HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2011 / JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER / LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

July August September 2011
VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3

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D E P A R T M E N T S

LETTERS to the Editor

 

Reactions to the great controversy article, April/June, 2011

Let's be fair

I would like to believe that as an editor and journalist you want to be accurate and fair. But you have often denied that Ellen White believed in the full and eternal deity of Jesus Christ.

I am commenting on your statement that "Before time began God exalted Jesus to be equal to himself," thus implying that EGW denied His eternal equality to the Father.

If you had read Patriarchs and Prophets carefully, you would have found a lengthy statement of Jesus' eternal Godhead on page 34. (Please read it again.)  

You seem to have overlooked the following statement: "There had been no change in the position or authority of Christ. Lucifer's envy and misrepresentation and his claims to equality with Christ had made necessary a statement of the true position of the Son of God; but this had been the same from the beginning" (PP 38).…

Your second statement is also misleading: "When Adam and Eve sinned, the Father took Jesus into His inner council and allowed Him to become the sacrifice for sin." You are overlooking the following:

"The Son of God shared the Father's throne, and the glory of the eternal self-existent One encircled both. . . . Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King declared that none but Christ, the Only begotten of God, could fully enter into His purposes and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty counsels of His will" (PP 36).

Jesus had always been in the inner council of the Father!…

Colleen, I write this out of deep concern for you and what you are doing. I have prayed for you many times. By your subtle insinuations you are undermining faith in God's prophet, God's church, God's law, and God's Sabbath. Please listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit to your own soul. (Edited for length)

Retired religion professor
Ooltewah, TN

 

Numerous falsehoods and ­distortions

Your article on the Great Controversy was filled with numerous falsehoods and distortions. I will recount one here.  You cite a quotation from Ellen White from Patriarchs and Prophets page 35 which states,

"The exaltation of the Son of God as equal with the Father was represented as an injustice to Lucifer, who, it was claimed, was also entitled to reverence and honor."

Then you make the following assertion,

"In the great controversy paradigm, Jesus was not the eternal almighty God, God exalted him to be His equal at some time in the distant past."

Your conclusion demonstrates either a lack of understanding of the subject matter you are critiquing, or a purposeful agenda to distort facts in order to support your agenda. An objective evaluation of the subject would have included the following from page 38 of the same chapter:

"There had been no change in the position or authority of Christ. Lucifer's envy and misrepresentation and his claims to equality with Christ had made necessary a statement of the true position of the Son of God; but this had been the same from the beginning. Many of the angels were, however, blinded by Lucifer's deceptions."  PP 38

She states elsewhere regarding the divinity of Christ:

"In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath the Son hath life.' 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life. ‘He that believeth in Me,' said Jesus, ‘though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?'" (DA 530).

Thus it becomes apparent that both the Great Controversy view and Ellen White promote the full divinity of Christ with equality with the Father, yet your article creates a falsehood that does not exist in the Great Controversy theme and argues against that falsehood in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the Great Controversy and the message of the Adventist Church.

Collegedale, TN

 

Editor's note: First, I will address the statement both letters above use to counter the effects of EGW's assertion that God exalted Jesus in the distant past. The above writers cite Patriarchs and Prophets, page 38: "There had been no change in the position or authority of Christ. Lucifer's envy and misrepresentation and his claims to equality with Christ had made necessary a statement of the true position of the Son of God; but this had been the same from the beginning."

This statement, however, only confirms that fact that in EGW's understanding, Jesus was not truly equal to the Father. First, her claims that Lucifer misrepresented Jesus to the angels is completely invented. No such notion ever occurs in the Bible. Second, the Lord Jesus was Satan's and all the angels' Creator (Jn. 1:1-15). They were never in any doubt as to Jesus' identity and authority. Satan made no claims of equality to Christ which the Father had to rectify by "exalting" Jesus publicly. Jesus always was part of the Trinity, the One God. Satan, a mere angel, was not able to pose as a person of the Trinity; he could not masquerade as his own Creator. EGW's claim that Jesus was always equal to the Father yet capable of being misrepresented by Lucifer is completely unbiblical and opposed to the revelation of Scripture.

There was never any doubt as to Jesus' identity, and Lucifer was not posing as God. These statements demonstrate that EGW really did see Jesus as substantively different from the Father, and they further demonstrate that she did not know Scripture.

The second point I address is the quote in the first letter above from Patriarchs and Prophets page 36: "The Son of God shared the Father's throne, and the glory of the eternal self-existent One encircled both. . . . Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King declared that none but Christ, the Only begotten of God, could fully enter into His purposes and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty counsels of His will."

EGW's statement that the glory of the "eternal self-existent One encircled both" reveals her understanding that the Father was separate from Jesus. In reality, the Trinity is One, and the glory of God belongs to all three equally. Jesus and the Father and the Spirit have eternally shared all the glory and all the attributes of God. Moreover, according to EGW, the Father had to decide who could "enter into His purposes," and He chose to admit only the Son.

This scenario is nonsense; God didn't have to "choose" whom to admit into His "inner council". No matter how we look at her words, EGW's supposed declarations of Jesus' eternal deity and authority fail to proclaim Him to be almighty God the Son who eternally shares all the attributes and the glory of God equally with the Father and the Spirit. Moreover, EGW teaches ideas that have no foundation whatsoever in Scripture. Her "insights" are strictly extra-biblical and opposed to the biblical declarations of our trinitarian One God who is the only true God, the Creator not only of us but also of the angels.

One last point: EGW's statement that Jesus' divinity "is the believer's assurance of eternal life" is also an unbiblical conclusion. First, this statement assumes that there was a question about His divinity—and to be sure, most of the founders of Adventism were Arian or semi-Arian, disbelieving in the eternal existence of God the Son and disbelieving the Trinity. Second, this foundational heresy regarding the identity of the Lord Jesus was never renounced, and it continues to shape Adventists' perception of Him. Finally, Scripture reveals Jesus to be eternal almighty God the Son, but it is not His deity that guarantees our eternal life. Rather, His resurrection from the dead is our guarantee of eternal life. He broke the curse into which all of us are born, and when we repent and receive His sacrifice and accept Him as Savior and Lord, we are brought to spiritual life at that moment, are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and pass from death to life (Jn. 5:24, Eph. 1:13-14; 2:1-9).

The Adventists' need to defend EGW's statements about Jesus reveals that Adventism's worldview depends upon an extra-biblical "revelation" of who He is. The Jesus of the great controversy paradigm could have failed in His mission, had no advantage we fallen humans do not have, and came to show us how to live. Moreover, the Jesus of Adventism was not of the same substance as the Father and does not share the same eternal power and glory.

The great controversy paradigm needs a Jesus who did not complete the atonement at the cross. The great controversy depends on a Jesus who needs to prove His superiority to Satan.

Ellen White's Jesus is not the Jesus of Scripture. God will judge us by the word He has spoken (Jn. 12:48). The Lord Jesus is all we need, and His glory fills eternity.

 

Internal struggle

I love your magazine. I am a former Adventist from Wyoming. There aren't many Adventists here, so [there are] even fewer former Adventists. It is so encouraging to be able to read about people who have had similar struggles and to find answers to questions I didn't even know I should be examining. Coming out of Adventism is really a worldview shift. Although I now belong to a great Bible-believing church, people of other denominations do not understand the internal struggle it is to leave the Adventist church or the ongoing strain with family members who think you have made a serious mistake. Here is a donation that I hope will at least help with your expenses. You feel like friends. Keep up the good work. Thanks!

Torrington, WY

 

Thanks to Proclamation!

It is always with great anticipation that my wife and I read each quarterly issue of Proclamation! Being a former Adventist, my wife always gets first dibs on reading the magazine cover to cover. I agree with a recent letter writer; I too am not a former Adventist, but I find the articles are written to fulfill what Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:18-19 is all about…

Proclamation! magazine is unique in that the articles are not merely 700-word essays but rather are lengthy, in-depth studies of the foundations of Christian faith and doctrine. My faith is deepened by your mission, motto, and message statements reflected in the writings of each article. They have helped my wife unravel the untruths of Adventist doctrine. I have witnessed her moving away from the crippling effects that Adventism had on her to the freeing power of the biblical gospel, as expounded upon in your magazine. It also goes without saying that Proclamation! does expose the cultic belief system of the Adventist church. I'm preaching to the choir, but coming out of Adventist cultic doctrine takes quite a bit of healing time; Proclamation! has been a big part of my wife's healing process. My many thanks to Proclamation!

Reading, PA

 

Loved Brinsmead article

I really loved the latest articles on the great controversy and Robert Brinsmead. Regarding the Brinsmead article: I learned a lot about the Brinsmead experience and found it fascinating.…My first actual exposure to him was his article "1844 Reexamined", and his article convinced me. Then when my wife and I were stunned and disillusioned by our exposure to Walter Rea's Ellen White research, it was Brinsmead's book Judged by the Gospel that actually kept us within Adventism as evangelical Adventists for the next three years. We continued to study, using Brinsmead's writings, gradually working our way out of Adventism into evangelical Christianity; all this culminated in our resignation from Adventism in 1984…

I remember that Brinsmead visited eastern Pennsylvania,where we lived, in 1984, and my wife attended his meeting to hear some "exciting new religious learning." She came home very disillusioned—Brinsmead was now proposing that God was in all living objects! We could not follow that, nor could we follow his pilgrimage into agnosticism…I remain an evangelical Christian to this day…

God bless your ministry; it is much appreciated.

Wallace D. Slattery
Spearfish, SD

 

You're going to hell

It is too bad that your magazine staff and followers will be going to hell. That's really too bad. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

via email

 

Alot to face in the judgment

I have read your magazines and am appalled at Adventists in good and regular standing leaving the Adventist church. So you think your church is better? I do not think so.

For one thing, you criticize Ellen G. White and her teachings. She has been a blessing, I want you to know.

You seem to have no basis for leaving. Mr. Dale Ratzlaff and you will have a lot to face in the judgment, I believe, for misleading former Adventists. I do not want anymore of your magazines.

Seattle, WA

 

Always enjoy Macomber and Lee

I hope you receive more funds for your magazine. Times are rough. I so appreciated your great controversy article. Also, I always enjoy Carolyn Macomber's and Chris Lee's columns! I am so grateful to be out of Seventh-day Adventism and in Christ! God is good.

We now attend an American Baptist church near our home. A new pastor just came, so we will be interested in talking with him regarding his thoughts on Adventism. Blessings on your work.

Gresham, OR

 

You were hurt and misled

I would like to stop receiving your Proclamation! magazine. In empathy I have read it for awhile, but when it became clear that you do not honor God's commands, I must completely part ways with you.…

I feel bad that some of you were hurt, and even misled, by people in the Seventh-day Adventist church. There have been, and still are, people who misconstrue God's word and teach legalism in the Adventist church. (There also are many true Christians in the church.) I can understand that for you it may have been so bad that you needed to separate from the church. But I cannot understand nor condone going to the opposite extreme of accepting papist traditions and beliefs that cause you to set aside the fourth commandment and dishonor God's Sabbath. I will pray for you, that the honest in heart will earnestly study the Bible, daily, with prayer, and use only the Bible as the basis for their Christian beliefs. God is so good! I want to follow Him completely.

The Dalles, OR

 

Moved to tears

I left the Adventist church almost 35 years ago, filled with rage and disgust that I had been deceived for many years by a false prophet, false gospel, and a false worldview. I am eternally thankful the Lord graciously opened my eyes through various means. He surely had His hand on me and called me out of error into His glorious light.

I have been so blessed and learned so much about the many errors of the Adventist church through the many excellent articles in Proclamation! The April/June, 2011, issue is particularly good. I was moved to tears when I read Carolyn Macomber's "Filtered By My Worldview" article. Praise God—He is sovereign and does not have to explain or justify Himself to me, the angels, or to His chief adversary. Amen! The Adventist teaching that mankind must prove that God's judgments are fair has demeaned our Lord and is the height of heresy.…

My best wishes to all the writers who have, through the years, contributed articles to Proclamation!, and may the Lord continue to provide everything you need to share the Good News—Jesus alone saves!

Sparks, NV

 

So-called Christian world

You call Sunday believers/worshippers "Christians". The Bible tells us that those who do not keep God's commands are "liars"; the truth is not in them (1 Jn. 2:4). Pretty strong language!…

We pray that you might have a renewed vision of God's will for your life, that you would live by and proclaim God's Word rather than to teach known falsehoods as you and others do in your journal. God does not look kindly upon those who would bear false witness to the truth.

Yakima, WA

 

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Life Assurance Ministries

Mission

To proclaim the good news of the new covenant gospel of grace in Christ and to combat the errors of legalism and false religion.

 

Motto

Truth needs no other foundation than honest investigation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a willingness to follow truth when it is revealed.

 

Message

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not of works, that no one should boast." Ephesians 2:8,9

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Editor, Proclamation! Magazine
P.O. Box 7776
Redlands, CA 92375

Or email editor: proclamation@gmail.com

Your conclusion demonstrates either a lack of understanding of the subject matter you are critiquing, or a purposeful agenda to distort facts in order to support your agenda.

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The great controversy depends on a Jesus who needs to prove His superiority to Satan. Ellen White's Jesus is not the Jesus of Scripture.

…coming out of Adventist cultic doctrine takes quite a bit of healing time; Proclamation! has been a big part of my wife's healing process.