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XVIII - 06(85)
"Watchman,
what of the night?"
"The hour has come, the hour is striking and striking at you,
the hour and the end!" Eze. 7:6 (Moffatt)
THE POWER OF TRUTH
Essential for
the Perfecting of
the Saints
Truth is an attribute of God. In the song of Moses, God is described as "a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He." (Deut 32:4) And when that Song is sung again, the victors over the beast and his image proclaim - "Great marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, Thou King of saints." (Rev. 15:3) From truth springs forth the ways of God; and because in Him is the embodiment of truth, there is no iniquity. The incident of sin was over the issue of truth. Jesus could say of him who once shared with Him the presence of God - "He abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him." (John 8:44) To be in God's presence is to be in the presence of truth. (On earth to be in the presence of truth is to be in the atmosphere of the Spirit of truth.) Of those who are prophetically designated as the 144,000, it is written - "In their mouth was found no guile (pseudos -a lie) for they are without fault before the throne of God." (Rev. 14:5) . Having overcome the father of lies (John 8:44), they are returned to the presence of the Father of truth.
The relationship between truth and the victors in earth's final struggle with the powers arrayed under deception and falsehood is not merely accidental. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." (Prov. 4:18) The closer we approach the perfect day, the purer will be the revelation of truth to the saints of God. Also their understanding of truth will reach the highest optimum possible for human beings, for they will have received the Spirit of truth without measure. Thus the revelation of the character of God to the fullest extent possible in our humanity cannot be separated from an understanding of truth. Truth - an attribute of God - when a part of the mind and life of a human being produces a Godlike character; while error, falsehood, and deception in turn produce a faulty character. See Desire of Ages , p. 671.
"Truth is sacred, divine. It is stronger and more powerful than anything else in the formation of a character after the likeness of Christ. In it there is fulness of joy. When it [truth] is cherished in the heart the love of Christ is preferred to the love of any human being. This is Christianity. This is the love of God in the soul. Thus pure unadulterated truth occupies the citadel of the being. ...
"When the truth as it is in Jesus molds our character it will be truth indeed. ... It will elevate our aspirations, enabling us to reach the perfect standard of holiness." (IHP, p. 140)
Those who would reflect the image of Jesus fully must be found in the truth as it is in Jesus. Perfection of character cannot be divorced from the understanding of truth. The perceptions of truth by the final generation of mankind - those who
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are victors - will exceed the perceptions of any previous generation. This is not saying that previous generations did not have truth, only that their perceptions of truth were not perfected. Christ, the embodiment of all truth (John 1:14; 14:6), was not comprehended even by His own disciples, let alone the multitudes. He said to His disciples in the upper room - "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth." (John 14:16-17) Then on the way to Gethsemane, Jesus emphasized the fact that when "He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13) This guidance into all truth by the Holy Spirit was to extend to the close of human history, ever unfolding greater and deeper perceptions of truth. The "light and knowledge" - truth - bestowed in the coming of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost is not to cease until the "greater light" of the latter rain is perceived by the people of God. (See TM, p. 507)
As God was laying the groundwork for the finishing of His work in the earth, He brought to His people a message in 1888 which has been defined in various ways - "Righteousness by Faith" - "A most precious message ... to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour" - "Christ, our righteousness." But the underlying objective of this message was to be the giving of the Third Angel's Message "with a loud voice." (TM, pp. 91-92) What we failed to realize is what this message of Christ's righteousness really means. The righteousness of Christ is "pure unadulterated truth." (TM, p. 65)
Those who proclaim the Third Angel's Message speak forth against the "beast and his image" and warn against receiving "a mark" in the forehead or in the hand. (Rev. 14:9) In reality, it is the proclamation of truth in contrast with error, deceptions and lies, resulting from the energizing by Satan of "the man of sin" - the beast. (See II Thess. 2:9, Fenton's Translation) 1
Truth cannot be separated from doctrine, or teaching. Jesus declared - "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) Those who heard these words understood their force, and declared they had never been in bondage to any man. (ver. 33) Paul in Romans, associated correct doctrine with the freedom truth brings from the bondage of sin. He wrote - "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." (Rom. 6:17-18 NKJV) In writing to Timothy, Paul instructed - "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. (I Tm. 4:16)
Truth - pure and unadulterated - embodied in correct doctrine or teaching is to stand in stark contrast to the errors and deceptions of the forces of him who abode not in the truth, but became the father of lies.
From the very dawn of human history comes the explicit warning as to how the enemy of truth will work. He will not deceive through a tree of error, or of evil, but by a tree of mixed truth and error, good and evil. We must never forget that the Scripture clearly states that the Cherubims guarded only "to keep the way of the tree of life." (Gen. 3:24) The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was never guarded, and came forth from the garden as the devil 's prime tool in his subjugation of the children of men.
To understand how the enemy is using this tree through which he was so successful in perverting our first mother, we must understand what God guarded and what He permitted to come from the Garden of Eden. The tree of life as a quantity of life was kept from our first parents. It is clearly stated - "God said, ... Now lest he put forth his hand, and take of the tree of life and live forever." (Gen. 3:22) But the tree of life as a quality of life, God has never withheld from man. "The word truth, 'It is written,' is the gospel we are to preach. No flaming sword is placed before this tree of life." (6T:19) In fact, one of the Cherubims - Gabriel - came to Daniel to show him "that which is noted in the scripture of truth." (Dan. 10:21)
"Satan has wrought with deceiving power, bringing in a multiplicity of errors that obscure the truth. Error cannot stand alone, and would soon become extinct if it did not fasten itself like a parasite upon
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the tree of truth. Error draws its life from the truth of God. The traditions of men, like floating germs, attach themselves to the truth of God, and men regard them as a part of the truth. Through false doctrines, Satan gains a foothold, and captivates the minds of men, causing them to hold to theories that have no foundation in truth." (Ev. p. 589)
Here is revealed how the enemy works today through a tree of truth and error, which he has substituted for the tree of the garden by which he was so successful. He mingles his sophistry with the truth of God. He cares not how much truth one may have, just so it gets mingled with some of his error. The results will be the same as with Eve - her children will think that the parasitical growth is something to be desired to make one wise, and will partake of its fruit.
At a dissident campmeeting, I used the above quotation and asked the question - How can we free ourselves from the parasitical growth - and a minister present responded rather audibly - "Cut down the tree." This Freudian slip revealed the natural heart of all of us. We really do not want truth anymore than our spiritual forefathers desired the Message of 1888 - "pure unadulterated truth." We do not appreciate truth any more today than the Jews appreciated Him, who was the embodiment of truth. We prefer to shout - "Crucify it! Cut it down!" Sure it takes much more work - -deep study - to become a "tree surgeon" and remove the parasite. But this is what is needed and demanded in this final hour of deception and crisis.
A point so often overlooked is when Jesus responded to the question asked by His disciples on the Mount of Olives - "What shall be the sign of Thy coming and the end of the world?" - His first admonition was - "Take heed that no man deceive you." (Matt. 24:4; Mark 13:5; Luke 21:8) Two nights later, Jesus prayed, as the great High Priest to be, "Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy word is truth." (John 17:17) Herein is the power of the Word to preserve - to sanctify, set apart - from deception. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 4:12)
This word sharper than a two-edged sword, is the symbol used to describe that which proceeds from the mouth of Jesus, whether walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks, or coming as King of kings to smite the nations. (Rev. 1:16; 19:15) It is this word of truth - pure and unadulterated - that must be proclaimed prior to His coming if a people are to be prepared for translation. Otherwise, they will be cut down with the sword of His mouth at His coming. Slain now, or slain, later that is the choice!
The figure of speech is changed in speaking to the Laodiceans. They are admonished to cover the shame of their nakedness with "white raiment." (Rev. 3:18) Elsewhere the admonition is, when facing the enemy in conflict, to have our loins "girt about with truth." (Eph. 6:14) This truth pure and unadulterated; white raiment - separated from the parasitical growth of error is to be found only in the powerful word of God, which proceeds from the mouth of Jesus, who was the Word made flesh.
A number of decades ago a story was making the rounds on the evangelistic circuit; whether in substance, true or not for it varied from locale to locale, nevertheless it illustrated a point. An evangelist was preaching in a small community in the hills of old North Georgia. His topic on the particular night was on healthful living. He set forth in a positive manner the general principles that a person's body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. There were heard some loud, "Amens," from time to time. Then the young preacher got down to the specifics - unclean foods, tobacco and its uses in various forms. An old snuff-dipping lady was heard to say in a stage whisper - "Dat young'uns stopt preachin' and gawn t'meddlin'." As one speaks of truth in general terms, he receives some "Amens" - but when the of that truth is spelled out, opposition becomes apparent, because he has "gawn to meddlin'." But that is what I am going to do. We have talked about the power of truth in general terms. We have
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noted how the enemy seeks to mingle error with truth to deceive; but truth to be effective must be pure and unadulterated. Now we are going to get down to the specifics about the mingling of error with the truth.
Christ has an objective for His church. That objective was so strong that He died in its behalf. Paul expresses it this way - "Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Eph. 5:25b-27) The means for this accomplishment is the "word"' of truth. Jesus had told the disciples - "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." (John 15:3) His word was truth, even as He is the truth. To the end that the church corporately might be the agency whereby the members individually might ultimately be holy and without blemish, "the church of the living God" was and is to be "the pillar and ground of the truth." (I Tim. 3:15)
The facts are and cannot be denied, that since the compromises made at the SDA-Evangelical Conferences in 1955-1956, and on through the adoption of the apostate Statement of Beliefs at Dallas, Texas, in 1980, the truth has been so altered until today the Beliefs held by the organized Seventh-day Adventist Church are a mixture of truth and error, and constitute fruit from the "tree of the
knowledge, of good and evil." This cannot produce a church without spot, or wrinkle, nor can it contribute to the realization of a people who are holy and without fault. (The same Greek word is used in Eph. 5:27 for "blemish" as is used in Rev. 14:5 for "fault.")
Many realizing this situation have drawn apart into small groups, who in turn have organized annual gatherings (campmeetings and retreats) for the purpose of realizing the objective which Christ has for His people, the church. But alas, here too, the enemy has wonderfully succeeded in mixing error with truth, and the laity so long schooled in merely listening without checking, or questioning are in as confused state as the main body itself. The goal is as far from realization among the dissident fellowships as in the regular organized assemblies. The simple fact is that you cannot mingle error with truth, and expect to have a truth that cleanses and produces the character of God. God is a God of truth - pure and unadulterated while the enemy abode not in the truth. This enemy told lies, promoted falsehoods and half truths. Those who do likewise are ministers of unrighteousness.
God is not, never will be, a part of a program that mixes error with truth. Yet tragically, many profess to see great light in such a mixture. They are like Eve, who in her delusion thought the fruit of the forbidden tree was something to make one wise; partook not only herself, but gave also to Adam to eat. Now let me be specific - "meddlin'" - if you wish to call it that. A reader of The Layworker wrote:
"I do not see Dr. Hauser's view even with the best Spirit of Prophecy quotes. You have to have very deep spiritual insight besides; and that is all I wish to say about anyone's views at this point.
"All I know is, the end is coming fast and we are not beyond being surprised as SDA's - 7BC (Probation closes when least expected)."
This reader's point was well made, but the editor made a comment. It read:
"I too question some of Hauser's, Smith's, Wheeling's, Waggerby's and Wolf's views. I wish they had not tried to predict details. BUT their agitation stirred me immensely. Now, as never before, I see the shortness of time. Please, dear reader, see the positive messages that they bring. Many see only the flaws. ..." (p. 21, Winter 1984/1985)
Since when does truth contain flaws? Pure and unadulterated truth has none, and will no more be appreciated as the truth as it was in Jesus - flawless - was appreciated in His day. To be enchanted by a mixture of factual material, misinterpreted and misapplied, from which are spun concepts of a questionable nature and which strike at the very basis of truth committed to the trust of the Advent Movement is tragic enough, but then to publish and promote such enchantment is repeating the calamity of Eden all over again. Should
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not all of our endeavors be to present truth - pure and unadulterated - so as to promote the return to Eden?
Some may respond - Did not the Great Second Advent Movement, spearheaded by William Miller, contain a major flaw in regard to the sanctuary? Most assuredly it did - and while tasting sweet produced a very bitter experience. Furthermore, because of this, the command was given - "Thou must prophesy again." (Rev. 10:11) Have we not learned our lesson? Are we to have only continual disappointment? That which is given again must be pure and unadulterated.
That is what 1888 was all about! God wanted a people who would have truth - flawless so that the truth working in their lives could and would produce a people - without fault! To continue, therefore, to promote every wind of doctrine is working contrary to the objective of God, and furthering the ends of the enemy.
There is no hope that this situation will change. Right up to the end there will be those who will hawk their "remedial concoctions" - formulated mixtures by which the unwary will be deceived. There will be those who will partake of these "mixtures" and give to others that they might partake. Only eternity will reveal the loss thus sustained. Changing the figure to the imagery of 1888 - then, it will be too late to realize that instead of a garment woven in the loom of Heaven the righteousness of Christ, truth pure and unadulterated - they had put on a robe into which had been woven the theories of men - flaws, errors, and human calculations.
Thank God, the elect will not be deceived - few though they be. However, to be among the "elect" each individual "must know that [he] knows what is truth." (TM, p. 119) Then the sophistry of error will not look like something to be desired to make one wise. Neither will thousands of dollars be spent flying these venders of a mixture of error and truth from place to place thus cooperating with the devil's objective to deceive if possible the very elect. (On the rough draft, I typed "air" for "error" - a slip, but very much in line with Hosea 12:1.)
Further, if some really want to reverse this trend - either inside or outside of the organizational structure, and see a proclamation - a loud cry - of truth unmixed with error, then there needs to be some Bible Conferences arranged, where in-depth study can and will be given so as to free the tree of truth from the parasitical growth of error. Our pioneers tried it - perhaps it is not too late for it to be tried again.
So that the individual can have a basis to know for himself what is truth, we offer the following suggestion: During the years of our evangelistic ministry, we developed a series of 13-14 simple Bible studies - all Bible -on the basic truths of the Advent Message. These we used as studies for what was called - "The Wednesday Night Bible Class" - during the Evangelistic series. They were used on other occasions to instruct candidates for baptism. They were also used in personal home Bible studies - and worked! Souls made decisions for truth. . Finally, when called to head the Bible Department at old Madison College, these studies formed the basis of the Class in Personal Evangelism. Now I am not saying that these studies answer all the various speculations rampant in Adventism today especially in the dissident community.
They do hold to the historic teaching of Adventism in regard to the Incarnation and the Sanctuary. But while they may not give all the answers to all the winds of doctrine blowing at gale force through Adventism today, they will give the fundamental teachings by which some of the varied winds can be tested, and rejected when found not to accord with basic truth.
We.- are willing to rework these studies, and improve them for publication and distribution, if there is sufficient interest in such a project. This work, however, will not go forward to the extent needed, unless those in the field write and tell us that they would like such a set of studies to learn for themselves "what is truth." In addition to this, we shall continue to address from time to time some of the issues arising, as we have been doing, seeking to expose "the wind" on which many an Ephraimite is "feeding" these days. We would pray that such would be "translated" to one of the other tribes, and
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not be numbered among "the lost tribes" of Israel. (Hosea 12:1; See Rev. 7:5-8)
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1 -- This outlaw's arrival will be accompanied by the energy of Satan with all powers and signs, and terrors of falsehood. (II Thess. 2:9, Ferrar Fenton)
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There are many in our churches who know little of the real meaning of the truth for this time. I appeal to them not to disregard the fulfilling of the signs of the times, which say so plainly that the end is near. 0 how many who have not sought their soul's salvation will soon make the bitter lamentation, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!" (Maranatha, p. 106)
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SUMMARY REPORT - 5
We continue from the April issue, the report from the Complaint filed by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State seeking to set aside the appointment of the Ambassador to the Holy See.
FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
(Continued)
"In the early part of 1983 a legislative measure 'providing for the establishment of the United States diplomatic relations with the Vatican' was introduced-in the Senate by Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana as S. 1757 and in the House of Representatives by the late Rep. Clement J. Zablocki of Wisconsin as H.J. Res 316. No public hearing was held on these legislative items. Senator Lugar then, on September 22, 1983, introduced legislation in the form of an amendment to the 1984 State Department Authorization Bill as Amendment No. 2189 which read as follows:
On page 24, line 20, Immediately following sec. 121, insert the following new section:
"The United States diplomatic relations with the Vatican
"'Sec. 122. In order to provide for the establishment of United States diplomatic relations with the Vatican. The Act entitled 'an Act Making Appropriations for Consular and Diplomatice Expenses of the Government for the year ending thirtieth June, 1868, ...,' is
amended by repealing the following sentence (14 Stat. 413): 'And no money hereby or otherwise appropriated shall be paid for the support of an American legation at Rome, from and after the thirtieth day of June, 1860-7.'"
"The legislation was approved by the House-Senate Conference Committee and by the full House and Senate and subsequently signed into law by the President as Pub. L. No. 98-164 on November 22, 1983.
"Following the bill's approval the State Department began consulting with representatives of the Holy See on the question of closer relations. On January 10, 1984, the White House and the Holy See announced the establishment of full diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level. The formal announcement issued by the United States Department of State reads as follows:
The United States of America and the Holy See, in the desire to further promote the existing mutual friendly relations, have decided by common agreement to establish diplomatic relations between them at the level of embassy on the part of the United States of America, and nunciature on the part of the Holy See, as of today, January 10, 1984.
"The term 'Holy See' is an ecclesiastical one and has been defined in the New Catholic Encyclopedia as follows:
HOLY SEE, a term designating Rome as the bishopric of the pope.. The word is derived from the Latin sedes, which denotes the seat or residence of the bishop: this is because the bishop's office is symbolized by the chair in which he presides over his people. The word see is accordingly applied to all bishoprics, although it was first used of the Churches founded by the Apostles. They would be known further as apostolic or holy sees, in as much as it was the function of the apostles to mediate Christ's holiness to their flocks. As the titles pope and apostolic see came to be used especially of the bishop of Rome and his see, so too the title holy see was restricted to Rome. In canonical and diplomatic language it now refers to Rome as the bishopric of the pope and to his Curia, the Roman Congregations, tribunals, and offices.
"On February 2, 1984, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the nomination of William A. Wilson as Ambassador to the Holy See. Since no hearing had been held previously concerning
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-- Congress' earlier repeal of the prohibition against funding such a diplomatic mission, the Committee on Foreign Relations permitted testimony to be given, not only concerning the appointment of William A. Wilson as Ambassador to the Holy See, but also with reference to the appointment of any ambassador to the Holy See. Statements of opposition were submitted on behalf of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, the National Council of Churches of Christ, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Southern Baptist Convention. Included in the statements of Dr. James T. Draper, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, were copies of resolutions opposing the appointment of the United States Ambassador to the Vatican by the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, Kentucky Baptist Convention, Louisiana Baptist Convention, Baptist Convention of Maryland, Mississippi Baptist Convention, Missouri Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, and Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission. In addition, twenty Southern Baptist national agencies voted their unanimous opposition to this matter, and all fifteen living former presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention, as well as the then President of the Southern Baptist Convention, signed a letter protesting the action and sent it to President Reagan.
To be Continued
FROM INDIA
"The Union leaders of the Burma Union of Seventh-day Adventists have enrolled themselves as members of the Burma Christian Council, which is a branch of the World Council of Churches. So we can say that many of the so called Adventists are members of the W.C.C."
THE LAMBS
'Twas a sheep, not a lamb, that went astray
In the parable Jesus told;
'Twas a grown-up sheep that wandered away
And out on the hilltop and out in the cold,
From the ninety and nine in the fold.
'Twas a sheep the Good Shepherd sought,.
And back to the flock, and back to the fold,
Now, why should the sheep be so carefully fed
And cared for still today?
Because there is danger! ... If they go wrong
They will lead the lambs astray!
For the lambs will follow the sheep, you know,
If the sheep go wrong, it will not be long
'Till the lambs are as wrong as they;
So, still with the sheep we must earnestly plead,.
For the sake of the lambs today.
If the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost!
Some sheep will have to pay.
Luke 15:3-7 George Steward
COURT'S MODERATION OVER
"A University of Chicago legal scholar says in a study that the US Supreme Court has shifted from a long period of moderation to a new era of viewing the Constitution 'through the eyes of mainstream America.'
"Geoffrey Stone, a law professor at the university, bases his conclusions on a detailed analysis of the court's decisions during its last term. In Stone's view the Court adopted 'aggressive majoritarianism,' supporting the ascendancy of America's majority.
"Stone says the court 'seeks to restore to the majority its right to assert its will, even in those areas in which minority interests are most seriously threatened. It is insensitive, or at least unempathetic, to those in need of protection.'
"In the Pawtucket, R.I., Nativity Scene case, Stone says the court 'expressly abandoned the principle that the 1st Amendment erects a wall of separation between church and state.'" - Chicago Tribune, 4/9/85
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