PROPHETIC

PARALLELS

...and the Church Now

Terry S. Ross

Copyright © 1994

Servants of the Saviour

P.O. Box 7277

Citrus Heights CA 95621-7277 USA

Printed in U.S.A.

Contents

Chapter 1 Desire of Ages -- Chapter 63 1

Chapter 2 Desire of Ages -- Chapter 64 24

Chapter 3 Desire of Ages -- Chapter 65 48

Chapter 4 Desire of Ages -- Chapters 66 & 67 71

Chapter 5 Desire of Ages -- Chapters 68 & 69 97

Chapter 6 Desire of Ages -- Chapters 70, 71 & 72 111

Chapter 7 Desire of Ages -- Chapter 73 124

Chapter 8 Desire of Ages -- Chapters 74 & 75 145

Chapter 9 Desire of Ages -- Chapters 76 & 77 168

Chapter 10 Desire of Ages -- Chapter 78 185

This book is first dedicated to those men and women who have through the ages taken their stand on the side of the Lord at the cost of their own reputations, being misunderstood and slandered for the name and cause of Christ and the Father.

To those people whom many regard as heroes, in memory of their Christian faith and honor. To the men and women who suffered derision and scorn, loss of family, friends, all they had or every hoped to have, yet standing firm for the Lord, this volume is dedicated.

To those such as Noah, who in his day was mocked. "They held a carnival [celebration] over the words of Noah, calling him a crazy fanatic" but whose faith took him into the ark. To Enoch who was "the first prophet among mankind" and "a fearless reprover of sin." "It was the Spirit of Christ that spoke through Enoch; that spirit is manifested, not alone in utterances of love, compassion, and entreaty; it is not smooth things only that are spoken by holy men. God put into the heart and lips of His messengers truths to utter that are keen and cutting as a two-edged sword." Yes, to Enoch, who proved to mankind before the flood that man can through perfect faith live a totally holy life. (7A 22, 20, PP86)

To Job, who in the face of total rejection but by his family and "church" determined to trust God though He slay him. To Moses, whose leadership was consistent and meek, who bravely trusted in the Lord's guidance and loved the people enough to offer his own life that they might be saved. To Daniel, who without question had a character devoted to God that stood forth through three diverse governments and showed the brighter with each passing test. To Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, although rejected by his own "church" continued to preach a warning message year after year after year. To Nehemiah, who refused to come off the wall. To queen Esther, who risked her own life for the life of her people. To Elijah, who in the face of fierce rejection stood against all odds and gave his message to a "church" who had backslidden horribly. To John the Baptist, who many, many years later came in the power of Elijah and faced the same opposition, who though despised by the conference leaders of his day carried on the work given to him by God anyway.

To men such as the disciples, who after the upper room experience went boldly forward proclaiming the truth for their day in the face of deadly opposition from a corrupt priesthood that called itself the "church" and claimed to be "going through." To Stephen, who told it like it was but had no spirit of hatred in him, who was "not blind, nor bitter." To Saul, the conference leader who became Paul, who although obeying man instead of God at first, "saw the light" on the Damascus road and was converted to follow Jesus anywhere He led. To Paul, who became an honorable defender of Jesus and who quite possibly understood the purifying effects of trial more than any other man.

To all the millions who shed their blood during the Dark Ages that I might be able to write this book and that we might have a chance to have a part in the story of salvation. To all those men and women, who in the midst of this terrible dark history, stood in opposition to their church and became fierce defenders of the truth as God had given it to them. To James White, who went to an early grave because of his dedication to present truth and his concern to educate people. And to his wife, Ellen G. White, the prophetess, whose written works are the greatest gift to modern man, who at times was despised by those who claimed to follow inspiration, who "lead" this latter day movement, and whose published works I now use to compile this study.

To my own wife, Cathy, who has been my helper and confidant through better or worse, who continues to be a devoted and dedicated worker for God and my trusted friend, who, if I am in heaven by the grace of God, will have played the major role in my salvation, excepting Jesus Himself.

Special thanks is here extended to Lynette (Wheeler) Jordan, a longtime, precious friend. The tedious work of "proofing" was her task, and this volume is far better because of her abilities and dedication.

And most of all, to the One who is The Desire of Ages, our lovely Jesus Christ. To Him, especially, is this book dedicated because without Him none of our other heroes would ever have been heroes and this book would be without purpose or cause.

It is my desire and reason for writing this book that those who give it study will come to a place in their Christian experience that they will become totally committed to stand in their lot in these closing scenes of earth's history. May we realize in some deeper degree why we are here and the price that was paid, not only by the spilt blood of Jesus Christ, but by millions of others who gave their lives. With this realization may we better understand and grasp anew that it is our turn to take up the banner of Emmanuel and boldly carry on what those before us carried to their graves.

Often I have thought about the quotation from 4T 374 that says in part: "It would be well to spend a thoughtful hour each day reviewing the life of Christ from the manger to Calvary. We should take it point by point and let the imagination vividly grasp each scene, especially the closing ones of His earthly life." Then it continues to state that there are many lessons to be learned from this study.

In my eighteen plus years of being a Seventh-day Adventist, a lot of water has gone under the bridge. I have read and referred to The Desire of Ages numerous times and I'm sure the reader will agree with me that it is the most beautiful book of love ever written. But about seven years ago I believe the Lord impressed me to take a different look at this book.

Love is all important and we never want to do anything without it but sometimes when we are focused in one spot too long, our vision of the bigger picture can become blurred. I believe that the Lord prompted me to take another look at Desire of Ages and refocus my study, not about love, but about prophetic parallels. That's not to say that love has been forgotten, certainly not, but with my focus on prophetic parallels I discovered that The Desire of Ages is one of the most important books ever written for this exact time.

Over the last several years it has become painfully apparent, generally speaking, that many of the professed leaders of the Adventist organization have lowered the standard to such a point that in far too many places the "church" is almost completely different from what it was, say thirty, or even twenty years ago. As if this isn't alarming enough, we are witnessing a bold trend of these "professors" exerting their brash liberal beliefs right in the faces of those who love this movement and message with all their hearts.

Unfortunately for those who for most of their Christian lives have given strict loyalty, it is being quickly realized that the leaders are far more interested in maintaining their own power than a "thus saith the Lord."

Brothers and Sisters, as surprising as this has been in this soft generation, it's really nothing new. Most of our "heroes" had to stand up against this type of apostasy and hypocrisy in their day and if they had shunned such a disagreeable duty, you and I wouldn't be enjoying the liberty of this discussion today.

Spiritual giants such as Moses, Joshua & Caleb, Enoch, Elijah, John the Baptist, all of the disciples, Martin Luther, Calvin, Huss, Zwingley, Knox, Ellen White, many, many others and the greatest Hero of all, our Lord Jesus Christ, had to meet this "enemy within."

We will discover that when the Lord inspired Sister White to pen the words found in 1SM 122, He knew the greatest weight of these words would fall in our time: "We have more to fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and success are far greater from the church itself than from the world... how often have the professed advocates of the truth proved the greatest obstacle to its advancement! The unbelief indulged, the doubts expressed, the darkness cherished, encourage the presence of evil angels, and open the way for the accomplishment of Satan's devices."

Everywhere Cathy and I have been preaching this message, people are discovering, most for the first time, that we need to let the Lord lead and not man. People are realizing that it is important to put God first and man second, no matter who the man is, whether a pastor, Conference President or General Conference President. They are discovering that this battle isn't a matter of vindictiveness on the part of faithful independent ministries, but of hypocrisy and lack of faith in the lives of professed leadership.

They are discovering what you are about to discover; Jesus wants you all to Himself and He has made provision for you to move forward even if the whole world chooses to do otherwise! Pray, dear one, for the Holy Spirit to guide you in this study. For what you are about to embark on is, I believe, one of the most important studies you will ever do in your life. This message is the same message that Jesus gave to His disciples in a time past which mirrored our own. In it you will discover that we are living in the express parallel of the days of Christ and the "church" of His day. All the players in that play are still present in our day -- the Conference, Headquarters, and even the self-supporting Ministers whom Jesus raised up to continue the pure "Seventh-day Adventist" message in His day of reform. You will find in this amazing study that absolutely nothing has changed, that in the book Desire of Ages is the same message which set the disciples free and the exact work that Jesus did for them -- He is doing for us today.

In this study we believe if rightly understood, will be given God's blessing, as you choose to serve Him first and relegate to man a second position. In Christ's day the "church" had strangely changed leaders and rejected the Originator of their movement. In our day we face this same tragedy. Most "Ancient Adventists" -- our spiritual ancestors -- were lost because of their misplaced loyalty in a leadership (priesthood) that had become corrupt. Today their history has once again become our reality.

It is now your privilege to discover and understand that this same Jesus Who lived through the history of our ancestors, in His grace and mercy toward us, has had The Desire of Ages written not just to show us what love is, but for much deeper reasons than this. He is giving us, Seventh-day Adventists in particular, a last chance to learn from the mistakes of others and take heed. Whether or not you do will determine your eternal destiny!

Our prayers are with you and it is our hope and desire that you will find the freedom that our Saviour has died to give you -- only then will you be free indeed. But if not, you will be chained to men who have no higher concept of Adventism than did their counterparts found in the conference office of the ancient church -- the Sanhedrin.

Our study will take us through the heart of The Desire of Ages beginning with chapter 63, "Thy King Cometh," and concluding with chapter 78, which is "Calvary". When you have finished, we hope you will be much richer for the labor and much wiser for the study. May the Lord be with you.

Chapter 1

How many times have you heard it said or have said yourself: We shouldn't criticize? I can remember when there used to be such a thing as constructive criticism. So far have we been removed from those days of honest correction that we no longer use such terminology. Why? Because when someone in our ranks today says we shouldn't criticize, they mean we should keep from speaking anything that's "negative," especially if it's directed at the "leadership" of the "church."

Almost always on the heels of this comment you will hear someone say that Jesus never condemned anybody. And once again this comment is calculated to place a grim opinion on anyone who would proceed to prove that "they are out of step with what Jesus would have done." Maybe you have been in Sabbath School and have tried to make a critical point on the lesson or have challenged some leader for his wrong actions and someone has said (on cue), "Jesus never condemned anybody." You have almost heard the minds of all the Sabbath School members slam shut about this time and you would not be heard for the rest of the session. Your influence has just been killed!

But to make such statements, in reality, shows the prejudice of the comment and exposes the ignorance of the one who makes it. If Jesus never condemned anyone, then why did the "church" crucify Him! It doesn't take a genius to realize that to say Jesus never condemned anyone is to be very inaccurate and shows that the one making such comments knows not what the Spirit of Prophecy says nor the Bible itself.

All one has to do is read through the four Gospels and pay attention to the red lettering. I guarantee that you will find in a big way throughout that Jesus was, in fact, condemning the leadership of the Ancient Conference of His day. To deny this obvious fact is to deny the simplest historical accounts of the New Testament. Jesus called the apostate leaders of His day "sons of the devil" (John 8:44), "hypocrites" (Matt. 6:2, 15:7, 23:13 and numerous other places), and "white sepulchers" (Matt. 23:27). He certainly agreed with John the Baptist, His cousin, who called the leaders a "generation of snakes" in Matt. 3:7. As a matter of fact, Jesus spoke of John as the greatest prophet who ever lived (Matt. 11:11). We could sight many more situations when Jesus did things that most Seventh-day Adventists would be appalled at today, such as overthrowing the money tables in the courts of the church, but this should demonstrate that most people either don't know what Jesus was like or they really don't want to be "just like Jesus."

It's also quite simple to prove that Christ condemned the leadership of the "church" by looking at many plain Spirit of Prophecy statements. We will but take a look at one or two. DA 616: "The Saviour continued [that means He had already been doing it] His DENUNCIATIONS of the scribes and Pharisees: 'Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, ...'". Another example is found in DA 618: "But when obedience to God requires self-denial and humiliation, these very persons stifle their convictions, and refuse obedience. Thus they manifest the same spirit as did the Pharisees whom CHRIST CONDEMNED." (All emphasis of the author is supplied in capital letters or contained within brackets unless otherwise stated.)

We will have further comments on some of these passages later in our study but it only takes a little examination by an honest student to discover that the person who makes the comment that Christ never condemned anybody for whatever reason simply doesn't know what he is talking about. Once we learn the truth about the matter we are obligated by our ostensible love for the truth and God's people, professed or otherwise, to educate those who remain ignorant. One might ask oneself, "Where did we get the idea that Jesus never condemned anybody or that we should never condemn anybody?" The answer is found in the same place the disciples found it -- from the same leaders that Jesus was condemning!

Certainly, if you have been around Adventist churches for any length of time, you have heard this next comment: "We should never speak against the leadership." Well, we have pretty much answered that above, but once again if you will just think for a moment, you will find that it is not a sin to expose that which leads people away from God. As a matter of fact, I have made a little challenge in times past and will make it here again. Think of any three "heroes" from the Bible or Reformation Period of this earth's history. Now as you're choosing your favorite three, reflect upon what makes them your heroes and show me, if you can, that they didn't experience affliction, in their day for speaking up against apostate leadership. I dare say, with very few exceptions, it doesn't matter what three you choose; most of them fit the above criteria and this is what actually makes them your heroes! Because they took a stand against their leaders and laid everything on the line, you admire them. The problem we face is, as historic as they are, modern day heroes are rarely appreciated by their own generation or in their own country as the Bible states. But whether accepted or not, the Lord will continue to raise them and they will continue to lay everything on the line.

Here's another statement that in itself is wonderful but sometimes calculated to hold the tongue of the reformer: "I just want to be like Jesus." This statement sounds so good and so pious. But one must be very careful how he uses this statement. The appropriate question to those who are trying to use it to silence an honest approach to truth, may be -- are you sure you are willing to be just like Jesus?

To be just like Jesus is to speak and act just as Jesus did. Without elaborating, at this point it is all too clear that Jesus' words and actions got Him killed by His own church! Are we really ready to be just like Jesus? If we are, we will pay much more attention to what His Father tells us to do than to men who are in leadership positions or to their opinions. This is what Jesus did and He was rejected by those who claimed they were interested in righteousness while at the same time plotted to kill God! They, the conference leaders of that day, did end up killing God and all who remained loyal with them ended up with the same crime written in the books of heaven, you know, right there beside their names. Think about it.

How about this statement: "The church is going through." Almost anyone who has been an Adventist any length of time at all has heard this echoed time and time again. But even in the statement itself, the way it's stated is a subtle deception and we shall discover how more in detail later. But for now this is what is really meant, most of the time, when you hear the above words, "The Conference is going through." When people don't want their lives rattled at all, they don't want to take responsibility for working out their own salvation. In some cases people are just honestly confused. When they say the church is going through, they really mean the conference is going through. This we will discover is a "taught" understanding by those who are trying to protect their own interests. The words "conference" and "church" in the sense of Biblical understanding are not the same thing although leadership would have us believe they are.

Our understanding of the truth in this matter alone is crucial and our study in the Desire of Ages will be a blessed one in helping us to realize God's definition of the true church.

Maybe you have heard someone make this comment: "If anything is wrong in the church, I'll read it in the Review." Well, all I have to say at this point about this statement is that it has some truth. If you wish to read what's wrong in the "church" just read the Review!

Here's yet another: "The Conference is the voice of God." The fact of the matter is that Ellen G. White's last comment on this subject still stands and was never reversed. It is found in Manuscript Release #37 (my family has verified it with the White Estates) written in 1901 on page 8: "It [the 1901 General Conference] is working upon wrong principles, that has brought the cause of God into its present embarrassment. The people have lost confidence in those who have the management of the work. Yet we hear that the voice of the Conference is the voice of God. Every time I have heard this, I have thought it was almost blasphemy. The voice of the Conference ought to be the voice of God, but it is not, because some in connection with it are not men of faith and prayer, they are not men of elevated principle. There is not a seeking of God with the whole heart; there is not a realization of the terrible responsibility that rests upon those in this institution to mold and fashion minds after the divine similitude."

If one is to understand and analyze the principles that Sister White has established as to what makes true leaders for God, then the subject of who and what is the church could be simply decided from the above statement alone. It is either God's way or no way. Also, notice that she doesn't say "all" the leaders in connection with the work but "some" leaders. This makes a big difference and has always been true when investigated. When Jesus left the "true church" of His day desolate, not ALL the leaders were apostate but MANY of them were. If people are waiting until the day they can say, "Well, I know now that every leader in the structure is now in apostasy," before they make their own decision as to what course to follow, they will find themselves beating on the outside of the ark. But the door will already be shut.

Just a couple more comments you have probably heard that have become common within the past few years: "I'm not held responsible for what happens to my money once it's paid to the Conference." Oh really!? Please allow me to demonstrate how ridiculous this comment is in our day. Let's say that you and I are walking down the street of some major city here in America. We are discussing how wonderful the Lord has been to us and relating some blessing the Lord has brought our way. In the midst of our testimonies a man stumbles out of an alley we are passing. We "size him up" in just a couple of seconds.

Standing in front of us we see a man who is quite unkept and unclean. His clothes and general makeup is in much disarray. He says something about having gone without several meals and asks if we might have a couple of dollars to help him out. As we listen to his story we can't help but notice the repulsive odor that emanates from his person and the slur in his voice. Nonetheless, we are sympathetic to his present lot in life.

When he is finished relating his troubles, we politely offer to escort him back a block or so to the cafe we just passed a few minutes prior to our encounter. We tell him that we will purchase the meal he is seeking, but as we extend our offering he declines and tries to convince us that he can handle the situation on his own if we will only part with the cash.

Now, Brothers and sisters, at this point anyone who is even just a little bit street wise knows that this fellow is not asking for our money to be spent on any meal unless in liquid form. While making a profession of Christianity at this juncture, we must make a decision concerning our response to his request. Let me ask you this simple question as you are contemplating this scenario. Knowing that this man will take the money which the Lord has entrusted to you down to the nearest liquor store to buy his next "meal," do you think the Lord would hold you responsible if you parted with your cash?

The answer is all too clear. Of course He would, and that is why you wouldn't and couldn't give this man cash, knowing he would get drunk off your money if you just gave it to him. You would conceive that the Lord would not approve. Well, what made the difference in your decision? Yes, you had information that brought you to the realization that the Lord would not approve of you "helping" this man in the way he wanted you to.

Now let me ask you another simple question. If you have knowledge that you are giving to a cause or a church where God's money is going to be mishandled, are you responsible for what happens to it? The answer is just as simple as the one above. Of course you are! I am not telling you what to do with your money, but if we are not acting from right principles, we will be held accountable. For one to say in this day and age (and I'm addressing this to the present situation in the "church") that all I have to do is put my money in any offering plate and my responsibility stops there is being willingly naive and is taking a dangerous position. To be a good steward means to educate oneself regarding the issue to the best of one's ability. After we have done this, our responsibility is then complete if we act according to an honest conscience.

The last comment with which we want to deal has been more recently heard than some of the rest: "If the Conference takes away your membership, you're lost unless you repent and are accepted back in." But in many places Spirit of Prophecy plainly teaches that having our names on the roles of the Seventh-day Adventist Membership books does not place us on Heaven's book. God's Amazing Grace, page 249: "The fact that our names are on the church books will not secure for us an entrance into the kingdom of heaven. God asks, Have you used your opportunities for service and for the development of Christian character? Have you traded faithfully with your Lord's goods? Knowing the will of God concerning you, how have you obeyed that will?"

Of course, the opposite is true as well. Just because someone has taken our names off the "church's" books does not mean we are taken off the rolls of heaven's books. Brothers and sisters, if this were true, then Jesus, Himself would be lost. For you cannot be disfellowshipped any harder than to be crucified by your church!

So with these initial points in place, let's dive into our study of Desire of Ages and Prophetic Parallels. Remember, we are concentrating in this study on our research as to what happened in Christ's day and its parallels to our own day. Chapter 63 --

DA 569: "Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah thus foretold the coming of the King to Israel." And at the bottom of the next paragraph: "The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up."

Now let me explain something right here so we are not blamed for unnecessary things later. Our study, although detailed in many ways, will be nonetheless, an overview of the most important points pertinent to the study. By necessity, we will skip many paragraphs and words to be as efficient as we can. But lest any make the charge we are trying to deceive by doing this "skipping," please feel free to read every word as I, of course, have several times. You will find that it will not detract from anything parallel that is uncovered and, in fact, many times you may think, "Terry you should have used this one!"

So for five hundred years the Lord had brought to view the reality that the Messiah was on His way. But do you know what happened before He arrived? The educational system of the Ancient Adventists became polluted. By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, the Conference leaders "knew" more than He did. Remember when they asked Him by what authority had He to preach? They made the charge that He didn't have any authority because He hadn't attended any of their schools and they hadn't given Him any authority. These same apostate leaders later made the same charges against the disciples.

At the time of Christ's arrival the "church" had a misconception of the event. And where did they get this misconception? From the Conference leaders, of course. The Desire of Ages explains more in detail on page 457: "Many among Christ's hearers who were dwellers at Jerusalem, and who were not ignorant of the plots of the rulers against Him, felt themselves drawn to Him by an irresistible power. The conviction pressed upon them that He was the Son of God. But Satan was ready to suggest doubt; and for this the way was prepared by their erroneous ideas of the Messiah and His coming. It was generally believed that Christ would be born at Bethlehem, but that after a time He would disappear, and at His second appearance none would know whence He came. There were not a few who held that the Messiah would have no natural relationship to humanity. And because the popular conception of the glory of the Messiah was not met by Jesus of Nazareth, many gave heed to the suggestion, 'Howbeit we know this Man when He is; but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence He is.'

"While they were thus wavering between doubt and faith, Jesus took up their thoughts and answered them: 'Ye both know Me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of Myself, but He that sent Me is true, who ye know not.' They claimed a knowledge of what the origin of Christ should be, but they were in utter ignorance of it. If they had lived in accordance with the will of God, they would have known His Son when He was manifested to them."

So you see, God's "chosen people" had disregarded the manner in which He had said He would come. They could not rightly discern spiritual things because they had not lived "in accordance with the will of God."

When Christ arrived on the scene, the "church" had been polluted with the leading of diluted teachers. Even the disciples were not immune to these things and as they listened to Christ's words, "The hope of the new kingdom was again springing up."

DA 570: "...hope brightened in their hearts with the joyous thought that He [Jesus] was about to enter the capital, proclaim Himself King, and assert His royal power. While on their errand they communicated their glowing expectations to the friends of Jesus, and the excitement spread far and near, raising the expectations of the people to the highest pitch."

Here we see the disciples of Christ spreading the "gospel" of Christ's arrival and exciting the people with their news. But their news was based on the popular belief of their day that they had received from their leaders which was wrong. In reality, although the disciples didn't understand it, while they were getting the people excited, they were really setting themselves and the people up for a great disappointment. We see the parallel to this first in the period of 1843. Because of belief in popular theology there was a misunderstanding not so much as to the event but how the event would take place.

During 1843 the people thought that Christ was coming back. They had been taught by the leaders of their day that the earth was the sanctuary and if Christ was about to cleanse the sanctuary this then meant they were about to experience the second coming of Christ. Many became excited about this "gospel news" and began fervently sharing it with anyone who would listen and people's expectations raised to the point that they stopped all other activities and even left their farms and places of business. But while they thought they were doing the right thing they were really being set up for the great disappointment of 1843-44.

The same thing is happening all over again. You ask how? I'll tell you how. The popular "gospel" today (and remember we're talking within Adventism) is that you can continue to sin, and because God understands we are human, He will still save us. While the majority of Adventists may be excited about this, they are really being set up one last time for the great disappointment. There is one big difference, however. This time it will be an eternal disappointment and by the time most realize they've been deceived, it will be too late.

Because we are studying Prophetic Parallels this might be a good place to set in motion some ground rules. Now I'm going to make the claim that in this study we will discover that essentially nothing has changed in the story as far as what had happened 2,000 years ago and what is happening today. I'm making the claim that Jesus has intentionally inspired the writing of this parallel in Desire of Ages and has graciously brought it to the forefront at this time because it's time to do so. In keeping with this, let's pause to discuss the "players" in this drama.

If we had lived 2,000 years ago and had only the knowledge of the Jews, it would have been obvious to us who the church was. Most of us would have recognized that the "church" was the Sanhedrin. We would have said that Jerusalem was "Conference Headquarters" and the priests, scribes, and Pharisees were the Conference leaders of our day. We would have been right based on the same assumptions that are being made today by the majority. This is so obvious as illustrated by verses in Scripture already mentioned, and by statements from the disciples themselves such as, "Don't you know, Jesus, You just offended the pastors?" (Matt. 15:12). And you may also want to note Jesus' corresponding response.

If we would have been guilty of not diligently studying to show ourselves approved and part of the popular thought of that day, 2,000 years ago, we would have definitely believed that the Conference was the church and that the Conference was the hierarchy or the Sanhedrin. To deny this simple truth is either the admission of gross ignorance or the height of prideful piety.

Sister White certainly knew and made public claim of this parallel many, many times when she rightly called the Seventh-day Adventist people "Modern day Israel." In over forty places of her writings (I've looked up every one) she plainly shows, by calling the Seventh-day Adventist people Modern day Israel, that the parallel is true.

Within the last several years many of you may have heard the term "Ancient Adventists" used for Ancient Israel. If you have, you probably know that it was the author of this book who coined that phrase. The above explanation is how I arrived at the name. If we are "Modern day Israel," then it stands to reason that we are abusing nothing, in the spiritual sense by calling them "Ancient Adventists." Because this is so simple and nearly all with whom I have spoken have readily recognized the Biblical analogy, I will not spend any more time with it here. But as we continue in the study, if there is any doubt, things should not remain confusing very long. If they do, you may be in a lot more trouble than you think.

I'll demonstrate the analogy just one more time before we press on with our study. If we are supposed to be the bolt of cloth claiming to be the modern day chosen people, from where did we originate? Who are our "spiritual ancestors," if not the Jews? Well, I think this point has been agreed upon a long time ago and we have been claiming it for well over 100 years now.

Along with the truths just pointed out would come the one that as we had clung to Conference thought we would not have accepted Jesus as anyone more than a divisive troublemaker whom we finally voted to put away. Now I realize this is hard to take but not any more difficult to take than it was for those to whom the disciples told it. What one must do with this information is to decide how to react toward it. In Christ's day there were two groups: those who decided to continue to fight against these truths and those who repented for hanging on to that which had put Christ on the cross.

In His day, how would Christ and His disciples have been identified? They would have been recognized by most of us as Self-supporting ministers. They would not have been recognized as having authority to give their messages and this is plainly pointed out in Scripture. Remember, it is only those who began to look at the truth for themselves who discovered the Conference leaders of their day to be wrong. All those who clung to the self-promoted idea that the "church" (Conference) was going through died in the slaughter of A.D. 70. Not only were they removed that day from off the face of the earth but also from the Lamb's Book of Life!

Do we realize, Brothers and Sisters, that if it hadn't been for the Self-supporting Ministers, there wouldn't have been any 1844? As a matter of fact, there wouldn't have been an Adventist movement at all! Our own modern-day forefathers were blamed by their own church for the same thing some of us are being blamed for today. They endured the same thing that Jesus endured, and we are grateful they did!

And what was it that originally put in action the downfall of the structure in ancient times? It was the choosing of a King. The Scriptures plainly teaches that this was never God's plan. Let's read about it in 1 Samuel 8:5-8: "...make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."

"Modern day Israel" has followed in the same footsteps and is in the same trouble. The reason God didn't desire for Israel to have a king is a good one. Having one man at the head is not God's plan for nearly every time this has been the case, that "king" ends up protecting his own kingdom to the destruction of God's.

DA 571-2: "This day, which seemed to the disciples the crowning day of their lives, would have been shadowed with gloomy clouds had they known that this scene of rejoicing [the triumphal entry] was but a prelude to the suffering and death of their Master. Although He had repeatedly told them of His certain sacrifice, yet in the glad triumph of the present they forgot His sorrowful words, and looked forward to His prosperous reign on David's throne."

Of course, the Great Controversy speaks of this parallel; during the time the church is looking to years of prosperity, sudden destruction comes. You see, Jesus had tried to warn them but their minds were so full of preconceived ideas placed there by the corrupt priesthood that His words fell on deaf ears. Although Christ has renewed His warnings to His professed people in the volumes of Spirit of Prophecy books, today for the most part, they are falling on deaf ears. In a time when the "church" is crying peace and safety, in a time when the "church" is looking forward to years of prosperity, sudden destruction is about to fall.

DA 572: "Many Pharisees witnessed the scene, and, burning with envy and malice, sought to turn the current of popular feeling. With all their authority they tried to silence the people; but their appeals and threats only increased the enthusiasm. They feared that this multitude, in the strength of their numbers, would make Jesus king. ... They declared that such noisy demonstrations were unlawful, and would not be permitted by the authorities."

Here we have the Conference Pastors witnessing the scene and they are burning with envy and malice. Now do you know what malice is? If you look it up you will find that it is defined as "hatred or intense hatred." Why did the Ancient Adventist Pastors hate Jesus, the very One Who, they were claiming to worship? We also read that these same Pastors feared that the multitude would make Jesus their king. Why would an Adventist Pastor fear that the laity would make Jesus their king?

I'll tell you why, for the reason hasn't changed over the last 2,000 years. The Adventist Pastors feared that if the people had made Jesus their king, they would have found out the truth about who the Pastors really were and what their style of pastoring was really all about. They feared that their own authority would be nullified and they would be without a job! They feared they would lose control of the money and lose all their authority. You want to know something? They were right! I hope you are thinking about parallels in our own day.

DA 576: "In the midst of a scene of rejoicing, where all were paying Him homage, Israel's King was in tears; not silent tears of gladness, but tears and groans of insuppressible agony. ...

"The tears of Jesus were not in anticipation of His own suffering."

Jesus had some very real and deadly enemies but His was always the spirit of unselfish love. His weeping was for a lost people. It broke His heart to know that the Ancient Adventist Church, the very church which He Himself had raised up, had rejected Him. His tears were shed not for Himself but for these people who claimed to be "the church" but were sadly blinded by their own pride and stubbornness.

DA 576: "The thought of His own agony did not intimidate that noble, self-sacrificing soul. It was the sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of Jesus -- Jerusalem [Ancient Adventist Headquarters] that had rejected the Son of God and scorned His love, that refused to be convinced by His mighty miracles, and was about to take His life. He saw what she was in her guilt of rejecting her Redeemer, and what she might have been had she accepted Him who alone could heal her wound."

DA 576: "The record of more than a thousand years of Christ's guardian care and tender love, such as a father bears his only child, was there. In that temple the prophets had uttered their solemn warnings. There had the burning censers waved, while incense, mingled with the prayers of the worshipers, had ascended to God. There the blood of beasts had flowed, typical of the blood of Christ. There Jehovah had manifested His glory above the mercy seat. There the priests had officiated, and the pomp of symbol and ceremony had gone on for ages. BUT ALL THIS MUST HAVE AN END."

Christ does not easily give up on people nor does He quickly cast them aside. For centuries He labored and cared for this church He had started but it all had to come to an end. You might say "Well yes, Terry, the sacrifices of lambs and other animals did have to come to an end," and you would be right; but go back and read all of the above quotation. It says that the "church" in Christ's day had to come to an end. Why? Because they had rejected Him and become corrupt. Although they had been raised by Christ they no longer represented the work and purpose for their original existence and it had to stop. Christ no longer accepted their apostasy as His church. Are there any parallels today? If the circumstances of our day are the same, will not the results be the same as they were in the days of our spiritual forefathers? To the honest, truth seeking Christian, the answer is clear.

DA 576-577: "Here the Saviour paused, and left unsaid what might have been the condition of Jerusalem had she accepted the help that God desired to give her, ... The glorious destiny that might have blessed Jerusalem had she accepted her Redeemer rose before the Son of God. ...

"But the bright picture of what Jerusalem might have been fades from the Saviour's sight. HE REALIZES WHAT SHE NOW IS UNDER THE ROMAN YOKE, BEARING THE FROWN OF GOD, DOOMED TO HIS RETRIBUTIVE JUDGMENT."

Did you read that friend? Are you thinking of prophetic parallels? Can you see that the Seventh-day Adventist organization is moving toward Rome? Do you know that it will be apostate Seventh-day Adventists who will fall under the Roman yoke fully and will betray the true Seventh-day Adventists who will be hunted down, imprisoned, and/or killed?

You've heard or read this quotation before -- 1SM 122: "We have far more to fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and success are far greater from the church itself than from the world. Unbelievers have a right to expect that those who profess to be keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will do more than any other class to promote and honor, by their consistent lives, by their godly example and their active influence, the cause which they represent. But how often have the professed advocates of the truth proved the greatest obstacle to its advancement! The unbelief indulged, the doubts expressed, the darkness cherished, encourage the presence of evil angels, and open the way for the accomplishment of Satan's devices."

Did you notice that she is speaking about fearing those who are unbelievers but profess to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus? Is there any doubt in your mind that she is speaking about fearing those who claim to be Seventh-day Adventists but who don't live up to the name? Notice that she never says we need to fear those who are true Adventists, but those who make a profession of Adventism without corresponding works based on the inspiration of true Adventism which is the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.

DA 577: "Christ came to save Jerusalem with her children; but PHARISAICAL PRIDE, HYPOCRISY, JEALOUSY, AND MALICE had prevented Him from accomplishing His purpose."

Jesus came to save Jerusalem. Does this mean that Jesus didn't come to save anyone else, including the Jews who didn't live in Jerusalem? Remember that His own mother didn't live in Jerusalem. The reason Jerusalem is mentioned here is because Jerusalem was indeed the headquarters and, therefore, represented all of Israel or Ancient Adventism.

But Jesus couldn't save the headquarters of Ancient Adventism. Why? Because of Pharisaical (Pastoral) pride, hypocrisy (teaching the laity one thing and doing another themselves), jealousy (the love of self over the love of other men and God), and malice (or hatred). Because of these things Jesus could not accomplish what He otherwise could have. Do you realize the gravity of what's being said here? Jesus came to give the people the very message that would have placed them into His kingdom, but the leadership of the Ancient Adventist Church actively blocked Him from doing this vital work. If we were to rewrite this in the modern day vernacular, this is how it might read:

Christ came to save Silver Spring and her children; but pastoral pride, professing one thing but doing another, protecting their jobs but not protecting others and the truth, and hatred for sacred things prevented many from knowing the truth who otherwise might have been saved.

DA 577-578: "Jerusalem had been the child of His care, and as a tender father mourns over a wayward son, so Jesus wept over the beloved city. How can I give thee up? How can I see thee devoted to destruction? ... When the fast westering sun should pass from sight in the heavens, Jerusalem's day of grace would be ended."

Jerusalem indeed represented headquarters of the system of religion that Christ Himself had raised up. Israel, Ancient Adventists, were indeed the "chosen" people who Christ had entrusted to do a special work. He had also promised them that they would go through. But as with every other promise, these chosen people had either forgotten or ignored the detail that all was based on obedience to God's instructions. Our own books tell us in many places that history repeats itself and "we are worse than they." If God has not changed, then this "chosen" generation of professors without belief, with its headquarters, will suffer the same end as did their unbelieving forefathers. If God has changed, no one can trust Him nor can we look forward to the hope of salvation.

For anyone who has been in the "church" for any length of time, you have heard the statement, "The church is going through." In reality the statement means "The conference is going through." Most Adventists believe just as their counterparts did that no matter what the conference does, the church and the conference are going through. Well, let me ask you this simple question. Do you believe in once saved, always saved? You may say, no, but are you sure? If you believe that the conference is going through and that it cannot do otherwise no matter how corrupt it becomes, then you indeed do believe in once saved, always saved. Let's take a familiar story out of the Bible to graphically illustrate the point:

1 Samuel 8:4-7 "Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."

Did you know that one of the major steps the leaders of Israel took which put them on the road to apostasy was to choose a king to rule over them? The Spirit of Prophecy has many things to say regarding this subject and kingly power.

Praise the Lord, however, for He does not easily cast us aside! Right from the start the Lord has always had a plan "A" to follow. If we would follow this plan we would have far less concerns than we do presently. Also, right from the start the Lord has usually had a plan "B" to implement if plan "A" was not followed by the people. I am so thankful that the Lord loves us with this kind of love, aren't you?

So Israel's leaders had insisted on having a King rule over them. God had told Samuel that they had rejected Him by making this request. But, nonetheless, He implemented plan "B" rather than casting them aside at this time.

1 Samuel 9:15-17 "Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me, And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people."

So the Lord went to plan "B" and told Samuel what it was. Now, did the Lord hand pick Saul? Yes! And was there to be an ordination for this man who was handpicked? Yes! Let's continue.

1 Samuel 10:1 "Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?"

So indeed the Lord handpicked Saul and the Lord had Saul ordained to the mission of ruling over His people.

1 Samuel 10:6 "And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man."

Brothers and sisters, this has to be one of the most exciting stories in all of the Bible! Here we have a man who is handpicked by God. He is ordained to his mission by the prophet Samuel and now he is given the promise that the Holy Spirit will fill him and he will be changed into another man! How would you like a prophet to promise you a quick, total conversion? Not maybe, but for sure! Let's see what happened.

1 Samuel 10:9-11 "And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

What an exciting story! I dare say, that with few exceptions, you won't find too many more stories like this one anywhere. So to recap -- Saul had been handpicked, he was anointed to the position, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he prophesied, and was given a new heart. If this isn't a total conversion experience direct from God, I don't know what is! But sadly this is not the end of the story.

1 Samuel 15:16-23 "Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee King over Israel? And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of the Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king."

Now I would like to ask another one of those simple questions. Was the Seventh-day Adventist "Church" handpicked with a different set of rules than was Saul? Did everyone in the Administration have the same conversion experience as Saul or do you think for the most part Saul has the edge in this part of the story?

One last time. Saul was handpicked. He was appointed and anointed. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He prophesied among the other prophets before witnesses who knew him. He was in fact given a new heart. Brother and sister, you just can't get anymore saved than this! Now here's the question and the point. Will Saul be in heaven?

Many of you have thought that you have never believed in once saved, always saved but in the light of the story we just read I think many Seventh-day Adventists do believe, so far as the conference is concerned, that they cannot be lost because God has chosen them. If you believe that, then you don't believe the story of Saul to be true or inspired. If this is the case, I implore you to please get on your knees and beg God to give you the eyesalve of Revelation 3.

Saul will not be in heaven for a simple and plain stated reason. He broke his contract of salvation with God. When he rejected the Word of the Lord, the Lord rejected him. His course took him into spiritualism. And strangely enough we are told in the book Great Controversy that a three-fold union will rise up to exterminate God's people. Also, strangely enough, we have exposed the fact that there are many professed Seventh-day Adventist leaders who have or are being educated in NLP techniques and are using other spiritualist techniques such as imagery right in the "church." Things have not changed over the centuries, for if you choose not to go to the Lord for wisdom, then where is there left to go?

Just as surely as Samuel told king Saul that God rejected Him as the ruler of the laity in his day, so now Jesus had rejected the Ancient Conference whose kingly and corrupted power were in the service of another master in His day.

Chapter 2

DA 580: "The triumphal ride of Christ into Jerusalem was the dim foreshadowing of His coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory, amid the triumph of angels, and the rejoicing of the saints."

Our study of prophetic parallels is right on, so far. Here the Lord showed Sister White that this experience two thousand years ago was but a small scene to be reenacted at Christ's second coming.

DA 580: "THE DISCIPLES SAW THE HATRED OF THE JEWS TO CHRIST, BUT THEY DID NOT YET SEE TO WHAT IT WOULD LEAD."

Now unless you know the inference of the above statement, it really doesn't make any sense. Let's take a closer look. "The disciples saw the hatred of the Jews to Christ..."

Weren't the disciples Jews? Wasn't Christ a Jew? Does the above statement indicate that Christ's own family and friends who were all Jews hated Him? Of course not, so what does the above statement really mean? It means this: the disciples witnessed the hatred of the Jewish leaders (Ancient Adventist Conference leadership) to Christ. This is what it really means, but let's demonstrate the truth of this by going to God's Word.

We will be proceeding to the book of John, chapter nine, and I would suggest reading the entire chapter to get the full impact. Most of you will recognize the story of the man born blind whom Christ healed. The conference men enter the scene and we will pick up the story using verses 18-22.

John 9:18-22 "But the Jews [conference leadership] did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. THESE WORDS SPAKE HIS PARENTS, BECAUSE THEY FEARED THE JEWS..."

Now let's stop right here before continuing and analyze what's being said. The Pharisees, who were in fact part of the conference leadership of their day, came to these parents and tried to disprove that Christ had healed their son. They were obviously feeling intimidated and were fearful to answer these questions from the conference men. The first point is that it's obvious that the Bible says these parents "feared the Jews" and that means the Jewish leadership. The second point is the answer to why they had this fear. Let's read on.

"...FOR THE JEWS [ANCIENT ADVENTIST CONFERENCE LEADERS] HAD AGREED ALREADY, THAT IF ANY MAN DID CONFESS THAT HE WAS CHRIST, HE SHOULD BE PUT OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUE."

Brothers and sisters, if you don't grasp this plain and simple truth, you are in real trouble. These parents were fearful of their conference leaders because they already knew that they would be put out of the "church" if they took a stand for Jesus. The parallel is just as obvious! Today many are being "put out of the synagogue" by the conference men for confessing Christ. But let's make absolutely sure regarding this "fear of the Jews" inference, shall we?

John 7:1 "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him."

We will continue in this chapter but first we will want to take a look at this verse. Jesus had already fed the five thousand and had spoken many times with the people who were all Jews. Was it these people who were seeking to kill Jesus? No! Any honest student will readily see the point and realize the correct inference. John seven, verse one, is clearly speaking of the Ancient Conference Leadership who wanted to see Jesus dead in order to kill His influence.

John 7:8-13 "Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. HOWBEIT NO MAN SPAKE OPENLY OF HIM FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS."

For fear of what Jews?

Now lest anyone think that we have become unbalanced, let me quickly say that not for a moment do I believe that every single conference man of Christ's day was an unbeliever. The Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy clearly house these statements in general terms and it should be understood as such. But that certainly doesn't negate the fact that the unbelievers (who, by the way, were in the majority and still are) took over the power of the conference and used their corrupted energy to destroy what Christ had raised up. Let's continue to demonstrate:

John 12:42 "Nevertheless among the chief rulers [high officials in the conference] also many believed on him; BUT BECAUSE OF THE PHARISEES THEY DID NOT CONFESS HIM, LEST THEY SHOULD BE PUT OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUE:"

So you see, according to the Bible, there were "many" of the Ancient Adventist Conference Officials who believed on Jesus. But the Bible also says that they would not confess Him (publicly take a stand for Jesus) because they would be put out of the "church." Today we would say "disfellowshipped." Unless you are without eyesalve you know that there is much truth in the parallel atmosphere in which we live.

A couple of years before I became a Seventh-day Adventist, I began working the swing shift for the Campbell Soup Company. Now for those of you who know what the swing shift means, you will also realize the immediate problem I had encountered upon becoming a Seventh-day Adventist. Yes, the Sabbath! -- because of the evening hours of Friday. The local church of which I had just become a member, realized this also and we gathered together for prayer. They encouraged me to take my stand on the side of the Lord and His truth.

The pastor assured me that if I did the right thing, the Lord would bless the decision. He explained to me that this was a test of faith and that I could claim such promises as "All things work together for good..." if I would just stand firm through this trial. I must admit I had mixed feelings of worry and elation.

Monday afternoon I showed up as usual for work. I knew I could not just walk off the job on Friday so I needed to explain my new found-belief to my boss. Now I don't know how many of you have ever worked in a factory but I have found in my experience, there is really only one important word, and it's not Sabbath. It's production in a factory setting!

The Production Managers are not paid to babysit people but rather to produce. I was fully aware of this and I didn't really want to face the Production Manager but knew I had to. This particular man towered over me and I felt very intimidated. I explained to him that I had now become a Seventh-day Adventist and that I would have to be leaving on Friday several hours before the actual shift was over in order to keep the Sabbath holy. He demonstrated to me (mostly in four letter words) his strong disapproval but did reassure me of one thing. He told me that if I punched the time clock before my shift was over on Friday, I could come back one more time -- Monday -- to collect my last pay check!

At prayer meeting I found myself rather discouraged. I shared the incident with my church family and they once again rallied around and reassured me of God's love. The Pastor encouraged me again to take a bold stand for the Lord and told me that God's watch-care attended my efforts.

On Friday I headed for the time clock in fear but with firm resolve. Guess who met me at the time clock? You guessed it! My Production Manager. He once again threatened me with curse words assuring me that I had just lost my job by punching out. He informed me that I would be seen on Monday for reasons he had already stated.

In church on Sabbath I wasn't feeling all that great. I had just lost a job that had literally taken two years to obtain in the first place. The church members expressed their concern and compassion and once more I was encouraged. The Pastor told me that because I had stood firm and had done the right thing, he was confident that the Lord would open another door. I left church that day still feeling somewhat low but also thankful to have the support of my church family while standing for Jesus.

On Monday I went to work as usual fully expecting the worst. As I arrived at the time clock, however, there was no Production Manager so I punched in and "quietly" went to work.

After a couple of days, I began to question the possibility of the boss thinking that he had scared me sufficiently to change my mind. I admit, as a new Christian I felt apprehensive, so I decided I had better let him know that on Friday I would be making a repeat of the Friday before.

Now one thing you should realize which will help you to understand the situation and the elements that added to the stress of the boss and my plight is this -- Campbell Soup (and probably many other factories) run on a seniority plan. In real terms this meant that there were people there who had worked ten, fifteen years or more, and couldn't get on the day shift because they didn't have enough seniority. I had only two years! -- so it seemed an impossibility for me to change shifts.

To make a long story shorter, my Friday afternoon struggle went on for six weeks! For six long weeks my Production Manager showed how much he hated me and my "problem," and for six weeks the Pastor and my church encouraged me to hang tough for God.

Miracle of miracles! Campbell Soup placed me on day shift! I couldn't believe my good fortune. My faith had indeed been blessed and strengthened, as also the faith of many of the church members.

I'm sure that many of you could share similar stories of not only how the Lord has blessed you during times of trial, but how He has blessed specifically when you have had to stand for the Sabbath truth. Many of you could also share with the rest of us how your Conference Pastor has encouraged you to stand for truth and has given reassurance on more than one occasion that the Lord would not forsake you.

That brings me to this simple, honest, question. Where are all the pastors who used to encourage us to lay our jobs on the line to stand for truth?! Why are not these same pastors making themselves known in the midst of the wide-spread apostasy? Why are they not following their own counsel? Where is their faith and how come they aren't willing to lay their jobs on the line for truth knowing that the Lord won't forsake them?

I do know this for certain. If these pastors don't face these questions very soon, they certainly will face them in the judgment. If they "wait and see" much longer they will "see" that they were "blind" and lost too late! We need to earnestly pray that the men whom the Holy Spirit is trying to get through to will listen and cast their lot with God and His people.

Now let's take one more look at our verse, and this time let's add a verse to find out why the Ancient Conference Leaders, who even believed on Christ, would not confess Him.

John 12:42-43 "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: FOR THEY LOVED THE PRAISE OF MEN MORE THAN THE PRAISE OF GOD."

This is a vital point and the same thing is true today. It's church by popular vote. Salvation by legislation. Getting into God's palace by political means. Let me tell you something. I believe God hates politics! Politics is killing God's professed people. What God wants and will save is not politics, but principle. God cannot use men of politics. Why do you think we are told that He will have leaders of His own choosing in the end? And if they are leaders of His own choosing, then who chose the leaders who are presently in place? God can only use men whose policy IS God's principles.

Jesus paid absolutely no attention to whether truth was popular or politically correct before He took a stand. And He certainly wasn't moved by situation ethics, making a decision on whether He would be popular or censured.

DA 330 "In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God, there was perfect peace. HE WAS NEVER ELATED BY APPLAUSE, NOR DEJECTED BY CENSURE OR DISAPPOINTMENT. Amid the greatest opposition and the most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage. But MANY WHO PROFESS TO BE HIS FOLLOWERS HAVE AN ANXIOUS, TROUBLED HEART, BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID TO TRUST THEMSELVES WITH GOD. They do not make a complete surrender to Him; for they shrink from the consequences that such a surrender may involve. UNLESS THEY MAKE THIS SURRENDER, THEY CANNOT FIND PEACE."

Dear friend, don't you desire this peace that passes all understanding? If you're a pastor or a leader, don't you want to go all the way with the Lord and be all that the Lord has called you to be? Don't you want to BE the leader that Jesus is giving you the opportunity to be? I say this with much compassion; if you don't make up your mind quickly, your present leadership or profession to truth will all be for naught. What a horrible reality!

Continuing in the book of John about the fear of the Jews, meaning the fear of the Conference Leaders, we turn to John 19:38.

"And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, BUT SECRETLY FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: ..."

You will remember that Niodemus did the same thing when he had the secret night interview with the Lord. We are also told that on the night of Jesus' capture by this corrupt priesthood, Joseph and Nicodemus were not called to sit on this council but were purposely left out. Here's what these men did and what we are pleading with others to do:

DA 177 "After the Lord's ascension, when the disciples were scattered by persecution, Nicodemus came boldly to the front. He employed his wealth in sustaining the infant church [notice this church was not part of the Conference] that the Jews [apostate Conference Leaders] had expected to be blotted out at the death of Christ. In the time of peril he who had been so cautious and questioning was firm as a rock, encouraging the faith of the disciples, [self-supporting ministers of God's own choosing] and furnishing means to carry forward the work of the gospel. He was scorned and persecuted by those who had paid him reverence in other days. He became poor in this world's goods; yet he faltered not in the faith which had its beginning in that night conference with Jesus."

These are the men whom the Lord will use to lead His people and to educate those who want to know the truth. "They have administered impartial discipline, laying their hand upon all false teaching, upon false brethren whose works have denied the faith. Amid the scorn of men, suffering worldly loss, they have manifested steadfast integrity. While temptations to worldliness and licentiousness cause the love of many to wax cold, they stand true as the needle to the pole, as faithful workers, as standard-bearers for God, in principle firm as a rock." RH 1/21/90.

Back to The Desire of Ages, chapter 64, and the prophetic parallels...

DA 580: "The disciples saw the hatred of the Jews to Christ, but they did not yet see to what it would lead. They did not yet understand the true condition of Israel, nor comprehend the retribution that was to fall upon Jerusalem."

This describes very well the valley of confusion in which most Seventh-day Adventists find themselves. Most SDA's don't understand where this apostasy is leading and they certainly don't comprehend the retribution that's about to fall upon Jerusalem (headquarters). The encouraging news is that's exactly why the Lord went about doing the work He did while He was here, and that's exactly why Cathy and I are so excited about The Desire of Ages. This study that you are now doing is the very study Jesus taught His own disciples; and after they finally got the message, Christ's work became very successful. We'll have more to say on this subject in another chapter.

I am making the claim loud and clear that nothing in principle has changed from two thousand years ago and the Lord knew it wouldn't change. I believe that Jesus wanted The Desire of Ages written for much deeper reasons than we first believed. Yes, He desired for us to know how much His Father, He, and the Holy Spirit love us. But there's much more to it than that and the reason we haven't seen it before is because it wasn't yet time to see it, although it's always been laying right in front of our noses. I'm making the claim that Jesus has given us The Desire of Ages so that we would be warned of present-day happenings and be able to understand that it's His will that we move forward in the same way He taught His disciples when He was here on earth.

I'm also claiming and know that most of you who study this with an honest approach will agree with me in the end -- The Desire of Ages is the greatest book of prophecy (outside the Bible, of course) for instruction of what is happening inside the "church" that has ever been written. Oh that we were uplifting the gift the Lord has given us in the Spirit of Prophecy books rather than burning them and dumping their counsel in the pulpits of Conference Churches!

DA 580: "The last appeal to Jerusalem had been in vain."

It was over four years ago when Cathy and I brought forth our research that exposed the "Celebration" style of worship. Not long after, we went public with our findings about Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Many other Self-supporting Ministries have also been faithful in doing this work. For over four years we have joined together much as the disciples did and have been warning the Conference of what would be the result if they did not repent of these and many other evils.

Overwhelming evidence has been brought forth and I can say that I have only showed in part what I have seen. Time, money, and health will not permit one to bring to the attention every abominable thing that's going on today. To their amazing discredit and true to the parallel, these appeals to headquarters (Silver Spring) for reformation, repentance, and restitution have been in vain. We have shown literally mounds of evidence which totally prove the claims made to those who are not comatose; but show me ONE ARTICLE FROM THE OFFICIAL PAPERS OF HEADQUARTERS WHERE THEY ADMIT TO THESE APOSTASIES AND WHERE THEY HAVE REPENTED. Please show me even one!

DA 581: "The entire night Jesus spent in prayer, and in the morning He came again to the temple. On the way He passed a fig orchard. He was hungry, 'and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came, if haply He might find anything thereon: and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves;..."

In 7A of the SDA Bible Commentaries, page 16, we are told that "the fig-leaves represent the arguments used to cover disobedience." Then it goes on to say: "When the Lord calls the attention of men and women to the truth, the making of fig-leaves into aprons will be begun, to hide the nakedness of the soul. But the nakedness of the sinner is not covered. ALL THE ARGUMENTS PIECED TOGETHER BY ALL WHO HAVE INTERESTED THEMSELVES IN THIS FLIMSY WORK WILL COME TO NAUGHT."

Because Jesus rightly expected the tree to have fruit on it but it didn't, He decided to teach His disciples an important lesson. As a matter of fact, the lesson He was trying to teach them is the exact same lesson He is trying to teach us right now and it's only those who learn it who have the privilege of going to heaven! In order to teach this lesson so the disciples wouldn't forget (it must have been extremely important!), He invested the fig tree with moral qualities, and later when they passed that way again, the fig tree was dead! The disciples were astonished! They could hardly believe what they were seeing. They knew He had said that He came not into the world to condemn it but to save it so they did not understand this act. (Please read DA 582 the whole page.) "But it is in mercy and love that He lifts the veil from the future, and reveals to men the results of a course of sin." DA 582.

Let's read more about this from The Signs of the Times, 10/5/1876: "Christ invests the fig-tree with moral qualities, and makes it the expositor of divine truth that he many teach a lesson to his disciples, and NOT ONLY TO THEM BUT TO ALL WHO SHOULD BELIEVE ON THE WORD. Many, like the portentous fig-tree, make high profession of godliness, but bear no fruit to the glory of God. They have not responded to the sacred influences which God has given them. Opportunities have been unimproved, blessings have been unappreciated, warnings and reproofs have been rejected. The fostering love and care of the Redeemer has been unrequited, and like the barren fig-tree they stand forth fruitless, having nothing but leaves."

DA 582: "The cursing of the fig tree was an acted parable. That barren tree, flaunting its pretentious foliage in the very face of Christ, was a symbol of the Jewish nation. THE SAVIOUR DESIRED TO MAKE PLAIN TO HIS DISCIPLES THE CAUSE AND CERTAINTY OF ISRAEL'S DOOM."

Are you thinking of prophetic parallels? Did you read that last sentence?! Terry Ross didn't write that! Jesus inspired the prophetess, Ellen G. White, to write it. Remember, it was Christ's work that we're talking about. He was trying to somehow make the disciples believe that the Ancient Adventist Church (Conference) was not going through! Was Jesus right or was the Conference? If the disciples hadn't finally listened to Him, would they now be your heroes of the New Testament? I don't think so. You may want to think about what's really going on and the gravity of what the Lord is trying to once again teach us. We'll speak more on this later.

DA 582-3: "The Jews stood forth distinct from all other nations, professing allegiance to God. They had been specially favored by Him and they laid claim to righteousness above every other people. [Are you thinking of our claims as Seventh-day Adventists or Modern Israel?] But they were corrupted by the love of the world and the greed of gain. [Read Rev. 3 and the counsel to Laodicea.] They boasted of their knowledge, but they were ignorant of the requirements of God, and were full of hypocrisy. ... The Jewish religion, with its magnificent temple, its sacred altars, its mitered priests and impressive ceremonies, was indeed fair in outward appearance, but HUMILITY [a child-like trust and eagerness to learn], love [faith and emotions that work according to God's principles], and benevolence [putting God first and foremost in everything] were lacking."

DA 584: "Some who think themselves excellent Christians do not understand what constitutes service for God. They plan and study to please themselves. They act only in reference to self. Time is of value to them only as they can gather for themselves. In all the affairs of life this is their object. Not for others but for themselves do they minister."

I have a concern that seems to go along with the above statement. What does it mean to be a minister or to have a ministry? To me, the above statement is full of wisdom and helps me to consider my own motive for what I do. Unfortunately, the Lord is accurate regarding some "ministers" who are "serving" their flocks. It seems to me that in order to minister properly at least two ingredients must be present.

A minister should have time or take the time (within reason) to pay attention to those whom the Lord has given him the privilege to minister unto. If a minister is too busy for his flock, then he may be paying too much attention to the wrong business.

Also, it seems to me that a minister must be willing to place his own reputation on the line for the truth. I cannot see how it could be otherwise if the minister is going to live up to his calling. The minister says he loves the Lord and the precious flock and this is good. The only way, however, that we know that the Lord's and the flock's best interests are being placed first are from the works of the minister. How can a minister claim to love the flock and the Lord and not pay particular attention to truth and principle?

A minister who is not willing to live and work for truth's sake and by the principles of God's government will prove to be a lover of self more than a lover of his precious flock or the God of truth. It would be better for these self-ministering pastors to do something which would have no influence on anybody else. Certainly ministers of this nature who are, in fact, in the majority in all churches including the Seventh-day Adventist "Church" are:

DA 584: "Those who thus live for self are like the fig tree, which made every pretension but was fruitless. They observe the forms of worship, but without repentance or faith. In profession they honor the law of God, but obedience is lacking. They say, but do not. In the sentence pronounced on the fig tree Christ demonstrates how hateful in His eyes is this vain pretense. He declares that the OPEN SINNER IS LESS GUILTY THAN THOSE WHO PROFESS TO SERVE GOD, BUT WHO BEARS NO FRUIT TO HIS GLORY."

The fruit here spoken of, if you will notice, is not baptisms like so many Adventists are lead to believe, but character or the fruits of the spirit. Bringing people to Christ is very important and the Lord would certainly have us to show others the way to the cross and crown. But men who have maintained that we can't overcome or that we will continue to sin until the second coming of Christ have taught their flocks that "fruits" signifies baptisms and this is incorrect. Primarily "fruits" are the fruits of the Spirit -- character development from heaven, turning carnal man into the image of God. When the people of God make this their personal, primary objective, they will find the peace and the unity that will come in no other way. It is a sad fact that most Adventists (modern day Jews) will be lost because they chose to listen to the corrupt priesthood rather than to the Lord.

Our precious Jesus knows us so well and, bless His holy name, He doesn't give up on us easily. He personally came to give His people every advantage that could be given, and mercy in human flesh was poured out of heaven into Jerusalem. But we MUST understand that justice is the heavenly balance of mercy and the two are inseparable.

DA 584: "Increased care was to be given the unfruitful tree. It was to have every advantage. But if it remained fruitless, NOTHING COULD SAVE IT FROM DESTRUCTION."

Let's take a closer look at the above statement and its modern day parallel. Jesus has given the Adventist movement increased care and every advantage, even to a greater extent than was given to the Ancient Adventists. The Spirit of Prophecy graciously given to this movement IS our modern day John the Baptist. I like to say that the Lord has FINGER PAINTED THE PATHWAY TO HEAVEN by giving us the Spirit of Prophecy. But comparatively few Adventists respect this "John the Baptist" any more than the Ancient Adventists did and they are actively beheading him once again.

Brothers and sisters, I believe that all, everyone, who continue to show disrespect for this glorious gift will be lost. What is the last deception to be brought upon God's people?

Last Day Events 177 -- under the title "The Shaking." "The VERY LAST deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. 'Where there is no vision, the people perish' (Proverbs 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to UNSETTLE THE CONFIDENCE of God's remnant people in the true testimony." 1SM 48 (1890)

We are in the shaking time! We will not be dealing with all the particulars of that topic here but the very last deception is in full swing among God's people right now! There are many who are shaking the confidence of God's people in this precious and vital gift. Satan has been successful to the point that the majority of professed Adventist Preachers are now also making of none effect the testimonies of God.

The sure result of this hellish work is seen in the lowering of the standards and sermons that effectively consign the people in slavery to sin. Adventist people may or may not realize, but the bulk of the Adventist Pastors are actively keeping them from an experiential knowledge of Jesus, and His character and His power to overcome sin. This is so vital I cannot express the proper words that will describe the horror of what's really going on. Those who do not understand what is happening will be lost unless they wake up before it is too late!

Very few, in comparison, are desperately trying to warn God's people of this deception. Few are doing everything they can to show God's remnant that Satan's attack is being waged directly at their own souls and the souls of their families. These men and women raised up by the Lord are laying everything on the line in an all or nothing attempt to educate God's professed people of their attacker and his tactics. In contrast to those who are not, these people, in the example of Christ, are willing to stake their own reputations and everything else on the line for the cause of truth. In heaven it will be seen that we owe our very presence to such ones who were actuated by the Spirit of Jesus, who gave His all that we might be saved. Men who are hated now, I assure you, won't be hated then.

And then the last part of the statement on page 584 of Desire of Ages. "But if it remained fruitless, NOTHING could save it from destruction."

We may shout until we are blue in the face or until blood runs thick from the temple (as it did in A.D. 70) that "the church is going through" but God has never been obligated to save anyone or any structure that has betrayed a sacred trust. As a matter of fact, God is obligated not to save him or it!

Right up until the Roman Army slaughtered the last apostate Conference Leader they were yelling, "The church is going through!" Every single layman who believed them died not only that day but for eternity. As stated before, the Conference wants you to believe that "the church is going through" and "the Conference is going through" is the same statement and is what God meant. This simply is not true and is demonstrated graphically and with eternal consequences in the beseige of Jerusalem. Those who chose to believe apostate Conference Leaders were lost, but how many true Christians were lost?

RH 11/05/89: "When Jerusalem was to be destroyed, the followers of Christ [true Christians] were warned of its impending doom. Christ had told his disciples what they were to do when certain things should come to pass. He said, 'When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.' ALL WHO BELIEVED IN THE WARNING OF CHRIST, ESCAPED FROM THE CITY, AND NOT ONE PERISHED WHEN JERUSALEM WAS OVERTHROWN. By the destruction of Jerusalem is symbolized the last great judgment of God that is to come upon the world." (Please also read the very first chapter of The Great Controversy).

So you see, not even one Christian was lost in the siege of Jerusalem, because they listened to their God rather than to apostate Conference Leaders. We are told in the last sentence of the above statement that this is what happens in the last great judgment of God to come upon the world. Can you see the Roman Army once again surrounding the city? If you can, then pay real close attention to what the Lord is trying to show His people. Ezekiel, chapter 9, plainly states that this judgment first starts with the Conference Leaders and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, professed and true. If we are to be saved in the siege now upon modern day Jerusalem, we had better listen to this same Jesus who saved every true follower in the prior siege.

DA 584: "By Christ's act in cursing the barren fig tree, the result was shown. They had determined their own destruction. ... they had rejected His warnings and slain His prophets."

DA 587: "In every age there is given to men their day of light and privilege, a probationary time in which they may become reconciled to God. But there is a limit to this grace. Mercy may plead for years and be slighted and rejected; but there comes a time when mercy makes her last plea. The heart becomes so hardened that it ceases to respond to the Spirit of God. Then the sweet, winning voice entreats the sinner no longer, and reproofs and warnings cease.

"...In rejecting the warnings of God's Spirit, Israel had rejected the only means of help. There was no other power by which they could be delivered."

The Lord has instructed Sister White to directly compare the destruction of Jerusalem with the situation at the end of the world. It is only the height of blind pride that cannot see that if God gave up the Jewish Conference Office who chose not to follow His plan, He certainly will give up the Seventh-day Adventist Conference Office who make the same choice. Was it not the same God Who raised up Jerusalem and let it go to destruction who raised up Silver Spring? Have the rules changed? Is God not the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow? These questions, no matter how painful, must be answered for surely our eternal destiny hangs in the balance.

It is not necessarily vindictive warriors who ask such questions anymore than it was those who escaped the destruction of Jerusalem, but rather caring, concerned folk, who are studying to know the will of the Father, people who have not only their own salvation in mind but the salvation of those they claim to love.

Would it not have been easier for Jesus just to have lived a quiet life and to have stayed clear of the battle for truth? Wouldn't He have had a much easier time of it if He would have stayed away from exposing the apostate Conference Leaders of His day? Wouldn't it be true for those who do the same work today? Don't you think that most of these people would find it much easier to leave the battle alone and don't you think that they would rather live without being in the war? Here's the answer.

RH 5/8/88: "Our work is an aggressive one, and as faithful soldiers of Jesus, we must bear the blood-stained banner into the very strongholds of the enemy. 'We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.' If we will consent to lay down our arms, to lower the blood-stained banner, to become the captives and servants of Satan, we may be released from the conflict and the suffering. But this peace will be gained only at the loss of Christ and heaven. We cannot accept peace on such conditions. Let it be war, war, to the end of earth's history, RATHER THAN PEACE THROUGH APOSTASY AND SIN."

DA 587 "The Jewish nation was a symbol of the people of all ages who scorn the pleading of Infinite Love. The tears of Christ when He wept over Jerusalem were for the sins of all time. In the judgment pronounced upon Israel, those who reject the reproofs and warnings of God's Holy Spirit many read their own condemnation.

"In this generation there are many who are treading on the same ground as were the unbelieving Jews. They have witnessed the manifestation of the power of God; the Holy Spirit has spoken to their hearts; but they cling to their unbelief and resistance. God sends them warnings and reproof, but they are not willing to confess their errors, and they reject His message and His messenger. The very means He uses for their recovery becomes to them a stone of stumbling."

For the last four years there have been those of us who have clearly shown the apostasy that is firmly embedded in the Conference. Literally, with mounds of hard evidence and proof, we have set forth the truth of the situation and pleaded with the Conference Leaders to repent and make restitution to God and His people, "but they cling to their unbelief and resistance."

Men, myself included, have brought forth stacks of proof to verify their claims and concerns. Can someone please bring forth one official article from the professed leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist structure that confesses these evils, repents of them, and is making up the time to the Lord? Please show us just one! For the past year (at the time of this writing) I have asked this question of nearly every congregation I've spoken to concerning this topic and I am still searching for one article.

In general, I am making the claim that the Conference Offices have no intention of repenting and for those who are waiting for revival to come within the Conference, your wait will be in vain. The Conference Leaders (once again, remember these statements are always housed in general terms) will continue their programs of apostasy and will continue to move closer to Rome. The war will intensify and people will see things happen "from within" that they would have never dreamed possible. Even now many are seeing that the Conference is acting in such a way as to surprise those who have for many years given allegiance to it but have also remained true to principle.

Also, many have wondered, at least initially, if the work of exposure had anything to do with the work of Christ. But they are quickly relearning that Jesus' work includes even that which proves to be most unpleasant in order that some might be saved.

DA 587: "The prophets of god were hated by apostate Israel because THROUGH THEM THEIR HIDDEN SINS WERE BROUGHT TO LIGHT."

Any Adventist who has been in the message any length of time realizes that the Elijah message is supposed to be for the professed people of God within the "church." We would expect, therefore, that these messages of reproof would be directed at all of us who claim to be Seventh-day Adventists. Most, however, also believe that it is wrong to include the sins of the Conference Leadership in this reform and straight talk. But where did we get this idea? Was it not from the leaders who don't wish to be exposed? In the life of Elijah you certainly don't see him excluding the apostate leaders of his day!

When John the Baptist came, he did so in the power and spirit of Elijah. This is a basic truth that almost everyone would readily admit. But who did John the Baptist have trouble with most? Who did he immediately expose when the opportunity arose in his day? Did Jesus reprimand him for this work? Who was he speaking to when he said, "O generation of vipers?" It will do well in this study of prophetic parallels to look at the text:

Matthew 3:7-10: "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees [Ancient Conference Leaders] come to his baptism, he 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: [the "church or conference is going through"] for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."

So here we have it from God's own Word. This exposure of the apostate Conference Leaders was the work of Elijah the prophet, and we read in the very next lines of Desire of Ages why Elijah and all who do the work of Elijah are hated by the apostate Conference Leaders.

DA 587: "Ahab regarded Elijah as his enemy because the prophet was FAITHFUL TO REBUKE THE KING'S SECRET INIQUITIES. So today the servant of Christ, the reprover of sin, meets with scorn and rebuffs. Bible truth, the religion of Christ, struggles against a strong current of moral impurity. Prejudice is even stronger in the hearts of men now than in Christ's day."

People, we must get a handle on the truth and balance of what's being said here. If you take men's words above those which God has plainly stated, then you are doomed to the same fate as were those who took their apostate Conference Leaders word over that of Jesus'. The majority of professed Seventh-day Adventists and their "leaders" are repeating ancient history to the tee. Only those who repeat the history of those who were saved from the apostasy of Jerusalem will share in the glorious fate of their ancient counterparts. This is a hard work for -- "Prejudice is even stronger in the hearts of men now than in Christ's day." Thank God for the Spirit of Prophecy!

DA 588: "God does not propose to remove every objection which the carnal heart may bring against His truth. To those who refuse the precious rays of light which would illuminate the darkness, the mysteries of God's word remain such forever. From them the truth is hidden. They walk blindly, and know not the ruin before them."

This is the horrible description of the lukewarm condition of Laodicea that progresses into coldness and darkness. Those who continue to shun the truth for the popular apostasy will too soon be unable to discern what the truth is. They, like the dependent drug user, become addicted to apostate Conference Leaders for their fix. They love these men who supply them with the drug of justifying their sins. This dependency will one day in the near future carry them to places never dreamed of such as killing their brothers and sisters who stand for truth. Any reformed drug addict would understand this concept. (The needed "fix" becomes the idol, and the "pusher" the god.) Professed Seventh-day Adventists who refuse to take God at His word and are more interested in the popular ministry are making themselves guilty of serving man rather than God.

God will not remove every obstacle for us. We are to study to show ourselves approved and we are to hunger and thirst after righteousness. I have a real fear that most SDA's are waiting for the "leadership" to tell them what to do. If my fears are correct, then these people are literally placing their eternal destinations in the hands of others. I wonder how many of these same people would give their weekly pay checks to these men and trust that all their bills would be paid and their families would be taken care of? I might even be surprised at how many would, but I hope you get the point.

DA 588: "Christ overlooked the world and all ages from the height of Olivet; and His words are applicable to every soul who slights the pleadings of divine mercy. Scorner of His love, He addresses you today. It is 'thou, even thou,' who shouldest know the things that belong to thy peace. Christ is shedding bitter tears for you, who have no tears to shed for yourself. Already that fatal hardness of heart which destroyed the Pharisees is manifest in you. And every evidence of the grace of God, every ray of divine light, is either melting and subduing the soul, or confirming it in hopeless impenitence.

"Christ foresaw that Jerusalem would remain obdurate and impenitent; yet all the guilt, all the consequences of rejected mercy, lay at her own door."

Our prayer is that these parallels will continue to become more and more plain. We hope that you are beginning to see that this study is vital to your eternal destiny. This is the very work that Christ set out to do and it was mostly thwarted by the apostate Conference Leaders of His day because they had successfully taught the people that the "church" was the conference. But as we shall see in the very next chapter and succeeding ones, this in NOT the truth!

Those who persist in having their own way eventually become blind and truly no longer realize they are lost -- but they are lost just the same! What a solemn thought.

Chapter 3

DESIRE OF AGES

In the last chapter I promised that we would go right to the Word of the Lord to establish who and what the church is and that's just what we're going to do. It's alarming to find so many people who profess to be Adventists tossing out the Spirit of Prophecy. I have heard things like, "Well, if you need Ellen White, I guess that is all right for you, but I just need my Bible." Perhaps these poor souls do not realize that when we throw away the Spirit of Prophecy, we are throwing away the Bible at the same time for, in the description of the remnant church in Revelation, one of the identifying marks of the true church is the gift of prophecy.

In the book of Acts we will discover the plain, simple truth about who and what the church is. We will better see if people are throwing out only the Spirit of Prophecy. Actually, this will prove that those who do not want to accept the truth will throw it aside no matter where it is found.

The good news is that this little study in Acts is amazingly clear and the honest Christian searching for truth and direction from the Lord will praise His name!

You know the story of Stephen. Now, was Stephen a Conference man or an Independent man? Well, of course. Stephen had been chosen by the disciples (Independent Preachers). The Conference did not recognize these men and told them they had no authority to preach. They forbade them to preach in the name of Christ.

The Independent Preachers (including Stephen) preached anyway because they didn't get their orders from the Conference, but from the Lord. Stephen was called in by the "Conference Committee" and as he was explaining to them the prophecies concerning Christ, the Conference men became very angry. As a matter of fact, Acts 7 verse 54 says, they "gnashed on him with their teeth". Let's pick up the story in verse 55.

Acts 7:55-60: "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord [UNITY], And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep."

Now we know that those who stoned Stephen were Conference Leaders. And we know that Stephen was an Independent Preacher who was being murdered by the Conference Leaders for preaching for the cause of Jesus.

Who was Saul? Was he a Conference man or an Independent? Saul, of course, was a Conference man in whom the Conference put a lot of confidence. His future with the Conference looked bright indeed. Saul was gifted in the ability of argumentation and he was bold.

One important lesson we surely don't want to miss is the spirit Stephen possessed as the Conference was literally stoning him for taking a stand for Jesus. Stephen rather than being bitter, rather than being vengeful, asked the Lord not to lay this sin against their charge. This is the same spirit that Jesus Himself demonstrated as He was being martyred by the same Conference people. Neither one of these men shunned the duty of exposing the true character of this apostate Conference and neither took on the spirit of hate while doing it. Both Jesus and Stephen truly were "not blind, nor bitter," but let's read on.

Acts 8:1-4: "And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against THE CHURCH which was at Jerusalem;" STOP!

Let's look at this closely because in these few words is a great truth and revelation! "And at that time there was a great persecution against..." whom? Yes! The church! Now who was persecuting whom in Jerusalem? Were the Romans persecuting the Conference men? No. The Conference men were persecuting the Independents and here the Bible, God's Word, plainly says that this was THE church. Not A church but THE church. Brothers and Sisters, can it be any plainer than this? Here it is right in the Word of God and to dismiss these plain words you will have to throw away your Bibles. But let's read on. There's more.

"And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, EXCEPT THE APOSTLES." STOP!

Do you see it? The Bible plainly states that THE church being persecuted which was scattered abroad had the apostles in it. This proves beyond any doubt whatsoever that THE church in Christ's day was NOT the Conference but those who followed Jesus or whom the Conference would have called the Independents at that time. The Conference hated the Apostles and the other Independent Leaders who had been chosen. This is why they were persecuting them and this is why Saul was persecuting them. But hate them or not, recognize their authority to preach Christ or not, the Conference plainly did not have the say. God did! God said they were THE CHURCH! But we're not done yet!

"And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of THE CHURCH..." STOP!

Saul made havoc of whom? Yes! THE church. Now just whom was Saul making havoc of? Was Saul making havoc of the Ancient Conference Leaders? Of course not, for he was employed by the Ancient Conference, he being an Ancient Conference man. You know, Saul was making havoc of the Independents and those who supported them for taking a stand for Jesus. Going on.