PREFACE -
My mother was a devoted and active
Baptist. She was a leader in the Children's Division of
the Sunday School of the local church where we lived in
Iowa. She was also an active member and regular attendant
of the Woman's Missionary Auxiliary. I recall one summer
afternoon upon her return from one such meeting, she told
me about the devotional study that day. It had made a deep
impression upon her mind. The guest speaker related to the
group the events of the Dark Day of May 19, 1780, and the
Falling of the Stars on the night of November 13, 1833.
Mother said to me, "William, just think in less than
two years, it'll be 100 years since the last great sign
Jesus gave." The year was 1931, and the guest speaker
was Bertha E. Jorgensen, a retired Seventh-day Adventist
Bible Worker.
I did think. I wondered
if I would grow up to be a man. The end seemed so near.
Would it be five years yet? That Fall, the same retired
Bible Worker would give my mother and me a series of 22
Bible studies. We would be her last converts to the Truth
before she would go to her rest. But time has continued,
and those five years have lengthened into plus ten times
five.
Little did I dream, or
for that matter anyone else in that small Seventh-day
Adventist company, that some of us would live to see a
prophecy of Jesus fulfilled in our day as verily as those
living in 1833. But we have! That is what this manuscript
is all about - THE HOUR AND THE END! It is written for,
and dedicated to, all who desire truth and who with an
open mind will search for it. As you read, it is my hope
and prayer that your mind will be guided by the Spirit
of truth, and that the realization that we have reached
the end of all things earthly will stir your hearts as
mine was stirred that day long ago in 1931. WHG
p
1 --
Chapter I - Recent
Adventist Literature on Luke 21:24
The
1952 Bible Conference -- In
1952, a Bible Conference was held in the Sligo Seventh-day
Adventist Church from September 1-13. Various theological
and prophetic studies were presented at the Conference.
One topic, which was assigned to Arthur S. Maxwell, then
editor of The Signs of the Times, was "The
Imminence of Christ's Second Coming." In.the presentation
of his study, Maxwell listed three areas of unfulfilled
prophecy - developments in the United States, developments
in Palestine, and the Seven Last Plagues.
The "developments in Palestine"
concerned the fulfillment of Luke 21:24. Keep in perspective
the time of this Bible Conference - 1952. Just four years
prior in 1948, the Jewish state of Israel had been re-established.
In the light of this background, observe carefully Maxwell's
penetrating observations. He said: -
The
recent dramatic restoration of the nation of Israel has
focused the attention of mankind once
more on Palestine. Many Christians have mistakenly permitted
themselves to believe that the return of thousands of
unconverted Jews to their native land is a fulfillment
of the promises to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, not realizing
that, since the death of the Son of God on Calvary, there
is no salvation, nor any eternal homeland, except for
those who believe in Him and accept His sacrifice.
However,
there is one prophecy concerning Palestine that we should
all be watching with special care. Said Jesus, "Jerusalem
shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times
of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21:24.
For
nineteen centuries Jerusalem has been trodden down of
the Gentiles. It is still trodden down of the Gentiles.
Despite the amazing prowess of the Israeli troops, the
ancient city of Jerusalem is still in Arab hands. A Mohammedan
mosque still stands upon the site of Solomon's Temple.
Victorious as were the forces of Israel in every other
part of Palestine, they failed to take the most dazzling
objective of all. Mysteriously they were held back from
achieving this most cherished goal, this culminating triumph,
as by an unseen hand.
What
could be the reason? Only that the times of the Gentiles
are not yet fulfilled.
Centuries
ago Israel was not permitted to enter Palestine for a
certain time because "the iniquity of the Amorites"
was "not yet full" (Gen.15:16); that is, not
until the probationary time allotted to the Amorites had
run out.
It
may well be that the same principle applies today, on
a wider scale. If so, then Jerusalem is to remain trodden
down by Gentiles till the probationary time of all Gentiles
has run out. If this be correct, how much hinges upon
the fate of this ancient city and the power that occupies
it! Our Firm Foundation, pp. 230-231
(See Exhibit
#1)
In 1952, the ministry of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church was alerted in regard to the prophecy
of Jesus concerning Jerusalem. While the studies given
at the Bible Conference did not carry the "imprimatur"
of the General Conference, the theologians of the Church,
and the Administrative leaders of the world field were
all present at this conference. It is of interest to note
what Dr. Denton E. Rebok, secretary of the Bible Conference,
had to say in his "introductory" remarks as
found in Volume I of the Conference report. He wrote:
- The
General Conference as a body is in no way responsible
for the studies presented. They are not an official pronouncement
of the church. They do, however, represent the best thinking
on the part of sincere, honest, earnest, devoted, loyal
men - Seventh-day Adventists, first, last, and always
- who have tried to give expression to our conception
of the great truths believed, held, and taught by Seventh-day
Adventists generally in all parts of the earth. (Ibid.,
I Vol. I, p. 13)
p 2 -- Elder W. H. Branson, president
of the General Conference at the time, in a report that
appeared earlier in the Ministry (July, 1952),
enumerated who were to be in attendance at the Bible Conference.
He wrote: - According
to the action of the Autumn Council, the personnel of
the conference will consist of the following individuals:
The
members of the General Conference Committee who will be
in attendance at the 1952 Biennial Council, and others
who may be invited to the council:
From
North America:
a. Two Bible teachers from each senior
college, to be chosen by their respective boards.
b. One Bible teacher from each junior
college, to be chosen by their respective boards.
c. One to as many evangelists from
each union conference as there are local conferences in
the union, to be appointed by the respective union committees.
d. The editors of our leading periodicals.
e. The book editors of our leading
publishing houses.
f. Representatives from the Theological
Seminary.
g. From the overseas divisions: a minimum
of three in addition to the president of the field. (Ibid.
p. 14)
It was before such a gathering of the
leadership of the Church that Elder Arthur S. Maxwell
called attention to the significance of Luke 21:24. This
writer was there as a delegate under section "c"
and can tell you what happened in his case, and I do not
believe that my response was much different from the others
present. I heard but perceived not, because of the conditioning
received over the years in regard to the Jews returning
to Palestine.
The Twentieth Century Bible Course
It is well known that The Twentieth
Century Bible Course is a means used by the Church
as an evangelistic tool. It represents the teachings of
the Church in regard to interpretation of Bible prophecy
and points of theology. In Lesson 5, captioned - "Time
Running Out" - the prophecy of Luke 21:24 is declared
to be fulfilled in our day. The #2 question is - "What
sign did Jesus give that would indicate when the destruction
of the city [of Jerusalem] was at hand?"
Luke 21:20 is given as the Bible answer. Then this note
follows: - The
city of Jerusalem was surrounded by the Roman armies in
A.D. 66. After a period of time the army withdrew and
the Christians, recognizing the sign given by Christ (Matthew
24:15-20) fled the city and did not return. In A.D. 69
the Romans returned, and destroyed the city in A.D. 70.
Nearly a million people died or were sold into slavery
at that time, but not a single Christian died. They
watched for the sign Christ had given and obeyed His instructions.
The temple was burned to the ground as Christ had
foretold (even though the soldiers had orders not to destory
it). Christ foresaw the future and outlined it to His
followers so that they could be saved. (Emphasis
theirs)
The third question reads:
"How long did Christ say that Jerusalem would be
trodden down?" Luke 21:24 is given as
the place in the Bible to find the answer. Then this note
follows: - Old
Jerusalem and the temple site has been occupied largely
by the Gentile nations until 1967 when the Jews took possession
of it in a "lightning victory." This portion
of Christ's prophecy was fulfilled in our day! (See
Exhibit #2)
Sabbath School Lesson Helps -- "The
Witness of Jesus" was the subject of the second quarter's
lessons (1980) for the Adult Division of the Sabbath School.
Dr. Jean Zurcher not only authored these lessons, but
his book, Christ of the Revelation, was translated
into English as a "Helps"
p 3 -- for the quarter's lessons.
In this book was noted the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy
of Luke 21:24. Dr. Zurcher wrote: - We
shall not linger over the numerous signs given by Jesus
in this discourse. [Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21]
One only will occupy our attention, the one that especially
deals with time. Even in our days it constitutes a critical
point in the political world: Jerusalem. In fact, Jerusalem
is both the beginning and culmination of Jesus' prophecy.
For Him, as for Daniel the prophet, the history of nations,
as that of the people of Israel, is written in the setting
of the tragic history of Jerusalem. The latter is a sign
by which the fate of the former is determined. So having
predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion
of the Jews "into all nations," Jesus declared,
"Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke
21:24).
Few
today would deny the precision of this prophecy. The destruction
of Jerusalem by the Roman armies in AD 70 is a historical
fact commemorated on the triumphal arch of Titus in Rome.
The dispersion of the Jews among all nations is still
a reality. As for Jerusalem, nineteen centuries of history
should provide adequate proof that it has been "trodden
down of the Gentiles" - first by the Romans, then
by the Arabs, next by different Christian nations during
the Crusades, fourth by the Turks up to the end of the
first world war, then by the British, and finally by the
Jordanians until the Six-Day War in June, 1967.
This
prophecy of Jesus was a sign to the Christians of the
Apostolic Church, who lived at the beginning of the times
of the Gentiles, and it remains a sign for us who live
at the end of the times of the Gentiles. Again, we must
know how to discern its meaning.
It
is not a matter of our seeing in the return of the Jews
to Palestine and in the Israeli conquest of Jerusalem
a sign of the approaching conversion of the Jews, as so
many Christians think. Nothing in Jesus' prophecy allows
such an interpretation. However, if we cannot see that
Jerusalem is an exceptional sign of the times, then might
we not be placing ourselves in the same position as the
religious leaders who knew how to "discern the face
of the sky" but could not discern the obvious "signs
of the times"?
In
order for us to understand Jesus' statement, three questions
need answering. First, what exactly does the expression
"times of the Gentiles" mean? Then what should
be understood by the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles?
Finally, what connection is there between the retaking
of Jerusalem by the Jews and the fulfillment of the times
of the Gentiles?
As
I understand Biblical language, the times of the Gentiles
is the period set aside by God for the evangelization
of the heathen nations. It is not the time needed for
them to be converted to Christianity, as some think, but
for them to hear the gospel. It is in this sense that
Jesus said: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached for a witness unto all nations; and then shall
the end come" (Matthew 24:14).
I
believe that the times of the Gentiles began in AD 34,
when the prophetic seventy weeks that God set aside for
the people of Israel ended. ... And if I have understood
the prediction of Jesus properly, this time will be "fulfilled"
when Jerusalem shall cease to "be trodden down of
the Gentiles." The fact that since 1967 Gentiles
no longer have occupied Jerusalem means, therefore, that
we are now living at the end of "the times of the
Gentiles."
Jerusalem
here constitutes the last sign of the times by which the
Lord shows us that the history of this world is coming
to its climax and that the restoration of all things is
at hand. (pp. 71-72; See
Exhibit #3)
In
1952, the ministry of the Church was alerted to the coming
fulfillment of Luke 21:24. In 1980, the whole Sabbath
School was given an opportunity to know that the prophecy
had been fulfilled. During this same period, those studying
the doctrines and teachings of the Church were told -
"This portion of Christ's prophecy was fulfilled
in our day!" With this background, as found in Adventist
literature on prophecy, 1 it should be irrelevant
to spend time proving the validity of the fulfillment
of Luke 21:24 to Seventh-day Adventists. We should rather
be seeking to discover the significance of this already
fulfilled prophecy to our own work and
p 4 -- mission. We should know
and appreciate what Jesus was giving in prophetic legacy
to His followers. We should also become aware of the large
amount of historical data which adds significance to the
dates which mark the fulfillment of Luke 21:24.
In the coming chapters, we shall discuss
and give that data, then we shall devote the last part
of the study to the meaning of Luke 21:24 for the work
and mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
1 -- In
1974, a series of three Bible Conferences were held in
the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church. At each of these conferences, Dr. Herbert C. Douglass
presented a topic on "The Unique Contribution of
Adventist Eschatology." In these presentations, he
stated - "Adventists do not see theological importance
in the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948 or the
annexation of Old Jerusalem in 1967." (p. 6)
Then in his book, The
End,
published by the Pacific Press in 1979, he makes the same
assertion, however, changing the emphasis to a prophetic
significance. In the book, Douglass wrote - "Although
Seventh-day Adventists are premillennialists, they do
not see prophetic importance in the establishment of the
Jewish state in 1948, or the annexation of Old Jerusalem
in 1967. ..." (p. 48)
It
should be noted that in Chapter I above, none of the sources
cited refer to the date, 1948, as being a fulfillment
of any prophecy. However, both Dr. Zurcher and the author
of the 20th Century Bible lessons saw definite significance
in the retaking of Old Jerusalem by the Israelis in 1967.
In fact, Zurcher emphasizes the point that if one cannot
see "that Jerusalem is an exceptional sign of the
times," he could be placing himself in the same category
with the "religious leaders who knew how to 'discern
the face of the sky' but could not discern the obvious
'signs of the times.'"
Douglass
is not listed among the delegates to the 1952 Bible Conference,
and so was perhaps totally unaware of Maxwell's presentation.
The English translation of Zurcher's book came one year
after the Pacific Press had published his book - The
End. However, Douglass' assertions are given without
support or documentation. They do indicate an awareness
of the prophecy and what could be its fulfillment. One
is left with the impression that Douglass is most reluctant
to come to grips with this prophecy because of what the
significance of its fulfillment would be to the thesis
of his book.
The
same Pacific Press that published Douglass' book - The
End - in 1979, also published some years earlier in
1898 a book by James Edson White - The Coming King.
In that book, Edson White had written: - We also read
that "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke
21:24. Jerusalem has never again come into possession
of the Jews, and will not until "the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled." This will be when the work
of the gospel is finished. (p. 98; See
Exhibit #5)TOP
p 5 -- Chapter
II -- Luke
21:24 in Context
Part of Jesus' Prophetic Legacy to
His Church -- The prophecy of
Luke 21:24 is a part of a prophetic outline which Jesus
gave to His disciples on the Mount of Olives, Tuesday
prior to His great sacrifice on Calvary. What Jesus said
is recorded in all three of the Synoptic Gospels - Matthew
24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.
The day following His triumphal entry
into Jerusalem, Monday, He cleansed the temple the second
time. He charged the Jewish leadership with making His
house "a den of thieves." (Matt. 21:13) On Tuesday,
upon His return to the Temple, He was met and challenged
by the chief priests and elders of the people as to His
authority to do what He had done the day before. (Matt.
21:23) After putting them to silence, Jesus spoke in the
hearing of the multitude, the most scathing denunciations
of the religious leaders of Israel they had ever heard.
(Matt. 23:1-36) Then He declared - "Behold, your
house is left unto you desolate. ... and Jesus went out."
(Matt. 23:38; 24:1)
This pronouncement and act of Jesus shocked
the disciples. Hurriedly following Him from the Temple
precincts, they sought to bring Him to reality as they
perceived reality to be. One of the disciples - speaking
the sentiments of all - said to Jesus: "Master, see
what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"
(Mark 13:1) What were they saying? "Jesus, you spoke
too hastily. Look here. See these great buildings. Look
at the massive rocks which have been used in the building
of the Temple. How can You say, that this Temple, the
center of all our religious worship is now desolate? Is
it going to be set aside? Jesus, not backing down one
inch said in response - "Seest thou these great buildings?
there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall
not be thrown down." (Mark 13:2) This stunned them.
Silence reigned during the entire walk from the Temple
to the Mount of Olives where they would spend the night.
While sitting together on the Mount, four
of the disciples ventured to ask Jesus "When shall
these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming,
and of the end of the world?" (Matt. 24:3) To the
disciples, if the Temple was going to be destroyed, that
had to be the end of the world. So to them, it was just
one question. In answering their question, Jesus mingled
the signs marking the two events. But in giving general
signs which would apply to both events, He outlined three
specific signs which would mark major epochs from the
time of the Apostles to His second coming. Note these
events as given in Luke 21:
1) And when ye shall see
Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation
thereof is nigh. Then let them which be in Judea flee
to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst
of it depart out; and let not them that are in the country
enter thereinto. (Luke 21:20-21)
2) And there shall
be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.
(Luke 21:25) ["The sun shall be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven." - Matt. 24:29]
3) Jerusalem shall
be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)
It is important to understand that these
three prophetic signs were not given in
p 6 -- symbolic representation.
They were given in literal language so that when the event
did occur, one could look back upon the historical happening
and say - "Look what has taken place. This fulfills
what Jesus said." Then the one recognizing the event
would need to ask further - "Since this has happened,
what is Jesus saying to me now?"
By understanding this prophecy of Jesus
in Luke 21:24 in its literal sense, we are but following
a principle used by our spiritual forefathers. In A
Symposium on Biblical Hermeneutics, Don F. Neufeld
wrote a section on "Biblical Interpretation in the
Adventist Movement." One principle which was paramount
to these students of the Bible was - "The Bible must
be interpreted according to the plain, obvious, and literal
import unless a figure of speech is employed." Then
Neufeld comments - "This rule was a recurring theme
at a time when critics attempted to demolish the positions
taken by the Adventists." (p. 119)
Some Definitions -- It should be
clearly understood in the study of Luke 21:24 that when
Jerusalem, or the nation of Israel, is referred to in
its present historical setting, it is not that
the city of Jerusalem is to be considered as the holy
city of God, or the nation of Israel as once more God's
chosen people. This relationship is no more, and never
will be again. The times of the Jewish nation as the people
of God ended in AD 34 in harmony with the prophecy given
to Daniel (9:24). However, this fact does not exclude
an equally important fact; that is, events in the history
of Jerusalem can still be in fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
For example, Jerusalem was no longer the holy city of
God in AD 66, yet the surrounding of that city by Cestius
fulfilled a sign given by Jesus. It was so understood
by the Christians, and when Cestius withdrew from the
city, they fled from the coming destruction which Jesus
prophesied.
We find in the Greek language, the word
translated - "Gentiles" - is the same word for
"nations" - ta eqnh (ta
ethne). In
Old Testament times, the inhabited world was divided
into two groups - the Gentiles or nations, and the people
of God, which was Israel. In the New Testament, it is
again the nations, and the New Israel of God, the Church.
As God committed His message of grace as revealed in the
sanctuary model to Israel to give to the world, so also
to the Church, God has committed the message of Christ,
the Word made flesh - the New Tabernacle - to be given
to the nations. But in giving the events which were to
serve as signs to His people, Jesus connected two of those
signs with historical happenings in the history of the
city of Jerusalem.
Because of this parallel relationship
between Israel of old and the New Israel of God, it is
mandatory that we clearly understand the use and meaning
of "Jerusalem" in both prophecy and history.
In the Old and New Testaments when Jerusalem is referred
to, it is primarily in a very historical setting - the
literal city. Such is the case in Luke 21:24. The same
city which was to be surrounded by Roman armies is the
same city which was to be trodden down of the nations
until the times of the nations or Gentiles be fulfilled.
The term, "Jerusalem," is also used to represent
the Church. It is so used in the Writings of Ellen G.
White in connection with Ezekiel 9. (Testimonies for
the Church, Vol. 3, p. 267) Paul uses the term to
refer to "the mother of us all," but in so doing
assures that this "mother" is above, and is
not an earthly entity. (Gal. 4:26; Heb. 12:22)
It also needs to be kept in view that
even though the question about the end times arose over
the discussion as to what was to take place in regard
to the Temple, Jesus did not say that the Temple
was to be trodden down of the nations till the times of
the Gentiles (nations)be fulfilled. He clearly indicated
that the same city which was to be surrounded by the alien
armies was to be the city whose history would give the
sign by which Christians could tell when the times of
the Gentiles would be fulfilled. TOP
p 7 --
Chapter III --
An
Analysis of Luke 21:24-25
"The Distress of Nations"
-- Verses 24 and 25 of Luke
21 are closely associated together. The KJV tends to obscure
this close relationship. In both verses, the English words,
"Gentiles" and "nations" are translated
from the same Greek word. Using the word - nations - in
each instance, these verses would read - "And Jerusalem
shall be trodden down of the nations (eqnwn),
until the times of the nations (eqnwn)
be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and
in the moon, and in the stars, and upon earth distress
of nations (eqnwn), with perplexity."
In other words, the ending of "the times of the Gentiles,"
or nations is closely associated with "the distress
of nations, with perplexity."
The Greek word for "distress"
is Vunoch which means "imprisoned,
in the narrows, or straits." The added phrase - "with
perplexity" (en aporia) conveys
the picture of nations unable to meet the demands placed
upon them financially, or the inability to solve the monetary
stress. (See The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament
by Moulton & Milligan, both articles,
aporew & aporia)
It is an interesting fact that the same
year which marked the closing period of the times of the
Gentiles - 1967 - is also the year which marked the beginning
of the financial woes of the nations. In a Special Issue
(July 4, 1974) of Myers' Finance & Energy,
C. V. Myers wrote: [Gordon Tether in the London Financial
Times (June 28, 1974) noted Myers as being "the
well-known Canadian financial expert."] - It
has now been established over the course of the last seven
years - since 1967 - that there is nothing in this world
the international monetary authorities can do to stem
the advance of gold, or to stem the collapse of inflation
- or to avoid the enormous deflation - the global liquidity
crunch - and the resulting depressions. Don't doubt this.
The monetary morons have demonstrated it to you time and
again. Fail! Fail! Fail!
For
seven years things have gone from bad to worse; the US$
has been devalued; inflation has undermined world confidence
in money; and now the bankruptcies come.(pp. 2-3)
Again in 1975, Myers wrote: -- From
all that I have observed of international [monetary] conferences
since 1967 I do not believe that any conference is going
to come up with any workable answer. It seems that the
situation will just continue to deteriorate.
Only
six months ago we heard every monetary authority in the
world shouting, "either we lick inflation or we are
doomed. This is the battle of the century." President
Ford said, we have a war, and we intend to fight this
war against inflation. The way he is fighting the war
against inflation is to add a $70 to $100 billion deficit
to the U.S. budget. What happened to all the dire predictions
of the result of inflation?
All
brains are stunned. They see no answer - so now they begin
to think no answer is necessary. Or at least they have
decided there is no use thinking about it at all. Therefore,
I can only see as the end product, as I have repeatedly
said in these letters - and especially after attending
the big world meetings of IMF - the answer is a total
collapse.
Either
the countries will have to go back to a system which will
stabilize the money, such as gold - or the social order,
not only of the United States, but of all the industrial
world, will disintegrate, and from the enormous confusion
new governments will arise after much suffering and
p 8 -- bloodshed,
starvation and horror. Those governments would be dictatorships.
Recently
D'Estaing observed: "The world is unhappy. It is
unhappy because it doesn't know where it is going, and
because it senses that if it knew, it would discover that
it was heading for disaster. ... The crisis the world
knows today will be a long one. It is not a passing difficulty.
It is actually the recognition of permanent change."
(Ibid., March 11, 1975, pp. 1-2)
In the May 24, 1976 issue of his financial
letter, Myers again cites the year 1967 as the base year
for the beginning of the monetary perplexities which have
gripped the nations since then. He wrote - "An enormous
war has been going on between the forces of paper and
the forces of gold since 1967 when SDR's were first proposed."
Then he lists a "score card" in the battle between
gold and the paper, Special Drawing Rights:
(1)
The
IMF recommendation of Special Drawing Rights in 1967.
(2)
The IMF official acceptance of SDR's, 1969, and the creation
of 9.5 billion SDR's during 1970, 1971, and 1972.
(3) Nixon's break with gold, August,
1971, and the end of the world monetary system devised
at Bretton Woods.
(4) The IMF decision to sell 25 million
ounces of gold at 16 auctions over the next two years
- thus depleting the international money system of important
gold reserves. (p. 1; see Exhibit #4)
In a letter dated, April 23, 1976, Myers
noted - "Gold is to money what DEITY is to religion.
Without a deity the moral code disappears. Without gold
the morality of money disappears: Morality because money
loses its store of value, and the man who sweated and
worked has lost the fruits of his labor, and that is immoral."
In Newsweek (June 19, 1978, p. 21) in an article
on the tax revolt, the writer noted "Since 1967,
the value of the dollar has declined 47.6 percent, and
the average American working family is now barely better
off in real dollars than it was a decade ago." The
connection between the sign Jesus gave to mark the conclusion
of the times of the Gentiles or nations, and the beginning
of the "distress of nations" is inescapable.
The fact that we are living in this very time should cause
us to do some very serious thinking.
The Word - "Until" -- Twenty
times in his Gospel and in the book of Acts, Luke uses
the Greek word, acri or acriV,
which is translated, "until." However, in Luke
21:24, and in two places in Acts, the word is combined
with the relative, 'ou, making
it an idiomatic expression, achri
hou. To understand the force of this expression
as far as, Luke 21:24 is concerned, we need to take time
to observe its use in the book of Acts.
The first instance of its use in Acts
is in Chapter 7. The verse in context reads: - But
when the time of promise drew nigh, which God had sworn
to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, till
(achri hou) another king arose, which knew not
Joseph. The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and
evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their
young children, to the end they might not live. In which
time Moses was born. (17-20a)
It should be observed that these verses
indicate a "time" when the promise "drew
nigh" and the children of Israel "grew and multiplied
in Egypt, till a king arose" who with his counselors
initiated a genocide program. This program did not begin
immediately and it covered a period of time. In fact,
Moses was born in that "time." Here the idiom
is used to indicate a definable period of time by occurring
events.
We find the same indication in the second
use of the idiom in Acts 27:33. Paul was on his way to
Rome. Adverse weather conditions had made the voyage extremely
hazardous. To Paul it was revealed that they would be
"cast upon a certain island." All on board had
fasted for fourteen days, and when it appeared they were
approaching
p 9 -- land, Paul advised that
they should "take some food." Luke writes that
Paul gave this counsel to all on board "while (achri
hou) the day was coming on." From the time the
first faint light on the eastern horizon heralds the coming
dawn until the sun arises dispelling all darkness, the
day is coming on - a brief but definable period of time.
In 1967, the armies of Israel recaptured
the Old City of Jerusalem, yet the capitol remained at
Tel Aviv. In 1980, the Knesset declared a united Jerusalem
the Capitol of all Israel. The period which marked the
closing of the times of the Gentiles can be clearly defined.
(See Appendix C)
The "Times" of the Gentiles
- Not only does Luke present the prophecy of Jesus
concerning the fate of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., in the discourse
as given on the Mount of Olives; but also in describing
the Triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem a few days
prior, he quotes Jesus saying concerning the city - "Thine
enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee
around, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay
thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee:
for they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another;
because thou knewest not the time (kairon)
of thy visitation." (Luke 19: 43-44) This picture
is merely an enlargement of what Luke quotes Jesus as
saying on the Mount of Olives - "And when ye shall
see Jerusalem compassed with armies" (21:20) making
it a sign for His followers. In other words, when Jerusalem
was destroyed it had had its day of grace - its time
of visitation.
It is in this setting then, that Luke
reports the words of Jesus stating that the Gentiles would
also have allotted times (kairoi),
and that a certain event would mark the closing of those
times. Even as in the case of the Jewish nation, it does
not mean that all Gentiles will be converted even as all
the Jews were not "converted" to Jesus, the
Messiah. The force of the concept is the same as stated
in Matthew - "This gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations; and then shall the end come." (24:14) The
sign that will mark the time when the witness has been
preached "unto all nations (Gentiles)" has to
do with events connected with Jerusalem's history. In
this case, it is the time when the city is no longer under
the control of the Gentiles.
There is a distinct parallel in the closing
of the time of the Jewish nation/church and the closing
of the times of the Gentiles. According to the prophecy
given to Daniel, "seventy" weeks of years were
set aside for them. In the f inal week, Jesus came with
His last appeal to the chosen people. During His ministry,
He cleansed the Temple twice but was unable to change
the course of the religious leadership. The mid-point
of that final week of years was marked by the crucifixion
of Jesus. It closed with the stoning of Stephen in 34
A.D. Yet time lingered for the individual Jew who worshiped
in the synagogues throughout the Roman Empire. There they
had the opportunity to decide whether they would accept
the decision of their hierarchy concerning Jesus' claim
as the Messiah, or whether they would accept the Gospel
that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the fulfillment of the
promises given to them under the covenant. Then followed
the literal destruction of Jerusalem, in whose fate, "we
may behold the doom of a world that has rejected God's
mercy and trampled upon His law." (GC, p.
36) Jesus gave us as a prophecy by which we may know when
"the time of visitation" is completed for the
nations. Mercy still lingers for the individual. But soon
to follow is the "wrath" of God poured out without
mercy, We stand in time between these two events.
"Trodden Down" - The
word translated, "trodden down" is a present
participle of the Greek verb, pateo.
p 10 -- The force of the present
tense in Greek indicates that Jerusalem is to be continuously
trodden down till the times of the Gentiles be filled
full. This has been true. In 70 A.D., Titus desolated
the city, but in putting down the revolt of the Jews in
132 A.D. led by Bar Kochba, Hadrian desolated it even
more so. The city was ploughed over after its recapture
in 134 A.D. From that day till 1967, only Gentile powers
controlled Jerusalem.
The Greek verb, pateo
according to Thayer's Lexicon, means "to tread under
foot,
trample on, i.e. treat with insult and contempt: to desecrate
the holy city by
devastation and outrage." Arndt &Gingrich in
their lexicon (A Greek-English Lexicon
of the New Testament, p. 640) defines the verb thus:
"tread, trample of the
undisciplined swarming of a victorious army through a
conquered city. Its heedlessness, which acknowledges no
limits, causes pateo
to take on the concepts 'mistreat, abuse."' These
definitions describe exactly what Jesus said would be
the fate of the city in "the days of vengeance, that
all things that are written may be fulfilled."
(Luke 21:22) Continuously from the days of vengeance begun
by Titus completed by
Hadrian, Jerusalem has been under Gentile domination and
would continue so till the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Moulton & Milligan cite contemporary
use of this Greek root word in The Vocabulary of the
Greek New Testament. One source reads - "to tread
(patesai)
the crops in the sand." The substantive use was noted
in the clause - "One who treads (patetes)
grapes with their feet." (p. 498)
From a detailed study of Luke 21:24-25,
the conclusion cannot be avoided that we have seen fulfilled
before our very eyes a prophecy of Jesus, even as our
spiritual forefathers saw the fulfillment of the other
signs which Jesus gave - "And there shall be signs
in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars." (Luke
21:25) To the significance of these signs, we shall devote
the next chapter. TOP
p 11 -- Chapter
IV -- "The
Revelation of the Son of Man"
Signs in the Heavens -- Luke
quoted Jesus as saying - "There shall be signs in
the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars." (21:25)
In discussing the sign which would warn His followers
of the destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus called their attention
to the book of Daniel, the prophet. (Matt. 24:15) Also
in the book of Daniel is revealed a judgment to precede
Jesus' "coming and the end of the world." (Matt.
24:3) Daniel was shown the scenes in the heavens
when "the judgment was set and the books were opened."
(Dan. 7:9-10) In another vision, the hour when this judgment
would commence was stated in prophetic time - "Unto
two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary
be cleansed." (Dan. 8:14) This time period would
reach to 1844. Prior to the culmination of this prophetic
period, the signs in the heavens foretold by Jesus did
occur.
On May 19, 1780, the sun was darkened
and the moon did not give its light. (Matt. 24:29) This
extraordinary darkness began about 10 a.m. in the morning
and continued past midnight. Covering the whole of the
New England States, the reports of this sign which Jesus
gave are to be found in the records and historical journals
of that area. Observers near Boston reported that by 11:30
a.m., the darkness had become so intense that "in
a room with three windows, twenty-four panes each, all
open toward the southeast and south, large print could
not be read by persons with good eyes." (Boston
Gazette and Country Journal, May 29, 1780) This same
report noted that "in the time of the greatest darkness
some of the dunghill fowls went to their roost. Cocks
crowed in answer to one another as they commonly do at
night. Woodcocks, which are night birds, whistled as they
do only in the dark. Frogs peeped. In short, there
was the appearance of midnight at noon day." (Emphasis
theirs)
"The darkness the following evening
was probably as gross as ever has been observed since
the Almighty fiat gave birth to light," so wrote
Dr. Samuel Tenney in a letter dated, Exeter, NH, December,
1785. (Collections of the Massachusetts Historical
Society, Vol. 1, 1792) Tenney continued by saying:
- I could not
help but conceiving at the time, that if every luminous
body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable
shades, or struck out of existence, the darkness could
not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held
within a few inches of the eyes was equally invisible
with the blackest velvet.
Fifty-three years after the Dark Day,
the stars of heaven fell (Matt. 24:29). The record reads:
- On
the night of November 12-13, 1833, a tempest of falling
stars broke over the earth. North America bore the brunt
of the pelting. From the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until
day light with some difficulty put an end to the display,
the sky was scored in every direction with shining tracks
and illuminated with majestic fireballs. (Agnes M.
Clerke, History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century,
p. 328)
The significance of these events was noted
by Ellen G. White in the Spirit of Prophecy, Vol.
IV, in the chapter before her account of William Miller.
She wrote: - While
unconscious of their condition and their peril, the church
and the world were rapidly approaching the most solemn
and momentous period of earth's history, - the
period of the revelation
p 12 --
of
the Son of man. Already had the signs which Christ himself
had promised, - the sun clothed in darkness by day and
the moon by night, - declared His coming soon. (p.
195, emphasis mine)
The Period of the Revelation of the Son of Man - This
period of time - not a single event - is marked by three
manifestations of Jesus as the Son of man. At the time
"the judgment was set, and the books opened,"
Daniel also beheld, in his continuing night vision, "one
like the Son of man" coming "with the clouds
of heaven" to the Ancient of days. He was given "dominion,
and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and
languages, should serve Him." (Dan. 7:13-14) The
Son of man, as High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek,
is involved in the judgment. (Heb. 9:27-28) When on earth,
He told the caviling Jews that "the Father judgeth
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."
He also told them why - "The Father ... hath given
Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is
the Son of man." (John 5:22, 26-27)
Since all must appear "before the
judgment seat of Christ" in the record of their life's
deeds (II Cor. 5:10), it is assuring to know that One
who has been touched with the "feelings of our infirmities"
will plead our case and execute the decision. (Heb. 4:15)
Wonderful is the promise given that he who heeds the words
of the Son of man, and believes on Him who had sent Him
- the Ancient of days - "shall not come into condemnation;
but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24)
This understanding of the revelation of the Son of man
helps us to relate better to the other two manifestations
of the Son of man.
Our hope of glory - when the kingdom received
by the Son of man from the Ancient of days is "given
to the people of the saints of the most High" (Dan.
7:27) - is dependent upon Christ being formed within us;
in other words, "Christ in you the hope of glory."
(Col. 1:27) All who "come unto God by Him,"
Jesus is able to save "to the uttermost ... seeing
He ever liveth to make intercession for them." (Heb.
7:25) This "uttermost" revelation of God in
man, as was manifest in the Son of man, results from Christ's
final atonement in the Most Holy place of the Heavenly
Sanctuary. Then "the earnest expectation" for
which the whole creation has been waiting will be realized
in "the manifestation of the sons of God." (Rom.
8:19)
Isaiah relates this manifestation of the
sons of God with the signs in the heavens. He wrote -
"The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof
shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened
in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light
to shine." (Isa. 13:10) Then the prophet pictures
the time when God will "shake the heavens, and the
earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the
Lord of hosts, in the day of His fierce anger." (13:13)
The final wrath of God is filled full in the Seven Last
Plagues which are poured out when the intercession of
the Son of man is completed. (Rev. 15:1, 8) However, between
the signs in the heavens and the final wrath of God, Isaiah
pictures His objective - "I will make a man more
precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge
of Ophir." (Isa. 13:12) This is also what Paul tells
us is to be at "the manifestation of the sons of
God," for he wrote - "For whom [God] did foreknow,
He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of His Son." (Rom. 8:29)
With the fulfillment of His work as Son
of man before the Ancient of days, and the completion
of His revelation in the 144,000 resultant from His final
atonement, the long awaited "hope of the ages"
will transpire. The Son of man will come in the clouds
of heaven to reap the harvest of earth. Picturing this
scene after describing the messages of the Three Angels,
John wrote: - And
I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud
sat one like unto the Son of man, having on His head a
golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another
angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice
to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and
reap: for
p 13 -- the
time is come for Thee to reap: for the harvest of the
earth is ripe. And He that sat on the cloud thrust in
His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. (Rev.
14:14-16)
The "period of the revelation of
the Son of man" beginning in 1844 will continue through
to His coming in the clouds of heaven. He is manifest
as the Son of man in His work as High Priest in the Most
Holy place of the Heavenly Sanctuary; He is revealed as
the Son of man in the lives of those in whom the final
atonement is accomplished; and He comes as the Son of
man to take into His everlasting kingdom those given to
Him by the Ancient of days.
The Period in Diagram
1844 -----------------------------------------Close
of Probation ---------------------- 2nd
Advent
|_(1)___________________________|_(2)_________________(3)_|
(1) Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; John 5:22, 27
(2) Isaiah 13:10-13; Romans 8:19, 29-30; Colossians 1:27
(3) Revelation 14:14-16
NOTE: Jesus in giving the signs
in the heavens - the sun and moon darkened; the stars
falling - was directing attention to events that would
transpire in heaven. The final activity of God in the
resolution of the sin problem was to begin. Where sin
began, the final atonement must be made. Jesus' other
sign concerned an event on earth by which men could know
the distress of nations had begun. The final scenes of
the sin drama on earth would commence. Thus the last two
major signs Jesus gave His disciples on the slopes of
Olivet directed the attention of men first to the beginning
of the final ministry in Heaven, and then to events to
occur on earth that man might know the heavenly ministry
was drawing to a close. TOP
p 14 -- Chapter
V-- "This
Generation Shall Not Pass Away"
Jesus outlined three major events which
were to take place between His resurrection and His second
coming. These events were to serve as signs to His followers
at the given time of their fulfillment. First, as has
been noted, Jerusalem was to be surrounded by armies.
This would be the sign for the Christians to flee the
city and its environs. Then came the signs in the heavens
- the sun darkened, the moon not giving its light, and
the stars falling from heaven. This marked the beginning
of the period of the revelation of the Son of man - first
in judgment, then His coming as King of kings. Finally
Jerusalem was to be freed from domination by the Gentiles,
thus marking the close of the times of the Gentiles, and
the beginning of the distress of nations. We have yet
to look closely at what this means to us who are living
in the time when this prophecy has been fulfilled.
After completing the enumeration of these
signs and certain details concerning them, Jesus stated
to His disciples: - Verily
I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till
all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but
my words shall not pass away. Luke 21:32-33
Each generation, in which these major
events as prophesied occurred, perceived itself as living
in the end of time. This does't exempt even the generation
living prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.
The Early Church -- When Paul wrote
his first epistle to the church at Thessalonica, he described
the coming of Christ and the first resurrection. (I Thess.
4:16-19) While they were to be comforted by the hope of
the resurrection, they were also warned to take heed that
the day not overtake them "as a thief." (5:4)
These new converts became convinced that the second coming
of Christ would be in their day. Paul then had to write
a second letter telling them that certain things were
first to take place before the event. (II Thess. 2:3)
Nevertheless, he noted that "the mystery of iniquity
doth already work." (2:7) The message comes through
- "Not just now, but not too far away."
In his prison epistle to the church at
Colosse, Paul told them, "not to be moved away from
the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which
was preached to every creature under heaven." (1:23)
That hope of the gospel included what Paul in his letter
to Titus called "that blessed hope, [even] the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."
(2:13) In describing the extent of the proclamation -
"to every creature which is under heaven" -
Paul is alluding in concept to the words of Jesus when
giving the signs of His return. Jesus said the gospel
of the kingdom would "be preached as a witness unto
all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matt.
24:14) Paul wrote this had been done. His essay to the
Hebrews begins with the concept that God "in these
last days" has spoken to us in a Son. (1:2) The early
Christians thought of themselves as living in the end
times - and it was to be the end time for the Jewish nation/church.
The fact dare not be overlooked that the
Christians who saw the event which Jesus
p 15 -- had prophesied for that
generation - Jerusalem surrounded by alien armies - lived
to see the event to which it was connected, fulfilled
- the destruction of the city. The Roman armies under
Cestius surrounded the city in 66 A.D., and then suddenly
withdrew. In a little less than four years - 70 A.D. -
the Roman legions under Titus returned, captured and burned
the city. Jesus' words did not pass away; they were fulfilled!
A Diagram of This Period
The Cross -----------------------------------------------------
66 A.D.---------------- 70
A.D.
___|________________________________|______________|_____
The Second Major Sign -- The second
major sign was to be seen in the heavens. These collective
signs in the sun, moon and stars occurred during the period
of 1780-1833. Following this period, there was a worldwide
stir concerning the coming of Christ. The followers of
William Miller and finally Miller himself proclaimed that
Christ would come October 22, 1844. Joseph Wolff heralded
the message of Christ's soon return throughout the Near
East. Other voices were raised in England, and in Sweden,
young children moved by the Holy Spirit proclaimed the
near return of Jesus.
Again the fact comes through - the generation
who saw the last sign in the heavens, and who heard the
proclamation that they were living in what was perceived
to be the end times, also lived to hear the message concerning
the event to which the signs given by Jesus directed mankind
- His final ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary, the beginning
of the period of the revelation of the Son of man.
A Diagram of This Period
May 19, 1780
-----------------------------Nov.
13, 1833 ------------------------ Oct.
22, 1844
___|________________________|______________________|_____
The Final Sign -- We come now to the final major
sign of His prophetic discourse, the sign which would
signal that the times of the Gentiles had been fulfilled.
This has been fulfilled in this generation before the
eyes of the whole world. Thus this generation which has
seen the event which fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus will
not pass away till all is completed and Jesus returns
the second time. We have reached the end of time.
A Diagram of This Period
1948 -----------------
--1967 ------------
1980 --------Dan. 11:45
--------- SECOND COMING
___|___________|_________|_________|___________________|_____
As we next turn our attention
to the data which surrounds and supports the prophecy
of the closing times of the Gentiles, we shall see that
all prophecies concerning the end time are moving to their
final climax. Well would it be for us to carefully ponder
the words of Jesus as He brought His prophetic discourse
to a close. Take your Bibles and read prayerfully His
words in Luke 21:34-36. TOP
p 16 -- Chapter
VI -- Data
of History and 1967
In 1975, a section of The Reader's
Digest was devoted to articles on Jerusalem, and peace
in the Middle East. One of these was captioned - "Jerusalem
-- Too Holy For Its Own Good." The author, David
Reed, wrote: - A
stone wall, rising starkly in the Walled City, figures
strongly in Israel's adamancy over not wanting to give
up East Jerusalem. This is the Western Wall, a fragment
of the western rampart of the platform on which the First
Temple of King Solomon and the Second Temple of King Herod
stood. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in
A.D. 70, when the Jews were driven into diaspora, or dispersion.
Throughout 19 centuries of diaspora, the wall or the memory
of it, served as a spiritual beacon and a symbol of a
lost homeland to Jews the world over. During this time,
Passover and Yom Kippur services ended with the incantation
in Hebrew: "Next year in Jerusalem." ...
When
the British withdrew from Palestine in 1948, and Jews
and the Arabs fought for the control of the state, the
Jews managed to hold West Jerusalem and proclaimed it
the capital of the new state of Israel. Yet, tantalizingly,
the Western Wall remained just beyond reach. Jordon annexed
East Jerusalem as well as the West Bank of the River Jordon,
a territory that surrounds the city on three sides. For
19 years, a no-man's-land separated the two sectors, and
the Jordanians refused to allow Jews to worship at the
Western Wall.
When
war came in 1967, Israel urged Jordan's King Hussein to
stay out of it, promising, in return, not to attack Jordon.
But, egged on by Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser and other
Arabs, Hussein sent artillery shells crashing into West
Jerusalem. Israeli soldiers counterattacked, and poured
into the Walled City. Their religious fervor was such
that many headed directly for the Western Wall, where
they paused to pray. For the first time in 19 centuries.
the wall was under Jewish control. (March, 1975, p.
132)
This gives concisely the events and Jewish
feeling connected with the retaking of Old Jerusalem in
1967. It signalled the first step in the fulfillment of
the prophecy of Jesus, marking the beginning of the closing
of "the time of visitation" for the Gentiles,
or nations. Beyond this actual event which Jesus gave
as the "sign" when the times of the nations
would begin to be fulfilled, a number of other happenings
in the religious world occurred which marks 1967 as a
significant date.
One is the Catholic Charismatic Movement.
"Catholic Sociologist Andrew Greely estimates that
two million Catholics have attended charismatic meetings."
(Christianity Today (CT), June 6, 1975, p. 45)
This same journal reports: - Pentecost
Sunday, 1975, will live in church history as the day when
the charismatic movement in the Catholic Church arrived
in St. Peter's with full force. During the pontifical
mass presided over by Pope Paul VI on May 18, the sound
of tongues and charismatic singing filled the massive
nave of the ancient mother church of Roman Catholicism.
...
The
conference which in previous years had met at Notre Dame
University, convened in Rome in conjunction with the Holy
Year proclaimed by Pope Paul. The theme was the same as
the Holy Year "Renewal and Reconciliation."
Participants came from over sixty nations representing
more than one million Catholic charismatics in several
thousand prayer groups. Several Protestant Pentecostal
and charismatic leaders also attended as "official
ecumenical observers."
Conference
sessions were held on the outskirts of Rome in a large
tent over the catacombs of St. Callixtus, a meeting and
burial place for early Christian martyrs. ...
On
Pentecost Sunday, the conference moved to St. Peter's
for the mass celebrated by Pope Paul.
p 17 --
Although
the charismatics were a minority in the throngs who filled
the church and the square outside, their presence was
apparent as the mass progressed. Spontaneous singing of
the charismatic anthem "Alleluia" competed with
the pipe organ at the beginning and the end of the service.
At the consecration of the host, a soft murmur of "singing
in the Spirit" (chanting in harmony in glossolalia)
filled the cathedral. While the Pope continued the mass,
hands were raised in praise, and at one point, a priest
fell to his knees and asked to be baptized in the Holy
Spirit. Several persons laid hands on him and prayed quietly.
...
The
climax of the conference came at St. Peter's on Monday,
May 19, in a mass conducted by Cardinal Suenens, who was
assisted by twelve bishops and more than 800 priests.
This was the first specifically charismatic service ever
held in St. Peter's. Suenens delivered his sermon in typically
Pentecostal style. The cathedral reverberated with the
shouted responses to his "hallelujahs." Such
Pentecostal choruses as "Spirit of the Living God"
and "Alleluia" were sung with hands upraised.
Several times the well-filled basilica resounded with
singing in the Spirit. ...
At
the close of the mass, Pope Paul arrived to give special
greetings to the conferees. As he entered, the congregation
broke into cheers and applause. Most of his message was
given in French, with short summaries in Spanish and English...
At the end of his prepared text, the Pope broke into impromptu
remarks in his native Italian. Reflecting on his encyclical
on joy that was proclaimed the day before, he exhorted
the charismatics to share their joy with the world. The
conference erupted in applause as the Pope ended with,
"Glory to the Lord, hallelujah!" Before he exited,
the Pope embraced and kissed Cardinal Suenens and greeted
about twenty leading charismatics. Many wept openly. ...
According
to Catholic theologian Kilian McDonnell of Minnesota.
it was a "triumphant day," while to Balthasar
Fisher of Trier University, Germany, the meeting was "historical
- of enormous importance." To Protestant Pentecostal
spokesman David du Plessis, it was "the greatest
charismatic and ecumenical event in history."
Cardinal
Suenens summed up the feelings - and hopes - of many when
he declared that by his actions and warm words of approval,
"the Pope opened his arms and heart to the charismatic
renewal." (Ibid., pp. 45-46)
However, the bottom line of this Catholic
charismatic breakthrough in 1975 was reported in CT,
June 22, 1973: - On
the surface, the big story is still the movement's phenomenal
growth. From its beginning among a handful of mostly young
persons at a retreat in 1967 on Duquesne University campus
in Pittsburgh, it now encircles the earth. (p. 37)
When one perceives the charismatic movement
as a manifestation of the working of the power of Satan,
the event at Duquesne University, and the date - 1967
becomes significant. Here is an outward display of demoniac
power in angelic garb moving into the Catholic church,
the government of which, prophecy indicates will figure
so largely in the final scenes of this world's history.
This is not saying that such power has not resided in
the Papacy since its inception as indicated in prophecy
(Rev. 13:2; II Thess. 2:9), but does serve as a sign heralding
the time for such manifestations in the devil's final
movement to deceive the world. (Rev. 16:13-14) 1
Turning to another event, we find that
1967 marked the 450th Anniversary of Protestantism. The
World Book Encyclopedia made this observation:
- World
Protestantism celebrated its 450th anniversary in 1967
and encountered some of its most troublesome issues in
history. Most Protestants consider October 31, 1517, as
the symbolic beginning of the Reformation. On that day,
Martin Luther issued his Ninety-Five Theses criticizing
the Roman Catholic Church and pointing toward a fresh
understanding of God's grace. In October, 1967, Protestants
gathered - quite often with Roman Catholics - in countries
throughout the world, to recall that event. (1968 Year
Book, p. 468)
1 -- Revelation
pictures Satan under the symbol of a "dragon"
or "serpent" (Rev. 12:9; 20:2) In Rev. 16:13-14,
the symbol changes to "like frogs" - an animal
which catches its prey with its tongue.
p 18 -- From the same encyclopedia
under the topic - "Eastern Influence" - an interesting
summary was given of the introduction of Eastern philosophy
into Western thinking. The summary stated: Finally,
news of non-Western religion came to the West in 1967
through the efforts of individuals and groups that might
be described as commuters between value systems. The "hippie"
phenomenon, which reached a peak in midsummer, was an
example. Hippies turned to Zen Buddhism, the Vedas, the
writings of Rabbi Hillel, and the teachings of Jesus,
implying that these could provide meaning for a non-violent
generation. The Beatles were the best known of the celebrities
who turned to Eastern Religion as they sought "transcendental
meditation" through contact with Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi, their chosen spiritual leader. Timothy Leary advocated
a religion based not only on mind-expanding drugs like
LSD, but also on literary resources of Eastern religion.
(Ibid., p. 476)
Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke
concerning "the last days" in which a people
professing His name would prefer a "law" going
forth from Jerusalem rather than accepting what He had
already proclaimed from Mt. Sinai. This people would be
"replenished from the east." (Isa. 2:2-6)
Another happening which marks 1967 is
a mix between religious elements and the toy industry.
John Godwin in his Occult America describes it
thus: - The
year 1967 was a historic milestone for the United States
toy industry. In that year Americans ditched their longest
-standing favorite among board games, and elevated Ouija
boards to its place. Since then approximately ten million
of these boards have been sold, making them a $50,000,000
business and assuring that a basic minimum of 20 million
Americans have played with them.
I
picked out a fairly random lot of thirty dedicated Ouija
players and asked them if they could tell me where the
game originated and what the name meant. Most of them,
as it turned out, believed that it was a Far Eastern device,
its origins lost in antiquity, its title meaning something
or other in either Chinese, Hindi, or Korean. One lone
individualist held out for Hebrew, another had it on authority
of her card-reading girlfriend that Ouija meant "spirit"
in either Sanskrit or Persian.
The
fact is that the Ouija board was invented and patented
in 1892 by one William Fuld of Baltimore, Maryland. At
first he and his brother called the contraption Mystifying
Oracle, but found the label too long and hit on a combination
of the French and German word for "yes" as an
alternative. Until 1966 the boards were made exclusively
by the Fuld family's Southern Toy Company. Then Parker
Brothers - who also manufacture Monopoly - bought the
rights. To their astonishment the new acquisition outsold
their No. 1 hit from the word go!
There
was of course, a certain amount of sales push behind it.
Ads - "Give One to a Friend" - in magazines,
and a crescendo ditty, "Hey, Ouija, we needja"
blasted over various rock-orientated radio stations. There
was a war in Vietnam, confirming the pattern noted during
both World Wars and Korea that Ouija boards always sell
better in wartime. But the current dizzying surge is the
result of a totally unexpected market combination. The
usual wives, mothers, and sweethearts of service men were
joined by millions of teenagers, right down to the thirteen-year-old
level, who had never previously shown much interest in
these gadgets. And while the involvement of servicemen's
relatives had obvious reasons, the sudden enthusiasm of
the teeners remains a mystery - even to Parker Brothers.
(p. 272)
Even as the charismatic movement with
its overtones of Spiritism garbed in angelic light, signals
the arrival of the final manifestation of Satanic power
to deceive, so also does the emergence of the raw spiritistic
Ouija board signal the same thing - the time for the marvelous
working of Satan. Both made a rebirth in the same year
that the sign Jesus gave, concerning the times of the
Gentiles, began to be fulfilled - 1967!
TOP
p 19 -- Chapter
V11 -- Data
of History and 1980
The prophecy of Jesus recorded in Luke
21:24 indicates that the ending of the times of the Gentiles
or nations is a brief but definable period of time. Luke
used the idiom -
achri hou - translated by our word, "until."
(See p. 8) We have focused on events which marked the
beginning of the brief period in 1967; now we turn our
attention to an event in 1980 which marked the close of
this period, and some other events which preceded this
date that are also interrelated in the overall picture
of prophecy. There was no way to tell in 1967 just how
long this period of time would be, since we are not dealing
with a time prophecy which foretells in advance how much
time must elapse till the next event, such as the 1260
days or the 2300 days. This prophecy concerns events,
and when the event does occur, we can say - "This
is it!"
In 1967 a man had a religious experience
which had an effect on the course of history in 1979.
Jeffrey Hart in a syndicated column dated May 7, 1976
(Oroville, California, Mercury Register), writing
on "Carter and Religion" stated: - '
" In 1967, ' says Carter, 'I had a profound religious
experience that changed my life."'
This obscure, mediocre Governor of Georgia
had by 1979 been catapulted into the White House. There
on October 6, 1979, President Jimmy Carter welcomed Pope
John Paul II with these words: - I
welcome you to the White House the symbolic home of all
our people. On behalf of every American of every faith
I also welcome you into our nation's heart. God bless
you for coming to our country. We are proud to have you
here. - (RNS, Oct. 8, 1979, p. 1)
Here was a man, a Southern Baptist by
confession, whose religious devotion was such that he
taught Sunday school while serving as President of the
United States, who in 1967 had such a "profound religious
experience" that his life was changed, who now twelve
years later as head of the American government reaches
across the gulf and clasps hands with the reigning head
of the Papacy. (See Exhibit #6) This was done on behalf
of "every American of every faith."
Religious News Service (RNS) observes
that the reception for the Pope was possibly the largest
ever held in the White House. Over 10,000 invitations
were issued. At this reception were gathered representatives
of all three branches of the American government - executive,
legislative, and judicial. "At the conclusion of
the reception the pope surprised the audience by saying,
'the pope wants to bless you -- with the permission of
the president of the United States."' (Ibid.,
p.2) Carter made no objections, neither did any other
officially appointed or elected leader of government.
Ellen White had declared in 1891: - It
is at the time of national apostasy, when, acting on the
policy of Satan, the rulers of the land will rank themselves
on the side of the man of sin - it is then the measure
of guilt is full; the national apostasy is the signal
for national ruin. (GC Bulletin, Vol. 4, #19,
p. 259)
You will observe that when "the rulers
of the land" - not just the president - rank themselves
on "the side of the man of sin," in accordance
with "the policy of Satan," that God marks it
as "national apostasy." Within weeks, American
prestige suffered the most humiliating defeat of its 200
year history - the insult at Teheran - and
p 20 -- Carter could do nothing
to alter the situation; he was completely ineffective.
The blessing of the pope had turned into a curse.
Another series of events were taking
place during the final year of the Carter administration.
These events involved Jerusalem. As early as the second
session of the United Nations (Nov. 29, 1947), the General
Assembly had approved a resolution on Palestine. This
resolution was re-affirmed in two following sessions (Dec.
11, 1948; Dec. 9, 1949). On April 14, 1950, the Trusteeship
Council approved a "special statute" based on
the General Assembly's decisions. This envisaged a setting
up of a "corpus separatum" for Jerusalem and
the surrounding area to be administered by the Council.
This "territorial internationalization" of Jerusalem
was never put into effect due to the 1948 conflict when
Israel was reborn as a nation with the division of the
city, the Arabs retaining control of "old" Jerusalem.
1967 changed this picture; still the capital of Israel
remained at Tel Aviv.
On June 30, 1980, the Charge d'Affaires
of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See asked
that a Text of the Papal position on Jerusalem as published
in Osservatore Romano be circulated as a document
of the Security Council. This was duly done on the orders
of the President of Council as document S/14032. (See
Exhibit #7) The Papal position called for putting into
effect the "special statute" formulated by the
Trustee Council in 1950.
Three months earlier, the Egyptian parliament
called for the establishment of Jerusalem as the seat
of the Palestine autonomous authority. The government
of Israel considered this as a "flagrant, unprovoked
interference" in their internal affairs. The Israeli
parliament - the Knesset - responded by adopting a Private
Member's Bill - Basic Law: Jerusalem - on July 30, 1980.
This law declared - "Jerusalem united in its entirety
is the capital of Israel." It is to be "the
seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government
and the Supreme Court." (See Exhibit #8)
This action on the part of the Knesset
set the limiting date required by the idiomatic expression
used in Luke 21:24. In 1967, the Israeli armies reoccupied
Jerusalem - the Jerusalem of which Jesus spoke, the "old"
city - and the end of the period of the times of the Gentiles
began. In 1980, the entire government of Israel was transferred
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem declared by law as "united
in its entirety." This completed the fulfillment
of the times of the Gentiles or nations. If the prophecy
of Jesus means anything, it means at least, the nations
of earth are no longer under the restraining influence
of the Holy Spirit, and Satan is now permitted to work
his will in gathering them together for the final confrontation
at the place called in the Hebrew tongue - Har-Magedon
(Har Mo'ed)
- Mount of the Congregation. (Rev. 16:16 RV; Isa. 14:13)
Since 1980, events have moved swiftly
toward "the battle of the great day of God Almighty."
Carter was followed by Ronald Reagan. During his administration,
the United States officially recognized the Vatican and
exchanged ambassadors. This was done with the aid and
counsel of "the voice of Protestantism" - Billy
Graham. Church and State noted based on a report
in the Chicago Sun-Times "that evangelist
Billy Graham helped to lay the political groundwork for
the U.S.-Holy See diplomatic exchange." The article
continued: - The
evangelist was asked by former National Security Advisor
William Clark [a Catholic] to assess the reaction of evangelicals
to the diplomatic adventure. Graham contacted such leaders
as Jerry Falwell of the Moral Majority, the Rev. Pat Robinson
of the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Rev. Billy
Melvin of the National Association of Evangelicals, the
Rev. David Hubbard, president of Fuller Theological Seminary,
and the Rev. Gilbert Beers of Christianity Today.
In
a seven-page letter last spring, Graham advised that moderate
evangelicals would present few problems, especially if
the Vatican were recognized purely in a political way
and without religious
p 21 --
implications.
Graham predicted that Falwell would be in a difficult
position because his Moral Majority constituency reportedly
includes both Catholics and conservative Protestants.
The evangelist noted, however, that "some people
(like Jerry Falwell) could be persuaded to keep quiet
on the issue."
"I
honestly don't know what I personally would recommend
that the president do," Graham wrote. He added that
Reagan "would need to cover his political bases"
and bring into the picture "people who might cause
him trouble - Jews, Catholic Bishop's Committee, National
Council (of churches), etc." (March, 1984, p.
7)
It should be observed Graham suggested
the plan be put as a "political" recognition
of Vatican State rather than a "religious" recognition
of the Holy See. This was to suggest a deception to accomplish
a desired end. Less than 110 acres of land is hardly justification
for diplomatic recognition by the United States. It was
the Papacy which the United States recognized! Both the
legislative and executive branches of the government affirmed
the action.
The way in which this issue was put through
Congress - the almost total and callous disregard for
the opposition by both the legislative and executive branches
of the United States government - should tell us something.
No longer are the "angels" holding "the
four winds" as was done in every previous confrontation.
The times of the nations are fulfilled.
The Papacy has again expressed its policy
toward Jerusalem. On Good Friday, April 20, 1984, Pope
John Paul II issued an Apostolic Letter called, "Redemptionis
Anno." In this letter, he stated - "Jerusalem
stands out as a symbol of coming together, or union, and
of universal peace for the human family."
He called for peace as the fruit of redemption, and because
of this peace, it - makes
Jerusalem the living sign of the great ideal of unity,
of brotherhood and of agreements among peoples according
to the illuminating words of the Book of Isaiah: "Many
peoples shall come and say: Come let us go up to the house
of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and
that we may walk in his paths." (Is. 2:3) (See
Exhibit #9)
There remains but one more prophetic sign
involving Jerusalem before the end. It reads: And
he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the
seas in the glorious holy mountain (Jerusalem, Dan. 9:16);
yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him.
(Daniel 11:45)
Papal policy indicates that this is its
objective and desire. The Word of God indicates that when
this happens, the next major event is the close of all
human probation: "And
at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince
which standeth for the children of thy people." (Daniel
12:1)
We have arrived at the end. This generation
shall not pass away till all things are fulfilled. TOP
p 22 -- Chapter
VIII -- Suppose
A.D.
66 -- Suppose you were
living in Jerusalem in 66 A.D. You were a Christian. As
a tradesman you were providing a modest but adequate living
for your family. You were aware of the prophecy Jesus
had given concerning the coming destruction of Jerusalem,
having heard it from the lips of the Apostles. Furthermore,
it was also a matter of record in the Gospels already
written, and you had heard it read frequently in the Christian
assembly. But no Roman or alien armies had as yet surrounded
the city. There were rumors, but Jesus had not said to
rely upon rumors.
Then one morning you awakened to the
fact that Roman armies had surrounded the city, and all
the gates were closed and carefully guarded. How were
you to leave the city? It appeared there was no way out.
What did Jesus mean? Had you waited too long? No, suddenly
the Roman armies withdrew for no apparent cause. The Jewish
forces pursued, and the gates were once again open. What
would you have done? What should you have done?
Believing the words of Jesus, you hurriedly
leave the city taking what you and your family can carry
with you. It was a complete uprooting of your life, and
meant leaving behind many a cherished possession. You
did not stop till you were safely across the Jordon River,
and located in a small village in the region beyond. There
you sought to establish a form of existence. It was most
difficult; life was hard. As time went by, news reached
you that the armies of the Romans had not returned. Things
were not exactly normal, but from the reports, those in
the city were faring far better than you were across the
Jordon. What would you have been tempted to do? What should
you have done? You chose to stay, and continued to struggle
to make ends meet.
A.D. 70 came. The Roman armies returned.
You received news of the terrible slaughter and devastation
which resulted when the city was taken. You were glad,
though life was far from easy, that you had believed and
obeyed the words of Jesus. Your very life - salvation
- depended upon your faith in what Jesus had said.
A.D. 1832 -- Suppose you were
living in a small New England town in the year 1832. One
day during the week as you were reading the notices on
the bulletin board in the village square, you read the
announcement that one William Miller was going to lecture
the coming Sunday night in the Town Hall on the soon return
of Jesus. The next Sunday morning found you sitting in
your usual place at church as your pastor introduced his
sermon with the announcement you had read. He then proceeded
to decry the fanaticism of thinking that Jesus was going
to return to earth in just a few years. He ridiculed the
prophecies as mere dreams with only an allegorical meaning.
You had planned to go that night to hear Mr.Miller. But
the pastor had some things to say about him, too. So you
decided not to go, and you didn't.
The next year - one morning, well before
daybreak - you were suddenly awakened with the sound of
cries and the terrified voices of your neighbors. Looking
out to see what was causing this unusual disturbance,
you saw what they saw - the stars of heaven failing. You
began to tremble, because you knew what Jesus had said,
and what was
p 23 -- written in the book of
Revelation which was being so vividly fulfilled before
your eyes. What were you to do? You recall distinctly
your decision of the previous year with deep regret.
Weeks pass, and again as you one day read
the bulletin board in the village square, you discover
that William Miller will speak in a near-by church the
next Sunday night. Regardless of what your pastor will
say on Sunday morning, you are determined to go and hear
Miller. So you do, and you are completely convinced that
the presentation of prophecy is accurate. The end of all
things is at hand, and so you start attending the study
group organized to prepare folk for the coming of Jesus,
and to provide support that others may hear also.
October 23, 1844 -- Since you
believed expectantly that Jesus was going to return on
October 22, 1844, you gathered with those of like precious
faith, uniting with them in prayer and watching all that
day. Into the hours of the night you waited; but still
Jesus did not come. The little sleep you got the rest
of the night was fitful, and with the dawning on October
23, you could not rest. Your mind was agitated; your heart
was torn with disappointment. What should you do? What
could you do? Where in the word of God could you turn
for an answer?
The Midnight Cry which had established
the date, October 22 - "the tenth day of the seventh
month" - had also opened minds to further and deeper
study of the type and antitype relationship between the
earthly and heavenly sanctuary. One who lived through
this experience wrote: - The
subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the
mystery of the disappointment, showing that God had led
His people in the great Advent movement. It opened to
view a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious,
and revealed present duty as it brought to light the position
and work of God's people. (SP, IV, p. 268)
Note that the study of the sanctuary
brought "to view a complete system of truth"
and "revealed present duty."
What was that duty? Again from the pen
of one who had lived through those trying days following
the disappointment, we read: - The
passing of time in 1844, was followed by a period of great
trial to those who still held the Advent faith. Their
only relief, so far as ascertaining their true position
was concerned, was the light which directed their minds
to the sanctuary above. As has been stated, Adventists
were for a short time united in the belief that the door
of mercy was shut. This position was soon abandoned. Some
renounced their faith in their former reckoning of the
prophetic periods, and ascribed to human or Satanic agencies
the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit which had attended
the Advent movement. Another class firmly held that the
Lord had led them in their past experience; and as they
waited and watched and prayed to know the will of God,
they saw that their great High Priest had entered upon
another work of ministration, and following Him by faith,
they were led to understand also the closing work of
the church, and were prepared to receive and give to the
world the warning of the third angel of Revelation 14.
(Ibid., pp. 271-272; emphasis mine)
Observe - those who followed Jesus by
faith were led to understand "the closing work of
the church." They also perceived the Third Angel's
message was to be given to the world.
As Time Continued -- Although disappointed,
being sincere and believing the Word of God, you chose
to unite your interests and endeavors with those who would
be proclaiming to the world the Message of Revelation
14. You looked for the time when the message would
p 24 -- swell into a "loud
cry" as foretold in Revelation 18. You rejoiced to
hear the messages of Elders A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner
when they came to South Lancaster to give what they had
presented at the Minneapolis General Conference session
in 1888. Then one day, a few years later, you opened the
Review and Herald which had just come in the mail.
In it you read: - The
time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the
third angel has already begun in the revelation of the
righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This
is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory
shall fill the whole earth. (Nov. 22, 1892, p. 615)
This caused you to rejoice. The "Loud
Cry" had commenced. Revelation 18 was about to be
fulfilled. Soon Jesus would come. You recalled the experience
which filled your soul on October 22, 1844. Surely you
would not again be disappointed. But then time dragged
on. Nothing happened. The revival that had been so evident
at the South Lancaster meetings died out. What had happened?
You were getting older, and hoped, so much, to be alive
and see Jesus come. Many of your friends who had shared
this same hope had already fallen asleep in Jesus. Must
this be your experience, also?
Ten more years pass, and you hear about
a letter which Ellen G. White had written to Percy T.
Magan. It had said: - We
may have to remain here in this world many more years
because of insubordination, as did the children of Israel,
but for Christ's sake, His people should not add sin to
sin by charging God with the consequence of their own
wrong course of action. (Letter dated, Dec. 7, 1901)
As the full impact of this letter comes
home to your mind, you ask - "How many is "many
more years'?" The same day a friend of yours visits,
and you both discuss things dear to your hearts - the
coming of Jesus, the advancing years of your life, your
hopes and expectations. This friend tells you about another
letter, also written in 1901. You want to see a copy.
In a few days, your friend returns and brings you a copy.
You take it, and read it very slowly and carefully. It
tells you - In
the twenty-first chapter of Luke, Christ foretold what
was to come upon Jerusalem, and with it He connected the
scenes which were to take place in the history of this
world just prior to the coming of the Son of man in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Letter
20, 1901; Counsels to Writers and Editors, pp.
23-24)
That evening when you had time to think
it through more carefully, you ask yourself the question
- "Why did Ellen White just ask us to note Luke 21?
Why not Matthew 24 and Mark 13? These were also reports
of what Jesus gave in prophecy that night long ago. Why
did she specify that what Luke had recorded about events
to come upon Jerusalem would be 'connected [with] the
scenes which were to take place... just prior to the coming
of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory'?" Then you took your Bible and re-read
thoughtfully Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 2 1. You discovered
that the only things that Luke said about Jerusalem which
Matthew and Mark did not was in regard to Jerusalem being
trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles
be fulfilled.
As the evening hours lengthened into the
dark shadows of the night, you continued that year in
the early 1900's to ponder what you had read. Jerusalem
was still under Gentile control. But you did recall reading
in the newspaper of the first Jewish International Congress
in 1897 for the purpose of promoting a Jewish Commonwealth
in Palestine. Would this Jewish state - if it could be
achieved - free Jerusalem from Gentile control? Thinking,
wondering, pondering - would it be in your day? - you
fell asleep. TOP
p 25 -- Chapter
IX -- Some
History
The 20th Century dawned with the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in crisis. The message of 1888 which
was to prepare a people for the finishing of the work
and the coming of the Lord had received only lip service
at best. The professed people of God still clung to their
"works" hoping for acceptance with God. In 1901
December to be exact - the messenger of the Lord wrote
to Dr. P. T. Magan - "We may have to remain here
in this world many more years because of insubordination."
Earlier that year, the General Conference had convened
in Battle Creek. As soon as this conference was officially
opened, Ellen G. White came forward and asked some very
penetrating questions: - Are
you under the control of God? Do you see your responsibility
to Him? If you do realize this responsibility, you will
realize that you are to mold and fashion minds after the
divine similitude; and then those in the different institutions
here, who are being trained and educated to become workers,
will work for God, to hold up the standard of righteousness.
0
my soul is drawn out in these things! Men who have not
learned to submit themselves to the control and discipline
of God, are not competent to train the youth, to deal
with human minds. It is just as much an impossibility
for them to do this as it would be for them to make a
world. That these men should stand in a sacred place,
to be the voice of God to the people, as we once believed
the General Conference to be, -- that is past. What we
want now is a reorganization. We want to begin at the
foundation, and build upon a different principle. (1901
, GC Bulletin, No. 1, p. 25)
At the closing meeting of this 1901 session,
Ellen G. White again spoke. She said: - Who
do you suppose has been amongst us since this Conference
opened? Who has kept away the objectionable features that
generally appear in such a meeting? Who has walked up
and down the aisles of this Tabernacle? -- the God of
heaven and His angels. And they did not come here to tear
you to pieces, but to give you right and peaceable minds.
They have been among us to work the works of God, to keep
back the powers of darkness, that the work God designed
should be done and should not be hindered. The angels
of God have been working among us. (Ibid., p.
463)
The Constitution adopted under Divine
Guidance was unique. No provision was made for a General
Conference President. In its place was a committee of
twenty-five with power to organize itself. While the report
given to the delegates in 1901 setting forth the organization
of the Committee indicated A. G. Daniells as "Permanent
Chairman" (Ibid., #17, p. 377), the concept
was understood that the committee would reorganize itself
each year. W. C. White during a floor discussion of this
new Constitution indicated a sentiment prevailed that
"no one should be chairman of this committee for
a period of more than twelve months at a time." (Ibid.,
#9, p. 206) Daniells, at a minority meeting of the Committee
on February 14, 1902, said "that in harmony with
the plan adopted at the late General Conference, the General
Conference Committee should organize itself from year
to year." With only six of the twenty-five members
present, and a few observers, it did reorganize itself,
with Daniells remaining as chairman.
On the surface, it would appear that the
type of organization as envisioned in the 1901 Constitution
would give the Church an inadequate and ineffectual leadership;
however, if the organization under the Constitution had
been permitted to continue, it would have produced a group
of men leading the Church governed by its Unseen Head.
During two short years the human element prevailed, and
what might have
been was not attained. (8T:104-106)
In 1903, at Oakland, California, the General
p 26 -- Conference was again reorganized
under a Constitution which provided for a visible head
in the office of President of the General Conference.
Responding to the "Majority Report" of the Committee
on Plans and Constitution, Dr. P. T. Magan - the one to
whom Ellen G. White had written in December, 1901, and
who as an observer had attended the minority meeting of
the General Conference Committee in 1902 held in Daniells
office - declared: - It
may be stated there is nothing in this new constitution
which is not abundantly safeguarded by the provisions
of it; but I want to say to you that any man who has ever
read Neander's History of the Christian Church,
Mosheim's or any other of the great church historians,
- any man who has ever read these histories can come to
no other conclusion but that the principles which are
to be brought in, are the same principles, and introduced
in precisely the same way, as they were hundreds of years
ago when the Papacy was made.(1903, GC Bulletin,
#10, p. 150)
Ellen G. White was quick to respond to
this new situation. Within twelve days of this discussion,
she wrote from St. Helena, California, the following:
- In
the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist
church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the privileges
and advantages that she has had. If her spiritual experience
does not correspond to the advantages that Christ, at
infinite cost. has bestowed on her, if the blessings conferred
have not qualified her to do the work entrusted to her,
on her will be pronounced the sentence, "Found wanting."
By the light bestowed, the opportunities given, will she
be judged. (8T:247)
Before closing this testimony, Ellen G.
White gave a solution. She counseled: "Unless the
church, which is now [1903] being leavened with her own
backsliding, shall repent and be converted, she will eat
the fruit of her own doing, until she shall abhor herself."
(p. 250) This was not an ordinary call to repentance.
It was a call to denominational repentance. The "church"
was to repent. As a corporate body she faced the judgment
of the sanctuary, and unless the church repented, the
sentence would be pronounced - "Found wanting."
Here is a prophecy that dare not be overlooked.
In unmistakable language, it is declared that "the
Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed" in
the balances of the Heavenly Sanctuary. This was stated
as future in 1903 - "is to be" and "on
her will be pronounced." The greatest question facing
the individual member of the Church today is simply -
"Has this prophecy been fulfilled?" And, if
it has, what decision was rendered? God is on record that
He will not do anything, but He will reveal it by prophet
and prophecy. (Amos 3:7) This is no minor decision which
would be rendered, for should the decision be negative,
that pronouncement would declare that the organizational
vehicle He chose to use for the completion of His final
movement on earth had betrayed its sacred trust. If so
judged, as a corporate entity it would be "Found
wanting." Continued involvement in such a corporate
structure would have eternal consequences. Such is the
gravity of this prophetic testimony written in 1903.
After 1903, time continued. In the newspapers,
one could read of wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes
in divers places, famines and pestilences. But no major
event could be assigned to a specific prophecy. It seemed
that the prophetic clock of God had been stopped. Then
came 1929. In an agreement reached between Italy and the
Vatican, the "deadly wound" began its healing
process, a modern rejuvenated Papacy was born, not only
politically, but also financially. As a Church, Seventh-day
Adventists believed in the guidance afforded by prophecy.
In her Statements of Belief, the Church was on record
as affirming: - That
prophecy is a part of God's revelation to man; that it
is included in that Scripture which is profitable for
instruction (2 Tim. 3:16); that it is designed for us
and our children (Deut. 29:29); that so far from being
enshrouded in impenetrable mystery, it is that which especially
constitutes the word of God as a lamp to our feet and
a light to our path. (Ps. 119:105; 2 Peter 1:19); that
a blessing is pronounced upon those who study it (Rev.
1 :1-3); and that, consequently, it is to be
p 27 -- understood
by the people of God sufficiently to show them their position
in the world's history and the special duties required
at their hands. (1914 Yearbook, p. 293)
The last sentence of this confession of
faith by our spiritual forefathers is worthy of thoughtful
consideration. Prophecy "is to be understood by the
people of God sufficiently to show them their position
in the world's history and the special duties required
at their hands." But in 1931, a new Statement of
Beliefs appeared in the Yearbook. This statement
on prophecy was omitted! At the very moment when God's
prophetic time clock began ticking off the final hours
of human history, we chose to delete this statement from
our beliefs.
In 1948, the State of Israel was formed.
True, no prophetic significance can be attached to this
event, per se, but coming events were casting their shadows
before. This fact was recognized at the 1952 Bible Conference.
(See p. 1) But something else was happening in the Church.
As human history was setting the stage for coming events,
God was not leaving Himself without a witness to the Church.
To the newly formed 1950 General Conference Committee,
two young men, missionaries to Africa, addressed the issue
of the penetration of Baal worship into the Church, and
echoed God's call for denominational repentance. In their
original monumental manuscript - 1888 Re-Examined
- they wrote: - It
is now abundantly evident that "we" have traveled
the road of disillusionment since the Minneapolis meeting
in 1888. Infatuation with false teachings has taken the
place of clear, cogent, heaven-inspired truth, as regards
"righteousness by faith." By the hard, humiliating
way of actual experience with counterfeit, Israel has
brought herself to the time when she is ripe for disillusionment.
The simple faith to believe, which was spurned at Minneapolis,
is now replaceable with the bitter tears of humble repentance,
occasioned by our history. The following prophecy has
been fulfilled, and awaits only its realization by the
church:
Unless
the church, which is now being leavened with her own backsliding,
shall repent and be converted, she will eat the fruit
of her own doing, until she shall abhor herself. (ST:250)
Such
an experience will be a repentance very similar to that
of Mary Magdalene, whose faith and love were spoken of
by the Saviour as that of the model Christian. The genuine
repentance of heart-broken love is righteousness by faith.
(p. 242, old edition)
It must be observed that while Elders
Wieland and Short applied the call to repentance given
in 1903 to the rejection of the 1888 message instead of
to the action of the 1903 General Conference replacing
the God-directed 1901 Constitution, nevertheless the call
for a "denominational repentance" was made to
the Church's leadership in 1950. However, by calling attention
to the "message" of 1888, these men presented
to the leadership of the Church its only remedy. Thus
God used these two young missionaries to tell the Church's
leadership that the hour was approaching when the Church
was to be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. The
warning and the call were all a part of the same testimony
which God sent through Ellen G. White in 1903. (See 8T:247-251)
The need for corporate repentance cannot
be divorced from the reason for that need. The Church
was to be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and
if she did not meet certain criteria, she would be found
wanting. It was just that simple.
The answer to the challenge of Wieland
and Short was not long in coming. In 1952, Elder W. H.
Branson, who in 1950 had been elected to the high office
of the presidency of the General Conference, called for
a Bible Conference. Its motivation was two-fold: 1)
To proclaim the message of 1888, and thus
in an indirect way circumvent the call sent through Wieland
and Short two years previously; and 2)
Reaffirm the fundamental truth believed by the Church.
Branson, himself, presented the studies on Righteousness
by Faith. Concluding these studies, he said: - To
a large degree the church failed to build on the foundation
laid at the 1888 General Conference.
p 28 -- Much
has been lost as a result. We are years behind where we
should be in spiritual growth. Long ere this we should
have been in the Promised Land.
But
the message of righteousness by faith given in the 1888
Conference has been repeated here. Practically every speaker
from the first day onward has laid stress upon this all-important
doctrine, and there was no prearranged plan that he should
do so. It was spontaneous on the part of the speakers.
No doubt they were impelled by the Spirit of God to do
so. Truly this one subject has, in this conference "swallowed
up every other."
And
this great truth has been given here in this 1952 Bible
Conference with far greater power than it was given in
the 1888 Conference because those who have spoken here
have had the advantage of much added light shining forth
from hundreds of pronouncements on this subject in the
writings of the Spirit of Prophecy which those who spoke
back there did not have. The light of justification and
righteousness by faith shines upon us more clearly than
it ever shone before upon any people.
No
longer will the question be, "What was the attitude
of our workers and people toward the message of righteousness
by faith that was given in 1888? What did they do about
it?" From now on the great question must be, "What
did we do with the light on righteousness by faith as
proclaimed in the 1952 Bible Conference?" (Our
Firm Foundation, Vol. II, pp. 616-617)
Branson in outlining his objectives for
the Bible Conference indicated it was being called "for
the particular purpose of reaffirming those great and
fundamental truths that have most certainly been believed
amongst us throughout all our history." (Ibid.,
Vol. 1, p. 45) As one reads the messages given at the
1952 Bible Conference on the subjects of the atonement,
and the mediatorial work of Christ in the Most Holy Place
of the Heavenly Sanctuary, it must be happily admitted,
the presentations did reflect historic Adventist beliefs.
Those beliefs were reaffirmed.
Nevertheless, Wieland and Short's prophetic
insight into the real condition of the Church - that she
was "infatuated with false teachings" and "ripe
for disillusionment" was not long in surfacing. Within
three years, under another administration, the conferences
between Seventh-day Adventists and the Evangelicals -
Barnhouse and Martin - took place. (See Appendix C) The
very doctrines confirmed at the 1952 Bible Conference
were now denied by the Adventist conferees. The resulting
book - Questions on Doctrine - sought to assure
the Evangelicals that there was a change in the position
of the Adventist leadership on the doctrine of the Atonement,
but at the same time to verbalize this apostasy in such
a way so as to camouflage this change as not to be perceived
by the rank and file of the laity of the Church. To questions
raised the answer was simply - "It is just a matter
of semantics." The Adventist conferees were themselves
deluded by this answer. T. E. Unruh, who chaired the conferences,
reported: - We
came to see that many misunderstandings rested on semantic
grounds, because of our use of an inbred denominational
vocabulary. Our friends [the Evangelicals] helped us to
express our beliefs in terms more easily understood by
theologians of other communions. (Adventist Heritage,
Vol. 4, #2, 1977, p. 40)
Again the Lord did not leave Himself without
a witness. M. L. Andreasen, the Adventist Church's greatest
20th Century theologian, protested. In a letter, responding
to a report he had recanted in his opposition to the apostasy,
he wrote: - Let
me assure you that I am in good health - not a mental
case, not senile, not even dead, as has been reported.
But I am so busy that I cannot keep up with my correspondence.
I am all alone in my work.
No,
I have not recanted. The denomination is departing from
the fundamentals, and I must protest. (Letter. posted
June 8, 1959, Glendale, California)
And protest he did through Letters
to the Church!
Others joined in the challenge to the
book - Questions on Doctrine. The local elder
p 29 -- of the Baker, Oregon, Seventh-day
Adventist Church, A. L. Hudson, brought into the open
the long suppressed manuscript of Elders Wieland and Short,
the original, 1888 Re-Examined. Hudson's pressure
on the leadership of the Church caused a "Further
Appraisal of the Manuscript '1888 Re-Examined"' to
be released by the General Conference in 1958. This Appraisal
addressed the issue squarely but tragically. The General
Conference leadership rejected the only solution
given by the messenger of the Lord to the Church in 1903.
They wrote confirming the 1951 evaluation: -
The
solution proposed, of the denomination making confession
of the mistakes of men made in the 1880's and 1890's and
of a denominational repentance, is not possible nor would
an attempt to do so be of value. The experience of the
church is the collective experience of its members and
leaders, and thus rightness with God is a matter of present
day personal relationships." (A Warning and
Its Reception, 2nd Printing. Green Tint Section, p.
2)
In this answer, the leadership of the
Church ignored not only the specific counsel of the Lord
as given in 1903, but also the plain teaching of Scripture
on corporate accountability. One illustration of corporate
accountability in the Old Testament is the sin of Achan
and how it involved all of Israel. In the New Testament,
Peter filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost charged
the whole of the "house of Israel" with the
murder of Jesus. (Acts 2:36)
While the book - Questions on Doctrine
- was not republished after the first edition, its apostate
teachings were confirmed in the book - Movement of
Destiny - which in its first edition carried the imprimatur
and nihil obstat of the Presidents of the General Conference
and the North American Division, respectively. The then
president of the North American Division is now president
of the General Conference.
Then came 1967. The recapture of Jerusalem
by the Israeli forces marked the beginning of "the
last week" - figuratively speaking - of the times
of the Gentiles as foretold by Christ that night long
ago on the Mount of Olives. TOP
p 30 -- Chapter
X -- The
Church - 1967-1980
In permitting the final sign given by
Jesus to be fulfilled, God was seeking to tell the Church
something, even as God used John the Baptist to seek to
tell the Jewish Church something in that day -- there
was only a brief period of time left in which to bring
forth "fruits meet for repentance." (Matt. 3:8)
It dare not be overlooked that the "trust" committed
to the Church - the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation
14 (See 9T:19) - was a message to every "nation"
as well as to individuals. With the "times of the
nations" about to be fulfilled, the Church faced
a crisis of the greatest magnitude -- either the work
had to be finished; was finished; or else the Church had
failed in its trust before God. Further, if the Church
has altered the basic beliefs of the Three Angels' Messages,
how could they in reality profess before God that they
were still able to carry to completion that which had
been committed to their trust? This is not a theoretical
question, and the answer is written with indelible ink
on the pages of history.
During the second session of Vatican II,
a Seventh-day Adventist "representative" and
a staff member of the World Council of Churches concluded
that informal talks between a group of Seventh-day Adventists
and an equal number of representatives of the WCC would
"fulfill a useful purpose." The first informal
meeting was held in 1965. This was followed by formalized
meetings with the "blessing," authorization
and funding by the employing bodies of the Adventist participants.
(So Much in Common, p. 98) The results of these
meetings were quick in coming.
The January, 1967, issue of the official
paper of the WCC - Ecumenical Review - carried
an article on "The Seventh-day Adventist Church."
Our official organ - Review & Herald - responded
through its associate editor, Raymond F. Cottrell, in
three editorials (March 23, 30, & April 6, 1967) In
the last editorial, Cottrell concluded: - It
is no small measure of regret that SDA's do not find it
possible, as an organization, to be more closely associated
with others who profess the name of Christ. On the other
hand, if the Secretariat on Faith and Order, for instance,
were to invite SDA's to appoint someone competent in that
area to meet with their group from time to time and represent
the SDA point of view, we could accept such an invitation
with a clear conscience. Perhaps the same might be done
in other areas of Christian concern. On such a basis we
would concur with Dr. Hanspicker that the WCC is "one
more place" where SDA's might bear their distinctive
"witness to the full truth of the Gospel." (p.
13f)
The invitation was not long in coming.
The Central Committee of the WCC appointed Dr. Earle Hilgert,
vice-president for Academic Administration of Andrews
University as a member of the 120 member Commission on
Faith and Order. (See Exhibit #10) The leadership of the
Church endorsed this selection. Events moved so rapidly
in 1967 that Dr. Hilgert was able to attend the triennial
meeting of the Faith and Order Commission held in Bristol,
England, July 30 to August 8, 1967, as the first Seventhday
Adventist to serve on such a Commission.
[Note:
Dr. Hilgert has since become an ordained Presbyterian
minister and i-s serving on the staff of McCormick Theological
Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. His replacement on the
Faith and Order Commission was Dr. Raoul Dederen, also
of Andrews University.]
The hierarchy of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church loudly proclaims to the laity that the Church is
not a member of the World Council of Churches.
This is true, but the
p 31 -- request and subsequent
appointment of a Seventh-day Adventist theologian to the
Faith and Order Commission have far greater implications
than appears on the surface. Cottrell sought to cover
his suggestion as "an opportunity to witness."
This naive stance betrays either ignorance of, or a purposeful
cover up of the real objectives of the Faith and Order
Commission. It must be clearly understood that the World
Council of Churches is "a fellowship of churches
which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour
according to the Scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill
together their common calling to the glory of the one
God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit." (WCC Constitution)
The WCC does not perceive itself as "a universal
authority controlling what Christians should believe and
do." However, they are striving as a "community"
to "realize the goal of visible Church unity."
To assist this "community" - Towards
this goal, the Faith and Order Commission of the World
Council provides theological support for the efforts the
churches are making towards unity. Indeed the Commission
has been charged by the Council members to keep
always before them their accepted obligation to
work towards manifesting more visibly God's gift of Church
unity. So it is that the stated aim of the Commission
is "to proclaim the oneness of the Church of Jesus
Christ and to call the churches to the goal of visible
unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship,
expressed in common worship and common life in Christ,
in order that the world might believe." (By-Laws)
[Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, pp. vii &
viii; Faith and Order Paper No. 11, Emphasis mine]
This is what the leadership of the Church
through its official organ asked to become a part of in
1967. Then we forwarded this whole process toward "Church
unity" by placing in the Statement of Beliefs voted
at Dallas, Texas, in 1980, the full Constitutional statement
of the WCC which is required for membership in that organization.
The Fall Out -- "Since 1968
the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has been
actively represented at the annual meeting of 'Secretaries
of World Confessional Families'. This participation is
largely the result of WCC/SDA Conversations and contacts
made at the time of the Uppsala Assembly [of the WCC]."
(So Much in Common, p. 100) This association led
to the separate audience granted by Pope Paul VI to the
"participants of the Conference of Secretaries of
the World Confessional Families." (RNS, May
19, 1977, p. 19) The Secretary for the Conference of Secretaries
is Dr. B. B. Beach of the Adventist Church, who on the
occasion presented the Pope with a gold medallion as "a
symbol of the Seventh-day Adventist Church." (Review,
August 11, 1977, p. 23) Thus in symbolism the Church was
given into the hands of the Anti-christ. No greater affront
could be given to the God of Heaven than for His chosen
people through a representative to wantonly defy the message
of the Third Angel as was done on this occasion. This
act was done with the full approval of, and prior arrangements
with the Northern Europe-West Africa Division Committee.
[For full details, see Steps to Rome]
The fraternization with the World Council
of Churches on an international level reaches down to
the local units of this "community" - the Ministerial
Associations. Southern Tidings the official paper
of the Southern Union Conference in the Telex news section
for April, 1975, reported that Elder Robert Hunter, then
pastor of the Morganton District of the Carolina Conference,
joined in the local ministerial association's "Pulpit
Exchange Day." The pulpit of the Adventist Church
on that day was occupied by Thomas Burke, parish priest
of the Roman Catholic Church. "The theme of the city-wide
program was 'Blest Be the Tie."'
The strong contrast envisioned in the
Third Angel's Message between those who were to be entrusted
with the giving of this message, and the power symbolically
represented by the "beast" was nullified in
a Brief presented in the United States
p 32 -- District Court for Northern
California. The Brief read: - Although
it is true that there was a period in the life of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church when the denomination took
a distinctly anti-Roman Catholic viewpoint, and the term
"hierarchy" was used in a perjorative sense
to refer to the papal form of church governance, that
attitude on the Church's part was nothing more than a
manifestation of widespread anti-popery among conservative
protestant denominations in the early part of this century
and the latter part of the last, and which has now been
consigned to the historical trash heap as far as the Seventh-day
Adventist Church is concerned. (Reply Brief for Defendants
in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment, Civ.
No. 74-2025 CBR) [See Fotenote, p. 41, Excerpts - Legal
Documents; EEOC v. PPPA]
In the same Brief, the legal counsel
for the Church's officers quoted from an affidavit given
by one of the intervenors, Mrs. Lorna Tobler, in which
she had sworn that during her training and instruction
in Adventist schools and churches, she had been taught
that the Adventist Church strongly disapproved "the
Roman Catholic system." To this the reply in the
Brief read: - In
several ways this illustrates the dangers incurred by
an individual church member who presumes to deny the authority
of the duly constituted officials and governing bodies
of the Church. In the first place, it is true that for
a period in its history, the Seventh-day Adventist Church
had an aversion to Roman Catholicism and especially to
the papal form of church government -- an aversion shared
by virtually all Protestant denominations ... While, however,
Adventist doctrine continues to teach that church government
by one man is contrary to the Word of God, it is not good
Seventh-day Adventism to express, as Mrs Tobler has done,
an aversion to Roman Catholicism as such. (Ibid.,
p. 46)
How must the God of Heaven have felt when
the Church,to whom He had committed in sacred trust the
giving of the Three Angels' Messages, no longer shared
the aversion" with which the book of Revelation indicates
He holds the Papal system?
Monetary Trust -- Not only did
God entrust His chosen people with truth, and the final
message to the nations, but He also entrusted them with
the means to carry out this primary purpose of their calling.
How have these means been handled, and when were fateful
decisions made? In an article - "Investment Practices
of the General Conference," Elder Robert E. Osborn
of the Church's Treasury Department wrote: - Because
the General Conference is responsible for a large pool
of capital, the controlling investment and securities
committee decided in 1967 to retain professional
investment counsel. (This took place at the time the "unitized
funds" program. described later in this article,
began operation.) Lionel D. Edie & Company, Inc.,
of New York City, was chosen to do the research, analysis,
and selection of securities for the General Conference
portfolio. Members of the investment section of the Treasurer's
Office worked very closely with Edie & Company and
kept in communication by telephone and inperson conferences
for detailed review of current and projected trends in
the economic and money markets. (Spectrum, Vol.
5, #2, 1973)
The "unitized funds" program,
as explained by Osborn, "operated in a manner similar
to mutual funds. All unit holders (conferences, unions,
divisions, the General Conference, and church-owned institutions)
own a proportionate share of the unitized funds, on the
basis of the amount invested; and unit holders share in
the investment income and capital appreciation."
[And loss?] (Ibid., pp. 53-54)
While no report is available to this
writer as to the amount of the losses sustained in playing
the stock market by the General Conference since 1967,
a window into the results of this type of monetary practice
is to be found in reports of the investments made by one
conference in the Pacific Union. The Pacific Union had
chosen to set up its own investment program. One conference
- Northern California - during a period of six years -
1968-1973 - had a "paper loss" of over $2 Million.This
loss involved
p 33 -- funds of trust deposits,
and revocable trust funds. A Lay Advisory Committee reporting
on the investments and the losses stated - "If the
trustors and trust depositors should elect to withdraw
their money the fund would be insolvent - unable to honor
these withdrawal requests." This committee made the
following two-fold recommendation: - That
the Conference and the Association adopt a policy of making
no additional stock investments after this date and of
eliminating all investments in common stock and stock
investment funds and that the time for accomplishing this
be no more than two years. (Report #2, Sub-Committee
on Conference Organization & Finance of the Steering
Committee of the NCC-LAC)
One member of the Steering Committee,
Ken Cortner, reported in the Adventist Laymen's Pipeline,
July 1, 1983, the full picture of these investment procedures.
That report read: - Church
publications have been silent concerning some seven (7)
million dollars of Northern's [Northern California Conference]
funds turned over to the Pacific Union Conference in the
late 60s and early 70s for investment in the stock market.
The market had seriously declined thereafter, and in January
1974 conference officials, without disclosing either the
investment or the loss to the church members ordered the
sale of shares of stocks that had cost $837,402.97 for
$500,000. The realized loss in that single transaction
that was sustained by Northern California Conference and/or
Association was $337,402.97.
In
the fall of 1974, a then independent Northern California
Conference Lay Advisory Committee (NCC-LAC), chaired by
a lay person in contrast to the present (1983) chairmanship
being held and under the control of the conference president,
discovered the investments and asked the Conference Executive
Committee to call a halt to any further dealings in the
stock market and that divestiture of all stock held be
completed within a two year period. They contended the
$2,053,298.42 loss of stock value from 1968 through 1973
was "only a paper loss" and that by waiting
for whatever time it took, the market would recover and
possibly even bring a profit. LAC members, generally.
did not agree with that decision but lacking authority
and having only an advisory capacity felt that they had
done their job.
Local
and Union Conference officials had characterized the stock
purchased as "all of the blue chip variety"
and that they had been selected by "a group of experts
to whom we gave complete authority to buy and sell in
our behalf." Laymen learned that the "group
of experts" contained not one single Seventh-day
Adventist Church member and the portfolio of stocks described
as "all of the blue chip variety" consisted
of such companies as Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey
Circus, and among others, a host of small, insignificant,
virtually unknown and highly speculative businesses.
Keep in mind that this is but the story
of one conference and its investments. Some units of the
General Conference "unitized funds" program
dissatisfied with the results turned to the glowing possibility
of Dr. Davenport's investment schemes. The story of the
resulting scandal need not be recited here.
Liberal Trend -- Not only did the
SDA-Evangelical Conferences in the mid-1950s signal a
doctrinal revision of some of the basic concepts of the
Advent Movement, but by the mid-1960s, "for the first
time in the history of the church, a whole generation
of scholars with doctorates from secular universities
became active in church institutions." (Spectrum,
Vol. 15, #2, p. 23) Further, there were Adventists with
a similar training in gainful employment outside the church's
institutions. Some of these became convinced that individual
participation within the framework of the church was an
ineffectual means of dealing with the issues of the 20th
Century they faced in the society in which they moved.
Others met in small groups both here and abroad "with
the primary aim of trying to understand how the secularizing
and divisive trends [could] be reversed." These groups
were formed around academic and professional people.
p 34 -- "To further this spontaneous
search for meaningful participation, the General Conference
of Seventh-day Adventists invited representatives from
several of the groups to meet with them in October of
1967. The purpose was to discuss possible methods
of establishing a cohesive program to provide for dialogue
between the church leadership and this segment of the
laity and to involve the latter more significantly in
the activities and concerns of the formal church. The
outgrowth of that meeting was an action by the officers
of the General Conference (taken at the 1967 Fall
Council) to approve the establishment of an organization
known as The Association of Adventist Forums." [AAF]
(Spectrum, Vol 1, #1, Winter, 1969)
It is AAF which publishes Spectrum.
This Association with its publication has been on the
"cutting edge" of liberal trends within the
church structure, manner of life, and doctrinal revision.
While they prefer to see themselves as "progressives,"
both the liberals within the church, and the liberals
of the Adventist community outside the payroll structure
find common cause. It was the AAF which provided Dr. Desmond
Ford the podium from which he launched his attack on the
sanctuary teaching of the Advent Movement.
During the administration of R. R. Figuhr,
not only was approval given but firm support maintained
by Figuhr himself in the publication of Questions on
Doctrine. Further, during his administration, provision
was made for a study program in geology which led to the
establishment of the Geoscience Research Institute. In
the early 1960s a change was made in the leadership of
the Institute, and "by the mid-1960s, the progessives'
[liberals'] study of the issues led them to conclude that
harmony between Genesis and geology required some kind
of a theological accommodation by the church." (Spectrum,
Vol. 15, #2, p. 26) This conclusion led to the appointment
of two men with theological backgrounds from the Seminary.
The reason - "At that time the most theologically
flexible products of the Adventist educational system
were its seminary graduates." (Ibid.)
The resolution of the problem in the eyes
of the liberals required much more time be allotted than
six literal days, and a creation six thousand years ago
of "the earth, the sea, and all that in them is."
(Ex. 20:11) Any altering of the concept of six literal
days for the creation of the earth ex
nihilo (out of nothing) strikes at the very
heart of the Sabbath commandment. In such a schema, the
Sabbath ceases to be a specific memorial, and the emphasis
on the seventh day irrelevant. It can then be thought
of as a celebration, a weekly rest for man's restlessness.
It dare not be overlooked that all these
major actions which laid the groundwork for the acceptability
of liberalism in the Church, and open agitation of the
same, was done with the full approval of the highest officers
of the Church, starting with Figuhr in the mid-1950s,
and culminating with the Pierson-Wilson official blessing
in 1967.
The Closing Event -- In 1979, the
Annual Council voted a new Statement of Beliefs to be
presented for adoption at the 1980 session of the General
Conference in Dallas, Texas. The full disclosure of all
that took place in the formulation of the Statement of
Beliefs voted at the Annual Council and the final adoption
of the 27 Fundamentals as voted at Dallas, has yet to
be written. There are gaps in the story as known. This
detail is beyond the scope of this manuscript. However,
certain factors of this story must be understood. The
Statement as adopted by the Annual Council was written
by a group of theologians at Andrews University. (Spectrum,
Vol. 11, #3, p. 61) It was sent out to "the division
committees immediately as well as unions and overseas
colleges. It was given to the Adventist Review
for immediate publication in the hope that as many reactions
as possible could be received from the field prior to
the General Conference quinquennial session in Dallas.
Unfortunately,
for reasons never disclosed, it did not appear
for four months, until February 21, 1980," (Ibid.,
#1, p. 6; emphasis mine)
p 35 -- Substantive changes from
previous Statements of Belief were apparent in the Andrews
University formulation. Sections on the Godhead were expanded;
other sections contained new terminology which altered
historic Adventist concepts; and new sections were added
not covered in any previous Statements. Section 2, captioned,
"The Trinity" read in part: "That there
is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a self-existing
Unity in Trinity." Elsewhere in the Statement, "the
oneness of the triune God" is noted. The death of
Christ is spoken of as "this act of atonement"
and declared to be "a complete and perfect atonement."
Such a position makes any concept of a final atonement
irrelevant. The heavenly ministry of Christ is described
as simply "making available to believers, the benefits
of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross."
Then in 1844, Christ merely "entered the second and
last phase of His atoning work." Baptism and the
Lord's Supper were noted as "sacraments," and
"the service of foot washing" was designated
"a means to seek renewed cleansing." The "ministries
of the Church" as defined in the Statement include
"the ministry of intercession." All of these
expressions have Roman Catholic overtones. The Church
itself is defined to be "the company of believers
who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour." (Adventist
Review, Feb. 21, 1980, pp. 8-10)
When the time came for a discussion of
the Statement of Beliefs at Dallas, the delegates received
a different formulation than had been adopted at the Annual
Council and no explanation was given as to why. This brought
expressions of shock and dismay from a number of delegates.
"Those who had been involved in formulating the earlier
draft felt that the new version was disastrous in form,
if not content. Gone was the balance, the beauty and the
sensitivity to words. Clumsy rhetoric prevailed."
(Spectrum, Vol. 11, #1, p. 8) Substantive alterations
were also apparent. The statement on the Godhead was modified
to read - "There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, a unity of Three co-etemal Persons." Although
there was considerable discussion over this new wording
(Adventist Review, April 22, 1980, pp. 11, 14),
it was made a part of the voted Statement with only cosmetic
alterations. The terms, "sacraments" and "means"
were deleted as was also the idea of a minister in the
role of an intercessor. The Cross was still referred to
as the "act of the atonement." This was changed
in the voted Statement to read - "this perfect atonement"
- which in reality changed nothing, still nullifying the
concept of a final atonement. If the Cross is the "perfect"
atonement nothing can be added to that which is perfect.
In historic Adventism, the Cross, typified by the Altar
of the Court, is the place of sacrifice and an atonement
which brought forgiveness, to be followed with a final
atonement which resulted in cleansing. The section on
the Church was rewritten and divided into two statements,
but when finally voted, a key wording from the Andrews
University formulation was restored - "The church
is a community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as
Lord and Saviour."
The retention of the definition of the
Church from the Andrews University formulation when coupled
with the Statement on the Trinity - a statement never
appearing in any prior Statements of Belief from 1872
to 1979 - is significant. These two concepts are borrowed
from the Constitution of the World Council of Churches.
The first article of that Constitution reads - "The
World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches
which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour
according to the Scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill
together their common calling to the one God, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit." Further, the idea of "one
God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a
unity of three co-etemal Persons" was
first formulated by the Council of Constantinople in A.D.
381.(Early Christian Doctrine, p. 88)
In all three Statements - the Andrews
University formulation, the one given to the delegates,
and the one finally voted by them - there appears a phraseology
describing the heavenly ministry of Christ which also
had never appeared in any previous statement of Adventist
beliefs. It read in its final form - "There is a
sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord
set up and not man. In it Christ
p 36 -- ministers in our behalf,
making available
to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered
once for all on the cross." This language
was first used in the book - Questions on Doctrine
(pp. 354-355, 381), where it stated: -
Jesus
our surety entered the "holy places" and appeared
in the presence of God for us. But it was not with the
hope of obtaining something for us at that time,
or at some future time. No! He had already obtained
it for us on the cross. And now as our High Priest,
He ministers the virtues of the atoning sacrifice for
us." (p. 381, emphasis theirs)
Introduced
during the morning session prior to the final reading
and voting of the Statement of Beliefs was Bishop Robert
Terwilliger, a representative of the Anglican Consultative
Council. He had been reading the proposed Statement of
Beliefs, and had listened to some of the discussion. When
he responded to Dr. B. B. Beach's introduction, he said
- "As I have read the beliefs set before you for
revision, I had hoped to find some degree of disagreement.
I had the most awful disappointment. I found increasingly
that we are together in our faith. Therefore the unity
that we share is not simply a unity of good will and fellowship
but unity in faith increasingly, a unity in Christ."
(Adventist Review, May 1, 1980, p. 16)
How can God finish His work on the earth
through an instrumentality that has so altered the faith
committed to it in trust that an Anglican bishop perceives
a growing unity with that which he believes? This culminating
denial in a series which began in the 1950s, left God
with no alternatives. The Church weighed in the balances
of the Sanctuary was found to be wanting. He had given
the prophetic warning in 1967 when the military forces
of Israel retook Jerusalem that the final period had begun
- the achri
hou (until) of Luke 21:24. Now that period
was up. Three months after the Statement of Beliefs was
voted at Dallas, the Israeli Knesset voted to move the
entire government from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The times
of the visitation of the nations being ended, God would
take things into His own hands for the completion of the
Advent Movement which He had begun in 1844. We are now
in the tarrying time as events move rapidly to the final
conflict of the great day of God Almighty. The end of
all things is at hand. TOP
p 37 -- Chapter
XI -- The
Church Today
Up until 1980, all decisions effecting
the Church, doctrinally and ecumenically, were made by
the hierarchy at the highest levels of administration.
The laity had no part in deciding whether there should
be conferences with the Evangelicals. They were not consulted
as to the compromises made in doctrine, but were submitted,
as were also the lower levels of the clergy, the propaganda
enforcing these compromises. The book - Questions on
Doctrine - was thrust upon them as a "missionary
book."
The decision to make contact and carry
on dialogue with representatives of the World Council
of Churches was not made by the laity. And even though
it was first initiated on a personal basis, it was adopted
and encouraged by the highest levels of church authority.
It was not a layperson who suggested that a Seventh-day
Adventist theologian be appointed to the Faith and Order
Commission of the WCC. Neither was it a lay decision to
give the Church "in symbol" into the hands of
the Pope.
The laity did not enter into the decision
to play the stock market with its ensuing losses; neither
did the laity initiate nor promote the investments in
the Davenport enterprises. But it was the money the laity
dedicated to the Church in tithes, offerings and trusts
for the work of the Lord which was gambled and lost.
The General Conference in 1980 enlarged
the scope of the involvement. The Church in general session
voted the 27 Fundamental Statements of Belief, and into
these statements were incorporated the compromises of
the previous decades. While the General Conference in
session was and is considered the highest authority on
earth speaking for God, still the rank and file of the
laity and clergy had little voice. It was the theologians
of the Church working in close alliance with the top levels
of administration who guided through the 1980 session
the new statement of beliefs which included concepts which
never had appeared in any previously accepted or voted
statement. Some of these new statements were very good,
but this only adds to the deception, producing a "tree"
of both good and evil.
In the mind of the hierarchy, these new
statements of belief were not considered a rejection of
the compromises made in the Evangelical Conferences of
1955-1956, but were rather an affirmation of them. However,
due to the continued agitation in the Adventist community
by "dissidents," not only concerning the compromises
of the 50's, but also because of what was written into
the 27 Fundamentals, the late Dr. Walter Martin, one of
the chief conferees for the Evangelicals at the conferences
in the 50's, wrote to the General Conference. Here is
his rationale for writing and the answer he received in
reply: - Since
I have always stressed the importance of doctrinal integrity
in my evaluations of religious movements, the doctrinal
upheaval in Adventism is of special concern. Consequently
on February 16, 1983, I wrote the General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists (Washington D.C.), calling for
the Conference's public and official statement reaffirming
or denying the authority of the Adventist book, Questions
on Doctrine, which was the representative Adventist
publication on which I based my earlier evaluation and
book. On April 29, 1983, W. Richard Lesher, vice-president
of the General Conference [now president of Andrews University],
responded in a personal letter. His reply read in part:
- "You
ask first if Seventh-day Adventists still stand behind
the answers given to your questions in Questions on
Doctrine as they did in 1957. The answer is yes. You
have noted in your letter that some opposed the answers
then, and, to some extent, the same situation exists today.
But certainly
p 38 -- the
great majority of Seventh-day Adventists are in harmony
with the views expressed in Questions on Doctrine."
(The Kingdom of the Cults, p. 410)
In 1985, another General Conference convened,
this time in New Orleans. During the final business meeting
of the session, Elder Neal C. Wilson commented on several
requests that had come to re-open discussion on the 27
Statements of Fundamental Beliefs. He then explained why
these requests had not be honored: - There
have been several requests for an open discussion of the
Statement of Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists.
I want to explain why we chose not to do this at this
session. There seems to have been a very favorable world
reaction to and acceptance of the Fundamental Beliefs
as voted in 1980.
The
introduction states that "when the church is led
by the Holy Spirit to a fuller understanding of Bible
truth or finds better language in which to express the
teachings of God's Holy Word," wording revision could
be discussed again. Frankly, throughout this past five
years there has been no one who has revealed to us that
the Holy Spirit has led in making any substantive changes.
There
needs to be a degree of permanence to a Statement of Fundamental
Beliefs. It should not be opened up every time we meet,
seeing how we can word it a little differently. When the
Holy Spirit leads us to some different conclusions or
when it seems as though the Holy Spirit points out that
it should be more clearly stated, we want certainly to
open it. For these reasons we have chosen to leave this
statement as it is. (Adventist Review, July
11, 1985, p. 17)
The 1985 Session was large1y devoted
to organizational changes. No suggestion was made that
the Church should return to the structure as formulated
in 1901 and rejected in 1903. It should be kept in mind
that it was this rejection of the 1901 Constitution which
caused Ellen G. White to call for corporate repentance
and conversion. But no such repentance was forthcoming
at the 1985 Session, but rather a continuing fulfillment
of the warning sounded by P. T. Magan at the 1903 Session.
(See Chapter IX, p. 26) Papal language was used during
the session in illustrating the roles of the officers
of the General Conference. Wilson, in responding to questions
raised by a report of the nominating committee and a feeling
expressed from the floor that the selection of leadership
did not rightly represent the Church in the Third World,
stated - "If you compare vice presidents to 'cardinals,'
we already have a 'cardinal' from Africa, and before this
session ends, I predict we will have two African 'cardinals'
among the 15 vice presidents." He used the same comparison
a second time in this response. (Bulletin, p. 795)
There is no desire to repent but organizational strengthening
of hierarchical control in continued rebellion against
the purposes of God.
As the Church prepared for the 1888 Centennial
celebration, opportunity was provided for the laity to
evaluate and decide in regard to the 27 Fundamental Statements
of Belief. In the Ministry (April, 1988) and in
the Adventist Review (April 7, 1988), Elder Neal
C. Wilson revealed the plan for the Sabbath School lessons
for the last two quarters of that year. He wrote: - The
framework is already in place for intense study of the
fundamental doctrines of the church. The Sabbath School
lessons for the last two quarters of this year focus on
our 27 fundamental beliefs. Seventh-day Adventists
Believe..., the 325-page doctrinal book on which we
have been working for two years, will be on the press
by May 1. The manuscript for this book has been read and
critiqued by more than 200 Adventist scholars and church
leaders around the world. Each of the 27 chapters takes
an in-depth look at one of our beliefs. And yet the book
is written in such a way that every member of the church
can understand and grasp the importance of these great
truths that bind us together.
Although the book was written in a style
which the average laymen could grasp, they were not provided
with previous statements of belief held by the church
so that a comparison could be made as to changes that
were voted in 1980 and the gravity of those changes. Each
individual member of the Church needed an opportunity
to decide if indeed the 27 Statements are fundamental
truths, or apostate formulations, or a
p 39 -- mixture of the two which
would make them the more deceptive.
The Lord through Hosea declared - "My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." (4:6)
It is not that the laity have had no opportunity to obtain
knowledge. The facts of what has taken place over the
past three decades have been available to all who wished
to know. But "false prophets" on the periphery
of Adventism have been plucking leaves from the "pretentious"
fig tree to lure the concerned laity into thinking that
they have an understanding of the apostasy which has engulfed
the Church. Nevertheless these agents of Satan (II Cor.
11:13-15) have urged the laity to give at least lip service
to these 27 Statements of Belief so that some of them
could still find entrance into the "sanctuaries"
of the Church. Thus this segment of the concerned laity
have been robbed by these "false prophets" of
essential facts so as to evaluate correctly the Sabbath
School lessons and the book on them. One such "false
prophet" when asked to take a stand on the changes
made in the 1980 Statement of Beliefs from the previous
statements, replied through an associate - "Up to
this time we have not performed a thorough analysis of
the 27 fundamental beliefs. Thus we cannot provide an
official critique of them." This letter was dated
January 3, 1989, over eight years after the Statements
were voted at Dallas, and yet this "false prophet"
has proclaimed himself a spokesman for "historic"
Adventism holding to the "firm foundation."
A vast segment of the laity who studied
the Sabbath School lessons during the last two quarters
of 1988 were brought into church fellowship under the
ministry of men who had been taught in college and the
Seminary the apostate teachings arising from the compromises
made with the Evangelicals thirty years ago. How large
this segment actually is can be noted in the membership
difference between 1955, the time of the SDA-Evangelical
Conferences and the present. From about one million members
worldwide, the Church grew in three decades to over five
million. A sizeable portion of the ministry of the Church
has been recruited from this influx of new members during
this same period. However, the lesson plan for the final
two quarters of 1988 did give each individual the opportunity
to review for himself what the Church officially proclaimed
itself to believe, and whether he would concur or dissent.
There is a prophecy in the Writings of
Ellen G. White which has a direct relationship to this
present time. (See Appendix A) In this prophecy, she wrote
that "the church - the Lord's sanctuary - was the
first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God." (5T:211)
And she told why - The
ancient men, those to whom God had given great light,
and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests
of the people, had betrayed their trust. (Ibid.)
But the final sentence of this prophecy
could not be fulfilled until every member of
the church had an opportunity to evaluate the situation
to see if they would choose to
accept the betrayal of the sacred "trust" by
"the ancient men." That sentence reads
"Men, maidens, and little children all perish together."
The opportunity was given in the study of the Sabbath
School lessons for the final two quarters of 1988 to make
that evaluation and decision.
The fearful import of the final six months
of 1988 cannot be fully perceived unless we understand
clearly the lessons of the final years of the Jewish Church/Nation
as a corporate entity before God, and the time allotted
by God for the individual members of that church to make
a decision. Further the close parallel between recent
Jewish history and the Seventh-day Adventist Church history
tells us in the words of Ezekiel - "It
is coming, the hour has come, the hour is striking at
you, the hour and the end." (Eze. 7:6-7 Mofatt)
TOP
p 40 -- CHAPTER
XII -- Lesson
From the Jewish Church for Today
God in His foreknowledge had determined
the time to be allotted to the Jewish Church and its holy
city. To Daniel was revealed that "seventy weeks
are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city."
(9:24) Yet in the close of the probation of the Jewish
Church, the time varied for various segments of that Church.
A careful study of the book of Acts reveals
the hierarchy of the Jewish Church passed the point of
no return prior to the time that probation closed for
the Jewish Church as a corporate body. Observe closely,
with your Bible open, the following points:
1)
On the Day of Pentecost (A.D. 31), Peter preached to "devout"
Jews (2:5) and called them to repentance. (2:38) The hierarchy
were busy at the Temple with the festivities of that day.
2)
Shortly after the Day of Pentecost, but prior to
A.D. 34, Peter again called the laity, who had gathered
in the Temple courts for the hour of prayer, to repent.
(3:1, 19)
3)
While speaking to the people, Peter and John were arrested
by the Temple police, and on the following day were arraigned
before Annas, Caiaphas, and other of the kindred of the
high priest. (4:6-7) Peter boldly charged these top leaders
of the Jewish Church with the crucifixion of Jesus (4:10);
but at no point did Peter call them to repent.
The leadership of the Jewish Church had
passed their day of probation prior to the time allotted
to the Jewish nation as a corporate body.
In A. D. 34, Stephen standing before
the supreme "council" of the Jewish Church arraigned
them in judgment before God as the "betrayers and
murderers" of "the Just One." (6:15; 7:52)
There was no call to repentance, for the hour of
the end of the "seventy weeks" had arrived.
In the execution of the judgment of the high council of
the Jewish Church upon Stephen, probation closed for that
Church as a corporate body. Yet for another 36 years,
the forms and ceremonies of the Jewish religion would
continue to be practiced in the Temple before the "curtains"
fell on that Temple and the "holy city." Why
was time extended?
In the decision of the Jewish hierarchy
to kill Jesus, the laity of the Jewish Church were not
involved, although as a part of "the house of Israel,"
they shared accountability. (Acts 2:36) When Stephen was
stoned, the decision was made by the Jewish "council."
Again the laity were not involved, but as a part of the
corporate body shared in that guilt. God, being a God
of justice and mercy, granted time so that the individual
member of the Jewish Church might decide whether the decisions
of the Jewish leadership were correct, or whether the
testimony of the apostles of Jesus was true. This necessitated
not only that the Jewish laity in Jerusalem receive a
call to repentance, as on the Day of Pentecost; but also
that the same laity scattered in the synagogues of the
Diaspora be given the same opportunity. This is what the
major part of the book of Acts is all about. Not only
does Paul carry the gospel to the Gentiles, but he enters
the synagogues and tells the individual members what their
hierarchy did at Jerusalem. (Acts 13:27-29) The book of
Acts closes with a confrontation of Paul with the local
leadership in Rome. (28:17, 23-29) This final picture
of the book of Acts takes place within the shadow of the
time when the "sign" Jesus gave marking the
hour for the destruction of the city of Jerusalem
p 41 -- occurred - A.D. 66. The
end of all things for the Jewish Church was at hand -
its ritual and its temple services in A.D. 70.
This history can be diagramed and its
significance -visualized as follows:
The
Cross------------- --AD
34 -------------------------------------------AD
66-------AD
70 -----
___|___________|_______________________|_______|____
--(1)---------------
(2)----------------(3)
(1) A.D. 31 - Close
of Probation for the Jewish hierarchy in the crucifixion
of Jesus Christ.
(2) A.D. 34 - Close
of Probation for the Jewish Church as a corporate body.
(3)
- Decision time for the laity of the Jewish Church.
In the fate of this once "holy city,"
we can see "a symbol of the world hardened in unbelief
and rebellion, and hastening on to meet the retributive
judgments of God." (Great Controversy, p.
22) Also in this city, we see fulfilled events which Jesus
connected with "the scenes which are to take place
in the history of this world just prior to the
coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory." (Counsels to Writers,
pp. 23-24) In these final events, it is not the probation
of the Jewish Church which is involved, it is the probation
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, modern "spiritual
Israel," to whom sacred trusts were committed as
was to the ancient Jewish Church.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church cannot
divorce itself from the fate of the nations. To the Church
was committed the trust of giving "the everlasting
gospel... to every nation." (Rev. 14:6) In a special
sense to the Seventh-day Adventist Church was "entrusted
the last warning for a perishing world." (9T:19)
Following the Great Disappointment in 1844, as the minds
of a small group of disappointed ones were directed to
the High Priestly ministry of Jesus, they perceived as
"the closing work of the church" the
giving "to the world the warning of the third
angel of Revelation 14." (SP, IV, p. 272)
Jesus linked the fate and probation of
the nations with events which were to take place in the
history of Jerusalem. He plainly foretold the destruction
of the city, and gave the sign by which His followers
would know that time was imminent. In the same
prophecy, Jesus also set the boundary of the probation
of the nations as corporate entities. Jesus declared that
Jerusalem - the city, not the temple - was to be trodden
underfoot by the nations "until the times of the
nations be fulfilled." (Luke 21:24) [In the Greek,
there is but one word for "nations" and "Gentiles"]
Inasmuch as the fate of the Church is linked to the fate
of the nations because of the trust committed tothe Church
involving the final warning to the nations, this prophecy
of Jesus becomes a major factor in understanding the true
significance of the "now" time to which we have
come.
Further, the fate of the Jewish Church
and the fate of the Seventh-day Adventist Church was linked
in a letter sent to Elders George I. Butler and S. N.
Haskell in 1886. That letter read in part: -
I
think of His [Jesus,] great sorrow as He wept over Jerusalem,
exclaiming, "0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest
the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee;
how often would I have gathered thy children together,
as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye
would notl" [Luke 13:34] God forbid that these words
shall apply to those who have great light and blessings.
In the rejecting of Jerusalem it was because great privileges
were abused which brought the denunciation upon all who
lightly regarded the great opportunities and precious
light
p 42 -- that
were entrusted to their keeping. Privileges do not commend
us to God, but they commend God to us. No people are saved
because they have great light and special advantages,
for these high and heavenly favors only increase their
responsibility. ...
When
Jerusalem was divorced from God, it was because of her
sins. ... The depth of our ruin is measured by
the exalted light to which God has raised us in His great
goodness and unspeakable mercy. Oh, what privileges are
granted to us as a people! And if God spared not
His people that He loved because they refused to walk
in the light, how can He spare the people whom He has
blessed with the light of heaven in having opened to them
the most exalted truth ever entrusted to mortal man to
give to the world? (Letter 8-55-1886; emphasis
supplied)
The parallel between the history of Jerusalem
in the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus in Luke 21:24,
and the history of the Church in its rejection of the
truth entrusted to her is so related that it dare not
be overlooked. (See Appendix D) This parallel and the
message of the book of Acts tell us where we are in the
stream of time as God's professed people today. Let us
recapitulate the data and its signif icance:
On
June 21, 1948, Israel again became a nation. This did
not fulfill a prophecy. Coming events were merely
casting their shadows before. This event did, however,
force the Seventh-day Adventist Church to review its prophetic
interpretation concerning Israel as a nation. In 1944,
the Pacific Press published a book - Palestine in Prophecy
- which stated that "those who are holding the hope
of national restoration for the Jews are following a theological
will-o'-the-wisp." (p. 95) In 1947, the same press
published another book - The Jews and Palestine
- with the specific declaration that "careful study
of both the Old and New Testament reveals that the literal
descendants of Abraham, as a nation, will never be re-established
in the Holy Land." (p. 61) Yet within a year, what
we said could not, and would not be, did occur. We then
backed up to the position Edson White had taken in his
book - The Coming King - first published in 1898,
which stated: - We
also read that "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of
the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
Luke 21:24. Jerusalem has never again come into possession
of the Jews, and will not until "the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled." This will be when the work
of the gospel is finished. (p. 98; See Exhibit #5)
We publicly proclaimed this position at
the 1952 Bible Conference. Elder Arthur S. Maxwell in
his presentation noted Luke 21:24 as one of the yet unfullfilled
prophecies as of that date, stating that "Jerusalem
is to remain trodden down of the Gentiles till probationary
time of all Gentiles has run out." (Our Firm Foundation,
Vol. 2, p. 231; See Exhibit #I) But today, Jerusalem is
under Jewish control, and has become the capital of the
nation. (See Exhibit #8) We are again faced with the fact
that we still have not interpreted this prophecy accurately.
We have failed to distinguish between "nations"
as corporate entities, and "individuals." To
face this distinction is not to our liking because the
fate of the Church as a corporate entity is tied to the
fate of the nations because of the message committed to
the trust of the Church. In the fulfillment of Luke 21:24,
God is trying to tell us something and we will not listen.
In 1950, God sent to the Church two "messengers"
even as He did in 1888. Elders R. J. Wieland and D. K.
Short called for denominational repentance, the only
solution to the problem and need of the Church. The
Church was soon to face its moment of truth in the soon
fulfillment of Luke 21:24, resultant from the establishment
of the Jewish State in 1948. In other words, the call
of these two "messengers" was a message from
God on time. While Elders Wieland and Short did not correctly
interpret the nature of the repentance called for, and
have since wandered off course as did Waggoner and Jones,
the fact that God called for a denominational repentance,
- this was clearly presented in 1950. But what was the
reaction? In the first response of the General Conference
in 1951, the hierarchy rejected their manuscript - 1888
Re-Examined - as too "critical." Another
evaluation in 1958 also rejected it.
p 43 -- Between 1950 and 1958,
a major event occurred within the Church. The SDA-Evangelical
Conferences were held and the resultant book - Questions
on Doctrine - denied the sacred trust committed to
the Church. Then in 1967 (June 5-10) came fhe Six-Day
War, and Jerusalem was once again in Jewish hands after
1900 years. This was the beginning of the final period
of the "times of the nations" (Gentiles). Within
days another series of events began to unfold: -
1) June 27-29 - A
committee of the General Conference met in Washington
and after hearing Elder R. J. Wieland in person, again
rejected his and Short's manuscript because "its
fruitage is evil." [Wieland and Short's revised edition
of 1888 ReExamined does not give the true picture.
It has been altered. But the manuscript A Warning and
Its Reception - gives the complete data.]
2) July 30 - August
8 - . The triennial meeting of the Faith and
Order Commission of the World Council of Churches met
in Bristol, England. For the first time, a representative
of the Seventh-day Adventist theological viewpoint sat
in session as a voted member by the Central Committee
of the WCC. He was Dr. Earle Hilgert, then of Andrews
University. Now Dr. Roaul Dederen also of Andrews University
has taken Hilgert's place.
3) October 17-24 -
The Annual Council of the Church gave recognition to the
Association of Adventist Forums. It was from the podium
of this organization that Dr. Desmond Ford launched his
attack on the Sanctuary truth in 1979.
4) December 15 - The
first issue of "Watchman, What of the Night?' was
mailed to a small list of names. For 23 years now this
publication has been calling the attention of the Church
to the apostasy both in doctrine and deed which has engulfed
it.
Prior to 1967, another series of events
began to unfold which reached their fruition in 1980.
At the final session of Vatican II, an observer of the
SDA Church and a member of the WCC Secretariat made arrangements
for private dialogue. The first unofficial meeting took
place in 1965. (So Much in Common, p. 98) Also
in 1965, Dr. Bernard Seton wrote from Switzerland to the
General Conference of the need for a revised Statement
of Beliefs. This beginning, though at first rejected by
the General Conference, ultimately led to the 27 Fundamental
Statements of Belief voted at Dallas on April 25, 1980.
In 1967, when Israel took Jerusalem,
the capital remained at Tel Aviv. However, on July 30,
1980, the Knesset (Parliament) of Israel made Jerusalem
"the capital of Israel" and "the seat"
of all government of the nation. Thus was completed the
fulfillment of Luke 21:24. What does this mean?, We are
now living in the time which would be parallel with the
end times of the Jewish Church and nation - A.D. 34 -
A.D. 70 - when the Jewish laity had to make a decision
regarding the actions of the Jewish hierarchy.
For the Seventh-day Adventist Church today,
all the actions of the leadership of the Church since
1950 onward focus in one document - the 27 Fundamental
Statements of Belief. The compromise with the Evangelicals
which denied the sacred trust committed to the Advent
Movement is transcribed into the Statement. The requirement
for membership in the World Council of Churches as written
in the Constitution of the WCC is verbally written into
the Statements of Belief. For six months the Sabbath School
lessons were devoted to these Fundamentals. A new book
- Seventhday Adventists Believe... - details chapter
by chapter each of the Statements. At the Centennial Celebration
of 1888, these 27 Statements were proclaimed as the acceptance
of the 1888 Message. It is now before each individual
member of the Church as to which road he will take - the
Way of the Sacred Trust, or the denial of that Trust over
the past four decades by the hierarchy.
TOP
p 44 -- APPENDIX
A -- Ezekiel
9 and Luke 21:24 -- As Seen in Testimonies for the
Church --
Internal evidence
indicates there are three prophetic testimonies which
are in themselves inter-related and coincide in their
fulfillment with the prophecy of Jesus as given in Luke
21:24. These testimonies are to be found in Vol. III,
pp. 266-267, Vol. V, pp. 207-216, and Vol. VIII, pp. 247-251.
The relationship between the first two of these testimonies
is very obvious - both quote directly from Ezekiel 9.
In Vol. III, p. 267, after quoting Ezekiel 9:4, the instruction
is given - "Read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel."
The reference in Vol. V quotes Ezekiel 9:1, 3b-6 at the
very beginning of the chapter.
The relationship between the first two
references and Vol. VIII, pp. 247f., is not so obvious,
but can be readily deducted by comparing what is written
within each testimony. In the chapter, "The Seal
of God," it speaks of a time when "the glory
of the Lord had
departed from Israel." (V:210) In the
chapter, "Shall We Be Found Wanting?" the same
language is used - "My Father's house is made a house
of merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and
glory have
departed!" (VIII:250) Thus both chapters
are describing the same condition and time. Using the
geometrical axiom that if a = b, and b = c, then a = c;
we find all of these testimonies interrelated.
The time on which these events focus is
given in Vol. V, pp. 207-208, where it reads - "Jesus
is about to leave the mercy-seat of the heavenly sanctuary,
to put on garments of vengeance." In Adventist terminology,
this means simply that the events as noted in Vol. V,
pp. 207-213 are to take place just prior to the close
of all human probation. The last paragraph on p. 212,
begins with a quote of Daniel 12:1, and then the comment
is made - "When this time of trouble comes, every
case is decided; there is no longer probation, no longer
mercy for the impenitent." (p. 213)
There is, however, another time mentioned
in this chapter. On page 208, the example of the Amorites
is cited as to how God has dealt with the nations in the
past. Then the conclusion is drawn: -
With
unerring accuracy, the Infinite One still keeps an account
with all nations. While His mercy is tendered,
with calls to repentance, this account will remain open,
but when the figures reach a certain amount which God
has fixed, the ministry of His wrath commences. The account
is closed. Divine patience ceases. There is no more pleading
of mercy in their [the nations'] behalf.
The next paragraph inter-relates this
time with Ezekiel 9 - "The prophet [Ezekiel], looking
down the ages, had this
time presented before his vision." One
reads in vain for any reference to "the nations"
in Ezekiel 9. Ezekiel 9 is concerned with the Church,
and the sealing of those who sigh and cry for the abominations
done within it. But the time of the events prophetically
symbolized in Ezekiel 9 are pinpointed as taking place
at the time mercy is no longer extended to the nations.
Jesus in Luke 21:24 gives that sign to be, Jerusalem no
longer under Gentile control. This brief period began
in 1967 with the taking of Old Jerusalem by Israeli military
forces, and ended with the transfer of the entire civil
government from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 1980. Thus we
are living in the time when the events portrayed in these
three testimonies are or have been fulfilled. And these
testimonies relate to the Church!
Vol. III, pp. 266-267 indicates this to
be the time of "the closing work for
the church," -- the "last
work" as prefigured in the charge to the
man clothed in linen
p 45 -- with a writer's inkhorn
by his side.
Vol. V, pp. 209-213 tells us that two
groups will be developed - "the little company"
also called "the faithful few ... who have preserved
the faith in its purity, and kept themselves unspotted
from the world." It also tells us that "the
church - the Lord's sanctuary - was the first to receive
the stroke of the wrath of God."
Vol. VIII, pp. 247-251 indicates the Seventh-day
Adventist church as a corporate body is to be weighed
in the. balances of the sanctuary, and if she is judged
as having failed the trust committed to her, on her will
be pronounced the sentence - "Found wanting."
Further, the servant of the Lord hears the Divine Instructor
asking - "How is the faithful city become an, harlot?"
This is the
question! The once faithful city - who during the 1940s
and 1950s experienced the golden years of an evangelistic
thrust which proclaimed the message worldwide - the sanctuary,
the mark of the beast - all! - now declared to be "an
harlot!" How? The answer is simple, and found in
the testimony itself. The Church refused to heed the call
to repentance asked by God even though He sent two messengers
with this call in 1950. The results followed: she first
played the harlot with the Evangelicals, then turned to
the World Council of Churches. When she altered her doctrinal
position to include both the thinking of the Evangelicals
and the WCC, God indicated He was betrayed enough, and
permitted the final sign given by Jesus to be fulfilled.TOP
APPENDIX
B -- What
Will the Final Witness Be?
There are those, who, when confronted
with the significance of Christ's prophecy in Luke 21:24,
ask - Does this mean that when Jerusalem was no longer
under Gentile control, probation had closed for all individuals?
The answer is, No! Only the times of the nations had been
fulfilled. Then another question follows - If the present
work is for the Church - "the closing work
for the church" - then how and when will
the final witness be given to the individuals who perhaps
have never heard the truth for this time?
The same night that Jesus gave the prophecy
concerning Jerusalem which would serve as a sign when
the times of the visitation of the nations were ended,
He also told what the final witness would be. This part
of the prophecy is found in Mark's gospel. It reads: -
But
take heed to, yourselves: for they shall deliver you up
to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten:
and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my
sake, for a testimony against them. (Mark 13:9)
The 10th verse is interposed parenthetically
- and it gives the time location, reading: "And the
gospel must first be published among the nations."
When the gospel has been given as a witness to the nations,
their times of visitation are fulfilled, and the end period
begins. After giving this time setting, Jesus continued
the thought of the 9th verse: - But
when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no
thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye
premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that
hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but
the Holy Spirit.
For men and women to merely open their
mouths, and the voice of the Holy Spirit is heard can
mean only one thing - they are completely filled and controlled
by the
p 46 -- Holy Spirit. The final
atonement of Jesus will have accomplished its objective,
and the fulness of the latter rain will have been experienced
by the "faithful few" who have overcome by the
blood of the Lamb, and who are now ready to give their
testimony, loving not their lives unto death. (See Rev.
12:11)
God alone will be exalted in that day.
It will not be men nor institutions which will be headlined
by this experience. Those who bow their hearts before
God in surrender in the closing moments of human probation
as a result of this final witness, will be known only
to God. It is our responsibility now to understand what
it means to be so completely emptied of self that the
Spirit of God will alone appear not only in our manner
of conduct, but be able to take over our minds and voices.
The image of Jesus, who "emptied Himself" (Phil.
2:7 RV) and who declared, "of my own self, I can
do nothing*' (John 5:30) will be mirrored in such lives.
TOP
APPENDIX
C --
The
SDA-Evangelical Conferences
In the Adventist Heritage, Vol.
4, #2 (1977), Elder T. E. Unruh who chaired the SDA-Evangelical
Conferences told how they began and what
took place during these exchanges in 1955 and 1956. He
wrote: - I
wrote a letter on November 28, 1949, commending Dr. Donald
Grey Barnhouse for his radio sermons on righteousness
by faith based on the book of Romans. At the time, Dr.
Barnhouse was a popular radio preacher, minister of the
Tenth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
author of a number of Evangelical books, and founder and
senior editor of the influential Eternity magazine.
I was president of the East Pennsylvania Conference with
headquarters in Reading.
In
his reply to my letter, Barnhouse expressed astonishment
that an Adventist clergyman would commend him for preaching
righteousness by faith, since in his opinion it was a
well known fact that Seventh-day Adventists believed in
righteousness by works. He went on to state that since
boyhood he had been familiar with Adventists and their
teachings, and that in his opinion their views about the
nature and work of Christ were Satanic and dangerous.
He concluded by inviting this strange Adventist to have
lunch with him. We did not then get together for lunch,
but did correspond for a time.
Six years later a contact was made with
Unruh by Walter Martin. Unruh tells of this: - In
the spring of 1955, almost six years after my correspondence
with Barnhouse, I heard from Walter Martin, who had seen
our correspondence and who asked for a face-to-face contact
with representative Seventh-day Adventists. Martin had
written a chapter critical of Adventism in his Rise
of the Cults and now wanted to talk with Adventists
before doing further writing on the subject of our doctrines...
It
was understood from the outset that Martin, a research
polemicist, had been commissioned to write against Seventh-day
Adventism. Nevertheless, he declared that he wanted direct
access so he could treat Adventists fairly. When I explained
to friends at the Adventist headquarters in Washington,
D.C., they agreed that Martin should be treated fairly,
and provided with the contacts he sought. Martin expressly
asked to meet LeRoy E. Froom. ... Froom suggested the
inclusion of W. E. Read, then field secretary of the General
Conference. ...
In
March 1955, Martin came to Washington for the first meeting
with the Adventists. With him was George E. Cannon, a
professor of theology on the faculty of Nyack, New York,
Missionary College.
Unruh in this report tells what doctrinal
positions the Adventist conferees told the Evangelicals
the Church held. He wrote - "We stated our conviction
that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the only
rule of Adventist faith and practice. We affirmed our
belief in the eternal and complete deity of Christ, in
His sinless life in the incarnation, in His atoning death
on the cross, once for all and all-sufficient, in his
p 47 -- literal resurrection, and
in His priestly ministry before the Father, applying
the benefits of the atonement completed on the cross.
And, finally, while setting no time, we affirmed our belief
in the imminent premillenial return of Jesus Christ."
(Emphasis supplied)
Reporting on the same conference, Barnhouse
tells of the doctrine most troublesome to them and what
he and Martin heard the Adventists state concerning this
teaching. Here is his report: - The
final major area of disagreement is over the doctrine
of the "investigative judgment," which is a
doctrine never known in theological history until the
second half of the nineteenth century and which is a doctrine
exclusively held by the Seventh-day Adventists. At the
very beginning of our contacts with the Adventist leaders,
Mr. Martin and I thought that this would be the doctrine
on which it would be impossible to come to any understanding
which would permit our including them among those who
could be counted as Christians believing in the finished
work of Christ. In order to understand this doctrine of
"investigative judgment" it is necessary to
devote a few paragraphs to Adventist history. ...
To
put it in the words of Hiram Edson (the man in the corn
field who first conceived this peculiar idea), he was
overwhelmed with the conviction "that instead of
our High Priest coming out of the Most Holy of
the heavenly sanctuary to come to earth on the tenth day
of the seventh month at the end of the 2300 days, He for
the first time entered on that day the second
apartment of the sanctuary, and He had a work to perform
in the Most Holy before coming to this earth." It
is to my mind, therefore, nothing more than a human, face-saving
idea! It should also be realized that some uninformed
Seventh-day Adventists took this idea and carried it to
fantastic literal extremes. Mr. Martin and I heard the
Adventist leaders say, flatly, that they repudiate all
such extremes. This they said in no uncertain terms. Further,
they do not believe, as some of their earlier teachers
taught, that Jesus' atoning work was not completed on
Calvary but instead that He is still carrying on a second
ministering work since 1844. This idea is also totally
repudiated. They believe that since His ascension
Christ has been ministering the benefits of the atonement
which He completed on Calvary. ("Are Seventh-day
Adventists Christians?" - Eternity,
Sept., 1956; Emphasis supplied, except underscoring)
[The
full documentation - both the report in Adventist Heritage,
and the reports from the viewpoint of the Evangelicals
in Barnhouse's publication, Eternity, can be found
in the published manuscript - The Seventh-day Adventist
Evangelical Conferences of 1955-1956.]
TOP
APPENDIX
D -- LaRondelle
and Luke 21:24
Andrews University Press published as
Vol. XIII in the series, "Studies in Religion,"
a monograph by Dr. Hans K. LaRondelle captioned - The
Israel of God in Prophecy. One section - #10 - involves
what LaRondelle calls "Problematic Texts." The
last one to be considered is Luke 21:24 with the question
asked - "Is Jerusalem no longer trampled on by the
Gentiles since A.D. 1967?" LaRondelle devoted three
pages of discussion to this Scripture - pp. 164-167 -
and never comes to grips with the question. He first quotes
a "dispensational" writer and the Scofield
Reference Bible. This is understandable since the
whole of the monograph is a "continual dialogue with
dispensationalism." (Book Review, Seminary Studies,
Vol. 22, #3, p. 373)
The bottom line in the consideration of
Luke 21:24 emerges as a discussion of the force of the
conjunction, "until" (achri).
LaRondelle stated - "The conjunction 'until' does
not always imply a promise of restoration to a preceding
situation. The precise
p 48 -- meaning of 'until' depends
on the context in which it is used." (p. 166) Then,
after
quoting Hendricksen, LaRondelle concludes: "It is
definitely true that the conjunction,
'until' (achri)
does not contain, in itself, the suggestion of a change
to a previous situation." (p. 167) Four illustrations
from the New Testament are given to illustrate and substantiate
this point - but
none are from Luke or Acts. The conclusion
is then drawn - "The context alone indicates whether
the conjunction 'until' intends to convey the idea of
change." (Ibid.)
It seems that the whole objective of
Christ's prophecy is missed. The events in the history
of Jerusalem are being used only as signs
for something else, rather than signalling a change
in the status of Jerusalem or Israel before God. The special
status relationship ended in A.D. 34, but Jerusalem still
continued to be a sign
for God's "new" Israel to watch. First, the
approach of the Roman armies and their surprise withdrawal
served as a sign
for the Christians to flee the city. Lastly, the return
of Jerusalem to Jewish control - to the same people who
had controlled the city in A.D. 70, signalled the end
of the days of visitation for the nations of earth. The
change of status indicated by the word, "until"
was in the status of the nations before God, not a "second
chance" for the Jews.
In Luke's gospel and the book of Acts,
the word, achri
or achris
occurs 20 times, more times than any other
New Testament writer. Three of these twenty times, achri
is combined with the relative,
hou. Let us note some of these references,
and observe how change is consistently conveyed by the
word, achri,
and what kind of change is indicated: -
Luke
1:20 - "And behold
thou [Zacharias] shalt be dumb, and not able to speak,
until the day that these things shall be performed."
Luke
17:27 - "They did eat,
they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage,
until the day that Noe entered the ark, and the
flood came and destroyed them all."
Acts
1:1-2 - "The former
treatise have I made, 0 Theophilus, of all things that
Jesus began to do and teach, until the day in
which He was taken up."
Acts
3:20-21 - "And He shall
send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you:
whom the heaven must receive until the times of
restitution of all things."
Acts
13:11 - "And now, behold,
the hand of the Lord is upon thee (Elymas], and thou shalt
be blind, not seeing the sun for (achri) a season."
Acts
20:11 - "When he [Paul]
therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and
eaten, and talked a long while, even till the break
of day, so he departed."
In both places in the book of Acts where
achri
is combined with the relative, hou,
a change is also indicated. In Acts 7:17-18, a change
is noted in the favor of the Egyptian king toward the
Israelites from previous Pharaohs. In Acts 27:32-33, Paul
is pictured as urging those who have been fasting to eat
bread, and this "while (achri
hou) the day was coming on" - or until
the break of day. Thus the use of the same idiom in Luke
21:24 indicates a change - a change in the control of
the city back to the control as in A.D. 70, not in its
status before God. This change in the control of Jerusalem,
however, did
signal a change in the status of the nations before God.
LaRondell is so caught up in his dialogue
with "dispensationalism" that he is looking
at Luke 21:24 only as it is taught by the various schools
of dispensational thought, thus missing the whole import
of what Jesus is saying by this sign. It may well be that
many, aware of the evangelical-dispensational teaching
regarding Jerusalem, find it difficult to separate the
rubbish of error from the prophetic truth Jesus is seeking
to convey in Luke 21:24. TOP
p 49 -- APPENDIX
E -- Historical Parallels
When one really perceives that the prophetic
utterances of Jesus have significance for His followers,
then the historical parallel between events in secular
history and the events in the history of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church speaks with force. When one understands
that "the most solemn truths ever entrusted
to mortals were given to the Seventh-day Adventist Church
(9T:19); and that the Church "is to be weighed"
in "the balances of the sanctuary" regarding
"the work entrusted
to her" (8T:247), this historical parallel
becomes terrifyingly significant.
| Date |
Profane History |
SDA Church History |
| 1888 |
The Lambeth Conference
of Bishops of the Anglican Church adopts four principles
as the basis for church unity. This became known as
the Lambeth Quadrilateral. (This was the first step
that led to the Faith and Order Movement and then
ultimately to the World Council of Churches) |
The Minneapolis General
Conference session and the Message of' Righteousness
by Faith. (This was to have been the beginning of
"the loud cry" and the sounding of the angel
of Revelation 18. (R&H, Nov. 22, 1892.) |
| 1896-1897 |
Jewish State proposed;
first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. |
God revealed how He viewed
the Church's reaction to the 1888 Message: "All
the universe of heaven witnessed the disgraceful treatment
of Jesus Christ, represented by the Holy Spirit. Had
Christ been before them, they would have treated Him
in a manner similar to that which the Jews treated
Christ." Jan. 16, 1896 (Series A,.#6,
p. 20) |
| 1901 |
|
Letter to P. T. Magan
- "We may have to remain here in this world because
of insubordination many more years as did the children
of Israel." |
| 1903 |
|
God's evaluation and
counsel following the General Conference session in
Oakland, California - "Unless the church, which
is now
being leavened with her own backsliding, shall repent
and be converted..." (8T:250) |
| 1927 |
First World Conference
on Faith & Order. |
|
| 1929 |
- "Mussolini and
Gasparri Sign Historic Roman Pact" "Heal
Wound of Many Years" (Headlines of San Francisco
Chronicle, Feb. 12) |
|
| 1931 |
|
New Statement of Beliefs
placed in SDA Yearbook. Omitted statement on
purpose of prophecy and phrase designating the Papacy
as the "man of sin." |
| 1948 |
State of Israel created in Palestine;
World Council of Churches formed.
|
|
| -- |
p
50 --- |
|
| 1950 |
|
Two Missionaries to Africa
give God's call for Denominational Repentance. |
| 1955-1956 |
|
SDA-Evangelical Conferences.
Fundamental Beliefs denied and compromised. |
| 1957 |
|
Questions on Doctrine published
|
|
1967
|
Israeli armies take Old
Jerusalem and restore Jewish sovereignty. |
Andrews University professor
appointed to the Faith and Order Commission of the
World
Council of Churches; major entry into the Wall Street
Stock Market; Liberal element in the
Church gains recognition and functions as Association
of Adventist Forums publishing Spectrum. |
The closing period of the "Times
of the Gentiles (Nations)" begins. Could be compared
to "the last week" of the 70 weeks of Daniel
9 in the history of the Jewish Church.
| 1971 |
|
Movement of Destiny
published with official blessing of both Robert H.
Pierson and Neal C. Wilson. |
| 1977 |
|
A gold medallion - a
symbol of the SDA Church placed in the hands of Pope
Paul VI by B. B. Beach. |
| 1979 |
Pope welcomed to the
White House with "hand-clasp" by President
Jimmy Carter (October 6) |
Annual Council (October
9-17) approves an Andrews University prepared Statement
of
Beliefs and recommends it to the General Conference
to convene at Dallas, Texas, in 1980. |
| 1980 |
The Knesset of Israel
voted to move the seat of government from Tel Aviv
to Jerusalem. (July 30) |
General Conference in
Dallas voted new (apostate) Statement of Beliefs.
(April 25) |
The closing period of the "Times
of the Gentiles (Nations)" ended with the government
of Israel fully functioning from Jerusalem. The apostasy
of the Church in its official renunciation of the trust
bestowed upon her was complete. The hour and the end had
come. TOP
Exhibits
as listed below:
Exhibit
1 -- OUR
FIRM FOUNDATION -- IMMINENCE OF CHRIST'S SECOND
COMING -- p.231 --
Exhibit
2 -- 20th Century Bible Course -- Lesson
5 -- TIME RUNNING OUT -- SCRIPTURE READING: MATTHEW 24
(NT 25, 26 [18, 19])
Exhibit
3 -- "KNOWING THE
TIME" -- CHRIST OF THE REVELATION -- p.71, 72
--
Exhibit
4a -- Myers' Finance
& Energy -- July 4, 1974, POBox 5531, Station
A, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2H 1X9 -- LET THE TRUTH BE
TOLD -- Gold vs. Paper - Not a Battle - But a War --
Exhibit
4b -- Consumer Price Index - Base Period 1967 = 100
- Source: Dept. of Labor -- Newsweek June 19, 1978,
p. 21 --
Exhibit
5 -- "The Coming King" by James Edson White
-- Pacific Press Publishing Company, Oakland Cal.,
San Fransisco, New York, Kansas City, 1898, p. 98
Exhibits
Exhibit
6 -- The Pope in America --
Monday,
Oct. 15, 1979
It Was "Woo-hoo-woo" -- And a guitar,
a white rosary, a quilting bee, an offering of zucchini
... on the White House lawn: "God blessed America
by sending you to us." ...
In
brilliant sunlight on the North Lawn, a President welcomes
a Pope to the White House for the first time.
webmaster
note: Text
found at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,916920-1,00.html.
Picture found at: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060716/16carter_eye.htm.
Exhibit
7a -- UNITED
NATIONS - SECURITY C0UNCIL, Distr. GENERAL- s/14032,
30 June 1980 - ORIGINAL: ENGLISH/FRENCH -- NOTE BY
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL -- s/14032, English,
Annex I, Page 1 --
Exhibit
7b -- Same as 7a -- Page 3 --
Exhibit
8 -- APPENDIX
II -- Letter to: The President,
Camp David, Thurmont, Maryland, 17 September 1978 - From:
Menachem Begin -- AND APPENDIX
III -- BASIC LAW: JERUSALEM, CAPITAL OF ISRAEL, 5740-1980
- July 30, 1980 --
Exhibit
9 -- L'OSSERVATORE
ROMANO - Weekly Edition, Page 6 - 30 April 1984 -- APOSTOLIC
LETTER OF JOHN PAUL II -- REDEMPTIONIS ANNO -- JOHN
PAUL II, SUPREME PONTIFF, APOSTOLIC LETTER TO THE BISHOPS,
PRIESTS, RELIGIOUS FAMILIES AND FAITHFUL ON THE CITY OF
JERUSALEM, THE SACRED PATRIMONY OF ALL BELIEVERS, AND
THE DESIRED MEETING PLACE OF PEACE FOR THE PEOPLES OF
THE MIDDLE EAST --
Exhibit
10 -- Letter
to: Mr. M. Ireland, Box 105 Steiner
Road, Valencia, Pa. 16059 USA - From:
159, ROUTE DE FERNEY, 1211 GENEVA 20,TELEPHONE:
(022) 333400, TELEX: 23423 OIK CH, CABLE: OIKOUMENE GINI
-- WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, PROGRAMME UNIT ON
FAITH AND WITNESS, Commission on Faith and Order -- GPM/aw,
27th March, 1974 - Gerald F. Moede. --
Exhibits
End
of Manuscript.
