We got mail…

Jesus Married To The Holy City

I just finished listening to the podcast on the 28th Fundamental Belief and I just want to say thank you for all of them.

As a fourth generation (former) Adventist, even when I would read the beliefs, I tended to gloss over the real meaning behind each one. Your podcasts were amazing in the way you dissected each one and showed the untruths in them. Thank you for that.

In this last one, you mentioned what Ellen White said about the Holy City being the bride of Christ. That is exactly what she said in the first volume of Spiritual Gifts, page 157.1:  

“I saw that while Jesus was in the Most Holy place he would be married to the New Jerusalem, and after his work should be accomplished in the Holiest, he would descend to earth in kingly power and take the precious ones to himself who had patiently waited his return.” 

I thought that was bizarre when I first read it, and it is even more bizarre now that I better understand things she wrote.  

To say that the phrase “the city is as a bride is adorned for her husband” means that the city IS the bride is to completely misunderstand the metaphor and turn it into a statement of fact. I have found that restating it in reverse order helps in understanding it:  “Just as a bride is adorned for her husband, so the city will be adorned.” It doesn’t say that the city IS the bride, just that the adorning is like that which a bride will have.

Anyway, thank you again for your hard work in unmasking the problems and giving us a good example of how to use critical thinking to evaluate what we were taught.

God bless you both.

—VIA EMAIL

 

So Many Words, No Action

For some time now I have been wondering where all this [Proclamation!] is going. So many (good) words, but no action!

If Proclamation! is trying to reform Adventism from within, I doubt if that will ever happen. Too much entrenched opposition from the “Establishment”, which over 150 years has entrenched deep FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) into its members. But those of us who have left Adventism still need to gather with like-minded folks in a (so-called) “church” (although I personally hate that word). I know I do and attend a Baptist church, and more recently a Pentecostal church called Kingdom City, but I don’t sense a deeply spiritual uplifting in these organizations.  

So I don’t know what the answer is. I do know there are big risks in setting up any organization, because people will always try and get control.

—VIA EMAIL

 

Response: You ask a very good question. In fact, this week Nikki Stevenson and I are beginning a new podcast series addressing How To Live After Adventism and discussing how to address all the things we lose or leave as we discover Adventism is false.

The action we pursue is literally teaching former Adventists how to trust Scripture and to trust the Lord Jesus and be born again. It would be an unhealthy dead-end to have a church composed primarily of formers; what we need is to be taught what is true, to understand Scripture as the Lord gave it to us to be understood. We need to learn Scripture from those who have never had our “skew”. We absolutely cannot reform Adventism from within; it is utterly flawed and must be left, not fixed. Think about Mormonism: it cannot be reformed from within. People who realize Mormonism is false must leave and rebuild their foundation. The same is true for Adventism. 

At the same time, we have to be able to debrief with one another. We have a unique background that only we truly know, and we have to hear it discussed and reoriented from a biblical position. You are right; unfortunately many churches are not “safe” and do not teach from the Bible. 

But we have resources for you! 

While we are not currently publishing a printed version of Proclamation! magazine, all our back issues are online here: http://www.lifeassuranceministries.org. 

We have also added your name to our weekly Proclamation! email updates. You may need to add the email address LifeAssuranceMinistries@gmail.com to your contacts in order for the email not to be directed toward your Spam folder. These emails with new articles and links will arrive in your inbox every Friday. 

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

I urge you to subscribe to our podcasts here; many say these help them unpack the Adventism hidden in the recesses of their minds: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/former-adventist/id1482887969

We have just completed a series on the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of Adventism, examining each one and showing how Adventism warps each doctrine. The Fundamental Belief podcasts are also compiled on a page as a single resource here: https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/2021/10/04/inspecting-adventisms-fundamental-beliefs/https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/2021/10/04/inspecting-adventisms-fundamental-beliefs/

Also, if you would like to be part of our weekly FAF Bible studies on Friday evenings, 7:00 Pacific Time, just email FormerAdventist@gmail.com and ask for a Zoom link. We have people from across North America and even from England who check in and study with us. Also, as a temporary “church experience” as you begin to relearn your worldview, I’d like to invite you to watch our church Redeemer Fellowship every Sunday morning (or later at your convenience). Our pastor Gary Inrig is one of the best expository preachers I’ve ever heard, and his teaching has been a HUGE part of our becoming grounded in a biblical worldview and understanding that Scripture can be trusted. Here is a link to our YouTube channel where Gary’s sermons are archived and where you will find the link to the live streaming on Sunday: https://www.youtube.com/c/RedeemerFellowshipLomaLinda/featured

Also, here is a link to our church website: https://redeemerlomalinda.com

I hope these resources are helpful to you; please feel free to email anytime!

 

FAF Conference In Person

I was wondering if FAF Fellowship Conference 2022 is likely to be online only this year. Thanks for your ministry. God bless.

—VIA EMAIL

 

Response: We are planning for an in-person conference February 18–20, but we can’t know ahead of time what the travel restrictions may be. So while there’s some uncertainty, we are planning for in-person. 

 

Adventist Experience Crosses Cultural Boundaries

I listened to your podcast today. It was amazing! The whole 28 Fundamental Beliefs were incredible!!! Would you be able to make it into a book? I’d like to give it to my kids and some other people! 

By the way, your and Nikki’s experiences are just like mine even though I grew up in a Japanese culture. It is just so amazing.

Thank you SO much for all you do. I thank God for you and everyone involved in this ministry. May God continue to richly bless you.

—VIA EMAIL

 

Response: I can’t promise there will be a book, but we are getting the podcasts transcribed. Eventually they will all be posted and printable. Meanwhile, all the Fundamental Belief podcasts are grouped on one page for easy access: https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/2021/10/04/inspecting-adventisms-fundamental-beliefs/

Colleen Tinker
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