Gospel Order

Ichabod!

The Glory Has Departed

Table of Contents

XIII - Answers to Issues

1. Are God’s promises and threatening unconditional?

“It should be remembered that the promises and threatening of God are alike conditional.” 1SM 67

“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing a curse; a blessing if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: and a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 11:26-28

2. Considering the present state of the SDA Church, is there hope for her revival?

“Are we hoping to see the whole church revived? That time will never come.” LDE 195

3. For one who decides not to separate from a corrupt church and opts to remain inside that Church, is reformation/revival possible?

“It is impossible for you to unite with those who are corrupt, and still remain pure. "What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial?" God and Christ and the heavenly host would have man know that if he unites with the corrupt, he will become corrupt.” 6BC 1102

“Faith in a lie will not have a sanctifying influence upon the life or character. No error is truth, or can be made truth by repetition, or by faith in it. Sincerity will never save a soul from the consequences of believing an error. Without sincerity there is no true religion, but sincerity in a false religion will never save a man. I may be perfectly sincere in following a wrong road, but that will not make it the right road, or bring me to the place I wished to reach.” 2SM 56

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Amos 3:3

4. What sin is committed when one chose to remain inside a corrupt Church?

The sin of corporate responsibility.

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4

“…as the human heart throws its living current of blood into all parts of the body, so does the management at this place, the headquarters of our church, affect the whole body of believers. If the physical heart is healthy, the blood that is sent from it through the system is also healthy; but if this fountain is impure, the whole organism becomes diseased by the poison of the vital fluid. So it is with us. If the heart of the work becomes corrupt, the whole church, in its various branches and interests, scattered abroad over the face of the earth, suffers in consequence.” 4T 210

“We should never give sanction to sin by our words or our deeds, our silence or our presence.” DA 152

5. The Seventh-day Adventist has likewise claimed reformation in the Church. But what kind of reformation is it?

“The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result? The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would go into the cities, and do a wonderful work. The Sabbath of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it. Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure.” 1SM 204-205

6. Did Jesus Christ separate from the Jewish Church? Why?

“The Sanhedrin had rejected Christ's message and was bent upon His death; therefore Jesus departed from Jerusalem, from the priests, the temple, the religious leaders, the people who had been instructed in the law, and turned to another class to proclaim His message, and to gather out those who should carry the gospel to all nations. {DA 232.1}

As the light and life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation. Again and again the history of Christ's withdrawal from Judea has been repeated. When the Reformers preached the word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church; but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light, and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth. In our day few of the professed followers of the Reformers are actuated by their spirit. Few are listening for the voice of God, and ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in order to declare the plain teaching of the word of God. And many times those who are seeking for light are by the same teaching obliged to leave the church of their fathers, that they may render obedience.” DA 232

7. What is the significance of Jesus’ departure from the Jewish Church?

“But Israel as a nation had divorced herself from God. The natural branches of the olive tree were broken off. Looking for the last time upon the interior of the temple, Jesus said with mournful pathos, "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." Hitherto He had called the temple His Father's house; but now, as the Son of God should pass out from those walls, God's presence would be withdrawn forever from the temple built to His glory. Henceforth its ceremonies would be meaningless, its services a mockery.” DA 620

8. After His departure from the Church, there would be times when Christ would go back to the synagogue. Why?

“It was not his choice to teach within walls or temples. True, he often did so in order to reach a class whom he would not be likely to meet while speaking in the open air, but Jesus preferred the fields, the groves, and the lake-sides for his temples. There were also his favorite resorts for meditation and prayer.’ 2SP 200

In Luke 4:16-32, we are told that Christ went into the synagogue not to join and participate in their services but to give reproof, rebuke and strong reminders of their continual backsliding.

9. The contention of many is that E.G. White did not separate from the SDA Church. What are the plausible reasons and circumstances for her continued presence in the SDA Church? It is for the same reason why many Adventists are hesitant to separate from such connection.

A. “From the year 1844 till the present time I have received messages from the Lord and have given them to His people. This is my work--to give to the people the light that the Lord gives me. I am commissioned to receive and communicate His messages. I am not to appear before the people as holding any other position than that of a messenger with a message.” 8T 237

B. We should look up to any other man but to Jesus Christ, our only Model.

“We are to copy no human being. There is no human being wise enough to be our criterion. We are to look to the man Christ Jesus, who is complete in the perfection of righteousness and holiness. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is the pattern man. His experience is the measure of the experience that we are to gain. His character is our model.” 7BC 970

“The characters of Joseph and Daniel are good models for you to follow, but Christ is the perfect pattern.” 5T 129

“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” 1 Peter 2:21

“Let none be educated to look to Sister White, but to the mighty God, who gives instruction to Sister White.” 3SM 29

XIV - Conclusion

The destruction of Jerusalem and the slaughter of its inhabitants forever stands as a mute yet loud witness to the tragic end of a nation once favored, the first-born of God—Ancient Israel.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church fell from the grace of Christ. Her moral fall marked the non-stop decadence of the whole system. The declaration of Christ in 1903—“How is the faithful city become a harlot? My Father’s house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed!”—still rings with significance for us today. And the echo lingers…

“Prophets had wept over the apostasy of Israel and the terrible desolations by which their sins were visited… Christ saw in Jerusalem a symbol of the world hardened in unbelief and rebellion, and hastening on to meet the retributive judgments of God. The woes of a fallen race, pressing upon His soul, forced from His lips that exceeding bitter cry. He saw the record of sin traced in human misery, tears, and blood; His heart was moved with infinite pity for the afflicted and suffering ones of earth; He yearned to relieve them all. But even His hand might not turn back the tide of human woe; few would seek their only Source of help. He was willing to pour out His soul unto death, to bring salvation within their reach; but few would come to Him that they might have life.” GC 21, 22

Sacred history records God’s dealings with His people. The sacredness of God’s law given at Sinai forever holds true until the end of time.

Patriarchs and prophets of old witnessed the glorious rise and ignominious fall of Ancient Israel. Faithful Adventist pioneers likewise had witnessed the degeneracy of modern Israel. Today, the present generation is witnessing the unfolding of prophetic events and the non-stop moral and spiritual decadence of the Church.

The history-rise and fall-of Ancient Israel and the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a stark reminder to one and all that “the promises and the threatenings of God are alike conditional.” Ev 695

We who are called out from darkness, as God’s peculiar people, His remnant, claimants to present-truth and repairers of the breach, let us endeavor to relive the experiences and life of Ezra.

“To the experiences of Israel from the time the promise was made to Abraham, Ezra gave special thought. He studied the instruction given at Mount Sinai and through the long period of wilderness wandering. As he learned more and still more concerning God's dealings with His children, and comprehended the sacredness of the law given at Sinai, Ezra's heart was stirred. He experienced a new and thorough conversion and determined to master the records of sacred history, that he might use this knowledge to bring blessing and light to his people. {PK 608.2}

Ezra endeavored to gain a heart preparation for the work he believed was before him. He sought God earnestly, that he might be a wise teacher in Israel. As he learned to yield mind and will to divine control, there were brought into his life the principles of true sanctification, which, in later years, had a molding influence, not only upon the youth who sought his instruction, but upon all others associated with him.” PK 608

May the fervor of complete obedience to His will be forever burning in our hearts as we behold Him, and exclaim, “To God be the Glory!”

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