God’s
Line in the Sand
Zep 1:12 And it shall come to pass at that time,
[that] I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are
settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good,
neither will he do evil. “The Lord will not do good, neither will He do
evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. Thus 'Peace and
safety" is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice
like a trumpet to show God's people their transgressions and the house of
Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel
the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all
perish together." E. G. White, Testimonies, Vol. 5, 211. Click to go to our Home Page
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God’s chosen people,
professing Seventh-day Adventists, are presuming upon His longsuffering and
mercy as manifested toward apostate Israel in its infancy. They are acting like
God is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. They act as though God
needs them no matter what they do. They think God needs a church that is
steeped in apostasy to give the gospel to the world; that He is stuck with them
even if they are reprobate heretics. But this is a great mistake.
God is not 'worshipped with men's hands, as though
he needed any thing' (Acts 17:25). E. G. White, The Upward Look, 131.
When considering the
apostasies of Israel, we must take time and circumstance into consideration. My
goal in this document is to prove that Solomon lived and ruled before Isaiah, Daniel and Jeremiah wrote
their prophesies and before God made
conspiracy with His enemies an unpardonable sin per Jeremiah 11:9-15.
The Time of Elijah’s Ministry: The first
mention of Elijah is 1 Kings 17. “The title “Kings” indicates the contents of
the books; our present first book of Kings gives the history of the Hebrew
monarchs beginning with the death of David and the reign of Solomon and closing
with the accession of Jehoram in Judah and Ahaziah in Israel.” SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, p 715.
So Elijah’s run-in with Jezebel was long
before God made conspiracy with His enemies an act of unpardonable sin. It was
still possible to repent of that sin and be pardoned by God. But Elijah had all
the prophets of Baal slain with the sword. And when the people saw fire destroy
the altars of Baal, they repented.
The Lord has shown this writer in vision that
up until Isaiah’s time, He was giving Israel time to learn the lessons of His
expectations and demonstrating His longsuffering towards their disobedience and
that we do not deserve the time they were given because we have their example
to learn from if we will.
1Ki 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, [who was] of
the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, [As] the LORD God of Israel liveth,
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according
to my word.
1Ki 19:1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah
had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
Date Solomon wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon#cite_note-1_Kings_1_ESV-4
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Solomon |
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Regnal
titles |
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Preceded by |
King of the United Kingdom |
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Succeeded by |
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Date
Isaiah wrote: Isaiah’s call was between the years 750 and 739 B.C. SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 83.
Date
Jeremiah wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah
Jeremiah’s ministry
started from the thirteenth year of Josiah, king of
Judah (626 BCE), until sometime after the fall of
Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in 587 BCE. [24] This
period spanned the reigns of five kings of Judah: Josiah, Jehoahaz,
Jehoiakim,
Jehoichin,
and Zedekiah.[25]
“The Lord
called Jeremiah to prophetic ministry in c. 626 BC,[9]
about one year after Josiah king of Judah had turned the nation toward
repentance from the widespread idolatrous practices of his father and
grandfather. Ultimately, Josiah’s reforms would not be enough to preserve Judah
and Jerusalem from destruction, because the sins of Manasseh,
Josiah’s grandfather, had gone too far.[10] Such was the lust of the nation for false gods that after
Josiah’s death, the nation would quickly return to the gods of the surrounding
nations.[11] Jeremiah was appointed to reveal the sins of the people
and the coming consequences.[12][13]
Jeremiah was attacked
by his own brothers,[14] beaten
and put into the stocks by a priest and false prophet,[15]
imprisoned by the king,[16]
threatened with death,[17] thrown
into a cistern by Judah’s officials,[18] and
opposed by a false prophet.”[19]
Date Daniel wrote: The Book of Daniel (Hebrew: דניאל) is
a book in the Hebrew Bible. In the Jewish canon, the book of Daniel
is included with the Writings not in the Prophets. The
book tells of how Daniel,
a Judean exile
at the court of Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BC), the ruler of Babylon,
becomes a high government official[1]
and delivers various visions. It is often asserted by
scholars that the book may have been composed about 165 BC,[2]
shortly before the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 164.[3]
Opinions continue to differ, however, especially in light of the apparently
early form of the language used in the Aramaic portions [4] [5]
Daniel and Jeremiah were contemporaries during
the reign of Nebuchadnezzar and the three sieges upon Jerusalem whereby the
Jews were taken into Babylonian captivity.
Finally, because of the repeated revolts in Palestine, decided to put an end to
the kingdom of Judah. For two and a half year the Babylonian armies ravaged
Judah, took and destroyed the cities, including Jerusalem, with its Temple and
its palaces, and let the majority of the inhabitants of Judah into captivity in 586 B.C. SDA Bible
Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 745.
“During these years Daniel must also have been
aware of the political agitation that was going on among the exiled Jews, which
resulted in Nebuchadnezzar’s burning to death some of the chief instigators. It
was this agitation that caused Jeremiah to send a letter to his captured
compatriots urging them to lead a quiet and peaceful life in Babylonia (Jer.
29).” SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 4,
p. 745.
“As the Jews went captive to Babylon it was
desirable that they be held under a hand that was firm without being cruel
(according to the standards of that day). Daniel’s mission at the court of
Nebuchadnezzar was to secure the submission of the king’s will to the will of
God in order that the divine purpose might be realized. In one of the dramatic
moments of history God brought together these two great personalities.” SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 751.
I emphasize the word captivity and captive
because the SDA Bible Commentary in
its comments under Ezekiel 9, and some very errant SDA teachers, claim that the
captivities of Nebuchadnezzar were the fulfillment of Ezekiel 9, and that
simply is a gross error. Ezekiel 9 teaches a wholesale slaughter of ALL, men,
maidens and little children, except some of the more able youth who were taken
as slaves and those faithful Christian Jews who were marked for survival by the
man in linen. These Christians were gathered out from the apostate Temple at
Jerusalem and in A.D. 66, 3 ½ years before the destruction of Jerusalem, they
fled to Pella in the land of Peraea and were saved from the destruction.
It would be foolish for God to wreak Ezekiel 9
destruction upon Jerusalem until after the 490 years of their probation (Daniel
9) was completed in A.D. 34, commensurate with the stoning of Stephen. So it is
one of the most colossal errors of professing Seventh-day Adventism for its
contributors to the SDA Bible Commentary,
no less, to conclude in their comments under Ezekiel 9 that the Babylonian
captivities under Nebuchadnezzar were a fulfillment of Ezekiel chapters 5
and/or 9. God’s purpose for those captivities was twofold; that His people
might reform, and that should put away their sins and they were given 490 years
to do so. The Jews were held captive for 70 years in Babylon.
Nothing could be more preposterous and
indicative of Jesuit-like preterism than the SDA “scholar” who commented under
the SDA Bible Commentary comments under Ezekiel 9, that the Babylonian
captivities were a fulfillment of Ezekiel 9. God through Daniel gave the Jews
490 years of probation to put away sin, and SDA
Commentary writers have God executing Ezekiel 9 destruction and slaughter!
This is some of the most serious and shoddy scholarship SDA leaders could
imbibe.
The
Tower of Babel Apostasy at Shinar
http://www.bible-history.com/babylonia/BabyloniaHistory_of_Babylonia.htm
“The Bible reveals that all false systems of religion
began in the land of Babylon and will have their consummation from the spirit
of Babylon in the last days. It is interesting to note that every organized
system of religion in the world today has traces of ancient Babylon. The Bible
records in Genesis 10:10, that, after the great flood, all men spoke one common
language and a man named Nimrod built a city
and established a common religion. Nimrod
was a descendant of Noah’s son, Ham. Genesis 11:1-9 describes the building of
the city and its famous tower "whose top may reach unto heaven."
It also records how God came down and punished the people’s arrogance by
creating a confusion of different languages and possibly their racial
distinctions. This way man would be forced to obey God’s original command to
"be fruitful and fill the whole earth." It is interesting that the
materials used to build the Tower of Babel were the same as those employed for
the construction of the great ziggurat of Babylon and similar ziggurats,
according to ancient building inscriptions.”
There are some persons who are now trying to
excuse modern-day SDA ecumenical apostasy as pardonable, because God continued
probation for the builders of the Tower of Babel and because He forgave
Solomon. But it was not until Isaiah 8:9-12 and subsequently Jeremiah 11:9-15,
that God made it an unpardonable offense to conspire with His enemies. That is
why King Solomon was pardoned. That is why the people under King Herod
The first major settlement after the flood was
in Shinar.
Gen 11:2
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a
plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
God’s people apostatized and built the Tower
of Babel.
The Apostasy at Shiloh
Jos 18:1 And the whole congregation of the
children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh,
and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued
before them.
"The recreant priests added licentiousness to the dark catalogue of their crimes yet they still polluted by their presence the tabernacle of the Lord, and, laden with sin, dared to come into the presence of a holy God. As the men of Israel witnessed the corrupt course of the priests, they thought it safer for their families not to come up to the appointed place of worship. Many went from Shiloh with their peace disturbed, their indignation aroused, until they at last determined to offer their sacrifices themselves, concluding that this would be fully as acceptable to God, as to sanction in any manner the abominations practiced in the Sanctuary." E.G. White, The Signs of the Times, vol. 1, p. 264, col. 3, December 1, 1881.
So we find in the statement above that even as
far back as Shiloh, God had a faithful few who avoided the abominations
practiced in the Sanctuary.
Due to God’s great mercy and longsuffering
towards His people, it was not until the prophet Isaiah wrote circa 750 and 739
B.C., that God, in Isaiah 8:9-12, made it an unpardonable sin to conspired with
His enemies. God says three times in those verses that those who associate,
take counsel, gird and/or conspire with His enemies will be broken in pieces.
No other option is given. This implies unpardonable sin.
Then Jeremiah confirms this “line in the sand”
by God, in chapter 11:9-15. God instructed Jeremiah not to even pray for that
generation that had conspired with His enemies to return to the iniquities of
their forefathers. But in that generation there still was a faithful beloved
bride of Christ, as evinced by verse 15, when God asks what His beloved (bride)
has to do in His house, since it had wrought lewdness with many.
Jeremiah 11
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying,
2Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto
the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
3And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel; Cursed be the man
that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
4Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I
brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to
all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
5That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto
your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this
day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
6Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words
in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the
words of this covenant, and do them.
7For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the
day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising
early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
8Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but
walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring
upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do: but
they did them not.
9And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of
Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10They are turned back to the iniquities
of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other
gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my
covenant which I made with their fathers.
11Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring
evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall
cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
12Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of
Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall
not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
13For according to the number of thy cities were thy
gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye
set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.
14Therefore pray not thou for this people,
neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time
that they cry unto me for their trouble.
15What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing
she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee?
when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
16The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair,
and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon
it, and the branches of it are broken.
17For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath
pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the
house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger
in offering incense unto Baal.
18And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I
know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.
19But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to
the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying,
Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the
land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
20But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously,
that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto
thee have I revealed my cause.
21Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of
Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD,
that thou die not by our hand:
22Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I
will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their
daughters shall die by famine:
23And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will
bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
The
Idols of Adventism
Many would read Jeremiah 11 and proclaim that
Adventists are not conspiring with God’s enemies and have not returned to the
iniquities of their forefathers! Adventists don’t worship idols and pay homage
to other gods! But that is only because the great majority of all who call
themselves Seventh-day Adventists do not have the spiritual discernment and are
so asleep that they cannot see how and why the church is guilty of every
abomination cited in the above verses.
Anything that is substituted for the express
commands of God is an idol. Anything that is placed before God is a substitute
god.
"Worldly policy is taking the
place of true piety and wisdom that comes from above, and God will remove His prospering hand from
the conference. Shall the ark of the covenant be removed from this people? Shall idols be smuggled in? Shall false principles and false precepts be brought into the
sanctuary? Shall antichrist be respected? Shall the true doctrines and principles given us of God, which have
made us what we are, be ignored? This is directly where the enemy, through blinded,
unconsecrated men, is leading us." E. G. White, Manuscript 29, 1890.
The new movement that was formed “among” Adventists, Selected
Messages, Bk. 1, 204-205, has fulfilled every specification on those pages
as prophesied by Ellen G. White.
"The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the
supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day
Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines
which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of
reorganization. Were this reformation to
take place, what would result? The
principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church
would be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have
sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organization would be established.
Books of a new order would be written. A
system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would go into the
cities, and do a wonderful work. The
Sabbath of course, would be lightly regarded, as also God who created it. Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way
of the new movement. The leaders would
teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place
their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built on the sand,
and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure." Series B No. 2 54,
55, or 1 SM 204, 205.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah
"Jeremiah's ministry prompted naysayers
to plot against him. Even the people from his hometown sought to kill him, from
Anathoth, where his father was from. (Jer. 11) In further attempts to counter
Jeremiah’s proclamation of Jerusalem’s destruction, false prophets came to
declare just the opposite of his ministry. These false prophets announced that
Jerusalem would not be destroyed and that they needn’t worry about war or
famine. On the contrary, Jeremiah was to announce their doom and anyone who
listened to these false prophets. (Jer. 14) Only by decreeing God’s name and
repenting would anyone have a chance to be restored back to the land of their
forefathers.[38] It had to be made known who God really was and his name. (Jer.
16) God had also reassured Jeremiah that his persecutors would be put to shame.
(Jer. 17)
Physical persecution started when the priest,
Pashur ben Immer, a temple official, sought out Jeremiah to have him beaten and
put him in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin for a day. Needless to say,
Pashur, his family and friend’s fate were sealed. Jeremiah specifically
prophesied that they would be exiled to Babylon where they would all perish.
(Jeremiah 20:1-6) The physical and mental persecution that Jeremiah underwent
everyday became so heavy that at one point he felt God had deceived him.
However, his ministry burned inside him with such great fire that he persisted
to the letter. (Jeremiah 20:7-13)"
COUNTERPART: "The Lord commanded one of his
ancient servants, 'Pray not thou for this people [Jer. 7:16 and 11:9-15],
neither lift up cry nor prayer for them neither make intercession to me for I
will not hear thee.' The prophet thus describes the sins which had called forth
this fearful denunciation: 'The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear
rule by their means and my people love to have it so and what will ye do in the
end thereof?' 'From the least of them even unto the greatest of them, every one
is given to covetousness and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one
dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people
slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.' The apostles declare
that this state of things will find its COUNTERPART in the last days. Many have
a form of godliness, but in their daily life deny the power thereof. They have
ceased to be convicted of their sins or alarmed at their state. They say in
their hearts, 'The church is flourishing. Peace and spiritual prosperity are
within her borders.' The words of the prophet may well apply to these
self-deceivers, 'They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in
their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their
fears upon them." E. G. White, Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 11-07-82.
"Shall the Lord be compelled to say, `Pray not
thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make
intercession to Me: for I will not hear thee' [Jeremiah 7:16]? `Therefore the
showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain....Wilt thou not from this time
cry unto Me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth' [Jeremiah 3:3-4]?...
We are to be
judged by the light that has been given us, (159) and
we can find no excuse by which to extenuate our course." Review and
Herald, Vol.
3, p 69-70 (August 1, 1893). (Brackets by Ellen White)
COUNTERPART: "In the time of
the Saviour, the Jews had so covered over the precious jewels of truth with the
rubbish of tradition and fable, that it was impossible to distinguish the true
from the false. The Saviour came to clear away the rubbish of superstition and
long-cherished errors, and to set the jewels of God's word in the framework of
truth. What would the Saviour do if he
should come to us now as he did to the Jews? He would have to do a similar work
in clearing away the rubbish of tradition and ceremony. The Jews were
greatly disturbed when he did this work [As are SDA’s today!]. They had lost
sight of the original truth of God, but Christ brought it again to view. It is our work to free the precious truths
of God from superstition and error." E.G. White, Review and
Herald, Vol. 2, 308.
With the centuries that have past, it is
inconceivable how professing Seventh-day Adventists today will try to excuse
their apostasy as being no worse than or on par with the apostasy of the
ancient Jews, when we have had their experience as an example and have been
blessed with greater light of the advancing ages.
—rwb