WISDOM FROM HERE AND THERE

"Free will carried many a soul to hell, but never a soul to heaven."
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers

Wisdom from Father to Son:  The quality of your relationship with God will be transparently revealed by how you treat your wife. Indeed, the best gift that you can give to your children is to love their mother.


The theme song in hell:   "We did it our way."

Salvation is not the reward of a holy life but the gift of God to a sinner deserving judgment.


There are no atheists in hell, only believers.

"If the Scripture has more than one meaning it has no meaning at all."  - John Owens

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Ps. 116:15 ESV).

"Our lives begin  to end the day we become silent about things that matter."  - Dr. Martin Luther King


Heaven has a party whenever Jesus is born in a new heart.


If we have evolved, then a Savior who redeems us from our fallen status is nonsense.


Amazing Heresy:  "He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss."  - Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages, page 131


Those who are intent upon accurate answers will no longer remain  in a toxic-faith system.


Calvinist Humor:  What do you call a four-point Calvinist?  An Arminian in denial!


"Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight; the clouds rolled back as a scroll, the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul."  (from It is Well With My Soul)


"...weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning" (Ps. 30:5 ESV).


The words of the Bible are the very words of God.


If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world.


Heaven never gets worse, only better; hell never gets better, only worse.


"I know the Bible is inspired because it inspires me."  - Dwight L. Moody


For believers, the Lord's day is a weekly Easter.

"Reformed theology isn't a sledgehammer with which to hit people, it's a pillow on which they can lay their weary heads." - Burk Parsons, editor of Tabletalk magazine


"All biblical exhortations are a form of  law."  - Dr. Michael S. Horton


"Sin is cosmic treason—an expression of enmity, and a crime."  - Dr. R. C. Sproul


"Some SDA minds are like concrete--permanently set, and all mixed up." 
- Dr. Desmond Ford


More people are troubled by what is plain in Scripture than by what is obscure.


"Man prefers to believe what he prefers to be true."  - Francis Bacon


Few people come to church to see Christ;  they come to church to see Christians.


We are not earthly people having a heavenly experience.  We are heavenly people having an earthly experience, a short one at that.


"Hell's worst feature is its duration."  - Robert Peterson


The resurrection is the turning point in all redemptive history.


"As long as grace is operative, human failure is never final."  - John MacArthur, Jr.


"Nobody fills my heart like Jesus."  - Singer Dennis Jernigan


"If any man doth ascribe aught of salvation, even the very least, to free-will of man, he knoweth nothing of grace, and he hath not learnt Jesus Christ aright."  - Martin Luther


Knowing the signs is no substitute for knowing the Savior.


The Gospel does not include making legalistic "principles" out of Old Covenant rituals.


"Earthly prayers activate heavenly plans."  - Max Lucado


Live your life so well that even the undertaker will hate to see you go.


Selective Revelation:  The White Estate determines what is to be revealed.


The Doctrine of  Divine Election:  "God intentionally designed salvation so that no man can boast of it.  He didn't merely arrange it so that boasting would be discouraged or kept to a minimum--He planned it so that boasting would be absolutely excluded.  Election does precisely that."  - Mark Webb


"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half-shut afterwards."  - Benjamin Franklin


If you grew up Adventist, you couldn't dance at school parties, but passing an orange under the chin was a non-sensual activity. Indeed, legalism is never consistent.


"I feel most ministers who claim they've heard God's voice are eating too much pizza before they go to bed at night, and it's really an intestinal disorder, not a revelation."  - Jerry Falwell


"The SDA Church cannot change any of its doctrines because they have been authenticated by Ellen White.  They are in a mental-lock-down and only pretend to be scholars."  - Dr. Russell Kelly

The cross of Christ is the center of history.


If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people around the world.


"Faith is never identical with piety."  - Karl Barth


"Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden."  - Corrie Ten Boom


Fight truth decay, study the Bible.


If your day is hemmed with prayer, it is less likely to unravel.


"Each day comes bearing its gifts.  Untie the ribbons."  - Ann Ruth Shabacker


A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on.


Worry is like a rocking chair...it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.


God does not promise a comfortable journey, only a safe landing.


A candle loses nothing of its light by lighting another.


"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."  - Mother Theresa


A mind is like a parachute.  It works best when it is open.


A text without a context is a pretext for a prooftext.


"The real measure of our wealth is how much we'd be worth if we lost all our money."  - J. H. Jowett


Q:  Did you hear about the agnostic, dyslexic insomniac?
A:  He lies awake at night wondering if there's a dog.


Q:  What time of day was it when Adam was created?
A:  Just before Eve.


Church Bulletin Blooper:  For those who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.


Q:  Who in the Bible besides Adam and Eve had no parents?
A:  Joshua son of Nun


To dwell above with saints we love--oh, that will be glory!  To dwell below with saints we know--oh, that's another story!


One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.


The unexamined faith is not worth believing.  The unexamined faith is not worth living.  Belief usually does not stand still.  It grows and develops, regresses, stagnates, and changes.


QUOTE OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY IN SDA CIRCLES:  "In her writings, Ellen White used sources more extensively than we have heretofore been aware of or recognized."  - The late Neal C. Wilson (March 20, 1980); former president, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists


While sin remains in the believer's life, it does not REIGN.


Once you believe God loves you, you are in God's family.


There is none so blind as those who refuse to see.


"The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is the knowledge of our own ignorance."  - Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers


Prayer is the Godward reach of the human spirit.


It takes a lot of faith to step out from under the rules and regulations that do not exist into an Absolute Love that does not depend on the position of the sun.


All four Gospel writers spent over 50 percent of their accounts recording events of this one week--Passion Week.


Salvation is like being born (actually, it IS being reborn) once you are born you can never be un-born.  You will always be your parent's child.  You will always be God's child.  You can never be UN-reborn.


All that glitters is not gold.  All that sounds pious and holy is not Gospel.


"We don't have to be good to be saved, but we have to be saved to be good."  - Desmond Ford


"There are only two types of Adventists—the deceived and the dishonest."  - Dale Ratzlaff


The Christian Church was born on Pentecost Sunday as foreshadowed in the Mosaic Covenant.

Jesus doesn't come to visit us at a certain place on a certain day each week—He dwells in us!


My salvation is not based on how much I know, but who I know.


We are not saved by a sunset calendar.


Salvation occurs at the beginning of the journey, not at the end.


"The Gospel is not a presentation of data;  it's a proposal of marriage!"  - Mark Driscoll


Some doctrines are not just heterodoxical—they're heretical.


The past is history and tomorrow is a mystery.  Today is a gift and that is why we call it a Present!


The creeds do not masquerade as Scripture.


Christians no longer gaze intently upon the fading shadows of the sun for two days out of every week, but rather they focus  upon the unsurpassing glory of God the Son.


If God did not "work in"  His great salvation, we'd have nothing to "work out." The "working out" is the fruit of the "working in."


There are three basic views about  the weekly, festal Sabbath; specifically, continuance, transference, and fulfillment.


If the cross is in you, you carry heaven with you like an aura wherever you go.


Every time the Israelites observed the Sabbath, they knew that someday they would have the perfect rest that remains for the people of God.


Jesus Christ is the Lord of all time and space.


If your faith hasn't changed you, it hasn't saved you.


Christ-followers journey from victory, not to victory.


The Gospel breeds generosity wherever it takes root.


"It is the cry of my heart to follow you.  It is the cry of my heart to be close to You all the days of my life."  - Lyrics of a contemporary Christian song


"God is not the God of the dead, but of the living--even if they are asleep."


Seventh-day Adventism is a microcosm of just about everything it condemns in Catholicism.


A wise man changes his mind seldom, but a fool never.


Sabbath knowing is not Sabbath keeping.


Contemporary tithing is best described as circumcision  of the  wallet.


Grace makes us adopted children.  A works mindset makes us foster children—never quite sure if the Father will turn his back and reject us.


Some Adventists think of Revelation as a three-ring circus and sometimes remember to put Christ in the center ring.


If you could give me only a single description of what you believe, what would it be?


Ellen White is the kingpin of Adventism and the apple of the Adventist eye.


It is indeed a good day to love God!


The New Testament must be allowed to augment, explain, and transform Old Testament statements in a Christ-centered way as progressive revelation.


"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it  I see everything else."  - C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory


Generations of dead Adventists kept their weary eyes on the Papacy and not upon Muslim jihadists.


God's morality does not change with the rotation of the earth.


It is just as offensive to be around a man who never changes his mind as one who never changes his clothes.


If you deny Christ living in your heart, you will eventually deny Him dying on the historical cross as well.


War is an extension of the authority God gives the State to restrain evil.


"There are so many throw-away marriages in the world today.  People get married in the ideal and when it becomes an ordeal, they look around for a new deal."  - Adrian Rogers


A husband asked his wife, "Will you love me when I'm old and unattractive?"  She said, "I do."


We, as Christians,  should not appear as though we were baptized in lemon juice.


In Adventism, being re-baptized means being re-Ellenized.


Ellen White cannot survive the demise of the investigative judgment.


"If you're good—God will love you (that's heathenism)."  - Desmond Ford


Christian growth is not my getting better and better, but my understanding and trusting Jesus getting better and better all the time.


Sadly, most Adventist kids who leave their church do not become Christians.  They fall away into nothing.


Salvation is a gift to be received, not a goal to be achieved.


Annihilationists:  The idea of annihilation makes their uncertainty less terrifying.


Life is a temporary assignment.


It is not the plan of the New Testament to turn people into Jews before they become Christians.


E-vangelism (sharing the Gospel in cyberspace)


G+0=P  (grace plus nothing equals peace)


There needs to be an objective distance from Adventism to tell the story accurately.


"There is no greater or worse death than when death never dies."  -  St. Augustine


Only Christianity teaches that wasting time is a sin.


"The "repeatable" sign of the New Covenant is the Lord's supper.


Religion preoccupied with being right rather than loving deeply has inflicted history's deepest scars.


Truth has nothing to fear.


Americans eat 75 acres of pizza daily.


"Truth invites examination."  - Aristotle


We judge God at our own peril.


The Seventh-day Adventist school system is a place for members to reassure themselves that they are producing "non-thinking" clones of themselves.


Christianity is not a religion, but a faith from the spirit.


Tithing is nothing more than circumcision of the wallet.


One in four US Internet users seek spiritual information online.


"In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things love."  - Moravian motto


"There's so much bad in the best of us, and so much good in the worst of us, that it scarcely behooves any of us, to pick any fault with the rest of us!"  - Adrian Rogers


"We must not be merely "hope-so" Christians, but rather we should be "know-so" Christians."  - Adrian Rogers


Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.


"The Gospel is the sweetest melody from human lips."  - Desmond Ford


Self-esteem is a lie from the pit of hell.  There is NO self-esteem outside of Christ.


"When Christians get into their cars to go to church on Sunday, they are bearing witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ."  - Dr. D. James Kennedy


The true Gospel is about eternal life, not a longer earthly life.


When a person who is honestly mistaken learns the truth, he will either quit being mistaken, or quit being honest.


"It is altogether doubtful whether any man can be saved who comes to Christ for His help with no intentions to obey Him."  - A. W. Tozer


"I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him.  But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in true faith."  - Martin Luther


"No man knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good."  - C. S. Lewis


"George Whitefield said, 'We are all born Arminians!  It is grace that turns us into Calvinists.'"  - Charles Haddon Spurgeon


THE THREEFOLD PURPOSE OF GOD'S MORAL LAWS:


(1)  To restrain sin in society
(2)  To terrorize people in order to drive them to Christ
(3)  Ethical  guide for believers


Salvation is by grace alone; through faith alone; in Jesus Christ's finished work alone—plus NOTHING.


Some insist that preaching is an act of violence toward the will of the people who have to sit and take it.


"To suppose that whatever God requireth of us that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make the cross of Jesus Christ of none effect."  --John Owens


AM:  Ante meridiem
PM:  Post meridiem


BC:  Before Christ
AD:  Anno Domini (the year of our Lord)


False religions always come short in the three S's: sin, salvation, and the Savior.


THE FIVE SOLAS (the battle cries of the Protesant Reformation)


Sola Gratia
Sola Fide
Solus Christus
Sola Scriptura
Soli Deo Gloria


Adventism:  A religion of self-improvement


If we don't have much faith on the inside, we create religion on the outside.


The regenerate person loves the law, not as a savior, but because it perfectly reflects the heart of the Savior.  "Oh how I love your law!  It is my meditation all the day" (Ps.  119:97).


KEY PERSONS IN THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION:


John Wycliffe (c.1328-1384)  First translator of the Bible into English
Jan Hus (1374-1415) "The Morning Star of the Reformation" (burned at the stake at age 41)
Martin Luther (1483-1546)  Died at age 63; first translator of the Bible into German
Ulrich Zwingle (1484-1531) Swiss reformer later in life; Died at age 47
William Tyndale (c.1484-1536) Notable Bible translator  (i.e., Coverdale-Tyndale Bible upon which the KJV   was later largely based).
Desiderius Erasmus (1469-1536)  Died at age 67 (tried unsuccessfully to reform Catholicism from within)
Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) Born as Philipp Schwartzerdt and died at age 63;  Luther's collaborator and closest friend; first systematic theologian among the Reformers.
John Calvin (1509-1564)  Died at age 55 (buried in an unmarked grave at his own request)
John Knox (1505-1572)   Died at age 67; brought Presbyterianism to Scotland.




Biblical Covenants:


Adamic
Noahic
Abrahamic
Mosaic (Old Covenant)
Davidic
New Covenant


THEOLOGICAL TERMINOLOGY:


Hamartiology--Study of sin
Soteriology--Study of salvation
Ecclesiology--Study of the Church
Eschatology--Study of the End Times (prophecy)
Bibliology--Study of the Bible
Theology--Study of God
Christology--Study of Christ
Pneumatology--Study of the Holy Spirit
Angelology--Study of angels
Nomology--Study of the Law
Anthropology--Study of man


BCE:  Before Common Era
CE:     Common Era
Note: Avid secularists heartily applaud this new terminology because it attempts to bypass and/or downplay the central importance of Jesus Christ in the annals of human history. Moreover, the BCE and CE designations literally remove the name of Jesus to quiet the unbeliever's conscience while doing historical research.  They have found a way to no longer need to even say His name.


The law of God is "holy, just, and good" just like God Himself is also.


If you own just one Bible, you are abundantly blessed, one-third of the world does not have access to even one.


THINGS YOU'LL NEVER HEAR IN CHURCH:

• Hey, it's my turn to sit in the front pew.
• I was so enthralled, I never noticed your sermon went 25 minutes over time.
• Personally, I feel witnessing is much more enjoyable than golf.
• I've decided to give our church the $500.00 a month I used to send to TV evangelists.
• I volunteer to be a permanent teacher for the Junior High Sunday School class.
• Forget the denominational salary scales, let's pay our pastor so he can live like we do.
• I love it when we sing hymns I've never heard before!
• Since we're all here, let's start the service early.
• Pastor, we'd like to send you to this Bible Seminar in the Bahamas.
• Nothing inspires me and strengthens my commitment like our annual stewardship campaign!

The place to start curbing crime is not in the electric chair, but rather in the high chair.


Jesus is our Jubilee, our atonement, and our Sabbath of Sabbaths.


The Shekinah Presence was the only part of the sanctuary that was not symbolic.


There is no sorrow too deep that God cannot soothe it, and there is no sorrow on earth that He cannot heal.


We are chosen by the Father, purchased by the Son, and sealed by the Holy Spirit—O blessed God, Three in One!


If you can read these gems, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read anything at all.


We need to stop "Judaizing" Christianity and start "Christianizing" the  world. 

We need to make it clear that Jesus came first not to make bad people good, but to make dead people alive.

We need to hear the gospel every day, not because we forget the facts of the gospel, but because we disbelieve the truth of the gospel.

"Arminianism weakens the godness of God and exalts the humanity of man, while Reformed theology emphasizes over and over that God is God and man is man."  - Philip Ryken

A performance-oriented life leads to pride when we succeed and to despair when we fail, but ultimately it leads to slavery.

The Dearth of Expository Preaching
"This is the age of the sermonette, and sermonettes make Christianettes."   - Michael Green

"Humans are not sinners because they sin, but rather they sin because they are sinners."  - John MacArthur (www.gty.org)


THE FIVE SOLAS OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION: Salvation is by grace alone, through  faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, and for God's glory alone.


We don't give birth to ourselves.  Our adoption is a merciful, sovereign act of God.  Both our physical and  spiritual births are done for us as a gift from God (John 6:37,65; Romans 9:14,16,18,21).  It's all about Him!  Soli Deo Gloria!

"As soon as you think God is somehow obligated to save you then your salvation is no longer of mercy."  - John Hendryx

We must grow spiritually until our eschatology is no longer panic theology.

"Most people, sometime in the lives, stumble across truth. Most jump up, brush themselves off, and hurry on about their business as if nothing had happened."  - Winston Churchill

"When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest." - Richard Humpal

"Money cannot buy happiness but it's more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle."  

"Men want God as a thief wants a policeman."
- Dr. Michael Horton (an excerpt from his commentary on Romans 3:10-12)

It's not your grip on God that keeps you safe, but rather it's God's grip on you (John 10:27-29).

"If your heart doesn't ache for people who don't know Christ, you may not know Christ yourself."  - Burk Parsons, editor of Tabletalk magazine

There is no pit so deep, no night so dark, no sin so enslaving, no shame so stark that His grace cannot redeem.

A contemporary message on a church sign: "Tweet others as you want to be tweeted."

"Show respect even to people who don't deserve it, not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours."
- Dave Willis

"The Christian is not a good man. He is a vile wretch who has been saved by the grace of God."  - Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)

"God does not accept me just as I am; He loves me despite how I am."
- David Powlison

"A  dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent."
- John Calvin

"Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don't believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my  address. I will have gone into the presence of God." - Billy Graham

"The first 50 years of marriage are the hardest."

"The man whose Bible is falling apart is not."

In Adventism, being re-baptized means being re-Ellenized.

If your faith hasn't changed you, it hasn't saved you.

"A lie repeated a thousand times does not become true by the telling."  - Richard Bennett, former Roman Catholic priest(www.bereanbeacon.org)

"If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him; for you are worse than he thinks you to be." - Charles Spurgeon

"Those who are passed over by God will never complain that God is being unfair. Left to themselves, they have no desire to be chosen." - Iain M. Duguid

courtesy of

DENNIS FISCHER MINISTRIES

Worldwide Chaplaincy Services

E-mail:  dfministries@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dfministries

More Thoughts on the SDA View of Death

Ever wonder why Seventh-day Adventists actually prefer to be extinct (nonexistent) during the immediate state?  Apparently, this preference is largely related to their not having eternal security in Christ.  Being that the so-called "investigative judgment" may not have cleared their names before physical death, this in effect buys them more time. This is a way of putting off the inevitable—their eternal consequences for a holy or profane life. If one is not certain about the gift of salvation here and now, then putting off knowing what fate awaits you would be somewhat comforting and less scary.  Truly, the "investigative judgment" alibi translates into a form of purgatory akin to what our Catholic friends embrace.

It has been said that false religions are wrong about the three essential S's: sin, salvation, and the Savior. Any way you look at it, the Adventist belief in the spirit being breath and the resulting doctrine of "soul sleep" (more accurately known as their extinction/re-creation view in theological parlance) clearly places Adventism outside the pale of biblical Christianity. The doctrine's hold on people, I believe, is a spiritual hold.  The Adventist spirit of deception has imprisoned its members by a deep unbelief in the truth about Jesus and His amazing work of grace.

Being the bedrock heresy of Adventism, soul sleep being the belief that the human spirit is merely one's "breath," has skewed their teaching of the nature of sin, the nature of salvation, the nature of God's justice, and the nature of Christ.  If spirit is merely "breath," then Adam and Eve's sin was more physical than spiritual.  What is "spiritual" if the human spirit is merely breath?  If the human spirit is merely "breath," then what exactly is the original sin we all inherit from Adam?  It must be physical. It must be sin-damaged genes that set us up to commit our own sins.  If "spirit" is something that knows God, on the other hand, the sin we inherit is a dead spirit—a literal spirit disconnected from God that results in spiritual death (dead men walking).

If spirit is merely "breath," then did Jesus inherit Mary's sinful flesh or not?  If He did, then how could He be said to be without sin?  If He did not, then how could He be said to be our example?  He would have had an "advantage" over us—and Ellen White (and my Adventist Bible teachers) clearly taught me that Jesus had no advantage over me.   He was human just like I am—and therefore His example means I, too, can become perfect.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has never settled the argument over Jesus' nature.  Ellen White spoke out of both sides of her mouth on this issue, and the SDA Church does not have an official stance on whether or not Jesus had sinful flesh.  If, on the other hand, spirit is something volitional that knows God, then whether or not Jesus inherited Mary's genes is a moot point regarding His sinfulness.  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  He was born without original sin; His spirit was connected to God from conception on.  All of us must be born again because we were born spiritually dead, but Jesus was born spiritually alive. Both our physical and spiritual birth is done for us.  It's all about Him!

If spirit is "breath," then salvation is a physical phenomenon.  Sin is in my genes, and sin is about my flesh causing me to commit sins. Salvation, then, must be more about correcting or overcoming my sinful flesh.  If sin is physical, then I must be able to do things to improve my condition.  Just as I can build muscle by a workout, so I could improve my behavior by careful discipline and observation of some humanistic guidelines.

If, on the other hand, sin is ultimately spiritual, then there's nothing I can do to fix the problem.  God who is spirit must fix  my spirit. The only One who was spiritually alive could bring my dead spirit to life. Jesus was without sin, even though He is genetically Mary's son. The incarnation  was a mystery that God does not reveal.  But I know that sin is not primarily physical.  Our physical selves are affected by it—no question!  But the true nature of sin is a dead spirit disconnected from God.  And, interestingly, even Jesus' body went to the grave, as ours do—while He surrendered His spirit to God.  When He arose again He had a resurrection body different from His human one—just as we will also.

Even though most Adventists don't understand why the doctrine of soul sleep has such a powerful hold on them, I believe that, like the Sabbath, it is binding because it perpetuates heresy—the heresy that sin is physical and we have nothing more to us than bodies and breath; the heresy that salvation is about getting our physical impulses under control and not ultimately about a restored relationship with God; and the heresy that Jesus either inherited Mary's sin and therefore His sinlessness was about not sinning by means  of His great will power and determination and obedience—or that He set  aside His advantage and made Himself like us so we could never excuse our sins by saying Jesus wasn't exactly like us.

Furthermore, when annihilationists and universalists give an elaborate and esoteric interpretation of those biblical texts that relate to endless punishment, they go to great lengths to demonstrate that "everlasting" does not mean everlasting and "torment" does not mean torment!  It never seems to occur to them that if the biblical authors wanted to express clearly the idea of the extinction or ultimate salvation of the wicked, there were words available to them in the Hebrew and Greek languages which could have been used.  But the biblical authors did not use those words.

On the other hand, if the biblical authors wished to express clearly to their readers the idea of unending, conscious torment, there were words in the Greek and Hebrew language which would express that idea. Indeed, the biblical authors used those words which were the only ones available to them which would indicate endless punishment to the average person of their day.  To think that they would use the precise Greek and Hebrew words which would mean endless punishment to the common reader in order to teach annihilation or universalism is to label them either deceptive or ignorant.

When the New Testament writers sought to explain what they believed about the nature of man, they consistently spoke of man as having a dual nature. Thus, man cannot be reduced to being just a physical or spiritual being but is a combination of both (body and spirit). Furthermore, the authors of the New Testament used those Koine Greek words found in the common language of their day. They used the Greek terms utilized in the Septuagint. They deliberately chose these terms because they refer to the immortal and invisible soul of man which survives the death of the body. The mere presence of such terms in the New Testament reveals the error of the secular and religious materialists who deny that the New Testament teaches that man has a dual nature—material and immaterial.

The late Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones aptly stated: "We do not give birth to ourselves—neither physically nor spiritually.  We are not born because we believe. We believe because we are reborn."  Just as we had nothing to do with our physical birth,  we likewise have absolutely nothing to do with our spiritual birth as well.   Both are done for us.   It's all about Him!   Let us declare with Jonah, the reluctant prophet: "For my salvation comes from the Lord alone"  (Jonah 2:9 NLT).  Soli Deo Gloria!


NOTE: For an in-depth, biblical study on this important topic, you may want to order the 315-page book entitled "Death and the Afterlife" by Dr. Robert A. Morey. The late Dr. Walter Martin said of this book: "The most comprehensive biblical study of the subject in the last half century!" Simply order it through your favorite bookstore. I heartily recommend this classic book for your personal and/or church library. Teaching sound doctrine is a biblical mandate (see Titus 1 & 2).

Dennis Fischer
Web Chaplain

courtesy of

DENNIS FISCHER MINISTRIES

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Ellen G. White's Outrageous Teachings on Tithe Paying

compiled by

Dennis J. Fischer

• If you don't pay tithe God may strike your favorite horse or cow dead
• If you don't pay tithe God won't bless you
• If you don't pay tithe you are not worthy of prayer when sick
• If you don't pay tithe you may not get to heaven
• If you don't pay tithe God may not answer your prayers
• If you don't pay tithe you lie to the Holy Ghost
• If you don't pay tithe it is recorded in heavenly record
• If you don't pay tithe you must confess sin and pay up
• If you don't have money for food you must endure privation and pay tithe first 
• If you don't pay tithe you don't trust God and may fall into your grave
• If you don't pay tithe heavenly record shows you are an embezzler
• If you don't pay tithe you are not worthy of eternal life
• If you don't pay tithe you will be cursed by God
• If you don't pay tithe you will be poverty stricken
• If you don't pay tithe the Lord will reduce your income
• If you don't pay tithe you will receive a curse
• If you do pay tithe you will receive a blessing
• If you don't pay tithe you shouldn't be called a Christian
• If you don't pay back tithes you will be cursed of God
• Even young children are commanded to pay tithe
• If a Christian has $10,000.00 or $20,000.00 he should pay a "sin offering"

Seventh-day Adventist prophetess and co-founder, Ellen G. White, warns what will happen if members do not faithfully pay ten percent tithe:

If you don't pay tithe God may strike your favorite horse or cow dead

"Those who are selfishly withholding their means, need not be surprised if God's hand scatters.  That which should have been devoted to the advancement of the work and cause of God, but which has been withheld, may be intrusted to a reckless son, and he may squander it.  A fine horse, the pride of a vain heart, may be found dead in the stable. Occasionally, a cow may die. Losses of fruit or other crops may come..."  Testimonies, Vol. 2, p. 661

If you don't pay tithe God won't bless you

"There are many who will not be blessed until they make restitution of the tithe which they have withheld. God is waiting for you to redeem the past." Counsels on Stewardship, p. 87

If you don't pay tithe church members should not pray for you when sick

"We should first find out if the sick one has been withholding tithes or has made trouble in the church."  Healthful Living, p. 121 "Prayer for the Sick"

If you don't pay tithe you may not get to heaven

"When we rob God we rob ourselves also.  We give up the heavenly treasure for the sake of having more on this earth.  This is a loss that we cannot afford to sustain."  Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 272

If you don't pay tithe God may not answer your prayers

"As the Giver of every good blessing, God claims a certain portion of all we possess.  This His provision to sustain the preaching of the gospel. And by making this return to God, we are to show our appreciation for His gifts. But if we withhold from Him that which is His own, how can we claim His blessing?  If we are unfaithful stewards of earthly things, how can we expect Him to entrust us with the things of heaven?  It may be that here is the secret of unanswered prayer."  Christ's Object Lessons, p. 144

"...there are those who are guilty of the same sin as Ananias and Sapphira, thinking that if they withhold a portion of what God claims in the tithing system, the brethern will never know. Thus through the guilty couple whose example is given us as a warning...In keeping back part of the price, they lied to the Holy Ghost.  Guilt likewise rests upon every individual in proportion to like offenses."  Testimonies, Vol. 4, pp. 469, 470

If you don't pay tithe unfaithfulness is written in heavenly record

"The man who has been unfortunate, and finds himself in debt, should not take the Lord's portion to cancel his debts to his fellow-men.  He should consider that in these transactions he is being tested, and that in reversing the Lord's portion for his own use he is robbing the Giver. He is a debtor to God for all he has, but he becomes a double debtor when he uses the Lord's reserved fund in paying debts to human beings. "Unfaithfulness to God" is written against his name in the books of heaven.  Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 391

If you haven't been paying tithe you must confess your sin and pay up

"As the sin of robbing God was presented, the people received clearer views of their duty and privilege in this matter.  One brother said that for two years he had not paid his tithes, and he was in despair; but as he confessed his sin, he began to gather hope:  'What shall I do?' he asked.  I said, 'Give your note to the treasurer of the church; that will be businesslike.'  He thought that was a rather strange request; but he sat down and began to write...'For value received. Have I not been receiving the blessings of God day after day?  Have not angels guarded me? Has not the Lord blessed me...?  For value received, I promise to pay the sum of $571.50."  Counsels on Stewardship, p. 95

Ministers must never touch tithe money in emergency even if they intend to repay

"Some have been at fault in diverting from the altar of God that which has been especially dedicated to Him.  All should regard this matter in the right light. Let no one, when brought into a straight place, take money consecrated to religious purposes, and use it for his own advantage, soothing his conscience by saying that he will repay it at some future time. Far better cut down on expenses to correspond with the income, to restrict the wants, and live within the means, than to use the Lord's money for secular purposes...The portion that God has reserved for Himself is not be diverted to any other purpose than that which He has specified. Let none feel at liberty to retain their tithe, to use according to their own judgment. They are not to use for themselves in an emergency,  not to apply it as they see fit, even in what they may regard as the Lord's work.  The minister should, by precept and example, teach the people to regard the tithe as sacred. He should not feel that he can retain and apply it according to his own judgment, because he is a minister.  It is not his..."  Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 247

Even young children are commanded to pay tithe

"Teach Children to Pay Tithe and Offerings--Not only does the Lord claim the tithe as His own, but He tells how it should be reserved for Him. He says, "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.' This does not teach that we are to spend our means on ourselves and bring to the Lord the remnant, even though it should be otherwise an honest tithe.  Let God's portion be first set apart.  The directions given through the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul is in regard to gifts presenting a principle that applies also to tithing.  'Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.' Parents and children are here included."  The Adventist Home, page 389

If you don't have money for food you must endure privation and pay tithe first

"Many, oh, so many, among believers have scarcely food enough to eat, yet in their deep poverty, they bring their tithes and offerings to the Lord's treasury. Many who know what it is to sustain the cause of God in hard and trying circumstances have invested means in the publishing house.  They have willingly endured hardships and privation, and have watched and prayed for the success of the cause. Their gifts and sacrifices express the fervent gratitude and praise of their hearts to Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light.  No more fragrant influence can ascend to heaven.  Their prayers and their alms come in a memorial before God." Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 212

If you don't pay tithe you don't trust God and may fall into your grave

"The covetous are among us... They are withholding and robbing God, for they are fearful they shall come to want.  They dare not trust God. This is one of the reasons that, as a people, we are so sickly, and so many are falling into their graves."  Testimonies, Vol. 2, p. 199

If you don't pay tithe the records in heaven show you are an embezzler

"All that is withheld of that which God claims, the tenth of the increases, is recorded in the books of heaven as robbery against Him. Such defraud their Creator; and then this sin of neglect is brought before them, it is not enough for them to change their course and begin to work from that time upon the right principle.  This will not correct figures made in the heavenly record for embezzling the property committed to them in trust to be returned to the Lender.  Repentance for unfaithful dealing with God, and for base ingratitude, is required."  Testimonies, Vol. 3., p. 394

If you don't pay tithe you will not be worthy of everlasting life

"Our heavenly Father bestows gifts and solicits a portion back, that He may test us whether we are worthy to have the gift of everlasting life."  Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 408

If you don't pay back tithes you will be cursed of God

"Let the neglected tithes be now brought in. Let the new year open upon you as men honest in their dealing with God.  Let those that have withheld their tithes send them in before the year...shall close, that they may be right with God, and never, never again run any risk of being cursed by God." Testimonies to Ministers, p. 306

If you don't pay tithe you will be poverty stricken

"It is not returning to God His own that makes men poor; it is withholding that tends to poverty."  Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 449

If you don't pay tithe the Lord will reduce your income

"I call upon our brethern to cease their robbery of God...The Lord sometimes opens the eyes blinded by selfishness by simply reducing their income to the amount they are willing to give...In many cases God tests man with blessings, and if unfaithfulness is manifested in rendering to Him tithe and offerings, His blessing is withdrawn."  Testimonies, Vol. 4., p. 484

If you don't pay tithe you will receive a curse--if you do you will be blessed

"But while He pronounces a blessing upon those who bring in their tithes, He pronounces a curse upon those who withhold them.  Very recently I had direct light from the Lord upon this question, that many Seventh-day Adventists are robbing God in tithes and offerings."  Testimonies to Ministers, p. 60

If you don't pay tithe you shouldn't be called a Christian

"Nothing but utter inability to pay can excuse one in neglecting to meet promptly his obligations to the Lord.  Indifference in this matter shows that you are in blindness and deception, and are unworthy of the Christian name."  Testimonies, Vol. 4, p. 476

STATEMENTS BY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST LEADERS REGARDING MANDATORY TITHING:

The leaders warn "The tithe is not ours to tinker with."

"Church officers and church elders and other officers and institutional leaders are to recognize it as a principle of the leadership of God's work, that a good example be set in the matter of tithe-paying.  No one is to continue as either a church officer or conference worker who does not conform to this standard of leadership...The tithe is not ours to tinker with." Pacific Union Recorder, December 21, 1981;  "Let Me Answer Your Questions About Tithe," by Elder Walden, Treasurer

SDA credentialed employees must pay tithe and submit to tithe audit

"The 1985 Annual Council has revised the North American Division tithe policy (D-55-20).  It mandates that it become a clear condition of employment to all credentialed church employees that they pay tithe, permit the auditing of their tithe records, 'require their dismissal if they do not pay tithe, after persuasion fails..."  Limboline, December 6, 1986

SDA leaders insist members sell property or get bank loan to repay back tithe

"Paying Back Tithe...If we have been delinquent in returning God's tithe, we should consider our best possible approach should be in making restoration and then religiously do something about it...Some may choose to add specified extra amount in their regular tithe each week or month...Others may choose to sell a piece of property or go to the bank, as one dear sister did, when she remembered that she had never returned $2,000.00 tithe on a house she had inherited from her family..."  "It's Square Up Time" from a small pamphlet "Time to Tithe" published by the Department of Stewardship and Development, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

SDA leaders tell members they will be more spiritual if they pay tithe

"Nearly all offerings are neatly organized into three parts:  World Mission Budget, Conference Budget, and Local Church Budget.  Of course, tithe is not an offering and is returned before we give any offerings...Ellen White points out that 'Those churches who are the most systematic and liberal in sustaining the cause of God are the most prosperous spiritually..."  Pacific Union Recorder, June 1, 1981

EGW AND "SIN OFFERINGS"

"If a Christian has ten or twenty thousand dollars, God's claims are imperative upon him, not only to give his proportion according to the tithing system, but to present his sin offering and thank offerings to God." ("The Claims of Mrs. EGW As Stated By Herself"  Tract No. 1, p. 16)  See also: Testimonies, Vol. 1, pp. 390, 391, 394, 405, 510

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DENNIS FISCHER MINISTRIES

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HOW TO FIND A CHURCH THAT MATCHES YOUR THEOLOGICAL CRITERIA

by Dennis J. Fischer

Christians truly need each other.  Our spiritual growth is greatly decelerated by trying to go it alone. Most of the things we learn in life we learn from others.  Moreover, as Christ-followers, we shine our brightest in fellowship with like believers.  We thrive best with ongoing discipleship and encouragement. The writer of Hebrews admonishes us:  "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;  and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near" (Heb. 10:23-25 NASB).


It is somewhat awkward and sometimes even frightening for former Seventh-day Adventists to venture out to find a church family. Many former Adventists, having never needed to church shop before, can waste a lot of time in this important endeavor.  After all, we are often not familiar with the theological landscape in our community.  Are there any shortcuts in this process?  How many churches do I need to visit before making a decision to become a member?  Some churches do not have formal membership requirements to be active participants. Is it really possible to find a church in a small community that fits one's theological criteria? Unfortunately, after repeated attempts of finding a solid, Bible-believing church, some have needlessly given up in utter despair and disappointment.


Without any doubt, if there really is a perfect church out there somewhere, it would certainly no longer be perfect by my presence. On the other hand, we have a sacred responsibility to embrace sound doctrine.  While we don't want to major in minors like we used to, we have diligently prayed and studied our way this far and don't want to fail in our quest for finding a church family where we can feel both comfortable and challenged at the same time.  Above all, continue to pray for the Lord to direct you in finding a new church home. For a former Adventist, the church selection process can feel akin to a scary spiritual free-fall.  Indeed, we serve a prayer-answering God.


If we have children, we should be concerned about children's and youth ministries as well. Fortunately, most churches today have websites that are most helpful in finding what they believe and what they feature and/or emphasize in their ministries.  To avoid the need of visiting every church in your city or neighborhood, it is often helpful to contact a favorite seminary or Bible college instead.  Their placement office will gladly tell you where their graduates are now serving as pastors.


If that doesn't work for you, then make a few phone calls to senior pastors in your area. Ask them about their beliefs before visiting their church.  When visiting, be sure to speak to the pastor.  If the theology fits, be sure to complete their welcome class.  This orientation will be most helpful in getting acquainted with your new church family. Fortunately, I live in a larger city and have many choices.  


If you live in a small town or in a rural area, you may need to find a church a few miles down the road or even in the next town. Driving a few extra miles for better youth programs is a wise thing to do. The same holds true for theological compatibility.   All in all, by contacting your favorite seminary or Bible college, you can usually shortcut the process of church shopping. Most importantly, pray earnestly that God will bless you with a wonderful church family. In most communities, you will not have merely one choice but several options.


Amazingly, in my own experience, I overlooked the best match in town for several years.  In regard to finding a Bible-believing pastor, John MacArthur rightly stated that "The measure of a pastor is not how clever or how interesting he is, but how well he guards truth." Admittedly, it was well worth shopping for, but I regret not having found my church family many years earlier.  In truth, however,  I may not have been ready earlier.  I had many things to learn and to unlearn. Thankfully, our awesome, sovereign God will not allow His people to remain unsettled perpetually. Only God knows why we were allowed to be a part of a false gospel for so long. Through God's amazing, saving grace, He didn't leave us where He found us. To God alone belongs all the honor, glory, and praise!  Soli Deo Gloria!


Moreover, in my case, it was purely a theological decision because our children are now adults, and they now have their own needs and preferences. Furthermore, I realize that our sovereign God sometimes allows us to learn extra things in preparation for finding our favorite church family. Apparently, some families must think the Sunday church service is like a convention—sending just one delegate. Oh yes, don't forget to attend and participate in an adult education class each week at your new church as well.  May God abundantly bless your quest for Biblical truth and your search for a church home.

ON A CHURCH PLAQUE

Enter this door

As if the floor

Within were gold;

And every wall

Of jewels all

Of wealth untold;

As if a choir

In robes of fire

Were singing here;

Nor shout nor rush

But hush...

For God is here.

SATAN THE SIN-BEARER?

"...the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed.  When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty." (Great Controversy, page 422).


"The work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord.  Since the dead are to be judged out of the things written in the books, it is impossible that the sins of men should be blotted out until after the judgment at which their cases are to be investigated...so Christ will place all these sins upon Satan...so Satan bearing the guilt..." (Great Controversy, page 485)

"Satan...held a council with his angels...They must prevent all whom they could from receiving the salvation purchased for them by Jesus.  By so doing Satan could still work against the government of God.  Also it would be for his interest to keep from Jesus as many as possible.  For the sins of those who are redeemed by the blood of Christ will at last be rolled back upon the originator of sin, and he must bear their punishment, while those who do not accept salvation through Jesus will suffer the penalty of their own sins."  (Early Writings, page 178)


"When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, then the sins of the repentant soul who has received the grace of Christ and has overcome through the blood of the Lamb, will be removed from the records of heaven, and will be placed upon Satan, the scapegoat, the originator of sin, and be remembered no more against him [the redeemed saint] forever...When the conflict of life is ended, when the armor is laid off at the feet of Jesus, when the saints of God are glorified, then and then only will it be safe to claim that we are saved, and sinless."  (Selected Messages, Vol. 3, page 355, paragraph 5)


"Much love to your dear father and to your sisters and brother.  Tell them to be faithful to serve God...I have often prayed for them.  Tell them to pray much that their sins may be confessed upon the head of the scapegoat and borne away into the land of forgetfulness.  A little longer and Jesus' work will be finished in the sanctuary."  (Manuscript Releases, Vol. 19, page 131, paragraph 3)


Thus, Satan gets favorably rewarded for his busy deviltry—the more people he can keep from becoming Christians the less suffering he will have to endure for the confessed sins of the righteous that were only conditionally-forgiven. The biblical, Christian definition of Jesus' atonement for our sins is the "putting away" of sin (Heb. 9:26), the actual "blotting out" of sins (Acts 3:19), the taking away of sin (John 1:29), and the getting rid of our sins.  Does a false gospel ever get any worse than the previous paragraphs describe?  In stark contrast to the statements quoted above from Ellen White, here is what the Bible further says on this important, salvific topic:


"As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us" (Ps. 103:12 ESV).


"Do not remember against us our former iniquities, let  your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.  Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name's sake!" (Ps. 79:8,9 ESV).


"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more" (Heb. 10:17 ESV).


"...your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for" (Isaiah 6:7 ESV).


"...For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:34 ESV).


Dear friend, who is your scapegoat?


Dennis Fischer
Web Chaplain

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DENNIS FISCHER MINISTRIES

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THREE KINDS OF DEATH

(1)   Spiritual death or separation from God (as experienced by Adam and Eve and their posterity). As a result of the Fall, all human beings are born as rebels against God. With such radical or total depravity, we are born with a "dead" spirit that only our sovereign God can bring from death to life.


(2)  Physical death (bodily death).


(3)  Eternal death (also called the "second death"). The death that never dies (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:10). Due to the unconfessed and unforgiven sins of the ungodly, their sins are forever before the Father as cosmic treason and a crime against His holiness. Moreover, the punishment of the wicked is infinite in duration because they committed sins against an infinite God. Hell is also eternal because of the perpetual sinning of those confined there. 

Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274), the greatest philosopher and theologian of the medieval church, well stated that "The duration of a punishment does not match the duration of the act of  sin but its stain; as long as this lasts a debt of punishment remains.  The severity of the punishment matches the seriousness of the sin...God is of infinite greatness. Therefore, an infinite punishment is deserved for a sin committed against Him."

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Thoughts on the SDA View of Death

Since Seventh-day Adventists believe in the liberal, unbiblical concept of annihilationism, it should not surprise us that they further believe that Satan, the fallen angel, has an actual physical body of flesh like we humans do. However, the problem is not solved because after Satan is forced to join "the beast and the false prophet" in "the lake of fire," after one thousand  years, the Apostle John declares, "...and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Rev. 20:10 ESV).  This passage certainly is not teaching the quick-fix of annihilationism. Obviously, one must be alive to be tormented.


Adventists are usually very reluctant to take an in-depth look at their esoteric teachings to discover where they  ultimately  lead them to. After all, they have been repeatedly told that they corporately hold the exclusive franchise of heaven.  Official Adventism is only one step away from embracing the notion that all punishment is inconsistent with the kind and loving nature of God.  Due to their humanistic, sentimental reasons for teaching a temporary punishment, one can thereby easily extrapolate the theory that all punishment is against the loving nature of God. Consequently, it is not surprising to discover that some Adventists already believe in a painless annihilation. All in all, they greatly minimize the stain of sin.


With merely a "painless" or "momentary" annihilation at worst after living a profane life, why wouldn't Adventists increasingly just opt for a hedonistic lifestyle? In other words, they do not believe  that the unconfessed and unforgiven sins of the ungodly are forever before the Father from this life, the duration of hell is also eternal due to the endless sinning of the ungodly in hell, and that the remaining stain of sin is a huge affront to God. Their lack of understanding the holiness of God results in a  low view of sin whereby the ungodly do not really deserve more than a transitory fate.   Moreover, their view attacks God's divine justice by insisting that God doesn't have the moral right to inflict unending punishment on the wicked. They feel compelled to arbitrarily adjust God's divine love and justice to accommodate their unique suppositions.

Jesus said that our "spirit" or "soul" cannot be literally killed (see Matthew 10:28).  Importantly, in the original Koine Greek,  the word for "destroy" (meaning "ruin") in this passage is not the same word form as "kill." Moreover, this passage very clearly teaches the dualistic nature of man; namely, body and soul.  The Bible nowhere teaches the resurrection of the soul—only the resurrection of the body. Interestingly, even though our Adventist friends believe that the body and soul are one complete, inseparable unit, they NEVER ever talk about the resurrection of the soul.

To add additional confusion to this topic, they also believe the human spirit is merely one's breath. Thus, according to their understanding, something actually does return from heaven (i.e., their spirit, life principle, or spark of life) to reunite with the body to make a complete whole again in the resurrection. Therefore, in a strange way, they also believe that the body without the soul is dead.  Matthew Henry's Commentary adds, "The soul is killed when separated from God and his love.  Hell is the destruction of both body and soul in hell...The ruin of the whole man:  if the soul is lost, the body is lost too.  They sinned together; the body was the soul's tempter to sin, and its  tool in sin, and they must eternally suffer together."

In summary, here is a quotation from Ellen White about Satan having an actual physical body unlike the other angels: "I was shown Satan as he was, a happy, exalted angel.  Then I was shown him as he now is. He still bears a kingly form.  His features are still noble, for he is angel fallen.  But the expression of his countenance is full of anxiety, care, unhappiness, malice, hate, mischief, deceit, and every evil.  That brow which was once so noble, I particularly noticed. His forehead commenced from his eyes to recede backward.  I saw that he had demeaned himself so long, that every good quality was debased, and every evil trait was developed. His eyes were cunning, sly, and showed great penetration.  His frame was large, but the flesh hung loosely about his hands and face. As I beheld him, his chin was resting upon his left hand.  He appeared to be deep in thought.  A smile was upon his countenance, which made me tremble, it was so full of evil, and Satanic slyness." (Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1, p. 27)

Adventist dogma requires Satan having a physical body to suffer for their sins in annihilation and to thereby finally blot out their confessed sins that were only conditionally forgiven.  Shockingly, as their scapegoat, they believe Satan bears their sins by suffering in the quick-fix of annihilation. (see Great Controversy, pages 422 & 475; Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 475; Manuscript Releases, Vol. 19, page 131, paragraph 3).  


Sadly, without Satan finally atoning for their sins in annihilation, our Adventist friends claim to have absolutely no hope of ever entering eternal bliss. After all, those who become citizens of heaven had their sins completely blotted out.  Amazingly, Satan has yet a powerful, salvific role to perform, according to the twisted soteriological views of Seventh-day Adventism, by his meritorious annihilation in their behalf. Thus, official Adventism claims to have two sin-bearers; namely, Christ and Satan (Satan being their final sin-bearer).  Frankly, does heresy ever get any worse than this?


Dennis Fischer
Web Chaplain 


NOTE: For more thoughts on the SDA view of death, simply click here.

courtesy of

DENNIS FISCHER MINISTRIES

Worldwide Chaplaincy Services

E-mail:  dfministries@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dfministries

THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE: The Acrostic TULIP

Total (radical) Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited (particular) Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Perseverance of the Saints

(These doctrines comprise the Five Points of Calvinism)

NOTE: The Five Points of Calvinism all depend on each other. If T is true, then U is true, and so are L, I, and P.  They all hang or fall together.  We cannot select them like apples from a cart. Soteriologically, they all belong together.  The Calvinist says that if man does anything good, God gets all the glory.

THE FIVE SOLAS: Battle Cries of the Protestant Reformation

Sola Scriptura: ("by Scripture alone")

Sola Gratia ("by grace alone")

Solus Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone")

Sola Fide ("by faith alone")

Soli Deo Gloria ("glory to God alone")

*These Latin phrases articulated the fundamental teachings of the 

Protestant Reformation





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