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Our ministry to former and transitioning Adventists necessitates that we evaluate the message presented by the President of the General Conference, Elder Ted Wilson, on Oct. 11, 2014, at the recent Annual Council in Silver Spring, Maryland. The full text of his message may be found at ­AdventistReview.org (search for “Prophetic movement, message, and mission and their attempted neutralization by the devil”).

We at Life Assurance Ministries (LAM) are often accused of misrepresenting Adventist teaching. People will say, “We don’t believe that anymore;” “Adventists no longer teach the investigative judgment.” “We don’t get our doctrines from Ellen White, they are based upon Scripture.” “We don’t believe that we will have to live without a mediator as you claim.” In our evaluation of Adventism we must take its official teachings such as the 28 Fundamental Beliefs and/or the presentations by people in authority, such as the President of the General Conference—the church’s highest elected position.

I am sure that there are some Adventists, including Adventist scholars, who would not agree with all that Elder Wilson states. However, based upon the many comments it appears that most do. Here are a few of the 68 comments I saw on their site.

Another powerful call to Bible-based unity and the revival and reformation thus brought! May the Lord strengthen Elder Wilson and his family every day!! Our prayers go out, each hour and moment, to the leaders assembled at Annual Council.

An excellent message for our time. I thank him for his strong urgent reminder to connect with Christ through Scripture and inspired writings.

I am so thankful for Elder Wilson, the right man at the right time to lead God’s church!

Sadly, I find Elder Wilson’s sermons almost unlistenable, not to mention unreadable. They sound like they are for Adventists only, and make that case through code words and jargon.

[A response to the above comment] He is the leader of the SDA World Church and he is addressing SDA’s concerning SDA issues. I’m sorry he disappoints you but he is doing what God has called him to do.

A truly inspired message from the Holy Spirit through our Church’s Leader! How true it is that Satan is attacking because he knows his time is short. But we must never forget that God’s grace is always far greater than our trials. And we must never forget that our denomination was raised for a distinct purpose—we are not just another denomination! We have the Three Angels’ Message to declare. May God grant us daily courage and strength!

 

Wilson’s source of authority

As one reads through Wilson’s message, one of the first impressions is that he is basing most of his admonition on the writings of Ellen White. For example, Wilson quotes about 28 passages from Ellen White and only about 9 from Scripture—nearly a three to one ratio. Moreover, the Scriptures he mentions are seldom exegeted. However, this ratio does not reveal the whole truth regarding Wilson’s source of authority. The listed quotations from Ellen G. White contain about 1413 words compared to about 332 words from the Bible. So in actuality, Wilson’s source of authority for his messages is based on Ellen White over the Bible by about a 4:1 ratio in actual words quoted.

 

Adventist “sola scriptura” = Bible and Ellen’s Writings

Wilson continues,

On this point you might say, “Why does Wilson always refer to the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy? Isn’t the Bible sufficient for all that we need to know?”

Of course it is. As Seventh-day Adventists we believe in “sola scriptura.” We believe that God’s Word is the final authority of all Christian faith and practice. And it is in that very Word of God that the Lord reveals that His last-day people would be guided by the prophetic gift! The Spirit of Prophecy is a wonderful blessing to lead us back to the Bible and to make clearer its meaning and application in our lives [Emphasis mine].

I have felt a great burden as I have traveled and spoken around the world in so many of your fields these last four years to reignite through the power of the Holy Spirit a love for the Holy Word of God and the great blessings of the Spirit of Prophecy. My colleagues, I entreat you to let God speak to you through His Word and the Spirit of Prophecy during this Annual Council [emphasis mine].

It is in the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus — the Spirit of Prophecy — that we find our identity as God’s remnant church and our marching orders as God’s end-time messengers. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been entrusted with the last proclamation of a saving message from God — a message for Mission to the Cities, a message of “comprehensive health ministry,” a message to “reach the world,” a message that embraces the wonderful programs of our departments, institutions, and entities, a message that encompasses all that we affirm in our 28 Fundamental Beliefs, and a message that Christ is soon to return in the clouds of glory! As our upcoming 2015 General Conference session theme tells us, “Arise. Shine. Jesus is coming!” [emphasis mine].

 

Support for Adventist’s failed prophecy of 1844

Near the beginning of his message we find this summary of early Adventism:

We see this vividly portrayed in the book of Revelation. Chapter 10 foretells the experience of our Advent pioneers as they looked forward to Christ’s return. After the disappointment, an experience described as “bitter in the stomach,” their attention was turned to Christ’s work in the heavenly sanctuary and the divine mandate to “prophesy again to many people, nations, tongues, and kings.”

The above statement lends veracity to Adventist’s prediction and disappointment regarding the failed prophecy that Christ would come in 1844. Adventists believed that the “little book” which the angel told John to eat was the book of Daniel. The bitterness in the stomach [disappointment] then was the result of the obedience of John to “eat the book”. Thus they could “blame God”—as Ellen White did—for the error of the failed 1844 prophecy resulting in the great disappointment. The “prophesy again…” refers to the Adventists morphing their October 22, 1844, message into the investigative judgment.1

 

Seventh-day Adventists, God’s only remnant church (Ellen White & Sabbath)

This prophetic movement, described in Revelation 12:17 as God’s remnant people who “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus,” is constituted in only one body of faith today: the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Thus it is no surprise to see Satan warring against us with unbridled fury.

Here Wilson states forthrightly that the Adventist church is God’s remnant people, and His remnant “is constituted in only one body of faith today: the Seventh-day Adventist Church.” Note the two traditional qualifications for this belief: the remnant “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus.” We cannot just skip over this without a careful evaluation. People thinking of leaving the Adventist church need to know that they should not fear that they are leaving God’s only true, last-day remnant church.

 

“The Commandments of God”

“Keeping the commandments” for Adventists means keeping the Seventh-day Sabbath; however, the fourth is the only one of the Ten Commandments not repeated in the New Testament. The Sabbath was never given to the gentiles but was a special ritual2 sign between God and the “sons of Israel”. The risen Christ never met with His disciples on a Sabbath after the resurrection. When a day is mentioned, it was always the first day of the week. In fact, all the Sabbath meetings in the book of Acts were in a Jewish setting. Furthermore, there is no instruction on Sabbath-keeping given in any letters written to new gentile Christian churches, and Sabbath-breaking is never mentioned in any lists of New Testament sins. Add to this the fact that John in his gospel and three letters never uses ἐντολὰς, translated “commandments”, for old covenant law. When he wants to refer to old covenant law he always uses νόμον, “law”. Moreover, Jesus gave a new commandment, that we love one another as He loved us (Jn. 13:34).

 

“The testimony of Jesus”

The word “testimony” comes from a root word which in its various forms in Greek means testifying, testimony, witness and martyr. The underlying meaning is the proclamation of truth regardless of consequences. The “of Jesus” part of this phrase can be understood in two ways. It can mean the testimony from Jesus, or it can mean the testimony concerning Jesus. The first meaning stresses the fact that this testimony has Jesus as its source. The second meaning stresses the idea that this testimony has Jesus as the subject matter. Either interpretation is valid as far as the Greek syntax is concerned.

In other words, the phrase “testimony of Jesus” means proclaiming the truth of (either from or about) Jesus. When we stop to think about it, this is not a bad definition of the gospel. It is a proclamation of the truth both from and about Jesus. From a linguistic definition we would say the “testimony of Jesus” is a term which stands for the gospel as it is fearlessly proclaimed.

Let us now look at all the passages in the book of Revelation which use the terms “testimony of Jesus” or just “testimony” and seek to discover the meaning of this term.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John; who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw (Rev. 1:1, 2).

I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1:9).

And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained (Rev. 6:9).

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4).

In these verses the “testimony of Jesus” or just “the testimony” is used as a term for the gospel. John bears witness to the gospel, the truth about (or from) Jesus (Rev. 1:1, 2). The souls under the altar had been slain because they maintained the truth about (or from) Jesus.

With this background let us now return to the two texts in question and see if our definition of “testimony of Jesus” fits within their context.

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:17).

Who are these people with whom the dragon is angry? They are the people who keep the new covenant commandments of God and hold to the truth about (or from) Jesus! Notice the close parallel verse in Revelation 14:12.

Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

These two verses seem to say the same thing. In one the saints are described as those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. In the other they keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. Therefore, the term “testimony of Jesus” and keeping their “faith in Jesus” are parallel in meaning.

It is quite evident that the term “testimony of Jesus” has reference to the gospel. It is the truth about (or from) Jesus. If this is true, then what does the Revelator mean when he says “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”?

And I [John] fell at his feet to worship him [the angel] and he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow-servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10).

Here the angel says he also holds the “testimony of Jesus.” In other words, the angel also believes the truth about (or from) Jesus. Focusing on the last phrase, we read, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” To paraphrase, “The truth about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Notice how this verse is variously translated or paraphrased.

For the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus (New Living Translation).

Those who bear testimony to Jesus are inspired like the prophets (The New English Bible).

For the truth revealed by Jesus is the inspiration of all prophecy (Weymouth).

For the testimony of Jesus is what inspires prophecy (Goodspeed).

It is the truth concerning Jesus which inspires all prophecy (Knox).

The purpose of all prophecy and of all I have shown you is to tell about Jesus (Living Bible).

These translators have captured the essence of what John is seeking to communicate. All prophecy, when rightly interpreted, in some way points to the truth concerning Jesus.

You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me (Jn. 5:39).

O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (Lk. 24:25−27).

It is clear that the Adventist concept of its being the only true, remnant church is built on the haphazard proof texting of the early pioneers of Adventism who were seeking some way to justify their false prophecies. The sad part is that President Wilson continues to promote such poor biblical scholarship.

 

Sabbath, Sunday and the death decree

Again we quote Ted Wilson:

Chapter 13 [of Revelation] outlines Satan’s twofold war plan to destroy God’s last-day people: 1. an ideological war of lies and errors challenging the truth; and 2. firefights — outright persecution culminating in a death decree against all who defy his presumed authority.

Here Wilson is giving support to Ellen White’s teaching that there will be a death decree issued against Seventh-day Adventists who continue to worship on Sabbath when the United States commands everyone to worship on Sunday. The “ideological war of lies” probably refers to Adventist’s claim that the Catholic Church changed the Sabbath to Sunday which is not true despite what some Catholics may have said. Christians were worshiping on the first day of the week long before there was a Catholic church.3 For the sake of our readers who do not have the books noted in the forgoing footnote, here are two quotes from early Christian sources which show that the Christians were worshiping on the first day of the week very early in Church history.

In the Epistle to Barnabas, written between 70–132 AD we read,

“…your new moons and Sabbaths I cannot stand.” Therefore he has abolished these things, in order that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is free from the yoke of compulsion, might have its offering, one not made by man...this is why we spend the eighth day in celebration, the day on which Jesus both arose from the dead, after appearing again, ascended into heaven.

Ignatius of Antioch, 107–110 AD, wrote,

… for if we continue to live in accordance with Judaism, we admit that we have not received grace…If, then, those who had lived in antiquated practices come to newness of hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath but living in accordance with the Lord’s day, on which our life also arose through him…”

The above statement was authored only a few years after Revelation was written. Considering the fact that first century Christians were meeting on the first, or the Lord’s Day, and writing about their theological reasons for doing so should put to rest the fear that worshiping on Sunday is a Catholic deception that will lead to the mark of the beast and a death decree for Sabbath-keepers. That whole concept is unbiblical and promotes fear and anxiety.

 

Sinless perfection, confusing false gospel

Yet, God’s people are not merely victims of Satan’s assaults. Revelation 14 reveals the Lord’s counteroffensive — His remnant people demonstrating His character and proclaiming His final appeal to the world. The three angels’ messages.

Behind Wilson’s statement, “His remnant people demonstrating His character…” is the perfectionistic teaching that Adventists much reach a state of sinlessness before the second coming of Christ. This underlying meaning becomes clear in his choice of Ellen White quotes listed later.

Time on this Earth is short. Probation is closing soon. Preparation to see God face to face by repentance and forsaking of sin needs to be done now. The Great Controversy, page 425, explains that: “Those who are living upon the Earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil.”

Notice the stress on character. Granted, Christians should have a righteous character, but their standing before God is wholly on the righteousness that is “in Christ” and not on the righteousness that is in them. Here Wilson, following Ellen White, replaces the righteousness of justification’s “blood of sprinkling” with the personal righteousness of character. In other words, the way Adventists can become “conquerors in the battle with evil” is two-fold: (1) through the grace of God coupled with (2) their own diligent effort. This “joint effort” is not the new covenant gospel.

He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:5, my emphasis).

 

Adventist character set for eternity BEFORE the Second Coming

However, when probation closes, the work of mediation is over. Your character will be set and your destiny eternally decided. That is why every day we need to be revived and reformed through our Bible study and prayer connection with Christ. We must receive His all-encompassing righteousness through justification and sanctification as daily, through His power, we become more and more like Him.

Adventists believe that it is at the “close of probation” when Jesus takes the sins of the righteous who are “found worthy” and places them on Satan who will suffer for them in the lake of fire. This final transfer of guilt from the saved to Satan ends Christ’s mediation. Following this event there is an unknown period of time—the time of Jacob’s trouble—before the second coming. Thus, whatever personal righteousness one may possesses at that time will be fixed for eternity. This mandate for complete sanctification prior to the time of trouble explains why Wilson expresses such an urgent need for Adventists to pursue revival, reform, Bible study, prayer and connection with Christ. Note again that, “We must receive His all-encompassing righteousness through justification AND sanctification as daily, through His power, we become more and more like Him.”

Wilson’s urgent appeal focuses for the most part on infused, imparted, or personal righteousness, in contrast to the imputed righteousness “in Christ”. According to this historic Adventist teaching, Adventists cannot look to the transformation that takes place at the second coming to perfect their characters in any way since the condition of their characters has been set sometime prior to the close of probation. Some Adventist theologians have framed this character perfection as “being safe to save”. There must be enough character transformation that takes place in this life before the second coming to ensure that in the next life we will not start another rebellion as did Lucifer. With this theology, it is evident that one never knows if he has enough personal righteousness to be “safe to save”.

This underlying belief is disguised perfectionism.

What does the Bible say about reaching perfection and what happens to us at the second coming?

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

As we have said many times before, “fall short” is in the present continuous tense in Greek. Here on this earth we will always be short of God’s ideal in personal righteousness.

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 Jn. 1:8).

And may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith (Phil. 3:9, my emphasis).

For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. 15:53-58, my emphasis).

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4:7-8, my emphasis).

 

Investigative Judgment, mark of the beast

Many Adventists with whom we come in contact tell us that the Adventist church no longer teaches the investigative judgment and the mark of the beast. President Wilson, however, confirms it does.

The powerful truth of these unique messages would break completely the deceptions of Satan if proclaimed as God intends. The message of the first angel gives the gospel to the world, announces that we are living in the time of the pre-advent investigative judgment, and calls on every nation, tribe, tongue and people to honor God as their Creator by keeping holy His seventh-day Sabbath. The second angel heralds Babylon’s fall. While finally the third angel warns us — in language too plain to misunderstand — not to worship the beast, the image of the beast, or receive the mark of his rebellion, which is a sign of disloyalty to God’s Word.

Most Adventists do not understand the investigative judgment nor its history, and for good reason. It is built on some 22 assumptions, is contrary to Scripture, and undermines the gospel.4

Over the years we at LAM have ministered to hundreds if not thousands of transitioning Adventists. Many of them confess the anxiety and fear they had when reading the writings of Ellen White or listening to Adventist teachers on the subjects of the investigative judgment, the time of Jacob’s trouble, the preparation for Adventist’s “latter rain”, standing in the sight of a holy God without a mediator, and forgotten and unconfessed sins standing against us. The message of Ellen White continues in the Adventist church to this day.

In a view given June 27, 1850, my accompanying angel said, “Time is almost finished. Do you reflect the lovely image of Jesus as you should?” Then I was pointed to the earth and saw that there would have to be a getting ready among those who have of late embraced the third angel’s message. Said the angel, “Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye will have to die a greater death to the world than ye have ever yet died.” I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but little time in which to do it.5

I found it interesting that Ellen White uses “get ready” about 117 times. Yet that term is never used in the Bible regarding the preparation for the second coming. Rather, the Bible says “be ready”. “Being ready” is something every born-again Christian can do. We can live in the state of being ready every day. Many, but not all, of Ellen White’s admonitions, especially in the early years, were aimed at developing personal righteousness with little mention of Christ’s righteousness.

With solemn earnestness we sought, as a people, to purify our lives, that we might be ready to meet Him at His coming.6

But if you are indolent, and fail to dig deep in the mines of truth, you will not be ready for the crisis that is soon to come upon us. O that you would realize that each moment is golden. If you live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, you will not be found unprepared.7

These words are not necessarily bad admonition. However, there is no focus on the righteousness in the person of Christ upon which we place 100% of our assurance. There is almost a complete absence of the gospel in Adventism before 1888 and even after that, as can be seen in Wilson’s message.

 

The true gospel

I cannot end this article without presenting the true gospel. How wonderful it is to understand and believe the new covenant gospel of grace. Instead of the continual anxiety looking at our own performance measured by law, we can look away to Jesus and realize that,

Even when we were dead in our transgressions, He made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:5-6).

We can now “be ready”.

Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light (Col. 1:12).

We don’t have to be anxious about our salvation; rather, we can live at peace with God.

Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Rom. 5:1).

Rather than agonizing over how to purify our lives, we can turn away from self and gaze at the glory of the new covenant gospel and thereby be transformed by the gaze of grace.

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17-1, emphasis mine).

Instead of fussing about how to keep the Sabbath more strictly as Ellen White says,8 we can have the true “Sabbath rest” of soul. Yes, and we can have it “today”—the moment of saving faith.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light (Mt. 11:28-30).

For we who have believed enter that rest… Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” (Heb. 4:3, 7).

We can look forward to the coming of Christ with joy and not with anxiety and fear.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass (1 Thes. 5:23-24). †

 

Endnotes

1. After these seven thunders uttered their voices, the instruction comes to John, as to Daniel, in regard to the little book: “Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered.”. . . John sees the little book unsealed. . . . Then Daniel’s prophecies have their proper place in the first, second, and third angels’ messages to be given to the world. The unsealing of the little book was the message in relation to time. Ellen G. White, Christ Triumphant, p. 344.
2. “…the Sabbath’s importance is suggested by its being the only ritual law in the Ten Commandments,…”, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Biblical Literacy, p. 429 (William Morrow and Company, Inc. New York, 1997).
3. See Riggle, The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day, p. 117-145; Ratzlaff, Sabbath in Christ, chapter, “The First Day of the Week”.
4. See Ratzlaff, Cultic Doctrine, for a complete study of this and related subjects.
5. Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 63.
6. Ellen G. White, Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, p. 54.
7. Ellen G. White, Maranatha, p. 253.
8. “If we desire the blessings promised to the obedient, we must observe the Sabbath more strictly…At all times and in all places God requires us to prove our loyalty to Him by honoring the Sabbath.” Ellen G. White, Testimonies to the Church, Vol. 8, p. 360.

 

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W I N T E R • 2 0 1 4
VOLUME 15, ISSUE 4

DALE RATZLAFF

Ansel Oliver/Adventist News Network