Bobbyb's excellent research on the comparisons between John Harris and Ellen White inspired me to examine in more detail his book “The Great Teacher: Characteristics of Our Lord’s Ministry” published in 1836. In the year1900 Ellen White wrote in Testimonies to the Church voume 6 about the importance of baptism. On page 91 she restates a number of expressions first made by John Harris in his book.  How she changed what Harris said is very enlightening.

If the early Adventist church was unanimously non-trinitarian, and the modern Adventist church is avowedly Trinitarian, how did this monumental change come about?  The standard denominational answer is simply:  Ellen White changed the denominational belief about the Trinity mainly by her quotations found in "The Desire of Ages." (The Trinity, Whidden, Moon, Reeve)DID ELLEN WHITE CHANGE HER MIND?This premise is based SOLELY upon the presumption that EGW changed her fundamental belief of the identity of God (from non-trinitarian in harmony with her colleges, then become a "Biblical Trinitarian"). (see, B. Andrew) The problem with this supposition, is that it's based…

Next stop was a flight to Durban, the biggest Indian city outside of India and the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal.  It is home to what was formerly the Zulu Kingdom, and the Zulus are the largest of the black tribes in South Africa.  We were picked up at the airport by Nina and Bester Snyman, who drove us to their home in Empangeni, about 2 hours from the airport.  The next day we picked up Ben Kramlich from Talking Rock Sabbath Chapel in America, who joined us for this part of the trip and the Feast of Tabernacles.  KwaZulu-Natal is…

From the time that Lucifer (who is also known as Satan, or the Devil), first entertained thoughts of rebellion against God, to when sin is finally vanquished when death is cast into the `lake of fire' with him (Revelation 20: 10, 14), the entire issue of salvation has from eternity hinged upon the principle of the character of God, in contrast to the character of Satan. Philippians 2: 5 - 8 contrasts the selfless mind of Christ (of which we are exhorted to partake of), with the selfish mind of Lucifer, the fallen angel of God: `Let this mind be…

I was always of the belief that William Miller was a Trinitarian. The following statement gives clear proof that he was certainly that at one point. William Miller statement 1 Sep 5, 1822. "ART. II. I believe in one living and true God, and that [78] there are three persons in the Godhead...

" There's no need of a donation for Mr. Goodman," growled out Mr. Penniman, on his way home from church, after the notice of a proposed donation visit had been given; " he has salary enough without—six hundred dollars a year and a parsonage and garden spot—that's enough for any family to live on; why, it doesn't cost us near that, and we have six children, and they have only four. 'Twas real mean for Mr. Goodman to exchange, and get that man to give out the notice." And Mr. Penniman fretted away in the ear of his silent wife…

Adrian and I flew into Toulouse in Southern France, which became the capital of the Visigoth Kingdom in 418 after their conquests moving westward.  The Visigoths are most famous for their armies under King Alaric sacking Rome in 410 AD, which according to our pioneers was the first trumpet in Revelation 8:7. It was the first time that Rome had fallen to a foreign army in 800 years, and was a major shock to people at that time.

On January 12 of this year, Adrian asked me if there was a possibilty of helping him with a French Translation of Identity Wars. I have been so blessed by the message of Identity Wars that I was eager to help in whatever way I could. I can not begin to tell the the number of setbacks and trials that we faced in getting this translation completed. We struggled for months just getting someone who will be willing to work on it. We had a few volunteers who wanted to help but gave up on the way. After months of…

The exercise of solving apparent contradictions in the Bible is one that every Bible student should be acquainted with. It helps to understand better the Scriptures, to present the message of the Bible with clarity, and most important, to know the God of the Bible. Many subscribe themselves to a literal reading of the Bible and taking the Bible as it reads, but in doing so without comparing scripture with scripture they end up picking and choosing what to believe, ignoring the apparent contradictions in their minds. Recently I was reading Genesis 6, trying to understand it under the Relational…

The answer that Peter gave to Christ’s question “Who do you say that I am?” places many of us in a position of conflict with our church. To believe that Christ is indeed the very “Son of the Living God” (Matt 16:16) places us at odds with those who have been given the responsibility of leading God’s covenant Church. How we respond to this conflict will speak much of what a belief in Jesus being the Son of God actually means. How do you live in a community of faith that is rejecting the heart of your faith? I have been…

“I will preach, discuss, and write; but I will constrain none, for faith is a voluntary act. See what I have done! I stood up against the pope, indulgences, and papists, but without violence or tumult. I put forward God’s Word; I preached and wrote — this was all i did...the Word that I had preached overthrew popery, so that neither prince nor emperor has done it so much harm. And yet I did nothing: the Word alone did all. If I had wished to appeal to force, the whole of Germany would perhaps have been deluged with blood. But…

Anyone who has ever loved their only child has had their hearts break if they have ever had to give them up. Yet at infinite cost to Himself, this is what God the Father did when He gave up His only Son to fallen humanity, for Jesus has been given to us forever as our Elder Brother in human form. For in order to save fallen man from sin, the Son of God had to become one like us - fully divine, yet human, with His divinity veiled by humanity. For the agape of the Father and His Christ is…

The title itself was chosen to rise eyebrows. Teaching righteousness? How should that work? Is righteousness not only by faith? Well, yes and no. Depends on who is teaching. And what does the law have to do with it?   I guess most of us have read these statements in Galatians: "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith" (Gal 3:11) But, as you recall, I don't speak about being justified by faith or justified by righteousness, I am speaking about teaching righteousness. So…

The cry of Peter to the master “Depart from me, I am a sinful man” while clinging to His Saviour was the culmination of much work by the Spirit of God on the mind of Peter. Inspiration records In Jesus he saw One who held all nature under His control. The presence of divinity revealed his own unholiness. Love for his Master, shame for his own unbelief, gratitude for the condescension of Christ, above all, the sense of his uncleanness in the presence of infinite purity, overwhelmed him. DA 248

In this blog, I will share my thoughts about the dangers of spiritualising God's word, how destructive this path is, and how important Miller's Rules of Bible Interpretation are.

Today is a special day for me, it is my oldest son's birthday. Today he turns 14. This moring I was taking a morning walk and thinking about the last 14 years, the events surrounding his birth and many of the blessings along the way. Last night and this morning highlight two events that show our Father in heaven is answering my prayer from 14 years ago. Last night my son and I were discussing the chapter from Desire of Ages called "As a Child." This chapter is the basis of an assignment he is doing on the life of…

Some important thoughts on how to share the Begotten Son while being true to His principle of submission. It is by appealing to the quotes of authority figures in the church, like former president Neal Wilson: NEAL C. WILSON: "For some time we have been considering a refinement of our Statement on Fundamental Beliefs...There are others who think they know why this is being done. They believe it is being prepared as a club to batter someone over the head, to try to get people into a narrow concept of theology, not leaving any opportunity for individual interpretation of prophecy, or…

Hi there, has anyone of you ever discussed the Athanasian Creed with any of our trinitarian brothers and sisters? Is that creed accepted within our official church? I ask because the creed states that the three persons exist within the one indivisible essence (or substance) of God. And Ellen White once wrote the following: "The great Teacher [i.e. Jesus] held in His hand the entire map of truth. In simple language He made plain to His disciples the way to heaven, and the endless subjects of divine power. The question of the essence of God was a subject on which…

We see it said "accept Jesus as your personal saviour" and you will be saved. And this can be true for some people, and we remember the thief on the cross who was never baptized yet was assured of paradise by Jesus. But it seems too many just assume that a basic acknowledgement of Jesus as their Lord means they go to heaven, a kind of contract between them and God, and there is little heart searching, repentance, or change of life. How do we make sense of this?

Like the early rain was needed to make the crops grow in Biblical times, the latter rain had to fall so there could be a good harvest. The same is true today in our spiritual walk.  The good news of the gospel of Christ will germinate in our hearts when we repent of our sins and are converted. We are then promised the early rain baptism of Jesus dwelling in our hearts by His Spirit.  As we daily pray and ask for this living water from The Word, the only begotten Son of God pours down a fresh supply so…