Vol. 27, No. 11 Straight and Narrow November 2018Martinique: Small Island, Big Hopes

HeresiesWhat is a heresy, and should Christians be concerned about heresies and about those who teach them? If we are going to follow modern pluralism and reject the Scriptures as the only standard of truth, we can peace-fully relax in our spiritual rocking chairs and have no concern about heresy. If, however, we believe that there is only one way to heaven (John 14:6), if we believe it is damnable to teach a false gospel (Galatians 1:8, 9), and if we believe that the Bible is the standard for life (2 Timothy 3:15, 16), then heresies are a big deal. Fundamentally, here-sies are teachings held by a factional reli-gious party that denies some aspect of estab-lished biblical doctrine. The New Testament

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writers gave no toleration to heresies in the church, and they give us an example that we should not only follow, but are commanded to follow.

Heresies as Deviant TeachingsThe English word heresy comes from the Greek word hairesis. It has been defined as:

. . . a division or group based upon differ-ent doctrinal opinions and/or loyalties and hence by implication in certain contexts an unjustified party or group (Johannes Louw and Eugene Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains)

Hairesis comes from haireō, which means to choose. Thayer notes:

. . . a body of men separating themselves from others and following their own tenets [a sect or party]: as the Sadducees, Acts 5:17; the Pharisees, Acts 15:5; 26:5; the Christians, Acts 24:5, 14 (in both instances

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with a suggestion of reproach); 28:22 . . . (Joseph Thayer, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament)

Hairesis is used nine times in the New Testa-ment and is translated heresy or heresies four times and sect five times.

In Acts 24, Paul is given a chance to defend his faith before the Roman ruler, Felix. In verse 14, Paul states:

But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: (Acts 24:14)

Paul was accused of being a part of a sect and of teaching dangerous errors, but just because people say it is so does not make it so. Paul, of course, was teaching truth, but the orthodox teachers of his day did not see that. Instead of using the word of God as the standard, they judged Paul by their tradi-

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tions. Just because someone accuses another of teaching heresies does not prove it is so. Only the word of God decides what is heresy and what is truly orthodox.[1]

Heresies are not minor issues or inconve-niences in the church. They are considered to be so serious that they are listed in Galatians as a work of the flesh and are associated with idolatry and witchcraft and with other serious issues (Galatians 5:20).

Peter declares that false teachers bring into the church damnable heresies:

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. (2 Peter 2:1)

Peter does not simply say the false teachers bring in heresies but that they bring in damnable heresies. The lemma Greek word

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for damnable is apōleia, and it means that which destroys. For example, in Matthew 7:13 it is translated destruction:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that lead-eth to destruction (apōleian from apōleia), and many there be which go in thereat. (Matthew 7:13)

We are warned in the Bible not to be carried away with strange doctrines:

Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines ... (Hebrews 13:9)

Heresies, at the basic level, depend upon an infiltration of the gospel and replacing the fundamental truths of the gospel with per-verted teachings. Paul clearly spoke of this in his letter to the churches in Galatia:

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another (heteron), another of a differ-

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ent type) gospel: Which is not another (allo), another of the same kind); but there be some that trouble you, and would per-vert the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6, 7)

Paul considered the matter serious enough to call down condemnation from heaven upon anyone, even an angel from heaven, who would preach a different gospel:

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have re-ceived, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8, 9)

Heresies were a problem in the days of Paul, and he knew that they would continue to be a tool of Satan to the end of the age. Writing to Timothy about the last days, Paul said:

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For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teach-ers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3, 4)

Instead of the pure doctrines of the Bible, the masses will not endure sound (Greek=healthy) doctrines (teachings) but, instead, would have fables or myths (here-sies).

Heresies and the Factional Nature of Ju-daismAs we noted earlier, hairesis is translated as sect five times, and it is so because the basic form of the word can mean to choose or make a choice. Religious groups in Paul’s day were called sects. For example, Paul stated:

Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest

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sect (hairesin) of our religion I lived a Pharisee. (Acts 26:5)

The following is a summation about the Phar-isees:

Pharisees—separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in re-volt against his heathenizing policy. The first mention of them is in a description by Josephus of the three sects or schools into which the Jews were divided (B.C. 145). The other two sects were the Essenes and the Sadducees. In the time of our Lord they were the popular party (John 7:48). They were extremely accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the law of Moses (Matt. 9:14; 23:15; Luke 11:39; 18:12). Paul, when brought before the council of Jerusalem, professed himself a Pharisee (Acts 23:6–8; 26:4, 5).

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There was much that was sound in their creed, yet their system of religion was a form and nothing more. Theirs was a very lax morality (Matt. 5:20; 15:4, 8; 23:3, 14, 23, 25; John 8:7). On the first notice of them in the New Testament (Matt. 3:7), they are ranked by . . . [John] with the Sad-ducees as a “generation of vipers.” They were noted for their self-righteousness and their pride (Matt. 9:11; Luke 7:39; 18:11, 12). They were frequently rebuked by our Lord (Matt. 12:39; 16:1–4).

From the very beginning of his ministry the Pharisees showed themselves bitter and persistent enemies of our Lord. They could not bear his doctrines, and they sought by every means to destroy his influ-ence among the people. (Easton’s Bible Dictionary)

The sect or group that most differed from the Pharisees was the Sadducees. “For the Sad-ducees say that there is no resurrection, nei-

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ther angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees con-fess both” (Acts 23:8).

Sadducees—The origin of this Jewish sect cannot definitely be traced. It was proba-bly the outcome of the influence of Grecian customs and philosophy during the period of Greek domination. The first time they are met with is in connection with John the Baptist’s ministry. They came out to him when on the banks of the Jordan, and he said to them, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matt. 3:7). The next time they are spoken of they are represented as coming to our Lord tempting him. He calls them “hypocrites” and “a wicked and adulterous generation” (Matt. 16:1–4; 22:23). The only reference to them in the Gospels of Mark (12:18–27) and Luke (20:27–38) is their attempting to ridicule the doctrine of the resurrection, which they denied, as they also denied the existence of angels.

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They are never mentioned in John’s Gospel.

There were many Sadducees among the “elders” of the Sanhedrin. They seem, in-deed, to have been as numerous as the Pharisees (Acts 23:6). They showed their hatred of Jesus in taking part in his con-demnation (Matt. 16:21; 26:1–3, 59; Mark 8:31; 15:1; Luke 9:22; 22:66). They en-deavoured to prohibit the apostles from preaching the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:24, 31, 32; 4:1, 2; 5:17, 24–28). They were the deists or sceptics of that age. They do not appear as a separate sect af-ter the destruction of Jerusalem. (Easton’s Bible Dictionary)

We might consider Judaism the religion as a whole and the Pharisees and the Sadducees as the main denominations of Judaism, just as within Christianity there are Baptists, Adven-tists, Methodists, etc.

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The evidence is that, at first, Christianity was perceived as a heresy within Judaism.

As we noted earlier, Paul said “that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers” (Acts 24:14). The Jews had said about Paul:

For we have found this man a pestilent fel-low, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ring-leader of the sect (hairesin) of the Nazarenes. (Acts 24:5)

But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect (haire-seōs), we know that every where it is spo-ken against. (Acts 28:22)

So, the Jews, at first, considered the Chris-tians to be an offshoot that needed to be de-stroyed and removed. Christianity could be nothing but a threat to Judaism and its very existence, just as Jesus was a threat. (See John 11:48 and Acts 21:28.)

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A. T. Jones noted insightfully:

For upon this whole story of the church of Israel against the apostles, there stands out with transcendent meaning a truth that is worthy of the most solemn consider-ation by every Christian: this truth is, That which until that time had been the true church, called and preserved by the Lord, then and there ceased to be the true church at all; and that which this church despised, and forbade, and persecuted, and cast out, became itself the true church. And so it is forever. John 9:34–38. (A. T. Jones, Individuality in Religion, pp. 66, 67)

Heresies within the ChurchNow let us examine some of the heresies which confronted the apostolic church. Per-haps the most notable was the imposition of Jewish regulations, especially that of circum-cision, on Gentile converts.

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And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Ex-cept ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. (Acts 15:1)

These Judaizers from the Pharisees were making circumcision a test of fellowship, but the Council of Jerusalem clarified that this was wrong. In an apostolic letter, it was stated:

Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment. (Acts 15:24)

While we may not see this specific heresy much today, one of its cousins, the necessity to keep the feasts, is very alive and must be clearly called a heresy, for it is an insult to Je-hovah and a denial to the work of Jesus upon the cross.[2]

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Another heresy confronting the early church concerned the person of Jesus Christ and his incarnation. Deceivers were denying that Je-sus had come in human flesh. John wrote:

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 7)

Do you think the issue of the incarnation is not important? Do you think that we can be-lieve whatever we wish about it? John strongly opposed such ideas, declaring that a false view of the incarnation was anti-chris-tian. John labels such teaching as that of an-tichrist! John also wrote:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: be-cause many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Je-sus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

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And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (1 John 4:1–3)

Again, John is strong to label a false teaching as antichrist and the teacher as a deceiver.

A connected heresy John wrote about was the denial of a father and son relationship be-tween God and Christ. John wrote:

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever deni-eth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. (1 John 2:22, 23)

The exactness of the language is important here. John might have written, Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth God and the

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Christ. Whosoever denieth Jesus, the same hath not God: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Jesus hath God also. While this may ap-pear to say the same thing, it does not. John is emphasizing the relationship between God and Jesus as a father and son relationship. It is this specific relationship that he is speak-ing about. Those who deny this are an-tichrist! Again, like the incarnation, this is not a small, or trivial, issue. The subject of the Godhead is not one that is to be consid-ered lightly. To deny the ontological father and son relationship is to be antichrist, and there is no salvation for antichrist. To say that what we believe about God is not impor-tant is in itself a heresy!

Another heresy the early church experienced concerned the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be trou-

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bled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2)

Jesus gave warnings about false Christs ap-pearing:

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Matthew 24:4, 5)

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possi-ble, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:23, 24)

While the early church did not have to battle against a secret rapture teaching, they cer-tainly had false teachings on the soon return of the Lord that had to be exposed.

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The Origins of HeresiesHeresies did not begin with the apostolic church or with the papacy. No, heresies be-gan in heaven with Lucifer.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lu-cifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:12–14)

Giving details to this, Ellen White noted:

To dispute the supremacy of the Son of God, thus impeaching the wisdom and love of the Creator, had become the purpose of this prince of angels. To this object he was about to bend the energies of that master mind, which, next to Christ’s, was first

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among the hosts of God. (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 36)

Leaving his place in the immediate pres-ence of the Father, Lucifer went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. He worked with mysterious se-crecy, and for a time concealed his real purpose under an appearance of reverence for God. He began to insinuate doubts con-cerning the laws that governed heavenly beings, intimating that though laws might be necessary for the inhabitants of the worlds, angels, being more exalted, needed no such restraint, for their own wisdom was a sufficient guide. (Ibid., p. 37)

He sought to create sympathy for himself by representing that God had dealt un-justly with him in bestowing supreme honor upon Christ. He claimed that in as-piring to greater power and honor he was not aiming at self-exaltation, but was seek-

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ing to secure liberty for all the inhabitants of heaven, that by this means they might attain to a higher state of existence. (Ellen White, The Great Controversy, p. 495)

Satan brought his heresies to this earth, and he told Eve that in eating of the forbidden fruit, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4, 5). Sa-tan told a huge lie. It was made a lie by one word. God said that Adam and Eve would die if they ate the forbidden fruit, and Satan said that they would not die. We are told:

There is always a bewitching power in heresies and in licentiousness. The mind is so deluded that it cannot reason intelli-gently, and an illusion is continually lead-ing it from purity. The spiritual eyesight becomes blurred, and persons of hitherto untainted morals become confused under the delusive sophistry of those agents of

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Satan who profess to be messengers of light. It is this delusion which gives these agents power. Should they come out boldly and make their advances openly they would be repulsed without a moment’s hesitation; but they work first to gain sym-pathy and secure confidence in themselves as holy, self-sacrificing men of God. As His special messengers they then begin their artful work of drawing away souls from the path of rectitude by attempting to make void the law of God. (Ellen White, Testi-monies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 142, 143)

Satan continues to work against humanity with a deceitful demonic power that is “be-witching.” Paul stated, under inspiration:

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (1 Timothy 4:1)

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The Greek word that is translated in English as seducing is planos and means to wander or leading astray, and in this verse its mean-ing is deceitful.

Satan works hard to inspire erroneous human teaching. Paul states:

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradi-tion of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

The word philosophy means literally the love of wisdom. Satan has some deceptions and heresies that are very carnally based, but he also uses the love of wisdom and of learning some have to bewitch them and to lead them astray. As Paul wrote in Ephesians, Satan uses sleight, or trickery, of men, and cunning craftiness to deceive.

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with

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every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. (Ephesians 4:14)

Purity in God’s ChurchGod wants pure doctrine in his church be-cause we are sanctified by the truth. Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17).

The Bible is the standard for all truth and the test of all doctrines. You may find people ac-cusing you of teaching heresies, but if you are following the Bible, like Paul, you can say:

But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. (Acts 24:14)

We believe what God has given in the Bible and also what he has given through his end-time prophet. In 1881, she wrote:

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It is as certain that we have the truth as that God lives; and Satan, with all his arts and hellish power, cannot change the truth of God into a lie. While the great adversary will try his utmost to make of none effect the word of God, truth must go forth as a lamp that burneth. (Ellen White, Testi-monies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 595)

You can see by the 1872 Fundamental Princi-ples, what they, the Adventists, believed at that time. Heresies came into the early Chris-tian church. Paul linked them to some of the worst sins, and heresies have come into Ad-ventism.

Some Heresies Acknowledged by Ellen WhiteEllen White spoke specifically about heresies, and the following is a list of a few teachings Ellen White defined as heretical.

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• The doctrine of the non-resurrection of the wicked (Testimonies for the Church, vol-ume 1, pages 412, 418)

• The lack of religious liberty (The Great Controversy, page 45)

• The erroneous doctrine that the church has the right to define and punish heresy (Ibid., page 293)

• To exalt Sunday and trample on the Sab-bath (Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, page 62)

• The teachings of false prophets (Selected Messages, book 2, page 393)

• The heaven-insulting papal mass (The Great Controversy, page 59)

• That of which the wine of Babylon consists (Selected Messages, book 2, page 68)

Today these are still destructive teachings. Do not tell me it does not matter or that it will not hurt. God says that false teachings are damnable heresies, destructive teach-ings. God takes a strong stand against false teachings, for they will cause those who par-

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take of them to finally end in the lake of fire, and he wills all to be saved.

I have been shown that many who profess to have a knowledge of present truth know not what they believe. They do not under-stand the evidences of their faith. They have no just appreciation of the work for the present time. When the time of trial shall come, there are men now preaching to others who will find, upon examining the positions they hold, that there are many things for which they can give no satisfactory reason. Until thus tested they knew not their great ignorance. And there are many in the church who take it for granted that they understand what they believe; but, until controversy arises, they do not know their own weakness. When separated from those of like faith and com-pelled to stand singly and alone to explain their belief, they will be surprised to see how confused are their ideas of what they

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had accepted as truth. Certain it is that there has been among us a departure from the living God and a turning to men, putting human in place of divine wisdom.

God will arouse His people; if other means fail, heresies will come in among them, which will sift them, separating the chaff from the wheat. The Lord calls upon all who believe His word to awake out of sleep. Precious light has come, appropriate for this time. It is Bible truth, showing the perils that are right upon us. (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 707, 708)

Today, strange doctrines are taught among us, such as false views of the law, of the in-carnation, of the atonement, and even a de-nial of the testimony of Jesus, but we have been told:

The subjects of the Sabbath, the nature of man, and the testimony of Jesus are the

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great and important truths to be under-stood; these will prove as an anchor to hold God’s people in these perilous times. But the mass of mankind despise the truths of God’s word and prefer fables. 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 11: “Because they re-ceived not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” (Ellen White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 300)

Do you know what an anchor is for? It keeps you from drifting. Those who give up the tes-timony of Jesus soon at drift and quickly fall away from other truths and into heresies.

Let us hold fast to God’s truth! Let us defend the faith, and let us never betray the truth that has been purchased at infinite cost for us.

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As Luther said: “Here I stand, I can do no other; may God help me. Amen” (White, The Great Controversy, p. 160).

Allen Stump[1]. Orthodox comes from two Greek words that

literally mean straight truth.[2]. It was Christ’s desire to leave to his disciples

an ordinance that would do for them the very thing they needed,—that would serve to disen-tangle them from the rites and ceremonies which they had hitherto engaged in as essential, and which the reception of the gospel made no longer of any force. To continue these rites would be an insult to Jehovah. Eating of the body, and drinking of the blood, of Christ, not merely at the sacramental service, but daily par-taking of the bread of life to satisfy the soul’s hunger, would be in receiving his word and do-ing his will. (Ellen White, The Review and Her-ald, June 14, 1898)

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Camp Meeting Videos Posted Online

We are thankful to announce that all of the 2018 camp meeting videos (twenty-three in number) have been posted and are available on our YouTube channel at: https://www.y-outube.com/user/swiftkayak. These videos are also available on DVD and audio CD.

The last videos we had to edit were the mes-sages by Pastor David Sims, but they are cer-tainly some of the best. We encourage you to view them all.

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Biblical Response to Heretics

Are we a people of the Bible or not? How se-riously do we take its teachings? When we discuss issues like the Sabbath, we claim to keep the seventh-day Sabbath because that is what the Bible teaches. When we think of the state of death, we proclaim that the dead know nothing because this is what the Bible says. When we preach on the first beast of Revelation 13, we claim this is speaking of the Roman Catholic Church because of the biblical evidence, but do we really want to follow the Bible in all of its teachings?

One story that goes back to the early apos-tolic church concerns how the apostle John responded to a heretic, and it is quite a chal-lenging story.

The story is recorded in the second century book, Against Heresies, by Irenaeus. Ire-

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naeus had been a disciple of Polycarp, who had been a disciple of John. It is from this di-rect line to John that Irenaeus obtained his information.

At the end of the first century, there was a gnostic heretic named Cerinthus. Among other things, he denied the virgin birth, he claimed that Jesus was the Messiah during only a portion of his life on earth, and he taught that Christians were required to fol-low the Mosaic law.

The story says that John was going to a public bath at Ephesus and through the steam of the room perceived that Cerinthus was present. John immediately rushed out of the bath-house, without bathing, exclaiming:

“Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within.” (Irenaeus, Against Here-sies, bk. III, chap. 3; http://

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newadvent.com/fathers/0103303.htm; ac-cessed September 13, 2018)

From the same source we also read about Marcion, who concluded that many of the teachings of Jesus were incompatible with the actions of Yahweh, whom he called the belligerent god of the Hebrew Bible. Irenaeus wrote about Polycarp meeting Marcion:

And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, [to Polycarp] “Do you know me?” [Polycarp said to Marcion] “I do know you, the first-born of Satan.” (Ibid.)

According to Irenaeus neither John nor Poly-carp were worried about winning friends, when truth was being misrepresented.

Today we live in a culture that is slow to ac-cept absolute values. The LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community and all it stands for are moving rapidly forward. To speak about what the Bible plainly declares

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as sin is considered hate speech. America and much of the world is becoming a society without values and absolutes. Assisted sui-cide is becoming accepted, and women’s abortion rights are fully promoted, without any consideration to the life of the child. In the church, winds of doctrine are quickly be-ing caught in the sail labeled Love and Ac-ceptance.

The pursuit and defense of truth are now seen as oppressive, not only by unbelievers but also by fellow believers. Christians today seem to have forgotten how important truth is to Jesus and how it was to the first believ-ers. Many current Christian teachers actually believe it is divisive for us to take a stand for truth at all, and they dislike being publicly re-buked for holding a position described as non-biblical.

Heretics DefinedBy heretics we mean those who cause divi-sions by false teachings on fundamental sal-

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vational issues. While God wants harmony and unity of the faith in the church, there have always been minor differences that have been studied, and even debated, but which have not caused divisions in the main body or destroyed salvational concepts.

Examples of teachings that we must stand uncompromisingly against are teachings that:

• destroy salvation by teaching faith alone;• that destroy the law of God, including the

Sabbath;• that remove or radically change the sanc-

tuary doctrine;• that present a false view of God and of

Christ;• and that destroy, in essence, the pillars of

our faith.Some examples of differences we have seen in Adventism that we should not cause con-troversy over are:

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• the daily—Uriah Smith expressed a differ-ent view than A. T. Jones, A. G. Daniells, and Willie White;

• the king of the north—Uriah Smith ex-pressed a different view than James White;

• the identity of the ten horns of Daniel 7—Uriah Smith expressed a different view than A. T. Jones;

• methods of raising and disciplining chil-dren—there are as many views on this subject as there are Adventists.

The Examples of John the Baptist and of JesusBoth John the Baptist and Jesus were quick to point out the false teaching of those around them, and they did so in a pointed and even in a sharp manner. Take, for example, John’s public condemnation, on the shore of the Jor-dan River, of the Pharisees:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he

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said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (Matthew 3:7–9)

There is nothing weak or timid about John’s speech. He was straightforward and bold. John had no issues with calling sin or false doctrine by their right names. John was will-ing to call people out for false teachings.

Was John a Christian? Do you think that this person, whom Jesus called the greatest of prophets, was Christlike? Was he following the biblical model?

The Bible gives us the answer. John was liv-ing and teaching in a way that was consistent with Jesus. If being a Christian is being Christlike, then I propose that John was one

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of the greatest Christians ever. Notice how Jesus spoke to the same people:

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. (Matthew 12:34.)

Both John and Jesus had no problem address-ing false teaching and warning against false teachers. We can certainly learn something about the importance of identifying what is true and of addressing what is false by the study of their lives and methods!

Dare We Use NamesWe simply must identify those who are teach-ing error. Paul certainly had no problem do-ing this, and he instructed those who fol-lowed him to do the very same thing. In these passages written in his pastoral letters to Timothy, Paul does not hesitate to name names. He publicly identifies false teachers and ungodly men, so others can be warned:

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Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Ti-tus unto Dalmatia. (2 Timothy 4:9, 10)

This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. (2 Timo-thy 1:15)

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timo-thy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:18–20)

While today it might not be politically correct to mention publicly names of false teachers, Ellen White said that our lack to do so results

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in a lack of the power of God revealed among his people.

“Thou art the man.” 2 Samuel 12:7. Words as unmistakably plain as these spoken by Nathan to David are seldom heard in the pulpits of today, seldom seen in the public press. If they were not so rare, we should see more of the power of God revealed among men. (Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, p. 141)

God calls us to identify false doctrines and also to publicly expose those who are either living by or are teaching others these ideas.

We Should Be Exact about False Teach-ingsWe also need to be very articulate about what is false in the teaching of these false teach-ers. We need to take the time to describe the error. Paul also did this, even as he named the false teachers by name:

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But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. (2 Timothy 2:16–18

We are required to know the truth well enough to see the difference between the track of truth and the track of error, and we are to be able to understand how to expose errors to others, so that they can be warned.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. (1 Peter 3:15)

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We Should Do All We Can to Silence the TeacherIn some ways the first two points seem rather defensive, particularly when compared to the next two points, which are a bit more aggres-sive and proactive, when dealing with error. Paul asked his followers to do their best to stop false teaching by silencing the false teachers and by denying them a platform from which to teach.

For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circum-cision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and com-

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mandments of men, that turn from the truth. (Titus 1:10–14)

The verb phrase “must be stopped” is in the active, indicative form, which means that the subject of the verb performs the action and that it is also a statement of fact. Paul is say-ing that those who hear the unruly and vain talking have a responsibility to actively stop the errors from being preached, and he states this as a fact. How does the Christian do this? He does not do it by force or by forming an inquisition; rather, Paul states that those teaching error are to be rebuked sharply. This is in the imperative in the Greek structure, indicating a command. We are not to sit back and be idle when error is taught. We are to speak clearly and boldly against it, even rebuking sharply.

John writes:

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He

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that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doc-trine, receive him not into your house, nei-ther bid him God speed: For he that bid-deth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. (2 John 9–11)

John is teaching that we are not to aid and abet the enemies of truth. He says that if they do not bring the truth about the Father and the Son, we are not to support them or en-courage them, for if we do, we are partakers of their “evil deeds”!

We are called to:

• understand how false teaching impacts believers and their families,

• to recognize that at times there are worldly motives of false teachers,

• and to do all we can to deny these teach-ers the platform from which they can spread their lies.

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Refute the False TeachingsOne early danger the church faced was the effect of Judaizers. Even the apostles were not immune from being affected. Peter was influenced to the point he became hypocriti-cal, and Paul had to rebuke him openly:

But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; inso-much that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We who are Jews by

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nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (Galatians 2:11–16)

The very truth of righteousness by faith was at stake, and Paul could not be silent. Peter was corrected by Paul and, thankfully, changed his ways.

Paul taught that we are to refute the lies when error begins to creep into the body of Christ. Faithful believers are to identify and demonstrate why the false teaching is false and then replace this false teaching with the truth. That is what Paul did with Peter at An-tioch.

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This correction was, and is, to be done in an emphatic and strong manner. Paul states that a bishop or elder must hold:

. . . fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doc-trine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith. (Titus 1:9, 13)

The Greek word translated as sharply is apo-tomōs and means to cut away from, to be abrupt or curt. Apotomōs could be translated severely.

We are called to:

• identify doctrinal errors and describe their false nature,

• to strongly correct teachers who teach this kind of error,

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• and to replace the errors with biblical truth.

Christian Opposition to HeresyThe Bible does not give the Christian the lib-erty to be like Switzerland, a place of neutral-ity. Jesus said:

He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. (Matthew 12:30)

Ellen White has straightly written:

If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indiffer-ence and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 280)

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Being neutral or indifferent is not only wrong but is considered by God to be worse than treason against him and should be protested!

As we noted in the first part of this study, Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, taught that those who preach a false gospel are ac-cursed of God. Peter warned believers to be-ware so that they would not be led astray:

Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. (2 Peter 3:17)

In his letter to Titus, Paul writes:

A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sin-neth, being condemned of himself. (Titus 3:10, 11)

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The “heretick,” the one who causes divisions, is to be admonished twice. Paul does not say to continue this five, ten or more times. After admonishing twice we are to reject the “heretick.”

Even though we may make a dedicated effort to identify, call out, and refute false teaching and false teachers, many may still decide to follow error. How are we to live in regard to people who either teach falsely or live ac-cording to false views? According to the Bible, we are to avoid people like this. Notice the repeated counsels from the word of God:

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in se-cret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. (Ephesians 5:11–13)

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And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no com-pany with him, that he may be ashamed. (2 Thessalonians 3:14)

The testimony of Jesus states:

We should be warned not to associate with those who by their course of action lay a stumbling block in the way of others. “If any man obey not our word by this epistle,” the apostle says, “note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” If he refuses the admonition of the Lord’s servants, and follows his own will and judgment under the inspiration of his leader, Satan, he will bring ruin upon him-self, and must bear his own sin. (Ellen White, Manuscript 93, 1899, par. 12)

We claim to be people of the book, people of the Bible. We claim it is important to keep

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the seventh-day Sabbath because the Bible teaches it, but are we willing to follow all the teachings of the Bible? Notice what Paul says in Romans:

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences con-trary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. (Romans 16:17, 18)

Specifically, Paul says to mark those that cause divisions, not those who differ on the color of the church carpet or on what kind of fellowship meal to have, but those who cause divisions in doctrine! He then says to avoid them because, by their fair speeches, they deceive others. Are we willing to follow all the Bible, beloved?[1]

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Paul says to mark that person, or to keep one’s eye upon him or her, and to be sure that he or she is not allowed to continue to spread heresy. Paul also speaks about this in writing to the Thessalonians:

Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. (2 Thes-salonians 3:6)

Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. (2 Thessa-lonians 2:15)

We are called to:

• avoid those who have embraced false teaching,

• to warn and ultimately reject those who are false teachers,

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• and to attempt to instruct the false teacher twice before totally rejecting him or her.

Paul is clear about how we are to treat those who are living according to false teaching. Af-ter two warnings, not after scores of warn-ings, are we to reject them. We are not to try to make peace with or to embrace this kind of person or these kind of teachings. God calls us to separate from people who say they are Christians but who are following false teach-ing on fundamental issues. That is pretty se-vere, but it is what God clearly calls us to do, if we take the words of Scripture seriously.

The Truth Matters to GodGod is calling us to be very careful with the way we handle biblical truth. We must study the truth and know what are the important pillars of our faith and guard them.

God wants us to deal strongly with those who are leading others astray. Why would God re-

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quire us to be so seemingly harsh and judg-mental? God calls his children to study, to un-derstand, and to defend the truth because the truth matters to God. It mattered so much that Jesus died for it.

Faith, in and of itself, is not what God is look-ing for. It is not enough to be sincere or in-tense. Faith, in and of itself, has no magical power. It is a faithful, reasonable trust in the truth that matters to God. Trust placed in the correct and true God of the universe is what matters to God. That is why God is so particu-lar about truth and why he calls us to have an accurate understanding of him, and that is why God has called us to treat heresy very seriously.

Allen Stump[1]. Romans 16:17 is also an active imperative

statement.

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Martinique:Small Island, Big Hopes

This last summer and fall have been ex-tremely busy for me (Allen Stump). God has graciously allowed me to travel to many countries to share the three angels’ mes-sages. I have hardly been home at Smyrna, but I am thankful that I will have almost a month home before leaving again for three weeks.

Recently I was privileged to join three other gospel workers in the French island of Mar-tinique to share the truth. The meetings were arranged by Brother Jean-Christophe Bolotte of France, and Elvis Alberto of Curaçao and Iranian Raylean of Moldova joined us.

Martinique is in the Caribbean Sea, just north of St. Lucia and south of Guadeloupe. Martinique is a very rugged island that is

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part of the group called the Lesser Antilles. Martinique is a part of France in the same way Hawaii is a part of the United States. Martinique’s culture reflects a distinctive blend of French and West Indian influences. Its largest city is Fort-de-France. The island features steep hills and narrow streets. As ex-pected fresh foods, such as sugar cane, co-conut, avocado, pineapples, and mangos, are in abundance there.

The northern end of the island catches most of the rainfall and is heavily forested, featuring species such as bamboo, ma-hogany, rosewood and locust. The south is drier and dominated by savanna-like brush, including cacti, Copaiba balsam, logwood and acacia.

The total area of Martinique is 1,100 square kilometres (420 sq mi), of which 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi) is water and the rest land. Martinique is the 3rd largest island in The Lesser Antilles after Trinidad

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and Guadeloupe. It stretches 70 km (43 mi) in length and 30 km (19 mi) in width. The highest point is the volcano of Mont Pelée at 1,397 metres (4,583 ft) above sea level. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinique

Though the island only has about 385,000 in-habitants, it hosts about one half million visi-tors each year.

The people of Martinique are very religious, with almost the entire population claiming a faith of some sort. The Roman Catholic Church comprises by far the largest group, an estimated 90% of residents. Five percent of the population is Hindu, and most of the remaining people are of other faiths, includ-ing Protestantism, African belief systems, and Judaism. A few people claim no religious faith.

According to the website of the Office of Ar-chives, Statistics, and Research of the Sev-

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enth-day Adventist Church, there are a little over 16,000 Seventh-day Adventists in Mar-tinique, a ratio of about 1 in 23 persons. (http://www.adventistdirectory.org/ViewAdm-Field.aspx?AdmFieldID=MTQC)

Due to the work schedules of some of the people interested in attending, the meetings in Martinique were held over two weekends and on two Wednesday and Friday evenings, giving us a total of about six full days of meetings. The first part of the meetings was to share the truth about God. The latter part was to share relevant details of the three an-gels’ messages of Revelation 14 and of the fourth angel’s message of Revelation 18.

But while Satan works with his lying won-ders, the time will be fulfilled foretold in the Revelation, and the mighty angel that shall lighten the earth with his glory, will proclaim the fall of Babylon, and call upon God’s people to forsake her. (Ellen White,

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The Review and Herald, December 13, 1892)

Brother Thierry Girier-Dufournier and his wife, Sister Collette, hosted the meetings and our gospel team. We were thankful for their generous and kind spirit. Some members of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination at-tended the meetings, as well as many who had a background in the Seventh-day Adven-tist Reform Church. Some non-Adventist peo-ple also attended, due to one thousand adver-tising brochures having been passed out in the local community, so we also had some non-Adventist people attended. We, there-fore, spoke almost entirely from the Bible, so that the messages could be adapted to all who attended. One woman came who had flown to Martinique from France at the same time as Jean-Christophe. Due to God’s provi-dence in seating arrangements, Jean-Christophe was able to share with her during the flight. He invited her to the meetings, and

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she attended the two meetings on the final atonement and was very impressed.

The meetings were well attended, with about forty to fifty attending each meeting. There were seven baptized on the last day of the meetings, and the day concluded with the Lord’s Supper. It was a special time for all but especially for the newest members of the Lord’s people.

Please keep the believers in Martinique in your prayers. God has many believers there who are willing and ready to begin a great work.

Please also keep Jean-Christophe and me in prayer during the first three weeks of Decem-ber, for we will unite in campaigns, first in Reunion Island and then in Haiti.

If you are interested in having meetings in your area, please let us know. Our schedule is demanding at times, and it is not always possible to meet all speaking requests, but

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we certainly try. If we are not able to come, we will make a suggestion of someone who might be a blessing. ?

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Testimony of Pat and Allen Kuran

Pat: I am not an upfront person at all, but I was impressed that maybe it would be an en-couragement to some of you if we shared a little bit about how we came to understand the one true God.

I am Pat Kuran. This is my precious husband, Allen Kuran. We’ve been married eighteen and one half years. I was raised as a fourth generation Seventh-day Adventist. I went to our denominational schools all my life and married my academy sweetheart four weeks after I graduated in 1954 . We raised two wonderful kids. Our son is a dentist in New Mexico. In fact, my grandson is here in the back [at the 2018 Smyrna camp meeting] tak-ing pictures. My daughter lives in Col-legedale, Tennessee.

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The devil got right into our marriage after the kids’s dad decided to go back to school to be a dentist and graduated just before he turned thirty-nine. It took only about ten years for our marriage to completely disinte-grate, much to my horror. I almost turned my back on God because I prayed and prayed and prayed, and nothing changed. Nothing happened. I counseled, but nothing did any good. So, I was single for quite some time.

About twenty-two years ago, I attended some meetings for singles with two of my friends. I didn’t go to the meetings thinking I was go-ing to find somebody to marry. I just needed friends. If you have ever gone through a di-vorce, you know you really don’t fit in any-where. You don’t fit in with married couples, and the young people are way younger. Any-way, I would go to some of the meetings, and about twenty-two years ago, two of my fairly close friends tried to tell me there was no such thing as a trinity. One of them was a

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guy, not a boyfriend, just a friend. Another was a girlfriend who had been living in a tent. They shared with me at different times. I said to my girlfriend, “Barb, you’d better come live with me and share my little cookie box house” because her tent had a hole in it. She was living out in the middle of the woods, and I said, “You’re going to wake up with a rattlesnake in there with you some-day.”

She tried her best to tell me, saying, “You know, the trinity is the core doctrine of the Catholic Church.” I blew them off so fast that it wasn’t even funny. My husband can tell you. He was raised a staunch Roman Catholic, until he was about thirty-four. He heard me blow someone off at a religious meeting one time during the break and told me I could have at least been nice.

I didn’t aim to be mean, but I just said, “I don’t want to hear that.” I figured they were some kind of an offshoot, but really, when I

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got to thinking about it, I don’t remember studying the trinity or even the Godhead when I was younger. All I knew was that the pastors just said, That’s what we believe.

We were very active in a fairly large confer-ence church. He was head deacon, and I was one of the treasurers, and we just thought ev-erything was hunky-dory, until one day some-one very precious to me called up. He is very, very busy, and we don’t chat too often, and he said, “Mom, have you ever read the book, Are We Missing Something Here?”

I said, “No, Jeff, I’ve never even heard tell of such a book. Who wrote it?”

He said, “A guy named Bruce Bevins.”

He didn’t tell me what it was about, but I know my son well enough to know that he studies deeply, and I knew that this book must have something in it that he thought I needed.

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So I said, “Well, where do you get it?”

He said, “Well, you can probably find it on the Internet.”

Now, he knows I am not very good on the In-ternet, and it took me hours, but I finally found a site with a phone number. I called the number and said, “Do you have that book, Are We Missing Something Here?

They said, “Well, we used to have it, but we don’t have any more printed, but we have a PDF file, and they said, “We could print you some.”

So, I said, “Okay. How much is it?”

They said, “Twenty dollars.”

“Okay, get me five of them,” and when that book came, all I had to do was to read the preface to that book, only the preface. That is all I had to read to know we’ve been duped by the devil, mostly through LeRoy Froom

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and some of his cohorts. It tells all about it in the ten-page preface to that book.

I read the book, and my husband read the book, and we both got it! Yes, there is no trin-ity. It is God the Father and his only begotten Son and their Spirit.

We had joined a little church because we thought that the big church had plenty of people to do our jobs, so we needed to go to a little church, and one day I told my husband, “You know what, Sweetie, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but when I passed Diane, Quincy, Sheila, and Corey, who were over to the side, I heard them talking about something, and I almost believe that I heard them mention the one true God. Do you think they could be talking about the same thing we are study-ing?” We didn’t know one other soul, except my son, who lives in New Mexico, who be-lieved that way. So, we got together, and Di-ane gave us a book.

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We are so thrilled with this message and that we both got it.

Allen: There is really not a whole lot more to say except that once you know this message, once you start getting it, every time you open your Bible, it is there right in front of you. It jumps out at you everywhere you look, from one end to the other. You can’t deny it.

Pat: We are just praising the Lord that we both got it together and that we have a happy marriage.

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Are You a Seventh-day Adventist?

by David Sims

I have a few questions for your consideration, and these questions are for those who believe that Adventism was raised up by God. They are for those who have studied their princi-ples from the Bible and believe them. They are for those who believe themselves to be Seventh-day Adventists because they believe they are standing on the principles of original Seventh-day Adventism. I want us to take a look at the principles of faith of the Seventh-day Adventists in 1889. Let us first note the preamble:

As elsewhere stated, Seventh-day Adven-tists have no creed but the Bible; but they hold to certain well-defined points of faith, for which they feel prepared to give a rea-son “to every man that asketh” them. The

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following propositions may be taken as a summary of the principal features of their religious faith, upon which there is, so far as we know, entire unanimity throughout the body.

The 1889 principles start out by stating there was great unanimity among Seventh-day Ad-ventists on these points. So, if this is true, can there be any question that these princi-ples are representative of what Seventh-day Adventists believed? I will point out a few things from these principles, but keep track of them, and see how many you agree with.

I. That there is one God, a personal, spiri-tual being, the creator of all things, om-nipotent, omniscient, and eternal; infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy; unchangeable, and ev-erywhere present by his representative, the Holy Spirit. Ps. 139:7.

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Principle 1—Notice that this tells us, con-cerning God, that “there is one God, a per-sonal, spiritual being, the creator of all things . . . everywhere present by his representative, the Holy Spirit.”

II. That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the one by whom he created all things, and by whom they do consist; that he took on him the nature of the seed of Abraham for the re-demption of our fallen race; that he dwelt among men, full of grace and truth, lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only mediator in the sanctuary in heaven, where, through the merits of his shed blood, he secures the pardon and for-giveness of the sins of all those who peni-tently come to him; and as the closing por-tion of his work as priest, before he takes his throne as king, he will make the great atonement for the sins of all such, and

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their sins will then be blotted out (Acts 3:19) and borne away from the sanctuary, as shown in the service of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and pre-figured the ministry of our Lord in heaven. See Lev. 16; Heb. 8:4, 5; 9:6, 7, etc.

Principle 2—“Jesus Christ…took on the na-ture of the seed of Abraham…that he lived our example, died our sacrifice.” In the foot-note, we read: “We object to the view that the atonement was made upon the cross be-cause it is utterly contrary to the type.”

III. That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, contain a full revelation of his will to man, and are the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

Principle 3—“That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspi-ration of God, contain a full revelation of his will to man, and are the only infallible rule of

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faith and practice.” Do you believe this? Keep a count.

IV. That baptism is an ordinance of the Christian church, to follow faith and repen-tance, — an ordinance by which we com-memorate the resurrection of Christ, as by this act we show our faith in his burial and resurrection, and through that, in the res-urrection of all the saints at the last day; and that no other mode more fitly repre-sents these facts than that which the Scriptures prescribe, namely, immersion. Rom. 6:3–5; Col. 2:12.

Principle 4—“That baptism is an ordinance of the Christian church to follow faith and re-pentance, an ordinance by which we com-memorate the resurrection of Christ.” Do you believe this?

V. That the new birth comprises the entire change necessary to fit us for the kingdom of God, and consists of two parts; First, a

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moral change wrought by conversion and a Christian life (John 3:3, 5); second, a physi-cal change at the second coming of Christ, whereby, if dead, we are raised incorrupt-ible, and if living, are changed to immor-tality in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Luke 20:36; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52.

Principle 5—That the new birth comprises the entire change necessary to fit us for the kingdom of God, and consists of two parts; First, a moral change, wrought by conversion and a Christian life; second, a physical change at the second coming of Christ.

VI. That prophecy is a part of God’s revela-tion to man; that it is included in that Scripture which is profitable for instruc-tion (2 Tim. 3:16); that it is designed for us and our children (Deut. 29:29); that so far from being enshrouded in impenetrable mystery, it is that which especially consti-tutes the word of God a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Ps. 119:105; 2 Pe-

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ter 1:19); that a blessing is pronounced upon those who study it (Rev. 1:1–3); and that, consequently, it is to be understood by the people of God sufficiently to show them their position in the world’s history and the special duties required at their hands.

Principle 6— So, we are to understand the prophecies. It is important. Do you believe this?

VII. That the world’s history from specified dates in the past, the rise and fall of em-pires, and the chronological succession of events down to the setting up of God’s ev-erlasting kingdom, are outlined in numer-ous great chains of prophecy; and that these prophecies are now all fulfilled ex-cept the closing scenes.

Principle 7—I know some people who take ev-erything in the books of Daniel and Revela-tion and try to fit it all in right now and in the

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future. I have no problem with it, if you have a biblical basis, but don’t be claiming to be Seventh-day Adventists while you are doing so. Do you believe this principle?

VIII. That the doctrine of the world’s con-version and a temporal millennium is a fa-ble of these last days, calculated to lull men into a state of carnal security, and cause them to be overtaken by the great day of the Lord as by a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:3); that the second coming of Christ is to precede, not follow, the millen-nium; for until the Lord appears, the papal power, with all its abominations, is to con-tinue (2 Thess. 2:8), the wheat and tares grow together (Matt. 13:29, 30, 39), and evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, as the word of God declares. 2 Tim. 3:1, 13.

Principle 8—Some don’t believe there is a temporal millennium but believe, instead, that there is a temporal century. There is a

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group that is teaching that there is to be a hundred years of peace within Adventism. Do you believe this?

IX. That the mistake of Adventists in 1844 pertained to the nature of the event then to transpire, not to the time; that no prophetic period is given to reach to the second advent, but that the longest one, the two thousand and three hundred days of Dan. 8:14, terminated in 1844, and brought us to an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary.

Principle 9— Do you believe this? Keep a count.

X. That the sanctuary of the new covenant is the tabernacle of God in heaven, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 8 and on-ward, and of which our Lord, as great high priest, is minister; that this sanctuary is the antitype of the Mosaic tabernacle, and that the priestly work of our Lord, con-

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nected therewith, is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priests of the former dispensation (Heb. 8:1–5, etc.); that this, and not the earth, is the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the two thousand and three hundred days, what is termed its cleansing being in this case, as in the type, simply the entrance of the high priest into the most holy place, to finish the round of service connected therewith, by making the atonement and removing from the sanctuary the sins which had been trans-ferred to it by means of the ministration in the first apartment (Lev. 16; Heb. 9:22, 23); and that this work in the antitype, be-ginning in 1844, consists in actually blot-ting out the sins of believers (Acts 3:19), and occupies a brief but indefinite space of time, at the conclusion of which the work of mercy for the world will be finished, and the second advent of Christ will take place.

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Principle 10—So there is an atonement being made, starting with 1844, removing the sins. This is an atonement in heaven now, not just the death of Jesus upon the cross. Do you be-lieve this? Keep a count.

XI. That God’s moral requirements are the same upon all men in all dispensations; that these are summarily contained in the commandments spoken by Jehovah from Sinai, engraven on the tables of stone, and deposited in the ark, which was in conse-quence called the “ark of the covenant,” or testament (Num. 10:33; Heb. 9:4; etc.); that this law is immutable and perpetual, being a transcript of the tables deposited in the ark in the true sanctuary on high, which is also, for the same reason, called the ark of God’s testament; for under the sounding of the seventh trumpet we are told that “the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Rev. 11:19.

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Principle 11—These are principles of faith. I am not asking you to believe any of them just because they are stated in this statement of beliefs. That is not my point. I want you to know who you are. I want you to know your identity. All of these things need to be stud-ied from the Bible, and you need to decide for yourself if they are true or not. This principle says this law is the same in all dispensations. The requirements are the same for all people. Do you believe this fundamental?

XII. That the fourth commandment of this law requires that we devote the seventh day of each week, commonly called Satur-day, to abstinence from our own labor, and to the performance of sacred and religious duties; that this is the only weekly Sabbath known to the Bible, being the day that was set apart before Paradise was lost (Gen. 2:2, 3), and which will be observed in Par-adise restored (Isa. 66:22, 23); that the facts upon which the Sabbath institution is

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based confine it to the seventh day, as they are not true of any other day; and that the terms Jewish Sabbath, as applied to the seventh day, and Christian Sabbath, as ap-plied to the first day of the week, are names of human invention, unscriptural in fact, and false in meaning.

Principle 12—That the fourth commandment of this law requires that we devote the sev-enth day of each week, commonly called Sat-urday, to abstinence from our own labor. This doesn’t say that the seventh day is a nice day to keep or that it helps us in our Christian walk. It says that the fourth commandment of this law requires that we devote the seventh day of each week to abstinence from our own labor. We have seen that the law is binding on all dispensations. There are wolves that seek to come in among us as a people, all over the world, and they try to destroy our faith by stating that the Sabbath is nice to

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keep but not necessary. Do you believe this fundamental?

XIII. That as the man of sin, the papacy, has thought to change times and laws (the law of God, Dan. 7:25), and has misled al-most all Christendom in regard to the fourth commandment, we find a prophecy of a reform in this respect to be wrought among believers just before the coming of Christ. Isa. 56:1, 2; 1 Peter 1:5; Rev, 14:12, etc.

Principle 13—Similar texts in Isaiah and else-where foretold that this reformation would take place. This points us to the prophecies that point us to the man of sin, the papacy, who has thought to change times and laws. Remember, these things we are looking at are not nice things to know. These are state-ments of beliefs, which identify a people, a people who believe these things, so if you do not believe these things, are you one of these people? Do you believe this fundamental?

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XIV. That the followers of Christ should be a peculiar people, not following the max-ims, nor conforming to the ways, of the world; not loving its pleasures nor counte-nancing its follies; inasmuch as the apostle says that “whosoever therefore will be” in this sense, “a friend of the world, is the en-emy of God” (James 4:4); and Christ says that we cannot have two masters, or, at the same time, serve God and mammon. Matt. 6:24.

Principle 14—The early Adventists believed in being separate from the world. Do you be-lieve this fundamental?

XV. That the Scriptures insist upon plain-ness and modesty of attire as a prominent mark of discipleship in those who profess to be the followers of Him who was “meek and lowly in heart,” that the wearing of gold, pearls, and costly array, or anything designed merely to adorn the person and foster the pride of the natural heart, is to

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be discarded, according to such scriptures as 1 Tim. 2:9, 10; 1 Peter 3:3, 4.

Principle 15—The early Adventists believed in modesty. Do you believe this fundamental?

XVI. That means for the support of evan-gelical work among men should be contrib-uted from love to God and love of souls, not raised by church lotteries, or occasions designed to contribute to the fun-loving, appetite-indulging propensities of the sin-ner, such as fairs, festivals, oyster suppers, tea, broom, donkey, and crazy socials, etc., which are a disgrace to the professed church of Christ; that the proportion of one’s income required in former dispensa-tions can be no less under the gospel; that it is the same as Abraham (whose children we are, if we are Christ’s, Gal. 3:29) paid to Melchisedec (type of Christ) when he gave him a tenth of all (Heb. 7:1–4); the tithe is the Lord’s (Lev. 27:30); and this tenth of one’s income is also to be supple-

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mented by offerings from those who are able, for the support of the gospel. 2 Cor. 9:6; Mal. 3:8, 10.

Principle 16—The early Adventists believed in the tithing system. Notice that this is a state-ment of belief and that the tithing system is still binding. Do you believe this fundamen-tal?

XVII. That as the natural or carnal heart is at enmity with God and his law, this en-mity can be subdued only by a radical transformation of the affections, the ex-change of unholy for holy principles; that this transformation follows repentance and faith, is the special work of the Holy Spirit, and constitutes regeneration, or conver-sion.

Principle 17—We must be born again. We cannot save ourselves. Our only hope is in Christ. Do you believe this fundamental?

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XVIII. That as all have violated the law of God, and cannot of themselves render obe-dience to his just requirements, we are de-pendent on Christ, first, for justification from our past offenses, and, secondly, for grace whereby to render acceptable obedi-ence to his holy law in time to come.

Principle 18—“. . . we are dependent on Christ, first, for justification” and also “to render acceptable obedience to his holy law…” Do you believe this fundamental?

XIX. That the Spirit of God was promised to manifest itself in the church through certain gifts, enumerated especially in 1 Cor. 12 and Eph. 4; that these gifts are not designed to supersede, or take the place of, the Bible, which is sufficient to make us wise unto salvation, any more than the Bible can take the place of the Holy Spirit; that, in specifying the various channels of its operation, that Spirit has simply made provision for its own existence and pres-

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ence with the people of God to the end of time, to lead to an understanding of that word which it had inspired, to convince of sin, and to work a transformation in the heart and life; and that those who deny to the Spirit its place and operation, do plainly deny that part of the Bible which assigns to it this work and position.

Principle 19—What is this talking about? The Spirit of Prophecy. If we deny the Spirit of Prophecy, we are denying the portion of the Bible which teaches about the Spirit of Prophecy. Do you believe this fundamental?

XX. That God, in accordance with his uni-form dealings with the race, sends forth a proclamation of the approach of the sec-ond advent of Christ; and that this work is symbolized by the three messages of Reve-lation 14, the last one bringing to view the work of reform on the law of God, that his people may acquire a complete readiness for that event.

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Principle 20—The third angel’s message says we are not to worship the beast or its image or to receive its mark. Continuing in the prin-ciple, “the last one bringing to view the work of reform on the law of God.” Where do we find in the last message anything about a work of reform on the law of God? In Revela-tion 14:9, 10: “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.”

That is the first mention of the law of God be-cause the mark of the beast is Satan’s mark that his agent upon earth, the pope, thinks to change times and laws. This is why he is the man of sin. Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). He has changed the definition of sin (because he has tried to change the law of God), and that is why God calls him the man of sin. When the pope supposedly changes

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the law of God and when transgression of the law is sin, the pope is also trying to change the definition of sin, and God calls him the man of sin. God said the papacy could only think to do this because no one can change God’s law. No one can say it is not binding anymore, for God says it is perpetual.

“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you” (Ezekiel 31:13). Then Revelation 14:12 says: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” So, those who receive the mark of the beast are brought out, who re-ceive the wrath of God; and another group is seen, who keep the commandments of God. Those who keep the commandments of God are contrasted with those who receive the mark because the mark stands for the viola-

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tion of the law of God. It is a mark, an institu-tion, that stands in direct opposition to the seal of God, which is found in his law. Do you believe this fundamental?

XXI. That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary (See proposition X.), synchroniz-ing with the time of the proclamation of the third message (Rev. 14:9, 10), is a time of investigative judgment, first, with refer-ence to the dead, and secondly, at the close of probation, with reference to the living, to determine who of the myriads now sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation, — points which must be de-termined before the Lord appears.

Principle 21—When did this begin? 1844, and the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary synchronizes with that. So it is not a future event. This is a “time of investigative judg-ment.” When? From 1844, from the time of

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the proclamation of the third message, “first, with reference to the dead” and, secondly, “with the reference to the living” Do you be-lieve this fundamental?

XXII. That the grave, whither we all tend, expressed by the Hebrew word sheol and the Greek word hades, is a place, or condi-tion, in which there is no work, device, wisdom, nor knowledge. Eccl. 9:10.

Principle 22—Do you believe this fundamen-tal?

XXIII. That the state to which we are re-duced by death is one of silence, inactivity, and entire unconsciousness. Ps. 146:4; Eccl. 9:5, 6; Dan. 12:2.

Principle 23—This is the state of the dead. Do you believe this fundamental?

XXIV. That out of this prison-house of the grave, mankind are to he brought by a bodily resurrection; the righteous having

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part in the first resurrection, which takes place at the second coming of Christ; the wicked, in the second resurrection, which takes place in a thousand years thereafter. Rev. 20:4–6.

Principle 24—This is about the two resurrec-tions. Do you believe this fundamental?

XXV. That at the last trump, the living righteous are to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and with the risen righteous are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, so forever to be with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52.

Principle 25—All the righteous greet Jesus at the second coming. Do you believe this funda-mental?

XXVI. That these immortalized ones are then taken to heaven, to the New Jerusalem, the Father’s house, in which there are many mansions (John 14:1–3),

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where they reign with Christ a thousand years, judging the world and fallen angels, that is, apportioning the punishment to be executed upon them at the close of the one thousand years (Rev. 20:4; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3); that during this time the earth lies in a desolate and chaotic condition (Jer. 4:23–27), described, as in the beginning, by the Greek term abussos (ἄβυσσος) “bottomless pit” (Septuagint of Gen. 1:2); and that here Satan is confined during the thousand years (Rev. 20:1, 2), and here finally de-stroyed (Rev. 20:10; Mal. 4:1); the theater of the ruin he has wrought in the universe being appropriately made, for a time, his gloomy prison-house, and then the place of his final execution.

Principle 26—“This is about the millennium. Do you believe this fundamental?

XXVII. That at the end of the thousand years the Lord descends with his people and the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2), the

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wicked dead are raised, and come up on the surface of the yet unrenewed earth, and gather about the city, the camp of the saints (Rev. 20:9), and fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. They are then consumed, root and branch (Mal. 4:1), becoming as though they had not been. Obad. 15, 16. In this everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord (2 Thess. 1:9), the wicked meet the “ever-lasting punishment” threatened against them (Matt. 25:46), which is everlasting death. Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:14, 15. This is the perdition of ungodly men, the fire which consumes them being the fire for which “the heavens and the earth, which are now ... are kept in store,” which shall melt even the elements with its intensity, and purge the earth from the deepest stains of the curse of sin. 2 Peter 3:7–12.

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Principle 27—The destruction of the wicked. Do you believe this fundamental? Keep count-ing. We are almost done.

XXVIII. That new heavens and a new earth shall spring by the power of God from the ashes of the old, and this renewed earth, with the New Jerusalem for its metropolis and capital, shall be the eternal inheri-tance of the saints, the place where the righteous shall evermore dwell. 2 Peter 3:13; Ps. 37:11, 29; Matt. 5:5.

Principle 28—The new heavens and earth, with the New Jerusalem as its metropolis. Do you believe this fundamental?

Now I have a question. How many of these principles are Adventist doctrines? I hope you have reached the same conclusion that I have. A true Adventist is one who is a Bible-believing Christian. As I mentioned, these principles are all based on the Bible.

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The message of the third angel brings about a reform. “This work is symbolized by the three messages of Revelation 14” (Principle 20), and the last one, the third angel, warns against worshipping the image or the beast or receiving its mark. This third angel brings “to view the work of reform on the law of God” (Principle 20). How does it do that? By warning against the mark of the beast. So the understanding of the mark of the beast was in the principles of faith of Seventh-day Ad-ventists.

My point is that you cannot just say, Well, that is your understanding and that this is just prophecy, and we can all disagree on prophecy.

If we do not agree with these principles of faith, that is fine. Maybe you have come to a different conclusion. If it is biblical, then we can praise the Lord, but we need to sit down and study it together and see how we can harmonize or see if one of us is misunder-

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standing something. In the meantime, do not claim to be a Seventh-day Adventist if you do not believe what Seventh-day Adventists teach and taught, and I do not mean Seventh-day Adventists in a corporate sense because Seventh-day Adventist beliefs today are en-tirely different. It is a new organization. I am talking about historic Seventh-day Adven-tism, about the church that God raised up.[1]

I want you to think seriously about these principles of faith. We need to consider in what direction we are going. I, for one, had questions when I was in college and studying theology at Pacific Union College. I reached a point, due to all the paganism I was studying and studying almost no Bible, where I was questioning if God really existed. So, I stud-ied and came to the conclusion that there is a God, that he does love us, and that this is the truth. I studied for maybe ten years. I took every commentary and everything written about the Bible and put them all away, and I

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did not look at them. I am not recommending for anybody else to do this, but I wanted to know if this was the truth, and I studied my Bible myself. I knew what was taught. I knew what subjects I needed to look up, for I grew up in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but I was going to be sure for myself, and this is the point I want to make for all of us. We need to know for ourselves.

How did I reach this point? I was frustrated attending college because there was only one class in three and a half years of my theology studies that we used our Bibles. We learned what so-and-so said about the Bible, what that person said or what the commentary said, but we did not learn what God said. We learned philosophy. We learned to think like Aristotle, Plato, Confucius, Socrates, and all the rest. We learned how to manipulate minds. We studied Freudian psychology. We studied Greek mythology.

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We need to be ready, brothers and sisters, for a time of trouble is coming such as never was.

My wife and I recently went to Cambodia, and from the very first entrance into the country, it was a hair-raising experience. There were blessings involved, but, for exam-ple, when we stepped up to the immigration officer, he shouted in an angry voice, with a hateful look on his face, like he wanted to rip us apart. He was speaking in Cambodian, and we could not understand him. We stood there not knowing what to do, and he got more an-gry and shouted again in Cambodian. Finally, he said “I said get back in line.” He was ad-dressing my wife because she had come up with me. Usually we go up together when we are traveling. We didn’t know to do other-wise, but, from that moment on, we knew that this was a special place.

We visited a museum in the capital city, Ph-nom Penh, that used to be a school but had

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become a prison, one of the one hundred sev-enty-five torture prisons. In these prisons the government kept detailed records. They had pictures of everybody. They had photos of each part of the process. All one hundred sev-enty-five prisons were torture prisons. Their purpose in torturing people was to extract confessions, so that they would have a justifi-cation, whether it was true or not, for killing the people.

We saw the killing fields. We saw the instru-ments they killed with and even the clothes that the people wore because this just hap-pened in recent times. We spoke with the fa-ther of the young pastor that we had gone to visit, and he told us about the day that they marched to Phnom Penh and how he was re-quired to flee, along with everybody else in the city of almost two million people. It was a holocaust. Almost a third of the people of Cambodia died, and a large portion of them were tortured first.

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An Australian, for example, was on a sailboat, sailing around the world, enjoying life. He happened to be within the waters of Cambo-dia, when Pol Pot marched his army of the Khmer Rouge into Phnom Penh. They sent boats out and captured him and sent him to S21, a prison. He was never heard from again, but some of the records at S21 showed he confessed that he was a military person and that his colonel was Colonel Sanders (of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame). The people had to think of something to confess to, in or-der to escape by death. As long as they did not confess to anything, the torture went on, and it went on for weeks and weeks. The identification number he reported as having was really his mother’s telephone number. He had nothing to confess to because he was just a kid who was sailing around the world to have fun, but they accused him of being a spy to destroy the revolution. These things were done by the world against the world.

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Religious people were involved. Twenty-five thousand monks perished.

The story of Cambodia is a horrific story, but this was the world against the world. These were not wartime deaths. Between two and three million people were killed, which was close to a third of the population of the coun-try. This occurred during a three and a half year period. These people were not killed in war. They were normal citizens—men, women, and children. If you wore glasses, you were assumed to be an educated person and a threat, so you were tortured and killed. If you were a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, or any professional, you were thrown in prison and killed.

Hunger set in, and people who were caught picking a banana were killed, but first they were verbally abused and brutally beaten and tortured.

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When I looked at the figures, the number of casualties that governments are responsible for killing of their own people, not counting wartime deaths, are millions and millions and millions, and we are told we are facing a time of trouble such as never was since there has been a nation. We are going to go through, on a worldwide scale, what France went through during the French Revolution. We are warned in all these different instances about what we are facing in the world, and I do not want to be without Christ at that time. The pen cannot portray the things that are coming on the world.

We know there is going to be persecution. We may have to suffer and die for our faith, but at least we die with Christ. At least we go through the troublous times, knowing that Je-sus is by our side and that we are going to be resurrected, but what will you do if you have purchased your peace by compromise? What

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are you going to do then, when you are being tortured and killed?

I do not want to scare anybody, but this is a fact of life. You are going to die, if you go along with the world. You may die physically if you are with Christ, but if you die with Christ, you have eternal life ahead of you and you have peace in your heart while dying. Christ will give you grace to endure persecu-tion. Brothers and sisters, I want to die with Christ, if I need to die. Nothing can touch us, however, if we have a work to do.

There is a brother whom I have only commu-nicated with by Internet and who studied himself into this message. He believes the truth about God and is an Adventist. He runs a missionary school in Mindanao, an island in the Philippines, and is right in the thick of the battle. He was kidnapped at one point.

A few months ago he was taken by the mili-tary and interrogated for four hours. They as-

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sumed that he must have something to do with the Communist rebels because he is not being molested by them. He has been there ten years. They said, “How can you live up there for all this time without them demand-ing of you revolution taxes. They are not mo-lesting you. They are not burning your houses and your belongings. How can you live up there in peace all this time? You must be con-nected with them.”

And he said, “No, I am not with them. I serve, whether the people are in this political realm or in that political realm. I do not get into pol-itics.” The military is keeping record of all his emails and things now, but he said nothing can touch him until his time comes. Keep him in your prayers. His name is Mike. He is in the Philippines. I have not met him. He is on the northeastern edge of Mindanao. We were in Mindanao for almost two months recently, but we did not get on that side of Mindanao, for it is a large island.

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There are people who are sacrificing and putting their lives on the line for the truth, like this brother, about whom we do not even know. God is working upon hearts all over the world. It is time that we know for sure what we believe and even, more importantly, whom we believe in. May God help us to be a people who will do as Peter says:

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. (1 Peter 3:15)

May we be among those who are with the Lamb and among those who “are called, and chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:14). ?

(Editor’s note: The video presentation of this message my be seen at: https://youtu.be/lHvSqEFexLo.)

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[1]. Sadly, there is no principle today in the cur-rent fundamentals on the mark of the beast. Neither is there any statement on the impor-tance or the place of prophecy!

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Youth’s Corner — In Peril Among Cannibals

(Chapter 12 of Cannibals and Head-Hunters of the South Seas by Charles H. Watson, pub-lished in 1926 by the Review and Herald Pub-lishing Association)

Our own missionaries first reached the New Hebrides in 1912. About the middle of that year Mr. C. H. Parker and Mr. H. E. Carr, to-gether with their wives, arrived in the group. Theirs was an undertaking requiring courage and fortitude and firm faith in God, but with-out delay they set themselves to the task.

“We trust,” they wrote as they journeyed, “to have the ‘pillar of cloud’ to go with us by day, and the ‘pillar of fire’ by night, and that it will rest over the place which the Lord has cho-sen for our permanent station for these is-lands.”

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As soon as possible, Pastor Parker set out to visit among the northern islands of the group. His impressions of the people and the places visited were conveyed to us in the following words:

“Malekula is the most heathen of these is-lands, and cannibalism is still practiced [at the time of the writing]. The natives spend a great deal of time on the large dancing grounds, where with unrestrained license the darkest deeds of heathenism are done. Both men and women engage in these dances, which are always connected with a big feast for which they kill a number of tusked hogs. In fact, pigs and tobacco seem to rank with these people as gods. On one side of the grounds stand their tom-toms, which are their drums, hewn out of tree trunks and standing on end, ten to twelve feet high. The outside of these is elaborately carved to rep-resent men. When struck with a club, they

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give out a dull, hollow, mournful sound that can be heard at a great distance.

“The women do all the hard work, while the men stalk around with their weapons. One hardly ever sees a native man without a gun. . . . How pitifully true are the words of the psalmist: ‘The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.

“On the islands of this group, war seems to be the rule and peace the exception. The re-volting practice of cannibalism is also com-mon. The extent to which it has prevailed is appalling. There is not an island in this group, as far as we know, that has been ex-empt from this horribly disgusting practice. All victims killed or taken in war are consid-ered to be the lawful food of the victor.

“There are few places in the earth where woman is more degraded. As physical strength and personal valor are the qualities most admired by a barbarous people, the

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weaker sex is despised and downtrodden. The birth of a female child brings no joy to the hearts of its parents. All this is reserved for the infant male. The young woman has no part in the selection of her husband, for she is sold to him during her childhood, and for-merly was strangled at his death or when she became feeble through old age.”

The attitude of the Presbyterian missionaries in the group toward Pastor and Mrs. Parker was most cordial. Of this Mr. Butz, who spent a short time in the group assisting Mr. Parker to find and secure a suitable place for our first mission station, has written thus:

“On the 18th we called at Paama, where there is a mission station conducted by Mr. Trater, a Presbyterian missionary, who in-sisted upon our staying for the evening meal, after which they joined the ship for islands farther north. We found this family to be earnest, devoted, humble, and most friendly. They welcomed us heartily to labor side by

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side with them for the uprooting of hea-thenism.”

After much dangerous travel it was finally de-cided to settle upon Atchin, a small island about half a mile from the coast of Malekula, the backbone of heathenism in the group. It soon became evident that the providence of God had prepared the way; and as time passed, Atchin proved suitable in every way for the mission headquarters.

The people were naked heathen, and canni-balism was still practised secretly by them. They seemed pleased that the Parkers and Carrs had come to live with them, but were determined to prevent their learning the Atchinese language.

Only by patient tact, however, could serious difficulty with the natives be avoided, and when it was found, soon after their arrival, that a plot was formed to drive these white families off the island, it became evident that

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the native attitude was dangerously change-able.

“One may,” wrote Pastor Parker, “be thought a god one moment and a devil the next. It has been a most trying time for us, but we have dwelt in the secret place of the Most High. We would not be in any other place at this time. We have had the opportunity of praying with this people on several occasions, and for this service we praise our heavenly Father.”

At this time, too, death entered the mission home and took away little Harold Carr, aged eight months. He was buried in a beautiful spot, where the music of the sea never ceases. As sweet words of gospel hope in Christ were spoken at the grave, the natives stood by, witnessing the first Christian burial on Atchin.

“O,” exclaimed Mr. Parker, “we long for the day when we shall be able to talk to these people in their own language, when we can

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direct their thoughts to the true God who made heaven and earth.”

Soon after the death of their little son, Mr. and Mrs. Carr were compelled by the severe illness of Mrs. Carr to leave the islands. The months that followed their departure were filled with anxiety and danger for Mr. and Mrs. Parker. Again and again their lives were threatened by angry savages, and the year closed with little of promise and a great deal to cause anxiety.

But early in the new year an encouraging change was seen. A church and school build-ing had been completed, and was now ready for dedication. Preparatory to this service, some of the boys had been taught to sing “Precious Name” and “Bring Them In.” It had been carefully explained to them that this did not associate them with the “worship” as Christians, for they dreaded such a misunder-standing with their fellow heathen, but if they felt disposed to come and help in the dedica-

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tory service, the missionaries would be pleased.

Of this Mrs. Parker wrote the following:

“I wish you could see the change that has come into the faces of two of these boys. One of them stood by Mr. Parker with loaded mus-ket and dark, angry looks during the trouble in December. The face of the other then seemed equally dark and forbidding. Now all traces of that have gone, and they seem bright and cheerful.”

But the peril was not all past, for in the same month sad news came from Atchin of dangers all round our beloved missionaries, and of dark deeds done on Malekula.

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Beach at Malekula (Photo courtesy of World Bank Photo Col-lection_flickr)

Sunday, February 22, was a sad day for the Presbyterian Mission on that cannibal island. Just a few miles across the sea from our own mission station on Atchin seven of their teachers were killed and eaten by the na-tives. A few days later the Presbyterian mis-sionary in charge of that part of the group called in his boat and removed the two re-maining teachers. At the same time he visited Mr. and Mrs. Parker, and very kindly urged

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them to seek safety by fleeing with him from Atchin. He had learned that the natives were determined to kill every one who wore clothes, and considered it very unsafe for the Parkers to stay, as the Atchinese were the cause of the trouble.

Though much touched by the kind concern of this good man, and fully appreciative of the serious risks involved, the Parkers elected to remain, saying to their Presbyterian friend:

“We believe that God has called us to preach His saving grace to these benighted savages, and we will remain with them, hoping that at last we shall see them sitting at the feet of Je-sus, clothed, and in their right minds.”

Later Mr. Parker wrote:

“We are now left alone with this people. We could not leave if we wanted to do so, for we have no boat in which to take passage. There is no communication between this island and the islands of Wala and Rano, as the people

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of those places have vowed that they will kill the men of Atchin at sight. Our lot seems for the present to be cast among some of the un-pleasant things of life, but this must be best for us and for the work of the Lord here. We have no fears. Our trust is in the One who holds the universe in His hands. But we need your prayers, that our eyes may he kept on Jesus.

Inland on Malekula (Photo courtesy of World Bank Photo Col-lection_flickr)

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“One has to be careful at this time to observe strict neutrality. One ill-advised word will im-peril our lives. O. how much we need that wisdom from above that never errs! Pray for us. O, pray for us more earnestly than you have ever prayed before. We are not afraid of what may be before us, but we are afraid that the cause of our Master will be retarded and disgraced by any failure to do well our part.”

A year of extreme danger and difficult ser-vice, in which faith and courage were often tested to the limit, then followed, and during all this time they were alone. But on the ar-rival at Atchin of Norman Wiles and his young wife, earnest and efficient help was given.

At the time of the arrival of these young peo-ple a peculiar difficulty was being met. For some time quieter conditions had prevailed, and under the influence of the mission the natives had abandoned many of their vile practices. But just then a graduate from one

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of the large universities of the world reached the island, and. “in the interests of ethnologi-cal science,” encouraged the natives to re-turn to their old heathen ceremonies.

This man spent almost a year on Atchin, and in addition to bribing the natives to perform their heathen ceremonies and initiate him into their mysteries, he freely taught infi-delity to them.

Thus led, they threw off all restraint, and once more descended to the lowest levels of devilism. A fierce fight ensued, and this was carried on with such fiendish fervor that the “scientist,” becoming greatly alarmed, fled to Mr. Parker, imploring him to quench the flames of murder which he had so wickedly started.

Mr. and Mrs. Wiles had walked up to the dancing ground to watch the heathen dance, but were soon hurried away by friendly na-tives. Guns and stones and clubs were in evi-

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dence on every hand. The island was divided into two parties, and furious challenges were flying thickly from side to side. Mr. Parker stood between the warring parties, holding the clubs of the leaders, and remonstrating with them. For nearly two hours he wrestled and reasoned and prayed. Every moment of that time it seemed that the fight would be-gin; but, though weakened by fever and by his long-continued terrible effort, he yet held the leaders apart till the cry went up, “Esu, esu, kap mul, kap mul ” (Finished, finished, go home, go home).

Conditions continued to be very unsettled for some time after this, and frequently again this brave missionary was called to settle the quarrels of the heathen. On one occasion the war drums were beaten and the contending parties were face to face, with muskets lev-eled, when Mr. Parker rushed between, call-ing to them to stop. No rain had fallen for many weeks, and they thought that the ele-

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ments had been bewitched by an old man who had died, but whose spirit was supposed to have taken possession of a descendant.

In their superstitious rage they were ready to go to war with his friends, and killing was avoided only by the daring of the missionary in reading to them the Scriptures of God who alone can give or withhold the rain.

But notwithstanding all these difficulties, the work of the mission was being carried for-ward. The Sabbath services were attended by about thirty men; and Mrs. Parker, who had wept and prayed for two years for the women of Atchin, some of whom did not even dare to come out to the open space on the beach, but crouched behind a canoe, listening to the singing and the Bible stories, was also hold-ing meetings round the island. These were for the women, who did not yet have suffi-cient courage to enter the same building with the men and boys, and yet were reaching out for something that would give them happi-

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ness and banish from their lives the fear of evil spirits. But the full fruitage of their labors was not to be seen till “after many days.”

The time was drawing near when Mr. and Mrs. Parker must cease their labors in the New Hebrides. The constant strain of the work, and the continued attacks of malarial fever, had seriously undermined their health, and they were compelled to seek a more healthful climate.

But before leaving the group Elder Parker sailed around the coast of Malekula, thirty miles from Atchin, and met the Big Nambus warriors, all savage cannibals. He was the first white man that ever trod upon their soil. Here he had the privilege of preaching the gospel to yet another of the wild tribes of the South Seas.

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Publisher InformationOld Paths is a free monthly newsletter/study-paper pub-lished monthly by Smyrna Gospel Ministries, 750 Smyrna Road, Welch WV 24801-9606. U.S.A. It is sent free upon request. The paper is dedicated to the propagation and restoration of the principles of truth that God gave to the early Seventh-day Adventist pioneers. Duplication is not only permitted, but strongly encouraged. This issue, with other gospel literature we publish, can be found at our web site. The url is: http://www.smyrna.org. Phone: (304) 732-9204. Fax: (304) 732-7322.

Editor: ......................................................... Allen Stump

Associate Editor: ........................................ Onycha Holt

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