An Attempt to Destroy SOP Evidence

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For a time, SDA church leaders let the copyright and publication of Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. IV, lapse. This was the 1884 edition of The Great Controversy. An Adventist medical doctor (may have been Dr. Rue) began printing the book because he thought it was so important. The church took the doctor to court and lost the case. The judge ruled that prophetic writings cannot be copyrighted. So the SDA church began to publish the book again.

The 1884 Edition of The Great Controversy Was Primarily for SDA’s

The following statement is taken from this link: http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/4sop-supp.html

Volume 4, “The Great Controversy”

“Some chapters intended for Volume 4 were written; but not until the autumn of 1882, one year after the death of James White, was the work of preparing this volume for the press undertaken in earnest. The manuscript was completed and the book was published in 1884.

It had been revealed to Ellen White that she should present an outline of the controversy between Christ and Satan, as it developed in the first centuries of the Christian Era and in the great Reformation of the sixteenth century, in such a way as to prepare the mind of the reader to understand clearly the controversy as it is going on in our day. We can now see that the divine instruction regarding the plan of the book has made it of untold value to the church and the general public.

However, at the time of writing, Mrs. White regarded this volume, like all her former writings, as primarily a message to the church and in it she used some matter and many phrases and expressions better understood by Seventh-day Adventists than by the general public.

We would consider this the first edition of the book so well known today as The Great Controversy.” ELLEN G. WHITE’S PORTRAYAL OF THE GREAT CONTROVERSY STORY, By Arthur L. White, Former Secretary of the Ellen G. White Estate.

Why the Copyright to the 1884 Edition of The Great Controversy was Permitted to Lapse

It is not general knowledge to the laity that the copyright was permitted to lapse, nor is the reason for that lapse known. Some believe that the following statement might have had a lot to do with being the reason the book was permitted to go out of print. And recall the above statement by Arthur White, that the 1884 edition of The Great Controversy, which was and still is entitled Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. IV, was written primarily as a message to the Seventh-day Adventist church.

On page 199, 200 of that book, we find the following scathing statement by Ellen White, concerning the final fate of the SDA church:

"Jesus sends HIS PEOPLE a message of warning to prepare them for his coming. To the prophet John was made known the closing work in the great plan of man's redemption. He beheld an angel flying '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, 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 [Rev. 14:6, 7.].

The angel represented in prophecy as delivering this message,  symbolizes a class of faithful men, who, obedient to the promptings of God's Spirit and the teachings of his word, proclaim this warning to the inhabitants of earth. This message was not to be committed to the religious leaders of the people. They had failed to preserve their connection with God, and had REFUSED THE LIGHT FROM HEAVEN therefore they WERE NOT of the number described by the apostle Paul: 'But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day we are not of the night nor of darkness' [1 Thess. 5:4, 5]. 

The watchmen upon the walls of Zion should be the first to catch the tidings of the Saviour's advent, the first to lift their voices to proclaim him near, the first to warn the people to prepare for his coming. But they were at ease, dreaming of peace and safety, while the people were asleep in their sins. Jesus saw HIS CHURCH, like the barren fig-tree, covered with pretentious leaves, yet destitute of precious fruit. There was a boastful observance of the forms of religion, while the spirit of true humility, penitence and faith--which alone could render the service acceptable to God--was lacking. Instead of the graces of the Spirit, there were manifested pride, formalism, vainglory, selfishness, oppression. A BACKSLIDING CHURCH closed their eyes to the signs of the times. God did nor forsake them, or suffer his faithfulness to fail but they departed from him, and SEPARATED THEMSELVES from his love. As they REFUSED TO COMPLY WITH THE CONDITIONS, his promises were NOT FULFILLED to them."  E.G. White, The Spirit of Prophecy,  vol. 4, pp. 199-200 [The 1884 edition of The Great Controversy, 199, 200].

 

Carefully note the following references in the above statement which refer directly to the SDA church:

 

·       HIS PEOPLE

·       …the closing work in the great plan of man's redemption. He beheld an angel flying 'in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, (This is the commission given to SDA’s only).

·       The angel represented in prophecy as delivering this message,  symbolizes a class of faithful men, who, obedient to the promptings of God's Spirit and the teachings of his word, proclaim this warning to the inhabitants of earth. This message was not to be committed to the religious leaders of the people. They had failed to preserve their connection with God, and had REFUSED THE LIGHE FROM HEAVEN… [This warning message was not to be committed to SDA leaders because they had refused light from heaven].

·       The watchmen upon the walls of Zion should be the first to catch the tidings of the Saviour's advent, the first to lift their voices to proclaim him near, the first to warn the people to prepare for his coming. But they were at ease, dreaming of peace and safety, while the people were asleep in their sins.

·       Zion is the bride of Christ church (Isaiah 62:1-5). Zion is the church that is supposed to be married to Christ. This is not referring to Babylon!

·       Jesus saw HIS CHURCH, like the barren fig-tree, covered with pretentious leaves, yet destitute of precious fruit.

·       A BACKSLIDING CHURCH closed their eyes to the signs of the times. God did nor forsake them, or suffer his faithfulness to fail but they departed from him, and SEPARATED THEMSELVES from his love. As they REFUSED TO COMPLY WITH THE CONDITIONS, his promises were NOT FULFILLED to them." 

 

Clearly, by the above statement, the SDA church militant falls. There can be no doubt about it. That church refuses to comply with God’s conditions, so God’s promises will not be fulfilled to that church.

 

Keeping this 1884 statement in mind, let’s consider another 1893 statement which SDA leaders use to mislead the laity:

 

The Church Not to Be Broken Up

 

“Again I say, The Lord hath not spoken by any messenger who calls the church that keeps the commandments of God, Babylon. True, there are tares with the wheat; but Christ said He would send His angels to first gather the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into the garner. I know that the Lord loves His church. It is not to be disorganized or broken up into independent atoms. There is not the least consistency in this; there is not the least evidence that such a thing will be. Those who shall heed this false message and try to leaven others will be deceived and prepared to receive advanced delusions, and they will come to nought.” {2SM 68.3}

 

In 1884, Ellen White prophesied the final fate of the SDA church; that it would fall because it would refuse God’s conditions to the church. In 1893, when two men, Caldwell and Stanton called the church Babylon, Ellen White said there was not the least evidence that the church would fail. Did she directly contradict herself. Some would say yes. I say no. Why do I say no?

 

Ellen White said that we are to take every word and let it have its bearing on the weight of all evidence interpreting so that nothing contradicts. In the above statement, Ellen White makes some very qualifying statements. It is because of those statements that I don’t believe Ellen White contradicted herself. Here are those important qualifying parts:

 

·       the church that keeps the commandments of God, [Keeping the commandments of God is one of the conditions of Zion, the true church, that is married, Isaiah 62:1-5]. Ellen White said the SDA church in 1844 would fail to do this.] So she implies that some SDA church will not fall, a remnant of the seed; a remnant of the remnant if you will, and that is Bible truth, to wit:

·       31 “And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:

·       32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.” Isaiah 37:31, 32.

·       In the prefigure of ancient Israel’s apostasy [See the word prefigure in GC, p. 25], Isaiah 37:31, 32 was fulfilled to the letter. From A.D. 34 to A.D. 66, the disciples gathered out a faithful remnant from the apostate Jewish church, into home churches.

·       Did God love His first chosen people, the Jews? Yes!

·       Was the apostate Jewish church broken up into atoms? Did it cease to exist? No!

·       Did a faction come out of that apostate Jewish church to be saved as the true commandment-keeping church? Yes, per Isaiah 37:31, 32.

·       Will the above scenario be fulfilled to the letter again? Yes! Why? Because Ellen White says that the Ezekiel 9 destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, was a prefigure (type) of the terrors of the last great day. She said that Ezekiel 9 will BEGIN AT HIS SANCTUARY, HIS CHURCH [5T 211], and so does God in Ezekiel chapter 9.

·       If the SDA church Ellen White described as fallen in 1884, was broken up and ceased to exist, how would Ezekiel 9 begin at its Sanctuaries?

·       The new movement, new organization prophesied by Ellen White, has removed God, just as apostate Israel removed God. How did both remove God? By refusing His conditions.

·       In Isaiah 58:1, God commands to sigh and cry aloud to show His people their sins. That is one of His conditions.

·       Ellen White said that SDA dumb-dog watchmen would NEVER AGAIN, show the House of Jacob its sins. That is a direct violation of God’s conditions.

 

·       Begin at My Sanctuary -- "Here we see that the church--the Lord's sanctuary--was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God's power as in former days. Times have changed. These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. Thus 'Peace and safety" is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God's people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together." E. G. White, Testimonies, Vol. 5, 211.

 

·       The chapter the above quote is taken from begins on page 207, quoting Ezekiel 9. Ezekiel 9 would not begin at His church, His Sanctuary, if that church went through to the kingdom! That is indisputable!

·       The leaders refuse the condition of showing God’s people their sins. Isa. 58:1.

·       Ellen White indicts the leaders as being ring-leaders in the apostasy. So does God in Isaiah 9:16.

·       The leaders betray their sacred trust of showing the people their sins and putting those who persist in open sin out of the church.

·       The leaders betray their sacred trust of giving the three angel’s messages. Some conference presidents have told their ministers they won’t be retained if they continue to preach the three angel’s messages against the Catholics. Proof? Oh yes: http://vimeo.com/12314409

·       The rest of the leadership and the laity are corporately responsible for retaining the leaders who instruct not to give the three angel’s messages!

·       "The plain straight testimony must live in the church, or the curse of God will rest upon His people as surely as it did upon ancient Israel because of their sins. God holds His people, as a body [corporately], responsible for the sins existing in individuals among them." Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 269. 

·       "The names of those who sin and refuse to repent should not be retained on the church books, lest the saints be held accountable for their evil deeds. Those who pursue a course of transgression should be visited and labored with, and if they then refuse to repent, they should be separated from church fellowship, in accordance with the rules laid down in the Word of God." {11MR 208.3}

·       The dumb-dog leaders (Isaiah 56:10-12) feel the just vengeance of God for refusing God’s conditions, but so do the men, maidens and little children who follow those dumb-dog leaders.

·       16 “For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.” Isaiah 9:16. Do you believe God?

If you don’t agree with my interpretation of Ellen White’s statements, then you make her directly contradict herself in her 1844, versus 1893 statements. And worse yet, you contradict God’s Word in Isaiah 37:31, 32 and Jeremiah 11:9-15. The church conspired to associate, take counsel/council, and confederate with Babylon’s World Council of Churches and its subsidiary National Councils of Churches as well as its more localized Ministerial Associations, to which the SDA church pays large sums in annual dues all over the world. Such annual dues payments finance the errors of Babylon.

 

The Prefigure and Counterpart Factors

 

Ellen White’s Great Controversy, p. 25 “prefigure” statement, is further proven by her counterpart statement below. The only qualifying counterpart to the apostasy of the Jews, God’s first chosen people, is the SDA church. Both claimed to be “chosen,” and keepers of God’s commandments, but both failed.

 

COUNTERPART: "The Lord commanded one of his ancient servants, 'Pray not thou for this people [Jer. 7:16 and 11:9-15], neither lift up cry nor prayer for them neither make intercession to me for I will not hear thee.' The prophet thus describes the sins which had called forth this fearful denunciation: 'The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means and my people love to have it so and what will ye do in the end thereof?' 'From the least of them even unto the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.' The apostles declare that this state of things will find its COUNTERPART in the last days. Many have a form of godliness, but in their daily life deny the power thereof. They have ceased to be convicted of their sins or alarmed at their state. They say in their hearts, 'The church is flourishing. Peace and spiritual prosperity are within her borders.' The words of the prophet may well apply to these self-deceivers, 'They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them." E. G. White, Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald,  11-07-82.

 

Some say the church is not in apostasy, but there is only apostasy in the church. That is a lie. The leaders brought antichrist apostate doctrines into the church. Our very salvation is conditional to sighing and crying for all the abominations IN THE CHURCH:

 

“Mark this point with care; those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by the man in linen, are those "that sigh and cry for all the abominations that are done" in the church. Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in an agony, even sighing and crying.” {RH, June 8, 1886 par. 2}

 

However, whether or not one believe the church is in apostasy or apostasy is in the church, the church is responsible for any apostasy of or in the church.

 

“Christ was a protestant. He protested against the formal worship of the Jewish nation, who rejected the counsel of God against themselves. He told them that they taught for doctrines the commandments of men, and that they were pretenders and hypocrites. Like whited sepulchers they were beautiful without, but within full of impurity and corruption. The Reformers date back to Christ and the apostles. They came out and separated themselves from a religion of forms and ceremonies. Luther and his followers did not invent the reformed religion. They simply accepted it as presented by Christ and the apostles. The Bible is presented to us as a sufficient guide; but the pope and his workers remove it from the people as if it were a curse, because it exposes their pretensions and rebukes their idolatry.  {RH, June 1, 1886 par. 14}

 

When a corporate church engages apostasy and will not put it away and out of the camp, the faithful must leave or be corporately responsible. This is the reason Christ and His disciples left. This is why Paul left. This is why Protestants left Rome. This is why Adventists left the other churches in 1844, when they would not tolerate light.

 

Jesus left Christ left

 

 "Christ was a protestant...The Reformers date back to Christ and the apostles. They came out and separated themselves from a religion of forms and ceremonies. Luther and his followers did not invent the reformed religion. They simply accepted it as presented by Christ and the apostles." E.G. White, Review and Herald, vol. 2, 48, col. 2.

         

Paul left

 

“And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.  9But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.” Acts 19:8, 9.

 

“Fearing that the faith of the believers would be endangered by continued association with these opposers of the truth, Paul separated from them, and gathered the disciples into a distinct body.” E.G. White, Acts of the Apostles, p. 285, 286.

 

"The recreant priests added licentiousness to the dark catalogue of their crimes yet they still polluted by their presence the tabernacle of the Lord, and, laden with sin, dared to come into the presence of a holy God. As the men of Israel witnessed the corrupt course of the priests, they thought it safer for their families not to come up to the appointed place of worship. Many went from Shiloh with their peace disturbed, their indignation aroused, until they at last determined to offer their sacrifices themselves, concluding that this would be fully as acceptable to God, as to sanction in any manner the abominations practiced in the Sanctuary." E.G. White, The Signs of the Times, vol. 1, p. 264, col. 3, December 1, 1881. 

 

 "The Sanhedrin had rejected Christ's message and was bent upon His death therefore Jesus departed from Jerusalem, from the priests, the temple, the religious leaders, the people who had been instructed in the law, and turned to another class to proclaim His message, and to gather out those who should carry the gospel to all nations.

As the light and life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation. Again and again the history of Christ's withdrawal from Judea has been repeated. When the Reformers preached the word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light, and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth. In our day few of the professed followers of the Reformers are actuated by their spirit. Few are listening for the voice of God, and ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in order to declare the plain teaching of the word of God. And many times those who are seeking for light are by the same teaching obliged to leave the church of their fathers, that they may render obedience." E.G. White, Desire of Ages, 232. 

 

"Even though you may not be able to speak a word to those who are working on wrong principles, leave them. Your withdrawal and silence may do more than words. Nehemiah refused to associate with those who were untrue to principle, and he would not permit his workmen to associate with them. The love and fear of God were his safeguard-Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone. Thus as did Moses, you will endure the seeing of Him who is invisible. But a cowardly and silent reserve before evil associates, while you listen to their devices makes you one with them. Come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Review & Herald Vol. 4, p. 42.

 

—rwb