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Sister website to Adventistlaymen.com devoted to the Writings and Sermons of the late Wm. H. Grotheer.
From: WSCContactFormRobot@secureserver.net
[mailto:WSCContactFormRobot@secureserver.net]
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 5:33 PM
To: Wm. H. Grotheer
I have read many
articles on your website reading the doctrine of the trinity. I don't
understand why it’s considered devilish. Would you please explain it to me in
simple terms and back your position with Bible verses. Plus, what is
sister referring when she’s using the Heavenly trio?I would also like
you to tell me if you think the SDA church has become part of Babylon?
Thank you so much
for taking the time to answer me.
[NF]
Your sister in
Christ from
Quibec,
Canada
Submittal Date -
10/30/2007
Submittal Time - 5:32:38 PM
From: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 10:12 PM
To: [NF]@hotmail.com'
Subject: The Trinity Doctrine
Dear Sister [NF]:
We very much appreciate your
Information Request about the doctrine of the Trinity and the Ellen G. White
reference to the Godhead as “the Heavenly Trio,” as well as the inquiry about
the SDA
Church
and Babylon.
I mentioned your inquiries in a
telephone conversation with Elder Grotheer yesterday. He has entrusted me
with the task of replying. I had hoped to write a reply today; but two
other replies to e-mail inquiries of earlier date than yours used up so much
time that I was unable to get to yours.
The subjects of your inquiries
are of great importance; so I do not want to write a hurried reply. I
like to make sure that what I write is carefully documented and expresses what
I want to say as clearly as possible. This will involve a review of Elder
Grotheer’s “Godhead” articles; and also the “Masterpiece of Deception”
manuscript, which was written by a brother in Australia. I am guessing that
the manuscript prompted your specific inquiry about the Trinity doctrine being
devilish. I trust that you will not mind my taking another few days to
write a reply.
Wishing you the guidance of the
Holy Spirit in the study of God’s Word,
Eric Jones
(Webmaster@adventistlaymen.com)
From: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Sent: Saturday, November 10, 2007 3:39 PM
To: [NF]@hotmail.com'
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Dear Sister [Correspondent]:
Do you agree with the historical Protestant
prophetic interpretation which identities the “Little Horn” of Dan. 7 & 8,
the “man of sin” of II Thess. 2:3, and the beast of Rev. 13:1-10, as the
Papacy? If so, I have only to point out the Truth that the Bible reveals
about the Godhead, the source of the doctrine of the Trinity, and how it
differs from the true doctrine of the Godhead. I am going to assume that
you do agree with the historical Protestant position. If you do not,
please let me know, and I will offer proof that the Protestant interpretation
of the prophecies is correct.
In considering the best approach to
answering your questions, I am faced with the choice of using my own words
entirely or quoting from the Bible expositions of Elder Grotheer. I have
chosen not to “reinvent the wheel,” so to speak, unless it becomes
necessary. I will quote passages from Watchman, What of the Night?
(WWN) articles with my own comments as necessary.
To begin to understand the true doctrine of
God, we must face the reality that a change occurred at the time of the
Incarnation. Thus, Elder Grotheer makes the following statement in an
article titled “The Godhead” (WWN January, 1998):
The great divide between
two eternities; the great divide in time, and in the chronological reckoning of
time, was the Incarnation.
The Godhead after the Incarnation was not
the same as before. Here is how Elder Grotheer explains this change,
commenting on Luke 1:35:
The angel [Gabriel]
answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power
of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy [One] which
shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God.
{The
word, "thing" is not in the Greek text, and we have substituted the
word, "One" inasmuch as the word, "holy" is an adjective,
and requires an object to modify. The word, "Spirit" could just as
well be substituted. Such usage is found in the Writings. See 4BC:1147}
This
text reveals the following data:
1) To speak "after the manner of men,"
the Holy Spirit was paternally related to Jesus Christ; thus the Holy Spirit
pre-existed Bethlehem.
2) The "Holy One" born of Mary
"shall be called the Son of God." Twice Gabriel reiterated this fact.
In Luke 1:32, he declared that this Holy One "shall be called the Son of
the Highest." Gabriel, who had "firsthand" information of
relationships involving God, did not say, "was" or "is"
the Son of God, but "shall be" called the Son of God.
3)
There was to be conceived in the womb of Mary a unique Being, never before
known in the Universe from all eternity - a God-man. Yet this unique Being
inherits eternity through the Eternal Spirit. He had a pre-existence in Spirit,
and now would become "flesh."
Now
follow closely the conclusions which this data permits one to draw:
1) The Holy Spirit existed prior to Bethlehem as the
"Eternal Spirit." (See also Heb.9:14)
2) Jesus "had a beginning at Bethlehem." (Note the name designation
of "Jesus," the God-man, begins at Bethlehem)
3)
With God as a "given" factor, you have Two Beings - God and the
Eternal Spirit - before Bethlehem,
and Three Beings - God, the Eternal Spirit, and Jesus - after.
I hope that the foregoing is clear. I
think that conclusion 2) above makes the central point. The God-man Jesus
did not exist before
Bethlehem.
Here we have one of the causes of the confusion about the three persons of the
Godhead. The Eternal Spirit Who pre-existed the Incarnation is also
referred to as “Christ” (meaning “The Anointed” or Hebrew “Messiah”) in the Old
Testament. “Jesus Christ” is the God-man Who came into existence in the
Incarnation. So, as Elder Grotheer points out in conclusion 3) above, Two
beings in the Godhead became Three Beings at Bethlehem.
There is more to know about the Holy Spirit
than I will attempt to include in this message. I do want to bring to
your attention the significance of what is revealed by the Apostle John.
Commenting on John 1:1-3 Elder Grotheer states in the above referenced article:
In beginning
was the Logos, and the Logos was with the God, and God was the Logos. The same
was in beginning with the God. All things through Him came into being, and
without Him came into being not even one [thing] which has come into being. (Greek, literal translation)
The
Gospel of John was among the last books of the New Testament to be written, if
not the last one. In the first eighteen verses of his Gospel, John gives a
prologue, setting forth data of what was prior to the Incarnation, as well as
what happened at the Incarnation.
From
these verses, we can observe the following data:
1) There were Two Beings - the Logos (the Word) and
God.
2)
The Logos was of the same essence as God. He was as much God as God Himself.
"God was the Logos." The article is used to denote separate Beings;
and omitted when defining the nature of the Logos.
Conclusions
which can be drawn:
1)
Since "God" is defined as "Spirit" (John 4:24 - no article,
literally, "God is Spirit"), then the Logos was as God, also
"Spirit."
We
are "flesh" in our reality; God is "spirit" in His reality.
Paul could use the word, "form" to designate both the reality of God,
and the reality of man. (Phil. 2:6, 7)
2)
The Logos created all things in conjunction "with the God." Paul
states that "God ... created all things by Jesus Christ." (Eph. 3:9)
3) In John
1:1-2, the word "was" (hn) is used
4x. This is in the Greek imperfect tense
and denotes continuous action in past time. John is simply saying that there
never was a time when the Logos was not.
The Apostle John
could not be clearer in establishing that there were
only two persons in
the Godhead prior to the Incarnation. I have not as yet got to the
specifics of your questions; but I am going to stop for the time being at this
point, with just the addition of the following Old Testament Scriptures for you
to think about. They are copied from a document written by Elder Grotheer
and titled “God Who is He?”:
Genesis 1:1
Beresith (in beginning - no article) bara (created - singular)
Elohim (Gods -
plural). [Note - Plural subject; singular verb]
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NWT)
"Listen,
0
Israel:
Jehovah [thy Gods (Heb. Plural)] is
one Jehovah.
Isaiah 44:6 (ARV)
Thus saith
Jehovah, the King of Israel (1), and his
Redeemer,
Jehovah of hosts (2) I am the first and the last; and
beside [us]
there is no Elohim ("Gods" Heb.
Plural)
Zech. 6:12-13
"Thus speaketh the Lord of
hosts, saying, Behold the man whose
name
is The Branch; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He
shall build the temple of the Lord: . . . and He
shall be a priest upon
His throne:
and the counsel of peace shall be between the Two of
Them
(Heb.)
(Emphasis added.)
Write to me if you have any questions about
what I have stated in this message. You will hear from me further by next
weekend.
Sincerely,
Eric Jones (Webmaster@adventistlaymen.com)
From: [NF]@hotmail.com
To:
webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:57:54 -0500
Good morning brother Eric,
I have been reading your response and would like you to help me understand
further more something. If I understood correctly, two beings existed eternally
prior to Bethlehem: the Eternal Spirit and God. The part
that isn't so clear to me is which of them or maybe a part of these two split
to become Jesus, the God-man? Plus, does the expression the Godhead refer to
both?
Thank you so much for your time.
[NF]
From: [NF]@hotmail.com
To: [NF]@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:33:09 -0500
Hi,
I sent you this email on Nov 13th, did you get it?
[NF]
From: [NF]@hotmail.com
To:
webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:57:54 -0500
Good morning brother Eric,
I have been reading your response and would like you to help me understand
further more something. If I understood correctly, two beings existed eternally
prior to Bethlehem:
the Eternal Spirit and God. The part that isn't so clear to me is which of
them or maybe a part of these two split to become Jesus, the God-man? Plus,
does the expression the Godhead refer to both?
Thank you so much for your time.
[NF]
From:
webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
To: [NF]@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:02:43 -0800
Hi Sister [NF]:
No, regrettably I did not receive the
e-mail. All e-mails from adventistlaymen.com come into the same Outlook
mailbox on my desktop. Sometimes good e-mails are automatically, but
mistakenly, diverted to the Spam folders. I usually check them before
deleting; but I suspect that yours slipped by me.
I didn’t quite finish the second part of my
response to your inquiry by the weekend because of family responsibilities;
however, it is almost complete and will be sent within a couple of days.
I am glad to see that you had no difficulty in accepting the fact that there
were Two Beings (actually two Jehovahs) before the
Incarnation. The second part of my response actually elaborates on this,
and I will send it without revision.
When we look at John 1:1-3, 14, we see that
it was the Word Who became flesh. Then the Gospels of Matthew and Luke
reveal that Mary conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Here we arrive at a
mystery that is not explained in the Bible. How did the I AM become a
tiny seed in the womb of Mary? John certainly seems to say in 1:14 that
the whole self-Identity of the Eternal Spirit became flesh. In 7:39 he
wrote:
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they
that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not
yet given;
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
“Yet given” is supplied. It is not in
the original Greek. What did John mean? We know that there was a
Holy Ghost at work after the Incarnation and before Jesus’ death, resurrection,
and coronation on the Day of Pentecost. Who was that Holy Ghost? We
do know this: that the Holy Spirit Whom we know from Pentecost is in effect the
Alter Ego of Jesus Christ. In John 15:26 Jesus said:
But when the Comforter is come,
whom
I will send unto you from the Father, even
the Spirit of
truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall
testify of me: (Emphasis added.)
In John 14:16-18 Jesus said:
And I will pray the Father, and
he
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world
cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you.
I will not leave
you comfortless: I will come to you. (Emphasis added.)
Note the promise, “I will come unto you,”
and here is this statement made by Ellen G. White:
Cumbered with
humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally;
therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go
to His father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The
Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent
thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy
Spirit, as the Omnipresent. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in My name, He shall (although unseen by you), [THIS
PHRASE WAS ADDED BY ELLEN WHITE.] teach you all things, and bring all things to
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" [John 14:26].
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go
away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will come not unto you; but if I
depart, I will send Him unto you" [John 16:7]. {14MR 23.3;
emphasis added}
We therefore not only have the mystery of
the Incarnation; but also this further mystery: that the Holy Spirit is Jesus
Christ, but “divested of the personality of humanity and independent
thereof.” We have ample evidence in the New Testament that the Holy
Spirit is a person and not merely an influence as some presume to
contend. Thus, there has been this “Heavenly Trio,”
at least since
Jesus Christ was glorified on the Day of Pentecost; and this is not a
revelation of One God in Three Persons, but Three Gods as One Lord (as there
were Two Gods as one Lord before the Incarnation, which is explained more fully
in the second part of my response to follow.) These Three Gods are
referred to as “the Godhead.”
It is my great privilege to be of
assistance. I also derive a blessing from reviewing these Truths.
Blessings,
Eric
From: [NF] [mailto:[NF]@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 4:57 AM
To: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Good morning,
Thank you very much for your response and the time you took to answer my
question. There is smt still unclear about this, for
me when i read from E.G.W's
books. That's is, if
Jesus "had a beginning at Bethlehem." (Note the name designation of
"Jesus," the God-man, begins at Bethlehem) then I don’t understand
why sister White doesn’t use the term the Eternal Spirit when
referring to Christ prior to the creation in her writings( See for example PP
the chapter on Why was sin permitted? ) Why would she refer to Him as Jesus,
the Son of God if that notion wasn’t so prior to the incarnation?
Thank you and may the Lord bless you,
[NF]
From:
webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Sent: Friday, November 23, 2007 9:21 PM
To: '[NF]'
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Dear Sister [NF]:
Ellen G. White neither claimed to be a
theologian, nor did she write a commentary on the Bible. I would not make
too much of the fact that she did not use the term “eternal Spirit” to describe
the pre-existent Christ. That term appears in the Bible only once, in
Heb. 9:14.
I am well aware that Sister White makes
references to the “eternal Son” in her Writings. I once made a
compilation, and just checked again on the EGW Estate website. The total
number is eighteen times. There are also numerous other instances where
she refers to the pre-existent Christ as the Son of God. However, she
also wrote the following passages, and you will note that in every instance she
correctly used the name “Christ,” and not “Jesus Christ” (the underlined
emphases are added):
The
world was made by him, "and without him was not anything made that was
made." If Christ made all things, he existed before all things. The
words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in
doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God
from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore. . . .
{7ABC 438.1}
There are light
and glory in the truth that Christ was one with the Father before the
foundation of the world was laid. This is the light shining in a dark
place, making it resplendent with divine, original glory. This truth,
infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious and otherwise
unexplainable truths, while it is enshrined in light, unapproachable and
incomprehensible. --The Review and Herald, April 5, 1906, p. 8.
{7ABC 438.2}
Still seeking to
give a true direction to her faith, Jesus declared, "I am the
resurrection, and the life." In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived.
"He that hath the Son hath life." 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ
is the believer's assurance of eternal life.--Ibid., p. 530.
{7ABC 438.5}
Silence fell upon
the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the
eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by this Galilean Rabbi.
He had
announced Himself to be the self-existent One, He who had been promised to
Israel,
"whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of
eternity."--Ibid., p. 469.
{7ABC 438.6}
The world's Redeemer was equal with
God. His authority was as the authority of God. He declared that he had no existence separate from the
Father. The authority by which he spoke, and wrought miracles, was expressly
his own, yet he assures us that he and the Father are one.--The Review and
Herald, Jan. 7, 1890, p. 1.
{7ABC 439.1}
Jehovah, the
eternal, self-existent, uncreated One, Himself the source and sustainer of all, is alone entitled to supreme reverence and worship.--Patriarchs
and Prophets, p. 305.
{7ABC
439.2}
Jehovah is the
name given to Christ. "Behold, God is
my salvation," writes the prophet Isaiah; "I will trust, and not be afraid;
for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my
salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of
salvation. And in that day ye shall say, Praise the Lord, call upon His name,
declare His doings among the people, make mention that His name is
exalted." "In that day shall this song be sung in the land of
Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for
walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in
perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth
in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting
strength."--The Signs of the Times, May 3, 1899, p. 2.
{7ABC 439.3}
In speaking of
His pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He
assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with
the eternal God. He to whose voice the Jews
were then listening had been with God as one brought up with Him.--The Signs
of the Times, Aug. 29, 1900.
{7ABC 440.4}
Here Christ shows them that,
although they might reckon His life to be less than fifty years, yet His divine
life could not be reckoned by human computation.
The existence of Christ
before His incarnation is not measured by figures.--The Signs of the
Times, May 3, 1899.
{7ABC 440.5}
From all
eternity Christ was united with the Father,
and when He took upon Himself human nature, He was still one with God.--The
Signs of the Times, Aug. 2, 1905, p. 10.
Since all of the above passages are consistent with the
revelation of the Godhead in the Bible, I am not concerned about the other
references that seem to suggest that Christ was the eternal Son of God.
One can be blessed in reading the Writings in which such references are made
without trying to fathom the precise meaning of the references. Moreover,
when Ellen White makes statements that are consistent with the Bible, and other
statements that seem to go the other way, the critical importance of following
her own counsel becomes readily apparent:
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,
IV, p. 413; emphasis supplied)
The Lord
desires you to study your Bibles. He has not given any additional light to take
the place of His Word. . . ..-- Letter
130, 1901. (3SM 29.2; emphasis supplied)
The Spirit was
not given-- nor can it ever be bestowed--to supersede the Bible; for the
Scriptures explicitly state that the Word of God is the standard by which all
teaching and experience must be tested.
. . . --The Great Controversy, Introduction, p. vii. (3SM 30.5; emphasis
supplied)
I recommend to
you, dear reader, the Word of God as the rule of your faith and practice.
By that Word we are to be judged. God
has, in that Word, promised to give visions in the "last days";
not
for a new rule of faith . . .--A Sketch of the Christian Experience
and Views of Ellen G.White, p. 64 (1851).
(Reprinted in Early Writings, p. 78.) (3SM 29.1; emphasis supplied)
"Thus
saith the Lord" is the strongest testimony you can possibly present to the
people. Let none be
educated to look to Sister White, but to the mighty God, who gives instruction to
Sister White.--Letter 11, 1894. (3SM 29.3; emphasis supplied.) (It is
clear that by “Thus saith the Lord” Sister White means the Bible.)
I hope that I have provided a
satisfactory answer to your question. That second part of my response to
your previous questions will follow tomorrow.
Blessings,
Eric Jones
From: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
To: [NF]@hotmail.com
Subject: The Trinity Doctrine
Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2007 22:17:57 -0800
Hello Sister [NF]:
The scholars who promote the dogma/doctrine of the Trinity define it as
“monotheism” – One God, Three persons. The concept of monotheism in
Christianity derives directly from the Hebrew “Shema.” I invite you to
consider the following careful analysis of the “Shema” by Elder Grotheer, from
his article “the Heavenly Trio”, wwn4(02):
Israel's
monotheism is based on the Shema - "Hear, 0 Israel:
The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut 6:4). There are two key words in this
Shema which govern its interpretation. The first is elohenu
- translated "our God;"
and the second is echad, translated,
"one." In The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee
Lexicon by Davidson, elohenu is noted as a
"noun, masculine plural, with a pronominal suffix in the first person
plural" (p. xxxviii). In translation, as in the Shema, it is translated as
singular when applied to the God of the Hebrews, and plural when referencing
the gods of the
3
nations. (See
for example, Isa. 42:17 & Hosea 14:3) Is this then not giving the
Scriptures a theological translation, rather than a linguistic translation? Theologically
(Jewish theology) the Shema reads - "Hear, 0 Israel,
the Lord thy God is one Lord." Linguistically, it would read - "Hear,
0 Israel,
Jehovah our Gods is one Jehovah."
The word,
echad, is first used in Genesis 1:5. In literal
translation the last part of this verse reads - "(It) was evening, (it)
was morning, day one (echad)" Thus in its
first use it describes duality in oneness. The second use with dual force is
Genesis 2:24 - "Therefore shall a man leave his father
and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they two shall be one (echad) flesh." Further, Genesis 1:1 introduces
God as Elohim, plural, who would suggest to an Equal, "Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness" (1:26).
When Isaiah defines who Elohim is, he writes:
Thus saith
the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of
hosts" I am the first and the last; and besides Me there is no Elohim.
(44:6)
This designation
- "the first and the last" - is carried forward to the final
revelation in the Scriptures, and is applied to the One who sat upon the
throne, "the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8) and to the Lamb "in the midst
of the throne" (Rev. 5:6; 1:10-13; 22:13).
Thus the monotheism of Israel as set forth in the
Old Testament, would also be the "monotheism" of the new Israel
as revealed in the book of Revelation; but it has been corrupted by the Triune
concept of Romanism, and is being corrupted in the current anti-Trinitarianism
blowing through the corridors of Adventism. The Shema of ancient Israel
could be the declaration of faith of modern spiritual Israel
if linguistically translated rather than by theological presuppositions.
The Christian Church in the early centuries
was faced with the inescapable fact that there are Three Beings of the Godhead
revealed in the New Testament. Instead of searching the Scriptures
carefully for the explanation, they used philosophical speculation to come up
with the dogma of the Trinity. Here is the formulation from the
Catholic
Encyclopedia online:
“The Trinity is the term
employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion -- the truth
that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another.
Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed:
"the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet
there are not three Gods but one God." In this Trinity of Persons the Son
is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the Holy Spirit
proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and the Son. Yet,
notwithstanding this difference as to origin, the Persons are co-eternal and
co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent. This, the Church teaches, is
the revelation regarding God's nature which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came
upon earth to deliver to the world: and which she proposes to man as the
foundation of her whole dogmatic system.”
As I was searching for the above definition
which I had read in the Catholic Encyclopedia in the past, I stumbled on
a statement on a Jewish web page that “the dogma of the Trinity is not
understandable because it is intrinsically incoherent.” How well
put! It does not make sense; and no matter how the contemporary Seventh-day
Adventist Church tries to distance itself from the Catholic dogma, this basic
incoherence is intrinsic in the idea that there was always eternally
one
“God in three persons.” Turning again to Elder Grotheer’s article titled
“The Heavenly Trio,” I quote:
In the new
Catechism
of the Catholic Church (2nd Edition), the position of the Roman Church is
summarized in the Athanasian Creed which reads:
Now this is the Catholic faith: We
worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without either
confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father
is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal their majesty coeternal
(par. 266).
In the explanation
given in the Catechism, under "The dogma of the Holy Trinity," it is
stated: 1) "The Trinity is One" (par. 253); and 2) "'God is one
but not solitary.' ... They are distinct from one another in their relations of
origin: 'It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy
Spirit who proceeds.' The divine Unity is Triune" (par. 254).
In the
Handbook
for Today's Catholic carrying the official affirmation of the Church, it is
declared:
The mystery of the Trinity is the central
doctrine of Catholic Faith. Upon it are based all the other teachings of the
Church. In the New Testament there is frequent mention of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. A careful study of these scriptural passages leads to one
unmistakable conclusion: each of these Persons is presented as having qualities
that can belong only to God. But if there is only one God, how can this be?
The Church studied this mystery with
great care and, after four centuries, decided to state the doctrine in
7
this way: in the unity of the Godhead
there are three Persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - truly
distinct one from another. Thus, in the words of the Athanasian
Creed: "The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and
yet there are not three gods but one God." (pp.11-12)
With this, we
face a major problem. If we believe that the Trinitarian doctrine - "there
is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal
Persons" - then in so doing, we are stating that the Roman Church is based
on a foundation of truth. Further, since all of the other doctrines of Rome are
based on this Trinity concept, why not return to Rome and follow all her
theological reasonings? It is rather ludicrous to
hear a Seventh-day Adventist take issue with Rome over her Sabbath to Sunday
reasoning, and then shout their belief in her Trinitarian concept.
Much more can be said on this issue, not
least of all on the concept of an eternal sonship of Christ [I have now
addressed this on 11-23-07]; but I must not stray too far from your question
about the devilish nature of the doctrine of the Trinity. Before I finish
this message, I must specifically address your other question about Ellen
White’s use of the term “Heavenly Trio.” I think that it has been answered
all through both parts of my response to your inquiry. I would say that
she used the term because the New Testament clearly reveals Three Beings in the
Godhead, or in plainer language Three Gods (but one Lordship as revealed in the
Duality of the Shema); however, note that she never used the term
“Trinity.”
Turning now to the relationship between the
papacy and the Devil, please do a quick review of the following study by Elder
Grotheer:
ANTICHRIST WHO IS HE?
The foregoing study does not touch on Rev.
13:1-2; but I am confident you know that this beast represents the
papacy. The following is quoted from Elder Grotheer’s “Exegesis of Revelation
– The Beast and the False Prophet”:
In the
Thirteenth Chapter, two "beasts" are seen, one rising "up out of
the sea," and the other "coming up out of the earth." (vs. 1,
11) These two beasts are related in the text to the dragon. One receives "his
power, and his seat, and great authority" directly from the dragon (v. 2).
The other, "spake as a dragon" and exercised "all the authority
of the first beast," which authority had been given it by the dragon. (vs.
11-12).
The commonality
between the first beast and the dragon is further heightened in the imagery.
Both have seven heads and ten horns (12:3; 13:1) However, there is a movement
of one item in the symbols; the crowns are placed on the "horns" of
the first beast, rather than remaining on the "heads." It must also
be kept in mind that the book of Revelation presents a third beast with seven
heads and ten horns. (17:3) No crowns are seen on this symbolism either on the
"heads" or the "horns."
What is this
telling us? If a "crown" is symbolic of reigning, then the
"dragon" is portrayed as functioning through its seven heads from the
time of the first gospel promise to the time of, and including the war with the
"remnant of her seed." The first beast of Revelation 13 would then be
operating at the time of the reigning of "the ten horns."
To further
identify this beast, the description is closely associated with the vision
given to Daniel (Chap. 7). The lion, the bear, and the leopard are followed by
a nondescript beast. In Revelation 13, the nondescript beast is a composite,
"like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his
mouth as the mouth of a lion" (v. 2). This is the exact order as found in
Daniel 7, only reversed. In the vision to Daniel, he saw that the dominion of
the three beasts was "taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a
season and time." (7:12). The symbolic representation in Revelation 13,
tells us that the lives of the three beasts of Daniel 7 lived on in the first
beast.
Revelation 12:9 identifies the dragon as
“that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth
the whole world.” There is the heart of the matter. The Church of
Rome is Satan’s representative body on earth, and by her own admission, “The
mystery of the Trinity is the central doctrine of Catholic Faith. Upon it are
based all the other teachings of the Church.” Of the “other
teachings of the Church” which revolve around Jesus Christ, I want to comment
on a two-fold teaching which relates to the identity of the God-man.
Rome begins her corruption of the Truth by
asserting the following, quoted from the Catholic Encyclopedia on the
“Immaculate Conception”:
In the
Constitution Ineffabilis Deus, of 8
December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary
"in
the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted
by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race,
was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."
This teaching is based on the idea that
Jesus was born without sin in the flesh, so He must have been conceived within
a sinless body. Rome understood that the natural laws of heredity would make it
an inescapable fact that Jesus had, in the flesh, the same human nature as
every other descendant of Adam since the fall. Having declared that Mary
was sinless, Rome asserts that the humanity of Jesus was sinless, and further
that by “hypostatic union of the Divine nature and the human nature” the latter
was “assumed” by the Divine. The following is taken from the
Catholic
Encyclopedia on “The Incarnation”:
It is to be
remembered that, when the Word took Flesh, there was no change in the Word;
all the change was in the Flesh. At the moment of conception, in the womb
of the Blessed Mother, through the forcefulness of God's activity,
not only
was the human soul of Christ created but the Word assumed the man that
was conceived. When God created the world, the world was changed, that is.
it passed from the state of nonentity to the state of existence; and there was
no change in the Logos or Creative Word of God the Father.
Nor was there
change in that Logos when it began to terminate the human nature. A new
relation ensued, to be sure; but this new relation implied in the Logos no
new reality, no real change; all new reality, all real change, was in the human
nature.
(Underlined and
italicized emphasis added.)
John 1:14 states that “the Word became flesh.” Paul states that He
“emptied Himself” (literal Greek,) Phil. 2:7;) however
Rome declares that
there was no change in the Word, but a change took place in the
flesh. The following is quoted from “The Roman Catholic Priest: In
Persona Christi Capitis”:
The dignity
which Christ gave to us by assuming our human nature is unfathomable. Because Christ
became man our nature has, in a sense, been divinized. This is because the
human nature of Christ is united to the divine person of the Word. Christ’s
humanity is perfectly holy because of this union.
Contrast these fictions with the following texts, among many others,
(Underlined emphasis added):
Romans 1:1-3: Paul, a servant of Jesus
Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of
God, . . . Concerning his Son
Jesus
Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
(What is this but a statement of heredity?)
Galatians 4:4-5: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made
of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Again a
statement of heredity.)
Hebrews 2:17-18:
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. For in that he
himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour
them that are tempted.
Hebrews 4:15: For
we have not an high
priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Romans
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.
How can these Scriptures be true if Rome is right? Look at what
the Devil’s representative on earth has done to the good news of salvation for
fallen man in and through the Lord Jesus Christ! Finally, consider the
repudiation of Jesus Christ’s own emphasis on His human identity. In all
of the Gospels except the Book of John He never refers to Himself as the “Son
of God,” although He does acknowledge the Identity when the question is put to
Him. Five times He uses the Identity “Son of God” in the Gospel of John (3:18; 5:25; 9:35;
10:36; 11:4.)
He
uses the Identity “Son of Man” on numerous occasions, and in two instances it
is particularly notable that it was in response to references to His Identity
as “Son of God”:
Matthew 26:63-64: But Jesus held his peace.
And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living
God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ,
the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said:
nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see
the Son of man sitting
on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
John 1:49-51: Nathanael answered and saith
unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of
Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because
I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest
thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And
he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of man.
The last reference is particularly significant. He identified
Jacob’s Ladder (Gen. 28:10-12) as a type of Himself. The
Devil has done everything possible to destroy the connection established by
Jesus Christ in Himself with fallen humanity. I close with the
quotation of a profound insight of Elder Grotheer, from one of the last issues
of WWN online:
It was Zophar who asked,
"Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? (Job 11:7). We do not need to speculate at this point,
although it could be done. It might be best to note what information God in the
Scriptures has permitted to come from behind the "wall of eternity."
First, God does have a Son. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We need to
distinguish between Christ, the Son of God of the Spirit ["God is
Spirit" John 4:24] and who became that Son by decree (Ps. 2:7); and
Jesus, the Son of God of the flesh who became that Son by the incarnation
(Luke 1:35). Could it be that that decree was a factor in the enmity Lucifer
had for Christ even as the incarnation is a factor in the salvation of man? (Rom.
3:25-26). (WWN Thought for the Month, January, 2007, pp. 1-2; emphasis
added)
I trust that I have convincingly answered
the questions that you asked about the devilish nature of the dogma/doctrine of
the Trinity.
Very sincerely,
Eric Jones
Here we see an interesting example of the depth of Elder Grotheer’s
scholarship. Hebrew Lexicons such as Brown-Driver-Briggs and Strong’s
supply the Hebrew Elohim in the Shema. However, every Jewish website
which quotes the Shema uses the word Eloheynu. There is an example on the
adventistlaymen.com website in the document “POINTS TO PONDER ABOUT THE GODHEAD.”
The hyperlink appears on the Home Page. The significance of the
substitution of Elohim for Elohenu can be seen in the
following definition from Strong’s:
“.
. gods in the ordinary sense; but
specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the
supreme God . .”
This
is also known as the majestic plural (for example, a monarch of England will
refer to himself/herself as “We”.)
Isa. 44:6 and Zech. 6:12-13
support the linguistic translation of the Shema. The word echad explains the kind of oneness that existed in the
Godhead. It was a oneness in duality. This oneness in
duality became oneness as a Trio after the Incarnation.
From: [[NF]@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 3:59 PM
To: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Hi brother,
Do you think you will send me the last part of my question any time soon?
Thank you,
[NF]
From: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
To: [NF]@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:48:06 -0800
Hello Sister [NF]:
I am not at this point replying in substance to this e-mail and the one
that followed. At present I am only requesting clarification of your
reference to “the last part of my question.” I thought that I
had
replied to the question “what is Sister White referring to when she is using
the ‘Heavenly Trio.’” Do you want me to address the question again, demonstrating
the connection between that term and what I wrote concerning the Godhead since
the Incarnation?
Your two e-mails raise questions of major proportions; and I will reply
in substance after you confirm your impression that my earlier e-mails have not
answered that last question adequately.
Best wishes,
Eric Jones
From: [NF]@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 7:24 PM
To: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Good evening,
I understand the Godhead concept better, but still much prayer is
needed to get an even clearer understanding. I will be
studying furthermore the answer you sent me on Nov 24th. Thank you for your
time.
Best wishes,
[NF]*
From: [NF]@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 4:49 PM
To: Eric from adventist laymen; Eric(SDA
response to my question) A. Jones
Subject: Hi
Hello brother Eric,
I have been reading and studying earnestly these last few days. I came
across this text and would like to share it with you.
May God bless us and lead us has we study His word.
[NF]
MR No. 81 - God's Rebuke to Laodicea
[Release requested for use in the Review and
Herald.] {1MR 348.1}
Those who have published the "Loud Cry"
tract have not consulted me upon the subject. They have quoted largely from my
writings and put their own construction upon them. They claim to have a special
message from God to pronounce the Seventh-day Adventist Church Babylon,
proclaim her fall, and call the people of God to come out of her, and try to
make the testimonies substantiate their theory. These publications are
misleading minds, and increasing the prejudice already existing, and tend to
make it more difficult to get access to them to present the message God has
given in warnings to the world of altogether a different character from the
ideas presented in these pamphlets. {1MR 348.2}
I arose at half-past two o'clock; I could not sleep;
the burden was upon me. The history of the children of Israel urged itself upon
my mind, and many points were so clearly pressed upon me that I dared not keep
silent. I wrote twenty-three pages between three o'clock and half past twelve
o'clock. My spirit was stirred within me. I felt a burden for the people of
God, not only on account of this one production, but because of many such
matters which are coming to the people, claiming to be messages from God.
"By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20). {1MR
348.3}
A number of these pamphlets came to the post office,
with instruction to the postmaster to hand them to Seventh-day Adventists. The
people of Wellington are full of prejudice. The circulation of D. M. Canright's falsehoods has created prejudice, making it next
to impossible to reach
349
the people, and everything of this character creates the suspicion that we are
working under cover. These pamphlets and telegraph dispatches from Brother C
are of a character to confirm these suspicions. All these things are closing
the doors of the people against us. The way is being hedged up by just such
things. {1MR 348.4}
These men who think they are doing God service are
working on the enemy's side, not on God's side. Yesterday I sent twenty-three
pages of manuscript to Melbourne to be prepared for circulation among our
people. Prior to this I sent a number of pages treating on the same subject. It
will not be prepared to go in this month's mail. {1MR 349.1}
A little leaven of false doctrine, under the
inspiration of Satanic agencies, may work much harm to those who are not rooted
and grounded and unmovable in present truth. No one can be safe now unless
riveted to the eternal Rock. We have every reason to be grateful and trustful in
God. The Lord Jesus knoweth them that are His. He
died to save a lost world, and He is gathering out from it an army to serve
under His banner. And He will present to Himself a glorious church without spot
or wrinkle or any such thing. {1MR 349.2}
Christ Speaks to Laodicea.--I understood that both
these men were at the General Conference [held in Battle Creek, February 17 -
March 6, 1893], that is, S and C. Could they not discern there the revealings of the Spirit of God? Could they not see that
God was opening the windows of heaven and pouring out a blessing? Why was this?
Testimonies had been given correcting and counseling the church and many had
made a practical application of the message to the Laodicean Church, and were
confessing their sins and repenting in contrition of soul. They were hearing
the voice of Jesus, the heavenly Merchantman, "Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man
350
hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with me" (Revelation 3:20). {1MR 349.3}
These brethren who claimed to have this wonderful
light had the very same work of repentance and confession to do, thus clearing
the rubbish from the door of their own hearts, and opening the door of their
hearts to welcome the heavenly guest. Had they placed themselves in the channel
of light, they would have received the most precious blessings from heaven.
They would have seen that the Lord was indeed gracious, manifesting Himself to
His people, and that the Sun of Righteousness had risen upon them. This was
precious merchandizing actively carried on. The counsel of Christ to the Laodicean
Church was being acted upon, and all who were feeling their poverty were buying
gold (faith and love), white raiment (the righteousness of Christ), and eye
salve (true spiritual discernment). {1MR 350.1}
Why did not these brethren fall into line, and place
themselves in the channel of light? They were poverty stricken and knew it not.
They were not working in Christ's lines, were not softened and subdued by His
Holy Spirit, and were so blinded that they could not see the strong beams of
light that were coming from the throne of God upon His people. They heard not
the voice of the true Shepherd. They were listening to the voice of a
stranger. {1MR 350.2}
When I consider the infirmities of these misled
brethren, I feel deep sorrow of heart that they did not plead with God,
"Bless me, O God bless, now I see my error. Thou art communicating to Thy
people the richest truths ever committed to mortals. These people are not Babylon;
for Thou hast given to them righteousness and peace; and Thy joy, that their
joy may be full." Oh why did they not open the door of their heart to
Jesus? Why not have removed right there all that obstructs the bright beams of
the
351
Sun of Righteousness that they might shine to the world? While God's blessing was
penetrating everywhere, while His presence was consecrating and sanctifying
souls unto Himself, why did they not place their souls in the channel of light?
It was because Satan had cast his hellish shadow athwart their pathway to
obstruct every ray of light. {1MR 350.3}
The Work of Satan.--How could they come from that
meeting where the power of God was revealed in so marked a manner, and proclaim
that the loud cry was that the commandment-keeping people were Babylon. Satan
was saying that same thing to Christ when Joshua stood before the angel. Satan
was declaring his sins to be so great that he should not be restrained from
destroying him. The words of Christ are applicable to these brethren, and to
all who advance similar sentiments. "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even
the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked
out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before
the angel" (Zechariah 2:2,3). Who clothed him with filthy garments?
"And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take
away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused
thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of
raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a
fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the
Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus
saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my
charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and
I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by" (Zechariah
2:4-7). The work of Satan is to cover the repentant, believing,
commandment-keeping people of God with defiling garments; Jesus Christ commands
them to be clothed with His
352
righteousness, garments woven in the loom of heaven. {1MR 351.1}
Distinguished by Dishonorable Methods.--What have our
brethren S and C been doing? If they had been commissioned of God to do this
work they would not need to appropriate the writings of Sister White, without
consulting her or saying a word to her. If they have so large confidence in the
work the Lord has given her to do, why did not they advise with her, and see if
this wonderful message was in accordance with the instruction given her of the
Lord? Why did they not have wisdom to go the right way to work? {1MR
352.1}
But theirs is a spurious message, of the same
character of similar messages that men have claimed to have of the Lord. It is
not as the bright shining of a candle lighted from the divine altar. When the
Lord gives His people light it is light. It is not darkness and error, leading
directly away from the true light which God has sent to strengthen and bless,
and give hope to His people. These men had no right to appropriate the Lord's
goods entrusted to His humble servant to trade upon and improve by trading upon
them, and to place them in the framework of their errors, making it appear that
it was the voice of God from heaven giving the "Loud Cry" that the
church, His chosen people, who are keeping His commandments, are Babylon, and
His people are called to come out of her. {1MR 352.2}
My Work to Save Souls.--I have no such message to
give; but one of an entirely different character. My work is to seek to save
lost, perishing souls, and to teach them as did Paul, who says, "I kept
back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught
you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying
both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ. . . . I take you to record this day, that I am
pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all
the counsel of God. Take
353
heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath
purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall
grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:20-21;
26-29). {1MR 352.3}
Men Speaking Perverse Things.--Now he brings before
them another class: "Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking
perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and
remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night
and day with tears" (Acts 20:30-31). {1MR 353.1}
In all ages of the world there have been men who think
they have a work to do for the Lord, and show no respect for those whom the
Lord has been using. They do not make right applications of Scripture, they
wrest the Scriptures to sustain their own ideas. Whatever may be the claims of
those who draw away from the body to proclaim theories of their own invention,
they are in Satan's service, to get up some new device to divert souls from the
truth for this time. {1MR 353.2}
The Light of the World.--Beware of those who arise
with a great burden to denounce the church. The chosen ones who are standing
and breasting the storm of opposition from the world, and are uplifting the down-trodden
commandments of God to exalt them as honorable and holy, are indeed the light
of the world. {1MR 353.3}
How dare mortal man pass his judgment upon them, and
call the church a harlot, Babylon, a den of thieves, a cage of every unclean
and hateful bird, the habitation of devils, making the nations drunk with the
wine of her fornication, confederating with the kings and great men of the
earth, waxing
354
rich through the abundance of her delicacies, and proclaiming that her sins
have reached unto heaven and God hath remembered her iniquities? Is this the
message we have to bear to the Seventh-day Adventists? I tell you, No! God has
given no man any such message. Let these men humble their hearts before God,
and in true contrition repent that they have even for a time stood by the side
of the accuser of the brethren who accused them before God day and night. . .
. {1MR 353.4}
It seems almost impossible that anyone who had a
genuine experience in the faith should suggest such erroneous applications of
Scripture as applicable to God's commandment-keeping people. Supposing this
spurious message is the one everyone must hear for this time, "Come out of
her My people," where shall we go to? Where shall we find the purity,
goodness, and holiness where we shall be secure? Where is the fold where no
wolves will enter? {1MR 354.1}
I tell you, my brethren, the Lord has an organized
body through whom He will work. There may be more than a score of Judases among
them; there may be a rash Peter who will under circumstances of trial deny his
Lord; there may be persons represented by John who Jesus loved, but he may have
a zeal that would destroy men's lives by calling down fire from heaven upon
them to revenge an insult to Christ and to the truth. But the great Teacher
seeks to give lessons of instruction to correct these existing evils. He is
doing the same today with His church. He is pointing out their dangers. He is
presenting before them the Laodicean message. {1MR 354.2}
He shows them that all selfishness, all pride, all
self-exaltation, all unbelief and prejudice, are dangerous, and unless repented
of, those who cherish these things will be left in darkness as was the Jewish
nation. Let every soul now seek to answer the prayer of Christ.
355
Let every soul echo that prayer in mind, in petitions, in exhortations, that
they all may be one even as Christ is one with the Father, and work to this
end. In the place of turning the weapons of warfare within our own ranks, let
them be turned against the enemies of God and of the truth. Echo the prayer of
Christ with your whole heart: "Holy Father, keep through thine own name
those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. . . .I pray not
that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but
that thou shouldest keep them from the evil"
(John 17:11,15). Also this prayer which He offers to interpret the process
through which His followers are sanctified, "Sanctify them through thy
truth" (John 17:17). {1MR 354.3}
The Church in Unity.--The door of the heart must be
opened to the Holy Spirit, for this is the sanctifier, and the truth is the
medium. There must be an acceptance of the truth as it is in Jesus. This is the
only genuine sanctification: "Thy word is truth." Oh read the prayer
of Christ for unity, "Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast
given me, that they may be one, as we are" (John 17:11). The prayer of
Christ is not only for those who are now His disciples, but for all those who
shall believe on Christ through the words of His disciples, even to the end of
the world. Jesus was just about to yield up His life to bring life and
immortality to light. Christ, amid His sufferings, and being daily rejected of
men, looks down the lines two thousand years to His church which would be in
existence in the last days, before the close of this earth's history.
{1MR 355.1}
The Lord has had a church from that day, through all
the changing scenes of time to the present period, 1893. The Bible sets before
us a model church. They are to be in unity with each other, and with God. When
believers are united to Christ the living vine, the result is that they are
356
one with Christ, full of sympathy and tenderness and love. When anyone is
drawing apart from the organized body of God's commandment-keeping people, when
he begins to weigh the church in his human scales, and begins to pronounce
judgment against them, then you may know that God is not leading him. He is on
the wrong track. {1MR 355.2}
Constantly, men and women are arising who become
restless and uneasy, who want to set up some new contrivance; to do some
wonderful thing. Satan watches his opportunity to give them something to do in
his line. God has given to every man his work. There are opportunities and
privileges in the church to help those who are ready to die, and to inspire the
church with zeal, but not to tear the church to pieces. There are plenty of
opportunities in the church to walk in Christ's lines. If the heart is full of
zeal to press on to a deeper sanctification and holiness, then work in that
line in all humbleness and devotedness. The church needs freshness and the
inspiration of men who breathe in the very atmosphere of heaven, to vitalize
the church, notwithstanding the tares among the wheat. {1MR 356.1}
Laborers Together With God.--If good men and humble
men will take up their duty just where it is, to help those who are ready to
die, they will be a great blessing to the church. There are unconverted men in
the church, and if those who are so longing to show their zeal for the Lord
will seek these poor souls and work with patience and perseverance to win them
to Jesus, God would work with them. "We are labourers
together with God" (1 Corinthians 2:9), not to tear down and destroy, but
to restore. "Make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be
turned out of the way" (Hebrews 12:13). There is an abundance of work that
is needed to be done in home missions, and in exercising the talents God has
given us, for wise improvement. We may become skillful as a tradesman in His
business
357
by practice. We want to become skillful in the trade of working to bless souls,
learning to save souls. This requires prayer, and earnest, persevering effort,
and a willingness to work in a humble way. {1MR 356.2}
If the money that has been needlessly expended in the
doing of works that God has not sent men to do at all, had been employed
economically in ways that are simple and safe for the progress and upbuilding of Christ's kingdom in the world, instead of
helping Satan to cast upon the kingdom of Christ reproach, and clothing His
church with filthy garments as Satan is doing, and urging them into false
positions by using the reproofs and corrections that God has given them to show
them their sin; what a great work would have been laid upon the foundation
stone. {1MR 357.1}
"Now if any man build upon this foundation gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire;
and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is" (1 Corinthians
3:12). I would caution all believers to learn to maintain a godly jealousy over
yourselves, lest Satan shall steal your heart away from God, and you slip
unconsciously into work in Satan's lines, without perceiving that you have
changed leaders, and be found in the treacherous power of a tyrant. {1MR
357.2}
We are as a church to be wide awake, and to work for
the erring among us, as laborers together with God. We are furnished with
spiritual weapons, mighty to the pulling down of the fortress of the enemy. We
are not to hurl the thunderbolts against the church of Christ militant; for
Satan is doing all he possibly can on this line, and you who claim to be the
remnant of the people of God had better not be found helping him, denouncing,
accusing and condemning. Seek to restore, not to tear down, discourage and
destroy.--Ms 21, 1893, pp. 1-10. (Untitled manuscript, June 12, 1893.)
358
{1MR 357.3}
Words of Counsel for Commandment-Keeping People of
God.--Your letter addressed to me was received at the beginning of the Sabbath.
. . . I should advise you to attend the school, and not to leave this country
until you become thoroughly settled in your mind as to what is truth. I
sincerely hope that you will attend this term of school and learn all you can
in regard to this message of truth that is to go to the world. {1MR
358.1}
The Lord has not given you a message to call the
Seventh-day Adventists Babylon, and to call the people of God to come out of
her. All the reasons you may present cannot have weight with me on this subject;
because the Lord has given me decided light that is opposed to such a
message. {1MR 358.2}
I do not doubt your sincerity or honesty. I have
written long letters at different times to those who were accusing the church
of Seventh-day Adventists of being Babylon, that they were not handling the
truth. You think individuals have prejudiced my mind. If I am in this state, I
am not fitted to be entrusted with the work of God. But this matter has been
brought before my mind in other cases where individuals have claimed to have
messages for the Seventh-day Adventist church, of a similar character, and the
word has been given me, "Believe them not" (Jeremiah 12:6). "I
have not sent these prophets, yet they ran" (Jeremiah 23:21). {1MR
358.3}
A Few Cases Recalled.--A few years since, a man named
B, of Red Bluff, California, came to me to deliver his message. He said it was
the loud cry of the third angel which was to lighten the earth with his glory.
He thought God had passed all the leading workers and given him the message. I
attempted to show him that he was mistaken. He said Seventh-day Adventists were
Babylon, and when we told him our reasons and set the matter before him, that
he was in error, he had great power come upon him, and he certainly gave a loud
cry. . . . We had much trouble with him; his mind became
359
unbalanced, and he had to be placed in the insane asylum. {1MR 358.4}
One, C, advocated and published a message in regard to
the loud cry of the third angel; he accused the church in a similar manner to
what you are now doing. He said the leaders in the church would all fall
through self-exaltation, and another class of humble men would come to the front,
who would do wonderful things. {1MR 359.1}
This C is an intelligent man, of an acceptable
address, and self-denying and full of zeal and earnestness, and carrying an
appearance of consecration and devotion. But the word of God came from God to
me, "Believe them not, I have not sent them!" {1MR 359.2}
He claimed to believe the testimonies. He claimed them
to be true, and used them in the same manner you have used them to give force
and appearance of truth to his claims. I told them this message was not of God;
but it was deceiving the unwary. He would not be convinced. . . . {1MR
359.3}
If ever a man that I looked upon was inspired, this
man certainly was; but I told him plainly his inspiration was of Satan, not of
God. His message bore not the divine credentials. {1MR 359.4}
In order for him to give this message broadcast to the
world, he made an honest, conscientious, young man believe it to be his duty to
steal the Review and Herald list. This is a state prison crime, and the young
man ran away from Battle Creek. He did not dare return to Battle Creek for some
time. The time was set by this fanatical teacher for probation to close, and as
every prediction failed, the young man saw he had been deceived, and he
confessed his sin and is now an honorable member of the Battle Creek
church. {1MR 359.5}
Only two years since, another man, by the name of D,
from Connecticut, came out with a message which he called new light in regard
to the message of the third angel. This intelligent family have, through this
delusion,
360
separated from the Seventh-day Adventist church. Because I had borne a decided
testimony against this new light, so called, in_____, Connecticut, where he
lived, he opposed me and my work and testimonies. {1MR 359.6}
The father of the D children attended the Conference
and Ministers' Bible Institute held in Battle Creek; but he held himself aloof
and did not harmonize with the spirit of the meeting. He left for his home, and
began to leaven the little church in_____. If I had not labored in that place
they might have broken up the whole church with their repudiating the truth and
position of Seventh-day Adventists, and Mrs. White in particular. {1MR
360.1}
At this same time, one, Mrs. E, came from Washington,
D. C., claiming to be wholly sanctified and to have the power of healing. This
spirit led many to become bewildered. The same accusing spirit was with
them--that is, that the church was all wrong and God was calling out a people
who would work miracles. A large class of our people in Battle Creek were being
severed. I was moved upon by the Spirit of God, in the night season, to write
to our people in Battle Creek. {1MR 360.2}
The Message to the Laodiceans.--God
is leading out a people. He has a chosen people, a church on the earth, whom He
has made the depositaries of His law. He has committed to them sacred trust and
eternal truth to be given to the world. He would reprove and correct them. The
message to the Laodiceans is applicable to
Seventh-day Adventists who have had great light and have not walked in the
light. It is those who have made great profession, but have not kept in step
with their Leader, that will be spewed out of His mouth unless they repent. The
message to pronounce the Seventh-day Adventist Church Babylon, and call the
people of God out of her, does not come from any heavenly messenger, or any
human agent inspired by the Spirit of God.
361
{1MR 360.3}
The True Witness says, "I counsel thee to buy of
me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that
thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and
anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest
see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that
overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne"
(Revelation 3:18-21). {1MR 361.1}
"I Rebuke and Chasten".--Jesus is coming in
to give the individual members of the church the richest blessings, if they
will open the door to Him. He does not once call them Babylon, nor ask them to
come out. But He says, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten"
(Revelation 3:19), (with messages of reproof and warning). These reproofs I am
not ignorant of. I have given warnings because the Spirit of the Lord has
constrained me to do so, and have uttered reproofs because the Lord has given
me words of reproof. I have not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God,
which has been given me for the church. {1MR 361.2}
I will say in the fear and love of God, I know the
Lord has thoughts of love and mercy to restore and heal them of all their
backslidings. He has a work for His church to do. They are not to be pronounced
Babylon, but to be as the salt of the earth, the light of the world. They are
to be the living messengers to proclaim a living message in these last
days. {1MR 361.3}
Babylon of Revelation 18.--[Revelation 18:1-8 is
quoted.] The whole chapter shows that Babylon that has fallen is the churches
who will not receive the messages of warning the Lord has given in the first,
second, and third angel's messages. They refused the truth and accepted a lie.
362
They refused the messages of truth. See 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. The message in
the eighteenth chapter of Revelation is plain and clearly defined. "For
all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the
kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of
the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies"
(Revelation 18:3). Anyone who reads this chapter need not be deceived.
{1MR 361.4}
How Satan would exult to have a message go broadcast
that the only people whom God has made the repositories of His law are the ones
to whom this message applies. The wine of Babylon is the exalting of the false
and spurious Sabbath above the Sabbath which the Lord Jehovah hath blessed and
sanctified for the use of man, also the immortality of the soul. These kindred
heresies, and the rejection of the truth, convert the church into Babylon.
Kings, merchants, rulers, and religious teachers are all in corrupt
harmony. {1MR 362.1}
The Church Not to be Broken Up.--Again I say, The Lord
hath not spoken by any messenger who calls the church that keeps the
commandments of God, Babylon. True, there are tares with the wheat; but Christ
said He would send His angels to first gather the tares and bind them in
bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into the garner. I know that the
Lord loves His church. It is not to be disorganized or broken up into
independent atoms. There is not the least consistency in this; there is not the
least evidence that such a thing will be. Those who shall heed this false
message and try to leaven others will be deceived and prepared to receive
advanced delusions, and they will come to naught. {1MR 362.2}
There is in some of the members of the church, pride,
self-sufficiency, stubborn unbelief, and a refusing to yield their ideas,
although evidence
363
may be piled upon evidence which makes the message to the Laodicean church
applicable. But that will not blot out the church that it will not exist. Let
both tares and wheat grow together until the harvest. Then it is the angels
that do the work of separation. {1MR 362.3}
I warn the Seventh-day Adventist Church to be careful
how you receive every new notion and those who claim to have great light. The
character of their work seems to be to accuse and to tear down. {1MR
363.1}
My brother, I would say to you, Be careful. Go not one
step farther in the path you have entered upon. Walk in the light "while
ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you" (John 12:35). {1MR
363.2}
You complain of being treated coldly in Battle Creek.
Did you go with a humble spirit to those who are spiritual and say, "Will
you examine the Scriptures with me? Shall we pray over this matter? I have not
the light, I want it; for error will never sanctify the soul." Can you be
surprised that they would not give you all that confidence you might think they
should, after the experience they have passed through? Should not the words of
Christ have any weight? "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15).
"Lo here and lo there is Christ," will be multiplied. Let the
believers heed the voice of the angel who has said to the church, "Press
together." In unity is your strength. Love as brethren, be pitiful, be
courteous. God hath a church, and Christ hath declared, "The gates of hell
shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). The messengers the Lord
sends bear the divine credentials. I have tender feelings toward you, but come
to the light, I beseech of you.--Letter 16, 1893, pp. 1-7. (To a brother in
Australia, June 11, 1893.)
364
{1MR 363.3}
Holy Spirit Will Work With Power.--We have the
assurance that in this age of the world the Holy Spirit will work with mighty
power, unless by our unbelief we limit our blessings, and thus lose the
advantages we might obtain. . . . {1MR 364.1}
In times past holy men of old spake as they were moved
by the Holy Spirit. In ancient times the prophets searched what the Spirit of
God which was in them signified. The Spirit was not then given in power because
Jesus was not yet glorified. Dating from the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit
was to be poured forth on sons and daughters, on servants and handmaidens. In
every hill country, every lowland, every valley, humble workmen for the Lord
are to be raised up. The divine, sacred influence of the Holy Spirit working in
our world is to be as signs and wonders, because God's people are a peculiar
people, an holy nation, shining amid moral darkness as living stones in the
Lord's building. The weakest and feeblest, if they exercise faith in God, and
improve their entrusted powers, will be elevated, refined and perfected in
character under the Holy Spirit's working. Humble and contrite, they submit to
the molding and fashioning of the Spirit, and they will know what His eternal
fullness means. {1MR 364.2}
Need for Enlarged Faith.--We need an enlarged faith.
The Lord desires His will to be done in the hearts of all who believe in Him.
But many who might be laborers together with God will never be, because they
cling to their imperfections of character. One clings to a cherished fault.
Still another enjoys his hereditary and cultivated defects, and makes it his
life work to build himself up and glorify himself, until at last he is found to
be filled, not with the Holy Spirit, but with self. {1MR 364.3}
The great day of the Lord is right upon us, and God
calls for messengers who will be worked by the Holy Spirit, who will not want
to work the
365
Spirit. Such messengers will be guided by the Spirit, molded, refined, and
beautified in righteousness because they are willing to be worked. But those
who are satisfied to carry with them a vast amount of selfishness,
fault-finding, suspicion, distrust, and strife, will be so deceived that they
will not know their short measurement. They are filled with their own doings.
They have not the least idea of what it means to be crucified with Christ. To
humble self is an experience strange to them. Before they can serve God
acceptably, self must die. Christ's words, "Ye must be born again"
(John 3:7), "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God"
(John 3:3), must come home to them with power. {1MR 364.4}
Nicodemus, to whom these words were addressed, was a
master in Israel, a member of the Sanhedrin; and a learned counselor. Yet when
Christ told him of the new birth, he said, "How can these things be?"
(John 3:9). Christ answered, "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" (John 3:10). [John 3:11-16
is quoted.] {1MR 365.1}
Why do we not have more of the faith that works by
love and purifies the soul? There is a work to be done in every one of our
institutions. Genuine conversion is needed, conversion of heart, mind, soul,
and body. Self should die daily. Said the great apostle, "Though we walk
in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 9:3-5). Into this work every
individual needs to put all the intensity of his entire being. Personal
religious experience is needed in every church. Why? Because those who are not
under the working of the Holy Spirit will not stand amid the perils of the last
days.
366
{1MR 365.2}
Need for Conversion.--Genuine conversion is needed. .
. . God's Word declares, "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For
not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth"
(2 Corinthians 10:17-18). The success of the ministry of Elias was not due to
any inherited qualities he possessed, but to the submission of himself to the
Holy Spirit, which was given to him as it will be given to all who exercise
living faith in God. In his imperfection man has the privilege of linking
himself up with God through Jesus Christ. {1MR 366.1}
Candidly and seriously we are to consider the
question, Have we humbled ourselves before God, that the Holy Spirit may work
through us with transforming power? As children of God, it is our privilege to
be worked by His Spirit. When self is crucified, the Holy Spirit takes the
broken-hearted ones, and makes them vessels unto honor. They are in His hands
as clay in the hands of the potter. Jesus Christ will make such men and women
superior in mental, physical, and moral power. The graces of the Spirit will
give solidity to the character. They will exert an influence for good because
Christ is abiding in the soul. {1MR 366.2}
Unless this converting power shall go through our
churches, unless the revival of the Spirit of God shall come, all their
profession will never make the members of the church Christians. There are
sinners in Zion who need to repent of sins that have been cherished as precious
treasures. Until these sins are seen, and thrust from the soul, until every
faulty, unlovely trait of character is transformed by the Spirit's influence,
God cannot manifest Himself in power. There is more hope for the open sinner
than for the professedly righteous who are not pure, holy, and undefiled.--
367
{1MR 366.3}
Receive the Holy Spirit in Fullness.--I am instructed
to bear a message to those who minister by holding forth the Word of God to
others. You must be converted. This is surely what you need. The spiritual
anointing of the Lord will never come to self-sufficient men and women. Many
who are in God's service, proclaiming the truth by pen and voice, are not worked
by the Holy Spirit. Self has grown to large proportions. Until the soul is
emptied of self and the Holy Spirit takes possession, you will be unready for
the coming of Christ. You will certainly be weighed in the golden scales of the
heavenly sanctuary and be found wanting. {1MR 367.1}
God's promise is to us and to our children, and to all
that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. We may claim
this promise for ourselves, and receive the Holy Spirit in His fullness. Then
shall not we who preach the word be clothed with the power of God? Shall we not
be in truth His messengers? . . . {1MR 367.2}
Who is willing to take himself in hand? Who is willing
to lay his finger upon his cherished idols of sin, and allow Christ to purify
the temple by casting out the buyers and sellers? Who is prepared to allow
Jesus to enter the soul and cleanse it from everything that tarnishes or
corrupts? The standard is, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). God calls upon men and
women to empty their hearts of self. Then His Spirit can find unobstructed
entrance. Stop trying to do the work yourself. Ask God to work in and through
you until the words of the apostle become yours, "I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). {1MR 367.3}
The whole being must hunger and thirst after
righteousness. The soul's desire must be to be drawn to God, to be bent in
perfect conformity to His will. Then the cold, hard heart will be melted by the
grace and love of
368
God, which appear in power. God will be glorified through the human
instrumentalities. Self is the great hindrance to this work. . . . {1MR
367.4}
[James 4:1-10 and James 3:14-18 are quoted.]
{1MR 368.1}
These lessons every church member should learn. There
is need of close self-examination in the light of the Word of God, that we may
do the work essential to be done. {1MR 368.2}
Having complied with the Word of God, do not depend on
your feelings for evidence of acceptance with God. "Faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). If
you have complied with the conditions, believe God, whether or not you feel any
different. Christ declared, "As the Father gave me commandment, even so I
do. . . . If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have
kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (John 14:31; 15:10).
Let all who understand the abiding claims of the law of God, yield implicit
obedience to every requirement given in the Word. The convictions of the Holy
Spirit are warnings which it is dangerous to disregard. {1MR 368.3}
The Two Houses.--Christ declares that those who do His
words are like a man who built his house upon a rock. This house the tempest
and flood could not sweep away. Those who do not do Christ's words are like the
man who built his house upon the sand. Storm and tempest beat upon that house,
and it fell, and great was the fall of it. It was an entire wreck. The result
of professing to keep the law of God, yet walking contrary to the principles of
that law, is seen in the wrecked house. Those who make a profession while
failing to obey cannot stand the storm of temptation. One act of disobedience
weakens the power to see the sinfulness of the second act. One little disregard
of a "Thus saith the Lord" is sufficient to
369
stop the promised blessing of the Holy Spirit. By disobedience the light once
so precious becomes obscure. Satan takes of the mind and soul, and God is
greatly dishonored. {1MR 368.4}
"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the
good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the
sword" (Isaiah 1:19-20). These words are true. Exact obedience is
required, and those who say that it is not possible to live a perfect life
throw upon God the imputation of injustice and untruth. {1MR 369.1}
"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye
have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). A
neglect to feed the hunger of the soul leaves it weak and strengthless,
unable to do the will of God. The life of such a one is like the barren fig
tree, destitute of fruit. Rely upon no human being for words of comfort. Seek
the Lord most earnestly, while you read His rich promises and apply them. Then
you will not be consumers but providers. {1MR 369.2}
The indwelling Saviour is always revealed by the
words. The Holy Spirit does not abide in the heart of the man who is peevish if
others do not grasp his ideas and plans, which appear to him to be the sum and
substance of everything desirable. From the lips of such a man there come
scathing remarks, which grieve the Holy Spirit away, and produce attributes
which are Satanic rather than divine. The Lord would have those connected with
His work speak at all times with the meekness of Christ. If you are provoked,
do not become impatient. Manifest the gentleness of which Christ has given an
example in His precious life. Christ took our nature that He might set us an
example, showing those who receive Him the fruit they must bear.
370
{1MR 369.3}
The Lord requires those who serve Him to show by word
and action that they are sons of God. To show by the daily life that we are
members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King, is of more value in
God's sight than all learning, all wisdom, all high attainments. Any other
course of action is dishonesty to the family of God, and will certainly be
divorced from it. {1MR 370.1}
When a man is filled with the Holy Spirit, the more
severely he is tested and tried, the more clearly he proves that he is a true
representative of Christ in word, in spirit, in action. Christ declares,
"He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (John
14:12). What is the promise to every true believer? "Ye shall receive
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8). Might we
not better, my brethren and sisters, take ourselves to task for our unlikeness
to Christ? He says, "Ye are my witnesses" (Isaiah 43:10). What kind
of witnesses are we for truth and righteousness? Are we striving with all our
God-given powers to reach the measure of the stature of men and women in
Christ? Are we seeking for His fullness, ever reaching higher and higher,
trying to attain to the perfection of His character? {1MR 370.2}
When God's servants reach this point, they will be
sealed in their foreheads. The recording angel will declare, "It is
done." They will be complete in Him whose they are by creation and by
redemption. {1MR 370.3}
No Life Without Growth.--There is nothing in the
natural world that has life but what grows and produces fruit. And in the
spiritual world there is no life without growth in grace. Spiritual impulse is
not growth. Impulse is feeling, and to depend on feeling is to be as changeful
as
371
circumstances. The professed Christian who does not draw life from Christ's
life is not a doer of the Word. He is a paralyzed member, only connected in
name with the body. At times fitful, convulsive movements will be seen, with no
permanent activity. Let no one think that the grace of Christ inspires these shortlived, impulsive actions. {1MR 370.4}
Many people are the subjects of impressions which are
not reliable. Many have what they think are good impressions, wonderful
exaltation of feeling, but the life does not represent an abiding Christ. They
do not draw life from the Source of all life. They are not drinking of the
living Water, which springs up into eternal life. God's grace is the living
water of which we must drink. It quickens the whole being into spiritual life,
the life of the Son of God. {1MR 371.1}
Personal religion means perfect conforming to the life
of Christ. When we possess this religion, we shall show sound, spiritual
growth, because we are partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the Lord's vineyard. We must be laborers together with
God, else we shall fail in the work of overcoming, and our irreligious
influence will cause other souls to fail. No soul is lost that does not draw
other souls down with it. Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from
all iniquity, that Christ may not be ashamed of us. {1MR 371.2}
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I appeal to
church members to arise and closely criticize themselves. Feel that this work
is so important that you cannot engage in criticizing others. Reveal an
indwelling Saviour. Then you will understand what it means to be a true
missionary. You will bring a Christlike intensity
into your work, and many souls will be saved through your earnest prayers and
interested labors. Ms 148, 1899, pp. 2-14. ("The Need of
Self-Surrender," October 8, 1899.)
From: [NF] [mailto:[NF]@hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 7:24 PM
To: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Good evening,
I understand the Godhead concept better, but still much prayer is
needed to get an even clearer understanding. I will be
studying furthermore the answer you sent me on Nov 24th. Thank you for your
time.
Best wishes,
[NF]
From: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
To: [NF]@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 14:20:19 -0800
Attachments:
What
Constitutes Babylon
Hi [NF]:
You did not request a further statement from me on Ellen White’s use of
the term “Heavenly Trio;” but it does appear that you still have a problem.
My guess is that, at least up to Thursday evening, you had not seen
clearly that “Heavenly Trio” is not synonymous with the theological term
“Trinity.” I am going to address this issue again later in this message;
but first I want to discuss the Manuscript Release quotation, with specific
reference to whether or not the Seventh-day Adventist Church is “Babylon.”
First, it is essential in reading the Testimonies to heed Sister White’s
counsel, “Regarding the testimonies, nothing is ignored; nothing is cast aside;
but time and place must be considered. . . .(1SM 57.2; emphasis
added.) Next, how is spiritual “Babylon” to be defined? The book
Questions
on Doctrine is the one book that was pivotal in the changes of doctrine and
prophetic interpretation that have occurred in the Seventh-day Adventist Church
since the late 1950s. It brought about a schism in the ranks of Adventism
that can never be healed. Paradoxically, this book is very sound on the
subject of spiritual “Babylon” and the principles of prophetic
interpretation. Attached is the relevant chapter on “What Constitutes
Babylon.”
Ellen G. White was absolutely correct that the Church was not Babylon in
1899. She correctly addressed the testimony to “Laodicea.” J. R. Zurcher, in his book
Christ of the Revelation
states:
Whatever the meaning given to the name Laodicea ─
“a judged people,” “judgment of the people,” “separation of the people,” “or
rejection of the people” ─ it is always in relation to the final work of
the church. Therefore, the period represented by Laodicea began in 1844
at the beginning of the investigative judgment (See Dan. 8:14). (P. 56.)
The question is what becomes of Laodicea? Jesus Christ is explicit
in Rev. 3:16, whether you choose the rendering “will spue/spew”
(KJV et al.) or “am about to vomit/spit” (YLT et. al.) It was all
dependent on whether or not the Church continued faithful (in Rev. 3:20 Jesus
addresses the individual believer.) Turning now to the Writings, the
Messenger of the Lord has given us clear warnings of the ultimate fate of Laodicea.
The quotations are not in chronological date; but they are specific in terms of
applicable time and place:
In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day
Adventist church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the privileges and
advantages that she has had. If her spiritual experience does not correspond to
the advantages that Christ, at infinite cost, has bestowed on her, if the
blessings conferred have not qualified her to do the work entrusted to her, on
her will be pronounced the sentence: "Found wanting." By the light
bestowed, the opportunities given, will she be judged. (8T, 247, “Shall
We Be Found Wanting.”)
In that same testimony she quoted our Lord as follows:
I saw our Instructor pointing to the garments of
so-called righteousness. Stripping them off, He laid bare the defilement
beneath. Then He said to me: "Can you not see how they have pretentiously
covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? 'How is the faithful
city become an harlot!' . . “ (Ibid. P. 250)
That was in 1903, within two weeks of the end of the General Conference
session in which gross insubordination was demonstrated by the restoration of
“kingly power” in the election of a GC president, thereby violating the counsel
given to the Church through Sister White. Much earlier, in 1873 she wrote the
following in the Testimony “The Laodicean Church”:
Mark this point with care:
Those who receive
the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost,
represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those “that sigh and that cry
for all the abominations that be done” in the church. Their love for purity
and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the
exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even
sighing and crying. Read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel.
(3T
267.1)
But the general slaughter of all those who do not thus see the wide contrast
between sin and righteousness, and do not feel as those do who stand in the
counsel of God and receive the mark, is described in the order to the five men
with slaughter weapons: “Go ye after him through the city, and smite:
let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both
maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is
the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.”
(3T 267.2;
(emphasis added.)
Clearly linked to this Testimony was the one titled “The Seal of God,”
written in 1882. This Testimony begins with an enlarged quotation from
Eze. 9. In the heart of the Testimony are the following words:
Here we see that the church—the
Lord’s sanctuary—was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The
ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as
guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had taken
the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of
God’s power as in former days. Times have changed. These words strengthen their
unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He
is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. Thus “Peace and safety” is the
cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show
God’s people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb
dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an
offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together. (5T,
P. 211; emphasis added.) . . .
Our own course of action will
determine whether we shall receive the seal of the living God or be cut down by
the destroying weapons. Already a few drops of God's wrath have fallen
upon the earth; but when the seven last plagues shall be poured out
without mixture into the cup of His indignation, then it will be forever too
late to repent and find shelter. (Ibid. P. 212; emphasis added.)
What Sister White is saying is that the first plague will fall on the
Church. That is a staggering thought! Finally, the following
explicit statement is found in “The Parable of the Ten Virgins,” a Review and
Herald Article published on October 31, 1899:
The first, second, and third
angels' messages are to be repeated. The call is to be given to the church:
"Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of
devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and
hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth have waxed rich through the abundance of her
delicacies. . . . Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of
her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached
unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."
Many who went forth to meet the
Bridegroom under the messages of the first and second angels, refused the third,
the last testing message to be given to the world, and a similar position will
be taken when the last call is made. (Underlined and italicized emphasis added.)
Now, if you think that
Great Controversy is the final word on the
“Midnight Cry,” this last counsel from Sister White will be puzzling to
you. However, at a camp meeting held in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1895, she
had inexplicably interjected the following statement:
My mind was carried to the future, when the signal
will be given. "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet
him." But some will have delayed to obtain the oil for replenishing their
lamps, and too late they will find that character, which is represented by the
oil, is not transferable. (RH, February 11, 1896 par. 6.)
There you have it, as explicit as can be, and it is wholly consistent
with the parable. Take a look at it and you will see that there were two
goings out, with all ten virgins slumbering and sleeping between the first and
the second. The second and final call is now. Laodicea has
become a harlot, a daughter of Babylon. She is not Babylon, but has
voluntarily gone into Babylonian captivity. She is a
part of Great
Babylon (See attached document.)
Permit me to break off now, to write further on “the Heavenly Trio”
later today or within the next few days; otherwise I run the risk of not
getting this off to you today.
Praying “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him”
(Eph. 1:17,)
Eric Jones
From: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2007 9:54 PM
To: '[NF]'
Subject: The Trinity Doctrine
Hello Again Sister [NF]:
I wish that Ellen G. White had expressed herself with as great clarity
on the doctrine of the Godhead as she did on the ultimate destiny of the Laodicean
Church. Alas, she did not. I have to attempt an explanation of the
term “the Heavenly Trio.” Here is a full quotation:
There
are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these
three great powers--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--those who
receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate
with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in
Christ.-- Evangelism, p. 615. (7ABC 441-442; original emphasis.)
Note (1) that Sister White is writing in the present tense. This
is the New Testament era; (2) that she is not saying that these Three are One
God, and she does not mention a “Trinity” here or in any other statement.
She identifies the three great powers as “the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit.” She uses the term “three living persons,” which can be seized upon
by those who promote the concept of One God in Three Persons; however, it seems
to me to be implicit in the use of the phrase “these three great powers” that
she is not referring to one Being, but to
three Beings.
Nevertheless, I have to acknowledge that what I see as implicit in the
statement may be open to debate; but remember the Roman Catholic
formulation, which has to be the basis of the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine
(both having the same theological roots,) even though modified by the latter:
Thus,
in the words of the Athanasian Creed: "the
Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet
there are
not three Gods but one God." In this Trinity of Persons
the
Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and
the Holy
Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and the Son. Yet,
notwithstanding this difference as to origin, the Persons are co-eternal and
co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent. (Bold and
underlined emphasis added.)
When we turn to the other statements on the three powers that have been
collected by the White Estate, the question becomes more complicated in
relation to two of them. I am going to set them all out, numbered for
easy reference:
1.
There are three living persons of
the
heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers--the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit--those who receive Christ by living faith are
baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven
in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.-- Evangelism, p. 615.
(7ABC 441-442)
2. The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and
the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gave themselves to the working out of
the plan of redemption.--Counsels on Health, p. 222. {7ABC 442.1}
3.
Those who proclaim the third angel's message must put on the whole armor of
God, that they may stand boldly at their post, in the face of detraction and
falsehood, fighting the good fight of faith, resisting the enemy with the word,
"It is written." Keep yourselves where the three great powers of
heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, can be your efficiency.
These powers work with the one who gives himself unreservedly to God. The
strength of heaven is at the command of God's believing ones. The man who takes
God as his trust is barricaded by an impregnable wall.--The Southern
Watchman, Feb. 23, 1904, p. 122. {7ABC 442.2}
4.
Our sanctification is the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
It is the fulfilment of the covenant that God has
made with those who bind themselves up with Him, to stand
with Him, with His
Son, and with His Spirit in holy fellowship. Have you been born again? Have
you become a new being in Christ Jesus? Then co-operate with
the three great
powers of heaven who are working in your behalf. Doing this you will reveal
to the world the principles of righteousness.--The Signs of the Times,
June 19, 1901. {7ABC 442.3}
5. The eternal
heavenly dignitaries--God,
and Christ, and the Holy Spirit--arming them [the disciples] with more than
mortal energy, . . . would advance with them to the work and convince the world
of sin.--Evangelism, p. 616. {7ABC 442.4}
6.
We are to co-operate with the three highest powers in heaven, --the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost,--and these powers will work through us, making
us workers together with God.-- Ibid., p. 617. {7ABC 442.5}
7.
Those who are baptized in the threefold name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, at the very entrance of their Christian life declare publicly
that they have forsaken the service of Satan and have become members of the
royal family, children of the heavenly king.--Testimonies, vol. 6, p.
91. {7ABC 442.6}
All emphases are those of the compilers.
No. 2 is problematic; but who is to say that it does not refer to a
post-Incarnation commitment. No. 5 will definitely be seized upon by the
Trinitarians as supporting their position; but note that the three powers of
the New Testament are also eternal beings. After all, He who had a
beginning in Bethlehem, and is the Son by decree (Ps. 2:7; Heb. 1:5,) and the
Son by the resurrection (Rom. 1:4,) has declared of Himself, “I am
he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen . . .”
(Rev. 1:18.) There is nothing in the statement that clearly embraces
eternity before the Incarnation. All of the other statements are clearly
applicable to the New Testament revelation of the Godhead.
However,
all of the above statements are relied on by the Church in support of the
theological doctrine of “the Trinity.” How can the issue be resolved
with the certainty of sound doctrine? The answer is: only from the
Bible.
All of this raises the question of the authority of the Writings.
Regrettably, I find it necessary to belabor the point. It is of the
utmost importance to our clear understanding of
all of Present
Truth. That same book Questions on Doctrine, from which I sent you
the chapter on “Babylon,” contains another chapter on “Ellen G. White's
writings and Their Relation to the Bible.” There the following statement
is made:
Seventh-day
Adventists uniformly believe that the canon of Scripture closed with the book
of Revelation. We hold that all other writings and teachings, from whatever
source, are to be judged by, and are subject to, the Bible, which is the spring
and norm of the Christian faith. We test the writings of Ellen G. White by
the Bible, but in no sense do we test the Bible by her writings. Ellen G.
White and others of our writers have gone on record again and again on this
point. (QOD Pp. 89-90; emphasis added.)
This is a sound statement of how we should resolve questions concerning
statements in the Writings that are difficult to reconcile with the
Bible. In my earlier responses to your inquiries, I withheld perhaps the
two strongest statements of Sister White on this point. They should
convince us to look to “the Bible and the Bible only, as the standard of all
doctrine”:
Brother J would confuse the
mind by seeking to make it appear that
the light God has given through the Testimonies is an addition to the
Word of God, but in this he presents the matter in
a false light. God has seen fit in this manner to bring the minds of His people
to His Word, to give them a clearer understanding of it.
The Word of God is sufficient to enlighten the most beclouded
mind, and may be understood by those who have any desire to understand it. . . (3SM 30.6-31.1; emphasis
supplied)
But don't you quote Sister White.
I
don't want you ever to quote Sister White until you get your vantage ground
where you know where you are. Quote the
Bible. Talk the Bible.
It is full of
meat, full of fatness. (SpM 174.1; emphasis
supplied)
Lay
Sister White right to one side: lay her to one side.
. . But here is the Word, the precious Word, exalted before you today.
And don't you give a rap any more what "Sister White said"--
"Sister White said this," and "Sister White said that," and
"Sister White said the other thing.". . .
(SpM
167.2; emphasis supplied)
These are Sister White’s own words; but let me be very clear –
it
would be spiritual folly to ignore her testimonies, counsels, and reproofs to
the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She could not have intended us to
understand her in that way. However, there were doctrinal controversies
in which the opposing sides were vying for her support, and she would have none
of it. The conflict over “the Daily” is a classic example. It is
strange that many who look first to the Writings for expositions of doctrine
are doing just that – ignoring testimonies such as those that I quoted in my
last e-mail. On doctrinal issues the Bible must be our first source of
light and truth. If the Writings are not consistent with clear Bible
doctrines, then the Bible must prevail. I think that this is also the
tenor of the quotations which follow about the attitude of Ellen White’s fellow
pioneers. In Lesson 14 of Elder Grotheer’s
Bible Study Guide,
there is a section titled “Relationship Between Bible and Spiritual Gifts – How
Viewed” in which he states the following:
In one of the early Reviews,
James White, the Editor, discussed
this issue because of accusations
being brought against the Review. He wrote:
There is a
class of persons who are determined to have it that the Review and its
conductors make the visions of Mrs. White a Test of doctrine and christian fellowship. ...
What has the
Review to do with
Mrs. White's views? The sentiments published in its columns are all drawn from
the Holy Scriptures. No writer of the Review has ever referred to them
as an authority on any point. The Review for five years has not
published one of them. Its motto has been, The Bible and the Bible alone, our
only rule of faith and duty." Then why should these men charge the Revίew with being a supporter of Mrs. W's
views?
Near the close of the article, James
White,
committed the
Review
to a specific policy
relating to the
Bible and the
Writings.
He wrote:
Now we shall go right along believing and teaching the
word of
the Lord. This is our
business. And if we choose to believe Mrs. W's views which harmonize with the
Word, this is our business and
nobody's else. But if we should
leave the word, and look for a rule of faith and duty by some
new
revelation,
then it would be
the
business of the Church
to silence me as a religious
teacher.
(Review, October 16, 1855, Emphasis
his)
The
historic
Adventist view - the view of the pioneers who lived and
worked with
Ellen G. White - is
clear and specific. The Bible is the rule of faith and doctrine. That Word
teaches that in the last days, God will manifest Himself to
His people
through the
gift
of prophecy -
not
as a new
revelation of
truth, but
for their comfort,
correction, and edification. These early leaders also emphasized that the
"visions" must
harmonize with the
Bible to be valid as from
God, and
not the personal view of the one to whom visions had been given. This was
further
emphasized
by George I.
Butler
in
an article on
"The
Visions." He
wrote:
The
majority of our people believe these visions
to be a genuine manifestation of spiritual gifts, and as such to be entitled
to
respect. We do not hold them to be superior to the Bible, or in one
sense
equal to it. The Scriptures are our rule to test everything by, the visions as
well as other things. That rule,
therefore, is of the highest authority: the standard is higher than the thing
tested by it. If the Bible would show the visions
were not in harmony with it, the Bible would stand. . .
(Review & Herald, August 14. 1883)
What more can I say? I think that in the “heavenly Trio” statement
Ellen White was referring to the Godhead revealed generally in the New
Testament; but the Old Testament and John 1:1 clearly reveal two Gods, a
duality, until the Incarnation. If any of the Bible texts that I
have quoted in the earlier e-mails are not clearly understood, please let me
know. We are dealing here with issues of eternity. I can never be
too busy to give your questions my attention. Besides, I do enjoy putting
it all together, and receive a blessing in the process.
And blessings to you in the study of the Bible,
Eric Jones
From:
[NF] [mailto:[NF]@hotmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 5:16 AM
To: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Hi brother Eric,
Thank you for the time you have taken to answer my questions. I see now that I
have always understood the Heavenly Trio as 3 different persons. However, I
wasn,t aware that the church was
promoting the Trinity doctrine. I was wondering if the leaders of the
church didn,t mean 3
Gods so united in thoughts that are like one God. What do you think of that?
Did you read the long quote I sent you? If so, I would appreciate it if you
would comment on it.
This short quote is taken from the long one.
"I Rebuke and
Chasten".--Jesus is coming in to give the individual members of the church
the richest blessings, if they will open the door to Him. He does not once call
them Babylon, nor ask them to come out. But He says, "As many as I love, I
rebuke and chasten" (Revelation 3:19), (with messages of reproof and
warning). These reproofs I am not ignorant of. I have given warnings because
the Spirit of the Lord has constrained me to do so, and have uttered reproofs
because the Lord has given me words of reproof. I have not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God, which has been given me
for the church. {1MR 361.2}
I will say in the fear and love of God, I know the
Lord has thoughts of love and mercy to restore and heal them of all their
backslidings. He has a work for His church to do. They are not to be pronounced
Babylon, but to be as the salt of the earth, the light of the world. They are
to be the living messengers to proclaim a living message in these last days.
{1MR 361.3}
Babylon of Revelation 18.--[Revelation 18:1-8 is
quoted.] The whole chapter shows that Babylon that has fallen is the churches
who will not receive the messages of warning the Lord has given in the first,
second, and third angel's messages. They refused the truth and accepted a lie.
362
They refused the messages of truth. See 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. The message in
the eighteenth chapter of Revelation is plain and clearly defined. "For
all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the
kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her
delicacies" (Revelation 18:3). Anyone who reads this chapter need not be
deceived. {1MR 361.4}
How Satan would exult to have a message go broadcast
that the only people whom God has made the repositories of His law are the ones
to whom this message applies. The wine of Babylon is the exalting of the false
and spurious Sabbath above the Sabbath which the Lord Jehovah hath blessed and
sanctified for the use of man, also the immortality of the soul. These kindred
heresies, and the rejection of the truth, convert the church into Babylon.
Kings, merchants, rulers, and religious teachers are all in corrupt
harmony. {1MR 362.1}
The Church Not to be Broken Up.--Again I say, The Lord
hath not spoken by any messenger who calls the church that keeps the
commandments of God, Babylon. True, there are tares with the wheat; but Christ
said He would send His angels to first gather the tares and bind them in
bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into the garner. I know that the
Lord loves His church. It is not to be disorganized or broken up into
independent atoms. There is not the least consistency in this; there is not the
least evidence that such a thing will be. Those who shall heed this false
message and try to leaven others will be deceived and prepared to receive
advanced delusions, and they will come to naught. {1MR 362.2}
There is in some of the members of the church, pride,
self-sufficiency, stubborn unbelief, and a refusing to yield their ideas,
although evidence
363
may be piled upon evidence which makes the message to the Laodicean church
applicable. But that will not blot out the church that it will not exist. Let
both tares and wheat grow together until the harvest. Then it is the angels that
do the work of separation. {1MR 362.3}
I warn the Seventh-day Adventist Church to be careful
how you receive every new notion and those who claim to have great light. The
character of their work seems to be to accuse and to tear down. {1MR
363.1}
Thank you for your precious time brother.
Blessings from Québec, Canada,
[NF]
From: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
To: [NF]@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2007 14:08:59 -0800
Attachments:
Letter to Pastor
Hello Sister [NF]:
In reply to your first question, I must point out that the contemporary
SDA doctrine of the Trinity does indeed teach that the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit are Three Persons distinct one from the other;
but so does the
Roman Catholic dogma. Under the heading “Dogma of the Trinity” the
Catholic Encyclopedia Online states:
The Trinity is the term employed to signify the
central doctrine of the Christian religion -- the truth that in the unity of
the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
these
Three Persons being truly distinct one from another. . . Thus, in the
words of the Athanasian Creed: "the Father is
God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet
there are not three
Gods but one God.". . . the Persons are
co-eternal and co-equal.
(Emphasis added.)
The key to detecting the false doctrine is in the word “unity” in the
above statement. The meaning is defined in the “Catechism of the Catholic
Church, Second Edition” as follows:
252 The Church uses (I) the term
"substance" (rendered also at times by "essence" or
"nature") to designate the divine being in its unity,
(II) the term "person" or "hypostasis" to designate
the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the real distinction among them, and
(III) the term "relation" to designate the fact that their distinction
lies in the relationship of each to the others. . .
253
The Trinity is One. We do not
confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial
Trinity".83 The divine persons do not share the one divinity
among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that
which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that
which the Holy Spirit is, i.e. by nature one God."
254
The divine persons are really distinct from
one another. "God is one but not solitary."86
"Father", "Son", "Holy Spirit" are not simply
names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are
really
distinct from one another: "He is not the Father who is the Son, nor
is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or
the Son."87 They are distinct from one another in their
relations of origin: "It is the Father who generates, the Son who is
begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds."88
The divine
Unity is Triune.
(Emphasis added.)
Now I understand that
the central point made above is that there is but
One
God, and He is
One Being in three distinct persons. The
Wikipedia
Encyclopedia supports this conclusion:
Trinity is the
doctrine that
God is
one being who exists,
simultaneously and
eternally, as a
mutual indwelling of
three
persons (not to be confused by
"person"): the Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit. Since the 4th
century, in both Eastern Christianity and Western
Christianity, this doctrine has been stated as "three persons in one
God," all three of whom, as distinct and co-eternal persons, are of one
indivisible Divine
essence, a
simple being. (Hyperlinks
left active in case you want to follow up; emphasis added.).)
This understanding is buttressed by a Protestant source. The
online Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry defines the Trinity as
follows:
God is a
trinity of
persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is not the same
person as the Son; the Son is not the same person as the Holy Spirit; and the
Holy Spirit is not the same person as Father.
They are
not three gods
and not three beings. They are
three distinct persons;
yet, they are all the one God. . . They are
coeternal, coequal, and copowerful. (Emphasis added.)
That the last quotation is from a Protestant source is
significant. As much as the contemporary SDA Church wants to associate
the statements of Ellen G. White with its adoption of the Trinitarian doctrine,
it is based on the Roman Catholic/Protestant concept. Furthermore, here
is the “Fundamental Beliefs” Statement No. 2, voted at the 1980 General
Conference Session:
2. Trinity:
There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
a unity
of three co-eternal Persons. . . (Emphasis added.)
The evidence is irrefutable.
Rome declares, “. . . in the
unity
of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit . . . there are not three Gods but one God.". . . the
Persons are co-eternal and co-equal;”
Protestantism echoes, “God
is a trinity of persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. . . They are
coeternal, coequal, and copowerful;”
contemporary
Seventh-day Adventism re-echoes, “There is
one God: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, a unity of
three co-eternal Persons. . .” It
is all of one source. The Church has drunk from the chalice containing
the wine of Roman Babylon. If all of its other contemporary doctrines
were biblical Truth, this would still be the deadly potion that it is.
The harlotry is aggravated by the fact that the Church connects the Writings of
Ellen G. White with this false doctrine; but in describing the Godhead she
neither used the word “Trinity” nor the terminology of Trinitarianism. In
all of the Writings on the Ellen G. White Estate website, there are only two
references to the “Trinity,” and neither of them is the language of Sister
White. One is an editorial introduction to the compilation of statements
that are interpreted as Trinitarian. The other is a paragraph heading in
the book Evangelism, which is clearly a gloss on the text.
In the book A Prophet Among You, it is explained that after the
compilation of statements from the Writings, “Brief paragraph headings were
then chosen.” The paragraph heading reflected the theology of the
compilers only. The “Trinity” and Trinitarian terminology were just not
in the vocabulary used by Ellen G. White.
The Trinitarian doctrine that there is
One God denies the
biblical proof that there were Two Gods prior to the Incarnation – a
duality, and Three Gods after the Incarnation, in Ellen G. White’s
terminology - “the Heavenly Trio.” The contention that
Three Persons
of the One God are co-eternal and co-equal negates the true humanity of
the God-man. The I AM in Jesus Christ is indeed co-eternal and co-equal
with God the Father; but the human Jesus is not. This is why He could
make the following statements concerning Himself:
I can of mine own self do nothing . . . (John
5:30.)
My Father is greater than I . . . (John 14:28.)
And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee
the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent (John 17:3.)
The Apostle Paul said of the One who was in the form of God, that He
“emptied Himself” (Gr. Phil. 2:7,) to take the form of man. The doctrine
of the Trinity thrusts a dagger through the heart of the “gospel of
God . . . Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of
the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:1.) Jesus
Christ in His humanity was, after His ascension, highly exalted by God the
Father (Phil. 2:9.) It is because God the Word took part of flesh and
blood that we who are “partakers of flesh and blood” (Heb. 2:14,) can now
become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4.) It is because God
condescended to become truly man in the flesh that by faith in Jesus
Christ the Father has “raised us up together, and made us
sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6, 8.)
As to your second question, I did read the long quote that you sent
me. I concluded that the relationship between the SDA Church and spiritual
Babylon was central to the Testimony, and therefore focused on that in my
reply, which was sent separately, and ahead of the one on the Trinity. (Because
you requested a reply to the long quote, I assumed that you had not received
it, and attached a copy to this message
[not included as an attachment in this document.] Just now, before sending this e-mail,
I happened to scroll down, and found that my response to the long quote is
right below your current e-mail. Nevertheless I am still sending the
attachment, to which there is a Questions on Doctrine attachment which I hope
you will review. The question now is whether you received the last e-mail
that I sent on the Trinity, as I assumed from your first question to which I
have replied above? I hope we can get this sorted out.) I am also attaching a copy of a
letter written to a Seventh-day Adventist pastor in 2002, which is a more than
adequate response to the question(s) raised by your request for my comments on
the short quotation. It remains only for me to provide the quotations that
I did not include in my letter to the Pastor. While the vast majority of
Ellen White’s references to separation between the wheat and the tares indicate
the removal of the tares from the Church, the following quotations indicate the
reverse; and with good reason, because of the drastic change in the condition
of the Church since Sister White’s time:
Ellen G. White Estate
Last Day Events (1992), page 14, paragraph 2
Chapter Title: Earth's Last Crisis
Last Day Prophecies Demand Our
Attention
I then saw the third angel [Revelation 14:9-11].
Said my accompanying angel, "Fearful is his
work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is
to select the wheat from the tares and seal, or bind, the wheat for the
heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole
attention."--EW 118 (1854).
Supplement to the Christian Experience and Views of Ellen G. White
(1854), page 38, paragraph 3
Chapter Title: To the Saints Scattered Abroad
I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying
angel, "Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission.
He is the angel that
is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal or bind the wheat for the
heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole
attention."
Ellen G. White: The Early Years Volume 1 - 1827-1862, By Arthur L.
White (1985) , page 290, paragraph 8
Chapter Title: (1854) Nurturing the Developing
Church
Said the angel, "Fearful is the work of the
third angel and awful is his mission. He is to select the wheat from the
tares, and bind or seal the wheat for the heavenly garner."--Ibid.
(Emphasis added.)
The Writings speak very clearly. It is understandable that our
individual response is an agonizing one. Here we encounter what Elder
Grotheer has titled “The Loneliness of Truth” in one of his taped
sermons. Remember our Lord’s words:
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the
gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be which go in thereat: Because strait is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it. (Matt. 7:13-14.)
I want to close this message with the same quotation from the Bible as
the one with which I closed my letter to the Pastor:
Heb 13:12 - Wherefore Jesus also, that he
might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Heb 13:13
- Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his
reproach.
May we be blessed with spiritual perception to discern between good and
evil, and the courage to stand up for Truth, pure and unadulterated, which is
the righteousness of Christ
(TM 64.3).
Your brother in Christ,
Eric
From: [NF]@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 5:05 AM
To: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Hi brother Eric,
Thank you again for your precious time. I read everythng
you sent me and it is still not clear to me what YOU believe. Has the sda
churh become Babylon or not?
From the quotes I read, I gather that you think so but you
haven,t said it yourself. If the chuch
has become Babylon, then I assume from what I read that we ought to get out,
right? If that is the case then, what do we do with this quote from sister White:
The Church Not to be Broken Up.--Again I say, The Lord hath
not spoken by any messenger who calls the church that keeps the commandments of
God, Babylon. True, there are tares with the wheat; but Christ said He would
send His angels to first gather the tares and bind them in bundles to burn
them, but gather the wheat into the garner. I know that the Lord loves His
church. It is not to be disorganized or broken up into independent atoms. There
is not the least consistency in this; there is not the least evidence that such
a thing will be. Those who shall heed this false message and try to leaven
others will be deceived and prepared to receive advanced delusions, and they
will come to naught. {1MR 362.2}
There is in some of the members of the church, pride,
self-sufficiency, stubborn unbelief, and a refusing to yield their ideas,
although evidence
363
may be piled upon evidence which makes the message to the Laodicean church
applicable. But that will not blot out the church that it will not exist. Let both
tares and wheat grow together until the harvest. Then it is the angels that do
the work of separation. {1MR 362.3}
I warn the Seventh-day Adventist Church to be careful
how you receive every new notion and those who claim to have great light. The
character of their work seems to be to accuse and to tear down. {1MR
363.1}
What did she mean by this
because right now I'm a bit lost with your answers, which seem to contradicting
this?
Thank you for your time,
greetings from Québec,
Blessings,
[NF]
From: webmaster@adventistlaymen.com
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 5:01 PM
To: '[NF]'
Subject: RE: The Trinity Doctrine
Attachments:
Politicking With World Leaders
Hi Sister [NF]:
First, let me express my appreciation of the calm and honest way in
which you are seeking answers to your questions. This is indeed the
spirit of the ancient Bereans. However, it is much more difficult to
discern between Truth and error in these times than it was then. One of
the solemn warnings that Ellen G. White has given us is as follows:
The power of Satan now to tempt and
deceive
is
ten-fold
greater
than
it was in the days
of the apostles. His
power has increased,
and it will increase, until it is taken away.
(2 SG, p. 277;
emphasis supplied.)
If ever there was a time to have a clear understanding of Present Truth it
is now; and sadly this is the very time when the members of the SDA community
are most confused and lacking in knowledge. This state of affairs has
been induced by the leaders of the corporate body and the “many voices” that
are sounding on every side. Here is a text that Elder Grotheer has quoted
in support of his work of educating those who identify themselves as
Seventh-day Adventists:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I
will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast
forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. (Hosea
4:6; emphasis added.)
The knowledge of the Truth as it is in Jesus Christ is essential to our
salvation. That was a central point of my letter to the Pastor in California.
I have always held the view that there is little value in leaving the apostasy
in the Church without the informed conviction that it has ceased to be
“the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1
Tim. 3:15.) For this reason I did not set out in this correspondence to
persuade you to leave the Church. However, your successive searching
questions inevitably led me in the direction of quoting the Testimonies which
clearly indicate that the time for separation has come.
As far as I am concerned, the “Trinity” doctrine by itself is so deadly
that it is a sound reason to separate from the corporate body; but it is not in
my place to usurp the role of the Holy Spirit and tell you that this is what
you
should do. Let the Bible and the particular illumination that the
Writings shed on the destiny of the Church be your guide. If the Holy
Spirit convicts you to separate yourself from this deadly heresy, that should
only be the beginning of the process of coming to the knowledge of Truth, pure
and unadulterated. “Thy Word,” says the Psalmist, is “a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105,) and the Wise Man wrote, “the path of
the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect
day” (Pro. 4:18.) Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free” (John 8:32 ;) and, “when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he
shall guide you into all truth” (John 16:13.”) Further, note in full
context the reason why God sends strong delusion, in the following prophetic
statement of the Apostle Paul:
And
then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even
him, whose coming is after
the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they
received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And
for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a
lie: That they all might be damned who
believed
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thess.
2:8-12.)
This prophecy relates to the end-time – it is eschatological; and the
evidences multiply all around us that we are in that period of earth’s
history. The prophecy is related to the papacy, and identifies it as the
source of false doctrines and unrighteousness; as it conversely equates the
Truth with righteousness. The danger of falling prey to the “power and
signs and lying wonders” of Satan through his representative body on earth is
now so great that I must add another prophecy of Paul:
For
the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their
own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Tim.
4:3-4.)
These prophetic warnings of the Apostle Paul
are underscored in Ellen G. White’s own counsel:
God will arouse His people; if other means
fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the
chaff from the wheat. The Lord calls upon all who believe His word to awake
out of sleep. Precious light has come, appropriate for this time. It is Bible
truth, showing the perils that are right upon us. This light should lead us to a
diligent study of the Scriptures and a most critical examination of the
positions which we hold. God would have all the bearings and positions of truth
thoroughly and perseveringly searched, with prayer and fasting. Believers are
not to rest in suppositions and ill-defined ideas of what constitutes truth.
Their faith must be firmly founded upon the word of God so that when the
testing time shall come and they are brought before councils to answer for their
faith they may be able to give a reason for the hope that is in them, with
meekness and fear. (5T 707-708; emphasis added)
The emphasis on
Bible Truth, and the
statement that the light from the Bible “should lead us to a most critical
examination of the positions which we hold,” leads to the conclusion that
not all of the traditional positions held by the Church are biblically
sound. These are supported by two very significant statements of Ellen G.
White:
We must not think, "Well, we have
all the truth, we understand the main pillars of our faith, and we may rest
on this knowledge." The truth is an advancing truth, and we
must walk in the increasing light." (R&H,
March 25, 1890; emphasis supplied)
We have many lessons to learn, and many,
many to unlearn. God and heaven alone are infallible. Those who think that they
will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an
opinion, will be disappointed. As long as we hold to our own ideas and opinions
with determined persistency, we cannot have the unity for which Christ
prayed. ( RH, July 26, 1892, emphasis added.)
Here we have perhaps the most perplexing hazard of our times. It
is indeed the fact that there are many “independent” voices advancing new ideas
and claiming to have great light, whose work seems to be “to accuse and to tear
down” (from your own quotation, which is also included in my letter to the
Pastor.) My own observation is that in general their greatest fault is in
exercising a zeal that is not according to knowledge. They jump onto the
bandwagon of opposition to the apostasy in the Church without fully
understanding the issues. In general they call the people back to the
traditions that failed the leaders when confronted by the Evangelicals Barnhouse
and Martin in the 1950s; while rejecting the “increasing light” of “advancing
Truth.” Many who are ignorant of theology and history are coming up with
new theories, totally disconnected from historical Protestant exegesis.
Ellen White calls the product of their work “sparks of their own kindling”
(R&H, December 13, 1892). However, the greatest work of “removing of
the landmarks,” and attempting “to tear down the pillars of our faith” (Ibid.)
has taken place within the Church!! It is therefore
imperative
that we subject all teachings,
old and new, to the closest
scrutiny of God’s Word, the Bible. Elder Grotheer’s work will stand
the test.
It is for you to decide whether you are ready to learn new lessons of
faith from the Bible, and unlearn many, many, old lessons that have become
enshrined as the traditions of the elders. What
I believe doesn’t
really count. However, I will reiterate what I have stated before: that
the Church was not Babylon when Ellen G. White wrote in 1893, is not Babylon
now, and will never be Babylon. It is “Laodicea,” the Church to which the
testimony that you have been questioning me about was addressed. If you
check my e-mail message of December 1, to which I attached a chapter from
Questions
on Doctrine, you will find the following statement, “Laodicea has become a
harlot, a daughter of Babylon. She is not Babylon, but has voluntarily
gone into Babylonian captivity. She is a part of Great Babylon.”
(I referred you to the document that was attached.)
It is interesting to note the language of the prophets who called
ancient Israel out of literal Babylon:
Thus
saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and
against them
that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying
wind . . . Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every
man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time
of the LORD’S vengeance ( Jer. 51:1, 6.)
Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with
the daughter of Babylon.
(Zech. 2:7.)
(Emphasis
added)
Today the general call is to come out of spiritual Babylon, and to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church specifically I suggest it is to them that “dwell
in the midst of them that rise up against me” (those who have waged war against
the Truth;) to “Zion that dwellest with the daughter
of Babylon.”
As I have stated before, it is essential in reading the Testimonies to
heed Sister White’s counsel, “Regarding the testimonies,
nothing is ignored; nothing is cast aside; but time and place must be considered.
. . .” (1SM 57.2;
emphasis added.) If we ignore this counsel, it is inevitable that we will
be confused by some Testimonies if we attempt to apply them to our time.
Concerning “The Church Not to be Broken Up,” one must keep in mind that throughout
Ellen G. White’s lifetime the Church manifestly could still have repented of
its course of rebellion. The possibility of repentance is implicit in the
statement:
Unless the church, which is now being leavened with her own
backsliding, shall repent and be converted, she will eat of the fruit of her
own doing, until she shall abhor herself. When she resists the evil and chooses the good, when she seeks
God with all humility and reaches her high calling in Christ, standing on the
platform of eternal truth and by faith laying hold upon the attainments
prepared for her, she will be healed. She will appear in her God-given
simplicity and purity, separate from earthly entanglements, showing that the
truth has made her free indeed. Then her members will indeed be the chosen of
God, His representatives.
The time has come for
a thorough reformation to take place. When this reformation begins, the
spirit of prayer will actuate every believer and will banish from the church
the spirit of discord and strife. Those who have not been living in Christian
fellowship will draw close to one another. . . (8T 250.)
The last thing in the world one
would expect Ellen White under inspiration from God to advocate while urging
repentance and reformation as a essential to unity when it was still possible,
would be the breaking up of the corporate body. Nevertheless, once you
can discern the depth of apostasy to which the Church has fallen, the
imperative of separation, and the breakup of the corporate body, is implicit in
other Testimonies written by her. One of them I have quoted previously:
The first, second, and third angels'
messages are to be repeated. The call is to be given
to the church: "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is
become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage
of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of
the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed
fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have waxed rich through
the abundance of her delicacies. . . . Come out of her, my people, that ye be
not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins
have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."
Many who went forth to meet the Bridegroom
under the messages of the first and second angels, refused the third, the last
testing message to be given to the world, and a similar position will be taken
when the last call is made.
(R&H, October 31, 1899; emphasis added.)
There are more Testimonies that
are consistent with a call to separate from the Church:
The looker-on may discern no difference;
but there is One who said that the tares were not to be plucked up by human
hands lest the wheat be rooted up also. Let both grow together until the
harvest. Then the Lord sends forth His reapers to gather out the tares and bind
them in bundles to burn, while the wheat is gathered into the heavenly garner.
The
time of the judgment is a most solemn period, when the Lord gathers His
own from among the tares. Those who have been members of the same
family are separated. A mark is placed upon the righteous. "They shall be
Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will
spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." Those who have been obedient to God's
commandments will unite with the company of the saints in light; they shall
enter in through the gates into the city, and have right to the tree of life.
The one shall be taken. His name shall stand in the book of life, while those
with whom he associated shall have the mark of eternal separation from God.
The tares and wheat are now
commingled, but then the one hand that alone can separate them will give to
everyone his true position. Those who have
had the light of truth, and heard the warning message, heard the invitation to
the marriage supper--farmer, merchant, lawyer, false shepherds who have quieted
the convictions of the people, unfaithful watchmen who have not sounded the
warning or known the time of night--all who have refused obedience to the laws
of the kingdom of God, will have no right therein.
Those who have sought an
excuse to avoid the cross of separation from the world will, with the
world, be taken in the snare. They mingled with the tares from choice.
Like drew to like in transgression. It is a fearful assimilation. Men choose to
stand with the first rebel, who tempted Adam and Eve in Eden to disobey God.
The tares multiply themselves, for they sow tares, and they have their part
with the root of all sin--the devil. (TM 234-235; emphasis added)
In this last quotation another
element of the Church’s apostasy is introduced; which is its identification
with the world. I don’t know how long you have been a Seventh-day
Adventist; but to anyone who has been in the Church for three or more decades
it is a glaring fact that the world has invaded the Church. There has
also been on the part of the leadership a turning away from the power of the
Spirit to the power of politics. The course of the increasing involvement
with temporal powers, including the papacy, is fully revealed in the history of
the apostasy, which is why I urge you to engage in deep study beyond
recognizing the falsity of the doctrine of the “Trinity.” I will provide
you with another quotation from the Writings that is relevant to the
involvement of the Church leadership with the world; but first it is necessary
to confirm that the statement, “They mingled with the tares from choice,”
applies to those remaining in the Church body:
"Another parable put He forth unto
them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed
in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth
fruit, then appeared the tares also.”
"The field," Christ said,
"is the world." But we must understand this as signifying the church
of Christ in the world. The parable is a description of that which
pertains to the kingdom of God, His work of salvation of men; and this work is
accomplished through the church. True, the Holy Spirit has gone out into all
the world; everywhere it is moving upon the hearts of men;
but it is in
the church that we are to grow and ripen for the garner of
God.
"He that sowed the good
seed is the Son of man. . . . The good seed are the children of the kingdom;
but the tares are the children of the wicked one." The good seed
represents those who are born of the word of God, the truth.
The tares
represent a class who are the fruit or embodiment of error, of false principles.
"The enemy that sowed them is the devil." Neither God nor His angels
ever sowed a seed that would produce a tare. The tares are always sown by
Satan, the enemy of God and man.
(COL 70-71; emphasis added)
Thus we commingle with the
tares in the Church, and it must be there that we mingle with the tares
by choice. With respect to the involvement of the Church leadership with
the world, this is the critical part of the apostasy. The leadership sets
the policy and tone for the body of members, and loyalty to the corporate body
is loyalty to its leaders. This is why in the Testimony “The Seal of God”
Ellen White not only predicts of the leaders who “had betrayed their trust”
that, “These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just
vengeance of an offended God;” but follows that immediately with the solemn
warning that, “Men, maidens, and little children all perish together” (5T
211.) Therefore, please study the following quotation very carefully:
Babylon is also charged with the sin of
unlawful connection with "the kings of the earth."
It was by
departure from the Lord, and alliance with the heathen, that the Jewish church
became a harlot; and Rome, corrupting herself in like manner by
seeking the support of worldly powers, receives a like condemnation.
Babylon is said to be "the
mother of
harlots." By her daughters must be symbolized churches that
cling
to her doctrines and traditions, and
follow her example of sacrificing
the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful
alliance with the world. The message of Revelation 14, announcing the
fall
of Babylon must apply to religious bodies that were
once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of
the judgment, it must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to
the Roman Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many
centuries. (GC 382-383; Emphasis added.)
To give you full documentation of the
harlotry of the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is impossible in
this message, which is already a long one. I searched for a couple of
recent examples of “unlawful connection” with worldly leaders, and found quite
a few. I was inspired to prepare a document for publication on the
adventistlaymen.com website, as well as for your information. It is
attached.
I can truthfully say that I have never
before directly made a case for separation from the Church, and I
certainly did not anticipate when we started this correspondence that I would
make it as forcefully as I have done in response to your questions. The
case has been stated; nonetheless I repeat my warning that separation should be
firmly based on knowledge of the Truth and recognition that the Church has
ceased to be “the pillar and ground of the Truth.” Ellen G. White has
written:
We do not go deep enough in our search for
truth. Every soul who believes present truth will be brought where he will be
required to give a reason of the hope that is in him. The people of God will be
called upon to stand before kings, princes, rulers, and great men of the earth,
and they must know that they do know what is truth. (Review and
Herald, February 18, 1890;
TM 119; emphasis added)
The decision on whether to apply yourself diligently enough to
know
that you do know what is Truth is yours and yours alone to make.
No-one can apply the time and mental effort on your behalf. The Holy
Spirit will guide you when you sometimes encounter doctrinal points that are
difficult to understand; but it does take effort. One has only to read Sister
White’s description of how the foundation doctrines of the Church were laid to
be convinced on that point; but the brethren helped one another, and I am ready
and willing to work with you. I have learned the issues of doctrine,
prophetic interpretation, and denominational history that are critical for our
times, and can make suggestions for your study.
Wishing you God’s richest blessings,
Eric Jones
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