[KELSIE PETERSEN]
Last week, we looked at 10 of the 25 “vital truths” shared by Elder Ted Wilson, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, in a sermon at the General Conference session in June of this year, shortly after his re-election. The last one we looked at was the “truth” of Biblical church growth principles and the heavenly explanations of evangelistic growth as revealed in the Spirit of Prophecy.
This week we start right into the heart of Adventism with the eleventh point in his sermon.
11. Faithfulness to God’s unique Adventist movement. Do not compromise by entering into ecumenical activities that take away and distract your understanding and belief in the pure Word of God. Look only to Jesus and His full biblical truth.
Looking back to Wilson’s past comments clearly identifying the Adventist Church as THE remnant of Revelation, he is clearly directing delegates, and the church at large, to avoid partnering together with other churches, lest they distract from “belief in the pure Word of God.” The addition of the word “pure” to this phrase is a nod to the Adventist understanding of Scripture, particularly the emphasis on keeping of the commandments, particularly the fourth, the sanctuary doctrine, as well as other distinct teachings. It should give Christians in general pause for thought when hearing the leader of what purports to be “just another denomination” admonishing the members to avoid working together with believers from other denominations, lest their understanding and beliefs be watered down, or distracted. When was the last time you heard a Presbyterian leader telling the people in Presbyterian churches to avoid working together with Baptists? This seemingly simple statement, coming from the leader of the world church, certainly is telling.
12. The core of our salvation and the everlasting gospel – Christ’s righteousness – His justifying righteousness by faith and His sanctifying righteousness by the Holy Spirit working in us. In contrast to self-centered salvation by works, Christ calls us to an understanding that His death on the cross, His current intercession for us in the most holy place of His literal heavenly sanctuary, and the promise of eternal life at his soon second coming are all gifts to us through His grace.
There is much to unpack here. The first phrase looks rather innocuous, and to one inexperienced with Adventism, it may actually sound rather wholesome and accurate. It is a frustrating point, because, admittedly, much of what one reads nowadays about “Christ’s righteousness,” as well as the whole issue of salvation, sounds very biblical. It SOUNDS good. There has definitely been a language and emphasis switch in recent years, but what I find interesting is that there has been no change in the beliefs and doctrines Adventists hold and affirm. Ellen White’s writings are quite clear on the necessity of cleansing one’s character of defect (COL p. 69) and to be constantly confessing sins by name. She never repudiated these statements; neither has the church, and neither have they done anything other than double down on her authority and importance to the church, as evidenced even in these sermon points by Elder Wilson. Unless some confession and renunciation happens, the new words and emphasis are just that: words. They give lip service to “salvation by works” being “self-centered,” and something that is solidly outside their camp, yet they ask Adventists what would happen to their eternal destiny if they stopped observing/believing in the Sabbath. The answer might surprise you. If they stopped doing that work of keeping the day, their salvation would be in question.
There has definitely been a language and emphasis switch in recent years, but what I find interesting is that there has been no change in the beliefs and doctrines Adventists hold and affirm.
Furtherore, this is the first place we see the sanctuary mentioned in Mr. Wilson’s points. The second sentence of this point is rife with loaded words and terms that an Adventist will see/understand differently than a Christian does: “current intercession,” “most holy place,” “literal heavenly sanctuary,” “promise of eternal life.” All of these short phrases echo the unique Adventist understanding of Scripture and their internal lexicon that gives words different meanings from what a Christian would understand them to mean. Thus, when Christians and Adventists talk, the true beliefs of Adventism are seldom identified.
13. All 28 fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, including our understanding of prophecy culminating with the final announcement of Daniel 8:14 and the 2,300 day/year prophecy ending in 1844 with the beginning of the investigative judgment in heaven, revealing God’s great love for His people as demonstrated in the plan of salvation and the sanctuary services. God’s prophecies are rock-solid and true.
I can agree with him on the last statement, at least! Once again, this “vital truth” is quite lengthy and loaded with Adventist “deeper meaning.” I encourage you to find a copy of the full 28 fundamental beliefs and read through them. I think you will be surprised to know that the full explanation of those beliefs contained in the book Seventh-day Adventists Believe is not readily available to the public but only through Adventist bookstores, and second-hand copies can be found online. The brief explanations found online are not sufficient to understand the subtext linked to all the Adventist nuances and distinctives.
Adventists believe the investigative judgment is still ongoing to this day and will continue until the Second Coming…
This point once again brings up the sanctuary doctrine and Adventism’s fixation on Daniel 8:14, along with their unique approach to the 2300 day prophecy, which are both essential “hooks” on which to hang their flagship doctrine, the investigative judgment. The use of the word “revealing” is a nod to their belief that the atonement was only started at the cross, and that the rest of the plan of salvation had to wait until 1844 to be revealed, embodied in the process of the investigative judgement. Adventists believe the investigative judgment is still ongoing to this day and will continue until the Second Coming (which, as we see from Ellen White, can not happen that it will continue until the character of Christ is perfectly reproduced in his people, (COL p. 69 again). The continual reference to the heavenly sanctuary and the sanctuary services is indicative of their lack of understanding of the distinction between the old and new covenants.
Galatians clearly speaks of the law (the Old Covenant) having been in effect “until” the seed would come. Adventism takes the 10 commandments of the Old Covenant and simply relocates the same agreement/covenant onto the “heart,” and calls it a day. A proper understanding of the NEWness of the New Covenant is sorely missing in Adventism.
14. Daily leaning on the Lord through personal Bible study and prayer. God’s Word will sustain you in all that you face.
Of course, at face value, I can fully support this as a vital truth to hold. As is often the case, however, the “dictionary” one is using to understand one’s words makes all the difference. “Personal Bible study” in Adventism is often a reference to studying the Sabbath School lesson for the week, or participating in a topical study of a certain subject. In my conversations with hundreds of Adventists and former Adventists since leaving Adventism, a common theme regarding this practice is that the Bible is meant to be “studied” in a somewhat abstract way. I remember learning how to study the Bible topically, carefully copying down “chain references” into my margins, so I would know where to go next. These types of studies can be useful and have their place, but I have never come across a place in Adventism where members are encouraged to read their Bibles in context, to study whole chapters, or whole books. It wasn’t until I attended a Christian school as a teen that I learned that people actually did that. Personal Bible study in Adventism is very “devotional” in nature, but rarely dives deeper than that.
15. Simple biblical church worship patterned after Revelation 4, giving glory only to God and not human beings.
Once again, Adventism’s preoccupation with eschatological things is apparent. While the goal of worshiping as a church, in a way that gives glory only to God and not to human beings, is not objectionable, this “vital truth” is once again confirmation that the Adventist church views itself as the object of end times prophecy, and not as part of the New Covenant church, established after the resurrection. Because they view themselves as “the remnant,” they see themselves outside and above “regular” Christianity.
As I work through these “vital truths,” I am more and more aware of how difficult it is for an outsider to easily understand the subtleties in text such as this speech by Wilson. His words actually point to much bigger, problematic teachings. Adventism is adept at veiling the extra/alternate meanings of their words, making it appear as if they are in line with orthodox Christian beliefs, all the while internally applying different meanings and applications which are very difficult for the average person to decipher without considerable time and effort, as well as knowing where to look.
16. Proactive, widescale circulation of heaven-inspired Spirit of Prophecy books. Be part of the Great Controversy Project 2.0, distributing millions of the full version of The Great Controversy. My brothers and sisters, this precious book is not the Bible. We believe in the Bible as our only rule of faith; it’s the foundation. BUT the Spirit of Prophecy, including The Great Controversy, messages given to us from God Himself, through His servant, Ellen White. I believe the Spirit of Prophecy is one of God’s greatest gifts given to the Seventh-day Adventist Church to point us to the Bible, the written Word, and to Jesus, the Living Word. Ellen White said she wished The Great Controversy was circulated more than any other book she had written. Don’t let any church leader, any conference president, any union president, any division president, or even the General Conference president ever tell you not to distribute The Great Controversy. God wants us to deliver truth to people, and this book has brought hundreds of thousands of people to an understanding of the Christian era from beginning to the future. God will bless you and your local church for it.
If you’ve read this far and you have encountered several of these points that don’t seem all that objectionable to you (though several of them should be very concerning), I hope you will stop to consider this one.
The leader of the world church, the president, spends 2 lines encouraging people to “study” their Bibles (point #14 above), and 13 lines (on my screen) expounding on the absolute necessity of circulation of the extra-Biblical accounts of pre-history, as well as flagrant misinterpretations and false representations of Scriptural themes and accounts. You can read to the end of this article and never once find an exhortation by this world church leader to give out Bibles and share the Gospel.
While he spends 1.5 sentences giving lip service to the Bible being the “foundation,” a small statement sandwiched into multiple statements and claims that contradict it is inexcusable. Added to this, the fact that he, in reality, condemns any church leader, at any level, who might encourage members to give out Bibles rather than the Great Controversy, the grave concern here is obvious. I have to be honest and say that this “vital truth” gave me chills and made me ill, all at the same time. That an organization that professes to be the biblical remnant would focus all of their energy on sharing their extra-biblical source with the world should be clear evidence that this is a group to be avoided.
#17. Your firm belief that Jesus is coming soon and you are to get involved! Share with the world that we can be ready for His coming, can hasten His coming, and can share in this hope of salvation through complete dependence on Christ and His justifying and sanctifying righteousness. Total Member Involvement engages everyone in a year-round program of comprehensive evangelistic witnessing and outreach in all its forms.
The devil is in the details. Technically, the first statement is correct. Jesus IS coming soon (though God’s definition of “soon” is much different than ours, as evidenced by the fact the Adventists have been proclaiming this for over 175 years). Furthermore, we ARE to get involved (see Matthew 28:19,20). The rest of this “vital truth” continues with veiled private interpretations, skewing the truth they attempt to promote.
How does one “be” ready for His coming? In Adventism, being ready means keeping the 10 Commandments, including (and especially) the fourth.
How does one “be” ready for His coming? In Adventism, being ready means keeping the 10 Commandments, including (and especially) the fourth. Failure to do so will, ultimately, result in being excluded from eternal life. The assertion that we can hasten His coming is a foundation of Adventism, finding its roots in the Great Disappointment, when the Investigative Judgement began. According to Adventist teachings, the faster we spread the news of His coming, the sooner He will be “able” to return. Just as William Miller’s date setting in 1843/1844 flew in the face of direct scriptural teaching that “no man knows the day or the hour,” this teaching that we can somehow influence or change or manipulate the time of Christ’s return is directly in opposition to Scripture. Matthew 24:36 says that only God KNOWS the day and the hour of Christ’s return,
When one studies Adventist literature and teachings, they will find that Adventism teaches a different type of “hope” than Christianity. “Hope” for the believer is surety. “Hope” for the Adventist is uncertain expectation. Adventist ‘hope” is uncertain because one never knows when one’s life will be examined in the investigative judgement. Should a person’s heavenly record not be clean when Jesus begins examining it, they will not be permitted into heaven. Read what Ellen White said here:
Every passing hour of the present is shaping our future life. These moments spent in carelessness, in self-pleasing, as if of no value, are deciding our everlasting destinies. The words we utter today will go on echoing when time shall be no more. The deeds done today are transferred to the books of heaven, just as the features are transferred by the artist onto the polished plate. They will determine our destiny for eternity, for bliss or eternal loss and agonizing remorse. Character cannot be changed when Christ comes, nor just as a man is about to die. Character building must be done in this life.” (TM 429.3, emphasis supplied)
“Hope” in Adventism is akin to that of a child who lives in a city high rise “hoping” to get a pony for Christmas. The “hope” is not based in anything real or knowable. It is simply an eager aspiration.
“..In 1844 Christ then entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, to perform the closing work of atonement, preparatory to His coming” (The Great Controversy, page 481); “… To make an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits” (Ibid., page 456).
As is to be expected, this “vital truth” ends with a call for members to be involved in church-organized evangelism efforts, which, as we read in #16, will focus on the spreading of Ellen White’s writings, rather than the simple message of the Gospel.
#18. Biblical inspiration, rejecting humanism and popular social culture that attempts to destroy God’s revelation as given in His Word.
While I fully agree that we should reject humanism and “popular social culture…,” the problematic word here is “inspiration.” Here is Ellen White on biblical inspiration:
“It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words, or his expressions, but on the man himself, who under the influence of the Holy Ghost is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will, thus the utterances of the man are the word of God.” (Manuscript 24, 1886; 1SM, p. 21, 1958)
“The bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all “given by inspiration of God” (2Tim, 3:16); yet they are expressed in the words of men…and those to whom the truth was thus revealed [through dreams, visions, symbols and figures] have themselves embodied the thought in human language. The Ten Commandments were spoken by God himself, and were expressed by his own hand. They are of divine, not human composition. But the Bible, with its God given truths as expressed in the language of men, presents a union of the divine and human. Such a union existed in the nature of Christ who was the Son of God and the Son of Man.” (GC C.4, 1888)
In Adventism, it is the thoughts, not the words, of fallible men that were inspired. A great resource for better understanding how this view allows for a weakening of Biblical authority as well as for laying a foundation to bolster the authority of Ellen White, I highly recommend this episode of the Former Adventist Podcast, Episode 100 – Inspecting Adventism’s Beliefs – The Word of God. To see evidence of the plagiarism of Ellen White, their “inspired” author to whom they refer as “The Spirit of Prophecy”, see this link: https://www.ellen-white-truth.com/gems-from-other-books/the-inspiration-of-the-bible/
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Well done, Kelsie! So proud of you and your ministry – To God be the glory as He uses you and your gifts in sharing biblical truths!