professed church

ISSUES: Part II – Appendixes

by

Dr. John J. Grosboll

Appendix #1
Appendix #2
Appendix #3
Appendix #4

Appendix #1

Inspired Definitions and Descriptions of the true church:

  1. “Those who keep God’s commandments, those who live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, compose the church of the living God. Those who choose to follow Antichrist are subjects of the great apostate. Ranged under the banner of Satan, they break God’s law, and lead others to break it” 1MR 296.
  2. “The church is the instrumentality by which Christ enlightens those that sit in darkness” RH 3/ 22/ 98.
  3. “The people of God have a high and holy calling. They are Christ’s representatives. Paul address the church in Corinth as those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. ‘

And he adds: For we are laborers together with God; ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. ‘ ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. ‘ Again he says to them: What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ‘ To the saints at Ephesus he writes: ‘Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. ‘ Says Peter, ‘Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” RH 5/ 6/ 1884.

  1. “To the end of time, the presence of the Spirit is to abide with the true church” CS 251.
  2. “Jesus sees His true church on the earth, whose greatest ambition is to cooperate with Him in the grand work of saving souls” HP 284.
  3. “There is a strife between the forces of good and evil, between the loyal and the disloyal angels. Christ and Satan are not at an agreement, and they never will be. In every age the true church of God has engaged in decided warfare against satanic agencies. Until the controversy is ended, the struggle will go on, between wicked angels and wicked men on the one side, and holy angels and true believers on the other” Testimonies for the church Containing letters to Physicians and Ministers Instruction to Seventh- day Adventists, 5.
  4. “We can see from this scripture that it is not the true church of God that makes war with those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. It is the people who make void the law, who place themselves on the side of the dragon, and persecute those who vindicate God’s precepts” ST 4/ 22/ 89.
  5. “In holy vision, John saw the remnant church on the earth, in an age of lawlessness, and he points them out in unmistakable language: ‘Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. ‘ They are in harmony with that law that rests in the ark in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary” ST 2/ 3/ 88.
  6. “It is Christ’s organized body upon the earth, and respect is required to be paid to His ordinances. In the case of Saul, Ananias represents Christ, and he also represents Christ’s ministers upon the earth who are appointed to act in Christ’s stead” 3T 433.
  7. “God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. ‘ Where Christ is, even among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church. Where two or three are present who love and obey the commandments of God, Jesus there presides, let it be in the desolate place of the earth, in the wideness, in the city, [or] enclosed in prison walls. The glory of God has penetrated the prison walls, flooding with glorious beams of heavenly light the darkest dungeon. His saints may suffer, but their sufferings will, like the apostles’ of old, spread their faith and win souls to Christ and glorify His holy name. The bitterest opposition expressed by those who hate God’s great moral standard of righteousness should not and will not shake the steadfast soul who trusts fully in God” 17MR 81, 82.
  8. “God calls the church His body. The church is the bride, the Lamb’s wife. God is the Father of the family, the shepherd of the flock. But a mere outward connection with any church will not save a man. It is personal faith in a personal Saviour that brings the soul into spiritual union with Christ. This truth Christ plainly teaches in the sixth chapter of John” 16MR 277.
  9. “The church on earth is God’s temple, and it is to assume divine proportions before the world. This building is to be the light of the world. It is to be composed of living stones laid close together, stone fitting to stone, making a solid building. All these stones are not of the same shape or dimension. Some are large, and some are small, but each one has its own place to fill. In the whole building there is not to be one misshapen stone. Each one is perfect. And each stone is a living stone, a stone that emits light. The value of the stones is determined by the light they reflect to the world” RH 12/ 4/ 00.
  10. “In the Scriptures the figure of the erection of a temple is frequently used to illustrate the building of the church. . . . Writing of the building of this temple, Peter says, ‘To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood… ‘ (1 Peter 2: 4, 5)” God’s Amazing Grace, 123. 14. “The church is very precious in His sight, It is the case which contains His jewels, the fold which encloses His flock, and He longs to see it without spot or blemish or any such thing. He yearns after it with unspeakable love” 6T 261.

Appendix #2

Ellen White quotations which distinguish between the true church and the professed church:

  1. “Romanists have persisted in bringing against Protestants the charge of heresy and willful separation from the true church. But these accusations apply rather to themselves. They are the ones who laid down the banner of Christ and departed from ‘the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. ‘ Jude 3” GC 51.
  2. “There is a lack of moral and spiritual power throughout our Conferences. Many churches do not have light in themselves. The members do not give evidence that they are branches of the True Vine, by bearing much fruit to the glory of God, but appear to be withering away. Their Redeemer has withdrawn his light, the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, from their assemblies; [‘ To the end of time the presence of the Spirit is to abide with the true church” AA55.] for they have ceased to represent the self- denial, the sympathy and compassionate love of the world’s Redeemer; they have not love for the souls for whom Christ has died. They have ceased to be true and faithful. [“ From the beginning faithful souls have constituted the church on earth” AA 11.] It is a sad picture— the feeble piety, the want of consecration and devotion to God. There has been a separation of the soul from God; many have cut off the communication between him and the soul by refusing his messengers and his message” 1888 Materials, 764.
  3. “These are the true feelings of a large class in Battle Creek. Satan exults at his success in controlling the minds also many who profess to be Christians. He has deceived them, benumbed their sensibilities, and planted his hellish banner right in their midst, and they are so completely deceived that they know not that it is he. The people have not erected graven images, yet their sin is no less in the sight of God. They worship mammon. They love worldly gain. Some will make any sacrifice of conscience to obtain their object. God’s professed people are selfish and self- caring. They love the things of this world, and have fellowship with the works of darkness. They have pleasure in unrighteousness. They have not love toward God, nor love for their neighbors. They are idolaters— worse, far worse, in the sight of God, than the heathen graven- image worshipers who have no knowledge of a better way” Appeal to the Battle Creek Church, 2,3.

Contrast the above statement about the professed church with the following statement about the true church: “There is a strife between the forces of good and evil, between the loyal and the disloyal angels. Christ and Satan are not at an agreement, and they never will be. In every age the true church of God has engaged in decided wait are against satanic agencies. Until the controversy is ended, the struggle will go on, between wicked angels and wicked men on the one side, and holy angels and true believers on the other” Special Testimonies, Series B, 5.

  1. “The apostle’s words of warning to the Corinthian church are applicable to all time, and are specially adapted to the wants of our day. By idolatry he did not alone mean the worship of idols, but also selfishness, love of ease, the gratification of appetite and passion. All these come under the head of idolatry. A mere profession of faith iii Christ, and a boastful knowledge of the truth, does not constitute a Christian. A religion which seeks only to gratify the eye, the ear, and the taste, or which permits any hurtful self- indulgence, is not the religion of Christ. It is in harmony with the spirit of the world, and is opposed to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. Festivals and scenes of amusement, in which professed members of the Christian church imitate the customs and enjoy the pleasures of the world, constitute a virtual union with the enemies of God” LP 169, 170.
  2. “For many centuries, first through paganism and then through the Papacy, Satan exerted his powers to blot from the earth God’s faithful witnesses. Both heathen and papists were actuated by the same dragon spirit. They differed only in that the Romish apostate, making a pretense of serving God, was the more dangerous and cruel foe. Through the agency of Romanism, Satan took the world captive. The professed church of God was swept into the ranks of this delusion, and for more than a thousand years the true people of God suffered under the dragon’s ire” ST 2/ 8/ 10.
  3. “Even the professed church of Christ, with their exalted privileges and high professions, discerned not the image of Christ in this self- denying child of God because they were so far removed from Christ themselves that they reflected not His image. They judged by the external appearance and took no special pains to discern the inward adorning. Here was a woman whose resources of knowledge and genuine experience in the mysteries of godliness exceeded those of anyone residing at ,and whose manner of address to the youth and children was ~5V~ sing, instructive, and salutary. She was not harsh, but correct and sympathetic, and would have proved one of the most useful laborers in the field as an instructor of the youth and an intelligent, useful companion and counselor to mothers. She could reach hearts by her earnest, matter- of- fact presentation of incidents in her religious life, which she had devoted to the service of her Redeemer. Had the church emerged from darkness and deception into the clear light, their hearts would have been drawn out after the lonely stranger. Her prayers, her tears, her distress, at seeing no way of usefulness open to her, have been seen and heard in heaven. The Lord offered to His people talented help; but they were rich and increased with goods, and had need of nothing. They turned from and rejected a most precious blessing of which they will yet feel the need. Had Elder E stood in the clear light of God and been imbued with His Spirit when this servant of Jesus, lonely, homeless, and thirsting for a work to do for her Master, was brought to his notice, spirit would have answered to spirit, as face answereth to face in a mirror; his heart would have been drawn out after this disciple of Christ, and he would have understood her. Thus also with the church. They had been in such spiritual blindness they had lost the sound of the voice of the true Shepherd and were following the voice of a stranger, who was leading them from the fold of Christ” 2T 141, 142. Notice that the fold is the church of Christ (1MR 237) and these were professed church members, members of the Battle Creek SDA church who were being led ‘from the fold of Christ, ‘ that is, from the true church.
  4. “Pride and lukewarmness have made the professed people of God an offense in his sight” RH 8/ 7/ 94. Now notice the contrast between the professed people and the true people of God: “We are to find the assurance of our acceptance with God in his written promise, not in a happy flight of feeling. Were we to ground our hope upon joyful emotions, there are many of God’s true people who would be without assurance. There are in the fold of Christ not only the sheep, that he leads into green pastures, but the lambs, that the Shepherd gathers in his arms and carries in his bosom. . . . they are precious in the sight of the Lord” ST 4/ 18/ 95.
  5. “There are many, many, professed Christians who are waiting unconcernedly for the coming of the Lord. They have not on the garment of His righteousness. They may profess to be children of God, but they are not cleansed from sin. They are selfish and self- sufficient. Their experience is Christless. They neither love God supremely nor their neighbor as themselves. They have no true idea of what constitutes holiness. They do not see the defects in themselves. So blinded are they, that they are not able to detect the subtle working of pride and iniquity. They are clad in the rags of self- righteousness, and stricken with spiritual blindness. Satan has cast his shadow between them and Christ, and they have no wish to study the pure, holy character of the Saviour” RH 2/ 26/ 1901.
  6. “The times are marked by extraordinary depravity. The religion of the churches of today is of a kind that should make every true follower of God afraid of it. The religious character of professed Christians makes them act like demons. ‘We have a law, ‘ they say, and by our law He ought to die. ‘ More than common contempt will be shown to those who make the Word of God their criterion” ST 1/ 31/ 1900.
  7. “The trouble is, religion is professed but not practiced. The Spirit of God will dwell in the hearts of his followers. The condition of the cause of God will cause the deepest suffering of mind and anguish of soul. Oh that the history of the past would influence the present! Oh that all would feel to the depths of their souls that they have it as a privilege and duty individually to be earnest believers in the truth and co- laborers with their self- denying Saviour who has loved them and given his life for them” Special Testimony to the Battle Creek Church, 17, 18.
  8. “When Jesus came as a man to our world, Satan had led the Jews into the practice of a religion that pleased the powers of darkness. The professed people of God had departed from God, and were following another leader. Through their own perversity, they were going on to destruction; but Christ came to dispute the authority of Satan. He was met on every hand by the temptation of the enemy, who sought to appear not as a fallen, evil angel, but as an exalted, loyal angel. He sought to veil his true character of the deceiver, the falsifier, the apostate, the accuser of the brethren, and the murderer, and to present himself as one who had the honor of God at heart. But the life of Christ was made one long scene of conflict. Satan stirred up the evil hearts of men, and set envy and prejudice at work against the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. He caused men to question and to doubt the word, works, and mission of Christ” ST 4/ 25/ 95.
  9. “The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its real, sinful character. They will always bean the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty- four thousand who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God’s professed people. This is forcibly set forth by the prophet’s illustration of the last work under the figure of the men each having a slaughter weapon in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen. with a writer’s inkhorn by his side. ‘And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” 3T 266.
  10. “But the heavenly principles that distinguish those who are one with Christ from those who are one with the world have become almost indistinguishable. The professed people of Christ are no longer a separate and peculiar people. The line of demarcation is indistinct. People are subordinating themselves to the world, to its practices, its customs, its selfishness. The church has gone over to the world in transgression of the law, when the world should have come over to the church in obedience to the law. Daily the church is becoming converted to the world. Professing Christians are slaves of mammon. Their indulgence of appetite, and extravagant expenditure of money for selfish gratification, greatly dishonors God” Special Testimony to the Battle Creek Church, 9.
  11. “Christ declares that there will exist similar unbelief concerning His second coming. As the people of Noah’s day ‘knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so, ‘ in the words of our Saviour, ‘shall also the coming of the Son of man be. ‘ Matthew 24: 39. When the professed people of God are uniting with the world, living as they live, and joining with them in forbidden pleasures; when the luxury of the world becomes the luxury of the church; when the marriage bells are chiming, and all are looking forward to many years of worldly prosperity— then, suddenly as the lightning flashes from the heavens, will come the end of their bright visions and delusive hopes” GC 338, 339.
  12. “Satan was seeking by this means to oppose and destroy the work of God. The people had been greatly stirred by the advent movement, thousands of sinners had been converted, and faithful men were giving themselves to the work of proclaiming the truth, even in the tarrying time. The prince of evil was losing his subjects; and in order to bring reproach upon the cause of God, he sought to deceive some who professed the faith and to drive them to extremes. Then his agents stood ready to seize upon every error, every failure, every unbecoming act, and hold it up before the people in the most exaggerated light, to render Adventists and their faith odious. Thus the greater the number whom he could crowd in to make a profession of faith in the second advent while his power controlled their hearts, the greater advantage would he gain by calling attention to them as representatives of the whole body of believers” GC 395.
  13. “Those among Sabbathkeepers who have yielded to the influence of the world are to be tested. The perils of the last days are upon us, and a trial is before the professed people of God which many have not anticipated. The genuineness of their faith will be proved. Many have united with woridlings in pride, vanity, and pleasure seeking, flattering themselves that they could do this and still be Christians. But it is such indulgences that separate them from God and make them children of the world. Christ has given us no such example. Those only who deny self, and live a life of sobriety, humility, and holiness, are true followers of Jesus; and such cannot enjoy the society of the lovers of the world” 4T 633

Appendix #3

Who is an historic Seventh- day Adventist?

An historic Seventh- day Adventist is a person who believes the historic teachings of Seventh- day Adventists. The following article by James White from the Signs of the Times in 1874 outlines the historic doctrines of Seventh- day Adventists. A historic Seventh- day Adventist still believes all of these. It should also be said that an historic Seventh- day Adventist believes that Ellen G. White is a prophet of God and that her writings have divine authority— an historic Seventh- day Adventist will never argue against a theological position based on the weight of evidence in the Ellen G. White writings.

Fundamental Principles By James White

In presenting to the public this synopsis of our faith, we wish to have it distinctly understood that we have no articles of faith, creed. or discipline aside from the Bible. We do not put forth this as having authority with our people, nor is it designed to secure uniformity among them, as a system of faith, but is a brief statement of what is, and has been, with great unanimity, held by them. We often find it necessary to meet inquiries on this subject, and sometimes to correct false statements circulated against us, and to remove erroneous impressions which have obtained with those who have not had an opportunity to become acquainted with our faith and practice. Our only object is to meet this necessity.

With these remarks, we ask the attention of the reader to the following propositions which aim to be a concise statement of the more prominent features of our faith.

  1. That there is one God, a personal, spiritual Being, the Creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal, infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy; unchangeable, and everywhere present by His representative, the Holy Spirit. Psalm 139: 7.
  2. That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, and Son of the Eternal Father, the One by whom God created all things, and by whom they do consist; that He took on Him the nature of the seed of Abraham for the redemption of our fallen race; that He dwelt among men, full of grace and truth, lived our example,’ died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only Mediator in the sanctuary in heaven, where, with His own blood, He makes atonement for our sins; which atonement, so far from being made on the cross, which was but the offering of the sacrifice, is the very last portion of His work as priest, according to the example of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and prefigured the ministry of our Lord in heaven. See Leviticus 16; Hebrews 8: 4, 5; 9: 6, 7; etc.
  3. That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, contain a full revelation of His will to man, and are the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
  4. That baptism is an ordinance of the Christian church, to follow faith and repentance, an ordinance by which we commemorate the resurrection of Christ, as by this act we show our faith in His burial and resurrection, and, through that, of the resurrection of all the saints at the last day; and that no other mode fitly represents these facts than that which the Scriptures prescribe, namely, immersion. Romans 6: 3- 5; Colossians 2: 12.
  5. That the new birth comprises the entire change necessary to fit us for the kingdom of God, and consists of two parts First, a moral change, wrought by conversion and a Christian life; second, a physical change at the second coming of Christ, whereby, if dead, we are raised incorruptible, and, if living, are changed to immortality in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. John 3: 3, 5; Luke 20: 36.
  6. We believe that prophecy is a part of God’s revelation to man; that it is included in that scripture which is profitable for instruction (2 Timothy 3: 16); that it is designed for us and our children (Deuteronomy 29: 29); that so far from being enshrouded in impenetrable mystery, it is that which especially constitutes the word of God a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119: 105; 2 Peter 1: 19); that a blessing is pronounced upon those who study it (Revelation 1: 1- 3); and that, consequently, it is to be understood by the people of God, sufficiently to show them their position in the world’s history, and the special duties required at their hands,
  7. That the world’s history from specified dates in the past, the rise and fall of empires, and the chronological succession of events down to the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom, are outlined in numerous great chains of prophecy; and that these prophecies are now all fulfilled except the closing scenes.
  8. That the doctrine of the world’s conversion and temporal millennium is a fable of these last days, calculated to lull men into a state of carnal security, and cause them to be overtaken by the great day of the Lord as by a thief in the night; that the second coming of Christ is to precede, not follow the millennium; for until the Lord appears, the papal power, with all its abominations, is to continue, the wheat and tares grow together, and evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, as the word of God declares.
  9. That the mistake of Adventists in 1844 pertained to the nature of the event then to transpire, not to the time; that no prophetic period is given to reach to the second advent, but that the longest one, the two thousand and three hundred days of Daniel 8: 14, terminated in that year, and brought us to an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary.
  10. That the sanctuary of the new covenant is the tabernacle of God in heaven, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 8, and onward, of which our Lord, as great High Priest, is minister; that this sanctuary is the antitype of the Mosaic tabernacle, and that the priestly work of our Lord, connected therewith, is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priests of the former dispensation (Hebrews 8: 1- 5, etc.); that this is the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days; what is termed its cleansing being in this case, as in the type, simply the entrance of the high priest into the most holy place, to finish the round of service connected therewith, by blotting out and removing from the sanctuary the sins which had been transferred to it by means of the ministration in the first apartment (Hebrews 9: 22,23); and that this work, in the antitype, commencing in 1844, occupies a brief but indefinite space, at the conclusion of which the work of mercy for the world is finished.
  11. That God’s moral requirements are the same upon all men in all dispensations; that these are summarily contained in the commandments spoken by Jehovah from Sinai, engraved on the tables of stone, and deposited in the ark, which was in consequence called the “ark of the covenant,” or testament (Numbers 10: 33; Hebrews 9: 4, etc.); that this law is immutable and perpetual, being a transcript of the tables deposited in the ark of God’s testament; for under the sounding of the seventh trumpet we are told that “the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament” (Revelation 11: 19).
  12. That the fourth commandment of this law requires that we devote the seventh day of each week, commonly called Saturday, to abstinence from our own labor, and to the performance of sacred and religious duties; that this is the only weekly Sabbath known to the Bible, being the day that was set apart before Paradise was lost (Genesis 2: 2, 3), and which will be observed in Paradise restored (Isaiah 66: 22, 23); that the facts upon which the Sabbath institution is based confine it to the seventh day, as they are not true of any other day; and that the terms Jewish Sabbath and Christian Sabbath, as applied to the weekly rest day, are names of human invention, un- Scriptural in fact, and false in meaning.
  13. That, as the man of sin, the papacy has thought to change times and laws (the laws of God, Daniel 7: 25), and has misled almost all Christendom in regard to the fourth commandment; we find a prophecy of a reform in this respect to be wrought among believers just before the coming of Christ (Isaiah 56: 1, 2; 1 Peter 1: 5; Revelation 14: 12, etc.).
  14. That, as the natural or carnal heart is at enmity with God and His law, this enmity can be subdued only by a radical transformation of the affections, the exchange of unholy for holy principles; that this transformation follows repentance and faith, is the special work of the Holy Spirit, and constitutes regeneration or conversion.
  15. That, as all have violated the law of God, and cannot of themselves render obedience to His just requirements, we are dependent on Christ, first for justification from our past offenses, and, secondly, for grace whereby to render acceptable obedience to His holy law in time to come.
  16. That the Spirit of God was promised to manifest itself in the church through certain gifts, enumerated especially in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4; that these gifts are not designed to supersede, or take the place of, the Bible, which is sufficient to make us wise unto salvation, any more than the Bible can take the place of the Holy Spirit; that in specifying the various channels of its operation, that Spirit has simply made provision for its own existence and presence with the people of God to the end of time, to lead to an understanding of that word which it had inspired, to convince of sin, and work a transformation in the heart and life; and that those who deny to the Spirit its place and operation do plainly deny that part of the Bible which assigns to it this work and position.
  17. That God, in accordance with His uniform dealings with the race, sends forth a proclamation of the approach of the second advent of Christ; that this work is symbolized by the three messages of Revelation 14, the last one bringing to view the work of reform on the law of God, that His people may acquire a complete readiness for that event.
  18. That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary (see proposition 10), synchronizing with the time of the proclamation of the third message, is a time of investigative judgment, first, with reference to the dead, and, at the close of probation, with reference to the living, to determine who of the myriads now sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation— points which must be determined before the Lord appears.
  19. That the grave, whither we all tend, expressed by the Hebrew Scheol and the Greek hades, is a place of darkness in which there is no work, device, wisdom, or knowledge. Ecclesiastes 9: 10.
  20. That the state to which we are reduced by death is one of silence, inactivity and entire unconsciousness. Psalm 146: 4; Ecclesiastes 9: 5, 6; Daniel 12: 2; etc.
  21. That out of this prison house of the grave, mankind are to be brought by a bodily resurrection; the righteous having part in the first resurrection, which takes place at the second advent of Christ; the wicked, in the second resurrection, which takes place a thousand years thereafter. Revelation 20: 4- 6.
  22. That at the last trump, the living righteous are to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and with the resurrected righteous are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, so forever to be with the Lord.
  23. That these immortalized ones are then taken to heaven, to the New Jerusalem, the Father’s house in which there are many mansions (John 14: 1- 3), where they reign with Christ a thousand years, judging the world and fallen angels, that is, apportioning the punishment to be executed upon them at the close of the one thousand years (Revelation 20: 4; 1 Corinthians 6: 2,3); that during this time the earth lies in a desolate and chaotic condition (Jeremiah 4: 20- 27), described, as in the beginning, by the Greek term abussos, bottomless pit (Septuagint of Genesis 1: 2); and that here Satan is confined during the thousand years (Revelation 20: 1, 2), and here finally destroyed (Revelation 20: 10; Malachi 4: 1); the theater of the ruin he has wrought in the universe, being appropriately made for a time his gloomy prison house, and then the place of his final execution.
  24. That at the end of the thousand years, the Lord descends with His people and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21: 2), the wicked dead are raised and come up upon the surface of the yet unrenewed earth, and gather about the city, the camp of the saints (Revelation 20: 9), and fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours them. They are then consumed root and branch (Malachi 4: 1), becoming as though they had not been (Obadiah 15, 16). In this everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 1: 9), the wicked meet the everlasting punishment threatened against them (Matthew 25: 46). This is the perdition of ungodly men, the fire which consumes them being the fire for which “the heavens and the earth, which are now,” are kept in store, which shall melt even the elements with its intensity, and purge the earth from the deepest stains of the curse of sin. 2 Peter 3: 7- 12.
  25. That a new heavens and earth shall spring by the power of God from the ashes of the old, to be, with the New Jerusalem for its metropolis and capital, the eternal inheritance of the saints, the place where the righteous shall evermore dwell. 2 Peter 3: 13; Psalm 37: 11, 29; Matthew 5: 5.

‘As stated in the first paragraph of this article, the “Fundamental Principles” was not regarded as a creed but rather as a synopsis of current beliefs generally held by Seventh- day Adventists, beliefs which were and are subject to deeper understanding and restatement from time to time. An example of the restatement of an essential doctrine— that of the atoning work of Christ, of which Ellen G. White said, “The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster” (Gospel Workers, page 315)— is seen in a revised statement of principles by the congregation at Battle Creek in 1894. Many of the leaders of the church were residing at Battle Creek at the time, so that the revision, presented under the title, “Some Things Seventh- day Adventists Believe,” may be considered representative.

The portion of the revision which concerns the atonement is as follows: “lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only Mediator in the sanctuary in heaven, where, through the atoning merits of His blood, He secures the pardon and forgiveness of all who penitently come to God through Him; and as the closing portion of His work as priest before He comes again as King of kings, He will make the final atonement for the sins of all believers, and blot them out, as foreshadowed and prefigured by the Levitical priesthood.”

Appendix #4

Who is the church that appears to fall but does not?

By Ellen White

My mind is deeply exercised in regard to our condition as a people. . . . when we do practice the truth we are then following Jesus, who is the light of the world; and if we as a people are not constantly elevating, becoming more and more spiritually minded, we are becoming like the Pharisees— self righteous— while we do not the will of God.

I think of how many who profess the truth are keeping it apart from their lives. They do not bring its sanctifying, refining, spiritualizing power into their hearts. I think how this grieves Jesus.

I think of His great sorrow as He wept over Jerusalem, exclaiming, “0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not” [Luke 13: 34]! God forbid that these words shall apply to those who have great light and blessings. In the rejecting of Jerusalem it was because great privileges were abused, which brought the denunciation upon all who lightly regarded the great opportunities and precious light that were entrusted to their keeping. Privileges do not commend us to God, but they commend God to us. No people are saved because they have great light and special advantages, for these high and heavenly favors only increase their responsibility. The more and increased light God has given makes the receiver more responsible. It does not place the receiver in any safer position unless the privileges are wisely improved, prized, and used to advance God’s glory. Christ said, “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee. Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matt. 11: 21].

When Jerusalem was divorced from God it was because of her sins. She fell from an exalted height that Tyre and Sidon had never reached. And when an angel falls he becomes a fiend. The depth of our ruin is measured by the exalted light to which God has raised us in His great goodness and unspeakable mercy. Oh, what privileges are granted to us as a people! And if God spared not His people that He loved, because they refused to walk in the light, how can He spare the people whom he has blessed with the light of heaven in having opened to them the most exalted truth ever entrusted to mortal man to give to the world?

We are far from being the people God would have us to be. because we do not elevate the soul and refine the character in harmony with the wonderful unfolding of God’s truth and His purposes. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” [Prov. 14: 34]. Sin is a disorganizer. Wherever it is cherished— in the individual heart, in the household, in the church— there is disorder, strife, variance, enmity, envy, jealousy, because the enemy of man of God has the controlling power over the mind. But let the truth be loved and brought into the life, as well as advocated, and that man or woman will hate sin and will be a living representative of Jesus Christ to the world.

The people claiming to believe the truth will not be condemned because they had not the light, but because they had great light and did not bring their hearts to the test of God’s great moral standard of righteousness. The people who claim to believe the truth must be elevated by living it out. Real Bible religion must leaven the life, refine and ennoble the character, making it more and more like the divine model. Then will the home be vocal with prayer, with thanksgiving and praise to God. Angels will minister in the home and accompany the worshiper to the house of prayer.

Let the churches who claim to believe the truth, who are advocating the law of God, keep that law and depart from all iniquity. Let the Individual members of the church resist the temptations to practice evils and indulge in sin. Let the church commence the work of purification before God by repentance, humiliation, deep heart searching, for we are in the antitypical day of atonement— solemn hour fraught with eternal results. . . .

God never forsakes people or individuals until they forsake Him. Outward opposition will not cause the faith of God’s people, who are keeping His commandments, to become dim. The neglect to bring purity and truth into practice will grieve the Spirit of God and weaken them because God is not in their midst to bless. Internal corruption will bring the denunciations of God upon this people as it did upon Jerusalem. Oh, let pleading voices, let earnest prayer be heard, that those who preach to others shall not themselves be castaways. My brethren, we know not what is before us, and our only safety is in following the Light of the world. God will work with us and for us if the sins which brought His wrath upon the old world, upon Sodom and Gomorrah and upon ancient Jerusalem, do not become our crime.

The least transgression of God’s law brings guilt upon the transgressor, and without earnest repentance and forsaking of sin he will surely become an apostate.

All the policy in the world cannot save us from a terrible sifting, and all the efforts made with high authorities will not lift from us the scourging of God, just because sin is cherished. If as a people we do not keep ourselves in the faith and not only advocate with pen and voice the commandments of God, but keep them every one, not violating a single precept knowingly, then weakness and ruin will come upon us. It is a work that we must attend to in every one of our churches. Each man must be a Christian. . . .

We are to be ready and waiting for the orders of God. Nations will be stirred to their very center. Support will be withdrawn from those who proclaim God’s only standard of righteousness, the only sure test of character. And all who will not bow to the decrees of the national councils and obey the national laws to exalt the sabbath instituted by the man of sin to the disregard of God’s holy day, will feel, not the oppressive power of popery alone, but of the Protestant world, the image of the beast.

Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out–the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths. We must be divested of our self-righteousness and arrayed in the righteousness of Christ.

The remnant that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy. All these, He says, I have graven…upon the palms of my hands” [Isa. 49:16]. They are held in everlasting, imperishable remembrance. We want faith now, living faith. We want to have a living testimony that shall cut to the heart of the sinner. There is too much sermonizing and too little ministering. We want the holy unction. We need the spirit and fervor of the truth. Many of the ministers are half paralyzed by their own defects of character. They need the converting power of God. Manuscript Releases, Volume Twelve, Pages 318-325

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ISSUES: Part II SECTION TWO “The Church”

by

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Spiritual Nature of the Church
The promises
Israel (Abraham’s seed)
The apostasy in Christendom
When reformation of the church was impossible
Can you tell the difference between the true church and the professed- only church?
Two true churches? (the invisible church)
The professed church and the true church
Who are God’s denominated people?
Questions and answers

To be a Christian is not merely to take the name of Christ, but to have the mind of Christ, to submit to the will of God in all things. Many who profess to be Christians have yet to learn this great lesson. Many know little of what it is to deny self for Christ’s sake. They do not study how they can best glorify God and advance His cause. But it is self, self, how can it be gratified? Such religion is worthless. In the day of God those who possess it will be weighed in the balance and found wanting. TMK 174

ISSUES: Part Two SECTION TWO “The Church”

Dr. John J. Grosboll

The church is one of the things of God, the most precious thing on earth in His sight. It has been established and purchased at an infinite cost to heaven. What is it about the church that makes it so precious? Although no human can give a complete answer to this question, a very imperfect and partial answer could be as follows. When the great controversy was inaugurated in heaven, God and His government were challenged with the following justification:

  1. First of all, Lucifer claimed that God’s law was unnecessary for angels, and second, he claimed that created beings could not perfectly keep the law. Lucifer wanted a change in God’s law that would allow him to be part of the Godhead or like God (this would require a change in the first commandment and a change in the spiritual meaning of the rest of the commandments).
  2. Lucifer claimed that Christ had privileges that he should have also. God did not at all consent to this demand.
  3. Lucifer claimed that he wanted to obtain more freedom and liberty and that the principles of God’s government did not work perfectly and could be improved upon. Although Lucifer attempted to gain God’s condemnation by the entire universe of creatures created by God’s own hand, the nature of the charges made it impossible for God to vindicate His character or government as God because the charges which were accepted by about one third of the angels were not only against God, His government and His law, but they claimed that created beings could not keep His law and that His law resulted in a condition of life for created beings that was inferior to that life which could be enjoyed if the law were changed.

After Lucifer was expelled from heaven, he determined to be revenged upon God by causing the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, which he succeeded in doing. When Adam and Eve fell, they lost their former righteousness and purity of character. They were transgressors of the first commandment and spiritually they had broken every commandment in God’s law (Romans 7: 14). Satan claimed that either Adam and Eve would have to die with all the other transgressors of God’s law (including himself) or God would have to allow him and all the other fallen angels back into heaven if Adam and Eve were forgiven. God said to the devil, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel” Genesis 3: 15.

SPIRITUAL NATURE OF THE CHURCH

Here in Genesis 3: 15, immediately after the fall, God announces the establishment of His church as His people. All people in the world can claim Eve as their mother according to the flesh, but God was here speaking only of those who would be, not just the fleshly descendants of Eve, but her spiritual descendants— those who would demonstrate by the character that they would develop that God was their Father and the devil their adversary.

Immediately after the fall of man, the spiritual nature of the church is revealed. There would be descendants of Eve that would be the seed of the devil— his spiritual children— and there would be enmity between these descendants of Eve according to the flesh and the descendants of Eve who were not only her fleshly but her spiritual children. Immediately after the fall, God makes it plain that ONLY the spiritual descendants of Eve are His people, His church. Those who are only her descendants according to the flesh, or who make a profession of being His children but develop characters like Satan, are the seed of the serpent and are not God’s children or part of His church at all. “There must be open and avowed enmity between the church and the serpent, between her seed and his seed” ST 8/ 26/ 89.

THE PROMISES

From this time on, often the church was again likened to a woman or sometimes the seed of the woman. This promise in Genesis 3: 15 was passed down for twenty generations. In the twentieth generation, the promise was renewed and more explicitly stated to Abraham in Genesis 12, 15, and 17. God’s covenant renewed with Abraham included the following provisions: (1) The sign or token that one had entered into this covenant was the rite of circumcision (Genesis 17: 10- 14). (2) For everyone who entered into this covenant, God promises to be their God (Genesis 17: 7, 8). (3) God promised that everyone who was part of this covenant would “inherit the land in which you are a stranger” (Genesis 17: 8). Some have thought that this refers only to the land of Palestine, but Abraham understood it to refer not only to Palestine but to an eternal inheritance in the earth made new at the end of time (Hebrews 11: 8- 10). The righteous are strangers in this earth (Hebrews 11: 13- 16; 1 Peter 1: 1), but they will inherit the earth (Psalm 37). (4) To be part of the covenant you must be part of Abraham’s seed because the covenant was made only to Abraham and his seed (Genesis 17: 7). (5) The covenant was not made with the fleshly descendants of Abraham but only with those who were his spiritual seed. We know for sure that this was a condition of the covenant from the beginning because Ishmael was of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh and was circumcised— he received the token or symbol of being part of the covenant (Genesis 17: 25), yet Ishmael was never part of the covenant! (see Romans 9) This is absolute proof that to be part of the covenant or testament you must be the spiritual seed of Abraham, not just the literal seed. In fact, you could be part of the spiritual seed of Abraham and thereby be part of the covenant even if you were not of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh. The experience of Rahab the harlot in Jericho and of Ruth the Moabitess who became one of the progenitors of Christ demonstrates this fact— neither were of the physical seed of Abraham, but they both became part of his spiritual seed, so much so, that Ruth was chosen to be an ancestor of the Christ who was to come from the seed of Abraham.

ISRAEL (ABRAHAM’S SEED)

This covenant or testament of promise was renewed with Isaac and Jacob. After the night of Jacob’s trouble, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means “a prince with God,” and this became the official name of God’s people in this world forever. (This is not the only official name of God’s people today, however.) From this time on, one of the most common names for God’s church is “Israel.” In describing the victory of the saints at the end of the time of trouble, Ellen White calls them the Israel of God (EW 285).

However, many in ancient times and today are confused because they think that whenever the Bible talks about Israel it is talking about God’s true church. This assumption is often not true.

The human mind was originally created to operate in harmony and within the parameters of the Ten Commandments. Almost all learning from babyhood is based on the assumption that what is heard or what is seen is the truth. Without an observance of the ninth commandment, no order or learning can take place. But sin deceived (Romans 7: 11) and people who were the descendants of Abraham according to the flesh did not develop a character of faith and love like Abraham. They were his descendants according to the flesh, but they were not his spiritual descendants; they were not God’s children. Therefore an element of confusion was initiated which has continued to the present day: people who professed to be the children of Abraham, Israelites, God’s people, part of His church, were not the spiritual children of Abraham at all; spiritually they were not Israelites but they were called Israel; they professed to be part of Israel; they professed the same religion and were called Israelites (and they were Israelites according to the flesh). They were Israel by profession but not in reality. This is one of the awful results of sin— you cannot determine reality by a person’s profession or word.

Even a casual reading of the Old Testament reveals that many who were Israelites according to the flesh were not God’s people (some of them were called by the Old Testament writers the sons of Belial, that is, the devil); whereas those who are really part of His church are His people. Notice how explicitly the Bible writer states it: “They are not all Israel who are of Israel” Romans 9: 6. Those who are of Israel are those who profess to be God’s people, those who profess to be the Israel of God; but not all of these are really Israel; not all of them are really God’s people; not all of them are really part of the church. Today as then there are many who are “of Israel.” They have received the rite of baptism; they have professed to be God’s people; they are accounted by men to be God’s people, His church; they are numbered with God’s people and joined to them, but they are not really part of the church at all— they are only “pretended believers,” they are “false brethren” (COL). A false brother is not a true brother, but all those who are really part of the church are true brethren.

Until this basic fact is understood, much confusion will exist in the mind of a student of the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy. In the Bible “different meanings are expressed by the same word; there is not one word for each distinct idea” 1SM 20. If the word Israel or the word church is always interpreted to mean the same thing, then explicit contradictions are found in the inspired writings; but a real contradiction is impossible because ‘‘ all truth. . . . is consistent with itself in all its manifestations PP 114. No lie is of the truth (1 John 2: 21).

It is a common practice when an apparent contradiction occurs in inspired writings for students to make philosophical models to explain these contradictions. Because those who are part of the true church by profession and those who are part of the true church in character (reality) as well as profession have not been the same group for thousands of years and the prophets are using the imperfect language of men (1SM 20) in prophetic writings, both groups are often called simply “the church.”

In the Bible the word law is another example of the imperfectness of human speech. Sometimes the Bible writer uses the word law when talking about the Ten Commandments. At other times the same word without qualifiers is used to describe the ceremonial law or the same word is used to describe the first five books of Moses which were called the law in the Hebrew Bible. And still other times the word law is used to describe the effect of sin on a person or persons. In each case, the context of the verse must be examined to determine what law is being talked about.

This multiple use of the word law has been a prolific field for misunderstanding in which Seventh- day Adventists have had to learn how to explain the different ways that the word is used and that the moral law of Ten Commandments has never been and never can be changed. If a person is candidly looking for evidence, the different ways that the word law is used can be demonstrated from the text itself so that there is no real contradiction, even though from the first casual reading there had seemed to be. The same is true for the word church.

Until it is understood that “they are not all Israel who are of Israel,” the Old Testament prophets cannot be properly understood because when they use the word Israel, sometimes they are talking about the real or true Israel of God, His true church, and sometimes they are talking about Israel according to the flesh, those who profess to be Israel but are not all Israel. A knowledge of this fact explains many apparent contradictions in the Old Testament. For example, compare the following apparently direct contradictions: “I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage”; Jeremiah 12: 7 (see also Deuteronomy 31: 17; Isaiah 2: 6; Jeremiah 7: 29; 2 Chronicles 15: 2; 24: 20) and “For Israel is not forsaken nor Judah by his God, the Lord of hosts, though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel ” Jeremiah 51: 5 (see also Deuteronomy 31: 6, 8). How do you explain this apparently direct contradiction? An examination of all similar passages reveals the answer. The professed Israel, or Israel according to the flesh, the professed church of that day was forsaken and left by God (Ezekiel describes it graphically in the first chapters of his book.) because they had forsaken Him; but the true Israel of God never has been and never will be forsaken (Hebrews 13: 6). Those who will never be forsaken are the spiritual seed 01 Abraham— those who seek God and put their trust in Him (Psalm 9: 10), those who are righteous, the saints (Psalm 37: 25,28). Because God’s professed people forsook Him, He forsook them; but even though the land (that actually belonged only to His true people) was filled with the sin of His professed people, His true people were not forsaken and never will be.

But in Bible times as today people often base their life on what they can see and not on the spiritual reality of a godly character. Most of the tribes of the children of Israel were “lost” as a result of the Assyrian captivity and have not since that time had a distinct visible identity. Of the Israelites who remained, the majority were of the tribe of Judah and the name for God’s true people became the Jews instead of Israel (which they still were).

Most of the Jews eventually put their trust in the outward church organization instead of developing a godly character. They became so confused their thinking that they thought the outward manifestations or symbols of true religion were the essence itself. They could not tell the difference between the professed church and the true church. They could not distinguish the form from the substance. They could not tell the difference between profession and spiritual reality. This is always the result of spiritual blindness. (Jesus said that the Jews were spiritually blind— John 9 and Matthew 15.) This is one of the main reason for the confusion today about who and what the church is— Laodicea is spiritually blind.

One of the results of this misperception is that religious faith and trust is placed in church organizations, creeds and outward forms of religion. When trust is placed in the creature instead of the Creator, instead of fearing God (Revelation 14: 6) men fear other men. This fear of men is amply documented in the gospels which speak often about the fear of the Jews (see John 7; 9; 12).

Also, whenever spiritual blindness has occurred, the emphasis in religion is always upon the physical— circumcision of the flesh, baptism with water, the attainment of various human goals and objectives; but it does no good to keep the symbols if the spiritual reality that is symbolized is lost. Circumcision represented the cutting away of sin from the life (Deuteronomy 30: 6); baptism represents the washing away of sin from the life and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It does no good to observe the symbol if the spiritual reality is not experienced.

When Jesus was here, the Jews believed they were the true church because they were the seed of Abraham. They forgot that the promises were given only to the spiritual seed. They forgot that without a spiritual similarity to Abraham, a genealogy showing your fleshly connection to him was useless. When John the Baptist said, “And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father, ‘ ‘ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” Matthew 3: 9, he was assaulting their most treasured religious beliefs. They believed that, because they were Abraham’s descendants, they were members of the true church, the true people of God. John the Baptist told them not to think that a fleshly connection to Abraham guaranteed this. “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” DA 107. (All emphasis supplied) It was true that to become Abraham’s seed was to have everlasting life, but the Jews thought it was the literal seed that counted and John the Baptist said that this counted for nothing— profession counted for nothing. It was character that counted and God could raise up from the stones (Gentiles— people spiritually dead) people who would have the character of Abraham and therefore be in the most literal sense Abraham’s spiritual children. John the Baptist said that it was character likeness or spiritual relationship to Abraham that counted, not an outward relationship of profession (or of the flesh).

Jesus stated this truth in even stronger language “‘ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father and you do what you have seen with your father. They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father. ‘ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’ children, you would do the works of Abraham. Bu now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did no do this. You do the deeds of your father. ‘ Then the said to Him, ‘We were not born of fornication; w have one Father— God. ‘ Jesus said to them, ‘I God were your Father, you would love Me, for proceeded forth and came from God; nor have come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” ‘ John 8: 37- 44.

Jesus acknowledged that they were the descendants of Abraham according to the flesh, but He denied that they were the children of promise. He denied that they were Abraham’s spiritual seed; He denied that they were part of the church, rather Jesus said plainly that they were of the synagogue of Satan. Jesus here made it plain that it was spiritual or character likeness that counted.

“The Pharisees had declared themselves the children of Abraham. Jesus told them that this claim could be established only by doing the works of Abraham. The true children of Abraham would live, as he did, a life of obedience to God. They would not try to kill One who was speaking the truth that was given Him from God. In plotting against Christ, the rabbis were not doing the works of Abraham. A mere lineal descent from Abraham was of no value.

Without a spiritual connection with Him, which would be manifested in possessing the same spirit, and doing the same works, they were not His children” DA 466, 467.

The Jews believed that the professed church professed Israel (Israel according to the flesh), was the true church; but Jesus said that they were not truly the children of Abraham but rather the children of the devil— they were not the true church at all, but of the synagogue of Satan, the devil’s children. They were the professed church of God. the professed people of God, the professed true church, but not the true church at all in reality. In a time of apostasy, the professed church and the true church is not the same at all.

This same battle over the definition of the true church— that the professed or outward church is not the same as the true church— had to be fought by the apostles and is discussed in detail in the New Testament, not only in the gospels but in the epistles and other New Testament books.

The theology of the Jews taught that the professed church was the true church. The theology of the apostles taught that the true church could only be defined by spiritual relationship and not on profession alone.

The Jews thought that the fleshly seed of Abraham or the professed church was the true church, but the apostles taught that only the spiritual seed was truly the church (Romans 4: 13- 17; 9: 8; Galatians 3: 7).

The Jews thought that the visible, outward relationship was what counted, but the apostles taught that it was the inward, vital relationship that counted (Romans 2: 28, 29).

The Jews professed to be the true church of God. If you could not tell the difference between the professed church and the true church, you would not have become a member of the apostolic church at Pentecost.

THE APOSTASY IN CHRISTENDOM

However, in Christendom something very similar happened to what had formerly happened in Judaism. Part of the great apostasy in Christianity, was the teaching which has affected Christendom to the present day that “Christianity consists in the mere profession of the name pertaining not to the essential character, nor implying any material change in the general conduct” Great Empires of Bible Prophecy, A. T. Jones, 471.

A person calling himself a Christian, professing to be a Christian but not living a Christlike life, is a fraud; he is a Christian in name but not in character. He is not really a true Christian but a professed Christian only. Likewise a church professing to be Christian but breaking God’s law, teaching others to break God’s law or saying that it cannot be kept, is a Christian church in name only, not in reality. It is not a true Christian church at all. As apostasy comes into a church, the whole church is of professed Christians; but within the professed church is a usually much smaller number of true Christians whose character is in harmony with their profession. A true Christian may not have character perfection yet and may be making many mistakes, but he will be loyal to the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus or spirit of prophecy and will not seek any excuse to explain away disobedience.

Professing Christians became confused again between the profession and the reality. A philosophy was developed which has enslaved billions of human beings right up to the present day. Seventh- day Adventists are not exempt from this slavery. Again the confusion had to do with the identification of the true church just as in the days of John the Baptist, Jesus and the apostles. The philosophy which has enslaved so many could be summarized like this:

Christians were taught and believed that you could only have eternal life if you belonged to the “visible church.” They believed that this was the professed Christian organization who claimed to have received apostolic authority directly from a line of uninterrupted bishops all the way back to Peter and that these bishops had the keys to the kingdom of heaven and could send a person to heaven or hell. People believed that if these bishops or their appointed subordinates cut one off from their church organization (excommunication and mass excommunications called interdicts), that one would lose eternal life and go to everlasting burnings.

WHEN REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH WAS IMPOSSIBLE

As in the time of Christ, people were confused between profession and real spiritual relationship. Eternal life is only for those who are a part of the body of Christ, but who is part of the body of Christ? It is spiritual relationship and not merely visible profession that makes one a part of the church or the body of Christ (see Ephesians 5: 25- 32).

There has only been one church since the beginning of time. The apostolic church was not a new church, and the Seventh- day Adventist Church is not a new church founded in the nineteenth century. The Adventist Church is but the remnant of the church that has existed since the beginning of time (see Revelation 12 and the first chapter of Acts of the Apostles).

The keys to the kingdom of heaven— the power to bind and loose— is given to all Christians (see 1 Corinthians 5 and Matthew 18: 15- 20), but a person is not a Christian unless he is Christlike in character (see 1 John 3). In other words, it is impossible for any person or group of persons who do not have a Christlike character to actually cast a person out of the true church. In the Dark Ages there never could be revival or reformation until the fear of man was broken. Many Roman Catholics abhorred the apostasy which had engulfed the Christian world and they wrote and preached about the need of revival and reformation, but reformation was impossible. Every time revival and reformation started, the church threatened excommunication.

Revival and reformation could never come until the fear of man was overcome. In Jesus’ time you had to overcome your fear of man to follow Jesus. In the Dark Ages and in the time of the Reformers you had to overcome your “fear of man” to follow truth (see John 14: 6). It was impossible for the Reformation to succeed as long as people thought they would lose eternal life if the church excommunicated them. Until men understood who and what the church was according to the New Testament, there could be no reformation. People could see that the men who were operating the church were wicked, but they said the church is holy! Those who were following the doctrines and teachings of the church were evil, but they said the church was righteous!

Again, as in the days of Christ, men had mistaken profession for character, the symbols for the substance, the forms and rituals for the reality. Again mankind had to learn that if the character does not conform to the profession, all the professions in the world are worse than meaningless because, if our character does not conform to our profession, we are living a lie. The devil’s most successful agents are men and women who profess to be Christians but are unlike Christ in character.

Who has apostolic authority? The doctrine of apostolic succession teaches that Christ gave to the apostle Peter apostolic authority and this apostolic authority was passed down in succession to each later bishop of Rome (the pope). Ellen White comments on this “question that has long agitated the Christian world,— the question of apostolic succession. Descent from Abraham was proved, not by name and lineage, but by likeness of character. So the apostolic succession rests not upon the transmission of ecclesiastical authority, but upon spiritual relationship.

A life actuated by the apostles’ spirit, the belief and teaching of the truth they taught, this is the true evidence of apostolic succession. This is what constitutes men the successors of the first teachers of the gospel” DA 467.

This is especially applicable in the present day when such an ado is being made about who has authority to baptize, preach, write, or ordain or to call himself a Seventh- day Adventist, a Seventh- day Adventist minister or a Seventh- day Adventist Church. A real or true Seventh-day Adventist minister (an historic Seventh- day Adventist) will teach and preach the Seventh-day Adventist message that God raised up the second advent movement to proclaim to the world— Revelation 14: 6- 12. A person who claims to be a Seventh- day Adventist minister who is not preaching this message is not really a Seventh- day Adventist minister, no matter what credentials he has; and a person who is preaching the historic Adventist message is a Seventh-day Adventist minister, whether he has received credentials or not. The way some reason today would have kept them from hearing John the Baptist and Jesus and, for sure, the apostle Paul.

I wonder, have we learned and retained the lesson the apostles had to learn about the identity of the true church? Have we learned and retained the lesson the Reformers had to learn about who the church is? Is there any chance that in these last days the devil has forgotten errors which he has used so successfully in the time of Christ and since that time to cause the loss of countless millions of human beings?

CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TRUE CHURCH AND THE PROFESSED- ONLY CHURCH?

In the days of Jesus and the apostles, unless you could tell the difference between the real true church and the professed true church you would never have been a Christian. The Jewish church professed to be the true church of God all the days of the apostle Paul (see Sketches from the Life of Paul, 226). In a time of apostasy, unless you can tell the difference, you will not be able to make proper decisions about what church to be a part of.

The Jews believed that the true church was professed Israel, but the apostles taught that the true church was spiritual Israel only (see Romans 9: 6- 8).

You become a member of God’s professed people when you are baptized with water, but you only become a member of God’s true people when you are baptized with the Holy Spirit—” By one Spirit we are all baptized into one body” 1 Corinthians 12: 13. Baptism with water is a symbol of baptism with the Holy Spirit and after the ratification of the New Covenant, if a person does not receive the Holy Spirit at his baptism (Acts 2: 38), his baptism is only a form.

You are in reality part of the church only when you partake of the life of Christ; and the person who partakes of the devil’s program of living— any kind of living in known sin— is not a member of the body of Christ (the church) no matter what his profession is (1 Corinthians 10: 15- 21).

Being part of the true church involves a vital union with Christ, but a person can be a part of the professed church with only a superficial or professed union with Christ (Ephesians 5: 32; John 12: 40- 42).

To really be a member of the true remnant church, you must keep the commandments and have the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 12: 17 and 19: 10); but you may profess to be a member, and outwardly be a member in a time of apostasy, and not live according to the spirit of prophecy or keep God’s commandments.

There could be no sixteenth century reformation until men understood who the true church really was because as long as they thought that they would burn in hell- fire if the church excommunicated them, fear of men would prevent any lasting reformation.

Disfellowshipping is occurring again today and a lasting revival and reformation cannot occur until men and women have no fear of what men can do. Whole churches are being disbanded. We must face reality. Whole conferences and even divisions could be lost. Even the General Conference could be lost in the battle before the final victory of God’s saints. Actually, all of these entities will be lost and destroyed if there is not true repentance, confession of wrong and restitution, and a determination to stand on the solid platform where the church militant stands (UL 152). If you are not prepared for such an eventuality, you simply are not prepared for what is very rapidly developing among God’s professed people today (see None Dare Call It Apostasy). Many who are professed “Christians” are actually part of the synagogue of Satan— Revelation 2: 9— they are not really part of the body of Christ, or the church, at all. This can be true of people in all churches, including the Seventh- day Adventist Church.

“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” 1SM 406.

TWO TRUE CHURCHES? (THE INVISIBLE CHURCH)

In attempting to create a philosophical model which will explain the apparent contradictions in inspired writings, many inventions have been developed. One of the oldest of these is the theory of two true churches. The Bible teaches that there is only one true church (Ephesians 4: 4). This is true for both time and space. Ellen White concurs with this Biblical teaching as you would expect (see the first chapter of Acts of the Apostles) . There has only been one true church since the beginning of time and there is only one true church in all the universe. Ellen White says that the church in heaven and the church on earth are one (ST 6/ 6/ 95; 6T 366) and also that from the beginning of time faithful souls have constituted the church (AA 11; OHC 172).

There have not been two or three or six churches since the beginning. The church in Old Testament times, in the days of the apostles, and today are not separate churches even though they might be called by different names to designate the time or place being spoken of. They are each a part of the one church that has been since the beginning. This one church has always gone through and it will always go through. The true church went through in Jesus’ day, but very few of the professed church went through with it. The same was true in the time of the midnight cry and the same will be true at the end.

In the Dark Ages the theory of two true churches was developed. The theory went like this, “There is an invisible church and Christ is the head of that and there is a visible church and the pope is the head of that.” Concerning this theory John Wycliffe said that if the church had two heads, it was a monster. All the Protestant Reformers said that the church had only one head and that head was Christ (Ephesians 1: 22, 23).

The concept that there are two true churches, a visible church and an invisible church, is heresy and is not acknowledged by any inspired writer. This false teaching forms the foundation of an entire theological structure which may seem very logical but is not based on inspired writings. This theory was part of the confusion of the Dark Ages and, unfortunately, many have imbibed this ancient heresy and brought it into their experience today. This theory and all the theology built on it will end in disaster. It results in a totally distorted concept of who the church is. Anytime anyone starts talking about the “invisible church,” a red flag should wave in your mind and the bells should start ringing in your head that you are being taught heresy. Not once does Ellen White ever talk about an invisible church.

It is true that part of the true church is presently invisible to us, but it is not a separate entity or church. Ellen White says that the church on earth and the church in heaven are one and we cannot presently see the church in heaven while the church on earth is visible to us, but inspired writers never speak of a separate entity or church called the invisible church. Such an entity does not exist. Like the Virgin Mary, an entire theology has been built up over an assumption which is none- existent. When the foundation of a theology is based on a false assumption, no matter how logical the system is, it is entirely false.

Many Protestant theology students have been surprised to find out how logical Roman Catholic theology is. But even though it is logical, it is still false because it is built on a false foundation— the assumption that the Roman bishop is by divine right the head over all the churches in the world and that the decrees of the church supersede the Bible. In the same way, all the theology built on the theory of two true churches, a visible and an invisible church, will someday be seen to have caused the loss of a multitude of souls because it is built on a false foundation. One of the most common ways that this man- made theory is used to cause the loss of souls is to define the visible church as a certain church organization and then take inspired statements concerning the true church and use them to influence people to be faithful to that church organization no matter how deep in apostasy or sin it becomes. This sly tactic caused the loss of millions of souls during the Dark Ages and the devil has not forgotten it.

The net effect of creating two true churches and designating them the visible and the invisible church is to enable a person to ignore some of the plainest statements in inspired writings about who and what the church is. One of the most common ways that this man- made theory is used to cause the loss of souls is to pre- define the inspired statements about the true church to refer to a non- entity, the invisible church, and then simply sweep aside all the inspired statements that explicitly define who and what the church is. The most clear, simple, convincing and explicit definition statements in inspired writings are simply made of none- effect by this theory. But the statements still say the same thing and they will still have to be faced in the judgment if at no other time. It is not honest to take the clear statements of inspiration and simply sweep them aside and arbitrarily relegate them to something that really does not exist— the invisible church. Once this heresy has really taken hold of a person’s mind you cannot touch them with any evidence from inspired writings— as soon as you read a definition statement about the church, they immediately decide in their mind that the statement is talking about the invisible church (which term Ellen White never uses) and then refer to a quotation in which the word church is used in a different way to prove their position. It is very similar to talking to a Church of Christ member about the Sabbath and the law. The clearest statements in Scripture are swept aside with the theological system they have developed and then texts talking about the ceremonial law are used to prove that you are in error.

For example, in at least five places in the Ellen White writings you will find a statement similar to the following: “All down through the history of the world, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth” OHC 172 (see also AA 11; RH 12/ 4/ 1900). This is not just a sentence in which the word church appears, as are many of the statements used by those teaching the heresy of the invisible church. This is a definition statement of who and what the church is. But those who believe in the false doctrine of two true churches, a visible and an invisible church, sweep away this plain inspired definition of who and what the church is and make it of none effect by saying that it refers to the nonentity that they have concocted in their imagination— the invisible church. They make the plain inspired Word of God of none effect by their tradition— their man- made doctrine of the invisible church.

Notice that this statement is not talking about the church triumphant. It is talking about the church down through the history of the world or, as is stated in Acts of the Apostles on page 11, the church that has existed from the beginning. I

Incidentally, what does the word constitute mean? Synonyms would be the words compose , comprise, form, and make up. If you insert any of these simple words into the definition statement of Ellen White as to who and what the church is, you will see how plain inspiration is in defining who and what the church is. In the Appendix of this booklet there are listed numerous inspired definitions of the church; but if this was the only definition you had, you would have enough to know the truth for sure— you would never need to be mixed up because truth is always consistent with itself in all its manifestations (PP 113) and you can be sure that Ellen White, being an inspired prophet of the Lord, will never say anything in any other context that will contradict her plain definition statements about who and what the church is. If you are really a sincere seeker for truth, you will interpret all difficult texts that you may not understand in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy by the clear definition statements that are unmistakable. You would not, for example, use the details of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as a definition statement about the state of the dead. In the same way, when the word church is used by Ellen White or a bible writer to describe many different entities in place or time, you will not take these statements as definition statements.

This is basic Protestant theology. Notice how John Knox explained this principle: “Said Mary: ‘Ye interpret the Scriptures in one manner, and they [the Roman Catholic teachers] interpret in another; whom shall I believe, and who shall be judge?” ‘

“‘ Ye shall believe God, that plainly speaketh in His word, ‘ answered the Reformer; ‘and farther than the word teaches you, ye neither shall believe the one nor the other. The word of God is plain in itself: and if there appear any obscurity in one place, the Holy Ghost, which is never contrary to Himself, explains the same more clearly in other places, so that there can remain no doubt but unto such as obstinately remain ignorant” ‘ GC 251.

But many people take some of the plainest statements in inspired writings about who and what the church is and make them of no effect because of their man- made doctrine about an entity that does not exist— the invisible church. This false teaching is often explained like this: All the statements in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy stating exactly who and what the church is are swept aside by saying that they are talking about the invisible church (the non- entity), and that all those in spiritual Babylon who are God’s true children, all in the apostate world who are His true children, compose this non- entity of the invisible church as well as the true and faithful Seventh- day Adventists. But then they say that there is a second true church, the visible Seventh- day Adventist Church or the church militant, which is obviously composed of wheat and tares. Since this is confusing to many people, we should ask the question: What is the church militant, which is often referred to as the visible church and sometimes as the organized church?

Before answering this question from inspired writings, it can be pointed out what the church militant is NOT. Never does Ellen White define the church militant as being a certain church organization. This is important to understand because many are reading into Ellen White statements their own preconceived opinions just as the Jews did with inspired statements in the time of Christ.

One of the most prominent definitions of the church militant in the Ellen White writings is that it is God’s living church (TM 45). The living church has the following characteristics:

  1. It is a working church (RH 11/ 6/ 88).
  2. It has a high standard of holiness (9MR 185, 186).
  3. Each member of a living church is “individually a habitation of God through the Spirit.., that the Lord Jesus Christ may dwell in his innermost being, ennobling and sanctifying his human nature by His divine attributes” IHP 283.
  4. This living church was not founded in 1844 or 1863, it “through the ages has been building in accordance with the divine pattern, with materials that have been likened to ‘gold, silver, precious stones, ‘ ‘polished after the similitude of a palace. ‘ 1 Corinthians 3: 12; Psalm 144: 12. Of this spiritual temple Christ is ‘the chief Cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. ‘ Ephesians 2: 20, 21” PK 36, 37.
  5. It will be “practicing the word” (1888 Materials, 1532).
  6. “We have a work to do if we would be a living church. Individually and as a whole we are to tread sin under our feet. Our habits, our conversation, our daily life, must be placed on the Lord’s side. We must intercede and wrestle with a covenant- keeping God in behalf of His watchmen, that souls may be won to the Saviour” 12MR 102.

The above quotations do not exhaust the Ellen White descriptions of what a living church is but they do make it evident that not every professed Seventh- day Adventist is part of the church militant because the church militant is a living church (FLB 305).

Second, the church militant is fighting and wrestling against temptations and is fighting severe battles with the spiritual forces of evil. It is wrestling “against the confederacy of evil” (FLB 305). It is in a severe conflict and this conflict will become more bitter and fierce until the end. If we do not individually take part in the battle, we are not really part of the church militant and will never be part of the church triumphant. Notice the following graphic descriptions of this fact:

“The Christian life is a constant warfare. The church militant is not the church triumphant. Paul says, ‘We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ‘ We must meet human beings of power and influence who are on Satan’s side of the controversy” Peter’s Counsel to Parents, 23.

“The church militant is not in this world the church triumphant. From generation to generation, the enemy has been marshaling his forces against God. His enmity against the law of God has increased as time has passed. And his followers are at enmity with any one who has moral courage to depart from evil, and bear witness to the truth” RH 7/ 26/ 1898.

“The Church militant is not the Church triumphant. Unless the people of God wage a valiant warfare against every species of sin, they will never pass through the portals of the holy city. And we shall have no second trial” RH 12/ 31/ 1901.

“Christians are engaged in a warfare. The church militant is not the church triumphant. The followers of Christ, marching toward Zion, must fight at every step…. He [Satan] has claimed this world. Declaring that no human- being can keep the law of God’s kingdom, he claims all men as his subjects” ST 6/ 10/ 03.

“The Lord desires us to be victorious over the powers of darkness. He is willing to save to the uttermost all who come to Him. It is through Him that ~we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. ‘ Through Him we have access to heaven’s treasure- house— His Word, the Holy Scriptures. From this treasure- house we are to draw the weapons of our warfare— the weapons so effectively used by our Saviour. With the sword of truth— ‘it is written’— He vanquished the foe. Armed with this sword, and protected by the shield of faith, we, the church militant, shall be able to stand unmoved by Satan’s assaults. Continuing to resist the enemy, we shall constantly gain strength, and finally become the church triumphant” ST 6/ 10/ 03.

Third, the church militant does not sustain (condone) those who are carnally minded although carnally minded people will be found within her borders (RH 1/ 16/ 94). We will see how this occurs shortly.

Fourth, the church militant is composed of erring men and women and is not yet perfect (as the church triumphant will be) and it will be necessary not only to exercise mercy toward the erring but also by this practice we will be preparing to become part of the church triumphant (ST 1/ 4/ 1883).

So who is the church militant? The church militant is the living church of God that has all the above identifying characteristics. Obviously, not every professed Seventh- day Adventist is part of the church militant— the church militant is by definition that church who is fighting the spiritual forces of darkness in this world; and those who are not taking part in the war, who are spiritually dead while they have a name that they are living, cannot be part of the church militant in reality. They are simply part of the professed church or/ people of God. This is a term used frequently by Ellen White and she often draws a sharp distinction between the professed church and the true church. In times of persecution, the professed people of God and His true people become almost the same thing, but, in times of liberty, the same is not true.

THE PROFESSED CHURCH AND THE TRUE CHURCH

We have seen that in Old Testament times there was only one true Israel of God, but we saw that this true Israel of God was a remnant of a much larger group that Paul calls Israel according the flesh. Paul made it very clear that “they are not all Israel [the true people of God] who are of Israel [the professed people of God]” Romans 9: 6. The same was true during New Testament times. We saw that the Jews were the professed true church of God all during the time of the apostle Paul’s ministry. But the true church of God were those, both Jews and Gentiles, who had not only the profession but the spiritual relationship to the True Vine, the ones who were in reality the spiritual seed of the woman. So there was a difference between the professed church in both Old Testament and New Testament times.

Was this true during the Dark Ages also? Indeed it was: “For many centuries, first through paganism and then through the Papacy, Satan exerted his powers to blot from the earth God’s faithful witnesses. Both heathen and papists were actuated by the same dragon spirit. They differed only in that the Romish apostate, making a pretense of serving God, was the more dangerous and cruel foe. Through the agency of Romanism, Satan took the world captive. The professed church of God was swept into the ranks of this delusion, and for more than a thousand years the true people of God suffered under the dragon’s ire” ST 2/ 8/ 1910. What is this inspired statement saying? Who was the professed true church of God during the Dark Ages? It was those churches that had been swept into the Roman apostasy and were no longer part of spiritual Israel but had become part of spiritual Babylon. In plain English, the professed true church of God during the Dark Ages was the Romanist or Roman Catholic Church. But was that giant professed true church the true people of God, His true church, the spiritual seed of the woman (Genesis 3: 15)? No, they were trying to destroy the true church. In plain language, the professed true church was attempting to destroy the real or true church. Obviously, the professed true church and the real or true church was not the same.

Would the same be true today during the time of the end? “Oh, no,” someone might say, “the cycles have to stop in the last days; God’s professed true people today are finally the true church in reality” (even though this has never once been completely the case in nearly 6,000 years!). The professed church will never be the same as the one true church until the very end (see Word to the Little Flock, 12). There is only one true church, not two; and this one true church is defined in Appendix #1.

The professed Seventh- day Adventist Church is composed of all those who have made a profession of faith in all the doctrines of the Bible, including Revelation 14: 6- 12, and have been baptized by water. If they experience what they profess, they are really modern Israel, the spiritual seed of the woman (Revelation 12: 17). If they do not experience what they profess, if their character is not in harmony with their profession, they are only Israel according to the flesh— the professed people of God but not such in reality.

You become part of the professed church when you are baptized with water, but you are not actually part of the body of Christ unless you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, which is one of the things baptism with water represents. Paul says that we become part of the body of Christ (the church) when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12: 13). You are part of the professed remnant church when, having been baptized with water, you profess to keep all the commandments of God and live according to the Spirit of Prophecy as revealed in the writings of Ellen White (Revelation 12: 17; 19: 10; Joel 2: 28- 32); but you are recognized in heaven as part of the true church when you actually do what you profess.

We are not to accept into fellowship in the professed church anyone who is living in open sin and all such that are already members are to be disfellowshipped (see 1 Corinthians 5; 2 John). This does not mean that there are no tares (A tare is someone who is living a righteous life on the outside, that is, he is not living in open sin, but his heart is not right— see COL 70- 74.) in the borders of the professed church of God. There will be tares until the angels separate them from the wheat. (It appears that we have been in this separation process now for several years— it is most commonly referred to by Ellen White as the shaking and is called a terrible ordeal.)

This shaking and sifting process continues until the end. Until the very end there will always be a difference between the professed and the true church or people of God. Following are a few Ellen White statements which contrast the professed church and the true church as we near the end. It is important to understand the difference because, just as in the Dark Ages, the professed Seventh- day Adventist Church can turn on and attempt to destroy the true Seventh-day Adventist Church (see the clear inspired definitions of the true Seventh- day Adventist Church in Appendix #1).

“The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin it its real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty- four thousand, who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God’s professed people” RH 6/ 8/ 86 (parallel statements in 3T 266 and RH 9/ 23/ 1873).

“You think, that those who worship before the saint’s feet, (Rev. 3: 9), will at last be saved. Here I must differ with you; for God shew me that this class were professed Adventists, who had fallen away, and ‘crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. ‘ And in the ‘hour of temptation, ‘ which is yet to come, to show out every one’s true character, they will know that they are forever lost; and overwhelmed with anguish of spirit, they will bow at the saint’s feet” Word to the Little Flock, 12. In Maranatha on page 287, these professed Adventists are called the synagogue of Satan.

In Christ’s day, most of the Jews, the professed people of God, were actually the synagogue of Satan, as Jesus made clear in John 8: 44. A professed church becomes part of the synagogue of Satan when it becomes involved in deliberate disobedience to God’s law: “Christ speaks of the church over which Satan presides as the synagogue of Satan. Its members are the children of disobedience. They are those who choose to sin, who labor to make void the holy law of God. It is Satan’s work to mingle evil with good, and to remove the distinction between good and evil. Christ would have a church that labors to separate the evil from the good, whose members will not willingly tolerate wrong- doing, but will expel it from the heart and life” RH 12/ 4/ 00.

“All that is not in accordance with the known and expressed will of God, is at enmity with God, and has its origin in the synagogue of Satan. The will of God is expressed in his law, and sin is the transgression of the law. Those who disregard the commandments of God, and teach for doctrines the commandments of men, are working in Satan’s line, and are in harmony with the great leader of apostasy” ST 6/ 11/ 94.

“It should be noted that this is not the same as saying that a church or group has past the borders of probation. After a professed church has begun following Satan by practicing disobedience, the Lord sends messengers to them to turn them from this disobedience and bring them back into harmony with the law of God and the testimony of Jesus. If the reproofs and rebukes of God are listened to, a revival and reformation can happen and the lost sheep of the house of Israel can be reclaimed. If nobody will listen to messages of warning, then the last resort God has is to send judgments and finally mercy makes her last plea” (DA 587).

WHO ARE GOD’S DENOMINATED PEOPLE?

It is often assumed that God’s distinct denominated people must be a certain Seventh-day Adventist organization, etc., but we must let inspiration tell us who God’s distinct denominated people are. Again we will find that inspiration defines God’s distinct denominated people today in spiritual terms and if we do not have the spiritual characteristics, we are not really God’s distinct denominated people no matter what organization we are a member of.

  • The identifying mark that makes you part of God’s denominated people is keeping God’s commandments:

“As I was considering this matter in the night season, it seemed as if One stood up in the midst of us and pointed us back to the Israelites as an illustration of a distinct people, denominated of God. That which made them denominational was the observance of God’s commandments. In the twelfth to the eighteenth verses of the thirty- first chapter of Exodus their distinguishing sign is mentioned. ‘Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep, ‘ the Lord declared, ‘for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.. . . It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever” ‘ 19MR 38.

  • We are Seventh- day Adventists because we keep the Sabbath and look for the second advent:

“We are Seventh- day Adventists. This is a fitting name, for we keep the seventh-day Sabbath, and look for the second advent of our Lord in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Even with respect to the name indicating some of the peculiar points of faith distinguishing us from other Christians, we are denominational. In keeping the Sabbath that God declares should be kept holy as a sign between Himself and His people, we show to the world that we are His peculiar, chosen people— a people whom He has denominated” 19MR 40.

  • When you decide to serve God, you are denominational: Mrs. E. G. White: “When you come to the point where you decide to serve God, you are denominational.

You should not link up with men who have no faith, men who although acquainted with the truth for many years, refuse to obey its teachings. Such men are not to have a voice in your council- meetings. Even if they were very rich, I would not bind myself to them by a single thread. I would not seek their advice in regard to the business transactions and other matters connected with the management of the institution. The time has come when we must find our bearings. We must come to our senses, and know where we are standing. We are on the very borders of the eternal world. We cannot tell what may happen next” 19MR 52.

  • Those who keep the Sabbath are God’s denominated people and we are to cherish this denominational distinction:

“Do not these words point us out as God’s denominated people? and do they not declare to us that so long as time shall last, we are to cherish the sacred, denominational distinction placed on us? The children of Israel were to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations ‘for a perpetual covenant. ‘ The Sabbath has lost none of its meaning. It is still the sign between God and his people, and it will be so forever” RH 8/ 4/ 04.

  • We are not to hide our name: “In the name of the Lord we are to identify ourselves as Seventh-day Adventists” BCL 52. “The reasons why we are denominated people of God are to be repeated and repeated. Deuteronomy 4: 1- 13; 5: 1- 33.— Ms 175, 1905. (Diary, July 10, 1905.)” 8MR 427.

There has been an attempt to slander God’s true people. God’s true people, His true church, are those who keep the commandments of God and obey the Spirit of Prophecy (see UL 315). But there has been an attempt to say that anyone who is not under the authority of a certain Seventh- day Adventist organization is not a part of God’s true people or true church. Conscientious Seventh- day Adventist ministers have been asked by a conference or union or the General Conference to do something that they could not do with a clear conscience. For being faithful to their conscientious convictions, they have been fired or disfellowshipped or in some other way forcefully separated from the organized structure, the professed Seventh- day Adventist Church, the professed true church of God of the last days. Then the message goes out far and near that these persons have separated from the church, that they are working independent of the church. In some cases the charge is made that they are not part of God’s denominated people anymore, that they are not Seventh- day Adventists, when the truth is that the professed Seventh- day Adventist Church cast them out with force. This has not only been done with individuals but with entire churches and even larger groups! This underhanded work is misleading because many Seventh- day Adventists do not yet know who the true church really is— they think that it is a certain church organization, but it is rather the people who love God and keep His commandments (UL 315). In many cases around the world, the true and faithful have been disfellowshipped; but these are still the only true church and those who have disfellowshipped them thereby give the whole universe evidence that they are on the opposite side of the great controversy from God’s true and faithful people— His true church. They thereby show that they are part of the synagogue of Satan just as the Jews were in Christ’s day. They are not part of the true church at all: “We can see from this scripture [Revelation 12: 17] that it is not the true church of God that makes war with those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. It is the people who make void the law, who place themselves on the side of the dragon, and persecute those who vindicate God’s precepts” ST 4/ 22/ 1889.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question: Who and what is a Seventh- day Adventist church?
Answer: A Seventh- day Adventist church is a congregation of Seventh- day Adventist believers who are organized as a local church body. To tell if a professed Seventh- day Adventist church is a truly historic Seventh- day Adventist local church, you should find out if they believe the historic Adventist beliefs as listed in Appendix #3.

Question: Could you give me more quotations where Ellen White draws a distinction between the true church and the professed church?
Answer: Yes, see Appendix #2.

Question: What is an historic Seventh- day Adventist?
Answer: An historic Seventh- day Adventist is a person who professes to believe all the historic Seventh- day Adventist beliefs (briefly listed in appendix #4) and does not believe the “new theology.” Hallmarks of the new theology are the following concepts:

  1. A person cannot have complete and perfect victory over sin in this life,
  2. rejection of the significance of 1844 and the investigative judgment and the doctrine of the heavenly sanctuary being the antitype of the Jewish sanctuary,
  3. rejection of the writings of Ellen White as those of a true prophet of God and authoritative,
  4. salvation (and the gospel) is by justification alone and
  5. substitution of the authority of the church (church manual) in place of the supreme authority of the Bible. If a person believes any one of the five above, he is not an historic Adventist.

Question: Who is modern Israel?
Answer: “I was shown that those who are trying to obey God and purify their souls through obedience to the truth are God’s chosen people, His modern Israel” 2T 109.

Question: Could you give many Ellen White definition statements of the church to back up your thesis?
Answer: Yes, see Appendix #1.

Question: Doesn’t the Spirit of Prophecy say that God’s people today are destined to triumph?
Answer: The truth is soon to triumph and only those who stay with the truth will triumph with it:

“The church of God, hated and persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ. They walk in narrow paths on earth; they are purified in the furnace of affliction. They follow Christ through sore conflicts; they endure self- denial and experience bitter disappointments; but their painful experience teaches them the guilt and woe of sin, and they look upon it with abhorrence. Being partakers of Christ’s sufferings, they are destined to be partakers of His glory. In holy vision the prophet saw the triumph of the people of God. He says, ‘I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory, . . . stand on the sea of glass, having the hams of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. ‘ ‘These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. ‘ Revelation 15: 2, 3; 7: 14, 15” MB 31. “The truth is soon to triumph gloriously and all who now choose to be laborers together with God will triumph with it” 9T 135.

Question: Who is really a church member? (Who is really a Seventh- day Adventist?)
Answer: (1) You become a member of the professed church when you are baptized with water; but you are not a member of the true church, the actual body of Christ, unless you are baptized with the Holy Spirit. According to 1 Corinthians 12: 13, we do not become a member of the true church— the body of Christ— until we are baptized by the Holy Spirit. (2) When your name is voted in by a local church body after your baptism with water, then your name is added to the church book on earth and you are a member of a local professed church. Usually, within this body, some are professed only, but some are both professed and members of the true church— the church of the Firstborn and the names of the members of the church of the First- born are registered in heaven (Hebrews 12: 23). “God . . . . draws the dividing line between those who bear his name by profession, and those whose character shows them to be his children” ST 6/ 30/ 1881.

Special Note: In this small booklet only the definition issue of the church has been addressed. Several other serious and slanderous charges are being leveled against ministries attempting to help complete the gospel commission in the world. These will be addressed later if the Lord wills. One issue is the charge of separation; another is the charge of criticism; another is the charges concerning church authority and church organization; and still another issue is the definition of Babylon. All these must be addressed because: “When man assails his fellow men, and presents in a ridiculous light those whom God has appointed to do work for him, we would not be doing justice to the accusers, or to those who are misled by their accusations should we keep silent, leaving the people to think that their brethren and sisters, in whom they have had confidence, are no longer worthy of their love and fellowship. This work, arising in our very midst, and resembling the work of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, is an offence to God, and should be met. And on every point the accusers should be called upon to bring their proof. Every charge should be carefully investigated” 3SM 348.

Appendixes –>

Editorial – The Church that Appears to Fall, Part V

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This recent series of four editorials has been based on Letter 55, 1886, written to Elders Butler (then General Conference President) and S. N. Haskell, as published in Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 318–328. In this letter, Ellen White divides the Seventh-day Adventist Church into two groups.

The larger of these groups, sometimes referred to as the “Professed Church,” is destined to go to ruin and destruction—to fall. They profess to be the “True Church.” (See Signs of the Times, September 4, 1883 and Counsels to Teachers, 491.)

The other group is destined to appear to fall, because it will seem that they are going to be annihilated. Since it appears that this group will be destroyed, we must face the reality that the majority of this smaller group could be martyred. (See Maranatha, 199.) But instead of falling, it will remain. This smaller group is referred to by Ellen White, in other places, as the “True Church.” (See Signs of the Times, April 22, 1889.)

Both of these groups profess the Seventh-day Adventist faith. They are both visible, and they both claim to be God’s special, denominated people.

The “Church” that only appears to fall but does not, according to Letter 55, has the following characteristics:

  1. They profess the Adventist faith and
  2. are actually practicing the truth.
  3. They come before God with repentance, humiliation, and deep heart searching.
  4. They are living representatives of the truth they advocate.
  5. They honor God’s law by strict and holy compliance.
  6. They walk before the Lord with purity and holiness.
  7. They honor God as did Daniel by righteousness, holiness, and truth.
  8. Support is withdrawn as they continue to proclaim the Three Angels’ Messages.
  9. The members are overcoming and
  10. are the remnant who purify their souls by keeping the truth.

The “Church” that not only appears to fall but that actually does fall, according to Letter 55, has the following characteristics:

  1. They are not constantly becoming more spiritually minded.
  2. They are becoming self-righteous while not doing the will of God.
  3. They profess the Adventist faith but are keeping it apart from their lives.
  4. They do not bring their hearts to the test of God’s great moral standard of righteousness; they do not live it.
  5. They claim to believe the truth and advocate the law of God.
  6. There is internal corruption.
  7. God has promised not to forsake them if they do not forsake Him.
  8. God has promised to work for them if the sins which brought His wrath upon the old world do not become their crimes.
  9. God asks them to cleanse the camp of moral defilement and aggravating sins, because
  10. sin is cherished weakness, and ruin will come on all individuals and groups (churches) that allow a knowing violation of any commandment.
  11. God has been robbed by the withholding of money from His treasury.
  12. This church is advised to humble their souls before God with humiliation and fasting and prayer and repentance for sin so disaster and ruin might be avoided.
  13. This church finally ceases to exist because all the members who are continuing in sin fall.
  14. Many of the ministers in this church have only a human commission, not a commission from God, and they will be weeded out by the Sunday Law test.

Dear Friend, if that still, small voice is telling you that you are in the large group of professed Adventists who are not really true Adventists, it is not yet too late for you to change sides, to change leaders.

Jesus and His Off-shoot Church

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Over twenty years ago after I was dismissed as an ordained pastor from the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization and started a self-supporting church, I had a brief conversation with a fine SDA Christian man that I would like to share with you. This gentleman expressed to me that he really was planning to become a member of our self-supporting church because he was very dissatisfied with the direction the organized church was taking. It so happened that some SDA pastors heard of his intention and told him that Pastor Plummer’s church is an off-shoot, and that “he cannot be saved if he is not under the conference.” Consequently, he decided that he would remain with the SDA church organization because he did want to be saved.

The establishment of the New Testament experienced the rise of two significant off-shoot movements, namely, the John the Baptist ministry and the Jesus Christ Christian church. The existence of these two self-supporting churches created deep and far reaching concerns for the leaders of Judaism, the acknowledged God’s true established church organization of that time.

The Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, p. 503, 504, informs us that “from the first century, relations between Jews and Christians were marked by hostility – the opposition between an established religion and an off-shoot claiming to have supplanted it.” The leaders of the newly formed off-shoot church sought to prove the authenticity of their movement as a God ordained entity, while on the other hand a slanderous biography of Jesus Christ circulated, with the diabolical intent to discredit the Leader and ultimately the movement!

This article will address two questions:

  1. Why was there a need for Jesus to organize and lead an off-shoot church?
  2. What is the meaning of “the Vine”?

The parable found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 21, verses 33–46, as told by Jesus is known as: The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen or The Parable of the False Husbandmen. In Christ’s Object Lessons, 284, Ellen White calls it The Lord’s Vineyard. This parable demonstrates the posture of Judaism while it was God’s church and it likewise reveals the similar attitude of the SDA church.

Matthew records the parable as spoken by Jesus thusly: “Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet” (Matthew 21:33–46).

With reference to the narrative, Jesus specifically intended to convey that while God appoints pastors over His church, it is not His intention to communicate that they are the true proprietors. They are in fact just acting in the same manner as when a proprietor would let out a vineyard to husbandmen who would labor in the cultivation of it and make an annual return. He had expended much labor and money on the vineyard without any corresponding returns due primarily to the attitude of the husbandmen. So in the parable, Christ accuses the vine-dressers, who, like base swindlers, appropriate to themselves the produce of the vineyard. Jesus says that the vineyard was well furnished and in excellent condition when the husbandmen received it from the proprietor.

The design of our Savior is to show the great favors and signal privileges God bestowed upon the Jewish people in making them His church and peculiar inheritance as caretakers of His law.

The design of Jesus is also to show the base ingratitude and abominable evils of both the Jews and especially their leaders, or husbandmen, specifically (1) In abusing and slaying the prophets and (2) In their laying violent hands upon the Son of God and in crucifying Him so that their evil purpose of taking control of the vineyard could be realized!

Furthermore, Jesus’ design in speaking the parable carries with it a prophetic application for it foretold the rejection of the Jews, the establishment of Jesus’ Christian off-shoot church and God’s calling of the Gentiles, as well as the destruction of Jerusalem, the ruin of the temple, and the reason thereof.

With reference to the lesson that Jesus wanted to convey concerning the parable of the Vineyard, the servant of the Lord states:

“Those who are true learners in the school of Christ will study with intense interest the parable of the vineyard. In this parable Christ presented the true condition of the once chosen people of God. He revealed to them their sinful breach of trust. He designed this parable to be a lesson to all, warning them that unless they walk in the ways of the Lord, keeping all His commandments, He can not bless and sustain them. The church on earth is greatly beloved by God. It is the fold provided for the sheep of His pasture. But the Lord will not serve with the sins of His people. Many times He has suffered calamity and defeat to come upon them because they have glorified themselves, weaving false principles into their practise [sic]. He willingly forgives those who repent, but He will remove His favor from those who go on sinning, exalting self, and mingling the sacred with the common. Terrible judgments will destroy those who have misrepresented Him, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these’ (Jeremiah 7:4), when their example is misleading.” The Signs of the Times, October 31, 1900.

The essence of this parable is therefore seen in the question the Saviour posed to these leaders of His church and the answer that they gave. “When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto Him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons” (Matthew 21:40, 41). Ellen White commented, “The speakers had not at first perceived the application of the parable, but they now saw that they had pronounced their own condemnation. In the parable the householder represented God, the vineyard the Jewish nation, and the hedge the divine law which was their protection. The tower was a symbol of the temple. The lord of the vineyard had done everything needful for its prosperity.” The Desire of Ages, 596. 

Who are husbandmen?

They are farmers, keepers of vineyard, caretakers of cattle (see Matthew 21:33; Joel 1:11; Zechariah 13:5).

Whom do the husbandmen represent?

Firstly, the vineyard represents the Old Testament Hebrew church. God brought Israel from Egypt into Canaan, planted her a choice vine, fenced her, equipped her there, and placed her under spiritual leaders who are represented as husbandmen. That is why Jesus’ words in Matthew 21:33 were directed to the chief priests and elders.

David wrote, “Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it” (Psalm 80:8).

The Prophet Isaiah penned, “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant” (Isaiah 5:7).

Second, Ellen White shows also that the husbandmen represent the Jewish nation, “whom God had appointed to cultivate His vineyard, the world.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 16, 328.

Whom do the servants represent?

“The servants whom God sent to receive the fruits of the vineyard were the prophets and teachers through whom God had called Israel to render to Him His dues.” Ibid.

Christ was addressing people who were acquainted with the things of God. He was talking to His people, the stock of Israel, product of the wilderness church. Various prophets and patriarchs spoke of their heritage. For example, Isaiah beautifully records the parable of the vineyard in chapter 5 of his book, speaking of the house of Israel: “Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein” (Isaiah 5:1, 2).

And the prophet Ezekiel in his book declared of Israel, “Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters” (Ezekiel 19:10).

So, based upon the word of the Lord through the Prophet Isaiah, Israel was a vine planted in the Promised Land by the Lord. Yet, Israel was not the true vine. The Savior, as He looked sorrowfully on them, continued: “Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder” (Matthew 21:42–44). This replacement would be in consequence of their rejection of Him.

This parable spoken by our Lord specifically calls our attention to the vicious actions and outrageous conduct of the husbandmen who were in charge of God’s vineyard! When they were called upon at the proper season to produce the fruit expected by the owner of the vineyard, they failed to do so. This was primarily due to the false belief that they adhered to and taught that they were and always would be the chosen people of God.

Jesus loves His church dearly, and that’s why when He came on this earth He went directly to the Jewish church for the expressed purpose of working with His people in a united effort. (See Luke 4:16–30.) Sadly, however, “He came unto His own, and His own received him not” (John 1:11).

The question that we may rightly ask now is, Why is it that the very church of His own planting rejected Him? As a preamble to answering this question, I share with you the following from John’s gospel, chapter 15, verse 1, where Jesus taught, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” In the book, The Desire of Ages, 675, we read, “Israel had been represented as a vine which God had planted in the Promised Land. The Jews based their hope of salvation on the fact of their connection with Israel. But Jesus says, I am the real Vine. Think not that through a connection with Israel you may become partakers of the life of God, and inheritors of His promise. Through Me alone is spiritual life received.”

Knowing that they were the chosen people of God, what was the attitude of the Jewish people? “The Jewish people cherished the idea that they were the favorites of heaven, and that they were always to be exalted as the church of God. They were the children of Abraham, they declared, and so firm did the foundation of their prosperity seem to them that they defied earth and heaven to dispossess them of their rights. But by lives of unfaithfulness they were preparing for the condemnation of heaven and for separation from God.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 294. Their favorite expression was, “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these” (Jeremiah 7:4). This phrase, repeated three times, expressed the pride that the people felt in the greatness of their religious institution, represented by the temple.

Again Ellen White tells us, “The Jewish leaders looked with pride upon their magnificent temple, and the imposing rites of their religious service; but justice, mercy, and the love of God were lacking. The glory of the temple, the splendor of their service, could not recommend them to God; for that which alone is of value in His sight they did not offer. They did not bring Him the sacrifice of a humble and contrite spirit. It is when the vital principles of the kingdom of God are lost that ceremonies become multitudinous and extravagant.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 297.

“The Jews” Ellen White wrote “looked upon Jerusalem as their heaven, and they were actually jealous lest the Lord should show mercy to the Gentiles.” The Desire of Ages, 29. Similarly today, like the Jewish leaders, many SDA leaders and members are very proud of their organization and they believe that being affiliated with it will ensure them salvation.

So why did the Jewish leaders and people reject Christ?

  1. They wanted to be like other nations. “And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (1Samuel 8:7). “God brought His people out from slavery and idolatry that they might keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. He Himself ruled over them. But in their desire to be like the nations round them, they rejected the Lord’s rule.” The Signs of the Times, February 17, 1898. “Israel had become tired of pious rulers who kept God’s purposes and God’s will and God’s honor ever before them according to God’s instructions. They wanted a reformed religion that they might by external, flattering prosperity be esteemed great in the eyes of the surrounding nations.” Christ Triumphant, 141.
  2. Because of a deep-rooted, false belief which led them to confuse the purpose of their church organization with the purpose of Jesus. The Jews believed that affiliation with their established church organization would guarantee them salvation because, according to them, “Israel” was “the vine,” the only source of salvation! How deceived were they because their own prophets have written, “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2: 9). “Salvation belongeth unto the Lord” (Psalm 3:8). Also, “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1); “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation” (Psalm 62:1). No church, religious organization, or a human being has ever been the source of salvation. Jesus is the source.
  3. Because of envy and jealousy. “Christ would have averted the doom of the Jewish nation if the people had received Him. But envy and jealousy made them implacable [hardhearted]. They determined that they would not receive Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. They rejected the Light of the world, and henceforth their lives were surrounded with darkness as the darkness of midnight.” Prophets and Kings, 712.

Why were the Jews envious and jealous of Jesus?

This leads to the fourth reason why the Jews and their leaders rejected Christ.

  1. Because the church leaders wanted the church and the glory for themselves. The gospel writer Mark tells us, “But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours” (Mark 12:7).

This intent to kill the heir was not just in their secret thoughts but was actually spoken by them. The gospel writer John reports the following:

“Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this Man doeth many miracles. If we let Him thus alone, all men will believe on Him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one Man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also He should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put Him to death” (John 11:47–53).

These Jewish leaders rejected Christ and had Him killed in order to take full possession of His church. The husbandmen wanted the vineyard to do with as they pleased. Their focus was not God-ward but self-centered! Ellen White accounts the following: “The husbandmen who had been placed in charge of the Lord’s vineyard were untrue to their trust. The priests and teachers were not faithful instructors of the people. They did not keep before them the goodness and mercy of God and His claim to their love and service. These husbandmen sought their own glory. They desired to appropriate the fruits of the vineyard. It was their study to attract attention and homage to themselves.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 292.

The servant of the Lord also revealed the depth of the church leaders’ envy and jealousy. She states, “The Jewish rulers did not love God; therefore they cut themselves away from Him, and rejected all His overtures for a just settlement. Christ, the Beloved of God, came to assert the claims of the Owner of the vineyard; but the husbandmen treated Him with marked contempt, saying, We will not have this Man to rule over us. They envied Christ’s beauty of character. His manner of teaching was far superior to theirs, and they dreaded His success. He remonstrated with them, unveiling their hypocrisy, and showing them the sure results of their course of action. This stirred them to madness. They smarted under the rebukes they could not silence. They hated the high standard of righteousness which Christ continually presented. They saw that His teaching was placing them where their selfishness would be uncloaked, and they determined to kill Him. They hated His example of truthfulness and piety and the elevated spirituality revealed in all He did. His whole life was a reproof to their selfishness, and when the final test came, the test which meant obedience unto eternal life or disobedience unto eternal death, they rejected the Holy One of Israel. When they were asked to choose between Christ and Barabbas, they cried out, ‘Release unto us Barabbas’ (Luke 23:18)!” Ibid., 293, 294.

The reasons why Christ established His “off-shoot” church are quite evident. The Jewish leaders failed to realize that “Israel,” “the choice vine,” “the vineyard,” was only an “off-shoot” of the “true vine” – Jesus Christ, who declares “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman” (John 15:1). He also said, “I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life …” (John 14:6). It is Jesus who constitutes the true church; It is Jesus who is the true and only source of salvation. It is Jesus who said, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Indeed, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
The great Protestant reformer Martin Luther wrote the following: “Christ, whom God the Father has raised from the dead is our righteousness and our victory.”

 

Pastor Ivan Plummer ministers through the Emmanuel Seventh Day Church Ministries in Bronx, New York. He may be contacted by telephone at: 718-882-3900.

God’s True People and the Professed People of God, Part II

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Ellen White tells us how we can discern a true church from a professed church: “ ‘And now also,’ said the prophet, ‘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 confess to be a part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church but not do what God requires depicts a certain tree. A bad tree or a fruitless tree is, in God’s eyes, worth nothing. “For if God spared not the natural branches, [take heed] lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” Romans 11:21, 22.

The Adventists had to learn this lesson, but a couple of generations have been passed over, and they have forgotten. We need to remember the divine fire of destruction in the sanitarium and publishing houses of Battle Creek. (The Battle Creek Sanitarium, the largest and best-known Adventist institution in the world, burned to the ground February 18, 1902. This was followed by the destruction of the Review and Herald Publishing Association, also by fire, on December 30, 1902.) Ellen White says that that was a judgment of God. Do we know why this punishment came?

“It was His [God’s] design that instead of rebuilding the one large sanitarium, our people should make plants in several places. These smaller sanitariums should have been established where land could be secured for agricultural purposes.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 227. The publishing house printed literature with error in it. (See Manuscript Releases, vol. 6, 277–279.)

Should God think and deal differently today than in those days? Can He make a plainer sign for His people that He really means what He says? Is there dreadful warning for Seventh-day Adventists? “Of those who boast of their light, and yet fail to walk in it, Christ says, ‘But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven [in point of privilege], shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.’ [Matthew 11:22, 23.]” Review and Herald, August 1, 1893. Can we draw some special dealing with Seventh-day Adventists out of this quotation? Yes, and that is that God has no more mercy in tolerating sin with Adventists than He had with the Jews or any other churches.

There is another dealing. There is an extra punishment. The punishment will be even harder for the Seventh-day Adventist ministers than for the ministers of other denominations. That is a special dealing with the people who will be held responsible for the truth they know.

Spirit of Prophecy

One of the proofs on which we can discern the true church is the test of the testimony of the Spirit of Prophecy. Ellen White says that Satan will destroy faith in the Spirit of Prophecy. “The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’ (Proverbs 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God’s remnant people in the true testimony.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 48.

You may be familiar with some of the methods through which Satan works to make of none effect the testimonies of the Spirit of God. Perhaps you have been told that Ellen White plagiarized other writers or that her counsel had a meaning only for her time.

In Germany, we saw terrible literature where the union with the ecumenical movement was proved and sustained by apparent quotations from Ellen White. Things were taken out of context and twisted. Parts of sentences were left out, which would have made clear the real meaning of the quote. Ellipses were inserted instead. I insert ellipses at times because the quote is too long, but not to change the meaning of it.

“There will be a hatred kindled against the testimonies which is satanic. The workings of Satan will be to unsettle the faith of the churches in them, for this reason: Satan cannot have so clear a track to bring in his deceptions and bind up souls in his delusions if the warnings and reproofs and counsels of the Spirit of God are heeded.” Ibid.

“Be not deceived; many will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. We have now before us the alpha of this danger. The omega will be of a most startling nature.” Ibid., 197.

True People of God

We see what is questioned from our original beliefs—the Spirit of Prophecy, the Three Angels’ Messages, and the sanctuary message, to name just a few. Does God no longer have a people on earth who can bear the name of the true people of God?

“The Lord Jesus will always have a chosen people to serve Him. When the Jewish people rejected Christ, the Prince of life, He took from them the kingdom of God and gave it unto the Gentiles. God will continue to work on this principle with every branch of His work. When a church proves unfaithful to the word of the Lord, whatever their position may be, however high and sacred their calling, the Lord can no longer work with them. Others are then chosen to bear important responsibilities. But if these in turn do not purify their lives from every wrong action; if they do not establish pure and holy principles in all their borders, then the Lord will grievously afflict and humble them, and, unless they repent, will remove them from their place and make them a reproach.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, 102. Are you touched by this quotation? Are you seeing yourself in it?

We think we are historic Seventh-day Adventists, but do we ask ourselves whether or not we are truly faithful? Are we really obeying God? Does every one of us recognize the need to personally proclaim the Three Angels’ Messages? Can we be recognized as God’s church or as a member of God’s church as we go forward in our sanctification?

God Takes the Reins

“Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness. Those who are accounted good workers will need to draw nigh to God, they will need the divine touch. They will need to drink more deeply and continuously at the fountain of living water, in order that they may discern God’s work at every point.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 300.

There have been situations where the leaders of the church have told people that they are not allowed to preach the Three Angels’ Messages. They have been told that the church has decided on a different way for home missionary work, and they have been threatened with disfel-lowshipping if they persist. Because some in leadership do not believe the time for preaching the Three Angels’ Messages has come—first preach the love of Christ—many pastors have lost their credentials and many brethren have been disfellowshipped for their missionary endeavors. These leaders want to dictate what should be done and when it is done, but they do not recognize that the work of God may already have been taken out of their hands. The work of the Three Angels’ Messages is still continuing. It is going further faster.

From the little missionary societies that are developing in Germany, innumerable people have spread out with the Three Angels’ Messages. In the last 30 years, this has not happened through the great conference church in Germany, but the work is growing; no one can stop it.

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 12:17; 19:10.

“God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matthew 18:20). Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ’s church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church.” The Upward Look, 315.

It is important for us who believe in the Three Angels’ Messages to spread these messages with power. We should strive to be among the 144,000 and have the process of sanctification always before our eyes. It is not sufficient for your brethren that you are just separated from those who persist in sin. It is not enough to believe in the Three Angels’ Messages; we need to proclaim them faithfully all the time. Use the opportunities of distributing leaflets. Never mind where you are; you can pull out a leaflet containing the Three Angels’ Messages, and give it to someone. That may be a test of faithfulness for us. If we are not ready to use our time for this message, our profession is worthless.

Ezekiel 9

The parable in Ezekiel 9 is an example of the sealing in the end time. “Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those ‘that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done’ in the church. [Ezekiel 9:4.] Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even sighing and crying.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 267.

In the same context, Ellen White writes: “The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God’s professed people.” Ibid., 266. This true people of God will always have a faithful and plain dealing against sin.

What is a plain dealing of the church structure towards joining the ecumenical movement? What should our plain dealing be? What did the people in Ezekiel 9 do?

“Who are standing in the counsel of God at this time? Is it those who virtually excuse wrongs among the professed people of God and who murmur in their hearts, if not openly, against those who would reprove sin? Is it those who take their stand against them and sympathize with those who commit wrong? No, indeed!” Ibid., 267. We cannot harmonize with those who commit public sins. This is a plain statement.

Separation

In the history of the Reformation, there are many stories of the faithful being separated. In many parts of The Great Controversy we can read this—the Waldensees, the Albigenses, the Protestant churches, even the Adventists—always the faithful have separated. Because it is impossible for the minority to disfellowship the majority, there needs to be a separation.

“The angel with the writer’s ink horn is to place a mark upon the foreheads of all who are separated from sin and sinners, and the destroying angel follows this angel (Letter 12, 1886).” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1161. What is the consequence of this plain dealing with sin? To separate from the sinners and the sin. It is plainly stated here. I want to belong to the true church of God and be recognized with its mark written on me.

“These truths, as presented in Revelation 14 in connection with ‘the everlasting gospel,’ will distinguish the church of Christ at the time of His appearing. For as the result of the threefold message it is announced: ‘Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ [Revelation 14:12.] And this message is the last to be given before the coming of the Lord.” The Great Controversy, 453, 454. Here is the mark of the true church. As a result of this proclamation, they are sanctified and are keeping the commandments of God.

The sealing is going very quickly. Ellen White says, “My dear brethren and sisters, let the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ be in your minds continually and let them crowd out worldly thoughts and cares. When you lie down and when you rise up, let them be your meditation. Live and act wholly in reference to the coming of the Son of man. The sealing time is very short, and will soon be over. Now is the time, while the four angels are holding the four winds, to make our calling and election sure.” Early Writings, 58.

Always remember that the time of probation closes earlier for Seventh-day Adventists. This quotation makes it clear: “The time of God’s destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have no opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His heart of mercy is touched; his hand is still stretched out to save, while the door is closed to those who would not enter. Large numbers will be admitted who in these last days hear the truth for the first time. The Lord calls upon every believer to consecrate himself wholly to his service. All are to work for him, according to their several ability.” Review and Herald, July 5, 1906.

May the Lord grant that we may belong with those who are following the cry to come out from sin and from those who persist in sin, that we may make our election and decision sure and secure, that we will be unwavering. If we are not certain, we must study the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy more. The light of God will shine on the whole path; we just need to follow the light. God will bless our efforts.

Dr. Bernd Korinth is a physician living in Berlin, Germany. He is very active in spreading 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.

Editorial – Unity and Dissonance, Part III

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In this editorial, we will continue looking at how God’s faithful people at the end will be opposed—first from the professed church and later from the world. We saw in a previous editorial that one of the initial attacks against God’s people by their professed brethren will be the charge that they are not accountable to the church organization, as it is claimed they should be. This is the same attack that was made against John the Baptist at the first coming of Christ. It was made repeatedly against Jesus, and it was also made against the apostle Paul.

“There are but few who perceive the full import of the words of Christ, when in the synagogue at Nazareth he announced himself as the Anointed One. He declared his mission to comfort, bless, and save the sorrowing and the sinful, and then, seeing that pride and unbelief controlled the hearts of his hearers, he reminded them how God had in time past turned away from his chosen people, because of their unbelief and rebellion, and had manifested himself to those in a heathen land who had not rejected the light from Heaven. The widow of Sarepta and Naaman the Syrian had lived up to all the light they had. Hence they were accounted more righteous than God’s chosen people who had backslidden from him, and sacrificed principle to convenience and worldly honor.

“It is impossible for the worldly and pleasure-loving to rightly value the messages of warning and reproof which God sends to correct the errors of his people. They cannot distinguish between the earnestness and zeal of the faithful servant, and the trifling, superficial spirit of him who is unfaithful. One declares that the sword is coming; the other puts far off the evil day. One faithfully reproves sin; the other excuses and palliates it. As the professed people of God depart from him and lose the simplicity of the faith, the words of his messengers seem to them unnecessarily harsh and severe. They cherish prejudice and unbelief, and finally place themselves fully on Satan’s side. His suggestions seem pleasant and palatable; they are controlled, in spirit and opinion, by the arch-deceiver, and having permitted him to direct their thoughts, they soon permit him to direct their actions.

“Christ presented before the assembly at Nazareth a fearful truth when he declared that with backsliding Israel there was no safety for the faithful messenger of God. They would not know his worth, or appreciate his labors. While they professed to have great zeal for the honor of God and the good of Israel, they were the worst enemies of both. They were by precept and example leading the people farther and farther from obedience to God and purity and simplicity of faith,—leading them where he could not reveal himself as their defense in the day of trouble. God sent Elijah to the widow of Sarepta, because he could not trust him with Israel.

“These cutting reproofs, though presented by the Majesty of Heaven, the Jews of Nazareth refused to hear. . . . Those men of Nazareth manifested the same spirit toward Christ which their forefathers had manifested toward Elijah. Blinded by Satan, they could not perceive the divine character of the Son of God, or appreciate the truth and purity of his instructions. . . .

“There is the same dislike of reproof and correction among the professed people of God today as in the days of our Saviour. There is the same disposition to lean toward the world and to follow its mocking shadows. The presence of ambitious, selfish, time-serving members is imperiling the church, whose greatest danger is from worldly conformity.” Sketches From the Life of Paul, 229–233.

To be continued . . .

Editorial – Unity and Dissonance, Part VI

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Through this series on “Unity and Dissonance,” we have looked at how God’s faithful people at the end will be opposed—first by the professed church and later by the world. We have seen that one of the initial attacks against God’s people by their professed brethren will be the charge that they are not accountable to the church organization, as it is claimed they should be. This is the same attack that was made against John the Baptist at the first coming of Christ. It was made repeatedly against Jesus, and it was also made against the apostle Paul.

God’s people must remember as well that we need to counsel with one another and with the Lord at each step of advancement. On the other hand, we must know that there is a time when the Lord forbids us to counsel with our “brethren.” Inspired counsel has been given to us about this subject.

“A man can not safely be intrusted [sic] with the control of others, unless he himself is under the satisfaction of the Holy Spirit.” Bible Training School, January 1, 1908.

“Honor is to be given to the human powers by putting them to the very highest use in the service of God. Under the control and guidance of the Holy Spirit, all may be co-laborers with God. All whom God has blessed with reasoning powers are to become intellectual Christians. They are not requested to believe without evidence; therefore Jesus has enjoined upon all to search the Scriptures. Let the ingenious inquirer, and the one who would know for himself what is truth, exert his mental powers to search out the truth as it is in Jesus. Any neglect here is at the peril of the soul. We must know individually the prescribed conditions of entering into eternal life. We must know what is the voice of God, that we may live by every word that proceeds out of his mouth. We cannot allow these questions to be settled for us by another’s mind, or another’s judgment.” Review and Herald, March 8, 1887.

“John had not recognized the authority of the Sanhedrin by seeking their sanction for his work; and he had reproved rulers and people, Pharisees and Sadducees alike. Yet the people followed him eagerly. The interest in his work seemed to be continually increasing. Though he had not deferred to them, the Sanhedrin accounted that, as a public teacher, he was under their jurisdiction.” The Desire of Ages, 132, 133.

“From childhood He [Christ] acted independently of the rabbinical laws.” Ibid., 84.

“In His instruction to Moses the Lord very plainly set forth the character of those who were to fill important positions as counselors. They are to be ‘able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness.’ [Exodus 18:21.] The Lord’s counsel has been strangely neglected. There are men in places of holy trust who, when reproved, have cared nought for it. Some who for years have stood as counselors have boldly stated that they would not receive the testimonies given. In triumph they have declared that many of our most responsible men have lost faith in the message coming from Sister White. Thus the rejecters of light have been strengthened in their unbelief, feeling that they had quite a strong confederacy. Men who have had the light have walked contrary to the light. These words are appropriate: ‘Truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.’ The malaria of unbelief has been diffusing its deathly atmosphere throughout the ranks, nigh and afar off. All this has been stated plainly, yet for years matters have been left unchanged. Can the Lord’s favor be expected under such circumstances? . . .” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 341, 342.

PROPHETIC PARALLELS – Christ’s Church “Then”. . . and Christ’s Church Now – Intro

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By Terry S. Ross

prophetic parallels - greenAcknowledgments

It pleases me very much to be able to give credit where credit is surely due. First of all, I would like to dedicate this book to my partner and best friend, my wife, Cathy. There is just no way that I could do what I do without her. I praise the Lord for her every day!

Then I wish to give a special thanks to Sandra Pinkoski who gave me a big “kick” to get this book done. Thanks Sandra, I needed the push.

Also deserving of special thanks is Graham Cutts for his keen eye and attention to detail while proofing this manuscript.

If someone had told me that I would be publishing a book at any stage of my life I would have, like Abraham’s wife, Sarah, laughed, but here it is, and it’s folks such as my publisher, Clinton Jones and his parents Ivan and Gladys, who have made it all the easier. Clinton, founder and owner of CHJ Publishing, is a missionary in his own field. He has, at his own expense made hundreds and hundreds, perhaps thousands of books available for those who otherwise could not afford them. It is this spirit that will finish the task before us and what pushes folks like me ahead, in spite of ourselves.

And to close out this “thank you” list I wish to praise our precious Lord for the generous ministry family that makes up the Servants of the Saviour’s team. This book is possible because there are folks out there who have an ear to the rail and a finger in the wind. We are proud, in the proper sense, and humbled to have such a supportive Christian family as the Lord has and is providing us with. It is to these that this missionary book is dedicated.

Introduction

No longer is it the sound of distant rumblings. No longer is it from afar that we witness an attack on Christian standards and values. The greatest battle ever to be fought in these last days has already begun! It rages even now. It has come to our shores and is being waged on a global scale. It will take us into the darkest hours of earth’s history since there was a nation. Wishing it away will not change it or help us.

Even non- Christians understand that something is not right. Something is amiss. Uncertainty and fear for the future is in the very air we breathe. Something is wrong in America and no one seems able to fix it. They may not realize exactly what it is but the last battle between Christ and Satan for the souls of men has already commenced. The startling truth that a growing number of sincere Christians are discovering is that while we thought it would be “us against the world”— we have more to fear from within the “church” than without. The Trojan Horse of heresy and apostasy is already inside the gate!

In Revelation chapter three, Jesus said I want you to be hot or cold. Either be 100% or zero. But because you are luke- warm; because you want to have one foot in the world and one in the church, I will spew you out of my mouth. You make me sick!

The shaking of the church has begun! It is decision time. Do we want to be hot or cold? The choice is ours. The choice we make will decide our eternal destiny. It is now that we must take serious inventory of ourselves. No longer can we fool those around us as we “play” church. For we have entered a time of individual examination in the courts of —not man —but God. A court where all human veneer is stripped away. If we hope to retain Jesus as our friend and advocate during this trial, we must ask ourselves the most serious questions of our lives —and answer them honestly.

Do you know what you believe and why? I’m not asking if you know what your pastor believes or what your denominational creed is or what your parents believe. I’m not asking what some prominent television personality who has written “a really great book” thinks. I am asking if you know what YOU believe and the biblical reasons why you believe it.

This book is a wake- up call to Laodicea. Laodicea is the last church mentioned in the book of Revelation.

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see” (Revelation 3: 14- 18). We are living in the time of the last church— the “Laodicean” church. The Lord’s return is closer than we even dare to hope for —even at the door. Are we ready? Have we studied the Bible for ourselves? I don’t mean the kind of study that consists of spoon- fed sections given to support a point of view held by church headquarters, leaders, and pastors; I mean the kind of study where YOU find, on your own, scriptural support for what you believe.

We must not think we can acquire a saving knowledge of the Lord based upon the study of others. You have to “. . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2: 12). We each have to dig into God’s word for ourselves and see what it says to us personally. We shouldn’t think that we can be ready for the Lord’s return by merely giving money to the church, attending services once or even twice a week (or more), and then put our Bible back on the shelf when we get home without doing our own study. We have to know FOR OURSELVES what it says.

We can’t entrust television preachers or even our own pastors with our salvation. We have to work it out ourselves— the Bible says so! I have heard statements made and even Bible verses quoted from the pulpit and on television that were misquoted or taken out of context to prove a piece of faulty theology. The speaker was trying to make a point that was, at best, scripturally unsound, and, at worst, downright heresy! You must study for yourself— the “arm of flesh will fail you.”

There are many tried and true ministers of God out there in the churches. There are many who are standing strongly for Bible truth and are living up to the light they know. These are the faithful “watchmen on the wall” mentioned in Ezekiel 33: 1- 7. But there are many others who are not part of the “true and faithful” who make up God’s true church. Many are finding out today that placing a sign that reads “CHURCH” on the outside of a building does not make it one. Profession without possession is worse than worthless. In fact, Jesus said that one who makes a profession of Christianity without possessing the living, active faith of Christianity, is worse than an infidel. In the judgment it will have been better if he had never been born or if he had a millstone tied around his neck and had been cast into the depths of the sea.

Jesus came to make clear in person, who and what constitutes His true church. PROPHETIC PARALLELS has helped thousands to come to the understanding that Jesus came personally to bring the wonderful news that today we can know what constitutes God’s true church! But we must also realize that this life- saving discovery comes with all the ingredients the disciples had to swallow. The Lord asked them if they were able to drink of the same bitter cup He was going to drink from. Now we discover that we as individuals must face the same question.

Those pastors who do not take the time to do their homework are in the group discussed here. Those denominational leaders and church committee members who do not take time to know what God’s word truly says are also in this group. Also in this group are those preachers who predominantly read books by high profile Christian celebrities that give man’s “I think” instead of a plain “thus saith the Lord.” These authors often base entire doctrinal positions on one or two isolated texts, frequently taken out of context and unsupported by the many other Scriptures pertaining to that subject. It also includes those who are “policy” men rather than those of principle. Not a few in this group know a whole lot more than they are telling.

The pastors in our churches are to be the “watchmen on the wall” mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel. There is danger coming and they are to warn the people. But who is sounding the alarm?

“But if the watchmen see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; THEREFORE THOU SHALT HEAR THE WORD AT MY MOUTH, AND WARN THEM FROM ME. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand” (Ezekiel 33: 6- 8).

The Bible interprets itself. “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28: 10). If there is a passage of Scripture that seems to contradict another passage of Scripture, you can be sure that it is not the Bible that is contradicting itself, but a faulty understanding of what the Bible says. The ENTIRE BIBLE must be used to understand the principles God has laid out before us. And we must search this out for ourselves. We must ask God to remove our preconceived opinions and to give us the Holy Spirit to be our teacher. Preconceived opinion must be laid at the door of investigation. Remember what we are told in 1 John 2: 27:

“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”

If you are in doubt about a certain topic, take your concordance and do a word study about it. Pray about it. Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to enlighten you about it. And most important of all, don’t just take someones word for it, even if it happens to be a close friend. See what the Bible says. You may be surprised what the Bible teaches and it may totally be the opposite of what you have been taught. But make no mistake— Bible truth is not subject to what your pastor “thinks” it says, nor is Bible truth subject to popular vote! It is not majority opinion that determines the truth of Scriptures, BUT WHAT THE SCRIPTURES ACTUALLY SAY. Be not deceived!

As you choose to serve God first and relegate to man a second position, the study in PROPHETIC PARALLELS, rightly understood, will be a blessing from the Lord. In Christ’s day the “church” had strangely changed leaders and the people rejected the Originator of their movement. In our day we face this same tragedy. Most “ancient believers in God” (ancient Israel) —our spiritual ancestors— were lost because of their misplaced loyalty in a leadership (priesthood) that had become corrupt. Today their history has once again become our (Modern Israel’s – in the spiritual sense) reality.

It is now your privilege to discover and understand that this same Jesus who existed throughout the history of our ancestors, in His grace and mercy toward us, has had the Bible written not just to show us what love is, but for much deeper reasons. He is giving us a last chance to learn from the mistakes of others and take heed. Whether or not you decide to enroll in the school of Christ as an active, honest student will determine your eternal destiny!

Our prayers are with you and it is our hope and desire that you will find the freedom that our Saviour died to give you — only then will you be free indeed. But if not, you are in danger of being chained to men who have no higher concept of Christianity than did their ancient counterparts (the Sanhedrin) in the “denominational headquarters” of the ancient church.

This book is primarily dedicated to those men and women who have through the ages taken their stand on the side of the Lord at the cost of their reputation, of being misunderstood, and being persecuted for the name and cause of Christ and our Heavenly Father.

This book is also dedicated to such men as the disciples, who after the Upper Room experience went boldly forward proclaiming the truth for their day in the face of deadly opposition from a corrupt priesthood that called itself the “church”; to the first martyr, Stephen, who told it like it was but had no spirit of hatred in him, who was not blind, nor bitter; to Saul, the conference leader who became Paul the church leader, who although obeying man instead of God at first, saw the light on the Damascus road and was converted to follow Jesus anywhere He led; Paul, who became an honorable defender of Jesus and who quite possibly understood the purifying effects of trial more than any other man; to these and the many others who have sacrificed so much that God’s word might continue to shine in a world of darkness; and to those who will yet hear the call of the Master’s voice, pick up the blood- stained banner and contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.

Our study will take us through the heart of the four Gospels and into some Old Testament references. When you have finished, we hope you will be much richer and wiser for your study. May the Lord be with you.

Terry S. Ross

Copyright © 1999 Servants of the Saviour
Terry & Cathy Ross

Chapter 1 – Thy King Cometh ⇒