of the synagogue. The sheep was cast out of the fold for being a living witness to the power of Christ. Many have been cast out of the church whose names were registered upon the book of life. Wolves in sheep’s clothing were ready to cast out of the fold and devour one who was entitled to the Lord’s pasture; but Jesus, the True Shepherd, sought him, and gave him a place within the fold.— ST 12- 4- 1893. (This does not mean that Jesus went to Caiphas and got the man’s name back on the roll of the synagogue.)

We seem to be witnessing a demonstration of the principle that those who cannot learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Unless God intervenes in a way not presently foreseeable, many of us are going to be called upon to submit to trial in our various home churches. How shall we meet this situation? Let us consider both the words and the example of our Lord.

We observe first that Jesus did not refuse to stand trial, although He could very easily have resisted arrest or concealed Himself from Judas and the mob. Let us follow His example and not refuse to stand trial. Our testimony there may well bring salvation to someone. Then let us study the records of His trial and the inspired commentary in The Desire of Ages, chapters 75 and 77. (Chapter 76 deals with the sad experience of Judas.) From these chapters we glean lines like these: (Emphasis supplied.)

Of all the throng He alone was calm and serene. Page 704.

He spoke no burning words of retaliation. Page 700.

His calm answer came from a heart sinless, patient, and gentle, that would not be provoked. Page 700.

Patiently Jesus listened to the conflicting testimonies. Page 706.

On His face he [Pilate] saw no sign of guilt, no expression of fear, no boldness or defiance. Page 724.

He stood unmoved by the fury of the waves that beat about Him. Page 726.

Pilate was filled with amazement at the uncomplaining patience of the Saviour. Page 736.

The Son of God had taken upon Himself man’s nature. He must do as man must do in like circumstances. Page 729.

Jesus is our example, and to glorify Him by our conduct when we are placed on trial will be our privilege and our honor. If we are faithful, we will be standing in direct line with those of all ages who have been dealt with unjustly by church authorities, including Jesus Himself. We need have no fear. We know it is all going to end in the triumph of truth over error, of right over wrong, of Christ over Satan.

The End

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The Pen of Inspiration – Controverted Point of Doctrine

We want to understand the time in which we live. We do not half understand it. We do not half take it in. My heart trembles in me when I think of what a foe we have to meet, and how poorly we are prepared to meet him. The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ. How the enemy sought every occasion to take control of the minds of the Jews, and today he is seeking to blind the minds of God’s servants, that they may not be able to discern the precious truth.

Superstition and Error

When Christ came to our world, Satan was on the ground, and disputed every inch of advance in his path from the manger to Calvary. Satan had accused God of requiring self-denial of the angels, when he knew nothing of what it meant himself, and when he would not himself make any self-sacrifice for others. This was the accusation that Satan made against God in heaven; and after the evil one was expelled from heaven, he continually charged the Lord with exacting service which he would not render himself. Christ came to the world to meet these false accusations, and to reveal the Father. We cannot conceive of the humiliation he endured in taking our nature upon himself. Not that in itself it was a disgrace to belong to the human race, but he was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory, and he humbled himself to become a babe and suffer the wants and woes of mortals. He humbled himself not to the highest position, to be a man of riches and power, but though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He took step after step in humiliation. He was driven from city to city; for men would not receive the Light of the world. They were perfectly satisfied with their position.

Christ had given precious gems of truth, but men had bound them up in the rubbish of superstition and error. He had imparted to them the words of life, but they did not live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. He saw that the world could not find the word of God, for it was hidden by the traditions of men. He came to place before the world the relative importance of heaven and earth, and put truth in its own place. Jesus alone could reveal the truth which it was necessary men should know in order that they might obtain salvation. He only could place it in the frame-work of truth, and it was his work to free it from error and to set it before men in its heavenly light.

Light or Darkness

Satan was roused to oppose him, for had he not put forth every effort since the fall to make light appear darkness, and darkness light? As Christ sought to place truth before the people in its proper relation to their salvation, Satan worked through the Jewish leaders, and inspired them with enmity against the Redeemer of the world. They determined to do all in their power to prevent him from making an impression upon the people.

O, how Christ longed, how his heart burned, to open to the priests the greater treasures of the truth! But their minds had been cast in such a mold that it was next to an impossibility to reveal to them the truths relating to his kingdom. The Scriptures had not been read aright. The Jews had been looking for the advent of the Messiah, but they had thought he must come in all the glory that will attend his second appearing. Because he did not come with all the majesty of a king, they utterly refused him. But it was not simply because he did not come in splendor that they refused him. It was because he was the embodiment of purity, and they were impure. He walked the earth a man of spotless integrity. Such a character in the midst of degradation and evil, was out of harmony with their desires, and he was abused and despised. His spotless life flashed light upon the hearts of men, and discovered iniquity to them in its odious character.

The Son of God was assaulted at every step by the powers of darkness. After his baptism he was driven of the Spirit into the wilderness, and suffered temptation for forty days. Letters have been coming in to me, affirming that Christ could not have had the same nature as man, for if he had, he would have fallen under similar temptations. If he did not have man’s nature, he could not be our example. If he was not a partaker of our nature, he could not have been tempted as man has been. If it were not possible for him to yield to temptation, he could not be our helper. It was a solemn reality that Christ came to fight the battles as man, in man’s behalf. His temptation and victory tell us that humanity must copy the Pattern; man must become a partaker of the divine nature.

Divinity and Humanity

In Christ, divinity and humanity were combined. Divinity was not degraded to humanity; divinity held its place, but humanity by being united to divinity, withstood the fiercest test of temptation in the wilderness. The prince of this world came to Christ after his long fast, when he was an hungered, and suggested to him to command the stones to become bread. But the plan of God, devised for the salvation of man, provided that Christ should know hunger, and poverty, and every phase of man’s experience. He withstood the temptation, through the power that man may command. He laid hold on the throne of God, and there is not a man or woman who may not have access to the same help through faith in God. Man may become a partaker of the divine nature; not a soul lives who may not summon the aid of Heaven in temptation and trial. Christ came to reveal the Source of his power, that man might never rely on his unaided human capabilities.

Those who would overcome must put to the tax every power of their being. They must agonize on their knees before God for divine power. Christ came to be our example, and to make known to us that we may be partakers of the divine nature. How?—By having escaped the corruptions that are in the world through lust. Satan did not gain the victory over Christ. He did not put his foot upon the soul of the Redeemer. He did not touch the head though he bruised the heel. Christ, by his own example, made it evident that man may stand in integrity. Men may have a power to resist evil—a power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master; a power that will place them where they may overcome as Christ overcame. Divinity and humanity may be combined in them.

Way of the Lord

It was the work of Christ to present the truth in the frame-work of the gospel, and to reveal the precepts and principles that he had given to fallen man. Every idea he presented was his own. He needed not to borrow thoughts from any, for he was the originator of all truth. He could present the ideas of prophets and philosophers, and preserve his originality; for all wisdom was his; he was the source, the fountain, of all truth. He was in advance of all, and by his teaching he became the spiritual leader for all ages.

It was Christ that spoke through Melchisedec, the priest of the most high God. Melchisedec was not Christ, but he was the voice of God in the world, the representative of the Father. And all through the generations of the past, Christ has spoken; Christ has led his people, and has been the light of the world. When God chose Abraham as a representative of his truth, he took him out of his country, and away from his kindred, and set him apart. He desired to mold him after his own model. He desired to teach him according to his own plan. The mold of the world’s teachers was not to be upon him. He was to be taught how to command his children and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment. This is the work that God would have us do. He would have us understand how to govern our families, how to control our children, how to command our households to keep the way of the Lord.

John was called to do a special work; he was to prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight his paths. The Lord did not send him to the school of the prophets and rabbis. He took him away from the assemblies of men to the desert, that he might learn of nature and nature’s God. God did not desire him to have the mold of the priests and rulers. He was called to do a special work. The Lord gave him his message. Did he go to the priests and rulers and ask if he might proclaim this message?—No, God put him away from them that he might not be influenced by their spirit and teaching. He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” [Isaiah 40:3–5.] This is the very message that must be given to our people; we are near the end of time, and the message is, Clear the King’s highway; gather out the stones; raise up a standard for the people. The people must be awakened. It is no time now to cry peace and safety. We are exhorted to “cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” [Isaiah 58:1.]

Light of Glory

The light of the glory of God shone upon our Representative, and this fact says to us that the glory of God may shine upon us. With his human arm, Jesus encircled the race, and with his divine arm he grasped the throne of the Infinite, connecting man with God, and earth with heaven.

The light of the glory of God must fall upon us. We need the holy unction from on high. However intelligent, however learned a man may be, he is not qualified to teach unless he has a firm hold on the God of Israel. He who is connected with Heaven will do the works of Christ. By faith in God he will have power to move upon humanity. He will seek for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. If divine power does not combine with human effort, I would not give a straw for all that the greatest man could do. The Holy Spirit is wanting in our work. Nothing frightens me more than to see the spirit of variance manifested by our brethren. We are on dangerous ground when we cannot meet together like Christians, and courteously examine controverted points. I feel like fleeing from the place lest I receive the mold of those who cannot candidly investigate the doctrines of the Bible. Those who cannot impartially examine the evidences of a position that differs from theirs, are not fit to teach in any department of God’s cause. What we need is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without this, we are no more fitted to go forth to the world than were the disciples after the crucifixion of their Lord. Jesus knew their destitution, and told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they should be endowed with power from on high. Every teacher must be a learner, that his eyes may be anointed to see the evidences of the advancing truth of God. The beams of the Sun of Righteousness must shine into his own heart if he would impart light to others.

No one is able to explain the Scriptures without the aid of the Holy Spirit. But when you take up the word of God with a humble, teachable heart, the angels of God will be by your side to impress you with evidences of the truth. When the Spirit of God rests upon you, there will be no feeling of envy or jealousy in examining another’s position; there will be no spirit of accusation and criticism, such as Satan inspired in the hearts of the Jewish leaders against Christ. As Christ said to Nicodemus, so I say to you, “Ye must be born again.” “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” [John 3:7, 3.] You must have the divine mold before you can discern the sacred claims of the truth. Unless the teacher is a learner in the school of Christ, he is not fitted to teach others.

Differences Melted Away

We should come into a position where every difference will be melted away. If I think I have light, I shall do my duty in presenting it. Suppose I consulted others concerning the message the Lord would have me give to the people, the door might be closed so that the light might not reach the ones to whom God had sent it. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, “the whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” [Luke 19:37–40.]

The Jews tried to stop the proclamation of the message that had been predicted in the word of God; but prophecy must be fulfilled. The Lord says, “Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” [Malachi 4:5.] Somebody is to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and when he appears, men may say, “You are too earnest, you do not interpret the Scriptures in the proper way. Let me tell you how to teach your message.”

There are many who cannot distinguish between the work of God and that of man. I shall tell the truth as God gives it to me, and I say now, If you continue to find fault, to have a spirit of variance, you will never know the truth. Jesus said to his disciples, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can-not bear them now.” [John 16:12.] They were not in a condition to appreciate sacred and eternal things; but Jesus promised to send the Comforter, who would teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever he had said unto them. Brethren, we must not put our dependence in man. “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” [Isaiah 2:22.] You must hang your helpless souls upon Jesus. It does not become us to drink from the fountain of the valley, when there is a fountain in the mountain. Let us leave the lower streams; let us come to the higher springs. If there is a point of truth that you do not understand, upon which you do not agree, investigate, compare scripture with scripture, sink the shaft of truth down deep into the mine of God’s word. You must lay yourselves and your opinions on the altar of God, put away your preconceived ideas, and let the Spirit of Heaven guide you into all truth.

Fear of Correction

My brother said at one time that he would not hear anything concerning the doctrine we hold, for fear he should be convinced. He would not come to the meetings, or listen to the discourses; but he afterward declared that he saw he was as guilty as if he had heard them. God had given him an opportunity to know the truth, and he would hold him responsible for this opportunity. There are many among us who are prejudiced against the doctrines that are now being discussed. They will not come to hear, they will not calmly investigate, but they put forth their objections in the dark. They are perfectly satisfied with their position. “Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” [Revelation 3:17–19.]

This scripture applies to those who live under the sound of the message, but who will not come to hear it. How do you know but that the Lord is giving fresh evidences of his truth, placing it in a new setting, that the way of the Lord may be prepared? What plans have you been laying that new light may be infused through the ranks of God’s people? What evidence have you that God has not sent light to his children? All self-sufficiency, egotism, and pride of opinion must be put away. We must come to the feet of Jesus, and learn of him who is meek and lowly of heart. Jesus did not teach his disciples as the rabbis taught theirs. Many of the Jews came and listened as Christ revealed the mysteries of salvation, but they came not to learn; they came to criticise, to catch him in some inconsistency, that they might have something with which to prejudice the people. They were content with their knowledge, but the children of God must know the voice of the true Shepherd. Is not this a time when it would be highly proper to fast and pray before God? We are in danger of variance, in danger of taking sides on a controverted point; and should we not seek God in earnestness, with humiliation of soul, that we may know what is truth?

Nathanael heard John as he pointed to the Saviour, and said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” [John 1:29.] Nathanael looked at Jesus, but he was disappointed in the appearance of the world’s Redeemer. Could he who bore the marks of toil and poverty, be the Messiah? Jesus was a worker; he had toiled with humble working-men, and Nathanael went away. But he did not form his opinion decidedly as to what the character of Jesus was. He knelt down under a fig-tree, inquiring of God if indeed this man was the Messiah. While he was there, Philip came and said, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” But the word “Nazareth” again aroused his unbelief, and he said, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” He was full of prejudice, but Philip did not seek to combat his prejudice; he simply said, “Come and see.” When Nathanael came into the presence of Jesus, Jesus said, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” Nathanael was amazed. He said, “Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.” [John 1:45–48.]

Fig Tree Experience

Would it not be well for us to go under the fig-tree to plead with God as to what is truth? Would not the eye of God be upon us as it was upon Nathanael? Nathanael believed on the Lord, and exclaimed, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” [John 1:49–51.]

This is what we shall see if we are connected with God. God wants us to depend upon him, and not upon man. He desires us to have a new heart; he would give us revealings of light from the throne of God. We should wrestle with every difficulty, but when some controverted point is presented, are you to go to man to find out his opinion, and then shape your conclusions from his?—No, go to God. Tell him what you want; take your Bible and search as for hidden treasures.

We do not go deep enough in our search for truth. Every soul who believes present truth will be brought where he will be required to give a reason of the hope that is in him. The people of God will be called upon to stand before kings, princes, rulers, and great men of the earth, and they must know that they do know what is truth. They must be converted men and women. God can teach you more in one moment by his Holy Spirit than you could learn from the great men of the earth. The universe is looking upon the controversy that is going on upon the earth. At an infinite cost, God has provided for every man an opportunity to know that which will make him wise unto salvation. How eagerly do angels look to see who will avail himself of this opportunity! When a message is presented to God’s people, they should not rise up in opposition to it; they should go to the Bible, comparing it with the law and the testimony, and if it does not bear this test, it is not true. God wants our minds to expand. He desires to put his grace upon us. We may have a feast of good things every day; for God can open the whole treasure of heaven to us. We are to be one with Christ as he is one with the Father, and the Father will love us as he loves his Son. We may have the same help that Christ had, we may have strength for every emergency; for God will be our front guard and our rereward. He will shut us in on every side, and when we are brought before rulers, before the authorities of the earth, we need not meditate beforehand of what we shall say. God will teach us in the day of our need. Now may God help us to come to the feet of Jesus and learn of him, before we seek to become teachers of others.

Review and Herald, February 18, 1890.

Romans 7

Two completely opposite interpretations occur within Seventh-day Adventism, today, concerning the seventh chapter of Romans. The difference is a question about what Paul meant when he said: “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” Romans 7:15.

Was that Paul’s actual spiritual experience at the time, when he, as a converted Christian, wrote to the Romans? Or was he illustrating a lesson using an earlier experience in his life, when he had realized the Law’s demands, but was not yet converted and therefore had not received insight into God’s plan of salvation from sin?

Without hesitation we recognize much from the illustration in our own struggle in the Christian life, but is it exactly the same for everyone? Also, what did Paul mean when, later on, he said that we should not feel any obligation or indebtedness to the flesh?

“We are debtors, not to the flesh,” but that we, with the Spirit’s power, shall “mortify the deeds of the body.” Romans 8:12, 13. Naturally, we can fall and then Jesus raises us up again, but that is not what Paul is dealing with here. The question is not so much concerned with Paul’s conversion as it is with whether we believe that God is powerful enough to be able to give us “power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12), and strength to subdue our sinful nature. Did God ask too much of Cain when He said to him that he should “rule over” (Genesis 4:7) his nature? Was it impossible for the woman taken in adultery to, in God’s strength, “go, and sin no more”? (John 8:11.) Also, was Peter able to do the humanly impossible —to walk on the water?

The question is fundamental and serious. If Paul, that giant of God’s servants, were converted in Romans 7:15–25, and yet could not do other than sin, none—not even God—can demand that we stop sinning. It would indirectly be an excuse for us to continue to live in sin, because then it would be impossible to overcome sin and keep the law of God. But that statement is, in fact, Satan’s basic lie since the rebellion in heaven. (See The Desire of Ages, 309.)

This interpretation shall, with the help of parallel texts, attempt to clarify whether Paul described himself as being converted or not, in Romans 7:14–23.

 

Different Methods of Interpretation

 

When God teaches us about important truths, which He does not want us to misunderstand, He repeats the message using different illustrations. The book of Ezekiel, chapters 4, 5, 12, 15, 17, 23 and 24, are striking examples of how He does this. In these chapters, God speaks to the Jews through the prophet, and warns them that because of their backsliding from the faith, and the spread of corruption among both the rulers and people, they will be carried away into captivity to Babylon. At that time, as during all of the history of the Israelites, there were only a few among the people, and even fewer among the leaders, who took any notice of God’s warnings through His prophets.

When it has to do with Righteousness by Faith, and victory over the temptation to transgress the law of God after being born again, God uses the same method of repetition as we find in Paul’s letter to the Romans. However, in spite of the fact that He uses four parables which are unambiguous, some interpret His statements differently, and, as a result, they limit their interpretation to a few texts in the fourth repetition.

To interpret a subject with a limited number of texts, however, is to invite an incorrect interpretation. When others interpret God’s Word in that way, we criticize them. Nevertheless, Romans 7:7–25 is often interpreted with this same “limited-number-of-texts” interpretation procedure within Seventh-day Adventism today. The moral declension in the world and the ecumenical spirit among professed Christians, influence Adventists to an ever-increasing degree, through the introduction of Romish lines of thought into our theology. Aurelius Augustine’s (354–430 A.D.) doctrine of inherited sin has greatly influenced how many Adventists believe, and it is a deciding factor in understanding Romans, chapter 7.

Peter counsels us about how some will use Paul’s writings, in 2 Peter 3:15, 16: “Even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction.” Therefore, each of us should be careful not to draw hasty conclusions about what Paul means. In addition to this, some texts are poorly translated, or even incorrectly translated, depending upon whether the translator had a Romish, or Biblically based viewpoint. However, we must also understand Paul’s letter correctly; and it is true that those who really want to understand will understand, if they will ignore their own and others’ prejudices and interpretations and listen directly to the Holy Spirit’s instruction in the Bible. (James1:5.) God’s Word is given through the Holy Spirit and it never contradicts itself.

 

Paul’s Conversion

 

What was the consequence of Paul’s conversion? Those who claim that he was converted in Romans 7:14–23, believe, in practice, that Paul, who through God’s grace should “[be obedient] to the faith among all nations” (Romans 1:5), could not avoid sinning himself—or, in other words, that nothing had actually happened in his life after he, in Romans 7:25, exclaimed that he had obtained the solution to his sin problem through Jesus Christ.

Is the Holy Spirit’s power which accompanied the preaching of the gospel (1 Thessalonians 5) only a promise for the future, and not in reality something which leads us to liberty and victory over sin in our everyday life here and now? Many today say that it applies to the future when they expect that the “latter rain,” by a miracle, shall so change them that they stop sinning. They also say that now (before the latter rain), no one can escape the transgression of God’s law, and they often refer to Paul’s experience, in the seventh chapter of his letter to the Romans, to support their view.

 

Different Definitions

 

It is obvious that differences of understanding are caused by differences in definitions of what conversion involves. Is one already converted when only one’s will and aim is to do good, or is one first converted when one has received the power to effect a complete change, and go in the opposite direction?

Roman Catholic theology teaches that it is enough to will to do good. This means that God has instituted a law that one cannot live up to. It is acceptable for Catholics to sin. Their ideals, in the first place, are guiding principles that are neither necessary nor possible to live up to. There is only a continual pardon but no victory over sin. But is that the Gospel of the Bible? Is the aim and the will enough? Doesn’t it need something more than that?

 

Examples of Conversions

 

Perhaps the experience of Pentecost, in Acts 2:36–38, can shed some light on the question of conversion. Peter had just preached the Pentecost message of the new covenant and that the Jews had slain their own King, the only true Mediator between God and them. He stressed the fact that God’s sacrificial Lamb was given and that the service of reconciliation in the holy apartment of the heavenly sanctuary had begun.

When the Jews, who had gathered, heard that, “they were pricked in their heart.” They felt that they needed more than their symbolic service in the earthly temple, and they had a will to alter the state of things. But were they converted by the will alone to change? No. Instead, they asked: “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter saw that they were now ready and answered: “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.” Acts 2:38.

In the same way, Paul was “pricked in [his] heart” when he realized the demands of the law. (See Acts 26:14, 22:10, The Acts of the Apostles, 112–122.) He says: “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died.” Romans 7:9. Paul understood that it required more than outer religious formalism. He wanted to follow the demands of the law, but he was powerless to do so. He was “sold as a slave to sin” and was “[captive] to the law of sin.” Romans 7:23. Paul had no alternative! Does that really describe, as some declare, a person’s life after having been changed and set free (Luke 4:18; 33–36) by the grace of God? Is it not so, instead, as Paul describes it here in Romans 7:14–23, an account of how he deals with the demands of the law—without grace?

Paul had the desire, but, realizing the hopeless situation with his carnal nature, exclaimed in despair: “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” The Swedish Bible (1917 edition) has it thus: “Who shall save me from this body of sin?” At this point, he was also ready to receive the power of conversion, finding the answer as did the Jews on the day of Pentecost: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 7:25.

That joyous message was the solution to his problem, “for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth . . .” Romans 1:16. The Gospel is not only about forgiveness; it also concerns the Holy Spirit’s power in us to win the victory over the world, Satan and ourselves. By ourselves, we have no power to oppose our nature and our intelligent fiend, Satan. However, God grants us the power through: “Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” Jude 24.

That power is not a miracle that belongs to the future. It is the same power which Jesus requested of His Father to overcome evil. It is the same power which Enoch (who walked with God) and Elijah (who was taken up to heaven) both received. When Paul found the solution to his problem, he received an alternative to his earlier life. He could choose one or the other. He summarized the two alternatives at the end of the seventh and beginning the eighth chapter of his letter to the Romans.

“So then with the mind [spirit] I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death . . . That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 7:25, 8:1, 2, 4.

 

Four Parallel Confirmations

 

Does the information, up to this point, support what Paul wrote earlier in his letter? A deciding factor is to know why he wrote the letter and to whom he wrote it. It can be established that he wrote partly to highly educated Christians of heathen origin as well as to Jewish Christians who were on intimate terms with “the law” but without grace, and who therefore tried to earn their salvation through “works” alone. Paul wrote: “thou art called a Jew, and restest [v.i. to be left, to remain; to stay; to continue—Webster’s dictionary] in the law . . . Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?” Romans 2:17, 21. (Read verses 17–29.)

The Swedish Bible (1917 edition) renders it thus: “You call yourselves Jews and trust in the law . . . You who want to teach others don’t learn yourselves!” These Jews kept the outward letter of the law, but their hearts did not keep the spirit of the law. Their Christianity was motivated by a fear of punishment, or of desire for an expected reward. The driving force behind their type of Christianity was not love to God for His sacrifice or for that which was right.

The structure of the letter shows that Paul wrote to people who were familiar with the way that the Old Testament conveyed a particular truth; namely that of repetition. Since Paul wrote to people with a knowledge of the Old Testament’s method of description, he has repeated what he says in Romans 7:7; 8:4, about serving either the “flesh” or the “spirit,” not less than three times earlier, from Romans chapter five. The first description he gives is that of the theology of baptism. In the second, he illustrates the principle through the story of the slave who was freed to serve another master. The third is a picture of a woman who, through the law, is bound to her husband until he dies, but after his death she is free to give herself to another man.

 

  1. The Symbol of Baptism

 

Paul begins with the theology of baptism, since baptism is the symbol for the death of Jesus, His burial and resurrection—the fundamental principles of everything else in God’s plan of salvation. As an introduction to his teaching, he talks about Adam who, through his transgression, brought sin and death into the world, but explains that, in Romans 5:18, “the second Adam,” Jesus Christ, had come and solved the problem of sin and death by His righteous life and His substitutionary death. By that means, none were automatically judged to die for eternity. The “second Adam” now offers redemption and power to overcome. Therefore, “as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:21.

The Swedish Bible (1917 edition) renders it thus: “As sin had exercised its domination in and through death, so should now also grace through righteousness exercise its domination to everlasting life and that through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

After this, Paul poses a question to the Romans: “Shall we continue in sin? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Romans 6:1–3. Paul explains here for the Romans that those who have been baptized have died, been buried and have been resurrected and therefore “should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4.

The old man of flesh is buried “that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Romans 6:6, 7.

The grammatical form, used in the above quotations, is continuous. That means that something begins at a point of time and continues to go on now. By way of explanation, one could say: It began to rain yesterday and has continued to rain ever since. (Another text with the continuous form is John 3:16 where it says: “that whosoever believeth [and continues to believe] shall be saved.”)

In the same way, shall the old man be dead, and remain dead. The new, spiritual man shall live and continue to live. Paul exhorts them: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:12–14.

Accordingly, Paul says that a new power has been established which shall have Lordly dominion and press down the former.

 

  1. The Obliging Servant

 

Yet again Paul asks: “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?” Romans 6:15.

This time, Paul illustrates his salvation from sin by using the example of a servant who becomes released from his servitude, and who, of his own free will and with all his heart, chooses, instead, to obey his deliverer. The servant’s relationship to his master was well known in Roman society which was full of servants or slaves taken from the people of those lands which the Romans had conquered. But Israel also had a slave system of its own with a system of regulations governing it. If an Israelite found himself in a debt situation where he could not manage to repay, he could be forced to sell himself as a servant to another Israelite so that he did not need to starve. However, he became free and was released from his debt in the seventh, or “free,” year. A real slave, however, was bound to his master and remained his slave for life, unless a rich or powerful person released him.

The servant, who had been released, Paul spiritually applied to the Christian whom Jesus had redeemed. He exclaimed: “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you . . . for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.” Romans 6:17–19.

Paul says that the Christian is free to serve the good instead of, as earlier, his own fallen nature, when he had no other alternative than to be a slave to the world and Satan.

Next month we will study out the last two illustrations that Paul uses.*

*Charles Axelson passed away in July of 1998.

Charles Axelson has been a faithful Seventh-day Adventist in Sweden for many years. Over 20 years ago Charles was involved in an automobile accident that left him a quadraplegic. Using a stick in his cheek, he was active as a writer and an artist. He had the respect and love of his associates and he is missed by each one. He was looking forward to this article being published in Land Marks magazine. We look forward to seeing Charles again—seeing him jump for joy that he can walk again. Then we will all spend eternity together forever.

 

The 1290 and 1335 Day Prophecies

Editors Note: In recent years there has been a renewed interest in the 1290 and 1335 day prophecies in Daniel 12. This interest is often associated with the setting of time periods when certain end-time events are supposed to occur. Over the last several years, many people have sent books and manuscripts to Steps to Life, which on the basis of the 1290 and 1335 day periods plus a calculation of jubilee periods, have made some very startling predictions. Many of these writers are well-known throughout Adventism. Some have forthrightly stated that Ellen White was wrong, and others claim to believe Ellen White, but still set time, which she always rebuked, and stated that we would never have another message for God’s people based on time. The third angels’ message is the last message of mercy to be given to the world (The third angel’s message includes the first two and the repetition of the second in Revelation 18:1–5) and we have been warned that it is not to be hung on time. Nevertheless, a misunderstanding of the “daily” has been used over and over again in recent years to try to set time from Daniel 12. (See the article “The Cities to be Worked” in Land Marks, July 1995.) Although it would seem nigh unto blasphemy to call the ministration of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary “the daily in rebellion” as the daily is described in Daniel 8:12 (literal translation), this new view of the daily has persisted and is part of the popular timesetting interpretations. (A.T. Jones was at least consistent enough to indicate that Ellen White was wrong in her understanding of the daily when he espoused the new view of it.)

Although we have nothing personally against this host of Adventist time-setters, we must solemnly protest the teaching which has led multitudes of Adventists into time-excitement instead of organizing bands of workers to finish the proclamation of the three angels’ messages.

We have numerous manuscripts and books from well-known Adventist expositors which, partly on the basis of the 1290 and 1335 day prophecies, proclaim that the judgement of the living would begin in 1991 and the culmination of the jubilee would be in the fall of 1994, but we are now past the jewish day of Atonement of 1995. Surely a child could now figure out that these are false interpretations of prophecy and should not be given the slightest credence. Notice the following statements:

“I have been repeatedly urged to accept the different periods of time proclaimed for the Lord to come, but I have ever had one testimony to bear: the Lord will not come at that period, and you are weakening the faith even of Adventists, and fastening the world in their unbelief . . . their oft-repeated message of definite time was exactly what the enemy wanted, and it served his purpose well to unsettle the faith in the first proclamation of time, that was of heavenly origin. The world placed all time proclamation on the same level and called it a delusion, fanaticism, and heresy. Ever since 1844 I have borne my testimony that we were now in a period of time in which we are to take heed to ourselves lest our hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon us unawares. Our position has been one of waiting and watching, with no time proclamation to intervene between the close of the prophetic periods in 1844 and the time of the Lord’s coming.” Manuscript Release, vol. 16, 178.

“I want you to see that it is not in the providence of God that any finite man shall, by any device or reckoning that he may make of figures, or of symbols, or of types, know with any definiteness in regard to the very period of the Lord’s coming.” Manuscript Release, vol. 10, 272. See also Selected Messages, vol. 1, chapter 23.

Another important prophetic period upon which the Advent doctrine is based, is the 1335 days of Daniel 12, with which the 1290 days are so intimately connected. These two periods are introduced to us as follows:

“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” Daniel 12:11–13.

The questions at once arise. Can we tell what the events are, from which these periods are to be dated; and if so, can we tell when they took place? We first inquire. What is the “daily” (sacrifice) and the “abomination that maketh desolate?” It will be noticed that the word, sacrifice, is in italics: denoting that it is a supplied word. The same will be noticed in the other instances of its occurrence in the book of Daniel 11:31 and 8:11-13. Let us briefly refer to this latter chapter. In verse 13 it will be observed that two desolations are brought to view; the daily (desolation,) and the transgression of desolation. This fact is made so plain by J. Litch that we cannot do better than quote his language.

The Daily

“The daily sacrifice is the present reading of the text; but no such thing as sacrifice is found in the original. This is acknowledged on all hands. It is a gloss or construction put upon it by the translators. The true reading is, ‘the daily and the transgression of desolation;’ daily and transgression being connected together by ‘and;’ the daily desolation and the transgression of desolation. They are two desolating powers which were to desolate the Sanctuary and the host.”

From this it is evident that the “daily,” can have no reference to the Jewish worship to which it has been applied by the older and more prevalent opinion; and this is further evident from the consideration that if these periods, taken either literally or figuratively, be dated from any taking away of this worship, they do not bring us to any event whatever worthy of note.

The daily and the abomination then, are two desolating powers which were to oppress the church. Can we ascertain what these powers are? We have only to adopt William Miller’s method of reasoning on this point to arrive at the same conclusion with him. He says “I read on, and could find no other case in which it [the daily] was found but in Daniel. I then [by the aid of a concordance] took those words which stood in connection with it, ‘take away;’ he shall take away the daily; ‘from the time that the daily shall be taken away’ I read on and thought I should find no light on the text. Finally I came to 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, ‘For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way, and then shall the wicked be revealed.’ And when I had come to that text, O how clear and glorious the truth appeared. There it is! That is the daily! Well, now, what does Paul mean by ‘he who now letteth’ or hindereth? By ‘the Man of Sin,’ and the ‘wicked,’ Popery is meant. Well what is it which hinders Popery from being revealed? Why it is Paganism. Well, then, ‘the daily’ must mean Paganism.”

We see from Daniel 8 that it is the little horn, which succeeded the goat, or Grecian empire, that takes away the “daily;” and it is the only power brought to view after the division of Alexander’s kingdom down to the time when the Sanctuary should be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days. This little horn we have in its proper place showed to be Rome taken as a unit, corresponding with the fourth kingdom of Daniel’s other visions. Now it is a fact that a change did take place in the Roman power from Paganism to Papacy. Paganism from the days of the Assyrian kings down to the time of its modification into Popery, had been the daily, or as Professor Whiting renders it, ” the continual” desolation, by which Satan had stood up against the cause of Jehovah. In its priests, its altars, and its sacrifices, it bore resemblance to the Levitical form of Jehovah’s worship; but when the Levitical gave place to the Christian form of worship, Satan, in order to successfully oppose the work, must change also his form of opposition; hence the temples, altars and statues of Paganism are baptized into the blasphemies of Popery.

The Sanctuary of the Daily

But the daily, Paganism, is said in the prophecy, to have a sanctuary, and the place of its sanctuary was to be cast down. That a sanctuary is frequently connected with idolatry and heathenism, as the place of its devotion and worship, is evident from the following scriptures: Isaiah 16:12; Amos 7:9,13, margin; Ezekiel 28:18. Concerning the sanctuary of the daily of Daniel 8, we offer the following from Apollos Hale:

“What can be meant by the ‘sanctuary’ of Paganism? Paganism, and error of every kind, have their sanctuaries, as well as truth. These are the temples or asylums consecrated to their service. Some particular and renowned temple of Paganism may, then, be supposed to be here spoken of. Which of its numerous distinguished temples may it be? One of the most magnificent specimens of classic architecture is called the Pantheon. Its name signifies the ‘temple or asylum of all the gods.’ The place of its location is Rome. The idols of the nations conquered by the Romans were sacredly deposited in some niche or department of this temple, and in many cases became objects of worship by the Romans themselves. Could we find a temple of Paganism that was more strikingly ‘his sanctuary.’ ”

Having now ascertained that the daily is Paganism, and the transgression of desolation, or “the abomination that maketh desolate,” is the Papacy, and that the especial sanctuary of Paganism was the Pantheon, and that the “place” of its location was Rome, we inquire further.

Was Paganism “taken away” by the Roman civil power? The following statement of an important and well-known fact in the history of the church and world, we think answers to the prophecy. It refers to Constantine the first Christian emperor, and says:

“His first act of government was the dispatch of an edict throughout the empire, exhorting his subjects to embrace Christianity.”

The Place of his Sanctuary is Cast Down

Was Rome the city or place of his sanctuary, (the Pantheon,) cast down by the authority of the State? The following extract answers:

“The death of the last rival of Constantine had sealed the peace of the empire. Rome was once more the undisputed queen of nations. But, in that hour of elevation and splendor, she had been raised to the edge of a precipice. Her next step was to be downward and irrecoverable. The change of the government to Constantinople still perplexes the historian. It was an act in direct repugnance to the whole course of the ancient and honorable prejudices of the Roman mind. It was the work of no luxurious Asiatic, devoted to the indulgences of eastern customs and climates, but an iron conqueror, born in the west, and contemptuous, like all Romans, of the habits of the Orientals; it was the work of a keen politician, yet it was impolitic in the most palpable degree. Yet Constantine abandoned Rome, the great citadel and throne of the Caesars, for an obscure corner of Thrace, and expended the remainder of his vigorous and ambitious life in the double toil of raising a colony into the capital of his empire, and degrading the capital into the feeble honors and humiliated strength of a colony.”

This record from the pen of the historian, is too plain to need comment. The place of his sanctuary was cast down, says the prophecy; and after a statement of facts like the above, the most fastidious in prophetic interpretation must be satisfied of its application.

From Paganism to Popery

From the time that the daily shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred five and thirty days. With the facts before us that the daily is Paganism, that the abomination that maketh desolate is the Papacy, that there was a change from the former to the latter in the Roman power, and by the authority of State we have but to inquire further when this took place in a manner to fulfill the prophecy; for if we can ascertain this, we have the starting point from which the prophetic periods in the text before us are to be dated.

Therefore, when did the event referred to in the prophecy take place? Let it be observed, the question is not, when were the saints given into the hands of the Papacy, but when had the change of religion from Paganism to Papacy been so far effected as to make the latter the national religion, and place it in a condition to start upon its career. This, like all other great revolutions, was not the work of a moment. Its incipient workings were manifest long before. Paul said that even in his day the mystery of iniquity, the Man of Sin, the “abomination that maketh desolate,” was already at work. And it is in the light of this scripture that we must understand our Lord’s words in Matthew 24:15, concerning the abomination of desolation, where he makes evident reference to Daniel 9:27. For although Paganism had not given place to the Papacy in the year 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans we do understand that the power which then appeared, modified somewhat in name and form, was the very power that should, as the abomination of desolation, wear out the saints and desolate the church of the Most High.

Up to the time of the conversion of Clovis, king of France, which took place in 496, the French and other nations of western Rome were Pagan; but subsequent to that event the efforts to convert idolaters to Christ were crowned with great success. It is said that the conversion of Clovis gave rise to the custom of addressing the French monarch with the titles of Most Christian Majesty and Eldest Son of the Church. “Between that time and A.D. 508 by alliances, capitulations, and conquests, the Arborici, the Roman garrisons in the west, Britanny, the Burgundians and the Visigoths, were brought into subjection.”

Paganism in the western Roman Empire, though it doubtless retarded the progress of the Christian faith, especially in those nations which were molested, as in the case of England, by the inroads of the barbarous clans, who continued idolaters, henceforth had not the power, if it had the disposition to suppress the Catholic faith, or to hinder the encroachments of the Roman Pontiff. From that time the Papal abomination was triumphant, so far as Paganism was concerned. Its future contests were with the other Christian sects, who were always treated as heretics; and with princes who were always treated as rebels or dividers of the body of Christ. The prominent powers of Europe gave up their attachment to Paganism only to perpetuate its abominations in another form; for Paganism needed only to be baptized to become Christian in the Catholic sense; and when the interests or vengeance of its presiding minister made the demand; their possessions and thrones, perhaps their lives, must be laid on the altar.

In England, Arthur, the first Christian king, founded the Christian worship on the ruins of the Pagan. Rapin, who claims to be more exact in the chronology of events in his history, states that he was elected monarch of Britain in 508. Book 2, 29.

What was the condition of the See of Rome at this time? “Symmachus was Pope from 498 or 9 to 514. His pontificate was distinguished by these remarkable circumstances and events: 1. He ‘left Paganism’ when he entered the ‘church of Rome.’ 2. He found his way to the Papal chair by striving with his competitor even unto blood. 3. By the adulation paid to him as the successor of St. Peter. 4. By the excommunication of the Emperor Anastasius.

“How much,” says Mosheim, “the opinions of some were favorable to the lordly demands of Roman Pontiffs, may be easily imagined from an expression of Ennodius, that infamous and extravagant flatterer of Symmachus, who was a prelate of ambiguous fame. This parasitical panegyrist, among other impertinent assertions maintained that the Pontiff was constituted judge in the place of God, which he filled as the Vicegerent of the Most High.”

A Dying Capital

By the strength secured to the Catholic cause in the West, by these successes, and the agency of the vicars, and other agents of the See of Rome, the Papal party in Constantinople were “placed” in a position to justify open hostilities in behalf of their master at Rome. “In 508 the whirlwind of fanaticism and civil war swept in fire and blood through the streets of the eastern capital.”

Gibbon, under the years 508-514, speaking of the commotions in Constantinople, says “The statues of the emperor were broken, and his person was concealed in a suburb, till, at the end of three days, he dared to implore the mercy of his subjects. [Popery is triumphant.] Without his diadem, and in the posture of a suppliant, Anastasius appeared on the throne of the circus. The Catholics, before his face, rehearsed the genuine Trisagion; they exulted in the offer which he proclaimed by the voice of a herald, of abdicating the purple; they listened to the admonition, that, since all could not reign, they should previously agree in the choice of a sovereign; and they accepted the blood of two unpopular ministers, whom their master, without hesitation, condemned to the lions. These furious but transient seditions were encouraged by the success of Vitalian, who with his army of Huns and Bulgarians, for the most part idolaters, declared himself the champion of the Catholic faith. In this pious rebellion he depopulated Thrace, besieged Constantinople, exterminated sixty-five thousand of his fellow Christians, till he obtained the recall of the bishops, the satisfaction of the Pope, and the establishment of the council of Chalcedon, an orthodox treaty, reluctantly signed by the dying Anastasius, and more faithfully performed by the uncle of Justinian. And such was the event of the first of the religious wars which have been waged in the name, and by the disciples, of the God of Peace.”

With the following extract of Appollos Hale, we close the testimony on this point: ” We now invite our modern Gamaliels to take a position with us in the place of the sanctuary of Paganism (since claimed as the ‘patrimony of St. Peter’) in 508. We look a few years into the past, and the rude Paganism of the northern barbarians is pouring down upon the nominally Christian empire of Western Rome–triumphing everywhere–and its triumphs everywhere distinguished by the most savage cruelty . . . The empire falls and is broken into fragments. One by one the lords and rulers of these fragments, abandon their Paganism and profess the Christian faith. In religion the conquerors are yielding to the conquered. But still Paganism is triumphant. Among its supporters there is one stern and successful conqueror. (Clovis) But soon he also bows before the power of the new faith and becomes its champion. He is still triumphant, but as a hero and conqueror, reaches the zenith at the point we occupy, A.D. 508.

The Final Blow

“In or near the same year, the last important subdivision of the fallen empire is publicly, and by the coronation of its triumphant ‘monarch’ christianized.

“The pontiff for the period on which we stand is recently converted Pagan. The bloody contest which placed him in the chair was decided by the interposition of an Arian king. He is bowed to and saluted as filling ‘the place of God on earth.’ The senate is so far under his power, that, on suspicion that the interests of the See of Rome demand it, they excommunicate the emperor . . . In 508 the mine is sprung beneath the throne of the Eastern Empire. The result of the confusion and strife it occasions is the humiliation of its rightful lord. Now the question is, At what time was Paganism so far suppressed, as to make room for its substitute and successor, the Papal abomination? When was this abomination placed in a position to start on its career of blasphemy and blood? Is there any other date for its being ‘placed’ or ‘set up’ in the room of Paganism, but 508? If the mysterious enchantress has not now brought all her victims within her power, she has taken her position, and some have yielded to the fascination. The others are at length subdued, ‘and kings, and peoples and multitudes, and nations, and tongues,’ are brought under the spell which prepares them, even while ‘drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus,’ to ‘think they are doing God service,’ and to fancy themselves the exclusive favorites of heaven, while becoming an easier and richer prey for the damnation of hell.”

We have the date. The “daily” was taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up in 508. Dating from this point the 1290 days or years terminate in 1798 where, as has already been shown , the civil power was stricken from the Pope by the arm of Buonaparte. The 1335 days bring us 45 full years this side of that event.

But some may say, How is it that you make the periods terminate in the past? Does it not read that Daniel should rest and stand in his lot at the end of the days? Certainly; and we believe it. But what is it for Daniel to stand in his lot? This point will come under consideration when we come to an explanation of the passing of the time, and an examination of the events that did take place at the end of the days. Meanwhile we here cast anchor till another week.

The End

How to Meet a Controverted Point of Doctrine

From every direction we hear of new religious teachings that someone believes to be truth. How we relate to these new teachings has eternal consequences. While we must bring every new idea to the test of the Scriptures, we should never stoop so low as to use ridicule, even if we firmly believe someone to be in error. Ridicule is not from the Spirit of Christ but rather from the spirit of the evil one. “The papal authorities first ridiculed the Reformers, and when this did not quench the spirit of investigation, they placed them behind prison walls, loaded them with chains, and when this did not silence them or make them recant, they finally brought them to the fagot and the sword. We should be very cautious lest we take the first steps in this road that leads to the Inquisition. The truth of God is progressive; it is always onward, going from strength to a greater strength, from light to a greater light. We have every reason to believe that the Lord will send us increased truth, for a great work is yet to be done. In our knowledge of truth, there is first a beginning in our understanding of it, then a progression, then completion; first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear. Much has been lost because our ministers and people have concluded that we have had all the truth essential for us as a people; but such a conclusion is erroneous and in harmony with the deceptions of Satan; for truth will be constantly unfolding.” Signs of the Times, May 26, 1890

We want to keep pace with the advancing light and truth, remembering that we can never stop the continual climb on the pathway to heaven. As we advance, we must not, however, deny past light lest we fall from the path of truth. “Others rashly denied the light behind them and said that it was not God that had led them out so far. The light behind them went out, leaving their feet in perfect darkness, and they stumbled and lost sight of the mark and of Jesus, and fell off the path down into the dark and wicked world below.” Early Writings, 15

One of the first questions that we must carefully consider with every new teaching is: Does it contradict the past truth that has been firmly established in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy? That condition may sound simplistic—but it is absolutely not optional.

Think of some of the new ideas that you have encountered. Are they new light, fanaticism, or a mixture? The first place to look is to the old light. (Old light should not be confused with tradition.) We must look to Jesus. “In Him was life, and the life as the light of men.” He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 1:4; 14:6. But men in His day were so blind that the light shining in their darkness was not understood. (See John 1:5.)

We cannot expect to understand truth if we have darkness in our hearts. This spirit of darkness manifests itself in contentions and debates. “There are many who cannot distinguish between the work of God and that of man. I shall tell the truth as God gives it to me, and I say now, If you continue to find fault, to have a spirit of variance, you will never know the truth. Jesus said to His disciples, ‘I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.’ (John 16:12). They were not in a condition to appreciate sacred and eternal things.” Selected Messages, book 1, 412, 413. [All emphasis supplied] In even stronger language, Ellen White writes, “Nothing frightens me more than to see the spirit of variance manifested by our brethren. We are on dangerous ground when we cannot meet together like Christians, and courteously examine controverted points. I feel like fleeing from the place lest I receive the mold of those who cannot candidly investigate the doctrines of the Bible.” Ibid, 411

The prophet of the Lord felt like fleeing. This is similar to the approach that Jesus adopted when the spirit of variance manifested itself between His disciples and the disciples of John. The story of Jesus departing into Galilee is recorded in John 3:25–4:3. “And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to Him. . . .When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (though Jesus Himself baptized not, but His disciples,) He left Judaea and departed again into Galilee.”

Jealousy—Cause for Dispute

How did this variance first start between John’s disciples and Jesus’ disciples? The Spirit of Prophecy reveals what was going on in the hearts of John’s disciples. “The disciples of John looked with jealousy upon the growing popularity of Jesus. They stood ready to criticize His work, and it was not long before they found occasion. A question arose between them. . . . Soon they were in dispute with Christ’s disciples.” The Desire of Ages, 178

If we have the root problem of jealousy, we are prepared to be in a dispute very soon, because unless jealousy is overcome, we will be standing by ready to criticize. Then be assured that it will not be long before we will find an occasion to criticize, and soon there will be a dispute. Even when the Lord was here on earth with His workers, John’s disciples (John was a godly man) found a reason to criticize Jesus’ work and His workers.

How did John handle these complaints from his disciples? “John had by nature the faults and weaknesses common to humanity, but the touch of divine love had transformed him. He dwelt in an atmosphere uncontaminated with selfishness and ambition, and far above the miasma of jealousy. He manifested no sympathy with the dissatisfaction of his disciples.” Ibid., 179

The way that John the Baptist handled the situation with the jealousy of his disciples towards Jesus and His workers is left on record as a guiding light for us. Satan used John’s disciples to tempt him to have hurt feelings at being set aside. “If he had sympathized with himself, and expressed grief or disappointment at being superseded, he would have sown the seeds of dissension, would have encouraged envy and jealousy, and would seriously have impeded the progress of the gospel.” Ibid.

John did not fall to Satan’s temptation. “The soul of the prophet emptied of self, was filled with the light of the divine.” Ibid, 180. John, on hearing the complaints of his disciples, said, “He must increase, but I must decrease. . . for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.” John 3:30, 34

“So with the followers of Christ. We can receive of heaven’s light only as we are willing to be emptied of self. We cannot discern the character of God, or accept Christ by faith, unless we consent to the bringing into captivity of every thought to the obedience of Christ. To all who do this the Holy Spirit is given without measure. In Christ ‘dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are made full.’ Colossians 2:9, 10, R. V.” Ibid., 181

If we can apply the lessons that are given for our learning, there will be far less variance. “Those who are true to their calling as messengers for God will not seek honor for themselves. Love for self will be swallowed up in love for Christ. No rivalry will mar the precious cause of the gospel. They will recognize that it is their work to proclaim, as did John the Baptist, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ John 1:29. They will lift up Jesus, and with Him humanity will be lifted up.” Ibid., 179, 180

Following Jesus’ Example

While there is a lot to learn from John—we have much to learn from Jesus’ response to the criticism of John’s disciples. Even though John the Baptist was a godly man, Jesus simply withdrew. The two ministries never again worked in the same close proximity. Jesus understood how to apply this truth. “If you continue to find fault, to have a spirit of variance, you will never know the truth.” Selected Messages, book 1, 412. “Never” is an all inclusive word. There was, therefore, no point of John’s and Jesus’ workers to be together since there was contention. There is room for only one—either truth or variance, because they do not co-habitate. There are times when withdrawing as Jesus did is the only way to continue to be able to teach the truth.

Variance and contention come from pride. The wise man said, “Only by pride cometh contention.” Proverbs 13:10. Jealousy is one of the fruits of pride, and it was jealousy that caused this dispute between the workers there in Judea. We need to look at what Jesus did for us, and our pride will be humbled in the dust. “He humbled Himself to become a babe and suffer the wants and woes of mortals. He humbled Himself not to the highest position, to be a man of riches and power, but though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. He took step after step in humiliation. He was driven from city to city; for men would not receive the Light of the world. They were perfectly satisfied with their position.” Selected Messages, book 1, 407

Humility Before Knowledge

Men in Jesus’ day refused to receive the light. They would not let self be humbled so that they could understand truth. They determined not to accept a Messiah that would not come in pomp and pride, free them from the Romans, and give them their riches. They were locked in error, and unless they humbled themselves and accepted Jesus, their city and nation would be destroyed.

“All self-sufficiency, egotism, and pride of opinion must be put away. We must come to the feet of Jesus, and learn of Him who is meek and lowly of heart. Jesus did not teach His disciples as the rabbis taught theirs. Many of the Jews came and listened as Christ revealed the mysteries of salvation, but they came not to learn; they came to criticize, to catch Him in some inconsistency, that they might have something with which to prejudice the people. They were content with their knowledge, but the children of God must know the voice of the True Shepherd. Is not this a time when it would be highly proper to fast and pray before God? We are in danger of variance, in danger of taking sides on a controverted point; and should we not seek God in earnestness, with humiliation of soul, that we may know what is truth?.” Ibid., 414

After our pride has been humbled in the dust and all contention has ceased, there are still some additional steps to be taken to discern between truth and error. Notice: “If there is a point of truth that you do not understand, upon which you do not agree, investigate, compare scripture with scripture, sink the shaft of truth down deep into the mine of God’s Word. You must lay yourselves and your opinions on the altar of God, put away your preconceived ideas, and let the Spirit of Heaven guide you into all truth.” Ibid., 413

“When God’s Word is studied, comprehended, and obeyed, a bright light will be reflected to the world; new truths, received and acted upon, will bind us in strong bonds to Jesus. The Bible, and the Bible alone, is to be our creed, the sole bond of union; all who bow to this Holy Word will be in harmony. Our own views and ideas must not control our efforts. Man is fallible, but God’s Word is infallible. Instead of wrangling with one another, let men exalt the Lord. Let us meet all opposition as did our Master, saying, ‘It is written.’ Let us lift up the banner on which is inscribed, The Bible our rule of faith and discipline.” Ibid., 416

Every cell and fiber of our beings are so contaminated by sin that we do not realize the impossibility of understanding truth without the aid of the Holy Spirit. It was this realization by Jesus of the complete infiltration of sin within the heart of man that caused Jesus His greatest agony on the cross. “It was not bodily anguish that filled Him with horror and despair; it was a sense of the malignity of sin, a knowledge that man had become so familiar with sin that he did not realize its enormity, that it was so deeply rooted in the human heart as to be difficult to eradicate.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 3, 162

During the hour of trial, “even the disciples doubted His [Jesus’] divinity.” Ibid., 158. What a deep hold sin had on their hearts, making them unable to comprehend truth. The thief on the cross did not have the advantage of being with Jesus for over three years as the disciples had, yet he clearly understood the truth of Jesus’ divinity. How could one who was apparently not a theologian actually be one of the greatest theologians of all history?

Experience of a Thief

The thief had earlier in life been convicted of the teachings of Jesus. Instead of following the Saviour, he accepted the priests’ testimony against Jesus. But even the priests could not drown the conviction in his heart, and he plunged into the pleasure of sin to silence his convictions. A bad choice of friends led him deeper and deeper into wickedness until he was arrested for open crime and condemned to die. He was present at the trial of Jesus. As the thief watched the kindness and forbearance of Jesus toward His tormentors, the thief acknowledged in his heart that Jesus was truly the Son of God.

By this first response to God, the door was opened for the Holy Spirit to reveal to him vast tracts of truth. These truths, doubted by even Jesus’ disciples, were believed and even taught by the thief as he hung upon his cross. “As his heart went out to Christ, heavenly illumination flooded his mind. In Jesus, bruised, mocked, and hanging upon the cross, he saw his Redeemer, his only hope, and appealed to Him in humble faith.” Ibid., 157. “The Spirit of God illuminated the mind of this criminal, who took hold of Christ by faith, and, link after link, the chain of evidence that Jesus was the Messiah was joined together, until the suffering victim, in like condemnation with himself, stood forth before him as the Son of God.” Ibid., 158

This man stands in the foreground of systematic theologians. Notice that through the Holy Spirit, the thief pieced truth together “link after link” in the chain of evidence. This is a description of systematic theology in action. To him was granted the exalted privilege of ministering to Christ in His suffering. By him were spoken the most welcome words ever to fall on the ears of Jesus. “Never in His entire ministry were words more grateful to His ears than the utterance of faith from the lips of the dying thief, amid the blasphemy and taunts of the mob.” Ibid., 159

No one can understand truth without the illumination of the Holy Spirit, but He can teach truth to the veriest sinner who bows in humble faith at the foot of the cross. Theology must be experienced to be understood. David says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8

In Conclusion

  1. There is no point in discussing various new ideas unless they agree with the established light.
  2. It is impossible to discern between truth and error if there is any contention present.
  3. If there is contention, sometimes it is better to depart than to continue in close proximity.
  4. We must be humble to understand truth.
  5. We cannot understand truth without the aid of the Holy Spirit.
  6. “Investigate, compare scripture with scripture, sink the shaft of truth down deep into the mine of God’s Word. You must lay yourselves and your opinions on the altar of God, put away your preconceived ideas, and let the Spirit of Heaven guide you into all truth.” Selected Messages, book 1, 413

“God wants us to depend upon Him, and not upon man. He desires us to have a new heart; He would give us revealings of light from the throne of God. We should wrestle with every difficulty, but when some controverted point is presented, are you to go to man to find out his opinion, and then shape your conclusions from his?—No, go to God. Tell Him what you want; take your Bible and search as for hidden treasures.” Ibid., 415
The End