editorial

Winds of Doctrine

tudy to shew thyself approved

unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15.
God has spoken in the Scriptures
and in the Spirit of Prophecy in the
plainest language upon every
subject which is necessary for our
salvation. Only the careful students
of the Scripture and the Spirit of
Prophecy will be able to understand
and experience the truth.
In every generation, Satan has
produced idle speculation about
things of which nothing is said in
the Word of God. In the days of the
apostles, the most foolish heresies
were presented as truth, and history
has been, and will continue to be
repeated until the great controversy
between good and evil is ended.
Today, we see that Satan has
come down to the faithful and
obedient remnant people with great
wrath, for he knows that he has a
very short time. Every wind of
doctrine is now blowing in Adventism. Fanaticism is again spreading
all around the world. Those who are

spiritually weak, who are not well

grounded in truth, accept error in
the place of truth because error is
clothed in a new garment, which
they believe is a wonderful truth
newly discovered. If this garment of
error is put to the test, the covering
is stripped away and the nakedness
of error is revealed. Those who
allow their minds to wander into
and dwell upon non-salvational
issues are often caught up into
fanatical movements which erode,
and finally destroy, their spiritual
perception. Many then ride their
hobbyhorse until criticism engulfs
them, and they go out into spiritual
darkness.
None need be deceived if they
will be students of the Word and
the Spirit of Prophecy. Let us
remember that the track of truth lies
close to the track of error, and only
the Holy Spirit can teach us the
difference:
The track of truth lies close
beside the track of error, and both
tracks may seem to be one to minds
which are not worked by the Holy
Spirit, and which, therefore, are not

quick to discern the difference

between truth and error. Selected
Messages, book 1, 202.
The godly need not be deceived
if they are students of the Scriptures
and obedient to follow the plain
path marked out for them in the
Word of God. Review and Herald,
April 15, 1875.
God commands His remnant
people to search the Scriptures:
Search the scriptures; for in
them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of
me. John 5:39.
All who join the ranks of
Sabbathkeepers should become
diligent Bible students, that they
may know the pillars and groundwork of the truth. They should study
prophetic history, which has
brought us down point by point to
where we are at the present time.
Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 171.
Let us all be Bereans in this final
hour: Prove all things; hold fast
that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21. !
Ron Spear, Executive Editor

An Apology and Correction

We would like to apologize for confusion caused by one of the illustrations on page 15 of the February 2002,
issue of Our Firm Foundation. On that page was a Bible study entitled, Baptism for the Dead. Below this study
were two illustrations of baptism, one of which was an illustration depicting a female minister baptizing a child.
While the study does deal with an unbiblical concept of baptism, it has no connection whatsoever to the issue of
female pastors. The illustration in question was not given adequate consideration, and we realize in retrospect that
it should not have been included. (It was drawn for an issue of Our Firm Foundation published years ago regarding
the issue of ordaining women pastors.)
We assure our readers that our positions on both baptism and female pastors are consistent with Bible-based
historic Adventism and have not changed. Hope International does not support the ordination of women pastors or
elders, nor the baptism of young children who do not have an adequate comprehension of the step they are taking.
The illustration in question is not consistent with our position on these matters, and its use would only be appropriate in connection with an article dealing with these specific issues.
We thank you for your understanding and continued support as we strive to uphold the true standards of Bible
doctrine, and also to maintain the quality and reliability of our publications. If you have any questions, please feel
free to contact us.
Sincerely,
Hope International Design and Editorial Departments

Our Firm Foundation

table of contents
Volume 17, Number 4

It is the mission of Hope International

and the editors of Our Firm Foundation to
clearly present Christ and His truth. The
days that yet remain of this world are
few, and what we do we must do quickly.
We must boldly proclaim the historic
truths of Adventism that place us on so
firm a foundation in the midst of this
troubled world.
Editors

4
8
16
20
24
28

Executive Editor: Ron Spear

Administrative Editor: Bill Humeniuk
Managing Editor: Harvey Steck
Layout & Design: Kevin Patterson
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Copyright 2002 Hope International

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Cover photo: EyeWire

Volume 17, Number 4

The Danger of Silence

Hal Mayer
Why do good people remain mute and not protest in
the face of compromise?

Eradicating Terrorists?
Bob Jorgensen
How can we win the war on terrorism? Would you
recognize a potential terrorist if you met him?

The Sanctuary Truth

John Korponay
What a privilege to experience this unique truth and
share it with others!

Danger of Light Becoming Darkness

Ellen G. White
The King of the universe is waiting to bestow heavenly treasures upon you. How will you use them?

The Testing of Character

Ellen G. White
King Saulan example of how God proves our trust
in Him

The Sound of Music

Clark A. Floyd
Could my choice of music affect my salvation?

departments
News Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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Defending the Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The Garden of the Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Hal Mayer
remain silent in the face of persistent
attempts by Satan to undermine the
truth among Seventh-day Adventists. One of the key reasons is fear,
which has many facets. Here are just
a few of them:

ave you ever wondered why

there remains a deafening
silence among the faithful
in many of our churches when
church leaders urge that we support
an unbiblical doctrine or practice?
Why do good people remain mute
and fail to protest when compromise
arises? As I have watched our
church steadily lose her doctrinal
bearings over the years, and the
resultant onrushing torrent of
iniquity, all self-justified by
unsanctified leaders, I have wondered, Why are there so few members who are willing to raise their
voices in alarm and protest? In the
light of Biblical history, it makes no
spiritual sense for those who love
truth to keep their voices muted as
error marches forward among Gods
people. What makes us so prone to
silenceso prone to playing
Possum?

Ellen G. White wrote, My

message to you is: No longer
consent to listen without protest to
the perversion of truth. Unmask the
pretentious sophistries which, if
received, will lead ministers and
physicians and medical missionary
workers to ignore the truth. Everyone is now to stand on his guard.
God calls upon men and women to
take their stand under the bloodstained banner of Prince
Emmanuel. Selected Messages, book
1, 196.
Why do we not heed the counsel
of Gods prophet? If only all the
good people around us were vigilant
and standing on their guard, it
would be difficult for the devil to
push his agenda through men who
do not believe the truth, but serve in
holy office.
I believe there are a number of
reasons why good men and women

1. Opposing the Lords

AnointedMany good people are
afraid to disagree with church
leaders. They think that in doing so,
they would be offending God, and
so they do not want to touch the
Lords anointed. But this is a
misapplication of Davids words.
David was being urged to do Saul
physical harm. Those urging it were
justifying breaking the commandments of God on the basis that
David would be defending truth and
his own divine appointment as
Israels future king. The basic
argument was that David would be
justified in killing Saul because of
the good that would result. David
rightly refused, but protested to Saul
in the morning against Sauls
persecution of David and his men.
Opposing church leaders
opinions or actions is not wrong
when they are directly in conflict
with the inspired counsel. In fact,
faithful members must oppose them
if they are to remain faithful watchmen on the walls of Zion, and avoid
the condemnation from the Lord
addressed to the unfaithful watchmen.
2. ReputationMany good
people do not protest against error
because they are concerned about
their reputations. They know that

Our Firm Foundation

Photo: EyeWire

Fears Facets

church leaders, whether pastors or

local elders, have a way of twisting
genuine concerns and responding
with (frequently false) accusations of
being critical, unsupportive, and of
causing schisms. Often pastors will
(wittingly or unwittingly) use other
good people to make those accusations. Counteracting those accusations is not easy. We remind those
who make these accusations that it
is a matter of truth or principlenot
a matter of attitude. Yet even this
does not always turn the accusations away.
Do not forget that these very
accusers are the ones doing the
criticizing of Gods faithful messengers, whether they be lay members,
faithful pastors or self-supporting
workers. Jesus made himself of no
reputation (Philippians 2:7), and,
in fact, suffered more than we will
ever suffer. What is more important,
our reputation with pastors and
other church members, or our
reputation with God?
3. Peer PressureMany good
people fear peer pressure from
fellow church members. Often it is
much easier to go with the flow of
collective opinion than to step out
from the crowd and be different. We
do not normally want to be different.
Yet being different is what the
Adventist faith is all about. We are
called to be a peculiar people. See
Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9. The natural
tendency is to conform in an everwidening circle of pressures. There
is pressure from our close friends
and family, then from our local
church, then from the world church,
then from the ecumenical movement,
and so on. Peer pressure will always
be applied to those who want to
stand for truth.
4. Fear of Being Marginalized
Many good pastors and members
who believe the truth, have a fear of
being marginalized by the Conference or by their pastor (in the case of
members). Pastors may think that if
they protest against something that
they believe is wrong in the Conference, their Conference president will
think that they are not supportive of
him, and will send them to some
small district out in the middle of

Volume 17, Number 4

nowhere, or hold up his ordination,

or maybe worsedismiss him from
Conference employment. Members
may fear that protest will lead to
losing their position or office in the
local churchor even to church
discipline.
While it is possible that these
things could, and often do happen,
is that a reason to remain silent?
Most of the protestors of the past
were alone and/or were disciplined.
Take Jeremiah or Isaiah, for example.
Both were disciplined in their day
for their plain speaking. Elijah had
to hide in the wilderness to avoid
church and civil discipline. He
could have complained that he was
being marginalized for three years
during the famine; yet later he
became the center of influence on

Spirit of Prophecy and find the

answer, and seek counsel from
truth-loving friends. While being
respectful and Christlike, do not be
silenced by liberal pastors who have
been highly educated. They are
not likely to know the truth because
they have, most likely, been taught
error. Stick with the inspired reasoningnot human reasoning.

Beyond Fear
There are reasons beyond fear
why good people remain silent:
1. Creeping CompromiseError
often creeps up subtly, and it is not
usually recognized until it is well on
its way to being deeply rooted.
Everything is going along smoothly.
There is good (so-called) unity in
your church. Then suddenly some-

Often it is much easier to go with the flow of collective

opinion than to step out from the crowd and be
different. We do not normally want to be different. Yet
being different is what the Adventist faith is all about.
Mount Carmel. Far from being
marginalized, God elevated him to
the most important and powerful
force in the nation at that time,
much to Jezebels distress. God may
not do this in every case, but,
nonetheless, we should be faithful
and leave the consequences and
results with God.
5. Fear of Being Discredited
Many good people are afraid of
being discredited. Some are not as
polished as others in their speech
and are not as able to make quick
responses to questions or accusations. This gives them the fear of
approaching subjects related to truth
and error because they feel they will
be challenged, and then they will
not have good answers to the
questions that are raised.
Remember, truth lovers can
always say that they do not have an
immediate answer, but that they will
get back with an answer to the
person with the challenging question. Then go to the Bible and to the

one recognizes that there is a

departure from the truth, and he
raises his voice in concern. Controversy erupts, and all the usual bells
and whistles go off (i.e, shouts of
criticism, disunity, schism,
and so forth), and pious accusations
are made against the one who raised
the concern (you need to work for
unity, please dont be so critical of
others).
Some people are too quick to
jump to conclusions, and they begin
to accuse the one who has raised the
concern of being a legalist, or a
fanatic, or too narrow-minded, or
living in the 19th century, and so
forth, rather than checking into the
Word of God for themselves to find
out if the concern raised has any
spiritual basis. Under these conditions, good people are often hesitant
to oppose error because they often
think that their protest will only
make matters worse.
Of course, there may be times
when things will get worse, but

when souls are at stake, we need to

be reminded of the statement made
by Ellen White: If unity could be
secured only by the compromise of
truth and righteousness, then let
there be difference, and even war.
Well would it be for the church
and the world if the principles that
actuated those steadfast souls [early
church believers] were revived in the
hearts of Gods professed people.
There is an alarming indifference in
regard to the doctrines which are the
pillars of the Christian faith. The
Great Controversy, 4546.
2. Neglect of StudyHere is an
even more serious one. Good people
frequently remain silent because
they feel that they have not studied
the issue from the Bible and the

necessary research so that we know

what we believe and why.
3. Theological Inferiority
Often good people are made to feel
inferior to the theologianseven if
they have thoroughly studied the
issues of truth and error in question.
Tragically, with the push for the
accreditation of our colleges many
years ago, and the current fanaticism to make them all universities,
we have put ourselves on a treadmill that is a galling yoke, and very
destructive of the truth.
Accreditation requires that many
professors have advanced degrees,
which in turn are earned at seminaries and universities not at all in
harmony with our faith, thus
causing much error to come into the

When we become Christs, then we enter the school of

Christ and must discipline ourselves to do the necessary
research so that we know what we believe and why.

Spirit of Prophecy, and, therefore, are

not qualified to address the matter.
Moreover, many are not having
regular devotions and personal
study time in which to pursue
research on a given topic. Further,
they may not know how to do so.
How tragic!
Even good, long-standing
Seventh-day Adventists have lost the
Bible study ethic. We may read it
devotionally, but we do not dig for
truth, and research the Bible and the
Spirit of Prophecy for light concerning the issues confronting Gods
church today.
Some good people are not even
sure what the truth is, so it is hard
for them to express their concerns
when they are not really sure what
the Bible teaches. This is a dangerous state of affairs. Faithful people
must be faithful students. School
is not over upon graduation from
high school or college. It is only
beginning, for life is a school indeed.
When we become Christs, then we
enter the school of Christ and must
discipline ourselves to do the

ministry and into our institutions of

learning. This also translates into
practical apostasy in other institutions and churches as the ripple
effect widens over time. We have
developed an intellectual snobbery
that has made many feel inferior to
the theologians who have studied, and thus who supposedly
know better than the rest of us what
is truth.
Bible students should not fear
theologians, for they most likely
know more of the truth than the
most decorated and scholarly
professor, unless the professor has
humbled himself and come to the
Scriptures himself as did Luther,
Calvin, Huss, or other reformers,
whom he so often reveres. Even if
the pastor has his masters or
doctors degree, it does not mean
that he has the truth.
In fact, it has been the theologians who have brought in the
greatest amount of error among
Gods people in the past. It was
actually theologians who had
rejected the Bible as the truth of God

and as authoritative in the church,

who founded the ecumenical
Romeward-bound movement.
More than anything, we need
Bible students who can, by the grace
of God, confound the theologians as
Jesus did in His day when they said
of Him, How knoweth this man
letters, having never learned? John
7:15. He had not been to their
seminaries to study theology; He
had studied the Word only.
4. A Silent WitnessMany good
people remain silent because they
falsely think that they can influence
those in error quietlyby their godly
example. This is dangerous, because
those in error often do not know that
they are in error unless there is some
attention drawn to it. However, if
they have a strong passion about the
error they believe, they may have an
agenda (as is often the case with
pastors and other church leaders),
and will continue to push their
agendain spite of the godly
example. In fact, they will often use
those godly examples in the service
of promoting their errorall unwittinglyto the person who is trying
to influence them by his godly
example. Even those who may not
have an agenda are, nevertheless,
passively promoting error (even
unintentionally) and need the
opportunity to have it pointed out to
their unenlightened minds. Error
must be exposed.
5. At least they are coming to
churchMany good people hear
excuses that they do not know how
to answer, so they remain silent. For
example: Oh, drama (rock music,
sports, or whatever) is not so bad.
We need this to keep the youth (or
new converts, or whoever) in the
church (or school). Tragically, this
excuse is far too often used to foist
error upon the churchand with
baleful results. Why in heaven or on
earth would something that God has
forbidden, actually serve a good
purpose? In reality, these things lead
all who engage in them further
away from God.
Take the celebration churches, for
example. At the start they were large
and full on Sabbath morning.
However, after a while, what

Our Firm Foundation

happened to them?They have

often dwindled in attendance, and
some have even disbanded. Faithful
people should not let excuses stand
in the way of exposing error for
what it is. Point them to the statements in the Word of God or the
Spirit of Prophecy, and if they will
hear, then you have gained the
higher ground. If they will not hear,
then you have delivered your soul
from the condemnation reserved for
silent watchmen. See Ezekiel 33:78.
6. Criticism of the truthMany
good people hear criticisms of the
truth that they do not know how to
answer: The old (teaching or
practice) is boring, or, more subtly,
It doesnt meet our needs, or the
needs of the people. These pathetic
rationalizations of error often reveal
something more devastating: those
who profess the truth are not really
living it, and thus are misrepresenting it.
Of course, the entertainment
syndrome, and other factors, have
also had their influence. All these
things combined have played a role.
But criticisms of the truth are not
sufficient reason to bring in error or
compromise. Let us live the truth
and proclaim the truth with power.
That is what will make sense to
people who are truly searching for
light and for the understanding of
Gods will, whether they be Seventhday Adventists or not.
7. The Pain of ConflictAnother
reason is that conflict is painful, and
many people are hesitant to be
around the tension that naturally
associates with it. While it is true
that some may be called to open
confrontation (in a Heavenapproved way), others may be called
to approach the matters in question
one-on-one with those in error.
Whatever method God has called
you to, you must faithfully fulfill
that responsibility to work with
those in error with compassion and
kindness. Yes, there may be tension
from time to time, but God will give
you strength for those times, and a
sweet Christian spirit will go far
toward reducing painful tension.
8. HypocrisyOne final tragedy
is that many good people who

Volume 17, Number 4

remain silent are still in sin and do

not recognize the error when it
arises. Thus they cannot raise their
voices in protest. Furthermore, if they
could, they would face the guilt of
feeling like a hypocrite.
Brethren and sisters, we need, by
the grace of God, to come up higher
on the path of moral worth. How
can we effectively oppose error and
apostasy in our church when we

refused to give the warning.

So thou, O son of man, I have
set thee a watchman unto the house
of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear
the word at my mouth, and warn
them from me. When I say unto the
wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt
surely die; if thou dost not speak to
warn the wicked from his way, that
wicked man shall die in his iniquity;
but his blood will I require at thine

How can we effectively oppose error and apostasy in

our church when we ourselves are living in known
conflict with Gods revealed will?

ourselves are living in known

conflict with Gods revealed will?
We must get on our knees and plead
with God for victory, and then take
the necessary steps to resolve our
own departures from Gods counsel.

The Danger
You may be able to think of other
reasons why good people remain
silent when error or compromise
arises in Gods church. The danger
of silence is that the leaders in error
and compromisewhether they are
in the ministry or whether they are
laymenjust go right on without
any spiritual accountability to the
people. The problem does not go
away; it just gets largerdestroying
the message and mission of our
Seventh-day Adventist Church. God
requires spiritual accountability. Yet
all too often the faithful souls in
Gods church hesitate to hold
themselves and their leaders up to
their God-given responsibilities and
make them accountable to the Word
of God.
Today our church is in deep
trouble with the Lord. We are not
following His counsel in education,
health care, publishing, or in
ministry. Soon the judgments of God
are going to fall upon the world and
upon all those who profess to be His
people, but who have not been
faithful to the truth, including those
who knew the truth but who have

hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the

wicked of his way to turn from it; if
he do not turn from his way, he
shall die in his iniquity; but thou
hast delivered thy soul. Ezekiel
33:79.
May God make us faithful
watchmen. !

Must We Be Silent?
Koranteng-Pipim, Samuel
Designed to defend sound
biblical teaching by countering
the false teachings so prevalent
in the church today. Indifference and neutrality in a religious
crisis is regarded of God as a
grievous crime and equal to the
very worst type of hostility
against God. Testimonies, vol. 3,
281.
Paperback, 640 pages, 2001

Price: $19.95
Catalog # BEKS-MWBS
7

Eradicating Terrorists?
Bob Jorgensen

who has not yet committed an act of

terrorism. It is even more difficult to
ascertain how a person might think,
and whether he would indeed become
a terrorist who would commit acts of
terrorism in the future, such as we
saw on September 11.
In our haste to stamp out terrorists, we should not forget that bigscale terrorists often grow from
small-scale terrorists. Acts of terrorism are daily occurring in a wide
variety of ways that we often
overlook, and have perhaps ceased
to see as being actual acts of terrorism. Throwing a brick through a
window is an act of terrorism.
Phone threats are acts of terrorism.
Injuries purposely done to people, or
damage deliberately done to propertythese are all acts of terrorism.
Of course, the events of September
11 were glaringly outstanding acts
of terrorism. Yes, we are anxious to
prevent such heinous acts of terrorism from happening again, but there
are several points that, in our haste,
we may easily overlook:

1. Danger of Overreacting
While many of us in America
may have great concern in our
hearts for the possible acts of
terrorism that could take place, there
is also deep concern in the hearts of
many of us that in a time of great
trauma and emotional reaction we
could be in danger of overreacting.
To declare that we are going to
wage war on terrorists until we have
stamped them out, is to run a great
risk of embarking upon a modernday witch hunt, which would
inevitably result in the destruction of
innocent lives. In our pain we can
easily develop a hasty attitude of
shoot first and ask questions later.
To carry out the stated intention of
eliminating terrorists requires
assessing the motives and possibilities of individuals characters and
lives. This process could be endlessand eventually ruthless.
We are in exceedingly grave
danger of criminalizing race,
religion, or ethnic background as the

Our Firm Foundation

Photos: PhotoDisc

uesday, September 11, 2001,

is a day that will certainly be
remembered by this generation.
The events of that fateful day have
caused many people to wonder
what goes on in the mind of a
terrorist. The government of the
United States has declared war on
terrorism and terrorists. However, it
might be easier to fight a war on
terrorism, than on terrorists.
To identify terrorism we need only
to identify actions and results.
Dictionaries define terrorism as the
use of acts of terror or violence to
coerce or intimidate people, often for
ideological or political reasons. We
often use the term in a broader sense
to refer to acts of violence or crime that
have no logical rationale behind them.
Some people engage in terroristic acts
simply because they enjoy doing
something violent. It is appropriate to
put forth efforts to apprehend, and
bring to justice, those who are responsible for acts of terrorism. However, it
is much more difficult to identify a
person who might be a terrorist, but

breeding place of terrorists, and

then persecuting or purging those
with such an identified background.
Terrorists come from all walks of
life, all denominations, all races. The
great danger is that some group of
people with sufficient power will
identify minority groups, or segments of society with less power or
influence, as being a threat to
society, because some members or
renegades from that group may
have conducted or committed
terroristic activities.
Because some militant Islamics
have committed acts of terrorism, we
might be in danger of concluding
that all Islamics are dangerous and
could be potential terrorists.
From Tuesday, September 11,
2001, through Thursday, September
13, firebombs damaged Islamic
mosques, and Hindu and Sikh
temples in the U.S. A man attempted
to run down a Pakistani woman
with his car, claiming to be doing
this for my country. Another man
awaits trial on the charge of murdering Balbir Singh Sodhi, a 49year-old gas station owner and
father of three, who was shot to
death while doing some landscaping work outside of his business. 1
But these incidents were not the
only indication of unreasonable
reactions spurred by heated emotions. The danger of overreacting
was illustrated by the poll conducted recently by Sierra College
Research Institute. The researchers
found that a third of New Yorkers
favored internment camps for Arabs. 2
Yet, it must not be forgotten that
some of the greatest terrorists of all
time have arisen from within the
Catholic religion (for example, read
the history of the St. Bartholomew
massacre when the presiding pontiff
struck a special medal to commemorate the cruel murder of thousands
of Protestants). Should we then
conclude that all Catholics are
potential terrorists to be confined
and strictly guarded or eliminated?Certainly not! No doubt
some people with backgrounds such
as Methodists, Baptists, Mormons,
Presbyterians, or Seventh-day
Adventists have also committed acts

Volume 17, Number 4

of terrorism. Does this then make

any of those religions the spawning
ground of antisocial terrorism?
If we allow ourselves to overreact, if we are willing to sell out too
many of our freedoms in the effort
to reach the elusive goal of security, we could eventually become
the most despotic and oppressive
nation of all time. Every principle
of freedom provided by our Constitution could eventually be traded
for security, and yet in reality
our security would be an illusion
because we would not know when
we might be the next subjects of
surveillance as potential terrorists
because of our religion, race, or
background. The effort to eradicate
terrorists with this approach could
be a serious mistake.

in certain religions or ideologies.

People exhibiting some of the
prescribed suspicious characteristics
would need to be carefully monitored and watched, or possibly
eliminated, for the sense of the
security of the majority. This could
conceivably become a second
Inquisition, in which everyone is
urged to be an informer on his
brother and neighbor. Then no one
would know who might mysteriously disappear next.
This approach fails to recognize
that terroristic seeds of thought may
lie dormant in the hearts of even the
best of us. Thoughts of jealousy,
envy, anger, hatred, revenge, malicethese are all seeds of terroristic
thoughts and motives. Our mental
and emotional programming

Preventing terrorism by figuring out how terrorists think,

and then catching and confining or eliminating all
potential terrorists, is a vastly more monumental task
than any of us can possibly comprehend.
2. A Task Beyond Comprehension
Preventing terrorism by figuring
out how terrorists think, and then
catching and confining or eliminating all potential terrorists, is a vastly
more monumental task than any of
us can possibly comprehend.
Identifying a potential terrorist might
be more difficult than we think.
Can we identify with certainty
those who have seeds of terrorism
lying in their hearts? For example, if
a government were to really accomplish this goal, it would be necessary
to perceive the development of
children and identify those with
potentially errant habits of thinking, and then guard against, or
eliminate, such individuals. Otherwise, they could eventually become
terrorists, who could wreak devastation.
Terrorists could most likely
develop from certain types of people,
certain races, or from those involved

develops from the early moments of

life, even during our prenatal period,
and is affected by family relationships, education, religion, diet,
entertainment, exposure to news,
and many other factors. All of these
can have their degree of influence in
the making of a terrorist.
Some terrorists are not recognized as such because they carry on
their activities in a more politically
acceptable way. Others are more
visible because their acts of terrorism
are so very obvious or bizarre. When
an obscure and little-known individual hijacks an airplane it is an
act of terrorism. We have no problem
recognizing it. Yet, if a public agency
hijacks a home and takes away the
children because their education is
more conservative or religious than
the local public school offers, or,
their lifestyle is not considered
normal by the soda pop, hamburger, and TV generation, that
action is not perceived to be terrorism. Such terroristic activities may

even be publicized as rescuing the

victims from abusive parents.
We could even note that quite a
number of well-known individuals
down through history have engaged
in terrorism. In fact, some have led
whole nations into terroristic
activities. We are all, doubtless,
familiar with the terroristic activities
of Alexander the Great, Adolf Hitler,
and many others. Even in our own
United States, citizens have sometimes had terroristic experiences at
the hands of agencies apparently
endeavoring to prevent the practice
of health treatment by practitioners
whom they have decided to label as
unorthodox. Remember, there do
not have to be violent deaths in
order for actions to constitute
terroristic activities.

home, or those who come from

abroad?

3. Entertainment
To really deal with the making of
a terrorist we must carefully evaluate the process of entertainment and
education. Let us first look at
entertainment:
In reality, all entertainment has
an educating influence. It is a wellknown fact that certain types of
music, and entertainment, teach and
breed violence, and acts of what we
can call terrorism. At a rock concert,
a man was deliberately harassed,
then stabbed, and resolutely protected from any assistance until he
died. I would classify this as
terrorism. The music, and its accompanying environment, spawned this

Many children and youth arraigned for violent crimes of

murder and aggression have stated that they got their
ideas from television.

Surely we are appalled at the

terroristic events of that Tuesday in
Septemberbecause there were
many deaths and injuries. Yet, if we
consider that a vast number of
innocent victims are killed every day
by abortion, we must ask ourselves
which acts of terrorism are worse,
the ones that happen unexpectedly,
or, the ones that are publicly condoned and sponsored? Evidently it
is easy for most of us to overlook the
fact that the systematic slaughter of
American lives through abortion
vastly outnumbers all deaths due to
wars and other terroristic activities
in Americas history.
Perhaps we have become accustomed to the fact that there are
thousands of deaths every year due
to drunk driving. There were
approximately 17,000 in the year
200017,000 deaths of mostly
innocent men, women, and children.
The terroristic attacks of September
11 killed some 3,000 people. Which
terrorists should we be most afraid
ofthose we are developing at

10

activity. Many similar incidents

could be cited. 3
In 1989, an attractive and caring
young Yale graduate was brutally
attacked and gang raped in New
York Citys Central Park by more
than 30 youngsters (most of them
under 16). They attacked her with a
pipe, then hacked her skull and
thighs with a knife, and pounded
her face with a brick. Mary McGrory,
writing in the Washington Post, April
30, 1989, said, Obviously, their
parents, their schools, did not tell
them about the golden rule. Television, with its verbal and physical
violence, its depiction of sex as an
instantly available right, its boorish
hosts and witless guests, certainly
didnt teach them. 4 Tragically, this
kind of terrorism is not an unusual,
one-time occurrence. Why did it take
place?
George Will wrote in 1991, that:
For more than a generation, the
fundamental act of American fun
watching televisionhas involved,
for the average viewer, seeing 150

acts of violence and 15 murders a

week. 5 Of course, the numbers
today are significantly higher. Is it
possible that we can overlook the
connection between viewing so
much violence and the rapid
increase of violent crime in our
country? Many children and youth
arraigned for violent crimes of
murder and aggression have stated
that they got their ideas from
television. Between 1989 and 1990
alone, the number of youth arrested
for murder, manslaughter, forcible
rape, robbery, and aggravated
assault increased by 16 per cent! 6
An extensive, long-term study
conducted by Dr. Centerwall, of the
University of Washington, showed
that TV is directly responsible for
10,000 homicides, 70,000 rapes, and
700,000 injurious assaults each
year! 7
As long ago as 1972, a government report on television and
violence suggested the connection
between childhood TV viewing with
its routine violence, and future
aggression and criminal acts. 8 More
recently, numerous studies and
books have shown some of the
devastating effects of viewing
violence on TV, shows on videos,
and arcade games. 9 Almost all
video-machine games operate on the
principle of destroy, or be destroyed.
Most TV programming, even for
little children, contains numerous
depictions of violence. One shocking
incident shows the terrible results: A
little boy around 6 years old,
watching a cartoon show, saw
stars circling the head of a
cartoon character who was hit on
the head in an act of violence. A
little later he found a baseball bat
and with it hit his 4-year-old sister
on the head (killing her), but he was
puzzled because he did not see any
stars flying around her head.
The Buffalo News, in 1988,
reported that at that time TV programming had 55 times more violence
than real-life experience! 10 In the past
ten years since the book was written,
we have not seen a decrease in the
violence. In one example of the
typicaloften sexualviolence of

Our Firm Foundation

movie entertainment, a young girl

was raped with the end of a broom
handle. A mother with her small
daughter had been watching the TV
show, but she turned it off at that
point. A few days later a group of
boys, who had also watched the
show raped the small daughter with
a beer bottle. 11
We must ask the question: Who
are the real criminals in such
terrorism? Are they the boys who
engaged in acts rolemodeled for
them on TV, or on videos viewed in
their living rooms? Or are they the
Hollywood producers and actors who
taught the boys what to do and how
to do it, planting the seeds of
violence in their minds? A long-term
study by researchers at the University of Illinois showed that people
who had regularly watched TV
violence at eight years of age were
consistently more prone to acts of
violence (terrorist activities) by the
time they were 30 years old. 12
The plot of one TV show involved a bomb threat on an airplane,
with the passengers held as hostages. Despite a vigorous protest
from the Air Line Pilots Association, it was aired on national
television. Before the show was over,
airlines started receiving bomb
threats. Within one week eight
airlines had received such bomb
threats. Five years later the same film
was shown in Australia with
similar results. One airline eventually ended up paying a half-milliondollar ransom to protect the 116
passengers on a flight to Hong
Kong. We rightly condemn the
terrorists who conduct these bomb
threats, but do we do anything
about the terrorists who educated
and inspired them to do it by means
of television?
A chilling fact that should
galvanize us into action is described
in the book, Plug-in Drug by Marie
Winn. In more recent years, a new
breed of criminals has surfaced:
twelve-year-old muggers who prey
on the elderly, casually torturing
and murdering their helpless
victims, often for very small gains;
youths assailing a bicyclist in a park
and beating him to death with a

Volume 17, Number 4

chain before making off with his

bicycle; children breaking into an
apartment and stomping on an
elderly man, or drowning a woman
in her bathtub.
The common factor characterizing the present wave of child
criminals who kill, torture, and rape,
seems to be a form of emotional
detachment that allows them to
commit unspeakable acts of brutal and
violent crime with a complete absence of
normal feelingssuch as guilt or
remorse. And the media entertainment has been largely, if not almost
solely, responsible for training them
this way. Here, truly, is the education of a terrorist. Now the question
is: Will we focus our attention on
attacking the terrorists overseas, while
ignoring the promotion and education of
terrorists here at home?

A true and upright use of

religion produces citizens with
upright moral standards. There is a
restraining power in their convictions of right and wrong that
regulates their behavior and actions.
The more knowledge they gain the
more useful they are because they
use that knowledge within the
framework of their principles of
proper conduct. Correct principles of
conduct keep a person acting in a
civil manner toward his neighbor,
and society, at all times.
The government has the responsibility to maintain outward civil
conduct in society. There are those
who do not have the controlling
inward conviction of moral principle
to regulate their civil conduct. All
such persons are potential terrorists.
Any person who has the controlling

To the extent that any of us are liable to lose the

controlling power of moral conviction, we are potential
terrorists.

Friends, if we are really serious

about diminishing terroristic activities,
we must start by eliminating the
entertainment shows that contain
violence. Even the great publicity
given to acts of violence on the news
spawns a certain interest in some
minds to commit acts more horrendous in order to gain greater publicity.
We will show a terrible blindness if
we spend billions on looking overseas
for terrorists while we continue to
spend billions on entertainment that
breeds terrorists here at home.

4. Education and Religion

It is a fact that the majority of
terroristic acts have been carried
out in the name of religion (consider
the Crusades, the persecutions of the
Waldenses, and so on). It is an
axiom of moral law that to the extent
that something can serve a good and
upright purpose, to the same extent,
when it is abused, misused, and
perverted, it can serve an evil and
destructive purpose.

power of moral convictions and then

loses that inward principle of
control, is a potential terrorist. To the
extent that any of us are liable to
lose the controlling power of moral
conviction, we are potential terrorists.
Some people lack the strength of
conviction to keep them from
drinking alcohol, and under its
influence commit atrocious acts of
terrorism. Yet, little is being done
to stop this breeding ground of
terrorism. The civil government must
use the sword to punish incivility
and to place a restraint through fear
upon those who lack inward moral
restraint. As long as people behave
in a civil manner toward their fellow
man, no one has a right to punish or
restrain them because of what it is
supposed that they might think, or
become, or do in the future. The
governments role in preventing
terrorism consists to a large
degree in placing penalties upon
terrorism that are severe enough

11

to place a healthy fear in the hearts

of those who lack moral principle.
Using different methods of
defense is also a preventive measure.
We prevent damage from rain by
making a watertight roof, rather
than analyzing every cloud, and
then blowing up the ones that might
drop rain. Otherwise we would end
up chasing every cloud.
Some of our methods of prevention for defense may involve tighter
security in transportation, the
elimination of terrorist training
facilities, and so forth. But the
method of prevention that might
endeavor to detect all who are likely
to engage in potential acts of
terrorism could easily end up going
too far. The civil government cannot
safely assume the role of identifying
those religions or groups that are
likely to be dangerous, or of trying to
regulate them beyond the bound-

with the power of modern science to

destroy, will in the end accomplish
its own destruction. Without the
presence of a great directing moral
force, intelligence will either not be
developed, or if it be developed, will
prove self-destructive.
In education the whole being
must be taken into consideration. It
is not enough to train the hand, the
eye, to quicken the perception of
sense, develop the quickness of the
intellect, and leave out of consideration the building of the character,
the aspiration of the soul.
We do not need more material
development, we need more
spiritual development. We do not
need more knowledge, we need
more character. We do not need
more government, we need more
culture. We do not need more law,
we need more religion. We do not
need more of the things that are

Educate our people to get out of the cities into the

country, where they can obtain a small piece of land,
and make a home for themselves and their children.

aries which govern all civil relations.

As soon as the government takes
sides for or against any religion,
intolerance and religious persecution are sure to result.
It is upon the churches that a
great weight of responsibility rests
for the education of correct principles of moral rectitude. Many years
ago a president of the United States
said:
It was not education that
founded religion, but it was religion
that founded education. It was
beside the place of worship that
there grew up the school.
This important fact cannot be
ignored in our development of
education. Without its spirit either
civilization will fall of its own
weight, and that deep, abiding
wisdom which supports society will
cease to exist, or we shall have a
type of mind keen in intelligence,
but greedy and cruel, which, armed

12

seen, we need more of the things

that are unseen. It is on that side of
life that it is desirable to put the
emphasis at the present time. If
that side is strengthened, the other
side will take care of itself. It is
that side which is the foundation
of all else. If the foundation be firm
the superstructure will stand. 13
The churches bear a responsibility to do for society what the civil
government cannot donamely, to
educate our citizens in principles of
morality in such a way that there is
the inward restraint of noble and
upright principles of thought and
action.

5. The Urban Trend

Perhaps the disaster of September
11, 2001, should be a wake-up call
to Americans, and to the rest of the
world, that congregating together in
cities is not the best plan. Cities are
prime targets for terrorism.

Around the end of the nineteenth

century, 80% of the population lived
out in the country and 20% in the
cities. By the late 20th century, 80%
of the population lived in the cities
and 20% lived out in the country.
Some statistics now indicate that as
little as 2% of the population are
growing the food and agricultural
fiber produced in the United States.
This makes the majority of the
population very dependent for food,
fiber, and sustenance upon others.
The sustaining of most of the
population has become an extremely
fragile and vulnerable process.
We can diminish the likelihood
of terrorism by diminishing the large
population centers that are attractive
targets for terroristic activities.
Encouraging people to move out of
the cities into places where they
have enough land to grow food, if
necessary, would greatly increase
the true strength and ability of our
people to avoid many liabilities of
city living, and to weather the
inevitable ups-and-downs of economic cycles.
About one hundred years ago an
author with deep insight wrote,
Keep out of the cities. . . . Educate
our people to get out of the cities
into the country, where they can
obtain a small piece of land, and
make a home for themselves and
their children. . . . Erelong there will
be such strife and confusion in the
cities, that those who wish to leave
them will not be able. Country
Living, pages 1011.

Summary
Let us be exceedingly careful that
we do not think that because
persons with an Islamic background
committed acts of terrorism, therefore
we must be suspicious of all Islamics; let us not think that because
some terrorists are of Arab descent,
all people of Arab lineage are likely
to be terrorists.
Our government should appropriately punish acts of terrorism, but
we must carefully consider the farreaching implications of trying to
identify and eradicate terrorists.
Especially must we guard against
the gross irresponsibility of thinking

Our Firm Foundation

that in punishing innocent people we

would be getting back at those who
have committed terroristic crimes, for
in doing so we would be committing
one of the most heinous of terroristic
crimesthat of wrongfully depriving
others of their inalienable rights of
life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness simply in the name of
wanting to feel a greater sense of
security for ourselves.
One of the features of Americas
strength and nobility has been its
haven of freedom, and liberty of
conscience, regardless of race, creed,
or ethnic background. Our Constitution has sustained the great principle of freedom displayed in the
right of a person to be considered
innocent until proven guilty. What
a tragedy it would be if we were to
discard these important principles of
liberty in the pursuit of those whom
we might classify as terrorist
because of race, religion, or background. It might be that the greatest
terroristic threat begins much closer
to home than we think. !
References:
1

4
5
6
7
8

10
11
12
13

When Evil Confronts Us . . . How Should

We Respond? SIGNS Special Issue, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, 11.
See Washington Post article found on
their website ( http://www.
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/
specials/attacked/A3472
2001Oct28.html ).
Reported in The Satanic Roots of Rock n
Roll by Donald Phau, The New Federalist,
July 27, 1989. This was one of many incidents described, and which took place
during the performance of the Rolling
Stones Sympathy for the Devil.
Remote Controlled, 93.
Washington Post, February 14, 1991.
Remote Controlled, 98.
Ibid., 99.
See Television and Growing Up: The Impact
of Televised Violence, Report to the Surgeon
General from The Surgeon Generals Scientific Advisory Committee on Television
and Social Behavior, January 19, 1972.
Note especially that on pages 201202,
the definition of violence is broadened to
include the experience of the victims of
violence, even when such violence is accomplished through bureaucratic or institutional activities.
For documentation of some of these see
Joe Wheeler, Remote Controlled, Review &
Herald Publishing Company, 1993.
See The Television Time Bomb, 34.
Ibid., 35.
Ibid., 30.
Calvin Coolidge (1925), Americas Great
Need for Education, 7475.

Volume 17, Number 4

Liberty in the
Balance
Standish, Colin D.
Standish, Russell R.
Hartland Publications
Prophecy foretells a time when the
civil and religious liberties we now
enjoy will be wrenched from those who
are determined to serve God and obey
His commandments. This book shows
just how close we are living to that day.
We live in a time when the powers of
darkness are working behind the scenes
to restrict the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Read and recapture the clarity of thinking that gave
America its truest freedoms. Prepare yourself to engage in
the battle to preserve religious liberty.
Paperback, 263 pages, 1998

Price: $12.95
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Sundays
Coming!
Reid, G. Edward
Omega Productions
The final countdown has
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our Godhigh and lifted up
above this world. This book will
strengthen your confidence in the
prophetic record and make your
understanding of prophecy real
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events in the United States reveal
that Sundays Coming!
Paperback, 251 pages, 1996

Price: $14.95
Catalog # BERG-SCOM

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13

news
watch
JOHN KORPONAY
Learning From Babylon?
News Item: Professor of psychology
at the Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary,
Evangelical Presbyterian minister,
Professor of preaching at Fuller
Theological Seminary,
Pastor of William and Mary Hart
Presbyterian Church,
Minister for the Society of Friends
Plymouth Congregational Church,
Word Publishing,
John Knox Press,
Advertising for Professional
Growth Seminars, Pulpits on Fire:
Hear the Word well-handled by
men and women known for dynamic, life-changing preaching.
Discover again how great preaching
can rebuild a nation, a community
and a congregation. Ministry,
January 2002.
End-time Perspective: What do all
of the above ministers of other
denominations, professors from nonSeventh-day Adventist schools, nonSeventh-day Adventist publishers
and advertising have in common? A
few things: 1) They all appear in the
January 2002, issue of Ministry
magazine, the main organ of the
Ministerial Department of the
Seventh-day Adventist (SDA)
Church, to help inspire pastors in
our churches; 2) They are all nonSeventh-day Adventist except for the
Pulpits on Fire Seminars, sponsored by Ministry magazine; however, even the seminar speakers are
mostly non-SDA; 3) A large portion
of the magazine is made up of
articles by the ministers and professors listed.
It is a very sad and alarming day
when we, who have the true doctrines of Scripture, and have been
given the commission to call people

out of Babylon, invite teachers and

preachers from Babylon (though
they may be there unwittingly), to
inspire and teach us. The titles of
two of the articles in the magazine,
Preaching Christian Doctrine,
and, Preaching with Freedom,
illustrate the point.
In the book review section all the
recommended reading is by nonSDA writers. It is even stated
regarding one book: While Adventists who have a unique understanding of eschatology may find some of
the interpretations of the Apocalypse
and the last-day events not to their
liking, there is plenty of background
material even here as to be of critical
usefulness for biblical preaching. For
example, the study of the seven
churches has much to offer to our
preaching on the subject.
The Scripture says that by
beholding we become changed. See
2 Corinthians 3:18. This is another
evidence showing the change within
our church that indicates that we
are repeating the history of Israel of
old in their apostasy.
We are not just in the time of the
end, but at the end of time. There
will not be another denomination.
The Lord will use those who have
been drinking His pure and clean
water of lifenot imbibing the wine
of Babylon. He will pour out His
Spirit upon them, enabling them to
finish proclaiming the warning
message.

Harry PotterGood or Bad?

News Item #1: The most obvious
problem, of course, is the authors
use of the symbol-world of the occult
as her primary metaphor, and
occultic activities as the dramatic
engine of the plots. It presents these
to the child reader through attractive
role models, such as Harry and
Hermione, who are students of

Have a news item of interest?

contact [email protected]
To mail or fax us a copy, see page 3
14

witchcraft and sorcery. This has the

potential of lowering a childs guard
both subconscious and spiritual
to actual occult activity, which is
everywhere and growing. . . .
Wholesome fantasy, regardless
of how wildly imaginative it may be,
reinforces the moral order of the
universe in a childs mind. Corrupt
fantasy undermines it. The Potter
world is corrupt fantasy with a little
cosmetics. The cosmetics are the
values woven into the tale by the
author.
In modern culture, we have all
become accustomed to eating a
certain amount of poison in our diet;
indeed, most of us no longer even
recognize the poison.
I believe thats why many
educators and parents simply dont
recognize the scope of the problem
with the Potter books. . . .
Most urgently, we must recognize that the nature of the spiritual
war in which we are all immersed is
changing rapidly, entering a new
phase of intensity.
Source: National Catholic Register,
December 1622, 2001, from an
article entitled Michael OBrien:
Beware the Danger of Harry Potter.
News Item #2: These stories were
never intended for children under
age 7. If your child must read the
books, be sure to read them to him/
her. Stop and discuss what you are
reading. Ask, Is this glorifying
Jesus, or the other guy?
Author Sally Pierson Dillon
offers the following recommendations for parents or leaders who face
decisions about these books:
Remember who the enemy
is, and who the enemy ISNT: Harry
Potter is NOT the enemy. . . . Satan is
the enemy.
Know who is at risk: Young
people who are curious, dissatisfied,
bereaved, psychically inclined,
rebellious, credulous, or even
conformists can be at risk from
reading this material. . . .
Get your facts straight: Harry
Potter is NOT a Satanist book or
one that teaches witchcraft. Harry

Our Firm Foundation

Potter IS a book that glamorizes the

supernatural. (Many other widely
sold bookspast and presentdo
this as well.)
Dont be intimidated by the
occult: [1 John 4:4, NIV quoted.]. . . .
Put on your armor before
studying about these issues.
Christianity Today, January 10,
2000, is quoted, saying, Rowlings
series is a Book of Virtues with a
preadolescent funny bone. Amid the
laugh-out-loud scenes are wonderful
examples of compassion, loyalty,
courage, friendship, and even selfsacrifice. No wonder young readers
want to be like these believable
characters.
Source: Dealing with Harry
Potter: Fight or Flight in the
Childrens Leader, Spring 2001,
published by the Childrens Ministries Department, North American
Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
PERCENTAGE OF UK
COVERED

End-time Perspective: As you read

the above quotations, you will notice
that one is from Catholics, and the
other from Seventh-day Adventists.
We are just about overwhelmed at
the contrast between what the
followers of the beast power, who
see the danger, are saying, and how
we, who are supposed to be sounding a clear note of warning, are
actually muting and mitigating the
warnings of danger. However, Ellen
White gives clear warnings regarding this issue:
As spiritualism more closely
imitates the nominal Christianity of
the day, it has greater power to
deceive and ensnare. Satan himself
is converted, after the modern order
of things. He will appear in the
character of an angel of light. . . .
The line of distinction between
professed Christians and the
ungodly is now hardly distinguish-

able. Church members love what the

world loves and are ready to join
with them, and Satan determines to
unite them in one body and thus
strengthen his cause by sweeping all
into the ranks of spiritualism. The
Great Controversy, 588.
As the storm approaches, a
large class who have professed faith
in the third angels message, but
have not been sanctified through
obedience to the truth, abandon their
position and join the ranks of the
opposition. By uniting with the
world and partaking of its spirit,
they have come to view matters in
nearly the same light; and when the
test is brought, they are prepared to
choose the easy, popular side. Ibid.,
608.
Let us pray for eyesalve and
repent of our blindnessindividually and corporatelybefore it is too
late. !

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Volume 17, Number 4

15

The Sanctuary Truth

ruly God is good to Israel,

even to such as are of a clean
heart. But as for me, my feet
were almost gone; my steps had well
nigh slipped. For I was envious at
the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Psalm 73:13.
Just as David wondered and agonized over the seeming unfairness of
the apparent success of the sinful
lifestyles of those around him, many
other discouraged believers through
the ages have also agonized over the
apparent victory of evil over good.
But in verse 17 the psalmist tells
us how he discovered the answer to
his agony of soul: Until I went into
the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. He went into the
sanctuary of Gods presence and
gained the understanding he needed
to keep his trust firmly in the Lord.
But it is good for me to draw near
to God: I have put my trust in the
Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy
works. Verse 28.
Centuries later, when Gods
earthly sanctuary was destroyed in
the time of Daniel, and evil seemed
to have total control of even Gods

16

place of worship, God revealed to

one of His most trusted servants the
exact time when the sins that defiled
Gods sanctuary would finally be
taken care of, bringing in the final
triumph of righteousness: Then I
heard one saint speaking, and
another saint said unto that certain
saint which spake, How long shall
be the vision concerning the daily
sacrifice, and the transgression of
desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under
foot? And he said unto me, Unto
two thousand and three hundred
days; then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed. Daniel 8:1314.
In the September 2001 issue of
Our Firm Foundation, an article
entitled 1844: Is It Biblical? was
published showing how we have
established the exact dates involved
in the 2300-year prophecy, and
showing how the word of prophecy
has come true in history. Let us now
take a closer look at the cleansing of
the sanctuary.
When we look at the Jewish
church in Jesus day, we see a great
ignorance of the issues involved in

the sanctuary services. The services

were performed every day, but the
people lost sight of what they
representedthe issues of sin,
cleansing, and righteousness.
It was because of the peoples
unwillingness to let go of this world
and what it offers, that their minds
became clouded, which resulted in
compromise after compromise with
it. Their definition of darkness and
light was not Gods definition, for
popularity with peers had blinded
their discernment. And the light
shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . He
came unto his own, and his own
received him not. John 1:5, 11.
So it happened, as God foretold
through Isaiah in chapter 53, that
they decided that the pure, holy, Sinbearer was the sinful One, and not
themselves: Surely he hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. Verse
4. They rejected the very One they
needed for salvation and deliverance. Yet God, through His amazing
grace, gave them another chance to

Our Firm Foundation

Illustration: Bob Bresnahan

John Korponay

have a place in His kingdom. This

chance was given them at the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost.
We are familiar with the history
that followed this great illumination,
and how Satan tried to choke it out.
But again, God, by His great grace,
caused light to shine during the
Reformation era so that those who
were in ignorance of Gods power to
save, would be given knowledge.
The reformers preached and taught
the forgiveness of sins, and Gods
acceptance of the penitent sinner
through His righteousnessall by
faith in God and His promises. This
aspect of our salvation is all symbolized in the outer court and holyplace ministry of the sanctuary
service.
An Israelite who realized that he
had disobeyed one of Gods commandments came to the sanctuary
bringing the specified animal for a
sin offering. He then confessed his
sin over it, symbolically transferring
his sin to it. The animals blood was
shed in the place of his own so that
he could receive forgiveness.
These sins were not removed
from the sanctuary during the year;
they remained until the great and
solemn Day of Atonement. That day
was designated by God to be used to
cleanse the sanctuary of all the sins
that had been collected there during
the year. It is also very interesting to
note that there was preparation
required for that day. For nine days
before, the feast of blowing of
trumpets signaled that the sacred
year was about to close, and that all
of the sins from the past year that
had accumulated in the sanctuary
would be finally cleansed away on
the approaching Day of Atonement.
It was to be the most solemn, sacred
Sabbath of the year.
Let us note the two requirements
that were to be participated in by the
whole congregation on that day, on
pain of death: one was to afflict your
soul; the other was to do no secular
work: For whatsoever soul it be
that shall not be afflicted in that
same day, he shall be cut off from
among his people. And whatsoever
soul it be that doeth any work in

Volume 17, Number 4

that same day, the same soul will I

destroy from among his people.
Leviticus 23:2930.
Even the under and outer
clothing of the priest had to be of a
sacred, holy kind, according to
Gods direction. See Leviticus 16:4.
After the great disappointment of
1844 the realization that the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven had
begun, brought comfort and courage
to the believers. It also helped clarify
the nature of the warning message
to be given to Babylon and its sister
churches.

Rest From Your Own Works

Brothers and sisters, are you
living in the attitude of the Day of
Atonement, afflicting your soul,
resting from your own works and
realizing that it is very possible that
your probation could close at any
time?
The rest that the Israelites were
commanded to observe on that day
needs to be observed by us every
day. We can do this by not concentrating on getting ahead of others,
getting a better job, building a bigger

Are you living in the attitude of the Day of Atonement,

afflicting your soul, resting from your own works and
realizing that it is very possible that your probation
could close at any time?
Ye Are the Temple of God
Another very important aspect of
the sanctuary and the temple of God
needs to be brought in here. According to Paul and Jesus, the temple of
God, in a mysterious way, is also in
us: Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you? If any man
defile the temple of God, him shall
God destroy; for the temple of God is
holy, which temple ye are.
1 Corinthians 3:1617. When Jesus
was here, He referred to His body as
the temple of God: But he spake of
the temple of his body. John 2:21.
As we are brought into union
with God, we need to realize that we
become a sanctuary for Him. The
work that is going on in the heavenly sanctuary must also take place
within us, for we represent Gods
sanctuary here on earth.
The Lord declared through the
prophet Isaiah, For thus saith the
high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell
in the high and holy place, with him
also that is of a contrite and humble
spirit, to revive the spirit of the
humble, and to revive the heart of the
contrite ones. Isaiah 57:15.

house; on what, when, and where to

entertain ourselves; or on worrying
if our retirement nest egg is big
enough to keep us in comfort. These
are just a few of the worries that the
average, worldly minded person
cannot rest from. But we are not
supposed to be of this world. We
may have a security and a rest that
the natural man does not know
about, if we have ceased from our
own works (see Hebrews 4:10), and
have stopped making provision for
the flesh (Romans 13:14).
When we look at Jesus and trust
Him every day during the week,
then the seventh-day Sabbath will
become a delight, because according
to the commandment we do not
have to talk of worldly goals, plans,
and pleasures. See Isaiah 58:13. This
is the only way that the seventh-day
Sabbath becomes the seal inwardly
and outwardly for the members of
the church of Godtruly entering
into Gods rest physically, mentally,
and spiritually.

Afflict Your Soul

The second requirement on the
Day of Atonement necessary in
order for us to participate in it is
not as pleasant for us to fulfill as

17

the first, but it is very necessary to

break Satans hold upon us,
especially as we near the day of
our redemption. The Israelite was
to afflict his soul by examining his
life throughout the past year, and
in the present. Ours must not be
merely a casual or superficial
examination, but one that goes
deepso deep that it hurtsto
find the idols of distrust, dishonesty, selfishness, and pride that are
hiding in our hearts.
Notice that in Hebrews 4, after
telling us to enter into Gods rest (as
on the Day of Atonement), Paul
warns us that we must prepare for a
day of accounting: For the word of
God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing

admit it and repent quickly while

we still have an Advocate with the
Father. Repent with a repentance
that need not be repented of, following the example of Peter and the
other disciples. See 2 Corinthians
7:10.
Do not be afraid to discover the
truth, because it will come out
either now by your will, or later by
Gods will when it will be too late.
The unrepentant soul will find no
shelter from the wrath of God: And
I heard a great voice out of the
temple saying to the seven angels,
Go your ways, and pour out the
vials of the wrath of God upon the
earth. Revelation 16:1.
Pray and work with God to
recover your first-love experience:
Nevertheless I have somewhat

Do not be afraid to discover the truth, because it will

come outeither now by your will, or later by Gods will
when it will be too late.

Scripture Memory
Tools for Children
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1 Corinthians 13
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The Beatitudes
Catalog # AETW-BEAT

asunder of soul and spirit, and of

the joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart. Neither is there any
creature that is not manifest in his
sight: but all things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of him with
whom we have to do. Hebrews
4:1213.
Gods people were directed to
afflict their souls, emphasizing
the seriousness and vital importance of examining their motives
and thoughts. The only difference
for us now is that we should not
be waiting for a certain day to
come: Behold, now is the accepted
time; behold, now is the day of
salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2. Now
is the time to cooperate with the
Holy Spirit. Now is the time to
know whether we are truly in love
with Christ, or if we are just doing
a great job of acting.
Where is your heart? Who really
has it? God forbid that it is like Lots
wifesstill in Sodomor like the
Israelitesstill in Egypt. But, if it is,

18

against thee, because thou hast left

thy first love. Remember therefore
from whence thou art fallen, and
repent, and do the first works; or
else I will come unto thee quickly,
and will remove thy candlestick out
of his place, except thou repent.
Revelation 2:45.
These two elementsresting
from our own works and afflicting
the soul on account of sinthese are
the practical applications of the
sanctuary truth that the churches of
Babylon have rejected ever since
1844. What a unique privilege and
responsibility is upon us to live and
share this truth that no other church
believes, much less teaches! The
warning message of the third angel
must be sounded, so that those
deceived ones who are in darkness
may be saved.
We are to live daily in the fear
and love of God, waiting with eager
expectation for His appearing,
working with Him for the salvation
of those around us. May the Lord
help us. !

Isaiah 53
Catalog # AETW-IS53

The Lords Prayer

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Psalm 139
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Psalm 23
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Psalm 91
Catalog # AETW-PS91

The Ten Commandments

Catalog # AETW-TCOM

The Temptations of Jesus

Catalog # AETW-TOJE
See page 3 for shipping and
sales-tax information.

Our Firm Foundation

defending
the faith
GWEN RICHTER

Christs Human Nature

How to mark your Bible and be ready to share your faith

The Editors

Bible Marking Directions

On a blank page in the front or
back of your Bible, write the study
title, the code, and the first reference.
This months entry would appear as
follows: Christs Human Nature,
CHN1: Genesis 3:15.
Turn to the first verse and write
the comment (if you wish to use the
comments), and the next reference in
the margin near it. If the comment is
long, you can write it at the top or
bottom of the page, with an asterisk
or the code of the study to refer you
to it.
Turn to the next text and repeat
the process until you reach the end.
Beside the last text, write End
CHN.
Go through the study to check
for broken links.
Share the study with someone!

Volume 17, Number 4

With every wind of doctrine

blowing in Adventism today, we
must be grounded in truth and
prepared to defend it as thrusts
come from every direction. Last
month we looked at the Divinity of
Christ; this month we study Christs
human nature.

man, thereby identifying Himself

with us.

CHN1: Genesis 3:15.

CHN9: Matthew 1:21.

God promised Adam and Eve

that He would send the seed of the
woman to rescue us from our
enemy.

Jesus came to save us from our

sins.

CHN2: Philippians 2:7.

The Son of God and of man can

make us free from sinfrom transgressing against the law.

Jesus was made in the likeness of

men.

CHN3: Romans 1:3.

Gods Son Jesus Christ was
made flesh.

CHN4: Romans 8:3.

CHN 8: Hebrews 4:1516.

As the Son of man, Jesus had no
advantage over us we, too, can
live victoriously over sin by the
power of the Holy Spirit.

CHN10: John 8:3436.

CHN11: 1 John 3:45.

Jesus was manifested to take
away our sins.

CHN12: Titus 2:1114.

He was made in sinful flesh just

as we are.

Jesus gave Himself to redeem us

from iniquity, and to purify a people
unto good works.

CHN5: Galatians 4:45.

CHN13: Hebrews 5:89.

He was subject to the law just as

we are.

Jesus was our Example of

obedience.

CHN6: Hebrews 2:11, 1418.

CHN14: Romans 8:26, 13.

Jesus was tempted like as we

are because He was made like
unto his brethren.

As Jesus conquered sin by

combining human nature with His
divine nature, we can receive
through Him power to live a life of
righteousness by combining our
human nature with His divine
nature. !

CHN7: Mark 2:28.

Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath,
referred to Himself as the Son of

For more information on Bible marking, or for a greater selection of

studies, go to http://www.biblemarking.com or refer to Mark Your Bible!
in the August 2001 issue of Our Firm Foundation.

Photo: Corbis

Sanctify the Lord God in your

hearts: and be ready always to give
an answer to every man that asketh
you a reason of the hope that is in
you with meekness and fear.
1 Peter 3:15. We need to be able to
give an answer for our faith. Marking your Bible can give you the edge
you need. It takes work, but the
rewards are worth all the effort.
We pray that you will be blessed
by these studies. As you mark them,
may you be encouraged to spend
more time in Gods Word and to
search out the hidden things of God.
Always be sure to look for opportunities to share them with others.

19

he Lord has condescended to

give you an outpouring of His
Holy Spirit. At the camp
meetings, and in our various
institutions, a great blessing has
been showered upon you. You have
been visited by the heavenly messengers of light and truth and power,
and it should not be thought a
strange thing that God should thus
bless you. How does Christ subdue
His chosen people to Himself?It is
by the power of His Holy Spirit; for
the Holy Spirit, through the Scriptures, speaks to the mind, and
impresses truth upon the hearts of
men.
Before His crucifixion, Christ
promised that the Comforter should
be sent to His disciples. He said: It
is expedient for you that I go away:
for if I go not away, the Comforter
will not come unto you; but if I
depart, I will send him unto you.
And when he is come, he will
reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment. . . .
When he, the Spirit of truth, is come,
he will guide you into all truth: for
he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall

20

he speak; and he will shew you

things to come. He shall glorify me:
for he shall receive of mine, and
shall shew it unto you. John 16:7
8, 1314.
This promise of Christ has been
made little enough of, and because
of a dearth of the Spirit of God, the
spirituality of the law and its eternal
obligations have not been comprehended. Those who have professed
to love Christ, have not comprehended the relation which exists
between them and God, and it is
still but dimly outlined to their
understanding. They but vaguely
comprehend the amazing grace of
God in giving His only begotten Son
for the salvation of the world. They
do not understand how far reaching
are the claims of the holy law, how
intimately the precepts of the law
are to be brought into practical life.
They do not realize what a great
privilege and necessity are prayer,
repentance, and the doing of the
Words of Christ. It is the office of the
Holy Spirit to reveal to the mind the
character of the consecration that
God will accept. Through the agency
of the Holy Spirit, the soul is

enlightened, and the character is

renewed, sanctified, and uplifted.
Through the deep movings of the
Spirit of God, I have had opened
before me the character of the work
of the visitation of the Spirit of God.
I have had opened before me the
danger in which souls would be
placed who had been thus visited;
for afterward, they would have to
meet fiercer assaults of the enemy,
who would press upon them his
temptations to make of none effect
the workings of the Spirit of God,
and cause that the momentous
truths presented and witnessed by
the Holy Spirit, should not purify
and sanctify those who had received
the light of Heaven, and thus cause
that Christ should not be glorified in
them.
The period of great spiritual
light, if that light is not sacredly
cherished and acted upon, will be
turned into a time of corresponding
spiritual darkness. The impression
made by the Spirit of God, if men do
not cherish the sacred impression,
and occupy holy ground, will fade
from the mind. Those who would
advance in spiritual knowledge

Our Firm Foundation

Photos: PhotoDisc; Composition: Kevin H. Patterson

Ellen G. White

must stand by the very fount of God,

and drink again and again from the
Wells of salvation so graciously
opened unto them. They must never
leave the Source of refreshment; but
with hearts swelling with gratitude
and love at the display of the
goodness and compassion of God,
they must be continually partakers
of the living Water.
O, how much this means to every
soulI am the light of the world
(John 8:12); I am the bread of life:
he that cometh to me shall never
hunger [for anything more satisfying]; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst (John 6:35). To
come to this condition means that
you have found the Source of light
and love, and have learned when
and how you may be replenished,
and may make use of the promises
of God by continually applying
them to your souls.
But I said unto you, That ye
also have seen me, and believe not.
Verse 36. This has been literally
fulfilled in the cases of many; for the
Lord gave them a deeper insight into
truth, into His character of mercy
and compassion and love; and yet
after being thus enlightened, they
have turned from Him in unbelief.
They saw the deep movings of the
Spirit of God; but when the insidious temptations of Satan came in, as
they always will come after a season
of revival, they did not resist unto
blood, striving against sin; and
those who might have stood on
vantage ground, had they made a
right use of the precious enlightenment that they had, were overcome
by the enemy. They should have
reflected the light that God gave to
them upon the souls of others; they
should have worked and acted in
harmony with the sacred revealings
of the Holy Spirit; and in not doing
so, they suffered loss.
Among the students the spirit of
fun and frolic was indulged. They
became so interested in playing
games that the Lord was crowded
out of their minds; and Jesus stood
among you in the playground,
saying, O that thou hadst known,
even thou, at least in this thy day,
the things which belong unto thy

Volume 17, Number 4

peace! Luke 19:42. Ye also have

seen me, and believe not. Yes;
Christ revealed Himself to you, and
deep impressions were made as the
Holy Spirit moved upon your hearts;
but you pursued a course by which
you lost these sacred impressions,
and failed to maintain the victory.
All that the Father giveth me shall
come to me; and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. John
6:37. You began to come to Christ,
but you did not abide in Christ. You
forsook Him, and the realization you
had had of the great favors and
blessings He had given you, was
lost from your heart.

tian will be filled with cheerfulness

and peace, because he lives as
seeing Him who is invisible; and
those who seek Christ in His true
character have within them the
elements of everlasting life, because
they are partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruptions that are in the world through
lust. Jesus said, This is the Fathers
will which hath sent me, that of all
which he hath given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up
again at the last day. And this is the
will of him that sent me, that every
one which seeth the Son, and
believeth on him, may have everlast-

The period of great spiritual light, if that light is not

sacredly cherished and acted upon, will be turned into a
time of corresponding spiritual darkness.

The question of amusement

occupied so large a place in your
minds, that after the solemn visitation of the Spirit of God, you entered
into its discussion with such great
zeal that all barriers were broken
down; and through your passion for
games, you neglected to heed the
Word of Christ: Watch ye and pray,
lest ye enter into temptation. Mark
14:38. The place that should have
been occupied by Jesus was usurped
by your passion for games. You
chose your amusements instead of
the comfort of the Holy Spirit. You
did not follow the example of Jesus,
who said, I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but
the will of him that sent me. John
6:38.
The minds of many are so
bewildered with their own human
desires and inclinations, and they
have been so in the habit of indulging them, that they cannot comprehend the true sense of the Scriptures.
Many suppose that in following
Christ they will be obliged to be
gloomy and disconsolate, because
they are required to deny themselves
the pleasures and follies that the
world indulge in. The living Chris-

ing life: and I will raise him up at

the last day. Verses 3940.
All spiritual life is derived from
Jesus Christ. As many as received
him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God. John 1:12.
But what is the sure result of
becoming a child of God?The
result is that we become laborers
together with God. There is a great
work to be done for your own souls
salvation, and to qualify you to win
others from unbelief to a life sustained by faith in Christ Jesus.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He
that believeth on me [with a casual
faith?No, with an abiding faith
that works by love and purifies the
soul] hath everlasting life. I am that
bread of life. . . . I am the living bread
which came down from heaven: if
any man eat of this bread, he shall
live for ever: and the bread that I
will give is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world. . . .
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of
man, and drink his blood, ye have
no life in you. Whoso eateth my
flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath
eternal life; and I will raise him up
at the last day. . . . It is the spirit that

continued on page 23

21

This month we share with you the

next in a series of articles that discuss
how we can cultivate Christian character
traits in the hearts of our children. The
Garden of the Heart, in the February
2001 issue of Our Firm Foundation,
laid the foundation for this series. It is
available upon request.
The Editors

faithful person is one who

fulfills his responsibility, is
trustworthy, and acts from
principle. Faithfulness is more than
a child obeying because his parents
have asked him to do a certain
thing. A child who has learned to be
faithful will do the right thingeven
when his mother and father are not
with him. Faithfulness at its most
basic level is our faith connecting us
with God to accomplish whatever
we need to do.
Can you think of any characters
in the Bible who were faithful?
There are many: the little maid,
Joseph, Daniel, Samuel, Esther and
David. These stories are not simply
history. They were given to us that
we might learn important lessons for
our lives. When you read the story
of Joseph to your child, take the
opportunity to explain to him how
Joseph was faithful in all the aspects
of his life. Then take it the next step,
and ask, Now, how can you be
faithful today? How can you be
faithful like Joseph, or David, or the
little maid?

Teach Faithfulness in Little

Things
Faithfulness is fulfilling your
responsibility, but it also goes deeper
than that. It is being trustworthy,
knowing what is right, and then
doing iteven when others are not
watching. We find an important

22

principle in Luke 16:10: He that is

faithful in that which is least is
faithful also in much.
What is the least for a young
child?It might be clearing their
bowl from the table. That is a little
thing, but when the child learns to
cheerfully put his bowl where it
belongs, he is ready to practice the
same faithfulness in a larger task. It
includes not only the act, but the
attitude in carrying it out.

Do Not Excuse Your Child

Encouraging faithfulness in our
children requires time and patience
on the part of the parent. I may
need to have my child rewrite a
word she put on the paper because
it was not very neat. I may have to
call my child back to rewash a dish
that is still dirty. When our children
have not been thorough, faithfulness
calls them back to finish the job. Let
us not find ourselves getting into the
habit of saying, Oh, that is good
enough, I will do the rest for you.
We must be careful that we do
not teach our children to be slothful
because we grow tired of the
protracted effort, or are too
preoccupied to give them the
guidance they need. Lack of
faithfulness in this area leads to
handicaps that our children should
not go through life withsuch as
not being able to read well, spell
very well, structure sentences in a
letter, or prepare a wholesome, wellbalanced meal. What a blessed
opportunity we have as parents to
show, teach, and train our children
on how to be faithful in all aspects
of real, everyday life!

Give Greater Responsibilities

As children grow older we can
continue to cultivate faithfulness in

them by giving them more, and

larger, responsibilities. These
responsibilities can even be
motivators for them. Our family lives
in Montana, where it is very cold in
the winter. Wood is the fuel we use
to heat our home, cook our meals,
and heat our water, therefore, it is a
vital necessity for our lifestyle. We
often go out together as a family to
gather wood. Our son, Josiah, loves
to go! As he has grown older, he has
become very interested in his
fathers chainsaw. He wanted to
learn how to run the chainsaw, and
then, of course, he began asking to
have his own saw.
We told Josiah, You must be
faithful in all that you do, so that we
know we can trust you with a
chainsaw. We want to know that
when you have a chainsaw you will
be obedient and never operate it
without your fathers presence,
permission, or guidance. This was
a strong incentive for Josiah, and
when he was thirteen, we did get
him a chainsaw. He has proven
himself to be very trustworthy, safe,
and reliable, and now he runs the
chainsaw independently. So does this
mean that every thirteen-year-old should
have a chainsaw?Certainly not! Only
after a child has learned to be faithful,
and has proven himself to be
trustworthy in his other responsibilities,
should such a trust be given to him.
Josiah has learned to be faithful, and so,
now we can trust him with this bigger
responsibility.
In the book, Christs Object
Lessons, 360, we find this wonderful
commentary on what the results of
faithfulness in the small things will
be: By faithfulness in little duties, we
are to work on the plan of addition,
and God will work for us on the
plan of multiplication. These littles

Our Firm Foundation

Photo: PhotoDisc

Faithfulness

will become the most precious

influences in His work.
Let a living faith run like
threads of gold through the
performance of even the smallest
duties. Then all the daily work will
promote Christian growth. There
will be a continual looking unto
Jesus. Love for Him will give vital
force to everything that is
undertaken. Thus through the right
use of our talents, we may link
ourselves by a golden chain to the
higher world. This is true
sanctification; for sanctification
consists in the cheerful performance
of daily duties in perfect obedience
to the will of God. What blessed
words of encouragement these are
for us to faithfully cultivate
faithfulness in our children and
youth! !
Next month we will discuss how
to cultivate generosity.

Cultivating
Christian
Character
in
Children
Waters, Alane
In this series Alane presents the important role of
the parent as the gardener of
the heart. Then 18 different
character qualities are discussed, showing some of the
common pitfalls, as well as
how to practically plant and
cultivate the right seeds of
character.
Set of 6 Audio Cassettes
Catalog # AEWA-CCCI

Only $24!
See page 3 for shipping and
sales-tax information.
Volume 17, Number 4

continued from page 21

quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
nothing: the words that I speak unto
you, they are spirit, and they are life.
But there are some of you that
believe not. For Jesus knew from the
beginning who they were that
believed not, and who should betray
him. And he said, Therefore said I
unto you, that no man can come
unto me, except it were given unto
him of my Father. John 6:4748, 51,
5354, 6365.
When Jesus spoke these words,
He spoke them with authority,
assurance, and power. At times He
manifested Himself in such a way
that the deep movings of His Spirit
were sensibly realized. But many
who saw and heard and participated in the blessings of the hour,
went their way, and soon forgot the
light He had given them.
The treasures of eternity have
been committed to the keeping of
Jesus Christ, to give to whomsoever
He will; but how sad it is that so
many quickly lose sight of the
precious grace that is proffered unto
them through faith in Him. He will

impart the heavenly treasures to

those who will believe in Him, look
to Him, and abide in Him. He
thought it not robbery to be equal
with God, and He knows no
restraint nor control in bestowing
the heavenly treasures upon whom
He will. He does not exalt and
honor the great ones of the world,
who are flattered and applauded;
but He calls upon His chosen,
peculiar people who love and serve
Him, to come unto Him and ask,
and He will give them the bread of
life, and endow them with the water
of life, which shall be in them as a
well of water springing up unto
everlasting life.
Jesus brought to our world the
accumulated treasures of God, and
all who believe upon Him are
adopted as His heirs. He declares
that great shall be the reward of them
who suffer for His names sake. It is
written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God
hath prepared for them that love
him. 1 Corinthians 2:9. !
Review and Herald, January 30, 1894.

Mornings Trumpet
Walton, Lewis R.

New!

We enjoyed the good life

and dozed in front of the television.
But on September 11, 2001, we heard
Mornings Trumpet.
On that morning, Adventist law student Richard
Walton was in his apartment only a few blocks from the
Pentagon. Suddenly an airliner filled his window, crashed through a tree
just outside, and roared eastward. And then there was a ball of fire. . . .
In a single hour, our lives were changed forever, and you didnt have
to be an Adventist to see that; everyone did. The message is clear: it is time
to take the Second Coming very seriously.
This book is a wake-up call that fearlessly challenges the status quo. It
may disturb some. It wont leave you bored!
Paperback, 160 pages, 2001

Price: $10.95
Catalog # BEWL-MTRU
See page 3 for shipping and
sales-tax information.
23

The
Testing
of
Character
S

aul made an appearance of great

conscientiousness and devotion, as he stood before the
army of Israel, offering up a sacrifice
to God. He represented himself
before the people as one who was
unwilling to engage in battle with
the Philistines, without seeking the
help of Heaven, but his heart was
filled with distrust, and his apparent piety was, in reality, only
unbelief and disobedience. He had
been directed by the prophet of God
that when he was brought into just
such circumstances of trial he
should wait until seven days had
expired, and that at the termination
of the days appointed, Samuel
would come unto him, and offer the
sacrifice, and tell him what he
should do to honor God and save
Israel, but Saul had failed to bear the
test that God had permitted to come
upon him, and he resolved to offer
the sacrifice himself, and wait no
longer for the priest ordained of God
to perform the sacred service.
The king beheld the Philistines
arrayed for battle. He saw his own

24

soldiers filled with alarm, and his

ranks thinning with frequent
desertions, and, instead of trusting
in the Word of God, and waiting
patiently for His salvation, he
became faithless and discouraged. In
the hope of again rallying his
scattered troops, he was willing to
violate the direction of God, and
offer an offering before the Lord, that
he might have the approval of the
people, and gather them to his side
to war against the enemy.
The prophet had declared that
the Lord would reveal what course
the king should pursue when the
seven days were ended; but he did
not wait for the arrival of the man of
God, but took the matter into his
own hands. If he had but waited in
faith and patience and rested in the
promise of God, what lessons of
trust might have come down to
inspire us as the result of his life
and experience! What a help he
might have been to Israel, if he had
but stood the test in that hour of
trial! He might have revealed the
work of the Spirit of God in his

heart. Through him might have been

manifested the power and willingness of Jehovah to bless His waiting
people. If he had fulfilled the
conditions upon which the help was
promised, the Lord would have
wrought a marvelous deliverance for
Israel, with the few who were loyal
to the king. But the religious service,
performed in unbelief and in direct
opposition to the commandment of
God, only served to weaken his
hands, and to place him beyond the
help that God was so willing to
grant him.
There are many who are pursuing this very course today. They
refuse to believe and obey the
commandment of the Lord, and yet
they persevere in offering up to God
their formal services of religion; but
there is no response from the Spirit
of God to such a service. There is no
inward work upon the heart, no
reformation in the life, no transformation in the character. Outward
ordinances must not be considered
of value, unless they are in accordance with the expressed will of

Our Firm Foundation

Photo: PhotoDisc

Ellen G. White

God. The Lord cannot manifest His

power to deliver, no matter how
zealous men may be in their observance of religious ceremonies, if they
persist in willful disobedience to His
Commandments.
Those who are placed in positions of trust, will be subjected to
different tests, that their loyalty and
trustworthiness may be proved by
their course of action. The test may
be a simple one, but it will be
sufficient to decide whether or not
the mans spirit is under the control
of the Spirit of God. It will be made
manifest whether or not he will
choose to carry out his own will and
his own ideas, or the will of God as
the Supreme Guide of his actions.
All our actions are weighed. Their
moral worth is estimated. It is
known whether or not we are loyal
to God, whether or not we are
leading those connected with us to
love and fear God, or through the
natural defects of our characters,
unaided by the grace of God, we are
leading those who look to us for an
example into crooked paths, away
from the fear of God, away from the
counsel He gives through His
appointed servants. If we are
indifferent to the instruction given
through the agencies of God, our
hearts will become hardened, the
light ordained for our correction will
appear as darkness, and we will
become agents in leading others into
unbelief and rebellion.
Adam was tested in a very
simple matter, but his failure to
endure the test opened the floodgates of woe upon our world, and
with every disobedience to God are
involved consequences of fearful
import and disaster. The action of
the king before Israel lessened the
significance of the sacrificial service,
and robbed the priesthood of its
sacredness before their eyes. If the
king could, with unconsecrated
hands, perform this holy rite, why
could not the people do the same? If
he thought best to perform this
service, it must be the right thing to
do, and they felt perfectly safe in
following the example of one so
exalted as the king. Those who
occupy positions of honor and

Volume 17, Number 4

responsibility, should be exceedingly

careful to walk circumspectly and
humbly before the Lord, that they
may not become stumbling blocks to
those who are influenced by their
life and example.
The greatest trials that have
come upon the church have been
brought about through the agency
of those who were its professed
friends, and who had been placed
in positions of trust and sacred
responsibility. Our most sanguine
expectations have been frequently
disappointed. We have followed
our best judgment in selecting men
for places of trust, and they have
failed time and again, when the

responsibilities that their position in

nowise warrants, and for which
God has not ordained them.
When circumstances are so
shaped that character is tested and
developed, you should seek fervently
for the help of God that you may be
delivered from evil. If you walk
humbly before God, you will not
follow your own will, but will have
a teachable spirit, and will submit to
instruction and correction. If you
steadfastly adhere to the Word of
God and follow in His way, you
will not imperil others nor in the
least degree seek to turn their minds
away from the warnings, reproofs,
and instructions which God sends

The greatest trials that have come upon the church have
been brought about through the agency of those who
were its professed friends.

test was brought to bear on their

characters. They have exhibited
weaknesses of which they gave no
previous indication. They are not
what they appeared to be before
they were placed in the position.
How often have we finite beings
been led to repent that we have
used our influence toward promoting men who afterwards have
given no evidence of their devotion
to Gods Word and work.
We have often inquired, What
has made this great change in these
men? What was it that led Saul to
presume upon his exaltation to
dishonor God by unbelief and
disobedience?It was self-sufficiency and an evil heart of unbelief.
It was when Saul was little in his
own sight that God chose him to be
ruler over Israel, but when he lost
his spirit of simplicity and humility,
he was not the man for the place,
and his authority was taken from
him. Those who turn from their
humility and begin to exalt self, are
filled with the most unaccountable
infatuation and self-deception in
regard to their own qualifications.
Like Saul, they begin to assume

through His servants; but if you fail

to obey the Word of God, even in the
most perplexing circumstances, you
make it manifest that you cannot be
trusted in times of peril. Like Saul,
you will follow your own judgment.
You will not humble your soul
before God, and make supplication,
and lead those connected with you
to look to God with all their hearts
for the help He has promised to give
in times of need.
The Lord will work for those
who put their trust in Him. Precious
victories will be gained by the
faithful. Precious lessons will be
learned. Precious experiences will be
realized that will be of the greatest
advantage in times of trial and
temptation. Those who will give all
the glory to God, not taking credit to
themselves, will be trusted with
more and more of the blessing of
God. The Lord will be magnified by
those who honor Him in the midst
of the people. The trial that has been
borne with patience, the test that has
been met with faithfulness, will
prove them worthy of responsibility,
and God will make them agents to
carry out His will. They will be

25

made stewards of His grace, as

honored servants of God.
The conflicts of earth, in the
providence of God, furnish the
very training necessary to develop
characters fit for the courts of
Heaven. We are to become members of the royal family, the sons of
God, and all things work together
for good to them that love God
(Romans 8:28), and submit themselves to His will. Our God is an
ever-present help in every time of
need. He is perfectly acquainted
with the most secret thoughts of our
heart, with all the intents and
purposes of our souls. When we are
in perplexity, even before we open to
Him our distress, He is making
arrangements for our deliverance.

Our sorrow is not unnoticed. He

always knows much better than we
do, just what is necessary for the
good of His children, and He leads
us as we would choose to be led if
we could discern our own hearts
and see our necessities and perils,
as God sees them.
But finite beings seldom know
themselves. They do not understand
their own weaknesses, and when
reproof comes, and cautions are
given, when they are rebuked, or
even advised, they think that they
are misjudged and unjustly treated.
God knows them better than they
know themselves, and He understands how to lead them. But when
He undertakes to guide them in
ways which seem mysterious to

them, because of their blindness

and lack of faith, they rebel, and
bring upon themselves unnecessary grief and trouble. They have
prayed to the Lord for light and
guidance, and the Lord answered
them as He did Jacob, and, like
Jacob, they do not discern that it is
the hand of the Lord leading them
in a way contrary to their own
choosing. If we will trust Him, and
commit our ways to Him, He will
direct our steps in the very path
that will result in our obtaining the
victory over every evil passion, and
every trait of character that is
unlike the character of our divine
Pattern. !
Signs of the Times, May 25, 1888.

Project USA
The Law of God ad project is going forward beyond our expectations. I believe God has poured out His
approval and blessings on this particular outreach project; and, we at Hope International are excited and overjoyed
at the response! Now, three months since it began, we have received over 700 requests for the book Final Conflict,
along with Bible studies; and the requests continue to come in daily.
We recently ran the ad in Miami, Florida. Praise the Lord, we had over 75 requests in about 10 days!
As we were describing the responses to our ads in different areas of the U.S. during a recent meeting, one dear
brother who was listening joined in the excitement and pledged $10,000 toward this project.
Brothers and Sisters, the funds are slowly coming in, but they should be coming in faster. The three angels
messages are slowly covering America, and Christs righteousness is being reflected through His law. What an
exciting time to be alive! Are you excited about what God can do through these Ten Commandment ads that are
reaching millions? So far, we have reached about three million people, but we still have 304 million to go. All we
can do is sow the seed. Will you help Hope International accomplish this enormous task?
With our magazine Our Firm Foundation, we are nurturing and strengthening our Seventh-day Adventist brothers and
sisters; however, we need to Go forward (see The Acts of the Apostles, 220) with our outreach program and reach these
millions. The latter rain will soon fall, and what a joy it will be to meet those who were brought to salvation through this
outreach effort. Please ask the Lord what He would have you lay on the altar, and join us.

The Law of God Brochure

Our brochure on The Law of God is finally ready, and we are excited
about the final product!
The cost to send this colorful tract out, including postage, will be about 20
each. This would go to every home in a given ZIP code area, which will be an
excellent tool to uplift the Law of Godperhaps even more effective than the
newspaper ads.
You may order the brochures to give out in person:
1-49 brochures: 20 each
Packets of 50: $5 per packet (10 each)
Cases of 500: $40 per case (8 each)
5000 or more: Please inquire.

Catalog # TEHI-LOGO

If you need a free sample of this mailer, please contact us and we will be happy to send you one.

26

Our Firm Foundation

Volume 17, Number 4

27

Clark A. Floyd

28

This makes me feel bad, for they

seem to represent my life and the
relation I stand in before God.
Ellen White continued, I
thought a stately form walked just
before us and said, Gather the roses
and the lilies and the pinks, and
leave the thistles and unsightly
shrubs, and bruise not the soul that
Christ has in His choice keeping.
Mind, Character, and Personality, vol.
2, 807.
Ellen White had this same dream
three times in a row in one night.
She counseled this woman quite
extensively concerning her negative
attitudes, ending with these words:
Read the following lines and
appropriate the sentiment as your
own:
Other refuge have I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, O leave me not alone!
Still support and comfort me;

All my trust on Thee is stayed,

All my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of Thy wing.
Plenteous grace with Thee is
found
Grace to pardon all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within;
Thou of life the Fountain art,
Freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart,
Rise to all eternity. Ibid., 810.
Of course, the above lines are
verses two and four of the hymn,
Jesus, Lover of My Soul. As
demonstrated, lyrics can be very
important in spiritual as well as in
secular music, either for the positiveas in this hymnor for the
negative.
However, the positive aspect of
good lyrics can be overridden by the

Our Firm Foundation

Photo: PhotoDisc

harles Wesley wrote the

song, Jesus, Lover of My
Soul, in 1740. Most
probably it was prompted by the
deep spiritual change that Wesley
had undergone, a year or two
earlier. His brother, John, objected
to the word lover as being too
familiar for a human to apply to
Divinity. As a result, it was excluded from the Methodist hymn
books before 1779, but not Anglican. 1
This particular hymn was Ellen
Whites favorite hymn,2 and of the
two tunes offered in the old Church
Hymnal, the first, number 401, was
her favorite tune. In her counsel to a
depressed middle-aged woman,
Ellen White related a dream that she
had experienced, I was going
through a garden and you were by
my side. You kept saying, Look at
this unsightly shrub, this deformed
tree, that poor stunted rosebush.

music attached to those lyrics.

Improper musical elements found in
rock music, including Christian
rock, are volume, repetition and beat.
It is a music designed not to be
heard, but to be felt, to be drowned
in . . . stimulating people physically
rather than elevating them spiritually. 3
In the same book just quoted, Dr.
Bacchiocchi reports an experience
that illustrates how the music can
override the lyrics: I was invited to
speak at a church where a rock
band of four young men led out in
the singing. Something surprising
happened when they led out in the
singing of Amazing Grace. It was
not long before the whole congregation was in a swinging mood. Some
even stepped out of the pews and
started dancing on the aisles. It was
evident that the way the band was
playing the hymn with the typical
rock beat had caused the people to
forget the words of the hymn, which
are not an invitation to dance but to
reflect on the amazing grace of God
that saved a wretch like me. 4
We are told to be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may
devour. 1 Peter 5:8. Satan knows
the effects of music, for he had led
the heavenly choir. The Spirit of
Prophecy, vol. 1, 28.
Dear reader, your choice of the
music you listen towhether in
church, in your car, or in your
homecan have a decided consequence upon your eternal salvation.
If we do not take this matter seriously, we shall be deceived, for the
Bible says that if it were possible, the
very elect will be deceived. See
Matthew 24:24.
A genuine love for the truth and
diligence in obeying all the instructions God has given for these last
days will prove to be the only
protection against the delusions of
the enemy, the seducing spirits, and
the doctrine of devils. 5
Daniel mentions that on the
Plain of Dura, all kinds of musick
was used at two different times to
encourage those gathered to worship
the golden image. The summons of

Volume 17, Number 4

the Three Angels Messages to come

out of spiritual Babylon, by rejecting
its false worship, could also well
include the rejection of the music of
Babylon. Soon the whole world will
be gathered for the final showdown
in the antitypical, apocalyptic Plain
of Dura and all kinds of musick
will be played to lead the inhabitants of the earth to worship the
beast and its image(Revelation
14:9). 6
And note what is said in Revelation 18 in regard to this final fall of
spiritual Babylon: And the voice of
harpers, and musicians, and of
pipers and trumpeters, shall be
heard no more at all in thee. Verse
22. Music definitely plays an
important role in last-day events.

beings will become so confused that

they cannot be trusted to make right
decisions. And this is called the
moving of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit never reveals
itself in such methods, in such a
bedlam of noise. This is an invention of Satan to cover up his ingenious methods for making of none
effect the pure, sincere, elevating,
ennobling, sanctifying truth for this
time. Better never have the worship
of God blended with music than to
use musical instruments to do the
work which last January was
represented to me would be brought
into our camp meetings. The truth
for this time needs nothing of this
kind in its work of converting souls.
A bedlam of noise shocks the senses

Your choice of the music you listen towhether in

church, in your car, or in your homecan have a
decided consequence upon your eternal salvation.

In speaking of the young people

of her day, Ellen White said, They
have a keen ear for music, and Satan
knows what organs to excite to
animate, engross, and charm the
mind so that Christ is not desired.
The spiritual longings of the soul for
divine knowledge, for a growth in
grace are wanting.
I was shown that the youth
must take a higher stand and make
the Word of God the Man of their
counsel and their Guide. Solemn
responsibilities rest upon the young,
which they lightly regard. The
introduction of music into their
homes, instead of inciting to holiness and spirituality, has been the
means of diverting their minds from
the truth. The Adventist Home, 407
408.
In another vision Sister White
was shown that the things . . .
described as taking place in Indiana
. . . would take place just before the
close of probation. Every uncouth
thing will be demonstrated. There
will be shouting, with drums, music,
and dancing. The senses of rational

and perverts that which if conducted aright might be a blessing.

The powers of satanic agencies
blend with the din and noise, to
have a carnival, and this is termed
the Holy Spirits working. . . . No
encouragement should be given to
this kind of worship. Selected
Messages, book 2, 3637.
Music was made to serve a holy
purpose, to lift the thoughts to that
which is pure, noble, and elevating,
and to awaken in the soul devotion
and gratitude to God. What a
contrast between the ancient custom
and the uses to which music is now
too often devoted! How many
employ this gift to exalt self, instead
of using it to glorify God! A love for
music leads the unwary to unite
with world lovers in pleasure
gatherings where God has forbidden
His children to go. Thus that which
is a great blessing when rightly
used, becomes one of the most
successful agencies by which Satan
allures the mind from duty and from
the contemplation of eternal things.
Patriarchs and Prophets, 594.

29

It was a Sabbath afternoon in

1915 at Ellen Whites Elmshaven
home in northern California. Several
weeks earlier on February 13, Mrs.
White had broken her hip. From
then on she was confined to bed or
to a wheelchair. She was now past
her 87th birthday. For more than 70
years she had been used by God to
bring messages of hope and encouragement as well as correction and
reproof.
On this particular Sabbath not
long before her death, Ellen White
listened in silence as her family and
some friends sang around her
bedside. Someone began to sing,
Theres a land that is fairer than
day. . . . As the others picked up the
words, they noticed that Mrs. White
was also trying to join them. In her
weak, trembling voice they heard her
sing in little more than a whisper,
We shall sing on that beautiful
shore the melodious songs of the
blest, and our spirits shall sorrow
no more, not a sigh for the blessing
of rest.

To those present it almost seemed

that in anticipation Ellen White was
already singing with the angel choir.
A few days later she spoke her last
words to her son, W.C. White, I know
in whom I have believed. 7
Dear reader, what a blessing
music can be when used properly!
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of
man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him.
1 Corinthians 2:9. You will not want
to miss heaven because of the
misuse of music. Whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31. !
References:
1
2

4
5

6
7

Companion to the SDA Hymnal, 477.

Ellen G. White Estate, Legacy of Light, under this hymn title.
The Christian and Rock Music, edited by
Samuele Bacchiocchi, 15.
Ibid., 1516.
Editors, The Seventh-day Adventist Bible
Commentary, vol. 5, 501; see also Testimonies, vol. 6, 401; Testimonies, vol. 8, 298;
Testimonies to Ministers, 475.
Bacchiocchi, ibid., 169.
Legacy of Light, under Theres a Land that
Is Fairer than Day.

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In the year 2001, Hope International received $8,800 from our faithful
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30

The 1972 Autumn Council of the

General Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists (held October 1419 in
Mexico City), voted guidelines for a
Seventh-day Adventist Philosophy
of Music. In those guidelines, they
listed the following principles to
guide us in our selection of music
for the church.
The music should:
1. Bring glory to God and assist
us in acceptably worshiping Him
(see 1 Corinthians 10:31).
2. Ennoble, uplift, and purify
the Christians thoughts (see
Philippians 4:8; Patriarchs and
Prophets, p. 594).
3. Effectively influence the
Christian in the development of
Christs character in his life and in
that of others (see Manuscript 57,
1906).
4. Have a text which is in
harmony with the scriptural teachings of the Church (see Review and
Herald, June 6, 1912).
5. Reveal a compatibility
between the message conveyed by
the words and the music, avoiding a
mixture of the sacred and the
profane.
6. Shun theatricality and
prideful display (see Evangelism, p.
137; Review and Herald, November
30, 1900).
7. Give precedence to the
message of the text, which should
not be overpowered by accompanying musical elements (see Gospel
Workers, pp. 357358).
8. Maintain a judicious balance
of the emotional, intellectual, and
spiritual elements (see Review and
Herald, November 14, 1899).
9. Never compromise high
principles of dignity and excellence
in efforts to reach people just where
they are (see Testimonies, vol. 9, p.
143; Evangelism, pp. 137138).
10. Be appropriate for the
occasion, the setting, and the
audience for which it is intended
(see ibid., pp. 507508).
The full text of these guidelines
was printed in the September 2000
issue of Our Firm Foundation, 20-23.

Our Firm Foundation

letters to the editor

Have a letter to share?
contact [email protected] or see page 3 for our mailing address.
Your publication has helped us tremendously. Our walk with the Lord is
now becoming very personal, and we are
leaving the trappings of churchianity,
and are awakening to our true condition! May God prosper your ministry!
RG, Tennessee
Hello at Hope! You know, with
what is going on around us in Adventism, in and out of the sister churches of
the GC of SDA, with the latest report
concerning Hope, etal, I found that the
problems it presented were nothing
compared to what Ive been running
into more and more. While the GC
seems to be dealing more with Administrative things, such as, who one
should pay their tithe to; who can be
ordained, and by whom; and, who can
baptize; Ive been dealing with people
who want to return to the former semiArian position of Adventism, or who
want to make feast days a test, or to
bash SDAs for giving any notice to
Christmas. Yet, I find no mention of this
in the ongoing debate. Its as if these
people are sneaking into the side door
of the church to spread their heresy and
are remaining unnoticed. The damage
to the church has got to be significant.
My question is, Why is this so? Why
has it seemed that you have been
singled out, while we hear nothing
about all these others? The GC deals
with the mild issues while the hot issues go unnoticed.
Its with all this in mind that I just
wanted to drop a note to all of you at
Hope to let you know that youre doing
a great job. I appreciate reading your
magazine when I get it, and I have a
goodly sum of reading material published by you that has added greatly to
my understanding. God bless you.
KW, Arizona
I look forward to your monthly
tapes. Wish they were 2 hours long!
I was so happy to be at your camp
meeting in Angwin. I missed out on
seeing Ron Spear and Bill Hughes.
However, Bill Humeniuk and Jesse
Ramirez were so kind to me and gave
wonderful messages. Thanks again!

Volume 17, Number 4

Hope all is going well with the Our

Firm Foundation staff. Blessings to all.
VK, California

From Overseas
Kindly please send to me Seventhday Adventist Christian literature of
any sort. The burden of evangelistic
zeal weighs heavily upon my soul. I
would use it through sharing it with
those around me who are perishing.
ZM, Zimbabwe
I would like to express my deepest
and heartfelt condolences to you and
all the American community for the
horrendous terrorist attack that
caused mass death of fellow citizens.
I am glad to express my heartfelt
thanks and appreciation for the parcel, which you mailed to me, containing Bibles, booklets, and some very inspiring magazines. By sending this
gift, you have helped not just me, but
many thirsty and hungry souls who I
am shepherding. I heartily appreciate
all the help and support you are according me as I engage in this hometo-home gospel evangelism.
There is still a lot of spiritual work
that needs to be done here. And this can
best be accomplished through spiritual
books and literature. So now, I am humbly requesting more copies of the Bible,
Spirit of Prophecy books, Our Firm Foundation magazines, and any other spiritual literature that you can send to keep
advancing the gospel work here.
Please keep helping me to reach
many more souls that are still languishing in Satans bondage and to draw
them to Jesus for salvation. We ought to
devote ourselves wholly to the Lord so
He can use us to reach many with the
great good news (the gospel)! Time for
our Lords Second Advent is very close.
May God help us to remain faithful as
we take His Word to the world.
CN, Kenya
As a young Adventist of twentyone years of age, I have now entered
my senior secondary school. I have to
preach to my friends and people who
are in need so that when God comes

the second time we can be saved from

our sins. The God of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church has helped bring
18 people to the church and 12 people
have been baptized.
I am facing some troubles in my
family. My parents are not Adventists.
They go to the Roman Catholic
church. So, when I am going to school
they refuse to give me money to buy
even a pen to write in the school. So
please, when you are praying, pray
for me and my family.
Please send me some Bibles and
books for my people that I brought to
the church, because they have not
money to buy Bibles. Also, please
send some other publications that will
be helpful. Once again I ask, please
remember me, my parents and the
people whom God helped me to bring
to the church that they stand firm for
the second coming of Jesus Christ, the
Lamb of God Who takes the sin of the
world away.
I will continue to pray for your publications to assist many people to see
light and the path of Jesus. May God
continue to bless you and your workers.
EB, Ghana
Thank you for your love and care
for our evangelistic work here in India, which you have shown by sending a bag of educational materials.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God, and the fellowship of
the Holy Spirit be with you all.
BM, India
We receive many requests for literature from Africa and other impoverished parts of the world. If only half
of what these letters describe is true,
there is an almost limitless need for
truthfilled literature in most of these
countries. Each piece of literature we
send is often read by several people.
We try to help as many as we can;
however, our limited finances keep us
from responding to many of the pleas
for help. If you are impressed to help
send free literature, please mark your
donation Literature Assistance.
The Editors

31

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Hope International
P.O. Box 940
Eatonville, WA 98328
Change Service Requested

Wasserman, Debra
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