I respectively submit this list
of questions to Brother Marko Leone and will publish his response to these
questions if he will respond. A truthful answer to these questions will force
a better understanding of the issue Brother Marko was trying to present:
·
Is Zion, Isaiah
62:1-5, the virgin that is married, in truth the same Sion of Hebrews 12:22,
23?
·
Does Zion of
Isaiah 62, have sons and daughters? Are those sons and daughters the same as
the Mother, Zion?
·
Ellen White says
that only the 144,000 enter the Temple on Mt. Zion. Early Writings, p. 19.
·
If Philadelphia
gets the new name, New Jerusalem, and is made pillars in the temple of God,
is Philadelphia the same as the 144,000?
·
Ellen White says
that all the seven messages to the seven churches apply to the end of time. Acts of the Apostles, p. 565. Does
this mean that Philadelphians have existed in every generation?
·
Was the state of
the church of Philadelphia, on the morn of October 22, 1844, a representative
of the church triumphant on earth? If that church was not Philadelphia, what
was it?
·
Was Ellen White a
member of the church of Philadelphia on earth? If not, which of the seven
churches of Revelation would you regard her to be of?
·
If the
Philadelphians of every generation are made pillars in the Temple, and only
the 144,000 who are translated without seeing death are able to enter that
Temple, how do the Philadelphians of every generation enter the Temple on Mt.
Zion?
·
Was the original
church of Philadelphia, circa A.D. 1, a church triumphant?
·
Original
Philadelphia, circa A.D. 1, was told that it would be kept through the time
of trouble that is to come upon all the world. How does that people come
alive to be kept through the time of Jacob’s trouble?
·
Was Jesus’
disciples the bride—the church triumphant? DA 179 says yes. How will the
disciples be alive to be kept through the time of trouble?
·
Will the disciples
of Christ, being part of His Philadelphian bride, be denied being made
pillars in the Temple of Christ in heaven because they were born in the wrong
generation?
·
If the 144,000
constitute the Philadelphian church triumphant, and that church has existed
in every succeeding generation, how can we say that there is not nor has been
any church triumphant on earth that is registered (written) in heaven?
·
If true reformers
of every generation have done everything the bride of Christ does, how is it
that anyone could say they are not representatives on earth of the church
triumphant in heaven?
·
How is it that
Brother Marko saw no parallel between the New
Jerusalem bride of The Great Controversy,
426-7, and the New Jerusalem of
Revelation 3:10-12? How is it that he failed to see that the bride on earth
is a representative of the New Jerusalem, Zion, in heaven?
·
If the bride on
earth represents the Heavenly New Jerusalem, how does brother Marko reckon
that there is no bride or church triumphant on earth and has been in every
generation?
·
Why would the
church triumphant be constituted of only those of the final generation, when
the church triumphant is the saved of all generations?
If Brother Marko Leone, and
any of his followers, will answer the above questions in truth, he and they
will be better informed as to the paradox involved with becoming a member of
the church triumphant in any given generation. It is empirical that it is not ONLY at the end-time that
members of the church triumphant accrue—lest true and faithful reformers of
all ages be exempt from that group; lest even the members of the first
Philadelphia church, A.D. 1, be exempt from that church triumphant.
There are good answers to all
of the above questions, but brother Marko became angered and left our
discussion group at Adventist Hot Issues, before these questions were
answered for him. But I am very willing to publish his responses to all of
the questions stated above.
I hereby qualify that I have
never taught that we leave any valid church militant to join any church
triumphant on this earth. Even Philadelphians are militant for the truth until
the close of probation. As true reformers, Philadelphians have tares in their
midsts until the end of the harvest. So this is wherein brother Marko is
correct—there is no pure church
triumphant as a body until the close of probation [and I have never
taught that there is], but that fact does not preclude the fact that
individual Philadelphians exist in every generation as true reformers and
that they are registered (written) as members of the church triumphant in
heaven, Heb. 12:22, 23, as spirits of just men made perfect. But those tares are not open sinners. They are insincere believers whose motives
one would have to impugn in order to remove them. However, Philadelphian true
reformers will not tolerate open sinners amongst them.
Brother Marko told George
Jordache that I was teaching that members of the church militant must leave
the church militant to join a church triumphant. You will never find that in
any of my teachings! I merely taught that there is always individual earthly
representatives of the church triumphant in heaven, and they are written,
registered there. They co-operate with the angels of that heavenly church to
function as true reformers on earth.
"Characteristics
of True Reformers.--Here are given the characteristics of those
who shall be reformers, who will bear the banner of the third angel's
message, those who avow themselves God's commandment-keeping people, and who
honor God, and are earnestly engaged, in the sight of all the universe, in
building up the old waste places. Who is it that calls them, The repairers of
the breach, The restorers of paths to dwell in? It is God. Their names are registered
[written--Heb. 12:22, 23] in heaven as reformers, restorers, as raising
the foundations of many generations." E. G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 1151.
It is possible for the wheat
to mature amongst tares (insincere believers), but the wheat is choked out
and dies when amongst thorny ground, open sinning hearers of the word only.
As the SDA Bible Commentary
correctly states, it is impossible for the wheat to mature amongst thorns. It
is stated in another way as follows:
"It is
IMPOSSIBLE for you to unite with those who are corrupt, and still remain
pure. (II Corinthians 6:14-15 quoted). God and Christ and the heavenly host would
have men know that if he unites with the corrupt he will become
corrupt." E. G. White, Review and
Herald, Vol. 4, p. 137.
The answers
to all issues brother Marko proposed were available and only needed a bit of
time to work out so that nothing contradicted, but brother Marko seemed not
to want a resolution to his statement that my teaching is evil. Maybe he
wanted to appear better than me to his followers. I don’t know his motive,
but he was dead wrong, and it is a serious thing to refer to correct teachings
as being evil, for that is how one may speak against the Holy Spirit to
his/her damnation.
It truly
seemed as though brother Marko did not want a truthful resolution to the
issues he proposed, so he promptly stomped away. That is not indicative of
longsuffering and patience. There were misunderstandings on both parts—his,
mine and other members of my group as to what he was saying at times, but
this was no reason to call a halt to the quest to arrive at the pure truth of
the matter which is achieved in this document and such will be evinced by an
honest and forthright answer to all of my questions.
I have
referred to an “invisible” church triumphant on earth, as consisting of
Philadelphia true reformers, but when you think it through, true reformers
are not invisible! They are quite as testable as is a true prophet. For it is
entirely visible and evident as to:
“….who will bear the banner of the third angel's message, those who
avow themselves God's commandment-keeping people, and who honor God, and are
earnestly engaged, in the sight of all the universe, in building up the old
waste places. Who is it that calls them, The repairers of the breach, The
restorers of paths to dwell in? It is God. Their names are registered
[written--Heb. 12:22, 23] in heaven as reformers, restorers, as raising
the foundations of many generations." E. G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 1151.
So I repent of saying the true reformers are “invisible.” Rather,
they are members of the now “invisible” church in heaven, Heb. 12:22, 23.
God bless,
Ron
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