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XXXVIII - 3 (05) “Watchman, what of the night?” "The hour has come, the hour is
striking and striking at you, The
It Is
Pending! Page
2 Interpretive
History of Incarnation — IV Page 3 Editor's Preface Recent events and the forces
at work behind the events as indicated in prophetic Scripture indicate that the
final phase of the great controversy between Christ and Satan has begun. The
final battle is pending. It dare not be overlooked that the revelation given to
John on In this issue we conclude the
documentation of Jones and Waggoner's teaching on the Incarnation, noting their
conviction that this doctrine cannot be separated from the message of
righteousness by faith. Our faith needs to rest in the same heavenly
"Father" in and on Whom Jesus in His earthly life rested and was
victorious. He as our great High Priest obtains for us the victory in the final
atonement as we look to Him. Page
2 The Day of
God Almighty It is
Pending! The book of Revelation
designates three powers symbolically represented as the "dragon," the
"beast," and the "false prophet" which vomit out
"frogs," which are defined as "spirits of devils" which in
turn "go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world to
gather them to the battle (πολεμον
- war) of that great day of God Almighty" (Rev. 16:14). They are gathered
"together into the place which is called in Hebrew, Har-Magedon"
(verse 16, ARV). These powers - the dragon,
beast, and false prophet - are defined symbolically in chapters 12 and 13, and
placed in a locality, "heaven, "sea," or "earth." In
the 12th Chapter, "heaven" is used either as the screen on which the
drama is portrayed (vs. 1, 3) or heaven itself from which is heard "a loud
voice" (verse 10). Beginning with verse 12, the warfare is transferred to
the earth and sea, a "beast" rising up out of the sea (13:1);"
and a second beast "coming up out of the earth" ( The first beast is a
composite animal with parts from a leopard, bear and lion, thus linking it with
the symbolism of Daniel 7, but in reverse order. The time allotted to the
"beast" (13:5) parallels the time given the "little horn"
in Daniel 7 (verse 25), and the wilderness experience of the woman of Rev. 12
(verse 14). We have interpreted the
"false prophet" as symbolic of apostate Protestantism, and rightly
so, but we have failed to recognize that the second "beast' came up out of
the "earth," not the "sea" where "historic
Protestantism" under Luther originated. It is an evangelical
"Protestantism" originating in the prophetic "earth," which
has now become "the political religious right." It was coming up
"in" the earth at the same time that the deadly wound was being
healed in the "sea" following World War 1. It could not exercise the
power assigned it in Rev. 13:12 until the deadly wound "was healed."
The message to "make an image to the beast" is spoken to "them
that dwell on the earth" ( We must see the
"beast" as it operates to perceive more accurately the image being
formed. Let us consider just one aspect - the persecution initiated by the
"beast." "It was given unto him to make war with the saints, and
to overcome them" (13:7). A Roman Catholic professor, Alfred Baudrillart, wrote that "the Catholic Church is a
respecter of conscience and of liberty" and that she "loudly
proclaims that she has 'a horror of blood.' Βut
----- Nevertheless, when confronted by heresy, she does not content herself with persuasion; argument of an intellectual and moral order appear to her insufficient, and she has recourse to force, to corporal punishment, to torture. She creates tribunals like the Inquisition, she calls the laws of the state to her aid, if necessary she encourages a crusade, or a religious war, and all her "horror of blood" practically culminates in urging the secular power to shed it, which proceeding is almost more odious - for it is less frank - than shedding it herself. [Then he cites examples from history] (Source Book for Bible Students, 1940 rev. ed., pp. 408-409). A simple identification of
the "beast" is: it is the religious power which arose from the
prophetic "sea" and for "forty and two months" (13:5) used
the state to carry out its agenda until the state turned on her and inflicted a
"deadly wound." The "image to the beast" would be the
creation of a government in the prophetic "earth" which would carry
out the agenda of the "false prophet." To this end the
"religious right" has been seeking to create through the Christian
Coalition a theocratic government which will enact and force their agenda on
the people of the Continued on page 5,
col. 2 Page
3 Continued from page 7, WWΝ 2(05)
The
Doctrine of the He [A. T. Jones] stated: Weak as we, sinful as we, simply ourselves, - He went through this world, and never sinned. [1]*He was sinful as we, weak as we, helpless as we, helpless as the man is who is without God; yet by His trust in God, God so visited Him, so abode in Him, so strengthened Him, that, instead of sin ever being manifested, the righteousness of God was always manifested. But who was He? He was ourselves. Then God has demonstrated once in the world, and to the uniνerse, that He will so come to me and you; and so live with us, as we are in the world today; and will cause His grace and His power to so abide with us; that, in spite of all our sinfulness, in spite of all our weaknesses, the righteousness and the holy influence of God will be manifested to men, instead of ourselves and our sinfulness (ibid. p. 302) To A. T. Jones, it would be
no mystery for God to be manifest in sinless flesh. "But the wonder is
that God can do that through and in sinful flesh. That is the mystery of
God, - God manifest in sinful flesh." Then he stated: In Jesus Christ as He was in sinful flesh, God has demonstrated before the universe that He can so take possession of sinful flesh as to manifest His own presence, His power, and His glory, instead of sin manifesting itself. And all that the Son asks of any man, in order to accomplish this in him, is that the man will let the Lord have him as the Lord Jesus did.... Then God will so take us, and so use us, that our sinful selνes shall not appear to influence or effect anybody; but God will manifest His righteous self, His glory, before men, in spite of all ourselves and our sinfulness. That is the truth. And that is the mystery of God, "Christ in you the hope of glory," - God manifest in sinful flesh (Ibid., p. 303). The "false idea that
[Christ] is so holy that it would be entirely unbecoming in Him to come near to
us, and be possessed of such a nature as we have, sinful, depraved, fallen
human nature" had its source in "the incarnation of that enmity that
is against God, and that separates between man and God, the papacy." To
accomplish this, "Mary must be born immaculate, perfect, sinless" and
"then Christ must be so born of her as to take His human nature in absolute
sinlessness from her." But Jones declared for
himself [and for all of us] - "I need someone to help me who knows
something about sinful nature; for that is the nature that I have; and such the
Lord did take. He became one of us." Then Jones challenged those present
at the meeting that in the light of a revival of papal power, and the formation
of the image to the beast - "having the form of godliness without the
reality, without the power" - is not the truth of the incarnation needed
as never before so that there can be proclaimed "the real merits of Jesus
Christ ..· and His holiness?" (ibid., p. 311). By the time Jones reached his
16th study, some of the delegates were either openly challenging his
presentation of the Incarnation by calling attention to the statements in
Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2, or else were beginning to study carefully
what had been presented and Page
4 sought an answer to what
appeared to be a contradiction between Jones' presentation and the Spirit of
Prophecy. At the close of the study, Jones made the following comment: Some have found, and all may find, in the Testimonies the statement that Christ has not "like passions as we have." The statement is there; everyone may find it there, of course. Now there will be no difficulty in any of these studies from beginning to end, if you stick precisely to what is said; whether it be Church or State, separation from the world, or this of Christ in our flesh (Ibid p. 312). Even though the concept that
the Son of God assumed man's fallen nature had been presented with clarity
during the previous four years by the “messengers" of the Lord (See
bracketed comment, WWN 2 (05), p. 6, col. 1), many were still reluctant to
express themselves in regard to this basic truth. At the beginning of his
presentations on the Incarnation during these 1895 studies, Jones asked the
assembled delegates - "Well, then, in His human nature, when He was upon
earth, was He in anywise different from what you are in your human nature tonight?"
A stenographer noted the reaction: "[Α few in the congregation
responded, 'No')" To this Jones replied - for to him this concept was
basic to the teaching of righteousness by faith: I wish we had heard everybody in the house say, "No," with a loud voice. You are too timid altogether. The Word of God says that, and we are to say, That is so; because there is salvation in just that one thing. No it is not enough to say it that way; the salvation of God for human beings lies in just that one thing. We are not to be timid about it at all. There our salvation lies, and until we get there we are not sure of our salvation. That is where it is. "In all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren." What for? - 0, "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 succor them that are tempted." Then don't you see that our salvation lies just there? Do you not see that it is right there that Christ comes to us? He came to us just where we are tempted, and was made like us just where we are tempted; and there is the point where we meet Him - the living Savior against the power of temptation (ibid., p. 233). In the 17th study, Jones
devoted the time answering the questions some had raised because of the
statements found in Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 2. He began the
study with these words: Now as to Christ not having "like passions" with us: In the Scriptures all the way through He is like us, and with us according to the flesh. He is the seed of David according to the flesh. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. Don't go too far. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh; not in the likeness of sinful mind. Do not drag His mind into it. His flesh was our flesh; but the mind was "the mind of Christ Jesus" (ibid. p. 327). In this distinct
differentiation, Jones was not only doing what he had done previously,
separating between the inherited tendencies to sin common to man, and the
habits of sin which men have cultivated by yielding to temptation. On this
point, he elucidated as follows: Our minds have consented to sin. We have felt the enticements of the flesh, and our minds have yielded, our minds have consented, and did the wills and desires of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. The flesh leads, and our minds have followed, and with the flesh the law of sin is served. ... Now the flesh of Jesus Christ was our flesh, and in it was all that is in our flesh, - all the tendencies to sin that are in our flesh were in His flesh, drawing upon Him to get Him to consent to sin. Suppose He had consented to sin with His mind; what then? Then His mind would have been corrupted, and then He would have become of like passions with us. ... But until that drawing of our flesh is cherished, there is no sin.... Therefore Jesus Christ came in just such a flesh as ours, but with a mind that held its integrity against every temptation, against every inducement to sin, - a mind that never consented to sin, - no, never in the least conceivable shadow of a thought (ibid. p. 328). During this study Jones
quoted from two sources in the Spirit of Prophecy. One was an article in the Review
& Herald, Page
5 from which he quoted
extensively, and the other was a pre-publication copy of the Desire of Ages,
which he referred to as "the new Life of Christ, advance copy." After
quoting from this advance copy at length, Jones concluded his study with these
remarks: You see, we are on firm ground all the way, so that when it is said that He [Christ] took our flesh; but still as not a partaker of our passions, it is all straight, it is all correct; because His divine mind never consented to sin. Αnd that mind is brought to us by the Holy Spirit that is freely given to us. "We know that the Son of God has come, and hath given us a mind;" and "we have the mind of Christ." "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Ibid., p. 333). In 1905 the Pacific Press
published, The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfectiοn
by A. T. Jones. This book based in Hebrews contained the same basic concepts in
regard to the human nature of our Lord, which he had so clearly presented in
the 1895 studies at the General Conference Session. As indicated by the title
and summarized in the book, the humanity of the Son of God as the Son of man,
and the perfection of character to be manifested by the Christian cannot be
separated. Here is that summary: Perfection, perfection of character, is the Christian goal – perfection attained in human flesh in this world. Christ attained it in human flesh in this world, and thus made and consecrated a way by which, in Him, every believer can attain it. He having attained it, has become our great High Priest by His priestly ministry in the true sanctuary to enable us to attain it. Perfection is the Christian's goal; and the High Priesthood and ministry of Christ in the true sanctuary is the only way by which any soul can attain this true goal in this world. "Thy way, Ο God, is in the sanctuary." Psalm 77:1 (p. 84, emphasis his). Jones in his studies and
presentations during a lifetime of ministry for the Church rescued the truth of
the Incarnation of the Son of God presented by "The
From
page 2, col. 2 A perceptive, documented,
analysis of the current situation in the prophetic "earth" is to be
found in the Yurica Report prepared by Katherine Yurica, a lawyer, and her Editorial and Research Assistant,
Laurie Hall - "The Despoiling of America." This report which was
first issued, Taking his cue from Leo Strauss, Scalia [the Vatican "voice" on the Supreme Court] argued, a democratic government, being seen as ‘nothing more than the composite will of its individual citizens, has no more moral power or authority than they do as individuals…’ Democracy, according to Scalia, creates problems: it can foster civil disobedience" The Report begins with a
discussion of "The First Prince of the Theocratic States of It happened quietly, with barely
a mention in the media. Only the Washington Post dutifully reported it.
And only Kevin Phillips saw its significance in his new book, American
Dynasty. On Behind the scenes religious
conservatives were abuzz with excitement. They believed Robertson had stepped
down to allow the ascendance of the President of the Robertson's act was symbolic, but it carried a secret and solemn revelation to the faithful. It was the signal that the Bush Administration was Page 6 a government under God that was lead by an anointed President who would be the first regent in a dynasty of regents awaiting the return of Jesus to earth. Robertson himself had sought
to run for the presidency of the This cult, born in Christian Reconstructionism, was founded by the late R. J. Rushdoony. The core included Rushdoony,
his son-in-law, Gary North, Pat Robertson, Herb Titus, the former dean of
Robertson's Regent University School of Public Policy, Charles Colson,
Robertson's political strategist, Tim LaHaye, Gary
Bauer, the late Francis Schaeffer, and Paul Crouch, the founder of TBN, the
world's largest television network, plus an army of television and radio
evangelists and news talk show hosts. Prior to his death, Schaeffer
was the leading evangelical theologian. Appearing on the 700 Club show, he
urged revolt against what he termed a humanistic society. While not using the
word "Dominionism," he charged that the
"dominant culture" in the I'm for evangelicals running for public office and winning if possible and getting control of the Congress, getting control of the bureaucracy, getting control of the executive branch of government. ... I would like to see every true believer involved in politics in some shape or form. According to these men,
Schaefer, Graham and Robertson, - leading voices in the American protestant
church which arose in the "earth," - "God's people" have a moral
duty to change the government of the Already the "Religious
Right" has achieved the time table which they set for themselves, that by
2004 they would complete the take over of the American government. Controlling
the executive and legislative, they are poised to alter the judicial to their
liking. Into the picture enters US
Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia.
He was appointed to the Court in 1986 by the then President Ronald Reagan. Now,
with speculation that William Rehnquist is on the verge of retirement after the
diagnosis of thyroid cancer, Scalia may be the
leading candidate to take his place. The online edition of the Jerusalem
Post ( Another interesting aspect
has been noted by Pastor Rich Lang of the Trinity United Methodist Church of
Seattle, Washington. In a release on Page
7 States." Instrumental in
that collapse and "insertion" was Scalia. One of Scalia's
concepts needs to be carefully noted. Several months after the first
inauguration of Bush, he wrote in First Things (May 2002) that the Bible
teaches and Christians believe "...that government ... derives its moral
authority from God. Government is the 'minister of God' with powers to
'revenge,' to 'execute wrath,' including even wrath by the sword...."
Placing this concept beside the objective of Dominionism,
you think you are reading Revelation 13. Journalist Frederick Clarkson in 1994
warned that Dominionism "seeks to replace
democracy with a theocratic elite that would govern by imposing their
interpretation of 'Biblical Law.'" He then describes the creation of a new
class of citizens: Women would be generally relegated to hearth and home. Insufficiently Christian men would be denied citizenship, perhaps executed. So severe is this theocracy that it would extend capital punishment [to] blasphemy, heresy, adultery, and homosexuality (Public Eye Magazine, Vol. VIΙΙ, Part 1, 1994; emphasis mine). In the Further, in the article it is
noted that Dobson is ready to play "hard ball," threatening any
Senator facing re-election in 2006 who filibusters Bush's appointments to the
judiciary. Thus the take over of the three branches of the American government,
the executive, legislative, and judicial has been accomplished by the election
in November. We have only to await the imposition of the theocratic state as
envisioned by the Dominionists and "the
image" to the beast will have spoken. The "battle" of the great
day of God Almighty has been joined. +++++ "The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long standing controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering, - a battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition" (Great Controversy, p. 582). +++++ The
Duality of the Fourth Commandment Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, ... (Exodus 20:8-10) +++++ Scroll down to "Page 8" ++++++++ WEBSITES http://ourworld.cs.com/adventistalert http://www.adventistlaymen.com E- Editor - grotheer@adventistlaymen.com
"Watchman,
What of the Night?" is published monthly by the Adventist Laymen's
Foundation of Mississippi, Inc., Editor, Publications & Research Elder Wm. H. Grotheer Regional Contacts:
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8
Ecumenical
Group The top hierarchy of the
Roman Catholic Church in the Members of the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops have played a central role in the formation of
the group, Christian Churches Together in the The organization has about 23
members, Rev. Arthur Kennedy (executive director of the secretariat for
ecumenical and interreligious affairs at the bishops
conference), said, including Eastern Orthodox churches; the historic Protestant
denominations, like the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; evangelical
churches; ethnic churches; and religiously oriented groups like the Salvation
Army and World Vision. The National Council of
Churches helped create this new group but is not joining, although many of its
member churches are. Its general secretary, Rev. Bob Edgar, said, "My
sense is that this group is less interested in action items than in building
bridges, and having a forum where we can talk together on issues that concern
everyone, for example, how do we model interfaith ties with our Muslim and
Jewish brethren?" (The A question - Has the [1]
*Admittedly, Jones used "strong language” when he used the expression -
"sinful as we" - in identifying Christ with man. This is another echo
from |