No such precise authority in the Gospels

"Our opponents sometimes claim that no belief should be held dogmatically which is not explicitly stated in scripture … But the Protestant Churches have themselves accepted such dogmas, as the trinity, for which there is no such precise authority in the Gospels."   Assumption of Mary, Lifemagazine, Oct 30, 1950, p. 51

Does this sound like a secret rapture?

13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.     1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

German Catholic bishops plan to allow some Protestants to cake Communion in their churches.

EF  19 April 2018

The German Catholic Episcopal Conference, headed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, approved in its February gathering a proposal that has sparked a huge theological debate. 

The 62 German bishops have voted to produce a guide on how to allow Protestants married to Catholics to receive Communion. 

This non-Catholic spouses in “mixed marriages” could access the Catholic rite if they “affirm the Catholic Eucharist”. 

The Intercommunion, the bishops said, would be a solution for cases in which “the spiritual hunger to receive Communion together (…) is so strong that it could threat the marriage and the faith”. 

PROTESTANT CHURCH WELCOMES PROPOSAL 

The President of the German Protestant Church (EKD), Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, welcomed the announcement as “an important step in our ecumenical path”. 

Bedford-Strohm and his Catholic counterpart Reinhard Marx have been very proactive in sending pro-ecumenical messages during the commemoration of the 500 anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, in 2017, with calls to “heal the wounds of the past” and advance to stronger “unity” among the two Church institutions. 

STRONG CRITICISM OF SOME BISHOPS 

The open door for Protestants has been challenged by important Catholic sectors in Germany. Among them, seven German bishops that have written an open letter expressing their opposition to what they define as a “Protestantisation of the Church”. 

In interviews with the media, some of the signatories have criticised what they believe is a “banalisation” of the “holiest Sacrament” of Catholicism. 

Protestant taking part in the Communion would ‘de facto’ contradict the Protestant doctrines and its view of the Lord’s Supper. These bishops called the Vatican and Pope Francis to step into the debate. 

Catholic media have reported in the last days that the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would have sent a letter to the German conference asking to pause the proposal. It is not expected, though, that Rome will express this position publicly. 

EVANGELICALS SEE ECUMENIAL STRATEGY 

Evangelical leaders have also reacted with surprise to the moves towards Intercommunion. In an interview with German news agency Idea, evangelical theology professor Ulrich Körtner said it would be difficult for a Protestant believer to accept the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist, which “includes the veneration of Mary as the Mother of God, and the intercession of the Apostles, martyrs and saints”. 

The decision of the German Episcopal Conference can be understood as a strategy to attract Protestants to the Catholic liturgy. “I would not be surprised that someday other ecumenical formulas are presented to us to try to sell us that high prayers of the Catholic Eucharist are evangelical”.

Who is the third person of the Godhead?

This video is intended primarily for Seventh-day Adventists. 

Who is the third person of the Godhead? The Bible is clear, the Spirit of Prophecy is clear, but many are confused or misled. 

Our allegiance must not be to the doctrines of men or to any church. We need to lay aside preconceived ideas, lay aside tradition and look to the Word of God and follow His Word alone, for only there will we find the truth.

The similarities between Seventh-day Adventists and Catholics on the Trinity

How the SDA hymnbook has changed over the years

Is there a hell?

Very few people discuss the topic of hell, because very few understand it. Is there a hellfire that people go to at death or is that a pagan teaching that has been incorporated into the dogma of the Church? It is very important that we separate long held man-made traditions from Biblical truths. It takes a lot of hard work and humility, but this intense study will go into what is false and what is true.

Is Christ a created being?

Question: Will you please favor me with those Scriptures which plainly say that Christ is a created being?
 

Answer: You are mistaken in supposing that S. D. Adventists teach that Christ was ever created. They believe, on the  contrary, that he was ‘begotten’ of the Father, and that he can properly be called God and worshiped as such. They believe, also, that the worlds, and everything which is, was created by Christ  in  conjunction  with the Father.  They believe, however, that somewhere in the eternal ages of the past there was a point at  which  Christ  came   into  existence.  They  think  that  it  is necessary that God should have antedated Christ in his being, in order that Christ could have been begotten of him, and sustain to him the relation of son. They hold to the distinct personality of  the Father and Son, rejecting as absurd that feature of Trinitarianism which insists that God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit are three persons, and yet but one person. S. D. Adventists hold that God and Christ are one in the sense that Christ prayed that his disciples might be one; i.e., one in spirit, purpose, and labor.    Review & Herald. Vol 60. No.16.  p. 250. 1883.

“In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived”

“In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived”. These seven words are not original in ‘The Desire of Ages’, but quoted from another passage where Sister White is speaking about the type of life Christ possessed. 

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men; It is not physical life that is here specified, but immortality, the life which is exclusively the property of God.
The Word, who was with God, and who was God, had this life. Physical life is something which each individual receives.   It is not eternal or immortal; for God, the Lifegiver, takes it again. Man has no control over his life.
But the life of Christ was unborrowed. No one can take this life from Him. ‘I lay it down of myself’ (John 10:18), He said. In Him was life, original, unborrowed, underived. This life is not  inherent in man. He can possess it only through Christ. He cannot earn it; it is given him as a free gift….”  1  Selected Messages p. 296 & 297. 1897

Trinitarians believe the words in ‘Desire of Ages’ prove that Christ is eternal and without beginning, which in turn shows Him to be the second Person of a three-in-one Godhead.
But, is this true?
If you and I receive this life as a gift, does that prove we have lived for eternity?   Of course not.

Many of our people do not realize how firmly the foundation of our faith has been laid

“Many of our people do not  realize  how firmly the foundation of our faith has been laid. My husband, Elder Joseph Bates, father Pierce, Elder (Hiram) Edson, and others who were keen, noble, and true, were among those who, after the passing of the time in 1844, searched for the truth as for hidden treasure. I met with them, and we  studied  and prayed earnestly. Often we remained together  until  late  at night, and sometimes through the entire night, praying for light and studying the Word…”

“During this whole time I could not understand the reasoning of the brethren, My mind was locked… I was in this condition of mind until all  the principal points of our faith were made clear to our minds, in harmony with the Word of God.” 

“When they came to a point in their study where they said, ‘We can do nothing more’, the Spirit of the Lord would come upon me, I would be taken off in vision, and a clear explanation of the passages we had been studying would be given me, with instruction as to how we were to labor and teach effectively.

"Thus light was given that helped us to understand  the Scriptures in regard to Christ, His mission, and His  priesthood…”   1 Selected Messages. p206.

Some SDA doctrinal beliefs held in common with Catholics

1. The Godhead

2. The virgin birth (although not the immaculate conception)

3. The necessity of obeying God  

Studying Together Book by Mark Finley,  page 131

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine

1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

5But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

6For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

9Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me:

10For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

11Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

12And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus.

13The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.

14Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:

15Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.

16At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.

17Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

18And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

19Salute Priscilla and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.

20Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletus sick.

21Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren.

22The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

2 Timothy 4 

Doctrine Must Bear Scrutiny of Great Men

"Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life." Every position of truth taken by our people will bear the criticism of the greatest minds; the highest of the world's great men will be brought in contact with truth, and therefore every position we take should be critically examined and tested by the Scriptures. Now we seem to be unnoticed, but this will not always be. Movements are at work to bring us to the front, and if our theories of truth can be picked to pieces by historians or the world's greatest men, it will be done.

 We must individually know for ourselves what is truth, and be prepared to give a reason of the hope that we have with meekness and fear, not in a proud, boasting, self-sufficiency, but with the spirit of Christ. We are nearing the time when we shall stand individually alone to answer for our belief. Religious errors are multiplying and entwining themselves with Satanic power about the people. There is scarcely a doctrine of the Bible that has not been denied.--Letter 6, 1886.  Evangelism p. 69

If God is a trinity...

The Trinitarian Belief                                                  

1. Teaches that:

• there is one God who is one Being, one substance, composed of 3 self-conscious hypostases: God, the Father, God, the Son,  and God, the Holy Spirit.

• “But the Godhead of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one: the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal” ...

• “So the Father is God: the Son is God: and the Holy Ghost is God;”

• “And yet there are not three Gods; but one God ...”

• “And in this Trinity none is before or after another: none is greater or less than another.”

• “But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together, and co-equal. (The Athanasian Creed)

2. Denies the literal Sonship of Christ.

3. Teaches that Jesus has no beginning, He is co-eternal and the same age as God, the Father.

4. Holds that there is no relationship between the persons or hypostases of God, they are just playing roles in the plan of salvation.

5. Teaches that the death of Christ on the cross wasn’t complete because Jesus is God Himself and God cannot die; also that Christ raised Himself from the dead because He wasn’t dead completely.

6. States that the Holy Ghost (or the Holy Spirit) is a third person of God, coequal, co-eternal and almighty, possessing the same authority as God, the Father or God, the Son.

7. Holds that it is the Holy Spirit, a different, third person of God other than Jesus, that is our Comforter.

 

The Godhead Belief

1. Teaches that:

• there is one Godhead composed of 3 self-conscious persons: God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit.

• these three separate beings work together in perfect unity, and are “one” (because they are one in purpose and character): their glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.

• the Father is God: the Son is God: and the Holy Ghost is God.

• and yet there are not three Gods; but one God (or divinity, called the Godhead).

• in this Godhead none is before or after another: none is greater or less than another.

• but the whole three Persons are co-eternal together, and co-equal.

2. Denies the literal Sonship of Christ.

3. Teaches that Jesus has no beginning, He is co-eternal and the same age as God, the Father.

4. Holds that there is no relationship between the three persons of the Godhead, they are just playing roles in the plan of salvation.

5. Teaches that the death of Christ on the cross wasn’t complete because Jesus is God in highest sense and God cannot die; also that Christ raised Himself from the dead because He wasn’t dead completely.

6. States that the Holy Ghost (or the Holy Spirit) is a third person of the Godhead, coequal, co-eternal and almighty, possessing the same authority as God, the Father or God, the Son.

7. Holds that it is the Holy Spirit, a different, third person of the Godhead other than Jesus, that is our Comforter.

We need to realize that if God is a trinity, then...

1. Jesus is not the literal son of God, the Father.

2. The Holy Spirit is not God’s (the Father’s) spirit with which He is everywhere present but a third, separate person of the Godhead.

3. Jesus should have called the Holy Spirit His Father because the Bible clearly teaches that it was the Holy Spirit that overshadowed Mary. (Luke 1:35)

4. Jesus never really died because God cannot die (He is immortal—1. Tim. 6:16).

a) And because of it, He has never really paid the price for us and the atonement was not complete.

b) He had a part of Himself that was conscience after His death, founding the doctrine of the immortality of the soul.

5. Jesus was never tempted here on earth because the Bible says “God cannot be tempted with evil” (James 1:13).

6. We have a Comforter (the Holy Spirit who is a separate Being, other than Christ) who was never a human being, was never tempted and tried as we are and never suffered death for us.

7. At the new birth, we will possess the Holy Spirit’s life (who was never a human Being and never conquered sin). This life is not a victorious life and there is no union of humanity and divinity in it.

8. We could never really study our Bibles without theological education because it is hard to know when God speaks in a literal and when in a metaphorical sense. (He calls Jesus His Son but in reality He is not.)

9. We have 2 Mediators and 2 Intercessors: Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

10. Jesus is removed from being our Comforter, and the 3rd Person of the Godhead takes His place thus causing us to look apart from Jesus in another direction. (Read what Ellen White said in Review and Herald, August 26,1890, par. 10)

It raises some questions:

1. Why was Lucifer envious just of Jesus’ position? Why wasn’t he jealous of the Holy Spirit (or the Father)?

2. Why is the Holy Spirit missing almost every time when Bible writers or Ellen White write about the Father and the Son?

3. Why was the counsel of peace made between just two of the three persons of the Godhead? (Zechariah 6:13)

4. Why is Jesus the one who is called the “last Adam” (1. Corinthians 15:45) and not the Holy Spirit when it is the Holy Spirit who is the active agent at the new birth?

5.Why will Jesus be subject to the Father “at the end” but not subject to the Holy Spirit? (1 Corinthians 15:28) And if the Father will be the head of everything, will He be over the Holy Spirit, the 3rd person of the Godhead, too?

6. Why did the Jews recognize only the Father as God? (John 8:54)

7. Why does Ellen White talk about Jesus Christ so many times as the literal Son of God?

8. Why did Christ emphasize the union of the believers only with the Father and Himself? Why did He leave the Holy Spirit (the 3rd person of the Godhead) out? (John 14: 20, 23, 17:23)

9. Why does Ellen White call Jesus her Comforter? (8MR 49, 19MR 296, 297)

10. How can the Holy Spirit (as a separate person from Jesus) give us Christ’s righteousness? Why does Paul teach that we need to die in order for Christ (and not the Holy Spirit) to live in us? (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 1:27, 1. Corinthians 6:15)

11. Why does the Bible teach us that Christ lives in us and at the same time that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost? (1. Corinthians 6:19)

12. Why don’t we need to know all of the 3 persons of the Godhead in order to receive eternal life? Why does Jesus tell us we need to know only the Father and the Son? (John 17:3) 

Source