What is the Gospel?

[Dr. Rich]

John and Mark, don't be foolish! I throw her stuff in my wood burning stove it is so awful. Please don't confuse the issue here! The thread is about the gospel and what it is. Clearly Paul has made it known that there is NO OTHER GOSPEL than his gospel. He even went on to say even if an angel sent from heaven (God) delivered a different gospel then his, that this angel must be damned (cursed).

Problem is John, that is exactly what happened to John when he wrote Revelation. And angel sent from heaven presented a different gospel to John. No where in the Book of Revelation does it teach that anyone is saved by grace ("my grace is sufficient" 2Cor.12:7) In fact, what John wrote is just the opposite of Paul's gospel. How many times does John write about deeds and works and for those who have an ear to understand? And how many times does John write about not having to worry about any deeds or works because "my grace is sufficient"?

You accuse me of not understanding the bible-right? Well, so what? --please prove it! I accuse you of the same thing. One of us is totally wrong. One of us is not being lead by the Holy Spirit. If it is me, I ask for you to set me straight by showing me where I am wrong--not just telling me. But be honest! Use the words of Jesus (and the OT) to do it, because all else is hearsay evidence.

Mark wrote: "As to Paul, he rightly taught that man of himself cannot keep the law."

So Mark, did Jesus teach this too? Have you read Gen. 4:6-7? Where did God say that Cain could not obey on his own? And have you read Deut. 28:15? What is it about the word "YOU" that you don't understand?

[karl]

What gospel are we talking about? There are two; the gospel that says all you must do to be saved is claim a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; the other says that you must be in the Kingdom of Heaven to be saved. So which is it? Please provide references for both.

Unless a person thinks he can be saved without being a disciple of Christ, there are some very stringent requirements for salvation which are found in the red letter segment of our Bibles.

Luke 14:26, 27

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:33

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath , he cannot be my disciple.

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

[Musicman1228]

Karl,

There is a step beyond discipleship and that is becoming a bondservant. A 'disciple' is someone that learns from their master teacher. A 'bondservant' is literally a slave of that Master. A disciple is committed to the intellectual and spiritual learning of what the Master is teaching; a bondservant takes that one step further into putting the words and teachings of the Master into practice. After all, Judas was a disciple of Jesus Christ, but he was NOT a bondservant.

A bondservant is not distracted by other voices claiming that they are the voice of the Master. A bondservant hears ONLY the true voice of his Master, he only obeys THAT voice. Jesus even spoke of this when dealing with Pilate just before He was nailed to the cross:

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” John 18:36-37.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27.

There are lots of voices that claim to be 'of Christ', but there is only one voice that IS the voice that the bondservants hear and that is the voice of Jesus Christ.

If you are listening to 'words in red' in your Bible and those words are not the words Jesus spoke to His own eyewitness disciples then you might be listening to a voice other than the voice of the true Master. That voice might be a sinister deception, designed to get you to believe that you are listening to the real voice of Jesus when you are actually listening to a counterfeit. It seems incredible that this could be true, but that is why Satan is called the 'great deceiver'. At the end of time Satan will stand in the Temple in Jerusalem and proclaim himself to be God, and the whole world will 'wonder' after this beast and worship him, truly believing that he is their savior come to earth. The only people that will not worship this beast are those that are IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, because they are in the kingdom of the world but not OF the kingdom of the world.

As the old advertisement once said, "Don't be fooled by cheap imitations, buy the real thing." That is why I will ONLY listen to the voice of Jesus as given to me by the disciples that we have in the Bible that were with Jesus during His earthly ministry; Matthew, Peter (gospel of Mark) and John.

[Guest]

My point is simple.

If Dr Rich, MM and Wayfinder want to promote those views, that is fine.

But it strikes me as dishonest if someone pretends they are an "SDA", when they clearly reject a lot of the foundational doctrinal positions.

The only reason someone could do that that I can think of is:

1. They are trying to evangalise others into their "group" and are pretending to be SDA to facilitate that.

2. They have not had the courage of their convictions yet and left the church.

In both cases, remaining in the Church is damaging and pretending to be a member is in my view dishonest, with either oneself or others.

Mark

AMEN

[Dr. Rich]

Hey Richard, I thought you said you would not waste you time with 'us' anymore? Hmmm? Hang in there Richard, I am praying for you. I know you are also praying for me so we should have everything covered! Thanks!

[Musicman1228]

When the 'shaking' of the church occurs who is shaken out?

[Dr. Rich]

Originally Posted By: John317

I'm sorry to say Dr. Rich doesn't accept Peter. The only books in the New Testment that he accepts are most of the gospel of Matthew, all of the gospel of John, I, II, & III John and Revelation.

Why is that Dr Rich?

Is that because Peter refutes your position?

It seems you reject all the writings in the bible that do not conform to your opinion?

Mark, I don't want it said I hijacked this thread so I will just say that you need to do your own research on 1st and 2nd Peter. After I did and HONEST study, I can clearly and honestly say that it is highly unlikely Peter the disciple wrote either of these letters. If he did write one, it would have been the first because the second contains issues that happened after Peter's death so it would have been impossible for his to write this. Also, the writing method is totally out of line with the real Peter. And finally, I am not alone on this because many great scholars agree with me. In fact, I have two bibles where the introduction to 2nd Peter says that it is doubtful that the disciple Peter wrote it.

But if you really want to read what Peter said about Paul, then do a search of Climintine's homily 17-19. I found one place in this writing where the evidence proves it has to be true. You will note that they changed the name of Paul to Magnus in an attempt to protect the name, but it was in fact Paul.

So Mark, before you chastise me (us) anymore, get with it and do your own study, but be prepared to dive deep. Yes, you must look under the wolf's clothing to see the truth.

Do you believe everything the government says? If so, I will pray for you. Same goes for believing everything the teachers and leaders say in all of the churches including the SDA Church. After all, the reason why Jesus has not come yet is because everyone has been believing lies. The truth will be made known in a short while, just be prepared to research it yourself.

[Musicman1228]

No one has answered my question yet. Is this because you don't know the answer, or is it because you don't like who is asking the question? I really want to know what you think about this, so take the risk and answer the question. Then we can have a nice dialogue.

[Dr. Rich]

Mark wrote: "This is what you are doing Dr Rich. You are presenting legalism and denying Grace."

Matt. 12:30-32: "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters. Therefore, I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him, but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come."

Would blasphemy against the Holy Spirit include telling people that the whole bible IS the inspired Word of God, IF anything in it actually is not? Wouldn't you be calling the Holy Spirit a liar for saying It inspired words when in fact the Holy Spirit didn't? Serious stuff!

Here is the real truth: God HAD to allow Satan access to the New Testament because that would be the ONLY way we (you and me) could even begin to TEST everyone's writings in it with the STANDARD, that being the words of Jesus given to us by His eyewitnesses as found in John 14:26 and 17:20.

Hence the need for Jesus to warn His disciples and all of us that it is totally possible to become deceived! The prophecy told in a parable about the wheat and the tares is something not to be laughed at.

Matthew 13:37: "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man." (Therefore this could not have happened prior to Jesus coming to this earth and could not have happened after Jesus left this earth.)

Matt. 13:38: "And the field is the world (Jesus came down from heaven to this world to sow the seed), and as for the good seed, these are the SONS OF THE KINGDOM and the tares are the sons of the evil one." (Please notice that you MUST be in the Kingdom of Heaven to be the good seed/wheat!)

Matt. 13:39-43: "And the enemy who sowed them [after Jesus sowed them] is the devil (Satan), and the harvest is the end of the age (not the end of the world); and the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at THE END OF THE AGE. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather OUT OF HIS KINGDOM (Please note that this Kingdom is not the same as the whole World, it is from the Kingdom ONLY), all 'stumbling blocks' and those who commit LAWLESSNESS! And will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. THEN (at that time) the RIGHTEOUS shall shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father, He who has ears, let him hear!"

WOW! Lots of things to look at here: 1) This prophecy is ONLY for all of those inside the Kingdom of Heaven. It is NOT for the whole world as commonly believed. 2) Satan sowed His seed AFTER Jesus sowed His. 3) The harvest is at the end of the AGE and not at the coming in the clouds (compare with Matt. 30:32 above). 4) The 'stumbling blocks' represent everyone who talks trash about those who are leading and teaching the truth. 5) Those who practice 'lawlessness' are included with this group and these are the ones who claim righteousness by faith and saved by grace AND say the whole bible is the inspired word of the Holy Spirit; and 6) the 144k and the 5 wise maids will shine as found in Dan. 12:3.

PLEASE NOTICE THIS HAPPENS BEFORE THE 7TH TRUMPET AND EVEN BEFORE THE TIME OF TROUBLE! This happens when Jesus comes like a thief.

Matt. 12:36-37: "And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified and by your words you shall be condemned."

[Guest]

Quote:

Wouldn't you be calling the Holy Spirit a liar for saying It inspired words when in fact the Holy Spirit didn't? Serious stuff!

No more than you for saying He didn't when He did.

[wayfinder]

Quote:

Wouldn't you be calling the Holy Spirit a liar for saying It inspired words when in fact the Holy Spirit didn't? Serious stuff!

No more than you for saying He didn't when He did.

Richard, is that a statement of faith, or fact. If fact show the proof. If faith than may God help you find the truth.

[John317]

Quote:

Musicman1228: No one has answered my question yet. Is this because you don't know the answer, or is it because you don't like who is asking the question? I really want to know what you think about this, so take the risk and answer the question. Then we can have a nice dialogue.

Are you talking about the cause of the shaking? I just saw the question,

Not sure if you're asking anyone in particular.

The shaking comes for different reasons, including false doctrines, love of the world, lack of sanctification, the problems in the world, persecution, etc.

The shaking has been going on for some time already, but will become more intense as we draw closer to the coming of Christ. People are shaken out of the church and others who hear the gospel come in and take the place of the ones who were shaken out.

[Dr. Rich]

John, is the 'shaking' the same event as the wheat and the weed's prophecy when the angels harvest the weeds to throw them in the fire at the end of the age?

Is the shaking just for the Adventist Church?

[pnattmbtc]

Those who are shaken out are those who don't believe the Gospel (or, to say the same thing in an equivalent manner, those who believe in Christ).

Regarding the question if it's just for the Adventist Church, primarily, yes. There are two churches, an invisible church, and a visible, or denominated, church. The visible church is the SDA church. The invisible church consists of believers. Unbelievers cannot be shaken out of the invisible church, because there aren't any unbelievers to be shaken out.

Regarding what causes the shaking, that's the Gospel. We got a foretaste of this in 1888.

Regarding the topic question, what is the Gospel, the Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Good News is that God is not how He has been misrepresented as being. God is also not how we, in our twisted, self-centered, egocentric minds naturally conceive Him to be, as One altogether like ourselves. Instead of that, God is like Jesus Christ.

The foundation of all sin it this: the lie that God is untrustworthy, the lie that God is not altogether loving and that He doesn't have our best interests in mind. Adam and Eve came under the grip of this deceptive picture of God. At that moment they stopped trusting God as their source of life. Consequently, they saw themselves as deficient.

A faulty picture of God led to an ungodly evaluation that in turn brought about a rebellious action. The lie created an emptiness as well as the futile and rebellious means of filling it. A false concept of God, and therefore of herself, gave birth to sinful behavior, which in turn brought about spiritual and physical death (see James 1:14-16).

Just as the foundation of all that separates us from God is a false picture of God, so too the foundation of all that restores our innocent communication with God is a true picture of God. So everything hangs on the question, Where do we find the true picture of God? The answer that the Bible unequivocally and emphatically gives is Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the truth that dispels the serpent's lie.

When God thinks, John is saying, it is Jesus. And when God expresses Himself, it is Jesus,wherever and whenever God thinks and expresses Himself, it is Jesus Christ.

Moreover, it has been this way throughout eternity.

This means that in knowing, we are not knowing someone "one step removed" from God. in knowing Jesus we are knowing God Himself, God in His eternal essence. In seeing Jesus, we are seeing the very heart of God.

Whereas the enemy covered up the true God in a veil of deceptive darkness that brought death, Jesus turns the light on so we can see who God really is. In doing this, Jesus gives life.

Only the revelation of God in Christ completely dispels all forms of the lie we have been deceived into believing. When our picture of God is built on any foundation other than Jesus Christ, we will be vulnerable to believing a lie about God. We will embrace a god that is consistent with our jaded presuppositions and fallible expectations, which keep us in bondage to the serpent's lie. Our understanding of God, ourselves, suffering and every other aspect of creation will be to some extent corrupted.

Idolatry takes place when we don't allow God to define Himself for us in Christ but rather embrace a picture of God on the basis of our life experiences, philosophical speculations or non-Christ-centered interpretations of Scripture.

All we can and need to know about God is found in Christ, for God fully dwells in and is revealed in Christ.

Christ was not an innocent third party who was punished against His will to apease the Father's wrath. Hence His sacrifice does not appease God's wrath; it reveals God's love. In the crucified Christ the truth about God, about us and about the world is most perfectly revealed. For the cross is where reconciliation between God and the world is accomplished.

Under the impact of the primordial deception, the "natural mind" does not expect the omnipotent Creator to like like this.

The most fundamental distinguishing characteristic of every false picture of God is that it qualifies and compromises the truth about God's love. The most fundamental distinguishing characteristic of the true God is that the love He is and the love He gives is unsurpassable. A greater love simply cannot be conceived.

The love that God eternally is, is manifested in the love that God gives. And the love God gives is displayed most perfectly on the cross.

[John317]

Quote:

Dr. Rich: is the 'shaking' the same event as the wheat and the weed's prophecy when the angels harvest the weeds to throw them in the fire at the end of the age?

No, it isn't the same event as when the angels of God throw the weeds into the fire, although it is related. As you rightly point out, the weeds are thrown into the fire, i.e., destroyed, at the end of the age, when Christ returns. Right now they are being shaken out of the church, which is different from being destroyed at the end of the age.

The "shaking" I'm speaking of takes place before the wheat and weeds are separated by the angels.

The shaking is a purification process that goes on in the church until a short time before Christ returns.

God's last day prophet wrote in 1850, "The mighty shaking has commenced and will go on, and all will be shaken out who are not willing to take a bold and unyielding stand for the truth and to sacrifie for God and His cause." EW 50

Quote:

Dr. Rich: Is the shaking just for the Adventist Church?

Good question.

This shaking does affect other churches because they will hear the truth preached and come out of Babylon. But God is not purifying the other churches. They are in a fallen state already and are continuing to fall. The "fall" has to do with falling away from truth. The SDA church is not fallen away from truth and therefore is not a part of Babylon. The shaking is for the purpose of keeping the SDA church from becoming Babylon. The SDA church gives the call for God's people to come out of Babylon and to join in the proclaimation of the Three Angels Messages. A fallen church cannot give the call to come out of Babylon. This call for God's people who are in Babylon to come out Babylon and join the remnant church may be considered part of the shaking, because they are shaken out of Babylon and into the church that is calling for people to seperate from the fallen churches.

This doesn't mean the SDA church doesn't have defects. We are the church of Laodicea, and therefore we also have serious problems, but we are not a part of Babylon. Those in the church who aren't being sactified by the truth are the ones who are eventually shaken out. That's the purpose of the skaking-- to test the church and to shake the tares out of the church and shake the wheat in. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken.

I hope this helps answer your questions. Let me know if you agree or not, and why. I have a sneeking feeling you will disagree.

By the way, who are the angels who throw the weeds into the fire at the end of the age?

[Musicman1228]

Great posts re: the 'shaking'.

In researching this I found this verse.

“For behold, I will command, and shake the house of Israel among all the nations as one shakes with a sieve, but no pebble shall fall to the earth. Amos 9:9.

This would seem to indicate that at harvest time that which remains in the sieve is thrown out and that which goes throw the sieve is the good grain.

I looked at how grain was handled in ancient Israel. When grain was harvested the bushels of grain were carried to the threshing room and were 'sieved', that is, there were large hand held grates and the grain and other extraneous material were pour into these grates or sieves. The openings in the sieves were small enough to only let the grain and the chaff through, the rocks and pebbles and non edible material stayed in the sieve and were thrown out. After this process the doors to the threshing room floor were opened and the chaff was blown out using large hand operated fans. Then the door was closed and the grain was bagged, tagged and taken to the barn for storage.

The verse in Amos appears to be saying that no pebble (the undesirable stuff) stays in the sieve and is thrown away.

During the 'shaking' the church is sieved. It appears that during the 'shaking' of the SDA church the righteous (the 5 wise bridesmaids) are shaken OUT of the church, and the unrighteous remain IN the church. Any thoughts on this?

[John317]

Quote:

Dr. Rich:

Here is the real truth: God HAD to allow Satan access to the New Testament because that would be the ONLY way we (you and me) could even begin to TEST everyone's writings in it with the STANDARD, that being the words of Jesus given to us by His eyewitnesses as found in John 14:26 and 17:20.

Hence the need for Jesus to warn His disciples and all of us that it is totally possible to become deceived! The prophecy told in a parable about the wheat and the tares is something not to be laughed at.

There's a problem with this kind of thinking. First there's the question, why didn't God allow Satan access to the Old Testament? Was it fair to allow Satan access to the NT and not to the Old? Why only the New Testament?

What you say would mean there's no way to be totally deceived apart from Satan's words being in the NT, but that isn't true.

[Musicman1228]

Satan had direct access to the physical world before the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He could and did appear as a god with names such as Ra, Zeus, Tamuz, Ishtar, Marduk. And his evil angels could appear as gods to the peoples of the earth. Because of this He was not concerned with the content of the Old Testament.

When Jesus presented Himself before the Father (Dan.7:13-14, Rev.5:6-7) the Heavenly court was seated (Dan.7:9-10). Jesus (Michael) and Satan had a war of words in this court and Satan was judged and cast off of Heaven along with his angels (Rev.12:7-9). At this point Satan was cast into the abyss (the spirit world) and was not allow direct access to those that dwell on the earth. He had to find more subtle and indirect means of getting people to come over to his side. Therefore he set up a great deception that is still with us today.

He took advantage of the situation when Constantine put together the councils of Nicea and Laodicea wherein the Catholic church put together a canon of writings that would help Constantine keep control of his Holy Roman Empire. It was Satan that introduced (through these Catholic clergy) into this canon the writings of one that differed materially with the gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus taught with He was here on earth. By doing this he could influence countless people into believing a lie as if it were the truth. Satan is not omnipresent and cannot be everywhere at once as can God through the Holy Spirit. By having a 'different gospel' in this New Testament Satan could be everywhere this canon was. His deception has worked beautifully so far. The only problem he is facing are the Bondservants of Jesus Christ that are pointing out to the Kingdom that this deception is in full force and to not be taken in by it. For their efforts on behalf of the Kingdom these Bondservants are criticized and persecuted as evil for even suggesting that there is a problem with this New Testament.

[Dr. Rich]

Yes, I concur, John and pnatt--great posts and I would mostly agree. But John, is the 'end of the age' the same as the 'end of the world'? Why I ask this is because the end of the age is said to be coming up on December 21, 2012. An "AGE" is a complete cycle the earth's top (arctic pole) makes as the earth spins the opposite direction--just as a gyroscope does. From my study, and you can do your own if you wish, this happens once every 26 thousand or so years.

Jesus used the words "at the end of the age" to show what happens to the wheat and the tares, and also uses "time of the end" and "appointed time of the end" in Daniel 8 and in verse 9 "is still to come at the appointed time", but the last words in Daniel say "at the end of the age". Hmmm? Any thoughts on this?

[John317]

Quote:

Musicman1228:

During the 'shaking' the church is sieved. It appears that during the 'shaking' of the SDA church the righteous (the 5 wise bridesmaids) are shaken OUT of the church, and the unrighteous remain IN the church. Any thoughts on this?

I've seen this understanding before in some of the Adventist forums, not this forum but on others. There are quite a few groups who think it's wrong to be in the SDA church because of what you mention. Shepherds Rod and Adventist Layman's Foundation are just two such groups. They teach that if you are still in the SDA when the plagues fall, you will be the first to recieve them. But is this true if-- as you teach-- the SDA church is the Kingdom of God?

But here's the question: where do those who drop out of the SDA church go? What do they do? Do they become just a lot of independent groups or individuals scattered here and there without any kind of organization or close communication and association? Are they all working separattely and have a different message? When they proclaim the thrird angels' messages for people to come out of the fallen churches, who is giving the message and where do the people go once they come out of Babylon?

What you're suggesting is that the SDA church becomes fallen and part of Babylon and that God calls people out of the church. But is this what the Bible teaches? I know it makes no difference to you what the SOP teaches on this topic, but for me it is very important. So I have to ask, what does Ellen White say about this?

[wayfinder]

As I understand it, everything, God's people/kingdom, goes to the threshing floor. The first things to be filtered out/sieved, are the small stones. This sounds like the parable in which the man did not have a wedding gown on. This individual was cast out i.e. the small stones, when sieved, are cast out. Kingdom passes through the sieve and ends up on the threshing room floor. The next step is to remove the chaff, you already know how this is accomplished.

For EGW reference, see EW pp 107, 270

[John317]

Quote:

wayfinder:

For EGW reference, see EW pp 107, 270

Notice, though, that Ellen White's writings never indicate that the righteous are the ones shaken out of the SDA church. It's the weeds who are shaken out.

As far as I can tell, the only way the righteous would be shaken out would be if the SDA church is or becomes part of Babylon.

[wayfinder]

John317, The whole kingdom is shaken after the harvest. Those who remain in the kingdom pass through the sieve and go to the threshing floor. The pebbels and small stones are thrown on the stone pile. The kingdom is not the stones, but the wheat. So if you are saying that the stones are the kingdom and the wheat are not, then I am perplexed.

[Dr. Rich]

In the harvest (at the end of the age) for the wheat and tares, it is the tares that are harvested out of the wheat, so that the tares get thrown in the fire prior to any shaking??? Not sure what goes on here.

See John and Richard, I don't know everything and the more I do learn the more I see that I don't know! This is why I would like to talk to someone who has actually been born again since they will not have a lie in their mouth and then I can learn the truth! It would be nice just to hang around this person to get all the help I can get!

Overaged said he was born again, but that is confusing since he is still asking question too? I don't get it??? I don't trust someone who said they have been born again and yet they keep on sinning and don't know the answers to all of the questions yet. I do NOT know everything and I KNOW I have not been born again yet even though at one time I thought I had been.

I don't think it matters if we are shaking out or in--just so we end up on the right side!

[Musicman1228]

John,

I guess you have to ask yourself "Who are the real SDA's?" I am absolutely certain that the SDA church today IS the Kingdom of Heaven about which Jesus spoke in Matt.25:1-13. Both the 5 Wise and 5 Foolish bridesmaids are in this Kingdom, but the 5 Foolish are left out in the cold when the door to the marriage feast is closed because they don't have the oil of truth as give by the words of Jesus Christ (His testimony) and defined by the Holy Spirit. If this a prophecy/parable of the 'shaking' then there is going to be an issue, or series of issues that will divide the SDA church.

I have no idea who the Shepherds Rod or Adventist Layman's Foundation are, I don't know what they believe, nor do I care. What I know is what Scripture says to me. I do know that even though I have not yet been born of the Holy Spirit (as far as I know no one has) that She is working with me to lead me into Truth, just as Jesus promised. My understanding is that the true SDA's, the true Kingdom of Heaven is shaken OUT of the SDA corporation/denomination. Those that either cannot come out because they are so invested in the hierarchy and structure of the church, or won't come out because they are so tied to the beliefs of the church as given by the 'spirit of prophecy' will be left in outer darkness, unable to enter the Kingdom of God.

All churches are represented in the First Beast of Rev. 13, this 7 headed beast, each head having a blasphemous name. This even includes our beloved church. Why? Because after God established our church at the end of the 2300 evenings and mornings that began in 457 BCE, so that this church would lead the world into righteousness. Satan diverted our attention away from preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven as established by Jesus Christ into preaching the same gospel as all of the other churches that were already under Satan's control. We have not completed the task for which God established us in the first place. We need to get back to what we had at first and teach that to the world. Satan does not want that to happen, so he will do and say anything, and become anything to see to it that the message of the Kingdom of Heaven never sees the light of day.

I do love my church. Yet our church has been corrupted by an evil that seems righteous and holy because it is full of love and grace. Satan does not need to pay close attention to the other denominations and churches in the world, he already has them under his control. He is paying close attention to the SDA church because we are the only real threat to his kingdom of darkness left on this earth. Satan knows that if he can succeed in completely corrupting our church then he has won and will live forever as king of this world.

And how must he corrupt this church, our beloved SDA church? By getting us to preach the same gospel as all of the other churches in the world over which he already holds sway. Look closely at those other denominations; the Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, etc. Observe the gospel they take to the world. Is it not the same gospel that the SDA church is moving more and more toward each passing year? Are we as a church NOT caught up in an ecumenical movement, wanting to become JUST LIKE THEM? They do not believe that the Commandments hold any power, and especially the 4th Commandment. They do not hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ, but rather the testimony of the 'apostle' Paul. All of the other churches place the gospel of Paul as preeminent, and because we want to be 'just like them' our church does as well. (Rev.12:17)

We need to finish the work for which God founded our movement in 1844. The only way we can do that is to realize that we are on the wrong path and move over to the correct path. Jesus said that the narrow way is hard to find, and it indeed is. All of the other churches are on the wide path, and that path leads only to destruction. Why does our church now believe that this path is the right path? Because we don't want to appear 'special' and 'peculiar' as a people. We don't want people using our name in the same breath as JW's or LDS. Jesus even said that we have a name that is alive but we are dead, just as dead as all of those that continue to believe and practice a lie. Read again what Jesus said to the church of Sardis:

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Rev.3:1-6.

My heart aches knowing how close we are to the end of all things and how ill prepared our church is to lead the world to truth. We are NOT awake, we are dead asleep, just as Jesus has said. If we were doing what Jesus commanded us to do we would not be in the dire straights in which we now find ourselves. We are preaching the wrong gospel because we as a church are sound asleep.

Yet, there are a few, a very few, in Sardis that have not soiled their garments by believing the lies of Satan as if they were the truth, and they are not teaching the wrong gospel to the world. The ones that conquer as they have will, like them, be clothed in white garments. These few in Sardis are the only voice that Jesus has at this moment in time that are telling the truth about the Kingdom and righteousness. These people are the Bondservants of the Master, Jesus Christ.