Shine A Light On Historical Facts.

If I were to read a newspaper from the early 1900's do you suppose everything in that newspaper would be relevant to 2019? If a newspaper touted the health benefits of cocaine, even its presence in a bottled beverage for public consumption, would that be at all relevant to what we know today about cocaine and it's dangers? We'd be hard pressed to find any such thing in bottled beverages for public consumption today, wouldn't we? Who's to say a hundred years from now they might be aghast at our using artificial sweeteners in our common beverages, or certain preservatives that may be later found to be very non-beneficial to our health.  The point I'm trying to make here is that time unfolds and as it does, what was once seemingly relevant no longer is because history has replaced those things. This is the way of life in many, many aspects. If we were to hold fast to the common practices of medieval medical procedures we'd all be in a lot of trouble. What is truth, is the fact things are very relevant and true for the times they are in. If we stopped producing medical journals and brought medicine to a standstill with no new advancements, what kind of future would that mean? I'm sure we can all use our imaginations on that one. 

When we are studying prophetic words, we can look back at history and put the puzzle pieces in the correct places. While prophecy is unfolding in our time we can only put the puzzle pieces where we think they might fit, allowing time to reveal where they truly need to be placed in permanence. Due to the unfolding of prophecy what was once thought solidified, may not be so and we have to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to the TRUTH.

In 1947 I could never have pointed to a time in history where the Jewish people as a nation took control of Israel. In 1949 I could point to 1948 as that time when the Jewish people as a nation took control of Israel. In 1979 I couldn't point to a time when the Jewish people as a nation had established their capital in Jerusalem. In 1981 I could point to that time when Jerusalem became the capital of Israel.

The significance of history unfolding cannot be lost on us as we continue to study thought papers from 1975 and are now living in 2019 -  44 years of time have passed, 44 years of history to relate to prophecy.  May God help us to only know HIS truth, comprehending history's place in prophecy.

All through Jesus Christ, our LORD! Now and forever!

(Excerpt)

JUST OFF THE PRESS!

(Times of the Gentiles)

The Thought Paper for this month is a reproduction of a section from the first monograph to be produced by the "embryo" Institute of Doctrinal Inquiry. The same paging is retained as will be found in the monograph itself. The title of this inquiry is -THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES FULFILLED -A Study in Depth of Luke 21:24.

The footnotes and documentation are complete so that the reader can check and study for himself. Three letters which cannot be obtained except through private reproduction are photocopied and entered as Exhibits A & D. The Froom letter which is a part of Exhibit B is his reply when the misrepresentation as found in Movement of Destiny was exposed in a letter to Elder R. H. Pierson. Pierson himself did not reply, but had his assistant acknowledge a second letter to him.

The 38 page monograph will include all the basic material which was found in the thought papers issued in 1975 on the subject of Luke 21:24. Other material from prior research and publication is also included.

Already an Adventist couple have ordered a copy sent to every family in the Church where they reside. "God's professed people" (3 Testimonies p. 266) need to understand the truth as taught by Jesus in His word, and prophecies. The monograph THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES FULFILLED - A study in Depth of Luke 21:24 is available through Adventist Laymen's Foundation, P.O. Box 69, Ozone AR 72854 with $1 for postage.

(((2019-   PLEASE NOTE: This original manuscript "Times of the Gentiles Fulfilled" underwent a few revisions over the years since its original publication. The 1984 revision can be found here-  http://www.adventistalert.com/times.Gentiles.fulfilled/times.htm

Also at a later time the title of a revised publication was changed to- "The Hour and the End  - A study in Depth of Luke 21:24"  and can now in 2019 be found here- 

STATEMENT ON PUBLICATIONS Elder Wm. H. Grotheer died on Sabbath, Saturday May 2, 2009. He left a rich legacy of theological writings and sermons which will be a blessing to many until the end of time. The work of Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Mississippi-Arkansas is now carried on by Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Iowa. Publications currently available are listed on the website alfiowa.com.))))

Monograph page - 25

Another Prediction -- In December of 1892, an article in two parts was published in the Review from the pen of Ellen G. White. The doctrine of the Sabbath was being discussed. In the midst of this discussion, she wrote:

After the truth has been proclaimed as a witness to all nations, every conceivable power of evil will be set in operation, and minds will be confused by many voices crying, "Lo, here is Christ, Lo he is there. This is the truth; I have a message from God; He has sent me with great light." Then there will be a removal of the landmarks, and an attempt to tear down the pillars of our faith. (1)

If language means anything, "the witness to all nations," must come during the times of the Gentiles or nations. These words indicate that "after" this witness is given, "then" an attempt will be made to remove the landmarks and tear away the pillars of our faith. A frontal attack on the pillars of our faith would be too obvious, but an attempt to remove or alter them under the guise of building up the Movement of 1844 as a coming movement of destiny would be most deceptive.

More documentation of this prediction in its entirety is needed than can be covered within the scope of this monograph. Bearing upon this prophecy is the thrice repeated axiom of the servant of the Lord. She wrote - "coming events cast their shadows before."(2) How does this interrelate with the prophecy of Jesus in Luke 21:24?

In 1948, the new state of Israel was established. Anyone cognizant of the aspirations of the Jewish people could have known that they never would be content until the area of Old Jerusalem most sacred to them would once again be .

==========================

Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, Dec. 13, 1892; Ellen G. White, Education, pp. 179-180;Testimonies to Ministers, p. 364; Desire of Ages, p. 636.

Monograph page -26

under their control. We refused to see the shadows being cast athwart our pathway. We contented ourselves with the fallacious reasoning that since Israel as a nation was no longer the chosen people of God, and had not been so since 34 A. D., nothing that would happen in their history would be of any prophetic significance. By so concluding, we put out our spiritual eyesight, and have thus become blinded to the decision of heaven in regard to the Church as evidenced in the fulfillment of the prophecy of Luke 21:24 in 1967.

A quick resume of our own church history since 1948 is most revealing, and gives force to the prediction which Sister White made in 1892. Prior to 1948, every heresy which sought to disrupt the Church was met head-on, with the basic doctrines of the church such as the Godhead, Incarnation, Final Atonement, and the Sanctuary teaching intact. The Holy Flesh Movement of Indiana which sought to alter our understanding of sanctification and the incarnation was aborted at the General Conference Session in 1901.(1) The Kellogg apostasy which introduced fanciful ideas in regard to nature and nature's God was declared to be the "alpha of deadly heresies."(2) Other doctrinal innovations introduced by such men as Balanger, Houteff and others were successfully resisted. 

Following 1948 the pattern changed, and heresies entered the Church with sanction and approval of the hierarchy - coming events were casting their shadow before. In 1949, the standard evangelistic publication - Bible Readings for the Home Circle - was altered in the area of Christian perfection as it related to the doctrine of the incarnation. The alternation was ever so slight - a

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(1) See The Holy Flesh Movement 1899-1901 by Adventist Laymen's Foundation. This manuscript is available through Adventist Laymen's Foundation, P.O. Box 69, Ozone AR 72854 with $1 for postage. (((2019-  See notation above about publications.))))

(2) Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies, Series B, No 2, p. 50.

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few words deleted, a note of explanation rewritten mitigating the force of the historical position of the Church. (1)

God did not leave His Church without a witness. In 1950 two missionaries on furlough from Africa presented a document to the General Conference leadership calling attention to the rejection of the 1888 Message by the Church, and where such a rejection was leading. (2) Major areas of doctrine were noted and a warning sounded. This warning appeal was rejected by a committee appointed by the Church to consider the charges made in the manuscript. (3)

In 1955 the fateful 18 conferences with the Evangelical representatives began.(4) The results of this Barnhouse-Martin dialogue with some of the leaders of the Church produced the book - Questions on Doctrine - in 1957. While the "Editorial Committee" declared this book to be "truly representative of the faith and beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,"(5) and while it was published by the Review & Herald Publishing Association, the writers remained anonymous. No official nihil obstat or imprimatur appeared in the book. Altering the teachings of the Church in the areas of the Atonement, Incarnation, and the concept of the Remnant, it was also written that sentences and quotations could be referred to in support of the historical position of the Church. It contained "double talk". But a coming event was casting it's darkening shadow before! .

====================

1. See Movement of Destiny, by L. E. Froom, pp. 427-428 for official version; see An Interpretive History of the Doctrine of the Incarnation as Taught by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, by Adventist Laymen's Foundation, pp. 64-66, 100, 102 for an analysis and comparison. The new paperback edition still contains the deviation.

2. See 1888 Re-Examined, by R. J. Wieland and D. K. Short.

3. A Warning and It's Reception, pp. 245-255. A collection of documents published by the A. L. Hudson Printing Company, Baker, Oregon.

4. Movement of Destiny, by L. E. Froom, pp. 476-481.

5. Questions on Doctrine, p. 9.

Monograph page -28

A voice was again heard in the Church. Elder M. L. Andreasen, dean of modern Adventist theologians, sent forth his Letters to the Churches.(1) His pleas were likewise rejected, and personal action was taken against him by the hierarchy of the Church. 

Then came the year, 1967, and the fulfillment of the prophecy of Luke 21:24. According to the prediction of Ellen G. White, a major assault would be made upon the pillars of our faith after this date. In 1971, Dr. Leroy E. Froom published with the approbation of at least 60 of "the ancient men of the house of Israel" his monumental work, Movement of Destiny.(2) This book received the imprimatur of the President of the General Conference, and the Chairman of the Guiding Committee, who was and is the President of the North American Division.(3) This book contains doctrinal alterations of our basic faith in the areas of the Atonement, Incarnation, and actually misrepresents what Waggoner was supposed to have taught at the 1888 Session of the General Conference.(4) Further, this book is historically inaccurate, and thus misleading. This, too, has been documented.(5)

This cap-sheaf of apostasy was not the work of a moment but resulted from long laid plans. Froom himself reveals the background. In his own preface to

============================

1. M. L. Andreasen, Letters to the Churches, Series A, Nos. 1-6.

2. See Exhibit B.

3. See Movement of Destiny, p. 13 - Foreword written by Robert H. Pierson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists; pp. 15-16 - preface written by Neal C. Wilson, Vice-President, General Conference for the North American Division, Chairman of Guiding Committee for Movement of Destiny.

4. Movement of Destiny, L. E. From, pp. 188-189. For comparison between what Elder E. J. Waggoner actually wrote, and what Froom said he wrote see An Interpretive History of the Doctrine of the Incarnation as Taught by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, by Adventist Laymen's Foundation, pp. 83-87.

5. R. J. Wieland and D. K. Short, "An Explicit Confession…Due the Church", Nov., 1972.

Monograph page -29

the book, Movement of Destiny, he wrote: Back in the spring of 1930, Arthur G. Daniells, for more than twenty years President of our General Conference, told me he believed that, at a later time, I should undertake a thorough survey of the entire plan of redemption - it's 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 …

Elder Daniells recognized the serious problems involved, and sensed almost prophetically certain difficulties that would confront. He knew that time would be required for certain theological wounds to heal, and for attitudes to modify on the part of some. Possibly it would be necessary to wait until certain individuals had dropped out of action, before the needed portrayal could wisely be brought forth. He likewise envisioned the vast toil and time involved. He pressed me to lay long-range plans to that end, and never to give up. Such was the solemn charge in 1930. (1)

Compare this admission of the deep-seated plans to rewrite our history with this divine insight as portrayed by the divine servant of the Lord: The patience of God has an object, but you are defeating it. He is allowing a state of things to come that you would fain see counteracted by and by, but it will be too late. …Who knows but that the preachers who are faithful, firm, and true may be the last who shall offer the gospel of peace to our unthankful churches? It may be that the destroyers are already training under the hand of Satan and only wait the departure of a few more standard-bearers to take their places, and with the voice of the false prophet cry, Peace, peace, when the Lord has not spoken peace. …It may be that ere long all prophesyings among us will be at an end, and the voice which has stirred the people may no longer disturb their carnal slumbers.

When God shall work His strange work on the earth, when holy hands bear the ark no longer, woe will be upon the people. Oh, that thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace! Oh, that our people may, as did Ninevah, repent with all their might and believe with all their heart, that God may turn away His fierce anger from them!(2) 

=========================================

1. L. E. Froom, Movement of Destiny, pp. 17-18. 

2. Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, pp. 77-78.

Monograph page -30

The most revealing factor in this whole picture is the way the sequence fits into what has now become fulfilled prophecy. Conceived in 1930, the apostasy did not begin to surface until the year following 1948 when the founding of the new State of Israel was a foreshadowing of the fulfillment of Luke 21:24. It reached its climax after 1967 as indicated would be the case by the servant of the Lord in 1892. Truly as Jesus said - "I have told you before, that, when it come to pass, ye might believe." (John 14:29). 

NOTES & COMMENTS -- Number One News in Mississippi --The first item of the Telex Notes for the Alabama-Mississippi Conference in August issue of Southern Tidings, official organ of the Southern Union read: Pastor Tony Russo of the Vicksburg and Greenville, Mississippi churches has been ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE 43-MEMBER OF THE WARREN COUNTY MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION. He will serve as president from August, 1975, to June, 1976. [p. 18, emphasis theirs.]

A spot check with a local Vicksburg minister verified that the Catholic priests of the County are members of the Association. Do we no longer know what constitutes "Babylon" in Bible prophecy? Amos well asked - "Can two walk together less they be agreed?" Amos 3:3. Interestingly the Adventist pastor is not yet ordained. Will this be his credentials for ordination as was similarly reported from Arizona? If so, he should be ordained at the next camp meeting or sooner if his work with the Ministerial Association demands such recognition. The Bible pre-requisite for ordination is given by Paul - "Do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry."2 Timothy 4:5. BUT - how can one on "chummy" terms with the priests and the prophets of Baal hold full-message evangelistic meetings in his community? 

Bauer Tape -- The title for this month is - "Break Every Yoke". See . A New Re-Printing -- THE CONSECRATED WAY by A. T. Jones

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

1.986 Years Have Passed.

Ask yourselves this question…  After Jesus walked the earth, after His accession to begin His work as our High Priest, did those who cried out "crucify Him!" believe they'd done a good thing? They did, didn't they? The scribes, pharisees, the temple elders, the leaders, the laity of the Jewish religion in majority believed that silencing the rabble rousing, peace disturbing, troublemaking son of a carpenter- was a very good thing- except… for a very small sect that touted a lie about the dead man rising and commissioning His delusional followers not to give up on the things He'd taught them during His ministry.

Surely, it would have been much more effective for the truth to be known if the crucified and buried Jesus had rose and continued to live His miraculous life upon earth, presenting Himself to everyone as the miracle man. Hadn't he supposedly called forth Lazarus from the grave and allowed Lazarus to live among the people. Weren't their others He'd healed from death itself- the daughter, the centurion's servant, and many we probably were not even told about? These people came back from death's sleep, called from that darkness of peace where all their thoughts ceased, to live longer. So, why not Jesus Himself? Why did He have to go away if He were risen from the dead? Surely those people who were thrilled they'd manage to rid themselves of the blasphemous, commandment breaking, false Messiah were ecstatic to realize that the so called specter of a man wasn't hanging about trying to gain more followers to lead in His false religion. They weren't too concerned with the remaining followers of the dead man, they'd be stomped out all in due time. The Jewish church would remain intact, the hierarchy in control, the people soothed into their traditions once again.  It had been a good thing crucifying that person so that all His lies would die with Him. He'd foolishly said things like the temple being destroyed. He'd even gone so far as to say that the city of Jerusalem itself would be destroyed. God favored them, and gave them their city, there was no way God was going to take it from them.

We sit here now in 2019, knowing what befell Jerusalem, but back then before the armies surrounded the Holy City, before they left and then returned once again to raze the city of Jerusalem to the ground, scattering ALL the people as they wrested control and overtook the very temple that God ordained to be built. As Jerusalem was trodden down by the non-Jewish-  in fact by the gentiles- it was a horror of unbelief taking place for those who never imagined such a thing possible.

When year after year passed and Jerusalem remained unclaimed by its rightful, God directed owners- the people God had chosen to be His people- the Jewish people- what did those people think? They began to recite a rather well known phrase-- "Next year in Jerusalem".  They never gave up hope of reclaiming Jerusalem for God, never.  And over a thousand and a half years passed--1,897 years went by before the people of Israel, the Jewish people once again had Jerusalem in their control, 13 more years after they fought and won control from gentiles, they placed their capital once more there in Jerusalem.  The control of Jerusalem theirs to defend with weaponry, with laws, with their full government-  even as gentiles continued to try and reclaim it once more- over and over again.

The significance of the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem in particular is significantly important to the people who STILL follow Christ and only Christ after all these years- 1,986 years since Jesus was crucified in the year 33.  Why? Because it is yet another end-time prophecy that Jesus, Himself spoke of  has come to pass- as we expectantly wait for our Savior to sound the last trump and call us to Him.

The Jewish people today still believe their messiah is to come, choosing to ignore the truth before them.

We sit back as Christ followers and shake our heads, unable to comprehend how they could be so blind. All the while among the many, many, yes… many Christ followers there are so very few who walk the narrow road necessary to walk upon, preferring their lives of deception.

May we NOT be among the deceived! May we truly belong to our Savior! Forgive us, Lord, forgive us sinners, forgive me- a sinner undeserving of Your love.  Now and forever, amen.

*******

(EXCERPT)

JUST SUPPOSE (Times of the Gentiles) -- Just suppose you had been living in the days of Jesus, and were a citizen of Jerusalem. You were well versed in the prophecies of the Old Testament. You were zealous for the religion of your fathers. You firmly believed in the triumph of Judaism over all of her enemies. You looked forward to the day when the mountain of the Lord's house would be established in the tops of the mountains and would be exalted above the hills, and all nations would come and bow down before the God of Israel.   1    But you were aware that there were some very disturbing prophecies which didn't bear out all of these expectations. How would you have related yourself to these prophecies? Let us note these seemingly contradictory prophecies:

Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and stars for a light by night. …If these ordinances depart from before Me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me forever.   (2) Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. (3) For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. ...For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.(4) * The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil shall come upon us. Therefore will Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.(5) The people of the prince shall come and destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(6)

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Having been conditioned by the religious hierarchy of Jerusalem to believe, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we"(7) Which set of the preceding predictions would you have believed were to be fulfilled?

Then you were listening one day to Jesus as He was telling the hierarchy whom you reverenced and respected a story about a vineyard. You heard Jesus say to them after He had finished the story - "I say to you, The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." (8) Would you have believed Jesus, or would you have been inclined to think that He was an impostor? Then before you could make a final judgment, you were hearing another story, and the words - "He sent forth His armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city."(9) - startled you, but looking around at the massive, and impressive edifice that was the very temple of God, you reasoned, this Man just can't be teaching the truth. He must be insane and hallucinating. So you decided then and there -this Man they call Jesus is not the Messiah.

Interestingly, the prophecy of Daniel(6) which foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, also contained the very time prophecy as to when the Messiah was to appear; but blind prejudice and selfish pride withheld from the laity that all-important truth because with that truth was a revelation which struck directly at the establishment and power of the hierarchy. This failure to let the light of truth reach the laity of Jerusalem caused them to unite their voices in the cry - "Crucify Him, Crucify Him."

This "just suppose" situation which I have asked you to visualize was indeed a reality to many in the days of Jesus. We read: The Jews had misinterpreted God's promise of eternal favor to Israel: (Jer. 31:35-37 quoted) The Jews regarded their natural descent from Abraham as giving them a claim to this promise. But they overlooked the conditions which God had specified… To a people in whose hearts His law is written, the favor of God is assured. They are one with Him. But the Jews had separated themselves

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from God. Because of their sins they were suffering under His judgments. This was the cause of their bondage to a heathen nation. Their minds were darkened by transgression, and because in times past the Lord had shown them so great favor, they excused their sins. They flattered themselves that they were better than other men, and entitled to His blessings.

These things "are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."(10)

Note carefully - the servant of the Lord quoting I Corinthians 10:11 indicates emphatically that this situation in Jerusalem in the days of Jesus is for us upon whom the ends of the world have come!

We, too, face two sets of statements. Let us line them up:

While there have been fierce contentions in the effort to maintain our distinctive character, yet we have as Bible Christians ever been on gaining ground. (11) I am instructed to say to Seventh-day Adventists the world over, God has called us as a people to be a peculiar treasure unto Himself. He has appointed that His church on earth shall stand perfectly united in the Spirit and counsel of the Lord of hosts to the end of time. (12) That which God purposed to do for the world through Israel, the chosen nation, He will finally accomplish through His church on earth today. (13) [The word "church" in these last quotes is interpreted by many to mean the corporate, institutionalized church.] * Spiritual death has come upon the people that should be manifesting life and zeal, purity and consecration, by the most earnest devotion to the cause of truth. The facts concerning the real condition of the professed people of God, speak more loudly than their profession, and make it evident that some power has cut the cable that anchored them to the Eternal Rock and that they are drifting away to sea, without chart or compass. (14) The church is like the unproductive tree which, receiving the dew and rain and the sunshine should have produced an abundance of fruit, but on which the Divine Searcher discovers nothing but leaves. Solemn thought for our churches! Solemn, indeed, for every individual! Marvelous is the patience and forbearance of God; but, "except thou repent;" it will be exhausted; the churches, our institutions, will go on from cold formality to deadness; while they are saying, "I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." (15)

These two sets of statements, while contradictory in import, do not make Ellen G. White a false prophet; but rather they point up the fact that stated by her in 1883 - "It should be remembered that the promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional."(16) Which then will be fulfilled? 

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Jesus gave a prophecy which stated that when a certain event should occur, "the times of the Gentiles"' would be fulfilled.(17) To the Seventh-day Adventist church as a corporate body was committed the trust of the unique message of Revelation 14:6-1l which was to go to every nation, tongue, and people. If then the times of the Gentiles are up -the prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled in 1967 - then the trust given by God has been withdrawn. It is just that simple, - a faith in the prophetic words of Jesus even as our spiritual fathers manifest a faith in what took place in Heaven in 1844 following the disappointment, though they could not see with the natural eyesight. Another prophecy indicates that God has arisen from the cherub whereupon He was, and has taken things into His own hands, ordering a sealing work to commence in Jerusalem, the church.(18) Again, this "mark of redemption' will not be visible to "human eyes."(19) This fact will not, however, alter the reality of the experience.

These very prophecies which would warn the laity and cause them to follow the leadings of the Lord for this time are discredited by the hierarchy because such prophecies strike directly at the establishment and their power over the laity. We are thus brought directly to the same situation -and decision -that the people of Jerusalem were brought in the days of Jesus as they evaluated the prophecies of the Old Testament in regard to their city and nation. To us the fateful words have been written -Their experience was "written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." (10)

(1) Micah 4: 1-2   

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. 

Mic 4:2  And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 

(2) Jeremiah 31:35-36  

Jer 31:35  Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 

Jer 31:36  If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 

(3) Joel 3:20   

Joe 3:20  But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

(4) Isaiah 54:7, 9

Isa 54:7  For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 

Isa 54:9  For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 

(5) Micah 3:11-12   

Mic 3:11  The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us. 

Mic 3:12  Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest. 

(6) Daniel 9:26  

Dan 9:26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 

 (7) Jeremiah 7:4;

Jer 7:4  Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. 

Ellen G. White, Fundamentals of Christian Education, pp. 397-398:- "The teachers of the Jewish nation professed to educate the youth to understand the purity and excellence of the laws of that kingdom which is to stand forever and ever, but they perverted truth and purity. Though they said of themselves, 'The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we,' yet they crucified the Originator of all the Jewish economy, Him to whom all their ordinances pointed." 

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(8) Matthew 21:43  

Mat 21:43  Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 

 (9) Matthew 22:7  

Mat 22:7  But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 

 (10) Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 106   (11) Ellen G. White, letter 170, 1907 (12) Ellen G. White, letter 54, 1908   (13) Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings. pp. 713-714   (14) Ellen G. White. Review & Herald, July 24, 1886   (15) Ellen G. White, Review & Herald Extra, December 23, 1890 (16) Ellen G. White, Manuscript 4, 1883  

 (17) Luke 21:24

Luk 21:24  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 

  (18) Ezekiel 9:1-4;

Eze 9:1  He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. 

Eze 9:2  And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. 

Eze 9:3  And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; 

Eze 9:4  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. 

Ellen G. White,Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 267   (19) Ellen G. White, letter 126, 1898.

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

Signposts.

175 years.  How many generations have lived in that time. Let's make the average person's death at 72-

That would be just over 2 and a 1/2 generations according to the 72 year time for a generation. Biblically there are different time spans used for noting generations. Like the one I used above, the years were 72. In the Bible there has been used 40 years, simply the years passing between parent, child, grandparent, the fact we are told how many generations there are between Adam and Jesus. There truly is NO definitive answer from the Bible.

We make a huge mistake when we try to pinpoint future prophecy because sometimes it becomes conditional upon certain behavior. We know for a fact Jonah was to go tell Ninevah it would be destroyed if it didn't repent. There were conditions.

If God's people are to behave in certain ways at certain times-  Moses leading the children through the wilderness- if they hadn't rebelled they would have all gone through to the land promised. 

Rebellion of God's people is a common theme throughout the Bible. In fact it is hard to find where it wasn't a constant theme. God calls, His people answer, His people go astray, God calls again.  Why is this? Because we have a great adversary who isn't content to sit back and allow God to have His way without a fight.

There have been 175 years since 1844 when the prophecy of Daniel and Revelation was opened to people, the veil removed, the door no longer shut, the seal broken on the book. Throughout those 170 years there have been many disappointments. The generation that was given the enlightenment did not hold fast to the truth entrusted to them. By the next generation it was solidified that God's people chosen to carry that message forward had betrayed the trust fully on a corporate level. God's people were called to step out of that apostasy- to keep the message going as the prophecy scroll continued to unroll.

Every generation desires to believe it is the last generation before our Savior returns, but only ONE of those generations will be right. It would be remiss of me to state I know for a certainty that we are not that generation. It's NOT FOR  ME to know. I must live as if I am living in the last generation, my lamp must be full of oil and I must have extra oil at my side -- at ALL times.

Our Savior has allowed us signposts along the way.  We must follow the signposts until at long last no signposts remain.

The signs of my generation-  1967 the control of Jerusalem was retaken by the Jewish people from the Gentiles-non-Jewish people.  The wresting that control has been fraught with much difficulty. Right now in this moment that I write this, there is still contention over the control of Jerusalem.  Satan is unwilling to give into the signpost and is fighting with all he has to delay the passing of the final signposts. Do you imagine Satan doesn’t see those signposts clearly? He does. He knows, and he doesn't want us to know. He wants us to turn a blind eye to the signposts.  In 1980 the Jewish people moved their capitol to Jerusalem in spite of Satan's quest to keep the 1967 contention from allowing that solidification.  Rather than let people comprehend the truth of the signposts before them Satan has continued to whitewash over that signpost and is trying desperately to forestall the next one from being realized.  As long as he stirs up confusion in the minds of men he wants to believe that God cannot claim fulfilment of a sign.  God doesn't need Satan's permission, and God allows Satan to stir the confusion because it will allow those who wish to remain blind to truth, to stay blind.

175 years from 1844.

53 years from 1967.

39 years from 1980.

These are just dates of passing times as the generations of mankind march on and the signposts stand firm.

One day there will be no more signposts.  Praise God, let that time be soon!

All through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!!!!!

*******

(((EXCERPT))))

A LETTER --

Dearly Beloved in the Most Holy Faith,

Usually our monthly thought papers present a documented topic which expresses our convictions for your personal study. But this month, I wish to write a personal letter to you, that is, as personal as a mimeographed letter can be. Many of you I have never met, and so a letter such as this will be even more Impersonal than if I had met you, and we had conversed and prayed together. However, I do hope and pray that as you read, you will sense through the Holy Spirit the deep burden of my own heart in regard to you as a part of the Israel of God.

From the letters that come to my desk from many of you, I am sure that there is one fact that is known to you all - a fact that we dare not over look - we have reached a crisis in the church of God on earth. Not only have we reached a crisis, but this crisis is compounded because of the confusion which the enemy of souls has brought in to blind our understanding of the very basic issues which confront us. As one writes, or talks, he is almost compelled to define each major word, such as "church", for the terms and expressions we use have different meanings to different people. And sadly, too many do not take time to really think through in precise terms just what they do mean by the words they use. Let us, therefore, proceed from the basics that give us a common faith to the issues that perplex us today.

There can be no question that God in the unfolding of the times and seasons established in 1844 a final Movement through which and by which He intended to bring an end to the reign of sin.     "The Scripture which above all others had been both the

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foundation and central pillar of the Advent faith was the declaration, 'Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.'"   (Spirit of Prophecy Volume IV, p. 258)       This single text became the "watchword" of the faith of our spiritual fathers. This faith was not in vain, for God shall take this Movement through to the Kingdom. But now over 130 years are past, and we still are not in the Kingdom.

In 1888, God again spoke through human instruments - not men endowed in a special way with the gift of prophecy, but men who had to study and seek for truth even as those to whom they brought their message. Indeed, the servant of the Lord to whom had been entrusted the gift of prophecy, attested to the genuineness of the message Jones and Waggoner brought to the church, even as she had done in the days following the disappointment in 1844. But note, and this we must never forget - God speaks to His people through human instrumentalities in the same manner and ways that those who hear must use to verify the messages given - the study of the Word of God. I do not know what means the Holy Spirit used to prompt Elders A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner to study to obtain the message they brought to the people of God at the General Conference Session in 1888. Some statement from the pen of Sister White may have sparked their study. But one thing is certain -      "God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrine and the basis of all reforms."   (Spirit of Prophecy Volume IV, p. 413)       Our study may be initiated because of a ray of light from Heaven through the ministry of the written word found in the Spirit of Prophecy. But when we pursue the study of the Spirit of Prophecy to the exclusion of the Holy Scriptures which are able to make us wise unto salvation, we do despite to the Spirit of God who in times past spoke by "holy men of God." In other words, we find ourselves in a crisis of authority.

Now another eighty-seven years have passed, and the message that God intended to produce the ripening of the harvest of earth has still not done its work, and we are still here in this world. It seems the seriousness of this present delay has

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escaped us, and we think that since God has waited this long for His "church" - the vehicle He chose through which the Movement was to triumph - He will continue to wait. This is a fatal delusion. In 1892, just a few short years after 1888, it was revealed to this people, that if there were a delay, "the character of God and His throne will be compromised." And the question we must ask ourselves - Will God permit this? The answer can only be - NO!

There is no doubt - there has been a delay, not because God wanted it that way, but because we have caused it. So the question of this hour - the supreme question upon which our eternal destiny hangs - What has God done about this, and how am I to relate to what God has done?

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." (II Peter 1: 19) Further, we are told that "the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7) In the unfolding of the scroll of prophecy, every act of God is revealed, and will be revealed to us as to time and purpose. Prior to 1844, God's purposes were tied to specific time prophecies; but since that date, events alone mark the timing of the actions of Heaven. Jesus clearly indicated the purpose of these events - in the upper room to the select eleven He said - "I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it come to pass, ye might believe." (John 14:29)

Now let us come down to some real thinking in regard to the crisis which we have reached. There is foretold a movement by God in heaven, by which He takes the reins into His own hands. And the action, thus initiated has serious consequences to the Church here below. This is described for us in Ezekiel 9:1-4. God arises from the cherub whereupon He was, and orders the sealing to commence in Jerusalem. It is evident that Jesus has not yet left the Most Holy Place, and thus probation's hour has not closed for the inhabitants of earth as individuals. But some decision

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has been made in regard to Jerusalem,-which we are told in Ezekiel represents the church. (Testimonies Vol. 3, p. 267) Neither all the inhabitants of the city, nor the city itself, are sealed. Either this means something, or it does not. And in describing this experience, the servant of the Lord uses two different word pictures - "the true people of God", and "God's professed people".(Testimonies Vol. 3, p. 266) Either these are the same group of people with different labels, or else they are two distinct classes of people. And these terms are used in connection with comments or, the prophecy of Ezekiel 9. Note the language -     "This is forcibly set forth by the prophet's illustration of the last work under the figure of men each having a slaughter weapon in his hand."   (ibid.)

In recent thought papers published this year, I have set before you that in 1967, the prophecy of Jesus as found in Luke 21:24 was fulfilled. I have further projected that this date signaled the fact that God had arisen from the cherub, and had taken the reins into His own hands to finish the work, and to bring a triumph to the Movement He began in 1844. In so doing, I have pointed out that He weighed "Jerusalem" in the balances of the sanctuary, and found it wanting. The actions of the city through its hierarchy had "compromised" His character and His throne. Thus He had to act to vindicate His name. I have further stated that this very fulfillment of prophecy brings us to a reassessment of our individual relationship to the corporate body of the church, the leadership of which has caused this compromise of God's character and throne. This does not mean a reassessment of the faith which was committed to our trust in 1844, and re-affirmed in 1888.

I do not have the gift of prophecy in any special sense. I must obtain truth in the same way in which you must evaluate truth - through the study of the Word. You must know, and I must know, whether these things be truth. My soul has been purchased with the same blood as yours - the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, if these things which I have set before you are not truth, you owe it to

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me to show through the Word of God wherein I have erred, even as I have presented to you by the Word of God the conclusions which I have drawn to warn you to flee from the wrath to come.

My study of these truths of prophecy was sparked by a testimony from the servant of the Lord. She wrote:

"in the twenty-first chapter of Luke Christ foretold what was to come upon Jerusalem, and with it He connected the scenes which were to take place in the history of this world just prior to the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."   (Counsels to Writers & Editors, pp. 23-24)

I found in Matthew 24, and Mark 13, the same line of prophecy was followed as was followed in Luke 21, with one exception - "the times of the Gentiles." The servant of the Lord specified Luke 21, not Matthew 24 or Mark 13, to be our special concern when interpreting events in the history of literal Jerusalem. While the things that happened to Jerusalem in A. D. 70 are typical of what will come upon the earth in its final judgment, the event noted by Luke exclusively was fulfilled in 1967. Sr. White had indicated that these events would take place just prior to coming of the Son of man. What joy filled my heart. God had now indicated without question, we had reached the last generation. Our Lord was coming, and coming soon. Then as I studied the implications of what the finishing of the times of the Gentiles might mean, I found that God was also telling us other things. These I have faithfully set before you in the thought papers thus far this year.

If this is what God is saying to us - to you and me, then you need to do some serious study, and re-evaluation, and unite your voice in giving this message to the professed people of God, for God declares this to be      "the closing work for the church." (Testimonies Vol. 3, p. 266)Your involvement is essential.

Sincerely yours,

(Signed WWN)

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

Skeptics Beware.

Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 

You say it's impossible for our salvation to be nearer than when we believed, because you've been waiting for many years for the Lord to return, and have believed for so long? Let me remind you, the Israelites under Egyptian captivity prayed for salvation from that captivity for four hundred years, how many of them died waiting?

That God's chosen- the Israelites- long waited for a Messiah for thousands and thousands of years, and then Jesus was born. Many millions died during that time- waiting. 

The truth of the matter is… and DO NOT EVER FORGET THIS… the waiting DID end.

The prophecies predicting freedom from captivity for the Israelites under Egyptian domination came to pass. The prophecies predicting a Messiah to come, all came to pass. We can't sit back and stop believing that 'for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed', because in TRUTH every day draws us closer to that ultimate salvation, to the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who will call us to meet Him in the air- either from our graves, or alive and waiting, watching for Him.

Prophecies unfold and we often have to step back and pause to look at our history (long past and newly passed) so that we can gauge the time stream we are in according to prophecy.

When God allows the Holy Spirit to guide the enlightenment, we have to pay attention to all the concrete facts presented. To hide our heads in the sand, to tuck our heads tight underneath our pillows, to clasp our hands against our ears and close our eyes tightly shut, is to keep the Holy Spirit from our lives, choosing rather to remain deaf and blind, preferring our state of ignorance over a state of enlightenment.

Many will choose ignorance in favor of familiarity, of mental and emotional comfort rather than allow their world of even status quo to be upended. As Moses walked among the Hebrews revealing to them God's plan for their escape, many did not believe it would happen-  it happened. As Jesus walked among the Hebrews revealing to them God's plan for their salvation, many- in fact the overwhelming majority- did not believe - not when it came down to the reality of that plan. So many followed Him, so much so that the hierarchy of temple priests and scribes became enflamed enough to seek His death for fear the people would truly believe Him and follow Him. Yet, as the truth of the way to salvation that Jesus foretold came to pass, the majority of those people turned away from Him, choosing to no longer believe. It happened though, it came to pass, all that Jesus said would happen, all that the thousands of years of predictions claimed would come to pass- did so! If we can BELIEVE this undisputable truth of Jesus, our Messiah, our Redeemer, our Savior- why do we NOT believe that so much more - all that He, Himself predicted would HAVE to come to pass?

We MUST get out of our comfort zone. We must REFUSE to remain buried beneath traditions. We HAVE to open our hearts to the LORD and let the HOLY SPIRIT guide us to truth! Let Him tear down our walls of stubbornness that would keep us clinging to a past that prophecy has overrun and guided us towards future fulfilment of the return of our SAVIOR to claim us as HIS.

Please, Lord, let us watch and pray, let us trim our lamps and holdfast to our extra oil as we wait for Your return, for Your call, for that LAST TRUMP TO SOUND!  We note the signs, we know a lot of things predicted towards the very end will happen so rapidly we will scarcely comprehend their unfolding, but right now we long for every single prophetic utterance to come to pass that leads us to Your return, the promised return of You to Us, Your children.

All in YOUR NAME JESUS, ALL in YOUR NAME!

*******  (Excerpt Begins)

Luk 21:24  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 

Luk 21:25  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring

1967 -- (Times of the Gentiles)

In A. D. 70, Titus took Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel ceased to be.

In 1948 the British withdrew from Palestine.

In the ensuing war between the Jews and the Arabs, the Jews were able to hold what was known as West Jerusalem, a new city; and they made it the Capitol of the re-established state of Israel. But the Western Wall, "A fragment of the western rampart of a platform on which the First Temple of King Solomon and the Second Temple of King Herod stood", remained beyond their reach.  1

It was the lone remaining remnant of that city taken by Titus, and in 1948 it remained under Gentile control. However, in the Six Day War of June, 1967, the victorious Israeli took and annexed the Old City, and thus the Jerusalem of which Jesus prophesied in Luke 21:20-24 was no longer under the control of the Gentiles.

The times of the Gentiles had been fulfilled. Other events were also taking place in this same year, which this fulfilled prophecy brought into meaningful focus.

Jesus also indicated in the same prophecy that "upon earth" there would be      "distress of nations, with perplexity."  2    The word, "nations" in this verse and the word, "Gentiles" in verse 24 is the same word in Greek word. The Greek word translated "distress" means imprisoned; - in the straits or narrows. The phrase, "with perplexity" or better, "in perplexity" carries the force of being unable to meet the demands placed upon them financially, and the inability to solve the financial stress.   3    In other words, Jesus declared that there was a time coming when the nations of earth would be unable to solve their financial problems. Has this

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been fulfilled, and if so, when did the distress begin?

In a special issue of Myers' Finance and Energy, the editor wrote:

It has now been established over the course of the last seven years - since 1967- that there is nothing in this world the international monetary authorities can do to stem the advance of gold, or to stem the collapse of inflation - or to avoid the enormous deflation - the global liquidity crunch - and the resulting depressions. Don't doubt this . . .

For seven years things have gone from bad to worse; the U. S. $ has been devalued; inflation has undermined world confidence in money, and now the bankruptcies come.   4

After attending an international monetary meeting in Switzerland this year, the same editor wrote:

From all that I have observed of international conferences since 1967 I do not believe that any conference is going to come up with any workable answer. It seems that the situation will just continue to deteriorate.

Only six months ago we heard every monetary authority in the world shouting, "either we lick inflation or we are doomed. This is the battle of the century"…

What has happened to all the dire predictions of the result of inflation? All brains have been stunned. They see no answer - so now they begin to think no answer is necessary. Or at least they have decided there is no use thinking about it at all. Therefore I can only see as the end product, as I have repeatedly said in these letters -and especially after attending the big world meetings of IMF -the answer is total collapse.

Either the countries will have to go back to a system which will stabilize the money, such as gold-or the social order, not only of the United States, but all of the industrial world, will disintegrate, and from this enormous confusion new governments will arise after much suffering and bloodshed, starvation and horror. These governments would be dictatorships.   5

Need more be said -or written? And what is the date? -"since 1967!"

Turning our attention next to the Church, we ask, What was happening within the Church during the year, 1967?

Since we are looking at the financial narrows through which the nations have passed "since 1967", let us explore this factor in the Church's program. In 1967, the General Conference  "established special 'unitized'

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funds which are operated in a manner similar to mutual funds ."   6    Into this created "pool" all conferences, unions, divisions, and church-owned institutions could pour their surplus funds. Because of this "large pool of capital, the controlling investment and securities committee decided in 1967 to retain professional investment counsel. . . . Lionel D. Edie & Company, Inc., of New York City, was chosen to do the research, analysis, and selection of securities for the General Conference portfolio."   7   

In other words, in 1967, the Church officials began playing the stock markets in earnest with the money of the laity.

The results of this action for one conference has already been documented in our Special Report #1. The difference between the cost of investing in the "selected" stock, and the market value of the same for the year 1968 through 1973, amounted to over $2,000,000 paper loss. Since the release of this report, letters have come to this desk affirming that the total loss to the entire Church has been well over $50,000,000. Only a full release of the records by the Investment and Securities Committee of the General Conference could verify the actual total loss.

Also in the year 1967, there appeared a series of three editorials on the relationship of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the World Council of Churches. Keep in mind that the Review in 1967 was still billed as the "Official Organ of the Seventh-day Adventist Church" rather than our "General" church paper. Thus its editorial pronouncements constituted the official position of the Church. These editorials were triggered by a report on Seventh-day Adventists released      "in the January number of The Ecumenical Review, the official quarterly journal of the World Council."  8    Two years prior a dialogue had begun between representatives of the Church and representatives of the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC. The report in The Ecumenical Review was a summary from the World Council viewpoint of these dialogues. Later this report was incorporated in a booklet which presented

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"Documents of Interest in the conversations between World Council of Churches and the Seventh-day Adventist Church."  9    The tiptoe of the booklet is - So Much in Common one surveys the footnotes to the initial report released in 1967, it is understandable why there is so much in common. Of the 49 footnotes used 29 are from the heretical publication -Questions on Doctrine! But this is not all!

In the third editorial, R. F. Cottrell concluded -note the words used: It is with no small measure of regret that SDA's do not find it possible, as an organization, to be more closely associated with others who profess the name of Christ. On the other hand, if the Secretariat on Faith and Order, for instance, were to invite SDA's to appoint someone competent in that area to meet with their group from time to time and represent the SDA point of view, we would accept such an invitation with a clear conscience. Perhaps the same might be done in other areas of Christian concern.   10

In other words, through the official organ of the Church, we asked for representation on the Faith and Order Commission. The invitation was not long in coming and we concurred in 1967!    11    The Central Committee of the WCC appointed Dr. Earle Hilgert of Andrews University as a member of the 120 member Commission on Faith and Order. The leadership of the Church endorsed this selection. Dr. Hilgert has since become an ordained Presbyterian minister and is serving on the staff of Mc Cormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. His replacement was Dr. Raoul Dederen, also of Andrews University.

In the same year -1967 -the liberal intelligentsia of the Church made their voices heard, and received the endorsement of the hierarchy. We shall let Alvin L. Kwiram of Harvard University, president of the Association of Adventist Forums in 1969 tell the story. Here is what he wrote:

To further this spontaneous search for meaningful participation [on the part of the liberal intelligentsia], the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists invited representatives from several groups to meet with them in October of 1967. The purpose was to discuss possible methods of establishing a cohesive program to provide for dialogue between the church leadership and this segment of the laity and to involve the latter more significantly in the activities and concerns of the formal church. The outgrowth of that meeting was an action by the officers

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of the General Conference (taken at the 1967 Fall Council) to approve the establishment of an organization known as the Association of Adventist Forums.   12

Through, Spectrum, the official publication of this Association, the doctrine that the world was created 6,000 years ago is challenged; and the authority of Ellen G. White as a prophet with a relevant message for this hour, or as a basis for a systematic theology is openly questioned.   13

When the leadership of the Church turns from the Source of living waters and seeks the broken cisterns of this world with its vain philosophy what else could God do, but to arise from "the cherub, whereupon He was," and call for the sealing of those in "Jerusalem" who are sighing and crying for all the abominations that are being done in the midst thereof.   14    And in that act, how much plainer could He declare that the Church, whom He had called to carry the final message to the world, and to whom He had once more committed the "prophetic gift", had been weighed in the balances of the sanctuary and had been found wanting.  15    And lest there be any mistake, He, the Sovereign of the Universe in whose hands are the times and seasons,    16    permitted the sign that Jesus gave to be fulfilled.   17    The "Times of the Gentiles" are up, and by so indicating, God has withdrawn the commission to the Church, and has taken things into His own hands.    18

What has happened, and is happening in the religious world at large? "The angel of mercy is folding her wings preparing to step down from the throne, and leave the world to the control of Satan.    19

This year is an Holy Year for Catholicism. The International Conference on the Charismatic Renewal which had met annually on the campus of Notre Dame University, met this year on the outskirts of Rome "in a large tent over the catacombs of St. Callixtus." Their conference was timed to coincide with Pentecost Sunday, May 18. Leaving the large tent, the 10,000 joined another 15,000 thus jamming the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome itself on that day. Reporting what happened, a

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writer for Christianity Today stated:

 Pentecost Sunday, 1975, will live in church history as the day when the charismatic movement in the Catholic Church arrived in St. Peter's with full force. During the pontifical mass presided over by Pope Paul VI on May 18, the sound of tongues and charismatic singing filled the massive nave of the ancient mother church of Roman Catholicism.   20

The climax to the Charismatic Conference came on the following day in a mass conducted in St. Peter's Cathedral by Cardinal Suenens, primate of Belgium, assisted by twelve bishops and more than 800 priests. The cardinal delivered his sermon in Pentecostal style, and the cathedral reverberated with the shouted responses to his "hallelujahs". Following the mass, Pope Paul came and gave his special greetings to the Pentecostal pilgrims. Before leaving he kissed Cardinal Suenens, which caused the Cardinal to remark -"the Pope opened his arms and heart to the charismatic renewal."

When did all this begin in the Catholic Church? Speaking of the phenomenal growth of the charismatic movement in the Catholic Church, Christianity Today reported:

On the surface, the big story is still the movement's phenomenal growth. From its beginnings among a handful of mostly young persons at a retreat In 1967 on the Duquesne University campus in Pittsburgh, it now encircles the earth.   21

Not only has it engulfed the Catholic Church, but all the mainline Protestant bodies have had within their communions both among the laity and clergy the manifestation of the gift of tongues.

The date -1967 -is further heightened in relationship to the growing manifestation of the power of Spiritism, not only in its guise as a charismatic movement, but also in its raw form of communications with the spirits of devils. John Godwin reported:

The year 1967 was a historic milestone for the United States toy industry. In that year Americans ditched their longest-standing favorite among board games, Monopoly, and elevated Ouija boards to its place.

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Since then approximately ten million of these boards have been sold, making them a $50,000,000 business and assuring that a basic minimum of 20 million Americans have played with them.   22

Indeed the devil is come down having great wrath, "because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."  23    But are we still sleeping not "knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed?"  24    Are we unable to perceive the meaning of what God is saying to us in fulfilled prophecy - or is the real problem that we are not willing to accept what He is saying?

Are we bowing at the shrine of some "cherished idea"  25    - such as the church as a corporate body is going through - and making this idea, god to us, instead of bowing before the God in whose hands are the times and seasons and saying simply -"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Would the Master say to us -       "0 fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken."  26    And remember that He is the greatest prophet of all, for through Him comes all that the prophets have spoken!

1 -- David Reed, "Jerusalem -Too Holy for Its Own Good", Reader's Digest, March, 1975, p. 132

2 -- Luke 21:25

Luk 21:25  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring

3 -- James H. Moulton & George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, p.68.

4 -- C. F. Myers, Editor, Myers' Finance & Energy, July 4,1974, pp. 2-3

5 -- March 11, 1975, pp. 1-2

6 -- Robert E. Osborn, "Investment Practices of the General Conference," Spectrum Vol. 5, No. 2, p. 53.

7 -- Ibid., p. 52

8 -- Editorial, "The World Council Looks at Seventh-day Adventists", Review and Herald, March 23, 1967, p. 12

9 -- So Much in Common, World Council of Churches publication, Title page. The 1967 Report is to be found on pp. 57-68.

10 -- Editorial, "The World Council Looks at Adventists -3", Review and Herald, Apr.6 ,1967, p. 13.

11 -- Gerald F. Moede, Letter to M. Ireland, dated 27th March, 1974: -"The Seventh Day Adventists have had representation on the Faith and Order Commission since 1967."

12 -- Alvin L. Kwiram, "Introduction", Spectrum, Winter, 1969, p. 5.

13 -- See "The Genesis Genealogies as an Index of Time" by Lawrence T. Geraty, Spectrum, Vol. 6, #1 & 2, pp. 5-18. Also, "Ellen G. White in Adventist Theology" by Robert L. Shull, Spectrum, Vol. 6, #3 & 4, pp. 78-85.

p 8 --

14 -- Ezekiel 9:3-4

Eze 9:3  And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; 

Eze 9:4  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. 

15 -- Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 8, p. 247

16 -- Acts 1:7

Act 1:7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 

17 -- Luke 21:24

Luk 21:24  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 

18 -- Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, p. 300

19 -- Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, May 13, 1902

20 -- Vinson Synan, "Pentecost in St. Peter's", Christianity Today, June 6,1975 p.45

21 -- Edward E. Plowman, "The Spirit Is Moving", Christianity Today, June 22,1973, p. 37

22 -- John Godwin, Occult America, p. 271

23 -- Revelation 12:12

Rev 12:12  Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 

24 -- Romans 13:11

Rom 13:11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 

25 -- Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vo1. 5, p. 173

26 -- Luke 24; 25

Luk 24:25  Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken

Another Testimony to the Historic position of the Church on the Incarnation

In fulfilling the plan of redemption, Jesus came to earth and took upon Himself the same flesh and blood in which Adam failed. Being born of a woman centuries after the fall of man, Jesus inherited all the tendencies to sin inherent in our weak, frail humanity. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same." When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law." Heb. 2:14, Gal. 4:4. So Jesus, taking this burden of weak, fallen humanity upon Himself, under-took to do what Adam had failed to do in his original perfection. Thus humanity learned obedience by the crucifixion of that fallen, disobedient nature which the Son of God took, and His victory made the development of an obedient, sinless character possible. It is this holy life that He offers to us, but it can come to us only through the same process by which Jesus obtained it. Self, the old fallen, sinful Adam nature, must be crucified and die. "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." Gal. 5:24.

It was the union of His divinity with humanity that enabled Jesus to endure the temptations and suffering where Adam failed. And Christ came to make us "partakers of the divine nature" that by following His example we may triumph as He did. 

Does God Care?, Meade MacGuire, PP. 36-37.

If you have not read and studied -- In The Form of a Slave or An Interpretive History of the Doctrine of the Incarnation as Taught by the Seventh-day Adventist Church - you should do so immediately. May be requested (((Found)))) through Adventist Laymen's Foundation, (((Website))))

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