Seventh-Day Adventism - Orthodox or Cult?

[Solo]

Seventh-Day Adventism
Orthodox or Cult?*

Seventh-Day Adventism (SDA) arose from the aftermath of the Adventist movement of the mid-1800s. "Seventh-day" refers to the focus on sabbath, or Saturday worship. "Adventist" refers to the SDA belief that they are the fulfillment of prophecies pertaining to the latter days remnant and the coming of Christ. The world was predicted to end in 1844 with the Second Coming of Christ, by William Miller, a New England Baptist itinerant preacher. Miller's followers condemned all the churches of the day as apostate and "Babylon," and warned Christians to come out of them. A great many did, and the "adventist" movement was born and grew rapidly (Melton, J. Gordon, Encyclopedia of American Religions, Vol. 2, pp. 21–22).

Christ did not appear in 1844. After this "Great Disappointment," one "little flock" still insisted the date of their original predictions had been correct. They decided the event marked by 1844 was not the Second Coming, but the entrance of Christ into the Holy of Holies in the Heavenly Sanctuary. There, they said, He began the "Investigative Judgment." (See #6 below.) This doctrine was received and endorsed by Ellen G. White (Ibid., p. 680).

From 1844 to 1851, the group taught the "shut door" doctrine, based on Jesus' parable of the ten virgins. Anyone who had not accepted the Adventist message by the time Jesus entered the Holy of Holies was to be shut out permanently, as were the five foolish virgins. Cut off from the Bridegroom, they could not join the Adventists or have any hope of eternal life. Ellen White not only approved and taught this doctrine, but her first vision experience (she claimed over 2,000 visions) was largely responsible for its being received by the Adventist group (Brinsmead, Robert, D., Judged by the Gospel: A Review of Adventism, pp. 130–133).

By 1846, the group had adopted the Seventh-Day Baptists' view that the Saturday Sabbath must be observed by Christians. A highly elevated form of this doctrine, together with the doctrine of the Investigative Judgment, became the hallmarks of Seventh-Day Adventism. In 1850, James and Ellen White began publishing a magazine, The Review & Herald, to disseminate Adventist and Sabbatarian doctrines. This helped many of the remaining "Millerites" to coalesce into a distinctive body, which adopted the name of Seventh-Day Adventist Church in 1860, and formally incorporated in 1863, with approximately 3,500 members in 125 congregations (Encyclopedia of American Religion, Vol. 2, p. 681).

Ellen G. White (1827-1915) never held official title as the head of the SDA church, but was one of its founders and acknowledged spiritual leader. She rather disingenuously declined to claim the title of "prophet," calling herself a "messenger" instead (P.G. Damsteegt, et al., Seventh-day Adventists Believe … A Biblical Exposition of 27 Fundamental Doctrines, 1988, p. 224). But she claimed to have the "spirit of prophecy," and that her messages were direct from God for the guidance and instruction of the church. With her knowledge and consent, others called her a prophet and an inspired commentator of Scripture1, and even "the Spirit of Prophecy" (Maurice Barnett, Ellen G. White & Inspiration, pp. 5–17). Having only a third grade education, Ellen White said for years she was unable to read, bolstering the claim that her beautiful prose was inspired by God. However, it has been discovered that she not only read, but plagiarized other Christian authors throughout virtually all her writings. The sad facts of this matter have been thoroughly and indisputably established in several books. (e.g., see Walter Rea, The White Lie; and Judged by the Gospel, pp. 361–383).

As of year-end 1999, the SDA church claimed more than 10.9 million members worldwide in 46,700 churches; there are more than 900,000 Adventists in the U.S. and Canada (making the SDA one of the fastest growing "churches" in the world -- membership up over 10% in 1999). While headquartered in Washington, D.C., SDA employment worldwide totals nearly 166,000, not including 13,815 ordained ministers. (Contributions in 1999 totaled $1.6 billion.) SDAs claim to be working in 725 languages and over 1,000 dialects. They have a large investment in publishing and education -- they operate 56 publishing houses and support 549 medical units (696 including 117 nursing homes and retirement centers and 30 orphanages); and 5,846 primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities (with total enrollment of over a million students). They also broadcast over Adventist World Radio more than 1,000 hours per week of programming in more than 40 languages from 18 transmitters in seven international locations, and have almost 13 million students enrolled in its more than 110,000 "Sabbath Schools" (11/2001, SDA Internet web site). (The SDA church also publishes two of their own Bible "translations": The Study Bible and The Clear Word Bible.)

SDA is organized as a representative democracy. Lower echelons elect representatives to higher units; determination and administration of policy and enforcement of doctrinal orthodoxy is imposed from the top down. President and Executive Committee of General Conference are standing chief administrative offices. Lower administrative units are the General Conference, Divisions (over continents), Union Conferences, local Conferences, and congregations.

In the late 1950s, cult expert Walter Martin, founder of the Christian Research Institute, in collaboration with neo-evangelical Donald Barnhouse, made an extensive investigation of the teachings (doctrines) of Seventh-Day Adventism. Their purpose was to determine whether to classify SDA as part of the evangelical community, or to go along with the majority of evangelicals and treat SDAs as cult members (thereby requiring evangelicals to exercise Biblical separation). (In the 1955 edition of The Kingdom of the Cults, Martin originally did classify SDA as cultic.) Martin and Barnhouse concluded that SDA was within the bounds of Christian orthodoxy. Walter Martin, in his article in the 12/19/60 Christianity Today, said: "That Adventists should be recognized as Christians and that fellowship should be extended to them we do not deny" (p. 15).

Among those adamantly opposing that conclusion was Biblical scholar Dr. John Whitcomb, Jr., then of Grace Theological Seminary. Detailed below is Whitcomb's reasoning* for his classification of SDA as a [anti-assurance, Sabbath-keeping, Law-enslaving] cult:2

• 1. Source of Authority. Ellen G. White claimed to be, "a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light." The official SDA Questions on Doctrine (Q.D.) states that, "the Holy Spirit opened to her mind important events and called her to give certain instructions for these last days, and inasmuch as these instructions, in our understanding, are in harmony with the Word of God, which Word alone is able to make us wise unto salvation, we as a denomination accept them as inspired counsels from the Lord" (Q.D., p. 93). (Emphasis added.) Mrs. White claimed to have received more than 3,000 "inspired counsels from the Lord" (i.e., visions) between 1844 and 1868. (From these "visions," she produced over 100,000 handwritten manuscript pages from which were published 54 books!) Therefore, SDAs have a new source of authority in their lives -- according to SDA's dogma, if an SDA does not accept Mrs. White as infallible, they have no salvation!
  
  2. Mankind. Seventh-Day Adventists do not believe that the whole man or any part of him is inherently "immortal" (Q.D., p. 518). SDAs believe in "soul sleep" for the saved (i.e., no conscious existence from the time of death until the resurrection), and annihilation for the wicked (i.e., the body and soul are destroyed at death rather than experiencing everlasting torment). How, then, can one get to heaven?: SDAs believe that one can have immortality only on the condition that he comes to Christ through Ellen G. White; i.e., a works program, following salvation by grace with light of revelation through Ellen G. White as the infallible guide to Holy Scripture, apart from which one cannot have immortality.3 Then, at resurrection day, the body will be re-created (necessary because of soul sleep) for all those who believe in White's guidance and teachings (while non-SDAs will remain in "soul sleep" forever; i.e., will cease to exist [annihilated] and will not suffer everlasting torment).
  
  3. Christ. Mrs. White: "Christ took upon His sinless nature our sinful nature ... Christ took human nature and bore the infirmities and degeneracy of the race. He took our nature and its deteriorating condition" (Q.D., pp. 654-656) (cf. Jn. 14:30). According to SDA, then, Christ acquired a sinful nature! Of course, if this could have been so, there could have been no sinless sacrifice, no hope for sinners, and no Savior.
  
  4. Atonement. "Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ" (E.G. White, The Great Controversy [TGC], 1911, p. 623; TGC has since been retitled and published as America in Prophecy, 1988). SDA teaches that, though saved by grace, we are kept by the Law (i.e., "partial atonement"). Therefore, one must keep Old Testament dietary and ceremonial laws, paying particular attention to keep the Saturday Sabbath and the Ten Commandments, and most importantly, making sure to faithfully pay the tithe.
  
  Even when speaking of being saved by the righteousness of Christ, Adventist writers refer to imparted righteousness, seldom to the Biblical concept of imputed righteousness. Calling it "Christ's righteousness," while insisting on the believer's perfection of character as a prerequisite to salvation, is at worst a thinly veiled works salvation, or at best an attempt to mix grace and works, something the Bible says is impossible to do (Rom. 11:6). Mrs. White's words are crystal clear -- one will not be forgiven until all sins are eradicated from one's life and one's character is perfected. Precisely the same heresy is found (besides many others) in Mormonism. It is not the salvation by grace alone through faith alone offered in the Bible.
  
  5. Baptism. "… Christ made it clear that He required baptism of those who wished to become part of His church, His spiritual kingdom"; "In baptism believers enter into the passion experience of our Lord"; "… Baptism also marks [a] person's entrance into Christ's spiritual kingdom. … it unites the new believer to Christ.… Through baptism the Lord adds the new disciples to the body of believers -- His body, the church.… Then they are members of God's family" (SDAs Believe …, pp. 182, 184, 187).
  
  6. The Investigative Judgment. According to SDA theology, beginning on October 22, 1844, Christ entered upon the "judgment phase" of His ministry, whereby He blots out sin: [The SDA doctrine of the "Investigative Judgment" rests on Ellen G. White's claimed revelation that Christ entered the heavenly Holy of Holies, not at His ascension, but in 1844, wherein He then began to investigate the records of human works (TGC, pp. 362-373) (cf. Heb. 9).] "When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty" (TGC, p. 422). Satan, thereby, becomes the scapegoat of Leviticus 16. This lack of clear distinction between the forgiveness of sins and the blotting out of sins, makes it impossible for anyone to know, even in the hour of his death, whether he is saved or not. (SDAs are not "allowed" to experience assurance of salvation, because then there would be no pressure on them to keep the Old Testament law, as interpreted by Ellen G. White, and especially no pressure to pay the tithe.) Moreover, the concept that the sins of all men are to be laid on Satan, assigns to Satan an indispensable role in the blotting out of sin, thus nullifying the all-sufficiency of the finished work of Christ. [When Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished," i.e. completed, paid in full, it cannot be that there is yet another salvation event more than 1,800 years later, just as essential to salvation as Christ's death on the cross, in which one must believe in order to be saved. This is clearly "another gospel" (Gal. 1:6–9).]4
  
  The "Investigative Judgment" and the "Scapegoat Theory of the Atonement" are, by themselves, so non-Biblical as to contradict Galatians 1:8-9. It is "another gospel," about which the Apostle Paul wrote, "let such be anathema" (i.e., cursed/condemned). Yet according to Ellen White, one must believe this doctrine to be saved:[list:7bdaa]"Those who would share the benefits of the Savior's mediation should permit nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God … The subject of the sanctuary and the Investigative Judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves of the position [in the Holy of Holies] and work [Investigative Judgment] of their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time or to occupy the position which God designs for them to fill. Every individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of God … All who have received the light on these subjects are to bear testimony of the great truths which God has committed to them. The sanctuary in heaven is the very center of Christ's work in behalf of men … It is of the utmost importance that all should thoroughly investigate these subjects … The intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon a cross. By His death He began that work which after his resurrection He ascended to complete in Heaven" (TGC, pp. 488–89; emphasis added).

7. The Sabbath. "In the last days, the Sabbath test will be made plain. When this time comes, anyone who does not keep the Sabbath will receive the mark of the beast and will be kept from heaven" (TGC, p. 449); "… [T]he divine institution of the Sabbath is to be restored … The delivering of this message will precipitate a conflict that will involve the whole world. The central issue will be obedience to God's law and the observance of the Sabbath. … Those who reject it will eventually receive the mark of the beast" (TGC, pp. 262–63). In one of her most revered works, Ellen White wrote that Sabbath observance would be the "line of distinction" in the "final test" that will separate God's end-time people who "receive the seal of God" and are saved, from those who "receive the mark of the beast" (The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan, p. 605). Describing a supposed vision direct from God, Ellen White wrote, "I saw that the Holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers" (Early Writings, p. 33; emphasis added). She also wrote of some Adventists failing to understand that "Sabbath … observance was of sufficient importance to draw a line between the people of God and unbelievers" (Ibid., p. 85).

SDAs have, thereby, made Sabbath-keeping a criterion for a personal relationship with the Lord -- even to the extent of one's salvation! Why? Because, according to SDAs, we are all to be under strict adherence to Old Testament Law, including the Ten Commandments, of which the fourth one says, "keep the Sabbath." (This Sabbath-keeping requirement was supposedly confirmed in a vision received by Ellen G. White, rather than by study of the Bible.) SDAs believe that "Sunday-keeping" will be the mark of the beast in the future.

8. Ellen G. White, the Prophet. Many rank-and-file SDA members deny that their organization any longer decrees Ellen G. White a God-inspired prophet. Yet in SDA official publications, the SDA church continues to defend Ellen White legends, and maintain there was no difference in the degree of inspiration she received from that received by Bible writers (Review & Herald, 4 October 1928, p. 11; "Source of Final Appeal," Adventist Review, 3 June 1971, pp. 4–6; G. A. Irwin, Mark of the Beast, p. 1; "The Inspiration and Authority of the Ellen G. White Writings," Adventist Review, 15 July 1982, p. 3; Ministry, October 1981, p. 8 (5); see also, Judged by the Gospel, pp. 125–130). And in the SDA June 2000, General Conference, the church voted to more aggressively affirm and support the "Spirit of Prophecy through the ministry of Ellen White" (Adventist Today, [online: July 2000]).[/list:u:7bdaa]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Besides relying heavily on the work of Dr. Whitcomb (1988 Syllabus notes), some of the material in this report has also been excerpted and or adapted from: "Seventh-day Adventist Church Profile," Timothy Oliver (Watchman Fellowship Profile, 1996).

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Endnotes

1 The Bible lists six identifying marks of false prophets, any one of which is sufficient for identification: (1) through signs and wonders they lead astray after false gods (Dt. 13:1-4); (2) their prophecies don't come to pass (Dt. 18:20-22); (3) they contradict God's Word (Isa. 8:20); (4) they bear bad fruit (Mt. 7:18-20); (5) men speak well of them (Lk. 6:26); and (6) they deny that Jesus, the one and only Christ, has come once and for all in the flesh (1 Jn. 4:3), thereby denying His sufficiency in all matters of life and godliness (2 Pe. 1:3). Most cults are founded upon false prophecies, which, if pointed out, offer an effective way to open blind eyes and rescue cultists. SDA originated with similar false prophesies about Christ's coming. It began with William Miller's prediction that Christ would return in 1843 (revised to October 22, 1844). Miller admitted his error. However, SDA prophetess Ellen G. White (EGW), who had repeatedly endorsed Miller's prophecy, insisted that Christ had indeed come, but not to earth. Instead, He had entered "the holy of holies" in heaven "to make an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits" (The Great Controversy, p. 480).

Number 17 of the "Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-Day Adventists" states: "The Gift of Prophecy: One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord's messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction." Yet EGW made numerous false prophecies: that "Old Jerusalem never would be built up" (Early Writings, p. 75), that she would be alive at the Rapture (Early Writings, pp. 15-16), that Christ would return before slavery was abolished (Early Writings, pp. 35, 276), that Adventists living in 1856 would be alive at the Rapture (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, pp. 131-132), and many more. Nevertheless, SDAs revere this false prophet's writings as if they were Scripture.

2 Nevertheless, SDAs are continuing their efforts to be identified as "evangelical Christians." As an illustration of this effort, SDAs were very prominent at the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) held in San Francisco, November 19-21, 1992. They presented themselves in the printed program as the Adventist Theological Society (ATS). During the meetings, they conducted at least eight workshops/seminars open to all the members of the ETS, as well as a general meeting of their own ATS on Saturday morning, November 21st. Likewise, at the 1/97 National Religious Broadcasters Convention, the SDA's "Voice of Prophecy" booth provided books and tapes of their programs, but there was no indication that this was an SDA organization. Christians need to be aware that cult groups like SDA often use the same Christian-sounding terminology, but the meanings of the words have been redefined.

3 Many quotes could be given to prove that EGW taught salvation by works. Here are a few:

• (a) "Our acts, our words, even our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our destiny ... though ... forgotten by us, they [our works] will bear their testimony to justify or condemn" (TGC, pp. 486-490).
  
  (b) "When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life ..." (TGC, p. 483).
  
  (c) "Each one of you needs to ... [be] working with your might to redeem the failures of your past life. God has placed you in a world of suffering to prove you, to see if you will be found worthy of the gift of eternal life" (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, p. 530).

4 This teaching of the "Investigative Judgment" is the foundational doctrine and major heresy of Seventh-Day Adventism: that the atonement was not complete on the cross, but was begun in heaven in 1844 and depends upon our works. According to Ellen G. White (EGW), the blood of Christ, instead of making "an atonement for the soul" (Lv. 17:11) and "cleans[ing] us from all sin" (l Jn. 1:7), brought sin into heaven: "[O]ur sins are, in fact, transferred to the heavenly sanctuary by the blood of Christ" (Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 266). Thus, Christ had to begin the work of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary (of sins His blood had brought there!) through the "Investigative Judgment." EGW declared that "Ministers who would not accept this saving message" were hindering God's work and "The blood of souls is upon them" (Early Writings, p. 234). Millerites who adopted this delusion became Seventh-Day Adventists. The whole concept of the Investigative Judgment is antithetical to the Gospel. Jesus did not wait until 1844 to enter the Holy of Holies in heaven (Heb. 1:3; 6:19–20; 8:1; 9:6–12, 24; 12:2). Neither is He still making an atonement in heaven (Heb. 9:25–26; 10:11–14). The Investigative Judgment proposes to "vindicate the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus," by showing they were "loyal," "penitent," and "faithful" commandment keepers. This is an outrage. God's justice in saving sinners is vindicated by Christ's death on the cross, period (Rom. 3:24–26).

5 The SDA Church made this statement in their Ministry magazine of October 1981, and have never retracted it -- "We believe the revelation and inspiration of both the Bible and Ellen White's writings to be of equal quality. The superintendence of the Holy Spirit was just as careful and thorough in one case as in the other" (June 1997, The Baptist Challenge). (Bold added.) This sounds like SDAs also believe that Mrs. White is inerrant.

Biblical Discernment Ministries - Revised 11/01

 

[Soma-Sight]

My grandfather who just passed away was a devout Adventist for 60 years.

He owned property in Calimesa California and donated to the Adventist Congregation to build a Church on it.

He was the head contractor and built the Church in the 60's with the help of my uncles and the community.

He was a kind, gentle, understanding man that never preached fear and guilt to his grandchildren.

If there was one person I know that epitimized the walk of Chirist it was my grandfather.

He was honest, read his Bible every day, prayed for all his family and the world, grew a huge garden with corn, balckberries, and other such things.

This man is one example of the GOOD FRUITS of the Adventist movement. It is Christ centered, compassionate, and very involved in the Health Sciences as well as the mission field. They send doctors and dentists to third world countries to set up clinics and learning facilities for the downtrodden.

Please quit preaching your posts of derision and anger Solo.

Its just cultish to do otherwise.

Timothy 2:16

Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

 

[Solo]

My grandfather was mixed up with Herbert Armstrong's Worldwide church of God which was a cult with similar teachings of the Seventh Day Adventists. I do not determine a cultic organization by the people who are deceived but by the false teachers and false doctrines. That is why I give warnings about their untruths. Your grandfather was probably a great fellow, just as my grandfather was. I believe my grandfather was saved, but the Church that he attended for 20 plus years was a cult. He was excommunicated from Herbert's cult when he studied the Bible and began asking questions that refuted their doctrine. He died 2 years later. The Seventh Day Adventist Church teaches false doctrines and has revered a false teacher in ole Ellen.

Anyone who teaches another gospel other than the gospel of Jesus Christ is false, and if they do not love Jesus Christ, then let them repent or be anathema! The SDA folks that I know are swell folks, but like the Jehovah Witnesses, they are deceived by the false doctrines. I have family in Gentry, Arkansas where a big SDA Little Debbies is located along with a SDA academy. Many SDA folks live in that area. I lived in that area for two years, and go back multiple times each year.

 

[Admiral]

Among those adamantly opposing that conclusion was Biblical scholar Dr. John Whitcomb, Jr., then of Grace Theological Seminary.

Having done some study with SDAs, I can say with certainty that this mans conclusions are in gross error...and his conclusions are unwarrented.

Ask what you will, and I will dig out from my studies what I was taught, but his conclusions are not logical or they are mistated.

 

[Solo]

HERESIES EXPOSED
A Brief Critical Examination in the Light of the Holy Scriptures of some of the Prevailing Heresies and False Teachings of Today

Compiled by
WM. C. IRVINE

Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot
New York
First Edition, 1917 - Fifteenth Edition 1944

Seventh-Day Adventism
By Wm. C. Irvine and A. McD. Redwood
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The Genesis of Seventh-Day Adventism

Seventh-Day Adventism, Christian Science, and Theosophy have one thing in common at least–they all had hysterical, neurotic women as their Founders! Mrs. Ellen G. White was the founder of the "ism" of this article, though she got her cue from one William Miller of Low Hampton, N. Y., U.S. A. Concerning Mrs. White, "Dr. William Russell, a chief physician in the Seventh-Day Adventist Sanatorium at Battle Creek, long a Seventh-Day Adventist, wrote in 1869 that Mrs. White's visions were the result of a diseased organization or condition of brain or nervous system." Dr. Fairfield, likewise an Adventist, and for years a physician in the same Sanatorium, wrote in 1887 that he had no doubt that her visions were "simply hysterical trances. Age itself had almost cured her."1 We may well pity the poor woman in her ill-health, but we cannot be sentimental about the seriousness of her teachings, which amount to blasphemy and are directly opposed to the Word of God.

Mrs. White's standard work is The Great Controversy between Christ and Satan, which has run through several editions. This contains an authoritative account of the Seventh-Day Adventism teaching. Of this book, however, (Rev.) D. M. Canright (who was intimate with her for years) writes in his volume Seventh-Day Adventism Renounced: "She often copies her subject-matter without credit or sign of quotation from other authors. Indeed her last great book, The Great Controversy, which they laud so highly as her greatest work, is largely (mainly in its historical parts) a compilation of Andrews' History of the Sabbath; History of the Waldenses, by Wylie; Life of Miller, by White; Thoughts on Revelation, by Smith, and other books." "The Pastors' Union of Healdsburg, California, investigated the matter, and published many instances of her plagiarisms.†In spite of such facts, however, the publisher's preface reads, "We believe she has been empowered by a Divine illumination to speak of some past events which have been brought to her knowledge with greater minuteness than is set forth in any existing records, and to read the future with more than human foresight!"

Such a genesis is not very reassuring. In religious matters at least, one expects to find the source for new light coming from a more lofty and spiritual plane. A stream never rises higher than its source; and if this stream of a "new faith" is no higher in source than represented, it does not augur well for subsequent developments. Alas, we do not need to go very far into the depths to find out the muddy and unwholesome character of this that is called Seventh-Day Adventism. William Miller, the progenitor, was found out to be a very false and dangerous prophet, but this much can be said of him-that he stopped short after repeated failures in his own line, from going into the wholesale theories and vapid imaginings advocated by the later Mrs. White, albeit these new theories were built upon his discarded foundation!

Indictments
We indict Seventh-Day Adventism on four main counts, leaving out lesser (though none the less false) theories.

Indictment #1 - Attitude Towards the Atonement
Seventh-Day Adventism denies the Biblical Doctrine of the Atoning Sacrifice of Christ as the only means of man’s salvation.

This is the first serious indictment. We shall prove it from Mrs. White's own writings, so that we may not be accused of misrepresentation or exaggeration:

• The ministration of the priests throughout the year in the first apartment of the sanctuary (which sanctuary Mrs. White places in heaven and not on earth!-Ed.) . . . represents the work of ministration upon which Christ entered at His ascension.... For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance with the Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record.-The Great Controversy.

Can it be unreasonable for us to inquire, What in the name of all that's reasonable does this mean? Sins pardoned and yet still on the books!

(a) Seventh-Day Adventism denies the finality of the work of Christ on the cross, hence it makes Christ's last cry on the cross, "It is finished," to be a lie!

• As in typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ's work for redemption of men is completed, there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2,300 days ended (according to Mrs. White this was in the year 1844! Evidently the nineteenth century was more wonderful than we had imagined!-Ed.). At that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet, our high priest entered the most holy to perform the last division, of his solemn work to cleanse the sanctuary . . . in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by faith placed upon Christ, and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary . . . so the actual cleansing to cleanse the sanctuary. . . in the new covenant the sins of moval, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. But, before this can be accomplished, there must be an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigation–a work of judgment. Those who followed in the light of the prophetic word saw that, instead of coming to earth at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844 (as Prophet William Miller had so dogmatically and widely proclaimed.â€â€Ed.), Christ then entered in the most holy place of the heavenly, to perform the closing work of atonement preparatory to his coming.â€â€Ibid.

We have given this extended quotation on purpose to show a fair specimen of Mrs. White's writings and teachings. Here then are the facts–William Miller prophesied that Christ would come (hence the name Adventist) in 1844, but He did not! So Mrs. White steps in to save the situation. A mistake has been made–it was not to earth but to the "heavenly sanctuary" He came. Why? Her fertile imagination was equal to the question-to complete the work of atonement, and to carry on something she calls "investigative judgment," all preparatory to His coming to earth at some later date! She assumes therefore; (i) there is a sanctuary in heaven, though the Bible says nothing about it being in heaven; (ii) there is sin in heaven, though the Bible says nothing about it; (iii) that in some mysterious way not explainable the sanctuary has to be a kind of "mediator" and bear the sins of the believer for at least a time; (iv) this sanctuary needs cleansing nevertheless; and (v) this cleansing and investigating began in 1844. We find it difficult to decide whether to be shocked at its rank heresy, or to pity the one who can write such balderdash. But there is worse ahead.

Indictment #2 - Satan the Sin-Bearer
Seventh-Day Adventism declares Satan to be the joint sin-bearer, and the vicarious substitute of the sinner.

• It was seen also that while the sin-offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as Mediator, the scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest by virtue of the blood of the sin-offering removed the sins from the sanctuary, he placed them upon the scapegoat. When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon Satan, who in the execution of the judgment must bear the final penalty. The scapegoat was sent into a land not inhabited, never to come again into the Congregation of Israel. So will SATAN be forever banished from the presence of God and His people and he will be blotted from existence in the final destruction of sin and the sinner.–The Great Controversy

Dr. D. Anderson-Berry gives but a just estimate of this rigamarole in his book when he says:

• We have the choicest doctrine of the Gospel, justification by faith, utterly contemned and set at naught. Nay, more, as if that were not enough to damn their doctrine, they dare to substitute for Christ's finished work on the cross, SATAN'S vicarious suffering in bearing away the sins of the people of God into a land of utter annihilation. It does not lessen, the blasphemous grossness of the idea to say that it is wholly imaginary, the figment of the addled brain of a hysterical woman. It merely explains it!

If ever there was a "damnable heresy" (see 2 Peter 2: 1) surely it is here! Mrs. White professes to found all this teaching on Leviticus 23 and the book of Daniel. We confidently hand both books, yea, the whole Bible itself, to any mature, sane-thinking Christian and challenge him to find anywhere in the whole sixty-six books of the Divine Library, one jot or tittle of evidence or proof (set forth according to fundamental and eternal principles of exegesis), for such consummate trash. It seems an insult to offer such stuff for the serious consideration of a reasonable mind.

With this, compare the following few texts (selected out of a vast number) from the Word of God itself, and then ask yourself, reader, which you are prepared to believe and stake your soul's destiny upon.

• “without shedding of blood is no remission†(Heb 9:22).
  
  "it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17: 11).
  
  "ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things . . .But with the precious blood of Christ. . ." (1 Pet 1:18-19).
  
  “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. . ."
  (1 Peter 2: 24).
  
  "having made peace through the blood of his cross†(Col 1:20).
  
  "But now in Christ Jesus . . .ye are made nigh by the blood of Christâ€Â
  (Eph 2:13).
  
  "He that believeth on Him is not condemned" (John 3: 18).
  
  "There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8: 1).
  
  "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3: 24).
  
  "The blood of Jesus, Christ His (God's) Son cleanseth us from ALL SIN"
  (1 John 1: 7).

Indictment #3 - Christ’s Humanity
Seventh-Day Adventists teach that the Lord Jesus Christ inherited a sinful, fallen nature.

It may surprise and pain the reader to learn that the above-statement is actual FACT. If such is a foundation-stone on which the Seventh-Day Adventist church is founded, how can it stand? Such is not the Christ we have learnt to know–not the Holy Lord of Holy Writ.

The following extract, taken from one of their own publications–Bible Readings for the Home Circle, makes this astounding statement (p. 115, 1915 edition):â€â€

• In His humanity Christ partook of our sinful, fallen nature. If not, then He was not "made like unto His brethren,†was not "in all points tempted like as we are," did not overcome as we have to overcome, and is not, therefore, the complete and perfect Saviour man needs and must have to be saved.

In other words they say, If you do not accept our teaching on the "sinful, fallen nature" of Christ, you have no Saviour! This writer continues: â€â€

• The idea that Christ was born of an immaculate or sinless mother,* inherited no tendencies to sin, and for this reason did not sin, removes Him from the realm of a fallen world, and from the very place where help is needed. On His human side, Christ inherited just what every child of Adam inherits–a sinful nature. On the divine side, from His very conception He was begotten and born of the Spirit. And all this was done to place mankind on vantage-ground, and to demonstrate that in the same way everyone who is "born of the Spirit" may gain like victories over sin in his own sinful flesh. Thus each one is to overcome as Christ overcame (Rev. 3:21). Without this birth there can be no victory over temptation, and no salvation from sin, John 3: 3-7. (Their italics.)
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  *This, the writer perfectly well knows, is a doctrine which is held by no body of evangelical Christians–it is Roman to the core.

Let us examine somewhat carefully the above teaching.

The Scripture tells us that we are partakers of God's holiness (Heb. 12:10); God and Christ are one (John 10: 30); yet above we are assured that Christ "partook of our sinful, fallen nature!" What a contemptuous denial of Scripture! Are we not distinctly told that He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners?" How could He be at once "Holy" and "undefiled" and at the same time partake of our "fallen nature;" inherit what we as sinners inherited, and yet be "without sin" ("sin apart," R. V.; see Heb. 7:26; 4: 15)?

After publishing the above quotation with these and other comments in The Indian Christian for January, 1927, we received a letter from the Editor of Oriental Watchman, the official organ of the Seventh-Day Adventist people in India, in which he sought to explain the teaching which he says, is orthodox to the very core!" We can only give short extracts as the letter covers more, than five type-written pages. He says:â€â€

• I wish to affirm definitely just the contrary to your conclusion by saying that if Jesus did not take our fallen nature in His own person (his italics) by His incarnation, fallen humanity is left without a saviour…
  There was but one kind of humanity in the world that Jesus could have taken, and that is fully described in Romans, chapter three, where Paul describes it as sinful and fallen, and beyond all hope if left to itself.*
  He who was holy and undefiled, had sin imputed unto Him. The sinful nature which He bore was not that which came by the sins of His own doing, for it is written of Him: "Who did not sin, neither was guile found in His mouth" (I Pet. 2: 22), but they were the sins of imputation–sins committed by others which were laid upon Him.
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  *He apparently does not know that: "Sin is no property of humanity at all, but the disordered state of our souls" (Faussett).
  
  W. Kelly says: "Not a trace of evil was in Christ. He was man as truly as the first Adam–Son of man as Adam was not, but Son of Man which is in heaven–a Divine Person, yet none the less a Man. But for these very reasons He was capable and competent, according to the glory of His Person, to be dealt with by God for all that was unlike Him in us. Had there been the smallest taint in Him this could not have been done. The perfect absence of evil in this one Man furnished the requisite victim; as in Himself and all His ways the divine nature found satisfaction and delight. Would He then bear all? Be willing to go down to the depth of the judgment of all men, according to God's estimate of the evil of our nature? The entire, unbroken, unmitigated judgment of God fell upon Him in order to deal with it and put it away forever. No less, I believe, is the force of Christ’s death for us."

He also quotes 2 Cor. 5:21, and draws attention to Isaiah 53.

So, then, we are to understand that Christ carried the burden of imputed sin His whole life long, not only on the cross, for it was at His birth He inherited His human nature.

Again if Christ inherited a sinful, fallen nature, when did He disinherit it? Do they teach that He who is the same yesterday and today and forever, has taken His "sinful, fallen nature" to God's right hand?

Let us now turn to orthodox teaching on this point. Dr. I. M. Haldeman of New York says of Christ:â€â€

• He was begotten of God from the seed of the woman, by and through the Holy Ghost. That which was begotten was not a person, but a natureâ€â€a human nature. This human nature was holy, Scripture calls it "that Holy Thing." It was the holiness produced by and out of the Holy Ghost. It was the holiness produced by and out of God. It was, therefore, in its quality the holiness of God. Since its quality was the holiness of God, there was no sin in it, and no possible tendency to sin. This holy, sinless human nature was indissolubly joined to the eternal personality of the Son.

Dr. Griffith Thomas on Romans 8: 3* says: "Observe the wonderful fulfilment of this verse. Thus we have the Deity of Christ, 'His own Son,' the Incarnation 'in the likeness of sinful flesh,' that is, He was like us in all things except sinâ€â€Christ's flesh was not sinful, never the seat of sin; and His atonement 'for sin,' which means 'as an offering for sin'."

Dr. C. I. Scofield says: "Our sins were borne 'in His body,’ but not in His nature."

Were the teaching of-the Seventh-Day Adventist church true we would have a monstrosityâ€â€Deity inheriting a sinful nature!

If this could have been so there could have been no sinless sacrifice, no hope for sinners, no Saviour. And how could it have been written: "The prince of this world cometh, and hath NOTHING, in Me" (John 14: 30). Further the Scripture says, "In Him Is No SIN" (1 John 3: 5)!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Rom. 8: 3 is nicely balanced. "Sinful" necessitates "likeness." "Sinful flesh" would have meant that He Himself had needed a Saviour. "Likeness of flesh" would have meant that the Humanity of the Saviour was unrealâ€â€later the Docetic heresy (C. F. Hogg).

Indictment #4 - Soul Sleep
Seventh-Day Adventism believes in Soul-sleep after death and Conditional Immortality.

This indictment will not take up much of our time, as we deal with both these heresies elsewhere in this booklet (see separate articles). Mrs. White says:â€â€

• Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of consciousness in death, a doctrine like eternal torment, opposed to the teaching of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason and to our feelings of humanity.
  The theory of eternal punishment is one of the false doctrines that constitute the wine of the abominations of Babylon.
  . . .They received it from Rome as they received the false Sabbath.

Will the Seventh-Day Adventists explain then why Paul could use such language as, "Absent from the body, present with the Lord"; and, "to be with Christ, which is FAR BETTER� Will Mrs. White tell us what "natural immortality" means, and who is so foolish to preach it, when we see thousands dying around us every day? Will Mrs. White or any of her disciples dare to set up "the feelings of humanity" against the plain Word of the Living God-"These (i.e., sinners) shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal"? (See the article on Soul-sleep).

Indictment #5 - The Sabbath
The fourth indictment is that Seventh-Day Adventism tries to force the believer back under Law and so away from Grace, by their Sabbath teachings.

As the Seventh-Day Adventists materialized the sanctuary in heaven, they were forced to materialize everything. So besides an actual sanctuary in heaven, with candlesticks, curtains, table of showbread and ark, they were forced to add within the ark the two tables of stone, and call upon all to put themselves under the law. Mrs. White at first refused to believe that the Fourth Commandment was more binding than any other. Elder Bates urged its great importance until Mrs. White had a convenient vision, in which she asserted she was taken to heaven, and shown the sanctuary and its appointments! A description of her vision is given: "Jesus raised the cover of the ark, and she beheld the tables of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written. She was amazed as she saw the Fourth Commandment in the very center of the ten precepts, with a soft halo of light encircling it.

The Adventists have found a handle for their teachings in the erroneous way Christians speak about the first day of the week (the Lord's Day) as if it were the Sabbath.

The Adventists claim that Christians being still under the Law of Moses, are bound to keep the "least of its precepts," and therefore must keep the Sabbath. They also state that Protestants acknowledge that the Roman Catholic Church, away back in the year A.D. 364, at the Council of Laodicea, changed the Sabbath or Seventh day to Sunday or the First day. Neither statements are tenable when judged in the light of Scripture and early Church history.

The Sabbath was given as a "sign" and "perpetual covenant" between Jehovah and Israel, as is most clearly stated in Exodus 31: 12-18. The Ten Commandments, of which the law of the Sabbath is the fourth, were written with the finger of God on tables of stone. These commandments are called "the ministration of death" and "the ministration of condemnation," "written and engraven in stone" (2 Cor. 3: 7, 9), which ministration, the Holy Spirit tells us, is "done away" and "abolished" (vers. 11, 13), and in its place we have "the ministration of the Spirit" and "the ministration of righteousness" (vers. 8, 9). Hence in Colossians 2: 16 we read, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.†See also Rom. 14: 5, 6. Again we read in Colossians that the "handwriting of ordinances" was "blotted out" and "nailed" to Christ's cross (as of old, bills were nailed to the doorpost when when paid), for Christ has fulfilled the law on our behalf, met its every claim.

Further, Scripture emphatically teaches our position of freedom from the law, e.g., "Ye are not under the law but under grace" (Rom. 6: 14; see also Rom. 7: 4, 6; Gal. 5: 18); indeed the Epistle to the Galatians was written to establish this very thing. The rebuke given to those who sought to bring the Gentile converts under the yoke of the law as given in Acts 15, still holds good for legalizers, such as the Seventh-Day Adventists: "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" (v. 10).

The Adventists say:-

• Christ further declares that whosoever breaks even so much as one of the least of the precepts of the law ... shall be called the least . . . in the kingdom of heaven." See Signs of the Times (Extra No. 15, p. 50).

If this still holds good, why do Adventists ignore circumcision? Again, if Christians are bound to observe "the least of the precepts of the law," why did the great Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), when writing to the Gentile converts, declare their freedom from the law, and write of those who had sought to make them keep the law, as those who "troubled you with words subverting your souls" (v. 24)? If the keeping of the Sabbath was to be observed, why was it not enjoined here? Why was it never enjoined to believers in a single passage of the New Testament?

Before going further it might be well to note how the Sabbath was to be observed. Someone has put it thus:â€â€

• It was to be kept from sunset to sunset (Lev. 23: 32). If within twenty-four hours any burden was carried (Jer. 17: 21), any fire kindled (Exod. 35: 3), any cooking done (Exod. 16: 23), the Sabbath would be broken; the penalty for which was death (Num. 15). Were this law observed by Adventists they would all quickly be exterminated, as the above rules they consistently break. How very inconsistent lie is who preaches to others to keep the Sabbath when he does not keep it himself. Surely this man's religion is vain.

D. M. Panton has well said: â€â€

• An honest, if uninstructed, error is very prevalent among the Churches of Christ, and affords the Seventh-Day Adventist the fulcrum for his lever. It is said that the ceremonial law, and the civil law of Israel, have been abolished but not the moral law, and that the Sabbath as occurring in the Decalogue, is part of the unrevoked moral law of God. But (1) most remarkably no inspired writer ever makes any such distinction between "moral" and "ceremonial" law; the ceremonial law (e.g., Lev. 19) contains laws as purely moral as any in the Decalogue, and had we been delivered from the ceremonial, while remaining under the moral, Paul would most surely have said soâ€â€an utterance he never makes. (2) The Sabbath, in-its nature, is itself a ceremonial law: the moral law is all law which appeals to the conscience, and needs no written revelation; but as to which day to observe, or whether to observe any day at all, conscience is silent. If we aye to distinguish between the moral and the ceremonial law, on the ground that one is passed, and the other still in force, then–as the Sabbath is purely ceremonial law–it is passed. But the most important point still remains. (3) I, as a Christian, obey all law that is moral in the Decalogue, not because it is in the Law, but because it is in the Gospel. Worship of God only is enjoined fifty times in the New Testament; idolatry is forbidden twelve times; profanity four times; honor of father and mother is commanded six times; adultery is forbidden twelve; theft six; false witness four; and covetousness, nine times. "The Ten Commandments," as Luther says, "do not apply to us Gentiles and Christians, but only to the Jews." So therefore, Paul, in all his fourteen epistles, never once names the Sabbath–except in a single passage where, classing it with the entire law, he declares it has been totally abolished. So the early Church held.

Now as to the second claim, viz., that at the Council of Laodicea the Roman Catholic Church changed the Sabbath from the Seventh to the First day. Whatever may have happened at that Council, we submit that the Sabbath was not changed. For no decree of man could or can change God's covenant. What did take place, so far as we can learn, was "to in a manner quite abolish" the observation of the Sabbath for Christians. That is, that they made it illegal for Christians acknowledging the sway of Rome, to observe the Sabbath as their day of worship. But let it be well noted, large numbers of Christians were at that time, and long before, observing the first day of the week as their day of worship. The assertion of the Seventh-Day Adventists is entirely misleading as is proved from the following extracts:-

(i) The Epistle Of Barnabas about A.D. 100.

"Wherefore, also we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead."

(ii) The Epistle Of Ignatius: A.D. 107.

"Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor -with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish Law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace. . . . If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in. the observance of the Lord's Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death."

(iii) The Writings of Justin Martyr: A.D. 145-150.

"And on the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country gather together in one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read. . . . But Sunday is the day on which we all hold a common assembly, because it is the First day of the Week on which God made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead."

(iv) Apostolic Constitutions: Church life in the 2nd Century.

"On the day of the resurrection of the Lord–that is, the Lord's Day–assemble yourself together without fail, giving thanks to God and praising Him for those mercies God has bestowed upon you through Christ."

(v) Irenaeus: A.D. 155-202.

"The Mystery of the Lord's Resurrection may not be celebrated on any other day than the Lord's Day, and on this alone should we observe the breaking off of the Paschal Feast."* (Our italics all through).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*These quotations are taken from Dr. D. Anderson-Berry's book Seventh-Day Adventism-he was a scholar of no mean repute. He states that these are "extracts all made by myself, so that ignorance of the context might not mislead me; the portions omitted I have omitted since they do not affect the sense, and merely cumber the pages."

As a matter of fact, the first day of the week–the Lord's Day–was selected not in place of the Sabbath, but as a day in which to celebrate our Lord's death and resurrection. As a writer has well said: "It is a day of thanksgiving and liberty to the Christians, and a day which they delight in regarding as unto the Lord (Rom. 16: 6). It is the Lord's Day, as John called it in Rev. 1: 10. On that day Jesus rose the Head of a new creation. On the Lord's Day He appeared to His disciples. On the Lord's Day the Holy Ghost was given. On the Lord's Day the door of the kingdom was unlocked and 3,000 souls entered in. On the Lord's Day the disciples came together to break bread in remembrance of Him (Acts 20: 7)."

In answer to the following question, The Witness (Scotland) gives the accompanying lucid reply from the able pen of the late David Baron, one of the most eminent and learned of Jewish believers:

• How can a Hebrew Christian be shown that he must not keep the Seventh-day Sabbath seeing it is written: "The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant" (Exod. 31: 16)?
  
  There is no necessity to "show" or teach the Jewish believers that they "must" not "keep the Sabbath" as if the Gospel made the non-observance of the Seventh-day rest compulsory or a condition of true discipleship. . . . When more fully instructed, and as he grows in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, he will be brought to see for himself that the Jewish Sabbath has no significance in this dispensation and in relation to those whose calling is a heavenly one, and whose destinies are bound up –not with time but with eternity....
  
  The Sabbath is thus essentially connected with the old marred creation, with the imperfect Mosaic dispensation, and with the typical redemption from Egypt. But Christians are children of the new creation, and are in the dispensation not of the Law but of the Spirit. "With Christ's resurrection," says an old writer, "the Seventh-day Sabbath expired, transmitting its sanctity and its privileges to the new Sabbath–the first day of a new week, which became our day of -rest (and of worship) in the power of a new creation."

The Editor of The Witness well says: "Sticklers for keeping the exact 'Seventh Day,' or Sunday, or 'Lord's Day,' have a difficulty in the way days have been calculated and thrown about. In 1582 Gregory XIII found a miscalculation and decreed to drop October 5-14 and to drop 3 leap years in every century. In England 11 days (September 3-13) were dropped in 1752, in addition to other changes."

 

[Heidi]

It would be s-o-o-o- nice if all Christians just went to a church whose doctrine is that you only have to be born again of the Holy Spirit to be a Christian, And then only teaches the bible. No one would follow Luther, Calvin, the pope, Joseph Smith, John Wesley, or any man. Paul said that what causes divisions between us is following men instead of our one teacher who is Christ. Anyone who follows a person's rules & regulations instead of Christ alone is following a cult.

 

[Admiral]

Solo,

ONE item at a time....NOT THE WHOLE website! :o

It's a bit hard to keep up with all the other subjects that I have replied to and then take on a website as well , while all you have to do is cut and paste. I think you are being a bit unfair in attempting to understand, dontcha think?

So pick something from Dr. John Whitcomb...not something from the anti-SDA website.

 

[Solo]

Solo,

ONE item at a time....NOT THE WHOLE website! :o

It's a bit hard to keep up with all the other subjects that I have replied to and then take on a website as well , while all you have to do is cut and paste. I think you are being a bit unfair in attempting to understand, dontcha think?

So pick something from Dr. John Whitcomb...not something from the anti-SDA website.

Admiral,
This thread was created by me for information. If you would like to discuss these matters, great, but you will have to get used to information from the web as I am researching this particular cult.

Stay tuned and you will find more articles from various websites. You can claim them to be anti-SDA websites because they are. They outline why they are anti-SDA; because of false doctrines. The antithesis to a subject is the opposite of a subject. SDA doctrines are the antithesis to the truth.

Thanks,
Solo

PS You don't have to read any of these if it upsets you.

 

[Admiral]

Admiral,
This thread was created by me for information. If you would like to discuss these matters, great, but you will have to get used to information from the web as I am researching this particular cult.

Stay tuned and you will find more articles from various websites. You can claim them to be anti-SDA websites because they are. They outline why they are anti-SDA; because of false doctrines. The antithesis to a subject is the opposite of a subject. SDA doctrines are the antithesis to the truth.

Thanks,
Solo

PS You don't have to read any of these if it upsets you.

So you don't care that you are spreading things that are not true about Seventh day Adventists...you just want to spread them falsehood around....right?

As a Christian, I am compelled to speak the truth...What you are putting up is NOT truth, according to those SDAs and according to what I have studied.

 

[Solo]

Admiral,
This thread was created by me for information. If you would like to discuss these matters, great, but you will have to get used to information from the web as I am researching this particular cult.

Stay tuned and you will find more articles from various websites. You can claim them to be anti-SDA websites because they are. They outline why they are anti-SDA; because of false doctrines. The antithesis to a subject is the opposite of a subject. SDA doctrines are the antithesis to the truth.

Thanks,
Solo

PS You don't have to read any of these if it upsets you.

So you don't care that you are spreading things that are not true about Seventh day Adventists...you just want to spread them falsehood around....right?

As a Christian, I am compelled to speak the truth...What you are putting up is NOT truth, according to those SDAs and according to what I have studied.

As a Christian, I am compelled to speak the truth... The Seventh Day Adventists Denomination was founded on false doctrine, and continues to teach false doctrine. These articles give the Seventh Day Adventists own material to back up those false teachings. You can study what you want that makes your heart easy, but that does not ignore the fact that the SDA teaches false doctrines. I have witnessed these teaching first hand, and can attribute to their deception. If you would like to start a thread giving your generalaties against these claims, go for it. But do not speak lies on this thread to support a false prophet and a group of false teachings. You have plenty of information to research and comment on with what I have posted. All you come up with is a false witness generality which personally shows you to be less than honorable with your intentions. Thanks for showing your inability to prove the claims false, but instead harbor the unrighteous ability to speak falsely hoping to defrock the truth.

 

[Solo]

Seventh-day Adventists are Destroyers of the Bible

Early in SDA history the people were known as "people of the Bible". In recent years Adventists are calling attention to what they believe to be Bible contradictions. Most all of these so called contradictions have been studied by Bible scholars and have been explained and they are not contradictions as supposed. The Seventh-day Adventists reply to Ellen G. White's Bible contradictions are for example; the Bible has contradictions so you must give EGW the same consideration as the Bible prophets who contradict each other.

Instead of being called "People of the Bible" they now can be called "Destroyers of the Bible".

This is an e-mail reply to an Adventist by former SDA Pastor Sydney Cleveland.

Dear Friend Donna,
Thank you for contributing your extensive thoughts regarding Ellen G. White’s 50 Bible Contradictions. I do want to bring one fact to your attention: neither Robert Sanders nor myself have any web site “called the Ellen White web site†as you mistakenly think. But I do want to commend you for your statement: “I could share with you many more contradictions in the Spirit of Prophecy (writings of EGW) ...†I am glad we are both in full agreement that EGW does indeed contradict the Bible (to say nothing of the fact that she also repeatedly contradicts herself, modern science, history, and common sense).
However, I am concerned that you attempt to justify EGW’s acknowledged contradictions by claiming God’s Word lacks integrity. This same approach has always been Seventh-day Adventism’s “quick fix†when faced with EGW’s clear contradictions. I hope you understand the attempt to discredit the Bible is a two-edged sword which cuts to pieces Seventh-day Adventism’s view of Ellen White. For example, consider the following:
(1) The SDA Church has long claimed that the reason they believe EGW is a genuine prophet is because she “fulfills the Bible tests for a prophet.†From your statement “she does pass the test of a true prophet,†I understand you agree with the SDA Church’s official position on this. But let’s think more carefully about that. If, as you claim in your letter, the Bible is not reliable, then how can you and the SDA Church be credible by appealing to the Bible for proof that EGW is a genuine prophet? You see, if the Bible is not reliable in recording simple historical facts, as you claim, then it certainly cannot be relied upon to prove Ellen White’s claim to inspiration. So you and the SDA Church are left with only one “proof†of the authenticity of EGW – and that is the circular argument that she is inspired because she said she was inspired!
You would not accept that same reasoning from a Mormon about Joseph Smith’s claim to inspiration! No, you would open the Bible to prove them wrong – the very same Bible you tell me has myriad errors, contradictions, and inconsistencies! And neither would you accept your own reasoning from the Christian Scientists regarding Mary Baker Eddy’s inspiration; nor from the Jehovah’s Witnesses regarding Charles Taze Russell's inspiration. So why would you use circular reasoning to convince me that EGW’s claim to inspiration is genuine?
(2) By attempting to discredit God’s Word, claiming it is full of contradictions, you contradict Ellen White’s own “divinely inspired†comments regarding the integrity of the Bible: “Brethren, cling to your Bible, as it reads, and stop your criticisms in regard to its validity, and obey the Word, and not one of you will be lost†– Selected Messages, vol. 2, page 18. And here’s another: “The Holy Scriptures are to be accepted as an authoritative, infallible revelation of (God’s) will†– Great Controversy, page vii. Now, Donna, if you are unable to believe in Ellen White enough to trust what she said about the validity, authority, and infallibility of the Bible, how do expect to convince me to believe in her?
Do you see that in your attempt to disparage God’s Word you are contradicting the very “prophet†you’re trying to support? The fact is, Donna, you can either accept the Bible as God’s full and final authority regarding His will, or you can accept Ellen White as God’s full and final authority regarding His will. But you cannot have them both, because they totally disagree!
Do you know how the SDA Church tried to solve that problem? They came up with The Clear Word Bible (written by Jack Blanko, published by the Review and Herald, their best selling book in 1993). That uniquely Seventh-day Adventist Bible is filled with Ellen White’s own words written directly into the text just as if it was the Bible prophets own writings. Thus it is the only Bible in history which “agrees†with Ellen White. But notice, Seventh-day Adventists produced this false “Bible†just like the Jehovah’s Witnesses produced their false New World Translation to support their false prophet’s errors, and just like the Mormons produced their false Book of Mormon to support their false prophet’s errors.
Doesn’t it bother you that the SDA Church had the brazen gall to rewrite the Bible – indeed blatantly butcher God’s Word – just so the Bible would agree with Ellen White? Do you see the similarity now between these three cults: Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Seventh-day Adventists? And aren’t you right in there with them?
(3) You realize, of course, that your attempt to discredit God’s Word as being full of contradictions, errors, and inaccuracies, contradicts our Lord, Jesus Christ. Consider what Jesus had to say about the Bible in the following texts:
John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.†Notice Jesus didn’t say the Bible only contained a bit of truth, He said it “is truth.†According to Jesus, the Bible is not a half truth, it is truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
2 Samuel 22:31 "As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless.†Donna, are you really ready to contradict God Himself by claiming His word is full of flaws?
Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his works are perfect.†Are you really comfortable contradicting God Himself by claiming God’s works are imperfect in order to support the false prophet Ellen G. White? Isn’t that a spiritual crime of the highest magnitude?
Psalm 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.†Don’t you see your attacks on God’s Word simply demonstrate your lack of knowledge about the Bible and your blind zeal in regard to Ellen White? If you really understood the Bible as you claim, you certainly wouldn’t be so foolish as to make such wicked statements about God.
Psalm 12:6 “And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.â€Â
Proverbs 30:5 "Every word of God is flawless.â€Â
You can search through your Bible and discover many more texts clearly teaching the flawless perfection of God’s Word – but you will never find a single text supporting your belief that God’s Word contains contradictions, errors, and mistakes!
I write this to you in Christian kindness: the so-called contradictions you presented in your letter are simply evidence of your ignorance of God’s Word. Once you let loose of Ellen White you will have no trouble understanding the Bible.
In the meantime, it is my prayer that God will help you discover the truths of His perfect Word and reject the outright lies of the false prophet, Ellen G. White.
God bless,

Sydney Cleveland

Retrieved from http://www.truthorfables.com/SDAs_Destr ... _Bible.htm Truth or Fables - Exposing Seventh-day Adventist Fables, Robert K. Sanders, Editor

 

[Admiral]

As a Christian, I am compelled to speak the truth... The Seventh Day Adventists Denomination was founded on false doctrine, and continues to teach false doctrine.

From what I have seen, you don't know what you are talking about and neither does your references. So, PROVE YOUR POINT BY USING YOUR BIBLE....and only your bible.

Here is a list of thier doctrines that you can show is "false " if you can.... Choose one....Your pick...

And Solo, it may get me kicked off the board, but if you do not prove your point, or back down, I will call you an enemy of God,as only an enemy of God accuses the Christian brothern....My promise to you....


Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as their only creed and hold certain fundamental beliefs to be the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. These beliefs, as set forth here, constitute the church's understanding and expression of the teaching of Scripture. Revision of these statements may be expected at a General Conference session when the church is led by the Holy Spirit to a fuller understanding of Bible truth or finds better language in which to express the teachings of God's Holy Word.


1. The Holy Scriptures:
The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this Word, God has committed to man the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God's acts in history. (2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Ps. 119:105; Prov. 30:5, 6; Isa. 8:20; John 17:17; 1 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 4:12.)

2. The Trinity:
There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons. God is immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present. He is infinite and beyond human comprehension, yet known through His self-revelation. He is forever worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 14:7.)

3. The Father:
God the eternal Father is the Creator, Source, Sustainer, and Sovereign of all creation. He is just and holy, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. The qualities and powers exhibited in the Son and the Holy Spirit are also revelations of the Father. (Gen. 1:1; Rev. 4:11; 1 Cor. 15:28; John 3:16; 1 John 4:8; 1 Tim. 1:17; Ex. 34:6, 7; John 14:9.)

4. The Son:
God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ. Through Him all things were created, the character of God is revealed, the salvation of humanity is accomplished, and the world is judged. Forever truly God, He became also truly man, Jesus the Christ. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived and experienced temptation as a human being, but perfectly exemplified the righteousness and love of God. By His miracles He manifested God's power and was attested as God's promised Messiah. He suffered and died voluntarily on the cross for our sins and in our place, was raised from the dead, and ascended to minister in the heavenly sanctuary in our behalf. He will come again in glory for the final deliverance of His people and the restoration of all things. (John 1:1-3, 14; Col. 1:15-19; John 10:30; 14:9; Rom. 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:17-19; John 5:22; Luke 1:35; Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 2:9-18; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4; Heb. 8:1, 2; John 14:1-3.)

5. The Holy Spirit:
God the eternal Spirit was active with the Father and the Son in Creation, incarnation, and redemption. He inspired the writers of Scripture. He filled Christ's life with power. He draws and convicts human beings; and those who respond He renews and transforms into the image of God. Sent by the Father and the Son to be always with His children, He extends spiritual gifts to the church, empowers it to bear witness to Christ, and in harmony with the Scriptures leads it into all truth. (Gen. 1:1, 2; Luke 1:35; 4:18; Acts 10:38; 2 Peter 1:21; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 4:11, 12; Acts 1:8; John 14:16-18, 26; 15:26, 27; 16:7-13.)

6. Creation:
God is Creator of all things, and has revealed in Scripture the authentic account of His creative activity. In six days the Lord made "the heaven and the earth" and all living things upon the earth, and rested on the seventh day of that first week. Thus He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of His completed creative work. The first man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion over the world, and charged with responsibility to care for it. When the world was finished it was ``very good,'' declaring the glory of God. (Gen. 1; 2; Ex. 20:8-11; Ps. 19:1-6; 33:6, 9; 104; Heb. 11:3.)

7. The Nature of Man:
Man and woman were made in the image of God with individuality, the power and freedom to think and to do. Though created free beings, each is an indivisible unity of body, mind, and spirit, dependent upon God for life and breath and all else. When our first parents disobeyed God, they denied their dependence upon Him and fell from their high position under God. The image of God in them was marred and they became subject to death. Their descendants share this fallen nature and its consequences. They are born with weaknesses and tendencies to evil. But God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself and by His Spirit restores in penitent mortals the image of their Maker. Created for the glory of God, they are called to love Him and one another, and to care for their environment. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7; Ps. 8:4-8; Acts 17:24-28; Gen. 3; Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12-17; 2 Cor. 5:19, 20; Ps. 51:10; 1 John 4:7, 8, 11, 20; Gen. 2:15.)

8. The Great Controversy:
All humanity is now involved in a great controversy between Christ and Satan regarding the character of God, His law, and His sovereignty over the universe. This conflict originated in heaven when a created being, endowed with freedom of choice, in self-exaltation became Satan, God's adversary, and led into rebellion a portion of the angels. He introduced the spirit of rebellion into this world when he led Adam and Eve into sin. This human sin resulted in the distortion of the image of God in humanity, the disordering of the created world, and its eventual devastation at the time of the worldwide flood. Observed by the whole creation, this world became the arena of the universal conflict, out of which the God of love will ultimately be vindicated. To assist His people in this controversy, Christ sends the Holy Spirit and the loyal angels to guide, protect, and sustain them in the way of salvation. (Rev. 12:4-9; Isa. 14:12-14; Eze. 28:12-18; Gen. 3; Rom. 1:19-32; 5:12-21; 8:19-22; Gen. 6-8; 2 Peter 3:6; 1 Cor. 4:9; Heb. 1:14.)

9. The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ:
In Christ's life of perfect obedience to God's will, His suffering, death, and resurrection, God provided the only means of atonement for human sin, so that those who by faith accept this atonement may have eternal life, and the whole creation may better understand the infinite and holy love of the Creator. This perfect atonement vindicates the righteousness of God's law and the graciousness of His character; for it both condemns our sin and provides for our forgiveness. The death of Christ is substitutionary and expiatory, reconciling and transforming. The resurrection of Christ proclaims God's triumph over the forces of evil, and for those who accept the atonement assures their final victory over sin and death. It declares the Lordship of Jesus Christ, before whom every knee in heaven and on earth will bow. (John 3:16; Isa. 53; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4, 20-22; 2 Cor. 5:14, 15, 19-21; Rom. 1:4; 3:25; 4:25; 8:3, 4; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; Col. 2:15; Phil. 2:6-11.)

10. The Experience of Salvation:
In infinite love and mercy God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might be made the righteousness of God. Led by the Holy Spirit we sense our need, acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and exercise faith in Jesus as Lord and Christ, as Substitute and Example. This faith which receives salvation comes through the divine power of the Word and is the gift of God's grace. Through Christ we are justified, adopted as God's sons and daughters, and delivered from the lordship of sin. Through the Spirit we are born again and sanctified; the Spirit renews our minds, writes God's law of love in our hearts, and we are given the power to live a holy life. Abiding in Him we become partakers of the divine nature and have the assurance of salvation now and in the judgment. (2 Cor. 5:17-21; John 3:16; Gal. 1:4; 4:4-7; Titus 3:3-7; John 16:8; Gal. 3:13, 14; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; Rom. 10:17; Luke 17:5; Mark 9:23, 24; Eph. 2:5-10; Rom. 3:21-26; Col. 1:13, 14; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 3:26; John 3:3-8; 1 Peter 1:23; Rom. 12:2; Heb. 8:7-12; Eze. 36:25-27; 2 Peter 1:3, 4; Rom. 8:1-4; 5:6-10.)

11. Growing in Christ:
By His death on the cross Jesus triumphed over the forces of evil. He who subjugated the demonic spirits during His earthly ministry has broken their power and made certain their ultimate doom. Jesus' victory gives us victory over the evil forces that still seek to control us, as we walk with Him in peace, joy, and assurance of His love. Now the Holy Spirit dwells within us and empowers us. Continually committed to Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, we are set free from the burden of our past deeds. No longer do we live in the darkness, fear of evil powers, ignorance, and meaninglessness of our former way of life. In this new freedom in Jesus, we are called to grow into the likeness of His character, communing with Him daily in prayer, feeding on His Word, meditating on it and on His providence, singing His praises, gathering together for worship, and participating in the mission of the Church. As we give ourselves in loving service to those around us and in witnessing to His salvation, His constant presence with us through the Spirit transforms every moment and every task into a spiritual experience. (Ps 1:1, 2; 23:4; 77:11, 12; Col 1:13, 14; 2:6, 14, 15; Luke 10:17-20; Eph 5:19, 20; 6:12-18; 1 Thess 5:23; 2 Peter 2:9; 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:17, 18; Phil 3:7-14; 1 Thess 5:16-18; Matt 20:25-28; John 20:21; Gal 5:22-25; Rom 8:38, 39; 1 John 4:4; Heb 10:25.)
12. The Church:
The church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. In continuity with the people of God in Old Testament times, we are called out from the world; and we join together for worship, for fellowship, for instruction in the Word, for the celebration of the Lord's Supper, for service to all mankind, and for the worldwide proclamation of the gospel. The church derives its authority from Christ, who is the incarnate Word, and from the Scriptures, which are the written Word. The church is God's family; adopted by Him as children, its members live on the basis of the new covenant. The church is the body of Christ, a community of faith of which Christ Himself is the Head. The church is the bride for whom Christ died that He might sanctify and cleanse her. At His return in triumph, He will present her to Himself a glorious church, the faithful of all the ages, the purchase of His blood, not having spot or wrinkle, but holy and without blemish. (Gen. 12:3; Acts 7:38; Eph. 4:11-15; 3:8-11; Matt. 28:19, 20; 16:13-20; 18:18; Eph. 2:19-22; 1:22, 23; 5:23-27; Col. 1:17, 18.)

13. The Remnant and Its Mission:
The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This remnant announces the arrival of the judgment hour, proclaims salvation through Christ, and heralds the approach of His second advent. This proclamation is symbolized by the three angels of Revelation 14; it coincides with the work of judgment in heaven and results in a work of repentance and reform on earth. Every believer is called to have a personal part in this worldwide witness. (Rev. 12:17; 14:6-12; 18:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:10; Jude 3, 14; 1 Peter 1:16-19; 2 Peter 3:10-14; Rev. 21:1-14.)

14. Unity in the Body of Christ:
The church is one body with many members, called from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. In Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ, who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another; we are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation. Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures we share the same faith and hope, and reach out in one witness to all. This unity has its source in the oneness of the triune God, who has adopted us as His children. (Rom. 12:4, 5; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Matt. 28:19, 20; Ps. 133:1; 2 Cor. 5:16, 17; Acts 17:26, 27; Gal. 3:27, 29; Col. 3:10-15; Eph. 4:14-16; 4:1-6; John 17:20-23.)

15. Baptism:
By baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in newness of life. Thus we acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour, become His people, and are received as members by His church. Baptism is a symbol of our union with Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, and our reception of the Holy Spirit. It is by immersion in water and is contingent on an affirmation of faith in Jesus and evidence of repentance of sin. It follows instruction in the Holy Scriptures and acceptance of their teachings. (Rom. 6:1-6; Col. 2:12, 13; Acts 16:30-33; 22:16; 2:38; Matt. 28:19, 20.)

16. The Lord's Supper:
The Lord's Supper is a participation in the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus as an expression of faith in Him, our Lord and Saviour. In this experience of communion Christ is present to meet and strengthen His people. As we partake, we joyfully proclaim the Lord's death until He comes again. Preparation for the Supper includes self-examination, repentance, and confession. The Master ordained the service of foot washing to signify renewed cleansing, to express a willingness to serve one another in Christlike humility, and to unite our hearts in love. The communion service is open to all believing Christians. (1 Cor. 10:16, 17; 11:23-30; Matt. 26:17-30; Rev. 3:20; John 6:48-63; 13:1-17.)

17. Spiritual Gifts and Ministries:
God bestows upon all members of His church in every age spiritual gifts which each member is to employ in loving ministry for the common good of the church and of humanity. Given by the agency of the Holy Spirit, who apportions to each member as He wills, the gifts provide all abilities and ministries needed by the church to fulfill its divinely ordained functions. According to the Scriptures, these gifts include such ministries as faith, healing, prophecy, proclamation, teaching, administration, reconciliation, compassion, and self-sacrificing service and charity for the help and encouragement of people. Some members are called of God and endowed by the Spirit for functions recognized by the church in pastoral, evangelistic, apostolic, and teaching ministries particularly needed to equip the members for service, to build up the church to spiritual maturity, and to foster unity of the faith and knowledge of God. When members employ these spiritual gifts as faithful stewards of God's varied grace, the church is protected from the destructive influence of false doctrine, grows with a growth that is from God, and is built up in faith and love. (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12:9-11, 27, 28; Eph. 4:8, 11-16; Acts 6:1-7; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; 1 Peter 4:10, 11.)

18. The Gift of Prophecy:
One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen. G. White . As the Lord's messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:14-21; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 12:17; 19:10.)

19. The Law of God:
The great principles of God's law are embodied in the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life of Christ. They express God's love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships and are binding upon all people in every age. These precepts are the basis of God's covenant with His people and the standard in God's judgment. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit they point out sin and awaken a sense of need for a Saviour. Salvation is all of grace and not of works, but its fruitage is obedience to the Commandments. This obedience develops Christian character and results in a sense of well-being. It is an evidence of our love for the Lord and our concern for our fellow men. The obedience of faith demonstrates the power of Christ to transform lives, and therefore strengthens Christian witness. (Ex. 20:1-17; Ps. 40:7, 8; Matt. 22:36-40; Deut. 28:1-14; Matt. 5:17-20; Heb. 8:8-10; John 15:7-10; Eph. 2:8-10; 1 John 5:3; Rom. 8:3, 4; Ps. 19:7-14.)

20. The Sabbath:
The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts. (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; Luke 4:16; Isa. 56:5, 6; 58:13, 14; Matt. 12:1-12; Ex. 31:13-17; Eze. 20:12, 20; Deut. 5:12-15; Heb. 4:1-11; Lev. 23:32; Mark 1:32.)

21. Stewardship:
We are God's stewards, entrusted by Him with time and opportunities, abilities and possessions, and the blessings of the earth and its resources. We are responsible to Him for their proper use. We acknowledge God's ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellow men, and by returning tithes and giving offerings for the proclamation of His gospel and the support and growth of His church. Stewardship is a privilege given to us by God for nurture in love and the victory over selfishness and covetousness. The steward rejoices in the blessings that come to others as a result of his faithfulness. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; 1 Chron. 29:14; Haggai 1:3-11; Mal. 3:8-12; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; Matt. 23:23; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; Rom. 15:26, 27.)

22. Christian Behavior:
We are called to be a godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony with the principles of heaven. For the Spirit to recreate in us the character of our Lord we involve ourselves only in those things which will produce Christlike purity, health, and joy in our lives. This means that our amusement and entertainment should meet the highest standards of Christian taste and beauty. While recognizing cultural differences, our dress is to be simple, modest, and neat, befitting those whose true beauty does not consist of outward adornment but in the imperishable ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit. It also means that because our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, we are to care for them intelligently. Along with adequate exercise and rest, we are to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified in the Scriptures. Since alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and the irresponsible use of drugs and narcotics are harmful to our bodies, we are to abstain from them as well. Instead, we are to engage in whatever brings our thoughts and bodies into the discipline of Christ, who desires our wholesomeness, joy, and goodness. (Rom. 12:1, 2; 1 John 2:6; Eph. 5:1-21; Phil. 4:8; 2 Cor. 10:5; 6:14-7:1; 1 Peter 3:1-4; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 10:31; Lev. 11:1-47; 3 John 2.)

23. Marriage and the Family:
Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman in loving companionship. For the Christian a marriage commitment is to God as well as to the spouse, and should be entered into only between partners who share a common faith. Mutual love, honor, respect, and responsibility are the fabric of this relationship, which is to reflect the love, sanctity, closeness, and permanence of the relationship between Christ and His church. Regarding divorce, Jesus taught that the person who divorces a spouse, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. Although some family relationships may fall short of the ideal, marriage partners who fully commit themselves to each other in Christ may achieve loving unity through the guidance of the Spirit and the nurture of the church. God blesses the family and intends that its members shall assist each other toward complete maturity. Parents are to bring up their children to love and obey the Lord. By their example and their words they are to teach them that Christ is a loving disciplinarian, ever tender and caring, who wants them to become members of His body, the family of God. Increasing family closeness is one of the earmarks of the final gospel message. (Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 19:3-9; John 2:1-11; 2 Cor. 6:14; Eph. 5:21-33; Matt. 5:31, 32; Mark 10:11, 12; Luke 16:18; 1 Cor. 7:10, 11; Ex. 20:12; Eph. 6:1-4; Deut. 6:5-9; Prov. 22:6; Mal. 4:5, 6.)

24. Christ's Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary:
There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the time of His ascension. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry. It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Heb. 8:1-5; 4:14-16; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; 1:3; 2:16, 17; Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14; 9:24-27; Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6; Lev. 16; Rev. 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:12.)

25. The Second Coming of Christ:
The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. The Saviour's coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When He returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die. The almost complete fulfillment of most lines of prophecy, together with the present condition of the world, indicates that Christ's coming is imminent. The time of that event has not been revealed, and we are therefore exhorted to be ready at all times. (Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 1:7; Matt. 24:43, 44; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2:8; Rev. 14:14-20; 19:11-21; Matt. 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 Thess. 5:1-6.)

26. Death and Resurrection:
The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later. (Rom. 6:23; 1 Tim. 6:15, 16; Eccl. 9:5, 6; Ps. 146:3, 4; John 11:11-14; Col. 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:1-10.)

27. The Millennium and the End of Sin:
The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever. (Rev. 20; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; Jer. 4:23-26; Rev. 21:1-5; Mal. 4:1; Eze. 28:18, 19.)

28. The New Earth:
On the new earth, in which righteousness dwells, God will provide an eternal home for the redeemed and a perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy, and learning in His presence. For here God Himself will dwell with His people, and suffering and death will have passed away. The great controversy will be ended, and sin will be no more. All things, animate and inanimate, will declare that God is love; and He shall reign forever. Amen. (2 Peter 3:13; Isa. 35; 65:17-25; Matt. 5:5; Rev. 21:1-7; 22:1-5; 11:15.)

 

[Solo]

Admiral,
You are and have been out of line in this thread. I submit documentation and references that show that the Seven Day Adventist doctrines are suspect and false. You respond with attacks on my person, and refuse to give credible documentation with references that indicate anything other than your pro-SDA position. Many Seven Day Adventists have left the organization because of the false doctrines that God revealed to them. If you want to stay in this denomination that started from EG White and continues in the doctrines of this false prophet, knock yourself out. If you want to continue as a false witness, then call me an enemy of God. You will just be manifesting your own position on truth. If you have a problem with the information that I have submitted from the various websites, then I suggest you debate these issues, and not throw insults and undocumented, unreferenced Biblical verses as that which the SDA believe. I suspect that many individual SDA members have no clue as to the false doctrines espoused by the leadership of that denomination.
Solo

 

[Solo]

Is Jesus Christ the Lord God Almighty?

By Robert K. Sanders

What Ellen G. White writes in her books, is to be believed as truth from God's throne by Seventh-day Adventist Church members. Is it true that "the man Christ Jesus was not Lord God Almighty"?

• EGW: "But although Christ's glory was for a time veiled and eclipsed by His assuming humanity, yet He did not cease to be God when He became man...The man Christ Jesus was not the Lord God Almighty, yet Christ and the Father are one." SDA Bible Commentary, vol.5 p.1129

Jesus "did not cease to be God when he became man," and "that Christ and the Father are one," which are true statements about the deity of God. It is also true that the Father is the Lord God Almighty, but it is a false statement to say, "that Jesus is not the Lord God Almighty."

Why would God give Ellen a false statement about himself? The truth is that God did not reveal this, as God does not lie. The answer simply is this; Ellen G. White is a false prophet.

What does Almighty mean, and does the definition apply to Christ?

From the Greek Almighty means,

3841. pantokrator, pan-tok-rat'-ore; from G3956 and G2904; the all-ruling, i.e. God (as absolute and universal sovereign):--Almighty, Omnipotent. Strong's Dictionary

We then can say yes, this definition describes Christ as all-ruling, Almighty and Omnipotent.

Does the Bible tell us that Christ to be called the Mighty God? Yes.

(Isa 9:6 NIV) "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah tells us that Jesus is to be called the Mighty God. God in Hebrew means, 410. 'el, ale; short. from H352; strength; as adj. mighty; espec. the Almighty deity, power, strong. Comp. names in "-el." Strong's Dictionary

This definition describes Jesus. We find the definition Almighty, meaning Omnipotent, and God, as meaning Almighty deity. On this evidence alone Jesus can be called Almighty God.

Does Jesus call himself the Lord God Almighty? Yes

Rev. 1:7 (NIV) "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen."

(Rev 1:8 NIV) ""I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Some Bible scholars hold that Revelation 1:8 is referring to the Father and not Christ which could be the reason that EGW held this view.

Who is coming in the clouds? Verse 7, the one who was pierced. Jesus.

What is his name? Verse 8, the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord God, the Almighty.

(Rev 22:12 NIV) ""Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done."

(Rev 22:13 NIV) "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."

Who gives rewards at his soon coming? Verses 12, 13, the Alpha and the Omega.

(Mat 16:27 NIV) "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done."

Who is the Son of man that is coming in his Father's glory? Verse 27, it is The Son of Man, (Jesus). Compare with the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord God Almighty that is coming and was pierced, in Rev. 1: 7,8.

(Rev 22:20 NIV) "He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."

Who is coming soon? the Lord Jesus. Compare Rev. 22: 12,13 as the Alpha and Omega.

Does It Make a Difference?

Because of the authority given Ellen G. White by the Seventh -day Adventist Church, many that read her statement that "the man Christ Jesus was not the Lord God Almighty" will regard it as truth. What does this statement do to the deity of Christ? It says that the Father and Son are not really equal in their deity and that the Father is the Lord God Almighty and Christ is somewhat of a lesser God.

This is very similar to the beliefs of the Jehovah's Witnesses who believe that Jesus Christ is not God equal to the Father, and regard him as just "a god " (with a small g). This is found in their New World Translation of John 1:1.The Witnesses also believe that Jesus is a mighty god and Jehovah is the Lord God Almighty. This gives Ellen G. White, the SDA Church and the Jehovah's Witness two Gods, one that is Almighty and one that is not as Almighty.

The Truth

Jesus Christ is called the Lord God Almighty, and the Alpha and Omega, Rev. 1:8, the same as the Father is called the Lord God Almighty and the Alpha and Omega. Rev. 21:5,6. Some Bible scholars hold that Revelation 1:8 is referring to the Father and not Christ which could be the reason that EGW held this view.
Almighty applies to Christ, from the Greek word "pantokrator," which means all-ruling, Almighty, Omnipotent.
The Savior is equal to the Father, (Col 2:9 NIV) "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,"
God bless you as you lift up Jesus to his full deity as the Lord God Almighty.

 

[Admiral]

Admiral,
You are and have been out of line in this thread.

No, YOU are the one that is out of line. Your actions are totally not of Christ.

I submit documentation and references that show that the Seven Day Adventist doctrines are suspect and false.

YOu have not responded with bible quote to refute thier doctrines. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. Not a single one of YOUR articles was written by YOU....Therefore, you don't know what you are saying, but rather you are parroting what someone else says.

You respond with attacks on my person, and refuse to give credible documentation with references that indicate anything other than your pro-SDA position.

I never attacked you, rather I attacked your behavior, which is acting like Satans...accusing Christian brothers that they may not be Christian...That is evidence of Satanic behavior.

Many Seven Day Adventists have left the organization because of the false doctrines that God revealed to them.

This is not about other people...It is about you acting like Satan and doing satan's work, that is, accusing other Christian brothers of not being Christian.

. If you have a problem with the information that I have submitted from the various websites, then I suggest you debate these issues, and not throw insults and undocumented, unreferenced Biblical verses as that which the SDA believe.

At least I give the oppertunity for debate, and I give the oppertunity to show what is false...YOU KEEP ACCUSING WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE.... You are nothing more than a wolf in sheeps clothing, AN AGENT of Satan....

May God have mercy on your soul...

 

[Solo]

Christian brothers and sisters need to be warned of being deceived by the enemies lies and deceptions. Those that are not brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ need to be provided with the truth of the gospel. There are brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ that are pastors, elders, members of the SDA Church, but there are many that have left because of being kicked out for speaking out on the false doctrines of the SDA, and also for having a strong influence from the holy Spirit to leave.

Ellen G. White was instrumental in founding the Seventh Day Adventist Church and she is a false prophet that taught false doctrines.

Many of the same false doctrines are held by the SDA organization still today. These doctrines are in this thread. Stay tuned, there will be more.

 

[Admiral]

Christian brothers and sisters need to be warned of being deceived by the enemies lies and deceptions. Those that are not brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ need to be provided with the truth of the gospel. There are brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ that are pastors, elders, members of the SDA Church, but there are many that have left because of being kicked out for speaking out on the false doctrines of the SDA, and also for having a strong influence from the holy Spirit to leave.

If that is the case, then YOU need to get your hands dirty and YOU need to study it out FROM THE BIBLEand YOU need to post it ...

You need to do the work that God gave you and prove that the SDAs doctrines are false...OTherwise, you are spreading lies and are accusing the SDA brothers that they are not Christian....

Once you start doing that, you are an agent of satan....because only satan and his agents intimidate Christian brothers.

[/quote]
Many of the same false doctrines are held by the SDA organization still today. These doctrines are in this thread. Stay tuned, there will be more.[/quote]

I hope not, unless you have done the study yourself.

Which doctrines are false? Show me one and show me the bible texts proving that they are false.....

 

[Admiral]

Solo,

Here is a list of doctrines from one of thier sites that you can choose one of thier doctrines to proove that is false...

Who Are Seventh-day Adventists?

The Seventh-day Adventist Church adds a new member by baptism every 48 seconds of every day, and organizes five new congregations daily.

A brief scan of one of the fastest growing Christian Churches in the world today.


For a more complete look at the 27 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, click here.


God

Adventists base their faith in God as revealed through Jesus Christ and as shown through the Bible, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Faith

Faith means placing complete trust in God, and accepting his offer of salvation. Such trusting faith is fundamental to Adventist beliefs. A living relationship with God is essential to faith.

The Bible

Written down over many years, the Bible presents the essential truth about God. The Holy Spirit inspired human writers to reveal the character of God and how he wishes to save all those who come to him. The Bible explains the nature of God and the way God’s followers will behave as a result of their relationship with him.

The Gospel

The heart of the Adventist message is the gospel, God’s good news of salvation. Through Jesus’ death on the cross human beings may be won back to love and trust God, and accept God’s free gift of eternal life for all those who follow him.

Creation

Creator of the Universe, Christ formed our world in seven days, and created the first man and woman. At the close of his creative work, God gave the Sabbath as a day of celebration and worship.

The Sabbath

The seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) is given as a reminder of the God who both creates and saves, and is the day God invites all to come and worship him. Jesus observed the seventh-day Sabbath while on earth, and Adventists follow his example in keeping the fourth of the Ten Commandments.

The Second Advent

Adventists look forward to the soon return of Jesus Christ as prophesied and as he himself promised, but do not set any date for this glorious event when he comes to take home all who accept him as their Lord.


Life After Death and the Future

Adventists follow Jesus in identifying those who die as sleeping. Those who have trusted God are raised to life when Jesus returns, and look forward to a wonderful future--eternal life in God’s presence.

Baptism and Commitment

Those who choose to accept God’s way for their lives and his offer of eternal life demonstrate their belief through baptism (being immersed in water), following the example of Jesus. Adventists follow lives of commitment to God and his plan for us, which include following his commands as being for our best good.

Education

The Adventist Church operates one of the largest educational systems in the world, and features Universities such as Loma Linda whose Medical Center is at the forefront of treatments such as the innovative Proton Accelerator for cancer treatment. Through a world-wide network of schools, Adventists seek to better humanity through providing education and vocational training.

Community Aid

Through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency and other programs, the Adventist Church provides practical assistance to those less fortunate, caring for the poor and disadvantaged in many countries of the world, without regard for race, religion or nationality. The Church also operates youth camps, community service projects, family life counseling and other programs to assist those wishing to overcome drug addiction and alcohol or tobacco dependence.

The Communication of Hope

Seventh-day Adventists communicate hope by focusing on the quality of life that is complete in Jesus. Communication is a vital aspect of faith, sharing the good news of God and keeping the family of believers in touch through a global system that includes satellite broadcasting, TV, radio, print and electronic media such as the Internet and the Adventist On-line Forum on CompuServe.

For a more complete look at the 27 Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, click here.

You can learn more about your Bible through the 26-lesson "On-line"

 

[Solo]

Christian brothers and sisters need to be warned of being deceived by the enemies lies and deceptions. Those that are not brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ need to be provided with the truth of the gospel. There are brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ that are pastors, elders, members of the SDA Church, but there are many that have left because of being kicked out for speaking out on the false doctrines of the SDA, and also for having a strong influence from the holy Spirit to leave.

If that is the case, then YOU need to get your hands dirty and YOU need to study it out FROM THE BIBLEand YOU need to post it ...

You need to do the work that God gave you and prove that the SDAs doctrines are false...OTherwise, you are spreading lies and are accusing the SDA brothers that they are not Christian....

Once you start doing that, you are an agent of satan....because only satan and his agents intimidate Christian brothers.

Many of the same false doctrines are held by the SDA organization still today. These doctrines are in this thread. Stay tuned, there will be more.

I hope not, unless you have done the study yourself.

Which doctrines are false? Show me one and show me the bible texts proving that they are false.....

Many have come before me which have studied the error of Seventh Day Adventists. I am giving you the fruits of their hard work and research in and out of the Seventh Day Adventist Cult. Keep your eyes opened. More to come. I am studying as I go, and you have the benefit of finding out this information as I study it.
Thanks for your love and concern.

 

[Solo]

Here is a statement from the Official Seventh Day Adventist Website found at http://www.seventh-dayadventist.com/sun/ . This statement is found at http://www.seventh-dayadventist.com/bel ... phecy.html

• 
  
  As delegates to the 2005 General Conference Session in St Louis, Missouri, we acknowledge that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been richly blessed by the Lord through the gift of prophecy manifested in the ministry and writings of Ellen G White. Through it the Lord guided the development of the Church from a small number of members to a worldwide movement entrusted with the proclamation of a message of salvation in Christ and the hope of His soon return in glory. Her ministry has directly contributed to the preservation of the unity of the Church and has sustained it in difficult times. Her writings continue to be a most positive influence in the life of the Church, providing for it comfort, guidance, instruction, correction, and theological stimulus. Their study will constantly lead the Church back to the Bible as the very foundation of faith and practice.
  
  As delegates, we affirm the important role the writings of Ellen G White still play in nurturing the Adventist movement and in preserving the unity of the world Church. Consequently, we call upon Seventh-day Adventists throughout the world to prayerfully study her writings, in order to understand more fully God's purpose for His remnant people. We call upon church leaders at all administrative levels to plan and facilitate the promotion and study of the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy in their respective fields. We call upon our youth to acquaint themselves with the wealth of divine counsel found in these writings because it will greatly enrich their lives as they serve the Lord and fellow human beings. [Emphasis Added]

Below is a portion of Ellen G. White's reflections which can be found at http://www.macgregorministries.org/seve ... %20to%2014

ADVENTISM-
THE REFLECTION OF ELLEN G. WHITE by J.Mark Martin

Seventh-day Adventism is a reflection of its prophetess, Ellen 8G. White. It is inseparably united to her writings which are considered to be an authoritative source of truth. The Adventist church recognizes that it is indebted to and dependent upon Mrs. White's writings.

Mrs. White's writings are affectionately called, "The Spirit of Prophecy" by most Seventh-day Adventists. It is believed that her prophetic gift within the Adventist church is one of the proofs that it is the "remnant" church which "keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus....the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy". Revelation 12: 17;19: 10.

In the book, The White Truth, published by the church in 1981 as a response to the recent discovery of Mrs. White's plagiarism, author John J. Robertson clearly sets forth the importance of Mrs. White's writings in the Adventist community. Robertson states that "The influence of the spirit of prophecy [Mrs. White's writings] is woven into the warp and woof of Adventist faith, life, and organization....What we are as a church is a reflection of our faith in the divine authority evident in the writings of Ellen G. White". The White Truth, p. 61

The same year The White Truth was offered as a public defense of Mrs. White's writings, the church met in General Conference session and reworked its Statement of Beliefs. In what has come to be known as "The Dallas Statement" we see a clear expression of the extraordinary role Mrs. White's writings have in the church.

"One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. As the Lord's messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth and provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teachings and experience must be tested". Statement 17
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2. AN INSPIRED COMMENTARY

For years Seventh-day Adventists have called Mrs. White's writings "an inspired commentary on the Bible". In 1980 the church also published The Pillars, a book defending the denomination's distinctive doctrines. In this book, popular Adventist pastor Morris L. Venden invites his readers to study fifteen "facts" with him. "Fact #14" is especially interesting:

"Fact #14. There is hope for every remnant believer today who sometimes feels confused at all the differing views taken by different scholars and commentaries. We have an inspired commentary that was given for the purpose of settling the disagreements among the uninspired commentaries. What do you do when the scholars disagree? Do you have to become a better scholar than the best in order to settle the disagreement in your own mind? No, let me repeat. God has given to our church an inspired commentary to settle the disagreements among the uninspired commentaries. And we can still be thankful for that today" The Pillars, p. 30

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3. NOT OF HUMAN ORIGIN

Mrs. White claimed that her writings were not of human origin, but were inspired by God.

"I am just as dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord in relating or writing a vision, as in having the vision. It is impossible for me to call up things which have been shown me unless the Lord brings them before me at the time that he is pleased to have me relate or write them". Spiritual Gifts vol. 2, p. 293.

"In ancient times God spoke to men by the mouth of prophets and apostles. In these days He speaks to them by the testimonies of His Spirit. [Mrs. White's writings] There was never a time when God instructed His people more earnestly than He Instructs them now concerning His will and the course that He would have them pursue. But will they profit by His teachings? Will they receive His reproofs and heed His warnings?" Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 147-148

"Sister Hall has just read me your letter to her. I am glad that you are having success in selling my books; for thus you are giving to the world the light that God has given me. These books contain clear, straight, unalterable truth and they should certainly be appreciated. The instruction they contain is not of human production". Letter H-339, December 26, 1904

"Yet now when I send you a testimony of warning and reproof, many of you declare it to be merely the opinion of Sister White. You have thereby insulted the Spirit of God". Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 661.

"Those who are reproved by the Spirit of God should not rise up against the humble instrument. It is God, and not an erring mortal, who has spoken to save them from ruin". Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 257

A statement appears in the official church paper, The Review and Herald, clearly states the high position in which Ellen White is held in the Adventist church.

"Seventh-day Adventists hold that Ellen G. White performed the work of a true prophet during the seventy years of her public ministry. As Samuel was a prophet, as Jeremiah was a prophet, as John the Baptist, so we believe that Mrs. White was a prophet to the church of Christ today".

The Review & Herald. October 4, 1928.

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4. SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS ARE UNIQUELY FORTUNATE

Arthur White, grandson of Ellen White and for years the head of the Ellen G. White Estate, made the following claim:

"Seventh-day Adventists are uniquely fortunate in approaching the question of inspiration of the prophets. We are not left to find our way, drawing our conclusions from writings of two thousand years and more ago, that have come down to us through varied transcriptions and translations. With us it is an almost contemporary matter, for we have had a prophet in our midst. It is generally granted by the careful student of her works that the experience of Ellen G. White was no different from that of the prophets of old. What is more, rather than having in our possession only relatively few chapters or a handful of letters as is the case of the extant records of the Bible prophets, we have the full range of Ellen G. White's writings, penned through a period of 70 years. She wrote in the English language, so we are not confronted with the problems of translation..." The Ellen G. White's Writings, p. 15.

5. DOCTRINAL AUTHORITY

The "landmarks" or "pillars" of Adventism have their roots in Ellen White. As these landmarks were being developed, Mrs. White had an unquestionably authoritative role in defining what would be defined as truth and error. Mrs. White describes how Adventist doctrine was established:

"At that time [after the 1844 disappointment] one error after another pressed in upon us; ministers and doctors brought in new doctrines. We would search the Scripture with much prayer, and the Holy Spirit would bring the truth to our minds....The power of God would come upon me, and I was enabled clearly to define what is truth and what is error. "

"As the points of our faith were thus established our feet were placed upon a solid foundation. We accepted the truth point by point, under the demonstration of the Holy Spirit. I would be taken off in vision, and explanations would be given me. I was given illustrations of heavenly things, and of the sanctuary, so that we were placed where light was shining on us in clear, distinct rays". Selected Messages, bk. 3, p. 31,32

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6. MRS. WHITE'S WRITINGS ARE UNQUESTIONABLE

Mrs. White believed that her writings or testimonies, were inspired and therefore should never be questioned. To doubt her writings would be tantamount to doubting the Word of God.

"While men venture to criticize the Word of God, they venture on sacred, holy ground, and had better fear and tremble and hide their wisdom as foolishness. God sets no man to pronounce judgment on His word, selecting some things as inspired and discrediting others as uninspired. The testimonies [Mrs. White's writings] have been treated in the same way; but God is not in this" Selected Messages, bk. 1, p. 23

"When the power of God testifies as to what is truth, that truth is to stand forever as the truth. No after suppositions contrary to the light God has given are to be entertained". Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 31.

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7. PREDICTIONS OF ELLEN G. WHITE

Mrs. White claimed that future events were revealed to her. "As the Spirit of God has opened to my mind the great truths of His word, and the scenes of the past and the future, I have been bidden to make known to others that which has thus been revealed..." The Great Controversy, p. xi.

Mrs. Ellen G. White made the following predictions during her ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist church. They must be tested and honestly faced in the light of God's Word.

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8. JERUSALEM'S FUTURE

An interesting prophecy of Mrs. White's was that "Old Jerusalem never will be built up". In Early Writings, p. 75, she said, "I was pointed to some who are in the great error of believing that it is their duty to go to Old Jerusalem, and think they have a work to do there before the Lord comes....I saw that Satan had greatly deceived some in this thing,... I also saw that Old Jerusalem never would be built up; and that Satan was doing his utmost to lead the minds of the children of the Lord into these things now, in the gathering time".

This prophecy did not come true. Since the nation of Israel's rebirth in 1948, "old Jerusalem" has been greatly built up.

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9. MRS. WHITE ALIVE WHEN JESUS RETURNS

Mrs. White predicted that she would be among "the living saints" when Jesus returned.

"Soon our eyes were drawn to the east, for a small black cloud had appeared, about half as large as a man's hand, which we all knew was the sign of the Son of man....Then there was a mighty earthquake. The graves opened, and the dead came up clothed with immortality. The 144,000 shouted, "Alleluia!" as they recognized their friends who had been torn from them by death, and in the same moment we were changed and caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air". Early Writings, p. 15-16

Mrs. White died at her home near St. Helena, California on July 16th, 1915. Eight days later she was buried beside her husband, James White, in Oak Hill Cemetery, in Battle Creek, Michigan.

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10. ENGLAND WILL ATTACK THE UNITED STATES

In 1862 she predicted that "when England does declare war [against the North, during the Civil War], all nations will have an interest of their own to serve, and there will be general war, general confusion." The result will be that "this nation [the United States] will...be humbled into the dust". Testimonies for The Church, vol. 1, p. 259.

American history clearly shows that England did not "declare war" against the United States during the Civil War, and the United States was not "humbled into the dust."

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11. THE CIVIL WAR IS A SIGN THAT JESUS IS ABOUT TO RETURN

"I saw greater distress in the land than we have yet witnessed. I heard groans and cries of distress, and saw large companies in active battle. I heard the booming of the cannon, the clash of arms, the hand-to-hand fight, and the groans and prayers of the dying....God's people must take warning and discern the signs of the times. The signs of Christ's coming are too plain to be doubted, and in view of these things everyone who professes the truth should be a living preacher....All heaven is astir. The scenes of earth's history are fast closing. We are amid the perils of the last days". Testimonies for the Church. vol. 1, p. 260

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12. IN THE 1850'S MRS. WHITE SAID JESUS WAS TO RETURN "IN A FEW MONTHS"

"Some are looking too far off for the coming of the Lord. Time has continued a few years longer than they expected; therefore they think it may continue a few years more, and in this way their minds are being led from present truth, out after the world....I saw that the time for Jesus to be in the most holy place was nearly finished and that time can last but a very Iittle longer". Early Writings, p. 58

"In a view given June 27, 1850, my accompanying angel said, "Time is almost finished....Said the angel, "Get ready, get ready, get ready..." I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but Iittle time in which to do it....Then I saw that the seven last plagues were soon to be poured out upon those who have no shelter..." Early Writings, p. 64

Mrs. White continues to relate her vision and makes a startling prediction that only a few months are left before the Lord will return. "But now time is almost finished, and what we have been years learning, they ["they who of late have embraced the truth"] will have to learn in a few months. They will also have much to unlearn and much to learn again". Early Writings, p. 67

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[/b][/size=16]13. ADVENTISTS LIVING IN 1856 WILL BE ALIVE TO SEE JESUS RETURN [/b][/size]

Over 135 years ago, Mrs. White made another fascinating prophecy during a meeting in Battle Creek, Michigan in May of 1856. She declared that some of those who were in that meeting would die, and become "food for worms," and that some of them would live on and become "subjects of the seven last plagues," while still others would "remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus".Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 131-132.

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14. MRS. WHITE SAW ENOCH ON JUPITER OR SATURN

"The Lord has given me a view of other worlds, Wings were given me, and an angel attended me from the city to a place that was bright and glorious. The grass of the place was Iiving green, and the birds there warbled a sweet song. The inhabitants of the place were of all sizes; they were noble, majestic, and Iovely....I asked one of them why they were so much more lovely than those on the earth....Then I was taken to a world which had seven moons. There I saw good old Enoch, who had been translated". Early Writings, pp. 39-40

Ellen's husband, James White verified her vision. He wrote, "At our conference in Topsham, Maine, last Nov., Ellen had a vision of the handy works of God. She was guided to the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and I think one more. After she came out of vision, she could give a clear description of their Moons, etc.. It is well known, that she knew nothing of astronomy, and could not answer one question in relation to the planets, before she had this vision". A Word to the Little Flock", p. 22

Excellent satellite pictures of Jupiter and Saturn have not revealed any life forms.

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A SCRIPTURAL WARNING

"But the prophet who shall speak a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.' And you may say in your heart. 'How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?' When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously: you shall not be afraid of him". Deuteronomy 18:20-2 [Emphasis Added]