A
Letter to My Friend Judy
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Dear Reader, I have a friend named Judy who sent me the
following statement as to why we should not separated from the apostate SDA
church. She began quoting Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 72 (at the bottom of the
page and on to p. 73. Here is Judy’s quoting of Ellen White: “Again: “The world has no right to doubt the truth
of Christianity because there are unworthy members in the church, nor should
Christians become disheartened because of these false brethren. How was it
with the early church? Ananias and Sapphira joined themselves to the disciples.
Simon Magus was baptized. Demas, who forsook Paul, had been counted a
believer. Judas Iscariot was numbered with the apostles. The Redeemer does
not want to lose one soul; His experience with Judas is recorded to show His
long patience with perverse human nature; and He bids us bear with it as He
has borne. He has said that false brethren will be found in the church till
the close of time. {COL 72, 73}. Ron’s response: Dear Judy, AGAIN you are misapplying Ellen White's
statement. The way you apply it there should NEVER have been a separation
from Rome in the Protestant Reformation or the other fallen church in 1844.
Nor should there have been a separation by Jesus from the apostate Jewish church
of His day because His group had a Judas tare. By your interpretation Paul
NEVER should have separated. False brethren will be in all churches and home
church groups till the close of time because Ellen White says in Christ's
Object Lessons, p. 71, that the TARES AND WHEAT are to grow together
until the harvest and the harvest is the end of probationary time. Judy, dear sister, I mean no offense at
all, but you are being a "surface reader" in this instance of the
wheat and tares and I want to show you what you are missing. I certainly am not
condemning you for surface reading and interpretation, and for ignoring
important context, because I did it for a time in my own experience. I’m
making this available to all SDA’s as the problem is so common among them. Please pray and watch carefully. Here
is the full context of Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 70-72. Look at
what you have done by not considering the entire context of what you quoted.
Look what you have missed. I will make what you have missed and/or have not
understood in red print.
My comments will be in
purple print. Chap. 4 - Tares "Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also." {COL 70.1} "The field," Christ said, "is the world." But we must understand this as signifying the church of Christ in the world. The parable is a description of that which pertains to the kingdom of God, His work of salvation of men; and this work is accomplished through the church. True, the Holy Spirit has gone out into all the world; everywhere it is moving upon the hearts of men; but it is in the church that we are to grow and ripen for the garner of God. {COL 70.2} Ron's response: Where are the tares
burned? In the field, right? That is what happened
in A.D. 70. The church and the world are the field.
Tares are gathered in the field and burned. That is what occurred in A.D. 70.
In that PREFIGURE, what church did the wheat ripen in from A.D. 27-70? I will
show you from Ellen White: "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 as
they persisted in their rejection of the gospel the apostle (Paul) went into
the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space for
three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of
God. But 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. "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 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. 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. End Ron's comment. Back to COL, p. 70-71-72. I am presenting all the context from page 70-72 just as it reads in the book. Check it out: "He that sowed the good seed is the Son of man. . . . The good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one." The good seed represents those who are born of the word of God, the truth. The tares represent a class who are the fruit or embodiment of error, of false principles. "The enemy that sowed them is the devil." Neither God nor His angels ever sowed a seed that would produce a tare. The tares are always sown by Satan, the enemy of God and man. {COL 70.3} In the East, men sometimes took revenge upon an enemy by strewing his newly sown fields with the seeds of some noxious weed that, while growing, closely resembled wheat. Springing up with the wheat, it injured the crop and brought trouble and loss to the owner of the field. So it is from enmity to Christ that Satan scatters his evil seed among the good grain of the kingdom. The fruit of his sowing he attributes to the Son of God. By bringing into the church those who bear Christ's name while they deny His character, the wicked one causes that God shall be dishonored, the work of salvation misrepresented, and souls imperiled. {COL 71.1} Christ's servants are grieved as they see true and false believers mingled in the church. They long to do something to cleanse the church. Like the servants of the householder, they are ready to uproot the tares. But Christ says to them, "Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest." {COL 71.2} Christ has
plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from
the church, but He has not committed to us the work of judging character
and motive. He
knows our nature too well to entrust this work to us. Should we try to uproot
from the church those whom we suppose to be spurious Christians, we should be
sure to make mistakes. Often we regard as hopeless subjects the very ones
whom Christ is drawing to Himself. Were we Ron's Commentary: The above paragraph is what I refer to when I say that Ellen White said that tares are insincere Christians whose motives we would have to judge in order to uproot them. Whenever we would have to judge motive to uproot, we cannot do so. They dwell in any church until the harvest. That is what is meant by the wheat and tares dwelling together until the harvest. But look at the very first sentence of the next paragraph. It says: Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church, but He has not committed to us the work of judging character and motive. One does not have to judge motives in the case of OPEN SIN. Open sin is THORN SIN. Thorns are open sinners! They make it impossible for the wheat to mature. They are openly corrupt and corrupt the church and make it impossible to unite with the openly corrupt and remain pure. "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. "The
thorns of sin will grow in any soil they need no cultivation but grace must
be carefully cultivated. The briers and thorns are always ready to spring up,
and the work of purification must advance continually.... The thorns that have been cut off but not uprooted grow apace, until the soul [and/or the church] is overspread with them." E.G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 50. End Ron's comment. Back to COL, p. 72: There is in the Saviour's words another lesson, a lesson of wonderful forbearance and tender love. As the tares have their roots closely intertwined with those of the good grain, so false brethren in the church may be closely linked with true disciples. The real character of these pretended believers is not fully manifested. Were they to be separated from the church, others might be caused to stumble, who but for this would have remained steadfast. {COL 72.1} Ron's comments: There are "pretended believers in the church. These are the insincere tares. They are not OPEN SINNING THORNS, and if they were, they should be reformed or expelled from the church, because that is what Ellen White says on page 71, just one page back. End Ron's comment. The teaching of this parable is illustrated in God's own dealing with men and angels. Satan is a deceiver. When he sinned in heaven, even the loyal angels did not fully discern his character. This was why God did not at once destroy Satan. Had He done so, the holy angels would not have perceived the justice and love of God. A doubt of God's goodness would have been as evil seed that would yield the bitter fruit of sin and woe. Therefore the author of evil was spared, fully to develop his character. Through long ages God has borne the anguish of beholding the work of evil, He has given the infinite Gift of Calvary, rather than leave any to be deceived by the misrepresentations of the wicked one; for the tares could not be plucked up without danger of uprooting the precious grain. And shall we not be as forbearing toward our fellow men as the Lord of heaven and earth is toward Satan? {COL 72.2} Ron's comment: At first, even Satan was not an OPEN SINNER. It was not until Satan's rebellion was clear and OPEN that he was cast from heaven. Remember that tares are those whose motives we would have to KNOW AND JUDGE in order to uproot them. We do not have to know the motives of OPEN APOSTATE SINNERS. They are to be reformed or separated from the church. But how can that occur in a church that will NEVER AGAIN, show the House of Jacob its sins AFTER THE NEW MOVEMENT WAS FORMED AND GOD WAS REMOVED? 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. There is good evidence that the above statement did not apply until the New Movement was formed beginning in the early 1930's and especially augmented since the 1950's. So how does the church fulfill the following instruction of the Holy Spirit if it will NEVER AGAIN shown the House of Jacob their sins? This is why separation is of such paramount importance in order to be sealed. Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church, but He has not committed to us the work of judging character and motive.
Ezekiel Chapter 9 Ellen White comments on Ezekiel 9
2-4
(Eph. 1:13; 4:30). A Mark Which Angels Read.--[Eph. 1:13 quoted.] What
is the seal of the living God, which is placed in the foreheads of His
people? It is a mark which angels, but not human eyes, can read; for the
destroying angel must see this mark of redemption (Letter 126, 1898). {4BC
1161.4}
The angel with the
writer's ink horn is to place a mark upon the foreheads of all who are separated from sin and sinners, and the
destroying angel follows this angel (Letter 12, 1886). {4BC 1161.5}
We are to separate from personal sin as well as separating from
sinners and a church that sins corporately by violating God’s commands. If this were not true, we might have
remained in the other fallen churches.
(Rev. 7:2.) Seal Is a
Settling Into Truth.--Just as soon as the people of
God are sealed in their foreheads--it is not any seal or mark that can be
seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so
they cannot be moved--just as soon as God's people are sealed and prepared
for the shaking, it will come. Indeed, it has begun already; the judgments of
God are now upon the land, to give us warning, that we may know what is
coming (MS 173, 1902). {4BC 1161.6}
Those who have been members of the same family are separated. A mark is
placed upon the righteous. "They shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts,
in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will
spare them, as a man spareth his own son that
serveth him" [Mal. 3:17]. Those who have been obedient to God's
commandments will unite with the company of the saints in light. They shall
enter in through the gates into the city, and have right to the tree of life.
{LDE 216.1} Chap. 233 -
Who Receive the Seal? And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault
before the throne of God. Rev. 14:5.
Only those who receive the
seal of the living God will have the passport through the gates of the Holy
City. . . . {Mar 241.1} The seal of the living God
will be placed upon those only who bear a likeness to Christ in character.
{Mar 241.2} As wax takes the
impression of the seal, so the soul is to take the impression of the Spirit
of God and retain the image of Christ. {Mar 241.3} Many will not receive the
seal of God because they do not keep His commandments or bear the fruits of
righteousness. {Mar 241.4} The great mass of
professing Christians will meet with bitter disappointment in the day of God.
They have not upon their foreheads the seal of the living God. Lukewarm and
halfhearted, they dishonor God far more than the avowed unbeliever. They
grope in darkness, when they might be walking in the noonday light of the
Word, under the guidance of One who never errs. . .
. {Mar 241.5}
How do we know for sure that the following
statement applies strictly to professing Seventh-day Adventists? We KNOW this
fact by the following reasons: ·
Ellen White refers explicitly to HIS PEOPLE in
the context of the mission and commission given to the Seventh-day Adventist
church, the three angel’s messages of Revelation 14, 6, 7. That mission and
commission was not given to any other church. ·
Ellen White refers explicitly to HIS PEOPLE, HIS
CHURCH. ·
Ellen
White refers specifically to the “watchmen on the walls of Zion.” Babylonian
churches do not qualify in any way as Zion. See Isaiah 62, entire chapter,
where Zion, the virgin that is married (verses 1-5) is given a message for
her daughter in verse 11, which is the same as the Midnight Cry of Matthew
25. That cry was given by SDA’s in 1844, and Ellen White said that cry will
be repeated.
Now compare the above statement with the following concern “His
Sanctuary,” and note the similarities: 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. This is a most startling revelation
to most professing Seventh-day Adventists. But such revelations were
prophesied by Ellen White: "Most startling messages will be
borne by men of God's appointment, messages of a character to WARN the
people, to AROUSE them. And while some will be PROVOKED by the warning, and
led to RESIST LIGHT AND EVIDENCE, we are to see from this that we are giving
the TESTING MESSAGE FOR THIS TIME. Messages will be given OUT OF THE USUAL ORDER."
Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 137. God bless, Ron Beaulieu |