Christians and the Sabbath
I am completely befuddled. Perhaps you can help clear up my confusion. You said “Of course, Sabbath observance never saved ANYONE.” I understood that to mean that Sabbath observance never saved Adventists, non-Adventists, Sabbatarians, non-Sabbatarians, etc. In other words, Sabbath observance NEVER saved a single soul. Now you seem to be making allowances for one group but perhaps not another, depending on whether or not a soul is honest and perhaps dependent upon not having “the best knowledge”, etc. I hope you can understand why I am utterly confused and that you will help me understand this better.

We are not talking about “open rebellion against God.” That has NEVER been part of my discussion, and I am not sure why this enters into this question.

As far as “keeping the Law perfectly”, Paul clearly says this is not possible for mere mortals like us. Even if I could somehow keep the Law perfectly from here on out, there is too much in my past that would condemn me. All other mortals are in the same condition. Paul indeed made it very clear that the Law CANNOT save. Furthermore, he condemned the Judaizers in Galatians and Romans for trying to subjugate those early gentile Christians and place them back under the Law, central parts of which were circumcision and Sabbath observance, plus many, many more commandments, 613 in all! Paul called the Galatians “foolish” for falling for slavery after once having freedom.

The most beautiful part of your response is that “It is only by the grace of God that any one of us can be saved. Rather, it is through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf as an unmerited gift that we gain eternal life.” I can say a whole bunch of “amens” to that. I’m glad you put a period after that sentence. Please keep it there!

EGW was very clear about the loss of eternal life for violators of Sabbath-keeping. She also claimed extra-Biblically that the mark of the beast revolves around Sabbath observance. Revelation is clear that those possessing the mark of the beast will forfeit eternal life. Do you have any Biblical support for the mark of the beast being a national Sunday law, or, for that matter, anything to do with Sabbath observance? Do you believe that a national Sunday law is in the future of this country and this world? If so, what will be your recommended approach? If not, should EGW’s writings be more carefully examined? If not, should the whole topic of Sabbath observance be more closely examined as well?

Thank you in advance for your tremendous contribution and for helping to clear my confused state.

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Christians and the Sabbath
Yes, you are absolutely right in saying that “Sabbath observance isn’t complicated or mysterious”. It is a simple matter of reading the Bible, understanding what God commanded, and either following it or not following it. You have complicated the matter by making a variety of different and fluctuating claims regarding the importance of Sabbath observance relative to salvation and an absolute resistance to spelling out what the definition of Sabbath observance is–until now, where you finally serve up your concept of what it means to be in compliance with God’s 4th commandment of the Decalogue. According to you, it is 1. Spending time with and thinking about God as the Creator and Redeemer. 2. Doing the works of God which include relieving the suffering of fellow human beings and even animals. 3. Resting from one’s own secular activities and a way to recharge one’s spiritual batteries.

Sadly, you have significantly altered the Sabbath commandment as given by God on Mt. Sinai and as reiterated by Ellen White. I spend time thinking about God as Creator on every day of the week, INCLUDING the Sabbath. I also attempt to relieve human suffering and animal suffering on every day of the week, INCLUDING the Sabbath. As for the “works of God”, this is a very general term which lacks specificity, and that is probably your goal–to lack specificity. As for avoiding “secular activities”, this is even more vague, and so totally nonspecific that it totally alters the Sabbath commandment. Recharging one’s spiritual batteries is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, so that function in Sabbath keeping is way outside the Sabbath commandment.

As for what God commanded regarding Sabbath observance, He clearly indicated total rest along with strict prohibitions: 1. No work, not even those in the household, servants, etc. 2. No kindling fires. 3. No baking or cooking. 4. No boiling. 5. No buying or selling. 6. No carrying burdens into or out of houses or into and out of Jerusalem. 7. No gathering of food and no harvesting. 8. Not doing thine own ways. 9 Not finding thine own pleasure. 10. Restrictions on how far one could walk on Sabbath.

You can readily see that your definition of Sabbath observance is radically different from God’s definition and the activities to be prohibited. You do not follow all God’s specific prohibitions and neither do other SDA Sabbatarians. You have altered His commandment, even though it was written by His own finger in stone, which you indicate is permanent. Yet, you have radically altered it, in spite of EGW’s directive that God has not changed and that the 4th commandment MUST be observed in exactly the same way that God mandated from Mt. Sinai. Otherwise, she says it is a transgression against God. Nevertheless, you have boldly come forth and changed the commandment to suit your own purposes so that you can continue observing it any old way that pleases you. This is not acceptable to God or EGW, but you seem selective in following some things but not all things. Even though you are extremely critically of the Roman Catholic Church for changing the Sabbath to Sunday, you have done the same by changing the definition of Sabbath keeping to whatever suits your desires. If, according to God and EGW, and even yourself, nothing has changed from the Sabbath observance requirements from Sinai to the present day, you are in deep trouble, because you know the truth, and yet are refusing to follow it. By your own definition, you are in “open rebellion against God” and not savable. Jesus declared that He was Lord of the Sabbath, indicating that He could change it. Now you have the audacity to change the Sabbath requirements, indicating that you too must think you are Lord of the Sabbath. Otherwise, you would subscribe to God’s definition of Sabbath keeping as is clearly stated in the Bible. If you are presuming to be capable of altering this commandment, are you not being an impostor, or a type of anti-Christ? Altering God’s clear definition of Sabbath keeping is serious stuff, and you are openly violating EGW’s confirmation of it as well.

As for your continued insistence on the Sabbath being made for the Jews, you obviously could not accept the SDA Bible Commentary, so let’s go back to the Bible, where in Ezekiel 20:18-20, God said, “But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, d keep my judgments, and do them; An hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between ME and YOU, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God”. Here God is clearly indicating that this is a sign between HIM and ISRAEL. If it included everybody else, He would have said so. Hopefully, you can accept the Bible as convincing evidence of this.

I am glad you recognize that the Talmud does NOT teach that the Sabbath command started in the Garden of Eden. Neither the Torah nor the Medrash. Thank you. As for any continued evidence from non-Christians regarding the merits of Sabbath keeping, please bear in mind that these teachings stem from those who do NOT accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and obviously will not be granted eternal life. Their opinions should not be listened to, and you would do well to completely ignore them. Many of them are mystics, occultists, etc. Many are Kaballistic Jews whose perspectives involve the New Age, sorcery, occultism, even those like Abraham Heschel and others you quoted from.

Regarding Jesus “breaking the Sabbath”, as is recorded in John 5:18, you now state that “He broke the Sabbath as anyone else could break it–lawfully”. Do you not realize how absurd this statement really is? Do you realize how contradictory and how impossible such a sentence is? How in the world does one break a law lawfully. The very definition of unlawful is to “break the law”!!

In spite of the fact that we have previously invoked the dictionary, it does not surprise me that you would continue altering dictionary definitions. While I recognize that dispensing with dictionaries can be helpful in propagating whatever wild speculations an over-imaginative mind can conjure up, dictionaries are absolutely essential to the rational exchange of thoughts and ideas. Let’s see what Webster’s dictionary says about LAWFUL: being in harmony with the law. UNLAWFUL: not lawful! Can you not see how it is IMPOSSIBLE to be in harmony with a law and NOT in harmony with the law simultaneously? We must return to the Bible and return to the dictionary. Sadly, other Sabbatarian defenders of EGW have previously attempted to pull off these tricks. First, they distort the Bible. Then, they distort the dictionary. Then, they distort my own words. Finally, when all else fails, they bring forth their own Bible, something they call the Clear Word, which is actually published by the Review and Herald. It not only distorts the Bible, but actually has additions and subtractions, especially in Daniel and Revelation, in spite of the clear warnings in Revelation about people who add and subtract from that book. Such a publication is abominable, and I mention in only in the hopes of perhaps being able to avoid this final and deadly step. I have seen SDA’s violate not only the English dictionary, but also the Greek dictionary, and these practices should be condemned by all seekers of truth. I did watch the video from the Andrews University seminary professors you provided, and while I recognize that you derived many of your concepts from them, please be aware that their reasoning is consistently faulty. Do NOT depend on them for any definitive truth, even though they sound very erudite. For instance, they claimed that there are something like 86 instances where early Christians kept the Sabbath!. Interestingly, the account for 78 of those as being when Paul was in Corinth for one and a half years and was visiting the synagogue on Sabbaths trying to teach them! Well, the Biblical passage indicates that Paul stopped going to the synagogue WHEN THE JEWS REJECTED HIS MESSAGE, which of course, always centered upon the divinity of Jesus. Thus, even though Paul might have been in Corinth for roughly 78 Sabbaths, he did not even attend the synagogue for all of them. My guess is that the Jews rejected him pretty quickly, but we don’t know. What we do know is that it was not 78. We also know that Paul urged people to not be judged by how they kept the Sabbath. We also know that just because Paul attended the synagogue does NOT mean that he kept all the Sinaitic commands regarding Sabbath observance, because he spoke against them! Oh, well, can you blame Sabbatarians for a little creative accounting?

At least you recognize that Jesus did break the Sabbath. On one occasion, the disciples were gathering food, which amounted to picking corn, something forbidden by the Sinaitic commandment. On another occasion, he commanded the healed paralytic to pick up his bed and walk, which was again forbidden by the commandment, as Israelites were NOT to carry burdens on the Sabbath day. These were clear violations. Jesus broke the law. He could not have broken it “lawfully”, because there is no such thing in the English language. He clearly broke it, claiming that He had the authority to do so as Lord of the Sabbath. In other words, He was God. You are likewise breaking the Sabbath and serving up a different definition of Sabbath keeping, and you are not God. You are violating the Sinaitic command knowingly and willfully.

You continue to ignore Colossans 2:16 by introducing the concept that Paul is speaking about “ceremonial Sabbaths and ceremonial observations! Here again you add words to what Paul clearly said. He said nothing about ceremonial things. He simply indicated that we are NOT to be judged on the matter of Sabbath keeping. Period. If you really want to go to judgment, you will go to judgment, but will not fare well at the judgment for violating and changing the 4th commandment as you have done. Please do not introduce words that Paul did not use.

Your defense of using EGW’s terminology that we are “co-workers with Christ in effecting our salvation” is highly troubling. Imagine that I am drowning in a big lake The waves are high and I’m struggling and about to drown. Suddenly, a kind man in a speed boat comes near and offers me his hand. I’m reach out, but am so weak an exhausted that I cannot even pull myself up. He pulls me up and inside the boat, where he dries me off, warms me up, and talks to me gently and kindly. He expresses concern for me, likes me, and even says he loves me. He actually wants me to come live with him in his mansion on the other side of the lake. Pretty generous of him, considering that I live in a ramshackle of a hut on the opposite side of the lake. I then turn to him and thank him for being a co-worker in my rescue operation! He looks at me with a puzzled look, and I wouldn’t blame him if he tossed me back in the lake while uttering a few expletives and admonishing me to see how that “co-worker stuff” works out this time. Oh, well, some of us recognize our deplorable state in which our salvation is based solely on our willingness to accept a perfect sacrifice that is completely out of our control. I am eternally grateful for the undeserved mercy and free gift and will never use such “co-worker” terminology.

Yes, you actually found EGW’s quotations that opposed perfectionism. I knew you would, and it greatly helps to prove my point that she consistently contradicted herself. Yes, she contradicted God and herself. When you put all those quotations together, you can’t but be amazed at how contradictory they are–just like your position on salvation and Sabbatarianism, which shifts with virtually every post.

In the next-to-last paragraph you manage to misquote me by saying, “Your claim that there were those saved by keeping the letter of the Law ‘between Sinai and Jesus’ death is also mistaken” Well, I did not say that, but I am not at all surprised that you would misquote me, as you have already misquoted the Bible, God, Jesus, Paul, the dictionary, and now me. If you will scroll up, you will find that I was trying to agree with your initial proposition that keeping the Sabbath never saved anybody. I said NOTHING about the letter of the law. You seem to be twisting and turning away from that, for some strange reason. Certainly you must recognize that Exodus 31:13 clearly indicates that anybody violating the Sabbath commandment SHALL BE PUT TO DEATH. Certainly you must realize that Numbers 15:32-36 tells that account of a man put to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath, and that this decree came from God Himself. Well, if people should be put to death for violating the Sabbath commandment, it follows that those who keep it shall LIVE. Right?

I would strongly urge you to conform your Sabbath keeping understanding to exactly what God’s requirements were. Do not deviate. Do not allow yourself to be swept away by seminarian sophistries. Back to the Bible, Back to the dictionary. May God bless your study of His word. Don’t deviate from it.

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Christians and the Sabbath
From your statement “I advise you to leave the moral judgment and evaluation of others, other than yourself, in God’s hands”, you seem to have terribly misconstrued what I have been trying to say all along. For the record, let me say that I stand firmly with Jesus and Paul, who taught no condemnation, or judgment, upon those who do not observe the Sabbath. I strongly reject the notion that Sabbath violators will not inherit eternal life. Rather, Ellen White is the one who condemns violators to eternal damnation. I was trying to commend you for your position that “Sabbath observance never saved ANYONE” as being consistent with the teachings of both Paul and Jesus. But then, for some reason, you reversed your position and opened the door to condemnation of some groups but not others.

Presumably, your backtracking was compelled by a greater need to be consistent with the teachings of EGW, who also taught that Sabbath observance MUST be just like the original commandment was give on Mt. Sinai. Since nobody, including Adventists, keep the Sabbath in such a manner today, the direct implication of such a doctrine is that EVERYBODY on earth, including 19 million SDA’s, will all be labeled Sabbath violators and thus forfeit eternal life. That means that the first resurrection will be empty, and we already know from the words of Jesus and Paul that such will not be the case. While your own condemnation of certain groups somewhat reconciled your initial position with EGW, you refuse to agree with her on what constitutes Sabbath violation.

To make matters even worse, Ellen White labels the mark of the beast as a national Sunday law promoting Sunday worship and prohibiting Sabbath worship. This is, of course, not taught by Jesus, Paul, or any other Biblical author. Since we know from Revelation that any who bear the mark of the beast will forfeit eternal life, if EGW is correct on this matter and also correct in the manner in which God expects Sabbathkeeping in this age, we would have additional confirmation that the first resurrection will be empty. If, on the other hand, this non-Biblical doctrine of the mark of the beast is incorrect, you could see 19 million plus SDA’ s possibly extending their right hands to accept a mark of the beast, rationalizing that EGW’s mark of the beast would occur in the future. Such a deception would mean the loss of eternal life to all SDA’s deceived into receiving the mark of the beast due to a prophet’s deception. Please read the story of the man of God who was killed by a lion because he listened to the words of a prophet instead of adhering to God’s mandate. For some reason, you also refrained from labeling the mark of the beast as a Sabbath/Sunday matter. Thus, while you might be consistent with EGW’s labeling of Sabbath violators as forfeiting eternal life, you do not seem consistent with her prescription for Sabbath observance.

Since you consistently refuse to respond to important queries into the matter of Sabbath observance, I will offer my own observations entitled Biblical Facts on the Sabbath. Hopefully, you will be in agreement. If not, you will certainly point out any errors.

In the beginning, God created all life on this planet in 6 literal days, with his crowning effort being the creation of man in His own image. Roughly 6,000 years later, two extremely brilliant but also extremely stupid scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick, finally identified the structure of DNA as the double helix. As you well know, there are base pairs interconnecting this structure (A-T and C-G) and the order of these base pairs must be precise in order for the human organism to function properly. When these base pairs become disordered, mutations occur, and mutations are always detrimental to the organism if there is any change at all. Some mutations might not do any harm, but if there is any functional change it will be harmful rather than beneficial. In other words, the human organism never improves with mutations. Any change will bring disease and possibly death. These base pair organizations are necessary for cellular function as they direct proper cellular functions, production of necessary enzymes etc. How many base pairs are there in the human body? About 5 Billion! And, they must all function correctly from the very beginning. Otherwise, you don’t have a functioning body which depends on all the proper cellular functions necessary to maintain life. You don’t see an improvement in the human organism, but only deterioration over time. Such a process could not have occurred by an evolving of a primitive organism over time, but must have had all 5 billion base pairs begin their function simultaneously.

While Watson and Crick won Nobel prizes for their important discovery, they both remained hardened atheists, refusing to believe in an all-powerful God who created this amazing structure by breathing life into a lump of clay, instantly creating a perfect specimen with perfect DNA that would have lasted for an eternity. That is a very, very powerful God, and one who should be loved an respected. Watson and Crick were very stupid in not accepting the only rational alternative to their amazing discovery. I do not have enough faith to accept their conclusions that all this DNA just evolved by some sort of accident, gradually getting better and better.

Well, God created all life on the planet is 6 days and rested the seventh day. He hardly needed to rest, as His creation was literally spoken into existence, and, in the case of man, breathed into existence. There is NO Biblical record of God mandating Sabbath observance in the Garden of Eden, even though He Himself rested. I would strongly urge you to reject any extra-Biblical account of such a mandate. God gave these perfect creatures full dominion over His entire creation with only one mandate, which was to not go near a certain tree and to certainly NOT partake of its fruit. Failure to obey that single mandate resulted in their expulsion from the garden, accompanied by a loss of their perfect DNA which immediately began to deteriorate, ultimately resulting in death.

Several generations later, Adam and Eve’s descendants became so wicked that this very powerful God simply had to destroy nearly all life on the planet and start all over. He gave EVERYBODY a choice, just like He did for Adam and Eve. They could either accept the open invitation to enter the ark and be saved, or stay outside and be lost. All except 8 accepted the open invitation. After that, God found it necessary to shorten life spans, which might have been accomplished by simply turning up the mutation rate. That would be a very simple task for an all-powerful God who created 5 billion base pairs perfectly arranged out of a lump of clay which immediately functioned perfectly after inflation.

A few generations afterwards, mankind started misbehaving again, but God found a willing conduit in whom He could trust with His promises–Abraham. He was the recipient of a promise that his descendants would be numerous, would be God’s chosen people, and through his lineage, the promised Messiah would come. The contract God made with Abraham was marked by a ritual known as circumcision, but there is no record of any Sabbath requirement. God made known to Abraham that the cost of the sin problem was very, very high. just like sacrificing Abraham’s own son, the very one through whom the promised Messiah would someday come. Abraham was ready to obey, but fortunately did not have to complete the sacrifice.

Many years later, those descendants were being expected to continue the ritual of circumcision as a sign of the contract between God and Abraham. For some reason, Moses failed to circumcise his own two children, and God was about to extinguish their lives until they were rushed into that meaningful sign of the promise. The first Biblical record of God’s mandating Sabbath observance occurred on Mt. Sinai, and this time, it was a contract between God and all of Abraham’s descendants. It was NOT a contract with any other people. If other people wanted to follow this powerful God, they must join Abraham’s descendants, be circumcised, and follow ALL 613 commandments, along with all sacrifices, which forecasted the coming of the Messiah, who would complete the requirements of this covenant.

While God always kept His part of the contract, His chosen people repeatedly fractured their part by ignoring the Sabbath commandment, falling into idolatry, and generally ignoring their responsibilities. This all powerful God ultimately allowed them to be conquered by a pagan Babylonian king who became the recipient of a dream that his own sorcerers could not help him with. God, however, via Daniel, not only told the King what he dreamed, but also what it meant, with a constellation of future events that was so perfect that centuries later, a pagan philosopher Porphyry decided that nobody could have known the future so perfectly, and thus, the book of Daniel could not have been written by Daniel! Over time, various mystics wrongly interpreted Daniel, but a correct interpretation of this book is so amazing as to compel anybody to believe in this all powerful God.

Ultimately, the Messiah came to dwell amongst His chosen people and become the ultimate sacrifice in order to fulfill the requirements of the Sinaitic covenant and to replace it with a new one. He appeared on time, just as predicted, and fulfilled all the predicted events prophesied by God’s prophets centuries previously. He worked miracles and made it clear that He was the Son of God, or God Himself. He broke the Sabbath, while also going to synagogues on Sabbath in order to teach all who would listen. His teaching was clear. He taught two resurrections, one leading to eternal joy and happiness, while the other one to eternal destruction. He taught that there would only be two classes of people–those who believed and relied on Him as their Savior, and those who refused to do so. He taught that not one jot or one tittle of the Law (Sinaitic Covenant) would be changed until all was fulfilled. He gave them all a choice, and finally allowed Himself to be offered as the perfect lamb in order to fulfill the requirements of this Law. Just prior to His final breath, He uttered those words “It is finished”. In other words, IT IS FULFILLED. At that point, the Old Covenant was replaced with the New Covenant. All 613 of the mandates were met by perfect obedience via the only one who was qualified to fulfill them. Jesus became the Mediator of the New Covenant, converting an impossible contract into one which required only a recognition that we, with our imperfect DNA, are utterly incapable of fulfilling the requirements of that Law. It was replaced with accepting Jesus as the only One who could save us. God caused the veil between the Temple’s Holy and Most Holy Place to be torn from top to bottom, indicating that He no longer resided there, that the Old Covenant was voided and fulfilled, and that from then on, everybody on earth could approach Him directly through His Son. They would no longer go through His chosen people, Abraham’s descendants. They had a choice. Either follow and accept the Mediator, Jesus, and have eternal life, or reject Him and suffer the 2nd resurrection.

Jesus even told a parable of the wedding feast, where the invite guests (Jewish people) refused to attend. So, the invitation went to all the poor. Then, the Master sent His servants to the highways and byways, inviting EVERYBODY to the special feast. Many came, but there was one poor chap who somehow got there with his own garments on, rather than accept the free and spotless wedding garment. He was thrown out into darkness. The implications are clear and serious. We cannot get in by our own efforts, which are never going to be perfect. We cannot get in by observing the requirements of an Old Covenant without keeping that Old Covenant PERFECTLY. Since none of us can keep that Old Covenant perfectly, we are doomed to start with.

A few years later, Paul came around, and the early Christian church decided that the only thing that mattered was following Jesus and His commandments, which were to love God with all your hearts, to love your neighbor as yourself, and to follow Jesus’ teachings. All 9 Decalogue commandments were reiterated by Paul and Jesus with the exception of the Sabbath commandment. The early church actually agreed that there were only 3 requirements to be met by Gentile Christians: 1. Do not commit fornication. 2. Do not eat blood or meats that were strangled. 3. Do not eat food sacrificed to idols. That was it. Circumcision and Sabbath observance, so important to God at one time, were replaced by a new and better covenant. now open to anybody who wants it. Circumcision and Sabbathkeeping now will not help at all. As a matter of fact, by trying to keep that Old Covenant as a means to obtaining eternal life would be tantamount to trying to merit something that is impossible for us to attain with our damaged DNA. It would be tantamount to trying to get into the wedding feast via our own soiled garments. It will not work. I will never understand why everybody does not exchange that Old and imperfect Covenant with a New Covenant that is so simple to follow.

The Scriptures teach only two resurrections. The first one is marked by no3%% judgment at all. They are those who fell asleep believing that Jesus died a substitutional death and are covered by His perfection The second death is for everybody else, including scoffers, unbelievers, and those believing they don’t need a Savior and can do it all on their own. They will be brought back to life after the Millenium in order to be judged out of the Book of the Law. None will have a good outcome. They will all fall short. There is a 0.0000% chance of a favorable outcome. Sadly, at that point using the ignorance card will be a very dicey proposition. While there would be nothing to lose for those staring hell in the face, I don’t see it being successful. The sin problem will finally be disposed of as the Devil is thrown into the lake of fire, along with all his followers. That evil Devil, or Dragon, Deceiver, will be Destroyed–the one who was directly responsible for all those other D’s–Deterioration, Disease, Disobedience, Devastation, and Death, will be gone forever. The DNA of those in the first resurrection was restored to its original and perfect state, and they will worship and trust their Creator forever.

Final thoughts. I share with you the above Biblical account, not to win any arguments, but rather, in the hope that you will consider the Bible, and the Bible alone as the gold standard. I would earnestly pray that you not just take my word for anything, but check it all out for yourself. Read both sides of all positions. Keep an open mind and search for truth, wherever it might lead. Sure, read Abraham Heschel’s book on the Sabbath. Remember, he was a mystical Kaballistical Jewish rabbi who observed the Sabbath in a very mystical way, with Friday evening services welcoming the Sabbath as a living entity and departing the following Sabbath in the same manner. If you don’t know what the Kaballah is, look it up and ask yourself if there is any part of the Kaballah which would be acceptable to the Creator God. For some reason, SDA’s like to quote Heschel. I even heard an SDA minister lift an entire sermon entitled Grace Palace from Heschel’s book on the Sabbath. Well, there is nothing about grace in Heschel’s book. It is all about the Law. Furthermore, Heschel did not accept Jesus as Savior. Regardless of how many Sabbaths he observed, do you think he stands a chance at being in the first resurrection? While I did not see you referencing Heschel, you did reference another follower of the Kaballah–Joseph Dan. Does it matter what Jonathan David Brown believes about the Sabbath, Lunar Sabbaths, Klu Klux Klan, etc.?

Read J. N. Andrews’ book on the Sabbath, then investigate the Mill Yard church in London, recalling that Andrews searched them out when he went as first SDA missionary to Europe. Read D. M. Canright, while also reading F.D. Nichol’s response to Canright in “Ellen G. White and Her Critics” Also read what a subsequent Baptist Grand Rapids pastor, Norman Douty, wrote about Canright. Read Ellen White herself. Then read the New Testament, especially the words of Jesus and Paul. Compare them. May God richly bless you as you study His word. I firmly accept the simple promises of Jesus that all I must do to be saved is to accept Him as my Savior, and I will not trade that promise for anything in the world

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Summary of 60th General Conference Session (2015)
First of all, you are to be strongly commended for your steadfast advocacy of the teaching of Creationism in a Christian educational institution. There isn’t the remotest rationality behind the promotion of evolutionary theory along with the teaching of salvation through Jesus. After all, if God did not create us in the first place, why would he redeem us?

While there are some who claim to be Christian believers who simultaneously hold to some type of evolutionary theory, the vast majority of evolutionists I encounter are those who do NOT believe in God at all. They ignore Him, deny His existence, and ridicule those who believe in Him. The term generally used for these people is “atheist”. Sadly, there are a number of former SDA’s in this category. At any rate, opening the possibility that there will be atheists in heaven not only shocks me, but again, is contrary to the words of Jesus.

As for American Indians who existed prior to the arrival of Europeans, I am more than willing to allow an honest God to be the judge. For one thing, these folk are long gone, and their destiny is determined. They cannot be reasoned with at this point. For another, I have no say in the matter at all. Thirdly, they were not atheists. They believed in some sort of a Great Spirit. While that Great Spirit was NOT the God of the Bible, there is abundant evidence of supernatural manifestations in the lives of their leaders and witch doctors. Thus, it can be safely assumed that their “Great Spirit” was reptilian in origin. I am much more concerned about those who adhere to those forms of spiritualities today. There are many who continue to revere the Indian “culture” and its many spiritual ramifications. It is glorified in the schools and promoted strongly. Not only American Indian false spirituality, but also Hindu Indian spiritualities, such as yoga, meditation, etc. are being widely used today. Sadly, these are promoted in many SDA facilities and are also diametrically opposed to Christianity. Do you think salvation through Jesus is possible for those participating in these dark forces?

You correctly say “Of course, we are not saved by the law. . .” The Biblical verses you quote do indeed support this. Hebrews 8:10 refers to a new covenant made with Israel which replaced the old covenant made after Egypt. That covenant is, indeed, outside the law, and only through the blood of Jesus.

Quoting Zechariah 13:6, however, does not exactly address a covenant, but refers to the wounds in Jesus’ hands. Consider also that Zechariah lived half a millennium or more prior to the coming of Jesus.

You quoted John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is precisely the point. Atheists refuse to confess their sins. They do not see themselves as being sinful. Furthermore, they do not believe in a Creator God, let alone a Redeemer in Jesus. If they did confess their sins to Jesus, the promise of God’s redemption is every ready to wipe their sins clean. Thus, their sins will be judged after the 2nd resurrection.

As for Ellen White, I cannot reconcile many of her statements with Scripture. That is perhaps why The Clear Word “Bible” was published, which adds and subtracts various texts to reconcile the Word of God with EGW.

I will let you decide whether or not she is indeed a “prophetess of God”. Consider the case of a lack of water at the Paradise Valley Sanitarium, and how she directed that a well digger living in Nebraska be called to dig a well. He used the “wizard water stick” to determine where to dig the well, and indeed found water. This account is found in volume 5, pp 365, 366 of the Biography of Ellen G. White as written by her grandson Arthur L. White. Why did she call a man to dig a well who used an occult power to find water? Would God not have reprimanded her for using an alien power? Did He not condemn the use of divination of any and all types?

Also, why did she take her own children to Dr. James Caleb Jackson in Danville, New York to have phrenology done? Phrenology is the practice of palpating the bumps on the skull to determine personal characteristics and the future. It can be correctly likened to palm reading, which is clearly an occult practice. She pronounced Dr. Jackson’s diagnosis to be good. Do you believe God winks at prophets and prophetesses who engage in Satanic powers? Does He reveal “truth” to them?

If there was another method by which atheists could arrive in heaven, Jesus would not have had to die such a painful death on the cross. Jesus could have rightly argued that His death was unnecessary if there was a different path where unbelievers could be offered eternal life. I am confident I will not encounter any atheists in heaven. I am equally concerned about those who practice alien forms of spirituality. Thank you again for your diligent efforts in preserving the teaching of Creationism.

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The Adventist Accrediting Association is Still Reviewing LSU
Ken Ham has developed a wonderful Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio. It is full of evidence of God’s creation of this world (he does not subscribe to Intelligent Design, and neither do I, because this opens the door to some other entity having created the world). The museum experience ends with a beautiful narrative of Jesus death, paying the full price for sin, thus offering salvation for each and every one.

It is incongruous for one to be a Christian while adhering to a theory that denies God’s creation. Why would Jesus die on the cross to save a bunch of creatures that simply “evolved”?

Perhaps church administrators should send ALL LSU professors (including LSU administrators) for a 3-day Creation Museum experience, listening to lectures, videos, etc. At the conclusion, they should indicate whether they believe in a literal 6-day creation by the God of the Bible. If they do not, one can safely assume they are not Christian.

One would assume that if an institution of higher learning is to be labeled “Christian”, its professors and leadership would be believers.

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Bringing the Real World to Genesis: Why Evolution is an Idea that Won’t Die—IV [A Review]
While it is sad that Jan Long has rejected Adventism in favor of neo-Darwinism, it is particularly unfortunate that he has taught at La Sierra University. What has happened at La Sierra? Six or seven decades ago, La Sierra pre-med students could not be admitted to Loma Linda School of Medicine if they even questioned the inspiration of Ellen White. Now, it seems as if the prevailing sentiment is toward complete rejection of the Biblical account of Creation. How tragic. Does this disqualify La Sierra Univ. as a Christian institution?

I applaud Sean Pitman’s review of the science (or lack thereof) on the issue of common ancestry between primates and humans. One would certainly expect a greater genetic concordance between primates and humans.

Has anyone ever attempted procreation between humans and primates? Yes, but it has always failed. Thus, there is no science to confirm procreation between these species, and thus, no science to even hint at possible common ancestry, in spite of DNA similarities. Why not just accept science and the Biblical creation account?

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Summary of 60th General Conference Session (2015)
Allow me to clear up your confusion. I am not willing to “allow for at least some heathen who have never heard the story of Jesus to be saved.” Rather, I prefer to not engage in speculation as to what God will do about long-departed atheists/evolutionists. Based upon the words of Jesus, I do not anticipate bumping into evolutionists stumbling around the streets of the New Jerusalem. There are too many heathen, evolutionists, atheists, and even Christians that we need to worry about who are still living. That is why you are providing a valuable service in leading people to an understanding of Biblical Creationism. I simply do not possess the knowledge, influence, or audacity to speculate on what God is going to do and what He is not going to do.

You said that “In short, there will only be one question asked in the judgement: Did you love your neighbor or not? Did you strive to follow the Royal Law that was written on your heart?”

While this may be the teaching of EGW or other contemporary theologians, it does not synchronize well with the words of Jesus, who maintained that there will be two classes of people–those who believe in Him and those who do NOT.

John 3:18 “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:16 . . . whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation: but is passed from death unto life.”

Your assertion that people’s eternal destiny hangs on how they treated others regardless of whether they knew the story of Jesus is impossible for me to reconcile with the above words of Jesus,

Thank you for quoting John 1:9, which simply states that Jesus is the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. However, every person is not given a “measure of light”, but rather the opportunity to follow the TRUE LIGHT or to reject it. If Jesus is indeed THE TRUE LIGHT, there is no need to follow a lesser light.

Yes, I have heard all the accusations that Biblical prophets made mistakes, as did Paul, and even Jesus. Thus, Ellen White made a lot of errors, was inconsistent, spoke against the Bible, plagiarized, participated in occultic activities, and that all this is excusable!

Well, is it logical for her to take her own children to a phrenologist while simultaneously speaking against it? While no Biblical prophet was perfect and all lived imperfect lives and were in need of a Savior, do you know of any who participated in occult activities? There was Moses, who smote the rock more than he should have. There was Jonah, who ran away from his duty. Yes, there were many disobedient prophets, and they generally paid for their disobedience. There was King Saul, however, who did actively seek out the witch of Endor, participating in an activity that was prohibited by God. His fate was a sad one. Yet, is it somehow O.K. with God for Ellen White to direct a man to come dig a well using such a wizard water stick? Would God not have revealed to her the awful act that was about to be committed? Do you think God would warn a prophet against palm-reading? Divination of any other kind? Phrenology? Do you think God does not care if His followers use occult powers?

You excuse the practice of using water witching because Ellen White was involved in it and because you have seen it used by “Godly men”. I actually know ministers and missionaries who have used it, but that does not mean that God condones it. Before I go any further, please be aware that I am not perfect either. I have done things in my ignorance that I had no idea were in the occultic realm. I have repented, will never do them again, and know that God forgives me just as He will forgive any other sinner who ceases to use Satanic powers.

Please be aware that there are many, many words for water witching: divining, pendulum dowsing, radiesthesia, rhabdomancy, or map dowsing. Yes, people even place pendulums over maps to divine the location of water, oil, treasures, gold, etc. The Mormon prophet Joseph Smith used it extensively.

I have spoken to many people over the years. Two independent practitioners informed me that it will not work for everybody. But, they said, if it doesn’t work for somebody, all that they had to do was to touch the other person’s hands and it would then work for them as well! This takes this matter completely out of the realm of science. There is a power behind it, and if it is God’s power, why do they call it the wizard stick or water witching? Why is the practice listed as an occult science? I would strongly urge you to investigate further. Ben Hester wrote a book entitled DOWSING–An expose of hidden occult forces. Find it and read it. Then ask yourself if God gives messages to prophets who use occult forces? Why would He not warn them against using such forces?

We have THE TRUE LIGHT. We have the Bible (The greater light). We don’t need any more lights. We have truth. By all means continue your fine work of defending Creation Truth.

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La Sierra University Looking for New Biology Professor
Well, they did not come right out and say that preference would be given to atheists/evolutionists, even though professors are increasingly coming from that camp.

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