A former SDA cult member stated the following in the comments section under our video called, "Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong" at ua-cam.com/video/c37bNhYzdbE/v-deo.html saying, "My whole life just flashed before me, after seeing this video! The S.D.A. çhurch has brainwashed me beyond comprehensive understanding! It has destroyed my whole life and caused much poverty and homelessness! I'm 83 years old now. I was raised in the church by my direct descendants who were close to Dr, John Harvey Kellogg. The church is nothing but a religious business for E.G. Whites scamming ! They are a cult based on fear, greed and lies. All under their so called "truth" for the love of the Bible and fellow man! The most evil people I ever met were the staunch members of the church! Once a member they won't stop trying to reconvert you! They could care less about your well being! They inflate their members numbers to "prove" that large numbers are "proof" of their "truth"!" For more see our playlist called, "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" with 54 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html & the website www.truthorfables.com/ . Matthew 7:15, "beware of false prophets..."
Thank you! I have been SDA 65 years, also a direct descendant of the so called prophet, and the torment and cognitive dissonance have been beyond belief. God revealed to me in church a week ago that this was NOT the remnant church. I went home shattered to the core and started searching. This has confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt.Very well done!Just clear facts exposing the deceit and the lies I have been ingrained to believe. The gospel is so clear once EGW filters are removed.
2022, 30 years after, every single word of this video is still true in the SDA Organization. However, the SDA at this moment in time is shrinking like never before.
@@SimplyProtestantBibleBeliever - Thanks for your request. First you must study & learn all the reasons why the SDA is false at its core historically & Biblically. To help you achieve this please begin working your way through our UA-cam playlist called "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html . For more information see the following websites by former SDA members such as: www.lifeassuranceministries.org/ , www.formeradventist.com/ , www.exadventist.com/ , www.sabbathinchrist.com/ , www.truthorfables.com/ www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com . Email: proclamation@gmail.com for free materials. We also have two newsletters concerning Seventh-day Adventism available on our own website biblequery.org/ - once on the homepage click on the Menu icon in the upper left hand corner to bring up a selection which will include "newsletters" & click on that. Feel free to download & print out any or all of our online newsletters. Titus 1:9-16, "holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict. 10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and unfit for any good work."
The question to ask is why do we need investigative judgement if by accepting Jesus’ death burial and resurrection and confessing our sins to God our sins are forgiven? We are called the righteousness of Christ once we accept Jesus as our Saviour.
As a former 3rd generation Seventh Day Adventist I will say that the organization its Insidious in the way they pretend to be what there are not. It comes from the leadership & most of the attendance are blind. Did my family intended to be in a cult? Of course not! But the truth is that we were wrongly misguided by the church. I never read Ellens books w intention. I read Step to Christ in Adventist School Academy. In college I dicided to read Step to Christ with "intention" meaning putting attention in what i was reading. Comparing bible verses w her writings on that book. The next day It was Sabath afternoon & when I walked into the church I began sobing bc I knew right there that Christ was not in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. The rest is history...God have been purging my soul of that awful doctrine for the past 15 yrs. Glory to God that He alone rescue me from death.
I'm not exactly clear where you're coming from? I am a direct DESCENDENT of the founders of the church. I went to their boarding schools and worked in their tax free factory's! I quit the church in 1956! I CAN SAY THAT THEY ARE A CULT AND NOTHING A but a business for Ellen's health care system! They continued to try and recovert after leaving and totally destroyed my life! I have spent many years being homeless!
@@robertchilders8045 But that's 65 years ago! I feel very sorry for your troubles sir. I pray and hope you will be comforted By God and Jesus, God bless and have a nice day!
See our videos "Christ Has Fulfilled & Replaced the Law of Moses With Higher Laws of the New Covenant, Hebrews 8:6-13" at ua-cam.com/video/EkZ2Cn8TLzE/v-deo.html, "Adam & the Ten Commandments - Are the Commandments Creation Ordinances & Eternal Moral Laws of God?" at ua-cam.com/video/DtNOycuiPMM/v-deo.html, "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html & "KEEPING THE OLD TESTAMENT LAWS & COMMANDMENTS CANNOT EARN HEAVEN OR SALVATION WITH GOD!" at ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? In the Old Testament, God stated, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you," (Exodus 20:8-10, NASB). It was the custom of the Jews to come together on the Sabbath, which is Saturday, cease work, and worship God. Jesus went to the synagogue on Saturday to teach (Matt. 12:9, John 18:20) as did the apostle Paul (Acts 17:2; 18:4). So, if in the Old Testament we are commanded to keep the Sabbath and in the New Testament we see Jews, Jesus, and the apostles doing the same thing, then why do we worship on Sunday? First of all, of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only 9 of them were reinstituted in the New Testament: five in Matt. 19:18, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and honor parents; in Rom. 13:9, coveting; worshiping God properly covers the first three commandments. The one that was not reaffirmed was the one about the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8). Upon the completion of Creation, God rested on the seventh day. However, since God is all-powerful, He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t need to take a break and rest. So, why did/does it say that He rested? The reason is simple: Mark 2:27 says, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In other words, God established the Sabbath as a rest for His people--not because He needed a break but because we are mortal and need a time of rest--a time to focus on God. In this, our spirits and bodies are both renewed. The Old Testament system of Law required keeping the Sabbath as part of the overall moral, legal, and sacrificial system by which the Jewish people satisfied God’s requirements for behavior, government, and forgiveness of sins. The Sabbath was part of the Law in that sense. In order to "remain" in favor with God, you had to also keep the Sabbath. If it was not kept, then the person was in sin and would often be punished (Ezekiel 18:4; Rom. 6:23; Deut. 13:1-9; Num. 35:31; Lev. 20:2, etc.). But with Jesus’ atonement, we are no longer required to keep the Law. We are not under Law but grace (Rom. 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus. He is our rest. We are not under obligation, by Law, to keep it; and this goes for the Sabbath as well. It is not a requirement that we keep the Sabbath. If it were, then we would still be under the Law; but we are not. Evidence of the Change of Days can be Seen in the NT The New Testament has ample evidence that the seventh day Sabbath is no longer a requirement. Rom. 14:5-6, "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God." The entire section of Rom. 14:1-12 is worth careful study. Nevertheless, the instructions here are that individuals must be convinced in their own minds about which day they observe for the Lord. If the seventh day Sabbath were a requirement, then the choice would not be man's but God’s. Col. 2:16-17, "Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." Notice here that time sequence mentioned. A festival is yearly. A new moon is monthly. A Sabbath is weekly. No one is to judge regarding this. The Sabbath is defined as a shadow; the reality is Jesus. Jesus is our Sabbath. Acts 20:7, "And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight." The first day of the week is Sunday, and this is the day the people gathered. This passage can easily be seen as the church meeting on Sunday. It has two important church functions within it: breaking bread (communion) and a message (preaching). Additionally, Luke did not use the Jewish system of counting days: sundown to sundown. He used the Roman system: midnight to midnight. This is a subtle point that shows the Jewish Sabbath system was not the one utilized by Luke. 1 Cor. 16:1-2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come." Notice here that Paul is directing the churches to meet on the first day of each week and put money aside. It would seem that this is tithing. So, the instructed time for the church to meet is Sunday. Is this an official worship day set up by the church? You decide. Rev. 1:10-11, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, ‘The Lord’s Day’ in Revelation 1:10: "This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, "ta kuriaka hamera." The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the church’s worship day. As such, it certainly appears early in the 2nd century (Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians, 1. 67). In many churches today, the term "The Lord’s Day" is used to designate Sunday--the same as it was in the second century. I hope this is evidence enough to show you that the Bible does not require that we worship on Saturday. If anything, we have the freedom (Rom. 14:1-12) to worship on the day that we believe we should. And, no one should judge us regarding the day we keep. We are free in Christ and not under law (Rom. 6:14).
In my experience, sda's don't even blink when told their "prophet" has proven to have plagerized LARGE portions of her writings...in fact they will tell you to READ ALL her books, and oh yeah, DON'T TALK BAD ABOUT GOD'S PROPHET!!! LOL. we pray God leads them out and into His Light. Sean's wife
See our videos "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html & "KEEPING THE OLD TESTAMENT LAWS & COMMANDMENTS CANNOT EARN HEAVEN OR SALVATION WITH GOD!" at ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. See also www.scribd.com/doc/110229267/Sabbatismos-the-Sabbath-under-the-Gospel. John 5:8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Response: Scripture plainly states that the Jewish leaders were upset with Jesus for breaking the Sabbath, not that they were upset with Him because they thought He was breaking the Sabbath. Concluding that Scripture doesn’t always mean quite what it says begins a dangerous and slippery slope that ends with ourselves, rather than Scripture, as the final authority. Jesus didn’t claim that He wasn’t working on the Sabbath. Instead, He compared His work with the fact that the Father was working. It is not a sin, it does not break any commandment, for God to work on the Sabbath. But what about Jesus instructing the man to carry his bed? This also broke the Sabbath Law (and not just the added Rabbinical Laws as Adventism claims). Jer 17:21 Thus says the Lord, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. … 27 But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.” The only realistic explanation is understanding that this law was a shadow pointing to Christ. Since the Light had arrived, the purpose of the shadow was completed. Jesus’ rest was available during His ministry and intensified when the New Covenant was fully ushered in. Jesus was establishing the teachings of this Covenant before His death, including His commandments. Jesus defended His non-observance of the Sabbath by pointing out that this shadow didn’t apply to Him. He is Lord of the Sabbath, and He (like His Father) is working all the time. That explains His actions on the Sabbath, but having the man carry the load on the Sabbath seems to require that the shadow was fading away in light of the arrival and teaching of the Lord.Should our desire to follow Jesus’ example translate into Sabbath-keeping? I’d like to highlight a couple of points about how Jesus related to the rituals of his day. First, when he touched lepers to heal them, he became unclean himself. Though he sent these men to the priests to re-establish their “cleanness,” there is no record of him going through the cleansing rituals himself. When touched by the woman who had been bleeding for years on the way to Jairus’ house, and then later when he held Jairus’ daughter by the hand and raised her from the dead-these were both situations where he was made ritually unclean. This did not concern Jesus, of course. He had a much higher purpose, and was soon to make this statement, “Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean…Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, and then out of his body. (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’) He went on: What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’” Mark 7:14-23. There are several implications from this passage. Jesus is showing that ritual law is being superceded by the eternal principles on which they were based. The Christian, reading these writings, realizes that the Jewish practices of cleansing, though clearly mandated in the books of the Law, are now irrelevant since Jesus became the complete revelation to which the Law and its rituals were pointing. The cleansing rituals, once learned, were actually so much easier to follow than the standard Jesus set. Instead of ritual purification, the Christian is called to clean living through his/her actions. Several of the principles contained in the commandments are mentioned (though not Sabbath-keeping, or even worship). But others (malice, lewdness, slander, and arrogance) while not addressed in the 10 commandments, are still clearly “unclean” behavior. That sexual immorality and lewdness go beyond simple adultery is clear, as they are mentioned in addition to adultery. It is clear that the principles contained within the 10 commandments are more important than ever, but are only the beginning of the lifestyle we will try to live through the Spirit and the grace of God. The critical distinction will become clear in Romans and is this: Our salvation is not dependent on us achieving that lifestyle. Rather it is based on Jesus who successfully lived that life in our place. Our gratitude and love is what motivates us as Christians to follow in his example. Lastly from this verse, the groundwork is laid for setting aside the system of clean and unclean foods. Paul will later quote from this scripture in making the same case when discussing clean and unclean meats. More on this later. My point from the previous paragraph is that Jesus, while living in a Jewish society, growing up as a Jewish boy in the usual ways (circumcised, law-school, etc.), would begin to move his followers out of Jewish methods of religion and worship. The very Laws he gave to Moses, he would take the liberty of setting aside. Besides the uncleanness discussed above, there was the harvesting of grain while passing through the field by his disciples on the Sabbath. This was clearly a violation of Sabbath law, but Jesus justifies it using an example of David violating a different ritual aspect of the same law, but who obviously received God’s blessing. Jesus is elevating his listeners, early Christians, and you and me, to principles above and beyond the law. What Jesus is doing in this passage (John 5:16-18) is using the Sabbath to teach them something about himself. You cannot separate these verses from the broader theology of John and what John is setting out to do. Jesus is not teaching us about the Sabbath, as we typically hear on these stories of Sabbath healings. Jesus is teaching us something about himself. I can say that with confidence because it is all over this story. Jesus makes the point that God works on the Sabbath (and no one is calling God a law breaker - John 5:17), so when Jesus works on the Sabbath he can break the Law of Moses because He and God are the same. Jesus point is not about the Sabbath. Jesus is using the Sabbath as an opportunity to teach them something about his identity. We are not called to have faith in the Sabbath but faith in Christ. We often miss the forest for the trees on this one and get all caught up on the Sabbath rather than on the Lord of the Sabbath. Often this point is entirely missed because we are unaware or unconcerned with the broader theology of the Gospel of John that this fits so well into. Sabbatarians enjoy pointing to Jesus as our example to keep the Sabbath. Is this a valid argument? If we are to follow Jesus' examples of how he lived under the old covenant, should consider this? Do Seventh Day Adventists Follow Jesus' Example? No! Jesus wore tassels on a robe with a blue cord. Jesus paid tax to the temple and supported temple worship Jesus went to a Jewish synagogue on Sabbath and read from the Torah in Hebrew. Jesus spoke out against the Jewish Leaders. Jesus limited his study only to the Torah. Jesus kept all 12 sabbaths including eating the Passover lamb. Jesus did not baptize anyone. Jesus did not own a home, did not marry, was not employed, had no income, stayed in other peoples homes, rode a donkey. Let’s evaluate specific statements Jesus made about the law, starting with the passage in Matthew 5:17-19. Many believe that Jesus is establishing with his own words the everlasting application of the 10 commandments. This is not the case, however. Here is why…first, the text, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets: I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The first key feature is in the first sentence and the term, “Law or the Prophets.” This is a clear reference to the entire Old Testament, which is divided into Law (1st 5 books), Prophets (all the other books). Evidence for this is contained in these verses, “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John” Matt 11:13. This is a clear reference to the body of Old Testament scripture. “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent” Matt 12:5. This was in defense of his disciples’ Sabbath-harvesting. The portion of the Law He is referring to is in Leviticus where the priest’s duties are described. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” Matt 22:36-40. Note the use of the term “the Law and the Prophets” which clearly references the entire Old Testament scripture. Further, “the Law” is clearly a reference to the Torah, or Pentateuch as we call the first five Bible books. Both of the commandments Jesus quotes are from these books, but neither is one of the Ten. The first is from Deut 6:5, and the second is from Lev 19:18. Of course Adventists are quick to point out that the 10 commandments can be divided by first 4 (love for God) and last 6 (love for fellow man). This is an assumption. Jesus does not make this point. Rather, he broadly states that the message from the entire Old Testament scripture can be summed up this way. So, I think you’ll agree that what Jesus is stating in verse 17 is that He has come to fulfill the entire Old Testament. Then in verse 18, the term “the Law” can not be seen to mean “the 10 commandments” and must instead be seen to mean the whole Torah - first 5 books of the Bible. This is the way the term “the Law” is used throughout Matthew and the rest of the Gospels. The Greek word is “nomos” and will be discussed further regarding its usage in the NT Epistles. Even in the encounter with the rich young ruler, Jesus uses the term “commandments” (Greek word “entole”), not “the Law” - and that was only to test this man, who was evidently very good at keeping the commandments (the Ten plus others), but did not want to turn his life over to Jesus. The point of this story is that the keeping of the commandments does not change the heart. But, back to my point about the original verse: the term “the Law” has to mean the entire Pentateuch. Given this interpretation, the meaning of the verse is this: the Jewish system of worship (the Old Covenant) will not pass away until I (Jesus) have fulfilled it. Well, either we had better be sticking to the sacrificial system in its entirety, or we need to be able to point to a time when Jesus fulfilled that system of worship. I believe the Bible is clear about this. Gospel writers use the terms “fulfill” and “accomplish” as markers for the end of this system described in the Law and the Prophets. Notice the parallel between this verse in John 19:28 “Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, I am thirsty.” Matthew as well uses the term “fulfilled” in a final way, never in a state of on-going fulfillment. For instance, “But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled…” Matthew 26:56. I believe a correct interpretation of this verse in Matthew 5 shows that the Old Covenant system of worship practiced by the Jews was fulfilled by the life and death of Christ and have now lost their importance, making room for a new system of worship and a new understanding of our relationship with God: the New Covenant. This makes many uncomfortable, but I emphasize again that the eternal moral principles contained throughout the Old Testament and Old Covenant system are timeless and are incorporated into the New Covenant system as well. The focus, however, is (and has to be) different. It is now based on Jesus and his accomplished sacrifice, instead of the promise of the coming sacrifice which was the focal point of the Old Covenant. The Old was leading up to that triumph, and the New is life after the triumph - related, but very different perspectives - like Adam before and after the fall. Same man, but entirely different “state.” One more point about this verse…When Jesus uses the term “commandments” in verse 19 (Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments…,) he appears to be using a general term that applies to the many God-given directions in the Torah, including, but not limited to the Ten Commandments. (The Greek word is “entole.” We will examine its usage throughout the New Testament later in this paper.) This is supported by the whole context of the verse, and the usage of the term elsewhere in the gospels. Again, see the verses in Matt 22 which also incorporate all these exact terms. (When asked about the greatest commandment, He responds with statements found elsewhere in the Torah.) He is upholding the entire Torah, not just the Ten. I believe a different conclusion is speculation, which is fine to do, but not when formulating doctrine. Adventists think they have Ellen White to validate their speculation, but without her validation, these proof texts are much less clear. I want to take some time here to examine what Jesus does emphasize from the 10 commandments in his pivotal sermon on the mount. He cuts through the letter of the law to reveal the eternal principle behind this covenant made between God and the Israelites. Principles which make perfect obedience to the law impossible, yet are still what we strive for. 1. In addition to refraining from murder, don’t even be angry. Avoid lawsuits. Don’t hold grudges. 2. In addition to refraining from adultery, don’t even look at a woman with lustful thoughts. Exactly where does one cross the line from admiring beauty to lustful thinking? That is not spelled out for us. People who would prefer to live by a well-defined law don’t know what to do with this because it is not black and white. Then Jesus moves outside of the 10 commandments into other principles of the Law, including divorce, and the use of oaths. There is no hint that these are any less important, or separated in any way. He then breaks more new ground introducing the New Covenant principles of turning the other cheek, loving ones enemies, stewardship and the attitude of the heart behind giving and prayer life. The idea of “eye for an eye” is indeed a Biblical principle, enunciated in Exodus 21:24. Yet Jesus shows a more mature approach. My two points of emphasis are these: 1. Jesus does not make a distinction between the 10 Commandments and the rest of the Law. 2. Jesus does emphasize a new focus beyond the letter of that Law - not setting it aside, but in fact making it even harder to follow - impossible in fact without the Holy Spirit. (Good news - obeying the Law, or the principles behind it, is not a requirement for salvation! Thanks be to God.) There is no sign that 7th-day worship is one of those eternal principles. But worship itself certainly is, as is Sabbath rest, and this will be examined at length in Hebrews. “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Adventists like to reference John 14:15 as a specific direction by Jesus to uphold the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath. “If ye love me, keep my commandments. (KJV)” Or in the NIV that I’ve been using for this study, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Elder Vandeman, in his book A Day to Remember, made a point of emphasizing that it was really Jesus who met with Moses on Mount Sinai, and wrote the Ten on the tablets of stone with his finger. I don’t think this is crystal clear from scripture, but I wouldn’t argue the point. Either way, Jesus is a full member of the Trinity, and thus wholly God. However, and most importantly, this argument in no way establishes that Jesus is referring to the 10 commandments in this verse. In fact, the context of this verse strongly promotes the “Law of Love” that Jesus is emphasizing to his disciples during the Last Supper. Vandeman tries to brush this off, but gives no justification for doing so. Simply read the chapters from John 13-15 to see that Jesus is preparing his disciples for his death and resulting separation from them. Yet he encourages them with the promise of the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. He assures them that the character of God has been manifested to them through him, so they can love and trust God in a richly personal way - patterned after their human relationship with Him (Jesus.) Over and over Jesus states clearly what command he is giving to his disciples: Love one another as Jesus has loved them (us). John 13:34, 35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Keeping the Sabbath is not how all men will recognize Christ’s true followers! Instead, it is the first fruit of the Spirit - Love. (And along come Joy, Peace, etc.) Let me summarize a bit at this point: I hear it said often by Sabbath-keepers that since Jesus kept Sabbath, we should as well. Of course, Jesus was Jewish, and so was circumcised, educated by the Rabbis, celebrated the Jewish holidays, paid the temple tax, and still managed to convince the local experts on the Law that he was breaking the Sabbath on a regular basis. We don’t do all those other parts of the Jewish customs that Jesus did, so what again is the rationale for keeping the Sabbath? There is no mention of the Sabbath prior to the Ten Commandments. Though God rested on the 7th day after creation, He did not call it the Sabbath. There is no indication that humans rested on the 7th day until instructed to do so in the Old Covenant described by Moses in Exodus. This covenant was clearly made between God and Israel. Converts to Judaism first had to be circumcised (entrance sign) before they could worship in the Synagogue/Temple with the Jewish people on Sabbath (ongoing sign of the covenant). This covenant between God and Israel contains a ritualistic system of worship that even Adventists largely discard, though they and others hang onto the Sabbath because of its special inclusion in the Ten Commandments. However, it is clear that Christian living goes far beyond the 10 Commandments, as demonstrated by Jesus’ discourse on the subject, and later expanded by the New Testament writers. The Covenants Seventh-day Adventists arbitrarily divide the Sinaitic old covenant into two divisions, moral and ceremonial. They claim that the Ten Commandments are moral and the rest of the law/covenant is ceremonial. They have offered no biblical evidence to support a two-part division of the old covenant. There are moral and ceremonial commands in the whole law as well as a ceremonial command in the Ten Commandments. The Bible writers never declared the old covenant was a two-part covenant. The Jews understand that there is but one law/covenant and it is all equally holy and was ratified by the blood of animals. Ex 24:3 (NIV) When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’S words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.” There are 613 commands in the old covenant that Israel were required to keep perfectly. These are found in the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. The Ten has one ceremonial command, the sabbath, which is not a moral command. Sabbath keeping was given to Israel as a weekly ritual "to rest" from labor. It was never commanded as a communal day of worship. Israel was commanded to remember their deliverance from Egypt and that God created the world. The sabbath is not a moral command as no person has ever been charged with sin for breaking the sabbath except Israel of the old covenant. The Old Covenant is a binding agreement God made with Israelites alone at Sinai. It was made with no other nation on earth. It includes the entire Mosaic Law which includes the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone by God. The entire covenant was ratified by the blood of animals. Ex 24:8 (NIV) Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Adventists teach that the sabbath is binding on all nations and all people for all time when in fact it was given only to one nation-Israel. Circumcision was the entry sign into the covenant. Gentiles could only legally keep the sabbath and be accepted by God, if they joined the Israelite community through circumcision and keep all the covenant. The sign of the old covenant between God and Israel was the sabbath. God never made the sabbath a sign for Christians in the new testament. Do you find Christians mentioned in the text? Can you legally enjoin on Christians that which God has not enjoined on them? Circumcision is just as much a perpetual covenant for Israel asis the sabbath. Circumcision was first made with Abraham as an "everlasting covenant"-but not the sabbath. Ex 31:16-17 (NRSV) Therefore the Israelites shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” Gen 17:9-10, 13 (NIV) Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” God then gave circumcision to the Israelites along with the sabbath in the law of Moses. John 7:21-24 (NIV) Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.” The old covenant ended at Calvary with the death of Jesus. When a party to a covenant dies, said covenant ends. In this case it was Jesus who died, and He made that covenant with Israel. Thus the old covenant ended, even as a marriage covenant ends upon the death of either party. The surviving person is free to marry again, even as Jesus now takes the church as His new bride. If a mate dies, the surviving person is no longer married to a corpse. Rom. 7 shows this comparison of marriage and dying to the law through Christ. SDAs are married to the old covenant corpse. They read sabbath keeping in the old covenant (contract) God made with Israel and apply it to themselves. They do not accept the fact that they were never a party to that covenant. The only way for them to legally keep the sabbath is through circumcision and they are then obligated to keep ALL the old covenant with its 613 commands, which they do not do. They refuse to kill sabbath breakers and stay at home on sabbaths as the law requires. Thus they are lawbreakers, and subject to the condemnation of that law. What Ended at the Cross? Jesus Abolished Israel's Old Covenant law with Ten Commandments and regulations. Eph 2:15 (NIV) ...by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. Notice, "the law" is singular that was abolished, not laws. There was just "one law"-the Mosaic law-with many commands and regulations, that was abolished by Jesus. God canceled the written code and regulations nailing it to the cross. SDAs claim that the "written code" was not the Ten, but the law that Moses wrote. Both God and Moses wrote the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments written on stone tablets by the finger of God and were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant, and they were also written by Moses on parchment with ink and placed outside the Ark in the Book of the Covenant. Otherwise you would not be reading it in your Bible. Col 2 and Ex 24 explains this. Col 2:13-14 (NIV) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Ex 24:3-4 (NIV) When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’S words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. vs. 7, Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.” Jesus was taken down from the cross, and the law with the sabbath remains nailed to the cross for eternity. SDAs try their best to pry the nails from the cross to make the sabbath binding on Christians. "The first Covenant" had "stone tablets of the covenant." Heb 9:1-4 (NIV) Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. The old covenant included the Ten Commandments as well as the Sanctuary furnishings not found in the Ten Commandments showing that the old covenant is not a two-part covenant claimed by Seventh-day Adventists. The Old Covenant with the Ten Commandments are obsolete. Heb 8:7-13 (NIV) For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8But God found fault with the people and said, “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. The Ten Commandments were a ministration of death and condemnation. 2 Cor 3:6-9 (NIV) He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! Only one who was a party to that law/sabbath could die to that law/sabbath. No one alive today was a party to the old covenant. For someone to insist on keeping the sabbath and other old covenant points of law is to insist on being bound to a dead mate. Christian Jews are "released from the Law" and now serve the Spirit and not in the way of "the written code". If you have not died to the law/sabbath you are holding onto a corpse. Good luck with that! Rom 7:4-6 (NIV) So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. The law was a witness against Israel not Christians. God gave the law to Israel to show them their sins and the law was a witness to it. They were a stiff-necked, rebellious, idolatrous, faithless nation. Deut 31:26-27 (NIV) “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God. There it will remain as a witness against you. For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die! The law was a school master (paidagogos) to bring Israel to Christ, not Christians who were never under that law. How can SDAs who claim to be justified by faith, want to be under Israel's schoolmaster (law)? Gal 3:23-25 (KJV) But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. A paidagogos was one who accompanied a child, who was usually a slave of the parents of the child, and even administered punishment as required. Once the child came of age and was mature, the paidagogos was dismissed from this oversight of the child. Those who insist on living by that law demonstrate their immaturity; still needing a law to tell them everything they are to do or not do. Christ is the end of the Law for Israel. The law made no one righteousness or moral and no one could keep it perfectly. Rom 10:4 (NIV) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Rom 3:20 (NIV) Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. The Law of Sin and Death is the Ten Commandments. 2 Cor 3:6-7 (NIV) He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, The law was made for rebellious Israel, not Christians with the spirit of God. Do Christians need a law to tell them not to worship idols, not to murder and steal? 1 Tim 1:9-11 (NIV) We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers-and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. How can Christians be righteous before God without the law? Christians receive their righteousness from the gospel and will live by faith. Rom 1:17 (NIV) For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Paul was not under the Law. Be like Paul and win SDAs and other sabbatarians that put themselves under the law. 1 Cor 9:20 (NIV) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. Rom 6:14 (NIV) For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Gal 5:14 (NIV) The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Gal 5:18 (NIV) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The Apostles opposed the Judaizers that were trying to impose the law on Gentiles. The issue was keeping the law of Moses all of it. Notice that the sabbath was not included in the discussion. In the Jewish mind a gentile must first be circumcised before he could keep the sabbath. This would have been an excellent time to tell the gentiles to keep the Ten as do SDAs. Acts 15:5 (NIV) Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.” Acts 15:10-11 (NIV) Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:19-21 (NIV) “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” Mount Sinai Covenant is Slavery represented by earthly Jerusalem. Jewish and gentile Christians are free in the New Jerusalem in heaven which is of faith. What was given on Mount Sinai? The Ten Commandments with the sabbath. Gal 4:21-31 (NIV) Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written: “Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. The New Covenant is God writing his laws on the Christian's heart. Hebrews 8:10 (NIV) This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. What are the laws that God has written on our hearts? SDAs would have you believe that God is writing the same old covenant law of sin and death on our hearts. The Apostles tell us what they are. Law of Faith. To know we are justified before God without keeping the old covenant. Rom 3:27-28 (NRSV) Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. Law of the Spirit. Has set us free from the law of sin and death. Rom 8:1-4 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Live by the Spirit. If you are led by the Sprit you are not under the law. Gal 5:16-21 (NIV) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Law of Christ. Gal 6:2 (NIV) Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Law of liberty. James 2:8-11 (NIV) If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder. ”if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. James mentions two distinct laws-that is, (1) the royal law and the law of liberty (which are identical) and (2) "the whole law" (which includes the entire Torah, all the Laws of Moses). James tells us that the royal law is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This law, found in Leviticus 19:18, is one of many laws that the Lord gave to Moses to instruct Israel regarding how to live moral lives and develop good interpersonal relationships with others. James also states that, as in the old covenant law, if you broke even one point of the whole law, you were guilty of the entirety of the old covenant, likewise, if you fail to show proper love for even one person by showing partiality, you are guilty of breaking the law of Liberty. Therefore to break one point in the Ten or in the "whole law" consisting of 613 commands, YOU are a lawbreaker. Jesus gave a new commandment to love one another. Will a Christian that loves one another, murder, steal, commit adultery, and worship idols? There is no need for that obsolete law or the Ten Commandments. Love does no harm to one’s neighbor therefore love fulfills the law. Keeping the law does not fulfill it. Another way to look at this is that, if a Christian has love for even his enemies, he would not commit these acts, seeing as these things are a result of an unconverted heart, not motivated by love. Do you trust the spirit to guide you? If not you have no faith just as Israel. John 13:34-35 (NIV) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The world will know you are Jesus' disciples if you love one another. Paul tells Titus what to teach. Do you notice nothing is said about teaching the law/sabbath. Titus 2:11-15 (NIV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you. Finally, Sabbath Keeping in Alaska is a Problem. This shows that the Sabbath was a regional, temporary command for Israel and not for the world. Interesting problem in Alaska. According to the officious SDA sunset calculator, on Friday eve, May 30th, in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the sun set below the horizon, bringing with it the Jewish Shabbat, at 11:38 PM, almost midnight. Note: AK is so far west, it is on Hawaiian time. Here is the quote: Calculations for: Longitude: -148.34000 Latitude: 70.27000 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Time Zone: Hawaiian Standard Time, HSTDate: 5/30/03 Friday Sunrise: 0:07am HST (sunrise Friday morning)Sunset: 11:38pm HST (sunset, Friday night, becoming sabbath) Next, we find sunrise on Sabbath, May 31st, actually starts before midnight Friday night and el sol invictus stays up all day Sabbath, and into Sabbath night, and into Sunday morning, and into Sunday night, for the next two months! Date: 5/31/03 Sunrise: Sun above horizon HST Sunset: Sun above horizon HST (meaning the sun never sets). Meaning: if you live and work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, extracting dino remains buried and liquified by Noah's flood less than 4500 years ago, you have a problem! (no!! dummy! not the recent age of the earth!)... you have to quit working! Because on Friday night, May 30th, when the sun went down at 1l:38, bringing in the holy Lord's day, you had to stop working, thou, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and all the strangers within thy igloo. But the sun came up again on Sabbath just a few minutes later, but never went down after that!!! As I scribble this nonsense it is still Sabbath in Prudhoe Bay...cause the sun never went down....no Saturday sunset. So if you believe literally that you must keep sabbath from sunset on Friday night to Sabbath sunset.....the next day, Sabbath, did NOT have a sunset this summer! Won't be a sunset for another two months! So you are faced with keeping Sabbath for two months straight, and giving up your job with Exxon! Unless of course, you are the camp padre, trying to spread the word that black gold comes from dead dinos who missed the ark, or in the medical profession raking in piles of dough and salving your conscience by paying plenty of tithe to keep the hired-archy gainfully employed.... -sent by reader Seventh Day Adventists follow their false prophetess Ellen G. White (a woman authority over her religious followers which violates 1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") & her idol of Sabbath keeping for salvation requirement (violating Galatians 1:6-9) rather than what the Bible plainly teaches about Sabbath keeping for New Testament believers. For more see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See the websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.ExAdventist.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Praise God for your testimony Annie. We have both made the same experience. I was a SDA for 33 years and deeply devoted to EGW's writings. But God knew my heart out led me out into the full light of the Gospel. I always remember the words of Paul: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage Gal 5:1 I remember because the Adventists are not the only ones who have replaced Christ with the Law. God bless
For much more on the religion of Ellen G. White see our playlist called "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 53 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. Some of these videos come with free written transcripts such as "Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong" at media-cloud.sermonaudio.com/text/79161824122.pdf (also available in 20 languages). See also: www.truthorfables.com/ , www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org , www.ExAdventist.com , www.nonsda.org/ & www.ellenlied.com/ . Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets ..."
Thank you for this eye opening videos. I feel like a hammer is pounding my head and my stomach is upside down. Almost two years ago a friend invited me to a Bible Study. I didn’t know anything about Adventism but I liked the study and believed what they said. When they started talking about Ellen White I didn’t like at all, but I said to myself that I only have to obey the Bible and not to follow Ellen White teachings. Then, a year later I was baptized and started attending a Spanish SDA church. Now inside the church I have to study the Bible every day and be ready for the Sabbath School. They gave me a book with readings from the Bible and questions to answer which I thought it was awesome because I was learning so much BUT in each one of this lesson there are Ellen White comments, and the lesson for every Friday from every week is dedicated entirely to E W. I didn’t agree with that but I continue attending because they have a total member involvement and they made me treasure’s assistant, and gave me other responsibilities. There were to many things I didn’t like, but I just continued going. Now with the pandemic that is going on, and the quarantine I have had time to watch so many videos about this false religion and I have decided not to come back to that church. Thank you for helping me to leave that cult.
A free written transcript of this message is available at media-cloud.sermonaudio.com/text/108160185.pdf. Free written transcripts of this message are available in 20 languages at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?m=t&s=108160185. See our playlist of 40 videos & counting on the SDA at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html&feature=plcp. See www.LIFEASSURANCEMINISTRIES.org with director Dale Ratzlaff & www.EXADVENTIST.com with Mark Martin. Larry Wessels, director of Christian Answers of Austin, Texas/ Christian Debater (UA-cam channel: CANSWERSTV at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTV; websites: www.BIBLEQUERY.ORG, www.HISTORYCART.COM & www.MUSLIMHOPE.COM) interviews two former members of the Seventh-Day Adventist religion created by a supposed "prophetess" named Ellen G. White. Wallace Slattery, author of the booklet, "Are Seventh-Day Adventists False Prophets?" (& former instructor & member of the SDA for 44 years) is joined in studio by his wife Carole, also a former SDA member for 44 years. A farmer named William Miller became convinced (much the same as modern day false prophets like Harold Camping who has repeatedly predicted the end of the world based on his own Bible interpretations) through his own study of the Bible that the 2300 prophetic days of Daniel 8:14 represented 2300 years beginning in 457 B.C. with the decree of Artaxerxes I to rebuild Jerusalem & continuing down to 1843 or 1844 when he predicted Christ would return to Earth. Miller began preaching this prediction in the 1820s & continued to preach it into the 1840s. His doomsday message gathered perhaps a million followers throughout the Middle Atlantic & New England states. When Jesus did not come back in March 1844 as Miller had declared he turned to a prediction by S.S. Snow (who wore a white robe & called himself Elijah) who said Christ would return on October 22, 1844. Naturally, as it turned out, they were both wrong (known as the "Great Disappointment") & shown to be false prophets (Matthew 24:23-36). However, some of their deluded followers refused to give up on Miller's fabrications including a 17-year-old girl named Ellen Harmon (later to become known as Ellen G. White, due to her marriage to another Millerite named James White) who taught that God had shown her in a vision that "probation" for the people of the Earth had closed on October 22 & that Christ would come in the immediate future. When this didn't happen either, another Millerite adventist named Hiram Edson said the October 22 date merely marked a "transfer" of Christ's heavenly mission from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary, where Jesus then began the "final atonement" for sinners. Throughout the late 1840s & into the early 1860s Ellen G. White claimed to have "visions" from God & became known as a "Messenger" from God. Later in life she claimed to have visits from angels who told her what to write. Ellen G. White & her husband were leaders of this new religious group which became incorporated in 1861 as the Seventh-day Adventist Church which had its headquaters in Battle Creek, Michigan. Ellen White died in 1915 at the age of 87, elevated by her followers as a divinely inspired "prophetess" speaking for God (see SDA publication, "Review & Herald," page 11), but never having seen the coming of Christ as she had falsely predicted for decades. It is now known that Ellen G. White engaged in extensive plagiarism from many of her 19th-century contemporaries such as Alfred Edersheim's "Elisha the Prophet," William Hanna's "The Life of Christ" & John Milton's "Paradise Lost" (see the heavily documented book, "The White Lie" by Walter T. Rea, M & R Publications, Turlock, CA, 1981, for validation). In fact, it is now known that Ellen White claimed to write her many books by the "spirit of prophecy" but rather she plagiarized from other authors & falsely deceived her followers. Not only does Seventh-day Adventism teach another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9) which is based on "works righteousness" (Galatians 2:16, Isaiah 64:6) rather than the grace of God alone (Ephesians 2:8-10) but it is filled with unBiblical doctrines & false prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:14-22). Ellen G. White taught that : Satan has taken full possession of all other churches ("Spiritual Gifts," Vol. 1, pp. 189-190); the prayers of people in the other churches are an abomination ("Spiritual Gifts," Vol. 1, pg 190); Eggs excite people's animal passions ("Testimonies," vol. 2, pg 400); Eggs should not be placed on the table because they are injurious to children ("Testimonies," vol. 2, pg 400); People living in 1856 would live to see the seven last plagues ("Testimonies," vol. 1, pp. 131, 132); Certain races of men are the result of amalgamation between man & beast ("Spiritual Gifts," Vol 3. pg 64, 75); Wigs make people lose their reason & go hopelessly insane ("Words to Christian Mothers," No. 2, pg 121), etc.
The wicked hate the wrath, justice & judgment of a Holy God. Get an in-depth study of the Biblical Doctrine of Hell besides videos on our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html by going to "Eternal Punishment, Part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, Part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607143539 by A.W. Pink. Great preaching on this subject can be found at "Heaven & Hell" by Charles Haddon Spurgeon at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8702112616 & "The Sinner's End, Hell Opens Wide Her Jaws, the Sinner Falls To Destruction, Spurgeon" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1014131452290; "A Few Sighs From Hell" by John Bunyan at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112903233617; "The Eternity of Hell Torments" by George Whitefield at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=11307232342; Men Don't Regard Warnings of Future Punishment As Hell Doesn't Seem Real - Edwards" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1031121125362, "The Torments of Hell Are Exceeding Great, A Rich Man Went to Hell and Was Tormented" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=51513154140, "They That Are Gone to Hell Are All of Them in Despair, Eternal Damnation by Edwards" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338 & "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=113003134610 by Jonathan Edwards, "God's Hell" by John Wagner at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6501212239; "A Tour of Hell" by E.A. Johnston at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7251216250; other great Biblical messages about the doctrine of Hell can be found at www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?currSection=sermonstopic&keyworddesc=Hell&keyword=hell. See our newsletter on Hell with plenty of Biblical references on our website www.biblequery.org/ (once on the homepage click on the "experience" box to the left then scroll down to the newsletter section & click on "Turn or Burn." The wicked hate the Biblical doctrine of Hell & will create any myth to pretend it is not real or eternal in the conscious divine punishment of the damned. "Be not deceived, GOD IS NOT MOCKED: For whatsover a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galations 6:7). "VENGEANCE IS MINE; I WILL REPAY SAITH THE LORD" (Rom. 12:19). "Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and THAT WILL BY NO MEANS CLEAR THE GUILTY" (Exodus 34:7). Jesus said, "It would have been good for that man if he had not been born" (Matthew 26:24). Why would Jesus say this if there wasn't something far worse waiting for that man after this life is over? Interestingly enough, over the years many atheists have flocked to our UA-cam hell videos with unusual curiosity. Why do they bother if they don't think it is real? 2 Timothy 2:15
To see all our videos which come with free written transcripts please click on www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?currpage=1&keyword=christiananswers&SourceOnly=true&mediatype=PDF&AudioOnly=false&sortby= which add up to 70 videos & counting at this time. Keep in mind that these free written transcripts are also available in 20 different languages by going to any of the individual videos and locating the "View Transcript" area. For example, say you want a foreign language transcript from our video "Biblical Canon of Scripture is the Basis for Authentic Christian Belief & Doctrine" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=21519512147884 & you want the transcript in Chinese just follow these basic steps: 1. Click on "select translation" next to the "Google Translate" indicator 2. Click on the type of Chinese you want to use, you have two choices either "Simplified" Chinese or "Traditional" Chinese 3. Let's say you click on "Traditional Chinese" 4.Then you click on "Translate" which brings up another screen which has the entire video translated into traditional Chinese 5. From there you have additional options to share this Chinese translation with others as indicated 6. This is very cool & is an just another opportunity for evangelism around the world in this digital age! Jude 3, "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints."
The Only True Church - Hear the following: "Is the Pope in the True Church?" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=820752920, "The One True Church" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=81212170178, "Papacy's Claim to have the Authority of the Apostle Peter, Roman Catholicism, Pope" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=121312161512, "Institutes of the Christian Religion #42 The Ancient Form of Goverment Utterly Corrupted by the Tyranny of the Papacy/Antichrist" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=21308121690 & see our playlist "Dealing with Roman Catholicism, Idolatry & the Virgin Mary" at ua-cam.com/play/PLFFA8D69D1B914715.html. Just about everyone who has started a movement has declared themselves the only true church on earth. In this they claim one must join their exclusive group or organization to be saved and to be a Christian. Many believe there has been a complete apostasy already, so there is need of a full restoration. While God does have a true Church on earth, he has already stated how one enters to be part of this Church. First lets go through the many familiar and some not so familiar groups that claim to be the ONE TRUE CHURCH. Then we will look at how one enters the true church. Mormonism LDS- 13th LDS President Ezra Taft Benson, “This is not just another Church. This is not just one of a family of Christian churches. This is the Church and kingdom of God, the only true Church upon the face of the earth...” (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.164-165). This church is the only true and living church on the face of the whole earth (D and C 1:30) “There is no salvation outside the church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints (Mormon Doctrine, p.670) “Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the Church of the Lamb of God and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore who so belongeth not to the church of the lamb of God belongeth to that great church; which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.” (The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 14:10) on April 8, 1973, LDS Apostle Mark E. Petersen proclaimed that salvation “comes only through the Church itself as the Lord established it... Therefore it was made clearly manifest that salvation is in the Church, and of the Church, and is obtained only through the Church.” “The Roman Catholic, Greek, and Protestant church, is the great corrupt, ecclesiastical power, represented by great Babylon....” (Orson Pratt, Writings of an Apostle, “Divine Authenticity,” no.6, p.84). the LDS church is, “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased ...” Brigham Young (Mormonism's Second President) “Our message is so imperative, when you stop to think that the salvation, the eternal salvation of the world, rests upon the shoulders of this Church. When all is said and done, if the world is going to be saved, we have to do it “ (“Church Is Really Doing Well,” Church News (a bi-weekly publication by the Mormon church), July 3 1999, 3) Jehovah’s Witnesses- The Gospel of the Kingdom ceased to be proclaimed shortly after the death of the apostles. It was not preached again until after 1918.(WT, 12/1/1928, pp. 363-64) We acknowledge as the visible organization of Jehovah on earth the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, and recognize the Society as the Channel or instrument through which Jehovah and Christ Jesus give instruction and meat in due season to the household of faith. (Watchtower, April 15, 1939 p. 125) “ The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society the one and only channel which the Lord has used in dispensing his truth continually since the beginning of the harvest period?” (WT 4/1/1919, p. 6414) “The world is full of Bibles…why then do the people not know which was to go? Because, they do not also have the teaching or law of the mother, which is light.”(WT 5/1/1957, p.274) “Outside the true Christian congregation what alternative organization is there? Only Satan’s organization…”(Watchtower 3/1/1979 p.24) “Consider too, the fact that Jehovah's organization alone in all the earth is directed by God's holy spirit or active force.” (Watchtower, July 1, 1973, page 402) Iglesia ni Cristo- “the complete disappearance of the first-century Church of Christ and the emergence of the Catholic Church” (Pasugo, July-Aug. 1979, p. 8). Thus, outside the Church of Christ no one can be considered a true believer.'' (PASUGO, September/October 1981, p.9) “Each member ... should submit himself to the Administration of the Church in order to be saved.”(PASUGO, January 1976, p. 9) ''People who embraced the true church will be saved not because of the good deeds they have done, but through God's merciful act of commissioning messengers entrusted with words of reconciliation.'' (PASUGO September/October 1986, p. 20) International Church of Christ - “There is one church! There is one God. There is one kingdom of God and this is it! (The Great Commission, audio tape, Weger/Rock, Hodge/Hamann/Fulcher/Fields) “you are in the only family that exists on the face of the earth.”( Phil Lamb, We Are Family, audio tape 1990 West Coast Conf.) “We're the last hope the world has. Nobody else is going to do what we're doing. Nobody else has the right message. Nobody else has the right commitment.”( Gordon Ferguson, Radical Men, Radical Times Hosea Radical Love of God, Manila World Leadership Conf., Aug. 1994 ) “your salvation is hanging in the balance. .... When you walk away from the movement of God, there is no where to walk. Walking out of the light into the darkness. There is nobody else There is nobody else in this country that That has the true gospel -- that is, trying to make disciples of Jesus. There is nobody else in this entire world. This is the movement of God! There is no place to go.” (Nick Young. Tulsa Reconstruction meeting, August, 1992, audio one, side two) “When you preached who is really saved: that you gotta have faith, you gotta repent, you gotta become a true disciple of Jesus, and then you gotta be water immersed for the forgiveness of sins received through the Holy Spirit, that excludes all other denominations…everybody else out there.”( Kip McKean. “Preach the Word.” Johannesburg World Missions Leadership Conference. Aug. 1995, audiotape #10091, side 2) True Jesus Church- On 5. on the web they emphatically state “The True Jesus Church is the true church restored by God through the Holy Spirit of the latter rain. She is the revival of the apostolic church in the end times.” on the web “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). Therefore, one can receive eternal life only through the true church.” The Philadelphia church- Mr. Flurry “The “household” is God's Family or true church. It's the family that God rules. This is God's inner circle--His very elect. One servant, one leader or one man is made ruler over God's church. Only this church (The PCG) gives meat in due season. Only this church is doing God's work!” (The Philadelphia Trumpet, p.1 May 1995) “Some in the world try to label the PCG a cult. Actually, we are God's only true representative on this earth!...”( The Philadelphia Trumpet, p. 19 March, 1994) “...that truth is in only one church today, God's church. Only God's Philadelphia Church has retained God's Law in this end time” (The Philadelphia Trumpet , p.5 March 1994). Roman Catholic Church-”But by divine institution it is the exclusive task of these pastors alone, the successors of Peter and the other Apostles, to teach the faithful authentically, that is with the authority of Christ ....” (Vatican Council II Vol. 2, p. 430, 1984) “If anyone says that in the Roman Church, which is the mother and mistress of all churches, there is not the true doctrine concerning the sacrament of baptism, let him be anathema.” (The Canons And Decrees Of The Council Of Trent, p. 53 -- Seventh Session, Sacrament Of Baptism, Canon 3) “This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra in such wise, indeed, that his supreme teaching authority be acknowledged with respect, and that one sincerely adhere to decisions made by him, conformably with his manifest mind and intention ....” (Vatican Council II ,Vol. 1, p. 379) The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism explains: “For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church ALONE, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained.” Pope Boniface VIII declared: “There is one holy Catholic and apostolic church, outside of which there Is NO SALVATION ... it is altogether NECESSARY FOR SALVATION for every creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.' (“infallible papal bull, Unam Sanctam) Vatican II declared: ... this holy Council teaches ... that the church .. Is NECESSARY FOR SALVATION.” (VATICAN COUNCIL II, Costello Publishing, Austin Flannery, O.P., General Editor, Vol 1, pp. 364-365) All Christians will be gathered in a common celebration of the Eucharist, into the unity of the one and only Church, ... The unity, we believe subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose. (Vatican II, Decree on Ecumenism, chap. 1, 4, p. 416). The local Church (Witness Lee)- When we were in the denominations, we were blind. I do not believe that any dear Christians who have really received sight from the Lord could still remain in the denominations. Everyone who sees must leave the fold and enter the pasture, under the sunshine, in the fresh air, in liberty. Where are you now? Are you in the fold, or are you now in the pasture? Allow me to say this: if anyone is still in the fold, he is blind. Of course, a blind person requires the fold to keep him. But when he receives his sight, he will swiftly leave the fold for the pasture, for the sunshine, for the fresh air.” (Witness Lee, Christ Versus Religion LSM, 197,1 p.109-110) The only way to follow the Lord absolutely is to go the way of the local church. (Witness Lee, The Practical Expression...p.94) If you leave the church (the Local Church), you miss the mark of the Lord's testimony. You must be in the testimony of Jesus. Only the golden lampstands, the local churches, are the testimony of Jesus....if you are not in the local churches you are not the testimony of Jesus.”( Witness Lee, The Stream magazine Nov. 1976, p.7) House of Yahweh-”With all the Churches and Religious Organizations in these Last Days preaching what they call Salvation, why would Yahweh need to establish another organization in order to get his way--the True Way of Salvation--taught? “The One Body of Messiah IS The House of Yahweh! “...IF we 'separate' from the One Body of Messiah: The House of Yahweh, then we succumb to Satan, then at that very moment we become worshipers of Satan...of if one LEAVES The Body - The only Prophesied, Established Work that Yahweh Himself has chosen, then that one does NOT partake, or is NO LONGER a partaker, with the rest of The body of Messiah - The House of Yahweh” (What Yahweh's Feasts Mean to You, pp. 78, 87). “ The churches in the world today do not even pretend to keep Yahweh’s Laws. How could they pretend such a thing anyway, they all blatantly rebel against every one of them.... It should be very obvious why Yahweh had to establish His House in these Last Days--the Christian Churches are not The House of Yahweh. They do not stand in Yahweh’s counsel. They are not the Pillar and Ground of the Truth. They do not teach Yahweh’s Laws, therefore, they do not turn the people away from sin--breaking Yahweh’s Laws.” “I urge you to obtain the books … and start learning the true way to Salvation. This way is not taught in the world by any organization, other than the one established by Yahweh--The House of Yahweh.” Hawaii fellowship of the Universal World Church “a voice thundered and uttered these words “This is my daughter in whom I am well pleased. As Jesus, my son, paid the price through his faithfulness upon the cross.. my anointed daughter, Miss Velma, has paid the price through her faithfulness at the golden altar. Therefore, all who will believe in her, will receive my gift of eternal youth which is new revelation Mamre.” (The mighty Miracle of the new Revelation of Mamre p.49-50) The new Revelation of Mamre is the greatest gift ever given to a people by almighty God. “(The mighty Miracle of the new Revelation of Mamre p.7) “Miss Velma has paid the price! She has become the sacrificial offering required by God that all of mankind may reap one of god's greatest rewards, new revelation Mamre”( ibid.p.51) 7th day Adventists-”I saw that God has honest children among the nominal Adventists and the fallen churches, and before the plagues shall be poured out, MINISTERS AND PEOPLE WILL BE CALLED OUT FROM THESE CHURCHES and will gladly receive the truth....But the light will shine, and ALL WHO ARE HONEST WILL LEAVE THE FALLEN CHURCHES, and take their stand with the remnant” (Early Writings, p. 261 ) We can see the common thread of these churches. They are separatists and deny anyone else can have the right message. That one must come to their CHURCH to be saved. That is the common deviation from Scripture and what makes them a cult. 1 Jn.2:19 “they went out from us but they were not of us, if they had been of us , they would have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made known that none of them were of us.” This was already occurring in the early church. Now that we have read through just a few churches that claim exclusivity to being the only representatives of Christ and God on earth. We need to go to the Bible to see what it states on this matter. It is possible that one of these groups that claim this can be right. But it is impossible for all of them to be right since they all claim exclusivity. Who would know? Jesus who is the head of the Church would know, and the Apostles he appointed to write down his teachings are the ones we need to go to, to find the truth. What is the Church? The first time we find the word Church is in Mt.16:18 where Jesus said he will build his church upon the revelation the Father gave Peter when he openly confessed that Christ is “ the Son of the living God.” “Upon this rock I will build my church.” So this must be the Churches confession of faith, if not, then it is not the Church. What this meant in the Judaic culture is that Christ is equal to God, having the same nature as his Father. The Scripture is clear only God is to be worshipped Ex.34:14: “For thou shall worship no other God for the Lord (Yahweh), whose name is jealous, is a jealous God.” The Church worships God and also worships Christ. The Father in Heb.1:6 tells all the angels to worship the Son. Both the Father and the Son are worshipped in heaven (Rev.4-5) and on earth. The Bible teaches that Jesus is not only worshipped, but also called God by Thomas in Jn.20:28 “My Lord, my God.” (Greek- The Lord of me, the God of me). We find the wise men worshipped Jesus as a child. Mt.2:11.The leper worshipped Jesus Mt.8. The ruler bowed and worshipped Mt.9:18 .The believer who was blind worshipped him Jn.9:38. The women worshipped him Mt. 15:25, Mary Magdalene worshipped him Mt.28:9, the disciples worshipped him Mt.28:17.Jesus was worshipped just as the Father was worshipped. It is called the Church of God which he had purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28). After Christ raised from the dead and ascended he sent the Holy Spirit to birth a new entity, the church. The Greek word is ekklesia (which is used 114 times in the New Testament) which means a called out assembly (Ek = out of, Kaleo= to call). It is never used of a building or of the kingdom of God. The Church is not the kingdom, but included in it. The Church is a invisible living spiritual organism, composed of all the believers world wide, from the time of its inception on Pentecost, until the taking away of the Church at the rapture. Its origin is found in God as the Holy Spirit gave it its birth in Acts 2:1-4 with the disciples and the Jews at Pentecost in v.33. And we become part of this same Church today the same way they did, by spirit baptism, being born again of the Spirit. No one joins the Church unless they are first joined to Christ. This is why Jesus said you must be born again, (by the Spirit Jn.3:5) not join the Church! The Church began in Jerusalem, not Rome. Any Church that does not trace its start to Jerusalem on Pentecost is not His church. Those who claim the Church needed to be restored from an apostasy are not part of the original Church. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church, she would never be overcome, no matter how many were killed, it would never result in a complete apostasy. So any church claiming theirs as a restoration can't be traced back to the original. Jesus told Peter: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18). Meaning it would not remove it nor hinder it's growth, work or people. If his Church had apostatized then the gates of hell would have prevailed against it, which makes Christ a liar, that is uncomfortable even for the cult's to say. Christ will not abandon his bride, he said he would always be with. How could Christ be with his Church always if his Church ceased to exist for over 1800 years? The Church is already made and continues to grow through history. No devil or man can stop or hinder it because Jesus is the architect, not man. While it is valid to claim that there needs to be repentance or reformation throughout the church's history, to get back to the bible when we drift. To restore a church from apostasy has quite a different meaning. The true Church is built upon what Peter said Christ is- The Son of the living God- the eternal one. We can only have this by revelation the same way Peter did, from heaven. It is not man revealing this truth but God himself. Christ teaches In Matthew 28:20 he said, “I am with you always even until the end of the world.” And in John 14:16, 18 he said, “And I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever. . . . I will not leave you desolate.” Christ promised that nothing would prevail against his Church, that he would be with it always, that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the third person of the Holy Trinity would be with her always. Christ will not abandon his bride. How could Christ be with his Church always if his Church ceased to exist for 1800 years? We are the Church We (the people) are the Church, which is likened to the temple 1 Pet. 2:5 “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We are bricks cemented together our spiritual sacrifice is ourselves, our lives. As Rom.12:2 tells to present ourselves as living sacrifices. We no longer sacrifice animals for a sin offering but present ourselves, our lives to God continually each day to be used by Him. 1 Cor.3:16 teaches that each of us as individuals are the temple of God because “the Spirit of God dwells in you.” You are not Christ's possession or part of his Church unless you have the proof by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (by the way this does not mean one must speak in tongues or have another spiritual manifestation). We are called Col. 1:24: “His body, which is the church” 2 Cor. 6:16 that “we are the temple of the living God.” As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” 2 Cor.3:7 The church will be God's dwelling place. together we are the temple (the church) the dwelling of God. Christ “In You” is the hope of glory. Eph. 2:20-22: “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Jesus is the cornerstone and the apostles the foundation stones. Paul explains further in Eph. 4:15-16: “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-- Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” The Church is a living temple made up of bricks whom are the people. We are all interdependent on one another. Just as a house is not made with one brick but all are cemented together. Each brick has a different gifting and talents and all are to be used so that the body can be healthy. Just as Paul's example of the outside of the body we are all different and the least is to be honored as much as the greatest. Certainly the pancreas adrenal glands on the inside of the body if they were not functioning would affect the rest of its health. Heb 3:1-6: “For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” How Does one Join the Church? 1 Cor. 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” Notice collectively and individually. This means one does not have to belong to a certain denomination or group but to Christ. No one is told to join the Church by the apostles because it is an automatic placing of one in the body of which Christ is the head. 2 Cor.5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We are put in Christ to become a new creature, not in a Church. Becoming part of a Church is the natural outcome of the new birth. Jn.1:12-13 “ But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” To be born of God is to have the Holy Spirit regenerate the dead spirit in man back to a relationship with God. This comes through Christ alone, no Church or minister can give you this. 1 Cor.12:12-13 “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” This is how one enters the Church by the Spirit who comes inside us and unites us with the rest of the body which is invisible and visible. Paul writes in Rom.3:24: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” This is one of Paul's favorite technical terms. Paul points to our spiritual life coming from being connected to the Son. It is Christ that uses examples to show us that He is the gate, the door, the way. We enter the Church (become part of the church) by a person and his work for us. As we come to Christ He puts each one in his spiritual body the Church. You don’t join a church but are born into a family that is the Church. And it is not limited to a local body but a worldwide family of faith. When Paul was persecuting the church, Jesus said he was persecuting him, because he was the owner of it, we are his body and his Spirit indwells those who he killed. By killing Christians he was fighting against Christ himself. The Church is Christ's invisible body on earth. The Church is called “the Church of God” Eph.5:23-24: “also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” 24... “the Church is subject to Christ.” The Church is ruled by God, just as our body takes instructions from its head. Col.1:18: “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” If we want to obey the truth we receive our sustenance and instructions from Christ alone, collectively and individually! Jesus referred to those who were part of his body/ Church as “my sheep”. In John 10:16, Jesus spoke of other sheep which were not of this fold, them also I must bring and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. What he meant is that the Gentiles outside the nation of Israel were to be grafted into the covenant and have him as their shepherd. You are the branches “I am the vine.” All these relate to our connection to the Son who brings us to the Father, and is the source of our eternal life. We cannot produce fruit apart from him Jn.17. Mark 6:34 “So He began to teach them many things.” Listening to Christ is the first step to having him be your shepherd, you then become a disciple by following his teachings. The leaders or shepherds are to train the sheep to hear the chief shepherds voice. The word “Church of Christ” is not singular but plural in the Scriptures, which is a problem for those that call themselves the exclusive Church of Christ.1 Cor.1:2, 1 Cor.10:32, also Rom.16:16 calls them the Churches of Christ. Rev.1:20 says Christ holds the seven golden lamp stand's, the seven stars and the messengers (angels) of the seven churches in his hand showing his control. This becomes a problem for numerous groups that claim the name “Church of Christ”, since it is plural not single. Likewise for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, since they are Jehovah’s “organization” and not a Church nor Christ’s. Not because of name only, but because they do not look to Christ as the head. Actually if one asks the question to these groups who is the head of your Church? You can various answers from a prophet, apostle, a revelator, to a Pope. Even those who claim Christ can have a different Jesus from the Scriptures. (2 Cor.11:4) So we must examine who Jesus is to them and their relationship to him. Rev 2:23 “and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.” Only God is able to search the heart and give rewards. The Church's Purpose The true Church teaches the bible alone, and promotes evangelism to fulfill the commission Christ gave in Mt.28:18-19. Our purpose Eph. 3:9-10: “... to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things; that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” This is done by teaching the Scriptures equipping the body for our growth first then for the work of ministry Eph.4. So the message can go out to there communities. We are to gather to be taught, equipped for ministry so we can evangelize to bring others to the Lord. The church is a spiritual hospital for sinners so they can be healed from sin. The church is not a building to meet in to come to the Church, instead we should be going out being the church. We have a mission. To make disciples and grow in their relationship with God. We have them join in the body, whether its our particular local body or another that is part of the church universal. Everyone needs to be involved in a local body of believers, an assembly to help bring health to themselves and the body. Different churches have different focuses and different ways of doing ministry. Within the main framework of evangelism there is other ministries, this does not mean any one way is the only way as a long as it is all biblical. Each church may have a specific way to minister to its own communities needs and essentially have different focuses. It is from this variety God is able to meet the needs of individuals and their personalities. The One TRUE Church The true Church holds to the core beliefs of Christianity without subtracting or adding to them. Christ is the eternal God come in the flesh, there is one God and 3 distinct identities (persons) who exist simultaneously as the One God. The virgin conception, the sinfulness of man and the need of a savior, the new birth, the Gospel which is the death burial and physical resurrection, the 2nd coming, baptism, eternal mediator and priesthood of Christ, the priesthood of all believers, the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture, judgment and rewards to the believers. These are the essentials that are clarified in the Scriptures. If the Church one attends does not hold to these essential beliefs, they are not Christ's Church no matter what name they have on their outside or on paper. This is not my opinion, but the Bibles explanation what the apostles taught through the Gospels, the book of Acts, and in the Epistles. In conclusion there is one true Church, but it is not found in a certain denomination or group by itself. Those who claim you must join their group or Church to be right with God, only prove they do not understand what the word Church or body of Christ means. It is not exclusive but inclusive, as it is found in the heart of all those who have accepted the true Jesus, and have come to God the way He has provided (through His son on the cross), and hold to the essentials of the faith. Whether one is Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Charismatic, or Pentecostal, etc. The Church transcends denominational barriers, it exists within denominations, as well as outside of them. This is the Universal Church that has continued from the beginning of Pentecost. While denominations may have differences on peripheral issues, they do hold to the core beliefs that make them all part of the body of Christ, the Church. Two items that come in handy in knowing about when Romanists argue that anything said against the Roman "church" is not the truth is to tell them about the following two items: 1. The following website is by self proclaimed Roman Catholics following the so-called "true church" (in other words their Roman church is their true savior not the Biblical Jesus Christ) at www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/. These Romanists destroy the new Romanists since the invention of Vatican 2 in 1965. They present great information proving modern Romanism & their popes (they call them anti-popes) to be a false & apostate religion. It doesn't get much better than this when one group of apostate Romanists attack another brand of apostate Romanists in order to prove to the world they are false! 2. Our video "The Homosexual Pope, Priests, Universalists, Evolutionists & Disunited Roman Catholic Apologists" at ua-cam.com/video/hThonwrX6QU/v-deo.html proves from Roman Catholic sources themselves that one of their popes was a practicing homosexual, that almost 50% of Roman Catholic priests are homosexuals (for more on this see our video "FORMER ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST SAYS CHURCH OF ROME HAS A FALSE GOSPEL & WIDESPREAD HOMOSEXUALITY" at ua-cam.com/video/0y4C-nBQ3mE/v-deo.html), that the Roman church buys the theory of evolution which denies the first eleven chapters of Genesis in the Bible, that Pope John Paul II kissed the Muslim Qur'an & said Islam has the same god as Roman Catholics have (see the videos "Top Ten Reasons Muhammad Is Not a Prophet" at ua-cam.com/video/MO8sZ1JyP1A/v-deo.html, "Ten MORE Reasons Muhammad Is Not a Prophet" at ua-cam.com/video/T4p7HuuhF8k/v-deo.html, "50 Reasons Muhammad Was Not a Prophet (in Under Five Minutes)" at ua-cam.com/video/4Q3f15NXrLI/v-deo.html, "David Wood: Five Reasons the Quran Is Not the Word of God" at ua-cam.com/video/NvlzlBov9zc/v-deo.html, "Who Killed Muhammad?" at ua-cam.com/video/6st_tFj6ouM/v-deo.html, "Why Did Muhammad Wear Women's Clothing?" at ua-cam.com/video/-50CraaniT0/v-deo.html; also see www.AnsweringMuslims.com & www.MuslimHope.com) & how Roman Catholic apologists are at each others' throats because of the vast differences within Romanism itself. Besides all that see the following websites for detailed information on Romanism & how it is a counterfeit religion at www.BereanBeacon.org, www.CWRC-RZ.org & www.mtc.org/. Remember Titus 1:9-16, "9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. 10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: 11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake. 12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. 13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; 14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. 15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." www.BibleQuery.org www.historycart.com/ www.muslimhope.com/ John 14:6
Our UA-cam channel CAnswersTV (which stands for Christian Answers Television) features over 639 videos from a Biblical worldview organized according to topics. Our main channel can be accessed at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTV where all our videos & playlists are on display. Here are our available playlists: 1. "Popular Uploads" at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTV/videos?shelf_id=2&view=0&sort=p 2. "Dealing with Jehovah's Witnesses, Watchtower Society" with 25 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLCF0ADB29C0EB8C40.html. 3. "Dealing with Islam, Muslims: Sunni, Shi'ite, Alawites, Sufis" with 73 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL1C7F68B548009FDD.html. 4. "Dealing with Roman Catholicism, Idolatry & the Virgin Mary" with 140 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLFFA8D69D1B914715.html. 5. "Dealing with Darwin's Metaphysical Evolution Religion" with 21 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL0703E78058346A52.html. 6. "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" with 26 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. 7. "Dealing with Anti Trinitarians (UPC) & Early Church History" with 53 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL9931642C7C8FFEAB.html. 8. "Dealing with "God Hating" Atheists, Agnostics, Know-It-Alls" with 21 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL640E505B96CD6B39.html. 9. "Dealing with Phony TV Preachers (TBN) & King James Onlyites" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL2CDA855486B09128.html. 10. "Dealing with UFOs, Ghosts, Magic, Spiritual Warfare, Satan" with 19 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL2CF1129D311BF9A6.html. 11. "Radio Shows with National Christian Authors & Music Vids" with 52 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLF01B4264276D2990.html. 12. "Dealing with Black Muslims, Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam" with 25 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLD3B79AA00CCF21B7.html. 13. "Dealing with Mormonism, The Con Man Religion of Joseph Smith, Jr." with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL11CD0EE613306BB5.html. 14. "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 33 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. 15. "Dealing with AntiChrist Cults, "New Age" & World Religions" with 45 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL69A3047B3497590A.html. 16. "Dealing with "Saved by Works & Baptism", "Church of Christ" with 75 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLBD55090718DA6D3D.html. 17. "Charles H. Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, Our Spanish Videos" with 26 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE91032ED05E42487.html. 18. "End Times, Supernatural Prophecies, Tough Bible Questions" with 49 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL141F261EEFCFD536.html. 19. "Dealing with Predestination, Arminianism & Calvinism" with 82 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLA932903698A56780.html. We also have channels on Sermon Audio at www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=christiananswers & www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakeronly=true&currsection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Larry_Wessels. Although the 30 plus videos we have posted on www.SermonAudio.com are also on UA-cam the thing that makes these particular videos of interest is that we have produced written transcripts of many of them which has helped quite a few people. Once you click on one of the transcribed videos scroll down to "Sermon Transcription" & choose your options: "View Transcript!," "Download PDF," or "Send to Kindle." Viewers also have the option of over 20 different languages to get the transcription in by going to the "Google Translation" option. Everything is free with nothing to buy. Here are just a few examples of some of our videos that have free transcriptions available: "Early Christian Church History Proves Roman Catholicism False" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=113161415591, "Divine Curse of the Hebrew Roots Movement - Replacing Jesus with the Old Testament" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=108151527437, "Debate: Larry Wessels Versus Two Jehovah's Witnesses at a University Study Center" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=108141526191, "Spiritual Counterfeit: ONENESS PENTECOSTALISM DENIES THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF TRINITY" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=52015115043, "Unpopular Bible Doctrines #1: The God No One Wants To Know" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=311141259524, "Islam's 1400 Year History of Violent Jihad For Sex Slaves, Money & Jew Hatred" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=324161224286, "The Sovereignty of God Versus Man-Made Religions, Petty Emotionalism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=52015125752, "The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity- Part 3 (Answering Common Attacks Against the Trinity)" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32416129330. There are many more but this is just a small sampling of what is available at no charge. Blessings to all. 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Death can come suddenly & unexpectedly. Hear deathbed testimonies of the damned during their last days, hours & moments before going into eternity: "Horrifying & Terrifying Death Bed Scenes Of Atheists, Apostates & Reprobates (1/3)" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=731131047310, "Horrifying & Terrifying Death Bed Scenes Of Atheists, Apostates & Reprobates (2/3)" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=731131111372, "Horrifying & Terrifying Death Bed Scenes Of Atheists, Apostates & Reprobates (3/3)" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=731131132150, "Death-Bed of a Free-Thinker, Exemplified in the Last Hours of Hon. Francis Newport" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=72913130359, "Death-Bed Scenes, Death-Bed Repentance Rarely Occurs, As Men Live, So Do Men Die #1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=927131122460, "Death-Bed Scenes, Death-Bed Repentance Rarely Occurs, As Men Live, So Do Men Die #2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=927131158132; "Dying Testimonies Of The Unsaved, The Awful Death Of An Infidel Son Who Hated Jesus" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=104131120148, & although this next recording is not an actual deathbed testimonial it is highly informative concerning Judas & other reprobates, "The Repentance of Judas, or, the Lamentable Effects of a Startled Conscience" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=310141542316. Listeners will notice numerous similar patterns among the final words & actions of the damned. Many seem to sense the flames of hell & the presence of demonic entities before death overtakes them. An excellent Biblical analysis of eternal punishment in hell & the lake of fire is given by the outstanding theologian A.W. Pink - "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where he at the same time refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html). Hear also Charles Haddon Spurgeon on this subject in his sermon "The Sinner's End, Hell Opens Wide Her Jaws, the Sinner Falls To Destruction" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1014131452290 & Jonathan Edward's famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=113003134610. Besides all this readers can click on our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos & 31 hours of teaching material at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. Don't depend on a last second deathbed conversion to save you from the wrath of a holy God. Come to the Biblical Jesus Christ today for salvation in repentance & faith (2 Corinthians 6:2, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation; Acts 16:31, "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" Mark 1:15, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel;" 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures," Revelation 1:8, Jesus is the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.", Revelation 1:18, Jesus says "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Becoming a true Christian is not easy therefore count the cost. Becoming a true Christian is not saying a quick prayer & thinking you're okay. Becoming a true Christian is not getting water baptized as a baby or as an adult (see our video "IS WATER BAPTISM NECESSARY TO ESCAPE HELL & BE SAVED & ARE YOU "BORN AGAIN" (JOHN 3:3-8) BY IT?" at ua-cam.com/video/wYJtMV9qrWg/v-deo.html. You must be supernaturally "born again" by a sovereign act of God through the power of the Holy Spirit (John 1:12-13, 3:3-8; Titus 3:5-7; John 6:37, 39, 44, 63, 65; Ephesians 3:16-21; Romans 8:1-17; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16; Luke 14:26-35, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it- 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.34 “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Luke 6:46, Jesus said, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Becoming a true Christian will change your life forever in this life & the next (2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."). Beg God to save you since you cannot get into heaven by your own righteousness & good works (Ephesians 2:8-10, "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."). Keep begging God for salvation through Jesus Christ until the day comes that He grants your request (Acts 13:48, "Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." & 2 Timothy 2:25-26, "24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."). When you are supernaturally regenerated by the Holy Spirit you will know it & suddenly have the power to repent of your evil ways & for the first time you will actually love God more than your own life knowing that nothing in creation is more important than God alone. You will then spend the rest of eternity loving, serving & praising God for He is worthy. John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." See our video "IS JESUS GOD ALMIGHTY IN THE FLESH MEANING THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY OR IS HE SOMETHING ELSE?" at ua-cam.com/video/_BlPm7M7uv8/v-deo.html.
To those who wish to discuss issues brought up in our video posted here to a greater extent please know that you can email one of our ministry volunteers at certainandsecure@gmail.com. Also realize that we may have an entire playlist of videos on this subject on our UA-cam channel at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTV. Besides that know that we have three websites to answer additional questions at www.BibleQuery.org (answers over 8500 questions on the Bible & refutes critics of the Bible), www.HistoryCart.com (this website deals with an in depth analysis of early Christian church history) and www.MuslimHope.com (this website is a documented refutation of Islam, a false religious & political ideology of warlike jihad against all unbelievers invented by Muhammad while he was in Medina for the last 9 years of his life where he averaged one offensive military jihad of pillage, rape & slavery every month to six weeks against his neighbors which eventually led to conquering all of Saudi Arabia- see also www.politicalislam.com/, www.answeringmuslims.com/, answering-islam.org/, www.jihadwatch.org/ & our playlist "Dealing with Islam, Muslims: Sunni, Shi'ite, Alawites, Sufis" with 71 videos & counting at ua-cam.com/play/PL1C7F68B548009FDD.html). 1 Peter 3:15
Investigate whether Seventh Day Adventism is real Christianity or a counterfeit cult. Please check the following: "Does Seventh Day Adventism have a damnable gospel, what do they really believe?" - www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=813141143413, "Is Seventh Day Adventism a Cult?" - www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=429152354502; the contrast between a biblical worldview and an Adventist, great controversy worldview - www.lifeassuranceministries.org/proclamation/2011/2/greatcontroversy.html; discusses the somewhat hidden but horrific fact of Adventists widespread practice of abortion and the organization's two sets of guidelines, one of which is known by the members, and one of which is “secret”, available to doctors and Adventist hospitals -www.lifeassuranceministries.org/proclamation/2014/2/abortioninadvent.html; examines the roots of Ellen White’s and the SDA’s “health message”, the Adventists’ “right arm of the gospel”. It begins on page 14 of the PDF: lifeassuranceministries.org/Proclamation2015_1web.pdf; see the playlists which includes videos from the annual Former Adventist Conferences with multiple testimonies of Former Adventists as well as the weekly inductive studies through books of the Bible taught at their Word Search studies ua-cam.com/users/FormerAdventistplaylists, see the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." The previous resources will be very valuable in an investigative study of whether Seventh Day Adventism is a Biblically true Gospel believing organization or if it is a false cultic religion peddling a false gospel invented by Ellen G. White & her associates thus violating Galatians 1:6-9, " I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." The original Greek word for "accursed" is "anathema" which means "condemnation to Hell by the decree of God" & is consistent with other scriptural passages containing it: Acts 23:14 cf. David's oath in 2 Samuel 3:35, Romans 9:3, 1 Corinthians 12:3, 1 Corinthians 16:22). It is also significant to note that the Septuagint (the oldest Greek translation of the Old Testament, dating from the third century B. C.) uses the word anathema in a similar sense in every case where someone is described as being set apart and devoted to destruction, because that person is abhorrent to God (e.g., the inhabitants of Jericho in Joshua 6:17). It is also used of persons or things what were given up to God and could not be redeemed (e.g., Leviticus 27:28-29.). the un-Biblical sense of anathema as a declaration of condemnation by man began to enter the church in its early centuries. By the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic church not only used the term in the sense of excommunication from the visible church, but also used it to usurp the exclusively Divine right to pronounce condemnation to Hell upon a person. It was thus that Rome, in Canon 11 of the Sixth Session of the Council of Trent (1547) said of anyone who believed in justification by faith alone, "let him be anathema." At the same council Rome also said, of anyone who denied that salvation is a cooperative effort between man and God, "let him be anathema" (Canon 4). Rome declares men condemned to Hell for believing and preaching the one true Gospel. Five hundred years after the Reformation, Rome continues to misuse and abuse anathema in this way. The current edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia says this: Anathema remains a major excommunication which is to be promulgated with great solemnity. A formula for this ceremony was drawn up by Pope Zachary (741-52) in the chapter Debent duodecim sacerdotes...The Roman Pontifical reproduces it in the chapter Ordo excommunicandi et absolvendi, distinguishing three sorts of excommunication: minor excommunication, formerly incurred by a person holding communication with anyone under the ban of excommunication; major excommunication, pronounced by the Pope in reading a sentence; and anathema, or the penalty incurred by crimes of the gravest order, and solemnly promulgated by the Pope. In passing this sentence, the pontiff is vested in amice, stole, and a violet cope, wearing his mitre, and assisted by twelve priests clad in their surplices and holding lighted candles. [The symbolism of all of this is the damnable falsehood that the Roman pope is the "vicar of Christ" or vice-Christ, the visible representation of Christ on earth.] He takes his seat in front of the altar or in some other suitable place, and pronounces the formula of anathema which ends with these words: "Wherefore in the name of God the All-powerful, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, of the Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and of all the saints, in virtue of the power which has been given us of binding and loosing in Heaven and on earth, we deprive [name of person] himself and all his accomplices and all his abettors of the Communion of the Body and Blood of Our Lord, we separate him from the society of all Christians, we exclude him from the bosom of our Holy Mother the Church in Heaven and on earth, we declare him excommunicated and anathematized and we judge him condemned to eternal fire with Satan and his angels and all the reprobate, so long as he will not burst the fetters of the demon, do penance and satisfy the Church; we deliver him to Satan to mortify his body, that his soul may be saved on the day of judgment." Whereupon all the assistants respond: "Fiat, fiat, fiat." [That is, we concur that this declaration is legally binding.] The pontiff and the twelve priests then cast to the ground the lighted candles they have been carrying, and notice is sent in writing to the priests and neighboring bishops of the name of the one who has been excommunicated and the cause of his excommunication, in order that they may have no communication with him.11. Catholic Encyclopedia, entry on "Anathema," www.newadvent.org/cathen/01455e.htm, as viewed on 11/7/2009. The meaning of anathema in Galatians chapter one is clearly, "let him be condemned to Hell." No lesser penalty can be exacted against those who persist in proclaiming a counterfeit gospel of any kind. Rome's concept of anathema is clearly un-Biblical, since it is centered upon the judgment of man and not of God. Worse yet, Rome uses its un-Biblical anathema most often to enforce conformity to its false gospel and its man-made doctrines and regulations, and loyalty to a papal hierarchy that Scripture condemns. After thorough examination Seventh Day Adventism qualifies as a non Christian anti Christ cult due to the following reasons: 1. It is built on the woman Ellen G. White & her teachings despite the Bible saying women are not permitted to teach or usurp authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") See links at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html). 2. Ellen White claimed to be equal with the Biblical prophets & apostles through her many writings (sort of a "Spirit of Prophecy") & her SDA followers believed her (2 Peter 3:16); see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Writings_Infallible.htm. Question: Are there modern day prophets or is there a need for prophets today? Answer: In the New Testament, the gift of the office of prophet was a temporary one granted by God for the purpose of building His Church. Contrary to the apostles, who had broad ministries, these men had localized ministries within local churches, as we see illustrated in such places as Acts 11:21-28 and Acts 13:1.Scripture shows us that the prophets of the New Testament had two primary purposes:They were gifted men given to the Church and appointed by God (Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor. 12:28) for the purpose of helping to lay the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20). They, like the apostles, received God’s revelation (Eph. 3:5) and truth and proclaimed it to their churches. It is important to remember that the early Church did not have a completed Bible, so God granted this revelation for the purpose of teaching His message to the Church. The New Testament prophets also spoke forth and taught the apostles’ doctrine. Everything taught by these prophets had to be consistent with the teaching of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:36-37). So, are prophets still needed today? Looking at the two functions listed above, we can see that the office of prophet is one that is no longer necessary and has ceased within the Church because:The foundation of the Church was laid long ago. God’s revealed Word was completed with the close of the New Testament canon. The Church’s foundation does not need to be laid again and there is no need for further revelation beyond what God has provided for us in His complete Word, the Bible. Today we are blessed to have Scripture as our complete and final authority in all things (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If someone now claims to have received a “special revelation,” we must test it against Scripture. If it is contrary to the Word of God, then it must be rejected. If it is consistent with Scripture, then we have to ask why an “extra” word was necessary if its truth is already contained in the Bible. So while we always need men who are willing to proclaim boldly the Word of God as contained in Scripture (as pastors, teachers, and evangelists), there is no need for the office of “prophet” as it existed in the New Testament. 3. Ellen G. White is a false prophet due to her false & failed prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:19-22); see www.mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/egw_false_prophet.html, 1timothy4-13.com/files/bible/sda_morefailed.html & www.bible.ca/7-prophecy-blunders.htm. 4. Ellen G. White had delusional dreams & visions much like phony Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers do today; see www.truthorfables.com/Visons_of_%20EGW_by_Snook_&_Brinkerhoff.htm & ua-cam.com/video/Kbv7YsyMf0I/v-deo.html. 5. Seventh Day Adventism has a damnable false gospel (Galatians 1:6-10) for several reasons: a) Satan is the final sin bearer for Seventh Day Adventists; see www.truthorfables.com/Scapegoat.htm & www.truthorfables.net/50-contradictions-satan-bears-sins.htm, b) They say Jesus had a sinful nature just like fallen man otherwise He can't be a Savior; see kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/09/seventh-day-adventisms-anti.html & jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Seventh-Day%20Adventist/sda_exposed.htm, c) Ellen G. White taught the cult doctrine of the 1844 investigative judgment of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary for the purpose of allowing Seventh Day Adventists final access to heaven while all others would be destroyed; see www.truthorfables.com/investigative_judgment_made_simple.htm, www.truthorfables.com/white_elephant.htm, www.truthorfables.com/My_Testimony.htm, www.truthorfables.com/SDA_Cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html, d) Seventh Day Adventism denies the New Testament Christian gospel by saying Old Testament "Saturday" Sabbath keeping is essential for salvation; see www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_Not_A_Law.htm, www.truthorfables.net/who-changed-the-sabbath-a.htm, www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_is_Friday.htm & ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, e) Although SDAs say they believe in salvation by grace they redefine the meaning of grace in order to incorporate into their religious system a salvation by law keeping to achieve final works righteousness; mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/sda_law.html, searchingthescriptures.net/main_pages/answering_cults/seventh_day_adventism/sda_a_cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. If the apostle Paul cursed the Galatian Judaizers to hell for adding only one stipulation to the gospel which was circumcision then how much more would he curse the SDAs for all their added terms & conditions to the simple gospel of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." Cross reference this to Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."). 6. Seven Day Adventists teach the false doctrine of soul sleep; see carm.org/soul-sleep, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12151314134510, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=85122122530 & www.casagrandebaptistchurch.com/SoulSleep.html. 7. SDAs teach the false doctrine of the annihilation out of existence of the wicked including Satan & his demons rather than an eternal conscious punishment in a never ending lake of fire; carm.org/clear-word-bible-annihilationism, "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where at the same time this refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=91713193277, www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=Annihilationism, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94081054442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9110884114, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338, ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html & see our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. 8. SDAs support alternate Bible translations that pervert the written word of God thus placing themselves under the curse of Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." See exadventist.com/Home/Articles/clearwordbible/tabid/450/Default.aspx, www.truthorfables.com/SDAs_Destroyers_of_the_Bible.htm & ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html. For more information on Seventh Day Adventism see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html, see also "Cult of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=61210437590 & "Damnable Heresies of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6201014412510. See the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, www.RethinkingAdventism.com, www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Romans 14:5 - "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind." With Jesus’ atonement, and justification by faith (Rom. 5:1), we no longer are required to keep the Law and hence the Sabbath which was only a shadow of things to come (Col. 2:16-17, Rom. 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus because in Him we have rest (Matt. 11:28). We are not under obligation to keep Moses' Law and this goes for the Sabbath as well.
Because of listening to the teachings of EGW i myself fell into a cult, as she stated the church is always to have an active voice of prophecy within the church, she referred to herself and the SDA church, but after she passed away where was the spirit of proaphecy now ? there needs to be an active voice of prophecy within the church, and so began the search in my young mind and no one could derail my thoughts as I began the search and end up in the pits of hell and the rest is history.
See our playlist, "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 20 videos & counting at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See also the website www.TruthorFables.com. Seventh-day Adventists do not seem to understand that true Christians do not need the teachings of their so-called "prophetess" Ellen G. White (born November 26, 1827) or her spiritual mentor William Miller (born February 15, 1782) who said, "My principles in brief, are, that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession of the same, with all the saints, sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844." Even though another Millerite follower named Samuel S. Snow predicted the return of Christ on October 22, 1844 which Ellen White also believed, all of these prophecies proved to be false making all of these people false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:20-22, "But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."). Ellen G. White & the rest of them also violated Jesus' words in Matthew 24:36, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." True Christians throughout the centuries before Ellen G. White have followed Jesus Christ faithfully through His Word (2 Timothy 3:15-17) thus invalidating the need for this woman completely. Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." See our videos Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong & Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question. Titus 1:9-16
1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." See links: "The Sheep Need Men to be Their Pastors - The Blasphemy of Women Pastors" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, "Can Women Be Pastors?" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & "Unpopular Bible Doctrines #7: God Condemns Astrology, Witchcraft, & Sin; No Women Pastors Allowed" at ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html). Question: "Women pastors / preachers? Can a woman be a pastor or preacher?" Answer: There is perhaps no more hotly debated issue in the church today than the issue of women serving as pastors/preachers. As a result, it is very important to not see this issue as men versus women. There are women who believe women should not serve as pastors and that the Bible places restrictions on the ministry of women, and there are men who believe women can serve as preachers and that there are no restrictions on women in ministry. This is not an issue of chauvinism or discrimination. It is an issue of biblical interpretation. The Word of God proclaims, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (1 Timothy 2:11-12). In the church, God assigns different roles to men and women. This is a result of the way mankind was created and the way in which sin entered the world (1 Timothy 2:13-14). God, through the apostle Paul, restricts women from serving in roles of teaching and/or having spiritual authority over men. This precludes women from serving as pastors over men, which definitely includes preaching to them, teaching them publicly, and exercising spiritual authority over them. There are many objections to this view of women in pastoral ministry. A common one is that Paul restricts women from teaching because in the first century, women were typically uneducated. However, 1 Timothy 2:11-14 nowhere mentions educational status. If education were a qualification for ministry, then the majority of Jesus’ disciples would not have been qualified. A second common objection is that Paul only restricted the women of Ephesus from teaching men (1 Timothy was written to Timothy, the pastor of the church in Ephesus). Ephesus was known for its temple to Artemis, and women were the authorities in that branch of paganism-therefore, the theory goes, Paul was only reacting against the female-led customs of the Ephesian idolaters, and the church needed to be different. However, the book of 1 Timothy nowhere mentions Artemis, nor does Paul mention the standard practice of Artemis worshipers as a reason for the restrictions in 1 Timothy 2:11-12. A third objection is that Paul is only referring to husbands and wives, not men and women in general. The Greek words for “woman” and “man” in 1 Timothy 2 could refer to husbands and wives; however, the basic meaning of the words is broader than that. Further, the same Greek words are used in verses 8-10. Are only husbands to lift up holy hands in prayer without anger and disputing (verse 8)? Are only wives to dress modestly, have good deeds, and worship God (verses 9-10)? Of course not. Verses 8-10 clearly refer to all men and women, not just husbands and wives. There is nothing in the context that would indicate a narrowing to husbands and wives in verses 11-14. Yet another objection to this interpretation of women in pastoral ministry is in relation to women who held positions of leadership in the Bible, specifically Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah in the Old Testament. It is true that these women where chosen by God for special service to Him and that they stand as models of faith, courage, and, yes, leadership. However, the authority of women in the Old Testament is not relevant to the issue of pastors in the church. The New Testament Epistles present a new paradigm for God’s people-the church, the body of Christ-and that paradigm involves an authority structure unique to the church, not for the nation of Israel or any other Old Testament entity. Similar arguments are made using Priscilla and Phoebe in the New Testament. In Acts 18, Priscilla and Aquila are presented as faithful ministers for Christ. Priscilla’s name is mentioned first, perhaps indicating that she was more prominent in ministry than her husband. Did Priscilla and her husband teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to Apollos? Yes, in their home they “explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26). Does the Bible ever say that Priscilla pastored a church or taught publicly or became the spiritual leader of a congregation of saints? No. As far as we know, Priscilla was not involved in ministry activity in contradiction to 1 Timothy 2:11-14. In Romans 16:1, Phoebe is called a “deacon” (or “servant”) in the church and is highly commended by Paul. But, as with Priscilla, there is nothing in Scripture to indicate that Phoebe was a pastor or a teacher of men in the church. “Able to teach” is given as a qualification for elders, but not for deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9). The structure of 1 Timothy 2:11-14 makes the reason why women cannot be pastors perfectly clear. Verse 13 begins with “for,” giving the “cause” of Paul’s statement in verses 11-12. Why should women not teach or have authority over men? Because “Adam was created first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived” (verses 13-14). God created Adam first and then created Eve to be a “helper” for Adam. The order of creation has universal application in the family (Ephesians 5:22-33) and in the church. The fact that Eve was deceived is also given in 1 Timothy 2:14 as a reason for women not serving as pastors or having spiritual authority over men. This does not mean that women are gullible or that they are all more easily deceived than men. If all women are more easily deceived, why would they be allowed to teach children (who are easily deceived) and other women (who are supposedly more easily deceived)? The text simply says that women are not to teach men or have spiritual authority over men because Eve was deceived. God has chosen to give men the primary teaching authority in the church. Many women excel in gifts of hospitality, mercy, teaching, evangelism, and helps. Much of the ministry of the local church depends on women. Women in the church are not restricted from public praying or prophesying (1 Corinthians 11:5), only from having spiritual teaching authority over men. The Bible nowhere restricts women from exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12). Women, just as much as men, are called to minister to others, to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and to proclaim the gospel to the lost (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15). God has ordained that only men are to serve in positions of spiritual teaching authority in the church. This is not because men are necessarily better teachers or because women are inferior or less intelligent (which is not the case). It is simply the way God designed the church to function. Men are to set the example in spiritual leadership-in their lives and through their words. Women are to take a less authoritative role. Women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3-5). The Bible also does not restrict women from teaching children. The only activity women are restricted from is teaching or having spiritual authority over men. This precludes women from serving as pastors to men. This does not make women less important, by any means, but rather gives them a ministry focus more in agreement with God’s plan and His gifting of them. Women pastors - what does the Bible say? The only way to have a productive dialogue on the women pastors issue is to discuss it biblically. Yes, undeniably, there are men whose views on the issue are clouded by chauvinism. At the same time, there are men and women on both sides of the discussion. So, it should never be assumed that one holds a particular view due to latent chauvinism. The issue should be decided based on what the Bible teaches, not on who can make the strongest ad hominem attack. The key passage on the women pastors issue is 1 Timothy 2:11-12, which reads, "Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet." At its face, this passage is abundantly clear. Paul restricts women from teaching or having spiritual authority over men. While it is not explicitly laid out in the text, the focus seems to be on the concept of pastoring/shepherding. A pastor's duties are primarily teaching and leading. It is this shepherding role over men that God, through Paul, restricts to men. There are several lines of argument against this interpretation of the women pastors issue in 1 Timothy 2:11-12: (1) Women were uneducated at that time, and therefore not qualified to be teachers. The passage nowhere mentions education. Education is not mentioned as a qualification for church leadership in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 or Titus 1:6-9. If education was a requirement, few, if any, of Jesus' disciples would have been qualified. (2) Paul was only dealing with Artemis worship at Timothy's church in Ephesus. The context, and all of 1 Timothy for that matter, nowhere mention Artemis or the prominence of women in the worship of Artemis. If there was a problem with women usurping authority over men in the church in Ephesus, Paul would have addressed it directly. (3) Paul is referring to husbands and wives, not men and women. Wives are not to teach or have authority over their husbands. The Greek words could refer to husbands and wives, but the context indicates otherwise. Are only husbands to lift up holy hands in prayer? Are only wives to dress modestly (1 Timothy 2:8-10)? The immediate context indicates that men and women in general are the subject, not husbands and wives exclusively. (4) There are women in the Bible who served in ways that contradict this interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:11-12. Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Priscilla, and Phoebe are the most commonly given examples. Ultimately, Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah are meaningless to the issue, as Paul is addressing leadership in the church. Leadership in old covenant Israel is not the subject at hand. In regards to Priscilla and Phoebe, the New Testament nowhere describes them serving in a way that contradicts 1 Timothy 2:11-12. Priscilla, with her husband Aquila, discipled Apollos in their home (Acts 18:26). Phoebe is simply identified as a servant/deaconess of the church (Romans 16:1). (5) Galatians 3:28 says that men and women are equal in God's eyes. Men and women are absolutely equal in God's eyes, but that is not the issue. The subject of Galatians 3:28 is equality in Christ, equal access to the salvation Christ offers. Men and women, Jews and Gentiles, slave and free are absolutely equal in this context. Church leadership is not the subject of Galatians 3:28. Further, we cannot take one verse and use it to cancel out another verse. Both Galatians 3:28 and 1 Timothy 2:11-12 are absolutely true. They do not contradict each other. If education, culture, or marriage are not the reason for the restriction on women in 1 Timothy 2:11-12, what is the reason? The answer is given in the next two verses: "For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived" (1 Timothy 2:13-14). The order of creation and the nature of the fall impacts spiritual leadership in the church, and in the family (see Ephesians 5:22-33). Women are not to teach or have spiritual authority over men because women were created to be "helpers" to men and because Eve was deceived into sin. Through creation, and because of the Fall, God has chosen to give men the primary teaching authority in the church. So, what exactly does this mean practically? What are women restricted from doing? The clear implication is that women are not to serve in any role which involves the authoritative spiritual teaching of men. By this definition, the role of teaching pastor/shepherd is reserved for men. This is confirmed in the two passages which deal specifically with the qualifications for church leadership (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9). Church leaders are described as the "husband of one wife," "a man whose children believe," and "men worthy of respect." Rather than focusing on what ministries women are restricted from, the focus should be on the multitude of ways God calls and gifts women to serve. Women are nowhere restricted from proclaiming the gospel to the lost (Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15). Women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3-5). Women are nowhere restricted from teaching children. Women seem to excel, far beyond men, in some of the spiritual gifts and fruit of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12; Galatians 5:22-23). Women being restricted from spiritual teaching authority over men is not a punishment. Rather, it is a refocusing to the ministries, skills, and gifts God with which blesses women. Question: "What roles can women fill in ministry?" Answer: Women in ministry is an issue upon which Bible-believing Christians can and do disagree. The point of separation centers on the passages of Scripture that forbid women to speak in church or "assume authority over a man" (1 Timothy 2:12; cf. 1 Corinthians 14:34). The disagreement is whether or not those passages were relevant only to the era in which they were penned. Some contend that, since there is neither “Jew nor Greek . . . male nor female . . . but you are all one in Christ” (Galatians 3:28), women are free to pursue any field of ministry open to men. Others hold that 1 Timothy 2:12 still applies today, since the basis for the command is not cultural but universal, being rooted in the order of creation (1 Timothy 2:13-14). First Peter 5:1-4 details the qualifications for an elder. Presbuteros is the Greek word used sixty-six times in the New Testament to indicate “seasoned male overseer.” It is the masculine form of the word. The feminine form, presbutera, is never used in reference to elders or shepherds. Based on the qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, the role of an elder is interchangeable with the bishop/pastor/overseer (Titus 1:6-9; 1 Peter 5:1-3). And since, according to 1 Timothy 2:12, a woman should not “teach or exercise authority over a man,” it seems clear that the position of elders and pastors-who must be equipped to teach, lead the congregation, and oversee their spiritual growth (1 Timothy 3:2)-should be reserved for men only. However, elder/bishop/pastor appears to be the only office reserved for men. Women have always played a significant role in the growth of the church, even being among the few who witnessed the crucifixion of Christ when most of the disciples had run away (Matthew 27:55; John 19:25). The apostle Paul held women in high regard, and in many of his letters to the churches he greeted specific women by name (Romans 16:6, 12; Colossians 4:15; Philippians 4:2-3; Philemon 1:2). Paul addresses these women as "co-workers," and they clearly served the Lord to the benefit of the whole church (Philippians 4:3; Colossians 4:15). Offices were created in the early church to fit the needs of the body. Although many modern churches interchange the positions of elder and deacon, they were not the same office. Deacons were appointed to serve in a physical capacity as the need arose (Acts 6:2-3). There is no clear prohibition against women serving in this way. In fact, Romans 16:1 may indicate that a woman named Phoebe was a respected deaconess in the church at Rome. There is no scriptural precedent that forbids women from also serving as worship leaders, youth ministers, or children’s directors. The only restriction is that they do not assume a role of spiritual authority over adult men. Since the concern in Scripture appears to be the issue of spiritual authority rather than function, any role that does not bestow such spiritual authority over adult men is permissible. Question: "What does the "husband of one wife" phrase in 1 Timothy 3:2 mean? Can a divorced man serve as a pastor, elder, or deacon?" Answer: There are at least three possible interpretations of the phrase “husband of one wife” in 1 Timothy 3:2. 1) It could simply be saying that a polygamist is not qualified to be an elder, a deacon or a pastor. This is the most literal interpretation of the phrase, but seems somewhat unlikely considering that polygamy was quite rare in the time that Paul was writing. 2) The phrase could also be translated “one-woman man.” This would indicate that a bishop must be absolutely loyal to the woman he is married to. This interpretation focuses more on moral purity than marital status. 3) The phrase could also be understood to declare that in order to be an elder/deacon/pastor, a man can only have been married once, other than in the case of a remarried widower. Interpretations 2) and 3) are the most prevalent today. Interpretation 2) seems to be the strongest, primarily because Scripture seems to allow for divorce in exceptional circumstances (Matthew 19:9; 1 Corinthians 7:12-16). It would also be important to differentiate between a man who was divorced and remarried before he became a Christian from a man who was divorced and remarried after becoming a Christian. An otherwise qualified man should not be excluded from church leadership because of actions he took prior to coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. Although 1 Timothy 3:2 does not necessarily exclude a divorced or remarried man from serving as an elder/deacon/pastor, there are other issues to consider. The first qualification of an elder/deacon/pastor is to be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2). If the divorce and/or remarriage results in a poor testimony for the man in the church or community, it may be the “above reproach” qualification that excludes him rather than the “husband of one wife” requirement. An elder/deacon/pastor is to be a man that the church and community can look up to as an example of Christ-likeness and godly leadership. If his divorce and/or remarriage situation detracts from this purpose, perhaps he should not serve in the position of elder/deacon/pastor. It is important to remember, though, that just because a man is disqualified from serving as an elder/deacon/pastor, he is still a valuable member of the body of Christ. Every Christian possesses spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-7) and is called to participate in edifying other believers with those gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7). A man who is disqualified from the position of elder/deacon/pastor can still teach, preach, serve, pray, worship, and play an important role in the church. Question: "What are the responsibilities of deacons in the church?" Answer: In the New Testament, the word usually translated "serve" is the Greek word diakoneo, which literally means "through the dirt." It refers to an attendant, a waiter, or one who ministers to another. From this word we get the English word “deacon.” We first see the word "deacon" used this way in the book of Acts. “And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2). The men who were giving themselves to feeding the flock by preaching and teaching realized that it wasn’t right for them to leave those activities to wait tables, so they found some other men who were willing to serve, and put them in place to minister to the church’s physical needs while the elders or pastors ministered to their spiritual needs. It was a better use of the resources they were given, and a better use of everyone’s gifts. It also got more people involved in serving and helping one another. Today, for the biblical church, these roles are essentially the same. Elders and pastors are to “preach the word…reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2), and deacons are to be appointed to take care of everything else. In a modern church, this might include taking on administrative or organizational tasks, ushering, being responsible for building maintenance, or volunteering to be the church treasurer. It depends on the need and the gifts of the available men. The responsibilities of a deacon are not clearly listed or outlined; they are assumed to be everything that does not include the duties of an elder or pastor, which is to preach, teach, and exhort. But qualifications for a deacon’s character are clearly outlined in Scripture. They are to be blameless, the husband of one wife, a good household manager, respectable, honest, not addicted to alcohol and not greedy (1 Timothy 3:8-12). According to the Word, the office of deacon is an honor and a blessing. “For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 3:13). Is God/the Bible sexist? Sexism is generally defined as one gender having dominance over another and is usually applied to men dominating women. Because the Bible includes many references to women that appear demeaning from our contemporary context, some conclude that God and/or the Bible are sexist. Is this true? The time period of the Old Testament included a cultural system that was patriarchal. Rather than viewing men and women as created in God's image as the Bible states (Genesis 1:27), women were typically seen as less important than men in society. This is part of fallen human nature in which people lived in ways contrary to God's design. To discover and develop the view God has given for the roles of men and women in society, we must look to Scripture. Though in Old Testament accounts many references to women appear sexist from our modern perspective, two things must be considered before making such an accusation. First, many references in the Bible that appear sexist are simply stating actions that took place without reference to whether they were right or wrong. For example, in Judges 11 Jephthah appears to have sacrificed his own daughter to keep a vow he made to the Lord. Scripture does not state that God approved this action; it only records it as a fact of history. Second, many references to women that appear sexist based on contemporary standards were appropriate or even better than the norm of the original cultural setting. For example, 1 Timothy 2:9 says Christian women should not adorn themselves with braided hair. Why not? In that time, braided hair was associated with the practices of immoral women in the area. Further, braided hair as understood in that cultural context was a costly, extravagant luxury. However, even in a time when women's rights were different than today, there are several biblical accounts of women being treated with dignity and respect above the level of cultural norms. For example, Jesus publicly spoke with a Samaritan woman at a well, something that even she noted as uncommon (John 4:9). Jesus also allowed women to serve among His followers (including Mary and Martha and Mary Magdalene), and even appeared first to women after His resurrection rather than to men. Far from being sexist, Scripture presents both men and women in high regard. In the beginning, woman was made in God's image, complementing man as a helper with him. She would serve as woman, wife, mother, and various other roles. In the Old Testament, women are seen in many influential roles. In addition to Eve, the mother of all people, Scripture speaks highly of Abraham's wife Sarah, Isaac's wife Rebekah, Deborah who served as a judge in the book of Judges, the mother of Moses, Miriam the sister of Moses, Ruth the faithful Moabite, Hannah the mother of Samuel, and Queen Esther who saved the Jewish people. In the New Testament, women served in prominent roles as well. Mary the mother of Jesus is presented as an ideal servant of God. Four women are mentioned by name in the family lineage of Jesus. Mary's relative Elizabeth obediently raised John the Baptist. Many women also served Jesus during His ministry, with Mary Magdalene in particular noted. Several women existed among the 120 first followers of Jesus in the upper room when the church began (Acts 1-2) and led in a variety of roles within the early church. While it is unlikely that women served as apostles and did not serve as elders, some women served as prophets or at least gave prophecies. Acts 21:8-9 shares, "On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied." Further, the New Testament speaks highly in favor of strong families and discourages divorce, something that culturally hurt women greatly at the time of writing. James 1:27 is exemplary of Scripture's instructions to care for widows, those women without husbands to provide for the needs of their family. Though some portions of the Bible may appear sexist, the overall teaching of Scripture presents a beautiful view of women that provides much insight for today. Question: "What does the Bible say about the form of church government (polity)?" Answer: The Lord was very clear in His Word about how He wishes His church on earth to be organized and managed. First, Christ is the head of the church and its supreme authority (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18). Second, the local church is to be autonomous, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations (Titus 1:5). Third, the church is to be governed by spiritual leadership consisting of two main offices-elders and deacons. “Elders” were a leading body among the Israelites since the time of Moses. We find them making political decisions (2 Samuel 5:3; 2 Samuel 17:4, 15), advising the king in later history (1 Kings 20:7), and representing the people concerning spiritual matters (Exodus 7:17; 24:1, 9; Numbers 11:16, 24-25). The early Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, used the Greek word presbuteros for “elder.” This is the same Greek word used in the New Testament that is also translated “elder.” The New Testament refers a number of times to elders who served in the role of church leadership (Acts 14:23, 15:2, 20:17; Titus 1:5; James 5:14) and apparently each church had more than one, as the word is usually found in the plural. The only exceptions refer to cases in which one elder is being singled out for some reason (1 Timothy 5:1, 19). In the Jerusalem church, elders were part of the leadership along with the apostles (Acts 15:2-16:4). It seems that the position of elder was equal to the position of episkopos, translated “overseer” or “bishop” (Acts 11:30; 1 Timothy 5:17). The term “elder” may refer to the dignity of the office, while the term “bishop/overseer” describes its authority and duties (1 Peter 2:25, 5:1-4). In Philippians 1:1, Paul greets the bishops and deacons but does not mention the elders, presumably because the elders are the same as the bishops. Likewise, 1 Timothy 3:2, 8 gives the qualifications of bishops and deacons but not of elders. Titus 1:5-7 seems also to tie these two terms together. The position of “deacon,” from diakonos, meaning “through the dirt,” was one of servant leadership to the church. Deacons are separate from elders, while having qualifications that are in many ways similar to those of elders (1 Timothy 3:8-13). Deacons assist the church in whatever is needed, as recorded in Acts chapter 6. Concerning the word poimen, translated “pastor” in reference to a human leader of a church, it is found only once in the New Testament, in Ephesians 4:11: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” Most associate the two terms “pastors” and “teachers” as referring to a single position, a pastor-teacher. It is likely that a pastor-teacher was the spiritual shepherd of a particular local church. It would seem from the above passages that there was always a plurality of elders, but this does not negate God’s gifting particular elders with the teaching gifts while gifting others with the gift of administration, prayer, etc. (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11). Nor does it negate God’s calling them into a ministry in which they will use those gifts (Acts 13:1). Thus, one elder may emerge as the “pastor,” another may do the majority of visiting members because he has the gift of compassion, while another may “rule” in the sense of handling the organizational details. Many churches that are organized with a pastor and deacon board perform the functions of a plurality of elders in that they share the ministry load and work together in some decision making. In Scripture there was also much congregational input into decisions. Thus, a “dictator” leader who makes the decisions (whether called elder, or bishop, or pastor) is unscriptural (Acts 1:23, 26; 6:3, 5; 15:22, 30; 2 Corinthians 8:19). So, too, is a congregation-ruled church that does not give weight to the elders’ or church leaders’ input. In summary, the Bible teaches a leadership consisting of a plurality of elders (bishops/overseers) along with a group of deacons who serve the church. But it is not contrary to this plurality of elders to have one of the elders serving in the major “pastoral” role. God calls some as “pastor/teachers” (even as He called some to be missionaries in Acts 13) and gives them as gifts to the church (Ephesians 4:11). Thus, a church may have many elders, but not all elders are called to serve in the pastoral role. But, as one of the elders, the pastor or “teaching elder” has no more authority in decision making than does any other elder. Some liberal theologians, cultists, New Agers & apostates have argued that the "Jezebel spirit" allows for the Christian church to have women pastors which only shows the absurdity that they will go to disobey God's straightforward & clear commands in scripture that women pastors are not allowed. The people that would use the "Jezebel spirit" argument to allow for any kind of church leadership model whatsoever have clearly demonstrated that they themselves have the very "Jezebel" spirit they claim for their authority to have women pastors, etc. What a ridiculous position to hold since they themselves are condemned by the very argument they use. Question: "What is the Jezebel spirit?" Answer: There is a variety of opinions about what constitutes a Jezebel spirit, everything from sexual looseness in a woman to the teaching of false doctrine-by a man or a woman. The Bible does not mention a Jezebel spirit, although it has plenty to say about Jezebel herself. Jezebel’s story is found in 1 and 2 Kings. She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre/Sidon and priest of the cult of Baal, a cruel, sensuous and revolting false god whose worship involved sexual degradation and lewdness. Ahab, king of Israel, married Jezebel and led the nation into Baal worship (1 Kings 16:31). Ahab and Jezebel’s reign over Israel is one of the saddest chapters in the history of God’s people. There are two incidents in the life of Jezebel which characterize her and may define what is meant by the Jezebel spirit. One trait is her obsessive passion for domineering and controlling others, especially in the spiritual realm. When she became queen, she began a relentless campaign to rid Israel of all evidences of Jehovah worship. She ordered the extermination of all the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4, 13) and replaced their altars with those of Baal. Her strongest enemy was Elijah, who demanded a contest on Mount Carmel between the powers of Israel’s God and the powers of Jezebel and the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18). Of course, Jehovah won, but despite hearing of the miraculous powers of Jehovah, Jezebel refused to repent and swore on her gods that she would pursue Elijah relentlessly and take his life. Her stubborn refusal to see and submit to the power of the living God would lead her to a hideous end (2 Kings 9:29-37). The second incident involves a righteous man named Naboth who refused to sell to Ahab land adjoining the palace, rightly declaring that to sell his inheritance would be against the Lord’s command (1 Kings 21:3; Leviticus 25:23). While Ahab sulked and fumed on his bed, Jezebel taunted and ridiculed him for his weakness, then proceeded to have the innocent Naboth framed and stoned to death. Naboth’s sons were also stoned to death, so there would be no heirs, and the land would revert to the possession of the king. Such a single-minded determination to have one’s way, no matter who is destroyed in the process, is a characteristic of the Jezebel spirit. So infamous was Jezebel’s sexual immorality and idol worship that the Lord Jesus Himself refers to her in a warning to the church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29). Most likely referring to a woman in the church who influenced it the same way Jezebel influenced Israel into idolatry and sexual immorality, Jesus declares to the Thyatirans that she is not to be tolerated. Whoever this woman was, like Jezebel, she refused to repent of her immorality and her false teaching, and her fate was sealed. The Lord Jesus cast her onto a sick bed, along with those who committed idolatry with her. The end for those who succumb to a Jezebel spirit is always death and destruction, both in the physical and the spiritual sense. Perhaps the best way to define the Jezebel spirit is to say it characterizes anyone who acts in the same manner as Jezebel did, engaging in immorality, idolatry, false teaching and unrepentant sin. To go beyond that is to engage in conjecture and can possibly lead to false accusations and divisiveness within the body of Christ. Female based religious cults such as Seventh Day Adventism (see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 24 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html), Christian Science of Mary Baker Eddy & other New Age cults (see our playlist "Dealing with Anti Christ Cults, "New Age" & World Religions" with 42 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL69A3047B3497590A.html & many of today's modern Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers like Joyce Meyer & Paula White (see our playlist "Dealing with Phony TV Preachers (TBN) & King James Onlyites" with 26 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL2CDA855486B09128.html) promote the type of "Jezebel spirit" & "doctrine of the Nicolaitans" the scripture warns about. Question: "Who are the Nicolaitans mentioned in Revelation 2:6, 14-15?" Answer: The exact origin of the Nicolaitans is unclear. Some Bible commentators believe they were a heretical sect who followed the teachings of Nicolas-whose name means “one who conquers the people”-who was possibly one of the deacons of the early church mentioned in Acts 6:5. It is possible that Nicolas became an apostate, denying the true faith and became part of a group holding "the doctrine of Balaam," who taught Israel "to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality." Clement of Alexandria says, “They abandoned themselves to pleasure like goats, leading a life of self-indulgence.” Their teaching perverted grace and replaced liberty with license. Other commentators believe that these Nicolaitans were not so called from any man, but from the Greek word Nicolah, meaning "let us eat," as they often encouraged each other to eat things offered to idols. Whichever theory is true, it is certain that the deeds of the Nicolaitans were an abomination to Christ. They, like the Gnostics and other false teachers, abused the doctrine of grace and tried to introduce licentiousness in its place (2 Peter 2:15, 19; Jude 1:4). According to the writings of the Early Church leaders, Nicolas taught a doctrine of compromise, implying that total separation between Christianity and the practice of occult paganism was not essential. From Early Church records, it seems apparent that this Nicolas of Antioch was so immersed in occultism, Judaism, and Christianity that he had a stomach for all of it. He had no problem intermingling these belief systems in various concoctions and saw no reason why believers couldn't continue to fellowship with those still immersed in the black magic of the Roman empire and its countless mystery cults. Occultism was a major force that warred against the Early Church. In Ephesus, the primary pagan religion was the worship of Diana (Artemis). There were many other forms of idolatry in Ephesus, but this was the primary object of occult worship in that city. In the city of Pergamos, there were numerous dark and sinister forms of occultism, causing Pergamos to be one of the most wicked cities in the history of the ancient world. In both of these cities, believers were lambasted and persecuted fiercely by adherents of pagan religions, forced to contend with paganism on a level far beyond all other cities. It was very hard for believers to live separately from all the activities of paganism because paganism and its religions were the center of life in these cities. Slipping in and out of paganism would have been very easy for young or weak believers to do since most of their families and friends were still pagans. A converted Gentile would have found it very difficult to stay away from all pagan influence. It is significant that the "deeds" and "doctrines" of the Nicolaitans are only mentioned in connection with the churches in these two occultic and pagan cities. It seems that the "doctrine" of the Nicolaitans was that it was alright to have one foot in both worlds and that one needn't be so strict about separation from the world in order to be a Christian. This, in fact, was the "doctrine" of the Nicolaitans that Jesus "hated." It led to a weak version of Christianity that was without power and without conviction - a defeated, worldly type of Christianity. Nicolas' deep roots in paganism may have produced in him a tolerance for occultism and paganism. Growing up in this perverted spiritual environment may have caused him to view these belief systems as not so damaging or dangerous. This wrong perception would have resulted in a very liberal viewpoint that encouraged people to stay connected to the world. This is what numerous Bible scholars believe about the Nicolaitans. This kind of teaching would result in nothing but total defeat for its followers. When believers allow sin and compromise to be in their lives, it drains away the power in the work of the Cross and the power of the Spirit that is resident in a believer's life. This is the reason the name Nicolas is so vital to this discussion. The evil fruit of Nicolas' "doctrine" encouraged worldly participation, leading people to indulge in sin and a lowered godly standard. In this way he literally conquered the people. God wants to make sure we understand the doctrine the Nicolaitans taught, so Balaam's actions are given as an example of their doctrine and actions. Revelation 2:14,15 says, "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." When Balaam could not successfully cure the people of God, he used another method to destroy them. He seduced them into unbridled, sensual living by dangling the prostitutes of Moab before the men of Israel. Numbers 25:1-3 tells us, "And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they [the daughters of Moab] called the people [the men of Israel] unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people [the men of Israel] did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor...." Just as the men of Israel compromised themselves with the world and false religions, now the "doctrine" of the Nicolaitans was encouraging compromise. As you are well aware, compromise with the world always results in a weakened and powerless form of Christianity. This was the reason Jesus "hated" the "doctrine" and the "deeds" of the Nicolaitans. Jesus commends the church of Ephesus for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans as He does (Revelation 2:6). No doubt the leaders of the Ephesian church protected their flock from these destructive heresies and kept their people from committing the same evil deeds. All sin is hateful to Christ, as it should be to His followers, as we hate men’s evil deeds, not the men themselves. For the church at Pergamos, Jesus had not commendation, but censure. Unlike the Ephesians, they actually embraced the teachings of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:15). Jesus warns them that unless they repent, they are in danger of the judgment that is sure to fall on those who teach false doctrine, attack His church, and destroy His people. The sword of judgment is poised over their heads, and His patience is not limitless (Revelation 2:16; 19:15). The lesson for us is that the church of the Lord Jesus throughout the ages has been plagued by those of the Nicolaitan spirit. The only way to recognize false teaching is to be intimately familiar with truth through the diligent study of the Word of God. See our website www.BibleQuery.org which answers over 8000 bible questions. 2 Timothy 2:15
Please read the description text under this video. Click on the "show more" to open up the rest of the description text that is hidden. After that go to our website BIBLEQUERY ORG & once on our homepage click on the "experience" box & then scroll down to the newsletter section & click on "Seventh-day Adventism." From there go to our UA-cam channel page CANSWERSTV & click on our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" with 10 videos. Next see website: EXADVENTIST COM.
Ellen White accused the BIBLE BELIEVING Christians ministers who rejected William Miller's false date for the return of Christ of being FALSE and standing in the way of God's work. Early Writings page 234 "Many Shepherds of flock, who professed to love Jesus, said that they HAD NO OPPOSITION TO THE PREACHING OF THE CHRIST'S COMING, BUT THEY OBJECTED TO THE DEFINITE TIME.. These FALSE teachers stood in the way of God's work." She called Miller's FALSE date for the return of Christ, GOD'S WORK. and called the bible believing Christians who REFUSED TO BE DECEIVED, FALSE. According to the bible she was CURSED. Isaiah 5: 20 "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." If the foolish Millerites had followed the example of these OBEDIENT CHRISTIANS there would NOT have been any GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT. The SDA church is not firmly planted in the truth found in God's word, 1844 PROVES it. Ellen White's EXCUSES for Willam Miller's FAILED prediction of the date of Christ' s return PROVES she was a false prophet.
I used to be a Seventh-day Adventist. I even studied at an Adventist college. I am so glad I am no longer one. The LORD led me out of it. I rejoice I belong to Jesus and is free in Him to worship and love Him. I am free from the teachings of Ellen G White. Hallelujah!
Share this video with as many Seventh-day Adventists or people studying with SDAs as you know. Dale Ratzlaff, former SDA pastor for 13 years & his ministry are offering free eBooks - "Here is an expanded list of countries where we will send free English eBooks: Jamaica, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Japan, India, Antigua, Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Trinidad, Tobago, St Vincent, St Kitts, St Lucia. We will send free Spanish eBooks everywhere outside the US. All people have to do is personally request a specific book(s) and email me at dale@ratzlaf.com. For more information go to: www.lifeassuranceministries.com/spanishbooks.html." Dale also says, "Larry, anytime you have someone in a foreign country where poverty abounds and they request it, I will send them a free eBook, either "Sabbath in Christ" or "Cultic Doctrine." They must personally request it. It is in a pdf form and cannot be printed or edited but can be read on their tablet, phone or computer. In countries where they can afford it, the books are $8.00 on my web site or $9.95 on Amazon. I just finished Spanish "Sabbath in Christ" eBook. It is also in a pdf file with hyperlinks from contents to chapter titles and back. I will send it free to anyone who requests it but they must request it by email me at Dale@ratzlaf.com. Check out this offer at lifeassuranceministries.com/minnews.html."
See our video "Adam & the Ten Commandments - Are the Commandments Creation Ordinances & Eternal Moral Laws of God?" at ua-cam.com/video/DtNOycuiPMM/v-deo.html. NEW COVENANT THEOLOGY by Dr. Gary D. Long* (www.ptsco.org). A. NCT Defined. NCT may be defined broadly as "God’s eternal purpose progressively revealed in the commandments and promises of the biblical covenants of the OT and fulfilled in the New Covenant (NC) of Jesus Christ. Its major themes may be summarily described with reference to: (1) God’s eternal purpose of redemption: covenantally revealed and administered through biblical covenants beginning with a pre-Fall covenant of obedience with Adam (Rom. 5:12-19) and a post-Fall covenant of promise (Gen. 3:15): (2) Hermeneutics: consistent interpretation of the OT in light of the NT (Luke 24:27, 44; II Cor. 1:20); (3) The people of God: all the elect of God throughout time first constituted as the church at Pentecost (Acts 2), but not before (John 7:39; 17:21; Col. 1:26-27; Heb. 11:39-40), as one corporate spiritual body in union with Christ (I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 2:19-21; Col. 1:18, 24); and (4) The law of God; the two greatest commandments of God-love of God and neighbor (Matt. 22:36-40)-are innate law known instinctively by man (Rom. 2:14-15) created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27). Upon these two greatest commandments all the Law and the Prophets depend as administered under biblical covenants which culminate in the NC law of Christ (I Cor. 9:20-21; Gal. 6:2; Heb. 8:6, 13: James 2:8; I John 5:3). Innate law is righteous and unchanging; covenantal law is written, righteous and changeable (Heb. 7:12) worked out in history in accordance with God’s eternal purpose (Eph. 1:11; 3:11; II Tim. 1:9). B. NCT Described. NCT is a developing system of theology that strives to provide a more accurate way to interpret the Scriptures by questioning key theological presuppositions which undergird the principles of interpretation (hermeneutics) that exist in both Covenant Theology (CT) and Dispensational Theology (DT). NCT is based upon a redemptive history approach to understanding the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose on earth. Its Christotelic Hermeneutic with Christ as the focus "in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27) is based upon a biblical theology that stresses the theology of the Bible itself. NCT challenges explanation of the theological presuppositions of the one overarching covenant of grace teaching of CT, including its understanding of the "moral law" of God and the nature of the Church. NCT also challenges the two redemptive purposes of DT, one for the Church and one for Israel, and it challenges some of DT’s presuppositions and literal hermeneutic for understanding key elements of Bible prophecy. The driving motive of NCT is "Back to the Bible." NCT emphasizes the inductive study of the Bible. A major objective of NCT is that its hermeneutic will help bring doctrinal unity in this sin-wrecked world by helping to break down the middle walls of doctrinal partition that exist between DT and CT. C. NCT Characteristics. The following lists some of the major NCT characteristics. NCT teaches that: 1. The discernment of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for accurately handling the Word of God because there is no authentic leading of the Holy Spirit that is not contextually wedded to the words of the Bible (I Cor. 2:13-14; II Tim. 2:15; 3:16). (NCT is not affiliated with present-day "New Calvinism" and "Charismatic Calvinism.") 2. The most important principle of interpretation is "contextual biblical exegesis." It demands grammatical/historical/theological principles of interpretation. 3. The imputation of Adam’s first sin to all mankind (Rom. 5:12d, 18a-19a), the elect’s sin to Christ (II Cor. 5:21), and Christ’s righteousness to the elect (Rom. 5:18b-19b) are vital for the Christian faith. Without the doctrine of imputation the whole doctrine of the substitutionary atonement and justification by faith alone in Christ alone are undermined (Rom. 5:12-19). 4. The type anti-type teaching of Adam and Christ in Romans 5:12-19 demands that a covenant relationship existed between God and Adam both before and after the Fall. 5. God’s plan of salvation is revealed and administered according to His eternal purpose (II Tim. 1:9) through the unfolding of biblical covenants in the flow of redemptive history, but not as explained through the theologically deduced system of CT’s Covenant of Works/Covenant of Grace/Covenant of Redemption schema. 6. Christians "are not under law (hupo nomon), but under grace (hupo charin)" (Rom. 6:14), meaning that the believer in Christ is no longer under the Mosaic law as covenant law but under the grace of the NC-a covenant that not only has the internal leading of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:4, 11), but also external commands to be obeyed (Rom. 12:9-21), summed up in the NC declaration: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:14). 7. The law of God is both absolute and covenantal (Matt. 5:17-20). God’s "absolute law" is innate, written on the heart of man created in the image of God. It is God’s unchanging standard of righteousness. God’s "covenantal law," however, is written and changeable according to the covenant being administered. 8. The love of God and the love of neighbor are the two greatest commandments (Matt. 22:36-40) upon which the whole Law and the Prophets hang. This means that the Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, hang upon these two greatest commandments, not the reverse as CT teaches. 9. The Ten Commandments are a covenantal outworking of the two greatest commandments in redemptive history, not the reverse. They were given through the hand of Moses to the nation of Israel first at Mount Sinai (Exod. 20). 10. The Fourth Commandment, the Sabbath Commandment, being the sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 31:15-17), is not a creation ordinance as taught by CT. 11. The Ten Commandments are not moral law "forever," first written in the heart of man at creation and forever binding upon all mankind as CT teaches in its confessions of faith; e.g., the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647-49) and the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1677/1689). In fact the term "moral law" does not occur in the original languages of the Bible. Although under any given covenantal administration, man is morally obligated to obey all of God’s commandments, yet the Bible does not separate God’s law into three parts: moral, ceremonial and civil. Historically, this threefold separation was not substantially taught until the time of Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century and in the 16th century by Calvin. 12. The Decalogue is not "transcovenantal" and, therefore, does not function outside the Old Covenant as a unit as much of CT teaches. 13. Christ came not to destroy the OT Scriptures but to fulfill them, which includes the Decalogue (Matt. 5:17-18). The New Covenant law of Christ is distinguished from the Mosaic law (Luke 9:35) and from the Gentiles who do not have a written revelation of God’s law (I Cor. 9:20-21). 14. The law of Christ is not to be equated with the Decalogue. Although the law of Christ, the law of the NC people of God, is related to the Decalogue in that it incorporates nine of the Ten Commandments. The law of Christ is a better law than the law of Moses (Matt. 5:21-48; Heb. 7:19) in the sense that (1) it is a higher revelation of the righteousness of God (Matt. 5:20); (2) it is based upon a higher standard of love (Matt. 5:44); and (3) Christ’s inauguration of the New Covenant brings in things that are qualitatively "newer," expressed in developing the theological significance of such basic concepts as new wineskins, new teaching, new commandment, new creation, new man, new name, new song, New Jerusalem and all things new (Rev. 21:5). 15. The OC Sabbath commandment is typologically fulfilled by Christ for the people of God who rest in Him by faith (Heb. 4:9-10; Col. 2:16-17). 16. New Covenant believers are in-lawed to Christ; they are not under the OC law of Moses but under the grace of the NC (Rom. 6:14). NCT does not equate the law of Christ with the Decalogue as do many holding to CT. 17. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the norm for Christian living. NCT does not teach that the Ten Commandments are the only objective standard for evaluating the Christian life. Rather, NCT emphasizes that it is the Spirit who through Scripture enables the Christian to have a godly walk (Rom. 8:4) acknowledging that all Scripture is profitable for instruction in righteousness (II Tim. 3:16). 18. Christ merited righteousness for the elect only and imputed it to them based upon His total obedience to the will of the Father in His life and death (Matt. 3:15; Rom. 5:19). 19. The Church, which is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18; see Eph. 2:13 to 3:12), was first formed in history when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost not in past history under the OC. Most holding to CT see the Church existing in the OT before Pentecost; NCT does not. Contrary to Classical DT but in agreement with CT, NCT sees only one redemptive purpose for the one people of God, the good olive tree (Rom. 11). 20. Christ gave both permanent spiritual gifts to the church for exercise throughout the entire age of the NC-from Pentecost to the Second Advent-and temporary gifts (largely sign or miraculous gifts, including that of apostleship and prophecy) exercised during its foundation (Eph. 2:20; 3:5). 21. The ordinance of water baptism is the pledge of membership in the New Covenant for believers alone and the sign of the NC is not baptism, rather the sign is the cup, which memorializes the NC in Christ’s blood (Luke 22:20; I Cor. 11:25). 22. The "now-not yet" principle of interpretation is essential to understand the teaching of the NT. The Christian experiences the commencement of "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3); yet he still awaits the consummation of these blessing at Christ’s return. The whole theology of the NT is qualified by this tension: between the "already" or "now" and the "not yet" (I John 3:2). 23. The "recapitulation" principle is essential to understand the NT prophetic Scriptures (Matt. 24:4-14 and 24:15-31; Rev. 11:15-19 and 12:1-6). 24. The "blessed hope" will occur when Christ returns (Titus 2:13) to earth bodily and visibly (Acts 1:11) at the Second Advent to resurrect, judge and consign the saved to heaven and the lost to a Christless eternity (John 5:28-29). *Gary D. Long, Th.D., is the Faculty President of Providence Theological Seminary located in Colorado Springs, CO. www.ptsco.org; info@ptsco.org.
I have a SDA friend and in the course of more than 10 years he was hard striving to convince me that the teaching of their founder Ellen are only the truth. So many things that he told me were in contradiction with the Bible. for example: if a person is death than there is no evidence in the Bible that is a spirit or something alive, I showed him the evidence from the Bible, but he rejected them all. Also he said there is no hell and paradise, so I showed him in the Bible many places about that, he rejected also. In the Bible we found many parable, that gives us a good teaching, he said that, the parable are nothing, no value in them. And many other things we have had in our conversations that he presented, and were against of the truth of the Gospel, finally I asked him: Then who is right? Jesus or Ellen, he said, Ellen. So it's very clear what kind of teaching they have.
You're exactly correct. We do good works & try to keep God's commandments because 1. we are already "born again" (John 3:3-8) by the Spirit (Acts 13:48) & thus saved already & not trying to get saved by good works (Galatians 2:16, Romans 8:28-39) like the 7th-Day Adventists are trying to do, 2. we try to keep God's commandments because we love God (1 John 4:19), 3. The Bible allows liberty to worship on any given day - Romans 14:5 - "One man regards one day above another .. be fully convinced."
Beautiful video. Thank you for exposing the false teachings of this Cult ( SDA) who have cloaked themselves under the name of Christ but really uphold Moses and the Law as their guide as if the 1st Covenant is now the same as the 2nd Covenant because of their glorification of the 10 Commandments which are not the Law of Christ. Thank you again.
Romans 14:5, "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Jesus is our Sabbath rest. The key to understanding how Jesus is our Sabbath rest is the Hebrew word sabat, which means "to rest or stop or cease from work." The origin of the Sabbath goes back to Creation. After creating the heavens and the earth in six days, God "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made" (Genesis 2:2). This doesn’t mean that God was tired and needed a rest. We know that God is omnipotent, literally "all-powerful." He has all the power in the universe, He never tires, and His most arduous expenditure of energy does not diminish His power one bit. So, what does it mean that God rested on the seventh day? Simply that He stopped what He was doing. He ceased from His labors. This is important in understanding the establishment of the Sabbath day and the role of Christ as our Sabbath rest. God used the example of His resting on the seventh day of Creation to establish the principle of the Sabbath day rest for His people. In Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15, God gave the Israelites the fourth of His Ten Commandments. They were to "remember" the Sabbath day and "keep it holy." One day out of every seven, they were to rest from their labors and give the same day of rest to their servants and animals. This was not just a physical rest, but a cessation of laboring. Whatever work they were engaged in was to stop for a full day each week. (Please read our other articles on the Sabbath day, Saturday vs. Sunday and Sabbath keeping to explore this issue further.) The Sabbath day was established so the people would rest from their labors, only to begin again after a one-day rest. The various elements of the Sabbath symbolized the coming of the Messiah, who would provide a permanent rest for His people. Once again the example of resting from our labors comes into play. With the establishment of the Old Testament Law, the Jews were constantly "laboring" to make themselves acceptable to God. Their labors included trying to obey a myriad of do’s and don’ts of the ceremonial law, the Temple law, the civil law, etc. Of course they couldn’t possibly keep all those laws, so God provided an array of sin offerings and sacrifices so they could come to Him for forgiveness and restore fellowship with Him, but only temporarily. Just as they began their physical labors after a one-day rest, so, too, did they have to continue to offer sacrifices. Hebrews 10:1 tells us that the law "can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." But these sacrifices were offered in anticipation of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross, who "after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right of God" (Hebrews 10:12). Just as He rested after performing the ultimate sacrifice, He sat down and rested-ceased from His labor of atonement because there was nothing more to be done, ever. Because of what He did, we no longer have to "labor" in law-keeping in order to be justified in the sight of God. Jesus was sent so that we might rest in God and in what He has provided. Another element of the Sabbath day rest which God instituted as a foreshadowing of our complete rest in Christ is that He blessed it, sanctified it, and made it holy. Here again we see the symbol of Christ as our Sabbath rest-the holy, perfect Son of God who sanctifies and makes holy all who believe in Him. God sanctified Christ, just as He sanctified the Sabbath day, and sent Him into the world (John 10:36) to be our sacrifice for sin. In Him we find complete rest from the labors of our self-effort, because He alone is holy and righteous. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can now cease from our spiritual labors and rest in Him, not just one day a week, but always. Jesus can be our Sabbath rest in part because He is "Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). As God incarnate, He decides the true meaning of the Sabbath because He created it, and He is our Sabbath rest in the flesh. When the Pharisees criticized Him for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus reminded them that even they, sinful as they were, would not hesitate to pull a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath. Because He came to seek and save His sheep who would hear His voice (John 10:3,27) and enter into the Sabbath rest He provided by paying for their sins, He could break the Sabbath rules. He told the Pharisees that people are more important than sheep and the salvation He provided was more important than rules. By saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27), Jesus was restating the principle that the Sabbath rest was instituted to relieve man of his labors, just as He came to relieve us of our attempting to achieve salvation by our works. We no longer rest for only one day, but forever cease our laboring to attain God’s favor. Jesus is our rest from works now, just as He is the door to heaven, where we will rest in Him forever. Hebrews 4 is the definitive passage regarding Jesus as our Sabbath rest. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts his readers to "enter in" to the Sabbath rest provided by Christ. After three chapters of telling them that Jesus is superior to the angels and that He is our Apostle and High Priest, he pleads with them to not harden their hearts against Him, as their fathers hardened their hearts against Jehovah in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief, God denied that generation access to the holy land, saying, "They shall not enter into My rest" (Hebrews 3:11). In the same way, the writer to the Hebrews begs them-and us-not to make the same mistake by rejecting God’s Sabbath rest in Jesus Christ. "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience" (Hebrews 4:9-11). There is no other Sabbath rest besides Jesus. He alone satisfies the requirements of the Law, and He alone provides the sacrifice that atones for sin. He is God’s plan for us to cease from the labor of our own works. We dare not reject this one-and-only Way of salvation (John 14:6). God’s reaction to those who choose to reject His plan is seen in Numbers 15. A man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, in spite of God’s plain commandment to cease from all labor on the Sabbath. This transgression was a known and willful sin, done with unblushing boldness in broad daylight, in open defiance of the divine authority. "And Jehovah said to Moses, ‘The man shall surely be put to death’" (v. 35). So it will be to all who reject God’s provision for our Sabbath rest in Christ. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). The ten commandments were given only to the nation of Israel & not to anyone else (Gentiles). The New Testament only reaffirms nine out of the ten commandments under the terms of the New Covenant. Sabbath keeping as found in the ten commandments is a ceremonial law associated only with Old Testament Israelites & is not a moral law that must be followed by Gentiles. The Old Testament Scriptures always state that the covenant written on the Tablets of Stone was made only with Israel at Sinai. Look at the first time the words "Ten Commandments" were used in the Bible. This same text states that the Ten Commandments, as the covenant document, was given only to the nation of Israel: And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and WITH ISRAEL. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Ex 34:27,28 When Moses refreshed Israel's mind concerning their covenant relationship with God, he specifically says that the covenant (Ten Commandments) was given at Horeb. This is clear in the following text: The Lord our God made a covenant [Remember the covenant is the Ten Commandments or Tablets of Stone] with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all of us alive here today. Deut. 5:2,3 Moses insists that the covenant was "not made with our fathers," meaning the patriarchs, 11 but with the people that came out of Egypt. He then repeats the words of the covenant, or Ten Commandments, that were written on the Tablets of Stone. The Prophets saw the coming of a New Covenant and spoke of it in glowing terms. Whenever they contrasted the Old Covenant with the New Covenant, they always state when and with whom the Old Covenant was made. Notice this in a classic passage in Jeremiah: Behold days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel..., not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hands to bring them out of the land of Egypt..." Jer. 31:31.32. Notice the following things clearly set forth in this passage: 1.There was going a New Covenant. "I will make a new covenant." 2.The New Covenant was going to be different in nature from the Old Covenant. "Not like the covenant I made with their fathers" 3.The Old Covenant being replaced was made at Sinai and made only with Israel. "Made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt" How is it possible to read these words in Jeremiah and say, "God was not actually promising to make a new and different covenant with Israel. He was really promising a new administration of the same covenant they were already under?" It seems to us that such statements are literally contradicting what Jeremiah said. The rest of the Bible always says the same thing that Jeremiah said when it speaks on this subject. The following passage from I Kings appears to be going out of its way to affirm the facts we are setting forth: There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, WHEN the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, WHEN they came out of the land of Egypt. I Kings 8:9 The phrases "Tables of Stone," "Moses at Horeb," "made a covenant" and "children of Israel," in this text are the same key ingredients that we always find connected with the Ten Commandments. This passage of Scripture uses the word "when" two times. We could put a period after "children of Israel" and not lose the thought or argument. The last phrase in the sentence "When they came out of the land of Egypt" is almost redundant. The Holy Spirit must have wanted to impress this point on our minds. The NT Scriptures always connect the Old Covenant with Israel. Heb 8:6-9 is the Apostolic interpretation of Jer 31:31,32. The author of Hebrews clearly states: (1) when the Old Covenant was made; (2) with whom the Old Covenant was made; (3) the fact the New Covenant would be different than the Old Covenant. The passage is clear: .......... the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel .......... It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out Egypt.......... Heb 8:7,8 It is not possible to make this verse promise a new administration of the same covenant. Nor is it possible relate this covenant back to Adam in the garden. Neither the words in prophecy of Jer 31:33 nor the Apostolic interpretation in Heb 8:7,8 will allow such an idea. "Having the law" as a covenant and the Gospel as a promise as opposed to "not having the law" and being without covenant or hope was the great difference between the nation of Israel and the Gentiles (Eph 2:11-21). The following text is a key passage on this particular point: For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness..... Rom 2:14. First of all, the word "law" in this passage clearly refers to the Tablets of Stone. It cannot refer to "a sense of moral duty" since all men have that by virtue of being God's image bearers. Paul is talking about a law that all men definitely do not have. If all men have "the law" in the sense that Paul is using the word in this passage, his argument does not make sense. He is contradicting himself in the same breath. Paul's whole point in the context of this passage is to show that the Jews are more guilty than the Gentiles. The basis of his proof is that the Gentiles "without the law" live better lives than the Jews do "with the law." The Jews alone have the special gift of the Law. And the specific law that he is talking about is the law written on the Tablets of Stone as a covenant. Rom 2:14 is not talking about a so called "ceremonial law." Whatever the "law" is in this passage, it convicts the conscience of sin. Conscience, by nature and without special revelation, cannot convict men of disobedience to "ceremonial" laws. One of the many proofs that the Sabbath is not a "moral law" is the fact that we have never discovered a single instance of anyone knowing, by nature, the Sabbath law. This particular law must always be taught as special revelation just as it was to Israel at Sinai. 12 Gentiles intuitively knew that adultery was wrong but they know that the seventh day is to be kept holy. Most people misquote this passage of Scripture. Paul does not say, "The law" is written in the Gentile's heart. He says that certain behavior proves that there is a conviction of right and wrong in all men. This fact shows that conscience is alive and well even in the Gentiles. In fact, it is more alive and well in them than it is in the Jew. This power of conscience "shows the work of the law written in their hearts." The "work" of the law is to accuse or excuse according to the standard given to it. It condemns all violations of known wrong and rewards obedience to what is known to be right. All men have a conscience and they all experience, to a greater or lesser degree, conviction they have done wrong. The Gentiles did not have "the law" but they did have the "work of the law" in their hearts. The law can only "work" true repentance that leads to faith if there is (1) a covenant with clear terms and (2) the individual has a knowledge of those terms. In giving Israel the law as a covenant, God enlightened the mind and sharpened the conscience. He sandwiched conscience under the Old Covenant and its threat of judgment. This caused a very painful death to all hope of eternal life in those who truly experienced the end for which the law covenant was given, namely, genuine "conviction of guilt." The same law actually "blinded" the rest of the Jews and made them worse off spiritually than the Gentiles. We say again, it was most gracious of God to kill Israel's hope in their own efforts. However, it took a covenant of pure law with the power of life and death to do the job. There was not an ounce of grace in the Tablets of Stone but it was most of God to give them to Israel as a covenant that could prepare the heart to receive grace! Regardless of whether the reader agrees or disagree with what has just been said, one thing is certain. We cannot change a passage that emphatically states that Israel had a specific law that the Gentiles did not have into a text that says "all men have the same law." This is to destroy the text. Paul can only be referring to the Tables of Stone as a covenant. It both amazes and amuses us to watch people waver back and forth when they cannot fit clear passages of Scripture into their theological system. They usually want to "eat their cake and have it too." If they are discussing the "unchanging moral law," they will insist that "the moral law (Ten Commandments) is written on ever man's heart." However, if they are discussing the canon of conduct for believer's today, these same people will insist that in regeneration "the moral law" (Ten Commandments) is written on the heart" by the Holy Spirit. In both cases it is said to be the same law that Scriptures clearly state was given only to the nation of Israel at Sinai on the Tablets of Stone. Something seems to be a bit out of focus when all of this is put together. (1) If the first point is true, and the same law that was given to Israel at Sinai (the Ten Commandments) is indeed written on every man's heart, it is impossible to say the Gentiles are "without the law." They cannot be "without" the very law that is written "in" them. (2) If the second point, affirming that the same law written in the heathen, and given to Israel at Sinai, is also written on the heart of believer in regeneration, is true, there appears to be a contradiction. What need is there to write something on the heart that is already there? (3) If, in regeneration, the Holy Spirit writes the Ten Commandments on the heart of every believer, what then is the necessity of preaching those commandments to the Christian? We must distinguish between the Ten Commandments as the terms of a legal covenant and the duties commanded by the individual commandments. The moment we do this a lot of confusion disappears and some difficult passages of Scripture become clear and simple. We will illustrate this point with one passage of Scripture. This passage in its context is pivotal to any correct understanding of the change of covenants: But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. Heb 8:6-13 We have already noted the three distinct contrasts in verse 6. We saw the following: (1) Christ has a better ministry than Aaron; (2) because Christ's ministry is based on a new and better covenant; (3) the covenant Christ administers is superior to the covenant under which Aaron ministered because it is based on better promises. Heb 8:7-9 settles any discussion as to either when (at Sinai) or with whom (Israel only) the Old Covenant was made. Heb 8:11 shows that everyone, without a single exception, in the New Covenant community, or Church, "know the Lord." In other words, the text proves that the Church born under the New Covenant has a totally regenerate membership. We will now look at verse 10: This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. HEB 8:10 The text emphasizes several important things. First, God promises to make a new covenant, and this covenant will be with the "house of Israel." We will not digress from the point under discussion except to say that the "house of Israel" in Heb 8-10 must be the Church. The writer is not talking about the future but the present. This covenant cannot be pushed into a future millennium. Hebrews is talking about the priestly ministry of Christ over the Church. However, that is not our subject in this book. The second major thing in the text is God's promise to put his laws in the mind and write them on the hearts of His New Covenant people. Now here is the question: "What is the difference, if any, between the "covenant" and the word "laws" in this passage?" Exactly what is God promising to do in this verse? Exactly what is the "New Covenant" He is making and precisely what "laws" is He going to write on the heart? We should carefully note that God did not say, "In that day I will give a new administration of the same covenant that I gave Israel. I will write the old law of Sinai into the new heart of the Christian." That is how some theologians read this passage. Likewise, the text does not say, "I will make a New Covenant that destroys all of the Ten Commandments and allows a believer to do as he pleases." That is how some liberals view the text. No, the text, and its context, is talking about both a new and better covenant than the old covenant at Sinai and the new experience of the law being written on the heart by the indwelling Spirit. The clear answers to the two questions that we asked lies in understanding the three comparisons made in verse 6. Why did the Old Covenant fail and thereby need to be replaced by a new and better covenant? The answer is that it could not secure the necessary obedience to its terms. It could not write on the heart the desire to do the things that were written on the Tablets of the Covenants. It could write on stone but not on flesh (II Cor 3). By nature all men hate God's authority (Rom 8:7) and even the mighty Law of God cannot change that rebellion into a sincere desire to obey. The Old Covenant failed to bring sinners into God's presence because it could not change the sinner's heart. It could not conquer sin in the flesh nor it could cleanse the conscience from the guilt of sin. Now read carefully! The greater glory of the New Covenant is not that the standards or laws have been either lowered or done away. It is not that the moral duties demanded on the Tables of Stone are no longer binding on a Christian. No, No, that is to miss the whole point. The greater glory of the New Covenant is that no obedience at all is required as the terms of being saved simply because the very terms of the Tablets of the Covenant have been finally and fully met in the Person and work of Surety, the Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of the New Covenant is in the words, "IT IS FINISHED." Paul states the glory of the New Covenant in the classic passage in Rom 4:5. Here is a paraphrase of that text: However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Rom 4:5 This is the "rest" that weary souls enter into when they come under the yoke of Christ and are liberated from the yoke of the covenant given to Moses on Sinai. We doubt not that our Lord Jesus had this very contrast in mind when He gave that great gospel invitation in Matthew 11: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30. Every thing in that passage is a contrast with Moses and old law covenant. The yoke of the covenant written on the Tables of Stone was a burden impossible to bear. The yoke written in the blood of Calvary is a privilege and delight to bear. The New Covenant is nothing less than Christ Himself and His finished work. When God said, "I will make a new covenant," He was saying, "I will give you Christ to be your covenant Keeper. He will both keep the law and die under its curse." The message has now become "It is finished" instead of "Do or Die." The New Covenant is grace and not works. What then are the "laws" spoken of in Heb 8:10? Exactly what "laws" does the Holy Spirit write on the heart of a New Covenant believer? These laws, as far as their content, are basically the very same moral laws that were written on the tables of stone. Heb 8:10 is not talking about two different "sets" of laws that totally contradict each other as if there were two "kinds of morality." The morality of the New Covenant does not destroy the true morality demanded in the laws of the Old Covenant. It takes that morality to a higher level. It is true that Christ adds laws that were impossible for Moses to ever give but that does not mean Christ contradicts Moses. 13 Hebrews is talking about two different motivations that grow out of two different kinds of covenants." II Cor 3 is the Holy Spirit's commentary on Heb 8:10. Neither of these passages are teaching that God "tattoos" the exact words of the Decalogue on our hearts. Both passages are talking about the powerful effect of regeneration that results in a totally new and different attitude toward God. These two passages are picturing the removal of the stony heart that hated the Tablets of Stones and all they represented. It is describing the effect of regeneration in replacing the stony heart with a heart of flesh. The new heart of flesh loves all of God's revealed laws, not just a one small code, simply because it loves the new Lawgiver Who teaches us those laws. The difference is not in the specific duties demanded but the difference between law and grace as covenants. It is the difference, in some cases, of the identical duties being enforced from without by fear and force, in the case of the Old Covenant, and being constrained by love from within a heart rejoicing in a covenant of grace. These two passages are talking about the difference between the conscience being under the old Pedagogue, the Tables of Stone, and being under the new Pedagogue, the indwelling Holy Spirit. 11. The writer of Hebrews, as well as the prophecy in Jer 31:33, establish beyond question that the "fathers" referred to in this passage are the patriarchs. To make the statement refer to the immediate fathers of the people to whom Moses is speaking would involve a contradiction. It was specifically to these very "fathers" that God gave the covenant at Sinai. 12. John Bunyan wrote an excellent article proving the Seventh Day Sabbath could not possibly be a so called "Creation Ordinance." To our knowledge, no one has attempted to answer his arguments. See, "Questions about the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day Sabbath," by John Bunyan, The Works of John Bunyan, Vol. II, pp 359-387, Baker Book House. 13. We have worked this out in a book entitled But I Say Unto You. This book shows that Christ supercedes and replaces Moses as the New Lawgiver. Christ changes some of the laws of Moses; raises some others to a higher level; discards some others altogether; and adds some laws that are totally new. However, this is not contradicting Moses as he were wrong. Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? In the Old Testament, God stated, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you," (Exodus 20:8-10, NASB). It was the custom of the Jews to come together on the Sabbath, which is Saturday, cease work, and worship God. Jesus went to the synagogue on Saturday to teach (Matt. 12:9, John 18:20) as did the apostle Paul (Acts 17:2; 18:4). So, if in the Old Testament we are commanded to keep the Sabbath and in the New Testament we see Jews, Jesus, and the apostles doing the same thing, then why do we worship on Sunday? First of all, of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only 9 of them were reinstituted in the New Testament: five in Matt. 19:18, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and honor parents; in Rom. 13:9, coveting; worshiping God properly covers the first three commandments. The one that was not reaffirmed was the one about the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8). Upon the completion of Creation, God rested on the seventh day. However, since God is all-powerful, He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t need to take a break and rest. So, why did/does it say that He rested? The reason is simple: Mark 2:27 says, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In other words, God established the Sabbath as a rest for His people--not because He needed a break but because we are mortal and need a time of rest--a time to focus on God. In this, our spirits and bodies are both renewed. The Old Testament system of Law required keeping the Sabbath as part of the overall moral, legal, and sacrificial system by which the Jewish people satisfied God’s requirements for behavior, government, and forgiveness of sins. The Sabbath was part of the Law in that sense. In order to "remain" in favor with God, you had to also keep the Sabbath. If it was not kept, then the person was in sin and would often be punished (Ezekiel 18:4; Rom. 6:23; Deut. 13:1-9; Num. 35:31; Lev. 20:2, etc.). But with Jesus’ atonement, we are no longer required to keep the Law. We are not under Law but grace (Rom. 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus. He is our rest. We are not under obligation, by Law, to keep it; and this goes for the Sabbath as well. It is not a requirement that we keep the Sabbath. If it were, then we would still be under the Law; but we are not. Evidence of the Change of Days can be Seen in the NT The New Testament has ample evidence that the seventh day Sabbath is no longer a requirement. Rom. 14:5-6, "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God." The entire section of Rom. 14:1-12 is worth careful study. Nevertheless, the instructions here are that individuals must be convinced in their own minds about which day they observe for the Lord. If the seventh day Sabbath were a requirement, then the choice would not be man's but God’s. Col. 2:16-17, "Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." Notice here that time sequence mentioned. A festival is yearly. A new moon is monthly. A Sabbath is weekly. No one is to judge regarding this. The Sabbath is defined as a shadow; the reality is Jesus. Jesus is our Sabbath. Acts 20:7, "And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight." The first day of the week is Sunday, and this is the day the people gathered. This passage can easily be seen as the church meeting on Sunday. It has two important church functions within it: breaking bread (communion) and a message (preaching). Additionally, Luke did not use the Jewish system of counting days: sundown to sundown. He used the Roman system: midnight to midnight. This is a subtle point that shows the Jewish Sabbath system was not the one utilized by Luke. 1 Cor. 16:1-2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come." Notice here that Paul is directing the churches to meet on the first day of each week and put money aside. It would seem that this is tithing. So, the instructed time for the church to meet is Sunday. Is this an official worship day set up by the church? You decide. Rev. 1:10-11, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, ‘The Lord’s Day’ in Revelation 1:10: "This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, "ta kuriaka hamera." The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the church’s worship day. As such, it certainly appears early in the 2nd century (Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians, 1. 67). In many churches today, the term "The Lord’s Day" is used to designate Sunday--the same as it was in the second century. I hope this is evidence enough to show you that the Bible does not require that we worship on Saturday. If anything, we have the freedom (Rom. 14:1-12) to worship on the day that we believe we should. And, no one should judge us regarding the day we keep. We are free in Christ and not under law (Rom. 6:14). See our videos "Christ Has Fulfilled & Replaced the Law of Moses With Higher Laws of the New Covenant, Hebrews 8:6-13" at ua-cam.com/video/EkZ2Cn8TLzE/v-deo.html, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html & "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html. 2 Timothy 2:15
+CAnswersTV This message is in her book "Steps to Christ" in Chapter 7 titled "Tests of Discipleship" SDA's seem incapable of grasping that their own cult condemns many of their behaviors. They behave on ego, not faith. When they interact with any one who disagrees with their religion/cult is treated to a violation of their own belief system which renders that belief system kind of moot. Whats the point of professing beliefs you do not practice? this is why I left that cult.
See our video called " Inspired Racism by Seventh-day Adventist Ellen White:Jesus was a white man, Blacks will become white" at ua-cam.com/video/3zPcVdc3KEw/v-deo.html . See "Ellen White's "Inspired" Bigotry, Racism, and Discrimination!" at www.cultorchristian.com/egwbigotry.html. "'The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance.' You are the children of God. He has adopted you, and He desires you to form characters here that will give you entrance into the heavenly family. Remembering this, you will be able to bear the trials which you meet here. In heaven there will be no color line; for all will be as white as Christ himself. Let us thank God that we can be members of the royal family." (The Gospel Herald, 03-01-1901, "Trust in God," paragraph 20, from a "Talk given by Mrs. E. G. White to the church for the colored in Vicksburg, Sabbath, March 16, 1901."). See our playlist, "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 48 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. Please examine the following important websites: www.lifeassuranceministries.com, www.lifeassuranceministries.org, www.FormerAdventist.com, & www.TruthorFables.com. Email: proclamation@gmail.com for free materials. Larry Wessels, director of Christian Answers of Austin, Texas/ Christian Debater (UA-cam Channel CANSWERSTV at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTVfeatured; websites: www.BibleQuery.org, www.HistoryCart.com, & www.MuslimHope.com, email: cdebater@aol.com) speaks on the racist background & teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist religion. For a list of Ellen G. White's failed "visions" supposedly from God see www.truthorfables.com/menu/subjectsa-1e.html. E. G. White has written two statements on amalgamation that has caused much embarrassment through the years in the Seventh-day Adventist Church because they are not Biblical or biologically true. Several Adventist apologists have written books and articles in a vain attempt to explain Ellen's nonsense. "But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere." -Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3, p. 64, 1864. "Every species of animal which God had created, were preserved in the ark. The confused species which God did not create, which were the result of amalgamation, were destroyed by the flood. Since the flood there has been amalgamation of man and beast, as may be seen in the endless varieties of species of animals and certain races of men." -Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3, p.75, 1864. In the second quote Ellen is saying: 1.Every species that God created were preserved in the ark. 2.The confused species that were the result of amalgamation were not allowed on the ark and were destroyed by the flood. 3.Since the flood there have been amalgamation of man and beast and may be seen today in species of animals and certain races of men. We are asked to believe that there are part human and part beast creatures about us today as there was before the flood. Uriah Smith Comes to Ellen's Defense in 1868 1. There was offspring living in Ellen and Smith's day that was the result of amalgamation. 2. Some of "the confused species" that Ellen failed to name Smith jumped right in and named them. He named the wild Bushmen of Africa, some tribes of Hottentots also from Africa, Digger Indians from America and Patagonians from South America. 3. Smith believed as did the evolutionist that, "Moreover, naturalists affirm that the line of demarkation between human and animal races is lost in confusion." It is impossible as they affirm, to tell, just where the human ends and the animal begin. Can we suppose that this was so ordained of God in the beginning? Smith did not know that human blood and animal blood do not merge into one blood. 4. That these black people should be treated as human because they had human blood in them from Adam. Ellen White stated, "The colored people should not urge that they be placed on an equality with white people. The relation of the two races has been a matter hard to deal with, and I fear that it will ever remain a most perplexing problem. "I know that if we attempt to meet the ideas and preferences of some of the colored people, we shall find our way blocked completely. The work of proclaiming the truth for this time is not to be hindered by an effort to adjust the position of the Negro race. Should we attempt to do this we should find that barriers like mountains would be raised to hinder the work that God desires to have done." (Testimonies for the Church, Volume Nine, page 214 paragraph 3-page 215 paragraph 0.) "I think I have already written that the colored people should not urge that they be placed on an equality with white people.--Letter 202, 1903, p. 2. (To J. E. White and wife, September 11, 1903.)" (Manuscript Releases, Volume Four, page 23, paragraph 2.). Matthew 7:15, "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
We pray constantly but that's besides the point. Your comment proves that our video on Seventh-Day Adventism is having the desired effect! In true Christianity a person has to realize he's "lost" before a holy God & he needs a savior. That "lost" person then cries out to God for mercy (Romans 6:23) & Lord willing he will be saved (Acts 13:48). People in false religions FEEL secure & comfortable & ASSUME they are okay with the true & living God (Matthew 7:15-29, Titus 1:13-16) but doom awaits.
PLEASE do not delete these videos from youtube because there are a goldmine for those who seek the Biblical truth, and for many of us this is one of the very few places we get them. God bless you CAnswersTV·
I notice how their stage is simple. No big gold chairs and stuff. I like that. It says something. I have a hard listening to someone talk about how much good my offering will do as they sit in 20000$ chairs telling people they need financial help. Christians, just plain simple folk praising Christ.
See our video "RISE OF THE CULTS: WHERE DID ALL THESE STRANGE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SECTS COME FROM?" at ua-cam.com/video/HfVTXbFrvh8/v-deo.html. The shortest definition of "cult" is "Organized Heresy." This is in reply to "nathanyamaha465" - There are numerous definitions & senses to the word "cult." For instance, AudioEnglish.org defines cult as: The noun CULT has 3 senses: 1. adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices 2. an interest followed with exaggerated zeal 3. a system of religious beliefs and rituals Familiarity information: CULT used as a noun is uncommon. Dictionary entry details • CULT (noun) Sense 1 Meaning: Adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices Classified under: Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects Hypernyms ("cult" is a kind of...): faith; organized religion; religion (an institution to express belief in a divine power) Meronyms (members of "cult"): cultist (a member of a cult) Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cult"): cargo cult ((Melanesia) one of several millenarian cults that believe salvation will come in the form of wealth ('cargo') brought by westerners; some ascribe divine attributes to westerners on first contact (especially to missionaries)) Wicca (a community of followers of the Wicca religion) Sense 2 Meaning: An interest followed with exaggerated zeal Classified under: Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents Synonyms: craze; fad; furor; furore; cult; rage Context examples: he always follows the latest fads / it was all the rage that season Hypernyms ("cult" is a kind of...): fashion (the latest and most admired style in clothes and cosmetics and behavior) Sense 3 Meaning: A system of religious beliefs and rituals Classified under: Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents Synonyms: cultus; religious cult; cult Context example: devoted to the cultus of the Blessed Virgin Hypernyms ("cult" is a kind of...): faith; religion; religious belief (a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny) Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cult"): macumba (a Brazilian religious cult of African origin; combines voodoo elements with singing a chanting and dancing) obeah; obi (a religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft and sorcery; practiced in parts of the West Indies and tropical Americas) Rastafarianism (belief in Ras Tafari (Haile Selassie) as the Messiah and that Africa (especially Ethiopia) is the promised land) hoodooism; vodoun; voodoo; voodooism (a religious cult practiced chiefly in Caribbean countries (especially Haiti); involves witchcraft and animistic deities). Titus 1:9-16
Another example of why the church needs to read the letters to the seven in revelations. The lord did not like Jezabel being tolerated, and calling herself a prophetess. Amazing how so many ignore the plain as day warnings we were given so very long ago and it still stands firm today, his word.
Seventh-day Adventism: Satan will bear your sins. See our video "Cult Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventism: 1844 Probation & Satan As A Final Sin Bearer for Adventists" at ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html. The founding false prophetess of Seventh-day Adventism (Ellen G. White) offered the following whopper of a heresy on page 422 of her book The Great Controversy: It was seen, also, that while the sin offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest, by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, removed the sins from the sanctuary, he placed them upon the scapegoat. When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of his ministration, he will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty. The scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, never to come again into the congregation of Israel. So will Satan be forever banished from the presence of God and His people, and he will be blotted from existence in the final destruction of sin and sinners. Rank heresy! Utter blasphemy! Jesus alone had our iniquity placed upon Him (Isaiah 53:6); He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21); and it was Jesus Christ-God in the flesh-who bore our sins in his body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). The Reason for the Scapegoat The scapegoat is a type or figure of Christ’s atonement to save mankind in the Old Testament Sanctuary service. When our first parents sinned in Eden, they would have died at that very instance if Jesus had not provided a way out to save them. Gen 3:15 (NIV) And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” God speaks to Satan, telling him that there will be hatred between him and the woman and between her children and the Devil’s children. The outcome will be that Christ would crush Satan’s head, and Satan will strike at Christ’s heel. The fulfillment of this prophecy was when Satan and his children, the ungodly Pharisees and the Romans bruised Jesus’ heel by putting Jesus to death on the cross. At the end of the world Jesus will crush Satan’s head by casting him into the fires of Hell and sin and death will be no more. God commanded animal sacrifices to illustrate the consequences of sin. It was to show them that the Lamb of God would have to bear their sins and die to save them. Up until the time that Israel became a nation, the Patriarchs, built altars and sacrificed animals for the atonement from sin. After God called his people out of Egypt, he instructed Moses to build a sanctuary that he could dwell among them. Moses was to build the sanctuary after the pattern shown him on the mount. Exodus 25:40. It is important to note that this was not patterned in every detail after the one in heaven. For example, the Heavenly Sanctuary does not have animals to be slain or brass basins for the priests to wash or have animals waiting to be slaughtered or walls made from dyed animal skins. The Day of Atonement Every day animals were sacrificed for the sins of Israel. But once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) a special service was held. It was to be on the 10th day of Tishri, coming on different days of our calendar. It came in the month of September to early October. The Day of Atonement was the only day of the year that the priest entered the holy of holies to make sin offerings for himself, his family, and the "assembly of Israel." After making these offerings, the nation’s sins were symbolically laid on the scapegoat and it was led out into the wilderness and released. Before the sacrifice of the two goats, the High Priest was required to make a sin offering for himself. Lev 16:11 (NIV) ""Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his house and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering." After completing his sin offering the High Priest was to take two goats provided from the Israelite community and he is to cast lots for them. The term scapegoat or Azazel depending on the Bible translation you are using is found three times in Scripture in Leviticus 16. Lev 16:8 (NIV) "He is to cast lots for the two goats-one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat." Lev 16:9 (NIV) "Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering." Lev 16:10 (NIV) "But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat." Lev 16:20 NIV) ""When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat." Lev 16:21 (NIV) "He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites-all their sins-and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task." Lev 16:22 (NIV) "The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert." Lev 16:26 (NIV) ""The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp." The Azazel Controversy The term Azazel has created a controversy among Bible translators as to what or who is Azazel. Some Bibles do not use the term Azazel while some use scapegoat or other terms as shown. This is a sample of different Bible translations and how they translated Azazel from Leviticus 16:8: The Septuagint Bible: "one lot for the Lord and one lot for the escape." NKJV: "one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat." KJV: "one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat." The New English Bible: "one to be for the Lord and the other for the Precipice." RSV: "one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat." The Amplified Bible: "one lot for the Lord the other lot for Azazel (or removal). New American, Catholic: uses azazel. Holy Scriptures, Jewish: uses azazel. The Hebrew term for scapegoat from Strongs is: 5799. 'aza'zel, az-aw-zale'; from H5795 and H235; goat of departure; the scapegoat:-scapegoat. From the Hebrew definition of azazel, the meaning is "goat of departure." Leviticus 16:8 should then read: "one lot for the LORD and the other for the goat of departure." Because the first goat called "a lot for the Lord," the translators wanted the Hebrew word Azazel, to be a representation of someone. Therefore some translators have concluded that Azazel must represent an evil spirit or Satan. Other translators see the scapegoat being sent to a place where Azazel, or evil spirit is located in the wilderness. Keeping in mind from Leviticus 16:10, that the scapegoat is for making atonement to God because of their sins. This atonement has to be made to God. It would be a sin to make atonement to Satan. Satan cannot remove sin nor would he want to. Some translators saw that the scapegoat represented Christ. Those that thought the scapegoat represented Satan or an evil spirit did not understand that this goat was a representation of the Living Christ that has removed the sins of God’s people. They failed to see that after the shedding of blood by the first goat the second goat demonstrated the removal of sins. Both goats were representing the completed atonement. Without the shedding of blood there cannot be forgiveness of sins. (Mat 26:28 NIV) "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." From Hard Sayings of the Bible: "The Greek translators did not regard azazel as a proper name, but connected it with, ‘a z’zel a verb that does not appear in the Old Testament. The meaning they gave it was "to send away." Hence the full meaning of the Hebrew expression would be "in order to send away." The Latin translation followed this same understanding. The most adequate explanation is to view the term ‘aza’zel as being composed of two words: the first part, ‘ez, meaning "goat," and the second part, ‘azel, meaning "to go away." With recent evidence from the Ugaritic (the language of ancient Canaan from which Hebrew is derived), compound names such as this one are turning up more frequently than what we had expected based on evidence from the Hebrew alone. This is how the rendering "scapegoat" came to be... Originally, however, the King James translators meant "the goat that was led away." Hard Sayings of the Bible by Walter C. Kaiser Jr. Peter H. Davids, F.F. Bruce and Manfred T. Brauch INTER VARSITY PRESS, Downers Grove, Illinois. Some authorities do not identify Azazel with the scapegoat of the sin offering. They regard the goat being sent to Azazel, an evil spirit. McClintock and Strong says: "The goat, however, that was sent to the evil spirit…was no sacrifice, but rather a witness that the accepted sacrifice had been made." (CYC. Vol. IX, Art. Scapegoat). From this statement they do not accept the scapegoat and the evil spirit as being one and the same, nor one representing the other. From their point of view the scapegoat itself cannot be an evil spirit. The scapegoat was led out to the desert to witness to the evil spirit the accepted sacrifice had been made. God is vindicating his people through the atonement of the scapegoat. Two Goats One Atonement From Students Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: "The two goats set out the death and victory of Christ, thus furnishing a complete salvation. The one goat was for Jehovah, the other for Azazel. The goat for Jehovah was slain, and its blood sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat, thus making atonement: the goat for Azazel, that is for Satan, the Adversary, was sent out in the desert as the living one to challenge and put to silence that Accuser, and all accusers. The one is Rom. III., i.e. every sin covered; the other, Rom. VIII. every accuser silenced." Students Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. 4th edition, published in 1932, by Thynne & Co. Notice that the Students Commentary says "the goat is for Azazel that is for Satan," not the goat is Azazel. Also it purpose is to put to silence the accuser." From this interpretation the sins of God’s people are not transferred from the scapegoat to Satan so that he can be punished for them but a witness that God's people have been vindicated. The "accuser" is Satan, Rev 12:10. There was another service where two birds were required for the cleansing of a person with an infectious disease. The priest was to take two birds, and slay one of them and the other was dipped in its blood and then released. Lev. 14:1-7. There are differences in the two services. For the scapegoat was not dipped in the blood of the slain goat. However there are similarities, as one bird being slain and the other released. There is no doubt that the slain bird represented Jesus’ shed blood on Calvary, setting people free from the condemnation of sin. The bird set free represents Jesus removing the sins and setting people free from the penalty of sin which is death. The two goats make a complete atonement as well as the two birds. This is made clear: Lev 16:10 (NIV) "But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat." Questions and Answers If, as Seventh-day Adventists claim, the scapegoat is a figure of Satan then we are faced with a lot of problems. How can the high priest confess his sins and the sins of Israel over Satan? Remember the scapegoat is for atonement for Israel to God. Can God’s people make atonement with Satan? NO. Will Satan forgive them and remove their sins? NO. By placing the sins of Israel on the scapegoat does this mean that Satan is now carrying their confessed sins and will be punished for them? NO. The Scapegoat is only a picture of Christ carrying away our sins. The new covenant calls the old covenant laws a shadow of the reality of Christ which is the finished work of Christ. Col 2:13-17. The scapegoat was sent away alive bearing confessed sins. Can this represent Satan, who will be cast into the fires of Hell at the end of the world? NO. If the scapegoat was a representation of Satan, then the goat should have been burned alive as Satan will, instead of being set free. Can the scapegoat represent Christ, who bore the sins of the world to the cross? YES. The first goat represented Jesus bearing the sins of the world and covering them with his blood. The scapegoat represented Christ removing sins from his people. Did Jesus fulfill the scapegoat being let out into the wilderness? Jesus did not have to fulfill every minute detail of the sanctuary service. The scapegoat being led by a man into the wilderness was necessary to show that the sins of God’s people were separated from them and removed a long distance away from them. Jesus did not have to fulfill the type by going out into the wilderness being led by a man, as did the goat. Jesus did not fulfill having lots cast for him to be determined by God to offer himself on Calvary. The scapegoat was simply an illustration of Jesus’ plan to remove sin and restore man, so God can accept him. This is the atonement. The two goats that were chosen for a sin offering had to be without defects for the atonement to God. Lev. 4:3,23,28,32. We ask this question, could the scapegoat without defects be a representation of Satan? NO. Satan is far from being without defects. He is a liar and a murder from the beginning. Only a goat without defects could represent Christ. Is there a Bible text that indicates that Satan bears confessed sins of God’s people or will be punished for them? NO. Satan will never bear the confessed sins of God’s people neither will he be punished for them. Jesus has bore the punishment and paid the price for our sins. Satan can never bear our sins. It is God himself that removes our transgressions. God tells us through the writer of Hebrews that in the new covenant, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” Never does God tell us in his word that he will lay the sins of God's people on Satan. Heb 10:16 - 17 (NIV) “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” Only Jesus Bore and Removed Our Sins Psa 103:12 (NIV) "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." 1 Pet 2:24 (NIV) "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." Isa 53:6 NIV) "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isa 53:11 (NIV) "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied ; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities." Satan’s punishment Rev 20:10 (NIV) And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. The Devil will be destroyed because he deceived the world. Satan will be judged on the sins he committed and not for the sins the people committed whom he deceived. If somehow I convinced you to sin or deceived you into committing a sin, I would be held accountable for deceiving you. But you would be accountable for committing the sin. It is the same for Satan, when he deceived our first parents to sin in Eden. Adam and Eve were responsible for their own sin of not believing God which was a lack of faith. Not for Satan for deceiving them. Every sin a person commits they will have to give an account. The confessed sins of the repentant sinners are removed by faith in our Savior. Why Jesus is Our Scapegoat Jesus bore our sins at Calvary. Jesus died in our place the death we deserved to die. Jesus’ death on the cross fulfilled the figure of the atonement of the two goats. Our sins were atoned by the shed blood of the Lord’s goat and removed from us completely by the Living Scapegoat, Jesus. Jesus, in bearing the sins of God’s people makes our salvation a reality even though we are not worthy. Satan has no part in bearing the sins of God’s people and can never be the scapegoat. Those who believe that Satan is the scapegoat and bears the sins of the redeemed and is going to be punished for them are saying that the death of Jesus on the cross was not sufficient to save man. And that Jesus needed Satan’s help to complete the atonement to save mankind. If this were true then the redeemed would be indebted to Satan as well as to Jesus for all eternity for their salvation. Bible 1 Pet 2:24 (NIV) "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." Satan is Ellen's and the SDA's Scapegoat and Sin Bearer Mrs. E. G. White and the Seventh-day Adventist Church make it very clear that Satan is their scapegoat and sin bearer. EGW: "It was seen, also, that while the sin offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest, by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, removed the sins from the sanctuary, he placed them upon the scapegoat. When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty. The scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, never to come again into the congregation of Israel. So will Satan be forever banished from the presence of God and His people, and he will be blotted from existence in the final destruction of sin and sinners." The Great Controversy, page 422. EGW: "In like manner, when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed, then in the presence of God and heavenly angels and the hosts of the redeemed the sins of God's people will be placed upon Satan; he will be declared guilty of all the evil which he has caused them to commit." The Great Controversy, page 658." EGW: "Satan bore not only the weight and punishment of his own sins, but also of the sins of the redeemed host, which had been placed upon him." Early Writings, pp. 294, 295. What is Mrs. White’s teaching about the scapegoat? Mrs. White by saying: "the scapegoat typified Satan" it takes away the glory of Christ's ministry, by making Satan the sin bearer for God's people. Mrs. White in saying: about confessed sins, "He will place them upon Satan." This teaching makes God a liar, for God promised, (Isa 43:25 NIV) ""I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." According to Ellen, at the end of time God will remember the forgiven and forgotten sins, and then place them on Satan and he will be blotted out of existence. Mrs. White by saying, "when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed," is saying that the work of atonement was not completed on the cross and that Jesus has to complete it in the Sanctuary in heaven. Jesus said, (John 19:30 NIV) "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." As in the OT sanctuary service, the atonement was fully completed on Day of Atonement by removing the confessed sins of Israel. The atonement was full completed on Calvary. Ellen White claims the atonement is still going on. She says we are in the great Day of Atonement. She has Jesus making atonement in the Heavenly Sanctuary for 2000 years and she has Jesus ending the atonement when Satan bears the sins of God’s people and is destroyed. Keep in mind that when Christians are confessing their sins, Jesus is not making an atonement to forgive them. The atonement is what Jesus has does for man at Calvary and Satan will never be a part of it. Adventists Teach that God Rewards The Devil for His Deviltry EGW: "Also it would be for his [Satan's] own interest to keep from Jesus as many as possible. For the sins of those who are redeemed by the blood of Christ will at last be rolled back upon the originator of sin, and he must bear their punishment, while those who do not accept salvation through Jesus, will suffer the penalty of their own sins." Early Writings, p. 178. "It would have been far better for him [Satan] if he had never led men into sin. But having entered upon this work, we see that he has a personal motive of the most powerful kind to induce him to hold persons in sin to the last; for then they receive the punishment for their own salvation through Christ, adds an additional weight to his accumulating load of woe." Looking Unto Jesus, p. 271, by Uriah Smith. "This puts God in the position of paying a premium on deviltry. If the devil is diligent and keeps on the job so that few are saved he doesn't receive so much punishment as he will if he "lays down on the job" and allows people to become Christians. This is offering the devil a reward for successful deviltry." Examining Seventh-day Adventism, E. S. Ballenger. See our playlist, "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 20 videos & counting at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See also the website www.TruthorFables.com. Seventh-day Adventists do not seem to understand that true Christians do not need the teachings of their so-called "prophetess" Ellen G. White (born November 26, 1827) or her spiritual mentor William Miller (born February 15, 1782) who said, "My principles in brief, are, that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession of the same, with all the saints, sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844." Even though another Millerite follower named Samuel S. Snow predicted the return of Christ on October 22, 1844 which Ellen White also believed, all of these prophecies proved to be false making all of these people false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:20-22, "But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."). Ellen G. White & the rest of them also violated Jesus' words in Matthew 24:36, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." True Christians throughout the centuries before Ellen G. White have followed Jesus Christ faithfully through His Word (2 Timothy 3:15-17) thus invalidating the need for this woman completely. Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." See our videos "Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong" at ua-cam.com/video/c37bNhYzdbE/v-deo.html & "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html. Titus 1:9-16
Why have the Seventh-Day Adventists changed the Sabbath from the lunar calendar to the Gregorian calendar? Are not all the feast days & Sabbaths of the Bible based on the phases of the moon? Is the SDA celebration of the weekly Sabbath the true Sabbath of God? Where does the New Testament record show that the Church met to worship on the Sabbath & what does it say they should do? Where does the New Testament command Sabbath keeping in the New Testament? SDA salvation depends on law keeping.
Seventh-day Adventism was invented about the same time as Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians & others. See our video "RISE OF THE CULTS: WHERE DID ALL THESE STRANGE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SECTS COME FROM?" at ua-cam.com/video/HfVTXbFrvh8/v-deo.html. See our latest video on the Jehovah's Witnesses called "Who's Knocking? #2: Jehovah's Witnesses Hidden History, Spiritism, Racism, Doctrines of Demons" at ua-cam.com/video/b9LFhzOb-_g/v-deo.html. Although this video is from a lecture I gave to one of my apologetic classes back in the 1990s on the subject of Jehovah's Witnesses my video man & myself spent weeks in editing this particular video (we usually edit once a week for 4 to 5 hours). I decided to put the time & effort into placing primary Jehovah's Witness source material into this video which then made it into a very tedious project. Since I own many Jehovah's Witness books that are over 100 years old & are little known I thought it would be useful for viewers to see with their own eyes this material. With knowledge of these original Watchtower publications true Christians can then use this information as an effective tool in witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses who have been deceived by this false prophet organization (I even included some of the court documents from Watchtower founder Charles Taze Russell's divorce case with his wife Maria over his affair with an underage female). Over the past 33 years I have been able, by God's grace, to lead many people & families out of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. This has been done not so much by arguing Bible verses with them (playing "Bible ping pong") but by knowing their history (which they cannot change). Once you can crack their faith in the Watchtower with their own history then they are much more open to discussing what the Bible actually says rather than what the Watchtower tells them the Bible says. Be prepared to meet the Jehovah's Witnesses who come knocking at your door. 1 Peter 3:15, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"
Mplanelover You are a Mormon based on other comments you have made. When it comes to Mormonism see our playlist "Dealing with Mormonism, the Religion of Mitt Romney & Utah" with 20 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL11CD0EE613306BB5.html. Particularly notice our video "RISE OF THE CULTS: WHERE DID ALL THESE STRANGE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SECTS COME FROM?" at ua-cam.com/video/HfVTXbFrvh8/v-deo.html. Question: "What is Mormonism? What do Mormons believe?" Answer: The Mormon religion (Mormonism), whose followers are known as Mormons and Latter-day Saints (LDS), was founded less than two hundred years ago by a man named Joseph Smith. He claimed to have received a personal visit from God the Father and Jesus Christ (Articles of Faith, p. 35) who told him that all churches and their creeds were an abomination (1 Nephi 13:28; Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith - History 1:18, 19). Joseph Smith then set out to "restore true Christianity" and claimed his church to be the “only true church on earth” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 670; 1 Nephi 14:10). The problem with Mormonism is that it contradicts, modifies, and expands on the Bible. Christians do not have a reason to believe that the Bible is untrue or inadequate. To truly believe in and trust God means to believe in His Word, and all Scripture is inspired by God, which means it comes from Him (2 Timothy 3:16). Mormons believe that there are in fact four sources of divinely inspired words, not just one: 1) the Bible “as far as it is translated correctly” (8th Article of Faith). Which verses are considered incorrectly translated is not always made clear. 2) The Book of Mormon, which was “translated” by Smith and published in 1830. Smith claimed it is the “most correct book” on earth and that a person can get closer to God by following its precepts “than by any other book” (History of the Church 4:461). 3) Doctrine and Covenants, containing a collection of modern revelations regarding the “Church of Jesus Christ as it has been restored.” 4) The Pearl of the Great Price, which is considered by Mormons to “clarify” doctrines and teachings that were lost from the Bible (Articles of Faith, p. 182-185) and adds its own information about the earth’s creation. Mormons believe the following about God: He has not always been the Supreme Being of the universe (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321) but attained that status through righteous living and persistent effort (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345). They believe God the Father has a “body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). Brigham Young taught that Adam actually was God and the father of Jesus Christ-although this teaching has been abandoned by modern Mormon leaders. In contrast, Christians know this about God: there is only one true God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6-8). He always has existed and always will exist (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17). He was not created but is the Creator (Genesis 1; Psalm 24:1; Isaiah 37:16). He is perfect, and no one else is equal to Him (Psalm 86:8; Isaiah 40:25). God the Father is not a man, nor was He ever (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Hosea 11:9). He is Spirit (John 4:24), and Spirit is not made of flesh and bone (Luke 24:39). Mormons believe that there are different levels or kingdoms in the afterlife: the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, the telestial kingdom, and outer darkness (Mormon Doctrine, p. 348). Where mankind will end up depends on what they believe and do in this life (2 Nephi 25:23; Articles of Faith, p.79). In contrast, the Bible tells us that after death we go to heaven or hell based on whether or not we had faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. To be absent from our bodies means, as believers, we are with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Unbelievers are sent to hell or the place of the dead (Luke 16:22-23). When Jesus comes the second time, we will receive new bodies (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). There will be a new heaven and new earth for believers (Revelation 21:1), and unbelievers will be thrown into an everlasting lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). There is no second chance for redemption after death (Hebrews 9:27). Mormon leaders have taught that Jesus’ incarnation was the result of a physical relationship between God the Father and Mary (Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 115; Mormon Doctrine, p. 547). Mormons believe Jesus is a god, but that any human can also become a god (Doctrine and Covenants 132:20; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345-354). Mormonism teaches that salvation can be earned by a combination of faith and good works (LDS Bible Dictionary, p. 697). Contrary to this, Christians historically have taught that no one can achieve the status of God-only He is holy (1 Samuel 2:2). We can only be made holy in God's sight through faith in Him (1 Corinthians 1:2). Jesus is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16), is the only one ever to have lived a sinless life, and now has the highest place of honor in heaven (Hebrews 7:26). Jesus and God are one in essence, Jesus being the only man who existed before physical birth (John 1:1-8; 8:56). Jesus gave Himself to us as a sacrifice, God raised Him from the dead, and one day everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:6-11). Jesus tells us it is impossible to get to heaven by our own works and that only by faith in Him is it possible (Matthew 19:26). We all deserve eternal punishment for our sins, but God's infinite love and grace have allowed us a way out. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Clearly, there is only one way to receive salvation and that is to know God and His Son, Jesus (John 17:3). Receiving salvation is not done by works but by faith (Romans 1:17; 3:28). We can receive this gift no matter who we are or what we have done (Romans 3:22). “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Although Mormons are usually friendly, loving, and kind people, they are deceived by a false religion that distorts the nature of God, the Person of Jesus Christ, and the means of salvation. (Editor’s note: many of the references in our articles on Mormonism are Mormon publications, such as Mormon Doctrine, Articles of Faith, Doctrines of Salvation, History of the Church, Doctrine and Covenants, and so forth. Others are from the Book of Mormon itself, e.g., books such as 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, and Alma.) Question: "Are Mormons Christians? Are Mormons saved?" Answer: Although Mormons profess to be Christians and say they believe the Word of God, there are many of their beliefs that contradict Christianity. In fact, Mormonism can be referred to as a cult, which can be defined as “a religious group that denies one or more of the fundamentals of biblical truth.” Mormons say they are Christians, but because they reject foundational truths from the God’s Word, they are not. Joseph Smith, who referred to himself as “The Prophet,” founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the mid-1800s. He claimed to have seen a vision of God the Father and God the Son, in which they denounced modern Christianity and appointed Smith to reveal and restore “true” Christianity (Articles of Faith, p. 182-185). Three years later, Smith alleged that the angel Moroni told him about some golden plates on which the Book of Mormon was written. In spite of Smith’s questionable background and proclivity toward bending the truth (see The Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, New York, 1861; and Mormonism Unveiled, Painesville, Ohio, 1834), many believed Smith, and a new “religion” was born. Today, the members of the Mormon Church number in the millions. The Book of Mormon is purported to be a new revelation, one that Mormons say is part of the new covenant to Israel and “another witness” to the truth of the Bible (History of the Church 4:461, 8th Article of Faith). Aside from the many theological conflicts with the Bible and historical and archeological fact, the writing of the Book of Mormon was shrouded in mystery and false claims. For example, Joseph Smith and his associates asserted that one Professor Charles Anthony of Columbia University verified the Egyptian characters on the golden plates. However, this same professor wrote a rebuttal letter soon after, saying that he never did any such thing and had, in fact, found the characters to be a hoax. In addition, many verses in the Mormon scriptures have been changed over the years, as the church leaders attempt to cover up something embarrassing in their past and to defend themselves against criticism. These facts alone are enough to cast much doubt on the veracity of the Book of Mormon. One of the many areas in which Mormons fall short of saving faith is their belief that God is merely an exalted man who earned his position by good works (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345). This directly contradicts the Bible, which states that God has existed in His position as God of the universe from eternity past (Revelation 1:8; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15-16; Psalm 102:24-27). God was never a man (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Hosea 11:9) and is the holy and powerful Creator of all things (Genesis 1; Psalm 24:1; Isaiah 37:16). Mormons also believe that they themselves can attain the status of gods in the afterlife through their works here on earth (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345-354). However, no man can ever become like God (1 Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6; 45:21-22), despite what the serpent told Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:5). Mormons also believe that Jesus was a god, but not God Himself (Mormon Doctrine, p. 547; Articles of Faith, p. 35; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 372). It is essential to Christian faith that Jesus is one with God and that He is God’s only begotten Son who became flesh (John 1:1, 14; John 3:16). Only Jesus’ oneness with God would have allowed Him to live a sinless, blameless life (Hebrews 7:26). And only Jesus Christ was able to pay the price for our sins by His death on the cross (Romans 4:25; Acts 4:12). Those who follow the Mormon faith also believe that they can attain heaven through works (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-43; 2 Nephi 9:23-24; Alma 34:30-35; Articles of Faith, p.92). While they claim faith in Christ, they also rely on following the commandments of the Mormon Church (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p 188; Mormon Doctrine, p. 670) and practicing good works (2 Nephi 25:23; Alma 11:37) in order to achieve salvation. The Bible is very clear on this point, stating that good works can never earn the way to heaven (Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) and that faith in Jesus Christ alone is the only way to salvation (John 10:9; 11:25; 14:6; Acts 4:12). Salvation by grace is incompatible with salvation by human works (Romans 11:6). Sadly, many in the Mormon Church are unaware of the religion’s shady past, amended scriptures, and even the full doctrine of their church. Many Mormons who have discovered these things have left the church and come to a true saving faith in Jesus Christ. As Christians, we must treat Mormons with love and understand that they are among those deceived by Satan himself (1 Peter 5:8). Satan’s goal is to distort the truth, produce false assurance of salvation, and extend a deceptive hope of godhood (2 Corinthians 4:4). Question: "How should Christians view the Book of Mormon?" Answer: When Mormon missionaries (properly called Latter Day Saints or simply "LDS") come to your door, they will often offer a free copy of the Book of Mormon and tell you about its author, Joseph Smith. Smith, they will say, translated the Book of Mormon from golden plates he dug up in a hill in New York in the early 1800s. This is supposed to confirm his calling from God as the new prophet on the earth in these latter days. Further, they will tell you that the Holy Ghost will confirm the truth of the Book of Mormon by producing good feelings in you. Next will come the invitation to "read the Book of Mormon, pray, and ask God to show you it is true." Of course you must do this with sincerity, or it won't work. Before you fall to your knees, there are some things you need to know that they are not telling you (and won't unless you ask). The first concerns many LDS beliefs that separate them from historical, orthodox Christianity. These are not found in the Book of Mormon. In fact, there is really very little in that book that is doctrinally disagreeable to orthodox Christians. The real meat of Mormonism is found in their other scriptures, The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. These books, however, Mormons do not hand out at the door-and for good reason. If people knew up front what they were really going to be asked to believe (things such as God once being a man, denial of the Trinity, Satan being Jesus' brother, pre-existence of souls, etc.), they may not be quite so willing to put aside their skepticism. The second thing to realize is that in accepting the Book of Mormon, one is, in fact, accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet. So what about this test of a prophet? Isn't it legitimate to "give this question up to God?" No, it isn't. This is because God has already revealed His test for would-be prophets, and it has nothing to do with prayer or feelings, and God has no obligation to answer prayers that He has already answered! We do not have to ask God whether or not we should rob a bank or murder someone. Rather, James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God . . . and it will be given to him." Wisdom is applied knowledge, not lack of it. God never tells us to pray about what is true. When we want to know how tall a wall is, we don't pray about it; we get something that we know is true (a ruler) and compare it to the wall. The Bible, God's Word, is true. That is our measuring stick for truth. See Acts 17:11, for example, which describes a group of people who were considered noble because when Paul came to them with the Christian message they "received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so." Feelings are unreliable because they are subjective, easy to produce, and are not meant to discover facts but to tell us how we feel about facts. Psychological persuasion techniques, intensity, eye contact, or mere desire can produce feelings that feel real because they are real! But real feelings are still just letting us know how we are reacting to something, not the truthfulness of that thing. The Mormon missionary handbook specifically details these techniques, and missionaries go through training on how to persuade people before they ever leave the house. What are the biblical tests for a prophet? They are in God's Word: Deuteronomy 18:21-22 says, "You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." Did Joseph Smith ever claim "in the name of the LORD" that something would happen when it did not? Yes-many times, in fact. Joseph Smith prophesied that New York would be destroyed if they rejected the [Mormon] gospel (D&C 84:114-115). He also prophesied that the rebellion of South Carolina and the War Between the States would result in war being poured out upon all nations; slaves would revolt; the inhabitants of the earth would mourn; famine, plague, earthquake, thunder, lightning, and a full end of all nations would result (D&C 87). Oddly, this prophecy is the one most often cited by Mormons to prove Joseph Smith's prophetic power! Further, Deuteronomy 13:1-3 says that "if a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (gods you have not known) ‘and let us worship them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul." Did Joseph Smith lead his followers to other gods? Yes. Joseph Smith was a polytheist. History of the Church 6:474 records Smith stating, "I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods." Joseph Smith declared that "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 345). This is clearly not the biblical God. Galatians 1:6-7 says that people may be "turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all . . . trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." And Paul pronounced a curse upon them for doing so. In Romans 1:16 Paul tells us that the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation"-that's pretty important. Did Joseph Smith teach a "different gospel"? Yes. Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon contains the "fullness of the gospel." The Book of Mormon says so itself in its introduction (see also Doctrines and Covenants 20:9; 27:5; 42:12; and 135:3). So what is the gospel according to Mormonism? It's a tough question for many LDS to answer. According to Mormon apostle Bruce McConkie, author of the book Mormon Doctrine, the gospel is "the plan of salvation [that] embraces all of the laws, principles, doctrines, rites, ordinances, acts, powers, authorities, and keys necessary to save and exalt men." In other words, the whole of Mormon theology. In the Mormon gospel we see belief + repentance + baptism + laying on of hands + temple work + mission work + church ministry + tithing + ceasing from sin + abstaining from the use of intoxicants and strong drinks and tobacco and caffeine + confessing Joseph Smith as Prophet + temple marriage + baptism for the dead + genealogy research . . . the list could go on and on and on. Only upon completion of all these things may Mormons attain to the third and highest level of heaven, thus achieving the ultimate goal of the Mormon gospel-godhood. (see McConkie, Mormon Doctrine 116-117; Book of Mormon [3 Nephi 27:13-21]; Doctrines of Salvation 1:268; 18:213; The 4th Article of Faith; Smith, Gospel Doctrine pg. 107; Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 3:93; 3:247; 9:312; Gospel Principles 290; Doctrine and Covenants 39:5-6; 132:19-20). In essence, Christ's death means nothing more to a Mormon than the gaining of the ability to be resurrected so that his works may be judged. While we cannot judge another person's motives, we can and must judge what a person does or says. Joseph Smith, and hence the Book of Mormon, fails the twin tests of Deuteronomy 13 and 18. God takes false prophets very seriously. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 says, "That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God...; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you." Deuteronomy 18:19-21 says, "If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death..." And Galatians 1:8-9 says, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!" The gospel is God's power to bring us to Him. He will not stand for those who pervert it. He has given us the ability and the responsibility to discern whether or not the gospel is being tampered with. We must carefully investigate the claims of the LDS if we are to follow what God has commanded. In fact, we are invited to judge by Mormons themselves: "Convince us of our errors of doctrine, if we have any" (LDS Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, p.15). (Editor’s note: many of the references in our articles on Mormonism are Mormon publications, such as Mormon Doctrine, Articles of Faith, Doctrines of Salvation, History of the Church, Doctrine and Covenants, and so forth. Others are from the Book of Mormon itself, e.g., books such as 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, and Alma.) The reason Mormonism is not Christian is that it denies one or more of the essential doctrines of Christianity. Here is a basic list of what true Christianity teaches as essential doctrine according to the Bible.There is only one God in all existence (Exodus 20:1-4, Isaiah 43:10, 44:6, 8, 45:5). Jesus is divine (John 1:1, 14, 8:24, Col. 2:9).Forgiveness of sins is by grace alone without works (Eph. 2:8-9, Rom. 3:28, 4:1-5).Jesus rose from the dead physically (John 2:19-21, Luke 24:39).The Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4).Mormonism denies that there is only one God in all existence and also denies the forgiveness of sins alone in Christ alone. Therefore, it is outside Christianity. It is not a Christian religion.Mormonism teaches . . .Mormonism teaches that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones (D. & C. 130:22) and that Jesus is a creation who was begotten in heaven as one of God’s spirit children (See the book, Jesus the Christ, by James Talmage, p. 8). This is in strict contrast to the Biblical teaching that He is God in flesh (John 1:1, 14), eternal (John 1:1, 2, 15), uncreated, yet born on earth (Col. 1:15), and the creator of all (John 1:3, Col. 1:16-17). Jesus cannot be both created and not created at the same time. Though Mormonism teaches that Jesus is God in flesh, it teaches that He is "a" god in flesh, one of three gods that comprise the office of the Trinity (Articles of Faith, by Talmage, pp. 35-40). These three gods are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This is in direct contradiction of the Biblical doctrine that there is only one God (Isaiah 43:10, 44:6, 8, 45:5). See Trinity for a correct discussion of what the Trinity is (See also, false trinity).Because Mormonism denies the Biblical truth of who God is, who Jesus is, how forgiveness of sins is attained, and what the Gospel is, Mormonism is not Christian.What else does Mormonism teach?Mormon theology teaches that God is only one of countless gods, He used to be a man on another planet, He became a god by following the laws and ordinances of that god on that world, and He brought one of His wives to this world with whom He produces spirit children who then inhabit human bodies at birth. The first spirit child to be born was Jesus. Second (though this is disputed among Mormons) was Satan, and then we all followed. But, the Bible says that there is only one God (Isaiah 43:10, 44:6, 8, 45:5) and that God has been God eternally (Psalm 90:2)--which means He was never a man on another planet. Since the Bible denies the existence of other gods (and goddesses--there is a mother goddess in Mormonism), the idea that Jesus is the product of a god and goddess couple is rejected. The Bible tells us that Jesus--The Jesus of Mormonism--is definitely not the same Jesus of the Bible. Therefore, faith in the Mormon Jesus is faith misplaced because the Mormon Jesus doesn't exist.Mormonism says Jesus' Sacrifice is not enoughMormonism teaches that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross itself (and receiving it by faith) is not sufficient to bring forgiveness of sins. It teaches that the forgiveness of sins is obtained though a cooperative effort with God, that is, we must be good and follow the laws and ordinances of the Mormon church in order to obtain forgiveness. Consider the late James Talmage, an LDS apostle who said, "The sectarian dogma of justification by faith alone has exercised an influence for evil," (Articles of Faith, p. 432), and "Hence the justice of the scriptural doctrine that salvation comes to the individual only through obedience," (Articles of Faith, p. 81). This clearly contradicts the Biblical doctrine of the forgiveness of sins by grace through faith (Rom. 3:28, 5:1, 6:23, Eph. 2:8-9) and the doctrine that works are not part of becoming saved (Rom. 4:1-5) but a result of them (James 2:14-18).To further confuse the matter, Mormonism states that salvation is twofold. It maintains that salvation is both forgiveness of sins and universal resurrection. So when a Mormon speaks of salvation by grace, he is usually referring to universal resurrection. But the Bible speaks of salvation as the forgiveness of sins--not universal resurrection. Where Mormonism states that forgiveness of sins is not by faith alone (2 Nephi 25:23, Moroni 10:32), the Bible does teach it is by faith alone (Rom. 3:28, 4:1-5). Both cannot be true.Mormonism and the BibleIn order to justify its aberrant theology, Mormonism has undermined the authority and trustworthiness of the Bible. The 8th Article of Faith from the Mormon Church states, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly." This means that when the Bible contradicts Mormonism, the Bible isn't trustworthy. This allows them to say and teach whatever they want even when it contradicts Scripture.ConclusionMormonism is not Christian because it denies that there is only one God, denies the true Gospel, adds works to salvation, denies that Jesus is the uncreated creator, distorts the Biblical teaching of the atonement, undermines the authority and reliability of the Bible, says that God used to be a man who came from another planet and we can become gods, and there is a goddess mother in heaven, etc.CARM does not deny that Mormons are decent helpful people and that they do many good things. But that isn't what makes someone Christian--nor does putting "Jesus Christ" in your title make you Christian if you deny who Jesus really is. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (NKJV)Notice that Jesus condemns those who combine their faith with their works in order to be saved. If you doubt that, see also Luke 18:9-14 where Jesus teaches the same thing again.Becoming a Christian does not mean belonging to a church, doing good things, or simply believing in a god from another planet. Being a Christian means that you have trusted in the true God for salvation, received the True Jesus--not the brother of the devil, not the god of Mormonism, not the gospel of Mormonism. Becoming a Christian means believing the Gospel of Christ, who is God in flesh, 2nd person of the Trinity, who was sent by the Father, bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24), died, was buried and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4). You must trust Jesus. Believe what He did. Put your faith in Him.Mormonism is false and cannot save anyone.Titus 1:9-16
Walter Veith is a brilliant investigator and expositor of symbols and such. I was stunned to learn he's SDA. Walter Martin in "Kingdom of the Cults" never actually came out and said SDA was a cult in the book. As a former RC, I figured it out. Any time somebody adds works or prophets/prophetesses to the gospel of grace, you got a cult. It's painful and difficult to get out. Let's be compassionate. "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" might be the toughest instruction in the Bible.
All of the teachings and doctrines of the SDA church are all Truths from the Bible.I look at this and see the devil attacking God's word and His church,but,he can never prevail against God's church.All those who seek God's word diligently for the love of the Truth will find Truth.And the truth shall be a lamp unto their feet and a light unto their path,and walk in the light as Jesus himself walked.
The key to understanding the relationship between the Christian and the Law is knowing that the Old Testament law was given to the nation of Israel, not to Christians. Some of the laws were to reveal to the Israelites how to obey and please God (the Ten Commandments, for example). Some of the laws were to show the Israelites how to worship God and atone for sin (the sacrificial system). Some of the laws were intended to make the Israelites distinct from other nations (the food and clothing rules). None of the Old Testament law is binding on Christians today. When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15). In place of the Old Testament law, Christians are under the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), which is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and to love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). If we obey those two commands, we will be fulfilling all that Christ requires of us: “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:40). Now, this does not mean the Old Testament law is irrelevant today. Many of the commands in the Old Testament law fall into the categories of “loving God” and “loving your neighbor.” The Old Testament law can be a good guidepost for knowing how to love God and knowing what goes into loving your neighbor. At the same time, to say that the Old Testament law applies to Christians today is incorrect. The Old Testament law is a unit (James 2:10). Either all of it applies, or none of it applies. If Christ fulfilled some of it, such as the sacrificial system, He fulfilled all of it. “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). The Ten Commandments were essentially a summary of the entire Old Testament law. Nine of the Ten Commandments are clearly repeated in the New Testament (all except the command to observe the Sabbath day). Obviously, if we are loving God, we will not be worshipping false gods or bowing down before idols. If we are loving our neighbors, we will not be murdering them, lying to them, committing adultery against them, or coveting what belongs to them. The purpose of the Old Testament law is to convict people of our inability to keep the law and point us to our need for Jesus Christ as Savior (Romans 7:7-9; Galatians 3:24). The Old Testament law was never intended by God to be the universal law for all people for all of time. We are to love God and love our neighbors. If we obey those two commands faithfully, we will be upholding all that God requires of us. Recommended Resources: The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology by Jason Meyer & see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html.
To Andrew Ndlovu - Seventh Day Adventism qualifies as a non Christian anti Christ cult due to the following reasons: 1. It is built on the woman Ellen G. White & her teachings despite the Bible saying women are not permitted to teach or usurp authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") See links at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html). 2. Ellen White claimed to be equal with the Biblical prophets & apostles through her many writings (sort of a "Spirit of Prophecy") & her SDA followers believed her (2 Peter 3:16); see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Writings_Infallible.htm. Question: Are there modern day prophets or is there a need for prophets today? Answer: In the New Testament, the gift of the office of prophet was a temporary one granted by God for the purpose of building His Church. Contrary to the apostles, who had broad ministries, these men had localized ministries within local churches, as we see illustrated in such places as Acts 11:21-28 and Acts 13:1.Scripture shows us that the prophets of the New Testament had two primary purposes:They were gifted men given to the Church and appointed by God (Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor. 12:28) for the purpose of helping to lay the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20). They, like the apostles, received God’s revelation (Eph. 3:5) and truth and proclaimed it to their churches. It is important to remember that the early Church did not have a completed Bible, so God granted this revelation for the purpose of teaching His message to the Church. The New Testament prophets also spoke forth and taught the apostles’ doctrine. Everything taught by these prophets had to be consistent with the teaching of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:36-37). So, are prophets still needed today? Looking at the two functions listed above, we can see that the office of prophet is one that is no longer necessary and has ceased within the Church because:The foundation of the Church was laid long ago. God’s revealed Word was completed with the close of the New Testament canon. The Church’s foundation does not need to be laid again and there is no need for further revelation beyond what God has provided for us in His complete Word, the Bible. Today we are blessed to have Scripture as our complete and final authority in all things (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If someone now claims to have received a “special revelation,” we must test it against Scripture. If it is contrary to the Word of God, then it must be rejected. If it is consistent with Scripture, then we have to ask why an “extra” word was necessary if its truth is already contained in the Bible. So while we always need men who are willing to proclaim boldly the Word of God as contained in Scripture (as pastors, teachers, and evangelists), there is no need for the office of “prophet” as it existed in the New Testament. 3. Ellen G. White is a false prophet due to her false & failed prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:19-22); see www.mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/egw_false_prophet.html, 1timothy4-13.com/files/bible/sda_morefailed.html & www.bible.ca/7-prophecy-blunders.htm. 4. Ellen G. White had delusional dreams & visions much like phony Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers do today; see www.truthorfables.com/Visons_of_%20EGW_by_Snook_&_Brinkerhoff.htm & ua-cam.com/video/Kbv7YsyMf0I/v-deo.html. 5. Seventh Day Adventism has a damnable false gospel (Galatians 1:6-10) for several reasons: a) Satan is the final sin bearer for Seventh Day Adventists; see www.truthorfables.com/Scapegoat.htm & www.truthorfables.net/50-contradictions-satan-bears-sins.htm, b) They say Jesus had a sinful nature just like fallen man otherwise He can't be a Savior; see kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/09/seventh-day-adventisms-anti.html & jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Seventh-Day%20Adventist/sda_exposed.htm, c) Ellen G. White taught the cult doctrine of the 1844 investigative judgment of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary for the purpose of allowing Seventh Day Adventists final access to heaven while all others would be destroyed; see www.truthorfables.com/investigative_judgment_made_simple.htm, www.truthorfables.com/white_elephant.htm, www.truthorfables.com/My_Testimony.htm, www.truthorfables.com/SDA_Cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html, d) Seventh Day Adventism denies the New Testament Christian gospel by saying Old Testament "Saturday" Sabbath keeping is essential for salvation; see www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_Not_A_Law.htm, www.truthorfables.net/who-changed-the-sabbath-a.htm, www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_is_Friday.htm & ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, e) Although SDAs say they believe in salvation by grace they redefine the meaning of grace in order to incorporate into their religious system a salvation by law keeping to achieve final works righteousness; mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/sda_law.html, searchingthescriptures.net/main_pages/answering_cults/seventh_day_adventism/sda_a_cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. If the apostle Paul cursed the Galatian Judaizers to hell for adding only one stipulation to the gospel which was circumcision then how much more would he curse the SDAs for all their added terms & conditions to the simple gospel of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." Cross reference this to Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."). 6. Seven Day Adventists teach the false doctrine of soul sleep; see carm.org/soul-sleep, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12151314134510, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=85122122530 & www.casagrandebaptistchurch.com/SoulSleep.html. 7. SDAs teach the false doctrine of the annihilation out of existence of the wicked including Satan & his demons rather than an eternal conscious punishment in a never ending lake of fire; carm.org/clear-word-bible-annihilationism, "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where at the same time this refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=91713193277, www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=Annihilationism, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94081054442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9110884114, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338, ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html & see our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. 8. SDAs support alternate Bible translations that pervert the written word of God thus placing themselves under the curse of Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." See exadventist.com/Home/Articles/clearwordbible/tabid/450/Default.aspx, www.truthorfables.com/SDAs_Destroyers_of_the_Bible.htm & ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html. For more information on Seventh Day Adventism see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html, see also "Cult of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=61210437590 & "Damnable Heresies of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6201014412510. See the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, www.RethinkingAdventism.com, www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
If you're such a "know it all" about the 10 commandments why don't you tell us about the 4th commandment & why you must keep the Sabbath (is it because if you don't you'll lose your salvation?). And by the way, please answer these questions & help educate us all: 1. Why does the New Testament make it clear that the observance of a particular day was not imposed as a binding obligation on the Church (Romans 14:5-6)? 2. Why was freedom given to the Church in regard to special days (Col 3:16-17)?
The theory that the apostle Paul was a false prophet and not a true follower of Christ is usually put forth by those of the Hebrew roots movement persuasion, among others. They believe Christians should submit to the Old Testament Law, but Paul clearly disagrees with them, proclaiming that Christians are no longer under the Mosaic Law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15), but the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), which is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and to love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Rather than submitting to God’s Word, the Hebrew roots movement simply dismisses Paul altogether and claims that Paul was a false apostle and that his writings should not be in the Bible. But Paul’s apostolic authority has been well documented in Scripture, beginning with his dramatic Damascus Road experience which changed him from a Christ-hating persecutor of Christians to the foremost spokesman for the faith. His astonishing change of heart is one of the clearest indications of his anointing by the Lord Jesus Himself. Tom Tarrants, once labeled “the most dangerous man in Mississippi,” was one of the top men on the FBI’s most wanted list. Tarrants was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and despised African-Americans and Jews, a people he fully believed were God’s enemies and involved in a communist plot against America. Tarrants was responsible for bombing some 30 synagogues, churches and homes. He was so dangerous that the FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, sent a special team of FBI agents that were used to infiltrate the Russian KGB down into the American South to locate and apprehend Tarrants. They were successful and took Tarrants into custody after a violent shootout. Tarrants received a 30-year sentence in the Mississippi State Penitentiary. While in prison, Tarrants one day asked for a Bible and began reading it. He got as far as Matthew 16 and was confronted with Jesus’ words: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” He couldn’t escape the impact of Christ’s statement and got down on his knees in his cell and asked God to deliver him from his sinful life. Word of Tarrant’s conversion soon began to spread throughout the prison and ultimately made it all the way back to Hoover, who strongly doubted the story. How could such a true change in such a hardened, evil person be validated? About 2,000 years ago, another man had nearly the identical problem. When the apostle Paul first came to Jerusalem after his conversion to Christianity, he tried to associate with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and didn’t believe he was a true convert (Acts 9:26) because of his past persecution of Christians. Today, some people feel the same way about Paul. Occasionally, a charge is made that Paul was a Pharisee who tried to corrupt the teachings of Christ and that his writings should have no place in the Bible. This accusation can be put to rest by examining his conversion experience and his adherence to Christ and His teachings. Paul’s Persecution of Christianity Paul first appears in Scripture as a witness to the martyrdom of Stephen: “When they had driven him [Stephen] out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul" (Acts 7:58). “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death” (Acts 8:1). The words “hearty agreement” indicate active approval, not just passive consent. Why would Paul agree with the murder of Stephen? Paul the Pharisee would have immediately recognized the statement Stephen made right before his death: “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Stephen’s words repeat the claim Christ made at His trial before the high priest (Mark 14:62). Just as Jesus’ claim resulted in Him being accused of blasphemy, so also these words would bring a murderous response from Saul the Pharisee toward Stephen. In addition, the term “Son of Man” is filled with significance. It is the last time the term is used in the New Testament and it is the only time in the Gospels and Acts when it is not spoken by Jesus. It shows that Jesus is the Messiah, and it speaks of Christ’s position in the end times as the coming King. It also combines two great Messianic passages: Daniel 7:13-14 and Psalm 110:1. Daniel 7:13-14 emphasizes the universal aspect of Jesus’ rule; that He is not simply a Jewish ruler, but also the Savior of the world. Psalm 110:1 presents the Messiah as being at God’s right hand. Besides stressing power and position, it also shows acceptance. All these things would have infuriated Saul the Pharisee, who at the time did not possess the true knowledge of Christ. But it would not be long before Saul the Pharisee would become Paul the evangelist for Christ. The Conversion of Paul In the three versions of Paul’s conversion (Acts 9:1-9, 22:6-11, 26:9-20), there are repeated elements which appear to be central to his mission and commissioning. First, it marked his conversion to Christianity; second, it constituted his call to be a prophet; and third, it served as his commission to be an apostle. These three points may be broken down into the following, more intimate considerations: (1) Paul was specifically chosen, set aside, and prepared by the Lord for the work that he would do; (2) Paul was sent as a witness to not just the Jews, but the Gentiles as well; (3) Paul’s evangelistic mission would encounter rejection and require suffering; (4) Paul would bring light to people who were born into and currently lived in darkness; (5) Paul would preach repentance was required prior to a person’s acceptance into the Christian faith; (6) Paul’s witness would be grounded in space-time history and be based on his Damascus Road experience-what he had personally seen and heard in a real location that would be known to all who lived in Damascus. Before Gamaliel’s pupil came to a proper assessment of the ministry entrusted to him by God and the death of Jesus, a revolution had to take place in his life and thought. Paul would later say that he was “apprehended” by Jesus (Philippians 3:12) on the road to Damascus, a term that means to make something one’s own or gain control of someone through pursuit. In Acts 9, we clearly see miracles on display in Paul’s conversion, the point of which were to make clear that God is in control and directing all the events, so that Paul will undertake certain tasks God has in mind, something the former Saul would never have had any intention of doing. Although there are many observations that can be made about Paul’s Damascus Road conversion, there are two key items of interest. First is the fact that Paul’s life would become centered on Christ after his experience. After his encounter with Jesus, Paul’s understanding of the Messiah had been revolutionized, and it was not long before he is proclaiming, “He [Jesus] is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20). Second, we note that in Paul’s conversion there are no positive antecedents or precursory events that led him from being a zealous opponent to a fervent proponent of Christ. One minute Paul had been an enemy of Jesus, and the next he had become a captive to the Christ he had once persecuted. Paul says, “By the grace of God, I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10), indicating he was transformed by God, became truly spiritual, and he was one whom Christ possessed and was now a Christ-bearer himself. After the Damascus experience, Paul first went to Arabia, but whether he actually began his missionary work there is unknown. What is more likely is that he earnestly desired a time of quiet recollection. Then after a short stay in Jerusalem, he worked as a missionary in Syria and Cilicia (that is for the most part in Antioch on the Orontes and in his native city of Tarsus) and after that in company with Barnabas in Cyprus, in Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia. The Love of Paul Paul, the former cold aggressor and legalist, had now become a person who could write of the key attribute that witnessed above everything else in 1 Corinthians 13 - love for God and those around him. The one who was supremely educated in knowledge had come to the point of saying that knowledge devoid of love only makes one arrogant, but love edifies (1 Corinthians 8:1). The book of Acts and Paul’s letters testify to a tenderness that had come over the apostle for both the unbelieving world and those inside the Church. As to the latter, in his farewell address to the Ephesian believers in Acts 20, he tells them that “night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears” (Acts 20:31). He tells the Galatian believers they are his “little children” (Galatians 4:19). He reminds the Corinthians that whenever they experience pain, he is wounded as well (2 Corinthians 11:29). He speaks of believers in Philippi as “having them in his heart” (Philippians 1:7). He tells the Thessalonian church that he “abounds” in love for them (1 Thessalonians 3:12) and demonstrated that fact by living among them and helping build up a Christian community (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1-2). Repeatedly throughout his writings, Paul reminds his believing readers of his care and love for them. For more see www.gotquestions.org/apostle-Paul-false-prophet.html.
Once someone questions Paul it’s only a matter of time until they question the New Testament and eventually, if not quickly, Jesus altogether. The channel Christian Truthers owner Justin, did just this. He started out as an aware Christian, transitioned into Hebrew roots, began questioning Paul, threw out the New Testament altogether, now is “agnostic”. It was so sad to see it happen right before my eyes.
HOW TO KEEP THE SABBATH - What Is required in keeping the Sabbath according to Mosaic Law: -1. No work done at all (Ex. 20: 10; Lev. 23: 3; Jer. 17:21-22). No watering the lawn, no working in the yard, no hobbies, no surfing, no fixing flat tires, etc. By law if a person did not stop all types of activity in honor of the Sabbath, he was breaking the law. In Numbers 15:32-36 a man was caught collecting sticks on the Sabbath, and he received a rock concert from the people he knew. 2 No kindling of a fire (Ex. 35:3). No fellowship cookouts or barbecues. You can't go into a restaurant and get a hamburger that's been flame broiled, you can't cook eggs, or pancakes in the morning because you'd be kindling a fire for cooking. To drive a car would be to "kindle a fire" In the combustion chamber of your engine. 3. No traveling (Ex. 16:29). Later the Jews added to this law, allowing only a half mile of travel on the Sabbath which we see observed in the NT. But the pure law says "stay at home." Actually, If you kept this part of the law, you could not travel to your church gathering unless it was less than one-quarter mile away from home. If you had an emergency you could not drive to the hospital. 4. No trading (Amos 8:5). If you happened to need gas to get to church service, you could not "trade" money for gasoline. You would not be allowed to buy a cassette tape of that morning's message or a book at the store. There is to be No exchanging of money for goods. If you worked with stocks and you needed to sell you couldn’t. 5. No marketing (Neh. 10:31; 13:15,19). Make sure you do no shopping whatsoever. You can't buy any ice cream for dessert after dinner or anything else. If you run out of food or drink at home you can’t go out to purchase any, you can’t even by a stick of gum. 6."... a holy assembly with double the daily offering along with the other offerings. In other words, you are to give twice as much on the Sabbath (Num. 28:9).Do we practiced this today In compliance with Old Testament law. Do Sabbatarian's really practice the law? I have yet to see people go to Shabbat and give twice as much each week. 7. New showbread In the holy place (Lev. 24:8). Of course this cannot be done today since there is no temple, so this part of the Sabbath cannot be followed by the church. The fact Is the Sabbath was not made for the gentiles, but for the Jews and their generations (Ex. 31:12-17). It's a law given between God and the Jews. 8.The last part of the requirements for keeping the Sabbath day law Is the penalty for breaking It. DEATH! Titus 1:9-16
Part 2: What is boils down to is that yes you are saved by grace, but your kept by works in SDA. Formost, Sabbath keeping, lesser though, dietary restrictions. I never had a big problem with keeping the Sabbath when I was an SDA. I turned down many jobs, told myself that God would see my devotion to Him all the more by turning the job down. For the SDA that is struggling, I would suggest that you look into the meaning of CALVINISM and ARMINAISM.
You guys need to start at the basic foundation of this dispute. If I am a RC, I'll all other are into falsoehood. If I am Mormon, I'll say all others are into apostasy. If I am an SDA, I'll say that other religions are not true. And the list can go on.. All we need to think of right now is to respect each other's convictions as our constitutions mandate.
I am a Seventh Day Adventist but my research has led me to believe that not only was EGW a false prophet she could have been a freemason too because of a picture she took at a Reno camp meeting
Peter had a misconcept about the vision about the unclean food that God was showing him. He said it was to call no man common or unclean. Which is true you shouldn't , but this was about food that you are not call what God has called clean unclean.
The 10 commandments were only given to the nation of Israel living in the regional land that was given to them by God. The fourth commandment of Sabbath keeping was never meant to be kept throughout all time from Adam to the end of the world. The regional differences on the earth's surface prove that. For example, could Jewish Eskimos living in Alaska keep the Sabbath day as written in Moses' law? To find out click on the "view reply" to this comment below.
+CAnswersTV Sabbath Keeping in Alaska is a Problem. This shows that the Sabbath was a regional, temporary command for Israel and not for the world. Interesting problem in Alaska. According to the official SDA sunset calculator, on Friday eve, May 30th, in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the sun set below the horizon, bringing with it the Jewish Shabbat, at 11:38 PM, almost midnight. Note: AK is so far west, it is on Hawaiian time. Here is the quote: Calculations for: Longitude: -148.34000 Latitude: 70.27000 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Time Zone: Hawaiian Standard Time, HSTDate: 5/30/03 Friday Sunrise: 0:07am HST (sunrise Friday morning)Sunset: 11:38pm HST (sunset, Friday night, becoming sabbath) Next, we find sunrise on Sabbath, May 31st, actually starts before midnight Friday night and el sol invictus stays up all day Sabbath, and into Sabbath night, and into Sunday morning, and into Sunday night, for the next two months! Date: 5/31/03 Sunrise: Sun above horizon HST Sunset: Sun above horizon HST (meaning the sun never sets). Meaning: if you live and work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, extracting dino remains buried and liquified by Noah's flood less than 4500 years ago, you have a problem! (no!! dummy! not the recent age of the earth!)... you have to quit working! Because on Friday night, May 30th, when the sun went down at 11:38, bringing in the holy Lord's day, you had to stop working, thou, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and all the strangers within thy igloo. But the sun came up again on Sabbath just a few minutes later, but never went down after that!!! As I scribble this nonsense it is still Sabbath in Prudhoe Bay...cause the sun never went down....no Saturday sunset. So if you believe literally that you must keep sabbath from sunset on Friday night to Sabbath sunset.....the next day, Sabbath, did NOT have a sunset this summer! Won't be a sunset for another two months! So you are faced with keeping Sabbath for two months straight, and giving up your job with Exxon! Unless of course, you are the camp padre, trying to spread the word that black gold comes from dead dinos who missed the ark, or in the medical profession raking in piles of dough and salving your conscience by paying plenty of tithe to keep the hired-archy gainfully employed. Seventh Day Adventists follow their false prophetess Ellen G. White (a woman authority over her religious followers which violates 1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") & her idol of Sabbath keeping for salvation requirement (violating Galatians 1:6-9) rather than what the Bible plainly teaches about Sabbath keeping for New Testament believers. For more see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 25 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See the websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.ExAdventist.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Question: "How is Jesus our Sabbath Rest?" Answer: The key to understanding how Jesus is our Sabbath rest is the Hebrew word sabat, which means "to rest or stop or cease from work." The origin of the Sabbath goes back to Creation. After creating the heavens and the earth in six days, God "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made" (Genesis 2:2). This doesn’t mean that God was tired and needed a rest. We know that God is omnipotent, literally "all-powerful." He has all the power in the universe, He never tires, and His most arduous expenditure of energy does not diminish His power one bit. So, what does it mean that God rested on the seventh day? Simply that He stopped what He was doing. He ceased from His labors. This is important in understanding the establishment of the Sabbath day and the role of Christ as our Sabbath rest. God used the example of His resting on the seventh day of Creation to establish the principle of the Sabbath day rest for His people. In Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15, God gave the Israelites the fourth of His Ten Commandments. They were to "remember" the Sabbath day and "keep it holy." One day out of every seven, they were to rest from their labors and give the same day of rest to their servants and animals. This was not just a physical rest, but a cessation of laboring. Whatever work they were engaged in was to stop for a full day each week. (Please read our other articles on the Sabbath day, Saturday vs. Sunday and Sabbath keeping to explore this issue further.) The Sabbath day was established so the people would rest from their labors, only to begin again after a one-day rest. The various elements of the Sabbath symbolized the coming of the Messiah, who would provide a permanent rest for His people. Once again the example of resting from our labors comes into play. With the establishment of the Old Testament Law, the Jews were constantly "laboring" to make themselves acceptable to God. Their labors included trying to obey a myriad of do’s and don’ts of the ceremonial law, the Temple law, the civil law, etc. Of course they couldn’t possibly keep all those laws, so God provided an array of sin offerings and sacrifices so they could come to Him for forgiveness and restore fellowship with Him, but only temporarily. Just as they began their physical labors after a one-day rest, so, too, did they have to continue to offer sacrifices. Hebrews 10:1 tells us that the law "can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." But these sacrifices were offered in anticipation of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross, who "after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right of God" (Hebrews 10:12). Just as He rested after performing the ultimate sacrifice, He sat down and rested-ceased from His labor of atonement because there was nothing more to be done, ever. Because of what He did, we no longer have to "labor" in law-keeping in order to be justified in the sight of God. Jesus was sent so that we might rest in God and in what He has provided. Another element of the Sabbath day rest which God instituted as a foreshadowing of our complete rest in Christ is that He blessed it, sanctified it, and made it holy. Here again we see the symbol of Christ as our Sabbath rest-the holy, perfect Son of God who sanctifies and makes holy all who believe in Him. God sanctified Christ, just as He sanctified the Sabbath day, and sent Him into the world (John 10:36) to be our sacrifice for sin. In Him we find complete rest from the labors of our self-effort, because He alone is holy and righteous. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can now cease from our spiritual labors and rest in Him, not just one day a week, but always. Jesus can be our Sabbath rest in part because He is "Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). As God incarnate, He decides the true meaning of the Sabbath because He created it, and He is our Sabbath rest in the flesh. When the Pharisees criticized Him for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus reminded them that even they, sinful as they were, would not hesitate to pull a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath. Because He came to seek and save His sheep who would hear His voice (John 10:3,27) and enter into the Sabbath rest He provided by paying for their sins, He could break the Sabbath rules. He told the Pharisees that people are more important than sheep and the salvation He provided was more important than rules. By saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27), Jesus was restating the principle that the Sabbath rest was instituted to relieve man of his labors, just as He came to relieve us of our attempting to achieve salvation by our works. We no longer rest for only one day, but forever cease our laboring to attain God’s favor. Jesus is our rest from works now, just as He is the door to heaven, where we will rest in Him forever. Hebrews 4 is the definitive passage regarding Jesus as our Sabbath rest. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts his readers to "enter in" to the Sabbath rest provided by Christ. After three chapters of telling them that Jesus is superior to the angels and that He is our Apostle and High Priest, he pleads with them to not harden their hearts against Him, as their fathers hardened their hearts against Jehovah in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief, God denied that generation access to the holy land, saying, "They shall not enter into My rest" (Hebrews 3:11). In the same way, the writer to the Hebrews begs them-and us-not to make the same mistake by rejecting God’s Sabbath rest in Jesus Christ. "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience" (Hebrews 4:9-11). There is no other Sabbath rest besides Jesus. He alone satisfies the requirements of the Law, and He alone provides the sacrifice that atones for sin. He is God’s plan for us to cease from the labor of our own works. We dare not reject this one-and-only Way of salvation (John 14:6). God’s reaction to those who choose to reject His plan is seen in Numbers 15. A man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, in spite of God’s plain commandment to cease from all labor on the Sabbath. This transgression was a known and willful sin, done with unblushing boldness in broad daylight, in open defiance of the divine authority. "And Jehovah said to Moses, ‘The man shall surely be put to death’" (v. 35). So it will be to all who reject God’s provision for our Sabbath rest in Christ. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). "What does it mean that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath? - www.gotquestions.org/Lord-of-the-Sabbath.html "What is a sabbatical year?" - www.gotquestions.org/sabbatical-year.html "What does shabbat mean?" - www.gotquestions.org/shabbat.html "What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday?" - www.gotquestions.org/Saturday-Sunday.html "Does God require Sabbath-keeping of Christians?" - www.gotquestions.org/Sabbath-keeping.html Finally, Sabbath Keeping in Alaska is a Problem. This shows that the Sabbath was a regional, temporary command for Israel and not for the world. Interesting problem in Alaska. According to the officious SDA sunset calculator, on Friday eve, May 30th, in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the sun set below the horizon, bringing with it the Jewish Shabbat, at 11:38 PM, almost midnight. Note: AK is so far west, it is on Hawaiian time. Here is the quote: Calculations for: Longitude: -148.34000 Latitude: 70.27000 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Time Zone: Hawaiian Standard Time, HSTDate: 5/30/03 Friday Sunrise: 0:07am HST (sunrise Friday morning)Sunset: 11:38pm HST (sunset, Friday night, becoming sabbath) Next, we find sunrise on Sabbath, May 31st, actually starts before midnight Friday night and el sol invictus stays up all day Sabbath, and into Sabbath night, and into Sunday morning, and into Sunday night, for the next two months! Date: 5/31/03 Sunrise: Sun above horizon HST Sunset: Sun above horizon HST (meaning the sun never sets). Meaning: if you live and work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, extracting dino remains buried and liquified by Noah's flood less than 4500 years ago, you have a problem! (no!! dummy! not the recent age of the earth!)... you have to quit working! Because on Friday night, May 30th, when the sun went down at 1l:38, bringing in the holy Lord's day, you had to stop working, thou, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and all the strangers within thy igloo. But the sun came up again on Sabbath just a few minutes later, but never went down after that!!! As I scribble this nonsense it is still Sabbath in Prudhoe Bay...cause the sun never went down....no Saturday sunset. So if you believe literally that you must keep sabbath from sunset on Friday night to Sabbath sunset.....the next day, Sabbath, did NOT have a sunset this summer! Won't be a sunset for another two months! So you are faced with keeping Sabbath for two months straight, and giving up your job with Exxon! Unless of course, you are the camp padre, trying to spread the word that black gold comes from dead dinos who missed the ark, or in the medical profession raking in piles of dough and salving your conscience by paying plenty of tithe to keep the hired-archy gainfully employed.... -sent by reader Seventh Day Adventists follow their false prophetess Ellen G. White (a woman authority over her religious followers which violates 1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") & her idol of Sabbath keeping for salvation requirement (violating Galatians 1:6-9) rather than what the Bible plainly teaches about Sabbath keeping for New Testament believers. For more see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See the websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.ExAdventist.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Someone asked, "I looked on page 71 of "Desire of the Ages and there is no mention of Jesus having older brothers. I have been an sda for 9 years and have never heard that before." When reading Desire of Ages, on page 62 or 87 depending which version one has, in the 10th paragraph of chapter 9 "Days of Conflict", Ellen G White states, "All this displeased His brothers. Being older than Jesus, they felt that He should be under their dictation." The Desire of Ages Bible Additions & Contradictions - 1. EGW: Jesus had older brothers “All this displeased his brothers. Being older than Jesus, they felt that He should be under their dictation. They charged Him for setting Himself above their teachers and the priests and rulers of the people. Often they threatened and tried to intimidate Him; but He passed on, making the Scriptures His guide.” DA, p. 87. Not biblical: The Bible does not tell us Jesus had "older brothers" nor any of the other statements attributed to them as claimed by Ellen G. White. Matt 12:46-47 (NIV): While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” How do Protestant Christians view Jesus' brothers? "Nevertheless, some writings in the early centuries raised questions about the brothers to protect their developing doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity. One of them, often called the Gospel of James, tells the life story of Mary, using much fanciful material. It claims that Jesus’ brothers were the sons of Joseph by an earlier marriage. This is the view of the Greek Orthodox Church. Later a famous scholar, Jerome, argued that Jesus’ brothers were really his cousins because their mother was Mary of Cleophas and the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus (see John 19:25). This is the view of the Roman Catholic Church, but Protestant scholars prefer the traditional view of the Gospels. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. Mary and Joseph then had four sons in the way all humans normally do." Holman Bible Dictionary, by W. J. Fallis. 2. EGW: Jesus’ brothers sided with the Rabbis "His brothers, as the sons of Joseph were called, sided with the rabbis. They insisted that the traditions must be heeded, as if they were the requirements of God. They even regarded the precepts of men more highly than the word of God, and they were greatly annoyed at the clear penetration of Jesus in distinguishing between the false and the true. His strict obedience to the law of God they condemned as stubbornness." DA, p. 86. Not biblical: There is not one word in Holy Scriptures that tells us anything about the brothers of Jesus siding with the rabbis, nor do we ever find the brothers condemning Jesus about anything as charged by Ellen G. White. 3. EGW: Jesus, an irritation to his brothers "The example of Jesus was to them a continual irritation." DA, p. 88. Not biblical: Where in the Bible do we find that Jesus was a continual irritation to his brothers? 4. EGW: Jesus charged with cowardice "Often He was accused of cowardice for refusing to unite with them (his brothers) in some forbidden act;" DA, p. 89. Not biblical: Did Jesus' brothers really try to get Jesus to commit a forbidden act? Please give the Bible text. 5. EGW: Jesus brothers were spiteful towards Jesus "Again and again He was asked, why do you submit to such despiteful usage, even from your brothers?" DA, p. 89. Not biblical: Where does the Bible tell us Jesus' brothers were ever spiteful towards Him? 6. EGW: Priests and teachers wanted Mary to control Jesus "When the priests and teachers required Mary's aid in controlling Jesus, she was greatly troubled; At times she wavered between Jesus and His brothers," DA, p. 90. "They decided that He must be persuaded or constrained to cease their manner of labor, and they induced Mary to unite with them, thinking that through His love for her they might prevail upon Him to be more prudent." DA, p. 321. Not biblical: Would someone supply the Bible text where the priests and teachers wanted Mary to control Jesus, where Mary wavered between Jesus and His brothers and uniting with the brothers? 7. EGW: Judas chose himself "While Jesus was preparing the disciples for their ordination, one who had not been summoned urged his presence among them. It was Judas Iscariot, a man who professed to be a follower of Christ. He now came forward soliciting a place in this inner circle of disciples. ... He hoped to experience this through connecting himself with Jesus" DA, pp. 293, 717. Not biblical: The Bible truth is that JESUS CHOSE JUDAS. "When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them ... Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. ... Then Jesus replied, 'Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? ... You did not chose me, but I chose you" Luke 6:13-16; John 6:70; 15:16 (NIV). 8. EGW: Judas had a conviction to confess his sin "When the Saviour’s hands were bathing those soiled feet, and wiping them with the towel, the heart of Judas thrilled through and through with the impulse then and there to confess his sin." DA, p. 645. Not biblical: There is no Bible record of Judas having an impulse to confess his sin at the foot-washing. 9. EGW: Judas did not have a conviction to confess "As Christ celebrated this ordinance with His disciples, conviction came to the hearts of all save Judas." Evangelism p. 275. Note: Did Judas have a conviction to confess his sin, or did he not have this conviction? Which EGW statement came from God? Ellen's inspired writings are very difficult to keep up with as she often contradicts herself as well as God. 10. EGW: Dogs eat Judas' body His weight had broken the cord by which he had hanged himself to the tree. In falling, his body had been horribly mangled, and dogs were now devouring it. His remains were immediately buried out of sight;" DA, p. 722. Not biblical:There is no Bible record of dogs eating Judas. Acts 1:18 (NIV) With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 11. EGW: Jesus' bones broken during His crucifixion "The mother of Jesus was agonized, almost beyond endurance, and as they stretched Jesus upon the cross, and were about to fasten his hands with the cruel nails to the wooden arms, the disciples bore the mother of Jesus from the scene, that she might not hear the crashing of the nails as they were driven through the bone and muscle of his tender hands and feet" Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, p. 58. Not biblical: The Bible tells us, John 19:25, 36 (NIV) These things happened so that the scriptures would be fulfilled: 'Not one of his bones will be broken' 12. EGW: Omits broken bones mistake 40 years later "His hands stretched upon the cross; the hammer and the nails were brought, and as the spikes were driven through the tender flesh, ..." DA, p. 744. Note: EGW compiled the Desire of Ages, 40 years after she first wrote that as the nails were driven through his "bone and muscle," she changed her account to read: the nails were driven through the tender flesh. 13. EGW: Jesus could not see through the portals of the tomb "The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice" DA, p. 753. Not biblical: Jesus told his followers what would happen after his death; He would rise up after three days. Jesus also told Caiaphas, "In the future" he would return. Who is telling the truth, Jesus or EGW? The Bible tells us that Jesus could see through the portals of the tomb from the following texts: Luke 24:7 (NIV) 7‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ John 2:19 (NIV) 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” John 10:17 - 18 (NIV) 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” Matt 26:64 (NIV) 64“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 14. EGW: The sister of Martha and Lazarus, was Mary Magdalen-she was led into sin by Simon The Feast At Simons’ House. "Simon had led into sin the woman he now despised. "It was Mary who poured upon His head the precious anointing oil, and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary was first at the tomb after the resurrection." DA, p. 566,568. Not biblical: The Bible never identifies Mary, LAZARUS' sister as Mary Magdalene, nor is it ever suggested from the Bible that Simon led Mary into sin and despised her. EGW in the DA does not say this Mary was Mary Magdalene, but does identify Mary as "was first at the tomb". The Bible tells us it was Mary Magdalene who was first at the tomb: Mark 16:9 (NIV) When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 15. EGW: Man healed on the Sabbath, forgot it was Sabbath "In his joy the man had forgotten that it was the Sabbath; yet he felt no condemnation for obeying the command of One who had such power from God." DA, p.203. Not biblical: There is no mention in John 5 that the man forgot that it was the Sabbath or that he felt no condemnation for obeying Christ. 16. EGW: The disciples fled from men possessed by demons "Their eyes glared out from their long and matted hair, the very likeness of humanity seemed to have been blotted out by the demons that possessed them, and they looked more like wild beasts than like men. The disciples and their companions fled in terror;" DA, p. 337. Not biblical: There is no Bible record of the disciples fleeing from these men before Jesus healed them. 17. EGW: Lazarus, leads the donkey at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The healed dumb shouted the loudest, healed blind led the way and the healed cripples broke the most branches. "The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the palm branches…Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Savior rode." DA, p. 572. Not biblical: There is no Bible record of the Lazarus or anyone else leading the donkey that Christ rode, or the blind, dumb and cripples that Jesus healed participating in the manner as described by EGW. There is no Bible record of Lazarus even being present when Christ was riding the donkey. 18. EGW: Little Children fell asleep on Jesus' breast "The children were foremost in the rejoicing. Jesus had healed their maladies; He had clasped them in His arms, received their kisses of grateful affection, and some of them had fallen asleep upon His breast as He was teaching the people." DA, p. 592. Not biblical: There is no Bible record of children kissing Jesus or sleeping on Jesus' breast. This is just a sampling of the false Bible teachings of Ellen G. White in The Desire of Ages, no doubt there are many more. Seventh-day Adventists, who accept these Bible contradictions and additions as being from God, have been misled and deceived by their prophet. It is time to make the Bible alone your source of faith and not the writings of a false prophet. Will God be asking you, "did you accept Ellen White as gospel with her false teachings, or did you accept my Word as truth?" The Desire of Ages Library of Congress Myth It was often said by Adventist pastors, "that the Library of Congress recommended The Desire of Ages written by Ellen G. White, over other books written on the life of Christ." The conferences had drives for local churches to contact the managers of the major motels in the their city to try to get The Desire of Ages in every motel room. We were to use the Library of Congress statement to promote the book to the motel managers. It was after leaving Adventism that I found that it was not the Library of Congress that promoted The Desire of Ages, but a former SDA Pastor who went to work for the Library of Congress. His name is, Wells E. Bement, born February 7, 1891 and died December 26, 1977. He was a 1922 graduate of Washington Missionary College and served briefly in India, was dean and Bible teacher at Atlantic Union College and later worked in educational and MV work as director. Bement's letter was a personal letter in answer Mr. Nicolas Chaij's questions. The letter was not written on the Library of Congress stationary and was not the opinion of the Library of Congress: December 11, 1946 Mr. Nicolas Chaij Apartado 50, General Peraze Havana, Cuba Dear Mr. Chaij: I regret that absence and illness have kept me from answering your letter sooner. Now I shall do so briefly. To select five of six books on the on the life of Christ from the more than 10,000 written in English in the last 300 years, to say nothing of those in other languages, and say that they are unqualifiedly the best is no small task. Happily you have eased the task by asking me to make my personal selection. My preference or choice would be guided by what I wished to get from the book or books to be read. Let me put it this way: I would put Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White first for spiritual discernment and practical application. Second, I would name Dr. Alfred Edersheim's 2 volumes on the Life of Jesus the Messiah for connection with type and ceremonial rites, and contemporary Hebrew literature. Third would come Samuel J. Andrews' Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth Considered in Its Historical, Chronological and Geographical Relations for chronological sequence, geographical settings and authoritative references. Fourth, I would take Dean Farrar's Life of Christ for scholarship and elegance of expression. We might list as fifth, the 4-volumes treatise of John Feter Lange, The Life and Times of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the electorate and exhaustive treatment. Beyond this point there come rushing to my mind so many authors commanding attention that I would be presumptuous to try to put them in sequence. One will receive something from every one, and the subject is exhaustive. In answer to another of your inquires, I will say that the Desire of Ages is well thought of in the Library of Congress. Please pardon this late reply to your good letter. Apologetically, It was dishonest for the Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders to mislead its members to believe that the The Desire of Ages was held in such high regard as "one of the best books on the life of Christ" or words to that effect in the Library of Congress and not tell them this glowing report was by a former Adventist pastor and that it was his personal opinion. Mr. Bement was no doubt prejudiced in his selection of The Desire of Ages over other books in the library, being a loyal diehard Ellen G. White fan. Most Adventists would also pick The Desire of Ages as their favorite book. The Seventh-day Adventist Church should have written to the Library of Congress to get their official opinion. This would have been the honest thing to do and then report their findings to the church members instead of misleading them. Desire of Ages Plagiarism Before Walter Rae wrote The White Lie and The Desire of Ages Project that was headed by Fred Veltman, chairman of the Religion Department of Pacific Union College, the majority of Seventh-day Adventist knew very little or nothing of Ellen White filling her books with material from uninspired authors. Most Adventists believed God was the source of Ellen's book and little Ellen was just a messenger to write it all out from her visions when she always used the terms, "I saw" or "I was shown". Little did the church members realize that what she saw was in copyrighted books of other authors. Now that Ellen's hands were caught in the books of other authors, the church has do defend this practice. Just how are they doing this? It is by comparing Ellen with the Bible writers as they often quoted other Bible writers or non-inspired writers without giving them credit. Is this a valid way of defending Ellen's copying? If Ellen had given credit to the people she was copying from, there would have not been an issue. Ellen went far beyond what any Bible writer has claimed. EGW: "Although I am as dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord in writing my views as I am in receiving them, yet the words I employ in describing what I have seen are my own, unless they be those spoken to me by an angel, which I always enclose in marks of quotation" (Review and Herald, Oct. 8, 1867, quoted in Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 37). Note: Ellen is telling us the words she employs describing what she has seen (visions) are her own. Yet she deceives us by coping her words from other authors and telling us these are her words or God's words. EGW: "When writing these precious books, if I hesitated, the very word I wanted to express the idea was given to me" (Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 51, 52). Note: Ellen is telling us when she hesitated "the very word" she wanted was given to her. If this was true, she would not have been copying from other authors. This is positive proof Ellen White, the Adventist prophet was a liar and a thief. What books did Ellen White use in writing The Desire of Ages? From Adventism's Ministry Magazine, Dr. Fred Veltman, The Desire of Ages Project: the data What major works were used by Ellen White in writing the DA text? "We found 10 books from which Ellen White drew 10 or more literary parallels per Desire of Ages chapter. The Life of Christ, by William Hanna, heads the list with 321 source parallels. Night Scenes of the Bible and Walks and Homes of Jesus, both by Daniel March, come in second with 129 parallel sentences." The Desire of Ages Project: the data, Part 1, Ministry October 1990, p. 6. "The other major sources are: John Harris, The Great Teacher; Fredrick Farrar, The Life of Christ; George Jones, Life-Science From the Four Gospels; Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah; J. H. Ingraham, The Prince in the House of David; Francis Wayland, Salvation by Christ; and John Cumming, Sabbath Evening Reading on the New Testament; St. John." The Desire of Ages Project: the data, Part 1, Ministry, October 1990, p. 7. What additional sources contributed to the DA text? "In addition to the major sources, we found that 21 works written by 20 authors had a minor impact on the 15 chapters. Two authors had works in both the major influence and minor influence categories." The Desire of Ages Project: the data, Part 1, Ministry, October 1990, p. 6. Note: Ellen and her Secretary helpers used 33 books to make up The Desire of Ages. Ellen had a 1200 plus library to copy from. All Adventists ought to be indebted to these authors in helping their prophet to succeed in her role as having the "Spirit of Prophecy." Seeing these other authors had the information first that Ellen used, shouldn't they get equal billing with EGW as having the Spirit of Prophecy also? See Dr. Fred Veltman's Desire of Ages Project: the data This is a two part series. Marian Davis Writes Part of The Desire of Ages A letter by H C Lacey to L E Froom indicates that Marian Davis not only used Ellen White’s writings she had a free hand in making use of other sources also. The letter reads, In this connection, of course you know that Sr. Marian Davis was entrusted with the preparation of The Desire of Ages and that she gathered her material from every available source-from Sr. White’s books already in print, from unpublished manuscripts, from private letters, stenographical reports of her talks etc.-but perhaps you may not know that she (Sr. Davis) was greatly worried about finding material for the first chapter (and other chapters too for that matter) and I did what I could to help her; I have good reason to believe that she also appealed to Professor Prescott for similar aid, and got it too in far richer and more abundant measure than I could render. (H C Lacey letter to L E Froom Aug. 30, 1945) The Desire of Ages Rewritten Many Times "In Australia I saw The Desire of Ages being made up, and I saw the rewriting of chapters, some of them written over and over and over again. I saw that, and when I talked with Sister Davis about it, I tell you I had to square up to this thing and begin to settle things about the spirit of prophecy. If these false positions had never been taken, the thing would be much plainer than it is today. What was charged as plagiarism would all have been simplified, and I believe men would have been saved to the cause if from the start we had understood this thing as it should have been. With those false views held, we face difficulties in straightening up. We will not meet those difficulties by resorting to a false claim." E. G. Daniells, 1919 Bible Conference, Spectrum, May 1979, p. 51. Note: Adventist apologists like to compare Ellen with the Bible prophets. Compare this: How many Bible prophets had to rewrite their visions and admonitions many times? Ellen just could not get it right the first time and The Desire of Ages was re-written over and over and over again. How many Bible prophets sold their visions and admonitions and made a living off of them and then leave them to their offspring to make a living? How many Bible prophets copyrighted their visions? How many prophets that had visions, went to the library in order to find words to describe their vision and then had to re-write them over and over and over again? Veltman brings out the fact that in his research of "fifteen chapters" from the DA he found Ellen to be 31% dependent on other authors. I would like to see the SDA church come up with one Bible prophet that was 31% dependent on other authors. For more on this see www.truthorfables.com/Desire_of_Ages.htm. See our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 21 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. Matthew 7:15
Do you believe it is wrong of me to keep the sabbath, and if I keep the Sabbath that I am no longer abiding in salvation?. I'm not a SDA church member, and I belong to no denomination, but I believe that keeping the sabbath is a perpetual and everlasting covenant between YHVH and Mankind as stated in scripture. Do you believe that me wanting to keep the Sababth is wrong?
She accepted the title. My work includes much more than this name signifies. I regard myself as a messenger, entrusted by the Lord with messages for His people.--Letter 55, 1905. (In Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 32, 35, 36.) Accepting the title and "not arguing" against it is a defacto declaration. Also note that the SDA church calls her a prophet & put her picture on the cover of the Adventist Review along with Moses, John the Baptist, and Deborah, Adventist Review June 4, 1992
Part 1:I watched all 4 hours. It took a bit. I am a 4th gen former SDA that left 2 years ago after sceptically learning about EGW's false prophecies. Such as the shut door, the 1856 some will be food for worms, prophecy of Christ coming in her time, the north would lose the civil war, Jerusalem will never be rebuilt & others. The largest one though is that you are not to call yourself saved. It is very sad that good, Christ loving Christians are told that this is the real meaning of the gospel.
Seventh Day Adventism qualifies as a non Christian anti Christ cult due to the following reasons: 1. It is built on the woman Ellen G. White & her teachings despite the Bible saying women are not permitted to teach or usurp authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") See links at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html). 2. Ellen White claimed to be equal with the Biblical prophets & apostles through her many writings (sort of a "Spirit of Prophecy") & her SDA followers believed her (2 Peter 3:16); see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Writings_Infallible.htm. Question: Are there modern day prophets or is there a need for prophets today? Answer: In the New Testament, the gift of the office of prophet was a temporary one granted by God for the purpose of building His Church. Contrary to the apostles, who had broad ministries, these men had localized ministries within local churches, as we see illustrated in such places as Acts 11:21-28 and Acts 13:1.Scripture shows us that the prophets of the New Testament had two primary purposes:They were gifted men given to the Church and appointed by God (Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor. 12:28) for the purpose of helping to lay the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20). They, like the apostles, received God’s revelation (Eph. 3:5) and truth and proclaimed it to their churches. It is important to remember that the early Church did not have a completed Bible, so God granted this revelation for the purpose of teaching His message to the Church. The New Testament prophets also spoke forth and taught the apostles’ doctrine. Everything taught by these prophets had to be consistent with the teaching of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:36-37). So, are prophets still needed today? Looking at the two functions listed above, we can see that the office of prophet is one that is no longer necessary and has ceased within the Church because:The foundation of the Church was laid long ago. God’s revealed Word was completed with the close of the New Testament canon. The Church’s foundation does not need to be laid again and there is no need for further revelation beyond what God has provided for us in His complete Word, the Bible. Today we are blessed to have Scripture as our complete and final authority in all things (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If someone now claims to have received a “special revelation,” we must test it against Scripture. If it is contrary to the Word of God, then it must be rejected. If it is consistent with Scripture, then we have to ask why an “extra” word was necessary if its truth is already contained in the Bible. So while we always need men who are willing to proclaim boldly the Word of God as contained in Scripture (as pastors, teachers, and evangelists), there is no need for the office of “prophet” as it existed in the New Testament. 3. Ellen G. White is a false prophet due to her false & failed prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:19-22); see www.mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/egw_false_prophet.html, 1timothy4-13.com/files/bible/sda_morefailed.html & www.bible.ca/7-prophecy-blunders.htm. 4. Ellen G. White had delusional dreams & visions much like phony Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers do today; see www.truthorfables.com/Visons_of_%20EGW_by_Snook_&_Brinkerhoff.htm & ua-cam.com/video/Kbv7YsyMf0I/v-deo.html. 5. Seventh Day Adventism has a damnable false gospel (Galatians 1:6-10) for several reasons: a) Satan is the final sin bearer for Seventh Day Adventists; see www.truthorfables.com/Scapegoat.htm & www.truthorfables.net/50-contradictions-satan-bears-sins.htm, b) They say Jesus had a sinful nature just like fallen man otherwise He can't be a Savior; see kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/09/seventh-day-adventisms-anti.html & jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Seventh-Day%20Adventist/sda_exposed.htm, c) Ellen G. White taught the cult doctrine of the 1844 investigative judgment of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary for the purpose of allowing Seventh Day Adventists final access to heaven while all others would be destroyed; see www.truthorfables.com/investigative_judgment_made_simple.htm, www.truthorfables.com/white_elephant.htm, www.truthorfables.com/My_Testimony.htm, www.truthorfables.com/SDA_Cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html, d) Seventh Day Adventism denies the New Testament Christian gospel by saying Old Testament "Saturday" Sabbath keeping is essential for salvation; see www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_Not_A_Law.htm, www.truthorfables.net/who-changed-the-sabbath-a.htm, www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_is_Friday.htm & ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, e) Although SDAs say they believe in salvation by grace they redefine the meaning of grace in order to incorporate into their religious system a salvation by law keeping to achieve final works righteousness; mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/sda_law.html, searchingthescriptures.net/main_pages/answering_cults/seventh_day_adventism/sda_a_cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. If the apostle Paul cursed the Galatian Judaizers to hell for adding only one stipulation to the gospel which was circumcision then how much more would he curse the SDAs for all their added terms & conditions to the simple gospel of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." Cross reference this to Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."). 6. Seven Day Adventists teach the false doctrine of soul sleep; see carm.org/soul-sleep, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12151314134510, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=85122122530 & www.casagrandebaptistchurch.com/SoulSleep.html. 7. SDAs teach the false doctrine of the annihilation out of existence of the wicked including Satan & his demons rather than an eternal conscious punishment in a never ending lake of fire; carm.org/clear-word-bible-annihilationism, "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where at the same time this refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=91713193277, www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=Annihilationism, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94081054442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9110884114, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338, ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html & see our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. 8. SDAs support alternate Bible translations that pervert the written word of God thus placing themselves under the curse of Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." See exadventist.com/Home/Articles/clearwordbible/tabid/450/Default.aspx, www.truthorfables.com/SDAs_Destroyers_of_the_Bible.htm & ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html. For more information on Seventh Day Adventism see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html, see also "Cult of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=61210437590 & "Damnable Heresies of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6201014412510. See the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, www.RethinkingAdventism.com, www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Did I ever say you couldn't keep a Sabbath of your choosing? What does Romans 14:5 say or Colossians 2:16 say? If you want to esteem one day over another that's fine but don't make an idol out of it thinking it's going to earn you salvation with God. Don't condemn others for not keeping the Sabbath the same as you would as these 2 verses obviously indicate. You are free in this matter as the scripture says. The SDA cult has traditionally condemned others for not worshipping on Saturdays falsely.
THE TRUE HAVE TO BE PREACHED, WITH OUT TALKING ABOUT OTHER RELIGIONS, MEN HAVE THE FREEDOM TO SAY WHAT EVER THEY LIKE, BUT FROM THE BIBLE THE TRUE HAVE TO BE TOLD. ON TO NOW I MY SELF HAVE STUDY WITH ALL RELIGIONS, BUT THE SEVEN DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH ARE TAKE TIME TO STUDY THE BIBLE, WITH THE POWER OFF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND THE LOVE WHITE INN THEM, IS TAKING MEN TO THE GREAT LOVE, AND THAT IS JESUS.
Quoting from The Great Controversy pg 483 (1888) Ellen G. White 1888GC,pg.483 “As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come into review before God…..when any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven , their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased from the book of God’s remembrance.” Spirit of Prophecy page 311, vol. 4, Ellen G. White “Day after day, passing into eternity, bears its burden of records for the books of heaven. Words once spoke, deeds once done, can never be recalled….our acts, our words, even our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our destiny for weal or woe. Though they may be forgotten by us, they will bear their testimony to justify or condemn. They go before us into the judgment.” If we take these words of EGW at face value not only here but it dozens of other places, we seem to have a contradiction to the plain teaching of Scripture. How do I deal with this problem. 1. Both Jesus and Paul said I would never face the condemnation of judgment. (John 5:24, Rom. 8:1, and the believer will not ever perish. (John 10:28) 2. In Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12, 10:17, the central tenant for the New Covenant that God makes with His believers is that God will not and cannot remember our sin ever again. 3. If I am made perfect in His sight “once and for all time”, why should any future sin bring any possibility of condemnation and were not all my sins yet future when Christ died for me? 4. If a believer is already “sealed by the Spirit until the day of redemption”……and “blessed with every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 4:30. 1:3) why do I need further review by Jesus at the Investigative Judgment to determine if I am “worthy of eternal life?” 5. Does not Romans 8 say that I am already justified and glorified? 6. If Titus 3:5 says that salvation is “not by works of righteous which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us”, how can our works be a factor in salvation as EGW says they are? www.ellenlied.com
Seventh Day Adventism qualifies as a non Christian anti Christ cult due to the following reasons: 1. It is built on the woman Ellen G. White & her teachings despite the Bible saying women are not permitted to teach or usurp authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") See links at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html). 2. Ellen White claimed to be equal with the Biblical prophets & apostles through her many writings (sort of a "Spirit of Prophecy") & her SDA followers believed her (2 Peter 3:16); see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Writings_Infallible.htm. Question: Are there modern day prophets or is there a need for prophets today? Answer: In the New Testament, the gift of the office of prophet was a temporary one granted by God for the purpose of building His Church. Contrary to the apostles, who had broad ministries, these men had localized ministries within local churches, as we see illustrated in such places as Acts 11:21-28 and Acts 13:1.Scripture shows us that the prophets of the New Testament had two primary purposes:They were gifted men given to the Church and appointed by God (Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor. 12:28) for the purpose of helping to lay the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20). They, like the apostles, received God’s revelation (Eph. 3:5) and truth and proclaimed it to their churches. It is important to remember that the early Church did not have a completed Bible, so God granted this revelation for the purpose of teaching His message to the Church. The New Testament prophets also spoke forth and taught the apostles’ doctrine. Everything taught by these prophets had to be consistent with the teaching of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:36-37). So, are prophets still needed today? Looking at the two functions listed above, we can see that the office of prophet is one that is no longer necessary and has ceased within the Church because:The foundation of the Church was laid long ago. God’s revealed Word was completed with the close of the New Testament canon. The Church’s foundation does not need to be laid again and there is no need for further revelation beyond what God has provided for us in His complete Word, the Bible. Today we are blessed to have Scripture as our complete and final authority in all things (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If someone now claims to have received a “special revelation,” we must test it against Scripture. If it is contrary to the Word of God, then it must be rejected. If it is consistent with Scripture, then we have to ask why an “extra” word was necessary if its truth is already contained in the Bible. So while we always need men who are willing to proclaim boldly the Word of God as contained in Scripture (as pastors, teachers, and evangelists), there is no need for the office of “prophet” as it existed in the New Testament. 3. Ellen G. White is a false prophet due to her false & failed prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:19-22); see www.mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/egw_false_prophet.html, 1timothy4-13.com/files/bible/sda_morefailed.html & www.bible.ca/7-prophecy-blunders.htm. 4. Ellen G. White had delusional dreams & visions much like phony Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers do today; see www.truthorfables.com/Visons_of_%20EGW_by_Snook_&_Brinkerhoff.htm & ua-cam.com/video/Kbv7YsyMf0I/v-deo.html. 5. Seventh Day Adventism has a damnable false gospel (Galatians 1:6-10) for several reasons: a) Satan is the final sin bearer for Seventh Day Adventists; see www.truthorfables.com/Scapegoat.htm & www.truthorfables.net/50-contradictions-satan-bears-sins.htm, b) They say Jesus had a sinful nature just like fallen man otherwise He can't be a Savior; see kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/09/seventh-day-adventisms-anti.html & jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Seventh-Day%20Adventist/sda_exposed.htm, c) Ellen G. White taught the cult doctrine of the 1844 investigative judgment of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary for the purpose of allowing Seventh Day Adventists final access to heaven while all others would be destroyed; see www.truthorfables.com/investigative_judgment_made_simple.htm, www.truthorfables.com/white_elephant.htm, www.truthorfables.com/My_Testimony.htm, www.truthorfables.com/SDA_Cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html, d) Seventh Day Adventism denies the New Testament Christian gospel by saying Old Testament "Saturday" Sabbath keeping is essential for salvation; see www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_Not_A_Law.htm, www.truthorfables.net/who-changed-the-sabbath-a.htm, www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_is_Friday.htm & ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, e) Although SDAs say they believe in salvation by grace they redefine the meaning of grace in order to incorporate into their religious system a salvation by law keeping to achieve final works righteousness; mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/sda_law.html, searchingthescriptures.net/main_pages/answering_cults/seventh_day_adventism/sda_a_cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. If the apostle Paul cursed the Galatian Judaizers to hell for adding only one stipulation to the gospel which was circumcision then how much more would he curse the SDAs for all their added terms & conditions to the simple gospel of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." Cross reference this to Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."). 6. Seven Day Adventists teach the false doctrine of soul sleep; see carm.org/soul-sleep, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12151314134510, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=85122122530 & www.casagrandebaptistchurch.com/SoulSleep.html. 7. SDAs teach the false doctrine of the annihilation out of existence of the wicked including Satan & his demons rather than an eternal conscious punishment in a never ending lake of fire; carm.org/clear-word-bible-annihilationism, "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where at the same time this refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=91713193277, www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=Annihilationism, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94081054442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9110884114, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338, ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html & see our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. 8. SDAs support alternate Bible translations that pervert the written word of God thus placing themselves under the curse of Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." See exadventist.com/Home/Articles/clearwordbible/tabid/450/Default.aspx, www.truthorfables.com/SDAs_Destroyers_of_the_Bible.htm & ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html. For more information on Seventh Day Adventism see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html, see also "Cult of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=61210437590 & "Damnable Heresies of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6201014412510. See the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, www.RethinkingAdventism.com, www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Why does Jesus always group the Sabbath commandment with the celemonial & ritual laws which "faded away" with the replacement of the Old Covenant (Testament) by the New Covenant (Heb 8:13)? If Sabbath keeping is the mark of the true remnant church & Sunday keeping is the mark of the Devil's church, why is the New Testament consistently unclear & even silent about such a major distinction? Why does Jesus commend the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 for rejecting other religions He hates?
Our Position In Christ, The Moment We Believe Blessed with every spiritual blessing, Regenerated, Justified, Sanctified, Adopted, Called, Glorified, Adopted into God’s family, Sonship, Forgiven, Heirs of God, Eternal life, Accepted in the Beloved, Loved of God, Washed of Sin, Sins forgotten forever, Spirit Baptized, In Christ, Sealed by the Spirit, New Creation, Son of God, Freed from the law of sin and death, Heirs of God, Joint heirs of Jesus Christ, Seated with Christ in heavenly places, Access to God, Perfect forever, Never to perish, Inheritance reserved in Heaven, Redeemed, Reconciled to God, Declared righteous, Justified before God, Never to come into judgment, Dead to sin, Freed from the law, Alive unto God, Temple of the Holy Spirit, God’s workmanship, Under the Blood, Redeemed, Saved by Grace, Sins atoned for , No condemnation, Crucified with Christ, Chosen in Christ, Regenerated by the Spirit, Born from above, Abraham’s seed, Heavenly citizenship, No longer an alien from God, No longer a stranger from the promises, Never to face death, Never ever perish, Priest of God, Kept by God, Blameless, Faultless in God’s sight, unfading inheritance, Saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Ellen G. White teaches over one thousand times in her writings that all believers are on PROBATION. She says all believers are “undergoing the searching scrutiny of God’s investigative judgment…..to determine if they are worthy of eternal life.” Ellen G. White teaches that “our acts, our words, even our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our destiny for weal or woe. Though they may be forgotten by us, they will bear their testimony to justify or condem.” EGW Spirit of Prophey pg. 331 Whose word can be trusted? Is it God’s “sure word of Prophecy”, or the unsure word of the false prophet, Ellen G. White? www.rethinkingadventism.com
It's more complicated that you know CAnswersTV! There is a minority of Seventh-Day Adventists who AGREE with your understanding of grace but some of their pastors and scholars who do, have been pushed out of the SDA church. The 1957 book "Seventh-Day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine" got an "Amen" from Baptist Walter Martin & Presbyterian Donald Barnhouse but traditional SDAs turned on the book so it was pushed out of print. Dr. Ford agreed with the book & later was fired.
Thirty years as a member of the church and I am grateful for the info. Would have like to have more references for the quotes from her writings but I am willing to go search. I am also going to purchase Slattery's book. Its still on Amazon. BUT I have to say that I find it more than disturbing that the host finds so much of this humorous. I've now listened to all videos in the series and it continues right throughout. As an SDA, there are Mormons and JWs I view as cult. I would NEVER laugh at their deception or plight. These are souls, that Jesus died for. Very very unfortunate and quite frankly void of the spirit of Christ. That said, grateful not to be too distracted by it and grateful for the uploads.
Thank you for your comment. What you have noticed has been noticed by many others across our 720 plus videos on our CAnswersTV UA-cam channel (CAnswersTV stands for "Christian Answers Television) over the years. One viewer making a comment on our video "Unpopular Bible Doctrines #1: The Biblical God No One Wants To Know" at ua-cam.com/video/B8SzMIBlVdw/v-deo.html (which has over 1 million views by the way) said the following - "Knowledge puffeth up. I would venture to say that, although the truths that you speak are indisputable, the Lord does not take pleasure in the punishment of the wicked. As you expound on God hating (which He does) you have a sneer of relishing giggle joy that does not in anyway represent the Spirit of these scriptures. I believe that the best way to present these truths is with the sincere gravity of their very nature. Godly sorrow leads to repentance. You appear as a school boy that just got a pass from detention, turning and laughing to scorn the children that did the same bad things that you did, because they don't get a pass and have to suffer." My response to him is as follows - "Unfortunately I have always had a deep personality trait of trying to lighten the gravity of the seriousness of the terrors I'm discussing by smiling or trying to speak more upbeat so people won't immediately take terrible offense to what I am saying. I must agree with your analysis but this trait comes out almost without my noticing it sometimes & does come across the wrong way intended. The topics I'm discussing here are indeed terrifying & is why most preachers will never mention them. I regret your "school boy" analysis because this was certainly not my intention. I certainly do not rejoice in the certain doom of the damned (Luke 16:22-31) but in salvation through Jesus Christ (John 3:35-36)." Anyway, thanks again for your input. Blessings to you in Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 3:15
Please open up the description text for this video which is right underneath the video starting with the verbage "Larry Wessels, director ..." & click on the instruction "Show more." Once the entire description text is revealed go to the bottom of the description where the actual link to Life Assurance Ministries is located. Just click on that & it will transport you straight to their website. The ExAdventist link located in the description text is another excellent site dealing with the SDA.
You asked, "Watchman4u - Hey can you point to where they got the "Three Angels" & "the Everlasting Gospel" got these teachings & what are they exactly? Thx." For more on the "Three Angels" see our video "Did God Really Give Ellen G. White "Divine" Health Reform Visions From Book of Revelation Angels?" at ua-cam.com/video/nhKoS2Fk1Y4/v-deo.html & see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Health_Reform.htm. For her "Everlasting Gospel" see our video "Truth About Seventh-Day Adventist "Truth?": A False Gospel of Imperfect Law Keeping to Earn Heaven" at ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html & www.TruthorFables.com. Matthew 7:15
Adding to 23:52 The Bible is COMPLETE and it is not only unnecessary to add or remove anything from it but prohibited by the Author of the Bible. Deu 4 : 2 (NASB) "2 You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." Rev 22 : 19 "19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and [a]from the holy city, which are written in this book." Acts 4 : 19 "19 "[..] “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;" 34:11 (35:17) any more PROOF needed to understand that Adventists have CORRUPTED the Scriptures of the Bible and openly denied Jesus' promise of eternal life? The Bible says in Gal 1 : 8 "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!" 36:05 2 Peter 1: 20 "20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation," at 52:20 Ellen G. White FALSE teaching and prophesy ends with completely denying Jesus and the need of His death on cross for OUR sins
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet" (Revelation 1:10). The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, ‘The Lord’s Day’ in Rev. 1:10: "This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of "te kuriake hemera." The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the church’s worship day. As such it certainly appears early in the 2nd century" (Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians, 1. 67). Acts 20:7.
TheGreasetrap - Question: "Why do Christians worship on Sunday?" Answer: Most Christians traditionally worship on Sunday. Sunday worship is partly attributed to Sabbatarianism, the view that one day of the week should be reserved for religious observance and worship, as required by Old Testament laws regarding the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8, 31:12-18). In this view, man is to abstain from all labor except that which is necessary for the welfare of family and society. This interpretation of the law contends that only on the literal Sabbath, the seventh day of the week (Saturday), can the requirements of the law be met. Semi-Sabbatarianism followers, as early as the fourth century AD, believed essentially as the Sabbatarians did, with the exception that they transferred its demands from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week (the day on which Christ arose from the dead). Theologians of that period, particularly in the Eastern Church, were teaching the practical identity of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) and the Christian Sunday. Interestingly, a legend recounted in the so-called Apocalypse of Peter, which dates back to the 2nd century AD and is generally accepted as a false writing, transfers to Sunday all of the requirements of Sabbath worship. A man named Albertus Magnus added momentum to this growing movement by suggesting semi-Sabbatarianism be divided into two parts: the moral command to observe a day of rest after laboring the previous six days, and the ceremonial symbol that applied only to the Jews in a literal sense. Thomas Aquinas elevated this proposal to the status of official Roman Catholic doctrine, which in time also gained favor with many Reformed theologians. Scripture never mentions any Sabbath (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week, Sunday. For instance, Acts 20:7 states that “on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” Paul also urges the Corinthian believers, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Since Paul designates this offering as “service” in 2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection may have been linked with the Sunday worship service of the Christian assembly. Historically, Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting day for Christians in the church, and its practice dates back to the first century. Christians worship on Sundays in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is very important to remember, though, Sunday worship is not commanded in the Bible, and Sunday has not replaced Saturday and become the Christian Sabbath. While the New Testament describes Christians gathering and worshipping on Sundays, it nowhere states that Sunday has replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. The key point in all of this is that we are not to limit our worship to any particular day of the week. We are to rest in the Lord every day. We are to worship the Lord every day. Recommended Resources: The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology by Jason Meyer, see our video "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html which comes with a free written transcript available in 20 languages.
@@cyroford6059 - I'll repeat the answer here to you as well. Question: "Why do Christians worship on Sunday?" Answer: Most Christians traditionally worship on Sunday. Sunday worship is partly attributed to Sabbatarianism, the view that one day of the week should be reserved for religious observance and worship, as required by Old Testament laws regarding the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8, 31:12-18). In this view, man is to abstain from all labor except that which is necessary for the welfare of family and society. This interpretation of the law contends that only on the literal Sabbath, the seventh day of the week (Saturday), can the requirements of the law be met. Semi-Sabbatarianism followers, as early as the fourth century AD, believed essentially as the Sabbatarians did, with the exception that they transferred its demands from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week (the day on which Christ arose from the dead). Theologians of that period, particularly in the Eastern Church, were teaching the practical identity of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) and the Christian Sunday. Interestingly, a legend recounted in the so-called Apocalypse of Peter, which dates back to the 2nd century AD and is generally accepted as a false writing, transfers to Sunday all of the requirements of Sabbath worship. A man named Albertus Magnus added momentum to this growing movement by suggesting semi-Sabbatarianism be divided into two parts: the moral command to observe a day of rest after laboring the previous six days, and the ceremonial symbol that applied only to the Jews in a literal sense. Thomas Aquinas elevated this proposal to the status of official Roman Catholic doctrine, which in time also gained favor with many Reformed theologians. Scripture never mentions any Sabbath (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week, Sunday. For instance, Acts 20:7 states that “on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” Paul also urges the Corinthian believers, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Since Paul designates this offering as “service” in 2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection may have been linked with the Sunday worship service of the Christian assembly. Historically, Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting day for Christians in the church, and its practice dates back to the first century. Christians worship on Sundays in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is very important to remember, though, Sunday worship is not commanded in the Bible, and Sunday has not replaced Saturday and become the Christian Sabbath. While the New Testament describes Christians gathering and worshipping on Sundays, it nowhere states that Sunday has replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. The key point in all of this is that we are not to limit our worship to any particular day of the week. We are to rest in the Lord every day. We are to worship the Lord every day. Recommended Resources: The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology by Jason Meyer; see our video "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html which comes with a free written transcript available in 20 languages.
This video series was recorded, if my memory serves me, in 1991. Our ministry has been doing cable access television since 1985 & we attemped to do our shows in a "timeless" manner. In other words, we tried not to date our material with a current president of the United States or current events but rather refuted false religions & false philosophies with the timeless Word of God which will stand for eternity (Isaiah 40:8). Thus even though the show was recorded 20 years ago it's all still true.
I was a SDA for years. I devoted my life to the church. unfortunately, I became pregnant out of wedlock. my pastor then held a private meeting with deacons and decided to strip me of all of my church positions due to the poor role model I had now become. he then held a church congregation meeting without my knowledge where he discussed my situation and the church voted to place me on a six month probation. I was crushed and many other things happened as well. my children were ostracised.
Just because Desmond Ford (or these others you mention) does not agree with the SDA "Investigative Judgement" doctrine or some of the other SDA heresies does not necessarily mean he agrees with the word "grace" as we would define it (he might be closer to C. G. Finney's definition than the Bible's). Have you seen the publication "Proclaimation" by LifeAssuranceMinistriesORG (a former SDA organization)? Check out their volumes 11, issues 3-4 which covers Walter Martin & the SDA's false gospel.
Why are educated people being fooled? I was 18 YRS when I JOINED AND DIDN'T KNOW any Better. I left because of Ellen white. I now in another Christian Church.
@@gl2461 - For more information see the following websites by former SDA members such as: www.lifeassuranceministries.org/ , www.formeradventist.com/ , www.exadventist.com/ , www.sabbathinchrist.com/ , www.truthorfables.com/ www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com . Email: proclamation@gmail.com for free materials. See also our UA-cam playlist called "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html .
The ten commandments were given only to the nation of Israel & not to anyone else (Gentiles). The New Testament only reaffirms nine out of the ten commandments under the terms of the New Covenant. Sabbath keeping as found in the ten commandments is a ceremonial law associated only with Old Testament Israelites & is not a moral law that must be followed by Gentiles. The Old Testament Scriptures always state that the covenant written on the Tablets of Stone was made only with Israel at Sinai. Look at the first time the words "Ten Commandments" were used in the Bible. This same text states that the Ten Commandments, as the covenant document, was given only to the nation of Israel: And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and WITH ISRAEL. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Ex 34:27,28 When Moses refreshed Israel's mind concerning their covenant relationship with God, he specifically says that the covenant (Ten Commandments) was given at Horeb. This is clear in the following text: The Lord our God made a covenant [Remember the covenant is the Ten Commandments or Tablets of Stone] with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all of us alive here today. Deut. 5:2,3 Moses insists that the covenant was "not made with our fathers," meaning the patriarchs, 11 but with the people that came out of Egypt. He then repeats the words of the covenant, or Ten Commandments, that were written on the Tablets of Stone. The Prophets saw the coming of a New Covenant and spoke of it in glowing terms. Whenever they contrasted the Old Covenant with the New Covenant, they always state when and with whom the Old Covenant was made. Notice this in a classic passage in Jeremiah: Behold days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel..., not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hands to bring them out of the land of Egypt..." Jer. 31:31.32. Notice the following things clearly set forth in this passage: 1.There was going a New Covenant. "I will make a new covenant." 2.The New Covenant was going to be different in nature from the Old Covenant. "Not like the covenant I made with their fathers" 3.The Old Covenant being replaced was made at Sinai and made only with Israel. "Made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt" How is it possible to read these words in Jeremiah and say, "God was not actually promising to make a new and different covenant with Israel. He was really promising a new administration of the same covenant they were already under?" It seems to us that such statements are literally contradicting what Jeremiah said. The rest of the Bible always says the same thing that Jeremiah said when it speaks on this subject. The following passage from I Kings appears to be going out of its way to affirm the facts we are setting forth: There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, WHEN the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, WHEN they came out of the land of Egypt. I Kings 8:9 The phrases "Tables of Stone," "Moses at Horeb," "made a covenant" and "children of Israel," in this text are the same key ingredients that we always find connected with the Ten Commandments. This passage of Scripture uses the word "when" two times. We could put a period after "children of Israel" and not lose the thought or argument. The last phrase in the sentence "When they came out of the land of Egypt" is almost redundant. The Holy Spirit must have wanted to impress this point on our minds. The NT Scriptures always connect the Old Covenant with Israel. Heb 8:6-9 is the Apostolic interpretation of Jer 31:31,32. The author of Hebrews clearly states: (1) when the Old Covenant was made; (2) with whom the Old Covenant was made; (3) the fact the New Covenant would be different than the Old Covenant. The passage is clear: .......... the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel .......... It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out Egypt.......... Heb 8:7,8 It is not possible to make this verse promise a new administration of the same covenant. Nor is it possible relate this covenant back to Adam in the garden. Neither the words in prophecy of Jer 31:33 nor the Apostolic interpretation in Heb 8:7,8 will allow such an idea. "Having the law" as a covenant and the Gospel as a promise as opposed to "not having the law" and being without covenant or hope was the great difference between the nation of Israel and the Gentiles (Eph 2:11-21). The following text is a key passage on this particular point: For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness..... Rom 2:14. First of all, the word "law" in this passage clearly refers to the Tablets of Stone. It cannot refer to "a sense of moral duty" since all men have that by virtue of being God's image bearers. Paul is talking about a law that all men definitely do not have. If all men have "the law" in the sense that Paul is using the word in this passage, his argument does not make sense. He is contradicting himself in the same breath. Paul's whole point in the context of this passage is to show that the Jews are more guilty than the Gentiles. The basis of his proof is that the Gentiles "without the law" live better lives than the Jews do "with the law." The Jews alone have the special gift of the Law. And the specific law that he is talking about is the law written on the Tablets of Stone as a covenant. Rom 2:14 is not talking about a so called "ceremonial law." Whatever the "law" is in this passage, it convicts the conscience of sin. Conscience, by nature and without special revelation, cannot convict men of disobedience to "ceremonial" laws. One of the many proofs that the Sabbath is not a "moral law" is the fact that we have never discovered a single instance of anyone knowing, by nature, the Sabbath law. This particular law must always be taught as special revelation just as it was to Israel at Sinai. 12 Gentiles intuitively knew that adultery was wrong but they know that the seventh day is to be kept holy. Most people misquote this passage of Scripture. Paul does not say, "The law" is written in the Gentile's heart. He says that certain behavior proves that there is a conviction of right and wrong in all men. This fact shows that conscience is alive and well even in the Gentiles. In fact, it is more alive and well in them than it is in the Jew. This power of conscience "shows the work of the law written in their hearts." The "work" of the law is to accuse or excuse according to the standard given to it. It condemns all violations of known wrong and rewards obedience to what is known to be right. All men have a conscience and they all experience, to a greater or lesser degree, conviction they have done wrong. The Gentiles did not have "the law" but they did have the "work of the law" in their hearts. The law can only "work" true repentance that leads to faith if there is (1) a covenant with clear terms and (2) the individual has a knowledge of those terms. In giving Israel the law as a covenant, God enlightened the mind and sharpened the conscience. He sandwiched conscience under the Old Covenant and its threat of judgment. This caused a very painful death to all hope of eternal life in those who truly experienced the end for which the law covenant was given, namely, genuine "conviction of guilt." The same law actually "blinded" the rest of the Jews and made them worse off spiritually than the Gentiles. We say again, it was most gracious of God to kill Israel's hope in their own efforts. However, it took a covenant of pure law with the power of life and death to do the job. There was not an ounce of grace in the Tablets of Stone but it was most of God to give them to Israel as a covenant that could prepare the heart to receive grace! Regardless of whether the reader agrees or disagree with what has just been said, one thing is certain. We cannot change a passage that emphatically states that Israel had a specific law that the Gentiles did not have into a text that says "all men have the same law." This is to destroy the text. Paul can only be referring to the Tables of Stone as a covenant. It both amazes and amuses us to watch people waver back and forth when they cannot fit clear passages of Scripture into their theological system. They usually want to "eat their cake and have it too." If they are discussing the "unchanging moral law," they will insist that "the moral law (Ten Commandments) is written on ever man's heart." However, if they are discussing the canon of conduct for believer's today, these same people will insist that in regeneration "the moral law" (Ten Commandments) is written on the heart" by the Holy Spirit. In both cases it is said to be the same law that Scriptures clearly state was given only to the nation of Israel at Sinai on the Tablets of Stone. Something seems to be a bit out of focus when all of this is put together. (1) If the first point is true, and the same law that was given to Israel at Sinai (the Ten Commandments) is indeed written on every man's heart, it is impossible to say the Gentiles are "without the law." They cannot be "without" the very law that is written "in" them. (2) If the second point, affirming that the same law written in the heathen, and given to Israel at Sinai, is also written on the heart of believer in regeneration, is true, there appears to be a contradiction. What need is there to write something on the heart that is already there? (3) If, in regeneration, the Holy Spirit writes the Ten Commandments on the heart of every believer, what then is the necessity of preaching those commandments to the Christian? We must distinguish between the Ten Commandments as the terms of a legal covenant and the duties commanded by the individual commandments. The moment we do this a lot of confusion disappears and some difficult passages of Scripture become clear and simple. We will illustrate this point with one passage of Scripture. This passage in its context is pivotal to any correct understanding of the change of covenants: But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. Heb 8:6-13 We have already noted the three distinct contrasts in verse 6. We saw the following: (1) Christ has a better ministry than Aaron; (2) because Christ's ministry is based on a new and better covenant; (3) the covenant Christ administers is superior to the covenant under which Aaron ministered because it is based on better promises. Heb 8:7-9 settles any discussion as to either when (at Sinai) or with whom (Israel only) the Old Covenant was made. Heb 8:11 shows that everyone, without a single exception, in the New Covenant community, or Church, "know the Lord." In other words, the text proves that the Church born under the New Covenant has a totally regenerate membership. We will now look at verse 10: This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. HEB 8:10 The text emphasizes several important things. First, God promises to make a new covenant, and this covenant will be with the "house of Israel." We will not digress from the point under discussion except to say that the "house of Israel" in Heb 8-10 must be the Church. The writer is not talking about the future but the present. This covenant cannot be pushed into a future millennium. Hebrews is talking about the priestly ministry of Christ over the Church. However, that is not our subject in this book. The second major thing in the text is God's promise to put his laws in the mind and write them on the hearts of His New Covenant people. Now here is the question: "What is the difference, if any, between the "covenant" and the word "laws" in this passage?" Exactly what is God promising to do in this verse? Exactly what is the "New Covenant" He is making and precisely what "laws" is He going to write on the heart? We should carefully note that God did not say, "In that day I will give a new administration of the same covenant that I gave Israel. I will write the old law of Sinai into the new heart of the Christian." That is how some theologians read this passage. Likewise, the text does not say, "I will make a New Covenant that destroys all of the Ten Commandments and allows a believer to do as he pleases." That is how some liberals view the text. No, the text, and its context, is talking about both a new and better covenant than the old covenant at Sinai and the new experience of the law being written on the heart by the indwelling Spirit. The clear answers to the two questions that we asked lies in understanding the three comparisons made in verse 6. Why did the Old Covenant fail and thereby need to be replaced by a new and better covenant? The answer is that it could not secure the necessary obedience to its terms. It could not write on the heart the desire to do the things that were written on the Tablets of the Covenants. It could write on stone but not on flesh (II Cor 3). By nature all men hate God's authority (Rom 8:7) and even the mighty Law of God cannot change that rebellion into a sincere desire to obey. The Old Covenant failed to bring sinners into God's presence because it could not change the sinner's heart. It could not conquer sin in the flesh nor it could cleanse the conscience from the guilt of sin. Now read carefully! The greater glory of the New Covenant is not that the standards or laws have been either lowered or done away. It is not that the moral duties demanded on the Tables of Stone are no longer binding on a Christian. No, No, that is to miss the whole point. The greater glory of the New Covenant is that no obedience at all is required as the terms of being saved simply because the very terms of the Tablets of the Covenant have been finally and fully met in the Person and work of Surety, the Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of the New Covenant is in the words, "IT IS FINISHED." Paul states the glory of the New Covenant in the classic passage in Rom 4:5. Here is a paraphrase of that text: However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Rom 4:5 This is the "rest" that weary souls enter into when they come under the yoke of Christ and are liberated from the yoke of the covenant given to Moses on Sinai. We doubt not that our Lord Jesus had this very contrast in mind when He gave that great gospel invitation in Matthew 11: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30. Every thing in that passage is a contrast with Moses and old law covenant. The yoke of the covenant written on the Tables of Stone was a burden impossible to bear. The yoke written in the blood of Calvary is a privilege and delight to bear. The New Covenant is nothing less than Christ Himself and His finished work. When God said, "I will make a new covenant," He was saying, "I will give you Christ to be your covenant Keeper. He will both keep the law and die under its curse." The message has now become "It is finished" instead of "Do or Die." The New Covenant is grace and not works. What then are the "laws" spoken of in Heb 8:10? Exactly what "laws" does the Holy Spirit write on the heart of a New Covenant believer? These laws, as far as their content, are basically the very same moral laws that were written on the tables of stone. Heb 8:10 is not talking about two different "sets" of laws that totally contradict each other as if there were two "kinds of morality." The morality of the New Covenant does not destroy the true morality demanded in the laws of the Old Covenant. It takes that morality to a higher level. It is true that Christ adds laws that were impossible for Moses to ever give but that does not mean Christ contradicts Moses. 13 Hebrews is talking about two different motivations that grow out of two different kinds of covenants." II Cor 3 is the Holy Spirit's commentary on Heb 8:10. Neither of these passages are teaching that God "tattoos" the exact words of the Decalogue on our hearts. Both passages are talking about the powerful effect of regeneration that results in a totally new and different attitude toward God. These two passages are picturing the removal of the stony heart that hated the Tablets of Stones and all they represented. It is describing the effect of regeneration in replacing the stony heart with a heart of flesh. The new heart of flesh loves all of God's revealed laws, not just a one small code, simply because it loves the new Lawgiver Who teaches us those laws. The difference is not in the specific duties demanded but the difference between law and grace as covenants. It is the difference, in some cases, of the identical duties being enforced from without by fear and force, in the case of the Old Covenant, and being constrained by love from within a heart rejoicing in a covenant of grace. These two passages are talking about the difference between the conscience being under the old Pedagogue, the Tables of Stone, and being under the new Pedagogue, the indwelling Holy Spirit. 11. The writer of Hebrews, as well as the prophecy in Jer 31:33, establish beyond question that the "fathers" referred to in this passage are the patriarchs. To make the statement refer to the immediate fathers of the people to whom Moses is speaking would involve a contradiction. It was specifically to these very "fathers" that God gave the covenant at Sinai. 12. John Bunyan wrote an excellent article proving the Seventh Day Sabbath could not possibly be a so called "Creation Ordinance." To our knowledge, no one has attempted to answer his arguments. See, "Questions about the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day Sabbath," by John Bunyan, The Works of John Bunyan, Vol. II, pp 359-387, Baker Book House. 13. We have worked this out in a book entitled But I Say Unto You. This book shows that Christ supercedes and replaces Moses as the New Lawgiver. Christ changes some of the laws of Moses; raises some others to a higher level; discards some others altogether; and adds some laws that are totally new. However, this is not contradicting Moses as he were wrong. Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? In the Old Testament, God stated, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you," (Exodus 20:8-10, NASB). It was the custom of the Jews to come together on the Sabbath, which is Saturday, cease work, and worship God. Jesus went to the synagogue on Saturday to teach (Matt. 12:9, John 18:20) as did the apostle Paul (Acts 17:2; 18:4). So, if in the Old Testament we are commanded to keep the Sabbath and in the New Testament we see Jews, Jesus, and the apostles doing the same thing, then why do we worship on Sunday? First of all, of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only 9 of them were reinstituted in the New Testament: five in Matt. 19:18, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and honor parents; in Rom. 13:9, coveting; worshiping God properly covers the first three commandments. The one that was not reaffirmed was the one about the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8). Upon the completion of Creation, God rested on the seventh day. However, since God is all-powerful, He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t need to take a break and rest. So, why did/does it say that He rested? The reason is simple: Mark 2:27 says, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In other words, God established the Sabbath as a rest for His people--not because He needed a break but because we are mortal and need a time of rest--a time to focus on God. In this, our spirits and bodies are both renewed. The Old Testament system of Law required keeping the Sabbath as part of the overall moral, legal, and sacrificial system by which the Jewish people satisfied God’s requirements for behavior, government, and forgiveness of sins. The Sabbath was part of the Law in that sense. In order to "remain" in favor with God, you had to also keep the Sabbath. If it was not kept, then the person was in sin and would often be punished (Ezekiel 18:4; Rom. 6:23; Deut. 13:1-9; Num. 35:31; Lev. 20:2, etc.). But with Jesus’ atonement, we are no longer required to keep the Law. We are not under Law but grace (Rom. 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus. He is our rest. We are not under obligation, by Law, to keep it; and this goes for the Sabbath as well. It is not a requirement that we keep the Sabbath. If it were, then we would still be under the Law; but we are not. Evidence of the Change of Days can be Seen in the NT The New Testament has ample evidence that the seventh day Sabbath is no longer a requirement. Rom. 14:5-6, "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God." The entire section of Rom. 14:1-12 is worth careful study. Nevertheless, the instructions here are that individuals must be convinced in their own minds about which day they observe for the Lord. If the seventh day Sabbath were a requirement, then the choice would not be man's but God’s. Col. 2:16-17, "Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." Notice here that time sequence mentioned. A festival is yearly. A new moon is monthly. A Sabbath is weekly. No one is to judge regarding this. The Sabbath is defined as a shadow; the reality is Jesus. Jesus is our Sabbath. Acts 20:7, "And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight." The first day of the week is Sunday, and this is the day the people gathered. This passage can easily be seen as the church meeting on Sunday. It has two important church functions within it: breaking bread (communion) and a message (preaching). Additionally, Luke did not use the Jewish system of counting days: sundown to sundown. He used the Roman system: midnight to midnight. This is a subtle point that shows the Jewish Sabbath system was not the one utilized by Luke. 1 Cor. 16:1-2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come." Notice here that Paul is directing the churches to meet on the first day of each week and put money aside. It would seem that this is tithing. So, the instructed time for the church to meet is Sunday. Is this an official worship day set up by the church? You decide. Rev. 1:10-11, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, ‘The Lord’s Day’ in Revelation 1:10: "This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, "ta kuriaka hamera." The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the church’s worship day. As such, it certainly appears early in the 2nd century (Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians, 1. 67). In many churches today, the term "The Lord’s Day" is used to designate Sunday--the same as it was in the second century. I hope this is evidence enough to show you that the Bible does not require that we worship on Saturday. If anything, we have the freedom (Rom. 14:1-12) to worship on the day that we believe we should. And, no one should judge us regarding the day we keep. We are free in Christ and not under law (Rom. 6:14). See our videos "Christ Has Fulfilled & Replaced the Law of Moses With Higher Laws of the New Covenant, Hebrews 8:6-13" at ua-cam.com/video/EkZ2Cn8TLzE/v-deo.html, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html & "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html. 2 Timothy 2:15
Hundreds of thousands of Seventh-day Adventists have left Adventism after realizing they've been duped by a false cult. There is now a mandate for true Christians to learn how to minister to these spiritually deceived victims. See "Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong" at ua-cam.com/video/c37bNhYzdbE/v-deo.html, "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, "False SDA Gospel of Ellen G. White Leads to Baby Abortions Just Like Planned Parenthood" at ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html, "Cult Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventism: 1844 Probation & Satan As A Final Sin Bearer for Adventists" at ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html & "Did God Really Give Ellen G. White "Divine" Health Reform Visions From Book of Revelation Angels?" at ua-cam.com/video/nhKoS2Fk1Y4/v-deo.html. For further information see the websites www.TruthorFables.com, www.GreatControversyExposed.com, www.ExAdventism.com & www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.com. Email: proclamation@gmail.com. Jude 3, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."
Someone said, "I don't think that SDA's are not saved because of their beliefs, as long as they maintain their belief in Jesus Christ, that is sufficient." One reason we have invested so much time & effort in confronting Seventh-day Adventism is because they have "another Jesus" & "another gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4). Keep in mind that even the Muslims believe in "Jesus" but it is not the same Jesus as taught in the Bible (for proof see our website www.MuslimHope.com). The "Jesus Christ" of Ellen G. White is not the final sin bearer for sinners but Satan is (see our video "Cult Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventism: 1844 Probation & Satan As A Final Sin Bearer for Adventists" at ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html) & their "gospel" is a false gospel (see our video "Truth About Seventh-Day Adventist "Truth?": A False Gospel of Imperfect Law Keeping to Earn Heaven" at ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html). The consequences of following a phony "Jesus" & a phony "gospel" is eternal damnation (& we're not talking about "soul sleep" - see our video ""ANNIHILATIONISM" TO ESCAPE HELL: ANOTHER DOCTRINE OF THE DEMONS (& JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES & OTHERS)" at ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html) as laid out by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 1:6-10, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." Thus the false religion of Ellen G. White has dire significance for those who risk their souls to believe in it. See www.TruthorFables.com, www.ExAdventist.com & our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. SDAs need to repent of their false Jesus & false gospel & come to a true saving knowledge of the real Jesus Christ as taught in the Bible (see our video "IS JESUS GOD ALMIGHTY IN THE FLESH MEANING THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY OR IS HE SOMETHING ELSE?" at ua-cam.com/video/_BlPm7M7uv8/v-deo.html). Please remember 1 John 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." The person to whom this message was sent replied that they didn't have time to do further research & would just believe as they desired. We replied to that with this - You prove by your statement that you are willingly ignorant of what the Seventh Day Adventists actually believe but prefer rather to wishfully hope they might have it right (you of course taking the proverbial "three monkey approach" - hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil). Pardon me but that is a hopelessly senseless & inane way to rationalize Biblical theology or SDA theology for that matter. Saint Paul would give you an "F" on your report card for being so naïve. Don't you realize that Jesus would flunk you out of class too since He said in Matthew 7:13-29 that few would be saved & then he qualifies it in verses 21-23 where He states he is talking about people who say they "believe" in Him (see also Luke 13:23-30). Thus claiming to believe in a "Jesus" is not good enough according to Jesus. Judging by what you say, the Mormon Jesus is good enough (the brother of the Devil), the Jehovah's Witness Jesus is good enough (the archangel Michael), the Muslim Jesus is good enough (just a human prophet of Allah), the Christian Science Jesus is good enough (just an idea Mary had one day), the Roman Catholic Jesus is good enough (a bread wafer in their Mass) or whatever "Jesus" anyone cares to believe in. Based on what you said you do not have time to research things further, either official SDA theology or Biblical theology, therefore be my guest in going on your merry way into your own imagined world of Biblical La-La Land (the "pick & choose" what I want to believe out of the Bible predicated on my own personal interpretations built on my own preference for lack of study & research). Good luck with that. Titus 1:9-16
Are Christians still under the Law of Moses or have the terms of the New Covenant as found in the New Testament changed Old Covenant requirements that were originally designated for the Old Testament Israelites (Hebrews 7:12, 8:6-13, 10:9)? No, true Christians are not under the Law of Moses but under Grace (this does not mean antinomianism however, see our video "Apostate Grace Evangelical Society (GES) Teaches Phony Grace & the Easy Believism of Another Gospel" at ua-cam.com/video/wMMvdPtyYvM/v-deo.html). When you are under New Covenant grace true Christians still try to keep the moral laws of God because they love God & His righteousness. They are not trying to keep those moral laws of God in order to accomplish their salvation with God but because they have already received salvation by God's grace through being "born again" supernaturally by the Holy Spirit - John 3:3-8, Romans 8:1-17, 1 Corinthians 2:10-16, Ephesians 4:30, John 6:37, 39, 44, 63, 65 - see our video, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html). Too many so-called legalistic & heretical "Christians" think they have to work to keep the law in order to either earn their salvation or try hard to keep from losing it (see our videos "True Christians Cannot Lose Their Salvation But Fake & Deluded "Christians" Never Had It At All" at ua-cam.com/video/meUD2vCv3oo/v-deo.html & "DEBATE: ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED (CALVINISM) OR DOING ENOUGH WORKS TO KEEP SALVATION (PELAGIANISM)?" at ua-cam.com/video/H7e1aWfrQHg/v-deo.html). To be under the Law means that a person is under the power and authority of the Law to judge and condemn anyone who breaks the Law. Take a look at these verses that talk about being under the Law. Rom. 2:12, "For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law," (ἐν νόμῳ, en nomo, literally 'in law'). Gal. 3:23, "But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed," (ὑπὸ νόμον, hupo nomon, literally 'under law'). Gal. 4:5, "in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons," (ὑπὸ νόμον, hupo nomon, literally 'under law'). As you can see, to be under the Law means you will be judged by the Law. In the Old Testament Law found in Deuteronomy 27:26 it says, "‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’" So, to be under the Law means you have to keep it all. In Galatians 3:10 Paul said, "For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.'” That is what it means to be under the Law. But, as I said above, Christians are not under the Law. In other words, Christians are not obligated to keep the Law so as to be saved from God's righteous judgment, so they don't go to hell. Rom. 6:14, "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace." Gal. 5:18, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law." Christians are freed from having to please God and be saved by keeping the Law of God. We are not under the Law. We are not under its authority. It has no power over us. Why are Christians not under the Law? Christians are not under the Law because they have died to the Law. They have died with Christ, and those who have died are not bound by the Law. "for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation." (Rom. 4:15). "knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin;" (Rom. 6:6). "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him," (Rom. 6:8). "Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God." (Rom. 7:4). "But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter." (Rom. 7:6). So, Christians have died with Christ. They are identified with Christ so closely that it can be said that when Christ died, they died with him. Since Christians have died with him, they are no longer under the Law because he who has died is freed from the Law (Rom. 7:6). That is why Christians are not obligated to keep the Law of God in order to be saved from God's righteous judgment. Christians are saved from that requirement and penalty. Does Romans 2:13 mean that we are justified before God by keeping the Law? "For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:11-16). Verse 13 is often used by people (Roman Catholics, Mormons, etc.,) to say that we must keep the Law (along with faith in Jesus) to be saved, but this isn’t so. Paul was talking to the Jews (Romans 2:17) about their judging of the Gentiles, and then points them to their own Law (standard of judgment) and hypocrisy and tells them that the doers of the Law are just before God (v. 13). The standard they wanted to keep was the Law. Paul was telling them that they could be justified before God by keeping it. So, keep the Law. Keep all of it, but if you don’t, you’re in trouble. It is the doers of the Law who are justified before God. He tells them that the Gentiles who didn't have the Law according to the knowledge of the Jews were instinctively keeping the Law (v. 14) and will be judged accordingly. How much more the Jews? Paul was showing the self-righteous Jews who judged the Gentiles that they were not able to keep a perfect standard. They were hypocrites. This is why Paul tells us in the very next chapter, in Romans 3:28, that we are justified by faith apart from the works of the Law--which includes the Law of loving God (Deut. 6:5), and loving your neighbor (Lev. 19:18). No one is able to keep the Law. If you fail even once, then you become guilty of it all. James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” Gal. 3:10, “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” The Jews (and anyone else) can be justified before God by keeping the Law, but he or she has to be perfect. A person can’t fail even once--ever. But since all fail, that is why we have the gospel that tells us Jesus kept the Law perfectly (1 Pet. 2:22), and that we can be justified before God by faith in Him (Romans 4:3, 5; 5:1; John 1:12; 3:16). See our video "KEEPING THE OLD TESTAMENT LAWS & COMMANDMENTS CANNOT EARN HEAVEN OR SALVATION WITH GOD!" at ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Philippians 3:2-3, 9, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. 3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"
Christ is the end of the Law for Israel. The law made no one righteousness or moral and no one could keep it perfectly. Rom 10:4 (NIV) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Rom 3:20 (NIV) Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. The Law of Sin and Death is the Ten Commandments. 2 Cor 3:6-7 "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was," The law was made for rebellious Israel, not Christians with the spirit of God. Do Christians need a law to tell them not to worship idols, not to murder and steal? 1 Tim 1:9-11 How can Christians be righteous before God without the law? Christians receive their righteousness from the gospel and will live by faith. Rom 1:17 “The righteous will live by faith.” Paul was not under the Law. Be like Paul and win SDAs and other sabbatarians that put themselves under the law. 1 Cor 9:20 (NIV) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. Rom 6:14 (NIV) For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Gal 5:14 (NIV) The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Gal 5:18 (NIV) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The Apostles opposed the Judaizers that were trying to impose the law on Gentiles. The issue was keeping the law of Moses all of it. Notice that the sabbath was not included in the discussion. In the Jewish mind a gentile must first be circumcised before he could keep the sabbath. This would have been an excellent time to tell the gentiles to keep the Ten as do SDAs. Acts 15:5 (NIV) Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.” Acts 15:10-11 (NIV) Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:19-21 (NIV) “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” Mount Sinai Covenant is Slavery represented by earthly Jerusalem. Jewish and gentile Christians are free in the New Jerusalem in heaven which is of faith. What was given on Mount Sinai? The Ten Commandments with the sabbath. Gal 4:21-31 (NIV) Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. What are the laws that God has written on our hearts? SDAs would have you believe that God is writing the same old covenant law of sin and death on our hearts. The Apostles tell us what they are. Law of Faith. To know we are justified before God without keeping the old covenant. Rom 3:27-28 (NRSV) Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. Law of the Spirit. Has set us free from the law of sin and death. Rom 8:1-4 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." Live by the Spirit. If you are led by the Sprit you are not under the law. Gal 5:16-21 (NIV) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Law of liberty. James 2:8-11 (NIV) If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder. ”if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. James mentions two distinct laws-that is, (1) the royal law and the law of liberty (which are identical) and (2) "the whole law" (which includes the entire Torah, all the Laws of Moses). James tells us that the royal law is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This law, found in Leviticus 19:18, is one of many laws that the Lord gave to Moses to instruct Israel regarding how to live moral lives and develop good interpersonal relationships with others. James also states that, as in the old covenant law, if you broke even one point of the whole law, you were guilty of the entirety of the old covenant, likewise, if you fail to show proper love for even one person by showing partiality, you are guilty of breaking the law of Liberty. Therefore to break one point in the Ten or in the "whole law" consisting of 613 commands, YOU are a lawbreaker. Jesus gave a new commandment to love one another. Will a Christian that loves one another, murder, steal, commit adultery, and worship idols? There is no need for that obsolete law or the Ten Commandments. Love does no harm to one’s neighbor therefore love fulfills the law. Keeping the law does not fulfill it. Paul tells Titus what to teach. Do you notice nothing is said about teaching the law/sabbath. Titus 2:11-15 (NIV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you. Finally, Sabbath Keeping in Alaska is a Problem. This shows that the Sabbath was a regional, temporary command for Israel and not for the world. Interesting problem in Alaska. According to the officious SDA sunset calculator, on Friday eve, May 30th, in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the sun set below the horizon, bringing with it the Jewish Shabbat, at 11:38 PM, almost midnight. Note: AK is so far west, it is on Hawaiian time. Here is the quote: Calculations for: Longitude: -148.34000 Latitude: 70.27000 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Time Zone: Hawaiian Standard Time, HSTDate: 5/30/03 Friday Sunrise: 0:07am HST (sunrise Friday morning)Sunset: 11:38pm HST (sunset, Friday night, becoming sabbath) Next, we find sunrise on Sabbath, May 31st, actually starts before midnight Friday night and el sol invictus stays up all day Sabbath, and into Sabbath night, and into Sunday morning, and into Sunday night, for the next two months! Date: 5/31/03 Sunrise: Sun above horizon HST Sunset: Sun above horizon HST (meaning the sun never sets). Meaning: if you live and work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, extracting dino remains buried and liquified by Noah's flood less than 4500 years ago, you have a problem! (no!! dummy! not the recent age of the earth!)... you have to quit working! Because on Friday night, May 30th, when the sun went down at 1l:38, bringing in the holy Lord's day, you had to stop working, thou, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and all the strangers within thy igloo. But the sun came up again on Sabbath just a few minutes later, but never went down after that!!! As I scribble this nonsense it is still Sabbath in Prudhoe Bay...cause the sun never went down....no Saturday sunset. So if you believe literally that you must keep sabbath from sunset on Friday night to Sabbath sunset.....the next day, Sabbath, did NOT have a sunset this summer! Won't be a sunset for another two months! So you are faced with keeping Sabbath for two months straight, and giving up your job with Exxon! Unless of course, you are the camp padre, trying to spread the word that black gold comes from dead dinos who missed the ark, or in the medical profession raking in piles of dough and salving your conscience by paying plenty of tithe to keep the hired-archy gainfully employed.
You can try an internet search on Yahoo or Google & see what you can find. I seem to recall a discussion on Seventh-Day Adventism years ago on the "John Ankerberg Show" - whether it was a debate or not I just can't remember. These SDA shows should still be available for viewing here on UA-cam. Just type "Seventh-Day Adventism John Ankerberg" in the UA-cam search box & see what comes up. Our ministry has had many televised debates over the years but we could never get the SDA to do one with us.
Your take on Revelation 20:14 is faulty. You're forcing the "10 Commandments" into that verse when that verse does not say the "10 commandments." You're reading into the text what the text does not say. The New Testament only reinterates 9 of the 10 commandments & leaves out Jewish Sabbath keeping so you are Biblically incorrect. Go to our UA-cam channel CANSWERSTV & click on our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" & see our video "SABBATH KEEPING IS NOT REQUIRED."
Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday . That day He met with his disciples and they worshipped Him . Jesus did NOT say you are worshiping me on the wrong day . Jesus did NOT say wait till the Sabbath to worship me.
White predicted Christ's imminent return as early as 1856. It was later published in the book "Testimonies" & was very well received in the SDA Church. White claimed she was shown a vision that some present at a 1856 conference would be translated: "I was shown the company present at the Conference. Said the angel: "Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus." Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 131.
Ellen White (1827-1915): “nor was it hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which pertained to the first temple… The SHEKINAH no longer abode between the cherubim in the most holy place; the ark, the mercy seat” (GC, p. 24). Ellen White: “It was shadowed by the wings of the golden cherubim, and the unspeakable glory of the SHEKINAH, the visible symbol of the most high God, had rested over it in the holy of holies” (PP, p. 584). This teaching is from the JEWISH BABYLONIAN TALMUD The word SHEKINAH does not appear in the Bible. The Jewish rabbis coined this extra-biblical ... She·ki·nah SHəKHēˈnä,-ˈKHēnə,SHiˈkēnə,-ˈkī-/Submit noun (in Jewish and Christian theology) the glory of the divine presence, conventionally represented as light or interpreted symbolically (in Kabbalism as a divine FEMININE aspect). Ingraham J. H (1809-1860): “…of the visible presence of Jehovah, in the Shechinah once present there” (The prince of the house of David, p. 16, 1855). Ellen White just copied (as usual) an earlier writer - Ingraham J. H (1809-1860): “Beyond was the holy ark of the covenant, over which the cherubim hovered… As this was the holy of holies, I was not permitted to see it; … the seat of god’s throne on earth, alas, now left vacant since the glory of the Shechinah departed from the Holy of Holies!” (The Prince of the house of David, p. 238, 1855). Joseph Holt Ingraham was an American author. Ingraham was born in Portland, Maine. He spent several years at sea, then worked as a teacher of languages in Mississippi. In the 1840s he published work in Arthur's Magazine. He became an Episcopal clergyman on March 7, 1852. Wikipedia Shekinah says that God is FEMALE. The bible says God is MALE. EG White is a FALSE PROPHET
Ques for u,(1)a.If you keep & Sabbath day holy by going to Church on Saturday,are u automatically saved?b.Wot other requirements are there?c.Y was Jesus & his disciples accused of not keeping d sabbath.(2)a.If u worship & celebrate Jesus on Sunday,do u have d mark of d beast&are u going straight to hell?b.why was there a gathering,a breaking of break & delivery of message by Paul on d 1st day of d week(Acts 20:7)& a collection on d 1st day (I cor 16:1-2).Please back ur answers with d bible.
A Seventh-day Adventist said on one of our UA-cam videos, "It's because of the Seventh-day Adventist religion I can understand Book of Revelation Prophecy." Our ministry response to that is, "Ellen White's religious cult was created in America during the 1800s based on a false 1844 return of Jesus to earth prophecy by William Miller (see our video "Ellen White's Seventh-day Adventism Qualifies as a Pseudo-Christian Anti-Christ American Cult " at ua-cam.com/video/RV0g9lFiKCA/v-deo.html & www.truthorfables.com/ for documentation) which cannot help anyone in their right mind properly understand Revelation unless they too want to be under the same types of delusion as the original Ellen White disciples. Why would anyone base their understanding of Revelation from a religious cult started on a false 1844 prophecy since they were obviously wrong from the very beginning?? For more on this see our video "Cult Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventism: 1844 Probation & Satan As A Final Sin Bearer for Adventists" at ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html . If you want a better understanding of Revelation see our video "Intro to the Book of Revelation - Knowing Old Testament Prophets Helps You Understand Revelation" at ua-cam.com/video/8bpQtegFfcM/v-deo.html. We also have a playlist called "End Times, Supernatural Prophecies, Tough Bible Questions" with 63 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL141F261EEFCFD536.html . Seventh-day Adventists constantly try to proselytize members from real Christian churches (this is very similar to what the Mormons & Jehovah's Witnesses do). The goal of Adventist evangelistic “seminars” is to proselytize and baptize new members into the Seventh-day Adventist Church away from Bible believing Christian churches. The meetings are advertised as prophecy or Revelation seminars. The topics are based on unique unbiblical Adventist doctrines. Other methods used by Adventists to proselytize include sanctuary displays, health and cooking seminars, community wellness education, vacation Bibles schools, door-to-door book sales, Adventist hospitals and educational institutions, radio and television programs, and more! See www.seventhdaycult.com/adventist-news/lancaster.html given by former Adventist pastor Dale Ratzlaff, after an Adventist evangelistic event in Lancaster, California. For more information: www.lifeassuranceministries.org/ The website home of Proclamation! magazine. Download back issues, read devotionals, studies, letters to the editor, or subscribe to receive your own printed copies. www.exadventist.com/ Mark Martin, pastor of Calvary Chapel Phoenix, created this outreach of former Seventh-day Adventists to help those who are seeking Biblical answers on Adventism. Site includes a large collection of studies, audio files, and other resources. www.truthorfables.com/ Extensive research on the Adventist prophet Ellen White. www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/adventismprofile.pdf Watchman Fellowship Profile, by The Watchman Expositor amazingfiction.org/ Are Doug Batchelor's amazing facts really facts? Or are they amazing fiction? Are Seventh-day Adventist Prophecy Seminars telling you the truth? Compare SDA Prophecy teachings with the Bible. You deserve to know the truth. The studies on this web site expose how Adventist teachings on Bible Prophecy are more amazing fiction than amazing facts.
@Lysimachus78 The problem you have is the fact that Seventh-Day Adventists aren't really keeping the Jewish Sabbath as it was laid down in Moses' Law. Instead of keeping Moses' Law they're keeping Ellen G. White's "law." SDA are only following their cult leader's "sabbath" & claiming it's Biblical, which isn't the case.The Jews followed a 360 day calendar not a Julian calendar & Sabbaths were started & finished at a specific hour of the day which doesn't match American time periods. Romans 14:5
Does attending worship service or, or keeping Sunday as sabbath save you and get you to heaven? Does keeping Saturday do same? Does worshinopping or keeping either day take away your salvation or get you to heaven?
Thank you so much for this excellent presentation. I pray that Dr. Walter Veith, a 7th Day Adventist preacher, could know this info. He quotes much of Ellen G White, but not the material and letters that contradict her visions. He's very devout and it's hard to think that he knows the deception of Ellen White. Thank you for all this info. Bless you Maranatha!
A former SDA cult member stated the following in the comments section under our video called, "Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong" at ua-cam.com/video/c37bNhYzdbE/v-deo.html saying, "My whole life just flashed before me, after seeing this video! The S.D.A. çhurch has brainwashed me beyond comprehensive understanding! It has destroyed my whole life and caused much poverty and homelessness! I'm 83 years old now. I was raised in the church by my direct descendants who were close to Dr, John Harvey Kellogg. The church is nothing but a religious business for E.G. Whites scamming ! They are a cult based on fear, greed and lies. All under their so called "truth" for the love of the Bible and fellow man! The most evil people I ever met were the staunch members of the church! Once a member they won't stop trying to reconvert you! They could care less about your well being! They inflate their members numbers to "prove" that large numbers are "proof" of their "truth"!" For more see our playlist called, "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" with 54 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html & the website www.truthorfables.com/ . Matthew 7:15, "beware of false prophets..."
Thank you! I have been SDA 65 years, also a direct descendant of the so called prophet, and the torment and cognitive dissonance have been beyond belief. God revealed to me in church a week ago that this was NOT the remnant church. I went home shattered to the core and started searching. This has confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt.Very well done!Just clear facts exposing the deceit and the lies I have been ingrained to believe. The gospel is so clear once EGW filters are removed.
2022, 30 years after, every single word of this video is still true in the SDA Organization. However, the SDA at this moment in time is shrinking like never before.
HGW has an obelisk on her grave in-fact its the entire gravestone. This is freemason and pagan.
Where could I find a list of excellent works refuting seventh day Adventistism?
@@SimplyProtestantBibleBeliever - Thanks for your request. First you must study & learn all the reasons why the SDA is false at its core historically & Biblically. To help you achieve this please begin working your way through our UA-cam playlist called "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html . For more information see the following websites by former SDA members such as: www.lifeassuranceministries.org/ , www.formeradventist.com/ , www.exadventist.com/ , www.sabbathinchrist.com/ , www.truthorfables.com/ www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com . Email: proclamation@gmail.com for free materials. We also have two newsletters concerning Seventh-day Adventism available on our own website biblequery.org/ - once on the homepage click on the Menu icon in the upper left hand corner to bring up a selection which will include "newsletters" & click on that. Feel free to download & print out any or all of our online newsletters.
Titus 1:9-16, "holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict. 10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their works they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and unfit for any good work."
- Hey Rodrigo!!
The question to ask is why do we need investigative judgement if by accepting Jesus’ death burial and resurrection and confessing our sins to God our sins are forgiven? We are called the righteousness of Christ once we accept Jesus as our Saviour.
As a former 3rd generation Seventh Day Adventist I will say that the organization its Insidious in the way they pretend to be what there are not. It comes from the leadership & most of the attendance are blind. Did my family intended to be in a cult? Of course not! But the truth is that we were wrongly misguided by the church. I never read Ellens books w intention. I read Step to Christ in Adventist School Academy. In college I dicided to read Step to Christ with "intention" meaning putting attention in what i was reading. Comparing bible verses w her writings on that book. The next day It was Sabath afternoon & when I walked into the church I began sobing bc I knew right there that Christ was not in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. The rest is history...God have been purging my soul of that awful doctrine for the past 15 yrs. Glory to God that He alone rescue me from death.
I'm not exactly clear where you're coming from? I am a direct DESCENDENT of the founders of the church. I went to their boarding schools and worked in their tax free factory's! I quit the church in 1956! I CAN SAY THAT THEY ARE A CULT AND NOTHING A but a business for Ellen's health care system! They continued to try and recovert after leaving and totally destroyed my life! I have spent many years being homeless!
@@robertchilders8045 But that's 65 years ago! I feel very sorry for your troubles sir. I pray and hope you will be comforted By God and Jesus, God bless and have a nice day!
See our videos "Christ Has Fulfilled & Replaced the Law of Moses With Higher Laws of the New Covenant, Hebrews 8:6-13" at ua-cam.com/video/EkZ2Cn8TLzE/v-deo.html, "Adam & the Ten Commandments - Are the Commandments Creation Ordinances & Eternal Moral Laws of God?" at ua-cam.com/video/DtNOycuiPMM/v-deo.html, "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html & "KEEPING THE OLD TESTAMENT LAWS & COMMANDMENTS CANNOT EARN HEAVEN OR SALVATION WITH GOD!" at ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday?
In the Old Testament, God stated,
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you," (Exodus 20:8-10, NASB).
It was the custom of the Jews to come together on the Sabbath, which is Saturday, cease work, and worship God. Jesus went to the synagogue on Saturday to teach (Matt. 12:9, John 18:20) as did the apostle Paul (Acts 17:2; 18:4). So, if in the Old Testament we are commanded to keep the Sabbath and in the New Testament we see Jews, Jesus, and the apostles doing the same thing, then why do we worship on Sunday?
First of all, of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only 9 of them were reinstituted in the New Testament: five in Matt. 19:18, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and honor parents; in Rom. 13:9, coveting; worshiping God properly covers the first three commandments. The one that was not reaffirmed was the one about the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8).
Upon the completion of Creation, God rested on the seventh day. However, since God is all-powerful, He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t need to take a break and rest. So, why did/does it say that He rested? The reason is simple: Mark 2:27 says, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In other words, God established the Sabbath as a rest for His people--not because He needed a break but because we are mortal and need a time of rest--a time to focus on God. In this, our spirits and bodies are both renewed.
The Old Testament system of Law required keeping the Sabbath as part of the overall moral, legal, and sacrificial system by which the Jewish people satisfied God’s requirements for behavior, government, and forgiveness of sins. The Sabbath was part of the Law in that sense. In order to "remain" in favor with God, you had to also keep the Sabbath. If it was not kept, then the person was in sin and would often be punished (Ezekiel 18:4; Rom. 6:23; Deut. 13:1-9; Num. 35:31; Lev. 20:2, etc.).
But with Jesus’ atonement, we are no longer required to keep the Law. We are not under Law but grace (Rom. 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus. He is our rest. We are not under obligation, by Law, to keep it; and this goes for the Sabbath as well. It is not a requirement that we keep the Sabbath. If it were, then we would still be under the Law; but we are not.
Evidence of the Change of Days can be Seen in the NT
The New Testament has ample evidence that the seventh day Sabbath is no longer a requirement.
Rom. 14:5-6, "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God."
The entire section of Rom. 14:1-12 is worth careful study. Nevertheless, the instructions here are that individuals must be convinced in their own minds about which day they observe for the Lord. If the seventh day Sabbath were a requirement, then the choice would not be man's but God’s.
Col. 2:16-17, "Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ."
Notice here that time sequence mentioned. A festival is yearly. A new moon is monthly. A Sabbath is weekly. No one is to judge regarding this. The Sabbath is defined as a shadow; the reality is Jesus. Jesus is our Sabbath.
Acts 20:7, "And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight."
The first day of the week is Sunday, and this is the day the people gathered. This passage can easily be seen as the church meeting on Sunday. It has two important church functions within it: breaking bread (communion) and a message (preaching). Additionally, Luke did not use the Jewish system of counting days: sundown to sundown. He used the Roman system: midnight to midnight. This is a subtle point that shows the Jewish Sabbath system was not the one utilized by Luke.
1 Cor. 16:1-2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come."
Notice here that Paul is directing the churches to meet on the first day of each week and put money aside. It would seem that this is tithing. So, the instructed time for the church to meet is Sunday. Is this an official worship day set up by the church? You decide.
Rev. 1:10-11, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."
The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, ‘The Lord’s Day’ in Revelation 1:10: "This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, "ta kuriaka hamera." The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the church’s worship day. As such, it certainly appears early in the 2nd century (Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians, 1. 67).
In many churches today, the term "The Lord’s Day" is used to designate Sunday--the same as it was in the second century.
I hope this is evidence enough to show you that the Bible does not require that we worship on Saturday. If anything, we have the freedom (Rom. 14:1-12) to worship on the day that we believe we should. And, no one should judge us regarding the day we keep. We are free in Christ and not under law (Rom. 6:14).
In my experience, sda's don't even blink when told their "prophet" has proven to have plagerized LARGE portions of her writings...in fact they will tell you to READ ALL her books, and oh yeah, DON'T TALK BAD ABOUT GOD'S PROPHET!!! LOL. we pray God leads them out and into His Light. Sean's wife
I always had a sence of guilt for not having read all the almost 77.000 pages, and eventually, having lost a revelation from the LORD.
See our videos "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html & "KEEPING THE OLD TESTAMENT LAWS & COMMANDMENTS CANNOT EARN HEAVEN OR SALVATION WITH GOD!" at ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. See also www.scribd.com/doc/110229267/Sabbatismos-the-Sabbath-under-the-Gospel.
John 5:8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
Response:
Scripture plainly states that the Jewish leaders were upset with Jesus for breaking the Sabbath, not that they were upset with Him because they thought He was breaking the Sabbath. Concluding that Scripture doesn’t always mean quite what it says begins a dangerous and slippery slope that ends with ourselves, rather than Scripture, as the final authority.
Jesus didn’t claim that He wasn’t working on the Sabbath. Instead, He compared His work with the fact that the Father was working. It is not a sin, it does not break any commandment, for God to work on the Sabbath. But what about Jesus instructing the man to carry his bed? This also broke the Sabbath Law (and not just the added Rabbinical Laws as Adventism claims).
Jer 17:21 Thus says the Lord, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. … 27 But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.”
The only realistic explanation is understanding that this law was a shadow pointing to Christ. Since the Light had arrived, the purpose of the shadow was completed. Jesus’ rest was available during His ministry and intensified when the New Covenant was fully ushered in. Jesus was establishing the teachings of this Covenant before His death, including His commandments.
Jesus defended His non-observance of the Sabbath by pointing out that this shadow didn’t apply to Him. He is Lord of the Sabbath, and He (like His Father) is working all the time. That explains His actions on the Sabbath, but having the man carry the load on the Sabbath seems to require that the shadow was fading away in light of the arrival and teaching of the Lord.Should our desire to follow Jesus’ example translate into Sabbath-keeping? I’d like to highlight a couple of points about how Jesus related to the rituals of his day. First, when he touched lepers to heal them, he became unclean himself. Though he sent these men to the priests to re-establish their “cleanness,” there is no record of him going through the cleansing rituals himself. When touched by the woman who had been bleeding for years on the way to Jairus’ house, and then later when he held Jairus’ daughter by the hand and raised her from the dead-these were both situations where he was made ritually unclean. This did not concern Jesus, of course. He had a much higher purpose, and was soon to make this statement,
“Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean…Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? For it doesn’t go into his heart, but into his stomach, and then out of his body. (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’) He went on: What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’” Mark 7:14-23. There are several implications from this passage. Jesus is showing that ritual law is being superceded by the eternal principles on which they were based. The Christian, reading these writings, realizes that the Jewish practices of cleansing, though clearly mandated in the books of the Law, are now irrelevant since Jesus became the complete revelation to which the Law and its rituals were pointing. The cleansing rituals, once learned, were actually so much easier to follow than the standard Jesus set. Instead of ritual purification, the Christian is called to clean living through his/her actions. Several of the principles contained in the commandments are mentioned (though not Sabbath-keeping, or even worship). But others (malice, lewdness, slander, and arrogance) while not addressed in the 10 commandments, are still clearly “unclean” behavior. That sexual immorality and lewdness go beyond simple adultery is clear, as they are mentioned in addition to adultery. It is clear that the principles contained within the 10 commandments are more important than ever, but are only the beginning of the lifestyle we will try to live through the Spirit and the grace of God. The critical distinction will become clear in Romans and is this: Our salvation is not dependent on us achieving that lifestyle. Rather it is based on Jesus who successfully lived that life in our place. Our gratitude and love is what motivates us as Christians to follow in his example. Lastly from this verse, the groundwork is laid for setting aside the system of clean and unclean foods. Paul will later quote from this scripture in making the same case when discussing clean and unclean meats. More on this later.
My point from the previous paragraph is that Jesus, while living in a Jewish society, growing up as a Jewish boy in the usual ways (circumcised, law-school, etc.), would begin to move his followers out of Jewish methods of religion and worship. The very Laws he gave to Moses, he would take the liberty of setting aside. Besides the uncleanness discussed above, there was the harvesting of grain while passing through the field by his disciples on the Sabbath. This was clearly a violation of Sabbath law, but Jesus justifies it using an example of David violating a different ritual aspect of the same law, but who obviously received God’s blessing. Jesus is elevating his listeners, early Christians, and you and me, to principles above and beyond the law. What Jesus is doing in this passage (John 5:16-18) is using the Sabbath to teach them something about himself. You cannot separate these verses from the broader theology of John and what John is setting out to do. Jesus is not teaching us about the Sabbath, as we typically hear on these stories of Sabbath healings. Jesus is teaching us something about himself. I can say that with confidence because it is all over this story. Jesus makes the point that God works on the Sabbath (and no one is calling God a law breaker - John 5:17), so when Jesus works on the Sabbath he can break the Law of Moses because He and God are the same. Jesus point is not about the Sabbath. Jesus is using the Sabbath as an opportunity to teach them something about his identity. We are not called to have faith in the Sabbath but faith in Christ. We often miss the forest for the trees on this one and get all caught up on the Sabbath rather than on the Lord of the Sabbath. Often this point is entirely missed because we are unaware or unconcerned with the broader theology of the Gospel of John that this fits so well into.
Sabbatarians enjoy pointing to Jesus as our example to keep the Sabbath. Is this a valid argument? If we are to follow Jesus' examples of how he lived under the old covenant, should consider this?
Do Seventh Day Adventists Follow Jesus' Example? No!
Jesus wore tassels on a robe with a blue cord.
Jesus paid tax to the temple and supported temple worship
Jesus went to a Jewish synagogue on Sabbath and read from the Torah in Hebrew.
Jesus spoke out against the Jewish Leaders.
Jesus limited his study only to the Torah.
Jesus kept all 12 sabbaths including eating the Passover lamb.
Jesus did not baptize anyone.
Jesus did not own a home, did not marry, was not employed, had no income, stayed in other peoples homes, rode a donkey.
Let’s evaluate specific statements Jesus made about the law, starting with the passage in Matthew 5:17-19. Many believe that Jesus is establishing with his own words the everlasting application of the 10 commandments. This is not the case, however. Here is why…first, the text, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets: I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The first key feature is in the first sentence and the term, “Law or the Prophets.” This is a clear reference to the entire Old Testament, which is divided into Law (1st 5 books), Prophets (all the other books). Evidence for this is contained in these verses, “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John” Matt 11:13. This is a clear reference to the body of Old Testament scripture. “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent” Matt 12:5. This was in defense of his disciples’ Sabbath-harvesting. The portion of the Law He is referring to is in Leviticus where the priest’s duties are described. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” Matt 22:36-40. Note the use of the term “the Law and the Prophets” which clearly references the entire Old Testament scripture. Further, “the Law” is clearly a reference to the Torah, or Pentateuch as we call the first five Bible books. Both of the commandments Jesus quotes are from these books, but neither is one of the Ten. The first is from Deut 6:5, and the second is from Lev 19:18. Of course Adventists are quick to point out that the 10 commandments can be divided by first 4 (love for God) and last 6 (love for fellow man). This is an assumption. Jesus does not make this point. Rather, he broadly states that the message from the entire Old Testament scripture can be summed up this way.
So, I think you’ll agree that what Jesus is stating in verse 17 is that He has come to fulfill the entire Old Testament. Then in verse 18, the term “the Law” can not be seen to mean “the 10 commandments” and must instead be seen to mean the whole Torah - first 5 books of the Bible. This is the way the term “the Law” is used throughout Matthew and the rest of the Gospels. The Greek word is “nomos” and will be discussed further regarding its usage in the NT Epistles. Even in the encounter with the rich young ruler, Jesus uses the term “commandments” (Greek word “entole”), not “the Law” - and that was only to test this man, who was evidently very good at keeping the commandments (the Ten plus others), but did not want to turn his life over to Jesus. The point of this story is that the keeping of the commandments does not change the heart. But, back to my point about the original verse: the term “the Law” has to mean the entire Pentateuch. Given this interpretation, the meaning of the verse is this: the Jewish system of worship (the Old Covenant) will not pass away until I (Jesus) have fulfilled it. Well, either we had better be sticking to the sacrificial system in its entirety, or we need to be able to point to a time when Jesus fulfilled that system of worship. I believe the Bible is clear about this. Gospel writers use the terms “fulfill” and “accomplish” as markers for the end of this system described in the Law and the Prophets. Notice the parallel between this verse in John 19:28 “Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, I am thirsty.” Matthew as well uses the term “fulfilled” in a final way, never in a state of on-going fulfillment. For instance, “But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled…” Matthew 26:56. I believe a correct interpretation of this verse in Matthew 5 shows that the Old Covenant system of worship practiced by the Jews was fulfilled by the life and death of Christ and have now lost their importance, making room for a new system of worship and a new understanding of our relationship with God: the New Covenant. This makes many uncomfortable, but I emphasize again that the eternal moral principles contained throughout the Old Testament and Old Covenant system are timeless and are incorporated into the New Covenant system as well. The focus, however, is (and has to be) different. It is now based on Jesus and his accomplished sacrifice, instead of the promise of the coming sacrifice which was the focal point of the Old Covenant. The Old was leading up to that triumph, and the New is life after the triumph - related, but very different perspectives - like Adam before and after the fall. Same man, but entirely different “state.”
One more point about this verse…When Jesus uses the term “commandments” in verse 19 (Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments…,) he appears to be using a general term that applies to the many God-given directions in the Torah, including, but not limited to the Ten Commandments. (The Greek word is “entole.” We will examine its usage throughout the New Testament later in this paper.) This is supported by the whole context of the verse, and the usage of the term elsewhere in the gospels. Again, see the verses in Matt 22 which also incorporate all these exact terms. (When asked about the greatest commandment, He responds with statements found elsewhere in the Torah.) He is upholding the entire Torah, not just the Ten. I believe a different conclusion is speculation, which is fine to do, but not when formulating doctrine. Adventists think they have Ellen White to validate their speculation, but without her validation, these proof texts are much less clear.
I want to take some time here to examine what Jesus does emphasize from the 10 commandments in his pivotal sermon on the mount. He cuts through the letter of the law to reveal the eternal principle behind this covenant made between God and the Israelites. Principles which make perfect obedience to the law impossible, yet are still what we strive for. 1. In addition to refraining from murder, don’t even be angry. Avoid lawsuits. Don’t hold grudges. 2. In addition to refraining from adultery, don’t even look at a woman with lustful thoughts. Exactly where does one cross the line from admiring beauty to lustful thinking? That is not spelled out for us. People who would prefer to live by a well-defined law don’t know what to do with this because it is not black and white. Then Jesus moves outside of the 10 commandments into other principles of the Law, including divorce, and the use of oaths. There is no hint that these are any less important, or separated in any way. He then breaks more new ground introducing the New Covenant principles of turning the other cheek, loving ones enemies, stewardship and the attitude of the heart behind giving and prayer life. The idea of “eye for an eye” is indeed a Biblical principle, enunciated in Exodus 21:24. Yet Jesus shows a more mature approach. My two points of emphasis are these: 1. Jesus does not make a distinction between the 10 Commandments and the rest of the Law. 2. Jesus does emphasize a new focus beyond the letter of that Law - not setting it aside, but in fact making it even harder to follow - impossible in fact without the Holy Spirit. (Good news - obeying the Law, or the principles behind it, is not a requirement for salvation! Thanks be to God.) There is no sign that 7th-day worship is one of those eternal principles. But worship itself certainly is, as is Sabbath rest, and this will be examined at length in Hebrews.
“If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
Adventists like to reference John 14:15 as a specific direction by Jesus to uphold the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath. “If ye love me, keep my commandments. (KJV)” Or in the NIV that I’ve been using for this study, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Elder Vandeman, in his book A Day to Remember, made a point of emphasizing that it was really Jesus who met with Moses on Mount Sinai, and wrote the Ten on the tablets of stone with his finger. I don’t think this is crystal clear from scripture, but I wouldn’t argue the point. Either way, Jesus is a full member of the Trinity, and thus wholly God. However, and most importantly, this argument in no way establishes that Jesus is referring to the 10 commandments in this verse. In fact, the context of this verse strongly promotes the “Law of Love” that Jesus is emphasizing to his disciples during the Last Supper. Vandeman tries to brush this off, but gives no justification for doing so. Simply read the chapters from John 13-15 to see that Jesus is preparing his disciples for his death and resulting separation from them. Yet he encourages them with the promise of the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. He assures them that the character of God has been manifested to them through him, so they can love and trust God in a richly personal way - patterned after their human relationship with Him (Jesus.) Over and over Jesus states clearly what command he is giving to his disciples: Love one another as Jesus has loved them (us). John 13:34, 35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Keeping the Sabbath is not how all men will recognize Christ’s true followers! Instead, it is the first fruit of the Spirit - Love. (And along come Joy, Peace, etc.)
Let me summarize a bit at this point: I hear it said often by Sabbath-keepers that since Jesus kept Sabbath, we should as well. Of course, Jesus was Jewish, and so was circumcised, educated by the Rabbis, celebrated the Jewish holidays, paid the temple tax, and still managed to convince the local experts on the Law that he was breaking the Sabbath on a regular basis. We don’t do all those other parts of the Jewish customs that Jesus did, so what again is the rationale for keeping the Sabbath? There is no mention of the Sabbath prior to the Ten Commandments. Though God rested on the 7th day after creation, He did not call it the Sabbath. There is no indication that humans rested on the 7th day until instructed to do so in the Old Covenant described by Moses in Exodus. This covenant was clearly made between God and Israel. Converts to Judaism first had to be circumcised (entrance sign) before they could worship in the Synagogue/Temple with the Jewish people on Sabbath (ongoing sign of the covenant). This covenant between God and Israel contains a ritualistic system of worship that even Adventists largely discard, though they and others hang onto the Sabbath because of its special inclusion in the Ten Commandments. However, it is clear that Christian living goes far beyond the 10 Commandments, as demonstrated by Jesus’ discourse on the subject, and later expanded by the New Testament writers.
The Covenants
Seventh-day Adventists arbitrarily divide the Sinaitic old covenant into two divisions, moral and ceremonial. They claim that the Ten Commandments are moral and the rest of the law/covenant is ceremonial. They have offered no biblical evidence to support a two-part division of the old covenant. There are moral and ceremonial commands in the whole law as well as a ceremonial command in the Ten Commandments.
The Bible writers never declared the old covenant was a two-part covenant. The Jews understand that there is but one law/covenant and it is all equally holy and was ratified by the blood of animals.
Ex 24:3 (NIV) When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’S words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.”
There are 613 commands in the old covenant that Israel were required to keep perfectly. These are found in the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The Ten has one ceremonial command, the sabbath, which is not a moral command. Sabbath keeping was given to Israel as a weekly ritual "to rest" from labor. It was never commanded as a communal day of worship. Israel was commanded to remember their deliverance from Egypt and that God created the world. The sabbath is not a moral command as no person has ever been charged with sin for breaking the sabbath except Israel of the old covenant.
The Old Covenant is a binding agreement God made with Israelites alone at Sinai. It was made with no other nation on earth. It includes the entire Mosaic Law which includes the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone by God. The entire covenant was ratified by the blood of animals.
Ex 24:8 (NIV) Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
Adventists teach that the sabbath is binding on all nations and all people for all time when in fact it was given only to one nation-Israel. Circumcision was the entry sign into the covenant. Gentiles could only legally keep the sabbath and be accepted by God, if they joined the Israelite community through circumcision and keep all the covenant.
The sign of the old covenant between God and Israel was the sabbath. God never made the sabbath a sign for Christians in the new testament. Do you find Christians mentioned in the text? Can you legally enjoin on Christians that which God has not enjoined on them?
Circumcision is just as much a perpetual covenant for Israel asis the sabbath. Circumcision was first made with Abraham as an "everlasting covenant"-but not the sabbath.
Ex 31:16-17 (NRSV) Therefore the Israelites shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”
Gen 17:9-10, 13 (NIV) Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
God then gave circumcision to the Israelites along with the sabbath in the law of Moses.
John 7:21-24 (NIV) Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”
The old covenant ended at Calvary with the death of Jesus. When a party to a covenant dies, said covenant ends. In this case it was Jesus who died, and He made that covenant with Israel. Thus the old covenant ended, even as a marriage covenant ends upon the death of either party. The surviving person is free to marry again, even as Jesus now takes the church as His new bride. If a mate dies, the surviving person is no longer married to a corpse. Rom. 7 shows this comparison of marriage and dying to the law through Christ. SDAs are married to the old covenant corpse. They read sabbath keeping in the old covenant (contract) God made with Israel and apply it to themselves. They do not accept the fact that they were never a party to that covenant. The only way for them to legally keep the sabbath is through circumcision and they are then obligated to keep ALL the old covenant with its 613 commands, which they do not do. They refuse to kill sabbath breakers and stay at home on sabbaths as the law requires. Thus they are lawbreakers, and subject to the condemnation of that law.
What Ended at the Cross?
Jesus Abolished Israel's Old Covenant law with Ten Commandments and regulations.
Eph 2:15 (NIV) ...by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.
Notice, "the law" is singular that was abolished, not laws. There was just "one law"-the Mosaic law-with many commands and regulations, that was abolished by Jesus.
God canceled the written code and regulations nailing it to the cross. SDAs claim that the "written code" was not the Ten, but the law that Moses wrote.
Both God and Moses wrote the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments written on stone tablets by the finger of God and were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant, and they were also written by Moses on parchment with ink and placed outside the Ark in the Book of the Covenant. Otherwise you would not be reading it in your Bible. Col 2 and Ex 24 explains this.
Col 2:13-14 (NIV) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
Ex 24:3-4 (NIV) When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’S words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.
vs. 7, Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”
Jesus was taken down from the cross, and the law with the sabbath remains nailed to the cross for eternity. SDAs try their best to pry the nails from the cross to make the sabbath binding on Christians.
"The first Covenant" had "stone tablets of the covenant."
Heb 9:1-4 (NIV) Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
The old covenant included the Ten Commandments as well as the Sanctuary furnishings not found in the Ten Commandments showing that the old covenant is not a two-part covenant claimed by Seventh-day Adventists.
The Old Covenant with the Ten Commandments are obsolete.
Heb 8:7-13 (NIV) For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8But God found fault with the people and said, “The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
The Ten Commandments were a ministration of death and condemnation.
2 Cor 3:6-9 (NIV) He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!
Only one who was a party to that law/sabbath could die to that law/sabbath. No one alive today was a party to the old covenant. For someone to insist on keeping the sabbath and other old covenant points of law is to insist on being bound to a dead mate.
Christian Jews are "released from the Law" and now serve the Spirit and not in the way of "the written code".
If you have not died to the law/sabbath you are holding onto a corpse. Good luck with that!
Rom 7:4-6 (NIV) So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
The law was a witness against Israel not Christians.
God gave the law to Israel to show them their sins and the law was a witness to it. They were a stiff-necked, rebellious, idolatrous, faithless nation.
Deut 31:26-27 (NIV) “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God. There it will remain as a witness against you. For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die!
The law was a school master (paidagogos) to bring Israel to Christ, not Christians who were never under that law. How can SDAs who claim to be justified by faith, want to be under Israel's schoolmaster (law)?
Gal 3:23-25 (KJV) But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
A paidagogos was one who accompanied a child, who was usually a slave of the parents of the child, and even administered punishment as required. Once the child came of age and was mature, the paidagogos was dismissed from this oversight of the child. Those who insist on living by that law demonstrate their immaturity; still needing a law to tell them everything they are to do or not do.
Christ is the end of the Law for Israel. The law made no one righteousness or moral and no one could keep it perfectly.
Rom 10:4 (NIV) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Rom 3:20 (NIV) Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
The Law of Sin and Death is the Ten Commandments.
2 Cor 3:6-7 (NIV) He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was,
The law was made for rebellious Israel, not Christians with the spirit of God. Do Christians need a law to tell them not to worship idols, not to murder and steal?
1 Tim 1:9-11 (NIV) We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers-and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
How can Christians be righteous before God without the law? Christians receive their righteousness from the gospel and will live by faith.
Rom 1:17 (NIV) For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Paul was not under the Law. Be like Paul and win SDAs and other sabbatarians that put themselves under the law.
1 Cor 9:20 (NIV) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
Rom 6:14 (NIV) For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Gal 5:14 (NIV) The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Gal 5:18 (NIV) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The Apostles opposed the Judaizers that were trying to impose the law on Gentiles. The issue was keeping the law of Moses all of it. Notice that the sabbath was not included in the discussion. In the Jewish mind a gentile must first be circumcised before he could keep the sabbath. This would have been an excellent time to tell the gentiles to keep the Ten as do SDAs.
Acts 15:5 (NIV) Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
Acts 15:10-11 (NIV) Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Acts 15:19-21 (NIV) “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
Mount Sinai Covenant is Slavery represented by earthly Jerusalem. Jewish and gentile Christians are free in the New Jerusalem in heaven which is of faith.
What was given on Mount Sinai? The Ten Commandments with the sabbath.
Gal 4:21-31 (NIV) Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says?For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written: “Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. But what does the Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
The New Covenant is God writing his laws on the Christian's heart.
Hebrews 8:10 (NIV) This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.
What are the laws that God has written on our hearts?
SDAs would have you believe that God is writing the same old covenant law of sin and death on our hearts. The Apostles tell us what they are.
Law of Faith. To know we are justified before God without keeping the old covenant.
Rom 3:27-28 (NRSV) Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.
Law of the Spirit. Has set us free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:1-4 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Live by the Spirit. If you are led by the Sprit you are not under the law.
Gal 5:16-21 (NIV) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Law of Christ.
Gal 6:2 (NIV) Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Law of liberty.
James 2:8-11 (NIV) If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder. ”if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
James mentions two distinct laws-that is, (1) the royal law and the law of liberty (which are identical) and (2) "the whole law" (which includes the entire Torah, all the Laws of Moses). James tells us that the royal law is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This law, found in Leviticus 19:18, is one of many laws that the Lord gave to Moses to instruct Israel regarding how to live moral lives and develop good interpersonal relationships with others. James also states that, as in the old covenant law, if you broke even one point of the whole law, you were guilty of the entirety of the old covenant, likewise, if you fail to show proper love for even one person by showing partiality, you are guilty of breaking the law of Liberty. Therefore to break one point in the Ten or in the "whole law" consisting of 613 commands, YOU are a lawbreaker.
Jesus gave a new commandment to love one another.
Will a Christian that loves one another, murder, steal, commit adultery, and worship idols? There is no need for that obsolete law or the Ten Commandments. Love does no harm to one’s neighbor therefore love fulfills the law. Keeping the law does not fulfill it. Another way to look at this is that, if a Christian has love for even his enemies, he would not commit these acts, seeing as these things are a result of an unconverted heart, not motivated by love. Do you trust the spirit to guide you? If not you have no faith just as Israel.
John 13:34-35 (NIV) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The world will know you are Jesus' disciples if you love one another.
Paul tells Titus what to teach. Do you notice nothing is said about teaching the law/sabbath.
Titus 2:11-15 (NIV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Finally, Sabbath Keeping in Alaska is a Problem.
This shows that the Sabbath was a regional, temporary command for Israel and not for the world. Interesting problem in Alaska. According to the officious SDA sunset calculator, on Friday eve, May 30th, in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the sun set below the horizon, bringing with it the Jewish Shabbat, at 11:38 PM, almost midnight. Note: AK is so far west, it is on Hawaiian time. Here is the quote:
Calculations for: Longitude: -148.34000 Latitude: 70.27000 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Time Zone: Hawaiian Standard Time, HSTDate: 5/30/03 Friday Sunrise: 0:07am HST (sunrise Friday morning)Sunset: 11:38pm HST (sunset, Friday night, becoming sabbath)
Next, we find sunrise on Sabbath, May 31st, actually starts before midnight Friday night and el sol invictus stays up all day Sabbath, and into Sabbath night, and into Sunday morning, and into Sunday night, for the next two months!
Date: 5/31/03 Sunrise: Sun above horizon HST Sunset: Sun above horizon HST (meaning the sun never sets). Meaning: if you live and work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, extracting dino remains buried and liquified by Noah's flood less than 4500 years ago, you have a problem! (no!! dummy! not the recent age of the earth!)... you have to quit working!
Because on Friday night, May 30th, when the sun went down at 1l:38, bringing in the holy Lord's day, you had to stop working, thou, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and all the strangers within thy igloo. But the sun came up again on Sabbath just a few minutes later, but never went down after that!!!
As I scribble this nonsense it is still Sabbath in Prudhoe Bay...cause the sun never went down....no Saturday sunset. So if you believe literally that you must keep sabbath from sunset on Friday night to Sabbath sunset.....the next day, Sabbath, did NOT have a sunset this summer! Won't be a sunset for another two months! So you are faced with keeping Sabbath for two months straight, and giving up your job with Exxon! Unless of course, you are the camp padre, trying to spread the word that black gold comes from dead dinos who missed the ark, or in the medical profession raking in piles of dough and salving your conscience by paying plenty of tithe to keep the hired-archy gainfully employed.... -sent by reader
Seventh Day Adventists follow their false prophetess Ellen G. White (a woman authority over her religious followers which violates 1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") & her idol of Sabbath keeping for salvation requirement (violating Galatians 1:6-9) rather than what the Bible plainly teaches about Sabbath keeping for New Testament believers. For more see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See the websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.ExAdventist.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org & www.GreatControversyExposed.com.
Titus 1:9-16
Praise God for your testimony Annie. We have both made the same experience. I was a SDA for 33 years and deeply devoted to EGW's writings. But God knew my heart out led me out into the full light of the Gospel.
I always remember the words of Paul:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage Gal 5:1
I remember because the Adventists are not the only ones who have replaced Christ with the Law.
God bless
Thank you guys for the Courageous move to come out.
For much more on the religion of Ellen G. White see our playlist called "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 53 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. Some of these videos come with free written transcripts such as "Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong" at media-cloud.sermonaudio.com/text/79161824122.pdf (also available in 20 languages). See also: www.truthorfables.com/ , www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org , www.ExAdventist.com , www.nonsda.org/ & www.ellenlied.com/ . Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets ..."
Thank you for this eye opening videos. I feel like a hammer is pounding my head and my stomach is upside down. Almost two years ago a friend invited me to a Bible Study. I didn’t know anything about Adventism but I liked the study and believed what they said. When they started talking about Ellen White I didn’t like at all, but I said to myself that I only have to obey the Bible and not to follow Ellen White teachings. Then, a year later I was baptized and started attending a Spanish SDA church. Now inside the church I have to study the Bible every day and be ready for the Sabbath School. They gave me a book with readings from the Bible and questions to answer which I thought it was awesome because I was learning so much BUT in each one of this lesson there are Ellen White comments, and the lesson for every Friday from every week is dedicated entirely to E W. I didn’t agree with that but I continue attending because they have a total member involvement and they made me treasure’s assistant, and gave me other responsibilities. There were to many things I didn’t like, but I just continued going. Now with the pandemic that is going on, and the quarantine I have had time to watch so many videos about this false religion and I have decided not to come back to that church. Thank you for helping me to leave that cult.
Edith Rodriguez - Praise God! Thank you for your testimony. Blessings to you & yours. Matthew 7:15, "... beware of false prophets ..."
Amen, now reache a new true church trinitarian, glory of god!
A free written transcript of this message is available at media-cloud.sermonaudio.com/text/108160185.pdf. Free written transcripts of this message are available in 20 languages at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?m=t&s=108160185. See our playlist of 40 videos & counting on the SDA at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html&feature=plcp. See www.LIFEASSURANCEMINISTRIES.org with director Dale Ratzlaff & www.EXADVENTIST.com with Mark Martin.
Larry Wessels, director of Christian Answers of Austin, Texas/ Christian Debater (UA-cam channel: CANSWERSTV at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTV; websites: www.BIBLEQUERY.ORG, www.HISTORYCART.COM & www.MUSLIMHOPE.COM) interviews two former members of the Seventh-Day Adventist religion created by a supposed "prophetess" named Ellen G. White. Wallace Slattery, author of the booklet, "Are Seventh-Day Adventists False Prophets?" (& former instructor & member of the SDA for 44 years) is joined in studio by his wife Carole, also a former SDA member for 44 years.
A farmer named William Miller became convinced (much the same as modern day false prophets like Harold Camping who has repeatedly predicted the end of the world based on his own Bible interpretations) through his own study of the Bible that the 2300 prophetic days of Daniel 8:14 represented 2300 years beginning in 457 B.C. with the decree of Artaxerxes I to rebuild Jerusalem & continuing down to 1843 or 1844 when he predicted Christ would return to Earth. Miller began preaching this prediction in the 1820s & continued to preach it into the 1840s. His doomsday message gathered perhaps a million followers throughout the Middle Atlantic & New England states. When Jesus did not come back in March 1844 as Miller had declared he turned to a prediction by S.S. Snow (who wore a white robe & called himself Elijah) who said Christ would return on October 22, 1844. Naturally, as it turned out, they were both wrong (known as the "Great Disappointment") & shown to be false prophets (Matthew 24:23-36). However, some of their deluded followers refused to give up on Miller's fabrications including a 17-year-old girl named Ellen Harmon (later to become known as Ellen G. White, due to her marriage to another Millerite named James White) who taught that God had shown her in a vision that "probation" for the people of the Earth had closed on October 22 & that Christ would come in the immediate future. When this didn't happen either, another Millerite adventist named Hiram Edson said the October 22 date merely marked a "transfer" of Christ's heavenly mission from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary, where Jesus then began the "final atonement" for sinners. Throughout the late 1840s & into the early 1860s Ellen G. White claimed to have "visions" from God & became known as a "Messenger" from God. Later in life she claimed to have visits from angels who told her what to write.
Ellen G. White & her husband were leaders of this new religious group which became incorporated in 1861 as the Seventh-day Adventist Church which had its headquaters in Battle Creek, Michigan. Ellen White died in 1915 at the age of 87, elevated by her followers as a divinely inspired "prophetess" speaking for God (see SDA publication, "Review & Herald," page 11), but never having seen the coming of Christ as she had falsely predicted for decades.
It is now known that Ellen G. White engaged in extensive plagiarism from many of her 19th-century contemporaries such as Alfred Edersheim's "Elisha the Prophet," William Hanna's "The Life of Christ" & John Milton's "Paradise Lost" (see the heavily documented book, "The White Lie" by Walter T. Rea, M & R Publications, Turlock, CA, 1981, for validation). In fact, it is now known that Ellen White claimed to write her many books by the "spirit of prophecy" but rather she plagiarized from other authors & falsely deceived her followers.
Not only does Seventh-day Adventism teach another gospel (Galatians 1:6-9) which is based on "works righteousness" (Galatians 2:16, Isaiah 64:6) rather than the grace of God alone (Ephesians 2:8-10) but it is filled with unBiblical doctrines & false prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:14-22). Ellen G. White taught that : Satan has taken full possession of all other churches ("Spiritual Gifts," Vol. 1, pp. 189-190); the prayers of people in the other churches are an abomination ("Spiritual Gifts," Vol. 1, pg 190); Eggs excite people's animal passions ("Testimonies," vol. 2, pg 400); Eggs should not be placed on the table because they are injurious to children ("Testimonies," vol. 2, pg 400); People living in 1856 would live to see the seven last plagues ("Testimonies," vol. 1, pp. 131, 132); Certain races of men are the result of amalgamation between man & beast ("Spiritual Gifts," Vol 3. pg 64, 75); Wigs make people lose their reason & go hopelessly insane ("Words to Christian Mothers," No. 2, pg 121), etc.
The wicked hate the wrath, justice & judgment of a Holy God. Get an in-depth study of the Biblical Doctrine of Hell besides videos on our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html by going to "Eternal Punishment, Part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, Part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607143539 by A.W. Pink. Great preaching on this subject can be found at "Heaven & Hell" by Charles Haddon Spurgeon at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=8702112616 & "The Sinner's End, Hell Opens Wide Her Jaws, the Sinner Falls To Destruction, Spurgeon" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1014131452290; "A Few Sighs From Hell" by John Bunyan at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112903233617; "The Eternity of Hell Torments" by George Whitefield at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=11307232342; Men Don't Regard Warnings of Future Punishment As Hell Doesn't Seem Real - Edwards" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1031121125362, "The Torments of Hell Are Exceeding Great, A Rich Man Went to Hell and Was Tormented" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=51513154140, "They That Are Gone to Hell Are All of Them in Despair, Eternal Damnation by Edwards" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338 & "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=113003134610 by Jonathan Edwards, "God's Hell" by John Wagner at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6501212239; "A Tour of Hell" by E.A. Johnston at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=7251216250; other great Biblical messages about the doctrine of Hell can be found at www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?currSection=sermonstopic&keyworddesc=Hell&keyword=hell.
See our newsletter on Hell with plenty of Biblical references on our website www.biblequery.org/ (once on the homepage click on the "experience" box to the left then scroll down to the newsletter section & click on "Turn or Burn."
The wicked hate the Biblical doctrine of Hell & will create any myth to pretend it is not real or eternal in the conscious divine punishment of the damned. "Be not deceived, GOD IS NOT MOCKED: For whatsover a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galations 6:7). "VENGEANCE IS MINE; I WILL REPAY SAITH THE LORD" (Rom. 12:19). "Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and THAT WILL BY NO MEANS CLEAR THE GUILTY" (Exodus 34:7). Jesus said, "It would have been good for that man if he had not been born" (Matthew 26:24). Why would Jesus say this if there wasn't something far worse waiting for that man after this life is over? Interestingly enough, over the years many atheists have flocked to our UA-cam hell videos with unusual curiosity. Why do they bother if they don't think it is real?
2 Timothy 2:15
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share this Chinese translation with others as indicated 6. This is very cool & is an just another opportunity for evangelism around the world in this digital age! Jude 3, "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints."
The Only True Church - Hear the following: "Is the Pope in the True Church?" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=820752920, "The One True Church" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=81212170178, "Papacy's Claim to have the Authority of the Apostle Peter, Roman Catholicism, Pope" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=121312161512, "Institutes of the Christian Religion #42 The Ancient Form of Goverment Utterly Corrupted by the Tyranny of the Papacy/Antichrist" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=21308121690 & see our playlist "Dealing with Roman Catholicism, Idolatry & the Virgin Mary" at ua-cam.com/play/PLFFA8D69D1B914715.html.
Just about everyone who has started a movement has declared themselves the only true church on earth. In this they claim one must join their exclusive group or organization to be saved and to be a Christian. Many believe there has been a complete apostasy already, so there is need of a full restoration. While God does have a true Church on earth, he has already stated how one enters to be part of this Church. First lets go through the many familiar and some not so familiar groups that claim to be the ONE TRUE CHURCH. Then we will look at how one enters the true church.
Mormonism LDS- 13th LDS President Ezra Taft Benson, “This is not just another Church. This is not just one of a family of Christian churches. This is the Church and kingdom of God, the only true Church upon the face of the earth...” (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.164-165). This church is the only true and living church on the face of the whole earth (D and C 1:30) “There is no salvation outside the church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints (Mormon Doctrine, p.670)
“Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the Church of the Lamb of God and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore who so belongeth not to the church of the lamb of God belongeth to that great church; which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.” (The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 14:10)
on April 8, 1973, LDS Apostle Mark E. Petersen proclaimed that salvation “comes only through the Church itself as the Lord established it... Therefore it was made clearly manifest that salvation is in the Church, and of the Church, and is obtained only through the Church.”
“The Roman Catholic, Greek, and Protestant church, is the great corrupt, ecclesiastical power, represented by great Babylon....” (Orson Pratt, Writings of an Apostle, “Divine Authenticity,” no.6, p.84).
the LDS church is, “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased ...” Brigham Young (Mormonism's Second President)
“Our message is so imperative, when you stop to think that the salvation, the eternal salvation of the world, rests upon the shoulders of this Church. When all is said and done, if the world is going to be saved, we have to do it “ (“Church Is Really Doing Well,” Church News (a bi-weekly publication by the Mormon church), July 3 1999, 3)
Jehovah’s Witnesses- The Gospel of the Kingdom ceased to be proclaimed shortly after the death of the apostles. It was not preached again until after 1918.(WT, 12/1/1928, pp. 363-64)
We acknowledge as the visible organization of Jehovah on earth the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, and recognize the Society as the Channel or instrument through which Jehovah and Christ Jesus give instruction and meat in due season to the household of faith. (Watchtower, April 15, 1939 p. 125)
“ The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society the one and only channel which the Lord has used in dispensing his truth continually since the beginning of the harvest period?” (WT 4/1/1919, p. 6414)
“The world is full of Bibles…why then do the people not know which was to go? Because, they do not also have the teaching or law of the mother, which is light.”(WT 5/1/1957, p.274)
“Outside the true Christian congregation what alternative organization is there? Only Satan’s organization…”(Watchtower 3/1/1979 p.24)
“Consider too, the fact that Jehovah's organization alone in all the earth is directed by God's holy spirit or active force.” (Watchtower, July 1, 1973, page 402)
Iglesia ni Cristo- “the complete disappearance of the first-century Church of Christ and the emergence of the Catholic Church” (Pasugo, July-Aug. 1979, p. 8).
Thus, outside the Church of Christ no one can be considered a true believer.'' (PASUGO, September/October 1981, p.9)
“Each member ... should submit himself to the Administration of the Church in order to be saved.”(PASUGO, January 1976, p. 9)
''People who embraced the true church will be saved not because of the good deeds they have done, but through God's merciful act of commissioning messengers entrusted with words of reconciliation.'' (PASUGO September/October 1986, p. 20)
International Church of Christ - “There is one church! There is one God. There is one kingdom of God and this is it! (The Great Commission, audio tape, Weger/Rock, Hodge/Hamann/Fulcher/Fields)
“you are in the only family that exists on the face of the earth.”( Phil Lamb, We Are Family, audio tape 1990 West Coast Conf.)
“We're the last hope the world has. Nobody else is going to do what we're doing. Nobody else has the right message. Nobody else has the right commitment.”( Gordon Ferguson, Radical Men, Radical Times Hosea Radical Love of God, Manila World Leadership Conf., Aug. 1994 )
“your salvation is hanging in the balance. .... When you walk away from the movement of God, there is no where to walk. Walking out of the light into the darkness. There is nobody else There is nobody else in this country that That has the true gospel -- that is, trying to make disciples of Jesus. There is nobody else in this entire world. This is the movement of God! There is no place to go.” (Nick Young. Tulsa Reconstruction meeting, August, 1992, audio one, side two)
“When you preached who is really saved: that you gotta have faith, you gotta repent, you gotta become a true disciple of Jesus, and then you gotta be water immersed for the forgiveness of sins received through the Holy Spirit, that excludes all other denominations…everybody else out there.”( Kip McKean. “Preach the Word.” Johannesburg World Missions Leadership Conference. Aug. 1995, audiotape #10091, side 2)
True Jesus Church- On 5. on the web they emphatically state “The True Jesus Church is the true church restored by God through the Holy Spirit of the latter rain. She is the revival of the apostolic church in the end times.” on the web “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). Therefore, one can receive eternal life only through the true church.”
The Philadelphia church- Mr. Flurry “The “household” is God's Family or true church. It's the family that God rules. This is God's inner circle--His very elect. One servant, one leader or one man is made ruler over God's church. Only this church (The PCG) gives meat in due season. Only this church is doing God's work!” (The Philadelphia Trumpet, p.1 May 1995)
“Some in the world try to label the PCG a cult. Actually, we are God's only true representative on this earth!...”( The Philadelphia Trumpet, p. 19 March, 1994)
“...that truth is in only one church today, God's church. Only God's Philadelphia Church has retained God's Law in this end time” (The Philadelphia Trumpet , p.5 March 1994).
Roman Catholic Church-”But by divine institution it is the exclusive task of these pastors alone, the successors of Peter and the other Apostles, to teach the faithful authentically, that is with the authority of Christ ....” (Vatican Council II Vol. 2, p. 430, 1984)
“If anyone says that in the Roman Church, which is the mother and mistress of all churches, there is not the true doctrine concerning the sacrament of baptism, let him be anathema.” (The Canons And Decrees Of The Council Of Trent, p. 53 -- Seventh Session, Sacrament Of Baptism, Canon 3)
“This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra in such wise, indeed, that his supreme teaching authority be acknowledged with respect, and that one sincerely adhere to decisions made by him, conformably with his manifest mind and intention ....” (Vatican Council II ,Vol. 1, p. 379)
The Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism explains: “For it is through Christ’s Catholic Church ALONE, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained.”
Pope Boniface VIII declared: “There is one holy Catholic and apostolic church, outside of which there Is NO SALVATION ... it is altogether NECESSARY FOR SALVATION for every creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.' (“infallible papal bull, Unam Sanctam) Vatican II declared: ... this holy Council teaches ... that the church .. Is NECESSARY FOR SALVATION.” (VATICAN COUNCIL II, Costello Publishing, Austin Flannery, O.P., General Editor, Vol 1, pp. 364-365)
All Christians will be gathered in a common celebration of the Eucharist, into the unity of the one and only Church, ... The unity, we believe subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose. (Vatican II, Decree on Ecumenism, chap. 1, 4, p. 416).
The local Church (Witness Lee)- When we were in the denominations, we were blind. I do not believe that any dear Christians who have really received sight from the Lord could still remain in the denominations. Everyone who sees must leave the fold and enter the pasture, under the sunshine, in the fresh air, in liberty. Where are you now? Are you in the fold, or are you now in the pasture? Allow me to say this: if anyone is still in the fold, he is blind. Of course, a blind person requires the fold to keep him. But when he receives his sight, he will swiftly leave the fold for the pasture, for the sunshine, for the fresh air.” (Witness Lee, Christ Versus Religion LSM, 197,1 p.109-110)
The only way to follow the Lord absolutely is to go the way of the local church. (Witness Lee, The Practical Expression...p.94)
If you leave the church (the Local Church), you miss the mark of the Lord's testimony. You must be in the testimony of Jesus. Only the golden lampstands, the local churches, are the testimony of Jesus....if you are not in the local churches you are not the testimony of Jesus.”( Witness Lee, The Stream magazine Nov. 1976, p.7)
House of Yahweh-”With all the Churches and Religious Organizations in these Last Days preaching what they call Salvation, why would Yahweh need to establish another organization in order to get his way--the True Way of Salvation--taught?
“The One Body of Messiah IS The House of Yahweh! “...IF we 'separate' from the One Body of Messiah: The House of Yahweh, then we succumb to Satan, then at that very moment we become worshipers of Satan...of if one LEAVES The Body - The only Prophesied, Established Work that Yahweh Himself has chosen, then that one does NOT partake, or is NO LONGER a partaker, with the rest of The body of Messiah - The House of Yahweh” (What Yahweh's Feasts Mean to You, pp. 78, 87).
“ The churches in the world today do not even pretend to keep Yahweh’s Laws. How could they pretend such a thing anyway, they all blatantly rebel against every one of them.... It should be very obvious why Yahweh had to establish His House in these Last Days--the Christian Churches are not The House of Yahweh. They do not stand in Yahweh’s counsel. They are not the Pillar and Ground of the Truth. They do not teach Yahweh’s Laws, therefore, they do not turn the people away from sin--breaking Yahweh’s Laws.”
“I urge you to obtain the books … and start learning the true way to Salvation. This way is not taught in the world by any organization, other than the one established by Yahweh--The House of Yahweh.”
Hawaii fellowship of the Universal World Church “a voice thundered and uttered these words “This is my daughter in whom I am well pleased. As Jesus, my son, paid the price through his faithfulness upon the cross.. my anointed daughter, Miss Velma, has paid the price through her faithfulness at the golden altar. Therefore, all who will believe in her, will receive my gift of eternal youth which is new revelation Mamre.” (The mighty Miracle of the new Revelation of Mamre p.49-50) The new Revelation of Mamre is the greatest gift ever given to a people by almighty God. “(The mighty Miracle of the new Revelation of Mamre p.7)
“Miss Velma has paid the price! She has become the sacrificial offering required by God that all of mankind may reap one of god's greatest rewards, new revelation Mamre”( ibid.p.51)
7th day Adventists-”I saw that God has honest children among the nominal Adventists and the fallen churches, and before the plagues shall be poured out, MINISTERS AND PEOPLE WILL BE CALLED OUT FROM THESE CHURCHES and will gladly receive the truth....But the light will shine, and ALL WHO ARE HONEST WILL LEAVE THE FALLEN CHURCHES, and take their stand with the remnant” (Early Writings, p. 261 )
We can see the common thread of these churches. They are separatists and deny anyone else can have the right message. That one must come to their CHURCH to be saved. That is the common deviation from Scripture and what makes them a cult. 1 Jn.2:19 “they went out from us but they were not of us, if they had been of us , they would have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made known that none of them were of us.” This was already occurring in the early church.
Now that we have read through just a few churches that claim exclusivity to being the only representatives of Christ and God on earth. We need to go to the Bible to see what it states on this matter. It is possible that one of these groups that claim this can be right. But it is impossible for all of them to be right since they all claim exclusivity. Who would know? Jesus who is the head of the Church would know, and the Apostles he appointed to write down his teachings are the ones we need to go to, to find the truth.
What is the Church?
The first time we find the word Church is in Mt.16:18 where Jesus said he will build his church upon the revelation the Father gave Peter when he openly confessed that Christ is “ the Son of the living God.” “Upon this rock I will build my church.” So this must be the Churches confession of faith, if not, then it is not the Church. What this meant in the Judaic culture is that Christ is equal to God, having the same nature as his Father.
The Scripture is clear only God is to be worshipped Ex.34:14: “For thou shall worship no other God for the Lord (Yahweh), whose name is jealous, is a jealous God.” The Church worships God and also worships Christ. The Father in Heb.1:6 tells all the angels to worship the Son. Both the Father and the Son are worshipped in heaven (Rev.4-5) and on earth. The Bible teaches that Jesus is not only worshipped, but also called God by Thomas in Jn.20:28 “My Lord, my God.” (Greek- The Lord of me, the God of me). We find the wise men worshipped Jesus as a child. Mt.2:11.The leper worshipped Jesus Mt.8. The ruler bowed and worshipped Mt.9:18 .The believer who was blind worshipped him Jn.9:38. The women worshipped him Mt. 15:25, Mary Magdalene worshipped him Mt.28:9, the disciples worshipped him Mt.28:17.Jesus was worshipped just as the Father was worshipped.
It is called the Church of God which he had purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28). After Christ raised from the dead and ascended he sent the Holy Spirit to birth a new entity, the church. The Greek word is ekklesia (which is used 114 times in the New Testament) which means a called out assembly (Ek = out of, Kaleo= to call). It is never used of a building or of the kingdom of God. The Church is not the kingdom, but included in it. The Church is a invisible living spiritual organism, composed of all the believers world wide, from the time of its inception on Pentecost, until the taking away of the Church at the rapture. Its origin is found in God as the Holy Spirit gave it its birth in Acts 2:1-4 with the disciples and the Jews at Pentecost in v.33. And we become part of this same Church today the same way they did, by spirit baptism, being born again of the Spirit. No one joins the Church unless they are first joined to Christ. This is why Jesus said you must be born again, (by the Spirit Jn.3:5) not join the Church! The Church began in Jerusalem, not Rome. Any Church that does not trace its start to Jerusalem on Pentecost is not His church. Those who claim the Church needed to be restored from an apostasy are not part of the original Church. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church, she would never be overcome, no matter how many were killed, it would never result in a complete apostasy. So any church claiming theirs as a restoration can't be traced back to the original.
Jesus told Peter: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18). Meaning it would not remove it nor hinder it's growth, work or people. If his Church had apostatized then the gates of hell would have prevailed against it, which makes Christ a liar, that is uncomfortable even for the cult's to say. Christ will not abandon his bride, he said he would always be with. How could Christ be with his Church always if his Church ceased to exist for over 1800 years? The Church is already made and continues to grow through history. No devil or man can stop or hinder it because Jesus is the architect, not man. While it is valid to claim that there needs to be repentance or reformation throughout the church's history, to get back to the bible when we drift. To restore a church from apostasy has quite a different meaning.
The true Church is built upon what Peter said Christ is- The Son of the living God- the eternal one. We can only have this by revelation the same way Peter did, from heaven. It is not man revealing this truth but God himself.
Christ teaches In Matthew 28:20 he said, “I am with you always even until the end of the world.” And in John 14:16, 18 he said, “And I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever. . . . I will not leave you desolate.” Christ promised that nothing would prevail against his Church, that he would be with it always, that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the third person of the Holy Trinity would be with her always. Christ will not abandon his bride. How could Christ be with his Church always if his Church ceased to exist for 1800 years?
We are the Church
We (the people) are the Church, which is likened to the temple 1 Pet. 2:5 “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We are bricks cemented together our spiritual sacrifice is ourselves, our lives. As Rom.12:2 tells to present ourselves as living sacrifices. We no longer sacrifice animals for a sin offering but present ourselves, our lives to God continually each day to be used by Him.
1 Cor.3:16 teaches that each of us as individuals are the temple of God because “the Spirit of God dwells in you.” You are not Christ's possession or part of his Church unless you have the proof by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (by the way this does not mean one must speak in tongues or have another spiritual manifestation).
We are called Col. 1:24: “His body, which is the church” 2 Cor. 6:16 that “we are the temple of the living God.” As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
2 Cor.3:7 The church will be God's dwelling place. together we are the temple (the church) the dwelling of God. Christ “In You” is the hope of glory.
Eph. 2:20-22: “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Jesus is the cornerstone and the apostles the foundation stones. Paul explains further in Eph. 4:15-16: “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-- Christ-- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” The Church is a living temple made up of bricks whom are the people. We are all interdependent on one another. Just as a house is not made with one brick but all are cemented together.
Each brick has a different gifting and talents and all are to be used so that the body can be healthy. Just as Paul's example of the outside of the body we are all different and the least is to be honored as much as the greatest. Certainly the pancreas adrenal glands on the inside of the body if they were not functioning would affect the rest of its health.
Heb 3:1-6: “For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”
How Does one Join the Church?
1 Cor. 12:27: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” Notice collectively and individually. This means one does not have to belong to a certain denomination or group but to Christ.
No one is told to join the Church by the apostles because it is an automatic placing of one in the body of which Christ is the head. 2 Cor.5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We are put in Christ to become a new creature, not in a Church. Becoming part of a Church is the natural outcome of the new birth.
Jn.1:12-13 “ But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” To be born of God is to have the Holy Spirit regenerate the dead spirit in man back to a relationship with God. This comes through Christ alone, no Church or minister can give you this.
1 Cor.12:12-13 “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” This is how one enters the Church by the Spirit who comes inside us and unites us with the rest of the body which is invisible and visible. Paul writes in Rom.3:24: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” This is one of Paul's favorite technical terms. Paul points to our spiritual life coming from being connected to the Son. It is Christ that uses examples to show us that He is the gate, the door, the way. We enter the Church (become part of the church) by a person and his work for us. As we come to Christ He puts each one in his spiritual body the Church. You don’t join a church but are born into a family that is the Church. And it is not limited to a local body but a worldwide family of faith.
When Paul was persecuting the church, Jesus said he was persecuting him, because he was the owner of it, we are his body and his Spirit indwells those who he killed. By killing Christians he was fighting against Christ himself. The Church is Christ's invisible body on earth. The Church is called “the Church of God” Eph.5:23-24: “also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” 24... “the Church is subject to Christ.” The Church is ruled by God, just as our body takes instructions from its head. Col.1:18: “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” If we want to obey the truth we receive our sustenance and instructions from Christ alone, collectively and individually!
Jesus referred to those who were part of his body/ Church as “my sheep”. In John 10:16, Jesus spoke of other sheep which were not of this fold, them also I must bring and they will hear my voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. What he meant is that the Gentiles outside the nation of Israel were to be grafted into the covenant and have him as their shepherd. You are the branches “I am the vine.” All these relate to our connection to the Son who brings us to the Father, and is the source of our eternal life. We cannot produce fruit apart from him Jn.17. Mark 6:34 “So He began to teach them many things.” Listening to Christ is the first step to having him be your shepherd, you then become a disciple by following his teachings. The leaders or shepherds are to train the sheep to hear the chief shepherds voice.
The word “Church of Christ” is not singular but plural in the Scriptures, which is a problem for those that call themselves the exclusive Church of Christ.1 Cor.1:2, 1 Cor.10:32, also Rom.16:16 calls them the Churches of Christ. Rev.1:20 says Christ holds the seven golden lamp stand's, the seven stars and the messengers (angels) of the seven churches in his hand showing his control. This becomes a problem for numerous groups that claim the name “Church of Christ”, since it is plural not single. Likewise for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, since they are Jehovah’s “organization” and not a Church nor Christ’s. Not because of name only, but because they do not look to Christ as the head. Actually if one asks the question to these groups who is the head of your Church? You can various answers from a prophet, apostle, a revelator, to a Pope. Even those who claim Christ can have a different Jesus from the Scriptures. (2 Cor.11:4) So we must examine who Jesus is to them and their relationship to him.
Rev 2:23 “and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.” Only God is able to search the heart and give rewards.
The Church's Purpose
The true Church teaches the bible alone, and promotes evangelism to fulfill the commission Christ gave in Mt.28:18-19. Our purpose Eph. 3:9-10: “... to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things; that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” This is done by teaching the Scriptures equipping the body for our growth first then for the work of ministry Eph.4. So the message can go out to there communities. We are to gather to be taught, equipped for ministry so we can evangelize to bring others to the Lord. The church is a spiritual hospital for sinners so they can be healed from sin. The church is not a building to meet in to come to the Church, instead we should be going out being the church. We have a mission. To make disciples and grow in their relationship with God. We have them join in the body, whether its our particular local body or another that is part of the church universal. Everyone needs to be involved in a local body of believers, an assembly to help bring health to themselves and the body.
Different churches have different focuses and different ways of doing ministry. Within the main framework of evangelism there is other ministries, this does not mean any one way is the only way as a long as it is all biblical. Each church may have a specific way to minister to its own communities needs and essentially have different focuses. It is from this variety God is able to meet the needs of individuals and their personalities.
The One TRUE Church
The true Church holds to the core beliefs of Christianity without subtracting or adding to them. Christ is the eternal God come in the flesh, there is one God and 3 distinct identities (persons) who exist simultaneously as the One God. The virgin conception, the sinfulness of man and the need of a savior, the new birth, the Gospel which is the death burial and physical resurrection, the 2nd coming, baptism, eternal mediator and priesthood of Christ, the priesthood of all believers, the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture, judgment and rewards to the believers. These are the essentials that are clarified in the Scriptures.
If the Church one attends does not hold to these essential beliefs, they are not Christ's Church no matter what name they have on their outside or on paper. This is not my opinion, but the Bibles explanation what the apostles taught through the Gospels, the book of Acts, and in the Epistles.
In conclusion there is one true Church, but it is not found in a certain denomination or group by itself. Those who claim you must join their group or Church to be right with God, only prove they do not understand what the word Church or body of Christ means. It is not exclusive but inclusive, as it is found in the heart of all those who have accepted the true Jesus, and have come to God the way He has provided (through His son on the cross), and hold to the essentials of the faith. Whether one is Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Charismatic, or Pentecostal, etc. The Church transcends denominational barriers, it exists within denominations, as well as outside of them. This is the Universal Church that has continued from the beginning of Pentecost. While denominations may have differences on peripheral issues, they do hold to the core beliefs that make them all part of the body of Christ, the Church.
Two items that come in handy in knowing about when Romanists argue that anything said against the Roman "church" is not the truth is to tell them about the following two items: 1. The following website is by self proclaimed Roman Catholics following the so-called "true church" (in other words their Roman church is their true savior not the Biblical Jesus Christ) at www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/. These Romanists destroy the new Romanists since the invention of Vatican 2 in 1965. They present great information proving modern Romanism & their popes (they call them anti-popes) to be a false & apostate religion. It doesn't get much better than this when one group of apostate Romanists attack another brand of apostate Romanists in order to prove to the world they are false! 2. Our video "The Homosexual Pope, Priests, Universalists, Evolutionists & Disunited Roman Catholic Apologists" at ua-cam.com/video/hThonwrX6QU/v-deo.html proves from Roman Catholic sources themselves that one of their popes was a practicing homosexual, that almost 50% of Roman Catholic priests are homosexuals (for more on this see our video "FORMER ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST SAYS CHURCH OF ROME HAS A FALSE GOSPEL & WIDESPREAD HOMOSEXUALITY" at ua-cam.com/video/0y4C-nBQ3mE/v-deo.html), that the Roman church buys the theory of evolution which denies the first eleven chapters of Genesis in the Bible, that Pope John Paul II kissed the Muslim Qur'an & said Islam has the same god as Roman Catholics have (see the videos "Top Ten Reasons Muhammad Is Not a Prophet" at ua-cam.com/video/MO8sZ1JyP1A/v-deo.html, "Ten MORE Reasons Muhammad Is Not a Prophet" at ua-cam.com/video/T4p7HuuhF8k/v-deo.html, "50 Reasons Muhammad Was Not a Prophet (in Under Five Minutes)" at ua-cam.com/video/4Q3f15NXrLI/v-deo.html, "David Wood: Five Reasons the Quran Is Not the Word of God" at ua-cam.com/video/NvlzlBov9zc/v-deo.html, "Who Killed Muhammad?" at ua-cam.com/video/6st_tFj6ouM/v-deo.html, "Why Did Muhammad Wear Women's Clothing?" at ua-cam.com/video/-50CraaniT0/v-deo.html; also see www.AnsweringMuslims.com & www.MuslimHope.com) & how Roman Catholic apologists are at each others' throats because of the vast differences within Romanism itself. Besides all that see the following websites for detailed information on Romanism & how it is a counterfeit religion at www.BereanBeacon.org, www.CWRC-RZ.org & www.mtc.org/.
Remember Titus 1:9-16,
"9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.
13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."
www.BibleQuery.org www.historycart.com/ www.muslimhope.com/
John 14:6
Our UA-cam channel CAnswersTV (which stands for Christian Answers Television) features over 639 videos from a Biblical worldview organized according to topics. Our main channel can be accessed at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTV where all our videos & playlists are on display. Here are our available playlists:
1. "Popular Uploads" at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTV/videos?shelf_id=2&view=0&sort=p
2. "Dealing with Jehovah's Witnesses, Watchtower Society" with 25 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLCF0ADB29C0EB8C40.html.
3. "Dealing with Islam, Muslims: Sunni, Shi'ite, Alawites, Sufis" with 73 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL1C7F68B548009FDD.html.
4. "Dealing with Roman Catholicism, Idolatry & the Virgin Mary" with 140 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLFFA8D69D1B914715.html.
5. "Dealing with Darwin's Metaphysical Evolution Religion" with 21 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL0703E78058346A52.html.
6. "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" with 26 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html.
7. "Dealing with Anti Trinitarians (UPC) & Early Church History" with 53 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL9931642C7C8FFEAB.html.
8. "Dealing with "God Hating" Atheists, Agnostics, Know-It-Alls" with 21 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL640E505B96CD6B39.html.
9. "Dealing with Phony TV Preachers (TBN) & King James Onlyites" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL2CDA855486B09128.html.
10. "Dealing with UFOs, Ghosts, Magic, Spiritual Warfare, Satan" with 19 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL2CF1129D311BF9A6.html.
11. "Radio Shows with National Christian Authors & Music Vids" with 52 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLF01B4264276D2990.html.
12. "Dealing with Black Muslims, Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam" with 25 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLD3B79AA00CCF21B7.html.
13. "Dealing with Mormonism, The Con Man Religion of Joseph Smith, Jr." with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL11CD0EE613306BB5.html.
14. "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 33 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html.
15. "Dealing with AntiChrist Cults, "New Age" & World Religions" with 45 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL69A3047B3497590A.html.
16. "Dealing with "Saved by Works & Baptism", "Church of Christ" with 75 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLBD55090718DA6D3D.html.
17. "Charles H. Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, Our Spanish Videos" with 26 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE91032ED05E42487.html.
18. "End Times, Supernatural Prophecies, Tough Bible Questions" with 49 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL141F261EEFCFD536.html.
19. "Dealing with Predestination, Arminianism & Calvinism" with 82 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLA932903698A56780.html.
We also have channels on Sermon Audio at www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=christiananswers & www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakeronly=true&currsection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Larry_Wessels. Although the 30 plus videos we have posted on www.SermonAudio.com are also on UA-cam the thing that makes these particular videos of interest is that we have produced written transcripts of many of them which has helped quite a few people. Once you click on one of the transcribed videos scroll down to "Sermon Transcription" & choose your options: "View Transcript!," "Download PDF," or "Send to Kindle." Viewers also have the option of over 20 different languages to get the transcription in by going to the "Google Translation" option. Everything is free with nothing to buy. Here are just a few examples of some of our videos that have free transcriptions available:
"Early Christian Church History Proves Roman Catholicism False" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=113161415591,
"Divine Curse of the Hebrew Roots Movement - Replacing Jesus with the Old Testament" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=108151527437,
"Debate: Larry Wessels Versus Two Jehovah's Witnesses at a University Study Center" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=108141526191,
"Spiritual Counterfeit: ONENESS PENTECOSTALISM DENIES THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF TRINITY" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=52015115043,
"Unpopular Bible Doctrines #1: The God No One Wants To Know" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=311141259524,
"Islam's 1400 Year History of Violent Jihad For Sex Slaves, Money & Jew Hatred" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=324161224286,
"The Sovereignty of God Versus Man-Made Religions, Petty Emotionalism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=52015125752,
"The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity- Part 3 (Answering Common Attacks Against the Trinity)" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=32416129330.
There are many more but this is just a small sampling of what is available at no charge.
Blessings to all. 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Death can come suddenly & unexpectedly. Hear deathbed testimonies of the damned during their last days, hours & moments before going into eternity: "Horrifying & Terrifying Death Bed Scenes Of Atheists, Apostates & Reprobates (1/3)" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=731131047310, "Horrifying & Terrifying Death Bed Scenes Of Atheists, Apostates & Reprobates (2/3)" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=731131111372, "Horrifying & Terrifying Death Bed Scenes Of Atheists, Apostates & Reprobates (3/3)" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=731131132150, "Death-Bed of a Free-Thinker, Exemplified in the Last Hours of Hon. Francis Newport" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=72913130359, "Death-Bed Scenes, Death-Bed Repentance Rarely Occurs, As Men Live, So Do Men Die #1" at
www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=927131122460, "Death-Bed Scenes, Death-Bed Repentance Rarely Occurs, As Men Live, So Do Men Die #2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=927131158132;
"Dying Testimonies Of The Unsaved, The Awful Death Of An Infidel Son Who Hated Jesus" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=104131120148, & although this next recording is not an actual deathbed testimonial it is highly informative concerning Judas & other reprobates, "The Repentance of Judas, or, the Lamentable Effects of a Startled Conscience" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=310141542316. Listeners will notice numerous similar patterns among the final words & actions of the damned. Many seem to sense the flames of hell & the presence of demonic entities before death overtakes them. An excellent Biblical analysis of eternal punishment in hell & the lake of fire is given by the outstanding theologian A.W. Pink - "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where he at the same time refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html). Hear also Charles Haddon Spurgeon on this subject in his sermon "The Sinner's End, Hell Opens Wide Her Jaws, the Sinner Falls To Destruction" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1014131452290 & Jonathan Edward's famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=113003134610. Besides all this readers can click on our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos & 31 hours of teaching material at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html.
Don't depend on a last second deathbed conversion to save you from the wrath of a holy God. Come to the Biblical Jesus Christ today for salvation in repentance & faith (2 Corinthians 6:2, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation; Acts 16:31, "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" Mark 1:15, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel;" 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you-unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures," Revelation 1:8, Jesus is the "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.", Revelation 1:18, Jesus says "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." Becoming a true Christian is not easy therefore count the cost. Becoming a true Christian is not saying a quick prayer & thinking you're okay. Becoming a true Christian is not getting water baptized as a baby or as an adult (see our video "IS WATER BAPTISM NECESSARY TO ESCAPE HELL & BE SAVED & ARE YOU "BORN AGAIN" (JOHN 3:3-8) BY IT?" at ua-cam.com/video/wYJtMV9qrWg/v-deo.html. You must be supernaturally "born again" by a sovereign act of God through the power of the Holy Spirit (John 1:12-13, 3:3-8; Titus 3:5-7; John 6:37, 39, 44, 63, 65; Ephesians 3:16-21; Romans 8:1-17; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16; Luke 14:26-35, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it- 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.34 “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Luke 6:46, Jesus said, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Becoming a true Christian will change your life forever in this life & the next (2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."). Beg God to save you since you cannot get into heaven by your own righteousness & good works (Ephesians 2:8-10, "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."). Keep begging God for salvation through Jesus Christ until the day comes that He grants your request (Acts 13:48, "Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." & 2 Timothy 2:25-26, "24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."). When you are supernaturally regenerated by the Holy Spirit you will know it & suddenly have the power to repent of your evil ways & for the first time you will actually love God more than your own life knowing that nothing in creation is more important than God alone. You will then spend the rest of eternity loving, serving & praising God for He is worthy. John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." See our video "IS JESUS GOD ALMIGHTY IN THE FLESH MEANING THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY OR IS HE SOMETHING ELSE?" at ua-cam.com/video/_BlPm7M7uv8/v-deo.html.
To those who wish to discuss issues brought up in our video posted here to a greater extent please know that you can email one of our ministry volunteers at certainandsecure@gmail.com. Also realize that we may have an entire playlist of videos on this subject on our UA-cam channel at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTV. Besides that know that we have three websites to answer additional questions at www.BibleQuery.org (answers over 8500 questions on the Bible & refutes critics of the Bible), www.HistoryCart.com (this website deals with an in depth analysis of early Christian church history) and www.MuslimHope.com (this website is a documented refutation of Islam, a false religious & political ideology of warlike jihad against all unbelievers invented by Muhammad while he was in Medina for the last 9 years of his life where he averaged one offensive military jihad of pillage, rape & slavery every month to six weeks against his neighbors which eventually led to conquering all of Saudi Arabia- see also www.politicalislam.com/, www.answeringmuslims.com/, answering-islam.org/, www.jihadwatch.org/ & our playlist "Dealing with Islam, Muslims: Sunni, Shi'ite, Alawites, Sufis" with 71 videos & counting at ua-cam.com/play/PL1C7F68B548009FDD.html). 1 Peter 3:15
Investigate whether Seventh Day Adventism is real Christianity or a counterfeit cult. Please check the following: "Does Seventh Day Adventism have a damnable gospel, what do they really believe?" - www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=813141143413, "Is Seventh Day Adventism a Cult?" - www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=429152354502; the contrast between a biblical worldview and an Adventist, great controversy worldview - www.lifeassuranceministries.org/proclamation/2011/2/greatcontroversy.html; discusses the somewhat hidden but horrific fact of Adventists widespread practice of abortion and the organization's two sets of guidelines, one of which is known by the members, and one of which is “secret”, available to doctors and Adventist hospitals -www.lifeassuranceministries.org/proclamation/2014/2/abortioninadvent.html; examines the roots of Ellen White’s and the SDA’s “health message”, the Adventists’ “right arm of the gospel”. It begins on page 14 of the PDF: lifeassuranceministries.org/Proclamation2015_1web.pdf; see the playlists which includes videos from the annual Former Adventist Conferences with multiple testimonies of Former Adventists as well as the weekly inductive studies through books of the Bible taught at their Word Search studies ua-cam.com/users/FormerAdventistplaylists, see the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." The previous resources will be very valuable in an investigative study of whether Seventh Day Adventism is a Biblically true Gospel believing organization or if it is a false cultic religion peddling a false gospel invented by Ellen G. White & her associates thus violating Galatians 1:6-9, " I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." The original Greek word for "accursed" is "anathema" which means "condemnation to Hell by the decree of God" & is consistent with other scriptural passages containing it: Acts 23:14 cf. David's oath in 2 Samuel 3:35, Romans 9:3, 1 Corinthians 12:3, 1 Corinthians 16:22). It is also significant to note that the Septuagint (the oldest Greek translation of the Old Testament, dating from the third century B. C.) uses the word anathema in a similar sense in every case where someone is described as being set apart and devoted to destruction, because that person is abhorrent to God (e.g., the inhabitants of Jericho in Joshua 6:17). It is also used of persons or things what were given up to God and could not be redeemed (e.g., Leviticus 27:28-29.). the un-Biblical sense of anathema as a declaration of condemnation by man began to enter the church in its early centuries. By the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic church not only used the term in the sense of excommunication from the visible church, but also used it to usurp the exclusively Divine right to pronounce condemnation to Hell upon a person. It was thus that Rome, in Canon 11 of the Sixth Session of the Council of Trent (1547) said of anyone who believed in justification by faith alone, "let him be anathema." At the same council Rome also said, of anyone who denied that salvation is a cooperative effort between man and God, "let him be anathema" (Canon 4). Rome declares men condemned to Hell for believing and preaching the one true Gospel. Five hundred years after the Reformation, Rome continues to misuse and abuse anathema in this way. The current edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia says this: Anathema remains a major excommunication which is to be promulgated with great solemnity. A formula for this ceremony was drawn up by Pope Zachary (741-52) in the chapter Debent duodecim sacerdotes...The Roman Pontifical reproduces it in the chapter Ordo excommunicandi et absolvendi, distinguishing three sorts of excommunication: minor excommunication, formerly incurred by a person holding communication with anyone under the ban of excommunication; major excommunication, pronounced by the Pope in reading a sentence; and anathema, or the penalty incurred by crimes of the gravest order, and solemnly promulgated by the Pope. In passing this sentence, the pontiff is vested in amice, stole, and a violet cope, wearing his mitre, and assisted by twelve priests clad in their surplices and holding lighted candles. [The symbolism of all of this is the damnable falsehood that the Roman pope is the "vicar of Christ" or vice-Christ, the visible representation of Christ on earth.] He takes his seat in front of the altar or in some other suitable place, and pronounces the formula of anathema which ends with these words: "Wherefore in the name of God the All-powerful, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, of the Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and of all the saints, in virtue of the power which has been given us of binding and loosing in Heaven and on earth, we deprive [name of person] himself and all his accomplices and all his abettors of the Communion of the Body and Blood of Our Lord, we separate him from the society of all Christians, we exclude him from the bosom of our Holy Mother the Church in Heaven and on earth, we declare him excommunicated and anathematized and we judge him condemned to eternal fire with Satan and his angels and all the reprobate, so long as he will not burst the fetters of the demon, do penance and satisfy the Church; we deliver him to Satan to mortify his body, that his soul may be saved on the day of judgment." Whereupon all the assistants respond: "Fiat, fiat, fiat." [That is, we concur that this declaration is legally binding.] The pontiff and the twelve priests then cast to the ground the lighted candles they have been carrying, and notice is sent in writing to the priests and neighboring bishops of the name of the one who has been excommunicated and the cause of his excommunication, in order that they may have no communication with him.11. Catholic Encyclopedia, entry on "Anathema," www.newadvent.org/cathen/01455e.htm, as viewed on 11/7/2009. The meaning of anathema in Galatians chapter one is clearly, "let him be condemned to Hell." No lesser penalty can be exacted against those who persist in proclaiming a counterfeit gospel of any kind. Rome's concept of anathema is clearly un-Biblical, since it is centered upon the judgment of man and not of God. Worse yet, Rome uses its un-Biblical anathema most often to enforce conformity to its false gospel and its man-made doctrines and regulations, and loyalty to a papal hierarchy that Scripture condemns. After thorough examination Seventh Day Adventism qualifies as a non Christian anti Christ cult due to the following reasons: 1. It is built on the woman Ellen G. White & her teachings despite the Bible saying women are not permitted to teach or usurp authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") See links at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html). 2. Ellen White claimed to be equal with the Biblical prophets & apostles through her many writings (sort of a "Spirit of Prophecy") & her SDA followers believed her (2 Peter 3:16); see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Writings_Infallible.htm. Question: Are there modern day prophets or is there a need for prophets today? Answer: In the New Testament, the gift of the office of prophet was a temporary one granted by God for the purpose of building His Church. Contrary to the apostles, who had broad ministries, these men had localized ministries within local churches, as we see illustrated in such places as Acts 11:21-28 and Acts 13:1.Scripture shows us that the prophets of the New Testament had two primary purposes:They were gifted men given to the Church and appointed by God (Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor. 12:28) for the purpose of helping to lay the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20). They, like the apostles, received God’s revelation (Eph. 3:5) and truth and proclaimed it to their churches. It is important to remember that the early Church did not have a completed Bible, so God granted this revelation for the purpose of teaching His message to the Church. The New Testament prophets also spoke forth and taught the apostles’ doctrine. Everything taught by these prophets had to be consistent with the teaching of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:36-37). So, are prophets still needed today? Looking at the two functions listed above, we can see that the office of prophet is one that is no longer necessary and has ceased within the Church because:The foundation of the Church was laid long ago. God’s revealed Word was completed with the close of the New Testament canon. The Church’s foundation does not need to be laid again and there is no need for further revelation beyond what God has provided for us in His complete Word, the Bible. Today we are blessed to have Scripture as our complete and final authority in all things (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If someone now claims to have received a “special revelation,” we must test it against Scripture. If it is contrary to the Word of God, then it must be rejected. If it is consistent with Scripture, then we have to ask why an “extra” word was necessary if its truth is already contained in the Bible. So while we always need men who are willing to proclaim boldly the Word of God as contained in Scripture (as pastors, teachers, and evangelists), there is no need for the office of “prophet” as it existed in the New Testament. 3. Ellen G. White is a false prophet due to her false & failed prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:19-22); see www.mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/egw_false_prophet.html, 1timothy4-13.com/files/bible/sda_morefailed.html & www.bible.ca/7-prophecy-blunders.htm. 4. Ellen G. White had delusional dreams & visions much like phony Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers do today; see www.truthorfables.com/Visons_of_%20EGW_by_Snook_&_Brinkerhoff.htm & ua-cam.com/video/Kbv7YsyMf0I/v-deo.html. 5. Seventh Day Adventism has a damnable false gospel (Galatians 1:6-10) for several reasons: a) Satan is the final sin bearer for Seventh Day Adventists; see www.truthorfables.com/Scapegoat.htm & www.truthorfables.net/50-contradictions-satan-bears-sins.htm, b) They say Jesus had a sinful nature just like fallen man otherwise He can't be a Savior; see kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/09/seventh-day-adventisms-anti.html & jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Seventh-Day%20Adventist/sda_exposed.htm, c) Ellen G. White taught the cult doctrine of the 1844 investigative judgment of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary for the purpose of allowing Seventh Day Adventists final access to heaven while all others would be destroyed; see www.truthorfables.com/investigative_judgment_made_simple.htm, www.truthorfables.com/white_elephant.htm, www.truthorfables.com/My_Testimony.htm, www.truthorfables.com/SDA_Cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html, d) Seventh Day Adventism denies the New Testament Christian gospel by saying Old Testament "Saturday" Sabbath keeping is essential for salvation; see www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_Not_A_Law.htm, www.truthorfables.net/who-changed-the-sabbath-a.htm, www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_is_Friday.htm & ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, e) Although SDAs say they believe in salvation by grace they redefine the meaning of grace in order to incorporate into their religious system a salvation by law keeping to achieve final works righteousness; mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/sda_law.html, searchingthescriptures.net/main_pages/answering_cults/seventh_day_adventism/sda_a_cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. If the apostle Paul cursed the Galatian Judaizers to hell for adding only one stipulation to the gospel which was circumcision then how much more would he curse the SDAs for all their added terms & conditions to the simple gospel of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." Cross reference this to Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."). 6. Seven Day Adventists teach the false doctrine of soul sleep; see carm.org/soul-sleep, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12151314134510, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=85122122530 & www.casagrandebaptistchurch.com/SoulSleep.html. 7. SDAs teach the false doctrine of the annihilation out of existence of the wicked including Satan & his demons rather than an eternal conscious punishment in a never ending lake of fire; carm.org/clear-word-bible-annihilationism, "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where at the same time this refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=91713193277, www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=Annihilationism, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94081054442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9110884114, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338, ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html & see our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. 8. SDAs support alternate Bible translations that pervert the written word of God thus placing themselves under the curse of Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." See exadventist.com/Home/Articles/clearwordbible/tabid/450/Default.aspx, www.truthorfables.com/SDAs_Destroyers_of_the_Bible.htm & ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html. For more information on Seventh Day Adventism see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html, see also "Cult of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=61210437590 & "Damnable Heresies of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6201014412510. See the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, www.RethinkingAdventism.com, www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Romans 14:5 - "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind." With Jesus’ atonement, and justification by faith (Rom. 5:1), we no longer are required to keep the Law and hence the Sabbath which was only a shadow of things to come (Col. 2:16-17, Rom. 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus because in Him we have rest (Matt. 11:28). We are not under obligation to keep Moses' Law and this goes for the Sabbath as well.
Because of listening to the teachings of EGW i myself fell into a cult, as she stated the church is always to have an active voice of prophecy within the church, she referred to herself and the SDA church, but after she passed away where was the spirit of proaphecy now ? there needs to be an active voice of prophecy within the church, and so began the search in my young mind and no one could derail my thoughts as I began the search and end up in the pits of hell and the rest is history.
See our playlist, "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 20 videos & counting at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See also the website www.TruthorFables.com. Seventh-day Adventists do not seem to understand that true Christians do not need the teachings of their so-called "prophetess" Ellen G. White (born November 26, 1827) or her spiritual mentor William Miller (born February 15, 1782) who said, "My principles in brief, are, that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession of the same, with all the saints, sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844." Even though another Millerite follower named Samuel S. Snow predicted the return of Christ on October 22, 1844 which Ellen White also believed, all of these prophecies proved to be false making all of these people false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:20-22, "But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."). Ellen G. White & the rest of them also violated Jesus' words in Matthew 24:36, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." True Christians throughout the centuries before Ellen G. White have followed Jesus Christ faithfully through His Word (2 Timothy 3:15-17) thus invalidating the need for this woman completely. Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." See our videos Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong & Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question. Titus 1:9-16
1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." See links: "The Sheep Need Men to be Their Pastors - The Blasphemy of Women Pastors" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, "Can Women Be Pastors?" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & "Unpopular Bible Doctrines #7: God Condemns Astrology, Witchcraft, & Sin; No Women Pastors Allowed" at ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html).
Question: "Women pastors / preachers? Can a woman be a pastor or preacher?"
Answer: There is perhaps no more hotly debated issue in the church today than the issue of women serving as pastors/preachers. As a result, it is very important to not see this issue as men versus women. There are women who believe women should not serve as pastors and that the Bible places restrictions on the ministry of women, and there are men who believe women can serve as preachers and that there are no restrictions on women in ministry. This is not an issue of chauvinism or discrimination. It is an issue of biblical interpretation.
The Word of God proclaims, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (1 Timothy 2:11-12). In the church, God assigns different roles to men and women. This is a result of the way mankind was created and the way in which sin entered the world (1 Timothy 2:13-14). God, through the apostle Paul, restricts women from serving in roles of teaching and/or having spiritual authority over men. This precludes women from serving as pastors over men, which definitely includes preaching to them, teaching them publicly, and exercising spiritual authority over them.
There are many objections to this view of women in pastoral ministry. A common one is that Paul restricts women from teaching because in the first century, women were typically uneducated. However, 1 Timothy 2:11-14 nowhere mentions educational status. If education were a qualification for ministry, then the majority of Jesus’ disciples would not have been qualified. A second common objection is that Paul only restricted the women of Ephesus from teaching men (1 Timothy was written to Timothy, the pastor of the church in Ephesus). Ephesus was known for its temple to Artemis, and women were the authorities in that branch of paganism-therefore, the theory goes, Paul was only reacting against the female-led customs of the Ephesian idolaters, and the church needed to be different. However, the book of 1 Timothy nowhere mentions Artemis, nor does Paul mention the standard practice of Artemis worshipers as a reason for the restrictions in 1 Timothy 2:11-12.
A third objection is that Paul is only referring to husbands and wives, not men and women in general. The Greek words for “woman” and “man” in 1 Timothy 2 could refer to husbands and wives; however, the basic meaning of the words is broader than that. Further, the same Greek words are used in verses 8-10. Are only husbands to lift up holy hands in prayer without anger and disputing (verse 8)? Are only wives to dress modestly, have good deeds, and worship God (verses 9-10)? Of course not. Verses 8-10 clearly refer to all men and women, not just husbands and wives. There is nothing in the context that would indicate a narrowing to husbands and wives in verses 11-14.
Yet another objection to this interpretation of women in pastoral ministry is in relation to women who held positions of leadership in the Bible, specifically Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah in the Old Testament. It is true that these women where chosen by God for special service to Him and that they stand as models of faith, courage, and, yes, leadership. However, the authority of women in the Old Testament is not relevant to the issue of pastors in the church. The New Testament Epistles present a new paradigm for God’s people-the church, the body of Christ-and that paradigm involves an authority structure unique to the church, not for the nation of Israel or any other Old Testament entity.
Similar arguments are made using Priscilla and Phoebe in the New Testament. In Acts 18, Priscilla and Aquila are presented as faithful ministers for Christ. Priscilla’s name is mentioned first, perhaps indicating that she was more prominent in ministry than her husband. Did Priscilla and her husband teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to Apollos? Yes, in their home they “explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26). Does the Bible ever say that Priscilla pastored a church or taught publicly or became the spiritual leader of a congregation of saints? No. As far as we know, Priscilla was not involved in ministry activity in contradiction to 1 Timothy 2:11-14.
In Romans 16:1, Phoebe is called a “deacon” (or “servant”) in the church and is highly commended by Paul. But, as with Priscilla, there is nothing in Scripture to indicate that Phoebe was a pastor or a teacher of men in the church. “Able to teach” is given as a qualification for elders, but not for deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9).
The structure of 1 Timothy 2:11-14 makes the reason why women cannot be pastors perfectly clear. Verse 13 begins with “for,” giving the “cause” of Paul’s statement in verses 11-12. Why should women not teach or have authority over men? Because “Adam was created first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived” (verses 13-14). God created Adam first and then created Eve to be a “helper” for Adam. The order of creation has universal application in the family (Ephesians 5:22-33) and in the church.
The fact that Eve was deceived is also given in 1 Timothy 2:14 as a reason for women not serving as pastors or having spiritual authority over men. This does not mean that women are gullible or that they are all more easily deceived than men. If all women are more easily deceived, why would they be allowed to teach children (who are easily deceived) and other women (who are supposedly more easily deceived)? The text simply says that women are not to teach men or have spiritual authority over men because Eve was deceived. God has chosen to give men the primary teaching authority in the church.
Many women excel in gifts of hospitality, mercy, teaching, evangelism, and helps. Much of the ministry of the local church depends on women. Women in the church are not restricted from public praying or prophesying (1 Corinthians 11:5), only from having spiritual teaching authority over men. The Bible nowhere restricts women from exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12). Women, just as much as men, are called to minister to others, to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and to proclaim the gospel to the lost (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15).
God has ordained that only men are to serve in positions of spiritual teaching authority in the church. This is not because men are necessarily better teachers or because women are inferior or less intelligent (which is not the case). It is simply the way God designed the church to function. Men are to set the example in spiritual leadership-in their lives and through their words. Women are to take a less authoritative role. Women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3-5). The Bible also does not restrict women from teaching children. The only activity women are restricted from is teaching or having spiritual authority over men. This precludes women from serving as pastors to men. This does not make women less important, by any means, but rather gives them a ministry focus more in agreement with God’s plan and His gifting of them.
Women pastors - what does the Bible say?
The only way to have a productive dialogue on the women pastors issue is to discuss it biblically. Yes, undeniably, there are men whose views on the issue are clouded by chauvinism. At the same time, there are men and women on both sides of the discussion. So, it should never be assumed that one holds a particular view due to latent chauvinism. The issue should be decided based on what the Bible teaches, not on who can make the strongest ad hominem attack.
The key passage on the women pastors issue is 1 Timothy 2:11-12, which reads, "Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet." At its face, this passage is abundantly clear. Paul restricts women from teaching or having spiritual authority over men. While it is not explicitly laid out in the text, the focus seems to be on the concept of pastoring/shepherding. A pastor's duties are primarily teaching and leading. It is this shepherding role over men that God, through Paul, restricts to men.
There are several lines of argument against this interpretation of the women pastors issue in 1 Timothy 2:11-12:
(1) Women were uneducated at that time, and therefore not qualified to be teachers. The passage nowhere mentions education. Education is not mentioned as a qualification for church leadership in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 or Titus 1:6-9. If education was a requirement, few, if any, of Jesus' disciples would have been qualified.
(2) Paul was only dealing with Artemis worship at Timothy's church in Ephesus. The context, and all of 1 Timothy for that matter, nowhere mention Artemis or the prominence of women in the worship of Artemis. If there was a problem with women usurping authority over men in the church in Ephesus, Paul would have addressed it directly.
(3) Paul is referring to husbands and wives, not men and women. Wives are not to teach or have authority over their husbands. The Greek words could refer to husbands and wives, but the context indicates otherwise. Are only husbands to lift up holy hands in prayer? Are only wives to dress modestly (1 Timothy 2:8-10)? The immediate context indicates that men and women in general are the subject, not husbands and wives exclusively.
(4) There are women in the Bible who served in ways that contradict this interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:11-12. Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Priscilla, and Phoebe are the most commonly given examples. Ultimately, Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah are meaningless to the issue, as Paul is addressing leadership in the church. Leadership in old covenant Israel is not the subject at hand. In regards to Priscilla and Phoebe, the New Testament nowhere describes them serving in a way that contradicts 1 Timothy 2:11-12. Priscilla, with her husband Aquila, discipled Apollos in their home (Acts 18:26). Phoebe is simply identified as a servant/deaconess of the church (Romans 16:1).
(5) Galatians 3:28 says that men and women are equal in God's eyes. Men and women are absolutely equal in God's eyes, but that is not the issue. The subject of Galatians 3:28 is equality in Christ, equal access to the salvation Christ offers. Men and women, Jews and Gentiles, slave and free are absolutely equal in this context. Church leadership is not the subject of Galatians 3:28. Further, we cannot take one verse and use it to cancel out another verse. Both Galatians 3:28 and 1 Timothy 2:11-12 are absolutely true. They do not contradict each other.
If education, culture, or marriage are not the reason for the restriction on women in 1 Timothy 2:11-12, what is the reason? The answer is given in the next two verses: "For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived" (1 Timothy 2:13-14). The order of creation and the nature of the fall impacts spiritual leadership in the church, and in the family (see Ephesians 5:22-33). Women are not to teach or have spiritual authority over men because women were created to be "helpers" to men and because Eve was deceived into sin. Through creation, and because of the Fall, God has chosen to give men the primary teaching authority in the church.
So, what exactly does this mean practically? What are women restricted from doing? The clear implication is that women are not to serve in any role which involves the authoritative spiritual teaching of men. By this definition, the role of teaching pastor/shepherd is reserved for men. This is confirmed in the two passages which deal specifically with the qualifications for church leadership (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9). Church leaders are described as the "husband of one wife," "a man whose children believe," and "men worthy of respect."
Rather than focusing on what ministries women are restricted from, the focus should be on the multitude of ways God calls and gifts women to serve. Women are nowhere restricted from proclaiming the gospel to the lost (Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15). Women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3-5). Women are nowhere restricted from teaching children. Women seem to excel, far beyond men, in some of the spiritual gifts and fruit of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12; Galatians 5:22-23). Women being restricted from spiritual teaching authority over men is not a punishment. Rather, it is a refocusing to the ministries, skills, and gifts God with which blesses women.
Question: "What roles can women fill in ministry?"
Answer: Women in ministry is an issue upon which Bible-believing Christians can and do disagree. The point of separation centers on the passages of Scripture that forbid women to speak in church or "assume authority over a man" (1 Timothy 2:12; cf. 1 Corinthians 14:34). The disagreement is whether or not those passages were relevant only to the era in which they were penned. Some contend that, since there is neither “Jew nor Greek . . . male nor female . . . but you are all one in Christ” (Galatians 3:28), women are free to pursue any field of ministry open to men. Others hold that 1 Timothy 2:12 still applies today, since the basis for the command is not cultural but universal, being rooted in the order of creation (1 Timothy 2:13-14).
First Peter 5:1-4 details the qualifications for an elder. Presbuteros is the Greek word used sixty-six times in the New Testament to indicate “seasoned male overseer.” It is the masculine form of the word. The feminine form, presbutera, is never used in reference to elders or shepherds. Based on the qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, the role of an elder is interchangeable with the bishop/pastor/overseer (Titus 1:6-9; 1 Peter 5:1-3). And since, according to 1 Timothy 2:12, a woman should not “teach or exercise authority over a man,” it seems clear that the position of elders and pastors-who must be equipped to teach, lead the congregation, and oversee their spiritual growth (1 Timothy 3:2)-should be reserved for men only.
However, elder/bishop/pastor appears to be the only office reserved for men. Women have always played a significant role in the growth of the church, even being among the few who witnessed the crucifixion of Christ when most of the disciples had run away (Matthew 27:55; John 19:25). The apostle Paul held women in high regard, and in many of his letters to the churches he greeted specific women by name (Romans 16:6, 12; Colossians 4:15; Philippians 4:2-3; Philemon 1:2). Paul addresses these women as "co-workers," and they clearly served the Lord to the benefit of the whole church (Philippians 4:3; Colossians 4:15).
Offices were created in the early church to fit the needs of the body. Although many modern churches interchange the positions of elder and deacon, they were not the same office. Deacons were appointed to serve in a physical capacity as the need arose (Acts 6:2-3). There is no clear prohibition against women serving in this way. In fact, Romans 16:1 may indicate that a woman named Phoebe was a respected deaconess in the church at Rome.
There is no scriptural precedent that forbids women from also serving as worship leaders, youth ministers, or children’s directors. The only restriction is that they do not assume a role of spiritual authority over adult men. Since the concern in Scripture appears to be the issue of spiritual authority rather than function, any role that does not bestow such spiritual authority over adult men is permissible.
Question: "What does the "husband of one wife" phrase in 1 Timothy 3:2 mean? Can a divorced man serve as a pastor, elder, or deacon?"
Answer: There are at least three possible interpretations of the phrase “husband of one wife” in 1 Timothy 3:2. 1) It could simply be saying that a polygamist is not qualified to be an elder, a deacon or a pastor. This is the most literal interpretation of the phrase, but seems somewhat unlikely considering that polygamy was quite rare in the time that Paul was writing. 2) The phrase could also be translated “one-woman man.” This would indicate that a bishop must be absolutely loyal to the woman he is married to. This interpretation focuses more on moral purity than marital status. 3) The phrase could also be understood to declare that in order to be an elder/deacon/pastor, a man can only have been married once, other than in the case of a remarried widower.
Interpretations 2) and 3) are the most prevalent today. Interpretation 2) seems to be the strongest, primarily because Scripture seems to allow for divorce in exceptional circumstances (Matthew 19:9; 1 Corinthians 7:12-16). It would also be important to differentiate between a man who was divorced and remarried before he became a Christian from a man who was divorced and remarried after becoming a Christian. An otherwise qualified man should not be excluded from church leadership because of actions he took prior to coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. Although 1 Timothy 3:2 does not necessarily exclude a divorced or remarried man from serving as an elder/deacon/pastor, there are other issues to consider.
The first qualification of an elder/deacon/pastor is to be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2). If the divorce and/or remarriage results in a poor testimony for the man in the church or community, it may be the “above reproach” qualification that excludes him rather than the “husband of one wife” requirement. An elder/deacon/pastor is to be a man that the church and community can look up to as an example of Christ-likeness and godly leadership. If his divorce and/or remarriage situation detracts from this purpose, perhaps he should not serve in the position of elder/deacon/pastor. It is important to remember, though, that just because a man is disqualified from serving as an elder/deacon/pastor, he is still a valuable member of the body of Christ. Every Christian possesses spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-7) and is called to participate in edifying other believers with those gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7). A man who is disqualified from the position of elder/deacon/pastor can still teach, preach, serve, pray, worship, and play an important role in the church.
Question: "What are the responsibilities of deacons in the church?"
Answer: In the New Testament, the word usually translated "serve" is the Greek word diakoneo, which literally means "through the dirt." It refers to an attendant, a waiter, or one who ministers to another. From this word we get the English word “deacon.” We first see the word "deacon" used this way in the book of Acts. “And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2). The men who were giving themselves to feeding the flock by preaching and teaching realized that it wasn’t right for them to leave those activities to wait tables, so they found some other men who were willing to serve, and put them in place to minister to the church’s physical needs while the elders or pastors ministered to their spiritual needs. It was a better use of the resources they were given, and a better use of everyone’s gifts. It also got more people involved in serving and helping one another.
Today, for the biblical church, these roles are essentially the same. Elders and pastors are to “preach the word…reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2), and deacons are to be appointed to take care of everything else. In a modern church, this might include taking on administrative or organizational tasks, ushering, being responsible for building maintenance, or volunteering to be the church treasurer. It depends on the need and the gifts of the available men.
The responsibilities of a deacon are not clearly listed or outlined; they are assumed to be everything that does not include the duties of an elder or pastor, which is to preach, teach, and exhort. But qualifications for a deacon’s character are clearly outlined in Scripture. They are to be blameless, the husband of one wife, a good household manager, respectable, honest, not addicted to alcohol and not greedy (1 Timothy 3:8-12). According to the Word, the office of deacon is an honor and a blessing. “For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 3:13).
Is God/the Bible sexist? Sexism is generally defined as one gender having dominance over another and is usually applied to men dominating women. Because the Bible includes many references to women that appear demeaning from our contemporary context, some conclude that God and/or the Bible are sexist. Is this true?
The time period of the Old Testament included a cultural system that was patriarchal. Rather than viewing men and women as created in God's image as the Bible states (Genesis 1:27), women were typically seen as less important than men in society. This is part of fallen human nature in which people lived in ways contrary to God's design. To discover and develop the view God has given for the roles of men and women in society, we must look to Scripture.
Though in Old Testament accounts many references to women appear sexist from our modern perspective, two things must be considered before making such an accusation. First, many references in the Bible that appear sexist are simply stating actions that took place without reference to whether they were right or wrong. For example, in Judges 11 Jephthah appears to have sacrificed his own daughter to keep a vow he made to the Lord. Scripture does not state that God approved this action; it only records it as a fact of history.
Second, many references to women that appear sexist based on contemporary standards were appropriate or even better than the norm of the original cultural setting. For example, 1 Timothy 2:9 says Christian women should not adorn themselves with braided hair. Why not? In that time, braided hair was associated with the practices of immoral women in the area. Further, braided hair as understood in that cultural context was a costly, extravagant luxury. However, even in a time when women's rights were different than today, there are several biblical accounts of women being treated with dignity and respect above the level of cultural norms. For example, Jesus publicly spoke with a Samaritan woman at a well, something that even she noted as uncommon (John 4:9). Jesus also allowed women to serve among His followers (including Mary and Martha and Mary Magdalene), and even appeared first to women after His resurrection rather than to men.
Far from being sexist, Scripture presents both men and women in high regard. In the beginning, woman was made in God's image, complementing man as a helper with him. She would serve as woman, wife, mother, and various other roles.
In the Old Testament, women are seen in many influential roles. In addition to Eve, the mother of all people, Scripture speaks highly of Abraham's wife Sarah, Isaac's wife Rebekah, Deborah who served as a judge in the book of Judges, the mother of Moses, Miriam the sister of Moses, Ruth the faithful Moabite, Hannah the mother of Samuel, and Queen Esther who saved the Jewish people.
In the New Testament, women served in prominent roles as well. Mary the mother of Jesus is presented as an ideal servant of God. Four women are mentioned by name in the family lineage of Jesus. Mary's relative Elizabeth obediently raised John the Baptist. Many women also served Jesus during His ministry, with Mary Magdalene in particular noted. Several women existed among the 120 first followers of Jesus in the upper room when the church began (Acts 1-2) and led in a variety of roles within the early church. While it is unlikely that women served as apostles and did not serve as elders, some women served as prophets or at least gave prophecies. Acts 21:8-9 shares, "On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied."
Further, the New Testament speaks highly in favor of strong families and discourages divorce, something that culturally hurt women greatly at the time of writing. James 1:27 is exemplary of Scripture's instructions to care for widows, those women without husbands to provide for the needs of their family.
Though some portions of the Bible may appear sexist, the overall teaching of Scripture presents a beautiful view of women that provides much insight for today.
Question: "What does the Bible say about the form of church government (polity)?"
Answer: The Lord was very clear in His Word about how He wishes His church on earth to be organized and managed. First, Christ is the head of the church and its supreme authority (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18). Second, the local church is to be autonomous, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations (Titus 1:5). Third, the church is to be governed by spiritual leadership consisting of two main offices-elders and deacons.
“Elders” were a leading body among the Israelites since the time of Moses. We find them making political decisions (2 Samuel 5:3; 2 Samuel 17:4, 15), advising the king in later history (1 Kings 20:7), and representing the people concerning spiritual matters (Exodus 7:17; 24:1, 9; Numbers 11:16, 24-25). The early Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, used the Greek word presbuteros for “elder.” This is the same Greek word used in the New Testament that is also translated “elder.”
The New Testament refers a number of times to elders who served in the role of church leadership (Acts 14:23, 15:2, 20:17; Titus 1:5; James 5:14) and apparently each church had more than one, as the word is usually found in the plural. The only exceptions refer to cases in which one elder is being singled out for some reason (1 Timothy 5:1, 19). In the Jerusalem church, elders were part of the leadership along with the apostles (Acts 15:2-16:4).
It seems that the position of elder was equal to the position of episkopos, translated “overseer” or “bishop” (Acts 11:30; 1 Timothy 5:17). The term “elder” may refer to the dignity of the office, while the term “bishop/overseer” describes its authority and duties (1 Peter 2:25, 5:1-4). In Philippians 1:1, Paul greets the bishops and deacons but does not mention the elders, presumably because the elders are the same as the bishops. Likewise, 1 Timothy 3:2, 8 gives the qualifications of bishops and deacons but not of elders. Titus 1:5-7 seems also to tie these two terms together.
The position of “deacon,” from diakonos, meaning “through the dirt,” was one of servant leadership to the church. Deacons are separate from elders, while having qualifications that are in many ways similar to those of elders (1 Timothy 3:8-13). Deacons assist the church in whatever is needed, as recorded in Acts chapter 6.
Concerning the word poimen, translated “pastor” in reference to a human leader of a church, it is found only once in the New Testament, in Ephesians 4:11: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” Most associate the two terms “pastors” and “teachers” as referring to a single position, a pastor-teacher. It is likely that a pastor-teacher was the spiritual shepherd of a particular local church.
It would seem from the above passages that there was always a plurality of elders, but this does not negate God’s gifting particular elders with the teaching gifts while gifting others with the gift of administration, prayer, etc. (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11). Nor does it negate God’s calling them into a ministry in which they will use those gifts (Acts 13:1). Thus, one elder may emerge as the “pastor,” another may do the majority of visiting members because he has the gift of compassion, while another may “rule” in the sense of handling the organizational details. Many churches that are organized with a pastor and deacon board perform the functions of a plurality of elders in that they share the ministry load and work together in some decision making. In Scripture there was also much congregational input into decisions. Thus, a “dictator” leader who makes the decisions (whether called elder, or bishop, or pastor) is unscriptural (Acts 1:23, 26; 6:3, 5; 15:22, 30; 2 Corinthians 8:19). So, too, is a congregation-ruled church that does not give weight to the elders’ or church leaders’ input.
In summary, the Bible teaches a leadership consisting of a plurality of elders (bishops/overseers) along with a group of deacons who serve the church. But it is not contrary to this plurality of elders to have one of the elders serving in the major “pastoral” role. God calls some as “pastor/teachers” (even as He called some to be missionaries in Acts 13) and gives them as gifts to the church (Ephesians 4:11). Thus, a church may have many elders, but not all elders are called to serve in the pastoral role. But, as one of the elders, the pastor or “teaching elder” has no more authority in decision making than does any other elder.
Some liberal theologians, cultists, New Agers & apostates have argued that the "Jezebel spirit" allows for the Christian church to have women pastors which only shows the absurdity that they will go to disobey God's straightforward & clear commands in scripture that women pastors are not allowed. The people that would use the "Jezebel spirit" argument to allow for any kind of church leadership model whatsoever have clearly demonstrated that they themselves have the very "Jezebel" spirit they claim for their authority to have women pastors, etc. What a ridiculous position to hold since they themselves are condemned by the very argument they use.
Question: "What is the Jezebel spirit?"
Answer: There is a variety of opinions about what constitutes a Jezebel spirit, everything from sexual looseness in a woman to the teaching of false doctrine-by a man or a woman. The Bible does not mention a Jezebel spirit, although it has plenty to say about Jezebel herself.
Jezebel’s story is found in 1 and 2 Kings. She was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre/Sidon and priest of the cult of Baal, a cruel, sensuous and revolting false god whose worship involved sexual degradation and lewdness. Ahab, king of Israel, married Jezebel and led the nation into Baal worship (1 Kings 16:31). Ahab and Jezebel’s reign over Israel is one of the saddest chapters in the history of God’s people.
There are two incidents in the life of Jezebel which characterize her and may define what is meant by the Jezebel spirit. One trait is her obsessive passion for domineering and controlling others, especially in the spiritual realm. When she became queen, she began a relentless campaign to rid Israel of all evidences of Jehovah worship. She ordered the extermination of all the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4, 13) and replaced their altars with those of Baal. Her strongest enemy was Elijah, who demanded a contest on Mount Carmel between the powers of Israel’s God and the powers of Jezebel and the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18). Of course, Jehovah won, but despite hearing of the miraculous powers of Jehovah, Jezebel refused to repent and swore on her gods that she would pursue Elijah relentlessly and take his life. Her stubborn refusal to see and submit to the power of the living God would lead her to a hideous end (2 Kings 9:29-37).
The second incident involves a righteous man named Naboth who refused to sell to Ahab land adjoining the palace, rightly declaring that to sell his inheritance would be against the Lord’s command (1 Kings 21:3; Leviticus 25:23). While Ahab sulked and fumed on his bed, Jezebel taunted and ridiculed him for his weakness, then proceeded to have the innocent Naboth framed and stoned to death. Naboth’s sons were also stoned to death, so there would be no heirs, and the land would revert to the possession of the king. Such a single-minded determination to have one’s way, no matter who is destroyed in the process, is a characteristic of the Jezebel spirit.
So infamous was Jezebel’s sexual immorality and idol worship that the Lord Jesus Himself refers to her in a warning to the church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29). Most likely referring to a woman in the church who influenced it the same way Jezebel influenced Israel into idolatry and sexual immorality, Jesus declares to the Thyatirans that she is not to be tolerated. Whoever this woman was, like Jezebel, she refused to repent of her immorality and her false teaching, and her fate was sealed. The Lord Jesus cast her onto a sick bed, along with those who committed idolatry with her. The end for those who succumb to a Jezebel spirit is always death and destruction, both in the physical and the spiritual sense.
Perhaps the best way to define the Jezebel spirit is to say it characterizes anyone who acts in the same manner as Jezebel did, engaging in immorality, idolatry, false teaching and unrepentant sin. To go beyond that is to engage in conjecture and can possibly lead to false accusations and divisiveness within the body of Christ.
Female based religious cults such as Seventh Day Adventism (see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 24 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html), Christian Science of Mary Baker Eddy & other New Age cults (see our playlist "Dealing with Anti Christ Cults, "New Age" & World Religions" with 42 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL69A3047B3497590A.html & many of today's modern Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers like Joyce Meyer & Paula White (see our playlist "Dealing with Phony TV Preachers (TBN) & King James Onlyites" with 26 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL2CDA855486B09128.html) promote the type of "Jezebel spirit" & "doctrine of the Nicolaitans" the scripture warns about.
Question: "Who are the Nicolaitans mentioned in Revelation 2:6, 14-15?"
Answer: The exact origin of the Nicolaitans is unclear. Some Bible commentators believe they were a heretical sect who followed the teachings of Nicolas-whose name means “one who conquers the people”-who was possibly one of the deacons of the early church mentioned in Acts 6:5. It is possible that Nicolas became an apostate, denying the true faith and became part of a group holding "the doctrine of Balaam," who taught Israel "to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality." Clement of Alexandria says, “They abandoned themselves to pleasure like goats, leading a life of self-indulgence.” Their teaching perverted grace and replaced liberty with license.
Other commentators believe that these Nicolaitans were not so called from any man, but from the Greek word Nicolah, meaning "let us eat," as they often encouraged each other to eat things offered to idols. Whichever theory is true, it is certain that the deeds of the Nicolaitans were an abomination to Christ. They, like the Gnostics and other false teachers, abused the doctrine of grace and tried to introduce licentiousness in its place (2 Peter 2:15, 19; Jude 1:4).
According to the writings of the Early Church leaders, Nicolas taught a doctrine of compromise, implying that total separation between Christianity and the practice of occult paganism was not essential. From Early Church records, it seems apparent that this Nicolas of Antioch was so immersed in occultism, Judaism, and Christianity that he had a stomach for all of it. He had no problem intermingling these belief systems in various concoctions and saw no reason why believers couldn't continue to fellowship with those still immersed in the black magic of the Roman empire and its countless mystery cults.
Occultism was a major force that warred against the Early Church. In Ephesus, the primary pagan religion was the worship of Diana (Artemis). There were many other forms of idolatry in Ephesus, but this was the primary object of occult worship in that city. In the city of Pergamos, there were numerous dark and sinister forms of occultism, causing Pergamos to be one of the most wicked cities in the history of the ancient world. In both of these cities, believers were lambasted and persecuted fiercely by adherents of pagan religions, forced to contend with paganism on a level far beyond all other cities.
It was very hard for believers to live separately from all the activities of paganism because paganism and its religions were the center of life in these cities. Slipping in and out of paganism would have been very easy for young or weak believers to do since most of their families and friends were still pagans. A converted Gentile would have found it very difficult to stay away from all pagan influence.
It is significant that the "deeds" and "doctrines" of the Nicolaitans are only mentioned in connection with the churches in these two occultic and pagan cities. It seems that the "doctrine" of the Nicolaitans was that it was alright to have one foot in both worlds and that one needn't be so strict about separation from the world in order to be a Christian. This, in fact, was the "doctrine" of the Nicolaitans that Jesus "hated." It led to a weak version of Christianity that was without power and without conviction - a defeated, worldly type of Christianity.
Nicolas' deep roots in paganism may have produced in him a tolerance for occultism and paganism. Growing up in this perverted spiritual environment may have caused him to view these belief systems as not so damaging or dangerous. This wrong perception would have resulted in a very liberal viewpoint that encouraged people to stay connected to the world. This is what numerous Bible scholars believe about the Nicolaitans.
This kind of teaching would result in nothing but total defeat for its followers. When believers allow sin and compromise to be in their lives, it drains away the power in the work of the Cross and the power of the Spirit that is resident in a believer's life. This is the reason the name Nicolas is so vital to this discussion. The evil fruit of Nicolas' "doctrine" encouraged worldly participation, leading people to indulge in sin and a lowered godly standard. In this way he literally conquered the people.
God wants to make sure we understand the doctrine the Nicolaitans taught, so Balaam's actions are given as an example of their doctrine and actions. Revelation 2:14,15 says, "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."
When Balaam could not successfully cure the people of God, he used another method to destroy them. He seduced them into unbridled, sensual living by dangling the prostitutes of Moab before the men of Israel. Numbers 25:1-3 tells us, "And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they [the daughters of Moab] called the people [the men of Israel] unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people [the men of Israel] did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor...."
Just as the men of Israel compromised themselves with the world and false religions, now the "doctrine" of the Nicolaitans was encouraging compromise. As you are well aware, compromise with the world always results in a weakened and powerless form of Christianity. This was the reason Jesus "hated" the "doctrine" and the "deeds" of the Nicolaitans.
Jesus commends the church of Ephesus for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans as He does (Revelation 2:6). No doubt the leaders of the Ephesian church protected their flock from these destructive heresies and kept their people from committing the same evil deeds. All sin is hateful to Christ, as it should be to His followers, as we hate men’s evil deeds, not the men themselves. For the church at Pergamos, Jesus had not commendation, but censure. Unlike the Ephesians, they actually embraced the teachings of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:15). Jesus warns them that unless they repent, they are in danger of the judgment that is sure to fall on those who teach false doctrine, attack His church, and destroy His people. The sword of judgment is poised over their heads, and His patience is not limitless (Revelation 2:16; 19:15).
The lesson for us is that the church of the Lord Jesus throughout the ages has been plagued by those of the Nicolaitan spirit. The only way to recognize false teaching is to be intimately familiar with truth through the diligent study of the Word of God. See our website www.BibleQuery.org which answers over 8000 bible questions. 2 Timothy 2:15
Please read the description text under this video. Click on the "show more" to open up the rest of the description text that is hidden. After that go to our website BIBLEQUERY ORG & once on our homepage click on the "experience" box & then scroll down to the newsletter section & click on "Seventh-day Adventism." From there go to our UA-cam channel page CANSWERSTV & click on our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" with 10 videos. Next see website: EXADVENTIST COM.
Ellen White accused the BIBLE BELIEVING Christians ministers who rejected William Miller's false date for the return of Christ of being FALSE and standing in the way of God's work. Early Writings page 234 "Many Shepherds of flock, who professed to love Jesus, said that they HAD NO OPPOSITION TO THE PREACHING OF THE CHRIST'S COMING, BUT THEY OBJECTED TO THE DEFINITE TIME.. These FALSE teachers stood in the way of God's work." She called Miller's FALSE date for the return of Christ, GOD'S WORK. and called the bible believing Christians who REFUSED TO BE DECEIVED, FALSE. According to the bible she was CURSED. Isaiah 5: 20 "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." If the foolish Millerites had followed the example of these OBEDIENT CHRISTIANS there would NOT have been any GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT. The SDA church is not firmly planted in the truth found in God's word, 1844 PROVES it. Ellen White's EXCUSES for Willam Miller's FAILED prediction of the date of Christ' s return PROVES she was a false prophet.
Excellent video. Much more detailed than I expected.
I used to be a Seventh-day Adventist. I even studied at an Adventist college. I am so glad I am no longer one. The LORD led me out of it. I rejoice I belong to Jesus and is free in Him to worship and love Him. I am free from the teachings of Ellen G White. Hallelujah!
Share this video with as many Seventh-day Adventists or people studying with SDAs as you know. Dale Ratzlaff, former SDA pastor for 13 years & his ministry are offering free eBooks - "Here is an expanded list of countries where we will send free English eBooks: Jamaica, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Japan, India, Antigua, Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Trinidad, Tobago, St Vincent, St Kitts, St Lucia. We will send free Spanish eBooks everywhere outside the US. All people have to do is personally request a specific book(s) and email me at dale@ratzlaf.com. For more information go to: www.lifeassuranceministries.com/spanishbooks.html."
Dale also says, "Larry, anytime you have someone in a foreign country where poverty abounds and they request it, I will send them a free eBook, either "Sabbath in Christ" or "Cultic Doctrine." They must personally request it. It is in a pdf form and cannot be printed or edited but can be read on their tablet, phone or computer. In countries where they can afford it, the books are $8.00 on my web site or $9.95 on Amazon. I just finished Spanish "Sabbath in Christ" eBook. It is also in a pdf file with hyperlinks from contents to chapter titles and back. I will send it free to anyone who requests it but they must request it by email me at Dale@ratzlaf.com. Check out this offer at lifeassuranceministries.com/minnews.html."
See our video "Adam & the Ten Commandments - Are the Commandments Creation Ordinances & Eternal Moral Laws of God?" at ua-cam.com/video/DtNOycuiPMM/v-deo.html. NEW COVENANT THEOLOGY by Dr. Gary D. Long* (www.ptsco.org). A. NCT Defined. NCT may be defined broadly as "God’s eternal purpose progressively revealed in the commandments and promises of the biblical covenants of the OT and fulfilled in the New Covenant (NC) of Jesus Christ. Its major themes may be summarily described with reference to: (1) God’s eternal purpose of redemption: covenantally revealed and administered through biblical covenants beginning with a pre-Fall covenant of obedience with Adam (Rom. 5:12-19) and a post-Fall covenant of promise (Gen. 3:15): (2) Hermeneutics: consistent interpretation of the OT in light of the NT (Luke 24:27, 44; II Cor. 1:20); (3) The people of God: all the elect of God throughout time first constituted as the church at Pentecost (Acts 2), but not before (John 7:39; 17:21; Col. 1:26-27; Heb. 11:39-40), as one corporate spiritual body in union with Christ (I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 2:19-21; Col. 1:18, 24); and (4) The law of God; the two greatest commandments of God-love of God and neighbor (Matt. 22:36-40)-are innate law known instinctively by man (Rom. 2:14-15) created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27). Upon these two greatest commandments all the Law and the Prophets depend as administered under biblical covenants which culminate in the NC law of Christ (I Cor. 9:20-21; Gal. 6:2; Heb. 8:6, 13: James 2:8; I John 5:3). Innate law is righteous and unchanging; covenantal law is written, righteous and changeable (Heb. 7:12) worked out in history in accordance with God’s eternal purpose (Eph. 1:11; 3:11; II Tim. 1:9).
B. NCT Described. NCT is a developing system of theology that strives to provide a more accurate way to interpret the Scriptures by questioning key theological presuppositions which undergird the principles of interpretation (hermeneutics) that exist in both Covenant Theology (CT) and Dispensational Theology (DT). NCT is based upon a redemptive history approach to understanding the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose on earth. Its Christotelic Hermeneutic with Christ as the focus "in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27) is based upon a biblical theology that stresses the theology of the Bible itself. NCT challenges explanation of the theological presuppositions of the one overarching covenant of grace teaching of CT, including its understanding of the "moral law" of God and the nature of the Church. NCT also challenges the two redemptive purposes of DT, one for the Church and one for Israel, and it challenges some of DT’s presuppositions and literal hermeneutic for understanding key elements of Bible prophecy. The driving motive of NCT is "Back to the Bible." NCT emphasizes the inductive study of the Bible. A major objective of NCT is that its hermeneutic will help bring doctrinal unity in this sin-wrecked world by helping to break down the middle walls of doctrinal partition that exist between DT and CT.
C. NCT Characteristics. The following lists some of the major NCT characteristics. NCT teaches that:
1. The discernment of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for accurately handling the Word of God because there is no authentic leading of the Holy Spirit that is not contextually wedded to the words of the Bible (I Cor. 2:13-14; II Tim. 2:15; 3:16). (NCT is not affiliated with present-day "New Calvinism" and "Charismatic Calvinism.")
2. The most important principle of interpretation is "contextual biblical exegesis." It demands grammatical/historical/theological principles of interpretation.
3. The imputation of Adam’s first sin to all mankind (Rom. 5:12d, 18a-19a), the elect’s sin to Christ (II Cor. 5:21), and Christ’s righteousness to the elect (Rom. 5:18b-19b) are vital for the Christian faith. Without the doctrine of imputation the whole doctrine of the substitutionary atonement and justification by faith alone in Christ alone are undermined (Rom. 5:12-19).
4. The type anti-type teaching of Adam and Christ in Romans 5:12-19 demands that a covenant relationship existed between God and Adam both before and after the Fall.
5. God’s plan of salvation is revealed and administered according to His eternal purpose (II Tim. 1:9) through the unfolding of biblical covenants in the flow of redemptive history, but not as explained through the theologically deduced system of CT’s Covenant of Works/Covenant of Grace/Covenant of Redemption schema.
6. Christians "are not under law (hupo nomon), but under grace (hupo charin)" (Rom. 6:14), meaning that the believer in Christ is no longer under the Mosaic law as covenant law but under the grace of the NC-a covenant that not only has the internal leading of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:4, 11), but also external commands to be obeyed (Rom. 12:9-21), summed up in the NC declaration: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:14).
7. The law of God is both absolute and covenantal (Matt. 5:17-20). God’s "absolute law" is innate, written on the heart of man created in the image of God. It is God’s unchanging standard of righteousness. God’s "covenantal law," however, is written and changeable according to the covenant being administered.
8. The love of God and the love of neighbor are the two greatest commandments (Matt. 22:36-40) upon which the whole Law and the Prophets hang. This means that the Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, hang upon these two greatest commandments, not the reverse as CT teaches.
9. The Ten Commandments are a covenantal outworking of the two greatest commandments in redemptive history, not the reverse. They were given through the hand of Moses to the nation of Israel first at Mount Sinai (Exod. 20).
10. The Fourth Commandment, the Sabbath Commandment, being the sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 31:15-17), is not a creation ordinance as taught by CT.
11. The Ten Commandments are not moral law "forever," first written in the heart of man at creation and forever binding upon all mankind as CT teaches in its confessions of faith; e.g., the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647-49) and the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1677/1689). In fact the term "moral law" does not occur in the original languages of the Bible. Although under any given covenantal administration, man is morally obligated to obey all of God’s commandments, yet the Bible does not separate God’s law into three parts: moral, ceremonial and civil. Historically, this threefold separation was not substantially taught until the time of Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century and in the 16th century by Calvin.
12. The Decalogue is not "transcovenantal" and, therefore, does not function outside the Old Covenant as a unit as much of CT teaches.
13. Christ came not to destroy the OT Scriptures but to fulfill them, which includes the Decalogue (Matt. 5:17-18). The New Covenant law of Christ is distinguished from the Mosaic law (Luke 9:35) and from the Gentiles who do not have a written revelation of God’s law (I Cor. 9:20-21).
14. The law of Christ is not to be equated with the Decalogue. Although the law of Christ, the law of the NC people of God, is related to the Decalogue in that it incorporates nine of the Ten Commandments. The law of Christ is a better law than the law of Moses (Matt. 5:21-48; Heb. 7:19) in the sense that (1) it is a higher revelation of the righteousness of God (Matt. 5:20);
(2) it is based upon a higher standard of love (Matt. 5:44); and (3) Christ’s inauguration of the New Covenant brings in things that are qualitatively "newer," expressed in developing the theological significance of such basic concepts as new wineskins, new teaching, new commandment, new creation, new man, new name, new song, New Jerusalem and all things new (Rev. 21:5).
15. The OC Sabbath commandment is typologically fulfilled by Christ for the people of God who rest in Him by faith (Heb. 4:9-10; Col. 2:16-17).
16. New Covenant believers are in-lawed to Christ; they are not under the OC law of Moses but under the grace of the NC (Rom. 6:14). NCT does not equate the law of Christ with the Decalogue as do many holding to CT.
17. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the norm for Christian living. NCT does not teach that the Ten Commandments are the only objective standard for evaluating the Christian life. Rather, NCT emphasizes that it is the Spirit who through Scripture enables the Christian to have a godly walk (Rom. 8:4) acknowledging that all Scripture is profitable for instruction in righteousness (II Tim. 3:16).
18. Christ merited righteousness for the elect only and imputed it to them based upon His total obedience to the will of the Father in His life and death (Matt. 3:15; Rom. 5:19).
19. The Church, which is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18; see Eph. 2:13 to 3:12), was first formed in history when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost not in past history under the OC. Most holding to CT see the Church existing in the OT before Pentecost; NCT does not. Contrary to Classical DT but in agreement with CT, NCT sees only one redemptive purpose for the one people of God, the good olive tree (Rom. 11).
20. Christ gave both permanent spiritual gifts to the church for exercise throughout the entire age of the NC-from Pentecost to the Second Advent-and temporary gifts (largely sign or miraculous gifts, including that of apostleship and prophecy) exercised during its foundation (Eph. 2:20; 3:5).
21. The ordinance of water baptism is the pledge of membership in the New Covenant for believers alone and the sign of the NC is not baptism, rather the sign is the cup, which memorializes the NC in Christ’s blood (Luke 22:20; I Cor. 11:25).
22. The "now-not yet" principle of interpretation is essential to understand the teaching of the NT. The Christian experiences the commencement of "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1:3); yet he still awaits the consummation of these blessing at Christ’s return. The whole theology of the NT is qualified by this tension: between the "already" or "now" and the "not yet" (I John 3:2).
23. The "recapitulation" principle is essential to understand the NT prophetic Scriptures (Matt. 24:4-14 and 24:15-31; Rev. 11:15-19 and 12:1-6).
24. The "blessed hope" will occur when Christ returns (Titus 2:13) to earth bodily and visibly (Acts 1:11) at the Second Advent to resurrect, judge and consign the saved to heaven and the lost to a Christless eternity (John 5:28-29).
*Gary D. Long, Th.D., is the Faculty President of Providence Theological Seminary located in Colorado Springs, CO. www.ptsco.org; info@ptsco.org.
I have a SDA friend and in the course of more than 10 years he was hard striving to convince me that the teaching of their founder Ellen are only the truth. So many things that he told me were in contradiction with the Bible. for example: if a person is death than there is no evidence in the Bible that is a spirit or something alive, I showed him the evidence from the Bible, but he rejected them all. Also he said there is no hell and paradise, so I showed him in the Bible many places about that, he rejected also. In the Bible we found many parable, that gives us a good teaching, he said that, the parable are nothing, no value in them. And many other things we have had in our conversations that he presented, and were against of the truth of the Gospel, finally I asked him: Then who is right? Jesus or Ellen, he said, Ellen. So it's very clear what kind of teaching they have.
You're exactly correct. We do good works & try to keep God's commandments because 1. we are already "born again" (John 3:3-8) by the Spirit (Acts 13:48) & thus saved already & not trying to get saved by good works (Galatians 2:16, Romans 8:28-39) like the 7th-Day Adventists are trying to do, 2. we try to keep God's commandments because we love God (1 John 4:19), 3. The Bible allows liberty to worship on any given day - Romans 14:5 - "One man regards one day above another .. be fully convinced."
Beautiful video. Thank you for exposing the false teachings of this Cult ( SDA) who have cloaked themselves under the name of Christ but really uphold Moses and the Law as their guide as if the 1st Covenant is now the same as the 2nd Covenant because of their glorification of the 10 Commandments which are not the Law of Christ. Thank you again.
Romans 14:5, "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Jesus is our Sabbath rest. The key to understanding how Jesus is our Sabbath rest is the Hebrew word sabat, which means "to rest or stop or cease from work." The origin of the Sabbath goes back to Creation. After creating the heavens and the earth in six days, God "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made" (Genesis 2:2). This doesn’t mean that God was tired and needed a rest. We know that God is omnipotent, literally "all-powerful." He has all the power in the universe, He never tires, and His most arduous expenditure of energy does not diminish His power one bit. So, what does it mean that God rested on the seventh day? Simply that He stopped what He was doing. He ceased from His labors. This is important in understanding the establishment of the Sabbath day and the role of Christ as our Sabbath rest. God used the example of His resting on the seventh day of Creation to establish the principle of the Sabbath day rest for His people. In Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15, God gave the Israelites the fourth of His Ten Commandments. They were to "remember" the Sabbath day and "keep it holy." One day out of every seven, they were to rest from their labors and give the same day of rest to their servants and animals. This was not just a physical rest, but a cessation of laboring. Whatever work they were engaged in was to stop for a full day each week. (Please read our other articles on the Sabbath day, Saturday vs. Sunday and Sabbath keeping to explore this issue further.) The Sabbath day was established so the people would rest from their labors, only to begin again after a one-day rest. The various elements of the Sabbath symbolized the coming of the Messiah, who would provide a permanent rest for His people. Once again the example of resting from our labors comes into play. With the establishment of the Old Testament Law, the Jews were constantly "laboring" to make themselves acceptable to God. Their labors included trying to obey a myriad of do’s and don’ts of the ceremonial law, the Temple law, the civil law, etc. Of course they couldn’t possibly keep all those laws, so God provided an array of sin offerings and sacrifices so they could come to Him for forgiveness and restore fellowship with Him, but only temporarily. Just as they began their physical labors after a one-day rest, so, too, did they have to continue to offer sacrifices. Hebrews 10:1 tells us that the law "can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." But these sacrifices were offered in anticipation of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross, who "after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right of God" (Hebrews 10:12). Just as He rested after performing the ultimate sacrifice, He sat down and rested-ceased from His labor of atonement because there was nothing more to be done, ever. Because of what He did, we no longer have to "labor" in law-keeping in order to be justified in the sight of God. Jesus was sent so that we might rest in God and in what He has provided. Another element of the Sabbath day rest which God instituted as a foreshadowing of our complete rest in Christ is that He blessed it, sanctified it, and made it holy. Here again we see the symbol of Christ as our Sabbath rest-the holy, perfect Son of God who sanctifies and makes holy all who believe in Him. God sanctified Christ, just as He sanctified the Sabbath day, and sent Him into the world (John 10:36) to be our sacrifice for sin. In Him we find complete rest from the labors of our self-effort, because He alone is holy and righteous. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can now cease from our spiritual labors and rest in Him, not just one day a week, but always. Jesus can be our Sabbath rest in part because He is "Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). As God incarnate, He decides the true meaning of the Sabbath because He created it, and He is our Sabbath rest in the flesh. When the Pharisees criticized Him for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus reminded them that even they, sinful as they were, would not hesitate to pull a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath. Because He came to seek and save His sheep who would hear His voice (John 10:3,27) and enter into the Sabbath rest He provided by paying for their sins, He could break the Sabbath rules. He told the Pharisees that people are more important than sheep and the salvation He provided was more important than rules. By saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27), Jesus was restating the principle that the Sabbath rest was instituted to relieve man of his labors, just as He came to relieve us of our attempting to achieve salvation by our works. We no longer rest for only one day, but forever cease our laboring to attain God’s favor. Jesus is our rest from works now, just as He is the door to heaven, where we will rest in Him forever. Hebrews 4 is the definitive passage regarding Jesus as our Sabbath rest. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts his readers to "enter in" to the Sabbath rest provided by Christ. After three chapters of telling them that Jesus is superior to the angels and that He is our Apostle and High Priest, he pleads with them to not harden their hearts against Him, as their fathers hardened their hearts against Jehovah in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief, God denied that generation access to the holy land, saying, "They shall not enter into My rest" (Hebrews 3:11). In the same way, the writer to the Hebrews begs them-and us-not to make the same mistake by rejecting God’s Sabbath rest in Jesus Christ. "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience" (Hebrews 4:9-11). There is no other Sabbath rest besides Jesus. He alone satisfies the requirements of the Law, and He alone provides the sacrifice that atones for sin. He is God’s plan for us to cease from the labor of our own works. We dare not reject this one-and-only Way of salvation (John 14:6). God’s reaction to those who choose to reject His plan is seen in Numbers 15. A man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, in spite of God’s plain commandment to cease from all labor on the Sabbath. This transgression was a known and willful sin, done with unblushing boldness in broad daylight, in open defiance of the divine authority. "And Jehovah said to Moses, ‘The man shall surely be put to death’" (v. 35). So it will be to all who reject God’s provision for our Sabbath rest in Christ. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3). The ten commandments were given only to the nation of Israel & not to anyone else (Gentiles). The New Testament only reaffirms nine out of the ten commandments under the terms of the New Covenant. Sabbath keeping as found in the ten commandments is a ceremonial law associated only with Old Testament Israelites & is not a moral law that must be followed by Gentiles. The Old Testament Scriptures always state that the covenant written on the Tablets of Stone was made only with Israel at Sinai. Look at the first time the words "Ten Commandments" were used in the Bible. This same text states that the Ten Commandments, as the covenant document, was given only to the nation of Israel: And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and WITH ISRAEL. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Ex 34:27,28 When Moses refreshed Israel's mind concerning their covenant relationship with God, he specifically says that the covenant (Ten Commandments) was given at Horeb. This is clear in the following text: The Lord our God made a covenant [Remember the covenant is the Ten Commandments or Tablets of Stone] with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all of us alive here today. Deut. 5:2,3 Moses insists that the covenant was "not made with our fathers," meaning the patriarchs, 11 but with the people that came out of Egypt. He then repeats the words of the covenant, or Ten Commandments, that were written on the Tablets of Stone. The Prophets saw the coming of a New Covenant and spoke of it in glowing terms. Whenever they contrasted the Old Covenant with the New Covenant, they always state when and with whom the Old Covenant was made. Notice this in a classic passage in Jeremiah: Behold days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel..., not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hands to bring them out of the land of Egypt..." Jer. 31:31.32. Notice the following things clearly set forth in this passage: 1.There was going a New Covenant. "I will make a new covenant." 2.The New Covenant was going to be different in nature from the Old Covenant. "Not like the covenant I made with their fathers" 3.The Old Covenant being replaced was made at Sinai and made only with Israel. "Made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt" How is it possible to read these words in Jeremiah and say, "God was not actually promising to make a new and different covenant with Israel. He was really promising a new administration of the same covenant they were already under?" It seems to us that such statements are literally contradicting what Jeremiah said. The rest of the Bible always says the same thing that Jeremiah said when it speaks on this subject. The following passage from I Kings appears to be going out of its way to affirm the facts we are setting forth: There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, WHEN the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, WHEN they came out of the land of Egypt. I Kings 8:9 The phrases "Tables of Stone," "Moses at Horeb," "made a covenant" and "children of Israel," in this text are the same key ingredients that we always find connected with the Ten Commandments. This passage of Scripture uses the word "when" two times. We could put a period after "children of Israel" and not lose the thought or argument. The last phrase in the sentence "When they came out of the land of Egypt" is almost redundant. The Holy Spirit must have wanted to impress this point on our minds. The NT Scriptures always connect the Old Covenant with Israel. Heb 8:6-9 is the Apostolic interpretation of Jer 31:31,32. The author of Hebrews clearly states: (1) when the Old Covenant was made; (2) with whom the Old Covenant was made; (3) the fact the New Covenant would be different than the Old Covenant. The passage is clear: .......... the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel .......... It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out Egypt.......... Heb 8:7,8 It is not possible to make this verse promise a new administration of the same covenant. Nor is it possible relate this covenant back to Adam in the garden. Neither the words in prophecy of Jer 31:33 nor the Apostolic interpretation in Heb 8:7,8 will allow such an idea. "Having the law" as a covenant and the Gospel as a promise as opposed to "not having the law" and being without covenant or hope was the great difference between the nation of Israel and the Gentiles (Eph 2:11-21). The following text is a key passage on this particular point: For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness..... Rom 2:14. First of all, the word "law" in this passage clearly refers to the Tablets of Stone. It cannot refer to "a sense of moral duty" since all men have that by virtue of being God's image bearers. Paul is talking about a law that all men definitely do not have. If all men have "the law" in the sense that Paul is using the word in this passage, his argument does not make sense. He is contradicting himself in the same breath. Paul's whole point in the context of this passage is to show that the Jews are more guilty than the Gentiles. The basis of his proof is that the Gentiles "without the law" live better lives than the Jews do "with the law." The Jews alone have the special gift of the Law. And the specific law that he is talking about is the law written on the Tablets of Stone as a covenant. Rom 2:14 is not talking about a so called "ceremonial law." Whatever the "law" is in this passage, it convicts the conscience of sin. Conscience, by nature and without special revelation, cannot convict men of disobedience to "ceremonial" laws. One of the many proofs that the Sabbath is not a "moral law" is the fact that we have never discovered a single instance of anyone knowing, by nature, the Sabbath law. This particular law must always be taught as special revelation just as it was to Israel at Sinai. 12 Gentiles intuitively knew that adultery was wrong but they know that the seventh day is to be kept holy. Most people misquote this passage of Scripture. Paul does not say, "The law" is written in the Gentile's heart. He says that certain behavior proves that there is a conviction of right and wrong in all men. This fact shows that conscience is alive and well even in the Gentiles. In fact, it is more alive and well in them than it is in the Jew. This power of conscience "shows the work of the law written in their hearts." The "work" of the law is to accuse or excuse according to the standard given to it. It condemns all violations of known wrong and rewards obedience to what is known to be right. All men have a conscience and they all experience, to a greater or lesser degree, conviction they have done wrong. The Gentiles did not have "the law" but they did have the "work of the law" in their hearts. The law can only "work" true repentance that leads to faith if there is (1) a covenant with clear terms and (2) the individual has a knowledge of those terms. In giving Israel the law as a covenant, God enlightened the mind and sharpened the conscience. He sandwiched conscience under the Old Covenant and its threat of judgment. This caused a very painful death to all hope of eternal life in those who truly experienced the end for which the law covenant was given, namely, genuine "conviction of guilt." The same law actually "blinded" the rest of the Jews and made them worse off spiritually than the Gentiles. We say again, it was most gracious of God to kill Israel's hope in their own efforts. However, it took a covenant of pure law with the power of life and death to do the job. There was not an ounce of grace in the Tablets of Stone but it was most of God to give them to Israel as a covenant that could prepare the heart to receive grace! Regardless of whether the reader agrees or disagree with what has just been said, one thing is certain. We cannot change a passage that emphatically states that Israel had a specific law that the Gentiles did not have into a text that says "all men have the same law." This is to destroy the text. Paul can only be referring to the Tables of Stone as a covenant. It both amazes and amuses us to watch people waver back and forth when they cannot fit clear passages of Scripture into their theological system. They usually want to "eat their cake and have it too." If they are discussing the "unchanging moral law," they will insist that "the moral law (Ten Commandments) is written on ever man's heart." However, if they are discussing the canon of conduct for believer's today, these same people will insist that in regeneration "the moral law" (Ten Commandments) is written on the heart" by the Holy Spirit. In both cases it is said to be the same law that Scriptures clearly state was given only to the nation of Israel at Sinai on the Tablets of Stone. Something seems to be a bit out of focus when all of this is put together. (1) If the first point is true, and the same law that was given to Israel at Sinai (the Ten Commandments) is indeed written on every man's heart, it is impossible to say the Gentiles are "without the law." They cannot be "without" the very law that is written "in" them. (2) If the second point, affirming that the same law written in the heathen, and given to Israel at Sinai, is also written on the heart of believer in regeneration, is true, there appears to be a contradiction. What need is there to write something on the heart that is already there? (3) If, in regeneration, the Holy Spirit writes the Ten Commandments on the heart of every believer, what then is the necessity of preaching those commandments to the Christian? We must distinguish between the Ten Commandments as the terms of a legal covenant and the duties commanded by the individual commandments. The moment we do this a lot of confusion disappears and some difficult passages of Scripture become clear and simple. We will illustrate this point with one passage of Scripture. This passage in its context is pivotal to any correct understanding of the change of covenants: But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. Heb 8:6-13 We have already noted the three distinct contrasts in verse 6. We saw the following: (1) Christ has a better ministry than Aaron; (2) because Christ's ministry is based on a new and better covenant; (3) the covenant Christ administers is superior to the covenant under which Aaron ministered because it is based on better promises. Heb 8:7-9 settles any discussion as to either when (at Sinai) or with whom (Israel only) the Old Covenant was made. Heb 8:11 shows that everyone, without a single exception, in the New Covenant community, or Church, "know the Lord." In other words, the text proves that the Church born under the New Covenant has a totally regenerate membership. We will now look at verse 10: This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. HEB 8:10 The text emphasizes several important things. First, God promises to make a new covenant, and this covenant will be with the "house of Israel." We will not digress from the point under discussion except to say that the "house of Israel" in Heb 8-10 must be the Church. The writer is not talking about the future but the present. This covenant cannot be pushed into a future millennium. Hebrews is talking about the priestly ministry of Christ over the Church. However, that is not our subject in this book. The second major thing in the text is God's promise to put his laws in the mind and write them on the hearts of His New Covenant people. Now here is the question: "What is the difference, if any, between the "covenant" and the word "laws" in this passage?" Exactly what is God promising to do in this verse? Exactly what is the "New Covenant" He is making and precisely what "laws" is He going to write on the heart? We should carefully note that God did not say, "In that day I will give a new administration of the same covenant that I gave Israel. I will write the old law of Sinai into the new heart of the Christian." That is how some theologians read this passage. Likewise, the text does not say, "I will make a New Covenant that destroys all of the Ten Commandments and allows a believer to do as he pleases." That is how some liberals view the text. No, the text, and its context, is talking about both a new and better covenant than the old covenant at Sinai and the new experience of the law being written on the heart by the indwelling Spirit. The clear answers to the two questions that we asked lies in understanding the three comparisons made in verse 6. Why did the Old Covenant fail and thereby need to be replaced by a new and better covenant? The answer is that it could not secure the necessary obedience to its terms. It could not write on the heart the desire to do the things that were written on the Tablets of the Covenants. It could write on stone but not on flesh (II Cor 3). By nature all men hate God's authority (Rom 8:7) and even the mighty Law of God cannot change that rebellion into a sincere desire to obey. The Old Covenant failed to bring sinners into God's presence because it could not change the sinner's heart. It could not conquer sin in the flesh nor it could cleanse the conscience from the guilt of sin. Now read carefully! The greater glory of the New Covenant is not that the standards or laws have been either lowered or done away. It is not that the moral duties demanded on the Tables of Stone are no longer binding on a Christian. No, No, that is to miss the whole point. The greater glory of the New Covenant is that no obedience at all is required as the terms of being saved simply because the very terms of the Tablets of the Covenant have been finally and fully met in the Person and work of Surety, the Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of the New Covenant is in the words, "IT IS FINISHED." Paul states the glory of the New Covenant in the classic passage in Rom 4:5. Here is a paraphrase of that text: However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. Rom 4:5 This is the "rest" that weary souls enter into when they come under the yoke of Christ and are liberated from the yoke of the covenant given to Moses on Sinai. We doubt not that our Lord Jesus had this very contrast in mind when He gave that great gospel invitation in Matthew 11: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30. Every thing in that passage is a contrast with Moses and old law covenant. The yoke of the covenant written on the Tables of Stone was a burden impossible to bear. The yoke written in the blood of Calvary is a privilege and delight to bear. The New Covenant is nothing less than Christ Himself and His finished work. When God said, "I will make a new covenant," He was saying, "I will give you Christ to be your covenant Keeper. He will both keep the law and die under its curse." The message has now become "It is finished" instead of "Do or Die." The New Covenant is grace and not works. What then are the "laws" spoken of in Heb 8:10? Exactly what "laws" does the Holy Spirit write on the heart of a New Covenant believer? These laws, as far as their content, are basically the very same moral laws that were written on the tables of stone. Heb 8:10 is not talking about two different "sets" of laws that totally contradict each other as if there were two "kinds of morality." The morality of the New Covenant does not destroy the true morality demanded in the laws of the Old Covenant. It takes that morality to a higher level. It is true that Christ adds laws that were impossible for Moses to ever give but that does not mean Christ contradicts Moses. 13 Hebrews is talking about two different motivations that grow out of two different kinds of covenants." II Cor 3 is the Holy Spirit's commentary on Heb 8:10. Neither of these passages are teaching that God "tattoos" the exact words of the Decalogue on our hearts. Both passages are talking about the powerful effect of regeneration that results in a totally new and different attitude toward God. These two passages are picturing the removal of the stony heart that hated the Tablets of Stones and all they represented. It is describing the effect of regeneration in replacing the stony heart with a heart of flesh. The new heart of flesh loves all of God's revealed laws, not just a one small code, simply because it loves the new Lawgiver Who teaches us those laws. The difference is not in the specific duties demanded but the difference between law and grace as covenants. It is the difference, in some cases, of the identical duties being enforced from without by fear and force, in the case of the Old Covenant, and being constrained by love from within a heart rejoicing in a covenant of grace. These two passages are talking about the difference between the conscience being under the old Pedagogue, the Tables of Stone, and being under the new Pedagogue, the indwelling Holy Spirit. 11. The writer of Hebrews, as well as the prophecy in Jer 31:33, establish beyond question that the "fathers" referred to in this passage are the patriarchs. To make the statement refer to the immediate fathers of the people to whom Moses is speaking would involve a contradiction. It was specifically to these very "fathers" that God gave the covenant at Sinai. 12. John Bunyan wrote an excellent article proving the Seventh Day Sabbath could not possibly be a so called "Creation Ordinance." To our knowledge, no one has attempted to answer his arguments. See, "Questions about the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day Sabbath," by John Bunyan, The Works of John Bunyan, Vol. II, pp 359-387, Baker Book House. 13. We have worked this out in a book entitled But I Say Unto You. This book shows that Christ supercedes and replaces Moses as the New Lawgiver. Christ changes some of the laws of Moses; raises some others to a higher level; discards some others altogether; and adds some laws that are totally new. However, this is not contradicting Moses as he were wrong. Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday? In the Old Testament, God stated, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you," (Exodus 20:8-10, NASB). It was the custom of the Jews to come together on the Sabbath, which is Saturday, cease work, and worship God. Jesus went to the synagogue on Saturday to teach (Matt. 12:9, John 18:20) as did the apostle Paul (Acts 17:2; 18:4). So, if in the Old Testament we are commanded to keep the Sabbath and in the New Testament we see Jews, Jesus, and the apostles doing the same thing, then why do we worship on Sunday? First of all, of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only 9 of them were reinstituted in the New Testament: five in Matt. 19:18, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and honor parents; in Rom. 13:9, coveting; worshiping God properly covers the first three commandments. The one that was not reaffirmed was the one about the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8). Upon the completion of Creation, God rested on the seventh day. However, since God is all-powerful, He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t need to take a break and rest. So, why did/does it say that He rested? The reason is simple: Mark 2:27 says, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In other words, God established the Sabbath as a rest for His people--not because He needed a break but because we are mortal and need a time of rest--a time to focus on God. In this, our spirits and bodies are both renewed. The Old Testament system of Law required keeping the Sabbath as part of the overall moral, legal, and sacrificial system by which the Jewish people satisfied God’s requirements for behavior, government, and forgiveness of sins. The Sabbath was part of the Law in that sense. In order to "remain" in favor with God, you had to also keep the Sabbath. If it was not kept, then the person was in sin and would often be punished (Ezekiel 18:4; Rom. 6:23; Deut. 13:1-9; Num. 35:31; Lev. 20:2, etc.). But with Jesus’ atonement, we are no longer required to keep the Law. We are not under Law but grace (Rom. 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus. He is our rest. We are not under obligation, by Law, to keep it; and this goes for the Sabbath as well. It is not a requirement that we keep the Sabbath. If it were, then we would still be under the Law; but we are not. Evidence of the Change of Days can be Seen in the NT The New Testament has ample evidence that the seventh day Sabbath is no longer a requirement. Rom. 14:5-6, "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God." The entire section of Rom. 14:1-12 is worth careful study. Nevertheless, the instructions here are that individuals must be convinced in their own minds about which day they observe for the Lord. If the seventh day Sabbath were a requirement, then the choice would not be man's but God’s. Col. 2:16-17, "Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ." Notice here that time sequence mentioned. A festival is yearly. A new moon is monthly. A Sabbath is weekly. No one is to judge regarding this. The Sabbath is defined as a shadow; the reality is Jesus. Jesus is our Sabbath. Acts 20:7, "And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight." The first day of the week is Sunday, and this is the day the people gathered. This passage can easily be seen as the church meeting on Sunday. It has two important church functions within it: breaking bread (communion) and a message (preaching). Additionally, Luke did not use the Jewish system of counting days: sundown to sundown. He used the Roman system: midnight to midnight. This is a subtle point that shows the Jewish Sabbath system was not the one utilized by Luke. 1 Cor. 16:1-2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come." Notice here that Paul is directing the churches to meet on the first day of each week and put money aside. It would seem that this is tithing. So, the instructed time for the church to meet is Sunday. Is this an official worship day set up by the church? You decide. Rev. 1:10-11, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, ‘The Lord’s Day’ in Revelation 1:10: "This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, "ta kuriaka hamera." The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the church’s worship day. As such, it certainly appears early in the 2nd century (Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians, 1. 67). In many churches today, the term "The Lord’s Day" is used to designate Sunday--the same as it was in the second century. I hope this is evidence enough to show you that the Bible does not require that we worship on Saturday. If anything, we have the freedom (Rom. 14:1-12) to worship on the day that we believe we should. And, no one should judge us regarding the day we keep. We are free in Christ and not under law (Rom. 6:14). See our videos "Christ Has Fulfilled & Replaced the Law of Moses With Higher Laws of the New Covenant, Hebrews 8:6-13" at ua-cam.com/video/EkZ2Cn8TLzE/v-deo.html, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html & "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html. 2 Timothy 2:15
+CAnswersTV This message is in her book "Steps to Christ" in Chapter 7 titled "Tests of Discipleship"
SDA's seem incapable of grasping that their own cult condemns many of their behaviors. They behave on ego, not faith. When they interact with any one who disagrees with their religion/cult is treated to a violation of their own belief system which renders that belief system kind of moot. Whats the point of professing beliefs you do not practice? this is why I left that cult.
See our video called " Inspired Racism by Seventh-day Adventist Ellen White:Jesus was a white man, Blacks will become white" at ua-cam.com/video/3zPcVdc3KEw/v-deo.html . See "Ellen White's "Inspired" Bigotry, Racism, and Discrimination!" at www.cultorchristian.com/egwbigotry.html. "'The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance.' You are the children of God. He has adopted you, and He desires you to form characters here that will give you entrance into the heavenly family. Remembering this, you will be able to bear the trials which you meet here. In heaven there will be no color line; for all will be as white as Christ himself. Let us thank God that we can be members of the royal family." (The Gospel Herald, 03-01-1901, "Trust in God," paragraph 20, from a "Talk given by Mrs. E. G. White to the church for the colored in Vicksburg, Sabbath, March 16, 1901.").
See our playlist, "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 48 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. Please examine the following important websites: www.lifeassuranceministries.com, www.lifeassuranceministries.org, www.FormerAdventist.com, & www.TruthorFables.com. Email: proclamation@gmail.com for free materials.
Larry Wessels, director of Christian Answers of Austin, Texas/ Christian Debater (UA-cam Channel CANSWERSTV at ua-cam.com/users/CAnswersTVfeatured; websites: www.BibleQuery.org, www.HistoryCart.com, & www.MuslimHope.com, email: cdebater@aol.com) speaks on the racist background & teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist religion.
For a list of Ellen G. White's failed "visions" supposedly from God see www.truthorfables.com/menu/subjectsa-1e.html.
E. G. White has written two statements on amalgamation that has caused much embarrassment through the years in the Seventh-day Adventist Church because they are not Biblical or biologically true. Several Adventist apologists have written books and articles in a vain attempt to explain Ellen's nonsense.
"But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere." -Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3, p. 64, 1864.
"Every species of animal which God had created, were preserved in the ark. The confused species which God did not create, which were the result of amalgamation, were destroyed by the flood. Since the flood there has been amalgamation of man and beast, as may be seen in the endless varieties of species of animals and certain races of men." -Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3, p.75, 1864.
In the second quote Ellen is saying:
1.Every species that God created were preserved in the ark.
2.The confused species that were the result of amalgamation were not allowed on the ark and were destroyed by the flood.
3.Since the flood there have been amalgamation of man and beast and may be seen today in species of animals and certain races of men. We are asked to believe that there are part human and part beast creatures about us today as there was before the flood.
Uriah Smith Comes to Ellen's Defense in 1868
1. There was offspring living in Ellen and Smith's day that was the result of amalgamation.
2. Some of "the confused species" that Ellen failed to name Smith jumped right in and named them. He named the wild Bushmen of Africa, some tribes of Hottentots also from Africa, Digger Indians from America and Patagonians from South America.
3. Smith believed as did the evolutionist that, "Moreover, naturalists affirm that the line of demarkation between human and animal races is lost in confusion." It is impossible as they affirm, to tell, just where the human ends and the animal begin. Can we suppose that this was so ordained of God in the beginning? Smith did not know that human blood and animal blood do not merge into one blood.
4. That these black people should be treated as human because they had human blood in them from Adam.
Ellen White stated, "The colored people should not urge that they be placed on an equality with white people. The relation of the two races has been a matter hard to deal with, and I fear that it will ever remain a most perplexing problem.
"I know that if we attempt to meet the ideas and preferences of some of the colored people, we shall find our way blocked completely. The work of proclaiming the truth for this time is not to be hindered by an effort to adjust the position of the Negro race. Should we attempt to do this we should find that barriers like mountains would be raised to hinder the work that God desires to have done." (Testimonies for the Church, Volume Nine, page 214 paragraph 3-page 215 paragraph 0.)
"I think I have already written that the colored people should not urge that they be placed on an equality with white people.--Letter 202, 1903, p. 2. (To J. E. White and wife, September 11, 1903.)" (Manuscript Releases, Volume Four, page 23, paragraph 2.).
Matthew 7:15, "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
My walk with God will have to be in solitude as I have not found a church yet that hasn't lied, I only want truth. Very disappointing
My grace is sufficient for you.
We pray constantly but that's besides the point. Your comment proves that our video on Seventh-Day Adventism is having the desired effect! In true Christianity a person has to realize he's "lost" before a holy God & he needs a savior. That "lost" person then cries out to God for mercy (Romans 6:23) & Lord willing he will be saved (Acts 13:48). People in false religions FEEL secure & comfortable & ASSUME they are okay with the true & living God (Matthew 7:15-29, Titus 1:13-16) but doom awaits.
PLEASE do not delete these videos from youtube because there are a goldmine for those who seek the Biblical truth, and for many of us this is one of the very few places we get them. God bless you CAnswersTV·
I notice how their stage is simple. No big gold chairs and stuff. I like that. It says something. I have a hard listening to someone talk about how much good my offering will do as they sit in 20000$ chairs telling people they need financial help.
Christians, just plain simple folk praising Christ.
SDA say that they are bible based ... but of course, this is not true.
See our video "RISE OF THE CULTS: WHERE DID ALL THESE STRANGE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SECTS COME FROM?" at ua-cam.com/video/HfVTXbFrvh8/v-deo.html. The shortest definition of "cult" is "Organized Heresy."
This is in reply to "nathanyamaha465" - There are numerous definitions & senses to the word "cult." For instance, AudioEnglish.org defines cult as: The noun CULT has 3 senses: 1. adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices 2. an interest followed with exaggerated zeal 3. a system of religious beliefs and rituals
Familiarity information: CULT used as a noun is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• CULT (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("cult" is a kind of...):
faith; organized religion; religion (an institution to express belief in a divine power)
Meronyms (members of "cult"):
cultist (a member of a cult)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cult"):
cargo cult ((Melanesia) one of several millenarian cults that believe salvation will come in the form of wealth ('cargo') brought by westerners; some ascribe divine attributes to westerners on first contact (especially to missionaries))
Wicca (a community of followers of the Wicca religion)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An interest followed with exaggerated zeal
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Synonyms:
craze; fad; furor; furore; cult; rage
Context examples:
he always follows the latest fads / it was all the rage that season
Hypernyms ("cult" is a kind of...):
fashion (the latest and most admired style in clothes and cosmetics and behavior)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A system of religious beliefs and rituals
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Synonyms:
cultus; religious cult; cult
Context example:
devoted to the cultus of the Blessed Virgin
Hypernyms ("cult" is a kind of...):
faith; religion; religious belief (a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cult"):
macumba (a Brazilian religious cult of African origin; combines voodoo elements with singing a chanting and dancing)
obeah; obi (a religious belief of African origin involving witchcraft and sorcery; practiced in parts of the West Indies and tropical Americas)
Rastafarianism (belief in Ras Tafari (Haile Selassie) as the Messiah and that Africa (especially Ethiopia) is the promised land)
hoodooism; vodoun; voodoo; voodooism (a religious cult practiced chiefly in Caribbean countries (especially Haiti); involves witchcraft and animistic deities).
Titus 1:9-16
Another example of why the church needs to read the letters to the seven in revelations. The lord did not like Jezabel being tolerated, and calling herself a prophetess. Amazing how so many ignore the plain as day warnings we were given so very long ago and it still stands firm today, his word.
Seventh-day Adventism: Satan will bear your sins. See our video "Cult Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventism: 1844 Probation & Satan As A Final Sin Bearer for Adventists" at ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html. The founding false prophetess of Seventh-day Adventism (Ellen G. White) offered the following whopper of a heresy on page 422 of her book The Great Controversy:
It was seen, also, that while the sin offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest, by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, removed the sins from the sanctuary, he placed them upon the scapegoat. When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of his ministration, he will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty. The scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, never to come again into the congregation of Israel. So will Satan be forever banished from the presence of God and His people, and he will be blotted from existence in the final destruction of sin and sinners. Rank heresy! Utter blasphemy!
Jesus alone had our iniquity placed upon Him (Isaiah 53:6); He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21); and it was Jesus Christ-God in the flesh-who bore our sins in his body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).
The Reason for the Scapegoat
The scapegoat is a type or figure of Christ’s atonement to save mankind in the Old Testament Sanctuary service. When our first parents sinned in Eden, they would have died at that very instance if Jesus had not provided a way out to save them.
Gen 3:15 (NIV) And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
God speaks to Satan, telling him that there will be hatred between him and the woman and between her children and the Devil’s children. The outcome will be that Christ would crush Satan’s head, and Satan will strike at Christ’s heel. The fulfillment of this prophecy was when Satan and his children, the ungodly Pharisees and the Romans bruised Jesus’ heel by putting Jesus to death on the cross. At the end of the world Jesus will crush Satan’s head by casting him into the fires of Hell and sin and death will be no more.
God commanded animal sacrifices to illustrate the consequences of sin. It was to show them that the Lamb of God would have to bear their sins and die to save them. Up until the time that Israel became a nation, the Patriarchs, built altars and sacrificed animals for the atonement from sin. After God called his people out of Egypt, he instructed Moses to build a sanctuary that he could dwell among them. Moses was to build the sanctuary after the pattern shown him on the mount. Exodus 25:40. It is important to note that this was not patterned in every detail after the one in heaven. For example, the Heavenly Sanctuary does not have animals to be slain or brass basins for the priests to wash or have animals waiting to be slaughtered or walls made from dyed animal skins.
The Day of Atonement
Every day animals were sacrificed for the sins of Israel. But once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) a special service was held. It was to be on the 10th day of Tishri, coming on different days of our calendar. It came in the month of September to early October. The Day of Atonement was the only day of the year that the priest entered the holy of holies to make sin offerings for himself, his family, and the "assembly of Israel." After making these offerings, the nation’s sins were symbolically laid on the scapegoat and it was led out into the wilderness and released.
Before the sacrifice of the two goats, the High Priest was required to make a sin offering for himself.
Lev 16:11 (NIV) ""Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his house and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering."
After completing his sin offering the High Priest was to take two goats provided from the Israelite community and he is to cast lots for them. The term scapegoat or Azazel depending on the Bible translation you are using is found three times in Scripture in Leviticus 16.
Lev 16:8 (NIV) "He is to cast lots for the two goats-one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat."
Lev 16:9 (NIV) "Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering."
Lev 16:10 (NIV) "But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat."
Lev 16:20 NIV) ""When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat."
Lev 16:21 (NIV) "He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites-all their sins-and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task."
Lev 16:22 (NIV) "The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert."
Lev 16:26 (NIV) ""The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp."
The Azazel Controversy
The term Azazel has created a controversy among Bible translators as to what or who is Azazel. Some Bibles do not use the term Azazel while some use scapegoat or other terms as shown. This is a sample of different Bible translations and how they translated Azazel from Leviticus 16:8:
The Septuagint Bible: "one lot for the Lord and one lot for the escape."
NKJV: "one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat."
KJV: "one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat."
The New English Bible: "one to be for the Lord and the other for the Precipice."
RSV: "one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat."
The Amplified Bible: "one lot for the Lord the other lot for Azazel (or removal).
New American, Catholic: uses azazel.
Holy Scriptures, Jewish: uses azazel.
The Hebrew term for scapegoat from Strongs is: 5799. 'aza'zel, az-aw-zale'; from H5795 and H235; goat of departure; the scapegoat:-scapegoat.
From the Hebrew definition of azazel, the meaning is "goat of departure." Leviticus 16:8 should then read: "one lot for the LORD and the other for the goat of departure." Because the first goat called "a lot for the Lord," the translators wanted the Hebrew word Azazel, to be a representation of someone. Therefore some translators have concluded that Azazel must represent an evil spirit or Satan.
Other translators see the scapegoat being sent to a place where Azazel, or evil spirit is located in the wilderness.
Keeping in mind from Leviticus 16:10, that the scapegoat is for making atonement to God because of their sins. This atonement has to be made to God. It would be a sin to make atonement to Satan. Satan cannot remove sin nor would he want to.
Some translators saw that the scapegoat represented Christ. Those that thought the scapegoat represented Satan or an evil spirit did not understand that this goat was a representation of the Living Christ that has removed the sins of God’s people. They failed to see that after the shedding of blood by the first goat the second goat demonstrated the removal of sins. Both goats were representing the completed atonement. Without the shedding of blood there cannot be forgiveness of sins.
(Mat 26:28 NIV) "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
From Hard Sayings of the Bible:
"The Greek translators did not regard azazel as a proper name, but connected it with, ‘a z’zel a verb that does not appear in the Old Testament. The meaning they gave it was "to send away." Hence the full meaning of the Hebrew expression would be "in order to send away." The Latin translation followed this same understanding. The most adequate explanation is to view the term ‘aza’zel as being composed of two words: the first part, ‘ez, meaning "goat," and the second part, ‘azel, meaning "to go away." With recent evidence from the Ugaritic (the language of ancient Canaan from which Hebrew is derived), compound names such as this one are turning up more frequently than what we had expected based on evidence from the Hebrew alone. This is how the rendering "scapegoat" came to be... Originally, however, the King James translators meant "the goat that was led away." Hard Sayings of the Bible by Walter C. Kaiser Jr. Peter H. Davids, F.F. Bruce and Manfred T. Brauch INTER VARSITY PRESS, Downers Grove, Illinois.
Some authorities do not identify Azazel with the scapegoat of the sin offering. They regard the goat being sent to Azazel, an evil spirit.
McClintock and Strong says:
"The goat, however, that was sent to the evil spirit…was no sacrifice, but rather a witness that the accepted sacrifice had been made." (CYC. Vol. IX, Art. Scapegoat).
From this statement they do not accept the scapegoat and the evil spirit as being one and the same, nor one representing the other. From their point of view the scapegoat itself cannot be an evil spirit. The scapegoat was led out to the desert to witness to the evil spirit the accepted sacrifice had been made. God is vindicating his people through the atonement of the scapegoat.
Two Goats One Atonement
From Students Commentary on the Holy Scriptures:
"The two goats set out the death and victory of Christ, thus furnishing a complete salvation. The one goat was for Jehovah, the other for Azazel. The goat for Jehovah was slain, and its blood sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat, thus making atonement: the goat for Azazel, that is for Satan, the Adversary, was sent out in the desert as the living one to challenge and put to silence that Accuser, and all accusers. The one is Rom. III., i.e. every sin covered; the other, Rom. VIII. every accuser silenced." Students Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. 4th edition, published in 1932, by Thynne & Co.
Notice that the Students Commentary says "the goat is for Azazel that is for Satan," not the goat is Azazel. Also it purpose is to put to silence the accuser."
From this interpretation the sins of God’s people are not transferred from the scapegoat to Satan so that he can be punished for them but a witness that God's people have been vindicated. The "accuser" is Satan, Rev 12:10.
There was another service where two birds were required for the cleansing of a person with an infectious disease. The priest was to take two birds, and slay one of them and the other was dipped in its blood and then released. Lev. 14:1-7. There are differences in the two services. For the scapegoat was not dipped in the blood of the slain goat. However there are similarities, as one bird being slain and the other released. There is no doubt that the slain bird represented Jesus’ shed blood on Calvary, setting people free from the condemnation of sin. The bird set free represents Jesus removing the sins and setting people free from the penalty of sin which is death.
The two goats make a complete atonement as well as the two birds. This is made clear:
Lev 16:10 (NIV) "But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the desert as a scapegoat."
Questions and Answers
If, as Seventh-day Adventists claim, the scapegoat is a figure of Satan then we are faced with a lot of problems. How can the high priest confess his sins and the sins of Israel over Satan? Remember the scapegoat is for atonement for Israel to God. Can God’s people make atonement with Satan? NO. Will Satan forgive them and remove their sins? NO.
By placing the sins of Israel on the scapegoat does this mean that Satan is now carrying their confessed sins and will be punished for them? NO. The Scapegoat is only a picture of Christ carrying away our sins. The new covenant calls the old covenant laws a shadow of the reality of Christ which is the finished work of Christ. Col 2:13-17.
The scapegoat was sent away alive bearing confessed sins. Can this represent Satan, who will be cast into the fires of Hell at the end of the world? NO. If the scapegoat was a representation of Satan, then the goat should have been burned alive as Satan will, instead of being set free.
Can the scapegoat represent Christ, who bore the sins of the world to the cross? YES. The first goat represented Jesus bearing the sins of the world and covering them with his blood. The scapegoat represented Christ removing sins from his people.
Did Jesus fulfill the scapegoat being let out into the wilderness? Jesus did not have to fulfill every minute detail of the sanctuary service. The scapegoat being led by a man into the wilderness was necessary to show that the sins of God’s people were separated from them and removed a long distance away from them. Jesus did not have to fulfill the type by going out into the wilderness being led by a man, as did the goat. Jesus did not fulfill having lots cast for him to be determined by God to offer himself on Calvary. The scapegoat was simply an illustration of Jesus’ plan to remove sin and restore man, so God can accept him. This is the atonement.
The two goats that were chosen for a sin offering had to be without defects for the atonement to God. Lev. 4:3,23,28,32. We ask this question, could the scapegoat without defects be a representation of Satan? NO. Satan is far from being without defects. He is a liar and a murder from the beginning. Only a goat without defects could represent Christ.
Is there a Bible text that indicates that Satan bears confessed sins of God’s people or will be punished for them? NO. Satan will never bear the confessed sins of God’s people neither will he be punished for them. Jesus has bore the punishment and paid the price for our sins.
Satan can never bear our sins. It is God himself that removes our transgressions. God tells us through the writer of Hebrews that in the new covenant, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” Never does God tell us in his word that he will lay the sins of God's people on Satan.
Heb 10:16 - 17 (NIV) “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
Only Jesus Bore and Removed Our Sins
Psa 103:12 (NIV) "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
1 Pet 2:24 (NIV) "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
Isa 53:6 NIV) "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Isa 53:11 (NIV) "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied ; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities."
Satan’s punishment
Rev 20:10 (NIV) And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The Devil will be destroyed because he deceived the world. Satan will be judged on the sins he committed and not for the sins the people committed whom he deceived. If somehow I convinced you to sin or deceived you into committing a sin, I would be held accountable for deceiving you. But you would be accountable for committing the sin. It is the same for Satan, when he deceived our first parents to sin in Eden. Adam and Eve were responsible for their own sin of not believing God which was a lack of faith. Not for Satan for deceiving them. Every sin a person commits they will have to give an account. The confessed sins of the repentant sinners are removed by faith in our Savior.
Why Jesus is Our Scapegoat
Jesus bore our sins at Calvary.
Jesus died in our place the death we deserved to die.
Jesus’ death on the cross fulfilled the figure of the atonement of the two goats. Our sins were atoned by the shed blood of the Lord’s goat and removed from us completely by the Living Scapegoat, Jesus.
Jesus, in bearing the sins of God’s people makes our salvation a reality even though we are not worthy.
Satan has no part in bearing the sins of God’s people and can never be the scapegoat.
Those who believe that Satan is the scapegoat and bears the sins of the redeemed and is going to be punished for them are saying that the death of Jesus on the cross was not sufficient to save man. And that Jesus needed Satan’s help to complete the atonement to save mankind. If this were true then the redeemed would be indebted to Satan as well as to Jesus for all eternity for their salvation.
Bible
1 Pet 2:24 (NIV) "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."
Satan is Ellen's and the SDA's Scapegoat and Sin Bearer
Mrs. E. G. White and the Seventh-day Adventist Church make it very clear that Satan is their scapegoat and sin bearer.
EGW: "It was seen, also, that while the sin offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest, by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, removed the sins from the sanctuary, he placed them upon the scapegoat. When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty. The scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, never to come again into the congregation of Israel. So will Satan be forever banished from the presence of God and His people, and he will be blotted from existence in the final destruction of sin and sinners." The Great Controversy, page 422.
EGW: "In like manner, when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed, then in the presence of God and heavenly angels and the hosts of the redeemed the sins of God's people will be placed upon Satan; he will be declared guilty of all the evil which he has caused them to commit." The Great Controversy, page 658."
EGW: "Satan bore not only the weight and punishment of his own sins, but also of the sins of the redeemed host, which had been placed upon him." Early Writings, pp. 294, 295.
What is Mrs. White’s teaching about the scapegoat?
Mrs. White by saying: "the scapegoat typified Satan" it takes away the glory of Christ's ministry, by making Satan the sin bearer for God's people.
Mrs. White in saying: about confessed sins, "He will place them upon Satan." This teaching makes God a liar, for God promised, (Isa 43:25 NIV) ""I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." According to Ellen, at the end of time God will remember the forgiven and forgotten sins, and then place them on Satan and he will be blotted out of existence.
Mrs. White by saying, "when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed," is saying that the work of atonement was not completed on the cross and that Jesus has to complete it in the Sanctuary in heaven. Jesus said, (John 19:30 NIV) "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." As in the OT sanctuary service, the atonement was fully completed on Day of Atonement by removing the confessed sins of Israel. The atonement was full completed on Calvary. Ellen White claims the atonement is still going on. She says we are in the great Day of Atonement. She has Jesus making atonement in the Heavenly Sanctuary for 2000 years and she has Jesus ending the atonement when Satan bears the sins of God’s people and is destroyed. Keep in mind that when Christians are confessing their sins, Jesus is not making an atonement to forgive them. The atonement is what Jesus has does for man at Calvary and Satan will never be a part of it.
Adventists Teach that God Rewards The Devil for His Deviltry
EGW: "Also it would be for his [Satan's] own interest to keep from Jesus as many as possible. For the sins of those who are redeemed by the blood of Christ will at last be rolled back upon the originator of sin, and he must bear their punishment, while those who do not accept salvation through Jesus, will suffer the penalty of their own sins." Early Writings, p. 178.
"It would have been far better for him [Satan] if he had never led men into sin. But having entered upon this work, we see that he has a personal motive of the most powerful kind to induce him to hold persons in sin to the last; for then they receive the punishment for their own salvation through Christ, adds an additional weight to his accumulating load of woe." Looking Unto Jesus, p. 271, by Uriah Smith.
"This puts God in the position of paying a premium on deviltry. If the devil is diligent and keeps on the job so that few are saved he doesn't receive so much punishment as he will if he "lays down on the job" and allows people to become Christians. This is offering the devil a reward for successful deviltry." Examining Seventh-day Adventism, E. S. Ballenger.
See our playlist, "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 20 videos & counting at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See also the website www.TruthorFables.com. Seventh-day Adventists do not seem to understand that true Christians do not need the teachings of their so-called "prophetess" Ellen G. White (born November 26, 1827) or her spiritual mentor William Miller (born February 15, 1782) who said, "My principles in brief, are, that Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, cleanse, purify, and take possession of the same, with all the saints, sometime between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844." Even though another Millerite follower named Samuel S. Snow predicted the return of Christ on October 22, 1844 which Ellen White also believed, all of these prophecies proved to be false making all of these people false prophets (Deuteronomy 18:20-22, "But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? 22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."). Ellen G. White & the rest of them also violated Jesus' words in Matthew 24:36, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." True Christians throughout the centuries before Ellen G. White have followed Jesus Christ faithfully through His Word (2 Timothy 3:15-17) thus invalidating the need for this woman completely. Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." See our videos "Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong" at ua-cam.com/video/c37bNhYzdbE/v-deo.html & "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html. Titus 1:9-16
It was refreshing heard former SDA left the religious cult to seeking the truth. God bless all former SDA for leaving the sect.
Why have the Seventh-Day Adventists changed the Sabbath from the lunar calendar to the Gregorian calendar? Are not all the feast days & Sabbaths of the Bible based on the phases of the moon? Is the SDA celebration of the weekly Sabbath the true Sabbath of God? Where does the New Testament record show that the Church met to worship on the Sabbath & what does it say they should do? Where does the New Testament command Sabbath keeping in the New Testament? SDA salvation depends on law keeping.
Seventh-day Adventism was invented about the same time as Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians & others. See our video "RISE OF THE CULTS: WHERE DID ALL THESE STRANGE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SECTS COME FROM?" at ua-cam.com/video/HfVTXbFrvh8/v-deo.html. See our latest video on the Jehovah's Witnesses called "Who's Knocking? #2: Jehovah's Witnesses Hidden History, Spiritism, Racism, Doctrines of Demons" at ua-cam.com/video/b9LFhzOb-_g/v-deo.html. Although this video is from a lecture I gave to one of my apologetic classes back in the 1990s on the subject of Jehovah's Witnesses my video man & myself spent weeks in editing this particular video (we usually edit once a week for 4 to 5 hours). I decided to put the time & effort into placing primary Jehovah's Witness source material into this video which then made it into a very tedious project. Since I own many Jehovah's Witness books that are over 100 years old & are little known I thought it would be useful for viewers to see with their own eyes this material. With knowledge of these original Watchtower publications true Christians can then use this information as an effective tool in witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses who have been deceived by this false prophet organization (I even included some of the court documents from Watchtower founder Charles Taze Russell's divorce case with his wife Maria over his affair with an underage female). Over the past 33 years I have been able, by God's grace, to lead many people & families out of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. This has been done not so much by arguing Bible verses with them (playing "Bible ping pong") but by knowing their history (which they cannot change). Once you can crack their faith in the Watchtower with their own history then they are much more open to discussing what the Bible actually says rather than what the Watchtower tells them the Bible says. Be prepared to meet the Jehovah's Witnesses who come knocking at your door. 1 Peter 3:15, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"
Mplanelover You are a Mormon based on other comments you have made. When it comes to Mormonism see our playlist "Dealing with Mormonism, the Religion of Mitt Romney & Utah" with 20 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL11CD0EE613306BB5.html. Particularly notice our video "RISE OF THE CULTS: WHERE DID ALL THESE STRANGE AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SECTS COME FROM?" at ua-cam.com/video/HfVTXbFrvh8/v-deo.html. Question: "What is Mormonism? What do Mormons believe?" Answer: The Mormon religion (Mormonism), whose followers are known as Mormons and Latter-day Saints (LDS), was founded less than two hundred years ago by a man named Joseph Smith. He claimed to have received a personal visit from God the Father and Jesus Christ (Articles of Faith, p. 35) who told him that all churches and their creeds were an abomination (1 Nephi 13:28; Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith - History 1:18, 19). Joseph Smith then set out to "restore true Christianity" and claimed his church to be the “only true church on earth” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 670; 1 Nephi 14:10). The problem with Mormonism is that it contradicts, modifies, and expands on the Bible. Christians do not have a reason to believe that the Bible is untrue or inadequate. To truly believe in and trust God means to believe in His Word, and all Scripture is inspired by God, which means it comes from Him (2 Timothy 3:16).
Mormons believe that there are in fact four sources of divinely inspired words, not just one: 1) the Bible “as far as it is translated correctly” (8th Article of Faith). Which verses are considered incorrectly translated is not always made clear. 2) The Book of Mormon, which was “translated” by Smith and published in 1830. Smith claimed it is the “most correct book” on earth and that a person can get closer to God by following its precepts “than by any other book” (History of the Church 4:461). 3) Doctrine and Covenants, containing a collection of modern revelations regarding the “Church of Jesus Christ as it has been restored.” 4) The Pearl of the Great Price, which is considered by Mormons to “clarify” doctrines and teachings that were lost from the Bible (Articles of Faith, p. 182-185) and adds its own information about the earth’s creation.
Mormons believe the following about God: He has not always been the Supreme Being of the universe (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321) but attained that status through righteous living and persistent effort (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345). They believe God the Father has a “body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). Brigham Young taught that Adam actually was God and the father of Jesus Christ-although this teaching has been abandoned by modern Mormon leaders.
In contrast, Christians know this about God: there is only one true God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6-8). He always has existed and always will exist (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 1:17). He was not created but is the Creator (Genesis 1; Psalm 24:1; Isaiah 37:16). He is perfect, and no one else is equal to Him (Psalm 86:8; Isaiah 40:25). God the Father is not a man, nor was He ever (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Hosea 11:9). He is Spirit (John 4:24), and Spirit is not made of flesh and bone (Luke 24:39).
Mormons believe that there are different levels or kingdoms in the afterlife: the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, the telestial kingdom, and outer darkness (Mormon Doctrine, p. 348). Where mankind will end up depends on what they believe and do in this life (2 Nephi 25:23; Articles of Faith, p.79).
In contrast, the Bible tells us that after death we go to heaven or hell based on whether or not we had faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. To be absent from our bodies means, as believers, we are with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Unbelievers are sent to hell or the place of the dead (Luke 16:22-23). When Jesus comes the second time, we will receive new bodies (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). There will be a new heaven and new earth for believers (Revelation 21:1), and unbelievers will be thrown into an everlasting lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). There is no second chance for redemption after death (Hebrews 9:27).
Mormon leaders have taught that Jesus’ incarnation was the result of a physical relationship between God the Father and Mary (Journal of Discourses, vol. 8, p. 115; Mormon Doctrine, p. 547). Mormons believe Jesus is a god, but that any human can also become a god (Doctrine and Covenants 132:20; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345-354). Mormonism teaches that salvation can be earned by a combination of faith and good works (LDS Bible Dictionary, p. 697).
Contrary to this, Christians historically have taught that no one can achieve the status of God-only He is holy (1 Samuel 2:2). We can only be made holy in God's sight through faith in Him (1 Corinthians 1:2). Jesus is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16), is the only one ever to have lived a sinless life, and now has the highest place of honor in heaven (Hebrews 7:26). Jesus and God are one in essence, Jesus being the only man who existed before physical birth (John 1:1-8; 8:56). Jesus gave Himself to us as a sacrifice, God raised Him from the dead, and one day everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:6-11). Jesus tells us it is impossible to get to heaven by our own works and that only by faith in Him is it possible (Matthew 19:26). We all deserve eternal punishment for our sins, but God's infinite love and grace have allowed us a way out. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Clearly, there is only one way to receive salvation and that is to know God and His Son, Jesus (John 17:3). Receiving salvation is not done by works but by faith (Romans 1:17; 3:28). We can receive this gift no matter who we are or what we have done (Romans 3:22). “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Although Mormons are usually friendly, loving, and kind people, they are deceived by a false religion that distorts the nature of God, the Person of Jesus Christ, and the means of salvation.
(Editor’s note: many of the references in our articles on Mormonism are Mormon publications, such as Mormon Doctrine, Articles of Faith, Doctrines of Salvation, History of the Church, Doctrine and Covenants, and so forth. Others are from the Book of Mormon itself, e.g., books such as 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, and Alma.)
Question: "Are Mormons Christians? Are Mormons saved?"
Answer: Although Mormons profess to be Christians and say they believe the Word of God, there are many of their beliefs that contradict Christianity. In fact, Mormonism can be referred to as a cult, which can be defined as “a religious group that denies one or more of the fundamentals of biblical truth.” Mormons say they are Christians, but because they reject foundational truths from the God’s Word, they are not.
Joseph Smith, who referred to himself as “The Prophet,” founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the mid-1800s. He claimed to have seen a vision of God the Father and God the Son, in which they denounced modern Christianity and appointed Smith to reveal and restore “true” Christianity (Articles of Faith, p. 182-185). Three years later, Smith alleged that the angel Moroni told him about some golden plates on which the Book of Mormon was written. In spite of Smith’s questionable background and proclivity toward bending the truth (see The Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, New York, 1861; and Mormonism Unveiled, Painesville, Ohio, 1834), many believed Smith, and a new “religion” was born. Today, the members of the Mormon Church number in the millions.
The Book of Mormon is purported to be a new revelation, one that Mormons say is part of the new covenant to Israel and “another witness” to the truth of the Bible (History of the Church 4:461, 8th Article of Faith). Aside from the many theological conflicts with the Bible and historical and archeological fact, the writing of the Book of Mormon was shrouded in mystery and false claims. For example, Joseph Smith and his associates asserted that one Professor Charles Anthony of Columbia University verified the Egyptian characters on the golden plates. However, this same professor wrote a rebuttal letter soon after, saying that he never did any such thing and had, in fact, found the characters to be a hoax. In addition, many verses in the Mormon scriptures have been changed over the years, as the church leaders attempt to cover up something embarrassing in their past and to defend themselves against criticism. These facts alone are enough to cast much doubt on the veracity of the Book of Mormon.
One of the many areas in which Mormons fall short of saving faith is their belief that God is merely an exalted man who earned his position by good works (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345). This directly contradicts the Bible, which states that God has existed in His position as God of the universe from eternity past (Revelation 1:8; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15-16; Psalm 102:24-27). God was never a man (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Hosea 11:9) and is the holy and powerful Creator of all things (Genesis 1; Psalm 24:1; Isaiah 37:16). Mormons also believe that they themselves can attain the status of gods in the afterlife through their works here on earth (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 345-354). However, no man can ever become like God (1 Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6; 45:21-22), despite what the serpent told Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:5).
Mormons also believe that Jesus was a god, but not God Himself (Mormon Doctrine, p. 547; Articles of Faith, p. 35; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 372). It is essential to Christian faith that Jesus is one with God and that He is God’s only begotten Son who became flesh (John 1:1, 14; John 3:16). Only Jesus’ oneness with God would have allowed Him to live a sinless, blameless life (Hebrews 7:26). And only Jesus Christ was able to pay the price for our sins by His death on the cross (Romans 4:25; Acts 4:12).
Those who follow the Mormon faith also believe that they can attain heaven through works (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-43; 2 Nephi 9:23-24; Alma 34:30-35; Articles of Faith, p.92). While they claim faith in Christ, they also rely on following the commandments of the Mormon Church (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, p 188; Mormon Doctrine, p. 670) and practicing good works (2 Nephi 25:23; Alma 11:37) in order to achieve salvation. The Bible is very clear on this point, stating that good works can never earn the way to heaven (Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5) and that faith in Jesus Christ alone is the only way to salvation (John 10:9; 11:25; 14:6; Acts 4:12). Salvation by grace is incompatible with salvation by human works (Romans 11:6).
Sadly, many in the Mormon Church are unaware of the religion’s shady past, amended scriptures, and even the full doctrine of their church. Many Mormons who have discovered these things have left the church and come to a true saving faith in Jesus Christ. As Christians, we must treat Mormons with love and understand that they are among those deceived by Satan himself (1 Peter 5:8). Satan’s goal is to distort the truth, produce false assurance of salvation, and extend a deceptive hope of godhood (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Question: "How should Christians view the Book of Mormon?"
Answer: When Mormon missionaries (properly called Latter Day Saints or simply "LDS") come to your door, they will often offer a free copy of the Book of Mormon and tell you about its author, Joseph Smith. Smith, they will say, translated the Book of Mormon from golden plates he dug up in a hill in New York in the early 1800s. This is supposed to confirm his calling from God as the new prophet on the earth in these latter days. Further, they will tell you that the Holy Ghost will confirm the truth of the Book of Mormon by producing good feelings in you. Next will come the invitation to "read the Book of Mormon, pray, and ask God to show you it is true." Of course you must do this with sincerity, or it won't work.
Before you fall to your knees, there are some things you need to know that they are not telling you (and won't unless you ask). The first concerns many LDS beliefs that separate them from historical, orthodox Christianity. These are not found in the Book of Mormon. In fact, there is really very little in that book that is doctrinally disagreeable to orthodox Christians. The real meat of Mormonism is found in their other scriptures, The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. These books, however, Mormons do not hand out at the door-and for good reason. If people knew up front what they were really going to be asked to believe (things such as God once being a man, denial of the Trinity, Satan being Jesus' brother, pre-existence of souls, etc.), they may not be quite so willing to put aside their skepticism.
The second thing to realize is that in accepting the Book of Mormon, one is, in fact, accepting Joseph Smith as a prophet. So what about this test of a prophet? Isn't it legitimate to "give this question up to God?" No, it isn't. This is because God has already revealed His test for would-be prophets, and it has nothing to do with prayer or feelings, and God has no obligation to answer prayers that He has already answered! We do not have to ask God whether or not we should rob a bank or murder someone. Rather, James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God . . . and it will be given to him." Wisdom is applied knowledge, not lack of it.
God never tells us to pray about what is true. When we want to know how tall a wall is, we don't pray about it; we get something that we know is true (a ruler) and compare it to the wall. The Bible, God's Word, is true. That is our measuring stick for truth. See Acts 17:11, for example, which describes a group of people who were considered noble because when Paul came to them with the Christian message they "received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so."
Feelings are unreliable because they are subjective, easy to produce, and are not meant to discover facts but to tell us how we feel about facts. Psychological persuasion techniques, intensity, eye contact, or mere desire can produce feelings that feel real because they are real! But real feelings are still just letting us know how we are reacting to something, not the truthfulness of that thing. The Mormon missionary handbook specifically details these techniques, and missionaries go through training on how to persuade people before they ever leave the house.
What are the biblical tests for a prophet? They are in God's Word: Deuteronomy 18:21-22 says, "You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him." Did Joseph Smith ever claim "in the name of the LORD" that something would happen when it did not? Yes-many times, in fact.
Joseph Smith prophesied that New York would be destroyed if they rejected the [Mormon] gospel (D&C 84:114-115). He also prophesied that the rebellion of South Carolina and the War Between the States would result in war being poured out upon all nations; slaves would revolt; the inhabitants of the earth would mourn; famine, plague, earthquake, thunder, lightning, and a full end of all nations would result (D&C 87). Oddly, this prophecy is the one most often cited by Mormons to prove Joseph Smith's prophetic power!
Further, Deuteronomy 13:1-3 says that "if a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (gods you have not known) ‘and let us worship them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul." Did Joseph Smith lead his followers to other gods? Yes.
Joseph Smith was a polytheist. History of the Church 6:474 records Smith stating, "I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preached on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods." Joseph Smith declared that "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 345). This is clearly not the biblical God.
Galatians 1:6-7 says that people may be "turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all . . . trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." And Paul pronounced a curse upon them for doing so. In Romans 1:16 Paul tells us that the gospel is "the power of God unto salvation"-that's pretty important. Did Joseph Smith teach a "different gospel"? Yes.
Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon contains the "fullness of the gospel." The Book of Mormon says so itself in its introduction (see also Doctrines and Covenants 20:9; 27:5; 42:12; and 135:3). So what is the gospel according to Mormonism? It's a tough question for many LDS to answer. According to Mormon apostle Bruce McConkie, author of the book Mormon Doctrine, the gospel is "the plan of salvation [that] embraces all of the laws, principles, doctrines, rites, ordinances, acts, powers, authorities, and keys necessary to save and exalt men." In other words, the whole of Mormon theology. In the Mormon gospel we see belief + repentance + baptism + laying on of hands + temple work + mission work + church ministry + tithing + ceasing from sin + abstaining from the use of intoxicants and strong drinks and tobacco and caffeine + confessing Joseph Smith as Prophet + temple marriage + baptism for the dead + genealogy research . . . the list could go on and on and on. Only upon completion of all these things may Mormons attain to the third and highest level of heaven, thus achieving the ultimate goal of the Mormon gospel-godhood. (see McConkie, Mormon Doctrine 116-117; Book of Mormon [3 Nephi 27:13-21]; Doctrines of Salvation 1:268; 18:213; The 4th Article of Faith; Smith, Gospel Doctrine pg. 107; Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 3:93; 3:247; 9:312; Gospel Principles 290; Doctrine and Covenants 39:5-6; 132:19-20). In essence, Christ's death means nothing more to a Mormon than the gaining of the ability to be resurrected so that his works may be judged.
While we cannot judge another person's motives, we can and must judge what a person does or says. Joseph Smith, and hence the Book of Mormon, fails the twin tests of Deuteronomy 13 and 18. God takes false prophets very seriously. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 says, "That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God...; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you." Deuteronomy 18:19-21 says, "If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death..." And Galatians 1:8-9 says, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"
The gospel is God's power to bring us to Him. He will not stand for those who pervert it. He has given us the ability and the responsibility to discern whether or not the gospel is being tampered with. We must carefully investigate the claims of the LDS if we are to follow what God has commanded. In fact, we are invited to judge by Mormons themselves: "Convince us of our errors of doctrine, if we have any" (LDS Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, p.15).
(Editor’s note: many of the references in our articles on Mormonism are Mormon publications, such as Mormon Doctrine, Articles of Faith, Doctrines of Salvation, History of the Church, Doctrine and Covenants, and so forth. Others are from the Book of Mormon itself, e.g., books such as 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, and Alma.)
The reason Mormonism is not Christian is that it denies one or more of the essential doctrines of Christianity. Here is a basic list of what true Christianity teaches as essential doctrine according to the Bible.There is only one God in all existence (Exodus 20:1-4, Isaiah 43:10, 44:6, 8, 45:5). Jesus is divine (John 1:1, 14, 8:24, Col. 2:9).Forgiveness of sins is by grace alone without works (Eph. 2:8-9, Rom. 3:28, 4:1-5).Jesus rose from the dead physically (John 2:19-21, Luke 24:39).The Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:1-4).Mormonism denies that there is only one God in all existence and also denies the forgiveness of sins alone in Christ alone. Therefore, it is outside Christianity. It is not a Christian religion.Mormonism teaches . . .Mormonism teaches that God the Father has a body of flesh and bones (D. & C. 130:22) and that Jesus is a creation who was begotten in heaven as one of God’s spirit children (See the book, Jesus the Christ, by James Talmage, p. 8). This is in strict contrast to the Biblical teaching that He is God in flesh (John 1:1, 14), eternal (John 1:1, 2, 15), uncreated, yet born on earth (Col. 1:15), and the creator of all (John 1:3, Col. 1:16-17). Jesus cannot be both created and not created at the same time. Though Mormonism teaches that Jesus is God in flesh, it teaches that He is "a" god in flesh, one of three gods that comprise the office of the Trinity (Articles of Faith, by Talmage, pp. 35-40). These three gods are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This is in direct contradiction of the Biblical doctrine that there is only one God (Isaiah 43:10, 44:6, 8, 45:5). See Trinity for a correct discussion of what the Trinity is (See also, false trinity).Because Mormonism denies the Biblical truth of who God is, who Jesus is, how forgiveness of sins is attained, and what the Gospel is, Mormonism is not Christian.What else does Mormonism teach?Mormon theology teaches that God is only one of countless gods, He used to be a man on another planet, He became a god by following the laws and ordinances of that god on that world, and He brought one of His wives to this world with whom He produces spirit children who then inhabit human bodies at birth. The first spirit child to be born was Jesus. Second (though this is disputed among Mormons) was Satan, and then we all followed. But, the Bible says that there is only one God (Isaiah 43:10, 44:6, 8, 45:5) and that God has been God eternally (Psalm 90:2)--which means He was never a man on another planet. Since the Bible denies the existence of other gods (and goddesses--there is a mother goddess in Mormonism), the idea that Jesus is the product of a god and goddess couple is rejected. The Bible tells us that Jesus--The Jesus of Mormonism--is definitely not the same Jesus of the Bible. Therefore, faith in the Mormon Jesus is faith misplaced because the Mormon Jesus doesn't exist.Mormonism says Jesus' Sacrifice is not enoughMormonism teaches that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross itself (and receiving it by faith) is not sufficient to bring forgiveness of sins. It teaches that the forgiveness of sins is obtained though a cooperative effort with God, that is, we must be good and follow the laws and ordinances of the Mormon church in order to obtain forgiveness. Consider the late James Talmage, an LDS apostle who said, "The sectarian dogma of justification by faith alone has exercised an influence for evil," (Articles of Faith, p. 432), and "Hence the justice of the scriptural doctrine that salvation comes to the individual only through obedience," (Articles of Faith, p. 81). This clearly contradicts the Biblical doctrine of the forgiveness of sins by grace through faith (Rom. 3:28, 5:1, 6:23, Eph. 2:8-9) and the doctrine that works are not part of becoming saved (Rom. 4:1-5) but a result of them (James 2:14-18).To further confuse the matter, Mormonism states that salvation is twofold. It maintains that salvation is both forgiveness of sins and universal resurrection. So when a Mormon speaks of salvation by grace, he is usually referring to universal resurrection. But the Bible speaks of salvation as the forgiveness of sins--not universal resurrection. Where Mormonism states that forgiveness of sins is not by faith alone (2 Nephi 25:23, Moroni 10:32), the Bible does teach it is by faith alone (Rom. 3:28, 4:1-5). Both cannot be true.Mormonism and the BibleIn order to justify its aberrant theology, Mormonism has undermined the authority and trustworthiness of the Bible. The 8th Article of Faith from the Mormon Church states, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly." This means that when the Bible contradicts Mormonism, the Bible isn't trustworthy. This allows them to say and teach whatever they want even when it contradicts Scripture.ConclusionMormonism is not Christian because it denies that there is only one God, denies the true Gospel, adds works to salvation, denies that Jesus is the uncreated creator, distorts the Biblical teaching of the atonement, undermines the authority and reliability of the Bible, says that God used to be a man who came from another planet and we can become gods, and there is a goddess mother in heaven, etc.CARM does not deny that Mormons are decent helpful people and that they do many good things. But that isn't what makes someone Christian--nor does putting "Jesus Christ" in your title make you Christian if you deny who Jesus really is. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (NKJV)Notice that Jesus condemns those who combine their faith with their works in order to be saved. If you doubt that, see also Luke 18:9-14 where Jesus teaches the same thing again.Becoming a Christian does not mean belonging to a church, doing good things, or simply believing in a god from another planet. Being a Christian means that you have trusted in the true God for salvation, received the True Jesus--not the brother of the devil, not the god of Mormonism, not the gospel of Mormonism. Becoming a Christian means believing the Gospel of Christ, who is God in flesh, 2nd person of the Trinity, who was sent by the Father, bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24), died, was buried and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4). You must trust Jesus. Believe what He did. Put your faith in Him.Mormonism is false and cannot save anyone.Titus 1:9-16
Walter Veith is a brilliant investigator and expositor of symbols and such. I was stunned to learn he's SDA. Walter Martin in "Kingdom of the Cults" never actually came out and said SDA was a cult in the book. As a former RC, I figured it out. Any time somebody adds works or prophets/prophetesses to the gospel of grace, you got a cult. It's painful and difficult to get out. Let's be compassionate. "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" might be the toughest instruction in the Bible.
All of the teachings and doctrines of the SDA church are all Truths from the Bible.I look at this and see the devil attacking God's word and His church,but,he can never prevail against God's church.All those who seek God's word diligently for the love of the Truth will find Truth.And the truth shall be a lamp unto their feet and a light unto their path,and walk in the light as Jesus himself walked.
Ricardo Jerome except the investigative Judgment
The key to understanding the relationship between the Christian and the Law is knowing that the Old Testament law was given to the nation of Israel, not to Christians. Some of the laws were to reveal to the Israelites how to obey and please God (the Ten Commandments, for example). Some of the laws were to show the Israelites how to worship God and atone for sin (the sacrificial system). Some of the laws were intended to make the Israelites distinct from other nations (the food and clothing rules). None of the Old Testament law is binding on Christians today. When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15).
In place of the Old Testament law, Christians are under the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), which is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and to love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). If we obey those two commands, we will be fulfilling all that Christ requires of us: “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:40). Now, this does not mean the Old Testament law is irrelevant today. Many of the commands in the Old Testament law fall into the categories of “loving God” and “loving your neighbor.” The Old Testament law can be a good guidepost for knowing how to love God and knowing what goes into loving your neighbor. At the same time, to say that the Old Testament law applies to Christians today is incorrect. The Old Testament law is a unit (James 2:10). Either all of it applies, or none of it applies. If Christ fulfilled some of it, such as the sacrificial system, He fulfilled all of it.
“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). The Ten Commandments were essentially a summary of the entire Old Testament law. Nine of the Ten Commandments are clearly repeated in the New Testament (all except the command to observe the Sabbath day). Obviously, if we are loving God, we will not be worshipping false gods or bowing down before idols. If we are loving our neighbors, we will not be murdering them, lying to them, committing adultery against them, or coveting what belongs to them. The purpose of the Old Testament law is to convict people of our inability to keep the law and point us to our need for Jesus Christ as Savior (Romans 7:7-9; Galatians 3:24). The Old Testament law was never intended by God to be the universal law for all people for all of time. We are to love God and love our neighbors. If we obey those two commands faithfully, we will be upholding all that God requires of us.
Recommended Resources: The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology by Jason Meyer & see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html.
To Andrew Ndlovu - Seventh Day Adventism qualifies as a non Christian anti Christ cult due to the following reasons: 1. It is built on the woman Ellen G. White & her teachings despite the Bible saying women are not permitted to teach or usurp authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") See links at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html). 2. Ellen White claimed to be equal with the Biblical prophets & apostles through her many writings (sort of a "Spirit of Prophecy") & her SDA followers believed her (2 Peter 3:16); see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Writings_Infallible.htm. Question: Are there modern day prophets or is there a need for prophets today? Answer: In the New Testament, the gift of the office of prophet was a temporary one granted by God for the purpose of building His Church. Contrary to the apostles, who had broad ministries, these men had localized ministries within local churches, as we see illustrated in such places as Acts 11:21-28 and Acts 13:1.Scripture shows us that the prophets of the New Testament had two primary purposes:They were gifted men given to the Church and appointed by God (Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor. 12:28) for the purpose of helping to lay the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20). They, like the apostles, received God’s revelation (Eph. 3:5) and truth and proclaimed it to their churches. It is important to remember that the early Church did not have a completed Bible, so God granted this revelation for the purpose of teaching His message to the Church. The New Testament prophets also spoke forth and taught the apostles’ doctrine. Everything taught by these prophets had to be consistent with the teaching of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:36-37). So, are prophets still needed today? Looking at the two functions listed above, we can see that the office of prophet is one that is no longer necessary and has ceased within the Church because:The foundation of the Church was laid long ago. God’s revealed Word was completed with the close of the New Testament canon. The Church’s foundation does not need to be laid again and there is no need for further revelation beyond what God has provided for us in His complete Word, the Bible. Today we are blessed to have Scripture as our complete and final authority in all things (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If someone now claims to have received a “special revelation,” we must test it against Scripture. If it is contrary to the Word of God, then it must be rejected. If it is consistent with Scripture, then we have to ask why an “extra” word was necessary if its truth is already contained in the Bible. So while we always need men who are willing to proclaim boldly the Word of God as contained in Scripture (as pastors, teachers, and evangelists), there is no need for the office of “prophet” as it existed in the New Testament. 3. Ellen G. White is a false prophet due to her false & failed prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:19-22); see www.mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/egw_false_prophet.html, 1timothy4-13.com/files/bible/sda_morefailed.html & www.bible.ca/7-prophecy-blunders.htm. 4. Ellen G. White had delusional dreams & visions much like phony Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers do today; see www.truthorfables.com/Visons_of_%20EGW_by_Snook_&_Brinkerhoff.htm & ua-cam.com/video/Kbv7YsyMf0I/v-deo.html. 5. Seventh Day Adventism has a damnable false gospel (Galatians 1:6-10) for several reasons: a) Satan is the final sin bearer for Seventh Day Adventists; see www.truthorfables.com/Scapegoat.htm & www.truthorfables.net/50-contradictions-satan-bears-sins.htm, b) They say Jesus had a sinful nature just like fallen man otherwise He can't be a Savior; see kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/09/seventh-day-adventisms-anti.html & jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Seventh-Day%20Adventist/sda_exposed.htm, c) Ellen G. White taught the cult doctrine of the 1844 investigative judgment of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary for the purpose of allowing Seventh Day Adventists final access to heaven while all others would be destroyed; see www.truthorfables.com/investigative_judgment_made_simple.htm, www.truthorfables.com/white_elephant.htm, www.truthorfables.com/My_Testimony.htm, www.truthorfables.com/SDA_Cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html, d) Seventh Day Adventism denies the New Testament Christian gospel by saying Old Testament "Saturday" Sabbath keeping is essential for salvation; see www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_Not_A_Law.htm, www.truthorfables.net/who-changed-the-sabbath-a.htm, www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_is_Friday.htm & ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, e) Although SDAs say they believe in salvation by grace they redefine the meaning of grace in order to incorporate into their religious system a salvation by law keeping to achieve final works righteousness; mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/sda_law.html, searchingthescriptures.net/main_pages/answering_cults/seventh_day_adventism/sda_a_cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. If the apostle Paul cursed the Galatian Judaizers to hell for adding only one stipulation to the gospel which was circumcision then how much more would he curse the SDAs for all their added terms & conditions to the simple gospel of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." Cross reference this to Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."). 6. Seven Day Adventists teach the false doctrine of soul sleep; see carm.org/soul-sleep, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12151314134510, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=85122122530 & www.casagrandebaptistchurch.com/SoulSleep.html. 7. SDAs teach the false doctrine of the annihilation out of existence of the wicked including Satan & his demons rather than an eternal conscious punishment in a never ending lake of fire; carm.org/clear-word-bible-annihilationism, "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where at the same time this refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=91713193277, www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=Annihilationism, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94081054442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9110884114, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338, ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html & see our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. 8. SDAs support alternate Bible translations that pervert the written word of God thus placing themselves under the curse of Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." See exadventist.com/Home/Articles/clearwordbible/tabid/450/Default.aspx, www.truthorfables.com/SDAs_Destroyers_of_the_Bible.htm & ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html. For more information on Seventh Day Adventism see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html, see also "Cult of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=61210437590 & "Damnable Heresies of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6201014412510. See the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, www.RethinkingAdventism.com, www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
If you're such a "know it all" about the 10 commandments why don't you tell us about the 4th commandment & why you must keep the Sabbath (is it because if you don't you'll lose your salvation?). And by the way, please answer these questions & help educate us all: 1. Why does the New Testament make it clear that the observance of a particular day was not imposed as a binding obligation on the Church (Romans 14:5-6)? 2. Why was freedom given to the Church in regard to special days (Col 3:16-17)?
The theory that the apostle Paul was a false prophet and not a true follower of Christ is usually put forth by those of the Hebrew roots movement persuasion, among others. They believe Christians should submit to the Old Testament Law, but Paul clearly disagrees with them, proclaiming that Christians are no longer under the Mosaic Law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15), but the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2), which is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and to love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Rather than submitting to God’s Word, the Hebrew roots movement simply dismisses Paul altogether and claims that Paul was a false apostle and that his writings should not be in the Bible.
But Paul’s apostolic authority has been well documented in Scripture, beginning with his dramatic Damascus Road experience which changed him from a Christ-hating persecutor of Christians to the foremost spokesman for the faith. His astonishing change of heart is one of the clearest indications of his anointing by the Lord Jesus Himself.
Tom Tarrants, once labeled “the most dangerous man in Mississippi,” was one of the top men on the FBI’s most wanted list. Tarrants was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and despised African-Americans and Jews, a people he fully believed were God’s enemies and involved in a communist plot against America. Tarrants was responsible for bombing some 30 synagogues, churches and homes. He was so dangerous that the FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, sent a special team of FBI agents that were used to infiltrate the Russian KGB down into the American South to locate and apprehend Tarrants. They were successful and took Tarrants into custody after a violent shootout. Tarrants received a 30-year sentence in the Mississippi State Penitentiary.
While in prison, Tarrants one day asked for a Bible and began reading it. He got as far as Matthew 16 and was confronted with Jesus’ words: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” He couldn’t escape the impact of Christ’s statement and got down on his knees in his cell and asked God to deliver him from his sinful life.
Word of Tarrant’s conversion soon began to spread throughout the prison and ultimately made it all the way back to Hoover, who strongly doubted the story. How could such a true change in such a hardened, evil person be validated?
About 2,000 years ago, another man had nearly the identical problem. When the apostle Paul first came to Jerusalem after his conversion to Christianity, he tried to associate with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and didn’t believe he was a true convert (Acts 9:26) because of his past persecution of Christians. Today, some people feel the same way about Paul. Occasionally, a charge is made that Paul was a Pharisee who tried to corrupt the teachings of Christ and that his writings should have no place in the Bible. This accusation can be put to rest by examining his conversion experience and his adherence to Christ and His teachings.
Paul’s Persecution of Christianity
Paul first appears in Scripture as a witness to the martyrdom of Stephen: “When they had driven him [Stephen] out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul" (Acts 7:58). “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death” (Acts 8:1). The words “hearty agreement” indicate active approval, not just passive consent. Why would Paul agree with the murder of Stephen?
Paul the Pharisee would have immediately recognized the statement Stephen made right before his death: “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Stephen’s words repeat the claim Christ made at His trial before the high priest (Mark 14:62). Just as Jesus’ claim resulted in Him being accused of blasphemy, so also these words would bring a murderous response from Saul the Pharisee toward Stephen.
In addition, the term “Son of Man” is filled with significance. It is the last time the term is used in the New Testament and it is the only time in the Gospels and Acts when it is not spoken by Jesus. It shows that Jesus is the Messiah, and it speaks of Christ’s position in the end times as the coming King. It also combines two great Messianic passages: Daniel 7:13-14 and Psalm 110:1. Daniel 7:13-14 emphasizes the universal aspect of Jesus’ rule; that He is not simply a Jewish ruler, but also the Savior of the world. Psalm 110:1 presents the Messiah as being at God’s right hand. Besides stressing power and position, it also shows acceptance.
All these things would have infuriated Saul the Pharisee, who at the time did not possess the true knowledge of Christ. But it would not be long before Saul the Pharisee would become Paul the evangelist for Christ.
The Conversion of Paul
In the three versions of Paul’s conversion (Acts 9:1-9, 22:6-11, 26:9-20), there are repeated elements which appear to be central to his mission and commissioning. First, it marked his conversion to Christianity; second, it constituted his call to be a prophet; and third, it served as his commission to be an apostle. These three points may be broken down into the following, more intimate considerations: (1) Paul was specifically chosen, set aside, and prepared by the Lord for the work that he would do; (2) Paul was sent as a witness to not just the Jews, but the Gentiles as well; (3) Paul’s evangelistic mission would encounter rejection and require suffering; (4) Paul would bring light to people who were born into and currently lived in darkness; (5) Paul would preach repentance was required prior to a person’s acceptance into the Christian faith; (6) Paul’s witness would be grounded in space-time history and be based on his Damascus Road experience-what he had personally seen and heard in a real location that would be known to all who lived in Damascus.
Before Gamaliel’s pupil came to a proper assessment of the ministry entrusted to him by God and the death of Jesus, a revolution had to take place in his life and thought. Paul would later say that he was “apprehended” by Jesus (Philippians 3:12) on the road to Damascus, a term that means to make something one’s own or gain control of someone through pursuit. In Acts 9, we clearly see miracles on display in Paul’s conversion, the point of which were to make clear that God is in control and directing all the events, so that Paul will undertake certain tasks God has in mind, something the former Saul would never have had any intention of doing.
Although there are many observations that can be made about Paul’s Damascus Road conversion, there are two key items of interest. First is the fact that Paul’s life would become centered on Christ after his experience. After his encounter with Jesus, Paul’s understanding of the Messiah had been revolutionized, and it was not long before he is proclaiming, “He [Jesus] is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).
Second, we note that in Paul’s conversion there are no positive antecedents or precursory events that led him from being a zealous opponent to a fervent proponent of Christ. One minute Paul had been an enemy of Jesus, and the next he had become a captive to the Christ he had once persecuted. Paul says, “By the grace of God, I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10), indicating he was transformed by God, became truly spiritual, and he was one whom Christ possessed and was now a Christ-bearer himself.
After the Damascus experience, Paul first went to Arabia, but whether he actually began his missionary work there is unknown. What is more likely is that he earnestly desired a time of quiet recollection. Then after a short stay in Jerusalem, he worked as a missionary in Syria and Cilicia (that is for the most part in Antioch on the Orontes and in his native city of Tarsus) and after that in company with Barnabas in Cyprus, in Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia.
The Love of Paul
Paul, the former cold aggressor and legalist, had now become a person who could write of the key attribute that witnessed above everything else in 1 Corinthians 13 - love for God and those around him. The one who was supremely educated in knowledge had come to the point of saying that knowledge devoid of love only makes one arrogant, but love edifies (1 Corinthians 8:1).
The book of Acts and Paul’s letters testify to a tenderness that had come over the apostle for both the unbelieving world and those inside the Church. As to the latter, in his farewell address to the Ephesian believers in Acts 20, he tells them that “night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears” (Acts 20:31). He tells the Galatian believers they are his “little children” (Galatians 4:19). He reminds the Corinthians that whenever they experience pain, he is wounded as well (2 Corinthians 11:29). He speaks of believers in Philippi as “having them in his heart” (Philippians 1:7). He tells the Thessalonian church that he “abounds” in love for them (1 Thessalonians 3:12) and demonstrated that fact by living among them and helping build up a Christian community (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1-2). Repeatedly throughout his writings, Paul reminds his believing readers of his care and love for them.
For more see www.gotquestions.org/apostle-Paul-false-prophet.html.
Very good, I need to study it again
Once someone questions Paul it’s only a matter of time until they question the New Testament and eventually, if not quickly, Jesus altogether. The channel Christian Truthers owner Justin, did just this. He started out as an aware Christian, transitioned into Hebrew roots, began questioning Paul, threw out the New Testament altogether, now is “agnostic”. It was so sad to see it happen right before my eyes.
HOW TO KEEP THE SABBATH - What Is required in keeping the Sabbath according to Mosaic Law: -1. No work done at all (Ex. 20: 10; Lev. 23: 3; Jer. 17:21-22). No watering the lawn, no working in the yard, no hobbies, no surfing, no fixing flat tires, etc. By law if a person did not stop all types of activity in honor of the Sabbath, he was breaking the law. In Numbers 15:32-36 a man was caught collecting sticks on the Sabbath, and he received a rock concert from the people he knew. 2 No kindling of a fire (Ex. 35:3). No fellowship cookouts or barbecues. You can't go into a restaurant and get a hamburger that's been flame broiled, you can't cook eggs, or pancakes in the morning because you'd be kindling a fire for cooking. To drive a car would be to "kindle a fire" In the combustion chamber of your engine.
3. No traveling (Ex. 16:29). Later the Jews added to this law, allowing only a half mile of travel on the Sabbath which we see observed in the NT. But the pure law says "stay at home." Actually, If you kept this part of the law, you could not travel to your church gathering unless it was less than one-quarter mile away from home. If you had an emergency you could not drive to the hospital.
4. No trading (Amos 8:5). If you happened to need gas to get to church service, you could not "trade" money for gasoline. You would not be allowed to buy a cassette tape of that morning's message or a book at the store. There is to be No exchanging of money for goods. If you worked with stocks and you needed to sell you couldn’t.
5. No marketing (Neh. 10:31; 13:15,19). Make sure you do no shopping whatsoever. You can't buy any ice cream for dessert after dinner or anything else. If you run out of food or drink at home you can’t go out to purchase any, you can’t even by a stick of gum.
6."... a holy assembly with double the daily offering along with the other offerings. In other words, you are to give twice as much on the Sabbath (Num. 28:9).Do we practiced this today In compliance with Old Testament law. Do Sabbatarian's really practice the law? I have yet to see people go to Shabbat and give twice as much each week.
7. New showbread In the holy place (Lev. 24:8). Of course this cannot be done today since there is no temple, so this part of the Sabbath cannot be followed by the church. The fact Is the Sabbath was not made for the gentiles, but for the Jews and their generations (Ex. 31:12-17). It's a law given between God and the Jews.
8.The last part of the requirements for keeping the Sabbath day law Is the penalty for breaking It. DEATH!
Titus 1:9-16
I pray the truth will give Lost of followers the truth to choice from.
True most think they are still binding. They don't understand how we are free from that. They don't know much about the Mosaic law.
Part 2: What is boils down to is that yes you are saved by grace, but your kept by works in SDA. Formost, Sabbath keeping, lesser though, dietary restrictions. I never had a big problem with keeping the Sabbath when I was an SDA. I turned down many jobs, told myself that God would see my devotion to Him all the more by turning the job down. For the SDA that is struggling, I would suggest that you look into the meaning of CALVINISM and ARMINAISM.
You guys need to start at the basic foundation of this dispute.
If I am a RC, I'll all other are into falsoehood. If I am Mormon, I'll say all others are into apostasy. If I am an SDA, I'll say that other religions are not true. And the list can go on..
All we need to think of right now is to respect each other's convictions as our constitutions mandate.
Very eye opening video.
I am a Seventh Day Adventist but my research has led me to believe that not only was EGW a false prophet she could have been a freemason too because of a picture she took at a Reno camp meeting
She was , she was a eastern star , she has a obelisk on her grave site too. I know people who are Adventist, they are very deceived.
Peter had a misconcept about the vision about the unclean food that God was showing him. He said it was to call no man common or unclean. Which is true you shouldn't , but this was about food that you are not call what God has called clean unclean.
@ Shelly Blanchard I wonder if Peter took his writings from other people and called it his own. She is a blasphemer if there ever was one.
The 10 commandments were only given to the nation of Israel living in the regional land that was given to them by God. The fourth commandment of Sabbath keeping was never meant to be kept throughout all time from Adam to the end of the world. The regional differences on the earth's surface prove that. For example, could Jewish Eskimos living in Alaska keep the Sabbath day as written in Moses' law? To find out click on the "view reply" to this comment below.
+CAnswersTV Sabbath Keeping in Alaska is a Problem.
This shows that the Sabbath was a regional, temporary command for Israel and not for the world. Interesting problem in Alaska. According to the official SDA sunset calculator, on Friday eve, May 30th, in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the sun set below the horizon, bringing with it the Jewish Shabbat, at 11:38 PM, almost midnight. Note: AK is so far west, it is on Hawaiian time. Here is the quote:
Calculations for: Longitude: -148.34000 Latitude: 70.27000 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Time Zone: Hawaiian Standard Time, HSTDate: 5/30/03 Friday Sunrise: 0:07am HST (sunrise Friday morning)Sunset: 11:38pm HST (sunset, Friday night, becoming sabbath)
Next, we find sunrise on Sabbath, May 31st, actually starts before midnight Friday night and el sol invictus stays up all day Sabbath, and into Sabbath night, and into Sunday morning, and into Sunday night, for the next two months!
Date: 5/31/03 Sunrise: Sun above horizon HST Sunset: Sun above horizon HST (meaning the sun never sets). Meaning: if you live and work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, extracting dino remains buried and liquified by Noah's flood less than 4500 years ago, you have a problem! (no!! dummy! not the recent age of the earth!)... you have to quit working!
Because on Friday night, May 30th, when the sun went down at 11:38, bringing in the holy Lord's day, you had to stop working, thou, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and all the strangers within thy igloo. But the sun came up again on Sabbath just a few minutes later, but never went down after that!!!
As I scribble this nonsense it is still Sabbath in Prudhoe Bay...cause the sun never went down....no Saturday sunset. So if you believe literally that you must keep sabbath from sunset on Friday night to Sabbath sunset.....the next day, Sabbath, did NOT have a sunset this summer! Won't be a sunset for another two months! So you are faced with keeping Sabbath for two months straight, and giving up your job with Exxon! Unless of course, you are the camp padre, trying to spread the word that black gold comes from dead dinos who missed the ark, or in the medical profession raking in piles of dough and salving your conscience by paying plenty of tithe to keep the hired-archy gainfully employed.
Seventh Day Adventists follow their false prophetess Ellen G. White (a woman authority over her religious followers which violates 1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") & her idol of Sabbath keeping for salvation requirement (violating Galatians 1:6-9) rather than what the Bible plainly teaches about Sabbath keeping for New Testament believers. For more see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 25 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See the websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.ExAdventist.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org & www.GreatControversyExposed.com.
Titus 1:9-16
Question: "How is Jesus our Sabbath Rest?"
Answer: The key to understanding how Jesus is our Sabbath rest is the Hebrew word sabat, which means "to rest or stop or cease from work." The origin of the Sabbath goes back to Creation. After creating the heavens and the earth in six days, God "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made" (Genesis 2:2). This doesn’t mean that God was tired and needed a rest. We know that God is omnipotent, literally "all-powerful." He has all the power in the universe, He never tires, and His most arduous expenditure of energy does not diminish His power one bit. So, what does it mean that God rested on the seventh day? Simply that He stopped what He was doing. He ceased from His labors. This is important in understanding the establishment of the Sabbath day and the role of Christ as our Sabbath rest.
God used the example of His resting on the seventh day of Creation to establish the principle of the Sabbath day rest for His people. In Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15, God gave the Israelites the fourth of His Ten Commandments. They were to "remember" the Sabbath day and "keep it holy." One day out of every seven, they were to rest from their labors and give the same day of rest to their servants and animals. This was not just a physical rest, but a cessation of laboring. Whatever work they were engaged in was to stop for a full day each week. (Please read our other articles on the Sabbath day, Saturday vs. Sunday and Sabbath keeping to explore this issue further.) The Sabbath day was established so the people would rest from their labors, only to begin again after a one-day rest.
The various elements of the Sabbath symbolized the coming of the Messiah, who would provide a permanent rest for His people. Once again the example of resting from our labors comes into play. With the establishment of the Old Testament Law, the Jews were constantly "laboring" to make themselves acceptable to God. Their labors included trying to obey a myriad of do’s and don’ts of the ceremonial law, the Temple law, the civil law, etc. Of course they couldn’t possibly keep all those laws, so God provided an array of sin offerings and sacrifices so they could come to Him for forgiveness and restore fellowship with Him, but only temporarily. Just as they began their physical labors after a one-day rest, so, too, did they have to continue to offer sacrifices. Hebrews 10:1 tells us that the law "can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship." But these sacrifices were offered in anticipation of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross, who "after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right of God" (Hebrews 10:12). Just as He rested after performing the ultimate sacrifice, He sat down and rested-ceased from His labor of atonement because there was nothing more to be done, ever. Because of what He did, we no longer have to "labor" in law-keeping in order to be justified in the sight of God. Jesus was sent so that we might rest in God and in what He has provided.
Another element of the Sabbath day rest which God instituted as a foreshadowing of our complete rest in Christ is that He blessed it, sanctified it, and made it holy. Here again we see the symbol of Christ as our Sabbath rest-the holy, perfect Son of God who sanctifies and makes holy all who believe in Him. God sanctified Christ, just as He sanctified the Sabbath day, and sent Him into the world (John 10:36) to be our sacrifice for sin. In Him we find complete rest from the labors of our self-effort, because He alone is holy and righteous. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can now cease from our spiritual labors and rest in Him, not just one day a week, but always.
Jesus can be our Sabbath rest in part because He is "Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). As God incarnate, He decides the true meaning of the Sabbath because He created it, and He is our Sabbath rest in the flesh. When the Pharisees criticized Him for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus reminded them that even they, sinful as they were, would not hesitate to pull a sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath. Because He came to seek and save His sheep who would hear His voice (John 10:3,27) and enter into the Sabbath rest He provided by paying for their sins, He could break the Sabbath rules. He told the Pharisees that people are more important than sheep and the salvation He provided was more important than rules. By saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27), Jesus was restating the principle that the Sabbath rest was instituted to relieve man of his labors, just as He came to relieve us of our attempting to achieve salvation by our works. We no longer rest for only one day, but forever cease our laboring to attain God’s favor. Jesus is our rest from works now, just as He is the door to heaven, where we will rest in Him forever.
Hebrews 4 is the definitive passage regarding Jesus as our Sabbath rest. The writer to the Hebrews exhorts his readers to "enter in" to the Sabbath rest provided by Christ. After three chapters of telling them that Jesus is superior to the angels and that He is our Apostle and High Priest, he pleads with them to not harden their hearts against Him, as their fathers hardened their hearts against Jehovah in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief, God denied that generation access to the holy land, saying, "They shall not enter into My rest" (Hebrews 3:11). In the same way, the writer to the Hebrews begs them-and us-not to make the same mistake by rejecting God’s Sabbath rest in Jesus Christ. "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience" (Hebrews 4:9-11).
There is no other Sabbath rest besides Jesus. He alone satisfies the requirements of the Law, and He alone provides the sacrifice that atones for sin. He is God’s plan for us to cease from the labor of our own works. We dare not reject this one-and-only Way of salvation (John 14:6). God’s reaction to those who choose to reject His plan is seen in Numbers 15. A man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, in spite of God’s plain commandment to cease from all labor on the Sabbath. This transgression was a known and willful sin, done with unblushing boldness in broad daylight, in open defiance of the divine authority. "And Jehovah said to Moses, ‘The man shall surely be put to death’" (v. 35). So it will be to all who reject God’s provision for our Sabbath rest in Christ. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3).
"What does it mean that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath? - www.gotquestions.org/Lord-of-the-Sabbath.html
"What is a sabbatical year?" - www.gotquestions.org/sabbatical-year.html
"What does shabbat mean?" - www.gotquestions.org/shabbat.html
"What day is the Sabbath, Saturday or Sunday?" - www.gotquestions.org/Saturday-Sunday.html
"Does God require Sabbath-keeping of Christians?" - www.gotquestions.org/Sabbath-keeping.html
Finally, Sabbath Keeping in Alaska is a Problem. This shows that the Sabbath was a regional, temporary command for Israel and not for the world. Interesting problem in Alaska. According to the officious SDA sunset calculator, on Friday eve, May 30th, in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the sun set below the horizon, bringing with it the Jewish Shabbat, at 11:38 PM, almost midnight. Note: AK is so far west, it is on Hawaiian time. Here is the quote: Calculations for: Longitude: -148.34000 Latitude: 70.27000 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Time Zone: Hawaiian Standard Time, HSTDate: 5/30/03 Friday Sunrise: 0:07am HST (sunrise Friday morning)Sunset: 11:38pm HST (sunset, Friday night, becoming sabbath) Next, we find sunrise on Sabbath, May 31st, actually starts before midnight Friday night and el sol invictus stays up all day Sabbath, and into Sabbath night, and into Sunday morning, and into Sunday night, for the next two months! Date: 5/31/03 Sunrise: Sun above horizon HST Sunset: Sun above horizon HST (meaning the sun never sets). Meaning: if you live and work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, extracting dino remains buried and liquified by Noah's flood less than 4500 years ago, you have a problem! (no!! dummy! not the recent age of the earth!)... you have to quit working! Because on Friday night, May 30th, when the sun went down at 1l:38, bringing in the holy Lord's day, you had to stop working, thou, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and all the strangers within thy igloo. But the sun came up again on Sabbath just a few minutes later, but never went down after that!!! As I scribble this nonsense it is still Sabbath in Prudhoe Bay...cause the sun never went down....no Saturday sunset. So if you believe literally that you must keep sabbath from sunset on Friday night to Sabbath sunset.....the next day, Sabbath, did NOT have a sunset this summer! Won't be a sunset for another two months! So you are faced with keeping Sabbath for two months straight, and giving up your job with Exxon! Unless of course, you are the camp padre, trying to spread the word that black gold comes from dead dinos who missed the ark, or in the medical profession raking in piles of dough and salving your conscience by paying plenty of tithe to keep the hired-archy gainfully employed.... -sent by reader Seventh Day Adventists follow their false prophetess Ellen G. White (a woman authority over her religious followers which violates 1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") & her idol of Sabbath keeping for salvation requirement (violating Galatians 1:6-9) rather than what the Bible plainly teaches about Sabbath keeping for New Testament believers. For more see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. See the websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.ExAdventist.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Someone asked, "I looked on page 71 of "Desire of the Ages and there is no mention of Jesus having older brothers. I have been an sda for 9 years and have never heard that before." When reading Desire of Ages, on page 62 or 87 depending which version one has, in the 10th paragraph of chapter 9 "Days of Conflict", Ellen G White states, "All this displeased His brothers. Being older than Jesus, they felt that He should be under their dictation." The Desire of Ages Bible Additions & Contradictions - 1. EGW: Jesus had older brothers
“All this displeased his brothers. Being older than Jesus, they felt that He should be under their dictation. They charged Him for setting Himself above their teachers and the priests and rulers of the people. Often they threatened and tried to intimidate Him; but He passed on, making the Scriptures His guide.” DA, p. 87.
Not biblical: The Bible does not tell us Jesus had "older brothers" nor any of the other statements attributed to them as claimed by Ellen G. White.
Matt 12:46-47 (NIV): While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
How do Protestant Christians view Jesus' brothers?
"Nevertheless, some writings in the early centuries raised questions about the brothers to protect their developing doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity. One of them, often called the Gospel of James, tells the life story of Mary, using much fanciful material. It claims that Jesus’ brothers were the sons of Joseph by an earlier marriage. This is the view of the Greek Orthodox Church. Later a famous scholar, Jerome, argued that Jesus’ brothers were really his cousins because their mother was Mary of Cleophas and the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus (see John 19:25). This is the view of the Roman Catholic Church, but Protestant scholars prefer the traditional view of the Gospels. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. Mary and Joseph then had four sons in the way all humans normally do." Holman Bible Dictionary, by W. J. Fallis.
2. EGW: Jesus’ brothers sided with the Rabbis
"His brothers, as the sons of Joseph were called, sided with the rabbis. They insisted that the traditions must be heeded, as if they were the requirements of God. They even regarded the precepts of men more highly than the word of God, and they were greatly annoyed at the clear penetration of Jesus in distinguishing between the false and the true. His strict obedience to the law of God they condemned as stubbornness." DA, p. 86.
Not biblical: There is not one word in Holy Scriptures that tells us anything about the brothers of Jesus siding with the rabbis, nor do we ever find the brothers condemning Jesus about anything as charged by Ellen G. White.
3. EGW: Jesus, an irritation to his brothers
"The example of Jesus was to them a continual irritation." DA, p. 88.
Not biblical: Where in the Bible do we find that Jesus was a continual irritation to his brothers?
4. EGW: Jesus charged with cowardice
"Often He was accused of cowardice for refusing to unite with them (his brothers) in some forbidden act;" DA, p. 89.
Not biblical: Did Jesus' brothers really try to get Jesus to commit a forbidden act? Please give the Bible text.
5. EGW: Jesus brothers were spiteful towards Jesus
"Again and again He was asked, why do you submit to such despiteful usage, even from your brothers?" DA, p. 89.
Not biblical: Where does the Bible tell us Jesus' brothers were ever spiteful towards Him?
6. EGW: Priests and teachers wanted Mary to control Jesus
"When the priests and teachers required Mary's aid in controlling Jesus, she was greatly troubled; At times she wavered between Jesus and His brothers," DA, p. 90. "They decided that He must be persuaded or constrained to cease their manner of labor, and they induced Mary to unite with them, thinking that through His love for her they might prevail upon Him to be more prudent." DA, p. 321.
Not biblical: Would someone supply the Bible text where the priests and teachers wanted Mary to control Jesus, where Mary wavered between Jesus and His brothers and uniting with the brothers?
7. EGW: Judas chose himself
"While Jesus was preparing the disciples for their ordination, one who had not been summoned urged his presence among them. It was Judas Iscariot, a man who professed to be a follower of Christ. He now came forward soliciting a place in this inner circle of disciples. ... He hoped to experience this through connecting himself with Jesus" DA, pp. 293, 717.
Not biblical: The Bible truth is that JESUS CHOSE JUDAS.
"When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them ... Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. ... Then Jesus replied, 'Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? ... You did not chose me, but I chose you" Luke 6:13-16; John 6:70; 15:16 (NIV).
8. EGW: Judas had a conviction to confess his sin
"When the Saviour’s hands were bathing those soiled feet, and wiping them with the towel, the heart of Judas thrilled through and through with the impulse then and there to confess his sin." DA, p. 645.
Not biblical: There is no Bible record of Judas having an impulse to confess his sin at the foot-washing.
9. EGW: Judas did not have a conviction to confess
"As Christ celebrated this ordinance with His disciples, conviction came to the hearts of all save Judas." Evangelism p. 275.
Note: Did Judas have a conviction to confess his sin, or did he not have this conviction? Which EGW statement came from God? Ellen's inspired writings are very difficult to keep up with as she often contradicts herself as well as God.
10. EGW: Dogs eat Judas' body
His weight had broken the cord by which he had hanged himself to the tree. In falling, his body had been horribly mangled, and dogs were now devouring it. His remains were immediately buried out of sight;" DA, p. 722.
Not biblical:There is no Bible record of dogs eating Judas. Acts 1:18 (NIV) With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out.
11. EGW: Jesus' bones broken during His crucifixion
"The mother of Jesus was agonized, almost beyond endurance, and as they stretched Jesus upon the cross, and were about to fasten his hands with the cruel nails to the wooden arms, the disciples bore the mother of Jesus from the scene, that she might not hear the crashing of the nails as they were driven through the bone and muscle of his tender hands and feet" Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, p. 58.
Not biblical: The Bible tells us, John 19:25, 36 (NIV) These things happened so that the scriptures would be fulfilled: 'Not one of his bones will be broken'
12. EGW: Omits broken bones mistake 40 years later
"His hands stretched upon the cross; the hammer and the nails were brought, and as the spikes were driven through the tender flesh, ..." DA, p. 744.
Note: EGW compiled the Desire of Ages, 40 years after she first wrote that as the nails were driven through his "bone and muscle," she changed her account to read: the nails were driven through the tender flesh.
13. EGW: Jesus could not see through the portals of the tomb
"The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice" DA, p. 753.
Not biblical: Jesus told his followers what would happen after his death; He would rise up after three days. Jesus also told Caiaphas, "In the future" he would return. Who is telling the truth, Jesus or EGW? The Bible tells us that Jesus could see through the portals of the tomb from the following texts:
Luke 24:7 (NIV) 7‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’
John 2:19 (NIV) 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
John 10:17 - 18 (NIV) 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Matt 26:64 (NIV) 64“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
14. EGW: The sister of Martha and Lazarus, was Mary Magdalen-she was led into sin by Simon
The Feast At Simons’ House. "Simon had led into sin the woman he now despised. "It was Mary who poured upon His head the precious anointing oil, and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary was first at the tomb after the resurrection." DA, p. 566,568.
Not biblical: The Bible never identifies Mary, LAZARUS' sister as Mary Magdalene, nor is it ever suggested from the Bible that Simon led Mary into sin and despised her. EGW in the DA does not say this Mary was Mary Magdalene, but does identify Mary as "was first at the tomb". The Bible tells us it was Mary Magdalene who was first at the tomb:
Mark 16:9 (NIV) When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.
15. EGW: Man healed on the Sabbath, forgot it was Sabbath
"In his joy the man had forgotten that it was the Sabbath; yet he felt no condemnation for obeying the command of One who had such power from God." DA, p.203.
Not biblical: There is no mention in John 5 that the man forgot that it was the Sabbath or that he felt no condemnation for obeying Christ.
16. EGW: The disciples fled from men possessed by demons
"Their eyes glared out from their long and matted hair, the very likeness of humanity seemed to have been blotted out by the demons that possessed them, and they looked more like wild beasts than like men. The disciples and their companions fled in terror;" DA, p. 337.
Not biblical: There is no Bible record of the disciples fleeing from these men before Jesus healed them.
17. EGW: Lazarus, leads the donkey at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The healed dumb shouted the loudest, healed blind led the way and the healed cripples broke the most branches.
"The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the palm branches…Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Savior rode." DA, p. 572.
Not biblical: There is no Bible record of the Lazarus or anyone else leading the donkey that Christ rode, or the blind, dumb and cripples that Jesus healed participating in the manner as described by EGW. There is no Bible record of Lazarus even being present when Christ was riding the donkey.
18. EGW: Little Children fell asleep on Jesus' breast
"The children were foremost in the rejoicing. Jesus had healed their maladies; He had clasped them in His arms, received their kisses of grateful affection, and some of them had fallen asleep upon His breast as He was teaching the people." DA, p. 592.
Not biblical: There is no Bible record of children kissing Jesus or sleeping on Jesus' breast.
This is just a sampling of the false Bible teachings of Ellen G. White in The Desire of Ages, no doubt there are many more. Seventh-day Adventists, who accept these Bible contradictions and additions as being from God, have been misled and deceived by their prophet. It is time to make the Bible alone your source of faith and not the writings of a false prophet. Will God be asking you, "did you accept Ellen White as gospel with her false teachings, or did you accept my Word as truth?"
The Desire of Ages Library of Congress Myth
It was often said by Adventist pastors, "that the Library of Congress recommended The Desire of Ages written by Ellen G. White, over other books written on the life of Christ." The conferences had drives for local churches to contact the managers of the major motels in the their city to try to get The Desire of Ages in every motel room. We were to use the Library of Congress statement to promote the book to the motel managers.
It was after leaving Adventism that I found that it was not the Library of Congress that promoted The Desire of Ages, but a former SDA Pastor who went to work for the Library of Congress. His name is, Wells E. Bement, born February 7, 1891 and died December 26, 1977. He was a 1922 graduate of Washington Missionary College and served briefly in India, was dean and Bible teacher at Atlantic Union College and later worked in educational and MV work as director.
Bement's letter was a personal letter in answer Mr. Nicolas Chaij's questions. The letter was not written on the Library of Congress stationary and was not the opinion of the Library of Congress:
December 11, 1946
Mr. Nicolas Chaij
Apartado 50, General Peraze
Havana, Cuba
Dear Mr. Chaij:
I regret that absence and illness have kept me from answering your letter sooner. Now I shall do so briefly.
To select five of six books on the on the life of Christ from the more than 10,000 written in English in the last 300 years, to say nothing of those in other languages, and say that they are unqualifiedly the best is no small task. Happily you have eased the task by asking me to make my personal selection.
My preference or choice would be guided by what I wished to get from the book or books to be read. Let me put it this way: I would put Desire of Ages by Ellen G. White first for spiritual discernment and practical application. Second, I would name Dr. Alfred Edersheim's 2 volumes on the Life of Jesus the Messiah for connection with type and ceremonial rites, and contemporary Hebrew literature. Third would come Samuel J. Andrews' Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth Considered in Its Historical, Chronological and Geographical Relations for chronological sequence, geographical settings and authoritative references. Fourth, I would take Dean Farrar's Life of Christ for scholarship and elegance of expression. We might list as fifth, the 4-volumes treatise of John Feter Lange, The Life and Times of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the electorate and exhaustive treatment. Beyond this point there come rushing to my mind so many authors commanding attention that I would be presumptuous to try to put them in sequence. One will receive something from every one, and the subject is exhaustive.
In answer to another of your inquires, I will say that the Desire of Ages is well thought of in the Library of Congress. Please pardon this late reply to your good letter.
Apologetically,
It was dishonest for the Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders to mislead its members to believe that the The Desire of Ages was held in such high regard as "one of the best books on the life of Christ" or words to that effect in the Library of Congress and not tell them this glowing report was by a former Adventist pastor and that it was his personal opinion.
Mr. Bement was no doubt prejudiced in his selection of The Desire of Ages over other books in the library, being a loyal diehard Ellen G. White fan. Most Adventists would also pick The Desire of Ages as their favorite book.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church should have written to the Library of Congress to get their official opinion. This would have been the honest thing to do and then report their findings to the church members instead of misleading them.
Desire of Ages Plagiarism
Before Walter Rae wrote The White Lie and The Desire of Ages Project that was headed by Fred Veltman, chairman of the Religion Department of Pacific Union College, the majority of Seventh-day Adventist knew very little or nothing of Ellen White filling her books with material from uninspired authors. Most Adventists believed God was the source of Ellen's book and little Ellen was just a messenger to write it all out from her visions when she always used the terms, "I saw" or "I was shown". Little did the church members realize that what she saw was in copyrighted books of other authors.
Now that Ellen's hands were caught in the books of other authors, the church has do defend this practice. Just how are they doing this? It is by comparing Ellen with the Bible writers as they often quoted other Bible writers or non-inspired writers without giving them credit. Is this a valid way of defending Ellen's copying?
If Ellen had given credit to the people she was copying from, there would have not been an issue. Ellen went far beyond what any Bible writer has claimed.
EGW: "Although I am as dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord in writing my views as I am in receiving them, yet the words I employ in describing what I have seen are my own, unless they be those spoken to me by an angel, which I always enclose in marks of quotation" (Review and Herald, Oct. 8, 1867, quoted in Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 37).
Note: Ellen is telling us the words she employs describing what she has seen (visions) are her own. Yet she deceives us by coping her words from other authors and telling us these are her words or God's words.
EGW: "When writing these precious books, if I hesitated, the very word I wanted to express the idea was given to me" (Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 51, 52).
Note: Ellen is telling us when she hesitated "the very word" she wanted was given to her. If this was true, she would not have been copying from other authors. This is positive proof Ellen White, the Adventist prophet was a liar and a thief.
What books did Ellen White use in writing The Desire of Ages?
From Adventism's Ministry Magazine, Dr. Fred Veltman, The Desire of Ages Project: the data
What major works were used by Ellen White in writing the DA text?
"We found 10 books from which Ellen White drew 10 or more literary parallels per Desire of Ages chapter. The Life of Christ, by William Hanna, heads the list with 321 source parallels. Night Scenes of the Bible and Walks and Homes of Jesus, both by Daniel March, come in second with 129 parallel sentences." The Desire of Ages Project: the data, Part 1, Ministry October 1990, p. 6.
"The other major sources are: John Harris, The Great Teacher; Fredrick Farrar, The Life of Christ; George Jones, Life-Science From the Four Gospels; Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah; J. H. Ingraham, The Prince in the House of David; Francis Wayland, Salvation by Christ; and John Cumming, Sabbath Evening Reading on the New Testament; St. John." The Desire of Ages Project: the data, Part 1, Ministry, October 1990, p. 7.
What additional sources contributed to the DA text?
"In addition to the major sources, we found that 21 works written by 20 authors had a minor impact on the 15 chapters. Two authors had works in both the major influence and minor influence categories." The Desire of Ages Project: the data, Part 1, Ministry, October 1990, p. 6.
Note: Ellen and her Secretary helpers used 33 books to make up The Desire of Ages. Ellen had a 1200 plus library to copy from. All Adventists ought to be indebted to these authors in helping their prophet to succeed in her role as having the "Spirit of Prophecy." Seeing these other authors had the information first that Ellen used, shouldn't they get equal billing with EGW as having the Spirit of Prophecy also?
See Dr. Fred Veltman's Desire of Ages Project: the data This is a two part series.
Marian Davis Writes Part of The Desire of Ages
A letter by H C Lacey to L E Froom indicates that Marian Davis not only used Ellen White’s writings she had a free hand in making use of other sources also. The letter reads,
In this connection, of course you know that Sr. Marian Davis was entrusted with the preparation of The Desire of Ages and that she gathered her material from every available source-from Sr. White’s books already in print, from unpublished manuscripts, from private letters, stenographical reports of her talks etc.-but perhaps you may not know that she (Sr. Davis) was greatly worried about finding material for the first chapter (and other chapters too for that matter) and I did what I could to help her; I have good reason to believe that she also appealed to Professor Prescott for similar aid, and got it too in far richer and more abundant measure than I could render. (H C Lacey letter to L E Froom Aug. 30, 1945)
The Desire of Ages Rewritten Many Times
"In Australia I saw The Desire of Ages being made up, and I saw the rewriting of chapters, some of them written over and over and over again. I saw that, and when I talked with Sister Davis about it, I tell you I had to square up to this thing and begin to settle things about the spirit of prophecy. If these false positions had never been taken, the thing would be much plainer than it is today. What was charged as plagiarism would all have been simplified, and I believe men would have been saved to the cause if from the start we had understood this thing as it should have been. With those false views held, we face difficulties in straightening up. We will not meet those difficulties by resorting to a false claim." E. G. Daniells, 1919 Bible Conference, Spectrum, May 1979, p. 51.
Note: Adventist apologists like to compare Ellen with the Bible prophets. Compare this:
How many Bible prophets had to rewrite their visions and admonitions many times? Ellen just could not get it right the first time and The Desire of Ages was re-written over and over and over again.
How many Bible prophets sold their visions and admonitions and made a living off of them and then leave them to their offspring to make a living?
How many Bible prophets copyrighted their visions?
How many prophets that had visions, went to the library in order to find words to describe their vision and then had to re-write them over and over and over again?
Veltman brings out the fact that in his research of "fifteen chapters" from the DA he found Ellen to be 31% dependent on other authors. I would like to see the SDA church come up with one Bible prophet that was 31% dependent on other authors. For more on this see www.truthorfables.com/Desire_of_Ages.htm. See our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 21 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. Matthew 7:15
this is GREATTT!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!
Do you believe it is wrong of me to keep the sabbath, and if I keep the Sabbath that I am no longer abiding in salvation?. I'm not a SDA church member, and I belong to no denomination, but I believe that keeping the sabbath is a perpetual and everlasting covenant between YHVH and Mankind as stated in scripture.
Do you believe that me wanting to keep the Sababth is wrong?
it is shattering when you discover the truth...
She accepted the title. My work includes much more than this name signifies. I regard myself as a messenger, entrusted by the Lord with messages for His people.--Letter 55, 1905. (In Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 32, 35, 36.) Accepting the title and "not arguing" against it is a defacto declaration. Also note that the SDA church calls her a prophet & put her picture on the cover of the Adventist Review along with Moses, John the Baptist, and Deborah, Adventist Review June 4, 1992
Part 1:I watched all 4 hours. It took a bit. I am a 4th gen former SDA that left 2 years ago after sceptically learning about EGW's false prophecies. Such as the shut door, the 1856 some will be food for worms, prophecy of Christ coming in her time, the north would lose the civil war, Jerusalem will never be rebuilt & others. The largest one though is that you are not to call yourself saved. It is very sad that good, Christ loving Christians are told that this is the real meaning of the gospel.
Seventh Day Adventism qualifies as a non Christian anti Christ cult due to the following reasons: 1. It is built on the woman Ellen G. White & her teachings despite the Bible saying women are not permitted to teach or usurp authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") See links at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html). 2. Ellen White claimed to be equal with the Biblical prophets & apostles through her many writings (sort of a "Spirit of Prophecy") & her SDA followers believed her (2 Peter 3:16); see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Writings_Infallible.htm. Question: Are there modern day prophets or is there a need for prophets today? Answer: In the New Testament, the gift of the office of prophet was a temporary one granted by God for the purpose of building His Church. Contrary to the apostles, who had broad ministries, these men had localized ministries within local churches, as we see illustrated in such places as Acts 11:21-28 and Acts 13:1.Scripture shows us that the prophets of the New Testament had two primary purposes:They were gifted men given to the Church and appointed by God (Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor. 12:28) for the purpose of helping to lay the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20). They, like the apostles, received God’s revelation (Eph. 3:5) and truth and proclaimed it to their churches. It is important to remember that the early Church did not have a completed Bible, so God granted this revelation for the purpose of teaching His message to the Church. The New Testament prophets also spoke forth and taught the apostles’ doctrine. Everything taught by these prophets had to be consistent with the teaching of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:36-37). So, are prophets still needed today? Looking at the two functions listed above, we can see that the office of prophet is one that is no longer necessary and has ceased within the Church because:The foundation of the Church was laid long ago. God’s revealed Word was completed with the close of the New Testament canon. The Church’s foundation does not need to be laid again and there is no need for further revelation beyond what God has provided for us in His complete Word, the Bible. Today we are blessed to have Scripture as our complete and final authority in all things (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If someone now claims to have received a “special revelation,” we must test it against Scripture. If it is contrary to the Word of God, then it must be rejected. If it is consistent with Scripture, then we have to ask why an “extra” word was necessary if its truth is already contained in the Bible. So while we always need men who are willing to proclaim boldly the Word of God as contained in Scripture (as pastors, teachers, and evangelists), there is no need for the office of “prophet” as it existed in the New Testament. 3. Ellen G. White is a false prophet due to her false & failed prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:19-22); see www.mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/egw_false_prophet.html, 1timothy4-13.com/files/bible/sda_morefailed.html & www.bible.ca/7-prophecy-blunders.htm. 4. Ellen G. White had delusional dreams & visions much like phony Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers do today; see www.truthorfables.com/Visons_of_%20EGW_by_Snook_&_Brinkerhoff.htm & ua-cam.com/video/Kbv7YsyMf0I/v-deo.html. 5. Seventh Day Adventism has a damnable false gospel (Galatians 1:6-10) for several reasons: a) Satan is the final sin bearer for Seventh Day Adventists; see www.truthorfables.com/Scapegoat.htm & www.truthorfables.net/50-contradictions-satan-bears-sins.htm, b) They say Jesus had a sinful nature just like fallen man otherwise He can't be a Savior; see kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/09/seventh-day-adventisms-anti.html & jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Seventh-Day%20Adventist/sda_exposed.htm, c) Ellen G. White taught the cult doctrine of the 1844 investigative judgment of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary for the purpose of allowing Seventh Day Adventists final access to heaven while all others would be destroyed; see www.truthorfables.com/investigative_judgment_made_simple.htm, www.truthorfables.com/white_elephant.htm, www.truthorfables.com/My_Testimony.htm, www.truthorfables.com/SDA_Cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html, d) Seventh Day Adventism denies the New Testament Christian gospel by saying Old Testament "Saturday" Sabbath keeping is essential for salvation; see www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_Not_A_Law.htm, www.truthorfables.net/who-changed-the-sabbath-a.htm, www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_is_Friday.htm & ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, e) Although SDAs say they believe in salvation by grace they redefine the meaning of grace in order to incorporate into their religious system a salvation by law keeping to achieve final works righteousness; mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/sda_law.html, searchingthescriptures.net/main_pages/answering_cults/seventh_day_adventism/sda_a_cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. If the apostle Paul cursed the Galatian Judaizers to hell for adding only one stipulation to the gospel which was circumcision then how much more would he curse the SDAs for all their added terms & conditions to the simple gospel of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." Cross reference this to Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."). 6. Seven Day Adventists teach the false doctrine of soul sleep; see carm.org/soul-sleep, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12151314134510, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=85122122530 & www.casagrandebaptistchurch.com/SoulSleep.html. 7. SDAs teach the false doctrine of the annihilation out of existence of the wicked including Satan & his demons rather than an eternal conscious punishment in a never ending lake of fire; carm.org/clear-word-bible-annihilationism, "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where at the same time this refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=91713193277, www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=Annihilationism, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94081054442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9110884114, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338, ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html & see our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. 8. SDAs support alternate Bible translations that pervert the written word of God thus placing themselves under the curse of Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." See exadventist.com/Home/Articles/clearwordbible/tabid/450/Default.aspx, www.truthorfables.com/SDAs_Destroyers_of_the_Bible.htm & ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html. For more information on Seventh Day Adventism see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html, see also "Cult of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=61210437590 & "Damnable Heresies of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6201014412510. See the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, www.RethinkingAdventism.com, www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Did I ever say you couldn't keep a Sabbath of your choosing? What does Romans 14:5 say or Colossians 2:16 say? If you want to esteem one day over another that's fine but don't make an idol out of it thinking it's going to earn you salvation with God. Don't condemn others for not keeping the Sabbath the same as you would as these 2 verses obviously indicate. You are free in this matter as the scripture says. The SDA cult has traditionally condemned others for not worshipping on Saturdays falsely.
THE TRUE HAVE TO BE PREACHED, WITH OUT TALKING ABOUT OTHER RELIGIONS, MEN HAVE THE FREEDOM TO SAY WHAT EVER THEY LIKE, BUT FROM THE BIBLE THE TRUE HAVE TO BE TOLD. ON TO NOW I MY SELF HAVE STUDY WITH ALL RELIGIONS, BUT THE SEVEN DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH ARE TAKE TIME TO STUDY THE BIBLE, WITH THE POWER OFF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND THE LOVE WHITE INN THEM, IS TAKING MEN TO THE GREAT LOVE, AND THAT IS JESUS.
Quoting from The Great Controversy pg 483 (1888) Ellen G. White 1888GC,pg.483
“As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come into review before God…..when any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven , their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased from the book of God’s remembrance.”
Spirit of Prophecy page 311, vol. 4, Ellen G. White
“Day after day, passing into eternity, bears its burden of records for the books of heaven. Words once spoke, deeds once done, can never be recalled….our acts, our words, even our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our destiny for weal or woe. Though they may be forgotten by us, they will bear their testimony to justify or condemn. They go before us into the judgment.”
If we take these words of EGW at face value not only here but it dozens of other places, we seem to have a contradiction to the plain teaching of Scripture. How do I deal with this problem.
1. Both Jesus and Paul said I would never face the condemnation of judgment. (John 5:24, Rom. 8:1, and the believer will not ever perish. (John 10:28)
2. In Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12, 10:17, the central tenant for the New Covenant that God makes with His believers is that God will not and cannot remember our sin ever again.
3. If I am made perfect in His sight “once and for all time”, why should any future sin bring any possibility of condemnation and were not all my sins yet future when Christ died for me?
4. If a believer is already “sealed by the Spirit until the day of redemption”……and “blessed with every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 4:30. 1:3) why do I need further review by Jesus at the Investigative Judgment to determine if I am “worthy of eternal life?”
5. Does not Romans 8 say that I am already justified and glorified?
6. If Titus 3:5 says that salvation is “not by works of righteous which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us”, how can our works be a factor in salvation as EGW says they are?
www.ellenlied.com
Seventh Day Adventism qualifies as a non Christian anti Christ cult due to the following reasons: 1. It is built on the woman Ellen G. White & her teachings despite the Bible saying women are not permitted to teach or usurp authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.") See links at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=112706102442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=59131749272 & ua-cam.com/video/Ql_obI6wA9w/v-deo.html). 2. Ellen White claimed to be equal with the Biblical prophets & apostles through her many writings (sort of a "Spirit of Prophecy") & her SDA followers believed her (2 Peter 3:16); see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Writings_Infallible.htm. Question: Are there modern day prophets or is there a need for prophets today? Answer: In the New Testament, the gift of the office of prophet was a temporary one granted by God for the purpose of building His Church. Contrary to the apostles, who had broad ministries, these men had localized ministries within local churches, as we see illustrated in such places as Acts 11:21-28 and Acts 13:1.Scripture shows us that the prophets of the New Testament had two primary purposes:They were gifted men given to the Church and appointed by God (Eph. 4:11, 1 Cor. 12:28) for the purpose of helping to lay the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20). They, like the apostles, received God’s revelation (Eph. 3:5) and truth and proclaimed it to their churches. It is important to remember that the early Church did not have a completed Bible, so God granted this revelation for the purpose of teaching His message to the Church. The New Testament prophets also spoke forth and taught the apostles’ doctrine. Everything taught by these prophets had to be consistent with the teaching of the apostles (1 Cor. 14:36-37). So, are prophets still needed today? Looking at the two functions listed above, we can see that the office of prophet is one that is no longer necessary and has ceased within the Church because:The foundation of the Church was laid long ago. God’s revealed Word was completed with the close of the New Testament canon. The Church’s foundation does not need to be laid again and there is no need for further revelation beyond what God has provided for us in His complete Word, the Bible. Today we are blessed to have Scripture as our complete and final authority in all things (2 Tim. 3:16-17). If someone now claims to have received a “special revelation,” we must test it against Scripture. If it is contrary to the Word of God, then it must be rejected. If it is consistent with Scripture, then we have to ask why an “extra” word was necessary if its truth is already contained in the Bible. So while we always need men who are willing to proclaim boldly the Word of God as contained in Scripture (as pastors, teachers, and evangelists), there is no need for the office of “prophet” as it existed in the New Testament. 3. Ellen G. White is a false prophet due to her false & failed prophecies (Deuteronomy 18:19-22); see www.mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/egw_false_prophet.html, 1timothy4-13.com/files/bible/sda_morefailed.html & www.bible.ca/7-prophecy-blunders.htm. 4. Ellen G. White had delusional dreams & visions much like phony Charismatic & Pentecostal TV preachers do today; see www.truthorfables.com/Visons_of_%20EGW_by_Snook_&_Brinkerhoff.htm & ua-cam.com/video/Kbv7YsyMf0I/v-deo.html. 5. Seventh Day Adventism has a damnable false gospel (Galatians 1:6-10) for several reasons: a) Satan is the final sin bearer for Seventh Day Adventists; see www.truthorfables.com/Scapegoat.htm & www.truthorfables.net/50-contradictions-satan-bears-sins.htm, b) They say Jesus had a sinful nature just like fallen man otherwise He can't be a Savior; see kentbrandenburg.blogspot.com/2011/09/seventh-day-adventisms-anti.html & jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Seventh-Day%20Adventist/sda_exposed.htm, c) Ellen G. White taught the cult doctrine of the 1844 investigative judgment of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary for the purpose of allowing Seventh Day Adventists final access to heaven while all others would be destroyed; see www.truthorfables.com/investigative_judgment_made_simple.htm, www.truthorfables.com/white_elephant.htm, www.truthorfables.com/My_Testimony.htm, www.truthorfables.com/SDA_Cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html, d) Seventh Day Adventism denies the New Testament Christian gospel by saying Old Testament "Saturday" Sabbath keeping is essential for salvation; see www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_Not_A_Law.htm, www.truthorfables.net/who-changed-the-sabbath-a.htm, www.truthorfables.com/Sabbath_is_Friday.htm & ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, e) Although SDAs say they believe in salvation by grace they redefine the meaning of grace in order to incorporate into their religious system a salvation by law keeping to achieve final works righteousness; mmoutreachinc.com/seventh_day_adventists/sda_law.html, searchingthescriptures.net/main_pages/answering_cults/seventh_day_adventism/sda_a_cult.htm & ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html. If the apostle Paul cursed the Galatian Judaizers to hell for adding only one stipulation to the gospel which was circumcision then how much more would he curse the SDAs for all their added terms & conditions to the simple gospel of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." Cross reference this to Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."). 6. Seven Day Adventists teach the false doctrine of soul sleep; see carm.org/soul-sleep, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12151314134510, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=85122122530 & www.casagrandebaptistchurch.com/SoulSleep.html. 7. SDAs teach the false doctrine of the annihilation out of existence of the wicked including Satan & his demons rather than an eternal conscious punishment in a never ending lake of fire; carm.org/clear-word-bible-annihilationism, "Eternal Punishment, part 1" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=12607145320 & "Eternal Punishment, part 2" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=12607143539 where at the same time this refutes the arguments of universalists, annihilationists & heretics who say God is "all loving" & would not torment the wicked forever while they ignore the fact that God hates the wicked (Psalm 5:4-6, 11:5, Hosea 9:15, etc.; see our video "The God of the Bible Does Not Love Everybody But Actually Hates Many Instead (Romans 9:22)" at ua-cam.com/video/0zHEJCHgQVg/v-deo.html, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=91713193277, www.jashow.org/wiki/index.php?title=Annihilationism, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=94081054442, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9110884114, www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=219131311338, ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html & see our playlist "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 30 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PLE04A1D0DFE95B95E.html. 8. SDAs support alternate Bible translations that pervert the written word of God thus placing themselves under the curse of Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." See exadventist.com/Home/Articles/clearwordbible/tabid/450/Default.aspx, www.truthorfables.com/SDAs_Destroyers_of_the_Bible.htm & ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html. For more information on Seventh Day Adventism see our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html, see also "Cult of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=61210437590 & "Damnable Heresies of Seventh Day Adventism" at www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=6201014412510. See the following websites: www.TruthorFables.com, www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org, www.ExAdventist.com, www.RethinkingAdventism.com, www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com. Titus 1:9-16
Why does Jesus always group the Sabbath commandment with the celemonial & ritual laws which "faded away" with the replacement of the Old Covenant (Testament) by the New Covenant (Heb 8:13)? If Sabbath keeping is the mark of the true remnant church & Sunday keeping is the mark of the Devil's church, why is the New Testament consistently unclear & even silent about such a major distinction? Why does Jesus commend the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 for rejecting other religions He hates?
Our Position In Christ, The Moment We Believe
Blessed with every spiritual blessing, Regenerated,
Justified, Sanctified, Adopted, Called, Glorified, Adopted into God’s family, Sonship, Forgiven, Heirs of God, Eternal life, Accepted in the Beloved, Loved of God, Washed of Sin, Sins forgotten forever, Spirit Baptized, In Christ, Sealed by the Spirit, New Creation, Son of God, Freed from the law of sin and death, Heirs of God, Joint heirs of Jesus Christ, Seated with Christ in heavenly places, Access to God, Perfect forever, Never to perish, Inheritance reserved in Heaven, Redeemed, Reconciled to God, Declared righteous, Justified before God, Never to come into judgment, Dead to sin, Freed from the law, Alive unto God, Temple of the Holy Spirit, God’s workmanship, Under the Blood, Redeemed, Saved by Grace, Sins atoned for , No condemnation, Crucified with Christ, Chosen in Christ, Regenerated by the Spirit, Born from above, Abraham’s seed, Heavenly citizenship, No longer an alien from God, No longer a stranger from the promises, Never to face death, Never ever perish, Priest of God, Kept by God, Blameless, Faultless in God’s sight, unfading inheritance, Saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Ellen G. White teaches over one thousand times in her writings that all believers are on PROBATION. She says all believers are “undergoing the searching scrutiny of God’s investigative judgment…..to determine if they are worthy of eternal life.”
Ellen G. White teaches that “our acts, our words, even our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our destiny for weal or woe. Though they may be forgotten by us, they will bear their testimony to justify or condem.” EGW Spirit of Prophey pg. 331
Whose word can be trusted? Is it God’s “sure word of Prophecy”, or the unsure word of the false prophet, Ellen G. White? www.rethinkingadventism.com
It's more complicated that you know CAnswersTV! There is a minority of Seventh-Day Adventists who AGREE with your understanding of grace but some of their pastors and scholars who do, have been pushed out of the SDA church. The 1957 book "Seventh-Day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine" got an "Amen" from Baptist Walter Martin & Presbyterian Donald Barnhouse but traditional SDAs turned on the book so it was pushed out of print. Dr. Ford agreed with the book & later was fired.
Thirty years as a member of the church and I am grateful for the info. Would have like to have more references for the quotes from her writings but I am willing to go search. I am also going to purchase Slattery's book. Its still on Amazon. BUT I have to say that I find it more than disturbing that the host finds so much of this humorous. I've now listened to all videos in the series and it continues right throughout. As an SDA, there are Mormons and JWs I view as cult. I would NEVER laugh at their deception or plight. These are souls, that Jesus died for. Very very unfortunate and quite frankly void of the spirit of Christ. That said, grateful not to be too distracted by it and grateful for the uploads.
Thank you for your comment. What you have noticed has been noticed by many others across our 720 plus videos on our CAnswersTV UA-cam channel (CAnswersTV stands for "Christian Answers Television) over the years. One viewer making a comment on our video "Unpopular Bible Doctrines #1: The Biblical God No One Wants To Know" at ua-cam.com/video/B8SzMIBlVdw/v-deo.html (which has over 1 million views by the way) said the following - "Knowledge puffeth up. I would venture to say that, although the truths that you speak are indisputable, the Lord does not take pleasure in the punishment of the wicked. As you expound on God hating (which He does) you have a sneer of relishing giggle joy that does not in anyway represent the Spirit of these scriptures. I believe that the best way to present these truths is with the sincere gravity of their very nature. Godly sorrow leads to repentance. You appear as a school boy that just got a pass from detention, turning and laughing to scorn the children that did the same bad things that you did, because they don't get a pass and have to suffer." My response to him is as follows - "Unfortunately I have always had a deep personality trait of trying to lighten the gravity of the seriousness of the terrors I'm discussing by smiling or trying to speak more upbeat so people won't immediately take terrible offense to what I am saying. I must agree with your analysis but this trait comes out almost without my noticing it sometimes & does come across the wrong way intended. The topics I'm discussing here are indeed terrifying & is why most preachers will never mention them. I regret your "school boy" analysis because this was certainly not my intention. I certainly do not rejoice in the certain doom of the damned (Luke 16:22-31) but in salvation through Jesus Christ (John 3:35-36)." Anyway, thanks again for your input. Blessings to you in Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 3:15
Please open up the description text for this video which is right underneath the video starting with the verbage "Larry Wessels, director ..." & click on the instruction "Show more." Once the entire description text is revealed go to the bottom of the description where the actual link to Life Assurance Ministries is located. Just click on that & it will transport you straight to their website. The ExAdventist link located in the description text is another excellent site dealing with the SDA.
You asked, "Watchman4u - Hey can you point to where they got the "Three Angels" & "the Everlasting Gospel" got these teachings & what are they exactly? Thx." For more on the "Three Angels" see our video "Did God Really Give Ellen G. White "Divine" Health Reform Visions From Book of Revelation Angels?" at ua-cam.com/video/nhKoS2Fk1Y4/v-deo.html & see www.truthorfables.com/EGW_Health_Reform.htm. For her "Everlasting Gospel" see our video "Truth About Seventh-Day Adventist "Truth?": A False Gospel of Imperfect Law Keeping to Earn Heaven" at ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html & www.TruthorFables.com. Matthew 7:15
Adding to 23:52
The Bible is COMPLETE and it is not only unnecessary to add or remove anything from it but prohibited by the Author of the Bible.
Deu 4 : 2 (NASB) "2 You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."
Rev 22 : 19 "19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and [a]from the holy city, which are written in this book."
Acts 4 : 19 "19 "[..] “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;"
34:11 (35:17) any more PROOF needed to understand that Adventists have CORRUPTED the Scriptures of the Bible and openly denied Jesus' promise of eternal life?
The Bible says in Gal 1 : 8 "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!"
36:05 2 Peter 1: 20 "20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,"
at 52:20 Ellen G. White FALSE teaching and prophesy ends with completely denying Jesus and the need of His death on cross for OUR sins
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet" (Revelation 1:10). The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, ‘The Lord’s Day’ in Rev. 1:10: "This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of "te kuriake hemera." The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the church’s worship day. As such it certainly appears early in the 2nd century" (Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians, 1. 67). Acts 20:7.
Why do most churches worship on sunday? was not the original day of rest the seventh day of the week?
TheGreasetrap yes
TheGreasetrap - Question: "Why do Christians worship on Sunday?" Answer: Most Christians traditionally worship on Sunday. Sunday worship is partly attributed to Sabbatarianism, the view that one day of the week should be reserved for religious observance and worship, as required by Old Testament laws regarding the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8, 31:12-18). In this view, man is to abstain from all labor except that which is necessary for the welfare of family and society. This interpretation of the law contends that only on the literal Sabbath, the seventh day of the week (Saturday), can the requirements of the law be met.
Semi-Sabbatarianism followers, as early as the fourth century AD, believed essentially as the Sabbatarians did, with the exception that they transferred its demands from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week (the day on which Christ arose from the dead). Theologians of that period, particularly in the Eastern Church, were teaching the practical identity of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) and the Christian Sunday.
Interestingly, a legend recounted in the so-called Apocalypse of Peter, which dates back to the 2nd century AD and is generally accepted as a false writing, transfers to Sunday all of the requirements of Sabbath worship. A man named Albertus Magnus added momentum to this growing movement by suggesting semi-Sabbatarianism be divided into two parts: the moral command to observe a day of rest after laboring the previous six days, and the ceremonial symbol that applied only to the Jews in a literal sense. Thomas Aquinas elevated this proposal to the status of official Roman Catholic doctrine, which in time also gained favor with many Reformed theologians.
Scripture never mentions any Sabbath (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week, Sunday. For instance, Acts 20:7 states that “on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” Paul also urges the Corinthian believers, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Since Paul designates this offering as “service” in 2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection may have been linked with the Sunday worship service of the Christian assembly. Historically, Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting day for Christians in the church, and its practice dates back to the first century.
Christians worship on Sundays in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is very important to remember, though, Sunday worship is not commanded in the Bible, and Sunday has not replaced Saturday and become the Christian Sabbath. While the New Testament describes Christians gathering and worshipping on Sundays, it nowhere states that Sunday has replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. The key point in all of this is that we are not to limit our worship to any particular day of the week. We are to rest in the Lord every day. We are to worship the Lord every day.
Recommended Resources: The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology by Jason Meyer, see our video "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html which comes with a free written transcript available in 20 languages.
@@cyroford6059 - I'll repeat the answer here to you as well. Question: "Why do Christians worship on Sunday?" Answer: Most Christians traditionally worship on Sunday. Sunday worship is partly attributed to Sabbatarianism, the view that one day of the week should be reserved for religious observance and worship, as required by Old Testament laws regarding the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8, 31:12-18). In this view, man is to abstain from all labor except that which is necessary for the welfare of family and society. This interpretation of the law contends that only on the literal Sabbath, the seventh day of the week (Saturday), can the requirements of the law be met.
Semi-Sabbatarianism followers, as early as the fourth century AD, believed essentially as the Sabbatarians did, with the exception that they transferred its demands from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week (the day on which Christ arose from the dead). Theologians of that period, particularly in the Eastern Church, were teaching the practical identity of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) and the Christian Sunday.
Interestingly, a legend recounted in the so-called Apocalypse of Peter, which dates back to the 2nd century AD and is generally accepted as a false writing, transfers to Sunday all of the requirements of Sabbath worship. A man named Albertus Magnus added momentum to this growing movement by suggesting semi-Sabbatarianism be divided into two parts: the moral command to observe a day of rest after laboring the previous six days, and the ceremonial symbol that applied only to the Jews in a literal sense. Thomas Aquinas elevated this proposal to the status of official Roman Catholic doctrine, which in time also gained favor with many Reformed theologians.
Scripture never mentions any Sabbath (Saturday) gatherings by believers for fellowship or worship. However, there are clear passages that mention the first day of the week, Sunday. For instance, Acts 20:7 states that “on the first day of the week we came together to break bread.” Paul also urges the Corinthian believers, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Since Paul designates this offering as “service” in 2 Corinthians 9:12, this collection may have been linked with the Sunday worship service of the Christian assembly. Historically, Sunday, not Saturday, was the normal meeting day for Christians in the church, and its practice dates back to the first century.
Christians worship on Sundays in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is very important to remember, though, Sunday worship is not commanded in the Bible, and Sunday has not replaced Saturday and become the Christian Sabbath. While the New Testament describes Christians gathering and worshipping on Sundays, it nowhere states that Sunday has replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. The key point in all of this is that we are not to limit our worship to any particular day of the week. We are to rest in the Lord every day. We are to worship the Lord every day.
Recommended Resources: The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology by Jason Meyer; see our video "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html which comes with a free written transcript available in 20 languages.
very nicely spoken argument...i admire and respect your view!...keep up the good work!..God Bless you
This video series was recorded, if my memory serves me, in 1991. Our ministry has been doing cable access television since 1985 & we attemped to do our shows in a "timeless" manner. In other words, we tried not to date our material with a current president of the United States or current events but rather refuted false religions & false philosophies with the timeless Word of God which will stand for eternity (Isaiah 40:8). Thus even though the show was recorded 20 years ago it's all still true.
I was a SDA for years. I devoted my life to the church. unfortunately, I became pregnant out of wedlock. my pastor then held a private meeting with deacons and decided to strip me of all of my church positions due to the poor role model I had now become. he then held a church congregation meeting without my knowledge where he discussed my situation and the church voted to place me on a six month probation. I was crushed and many other things happened as well. my children were ostracised.
Just because Desmond Ford (or these others you mention) does not agree with the SDA "Investigative Judgement" doctrine or some of the other SDA heresies does not necessarily mean he agrees with the word "grace" as we would define it (he might be closer to C. G. Finney's definition than the Bible's). Have you seen the publication "Proclaimation" by LifeAssuranceMinistriesORG (a former SDA organization)? Check out their volumes 11, issues 3-4 which covers Walter Martin & the SDA's false gospel.
Why are educated people being fooled? I was 18 YRS when I JOINED AND DIDN'T KNOW any
Better. I left because of Ellen white. I now in another Christian
Church.
Good for you. The SDA church is a false Christian church
Which church do you go to now? and what did you find out about ellen whites teachings that didnt match the bible?
@@gl2461 - For more information see the following websites by former SDA members such as: www.lifeassuranceministries.org/ , www.formeradventist.com/ , www.exadventist.com/ , www.sabbathinchrist.com/ , www.truthorfables.com/ www.Sabbatismos.com, & www.GreatControversyExposed.com . Email: proclamation@gmail.com for free materials. See also our UA-cam playlist called "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html .
does any know of any Debate videos online between SDA's and Christians?
The ten commandments were given only to the nation of Israel & not to anyone else (Gentiles). The New Testament only reaffirms nine out of the ten commandments under the terms of the New Covenant. Sabbath keeping as found in the ten commandments is a ceremonial law associated only with Old Testament Israelites & is not a moral law that must be followed by Gentiles. The Old Testament Scriptures always state that the covenant written on the Tablets of Stone was made only with Israel at Sinai. Look at the first time the words "Ten Commandments" were used in the Bible. This same text states that the Ten Commandments, as the covenant document, was given only to the nation of Israel:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and WITH ISRAEL. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. Ex 34:27,28
When Moses refreshed Israel's mind concerning their covenant relationship with God, he specifically says that the covenant (Ten Commandments) was given at Horeb. This is clear in the following text:
The Lord our God made a covenant [Remember the covenant is the Ten Commandments or Tablets of Stone] with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all of us alive here today. Deut. 5:2,3
Moses insists that the covenant was "not made with our fathers," meaning the patriarchs, 11 but with the people that came out of Egypt. He then repeats the words of the covenant, or Ten Commandments, that were written on the Tablets of Stone.
The Prophets saw the coming of a New Covenant and spoke of it in glowing terms. Whenever they contrasted the Old Covenant with the New Covenant, they always state when and with whom the Old Covenant was made. Notice this in a classic passage in Jeremiah:
Behold days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel..., not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hands to bring them out of the land of Egypt..." Jer. 31:31.32.
Notice the following things clearly set forth in this passage:
1.There was going a New Covenant. "I will make a new covenant."
2.The New Covenant was going to be different in nature from the Old Covenant. "Not like the covenant I made with their fathers"
3.The Old Covenant being replaced was made at Sinai and made only with Israel. "Made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt"
How is it possible to read these words in Jeremiah and say, "God was not actually promising to make a new and different covenant with Israel. He was really promising a new administration of the same covenant they were already under?" It seems to us that such statements are literally contradicting what Jeremiah said. The rest of the Bible always says the same thing that Jeremiah said when it speaks on this subject. The following passage from I Kings appears to be going out of its way to affirm the facts we are setting forth:
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, WHEN the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, WHEN they came out of the land of Egypt. I Kings 8:9
The phrases "Tables of Stone," "Moses at Horeb," "made a covenant" and "children of Israel," in this text are the same key ingredients that we always find connected with the Ten Commandments. This passage of Scripture uses the word "when" two times. We could put a period after "children of Israel" and not lose the thought or argument. The last phrase in the sentence "When they came out of the land of Egypt" is almost redundant. The Holy Spirit must have wanted to impress this point on our minds.
The NT Scriptures always connect the Old Covenant with Israel.
Heb 8:6-9 is the Apostolic interpretation of Jer 31:31,32. The author of Hebrews clearly states: (1) when the Old Covenant was made; (2) with whom the Old Covenant was made; (3) the fact the New Covenant would be different than the Old Covenant. The passage is clear:
.......... the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel .......... It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out Egypt.......... Heb 8:7,8
It is not possible to make this verse promise a new administration of the same covenant. Nor is it possible relate this covenant back to Adam in the garden. Neither the words in prophecy of Jer 31:33 nor the Apostolic interpretation in Heb 8:7,8 will allow such an idea.
"Having the law" as a covenant and the Gospel as a promise as opposed to "not having the law" and being without covenant or hope was the great difference between the nation of Israel and the Gentiles (Eph 2:11-21).
The following text is a key passage on this particular point:
For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness..... Rom 2:14.
First of all, the word "law" in this passage clearly refers to the Tablets of Stone. It cannot refer to "a sense of moral duty" since all men have that by virtue of being God's image bearers. Paul is talking about a law that all men definitely do not have. If all men have "the law" in the sense that Paul is using the word in this passage, his argument does not make sense. He is contradicting himself in the same breath. Paul's whole point in the context of this passage is to show that the Jews are more guilty than the Gentiles. The basis of his proof is that the Gentiles "without the law" live better lives than the Jews do "with the law." The Jews alone have the special gift of the Law. And the specific law that he is talking about is the law written on the Tablets of Stone as a covenant.
Rom 2:14 is not talking about a so called "ceremonial law." Whatever the "law" is in this passage, it convicts the conscience of sin. Conscience, by nature and without special revelation, cannot convict men of disobedience to "ceremonial" laws. One of the many proofs that the Sabbath is not a "moral law" is the fact that we have never discovered a single instance of anyone knowing, by nature, the Sabbath law. This particular law must always be taught as special revelation just as it was to Israel at Sinai. 12 Gentiles intuitively knew that adultery was wrong but they know that the seventh day is to be kept holy.
Most people misquote this passage of Scripture. Paul does not say, "The law" is written in the Gentile's heart. He says that certain behavior proves that there is a conviction of right and wrong in all men. This fact shows that conscience is alive and well even in the Gentiles. In fact, it is more alive and well in them than it is in the Jew. This power of conscience "shows the work of the law written in their hearts." The "work" of the law is to accuse or excuse according to the standard given to it. It condemns all violations of known wrong and rewards obedience to what is known to be right. All men have a conscience and they all experience, to a greater or lesser degree, conviction they have done wrong.
The Gentiles did not have "the law" but they did have the "work of the law" in their hearts. The law can only "work" true repentance that leads to faith if there is (1) a covenant with clear terms and (2) the individual has a knowledge of those terms. In giving Israel the law as a covenant, God enlightened the mind and sharpened the conscience. He sandwiched conscience under the Old Covenant and its threat of judgment. This caused a very painful death to all hope of eternal life in those who truly experienced the end for which the law covenant was given, namely, genuine "conviction of guilt." The same law actually "blinded" the rest of the Jews and made them worse off spiritually than the Gentiles.
We say again, it was most gracious of God to kill Israel's hope in their own efforts. However, it took a covenant of pure law with the power of life and death to do the job. There was not an ounce of grace in the Tablets of Stone but it was most of God to give them to Israel as a covenant that could prepare the heart to receive grace!
Regardless of whether the reader agrees or disagree with what has just been said, one thing is certain. We cannot change a passage that emphatically states that Israel had a specific law that the Gentiles did not have into a text that says "all men have the same law." This is to destroy the text. Paul can only be referring to the Tables of Stone as a covenant.
It both amazes and amuses us to watch people waver back and forth when they cannot fit clear passages of Scripture into their theological system. They usually want to "eat their cake and have it too." If they are discussing the "unchanging moral law," they will insist that "the moral law (Ten Commandments) is written on ever man's heart." However, if they are discussing the canon of conduct for believer's today, these same people will insist that in regeneration "the moral law" (Ten Commandments) is written on the heart" by the Holy Spirit. In both cases it is said to be the same law that Scriptures clearly state was given only to the nation of Israel at Sinai on the Tablets of Stone.
Something seems to be a bit out of focus when all of this is put together. (1) If the first point is true, and the same law that was given to Israel at Sinai (the Ten Commandments) is indeed written on every man's heart, it is impossible to say the Gentiles are "without the law." They cannot be "without" the very law that is written "in" them. (2) If the second point, affirming that the same law written in the heathen, and given to Israel at Sinai, is also written on the heart of believer in regeneration, is true, there appears to be a contradiction. What need is there to write something on the heart that is already there? (3) If, in regeneration, the Holy Spirit writes the Ten Commandments on the heart of every believer, what then is the necessity of preaching those commandments to the Christian?
We must distinguish between the Ten Commandments as the terms of a legal covenant and the duties commanded by the individual commandments. The moment we do this a lot of confusion disappears and some difficult passages of Scripture become clear and simple. We will illustrate this point with one passage of Scripture. This passage in its context is pivotal to any correct understanding of the change of covenants:
But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. Heb 8:6-13
We have already noted the three distinct contrasts in verse 6. We saw the following: (1) Christ has a better ministry than Aaron; (2) because Christ's ministry is based on a new and better covenant; (3) the covenant Christ administers is superior to the covenant under which Aaron ministered because it is based on better promises.
Heb 8:7-9 settles any discussion as to either when (at Sinai) or with whom (Israel only) the Old Covenant was made. Heb 8:11 shows that everyone, without a single exception, in the New Covenant community, or Church, "know the Lord." In other words, the text proves that the Church born under the New Covenant has a totally regenerate membership. We will now look at verse 10:
This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. HEB 8:10
The text emphasizes several important things. First, God promises to make a new covenant, and this covenant will be with the "house of Israel." We will not digress from the point under discussion except to say that the "house of Israel" in Heb 8-10 must be the Church. The writer is not talking about the future but the present. This covenant cannot be pushed into a future millennium. Hebrews is talking about the priestly ministry of Christ over the Church. However, that is not our subject in this book.
The second major thing in the text is God's promise to put his laws in the mind and write them on the hearts of His New Covenant people. Now here is the question: "What is the difference, if any, between the "covenant" and the word "laws" in this passage?" Exactly what is God promising to do in this verse? Exactly what is the "New Covenant" He is making and precisely what "laws" is He going to write on the heart?
We should carefully note that God did not say, "In that day I will give a new administration of the same covenant that I gave Israel. I will write the old law of Sinai into the new heart of the Christian." That is how some theologians read this passage. Likewise, the text does not say, "I will make a New Covenant that destroys all of the Ten Commandments and allows a believer to do as he pleases." That is how some liberals view the text. No, the text, and its context, is talking about both a new and better covenant than the old covenant at Sinai and the new experience of the law being written on the heart by the indwelling Spirit.
The clear answers to the two questions that we asked lies in understanding the three comparisons made in verse 6. Why did the Old Covenant fail and thereby need to be replaced by a new and better covenant? The answer is that it could not secure the necessary obedience to its terms. It could not write on the heart the desire to do the things that were written on the Tablets of the Covenants. It could write on stone but not on flesh (II Cor 3). By nature all men hate God's authority (Rom 8:7) and even the mighty Law of God cannot change that rebellion into a sincere desire to obey. The Old Covenant failed to bring sinners into God's presence because it could not change the sinner's heart. It could not conquer sin in the flesh nor it could cleanse the conscience from the guilt of sin.
Now read carefully! The greater glory of the New Covenant is not that the standards or laws have been either lowered or done away. It is not that the moral duties demanded on the Tables of Stone are no longer binding on a Christian. No, No, that is to miss the whole point. The greater glory of the New Covenant is that no obedience at all is required as the terms of being saved simply because the very terms of the Tablets of the Covenant have been finally and fully met in the Person and work of Surety, the Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of the New Covenant is in the words, "IT IS FINISHED." Paul states the glory of the New Covenant in the classic passage in Rom 4:5. Here is a paraphrase of that text:
However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Rom 4:5 This is the "rest" that weary souls enter into when they come under the yoke of Christ and are liberated from the yoke of the covenant given to Moses on Sinai. We doubt not that our Lord Jesus had this very contrast in mind when He gave that great gospel invitation in Matthew 11:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30.
Every thing in that passage is a contrast with Moses and old law covenant. The yoke of the covenant written on the Tables of Stone was a burden impossible to bear. The yoke written in the blood of Calvary is a privilege and delight to bear. The New Covenant is nothing less than Christ Himself and His finished work. When God said, "I will make a new covenant," He was saying, "I will give you Christ to be your covenant Keeper. He will both keep the law and die under its curse." The message has now become "It is finished" instead of "Do or Die." The New Covenant is grace and not works.
What then are the "laws" spoken of in Heb 8:10? Exactly what "laws" does the Holy Spirit write on the heart of a New Covenant believer? These laws, as far as their content, are basically the very same moral laws that were written on the tables of stone. Heb 8:10 is not talking about two different "sets" of laws that totally contradict each other as if there were two "kinds of morality." The morality of the New Covenant does not destroy the true morality demanded in the laws of the Old Covenant. It takes that morality to a higher level. It is true that Christ adds laws that were impossible for Moses to ever give but that does not mean Christ contradicts Moses. 13 Hebrews is talking about two different motivations that grow out of two different kinds of covenants." II Cor 3 is the Holy Spirit's commentary on Heb 8:10. Neither of these passages are teaching that God "tattoos" the exact words of the Decalogue on our hearts. Both passages are talking about the powerful effect of regeneration that results in a totally new and different attitude toward God. These two passages are picturing the removal of the stony heart that hated the Tablets of Stones and all they represented. It is describing the effect of regeneration in replacing the stony heart with a heart of flesh. The new heart of flesh loves all of God's revealed laws, not just a one small code, simply because it loves the new Lawgiver Who teaches us those laws.
The difference is not in the specific duties demanded but the difference between law and grace as covenants. It is the difference, in some cases, of the identical duties being enforced from without by fear and force, in the case of the Old Covenant, and being constrained by love from within a heart rejoicing in a covenant of grace. These two passages are talking about the difference between the conscience being under the old Pedagogue, the Tables of Stone, and being under the new Pedagogue, the indwelling Holy Spirit.
11. The writer of Hebrews, as well as the prophecy in Jer 31:33, establish beyond question that the "fathers" referred to in this passage are the patriarchs. To make the statement refer to the immediate fathers of the people to whom Moses is speaking would involve a contradiction. It was specifically to these very "fathers" that God gave the covenant at Sinai.
12. John Bunyan wrote an excellent article proving the Seventh Day Sabbath could not possibly be a so called "Creation Ordinance." To our knowledge, no one has attempted to answer his arguments. See, "Questions about the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day Sabbath," by John Bunyan, The Works of John Bunyan, Vol. II, pp 359-387, Baker Book House.
13. We have worked this out in a book entitled But I Say Unto You. This book shows that Christ supercedes and replaces Moses as the New Lawgiver. Christ changes some of the laws of Moses; raises some others to a higher level; discards some others altogether; and adds some laws that are totally new. However, this is not contradicting Moses as he were wrong.
Why do we worship on Sunday instead of Saturday?
In the Old Testament, God stated,
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you," (Exodus 20:8-10, NASB).
It was the custom of the Jews to come together on the Sabbath, which is Saturday, cease work, and worship God. Jesus went to the synagogue on Saturday to teach (Matt. 12:9, John 18:20) as did the apostle Paul (Acts 17:2; 18:4). So, if in the Old Testament we are commanded to keep the Sabbath and in the New Testament we see Jews, Jesus, and the apostles doing the same thing, then why do we worship on Sunday?
First of all, of the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, only 9 of them were reinstituted in the New Testament: five in Matt. 19:18, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and honor parents; in Rom. 13:9, coveting; worshiping God properly covers the first three commandments. The one that was not reaffirmed was the one about the Sabbath. Instead, Jesus said that He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8).
Upon the completion of Creation, God rested on the seventh day. However, since God is all-powerful, He doesn’t get tired. He doesn’t need to take a break and rest. So, why did/does it say that He rested? The reason is simple: Mark 2:27 says, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In other words, God established the Sabbath as a rest for His people--not because He needed a break but because we are mortal and need a time of rest--a time to focus on God. In this, our spirits and bodies are both renewed.
The Old Testament system of Law required keeping the Sabbath as part of the overall moral, legal, and sacrificial system by which the Jewish people satisfied God’s requirements for behavior, government, and forgiveness of sins. The Sabbath was part of the Law in that sense. In order to "remain" in favor with God, you had to also keep the Sabbath. If it was not kept, then the person was in sin and would often be punished (Ezekiel 18:4; Rom. 6:23; Deut. 13:1-9; Num. 35:31; Lev. 20:2, etc.).
But with Jesus’ atonement, we are no longer required to keep the Law. We are not under Law but grace (Rom. 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus. He is our rest. We are not under obligation, by Law, to keep it; and this goes for the Sabbath as well. It is not a requirement that we keep the Sabbath. If it were, then we would still be under the Law; but we are not.
Evidence of the Change of Days can be Seen in the NT
The New Testament has ample evidence that the seventh day Sabbath is no longer a requirement.
Rom. 14:5-6, "One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God."
The entire section of Rom. 14:1-12 is worth careful study. Nevertheless, the instructions here are that individuals must be convinced in their own minds about which day they observe for the Lord. If the seventh day Sabbath were a requirement, then the choice would not be man's but God’s.
Col. 2:16-17, "Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ."
Notice here that time sequence mentioned. A festival is yearly. A new moon is monthly. A Sabbath is weekly. No one is to judge regarding this. The Sabbath is defined as a shadow; the reality is Jesus. Jesus is our Sabbath.
Acts 20:7, "And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight."
The first day of the week is Sunday, and this is the day the people gathered. This passage can easily be seen as the church meeting on Sunday. It has two important church functions within it: breaking bread (communion) and a message (preaching). Additionally, Luke did not use the Jewish system of counting days: sundown to sundown. He used the Roman system: midnight to midnight. This is a subtle point that shows the Jewish Sabbath system was not the one utilized by Luke.
1 Cor. 16:1-2, "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come."
Notice here that Paul is directing the churches to meet on the first day of each week and put money aside. It would seem that this is tithing. So, the instructed time for the church to meet is Sunday. Is this an official worship day set up by the church? You decide.
Rev. 1:10-11, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."
The New Bible Dictionary says regarding the term, ‘The Lord’s Day’ in Revelation 1:10: "This is the first extant occurrence in Christian literature of τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ, "ta kuriaka hamera." The adjectival construction suggests that it was a formal designation of the church’s worship day. As such, it certainly appears early in the 2nd century (Ignatius, Epistle to the Magnesians, 1. 67).
In many churches today, the term "The Lord’s Day" is used to designate Sunday--the same as it was in the second century.
I hope this is evidence enough to show you that the Bible does not require that we worship on Saturday. If anything, we have the freedom (Rom. 14:1-12) to worship on the day that we believe we should. And, no one should judge us regarding the day we keep. We are free in Christ and not under law (Rom. 6:14). See our videos "Christ Has Fulfilled & Replaced the Law of Moses With Higher Laws of the New Covenant, Hebrews 8:6-13" at ua-cam.com/video/EkZ2Cn8TLzE/v-deo.html, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html & "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html. 2 Timothy 2:15
Hundreds of thousands of Seventh-day Adventists have left Adventism after realizing they've been duped by a false cult. There is now a mandate for true Christians to learn how to minister to these spiritually deceived victims. See "Former Seventh-day Adventist Pastor for 13 Years Gives His Testimony Why Adventism is Wrong" at ua-cam.com/video/c37bNhYzdbE/v-deo.html, "Is Sabbath Keeping Essential to Be a Real Christian? Former SDA Pastor Answers This Question" at ua-cam.com/video/w0L3rSSL_H8/v-deo.html, "False SDA Gospel of Ellen G. White Leads to Baby Abortions Just Like Planned Parenthood" at ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html, "Cult Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventism: 1844 Probation & Satan As A Final Sin Bearer for Adventists" at ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html & "Did God Really Give Ellen G. White "Divine" Health Reform Visions From Book of Revelation Angels?" at ua-cam.com/video/nhKoS2Fk1Y4/v-deo.html. For further information see the websites www.TruthorFables.com, www.GreatControversyExposed.com, www.ExAdventism.com & www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.com. Email: proclamation@gmail.com. Jude 3, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."
Someone said, "I don't think that SDA's are not saved because of their beliefs, as long as they maintain their belief in Jesus Christ, that is sufficient." One reason we have invested so much time & effort in confronting Seventh-day Adventism is because they have "another Jesus" & "another gospel" (2 Corinthians 11:4). Keep in mind that even the Muslims believe in "Jesus" but it is not the same Jesus as taught in the Bible (for proof see our website www.MuslimHope.com). The "Jesus Christ" of Ellen G. White is not the final sin bearer for sinners but Satan is (see our video "Cult Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventism: 1844 Probation & Satan As A Final Sin Bearer for Adventists" at ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html) & their "gospel" is a false gospel (see our video "Truth About Seventh-Day Adventist "Truth?": A False Gospel of Imperfect Law Keeping to Earn Heaven" at ua-cam.com/video/7EsY1srHYJc/v-deo.html). The consequences of following a phony "Jesus" & a phony "gospel" is eternal damnation (& we're not talking about "soul sleep" - see our video ""ANNIHILATIONISM" TO ESCAPE HELL: ANOTHER DOCTRINE OF THE DEMONS (& JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES & OTHERS)" at ua-cam.com/video/_O-LMpP6bAg/v-deo.html) as laid out by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 1:6-10, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." Thus the false religion of Ellen G. White has dire significance for those who risk their souls to believe in it. See www.TruthorFables.com, www.ExAdventist.com & our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess"" with 23 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL5316CC6F66F24283.html. SDAs need to repent of their false Jesus & false gospel & come to a true saving knowledge of the real Jesus Christ as taught in the Bible (see our video "IS JESUS GOD ALMIGHTY IN THE FLESH MEANING THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY OR IS HE SOMETHING ELSE?" at ua-cam.com/video/_BlPm7M7uv8/v-deo.html). Please remember 1 John 4:1, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
The person to whom this message was sent replied that they didn't have time to do further research & would just believe as they desired. We replied to that with this - You prove by your statement that you are willingly ignorant of what the Seventh Day Adventists actually believe but prefer rather to wishfully hope they might have it right (you of course taking the proverbial "three monkey approach" - hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil). Pardon me but that is a hopelessly senseless & inane way to rationalize Biblical theology or SDA theology for that matter. Saint Paul would give you an "F" on your report card for being so naïve. Don't you realize that Jesus would flunk you out of class too since He said in Matthew 7:13-29 that few would be saved & then he qualifies it in verses 21-23 where He states he is talking about people who say they "believe" in Him (see also Luke 13:23-30). Thus claiming to believe in a "Jesus" is not good enough according to Jesus. Judging by what you say, the Mormon Jesus is good enough (the brother of the Devil), the Jehovah's Witness Jesus is good enough (the archangel Michael), the Muslim Jesus is good enough (just a human prophet of Allah), the Christian Science Jesus is good enough (just an idea Mary had one day), the Roman Catholic Jesus is good enough (a bread wafer in their Mass) or whatever "Jesus" anyone cares to believe in. Based on what you said you do not have time to research things further, either official SDA theology or Biblical theology, therefore be my guest in going on your merry way into your own imagined world of Biblical La-La Land (the "pick & choose" what I want to believe out of the Bible predicated on my own personal interpretations built on my own preference for lack of study & research). Good luck with that. Titus 1:9-16
Are Christians still under the Law of Moses or have the terms of the New Covenant as found in the New Testament changed Old Covenant requirements that were originally designated for the Old Testament Israelites (Hebrews 7:12, 8:6-13, 10:9)? No, true Christians are not under the Law of Moses but under Grace (this does not mean antinomianism however, see our video "Apostate Grace Evangelical Society (GES) Teaches Phony Grace & the Easy Believism of Another Gospel" at ua-cam.com/video/wMMvdPtyYvM/v-deo.html). When you are under New Covenant grace true Christians still try to keep the moral laws of God because they love God & His righteousness. They are not trying to keep those moral laws of God in order to accomplish their salvation with God but because they have already received salvation by God's grace through being "born again" supernaturally by the Holy Spirit - John 3:3-8, Romans 8:1-17, 1 Corinthians 2:10-16, Ephesians 4:30, John 6:37, 39, 44, 63, 65 - see our video, "Sabbath Keeping Is Not Required For New Testament Christians: Seventh-Day Adventists Beware" at ua-cam.com/video/TEFt4TOR6E8/v-deo.html). Too many so-called legalistic & heretical "Christians" think they have to work to keep the law in order to either earn their salvation or try hard to keep from losing it (see our videos "True Christians Cannot Lose Their Salvation But Fake & Deluded "Christians" Never Had It At All" at ua-cam.com/video/meUD2vCv3oo/v-deo.html & "DEBATE: ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED (CALVINISM) OR DOING ENOUGH WORKS TO KEEP SALVATION (PELAGIANISM)?" at ua-cam.com/video/H7e1aWfrQHg/v-deo.html). To be under the Law means that a person is under the power and authority of the Law to judge and condemn anyone who breaks the Law. Take a look at these verses that talk about being under the Law.
Rom. 2:12, "For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law," (ἐν νόμῳ, en nomo, literally 'in law').
Gal. 3:23, "But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed," (ὑπὸ νόμον, hupo nomon, literally 'under law').
Gal. 4:5, "in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons," (ὑπὸ νόμον, hupo nomon, literally 'under law').
As you can see, to be under the Law means you will be judged by the Law. In the Old Testament Law found in Deuteronomy 27:26 it says, "‘Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’" So, to be under the Law means you have to keep it all. In Galatians 3:10 Paul said, "For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.'” That is what it means to be under the Law.
But, as I said above, Christians are not under the Law. In other words, Christians are not obligated to keep the Law so as to be saved from God's righteous judgment, so they don't go to hell.
Rom. 6:14, "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace."
Gal. 5:18, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law."
Christians are freed from having to please God and be saved by keeping the Law of God. We are not under the Law. We are not under its authority. It has no power over us.
Why are Christians not under the Law?
Christians are not under the Law because they have died to the Law. They have died with Christ, and those who have died are not bound by the Law.
"for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation." (Rom. 4:15).
"knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin;" (Rom. 6:6).
"Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him," (Rom. 6:8).
"Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we might bear fruit for God." (Rom. 7:4).
"But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter." (Rom. 7:6).
So, Christians have died with Christ. They are identified with Christ so closely that it can be said that when Christ died, they died with him. Since Christians have died with him, they are no longer under the Law because he who has died is freed from the Law (Rom. 7:6). That is why Christians are not obligated to keep the Law of God in order to be saved from God's righteous judgment. Christians are saved from that requirement and penalty.
Does Romans 2:13 mean that we are justified before God by keeping the Law?
"For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:11-16).
Verse 13 is often used by people (Roman Catholics, Mormons, etc.,) to say that we must keep the Law (along with faith in Jesus) to be saved, but this isn’t so. Paul was talking to the Jews (Romans 2:17) about their judging of the Gentiles, and then points them to their own Law (standard of judgment) and hypocrisy and tells them that the doers of the Law are just before God (v. 13).
The standard they wanted to keep was the Law. Paul was telling them that they could be justified before God by keeping it. So, keep the Law. Keep all of it, but if you don’t, you’re in trouble. It is the doers of the Law who are justified before God. He tells them that the Gentiles who didn't have the Law according to the knowledge of the Jews were instinctively keeping the Law (v. 14) and will be judged accordingly. How much more the Jews?
Paul was showing the self-righteous Jews who judged the Gentiles that they were not able to keep a perfect standard. They were hypocrites. This is why Paul tells us in the very next chapter, in Romans 3:28, that we are justified by faith apart from the works of the Law--which includes the Law of loving God (Deut. 6:5), and loving your neighbor (Lev. 19:18). No one is able to keep the Law. If you fail even once, then you become guilty of it all.
James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”
Gal. 3:10, “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”
The Jews (and anyone else) can be justified before God by keeping the Law, but he or she has to be perfect. A person can’t fail even once--ever. But since all fail, that is why we have the gospel that tells us Jesus kept the Law perfectly (1 Pet. 2:22), and that we can be justified before God by faith in Him (Romans 4:3, 5; 5:1; John 1:12; 3:16).
See our video "KEEPING THE OLD TESTAMENT LAWS & COMMANDMENTS CANNOT EARN HEAVEN OR SALVATION WITH GOD!" at ua-cam.com/video/aIh3T31ujuU/v-deo.html.
Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
Philippians 3:2-3, 9, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"
Christ is the end of the Law for Israel. The law made no one righteousness or moral and no one could keep it perfectly.
Rom 10:4 (NIV) Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Rom 3:20 (NIV) Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. The Law of Sin and Death is the Ten Commandments. 2 Cor 3:6-7 "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was,"
The law was made for rebellious Israel, not Christians with the spirit of God. Do Christians need a law to tell them not to worship idols, not to murder and steal? 1 Tim 1:9-11
How can Christians be righteous before God without the law? Christians receive their righteousness from the gospel and will live by faith.
Rom 1:17 “The righteous will live by faith.”
Paul was not under the Law. Be like Paul and win SDAs and other sabbatarians that put themselves under the law.
1 Cor 9:20 (NIV) To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
Rom 6:14 (NIV) For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
Gal 5:14 (NIV) The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Gal 5:18 (NIV) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The Apostles opposed the Judaizers that were trying to impose the law on Gentiles. The issue was keeping the law of Moses all of it. Notice that the sabbath was not included in the discussion. In the Jewish mind a gentile must first be circumcised before he could keep the sabbath. This would have been an excellent time to tell the gentiles to keep the Ten as do SDAs.
Acts 15:5 (NIV) Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
Acts 15:10-11 (NIV) Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Acts 15:19-21 (NIV) “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
Mount Sinai Covenant is Slavery represented by earthly Jerusalem. Jewish and gentile Christians are free in the New Jerusalem in heaven which is of faith.
What was given on Mount Sinai? The Ten Commandments with the sabbath.
Gal 4:21-31 (NIV) Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
What are the laws that God has written on our hearts?
SDAs would have you believe that God is writing the same old covenant law of sin and death on our hearts. The Apostles tell us what they are.
Law of Faith. To know we are justified before God without keeping the old covenant.
Rom 3:27-28 (NRSV) Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.
Law of the Spirit. Has set us free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:1-4 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
Live by the Spirit. If you are led by the Sprit you are not under the law.
Gal 5:16-21 (NIV) So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Law of liberty.
James 2:8-11 (NIV) If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder. ”if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
James mentions two distinct laws-that is, (1) the royal law and the law of liberty (which are identical) and (2) "the whole law" (which includes the entire Torah, all the Laws of Moses). James tells us that the royal law is “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This law, found in Leviticus 19:18, is one of many laws that the Lord gave to Moses to instruct Israel regarding how to live moral lives and develop good interpersonal relationships with others. James also states that, as in the old covenant law, if you broke even one point of the whole law, you were guilty of the entirety of the old covenant, likewise, if you fail to show proper love for even one person by showing partiality, you are guilty of breaking the law of Liberty. Therefore to break one point in the Ten or in the "whole law" consisting of 613 commands, YOU are a lawbreaker.
Jesus gave a new commandment to love one another.
Will a Christian that loves one another, murder, steal, commit adultery, and worship idols? There is no need for that obsolete law or the Ten Commandments. Love does no harm to one’s neighbor therefore love fulfills the law. Keeping the law does not fulfill it.
Paul tells Titus what to teach. Do you notice nothing is said about teaching the law/sabbath.
Titus 2:11-15 (NIV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. 15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Finally, Sabbath Keeping in Alaska is a Problem.
This shows that the Sabbath was a regional, temporary command for Israel and not for the world. Interesting problem in Alaska. According to the officious SDA sunset calculator, on Friday eve, May 30th, in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the sun set below the horizon, bringing with it the Jewish Shabbat, at 11:38 PM, almost midnight. Note: AK is so far west, it is on Hawaiian time. Here is the quote:
Calculations for: Longitude: -148.34000 Latitude: 70.27000 Prudhoe Bay, Alaska Time Zone: Hawaiian Standard Time, HSTDate: 5/30/03 Friday Sunrise: 0:07am HST (sunrise Friday morning)Sunset: 11:38pm HST (sunset, Friday night, becoming sabbath)
Next, we find sunrise on Sabbath, May 31st, actually starts before midnight Friday night and el sol invictus stays up all day Sabbath, and into Sabbath night, and into Sunday morning, and into Sunday night, for the next two months!
Date: 5/31/03 Sunrise: Sun above horizon HST Sunset: Sun above horizon HST (meaning the sun never sets). Meaning: if you live and work in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, extracting dino remains buried and liquified by Noah's flood less than 4500 years ago, you have a problem! (no!! dummy! not the recent age of the earth!)... you have to quit working!
Because on Friday night, May 30th, when the sun went down at 1l:38, bringing in the holy Lord's day, you had to stop working, thou, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and all the strangers within thy igloo. But the sun came up again on Sabbath just a few minutes later, but never went down after that!!!
As I scribble this nonsense it is still Sabbath in Prudhoe Bay...cause the sun never went down....no Saturday sunset. So if you believe literally that you must keep sabbath from sunset on Friday night to Sabbath sunset.....the next day, Sabbath, did NOT have a sunset this summer! Won't be a sunset for another two months! So you are faced with keeping Sabbath for two months straight, and giving up your job with Exxon! Unless of course, you are the camp padre, trying to spread the word that black gold comes from dead dinos who missed the ark, or in the medical profession raking in piles of dough and salving your conscience by paying plenty of tithe to keep the hired-archy gainfully employed.
You can try an internet search on Yahoo or Google & see what you can find. I seem to recall a discussion on Seventh-Day Adventism years ago on the "John Ankerberg Show" - whether it was a debate or not I just can't remember. These SDA shows should still be available for viewing here on UA-cam. Just type "Seventh-Day Adventism John Ankerberg" in the UA-cam search box & see what comes up. Our ministry has had many televised debates over the years but we could never get the SDA to do one with us.
Your take on Revelation 20:14 is faulty. You're forcing the "10 Commandments" into that verse when that verse does not say the "10 commandments." You're reading into the text what the text does not say. The New Testament only reinterates 9 of the 10 commandments & leaves out Jewish Sabbath keeping so you are Biblically incorrect. Go to our UA-cam channel CANSWERSTV & click on our playlist "Dealing with Seventh-day Adventism & Their "Prophetess" & see our video "SABBATH KEEPING IS NOT REQUIRED."
Where does it say in the scripture that the Sunday is Lord's day?
Jesus was resurrected on a Sunday . That day He met with his disciples and they worshipped Him . Jesus did NOT say you are worshiping me on the wrong day . Jesus did NOT say wait till the Sabbath to worship me.
White predicted Christ's imminent return as early as 1856. It was later published in the book "Testimonies" & was very well received in the SDA Church. White claimed she was shown a vision that some present at a 1856 conference would be translated: "I was shown the company present at the Conference. Said the angel: "Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus." Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 131.
Ellen White (1827-1915): “nor was it hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which pertained to the first temple… The SHEKINAH no longer abode between the cherubim in the most holy place; the ark, the mercy seat” (GC, p. 24).
Ellen White: “It was shadowed by the wings of the golden cherubim, and the unspeakable glory of the SHEKINAH, the visible symbol of the most high God, had rested over it in the holy of holies” (PP, p. 584).
This teaching is from the JEWISH BABYLONIAN TALMUD
The word SHEKINAH does not appear in the Bible. The Jewish rabbis coined this extra-biblical ...
She·ki·nah
SHəKHēˈnä,-ˈKHēnə,SHiˈkēnə,-ˈkī-/Submit
noun
(in Jewish and Christian theology) the glory of the divine presence, conventionally represented as light or interpreted symbolically (in Kabbalism as a divine FEMININE aspect).
Ingraham J. H (1809-1860): “…of the visible presence of Jehovah, in the Shechinah once present there” (The prince of the house of David, p. 16, 1855).
Ellen White just copied (as usual) an earlier writer -
Ingraham J. H (1809-1860): “Beyond was the holy ark of the covenant, over which the cherubim hovered… As this was the holy of holies, I was not permitted to see it; … the seat of god’s throne on earth, alas, now left vacant since the glory of the Shechinah departed from the Holy of Holies!” (The Prince of the house of David, p. 238, 1855).
Joseph Holt Ingraham was an American author. Ingraham was born in Portland, Maine. He spent several years at sea, then worked as a teacher of languages in Mississippi. In the 1840s he published work in Arthur's Magazine. He became an Episcopal clergyman on March 7, 1852. Wikipedia
Shekinah says that God is FEMALE.
The bible says God is MALE.
EG White is a FALSE PROPHET
Ques for u,(1)a.If you keep & Sabbath day holy by going to Church on Saturday,are u automatically saved?b.Wot other requirements are there?c.Y was Jesus & his disciples accused of not keeping d sabbath.(2)a.If u worship & celebrate Jesus on Sunday,do u have d mark of d beast&are u going straight to hell?b.why was there a gathering,a breaking of break & delivery of message by Paul on d 1st day of d week(Acts 20:7)& a collection on d 1st day (I cor 16:1-2).Please back ur answers with d bible.
A Seventh-day Adventist said on one of our UA-cam videos, "It's because of the Seventh-day Adventist religion I can understand Book of Revelation Prophecy." Our ministry response to that is, "Ellen White's religious cult was created in America during the 1800s based on a false 1844 return of Jesus to earth prophecy by William Miller (see our video "Ellen White's Seventh-day Adventism Qualifies as a Pseudo-Christian Anti-Christ American Cult " at ua-cam.com/video/RV0g9lFiKCA/v-deo.html & www.truthorfables.com/ for documentation) which cannot help anyone in their right mind properly understand Revelation unless they too want to be under the same types of delusion as the original Ellen White disciples. Why would anyone base their understanding of Revelation from a religious cult started on a false 1844 prophecy since they were obviously wrong from the very beginning?? For more on this see our video "Cult Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventism: 1844 Probation & Satan As A Final Sin Bearer for Adventists" at
ua-cam.com/video/J50HlZFYHtY/v-deo.html .
If you want a better understanding of Revelation see our video "Intro to the Book of Revelation - Knowing Old Testament Prophets Helps You Understand Revelation" at ua-cam.com/video/8bpQtegFfcM/v-deo.html. We also have a playlist called "End Times, Supernatural Prophecies, Tough Bible Questions" with 63 videos at ua-cam.com/play/PL141F261EEFCFD536.html .
Seventh-day Adventists constantly try to proselytize members from real Christian churches (this is very similar to what the Mormons & Jehovah's Witnesses do). The goal of Adventist evangelistic “seminars” is to proselytize and baptize new members into the Seventh-day Adventist Church away from Bible believing Christian churches.
The meetings are advertised as prophecy or Revelation seminars. The topics are based on unique unbiblical Adventist doctrines.
Other methods used by Adventists to proselytize include sanctuary displays, health and cooking seminars, community wellness education, vacation Bibles schools, door-to-door book sales, Adventist hospitals and educational institutions, radio and television programs, and more!
See www.seventhdaycult.com/adventist-news/lancaster.html given by former Adventist pastor Dale Ratzlaff, after an Adventist evangelistic event in Lancaster, California.
For more information:
www.lifeassuranceministries.org/
The website home of Proclamation! magazine. Download back issues, read devotionals, studies, letters to the editor, or subscribe to receive your own printed copies.
www.exadventist.com/
Mark Martin, pastor of Calvary Chapel Phoenix, created this outreach of former Seventh-day Adventists to help those who are seeking Biblical answers on Adventism. Site includes a large collection of studies, audio files, and other resources.
www.truthorfables.com/
Extensive research on the Adventist prophet Ellen White.
www.watchman.org/profiles/pdf/adventismprofile.pdf
Watchman Fellowship Profile, by The Watchman Expositor
amazingfiction.org/
Are Doug Batchelor's amazing facts really facts? Or are they amazing fiction?
Are Seventh-day Adventist Prophecy Seminars telling you the truth?
Compare SDA Prophecy teachings with the Bible. You deserve to know the truth.
The studies on this web site expose how Adventist teachings on Bible Prophecy are more amazing fiction than amazing facts.
so there for the first day of the week is sunday....so why do ppl worship on sunday when saturday is the sabbath?
@Lysimachus78 The problem you have is the fact that Seventh-Day Adventists aren't really keeping the Jewish Sabbath as it was laid down in Moses' Law. Instead of keeping Moses' Law they're keeping Ellen G. White's "law." SDA are only following their cult leader's "sabbath" & claiming it's Biblical, which isn't the case.The Jews followed a 360 day calendar not a Julian calendar & Sabbaths were started & finished at a specific hour of the day which doesn't match American time periods. Romans 14:5
Does attending worship service or, or keeping Sunday as sabbath save you and get you to heaven? Does keeping Saturday do same? Does worshinopping or keeping either day take away your salvation or get you to heaven?
Thank you so much for this excellent presentation.
I pray that Dr. Walter Veith, a 7th Day Adventist preacher, could know this info.
He quotes much of Ellen G White, but not the material and letters that contradict her visions.
He's very devout and it's hard to think that he knows the deception of Ellen White.
Thank you for all this info.
Bless you
Maranatha!