general conference

Watchman, Beware! – Part I

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As we see things of this world coming very rapidly to an end, we must rejoice! That is what Christ told His disciples to do (See Luke 21:28.) Rejoice when you see these things coming to pass because redemption is at hand. However, the things that have been happening are still a surprise to many of us. It never even came to my mind that I was going to be facing what I am facing today. [Editor’s note: Pastor Perez, the Eternal Gospel Church and its directors have been sued by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in November, 1999.]

The more that I read the Federal Judge’s ruling, the less it makes sense. It is just a secular law being applied to a religious group, to a religious institution. I invite each one of you to go to our website when you have a little time, www.eternalgospel.com. There you can see the entire 16 pages of the Judge’s decision protecting the order of the structure church. They have a trademark that they have to protect, and the Judge states that he has to protect that trademark.

I never, brothers and sisters, even dreamed that a Federal Judge from this great nation would come out with a ruling calling God’s people, the worshippers of the Most High, “customers”! And he repeats the word “customers” time after time throughout the document.

Running a Business

So what the General Conference, the structure from Silver Springs, Maryland, had requested of the civil government of this nation was that they be able to protect their business, their customers. I never thought—and I am sure that none of you ever thought—that the General Conference is running a commercial business.

This is a very serious thing! I understand that some of you still feel a need to be part of the structure, because you are trying to help some brethren over there. My heart goes out to you, and I hope you will be able to help some brethren. But if that is not the main purpose for you to still be attending a structure church, brothers and sisters, pray! I am sure the Lord will guide you to be completely separated from that structure.

How do you suppose they are going to go to the Federal government and request that their customers not be stolen away? Back in 1990, 1991, when I heard some of the Seventh-day Adventist pastors accusing me of stealing their members, I took it as a joke. I still take it as a joke; but do you know what? It is a very serious thing.

180 Degree Turn Around

We have come to a point in this nation, where the institution that God called out to give the last message of warning to mankind has been turned 180 degrees, and they are opposing the people who are, by the grace of God, giving this very message to the people. So, it has been shocking to me. It has been like a nightmare.

Is a church a commercial business? I do not think any of the brethren think of it that way. I want you to think, those of you who are still going and will be going next Saturday to your local churches; think of this: your leaders consider you a customer, just as if you were going to MacDonald’s, to Burger King, or to the grocery store.

I do not think you want to be treated like a customer. It is about time, brothers and sisters, that we try, not only with words but also with our actions, to stop this ind of action in our land.

The Judge’s ruling also says that the Plaintiff’s registration covers religious books, magazines, pamphlets, newsletters and more. And then he concluded the list by saying, “Also religious services.”

What does that mean? Do you see, brothers and sisters, the Lord is trying to wake up His people before it is too late. I have a copy of a letter from New Zealand addressed to the President of the United States. This New Zealand brother wrote a letter on my behalf, and I hope that somebody high up in government levels will read it. It says, “The only church in the whole world that has trademarked the name of the church, is the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

Even the Roman Catholic Church has not done that. Right in the county where we live, Palm Beach County, there is an independent Catholic Church and, as far as I know, the Bishop and the Catholic Diocese are not trying to sue them. This Catholic Church calls the pope the antichrist, by the way. I mean, it is like God is trying to speak to us through the stones.

Learning a Hard Lesson

Part of the message, part of the warning that we should be giving to the world, now God is using people of the world to give us a lesson. We received one of the most beautiful letters from Bob Jones University. You know they are not Adventists, they are Baptists. Bob Jones has written a nice letter on our behalf!

I called him, and he said, “As you know, I cannot agree with everything that you are putting in these newspapers, The Earth’s Final Warning. But one thing that I agree with you 100 percent, you are under the Constitution of this nation, and you have the right to express your religious beliefs.” He went on to say, “Who do those people in Silver Springs, Maryland, think they are, trying to stop you from expressing your religious faith?”

I said, “Well, that is the question I have been trying to resolve for quite a long time.” Yet, it is so sad to see so many of our brethren being appeased. Their conscience has been compromised. The General Conference will be making them believe that the Three Angels’ Messages is being preached, because they are doing that Net ‘95, ‘96, ‘99, 2000 program.

Do a little testing, if you do not want to believe me. If some of you sincerely believe that the presentation of these global nets are giving the Three Angels’ Messages to the world, test it out. Ask your pastor, or call your Conference leader, and ask them to put those same messages out on secular television where you live and see what they do.

A Time of Double Standards

Let us not be so naïve, brothers and sisters. We put in our newsletter a copy of a letter from Pastor Doug Bachelor, the same pastor who was preaching on the so-called Net ’98 and ’99 programs. He said he was telling the people in America to pray for the heart of Pastor Perez to be converted, so he would not give so much trouble to the General Conference. He does not even know me! You see, we are living in a time of double standards.

There is a beautiful quote from Mrs. White about how no voice should be stopped in preaching the Three Angels’ Messages (See Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 308.) Yet, look what they are doing! You see, there is a double standard. The same brother out in California, after he wrote that letter, said, “Oh, we have to try to stop this terrible thing that the General Conference is persecuting a little group in Florida.” This same brother! How long are we going to be playing games with our salvation and the salvation of so many people?

The time has come, brothers and sisters, that we have to take seriously the calling which God has given to us. God has called you and me, not only to be part of His kingdom but also to bring souls to His kingdom. Do we understand that? Do we understand that there cannot be a greater commission, a greater appointment by anybody given—even by God—than the commission of being made an instrument of salvation to others?

Luke 21 talks a little bit about the experience that we are going to be facing in these last days. For example, it states in verse 12, “‘But before all these, [Jesus is talking about all the signs that would happen before the Second Coming], they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.’”

Misapplied Scriptures

You know, many of us, when we used to read these verses, especially those of us who have come out of Roman Catholicism, thought that these verses meant people would be fleeing from the Roman Catholic Church. We thought it was the Roman Catholic Church that would go after us. I remember, about twenty years ago, coming out after attending a Roman Catholic Seminary, and coming to this beautiful light. I said, when I came to this message, “In the near future we are going to see the Roman Catholic Church persecuting us and taking us to the court.” To be honest with you, until seven or eight years ago, that was my mentality. All of a sudden we are learning, through experience, that our worst enemies are our own brethren!

I could imagine the Roman Catholic leaders sitting down in their big palace, crossing their arms and laughing at us: “Look at them; we have to deal with these ‘offshoots.’” But my own General Conference brothers have taken care of it for them.

Now they are laughing at each one of us. They say, “Look, we do not have to do it, we have been doing a good job by even trying those churches. They are doing what we are supposed to be doing against those ‘offshoots.’”

And, of course, Luke 21:16 goes on to say, “‘And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.’” So we see in the book of Luke, very clearly, that we would be used for the sake of testifying for Christ; for verse 13 says, “‘And it shall turn to you for a testimony.’” Like Sister White says, that may be the only means that those men and women will have to come across the message. (See The Desire of Ages, 630.)

In the book of Matthew, we see another aspect of these words from Christ that we may not have seen in Luke 21. Look what it says in Matthew 24:10. Jesus is talking about the last days, “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” Why do you suppose many were going to be offended? because of the Three Angels’ Message.

Confronted with Opposition

You know, it is the same principle, the same method that Satan has been using against mankind forever. Every time that God has raised up His people, to give a special truth for a particular generation, a hatred has developed. People get offended and they go against the message and against the messenger. That has happened time after time. Sister White says very clearly that God has a message of present truth for this time. “Who dare refuse to publish it?” The Great Controversy, 609.

Because she knew that it is part of our human makeup to want to be accepted, God created us to live together. Remember that. God created all of us as a family. And it is part of our nature to want to be accepted by everybody. Everybody wants to be popular. Everybody wants to be in accord with the rest of the people. I am sure that is the same way you feel.

Brothers and sisters, very soon, we are going to come to our heavenly place, and then, yes, there will be forever and ever that unity, that one family for the rest of eternity. But while we are here, we are going to be confronted with opposition.

You know, it is not a surprise that in Matthew 24:14 it says He presented us a clear sign for the aid of the preaching of this gospel. “‘And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’”

Look how clearly the book of Mark presents it. Notice how Mark registered that quote: ” “‘And the gospel must first be published among all nations.’” Mark 13:10. We have been told, time after time, that the reason God raised up the Seventh-day Adventist people was to give this message, the last message.

Speak Smooth Things, Brother

On pages 94 and 95 of the book, Counsels to Writers and Editors, we are told that the people of the world will try to induce us to soften our message.

Have they done that? Of course!

For those of you who have not read it, I have a report from the General Conference, which they proudly post on their network. They have announced, how after more than 15 years of meetings between the Catholic Church in Poland and the Adventist Church, they have now come to agreement. The Catholic Church will no longer treat the Adventist Church as a sect or a new religious group. This is declared in a joint statement drawn by the Roman Catholic Church and the Adventist Church. So, again, the structure church has been doing a good job by allowing the infiltration of the Roman Catholics into the church to soften the message.

Oh, let us not preach anything negative about the people, they say. But God tells us to unveil the man of sin. God said to unmask the things of Babylon, but the world says, oh, no, no, do not do it! Do not do it! And Satan’s agents are not only saying do not do it, but they are persecuting the ones who are doing it. Satan has been very successful with the saints.

The world, Mrs. White says, will try to suppress one of our more distinctive features. “They say: ‘why do you in your teaching make the seventh-day Sabbath so prominent? This seems to be always thrust before us; we should harmonize with you if you would not say so much on this point.’” Ibid., 94.

Compromise, Compromise

Do you know what was the very first complaint from the evangelical leaders, Barnhouse and Martin, to the General Conference leaders back in 1956? It is recorded in the book, Letters to the Church, by M. L. Andreason. The very first thing that Martin noticed when he sat down in the office was a book that talked about the mark of the beast, according to Pastor Andreason’s report. He said, How can you be seeking to be accepted into the mainstream churches when you are teaching those things about the mark of the beast?

According to Pastor Andreason, the very next quarter the scheduled Sabbath School Quarterly had an entire chapter dealing with the mark of the beast. Do you know what happened to that chapter? It disappeared from the Sabbath School Quarterly.

For those of you who have not read the book, Letters to the Church, by M. L. Andreason, I recommend that you get the book. It is available from Steps to Life. You will be surprised.

You see, these things have been happening for quite a long time; the thing is, we have been asleep. People have been asleep. Satan has been trying to keep us just conforming. Many of us are conforming ourselves in a selfish manner. I do not even see how he knew a person could pretend to be saved by himself, because God called you and me for His kingdom, and with the same calling, He also called us to disciple others.

Run, Hide, Do Nothing!

Some feel that you can be saved, just by trying to ensure that only you are going to be saved. I have found, especially in the Spanish countries, a little wind of doctrine blowing. Recently, in Puerto Rico, some brethren have been going and hiding in places. Now it is good to be going into the country, but they are going beyond that. They said, “We do not see the need for you to be putting these messages out, because the law is going to be in control of all the message, anyway.”

I looked at one of the leaders, and said, “Who do you suppose God has been calling to get this message out?” God help us to accept this responsibility. We are going to be responsible for those souls, thousands and thousands of souls, who are perishing because of lack of knowledge, and their blood will be on us.

We were recently in Guatemala, and we were hardly able to find people to take care of a little work, because everybody was running and leaving the whole responsibility to finish the work for God.

Betraying a Sacred Trust

It does not matter which means Satan uses to keep the message from going out. He does not care which way he does it. We are not to get worried about that. But we are to be very aware. Look what Mrs. White says, “Shall we for the sake of policy, betray a sacred trust? If the world is in error and delusion, breaking the law of God, is it not our duty to show them their sin and danger? We must proclaim the Third Angel’s Message.” Ibid., 95.

This is not a matter of choice, whether we want it or do not want it. I came from a very strong Roman Catholic background. I have five or six cousins who are Roman Catholic priests. One of them was made a Bishop in the Dominican Republic not too long ago. He recently came to see me. They are still working hard to get me to go back home, so to speak, back into the “house.” They see me as the black sheep of the family.

And my heart is broken, because I know they are being deceived. I know them. They grew up with me, and still they cannot see that they have been, not only deceived, but manipulated by the Roman Catholic Institution. They are now deceiving the whole church; they are being manipulated. It is a heartbreaking experience. The message should be going out. It is so late, brothers and sisters, to be playing with the salvation of so many souls. Their blood will be on our hands.

It Has Nothing to do With the Name

We have been very anxious to go out and preach, even more than ever, because we know that the trial and the lawsuit is not really because of the name, Seventh-day Adventist. We are not deceived. It is because of the work that has been going on. Knowing that, we are trying to go as many places as possible to spread this message, even outside of North America.

There is a need for this message to go out. I just heard a brother from California. Their board has already made a decision to do some of this work out there, too, even though we have already done this several times in California. But California is huge, and I believe that some other people should start doing this, too, so the General Conference will see that it is not only a little “offshoot” people down there in Florida, but it is God’s people, around the world. Some of you told me that you took the Earth’s Final Warning to a local paper, and they refused to print it, even though you offered to pay. You can always bulk mail it to the zip codes. That is what we are doing. Also give it out; pass it out to the people. Very soon that is not going to be accepted, we know that, but sometimes the Lord opens up little opportunities and big opportunities.

Setting the Record Straight

Not too long ago somebody sent me a copy of an article that was in the Cairo, South Carolina, paper. It was almost a half page article entitled, “Thus Shall it Rest.” It says that every minister of the ministerial association officially declares a day of rest. I called the brother who sent this, and I said, “Did anybody in South Carolina answer this article? I know there are a lot of Seventh-day Adventists there.”

They said, “No, everybody has been quiet.”

“You mean not even one letter to the Editor, sent by somebody who is a Seventh-day Adventist?”

“Not as far as we know.”

So I called information, and I asked for the phone number of the newspaper. I had in front of me a copy of the articles of both the evangelical and the Roman Catholic churches. They said that they are trying to introduce the idea, or trying to implement the idea, of Sunday worship—you know, not enforcing, but presenting a day of worship.

“I am a Seventh-day Adventist,” I told the lady who was taking care of me over the phone, “and we believe that that is wrong.”

She said, “Well. . .”

“Will you allow me to write an article and put it in the paper?” I asked.

She said, “Well, let me see what can be done.” After a moment she said, “We can sell you some space.”

I said, “Okay, that is fine. I need you to give me a full-page ad.”

She said, “A full page?”

I said, “Yes, a full page. Not a quarter of a page, a full page.”

“Well, send me the material” she said. Then she wanted to charge me like a business.

I said, “No, we are a church, and we have a non-profit status.” I know, after a while of dealing with them, you have to press hard to get the cheapest rate possible. I always ask, “Do you have a stand-by program?” You know, like you set it aside.

That is what I recommend to you, if you are planning to do this. When you talk to the newspaper, tell them not only to give you the non-profit rate but also what they call Ramen, like a remnant space. If, at the last minute, they cancel an ad, they have your material right there, ready, and they will call you and say, “Okay, we have a page available, now. Do you want to go?”

“Yes!” We do not have a specific date to come out. It can come out any time.

That is the way we have been doing it. And let me tell you, in the Los Angeles Times, we were able to get the price down from $78,000 to only $21,000 by using this method. And the U.S.A. Today ad went from $150,000–$160,000 worldwide, to $52,000. You send them the material, they keep it there; and when they have had some other advertisers cancel, they put in your ad. It works well.

One time we did that with the Miami Herald, and the day the Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, was coming to Miami, there was a cancellation of a full page ad in the Miami Herald, and our Earth’s Final Warning came through right on the same day that she was in Miami! A $5,000 ad, and we got it for $1,600.

Madeline Albright is a very, very strong Roman Catholic lady. But do you not feel that she needs to be confronted with the Three Angels’ Messages, too? Yes, of course.

Then we received a lot of letters. You know, brothers and sisters, for the grace of God 80 percent of the people were requesting more books and materials. The other 20 percent were upset. When I give the 1-800 phone number, whoever calls, it is because they are in need of calling. And whoever sits down and writes a letter is either very angry at the message or is very interested in the message.

To be continued . . .

One Hundredth Anniversary of Apostasy

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April 2003 marks the one hundredth anniversary of one of the most historic General Conference meetings ever held by the Seventh-day Adventists. Some people believe that the reason we are still here in this world is because of mistakes that were made in the 1903 General Conference. Other people believe that the 1903 General Conference paved the way for the very rapid finishing of God’s work in the world.

1901 General Conference

In order to understand what happened in the 1903 General Conference, we must first go back to the 1901 General Conference. We find at this Conference that the problems, which had developed up to that point, had been of long duration, as exhibited in a speech given by Ellen White on April 3, 1901:

“I feel a special interest in the movements and decisions that shall be made at this Conference regarding the things that should have been done years ago, and especially ten years ago, when we were assembled in Conference, and the Spirit and power of God came into our meeting, testifying that God was ready to work for this people if they would come into working order.”

Notice that already in 1901 action was ten years late! We should have come into a working order in 1891, so the Lord could use us as a people to finish His work in 1891, but it is obvious from Mrs. White’s statement that we did not do so. She goes on to talk about how certain leaders brought in elements of unbelief, and she said, concerning this General Conference in 1891, “It [the light God had given] was assented to, but no special change was made to bring about such a condition of things that the power of God could be revealed among his people.”

“Year after year,” she said, “the same acknowledgment was made, but the principles which exalt a people were not woven into the work. God gave them clear light as to what they should do, and what they should not do, but they departed from that light, and it is a marvel to me that we stand in as much prosperity as we do today.” She went on to talk about organization and about God’s Commandments. Concerning God’s Commandments, she said, “They are the wall which is built round his [God’s] people. There is to be no departure from his principles, no bringing in of worldly policy principles. No worldly customs or practices are to be brought in for this people who are to be representatives of Christ to follow. When we keep the commandments of God, we are in touch with God, and he is connected with us.” And then, after she had quoted from the first chapter of 1 Peter, she continued: “We are living in the last time. We are standing as it were on the very borders of the final conflict.” She quotes from 1 Peter again and then says, “Every soul in every Conference in every part of the Lord’s vineyard, has the privilege of knowing the truth. But truth is not truth to those who do not practice it. Truth is only truth to you when you live it in the daily life, showing the world what those people must be who are at last saved. . . .

“Why, I ask you, are men who have not brought self into subjection allowed to stand in important positions of truth and handle sacred things? They have grown to the stature of men, but they have brought with them their childish tendencies. God does not want any such thing. He has made provision for all to have in them the grace of Christ. No others will enter heaven. There has been one rebellion there, and there will not be another. We have been given an opportunity to get rid of every kind of rebellion.”

Then Mrs. White goes on to quote from 1 Peter and make the following comments: ” ‘As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.’ When you leave this meeting and go to your homes, be quick to hear and slow to speak. Keep yourselves under subjection to the Spirit of God. At the last Conference which I attended here, there was gossiping and controversy in every house. If the people had prayed instead of gossiping, if they had talked with God, the condition of things would have been very different.

“Many of you have been educating yourselves to talk with human beings instead of talking with God. You have built up barriers against the principles which should have been carried into every part of the Lord’s vineyard. . . .

“It only takes a word to fire up a man who has not made a practice of talking with God. This spirit is as contagious as the leprosy. One and another catch it, and thus dissension and strife and commotion are brought in. God is not in any of this work. Brethren, before we have finished, we shall know whether or not God is handling this Conference.

“Now, whatever the work done by men in responsible positions, its character will be testified to by its fruits. In the office of publication, the light that God has given me for years is that those in positions of responsibility there are to gather in the youth, to talk to them, to train them for the Lord’s service. Do not indulge a spirit of combativeness. Keep the unsanctified tongues under control. Do not blame and censure. Act just as you would want the overseers to act toward you were you in the position of these young people. . . .

“The men who have woven their own human passions into life and character, who have nurtured self all the way along, are not to think that they are qualified to deal with human minds. God wants every person to begin at home, and there live the Christ-life. . . .

“That these men should stand in a sacred place, to be as the voice of God to the people, as we once believed the General Conference to be,—that is past. What we want now is a reorganization. We want to begin at the foundation, and to build upon a different principle.”

Further down in this speech, she says, “There are those who always take a negative position. This counts nothing toward building up the work.” Then she says later, “We talk of the Holy Ghost; we preach of the Holy Ghost; but we need to understand better what the office of the Holy Ghost is. We need to understand that we must co-operate with God in every sense or God can not co-operate with us. . . .

“According to the light that has been given me—and just how it is to be accomplished I cannot say—greater strength must be brought into the managing force of the Conference. But this will not be done by intrusting responsibilities to men who have had light poured upon them year after year for the last ten or fifteen years, and yet have not heeded the light that God has given them. The word of God is to be our guide. Have you given heed to the Word? The Testimonies are not by any means to take the place of the Word. They are to bring you to that neglected Word, that you may eat the words of Christ, that you may feed upon them.”

She goes on: “The men that have long stood in positions of trust while disregarding the light that God has given, are not to be depended upon. God wants them to be removed. . . . Some have served on committees here and committees there, and have felt free to dictate just what the committee should say and do, claiming that those who did not carry out these ideas were sinning against Christ. When the power of God is manifest in the church and in the management of the various departments of his work, when it is evident that the managers are themselves controlled by the Holy Spirit of God, then it is time to consider that you are safe in accepting what they may say, under God. But you must know that you are guided by the principles of the Word of the living God. The Great General of armies, the Captain of the Lord’s host, is our leader.”

No Kingly Power

Mrs. White talks about the children of Israel desiring to have a king so that they could be like the other nations, and then says, “Now I want to say, God has not put any kingly power in our ranks to control this or that branch of the work. The work has been greatly restricted by the efforts to control it in every line.” She said later in the speech, “The time has come when this people are to be born again. Those that have never been born again, and those that have forgotten that they were purged from their old sins, and can not see afar off, and have practiced their old habits of talking, prejudicing others, hindering the work, and being generally in the way of its advancement, would better be converted. God wants you to be converted, and may he help, that this work may go forward. He is a power for his people when they come into order. There must be a renovation, a reorganization; a power and strength must be brought into the committees that are necessary.”

She goes on to say something very interesting: “Let me tell you that the sick will be healed when you have faith to come to God in the right way,” and she talked about medical missionary work.

At the close of this speech she says, “God help us to restrain our tongues. The voice is a precious talent, and it is to be used to a purpose. It is not lent to you that you may swear; but every one who gives way to an unholy temper might just as well swear. God help us to submit to Jesus Christ, and to have his power right here and now.”

Not in God’s Order

It is evident, from just a casual reading of this speech that Ellen White gave at the 1901 General Conference, that a crisis had been reached in our work. The work of Seventh-day Adventists had become centralized, with a few people in Battle Creek attempting to manage the work all over the world.

A couple of days later, on April 5, 1901, Ellen White said the following at this General Conference: “I am thankful that there is to be a time when the mists will be cleared away. I hope that this time has begun here. We want the mists here to be cleared away. I want to say that from the light given to me by God, there should have been years ago organizations such as are now proposed. When we first met in Conference, it was thought that the General Conference should extend over the whole world. But this is not in God’s order.”

She later on in these remarks gave an illustration of what she was talking about: “While on my journey to Battle Creek, as I have visited different places, I at Los Angeles, asked, Why do you not do this? and Why do you not do that? And the response has been, ‘That is what we want to do, but we must first get the consent of the Board, the members of which are in Oakland.’ But I asked, have you not men here with common sense. If you have not, then by all means transport them. You show great deficiency by having your Board hundreds of miles away. That is not the wisdom of God. There are men right where you are who have minds, who have judgment, who need to exercise their brains, who need to be learning how to do things, how to take up aggressive work, how to annex new territory. They are not to be dependent on a Conference at Battle Creek or a Board at Oakland.”

Later on she says, “The workers in the South are not to depend upon the Conference at Battle Creek. They are to hang their helpless souls on Jesus Christ.”

She said, “We want to understand that there are no gods in our Conference. There are to be no kings here, and no kings in any Conference that is formed. ‘All ye are brethren.’ [Matthew 23:8.]”

Bind Us Together

But she said later that “New conferences must be formed. It was in the order of God that the Union Conference was organized in Australasia. The Lord God of Israel will link us all together. The organizing of new Conferences is not to separate us. It is to bind us together.”

Toward the end of these remarks she said, “No man is to say, ‘I am a god, and you must do as I say.’ From the beginning to the end this is wrong. There is to be an individual work. God says, ‘Let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me.’ [Isaiah 27:5.]

“Remember that God can give wisdom to those who handle his work. It is not necessary to send thousands of miles to Battle Creek for advice, and then have to wait weeks before an answer can be received. Those who are right on the ground are to decide what shall be done. You know what you have to wrestle with, but those who are thousands of miles away do not know.

“It is best for us to put our trust in the God of Israel.”

An Apostolic Organization

Clear back in 1896, Ellen White had written: “It is not wise to choose one man as president of the General Conference.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 342.

In the General Conference Bulletin from 1897 it was voted that: “The presidency of the General Conference Association, the presidency of the Mission Board, and the presidency of the General Conference work in North America, be placed on three different men.”

In other words, in the 1901 plan of reorganization, the leadership was to look to Christ. He was to be the Head of the church, and those human leaders of large conferences and various institutions were to stand as equals under Christ. We were to have an apostolic form of church government.

New Testament church organization does not work until after Pentecost, until a group of people have had an experience of receiving the Holy Spirit. This 1901 reorganization plan could only be put into effect as the church had a Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, this did not occur.

What Might Have Been

On January 5, 1903, Ellen White wrote what she had seen and heard while in vision. A few brief excerpts are given here: “One day at noon I was writing of the work that might have been done at the last General Conference if the men in positions of trust had followed the will and way of God. Those who have had great light have not walked in the light. The meeting was closed, and the break was not made. Men did not humble themselves before the Lord as they should have done, and the Holy Spirit was not imparted.

“I had written thus far when I lost consciousness, and I seemed to be witnessing a scene in Battle Creek.”

She then described the scene, revealed to her, in some detail: “The speaker turned to those who had been praying, and said: ‘We have something to do. We must confess our sins, and humble our hearts before God.’ He made heartbroken confessions and then stepped up to several of the brethren, one after another, and extended his hand, asking forgiveness. Those to whom he spoke sprang to their feet, making confession and asking forgiveness, and they fell upon one another’s necks, weeping. The spirit of confession spread through the entire congregation. It was a Pentecostal season. God’s praises were sung, and far into the night, until nearly morning, the work was carried on. . . .

“No one seemed to be too proud to make heartfelt confession, and those who led in this work were the ones who had influence, but had not before had courage to confess their sins. . . .

“Then I aroused from my unconsciousness, and for a while could not think where I was. My pen was still in my hand. The words were spoken to me: ‘This might have been. All this the Lord was waiting to do for His people. All heaven was waiting to be gracious.’ I thought of where we might have been had thorough work been done at the last General Conference, and agony of disappointment came over me as I realized that what I had witnessed was not a reality.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 104–106.

So we see from the Pen of Inspiration that the reorganization plan in 1901, which required New Testament church organization,—the apostolic plan for church organization, which could only take place through the operation of the Holy Spirit,—did not take place, because we did not have the needed outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which comes only as a result of confession of sins and making things right. Without the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the church drifted back into control by human agencies. Consequently, the church leaders felt that they were losing control and that something would have to be done to bring the work into harmony and control. So plans were made by some church leaders to have another reorganization at the General Conference in 1903.

Let us now review what happened at the General Conference in 1903.

Minority Position

We go directly to a speech made in the afternoon of April 9, 1903, by A. T. Jones. He said, “There has been presented to this Conference for adoption a constitution, when we already have one, and I have not heard a single word as to why the one we have is so altogether defective that we have got to have a new one, and it be so open on its face that everybody shall simply say, Amen, and let it go.”

At this same meeting P. T. Magan made the following comments: “I am conscientiously opposed to the proposed new constitution. I have always felt that the hardest place that any man could be put in in this life is to have to stand conscientiously opposed to what the majority of his brethren believe to be right. . . . The minority report expresses in a word the feelings which actuated the minority in making the report, because we believe that the constitution proposed by the majority of the committee appears to us to be so subversive of the principles of organization given to us at the General Conferences of 1897 and 1901. Those principles were given to us by the Spirit of God. In my judgment, and in the judgment of the minority of the committee, this constitution is absolutely subversive of those principles.

“Further, the proposed new constitution reverses the reformatory steps that were taken, and the principles which were given, and which were adopted as the principles of reorganization, at the General Conferences of 1897 and 1901, and which were incorporated in the constitution of 1901.

Papal Principles

“Now I am not here for a moment,” Magan continued, “to state that the constitution of 1901 is a perfect one. To my mind, in many respects, it is very imperfect. To my mind, in many respects, it is very clumsily drawn. But I have learned this, that all reforms come gradually, and in that constitution, clumsy though you may call it, defective though you may mark it, there are principles of reformation and reorganization for the head of this work which are right; and those principles are absolutely subverted and swept aside in the proposed new constitution.”

Then he says, “I want to say to you that any man who has ever read ‘Neander’s History of the Christian Church,’ Mosheim’s, or any of the other of the great church historians,—any man who has ever read those histories can come to no other conclusion but that the principles which are to be brought in through this proposed constitution, and in the way in which they are brought in, are the same principles, and introduced in precisely the same way, as they were hundreds of years ago when the Papacy was made.” Then he says, “I say that, as far as the head of the thing is concerned, as far as the general administration of things is concerned, though not couched in the same words, though not hedged about with the same identical language, they are precisely the same principles which governed us up to two years ago, and that the moment you vote this constitution, which I do now believe you are ready to do, yet, when you understand this, the moment you vote it you vote yourselves right back where we were two years ago and before it.

“Another point: It is a fact which I do not believe anyone in this house will deny, but that for many years every General Conference that we have come to has been more or less of a crisis over the question of the progress of the General Conference and the General Conference administration. Beginning with the General Conference at Oakland, fifteen or sixteen years ago, whenever it was, and passing through Minneapolis down through one or two Conferences at Battle Creek to the General Conference held at College View, and then to the last General Conference held in Battle Creek, every one we have come up to has involved, to a greater or less extent, a crisis over this question.” Then he says, “The adoption of this [new constitution] means the rejection of the principles of organization given us by the Spirit of God two years ago, and the discussion of each provision of this, and of the major provisions of this will abundantly reveal that that is so, when read in connection with the writings given at that time, and with the discussions of that period.”

Then A. T. Jones added: “I believe, with the minority report, that this proposed constitution is subversive of the principles of organization given to us at the General Conference of 1897 and that of 1901. I believe that it reverses the reformatory steps that were taken, and the principles which were given and adopted as the principles of reorganization of the General Conferences of 1897 and 1901, and are embodied in the present constitution, and this is stated.”

Later on in his speech Jones quoted the following from the Spirit of Prophecy: “Then follow the words ‘These principles are so foreign to God’s principles that God cannot bless those who work upon them. What must be done is to bring in other minds. Those who have been at work in the same channels for years have been discouraged and confused. We cannot entrust to such as these the tremendous responsibilities which are now to be handled.’ [The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 4, 1728.] Two years ago we were called away from following wrong principles that were followed before 1901. The constitution proposed to-day simply carries us back to these wrong principles.”

Spirit of Papacy

At this same meeting, A. T. Jones also made another speech, which contained the following statement: “When we get our organization to that point where it shall be Christian and Scriptural, elders of every church and the members put their faith in God, and call these elders when they are sick, we shall have the presence and the power of God in our organization, and Christ will have a chance to be the Head. So much for the church organization. Then a number of churches of this kind organize themselves into a conference, and that conference is to govern itself, and not the churches. Self-government is in the conference, and self-governing conference committees. But the trouble has been to get them back to this old order of things, that the conference committees wanted to control the churches and everybody in them, and then the General Conference wanted to control the conferences, and everybody in the world. Nothing could be done on the other side of the earth unless they must first write to Battle Creek and get permission of the General Conference committee. You know it went that way. But God called us away from that.”

After some short dialogue with a couple of individuals, A.T. Jones went on with his speech and made the following comments: “Another thing: Brother Magan said something about church history. Please remember that was the first organization of the church. The elders met as equals. One was chosen chairman, and simply making the chairmanship perpetual is what bred the Papacy. That is the historical truth. It is proper to have a presiding officer, proper to have a chairman of the meeting, but when you perpetuate that thing, and that officer begins to claim it as his right, and, if you don’t elect him chairman next time, feels that you have dropped him, and so on, you have the spirit of the Papacy. . . . The making of that chairmanship perpetual is what bred that which is to-day the Papacy.”

Weighed in the Balances

Now we have just reviewed a few brief remarks, given at the 1903 General Conference, which were made by those in the minority position. Of course, the minority never carries the vote, and at the 1903 General Conference the reorganization of 1901 was rejected. A new constitution was set in place, which restored the work, or brought it back, to the same position it was before 1901. This took place in the first several days of April in 1903.

Just a few days after this Conference, on April 21, 1903, Ellen White penned the following words, as she was shown in vision: “Our position in the world is not what it should be. . . .

“In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed. . . .

“One who sees beneath the surface, who reads the hearts of all men, says of those who have had great light: ‘They are not afflicted and astonished because of their moral and spiritual condition.’ ‘Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before Mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.’ ‘God shall send them strong delusion, that they shall believe a lie,’ ‘because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,’ ‘but had pleasure in unrighteous-ness.’ Isaiah 66:3, 4; 2 Thessalonians 2:11, 10, 12.

“The heavenly Teacher inquired: ‘What stronger delusion can beguile the mind than the pretense that you are building on the right foundation and that God accepts your works, when in reality you are working out many things according to worldly policy and are sinning against Jehovah? Oh, it is a great deception, a fascinating delusion, that takes possession of minds when men who have once known the truth, mistake the form of godliness for the spirit and power thereof; when they suppose that they are rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, while in reality they are in need of everything.’ . . .

“Unless there is thorough repentance, unless men humble their hearts by confession and receive the truth as it is in Jesus, they will never enter heaven. When purification shall take place in our ranks, we shall no longer rest at ease, boasting of being rich and increased with goods, in need of nothing.

“Who can truthfully say: ‘Our gold is tried in the fire, our garments are unspotted by the world’? [See Revelation 3:18.] I saw our Instructor pointing to the garments of so-called righteousness. Stripping them off, He laid bare the defilement beneath. Then He said to me: ‘Can you not see how they have pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? “How is the faithful city become an harlot!” [Isaiah 1:21.] My Father’s house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed! For this cause there is weakness, and strength is lacking.’

“Unless the church, which is now being leavened with her own backsliding, shall repent and be converted, she will eat of the fruit of her own doing, until she shall abhor herself.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 247–250.

Conclusion

In 1903, we backslid; we went not forward but backward, back to the old ways that the Lord had told us we were to come out from. We went back to a form of church organization very similar to that form of church organization that eventually resulted in the Papacy. Several of our leading men, those in the minority committee who made the minority report, recognized this very thing, as has been documented in this article.

We are now at the one hundredth anniversary of this great apostasy where the Seventh-day Adventist Church went back into an apostate form of church government directly contrary to the counsels of the Spirit of Prophecy. A form of church government which eventually led in the past to that which we call today the Papacy.

How shall we relate to these things? Some people say if we would go back to the form of church organization that we had in 1901, then the Lord could finish the work very quickly. We will address some of these issues in future articles.

Editors Note: Unless otherwise cited, all references are taken from The General Conference Bulletin, Leaves of Autumn Books, Inc., Payson, AZ.

Pastor Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life Ministry and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas.

Prophecies on God’s Church in the End Time, Part I

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As we read the Three Angels’ Messages, we see that they are for all people, for every nation in the world. What is important for Germany is important for America also, and for all the other countries of the world. Therefore, I want to present the issues we are facing in Germany today, and you need to decide if you have the same problems in your part of the world too.

The end time is marked with a terrible situation, as has never before been. God has given specific guidance for His people during this time through the Spirit of Prophecy. We need to look very closely at it, and study the statements God gave for the time of Ellen White, herself, and the statements that apply specifically for us in our time. In this study, we must be very careful to use all of her statements in the place and time she made them. She made statements that had not such a significant meaning as for our time. In our time, these statements have a much deeper meaning and importance. She wrote, “Every jot and tittle is essential and must appear at an opportune time.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 57.

Jesus had much to tell His disciples, and He said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” John 16:12. So it is with the Advent people. Ellen White had many things to tell us, and we need to find out what she had for us personally, in a special sense, as a people of the end time. We need to understand the visions she had, such as the one when she saw the Adventist people traveling on a small path to the heavenly Jerusalem, as recorded in Early Writings, 14–16:

“While I was praying at the family altar, the Holy Ghost fell upon me, and I seemed to be rising higher and higher, far above the dark world. I turned to look for the Advent people in the world, but could not find them, when a voice said to me, ‘Look again, and look a little higher.’ At this I raised my eyes, and saw a straight and narrow path, cast up high above the world. On this path the Advent people were traveling to the city, which was at the farther end of the path. They had a bright light set up behind them at the beginning of the path, which an angel told me was the midnight cry. This light shone all along the path and gave light for their feet so that they might not stumble. If they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them to the city, they were safe. But soon some grew weary, and said the city was a great way off, and they expected to have entered it before. Then Jesus would encourage them by raising His glorious right arm, and from His arm came a light which waved over the Advent band, and they shouted, ‘Alleluia!’ 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. Soon we heard the voice of God like many waters, which gave us the day and hour of Jesus’ coming. The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder and an earthquake. When God spoke the time, He poured upon us the Holy Ghost, and our faces began to light up and shine with the glory of God, as Moses’ did when he came down from Mount Sinai.

“The 144,000 were all sealed and perfectly united. On their foreheads was written, God, New Jerusalem, and a glorious star containing Jesus’ new name. At our happy, holy state the wicked were enraged, and would rush violently up to lay hands on us to thrust us into prison, when we would stretch forth the hand in the name of the Lord, and they would fall helpless to the ground. Then it was that the synagogue of Satan knew that God had loved us who could wash one another’s feet and salute the brethren with a holy kiss, and they worshiped at our feet.

“Soon our eyes were drawn to the east, for a small black cloud had appeared, about half as large as a man’s hand, which we all knew was the sign of the Son of man. We all in solemn silence gazed on the cloud as it drew nearer and became lighter, glorious, and still more glorious, till it was a great white cloud. The bottom appeared like fire; a rainbow was over the cloud, while around it were ten thousand angels, singing a most lovely song; and upon it sat the Son of man. His hair was white and curly and lay on His shoulders; and upon His head were many crowns. His feet had the appearance of fire; in His right hand was a sharp sickle; in His left, a silver trumpet. His eyes were as a flame of fire, which searched His children through and through.”

While Mrs. White did not look upon the Adventists of her time in this vision, she identifies that the Adventists were living right before the coming of Christ. It is true that Ellen White believed she would be among the 144,000, but God had a different plan.

Midnight Cry

A hundred years have passed since this vision when God put words in her mouth to show us what we, in the future, should expect before Christ can come back to receive us. This quotation shows plainly that the people in the end time, just before the coming of Christ, will walk with Him in the light of the Midnight Cry. Do you know what the Midnight Cry is? Do you know that the parallel is the ten virgins? The five foolish virgins expected the Lord to come, just as did the five wise virgins. The difference between the groups is that one group had not enough oil in their lamps. Their lamps went out, and they knew that they could not go to the bridegroom without light.

What is this light? This is the message that God’s people need to give to the world, and this lamp needs to burn until Christ comes. There were people in those days that did not just fall asleep physically, but this group was asleep spiritually. This is a very deadly sleep.

The Midnight Cry is a call to move toward the Lord. Did the Adventists of the first generation need to come out? From where did they come out? From what did they need to come out?

We are also called to come out, but we really do not know what it means to come out. We think it means that we just have to separate from some apostate church. That is an important and necessary step, but that is not all of it. In the future, we will see and experience what it means to come out.

Maybe some of us will say, as Mrs. White wrote, “It could not have been God who led us this far.” What will happen to them? They will fall from the path to the evil and dark world below them.

144,000

The 144,000 are spoken of in this vision. A large group will go away from the 144,000. Do we see this happening today?

The 144,000 will meet the Lord. They will all have been sealed and perfectly united. That does not only mean united in some organization. I am doubtful that it at all refers to an organizational structure. This union refers to a spiritual union.

This little company of 144,000 is described in Early Writings, 88, 89: “I asked the angel if there were none left. He bade me look in an opposite direction, and I saw a little company traveling a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the truth, in bundles, or companies. Said the angel, ‘The third angel is binding, or sealing, them in bundles for the heavenly garner.’ This little company looked careworn, as if they had passed through severe trials and conflicts. And it appeared as if the sun had just risen from behind a cloud and shone upon their countenances, causing them to look triumphant, as if their victories were nearly won.”

Loud Cry

Ellen White wrote that the Loud Cry from the first Adventist generation will be repeated, just as the fall of Babylon will be repeated, in a special sense. “The message of the fall of Babylon, as given by the second angel, is repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the churches since 1844.” Ibid., 277. Ellen White speaks of the total fall of Babylon. In her time, the Catholic Church had been a fallen church already, and the majority of the Protestant churches had been falling. The call came to the faithful children of God, “Come out of her.” This call to the faithful church of God will be repeated in a special sense, even though this call has been given since 1844.

“The glory of God rested upon the patient, waiting saints, and they fearlessly gave the last solemn warning, proclaiming the fall of Babylon and calling upon God’s people to come out of her that they might escape her fearful doom.

“The light that was shed upon the waiting ones penetrated everywhere, and those in the churches who had any light, who had not heard and rejected the three messages, obeyed the call and left the fallen churches. Many had come to years of accountability since these messages had been given, and the light shone upon them, and they were privileged to choose life or death. Some chose life and took their stand with those who were looking for their Lord and keeping all His commandments. The third message was to do its work; all were to be tested upon it, and the precious ones were to be called out from the religious bodies. A compelling power moved the honest, while the manifestation of the power of God brought a fear and restraint upon their unbelieving relatives and friends so that they dared not, neither had they the power to, hinder those who felt the work of the Spirit of God upon them.” Ibid., 277, 278.

Come Out

It had been shown to Mrs. White that when the churches in her day were founded, they were pure, but later on they collected many defilements. To those churches the call of God goes, “Come out of them, my people.”

“Babylon is said to be ‘the mother of harlots.’ By her daughters must be symbolized churches that cling to her doctrines and traditions, and follow her example of sacrificing the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world. The message of Revelation 14, announcing the fall of Babylon must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the judgment, it must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the Roman Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries. Furthermore, in the eighteenth chapter of the Revelation the people of God are called upon to come out of Babylon. According to this scripture, many of God’s people must still be in Babylon. And in what religious bodies are the greater part of the followers of Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing the Protestant faith. At the time of their rise these churches took a noble stand for God and the truth, and His blessing was with them. Even the unbelieving world was constrained to acknowledge the beneficent results that followed an acceptance of the principles of the gospel.” The Great Controversy, 382, 383. [Emphasis in original.]

This call, “Come out of her, My people,” is the same call which the angel from Revelation 18 brings to the world in calling the faithful from the apostate churches to unite them with Himself. This angel is not some heavenly being. Ellen White said that this angel should be you—you and me. We shall give the call, “Come out of her, My people.” (See The Great Controversy, 611; Testimonies, vol. 5, 383.)

Complete Fall

What makes this fall of Babylon complete? “Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6–12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her communion.” The Great Controversy, 390.

What church has accepted the Three Angels’ Messages? Yes, the Seventh-day Adventist Church. No other church has accepted these messages. Then, if just this one church has accepted all of these messages, what church can be spoken of as rejecting these messages?

Mrs. White further states that the result of rejecting the Three Angels’ Messages means that a spirit of lies will control those churches. This spirit of lies is described in 11 Thessalonians 2:12. “When those that ‘believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness’ (11 Thessalonians 2:12), shall be left to receive strong delusion and to believe a lie, then the light of truth will shine upon all whose hearts are open to receive it, and all the children of the Lord that remain in Babylon will heed the call: ‘Come out of her, My people’ (Revelation 18:4).” Ibid.

Are there lies among the Seventh-day Adventists which may be a mark of this satanic spirit of lies? God warned His people through Ellen White very severely. God warned His people before the lies of Satan came, and here we have some quotations that contain those warnings. God warns His people of their unification with the world. God warns beforehand of the lie that we have a great influence on the people of the world if we link up with them. When God says that we are in danger of becoming a synagogue of Satan, He is warning us of devilish controversy—a controversy with the world, a controversy with the other churches.

In his lies, Satan suggests that, “If you link yourselves with the world, you will have more advantages. Maybe you could hinder the persecution somehow.” Whoever is following those lies is directly following Satan. We cannot say we have not been warned.

Church with Great Light

In Testimonies, vol. 8, 249, Ellen White speaks of the Seventh-day Adventists. She describes this church that has received great light, but she also tells about the defiled condition in which they are. She describes it as a church that did not heed the call of God.

“ ‘Because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before Mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.’ ‘God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie,’ ‘because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,’ ‘but had pleasure in unrighteousness.’ Isaiah 66:3, 4; 11 Thessalonians 2:11, 10, 12.”

God called, “Come out of her, My people,” but they connected themselves with the churches from which they were supposed to come out. They did what was evil before His eyes. Therefore, God shall send them strong delusions that they shall believe a lie. Again it is talking about Seventh-day Adventists.

“The second angel’s message of Revelation 14 was first preached in the summer of 1844, and it then had a more direct application to the churches of the United States, where the warning of the judgment had been most widely proclaimed and most generally rejected, and where the declension in the churches had been most rapid. But the message of the second angel did not reach its complete fulfillment in 1844. The churches then experienced a moral fall, in consequence of their refusal of the light of the advent message; but that fall was not complete. As they have continued to reject the special truths for this time they have fallen lower and lower. Not yet, however, can it be said that ‘Babylon is fallen, . . . because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ [Revelation 14:8.] She has not yet made all nations do this. The spirit of world conforming and indifference to the testing truths for our time exists and has been gaining ground in churches of the Protestant faith in all the countries of Christendom; and these churches are included in the solemn and terrible denunciation of the second angel. But the work of apostasy has not yet reached its culmination.

“The Bible declares that before the coming of the Lord, Satan will work ‘with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness;’ and they that ‘received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,’ will be left to receive ‘strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.’ 11 Thessalonians 2:9–11. Not until this condition shall be reached, and the union of the church with the world shall be fully accomplished throughout Christendom, will the fall of Babylon be complete. The change is a progressive one, and the perfect fulfillment of Revelation 14:8 is yet future.” The Great Controversy, 389, 390. [Emphasis in original.]

Before the coming of Christ, a condition will be reached as described with the union of the church with the world, all over the world, throughout Christendom. Not until this union of the church with the world, throughout all of Christendom, will the fall of Babylon be complete. And only when the fall of Babylon is complete will the second Loud Cry come—this special loud cry which is given in all churches, including the last church which God has on earth.

No Unity with World

“The world must not be introduced into the church, and married to the church, forming a bond of unity. Through this means the church will become indeed corrupt.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 265.

The ecumenical bonds have different names in the different parts of the world. In Germany, it is called the Workshop of Christian Churches. Regardless what the name may be, they all are the same bond with Satan. Through these bonds, the church will indeed be defiled, corrupted, as stated in Revelation 18.

Small Company

This little group which has been described, this small end-time church, is found and sealed through the third angel. They are going on a narrow path and are bound in groups through the truth—the truth which is believed and lived, as shown in the third angel’s message.

In Matthew 7:13, 14, Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

How many will find the strait gate? The last generation which will meet Jesus—144,000. Is it a large number? Can you calculate how many would be from your area? In Berlin, we once calculated that there might be 10 or 12 people who would possibly be part of this number. We know what that means. We have to make such an effort to be among that number. It will cost all our energy; even though we will not be among the 144,000 because of our strength, it will cost all of our effort to get eternal life.

Parallel Development

How does God view the Advent movement? “The Lord has bestowed great blessings upon His church. Justice demands that she return these talents with usury. As the treasures of truth committed to her keeping have increased, her obligations have increased. But instead of improving upon these gifts and going forward unto perfection, she has fallen away from that which she had attained in her earlier experience. The change in her spiritual state has come gradually and almost imperceptibly. As she began to seek the praise and friendship of the world, her faith diminished, her zeal grew languid, her fervent devotion gave place to dead formality. Every advance step toward the world was a step away from God. As pride and worldly ambition have been cherished, the spirit of Christ has departed, and emulation, dissension, and strife have come in to distract and weaken the church.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 240, 241.

There is a parallel development of the modern angel and ancient Israel just before the coming of Christ. Ellen White wrote: “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.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 406.

“The alliances made by the Israelites with their heathen neighbors resulted in the loss of their identity as God’s peculiar people. They became leavened by the evil practises [sic] of those with whom they formed forbidden alliances. Affiliation with worldlings caused them to lose their first love, and their zeal for God’s service. The advantages they sold themselves to gain, brought only disappointment, and caused the loss of many souls.

“The experience of Israel will be the experience of all who go to the world for strength, turning away from the living God. Those who forsake the mighty One, the source of all strength, and affiliate with worldlings, placing on them their dependence, become weak in moral power, as are those in whom they trust.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1155, 1156. Those who are trying to come together with the other churches for a worldly advantage are exactly the fulfillment of this prophecy, of this danger.

“Satan’s snares are laid for us as verily as they were laid for the children of Israel just prior to their entrance into the land of Canaan. We are repeating the history of that people.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 160.

To be continued . . .

Dr. Korinth is a physician living in Berlin, Germany. He is very active in speading the Three Angels’ Messages throughout Europe. He and his family have a printing press in their home and have had tracts translated in most of the different European languages. He is a promoter of home churches and is very interested in working with other historic Seventh-day Adventist groups worldwide. He may be contacted by e-mail at: hkorinth@mefag.de.

Why Home Churches, Part 1

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In this article, we will begin to answer the following question: Why is there a worldwide home church movement in Adventism today?

In the New Testament church there were many home churches as there have been among God’s people ever since. It should not be a surprise then, that there is a growing number of home churches in Adventism, worldwide, today. The fact that there are a growing number of home churches, however, is not the main point. The point of contention is not that there are home churches, or even that there are constantly increasing numbers of the same. The point of contention is that there are increasing numbers of home churches in Adventism which are not under conference control. These churches are not affiliated with conferences or missions, but rather are cooperating with other home churches, which are in similar circumstances.

It has been claimed, far and near, that such a development is contrary to the writings of Ellen White. The quotations commonly used, in an attempt to prove this, are from the Stanton articles, written by Ellen White in 1893, and other statements about the necessity of church organization and about the church not fragmenting into separate atoms.

Is there any foundation in these claims? Are home churches unnecessary and unwarranted? We will answer these questions by looking at the broader question, Why has the development of home churches, not under conference control, taken place?

(This actually is a very involved question related to the Christian experience of millions of people in very diverse circumstances over many decades, in fact, for over 100 years.)

The Divisions of the Work

To understand how and why this has happened, we must first look at the divisions of operations within Adventism and see how the present phenomenon developed in these various divisions.

Anyone who has read the nine volume set of Testimonies for the Church, written by Ellen White, can discern that the major divisions of Adventist work for the world can be divided into the following:

  1. Publishing Work
  2. Medical missionary operations
  3. Educational Work
  4. Ministerial and evangelistic work. (There are other smaller divisions but these four are the major ones.) All four of the divisions involve the organization of the church.

There was a time when little, if any, work in any of these four areas was done outside of the church organization. Independent work outside of the church organization was definitely not the plan for Adventist work, for the world, that God had in mind. Consider, for instance, the following forceful testimonies by Ellen White:

Concerning independent medical missionary work: “Medical missionary work is not to be drawn apart and made separate from church organization. The medical students are not to receive the idea that they may regard themselves as amenable only to the leaders in the medical work.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 164.

“Special light has been given me that you are in danger of losing sight of the work for this time. You are erecting barriers to separate your work and those you are educating from the church. This must not be. Those who are receiving instruction in medical missionary lines should be led to realize that their education is to fit them to do better work in connection with the ministers of God. You are to remember, my brother, that the Lord has a people upon the earth whom He respects.” Ibid., 519.

“I was instructed by the Lord that your temptation would be to make your medical missionary work stand independent of the conference. But this plan was not right. I saw that you could not plan as you had been doing, or carry out your ideas, without injury to yourself and to the cause of God.” Ibid., 187.

Concerning independent publishing work: “As I consider the matter I see that at this time, when so much is being said against organization, we must be careful not to work for disorganization. We must not get out of line. I am fearful regarding any plan that would take the work out of our publishing houses; for this might lessen the confidence of our brethren in these important agencies for the dissemination of present truth.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, 169.

Concerning independent educational work: “Our schools are under the supervision of the General Conference. This body decides as to the advisability of establishing new schools, as to how much means it is wise to invest, and also as to the educational force to be employed. Our medical institutions should stand in the same relation to the General Conference and the great whole. The establishment of a health institution is too important a matter to be left to the independent management of a few interested individuals. If the enterprise is under control of the General Conference, the way is open for deliberate counsel and a careful consideration of the matter, and if it is undertaken, there will be a united force to give it influence and standing, and this will contribute largely to its success. Under such management, a class of workers could be enlisted that otherwise could not be secured, and thus the enterprise would prosper when it would prove a failure in ordinary hands. And furthermore, there must be an authority to guard such an institution, so that persons who are not qualified shall not be allowed to grasp responsibility through selfish ambition in their professional line as physicians.” General Conference Bulletin, January 30, 1893.

It is plainly evident, in the above quoted testimonies, what God’s plan was. It was that all of His remnant people should work together in concert, in harmony and unity with representative and deliberate counsel so as to avoid mistakes and serious pitfalls which would certainly occur if a few individuals, however talented, were to strike out on their own without counsel from their brethren or support from their church, and in such an independent way establish schools, sanitariums and publishing houses.

If this was God’s plan then how did we get to where we are now? To understand how this came to be we must go back to that watershed event in Adventist history, the General Conference, in Minneapolis, in 1888.

Changes in 1888

Many people today seem to believe that this conference, in 1888, had mainly to do with the doctrine of righteousness by faith. The 1888 Materials by Ellen White reveal that such a conclusion is very far from the truth. Ellen White describes the controversy over the law in Galatians as follows: “He stretched out his arms toward Dr. Waggoner, and to you, Elder Butler, and said in substance as follows: ‘Neither have all the light upon the law, neither position is perfect.’ ‘Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.’ Psalms 97:11. There are hundreds that know not why they believe the doctrines they do.” 1888 Messages, 93.

“The different views in regard to the law in Galatians need not have produced any such exhibitions. I have not the slightest burden upon that subject. God has not inspired all this intense feeling over that subject. I have not a particle of burden on that subject. My only trouble is the position of those ministers who were at that conference who manifested so little of the spirit of Christ and possessed more largely the spirit which controlled the scribes and Pharisees which planned the betrayal and acted a prominent part in the trial of Christ, in false statements, in accusing of Christ and making Him appear before the people in the worst possible light.” Ibid., 295.

Notice that Ellen White had not a particle of burden on the law in Galatians—that was not the major issue. What then was the real issue in 1888? And why did Ellen White, over and over again, accuse us of being like the Jews (or the Pharisees) in the 1888 General Conference? (She makes this accusation at least twenty times just in volume one of the 1888 Materials.) For example: “I want to tell you, brethren, whoever you are, I want to tell you, that you are just going over the very same ground that they went over in the days of Christ. You have had their experience: But God deliver us from having the come-out of it as they had. But notwithstanding you have heard my testimony, notwithstanding it was the testimony of the Spirit of God, you have braced yourselves,—a few of you, strong men of determined will,—to carry it out on your line, to fight it out on your line. May God have mercy upon your souls, because you need it. You have stood right in the way of God. The earth is to be lighted with His glory, and if you stand where you stand today, you might just as quick say that the Spirit of God was the spirit of the devil. You have said it now in your actions, in your attitudes, that it is the spirit of the devil. You have said it thus, and you will say it when the crisis will come.” Ibid., 593, 594.

Notice that the real nature of the opposition was the rejection of the Holy Spirit both in the messages of Jones and Waggoner and the testimony of Ellen White. The outcome of this is prophesied: “The Third Angel’s Message will not be comprehended, the light which will lighten the earth with its glory will be called a false light, by those who refuse to walk in its advancing glory. The work that might have been done, will be left undone by the rejecters of truth, because of their unbelief.” Ibid., 673.

The Problems in 1888

To understand how this awful condition of things came to be, in 1888, let us first look at how Ellen White described the problem in Adventism in the years just prior to 1888. “The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones.…Many had lost sight of Jesus.… Now, it has been Satan’s determined purpose to eclipse the view of Jesus and lead men to look to man, and trust to man, and be educated to expect help from man. For years the church has been looking to man and expecting much from man, but not looking to Jesus, in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. Therefore God gave to His servants a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which is the Third Angel’s Message, in clear, distinct lines.” Testimonies to Ministers, 91–93.

Notice what the problem was—“For years the church has been looking to man and expecting much from man, but not looking to Jesus.” Ibid. Now the question needs to be asked, What men do you think Ellen White is talking about that the church had been looking to and expecting much help from? And what would the response of these men be if the church began to look to someone else for help and not looking to them so much?

This is the exact problem that the chosen people of God faced when Jesus was here, and this problem, in Jesus’ day, resulted in the crucifixion of Christ. This is also the exact problem which developed in the Roman church. “Some who think that they preach the gospel are preaching other men’s ideas. Through some means they have come to the decision that it is no part of a minister’s calling or duty to think diligently and prayerfully. He accepts what other men have taught without asserting his individuality. This doctrine, taught by the church of Rome, is entire dependence upon the leaders. The individual’s conscience is not his own. Judgment must be controlled by other men’s ideas. His intelligence is to go no farther than that of those who are leaders.” 1888 Messages, 834.

Opposition to God’s Message

The response of the leaders in Adventism, to the message that God sent in 1888, has been discussed and debated since that time. Their opposition has been well documented by many writers and will not be reviewed here except to ask the question, What really was the nature of their opposition? What was behind their opposition?

The following statements will reveal the nature of the opposition and what was behind it. “Those whom God has sent with a message are only men, but what is the character of the message which they bear? Will you dare to turn from, or make light of, the warnings, because God did not consult you as to what would be preferred? God calls men who will speak, who will cry aloud and spare not. God has raised up His messengers to do His work for this time. Some have turned from the message of the righteousness of Christ to criticize the men and their imperfections, because they do not speak the message of truth with all the grace and polish desirable. They have too much zeal, are too much in earnest, speak with too much positiveness, and the message that would bring healing and life and comfort to many weary and oppressed souls, is, in a measure, excluded; for just in proportion as men of influence close their own hearts and set up their own wills in opposition to what God has said, will they seek to take away the ray of light from those who have been longing and praying for light and for vivifying power. Christ has registered all the hard, proud, sneering speeches spoken against His servants as against Himself.” Ibid., 673.

Character assassination never occurs without a motive or purpose. As human beings we cannot read the motive or purpose behind actions, but the Spirit of Prophecy, the testimony of Jesus, can do this. The Spirit of God can discern what is in the spirit of any and all men. What did the Spirit testify? “There was a spirit coming in taking possession of the churches, that if permitted would separate them from God as verily as the churches who refused light that God sent them in messages of warning and of light that they might advance in regard to His second coming to our world.…I was told this spirit had been gathering strength for years and the leavening influence was at work and spiritual life was going out of the churches.” Ibid., 296, 297. [All emphasis supplied throughout.]

“I could but have a vivid picture in my mind from day to day of the way reformers were treated, how slight difference of opinion seemed to create a frenzy of feeling. Thus it was in the betrayal, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus—all this had passed before me point by point. The Satanic spirit took control and moved with power upon the human hearts that had been opened to doubts and to bitterness, wrath and hatred. All this was prevailing in that meeting. I decided to leave the meeting, leave Minneapolis.” Ibid., 309.

“The Spirit of God is departing from many among our people. Many have entered into dark, secret paths, and some will never return. They will continue to stumble to their ruin. They have tempted God, they have rejected light. All the evidence that will ever be given them they have received, and have not heeded. They have chosen darkness rather than light, and have defiled their souls. No man or church can associate with a pleasure-loving class, and reveal that they appreciate the rich current of truth which the Lord has sent to those who have simple faith in His word. The world is polluted, corrupted, as was the world in the days of Noah. The only remedy is belief in the truth, acceptance of the light. Yet many have listened to the truth spoken in demonstration of the Spirit, and they have not only refused to accept the message, but they have hated the light. These men are parties to the ruin of souls. They have interposed themselves between the heaven-sent light and the people. They have trampled upon the Word of God, and are doing despite to His Holy Spirit.” Ibid., 1335, 1336.

“While at Minneapolis many things were opened before me in regard to the propositions made by A.R. Henry and others. These plans were not inspired by the Spirit of God. If you had then stood in the love of God, you would have been able to distinguish between righteousness and unrighteousness. Plans were formed regarding the anagement of the work which could not bear the light of day; for the signature of heaven was not upon them. Those who made these propositions had no idea of where their plans and imaginations would carry them. They did not realize that they would be led to subvert right principles, to obtain control of facilities that they might manage matters according to their own ideas, to build up what they pleased and to bind about what they pleased. This planning and devising was not carried on in a frank open way, but in a way which caused God to write opposite their names, they have dissembled. They have falsified. They have worked according to the deceptive practices of Satan, in order to establish a confederacy.” Ibid., 1684.

“God would have the church roll away her reproach, but as long as men who have felt fully competent to work without accepting counsel of God are kept in office year after year, this cannot be done. This state of things is leavening every branch of the work, because men do not feel their need of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When men feel competent to pronounce judgment and condemn the Holy Spirit, they do a work for themselves which will be difficult to counteract. The whole head becomes sick and the discernment so weak that it is apt to judge unrighteously. The Spirit still calls, but they do not hear nor heed the call of God.” Ibid., 1292, 1293.

From the above statements (similar ones could be greatly multiplied) the following conclusions can be drawn:

  1. Men of influence (leaders) were engaged in character assassination of the messengers. A wrong spirit was in control. A Satanic spirit and a slight difference of opinion created a frenzy of feeling.
  2. The Spirit of God departed from many who had interposed themselves between the light and the people.
  3. One of the main factors involved in the rejection of the light was that certain leaders were making plans regarding the management of the work which would allow them to obtain control of facilities and manage matters according to their own ideas to build up what they pleased and bind about what they pleased.
  4. And these leaders were kept in office year after year, without accepting counsel of God, and this was leavening every branch of the work.

When Satan Rules

An acceptance of the message in 1888 would have made it impossible for #4 and #5 above to be carried out. But Ellen White said: “To-day, as in Christ’s day, Satan rules the minds of many. O that his terrible, fearful work could be discerned and resisted. Selfishness has perverted principles, selfishness has confused the senses and clouded the judgment. It seems so strange that notwithstanding all the light that is shining from God’s blessed word, there should be such strange ideas held, such a departure from the spirit and practice of the truth. The desire to grasp large wages, with a determination to deprive others of their God-given rights, has its origin in Satan’s mind; and by their obedience to his will and way men place themselves under his banner. Little dependence can be placed in these that have been taken in this snare, unless they are thoroughly converted and renovated; for they have been leavened by wrong principles, which they could not perceive were deleterious in their effect. . . . If men would only give up their spirit of resistance to the Holy Spirit, the spirit which has long been leaving their religious experience, God’s Spirit would address itself to their hearts. It would convince of sin. What a work! But the Holy Spirit has been insulted and light has been rejected. Is it possible for those who for years have been so blind to see? Is it possible that in this late stage of their resistance their eyes will be anointed? Will the voice of the Spirit of God be distinguished from the deceiving voice of the enemy?

“There are men who will soon evidence which banner they are standing under, the banner of the Prince of life, or the banner of the prince of darkness. If they could only see these matters as they are presented to me, if they could only see that, as far as their souls are concerned, they are as men standing on the brink of a precipice, ready to slide over to the depths below.” Ibid., 1493, 1494.

Could it really be? Could it be that leading men in Adventism were under the control of Satan and had insulted the Holy Spirit and were on the brink of a precipice? Could it be that the leaders in the Second Advent Movement who had dedicated their lives to spreading the Third Angel’s Message were actually standing under the banner of Satan and not under the banner of the Lord? Can you believe it? According to the Spirit of Prophecy this was the situation.

The question now is not just what should you do as a church member in a situation like this. The question is not just what should you do if you were one of the leaders in this situation. The question is not just what should a prophet do in a situation like this. The question is, What will God do in a situation like this? We know that, “Our divine Lord is equal to any emergency. With Him nothing is impossible.” Signs of the Times, January 3, 1906.

Because of what happened in Minneapolis, in 1888, Seventh-day Adventists were to learn the same bitter lesson that ancient Israel experienced in the wilderness when the Lord said to them, “ye shall feel My breach of promise.” Numbers 14:34. (Geneva Bible).

After this, no longer could they hope that of “the company present at the Conference” (in 1856) some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 131, 132. No longer could they imply assume that everything would progress with no change until the Second Coming of Jesus. Big changes, in the way God was going to finish the work, were on the horizon because they would not accept correction in 1888. Big changes were far less than twenty years away.

To be continued …

Commitment to God’s Church

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Week of Prayer for Sabbath

Many times, at Steps to Life and the Prairie Meadows Church, we receive telephone calls and letters questioning us as to why we are an independent church of Sabbath-keeping believers, not connected with the local conference, the union conference, or the General Conference structure of Seventh-day Adventists. While this is too extensive a question to be answered in one article, a few questions and answers will be given that, hopefully, will stimulate God’s people to think through their position relative to the coming of Christ.

Babylon

In an effort to avoid misunderstandings, it should be stated that we have not in the past called, nor are we at the present calling, the Seventh-day Adventist Church Babylon. In LandMarks magazine, the writer has published articles titled, “The Black and White Christian” [September and October 2005]. A large percentage of Catholics and Protestants, including Seventh-day Adventists, are black and white Christians. So many people say, “Either the church must be Zion or it must be Babylon; there are only two sides in the Great Controversy, so it must be one or the other.” They see that the church is in apostasy, which is a cardinal characteristic of Babylon, so they conclude that it is Babylon.

Most of the people we know who call the Seventh-day Adventist Church Babylon do so, in large part, because they see apostasy in the church at all levels. If we refuse to call the church Babylon, then these people conclude that it must be Zion—God’s church, and everyone should belong to it and work through the problems associated with it. However, in real life, a situation can be more complicated than just a simple yes or no.

Previous Independent Workers

Before addressing directly the situation of the present day, it is fair to ask the question, Are there instances in the Holy Scriptures or in the writings of Ellen White where individuals or groups of people did not work within the church structure of their day and yet were being led by God to do a work for Him? Many examples should immediately come to mind for any serious Bible student.

Jethro

First of all, there was Jethro. Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law, and he gave advice to Moses concerning church organization. Yet, Jethro was not a member of the children of Israel and refused to become one when Moses extended an invitation to him. Ellen White says, “When Moses was much burdened the Lord raised him up in Jethro an advisor and helper.” Christian Leadership, 55. Obviously, Jethro was being led by the Lord, but, as far as we can tell, he was never a member of the children of Israel. He was a priest and a prince but separate from the children of Israel, as far as membership was concerned. “Jethro was singled out from the darkness of the Gentile world to reveal the principles of heaven. God has ever had appointed agencies, and has ever given abundant evidences that these agencies were heaven-appointed and heaven-sent (Letter 190, 1905).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 1, 1099.

Jethro did not understand all things, but he was spiritually in advance of Moses when Moses fled from Pharoah. He helped Moses to develop a more correct faith: “All the idolatrous rubbish of heathen lore must be removed, bit by bit, item by item, from Moses’ mind. Jethro helped him in many things to a correct faith, as far as he himself understood. He was working upward toward the light, when he could see God in singleness of heart. . . .” This Day With God, 321.

“And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.” Numbers 10:29–32.

Eventually, at least some of the descendants of Jethro lived among the children of Israel, and the wife of one of these descendants killed Sisera. (See Judges 4.)

Elijah

A second example is Elijah. The church organization was in apostasy and had been taken over by the woman Jezebel. The times of Elijah are very instructive for people who are confused by the arguments of those who believe that all people must belong to the organization of “God’s church.”

Had God by divine arrangement denominated the children of Israel as His special people? Yes, God had done this very thing.

Were the children of Israel called by a divinely appointed name, and were they God’s chosen people? Yes, they were.

Had their church been organized by divine appointment, and, therefore, was it God’s chosen and organized church? Yes, it was.

Then why did Elijah not cooperate by being obedient and submissive to the church organization? Because the leadership had decided to fight and destroy God’s people and to go contrary to the historic truths of the organization. Therefore, it could not be said any longer that the leadership had divinely constituted authority. They were no longer to be followed. In fact, if you followed the authority of the church leadership, you would be separated from God. The authority of the church organization was not duly authorized by God and did not constitute divinely authorized leadership, because they had decided to follow the practices of the world around them instead of the Word of God.

This is a key point that many people fail to understand. It is only the words and writings of prophets and apostles that give any church organization (including the Seventh-day Adventist Church) divine authority. As soon as a church organization makes decisions that are not in harmony with the Word of God or the writings of prophets, then that church organization no longer has any divine authority. This is true even if the decision is made in a conference session with delegates from all over the world. If the reader would like an example of a decision directly contrary to inspired writings, examine the decision concerning marriage and divorce made at the General Conference session in the year 2000.

There were believers in Elijah’s day who did not submit to or obey the church organization or have any part of it at all—at least 7,000 of them. These people would, today, be thought of as offshoots. They were the ones meeting in home churches and refusing to be a part of the general apostasy. Elijah was accused of being the troubler of Israel. He was saying many things against the church organization, and since he was separate from the church organization, he was no doubt accused of being a separationist. It is never wrong to be separate from apostasy.

Elijah could have been accused of starting a new movement, a new church, a new organization—the same accusations that are leveled at those in independent churches today. But the truth of the matter is that Elijah was being loyal and faithful to the movement that God had originally established, just as we are trying to do today.

The big question that needs to be answered is not to what organization are you loyal, but are you loyal and faithful in practice to the inspired writings? If not, then whether you are a physician, a lawyer, a judge, a minister, or whatever you may be, you are not really being loyal and faithful, even if you are a member in good and regular standing in a church organization. We are headed for the final judgment, and the question is going to be whether or not we were obedient to the Law of God.

Elijah could be accused of pulling apart from God’s organization, and, like today, people probably said that this was not a good sign. Elijah would have responded that the organization had pulled apart from the truth, and he was staying with the truths that had been vouchsafed to God’s people. Elijah could be accused of separating from the organized body.

The experience of the true and faithful in Elijah’s time is very similar to the experience of the true and faithful today. They were unknown. They were, to human sight, unauthorized to be organized in their little groups in caves and other out-of-the-way places. They were, however, recognized in heaven and written down in God’s book as the people who would not in any way participate in the apostasy, not even so much as by a kiss.

New Testament Examples

Other examples from the Old Testament could be given, but it is in the New Testament where we see God calling and using people independent of the organization, of the chosen people of God. This does not mean that the organization is Babylon. It does mean that we need to rise above the level of black and white Christians. We must perceive that God has many ways to perfect His plans, and some of them may be contrary to what humans believe is the only right way to do things.

John the Baptist

John the Baptist worked entirely independent of the church organization of God’s chosen people. He said, “The ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Matthew 3:10. “Not by its name, but by its fruit, is the value of a tree determined. If the fruit is worthless, the name cannot save the tree from destruction. John declared to the Jews that their standing before God was to be decided by their character and life. Profession was worthless. If their life and character were not in harmony with God’s law, they were not His people.” The Desire of Ages, 107.

“To a people in whose hearts His law is written, the favor of God is assured. They are one with Him. But the Jews had separated themselves from God. Because of their sins they were suffering under His judgments. This was the cause of their bondage to a heathen nation. Their minds were darkened by transgression, and because in times past the Lord had shown them so great favor, they excused their sins. They flattered themselves that they were better than other men, and entitled to His blessings.

“These things ‘are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.’ 1 Corinthians 10:11. How often we misinterpret God’s blessings, and flatter ourselves that we are favored on account of some goodness in us! God cannot do for us that which He longs to do. His gifts are used to increase our self-satisfaction, and to harden our hearts in unbelief and sin.

“John declared to the teachers of Israel that their pride, selfishness, and cruelty showed them to be a generation of vipers, a deadly curse to the people, rather than the children of just and obedient Abraham. In view of the light they had received from God, they were even worse than the heathen, to whom they felt so much superior. They had forgotten the rock whence they were hewn, and the hole of the pit from which they had been digged. God was not dependent upon them for the fulfilling of His purpose. As He had called Abraham out from a heathen people, so He could call others to His service. Their hearts might now appear as lifeless as the stones of the desert, but His Spirit could quicken them to do His will, and receive the fulfillment of His promise.” Ibid., 106, 107.

Would to God that we all could learn the lesson. God is not dependent on the historic Adventists or the home churches or the Adventists in conference churches. He is not dependent on our organizations or institutions to finish His work. He can finish His work through others: “We have a great work to do in our world. If ministers and doctors will work in God’s lines, He will work with them. But they must change, decidedly change, in spirit and character. They must remember that they are not the only ones to whom the Lord will give wisdom. If His people will not follow in His way, the Lord will employ heathen princes to do His will. . . .” Notebook Leaflets from the Elmshaven Library, vol. 1, 62.

The Lord

We will pass over the example we have in the life of our Lord Himself. He took a position independent of the church organization of God’s chosen people, and remember that this was before probation had closed on the Jews as a nation. Some people say that, until probation closes on a church, all should remain in it and work under its authority, forgetting the example of our Lord who said, concerning the leaders of God’s chosen people, that they were blind leaders of the blind. (Matthew 15:14.) He cautioned His children for all future ages that if they followed those who were blind, they, as well as the leaders, would fall into the ditch. He said to let them alone. There is a time when the only safe thing to do is to be separate from those who will lead you into the ditch if you follow them.

“While they had been with Him, the disciples had often been perplexed by the teaching of the priests and Pharisees, but they had brought their perplexities to Jesus. He had set before them the truths of Scripture in contrast with tradition. Thus He had strengthened their confidence in God’s word, and in a great measure had set them free from their fear of the rabbis and their bondage to tradition.” The Desire of Ages, 349.

“Since the healing at Bethesda He had not attended the national gatherings. To avoid useless conflict with the leaders at Jerusalem, He had restricted His labors to Galilee. His apparent neglect of the great religious assemblies, and the enmity manifested toward Him by the priests and rabbis, were a cause of perplexity to the people about Him, and even to His own disciples and His kindred. In His teachings He had dwelt upon the blessings of obedience to the law of God, and yet He Himself seemed to be indifferent to the service which had been divinely established. His mingling with publicans and others of ill repute, His disregard of the rabbinical observances, and the freedom with which He set aside the traditional requirements concerning the Sabbath, all seeming to place Him in antagonism to the religious authorities, excited much questioning. His brothers thought it a mistake for Him to alienate the great and learned men of the nation. They felt that these men must be in the right, and that Jesus was at fault in placing Himself in antagonism to them.” Ibid., 450.

“It was most difficult for the disciples of Christ to keep His lessons distinct from the traditions and maxims of the rabbis, the scribes, and pharisees. The teachings which the disciples had been educated to respect as the voice of God held a power over their minds and molded their sentiments. The disciples could not be a living and shining light until they were freed from the influence of the sayings and commandments of men, and the words of Christ were deeply impressed upon their minds and hearts as distinct truths, as precious jewels, to be appreciated, loved, and acted upon.” Ye Shall Receive Power, 39.

The Apostle Paul

We will also pass over the example of the apostle Paul. Although he was raising up churches all over the Roman Empire, much of his work was done entirely independently of the church organization in Jerusalem. His imprisonment and martyrdom were the result of opposition and unbelief by the church structure, which included some of the apostles. (See Sketches from the Life of Paul.)

Current Time

In our time, did God authorize, during the lifetime of Ellen White, any work and workers which were separate from the church structure and independent of the church structure? For a beginning, look up the expression “irregular lines” in the writings of Mrs. White.

When Madison College and Sanitarium were being started, Ellen White gave the following counsel: “It was quite a problem with Brethren Sutherland and Magan and their faithful associates as to how, with limited means, they were to adapt themselves to the work in Madison, Tennessee. They had many obstacles and difficulties to meet, some of which need never have come into the work.

“The reason these brethren were persuaded to purchase the place now occupied by the Madison school, was because special light was given to me that this place was well adapted for the educational work that was most needed there. It was presented to me that this was a place where an all-round education could be given advantageously to students who should come from the North and the South for instruction. In what has already been accomplished by the Madison school, the Lord is making it manifest that He is blessing the work carried forward there, and is leading the teachers who are associated together in bearing the burdens of the work.

“Many obstacles have been placed in the way of the pioneers at the Madison school of a nature to discourage them and drive them from the field. These obstacles were not placed there by the Lord. In some things the finite planning and devisings of men have worked counter to the work of God.

“Let us be careful, brethren, lest we counterwork and hinder the progress of others, and so delay the sending forth of the gospel message. This has been done, and this is why I am now compelled to speak so plainly. If proper aid had been given to the school enterprise at Madison, its work might now be in a far more advanced stage of development. The work at Madison has made slow advancement, and yet, in spite of the obstacles and hindrances, these workers have not failed nor become discouraged; and they have been enabled to accomplish a good work in the cause of God.

“The Lord does not set limits about His workers in some lines as men are wont to set. In their work, Brethren Magan and Sutherland have been hindered unnecessarily. Means have been withheld from them because in the organization and management of the Madison school, it was not placed under the control of the conference. But the reasons why this school was not owned and controlled by the conference have not been duly considered.

“The lack of interest in this work, by some who should have valued it highly, is decidedly wrong. Our brethren must guard themselves against the repetition of such experiences.

“The Lord does not require that the educational work at Madison shall be changed all about before it can receive the hearty support of our people. The work that has been done there is approved of God, and He forbids that this line of work shall be broken up. The Lord will continue to bless and sustain the workers so long as they follow His counsel.

“Brethren Sutherland and Magan are as verily set to do the work of the Lord at Madison as other workers are appointed to do their part in the cause of present truth. The light given me is that we should help these brethren and their associates, who have worked beyond their strength, under great disadvantages. Let us seek to understand the situation, and see that justice and mercy are not forgotten in the distribution of funds.

“The leaders in the work of the Madison school are laborers together with God. More must be done in their behalf by their brethren. The Lord’s money is to sustain them in their labors. They have a right to share the means given to the cause. They should be given a proportionate share of the means that comes in for the furtherance of the cause.” Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 11, 30–32.

“The Lord has instructed me that, from the first, the work in Huntsville and Madison should have received adequate help. But instead of this help being rendered promptly there has been long delay. And in the matter of the Madison school, there has been a standing off from them because they were not under the ownership and control of some Conference. This is a question that should sometimes be considered, but it is not the Lord’s plan that means should be withheld from Madison, because they are not bound to the conference. The attitude which some of our brethren have assumed toward this enterprise shows that it is not wise for every working agency to be under the dictation of conference officers. There are some enterprises under certain conditions, that will produce better results if standing alone.

“When my advice was asked in reference to the Madison school, I said, Remain as you are. There is danger in binding every working agency under the dictation of the conference. The Lord did not design that this should be. The circumstances were such that the burden bearers in the Madison school could not bind up their work with the conference. I knew their situation, and when many of the leading men in our conferences ignored them, because they did not place their school under conference dictation, I was shown that they would not be helped by making themselves amenable to the conference. They had better remain as led by God, amenable to Him, to work out His plans. But this matter need not be blazed abroad.

“In their change from Berrien Springs, Brethren Sutherland and Magan made many sacrifices. The Lord counseled them where to go, and in their labors at Madison, they have worked far beyond their strength. But under the direction of the Lord they are capable of doing a good work. They will give to the students who come there an education altogether different than what has been given in Washington during the past years. They will not only labor to impart an education in book knowledge and manual work, but they will endeavor to teach the students to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

“These teachers should be regarded, not as men who have had no valuable experience, but as men who have in the past accomplished a great and good work, and who have suffered privations for the cause of God. They have not exacted their just dues. Had some of their brethren been better able to reason from cause to effect, there would be a different record. The restrictions by which their hands have been tied are not pleasing to the Lord. They might have had a sanitarium and suitable buildings, and they might have been years in advance of where they now are. I would say, Let justice now be done.

“The world is our field. God’s children who feel a burden for the work of the message are to be allowed to work where the Spirit directs them. Let not a forbidding power be exercised to restrict them in their work. Let God accomplish His work through the agencies that He chooses. A great mistake has been made in the exercise of human authority in God’s work, and I am bidden to proclaim the message: ‘Break every yoke, and let the oppressed go free.’ [Isaiah 58:6.] I am bidden to say to church members, ‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee’ (Isaiah 60:1).

“When the disciples returned from their first missionary tour, the Saviour asked them, ‘Lacked ye anything?’ And the answer was given, ‘Nay, Lord.’ [Luke 22:35.] The same power that supplied the needs of the first disciples will provide for the necessities of those who today go forth to labor earnestly to give the last gospel message to the world. O, why do men and women feel so little burden to take up the work that needs to be done? Angels of God are waiting to go forth with them in this work.

“In the restrictions that have been placed on some who desired to do a definite work, many have found an excuse why they should not engage in active missionary work. I am bidden to bear my testimony against unnecessary restrictions being laid on those who desire to act a part in the work of the Lord.

“In all their associations together, God desires His followers to guard their personal responsibility to Him, and their individual dependence upon Him. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. No ruling power of man over man is to be exercised. We have as a people lost much time and means, because we have not followed closely the Lord’s plan for us. By carrying out their own devisings, men get in the way of the Lord, and close up the avenue by which He would reach those who need the blessings of the gospel.

“My brethren, stand out of the way of your fellow-beings. . . .

“In the day of final reckoning, the Lord will deal with each soul individually. . . .

“There are among our church members faithful souls who feel a burden for those who know not the truth for this time. But one will say to such, The conference will not support you if you go here or there. To such souls I would say, ‘Pray to God for guidance as to where you shall go; follow the directions of the Holy Spirit, and go, whether the conference will pay your expenses or not.’ ‘Go work today in My vineyard,’ Christ commands. [Matthew 21:38.] When you have done your work in one place, go to another. Angels of God will go with you, if you follow the leadings of the Spirit.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, 202–207.

“Some have entertained the idea that because the school at Madison is not owned by a conference organization, those who are in charge of the school should not be permitted to call upon our people for the means that is greatly needed to carry on their work. This idea needs to be corrected. In the distribution of the money that comes into the Lord’s treasury, you are entitled to a portion just as verily as are those connected with other needy enterprises that are carried forward in harmony with the Lord’s instruction.

“The Lord Jesus will one day call to account those who would so tie your hands that it is almost impossible for you to move in harmony with the Lord’s biddings. ‘The silver and the gold is mine, saith the Lord, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.’ [Haggai 2:8; Psalm 50:10.]

“You and your associates are not novices in educational work, and when you are in stress for means with which to advance the work, you are just as much entitled to ask for that which you need as are other men to present the necessities of the work in which they are engaged.

“You have in the past done much to bring means into circulation in the work of God. And you need not now feel troubled about accepting gifts and free-will offerings; for you will need them in the work of preparing young men and women to labor in the Lord’s vineyard. As you carry on this work in harmony with the Lord’s will, you are not to be kept on a constant strain to know how to secure the means you need in order to go forward. The Lord forbids the setting up of walls and bands around workers of experience who are faithfully acting their God-appointed part.

“Much precious time has been lost because man-made rules and restrictions have been sometimes placed above the plans and purposes of God. In the name of the Lord I appeal to our conference workers to strengthen and support and labor in harmony with our brethren at Madison, who are carrying forward a work that God has appointed them.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 411, 412.

“Well,” someone may say, “Sutherland and Magan started a school, a sanitarium, and a publishing ministry that were independent from the conference, but that was all right, because Ellen White endorsed it.” (Or would it be more fair and correct to say that she endorsed it because it was right—exactly what God wanted them to do at that time?) They continue, “But you are starting churches which are independent from the conference, and that is wrong and not endorsed by Ellen White.” We will look at independent or self-supporting churches in future articles.

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas.

[Editor’s Note: This topic is so important and extensive that it will be further addressed in additional articles in future LandMarks.]

Bible Study Guides – The Second Advent Church Rejects the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, Part 11

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March 6, 2005 – March 12, 2005

Memory Verse

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24.

Suggested Reading: Testimonies, vol. 8, 104–106; 247–251.

Introduction

In this lesson, we will conclude the study on the second advent church’s rejection of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.

The following quotation had reference to the 1901 General Conference session: “One day at noon I [Ellen White] was writing of the work that might have been done at the last General Conference if the men in positions of trust had followed the will and way of God. Those who have had great light have not walked in the light. The meeting was closed, and the break was not made. Men did not humble themselves before the Lord as they should have done, and the Holy Spirit was not imparted.

“I had written thus far when I lost consciousness, and I seemed to be witnessing a scene in Battle Creek.

“We were assembled in the auditorium of the Tabernacle. Prayer was offered, a hymn was sung, and prayer was again offered. Most earnest supplication was made to God. The meeting was marked by the presence of the Holy Spirit. The work went deep, and some present were weeping aloud. . . .

“The speaker turned to those who had been praying, and said: ‘We have something to do. We must confess our sins, and humble our hearts before God.’ He made heart-broken confessions and then stepped up to several of the brethren, one after another, and extended his hand, asking forgiveness. Those to whom he spoke sprang to their feet, making confession and asking forgiveness. . . . The spirit of confession spread through the entire congregation. . . .

“No one seemed to be too proud to make heartfelt confession, and those who led in this work were the ones who had influence, but had not before had courage to confess their sins.

“There was rejoicing such as never before had been heard in the Tabernacle.

“Then I aroused from my unconsciousness, and for a while could not think where I was. My pen was still in my hand. The words were spoken to me: ‘This might have been. All this the Lord was waiting to do for His people. All heaven was waiting to be gracious.’ [Emphasis in original.] I thought of where we might have been had thorough work been done at the last General Conference, and an agony of disappointment came over me as I realized that what I had witnessed was not a reality.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 104–106.

1 According to the above reference, what was the Lord’s assessment of the attitudes of the leading men following the 1901 General Conference session? What similar experience did Jesus have with the Jewish church? John 5:39, 40.

2 What was not received because of the attitude of these men? See the Jewish similar experience in John 3:3–12.

3 What work needed to be done that was not done at the 1901 General Conference? Compare the experience of the Jews in John 12:40–43.

4 What great disaster occurred in 1902 because the leading men did not forsake their sins and humble their hearts at the 1901 General Conference? What did Jesus say would happen to the Jews because they refused to repent? Luke 19:41–44.

note: “Today I [Ellen White] received a letter from Elder Daniells regarding the destruction of the Review office by fire. . . . I was not surprised by the sad news, for in the visions of the night I have seen an angel standing with a sword as of fire stretched over Battle Creek. Once, in the daytime, while my pen was in my hand, I lost consciousness, and it seemed as if this sword of flame were turning first in one direction and then in another. Disaster seemed to follow disaster because God was dishonored by the devising of men to exalt and glorify themselves.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 97.

“At the General Conference, held in Battle Creek in 1901, the Lord gave His people evidence that He was calling for reformation. Minds were convicted, and hearts were touched; but thorough work was not done. If stubborn hearts had then broken in penitence before God, there would have been seen one of the greatest manifestations of the power of God that has ever been seen. But God was not honored. The testimonies of His Spirit were not heeded. Men did not separate from the practices that were in decided opposition to the principles of truth and righteousness, which should ever be maintained in the Lord’s work.” Ibid., 97, 98.

5 What was God’s purpose or desire in the burning of the two institutions in Battle Creek in 1902? What similar appeals to the Jews did the Lord make? Isaiah 55:5, 7; Malachi 3:7; Acts 3:19, 20.

note: “When the Battle Creek Sanitarium was destroyed, Christ gave Himself to defend the lives of men and women. In this destruction God was appealing to His people to return to Him. And in the destruction of the Review and Herald office, and the saving of life, He makes a second appeal to them. He desires them to see that the miracle-working power of the Infinite has been exercised to save life, that every worker may have opportunity to repent and be converted.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 102.

6 Why did Ellen White repeat, at the 1903 General Conference, the same vision that she presented at the 1901 General Conference? Why does God give repeated calls to repentance? 11 Corinthians 13:1–5.

comment: At the 1903 General Conference, in March and April, Ellen White repeated the theme of this vision, which revealed what might have been done. Here are a few of the words that she wrote: “In every institution among us there needs to be a reformation. This is the message that at the last General Conference I bore as the word of the Lord. At that meeting I carried a very heavy burden, and I have carried it ever since. We did not gain the victory that we might have gained at that meeting. Why?—. . . There were those at that meeting who did not see the work that needed to be done. If they had confessed their sins, if they had made a break, if they had taken their stand on vantage ground, the power of God would have gone through the meeting and we should have had a Pentecostal season.” The General Conference Bulletin, April 1, 1903.

7 What is the standard of character development that God requires of His people? Revelation 14:4, 5, 14; 11 Timothy 2:22; 1 Peter 1:22.

note: “God is in earnest with us. If the heart is pure, there will be purity of action and nobility of purpose in all the work done. Every mind is to be cleansed, every heart purified.” The General Conference Bulletin, April 1, 1903.

comment: The statements written between 1879 and 1903, in last week’s and this week’s lessons, reveal a trend in the leaders to reject the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy and to mold the work of the church according to their own ideas. By 1888, Ellen White refers to this attitude of rejection as “satanic,” and after the 1901 General Conference the observation is that no change was made. At the 1903 General Conference, on April 1, Ellen White referred to the January 3, 1903, vision and said that there was still no change in the attitudes of the leaders and ministers, even after the Review building was burned.

We see that as the Jews rejected Jesus and His word in the first advent movement, the leaders, ministers, and people rejected the testimonies of God’s spirit in the second advent movement.

8 Who does God say the people of our day are like? To see the similar development in the Jews, see Acts 7:51–54.

note: “When the Jews took the first step in the rejection of Christ, they took a dangerous step. When afterward evidence accumulated that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, they were too proud to acknowledge that they had erred. So with the people of our day who reject the truth. They do not take time to investigate candidly, with earnest prayer, the evidences of the truth, and they oppose that which they do not understand. Just like the Jews, they take it for granted they have all the truth, and feel a sort of contempt for anyone who should suppose they had more correct ideas than themselves of what is truth.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 1, 169, 170.

comment: As Jesus began an independent work among another class of people in Galilee, so in the second advent movement, God used Edward A. Sutherland and Percy T. Magan to begin an independent ministry in the South that was not to come under the control of the conference.

note: In writing about this, Ellen White stated: “When my advice was asked in reference to the Madison school, I said, Remain as you are. There is danger in binding every working agency under the dictation of the conference. The Lord did not design that this should be. The circumstances were such that the burden bearers in the Madison school could not bind up their work with the conference. I knew their situation, and when many of the leading men in our conferences ignored them, because they did not place their school under conference dictation, I was shown that they would not be helped by making themselves amenable to the conference. They had better remain as led by God, amenable to Him, to work out His plans.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 8, 202, 203.

9 In the above reference, to whom was the Madison school to be amenable? For the biblical principle, see Proverbs 3:6; James 1:5–8.

comment: It is clear from this statement that Sutherland and Magan could not work under the direction of the conference and still be amenable to God. In both the Old and New Testaments, God instructs His people to seek their counsel and instruction from Him.

10 What prophecy did Ellen White make concerning the church in 1904? What counsel given in Galatians 6:7, 8 would we do well to heed? See a similar experience that developed in the Jewish church in Matthew 23:37-39.

note: “Unless the church, which is now being leavened with her own backsliding, shall repent and be converted, she will eat of the fruit of her own doing, until she shall abhor herself.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 250.

11 Who, like the Jews, are in danger of rejecting the truth at the present time? For the example of the Jewish experience in rejecting the truth, see John 5:40; 12:37–41.

note: “Unless there is less of self, and far more of the Holy Spirit to take control of the minds and hearts of men who have stood in the foremost rank, there will be a failure on their part to walk out in harmony with the opening providences of God; they will question and quibble over any light that the Lord may send, and will turn away from the teachings of Christ, confiding in themselves, and trusting in their supposed knowledge of what is truth. As the Jews refused the light of the world, so many of those who claim to believe the present truth will refuse light which the Lord will send to His people.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 1, 174.

comment: The Jews had the Light of life in their midst but rejected it. (John 3:19–21; 8:12.) As Jesus lived among the people during the first advent and was not accepted, so the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy live among God’s professed people today, and are not accepted.

Bible Study Guides – The Second Advent Church Rejects the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, Part 1

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February 27, 2005 – March 5, 2005

Memory Verse

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” John 5:39, 40.

Suggested Reading: John 5; Testimonies, vol. 5, 62–84; vol. 8, 104–106.

Introduction

Before beginning this lesson, let us take time for a little review. In The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 2, 725, 726 and the Review and Herald, December 16, 1892, we are told that there were two events during the first advent that had their counterpart in the second advent movement—the first cleansing of the temple with the second angel’s message (Revelation 14:8) and the second cleansing of the temple with the loud cry of the third angel (Revelation 18:1, 2).

The similarity of the trials and attitudes between the people at the time of the first cleansing of the temple and the time of the second angel’s message were studied in previous lessons. Last week we studied the trials and attitudes of the Sanhedrin—the priests and rulers—toward the ministry of Jesus. Because of their hatred of Jesus and His Word, Jesus left them to begin an independent work among another class of people. In this week’s lesson we will study the trials and attitudes of the second advent church toward the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. It is the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy that stand as the audible voice of God in the second advent movement.

Let us keep in mind the purpose of our study. “The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ—how the enemy sought every occasion to take control of the minds of the Jews, and today he is seeking to blind the minds of God’s servants, that they may not be able to discern the precious truth.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 406.

Some Bible texts may identify trials and attitudes of ancient Israel that have their counterpart in the Spirit of Prophecy reference cited with the question.

1 What is true of the second advent movement that was also true of the first advent movement? See Luke 19:41–44.

note: “Sufficient light was given to the Jewish people so that they might have known ‘the time of their visitation.’ [Luke 19:44.] . . . From Christ, the Light of the world, shone forth the clear, bright beams of His Father’s glory. Yet the Jews comprehended it not.

“Thus it is in our day. The light of truth is shining upon us as clearly as it shone upon the Jewish people, but the hearts of men are as hard and unimpressible as in the days of Christ. . . . Many who claim to be standing in the light are in darkness and know it not. They have so enshrouded themselves in unbelief that they call darkness light, and light darkness. They are ignorant of that which they condemn and oppose. But their ignorance is not such as God will excuse, for He has given them light, and they reject it.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 1, 408.

2 What similar attitude of the Jews during the first advent was manifest at the General Conference held at Minneapolis? See John 5:39, 40.

note: “A woe is pronounced upon all such unbelief and criticism as was revealed in Minneapolis and as was revealed in Battle Creek. By their fruits ye shall know them. Evidence at every step that God was at work has not changed the manifest attitude of those who in the very beginning pursued a course of unbelief which was an offense to God. With this barrier they themselves had erected, they—like the Jews—were seeking something to strengthen their unbelief and make it appear they were right. Therefore they could not drink in the great salvation that the Lord proffered them. The riches of divine grace they refused.” The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 1, 369, 370.

comment: The Jews were diligent students of the Scriptures, but when Christ came among them, they did not accept Him because of their unbelief. When they rejected Christ, they rejected the foundation of their faith. The Christian world of today, who claim faith in Christ yet reject the Law of God, the Bible, and the Spirit of Prophecy, are making a similar mistake as did the deceived Jews.

3 When was this attitude of unbelief and rejection of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy instruction first recognized as a serious problem in the church of the second advent movement? What type of rejection occurred in Israel? Jeremiah 36:20–26.

note: “For years the Lord has been presenting the situation of the church before you. Again and again reproofs and warnings have been given. October 23, 1879, the Lord gave me a most impressive testimony in regard to the church in Battle Creek. . . . I [Ellen White] had no confidence in the course which many were pursuing, for they were doing the very things which the Lord had warned them not to do.

“That God who knows their spiritual condition declares: They have cherished evil and separated from Me. They have gone astray, every one of them. Not one is guiltless. They have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters. . . .

“Many excused their disregard of the testimonies by saying: ‘Sister White is influenced by her husband; the testimonies are molded by his spirit and judgment.’ . . . Have I not a knowledge of the state of the church, when the Lord has presented their case before me again and again for years? Repeated warnings have been given, yet there has been no decided change.

“I saw that the frown of God was upon His people for their assimilation to the world. . . .

“Yet now when I send you a testimony of warning and reproof, many of you declare it to be merely the opinion of Sister White. You have thereby insulted the Spirit of God.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 63, 64.

4 List three things from the note above that God had identified as serious problems that caused His professed people to be separated from Him. What did God’s people do in Jeremiah’s time? Jeremiah 2:11–13, 17–25.

comment: In the first advent we saw that it was the rejection of Jesus that separated the leaders and people from Him. In the second advent movement, it is the rejection of the instruction given in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy that separated the ministers and the people from God by 1879. Three years later the following warning was written concerning the second advent church.

5 Describe the warning that was sent to the second advent church in 1882. What is the type of this prophecy about being weighed in the balance? Daniel 5:27.

note: “The church will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. If her moral character and spiritual state do not correspond with the benefits and blessings God has conferred upon her, she will be found wanting. The light has been shining clear and definite upon her pathway, and the light of 1882 calls her to an account. If her talents are unimproved, if her fruit is not perfect before God, if her light has become darkness, she is indeed found wanting. . . . We profess to know God, and to believe the truth, but in works deny Him. Our deeds are directly adverse to the principles of truth and righteousness, by which we profess to be governed.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 83, 84.

comment: If a tree does not bear good fruit, it will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 7:17–23.)

6 What did God say concerning the condition of the church by 1885 that was similar to the spiritual condition in ancient Israel? See Nehemiah 9:32–35.

note: “Like ancient Israel, the church has dishonored her God by departing from the light, neglecting her duties, and abusing her high and exalted privilege of being peculiar and holy in character. Her members have violated their covenant to live for God and him only. They have joined with the selfish and world-loving. Pride, the love of pleasure, and sin have been cherished, and Christ has departed. His Spirit has been quenched in the church.” Review and Herald, May 5, 1885.

7 In the reference above, what is said of the relationship of Christ and the Holy Spirit to the church? What is the promise given to the followers of Christ? John 14:15–18.

8 What is the only hope that remains for the church? How does the Bible make it clear that this was the same standard in the apostolic church? Matthew 5:48; Colossians 1:28; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Hebrews 12:14.

note: “Their only hope of salvation is to separate from the world, and zealously maintain their separate, holy, and peculiar character. . . .

“Perfection, holiness, nothing short of this, would give them success in carrying out the principles he has given them.” Review and Herald, May 5, 1885.

9 Describe the attitude of the men who were holding positions of trust and molding the work after their own similitude in 1888. How were the Jews cultivating hatred against Jesus and working with Satan? John 5:16–18; 8:42–47.

note: “The perils of the last days are upon us. Satan takes the control of every mind that is not decidedly under the control of the Spirit of God. Some have been cultivating hatred against the men whom God has commissioned to bear a special message to the world. They began this Satanic work at Minneapolis [1888]. Afterward, when they saw and felt the demonstration of the Holy Spirit testifying that the message was of God, they hated it the more, because it was a testimony against them. . . . They went on in their own spirit, filled with envy, jealousy, and evil surmisings, as did the Jews. . . . Yet these men have been holding positions of trust, and have been molding the work after their own similitude, as far as they possibly could.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 79, 80. [Emphasis in original.]

10 How did God describe these ministers who would not enthrone truth in their hearts? For a biblical type, see Matthew 15:1–9.

note: “Unless the truth is enthroned in the heart, and a thorough transition takes place from darkness to light, those who handle sacred responsibilities are ministers of darkness, blind leaders of the blind. ‘Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots.’ [Jude 1:12.] God requires that every soul that names His name shall have the truth enthroned in the heart.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 81.

comment: Jesus used similar phraseology in Matthew 15:14 and 23:16, first part, to describe the religious leaders. These attitudes are not presented to criticize the leaders or ministers, but to reveal how God views the condition of the church and the direction it is taking. We need to understand the similarities in the attitudes of the people in the two advent movements, so we do not reject the truth.

11 What did the Lord reveal to John the Revelator and to Ellen White concerning the attitude of the people toward the Spirit of Prophecy? For a biblical type, see John 5:47; 11 Chronicles 36:14–16.

note: “I [Ellen White] have been shown that unbelief in the testimonies has been steadily increasing as the people backslide from God. It is all through our ranks, all over the field. But few know what our churches are to experience. I saw that at present we are under divine forbearance, but no one can say how long this will continue. No one knows how great the mercy that has been exercised toward us. But few are heartily devoted to God. There are only a few who, like the stars in a tempestuous night, shine here and there among the clouds.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 76.

12 What will happen to those who have yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs when the test will come to every soul? For a biblical type, see John 6:60–66; 11 Thessalonians 2:10–12.

note: “The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 81.

13 What is the only safety for God’s faithful people? Ephesians 6:12–17; 1 John 2:15–17.

note: “Our only safety is to stand as God’s peculiar people. We must not yield one inch to the customs and fashions of this degenerate age, but stand in moral independence, making no compromise with its corrupt and idolatrous practices.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 78.

Letter from Secretariat, General Conference of Seventh day Adventists

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Dear Brother and Sister:

Elder Folkenberg asked me to reply to your letter of December 1996 in which you expressed concern over violence that erupted toward two men, Livingstone Kul and Jonathan Gray, in Papua New Guinea, and you expressed the hope that some disciplinary action might be taken toward the church officials.

I had not heard of the incident until I read your letter, so I made contact with the South Pacific Division officers in Australia to discover what took place. They had not heard either. Isn’t it strange how stories circulate the globe, and create criticism and anger, while the people where the incidents are said to have happened sometimes know nothing of it.

In this case, there is some truth to the report, and some error. We now have a report from our leaders in Papua New Guinea. It appears that the trouble began when a group of disloyal independent Adventists held a camp meeting in a province of Papua New Guinea, and, without any authority from the Church, ordained two of their number to the gospel ministry. This was done by a man from the African country of Zimbabwe who has no authority to ordain. These independents had built their church alongside the Adventist church, and then proceeded to brand the Adventist church as “Babylon,” and the leaders of our Church as corrupt.

It is true that a fight broke out and two men, Jonathan Gray and Livingston Kul were beaten. But it was not the officials of the Church who did this. It was ex-Adventists who beat these two men. You see, in Papua New Guinea, most of the people are uneducated, superstitious village people, not far removed from heathenism. In their culture, if someone accuses another to the point where it is hurtful, he gets a beating for it.

Our church leaders have encouraged our Church members to leave off these old customs, and to ignore the taunts of the independent group. And apparently our members have accepted the counsel. But the ex-Adventists were not inclined to let it go unpunished. These former Adventists were very jealous for the Church to which they used to belong. They are not prepared to hear it criticized and abused the way the independents do it, so it was they, the ex-Adventists, who dealt out what they consider to be just punishment. In fact, they went even further and burnt down the church which the independents had built.

We do not condone such conduct, nor do the Papua New Guinea Union officers. But we have no authority to discipline ex-Adventists. Now that you have a clearer picture of what happened, I’m sure you will understand some of the difficulties our leaders face in trying to shepherd the Church along the pathway of life.

Our prayers ascend with yours for peace and progress in the work of God.

Your friend in Christ,

Athal H Tolhurst

Undersecretary

(301) 680-6643

News Update from the South Pacific

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Burning, Killing, and Going to Court

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reporting from Zaire, Central Africa – A Spiritual Revival Movement

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A Specific Case of a Spiritual Revival Movement with the Zaire Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventist Church Full Member of Historic Seventh-day Adventist Family.

How the SDA General Conference Church in Zaire Central Africa Contributes Greatly to Delay the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As Historic Seventh-day Adventists, we believe in the holiness of the Good News contained in the Holy Bible. We truly trust in the Spirit of Prophecy and we are proclaiming the message of the Three Angels. We humbly think that any ecclesiastical movement which does not confess such a goal should change its name instead of claiming to be Seventh-day Adventists.

In 1972 the General Conference Church of SDA joined a national ecumenical movement called “The Church of Christ in Zaire” (L’eglise du Christ au Zaire) as the forty-second member.

We will never forget this year during which we, as former members and/or workers of the GC church in Zaire, were informed about the affiliation of the church to the ecumenical movement.

This national movement, created as a reaction to the Catholic denomination is composed of sixty-eight, Protestant churches. These churches no longer have individual names, but are part of a “Community.” The GC Church of Zaire is now called: “The Forty-Second Community of the Church of Christ in Zaire.”

This affiliation was not free, nor under the local church initiative for it was duly accepted and sponsored by the General Conference which paid the duties of affiliation, by sending the required amount to the Union which paid it to the Ecumenical corporation.

We were also very concerned and disappointed with the management of the SDA Church because it does not reflect the Spirit of Prophecy. Tribalism, underhanded dealings, vote catching, private and informal committees instead of official ones, lack of punishment of guilty persons because of their close relationship with some officials of the Union, lack of true social projects of development such as schools for the churches sake, led us to leave the ecumenical church of the GC. In short, we saw we must stay by the old land marks and organize our group based on the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy and the Message of the Three Angels.

We could not figure out how we could preach against the Beast if we made connection with those who are worshipping it. We realized that we could not spread the Three Angels’ Messages while being involved in a fellowship with Sunday Protestant Churches. And last, we could not imagine that it is possible to observe the Law of God in its wholeness while being in connection with an ecumenical movement who are law breakers, especially disregarding the fourth commandment, the sign of God’s people from the beginning to the end of time.

From this evidence, we arrived at the conclusion that we must be self-governing as well as self-supporting. But, we are not yet self-sufficient.Consequently we have to restrain our outreach for lack of funds. May you find here our origin, Seventh-day Adventist Independent Church. Thanks to God’s blessings we have friends and brothers all over the world. We also have partners who contribute to lighten the task we have to spread the warning message to our part of the world.

Organization, of Main Objectives, and Things that Handicap the Way

The Zaire Union Missions of Seventh-day Adventist Independent Church has existed since 1990. At the very beginning, it had only 5,000 members. Today we have 16,000 members out of a population of 45,000,000 people in Zaire. We have a lot of work to do, but we cannot do it without the Holy Spirit is guidance or the benefactors assistance and the prayers of our fellow believers.

We are active in the Kinshasa, Bandundu, and East-Kasai regions. The work in the Shaba and Kivu regions will be organized in the near future.

Evangelism

We are currently using the door-to-door method in our evangelism. We lack very much the French translations of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, and Hymnals, as well as Bible literature for witnessing. We would like to start a Bible Correspondence School as soon as we have means to print the lessons.

Communication

The problem of communication is one of the serious problems we are facing in our ministry. In a car it can take more than a day to travel thirty kilometers during the rainy season, because of the bad condition of the roads. On these roads bicycles are faster than cars!

We have 259 workers, that includes Pastors, Evangelists, Bible Workers, Teachers, Gardeners, etc., all work without salary,trusting that God will provide. We need assistance in this area.

We need a private ham radio in order to establish a regular link between Kinshasa, the headquarters of the mission in the country. The official Post Office in Zaire as well as the telephone system are unreliable. Only cellular phones can link the country to Europe and the USA. Here again is a big problem to resolve.

We would also like to broadcast our distinct message by public radio. May the Lord help us in this project. This is the way we can reach a lot of people who we can not reach personally. There are local Sunday churches and ministries that already have broadcasts.

We think we have the best message all over the country—the message of warning given by the Three Angels. Give us a hand so that we might be the co-labourers with the angels in our country and in all the French speaking countries in Africa. God bless all of our benefactors, and may we together hasten the glorious second coming of our King and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The End