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Serious Implications to the Adoption of the Trinity Doctrine that Bruce Bivens’ has not Dealt With

 

 

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The gift of the pre-brought forth divine nature of Christ, which Ellen White defines as the Holy Spirit life and soul of Christ, is the “highest good, crowning gift that heaven can bestow.”

"Christ declared that after his ascension, he would send to his church, as his crowning gift, the Comforter, who was to take his place. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit,--the soul of his life, the efficacy of his church, the light and life of the world. With his Spirit Christ sends a reconciling influence and a power that takes away sin.

In the gift of the Spirit [HIS LIFE--THE SOUL OF HIS LIFE], Jesus gave to man the highest good that heaven could bestow....

The Spirit was given as a regenerating agency, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail....

It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given his Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress his own character upon the church." E.G. White, Review and Herald Articles, May 19, 1904, vol. 5, p. 42.

 

Such a clear definition of the Holy Spirit, leaves no room for speculation and/or the adoption of blasphemic theories of men such as the Trinity Doctrine, Rome’s Central Doctrine.

 

The Personality of God as a Pillar Doctrine

 

Godhead as a pillar doctrine -- Personality of God and of Christ Landmarks:

"Those who seek to remove the old landmarks are not holding fast they are not remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try to bring in theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning the sanctuary or concerning the personality of God or of Christ, are working as blind men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the people of God adrift without an anchor." {MR760 9.5}

 

The Personality of God as Implicated in the Alpha of Apostasy in the SDA Church

 

  “The Lord will put new, vital force into His work as human agencies obey the command to go forth and proclaim the truth. He who declared that His truth would shine forever will proclaim this truth through faithful messengers, who will give the trumpet a certain sound. The truth will be criticized, scorned, and derided; but the closer it is examined and tested, the brighter it will shine. {1SM 201.1}

 

     “As a people, we are to stand firm on the platform of eternal truth that has withstood test and trial. We are to hold to the sure pillars of our faith. The principles of truth that God has revealed to us are our only true foundation. They have made us what we are. The lapse of time has not lessened their value. It is the constant effort of the enemy to remove these truths from their setting, and to put in their place spurious theories. He will bring in everything that he possibly can to carry out his deceptive designs. But the Lord will raise up men of keen perception, who will give these truths their proper place in the plan of God. {1SM 201.2}

 

     “I have been instructed by the heavenly messenger that some of the reasoning in the book Living Temple is unsound, and that this reasoning would lead astray the minds of those who are not thoroughly established on the foundation principles of present truth. It introduces that which is nought but speculation in regard to the personality of God and where His presence is. No one on this earth has a right to speculate on this question. The more fanciful theories are discussed, the less men will know of God and of the truth that sanctifies the soul. {1SM 201.3}

 

·       The Alpha speculated on the personality of God and where His presence is.

·       The truth about the Holy Spirit is surely associated with the personality of Christ, because the Holy Spirit is the life of His soul.

·       We are told that the presence of the Holy Spirit is to be in us as a regenerating principle.

·       Concerning speculation on the personality of God, was the personality of Christ involved with the “highest good, crowning sacrifice that heaven could bestow?

·       The Incarnation and emptying of the Son’s Holy Spirit Divine nature as a crowning gift to us; as the “highest good, crowning gift that heaven could bestow,” certainly is involved with the personality of Christ, because that sacrifice demonstrates more than anything else His self-sacrificing character of love.

·       Anything that would deny the “highest good, crowning sacrifice” that occurred as the most important part of the Incarnation of the Son of Man, would have to be the greatest abomination involved in the Omega of Apostasy. And what occurred in the Alpha was to occur in the Omega only on a far greater scale.

·       The Trinity Doctrine totally denies the highest good, crowning sacrificial gift that heaven could bestow, by denying what actually took place in the Incarnation—that Christ emptied Himself of His Holy Spirit Divine Nature and bequeathed it to man, and it was this act that constituted the THIRD PERSON of the Godhead.

·       The Trinity Doctrine denies the above sacrifice by teaching that the THIRD PERSON always existed without any sacrifice on His part. That is the most abominable lie of professing Christianity, and Rome says that doctrine is its Central Doctrine. That is speaking directly against the Holy Spirit, and Scripture says that speaking against the Holy Spirit is unpardonable sin.

·       ”The Trinity Doctrine is a complete lie concerning the personality of Christ involving the “highest good, crowning sacrificial gift that heaven could bestow.”

 

“In the book Living Temple there is presented the alpha of deadly heresies. The omega will follow, and will be received by those who are not willing to heed the warning God has given.” Selected Messages, Bk. 1, 200.

 

There could be no deadlier heresy than the Trinity Doctrine, which is unpardonable sin blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Some have innocently believed this error before present truth light was available, but those who reject the true light on this issue AFTER LEARNING IT, commit unpardonable sin, and the leaders of the SDA omega new movement, posing as the SDA church, are inexcusable for adopting the Trinity Doctrine as a fundamental belief of the church. I could not overstress the seriousness of this unpardonable sin.

 

“The spiritualistic theories regarding the personality of God, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They estimate as nothing the light that Christ came from heaven to give John gave to give to His people.” Selected Messages, Bk. 1, p. 204. (Context is the Alpha of Apostasy).

 

Permit me to give you a clear demonstration as to how the Trinity Doctrine alone, followed to its logical conclusion, sweeps away the whole Christian economy. That doctrine does not teach that the Son of God paid any eternal penalty for our sin. It teaches that there was no eternal sacrifice on the part of any member of the Godhead. The Testator’s Covenant cited in Scripture, demands the death of the Testator, and that death DOES NOT involve just three days and nights in a tomb. That was not the penalty of sin. The wages of sin is death, eternal death. We don’t spend three days in a tomb and then become resurrected to eternal life. The Testator must die some form of eternal death (the penalty for sin) to His former state of Being. Notice:

 

Hbr 9:16 For where a testament [is], there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 

 

Hbr 9:17 For a testament [is] of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. 

 

While the Testator (Christ) should live, the testament is of no force. The testament was an act that would atone for sin. If Christ did not die to something eternally, the penalty for our wages of sin, there has been no atonement, no death of the Testator that would count, for the Testator must remain dead to something. The death involved is not exactly as we think of death, but it did involve death to the Son’s “God, DIVINE ONLY,” state of being—FOREVER AFTER! That sacrifice far exceeds the sacrifice on the cross as important as that was. How do you know this is true? Because Ellen White said the sacrifice involved with the Incarnation was the “highest good, crowning gift that heaven could bestow.” That makes it more important than the cross, though both sacrifice were essential.

 

“Of what avail would it have been to us that the only begotten Son of God had humbled Himself, endured the temptations of the wily foe, and wrestled with him during His entire life on earth, and died the Just for the unjust, that humanity might not perish, if the Spirit had not been given as a constant, working, regenerating agent to make effectual in our cases what had been wrought out by the world's Redeemer.” {2MR 14.2}

 

So along comes the Trinity Doctrine, evolved by some Catholic apostates some centuries after Christianity began, which sweeps away the entire Christian economy in one svelte swoop! How? Why? Because if there was no eternal “deathlike” sacrifice on the part of the Son, in fulfillment of the Testators Covenant agreement; if the Holy Spirit just existed as a third person for eternity, then there has been no death of the Testator, no eternal sacrifice of His Holy Spirit (soul of His life) Divine Nature, and thus NO ATONEMENT, and the cross would have been to no avail without the eternal death of the Testator to His DIVINE ONLY state of being prior to His Incarnation. Thus, the entire Christian economy would be null and void—unfulfilled—NO ETERNAL, EVERLASTING COVENANT, because the terms would not have been met!

 

Can you begin to see how the dragonish, blasphemic Trinity Doctrine, which Rome’s brags as her Central Doctrine—https://omega77.tripod.com/centraldoctrine.htm, and upon which all her other false doctrines are based, constitutes the greatest blasphemy that could be perpetrated against the Holy Ghost, the soul of the life of Christ, which involved the sacrifice of that Soul as a gift to us, at which time the Holy Ghost became just that, the Ghost of His former Being, and indeed the third person of the Godhead. This is the only way the Holy Spirit could be the soul of Christ’s life, and the life He gave to us as His Divine Nature.

 

So indeed, Babylon is fallen because she committed unpardonable sin a long time ago. And her daughters, now including the omega of apostasy new movement, masquerading as the SDA church, have fallen with her by embracing and teaching a doctrine that totally negates the prime condition of the Testators Covenant and the penalty for our sin—eternal death to something—in this case the DIVINE ONLY existence of the Son before His Incarnation, to forever after being combined and cumbered with humanity. What a sacrifice! What a display of pure agape, selfless, sacrificial love for more than a few hours on the cross and three days and nights in a tomb, after which He would ascend to the Father and retire to His former DIVINE ONLY state of being.

 

I will fully warn you that anyone who learns of this truth and rejects it will thereby commit the greatest possible, abominable, blasphemic, unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost of Christ’s former Being. This is so serious friend of mine.

 

 The Unpardonable sin of Speaking Against or Lying About the Holy Spirit

 

Luk 12:10

And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

 

It is as blasphemic as anything could get to in any way teach a doctrine that denies the “highest good, crowning sacrifice that heaven could bestow—directly involving the sacrifice of Christ’s “soul of His life” Holy Spirit Divine Nature as His “highest good,” “crowing gift” to man. The Trinity Doctrine teaches that lie when it teaches that there was always three members of the Godhead. There were not three members of the Godhead until the Incarnation of the Son of Man, and if there was, Jesus combined with humanity FOREVER, would constitute a fourth person of the Godhead.

 

The Godhead accrued a third member when the Son of Man sacrificed the Soul of His Holy Spirit Divine Nature as a bequeathed gift for us, and became united with humanity forever. This is the proper order:

 

·       The Father

·       The Son (absolved, emptied, of His Holy Spirit (ONLY) state at His Incarnation. The Holy Spirit then became a distinct third person.

·       The Son Jesus who combined Himself with Humanity forever, having bequeathed His Holy Spirit, the life of His Soul Divine Nature to us at His Incarnation.

 

Before the Incarnation, the Father and the Son consisted of Spirit, the One Eternal Spirit, and that Spirit, of course, was Holy, so in that context, the Holy Spirit has existed eternally in and through both the Father and the Son, but through only those two persons until the Incarnation. So was the Holy Spirit present when the Everlasting Covenant was first conceived? Of course, but not as a third, separate and distinct person until the Incarnation.

 

Any denial of the above facts of Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy, constitutes unpardonable sin, because there could be no greater blasphemy against the Holy Spirit of Christ, the soul of His life, than to deny the greatest sacrifice He made for us, and that has to be greater than the cross, for without that sacrifice there would have been no cross. There had to be an eternal death of the Testator (Christ) in order to satisfy the wages of sin which is eternal death. That is the penalty of the unrepentant sinner. So to redeem man from that eternal death penalty, there had to be an eternal death of the Testator to His former Being—His existence as God ONLY, uncombined with man. He died to that God ONLY state of being FOREVER to be cumbered with humanity.

 

    “The Holy Spirit is Christ's representative, but divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof. Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally. Therefore it was for their {the disciples'} interest that He should go to the Father, and send the [His] Spirit to be His successor on earth. No one could then have any advantage because of his location or his personal contact with Christ. By the Spirit the Saviour would be accessible to all. . . . {FLB 56.2}

 

Remember that Ellen White defined the Holy Spirit as the soul of Christ’s life. The Holy Spirit was the soul of his life. The soul of one’s life is the essence of a particular, distinct person. If the Holy Spirit was a third, distinct person from eternity, the soul of His life would have been different from the soul of the Father and the Son.

 

"Christ declared that after his ascension, he would send to his church, as his crowning gift, the Comforter, who was to take his place. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit,--the soul of his life, the efficacy of his church, the light and life of the world. With his Spirit Christ sends a reconciling influence and a power that takes away sin.

In the gift of the Spirit [HIS LIFE--THE SOUL OF HIS LIFE], Jesus gave to man the highest good that heaven could bestow....

The Spirit was given as a regenerating agency, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail....

It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given his Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress his own character upon the church." E.G. White, Review and Herald Articles, May 19, 1904, vol. 5, p. 42.

 

The soul is the life. Life is in the soul. Jesus gave us the life (Soul) that was His and suffered the death which was ours. The death which was ours is eternal.

 

"He (Christ) suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which WAS His." Desire of Ages, p. 25 1 Cor. 11:24-265, cf. John 6:53, 54, Titus 3:5, 6.

 

What death is ours? The wages of sin is death! Would that be death for three days and nights after which we would resurrect and live forever? Nay!, So Christ suffered a form of eternal death—death to His former DIVINE ONLY being, to become combined with our human nature FOREVER. That was the highest good, crowning sacrifice that heaven could bestow. To teach and/or believe anything else is blasphemy against that Holy Spirit gift of the Soul of His life. Thus, the New Movement SDA church has committed blasphemic sin against the Holy Spirit by adopting Rome’s Central Doctrine, the Trinity Doctrine. This was done circa 1930 by a small group of men and primarily by LeRoy Froom. Is this most startling? Is this the worst abomination of the Omega of Apostasy, involving the personality of God, Christ? Could there be any greater abomination?

 

If you would like to study the Godhead from the Bible alone, see this document:

 

https://omega77.tripod.com/hssolascriptura.htm

 

     "By His life and His death, Christ has achieved even more than recovery from the ruin wrought through sin. It was Satan's purpose to bring about an eternal separation between God and man but in Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen. In taking our nature, the Saviour has bound himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken. Through the eternal ages He is linked with us. 'God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.' [John 3:16]. He gave Him not only to bear our sins, and to die as our sacrifice He gave Him to the fallen race. To assure us of His immutable counsel of peace, God gave His only Begotten Son to become one of the human family forever to retain His human nature. This is the pledge that God will fulfill His word. 'Unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon His shoulder.' God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, and has carried the same into the highest heaven. It is the 'Son of man' who shares the throne of the universe. It is the 'Son of man' whose name shall be called, 'Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the prince of Peace.' [Isa. 9:6]. The I Am is the Daysman between God and humanity, laying His hand upon both. HE who is 'holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,' is not ashamed to call us brethren. [Heb. 7:26 2:11.] In Christ the family of earth and the family of heaven are bound together. Christ glorified is our brother. Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded in the bosom of Infinite love." The Desire of Ages, 25.

 

The Case of One Bruce Bivens and His Wife

 

About three months ago, Nov. 2009, Bruce was hauled before his home church board and was asked to renounce his book elaborating on the eternal truths involved with the issues you have read in this document. Because he would not renege on what he knew was the pure truth, he was removed as a member of the SDA church, or I should say the omega apostasy new movement masquerading as the SDA church.

 

The question quite naturally arose to those reading Bruce’s book on this serious issue, as to whether or not he still was a member of the SDA new movement church. Bruce remained and member until he was removed. I don’t know Bruce’s heart or that of his wife. I do know that she was quite adamant and defensive for the church. Maybe that has all changed since Bruce was dismissed from church membership as a result of standing by the truth you have just read above.

 

I can say that Bruce should have realized that this issue involves unpardonable sin and indeed he alluded to that reality in his book by the following words in Chapter 12, entitled Implications. Maybe Bruce felt that there was still hope that the church would see its error and repent. It that is possible, it should be possible for Rome to repent. Especially in light of the fact that the SDA church leaders had such advanced light and had ceded to that light over 150 years ago! For all who have and will knowingly support this blasphemous indulgence into error, there is one sentence—unpardonable sin blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. And, as I stated earlier, there is no excuse for the leaders who should have been faithful watchmen and kept this heresy from coming into the church fifteen years after Ellen White’s death. She said the omega would come and it surely did come. She said it would involved the personality of God, and so it does! She also said that the apostasy would wax stronger until Jesus comes. The following statement is in context with her writings of warning against the Alpha and Omega of apostasy:

 

Wax stronger "One thing it is certain is soon to be realized, the great apostasy, which is developing and increasing and waxing stronger, and will continue to do so until the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout. We are to hold fast the first principles of our denominated faith, and go forward from strength to increased faith. Ever we are to keep the faith that has been substantiated by the Holy Spirit of God from the earlier events of our experience until the present time. We need now larger breadth, and deeper, more earnest, unwavering faith in the leadings of the Holy Spirit. If we needed the manifest proof of the Holy Spirit's power to confirm truth in the beginning, after the passing of the time, we need to-day all the evidence in the confirmation of the truth, when souls are departing from the faith and giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. There must not be any languishing of soul now." (E.G. White, Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, p. 57).

 

That, my friend, is why God and Ellen White said that there will be another literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9, BEGINNING AT HIS SANCTUARY, those who had been privileged with great light, the House of Jacob.

 

The Pantheism Connection

 

Pantheism was another manifestation of the Alpha of Apostasy in the SDA church, circa 1900-1905. How large does that element of apostasy accrue in the omega of apostasy new movement SDA “church?” I have a Directory to Christian Councils, published by the World Council of Churches. I bought a number of copies for the members of my home church group in 1988. That directory, no longer published, lists SDA’s as full members of the WCC in five different countries of the world. The last page of the directory says that the WCC is in FULL WORKING RELATIONSHIP with the General Conference of SDA’s. I called B.B. Beach, the SDA church ecumenical representative at the time, and he denied any membership in the WCC. Scripture says that our leaders will divine lies. Some believe such leaders without scrupulously checking things out—things that involve their very eternal destiny.

 

Then around the same time, the Adventist Review came out with an article about the Hungarian revolt by 1500 SDA members there who protested a 30 year long FULL MEMBERSHIP in the Hungarian Free Council of Churches, a National Council of Churches subsidiary of the World Council of Churches. So the SDA church was obviously complicit with that membership by the principle of corporate responsibility, which indicts every member of that church today.

 

How does this tie-in with the Pantheism Connection? The World Council of Churches members the major non-Christian religions such as Hinduism etc., that teach pantheism. The SDA church pays quite large annual dues to all the National Councils and the WCC. For example, I called the church treasurer in the latter 1980’s and asked him how much the church had given to the National Councils of Churches in the U.S.A. for that year. He checked his ledger and told me a figure exceeding $8,000 for that one council alone. Multiply this on a world-scale! Then tell me: If we support an organization that supports and members pantheistic religions of the world, are we not corporately responsible? Of course we are, and that is how pervasive the pantheism connection is in the apostate SDA church today. And it goes further than that. New Age classes have been conducted at the SDA facility at Loma Linda, California. New Age teachings teach that God is in everything and that you are as a god, so look within for help. That is pure pantheism. Add these abominations to all the specifications mentioned in Selected Messages, Bk. 1, 204-5, which any true reformer SDA can prove as having been fulfilled, and you come up with full-blown omega of apostasy unpardonable sin to all who are aware of these things and the leaders who should be aware and protecting the sheeple from these evils. But what is the reality?

 

Isa 9:16

For the leaders of this people cause [them] to err; and [they that are] led of them [are] destroyed.

 

Chapter 12 – Implications

 

It is my hope that you will finish this chapter yourself—that you will go out and buy yourself a notebook or a journal and that you will add addendum after addendum to this chapter, and to this book. It is impossible for me to realize or cover all of the implications of the truths about the Godhead, the plan of redemption, and the Holy Spirit in this book (much less in this final chapter). I will list some of the most important implications of this study, as I see them,

 

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but I encourage you to add your own to those covered here. For you preachers and teachers out there, there is an inexhaustible mine of information you can bring forth from all of this to the people of your flock! God says: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6). We must bring this vital knowledge to them. This book will only “open the door”—it will be up to you to walk through it and discover all that is on the other side! With that said, here are the most pressing implications of all of this as I see it.

 

Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matt. 12:31-32).

 

If you were the Devil and your goal was to entice me into “sin,” which sin would you be most interested in getting me to commit—one that can be forgiven or one that can’t be forgiven? Wouldn’t you focus most of your efforts, and try the hardest, to get me to commit the sin that God will not forgive? Of course you would, and so would the Devil. Satan has ever sought to get us to commit the Sin against the Holy Spirit and he would like to keep us from understanding what that sin is so that we will be more likely to commit it. So exactly what is the sin against the Holy Spirit?

 

The specific sin against the Holy Spirit, according to Jesus, is that of “Blasphemy.” What is blasphemy? The Bible gives us only two definitions of blasphemy: (1) You commit blasphemy when you speak against God, either in an irreverent way or in a way that denies the truth about God (speaking a lie about God). For example: anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ, is committing blasphemy—“Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.” (1 Jn. 2:22). (2) You commit blasphemy when you claim to be God—or if you claim that something is God when it is not. That is what got Jesus into so much trouble with the Jews—not that Jesus committed blasphemy, but that they thought He did: “The Jews answered Him, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” (Jn. 10:33).

 

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Seventh-day Adventists have long taught that we commit blasphemy (the sin against the Holy Spirit) when we refuse to be led of God—when we refuse to yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit—effectively placing ourselves above God (making ourselves God)—and this is an absolutely correct description of “blasphemy against the Spirit.” However, we seem to be blind to the fact that there is another way that we can commit blasphemy against the Spirit, which involves our denying the truth about the Spirit (and therefore about God). The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not lie in any sudden word or deed; it is the firm determined resistance of truth and evidence.” (MS #30, 1890 [SDA BC, vol. 5, p. 1093]). The Devil has been very successful in getting us to commit this blasphemy against the Spirit, and we shall see why this cunning deception is so fatal in a moment.

 

Perhaps you, like myself, have been frustrated because you never knew how you were to relate to the Holy Spirit. I knew that I needed Him, but I never really knew who He was. I knew that all the evidence indicates that the Holy Spirit is God, but since the Bible never tells us to pray to Him, or to worship Him, or includes Him in the councils of God or the Throne of God, I never really understood how I was to relate to Him. The Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy both make it abundantly clear that we are to worship the Father and the Son. Jesus Himself said: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (Jn. 17:3). 1 John 2:22 (quoted earlier) says that one is the antichrist “who denies the Father and the Son.” We find the Holy Spirit nowhere mentioned in this regard. We only find the Holy Spirit described as the active agent of our acceptance and worship of God. Yet the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as a person, and an extremely important person at that. We know that we need the Holy Spirit in order to overcome sin and to be fitted for heaven. We are told that we must have the “Early” and the Latter Rain” contained in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but we have never really understood what we were actually praying for! Instead, we have blundered along in a state of confusion regarding the nature of the Holy Spirit, His purpose and how we are to relate to Him—and this confusion has suited the Devil just fine. In fact, he has seized upon this confusion and ambiguity regarding the nature of the Holy spirit and has used this to get us to unknowingly commit the sin (blasphemy) against the Holy Spirit.

 

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The Devil really doesn’t care how he gets us to turn away from God and from His Truth, so long as he can get us to do it. He knows that Christians are not going to overtly worship him (Satan), so he has invented all kinds of counterfeits—other things—to take the place of Christ. He knows that if he can convince us to look to someone other than Christ for our hope and our salvation, that he has got us in his pocket and has secured our fate. This is what he has done in propagating the orthodox teachings of the Trinity doctrine. Through the doctrine of the Trinity, Satan has introduced someone other than Christ into the plan of salvation of mankind. He has done this very cleverly and almost imperceptibly—keeping his deception very close to the truth so as not to have it discovered and readily discerned. Here is how he has done this.

 

He would have us believe that the Holy spirit is, and has always been, the third member of the Godhead. He would have us accept the Holy Spirit as someone other than Christ. He knows that if he can keep us believing that the Holy Spirit is someone other than Christ that, in effect, he is successful in getting us to deny Christ, and to deny the most important part of His sacrifice for us. He knows that if he can keep us believing that the Holy Spirit is someone other than Christ, that he can prevent the outpouring of Christ’s Holy Spirit and thus delay (or prevent) his doom. It is really a very masterful deception! Through our belief in the traditional Trinity doctrine he actually has gotten us to believe that we are rendering faithful service and obedience to God when, in fact, we are doing the very opposite—we are going after “other Gods.” He has gotten us to worship a lie. Satan knows that we must worship God “in Truth” (Jn. 4:23, 24) and he is exalting in the fact that he has gotten us to pray both to and for a figment of our imaginations (that which is not Truth). He has gotten us to create another God in the person of the Holy Spirit when, in reality, the Holy Spirit is not another but is Christ Jesus. It is my firm belief that Jesus is speaking to us today, and is saying: “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.” (Prov. 1:23. See also: Joel 2:28, 29; Isa. 44:1-6; Acts 2:17-21).

 

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Consider how far our belief in the Trinity doctrine has taken us:

 

George Knight, a professor and prominent SDA theologian makes this startling confession in Ministry Magazine, October 1993—“Most of the founders of Seventh-day Adventism would not be able to join the church today if they had to subscribe to the denomination’s fundamental beliefs. More specifically, most would not be able to agree to belief number 2 which deals with the doctrine of the Trinity.” [Emphasis mine].

 

William Johnson, Editor of the Adventist Review, wrote in the January 6, 1994 issue that—“Adventist beliefs have changed over the years. Most startling is the teaching regarding Jesus Christ. Many of the pioneers, including James White, J. N. Andrews, Uriah Smith and J. H. Waggoner, held to an Arian or semi-Arian view. That is, that the Son at some point in time, before the creation of our world, was generated by the Father. The Trinitarian understanding of God, now part of our fundamental beliefs, was not generally held by early Adventists. Even today, a few do not subscribe to it.” [used by permission—Emphasis mine].

 

The pioneers of Adventism believed that Jesus was “brought forth” from the Father—and while their understanding of this may have been imperfect, God never directed Ellen White to rebuke them for believing this. In fact, Jesus Himself stressed that this belief is important and necessary, and pronounced the blessing of the Father’s love upon those who believe this truth: “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.” (Jn. 16:26, 27). “I proceeded forth and have come from God.” (Jn. 8:42). Our pioneers may not have understood the full implications of this belief but they were on the right track and God never rebuked them for it. How would you like to be a pastor of one of our churches today and be forced to deny baptism and membership to people

 

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Like James White, J. N. Andrews, Uriah Smith, J. H. Waggoner and others because they did not believe in the orthodox Trinitarian understanding of God? Sound preposterous? It happens.

 

There are basically three reasons, as I see it, that inhibit our ability to secure the outpouring of the Holy spirit in full measure. They are:

 

1.    We do not recognize and/or acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is Christ’s Spirit—that it is His divine nature, which He sacrificed on our behalf in order that we might become partakers of the divine nature, overcome the sin which so easily besets us, and become like Him.

2.    We are not fully surrendered to Christ and are therefore unfit to receive His divine Spirit. There is tremendous power in the Holy Spirit and unless we are completely surrendered to Christ—willing to do His will—that power would destroy us and others.

3.    We are not asking Christ for His Holy Spirit! We are currently asking for something that is not His or His to give.

 

Any one—or any combination of these—inhibits God’s ability to give us the Holy Spirit and has prevented us from receiving Christ’s Holy Spirit in the power and the fullness of the Latter Rain.

 

When our attitudes and beliefs towards God are out of kilter, we severely limit God’s ability to communicate effectively with us. God will not force our wills. He will  not compel us to understand or believe Him. We must choose to do this. When our approach and attitude toward God is in error, or when we are not living up to the light we already have, He cannot give us additional light, understanding or power. It is our attitude toward God that determines how much of His grace he is able to impart to us. We must come to the point where we are humble, teachable and desiring of the things He wishes to impart to us (even if it means giving up some cherished belief). “When God’s people are at ease, and satisfied with their present enlightenment, we may be sure that He will not favour them. It is His will that they should be ever moving forward, to receive the increased and ever increasing light that is shining for them. The present attitude of the church is not

 

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pleasing to God. There has come in a self—confidence that has led them to feel no necessity for more truth and greater light.” (5T, pp. 708, 709). God will have a people who seek a right relationship with Him and will allow Him to impart knowledge and power to us—but we must accept the light that He gives us in order for this to happen.

 

Greater light concerning the sacrifice of Christ will be revealed and understood by God’s people before the end comes. The truth about the Holy Spirit is an essential component of the sacrifice of Christ and the plan of redemption—and it will be understood as such. But it will only be revealed and realized by those who desire more light and more truth from God—By those who are aware of their utter depravity and helplessness, and who feel their enormous need for the righteousness of Christ-By those who are willing to be led, and molded, and transformed by the truth as it is in Jesus—cost be what it may.

 

Seventh-day Adventists have been given the privilege and responsibility of proclaiming the last warning message to be given to the world (the three angel’s messages). This message not only includes the message that “the hour of His judgment has come” and a warning about accepting the “mark of the Beast” (Rev. 14:7-9), it includes a warning against accepting the “wine” (doctrines) of Babylon. These doctrines, according to the Bible, are those of “confusion” and are the teaching of men. Through our acceptance of the Orthodox doctrine of the Trinity, handed down to us by the Catholic Church (the “Beast”), we have inadvertently accepted the wine of Babylon and it has had a tremendously negative effect on our ability to accurately proclaim the real message contained in the three angel’s messages. Here is why:

 

“The theme of greatest importance is the third angel’s message, embracing the messages of the first and second.” (Evangelism, p. 196, Letter 97, 1902).  This means that the “third angel’s message” includes the messages of the first and second angels and that they all contain a “theme of greatest importance.” What is this “theme” of great importance? What is the real message of the third angel? “Justification by faith [Righteousness by faith, or the message of “Christ our Righteousness”] . . . is the third angel’s message in verity” (RH, April 1, 1890, par. 8). “The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning

 

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of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth.” (RH, November 22, 1892, par. 7). “The message of Christ’s righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth to the other to prepare the way of the Lord. This sis the glory of God, which closes the work of the third angel.” (6T, p. 19).

 

“Christ our Righteousness” is the last glorious message that is to be proclaimed to our dying planet. Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? We certainly teach this don’t we? Haven’t we stressed the importance of being “born again,” of having “Christ formed within”—of being “in Christ” and of having “Christ in us?” We have, but here is the catch: “How” is this accomplished? We have been teaching that this is accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit (and this is correct), BUT we teach that the Holy Spirit is someone other than Christ. So, in effect, what we are teaching (through the orthodox view of the Trinity) is that the “Spirit” that is responsible for enabling us to partake of Christ’s divine nature and is to reproduce Christ’s character in us—effectively allowing Christ to “abide in us” and making His sacrifice effectual—is someone other than Christ Himself! Does that make any sense to you at all? The fact is that this teaching directly contradicts the plain teaching of the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy: for “there is salvation in no one else . . . there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).

 

“All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of HIS SPIRIT in large measure.” (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 92). Are we really so naïve as to believe that God will bless our refusal to accept the truth that the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Christ?” Can we really expect Christ to honor us with the outpouring of His Spirit while we are clinging to, and defending, a doctrine that denies this and has come to us straight out of the confusion of Babylon? This is the most serious of questions—especially at this moment in history.

 

There is a growing desire and movement within our church right now for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That is a good thing. But we must ask ourselves why we desire the “outpouring.” Could we be coveting the glory and power of God as the disciples

 

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Once did—seeking position, authority and personal honor? Could we be coveting a “feeling” and an experience that will prove that we are accepted and blessed of God? Such motives completely unfit us for the honor of the calling in Christ Jesus and leave us completely vulnerable to the deceptions of the Devil. Our desire for the outpouring of the Spirit must be coupled with a desire to understand the truth about the Holy Spirit and all that it entails. Paul said that when we pray, especially in regards to the Holy Spirit and its manifestation in our lives, that we should pray with our “minds” and with our “understanding” also (See 1 Cor. 14:15)—not as one blindly asking for what we know not. As long as we remain in confusion about the Holy Spirit, we can be sure that the Devil will be glad to step in with a counterfeit outpouring of the Spirit (his own spirit!) and will deceive many.

 

In fact, we are told that this is going to be the case at the end of time. You can read about it in the book “Early Writings” in the chapter entitled “End of the 2300 Days,” pages 54-56. Here you will find a description of two very different groups of people. One group has understood clearly that Jesus’ work was not completed at the cross—that He still had the work of Sanctifying a people for Himself and that he had an investigative judgment to perform. These people understand clearly the work that Christ has been doing (and how He has been doing it) and have followed His movements through the heavenly Sanctuary. These people understand that Christ is not only our substitute and Savior, they will also understand that He is much more than that—they will understand Him to be their Creator and “Father” (both by his initial act of creation and by his “re-creation” through the new birth experience). With this understanding: “Those who rose up with Jesus would send up their faith to Him in the holiest and pay, ‘My Father, give us Thy Spirit.’ Then Jesus would breathe on them the Holy Ghost. In that breath was light, power, and much love, joy, and peace.” (EW, p. 55).

 

The second group of people did not understand Christ’s work of sanctification and judgment. They have not followed Him through His work in the Heavenly Sanctuary and, while desiring the “holy Spirit,” are completely unprepared to receive it. Because they do not understand Christ’s work, they are deceived into worshiping Satan and receiving his counterfeit. Here is how Ellen Describes

 

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this group of obviously sincere, yet deceived people: “I turned to look at the company who were still bowed before the throne; they did not know that Jesus had left it. Satan appeared to be by the throne, trying to carry on the work of God. I saw them look up to the throne, and pray, ‘Father, give us Thy Spirit.’ Satan would then breathe upon them an unholy influence; in it there was light and much power, but no sweet love, joy, and peace. Satan’s object was to keep them deceived and to draw back and deceive God’s Children.” (Ibid. p. 56).

 

Truth matters! Coveting the things of God is a good thing if it s done with understandingif it is done with the Spirit of Wisdom and Truth! Satan has always wanted to be the third member of the Godhead and he is accomplishing this in the minds and experience of many people. Following the great awakening of 1844 (the end of the 2300 days), there was a revival that took place in many denominations. Those who did not understand and/or accept Christ’s sacrifice and work for us began to be deceived by a host of manifestations of the devil’s spirit. During this time there was the mysterious “knocking” involving the Fox sisters, the “quaking” of the Quakers, the manifestation of the false gift of tongues and many, many false doctrines introduced (Dispensationalism, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormonism, Evolution, etc.). All of these things happened just following the true spiritual enlightenment of Christ’s work in 1844. Isn’t it extremely likely that even greater false manifestations will take place at the very close of Christ’s work when His Spirit is about to be poured out in full measure in fulfillment of His promise found in Joel 2:28? What “Spirit” we will partake of will be decided in great measure by what we understand and accept the Holy Spirit to be! Will we understand and accept it to be Christ’s Spirit, or will we fall prey to the devil’s counterfeit?

 

Christ denied Himself in ways we have only begun to acknowledge and comprehend (much less appreciate). Christ always sought to give glory to His Father. We must have the same motive—to give glory to Christ. Christ sacrificed Himself in order to save us. Christ laid aside the power of His own divine nature (Spirit) in order that we may overcome as He overcame and be granted eternal life in Him. We are called to deny ourselves, and work as He did, for the good and salvation of others. Christ has not left us alone to accomplish this. He has given us His Holy Spirit, and through this gift He has promised to  impart His own divine nature to us what we

 

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may be transformed into His image and do the works of God. What a puny sacrifice we are called to make—to give up our sin, our selfish desires, to love our fellow man, and to be co-workers with Christ! What a puny sacrifice is ours, when compared to that of Christ’s! It takes my breath away! How must we respond to the privilege that is ours through Christ’s sacrifice?

 

                                              

God will have a people who will honor His Son. He will have a people who understand and appreciate the eternal sacrifice that has been made in order to redeem them—a sacrifice that has come at an “infinite cost to the Father and the Son.” (RH, March 10, 1891, par. 2) and “at an inconceivable cost to the Son of God” (ST, January 6, 1887, par. 3). God will have a people who will not deny Christ or His Spirit, and who will accept the provision that has been made in order that we may become partakers of His divine nature. That “provision” is the Holy Spirit of Christ. “Christ expects that men will become partakers of His divine nature while in this world.” (5T, p. 731, par. 1), and He has given us “His own Spirit, the life of His own life.” (DA, p. 827, par. 3) in order that we may actually do this. But He can never give us His Spirit until we acknowledge it as such, and until we ask Him for it. Too many of us are praying for something for which we have no knowledge. The time has come for God’s Remnant people to reclaim this important truth—to place it firmly into its proper place—giving Christ the honor, glory and respect He deserves by acknowledging and accepting the wonderful sacrifice of His Spirit on our behalf. When we do this, we enable God to accomplish His work in us. God will have a people who not only “know the Truth” but who will be empowered and set free by it.

 

It is extremely interesting to me to notice what was going on in the church when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit happened the first time, and when it very nearly happened again in 1888. When the early church gathered in the upper room, their focus was totally on Christ and what He had done—they recognized much more fully the sacrifice that Christ had made—they now knew who He was and what He had actually done—and they earnestly repented and asked Christ to fill them with His grace and power. It was then that the Holy Spirit was poured out in special measure. In 1888, our church’s focus began to center on Christ and Christ alone—people were repenting of their sins and were seeking for

 

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Christ to fill them with His righteousness—asking for His power to overcome sin and form a righteous character within them. The Holy Spirit began to be poured out once again, but then halted as we lost our focus and became embroiled in a host of other issues. It is my sincere belief that the “power” that is missing as we have attempted to recreate and proclaim the 1888 message, is the truth about Christ’s Holy Spirit. Christ cannot impart His righteousness to us until we understand that He is the one doing it!

 

Until we regain our focus on Christ and His righteousness—until we understand the sacrifice of Christ in giving His Spirit to us that we may become partakers of His divine nature, imparting His life and His righteousness to us—we will never experience the Latter Rain which is to be poured out in full measure. Christ literally became one with us, in order that we may literally become one with Him. When we finally accept this truth, we will be enabled to become “partakers” of His divine nature and become the Sons and Daughters of God as no other beings in history have had the privilege.

 

Then, the same words that were spoken by the Father to Christ, will be spoken of us also: “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.” And again, “I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME.” (Heb. 1:5). To which of the Angels has God granted the privilege of partaking in the sufferings of Christ? To which of the Angels has He granted the privilege of being called “Son?” To which of the Angels has He promised to reign in His kingdom? Upon which of the Angels has He promised to “pour out” His Spirit? Behold what manner of Love the Father has given unto us—that we may actually partake of Christ’s divine nature and be called the “Sons and Daughters of God!”

 

“Man’s salvation depends upon his receiving Christ by faith. Those who will not receive Him lose eternal life because they refused to avail themselves of the only means provided by the Father and the Son for the salvation of the perishing world.” (MS #142 [SDA BC, vol. 7, p. 931]). The “Only means” that the Father and the Son have provided—is the Spirit of Christ. By Christ, through Christ, Christ in us—the hope of glory! This is to be the theme song of the remnant people of God. “One interest will prevail, one subject will swallow up every other,--Christ our righteousness.” RH, December 23, 1890, par. 19).

 

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“Jesus is waiting to breathe upon all His disciples, and give them the inspiration of His sanctifying Spirit, and transfuse the vital influence from Himself to His people . . . Their will must be submitted to His will, they must act with His Spirit that it may be no more they that live, but Christ that liveth in them. Jesus is seeking to impress upon them the thought that in giving His Holy Spirit He is giving to them the glory which the Father hath given Him.” (Letter 11b, 1892 [MR, vol. 4, p. 334]).

 

It is time for the people of God to wake up! The fullness of the incarnation of Christ is not yet complete. HE has yet to reproduce Himself in His people—He has yet to incarnate His Spirit into you and I and us into Himself. Will we let Him do this? “May the Lord help us to die to self and be born again, that Christ may live in us, a living, active principle, a power that will keep us holy . . . God knows what you can be. He knows what divine grace can do for you if you will be partakers of the divine nature.” (9T, p. 187, par. 4 & p. 188, par. 2).

 

Do You?