Book Review of the Book:

The Church That Does Not Fall

Lee Roy Holmes

Part I

“The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat.” (Selected Messages, bk. 2, p. 380)

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“Lee Roy Holmes has served the Seventh-day Adventist church as an academy dean of boys, Bible teacher, and principal; and as a pastor in Oregon and Washington. He and his wife Marjorie (now deceased) have three sons and nine grandchildren. In addition to ministering to others in the church and community, Lee Roy enjoys hiking, gardening, bird watching and building. He is currently involved in the development of a 55 acre site in NE Washington as a Seventh-day Adventist retreat and camp-meeting center.” Caption on the back cover of Pastor Holms book that we are reviewing.

Pastor Holmes couldn’t get past the first page of the introduction to his book without stating that famous Ellen G. White statement that has been “used” since her death to fuel the totally errant concept that the SDA church militant will be the Zion from which and by which the

SDA CHURCH APPEARS TO FALL OMITTED TEXT

Neil C. Livingston

The following is another example why one should not trust the Ellen G. White Estate, or any other committee of man, to interpret the messages of God - either from the Spirit of Prophecy or the Holy Scriptures. The following is an Ellen G. White letter written to Elders Butler and Haskell. The three paragraphs that have been omitted by the White Estate is quoted between the stars *** and are listed as paragraphs 4, 5, and 6.

This letter continues through page 383. The statement that "The church may appear as about to fall. . . ." appears on page 380. Read the whole letter in context including the above omission by the Ellen G. White Estate.

(1) Basil, Switzerland, December 8, 1886. Dear Brethren (G. I.) Butler and (S. N.) Haskell: For weeks I have not been able to sleep after half past three o'clock. My mind is deeply exercised in regard to our condition as a people. We ought to be far in advance of any other people on the earth because we have greater light and greater knowledge of the truth, which lays us under increased accountability to advance that light and not only to profess to believe the truth but to practice it. When we do practice the truth we are then following Jesus, who is the light of the world; and if we as a people are not constantly elevating, becoming more and more spiritual minded, we are becoming like the Pharisees-self-righteous - while we do not the will of God.

(2) We must have a greater nearness to God. Much less of self and much more of Jesus Christ and His grace must be brought into our everyday life. We are living in an important period of this world's history. The end of all things is at hand; the sands of time are fast running out; soon in heaven it will be said: "It is done" (Rev. 21:6). "He that is holy, let him be holy still," "he which is filthy, let him be filthy still" (Rev. 22:11).

(3) Let our testimonies be sharpened up, let us have a firmer hold on God. I cannot refrain from prayer at one, two, and three o'clock in the morning for the Lord at work upon the hearts of the people. I think of all heaven being interested in the work that is going on upon the earth. Ministering angels are waiting about the throne to instantly obey the mandate of Jesus Christ to answer every prayer offered in earnest, living faith. I think of how many who profess the truth are keeping it apart from their lives. They do not bring in sanctifying, refining, spiritualizing power into their hearts. . . .

(4) The omission begins at this point in the letter and is quoted in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6, between the stars ***.

*** I think of His great sorrow as He wept over Jerusalem, exclaiming, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth her brood under her wings, and ye would not!" God forbid that these words shall apply to those who have had great light and blessings. In the rejecting of Jerusalem, it was because great privileges were abused which brought the denunciation upon all who lightly regarded the great opportunities and precious light that were entrusted to their keeping. Privileges do not commend us to God, but they commend God to us. No people are saved because they have great light and special advantages, for these high and heavenly favors only increase their responsibility.

(5) The more and increased light God has given make the receiver more responsible. It does not place the receiver in any safer position unless the privileges are wisely improved, prized, and used to advance God's glory. Christ said, "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaidal for if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."

(6) When Jerusalem was divorced from God, it was because of her sins. She fell from an exalted height that Tyre and Sidon had never reached. And when an angel falls he becomes a fiend. The depths of our ruin is measured by the exalted light to which God has raised us in His great goodness and unspeakable mercy. Oh, what privileges are granted to us as a people! And if God spared not His people that He loved because they refused to walk in the light, how can He spare the people whom He has blessed with the light of Heaven in having opened to them the most exalted truth ever entrusted to mortal man to give to the world? ***

This is the end of the omitted portion. In Selected Messages, Book 2, page 377, the letter continues from the above . . . . marks.

(7) We are far from being the people God would have us to be, because we do not elevate the soul and refine the character in harmony with the wonderful unfolding of God's truth and His purposes. . . .Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 2 (pages 376-383).

The following comments are by Elder William Grotheer, Adventist Laymen's Foundation

“Nowhere in the Bible is it taught that once saved, always saved. Neither is it taught, once called, always called. If ever a people were called of God, the children of Israel were. For centuries, God bore long with the rebellion and apostasy of His chosen people. Finally after sending prophets and wise men, He sent His only begotten Son. This Son came unto His "own things" - so close was the attachment perceived - but His "own people" (John 1:11, Greek) by their deliberate decision and choice received Him not. To that people, Jesus had to finally say - "Your house is left unto you desolate." (Matt. 23:38). The temple was the centerpiece of the "visible organization" of the Jewish Church. The Lord of glory could not save the temple, nor turn the Jewish Church around.

The Jews worshiped the temple and were filled with greater indignation at anything spoken against that building than if it had been spoken against God. Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 198.

In the prophetic picture of Laodicea, Jesus is ever pictured as standing outside the door, knocking. He never gains entrance. Only to the individual (tis, Greek: "anyone") who opens the door does Jesus come in to "sup with him." (Rev. 3:20). Corporate Laodicea never opens the door.”

Note by Ron: Indeed, the original, literal, corporate Laodicea never heeded the Laodicean message as a corporate church body. Brother Grotheer is correct, for Ellen White clearly stated:

"We are not saved as a sect; no denominational name [Ship] has any virtue to bring us into favor with God. We are saved individually as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ." E.G. White, Review and Herald, vol. 2, p. 464.

On the other hand, most SDA’s contradict Ellen White’s clear statement by saying that we must be a member of the Laodicean (7^th church) named the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, in order to be saved. Notice the following statement by Jack Sequeira:

SDA Pastor Jack Sequeira: "Christ will never take us to heaven as individuals, but only as members of His church." Jack Sequeira, Beyond Belief, p. 115, published by Pacific Press, a Seventh-day Adventist publishing house. End note.

“Ellen G. White in the letter to Elders Butler and Haskell, dated December 8, 1886, wrote very pointedly concerning the relationship between the Jewish Church of Christ's day, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is from this letter that the oft-used quotation is to be found - "The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out - the chaff separated from the precious wheat." But the context in which this statement is made in the letter is ignored by the omission by the trustees of the Ellen G. White Estate. The letter is talking about the Church when "Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme." It is stated in the setting when "the decree of national councils" and "the national laws" shall seek to enforce the observance of the false Sabbath. (ibid. p. 380). That time is not now. "When it does come, we will then be able better "to measure the strength of Israel." (See, Watchman, what of the night?, XXIV, December, 1991, pages 1, 2).

The Church Triumphant Versus the Church Triumphant

Obviously, the church that does not fall is the church triumphant. SDA leaders and laity teach that the chaff will be shaken out of the church militant to leave it the church triumphant. That is totally false and I will prove that irrefutably in this document.

The SDA church militant will go along with Babylon. We have clear evidence of that fact. The church militant will NEVER AGAIN show the House of Jacob its sins in order to shake them out of that “church.”

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 [leaders], 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.

We need to consider every word of the above statement very carefully and prayerfully:

· The chapter the above statement is from begins on page 207, quoting Ezekiel 9.

· Ezekiel 9 begins at the Lord’s sanctuary, Jerusalem, Ezekiel 9:6. Ellen White said that Ezekiel 9 will be literally fulfilled.

· The last literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 was A.D. 70. Ellen White called that fulfillment a prefigure, p. 25, Great Controversy. She says that prefigure (type) was twofold: (1) It foretold the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in A.D. 70. (2) It prefigured the terrors of the last great day wherein she said Ezekiel 9 will be literally fulfilled.

· She says that Ezekiel 9 BEGINS at His Sanctuary, Jerusalem. God says the same thing in Ezekiel 9:6, to wit: “Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.”

· Jerusalem is God’s Sanctuary, not the fallen Babylonian churches. Ellen White says that the fallen churches are led by Satan as a body, Early Writings, p. 273, so they certainly are not Jerusalem. And most SDA’s are very adamant that the SDA church militant is not Babylon, and they are correct. God says that fallen Jerusalem is worse than Babylon because she is His chosen people to whom was given great light, but violated it anyway. Whereas much of Babylon has not yet heard of the light SDA’s possess. God says that Jerusalem is worse than the nations around her, Ezekiel 5, which is just another take on Ezekiel 9 and the reasons Ezekiel 9 literally begins at His Sanctuary, fallen Jerusalem.

· The Great Controversy, pp. 653-656 fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 applies specifically to Babylon, for that is specified by these words on page 653: “Such are the judgments that fall upon Babylon in the day of the visitation of God’s wrath. She (BABYLON) has filled up the measure of her iniquity; her time has come; she is ripe for destruction.”

· Why does Ezekiel 9 begin at His Sanctuary, Jerusalem? Why is Jerusalem first to feel the wrath of God in the day of His wrath? Some of the reasons are given in the quote we are analyzing. (1) They betrayed their sacred trust, the three angel’s messages, violating them by ecumenical liaison with the other fallen churches. The second angel’s message and the Midnight Cry that gave power to that message, called us out from fallen Babylon and we were not to associate, take counsel, gird with their councils, and/or confederate with them in any way. Isaiah 8:9-12. The Jews of Jeremiah’s day, Jer. 11:9-15, conspired/confederated with God’s enemies and thus committed unpardonable sin for that generation. How do we know that? Because God told Jeremiah not to even pray for them and that if he did, God would not hear his prayers. (2) The ancient men (leaders) take the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God's power as in former days. (3) The leaders say 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. (4) . 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. No showing of sins equals no repentance of sin. No repentance for sin equals no Holy Spirit rain, no power to overcome sin. No power to overcome sin equals abominable, antichrist, unpardonable sin omega apostasies. And that is why Ezekiel 9 literally begins at His Sanctuary, fallen Jerusalem.

· 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." The leaders are likened unto dumb dogs that will not bark to show God’s people their sins. They thus become ring leaders in the apostasy because of their manifest unbelief, to wit: “Those who have been regarded as worthy and righteous prove to be ring-leaders in apostasy...” (Ellen G. White, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 212). Who do we generally regard as worthy and righteous? The leaders, of course! And the sheeple seldom rise any higher than their shepherds!

· 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." That is exactly what occurred at the last literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 in A.D. 70.

· The dumb dog leaders, like Pastor Lee Roy Holmes, don’t understand what I am showing you. God says three times that ALL of them don’t understand and you had better believe God or you will be among the men, maidens and little children who all perish together.

¹⁰His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

¹¹Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.

¹²Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant. Isaiah 56:10-12.

· That is why ALL SDA dumb-dog “watchmen” cannot understand the meaning of Ellen White’s statement concerning the church that appears as about to fall but does not.

· Obviously, if Ezekiel 9 begins at His Sanctuary, Jerusalem, the SDA new movement “once” church, DOES FALL.

Here it is Direct From the Spirit of Prophecy and it is Way Too Clear to Mistake!

"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].

· The above statement is to a people who were commissioned with the Everlasting Gospel, the three angel’s messages of Revelation 14.

· It indicts THE WATCHMEN UPON THE WALLS OF ZION, and that does not mean the watchmen upon the walls of BABYLON!

· Ellen White is speaking of what was supposed to be ZION, the faithful remnant church, the bride of Christ, the church triumphant, that is married. Isaiah 62:1-5.

Would you like to know what the dumb-dog watchmen did to the book (the 1884 Great Controversy called Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4)? They let it lapse from copyright and quit printing it. I wonder why? And the above statement is butchered to near oblivion in the 1911 edition of The Great Controversy, to the point that it does not speak to Seventh-day Adventists SPECIFICALLY, as it does in the 1844 edition.

So an SDA doctor began to publish the book on his own cognizance. The General Conference dumb-dog watchmen took him to court and the doctor won. So the General Conference began to publish it again. That is how the dumb-dog “watchmen” operate. That is why God says:

^“For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.” Isaiah 9:16.

That is why God says:

"In the very courts of the temple [beginning at His sanctuary], scenes will be enacted that few realize. God's people will be proved and tested, that He may discern 'between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.' Vengeance will be executed against those who sit in the gate, deciding what the people should have and what they should not have. These take away the key of knowledge. They refuse to enter in themselves, and those who would enter in they hinder. These bear not the seal of the living God. All who now occupy responsible positions should be solemnly and terribly afraid lest in this time they shall be found as unfaithful stewards." E.G. White, Manuscript 15, 1886, Paulson Collection, p. 55.

· In the above statement Ellen White is making a direct reference to the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 which begins at His Sanctuary.

· Few Adventists realize that God’s Ezekiel 9 vengeance BEGINS AT HIS JERUSALEM SANCTUARY, and not Babylon’s sanctuaries.

· A few decades ago the dumb-dog leaders sat in the gate trying to decide what we the people should have by way of the above 1884 Great Controversy statement! They wanted to banish that statement which clearly prophesy’s the end result [THE FALL] of the professing SDA church militant.

· Ellen White is clearly indicting all who occupy responsible positions saying they should be terribly afraid lest they be found amongst the unfaithful to be the receptors of God’s vengeance that will be enacted in the very courts of the Temple (SDA Sanctuaries around the world).

· Do SDA leaders fear those words? No they don’t! What do they believe? What do they think? What is in their mind? “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.”

· If Lee Roy Holmes refuses to repent of his total misrepresentation of Ellen White’s “church about to fall” statement, he will be a lost man, as will be all who read and believe his dumb-dog book.

The Real SDA Church That Appears as About to Fall but Does Not

In the introduction to Pastor Holmes book, he states:

“I believe one of the most neglected subjects in the Adventist doctrinal constellation is the doctrine of the church. If the members of most congregations were given a choice of topics for study and discussion, the church might come in close to last. But, when one remembers that the church is one of just two combatants in earth’s final war, to have wrong ideas about the church—its identity and role in the coming apocalypse—could be disastrous.” The Church That Does Not Fall, Introduction.

If Elder Holmes had half a clue as to how wide he misses the mark with his wrong ideas about the identity of Zion, the church triumphant, versus the church militant that does fall, he would tremble and be solemnly and terribly afraid over the consequences of what he teaches in his book. It will be shown that Elder Holmes has not a clue as to the true identity of Zion (Sion) and who is shaken from whom. The very first thing God showed me when I accepted His call to give a warning message to His people, is the true identity of the players in the Bible and especially the identity of Zion, the bride of Christ.

The Real Church Triumphant and When it Appears as About to Fall

In the following statement, Ellen White parallels the experience of the final remnant, the 144,000, the church triumphant, the bride of Christ, with the experience of Jacob. The only church that can be paralleled with Jacob, is the church triumphant, for that is the only SDA church that survives to the great time of trouble and THEN appears as about to fall BUT THEN DOES NOT FALL.

“As the Sabbath has become the special point of controversy throughout Christendom, and religious and secular authorities have combined to enforce the observance of the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration. It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a law of the state ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. The same argument eighteen hundred years ago was brought against Christ by the "rulers of the people." "It is expedient for us," said the wily Caiaphas, "that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." John 11:50. This argument will appear conclusive; and a decree will finally be issued against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death. Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in the New will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts. {GC 615.2}

The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress described by the prophet as the time of Jacob's trouble. "Thus saith the Lord: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. . . . All faces are turned into paleness. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." Jeremiah 30:5-7. {GC 616.1}

Jacob's night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of Esau (Genesis 32:24-30), represents the experience of God's people in the time of trouble. Because of the deception practiced to secure his father's blessing, intended for Esau, Jacob had fled for his life, alarmed by his brother's deadly threats. After remaining for many years an exile, he had set out, at God's command, to return with his wives and children, his flocks and herds, to his native country. On reaching the borders of the land, he was filled with terror by the tidings of Esau's approach at the head of a band of warriors, doubtless bent upon revenge. Jacob's company, unarmed and defenseless, seemed about to fall helpless victims of violence and slaughter. And to the burden of anxiety and fear was added the crushing weight of self-reproach, for it was his own sin that had brought this danger. His only hope was in the mercy of God; his only defense must be prayer. Yet he leaves nothing undone on his own part to atone for the wrong to his brother and to avert the threatened danger. So should the followers of Christ, as they approach the time of trouble, make every exertion to place themselves in a proper light before the people, to disarm prejudice, and to avert the danger which threatens liberty of conscience.” {GC 616.2}

It is at the time of the death decree that that the church triumphant appears as about to fall, just as Jacob and company, unarmed and defenceless, seemed as about to fall helpless victims of violence and slaughter to Esau’s band of warriors. That is the true context of the church triumphant that appears as about to fall but does not, and exactly why it appears as about to fall. That runs in contradistinction to the apostate new movement once church militant that does fall in a literal manifestation of Ezekiel 9, beginning at His Sanctuary.

When Will the Once SDA Church Militant Fall?

Ezekiel 5 and Matthew 22:1-10.

Elder Lee Roy Holmes Foolish-virgin Premises

The following statement by Elder Holmes, is a very transparent revelation of his neophyte lack of prowess to deal with such an important issue:

“When one factors in the frailties of human leadership, with a bit of politicking and posturing for position, it is only natural that some would find it easy to ignore the church, belittle it, or leave it.” The Church That Does Not Fall, p. 1.

Evidently, the only issues that exist in the church that would be a factor consideration as to why anyone would leave the church would be:

· Frailties of human leadership.

· Politicking and posturing for position.

Those reasons would be very foolish reasons for ignoring, belittling or leaving the church! Evidently Elder Holmes is so bereft of understanding per Isaiah 56:10-12, that he is not aware of the grave, antichrist apostasy that has entered the church for decades now. Talk about a sleeping virgin! Could it get any worse?!

Then Holmes says:

“But what if the church really is God’s idea? What if it is indeed something born out of the divine mind, something as sacred as the tabernacle and temple that enshrined the Shekinah glory? What if it is in truth the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), the church of the living God (Acts 20:28)? What if Jesus really is the Great Church Builder (Matthew 16:18)? The difference that makes is profound. If God created the church, its study puts us on holy ground. We must remove our shoes and carefully consider what He had in mind.” Ibid.

Note: Ellen White said:

"Those who think that the church militant is the church triumphant make a great mistake." E.G. White, The Upward Look, 152.

· Elder Holmes is making the great mistake of viewing the church militant (wheat and tare co-ed church) as the church triumphant.

· A new movement that has removed God (1SM 205) via the removal of pillar, landmark doctrines, replacing them with antichrist doctrines, hardly qualifies as being something as sacred as the tabernacle and temple that enshrined the Shekinah glory! That is the understatement of the millennium! But the great problem is that “dumb-dog” watchmen who are supposed to man the walls of Zion, cannot understand, so they don’t even discern the apostasy. That is evinced by the reasons Holmes gives for some leaving the church! That is all he can envision; all he can understand if you believe God in Isaiah 56:10-12, and Ellen White’s counsel that all the ancient prophets wrote more for us than the Jews, and that their prophesyings are in force for us. I should show you that statement for it is so important and it updates our Bible to NOW:

· "The Bible Prophets Wrote for Our Time.--Never are we absent from the mind of God. God is our joy and our salvation. Each of the ancient prophets spoke less for their own time than for ours, so that their prophesying is in force for us. 'Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come' (1 Cor. 10:11). 'Not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven which things the angels desire to look into' (1 Peter 1:12).'" E.G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 338.

· Further consider Holmes’ words: “What if it is in truth the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), the church of the living God (Acts 20:28)? What if Jesus really is the Great Church Builder (Matthew 16:18)? The difference that makes is profound. If God created the church, its study puts us on holy ground. We must remove our shoes and carefully consider what He had in mind.”

· The body of Christ is His bride, the 144,000, for it is they who follow the Lamb wheresoever He goes. That is the church triumphant, the blameless church with no guile, Rev. 14:1-4. So it is a very faulty premise to apply such words to the church militant. Such a description applies only to the members of the church militant who prove faithful, AND NOT EVEN ALL OF THEM.

The Church Triumphant.—“The work is soon to close. The members of the church militant who have proved faithful will become the church triumphant.”-- Letter 32, 1892. {Ev 707.1}

One of the most deceptive cherished errors of Adventism is that the time of trouble will shake out all the chaff from the church militant to leave it as the church triumphant. That could not be further from the truth. The above statement does not say that! It says that members of the church (militant implied) who are faithful will become the church triumphant. It should be clear by now that the fallen, apostate, SDA new movement, does fall when Ezekiel 9 begins at its Sanctuaries around the world.

All who are saved are not the bride of Christ in the strict sense of the word. There are guests at the wedding and if guests they are not the bride. Some who are guests only, are triumphant in the sense that they are saved, but they are not the bride, the 144,000, who are translated without seeing death. They are not made pillars in the Temple (Rev. 3:10-12) as are the 144,000, for only they enter that Temple, Early Writings, 19.

“Clearly, then, the bride represents the Holy City, and the virgins that go out to meet the bridegroom are a symbol of the church. In the Revelation the people of God are said to be the guests at the marriage supper. Revelation 19:9. If guests, they cannot be represented also as the bride. Christ, as stated by the prophet Daniel, will receive from the Ancient of Days in heaven, "dominion, and glory, and a kingdom" He will receive the New Jerusalem, the capital of His kingdom, "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Daniel 7:14 Revelation 21:2. Having received the kingdom, He will come in His glory, as King of kings and Lord of lords, for the redemption of His people, who are to "sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob," at His table in His kingdom (Matthew 8:11 Luke 22:30), to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb.” The Great Controversy, pp. 426, 427.

Also, in Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 405-406, the voice of bride awakens the 10 virgins, and Matthew 25 says all those virgins slumbered and slept. The bride has to be ready first in order to give the final Midnight Cry to all wise and foolish virgins. The bride is barley as the firstfruits of Israel’s harvest was the early Barley crop, not wheat. The wheat is the wise virgins, and the tares are the foolish virgins.

Clearly, Holmes has grossly misapplied attributes that apply solely to the church triumphant to the church militant, and that pursuit is fraught with dishonesty and serious implications for every professing Seventh-day Adventist.

Holmes opines: “If the plan (of salvation in context) works, the weakest, the most degenerate, the most rebellious of human beings can be restored to perfect harmony with God. The profligate can be made pure, the self-indulgent self-denying, the greedy generous. God can ‘be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus’” (Rom. 3:26). Church that does not fall, p, 3.

The statement is misleading without qualification to the effect that if one knows the truth, and chooses certain indulgences, he/she will commit unpardonable sin. For example, in Jeremiah 11:9-15, God instructs Jeremiah not to pray for the Jews of that generation because they committed the unpardonable sin of conspiring with His enemies. Isaiah 8:9-12 gives the same conclusion—that all who violate the instruction in those verses will meet with one option—broken in pieces, stated three times to express the gravity—the unpardonable sin of so doing—when one has known the truth on such issues. Then, Hebrews 6:5-8 becomes applicable.

⁵And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

⁶If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

⁷For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:

⁸But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Thorns and briars are different from tares (weeds of the ground).

"And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them." "He also that received seed among thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." {RH, June 21, 1892 par. 1}

“In the thorns that choke the good seed, the Great Teacher would depict the dangers that are around those who hear the word of God; for there are foes on every hand to make of no effect the precious truth of God. All that draws the affections from God, all that fills the attention so that Christ has no room in the heart, must be renounced if the seed of truth is to flourish in the soul. Jesus specifies the things that are dangerous to the soul. He says the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things, choke the word, the growing spiritual seed, so that the soul does not draw nourishment from Christ, as does the branch from the vine, and the spiritual life dies from the heart. Love of the world, love of its pleasures and display, and love of other things, keep the soul away from God; for he who loves the world does not depend upon God for his courage, his hope, his joy. He knows not what it is to have the joy of Christ, for this is the joy of leading others to the Fountain of life, of winning souls from sin to righteousness. {RH, June 21, 1892 par. 2}

“Actions reveal principles and motives. The fruit borne by many who claim to be plants in the Lord’s vineyard shows them to be but thorns and briers. A whole church may sanction the wrong course of some of its members, but that sanction does not prove the wrong to be right. It cannot make grapes of thorn berries.

If some who profess to believe present truth could understand their true position, they would despair of the mercy of God. They have been exerting all their influence against the truth, against the voice of warning, against the people of God. They have been doing the work of Satan. Many have become so infatuated by his deceptions that they will never recover. Such a state of backsliding cannot exist without causing the loss of many souls.

The church has received warning after warning. The duties and dangers of God’s people have been plainly revealed. But the worldly element has proved too strong for them. Customs, practices, and fashions which lead the soul away from God have been for years gaining ground in defiance of the warnings and entreaties of the Holy Spirit, until at last their ways have become right in their own eyes, and the Spirit’s voice is scarcely heard. No man can tell how far he may go in sin when once he yields himself to the power of the great deceiver. Satan entered into Judas Iscariot and induced him to betray his Lord. Satan led Ananias and Sapphira to lie to the Holy Ghost. Those who are not wholly consecrated to God may be led to do the work of Satan while yet they flatter themselves that they are in the service of Christ.”—5 Testimonies, 102-103.

Why we Must Separate From the Open Sinning Thorns

How do we know for sure that thorns are different from tares? Thorns sprung up.--The thorns made it impossible for the wheat to mature for they choke out the wheat and kill it. (Luke 8:4-7).

⁴And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

⁵A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

⁶And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

⁷And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. Luke 8:4-7.

Wheat can mature amongst tares, but not thorns. Thorns are open sin and those in the church who commit those open sins.

"It is IMPOSSIBLE for you to unite with those who are corrupt, and still remain pure. (II Corinthians 6:14-15 quoted). God and Christ and the heavenly host would have men know that if he unites with the corrupt he will become corrupt." E. G. White, Review and Herald, Vol. 4, p. 137.

Thorns are not tares. We dwell with tares even in home churches until the harvest. But God said that it is IMPOSSIBLE for the wheat to mature amongst thorns (open sinning thorns) because they choke out the wheat by their bad influence.

“And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.” Luke 8:4-7.

In the same way, secular interests often prevent the fruits of the Spirit from reaching maturity. (Gal. 5:22, 23).

"Thorns sprung up.--The thorns made it impossible for the wheat to mature (see Luke 8:14). In the same way secular interests prevent the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23) from reaching maturity. Religion is relegated to the subordinate position of being only one interest among many. For lack of cultivation it withers and eventually dies. That which the thorny-ground hearers lack is a moral transformation. To them, justification is the sum and substance of religion, and they fail to realize that the Christian life consists essentially in the process known as sanctification--the process by which evil traits and tendencies are replaced by the perfect life-pattern of Jesus Christ." Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 405.

“... The Lord will not write as wise those who cannot distinguish between a tree that bears thorn-berries and a tree that bears olives.” {EGW, RH, September 7, 1897 par. 15}

Separation Come out -- The Call to Come Out of the Hebrew Church. The preaching of the gospel of a crucified, risen, and ascended Lord was to begin at Jerusalem. Luke 24:47. On the day of Pentecost the apostles had been given "tongues like as of fire," Acts 2:3, and through this zeal of the Spirit-filled apostles thousands of the honest in heart responded to the call to come out of the new fallen Hebrew church. Among others, the great and learned apostle Paul left the Hebrew church and threw all his talent and power into preaching the gospel of a crucified, risen, and ascended Lord. "I determined," he said, "not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." I Cor. 2:2. Sarah Elizabeth Peck, The Path to the Throne of God, p. 207.

Sara Peck was a personal acquaintance of Ellen White. She wrote one of the best treatises on the Sanctuary Service, it is on my Website under The Path to the Throne of God. Her statement above is proven by Biblical, the SOP, and historical fact. And even before the Day of Pentecost, Christ "gathered out" those who would take the gospel to the world, Desire of Ages, 232. Why? Because God says it is IMPOSSIBLE to unite with the corrupt and remain (or become) pure, and for the wheat to mature amongst THORNS, which differ from TARES in that the THORNY GROUND HEARERS are open sinning apostates.

So thorns symbolize the corrupt. Tares symbolize insincere believers whose motives we would have to judge in order to uproot them.

Thorns are OPEN SINNERS. Tares are not OPEN SINNERS. They are insincere types whose motives we would have to judge in order to expel or pull them up from the wheat. But the thorns are quite another issue, and when they spring up, it they are not either reformed or expelled from the church, it is impossible for the wheat to mature. So what must the wheat do in order to mature? Leave the thorns. This is precisely what Jesus and His disciples did, Desire of Ages, 232.

The Church as God’s Vessel of the Gospel

Pastor Holmes quotes the following verses:

⁸Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

⁹And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

¹⁰To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

The church was to give the pure gospel by word and example. The disciples of Christ gave ONE GOSPEL, and Paul, as the author of the verses in Ephesians that Pastor Holmes quotes, said to accurse anyone who should come with another gospel. There are two different gospels taught by the SDA new movement. The word accurse means anathema and having nothing to do with.

The other gospel taught within Adventism teaches the antichrist doctrine that Christ was not as Adam before the fall or after the fall. That gospel attempts to prove that Christ did not come in our sinful nature as Ellen White and the Bible say He did. That false gospel attempts to teach that we cannot overcome as Christ did because He had something we do not have. The truth is that He overcame all sin with His humanity only, via the same aid we have access to—the Holy Spirit that is proffered to every man who will accept it.

The truth is that if He had in the least instance relied on His Divine nature, it would have been game over and He would have been no example to us. The apostate SDA new movement admixes the false gospel that there is no final generation theology whereby God will have a perfect bride this side of glorification, per. Revelation 14:1-4. That is as antichrist as anything can get because that concept negates the “highest good, crowning gift that heaven can bestow,” Christ’s Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost Divine Nature, which He bequeathed to us as a gift for the purpose of regeneration and overcoming sin.

Christ and His disciples taught one gospel only. They did not admix an accursed gospel to the true gospel as new movement Adventism does.

Pastor Holmes opines: “At the center of the sin solution, He (Christ) places the wisdom and plan [of salvation—in context]. The creation of the Christian church is itself one of the greatest evidences of love and wisdom of God to be found in the entire universe. The plan of salvation does not work outside of, or apart from, the church.” The church that does not fall, p. 4.

Holmes makes the grave error of directly contradicting Ellen White’s statements that we quoted earlier in this document, to wit:

Some might counter that Pastor Holmes means the true church. If that is the case, he should have qualified such a serious issue. But in weighing all the evidence Holmes proffers in his book, it is clear to this writer that he meant the church as it exists today.

Holmes places emphasis on the fellowship factor, but the Spirit of Prophecy says that were two or three meet who love God and keep His commandments, that is the true church and only Christ’s presence can constitute a church. Fellowship in a new movement that has removed God, is only fellowship in a social club.

"God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, (or the super mega church), neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. 'Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.' Where Christ is even among the humble few, THIS IS CHRIST'S CHURCH, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church." Upward Look, p. 315.

Holms quotes: “The church of God below is one with the church of God above. Believers on the earth and beings in heaven who have never fallen constitute one church.” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 366).

Again, Holmes makes the great mistake of confusing the church militant with the true and faithful believer church. The only church of God below (on earth) that is one with the church of God in heaven, is the invisible church of faithful men known as true reformers, to wit:

"Characteristics of True Reformers.--Here are given the characteristics of those who shall be reformers, who will bear the banner of the third angel's message, those who avow themselves God's commandment-keeping people, and who honor God, and are earnestly engaged, in the sight of all the universe, in building up the old waste places. Who is it that calls them, The repairers of the breach, The restorers of paths to dwell in? It is God. Their names are registered [written--Heb. 12:22, 23] in heaven as reformers, restorers, as raising the foundations of many generations." E. G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 1151.

It is the church triumphant composed of overcomers that the gates of hell shall not prevail against, while the apostate new movement SDA once church militant is brought down to hell:

“Of those who boast of their light and yet fail to walk in it Christ says, "But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And thou, Capernaum [Seventh-day Adventists, who have had great light], which art exalted unto heaven [in point of privilege], shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day." Ellen G. White, Review and Herald Articles, Aug. 1, 1893. [THE BRACKETED COMMENTS ARE BY ELLEN WHITE.] {LDE 48.2}

Holmes Mocks Home Churches but Where is the Visible Church Organization in the Time of the Loud Cry?

On page 13 of his book, Holmes mocks home churches. On page 15 he challenges: “If they can envision the church taking the gospel to the world without leadership and structure, they need to share their management plan. History teaches that message, mission, and organization cannot be separated without destroying all three.” The Church That Does Not Fall, p. 15.

To demonstrate the folly of Holmes’ statement, let me ask you these questions:

· Will the organization be around when the final Loud Cry message is delivered to the world’s highways and byways? Does God need the structure of any visible organization for His army of 144,000?

· Ellen White reapplies Matthew 22:1-10 to our time in Sermons and Talks, Vol. 1, pp. 4-9. She specifically quotes Matthew 22:7: “ 7But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”

Then after the murderous city (Jerusalem) was destroyed, the servants go out into the highways and give the Loud Cry, calling the guests to the wedding.

9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.”

10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

· Where is the visible church organization when the greatest Loud Cry message is given to the world? It has been brought down to hell—destroyed in an Ezekiel 9 slaughter. This is when Jerusalem is destroyed versus Babylon’s destruction per Great Controversy, pp. 653-656.

· Another place this destruction is recounted in Scripture is Ezekiel chapter 5, where Jerusalem is made a taunt and an instruction to all the nations around her.

· How do we know Ezekiel 5 applies to the end-time? (1) Ezekiel 5 is just another take on Ezekiel 9. (2) Ezekiel 5:9 mentions the worst thing God ever does. According to Matthew 24:21, that is at the end-time. The following verses prove that Jerusalem meets with God’s judgments (destruction) before Babylon’s destruction, for Babylon does the destroying.

Ezekiel 5 (King James Version)

1And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair.

2Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them.

3Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number [THE REMNANT], and bind them in thy skirts [Marriage terminology which applies to the 144,000 as the bride of Christ].

4Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel.

5Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.

6And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.

7Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;

8Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.

9And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations. Cf. Matthew 24:21:

21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Note: God does the worst thing He has ever done or ever will do, because of all the church’s abominations which we are to sigh and cry for. This is literal Ezekiel 9 slaughter.

10Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.

11Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.

12A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.

13Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.

14Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.

15So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.

16When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

17So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee: and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

This (above) is HOW and WHEN Ezekiel 9 is literally fulfilled beginning at His Sanctuary, Jerusalem, the professing SDA church. The Lord has shown me in vision that when the Sunday Law is enforced, the Babylonians who hate Adventists for stealing their sheep for over 160 years plus, will destroy their harlot church. Why do I say harlot, because God has shown me that even some time before the Sunday law is ENFORCED, SDA leaders will instruct its members to keep Sunday—to hold the sacred service on Sunday.

"The Lord has a controversy with his professed people in these last days. In this controversy men in responsible positions will take a course directly opposite to that pursued by Nehemiah. They will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but they will try to keep it from others by burying it beneath the rubbish of custom and tradition. In churches and in large gatherings in the open air, ministers, will urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the first day of the week." E.G. White, Review and Herald, Vol. 1, p. 405, col. 3.

Bible proof that the above statement refers to SDA’s is found in Ezekiel chapter 8, which gives a lot of the reasons for the Ezekiel 9 slaughter.

16And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

Of course, Sunday worship derived from sun worship. Uncannily or NOT, the SDA General Conference in Washington, has an executive committee of “about twenty-five men.” Recall that in 1901, Ellen White told the GC at that time that there should not be a General Conference President, but that there should be a committee of 25 men. It is that committee that will decide to urge Sunday keeping upon their members. It was this same committee who instructed Russian parents to send their offspring to school on Sabbath, because school is held six days a week in Russia. Is there something wrong with the picture that Waldensian’s died for the right to keep the Sabbath, and modern-day Adventists can violate it with impunity?

“The enemy knows that if the church can be controlled by political enactments, if she can be led to unite with the world, she virtually acknowledges him as her head. Then the authority of man-made commandments will work to oppose the rule of the government of heaven. Under the leadership of Satan men will dispense with the righteous, holy enactments of God concerning the Sabbath, the observance of which is to be a sign between God and His people forever.” {ST, November 22, 1899 par. 1}

This will enrage the Babylonians all the more, for they will see the insincerity of the Adventists. And this act on the part of SDA’s will increase their potential for “stealing sheep” from the fold of Babylon.

There will be saved martyrs at the same time the apostate SDA church is destroyed, and there will be unsaved victims of the literal Ezekiel 9 slaughter.

The discerning reader should be able to clearly see the absolute irrefutable character of this Bible based scenario even if he/she does not accept my confirmation by vision. The bigoted church believes that God needs it to take the final gospel to the world, and we have just discovered that God allows destruction to come upon it just before the final Loud Cry. The church at large and Pastor Holmes don’t seem to believe God’s pronouncements that He needs nothing, to wit:

Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This [is] the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Luk 19:40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Do you recall how at Christ’s resurrection the very stones (grave stones) cried out when many were raised from the dead to give the gospel to the world because the apostate Jewish organization refused to do it and killed those who were willing to, Matthew 22:1-10?

⁵¹And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

⁵²And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

⁵³And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Do you believe that could happen again at the end-time? If not, why not? The then known world was far smaller than it is today and far less populated! Will God perform this miracle again after He has wiped an apostate SDA new movement from the earth, which “church” was bigoted enough to believe God “needed them” no matter what apostasy they committed?

Here is Pastor Holmes’ bigoted statement implying that God needs an apostate church to do His work in the world:

“It is just as preposterous to think that isolated individuals, or even home churches and independent ministries, are sufficient to carry out the monumental assignment of conducting a worldwide medical, educational, publishing, and evangelistic ministry.” The Church That Does Not Fall, p. 13.

So God wipes the church off the face of the earth just before the final Loud Cry is made to the highways and byways of the earth to prove that He does not need them! Just like He wiped His first chosen people off the face of the earth at the first literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 and Matthew 22:1-10, just before the evangelization of the then known world! And men like the highest leaders of the church still believe that God needs them to finish the work as does Lee Roy Holmes. That is an example of the blind leading the blind! That is an example of blind dumb-dogs leading blind dumb-dogs. Isaiah 56:10-12 and Testimonies, Vol. 5, 211. These are hard saying for the leaders of God’s people. But nevertheless, they are as plain, clear, and true as God’s Word.

As with His first chosen people, God wants them to receive the benefit of giving the gospel to the world, but He is not worshipped with men’s hands as though He needs ANYTHING. When God takes the reins in His own hands, the message will go like fire in the stubble, not by might, not by strength of numbers of an apostate church, but by His power saith the Lord of hosts!

"The Lord Jesus will always have a chosen people to serve Him. When the Jewish people rejected Christ, the Prince of life. He took from them the kingdom of God and gave it unto the Gentiles. God will continue to work on this principle with every branch of His work. When a church proves unfaithful to the work of the Lord, whatever their position may be, however high and sacred their calling, the Lord can no longer work with them. Others are then chosen to bear important responsibilities. But, if these in turn do not purify their lives from every wrong action, if they do not establish pure and holy principles in all their borders, then the Lord will grievously afflict and humble them and, unless they repent, will remove them from their place and make them a reproach.

God is not 'worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing' (Acts 17:25). E. G. White, The Upward Look, 131.

²⁴God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

²⁵Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; Acts 17:24, 25.

The Church Acting a Part Similar to the Other Churches, Another Coming Out, and an Eighth Church

In 1889, Ellen White said: “We hoped that there would not be the necessity for another coming out.” She said that because the church was acting a part similar to that which the other churches acted. BIG QUESTION: Is the new movement SDA church still acting similar to the other churches? Does Lee Roy Holmes realize that the church is acting more like the other churches than ever before in history?

“I was confirmed in all I had stated in Minneapolis, that a reformation must go through the churches. Reforms must be made, for spiritual weakness and blindness were upon the people who had been blessed with great light and precious opportunities and privileges. As reformers they had come out of the denominational churches, but they now act a part similar to that which the churches acted. We hoped that there would not be the necessity for another coming out. While we will endeavor to keep the "unity of the Spirit" in the bonds of peace, we will not with pen or voice cease to protest against bigotry.--EGW '88 356, 357 (1889). {LDE 48.1}

Do current day professing Seventh-day Adventists still act a part similar to that which the other churches act and come into common cause with them?

1966 - In Ministry Magazine of March, 1966, Leroy Froom states: "Today the old largely negative approach--emphasizing chiefly the things wherein we differ from all other religious groups--is past, definitely past." Also in the same magazine in June, 1966, Howard Weeks states: "If in expectation of a larger prophetic role amid these trends Adventists should gird up their evangelistic lions they would find themselves in step with other evangelicals who share their concern...The Adventist church today is better prepared to make common cause with these other evangelicals than at any previous time in its history....The denomination is more definitely oriented than ever to the historic evangelical concepts....The heavy, sometimes bellicose, emphasis on the law and the Sabbath in times past undoubtedly struck more raw nerves...in contrast today, with a clear assert of the denomination's evangelical heritage...a new era of evangelistic emphasis and membership growth..." Ministry, March, 1966.

According to God’s Word in Isaiah 37:31, 32, there is another coming out of a final remnant from Jerusalem before it is destroyed in Matthew 22:7, Ezekiel 9 slaughter and burning. Does that coming out constitute an eighth church as some very foolish virgin SDA leaders and laity alike attest? Not in the least friend, and here is why:

1. The original seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 were the first manifestation of those churches. In other words, original, literal Laodicea was a real, rich, textile producing city. Any other manifestation of Laodicea would be a second, third, fourth etc., etc., ad infinitum! This is just plain, empirical common sense! That is all the proof you should need, but there is more.

2. Ellen White said that the Laodicean message is to go to all churches. She thus applied the Laodicean condition to all of them. That would make a lot of various additions to the Laodicean roster of churches!

3. Ellen White said that all seven messages to the churches apply to the end of time.

Here are the proofs you need:

"The warning for the last church [Laodicea] also must be proclaimed to all who claim to be Christians. The Laodicean message, like a sharp, two--edged sword, must go to ALL THE CHURCHES:...It is our work to proclaim this message. Are we putting forth every effort that the churches may be warned?" Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 77.

"If the church of God becomes LUKEWARM [LAODICEAN] it does not stand in favor with God any more than do the churches that are represented as having fallen and become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Those who have had opportunities to hear and receive the truth, and who have united with the Seventh-day Adventist church, calling themselves the commandment keeping people of God, and yet possess no more vitality and consecration to God than do the nominal churches, will receive of the plagues of God just as verily as the churches who oppose the law of God." E.G. White, Letter 35, 1898.

If Laodicea is not regarded with any more favor by God than the fallen churches, and the call of Laodicea is to all churches, then there is no difference between Laodicea and the fallen churches as far as being in a fallen state is concerned, except that the SDA church is worse because it was privileged with having access to the truth. Different churches believe different aspects of Babylonian teachings, but Ellen White equates them all as far as falling from the favor of God is concerned, and as far as constituting the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. However, she and God both say the SDA church is worse, and the reason it is worse is because it knew the truth and violated it anyway:

"God's professed people are selfish and self-caring....They are idolaters, and are worse, in the sight of God, than the heathen, graven-image worshippers who have had no knowledge of a better way." Testimonies, Vol. 2, 440-441.

Has the church improved since that statement was penned in 1870, or has it waxed worse via Ellen White’s prophecy that the omega heresy would wax stronger until Jesus comes?

"The names of the seven churches are symbolic of the church in different periods of the Christian Era. The number indicates completeness, and is symbolic of the fact that the messages [plural] extend to the end of time, while the symbols used reveal the condition of the church at different periods in the history of the world." E.G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, 585.

“The messages [plural] given to the churches in Asia, portray the state of things existing in the churches of the religious world today. The names of the churches are symbolic of the Christian church in different periods of the Christian era; the number of the churches--SEVEN--indicates completeness and is symbolic of the fact that the messages [plural] extend to the end of time, and are enforced today while the figures used are symbolic of the state of God's professed people,--the wheat developing among the tares truth; standing on its own eternal basis in contrast with error.” Ms 81, 1900, pp. 17, 18. ("Solomon's Reign," 1900.) {1MR 372.2}

God’s Church and its Authority

Elder Holmes states: “The church is God’s delegated authority upon earth. Christ has said: ‘Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ There is altogether too little respect paid to the opinion of members of the same church. . . . The church is a power which should control its individual members. . . . Unless the advice and counsel of the church can be respected, it is indeed powerless.” (Testimonies for the Church, vol 5, p. 107). The Church That Does Not Fall, p. 15.

The above statement is a very serious one so let’s check all the weight of evidence on this matter of church authority and exactly who binds the wheat for the heavenly garner. What Elder Holmes has quoted makes it appear that the church militant has that authority. But the full weight of evidence will reveal an entirely different picture and that is why the full weight of evidence is so important.

Here is who really separates the wheat from the thorns and finally the tares and seals and binds the wheat for the heavenly garner:

"I then saw the THIRD ANGEL. Said my accompanying angel, 'Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention." E.G. White, Early Writings, 118.

If these things should engross the whole mind and the whole attention, why would a leader like Lee Roy Holmes neglect to give the whole weight of evidence on such a serious issue? If these things should engross the whole mind and attention, will you please give careful consideration to all the weight of evidence I present above and below.

Third Angel—“No one hears the voice of these angels, for they are a symbol to represent the people of God who are working in harmony with the universe of heaven. Men and women, enlightened by the Spirit of God and sanctified through the truth, proclaim the three messages in their order.” E.G. White, Selected Messages, Bk. 2, p. 387.

"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." E.. White, The Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, 199, 200.

"The members of the church triumphant--the church in heaven--will be permitted to draw near to the members of the church militant, to aid them in their necessity." E. G. White, The Southern Watchman, Sep. 8, 1903.

Are there earthly representatives of the church in heaven, Hebrews 12:22, 23? Notice very carefully:

"Characteristics of True Reformers.--Here [Isa. 8:11-14] are given the characteristics of those who shall be reformers, who will bear the banner of the third angel’s message, these who avow themselves God's commandment-keeping people, and who honor God, and are earnestly engaged, in the sight of all the universe, in building up the old waste places. Who is it that calls them, The repairer of the breach, The restorers of paths to dwell in? It is God. Their names are registered [written--Heb. 12:22, 23] in heaven as reformers, restorers, as raising the foundations of many generations." E. G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 1151.

"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, p. 232.

“From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived. These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work. God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.” E.G. White, Acts of the Apostles, p. 11, 12.

The gates of hell will not prevail against faithful souls—obviously—the church triumphant in every succeeding generation.

"The state of the Church represented by the foolish virgins, is also spoken of as the Laodicean state." E.G. White, Review and Herald, 8/19/1890.

"The church is in the Laodicean state. The presence of God is not in her midst." E.G. White, Notebook Leaflets, p. 99, 1898.

"To the end of time, the presence of the Spirit is to abide with the true church." E.G. White, Acts of the Apostles, p. 55.

What does the above weight of evidence tell us? Exactly WHO has the real, true authority to select the wheat FROM the tares and SEAL and BIND the wheat for the heavenly garner (Kingdom)?

· The third angel, faithful men of the church triumphant, not actual angels, select the wheat from the tares and seal and bind them for the heavenly garner (Kingdom).

· It is the bride of Christ, the church triumphant, with representatives on earth in every generation, who bind and seal the wheat; who select the wheat from the tares with a shaking message.

· The disciples of Christ were His bride, Desire of Ages, 179. The folk they converted to Christianity were the guests. If guests, they could not be the bride. The Great Controversy, p. 427.

· Only men and women who are sanctified by the truth can do the separating, sealing and binding. Were the apostate Jewish leaders (Pharisees and Sadducees sanctified?) Did they separate the wheat from the tares? Did they BIND and SEAL anyone for the heavenly Kingdom? Was ONE PERSON bound and SEALED for the heavenly kingdom by the apostate Jewish leaders? Who were told that whoever they bound would be bound (SEALED) in heaven? Was it the disciples of Christ or the apostate Jewish leaders of the established organization of once “chosen people” Temple, the Synagogue of Satan?

· Was the last message to the Jews committed to the apostate leaders of the organized structure Temple that Jesus called the Synagogue of Satan?

· Does it sound to you like an apostate church has God ordained authority to seal or bind anyone for the Kingdom of God?

· Does it sound to you like the ever present church triumphant of True Reformers IN EVERY SUCCEEDING GENERATION have been and are the third angel that has separated the wheat from the thorny ground open sinners in every generation and SEALED them for the heavenly Kingdom?

· Does it sound like it was the formally organized ecclesiastical churches that bound and sealed God’s people in every succeeding generation?

· Does it sound like true and faithful Reformers in every succeeding generation have had the authority from God Almighty to select the wheat from the thorny ground hearer open sinners and SEAL and BIND them for the heavenly Kingdom church?

· Considering that the Spirit of Prophecy said that the Laodicean state of the church is the foolish virgin state, can foolish virgin leaders of Laodicea select the wheat from the thorny ground open sinners and SEAL and/or BIND the wheat for the heavenly garner, as Lee Roy Holmes suggests they have authority to do? At the very end of time, it is the same faithful men who separate the wheat from the tares.

· Who do you believe, Lee Roy Holmes, or God and His prophetess Ellen G. White?

· Are YOU READER, being shaken, selected as wheat from the thorns, and being bound and sealed for the heavenly Kingdom by the truth of this weight of evidence, or will you reject it as piffle, garbage and all manner of other negative adjectives regularly applied to the True Reformers?

· Will you conclude with Lee Roy Holmes, that an omega of apostasy church can select you from the tares and bind and seal you for the heavenly Kingdom of God Almighty?

What is your answer today, friend?

—rwb

Stay tuned for Part II of my book Review of Lee Roy Holmes The Church That Does Not Fall. There is a lot of error in that book and it will take some time to expose it.