We got mail…

Confused and lost

I’ve bought all of Dale [Ratzlaff’s] books, and I must admit that I cannot continue to follow the Adventist theology. I was so sure of what I  believed, in particular what I believed about hell, the state of the dead, and so forth. I never believed in Ellen White, but the other things they taught me, I bought into fully. Now I feel confused and lost. I was sold on Doug Batchelor and his seemingly clear and truthful approach to Scripture, but now I’m starting to feel that way about your organization. I’m not sure what to think or do. I’m praying God will send me where I belong.

—VIA EMAIL

Response: I so completely understand what you are saying! That disoriented feeling, that sense that reality is upended, and truth is not secure is the experience we all have as we discover what is real about Adventism. 

First, I want to say this: Scripture is absolutely the way you figure out what is real. We were taught that Scripture was God’s word to us, but we were also taught it was not inerrant. (We were taught it was infallible, but not inerrant.) We were taught this idea because our second source of revelation, EGW, had errors, and Adventists knew she had errors. Since they taught that EGW was inspired just like the Bible writers, we were then free to assume that there are some errors within Scripture, like in EGW, that we have to interpret or correct when we read them.

We have to come to God’s word knowing He has overseen it, and the Bible writers were not “inspired” like EGW was. The Bible says that it is God-breathed, sharper than any two-edged sword, revealing the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12-13). God Himself directed what was written. The Bible is the product of a union between God and man that we cannot explain, much as we cannot explain the hypostatic union of God and man in the Lord Jesus. God chose and used the Bible writers to convey His own thoughts and words. He didn’t just give them ideas and let them interpret them according to their own insight. He gave the words…but it was not “automatic writing”, the argument Adventists use against those who say Scripture is inerrant in the original manuscripts.

The word of God is actually God’s word. We have to read it using the normal rules of grammar and vocabulary with which we read any normal book. The words matter, and context is everything. We have to understand what the words meant to the first audience and know that they cannot mean something completely different to us. But we were not taught to read in context. Context is what gives us the truth about God’s word!

Doug Batchelor is a silver-tongued deceiver. He yanks Scripture verses out of their context, and he uses them (exactly as Adventism has used them historically) to “prove” the false doctrines that cannot be found when Scripture is read in context.

The thing that gradually revealed the gospel to Richard and me and which systematically revealed the falseness of Adventism was reading whole books of the New Testament in context, starting with the first chapter and the first verse and reading through them, one chapter at a time, in context. This system of Bible study was a first for us, and it was revolutionary. 

I would like to suggest that you begin by reading, literally, the book of Galatians through one time a day for one month. It is a short book, only six chapters, but reading it several times repeatedly, asking God to show you what He knows He wants you to learn, is revolutionary. Importantly, it’s necessary to understand that, unlike Adventism taught us, the word “law” in Scripture does not refer to the Ten Commandments but rather to the entire Law given to Israel, the whole 613 laws that comprise the old covenant, or the Mosaic covenant. Scripture never separates them, and Exodus 34:27-28 literally identifies the Ten Commandments as the actual “words of the covenant” which God gave to Moses. They are the “abstract’, or the summary statement, of the old covenant, and all the other laws contribute to applying the Ten. They are inseparable from each other. 

After reading Galatians, branch out to Hebrews…one chapter at a time. Then move to Romans…and so on. The gospel of John is revolutionary; I had no idea of the reality of Jesus that the gospel of John reveals. 

Now, along with this persistent and systematic reading and praying through whole books of the New Testament, I will give you some resources. If you haven’t yet listened to any of our Former Adventist Podcasts, I encourage you to do so. I think they will help you understand and contrast the way we understood Scripture from inside our Adventist worldview with what the words actually say. Many people have said the podcasts have been helping them untangle their internal confusion because of how we contrast our SDA interpretations with contextual ones. You might especially like the ones that discussed the biblical covenants and then the podcasts over the book of Hebrews that follow: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/former-adventist/id1482887969

This article outlines (and cites) the differences between the Adventist worldview and a biblical worldview: http://www.lifeassuranceministries.org/proclamation/2015/4/whatisseventh-da.html

You might also enjoy our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/FormerAdventist/featured

Also, all our back issue of Proclamation magazine are online here: http://www.lifeassuranceministries.org

 

Baby-stepping out of Adventist falsehoods

The last podcast really nailed it. Even though I left Adventism about 10 years ago I am unknowingly still holding onto false Adventist beliefs! Only when you bring them up in your podcasts do I become aware, and then I can consciously make an effort and pray for change. For example, I was taught that Jesus stayed in the tomb and arose on the third day. Even though I believe when I die my spirit will rise to be with Jesus, I did not realize that this also applied to Jesus. I was still unknowingly holding onto a false Adventist belief. Thank you so much for your tireless efforts in producing the podcasts. They are helping me continue to take baby steps out of Adventist false teachings. Happy New Year!

—VIA EMAIL

 

Not just Adventists need this message

Just a note of thanks for keeping on in these dark days. As I’ve told you before, it’s not just Adventists who need your message. In this day of compromise where the world looks and sounds like a church, and the church looks and sounds like the world, keep your gospel message clear. 

—WINNETKA, IL