OR

Jesus declared "My kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36) Pilate, to whom these words were addressed, caught the significance, and asked - "Art thou a king then?" To this Jesus replied - "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth." (verse 37) The kingdom of Jesus, over which He reigns as king, is a kingdom of truth. Such a kingdom is diametrically opposed to, and opposed by, "the prince of this world" who "abode not in the truth." (John 8:44)

The relationship that does exist between those who accept Jesus as Lord and King, and those who follow the prince of this world was defined clearly by Jesus Himself. As He walked with His disciples from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told them:

If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (John 15:19)

Then to the Father, in His great priestly prayer, Jesus addressed the words -

I have given them thy word [which is truth]; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:14 [17])

Jesus did not ask the Father to remove His followers from the world but that they be kept from the evil of the world. His desire was that God would "sanctify them [set them apart] through [His] truth."

The kingdom which Jesus established on this earth - called out from the world - was His church, "God's fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world." (AA, p. 11) This kingdom, this church, this city, has been under siege at all times since its establishment. So long as those in charge of "the city" realized that their sustenance came from Above, the city remained secure against the onslaught of the forces of the enemy. However, when those in charge of "the city" believed that the "gates" could be opened, and "commerce" could be carried on with those outside of "the city" for better relationships and that an era of peace could be achieved, the result was the devaluation of "the coin of the realm" - truth! This pattern has never varied. Loyalty to the Lord of the Kingdom of God means absolute and an uncompromising allegiance to truth, for He is truth. To achieve the acceptance of the world, always means a compromise of truth, for the prince of this world abode not in the truth.

An understanding of this issue becomes even more vital as we approach the final years of the end-time of human history. The forces of this world have begun their preparation for "the battle of the great day of God Almighty." (Rev. 16:14) It must never be

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forgotten that behind the visible activities leading to this confrontation are "the spirits of devils." It must also be remembered that those found on God's side in this final conflict are "called, and chosen, and faithful." (Rev. 17:14) These constitute "the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth." (I Tim. 3:15)

"The eternal God has drawn a line of distinction between the saints and the sinners, the converted and the unconverted. The two classes do not blend into each other imperceptibly, like the colors of the rainbow. They are as distinct as midday and midnight." (TM, p. 87) This distinction will become more and more pronounced as the battle lines continue to take shape for the final confrontation.

In the Adventist Review (January 23, 1986), the news editor, James Coffin, interviewed Elder Neal C. Wilson, president of the General Conference. Wilson told of his dream for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Coffin commented and then asked -

In the ADVENTIST REVIEW we have just run a series of articles about what the church might look like by the year 2000 if Christ has not returned. Obviously we hope that He will have come by then. But if He hasn't, what kind of a church do you want to see? What is your dream for how the church should look? (p.9)

To this Wilson replied:

That's a wide open door! But most of all, I would hope that as we as a church grow numerically and financially, and in terms of world acceptance and influence, we would meet the Lord's expectation for His church. In other words, I dream of seeing a church that has been refined. A church that has clean hands and pure heart. A church that is foremost in exalting Christ and the cross and clothed in His righteousness. A church made up of loving and lovable Christians. A serving, caring, witnessing church. In short - a church empowered by the Holy Spirit. (Ibid.)

This dream is pure fantasy, merely echoing the "vain hope" (PK, p. 54) of those who through the ages have believed that God's kingdom can be made compatible to the world. A church clothed in Christ's righteousness, and empowered by the Holy Spirit could not achieve "world acceptance." To be accepted by the world, and to exert an influence in the world, would mean simply that the world's goals and aspirations had become the church's goals and aspirations.

Wilson has launched the Adventist Church on a course where the church will involve itself in world affairs and issues. Pronouncements were made just prior to the 1985 General Conference session in New Orleans on social and political issues. The Adventist ecumenist, B. B. Beach, reported to the annual meeting of the Secretaries of the World Confessional Families [Churches] that while there has been in the past "typical Adventist hesitancy to pass resolutions on social or political issues," that at the New Orleans session, "we found it essential to speak our Christian conscience on peace, nuclear armament, racism and drugs, three threats to civilization." (The Christian CENTURY, Dec. 11, 1985, p. 1143)

When the concept of the nearness of the coming of Christ receives only lip service, and time is spent in seeking to visualize the Adventist Church at 2000 A.D., and beyond, another Church with its P.R. created image with world acceptance becomes attractive as a model.

Thomas and Morgan-Witts in their book The Year of Armageddon - close their one year description of the Papacy with a chapter - "Towards Tomorrow." In it they write:

For his part John Paul will continue to speak out for the basic rights of man. His will remain the authentic voice calling for true freedom of action and thought; it is his words which will highlight mankind's inexcusable inability to feed the starving and restrain the hostility between differing ideologies while at the same time trying to convey hope for a world now all too capable of destroying itself. In John Paul's mouth, words like "truth" and "justice" and "freedom" have not become debased. When he speaks of "salvation," it is not a tired noun but a reminder of the dignity of man...

While clinging to its purely religious image, the Holy See, when it does so, will plunge ever deeper into international, politics - encouraged by forces without and within the Church. (pp. 383, 384)

B. B. Beach, who appears to have Wilson's confidence, 1 has revealed that he shares the same confidence as expressed in this book by Thomas and Morgan-Witts. At a meeting of the Adventist Forum in Worthington, Ohio, (Oct. 6, 1979) he said:

This pope [John Paul II], I tell you, brethren, if you want to be open-minded, read his messages, and see how much of his message you can agree with, and I think you will find that you can probably agree with about 95%. He is one of the few voices in the world that actually speaks out strongly for morality. (From a taped recording)

When therefore, we analyze Wilson's dream, are we not seeing verily fulfilled the fact when men exult in their authority and position, Satan is able to inspire them with his own attributes, and they take the Church "in the track of Romanism"? (TM, pp. 362-363) Except in semantics with an Adventist "flavor" added, what difference is there basically between John Paul II's pronouncements and objectives, than Wilson's dream for the Adventist Church by 2000 A.D? When that final gathering is accomplished at "a place in the Hebrew tongue" called "the mount of the congregation," will the corporate Adventist Church be represented there? Perhaps by B. B. Beach, or maybe Wilson himself!

[Note - On page 3, we have produced a letter which we wrote to Elder Wilson over this issue of the Church and the world. It would be well for as many as possible to write to Elder Wilson asking him some of the same questions. If enough persons wrote, asking the same or similar questions, the laity might receive some kind of an explanation for too many unanswered questions still remain from Wilson's statements and actions.]

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1 Prior to the General Conference session in New Orleans, B. B. Beach and his father, Elder W. R. Beach co-authored the book - Pattern for Progress. This book with a "Preface" by Neal C. Wilson was urged upon the delegates by Wilson himself. For its impact upon the Session, see WWN XVIII-11 - "'Beach Boys' Write Theme."

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"Watchman, What of the Night?"
From the Editor's Desk
January 23, 1986

Elder Neal C. Wilson, President
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist
Washington DC 20012

Dear Elder Wilson,

In the current issue of the Adventist Review (January 23, p, 9) in answer to the question - "What kind of church do you want to see? What is your dream for how the church should look?" - you reply:

"That's a wide-open door! But most of all, I would hope that as we as a church grow numerically and financially, and in terms of world acceptance and influence, we would meet the Lord's expectation for His church."

Please reconcile your dream of "world acceptance and influence" and "the Lord's expectation"? How do you relate your dream with the word of our Lord Jesus Christ - "If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John 15:19) Further Jesus prayed - "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." (John 17:15-17) It is obvious that "the Lord's expectation" is sanctification through truth. The only way for "world acceptance and influence" is to compromise truth. I guess that since you did that at the 1980 Session of the General Conference in Dallas, you can dream as you dream, in other words, dream on!

Is it because you desire "world acceptance and influence" that you hate the "sighing, and crying" for all the abominations done in the church?

Further while writing, let me ask some more questions. Why did you not appear at New Orleans on January 10, either personally or through legal representation to defend your arrest of those who cried out against the persecution of the brothers and sisters behind the "iron curtain"? It has been alleged that you were involved in ordering the arrests of these people on July 4, 1985. Is this true?

Prior to the New Orleans session, you in consultations with your "cardinals" - as you call them - issued statements on social and political issues. Why did you omit any mention of the violation of human rights in Communist dominated countries?

Looking forward to your reply, I remain,

Respectfully yours.

WH Grotheer,

AS of this date - March 9, 1986 - as we go to press, no reply or acknowledgment has been received.

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LOOK UP! BE NOT AFRAID

At some point in one's routine, the desk must be cleared, and accumulation of materials, either indexed or consigned to File #13. Letters, clippings, documents, copies of letters written by others to others, all must be evaluated. In recent weeks, I have noticed a sense of fear surfacing in some correspondence - fearful for themselves, and fearful for friends and relatives. The word - "scared" - has even been used.

True, we are living in the end-time of human history, even in the time of the judgment of the living, and we have a right to be concerned about ourselves, our friends and our loved ones - perhaps even to the point of being "scared" for them. If what is taking place, both within and without the church, does not awaken the individual Laodicean so that he will open to the knock on his door (Rev. 3:20), there is little hope, for corporate Laodicea has passed the unseen line of the limits of God's mercy.

As I read these letters of concern, I said to myself, "I am not fearful." True, I am deeply concerned for loved ones, and even for many who profess to know what is happening, and where we are on the "time" line. Then I asked myself - "Why am I not afraid? Should I be?" In myself I have no cause for confidence nor boasting. Then there came to my mind the text "Perfect love casteth out fear." (I John 4:18) It even gives "boldness in the day of judgment." (verse 17)

Now God is love, and that is perfect love! I love my God, and my Lord for what He has and is doing for me. Perfect love, on my part? No, but my God knows that I love Him, and that I would like to talk to Him face to face. He knows that I believe His promise that if I confess my sins, He forgives (I John 1:9), and that I can stand before Him as if I had never sinned! This is the confidence that I can have. Further, He has promised to keep me from falling. (Jude 24) Then He has also promised that if I walk in the light as He is in the light - light of truth coming from His throne, and not from the hellish torch of Satan - then He will cleanse me from all sin. (I John 1:7) If cleansed by Him through the blood of Jesus, I will pass, the judgment of the living. Then where is there cause to fear? Is not God able to perform what He has promised? Of Jesus, it is written - "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Heb. 7:25)

I look forward to the end. Trouble, yes, when all faces gather paleness, but over and above is that circling bow of promise - "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

The blessed hope does not produce fear, but awakens a confidence grounded in love - the love of God toward me. I even enjoy singing with my grandchildren, "Jesus Loves Me," especially the stanza which says-

Jesus loves me! He who died

Heaven's gate to open wide;

He will wash away my sin,

Let His little child come in.

(SDA Hymnal, # 190)

I know that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. (II Tim. 1:12) So as earthly governments evidence decay and foundations start cracking, and the corporate bodies of earth including the church - are found wanting, then there is the up-look - my redemption draweth nigh! (Luke 21:24-28)

LETTERS

"My husband did not go to the End Events Seminar [St. Mary's Retreat Center] and requested that his name be removed. Would you be so kind to print this in your next newsletter?"

Colorado

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Back in 1973, when B. B. Beach co-authored with Dr. Lukas Vischer of the Faith and Order Secretariat of the WCC, the book. So Much in Common, he listed among the nine "definitely positive and useful" results of the Conversations between representatives of the WCC and the SDA's, -- the expanding contacts on national levels." Beach cited "the SDA contacts with the British Council of Churches, the Finnish Council of Churches and the office of the German Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland." (p. 101) Then he added - "There are many other contacts." These contacts range from the SDA Conference level, to the local ministerial associations.

One example of the local conference involvement with the corresponding WCC and/or NCC affiliate at the State level is the Pennsylvania Conference. The Pennsylvania News, which constitutes a report to the constituency of its activities and institutions, plus its financial standing and investments, listed among its donees for 1983, the Pennsylvania Council of Churches; and this, even though the conference was struggling with a large indebtedness.

In the Southern Union Conference, there is a very active ecumenist, Elder Robert Hunter. In 1975, he was pastor of the Morganton, North Carolina District, and a member of the local ministerial association. He joined in the project called, "PULPIT EXCHANGE DAY," exchanging pulpits with the priest, Thomas Burke, of the St. Charles Roman Catholic Church. "The theme of the citywide program was 'Blest Be the Tie.'" (Southern Tidings April , 1985, p. 12) Then last year, the Adventist Review reported this same Robert Hunter, now pastor of the Stone Mountain, Georgia Adventist Church as the speaker for the Easter sunrise service atop Stone Mountain. "The service which was covered by local TV stations, also was taped by church members to be aired on the church's TV program, Discovery." (Sept. 5, 1985, p-1 2)

The most recent of the "many other contacts" to reach our desk involves the Watsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Central California Conference. The Register-Pajaronian a local newspaper under "Church Notes" for Saturday, January 11, 1986, carried this announcement:

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be observed at the Seventh-day Adventist Church tomorrow afternoon with an ecumenical service that will include scripture, prayer and music.

After listing the ministers taking part under the auspices of the Pajaro, Valley Minister's Association, the news item closed with the notation:

The New Horizons, a choral group from Monterey Bay Academy, will lead the anthems.

The Church Bulletin for the occasion was supplied from the Graymoor Ecumenical Institute of New York. The front cover pictured faces in outline looking to a symbol of the cross, and the theme for 1983 - "You shall be my witnesses." Beneath the picture was a definition of "ecumenics." This read:

Ta oikoumenika, (Ecumenics) "The things related the oikoumene; i.e., the inhabited earth - the science of the Church as the world Christian community, its nature, function, relations, and strategy."

We are reminded of a similar definition of "church" as found in the 1980 Statement of Beliefs voted at Dallas, Texas. This statement reads - "The church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour." (#11. The Church)

The back page names the pastors from the Christian, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, Seventh-day Adventist churches who participated besides representatives from the Catholic Social Services and the Pajaro Valley Shelter for Women and Children. The offering for the day went for the support of the Shelter.

The outline of this ecumenical service filled the two inside pages. It included a "Penitential Rite" which read:

Leader: Before we can witness together we must repent of our divisions and seek mutual pardon of each other.

Leader: 0 Christ, our divisions are contrary to your

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will, and have impeded our common witness to you.

Leader: May the Lord have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.

Following the Scripture read in three languages Spanish, Japanese and English taken from Acts 1:8; 2:42-47, a Litany was conducted. These prayers and responses offered within the Seventh-day Adventist Church sanctuary are comparable to the strange fire of olden times offered by the prophets and priests of Baal. These read:

Leader: Let us ask God for the gift of unity: God, our Father, who has created all things, we are your children. If it is your desire that we live together in peace and stand by one another as sisters and brothers.

All: Your will be done.

Leader: Jesus Christ, Son of God, you have prayed for the unity of all who are baptized in your name. It is your will, that the Church your body, be one.

All: Your will be done.

Leader: Holy Spirit of God, You have filled the Apostles with the fire of courage to proclaim the Good News. It is your will that we proclaim with one voice the great deeds of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ.

All: Your will be done.

(Silence)

Leader: Let us pray to God our Father, who has revealed his love to us in Jesus Christ.

Leader: Lord, our God, Creator of all things - From you we receive our life. You have blessed us with the gifts of your creation in endless fullness. We ask you: help us to be responsible stewards of your creation. Help us to protect life; where it is in danger and to heal where it is broken; let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.

In a recent exchange of letters with a Union Conference Religious Liberty Secretary concerning another ecumenical gathering at Windsor Castle in England which included B. B. Beach, he wrote - "If you were to ask B. B. Beach what he was doing, he would probably say that he was there witnessing." I suppose that Elder Robert Hunter could say that in the Pulpit Exchange Program with the parish priest, he was witnessing! And I suppose that the Watsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church perceived of the ecumenical service in their church as a witness. Could it have been, had Elijah joined the ministerial alliance of the prophets of Baal that he could have justified such an association as an opportunity for witnessing?

The question resolves itself down to a very simple proposition. . Would Jesus if He were to walk this earth again as the Son of man, attend and take part in such services? This is not an idle question, but one of eternal consequences. When Satan appears as Christ, he will take part in these services. If we believe that the Jesus of the Bible would have done so, we then are adding to our possible deception in that critical hour.

When Jesus left the temple after declaring - "Behold you house is left unto you desolate." He then stated - "Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, 'Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.'" (Matt. 23:38-39) The glory of the Lord was departing from the temple and the Jewish Church never again to return.

Now the question is simply - Was the proclamation of the Second Angel's Message of Revelation 14 verily truth? Did Babylon fall? Then do you go into Babylon and witness by taking part in services that call for unity with Babylon? One may even have the opportunity to present what we like to call "the unique" message and calling of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But do our actions declare any such uniqueness when we pray with them and ask that all may be one, and partake with them in their celebration of the Eucharist?

There is a very recent case in point. At the annual meeting of the Secretaries of the World Confessional Families, of which B. B. Beach is secretary, held in Windsor Castle in England in 1985, the Seventh-day Adventist Church was "the focus of special reflection." Spearheading this witness was the Editor of the Adventist Review

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Johnsson states of his presentation:

The setting of my presentation at Windsor Castle was entirely different from the context of the John Ankerberg Show. In England I presented a paper, full and complete without interruption, outlining the history, doctrines, ethos, mission, and unique identity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. (Letter, Feb. 27, 1986)

A number of Adventists were present besides B. B. Beach and Wm. G. Johnsson. The list reads - Dr., Jan Paulsen, President of the Trans-European Division; H. , L. Calkins, President of the British Union Conference; W. J. Arthur; Borge Schantz of Newbold College; and Lee Boothby, General Counsel for Church & State. The Conference commenced with a reception in Lambeth Palace hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie." (British Union Messenger, December 6, 1985, p. 1)

Each morning during the session, the participants met together in St. George's Chapel for prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist. Whatever happened a special correspondent for The Christian Century could conclude his report by writing:

Someday these world communions will move beyond their cordiality and begin to explore divisive issues. I foresaw that future when, each morning in St. George's Chapel, ... all of us prayed together and some of us shared in the Eucharist; and the divisions between Jew and gentile, male and female, rich and poor, Anglican and Seventh-day Adventist were, for a moment, overcome. (Dec. 11, 1985, p. 1143)

Johnsson writes forthrightly

"I did not partake of the Eucharist at the meeting." (Ibid.) However, Beach will neither affirm nor deny whether he took part, but responded to an inquiry with a very testy letter.

The report on the Ecumenical gathering at Windsor Castle remains open until all the facts are in.