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What is the Adventist's
Hope?
Elmer Wiebe
This article is from author Elmer Wiebe's new book titled
"Who is the Adventist's Jesus"
For
more information on this book soon to be released
contact
Elmer at CULTure Shock Solution Ministries.
ccsolution@shaw.ca
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We are told that Seventh-day Adventism is just another
denomination with just a few obscure teachings. In the
historical Christianity, the believer's hope is to
experience eternal life with God through their confession of
faith in Jesus Christ. If the Seventh-day Adventists are
just another denomination, you would expect they would have
a similar if not the same hope for the future. Do Adventists
anticipate the gift of eternal life and to be bodily
resurrected? Upon investigating what the views were from
various Adventist sources, I was surprised to discover the
following:
Former SDA, Dudly Canright, in his Life of E.G.
White… on p162 tells Dr. Kellogg theorized all
that was left of a person at death was a record of his
life kept in heaven, and at the resurrection a new body
of new matter would be formed like the old one and made
to think he was the same person. James White who
accepted this also asked Ellen for her "light" on it.
She said God had shown this to her. When Canright
asked "How about Christ's body which was raised?" she
answered, "He dropped it all when he ascended". Here
Jesus' dropping off His resurrected body, allowed Him to
be the Spirit-being, Michael the Archangel, who she
recorded as winging his way with her around in heaven, in
A Word to the Little Flock, in 1847.
In 1878, Dr. Kellogg advocated the theory that the
dead body would never be raised, but that all that was
left of a person at death was a record of his life kept
in heaven. At the resurrection an entirely new body of
new matter would be formed like the old one, and made to
think that he was the same person as the old one! Dr.
Kellogg influenced Elder James White to advocate this new
view. Kellogg presented his new theory before the General
Conference, Oct. 8, 1878, and later published it in a
book called "Soul Resurrection." It met with strong
opposition; but Elder White used all his influence for
it. He invited Elder J. N. Andrews to a private
conference with himself and wife, hoping to win him to
his side. But he failed to answer any objections. Then he
asked his wife is she had any "light" on the subject.
She promptly declared that the Lord had showed her
that not a particle of the old body would ever be raised,
but that a new body of new material would be formed.
Ellen was asked how about Christ's body which was raised.
She said he dropped it all when he ascended. As the Lord
had settled it, no one dared say no more, though not
convinced. Then she went before the conference and made
the same positive statements as to what the Lord had
"shown" her.
Most Christians are amazed to learn that Seventh-day
Adventism teaches that Jesus is Michael the Archangel, but
Ellen White said He was Michael, so if they changed this,
they'd need to reject her as 'the spirit of prophecy' and
they'd not be the remnant church! So now they hold He's both
God the Son, and Michael. Dr. Kellogg and Ellen G White both
denied the future bodily resurrection of the saints when
Jesus Christ comes again. Notice they said that the dead
body would not be raised, but rather a new body of new
material will be formed. This is not a resurrection, but
rather a re-creation. This means that Seventh-day
Adventists' only hope is to have a record of them infused
into an entirely different body at the resurrection. This
means that they themselves will not be at the resurrection
or in heaven. This teaching is not only limited to
Adventists, but was passed on to their off-spring, Jehovah's
Witnesses through Charles Taze Russell. This doesn't reflect
the true Christian's hope.
It makes a great difference who Jesus really is for 2
Corinthians 11:4 says, there'll be those who teach another
Jesus, preach a different gospel and have another spirit.
These marks identify cults, who invariably attack the
Doctrine of Christ. Early SDA denied His deity saying He's
the archangel. Their Commentary vol 5 p 1129 cites Ellen
"The man Christ Jesus was not the Lord God Almighty". I
Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:4; Revelation 15:3; 16:5-7 &
17:14 shows He is Almighty God.
The real Jesus is the God-man Christ Jesus. He was
never an Archangel! He's not God-angel-man. So SDA has a
different Jesus.
"Christ desires His hearers to understand that
it is impossible for men to secure the salvation of the
soul after death. "Son," Abraham is represented as
answering, "remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but
now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside
all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed;
so that they which would pass from hence to you can not;
neither can they pass to us, that would come from
thence." Thus Christ represented the hopelessness of
looking for a second probation. This life is the only
time given to man in which to prepare for eternity." 1
"Death entered the world because of transgression. But
Christ gave his life that man should have another trial.
He did not die on the cross to abolish the law of God,
but to secure for man a second probation. He did
not die to make sin an immortal attribute: he died to
secure the right to destroy him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil. He suffered the full penalty
of a broken law for the whole world. This he did, not
that men might continue in transgression, but that they
might return to their loyalty and keep God's
commandments, and his law as the apple of their eye."
2
"It is because He [Christ] has borne the
punishment in His own body on the cross that man has a
second probation. He may, if he will, return this
loyalty. But, if he refuses to obey the commands of God,
if he rejects the warnings and messages God sends,
choosing rather the words of fallacy spoken by those who
echo the word of the Deceiver, he is willingly ignorant,
and the condemnation of God is upon him. He chooses
disobedience because obedience means lifting the cross
and practicing self-denial, and following Christ in the
path of obedience." 3
"But He who came to our world to seek and to save that
which was lost has pledged His own life that men might
have a second probation. He has pity, and compassion,
and love that are without a parallel; and He has made
every provision in behalf of men that none need perish.
The divine Son of God came into our world, its Light and
Life, to encompass the whole world and to attract and
unite to Himself every human being who is under Satan's
discipline and rule. He invites them, "Come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls" (Matthew 11:28, 29). Thus He unites with Himself
by a new inspiration of grace all who will come unto Him.
He puts upon them His seal, His sign of obedience and
loyalty to His holy Sabbath. 4
"God's Word declares, "The soul that sinneth, it shall
die." But God does not desire the death of any one. When
Adam's sin had forfeited eternal life, at infinite cost
God provided for the race a second probation. He
"so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life." Should not those to whom the
light of truth for this time has come, place themselves
in close connection with God, using their capabilities to
advance the work of soul-saving? Should not the one who
possesses an understanding of the Scriptures impart the
knowledge given him to those who know not the truth? Upon
every believer in present truth rests the responsibility
of working for sinners. God points them to their special
work,--the proclamation of the Third Angel's Message.
They are to show their appreciation of God's great gift
by consecrating themselves to the work for which Christ
gave His life. They are to be stewards of the grace of
God, dispensing to others the blessings bestowed on them.
He who has found comfort in the Word of God is to share
this comfort with others. Thus only can be continue to
receive comfort." 5
"We can understand the value of the human soul only as
we realize the greatness of the sacrifice made for its
redemption. The word of God declares that we are not our
own, that we are bought with a price. It is at an immense
cost that we have been placed upon vantage ground, where
we can find liberty from the bondage of sin wrought by
the fall in Eden. Adam's sin plunged the race into
hopeless misery; but by the sacrifice of the Son of God,
a second probation was granted to man. In the plan
of redemption a way of escape is provided for all who
will avail themselves of it. God knew that it was
impossible for man to overcome in his own strength, and
he has provided help for him. How thankful we should be
that a way is open for us, by which we can have access to
the Father; that the gates are left ajar, so that beams
of light from the glory within may shine upon those who
will receive them!" 6
"At an infinite cost to heaven we have been given a
second probation. Then should not God be in all our
thoughts? Should not His will control our actions?" 7
"He who does nothing until he feels especially
compelled to do something for God, will never do
anything, God has given his word, and is this not
sufficient? Can you not hear his voice in his word? If
you will use God's appointed means, and diligently search
the Scriptures, having a determined purpose to obey the
truth, you will know the doctrine whether it be of God;
but God will never work a miracle to compel you to see
his truth. God, in giving his only begotten Son to die on
Calvary's cross, has made it possible for all men to be
saved. Christ died for a ruined world, and through the
merit of Christ, God has elected that man should have
a second trial, a second probation, a second test as to
whether he will keep the commandments of God, or walk
in the path of transgression, as did Adam. Through an
infinite sacrifice, God has made it possible that men
shall practise holiness in this life. Those who would
ascertain their election for the future life may
ascertain it by their attitude of obedience to the
commandments of God. Strong emotions, strong impulses, or
desires, for heaven, when listening to a description of
the charms of a future life, will no prove that you are
elected to sit down with Jesus Christ upon his throne. If
you would know the mystery of godliness, you should
follow that which has been revealed.
The conditions of eternal life have been plainly
stated. Jesus says: "If ye love me, keep my commandments.
. . . He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he
it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will
manifest myself to him. . . . If a man love me, he will
keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will
come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that
loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which
ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me."
Here are the conditions upon which every soul may be
elected to eternal life. Your obedience to God's
commandments will prove that you are predestinated to a
glorious inheritance. You are elected to be labourers
together with God, to work in harmony with Christ, to
wear his yoke, to lift his burden, and to follow in his
footsteps. You have been provided with means whereby you
may ascertain what to do to make your calling and
election sure. Search the Scriptures, and you will find
that not a son or daughter of Adam is elected to be saved
in disobedience to God's commandments." 8
"Christ declared, "I am the way, the truth, and the
life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Christ
alone can bridge the gulf that sin has made between earth
and heaven, and make it possible to reach fallen man with
the overtures of mercy. But through the merits of Christ,
man has been given a second probation, that he may
be tested and proved by another trial to see whether he
will be obedient to all the commandments of God, and be
brought back in freedom from sin, with his loyalty
proved, to have a right to the tree of life, and to enter
in through the gates into the city." 9
"Christ became our substitute and surety. He took the
case of fallen man upon himself. He became the Redeemer,
the Intercessor. When death was proclaimed as the penalty
of sin, he offered to give his life for the life of the
world, in order that man might have a second
probation, and that individually he might enjoy the
privileges that would come to us through this divine
provision, and receive power to form a character after
the divine image. But God has a day in which he will
judge the world by that Man whom he hath ordained. All
judgment is given into the hands of the Son. Christ has
engaged to become the sinner's surety, but he does not
engage to lessen or detract from the obligation to the
divine law. Should Christ change the law in any
particular, the demands of Satan would be fulfilled, and
God and Christ and the universe would be brought under
bondage to his claims. Christ is the star of hope. He is
the one to contest the claims of Satan; he is the seed of
the woman that shall bruise the serpent's head. He
overcome Satan in heaven, and cast him out because of his
rebellion and apostasy." 10
"I have a message for your daughters: You are not
feeding upon the bread which came down from heaven, but
upon husks. All the praise and glory you receive from
human beings is of no value. Repent ye, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. Christ, the Sent of God, gave His
life a sacrifice that the world might have a second
probation in which to return to their loyalty to God.
When Christ was threatened by His foes, He said, "My
kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). It is not My
mission to recognize caste and human theories, or to
establish political interests. My kingdom is not to be
set up by the power of human armies or the sword. If My
kingdom were of this world, then would My soldiers fight.
No human power can weaken or overthrow My kingdom through
the enemies of God."" 11
"There is not the least excuse for the church to be
dwarfed and crippled. Our religious experience needs to
be of a higher order, that we may see the greatness of
the hope presented to us in the gospel. Christ offered
Himself as a willing sacrifice in our behalf. He stooped
from His high command in heaven to rescue man from the
slavery of sin. The Son of God gave up His honour and
glory and tasted the bitterness of death that man might
be a partaker of the divine nature. He died that
everyone might have a second probation, another chance to
choose God as their Leader. He has made every
provision that men and women may have an experimental
knowledge of the character and work of their Redeemer."
12
"For our sakes He became poor, that we through His
poverty might become rich. What kind of riches? It was
not the riches of this earth, but it was the eternal
riches, the knowledge of God communicated through Jesus
Christ. He consents to become man's substitute and
surety; He engages to bear the penalty of the debt which
man had incurred by transgression. It is He that loved
us, and so loved us that He offered His life as a living
sacrifice to bear the sins of a guilty world, that man
should have a second probation, that man should be tested
and proved and tried to see whether he will stand
under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel or
whether he will choose to stand under the banner of the
prince of darkness." 13
"This was the position of the human race after man
divorced himself from God by transgression. Then he was
no longer entitled to a breath of air, a ray of sunshine,
or a particle of food. And the reason why man was not
annihilated was because God so loved him that He made the
gift of His dear Son that He should suffer the penalty of
his transgression. Christ proposed to become man's surety
and substitute, that man, through matchless grace,
should have another trial--a second probation--having the
experience of Adam and Eve as a warning not to transgress
God's law as they did. And inasmuch as man enjoys the
blessings of God in the gift of the sunshine and the gift
of food, there must be on the part of man a bowing before
God in thankful acknowledgement that all things come of
God. Whatever is rendered back to Him is only His own who
has given it." 14
"Christ gave His life to redeem humanity, and He calls
upon men and women to make every sacrifice in their power
to glorify God by placing light in contrast with
darkness. Christ gave His life as a sacrifice, not to
destroy God's law, not to create a lower standard, but to
maintain justice, and to give man a second
probation. No one can keep God's commandments except
in Christ's power. He bore in His body the sins of all
mankind, and He imputes His righteousness to every
believing child." 15
"The apostle Paul looking down to our day, declares,
"It is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our
salvation nearer than when we believed." And again, "The
night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the
armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not
in rioting, and drunkenness, not in chambering and
wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh,
to fulfill the lusts thereof." These words plainly set
forth our duty. Every year is shortening our
probation, and bringing us nearer the coming of our
Lord. We should now put forth every energy to prepare for
the great event. This life at the longest is represented
as a vapour, which soon passes away. Its treasures, its
honours, and its joys are transitory and uncertain. If we
live for God and the immortal future, we shall secure all
that is worth the having." 16
As the reader can see from the sixteen references, this
is the hope and gift (if you can call it that) that Ellen G
White and Seventh-day Adventists have in receiving a second
probation from the work that Jesus Christ did on the cross.
Is this what He died for? The true Christian Church knows
nothing of a second probation (conditional), but rather a
pardon (free) unto eternal life. The difference is one still
speaks of continual bondage, while the other speaks of
instant liberty! See John 8:31 36; Romans 8:2; Galatians
4:22 31; 5:1.
For the Seventh-day Adventist, what is done in us is as
integral to salvation as what was done for us. However, in
Protestant evangelicalism, what is done for us is salvation.
What is done in us is the lifetime work of the Holy Spirit.
Nothing done in us is an integral part of salvation. For
Protestants, it is a benefit of having been completely saved
by the blood of Jesus Christ.
GALATIANS 1:6-9 I am amazed that you are so
quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of
Christ, for a different gospel; which is really
not another; only there are some who are disturbing you,
and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even though
we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a
gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you,
let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say
again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel
contrary to that which you received, let him be
accursed.
To teach and receive a false gospel is a destructive
consequence of alienation from the promises of God for both
the hearer and teacher. Let us pay extra attention to our
message when sharing the gospel with people so we will not
convey false doctrine even in the slightest sense leaving
the hearer with a false hope.
References:
1.Christ's Object Lessons, p. 263, par 3 Chapter Title: A
Great Gulf Fixed
2.Special Testimony to Battle Creek Church, p. 32, par 1;
Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 134, par 1
Chapter Title: God's High Standard ; The Faith I Live By, p.
179, par 5 Chapter Title: Here And Hereafter
3.This Day with God, p. 87, par 1 Chapter Title: Choosing
and Doing
4.Manuscript 104, Sept. 28, 1897, "Condemned by the
Jews." The Upward Look, p. 285, par 5 Chapter Title: Two
Spirits in the World
5.The Signs of the Times, February 24, 1904, par 7
Article Title: The Narrow Way "Freely Ye Have Received,
Freely Give."; The Upward Look, p. 379, par 5 Chapter Title:
Stewards of God's Grace
6.Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, p. 15, par 3
Chapter Title: Our Reasonable Service; The Signs of the
Times, August 10, 1915, par 12 Article Title: Satan and Our
Appetites
7.Bible Echo and Signs of the Times, October 15, 1900,
par 10 Article Title: Ye Are Not Your Own; The Youth's
Instructor, November 8, 1900, par 10 Article Title: Ye Are
Not Your Own
8.Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, September 28, 1897,
par 4 Article Title: Preach the Word
9.The Signs of the Times, April 11, 1895, par 4 Article
Title: Revelation of God through Christ
10.The Signs of the Times, February 13, 1896, par 4
Article Title: The Test of Loyalty
11.Manuscript Releases Volume Eleven, p. 341, par 1
Chapter Title: Attending and Acting in Theatrical
Performances
12.Manuscript Releases Volume Twenty-one, p. 402, par 2
Chapter Title: Call to a Higher Standard
13.Sermons and Talks Volume One, p. 250, par 3 Chapter
Title: Seeking Heavenly Treasures
14.The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 814, par 1
Chapter Title: Danger of False Ideas on Justification by
Faith
15.Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 7, 1901, par 1
Article Title: The Great Standard of Righteousness
16.Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, March 28,
1882, par 2 Article Title: Where Are We Drifting?
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