"From that time many of His disciples went back..."

(Excerpt)

Eis ta Opisw ( Pronounced Eis TA Opiso) To the Things Behind-- "From that time many of His disciples went back [Greek - To the things behind] and walked no more with Him. John 6:66.

This verse summarizes what the Spirit of Prophecy calls the "crisis" in Galilee.(1) Not only did these erstwhile disciples of Jesus cease to follow Him, but they went back to the things behind[Greek]. They would not keep step with the advancing light which Jesus flashed upon their pathway. He desired to lead them into a living experience which He designated as eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

The day previously, Jesus had fed five thousand men with five barley loaves and two small fishes. (2) As this nucleus of a potentially powerful Jewish army sat eating what thoughts were theirs we can only conjecture. They did perceive that here was a leader who could in himself serve as a Quartermasters Corps, and with his other powers be the Medical Detachment, but with one supreme advantage -there would be no casualties because he could restore to life. And so they concluded - "This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.." (3) They would make him their King! But Jesus withdrew, and they saw Him no more till they found Him in Capernaum the next day.

Jesus plainly told them that they were seeking Him for the loaves and fishes. (4) Then He counseled them to seek for that "meat which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of man shall give unto you." (5) Soon the Jewish religious leadership got into the exchange, and reminded the laity that this was Joseph's son, so how could He be the bread of life coming down from heaven? (6) But Jesus reiterated His claim to be the living bread which came down from heaven, and that further -"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." (7) Jesus was seeking to lead those listening, and especially His professed followers from the material to the spiritual; and from the Past - "Our fathers did eat manna in the desert." (8) - to a Present living, vital experience in the things of God -"The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (9) Not just the Word as He existed in Heaven, but the Word as revealed in the flesh as He had come down from Heaven was to be the life of men. This was to be to His disciples a living experience, not only something done for them, but something done in them -"He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in Me and I in him." (10)

This was too much for the many who professed to be His disciples in Galilee, so they went back to the things behind [Greek]

Eighteen hundred years after this event, another experience occurred when this same Jesus lead His followers "out a little way." (11) He told them -"Wait here; I am going to My Father to receive the kingdom; keep your garments spotless, and in a little

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while I will return from the wedding and receive you to Myself." (12) Then He was carried into "the holiest" to begin His work of the "final atonement." (13) This uniquely Seventh-day Adventist doctrine termed - "The Investigative Judgment" -has ever been an anathema to the Evangelical sector of Protestantism. Barnhouse called this teaching, "stale, flat, and unprofitable!" He considered it "the most colossal, psychological, face-saving phenomenon in religious history! " (14)

Recently it has been reported that a theologian who is known as "a renowned critic of Seventh-day Adventism" considers "the peculiar Adventist doctrines of the investigative judgment and the two apartment ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary" as obscuring "the great truth of justification by faith." (15) Because of this critical attitude in religious circles, many erstwhile followers of the Advent Movement are offended and turn - unto the things behind [Greek]. Instead of walking with Jesus, that is doing what Jesus said to do -"Wait here", hold your position, faithfully maintain the truth -many are joining in an endeavor to rationalize away this distinctive Adventist teaching so as to make it palatable to their evangelical "cronies." (16)

Let us not become confused by outward appearances. Because seeming success and number of adherents follow such a compromise with our basic faith, this does not automatically spell the words -"a righteous cause." In the same vision, the servant of the Lord saw that those who never accepted the advanced truth -which would be applicable to the Evangelicals -and those who went back to the things behind did have "light and much power." (17) But the source of this power is also noted -"Satan would breathe upon them an unholy influence." In other words -"holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" scandalizes them. Such an experience is considered subjective, and opposed to what they call the "gospel" unmindful that the proclamation of the "everlasting gospel" involves the fact that "the hour of His judgment is come." (18)

Furthermore, we are warned that Satan's object in all of this fanfare and manifestation of power is "to draw back and deceive God's children." (17) Let us not forget that in this deception, there is "light", or else there would be no power to deceive. But the light which God gave Luther is not the advanced light which God gave to the small company who prayed most earnestly following The Disappointment. To them an understanding of the Scriptures was unfolded "in regard to Christ, His mission, and His priesthood." (19) While the true light on justification by faith is not contradictory to the call for holiness emanating from the second apartment of the Heavenly Sanctuary, nevertheless to preach it out of the context of the investigative judgment is to distort that truth under the guise of proclaiming "present truth."

It was in 1888 that God brought the subject of justification by faith into its proper focus in relationship to the work that Christ was doing in the final atonement, because His people were failing to grasp the real experience that was to be theirs as commandment keepers. Waggoner has stated the matter clearly. Read his words:      There are just two services. The service of Satan, which is of sin unto death, and the service of Christ, which is of obedience unto righteousness. A man cannot serve two masters. All believe that. Then it is impossible to serve sin and righteousness at the same time. Now we call ourselves Christians. That means -what? Followers of Christ! But in all our Christian experience we have left little loopholes along here and there

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for sin. We have never dared to come to that place where we would believe that the Christian life should be a sinless life. We have not dared to believe it or preach it. But in that we cannot preach the law of God fully. Why not? Because we do not understand the power of justification by faith. Then without justification by faith it is impossible to preach the law of God to the fullest extent. Then to preach justification by faith does not distract from or lower the law of God, but is the only thing that exalts it.(20)

It is one thing to preach the "theory of the truth." But to denounce the "power" of justification by faith as a subjective experience is to nullify the very gospel itself, which is the power of God unto salvation. Christ in Galilee was seeking to lead His erstwhile disciples from theory to a reality -"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." (7)

The question is very simple. Are we going to hold to our Adventist position given to us by Jesus - "Wait here" - or are we going to retreat unto the things behind [Greek]? It really means that to turn to the things behind, we no longer choose to walk with Jesus, but enter the service of Satan with its "light and much power." May we in this crisis hour unfurl the banner on which are written the words: -

Quc eis TA opisw

Not unto the things behind, but rather to hold to the advanced light entrusted to the disappointed but teachable saints of l844!

(1)  Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages. p. 394

(2)  John 6:9-10 

Joh 6:9  There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 

Joh 6:10  And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 

(3)  John 6:14   Joh 6:14  Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 

(4)  John 6:26  Joh 6:26  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 

(5) John 6:27 Joh 6:27  Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 

(6)  John 6:35-42

Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 

Joh 6:36  But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 

Joh 6:37  All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 

Joh 6:38  For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 

Joh 6:39  And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 

Joh 6:40  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. 

Joh 6:41  The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. 

Joh 6:42  And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? 

(7) John 6:51-53

Joh 6:51  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 

Joh 6:52  The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 

Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 

(8) John 6:31 Joh 6:31  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 

(9)  John 6:63 Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 

(10)  John 6:56 Joh 6:56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 

(11) Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 55

(12)  Ibid.

(13)  Ibid., also pp. 251,253

(14)  D. G. Barnhouse, "Are Seventh-day Adventists Christians?" Eternity, September, 1956. For further details of this dialogue between Barnhouse and Martin and our own church leaders see M. L. Andreasen's Letters to the Churches, and L. E. Froom's Movement of Destiny, pp. 476-481

(15)  R. D. Brinsmead, "The Pre-Advent Judgment", Duranbah Digest, #24, Sept. 15, 1975, p. 1

(16)  Ibid., See whole presentation of #24.

(17)  Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 56

(18)  Revelation 14:6-7

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 

Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 

(19)  Ellen G. White, Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, pp. 56-57

(20)  E. J. Waggoner, Studies in Romans, #10, General Conference Bulletin, 1891; p. 21 in Facsimile Reproduction.

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ADVANCING LIGHT -- "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Proverbs 4:18

As the Pilgrims were about to leave the home of their adoption in Holland, and sail for the New World, John Robinson, pastor at Leyden, counselled them in the following words:      I charge you, before God and His blessed angels, that you follow me no farther that you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His Holy Word. I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at present no farther than the instruments of their reformation. Luther and Calvin were great and shining lights in their times, yet they penetrated not unto the whole counsel of God. I beseech you, remember it -'tis an article of your church covenant - that you be ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known unto you from the written Word of God. (1)

The revelation of truth is governed by the purposes and the unfolding of the plans of God which were devised from "times eternal." (2) It is the Eternal One who sits over and beyond the distractions which sin has brought silently working out the counsels of His own will.

The entire Bible is the history of progressive revelation. To Moses was committed - truth which has cast light down through the centuries, and which with the testimony of the prophets has constituted a norm by which all truth and revelation is to be tested. (3) Then Jesus came. He declared that Moses "wrote of Me." (4) He advanced the revelation of God and truth to a point hitherto never before visualized for He was the way, the truth, and the life. But the Jews chose to make it the issue as to whether the members of the synagogue were Moses disciples or not. And if not -but rather confessed to the Advanced Light then shining -they were cast out. (5) This leadership preferred the "things behind." What Moses taught was truth -not one jot or tittle was to pass from the law -but they would not interpret Moses in the light of the revelation revealed in Jesus. Thus they became blind leaders of the blind.

The doctrine of justification by faith was "clearly taught by Luther." (6) It was present truth in 1517. And it is eternally true, "that faith alone without works justifies before God." (7) We must have this experience. This we must believe and let the results be realized in our thinking.

But three hundred years after 1517, another reformer arose in the Providence of God, and though imperfectly proclaimed, declared that the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary had come. The light of the true meaning of this change in the heavenly ministry of our great High Priest broke forth clearly after the disappointment in 1844. Thus all truth and prior revelation must be interpreted and understood in the light coming from the open door of the second apartment of the Holy of Holies, and not visa versa. (8) To keep step with this advancing light and revelation of truth is the very essence of Protestantism. Commenting on the article of the solemn covenant to which the Puritans subscribed, and to which John Robinson referred, the servant of the Lord writes:- "Here is the true spirit of reform, and the vital principle of " Protestantism." (9)

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(1)  John Robinson. "Farewell to Pilgrims", July. 1620. Quoted in Source Book for Bible Students, p. 528

(2)  Romans 16:25 ARV  Rom 16:25  Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 

(3)  Isaiah 8:20  Isa 8:20  To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 

(4)  John 5:46 Joh 5:46  For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 

(5)  John 9:28-34

Joh 9:28  Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. 

Joh 9:29  We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. 

Joh 9:30  The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. 

Joh 9:31  Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. 

Joh 9:32  Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. 

Joh 9:33  If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. 

Joh 9:34  They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. 

(6)  Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 253

(7)  .Martin Luther, Quoted in History of the Reformation by J. H. M. D'Aubigne, Book 2. Chapter 6 (Vol. I, p. 209)

(8)  Revelation 3:7-8 

Rev 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 

Rev 3:8  I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 

(9)  White, Op. cit., p. 291

DID YOU READ? -- In the Review. July 17, 1976 -less than a month after the Palmdale Accord - appeared the publication of Manuscript 1, 1892, from the pen of Ellen G. White. Keep in mind that two of the editors of the Review signed the Accord. How one can believe what was written in Manuscript 1, l892, and accept what was drawn up at Palmdale would make one talk out of both sides of his mouth. She wrote:      The Lord now demands that every son and daughter of Adam through faith in Jesus Christ serve Him in human nature which we now have.

The nature that I now have is fallen human nature. But if Christ did not take this Nature, then I have-no Example to follow. How can God demand that I serve Him in a nature that Christ did not serve in? But in this same inspired paragraph we are told:       The Lord Jesus came to our world, not to reveal what a God could do, but what a man can do, through faith in God's power to help in every emergency.

Some questions come to mind. Did the Editors have second thoughts after they returned to Takoma Park? Did they not know that this manuscript existed? (See Our High Calling, p. 48.) Or is this a "sop" to the laity of the church so that they will not be unduly concerned over the Munich at Palmdale? (In typing this section, I have had a difficult time with the name - Palmdale. I have repeatedly typed -Palmbrook. There is the name - Fallbrook. Any association?)

A BICENTENNIAL SERMON OUTLINE -- In the July. 1976, Ministry was given a sermon outline for ministers to follow entitled -"Freedom's Holy Light" (pp. 5-6). It presented the freedom from sin that can be ours in and through Jesus Christ. In the body of the outline, based on Rom. 8:3-11, appeared this comment - "The just requirements of the law are fulfilled in us by what Jesus did in taking sinful flesh and dying for sin." (p. 6) As I noted this very fine presentation, I wondered how many signers of the Palmdale Accord preached it this way? But then, on second thought, it doesn't matter. You can now preach and believe the incarnation either way - the way of Babylon, or the historic way of Adventism - and still be retained in the synagogue.

September 1976  -  "Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt)

Jesus Was Born With Our Sinful Nature.

(Excerpt)

LEAVENED BREAD -- Part 2

We Christians have had a Passover Lamb sacrificed for us -none other than Christ himself! So let us "keep the feast" with no trace of the yeast of the old life. .. but with the unleavened bread of unadulterated truth! I Cor. 5:7-8 (Phillips)

The second section of the "statement of consensus" drawn up by the theologians and administrators at Palmdale, California, April 23 -30, 1976 was entitled - "The Humanity of Jesus Christ in Relation to Righteousness by Faith." (1)

In setting forth the God-man as revealed in Jesus Christ, the study group is to be commended on their use of the phrase - "truly God and truly man" in contrast to the phrase found frequently in the study of Christology - "fully God and fully man." I would hope that this distinction indicated that they recognized that when the Pre-Existent Son laid aside the glory which He had with the Father, (2) that glory included His omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and immortality. (3) When we recognize this distinction clearly, we have arrived at the basis of an understanding of what constitutes the "divine nature" which finds its source in God, even as the external aspects of "the form of God" which Michael surrendered in becoming Jesus Christ. It is this "divine nature" which must be received by every born again child of humanity if he should reflect the image of Jesus fully, and be a son of God. Yet in a clear perception of this vital distinction between "the form of God" and "the divine nature" which Jesus had, and which we must receive, no one perceives of himself in this experience as becoming a demigod. It is indeed the beginning of a genuine appreciation of the relationship between the humanity of Jesus Christ and Righteousness by Faith.

Having begun well, the study group immediately enters into a fatal compromise with truth. After quoting Romans 8:3, Hebrews 2:14,17, and 2 Cor. 5:21,

(((Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil

Heb 2:17  Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 

2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.))))

they state:      

Not all Christians view these passages alike. For example, for some they mean that Jesus did not commit sin either in word, deed, or thought; for others they mean that Jesus not only committed no sin but was without the inherited tendencies to sin common to fallen humanity. (4)

Reducing this language to the parlance of the laity, it is saying simply that some view these Scriptures to mean that even though Christ took upon Himself the fallen nature of Adam, He did not commit sin in word, deed, or thought, while others reject the idea that Christ took fallen humanity, and instead believe that He was "exempt from the inherited passions and pollutions that corrupt the natural descendants of Adam." (5) In other words, Jesus bore the "sinless nature of Adam before [the] Fall." (6) Or to state the matter very bluntly, the choice is between the historical position of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the "new look" which developed within the church as a result of the fatal Barnhouse-Martin dialogue of the 1950's, and which has been expressed in the publications just quoted.

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And to what conclusion did the study group come? - "Whichever of these views Christians may hold of Christ's humanity, we believe that the central concept is to recognize Jesus as the Saviour of all mankind, and that through His victorious life, lived in human flesh, He provides the link between divinity and humanity." (4)

So now you can hold whatever view you wish in regard to the nature that Christ assumed in the Incarnation and still be a good Seventh-day Adventist. This is an adulteration of truth -leavened bread - and to accept the second position makes it totally impossible to reflect the image of Jesus fully without accepting the basic tenet of the Holy Flesh doctrine -the eradication of the fallen nature. (7)

In arriving at pure unadulterated truth -unleavened bread -in regard to the humanity which Christ assumed in the flesh, one may start at either the point of His pre-existence, and work forward, or he may look at the Cross and see the fullness of the condescension and the completeness of the victory. Let us briefly do both.

We are told that "Christ was one with the Father before the foundations of the world were laid. . . .This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious and otherwise unexplainable truths." (8) This Being did not cease to be at the Incarnation; He only exchanged one form of existence for another -from "the form of God" to the form of a "servant" (9) It was a slave form that He took to appear as a man. In Him was no sin, but in the form which He took upon Himself, all that makes us slaves, except for the commission of sin, He accepted and experienced.

This is clearly stated:      Think of Christ's humiliation. He took upon Himself fallen, suffering human nature, degraded and defiled by sin. ...He united humanity with divinity: a divine spirit dwelt in a temple of flesh. He united Himself with the temple. (10)

By experiencing in Himself the strength of Satan's temptation, and of human sufferings and infirmities, He would know how to succor those who should put forth efforts to help themselves. (11)

In the womb of Mary was prepared by divine stimulation a body of our humiliation. And what went into this body which "a divine spirit" took upon Himself, we are not left in doubt. The prescription reads:      Christ was to take humanity upon Him, not as it was when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden, but as weakened and defiled by four thousand years of sin. He was to come as the Son of man, like every child of Adam, accepting the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were, what was the inheritance bequeathed to Jesus in His human nature, Scripture reveals in the history of those who were the earthly ancestors of our Saviour. With such a heredity, Jesus came as one of us, to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the Example of a sinless life. (12)

This is the only way a true Example could be given; any other way would not have given an example that could be followed by man in the fallen nature of Adam. In other words, it is impossible to relate the concept that Christ took the nature of Adam before the Fall with a true perception of righteousness by faith except that the concept of righteousness by faith be limited to justification alone. And this is what the study group did, thus opening the door to give status to the non-historical position of the Church in the matter of the Incarnation. They served up leavened bread.

p 3 -- There is a difference between Jesus Christ and all the other children of Adam, and this difference arises because of the mystery of the preexistence Let us reiterate. "The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father." (8) Thus at Bethlehem, this self identity, or Divine Ego, was not created, nor bequeathed to Him by natural generation. He had ever been. In that "painful process" (13) by which the Eternal Son became a Son of man, the "Divine Ego" [I use this terminology for the want of a better vehicle of expression] assumed humanity - the humanity of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. The Spirit of Prophecy states simply as noted previously -"A divine spirit dwelt in a temple of flesh." (10) This temple in the Bible Is defined as "the likeness of sinful flesh." (14) The servant of the Lord states -"He took upon Him our sinful nature."(15) And we are further informed that the words -"flesh", "fleshly" and "carnal lusts" - embrace the lower corrupt nature, and have "their seat in the body." (l6) But this flesh cannot act of itself contrary to the will of God, unless the individual gives consent for these cravings of the body to manifest themselves.

Our identity or "ego" was received by natural generation, and we are powerless of ourselves to resist the strong movings of the flesh to do evil. Jesus Christ on the other hand recognized the constant necessity for the divine power of the Holy Spirit for victory, and ever kept His "Ego" submitted to the revealed will of God,. Thus He didn't even in one instance yield to the impulses of His human flesh that called for expression. When this clear distinction is understood, then we come to realize that our "ego", or self, must be crucified, for only in such an experience can the Holy Spirit work in us to the complete conquering of the impulses of our flesh to do evil. When "self" is surrendered fully, completely, and unreservedly, then the image of Jesus can be fully revealed in us. This is the basic relationship between the experience of Jesus Christ in humanity and righteousness by faith which is to be our experience.

Now let us fix our eyes upon the Cross of Calvary. From Bethlehem to Golgotha, Jesus descended "step by step, to the level of fallen humanity." (17) On the Cross, "when He bowed His head and died, He bore the pillars of Satan's kingdom with Him to the earth." (l8) The power of Satan's kingdom is founded upon only one thing - sin. (19) But Christ in His own body brought the pillars of sin upon which that kingdom rests down to the earth with Him.

These twin pillars are the weakened hereditary nature of man, and the cultivated tendencies to sin which have become in man's habit patterns. For thirty years the Son of God as the Son of man demonstrated that the weakened hereditary nature was no excuse for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh -His flesh. But the question remained - Could He carry the weight of the load of man's accumulated transgression remain faithful and true? Could He sense the need of man chained in the habit patterns of sin? No wonder all heaven looked on with amazement as the cup trembled in the hand of the divine Sufferer! Yet He drank it to the last bitter dregs!

In His closing hours, while hanging upon the cross, He experienced to the fullest extent what man must experience when striving against sin. He realized how bad a man may become by yielding to sin. He realized the terrible consequence of transgression of God's law; for the iniquity of the whole world was upon Him.(13)

Though the darkness covering the Cross hid from Christ the sustaining presence of the Father, and though He was unable to see through the portals of the tomb, Jesus,

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by faith, grasped the pillars of Satan's kingdom and brought them down, even as Samson in his blindness grasped the two central columns of Dagon's temple, and brought that temple of the devil crashing in a heap of stones. Even as it cost Samson his life, so it cost the Son of God His life. He resisted unto blood - His very own blood - striving against sin.

The picture of a complete Saviour - a Saviour who for thirty three years cumbered with the fallen nature of the descendants of Adam did not sin in word, thought, or deed; and who on the Cross accepted the realization of the depths of the cultivated sins of fallen man -was the heart of the message of 1888. Hear A. T. Jones saying: 0, He is a complete Saviour. He is a Saviour from the sins committed, and a Conqueror of the tendencies to commit sins. In Him we have the victory. (20)

AND - Christ in us through the indwelling Spirit is our hope of glory.

(1)  Review & Herald, May 27, 1976 - Statement on "Christ Our Righteousness", pp. 4-7

(2)  John 17:5  Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 

(3)  See Desire of Ages, pp. 335-336 for "omnipotence" laid aside; Matt. 24:36 for "omniscience" laid aside; Desire of Ages, p. 669 for "omnipresence" laid aside; and B.C. Vol. 5, p. 1127, col. 1 for His having laid aside, "immortality."

(4)  Review & Herald, op. cit., p. 5

(5)  Questions on Doctrine, p. 383

(6)  L. E. Froom, Movement of Destiny, p. 497

(7)  See ALF Manuscript -The Holy Flesh Movement, Chapt. IV -"Threads of the Fabric"

(8)  Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, April 5, 1906

(9)  Philippians 2:6-7 

Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men

(10)  Ellen G. White, Youth's Instructor, Dec. 20, 1900 (4BC:1l47)

(11)  Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, March 18, 1875

(12)  Pre-pub1ication Draft of Desire of Ages, p. 49 (Andreasen Collection #2)

(13)  Ellen G. White, Ms. 29, 1899 (7 Bible Commentary :915)

(14)  Romans 8:3 Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh

(15)  Ellen G. White, Review & Herald, December 15, 1896

(16)  Ellen G. White, Adventist Home, pp. 127-128; Christ Object Lessons, p. 346

(17)  Ellen G. White, Our High Calling, p. 17

(18)  Ellen G. White, Youth's Instructor, April 25, 1901 (5BC:I108)

(19)  Ibid., June 28, 1900 (7 Bible Commentary:924)

(20)  A. T. Jones, General Conference Bulletin, 1895, p. 267

COMMENT ON "THE 1888 ERA"

The third section of the Statement of Consensus briefly notes the issues involved in our sad history of 1888. This is probably the first time since Elders R. J. Wieland and D. K. Short submitted their landmark manuscript on 1888 (1) that a group of church administrators and theologians in an official statement have admitted that the real issue regarding 1888 was not the Reformation doctrine of Justification by Faith, but

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was indeed the rejection of "the 'beginning' of the latter rain and loud cry." (2) While there will be readers who will conclude that real progress has been made in setting the record straight regarding our rebellion at Minneapolis, a total picture of what was written still reveals that the study group did not come to grips with the magnitude of that rebellion and insubordination, nor faced up to the basic issue of repentance which that experience demands. The servant of the Lord wrote: All the universe of heaven witnessed the disgraceful treatment of Jesus Christ, represented by the Holy Spirit. Had Christ been present before them, they would have treated Him in a manner similar to that in which the Jews treated Christ. (3)

Besides this, there is the "vote" issue that must be settled.(4) Whether the official record has been kept hidden, or was destroyed to cover up what was done, we do not know; but this must be clarified and publicly altered. The tragedy of this third section by the study group is the affirmation - "We take our stand not only with the messengers whom the Lord used in 1888 to proclaim the most precious message of the righteousness of Christ, but with all who may have faithfully presented it in the years since." (2) Who all are covered in the last clause is not spelled out, but it is evident that the first clause means Elder A. T. Jones and Dr. E. J. Waggoner. To make such a statement following what was agreed to in the previous two sections is nothing short of attempted deception. Anyone who has read, or will take the time to read Waggoner's Studies in Romans as given at the 1891 G. C. Session knows that he did not understand the message of Paul in Romans to be "the specialized meaning of justification" which this study group declared it to be. Also anyone familiar with the 1895 studies which Elder A. T. Jones gave at the General Conference, or the position Waggoner wrote out in his book, Christ and His Righteousness finds it utterly impossible to harmonize this position with the permissive conclusions on the Incarnation drawn up by the study group at Palmdale, California. (6)

The affirmation of standing with Jones and Waggoner is mere lip service without the corresponding evidence, in fact evidence to the contrary. Would to God that every laymen reading this Statement of Consensus will have the "first love" of the Ephesian period of the Church that "tried them that called themselves apostles and [were] not, and ... found them liars." (7)

(1)  R. J. Wieland & D. K. Short, 1888 Re-Examined. Written in 1950

(2)  "Christ Our Righteousness", Review & Herald, May 27, 1976, p. 6

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

(4)  See Thought Paper, "Ellen G. White Vs Ellen G. White Estate", March, 1976, p.5

(5)  E. J. Waggoner, Studies in Romans, #10. Cmp with Statement of Consensus, p. 4

(6)  A. T. Jones, "The Third, Angel's Message" #13, G. C. Bulletin, 1895, p. 232: Commenting on John 1:14 - "This world does not know any other flesh of man, and has not known any other since the necessity for Christ's coming was created. Therefore, as this world knows only such flesh as we have, as it is now, it is certainly true that when 'the Word was made flesh,' He was made just such flesh as ours is. It cannot be otherwise." Waggoner wrote: "The fact that Christ took upon Himself the flesh not of a sinless being, but of sinful man, that is the flesh which He assumed had all the weaknesses and sinful tendencies to which fallen human nature is subject, is shown by the statement that He 'was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.''" Christ and His Righteousness, pp. 26-27

(7)  Revelation 2:2

 Aug. 1976  -  "Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt)

Believing Lies Is Deadly.

Mat 16:6  Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 

Mat 16:12  Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. 

Luk 12:1  In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 

Leaven something which infects something else causing it to take on the same properties.  Such as yeast in bread. If you put a tiny bit of yeast into dough the active - living properties of yeast- will soon cause the whole dough to rise. Once you put that yeast into the dough, there is no taking it out. The yeast overruns the entire ball of dough. The only way to keep dough free of yeast and it's properties which cause it to infect the entire thing, is to not have any yeast whatsoever near the dough.

The leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees is something to be wary off because it you accept even a tiny bit of their deceptions into the truth you hold, all of the truth is tainted. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees- speaking one thing believing another, deadly. To beware of something is to watch out for it, and keep away from it. If someone tells me to beware of something, I best be on my guard because if I'm not then that something could bring me harm. A common saying is Beware of the Dog- we have all seen signs declaring this and we see them because people want us to know that there is a dog present and it may hurt us. If we ignore the sign and are hurt by the dog, it is our own fault and the consequence could even be deadly to us.  We must beware of the hypocrisy that exists in the world around us and hold fast to the truth, and only the truth found in our Savior. When we allow just a little bit of lies to infect our lives - we are thoroughly tainted whether we want to believe it or not.  Truly we must be wary of deception which is so close to the truth we can scarcely tell it is not truth. To ignore that deception will exist, it so imperil our own salvation by blindly follow a false shepherd who leads us over a cliff to our deaths and not to safety in a fold at all!

God help us all!

In Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we believe, we have faith, we trust, we seek only truth!  Now and forever!

(Excerpt)

LEAVENED BREAD -- Part 1

We Christians have had a Passover Lamb sacrificed for us -none other than Christ himself! So let us "keep the feast" with no trace of the yeast of the old life ... but with the unleavened bread of unadulterated truth! I Cor. 5:7-8 (Phillips)

1Co 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 

1Co 5:8  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (KJV)

For several months now I have been made aware of a theological controversy which has been developing in Australia. It involves the subject of righteousness by faith, and the nature of the humanity which Christ assumed in the Incarnation. Naturally with this came the subject of 1888 itself. Now in the latest Review to come to my desk, (1) there is a report of a conference held in Palmdale, California, involving administrators and theologians from Australia with their counterparts in the General Conference and professors from Andrews University. (2) While the report carefully stated that it was not "a formal presentation of doctrine, nor ... an official pronouncement by church leaders", nevertheless because it is presented as "a statement of consensus" by these administrators and theologians, it will mark the course of the doctrinal stance the church will take in the days ahead.

The controversy in Australia involves a paper prepared by Mrs. Desmond Ford, wife of the head of the Bible Department at Avondale College.(3) According to the information available, this paper was challenged by Pastor F. A. Basham at a hearing among Church leaders at Avondale, February 3 -4, this year. One of the points raised by Elder Basham caused Robert Brinsmead to issue what he called a "Thought Paper" which he asked not to be circulated among church members.(4) Brinsmead noted a key position held by Mrs. Ford, and stated -"It is true that I do agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Ford."(5) The statement in question reads - "Righteousness by faith is justification alone."(6) This is the basic emphasis of Brinsmead's Decade II teaching. However, he claims that this teaching by the Ford's preceded his own acceptance of the position.(7)

This position on righteousness by faith -moved by the Fords and seconded by Brins-mead -was the first point discussed in the "statement of consensus" released in the Review. It stated -"We agree that when the words righteousness and faith are connected (by- "of," "by," et cetera) in Scripture, reference is made to the experience of justification by faith."(8) And the unstated inference is that the phrase - "righteousness by/of faith" applies only to justification when used in the Bible. We do not need to take much time with this point, except to quote two texts, and let you, the reader, decided if this conclusion is true.

The first one reads:      Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the

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hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? (9)

Observe the phrase - "the hope of righteousness by faith" -and compare this relationship with Romans 8: 19-25, noting carefully the expressions: "the manifestation of the sons of God;" those having "the first fruits of the Spirit;' and "the redemption of our body," as Paul relates all these ideas to being "saved by hope." In regard to the phrase - "obey the truth" -check the definition of "righteousness by faith"!' which means -"the righteousness of Christ, which is pure unadulterated truth."(10) Are these expressions involving righteousness by faith, and the text so states, involved only with justification? Or do they cover the whole gambit of man's growth in grace?

Now for the second text - and it speaks for itself:      By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith! (11)

The other main aspect of the "statement of consensus" -the humanity the Son of man assumed in the Incarnation - will be discussed in the next thought paper - "Leavened Bread - Part 2".

It should be increasingly clear to the laity who desire to know truth for themselves of the need to have assembled a library of source materials that can be made readily available for such study; and equipment for their reproduction for those who wish to avail themselves of this material, but who are unable to come to the library. This is the goal which the Adventist Laymen's Foundation has in their plans by setting up a study and resource materials center in the Ozarks of Arkansas. It does require means to house this material, and purchase the necessary equipment so that it can be made available to those who wish to pursue truth. In the light of the need of the present hour, and the lateness of time, we invite those who have such means to make them available to complete the project which has now been started.

(1)  "Christ Our Righteousness", Review & Herald, May 27, 1976, pp. 4-7

(2)  See footnote (p.4) to the above noted report for names of those who were involved in "the study group." The names of some who have written authoritatively in recent years on the topics discussed are missing. This should tell the laity something.

(3)  Gillian Ford, The Soteriological Implications of the Human Nature of Christ, a 53 pp. manuscript in which the author claims indebtedness "to each member of the Avondale College's theological faculty" for their contributions of helpful criticisms. (p. 3)

(4)  R. D. Brinsmead, "The Current Righteousness by Faith Dialogue". A nine page "thought paper" published "for responsible brethren already involved in the righteousness by faith controversy." It was requested by the author -"Please do not circulate among church members."

(5)  Ibid., p. 1

(6)  Ford, op. cit., p. 9

(7)  Brinsmead, op. cit., p. 1 - "It is true that I do agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Ford. It is not true to say, however, that Dr. Ford is following my teachings. He was unopposed in teaching these things before I saw the light in his positions."

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(8)  Review & Herald, op.cit. p.4

(9)  Galatians 5:4-7

Gal 5:4  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 

Gal 5:5  For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 

Gal 5:6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. 

Gal 5:7  Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 

(10)  Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, p. 65

(11)  Hebrews 11:7

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. 

BATTLE LINES BEING DRAWN - ARE YOU READY?

"The Sabbath is God's Day. But Jesus said that man was not made for the Sabbath; the Sabbath was made for man. This suggests the two prongs of the attack I wish to recommend: the first has to do with man in a right relationship to God and the second with man in a right relationship to nature. Christians must learn of this twofold meaning of the Sabbath and come to a place where they practice Sabbath observance and also use their energies as members of Caesar's kingdom to get secular nations to do the same, albeit for different reasons. Primarily Christians celebrate the Lord's Day because it belongs to God and in it they can worship him suitably and with reverential trust and fear. But the Sabbath has in It more than the religious, or man's relationship to God in worship and commitment. It was and is part of God's natural revelation for man in nature itself. Men, converted or unconverted, are a part of nature and need the Sabbath as earthy people who in their bodies are inextricably dependent on water, air, and soil.

"It is important* for Christians to know that they are tied to the Sabbath because it was made for man's physical well-being. And it is this aspect of the Sabbath that can be used to bring unredeemed men to the place where they will keep it also - but for different reasons that may be devoid of the primary function of the Sabbath, which is the worship of God. The reason Christians should advance to convince unregenerate men to keep the Sabbath is that they need it, that it will work for their good, and that their failure to keep it is devastating for men and assures them of disaster. In this sense one could argue that outward Sabbath observance for unbelievers may be a form of pre-evangelism and could open the door to the propagation of the Gospel. ... 

"The proper use of the Lord's Day, wholly apart from any religious implications, can come about by free choice or it can be legislated. It is highly unlikely that it will be accomplished by voluntary action by the citizenry generally. Therefore the only way to accomplish the objective is by force of legislative fiat through the duly elected officials of the people. ... 

"Our faith commits us to the proposition that we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. There could be no better way for us to fulfill the second table of the law than to press for social legislation that would benefit our neighbors, and by our efforts show that we love them as we love ourselves. This would be one of the highest forms of social action to spring from our confession of Jesus Christ as Lord. It would mark our concern for our fellow man and identify us with common and lost humanity in an area of great need."

--Harold Lindsell, Editor, "The Lord's Day and Natural Resources", Christianity Today, May 7, 1976, pp. 9, 12.

* -- Supply word, "even"

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The Supreme Court of the United States -whose decrees were declared to be "the law of the land" by a president of the United States - upheld the constitutionality of the Sunday "blue laws" of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts on May 29, 1961, against attacks that they abridge the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of religion. The rationale of the Court's ruling is that these laws are regulations aimed at protecting the health of the citizens of the State. Liberty News, June, 1961, Vol. 7, No. 6, p. 1

THE CAPITAL'S CARDINAL

"The newest Roman Catholic Cardinal in the United States and the only American in a class of nineteen announced April 27 will be remembered by evangelicals primarily for his early interest In the Key 73 evangelistic drive. William Baum, now archbishop of Washington D. C., headed a small diocese In Missouri at the time, and the Key 73 headquarters offices were located in St. Louis. He made the diocese an official participant, one of five representing Roman Catholicism in the endeavor." Christianity Today, May 21, 1976, p. 37.

Two questions: 1) Ever hear of Key 73 before? and  2)  Have you been hearing over the all-news stations, the reports assessing the new Cardinal's chances to become a future pope? (From a bishop of a small diocese in 1973 to a Cardinal in 1976 is moving up the ladder fast!)

CURIA ON THE SLIGO 

Curia - "the body of congregations, tribunals, and offices through which the pope governs the Roman Catholic Church." Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary.

"WHEN you and I joined the General Conference family something special happened to us. This is not just 'another office.' What goes on in these three buildings is of unique significance to the God whom we serve. Listen: 'When the judgment of the General Conference, which is the highest authority which God has upon earth, is exercised, private independence and private judgment must not be maintained, but be surrendered." Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 492 (Italics supplied).

"Did you notice those sobering words -'The General Conference, which is the highest authority that God has upon the earth'? They should cause everyone of us to ponder well their import. When we begin our work in the General Conference office we become part of what inspiration describes as God's highest authority on earth. This is a tremendous thought, freighted with great responsibility."

Elder R. H. Pierson, Talk given at General Conference worship, January 9, 1976, published in the Ministry, June, 1976, p. 7

Note the misuse of the statement from Testimonies, Vol. 3 as used by Elder Pierson.

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This was first written about 1875. In 1901, the servant of the Lord stood before the General Conference session and declared:      That these men should stand in a sacred place to be as the voice of God to the people, as we once believed the General Conference to be, -that is past. General Conference Bulletin, April 3,1901, p. 25

Is it past? Or has a "new curia" sprung up on the Sligo? Even in the 1909 statement in regard to the authority of the General Conference, It does not carry the implications given by the "first minister" of the Church, but rather rests the authority in the General Conference Sessions -not the officers, and committees operating from a three-building complex. See Testimonies, Vol. 9, pp. 260-261. And the statement found in Vol. 9 would be valid only till the time when the Church would be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. See Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 249. The decision rendered by the heavenly court would determine its continued application. If found wanting, no longer would such authority reside even in the General Conference Sessions.

FULL GOSPEL BUSINESS MEN'S FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL

This organization is to hold its world convention at Miami Beach, Florida, July 5-10, 1976. A brochure telling of the guest speakers has been circulated to the mailing list of their official publication -The Voice. The time during the afternoon session from Tuesday through Saturday is allotted to "Teaching" in the Grand Ballroom of the Americana Hotel, while in adjoining rooms a Ministry in the Holy Spirit is to be conducted. On two of these days, a section of the afternoon teaching session is to be presented by Walter R. Martin, and on Saturday he is the leader of the Ministry in the Holy Spirit.

Now who is Walter R. Martin? Remember the Barnhouse-Martin dialogue? Remember how Martin was given free and unlimited access to the Ellen G. White files in Takoma Park? Have you read recently the Letters to the Churches, by the late Elder M. L. Andreasen? If not, it will refresh your memory.

Do you also remember the result of this dialogue between Barnhouse and Martin, and our Church leaders? It was the book -Questions on Doctrine - in which our basic doctrines were altered. Now here is this man -Walter R. Martin, a teacher at Melodyland School of Theology - a charismatic institution -now fully revealed for what he was -an agent of Satan to bring about the compromise of God's Church with the truth committed to it. And, we are still holding to some of these repudiations of that truth, unashamed, except for the fact that our Book Centers no longer have the book available. But there has been no explanation, or statement of repentance coming from the curia on the Sligo.

 July 1976  -  "Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt)

In Darkness- HE is our Hope.

How quickly we forget. Time and time again, we simply choose to forget. Some might deem it a safety mechanism, and they might be right to some extent. We want to forget bad things, we don't want to dwell on the horrors of our lives. We are grateful for the passing of time which eases the vividness of fresh emotional and physical wounds. We encourage the thinking of good things, and the pushing aside of the bad, and for the most part this is a recommended position. Doesn't the Bible tell us this-

Php_4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

The Bible does tell us to think on things that are lovely, things of good report, virtuous things, praiseworthy things. That same verse also says this- we are to think on things that are TRUE. We are to think on things that are HONEST. We are to think on things that are JUST. We are to think on things that are PURE. And we all know that the truth isn't always lovely. The honest, isn't always lovely. The just and the pure are NOT ALWAYS LOVELY.  So do we shove aside the true, the honest, the just, the pure so we can focus on the lovely? Do we ignore the bad so that we can follow these dictates? Does loving God and our fellowman mean ignoring the painful truth? Were we given prophecies such as the seven last plagues only to ignore them because they are far from lovely?

I'll tell you what I think and either take it or leave it, we all ultimately have to make the decisions for ourselves based on the truth we hold through the Holy Spirit.  I think my Savior is truth, my Savior is honesty personified, my Savior is just and pure, my Savior is lovely, my Savior is of good report and virtuous, praiseworthy and it is HE I should think on. I should NEVER lose sight of my Savior and the salvation He offers, never. I think my Savior told me to watch and pray and when He told me that, He meant I had to watch the signs of the times He gave to me. The watching must go hand in hand with the praying because if I get caught up in watching and neglect praying, then I am no longer thinking on my Savior.  I think I must hear the truth, I must know the truth, I must study the truth always with the love of the Holy Spirit guiding me.

Should I ignore the atrocities of history, personal history and world history, prophetic history? If I'm to ignore the atrocities then why did my Savior use the scriptures - the only scriptures available to Him at the time - what we deem the Old Testament- why did He point to them for us to study and realize the truth of His existence? He pointed to all the Old Testament prophecies that predicted His path. The Old Testament completely filled with the horrors of wars, of godless people and their lives filled with sin sickness, is it all something we should forget?  Do we ignore the bad choices some of the famous patriarchs and heroes of the Old Testament because they aren't lovely? No.  We can't ignore any history, good or bad- because it is truth.  What we aren't to do, is dwell on the history to the exclusion of its relation to our Savior, to our salvation.

I want to never forget the truth, preferring blindness because it's so much more comforting to me. I do NOT want the blinders upon my eyes so that I am left to follow the multitude to eternal destruction. The path to that eternal destruction will be an easy one, a broad one, a welcoming, feel good, deceptively lovely path. The narrow path that is hard to find, that path is the one I desperately want to walk upon. I want to walk upon that path with my SAVIOR in me, with HIM as the sole source of my light, my life, my joy, my lovely thoughts. I want to know the truth, never forgetting the truth. I want to watch the prophetic signs unfold safe from the stronghold of the Holy Spirit.  I do not want to stand upon the bulwark of a crumbling, lovely, lie filled, sand built castle ignoring history, ignoring truth, ignoring prophecies of horrors to come all because my faith cannot sustain me through the darkness.

May we never give up truth, but holdfast to the hope in that truth- no matter how horrific life was, is, or will be.

All through our SAVIOR, our LORD, JESUS CHRIST, now and forever our HOPE!!!!!!!

*******

(Excerpt)

HAS ROME CHANGED?

As a result of Vatican II Council, the impression gained acceptance in the minds of the Protestant world that Rome has changed. This concept has also been voiced within the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Attending the Vatican II Council as observers were M. E. Loewen of the Religious Liberty Department, R. F. Cottrell of the Review, B. B.. Beach from the Northern European Division, who has been prominent in ecumenical discussions with the World Council of Churches, and the late Arthur S. Maxwell who at the time was editor of the Signs. The latter gave voice to his Impressions in a sermon delivered at the University Church in Loma Linda.

After mentioning the new "friendliness" of the atmosphere at the Vatican, Elder Maxwell stated there was another aspect revealed in the Pope's opening speech of the final session -love. Here are his words:

It was a beautiful speech. ... Do you know what his subject was? Love. I quote one paragraph:      The council offers to the church and especially to us a panoramic view of the world. Can the church, can we, do anything but look upon it and love it? Such a contemplation was one of the chief activities of the present session. Again and above all, love - love to all men today, whoever they are, wherever they are. While other currents of thought and action proclaim other principles for building up human civilization such as power, 'wealth, science, struggle, self-interest, and the like, the church proclaims love. This council is a solemn act of love for humanity.

I thought of offering this whole speech to our president -that is to the new president if there is one. You know, that speech of the pope's could have been given at a General Conference Session. It might be better than some we've had. You know the whole thing was a picture of the church loving humanity. Now, we've got to adapt our thinking a bit. There was no condemnation here of Protestants, no suggestion of a persecution of anybody,

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but love, unfeigned love for everybody -the separated brethren and people who don't belong and all people of all faiths and religions. Very, very wonderful change and a very, very significant change.(1)

While admitting that the Roman Catholic Church "on matters of faith and doctrine has not changed," (2) Maxwell considered the Declaration on Religious Liberty by the Vatican Council "a tremendous change" in setting "itself alongside Protestants in declaring that every man has the basic human right to choose his own religion and follow the dictates of his own conscience." (3) And what conclusions did he draw from this? Read carefully what he said:

Whether the church will stay by that forever, I don't know. No, I'm not predicting the future - I couldn't say -but it does alter the situation in the Catholic Church and should alter our own attitude towards that church ... (3)

What suggestion did Elder Maxwell make? Note:

We must rethink our approach to our Roman Catholic friends. How can we reject an outstretched hand and be Christians? (4)

We have restructured our concepts of Roman Catholicism. In the second brief filed by the legal counsel for the officials of the Church in the Merikay. Silver v. PPPA case, we clearly indicated "there was a period in the life of the Seventh-day Adventist Church when the denomination took a distinctly anti-Roman Catholic viewpoint," - but all of this "has now been consigned to the historical trash heap so far as the Seventh-day Adventist Church is concerned. (5) Further we have stated that "for a period in its history, the Seventh-day Adventist Church had an aversion to Roman Catholicism and especially to the papal form of church government -an aversion shared by virtually all Protestant denominations." But now "it is not good Seventh-day Adventism to express. .. an aversion to Roman Catholicism as such.,. (6)

Can we really say with Elder Maxwell -we cannot predict the future in regard to the Roman Catholic Church, and therefore, our attitude toward Roman Catholicism should be altered as has been done by our church leadership? Do we have no light?

Is it not time to open the book - Great Controversy - and reread the chapter,

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"Aims of the Papacy"? Note the very first paragraph of the chapter:

Romanism is now regarded by Protestants with far greater favor than in former years. ... The time was when Protestants placed a high value upon the liberty of conscience which had been so dearly purchased. They taught their children to abhor popery, and held that to seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely different are the sentiments now expressed. (7)

And can we know what the future will be?      The papal church will never relinquish her claim to infallibility. …Let the restraints now imposed by secular government be removed, and Rome be reinstated to her former power and there would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and persecution. (8)

We might ask why has this new attitude toward Rome come about - not only among Protestants in general, but also In the legal pronouncements of the Seventh-day Adventist church? Again the servant of the Lord has clearly stated:

It is not without reason that the claim has been put forth in Protestant countries, that Catholicism differs less widely from Protestantism than in former times. There has been a change; but the change is not in the papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much of the Protestantism that now exists; because Protestantism has so greatly degenerated since the days of the Reformers. (9)

When we enter upon "the track of Romanism" (10) and seek to coerce men into a mold, and control the religious experience and activities of all the members of the church, then we see very little difference between the hierarchical patterns of the Catholic church, and our own "orders of clergy." Why then should we have an aversion toward Roman Catholicism? We shouldn't - for we have become like them!

The tragedy of all of this change is that it is being brought about under the cloak of "love", and "ChristIikeness." The Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world, covering with apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed herself in Christlike garments; but she is unchanged. Every principle of the papacy that existed in past ages exists today,(9) Why should we be so deceived? There are two reasons. 1)  We have stepped off the platform of truth, and have altered our basic doctrines. 2)  Our hearts are not being renewed by the Holy Spirit.

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We are devoid of the Spirit of God. (12) These are the very two essentials that would make us foolproof against the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power.

Note:

None but those who have planted their feet firmly upon the foundation of truth, and whose hearts are renewed by the Spirit of God, are proof against her [papal] influence. (13)

While blindness covers the sight of "Israel", there are voices out in what we term, "Babylon" who sense what is taking place. Eric Gurr, who on October 1, 1975, was installed as Pastor of the Jarvis Street Baptist Church In Toronto, Ontario, Canada commented in an interview relative to Billy Graham -"What worries me about his [Graham's] stance is that the ecumenical movement is being gradually taken over by Rome." The reporter, Tom Harpur, Religion editor of the Star, noted that "Gurr is convinced that the growing friendliness among the churches will end In one worldwide super-church ruled from Rome." "In spite of the current renewal in the Roman Church, [Gurr] believes that Rome is farther from the principles of the Protestant Reformation today than 400 years ago."(14)

Does this not concur with the prophecies of the book of Revelation? Will not the woman in scarlet ride again? While Rome through its Vatican II Council seemingly opened the Bible for Catholics to read and study, we who have had the light of those Scriptures are closing our Bibles, -especially those books which warn us of the coming resurgence of the Papacy - Daniel and Revelation. The seventh chapter of Daniel still states the same things it always has. Revelation 13 still sounds the warning it did when the church was first organized. The lines are drawn clear and distinct. There are only two women in the book of Revelation -one in white, and the one in scarlet. There is none in either brown, nor gray. There is no reaching over the abyss to clasp the outstretched hand of Romanism.

However, there is a picture in Revelation of a coming union of religious forces -the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet send forth their spiritual power to unite the world in one great confrontation against God. (15) Would we know what "love"

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and "Christlikeness" will be manifest? Let us read:

If the reader would understand the agencies to be employed in the soon coming contest, he has but to trace the record of the means which Rome employed for the same object in ages past. If he would know how papists and Protestants united will deal with those who reject their dogmas, let him see the spirit which Rome manifested toward the Sabbath and its defenders. (16)

Is it not time to recover from the "trash heap" where our church leaders have "consigned" our "anti-Roman viewpoint", and clean off the soiled truth, and let the faith of our fathers shine forth once more in its genuine luster?

(1) A. S. Maxwell, "Impressions of Vatican II". A sermon delivered in the University Church, Lorna Linda, Calif., transcribed in Present Truth, No. 3, 1968, pp. 3-4

(2) Ibid. p. 6

(3) Ibid., p. 11

(4) Ibid., p. 13

(5) Merikay Silver v. PPPA, Second Brief of Deft (C-74-2025 CB~4) March 3, 1975 p. 4, Footnote. Legally filed as Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. PPPA;(&)

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

(6) Ibid p. 30

(7) Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 563

(8) Ibid., p. 564 

(9) Ibid., p. 571

(10) Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, p. 362 (1962 edition)

(11) See "No 'New Organization'" , Watchman, What of the Night, November, 1973

(12) See Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 210: -"But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking." Vol. 8, p. 250 - "My Father's house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and glory

have departed."

(13) Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 567

(14) Tom Harpur, "Fundamentalism Thrives at Jarvis Street Baptist Church", Toronto,

Star, March 6, 1976

(15) Revelation 16:13-14

(16) Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 574

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NOTES AND COMMENTS

A Storm Breaking 

There is a storm brewing in the Adventist sky, darker and as devastating as any tornado which has swept through the land. The controversy over righteousness by faith in Australia has reached our headquarters in Washington. This not only involves Brinsmead's present emphasis but also the theologians at the Australian College. We had planned to pursue the present subject as found in this and recent past thought papers. But it is becoming evident that we must reconsider for our readers the basic historic faith of the Adventist Movement in the light of the coming storm. So while more research is being made as to our prophetic thinking as revealed in legal briefs, we will begin in the next thought paper to lay the ground work for a consideration of our historic faith, which was to make us a unique people to accomplish a special purpose that God designed that we should fulfill.

1967 Again 

"Since 1967, gold has been walking a tightrope. Since that day the U. S. has continued to press for the excommunication of gold from the monetary system. It has threatened repeatedly during the last nine years to demonetize the metal. It has taken very strong steps in this direction." Myers Finance & Energy. April 23, 1976.. p. 1. Would you know more about the significance of 1967? Be sure to obtain and read and study - The Times of the Gentiles Fulfilled -a monograph published by the Foundation.

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DJ pressing hard at 1000?

We do not know, but will report as soon as authoritative information is available. We do believe the best comment we have read to date on the article, appeared in Letters (Review, Feb. 26, 1976, p. 3) where Frank Lang of Chattanooga, Tenn., wrote - "I was disappointed in the vagueness of Elder Pierson's discussion of stocks, bonds, and denominational policy." The rest of the letter was also excellent. BUT the question is - what kind of "lively stones" are being built in the church membership today as contrasted to the 1930's?

June 1976  -  "Watchman, What of the Night? " Thought Paper.  Adventist Laymen's Foundation.  (Excerpt)