One remark must be made pertaining to Alan’s statement that “the youth are not to blame for them wanting to do away with our foundational truths.” There is partial truth to that statement — they have been tragically led astray by parents, teachers, leaders within the organised structure to disregard the pillars, principles and standards of our faith. But they also have a measure of responsibility and accountability, according to the light received, which they cannot evade. In 1888 — the very year in which the message of Christ our Righteousness was more fully proclaimed, sent by God in mercy to awaken His unprepared people — Sister White wrote the following:

“I have been laboring in Healdsburg for the last four weeks. I have spoken fourteen times. I have had a sharp, pointed testimony for the youth, and I am pained to the heart to see the little modesty and real, good, decent behavior in the young. [There are] young girls so forward as to make advances to young men; so destitute of Christlike humility and elevation of character. The young girls [are] flirting with young men, sitting in meeting and exchanging notes with them at the very time I am presenting a message from God to the people.

“The young women make advances to the young men and get up a flirtation with them. Their forwardness, their common, cheap talk and ways are offensive to God, and I told them last Sabbath that they were fast becoming like the Sodomites. And yet they profess to be Christians. What a good, gracious Lord we have to bear with such mockery of the Christian name and such perversity of character. I am disgusted and afflicted for my Saviour that those who claim to represent His character are being led and controlled by the wily foe, the great adversary of God and man.

“It seems that during vacation the young have tried to see how far they could venture upon the long-forbearance of Jehovah. I have been burdened over these things. It does seem that Satan has lifted his hellish banner in the families of professed Sabbath-keepers. Their young men and women only think of how they can get into each others’ society and break down all the barriers of reserve and true decorum. It is a pitiful condition of things…

“The end is near. The time for God to work is about come. He will do terrible things in righteousness for those who have so great light yet have not lived up to it. Boys flirting with the girls and the girls flirting with the boys seems to be a passion which destroys even common sense and leaves the souls of youth who might use their talents to the glory of God as destitute of the Spirit of God as the hills of Gilboa that have neither dew nor rain.

“If you had been ever free from this spirit yourself, you would not be in the position you are. Unless the moral taste is refined, unless Christ becomes an abiding principle in the soul, but few of the youth will ever see heaven. They have misapplied their powers, perverted the privileges and opportunities given them, and will reap that which they have sown — a harvest which they will not be pleased to garner.

“Where great light has been given, great opportunities and privileges granted, there has been such a strengthening of unbelief, such determined resistance of light, such despising of God’s divine favors, that I can see nothing for these thus favored but terrible judgments and wrath.

“Wherever the intercourse between heaven and earth has been free and abundant and God’s gifts [have] been unappreciated, the long-forbearance and patience of God [will] finally be exhausted. Then the once blessed and once favored are abandoned and forsaken of God. It is a terrible thing to exhaust the divine patience.

“God today is as surely speaking by His servants as in past ages. He has His messengers today as in ancient times, but those souls who have not had divine enlightenment, [who] have had no deep and rich experience in the things of God, know not by experimental knowledge at what they stumble. They are infatuated; deluded by the enemy; rejecting offered mercy when the Eternal Father is seeking to save them by the cross of Calvary. Oh, that hearts might be touched by the love of Jesus!

“God has made the mind, and man must make the character through the merits of Jesus Christ. How few are willing to deny self, to lift the cross and follow Jesus” (Letter 39, 1888).

Upon reading these lines, we ought to fear and tremble for the salvation of our youth today. What would Sister White write of the present generation of young people in Adventism, 135 years after she penned those dire warnings regarding the youth of the church in her time? O, if ever there was a time for a revival and reformation to be seen amongst Seventh-day Adventists — old and young, male and female, ministers and lay people — we desperately need it now! The whole assembly of the saints should be gathered together and hear the genuine message of Christ our Righteousness, which alone is able to save our souls from the penalty and the power of sin.

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, where is their God?” (Joel 2:15-17).

“If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

This is the straight testimony to the Laodiceans which needs to be preached with meekness and humility, and yet with power and holy boldness — a message which our young people are entitled to hear. They need to be convicted by the Holy Spirit that

“God is love…But the love of God does not lead Him to excuse sin. He did not excuse it in Satan; He did not excuse it in Adam or in Cain; nor will He excuse it in any other of the children of men. He will not connive at our sins or overlook our defects of character. He expects us to overcome in His name. Those who reject the gift of Christ’s righteousness are rejecting the attributes of character which would constitute them the sons and daughters of God. They are rejecting that which alone could give them a fitness for a place at the marriage feast” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 316).

Who loves our youth enough to tell them the truth exactly the way it is — do you? Do I?

Our collective condition as a people is no different to that of ancient Israel:

“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters; they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward” (Isaiah 1:2-4).

That’s why we are told by the servant of the Lord:

“A revival of true godliness among is the GREATEST and the MOST URGENT of ALL our needs. To seek this should be our FIRST WORK” (Review and Herald, March 22, 1887 — capitalisation supplied).

May God help us to encourage as many as possible to undertake this work, for the hour is desperately late. May our prayers be earnest and importunate, putting ourselves with God’s professed children today — reflecting the spirit and pathos of those who pled for the wayward, the disobedient and the rebellious in times past (Moses — Exodus 32:31, 32; Daniel — Daniel 9:3-20; the Levites in the days of Nehemiah — Nehemiah 9:1-38; Ezra — Ezra 9:1-15; Jeremiah — Jeremiah 3:25).

“The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land. But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf of the church because its members are doing after the manner of the world.

“The earnest prayers of this faithful few will not be in vain. When the Lord comes forth as an avenger, He will also come as a protector of all those who have preserved the faith in its purity and kept themselves unspotted from the world. It is at this time that God has promised to avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them.

“The command is: ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.’ These sighing, crying ones had been holding forth the words of life; they had reproved, counseled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonoring God repented and humbled their hearts before Him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking.

“In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God’s honour and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favour of any. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous. They are powerless to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they are filled with grief and alarm. They mourn before God to see religion despised in the very homes of those who have had great light. They lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind are in the church. The Spirit of God, which prompts to reproof, is trampled underfoot, while the servants of Satan triumph. God is dishonored, the truth made of none effect.

“The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God” (Testimonies for the Church, volume 5, pp. 209-211).

The writer did not seek to apportion blame when writing about how the younger generation in particular are in the vanguard with their calls for drastic change to be made within our ranks in keeping with the anti-Christian philosophy of the world — he merely wrote what is the reality of the situation. If blame is to be meted out, we all share in the guilt of the apostasy that has continued from generation to generation throughout our long history as Seventh-day Adventists. We have individually, to varying degrees, disregarded the counsel of God concerning the heart preparation to be made, the character perfection to be wrought, the last message to be preached, the godly principles to be exemplified before Jesus can come again. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); “for there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20); “if we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10).

Our collective condition as a people is no different to that of ancient Israel:

“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters; they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward” (Isaiah 1:2-4).

That’s why we are told by the servant of the Lord:

“A revival of true godliness among is the GREATEST and the MOST URGENT of ALL our needs. To seek this should be our FIRST WORK” (Review and Herald, March 22, 1887 — capitalisation supplied).

May God help us to encourage as many as possible to undertake this work, for the hour is desperately late. May our prayers be earnest and importunate, putting ourselves with God’s professed children today — reflecting the spirit and pathos of those who pled for the wayward, the disobedient and the rebellious in times past (Moses — Exodus 32:31, 32; Daniel — Daniel 9:3-20; the Levites in the days of Nehemiah — Nehemiah 9:1-38; Ezra — Ezra 9:1-15; Jeremiah — Jeremiah 3:25).

“The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in the light will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land. But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf of the church because its members are doing after the manner of the world.

“The earnest prayers of this faithful few will not be in vain. When the Lord comes forth as an avenger, He will also come as a protector of all those who have preserved the faith in its purity and kept themselves unspotted from the world. It is at this time that God has promised to avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them.

“The command is: ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.’ These sighing, crying ones had been holding forth the words of life; they had reproved, counseled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonoring God repented and humbled their hearts before Him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking.

“In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God’s honour and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favour of any. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous. They are powerless to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they are filled with grief and alarm. They mourn before God to see religion despised in the very homes of those who have had great light. They lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind are in the church. The Spirit of God, which prompts to reproof, is trampled underfoot, while the servants of Satan triumph. God is dishonored, the truth made of none effect.

“The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God” (Testimonies for the Church, volume 5, pp. 209-211).

God has never let the seventh day Sabbath change. I don’t know what you mean by getting back to the correct 7th day Sabbath? Also, we are not saved by pronunciation! God has many names, as well as Jesus. If a person calls upon them for deliverance, no matter by what name, they will be saved.

If you don’t mind my asking, who is they? Would that be SDA’s? SDA’s didn’t institute a seventh day of rest, they accepted the biblical teaching of the fourth commandment, to be kept by faith in God’s word. Which truth was introduced to them by a Seventh Day Baptist I believe, who also believed this truth by faith in God’s word. And so on and so forth back throughout history to the Jews themselves I suppose. Which day do you teach is the seventh day? Have the Jews apparently forgotten which day is the seventh as well, since they observe the same one as most others? Who made a mistake in saying the Savior was coming back, back then? I presume you mean the Millerites concerning the year 1844, do you not? It could not have been SDA’s who did not exist as a denomination until 1863 I do believe. One of the founding beliefs of which, is that no man knows the day or hour of our Lord’s coming. Which was an important doctrine to many of the founders of the SDA church, as they themselves came to understand this mistake which some them agreed with at one time. Therefore thinking it an important doctrine, to help prevent this mistake from being made again. If in fact YHWH is the only title God’s own should use in reference to Him, then why do you yourself in your above comments, use the term God several times? As apparently the scriptures do as well. Please do expound. Could you also supply a reference to where the pope proclaimed that Saturday the seventh day, is the Lord’s Sabbath for God’s people? Thank you.

Amen brother Alan.

In Early Writings, Sister White was given a view of the appearance of the church at the close of time:

“Persons were continually leaving the companies that were in darkness and joining the free company, who appeared to be in an open field raised above the earth.” EW 243.1

This vision was given to her with symbolism. In most symbolic, or prophetic, descriptions that I’m aware of, the object is symbolic, but the action taken is literal. She saw “a company of people” who were free. To be free means that they are not bound by traditions and false doctrines, or as she puts in the previous paragraph, “cords….” The cords that claim “We have the truth! God is with us!”

She sees this company in what “APPEARED to be” (note that this is a queue that we are entering symbolic or prophetic language) “An open field.” An open field is language that is representative of something that possesses a natural simplicity that is of God. An open field is not something that brings to mind images of great cathedrals, national establishments, massive hospitals, etc., but rather inspires the mind to give glory to the Creator of heaven and earth.

Next, she says that this company in the open field was “raised above the earth.” I’m not aware of any literal field that can be raised above the earth, so once again, she is given symbolic language. This company she is referring to, who was separate from another company (which claimed have the truth and God with them, but in fact were in darkness) is raised above the earth in that it has nothing to do with corporate structures, tax exempt status, medical insurance, 401k retirement funds, purchasing of headquarters buildings with reverted tithe, and even denominational classifications. These are all earthly and have no place with the heavenly. This little company is literally disconnected from earthly endeavors, purposes and categorization. Their main distinguishing marks are that they are free from such affiliations, they experience a natural, grass-roots worship whose author and finisher is God, and they came out, or separated, from another earthly company that is in darkness.

From this sentence, as well as the entire chapter and the one that follows it, we find confirmation of what is to take place before the end, including the fact that persons will be “continually leaving the companies that were in darkness (who claim to have the truth) and joining the free company.” The conclusion that the companies that are in darkness refers to the modern Seventh-day Adventist denomination is difficult to avoid, particularly with the endless string of atrocities being daily committed within the GC church.

To be blunt, “Aunty” is not a Seventh-day Adventist, nor is anyone that wants to change Seventh-day Adventism… and yet, this is precisely what has been accomplished – our religion has been changed. Once a true Seventh-day Adventist awakens to the reality of the condition existing within the modern SDA denomination, there can be little doubt as to our responsibility. Option A – stand up, like Jeremiah, Isaiah and Ezekiel, to declare the judgment of God against his apostate people, or Option B – “glue your rear to the pew” and pretend as if there were any example of God accepting a willfully disobedient, rebellious, and wayward people into his kingdom. To be even more blunt, if upon seeing how this denomination has been hijacked, we continue to support it by our mere presence at it’s corporately recognized meeting houses (Option B), then we cannot honestly call ourselves Seventh-day Adventists.

God established the SDA movement. The founders of this movement were given “A line of truth extending from that time to the time when we shall enter the city of God” 18LtMs, Ms 135, 1903, par. 3. It is not possible to alter what God has established. There is no reasonable way to condemn the doctrine or the words that God gave to Seventh-day Adventists, and yet still call yourself a Seventh-day Adventist. Seek out the truth upon which this movement was established, then cling to it. Do not join with those in rebellion that refuse that pure truth, but rather call them to come back to the true Seventh-day Adventist church. God reveals to us his love by pointing us to his truth. We need to do the same.