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~~~~~ ~~~~ {~~} top ~~~~~ ADVENTIST LAYMEN'S FOUNDATION OF CANADA (ALF) Publisher
of the All the Specials and Commentaries are in the last file of the year. There are 4 files for each year: jm=Jan-Mar; aj=Apr-Jun; js-=Jul-Sep; od=Oct-Dec WWN is a thought paper that was published monthly continuously from Jan, 1968 to the end of Dec. 2006 . by the Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Mississippi, Inc.(ALF), with William H. Grotheer as the Editor of Research & Publication. The Nov. 1977 issue discusses "What is the "Watchman, What of the Night?"
SHORT STUDIES - William H. Grotheer - top Interpretative
History of the Doctrine of the Incarnation as Taught by the Seventh-day
Adventist Church, An Bible
Study Guides End Time Line Re-Surveyed Parts 1 & 2 - Adventist Layman's Foundation Excerpts
- Legal Documents Holy Flesh Movement 1899-1901, The - William H. Grotheer Hour and the End is Striking at You, The - William H. Grotheer In
the Form of a Slave Jerusalem
In Bible Prophecy Key
Doctrinal Comparisons - Statements of Belief 1872-1980 Pope
Paul VI Given Gold Medallion by Adventist Church Leader Sacred Trust BETRAYED!, The - William H. Grotheer
Seal of God Seventh-day
Adventist Evangelical Conferences of 1955-1956 SIGN of the END of TIME, The - William H. Grotheer STEPS
to ROME Times
of the Gentiles Fulfilled, The - A Study in Depth of Luke 21:24 Remembering ~~~~~ OTHER BOOKS, MANUSCRIPTS & ARTICLES: Additional
Various Studies -- Bible As History - Werner Keller Place of the Bible In Education, The - Alonzo T. Jones Facts of Faith - Christian Edwardson Individuality in Religion - Alonzo T. Jones Letters to the Churches - M. L. Andreasen "Is the Bible Inspired or Expired?" - J. J. Williamson Sabbath, The - M. L. Andreasen Sanctuary
Service, The So Much In Common - WCC/SDA Daniel and the Revelation - Uriah Smith Spiritual Gifts. The Great Controversy, between Christ and His Angels, and Satan and his Angels - Ellen G. White Canons of the Bible, The - Raymond A. Cutts Under
Which Banner? - Jon A. Vannoy TOP
Due to his failing health, Elder Grotheer requested that ALF of Canada continue publishing thoughts through its website www.AdventistAlet.com which developed into frequent Blog Thought articles plus all of the Foundation's historical published works written and audio. As of 2010, with the official closing of the ALF of USA , The Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Canada with its website www.Adventist Alert.com is the only officially operating ALF branch established by Elder Grotheer worldwide. We are thankful for the historical legacy that is now available through The Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Canada, info@AdventistAlert.com The MISSION of this site -- is to make available the articles from the thought paper "Watchman, What of the Night?" It is not our purpose to copy WWN in whole. Any portion of the thought paper may be reproduced without further permission by adding the credit line - "Reprinted from WWN, Adventist Laymen's Foundation of Canada." top {~~~} |
UNDER
WHICH BANNER? by
Jon A.Vannoy printed 1982 Revised
winter 1998-1999 p
104 -- WHICH AUTHORITY?
"The
General Conference Committee is the highest authority in the Seventh-day
Adventist Church. All other Organizations and institutions that carry
the name Seventh-day Adventist have a subsidiary role to the General
Conference; and specifically to your question concerning the Pacific
Press, the Pacific Press is considered an institution under the control
of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists." -- Neal
C. Wilson -- Court Reporter's Transcript, p. 0372. (Emphasis
supplied) Is it ever safe for a representative group
- a committee - of "spiritual leaders" 23 to
frame and issue a statement on the subject of righteousness by faith
for the people at large to accept? Does the General Conference Committee,
or Neal Wilson, or any group of leaders, or anyone for that matter,
ever have the real
authority -- authority not usurped -- to appoint such a committee? Wilson
said that in the early church the question in Acts 15 was not submitted
to a vote by the church members; all discussion ended when the voice
of the highest authority - the apostles -- had spoken. Whatever happened
to the Protestant principle of individual determination in the manner
of worshipping God as led by God? In the Seventh-day Adventist Church ,which
voice is the voice of highest authority? Is it the General Conference
Committee, as Wilson said, or is it the General Session of the Church
as a whole? Technically and historically, it is the latter; but in actuality,
it is the former as the nearly comatose membership allows it to be -
a failing of human organization. But then Wilson's postulation is nothing
new, historically the "voice" has been appropriated by the
few to achieve their own purposes. During the 1901 General Conference
Session Ellen White said that there was a time in the church when the
General Conference was considered to be as the voice of God to the people;
but that time had passed and they were to build upon a different principle.
(1901 GCB, p. 25). By 1909 she had eased back somewhat and
issued a prepared statement for the delegates, then in General Session,
which was to clarify what she had said in 1901: 23
-- This is reminiscent of a Roman Catholic conclave in which the College
of Cardinals assembled with special authority to decide issues and formulate
church law. p
105 -- "At
times, when a small group of men entrusted with the general management
of the work have, in the name of the General Conference, sought to carry
out unwise plans and to restrict God's work, I have said that I could
no longer regard the voice of the General Conference, represented by
these few men, as the voice of God. But this is not saying that the
decisions of a General Conference composed of an assembly of duly appointed,
representative men from all parts of the field should not be respected.
God has ordained that the representatives of His church from all parts
of the earth, when assembled in a General Conference, shall have authority.
The error that some are in danger of committing is in giving to the
mind and judgment of one man, or a small group of men, the full measure
of authority and influence that God has vested in His church in the
judgment and voice of the General Conference assembled to plan for the
prosperity and advancement of His work." -- 9T
260-261. (The full text of what she said is in these pages and makes
interesting reading). "When
this power, which God has placed in the church, is accredited wholly
to one man, [or group of men] and he is invested with the authority
to be judgment for other minds, then the true Bible order is changed."
-- Ibid. The highest authority in the church is
the voice of the General Conference when
in full session, and then only
when its actions are in harmony with the revealed work of
God and not in violation of the individual right of conscience. Should any man or any representative group
of spiritual leaders decide for the whole "practical direction"
in studying the "major truths of justification and sanctification"
or anything else for that matter? With what authority do leaders such
as these speak? Do they speak with authority similar to the apostles
as they would have us think? Shall they be judgment for other minds
-- minds other than their own? As these men step from the Bible platform
in deciding such things, is it safe to follow after them?
"Let every man stand at his post of duty, to act his part for this
time and know that God is his instructor." -- 9T
260.
TOP POLICY
OR TRUTH? -- ORGANIZATIONAL PRESERVATION "LEADERSHIP
WILL LEAD IN LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING, AND FOLLOWERSHIP WILL SUPPORT
THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP UNFAILINGLY, EVEN
THOUGH NECESSARILY CRITICAL OF SOME DECISIONS OF THE LEADERSHIP."
Walter R. Beach, Adventist Review, October 25, 1979 p
106 -- In
the lawsuit involving the Pacific Press and the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission of the Federal Government, the denomination, through its
leadership, purposely took a stance that was decidedly papal. If one
were not aware of the political nature of the Organization and the maneuvering
that takes place in the play and interplay for power and position, one
would find Willis Hackett's May 26, 1977 Review article incredible
when compared to what was revealed in the lawsuit and the resulting
trial involving the Pacific Press. Nearly
two years after the trial, Hackett wrote of the General Conference's
concern that the "landmarks" be preserved. Even the article's
title, "Preserve The Landmarks" expressed that concern. Remarking
on other churches once zealous in the proclamation of the simple gospel,
he related that: "The
history of the churches shows that the eroding of faith that occurred
did not emanate from bad men or atheistic schemers. Rather, there occured
an almost imperceptible decline in the thrust of the gospel on the part
of those who claimed to be the gospel's supporters. While their lifestyle
remained exemplary, somehow they lost touch with the Spirit of Christ
and the Scriptures. An erosion of faith, once begun, often turns
out to be irreversible." -- Review, May 1977
(emphasis supplied) What
sanctimoniousness! What a nauseating pretense of virtue! What bald-faced
hypocrisy! The machinations of these men were nothing short of organized
mendacity to hide the truth and distort the language in order to control
the minds of the membership. 24
The same Organizational leaders who claimed such
great concern in preserving the landmarks were foremost in tearing them
down two years prior. The erosion of faith among Seventh-day Adventists
by that time was irreversible. That is not to say that the church could
not have recovered its loss; but because the leaders were dedicated
to policy, power, and the preservation of the Organization at the expense
of "thus saith the Lord;" and since the membership follows
leadership without question, and neither were forced by God to comply,
so the crucial reversal of direction did not take place. What
did the trial reveal? Beside the obvious reason for the trial, the church's
policy of paying female employees less than male employees for identical
or nearly identical work, it revealed a complete lack of confidence
on the part of the leadership in God's willingness and ability to provide
for what they call God's work. The leaders did not trust God. In other
words, they were devoid of faith. 24
-- George Orwell originated the "mendacity" phrase in Animal
Farm, his 1945 satire on dictatorship. TOP p
107 -- Their
lack of confidence in God is easily demonstrated in the attempt to defend
the Organization, right or wrong, at the expense of everything that
separated Seventh-day Adventists from the professed Christian world. The
case was tried in the United States District Court, Northern District
of California. In the reply brief for the Defendants (Pacific Press,)
and in sworn affidavits by Robert Pierson and Neal Wilson, certain facts
were revealed that placed the leadership and the Organization they represent
clearly off the platform of truth. A few examples are as follows: On
page four of the Reply Brief for the Defendants, the leadership revealed
the following position: "2.
Although it is true that there was a period in the life of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church when the denomination took a distinctly anti-Roman
Viewpoint, and the term 'hierarchy' was used in the pejorative sense
to refer to the papal form of church governance, that attitude on the
Church's part was nothing more than a manifestation of widespread anti-popery
among conservative Protestant denominations in the early part of this
century and the latter part of the last, and which has now been consigned
to the historical trash heap so far as the Seventh-day Adventist Church
is concerned." -- Reply Brief for the Def., p. 4, Civ.
No. 74-2025 CBR For
those Adventists who still value the "dated" view of the papacy
now consigned to the historical trash heap, the following will be of
worth: "The
Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world, covering with apologies
her record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed herself in Christ-like
garments; but she is unchanged. Every principle of the papacy that existed
in past ages exists today. The doctrines devised in the darkest ages
are still held. Let none deceive themselves. The papacy that Protestants
are now so ready to honor is the same that ruled the world in the days
of the Reformation when men of God stood up, at the peril of their lives,
to expose her iniquity. She possesses the same pride and arrogant assumption
that lorded it over kings and princes, and claimed the prerogatives
of God. Her spirit is no less cruel and despotic now than when she crushed
out human liberty, and slew the saints of the Most High." --
GC 571.
TOP
p
108 -- Referring
to this court case, Robert Pierson sought to quell growing rumors that
the church had taken a decidedly "unAdventist" position. Moving
to disarm any criticism of the leadership he covered these points: 1.
Is the church above the law? "As stated above, the Seventh-day
Adventist Church per se does not feel that it is above the law or that
it is not subject to City, State, or Federal laws. Seventh-day Adventists
are traditionally law abiding citizens, and the church counsels our
members to keep the laws of the land." -- Review,
March 24, 1977, Robert Pierson. 25 2.
Does the Adventist ministry have a series of "orders?"
"In the Adventist ministry we do not have various "orders"
with some "outranking" others. It is true that some have larger
parishes than others, but basically we are all in this great cause together,
and we would not have it any other way." -- Ibid. (Robert
Pierson) 3.
But what does Pierson say in his personal affidavit?
"13. The orders of ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist
Church include Ordained Ministers, Credentialed Missionaries, Licensed
Ministers, Licensed Missionaries, and Credentialed Literature Evangelists.
All of these are ministers of the Church, and charged by God with carrying
on His work. . . " -- Affidavit of Robert H. Pierson,
p. 8 (Civ. No. 74-2025 CBR) and,
"14. An ordained minister is authorized and expected to
preach the gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and to administer the sacraments.
. ." -- Ibid. (Robert Pierson) TOP Which
of the "sacraments" are Seventh-day Adventist ministers to
administer? The term sacrament is fundamentally Roman Catholic. It denotes
a sign of grace as taught in their doctrinal system. There
are seven sacraments -- Baptism, which takes away original sin,
and also actual sin and all the punishment due to them if the person
baptized is guilty but repentant. At baptism Catholics become members
of the Church, subject to its laws, and capable of receiving other sacraments.
-- Confirmation, is the next sacrament, wherein the Bishop extends
his hands over those who are to be confirmed, prays that they may receive
the Holy Ghost, and, while laying his hand on each person, anoints the
forehead with holy chrism in the form of a cross. The sacrament of --
Penance is the rite by which sins committed after baptism are
forgiven through the absolution of the priest. -- Holy Orders,
another sacrament, gives a full share in the priesthood of Christ, power
to offer 25
-- Take note of the position taken by the leadership during the trial
which preceded Pierson's Review article: "The church claims
exemption from all civil laws in all of its religious institutions;
although it seeks accommodation, it draws a line of its own when dealing
with Caesar." -- Neal C. Wilson Deposition, pp. 74-77, 79 p
109 --
Mass, to forgive sins and so on. -- Matrimony and Anointing of
the Sick are fairly self-explanatory. The
sacrament Pierson was referring to was the sacrament of the Holy
Eucharist.
Of all the error Seventh-day Adventists were set apart to oppose, it
is the Holy Eucharist, and all it represents. According to Roman Catholic
theology, it is a sacrament and a sacrifice. Under the appearances of
bread and wine, Christ is said to be literally contained, offered, and
received. The Holy Eucharist also involves the sacrifice of the Mass
in which Christ offers Himself time after time at the beckoning of a
priest in what they term an unbloody manner. "The
Mass continues the Sacrifice of the Cross. Each time Mass is offered,
the Sacrifice of Christ is repeated. A new sacrifice is not offered;
but by divine power, one and the same sacrifice is repeated." --
(New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism-The Holy Eucharist.) How
does Christ being sacrificed many times from the same sacrifice compare
to scripture? Notice with Rome the "benefits" of the original
sacrifice are not "applied," rather, the original sacrifice
is repeated - truly, another mystery of Rome! "For
Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are
the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us. "Nor
yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth
into the holy place every year with blood of others; for then must he
often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once
in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after
this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;
and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without
sin unto salvation. "Hebrews 9:24-28 (see also Hebrews 10: 8-14.) "The
subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the
disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of truth,
connected and harmonious, showing that p
110 --
God's hand had directed the great Advent Movement and revealing present
duty as it brought to light the position and work of His people."
-- GC, p. 428 "It
is those who by faith follow Jesus in the great work of the atonement
who receive the benefits of His mediation in their behalf, while those
who reject the light which brings to view this work of ministration
are not benefited thereby. . . The condition of the unbelieving Jews
illustrates the condition of the careless and unbelieving among professed
Christians, who are willingly ignorant of the work of our merciful High
Priest. In the typical service, when the high priest entered the most
holy place, all Israel were required to gather about the sanctuary and
in the most solemn manner humble their souls before God, that they might
receive the pardon of their sins and not be cut off from the congregation.
How much more essential in the antitypical day of atonement that we
understand the work of our High Priest and know what duties are required
of us." -- GC, p. 430-431 "The
passing of the time in 1844 was followed by a period of great trial
to those who still held the advent faith. Their only relief, so far
as ascertaining their true position was concerned, was the light which
directed their minds to the sanctuary above. Some renounced their faith
in their former reckoning of the prophetic periods and ascribed to human
or satanic agencies the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit which
had attended the Advent Movement. Another class firmly held that the
Lord had led them in their past experience; and as they waited and watched
and prayed to know the will of God, they saw that their great High Priest
had entered upon another work of ministration, and following Him by
faith, they were led to see also the closing work of the church. They
had a clearer understanding of the first and second angels' messages,
and were prepared to receive and give to the world the solemn warning
of the third angel of Revelation 14." -- GC, p.
432 TOP Was
the term "sacraments" used inadvertently? If this were the
case then it would have been an isolated incident, but it was not. To
profess to administer the sacraments and the use of such terminology
was to accomplish certain desired effects. There is, throughout the
transcript of the trial, a very obvious attempt to convey the impression
that the p
111 --
Adventist church and its form of organization is very similar to the
Roman Catholic organization. Not only is the idea of the "sacraments"
employed repeatedly, but the term hierarchy,
referring to the Adventist leadership, was used to achieve the same
results. In
the Pacific Press brief the idea of hierarchy
is clearly brought forth: "In
their zeal to deny the organization and structure of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church, in order to be enabled to deny the authority of the
General Conference committee, the intervene-plaintiffs fall into the
error of teaching false doctrine, which is contrary to the doctrine
and practice of the Church. Thus, Mrs. [Lorna] Tobler [one of the plaintiffs
-- the other was Meri Kay Silver] swears ' I have frequently heard the
term "hierarchy" used among Adventist[s] [sic.] when reference
is made to the Roman Catholic system, of which I have always been taught
that Adventists strongly disapprove. I have never heard the term "hierarchy"
used to describe Adventist ministers, as it is done in the defendants'
[Pacific Press] brief. . . .and I find it strange and contradictory
to all I have ever learned in Adventist schools and churches.' "In
several ways this illustrates the dangers incurred by an individual
church member who presumes to deny the authority of the duly constituted
officials and governing bodies of the Church. In the first place it
is true that for a period in its history, the Seventh-day Adventist
Church had an aversion to Roman Catholicism and especially to the papal
form of church government -- an aversion shared by virtually all Protestant
denominations. While, however, Adventist doctrine continues to teach
that church government by one man is contrary to the Word of God, it
is not good Adventism to express, as Mrs. Tobler has done, an aversion
to Roman Catholicism as such. "The
term 'hierarchy' or 'hierarchical' has no such adverse connotation in
Seventh-day Adventist theology as Mrs. Tobler suggests." -- (Reply
Brief for the Defendants, pp. 29-30) Another
example of this Romanistic theme can be observed in the Organization's
argument that the government does not have the power to regulate the
wage practices of a religious institution. p
112 -- "The
wage policy of a church cannot be determined by government. The wage
policies of religious institutions vary greatly: some religious orders
require backbreaking labor under a vow of poverty, while a teen-age
guru is reported to enjoy six Rolls-Royces and a bushel of rubies." "Those
who work for the Seventh-day Adventist Church respond to a religious
vocation in exactly the same sense as does a cloistered nun. Man's law
is by its very nature not applicable." -- Opening Brief for
the Defendants. Civ. No. 74-2025 CBR, p. 89-90 TOP NEAL
WILSON'S PERJURY: In reviewing
the trial record and the differing responses of the leadership to the
charges put forth by the Federal Government, it is clear that the motivating
decision to oppose the wage discrimination charges brought against them
was not because of so-called "constitutional breaches" so
much as it was a thinly disguised attempt to preserve the authority
they thought was being threatened. Of
all the leaders involved in the Pacific Press lawsuit, it appears that
Neal Wilson, in his zeal to establish a claim to the authority he saw
as being challenged by the Federal Government, went well beyond the
trust conferred upon him as a leader by making a series of statements
of a highly contradictory nature. Those statements seriously compromised
the position and work of the Seventh-day Adventist people. Robert
Pierson attempted to pass off these and other palpably false statements
as an effort initiated by attorneys who were not Seventh-day Adventists
to present the denomination's side in language they felt would be better
understood in the courtroom. (See Adventist Review, March 24,
1977, p. 7.) But the question remains, who gave them the authority to
make such statements? Only the leadership had the authority to authorize
such statements, and the name that appears most in giving this authorization
is that of Neal C. Wilson. It
is Wilson who
gave the authority for the statement that "it
is not good Seventh-day Adventism to express, as Mrs. Tobler has done,
an aversion to Roman Catholicism as such." (Reply Brief,
p. 30.) It was his authorization that allowed their attorneys
to state that the traditional Seventh-day Adventist aversion to Roman
Catholicism had been TOP p
113 --
consigned to the historical trash heap. (Reply Brief, p. 4.)
He authorized the statement that: "On
the one hand, we insist that the church is carrying out the Commandments
of God, preaching the Good News to all peoples, animated by the Great
Commandment to 'love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor
as thyself.' "On
the other hand, we insist that in doing its holy work, the church is
free to ignore, even to flout, measures which bind all others."
-- Brief for Appellants, p. 78 It
was Wilson who allowed that, "the
Church claims exemption from all civil laws in all of its religious
institutions; although it seeks accommodation, it draws a line of its
own when dealing with Caesar." (Wilson Deposition 74-77,
79.) He authorized the statement that: "As
an organized religious denomination the Seventh-day Adventist Church
insists that it is ' wholly exempt' from the cognizance of Civil Authority,
and that slight entanglements, practical exceptions, and 'reasonable
adjustments' are not to be tolerated." Appellant Brief,
p. 80 Compare
the above statement to a remark in Volume 9 of the Testimonies:
"We
should weed out from our writings and utterances every expression that,
taken by itself, could be so misrepresented as to make it appear antagonistic
to law and order. Everything should be carefully considered, lest we
place ourselves on record as encouraging disloyalty to our country and
its laws." -- 9T, p. 238 In
Wilson's personal affidavit he continued his perjury by flatly stating
that: "
60. A Seventh-day Adventist School is not a mere alternative
to, or substitute for, a public school or nondenominational private
school education. It is a religious endeavor carried on in a religious
atmosphere. The religious mission so far pervades the educational institution
that Seventh-day Adventist schools do not accept governmental
aid." -- Wilson Affidavit, p. 31, par.
60, dated Feb. 6, 1976. (Emphasis supplied.) TOP p
114 -- Yet
in the Review of November 27, 1975, a few months prior to the
above statement, Editor, Kenneth Wood, recounted the action of the 1972
Annual Council that was held in Mexico City which "adopted a new
policy on church-state relationships in the United States. That policy
established guidelines under which church-operated educational institutions
could accept government aid." Thereafter, at each succeeding Annual
Council a report was presented that revealed a growing dependence on
government "subsidization." "The
amount of support received from the government and from the church was
almost equal last year -- $14,979,859.53 from the government; $15,161,360.29
from the church. Capital funds (one-time grants) totaled about $905,000,
while money for operating totaled more than $4,600,000. Loans and scholarship
funds totaled nearly $7,800,000. Of the approximately $13 million received
by Loma Linda University, $8 million came from the government; $5 million
from the church." -- Review, Nov. 27, 1975. Comparing
Wilson's February 6, 1976, Affidavit with Wood's 1975 Review
article, is it possible that Neal Wilson, as North American Division
Head, was absent from the 1972 Annual Council Meeting and had, therefore,
been unaware for a little over three years of the highly controversial
action taken there, establishing for the first time guidelines for accepting
government aid? The
aforementioned differences in the public testimony of Neal Wilson are
a mere sampling of a long list of perjurious statements -- statements
too plain and numerous to be termed inadvertent mistakes or passed off
as courtroom jargon. Such statements reveal a thirst for power and position,
that begets not only a loss of credibility, but more importantly, does
not represent those traits of character that should be in a leader of
a denomination that claims to keep the Commandments of God. Do
Seventh-day Adventists have a "first
minister" as Robert Pierson called himself and those
who after him would hold the position of General Conference President?
Does the ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church administer the
"sacraments"
as Pierson professed? And is the leadership correct in portraying the
church as an ecclesiastical organization with "orders
of ministry?" Are those who choose to work in the denomination
placing themselves in the same position as "cloistered p
115 --
nuns?"
Do Adventists have a hierarchy;
and does it, or does it not, have an adverse connotation in the church?
Is the church exempt from
all civil laws in all of its religious institutions as it claims? Has
the Seventh-day Adventist church consigned its anti-Roman Catholic viewpoint
"to the historical trash heap" as the leadership suggests?
Is it, or is it not, "good Adventism" to express an aversion
to Roman Catholicism? If these things are true, and the leadership has
sworn in Federal Court as to their truthfulness, then the Organization
is steeped in apostasy. But if those things are not true, then the leadership
perjured themselves and should have been dealt with according to the
laws of the land. In either case, they proved themselves false and did
their brethren in the faith a great injustice.
"A BACKSLIDING CHURCH NARROWS THE DISTANCE
BETWEEN ITSELF AND THE PAPACY." -- EGW, Signs of the Times,
Feb. 19, 1894. TOP SECTION
VI -- RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH -- WE
ARE THE CHURCH. THERE IS NO OTHER CHURCH THAN THE ASSEMBLY OF THOSE
WHO HAVE THE WORD OF GOD AND ARE PURIFIED BY IT. - MARTIN LUTHER CHRIST
IN YOU, THE TRUE CHURCH:
It is a great mistake to limit the gospel message to any particular
segment or piece of doctrine. Its broadness and all encompassing nature
is such that one should never regard whatever facet under consideration
as the whole, but as a piece of the whole. To segmentize the gospel
and then pigeonhole the result strips it of its dynamism. Because of
this failing, the revelation of God's Way of planting His nature in
fallen, but redeemed mankind has become confused and many times lost.
The
"open secret" hidden from the ancients was revealed when the
Son of God became a human being, to save human beings, which in turn,
by their intrigues, promptly set about to conceal it. But God will not
be denied. His word will not return to Him empty. "It
makes me happy to be suffering for you now, and in my own body to make
up all the hardships that still have to be undergone by Christ for the
sake of his body, the Church, of which I was made a servant with the
responsibility towards you that God gave to me, that of completing God's
message, the message which was an open secret hidden for generations
and centuries and has now been revealed to his holy people. It was God's p
116 --
purpose to reveal to them how rich is the glory of this open secret
among the nations; it is Christ in you, your hope of glorification."
Col. 1: 24-28. Sin
is not guilt as in original
sin -- it is a condition. It exists because by "one
man sin entered the world." Humankind have a condition perpetuated
in them from the first man. A man might not want the condition, but
he has it. Because of the gift of God, through the other "one man,"
Jesus Christ, the way is made clear to be free of sin. "One
man's offense brought condemnation on all humanity; and one man's good
act has brought justification and life to all humanity." Romans
5: 18. Acts
of sin reveal the existence of an inward condition that only God has
the remedy for, and is affirmed in the text: "For
in the good news God's way for man to be in right standing with Him
is uncovered, the Way of faith that leads to greater faith. . ."
Romans 1: 17. The problem with mankind
is their fondness for reckoning their way as superior to God's Way.
TOP Consider
Adam, who was created pure with a disposition that was harmonious with
God. There was no inclination in him to do anything contrary to the
will of God. He was a free moral agent with freedom to make independent
choices in regard to his mode of conduct in association with his Creator.
It was his nature to be a trusted citizen under the sovereignty of God;
one who freely chose to honor and esteem his Maker as due the devotion
asked of him. In short, Adam exercised complete freedom of will. When
the opportunity came for Adam to choose whether or not to submit to
God, he exercised his free will to ignore his Maker's command, and by
that choice he separated himself and all those who would come after
him from God to suffer the penalty of his offense. A part of that penalty
was the loss of free will. Hence Paul's remark in his letter to the
Romans: "And
human nature has nothing to look forward to but death, while the Spirit
looks forward to life and peace, because the outlook of disordered human
nature is opposed to God, since it does not submit to God's Law, and
indeed it cannot, and those who live by their natural inclinations
can never be pleasing to God." (Emphasis supplied.)
In
the King James version the word "enmity"
is used in describing the natural condition of humanity in its connection
to God. Humanity in its natural state is the enemy of God. Enmity is
the feeling or condition of hostility, hatred, ill will, animosity and
antagonism. It has, at its root, the idea of loathing someone or something
to the point of being nauseous -- a condition seen, in varying degrees,
in all unrepentant humanity. p
117 -- "The
moment the workmanship of God refused obedience to the laws of God's
kingdom, that moment he became disloyal to the government of God and
he made himself entirely unworthy of all the blessings wherewith God
had favored him. "This
was the position of the human race after man divorced himself from God
by transgression. Then he was no longer entitled to a breath of air,
a ray of sunshine, or a particle of food. And the reason why man was
not annihilated was because God so loved him that He made the gift of
His dear Son that He should suffer the penalty of his transgression.
" -- EGW Ms 36, 1890.
TOP
Knowing
the absolute helplessness of fallen humanity to be anything other than
a race of beings who were inwardly and outwardly in rebellion, God activated
His long established plan by which He would literally save man from
himself. Abraham's sacrifice is one lesson in the plan to save "men."
When
the Lamb did arrive, He stated His purpose. Reading from Isaiah Jesus
said: "The
Spirit of the Lord is on me for Jehovah has anointed me. He has sent
me to bring the news to the afflicted, to soothe the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to captives, release to those in prison, to proclaim
a year of favor from Jehovah." Luke 4: 18; Isaiah 61: 1, 2.
God, through
Christ, would free man from his sinful condition. Those
who labor under the opinion that they must, by their own free will,
surrender first to God before they receive strength to render obedience
to God's requirements are bound still -- blind, sitting in darkness
in the prison house of sin. (See Isa. 42: 5-7) Human nature exists,
not in its original state, but imprisoned by the power of evil. It is
separated from God, the source of all good, by a natural bent of will
to self-love and sin. A man's actions are determined within himself,
before he acts, by his corrupt nature. Good and evil cannot spring from
the same source, and that makes man void of the ability to correct his
own affliction. His only hope is God. TOP Salvation
is God's doing, not man's. It is His gift. God gives, man receives.
The free will (the disposition) of unregenerated mankind is opposed
to faith, and p
118 --
whatever is not of faith is sin. It is an illusion encouraged by Satan
to keep those who fancy themselves as possessing it, bound in chains
of self-righteousness. Only God can restore in man the free will which
he, ironically, with the last act of his free will, surrendered. Free
will or freedom of choice boils down to the question of merit. If man
at anytime and to any degree in his natural state chooses to serve God,
then there is merit in that act which places God in the position of
owing those who exercise their freedom to choose.
"It is not what a person wants or does that makes him acceptable
to God but only whether or not God extends him His grace." Romans
9:16. Only those whom God
chooses are prepared for His kingdom. "Men
are educated to think that if a man repents he shall be pardoned, supposing
that repentance is the way, the door, into heaven that there is a certain
assured value in repentance to buy for him forgiveness. Can a man repent
of himself? No more than he can pardon himself." -- Ms 36,
1890. "There
is danger in regarding justification by faith as placing merit on faith.
When you take the righteousness of Christ as a free gift, you are justified
freely through the redemption of Christ. What is faith? ' The substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' Heb. 11:1 It
is an assent of the understanding of God's words which binds the heart
in willing consecration and service to God, who gave the understanding,
who moved the heart, who first drew the mind to view Christ on the cross
of Calvary. Faith is rendering to God the intellectual powers, abandonment
of the mind and will to God, and making Christ the only door to enter
into the kingdom of heaven." -- Ibid.
TOP
If
there is anything in man's salvation that could be initiated by him,
he could claim a right to heaven and God would be placed in the position
of a debtor, obligated to man for his part in his redemption. In His
part as debtor, God would also be required to relinquish His sovereign
right to choose who would and who would not be in His kingdom. That
is not the case. "Do
you despise the rich blessings of his goodness and patience in enduring
evil? Are you ignorant that it is the graciousness of God that brings
you to a change of thought and feeling; to reversal and reform?"
(Romans 2:4) The driving force in
this verse is two-fold. The first presents God as patient in enduring
evil, but for a purpose. His toleration of it is not passive; He allows
it while He actively brings some to repentance, and the picture
given is not so much the image of a shepherd "leading" his
sheep (who follow their p
119 -- master because they know Him) but that of a drover driving
a herd of cattle (who do not know Him) in a direction only He knows.
The herd has no idea of their direction, or destination, let alone how
to get there. Only the drover knows. The
immediate "destination," of course, is repentance; and after
the individual is brought to that discernment, he is not left to struggle
on his own. God continuously
gives him not only the strength, but the will to obey, and for the best
of reasons - that His
purpose be completed - which is the forming of Christ in us, our only
hope for glorification: "For
it is God who continues to give you power to both will and to accomplish
his purpose." Philippians 2: 13 "The
Lord Jesus imparts [not imputes 26 ] all the powers,
all the grace, all the penitence, all the inclination, all the pardon
of sins, in presenting His righteousness to man to grasp by living faith
-- which is also the gift of God." -- EGW --Ms 36, 1890
TOP The
only work required is that which Jesus called the work of God: "Jesus
gave them this answer, this is the work of God, that you believe in
the One He has sent." (John 6:29) Even
belief is from God, and together with belief the faithful must fearlessly
maintain, by a firm grasp, their first confidence to the end. In other
words, one must not only believe in Christ but persevere in belief to
the end. Paul expressed it by saying, ".
..striving towards the goal of resurrection from the dead. Not that
I have secured it already, nor reached my goal, but I am pursuing it
in the attempt to take hold of the prize - for which Christ took hold
of me. Brothers, I do not reckon myself as having taken hold of it;
I can only say that forgetting all that lies behind me, and straining
forward to what lies in front, I am racing towards the finishing-point
to win the prize of God's p
120 -- heavenly call in Christ Jesus. So this is the
way in which all of us who are mature should be thinking, and if you
are still thinking differently in any way, then God has yet to make
the matter clear to you. Meanwhile, let us go forward from the point
we have each attained." Philippians 3: 11-16. (Emphasis supplied)
The
last sentence is remarkable, and it is at the heart of gaining the prize
that Paul speaks of. And the prize is, again, glorification, which is
attainable only if Christ is formed
in the individual.
TOP GOD'S
HOLY SPIRIT -- CHRIST IN YOU:
One thousand
seven hundred years ago Christians were murdering each other in large
numbers. The fight was over who had the correct teaching on the nature
of the Son. The two warring factions are represented today by what is
known as the Western Church and the Eastern Church (the Latin -Roman
and Greek Churches.) Constantine
the Great, in AD 325, assembled the combatants at Nice, a short distance
south of Constantinople, (Istanbul in present day Turkey) in an attempt
bring peace to the empire and unity to the church; but the schism, more
cultural than anything, was permanent. The Eastern Church had established
more precise concepts of the older "subordination/emanation theory"
which held that the Son was a "generation" (eternal generation)
of the original divine being. Such was the position of Arius who maintained
that the Logos had a beginning, a moment when he did not "as yet"
exist. Athanasius
in the West opposed that idea with his theory of "unity of essence,"
or two divine original essences without beginning and independent of
each other --initially a dyarchy not triarchy. The Trinity would come
some fifty-five years later. Athanasius prevailed at the Council, and
the Nicene Creed was born (AD 325). TOP In
AD 381, the Council held in Constantinople altered the Creed formulated
in 325 and added the Holy Spirit as the third member of the "Godhead."
Still, centuries passed before the present day concept of a "(third)
person," sharing the essence of the other two Gods, became established.
What
was the "historic" Seventh-day Adventist view of the Holy
Spirit? Uriah Smith probably
said it best in a Review
and Herald article dated, October 28, 1890: "But
respecting this the Bible uses expressions which cannot be harmonized
with the idea that it [The Holy Spirit] is a person like the Father
and the Son. p
121 -- "Rather,
it is shown to be a divine influence from them both, the medium which
represents their presence and by which they have knowledge and power
through all the universe, when not personally present." In
the midst of the brutal controversy between Arianism's "separation
of essence" in the Diety, and those who followed Athanasius in
renouncing the Arians by adhering to the idea of "unity of essence,"
(and who formed the doctrine of a "Triune God" because of
their opposition to Arias) there were a few men on hand of a less savage
nature who did not engage themselves in the contest with the same ferocity
as the others around them. One
of those men, Hillary of Poictiers, advocated that believers remain
fast by the simple Christian doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit, which,
he said the Bible furnishes no information for exact logical definitions.
He also believed there to be no exact definitions concerning the relation
of the Holy Spirit to the Father, as he found concerning the relation
of the Father to the Son; nor could he find the name of God used referring
to the Holy Spirit. Gregory
of Nazianzen, whom modern Catholics refer to as "The Theologian,"
said in the year 380, "Some
of our theologians consider the Holy Spirit to be a certain mode of
the divine agency, others, a creature of God; others, God himself. Others
say, they do not know themselves which of the two opinions [Arius or
Athanasius] they ought to adopt, out of reverence for the holy Scriptures,
which have not clearly explained this point."
-- Neander, General History of the Christian Religion and Church,
Vol. II, pp. 418--420.TOP What
is "God's Holy Spirit?" Without being too narrow in definition,
It appears to be God's own Spirit, His gift to believers, because it
is in His Spirit that we are enabled to participate in His nature; which
could not happen if the Holy Spirit were a separate person. The
words of Jesus, (John 14:16) "I shall ask the Father, and he will
give you another
Comforter (Paraclete) to be with you forever, the Spirit
of truth. . ." is thought of as proof of the Holy Spirit as being
a separate person, the "third person" of the Trinity. The
Greek words, "allon paraklhton"
("allon parakleton") translated as another Comforter, another
Advocate, another Counselor, another Protector has at least two possible
renditions: one that is the same but different in concentration or intensity,
or one that is different or diverse as in a person. p
122 -- The Paraclete appears to be one that is the same, different
only in intensity (power, force, strength, concentration, depth.) It
could not be otherwise as, "there was no Spirit [given] as yet
because Jesus had not been glorified." John 7:39. It is interesting
too, that it was not until
after He had been glorified that He "breathed His Spirit"
on others. His Spirit is
the breath of life. When
the Spirit came in fullness of power, it was in super
addition to 27
-- that is, more of the same, but limitless in every
aspect. Christ in His unglorified state was limited as are all human
beings; but after he was glorified, His new, expanded state of being
allowed the plan of God to enter the final phase of securing the regeneration
and transformation of mankind so that they would be prepared by the
indwelling of Christ through His, now expanded Spirit to be given part
in the divine nature. "And
in the manner that we have borne the exact image of the earthly, we
shall also bare the exact image of the heavenly." Heavenly
-- that is, "epouraniou" (epouranioo),
unearthly in essence and character. 1 Cor. 15:49. In 2 Cor. 3: 16-18,
the following occurs: "whenever
anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. [The veil is that which
prevents the inner transformation necessary to be harmonious with God.]
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord
is, there is freedom. And all of us, with faces unveiled, continue to
reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord, are being transformed [in
essence and in character] into his own image -- from glory to glory
-- since it [transformation] comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."
TOP Parkhurst
defines the Comforter/Advocate in this way: Paraclete;
to call to oneself, implore the assistance of, also to comfort; one
who pleads the case of another as applied to Christ, our intercessor,
or advocate, as in John 2:1. ". . .we have an advocate
(paraclete) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
Christ is God's chosen way, His exclusively appointed Advocate, the
only One through
whom men are prepared to take part in the Diety. In short, there is
only one Comforter/ Mediator/Advocate (1 Tim. 2:5), Jesus Christ, who
personally dwells in
His people by His own Spirit --not a third god or person. This
is the meaning of another Comforter. TOP THE
SEAL OF GOD:
Briefly, God's plan is an outworking of events foreseen by Him from
eternity. The "open secret" -- God's Way of man's right standing
with Him -- revealed now to His people is seen to be the formation of
Jesus Christ, by His Spirit, in those whom He chooses to glorify. It
is in 28
His 27
-- As in Parkhurst: Either diverse, different or in super
addition to. 28
-- en--
a Greek preposition translated as "in," indicating direction.
"In" is not out, alongside, over, under, near, around, through,
by, to, past, etc. A person, place or thing must have the p
123 -- Spirit that they have been 29 "marked"
or "sealed." This marking or sealing is not to be seen as
an external stamping or marking done by a third party as the Trinity
doctrine encourages. The Holy Spirit does not stamp its approval --
It is the stamp
of approval. The seal or stamp
is the presence of God and the presence of Christ by their
Spirit dwelling in those chosen by them to share in their divine
nature. How can God not recognize Himself?
". . .for the Spirit explores the depths of everything, even the
depths of God. After all, is there any man who knows the qualities of
himself except his own spirit, within him; and in the same way, nobody
knows the qualities of God except the Spirit of God." 1 Cor. 3:
11. TOP SECTION
VII -- PRIMITIVE GODLINESS -- AND
MOSES SAID UNTO HIM, ENVIEST THOU FOR MY SAKE?
WOULD TO GOD THAT ALL THE LORD'S PEOPLE WERE PROPHETS, AND
THAT THE LORD WOULD PUT HIS SPIRIT UPON THEM. Numbers
11:29 FOUNDATION
OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE AGE OF THE APOSTLES:
The
desire of Moses that the Spirit of God might rest upon all, and that
all might be prophets, was a prediction that was to be realized through
Christ. It was by Christ that a fellowship was established upon the
basis of the equal relationship of all mankind to God. God, as the divine
source of life to all, was removed from within the confines of the Old
Testament; and the development of the higher life in Christ was brought
to its fullness. The concept of an earthly priesthood that had served
as a medium for the development of the plan of redemption was no longer
possible. The
office of the priesthood was, as it had existed since the time of Moses,
empowered to guide other men. It had the exclusive duty of providing
for the religious wants of the people of God. The priests served as
mediators, and it was through them that all others were to come into
connection with God -- such 28
-- continued -- facility to "contain" in order for something
to be "in" he, she, or it. Romans 8: 9, 10 says that the Spirit
of Christ must live in us; the Spirit of God must make its home
in us -- It must dwell in us or we are notHis. When Jesus says to
some, "I do not know you," even though they have professed
His name, it is because He will not recognize those who are void, in
their person, of His Spirit. 29
-- See "marked" or "sealed" in Ephesians 1: 11 and
4: 30; the original language indicates action finished in past time.
The result continues into the present. TOP p
124 -- a system could find no place within Christianity. In establishing
the concept of the relationship of the individual to God, or freedom
of conscience, that which separated men from God was removed, as was
the barrier that separated men one from another. Christ, as High Priest
for all mankind was the fulfillment of the earthly system. In the establishment
of Christianity He is the personal Mediator for all, and only through
Him can all become reconciled to God. In so doing, Christ makes all
who embrace this concept a priestly and spiritual people. There is one
King, one Guide, and one Teacher, through whom all are taught of God.
There is one faith, one hope, one Spirit that enlivens all. Under Christ
all are citizens of the heavenly kingdom; and though strangers in this
world, they are endowed with power from above. When
the Apostles applied the Old Testament idea of the priesthood to Christianity,
it was done to demonstrate that no such visible priesthood could find
a place in Christianity. Since individual access to God through Jesus
Christ had been opened to all believers, all by their union with Him,
became themselves, priests and kings, consecrated to God. Their calling
was to dedicate their lives to God as a thank offering for the gift
of redemption. They were to publish abroad the power and grace of Him
who had called them out of darkness into marvelous light. Their lives
were to be one continual priesthood, one spiritual worship springing
from faith worked by love, one continuous testimony for their Master. Christianity's
advancement was not to be the duty of one select group of Christians;
it was to be the immediate concern of each individual. Everyone, from
the position assigned him by the invisible Head of the church, was to
cooperate in advancing Christian principles by the special gifts which
God had bestowed upon him. These gifts were expressive of the individual
nature, a nature renewed and ennobled by the Holy Spirit. Primitive
Christianity allows for no distinction between clergy and laity. All
are equal, all are brethren, all as Christians are to show by their
temperament and disposition that they are animated by the Spirit of
God, not the spirit of the world. The
basis of the Christian principle is that no one individual, or group
of individuals, is to be the chosen organ or organs of the Holy Spirit
to guide the whole. All are to cooperate -- each in his particular position,
with the gifts granted him by the Spirit, one supplying in the area
where another lacked -- all are to be individually united in the Spirit
for the advancement of Christianity. All, enlivened by the Spirit, are
to serve as organs mutually helping each other for the common end, edification
of the body of Christ. TOP p
125 -- INDIVIDUALITY
IN RELIGION OR LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE: The
idea of man's universal rights, of universal religious freedom and liberty
of conscience, were alien to the views of the ancient world. The concept
of the state was the highest idea of ethics, and man's highest good
came from within the state. As a result, the development of other beneficial
things pertaining to humanity was made dependent on this concept. Thus
the religious element was thoroughly entwined with the political so
that there were no religions other than state religions, and no gods
but national gods. Only Christianity could overcome this principle of
antiquity; a principle that is an active part of our modern age. It
is Christianity only that can release man from bondage of other men.
This release came in the application of primitive godliness, which recognizes
Christ as the highest good of mankind -- encompassing all good within
Himself. "Jesus
Christ came into the world to set men free, and to plant in their souls
the genuine principle of liberty -- liberty actuated by love, liberty
too honorable to allow itself to be used as an occasion to the flesh
or for a cloak of maliciousness, liberty used by a conscience enlightened
by the Spirit of God, liberty in which man may be free from all men,
yet made so gentle by love that he would willingly become the servant
of all in order to bring them to the enjoyment of this same liberty.
This is freedom indeed. This is the freedom that Christ gave to man;
for ' whom the Son makes free is free indeed.' "In
giving to man this freedom, such an infinite gift could have no other
result than that which Christ intended; mainly, to bring them to everlasting,
unquestioning, unswerving allegiance to Him as the royal benefactor
of the race. He thus reveals himself to men as the highest good, and
brings them to Himself as the manifestation of that highest good, and
to obedience to His will as the perfection of conduct." -- Great
Empires of Prophecy, p. 346 Much
has been said and written concerning the early Christians and the message
that they carried to the world a message that was of such significance
and force they were accused of turning the world upside down. What was
the message? It was a message that, when understood and accepted, released
them from the domination of other men and their systems of religion
and government. It was not intended to change their physical state of
affairs as much as it was revolutionary in freeing the individual conscience
from all the contrivances of other men to interrupt allegiance to the
Creator. TOP
Christianity
actuates all who embrace it to renounce their dependence upon man, in
whatever form it may take -- the state, the church, individuals, or
any combination thereof, and to show forth God as the highest, all-encompassing
good. Christians can give no possible allegiance except it is first
given to God. p
126 -- Christianity affirms the principle of true liberty, the right
of conscience and the right of the individual. To the Christian, the
Word of God states with total authority: "Fear
God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
Eccl. 12: 13. God, as revealed in
His Son, is the highest concept of all that is good, and His will as
expressed in His law is the highest concept of all that is right. God
is supreme in all things. Christianity
asserts the right of the individual to decide for himself which things
pertain to God, as God leads him, and then to worship according to the
dictates of his conscience. "Each
intelligent creature owes to the Creator all that he is. Accordingly,
the first principle of government is, ' Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
and with all thy strength.' This is pronounced by the Lord to be the
first of all commandments. It is not the first of all the commandments
because it was the first one that was ever given, but simply because
it exists in the very nature and existence of every intelligent creature,
and so inheres in the nature of things as soon as a single intelligent
creature exists. It is the first of all commandments in the supreme
and most absolute sense. It inheres in the nature and the relationship
of the first intelligent creature and stands as complete in the case
of that one alone as though there were millions; and stands as complete
in the case of each one in the succession of future millions as in the
case of the first intelligent creature, as he stood absolutely alone
in the universe. No expansion, no multiplication of the number of the
creatures beyond the original one can ever, in any sense, limit the
scope or meaning of that first of all commandments. It stands absolutely
alone and eternally complete, as the first obligation of every intelligent
creature that can ever be. And this eternal truth distinguishes individuality
as an eternal principle." -- A. T. Jones, Individuality
in Religion, pp. 108-110.TOP When
a second individual comes into existence, there comes into being another
relationship -- the relationship of one to another and it is one of
absolute equality. "And
in the subjection and devotion of each to the Creator, in the first
of all possible relationships, each of these honors the other. Therefore,
in the nature of things, in the existence of two intelligent creatures,
there inheres the second governmental principle, mutuality of all the
subjects as equals. And this principle is expressed in the second of
all the commandments, p
127 --
' Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' Each, himself, alone, in
his own individuality, is completely subject and devoted first of all
to the Creator; because to Him he owes all. And in this subjection and
devotion to the Creator first of all, each honors every other intelligent
creature as his equal. . .This second eternal truth, equally with the
first, distinguishes individuality as an eternal principle." --
Ibid. pp. 111, 112. Individuality
in religion, or freedom of conscience, is one of the principles of Christianity
upon which the government of God has always rested. And it is because
of the loss of individuality through the systematic oppression of man
over man in church relations that Christ came to re-establish it upon
its original and heavenly basis. "Therefore,
without Christianity in its original and native purity, there cannot
be true individuality." -- Ibid. p. 116. "But
in the interests of despotism the very name of Christianity was perverted.
And through long ages of ecclesiastical imperialistic tyranny, men were
again systematically robbed of every vestige of individuality. In the
Reformation, God again restored men to Christianity and individuality;
but Protestantism hardened in forms and creeds; and every form and denomination
of Protestants has denied, and done all that it could to destroy, Christian
liberty and individuality." -- Ibid. pp. 108-118.
TOP DANGER
OF FOLLOWING THE LEADERS:
One individual, or group of individuals, at
the head of the whole might too easily operate as a check on the free
development of the life of the church. The free cooperation of individuals
and their dependence upon God is vital. One man, or a few men, upon
whom everything depends would acquire too great an importance for the
good of the whole and would become the center about whom all would tend
to gather. The immediate effect of this situation would be to obscure
the sense of the common dependence of all upon God, who, alone, ought
to be the Center. In
the final days of earth's history, its inhabitants are being offered
two directions to take; the familiar, the tangible, the visible, the
corporeal offer of security by men and their institutions, or
the offer of security from someone and something most people have never
seen or heard. The choice has always been between the seen and the unseen,
the tangible and the intangible. The difference at the end will be the
intensity of the conflict between the two forces, and to those who follow
earth's leaders, it will prove to be fatal. "THE
WORLD IS NO MORE READY TO CREDIT THE MESSAGE FOR THIS TIME THAN WERE
THE JEWS TO RECEIVE THE SAVIOUR'S WARNING CONCERNING JERUSALEM. COME
WHEN IT MAY, THE DAY OF GOD WILL COME UNAWARES
TO THE UNGODLY.
WHEN LIFE IS GOING ON IN ITS UNVARYING ROUND; WHEN MEN ARE ABSORBED
IN PLEASURE, IN BUSINESS,
IN TRAFFIC, IN MONEY-MAKING; WHEN RELIGIOUS LEADERS ARE MAGNIFYING
THE WORLD'S PROGRESS AND ENLIGHTENMENT, AND
THE PEOPLE ARE LULLED IN A FALSE SECURITY --
THEN,
AS THE MIDNIGHT THIEF
STEALS WITHIN THE UNGUARDED DWELLING,
SO SHALL SUDDEN
DESTRUCTION COME UPON THE CARELESS AND UNGODLY, AND THEY SHALL NOT
ESCAPE." GC 38.
TOP The
people on this earth have run out of time. Similar statements have been
made through the years, so much so that few think that such a thing
might actually happen, particularly in their lifetime. Bible prophecy,
if it is believed, is thought of as something that has happened or will
happen. Current or "present truth" is either not comprehended
or ignored. Contrary to this prevailing flaw, something quite different
appears to be happening. In 1898
James Edson White wrote in his, The Coming King, 30
that: "The
siege of Jerusalem was protracted for months. When the city was finally
taken, the Roman soldiers were so exasperated by the determined resistance
of the Jews, that the city and temple were given over to pillage, destruction,
and fire. The inhabitants were butchered without regard to age or sex.
Josephus states that 'eleven hundred thousand' perished at this time,
and that ninety-seven thousand were carried away captive. How accurately
this fulfills the Saviour's prophecy as quoted before from Luke 21:
24. "We
also read that 'Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.' Luke 21:24. Jerusalem has never
again come into the possession of the Jews, and will not until ' the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.' This will be when the work of
the gospel is finished." -- The Coming King,
pp. 97, 98. (Emphasis supplied) Wm.
H. Grotheer's, "Bible Prophecy Seminars"
of Ozone, Arkansas have published an interesting and informative study
on this subject. A few selected thoughts from their pamphlet follows:
"In
1952, a world-wide conference was held in the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist
Church. Elder Arthur Maxwell, then editor of the Signs of the Times,
presented a paper, ' The Imminence of Christ's Second Coming,' in 30
-- Review and Herald Publishing Co., 1898, 290 pages.TOP p
129 --
which he directed the attention of the ministry of the Church to Jesus'
prophecy in Luke 21: 24. He said: '
The recent dramatic restoration of the nation of Israel has focused
the attention of mankind once more on Palestine. Many Christians have
mistakenly permitted themselves to believe that the return of thousands
of unconverted Jews to their native land is in fulfillment of the
promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not realizing that, since the
death of the Son of God on Calvary, there is no salvation, nor any
eternal homeland, except for those who believe in Him and accept His
sacrifice. However, there is one prophecy concerning Palestine that
we should be watching with special care. Said Jesus, " Jerusalem
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles
be fulfilled." (Luke 21: 24). . . ' "Having
directed the ministers of the Church from around the world to this neglected
prophecy of Jesus, Maxwell then observed that a principle God applied
to the Amorites might well apply in this instance, only on a wider scale.
He declared: '
Centuries ago Israel was not permitted to enter Palestine for a certain
time because " the iniquity of the Amorites' was 'not yet
full '' (Gen. 15: 16); that is, not until the probationary time
allotted to the Amorites had run out. It may well be that the same
principle applies today, on a wider scale. If so, then Jerusalem is
to remain trodden down by Gentiles till the probationary time of all
Gentiles has run out. If this be correct, how much hinges upon the
fate of this ancient city and the power that occupies it!' So
said Maxwell in 1952. The pamphlet continues: "Now
we are faced with certain other realities with which we must be concerned.
'During the Arab-Israeli War of June 1967, Israeli forces captured the
Old City; and the Israeli Knesset unilaterally decreed the reunification
of the entire city. This was reiterated by the Knesset in 1980, when
the undivided city was declared the eternal capital of Israel.' (Funk
& Wagnall's New Encyclopedia, Vol. 15, page 34 [1986]) The prophecy
of Jesus had met its complete fulfillment. . ." -- Jerusalem
in Bible Prophecy, pp. 2, 3, 6. (1994). Christ
connected the scenes in Luke 21 with the events that would transpire
just prior to His return, and the generation that sees the end of the
time allotted the Gentiles would not pass away "till all be fulfilled."
The complete fulfillment of p
130 --
Christ's words in 1980 should shock even the most torpid of men to the
realization that the end of all things is at hand -- and from the church,
one hears only stone, cold silence. If
James Edson White was correct in saying that when the Jews took possession
of Jerusalem again, it would be a sign that the work of the gospel was
finished. It
follows then, that the "dispossession" of the Gentiles (nations)
would also be a sign that God's time of reaping is in progress. It is
very evident in the Gentile world that God's Spirit no longer controls
the hearts of men with the closeness it once did. God appears to be
withdrawing His Spirit, and wickedness is filling the void. Luke
21: 24 may be supported with Paul's remark when warning the Gentiles
not to become self-important, ".
. .I do not want to have a misunderstanding of this uncovered secret,
that only temporary insensibility has come upon Israel until the full
quota 31
of the Gentiles have wholly come in. . ." Romans 11: 25. (Emphasis
supplied.) Then a remnant of Israel
will accept the gospel, thus completing the make up of the true church
-- which must be in progress now. 32
TOP VOICE
OF THE DRAGON:
One thing must be kept in mind when considering the last movements of
planet earth's history. Only the names and players change; the game
stays basically the same, and it can only progress in reaching its objective
as much as the Spirit of God is withdrawn. The objective, of course,
is the complete control of man, by man by Satanic force --which seems
to be on the point of happening. In
the following quotation, three powerful contestants are selected from
a number of lesser contenders, all with "globalist" agendas,
as the ones with the means and the power and the machinery necessary
to establish and rule a one-world government. What the author does not
identify is the great power behind the powers, and the centuries of
planning and experimentation, the necessity of systematizing, and coordinating
the numerous discordant cultures, myriad 31
-- Other versions read: but only until the gentiles have wholly come
in. . ." "full measure;" "full body;" "great
mass,' "full number." The word signifies a filling or filling
up; in this case, a complete number that indicates a predetermined quantity. 32
-- No one has definitive numbers about the success of the various Messianic
or Christian groups trying to convert Jews to Christianity; but it is
known that in just 25 years one group, "Jews for Jesus," has
spread to 10 countries including Israel and the former Soviet Union.
Some estimate the number of Jewish converts worldwide to be as high
as 250,000. (Reno Gazette-Journal, Jan. 1999.) It is acknowledged
that this recounting defines little, other than it is a very recent
phenomenon, which is said to be spreading rapidly. p
131 --
nations and peoples to bring his grand design to its culmination within
the time allowed by God. TOP "Willing
or not, ready or not, we are all involved in an all-out, no-holds-barred,
three-way global competition. Most of us are not competitors, however.
We are the stakes. For the competition is about who will establish the
first one-world system of government that has ever existed in the society
of nations. It is about who will hold and wield the dual power of authority
and control over each of us individuals and over all of us together
as a community; over the entire six billion people expected by demographers
to inhabit the earth by early in the third millennium. "The
competition is all-out because, now that it has started, there is no
way it can be reversed or called off. "No-holds-barred
because, once the competition has been decided, the world and all that's
in it -- our way of life as individuals and as citizens of the nations;
our families and our jobs, our trade and commerce and money; our educational
systems and our religions and our cultures; even the badges of our national
identity, which most of us have always taken for granted -- all will
have been powerfully and radically altered forever. No one can be exempted
from its effects. No sector of our lives will remain untouched. "A
system will be introduced and installed in our midst by the end of this
final decade of the second millennium." -- Malachi Martin,
The Keys of this Blood, pp. 15, 16 (1990). "THE
WORLD HAS GROWN FRIGHTENINGLY SMALL IN COMPASS; AND ASTRIDE IT STANDS
THE AMERICAN COLOSSUS, WHOSE STRENGTH AND GIRTH NONE CAN MATCH,
BUT WHOSE CLOTHES WE ALL WISH TO WEAR." "Then
I saw a second beast, emerging from the ground; it had two horns like
a lamb. . ." Rev. 13: 11-first part. It is not the purpose
of this paper to recount the identifying characteristics of the beast
with lamb-like horns. It has been done, and there is little question
that it represents the United States of America. The two horns are representative
of the two original principles on which the nation was formed, the well-disposed
strengths (a horn = strength) of Protestant principles, and not a
democracy, but a constitutionally grounded representative republic.
It was a government of the people, by the people and for the people
through their elected representatives -- not subject to the whims and
fads of the majority as in a democracy. The Bible was, originally, its
primer. TOP p
132 --
Benjamin Franklin was asked by a woman passing him by on the street,
what kind of government they, the founding fathers, had given the people.
His reply was, "a representative republic, madam, now let us see
if you can keep it." That form of government was kept until the
Civil War when Abraham Lincoln forced the Southern States, by violence
of war, from the original freewill union of independent states -- a
confederation -- into a federation of states in which their independence
was suborned to an all-powerful, centralized ruling body -- a federation.
Today we know it as the "Federal Government." It
is into this form that the government of the United States has developed
and which that makes it capable of speaking like the dragon. It is in
this form that it exercises all the power of the first beast (the papacy)
and in its behalf makes all the people of the world worship it. It is
this government that decrees that an image of the papacy be made, and
exercises power like it to give it authority to compel all earth's people
to worship it under pain of economic duress, and then, on threat of
death. "But
it spoke like a dragon:"
What is the current form of government in the United States (other than
a federation)? Is it a republic? Or is it a democracy? In spite of the
American public's perception that it is a democracy and a nation under
God 33 ,
it is neither. It is, rather, a peculiar mix of German National Socialism
and 33
-- If Christianity was to survive, it was held that pragmatism, Marxism,
scientific humanism, French positivism, German mechanism deeply entrenched
in scientific, political, economic, and educational institutions --
which make nature an extension of and raw material for man -- must be
set aside in deference for "a second Christian Reformation,"
a "New covenant vision of stewardship," free of rightwing
and corporate interests. But greater, more basic changes were needed,
as Stanford University's Paul Ehrlich wrote in 1968. Perhaps, he said,
a movement that adopts most of its religious ideas from the non-Christian
East. Poets, philosophers, economists, physicists (and many more)
joined the ecologists in a search for a new beginning. The thing that
evolved (through the various agendas of "tree and rock rights"
and "animal rights" and the like) proved to be an uncanny
parallel between ancient Gnosticism and the new environmentalism.
This New Philosophy of Nature, like Gnosticism, rejects Christianity
and embraces a union of spirit and nature. It pictures everything
as being interconnected. The earth -- even the universe -- is seen
as one system, an "androgynous body," an interconnected web
of physical and mental relations whose parts are defined only through
their connections to the whole. Mankind, they say, is but one part of
an indivisible sacred reality. Spirit, according to Gnosticisim, is
one indescribable, abstract reality that surrounds the universe. A portion
of spirit (separated from God by the evil Demiurge) exists in man and
struggles to reunite with original divine substance -- God (not Jehovah).
The evil Derniurge (Jehovah) seeks to keep that portion of spirit from
being reunited with God, To do this the universe was created by the
Demiurge to hide parts of the divine spirit and was then hidden in humans,
animals, plants etc. for safekeeping. The earth was a kind of stronghold
built by the evil Demiurge (Jehovah) to keep separated parts of the
divine spirit from p
133 --
Marxist Socialism with a little old fashioned American capitalist 34 incentive
thrown in. And it has become decidedly Godless and bent on crushing
out individualism for the so-called world government through, it seems,
the United Nations, 35 (which it
controls). Christianity, the lifeblood of not only the nationTOP 33
-- continued -- reuniting with God (the all-pervading Good, Light, Life,
Original Spirit, etc.). What is the conclusion? Spirit is in all things,
and because of that, everything is interconnected; therefore all things
are sacred (and equal) -- such, with variations, is the foundation of
the new religion. -- See Alston Chase, Playing God in Yellowstone
(Atlantic Monthly Press, 1986), the chapter titled, "The California
Cosmologists." 34
-- The joining of these three political philosophies has resulted in
a new style of governance. It is a Big Business-Big Government partnership
that its proponents call "The Third Way."" It
is a global bureaucracy that will eclipse individual freedom, place
the collective over the individual and force public investment over
private choice. It is seen as the answer to promote "the good qualities
of Marxism" in a world that no longer trusts socialism. "I'm
grateful," said Bill Clinton in a 1998 speech at New York University~
"that the Third Way seems to be taking hold around the world."
World leaders including British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are quietly joining Clinton's crusade for
a new economic order that is neither capitalist nor communist. Under
this system, Big Business would own and run the economy but Big Government
would control (regulate) it -- offering cradle to the grave care to
the masses and corporate welfare to the industrialists. Both Benito
Mussolini and Adolph Hitter established forerunners of this system,
but at the national level only. In contrast, The Third Way is
truly an international movement. Democrats, Republicans,
defense contractors, the media, Big Business and the intelligence agencies
are all clamoring to jump on the "Third Way Movement" bandwagon,
and there is no power on the planet that can stop them. -- From a June
3, 1998 article by political commentator, Richard Poe titled, Chinagate:
The Third Way Scandal and printed in Christopher Ruddy's website,
<Newsmax.com>. 35
-- 1n his latest documentation of the rising tyranny of ecology (In
a Dark Wood, Houghton-Mifflin, 1995) Alston Chase (degrees form
Harvard, Oxford, Princeton) exposes the Clinton Administration's incremental
surrender of national sovereignty by giving the United Nations control
over the bulk of the United States land mass. Unknown to the public,
the Administration, under the guise of "reinvention of government,"
has adopted biocentrism as the guiding philosophy of all federal land
management. Rather than making public welfare its highest priority,
Clinton decided that the principle focus of the government would be
"ecosystem protection." When he signed the "International
Convention on Biological Diversity" in 1993, a flurry of planning
designed to analyze and control every square inch of American
real estate was set into motion. The President's Council on "Sustainable
Development" was established, composed of five cabinet members
including leaders from the Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation,
the Natural Resources Defense Counsel, the Environmental Defense Fund,
and the Nature Conservancy. They immediately set about to map the entire
nation and to identify all of its biology and to determine a national
policy of development and regulation, as it was, they determined, their
mandate as set forth in the Endangered Species Act. Vice
President Albert Gore -- credited with the administration's reinventing
government -- has shifted government's traditional role of protecting
the public to that of protecting the environment from the public. An
even more sinister aspect of this is seen in the Wildlands Project
-- an early plan to protect biodiversity in North America, which calls
for the establishment of a network of wilderness reserves, human buffer
zones, and wildlife corridors stretching across hundreds of millions
of p
134 --
but Western culture in general, has been abandoned by the population
and its leaders (they profess otherwise) in favor of such humanist issues
as equality of the sexes, abortion rights, full term abortions, fetal
vivisection, experimentation in human genetics, homosexual rights, legalized
suicide, first amendment rights (pornography), contorted presentations
of morality (such as environmental pollution as a moral evil) and so
on. What was it that brought about such an enormous change? TOP THE
GRAMSCI PRINCIPLE:
Karl
Marx set three objectives of importantance in securing the establishment
of his theories as the dominant political force in subjugation of all
the planet's nations and people. 1.
Religion, an opiate invented by the bourgeoisie to keep the proletariat
masses drugged in their serfdom, was to be destroyed,
2. The dissolution of the family unit must occur,
and 3. The right of ownership
of private property must be eliminated and transferred to the state.
36 Who
was Karl Marx? What was it about him that prompted his devotion, heart,
mind, and soul, to atheism? 35
-- continued -- acres -- nearly half the continent. 'When it is implemented,
human use will be severely restricted. Roads will be closed; some will
be torn out, and the forced relocation of tens of millions of people
will be ordered. The Clinton/ Gore plan removes natural resource preservation
policy from the control of the nation's elected officials altogether
by delegating this power to the United Nations, the State Department,
and advisory committees representing environmental groups (labeled NGOs
-- non-governmental organizations.) A planning document titled "Global
Biodiversity Assessment Section," recommended implementation
of the Wildlands Project, which not only calls for the removal
of human habitation from nearly half of this country's land mass, it
also calls for the eventual "depopulation of the earth, one step
at a time." Take note, the plan does not call for the relocation
of human kind, it calls for the step-by-step eradication of human
beings worldwide. In contrast, it was Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the
Federal Reserve, who said before Congress (Feb. 1999) that the right
of individual ownership of property -- -private property in all its
forms -- is the basis of liberty in this country. It was a low-keyed
warning (typical of his style) of the unceasing war the socialist Clinton
Administration continues to wage against what remains of the American
system. 36
-- Since the fall of the Soviet Union, international socialism has moved
into the ecology movement (the so-called "international green parties.")
The unwitting biocentrist/ecologist groups -- in their many and varied
forms -- are being manipulated by the more centralized socialists (in
agenda and influence) to force the dictum of Marx -- that of eliminating
privately held property. Considering the ecologists' philosophy
of a state reduced in structure but more centrally controlled, they
would be inclined to go along, especially, with that particular socialist
"ideal." Mikhail Gorbachev, the last General Secretary of
the Soviet Union, -- the man who disassembled the Leninist form of Marxist
government -- now heads up "Green Cross," a quasi ecological
advocacy group(s) with an international agenda, funded by the United
Nations and by grants from the United States government. He is now (1999)
on the faculty at Emory University (in the state of Georgia.) p
135 --
He was born into a Jewish family at Trier, Germany, in 1818. His childhood
exposure to Judaism was interrupted when his father, a lawyer, led the
family into Christianity, the result of a legal prohibition against
Jews practicing law. His stint as a Christian had no lasting effect.
While a student at Berlin University, he involved himself in a particularly
malignant form of ritual Satanism, the outworking of which was revealed
in a lifelong hatred of God. TOP Had
not V. I. Lenin, and those like him, picked up where Marx left off and
institutionalized his theories, he would have remained, as one described
him, "intellectually, a mental flatulence." And from that
point "Marxist socialism" took two forms: The violent form
-- encouraged by class distinction, class envy, which leads to class
warfare, and armed revolution instigated by the likes of Lenin and Stalin;
and the Marxism of Sardinian, Antonio Gramsci, who advocated adaptation,
infiltration and peaceful conversion by the insertion of socialism into
the Capitalist West's institutions -- especially the Christian church.
This form of Marxism would destroy Christian-inspired mores but retain
individual initiative that was grounded solely on human achievement.
Gramsci's version of Marxism would prevail. "He
understood the nature of Christian culture, which he saw as still vibrant
and thriving in the lives of the people all around him. Not only did
Christianity point unceasingly to a divine force beyond mankind [It
was] -- a force outside and superior to the material cosmos. "It
was a specifically Christian culture, in which individual men and women
understood that the most important things about human life transcended
the material conditions in which they lived out their mortal lives."
-- Keys of This Blood, pp. 244, 245. To
make permanent that which could not be imposed and maintained by fear
and bloodshed, it would be necessary to "Marxize the inner man"
-- convert the populations of the West by implanting in them, Marxism's
fundamental postulate: its total and thorough materialism. ".
. .Targets of first choice -- educational facilities from grade school
to university, for example, the media, political parties and structures,
even the family unit -- were all fat, happy and wide open to systematic
and professional Marxist penetration." -- Ibid. p. 254. "The
process of secularization in the Catholic and Protestant churches progressed
so rapidly and with such energy that. . .it fed into other p
136 --
streams of anti-Church influence in the West. Those streams that, seemingly
independent of Marxist influence, advocated a materialistic interpretation
of all sectors of human thought, investigation and action." --
Ibid. p. 262.
TOP
The
principle injected into the thinking of the Western nations -- involving
churchmen, politicians, the media (information and entertainment), the
academics, scientists, industrialists -- was a society of nations --
a United Nations -- that could be formed free from the constraints and
divisiveness of ancient Christian bias, for the uplifting -- here and
now -- (versus the pie-in-the-sky of religion) and enlightenment of
all humankind. "Reduce
all men's expectation of any salvation from on high -- in art, in literature,
in science, in medicine, in social works, in politics, in finance, in
commerce, in industry. Promise all men liberation from what ails them
by means of heightened human -- and only human -- effort by intellectual,
emotional, scientific, ethical, means. Instruct them that all hope of
progress lies within themselves . . . but let the entire effort be solely
by man for man's sake. Collaborate to fill his belly with fresh food
and to fill his mind with fresh knowledge, but make sure he believes
both food and knowledge are his creation, the results only of his own
efforts." -- Ibid. pp. 377, 378. Taking
into consideration the general secularizing (Gramscizing) of Western
culture, cited above, a closer look at the American culture reveals
a marked and fiery division between two contending factions, that of
the humanist/secularist and those members of organized religion. Better
than two-thirds of the U. S. population profess some form of religious
faith and conduct their lives accordingly; and a large portion of those
view, with intense loathing, the secularists and the Godless society
they are creating. In
opposition to them are a minority, and a small one at that, of secularists
who view and conduct their activities as elite. They are solidly entrenched
in positions of power and influence, controlling the world's financial
institutions, the multi-national corporations, the national political
parties, higher education, the media, and the National Educational Association.
They form so-called think tanks (such as the Counsel on Foreign Relations),
from which each presidential administration, regardless of political
party, draw their cabinet appointees, its upper-level bureaucrats and
judicial appointees. p
137 --
At the center is the issue of obscuring moral clarity with moral relativism,
which is reflected in the loss of political integrity, equality in applying
justice and the onset of anarchy -- as is seen in the constant flow
of new legislation aimed at limiting or abolishing the liberties of
law abiding citizens -- while existing laws designed to curtail criminal
activity are not enforced. But the battleground is not where it should
be. It lies beyond the issues just mentioned. Formally, the fight is
over abortion, homosexual rights, pornography, prohibition of religious
display on public property (school prayer etc.), so-called assisted
suicide (Kevorkian) and so on. But these are all peripheral matters
that do not address the heart of the problem. TOP It
is interesting that these matters, over which the battle is being waged,
were selected by the elite giving them the advantage. By emphasizing
the peripheral elements of the fight, the elite have successfully diverted
attention from the real issue; 37 and
because of life long exposure to the Gramscian principle the "religious
majority" are in at least partial or unconscious agreement with
the elite; and, as a result, do not see the central principle of the
issue. And what is the
central principle of the issue? It is the sum and substance
and the theme of this manuscript: Satan, through
man, has removed the need for God and encourages man to glory in his
own achievements. Man has come to think that he is the sum and apex
of all things, that there is not a thing he cannot do once he sets his
mind to it. From the cradle to the grave, he is more than able to provide
for himself. And God, . . . well, God is a handy tool, a social crutch
for those who need it. The
symbolic figure of the "False Prophet" as it appears in the
latter chapters of Revelation is indicative of the basic agreement of
the religious majority with the atheistic humanism espoused by the secular
elite -- that man, by his own efforts, for his own sake, by heightened
human enlightenment, can cure all of humanity's ills and create a safe,
secure, and better world. The "Religious Majority" perceives
the solution for halting the steady movement of the nation 37
-- This is not to say that the humanist/secularist elite consciously
steered the argument to the peripheral issues. To them, the peripheral
issues are central. While they do not acknowledge the existence
of the Judeo-Christian God, they do view the cause of humanity's ills
as originating in man, therefore, solvable by human methods with human
effort -- as seen in a plethora of laws restricting individual liberty
and the ever-expanding mass of regulations designed to control every
moment of an individual's life. To humanists the internal (absent of
the Divine) must be controlled and directed by the external. For example,
if a firearm is used in the commission of a crime, the aberrant behavior
of the perpetrator is dealt with by enacting laws restricting gun use
and possession (ironically, such efforts affect only the law-abiding).
Christianity, in contrast, is internalized. Compliance to external
law is a result of internal control and direction by the Divine
within an individual. p
138 --
into secularism as political. The cause of moral erosion and ethics
is seen and understood to rest upon those few elitists in positions
of public influence who decide the course of the nation without including
the wishes of the majority; and as long as these elitists persevere
their control of the nation's institutions, it will be impossible to
recapture the moral clarity that once made the nation great. The answer
to this problem is perceived to be a forced morality achievable in the
arena of politics -- so thinks the Religious Majority. 38 The
belief that the nation's moral illness can be cured politically is a
departure from the Primitive Christian position of non-involvement in
the world's social and political structures. The Christian is to
act the part of a cooperative citizen in his particular society
-- as long as that cooperation does not clash with the higher authority
of God; but he is, by his whole disposition, to be transient, not of
this earth, a foreigner in an alien land, a citizen of the heavenly
kingdom. TOP
Is
this growing anti-humanist/Religious Majority authority the thing that
is to be made in image of the Roman church -- a thing that the whole
world is to be compelled to worship? Or will it be a Mega-religion,
39 more
socialist and international in character -- A compendium of all earth's
religions stripped of their "guts," but agreeing on similar
teachings acceptable by all? Will the Image 38
-- Widely published Evangelical author, radio psychologist and founder
of Focus on the Family, Dr. James Dobson exhibits the thinking
of the Religious Majority. Dobson does not hesitate to say that morality
can be legislated like any of the other laws and makes use of his
considerable political clout. A known player and confidante on Capitol
Hill, Dobson became fed up with moderate Republicans, and in 1998 threatened
the GOP saying that he would sit out the upcoming elections unless they
agreed to embrace Biblically inspired moral issues (by actively opposing
abortion, National Endowment for the Arts, same-gender marriages, Planned
Parenthood, pornography etc.). Though Dobson denies his organization
(1,300 employees with a 1999 projected budget of $120,000,000) is politically
motivated, his aim is definitely political and in line with the Religious
Majority in accomplishing what they consider to be the cure for the
nation's moral decline. Reno Gazette-journal, May 2, 1999. 39
-- Ecology is said to have become the American national religion; a
mix of gnosticism, German metaphysics, Native American animism and Puritanical
pantheism, it supposes a holism that places individuals as parts of
a larger system with no independent standing (the presence of divine
spirit in all things, as stated earlier.) Western civilization, dominated
by Judeo-Christian tradition, is held to be the cause of the environmental
havoc being wreaked around the planet. Judeo-Christian tradition teaches
that mankind was created apart and superior to other things, that the
world was created for his benefit. The biocentrist/ecologist believes
that man is one part of an equal whole. The aim of the biocentrist/ecologist
is to revive America's pre-Columbian past by returning to the "moral"
ecology of the Native American culture. These people have set out to
save the world by dismantling technological civilization -- churches,
businesses, industry; all of modem industrial society -- and returning
culture to its primitive roots. For an eye-opening account of their
origins -- there are many -- read, In a Dark Wood, by Alston Chase,
chapter titled, "The Birth of Biocentrism." p
139 --
need to appear "Christian?" (as does Rome.) Why will the government
of the United States exercise its considerable power in behalf of the
papacy? For what reason would a godless, atheistic government (the U.S.)
then create and legislate authority (autonomize) to a likeness of the
papal government? Why is the image in the likeness of Rome; and why
is not Rome given such great power and authority to act for herself?
Will the Roman Church even exist at that point-will her usefulness have
come to an end, and will she then be done away with? Only the playing
out of time and events will reveal the precise answer to such questions.
Those whom are God's chosen will know that none, not a single one of
earth's institutions or organizations offer a safe haven. 40 A
Christian's only safe haven is in the true church. TOP THE
TRUE CHURCH: One of the most pernicious
evils ever passed off as truth is the idea that there are two "institutions"
existing side-by-side -- two 40
-- The book of Revelation relates much concerning that which blesses
or afflicts God's chosen people. It is done in types and symbols. Charlotte
S. Bauer of South Lake Tahoe, California, is in the midst of a study
involving the "Persecuting Powers Mentioned in Prophecy,"
(Rev. 11 and 13) which she is translating from Danish to English. She
brings together a number of interesting proposals. The following is
a synopsis gleaned from some of the ideas she is advocating: The beast
from the abyss (Rev. 11:7) is in essence and character an atheistic
authority and is synonymous with the dragon of Rev. 13:2, the
image (13:14), and the scarlet beast of 17:8. The first beast in Rev.
13:1 and the woman in purple and scarlet riding the scarlet beast represent
the Roman Catholic Church. The second beast (Rev. 13:11) with
two horns like a lamb represents the United States. Homs represent
power or strength -- they can also represent nations (as in the book
of Daniel). A beast too, symbolizes a nation or government or significant
authority. The woman "rides" (derives its power from) the
scarlet colored beast -- but is destroyed by the same beast when
it is fully developed. It could be that an atheistic authority
(centralized world government comprising a condensed, generic version
of all of mankind's institutions -- religious and nonreligious) is formed
that derives its power to execute its decrees from "ten" nations
who lend their might to establish the atheistic world authority. But
there is another older power, Rome, who for centuries derived its existence
and "immense authority" from that same "beast" and
was stripped of its power (after her allotted time --1260 years) but
not her existence. The United States (the next world power after Papal
Rome) uses its strength and authority to act in Rome's behalf, but later
forms another power in the image of the Roman Church. But once the
image is made and given autonomy, there is no need for the original
since the two entities would be competing for the same preeminence.
The atheistic power (the image,) with the ten powers, then turn
on Rome and destroy her. Rome was religion that controlled the state;
the image, when fully developed, will be a power as aggressively
anti-Christian as this earth will ever see. It will be satanic rule
in its purest form and will control everything including religion. Seeking
to control the conscience, it sits in the place of God in providing
for all of the needs of all men. It forces all, by
economic monopoly -- failing that, by threat of death -- to accept its
godlike "benevolence." In this manner it gains its homage.
The Reign of Terror waged against God by the ""beast from
the abyss" -- atheism, during the French Revolution, is to be repeated
with even greater ferocity as the above mentioned events are played
out. Anyone connected to God at this time will experience the full wrath
of this satanic power. Such a thing seems to be in the making in this
present age. p
140 --
churches, one visible the other invisible, both blessed by heaven. It
is a lie that imprisons the mind and puts one on the wide road to damnation.
Each Christian must come to know what the church is, because there is
only one genuine church, and he must be a member of that body.
TOP
All
denominations, at least at the beginning, claim to be the true and only
church -- established by God. As those who direct such organizations
gain dominance over the minds of their fellows, restraint is relaxed
and whatever they will, they do. As evil piles up, calls for reformation
can be heard -- from which nothing can come because the "reformers"
hold themselves in blind loyalty to the thing in need of reforming.
Seeing that "God's Church" isn't behaving very godly, and
thinking that they have the power to reform it, they set about to get
it back on a right course. Therefore, men and their activities are denounced
but "the church" is preserved. The leaders are corrupt, but
"the church" they hold up is good. Evil practices are condemned,
but the system that encourages those practices is upright, even divine.
The rules imposed on the members might allow or even compel them to
sin, but the system that encourages it is true, good and holy. The
church is touted to be the divinely piloted ship that will go through
to the end. Its captain and crew may all be pirates bent on using the
ship to gain them plunder as they have her headed toward the shoals
and certain destruction, but hang on to the faithful vessel, they say,
because she will carry all safely to the heavenly shore.
41 How
ridiculous! Rome
claims the church to be: "The
society of the validly baptized faithful united together in one body
by the profession of the same faith, by obedience to the same authority,
Christ, its invisible head in heaven, and the Roman Pontiff, the successor
of St. Peter, Christ's visible representative and vice-regent upon earth."
-- ' Christian Apologetics,' Section 300, " as quoted
in, The Reformation, 14th - 16th Century, by A. T. Jones., p.
125 Martin
Luther typified the Reformation definition of the true church as: ".
. .We are the Church. There is no other Church than the assembly of
those who have the Word of God and are purified by it." --
Ibid. p. 127. 41
-- See A. T. Jones, The Reformation, 14th - 16th Century, chapters:
"What Caused the Reformation?" and " The Reformation"
and the "Roman Church." p
141 --
Zwingle said: "The
Church universal is diffused over the whole world, wherever there is
faith in Jesus Christ -- in the Indies as well as in Zurich. "In
every nation whosoever believeth with the heart in the Lord Jesus Christ,
is saved. This is the Church out of which no man can be saved."
-- Ibid. p. 128. (Emphasis supplied) The
Revelator views the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with the hundred and
forty-four thousand about Him -- all having His name and the name of
His Father written on their foreheads, and says, "These
are the sons who have kept their virginity and not been defiled with
women. . ." (Rev. 14: 1-5) TOP It
is interesting that there are two churches revealed in scripture. Both
are symbolized by women. One is corrupt -- a whore, who has a
number of equally corrupt daughters -- symbols of churches at one with
the world. The other woman is pure -- a symbol of the true church,
which is Christ's body to whom the "virgin sons" belong. The
"virgin sons" represent those who, especially in the last
remnant of time, refuse to join with earth's corrupted religious institutions,
(all institutions, both religious and secular?) Cooperation with them
is symbolized by receiving their
mark. They prefer, rather, to cast off all earthly support
and in faith rest their lives on God's promises. They are marked with
His mark. The
issue at the beginning of the primitive Christian era is the same at
the end of the history of the Christian church. It is the issue of religious
freedom -- freedom of conscience; the freedom to worship God as led
by the Spirit of God -- freedom from the domination and interference
of others. A
return to primitive godliness is a return to the Godly principle of
standing apart from all others in matters of faith and worship. Everything
concerning faith and salvation must be left to the private judgment
of each individual; there is no legitimate external authority aside
from God, that has the power to bind the conscience or that men are
obliged to obey. The
churches profess to recognize and support the right of religious freedom
-- even insisting that the state recognize that right, but they do not
recognize nor do they support the same right among themselves. Failure
to allow the p
142 --
principles of religious freedom within the church, and limiting it to
the state, corrupts it altogether. "The
time has come when no church should any more call men to herself, but
to Christ only. The time has come when the church herself must be most
of all interested in making it manifest that there is no third kingdom,
realm, jurisdiction, or power; but only two -- God and Caesar; and when
she must ever urge upon all people the divine instruction, 'Render therefore
unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that
are God's.' TOP "The
time has fully come when the church, in all things, must let only this
mind be in her that ' was also in Christ Jesus,' that will not think
it 'a thing to be grasped, to be equal with God;' but that will completely
empty herself in order that God may be revealed: the living and true
God, and He all in all. He, the only King and Lord of all in the church
and to the church, and that church is ' the fullness of Him that filleth
all in all.' "Long
enough have both states and churches usurped the authority of God and
have assumed to reign in the place of God." -- A. T. Jones,
Individuality in Religion, pp. 94 - 95. Those
of us who cling to human organization and human organized religion and
think it to be the church of God place ourselves outside the Body --
out of which, quoting Zwingle, no man can be saved. All such organization
is directly opposed to the principles of the Gospel, and those who blindly
cling to it will fall with it. The
message to every believer is this: Stand with Christ -- stand as individuals
before Him; and when the visible church
falls -- and it will, we will know that the true church, of which Jesus
Christ is the Head, is his body, of which we are, will never fall. In
that unity, and of that organization by His Holy Spirit, will the true
church, free from corruption and worldly entanglements, go through to
the end. On which side will we be at that time? Our present course will
determine that. TOP p
143 -- ADDENDUM SHARING THE DIVINE
NATURE -- ANTICIPATING THE NEW CREATION:
The Son of God is the archetype of humanity. He has exhibited
in human nature the splendor of the Father -- the perfect image of God
as holy love. As man was created in God's image (whose holy personality
he was to represent) and was to glorify God by revealing Him in His
glory -- in willing submission to Him -- the Son of God, in human form,
fulfilled what man failed to do. 1 The life of Christ is the revelation of
God's predetermined plan to give a divine elevation to man. In the outworking
of that plan the Divine Word stooped to assume humanity in order to
unite the divine and the human, and to transform it into a manifestation
of the Divine Life. The Word revealed itself in the man Jesus -- who
is the consummate revelation of the unknowable sum and substance of
God in the form of humanity -- thereby revealing in an understandable
way what kind of a being God is. It is through the Son that the Father
closes the chasm (heals the breach) that has separated Him from the
human race by imparting Himself through Christ to them and elevating
them by the union of His Divinity with their humanity. Therefore it
is said of God: "We
are well aware that God works with those who love him, those who have
been called in accordance with his purpose, and turns everything to
their good. He decided beforehand who were the ones destined to be moulded
to the pattern of his Son, so that he should be the eldest of many
brothers; It was those so destined that he called; those that he called,
he justified, and those that he has justified he has brought into glory."
Romans 8:28 - 30. (Emphasis supplied) TOP And of Christ it is said, "By
his divine power, he has given us all the things that we need for life
and for true devotion, bringing us to know God himself, who has called
us by his own glory and goodness. In making these gifts, he has given
us the guarantee of something very great and wonderful to come: through
them you will be able to share the divine nature . . . ." 2
Peter 1: 3, 4. (Emphasis supplied) Through the Holy Spirit, the love of God
is shed broadly in the hearts of His chosen, and makes itself felt there.
The voice of God Himself, speaking within them, declares that they are
his children (as in Romans 8:16). And, in Ephesians 3:18, Paul prayed
that Christ 1 --
The birth of Christ was the result of a direct creative act of God and
not the ordinary laws of human generation. Whatever has its beginning
in the natural order of humanity must bear the stamp of humanity and
must share in the sinfulness that stains it. It was impossible, then,
for Jesus Christ [the second Adam, the Divine predecessor of a new heavenly
race] to derive His origin from the first Adam, as do the ordinary children
of men. Christ must be seen, not as an individual representative of
the sort that descended from our first parents, but as the creative
origin of a new type of being -- the combination of the natural
and the supernatural. -- Neander, The Life of Jesus Christ, p.
13. p 144 -- might dwell in their hearts
by faith that their inner life may be deeply rooted in the love of God.
God's love for the redeemed is the basic element upon which their whole
inward lives and consciousness rests. But they can rightly understand
its extent only after having been first pierced by the sense of how
great it is. 2 The power of faith gives independence and
stability to God's chosen and imparts strength and freedom to their
minds. Faith forms the basis of their freedom in Christ since they have,
by it, devoted their lives to Him as their Redeemer (and through Him
to God). Because of His animating Spirit in
them, they are aware of their dependence on Him and will acknowledge
no other. As a result they feel independent of all created beings, and
of all earthly things. They are the masters of all things and are in
bondage to no man and to no circumstance and nothing can change them
from their course -- a course dictated by the Spirit of Christ -- the
great determining standard of their lives. By faith believers are given the right
of citizenship and are incorporated into the kingdom of God. With the
Spirit of Christ animating them, they are given a foretaste of eternal
life 3 and wait with certain
patience for the full realization of divine power and the blessedness
of the kingdom when it attains its completion after the resurrection.
For now, the development of the divine life in them is in the first
stages of its existence, and is only feebly beginning to expand. The awareness of the divine life is accompanied
by a realization of the many obstacles that fetter the life, and will
continue to do so until human nature is thoroughly pervaded by the divine
and purified from all that is alien. At the same time this awareness
produces a longing for the perfect freedom that is the destiny of the
children of God. TOP Although it is understood that God's people
have already attained the dignity and privileges of the children of
God, their full rights relate to something future. For all that is involved
in the idea of adoption, all that belongs to the dignity, glory, and
blessedness of the children of God, is very far from being realized
on this earth. For that reason the people of God -- who have received
the first fruits of the Spirit -- groan in anticipation for the ultimate
demonstration of the perfect union of the divine and the human when
they will be removed from all that checks the free expression of God
in their lives (Romans 8: 23). Like their Elder Brother, in essence
and in character (epouraniou),
they will reflect perfectly the image of the Father. Then, when all
things are put into subjection to Him, God will be all in all. (1 Corinthians
15: 28, 49). There is one God, one Lord, and one Spirit
. . ." 2 --
Christ's prayer to His Father was that, "I have made your name
known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with
which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them."
John 17:26 -- The absence of one affects the absence of the other. 3 --
Paul presents the Holy Spirit as the pledge [arrabwn]
-- the first
installment of the promised glory to be realized at the second coming
of Christ. Jon
Vannoy The
End of Under Which Banner Book
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