A Time to Mourn - A Prayer for the Day of Atonement 2016

As we enter into the time of the Day of Atonement my mind is turned to situation of God's last day movement.

I am reminded of the glory in the seventh month movement and how the people were prepared by the first Angel's messages. Through the failure of man, the event was misunderstood but from 50,000 people only 50 humbled themselves to seek God with all their hearts and to seek after the truth. The great majority forsook the way of truth.

From those who accepted the light of the Heavenly Sanctuary and attended the Sabbath conferences there was argument, conflict and debate that caused Ellen White to faint in sorrow. So hard were the hearts of men that precious opinions were stubbornly held fast and a spirit of irritation against those of a different mind.

When James White was suffering in mind and body, he was accused of trying to make money and living an easy life. Even his close friend Joseph Bates doubted him at one point. How much suffering was heaped upon this man who was given great light.

When the Lord sent a message of the need for organisation, many of the brethren fought against it and determined to resist at all costs. When the message concerning health came in 1863 the people were slow to embrace the reforms and many ministers persisted in eating flesh foods for decades.

When the Lord sent a most precious message through Jones and Waggoner, Christ experienced the same spirit He faced with the Jews. Christ was spat upon and despised in the persons of Jones and Waggoner. Ellen White as the prophet of the Lord was acussed of being deceived by her son and she was shipped off to Australia. Thus the church retreated from the promised land and returned to the wilderness to wander for decades.

After this there came the rise of kingly power and the desire of the leaders to control all lines of the work in the hands of a few men. At the same time many were deceived through the holy flesh movement which was followed by the spiritualism of Kellogg in his understanding of the Trinity.

After years of rejection and trial, Jones and Waggoner broke and caused terrible trauma for the church through their spiritualistic understanding of the church body. Thus the most precious message was covered in darkness and doubt. 

Then arose Daniells and Prescott in their spiritualistic understanding of the Daily in Daniel and they disrespected their older brothers in the persons of Haskell and Loughborough. The older men were frustrated with the younger ones and used the Spirit of Prophecy in a manner it was not intended and led to a terrible conflict.

After this some leaders became obssessed with the need for accreditation with the world and ignored the warnings of the prophet in regard to what was done.

Shortly after the death of the prophet the 1919 Bible conference worked subtley to undermine the position of the Spirit of prophecy and many aspects of the work.

Then in 1931 F.M Wilcox without any vote or consensus of the people wrote the words Trinity into the fundamental beliefs of the church through a Nicean styled formula. This was followed by the word of Leroy Froom to reset the foundations of Adventism in the Trinity and the Protestant reformation rather than the church in the wilderness from Revelation 12. How heaven must have wept when the book Questions of Doctrine was relased to say we worshipped the same God as the daughters of Babylon and we were in harmony with their creeds!

Then in 1980 the flood gates were opened for books of a new order. Nothing has been allowed to stand in the way of the this new movement. The Sanctuary doctrine was assaulted and destroyed and one of the central tenets of the 1888 message was abandoned in the nature of Christ. This resulted in a major retreat from the doctrine of victory over sin. We have sought after the education of the world, sent our sons to war, aborted thousands of thousands of unborn children in our hospitals and silenced those who love the begotten Son of God. We trample upon the statues of our Father and refuse to accept the light that heaven wishes to give.

As we look at our past and see the stubborn refusal of our people and the inheritance we have recieved then it is a cause for mourning. Independence movements spring up in self righteousness to attack the church as separate entities yet refusing to confess the sins of the people and accept that we have utterly failed and prove that we are sons of those that stoned the prophets and those sent unto her.

Lord we have sinned and done wickedly. We have rebelled against your commandments, we have trampled upon your Son, we resisted organisation on the one hand and used kingly power on the other. We have gone a whoring after other churches and joined ourselves to Baalpeor.

Turn us again oh God and cause your face to shine upon us. Forgive us for our rebellion against you and heal your people's backsliding. Deliver us from our blind and wretched condition and grant us your eye salve, gold and white rainment that we might turn from the path of destruction and not be spewed forth from your mouth.

Save us from those who attack the church in self-righteousness calling people out of the church and preventing them from confessing the sins of our people. We look to you our Lord at this time and ask for your forgiveness for our long history of rebellion against you.

Without your help we are lost and undone. Please send your Spirit to some of the leaders and help them to understand the importance of the begotten Son and not be afraid to step forward for fear of being considered part of the rebellious anti-trinitarian movement that does not love the church and delights in accusing and destroying it. May they see the deeper issues in this controversy and stand up for the truth within the church and call the people to repentance through their own example. We need the Spirit of Elijah to come and speak to us and call us to account as to which God we serve.

Forgive those pastors who believe the truth but fear the loss of their standing in the church and the loss of their careers. Give them strength not to be cowardly but brave to defend the truth regardless of the cost. How we need men at this time who will not be bought or sold but will be shepherds for our people. Send us labourers who love the church and do not steal the sheep for their own profit.

You have promised in the third angel's message that here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The apostle saw them and so we know this movement will come to light. May the valley of dead bones live Father, may flesh come onto the bones and God's people awake from slumber before the dark night of suffering begins.

Let us take hold of the righteousness of Christ as our only hope and trust not in ourselves who have proved ourselves rebellious and defiant as were the Jews in the time of Christ.

We look to you Father at this time of sorrow and weeping. We ask for your grace to help us in this time of need. We trust you will hear our cry and turn us towards you that we might arise as an army with banners to declare your glory and the great love of God and the Lamb. All this we trust you will do for us as we look to you and not ourselves.

This is my prayer at this time of the Day of Atonement 2016