Christian Adventists

"They shall falsely accuse you."

2008-03-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

Jesus informed His followers that they would be persecuted and lied about for believing in Him. We live in a day when Satan is very happy to see millions of people ignoring the Ten Commandments and not trusting in the Bible as the true word of God. Those who have placed their trust in human error will not stand to listen to the word of God. In fact, they will develope hatred towards it and those who believe in it!

Even more sad are those who profess to be Christians and deny the moral standard of God. Many who claim to be Christians persecute those who believe in the Ten Commandments and make claims that the Ten Commandments were "nailed to the cross". They feel that those who keep the commandments of God are fanatics. "Thousands who pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it as an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible; they think it a proof of superior talent and learning to cavil at the Scriptures and to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths." [E.G.White, GCp.583]

Please understand that it is Satan's work to destroy true Christian morality. "To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God's law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by rejecting one of its precepts, the result will be ultimately the same. " [E.G.White GCp.582] The war is between the "dragon" [Satan] and those "who keep the commandments of God." [Revelation 12:17]

"Already the doctrine that men are released from obedience to God's requirements has weakened the force of moral obligation and opened the floodgates of iniquity upon the world. " [E.G.White GCp.585] Look at the world, look at the shape that it is in. Truly we are living in the last days. Many true Christians will have family members turn against them with an evil hatred. This hatred is stirred in them because their pride doesn't want to make Jesus their Lord. Many want a saviour but not a Lord. They truly do not fear the Lord like they should so instead they attack the truth and those who proclaim it.

"The religious organizations of the day have refused to listen to unpopular truths plainly brought to view in the Scriptures, and in combating them they have adopted interpretations and taken positions which have sown broadcast the seeds of skepticism." [E.G.White GCp.586] Many so called "christians" of today have made idols of false doctrine. Why? They wish not to bow down to the perfect "law of liberty". "In rejecting the truth, men reject its Author. In trampling upon the law of God, they deny the authority of the Law-giver. It is as easy to make an idol of false doctrines and theories as to fashion an idol of wood or stone. By misrepresenting the attributes of God, Satan leads men to conceive of Him in a false character. With many, a philosophical idol is enthroned in the place of Jehovah; while the living God, as He is revealed in His word, in Christ, and in the works of creation, is worshiped by but few. Thousands deify nature while they deny the God of nature. Though in a different form, idolatry exists in the Christian world today as verily as it existed among ancient Israel in the days of Elijah. The god of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists--the god of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions--is little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phoenicia. " [E.W.White GCp.583]

I have received letters and testimonies from some who have gained from "The Adventist Way of Life" ministry. They have informed me that when they started keeping the true 7th day Sabbath of the Lord their families began to attack them verbaly. The fighting escalated into false accusations and hatred toward the Sabbath keeping family member. It is because the false Christians wish to loose themselves from the binding claims of God's Holy Law. "And as the claims of the fourth commandment are urged upon the people, it is found that the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is enjoined; and as the only way to free themselves from a duty which they are unwilling to perform, many popular teachers declare that the law of God is no longer binding." [E.W.White GCp.587]

"The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable." [E.G.White GCp.588] True Christians will be "the light of the world". They begin to stand out as a "sore thumb" more and more as we approach the end. False teachings of Christendom will become a cloak for fake Christians to hide behind as they persecute the true Sabbath keepers. "As the teachings of spiritualism are accepted by the churches, the restraint imposed upon the carnal heart is removed, and the profession of religion will become a cloak to conceal the basest iniquity. A belief in spiritual manifestations opens the door to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, and thus the influence of evil angels will be felt in the churches." [E.G.White GCp.603,604]

"Blinded by Satan, the parent will exercise harshness and severity toward the believing child;" [E.G.White GCp.608] Jesus our Lord informed us: "And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." [Matthew 10:36] "Affection will be alienated; children will be disinherited and driven from home. The words of Paul will be literally fulfilled: "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." 2 Timothy 3:12. " [E.G.White GCp.608]

Ex-Seventh Day Adventist Christians will be some of our worst enemies. " Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them. " [E.G.White GCp.608]

I, Eric W. King, encourage all true Christians to not give up! Hang in there. Times will get difficult but God is on our side! "Christ's ambassadors have nothing to do with consequences. They must perform their duty and leave results with God." [E.G.White GCp609-610]

Compiled and written by Eric W. King [March 18,2008]

Please visit "The Adventist Way of Life" and hear Eric speak on TAWOL Radio!

Is our reliance of God mere speculation?

2008-03-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

Recently I received an email from a person who had listened to one of my TAWOL radio shows regarding the topic of, "The state of the dead". Their response was simple. The response to the message was basically;

"All Bible topics are of mere blind faith and speculation."

Wow! How sad this response was to me. Do we serve an impersonal God? According to this person we do. If you have children and you raise them do you teach them to use "reason" and "understanding"? Or must they guess about such important topics as "life" and "death"?

Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

And...

"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." Acts 17:11

So we can find truth in the Scriptures and we are told to "reason" with God. Jesus also said;

"If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." John 14:7

Jesus came so that each of us could know and understand God in a personal way. Jesus alone can bring meaning and purpose to life. The Bible is clear about Heaven and what it will be like. The Bible is clear that Jesus want's to give those who believe in Him "everlasting life". There is no speculation about the character and person of God.

Many who have studied philosophy and human reasoning fall into the trap of believing in a semi-personal if not all together impersonal God. Why? Because instead of reading their Bible they begin to trust human reasoning all together outside the realm of God's word. God asks us to use reasoning along with His word, the Holy Bible.

Tis' true that Life is full of unprovable assumptions. So do we as Christians trust only limited human reasoning so that we can never arrive at certanties? No! We as Christians do use human reason with God's word, and then God responds! Christians testify to a supernatural reality. Most of all, we trust that an ultimate wise God in the person of the Holy Spirit will lead, guide, direct, and protect us into all true! God does give us answers!

No friends, our faith is not mere speculation. We do not have to guess what happens at death. We can look at those who have experienced it in the Bible and listen to what the Bible says. Jesus experienced death and resurrection and said that He would come back for us that we too may be raised unto life everlasting. Why must we speculate about what God says so clearly?

Yes, our God is personal! And He loves us personally!

Written by Eric W. King [March 11,2008]

http://www.adventist.7p.com/

"Great swelling words"

2008-03-02T17:54:00.000-08:00

In the second letter of Peter found in the New Testament we find some very important information regarding false teachers. Many Christians today have not really studied their own Bibles. If they have most have only approached the study of it from one or two points of view. Mostly an "evangelical" popular view or "baptist/calvinistic" type view. These have been the popular views.

Thus they may only have become grounded on one popular modern view of Christianity without feeling the need to go deeper. These students can easily fall prey to false movements. The Bible warns us about false teachers. Starting in 2 Peter 2:18 we read:

"For when they [false teachers] speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error."

Here Peter tells us that these false teachers speak "boastful words" [swelling words] by appealing to the lustful desires of human sinful nature. Here is described a false group of teachers who promise worldly glory. A regular teaching today within Pentecostal and Charismatic churches and ministries that compares to these false teachings that Peter is describing is the modern teaching that God wants all Christians to be financially wealthy. It seems that these false Christians also believed that to be "free from God's law" ment that they could break God's law. They thought that to be "not under law" ment that they were free from the moral restraint of God's law.

What does "free from the law" really mean? It simply means that Jesus Christ set us free from the guilt of the law. The law causes guilt because we cannot perfectly keep it. Jesus set us free from the "condemnation of the law" but Jesus never gave us license to break the moral standard.

Peter goes on in his explaination of the false teachers:

"While they promise them liberty [freedom], they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought to bondage." [2 Peter 2:19]

Here Peter suggests that those who do not want to be guided by God's moral standard inevitably get caught in sin and the bondage of it's grip. They become caught in the slavery of "self". True freedom from sin involves joyful "slavery" [service] to God. [see Romans 6:15-18] False teachers delight in making up their own rules to live by. To them "self" must always "feel good" and be "glorified".

It is easy to get caught in false teachings if you are not grounded in the Truth of God's word. People demonstrate what they value most by the time and energy they devote to something (see Matthew 6:21). When is the last time you truly studied your Bible? Many are waiting for somebody else to tell them what the Bible teaches, to follow the popular view, instead of searching God's word out for themselves.

Peter goes on in the passage that we are looking at to explain that these so called "christians" have returned to their sinful way of life while still calling themselves the followers of Jesus Christ. Their return to their old sinful ways showed that their knowledge of Christ was only superficial.

Peter says;

"For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning."

"For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them."

"But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." [2 Peter 2:20-22]

So,dear Christian, where do you stand regarding these issues today?

Written by Eric W. King [March 2,2008]

Visit more at: "The Adventist Way of Life"

Do I have to be perfect?

2008-03-01T07:27:00.000-08:00

Many people come to Jesus Christ in their early adulthood. They stay in a church or two for some time and then something terrible happens. I false teacher begins to tell them that they must be perfect or God will not accept them. Do you know who this false teacher is? It is the Devil!

It saddens me that many Christians that I talk to in my ministry say things like: "I used to go to church but I got depressed. I just felt judged and condemned all the time. Not only that, but all Christians are hypocrites!" You see, I notice that first they describe a sort of "guilt depression" which ends in anger towards all Christians.

Why does this happen? Many people want to believe in Jesus and want to live forever in Heaven but they are not quite sure how to really get there. This is where the root of the problem is. They look at the Ten Commandments and realize that they fall short of keeping them. So they look to Jesus and wonder if He really can help them become "perfect". You see, this is the problem.

People begin to focus on themselves instead of believing and trusting in Jesus. In the historical past of the Christian faith many different practices occurred that people invented. They beat themsleves, they starved themselves, they became celibate all in the hopes that this would get them to heaven.

Today people are turning to liberal churches for salvation. They want a religion with basically no moral standard at all, or at least one that they can re-write. This is the other extreme, and the more popular form of "inventive salvation".

The Bible is simple and clear about who makes it to Heaven. First the Bible instructs us to put our faith and believe in the person of Jesus Christ. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." [Romans 10:9,10]

So we see that we must truly believe. "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." [James 1:8] So if we truly believe in Jesus we will listen to what He says. Jesus said; "If you love me, keep my commandments." [John 14:15] Also, knowing that we cannot be saved by commandment keeping is very important. "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." [Romans 3:28]

So here are the characteristics of those who will be saved: "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus." [Revelation 14:12] So we remain faithful to our Lord through belief in His word and second we obey His commandments through the strength that He gives us by the Holy Spirit. Our obedience is in response to His love.

We read; "This is love for God: to obey his commands." [1 John 5:3] So salvation is very simple! It is accomplished by, in, and through Jesus Christ alone and our faith in Him! The enemy will always attack this simple message. We read: "And the dragon [Satan] was wroth with the woman [Church], and went to make war with her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." [Revelation 12:17]

So it is not those who add special rules to their lives, or try and be celibate, or try and forget God's commandments all together. It is simply those who have found Jesus Christ and believe and trust in Him alone for salvation.

May you find Him today!

Written by, Eric W. King [March 1st, 2008]

Visit Eric's website at: http://www.adventist.7p.com/

Give me some of that "feel good" religion!

2008-02-23T16:48:00.000-08:00

Everybody wants to feel good. There is certainly nothing wrong with feeling good. Americans have created many electrical and mechanical gadgets to assist in the feel good arena. Even drugs play a role in the feel good game.

Many Americans spend 90% of their time trying to find ways to feel good. Perhaps that morning coffee, extra strength...or maybe a cigarette. While we're at it, a shot of whiskey would do in a pinch. Many also must find that pill that calms their nerves or helps them loose weight while still eating like a pig. And the list of feel good ideas could go on add infinitum.

What about discipline? When we find that we have areas in our lives that need to change what do we do? Many today are going to seminars and learning the skill of pretending that they are partially some kind of god or goddess. They are taught that they are in control, not God. In otherwards, those who have gone to these philosophical cults come back saying: "If you force yourself to feel confident, get the attitude that you can do anything, nobody can stop you! Then you will succeed."

Or they say: "Simply believe in your-self!" I have always wondered what this means. Does it mean that I must idolize a make believe image of myself and that I have some special power? Am I to stop believing in God and simply believe in my-self? Believe in my fallen and imperfect nature? My Bible does not tell me to believe in myself or in my own strength. Instead my Bible says:

"...put no confidence in the flesh." [Philipians 3:3]

And as far as trusting in yourself my Bible instead reads;

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him [God], and he shall direct thy paths." [Proverbs 3:5,6]

The hardest thing for a person to do is place their complete trust in another. Can I or should I give my complete life over to another? Wow! Yet this is exactly what God asks us to do. He asks us to die to self, not believe in self, but to die to fallen human nature and to place complete trust in Him!

This belief goes completely against human nature. We are greedy and needy!

Another trap that some Christians fall into; "Well, God wants you to feel good about yourself!" Really? So what does this involve? Can I make up my own standards and rules to live by? Can I take drugs, smoke, eat like a pig, cheat a little...etc. I mean, God does want me to feel good with myself, right?"

I mentioned earlier, what about discipline? Does discipline always "feel good"? Does growing up always "feel good"? Hhhhhmmmmm. It seems that many Christians want Jesus to be their Saviour but not their disciplinary because gues what...that can hurt! You mean a God that has moral boundries? A God that asks you to stay in His word to find all truth and not read Carl Jung or listen to Oprah Winfrey? Come on man...thats torture.

Here we see one of the main problems with Christianity. Many Christians stop reading God's word. They say; "Well, I already read the book and I go to church. End of story." So if God tells us that He speaks to us through His word and you stop reading it and going to the Bible for your answers...where are you turning to find answers? Self-help programs and books that tell you to simply believe in your-self. The New Age movement tells people to tap into their "Higher-Self". Some call it the "God-self". Why not? As god I can make up my own rules...no discipline needed!

Should our confidence be in ourselves or in the Christ that works within the true Christian? As true Christians our confidence is in our God! He is the Almighty, I am just His child! The Bible says that: "A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident." [Proverbs 14:16]

As a matter of fact, people fear "failure" today more than they fear God! This leads to many other errors. Some who look for answers in human behavior or the study of human behavior say things like: "My faith is no longer blind. I only trust in what I can see." Well, then it's not really faith. Biblical faith is not blind but it is also not "all knowing".

Christianity is not a religion of "self". It is a relationalship religion. First, we are put in right relationship with God. That means we go through Christ Jesus alone. That means we put God's commandments, ways, and thoughts before our own or anybody elses. True happiness is in falling in love with God and His word. True love is trusting in God's word even if somebody says something different. If you truly love God you will want to believe in Him and His ways..not in your selfish desires.

Those who go to church for singing and ritual believe that they have made up for their disregard to obedience to God's commands. These type of so called Christians live mostly for themselves instead of for God. These type often perform religious rites. It at least makes them feel better.

You see, basically psychology is in the buisness of rephrasing the gopsel into selfist terminology. If you talk to a so called "Christian Psychologist" one of the first things that he might ask you is; "What do you want? How can I make you feel better?" Their idea of the gospel is proclaimed as "self-esteem".

So todays religionists cry out; "Give me some of that feel-good religion!" Why? Because no discipline is involved, no hurt in the growing process, no pain for true gain! One Christian author has rightly stated: "Christian psychology is an attempted balancing act, with one foot upon the solid Rock, Christ Jesus, and the other on the sinking sand of humanism."

So many people that I have talked with that claim to be Christians have attacked God's word by their continual and popular excuse: "So many denominations say different things about prophecy and Biblical interpretation....so get on with your self-righteousness." What they are really saying is that God must be some how messed up. He must have not been clear to the children that He supposedly loves and died for in the person of Jesus Christ. This really is an excuse not to study God's word. As a result of this attitude many will spend thousands of dollars studying Carl Jung and or Sigmund Freud.

Yet Jesus says to "remain in His word" and promises us that "there we will find the truth". So is Jesus a liar? Sadly, He is, to many supposed Christians floating around the globe who have their head stuck into the intellectual pit of despair. These type will mouth off the most recent dirty joke. Or tell you how they figured out a way to cheat on their taxes. The next sunday they will sit in their church and say a prayer or two. Perhaps do a ritual or two and head on home to catch the next football game. Across the room on their shelf sits a dusty old Bible which they claim that they have already read and know what it says. On the coffee table sits their favorite book titled: "Human Psychology..understanding human conscious...the key to success!" And in Heaven Jesus looks down with a tear in His eye and says; "They don't get it..they just don't get it."

Today I would ask all true Christians to pray for those caught in the psychology game. Pray that they come back to their Father's word and to the Saviour Jesus Christ. There is where we find our true hope, stength, wisdom, knowledge, and rest.

By Eric W. King
Febreuary 23rd,2008

For more truth visit:
"The Adventist Way of Life"

Accusers of the Brethren - Response to cult bloggers

2008-02-16T15:24:00.000-08:00

-This article is addressed to those people who think that they are Christians and make it thier duty to "fault find". They point to growing Christians who have had years of living in the "world" and are in the process of Biblical sanctification. They try and find all the sins of the person and then begin to tear him apart.

In the Bible Satan is called; "The accuser of the brethren". Some so called "christians" have taken this role upon themselves. They must not fully understand the power of sin in their own personal lives. God only knows what is going on in the minds of these individuals. Perhaps they have "arrived" and have no more "impure" thoughts. Perhaps they claim Christhood.

The sad thing about these people is their anger. Every act and word is an attack. They are paranoid individuals. Their attack process follows that of Satan. A friend sent me the following outline of this satanic-process with Christian weapons to fight back:

First: The Deceiver Satan's target - your mind; his weapons - lies; his purpose - to make you ignorant of God's will; your defense - the inspired Word of God.

Second: The Destroyer Satan's target - your body; his weapon - suffering; his purpose - to make you impatient with God's will; your defense - the imparted grace.

Three: The Ruler Satan's target - your will; Satan's weapon - pride; Satan's purpose - to make you independent of God's will; your defense - the indwelling Spirit of God.

Four: The Accuser Satan's target - your heart and conscience; Satan's weapon - accusation; Satan's purpose - to bring an indictment by God's will; your defense - the interceding Son.

One individual comes to mind as I write this article. He has a BLOG and it contains nothing but sarcastic and rude attacks on Seventh Day Adventist Christians. If an 18 year old Seventh Day Adventist Christian girl eats a "gummy bear" he condemns her to hell. He accuses the entire Seventh Day Adventist Church as being "Satanic". The millions of true Christian Adventists are praying for this self-righteous individual and all who fall into his cadegory.

He never once talks about the love of God. He instead plays the role of his idea of God and as judge he begins his satanic judgment. Tearing away at growing souls and those trying to understand true Christianity. How sad and evil!

I live in the mountains. I use a chain saw and do other physical tasks. All the mountain men I know work hard for a living, they don't sit around and attack Christians. One story comes to mind. In the town that I live in a young bully kept making rude comments and attacking those who had weaker wills. One day a person came into town and saw what this individual was doing.

Words were exchanged, the bully tried to fight the man. The man beat the bully up. Two weeks latter the "used to be" bully was in the SDA Hospital repenting of his sins. God knows how to humble the proud. It is a shame that the poor bully had to learn the hard way but the Bible says that God corrects those whom He loves. God loved the bully.

We can only pray that these "spiritual bullies" will learn to love others and come to Jesus Christ without their self-rightous pride, before it is too late.

E.W.King [February 16th, 2008]

"Remember" means it already happened!

2008-02-08T20:03:00.000-08:00

If I started out a sentance with the word "remember"....does that mean that I am asking you to think back about an event? Sure it does. So when God asks us all to "remember" the Sabbath day it would be to remember an event that cannot change.

We cannot change the past. Can we? The fourth commandment asks us to "remember" an original and unaltered event. So we know that God cannot be asking us to remember "sunday" if Saturday is the true Sabbath, the historical and unchangeable event!

In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve laws to live by. He loved them and cared for their moral development. We see that after they took the fruit they were told not to and lied to God they became sinners. They knew God's commandments.

We see that God's fourth commandment, the Holy Sabbath, was given in Genesis chapter two.We see Cain and Abel practicing sacrificial laws in Genesis but the sacrificial laws were not yet written out. Why was there already the shedding of blood in Genesis? Because the Moral Law had been broken.

Sin is the transgression of the Ten Commandments and without the shedding of blood [sacrificial law] there is no atonement.We see that even before all the commandments were written on stone after the Egyptian exile that God chose Abraham “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, [God said] and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” [Genesis 26:5]

We see that even before the Ten Commandments were written out on stone God was reminding Israel after pulling them out of bondage of the Sacred Law. God said to them before they reached mount Sinai; "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?" [Exodus 16:28] How could God charge them thus had they not known beforehand? "And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seeth that ye will seeth; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until morning." [Exodus 16:23]

Here we notice God telling them, or reminding them, of His Holy Sabbath before mount Sinai. Why did God ultimately have to remind them and re-write the commandments out for them on stone? Because during their bondage and 40 year wandering in the wilderness a generation had been lost.
"And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed." [Numbers 32:13]

So here we are in the Church Age and a generation or so has again forgotten the Ten Commandments of our Lord. Let us learn from history!Remember, Jesus only promised to build one church, therefore, the rest of the churches that are here today were started by men, not by God.

The way we can be sure the church we are in is the church Jesus built is to look at the characteristics. We find the last-day characteristics of God's church listed in His word, the Holy Bible.

Look at these two important and foundational characteristics:Rev. 12:17: "And the dragon [the Devil] was wroth [angry] with the woman [church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."Rev. 19:10 "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit [gift] of prophecy."

Written by Eric W. King [Written on February 8th,2008] Some material from this article taken from and early article of Eric's

Response to the "Ed White" group.

2008-01-31T18:16:00.000-08:00

Here is yet another false Seventh Day Adventist "ministry". The website known as the "Ed White" website touts itself as an authentic SDA website with an "Historical Adventist" message. [He has no relationship to the Ellen White family, thus he is a deceiver not to mention this on his website] This guy has called true Seventh Day Adventists every name in the book, in my opinion. His messages are full of arrogance as if only his view of Adventism is correct.

He and his ministry are NOT true Christian Seventh Day Adventists! He denies many of the 28 fundamentals of the true church. He falls into the "cult" category in my book. He calls the General Conference and over all ministry of the true Seventh Day Adventist Church "liars" and "deceivers". So this makes him "God".

If you have had any contact with this arrogant ministry and have questions, send them to me. We can discuss his claims using God's word. Remember, as I have pointed out in my other articles of the SDA off-shoot cults, they have called the church of Jesus Christ "Babylon the Great". This makes them fake and false. The only thing that these type of ministries want is ego-centric glory.

Written by; Eric W. King [January 31,2008]

Church not built on Ellen G. White!

2008-01-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

Once again, I find myself responding to false accusations against the Christian Seventh Day Adventist believers. I recently recieved a letter telling me: "Destroy Ellen White and you have no church." Wow! First off this person assumes that Seventh Day Adventist Christians are Biblically illiterate . All true Chirstians know that the Christian church is built on Jesus Christ.

If you are a Seventh Day Adventist and know of any publication by our church that asserts that we believe that the Christian Church was built on the person of Ellen White please show me that publication.

What Adventist Christians do believe is that God has given the "spirit of prophecy" or "gift of prophecy" to some of His children. New Testament prophets are not above Scripture! Again, if you can show me from any SDA publication that we believe Ellen White's writings to be above that of the 66 canonized books, then please show me the publication.

I want to look at these three attacks sent to me on the Christian Adventist Church by this person I wish not to name and then give a sound response:

Attack One: One of the commandments is "thou shall not steal" and "thou shall not lie". (bear false witness) It seems to me EGW was doing both with her writings. As well she made all kinds of prophetic statements that failed and yet claimed divine inspiration for them. Would that be called lying or fortune telling?

Response: First, you are assuming that Ellen White stole something. You are referring to the charges of plagiarism.

Second, you claim that she made false prophecies and then you show me none. Have you even read her in context?

So let's deal with your false charges of plagiarism.

Did you know that in the Bible itself we find different authors such as Isaiah and Micah saying word for word the same thing? God showed two different people the same vision and they wrote it down. The apostle John's book of "Revelation" has many visions comparable with both the pre and post exilic prophets of the Old Testament.

So can we "prove" that the prophet Micah plagiarized from the prophet Isaiah? I suppose we could make this claim if we wished to not believe in what they said.

Do you believe that a person can receive a vision or a prophecy from God in this time of the Church Age? The Bible speaks about "the gift of prophecy" for New Testament believers. As a Seventh Day Adventist Christian I believe in the "gift of prophecy" and that God can share thoughts and visions with one who has the gift.

Now in doing so God may share with others, who have not had the gift of prophecy, things that they may have been trying to understand. Say many Christian's were writing information out that had a lot of Truth but they were not all correct in some of their understandings due to carnal human nature and reasoning. Could God share the correct information that had been written with a Christian who has the "gift of prophecy" and alow that person to re-write the information in the right manner, without the misunderstandings and without ever showing the person the other writtings?

I believe God could do that and as a matter of fact I believe that God did do that through the person of Ellen G. White. Ellen G. White has been accused of plagiarsim because many of her writtings contain similar and even some word for word information that other Christians had written.

My question to other Christian's is; Why can't you believe in a modern miracle? Why is it so hard to believe that God can do great and wonderful things?All true Seventh Day Adventist Christians realize that she sometimes used other literary sources, as God directed her. She admitted she read and used the works of others. How is this a lie?

We also believe that Ellen White's use of literary sources and assistants finds parallels in some of the writings of the Bible.

Now, what about the Bible itself? Here is something to consider; Did you know that scholars are now trying to prove that the entire Bible itself is a work of plagiarsim?

There is a whole documentary online that "proves" it. The video states that much of Christianity, specifically Jesus, was copied directly from a Egyptian and Greek mythology, among others.It's from the documentary Zeitgeist. Interesting film. Here's a transcript (with sources) of the portion of the film :http://zeitgeistmovie.com/transcript.htm The sources are there. So is it true? Read it and follow up. Is this simply another trick of Satan mixing Truth with error?

To dismiss it because it doesn't conform to your beliefs is just ignorance. The full documentary is longer than 28 minutes. The link to watch it can be found here: http://zeitgeistmovie.com/So have modern “scholars” “proven” that most all of the Christian Bible is a work of plagiarism? Take the flood story for instance.In Sumerian clay tablets dating from the third millennium BCE there is an account of a great flood whose hero is called Ziusudra. There is also a flood story in the second millennium BCE Babylonian legend of Gilgamish. In the Babylonian legend, preserved in much greater detail than that of Sumeria, the hero is named Utnapishtim.

All these pre-date the Mosaic texts that have been found.What about the fact that “word for word” passages are found in Isaiah and Micah? Who copied who? Did Isaiah copy Micah or visa versa?And what of “Mithraism”? There is much speculation that Christian beliefs were influenced by Mithraic belief.The worshippers of Mithras held strong beliefs in a celestial heaven and an infernal hell. They believed that the benevolent powers of the god would sympathize with their suffering and grant them the final justice of immortality and eternal salvation in the world to come. They looked forward to a final day of judgement in which the dead would resurrect, and to a final conflict that would destroy the existing order of all things to bring about the triumph of light overdarkness.

Modern scholars have found many of the Old Testament stories in religions that pre-date Jewish faith. Some found in ancient Egypt and Sumeria. When you say you can "prove" that people cannot be shown the same thing without plagiarism, guess what, you can't. What you are doing is questioning the authority and power of God. I can only assume you are doing this because you wish not to keep God's holy Sabbath day.

Attack Two: Even pictures in her books that she claimed were given to her in vision from God were direct copies from previously published books by other authors. This would be considered theft in any court of law.

Response: Wow! Did you know that some of the prophets of the Bible recieved the same visions? So what you are saying is that when God shows one person something He cannot share it through the power of the Holy Spirit with another person. Wow! So the "beasts" [the vision pictures that the prophet Daniel received] could not have been shown to John by the same Holy Spirit power in which they were shown the apostle John? Yikes! And I suppose if two people get the same idea in different parts of the world the one who got the idea first could claim that the other person is a liar and a thieve? Again...yikes!

Attack Three: As you know the SDA church rises and falls on the person of EGW. Remove her influence and there is no SDA church.

Response: No. I did not know that. And guess what, I am a Seventh Day Adventist. Again, what are you talking about? All Seventh Day Adventist Christians realize that the Church was built on the person of Jesus Christ. Are you saying that all those who came after Christ and spoke about Him or who received visions of Him, like the apostle Paul, after Christ came and left are fake? All Adventist Christians can hold to Biblical integrity without the writings of Ellen White. Her life and gift was a blessing to the Christian church.

As Seventh Day Adventist Christians we do not believe that the New Testament gift of prophecy add's anything to the teachings of the Scriptures and we believe that it cannot ever add anything to the completed 66 books of the Protestant Cannon.

Adventist author Ellen G. White states this very clearly in her own writings. Let's look at some of her statements;

"The word of God is sufficient to enlighten the most beclouded mind and may be understood by those who have any desire to understand it. . . . To leave men and women without excuse God gives plain and pointed testimonies, bringing them back to the word that they have neglected" (2T 454, 455).

"The written testimonies [Ellen's writings] are not to give new light, but to impress vividly upon the heart the truths of inspiration already revealed" (ibid. 605).

Ellen White referred to her counsels as "a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light" (Review and Herald 80:15, Jan. 20, 1903)."The Spirit was not given--nor can it ever be bestowed--to supersede the Bible; for the Scriptures explicitly state that the word of God is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested" (GC vii).

Her writings are a gift to the church to edify and uplift it. To encourage the body of Christ is why her gift of prophecy was given. Here we need to understand that no Seventh Day Adventist Christian need's the writings of Ellen G. White, John Calvin, Martin Luther, or any other reformer to teach what the Bible teaches.God has sent reformers and the NT gift of prophecy to help guide His church. The Holy Spirit alone is our ultimate teacher! And to this all true Seventh Day Adventist's hold!

So we see that you, like many Evangelical Christians have showed yourselves unlearned and un teachable. Perhaps you should listen more closely before you make your accusations. "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him." [Proverbs 18:13]

And please, do not use such sorry excuses to ignore the Sabbath issue. "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." [Proverbs 28:9]

Written by, Eric W. King [January 27,2008]

Continue a deeper look at the charges against E.G.White and plagiarism.

For more Truth please visit: "The Adventist Way of Life"

Response to, "Presents of God Ministry" also known as, POGM

2008-01-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

Note: Within the first five minutes that this article was posted "The Adventist Way of Life" received what can only be described, in my opinion, as "hate email" from the founder of POGM. I don't dare post the comments made by this person. I would ask that all "born again" believers in Jesus Christ pray for those stuck in cults. Thank you

_____________________________________

"The Adventist Way of Life", online Christian website ministry, fully supports the true Seventh Day Adventist Church and the General Conference. "The Adventist Way of Life" is in no way legitimately, legally, or officially connected with the Seventh Day Adventist Church nor is it officially endorsed by the SDA Church. This ministry also contains opinions that are not held by all Seventh Day Adventist Christians. That being said, please understand that I believe that the official SDA Church is the Church that Jesus Christ built and I currently worship at my local SDA Church.

Now, I start this article out with that statement to show that by this article I am not trying to say that "my way is the only right way". I simply believe that what I understand to be true is TRUE! So many ex-adventist Christians try and start a "new movement". They try and find something exciting and different to cause a chaotic controversy within the true SDA Church.

This is how the Davidian's got their start. This is how the CSDA group got it's start. And this is even how some "evangelicals" got their start, such as the "elite" ex-adventist evangelical movement. I have responded to some of these groups without response. The CSDA group did respond and I talked to some of the "ex-adventists" on the phone. We certainly did not change each others view points.

In this article I am yet responding to another off-shoot ministry of the true Seventh Day Adventist Church. This ministry in question is called, "Presents of God Ministry". It's founder was once Catholic. As a Catholic he taught in the Catholic church. He once held to the fallen churches beliefs. But one day he was introduced to the Truth as it is in Jesus.

He found that the SDA Church was correct in identifying the anti-christ power. He even saw much more than the standard Adventist Christian sees because of his background in error all those years. He became a Seventh Day Adventist. Along the way he recognized "Romanism" happening within the SDA Church. This troubled him and he began to speak out. So far no true Adventist Christian would see a problem with this man's concern.

But......but then he began to call the true Seventh Day Adventist Church "Babylon the Great". This basically amounts to calling God's church the "Church of Satan". This is the unfortunate mistake that many misinformed Adventists fall into. This is the same mistake that the CSDA group made and got them into the mess their in today.

This is the same mistake that starts almost all the Adventist Cults. Ellen G. White saw a tendency of fanatacism and false excitement demonstrated shortly after the "Great Disappointment" of 1844. This lead her to write out against this fanatacism and the movements it generated.

She also warned in her writings that some people would set out to look for "something strange" and or "exciting" in some new found doctrine. With this information she warned that they will cause a division in the church, or at least try to. Ellen White clearly stated that the true Seventh Day Adventist Church can never be called "Babylon" [a phrase of the false church]. She did say that the Church leadership of a certain time was in danger of being called a "sister" [not daughter] of fallen apostate Babylon.

So if she said that the SDA Church could never be called Babylon but that some of it's leadership could, would, and did fall into apostasy we are talking about apostasy and not Babylon. Wow! Seems simple. Any apostate can be likened to "babylonian". This is why Sister White pointed out the danger of becoming like a "sister" to but not a "daughter" of spiritual Babylon. In other words, some SDA local churches and their leadership would completely "fall asleep", become the Laodiceans in practice and worship. Jesus said that the wheat and the tares would grow together, in the Church He said He built and that would never fall. Never did Jesus call His own Church "Babylon the Great" and neither did Ellen White!

She agrees with the Bible and further states that the entire world and Satan will have his final conflict with "Seventh Day Adventists", not "creation" or "davidian" Seventh Day Adventist Christians. [see TM, p.37] And not with "Presents of God" people.

Though local churches have their problems because of "Babylonian" influences this does not make Christ's church "babylon". All local Christian churches have their problems...but they are not the "harlot" church. They could only become a Babylonian church in the "sister" sense, but never collectively a "daughter of the harlot".

As I said before, I will state again, God's church will have true believers and false believers in it up until the Second Coming of Christ. [Laodicean church: Rev. 3:14-22] But no Christian has the authority or the right or the power to judge in the sense of separating the "wheat" from the "tares". This is the work of Jesus Christ and His angels! [Matthew 24:31] These false movements claim to be full of wheat only, if not they claim that there is a "remnant" within the Remnant. Are we confused yet?

Jesus informs us that when the "purification" of the Church of God begins, He will send His angels to separate the "wheat" from the "chaff". He will not send "independent ministries" to do the separating. So those who start "new movements", and claim that there is a "remnant" within the Remnant are liars! Plain and simple!The true Seventh Day Adventist Church has missionaries all over the world and hospitals healing the sick and hurting. None of these "off-shoot" groups have any Biblical authority or "good fruit doctrine" for their claims or existance. We pray for them.

Ellen White stated that the church may appear to be falling through all this confusion but that it will not fall! No doubt that their are spiritual "babylonians" or "tares" within the true church. But the true SDA Church is still the true church. One problem with these Adventist off-shoot groups is that they take Ellen White's statements out of context. In 1911 she emphasized that "regarding the testimonies, nothing is ignored; nothing is cast aside; but time and place must be considered."

As Herbert E. Douglass points out:

-"...in 1875 Ellen White wrote concerning the General Conference in session: "When the judgment of the General Conference, which is the highest authority that God has upon the earth, is exercised, private independence and private judgment must not be maintained, but be surrendered."

Why the difference in her position? During the late 1880s and 1890s, as the record shows in her letters and sermons, some of the policies of the General Conference officers were not ones that Ellen White could endorse. On April 1, 1901, the day before the General Conference session opened, she spoke these words: "It is working upon wrong principles that has brought the cause of God into its present embarrassment. The people have lost confidence in those who have the management of the work. Yet we hear that the voice of the conference is the voice of God. Every time I have heard this, I have thought that it was almost blasphemy. The voice of the conference ought to be the voice of God, but it is not." Obviously, times had changed and her observations changed accordingly.

But that 1901 General Conference session made significant changes in policies and personnel. Ellen White was pleased. Only two months after the changes, she became aware that her son Edson was quoting some of her pre-1901-session statements and applying them in the new, post-1901-session period. Times had changed--the statements of the 1890s no longer applied. She wrote to Edson: "Your course would have been the course to be pursued, if no changes had been made in the General Conference [1901]. But a change has been made, and many more changes will be made [in 1903, many more were made] and great developments will [yet] be seen. No issues are to be forced. . . . It hurts me to think that you are using words which I wrote prior to the Conference." -

So you see, it is true that "context controls meaning". How many more off-shoot, ex-adventist movements will arise before the Second Coming? Probably lots. This is unfortunate but it is the Signs of the Times. If you are currently attending a true Seventh Day Adventist Church stay with the "bride of Christ". Pray for the leadership. Pray for those who may be off in some wrong area of doctrine within the church. Show mercy for the bride that Christ is coming back for. She makes mistakes but God hates divorce! So stay faithful till the end.

God bless!

Written by, Eric W. King [January 21,2008]

Traces of God's morality from Genesis to Revelation

2008-01-17T16:46:00.000-08:00

Today most people have developed their own standard of "right" and "wrong". This makes them feel justified when things happen. They call this "Christian freedom". Wow! Christianity with no incentive to be challenged or grow!

When we look at God's immutible standards, the Ten Commandments, they draw us to our need for a saviour. Without the Law pointing to our imperfections we receive a false sense of "freedom". We must remember that true freedom is found in Christ Jesus. Freedom from what? From guilt!

Nobody want's to live in constant guilt. This is the sad condition of most Christians who do not fully understand or appreciate what Jesus has truly done for us. God's Moral Law could never be changed. Thus, Jesus came to our rescue. We now can keep the Ten Commandments because of His perfection and His forgiveness. This is what delivers us from the guilt of sin and truly sets us free!

In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam and Eve laws to live by. He loved them and cared for their moral development. We see that after they took the fruit they were told not to and lied to God they became sinners. They knew God's commandments. We see that God's fourth commandment, the Holy Sabbath, was given in Genesis chapter two.

We see Cain and Abel practicing sacrificial laws in Genesis but the sacrificial laws were not yet written out. Why was there already the shedding of blood in Genesis? Because the Moral Law had been broken. Sin is the transgression of the Ten Commandments and without the shedding of blood [sacrificial law] there is no atonement.

We see that even before all the commandments were written on stone after the Egyptian exile that God chose Abraham “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, [God said] and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” [Genesis 26:5]

We see that even before the Ten Commandments were written out on stone God was reminding Israel after pulling them out of bondage of the Sacred Law. God said to them before they reached mount Sinai; "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?" [Exodus 16:28] How could God charge them thus had they not known beforehand? "And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seeth that ye will seeth; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until morning." [Exodus 16:23]

Here we notice God telling them, or reminding them, of His Holy Sabbath before mount Sinai. Why did God ultimately have to remind them and re-write the commandments out for them on stone? Because during their bondage and 40 year wandering in the wilderness a generation had been lost.

"And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed." [Numbers 32:13]

So here we are in the Church Age and a generation or so has again forgotten the Ten Commandments of our Lord. Let us learn from history!

Remember, Jesus only promised to build one church, therefore, the rest of the churches that are here today were started by men, not by God. The way we can be sure the church we are in is the church Jesus built is to look at the characteristics. We find the last-day characteristics of God's church listed in His word, the Holy Bible. Look at these two important and foundational characteristics:

Rev. 12:17: "And the dragon [the Devil] was wroth [angry] with the woman [church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Rev. 19:10 "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit [gift] of prophecy."

Written by, Eric W. King [January 17,2008]

The most comprehensive Christian Seventh Day Adventist website online:
http://www.adventist.7p.com

How narrow is the Christian path?

2008-01-12T07:50:00.000-08:00

Todays Christianity presents a much broader road than the true and early apostolic path. As a Seventh Day Adventist Christian it saddens me to see just how wide the path has become. In fact, in some cases the path is totally disregarded and people are trying to simply jump over the fence!

You may be saying; "What are you talking about, Eric?" Well, let me tell you; Jesus said this; "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." [Matthew 8:13,14] Here Jesus tells us that the gate that leads to Truth may seem a bit conceited and big headed.

We also note that the "narrow way" involves commandment keeping. Jesus showed that obedience to the commandments is the sign of true Christianity and discipleship. Jesus stated; “…but if though will enter into life, keep the commandments.” He then proceeds to quote the Ten Commandments. [see Matthew 19:17]

I have heard other "christians" today get upset when an Adventist Christian preaches a "one way" gospel. They say things like; "What? You and your church believe that you are the only ones who will be saved?" You see, yes, we do believe that only true Christians will be saved. There is only one way!

You hear "christians" saying things like; "Well, as long as you believe in one God you are okay." or "I can't judge other peoples faith." Both of these statements are devilish. Why? Because no matter if you believe in just "one God" or not, you must have Jesus Christ as your saviour. Look what Jesus said; "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." [John 14:6] And as far as testing ones faith or doctrine look what the Bible says; "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test] the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." [1 John 4:1]

One of the great apostate movements that Christian author Ellen G. White warned about and the Bible also warns us about is the Ecumenical Movement. This movement was started shortly after the Papal persecution which ended in 1798AD. This is the movement which is trying to unite all faiths...all religions into a false unity. In fact, most church denominations today are a part of, or are playing around with, the World Council of Churches. This organization seeks to unite all denominations into a sort of cunfusing [babylonian] "christianity".

Christian author Ellen White warned about this future movement. Let's look at some of the things she said about this;

“The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” [from GC]

"When Satan has undermined faith in the Bible, he directs men to other sources for light and power .... Criticism and speculation concerning the Scriptures have opened the way for spiritism and theosophy—those modernized forms of ancient heathenism—to gain a foothold even in the professed churches of our Lord Jesus Christ." Desire of Ages, 258.

"History is repeating," Ellen White warned. "With the open Bible before them, and professing to reverence its teachings, many of the religious leaders of our time are destroying faith in it as the word of God." ....." Like ancient Israel, modern Babylon has accepted spiritualism into their midst. "Side by side with the preaching of the gospel, agencies are at work which are but the medium of lying spirits." [E.G.White]

She also went on to warn in her book, "The Great Controversy" that during the end time of trouble that the unified "christians" from numerous denominations would seek to destroy the small band of Adventist Christians because they would not give in to the apostate movement. She warns that the true remnant of Christians will be seen as "trouble makers" and the ones who are the true cause of "division and strife". Thus, those in the ecumenical movement will seek to destroy the small band of true Christians...they will even resort to killing them and or throwing them in jail! Look what Jesus said about this: "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synogogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." [John 16:1,2]

Yes, the true Christian path is indeed narrow.

How does one fall into the trap of ecumenicalism?

We can study the ancient Jewish people to see what lead them to error. They began to lay aside true doctrine and became complacent in their traditions and the idea that they were "chosen", not as a nation, but they were lead to believe that God hand picked every Jew before they were even born to be saved. Much like the false doctrine of Calvinistic election today seen taught in the fallen churches. This type of "salvation elitism" put's no emphasis on the study of true doctrine. The belief becomes; "Well, I am Christian so I was chosen before the foundation of the world. I really do not need to worry about others or share what I believe in. God will work it out in the end. The important thing is to respect all faiths and show up at the Christmas and Easter dinner. And be sure and bake those holiday cookies every year!"

The stress fall's more on the traditions rather than on true Christian living. This is what happened to the ancient Jewish people and this is exactly what is happening to the Christian Church today. Look at what Christian author Ellen G. White pointed out;

"The substitution of the precepts of men for the commandments of God has not ceased. Even among Christians are found institutions and usages that have no better foundation than the traditions of the fathers. Such institutions, resting upon mere human authority, have supplanted those of divine appointment. Men cling to their traditions, and revere their customs, and cherish hatred against those who seek to show them their error. In this day, when we are bidden to call attention to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, we see the same enmity as was manifested in the days of Christ. Of the remnant people of God it is written, "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12:17." [DA, p.398]

" As before, the ground of complaint was His [Jesus' ] disregard of the traditional precepts that encumbered the law of God. These were professedly designed to guard the observance of the law, but they were regarded as more sacred than the law itself. When they came in collision with the commandments given from Sinai, preference was given to the rabbinical precepts. " [DA, p.395]

Notice she says that "tradition" became more important than the Law itself. Has Christmas become more important than going to church on the holy Sabbath day? Has baking cookies for Easter become more important than Sabbath School? Wow! Indeed, we are living in the last days. The church has "fallen asleep".

The Christian way is narrow, and Jesus said that only a "few" find it. Only a few? But I thought all churches are "cool"? Nope! Not according to God's own word. Understand, it is not a matter of, if you know Jesus. It is a matter of, does Jesus know you? See Mt 25:12. Jesus shall say to many that are absolutely positive they are saved, "I know you not." [Lk 13:25]. The church of today is getting further and further away from the strait gate and the narrow way of the Bible. Look at how much of the "world" has come into the church. Many Christians gather on Sundays to feel comfortable and be entertained.

The "last day church" is described as being in the Laodicean condition. Jesus described the Laodicean church as lukewarm. The lukewarm are confident they are correct and righteous. But the fact is there is only One Truth. Todays churches embrace "many truths". Their teaching may consist of some sound doctrine mixed with confusion, false doctrine, deceit, doctrines of men and denominations, new fads, or other distortions of Scripture that come along.

So today I challenge you....how strait do you believe the Christian path to be?

Written by, Eric William King [January 12,2008]

For the best Christian SDA site online please visit:
The Adventist Way of Life

Did Jesus build His church? Or many denominations?

2008-01-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

The question has become; "Did Jesus just build one church....His Church?...or, did He build numerous denominations each with their own twist on truth?"

This question has been answered in many ways. Some people say; "Well, all churches have some truth but no church is perfect." Others say; "My church is the only right one. All others are wrong!"

So how do Seventh Day Adventist Christians answer this question; "Which church is the right church?" In this short article I will try and give you some Biblical rules to follow in finding the true Christian church.

First, it is very sad that when many find the Truth they begin to beat and hit people over the head with it [metaphorically speaking]. Just because a person has the intellectual understanding of God's word, this does not give liscense to "show off" about it. True faith will be seen in living the Word of God...not just talking about it. As Christians we are commanded to share the word of God but many are even unable to share it to the end of their own block. How sad.

One thing to keep in mind, true Christianity will result in some persecution. There is no getting around this issue. So if your faith is too weak to be hit with sarcasm or insult it is best to wait until you are more grounded in your faith. Truth has never been popular.

So here we go...let's look into this issue a bit more carefully;

In the United States of America there are more than 6,000 different Christian denominations. Most of these churches claim to be the "true church" Jesus established, or at least one of the “branches” of the true church. But the Bible states that Jesus came to build His church. He only built one church. He did not build hundreds or thousands of churches. If Jesus only built one church, why are there so many different churches?

We must understand that much of the confusion has occured by the humans tampering with God's law, his Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the moral foundation of the church and constitute an outline of God's character. Jesus came to this earth because the moral law was broken, not changed.

Here is a very important rule: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." [Isaiah 8:20] Jesus warned us that He did not come here to destroy God's law but to fully live it. [Matthew 5:17,18] So we must understand that any church organization that has changed even one of God's commandments is a church full of lies.

We must also understand that Satan hates the people that recognize God's holy commandments. [see Revelation 12:17] The Bible also tells us: "He that saith, I know him [God], and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." [1 John 2:3,4]

Grace and Truth does not remove the character of God. We are not and shall never be saved by the moral law of God, the Ten Commandments. But thank God for his commandments…for in them we see Jesus! Jesus was perfect. He never broke one of God’s commands. He is our example.If we only had the moral law we would be in trouble. Why? Because we are sinners. We need mercy from God. We need direction from God. We need forgiveness from God. This we have through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ. “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” [John 1:17]

Through God’s forgiveness we uphold the moral law. “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” [Romans 3:31] Thank God for His Holy Son, Jesus the Christ. Through Jesus we have forgiveness and redemption. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.” [Hebrews 4:15]

The apostle Paul tells us that the moral law is not destroyed through the Christian faith but instead it is properly understood. “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, working death in me by that which is good [the moral law]; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” [Romans 7:12,13]

Another important fact to remember is that God's word, the Holy Bible, is where we as Christians find the final answer. We do not find absolute truth in human philosophy.

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.” [Apostle Paul, Colossians 2:8-12]

The Christian churches in Colosse had a full plate when it came to problems of the deceptive spiritual kind. Paul delt with the problem of Gnosticism in this letter. It is true that full blown Gnosticism did not come into power until after Paul’s lifetime but the seed’s of this power were already manifesting. Paul immediatley addressed these issues. They began with some of the Greek philosophy.

This is why Paul states; “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. ” It appears that this strange new philosophy was being mixed with Judaism, forming a sort of New Age idea of Jesus.

These false Christians believed in the immortality of the soul which lead to praying to saints and fighting spiritual forces through the veneration of angels and past saints, much like some of the modern Roman Catholic teachings. These false mixed up Christians also were practicing strict asceticism and the observance of special holy days.

Some had incorporated the ceremonial Sabbath systems that the Jews kept into their worship. All of these ideas came from and were influenced by much of the Hellenistic period. Let’s look a little closer at some of these issues that the Colossian church had. After correcting the Colossians on such issues as the Deity of Christ, Paul goes on;

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a[the] Sabbath day[s]. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.” [Colossians 2:16-18 (NIV)]

The first issue that the apostle Paul addresses with these Gnostic Christians is the elaborate worship system which involved ceremonial sabbath days. The word for sabbath used here is the Greek word ‘sabbaton‘ and in this context is plural. These sabbaths had nothing to do with the fourth commandment of the Decalogue but were ceremonial. This differentiated them from the fourth commandment which is moral.

Not only that but these false teachers had added a strict asceticism to the observance of these days. Paul states that the original purpose of these Jewish feast days pointed to the greater fulfilment of Truth and that they foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ by stating; “These are a shadow of things that were to come.”

Paul further stated that those practicing such things were involved in “false humility” and the “worship of angels“. This can all be compared to modern day New Age doctrines and even certain forms of Roman Catholicism. It is true that the way in which the apostle Paul used the Greek word “philosophy” and his warnings against it, was a direct attack on occultism.

We now know that some of the ancient Christian Jews had merged false angels with astral powers which were thought to be protecting the planets. These teachings, partly Christian, partly Jewish, and partly pagan developed into full blown Gnosticism. Today modern astrology is the fruit of this pagan doctrine.

We can learn a lot from this inspired letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Colosse. Let us never fall into the trap of “spiritism“ and let us never play with the false New Age message.

As I said earlier, one of the main points to remember when looking for Christ's true church is that it will uphold the Ten Commandments and keep them. God's people will not distort, change, or twist God's commandments. Christian author Ellen G. White has rightly pointed out;

"The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men." - Ellen G. White 5 Testimonies 81.

Remember, Jesus only promised to build one church, therefore, the rest of the churches that are here today were started by men, not by God. The way we can be sure the church we are in is the church Jesus built is to look at the characteristics. We find the last-day characteristics of God's church listed in His word, the Holy Bible. Look at these two important and foundational characteristics:

Rev. 12:17: "And the dragon [the Devil] was wroth [angry] with the woman [church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Rev. 19:10 "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit [gift] of prophecy."

We interprete the term "spirit of prophecy" to mean the "gift of prophecy". You can see a list of all the gift's given by the "same spirit" in 1st Corinthians 12:7-11. So God's "end time" church will have the gift of prophecy operative in it as given by the Holy Spirit.These two verses in the book of Revelation point out that two identifying marks of the last-day Christian Church will be that it "keeps the commandments of God" and has the "gift of prophecy". The Seventh Day Adventist Church meets these requirements.

Another thing to remember is, Jesus is the founder of his church and the only foundation (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:11). If a church has a founder other than Jesus, that church cannot be the church Jesus built. Most churches pray and preach in their worship services. What they pray and preach might, on some occasions, be right. But it is not enough just to be right in some areas only. We have to do things the way the Bible teaches (John 4:24). This brings us to the question of Christian growth.

I have heard some people say to me, “I have been a ‘born again’ Christian for 27 years!” Then I look at how they live, how they talk [the subject matter], and how they react to those around them.

One person told me that he had been saved for many years but he stopped going to church. He was listening to a rock song. The song was glorifying secular relationships and the ‘wild life’ living. So, does it really matter?

Jesus tell’s us to put away the things of this world and those things that have lead others into drugs, sexual relationships of all kinds, and many other sinful habits.

If two people in a room talked gossip, listened to worldly Rock music, smoked, drank liquor, cussed, and laughed at sexual jokes…which one would be representing Christ? Neither!

What is my point? As a Seventh Day Adventist Christian I have been accused of believing that “good works” can save me because I choose to obey God’s Sabbath, or talk different, eat different, or talk about Jesus when ever I get the chance. Does this mean I believe that my “good works” save me? No! It simply means that Christ is changing my life since I accepted Him as my Saviour and LORD. Jesus said;

“My Sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me . . .” John 10:27

Many want a Saviour but not a Lord. Nobody want’s to be told how to live. Many caught in the pride of what this generation has taught want the fast way, the easy way. They do not understand that Christian growth is an on-going process. Jesus is the Saviour of all true Christians but He is also the Master, King, and Law giver of all true Christians. Jesus wants not only to be your Saviour but He also wants to change your life. But will you let Him?

The problem with Christianity today is that it doesn’t teach nor understand the process of spiritual growth, maturity, true sanctification. What passes for Christianity is instead a diluted substitute. Where are the truly reformed lives? We live in the Laodicean period of the Church.

I have witnessed young girls dressing with low cut jeans that have holes in them expossing parts that should not be seen. Half shirts which show way too much. If Jesus invited you to dinner, would you wear such attire? Christians, please listen!

True Christianity involves a change in lifestyle!

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (NIV)

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (NIV)

Romans 1:25-27 "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator– who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." (NIV)

So we can ask ourselves as Christians: “Am I changing? Have I changed since becoming a follower of Jesus Christ?” Now, some might say to me; “Your judging. We are not supposed to judge.” And this is true, we are not to judge by our personal standards. It is God’s Word that does the true judging and we as Christians are to point others who have wandered from God’s Word back to His Word with humilty and prayer. We lovingly plead with those who claim to be Christian but are not in the growing process of sanctification.

Galatians 6:1 "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." (NIV)

James 5:19-20 "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." (NIV)

Are you one who claims to be a ‘born again’ Christian? Then you are baptised, you read the Bible and pray daily, you attend church on Sabbath, and have fellowship with other believers. Right?

If not…what happened? Have you began to give up habits and attitudes that conflict with your Christian faith? This is living sanctification! This is the daily process of growing into Christian maturity.

Last, I must continue to stress the importance of God's Holy Law as being a test. True Christianity will uphold the moral standard...the one truth that human carnal nature tries to avoid. Jesus came because humanity broke the unchangeable, immutable moral law of Jehovah. Through Christ Jesus our relationship can be restored.

The popular way to deal with God’s commandments for most is to move into what is called an “antinomianist Christian stance”. What does this mean? The word literally means, “anti-law”. The idea springs from a wrong interpretation of what it means to be “free from the Law”. This idea states that salvation is almost only for the soul, bodily behaviour is irrelevent along with physical health. The argument is, “love fulfills the law so just love”.

It is true that the Bible states that love fulfills the law but true love strives to obey God’s law. In other words, love is the true motivating factor behind healthy obedience. Many caught in antinomianism state that the Holy Spirit leads them to do things that even go contrary to God’s law. They deny the need to be guided by God’s law on issues. Freedom from the law as a way of salvation is assumed to bring with it freedom from the law as a guide to conduct.

In the first 150 years of the Reformation era this view was common. It is true that Christ kept the law perfectly for us but it is a gross error to conclude that Christians may freely embrace sin as a way of life. Extreme Calvinistic views hold to these errors. Passages such as Romans 3:31, James 2:8-13 clearly teach that law keeping is a continuing obligation for Christians.

Now the other popular form of antinomianism asserts that a motive and intention of love is all that God now requires of Christians, even if one of the commandments must be broken. These claim that all the Biblical stories were mere examples of how love was expressed “in the old times”. They say; “Many of those stories do not literal apply to us today.” Such who hold to this type of view support homosexuality and abortion.

As Seventh Day Adventists we believe that the Holy Spirit is given to empower law keeping and to make us more and more like Christ Jesus. The Bible offers no hope to anybody who does not seek to turn from sin.

Written by, Eric William King, [January 8,2008] Some portions of this article were taken from some earlier articles written by Eric in 2007.

Politics? Or God's Kingdom?

2008-01-06T11:52:00.000-08:00

Many Christians today are caught up in the politics of this world. They watch all the news regarding who said what and who did what among the worldy politicians. Let me ask you this question, as a Christian are you ready to live in God's Kingdom? No more sin...no more pain..no more death..and God's love will rule for all eternity!

Sad that many "Christians" will not think about nor talk about the Second Advent of our Lord. In fact, I have heard many Christians say things like; "I hope the Lord takes longer to return..I am having too much fun down here!" Now how sad is that? Is their "fun" defined as, watching who the latest killer is on TV?...watching Britney Spears and seeing what she will do next?...listening to AC/DC and smoking another cigarette? Because if this is their idea of having "fun" then they really don't know what sin is and they really don't know who the Lord is.

Well, if you are truly ready for God's kingdom then you will live like your already there! Remember the old saying; "Actions speak louder than words"? If you truly believe in God's kingdom it will show in the way you live your life. [Matthew 7:21-23; 15:7,8]

The fact of the matter is, there are only two masters. Look what the Bible says; "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" [Romans 6:16 NIV] Notice that true faith has obedience to God's commandments.

Who is the ruler of this fallen world? Look what the Bible says; "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one." [1 John 5:19 NIV] So Satan is the ruler of this fallen world. Why then should Christians concern themselves with the politics of an evil kingdom? Look what Jesus said about His true disciples in this prayer; "I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours........They are not of the world, even as I am not of it." [John 17:9,16 NIV]

From this it is clear that true Christian Seventh Day Adventists are to keep separate from this world. The term used, "the world" is an expression which simply means rebellious fallen humanity. Satan's world is organized through the political systems of this earth. It is true that God has the final say and that no organization exists without His allowance, but this also means that though these fallen governments exist as part of God's plan it does not mean that He has blessed their fallen system of things or that He aproves of their decisions.

We as Christians are to "respect" the governments that be. [Romans 13: 1-7] The question then becomes, to what degree am I as a Christian to submit to government authority? First off, please consider that the Bible says nothing about Christians voting for the latest "Ceaser". No where, not one Scripture commands Christians to vote. Please keep in mind that it also gives no cammandment for Christians not to vote. We are simply commanded to give respect to authorities and realize that they are existing because God is allowing them to exist.

Please remember, that during the time of the apostle Paul the lunatic Nero rained supreme. Paul never said to agree with Nero or to even vote for the next Nero..he simply said respect the system and let it alone. Nero went on to kill Christians just because they were Christians. Christians literally did not resist this persecution when apprehended for their faith. They displayed what true martyrdom is: laying down their life for their faith as an example.

Christians did not vote for Satan's government in any way. Some Christians today say things like; "I am voting for the lesser of two evils." Wow! The Bible says that evil is evil and good is good. Lesser of two evils? Isn't this what the Jews did? They hated both Jesus and Barabbas....Barabbas was their "lesser of two evils".

Here is something that you must keep in mind as a Christian; In the book of Revelation the fallen churches are addressed as, "Babylon the Great". Now note this, in the same book of Revelation it says that the "kings [rulers] of this earth" are committing spiritual "fornication" with "Babylon" [the fallen churches]. So is Christ's true church involved politicaly with the "rulers of this earth"? The simple answer is, NO!

The political governments throughout Biblical prophecy are addressed as, "beasts". These "beasts" make up an important part of Satan's world....the world that Christians are to be separated from. In the prayer that Jesus gave us as an example He taught us to pray that God's kingdom come..."thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

The apostle John commands us; "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world." [1 John 2:15,16 NIV] And the apostle James warns us; "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." [James 4:4 NIV] Wow! How much more clear can the Bible get regarding this issue?

When government fails to protect its citizens from wickedness and/or simultaneously promotes wickedness, then Christians should begin to look for a new place to live or maybe even hide! We must be very careful. The final persecution is not too far away!

When the citizenry submits, complies and/or agrees with evil government, then the Christian minority should be very careful. This was the reality of the Roman Empire of Nero’s day. As Christians we cannot vote for people who worship another God. We cannot vote for people who kill babies. We cannot vote for people who support the gay lifestyle....who is left? In otherwords...Jesus is our only King! And we are to vote for and support only His kingdom!

May we have faith enough in these last days to stand strong for what we believe in as Christian Seventh Day Adventists...so help us God.

Written by, Eric W. King [January 6,2008]

For another article regarding God's Kingdom...click this article;

God's Kingdom? Or your kingdom?

Has your veil been lifted?

2008-01-05T11:13:00.000-08:00

Today so many Christians have no understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures. For this very reason much of the protestant New Testament theology is skewed. It is not that many New Testament believers are purposely twisting Scripture, it simply happens because they have not been properly taught the Old Testament in it's relationship to the New Testament.

Many today are looking into self-help programs and books not knowing that the Old Testament is full of examples of self-applied principles and programs. These old systems were mere shadows or types of a better system, a better reality.

People want to "feel" good about themselves. They want to be confident in the tasks of their daily lives. The problem with the self-help stuff is that it relies on only human strength and effort. It points to the idea of "rule following" or "repetitious following of some human law" for the ultimate in charactor perfection. So what happens is people who are stuck in this trap are constantly buying the latest human understanding of "perfection" regarding many different subjects such as; "How to keep your house clean at all times", "How to earn money while sitting at home","How to loose weight and still eat like a pig". Do you see how ridiculous this is? These people are "ever seeking yet never arriving at an accurate knowledge of the Truth." The Bible says; "Put no confidence in the flesh." [Philippians 3:3]

God gave a system of worship and economy to the Jewish people which was full of shadowy ceremonies of types which held great importance in the understanding of spiritual things. But these ceremonies were never meant to be looked upon as a "self-help" program of salvation. The Jewish people fell into the trap of glorifying their own works as a means of salvation rather than trying to understand what the ceremonies pointed to. Look at this statement by Christian author Ellen White:

"The death of Jesus Christ for the redemption of man lifts the veil and reflects a flood of light back hundreds of years, upon the whole institution of the Jewish system of religion. Without the death of Christ all this system was meaningless. The Jews reject Christ, and therefore their whole system of religion is to them indefinite, unexplainable, and uncertain. They attach as much importance to shadowy ceremonies of types which have met their antitype as they do to the law of the Ten Commandments, which was not a shadow, but a reality as enduring as the throne of Jehovah. The death of Christ elevates the Jewish system of types and ordinances, showing that they were of divine appointment, and for the purpose of keeping faith alive in the hearts of His people." [RH May 6,1875]

So we understand that the old system of worship was a "school master" [Galatians 3:24] which pointed to the "WAY". The Christian way! If you want answers to all the areas of your life. If you want to develop the ultimate beautiful charactor, then read your Bible and come to the Truth of ALL THINGS!

In the apostle Paul's second letter to the Corinthians he addresses this subject. Let's look at what the Bible says here:

"He [Jesus] has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?" [2 Corinthians 3:6-8 NIV]

Let's look at Paul's statement closely here. Paul states that the Old System [Jewish Law] brought death. What does he mean? Paul is pointing out that the Moral Law given to the Israelites could not be perfectly kept by them so it "brought death." The Bible states that the "wages of sin is death" and that sin is the "transgression of the law." [Romans 6:23; 1 John 3:4] Paul further states here that the old system "came with glory". This means that it came with a sacrificial system which allowed pardon of sins. The Bible states that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." [Hebrews 9:22]

So the entire old system "came with glory", God's approval. Now Paul says that since the shadowy types, the ceremonial system of pardon is done away with in Christ will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?

Paul goes on to point out that when the Jews who are still under the old system read the Law a veil is over their faces. Which is to say that they cannot see Christ, the true Messiah, the perfect sacrifice for sin. Paul says it like this;

"And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. " [2 Corinthians 3:11-17 NIV]

Notice the last portion of this passage; "...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." So true freedom from guilt, the breaking of the moral law, comes through and in Christ Jesus and through the Holy Spirit which He has given to all that truly believe in Him. It does not come from animal sacrifces practiced under the old system.

Now, I would argue that those who are in any other system other than the plan that Christ Jesus has offered still have a veil over their face. They cannot see Christ as the ultimate answer to the penalty of sin. So what do they do? They invent their own self-help program. One which they feel will liberate them and bring them true peace and happiness.

Let me ask you, has your veil been lifted?

Written by, Eric W. King [January 5,2008]

Should Christians have creeds?

2008-01-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

Should Christians have "creeds"? The simple answer is, NO! Why? As a Seventh Day Adventist Christian I can tell you that our church has always been against the development of a "Christian Creed". There are many reasons for this. First, just what is a "creed"?

Basically, a creed is a statement of beliefs or a "confession of faith". The word creed derives from the Latin: credo for "I believe" and credimus "for we believe". The early Christian church is said to have developed creeds as a "token" [symbol] by which people of like beliefs might agree and recognize each other.

There are many early creeds. The Roman Catholics developed the famous "Apostles Creed". This creed has been handed down to some protestant groups as well. During the reformation of the early church the Lutherans developed their famous, "Augsburg Confession" and we see that many churches today still use creeds and continue to develop creeds.

Here is the problem with Christian creeds: Man has used man-made creeds to start wars. Man has held these creeds above the Bible itself. Man has not allowed a creed to be changed when error was found. In this sense, creeds have become cement for theological error and human arrogance.

This is why early Adventist Christian, J.N. Loughborough stated:

"The first step of apostasy is to get up a creed, telling us what we shall believe. The second is, to make that creed a test of fellowship. The third is to try members by that creed. The fourth to denounce as heretics those who do not believe that creed. And fifth, to commence persecution against such."

This brings us to the question; Why then does the Seventh Day Adventist Church have a list of 28 beliefs that they refer to as; "The 28 Fundamentals"? And here is my official response to that question.....

One: Seventh Day Adventists have made a list of basic fundamentals derived from the Bible itself and at the end of each fundamental belief there is a list of Scriptures that validate the doctrines in question.

Two: One does NOT have to accept all of the 28 fundamentals to be a Seventh Day Adventist Christian. With "creeds" they have always been a "test of faith". One must believe all the statements of the creed to be a part of this sect or that. But not with the SDA 28 Fundamentals.

Three: Then why have 28 Fundamentals? The Bible commands us to be in basic unity and to always be ready to "give an answer for the hope that lies within". For these reasons they were developed. The 28 SDA Fundamentals can be changed or re-worded as God's Holy Spirit directs. The 28 Fundamentals are descriptors not prescriptors; that is, that they describe the official position of the church but are not a criterion for membership.

So please understand our position as Seventh Day Adventist Christians regarding the issue of "creeds". Here is what the introduction of our list of 28 Fundamentals begins with;

"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."

To read all 28 Fundamentals click here.

Written by, Eric W. King [January 5,2008]

"A" day, "My" day, or the Lord's Day?

2007-12-30T12:45:00.000-08:00

Many Christians today have told me things like; "I keep MY Sabbath on Sunday."..."I give ONE DAY IN SEVEN to the Lord." .."It DOES NOT MATTER what day you want to keep "the" Sabbath."

I am writing this article to show how ridiculous these statements really are. We read in the book of Genesis that God "blessed" the Seventh Day [Saturday] and He "sanctified" the Seventh Day. This is why the Sabbath is called, "the Lord's Day". Truly, the Sabbath was created by the Lord and it is a specific day, one that was "set apart" [sanctified] and also "blessed" [made holy].

So when people say I keep "a" sabbath when I so choose, they are certainly not keeping "the Lord's Day" but they are keeping "their day". And then to say that "it really does not matter what day" means that God is a liar because God made the "seventh day" His holy Sabbath Day.

The Bible proclaims that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God". [Exodus 20:10] It is not "the sabbath of Eric" or "my sabbath is sunday". You see what I mean?

This whole subject may not seem to be that big of a deal to most but here are the facts; We serve a God of specifics! A God of order! If people can change any one of the Ten Commandments on a whim just look at the confusion we would have. Is not all this confusion already here? Look at all the denominations who follow such mixed-up teachings.

I challenege you today...search the Scriptures. Either believe that God says what He means and means what He says or we serve a wishy-washy God.

May God show you the Truth through His Word alone!

Don't stop here! Continue to truly understand the Sabbath issue!
Click here to continue!

Written by, Eric W. King [December 30,2007]

Is Jesus also Michael?

2007-12-29T08:06:00.000-08:00

Our Great God has given Himself many names! All are expressions of His character. As Seventh Day Adventist Christians we recognize the fact that Jesus Christ Himself is very God. Notice this statement by Christian author, Ellen G. White;

"If Christ made all things, He existed before all things. The words spoken in regard to this are so decisive that no one need be left in doubt. Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity. God over all, blessed forevermore.......This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious and otherwise unexplainable truths, while it is enshrined in light unapproachable and incomprehensible." [E.G.White, RH April 5,1906]

Let us look at some of the names given to Christ in the Bible;

He is referred to as "the second Adam": (1 Corinthians 15:45) "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."

He is our "lawyer" in the Sanctuary of Heaven. (1 John 2:1). As lawyer, He presents our case and stands by our sides.

He is the "Beginning and the End" of everything. (21:6, 22:13). Alpha and Omega: (Revelation 1:8,17, 2:8, 21:6, 22:13).

And He is the "head of the church"...the "stone".....and we could go on. It is said that there are over 144 titles for Jesus Christ in the Bible.

There are two titles, names, that He is called that I would like to focus on because both of these names for Christ have caused some debate and misunderstandings among some believers.

The first name we will look at is "David" which in the Hebrew means, "beloved of God". Did you know that the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah saw a future "David"? They made prophetic statements about a "David which is to come". These statements were made long after the original king David of Israel died. Some theologians did not understand these passages and made the mistake of describing that the literal king David of old would resurrect. Some "dispensational" theologians still hold to this error.

The passages in question are found in Ezekiel 34:23,24 and in Jeremiah 30:9. These prophetic statements are explained in the New Testament book of Acts. There the Scriptures clearly point out that references to a future David pointed to Jesus Christ. [See Acts 2:34-36] False teachers and cults such as the Davidians have greatly misinterpreted these messianic Scriptures to their own peril.

Let us look at the second controversial name for the Messiah. That name is "Michael, the archangel". Many have made the mistake of referencing the title "angel" to always being that of "winged creatures", those created beings of God. It is true that many times that the title "angel" or "angels" is used it is reference to these created beings, but not always!

The prophet Haggai was called God's messenger (angel); and it is known that "Malachi" is not a real name, but means "messenger" or "angel".

Jesus has many names that point to His character. First off, the word “angel” simply means messenger. Jesus is indeed a messenger! We must understand that when we refer to Jesus as a messenger [angel] we are not classing Him with the typical created messengers [ angels].

The Bible does not make Jesus out to be a mere messenger any more than the Bible makes Him a mere animal by reffering to Him as a "Lamb".

The name Michael means; “One who is like God” or “Who is like God?”. We recognize the fact that Jesus is God! Who can compare to Him? He is called the Chief Messenger [Archangel]. Jesus is also the Michael who kicked Satan out of heaven [see Revelation ch.12]. Michael, the archangel whose voice will raise the dead. According to John 5:28, 29 this voice is that of Jesus and according to Daniel 12:1,2 it is that of Michael. The same messenger! God the Son!

The Bible proclaims that the Son of man will come with all "His angels." [Matt.24:30,31] Jesus Christ is indeed the leader [arch] of all angels. The name Michael is also described as being our "prince" or the "Prince of God's people" in Daniel 10:21. And in this same book of Daniel we see the phrase, "unto the Messiah the Prince". [Daniel 9:25] Clearly Jesus is this Prince, Michael!

Here is some more supportive evidence that Michael is a name for Jesus:

1. The Book of Daniel references Michael as being “a great prince” who stands on behalf of Israel. (Dan. 10:13, 20, 21; 12:1). Jesus is also associated with defending Jerusalem at the battle of Har-Magedon (Rev. 11:15; 16:14-16). Here we see Jesus is Michael.

2. Michael is believed to be the “Angel of the Lord” or archangel who accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness, and Christ himself is said to have been with the Israelites at that time. Since the term “archangel” is only used in the singular, in relation to Michael, (Jude 9) there can only be one “chief” of angels, which would be Michael/Jesus.

3. Jesus’ Second Coming is said to be with the commanding call of an “archangel’s voice”. (I Thess. 4:16-18). Therefore, Jesus is the archangel, who is Michael.

4. Jesus is depicted as leading the heavenly host at the end of the age (Rev. 19:11-16). Revelation also says that “Michael and the angels battled the dragon”. (Rev 12:7,10,12).

Is the Lord ever referred to in the Scriptures as an "angel"? Yes! Look here:

Exo 3:2 "And the *angel of the LORD* appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed."

Now in verses four and six, who is identified as being in the bush?-

Exo 3:4 "And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I."

Exo 3:6 "Moreover he said, *I am* the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God."

Notice that the angel (messenger) of verse 2 is really none other than God Himself. This is confirmed in the New Testament-

Acts 7:30 "And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an *angel of the Lord* in a flame of fire in a bush."

Acts 7:31" When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,"

And here is another very interesting verse;

"And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the ANGEL OF THE LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And THE LORD SAID to Satan, THE LORD REBUKE THEE, Satan....." Zechariah 3:1,2

Compare Jude 9;

"Yet MICHAEL the archangel, when contending with the Devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring him a railing accusation, but SAID, THE LORD REBUKE THEE."

Please understand that Seventh Day Adventist Christians do not believe that Jesus or "Michael" is a created being! We understand that Jesus is God! Jesus [God] has many names given to Him throughout the Scriptures because God is big!

I hope this helps you to better understand our Biblical base for this understanding.

Written by, Eric W. King [December 29,2007]

Please visit the most comprehensive Christian Seventh Day Adventist website online at;
"The Adventist Way of Life"

Opinions of Ellen G. White in "time" and "context" [photography]

2007-12-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

In this article I wish to help other Adventist Christians and Christians from other denominations to understand certain statements made by Ellen G. White in "time" and "context". As Seventh Day Adventist Christians we certainly believe that sister White was blessed with the "gift of prophecy". She wrote many books and was used of God in helping direct the fulfillment and understanding of the 2300 "day" [year] prophecy.

When looking at her writings we must understand the times in which they were written. We must also understand that when she addressed a specific topic she was addressing the understanding of that topic at the time in question.

Let us look at one of these topics, Photography. When Ellen White wrote her statements on the subject of photography the art of taking pictures was a new fad. Kinda like if we were to look at the home video game, PlayStation. As parents we can see that some have made an "idol" out of this new science for entertainment . Many could write dangers of how this game which includes "shooting up everything" could produce bad effects on our children. How this very game included airplanes crashing into buildings before Sept.911.

We could write of it's dangers! And would we be wrong in doing so? No. In "righteous anger" we could say; "I do not believe that any child should own a home video game!" This is an example of a "righteous opinion". I bring this up to help us understand some of the opinions of Ellen G. White.

During her time people were spending lot's of money on photography to the point of ridiculousness so she was given vissions such as;

"During the night I was sorely distressed. A great burden rested upon me. I had been pleading with God to work in behalf of his people. My attention was called to the money which they had invested in photographs. I was taken from house to house, through the homes of our people, and as I went from room to room, my Instructor said, 'Behold the idols which have accumulated!'" [Ellen White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Sep. 10, 1901.]

Notice that her attention was called "to the money" which had been invested in photography. This means that photography had become an "idol". Ellen G. White herself allowed for private and family pictures. She was not against all picture taking or even "pictures" themselves. Her books contained pictures which helped illustrate the Bible.

Here is another statement; "These photographs cost money. Is it consistent for us, knowing the work that is to be done at this time, to spend God's money in producing pictures of our own faces and the faces of our friends? Should not every dollar that we can spare be used in the upbuilding of the cause of God? These pictures take money that should be sacredly devoted to God's service; and they divert the mind from the truths of God's word." [Ellen White, Review, Sep. 9, 1901.]

Again, her focus was on those who were spending too much money on photographs. They had pictures all over their houses and on every wall due to their making photography into an idol.

So we clearly see that "idolatry" was the issue and not necessarily photography or pictures. This is important to understand because many have called Ellen G. White a hypocrite for having pictures herself or for her allowence of having her family take pictures.

The same could be said for some of her statements regarding wearing jewelry. She saw that many women were wearing jewelry to draw attention to themselves. They had made their personal appearance and idol. From the following statement we see that sister White's concern was with idolatry and the question; "whom are we drawing our attention to?". Look at this comment regarding Christian dress reform;

“‘No occasion should be given to unbelievers to reproach our faith. We are considered odd and singular, and should not take a course to lead unbelievers to think us more so than our faith requires us to be. Some who believe the truth may think that it would be more healthful for the sisters to adopt the American costume, yet if that mode of dress would cripple our influence among unbelievers so that we could not so readily gain access to them, we should by no means adopt it, though we suffered much in consequence. But some are deceived in thinking there is so much benefit to be received from this costume. While it may prove a benefit to some, it is an injury to others.’”—Testimonies, vol. 1, pp. 456, 457. (Italics supplied.)

So what was Ellen's concern? She did not want the women in church to get too caught up in the fassions of the world, plain and simple. She herself had worn jewelry on some occasions. Her point was, be careful. And if you can, do not wear anything that will distract.

It is so important that when reading the writings of Ellen G. White we consider the "time" and "context" of them. In my personal office where I write many of these articles for "The Adventist Way of Life" I have pictures of the early Adventist reformers and even a few pictures of Ellen G. White sitting on my book shelves.

If you have any questions regarding anything that Ellen G. White has written please send me an email so that we can look at it together, in "time" and "context".

Written by, Eric W. King [December 26,2007]

For more interesting articles visit the most comprehensive Christian Seventh Day Adventist website online, "The Adventist Way of Life"

The Alpha/Omega Apostasy

2007-12-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

As Seventh Day Adventist Christians we know that the Great Tribulation that Jesus Christ spoke of in Matthew ch.24 and the "great falling away [apostasy]" that the apostle Paul spoke of in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 had their fulfillment in the 1260 year prophetic period of time. A time of Papal persecution. [To read about this with fuller understanding click here]

But is there yet a final apostasy? A deception of the worst kind?

How many of you have heard of the New Age Movement? It is basically spiritualism in modern form. It is the study and practice of metaphysical science [a false and satanic science]. It basically amounts to the practices of the occult.

Adventist Christian author Ellen G. White warned against spiritualism which had it's roots in the false Roman teaching of the "immortality of the soul". The idea of ghosts, poltergeists, and reincarnation. The idea that the dead can be contacted through mediums. These practices still go on today through such movements as WICA and secret society practices.

Let's look at some of the warnings about spiritualism given by Sister White in her book, "The Great Controversy";

"When they have been led to believe that the dead actually return to communicate with them, Satan causes those to appear who went into the grave unprepared. They claim to be happy in heaven and even to occupy exalted positions there, and thus the error is widely taught that no difference is made between the righteous and the wicked. The pretended visitants from the world of spirits sometimes utter cautions and warnings which prove to be correct. Then, as confidence is gained, they present doctrines that directly undermine faith in the Scriptures." [GC,p.552]

"Many endeavor to account for spiritual manifestations by attributing them wholly to fraud and sleight of hand on the part of the medium. But while it is true that the results of trickery have often been palmed off as genuine manifestations, there have been, also, marked exhibitions of supernatural power." [GC,p.553]

"Satan beguiles men now as he beguiled Eve in Eden by flattery, by kindling a desire to obtain forbidden knowledge, by exciting ambition for self-exaltation. It was cherishing these evils that caused his fall, and through them he aims to compass the ruin of men. "Ye shall be as gods," he declares, "knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:5. Spiritualism teaches "that man is the creature of progression; that it is his destiny from his birth to progress, even to eternity, toward the Godhead." And again: "Each mind will judge itself and not another." "The judgment will be right, because it is the judgment of self. . . . The throne is within you." Said a spiritualistic teacher, as the "spiritual consciousness" awoke within him: "My fellow men, all were unfallen demigods." And another declares: "Any just and perfect being is Christ." [GC,p.554]

"It is true that spiritualism is now changing its form and, veiling some of its more objectionable features, is assuming Christian guise. But its utterances from the platform and the press have been before the public for many years, and in these its real character stands revealed. These teachings cannot be denied or hidden." [GC,p.557,558]

"Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions. We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils. " [GC,p.560]

"Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world. The foundation of his work was laid by the assurance given to Eve in Eden: "Ye shall not surely die." "In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4, 5. Little by little he has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism. He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs; but it will be reached in the last remnant of time. Says the prophet: "I saw three unclean spirits like frogs; . . . they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Revelation 16:13, 14. Except those who are kept by the power of God, through faith in His word, the whole world will be swept into the ranks of this delusion. The people are fast being lulled to a fatal security, to be awakened only by the outpouring of the wrath of God." [GC,p.561,562]

So we see from her writings that she was not only concerned about the false teaching of spirtualism but she also saw it's deceptive power and how Satan would use this false teaching to corrupt churches and deceive many.

Now, here is something of vital importance for Christian's to understand! Please read carefully and do not take this subject lightly. Before we look at this statement from the pen of Ellen G. White I would like to ask you some questions. Do you believe in the immortality of the soul? Or is everlasting life a gift from God? Do you play with magic of any kind? Are you reading books that promote spiritualism of any sort? Do you believe that you have some special power? Do you read self-help books and replace your love for God with self-esteem and personal entertainment?

Now let as look at what is coming, the final "threefold union"....that which is to deceive the world!

"Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience."

"As spiritualism more closely imitates the nominal Christianity of the day, it has greater power to deceive and ensnare. Satan himself is converted, after the modern order of things. He will appear in the character of an angel of light. Through the agency of spiritualism, miracles will be wrought,the sick will be healed, and many undeniable wonders will be performed. And as the spirits will profess faith in the Bible, and manifest respect for the institutions of the church, their work will be accepted as a manifestation of divine power."

"The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. " [from GC,p.588,589]

Wow! Did you read that carefully? Is this not already happening?

We will now look at when this great deception, the Alpha of this final apostasy began to enter the true Christian church. Late in the history of the Adventist Church a man by the name of John Harvey Kellogg, founder of the famous "Kelloggs Corn Flakes", became a Seventh Day Adventist Christian. As a matter of fact his cereal was the result of his study of the Adventist Health Message. In this sense it was your friendly neighborhood Adventist Christians who invented breakfast cereal.

Under his leadership the Seventh Day Adventist Battle Creek Sanitarium received fame at the turn of the century. But something happened to Mr. Kellogg. Perhaps fame and fortune? He turned away from his Christian faith and claimed he had received "new light". His view of God in the late 1890's became pantheistic. He influenced other Adventist's in this area and actually gave a talk about it at the General Conference of 1899 in South Lancaster Massachusetts.

At the time Ellen G. White was in Australia doing missionary work. She had heard about this misfortune and a month before had written warning messages to the church about this sad circumstance.

Kellogg eventually wrote a book that shared his "new light" titled; "The Living Temple". This book was full of false doctrine under the guise of "christianity". The finished manuscript was full of his erroneous ideas that had their origin in spiritualistic, pantheistic philosophy.

Ellen G. White later wrote: "In the book 'Living Temple' there is presented the alpha of deadly heresies. The omega will follow, and will be received by those who are not willing to heed the warning God has given." Selected Messages, vol. 1, 200.

She went on in some of her letters to address his errors specificully. Ellen G. White called Kellogg's "new light" a move for a false reformation:

"The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result? The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would go into the cities, and do a wonderful work. The Sabbath of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it. Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure." Selected Messages, vol. 1, 204, 205.

So there it is. We could say that since the 1900's the New Age movement truly began it's attack on the church. Since then many false theories have come up regarding the nature of Christ and the Bible. Numerous TV documentaries attacking the validity of the Scriptures and stories about the "secret Christ" are being fed to the masses.

Remember, sister White warned; "We have now before us the alpha of this danger. The omega will be of a most startling nature." [Testimonies, Series B, no.2,p.16]

So what is the "omega" of this final apostasy? Many Adventist Christians believe that it has to do with all the UFO and ET phenomenon. We know that it will include spiritualism, modern metaphysical "science" and "lying signs and wonders".

Ellen G. White warned;

"As in the days of the apostles men tried by tradition and philosophy to destroy faith in the Scriptures, so today, by the pleasing sentiments of higher criticism, evolution, spiritualism, theosophy, and pantheism, the enemy of righteousness is seeking to lead souls into forbidden paths. To many the Bible is as a lamp without oil, because they have turned their minds into channels of speculative belief that bring misunderstanding and confusion. The work of higher criticism, in dissecting, conjecturing, reconstructing, is destroying faith in the Bible as a divine revelation. It is robbing God's word of power to control, uplift, and inspire human lives."—Acts of Apostles, p. 474.

So what will your choice be? The facts of this final deception are here, laid before you. Choose wisely.

Written by; Eric W. King [December 25,2007]

Symbolic Mysteries

2007-12-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

The Bible is full of symbols. The Christian author Ellen G. White has been made fun of becuase of what God revealed to her through the symbols that she saw while in "vision" and in "divine dreams". All prophets saw strange things!

What did they see? They saw beings with wings, with multiple eyes. They saw Jesus as a "lamb that had been slain". Yes, God speaks to us in symbols that we might understand the "heavenly language".

Are we to believe that God needs literal "record books"? Does God need a "sanctuary"? Did God need "animal sacrifices"? NO! So why does God speak to us through symbols? Because we are not God! He speaks to us as a child. He gives us "object lessons", "typology" "symbolism",
"poetry"...and all Truth from these vehicles of expression are confirmed by the gift and power of the Holy Spirit.

Some website's attack Ellen G. White's visions and accuse and make fun of her because she saw "symbols" such as "gold cards" to enter Heaven. These symbols were not necessarily literal just as people with wings and lamb's with seven eye's are not literal as mentioned in the Bible.

Please, do not look at Seventh Day Adventist Christians as being so ignorant! Ask us what we believe! If you want to know what those people on the other side of the street believe, then you may have to take a chance and cross the street. Yes, people may make fun of you and ridicule you..but seek the Truth!

People may honk their horns at you but don't let that stop you. Truth is more important than "horn honking".

Written by Eric W. King [December 24,2007]

By the way, Merry Christmas! [2007]

Gift of Prophecy & Inspiration

2007-12-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

Many people have wondered what the official possition of Ellen G. White's writings are within the framework of Seventh Day Adventist theology. We can answer that question by using Ellen G. White's own words and passages in the Bible.

All true protestant Christians believe in the inerrancy of the 66 cannonized books of Christian Scripture. The Roman Catholic view of Scripture is much different. The Roman Catholic Church places verbal expression from their church authorities and their traditions above the written words of Holy Scripture. Thus they are able to make their faith express any theology that they wish and can change their beliefs on a whim. There is truly no "absolute" truth for the Roman Catholic.

Protestants are not stupid. We too believe that Truth is progressive. This is not to say that there or no "absolute" truths. Some scientists would say that the law of gravity is an absolute. Be that as it may, we must believe in what the Scriptures themselves state. In other words, God says what He means, and means what He says! Let's take a brief look;

2 Tim. 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

2 Samuel 23:2 "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue."

Jeremiah 1:9 "Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth."

Deut. 4:2 "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."

2 Peter 1:21 "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

These are just some of the Bible's own claims regarding it's reliability. As Seventh Day Adventist Christians we teach and believe that all doctrine must be tested by the 66 Books of the Biblical Cannon! If doctrine does not agree with the teachings of Scripture then it is false doctrine!

In her book, "The Great Controversy", early Adventist Christian author, Ellen G. White wrote a whole chapter titled; "The Scriptures a Safeguard". Here are some of her statements found in that chapter;

"To the Law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20. The people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness." [GC, p.593]

"The multitudes do not want Bible truth, because it interferes with the desires of the sinful, world-loving heart; and Satan supplies the deceptions which they love." [GC,p.595]

"The spirit which actuated those priests and rulers [fallen apostate Christendom] is still manifested by many who make a high profession of piety. They refuse to examine the testimony of the Scriptures concerning special truths for this time. They point to their numbers, wealth, and popularity, and look with contempt upon the advocates of truth as few, poor, and unpopular, having a faith that separates them from the world." [CG,p.596]

"A lack of moral courage to step aside from the beaten track of the world leads many to follow in the steps of learned men; and by their reluctance to investigate for themselves, they are becoming hopelessly fastened in the chains of error. They see that the truth for this time is plainly brought to view in the Bible; and they feel the power of the Holy Spirit attending its proclamation; yet they allow the opposition of the clergy to turn them from the light. Though reason and conscience are convinced, these deluded souls dare not think differently from the minister; and their individual judgment, their eternal interests, are sacrificed to the unbelief, the pride and prejudice, of another." [GC,p.597]

And one more statement of great importance......

"It is the first and highest duty of every rational being to learn from the Scriptures what is truth, and then to walk in the light and encourage others to follow his example. We should day by day study the Bible diligently, weighing every thought and comparing scripture with scripture. With divine help we are to form our opinions for ourselves as we are to answer for ourselves before God." [GC,p.598]

So we see that the early Advent Christians relied completely on the Bible for their source of Truth. This being said, the New Testament Scripture speaks about the "spirit" or "Gift of Prophecy". How are we to understand this gift within the understanding of "Sola Scriptura", the Bible alone is our source of Truth?

Here is how, the Bible proclaims that "spiritual gifts" are given to edify, uplift, support, and encourage the Christian Church. These gifts do not supercede the inerrant authority of Scripture, in fact, these gifts back up the claims of Scripture! The ministry of Spiritual Gifts originates in the New Testament, commissioned by our Lord Jesus Christ. After He established His church on the earth and ascended to Heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to equip His church with power and spiritual gifts.

It should always be remembered that the purpose of all the gifts are to edify the church, and their distribution within the body is completely dependent upon the discretion of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:11). As Seventh Day Adventist Christians we believe that one of the gifts that the "remnant church" of God will have manifested [last day church] is the gift of prophecy. What do we base this on? The last book of the Bible states;

Rev. 12:17: "And the dragon [the Devil] was wroth [angry] with the woman [church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Rev. 19:10 "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit [gift] of prophecy."

We interprete the term "spirit of prophecy" to mean the "gift of prophecy". You can see a list of all the gift's given by the "same spirit" in 1st Corinthians 12:7-11. So God's "end time" church will have the gift of prophecy operative in it as given by the Holy Spirit.

These two verses in the book of Revelation point out that two identifying marks of the last-day Christian Church will be that it "keeps the commandments of God" and has the "gift of prophecy". The Seventh Day Adventist Church meets these requirements.

Now, how does the church understand the rightful position of sister Ellen G. White's gift within the church? Here are some of Ellen's own understandings of her writings and gift;

"The Spirit was not given--nor can it ever be bestowed--to supersede the Bible; for the Scriptures explicitly state that the word of God is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested" (GC vii).

Did some of Ellen G. White's writings contain her opinions? Yes! She admitted that when writing about "common" things, giving basic personal advice on matters regarding daily activites or sharing personal thoughts that sometimes..."Such words, such information, are not given under the special inspiration of the Spirit of God." [SM1,p.39] So she was not infallible nor did she ever claim to be!

She wrote: "Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light" (Review and Herald, January 20, 1903). She believed that although her writings are a "lesser light," they are light, and that the source of this light is God.

She also admitted that sometimes she could have used better words to make a point. "Although I am as dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord in writing my views as I am in receiving them, yet the words I employ in describing what I have seen are my own." (EGW, Selected Messages, 3 bks. (Washington: RHPA, 19585880), bk. l, p. 37) We also must keep in mind that language expression in English has changed since the 1800's.

I would agree with the following position regarding Ellen G. White's writings which was published by the "Biblical Research Institute" of the Official Seventh Day Adventist Church. [ Exhibit One. From The Adventist Review, December 23, 1982.Also appeared in Ministry, February 1983.]

AFFIRMATIONS

We believe that Scripture is the divinely revealed word of God and is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

We believe that the canon of Scripture is composed only of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments.

We believe that Scripture is the foundation of faith and the final authority in all matters of doctrine and practice.

We believe that Scripture is the Word of God in human language.

We believe that Scripture teaches that the gift of prophecy will be manifest in the Christian church after New Testament times.

We believe that the ministry and writings of Ellen White were a manifestation of the gift of prophecy.

We believe that Ellen White was inspired by the Holy Spirit and that her writings, the product of that inspiration, are applicable and authoritative, especially to Seventh-day Adventists.

We believe that the purposes of the Ellen White writings include guidance in understanding the teaching of Scripture and application of these teachings, with prophetic urgency, to the spiritual and moral life.

We believe that the acceptance of the prophetic gift of Ellen White is important to the nurture and unity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

We believe that Ellen White's use of literary sources and assistants finds parallels in some of the writings of the Bible.

DENIALS

We do not believe that the quality or degree of inspiration in the writings of Ellen White is different from that of Scripture.

We do not believe that the writings of Ellen White are an addition to the canon of Sacred Scripture.

We do not believe that the writings of Ellen White function as the foundation and final authority of Christian faith as does Scripture.

We do not believe that the writings of Ellen White may be used as the basis of doctrine.

We do not believe that the study of the writings of Ellen White may be used to replace the study of Scripture.

We do not believe that Scripture can be understood only through the writings of Ellen White.

We do not believe that the writings of Ellen White exhaust the meaning of Scripture.

We do not believe that the writings of Ellen White are essential for the proclamation of the truths of Scripture to society at large.

We do not believe that the writings of Ellen White are the product of mere Christian piety.

We do not believe that Ellen White's use of literary sources and assistants negates the inspiration of her writings.

We conclude, therefore, that a correct understanding of the inspiration and authority of the writings of Ellen White will avoid two extremes: (1) regarding these writings as functioning on a canonical level identical with Scripture, or (2) considering them as ordinary Christian literature.

And to this I hold, Eric W. King. To me the writings of Ellen G. White are "inspired commentary".

Written by, Eric W. King [December 22,2007]

Visit: The Adventist Way of Life

Sola Scriptura upholds the Sabbath!

2007-12-22T08:13:00.000-08:00

The early Protestant Christians held to what they called the "Five Solas". Let's look at them.

1.) SOLA SCRIPTURA (Scripture Alone) [This would include the true Saturday Sabbath]

2.) SOLA GRATIA (Grace Alone)

3.) SOLA FIDE (Faith Alone)

4.) SOLUS CHRISTUS (Christ Alone)

5.) SOLI DEO GLORIA (Glory Of God Alone)

And to all five the Seventh Day Adventist Church holds! The word "protestant" means to "protest". What were these Christians protesting? They were protesting against the "babylonian" false teachings of the Roman Church. Seventh Day Adventist's are still protesting against this power, many churches have stopped protesting. Thus, false teachings are still entering the Christian Church.

The first of the "five solas" is, SOLA SCRIPTURA. This is what it means; The inerrant Scripture is the sole source of written divine revelation,which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church has been falsely blamed of not believing in this "sola" because we believe in the "gift of prophecy". As Seventh Day Adventist Christians we do not believe that the New Testament gift of prophecy add's anything to the teachings of the Scriptures and we believe that it cannot ever add anything to the completed 66 books of the Protestant Cannon.

Adventist author Ellen G. White states this very clearly in her own writings. Let's look at some of her statements;

"The word of God is sufficient to enlighten the most beclouded mind and may be understood by those who have any desire to understand it. . . . To leave men and women without excuse God gives plain and pointed testimonies, bringing them back to the word that they have neglected" (2T 454, 455).

"The written testimonies [Ellen's writings] are not to give new light, but to impress vividly upon the heart the truths of inspiration already revealed" (ibid. 605).

Ellen White referred to her counsels as "a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light" (Review and Herald 80:15, Jan. 20, 1903).

"The Spirit was not given--nor can it ever be bestowed--to supersede the Bible; for the Scriptures explicitly state that the word of God is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested" (GC vii).

Her writings are a gift to the church to edify and uplift it. To encourage the body of Christ is why her gift of prophecy was given. Here we need to understand that no Seventh Day Adventist Christian need's the writings of Ellen G. White, John Calvin, Martin Luther, or any other reformer to teach what the Bible teaches.

God has sent reformers and the NT gift of prophecy to help guide His church. The Holy Spirit alone is our ultimate teacher! And to this all true Seventh Day Adventist's hold!

Ellen G White's chief burden was to direct attention to the Holy Scriptures. She wrote: "Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light" (Review and Herald, January 20, 1903). She believed that although her writings are a "lesser light," they are light, and that the source of this light is God.

This being said, this would mean that if one truly believes in the "Scriptures Alone" for their rule of faith they would recognize that the Sabbath of the Lord God is Saturday! The "sunday" sabbath was added...it is not a sola scriptura teaching! As Seventh Day Adventist Christian's we protest against the Papal heresies!

So where did the "false sabbath" come from? Let's look;

"Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change (Saturday Sabbath to Sunday) was her act... And the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things.” H.F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons.

"Sunday is our MARK of authority. . .the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact" Catholic Record of London, Ontario Sept 1,1923.

"Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. "The day of the Lord" was chosen, not from any direction noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church's sense of its own power .... People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become Seventh-day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy." (Saint Catherine Church Sentinel, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995.)

"The [Catholic] Church took the pagan philosophy and made it the buckler of faith against the heathen. She took the pagan Roman Pantheon, temple of all the gods, and made it sacred to all the martyrs; so it stands to this day. She took the pagan Sunday and made it the Christian Sunday. She took the pagan Easter and made it the feast we celebrate during this season . . . The Sun was a foremost god with heathendom . . . The sun has worshipers at this hour in Persia and other lands . . . Hence the Church would seem to say, 'Keep that old pagan name [Sunday]. It shall remain consecrated, sanctified.' And thus the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder, became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus"--William L. Gildea, "Paschale Gaudium," in The Catholic World, 58, March, 1894, p. 809 [A Roman Catholic weekly].

"Some non-Catholics object to Purgatory because there is no specific mention of it in Scripture. There is no specific mention of the word Sunday in Scripture [either]. The Sabbath is mentioned, but Sabbath means [a keeping of] Saturday. Yet the Christians of almost all denominations worship on Sunday not on Saturday. The Jews observe Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it stated that worship should be changed from Saturday to Sunday."--Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics are Asked About, 1927, p.236 [Roman Catholic].

"It is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath . . . The Sabbath was founded on a specific, divine command. We can plead no such command for the observance of Sunday . . . There is not a single line in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."--Dr. R. Dale, The Ten Commandments, p. 106-107 [British Congregationalist].

"And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day. The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church, has enjoined [commanded] it."--Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism, vol 1, pp. 334, 336 [Anglican].

"The Roman [Catholic] Church reversed the Fourth Commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God's Word, and instituting Sunday as a holiday"--Nicholas Summerbell, History of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, 1873, p. 415 [Christian Church (Christian Connection)].

"Sunday is a Catholic institution and its claim to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles .... From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first." (Catholic Press, Sydney, Australia, August, 1990.)

Question: How prove you that the church had power command feasts and holydays?Answer: By the very fact of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and keep most other feasts commanded by the same church.Question: Have any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals precept?Answer: Had she not such power, she could not a done that in which all modern religionists agree with her;-she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the way, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day of the week, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority. "-Stephen Keenan, a doctrinal catechism, p. 174

"It was the Catholic church by the authority of Jesus Christ, which has transferred this rest to Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Therefore the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the Catholic church." - Mgr, Segur Plain Talk about Protestantism of today page 213

"From this we may understand how great is the authority of the church in interpreting or explaining to us the commandments of God- an authority which is acknowledged by the universal practice of the whole Christian world, even of those sects profess to take the holy Scriptures as their sole rule of faith, since they observe as the day of rest not the seventh day of the week demanded by the Bible, but the first day. Which we know is to be kept holy, only from the tradition and teaching of the Catholic church." - Henry Gibson "Catechism Made Easy" No 2 ninth edition volume one pp. 341, 342 Authoritative quotations on the Sabbath and Sunday.

"Reason and sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday Catholicism and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible. -James Cardinal Gibbons. Catholic mirror, December 23, 1893

So as the Seventh Day Adventist Church points out, those who claim "Sola Scriptura" and argue for Sunday sabbath observance are not really "Sola Scriptura" after all.

Lets look at the second "sola". SOLA GRATIA. This simply means; In salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by His grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.

We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.

To this all true Seventh Day Adventist Christian's hold! Look what Adventist author Ellen G. white has said regarding this issue;

"We do not earn salvation by our obedience; for salvation is the free gift of God, to be received by faith." [from SC]

"We look to self, as though we had power to save ourselves; but Jesus died for us because we are helpless to do this." [from SM1p.351]

"My brethren, are you expecting that your merit will recommend you to favor of God, thinking that you must be free from sin before you trust His power to save? If this is the struggle going on in your mind, I fear you will gain no strength, and will finally become discouraged." [from SM1p.351]

What about the third sola? SOLA FIDE. This simply means; Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice.

We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

This does not mean that good works will not show in the character of a Christian. Truly there is no such thing as “instantaneous” sanctification. True sanctification is the work of the Christian. It is a life long work. What is gifted to us to help along our growing path is the “righteousness of Christ” and the “grace of Christ Jesus”.

These [faith,righteousness,justification] are given to us by the Holy Spirit, our Divine Comforter. True “born again” Christians have the Holy Spirit to help guide them along the way.

Ellen G. White has said;

“It is the righteousness of Christ that makes the penitent sinner acceptable to God and works his justification. However sinful has been his life, if he believes in Jesus as his personal Saviour, he stands before God in the spotless robes of Christ’s imputed righteousness.” SignsTimes.1892-July, EGW

What about the fourth sola? SOLUS CHRISTUS. This simply means; Salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work in the sanctuary of Heaven by the true and historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Ellen G. White pointed to Christ alone! Only He can save us! Look what she said;

"The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light that streams from the cross of Calvary. I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption--the Son of God uplifted on the cross" (Gospel Workers, p. 315.)

“It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.” “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Job 14:4; Romans 8:7. Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness. ” -Ellen White [from SC]

The final and fifth "sola", SOLI DEO GLORIA. This simply means; Salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify Him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone.

We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.

Seventh Day Adventist Christians believe in the on-going process of spiritual growth and development of Christian character. We call this process, progressive sanctification. We understand that it is by God's unmerited grace alone that this process is even possible.

Ellen G. White has said;

"God does not give us up because of our sins. We may make mistakes, and grieve His Spirit; but when we repent, and come to Him with contrite hearts, He will not turn us away." [from SM1p.350]

Christian author Ellen White has also said; “The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature. This is evidence that Satan’s delusions have lost their power; that the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God is arousing you.” SC.065.001

There are so many other things that have been written by true Christians on these important subjects that not all of them could be read in one lifetime. I hope I have answered your questions regarding what Seventh Day Adventist Christians believe regarding the five solas!

May God richly bless you in your studies of His sacred Word.

Written by Eric W. King [December 22,2007]

Visit: The Adventist Way of Life

Do you have to be a "vegetarian" to be Christian?

2007-12-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

Many people have asked me if I believe that one has to be a vegetarian to be a Christian. My answer is "No" simply because the Bible doesn't say that one has to be vegetarian to be a Christian. I would also add that the Bible doesn't tell you not to smoke pot or chew tobacco either. I supose you could be a Christian and still do these things.

What I do believe is that as one matures in their Christian growth certain things will be more evident in ones Christian lifestyle such as your individual and personal attention to health. The Bible proclaims:

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body," (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

The Bible also informs us; “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” [1 Corinthians 10:31] So, if eating poorly and smoking or chewing tobacco to you is not abuse of your "body temple" then I certainly cannot judge you. However, I do believe that if you pray and ask God He will show you what is right for your body and what is wrong.

Did you know that the first diet that God intended His children to eat was meat free? Yep! No killing animals, no eating dead animals at all! Let us look at God’s own words regarding this issue;
Genesis 1:29 “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. “

Perhaps it would do good to return to the original diet that God intended for mankind. Certainly people who eat healthy usually live longer and have less health problems.

Now does one have to be a vegetarian to be a Seventh Day Adventist Christian? The answer is still, "No!" There are many Adventist Christians who still eat meat. As a matter of fact there are some Seventh Day Adventist pastors who still eat meat. The official position of the Seventh Day Adventist Church regarding this issue of vegetarianism is here stated;

"Being a vegetarian is not a requirement to be a Seventh-day Adventist, and we do not believe people who choose an alternative dietary lifestyle will miss out on salvation.

Not all Adventists are vegetarian. A lifestyle survey by the Adventist Health in the South Pacific in 2001 revealed that only 50% of older Adventists and a quarter of younger church members are vegetarians.

Adventists believe in a holistic approach to religion, which includes honouring God with our minds, bodies and souls. The holistic approach recommends a predominantly vegetarian diet, where such is practically possible, that includes eggs and dairy products.

Research shows Adventists who follow a vegetarian lifestyle and refrain from alcohol, tobacco and other harmful substances greatly reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Visit the Adventist Health Survey for more information." [Australasian Conference Association]

So if this one particlular issue of vegetarianism has made you stay back from becoming a true Sabbath keeper then don't let it. Vegetarianism is part of the SDA health message. Yes, a Christian Church with a "health message"....what next? It is also part of what we call, "The Third Angels Message". Simply put, as Adventist Christians we believe that God wants His people to be healthy. He cares!

Well, I realize that many Adventists have turned people away from the Truth with fanaticism over the health message. This saddens me. I try to eat healthy and pay attention to my diet but I myself do not always eat vegetarian. I am in the sanctification process as all other Christians are.

Some time ago I wrote an article which shows from a Biblical perspective why Seventh Day Adventists believe that God cares about His childrens physical as well as mental and spiritual health. Please click on the following article if you wish to understand more about the Biblical health message:

The Bible and "dirty foods"

Written by Eric W. King [December 18,2007]

Visit the most comprehensive Christian Seventh Day Adventist website online!
The Adventist Way of Life

The Bible, Ellen G. White, and plagiarism

2007-12-18T07:24:00.000-08:00

If you are a Christian let me ask you a question. Do you believe that Satan mixes Truth with error? The Bible indicates that he does. Look at the fact that Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus during the temptation of Christ. The New Testament tell's us that Satan can transform himself "into an angel [messenger] of light."

So if Satan can and does mix Truth with error we must, as Christians, have the Holy Spirit and the Word of God as our protection against error. Every teaching that we hear we must compare it with Scripture and have Holy Spirit guidence so as not to be deceived.

Here are some more thoughts as we look into the issue of Truth and error. Have you ever had an idea or a thought only to find out that somebody else already had the same thought or idea? Have you ever been talking to a friend and in your conversation with each other blurted out the same word, phrase, or even a sentance at the same time? As if you knew each others thoughts?

This can and does happen. Did you know that in the Bible itself we find different authors such as Isaiah and Micah saying word for word the same thing? God showed two different people the same vision and they wrote it down. The apostle John's book of "Revelation" has many visions comparable with both the pre and post exilic prophets of the Old Testament.

Here is another thought as we proceed in this short study. Do you believe that a person can receive a vision or a prophecy from God in this time of the Church Age? The Bible speaks about "the gift of prophecy" for New Testament believers. As a Seventh Day Adventist Christian I believe in the "gift of prophecy" and that God can share thoughts and visions with one who has the gift.

Now in doing so God may share with others, who have not had the gift of prophecy, things that they may have been trying to understand. Say many Christian's were writing information out that had a lot of Truth but they were not all correct in some of their understandings due to carnal human nature and reasoning. Could God share the correct information that had been written with a Christian who has the "gift of prophecy" and alow that person to re-write the information in the right manner, without the misunderstandings and without ever showing the person the other writtings?

I believe God could do that and as a matter of fact I believe that God did do that through the person of Ellen G. White. Ellen G. White has been accused of plagiarsim because many of her writtings contain similar and even some word for word information that other Christians had written. My question to other Christian's is; Why can't you believe in a modern miracle? Why is it so hard to believe that God can do great and wonderful things?

All true Seventh Day Adventist Christians realize that she sometimes used other literary sources, as God directed her. We also believe that Ellen White's use of literary sources and assistants finds parallels in some of the writings of the Bible.

Now, what about the Bible itself?

Here is something to consider; Did you know that scholars are now trying to prove that the entire Bible itself is a work of plagiarsim? There is a whole documentary online that "proves" it. The video states that much of Christianity, specifically Jesus, was copied directly from a Egyptian and Greek mythology, among others.

It's from the documentary Zeitgeist. Interesting film. Here's a transcript (with sources) of the portion of the film :http://zeitgeistmovie.com/transcript.htm The sources are there. So is it true? Read it and follow up. Is this simply another trick of Satan mixing Truth with error? To dismiss it because it doesn't conform to your beliefs is just ignorance. The full documentary is longer than 28 minutes. The link to watch it can be found here: http://zeitgeistmovie.com/

So have modern “scholars” “proven” that most all of the Christian Bible is a work of plagiarism?

Take the flood story for instance.

In Sumerian clay tablets dating from the third millennium BCE there is an account of a great flood whose hero is called Ziusudra. There is also a flood story in the second millennium BCE Babylonian legend of Gilgamish. In the Babylonian legend, preserved in much greater detail than that of Sumeria, the hero is named Utnapishtim. All these pre-date the Mosaic texts that have been found.

What about the fact that “word for word” passages are found in Isaiah and Micah? Who copied who? Did Isaiah copy Micah or visa versa?

And what of “Mithraism”? There is much speculation that Christian beliefs were influenced by Mithraic belief.

The worshippers of Mithras held strong beliefs in a celestial heaven and an infernal hell. They believed that the benevolent powers of the god would sympathize with their suffering and grant them the final justice of immortality and eternal salvation in the world to come. They looked forward to a final day of judgement in which the dead would resurrect, and to a final conflict that would destroy the existing order of all things to bring about the triumph of light over darkness.

Modern scholars have found many of the Old Testament stories in religions that pre-date Jewish faith. Some found in ancient Egypt and Sumeria. So what does it all mean?

My point is simple, if people want to believe that early Adventist Ellen G. White was not inspired by God to write what she wrote they can,… but remember, the same arguements that people use against her can be used against the entire Bible itself!

Me, along with thousands of Adventist Christians have gained strength, inspiration, and a closer walk with God through the study of her writings. Just as people try to find condradictions in Scripture people search for “hooks of doubt” to hang their hats on when reading Ellen White.
Ellen White wrote in the “Steps to Christ”:

“There are many things apparently difficult or obscure, which God will make plain and simple to those who thus seek an understanding of them. But without the guidance of the Holy Spirit we shall be continually liable to wrest the Scriptures or to misinterpret them. There is much reading of the Bible that is without profit and in many cases a positive injury. When the word of God is opened without reverence and without prayer; when the thoughts and affections are not fixed upon God, or in harmony with His will, the mind is clouded with doubts; and in the very study of the Bible, skepticism strengthens. The enemy takes control of the thoughts, and he suggests interpretations that are not correct. Whenever men are not in word and deed seeking to be in harmony with God, then, however learned they may be, they are liable to err in their understanding of Scripture, and it is not safe to trust to their explanations. Those who look to the Scriptures to find discrepancies, have not spiritual insight. With distorted vision they will see many causes for doubt and unbelief in things that are really plain and simple.”SC.111.001

“Disguise it as they may, the real cause of doubt and skepticism, in most cases, is the love of sin. The teachings and restrictions of God’s word are not welcome to the proud, sin-loving heart, and those who are unwilling to obey its requirements are ready to doubt its authority. In order to arrive at truth, we must have a sincere desire to know the truth and a willingness of heart to obey it. And all who come in this spirit to the study of the Bible will find abundant evidence that it is God’s word, and they may gain an understanding of its truths that will make them wise unto salvation.” SC.111.002

So in conclusion…it is up to you and God alone as to what course you will take regarding Truth. Now let us look at another issue regarding early Protestantism and the Church today.
So many people today watch all the TV specials about the “life of Jesus”. We hear all sorts of things. We hear that Jesus was married. We hear that he did not really resurrect from the dead.
I watched part of a special yesturday that claimed that the apostle Paul was really working for the Roman government [Paul being a Roman citizen] and that his writings where plagiarized, taken from wanna-be massiahs that Rome had arrested and killed.

It claimed that Paul was doing this to help Rome get control of those “fanatic Christian groups”. The funny thing about these TV documenteries is that they always have “proof” about their claims.
What are you looking for?

Sister Ellen White has stated; “While God has given ample evidence for faith, He will never remove all excuse for unbelief. All who look for hooks to hang their doubts upon will find them. And those who refuse to accept and obey God’s word until every objection has been removed, and there is no longer an opportunity for doubt, will never come to the light.” - Great Controversy, p.527

Wow! Is this you? Are you looking for excuses to disobey God’s word? Perhaps regarding the Sabbath issue?

Many are looking for all the negative aspects and rumors about another persons Christian faith. The Human nature loves to argue and justify itself. Here is something to consider; Martin Luther, founder of the entire protestant movement has much “dirt” written about him. Especially some of his comments about the Jews.

In On the Jews and Their Lies, written in 1543 three years before his death, Luther recommends that Jews be deprived of money, civil rights, religious teaching, and education, and that they be forced to labor on the land, or else be expelled from Germany and possibly killed.

He refers to Jews as “a brood of vipers and children of the devil” (from Matthew 12:34), “miserable, blind, and senseless”, “truly stupid fools”, “thieves and robbers”, “lazy rogues”, “daily murderers”, and “vermin”, likens them to “gangrene”, and recommends that Jewish synagogues and schools be burned, their homes razed and destroyed, their writings confiscated, their rabbis forbidden to teach, their travel restricted, that lending money be outlawed for them, and that they be forced to earn their wages in farming.

Luther advised “[i]f we wish to wash our hands of the Jews’ blasphemy and not share in their guilt, we have to part company with them. They must be driven from our country” and “we must drive them out like mad dogs.”

So do we throw away the whole protestant movement because of Luther’s fallen nature? God forbid! We forgive him and move on. Now, Ellen White [early member of the SDA church] never made such hateful statements about other races yet people try and find “dirt” on her. There are videos about how terrible a Christian she was also.

What are you looking for? If you are looking for Truth you can find it. Jesus is not hiding under a rock someplace. As a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian I invite you to look at our teachings and compare them with Scripture. Read, pray, search the Scriptures for yourself. Stop looking for something to “hang your hat on”. Stand up, get serious about your relationship with Truth, the Christian Truth!

Written by, Eric W. King December 18, 2007 and some of this article taken from some earlier articles written by Eric on November 12,2007 & May 20,2007

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Ellen G. White and the Trinity

2007-12-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

There are no words found in all the writings of Christian Adventist author, Ellen G. White where she says: "Do not believe in the Trinity doctrine because it is of the Devil!." Not one sentance where she attacks the Trinity doctrine.

There are many offshoot cultic groups going by the name "Seventh Day Adventist" which deny the Trinity doctrine. As a matter of fact, most cults such as the Watch Tower & Tract Society deny the Trinity doctrine.

The official teaching on the subject of the Trinity doctrine by the Seventh Day Adventist Church is listed as number "two" in our 28 Doctrinal Statements. Here is what it says;

"2. 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.)"

And to this statement all TRUE Seventh Day Adventists hold. Here is another bit of interesting history regarding the doctrine of the Trinity and the early Adventist movement. Ellen G. White claimed in 1888 that God had called two men, E.J.Waggoner and A.T.Jones to present a special and important message to the Christian church regarding the "Righteousness of Christ". She fully supported the published work of E.J.Waggoner titled; "Christ and His Righteousness" printed in 1890. This book can still be read online or purchased in paperback addition.

In E.J.Waggoner's book he clearly sets forth the doctrine of the Trinity. He explains Christ's rightful position of equality with the Father. Ellen G. White was disappointed that some in the General Conference at that time [1888 through 1894] did not accept the "Waggoner & Jones Message", as it came to be known. Waggoner insisted on "the Divine unity of the Father and the Son" and told that Christ is "by nature of the very substance of God, and having life in Himself, He is properly called Jehovah, the self-existent One (Jer 23:56), "who is on an equality with God" (Phil 2:6, ARV), "having all the attributes of God."

Waggoner also stated regarding Christ; "Now if He [Jesus Christ] created everything that was ever created, and existed before all created things, it is evident that He Himself is not among created things. He is above creation, and not a part of it."

Ellen G. White said later in her life that had the "Waggoner & Jones" message been accepted there would have been a greater out pour of the Holy Spirit. She also connected this message of the Righteousness of Christ closely with the "third angels message" of Revelation chapter 14.

In her book, "Desire of Ages" Ellen G. White clearly defined the divinity of Christ in many of her statements. Here is one of her statements;

"His name shall be called Immanuel, . . . God with us." "The light of the knowledge of the glory of God" is seen "in the face of Jesus Christ." From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was "the image of God," the image of His greatness and majesty, "the outshining of His glory." It was to manifest this glory that He came to our world. To this sin-darkened earth He came to reveal the light of God's love,--to be "God with us." Therefore it was prophesied of Him, "His name shall be called Immanuel." [Desire of Ages, p.19]

If you want the truth about what the Seventh Day Adventist Church believes about Jesus Christ and His divinity, then ask a true Seventh Day Adventist Christian.

Written by Eric W. King [December 17,2007]

Please read this other article written by Eric regarding the Trinity Doctrine for more insights!
Is the Trinity pagan?

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Jesus came for what?

2007-12-13T16:49:00.000-08:00

As a Seventh Day Adventist Christian I have been blessed to learn many things from God's word, the Holy Bible. I am still learning and will continue to learn all the way throughout eternity! God is very big.

Did you know that when we begin a relationship with God He never gets tired of showing us new and important things? When I learned that Jesus Christ came to die for my sins I was amazed that He would do that without my even asking Him. Before I became a true Seventh Day Adventist Christian I had been taught that; "Jesus came and died for your sins! Jesus died for you!" But in most churches I attended that is where the message stopped.

Only in the Seventh Day Adventist church did I begin to understand that Jesus came for another and very important reason. Jesus Christ came to show us the character of God. So many people had misrepresented the Holiest and only True God. The religious teachers misrepresented God's character in their teachings and through their actions.

We get to know God through the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to show us God's true nature and character. Get this clear! Christian author, Ellen White spoke much regarding this issue of Jesus revealing God's true character. Ellen White emphasizes repeatedly in her wrtings that the focal point of the great controversy is Satan's aim to misrepresent the loving character of God.

Jesus could not change His moral law, the Ten Commandments. God does not change! So how could God restore His broken relationship with us if we are commandment breakers? He could have changed His law but that would be against His nature. Instead, God chose to send His only and perfect son, Jesus Christ to die for us.

Ellen White points out that the things of nature in a world of sin "but imperfectly represent His love." She says the supreme and clearest illustration of God's love for us is God sending Jesus to save us from our sins (SC 10-13).

She demonstrates in her writings that Jesus taught us through His life how to live a true Christian life. He now becomes our Lord, the Lord that demonstrates the true character of God. Satan's aim is to misrepresent the loving character of God.

Satan talks about throwing people into a "everlasting torture chamber" where God will smile at the suffering people that He created. Satan tell's people to break the moral law and that all that really matters is that you "accept" Christ as your saviour but not your Lord. This goes back to the Babylonian occult law; "Do what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the law." In otherwords, Satan says that Christian lifestyle and charactor development does not really matter.

This is why others who claim Christianity have a problem with Seventh Day Adventist's. Seventh Day Adventist's stress Christian maturity and character development. Relationship with Christ means you will grow and change!

So instead of learning God's character by studying the life of Jesus, the "perfect commandment keeper", Satan says; "Watch the same junk on TV. Eat the same food. Smoke, drink....you do not even have to attend church. Just believe in Jesus...thats all...heee, heee." This takes the "pressure" off the trying to "bare a cross" and live a truly "sanctified" and "growing Christian life".

Sad, but here are the facts. God loved you enough to come here and die for you. He also sent the Holy Spirit to trust and rely in that you might begin to grow in your Christian life. Most people are turned away from Christianity because most Christians dress, speak, eat, and live like the rest of the world.

Seventh Day Adventist Christians understand that people will live either according to the principle of Satan's kingdom or by the principle of God's kingdom. There are no other options. Belief can simply be the ideas of people's principles and be held only in their hearts and minds. But this is not true faith. True Christianity motivates daily actions. Ellen White wrote that "love can no more exist without revealing itself in outward acts than fire can be kept alive without fuel" (1T 695). Who we really are inside will be displayed in the practical experiences of daily life.

Written by, Eric W. King [December 13,2007]

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Eric responds to "Creation Seventh Day Adventists"

2007-12-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

Eric W. King responds to what he believes to be "wafflers" of SDA theology. The following is a response to the offshoot Adventist group known as, "Creation Seventh Day Adventists".

Note: Since this article was written Eric has been contacted on the phone by official members of the "Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church". Eric believes that these people are sincere but are sincerly wrong. He respects their sincerity and their love for Jesus Christ.
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There was a group of defectors from the true Seventh Day Adventist Church which arose in the 80's. What was going on in the 1980's? Well, we won't go there. Anyways, this group claims that the Seventh Day Adventist Church is "babylon".

These "used to be" members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church have not only gone against the Spirit of Prophecy but have boldly spoken against the Word of God on their website! They call God's church "babylon" [term for the satanic "harlot church"].

Here is where we need to understand a simple yet important doctrine of Scripture. The Bible never call's the Church of God "babylon" [symbol of the false church]. The Bible does point out that the "wheat" and the "tares", true "born again" believers will be mixed with "false believers" in God's church up until the second coming of Christ our Lord. But never did Jesus call the church He founded "babylon".

Ellen G. White proclaimed that the Seventh Day Adventist Church was the true Church of Christ. Ellen White has said, "The Seventh-day Adventist Church is NOT Babylon." Many misunderstood Bible teachings were restored beginning with the Protestant movement by Martin Luther [who exposed the "seat" and "authority" of the Anti-christ..the "Roman Beast"].

She agrees with the Bible and further states that the entire world and Satan will have his final conflict with "Seventh Day Adventists", not "creation" or "davidian" Seventh Day Adventist Christians. [see TM, p.37]

Though local churches have their problems because of "Babylonian" influences this does not make Christ's church "babylon". All local Christian churches have their problems...but they are not the "harlot" church. As I said before, I will state again, God's church will have true believers and false believers in it up until the Second Coming of Christ. [Laodicean church: Rev. 3:14-22] But no Christian has the authority or the right or the power to judge in the sense of separating the "wheat" from the "tares". This is the work of Jesus Christ and His angels! [Matthew 24:31]

Jesus informs us that when the "purification" of the Church of God begins, He will send His angels to separate the "wheat" from the "chaff". So those who start "new movements", and claim that there is a "remnant" within the Remnant are liars! Plain and simple!

The true Seventh Day Adventist Church has missionaries all over the world and hospitals healing the sick and hurting. None of these "off-shoot" groups have any Biblical authority or "good fruit doctrine" for their claims or existance. We pray for them.

May God continue to have compassion on the lost and hurting. May those truly seeking God use their Bible only to find the Word of Truth. Amen.

Written by Eric W. King [December 11,2007]

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The 1260 Year Great Tribulation

2007-12-07T18:49:00.000-08:00

Many Christians talk about the "Great Tribulation". Many believe that this time has not yet occurred and that the Anti-christ power has not yet been revealed. You will be surprised to find out that the Anti-christ power has already been identified!

The father of the Protestant Movement, Martin Luther named this power and thrust the whole Christian church into a time of great reformation. Had Luther not identified this Anti-christ "seat" and "authority" Satan would have kept the church in the dark.

You may also be surprised to find out that the "great tribulation" of the church has already happened! This period lasted for 1260 years just as the Bible fortold. At the end of this time the Anti-christ power was "wounded in the head" so to speak just as the Bible fortold.

The infliction of the wound began with Martin Luther and climaxed when the Pope's power was stopped in 1798 by Berthier. In 1798, Berthier, general to Napoleon, marched into Italy and captured the pope. The general imprisoned the pope, who later died in prison.

We note that there has never been a tribulation so great and one that has lasted so long, for 1260 years. From 538 AD all the way until 1798 AD. Early protestants understood the historical application of this prophetic fulfillement. Many Christians today think this to be strange because they didn't live during the time of such atrocities.

Most Christians today do not fully appreciate their right to even own a Bible. Jesus warned of this tribulation with the saints: "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." Matthew 24:15,16,21,22

Had the papacy not been stopped, all true believers would have been killed off but "those days were shortened". Notice that Jesus tells us that we can "understand" this prophecy and He identifies it as the prophecy mentioned by Daniel.

Many Chirstians today say things like; "Nobody understands the Great Tribulation time. It hasen't happened yet." The fact is Jesus has not left His church in the dark regarding this and other prophecies.

The apostle Paul also mentioned this "tribulation" time. Paul identified it as the "great apostacy". Paul wrote in II Thessalonians 2: "Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in the mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away (apostasy) comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called god or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

Apostle Paul gives us the same information found in the book of Daniel. The fact that the "man of sin" was to be revealed or identified before the second coming of Christ, not after. Paul also talks about the "apostacy", the falling away which lasted 1260 years as fortold by the prophet Daniel.

Daniel spoke in symbolic apocalyptic language about the rise of a kingdom and power that would persecute the "saints". Let us look at some prophecies found in Scripture from a systematic point of view which help us to understand the "Great Tribulation" and it's fulfillment:

At what time was Rome divided into ten parts? Between the years 351 and 483 A.D.
After the ten horns had arisen, what was seen coming up among them?"I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things." Daniel 7:8.

After speaking of the subjugation of the three powers by the "little horn," what comparison does he draw between the subduing power and the others?" And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings." Daniel 7:24.

How was this power to use its authority?" And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Daniel 7:25.

NOTE. - The pope calls himself "the vicar of Christ." Leo X blasphemously styled himself "The lion of the tribe of Judah." Leo XII allowed himself to be called "The Lord our God." Pope Martin V called himself "The most holy and most happy, who is the arbiter of heaven and the lord of the earth, the successor of St. Peter, the anointed of the Lord, the master of the universe, the father of kings, the light of the world."

How has the papacy worn out the saints? By its relentless persecutions of Christians, having put to death more than fifty million during the period of its supremacy.

NOTE. - No computation can reach the numbers who have been put to death, in different ways, on account of their maintaining the profession of the gospel, and opposing the corruptions of the Church of Rome. A million of poor Waldenses perished in France; nine hundred thousand orthodox Christians were slain in less than thirty years after the institution of the order of the Jesuits. The Duke of Alva boasted of having put to death in the Netherlands thirty-six thousand by the hand of the common executioner during the space of a few years.

The Inquisition destroyed, by various tortures, one hundred and fifty thousand within thirty years. These are a few specimens, and but a few, of those which history has recorded. But the total amount will never be known till the earth shall disclose her blood, and no more cover her slain." Scott's Church History.

What change has the papacy sought to make in the law of God? It has expunged the greater part of the second commandment, in order to establish the adoration of images, dividing the tenth to complete the number ten. It has also abolished the fourth commandment (as far as its power extends) by substituting the first day of the week for the seventh. See Catholic Catechisms; also "Plain Talk about the Protestantism of Today," page 213; "The Catholic Christian Instructed," chapt. 23; "A Sure Way to Find out the True Religion," pages 95, 96.

How long was the papacy to have power over the saints, times, and laws?" And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time." Daniel 7:25.

Where is this expression of time found in the New Testament?" And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." Revelation 12:14.

How is this same period again represented?"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days." Revelation 12:6. (These days, being in symbolic prophecy, are themselves symbolic.)

What is the rule for reckoning symbolic days?" Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel. Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year." Ezekiel 4:3-6. (See also Numbers 14:34).

NOTE. - "So Ezekiel 4:6, 'I have appointed thee each day for a year: where the prophet was symbolically to bear the iniquity of Israel as many days as they had sinned years. In this usage we find authority for interpreting days in prophecy as denoting years." George Bush, Prof: of Hebrew and Oriental Literature in New York City University, Notes on Numbers 14:34.

What event marked the close of this period? In February, 1798, Berthier entered Rome at the head of the French army, and taking Pope Pius VI prisoner, established a republic in Rome. The pope died in exile the following year. For over two years there was no pope. See Chambers's Cyclopedia, art. Pius.

What was to take place before the dominion should be entirely taken away?" But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end." Daniel 7:26.

Where in this chapter is this judgment first spoken of?"A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Daniel 7:10.

How soon after this did the pope lose his temporal dominion? In September, 1870, when Rome, no longer supported by the French, who had been defeated by the Germans, surrendered to Victor Emmanuel. Possession of the pope's dominion was formally taken Oct. 2, 1870. -See Chambers's Cyclopedia, art. Italy.

By what means is the beast to be destroyed?" I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame." Daniel 7:11.

What is the "burning flame" that is to destroy the papacy?" And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." 2 Thessalonians 2:8.

[Taken from "Bible Readings for the Home"]

Wow! Are these prophecies not accurate! Another thing you may find interesting is the signs that were to follow the "Great Tribulation". The following is documented on the website, Bible Prophecy Truth and their page regarding, Dark Day.

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"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened." Matthew 24:29

Twenty-five years after the Great Earthquake [for historical information regarding "the great earthquake", click here] appeared the next sign mentioned in Revelation 6:12,--the darkening of the sun and moon. What rendered this more striking was the fact that the time of its fulfillment had been definitely pointed out.

In the Saviour's conversation with his disciples upon Olivet, after describing the long period of trial for the church--the 1260 years of papal persecution, concerning which he had promised that the tribulation should be shortened--he thus mentioned certain events to precede his coming, and fixed the time when the first of these should be witnessed: "In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Mark 13:24.

The 1260 days, or years, terminated in 1798. A quarter of a century earlier, persecution had almost wholly ceased. Between these two dates, according to the words of Christ, the sun was to be darkened.On the 19th of May, 1780, this prophecy was fulfilled. It was not an eclipse. Timothy Dwight says, "The 19th of May, 1780, was a remarkable dark day. Candles were lighted in many houses; the birds were silent and disappeared, and the fowls retired to roost. ... A very general opinion prevailed, that the day of judgment was at hand." Quoted in Connecticut Historical Collections, compiled by John Warner Barber (2nd ed.; New Haven: Durrie & Peck and J.W. Barber, 1836) p. 403.

For further commentary on this event please continue reading.The Dark Day"Almost if not altogether alone as the most mysterious and as yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind, . . . stands the dark day of May 19, 1780,--a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New England." That the darkness was not due to an eclipse is evident from the fact that the moon was then nearly full.

It was not caused by clouds, or the thickness of the atmosphere, for in some localities where the darkness extended, the sky was so clear that the stars could be seen. Concerning the inability of science to assign a satisfactory cause for this manifestation, Herschel the astronomer declares: "The dark day in North America was one of those wonderful phenomena of nature which philosophy is at a loss to explain." "The extent of the darkness was also very remarkable. It was observed at the most easterly regions of New England; westward, to the farthest part of Connecticut, and at Albany, N. Y.; to the southward, it was observed all along the sea coast; and to the north, as far as the American settlements extended.

It probably far exceeded those boundaries, but the exact limits were never positively known. With regard to its duration, it continued in the neighborhood of Boston for at least fourteen or fifteen hours." "The morning was clear and pleasant, but about eight o'clock there was observed an uncommon appearance in the sun. There were no clouds, but the air was thick, having a smoky appearance, and the sun shone with a pale, yellowish hue, but kept growing darker and darker, until it was hid from sight."

There was "midnight darkness at noonday." "The occurrence brought intense alarm and distress to multitudes of minds, as well as dismay to the whole brute creation, the fowls fleeing bewildered to their roosts, and the birds to their nests, and the cattle returning to their stalls." Frogs and night hawks began their notes. The cocks crew as at daybreak. Farmers were forced to leave their work in the fields. Business was generally suspended, and candles were lighted in the dwellings. "The Legislature of Connecticut was in session at Hartford, but being unable to transact business adjourned. Everything bore the appearance and gloom of night."

The intense darkness of the day was succeeded, an hour or two before evening, by a partially clear sky, and the sun appeared, though it was still obscured by the black, heavy mist. But "this interval was followed by a return of the obscuration with greater density, that rendered the first half of the night hideously dark beyond all former experience of the probable million of people who saw it. From soon after sunset until midnight, no ray of light from moon or star penetrated the vault above. It was pronounced 'the blackness of darkness!'"

Said an eye-witness of the scene: "I could not help conceiving, at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete." Though the moon that night rose to the full, "it had not the least effect to dispel the death-like shadows." After midnight the darkness disappeared, and the moon, when first visible, had the appearance of blood. The poet Whittier thus speaks of this memorable day:--"'Twas on a May-day of the far old year Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring, Over the fresh earth, and the heaven of noon, A horror of great darkness." "Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter The black sky."

May 19, 1780, stands in history as "The Dark Day." Since the time of Moses, no period of darkness of equal density, extent, and duration has ever been recorded. The description of this event, as given by the poet and the historian, is but an echo of the words of the Lord, recorded by the prophet Joel, twenty-five hundred years previous to their fulfillment: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come." Joel 2:31.
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You can see how these prophecies have been fulfilled! So what will people be doing before the 7 last plagues are let loose on this earth? Since the "Great Tribulation" has been fulfilled what are people doing before the Great and Dreadful day of the Lord? Are they in a "tribulation" right before this happens? NO!

They will be saying things like: "Relax dude, we have long to go before the Great Tribulation." or "Things have to get really bad first." But Jesus says:

"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot–they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all– so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”(Luke 17:26-35 ESV)

So when they think it's time to relax, because of the Churches Laodicean condition, then shall sudden distruction over take them. As social fabric is torn apart, there is increasingly discord in homes, society, and between nations. And, as in Biblical times, a voice cries out: “Peace, peace: and there is no peace.”

"They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace." Jeremiah 8:11

Are you ready? The time is at hand!

Written by Eric W. King [December 7,2007]

They are eating a drinking! Saying; "Peace! Peace!"

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The Third Angel's Message

2007-12-06T13:16:00.000-08:00

In two previous articles we looked at the "first" and "second" angels messages found in Revelation ch.14. We now come to the climax found in the last and third angel's message given in this chapter of Revelation. Here it is;

"If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God." Rev. 14:9-10.

This is one of the most important warnings and messages in the entire Bible! This third angel warns all about the "mark of the Beast".

We learned in the first angels message of this chapter that God's law, including the Sabbath commandment, is important and that true Christians will keep these laws of God.

The first angel says;.… “and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea…” Notice that this phrase is a copy of what we find in the fourth commandment:

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy… for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hollowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11

We are told that the Beast has a “mark” that he wishes to give people. This mark is clearly the Beasts character or "law" in your “head”[mind] and in your “right hand” [your actions]. God’s mark will be in his saints. What is God’s mark? God's "mark" is His true Law! God tells His people;

“And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes [forehead], that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth:”[Exodus 13:9]

Clearly this verse regarding God’s law in our “hand” and “forehead” means that we will have put on the “righteousness of Christ”. We will have developed a Christian character. We will be lights shinning in a very dark place. Revelation chapter seven informs us that only those who have God’s final seal will be protected and they will refuse the “mark of the Beast”.

Clearly we must understand that the "third angels message" exposes the mark of the Beast and offers Christ's Righteousness in place of it!

The third and final angel of Revelation ch.14 asks us to return to primitive worship, that which Adam and Eve experienced before the fall!

This means that keeping all of the commandments and recognizing them in contrast to those of Satan's false commandments is extremely important for the true saints of God. Remember, all three angels messages conclude with;

"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus Christ." [Rev.14:12]

The saints prove that the "righteousness of Christ" is made manifest in our obedience to the Commandments of God. We thus refuse the "mark of the Beast".

True saints will strive to keep their bodies a "temple of the Holy Spirit" by obeying the original diet of Adam and Eve that they may think clearly and remain healthy. The "mark of the Beast" involves damaging or destroying our bodies and mind by bad eating habits and or putting drugs into our systems while at the same time honoring false commandments, laws which say it is "okay" to break the moral law of God.

When the mind is clouded, when the spiritual, physical, and mental health is weakend then Satan will have you in his grip.

"The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men." - Ellen G. White 5 Testimonies 81.

These three angels messages are given to the last day church and to the entire world. The church is warned not to "fall asleep" and become that as the condition was in ancient Laodicea. [see Revelation 3:14-22]

These three angels messages of Revelation chapter fourteen are to awaken all to the climax that is just upon this world.

"I saw a company who stood well guarded and firm, giving no countenance to those who would unsettle the established faith of the body. God looked upon them with approbation. I was shown three steps - the first, second, and third angel's messages. Said my accompanying angel, "woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages. The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance. The destiny of souls hangs upon the manner in which they are recieved." [Ellen G. White, Early Writings,pp.258,259]

When the final anti-christ comes in full power he will alow only those who worship him on his day [the pagan sun-day] to buy and sell. “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” [Revelation13:17]

God instructs His people through the prophet Nehemiah regarding the holy Sabbath; “And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to SELL, that we would not BUY it of them on the sabbath.” [Nehemiah 10:31] Yet, the Beast will tell us to buy and sell on God’s holy sabbath.

The prophet Daniel informs us that the Beast will try and “change God’s times and laws.” [Daniel 7:25] Jesus, when speaking of the “great tribulation” which was yet to come said; “But pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” [Matthew 24:21] Clearly Jesus expected His followers to be keeping the seventh day sabbath after He returned to heaven!

The choice is yours. Will you not heed the three angels messages of Revelation ch.14 and be saved? Or will you continue to break God's commandments and receive the "mark of the beast"?

Written by Eric W. King [December 6,2007]

Further study:

The First Angel's Message
The Second Angel's Message

Youth of America crying out!

2007-12-06T09:23:00.000-08:00

Note: This article is being re circulated since the last shooting. What an important issue this is. All Christians should pray for guidance on how they might help.
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Todays headlines are very troubling. Another American youth decides to shoot people down for no apparent reason. This has become old news. Seems that everywhere America's youth are troubled to the point of no return.

Christian author, Ellen White has pointed out; "Aliens from God and outcasts from society, these poor souls feel that they are without hope either for this life or for the life to come. The hearts of parents are broken. Men speak of these erring ones as hopeless, but God looks upon them with pitying tenderness. He understands all the circumstances that have led them to fall under temptation. This is a class that demands labor." T6, p.254,255

When we see what is on our modern Televisions we see; "Babylon 5" and "American Idol". We have taught our youth to embrace the idea of Babylonian Oneness, a false unity. We have set our youth to look to "idols". Instead of finding out that they are already special, we teach our youth to embrace an idol, a human idol. How sad.

We have taught our youth to turn away from their Creator by teaching evolution.

"Men in their blindness boast of wonderful progress and enlightenment; but to the eye of Omniscience are revealed the inward guilt and depravity." Ellen G. White T6,p.14,15

One problem is that todays youth are taught that "true" love has no boundaries. This anarchy love is from the occult law; "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law". This false idea is a Babylonian foundation. It is taught in the Wica movement and New Age philosophies of today.

This so called "freedom" has created an insane youth. Actually, true love has boundaries, it is surrounded by the Commandments of God!

"It is not hardship, toil, or poverty that degrades humanity; it is sin, the transgression of God's law. The efforts put forth to rescue the outcast and degraded will be of no avail unless the claims of the law of God and need of loyalty to Him are impressed on the mind and heart." T6,p.259 Ellen G. White

We must understand that people are crying out for a love with boundaries! They may not say it because of what they have been taught. The truth is, it is time for the church to teach the law of God to our youth in the true love of Jesus Christ!

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.......The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." "By the word of Thy lips," says the Psalmist, "I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. " Psalms 19:7,8; 17:4

So true love has around it a "wall of protection", the Commandments of God. False love, the one destroying this nation, is that of anarchy!

May God call those who hear to labor in this work of re-education.

Written by Eric W. King [December 6,2007]

The Second Angel's Message

2007-12-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

In our previous article I took a glance at the "first Angel's message" of Revelation 14:6-10. I showed how this first message is extremely important to Adventist Christians.

Here again is the first angel's message;

Rev.14: 6: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7: Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

In this first angels message we noticed two important issues; "the hour of his judgment has come" and we are told to "worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of the waters."

We showed how this first angel's message points to the importance of the Sabbath.

… “and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea…” Notice that this phrase is a copy of what we find in the fourth commandment:

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy… for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hollowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11.

We also pointed out that this angel speaks of "the hour of his judgment". The New Testament tells us that God "hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge..." [Acts 17:31] As Adventist Christians we know that this "day" began at the end of the 2300 day (year) prophecy spoken of by Daniel the prophet. [For a good understanding of this prophecy click here and read Uriah Smith's explanation]

So now let us look at the "Second Angel's Message" found in Revelation ch.14:8;

"Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city that made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." Revelation 14:8.

We understand that this Babylon comprises fallen apostate Christendom. Her [the false church] "fornication" is her false teachings. God's people are viewed in Revelation chapter twelve as the "pure women", Christ's "bride". The fallen churches represent the false bride, or the "harlot".

This false bride is cheating on Christ, mixing Babylonian doctrines with the Truth of God's word such as the immortality of the soul. This false church also upholds the spurious Sabbath proclaimed by the Roman Beast.

This second angel’s message is magnified by Revelation ch.18…….

Revelation 18: 1-4–”I saw another angel come down from heaven…And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen. …And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people.” The angel says, “Babylon is fallen,” and urges everyone to come out of her.

Early Adventist, Ellen White has stated that the first and second angel's messages were fulfilled through the Millerite movement.

"The advent movement of 1840-44 was a glorious manifestation of the power of God; the first angel's message was carried to every missionary station in the world, and in some countries there was the greatest religious interest which has been witnessed in any land since the Reformation of the sixteenth century." Ellen G. White, Great Controversy, p. 611.

"Prophecy was fulfilled in the first and second angels' messages. They were given at the right time and accomplished the work which God designed to accomplish by them." Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 245.

Today God is still proclaiming the second angel's message through the Seventh Day Adventist Church. God is calling His people out of false religion.

Long ago God foretold of a people that would be His “special property“, and that other people around them would certainly see that ”They will be mine,” says the LORD Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” [Malachi 3:17,18]

Is there a “distinction” between Christians and the world? There should be! Christians will follow the Law’s that Jesus Christ taught us. They will reject this Satanic World and it’s way.

It is not enough to merely recognize the difference between God’s way and the ways of this world. True Christianity is a lifestyle! True Christianity is not mere “lip service“. How many Christian friends [brothers & sisters] do you have? We are to associate with God’s people, His “remnant“. We are not to be “unequally yoked“.

“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” [2 Corinthians 6:17]

Dear fellow Christians, it is by taking a firm stand for the truth that one can really make a lasting example for lost family members and friends. God firmly assures you that He will support and strengthen you if you put Him and His ways first in your life.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Romans 8:38,39]

Remember, we as Christians are to assemble with those who worship the Lord in Spirit and Truth, they keep His commandments, and have the faith of Jesus Christ.Will you not come out of Babylon and into God’s remnant church today?

Go to the Third Angels Message Now! click here

Written by Eric W. King [December 5th 2007] Some material for this article was taken from Eric's earlier writings.

The First Angel's Message

2007-12-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

The First Angels Message of Revelation ch.14:6-10

Have you ever heard of "the three angels messages"? If you were an early Adventist Christian in America you would have heard of them. Today these important messages are being proclaimed still by the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

In this article I wish to look at the first angel's message and to help those of you who have never heard of it before to gain an understanding of it. Here is the Biblical text of the first angels message:

Rev.14: 6: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7: Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

Here we see an angel that is proclaiming the "everlasting gospel". As Christians we should be declaring this very gospel of Jesus Christ. Here we understand that these messages are messages for us Christians to give to the world.

Who is the "everlasting gospel" to be proclaimed to? ..."to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, " Then we find out that those who proclaim this are to "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment has come". Here we must understand a bit more information.

Those who proclaim the first angels message were to understand "the hour of His judgment". What judgment? And when did it begin?

The following is what early Adventist Christians believed;

William Miller's views as to the exact time of the Second Advent were based on the prophecy of Dan. 8:14: "unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." that a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year, see Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6. As the period of 2300 prophetic days, or literal years, extended far beyond the close of the Jewish dispensation, it could not refer to the sanctuary of that dispensation.

Mr. Miller held the generally received view that in the Christian age the earth is the sanctuary, and hence concluded that the cleansing of the sanctuary brought to view in Dan. 8:14 represented the purification of the earth by fire at the second coming of Christ. The point from which to reckon the 2300 days is found in Dan. 9:24-27, which is an explanation of the vision of chapter 8. It is stated that 70 weeks, or 490 years, are determined, literally, cut off, as specially pertaining to the Jews.

The only period from which the 70 weeks could be cut off is the 2300 days, that being the only period of time mentioned in the vision of chapter 8. The 70 weeks must therefore be a part of the 2300 days, and the two periods must begin together. The 70 weeks are declared by the angel to date from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. If, then, we can correctly locate this commandment, we have the starting-point for the great period of the 2300 days. The Bible furnishes us with four tests by which we may determine when the true date is found:--

1. From the time the commandment was given, 49 years were to witness the completion of the street and wall of Jerusalem. Dan. 9:25.

2. Threescore and two weeks from this time, or, in all, 69 weeks, 483 years, were to extend to Messiah the prince, or to the anointing of Christ by the Holy Spirit at his baptism, the word Messiah signifying anointed.

3. Sixty-nine and a half weeks were to extend to the crucifixion,--the cessation of sacrifice and oblation in the midst of the week. Verse 27.

4. The full period of 70 weeks was to witness the complete confirmation of the covenant with Daniel's people. At the termination of this period, the Jews having ceased to be God's chosen people, the gospel would be preached to the gentiles.

In the seventh chapter of Ezra we find the decree which we seek. It was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, B.C. 457. In Ezra 6:14 the house of the Lord at Jerusalem is said to have been built "According to the commandment [margin, decree] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia." the three kings did the one work; it was begun by Cyrus, carried forward by Darius, and completed by Artaxerxes. [For more on this decree see Eric W. King's article: The 457BC Decree]

The scripture counts this action one decree. That the later decrees were a continuation or completion of that of Cyrus, see Ezra 6:1-14. Taking B.C. 457 as the date of the commandment, every specification of the prophecy concerning the 70 weeks is fulfilled. That the reader may see the reasonableness of Mr. Miller's position on the prophetic periods, we copy the following, which was published in the Advent Herald, Boston, in March, 1850, in answer to a correspondent:--

"It is by the canon of ptolemy that the great prophetical period of the seventy weeks is fixed. This canon places the seventh year of Artaxerxes in the year B.C. 457; and the accuracy of the canon is demonstrated by the concurrent agreement of more than twenty eclipses.

The seventy weeks date from the going forth of a decree respecting the restoration of Jerusalem. There were no decrees between the seventh and twentieth years of Artaxerxes. Four hundred and ninety years, beginning with the seventh, must commence in B.C. 457, and end in A. D. 34. Commencing in the twentieth, they must commence in B.C. 444, and end in A. D. 47. As no event occurred in A. D. 47 to mark their termination, we cannot reckon from the twentieth; we must therefore look to the seventh of Artaxerxes.

This date we cannot change from B.C. 457 without first demonstrating the inaccuracy of Ptolemy's Canon. To do this, it would be necessary to show that the large number of eclipses by which its accuracy has been repeatedly demonstrated, have not been correctly computed; and such a result would unsettle every chronological date, and leave the settlement of epochs and the adjustment of Eras entirely at the mercy of every dreamer, so that chronology would be of no more value than mere guess-work.

As the seventy weeks must terminate in A. D. 34, unless the seventh of Artaxerxes is wrongly fixed, and as that cannot be changed without some evidence to that effect, we inquire, what evidence marked that termination? The time when the Apostles turned to the gentiles harmonizes with that date better than any other which has been named. And the crucifixion, in A. D. 31, in the midst of the last week, is sustained by a mass of testimony which cannot be easily invalidated."

As the 70 weeks and the 2300 days have a common starting-point, the calculation of Mr. Miller is verified at a glance by subtracting the 457 years B.C. from the 2300. Thus,

2300
457
____
1843 A. D.

But it requires 457 full years before Christ, and 1843 full years after Christ, to make the 2300. Now the decree of Artaxerxes did not go into effect at the beginning of the year 457 B.C., but in the autumn of that year; it follows that the 2300 days would not terminate in 1843, but would extend to the autumn of 1844.

[Above sent to "The Adventist Way of Life" from fellow Christian researcher.]

So in the autumn of 1844 the early "adventist" Christians had understood that "the sanctuary had been cleansed". So in the autumn of 1844 something happened. Dan. 8:14: "unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." But what does this mean?

One must understand what Adventist Christians refer to as the "Sanctuary Message" to have a full appreciation of this first angel's message. Again, this first angel proclaims:

"Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." [Rev.14:6]

Two specific teachings are here proclaimed and only the Seventh Day Adventist Church truly and thus biblically proclaims them! We notice that we are to "worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of the waters." The only commandment that proclaims the God of creation is the 4th commandment, the Sabbath Commandment!

So both the "hour of His judgment" and the "4th Commandment" are a part of this first angel's message. Regarding the 2300 day prophecy and judgement;

"There is a prophetic period which extends to the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the investigative judgment. "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" Daniel 8:14. This 2,300 days or actually prophetic years, ended in 1844.

The 70 weeks or 490 years prophecy, and the 2300 days or years prophecy, both began in 457 BC with Artexerxes decree to rebuild Jerusalem. Our Lord based His preaching of the gospel on the fulfillment of the first part of the 2,300 days, or years (Mark 1:14,15), a prophecy which determined the time of the first advent.

The whole period extends to the time of the judgment, just preceding the second advent, and at its expiration a special gospel message is sent to all the world, proclaiming the judgment hour at hand and calling upon all to worship the Creator.

The facts of history answer to this interpretation of the prophecy, for at this very time, 1844, just such a message was being proclaimed in various parts of the world. This was the beginning of the great second advent message which is now being proclaimed throughout the world."

(From Bible Readings For The Home, pp. 245-259.)

So as Christian Adventist's who understand these prophecies we understand that when Jesus continued His work of atonement He began the "judgment for the dead" and "for the Living", the "books were open" when He entered the Holy of Holies in heaven. The blood atonement was complete at the Cross, the applying of that blood continues through the sanctuary service in Heaven. The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. Many Adventist Christians did not understand that God has a "sanctuary in heaven" so they understood that the termination of the 2300 day prophecy would mean the "end of the world".

The doctrine of the investigative judgement is an integral part of the sanctuary doctrine, and relates especially to the fulfilment in antitype of the ancient Day of Atonement service.

So we understand that Jesus Christ is right now in the Holiest of all places in the "sanctuary above" where-in is the Ark of the Covenant where John the apostle saw the "tables of stone", the Ten Commandments. And not one of these Divine Laws has been changed!

John defines it rather as the tabernacle of the Testimony, corresponding to the tent where Moses and the people of Israel experienced the glory of the Lord in the desert after the Exodus (Ex 38:21; 40:34; compare Acts 7:44). It was called the tent of "testimony," or "covenant," because it contained the ark of the covenant. What John sees in vision is the ark in the sanctuary (Revelation 11:19).

While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God's people upon earth.

We are to proclaim this first angel's message in order that we may have a part in bringing the message of Jesus Christ to the world. The Seventh Day Adventist Church is proclaiming this very message! Will you not respond and become "born again"?

Go to the Second Angels Message Now! Click here

Written by Eric W. King [December 4th, 2007]

"The Adventist Way of Life" ministry website offers a page regarding the "2300 day" prophecy which posts the writings of early Adventist, Uriah Smith. You may visit this page by clicking here.