Truth Seekers, Not Blind Followers.

Mat_15:14  Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Rev_3:17  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

Blind to the truth.  This condition will prevail over the 'many'.

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Mat_7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Jesus' own words of truth. If, by any chance you are walking a life path that many are walking please stop right now and take stock of your life.  Pray a simple, powerful prayer asking for God to open your heart to only truth, and nothing but truth. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you always. Pray that you can comprehend the state of being, 'wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked'. Seek to buy of God 'gold tried in fire', 'eye salve', 'a white robe of righteousness'.

Rev 3:18  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. 

We need our eyes anointed with the eye salve only our Savior can give to us.

Should we hold fast any truth that the 'many' hold, we need to take that truth to Jesus and seek the validity of that truth in its fullness. We can't take a sugar-coated truth and swallow it without wondering why it is accepted by the 'many' as something tasty and to be desired. We need to delve deep into each ingredient presented in any truth and note factually what our God has to tell us through His Word. If we can't look at each objection, or take every answer to an objection and analyze it under the microscope of God's truth, then it is very possible there is deceit mingled in with the truth, altering it into a hidden lie meant to deceive fully and ultimately cause eternal death.

You scoff and say that God doesn't demand we all become scholars. You shake your head and say that God anointed others to teach. You belief in your heart that God will not fault you for accepting as truth what liars have told you and that it is the liars who will be destroyed but you who will be saved through ignorance. 

Placing ourselves among blind leaders is to become blind, and the blind leading the blind both fall into that ditch.

Isa 9:16  For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. 

We cannot follower leaders blindly, but we must seek truth for ourselves. Take each of your traditions you follow, every beloved act you commit under the beliefs you hold sacred and place them in the fiery furnace and see if they hold up in the fire or if they crumble to ash.  If we can't hold our truths to the tests, we may be caught up in deception and ignorance will be no excuse. We will not be able to point the finger at our teachers and say, blame them, they fed me these lies. If you eat those lies blindly, not caring what you are putting into your mouth, you are accountable to God.

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 

2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 

2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 

2Pe 2:4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 

2Pe 2:5  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 

2Pe 2:6  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 

2Pe 2:7  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 

2Pe 2:8  (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 

2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 

2Pe 2:11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 

2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 

2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 

2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 

2Pe 2:16  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 

2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 

2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 

2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 

2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

May we all be truth seekers, not blind followers.

All through Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior, NOW and FOREVER! Amen.

*******

(Excerpt)

A BENIGN OR MALIGNANT CONSPIRACY -WHICH?

(The Mystery of 1888, D. K. Short Manuscript -- Part 1)

To a committee - named "Historical Background of the 1888 Experience Committee", chaired by Vice President - Elder D. K. Short, also a member of the committee, submitted a manuscript entitled, The Mystery of 1888. In the introduction of this manuscript, Elder Short wrote: This compilation has been prepared by Donald K. Short, upon invitation as a member of a special committee authorized by the General Conference. It has been compiled for the Seventh-day Adventists and in particular leaders and ministers who should have a rather full knowledge of Adventist history and an understanding of the Spirit of Prophecy and the teachings that make "us" a people in the final generation of the world. (1)

In this document a question is asked. Has there been a "benign cover-up conspiracy … a kind of denominational Watergate" in regard to the 1888 experience? (Or do the facts indicate a "malignant conspiracy?" Observe the suggestion of a conspiracy in full context. Short wrote:

Seventh-day Adventist history has been written and no effort in all the universe can change it nor can any apology alter a single facet of it. But, is it possible -that an attempt is being made now to interpret and cover-up certain episodes in that history in order to make it fit a public stance that has been taken by the Church and published abroad? The amount of official material published since 1950 is considerable, totaling over 1200 pages in three books. The more that is published the greater the problem becomes. The confusion and anomalies developing are on the increase. There is a very sad credibility gap emerging. The last two publications by Olson and Froom, are serious misfortunes and present apologies which will not bear analysis. To have the Ellen G. White Estate approve and condone these publications is tragic enough. But to go even further and seek to interpret and to expound the "intent" of what Ellen G. White has said, presents a most solemn predicament. This is not to condemn any man or group of men. It only brings into focus a situation "we" face as a people! Pride is a terrible sin, as sacred history proves, rebellion grows out of it.

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For decades "we" have stood amazed at the way the world seeks every possible means to lawfully disregard the fourth commandment. The untenable, though sometimes plausible, excuses put forward are legion. The attempt to ignore and cover-up are distressing and ignoble.

The published positions "we" have accepted in recent years and the Historical Foreword as found in Testimonies to Ministers, and similar attitudes taken and promoted by the Ellen G. White Estate seem to be in the same vein.

Is it possible that "we" have fallen into some sort of benign cover-up conspiracy which "we" consider justified for the sake of the dead and the preservation of denominational pride and reputation, but which in reality is a tragic fall into a kind of denominational Watergate? (2)

This summary of certain implications from our history - and for that matter very recent history - demand our close attention. We shall in this thought paper note what is called "an emerging credibility gap" in relationship to the suggested "cover-up conspiracy". In so doing we shall follow closely the evidence presented in the manuscript - The Mystery of 1888 - but giving the primary source documentation where ever possible so that the reader may check for himself.

In the above quotes from Elder Short, he spoke of the "credibility gap emerging." His exact words are:      The amount of material published since 1950 is considerable, totaling over 1200 pages in three books. The more that is published, the greater the problem becomes. The confusion and anomalies developing are on the increase. There is a very sad credibility gap emerging. (2)

The first of these three books was written by Dr. Norval F. Pease, and was entitled By Faith Alone. The Foreword was written by the then president of the General Conference, Elder R. R. Figuhr, but not in his capacity as President. This book, according to Figuhr, was to be the answer to comments regarding 1888 being raised by various persons in the church, "especially in recent months" (1962). He wrote:

"This book sets the record straight." (3) What does Pease present in setting the record straight? Note the question he asks and answer he gives: Where was the doctrine of justification by faith to be found in 1888 and the preceding years? In the creeds of the Protestant churches of

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the day; hence from the Seventh-day Adventist viewpoint, "in the companionship of error." The same churches which were rejecting the Adventist message and the law of God were holding, at least in form, the doctrine of justification by faith. From such a doctrinal environment God "rescued" this truth, and placed it where it should be - in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. (4)

Consider the import of this. Sister White stated emphatically that the message of 1888 - Justification by Faith as taught by Elders Jones and Waggoner - " is the third angel's message in verity." (5) Now if this is inspired truth from the Lord's servant, and it is, then Pease is saying that the Third Angel's Message was not obtained by the Church until 1888, and that from 1844 to 1888 was held in the creeds of the Protestant churches. If so, then what was the unique position God assigned to the Advent Movement in 1844? To what lengths men will go to rewrite history simply to avoid the truth that history correctly written would reveal!

The second book was published for Elder A. V. Olson posthumously by the Ellen G. White Estate under the direction of Dr. A. L. White. It was entitled, Through Crisis to Victory, 1888 - 1901. The Foreword written by Dr. A. L. White stated that this work is "a stimulating historical review of a changing and perilous period in the development of a church movement." It was written with the avowed purpose of changing what was termed, "misleading conclusions." Those with these conceptions were accused of basing their judgment on "fragmentary bits of information." This period - 1888-1901 - was noted as "a period over which Providence could spell out the word,victory. (6)

From the very title it is suggested that the year 1901 marked the date when the crisis of the final decade of the 19th Century was resolved, and the hour of the triumph had arrived. It is beyond question that the very essence of the Advent Movement is the realization of the end of the world, and the ushering in of the Eternal Kingdom. Thus if "victory" was the judgment of God in 1901, and a proper evaluation of history verifies this, then we should not even be here at this time here

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to discuss what we are writing about. What a contrast to this theses projected by the Ellen G. White Estate are the words of the prophet herself - written in 1901:

We may have to remain here in this world because of insubordination many more years, as did the children Israel, but for Christ's sake, His people should not sin to sin by charging God with the consequences of their own wrong course of action. (7)

Now if "insubordination" is "victory", then who wants victory? As Short points out - seeking to vindicate the leadership's rejection of the Message of 1888, and calling the year 1901, the year of victory, is "in the final analysis…to charge God for His delay in returning!" (8) - the very thing the servant of the Lord warned us not to do.

Who are we to believe - a book published by the White Estate, who are to faithfully protect and project correctly the inspired heritage to the Church or are we to accept the verdict of the prophetess herself? Rather than "emerging", there has emerged a credibility gap in regard to the custodians of the spiritual gift to the Church. And another question, has the leadership of the White Estate conspired with the hierarchy of the Church to falsify our Church history? Is this just benign, or is it malignant?

The third book is none other than Movement of Destiny by Dr. LeRoy E. Froom bearing the imprimatur of the present president of the General Conference, Elder R. H. Pierson, in his capacity as President. In Froom's own preface - "From the Author to the Reader" - he stated that this book is a result of a charge given to him by Elder A. G. Daniells in 1930 to undertake a survey of the whole plan of redemption with its principles, provisions and divine Personalities "as they unfolded to our view as a Movement from 1844 onward, with special emphasis upon the developments of '1888', and its sequel." This book was to also to "round out in historical sequence what he (Daniells) had begun in 1926 in a comparatively brief recital of

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his epochal Christ Our Righteousness." (9)

Of this 1888 Session, Froom writes:

The epochal Minneapolis Session stands out like a mountain peak, towering above all other sessions in uniqueness and importance. It was a distinct turning point. Nothing like it had occurred before, and none has since been comparable to it. It definitely introduced a new epoch. After its initial conflict a period of revival and heart searching followed. And that which brought this about was the message Righteousness by Faith in Christ as "all the fullness of the Godhead" - an expression that became a vital keynote, stressed at the stormy session.

Christ was uplifted before the Conference as never before in our history, with a fullness that had not heretofore been envisioned or proclaimed. That was the crux of it all. 1888 therefore came to mark the beginning of a new note and a new day, the significance of which was not fully sensed at that time.

1888 was not a point of defeat, but a turn in the tide for ultimate victory. It was the beginning of decades of clarification and advance - despite struggles and setbacks. (10)

Of the same session the servant of the Lord wrote: But all the universe of heaven witnessed the disgraceful treatment of Jesus Christ, represented by the Holy Spirit. Had Christ been before them, they would have treated Him in a manner similar to that which the Jews treated Christ. (11)

How can we call Minneapolis a "mountain peak" which marked an new epoch, when at the session, the leadership rejected the Holy Spirit? How can we say that "1888 was not a point of defeat but a turn in the tide for ultimate victory?" Is spurning Christ in the Person of the Holy Spirit to be considered a victory rather than a defeat? Incredible! Indeed a "credibility gap" of the greatest dimensions.

We need to keep in mind that the men who wrote these books had access to the files of the Ellen G. White Estate. One author was chairman of the Board of the Estate at the time of his writing, and then after his death, the Estate itself in the person of Dr. Arthur White finished the material for publication. Froom, himself, claims that over sixty of the leading scholars of the Church approved what he wrote.(12) There is only one conclusion to draw - there has been a conspiracy to rewrite our church history, thus deceiving the laity in an attempt to keep the

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rank and file subservient to the leadership with unquestioned loyalty. How long are we going to accept this "blindness" foisted on us by such leadership? How long are we going to reject the eye salve of truth that we may see? How long are we going to be bound to the "comfortable pew" by the shackles of erroneous propaganda?

In the next thought paper we shall continue to note the mystery of 1888 and observe what Daniells wrote about 1888, which Froom professes to enlarge honestly and accurately. We shall note the extent that the Ellen G. White Estate has entered into the conspiracy to deceive the laity, and the rank and file of the ministry of the Church.

(1) D. K. Short, The Mystery of 1888, A Study of Seventh-day Adventist History in the light of the Minneapolis General Conference of 1888. Presented to the "Historical Background of the 1888 Experience Committee." April, 1974, p. i

(2) Ibid., p. 74

(3) Norval F. Pease, By Faith Alone, p. vii

(4) Ibid., pp. 138-139

(5) Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, April 1, 1890

(6) A. V. Olson, Through Crisis to Victory, p. 7, emphasis theirs

(7) Ellen G. White, Letter to P. T. Magan, dated December 7, 1901

(8) D. K. Short, The Mystery of 1888, p. 49

(9) L. E. Froom, Movement of Destiny, p. 17 (emphasis his)

(10) Ibid. p. 187

(11) Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies, Series A, No. 6, p.20

(12) See monograph The Times of the Gentiles Fulfilled, Exhibit B, p. 37. 

December 1975  -  "Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt)