Answers to Objections – Prophetic Parallels to the Promised Land – A Synopsis of Deuteronomy 31
ANSWERS TO OBJECTIONS – A SYNOPSIS OF DEUTERONOMY 31
Type antitype bout the future story on whoring after strange gods
MOSES
Deuteronomy 31:16-18:
16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17: Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day. Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? 18: And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
EGW
When waking out of sleep, she called the nurse to her side and said, “I want to tell you. I hate sin (repeated three times). I am charged to tell our people, that some do not realize, that the devil has device after device, and he carries them out in ways that they do not expect. Satan’s agencies will invent ways to make sinners out of saints. “I tell you now, that when I am laid to rest, great changes will take place. “I do not know when I shall be taken; and I desire to warn all against the devices of the devil. “I want the people to know that I warned them fully before my death. “I do not know especially what changes will take place; but they should watch every conceivable sin that Satan will try to immortalize.” {Ms1-1915}
The sanctuary question is a clear and definite doctrine as we have held it as a people. You are not definitely clear on the personality of God, which is everything to us as a people. You have virtually destroyed the Lord God Himself. {Lt300-1903}
Those who seek to remove the old landmarks are not holding fast; they are not remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try to bring in theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning the sanctuary, or concerning the personality of God or of Christ, are working as blind men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the people of God adrift, without an anchor. {Ms62-1905}
But it has been a most trying thing to see made of no effect the Word of the Lord in cautions and warnings regarding students not going to Battle Creek to obtain their education. The college was taken out of Battle Creek; yet students are still called there, and there they become indoctrinated with the very sentiments regarding the personality of God and Christ that would undermine the foundation of our faith. The sanctuary question, which means so much to the heavenly family and to the believers on earth, has been made as nothingness. This has been presented to me as that which would be done. We must vindicate the truth. {Lt72-1906}
I decided to write this in response to the document I authored titled “Who is our Intercessor”. Reason being Brother JT and Sister L has raised objections which I will include in this article. Am not used to writing rebuttals because I don’t feel it’s the right thing and inspiration has counseled us not to be involved in such work much unless it’s in brief and move on:
If men who are engaged in presenting and defending the truth of the Bible undertake to investigate and show the fallacy and inconsistency of men who dishonestly turn the truth of God into a lie, Satan will stir up opponents enough to keep their pens constantly employed, while other branches of the work will be left to suffer. We must have more of the spirit of those men who were engaged in building the walls of Jerusalem. We are doing a great work, and we cannot come down. If Satan sees that he can keep men answering the objections of opponents, and thus keep their voices silent, and hinder them from doing the most important work for the present time, his object is accomplished. {3T 38.1 2}
The first-day Adventists as a class are the most difficult to reach. They generally reject the truth, as did the Jews. We should, as far as possible, go forward as though there were not such a people in existence. They are the elements of confusion, and immoralities exist among them to a fearful extent. It would be the greatest calamity to have many of their number embrace the truth. They would have to unlearn everything and learn anew, or they would cause us great trouble. There are occasions where their glaring misrepresentations will have to be met. When this is the case, it should be done promptly and briefly, and we should then pass on to our work. The plan of Christ’s teaching should be ours. He was plain and simple, striking directly at the root of the matter, and the minds of all were met. {3T 37.2}
Why then you would ask have I engaged to answer our friends in this matter? Because Sister L said:
“I see no conflict with the work of the Spirit and Jesus Himself. Guess we just don’t understand what one another doesn’t understand because we can take the same texts and quotes, both depending on them to prove different points of view. Therefore, why continue this? Going in circles while the world is starving for the true gospel in the 3 Angels Messages. They don’t NEED to see your or my version of the way the Holy Spirit works or the sacrifice of God the Father and Son for His gift to us a member of humanity forever. You seem to be the one with the need to have others agree with you. And again, IF what you have is truth you would be going patiently to the elders of the church with this instead of doing just what WO are doing—drumming up enough people to agree with you so the church will have to notice you and give in. IF you have truth, stay with the leadership and keep praying. Don’t lose patience. God will have to bring this about. Your pushing is only going to hinder His work.”
Now this are good sentiments from our sister and should be taken with hearty Amen and be followed yet the opposite will be true. Do the leaders want to stay with what they have called offshoots, heretics and have decided they will hunt them down and make end of them? They have disfellowshipped those associated with the teaching of the Father and the Son and not even in an appropriate way. Check these videos. One is of our denomination and the others should be of a Baptist church I think but the spirit is the same. The spirit in fallen churches is the same spirit in SDA church. I can include many:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CRbMiOWRgA
Here the pastor confronts this guy and gets him thrown out [Long video]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0ZxB8_VsrY
Short video of the above
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15ZH_a1SlfE
Here even the pastor has the audacity to stand on the chair and throw out the congregant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBGxGKmLZgg
Now someone will quote for me this:
There are those members who are busybodies, speaking evil, sowing the seeds of doubt and infidelity, who pay no heed to the light God has given them in His Word. If we have but one church member who by his spirit, words, and influence seeks to counterwork the influence of the minister of Christ, labor with that one faithfully; and if after taking the steps required by Christ, he will not hear, will not change his course of action, then separate him from the church, and let him know the reason why the church cannot hold him in her fellowship. And if there are those who sympathize with him, who will not discern the right from the wrong, who, after patient instruction has been given them, choose to keep on the wrong side, let them also be suspended. God’s name must not be dishonored by murmurers, faultfinders, and those who are continually sowing seeds of disaffection. {15MR 163.3}
But what if I quoted the following?
I saw that great caution should be used and the church will have to bear some with individuals who do not always understand the movings of the Spirit of God, and always have some errors. And, if these individuals were disfellowshipped, they would be brought more closely in connection with an unholy influence and the possibility of saving them be lost. But, if they were still retained in the fellowship of the church, they will be where the church can have some influence over them, and may, by moving judiciously and carefully, win them to all the truth, which will discover to them their errors, and cause them to yield them up and be fully united to the church. I saw that the messengers and the church must have compassion with some, making a difference. Now the messengers of God must seek wisdom and know how to treat each individual case. Not all must be treated alike. By close examination it will be seen that individual cases differ. Some are to be borne with longer than others, but if one is living in disobedience to the commandments of God, the church must act and must separate them from them. And for other sins it will often be necessary to disfellowship souls if they continue in their sins; yet great care should be used and great patience and forbearance exercised. {9MR 196.3, 4}
The persecution that is carried on among church members is a most terrible thing. It is true that some have committed errors and made mistakes, but it is equally true that these errors and mistakes are not nearly as grievous in the sight of God as is the harsh and unforgiving spirit of those who are criticizers and censors. Many of those who are free to pass judgment on others are committing errors which, although not made manifest, are tainted with deadly evil that is corrupting their spiritual life. {TM 185.3}
Many appear to be steadfast in the truth, firm, decided on every point of our faith; yet there is a great lack in them,–the tenderness and love which marked the character of the great Pattern. If a brother errs from the truth, if he falls into temptation, they make no effort to restore him in meekness, considering themselves lest they also be tempted. They seem to regard it as their special work to climb upon the judgment seat and condemn and disfellowship. They do not obey God’s word, which says, “Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.” The spirit of this passage is altogether too rare in our churches. It is the lack of it that shuts out the Spirit of God from the heart, from the home, from the church. Shall we not henceforth practice the Bible plan of restoring erring ones in the spirit of meekness? Shall we not have the spirit of Jesus, and work as he worked? {RH, December 16, 1884 par. 9}
I have seen the great sacrifice which Jesus made to redeem man. He did not consider His own life too dear to sacrifice. Said Jesus: “Love one another, as I have loved you.” Do you feel, when a brother errs, that you could give your life to save him? If you feel thus, you can approach him and affect his heart; you are just the one to visit that brother. But it is a lamentable fact that many who profess to be brethren, are not willing to sacrifice any of their opinions or their judgment to save a brother. There is but little love for one another. A selfish spirit is manifested. {1T 166.2}
The Lord forbids us to proceed in any violent way against those whom we think erring, and we are not to deal out excommunications and denunciations to those who are faulty. {TM 47.1}
Notwithstanding Christ’s warning, men have sought to uproot the tares. To punish those who were supposed to be evildoers, the church has had recourse to the civil power. Those who differed from the established doctrines have been imprisoned, put to torture and to death, at the instigation of men who claimed to be acting under the sanction of Christ. But it is the spirit of Satan, not the Spirit of Christ, that inspires such acts. This is Satan’s own method of bringing the world under his dominion. God has been misrepresented through the church by this way of dealing with those supposed to be heretics. {COL 74.1}
But let us narrow down this. Why is it happening and was it predicted; what is the core issue?
John 16:1-3
1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2: They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3: And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
So Christ says the controversy and the disfellowship will be centered upon the Father and the Son. This is indeed startling. Considering it is eternal life to know the Only True God [OTG] and Jesus Christ whom he has send [John 17:3]. After Moses decided and the leading pioneer Joshua died, the faithful bible records this fulfillment of Deuteronomy 31:16-18 prophecy
Judges 2:8-17:
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. 10: And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 11: And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 12: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. 13: And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 15: Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. 16: Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 17: And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.
The remnant Juda engaged in Baalim worship; but what constituted the worship of Baal?
Jeremiah 7:1-18:
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2: Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. 3: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4: Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. [THIS SOUNDS LIKE WHAT WE HEAR EVERYDAY ‘THE SHIP IS GOING THROUGH, THE SHIP IS GOING THROUGH] 5: For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; 6: If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. 8: Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. 9: Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; 10: And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? 11: Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. 12: But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13: And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; 14: Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15: And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim. 16: Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. 17: Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18: The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger
This is the worship of the Trinitarian god composed of Nimrod, Semiramis [no wonder some are saying the Holy Spirit is a female] and Tammuz as we will see in Ezekiel 8. What did the Lord do at Shiloh?
The recreant priests added licentiousness to the dark catalogue of their crimes; yet they still polluted by their presence the tabernacle of the Lord, and, laden with sin, dared to come into the presence of a holy God. As the men of Israel witnessed the corrupt course of the priests, they thought it safer for their families not to come up to the appointed place of worship. Many went from Shiloh with their peace disturbed, their indignation aroused, until they at last determined to offer their sacrifices themselves, concluding that this would be fully as acceptable to God, as to sanction in any manner the abominations practiced in the sanctuary. {ST, December 1, 1881 par. 13}
Instead of repentance, they accused Jeremiah and more astonishingly God himself:
Jeremiah 44:15-27:
15 Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, 16: As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. 17: But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. 18: But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. 19: And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men? 20: Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying, ….26: Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth. 27: Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.
Here is a representation that was happening in Israel, the professed children of God
Ezekiel 8:13-17
13 He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. 14: Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15: Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 16: And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. [NIMROD THE SUN-GOD] 17: Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. 18: Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
Tammuz was the 3rd deity in Babylon and formed the 3rd pard of the trinity of Nimrod, Semiramis and Tammuz. The trinity doctrine of the papacy comes from these. This is none other than the worship of Catholic Trinitarianism within the church.
“The mystery of the Trinity is the central doctrine of the Catholic Faith. Upon it are based all the other teachings of the Church.” Handbook For Today’s Catholic, page 16
Adam Clarke’s Writes:
This was Adonis. He is fabled to have been a beautiful youth beloved by Venus, and killed by a wild boar in Mount Lebanon, whence springs the river Adonis, which was fabled to run blood at his festival in August. The women of Phoenicia, Assyria, and Judea worshipped him as dead, with deep lamentation, wearing priapi and other obscene images all the while, and they prostituted themselves in honour of this idol. Having for some time mourned him as dead, they then supposed him revivified and broke out into the most extravagant rejoicings. Of the appearance of the river at this season, Mr. Maundrell thus speaks:
“We had the good fortune to see what is the foundation of the opinion which Lucian relates, viz., that this stream at certain seasons of the year, especially about the feast of Adonis, is of a bloody colour, proceeding from a kind of sympathy, as the heathens imagined, for the death of Adonis, who was killed by a wild boar in the mountain out of which this stream issues. Something like this we saw actually come to pass, for the water was stained to a surprising redness; and, as we observed in travelling, had stained the sea a great way into a reddish hue.” This was no doubt occasioned by a red ochre, over which the river ran with violence at this time of its increase.
I deal more on Ezekiel 8 in this articles. Try out the link that will open for you.
When the Lord could not endure anymore, the glory left and the angels left too
Ezekiel 9:3:
And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;
Ezekiel 10:18, 19:
Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. 19: And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’s house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
Deuteronomy 31:17:
Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day. Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?
As the presence of the Lord withdrew from them so it has been repeated in Laodicea whether it be in GC, Independent Ministries or whichever organization that don’t hold up to the whole truth.
Those who claim to believe the truth do not possess that power that God would bestow upon them if they really believed, and were striving for conformity to His image. The church is in the Laodicean state. The presence of God is not in her midst. If Christ were formed within, the hope of glory, conformity to His image would be seen, and the church trials which separate the members from Christ would disappear. . . . {1NL 99.4}
Revelation 3:20:
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
ANSWERS TO OBJECTIONS OF THE ARTICLE I AUTHORED “WHO IS OUR INTERCESSOR?”
The Spirit of Word and Life, The Comforter
It’s when truth is accepted through sanctification of word [John 17:17] in the heart that the spirit comes there and dwells in as the spirit of truth and takes upon the name the comforter. Observe
“The comforter is called” the Spirit of truth.” His work is to define and maintain the truth. He first dwells in the heart as the spirit of truth, and thus he becomes the comforter. There is comfort and peace in the truth, but no real peace or comfort can be found in falsehood {DA 671}
Simply connect the above with John 17:17, 14:27 and you will notice who gives that peace and by what means. Mere words cannot sanctify anyone unless they contain power to do so. So the word of God contains the spirit to sanctify us and bring their comfort to us 2Thess 2:13. No wonder the prophet says I have never seen a comforter like Christ. The spirit through the word brings their abiding presence and peace and truly our fellowship is with the Father and his son, through their omnipresence spirit.
Brother JT says “the Spirit is not the Spirit of Christ and the word holy can be taken as those of holy angels”. My question to him and others is, how then will you explain the following?
KJV 1 Peter 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
KJV Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
KJV Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
Who is the Holy Spirit the third person of the Godhead? THE OMNIPRESENCE OF THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST. THE ONE WHO WAS ABIDING WITH THEM NOW IN THEM
“Christ tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, and the Comforter is the Holy Ghost, “the Spirit of truth, which the Father shall send in My name.” “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” John 14:16, 17. This refers to the omnipresence of the Spirit of Christ, called the Comforter. Again Jesus says, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth” John 16:12, 13. [14MR 179.2]
CUMBERED WITH HUMANITY
Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His Father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself, divested of the personality of humanity, and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall [although unseen by you] teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you…. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” {Lt119-1895}
Brother JT suggested earlier Christ is cumbered with humanity and so we have to believe because he has retained with humanity, he is till cumbered in some way!
I believe this is one of the most misused quotes both in Trinitarian and OTG camp. When Christ was on earth yes Phil 2 is clear but he could even read hearts of men while here. HE cumbering was physical in a sense but not wholly as people suggest. But to go a leap and suggest that he is still cumbered when in John 17 he asked the Father to glorify him again and the Father accepted is willfully ignoring the scripture and inspiration. And haven’t we read Matthew 28:18 he received all power in heaven and on earth unlimited? If you say he was and is not omnipresent and the spirit is not his, please explain this
John 2:24:
But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
Again and again the bearers of the paralytic tried to push their way through the crowd, but in vain. The sick man looked about him in unutterable anguish. When the longed-for help was so near, how could he relinquish hope? At his suggestion his friends bore him to the top of the house and, breaking up the roof, let him down at the feet of Jesus. The discourse was interrupted. The Saviour looked upon the mournful countenance, and saw the pleading eyes fixed upon Him. He understood the case; He had drawn to Himself that perplexed and doubting spirit. While the paralytic was yet at home, the Saviour had brought conviction to his conscience. When he repented of his sins, and believed in the power of Jesus to make him whole, the life-giving mercies of the Saviour had first blessed his longing heart. Jesus had watched the first glimmer of faith grow into a belief that He was the sinner’s only helper, and had seen it grow stronger with every effort to come into His presence. {DA 268.1}
Philip called Nathanael. The latter had been among the throng when the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God. As Nathanael looked upon Jesus, he was disappointed. Could this man, who bore the marks of toil and poverty, be the Messiah? Yet Nathanael could not decide to reject Jesus, for the message of John had brought conviction to his heart. {DA 139.7} At the time when Philip called him, Nathanael had withdrawn to a quiet grove to meditate upon the announcement of John and the prophecies concerning the Messiah. He prayed that if the one announced by John was the deliverer, it might be made known to him, and the Holy Spirit rested upon him with assurance that God had visited His people and raised up a horn of salvation for them. Philip knew that his friend was searching the prophecies, and while Nathanael was praying under a fig tree, Philip discovered his retreat. They had often prayed together in this secluded spot hidden by the foliage. {DA 140.1} The message, “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write,” seemed to Nathanael a direct answer to his prayer. But Philip had yet a trembling faith. He added doubtfully, “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Again prejudice arose in Nathanael’s heart. He exclaimed, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” {DA 140.2} Philip entered into no controversy. He said, “Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” In surprise Nathanael exclaimed, “Whence knowest Thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.” {DA 140.3} It was enough. The divine Spirit that had borne witness to Nathanael in his solitary prayer under the fig tree now spoke to him in the words of Jesus. Though in doubt, and yielding somewhat to prejudice, Nathanael had come to Christ with an honest desire for truth, and now his desire was met. His faith went beyond that of the one who had brought him to Jesus. He answered and said, “Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel.” {DA 140.4}
THE THIRD PERSON OF THE GODHEAD
Another observation made by Brother JT is that when it speaks of the spirit it’s the thoughts of Christ and this is different from the holy spirit the member in the Godhead. I’ll like to cite the resurrection of Jesus, it was made possible by the spirit. Now I believe JT agrees it’s not the thoughts that resurrected Jesus but that Member in the Godhead. This is the same person that lives in us as the verse below will show. If so, then who does this member belong to? The verse tells us
Romans 8:11
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
Hence
KJV 1 Corinthians 15:45
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
If really it’s not the Spirit of the Father shed forth through the Son that dwells in us DA 21:2, John 14:23, we must concede all us that there are 3 spirits in us.
- Of the Father
- Of the Son
- Of the Holy Spirit because it has feelings, hears, speaks etc
All of us believe that on the Day of Pentecost the disciples were filled with that so called the third person not the mind or thoughts of God or Christ but the Holy Spirit of promise, the comforter of John 14 and 16. If this is so and its, what do we have in record happened, who is this third person and where did he come from? Brother JT argued we believe like Catholics that the Spirit is emanation from God or Christ. No we believe just what the Bible says. Christ promised to send forth the Spirit, the comforter and he received it and send it whether the Catholics believes its shed or not that’s not our concern. What does the Bible say?
KJV Acts 2:32
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
We also believe that the holy spirit the third person of the Godhead endows people with what we call the gifts of the spirit. So what can be said of this?
KJV Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
The prayer of Christ in John 17 that we may be one as they are one is accomplished by him filling us
Abiding peace, true rest of spirit, has but one Source. It was of this that Christ spoke when He said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” John 14:27. This peace is not something that He gives apart from Himself. It is in Christ, and we can receive it only by receiving Him. {MH 247.1}
We need to pray more; and when we have Christ abiding in the soul, his spirit in me will harmonize with his spirit in you; and he who controls our minds, controls also the heavenly intelligences, and they co – operate with us. Then in every council you will have the presence of One mighty in counsel. Jesus will be there. There will be no contention, no strife, no stirring up of the worst passions of the heart. What we want is to find refuge in Jesus. What we want is to be converted: And O, how I have longed for the converting power of God to go through our assemblies! {1888 903.10}
Our German and Danish and Swedish brethren have no good reason for not being able to act in harmony in the publishing work. Those who believe the truth should remember that they are God’s little children, that they are under His training. Let them be thankful to God for His manifold mercies and be kind to one another. They have one God and one Saviour; and one Spirit – the Spirit of Christ – is to bring unity into their ranks. {9T 189.3}
To the poor and oppressed and downtrodden of earth, Christ says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, even the Spirit of truth, (which is Christ formed within the hope of glory,) whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless.” {Ms24-1898}. Refer to Matthew 28:20
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children keep yourselves from idols.” The Lord is soon to come. We want that complete and perfect understanding which the Lord alone can give. It is not safe to catch the spirit from another. We want the Holy Spirit, which is Jesus Christ. If we commune with God, we shall have strength and grace and efficiency. {Lt66-1894}
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Its worthy to know that Lucifer rebelled against the Son and the Father and became Satan. It then behooves that since they are the ones that have been snatched Adam from, they must employ their own efforts to restore man, and what weapon could they use to fight seeing they are not to do it with carnal weapons? Their own spirit, their holy spirit which reveal what manner of character indwells in them and should be exhibited by their followers. No one who was not involved in the war is supposed to participate in it. This third entity that does not belong to them then is not of them but either and intruder or an imposter.
Zechariah 6:12:
And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 13: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
There are explicit verses that say God is a spirit, Christ is a spirit. There are explicit verses that says Christ is God. No such language is said of the spirit apart from conjectures and suppositions. The writings of Sister White have to be understood in Bible context not the Bible to be understood in EGW writings context. Those who argue that the spirit is God and a Person: a third entity of his own separated from the Father and the Son and not their life must submit to the inevitable conclusion that the spirit has a spirit too.
- J. Morton
“The Holy Spirit is divine because it proceeds from divinity. You can no more separate divinity from the Spirit of God and Christ than you can separate divinity from God and Christ. It is, therefore, the presence of the Spirit in the words of God’s promises which enable us to receive the divine nature from those promises ” {A. J. Morton, Signs of the Times, October 26, 1891, p. 342}.
Christ refers to his spirit and the life that his Father gave him as a Person
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Christ declares; “no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Christ is invested with POWER to give LIFE to all creatures. “As the living Father hath sent me,” he says, “and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me….It is the SPIRIT that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the WORDS that I speak unto you, they are SPIRIT, and they are LIFE.” Christ is NOT here referring to his DOCTRINE, but to HIS PERSON, the DIVINITY of his character. “Verily verily, I say unto you,” he says again, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath LIFE in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have LIFE in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.”{RH April 5, 1906, par. 12}
The spirit is his PERSON breathed by him and through his word John 20:22. And that breath and word containing the spirit when eaten becomes a personality of God and Christ in us:
“The gospel of Christ becomes PERSONALITY in those who believe, and makes them living epistles, known and read of all men. In this way the leaven of godliness passes into the multitude. The heavenly intelligences are able to discern the true elements of greatness in character; for only goodness is esteemed as efficiency with God.” {CE 97.1}”
When then EGW says the Holy Spirit is a PERSON we all say Amen and with understanding.
What then?
I saw that the priests who are leading on their flock to death are soon to be arrested in their dreadful career. The plagues of God are coming, but it will not be sufficient for the false shepherds to be tormented with one or two of these plagues. God’s hand at that time will be stretched out still in wrath and justice and will not be brought to Himself again until His purposes are fully accomplished, and the hireling priests are led to worship at the feet of the saints, and to acknowledge that God has loved them because they held fast the truth and kept God’s commandments, and until all the unrighteous ones are destroyed from the earth. {EW 124.1}
The different parties of professed Advent believers have each a little truth, but God has given all these truths to His children who are being prepared for the day of God. He has also given them truths that none of these parties know, neither will they understand. Things which are sealed up to them, the Lord has opened to those who will see and are ready to understand. If God has any new light to communicate, He will let His chosen and beloved understand it, without their going to have their minds enlightened by hearing those who are in darkness and error. {EW 124.2}
I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach error that is a deadly poison to the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good. If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness. {EW 124.3}
I saw that we have no time to throw away in listening to fables. Our minds should not be thus diverted, but should be occupied with the present truth, and seeking wisdom that we may obtain a more thorough knowledge of our position, that with meekness we may be able to give a reason of our hope from the Scriptures. While false doctrines and dangerous errors are pressed upon the mind, it cannot be dwelling upon the truth which is to fit and prepare the house of Israel to stand in the day of the Lord. {EW 125.1}
TYPE ANTITYPE – INTRODUCTION OF FALSE GODS NEAR TO CANAAN, INTRODUCTION OF FALSE GODS NEAR TO THE ANTITYPICAL LAND OF PROMISE
Satan was determined to keep his hold on the land of Canaan, and when it was made the habitation of the children of Israel, and the law of God was made the law of the land, he hated Israel with a cruel and malignant hatred and plotted their destruction. Through the agency of evil spirits strange gods were introduced; and because of transgression, the chosen people were finally scattered from the Land of Promise. This history Satan is striving to repeat in our day. God is leading His people out from the abominations of the world, that they may keep His law; and because of this, the rage of “the accuser of our brethren” knows no bounds. “The devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Revelation 12:10, 12. The antitypical land of promise is just before us, and Satan is determined to destroy the people of God and cut them off from their inheritance. The admonition, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation” (Mark 14:38), was never more needed than now. {PP 688.3}.
The sanctuary and the God of the sanctuary is a revelation of every step of human probation. This then will be a key pillar that if rightly understood then our salvation is assured and this is what Satan wants to obscure from Christians.
The sanctuary in heaven is the very center of Christ’s work in behalf of men. It concerns every soul living upon the earth. It opens to view the plan of redemption, bringing us down to the very close of time and revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between righteousness and sin. It is of the utmost importance that all should thoroughly investigate these subjects and be able to give an answer to everyone that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them. {GC 488.3} The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, “whither the forerunner is for us entered.” Hebrews 6:20. There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption. The salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to heaven; the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s throne, and through His mediation the sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may be presented before God. {GC 489.1}
How then will the erroneous understanding of the personality of God that leads to the denial of the sanctuary be the omega of apostasy and a point of no remedy? I want to take this last part of the paper to demonstrate how the denial of the sanctuary and pollution of it leads to the departing of the Lord amidst His people:
2Ch 36:14-16: Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place:But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was NO REMEDY.
The Jews nation reached a point of no return because by rejecting God as their King and Christ as their Saviour, they lost the significance of the sanctuary. Here is how the Adventists considered the sanctuary importance:
Each morning at six o’clock [at the Avondale School], Brother Haskell speaks from the Scriptures, giving a Bible lesson. This is free to all, and there is a goodly company out each morning; for it is a blessing to all. This study lasts for one hour. These meetings are intensely interesting. The subject thus far has been the sanctuary question, and we are highly gratified to see the interest manifested. All are much interested in the way he presents the subject. He speaks in a clear, simple style, and brings in much scripture to sustain every point. He feels that altogether too little has been said upon this subject; for it is the central pillar that sustains the structure of our position at the present time.–Letter 126, 1897, p. 4. (To Brother and Sister John Wessels, May 18, 1897.) {4MR 244.2}
The typical behaviour of the Jewish towards the sanctuary and their rejection then has to apply anti-typically to the advent movement and its final rejection. Ezekiel is given a glimpse of the typical and anti-typical events that led to sealing and rejection of the professed people of God in Ezekiel 8 and 9
If God leaves, that place becomes desolate. What did this men do that made the Lord leave His sanctuary?
Ezekiel 8:12-18:
Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
These men after rejecting God they turned against the sanctuary to the East to worship the strange gods and the had no remedy of salvation, the combination of the two is the omega of apostasy. Denying God led them to denying the sanctuary hence their rejection.
Those who seek to remove the old landmarks are not holding fast; they are not remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try to bring in theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning the sanctuary or concerning the personality of God or of Christ are working as blind men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the people of God adrift without an anchor. {YRP 235.4}
The prophet continues to say that when she looked, after every pillar had been dismantled, the last to see was gone was the sanctuary:
In a representation which passed before me, I saw a certain work being done by medical missionary workers. Our ministering brethren were looking on, watching what was being done, but they did not seem to understand. The foundation of our faith, which was established by so much prayer, such earnest searching of the Scriptures, was being taken down, pillar by pillar. Our faith was to have nothing to rest upon–the sanctuary was gone, the atonement was gone. I realized that something must be done. {1SAT 344.1}
The attack on the sanctuary is the attack on the atonement which is victory over sin. When you turn from that message, you face on the east and idol worship. You just become like the rest of the world.
In the future, deception of every kind is to arise, and we want solid ground for our feet. We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to be removed from that which the Lord has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty years?– Review and Herald, May 25, 1905. {CW 53.2}
The denial of the sanctuary is the departure from the faith, this is the omega of apostasy, and it leaves the Lord God with nothing but to leave. The same words said for Babylon are said of the remnant Judah/SDA
Babylon
Re:18:21: And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. Re:18:22: And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
Remnant Judah/SDA
Jer:25:9: Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
Jer:25:10: Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.
I would like to heed to the words of Sister L but how can that be done when the environment does not allow and the Bible forbids:
Amos 3:3:
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Before the destruction of Sodom, God sent a message to Lot, “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” The same voice of warning was heard by the disciples of Christ before the destruction of Jerusalem: “When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Luke 21:20, 21. They must not tarry to secure anything from their possessions, but must make the most of the opportunity to escape. {PP 166.3}
There was a coming out, a decided separation from the wicked, an escape for life. So it was in the days of Noah; so with Lot; so with the disciples prior to the destruction of Jerusalem; and so it will be in the last days. Again the voice of God is heard in a message of warning, bidding His people separate themselves from the prevailing iniquity. {PP 166.4}
The state of corruption and apostasy that in the last days would exist in the religious world, was presented to the prophet John in the vision of Babylon, “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:18. Before its destruction the call is to be given from heaven, “Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4. As in the days of Noah and Lot, there must be a marked separation from sin and sinners. There can be no compromise between God and the world, no turning back to secure earthly treasures. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24. {PP 167.1}
While all the abominations and apostasies are happening in the church of God, His presence can still be found in there, but there reaches a time that the mercy of God has to meet the Justice of God. When the sanctuary and atonement is rejected then what follows is the closure of the ministerial work of Christ. There can’t be a continual of salvific work when the people to be ministered to turn their back on the sanctuary. When Adam sinned, he was introduced to the plan of salvation by sacrificial of the lamb which depicted Christ. The denial of this made Cain to be accursed. The Sanctuary then has the seal of God in it; a denial of it will warranty the reception of the mark of the beast. Its rejection is the rejection of salvation. And how can you say you accept the sanctuary message while deny the God of that sanctuary? There can never be such a greater apostasy than this.
The sanctuary question is a clear and definite doctrine as we have held it as a people. You are not definitely clear on the personality of God, which is everything to us as a people. You have virtually destroyed the Lord God Himself. {Lt300-1903}
Those who seek to remove the old landmarks are not holding fast; they are not remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try to bring in theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning the sanctuary, or concerning the personality of God or of Christ, are working as blind men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the people of God adrift, without an anchor. {Ms62-1905}
But it has been a most trying thing to see made of no effect the Word of the Lord in cautions and warnings regarding students not going to Battle Creek to obtain their education. The college was taken out of Battle Creek; yet students are still called there, and there they become indoctrinated with the very sentiments regarding the personality of God and Christ that would undermine the foundation of our faith. The sanctuary question, which means so much to the heavenly family and to the believers on earth, has been made as nothingness. This has been presented to me as that which would be done. We must vindicate the truth. {Lt72-1906}
Conclusion
There comes a time when the line has to be drawn in the sand and people be known for what they believe lest we be condoned for pretense which is falsehood.
It would be poor policy to support from the treasury of God those who really mar and injure His work, and who are constantly lowering the standard of Christianity. {3T 553.2}
If this be the case, how bout those who make of non-effect the plan of redemption? When you change gods, you change the glory. Glory is character and whosoever is breathing on you is the one whom you will receive his character. It may be concealed now but when the test comes, it shall be revealed
Jeremiah 2:11-13:
11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. 12: Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. 13: For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
How can we be drinking from broken cisterns and yet saying the ship is going through. Something must be verily wrong.
What astonishing deception and fearful blindness had, like a dark cloud, covered Israel! This blindness and apostasy had not closed about them suddenly; it had come upon them gradually as they had not heeded the word of reproof and warning which the Lord had sent to them because of their pride and their sins. And now, in this fearful crisis, in the presence of the idolatrous priests and the apostate king, they remained neutral. If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God. {3T 280.3}
BLESSINGS
For pdf, click on the Title below
Answers to Objections – Prophetic Parallels to the Promised Land – A Synopsis of Deuteronomy 31