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Crying “Wolf!” In Jesus’ Name
Before Unwittingly Promoting the Current Rumor of Sunday Law By Stealth, Check the Facts
Presenter: Larry Kirkpatrick
Location: Mentone SDA Church, CA, USA
Delivery: 2008-03-15 18:56Z
Publication: GreatControversy.org 2008-03-17 04:56Z
Type: Sermon
URL: http://www.greatcontroversy.org/gco/rar/kirl-cryingwolf.php
Introduction
I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings (Jeremiah 23:21, 22).
Whether recently or in past time, some of us have heard rumors of an imminent secret plot to bring into being a National Sunday Law (NSL). While those who have acted as messengers in promoting the current rumor have never claimed to be prophets, an interesting similarity remains. One such, in his own words, says, “I’m also going to tell you what God says about the things going on behind the scenes to bring you to the Sunday law crisis and show you how it is happening.”
Telling you what God says, taking you behind the scenes, presenting with self-proclaimed pastoral authority, is the making of high claims. There is nothing wrong with making high claims if one can deliver on them. And yet, in the present case, evidence in support is lacking. The messenger promotes a false rumor, damaging the credibility and influence of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Influence is earned. Its generation costs a great deal of time and careful effort. A denomination’s influence for good can be rapidly undermined by those lurking at the fringes. The circulation of false rumors of an NSL now will directly undermine our efforts when the day comes that the actual end-time NSL arrives.
The Current Sunday Law Rumor
What, exactly, is the rumor being circulated?
A secret meeting was allegedly held November 14 and 15, 2007. It was attended by representatives of the Christian Coalition, Christian Churches Together, and Catholic Campaign for America, along with secular political figures Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi. A Roman Catholic Cardinal is also alleged to have been present. Several “government agents” from the NSA were involved in security procedures. A 10 point agenda was discussed, including reference to a national day of rest. A “communique” was circulated among an insider group of 13 attendees, represented as draft for a statement to be made on the occasion of the Papal visit scheduled for April 15-17, 2008. The “communique” states that something must be done to counteract the developing “moral slime” in America, “the Second Israel.” Furthermore, the pope will secretly discuss a national Sunday law with president George W. Bush. The NSL is moving quietly in the background, being wrangled into a position of inevitability by a few parties in secret.
What shall we make of all this?
Development of Second Beast and National Sunday Law Foretold
You already know our preliminary response to the current Sunday law rumor. But let’s pause and review some of the inspired information that we have been given pertaining to the development of the NSL. In what follows, we offer only a few lines, inviting those interested to study more closely. One resource most readers will already have on their shelves is the book The Great Controversy, and pages 433-450, among others, offer significant material for perusal.
First, the identification of the second, or lamb/dragon beast:
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon (Revelation 13:11).
And in explanation:
One nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this prophecy; it points unmistakably to the United States of America (The Great Controversy, p. 440).
What is the meaning of “speaking” as a dragon?
The lamblike horns and dragon voice of the symbol point to a striking contradiction between the professions and the practice of the nation thus represented. The ‘speaking’ of the nation is the action of its legislative and judicial authorities (The Great Controversy, p. 442).
This power is described acting as follows:
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed (Revelation 13:12).
The authority of the state will be misused:
The statement that the beast with two horns ‘causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast’ indicates that the authority of this nation is to be exercised in enforcing some observance which shall be an act of homage to the papacy (The Great Controversy, p. 442).
Revelation tells us more:
Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast (Revelation 13:14).
And in explanation:
Here is clearly presented a form of government in which the legislative power rests with the people, a most striking evidence that the United States is the nation denoted in the prophecy (The Great Controversy, p. 443).
Let’s summarize so far. The lamb/dragon-like beast is the United States of America. The authority of the United States will be exercised in enforcing an observance which shall be an act of worship to the papacy. The speaking of this beast is the speaking of the people of the nation. The people speak via the exercise of legislative power by the Congress of the United States.
Continuing . . .
But what is the ‘image to the beast’? . . . . When the early church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity of the gospel and accepting heathen rites and customs, she lost the Spirit and power of God; and in order to control the consciences of the people, she sought the support of the secular power. The result was the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the state and employed it to further her own ends, especially for the punishment of ‘heresy.’ In order for the United States to form an image of the beast, the religious power must so control the civil government that the authority of the state will also be employed by the church to accomplish her own ends (The Great Controversy, p. 443).
How will this be brought to pass?
There has been for years, in churches of the Protestant faith, a strong and growing sentiment in favor of a union based upon common points of doctrine. To secure such a union, the discussion of subjects upon which all were not agreed—however important they might be from a Bible standpoint—must necessarily be waived (The Great Controversy, p. 444).
And so, what is coming?
When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result (The Great Controversy, p. 445).
What particularly will happen?
Only by changing God’s law could the papacy exalt itself above God; whoever should understandingly keep the law as thus changed would be giving supreme honor to that power by which the change was made. Such an act of obedience to papal laws would be a mark of allegiance to the pope in the place of God (The Great Controversy, p. 446).
And finally:
The enforcement of Sundaykeeping on the part of Protestant churches is an enforcement of the worship of the papacy—of the beast (The Great Controversy, p. 449).
Summarizing further: What will develop via the speaking of the beast—the enactment of legislation by the Congress of the United States—is that the religious power will control the civil government sufficiently to use her power to enforce a religious observance. There will be a union of churches on the basis of common points of doctrine. After the union of churches comes the infliction of civil penalties. The state shall require the observance of Sunday; the Protestant churches of the United States will lead the way.
Let us become doubly clear concerning a particularly crucial part of the picture: The transition from lamblikeness to dragonic, the shift from sustaining liberty of conscience to coercing it, from being “a church without a pope, and a state without a king” (The Great Controversy, p. 296), is accomplished via the speaking of the people as a dragon—the influence of a popular Sunday movement upon the legislators, who respond to the pressure for an NSL by actually implementing legislation.
Ellen G. White was shown that the means by which this development is realized is a popular nationwide movement for Sunday observance.
A movement to enforce Sunday observance is fast gaining ground (The Great Controversy, p. 579).
The National Reform movement, exercising the power of religious legislation, will, when fully developed, manifest the same intolerance and oppression that have prevailed in past ages (Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 712).
In the movements now in progress in the United States to secure for the institutions and usages of the church the support of the state, Protestants are following in the steps of papists (The Great Controversy, p. 587).
The temperance work, one of the most prominent and important of moral reforms, is often combined with the Sunday movement, and the advocates of the latter represent themselves as laboring to promote the highest interest of society; and those who refuse to unite with them are denounced as the enemies of temperance and reform. But the fact that a movement to establish error is connected with a work which is in itself good, is not an argument in favor of the error. We may disguise poison by mingling it with wholesome food, but we do not change its nature. On the contrary, it is rendered more dangerous, as it is more likely to be taken unawares. It is one of Satan's devices to combine with falsehood just enough truth to give it plausibility. The leaders of the Sunday movement may advocate reforms which the people need, principles which are in harmony with the Bible; yet while there is with these a requirement which is contrary to God’s law, His servants cannot unite with them. Nothing can justify them in setting aside the commandments of God for the precepts of men (The Great Controversy, p. 587).
Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium (The Great Controversy, p. 588).
The dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday. The lack of divine authority will be supplied by oppressive enactments. Political corruption is destroying love of justice and regard for truth; and even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance. Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exemplified the prophet’s words: ‘The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.’ Revelation 12:17 (The Great Controversy, p. 592).
As the controversy extends into new fields and the minds of the people are called to God’s downtrodden law, Satan is astir. The power attending the message will only madden those who oppose it. The clergy will put forth almost superhuman efforts to shut away the light lest it should shine upon their flocks. By every means at their command they will endeavor to suppress the discussion of these vital questions. The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and, in this work, papists and Protestants unite. As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment keepers (The Great Controversy, p. 607).
These quotations show that near the close of the 1800s there was a significant movement for an NSL. A major means Satan will use is demonic visitations, the supposed speaking of the dead, in favor of the reforms so-called. A movement is foretold never before paralleled in history. In this movement, papists Protestants, and worldlings will unite. The masses will be bribed, persuaded, and coerced by the dignitaries, that is, the prominent representatives of the church and of the state. “Rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance.” The “dignitaries of church and state” will advocate the doctrines of the church union but labor with all their might in suppressing the dissenting voices of those who keep the commandments of God, who sustain the biblical seventh day Sabbath. This is the future. We know not how far or near it may be.
Consider carefully the progression:
- There will be a uniting of Roman Catholics, Protestants and worldlings. This movement shall rise from the grassroots.
- Most of the churches of the United States will form a union amongst themselves built upon doctrines held in common with each other.
- This movement will have its agitating voices as any movement does, but will remain a popular, mass movement.
- Views in favor of the union will be presented by the dignitaries of church and state, views opposed will be suppressed.
- The lamb/dragonlike beast speaks via laws passed in the Congress, including, at last, the NSL.
Contrast, Comparison, Evaluation
The rumor writers claim that they are telling about “a sobering development,” that we are behind in preparing for the Close of Probation, and that there is very little time left. They claim to tell us what is presently going on behind the scenes. They claim that a secret meeting occurred, populated by the personalities already mentioned and that even the Pope has an involvement.
Here is where we need to be careful. Doubtless, we are behind in preparing for the Close of Probation; doubtless it is true that we have very little time left. And yet, we must have a relentless care for facts.
Observations
One speaking of the present rumor has offered some well-thought through ideas. . .
Adventists should be exquisitely sensitive to the issue of misinformation, misperception, and misinterpretation. We experienced this in the Great Disappointment of 1844. The unique peculiarity of Adventists is our insistence upon dealing with the reality of Scripture and gospel truth regardless of what is politically or religiously popular, acceptable, or even legally allowed to be believed or proclaimed. . . we insist on dealing with reality, including prophetic reality. . . . Ministries like Amazing Facts present our prophetic biblical truths in a credible manner. But if our people are—even in part—setting forth fiction and calling it reality, many others will properly reject the credibility of such individuals and quite likely any organization that they think is affiliated with or in support of them. Unfortunately, in the past and continuing, many of our evangelists and pastors have ‘cherry-picked’ facts to support that we are perpetually in the very end time (rather than on the cusp and needing to be vigilant). I know of several SDA pastors whose fathers were evangelists and have the same concern. I wonder how many other children of evangelists are no longer in the church or believers of our message for this reason. I wonder how many new converts are lost once the emotional high, in part created from hysterical hyperbole and over-stated current events, has dissipated. I wonder if some people are not using false stories about end-time events occurring right now to stoke and continue that emotional high. God’s Love, Mercy, and the prophetic knowledge of prophetic events should be enough without forcing the end-time to always be occurring at that very moment. The five wise Virgins were not constantly out on the portico proclaiming the imminent arrival or ‘welcoming’ the Bridegroom they inaccurately claimed to see or hear just down the street. Rather, they slept—but were prepared when the Bridegroom actually came. Too many of our members (and some pastors?) are like foolish Virgins who are foolishly wasting their oil and credibility claiming that the Bridegroom is on the porch or just out of sight down the street when He in fact is not. Sometimes I think people are out there stirring up dust to make it appear that the Bridegroom is just down the street. That is only false hope, and is, at its core, a lie (This paragraph editorially adapted from a private e-mail).
It is crucial that we preserve our influence for occasions when the information is confirmed, and the threat is real, and when our being credible is of the utmost importance. To cry “Wolf!” time after time, and be shown to be wrong time after time, is destructive; it is the cacophony of those who run but have not been sent. It is the warning of God through His prophet Jeremiah: “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran.”
Some Facts Investigated
An exploration of the facts turns up the following:
- The individual mentioned in the rumor as being the co-chair of the Christian Coalition of America, actually has been only a leader informally in the West Virginia subsection of the Christian Coalition of America. He was an Adventist pastor/evangelist, but retired approximately ten years ago. He does not carry a current credential.
- It was claimed that Al Gore was a speaker at the “secret meeting” in Washington at the Regency Hotel on November 14, 2007. However, Mr. Gore was actually present in San Francisco as keynote speaker for the Full Circle Fund’s meeting: “You’ve Got the Power.” Here are links that confirm:
“You’ve Got the Power,” Full Circle Fund Site, http://fullcirclefund.org/event.php?id=106#Register.
Dorian Adams, “Vice President Al Gore Keynote Speaker at the Full Circle Fund 2007 Forum, October 22, 2007,” Just Cause.
http://justcauseit.com/events/vice-president-al-gore-keynote-speaker-full-circle-fund-2007-forum-2007-11-1. - Nancy Pelosi was said to be present at a meeting the next day, November 15, 2007. However, the Seventh-day Adventist PARL (Public Affairs and Religious Liberty) department spoke with her office about her schedule. Her office indicated that she was not present at such a meeting but was elsewhere. Yes, she was present elsewhere: she was speaking in the capital regarding a bill that was passed that day. Here is the link:
(See Jesse Lee, “House Passes RESTORE Act,” http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=947. The bill was passed at 8:55 p.m., so her address must have occurred shortly before that time.) - The Roman Catholic named as being present was Cardinal Pizeroser of San Francisco. And yet, this name does not appear on any Cardinal lists. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_of_Cardinals. Several such lists are found at the close of the article.) The rumor writers acknowledge this fact and compensate for it by the suggestion that a pseudonym was used to cover Vatican tracks. Once again, we are left with unverifiable information.
- Consider the extreme unlikelihood of Nancy Pelosi or Al Gore sitting down at the table to secretly plan for a new national religious law with members of the Christian Coalition. Here are persons and groups with sharply differing views concerning abortion and the role of government in addressing that issue.
- Then there is the fanciful picture painted of NSA (U. S. Government National Security Agency) “agents” being involved in such a meeting, in taking away driver’s licenses, in themselves speaking about how “provocative” the meeting is, and neglecting to secure the meeting from recording devices until the second day. But the NSA is an information agency, and does not provide on-the-ground security forces.
- The Cardinal is purported to have spoken of America as being “the second Israel.” But a web search reveals no record of the Vatican or its representatives ever using such language.
- Likewise, “moral slime” is language never found emanating from the vatican, which tends more to Latin than colloquialisms. The alleged draft of the communique sounds unlike any previous Vatican document.
- The Sunday rumor begins with Mr. A and was widely circulated through the efforts of Mr. B. The Seventh-day Adventist PARL (Public Affairs and Religious Liberty) office phoned Mr. A in order to verify the claims with him, but he declined to discuss the matter. In fact, back in November the PARL office had heard of the rumored November 14, 2007 meeting and actually had sent people to the John Paul II Cultural Center to confirm whether or not such a meeting would take place. There was no meeting. The John Paul II Cultural Center was actually closed that day.
- There is no public record of any such meeting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel where it is said to have occurred. I telephoned the Hyatt Regency and spoke with an individual who handles reservations for meetings at the hotel. I asked whether there were any meetings on the docket for November 14, 15, 2007 at the Regency reserved by the Christian Coalition of America, Christian Churches Together, or Catholic Campaign for America, or any meetings on those dates having to do with global warming. The answer was, None. According to the hotel, no such meetings were booked or occurred at the Regency on those dates.
- Of course, the claim was that the meetings were “secret,” so such information should not be forthcoming anyway. And yet, were this all true, it is evident that both alleged meeting sites are known. Is this likely? Shall we expect that such a deeply laid plot, involving chief persons from the executive and legislative branches of government, would invite a chattery Seventh-day Adventist who immediately reveals these events, to be part of a secret group of thirteen to whom such things are revealed? The bottom line is, we have no public record of such a meeting involving these personalities. We do have public record that not all those claimed even to have been in Washington were present.
If this rumor were a ship, it would have at least a dozen or so gaping leaks. Almost everywhere it lays a claim, the information comes back to the contrary.
Allegedly Secret Movements
According to Mr. B, certain important things must be in place for the NSL to happen.
First, there has to be a general crisis that generates a good deal of fear, a crisis of global proportions. Secondly, there must be a nearly unshakable cooperation between the religious forces in the United States with the government, including the Vatican, (perhaps even led by the Vatican at least behind the scenes), so that they can cooperate together without fear of being thwarted. Thirdly, there must be a secrecy about the matter so that it isn’t agitated widely until there is nothing that can be done to stop the rolling freight train once it gets on the open track.
Do the quotes offered by Mr. B or the materials offered in the writings of Ellen G. White support his claim? He stated that there must be a general crisis that generates a good deal of fear, a crisis of global proportions. We do not take issue with this description; it fits within the bounds of our prophetic expectation. The second item noted was strong cooperation between religious forces and the United States government behind the scenes. This would eventually be expected, but neither is that news. The third aspect noted by Mr. B is that “there must be a secrecy about the matter so that it isn’t agitated widely until there is nothing that can be done to stop the rolling freight train once it gets on the open track.” This secrecy angle interests us.
In reading through the discussion of the development of the union of churches and of the rise of the situation in which the NSL finally comes into being as found in the book The Great Controversy, there is never an emphasis on secret development. But Mr. B finds a quotation in Review and Herald, which he says “astonishingly applies to our present situation”:
I have been much burdened in regard to movements that are now in progress for the enforcement of Sunday observance. It has been shown to me that Satan has been working earnestly to carry out his designs to restrict religious liberty. Plans of serious import to the people of God are advancing in an underhand manner among the clergymen of various denominations, and the object of this secret maneuvering is to win popular favor for the enforcement of Sunday sacredness. If the people can be led to favor a Sunday law, then the clergy intend to exert their united influence to obtain a religious amendment to the Constitution, and compel the nation to keep Sunday (Review and Herald, December 24, 1889).
This statement was applied by its author directly to the situation in 1889. Notice carefully what it says. Satan is at work. Plans are advancing. Behind government doors? No. “Among the clergymen of various denominations.” What is their object? “To win popular favor for the enforcement of Sunday sacredness.” Is this a secret cabal of rulers and legislators shepherding an NSL through the halls of power? “If the people can be led to favor a Sunday law, then the clergy intend to exert their united influence to obtain a religious amendment to the Constitution, and compel the nation to keep Sunday” (Emphasis added). It is seen that the advocates are clergymen discussing their intention, and that their goal is not a direct attempt to manipulate the government, but the exertion of their influence upon the people of the nation. Only the rise of a favorable popular opinion is linked with the attempt to secure a religious amendment to the constitution. Sunday laws in one form or another were attempted fairly regularly from 1888-1910. Dozens were introduced, and dozens died in committee.
The members of Congress interested in Sunday legislation met almost complete defeat. A positive national feeling toward such laws never developed. The secret maneuvering and attempts at underhand advancement of the idea by clergy were ineffectual. By these phrases (“underhanded,” “secret”) it seems that Mrs. White was indicating that in this course of action, the clergy were out of their place. As it was, the sequence of events foretold by Ellen G. White never advanced very far during this period. The time never came when “The dignitaries of church and state . . . unit[ed] to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to honor the Sunday.”
Let us not be misunderstood. We continue to anticipate the fulfillment of this prophesied development at some point in the not too distant future. However, we do not find cause to think that every moment for the past century and longer that there has been relentless promotion in secret of the NSL. God remains in control and the angels have their hands on the four winds (Revelation 7:1-3). When God’s people are prepared for it, the end will come—but not a moment before that is it permitted.
If we accept the counsel of inspiration, we must wholly reject the assertion that a small cabal of rulers and legislators are putting everything in place so that when the Sunday law issue comes out into the open it will be too late; that everything is set. The Sunday law does not develop secretly in the halls of government at all. Its development is very public.
Thus, when Mr. B says “The very end is finally here,” “now the sunday law movement is right upon us,” we pause. The scenerio offered does not mesh with inspired counsel.
Tailgating the Truth
Could it be that Satan urgently desires us to cry “Wolf!” on God’s behalf, and that if we do it enough times before the truly final movements, that those who would believe will have their hopes repeatedly raised then dashed, until their faith is compromised? Jesus warned about trusting in signs. Those who today warn to caution are in good company. It is not that we do not believe, but because we do believe, that we approach each sensational new claim with care.
There is a phenomenon. It works like this. Satan reads the Bible and the Ellen G. White writings too. He follows the truth closely and provides counterfeits that seem to match our expectations. His purpose is to cycle us from one worrisome development to another until our hopes are dashed so many times that faith ebbs away. His purpose is to wear us down so that when the true developments at last arrive, we have already lost our way and become jaded, cynical unbelievers.
Satan is tailgating truth; he is riding close behind our expectations. One of the main indicators that so many of these things are distractions and will not pan out, is that they rarely if ever come with anything substantive in terms of heart preparation. Their warnings are very general. For all of God's spiritually healthy things, such as Christ’s Object Lessons, The Desire of Ages, The Great Controversy, Steps to Christ, etc., which contain tremendous lessons for our heart preparation, Satan has his spiritual junk food—salted, sugared, and spiced to our expectations. I say again, warnings from God are heart-demanding. Warnings from Satan are superficial and exciting, but turn out to be composed only of empty calories.
Hence, we warn. If led of God to investigate (a very big “if”), then do so wisely. Do not rush to a conclusion. Time is friend of truth and enemy of error. Some of us have seen the flock “stimulated” again and again by sensational rumors. Let us then be careful, especially when the bait dangled in front of us seems to be Ellen G. White-approved. Satan understands that it is the authentic in truth that gives it its power, and so he runs very close to it. He is still nefarious. He has not given up on his plan to destroy you. Prepare yourself instead then with God’s fiber muffins, his heart-healthy manna. Examine ingredients closely before you buy. And consider closely those bright headlights tailgating so closely the light of Jesus.
Claims and Whys
It would make no sense for Mr. B to risk his reputation on bad information. Then why do so? The answer may rest in how he views the church.
About a century ago, A. T. Jones was justly disfellowshipped from the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Not many years later, he published a book titled Lessons From the Reformation. While the book contained helpful insights, it also became the root for most of the negative views of the church that have come since then. Jones’ negative ecclesiology was further developed by later thinkers, and three points especially came to stand out. According to this negative view:
- The church is composed of the faithful and true only; the denominational structure in no way represents the church.
- In ages past a pattern is found: time after time the faithful have been cast out or abandoned. Today, just as before, it is happening again. True believers always come to function autonomously from the established church.
- The negative ecclesiology teaches that, after all, there is no distinction between the visible and invisible church.
Those who begin to embrace the above views almost inevitably come to take a negative stance toward the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization. They begin to see most of its workers as preaching smooth things. Granted, too often that part is true; but there is danger when others begin to see themselves as the last true watchmen on the walls of Zion. They begin to think that because of the great unfaithfulness of a worldly church, its leaders have been passed by and that now they are the conduit for God’s guiding, that their messages are crucial. Such attitudes flow in consequence of their negative ecclesiology. Their “worldview” shapes their way of treating information and of reacting to events. There are some who, unless things appear right to their human judgment, draw apart from their ministering brethren.
It would be most helpful if Mr. B were to come forth with unambiguous statements addressing the above three points of doctrine. Does Mr. B hold a Seventh-day Adventist understanding of the church, or a negative understanding?
Self-Appointed Pastors
In the context of Seventh-day Adventism in 2008, when an individual labels himself “pastor,” and functions within a given denominational setting, any onlooker would assume that he is operating in a representative role of that denomination. By styling himself as “pastor,” he leads people to believe that he is an employee of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a representative of it, or at least a person functioning as a credentialed worker; that he has the backing of the church organization. In the case of Mr. B, none have so appointed him, but he chooses the title for himself.
It is misleading—at best—in today’s world—to refer to oneself as a “pastor” in the way that Mr. B does. This does not mean that he is not to be respected or treated with Christian courtesy. Nor does it deny him a calling to head up a ministry or engage in other labors for the Lord.
Consider the analogy of a doctor. The title “doctor” implies a great deal. He operates by a professional code of ethics; he carries the weight of legal and moral responsibilities; his title is conferred to him by an authoritative body outside of himself, etc. You would be indignant if someone represented himself to you as being a doctor and after treatment disclosed that he had chosen that title for himself. No, the parallel (pastor—doctor) is not exact. But we should understand the point. This is not a question of being kind or unkind to Mr. B. It is not a question of his spirituality or knowledge. No doubt, Mr. B is as good a person as any number of pastors, as smart as, as knowledgeable as, etc.; that is not the question. It is a question of what one intentionally seeks to communicate. No one forces Mr. B to use the title “pastor.” He chooses to use it. He should not.
Two Tests For Filtering Claims
Our time for heart preparation is limited. We do not know for sure how long we have. We live in an age where we can easily inundate ourselves with information. Claims and more claims call to us from every side demanding attention, interest, and energy. It seems clear that believers in Present Truth in 2008 should each form for themselves some kind of preliminary filter by which they test truth claims made to them. Two tests are recommended.
MCT (Minimum Credibility Test)
After some basic fact-checking, we can determine whether we should spend more energy on something or not; this is essentially a minimum credibility test (MCT). Only if something passes the MCT would one feel that he is practicing biblical stewardship of his time in proceeding. If claims are found to be true, it would count in favor of the credibility of other claims made, while a negative answer would mitigate against the credibility of other claims made.
WDIM (Why-Does-It-Matter Test)
A second test could be to ask the question, If this claim/set of claims actually turns out to be true, why does it matter? That is, if a claim turns out to be true, what action, if any, should I take with reference to it? How does it change my life today?
A prayerful, rational, biblically informed use of the MCT and the WDIM can help us be responsible Christians in an age filled with vying truth claims. In the absence of some form of personal discipline in these areas, we are left to pick our emphases on the basis of what we prefer to believe.
In terms of the current rumor, personalities mentioned by name in the rumor are definitely found in other places on the dates given. Meetings change locations or did not take place at stated locations. When contacted, the alleged source of the rumor refused to discuss it. The language claimed is unprecedented and unlikely. The “secret” component of Mr. B’s scenario runs exactly contrary to the testimony of inspiration. The MCT test does not seem to be met.
Again, the WDIM test helps. In the rumor it is made to sound as if only smooth messages are heard throughout the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But the present author knows of several faithful conference pastors and speakers who give timely messages week in and out. The faithful already know that an NSL is coming and coming soon. When the stories of imminent movements toward an NSL start circulating (whether true or not), these faithful simply go right on preaching Present Truth and urging others to prepare. They don't need these kinds of reports to stimulate them to action. Mr. B urges us to prepare for the Close of Probation. We already are preparing. How does Mr. A and B’s rumor change my life? In no way. His rumor fails to pass the WDIM test. If it is true, it does not matter; it makes nothing different about my life or heart preparation.
Conclusion: Care, Balance, Integrity
Let’s be clear. We are not in the least making light of the Third Angel’s Message, or the inspired writings of Ellen G. White, or of the necessity for preparation for the Close of Probation. But based on our fact-checking, we call into question this story told by Mr. A and Mr. B.
Many of us are wary of fiction in all its forms. Or are we? Does fiction that seems to meet our expectations get a free pass? Mrs. White’s counsel applies to sensational, unprovable rumors as well as to books:
In this age the trivial is praised and magnified. There is a call for anything that will create a sensation and make sales. The country is flooded with utterly worthless publications, which were written for the sake of making money, while really valuable books are unsold and unread (Gospel Workers, 1892 ed., p. 348).
We must ask, how many who should be studying their Bibles and reading Spirit of Prophecy books, are instead passing around the representations of Mr. A and B? Just because we believe time is short doesn’t mean we have to fall for every rumor that fits with our worldview. And yet, this is no time to let down our guard, relax, and place the possibility of an NSL decades out simply because of a false rumor. Sensational stories about pending NSLs or other end-time events, whether true or false, should not be what gets our hearts beating. Something else should be the compelling force that propels us forward—the expectation of the soon-returning Jesus, the Close of Probation, the desire to glorify Him, vindicate His character, and to be a part of hastening His coming. Love, not fear should motivate us.
We should remember the caution given concerning end-time movements:
Be assured that God gives no one authority to say that Christ delays His coming five years, ten years, or twenty years (Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 113).
You will not be able to say that He will come in one, two, or five years, neither are you to put off His coming by stating that it may not be for ten or twenty years (Review and Herald, March 22, 1892; Last Day Events, p. 33).
We are to ever to hold forth the end-time events as close, even very close at hand. But, at the same time, we are not to urge a message of immediate imminence when it is not warranted. Balance is needed.
God is waiting, but not for the pope. God is waiting, but not for James Dobson or George W. Bush. But “when the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69). Love is not perfected in fear (1 John 4:18). We should focus more on what Christ is doing in our hearts than what the pope is allegedly accomplishing by stealth in Washington.
When God sends us, we must run. When we have a clear mandate and message, we must give it, no matter the fallout. But when someone claims to be telling you what God says, and taking you behind the scenes, and yet that which you can check cannot meet a “minimum credibility” test or a “why does it matter” test, beware. Credibility and influence are costly. They take time to develop. They are earned. They cannot be faked. But they can be very easily ruined even by those who intend good. We must be careful in maintaining the credibility of the God-given name “Seventh-day Adventist,” intended to strike conviction into the hearer’s heart. May God help us not to cry “Wolf!” in Jesus’ name. GCO
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