1844

We Are Living on Borrowed Time

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There is an increasing excitement among many Seventh-day Adventists that some great event is about to take place as the year 2000 A.D. approaches. This is based on the assumption that God has allotted seven thousand years to this world before He destroys and recreates it. God has often used the number seven in the Scriptures to represent completion, such as the seven days of Creation, the seven churches of Revelation, the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven beasts of Daniel and Revelation, which cover the time period from the creation to the return of Jesus.

If we carefully study the Bible record, we know that the earth was about four thousand years old when Christ came. We add this figure to the year 2000 A.D., and we discover that the earth is about six thousand years old. Therefore, it must be about time for the Second Coming of Christ, for when He comes, He will usher in the one-thousand-year Millenium of Revelation 20, which makes a total of seven thousand years.

The Age of the Earth

But the big question is this, How old is this earth? Surely inspiration must have something to say about the actual age of this earth, for the Scriptures say that “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. Let us search to see what God has revealed about the coming of His dear Son, Jesus.

Jesus, speaking about the end of the earth in Matthew 24, said: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matthew 24:29–36. [All emphasis supplied.]

These words of Christ should settle this matter forever. There can be no actual time setting for this event. Yet, there are some, within our church, teaching that Jesus will return at the end of six thousand years, and they place this event in the near future when the earth supposedly reaches the six thousand-year mark.

Now to those who are teaching such beliefs, I have some very startling news. Ellen White wrote, between the years 1869 and 1890, that the earth was already six thousand years old. Look carefully at these quotations. The first is from 1869.

“Creation week was only seven literal days, and the world is now only about six thousand years old.” Lift Him Up, 52.

“He (man) has withstood the accumulation of disease brought upon the race in consequence of perverted habits, and has continued for six thousand years.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 22.

“Ever since he (Satan) succeeded in overcoming our first parents in their beautiful Eden home, he has been engaged in this work. More than six thousand years of continual practice has greatly increased his skill to deceive and allure.” Signs of the Times, September 29, 1887.

“For six thousand years, Satan’s work of rebellion has ‘made the earth to tremble’ . . . For six thousand years his prison house has received God’s people.” The Great Controversy, 659.

Finally, in 1890 she wrote: “The continual transgressions of men for over six thousand years has brought sickness, pain and death as its fruit.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 154.

This last statement by Ellen White was written one hundred seventeen years ago. So the earth is already over six thousand one hundred seventeen years old. What has gone wrong? Why has Jesus not returned? The answer can again be found in inspiration. In 1883 Ellen White wrote: “Had Adventists after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, . . . Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward . . . It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, happy people. But those to whom it was first preached, went not in ‘because of unbelief.’ Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them.

“For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, the unconsecration, and strife among the Lord’s professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years.” Evangelism, 695, 696.

“If all who had labored unitedly in the work in 1844 had received the Third Angel’s Message, and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts. A flood of light would have been shed upon the world. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of His people.” Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4, 291.

Now that we have the facts before us, all taken from divine inspiration, we are still faced with the remaining question, Why is Christ now waiting to come and put an end to sin? I will tell you the conclusion that I have come to. The Lord sees so many of us who are not ready and in His great mercy He delays His coming that sinners may have the opportunity to heed His warning message and find divine shelter before the wrath of God is poured out. In 1896, Ellen White wrote: “If those who claimed to have a living experience in the things of God had done their appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would have been warned ere this, and the Lord Jesus would have come in power and great glory.” The Review and Herald, October 6, 1896.

“But because the people are disobedient, unthankful, unholy, as were ancient Israel, time is prolonged that all may hear the last message of mercy proclaimed with a loud voice. The Lord’s work has been hindered, the sealing time delayed.” The Faith I Live By, 288.

During the years 1898 to 1903, Ellen White explained the delay. “It is because the work has not been done for the wicked that time delays.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 816.

“Had the Adventists in the early days still trusted to the guiding hand that had been with them in their past experience, they would have seen the salvation of God.” Testimonies, vol.8, 115, 116.

It is plain to see from these quotations that the six thousand years of earth’s history ended before 1890 and that Jesus would have come for His people had they been faithful.

Conditional Promises

As we continue, we will discover that it is absolutely impossible now for anyone on this earth to figure out a time schedule for the coming of Christ. When we compare the signs that pinpoint the time period around the Second Coming in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21 and Revelation 6, we find the actual signs of Christ’s coming. They are the following: the sun was to be darkened; the moon would not give its light and the stars were to fall.

Every Adventist knows that the signs of the sun and moon were fulfilled on May 19, 1780. The falling of the stars occurred on November 13, 1833. Keeping this in mind consider these words by Ellen White: “Those who behold these harbingers of His coming are to know that it is near, even at the doors.” The Great Controversy, 37.

“Christ has given signs of His coming. He declares that we may know when He is near, even at the doors. He says of those who see these signs, ‘This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.’ These signs have appeared. Now we know of a surety that the Lord’s coming is at hand. ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away,’ He says, ‘but my words shall not pass away.’” The Desire of Ages, 632.

So, it is safe to say that the generation that saw the last sign, the falling of the stars in 1833, was to live until Jesus would come in His Second Coming between 1869 and 1890. But that generation perished long ago. And how is this to be explained?

Twelve years after the disappointment of 1844, Ellen White was given a significant vision. She wrote about it in Spiritual Gifts: “A conference was held at Battle Creek in May, 1856 . . . At the conference a very solemn vision was given me. I saw that some of those present would be food for worms, some subjects for the seven last plagues, and some would be translated to heaven at the second coming of Christ, without seeing death.” Spiritual Gifts, 207, 208. This was written one hundred forty years ago. I am reminded of this statement: “The promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional.”

Selected Messages, vol. 1, 67. This answers why Jesus did not come before the last of those present at this conference had died. This prophecy was not fulfilled because Seventh-day Adventists, who were then living, had proved to be unfaithful, thus causing a delay in the Second Coming of Christ.

As late as 1888, Ellen White wrote when some of those at that General Conference held in Battle Creek were still living: “The hour will come; it is not far distant, and some of us who now believe will be alive upon the earth, and shall see the prediction verified, and hear the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God echo from mountain and plain and sea, to the uttermost parts of the earth.” The Review and Herald, July 31, 1888.

The church continued in unfaithfulness and that meant more delay. Ellen White, one of the last remaining in this group, died in 1915. We are over one hundred years past God’s intended time schedule and no one knows the exact time of Christ’s return. Present truth for this hour is the fact that we are living on borrowed time. I have three short quotations that emphatically stress this:

“The prophetic periods reached to 1844 . . .Prophetic time closed in 1844.” Spiritual Gifts, 138, 148.

This means that the twelve hundred sixty, the twelve hundred ninety and the thirteen hundred thirty-five-day prophecies of Daniel 12, all ended in 1844.

I have a photocopy in my files of the prophetic chart used by our pioneers as they preached the Three Angels’ Messages. This chart revealed that all the prophecies of Daniel 12 ended in the year 1844. Ellen White spoke specifically about this chart: “I have seen that the 1843 chart was directed by the hand of the Lord, and that it should not be altered; that the figures were as He wanted them.” Early Writings, 74.

And in this final quotation, Sister White makes it so clear that none can misunderstand:

“Time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never again be a test.” Ibid., 75.

Beware of False Prophets

Now, I am going to give you some names. I do not like to do that, but it is necessary because I do not want you to be caught up in the error that is being presented by these people in the church today. Marian Berry uses the prophecies of Daniel 12 to point out future events, leading to a definite time for Christ to come. Her teachings and charts declare that the prophecies of Daniel 12 are to be understood as literal days instead of prophetic years and that they will meet their fulfillment when the National Sunday Law is enacted.

Such futuristic teachings have been ensnaring thousands within our church during the last fifty years, just as was predicted: “Every phase of fanaticism and erroneous theories, claiming to be the truth, will be brought in among the remnant people of God.” Selected Messages, book 2, 14. And for what purpose? “God will arouse His people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 707.

Another futuristic “prophet” is Larry Wilson. He states in his paper, The Daystar, of February 1992, “I expect to see these people, the one hundred forty-four thousand, revealed by a powerful Holy Spirit manifestation during the latter part of 1993 or early 1994.” Then in June of 1993, he sent out a chart with this heading, “A survey of the possible timing of the end time events.” For the spring of 1994, the chart had this entry, “Seventy Jubilee cycles end. A hundred forty-four thousand sealed. Two witnesses begin twelve hundred sixty days of preaching.”

Such teachings enabled Wilson to invite his followers to join him at Round Rock, Texas, on March 19, 1994, with the expectation that shortly thereafter, God would use the one hundred forty-four thousand to complete the Three Angels’ Messages in a time period of twelve hundred sixty literal days.

Wilson has publicly stated that he believes some of God’s prophets made mistakes in their prophecies. He further states that Ellen White made similar mistakes in her book, The Great Controversy. For he writes that he does not believe that the United States is the two-horned beast of Revelation 13. This is a very solemn error. I warn you to beware of all who put themselves in the place of God’s inspired prophet!

Questions About Time Setting Answered

For the remainder of this article I would like to let the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy answer some questions about time setting that are being asked by many Adventists today.

Question: Can man fix a definite time for any future event?

“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.” Revelation 10:5, 6.

Question: What is the meaning of the foregoing declaration of this angel?

“This time, which the angel declares with a solemn oath, is not the end of this world’s history, neither of probationary time, but of prophetic time, which should precede the advent of our Lord. That is, that people will not have another message upon definite time. After this period of time, reaching from 1842 to 1844, there can be no definite tracing of the prophetic time. The longest reckoning reaches to the autumn of 1844.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 971.

“And he said unto them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power.’ ” Acts 1:7. “Should we advance in spiritual knowledge, we would see the truth developing and expanding in lines of which we have little dreamed, but it will never develop in any line that will lead us to imagine that we may know the times and the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power. Again and again have I been warned in regard to time setting. There will never again be a message for the people of God that will be based on time.” Ibid., vol. 6, 1052.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for probation to end?

“God has not revealed to us the time when this message will close, or when probation will have an end . . . .

“But there is no command for anyone to search the Scriptures in order to ascertain if possible, when probation will close. God has no such message for any mortal lips. He would have no mortal tongue declare that which He has hidden in His secret councils.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 191, 192.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for the Latter Rain?

“I have no specific time of which to speak when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will take place—when the mighty angel will come down from heaven, and unite with the third angel in closing up the work of this world; my message is that our only safety is in being ready for the heavenly refreshing, having our lamps trimmed and burning . . . ‘Watch and pray’ is the charge given us by our Redeemer . . . ‘Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.’” Ibid., 192.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for the judgment of the living to begin?

“The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has been in progress. Soon—none know how soon—it will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour’s admonition: ‘Watch and pray for ye know not when the time is.’” The Great Controversy, 490.

This does not mean that we are not to give our special attention to the judgment, for our characters are being judged and evaluated daily.

“The names of all those who have once given themselves to God are written in the book of life, and their characters are now passing in review before Him. Angels of God are weighing moral worth. They are watching the development of character in those now living, to see if their names can be retained in the book of life. A probation is granted us in which to wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Historical Sketches, 138.

Question: Can we fix a definite time for the fulfillment of any other future event?

“Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance.” Testimonies to Ministers, 55.

“The times and the seasons God has put in His own power and why has not God given us this knowledge? —Because we would not make a right use of it if He did. A condition of things would result from this knowledge among our people that would greatly retard the work of God in reparing a people to stand in the great day that is to come. We are not to live upon time excitement. We are not to be engrossed with speculations in regard to the times and the seasons which God has not revealed. Jesus has told His disciples to ‘watch’ but not for a definite time. His followers are to be in the position of those who are listening for the orders of their Captain, they are to watch, wait, pray, and work, as they approach the time for the coming of the Lord; but no one will be able to predict just when that time will come; for ‘of that day and hour knoweth no man.’ You will not be able to say that He will come in one, two, or five years, neither are you to put off His coming by stating that it may not be for ten or twenty years.” Selected Messages, book 1,189.

Time setting disqualifies the person from giving the Three Angels’ Messages. “Satan is ever ready to fill the minds with theories and calculations that will divert men from the present truth, and disqualify them for the giving of the Third Angel’s Message to the world.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, 1052.

“He [Christ] distinctly states the suddenness of His coming. He does not measure the time lest we should neglect a momentary preparation and in our indolence look ahead to the time when we think He will come and defer the preparation. ‘Watch ye therefore for ye know not.’ ” Testimonies, vol. 2, 191. Satan is continually implanting within many a desire for something startling. We need a change of heart, a transformation of character fitting us to meet Jesus.

” ‘Be ye also ready for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.’ Matthew 24:44. This is our message, the very message that the three angels flying in the midst of heaven are proclaiming.” Selected Messages, book 2, 114.

We should realize that should we die today, our destiny is sealed forever. As far as we are individually concerned, we must live day by day as though it is our last day, for we may not have another day. Our full attention should be given to two major questions. First, How can I be ready to meet Jesus with victory over every sin? And second, How can I faithfully do my part in sharing the Three Angels’ Messages that Jesus may come? This is what is vital for us today.

If we are faithfully doing these things, we will someday know the day of His coming for all that are alive will know the exact day and hour of the return of Christ when God’s people are about to be delivered from the jaws of the battle of Armageddon. “The voice of God is heard from heaven declaring the day and hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivers the everlasting covenant to His people. Like peals of loudest thunder His words roll through the earth. The Israel of God stand listening with their eyes fixed upward. Their countenances are lighted up with His glory, and shine as did the face of Moses when he came down from Sinai. The wicked can not look upon them. And when the blessing is pronounced on those who have honored God by keeping His Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.” The Great Controversy, 640.

I want to be among the living saints who hear these words of God. Is that your most earnest desire?

The Final Atonement, Part I

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We are engaged in a mighty conflict, and it will become more close and deter mined, as we near the final struggle,” Ellen White warned. “We have a sleepless adversary, and he is constantly at work upon human minds that have not had a personal experience in the teachings of the people of God for the past fifty years.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 102.

Satan knows that if we forget “the way the Lord has led us,” and especially if we should forget “His teaching in our past history,” (Life Sketches, 196,) then it would be easy to introduce heresy into the greatest movement of truth the world has ever known. What did Ellen White mean by “His teaching in our past history?” Before we can proceed with our research and find the correct answer to this question, we must first understand the correct method to follow in our study of Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy.

The Bible answer to the proper method of study is that “precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” Isaiah 28:10. Does it not follow that we should use the very same method to interpret passages in the Spirit of Prophecy? Yes, indeed.

“The Spirit of the Lord will be in the instruction, and doubts existing in many minds will be swept away. The testimonies themselves will be the key that will explain the messages given, as scripture is explained by scripture.” Letter, 73, 1903, Selected Messages, Book 1, 41, 42.

There is one more important aspect that must be remembered in the study of the Spirit of Prophecy — time and place must be considered. “Regarding the testimonies, nothing is ignored, nothing is cast aside,” Ellen White wrote, “but time and place must be considered.” Paulson Collection, 9.

This inspired counsel on how to study the Testimonies is simple.

  1. Do not cast aside any part of the Testimonies.
  2. Compare all that is written on a subject.
  3. Time and place must also be considered.

This is sound and logical advice, is it not?

The Past Fifty Years (1844–1900)

Ellen White warned many times that some in the Church would bring in “new strange doctrines, for something odd and sensational to present to the people.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 41. The safeguard, of course, is to remember “the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Life Sketches, 196. Not only that, but Ellen White was very specific about what she meant by the phrase, “His teaching in our past history.” Many times she stated, writing at the turn of the century [again keeping in mind time and place] that “the value of the evidences of truth that we have received during the past half century, is above estimate.” Review and Herald, April 19, 1906.

“Study the Bible truths that for fifty years have been calling us out from the world.” Ellen White counseled. Ibid.

In other words, noting time and place (1906) when this testimony was penned, the truth that pioneer Adventists taught from 1844 to the turn of the century was, and still is, the Three Angels’ Messages. The pioneer Seventh-day Adventist message, given this people in the past century, is the true end-time “gospel” to a perishing world. God does not change. His message does not change. Any message that is not in harmony with this “most precious message” is what Ellen White called “strange fire,” what we know today as “new theology.”

Strange Fire

“For all in responsible positions I have a message spoken by the mouth of the Lord,” Ellen White wrote. Testimonies to Ministers, 357. And what was this message from God to the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church?

“He [those in responsible positions] will represent the sacredness of the work, he will magnify the truth, and will ever present before men and angels the holy perfume of the character of Christ [the law of God]. This is the sacred fire of God’s own kindling. Anything aside from this is strange fire, abhorrent to God, and the more offensive as one’s position in the work involves larger responsibilities.” Ibid.

There are one hundred and fifteen references to the phrase “strange fire” in the writings of Ellen White. We have learned that false doctrine is “strange fire” presented to the Seventh-day Adventist Church by “those in responsible positions.” We will now learn what is the “sacred fire of God.”

The Sacred Fire of God

“When the power of God testifies to what is truth, the truth is to stand forever as the truth.…The truth for this time, God has given us as a foundation for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth.…And while the Scriptures are God’s Word, and are to be respected, the application of them, if such application moves one pillar of the foundation that God has sustained these fifty years, is a great mistake. He who makes such an application knows not the wonderful demonstration of the Holy Spirit that gave power and force to the past messages that have come to the people of God.” A Call to the Watchmen, 14.

Notice that, “He [God] Himself has taught us what is truth,” and, “when the power of God testifies to what is truth, the truth is to stand forever as the truth.” Ibid. Could anything be more plain? An application, or interpretation, of Scripture that “moves one pillar of the foundation that God has sustained these fifty years, is a great mistake.” Ibid. In this statement Ellen White emphasized that it was “the Holy Spirit that gave power and force to the past messages that have come to the people of God.” Ibid.

“The past fifty years have not dimmed one jot or principle of our faith as we received the great and wonderful evidences that were made certain to us in 1844, after the passing of the time.…Not a word is changed or denied. That which the Holy Spirit testified to as truth after the passing of the time, in our great disappointment, is the solid foundation of truth.…” The Upward Look, 352.

“Not a word is changed or denied,” of the Advent truth for “the past fifty years,” and this truth that was laid down after the great disappointment in 1844 “is the solid foundation of truth.” The emphasis again and again is stated to be the truth that was held by Seventh-day Adventists for “the past fifty years.” Gospel Workers, 1915, 307.

“[The] pillars of truth were revealed, and we accepted the foundation principles that have made us what we are—Seventh-day Adventists, keeping the commandments of God and having the faith of Jesus.” Upward Look, 352.

Notice that, “the pillars of truth were revealed,” and pioneer Adventists “accepted the foundation principles” of truth. They were truly the remnant who were “keeping the commandments of God and having the faith of Jesus.” Notice Ellen White said “having” the faith of Jesus. They possessed the faith of Jesus. Pioneer Adventists were people of obedience to all of God’s commandments. Their lives were in harmony with the law of God because they possessed faith like Jesus. Thus the apostle Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13. This is righteousness by faith, obedience by faith.

Again, about the pillars of our faith, Ellen White stated, “And while the Scriptures are God’s Word, and are to be respected, the application of them, if such application moves one pillar of the foundation that God has sustained these fifty years, is a great mistake.” A Call to the Watchmen, 14.

Old Landmarks and Pillars of Adventism

What are the “pillars” and “old landmarks” of truth? According to the Spirit of Prophecy, there are really only three pillars of Adventism. Notice carefully the description of these three pillars, also known as the old landmarks.

“The passing of the time in 1844 was a period of great events, opening to our astonished eyes the cleansing of the sanctuary transpiring in heaven, and having decided relation to God’s people upon the earth, [also] the first and second angels’ messages and the third, unfurling the banner on which was inscribed, “The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

  1. One of the landmarks under this message was the temple of God, seen by His truth-loving people in heaven, and the ark containing the law of God.
  2. The light of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment flashed its strong rays in the pathway of the transgressors of God’s law.
  3. The non-immortality of the wicked is an old landmark. I can call to mind nothing more that can come under the head of the old landmarks.…” Counsels to Writers and Editors, 30, 31.

The Sanctuary, the Foundation Pillar of Adventism

The first “pillar” or “landmark” that Satan would attack is the foundation pillar of the Advent movement. This landmark is the First Angel’s Message, the message that the remnant people were commissioned to give to a perishing world. The sanctuary truth is the one doctrine held only by Seventh-day Adventists. For Satan to attack the second pillar, the Sabbath truth, or the third pillar, the state of man in death, would be too obvious for alert Seventh-day Adventists. Satan must be more clever than to attack the obvious. If Satan attacked the sanctuary truth outright, by stating “there is no sanctuary in heaven,” the Advent people would detect the deception immediately. Too many testimonies had been written against that kind of an assault upon this foundation pillar of Adventism.

A Most Subtle Deception

History reveals that Satan would shrewdly concentrate his assault on the most important “phase” of the sanctuary truth. Satan would cleverly attack, and try to negate, the “final atonement” and the “blotting out of sins” work of Jesus Christ, our heavenly High Priest. Satan would introduce into the Seventh-day Adventist Church the false concept held by the fallen churches of Babylon, that the atonement was final, completed and finished on the cross. This false concept would lead the people to feel secure in their sins. This most subtle deception would at the same time do away with the truth of the 1844 message—that the final atonement is being completed in heaven by our High Priest, Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God.

To complete his masterful deception, Satan, after establishing the erroneous “complete and final atonement on the cross” concept, would then introduce into the Seventh-day Adventist Church a false concept of the human nature Christ assumed while in the flesh. This second false concept would give the people a false “assurance” and lead them to believe that Christ is their substitute only. This deception would lead the people to accept the false doctrine of “free grace” held by all so-called “contemporary Christians.” This would be Satan’s most cunning and subtle deception, for it would lead the people to be lost in their sins! This overwhelming deception the Spirit of Prophecy describes as “the Omega of apostasy.”

“The Omega would follow in a little while,” Ellen White warned. “I tremble for our people.” Sermons and Talks, 341.

Jesus warned that in the last days Satan’s battle strategy against the remnant people of God would be so deceptive that “if it were possible, it should deceive the very elect.” Matthew 24:24b. Thus Paul stated, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.” 2 Corinthians 11:14, 15a.

Ellen White cautioned, “One will arise and still another with new light which contradicts the light that God has given under the demonstration of His Holy Spirit.…We are not to receive the words of those who come with a message that contradicts the special points of our faith.” A Call to the Watchmen, 14.

How can we know what is truth? How can we identify heresy in these last days? How can we avoid being deceived by our cunning adversary?

“When the power of God testifies to what is truth, the truth is to stand forever as the truth. No after suppositions, contrary to the light God has given, are to be entertained.” Ibid.

A Safeguard and A Bulwark Against Heresy

“A few are still alive who passed through the experience gained in the establishment of this truth. God has graciously spared their lives to repeat and repeat till the close of their lives, the experience through which they passed even as did John the apostle till the very close of his life. And the standard bearers who have fallen in death, are to speak through the reprinting of their writings. I am instructed that thus voices are to be heard. They are to bear their testimony as to what constitutes the truth for this time.” Ibid.

Notice the words, “I am instructed.” The instruction came directly from heaven. The instruction from heaven was that “voices are to be heard.” Whose voices are to be heard? “The standard bearers [pioneer Adventists] who have fallen in death, are to speak through the reprinting of their writings.” Not only that, but, “They are to bear their testimony as to what constitutes the truth for this time.”

So that is the key, the doctrinal rock we should hold on to — the truth in our past history! “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Life Sketches, 196. This statement was published in 1915. We must go back to the beginning of the Advent movement, the first “fifty years” of our past history, to discover what was the truth that was endorsed by “the wonderful demonstration of the Holy Spirit that gave power and force to the past messages that have come to the people of God.” A Call to the Watchmen, 14. Then we must compare any new teaching, any “new theology,” to the teachings of pioneer Seventh-day Adventists from 1844 to the turn of the century.

“The doctrine of the Sanctuary was enunciated soon after the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844,” Leroy Froom wrote. “The earliest declaration of this doctrine was the published statement written out by O. R. L. Crosier — but representing the joint studies of Hiram Edson, Crosier, and Dr. F. B. Hawn — which studies took place in Port Gibson and neighboring Canandaigua, New York, in the week or months following the crisis in October.” Leroy Edwin Froom, Movement of Destiny, 111, 112.

“Published first in 1845 in the local Adventist paper, The Day-Dawn, in Canandaigua,” Froom continued, “it appeared in fuller form in The Day-Star Extra of February 7, 1846, printed in Cincinnati, Ohio.” Ibid., 112

Froom went on to state that, “Concerning the published results of these studies, Ellen Harmon White wrote this statement in a letter to Eli Curtis, dated April 21, 1847, and published the same year in one of our earliest pieces of denominational literature, A Word to the Little Flock.” Ibid., 111. Froom then quoted the statement of Ellen White. However, Froom omitted an important part of the Ellen White endorsement of the article by adding ellipses at the end of the first sentence as follows:

“The Lord shewed me in vision, more than one year ago, that Brother Crosier had the true light, on the cleansing of the Sanctuary…; and that it was His will, that Brother C, should write out the view which he gave us in The Day Star Extra, February 7, 1846.” Ibid.

What was left out by the ellipses in Froom’s quotation? Here is the statement as written without the ellipses: “The Lord shewed me in vision, more than one year ago, that Brother Crosier had the true light, on the cleansing of the sanctuary, et cetera; and that it was His [God’s] will that Brother C. should write out the view which he gave us in The Day Star Extra, February 7, 1846. I feel fully authorized by the Lord to recommend that Extra to every saint.” A Word to the Little Flock, 12.

Froom purposely left out the “et cetera,” that Ellen White had written. Why? Was it because the “et cetera,” implied that Crosier had published the complete truth on all aspects of the Sanctuary truth, especially the “final atonement” phase of the Sanctuary truth? Notice Ellen White stated that, “The Lord shewed me in vision,” and that “Brother Crosier had the true light, on the cleansing of the sanctuary, et cetera and that it was His [God’s] will that Brother C. should write out the view which he gave us in The Day Star Extra.” Ibid. Unquestionably a solid endorsement from the Lord through the Spirit of Prophecy of O. R. L. Crosier’s The Day Star Extra, article. If Leroy Froom, contemporary historian of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, could not agree with all the aspects of truth in Crosier’s article, then he also could not agree with the Spirit of Prophecy which endorsed the article. We will show that most contemporary Adventist historians, writers and scholars are also out of harmony with pioneer Seventh-day Adventists and with the Spirit of Prophecy on the teaching of the “Final Atonement” phase of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary.

Crosier’s Message

What had Crosier written that Froom and contemporary Adventist leadership could not agree with? It was Crosiers’ “final atonement” emphasis—that the atonement was not finished and completed on the cross, but that, as our High Priest, Christ is now making the “final atonement” in the heavenly Sanctuary.

While doing research for this manuscript, the author placed a call to the James White Memorial Library at Andrews University to purchase a photocopy of Crosier’s original article as it appeared in The Day Star Extra, February 7, 1846. The photocopy of the article arrived, minus the “atonement” portion of the article! Another letter was mailed, with the required funds, requesting that the full article be sent, including the “atonement” portion of Crosier’s Day-Star, Extra article. As of this writing two years have passed, and no further correspondence has been received. Is there something that the corporate Seventh-day Adventist Church is trying to hide? Thanks to the faithful work of Adventist laymen, the complete article was published on the Adventist Pioneer Library CD-ROM disk. (Adventist Pioneer Library, P. O. Box 1844, Loma Linda, CA 92354-0380, usa). Here, then, is the complete “atonement” portion of Crosier’s article in full. This is the true position on the “final atonement” phase of the heavenly Sanctuary as it was endorsed by the Spirit of Prophecy: “But again, they say the atonement is made and finished on Calvary, when the Lamb of God expired, so men have taught us, and so the churches and world believes; but it is none the more true or sacred on that account, if unsupported by Divine authority. Perhaps few or none who hold that opinion have ever tested the foundation on which it rests,” Crosier suggested. He then explained the “Final Atonement” phase of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary in the following six areas:

  1. If the atonement was made on Calvary, by whom was it made? The making of the atonement is the work of a Priest. Who officiated on Calvary? Roman soldiers and wicked Jews.
  2. The slaying of the victim was not making the atonement; the sinner slew the victim. (Leviticus 4:1–4, 13–15), after that the priest took the blood and made the atonement. (Leviticus 4:5–12, 16–21.)
  3. Christ was the appointed High Priest to make the atonement, and He certainly could not have acted in that capacity till after His resurrection, and we have no record of His doing anything on earth after His resurrection which could be called the atonement.
  4. The atonement was made in the Sanctuary, but Calvary was not such a place.
  5. He could not, according to Hebrews 8:4, make the atonement while on earth, “If He were on earth, He should not be a Priest.” The Levitical was the earthly priesthood, the Divine, the heavenly.
  6. Therefore, He did not begin the work of making the atonement, whatever the nature of that work may be, until after His ascension when, by His own blood, He entered His heavenly Sanctuary for us.

“Let us examine a few texts that appear to speak of the atonement as past,” Crosier continued. ‘By whom we have now received the atonement [margin, reconciliation].’ (Romans 5:11.) This passage clearly shows a present possession of the atonement at the time the apostle wrote, but it by no means proves that the entire atonement was then in the past.

When the Savior was about to be taken up from His apostles, He “commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,” which came on the day of Pentecost when they were all “filled with the Holy Ghost.” Luke 24:47; Acts 2:4. Christ had entered His Father’s house, the Sanctuary, as High Priest, and began His intercession for His people by “praying the Father” for “another Comforter,” “and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost,” He shed it down upon His waiting apostles. John 14:16; Acts 2:33. Then, in compliance with their commission, Peter, at the third of the day began to preach, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” Acts 2:39. This word remission signifies forgiveness, pardon or more literally sending of sins. Now, put by the side of this text, another on this point from his discourse at the ninth hour of the same day. Acts 3:18, “Repent ye therefore; and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

Here he exhorts to repentance and conversion (turning away from sin), for what purpose? “That your sins may be [future] blotted out.” Every one can see that the blotting out of sins does not take place at repentance and conversion; but follows, and must, of necessity, be preceded by them. Repentance, conversion, and baptism had become imperative duties in the present tense; and when performed, those doing them “washed away,” (Acts 22:16) remitted, or sent away from them, their sins, and of course are forgiven and have “received the atonement.” Romans 5:11. But they had not received it entirely at that time, because their sins were not yet blotted out. How far then had they advanced in the reconciling process? Just so far as the individual under the law had when he had confessed his sin, brought his victim to the door of the tabernacle, laid his hand upon it and slain it, and the priest had with its blood entered the Holy and sprinkled it before the veil and upon the alter and thus made an atonement for him, and he was forgiven. Only that was the type and this the reality. That prepared for the cleansing of the great Day of Atonement, this for the blotting out of sins “when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall send Jesus.” Acts 3:19, 20. Hence, “by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:11) is the same as by whom we have received the forgiveness of sin. At this point the man is “made free from sin.” Romans 6:22.

The Lamb on Calvary’s cross is our victim slain; “Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant” (Hebrews 12:24), in the heavens, is our intercessing High Priest, making atonement with His own blood by and with which He entered there. The essence of the process is the same as in the “shadow.” First, convinced of sin; second, repentance and confession; third, present the Divine sacrifice bleeding. This done in faith and sincerity, we can do no more, no more is required.

“In the heavenly Sanctuary our High Priest, with His own blood, makes the atonement, and we are forgiven,” Crosier concluded. He then quoted 1 Peter 2:24; “‘Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.’” (See also Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4–12.)

“His body is the ‘one sacrifice’ for repenting mortals, to which their sins are imparted and through whose blood, in the hands of the living, active Priest, they are conveyed to the heavenly Sanctuary. That was offered, ‘once for all,’ ‘on the tree;’ and all who would avail themselves of its merits must, through faith, there receive it as theirs, bleeding at the hands of sinful mortals like themselves.”

“After thus obtaining the atonement of forgiveness we must ‘maintain good works,’ not the ‘deeds of the law;’ but ‘being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness,’ This work we will understand to be peculiar to the Gospel Dispensation.” Owen R. L. Crosier, The Day Star Extra, February 7, 1846.

The Position of the Pioneers

This article makes it clear that pioneer Adventists did not believe in a “completed and final atonement on the cross.” Indeed, the “Fundamental Principles of Beliefs” written by James White and published in the Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook [1874–1914] stated almost the very words of Crosier on the final atonement. Note carefully the statement by James White: “That there is one Lord Jesus Christ…that He…died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only Mediator in the sanctuary in heaven, where, with His own blood, He makes the atonement for our sins; which atonement, so far from being made on the cross, which was but the offering of the sacrifice, is the very last portion of His work as priest, according to the example of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and prefigured the ministry of our Lord in heaven.” James White, 1874 Fundamental Principles, op. sit. The Living Witness, “Significant Articles From the Signs of the Times,” 1874–1959, Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1959.

Did Ellen White agree with this “Fundamental Principles” statement on the final atonement? In one of Ellen White’s earliest visions she was shown the concept of the sanctuary truth symbolized by the First Angel’s Message:

“I saw a throne, and on it sat the Father and the Son.…Before the throne I saw the Advent people—the church and the world. I saw two companies, one bowed down before the throne, deeply interested, while the other stood uninterested and careless. Those who were bowed before the throne would offer up their prayers and look to Jesus; then He would look to His Father, and appear to be pleading with Him. A light would come from the Father to the Son and from the Son to the praying company. Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from the Father to the Son, and from the Son it waved over the people before the throne. But few would receive this great light. Many came out from under it and immediately resisted it; others were careless and did not cherish the light, and it moved off from them. Some cherished it, and went and bowed down with the little praying company. This company all received the light and rejoiced in it, and their countenances shone with its glory.” Early Writings, 54, 55.

Ellen White stated that only a “few would receive this great light” and that only a few would join with “the little praying company.” God’s true people are always a small company. (See Luke 12:32; Mat-thew 7:14.) Indeed, did not Jesus say, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:37. What was the most important fact about the days of Noah?

“When once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” 1 Peter 3:20b.

Christ and the Father Enter the Most Holy In 1844

Evangelical Christians and contemporary Adventists state that Christ entered the most holy place at His ascension. This teaching is heresy and is not the teaching of pioneer Adventists. Note carefully the following statement from the Spirit of Prophecy:

“I saw a throne, and on it sat the Father and the Son,” Ellen White began. “I gazed on Jesus’ countenance and admired His lovely person. The Father’s person I could not behold, for a cloud of glorious light covered Him.” Early Writings, 54.

I saw the Father rise from the throne, and in a flaming chariot go into the holy of holies within the veil, and sit down. Then Jesus rose up from the throne, and most of those who were bowed down arose with Him. I did not see one ray of light pass from Jesus to the careless multitude after He arose, and they were left in perfect darkness.…Then a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels, came to where Jesus was. He stepped into the chariot and was borne to the holiest, where the Father sat. There I beheld Jesus, a great High Priest, standing before the Father.…Those who rose up with Jesus would send up their faith to Him in the holiest, and pray, “My Father, give us Thy Spirit.” Then Jesus would breathe upon them the Holy Ghost. In that breath was light, power, and much love, joy, and peace.” Early Writings, 55.

There are five important facts that must be acknowledged in this vision given Ellen White. Note carefully the time-frame of the vision.

  1. The time of the vision was at the “End of the 2300 Days.” The end of the 2300 days was October 22, 1844.
  2. In vision Ellen White saw God the Father arise from His throne in the holy place, or first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, and move into the holy of holies, “within the veil,” and sit down. (See Daniel 7:9, 10.) God the Father moved “through the Veil” into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844.
  3. Jesus also arose from His throne in the holy place, or first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 and “stepped into the chariot and was borne to the holiest, where the Father sat.” (See Daniel 7:13.) There Ellen White saw Jesus our great High Priest, “standing before the Father.”
  4. Those who by faith entered the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary with the Father and the Son received “light, power, and much love, joy, and peace.”
  5. Ellen White did not see even “one ray of light” pass from Jesus to the careless multitude after He had arisen and entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. Further, she stated that the people who did not enter the holy of holies by faith “were left in perfect darkness.” Mark this point well. The fallen churches of Babylon have not one ray of light and are in total darkness! “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20. Do the Sunday-keeping churches believe in the Law and the Sabbath? No, there is no light in them. “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” Proverbs 28:9.

“I turned to look at the company who were still bowed before the throne; they did not know that Jesus had left it. Satan appeared to be by the throne, trying to carry on the work of God. I saw them look up to the throne, and pray, ‘Father, give us Thy Spirit.’ Satan would then breathe upon them an unholy influence; in it there was light and much power, but no sweet love, joy, and peace. Satan’s object was to keep them deceived and to draw back and deceive God’s children.” Early Writings, 56.

Again, pioneer Adventist doctrine points out that the Sunday-keeping churches became Babylon because they refused to follow by faith the Father and Son into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844! They refused the First Angel’s Message! There are two other important facts that must be acknowledged in this early vision given to Ellen White.

  1. Satan appeared to be by the throne in the first apartment, or holy place, “trying to carry on the work of God.”
  2. Satan breathes upon the fallen churches of Babylon “an unholy influence,” and in this unholy influence there is “light and much power.” We see this unholy influence and false power in the erroneous faith healing and counterfeit joy and peace of the contemporary Evangelical and Pentecostal churches. We also see this “unholy influence” and false “joy and peace” in the “Celebration” movement within the contemporary Seventh-day Adventist Church. Only a delay of the Lord’s coming will reveal the acceptance of “tongue-speaking” and “divine healing” in public services of apostate churches.

The Two Locations of God’s Throne

Was God the Father’s throne in the holy place, the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, at the ascension of Christ, and the years prior to 1844? Did pioneer Adventists believe in a “moving throne?” Was Ellen White correct about the location of God’s throne prior to 1844 when she saw in vision the Father and the Son move from the holy place, the first apartment, through the Veil, into the holiest, or second apartment in 1844? The answer to these three questions is an absolute, indisputable, definite yes!

To be continued…

Editorial – The Meaning of Prophetic Endorsements

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The message of William Miller concerning 1843 (the error in the date was later corrected to 1844) was, we believe, the truth of God and was the message He wanted His people to receive. However, this message was eventually rejected by almost the whole religious world of that time, including all of the mainline churches. It was opposed as an erroneous, date-setting message. We still believe in the date 1844 just as much as Miller did. We are certain that the interpretation of Daniel 7, 8, 9, and 12, with the dates of 27 a.d., 31 a.d., 457 b.c., 538 b.c., 538 a.d., 508 a.d., 1798 a.d., and 1844 a.d. is just as true as when he published the 1843 chart.

William Miller has been attacked on several fronts by our theological opponents, past and present, who believe that the historic Adventist theology, which we hold dear, can be destroyed by, first of all, destroying the credibility of William Miller. One of the two issues in the attack on Miller will be briefly discussed in this editorial.

It is thought by many, including former Seventh-day Adventist ministries, that since Ellen White endorsed Miller, if Miller’s exegesis or methodology of Scripture study can be proved wrong, then Ellen White is a false prophet for endorsing him and historic Adventism is no longer credible. As explained in the first paragraph, we still believe the principle thrust of the 1843 chart, though not espousing all data or explanations. Ellen White and our pioneers acknowledged some mistakes in the 1843 chart, too, and yet Ellen White endorsed it and said that it was of God. This is very perplexing to some “black and white” thinkers, including some who used to be Seventh-day Adventist ministers.

So what does a prophetic endorsement mean? We go to the Scriptures to find the highest possible prophetic endorsement for the Christian—that of Jesus Christ Himself. In Matthew 11, Jesus said, concerning John the Baptist, that (1) He endorsed the ministry of John the Baptist; (2) He called him a prophet; (3) he was even more than a prophet; and (4) among those who were born of women there had not arisen one greater than him. It would seem impossible for a human being to obtain a higher endorsement than this or an endorsement based on a higher authority. Was the theology of John the Baptist without any major mistakes or flaws? No, we know that he was mixed up on some major issues, such as his understanding of the work of the Messiah—which caused him to doubt whether Jesus was the Messiah. Without doubt, there were people who rejected Jesus as being the Messiah as a result of their views about John the Baptist. (See Matthew 21.)

We see, in the instance of John the Baptist, that a prophetic or a divine endorsement does not mean that the person endorsed could not have a misunderstanding of prophecy or of some Scriptures. This would be true not only of William Miller but even of John the Baptist! In both cases their work was divinely endorsed, and they were led of God to proclaim the messages they proclaimed—one concerning preparation for the first advent and the other concerning preparation for the second advent. We see, then, that the same methodology by which William Miller was discredited would also, in the hands of a skillful debater, discredit major figures in God’s work in Bible times.

Objectors counter that William Miller used a faulty methodology in Bible study. We will look at that next.

“It is never best for one to think that he understands every phase of truth, for he does not. Then let no man flatter himself that he has a correct understanding of all portions of Scripture and feel it his duty to make everybody else understand them just as he does.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 533, 534.