The Shaking and Sifting of
Adventism and Who is Shaken from Whom
We will first approach this important
subject from a Biblical perspective. What does Holy Writ have to say about
this all-important subject? We will begin with some very poignant testimony
by Ezekiel. We will quote Ezekiel 22:17-31, which describes the A.D. 70
destruction of Jerusalem. However, Ellen White and Ezekiel 5 say that this
destruction will have another end-time literal fulfillment. First, Ezekiel
22:
"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son
of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and
tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross
of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become
dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.
As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst
of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in
mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. Yea, I
will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall
be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the
furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know
that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you. And the word of the Lord
came unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto her, [Jerusalem, the church, in
context] Thou art the land that IS NOT CLEANSED, nor rained upon [no
latter rain] in the day of indignation. There is a conspiracy of her prophets
[leaders] in the midst thereof, Like a roaring lion ravening the prey;
they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things
[The Everlasting Gospel and pure doctrines]; they have made her many widows
in the midst thereof [they have removed the husband of the bride, Jesus
Christ]. Her priests [leaders] have violated my law, and have profaned mine
holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane,
neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and
have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her
princes [leaders] in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to
shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets
have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies
unto them [like the lie that they are not advisers and members of the
World Council of Churches via membership in various National Councils of
Churches, and local Ministerial Associations of Babylon], saying, Thus
saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken. The people of the land
have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and
needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for a
[just one] man among them that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap
before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none."
Ezekiel 22:17-31.
Ezekiel says that the tares will be
gathered into the midst of Jerusalem. Who do you believe?
Ellen
White says that Ezekiel 9, The Destruction of Jerusalem, Will be Literally
Fulfilled Again Beginning at His Sanctuary
"Study the 9th chapter of Ezekiel. These words
will be literally fulfilled; yet the time is passing, and the people are
asleep. They refuse to humble their souls and to be converted. Not a great
while longer will the Lord bear with the people who have such great and
important truths revealed to them, but who refuse to bring these truths into
their individual experience. The time is short. God is calling; will YOU
hear? Will YOU receive His message? Will YOU be converted before it is too
late? Soon, very soon, every case will be decided for eternity. Letter 106,
1909, pp. 2, 3, 5, 7. (To "The churches in Oakland and Berkeley,
September 26, 1909.)" E. G. White Manuscript Releases Volume One, p.
260.
The above appeal is to professing
Seventh-day Adventists! Make no mistake about it! Ellen White is appealing to
SDA's in the churches of Oakland and Berkeley, California in 1909!
The only church on earth today that could be paralleled with Jerusalem of old
is the professing Seventh-day Adventist church. They are the only church
making the same claim of being God's "chosen" remnant as did the
Jews.
"....they [the Jews in context]....declared that they
had no fear that Jerusalem would be destroyed, for it was God's own
city." And where does the Third Literal Destruction of Jerusalem Begin?
"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.
Will you and yours be there, friend, at the
third destruction of Jerusalem, because of ignorance or spiritual pride, or
even life-long friends or spouse?
Bible
Proof for Ellen White's Testimony that Ezekiel 9 will Again be Literally
Fulfilled at SDA Sanctuaries Around the World
I asked the Lord how Ellen White discerned
that Ezekiel 9 would be literally fulfilled again upon professing Seventh-day
Adventist, "Jerusalem," the church with great light. He then showed
me in a dream that Biblical proof of her statement is found in Ezekiel 5,
with special emphasis on verse 9, for end-time application Ezekiel 5:9 proves
that the context of Ezekiel 9 is end-time because this verse describes the
worst thing God ever does, because of the abominations of Jerusalem. He then
showed me that Ezekiel 5:9 and Matthew 24:21 entail the same event that
finally engulfs the world, but begins at His sanctuary.
"And 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." Ezekiel 5:9.
The implication is that God does the worst
thing He has ever done before or will ever do again, and this must coincide
with Matthew 24:21:
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not
since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."
Matthew 24:21.
Ellen
White Called the 70 A.D. Destruction of Jerusalem, a Prefigure!
"The prophecy which He [Christ] uttered was twofold
in its meaning; while foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem, it
prefigured also the terrors of the last great day [beginning at His
Sanctuary].
The
World and the Church are the Field Says Ellen White
"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." Christ's Object Lessons. 70.
Jerusalem
Also Symbolizes the World as well as the Church
"Jesus, looking down to the last generation, saw the
world involved in a deception similar to that which caused the destruction of
Jerusalem." E.G. White, The Great Controversy, (1911 edition), p.
22.
The destruction finally encompasses the
entire world, but always remember friend, it begins at His Sanctuary, His
church, which is found doing after the manner of the world.
"The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its
power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest,
[the time of Matthew 22:1-10 which
Ellen White reapplies in Sermons and
Talks, Vol. 1, pp. 4-9] the little company who are standing in the
light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the
land. But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf of the church
because ITS MEMBERS are doing after the manner of the world." Testimonies,
vol. 5, 209, 210.
If the "little company...standing in
the light..." were MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH, they would be doing after the
manner of the world also!
The entire chapter from which the above
statement comes is based on Ezekiel 9.
"The things you have described as taking place in
Indiana, the Lord has shown me would take place just before the close of
probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting,
with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so
confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is
called the moving of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit never reveals itself in such methods, in such a bedlam of
noise. This is an invention of Satan to cover up his ingenious methods for
making of none effect the pure, sincere, elevating, ennobling, sanctifying
truth for this time. Better never have the worship of God blended with music;
than to use musical instruments to do the work which last January was
represented to me would be brought into our camp meetings. The truth for this
time needs nothing of this kind in its work of converting souls. A bedlam of
noise shocks the senses and perverts that which if conducted aright might be
a blessing. The powers of satanic agencies blend with the din and noise, to have
a carnival, [celebration exercise] and this is termed the Holy Spirit's
working." E. G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 2, 36.
QUESTION: If the SDA church was to
become purged and purified by the bad were shaken out of it, why is
everything uncouth thing being demonstrated in its campmeetings "just
before the close of probation?" It
is too late for the church to develop character and repent "just before
the close of probation!"
"The state of the Church represented by the foolish
virgins, is also spoken of as the Laodicean state." E. G. White, Review
and Herald Articles, vol. 2, 420.
"The Jews had deceived themselves by
misinterpreting the words of the Lord through his prophets, of his eternal
favor to his people Israel.
'Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the
ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth
the sea when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of hosts is his name: If those
ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel
also shall cease from being a nation before me forever. Thus saith the Lord:
If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched
out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they
have done, saith the Lord.' Jer. 31:35-37.
These words the Jews applied to themselves. And because God had shown them so
great favor and mercy, they flattered themselves that, notwithstanding their
sins and iniquities, he would still retain them as his favored people, and
shower especial blessings upon them. They misapplied the words of Jeremiah
and depended for their salvation upon being called the [chosen] children of
Abraham. If they had indeed been worthy o the name of Abraham's children,
they would have followed the righteous example of their father Abraham, and
would have done the works of Abraham.
This has been the danger of the people of God in all ages; and especially is
this the danger of those living near the close of time....
God would in no wise excuse sin in a people who had been enlightened, even if
he had, in their days of faithfulness and purity, loved them, and given them
especial promises. These promises and blessings were always upon condition of
obedience upon their part.
The Lord pronounced, by the mouth of Moses, blessings upon the obedient, and
curses upon the disobedient." E. G. White, Review and Herald,
vol. 1, 123.
"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 tough he needed any thing' (Acts
17:25)." E. G. White, The Upward Look, 131.
"We must as a people arouse and
cleanse the camp of Israel. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy, and unholy
practices are coming in among us in a large degree...We are in danger of becoming a sister to
fallen Babylon, of allowing our
churches to become corrupted and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for
every unclean and hateful bird, and will we be clear unless we make decided
movements to cure the existing evil? E. G. White, Manuscript Releases No.
449, pp. 17, 18.
"If we turn from the testimony of
God's word, and accept false doctrines [Calvinism] because our fathers taught
them, we fall under the condemnation pronounced upon Babylon; we are drinking
of the wine of her abominations." E. G White, The 1884 Great
Controversy entitled Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 347, not to be
confused with Testimonies, vol. 4. The four volume Spirit of Prophecy
series, can still be special ordered through any Adventist BookStore (ABC).
"It is now the duty of God's
commandment--keeping people to watch and pray, to search the Scriptures
diligently, to hide the Word of God in the heart, lest they sin against Him
in idolatrous thoughts and debasing practices, and thus the church of God
become demoralized like the fallen churches whom prophecy represents as being
filled with every unclean and hateful bird." E. G. White, Review and
Herald, May 17, 1887.
"In the balances of the sanctuary the
Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the
privileges and advantages that she has had. . . .I saw our Instructor pointing
to the garments of so-called righteousness. Stripping them of, He laid bare
he defilement beneath. Then He said to me: 'Can you not see how they have
pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? How is
the faithful city become an harlot?" E. G. White, Testimonies, vol.
8, pp. 247-250.
"Thorns sprung up.--The thorns made it
impossible for the wheat to mature (see Luke 8:4). 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 (Christ's
Object Lessons, p. 50). 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." SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 405.
The Wheat and Tares were to grow together,
but not with open sinning tares, which make it impossible for the wheat to
mature:
"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 space, until the soul
[and/or the church] is overspread with them." E. G. White, Christ's
Object Lessons, p. 50.
Quiescent, insincere believer tares, are
not to be uprooted from any church militant until the close of probationary
time, Christ's Object Lessons, 72. Open sinning tares and thorns are
to be uprooted, or any church that fail in this endeavour will be overspread
with them and they will choke out and kill the wheat, making it impossible
for the wheat to mature. This is why the wheat must be separated from a
church that is controlled by open sinning, apostate tares and thorns.
"But the doctrine is now largely taught that the
Gospel of Christ has made the law of God of no effect; that by 'believing' we
are released from the necessity of being doers of the word. But this is the
doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned.... Those
who are teaching this doctrine today have much to say in regard to faith and
the righteousness of Christ; but they pervert the truth, and make it serve
the cause of error. They declare that we have only to believe on Jesus
Christ, and that faith is all sufficient; that the righteousness of Christ is
to be the sinners credentials; that this imputed righteousness fulfils the
law for us, and that we are under no obligation to obey the law of God. This
class claim that Christ came to save sinners, and that he has saved them. 'I
am saved,' they will repeat over and over again. But are they saved while
transgressing the law of Jehovah?--No; for the garments of Christ's
righteousness are not a cloak for iniquity: Such teaching is a gross
deception, and Christ becomes to these persons a stumbling-block as he did to
the Jews,--to the Jews because they would not receive him as their personal
Saviour; to these professed believers in Christ, because they separate Christ
and the Law, and regard faith as a substitute for obedience. They separate
the Father and the Son, the Saviour of the world. Virtually they teach, both
by precept and example, that Christ, by his death, saves men in their
transgressions." E. G. White, The Signs of the Times, vol. 3,
363, col. 1.
"Christ has plainly taught that those
who persist in open sin must be separated from the church..." E.G.
White, Christ's Object Lessons, 71.
"Thorns--Nicolaitans to be separated
From the Church--"It is our work to know our special failings and sins,
which cause darkness and spiritual feebleness, and quenched our first love.
Is it worldliness? Is it selfishness? Is it the love of self-esteem? Is it
striving to be first? Is it the sin of sensuality that is intensely active?
Is it the sin of the Nicolaitans, turning the grace of god into
lasciviousness? Is it the misuse and abuse of great light and opportunities
and privileges, marking boasted claims to wisdom and religious knowledge,
while the life and character are inconsistent and immoral? Whatever it is
that has been petted and cultivated until it has become strong and
overmastering, make determined efforts to overcome, else you will be lost. It
is these cherished sins, abhorrent to God, that make enfeebled moral courage,
and leave you to choose to walk apart from God, while you retain a miserable,
heartless, outward form. Once the soul was all aglow with the love for Jesus;
but all this is changed. The great Head who moves in the midst of his
candlesticks will never be without a church. There will be faithless ones who
will go out from us because they were not of us. There will be apostasies.
But 'nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The
Lord knoweth them that are his.' There will be those who are evil, who hold
the truth in unrighteousness, who are sensual, who are controlled by the
master-worker in all evil, who will have to be separated from the
church."...
This labor of purifying the church is a painful work, but one that must not
be neglected, if the church would have the commendation of God." E. G.
White, Review and Herald Articles, 06-07-1887, paragraph 16.
Open sinning thorns were to have been kept
out of the church if they would not readily reform, but that has not been
enforced by the church for so long that the open sinning thorns have taken
over. There is no hope that this will ever change, because the New Movement
is controlled by persistent leaders in high places and Ellen White says that
nothing will be permitted to stand in their way, Selected Messages, vol.
1, 205.
Who Leaves Who
According to Type and Antitype?
Ellen White clearly states in The Great
Controversy, p. 25, 1911 edition, that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70
A.D. was a PREFIGURE. Prefigure means TYPE, which demands a similar
ANTITYPICAL FULFILLMENT "beginning at His sanctuary," Testimonies,
vol. 5, 211. Then she says that another LITERAL FULFILLMENT of Ezekiel 9 will
occur. So all we have to do is go back to the TYPE, THE PREFIGURE and see
what happened then, and any other interpretation would make Ellen White a
false prophet. Her statements on Ezekiel 9, accord with the following
scenario if all of the weight of evidence is considered and interpreted in
such a way that no points contradict:
1.
Who left who in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70?
The good left the Bad. See The Great Controversy, Chapter 1.
2.
Where were the tares gathered? Into the Midst of
Jerusalem, the apostate church, Ezekiel 22:17-31.
3.
Was there a primitive revival of the Jewish people? Yes!
Where did it take place? Within the apostate Jewish Church, or outside it?
Obviously outside it, Desire of Ages, 232. If the primitive revival had
occurred inside the Jewish church it would not have been destroyed.
4.
Who was True Zion, from whence and by whom the sinners
were shaken? Was it the apostate Jewish Organization, or was it from the
reformer church of Jesus and the disciples?
5.
Did the Jewish people leave the apostate Jewish church
long before persecution began? Yes, they began to leave when Jesus
"gathered out" those who would take the gospel to the world, Desire
of Ages, 232, and even before this time according to the following statement
by Ellen White:
"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.
Any teaching that contradicts this Ezekiel
9 PREFIGURE SCENARIO, is contradicting Ellen White and SCRIPTURE, because
Ezekiel 5:9, proves that Ezekiel 9 is really PRIMARILY FULFILLED at the
end-time when God does the worst thing He has ever done before or will ever
do again. The end-time interpretations of New Movement Adventism, violate
this PREFIGURE SCENARIO stated by Ellen White and backed by Scripture.
You have been duly warned, P.S. See
corroborating statements below:
"Study the 9th chapter of Ezekiel. These words will
be literally fulfilled; yet the time is passing, and the people are asleep.
They refuse to humble their souls and to be converted. Not a great while
longer will the Lord bear with the people who have such great and important
truths revealed to them, but who refuse to bring these truths into their
individual experience. The time is short. God is calling; will YOU hear? Will
YOU receive His message? Will YOU be converted before it is too late? Soon,
very soon, every case will be decided for eternity. Letter 106, 1909, pp. 2,
3, 5, 7. (To "The churches in Oakland and Berkeley, September 26,
1909.)" E. G. White Manuscript Releases Volume One, p. 260.
"The prophecy which He uttered was twofold in its
meaning; while foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem, it prefigured also
the terrors of the last great day [beginning at His Sanctuary]." E.G.
White, The Great Controversy, p. 25, 1911 edition.
"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.
Ellen White clearly states in The Great
Controversy, p. 25, 1911 edition, that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70
A.D. was a PREFIGURE. Prefigure means TYPE, which demands a similar
ATITYPICAL FULFILLMENT. Then she says that another LITERAL FULFILLMENT of
Ezekiel 9 will occur. So all we have to do is go back to the TYPE, THE
PREFIGURE and see what happened then, and any other interpretation would make
Ellen White a false prophet. Her statements on Ezekiel 9, accord with the
following scenario if all of the weight of evidence is considered and
interpreted in such a way that no points contradict: 1) Who left who in the
destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70? The good left the Bad. See The Great
Controversy, Chapter 1, and SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 74-77. 2) Where
were the tares gathered? Into the Midst of Jerusalem, the apostate church,
Ezekiel 22:17-31. 3) Was there a primitive revival of the Jewish people? Yes!
Where did it take place? Within the apostate Jewish Church, or outside it?
Obviously outside it, Desire of Ages, 232. If the primitive revival had
occurred inside the Jewish church it would not have been destroyed. 4) Who
was True Zion, from whence and by whom the sinners were shaken? Was it the
apostate Jewish Organization, or was it from the reformer church of Jesus and
the disciples? 5) Did the Jewish people leave the apostate Jewish church long
before persecution began? Yes, they began to leave when Jesus "gathered
out" those who would take the gospel to the world, Desire of Ages, 232,
and even before this according to the following statement by Ellen White:
"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. Any teaching
that contradicts this Ezekiel 9 PREFIGURE SCENARIO, is contradicting Ellen
White and SCRIPTURE, because Ezekiel 5:9, proves that Ezekiel 9 is really
PRIMARILY FULFILLED at the end-time when God does the worst thing He has ever
done before or will ever do again. The end-time interpretations of New
Movement Adventism, violate this PREFIGURE SCENARIO stated by Ellen White and
backed by Scripture. Choose ye this day, between Scripture and Ellen White,
and hired, SDA New Movement false prophets, You have been duly warned, P.S.
See corroborating statements below:
"Study the 9th chapter of Ezekiel.
These words will be literally fulfilled; yet the time is passing, and the
people are asleep. They refuse to humble their souls and to be converted. Not
a great while longer will the Lord bear with the people who have such great
and important truths revealed to them, but who refuse to bring these truths
into their individual experience. The time is short. God is calling; will YOU
hear? Will YOU receive His message? Will YOU be converted before it is too
late? Soon, very soon, every case will be decided for eternity. Letter 106,
1909, pp. 2, 3, 5, 7. (To "The churches in Oakland and Berkeley,
September 26, 1909.)" E. G. White Manuscript Releases Volume One, p.
260. "The prophecy which He uttered was twofold in its meaning; while
foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem, it prefigured also the terrors of
the last great day [beginning at His Sanctuary]." E.G. White, The Great Controversy,
p. 25, 1911 edition. "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.
"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, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH TESTIMONIES, VOL 4].
The above statement appears in the 1884
Great Controversy called the Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, that was written
specifically for the SDA Church. The 1888 and 1911 editions were written for
the world.
Ezekiel 20:34-38, says that the rebels
(thorns and tares—dross—chaff) will be shaken out of the Kingdom of heaven by
an SDA church triumphant that is brought into covenant relationship with
Christ AND NOT ANY CHURCH MILITANT. That accords with the rest of the Bible
and Ellen White, both of which say that the slaughter of Ezekiel 9 begins at
the Sanctuary of the SDA church militant. If all the bad were shaken from the
church militant (the wheat and tare co-ed church) there would be no need for
Ezekiel 9 to being there! Ellen White said that Ezekiel 9 is fulfilled
LITERALLY, so it must involve an apostate Sanctuary (church). She said
Ezekiel 9 was fulfilled to the very letter in the type, so it will be
fulfilled TO THE LETTER in the antitypical fulfillment.
"All the predictions given by
Christ concerning the destruction of Jerusalem were fulfilled to the
letter." Spirit of Prophecy,
vol 4, p 31.
Ron Beaulieu
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