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A Judgment to Come and a Denomi(nation) that Could not Wait for the JudgmentAct 24:25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; This world is missing something. It is missing Justice. There is a judgment to come. But some have tried to bring judgment themselves upon others using civil powers. Paul is reasoning of a judgment to come, of the righteousness that comes by faith and of temperance which all men who are striving for the mastery are to be. Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Paul is brought before an assembly of rulers to face a judgment. Jesus said once regarding the Pharisees that they have left out the weightier matters of the law. I’m going to go over how they left out the weightier matters of the law including judgment and mercy, and how this is happening again today in congregations near you and we should all be aware of it. Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Paul was a minister of the spirit. He taught righteousness by faith, temperance and judgment, which included mercy as Jesus put it. The love of God could be seen in his message. What I’d like everyone to see is the difference in the message Paul presented, in contrast to that of the world and the worlds judgment. And then we will compare 2 different classes today and see how many have taken that same spirit that the world has and applied to the world to judge them. Many of us today already view the judgment from the worldly perspective. Perhaps we haven’t seen it as God would have us to see it. Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways saith the LORD. God’s Character Seen in his Judgment Two Types of Judgment Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, There are two ways of looking at God. Some see God’s grace, his longsuffering, his unwillingness that we should perish. What he gave to save us. But yet with all of this that he has given to us in his only begotten son it cannot be ignored that if we refuse his graciousness, his longsuffering, his Son that was given, his free gift of eternal life, that we would perish in our sins. That he can by no means clear the guilty. He gave it all so that we could be saved, but yet he can’t force us to be saved. Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. The Father loved the Son, and the Son had the Father’s spirit and was willing to lay down his life. This life he received from his Father. For the Father to sacrifice his Son it was as though he had sacrificed himself. If the Father could give his life back, he would have came himself for us before he sent his Son into the world. Another way in which many look at the Father is that God is waiting to strike them down. That he has set up all of us to fail, that he was unfair. If anything, this is human judgment, and not seeing the judgment to come. God is just and he will wipe away all tears at the judgment. God’s word is living and it has the power to do in us what it says and save us should we accept it as truth. There are two types of spirit. One that looks’s at the law as condemning us because they have tried to keep the law without the gospel. This spirit strains at a gnat and swallows a camel normally and is very quick to condemn, often will use worldly judges and will bear false witness and use flattery with these judges to get what it wants. And anyone differing with them they want to shut them up and they will use means of force and civil power doing what they can to shut down their opponents speech. God is slow to anger, merciful, longsuffering. Like Paul they can “reason” of these issues of what is true “righteousness”, they are “temperate” in good things, and they instead of trusting the world as their judge talk of the wonderful and merciful God and the “judgment to come” and his amazing love and grace in suffering for us in giving his only begotten son. Paul before the Kings of the Earth This is where Paul was, brought before councils by the church’s use of civil power. Brought to be judged by the Kings of the earth.(Rev 18:1-4). Let’s look at a commentary…But before we do, there is a principle to be had that is professedly understood but yet overlooked by the denomination that professes the writings below to be inspired. “Our Lord teaches that matters of difficulty between Christians are to be settled within the church. They should not be opened before those who The true Christian according to this commentary instead of trying to avenge himself will seek to save his brother, to give his life for his erring brother. This was Paul, and this was Jesus. This is us if we are truly in Christ. The contrast to Paul was the Pharisees and Sadducees bringing him before courts and councils to those who do not fear God trying to have him killed. Instead of seeking to save Paul’s life, they were seeking to end his life. They left out the weightier matters of the law. Regarding opening church matters to worldly courts of justice for decision this commentator further wrote: “These men cast aside the counsel God has given, and do the very things He has bidden them not to do. They show that they have chosen the world as their judge, and in heaven their names are registered as one with unbelievers. Christ is crucified afresh, and put to open shame. Let these men know that God does not hear their prayers.” [Selected Messages Book 3, page 299, paragraphs 1-3] So they cast aside the judgment of God who is longsuffering, merciful, and patient. And they leave out the weightier matter of the law which is faith and their names are registered with unbelievers. They have no faith in God as their deliverer. They trust the world as their judge. They leave out the weightier matter of the law which is judgment. And in this they crucified Christ afresh. The men seeking to condemn Paul and to have him killed were confessing to be God’s covenanted people. They were so blinded that they believed that God’s covenanted people needed the help of emperor’s and kings of the earth to secure the church’s position. That which hath been is now; (Ecclesiastes 3:15) In 316 the Bishops of Gaul, in league with the Bishop of Rome, managed to get Constantine to grant them exclusive use of the names Catholic and Christian, with the right to use force against all they considered heretics in the Roman court system. They used this "right" against the Donatists in Carthage and North Africa to dispossess and incarcerate them. In effect, they "trademarked the name." Is it possible that today there is a confessed covenanted people who have been doing the very same thing? A people who lost their reason, and who have become blinded to the judgment to come and have turned to the Kings of the earth to defend their faith trusting the world as their judge? I’m afraid that a corporate body has done this very thing on behalf of the entire body of the General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists. I’d like to read from the article “General Conference trademark policy” “Questions have been asked regarding efforts by the General Conference to protect the name of our church through the use of the trademark laws . . . Q:Is it true that the General Conference has federally registered trademarks for the name ‘Seventh-day Adventist’...? A:Yes. The General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists, on behalf of the ENTIRE DENOMINATION, has registered under the United States trademark laws the name ‘Seventh-day Adventist’ and a variety of the church’s programs and services...” Ministry Magazine, December, 1988 There is a principle in scripture called “Corporate Accountability”. What these people are saying is that on behalf of the entire nation (denomination) we are taking people to court to sue them for using our name. Or as Ms. White put it in the earlier quote we looked at “They show that they have chosen the world as their judge, and in heaven their names are registered as one with unbelievers. Christ is crucified afresh” [Ellen White Christ's Object Lessons, page 248, paragraph 5, page 249, paragraph 1] If we take church difficulties before court we’ve crucified Christ afresh. Let’s look at another quote about “corporate accountability”. “They cried out for the crucifixion of Christ and, as representatives of the Jewish nation, placed themselves under the Roman jurisdiction, which they despised, by saying, “We have no king but Caesar.” When they said this, they unchurched themselves.” [Manuscript Releases Volume Twelve, page 388, paragraph 1] When they said “We have no King but Caesar” they “Chose the world as their judge” and “crucified Christ” and finally as this quote says “unchurched themselves”. They have a covenant with the world. They chose the world as their judge. Notice also that the leaders who cried out for this crucifixion represented the entire Jewish nation. Kind of like today. The leaders of the Conference represent the entire General Conference denomination “On behalf of the entire denomination”. To trademark the name Seventh Day Adventist with the United States and to take other before courts is akin to saying “We have no King but Caesar”. A very similar situation is prophesied in Revelation 18 where we see a whore which symbolizes an unfaithful church. This whore in Revelation 18:3 goes to the Kings of the earth to use them to judge those whom it deems to be heretics. The reason it goes to the kings of the earth is because it has chosen the world as its judge. Those within this church are corporately accountable for her sins. The bible reads: Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. So here we see corporate accountability again. Be not partaker of her sins. Come out of her. That’s the call. It’s easy to get drunk on the wine if you stay in Babylon. Then your vision and perception of truth becomes distorted. It’s hard to walk a straight path when you are drunk. Why should we come out? Because we will be judged with this body corporately. Rev 18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. We can’t learn the truth of judgment to come in this church because the leaders have chosen the world as their judge. The protestants who will protest this church and state union are kicked out. Should we avenge ourselves now? Should we be bitter about this? Or should we be on our knees praying to God to help them see that the Conference “unchurched itself” when it “crucified Christ afresh”? She(The corporate body of the General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists) has commited fornication with the kings of the earth, she has trademarked the name on behalf of anyone who is a member and she has begun to take other before worldly judges just as the Jews did to Paul bringing him before worldly judges. But Paul reasoned with them and tried to save them. We are “sigh and cry”(Ezekiel 8) The Spirit of Prophecy spoke about this. It said that in the time of the end their would be “nominal Adventists”. This implies that their will be true Seventh Day Adventists. The question is do you have to be a member of the conference to be a true Seventh Day Adventist? Absolutely not. In fact, the very opposite is true. You cannot be a member of the conference and be a true “Seventh Day Adventist”. Professed Adventists(Jews who say they are and are not) “Romanists have persisted in bringing against Protestants the charge of heresy and willful separation from the true church. But these accusations apply rather to themselves. They are the ones who laid down the banner of Christ and departed from "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." Jude 3. “ {Great Controversy Page 51} There is nothing new under the sun. The Romanists adopted heresies, and finally went to the kings of the earth. Gods people were then called out of those churches because of this. Then after this they became Protestants, protesting against church and state unions. We have the same situation today. Catholic Adventists who believe that it’s ok to go up to the Kings of the earth for help. And Protestant Adventists who would trust God as their King and deliverer. "Our institutions have taken a name which sets forth the character of our faith, and of this name we are NEVER to be ashamed. I have been shown that this name means much, and in adopting it we have followed the light given us from heaven...This distinctive banner is to be borne through the world to the CLOSE OF PROBATION." MS 15, 1896 We as “Seventh Day Adventists” who still hold up the banner of the historic faith are accused of leaving the true church. But we can never be ashamed of this name. This name was given by God from heaven. The bible said there would be “Jews who say they are and are not”(Rev 3:9). Ellen White says she was shown by God that this referred to “professed Adventists” who “crucified Christ afresh”. As we learned taking church matters before worldly unbelievers “crucifies Christ afresh” and when a church does this on behalf of an entire nation(denomination) it “unchurches itself”. “You think, that those who worship before the saint’s feet, (Rev 3:9), will at last be saved. Here I must differ with you; for God shewed me that this class were professed Adventists, who had fallen away, and “crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” And in the “hour of temptation,” which is yet to come, to show out every one’s true character, they will know that they are forever lost; and overwhelmed with anguish of spirit, they will bow at the saint’s feet.” (EGW A Word to the Little Flock, page 12) There is a whole denomi(nation) of Jews(Adventists) who say they are and are not. But God has shown her and us if we are listening that this class are “professed Adventists”, “nominal Adventists” “an offshoot” from the faith delivered to the saints. Instead of being longsuffering and patient waiting for the “judgment to come”, reasoning and allowing God to be the judge, this denomi(nation) called the “General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists” have taken matters into their own hands and forced judgment upon themselves being “weighed in the balances and found wanting”. They have “crucified Christ afresh” and they have “unchurched themselves”.
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when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
do not fear God. If a Christian is wronged by his brother, let him not appeal to unbelievers in a court of justice. Let him follow out the instruction Christ has given. Instead of trying to avenge himself, let him seek to save his brother. God will guard the interests of those who love and fear Him, and with confidence we may commit our case to Him who judges righteously.” [Ellen White Christ's Object Lessons, page 248, paragraph 5, page 249, paragraph 1]