Bible
and Ellen White Reference to “Those
who go out From us”
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A huge
misconception amongst professing Seventh-day Adventists is derived from a
statement by Ellen White referring to 1 John 2:19, to wit—“those who go out
from us, were not of us.” This is misinterpreted to mean that all the bad
are shaken out of the church militant to leave it the purged and cleansed
church triumphant. That could not be further from the truth, for if that were
so, Ezekiel 9 would not LITERALLY BEGIN AT HIS SANCTUARY, professing spiritual
Jerusalem, Ezekiel 9:6.
1Jo 2:19 They went out from us, but they
were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have
continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that
they were not all of us. |
SDA leaders misinterpret and try to capitalize
on that quoting of 1 John 2:19 by Ellen White, by applying it to those who
leave the apostate church militant. That is gross misrepresentation. Were that
true, Ezekiel 9 would not begin at His Sanctuary, the House of Jacob, apostate “Jerusalem”
just as it did in the last literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9, while true and
faithful Jerusalem (the disciples of Christ and company) had their headquarters
in the city of Jerusalem as well. So there was true Jerusalem and apostate
Jerusalem, just as there is today.
Who did 1 John 2:19 refer to in the type? the
apostate Jewish church, or the "gathered out" church of the disciples
and the home churches they formed? Who left whom? Did the bad leave the
apostate Jewish church to leave it purged and cleansed? Nay. The good left the
bad and the bad were shaken out by not receiving the reform message of the
disciples, who were the bride of Christ, DA 179. That is how God cleansed His
Temple in the prefigure. That is how He cleanses His true church in the
antitypical literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 OR IT WOULD NOT BE LITERAL!
"Christ was a
protestant...The Reformers date back to Christ and the apostles. They came out and separated
themselves from a religion of forms and ceremonies.
Luther and his followers did not invent the reformed religion. They simply
accepted it as presented by Christ and the apostles." E.G. White, Review and Herald, vol. 2, 48, col. 2.
It was those who went out
from the true church of Christ and His disciples, that were not of them, NOT
THOSE WHO WENT OUT OF THE APOSTATE JEWISH CHURCH. SDA leaders and laity alike
turn 1 John 2:19 on its head.
The same author of Ezekiel 9, relates in
Ezekiel 22:17-31, exactly where the tares were gathered in the prefigure
fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 in A.D. 27-70. Any end-time literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 must be according to chapter 22,
or indeed it would not be literal as
Ellen White said it will be.
“The time will soon come when the prophecy of
Ezekiel 9 will be fulfilled; that prophecy should be carefully studied, for it
will be fulfilled to the very letter.”— Ellen G. White 1888
Materials, p. 1303.
The
Signs of the Times, February 12, 1880: “The desolation of Jerusalem stands as a
solemn warning before the eyes of modern Israel.”
“The desolation of Jerusalem in the days of
Jeremiah is a solemn warning to modern Israel, that the counsels and
admonitions given them through chosen instrumentalities cannot be disregarded
with impunity.” Prophets and Kings, 416.
“In some cases, BEFORE
the time specified in the decree, enemies will rush upon the waiting ones to
put them to death.” E.G. White, The 1884
edition of The Great Controversy, p. 447.
Scripture on
Home Churches
Act 16:32 And they spake unto him the word of
the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
Act 16:34 And when he had brought them into
his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his
house.
Act 16:40 And they went out of the prison,
and entered into [the house of] Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren,
they comforted them, and departed.
Act 18:7 And he departed thence, and entered
into a certain [man's] house, named Justus, [one] that worshipped God, whose
house joined hard to the synagogue.
Rom 16:5 Likewise [greet] the church that is
in their house. Salute my well beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of
Achaia unto Christ.
1Cr 1:11 For it hath been declared unto me of
you, my brethren, by them [which are of the house] of Chloe, that there are
contentions among you.
1Cr 16:15 I beseech you, brethren, (ye know
the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and [that] they
have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)
1Cr 16:19 The churches of Asia salute you.
Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in
their house.
Ellen White on Home Churches
When the young men and women were kept away
from the Alpha of apostasy in the church, what did they do where did they meet
for worship?
Ellen White on Home Churches in the Alpha of
Apostasy:
"There is a little hope in one direction:
Take the young men and women, and place them where they will come as little in
contact with our churches as possible, that the low grade of piety which is
current in this day shall not leaven their ideas of what it means to be a
Christian." E.G. White, Manuscript Release #995, p. 5.
"Brother and sister Haskell have rented
a house in one of the best parts of the city, and have gathered round them a
family of helpers, who day by day go out giving Bible readings, selling our
papers, and doing medical missionary work. During the hour of worship, the
workers relate their experiences. Bible studies are regularly conducted in the
home, and THE YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN connected with the mission receive a
practical, thorough training in holding Bible readings and in selling our
publications. The Lord has blessed their labors, a number have embraced the
truth, and many others are deeply interested." Review and Herald, September 7, 1905,
Evangelism, p. 108.
"Christ was a protestant...The
Reformers date back to Christ and the apostles. They came out and separated
themselves from a religion of forms and ceremonies. Luther and his followers
did not invent the reformed religion. They simply accepted it as presented by Christ
and the apostles." E.G. White, Review and Herald, vol. 2, 48, col. 2.
Paul left
"And as they persisted in their
rejection of the gospel the apostle (Paul) went into the synagogue, and spake
boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things
concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not,
but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and
separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus."
Acts, 19:8, 9.
"Fearing that the faith of the believers
would be endangered by continued association with these opposers of the truth,
Paul separated from them, and gathered the disciples into a distinct
body." E.G. White, Acts of the Apostles, p. 286.
—rwb