Last Generation Theology as Taught
by the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy
Dear Reader,
On October 24-27, 2007, the SDA Theological Seminary
at Andrews University, discussed the book entitled Answers to Questions on Doctrine (Questions on Doctrines for short) that was first published by a
small group of SDA leaders in 1957. That book is still considered the greatest
cause of division in the SDA church.
There were 21 presentations at the Conference and
the papers on those presentations will be out in January of 2008. We will be
discussing those papers when they are made public.
The recent October conference discussed what is
referred to as Last Generation Theology or LGT. By most of the leaders
involved, it was maintained that the late SDA Professor M.L. Andreasen and his followers teach heresy in teaching Last
Generation Theology. The problem with that is that Last Generation
Theology is taught by the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. So in their
indictment of Andreasen and those who have followed in his footsteps, they
are actually indicting God and the Spirit of Prophecy. The purpose of this
document is to prove that fact beyond any stretch of a doubt.
No stone has been unturned in an effort to discredit
M.L. Andreasen.
He was the first to blow the whistle on gross errors he identified in
the book Question on Doctrines. In the numerous books published by Andreasen, he taught Last Generation Theology. One of the
most vicious attacks against him involves his
teaching of that truth which is fully supported by the Bible and the Spirit
of Prophecy.
What is
Last Generation Theology?
Last Generation Theology involves what God’s people
could and should have done for themselves and the world by way of character
reformation and the giving of the three angel’s message commission to the
world.
Here are some of the Google references to the SDA 50th
Anniversary Conference held October 24-27, 2007.
50th Anniversary Conference October 24–27, 2007 SDA
Theological Seminary ... Adventist Church as
Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine. ...
qod.andrews.edu/ - 4k - Cached
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The chapel of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological
Seminary on the campus ..... [3] Questions
on Doctrine 50th Anniversary Conference: A Personal Reaction ...
www.atoday.com/node/3068 - 41k - Cached
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pages
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Questions on Doctrine 50th Anniversary Conference:
Comments and Commentaries ... The chapel of the Seventh-day
Adventist Theological Seminary on the campus ...
www.atoday.com/news/atnewsbreak/2007/11/02/adventist-news-round
- 17k - Cached
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pages
[ More
results from www.atoday.com ]
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Questions on Doctrine 50th Anniversary Conference
website, October 24–27, ... to Seventh-day Adventist
Evangelical Conferences and Questions on Doctrine, ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questions_on_Doctrine -
46k - Cached
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The theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
largely resembles that of ...... Questions
on Doctrine 50th Anniversary Conference, Andrews University, ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventist_theology - 152k -
Cached
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Many of the participants of the Questions on Doctrine 50th
Anniversary Conference had been part of that contentious debate.
"I think it is safe to say that ...
www.andrews.edu/news/2007/11/qod_conference.html - 19k
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This last week a major conference occurred in my old
bailiwick at Andrews ... the 50th Anniversary of the
publication of the book Questions on Doctrine. ...
revelation-armageddon.com/2007/10/30/im-back-with-questions-on-doctrine.aspx
- 38k - Cached
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The "Questions on Doctrine" Conference:
Heading to Andrews University ... a three-day conference
celebrating the 50th anniversary of the book Questions on ...
ponderanew.typepad.com/blog/2007/10/the-questions-o.html
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Last Generation Theology as Taught
By the Bible and Ellen G. White—Christ Could Have Come in 1844!
You might
imagine the embarrassment and pressure it puts on SDA leaders and laity to
have Ellen White on record as saying had it not been for their laxity, Christ
could have come in 1844, and again in 1888. In a blatant effort to alleviate
that embarrassment, both leaders and laity are trying to deny Last Generation
Theology. But that becomes a most difficult task considering what the Bible
and the Spirit of Prophecy clearly say regarding LGT.
Chap. 53 - Why Christ Delays His Coming
But this I do say, brothers. The appointed time has grown very short. 1 Cor. 7:29, Goodspeed.
The angels of God in their
messages to men represent time as very short. Thus it has always been presented
to me. It is true that time has continued longer than we expected in the
early days of this message. Our Saviour did not
appear as soon as we hoped. But has the word of the Lord failed? Never! It
should be remembered that the promises and threatenings
of God are alike conditional. {Mar 61.1}
God had committed to His people a work to be
accomplished on earth. The third angel's message was to be given,
the minds of believers were to be directed to the heavenly sanctuary, where
Christ had entered to make atonement for His people. The Sabbath reform
was to be carried forward. The breach in the law of God must be made up. The
message must be proclaimed with a loud voice, that all the inhabitants of
earth might receive the warning. The people of God must purify their souls
through obedience to the truth, and be prepared to stand without fault before
Him at His coming. {Mar 61.2}
Had Adventists, after the great disappointment
in 1844, held fast their faith, and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of
God, receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy
Spirit proclaiming it to the world, . . .the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would
have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to receive His
people to their reward. {Mar 61.3}
But in the period of doubt
and uncertainty that followed the disappointment, many of the advent believers yielded their faith. . . . Thus the work
was hindered, and the world was left in darkness. . . .
{Mar 61.4}
For forty years did
unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the
unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord's professed people that have kept us in
this world of sin and sorrow so many years. {Mar 61.5}
Christ Could Have Come Soon After the 1888 Message
of Righteousness by Faith
Notice
the dates at the end of the following statements by Ellen White:
The Work Might Have Been
Done.--Had the purpose of God been carried out by His people in giving to the
world the message of mercy, Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth,
and the saints would have received their welcome into the city of God.--
Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 450. (1900) {Ev 694.3}
I know that if the people of God had
preserved a living connection with Him, if they had obeyed His Word, they
would today be in the heavenly Canaan. --General Conference Bulletin, March 30, 1903. {Ev
694.4}
Satan Has
Stolen a March on Us.--If every watchman on the walls of Zion had given the trumpet a certain sound,
the world might ere this have heard the message of warning. But the work is
years behind. While men have slept, Satan has stolen a march upon us.--Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 29.
(1909) {Ev 694.5 695}
No
Failure of God's Promises.--The angels of God in their messages to men
represent time as very short. Thus it has always been presented to me. It is
true that time has continued longer than we expected in the early days of
this message. Our Saviour did not appear as soon as we hoped. But has the
Word of the Lord failed? Never! It should be remembered that the promises and
the threatenings of God are alike conditional. {Ev 695.1}
God had
committed to His people a work to be accomplished on earth. The third angel's
message was to be given, the minds of believers were to be directed to the
heavenly sanctuary, where Christ had entered to make atonement for His
people. The Sabbath reform was to be carried forward. The breach in the law
of God must be made up. The message must be proclaimed with a loud voice,
that all the inhabitants of earth might receive the warning. The people of God must purify their
souls through obedience to the truth, and be prepared to stand without fault
before Him at His coming. {Ev
695.2}
Had Adventists, after the great
disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith and followed on unitedly in the
opening providence of God, receiving the message of the third angel and in
the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world, they would have
seen the salvation of God, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their
efforts, the work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere
this to receive His people to their reward. But in the period of doubt and uncertainty that followed the
disappointment, many of the advent believers yielded their faith. . . . Thus
the work was hindered, and the world was left in darkness. Had the whole
Adventist body united upon the commandments of
696
God and the faith of Jesus, how widely different
would have been our history! {Ev 695.3}
"If God's people had the love of Christ in the heart; if every
church member were thoroughly imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice; if
all manifested a thorough earnestness, there would be no lack of funds for
home and foreign missions; our resources would be multiplied; a thousand
doors of usefulness would be opened, and we would be invited to enter. Had
the purpose of God been carried out by his people in giving the message of
mercy to the world, Christ would have come to the earth, and the saints
would,
48
ere this, have
received their welcome into the city of God." {GCB,
April 4, 1901 par. 2}
"If every soldier of Christ had done his duty, if every watchman
on the walls of Zion
had given the trumpet a certain sound, the world might ere this have heard
the message of warning."--"Testimonies
for the Church," Vol.
IX, p. 29. {PH120 30.2}
The
Spirit of God To Be Withdrawn
from the Earth
"The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of
Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from
the earth. . . . The calamities by land and sea, the
unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast
approaching events of the greatest magnitude. {PH120 10.1}
"The agencies of evil are combining
their forces, and consolidating. They are
strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes
are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid
ones."--Id.,
Vol. IX, p. 11. {PH120 10.2}
Friend of mine, is it not good logic and
reasonable to conclude that since the Spirit of the Lord is gradually being
withdrawn from the earth and the agencies of evil are strengthening for the
last great crisis, that we need more character than ever before in order to
withstand the greatest time of trouble ever to visit planet earth? Is it not
good common sense to conclude that since Satan has had centuries to refine
and perfect his evil arts, we will need a greater degree of character
development to withstand greater evils? I will tell you forthrightly, most
SDA leaders of the apostate New Movement answer a resounding NO to these
questions and lambaste Andreasen for teaching the truth concerning LGT.
The
Bible on the Final Generation
Mat 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.
Friends, if there is going to be great
tribulation such as there has never been or ever shall be, would that not
require more character development than Job or any other faithful person
prior to such a time? SDA New Movement leaders are saying NO! That is the
voice of Satan, and “God being
removed,” (1SM 205), we know who is in charge.
Mat 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.
Do not the Scriptures call for a more
pure and holy work than we have yet seen?"--" General Conference
Bulletin," May 19, 1913. {PH120 13.2}
We know that there were a
few faithful in past ages such as Enoch, Moses and Elijah and faithful
persons in every generation, but God is going to have 144,000 made ready as
His bride in the final generation. They are without fault before the throne:
Rev 14:1 ¶ And I looked, and,
lo, a Lamb stood on the mount
Sion, and with him an
hundred forty [and] four thousand, having his Father's name written in their
foreheads.
Rev 14:2
And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as
the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with
their harps:
Rev 14:3
And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the
four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but
the hundred [and] forty [and] four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
If no man could learn that
song but the end-time 144,000, that ALONE distinguishes them as different
from any other generation! But SDA New Movement leaders say NO!
Rev 14:4
These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are
virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These
were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the
Lamb.
Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for
they are without fault before the throne of God.
What other generation in
history has been translated without seeing death and without fault before the
throne of God? None that I know of. Yet, SDA New Movement leaders are saying
that there is no difference in the last generation of the faithful. That is
blasphemy against the Word of God. Karl Wagner, a bible teacher in an SDA
church in Arizona,
says that Last Generation Theology is heresy!
----- Original
Message -----
From:
"Karl" <KarlWagner@cox.net
To: <SDAIssues@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday,
November 18, 2007 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: Fw:
[SDAIssues] Froom Versus Andreasen
Ron, Brian, Confidential et'al
I do not accede that Christ came in the flesh of Adam "before" the
fall. He came in the flesh of Adam after the fall, but without our
propensity to sin, without our sinful condition. Spiritually minded, he was
like Adam before the fall, physical with it's liabilities, he came as Adam
after the fall. I do not subscribe to
Andreasen's (Jones/Waggoner post 1888) Last Generation theology. It puts man
at the center of the atonement and the great controversy. The main
reason time has been so long, aside from unbelief and God's longsuffering is
that sin has to reach it's ultimate conclusion to show the world/cosmos what
the natural result of rebellion is. It is not based on waiting for a perfect
people to show the universe man can keep the law. Man already did in the
person of Jesus and we also have the righteous heavenly humans of Elijah,
Moses and Enoch who are in heaven right now. Enoch and Elijah never died. LGT
is heresy. Karl
Ron responds: Karl slipped and mentioned
something we are responsible for—UNBELIEF! Karl is blaming Andreasen and
Jones and Wagonner for Last Generation Theology. They have been made the
scapegoat for what the Bible and Ellen White teach. It is easier to brand LGT
as heresy if you blame it on someone other than God or Ellen White!
----- Original
Message -----
From:
"Karl" <KarlWagner@cox.net
To: <SDAIssues@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday,
November 21, 2007 6:58 PM
Subject: Re: Fw:
[SDAIssues] Froom Versus Andreasen
Ron,
You write, "Obedience is obedience is obedience! How does obedience,
being a CONDITION for salvation, in addition to the RESULT of salvation, make
humans the center of the Atonement?"
Its not that humans make an atonement,
but rather LGT puts us in the middle of it, in that the result of the
atonement, if God wins or not, is based on the level of perfection the LG
reaches in order to justify God. As you already noted, here and elsewhere, we
cannot effect the atonement one way or the other. That makes the last generation
theology mute. Karl
Ron responds: Atonement means AT-ONE-MENT
with God. Jesus died that we might be regenerated into His Image, and thus
once again be AT ONE with Him. That is “affecting” the Atonement that He
“effected” for us. The Atonement was twofold in purpose:
- Regeneration into the image of God
achieved by overcoming by the empowerment of His Divine Nature Holy
Spirit.
- Pardon for sin. His obedience is imputed to us
for sins confessed.
To say that we have no
part in the atonement or that Last Generation Theology makes humans the
CENTER of the Atonement is not true in either case. Christ is the center, but
we are to become AT-ONE-MENT with Him. That is having a part in the Atonement
and thus fulfilling the express purpose(s) for the Atonement. But to a person
who focuses on forensic justification ALONE as the only condition for
salvation, as you do Karl, he/she would be forced to deny the regeneration
element and its role as the “greatest good, crowning gift” (purpose) of the Atonement, in
order to be consistent. And that you do!
It makes perfect logic to
maintain that if the sacrifice of Christ on the cross would have been to no
avail without the “greatest good, crowing gift” that heaven could bestow (the
gift of the Holy Spirit for regenerating man, the cure for sin, then man
plays a part in the purpose for the Atonement, but is not the CENTER of it as
far as effecting its provisions. Man is affected and effected by its
provisions, But that does not make him the CENTER of the Atonement.
There is much more
concerning our personal responsibility regarding Last Generation Theology at
the following link:
https://omega77.tripod.com/christiswaitingfor.htm
God bless all,
rb
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