HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2014 / WINTER / EDITORIAL
W I N T E R • 2 0 1 4
VOLUME 15, ISSUE 4
D E P A R T M E N T S
Editor's COMMENTS
In the mid-90s, as the internet was beginning to burgeon, Richard joined an early email list called SDA Net. He didn’t write much, but he became interested in the discussions about Adventist doctrine, Ellen White, and the Adventist church. He followed the sometimes heated exchanges between those who had serious questions about accepted Adventist beliefs and those who defended them.
As the weeks went by, Richard began to notice that one writer in particular had well-reasoned, supported, and articulated observations and responses. He began to tell me, “Rolaant McKenzie has such great points. His arguments make the most sense.”
At first I was interested but not impacted; then I began to notice that more and more, Richard was sustaining his own serious questions about Ellen White in particular and Adventist doctrines in general. Gradually he began printing out posts by Rolaant and others as well as articles he was finding on the still-emergent internet, and asking me to read them.
I did, and I began to share his incredulity and conviction.
Months passed, and as virtual conversations so often do, the exchanges on SDA Net began to polarize. As the Adventist apologists grew more strident, some of the more thoughtful participants began to disappear—including Rolaant McKenzie. By then Richard was doing his own research online, forming clear conclusions, and he eventually stopped subscribing to the email list as well.
Richard thought about Rolaant every now and then over the years. He had no idea who he was, but judging from his wealth of knowledge and personal research, his clear explanations and articulate writing, he imagined Rolaant was a mature scholar with years of experience either in academia or perhaps at the general conference level.
In 2012 we finally met Rolaant and his wife Millie at the first Michigan FAF Conference. Richard was delighted finally to meet the man who had been so helpful in his early months of discovery as he tried to find answers about Ellen White and Adventism. No, Rolaant is not a retired professor or clergyman, either! We are pleased to share his faith story in this issue of Proclamation! In fact, it is our featured article because of the detail he gives as he unfolds his own research of Ellen White and his discovery of the new covenant—the two things that worked together to release Rolaant from his cognitive dissonance into freedom in Jesus and His finished work.
Also in this last issue of 2014 we look at the first witnesses of God’s fulfillment of His promises to send the Messiah to earth. The unexpected testimony of two unknown women carrying miraculous pregnancies and the response of an unborn baby are three of the eternal confirmations of the identity of the Lord Jesus. In the kingdom of His Son which the Father was inaugurating, even women and the unborn are treasured by God. In fact, He chose a gentile author, Luke, (a mere “gentile dog” to the first century Jews) to be the only gospel writer to record the praise, worship, and confirmation of God’s faithfulness that marked the moment Mary met Elizabeth in her home.
Dale Ratzlaff examines Ted Wilson’s sermon delivered at the annual Fall Council held at general conference headquarters in Silver Spring this past October. Dale points out the clear affirmation of historic Adventism and the Ellen White focus of Wilson’s content.
We also take a backward glance at the Michigan FAF Conference held in September, and we hear from our regular columnists Rick Barker, Chris Lee, and Carolyn Macomber. In addition, we introduce our new venue for our ninth annual Redlands FAF Conference to be held February 13-15, 2015. This year we will meet at The Anchor Bible Church, just yards from Loma Linda city limits, and our featured Friday night speaker will be well-known and much-published Christian apologist Rob Bowman. Gary Inrig and Dale Ratzlaff again will be our keynote presenters.
We pray that because of Jesus’ finished work of dying for our sin, rising from death, and ascending to the right hand of the Father, His joy will be made full in us. He is Immanuel—God with us! †
Copyright 2015 Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., Camp Verde, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved. Revised January 3, 2015. Contact email: proclamation@gmail.com
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