Guilt or innocence?
Probation for each
one of us means we have been given time to repent. We are all on probation, every single one of
us. When probation is over we will either have repented and accepted Christ as
our Savior, trusting in Him for our Righteousness, or we will not have truly
repented but taken on some form of self centered unrighteousness. One or the other, God's or not God's when
probation is over.
When the times of
the gentiles was up, did judgment pass on from the corporate church of God
which was left found wanting just as Israel of old, and to the living
individual? If so, that began in 1980.
For the last 34 years this has been going on and the one remaining sign
concerning Jerusalem is the Papacy establishing a presence in Jerusalem. And more and more in our news these days we
can read of the Papacy and Israel. The Pope is going to Jerusalem in May, where
some say he will receive lands he's been after for many, many years. Is it true? I don't know, but I'm watching
the signs. If it is true and this last prophetic sign is to take place in May
or herald it's fulfillment in some way are we prepared? Is Christ first in our
lives? Are we ready for our individual probation to be up? No matter how you
answer those questions just remember this VERY important fact- your probation
could be up in the next minute, the next hour, the next day, month, year…
because it also ends in our deaths. For
those alive when Christ returns - for the living who are changed and brought to
meet Christ in the air- they are the ones who will live through probation's
closing upon them while they are still alive, death doesn't end their
probation. We have to remember though, at anytime our probation could be over
and not believe we have time to waste away, unconcerned with our eternal fate.
*******
We've been studying
the signs. Clearly from the signs we can
tell that things WILL come to a head, it's just a matter of time.
If you are a member
of the Seventh Day Adventist church, or were a member you have to read the
following and continue reading because you have to know what has happened, you
have to read the proof and the ways to find the proof that the church
apostatized, never to repent and be God's again. The church, but not all the individual
members, they still have a chance to be
God's.
If you've had
nothing whatsoever to do with the Seventh Day Adventist's then this will
probably confuse you a bit, but read it if you can and pray for GOD'S truth,
and GOD'S will to be done always, in all things!
*******
p 37 -- Chapter XI
-- The Church Today
Up until 1980, all
decisions effecting the Church, doctrinally and ecumenically, were made by the
hierarchy at the highest levels of administration. The laity had no part in
deciding whether there should be conferences with the Evangelicals. They were
not consulted as to the compromises made in doctrine, but were submitted, as
were also the lower levels of the clergy, the propaganda enforcing these
compromises. The book - Questions on Doctrine - was thrust upon them as a
"missionary book."
The decision to make
contact and carry on dialogue with representatives of the World Council of
Churches was not made by the laity. And even though it was first initiated on a
personal basis, it was adopted and encouraged by the highest levels of church authority.
It was not a layperson who suggested that a Seventh-day Adventist theologian be
appointed to the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC. Neither was it a lay
decision to give the Church "in symbol" into the hands of the Pope.
The laity did not
enter into the decision to play the stock market with its ensuing losses;
neither did the laity initiate nor promote the investments in the Davenport
enterprises. But it was the money the laity dedicated to the Church in tithes,
offerings and trusts for the work of the Lord which was gambled and lost.
The General
Conference in 1980 enlarged the scope of the involvement. The Church in general
session voted the 27 Fundamental Statements of Belief, and into these
statements were incorporated the compromises of the previous decades. While the
General Conference in session was and is considered the highest authority on
earth speaking for God, still the rank and file of the laity and clergy had
little voice. It was the theologians of the Church working in close alliance
with the top levels of administration who guided through the 1980 session the
new statement of beliefs which included concepts which never had appeared in
any previously accepted or voted statement. Some of these new statements were
very good, but this only adds to the deception, producing a "tree" of
both good and evil.
In the mind of the
hierarchy, these new statements of belief were not considered a rejection of
the compromises made in the Evangelical Conferences of 1955-1956, but were
rather an affirmation of them. However, due to the continued agitation in the
Adventist community by "dissidents," not only concerning the
compromises of the 50's, but also because of what was written into the 27
Fundamentals, the late Dr. Walter Martin, one of the chief conferees for the
Evangelicals at the conferences in the 50's, wrote to the General Conference.
Here is his rationale for writing and the answer he received in reply: - Since I have always stressed the
importance of doctrinal integrity in my evaluations of religious movements, the
doctrinal upheaval in Adventism is of special concern. Consequently on February
16, 1983, I wrote the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (Washington
D.C.), calling for the Conference's public and official statement reaffirming
or denying the authority of the Adventist book, Questions on Doctrine, which
was the representative Adventist publication on which I based my earlier
evaluation and book. On April 29, 1983, W. Richard Lesher, vice-president of
the General Conference [now president of Andrews University], responded in a
personal letter. His reply read in part: - "You ask first if Seventh-day
Adventists still stand behind the answers given to your questions in Questions
on Doctrine as they did in 1957. The answer is yes. You have noted in your
letter that some opposed the answers then, and, to some extent, the same
situation exists today. But certainly
p 38 -- the great
majority of Seventh-day Adventists are in harmony with the views expressed in
Questions on Doctrine." (The Kingdom of the Cults, p. 410)
In 1985, another
General Conference convened, this time in New Orleans. During the final
business meeting of the session, Elder Neal C. Wilson commented on several
requests that had come to re-open discussion on the 27 Statements of
Fundamental Beliefs. He then explained why these requests had not be honored:
- There have been several requests
for an open discussion of the Statement of Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day
Adventists. I want to explain why we chose not to do this at this session.
There seems to have been a very favorable world reaction to and acceptance of
the Fundamental Beliefs as voted in 1980.
The introduction
states that "when the church is led by the Holy Spirit to a fuller
understanding of Bible truth or finds better language in which to express the
teachings of God's Holy Word," wording revision could be discussed again.
Frankly, throughout this past five years there has been no one who has revealed
to us that the Holy Spirit has led in making any substantive changes.
There needs to be a
degree of permanence to a Statement of Fundamental Beliefs. It should not be
opened up every time we meet, seeing how we can word it a little differently.
When the Holy Spirit leads us to some different conclusions or when it seems as
though the Holy Spirit points out that it should be more clearly stated, we
want certainly to open it. For these reasons we have chosen to leave this
statement as it is. (Adventist Review, July 11, 1985, p. 17)
The 1985 Session was
large1y devoted to organizational changes. No suggestion was made that the
Church should return to the structure as formulated in 1901 and rejected in
1903. It should be kept in mind that it was this rejection of the 1901
Constitution which caused Ellen G. White to call for corporate repentance and
conversion. But no such repentance was forthcoming at the 1985 Session, but
rather a continuing fulfillment of the warning sounded by P. T. Magan at the
1903 Session. (See Chapter IX, p. 26) Papal language was used during the
session in illustrating the roles of the officers of the General Conference.
Wilson, in responding to questions raised by a report of the nominating
committee and a feeling expressed from the floor that the selection of
leadership did not rightly represent the Church in the Third World, stated -
"If you compare vice presidents to 'cardinals,' we already have a
'cardinal' from Africa, and before this session ends, I predict we will have
two African 'cardinals' among the 15 vice presidents." He used the same
comparison a second time in this response. (Bulletin, p. 795) There is no
desire to repent but organizational strengthening of hierarchical control in
continued rebellion against the purposes of God.
As the Church
prepared for the 1888 Centennial celebration, opportunity was provided for the
laity to evaluate and decide in regard to the 27 Fundamental Statements of
Belief. In the Ministry (April, 1988) and in the Adventist Review (April 7,
1988), Elder Neal C. Wilson revealed the plan for the Sabbath School lessons
for the last two quarters of that year. He wrote: - The framework is already in place for
intense study of the fundamental doctrines of the church. The Sabbath School
lessons for the last two quarters of this year focus on our 27 fundamental
beliefs. Seventh-day Adventists Believe..., the 325-page doctrinal book on
which we have been working for two years, will be on the press by May 1. The
manuscript for this book has been read and critiqued by more than 200 Adventist
scholars and church leaders around the world. Each of the 27 chapters takes an
in-depth look at one of our beliefs. And yet the book is written in such a way
that every member of the church can understand and grasp the importance of
these great truths that bind us together.
Although the book
was written in a style which the average laymen could grasp, they were not
provided with previous statements of belief held by the church so that a
comparison could be made as to changes that were voted in 1980 and the gravity
of those changes. Each individual member of the Church needed an opportunity to
decide if indeed the 27 Statements are fundamental truths, or apostate
formulations, or a
p 39 -- mixture of
the two which would make them the more deceptive.
The Lord through
Hosea declared - "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."
(4:6)
It is not that the
laity have had no opportunity to obtain knowledge. The facts of what has taken
place over the past three decades have been available to all who wished to
know. But "false prophets" on the periphery of Adventism have been
plucking leaves from the "pretentious" fig tree to lure the concerned
laity into thinking that they have an understanding of the apostasy which has
engulfed the Church.
Nevertheless these
agents of Satan (II Cor. 11:13-15) have urged the laity to give at least lip
service to these 27 Statements of Belief so that some of them could still find
entrance into the "sanctuaries" of the Church. Thus this segment of the
concerned laity have been robbed by these "false prophets" of
essential facts so as to evaluate correctly the Sabbath School lessons and the
book on them. One such "false prophet" when asked to take a stand on
the changes made in the 1980 Statement of Beliefs from the previous statements,
replied through an associate - "Up to this time we have not performed a
thorough analysis of the 27 fundamental beliefs. Thus we cannot provide an
official critique of them." This letter was dated January 3, 1989, over
eight years after the Statements were voted at Dallas, and yet this "false
prophet" has proclaimed himself a spokesman for "historic"
Adventism holding to the "firm foundation."
A vast segment of
the laity who studied the Sabbath School lessons during the last two quarters
of 1988 were brought into church fellowship under the ministry of men who had
been taught in college and the Seminary the apostate teachings arising from the
compromises made with the Evangelicals thirty years ago. How large this segment
actually is can be noted in the membership difference between 1955, the time of
the SDA-Evangelical Conferences and the present. From about one million members
worldwide, the Church grew in three decades to over five million. A sizeable
portion of the ministry of the Church has been recruited from this influx of
new members during this same period. However, the lesson plan for the final two
quarters of 1988 did give each individual the opportunity to review for himself
what the Church officially proclaimed itself to believe, and whether he would
concur or dissent.
There is a prophecy
in the Writings of Ellen G. White which has a direct relationship to this
present time. (See Appendix A) In this prophecy, she wrote that "the
church - the Lord's sanctuary - was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath
of God." (5T:211) And she told why -
The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light, and who had
stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their
trust. (Ibid.)
But the final
sentence of this prophecy could not be fulfilled until every member of
the church had an
opportunity to evaluate the situation to see if they would choose to
accept the betrayal
of the sacred "trust" by "the ancient men." That sentence
reads
"Men, maidens,
and little children all perish together." The opportunity was given in the
study of the Sabbath School lessons for the final two quarters of 1988 to make
that evaluation and decision.
The fearful import
of the final six months of 1988 cannot be fully perceived unless we understand
clearly the lessons of the final years of the Jewish Church/Nation as a
corporate entity before God, and the time allotted by God for the individual
members of that church to make a decision. Further the close parallel between
recent Jewish history and the Seventh-day Adventist Church history tells us in
the words of Ezekiel - "It is
coming, the hour has come, the hour is striking at you, the hour and the
end." (Eze. 7:6-7 Mofatt)
*******
More tomorrow by the grace and mercy of our LORD.
More tomorrow by the grace and mercy of our LORD.
All glory, honor and
praise to our Savior!
Please, Lord, save
us.
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