APPENDIX A: A FEW SHORT WORDS TO MY SDA FRIENDS
I want readers to know that I am not nor have I ever been a member of the SDA denomination. However their basic doctrines concerning Christianity: The divinity of Christ; His death on a cross and His resurrection; His Second Coming; salvation by faith alone in Christ alone; and the inspiration and perfection of the Bible; all follow traditional Christian orthodoxy.
Many of their views on Bible prophecy are more correct than what most authors believe. In fact I've incorporated some of their beliefs in this book. As I wrote earlier, I've read material from a variety of different authors. Sometimes I agree with Harold Camping, sometimes I agree with Jack Van Impe, and other times I agree with LaVerne Tucker and his Adventism. In SDA eschatology there will be no world dictator, no secret rapture, no seven year tribulation, and no earthly 1000 year reign from today's Jerusalem. The two witnesses are the Old and New Testament and their 1260 year prophecy is believeable.
However there are a few Adventist beliefs that need to be rejected. I will briefly profile the most important.
1. ELLEN WHITE AS A PERFECT PROPHETESS
The writings and visions of Ellen White are sacred in the SDA Church. Her teachings are considered to be as perfect as the Bible. However White did make some dogmatic prophecies concerning the Civil War that did not come to pass. In early 1862 White received "divine messages" saying that England would enter the war on the side of the South, that the war would escalate into a global conflict, and that slavery would survive the war.
Here I am careful not to use the word "prediction". Anyone can make a prediction. But White claimed that all of these prophecies where from God. Either God and Ellen White were wrong or God was silent and the spirit that spoke to Ellen White was not from God. All this raises doubts about her several other claims concerning Bible prophecy. Can we really trust everything White says about Bible prophecy?
Yes Ellen White had a lot of Bible knowledge but she should be regarded as an imperfect human teacher rather than a perfect prophetess.
2. DANIEL 8:14 AND THE 1843 PREDICTION
William Miller, who founded the Millerite Movement, believed strongly that the 2300 evening and morning prophecy, found in Daniel 8:14, was a 2300 year period beginning in 457 BC and ending in 1843 with the return of Christ. Obviously Jesus didn't return in 1843. As mentioned in my book, the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 occured between 167BC to 164BC. It has nothing to do with 1843.
3. THE INVESTIGATIVE JUDGMENT
Since Jesus didn't return in 1843, William Miller and his co-hort Hyrum Edson had to "save face". They had to convince their followers that 1843 did not mark the return of Christ but it marked the start of a so-called Investigative Judgment. There is no mention of an investigative judgment anywhere in the Bible. Since we are saved and sealed eternally by faith in Christ (Eph. 1:13) an investigative judgment to determain if we are really saved is not needed. Why couldn't William Miller and company simply admit that they were wrong in their interpretation of Daniel 8:14?
4. SABBATH KEEPING
The Fourth Commandment admonished the Old Testament Jews to honor the seventh-day Sabbath and to keep it holy. It was the choosen day of rest going back to when God rested on the seventh day from His work of creation. Adventists insist that God never commanded that the day of rest and worship be moved from the seventh day to the first day. What is troubling is that they view seventh-day Sabbath keeping as a seal to their salvation. In truth our salvation is determained not by our following God's laws but by us becoming born-again. When this happens we receive God's Spirit within us and we become sealed and saved forever by His Spirit. In truth Jesus is our Sabbath in that He has done all of the work of salvation for us. We can add nothing to our salvation by following the Ten Commandments.
As for which day of the week we are to gather for worship, Romans 14:5 allows us to follow our convictions. We are free to worship on the first day or the seventh day. Another Protestant denomination, the Seventh-Day Baptists, also worship on the seventh day. They do this as a matter of conviction and I can respect that. What matters to God is the condition of the heart not the day of the week for corporate worship.
5. SOUL SLEEP
The Adventist view of soul sleep is different from the biblical view of it found in Psalm 115:17. In their view every departed soul is asleep in the grave be they Christian or not. They will remain in this dormant state until the days of the two resurrections. The saved will be raised in glory and the unsaved will be raised 1000 years later. The unsaved souls will join Satan and his fallen angels (Gog and Magog) and will make a desperate attack on the holy city. God will then destroy all of them in one instant swoop of His wrath.
The Bible presents a different chain of events. In Old Testament times every departed soul slept in the grave be they righteous or unrighteous. All of that changed on the day Jesus died. In Matthew 27:52 we are told the righteous dead rose to Heaven. From that moment onward all saved souls go into the direct presence of Christ. The unsaved continue to sleep in their graves. Once Satan and his fallen angels (the real Gog and Magog)are defeated and cast into the lake of fire, then the unsaved are raised and stand for judgment as individuals.
6. LOSING SALVATION
Jonah 2:9 tells us that salvation is of the Lord (Himself). It is not a result of any church affiliation. As I said earlier once we are saved we are sealed eternally by God's Spirit. We can lose our closeness to God but we never lose our sonship. Adventists, along with other Christians, claim falsely that salvation can be lost if a person strays too far. One Adventist minister quoted Ezekiel 18:24 and then said to the congregation, "Once saved always saved? No, we need to go with what the Bible says."
What our Adventist speaker didn't understand was that Ezekiel 18:24 was written in pre-Pentecost times. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit did not indwell a believer as He does today, hence it was possible for a believer to fall from grace. Biblical examples would include King Saul , Absalom, Judas Iscariot, and the crowd mentioned in John 6:66.
Today we live in post-Pentecost times. Ezekiel 18:24 is no longer in effect. In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit empowered every believer. Once that happened their salvation became sealed according to Ephesians 1:13. When a king made a proclamation, he gave it his royal seal. It was never to be revoked. God does the same thing with our salvation. We can lose our intimacy with God but we can never lose our sonship. The prodigal son was a son in the beginning, middle, and end of the story. He left home but he never lost his sonship.
In my view once a person receives the joy of salvation, the freedom in Christ, and the hope beyond the grave, he shouldn't want life any other way.
7. THE CLEAR WORD BIBLE
In March 1994 an Adventist theologian named Jack Blanco produced THE CLEAR WORD BIBLE. This book is not a translation but a paraphrase much like THE LIVING BIBLE. In other words Jack Blanco took the Bible and put it into his own words; that is words that reveal an Adventist slant. For instance Revelation 1:10 and Daniel 8:14 are altered to promote SDA doctrine. I'm not going to go into detail. There are several Christian web-sites such as watchman.org and CARM.org that provide a deep and exhaustive criticism of this paraphrase. Suffice it to say, Christians whether Adventist or not, should not use The Clear Word Bible.
These are my views concerning the SDA Church. I agree with the late Dr. Walter Martin in that one can be a true Christian and still participate in the SDA denomination. What should we make of the SDA Church? Is it a Protestant denomination that has a few wrong beliefs? Yes. But a false cult? No.