THE
SECRET OF THE OMEGA!
ALPHA/OMEGA WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU!
The
following article we picked up was presumably written in 1995 as a handout.
Please understand that conditions are not visibly quite the same now. The
apostasy referred to in this article has slowed some, although it has not nearly
stopped:
In the July 1, 1993 NAD
edition of the Adventist Review is written these words on page 12 by our
president, Dr. Folkenberg:
There are a
few members, or former members, on the fringes of the church today who stuff our
mailboxes with brochures, magazines, books, and audio and video tapes decrying
the defectiveness of the church. Some urge us to put one foot out of the church
and into their private organizations. But they overlook one crucial point:
Christ is at the helm of this ship, the church, and He will pilot it
"safely into port." To preach otherwise is to preach apostasy.
This is just one statement of many
to be found in our church media. Statements such as these illustrate that a war
is taking place within the church.
Do you agree with them? If you do,
observe the above symbols very closely. Ponder over every contour, observe the
color and take particular notice of the arrows beneath the symbols. If you agree
with the words just stated by our illustrious General Conference President, the
symbols you are now looking at signify your eternal death warrant.
Yes, there is a war now taking place
within the Seventh-day Adventist church. This war is actually taking place in
all churches and in the political realm. This is a war we have been graciously
forewarned about many times in the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. We were
told that a terrible commotion will exist in our church in the last days. We
commonly refer to this period as The Great Shaking. But there is yet another and
more specific name given to the last end-time apostasy that many hardly hear and
do not know about.
At the turn of the century, a great
apostasy developed within the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This apostasy was
called "The Alpha" being that it was the first great apostasy to take
place within the Seventh-day Adventist church. This does not mean that the
church was never opposed before the turn of the century. It's just that one
thing that is always common in apostasies is the internal nature of it. It is
always caused by "brethren" on the inside. It is done by
"brethren" who were once with us, while opposition from the outside is
commonly termed "persecution." The Seventh-day Adventist Church began
in 1844, but the Alpha apostasy started at the turn of the century.
Those who have taken the time to
study have found that inspiration has foretold another great apostasy for the
end-time, and has called this apostasy, "The Omega." As you know,
Jesus called Himself, "Alpha and Omega," which are letters both at the
beginning and ending of the Greek alphabet. We were told that these letters
signify the beginning and the end in scripture. Revelation 22:13 says, "I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
Now understand that all apostasies
appear through leadership figures. Among these there are essentially two types
of characters. I do not know of a single apostasy that ever did or could take
place where leadership was not found engaged in the heat of the battle. The main
characters are always leadership figures, but there are two types: good and bad,
true and apostate.
The leadership of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church, as had happened during the Alpha apostasy at the turn of the
century, have already expelled certain leadership figures and individuals from
the denomination. The prominent among these leaders have started independent
ministries. After our leadership expelled these people, they have tagged a
certain name upon them which we have noticed in the Adventist Review:
"detractors." They claim that the "divisive" and apostate
actions of these figures have caused the church of God to focus too much energy
into ridding the denomination of them instead of upon winning souls and
advancing the gospel; hence the name. We will therefore use that critical term
and merge with the understanding of our readers. The understanding therefore is
that apostates are called "detractors," and that these people oppose
the church of God. They are apostates because they oppose those who lead the
denominational organization. Those who support the church and mission we will
consider the leaders. We are focusing on the leaders vs. the detractors.
In The Alpha apostasy, among the leaders
in the dispute were: Ellen & James White, A. G. Daniels (the then President
of the General Conference), William Spicer, Elder Eugene W. Farnsworth, etc.
Among the detractors or dissenters in The Alpha were, John Harvey Kellogg, D. M.
Canwright, Albion F. Ballenger, A. T. Jones, Conradi, Waggoner, etc. These men
opposed Seventh-day Adventism and the Spirit of Prophecy.
In The Omega Apostasy, among the leaders
in this dispute are: Dr. Neal Wilson, Dr. Robert Folkenberg, Dr. Norman Gulley,
William G. Johnson, Dr. Roahl S. Dederen, Robert Olson, Paul Gordon, etc. Among
the detractors or dissenters in this dispute are: John Osborne of Prophecy
Countdown, Dr. Ralph Larson, of Hope International, Jan Marcussen, Ron Spear of
Hope International, Colin Standish, etc.
Now make no mistake about it, it will be
seen that all those who agree with the sentiments made by Dr. Folkenberg at the
beginning of this work are all caught in deception. The reason why these people
are caught is because of their ignorance of the nature of The Omega Apostasy
which was given us by Ellen White where she stated:
Be not
deceived; many will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and
doctrines of devils. We have now before us the alpha of this danger. The omega
WILL
BE OF A MOST STARTLING NATURE.-- Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, p. 16,
written July 24, 1904.
Here is confirmed that Ellen White
declared that there would be another great apostasy, and that there would be
something "startling" about this last day apostasy: something
dramatically different. But what would that "startling" factor be?
Lewis Walton, in his very popular
book, Omega, ventured to probe the meaning behind that statement given by
Sister White. He declared:
Remember
that alpha and omega are two letters at the polar extremes of the same alphabet.
They are linked by something in common, yet they look in opposite directions.
There is a significance here that becomes apparent with a little reflection. --
Omega p. 53.
Now follow
the logical symbolism of two letters, sharing the subject matter of a common
alphabet but located at opposite extremes. If the alpha is in error regarding
the role of Christ in salvation, and if it points in one direction in the Greek
alphabet, is it possible that the omega will also misinterpret the work of
Christ while pointing opposite? To put it another way, is there a possibility
that the omega of "deadly heresies" will try to put Christ totally
outside a man, thus introducing confusion over sanctification because it makes
salvation totally external? -- Omega p. 54.
Yet now that we are actually fully
within The Omega Apostasy, we can see that he didn't quite grasp the major point
and secret to the hidden meaning behind Ellen White's symbolism, though his
argument here cannot be ignored.
In helping you to figure out the
mystery, I implore you to observe the word "startling" in the previous
quotation by Ellen White and consider its meaning. Among some synonyms to the
word "startling" would be: surprising; jolting; ironic; UNEXPECTED;
OUT OF THE ORDINARY. Yet what does history basically offer us that may be
"out of the ordinary?" Ellen White's quotation is showing that
something will differ from the historical example of the Alpha, and that's why
so many people will be caught unprepared.
Is there a "startling"
difference between the leaders of The Alpha and the leaders of The Omega? Is
there a "startling" difference between the detractors of The Alpha
compared to the "detractors" of The Omega Apostasy? As you will soon
see, YES, there is a very startling difference between these separate groups.
In order to figure out the first startling fact, and more
figure out the puzzle, let's take a look at some more clues Ellen White would
give us concerning this most crucial Omega apostasy:
In the
future, deception of every kind is to arise, and we want solid ground for our
feet. We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to be removed from
that which the Lord has established. THE ENEMY WILL BRING IN FALSE THEORIES,
SUCH AS THE DOCTRINE THAT THERE IS NO SANCTUARY. This is one of the points
on which there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety
unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty
years? -- RH May 25, 1905.
Now I want you to take note what
has consistently happened within apostasies. There would be a struggle between
the two warring factions, then, after time, whichever group acquires or
maintains control of the church organization would naturally have power to expel
the other group. That's what happened during The Alpha Apostasy, and, as we can
see, that's what happened during The Omega Apostasy which is still now going on
and will continue till Christ comes. Yet now we run into a very STARTLING
problem.
Say I was in the days of The Alpha AFTER
THE SEPARATION TOOK PLACE--after Ellen White and others expelled the detractors
from the organized body. If I was to say to myself, "I want to hear this
false doctrine I am being told about so often. I want to hear it for myself! I
want to seek those who preach it and have a talk with them!" Where would I
go to talk with those who teach the heresies? Hey, the organization kicked them
out. It therefore stands for reason that in order to hear what I want to hear, I
would have to go out of the domain and jurisdiction of the organized body to
seek out the men who are teaching heresy, because they were expelled.
We now have a very STARTLING difference
when we consider doing the same with The Omega. Remember Ellen White declared to
us that men would come among us stating that there was no sanctuary. This is a
part of The Omega Apostasy, and the separation between the two groups of actors
had already taken place. The "detractors" are disfellowshipped and
banned from church owned property. If I was therefore to say to myself today,
"I want to hear the false doctrine preached by the apostates. I want to
seek those who teach that there is no heavenly sanctuary," and then ask
myself, "Where would I go to find these men?" Right away I would run
into a very STARTLING problem after attempting to seek these men out. The
problem? If I venture to investigate the "detractors" in order to
locate this heresy, I would find out that I would be wasting my time. I
WOULDN’T FIND ANY OF THE "DETRACTORS" WHO WERE EXPELLED FROM THE
CHURCH ORGANIZATION TEACHING IT. UNPRECEDENTED!
If you want to find men teaching that there
is no heavenly sanctuary among many other heresies, you would have to visit and
check our seminary, colleges, and maybe even some of our very pulpits. This has
often been cited even by able leaders of the denomination who still occupy
position, as the cause of the commotion today between the denominational
organization and the private self-supporting ministries. You can see that people
among us are bringing what they claim is the new "Gospel" that forbids
discussion on the special revelations of prophecy given to the Adventist Church.
You can see all over the denomination that ministers refuse to teach these
things as the Papacy gets ready to strike, saying that neither Christ nor
salvation are in them, even though Christ Himself gave these revelations and
commanded them to be preached.
Pastor John Osborne, one of the notable
modern day "detractors" who was disfellowshipped from the
organization, gave testimony of an argument he had with one of his professors
when he attended Southern College in 1979. Listen closely to what he stated:
I remember
when I went to Southern Missionary College in 1979. It was still called that
back then. I would sit in my theology classes and go head to head with my
theology professor in almost every class. I didn't want to be a troublemaker;
but I wasn't about to sit there and listen to that professor deride our
fundamental doctrines and make our fundamental beliefs objects of ridicule!
I had one
professor who attacked character perfection, and said, "There was no way
sinful man could stop sinning before the Second Coming." He said that the
Hundred and Forty Four Thousand was just a symbolic number that represented all
the saved. It did not specify a special group of people who had victory over sin
in their lives.
I had another
professor who said 1844 was a bunch of bunk! That we as Seventh-day Adventists
couldn't keep defending this fallacy. He also said that THERE WAS NO LITERAL
SANCTUARY IN HEAVEN. And when I defended the heavenly sanctuary the
professor asked, "John, does the sanctuary up in heaven have walls?"
And I said, "Yes sir." He then said, "Does it have a roof?"
And I said, "Why of course it does sir." He then asked, "Why?
Does it rain!" and everybody laughed! That was the big joke in class that
day!
Believe me, words like these
(Pastor John Osborne's words) are unprecedented for a detractor. And words like
those spoken in contention with Pastor John Osborne are unprecedented for church
leadership.
Pastor John then expresses what
most of us of the disadvantaged class (Historic Adventists), being the victims
of the high-level conspiracy to hand this denomination over to the Pope have
long felt and do feel today:
You see
friend I was 28 years old. I had been reading and studying and I knew what I
believed. I had this Adventist message and the Spirit of Prophecy taught to me
in my highchair, and these professors weren't about to bamboozle me. And many of
my classes became scenes of heated theological discussion as I heard our
Seventh-day Adventist theology being rearranged. -- Pastor John Osborne in his
Celebration video #3.
What therefore happened was
that these scrupulous and conscientious individuals who witnessed people among
us already in our high-level positions teaching heresy, naturally informed
leadership about it and beckoned them to take action to stop it. Often some were
promised that action would be taken. At other times they were told that they
were being concerned over nothing, and still at other times they were reproved
for, "Taking [their] eyes off of Jesus by allowing such things in the
church to disturb" them. They were told, "Don't look at the
establishment! Keep your eyes on Jesus!" They were told that God was going
to bring this "ship" through.
Some of these same individuals, being
unwilling to stir up hard feelings, and also being deceived by heresies spread
through all our church media (such as admonitions
saying, "Don't be concerned about heresies in the church! God has charge
over His church!") fell asleep with the hope that God would
intervene despite their inaction. There was also the fact that they realized if
they were to actively resist these things taking place, they would be on a
collision course with the church leadership. They were not prepared for
accepting the types of consciences that were prevailing in leadership not being
able to accept the fact that genuine enemies had infiltrated the organization.
With that, the example of history, through a misunderstanding of it, placing
them in a terrible position of being "attackers of the church," aided
them in falling asleep. Now they that resist it with tenacity, the very ones who
told them not to do anything--the ones who told them not to look at the
establishment nor any other person but Jesus, for God is big enough to handle
any heresy in His Church, continually stake a watch on these people and are
busily opposing and disfellowshipping these very people, and exerting superhuman
efforts to prevent them from enlightening the Adventist multitudes.
All should realize that when Ellen White
declared that men would come within our midst to spue heresies among us, a curse
would follow those men. Leadership shuffled her feet when asked to get rid of
them. When it was discovered that leadership loved these men and were determined
to retain them in order to transform the church, the conscientious among us
tried desperately to warn the rest of the Adventist people about a true-to-life
conspiracy within their very midst being supported by the last people they would
expect to be involved.
Many of the conscientious men who
exerted strident efforts to rid these men from our borders were then covered
with charges of being "critical" and "divisive," and were
thus thrown out of our borders, while the very men who taught the heresies--the
very ones who caused the commotion--ARE STILL THERE
ENJOYING MORE HEIGHTENED RESPECT AND BLESSING FROM LEADERSHIP WITH EACH PASSING
DAY. UNPRECEDENTED!!! The mentioned heresies Pastor John Osborne
related do not cover the extensive range of strange ideas and theories which
have come into the church under the noses, and consequently under the approval
of current New Theology leadership. The great flood of error has come in most
effectively through the unprecedented, unbiblical and strange concept of
"diversity" brought in by our New Theology men.
One sin was proven to be more
reprehensible than anything else to the corporate church--even worse than
preaching soul-destroying heresies frequently warned against by the prophet of
God: "criticism." UNPRECEDENTED!!
And what is criticism? The criticism
that always offended the SDA leaders was a protesting against their mandated
changes against the denomination. The answer therefore is that
CRITICISM
IS PROTESTANTISM! That's why there was such a hatred of that attribute,
while leadership gladly allowed everything else to go on and quoted that the
parable of the wheat and tares mandated that all the other problems and people
be kept.
Criticism became so reprehensible, that it
made all other sins, including teaching that there is no sanctuary, holy.
Therefore, those who fought the heresies were kicked out; the heretics and
heresies remain, and therefore the curse remains with the church organization
and does not fall on the "divisive" self-supporting ministries which
our new-theology brethren call "detractors." UNPRECEDENTED!
Yet on top of this, on the cover of the
recent book series "Adventist Hot Potatoes" written by Tim Weber, he
asked this question: "Can any good thing come from the independent
ministries?" Can you dear brother, afford to be bamboozled by these
"anti-critical" people who claim to value your diversity and
individual opinions? How come they don't allow you to disagree with the idea
that Independent Ministries are not bad contrary to their own words?
Yet there are more points to be
considered as we compare the detractors of the past to our present-day
"detractors." The differences between the two can be summed up by the
following key points:
1. How they
got started.
2. How they
related to the doctrine of the church.
3. How they
related to the Spirit of Prophecy.
4. How they
related to the youth of the church; and,
5. How
their controversy with the denominational organization ended or will end.
In all these listed points, there
is a STARTLING difference between the detractors of the past, and our present
"detractors" today. Let's first focus on how they got started.
The first point--how they got
started--should be readily comprehended by all, and was already partly answered.
If only our people studied history! Yet the book OMEGA was very helpful
in allowing me to figure out a STARTLING difference between how the detractors
of yesteryear started from how our present-day "detractors" started.
In every historical case when someone of
influence apostatized against the Seventh-day Adventist body, efforts were made
to somehow ascertain the reason for his attacks. In every historical example it
was discovered THAT OUR DETRACTORS OF THE PAST WERE UNABLE TO DEMONSTRATE A
RATIONAL REASON FOR THEIR DISAFFECTION FROM THE CHURCH BODY. It will be seen
that when God shall require an answer for why men like John Harvey Kellogg and
Albion Ballenger commenced their attack upon the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
they will be speechless. No reason will be submitted. Do you suppose that will
be the case and condition with our modern-day "detractors?" Don't bet
on it!
Many are acquainted with the
"Issues" tract and book which were published against the "certain
private organizations." Before these documents were published, the NAD
leaders sent letters to noted and distinguished individuals seeking written
condemnation upon these ministries. Of course, anyone hating criticism would not
participate in such an endeavor; yet those are the things which take place just
before an organization is conquered. A certain Professor at Andrews University
for whom our NAD leaders had much respect, received one such letter. His name
was Dr. C. Mervyn Maxwell, Professor of Church History. Here is an excerpt of
the lengthy published letter of caution he wrote back to the NAD leadership, or
Elder Robert Dale in particular:
One of the
seething causes of the current wave of unofficial publications is frustration
with disenfranchisement. Church leadership, apparently intent on retaining our
educated liberals, has politically and editorially found ways to give several of
the denomination's colleges, periodicals, and key administrative positions to
educated liberals. Time after time our conservatives, the ones who still read
the Spirit of Prophecy, have been frustrated. THEIR ARTICLES HAVE BEEN
REJECTED BY DENOMINATIONAL EDITORS. And even when they have written
"letters to the editor," too often their letters haven't been
published unless a contrary letter was available for publication next to theirs,
to make their letters look foolish. All of this maneuvering has left many of our
thinking conservatives frustrated. But they love our church more than they love
their money. They are alarmed at the way things are going because they care
enough to be alarmed; and so, well, they speak up through their own
publications, and they put their money where their mouths and hearts are. . . .
Perhaps, however,
we should say more precisely that certain views which had been held for some
time by a small minority were, in the 1950s, reformulated, given new emphasis,
and taken up by a group of those Adventists who enjoyed the advantage of
attending our schools. I believe in our schools, of course (I teach in one), but
I observe that the theological cleavage which exists today among conservative
NAD Adventists is largely between those who have studied the writings of non-SDA
theologians in our colleges on the one hand and, on the other hand, those who,
deprived of an SDA college education, have confined their study mostly to the
Bible and the writings of Ellen G. White. I am repeatedly struck with the way
new converts, fresh from the study of the Bible and Ellen G. White, side with
the older SDA theology, while so-called "second-" and
"third-generation" Adventists trend to side with the new theology. . . .
Old-theology
conservatives such as the editors of Our Firm Foundation [one of the, we are
told: "Destructively critical self-supporting ministries"] are
frequently criticized for bringing up the issue [concerning the nature of
Christ]. BUT LET’S FACE IT: THEY DIDN’T START THE ARGUMENT!
The argument was started publicly by the 1949 edition of Bible Readings, by the
1957 publication of Questions on Doctrine, and by certain Seminary professors
and others in the years that followed. And the pot has been kept boiling by the
new-theology liberals and conservatives, who now control several of our
magazines and colleges.
ONE
RECALLS THE OLD QUIP, "YOU STARTED THE FIGHT WHEN YOU HIT ME BACK."
The fact that
new-theology people control the chief NAD publications and colleges represents
choices made by entities of the NAD. Choices involve consequences. If NAD
entities have chosen such editors and presidents, NAD must expect a reaction. It
is in my opinion irresponsible and unsportsmanlike for NAD to choose partisans
of new-theology views which have not been officially accepted by the General
Conference and then cry foul when loyal church members publish evidence in favor
of the old-theology views which they committed themselves to when they became
Seventh-day Adventists.
I
have just spoken about the convictions of people who adopted certain
understandings when they became Seventh-day Adventists. If church leadership
thinks the time has come to teach different views from the views being taught
when these people became Seventh-day Adventists, that is one thing. But to
treat people as rebellious, heretical, disloyal, and legalist because they
choose to continue to believe what they sincerely committed themselves to years
ago, seems gross and boorish.
These are facts presented here: no
mere fiction. It shows that the denominational organization started the assault.
UNPRECEDENTED! DETRACTORS ALWAYS START THE FIGHT FIRST!
Because of this
"maneuvering" it is now a common fact that members cannot acquire
basic Historic Adventist teaching without either studying the Bible or the
writings of Ellen White for themselves, or by subscribing to some independent
ministry. Our church organization cunningly censored our historic faith from her
publications, and now when ministries pop up as the only source of that material
they ostensibly censored from our publications, our leaders are waging a
relentless war to destroy those organizations. You can obviously see that
whichever way the ball bounces, the issue at stake is more than mere
organizations. It is doctrine! These conditions existed even before the first of
the independent ministries mentioned in the "Issues" series either
came into existence or were classified as offensive by our denominational
leaders. Our leadership is determined to obliterate certain doctrines we always
had and supported as a people. Efforts are being made to stop our historical
doctrines from being presented in their purity. Yet on top of this, they charge
independent ministries and those who support them with "dogmatism" and
with not allowing other honest individuals to have their variant views nor have
an equal footing in the church. If they succeed in destroying those
organizations, historic Adventist teaching will only be found within the Bible
and the Spirit of Prophecy. THESE WOULD BE NEXT IN LINE
FOR DESTRUCTION! (Note- and they are sure being ousted now! 2001)
Yet the point demonstrated here is that
our "detractors" did not start an assault upon our church leaders: the
leaders themselves slapped the "detractors" first, for no
"Seventh-day Adventist" reason.
It is also clearly to our dismay that since
this lengthy letter was written to our NAD leaders and read surely by most of
the rest, the irritant described here which caused so much commotion ABSOLUTELY
HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED, but, like most every other problem, has gotten worse.
People often overlook this. At times church officials have stated that much of
the problems have been corrected. THIS IS FALSE! THIS IS NOT JUST A PROBLEM.
THIS IS APOSTASY! One cannot have a known problem--even yet one so easy to
correct--and refuse to correct it, then heaping all kinds of criticisms against
those who point out this problem, calling them "critical," and not be
in apostasy!
Articles for unity are continually being
presented by Dr. Folkenberg in the Review, while these tangible problems
are still ignored. We ask within ourselves, "Why can't even Dr. Folkenberg
somehow figure out that these problems need correcting? He has credentials and
is an intelligent man, yet many people who do not have credentials can figure
this out and he can't!" Then William G. Johnson, one of the editors of the
Review,
in an article wonders why a "strange" group within the body tend to
more trust independent ministry leaders than even Dr. Folkenberg! To such, the
answer can only come from God in the judgment; for these in leadership positions
will not listen to the answer if it comes from any other man! They will not
listen, "Though one rose from the dead."
Therefore the question can be asked,
"Could the church have expelled those men from our educational institutions
who were teaching heresy in the first place?" That question was easily
answered when we saw those who pointed those people out banished on the Isle of
Patmos and charged with a "greater" sin: criticism--even in the face
of apostasy. WHAT A TERRIBLE SIN THEY COMMITTED!
Of course this is just the tip of the
iceberg which contributed to the establishment and financial success of the
independent ministries in the late 80's to the 90's. Yet now it is time to get
to another point about the "detractors" of today and how they differ
from those of yesteryear: how they relate to the doctrine of the church.
Carelessness and utter concealed
contempt for the doctrine of the church by our current leadership is the single
greatest factor inherent in the success of the "certain" independent
ministries.
On the point of doctrine, as we look back
to The Alpha Apostasy, we find that the word "Change" relating to our
doctrines was a common word held in favor ONLY by the detractors. The leadership
of the church was always alarmed about that word and that thought being
communicated to our people. If our doctrines are truth, how can a change benefit
the people of God? If what we believed was truth, then all new light would
confirm our former beliefs, and not undermine them:
“One
thing it is certain is soon to be realized,--the great apostasy, which is
developing and increasing and waxing stronger, and will continue to do so until
the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout. . . . If we
needed the manifest proof of the Holy Spirit's power TO CONFIRM TRUTH IN THE
BEGINNING, after the passing of the time, we need today all the evidence IN THE
CONFIRMATION OF THE TRUTH, when souls are departing from the faith and giving
heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.” -- Testimonies, Series B,
No. 7, p. 57.
Here we can see that the messages
of God for this time would confirm the truths we had believed since Ellen
White's days. In that respect the book Omega declared that the present
apostate movements would:
. . .act
in the name of reformation, forgetting that the reformation for which the Bible
called was one of life, NOT OF ESTABLISHED DOCTRINE; forgetting, too, Ellen
White's warning that the church did not need new light nearly as badly as it
needed to live up to the light it already had. -- Omega p. 52.
Later on in the book, while
showing ways to detect the coming apostasy Lewis Walton gave a key indicator by
stating:
The
discriminating test is simple: Does the new teaching urge reform of life, or
change of established truth. -- Omega p. 85.
Our present leadership is struggling
to change the liturgy ofthe church so that the members would be too emotionally
ecstatic to realize their efforts to water down and change the doctrine of the
church. I am stating that new light can come, but it must stand on the shoulders
of what was found. Yet today, it is not the "detractors" who are
fighting for "changes" in the doctrine of the church. It is the
leadership. The"detractors" unprecedentedly are calling for the
raising again of our fallen church standards and doctrines, and, despite the
fact that many clamoring for our historic faith are typically not as rigid in
principle as were our pioneers and forefathers, they endure all kinds of labels
in criticism from people who claim to be anti-critical and who are amazingly and
"startlingly" in leadership positions. They are called
"legalistic" even though they are not as rigid as was our Seventh-day
Adventist forefathers. Therefore what was the condition of our forefathers?
After all, they did all live well after the cross and in modern times. Are these
charges really coming from anti-judgmental people! It is therefore not love for
the doctrine or liturgy of the church which fuels our New Theology leadership.
Radicals are usually people who do not like the status quo. But why should the
"status quo" be regarding the doctrine of the church instead of the
lives which need to be changed according to the light the church already has?
Yet this leads to another
unprecedented aspect of our modern day "detractors." One point which
was common about our detractors of yesteryear and which took our leaders by
surprise was their ambitious and opportunistic manipulation of the youth in
Ellen White's day. Lewis Walton gives us his insight into this issue:
As we have
seen before, another characteristic of the alpha was the manner in which it
aggressively pursued the young people of the Adventist Church. After The
Living Temple was printed, Kellogg sent it to local conferences and tried to
enlist the youth in its distribution and sale. He also revived the Battle Creek
College, which put many students under the instruction of his brightest
supporters. Taking them at an impressionable age, putting them into a classroom
setting in which the instructor traditionally has high credibility, he hoped to
gain a large following among the church's new generation. And thus the
proponents of the new theology would have a strong second line of attack. If
they did not succeed in pressing their viewpoint on the church, they need only
wait, patiently train their students, and then scatter them through the world
field so that the very structure of the organized work would begin to change
imperceptibly. And one day the dissidents would have the influence and the
votes, perhaps, to make the change official. In some ways, that may have been
the most dangerous tactic of all. -- Omega pg. 66.
We now check the material of the
"Certain" independent ministries, and find amazingly that they are not
pushing an agenda upon the youth nor burdening our present leadership through
deceptive and opportunistic movements to lure the youth to their side. Yet just
like John Harvey Kellogg and other detractors within the alpha apostasy have
sought for and acquired control of our educational institutions, using their
influence and power to turn the youth from the teachings of the church, we are
finding very startling material coming from our educational institutions and
sanctioned by our present new theology leadership which are designed to turn
their hearts from the teachings of our church history. In this aspect, did we
find Review articles praising the babyboomers and showing how they dream
about their church and want it changed. We see demands to have our youth lead
the church, and pastors and other officers in leadership positions are becoming
younger and younger.
For the information of our
"anti-dogmatic" leaders who love diversity and would therefore
supposedly avoid division through pushing any agenda, the bible states
consistently that ONLY men of experience often who can rule their own families
successfully are qualified for leadership positions within our church. When my
son can drive my car, have my wife and put my pampers on me, THEN HE CAN RULE MY
CHURCH! When he can tuck me in bed and spank me when I am disobedient, I will
let him rule my church. If he cannot rule my home, I will not allow him to rule
my church! Is that's the problem? TOO MANY CHILDREN RUNNING THIS CHURCH?? Yet
they frequently tell us how they MUST lead and cannot be replaced. Yes they can
be replaced AND MUST BE. EACH ONE LEFT IS HUNDREDS AND MAYBE THOUSANDS OF SOULS
LOST: whether we can replace them will depend on how many Protestants remain in
the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
For the information of our
"bible-believing" Adventist Review editors: the bible declares
that the babyboomer and babybuster generations are doomed generations. Why are
our Review editors extolling them! The bible compares this generation
with the antediluvians who will reject God, raise up the kingdom of Antichrist
and persecute God's people. How therefore should they be declared "the
head," and Adventism be declared "the tail," and how we are so
far behind them that we need to follow?
Our detractors of the past were hungry
for power to take control of the church. Our present "detractors" do
not have this disease, yet present "leadership" use programs such as
Neuro Linguistic Programming, Hierarchism and deception to gain control of the
minds of our people. UNPRECEDENTED!!!
Yes there is a war taking place today
within the organized church. As had been pointed out, though the
"detractors" have been eliminated from our denominational boundaries,
the multitudes of heresies which they complained about remain. The sympathizers
of these "detractors" are all throughout the church. Yet these
sympathizers are in no way adding to the problem of false doctrine: they are the
only ones who are alarmed about the false doctrine and want it to be eliminated.
As a matter of fact, world-wide considering, those who believe in our historic
message and doctrine are the majority. The only reason why this is the case is
because sympathizers with the "detractors" WERE THE CHURCH until their
authority had been usurped in the endeavors for "change" within the
organization. One cannot have a total history of doctrines now considered the
material of "detractors" and easily become a minority within the
church even with the constant connivery of leadership.
The next point is how our modern day
leadership relates to the Spirit of Prophecy. I will not dwell too much upon
this point since this series has already dealt fairly extensively with this
topic. It is only necessary to state that most every expression of doubt or
undermining of the guidance found within the Spirit of Prophecy comes
exclusively from within the denomination instead of from without it when we
compare the structure to the independent ministries. I even now have in my hands
a tape-recording from the minister of the top Celebration Church in Colton,
California where he states plainly that he will put in the trash the belief that
we as a people have to believe or obey Ellen G. White to be good Seventh-day
Adventists. This is commonly taught within the denomination. He was not
reprimanded for this statement.
The question is, if Ellen White is a
take-it-or-leave-it option within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, have the
leadership taught that THEY ALSO are a take-it-or-leave-it option: that we don't
have to accept what they say nor accept their authority and can yet be good
Seventh-day Adventists? The answer is NO! They tell us plainly that we must
trust them, that they must lead and that they have the selfsame authority as did
the apostles in Acts chapter fifteen.
Another crucial point about the Alpha
apostasy to be compared to the Omega, is that after erroneous theories had
gained a foothold within the church, the detractors used their influence to
convince members of the church to unite around the errors. Even today, in our
relativistic civic society, there is a call to unify and huddle together in the
"mainstream" around all the confusing and erroneous philosophies,
ideas and opinions. Lewis Walton picks up on this phenomenon in his book Omega:
To
introduce into the church errors that will destroy it, and then to protect them
under the umbrella of "unity" is a problem that Ellen White had to
address in 1904. "We are to unify," she declared, "But not on a
platform of error." -- Letter, Ellen G. White to Dr. W. H. Riley, August 3,
1904. Omega, p. 75.
Are we or are we not ingratiated
into a tremendous call and appeal for "unity" today in ecumenism,
celebration and mysticism?
The last most crucial point to be
mentioned in this work in order to identify the crucial differences between the
events of the alpha and the events of the omega revolves around HOW THE
CONTROVERSY WILL END. In the alpha apostasy, those who finally maintained
control over the church: the leaders, maintained the integrity of the
denomination. When the omega we are now in ends, will the integrity of the
denomination be maintained?
I invite you to remember that the
condemnations given through the Spirit of Prophecy upon the detractors of the
omega, consistently point toward our New Theology "brethren," who,
through a terrible thirst for power and while we slept, slithered their way into
prominence in our church. Remember that the Review & Herald Vol. 1
pg. 405 tells us clearly that sooner or later our official ministers in our
churches and campmeetings will
"urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the
first day of the week."
Remember that
Testimonies to
Ministers, p. 409, states that:
"Many
will stand ON OUR PULPITS, with the torch of false prophecy in their
hands, kindled by the hellish torch of Satan."
Remember that Manuscript 15, 1886
tells us that:
"Vengeance
will be executed AGAINST THOSE THAT SIT IN THE GATES deciding what the
people should have."
This is especially referring to the
subtle introduction of the concept of "worship-styles" and other
measures being used to make the dennomination fall to the Pope through
ecumenism.
A struggle took place within the
denominational boundaries. Inspiration put the spotlight WITHIN the
denominational organization, NOT OUTSIDE. In every case, you cannot find
inspiration telling you that the church will be seriously attacked by private
ministries outside the organization in the last days. The spotlight is not
outside the denominational domain: IT IS INSIDE. During the struggle, those
leaders who were concerned about the apostasy realized that they were no match
for the apostate leaders who are the products of years of stealthy infiltration.
They fell asleep and woke up too late to stop what was happening. These apostate
leaders kicked out the true men of God, AND LEFT THEMSELVES IN THE SPOTLIGHT!
Now we know who is guilty of these terrible prophecies of betrayal upon the
people and cause of God.
This is confusing to most Adventists, for
they were always taught to consider the leadership who maintain control of the
denominational organization to be true leaders and to have the blessing of God.
To most of our people, the definition of an apostate is not one who
opposes the mission or message, but one who opposes those who maintain control
over the denominational system. Here is where the Omega apostasy will catch them
completely by surprise.
These are just a few quotations to show
that under the New Theology men who have troubled the camp of Israel, the
organizational denomination unprecedentedly will not maintain its integrity, but
will, like Israel of old, go out into complete, deliberate and abject apostasy,
not only leaving the work of God to be accomplished by the Seventh-day Adventist
Church members who are faithful to the trust, but actually opposing and
persecuting those who would advance the truth.
Therefore Lewis R. Walton speculated on
the mystery behind the Omega symbols. Did you figure out yet what was the major
message behind the mystery Ellen White was trying to reveal to our people? or
did the message run right past you?
Take a look at the symbols again now, and
consider the arrows just below it. Now think about the fact that you would get a
clearer insight when you consider the arrows below the symbols to speak most
precisely ABOUT THE SEATS OF THE ACTORS! In the Alpha apostasy, church leaders,
with the help of the power of God, would possess enough strength to oust and
expel the detractors. What would happen in the Omega apostasy? Ellen White used
symbols so as not to jeopardize the work before the organization fell to
infiltration.
Therefore the book
Omega,
sanctioned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church since its inception gives us a
checklist where we can identify the detractors of the Omega apostasy by their
attributes. The chapter called, "Omega," and the one entitled,
"Nine Salient Points," render very enlightening points revealing the
startling facts concerning who our true-to-life detractors are in this day and
age. The nine points listed in that book are:
1.
Deception:
This issue has
already been dealt with extensively. To get an overall picture concerning this
point however, one ought to note that current new theology leadership demeans
our supporters of our historic message by telling others that they are
"old-fashioned" and cannot move with the present modern age. They give
the impression that these people only want the piano and the organ for church
worship and that they have no taste for modern advancement. It is true that our
modern day "detractors" hate the electric guitar and many forms of
drums
and big blasting amplifiers, etc. Yet two major modern inventions we have
ironically found that these "detractors" love are video cameras and
tape recorders. This is strange for people who are supposed to be dishonest and
are skilful in deception. Conversely, our denominational leaders have shown
scarcely bridled terror in the face of video cameras and tape recorders.
One major
"detractor," Pastor John Osborne, asked on his "Celebration"
video #4, why those pushing these new movements were so terrified of video
cameras and tape recorders. He declared that they should welcome these
instruments to vindicate their cause across the nation. He declared that the
reason as to why our leadership is terrified of these devices is,
"Obviously they don't want anybody to be able to PROVE the things they said
or did" during the disfellowshipping procedures. If these devices are not
there, they will accomplish illegal and sacrilegious activities, and when asked
about what really went on during those meetings and why they were even taking
place, THESE NEW THEOLOGY INFILTRATORS CAN DISPLAY THEIR UNPARALLELED TALENT AT
DISHONESTY. They would lie with as much ease as you would take a breath. You can
therefore see why these modern devices scare our new theology
"brethren."
The
"detractors" have made it plain that their business meetings are open
and recorded, while all over the nation, when people attempt to record the
events taking place during this "new" form of worship, or when members
protest against these new movements and are being disfellowshipped, our leaders
show a hatred for video cameras and tape recorders, since these leaders have
promised that these services would not become wild like Pentecostal services.
The cameras have already exposed that statement as untrue.
Some have even
ventured to declare that leaders caught on video doing acts of apostasy really
didn't do what the video tape revealed that they did. To questions concerning
the heinous events recorded, ministers have been contemptuously chiding members
by asking the observing and concerned members, "How do you know that
happened, were you there?!" Yet everyone on the continent of North America
seems to know what happened to Rodney King, who was a victim of police brutality
in Los Angeles. How many people who know what happened there in Los Angeles,
were actually there?
2.
Divisiveness:
Isn't it a
divisive act to attempt to uproot the standing order of the church and insult
the intelligence of the members by stealthily imposing a movement upon them
without their consent and outside the scriptures while yet charging those who
oppose this movement with being divisive? Wasn't everything far more peaceful
before they came along? Even at the time of this writing we are fighting with a
minister in our church who is telling us about "changes that MUST
come," who is intimate with our legislative and nominating committees, and
who has dispensed with our programs to instruct our members on our old doctrines
and preparation for the final crisis ahead. Yet despite the terrible commotion
which has erupted because of these divisive activities, the new theology
conspirators still push them in light of their mission.
3. Attack on
Fundamental Beliefs:
This has already been explained
throughout this series.
3.
Covert Attacks Upon the Structure of the Church:
Nothing these
ministries have done was ever covert. They make videos and they seek to show
them all over the world. It is the denominational organization which is
desperately trying to keep what’s on those videos a secret. And what is on
those videos? Their own acts of betrayal, and some of these videos show the
actual faces of the men committing the abomination and have caught them in the
very act! One of these acts is visiting the Man of Sin, which none of these
private ministries, which our leaders claim have "fallen by the
wayside" have done.
By the
constant reporting of the denomination, you are indoctrinated into believing
that our modern-day "detractors" in exposing the new theology
leadership, are attacking the structure of the church. THIS IS NOT TRUE! Isn't
infiltrating the church structure a method of attack? If you listen to what the
"detractors" say and get rid of the new theology infiltrators now in
power, do you think for a minute that the church would be destroyed? You are
very wrong.
Firstly, all
those everlasting "problems" our conspirators are stealthily defending
to the death will vanish, and they will be replaced by far more honest,
Seventh-day Adventist mission-minded individuals who are bent on giving the
message--not stopping it. That's why we hear all these political sermons where
pastors told us that those now in power "MUST" lead: If you got rid of
them, decades of infiltration would be lost.
4.
Special Efforts to Attract the Youth:
This topic has
already been dealt with.
5.
Special Attacks on the Spirit of Prophecy:
Attacks upon
the Spirit of Prophecy are now mostly covert. Soon it will be direct and openly
sponsored by the denominational organization. (They’re pretty open now-2001)
6.
A Climate of Personal Attack:
Just think about
how you now know as a point of fact that our "detractors" running
independent ministries do what they do because of greed in "dogmatism"
and are "critical" and therefore "loveless." Then consider
how formerly elementary issues cannot be cleared up since leadership is
concerned about your "diversity." Then you will be able to understand
the dynamics of this point. If they were concerned about your
"diversity," they would not be mandating that you believe that the
independent ministries are evil, divisive and greedy.
7.
Attacks on Church Standards:
You still
adhere to church standards? If so, it is impossible that you have not been
described by our new theology "anticritical" men as,
"legalistic," by now.
8.
The Claim of a Reform Message for the Church:
People are
telling us this Celebration Movement is the latter rain of revival. We are told
it is the Holy Spirit descending upon us like a dove. Really!
Clearly all of these points shine
like a beacon clearly upon our denominational new theology leaders. In that you
can probably understand why this popular book (Omega) is somehow
mysteriously out of print. In the case of our truest form of detractors, it is a
little too descriptive.
THE MESSAGE IN THE OMEGA SYMBOLS IS THAT
OUR WORST ENEMIES ARE NO LONGER EXTERNAL. THEY ARE INTERNAL! This is a message
both for church and state; for in the world field, the Iron Curtain has fallen
and our people are breathing a sigh of relief thinking that our enemies are
gone, not knowing that their worst enemies--SOME OF THE SAME OF WHICH COMMITTED
ATROCITIES BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN--are among them controlling things. The same
is true of the churches, and, in our case, OUR CHURCH!
IT WILL SOON BE SEEN THAT THERE WILL BE
NO GREATER ENTITIES THAT WILL OPPOSE THE THREE ANGELS MESSAGES IN THE NEAR
FUTURE THAN OUR OWN DENOMINATIONAL INSTITUTIONS! They are already making a
secret war against our message. This war will increasingly become more and more
open. It will be shown that our worst enemies are "they of our own
house."
"The
days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion.
Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. . . .
Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. . . . Those who trusted to intellect,
genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file. They did
not keep pace with the light." "In the last solemn work few great
men will be engaged." -- 5T p. 80.
THE
SECRET OF THE OMEGA
1.
THE
SEATS OF THE ACTORS HAVE SWITCHED!
2. YOUR
WORST ENEMIES ARE NOW ON THE INSIDE OF THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION, NOT THE
OUTSIDE!
3. YOUR
BEST FRIENDS ARE NOW ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH ORGANIZATION, NOT THE
INSIDE!
4. CHURCH
IS HERE FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND ULTIMATE SALVATION, AND STATE IS
HERE FOR YOUR PHYSICAL WELL-BEING IN THE PROPER EXERCISE OF YOUR
INALIENABLE RIGHTS. BOTH OF THESE ENTITIES WILL IMPERCEPTIBLY CHANGE.
WHILE ONCE FORMERLY GEARED TOWARD YOUR PHYSICAL WELL-BEING AND ULTIMATE
SALVATION, THESE TWO ENTITIES WILL BECOME GEARED FOR BOTH YOUR PHYSICAL
AND ETERNAL DEATH.
5. EVERYTHING
THAT WAS EVIL WHICH FOR GENERATIONS, BY THE MERCY OF GOD, REMAINED
"IN THE CLOSET," WILL COME OUT IN FULL FORCE TO MAKE WAR WITH
THE GOOD THAT KEPT THEM IN PRISON. AS THESE EVIL FORCES COME OUT, THEY
WILL FORCE THE GOOD INTO THE SECLUSION THEY WERE FORMERLY CONFINED IN.
6. EVERYTHING
THEREFORE WHICH WAS PUBLIC AND TRUSTED, THROUGH INFILTRATION WILL TURN
EVIL; AND TRUTH WILL ONLY BE FOUND AMONG GROUPS AND INSTITUTIONS WHICH
ARE PRIVATE.
7. THE
OMEGA SYMBOL SYMBOLIZES THE GREATEST BETRAYAL OF MANKIND IN THE HISTORY
OF THE EARTH IN BOTH CHURCH AND STATE. IN EVERY CASE, IT IS
PROTESTANTISM THAT IS BEING ATTACKED. THE BIBLE IS BEING ATTACKED!
END
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