Who is the Zion From Which Sinners Are Shaken?

 

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Dear Reader,

This is the first in a study of cherished errors held by the SDA church for decades. In this series, every word ANYONE can find on any of the given issues will be weighed and interpreted so that NOTHING contradicts, for then, and THEN ONLY, can we KNOW that we are not in error. The following formula will be followed scrupulously, and we will then see who is twisting the Word and Ellen White to serve their own cause. So any statement from Scripture and Ellen White that you think supports your cause, submit it to this close study of the Word and the Spirit of Prophecy. It might be well for all to save all of these studies, so that we don't have to rehash all these issues over and over again, preventing the study of additional important issues. 

There can be no contestation of the fact that reasoning and interpretation must be employed in fulfilling the following weight of evidence formula. But if every WORD is brought to the fore and interpreted so that absolutely nothing in the total picture contradicts, then, and ONLY THEN, can one know that he/she is not in error.

 

1.    Weight of Evidence Formula: "1. Every word must have its proper bearing on the subject presented in the Bible 2. All Scripture is necessary, and may be understood by diligent application and study 3. Nothing revealed in Scripture can or will be hid from those who ask in faith, not wavering 4. To understand doctrine, bring all the scriptures together on the subject you wish to know, then let every word have its proper influence and if you can form your theory without a contradiction, you cannot be in error 5. Scripture must be its own expositor, [interpreter] since it is a rule of itself. If I depend on a teacher to expound to me, and he should guess at its meaning, or desire to have it so on account of his sectarian creed, or to be thought wise, then his guessing, desire, creed, or wisdom is my rule, and not the Bible." E.G. White, Second Advent Review and Herald, 11-25-34, pr. 24.

 

Cherished Errors of Adventism--Issue 1: Who is Shaken From Whom--Zion Versus Laodicea--Sinners Shaken out of Zion 

 

"The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners IN ZION will be sifted out--the chaff separated from the precious wheat [AFTER THE CLOSE OF PROBATIONARY TIME--CHRIST'S OBJECT LESSONS 72]. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths...

The REMNANT that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy. All these, He says, 'I have graven . . . upon the palms of my hands' (Isa. 49:16)...

That which God required of Adam before his fall was perfect obedience to His law. God requires now what He required of Adam, perfect obedience, righteousness without a flaw, without shortcoming in His sight....We cannot do this without that faith that brings Christ's righteousness into daily practice." E.G. White, Selected Messages, Bk. 2, 380.

Major errors have accrued because professing Seventh-day Adventists have failed to comprehend the meaning of Ellen White’s statement that sinners are sifted out of Zion, which means that the chaff is separated from the precious wheat. Here are some of the problems to the popular interpretation of that statement:

·       The wheat is not separated from the chaff until the close of probationary time. That occurs at the commencement of the first plague according to Ellen White.

·       The statement that the church appears as about to fall, but does not, is errantly used to teach it is the visible, organized church that appears as about to fall, but that it doesn’t and that church is purged and purified by all the sinners being shaken out of it and it then becomes the SDA church triumphant.

·       It is taught that at the Sunday Law the wheat will be separated from the chaff. But that is not the close of probationary time, and Ellen White says that the wheat is not separated from the chaff until the end of probationary time, which occurs at the commencement of the first plague. Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 81, is used to teach that the gold (wheat) will be separated from the dross (tares) “in this time.”

·       Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 81, says “IN THIS TIME the gold will be separated from the dross in the church.”

·       Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 72, makes it plain that the separation does not occur until THE END OF PROBATIONARY TIME.[1] Some light’s should be beginning to turn on at this point.

·       The notion is taught that at the Sunday Law, the bad will leave the church and this is what causes it to appear that the church is about to fall. But, if the wheat are not separated from the tares until the close of probation, that becomes a problem for those who believe the time the church appears about to fall is at the inception of the Sunday Law.

·       The visible church should not continue beyond the enforcement of the Sunday Law. If the visible church closed its doors at the enforcement of the Sunday Law, and/or many left the church to join Babylon’s ranks at that time, it would indeed appear that the church was about to fall, but that is not what Ellen White says will happen. She says that the church will keep going and instruct its members to keep Sunday.[2]  

·       Many may mutiny from the visible and/or the invisible SDA church at the enforcement of the Sunday Law, but that is not when the wheat are shaken from the tares, because that is not the close of probation.

·       So we come to the inevitable, forced interpretation that Ellen White’s statement that sinners are shaken out of Zion, must of necessity refer to the SDA church triumphant, because there is no separation of the wheat from the tares (sinners) until the end of probationary time, and the visible SDA church should not continue after the Sunday Law is enforced, and if it did (and it will), it would not be the SDA church militant being purged of the bad to become the SDA church triumphant. The church triumphant will not occur until the very end according to Ellen White’s statements as we have discussed them so far. So it seems. But things are not always as they seem, are they?

Another View of Who is Shaken From and by Whom

Now we are going to move in an entirely different direction, all the while adding evidence from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy to the weight of evidence discussed thus far. This additional evidence will add some most intriguing and interesting factors to the final conclusion we will be forced to if we interpret all the facts so that none contradict. We will study the identity of Zion, because that is from, and by whom the tares and rebels are shaken from the Kingdom of God. Let’s take a closer look at the statement under study:

"The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners IN ZION will be sifted out--the chaff separated from the precious wheat [AFTER THE CLOSE OF PROBATIONARY TIME--CHRIST'S OBJECT LESSONS 72]. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths...

The REMNANT that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy. All these, He says, 'I have graven . . . upon the palms of my hands' (Isa. 49:16)...

That which God required of Adam before his fall was perfect obedience to His law. God requires now what He required of Adam, perfect obedience, righteousness without a flaw, without shortcoming in His sight....We cannot do this without that faith that brings Christ's righteousness into daily practice." E.G. White, Selected Messages, Vol. 2, 380.

 

·       Taken in essence of meaning, the statement says that the church triumphant appears as about to fall but it does not fall. Obviously, the church that does not fall is the church triumphant.

·       Those whom the bible mentions as being without guile, without spot, and without fault, is the bride, the 144,000, who are translated without seeing death. If the 144,000 included all from the SDA church who are saved, and all who are saved from any who come out of all other fallen churches at the end-time, then all would be translated without seeing death—and that it not the way it is if you believe Ellen White’s statements that only the 144,000 are translated without seeing death and only they go into the Temple on Mt. Sion.

·       In studying out the identity of Zion, we will see that Zion is the church triumphant that is married.

·       Sinners are shaken out of the church triumphant, by that church, not out of the apostate church militant that militates for one thing primarily—error—apostasy.

·       The bride of Christ, the church triumphant, will be ready just prior to the Sunday Law in order to receive the Holy Spirit to give the Loud Cry, just as the disciples were ready to receive the Holy Spirit for the same type of mission at the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were called the bride of Christ by Ellen White, Desire of Ages, 179. The bride was ready prior to any calls made by her in the prefigure type of A.D. 27-70. And she will be ready for the same antitypical outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the same purpose.

·       Sinners are shaken out of the church triumphant of Ezekiel 20:34-38 and Hebrews 12:22, 23. They are one and the same church.

·       It is never proper to refer to any church militant as Zion, because Zion is where God dwells, and He dwells in and with His faithful, commandment-keeping, non-apostate people.

·       In the prefigure of A.D. 27-70, a bride was ready in the form of the disciples before the final call was made first to the Jews and then the world.

·       In Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 405-6, Ellen White says that the voice of God AND THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE, awaken the 10 virgins. Matthew 25:5, says all those virgins slumbered and slept.

·       If the voice of the bride gives the Midnight  Cry to the ten virgins—wise and foolish, then the bride will be ready just before  the Loud Cry in order to give it to the ten virgins.

·       In Isaiah 62:11, the bride is instructed to say something to her daughter[3] (the ten-virgins), and what she is told to say is a paraphrase of the Midnight Cry of Matthew 25:6.[4]

 

Who is Shaken From Whom--Zion Versus Laodicea--Sinners Shaken out of Zion?

 

The important answer to that question should be very apparent by now. But we will bulwark our study with additional evidence because we are to consider all of it if we are to arrive at a correct conclusion. To recoup:

 

Ellen White says that Zion appears as about to fall but it does not. Obviously, the church that does not fall is Zion. She says that sinners are shaken out of Zion. So Zion is the church that appears as about to fall and is the church from and by which sinners are shaken. She is the church that gives the Loud Cry to all fallen churches and all ten virgins, COL, 405-6. She is the bride of Christ, Isaiah 62:1 and Hebrews 12:22, 23. So we know straight away that the bad are not shaken out of the church militant, because they are shaken out of Zion, the church triumphant. The definition of the Bible player--Zion is crucial to our arrival at pure truth on this all important issue. For the following Bible definition of Zion, we go to Hebrews 12:22, 23. We are going strictly by the Bible definition. We find that Zion is to be the dwelling place of God. He dwells in His bride and not temples made with hands. 

 

Act 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

 

Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;  

 

Hbr 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion [Variation of Zion], and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,  

 

 Hbr 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect…

 

 Hbr 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.  

 

The following definition of Zion applies as it is used in Hebrews 12:22:

 

Number 4622

Transliteration:

Sion {see-own'}

Word Origin:

of Hebrew origin 6726

TDNT:

7:292,1028

Part of Speech:

proper name location

Usage in the KJV:

Sion 7

Total: 7

 

Definition:

 

Sion or Zion = "a parched place"

1.  the hill on which the higher and more ancient part of Jerusalem was built

A.  the southwestern most and highest of the hills on which the city was built

2.  often used of the entire city of Jerusalem

3.  since Jerusalem because the temple stood there, was called the dwelling place of God

4.   

TDNT - Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
TWOT - Theological Word Book of the Old Testament

 

Isaiah 62

 

 1For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

 

 2And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.

 

 3Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

 4Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

 

 5For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.

 

 6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

 

Note: Zion, the bride of Christ, is the true watchmen on the walls of Zion.

 

 7And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

 

 8The LORD hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured:

 

 9But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the LORD; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness.

 

 10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.

 

[It is Zion that prepares the way of the people; she gathers out the stones and lifts up the standard--the law, the character of Christ. It is she who keeps the law. The apostate church that masquerades as Zion, is indicted as breaking God's statues (laws) more than any other nation, See Ezekiel Chapter 5, and that is one of the reasons she is slaughtered in a literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9].

 

 11Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

 

Note: The daughter of Zion is the 10 virgins. They all slumbered and slept. Matthew 25:5. It is the voice of the bride who awakens all the ten virgins. They are all part of the Laodicean church--the foolish virgin state of the church says Ellen White. End note.

 

 12And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

 

The true and actual context for the following statement is when the SDA church triumphant is surrounded by the Babylonian destroyers in the great time of Jacob’s trouble. The Great Controversy, p. 616 gives this true context: THE CHURCH THAT APPEARS AS ABOUT TO FALL PARALLED WITH JACOB AND HIS ARMY GOING TO MEET ESAU:

 

"The people of God will then be plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress described by the prophet as the time of Jacob's trouble....

"...Jacob had fled for his life, alarmed by his brother's deadly threats....Jacob's company, unarmed and defenseless, SEEMED ABOUT TO FALL helpless victims of violence and slaughter." The Great Controversy, 616, 1911 Edition.

 

The faithful will be surrounded in the solitary retreats to which they have fled. There will appear to be no way of escape. This is when the church triumphant "appears" as about to fall, just as Jacob appeared to be about to fall before his enemies. Compare Great Controversy, 626, and 635.

 

The church militant has misapplied this "appearing as about to fall" statement, as applied to itself. Clearly, that is a lie, as Ezekiel 22:28, says they would divine lies.

 

"The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners IN ZION will be sifted out--the chaff separated from the precious wheat [AFTER THE CLOSE OF PROBATIONARY TIME--CHRIST'S OBJECT LESSONS 72]. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths...

The REMNANT that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding apostasy. All these, He says, 'I have graven . . . upon the palms of my hands' (Isa. 49:16)...

That which God required of Adam before his fall was perfect obedience to His law. God requires now what He required of Adam, perfect obedience, righteousness without a flaw, without shortcoming in His sight....We cannot do this without that faith that brings Christ's righteousness into daily practice." E.G. White, Selected Messages, Vol. 2, 380. 

 

"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, p. 70.  

 

The field is the world and the various church militants. Ironically, to some, the tares are gathered into the midst’s of the field, the world and the churches who have become so much like the world that it is impossible to distinguish between the two, Early Writings, p. 273. That is why there is a coming out of a remnant from all fallen churches at the end, including the apostate SDA church.

 

A Look at the Various Church Militants of the World at the End-time 

 

Ellen White said that all churches including those of Babylon, are Laodicean. Isaiah 4:1-4 says the same thing. They are found doing their own thing at the end-time. All Bible Commentarians are agreed on the fact that Isaiah, Chapters 1-4, are end-time in context. Here is Ellen White's statement that all churches are Laodicean:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Another Coming Out and the “Eight Church” Factor

 

A very foolish virgin concept is that if there was to be a faithful remnant, it must be the Laodicean church because that is the seventh and last church mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3. This is preposterous when you factor the following considerations as part of the weight of evidence:

 

·       Ellen White said that the Laodicean state of the church is the foolish virgin state. If the Laodicean state of the church—the foolish virgins— is the final church, then that would mean that foolish virgins are saved!

·       Ellen White clearly said that the presence of the Lord is not in the midst’s of the Laodicean state of the church. How could Laodicea be the final church without having the presence of God in her midst’s and being the foolish virgin state of the church?

·       To the end of time the presence of God was to be in a true church—that means at any given time a true church has existed.

·       When an individual heeds all of the messages to the seven churches, he/she then becomes a member of true Jerusalem, and the bride becomes New Jerusalem rather than the names used to describe the seven churches. This is proven by the fact that the disciples of Christ were called the bride, Desire of Ages, 179, and the gathered out church of Christ and His disciples had headquarters in Jerusalem. For the new nomenclature of those who truly follow Christ and are thus true Christians, see Isaiah 4:1-4, where they are referred to as Jerusalem and Zion, and this means true Jerusalem and Zion, not imposter apostate churches masquerading as Jerusalem and Zion. These verses in Isaiah should be compared with Isaiah 37:31, 32. If done so that nothing contradicts, my interpretation of 4:1-4, is correct.

·       Ellen White said that all seven messages to the church will apply to the end of time.[5]

 

Conclusion

 

In every case wherein Ellen White speaks of some who are shaken out from us, or going out from us, she must be interpreted to mean those who are shaken out from and by the SDA church triumphant, for we have abundantly proven in this document that this is the case if there is to be no contradiction. If she meant that the bad will be shaken out of the SDA church militant (wheat and tare co-ed church), then she would have contradicted all the important evidence we have included in this document, and she explicitly said to interpret so all evidence so that nothing contradicts.

 

For decades, professing Seventh-day Adventists have not correctly understood the Bible players such as Zion and New Jerusalem and what is meant my those terms as regards true Seventh-day Adventism. As in Christ’s day, there was true Jerusalem, True Zion, (Not the same); false Jerusalem and false Zion. There is no greater deception than for one to believe he/she is part of true Jerusalem and true Zion when he/she is not; when one not only does not understand the true definition of those entities, but is far from their borders.

 

Many are going to look down and see black on judgment day instead of a while robe. And it will not be because they did not have a fair opportunity to know truth. It will be because they valued other quests as more important than selling all, buying the field of great price and digging as for hidden treasure. Everything that one substitutes for that true quest of quests, is an idol. To some it is education. To some it is the love of money (mammon). To some it is houses and lands. To some it is merchandise of one sort or another. But whatever is held dearer than the search for pure and deep truth is an idol, and constitutes of building one’s empire here, only to lose out on eternal life.

 

May God bless your efforts to dig for pure gold—gold tried in the fire—faith that works by the self-sacrificing love of Christ indwelling the soul, is my prayer for anyone who reads these words.

 

rb

 

 

 



[1] “The tares and the wheat are to grow together until the harvest; and the harvest is THE END of probationary time.” Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 72.

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

 

[3] Isa 62:11  Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him.

[4] Matt.25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

[5]