I came across a testimony that hit me with a tremendous force of conviction as I saw all the same attributes, arguments and direction that are happening in Adventist churches or with some leaders and even members are taking today.
http://www.sdadefend.com/Weeping-between/Organized%20Apostacy.htm
SDA Link
"...The meeting began with the Pastor asking the Oasis group this question: "Can anybody show me any place in the Bible where it is unlawful to buy or sell on the Sabbath day?" (It was evident that this was meant to be a rhetorical question, not one to be answered). Tim Arnett responded with, "Yes, I can. Nehemiah speaks against buying and selling on the Sabbath day."
*Oasis Study was a study generated by the pastor to study particular issues within Adventism. It must be noted that after this Madison O.S meeting we never had another.
Nehemiah 10 details the covenant the Jews made with God after their restoration to Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 10:31says, "And if the people of the land (non-Jews who didn’t serve God) bring ware or any victuals* on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt."
*victuals in other Bible references and Bible dictionaries refers to food.
Nehemiah 13 details what events occurred 15 or so years after the Jews had made their covenant.
Nehemiah 13: verse 15 "In those days I saw in Judah some treading the wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals." Verse 16, "There dwelt men of Tyre also therein which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem." Verse 17, "Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day?" verse 18, "Did not your fathers thus*, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath." Verse 19, And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day." Verse 20, "So the merchants and the sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice." Verse 21, "Then I testified against them, and said unto them, why lodge ye about the wall? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath." Verse 22, "And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy."
*Read Jeremiah 17:19-27, Ezekiel 8:1-18, and you’ll see what Nehemiah is talking about in Nehemiah 13:18. The Sabbath was profaned by the traffic between the Jews and their heathen neighbors. The modern day hotdog stand, and open-air market would be similar to what they were experiencing at that time only on a larger scale. Can you see Isaiah 58:13,14 or the fourth Commandment, Exodus 20:8-11 being fulfilled in such a setting? When you compare what occurred between the times of Jeremiah and Ezekiel the former being a pre-captivity prophet and the later being himself bound with Daniel in Babylon, one would see that Sabbath breaking led to more grievous sins. The list of abominations committed by the Jews, which led them into captivity is Nehemiah’s focus. It should be ours too!
Here's why. Remember the covenant the Jews made about not buying food and ware from the people of the land? Nehemiah 10:31 Well at this time the men of Tyre were selling fish and wares to the Jews. But later on, in Nehemiah's absence, the Jews themselves were engaged in selling victuals and bearing burdens of foodstuffs (victuals) they were bringing to market. Point made, is that they covenanted then (Nehemiah 10:31) not to buy on the Sabbath, and yet had apostatized to the point of engaging in bringing food to market and engaging in commerce on the Sabbath of the Lord (Nehemiah 13:15-22). They were the ones, who were in the worst transgression, for they were the people of God, and had they not previously confessed by their covenant that these things were unlawful to be done on the Sabbath day? In verse 17, Nehemiah warned them of the evil the Lord had sent upon them. What was Nehemiah’s precedent for saying these things?
Moses warned the Jews of this time in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, which detailed the blessings to follow those who "hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments." And then in verses 15-68 the curses.
Please notice these verses in particular:
45. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes, which he commanded thee:
46. And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed forever.
47. Because thou serest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
48. Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. (See Jeremiah 28:12-14)
49. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; (Jeremiah 4:7, 13; Lamentations 4:12,13, 19)
50. A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:
51. And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.
Once you see the judgments referred to therein, then go and read the prayer of Daniel the prophet found in Daniel 9:1-23. Can you understand why these faithful men of God prayed what they prayed, and warned, and reproved, and rebuked the leaders and people. National apostasy led to national ruin. How does this apply to us? 1Corinthians 10:11, says, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples (examples, patterns): and they are written for our admonition (warning), upon whom the ends of the world are come." Beloved this is why we cannot allow buying and selling in stores or restaurants to come into our experience as Seventh Day Adventist Christians. We’ve come to far to backslide into treating the Holy Sabbath as any other day. Do we not fear God? Shall we test His forbearance in this matter, hoping that He will treat us differently than He did the nation of Judah?
This is what the Lord says in Hebrews 10: 26. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30. For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The Pastor allowed no time for an indebt study of the passages in Nehemiah concerning Sabbath observance, but continued to present his personal views of the proper way to observe the Sabbath using his self-made outline as a study aid. He presented hypothetical situations to explain his views, such as: Would you go into K-mart if your pants were ripped to buy another pair? Is it okay to buy zoo tickets on another day and use them on the Sabbath? ; Although he believed that going to K-mart for pants was in accordance with proper Sabbath observance, he questioned the group to whether purchasing a ticket on another day and using it as entrance to the zoo on the Sabbath was the same as using money. He views a ticket and money as the same thing. It was clear that he was intending to steer the group in one direction—his, and that we were not going to engage in a meaningful Bible study on this topic.
He further stated that he had no problem with grocery shopping during the Sabbath hours, particularly if he had been giving Bible studies all day Friday and hadn’t had a chance to shop. Another situation that he referenced was that of receiving his Conference paycheck once a month. He explained that at times, his paycheck might arrive on Friday or on the Sabbath and he is compelled to grocery shop during the Sabbath hours if there is no food in the house. Some of the group’s comments included such recommendations as; he could borrow food/money from the church or make known his needs; or wait until Saturday night to shop, etc. He stated that Jesus ate fast food on the Sabbath, comparing Jesus and the disciples eating grain to him purchasing fast food on the Sabbath.
Close examination of Matthew 12:1 and Luke 6:1 will reveal that the disciples were hungry and picking grain, not Jesus. Also notice, that the Jews rebuked Jesus for what His disciples were doing. Therefore, any attempt to pattern our lives according to what this context says in regards to eating on the Sabbath day in a field of wheat or corn or whatever it was, can only be applied to what the disciples did. Our true example is Jesus Christ. And although Jesus wasn’t gathering grain on the Sabbath, he defended his disciples and told the Pharisees that the disciples weren’t profaning the Sabbath. The letter of the fourth precept wasn’t transgressed in the slightest. Traditions of men were what the Jews were governed by in this matter.
We ought to walk as He walked according to 1 John 2:6. And Paul says in Colossians 2:6, "As ye have received Christ Jesus, so walk ye in HIM." See Luke 4:16.
The Pastor claims that stopping at Burger King for a hot sandwich while traveling between churches, bible studies, etc. is a real blessing, and is in accordance with Sabbath keeping because he is employed in the Lord’s work. Where is the pattern found in scripture that the Pastor follows? Remember what Jesus said, in regards to His disciples. He would have us know that in regards to the Sabbath law, as God gave it, they were in fact guiltless. They were not making a purchase at a fruit/vegetable stand as in the days of Nehemiah, or being served by a waitress in a restaurant. They were hungry and plucked off grain to eat. They made an obvious effort to satisfy their hunger because sadly the members of the synagogue where they had recently left, wouldn’t minister to their needs. There should be no confusion on this issue if we read the Word, and follow the Word Jesus Christ, however confusion has been generated by this method of teaching and line of reason, which the pastor has used to convey his personal convictions and very private interpretations......"
In it there were 3 things that immediately became clear:
1) The Sabbath is the defining line which clearly shows the direction of persons life. Those coming to Christ grasp the truth close to them, those leaving find rationale or excuses to reject the Sabbath and its purpose.
2) Anyone that opposes them and tries to stand up for the truth will be attacked with a twisting of what scripture says and be portrayed as “the accuser of the brethren” and cause of dissension and confusion of the faithful.
3) Those who are outside of the church will pick up and use the same logic used by Adventist to skirt the Sabbath and other truths and the same arguments against the Sabbath that some inside are using now. Much like the Catholic Church used it against the claim of 'sola scriptura' by the Reformation church's who still followed the Catholics in the pagan day of worship, Sunday.
Sabbath will be taken away by Adventist Pastors and Members as they separate themselves from Gods truth. The other pillars of Adventism will then become their targets, and they will argue, excuse and finally outright fight against what has guided and been shown to the Adventist movement from its foundation. Those who try to hold on to the truth will be called "Tares" and be ridiculed as not being 'mature christians' who grow into 'needed change' as I have already come across.(see link http://www.heavenlysanctuary.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=52005 )I see this already in the Adventist church's to say nothing of the online forums who purport to be Adventist. They try to lull you by saying its all part of the end times and not to worry or fret, but I say it is time to clearly show and loudly preach the truths we hold and don't sit and wait for the Omega of Apostasy to show itself at the leadership level, the church level, or directly to you by a fellow member. We must shake loose from our Laodicea slumber and begin the final days standing firmly for God and His Commandments and the testimony of Jesus Christ.....
http://www.sdadefend.com/Weeping-between/Organized%20Apostacy.htm
SDA Link
"...The meeting began with the Pastor asking the Oasis group this question: "Can anybody show me any place in the Bible where it is unlawful to buy or sell on the Sabbath day?" (It was evident that this was meant to be a rhetorical question, not one to be answered). Tim Arnett responded with, "Yes, I can. Nehemiah speaks against buying and selling on the Sabbath day."
*Oasis Study was a study generated by the pastor to study particular issues within Adventism. It must be noted that after this Madison O.S meeting we never had another.
Nehemiah 10 details the covenant the Jews made with God after their restoration to Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 10:31says, "And if the people of the land (non-Jews who didn’t serve God) bring ware or any victuals* on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt."
*victuals in other Bible references and Bible dictionaries refers to food.
Nehemiah 13 details what events occurred 15 or so years after the Jews had made their covenant.
Nehemiah 13: verse 15 "In those days I saw in Judah some treading the wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals." Verse 16, "There dwelt men of Tyre also therein which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem." Verse 17, "Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day?" verse 18, "Did not your fathers thus*, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath." Verse 19, And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day." Verse 20, "So the merchants and the sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice." Verse 21, "Then I testified against them, and said unto them, why lodge ye about the wall? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath." Verse 22, "And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy."
*Read Jeremiah 17:19-27, Ezekiel 8:1-18, and you’ll see what Nehemiah is talking about in Nehemiah 13:18. The Sabbath was profaned by the traffic between the Jews and their heathen neighbors. The modern day hotdog stand, and open-air market would be similar to what they were experiencing at that time only on a larger scale. Can you see Isaiah 58:13,14 or the fourth Commandment, Exodus 20:8-11 being fulfilled in such a setting? When you compare what occurred between the times of Jeremiah and Ezekiel the former being a pre-captivity prophet and the later being himself bound with Daniel in Babylon, one would see that Sabbath breaking led to more grievous sins. The list of abominations committed by the Jews, which led them into captivity is Nehemiah’s focus. It should be ours too!
Here's why. Remember the covenant the Jews made about not buying food and ware from the people of the land? Nehemiah 10:31 Well at this time the men of Tyre were selling fish and wares to the Jews. But later on, in Nehemiah's absence, the Jews themselves were engaged in selling victuals and bearing burdens of foodstuffs (victuals) they were bringing to market. Point made, is that they covenanted then (Nehemiah 10:31) not to buy on the Sabbath, and yet had apostatized to the point of engaging in bringing food to market and engaging in commerce on the Sabbath of the Lord (Nehemiah 13:15-22). They were the ones, who were in the worst transgression, for they were the people of God, and had they not previously confessed by their covenant that these things were unlawful to be done on the Sabbath day? In verse 17, Nehemiah warned them of the evil the Lord had sent upon them. What was Nehemiah’s precedent for saying these things?
Moses warned the Jews of this time in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, which detailed the blessings to follow those who "hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments." And then in verses 15-68 the curses.
Please notice these verses in particular:
45. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes, which he commanded thee:
46. And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed forever.
47. Because thou serest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
48. Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. (See Jeremiah 28:12-14)
49. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; (Jeremiah 4:7, 13; Lamentations 4:12,13, 19)
50. A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:
51. And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.
Once you see the judgments referred to therein, then go and read the prayer of Daniel the prophet found in Daniel 9:1-23. Can you understand why these faithful men of God prayed what they prayed, and warned, and reproved, and rebuked the leaders and people. National apostasy led to national ruin. How does this apply to us? 1Corinthians 10:11, says, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples (examples, patterns): and they are written for our admonition (warning), upon whom the ends of the world are come." Beloved this is why we cannot allow buying and selling in stores or restaurants to come into our experience as Seventh Day Adventist Christians. We’ve come to far to backslide into treating the Holy Sabbath as any other day. Do we not fear God? Shall we test His forbearance in this matter, hoping that He will treat us differently than He did the nation of Judah?
This is what the Lord says in Hebrews 10: 26. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30. For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The Pastor allowed no time for an indebt study of the passages in Nehemiah concerning Sabbath observance, but continued to present his personal views of the proper way to observe the Sabbath using his self-made outline as a study aid. He presented hypothetical situations to explain his views, such as: Would you go into K-mart if your pants were ripped to buy another pair? Is it okay to buy zoo tickets on another day and use them on the Sabbath? ; Although he believed that going to K-mart for pants was in accordance with proper Sabbath observance, he questioned the group to whether purchasing a ticket on another day and using it as entrance to the zoo on the Sabbath was the same as using money. He views a ticket and money as the same thing. It was clear that he was intending to steer the group in one direction—his, and that we were not going to engage in a meaningful Bible study on this topic.
He further stated that he had no problem with grocery shopping during the Sabbath hours, particularly if he had been giving Bible studies all day Friday and hadn’t had a chance to shop. Another situation that he referenced was that of receiving his Conference paycheck once a month. He explained that at times, his paycheck might arrive on Friday or on the Sabbath and he is compelled to grocery shop during the Sabbath hours if there is no food in the house. Some of the group’s comments included such recommendations as; he could borrow food/money from the church or make known his needs; or wait until Saturday night to shop, etc. He stated that Jesus ate fast food on the Sabbath, comparing Jesus and the disciples eating grain to him purchasing fast food on the Sabbath.
Close examination of Matthew 12:1 and Luke 6:1 will reveal that the disciples were hungry and picking grain, not Jesus. Also notice, that the Jews rebuked Jesus for what His disciples were doing. Therefore, any attempt to pattern our lives according to what this context says in regards to eating on the Sabbath day in a field of wheat or corn or whatever it was, can only be applied to what the disciples did. Our true example is Jesus Christ. And although Jesus wasn’t gathering grain on the Sabbath, he defended his disciples and told the Pharisees that the disciples weren’t profaning the Sabbath. The letter of the fourth precept wasn’t transgressed in the slightest. Traditions of men were what the Jews were governed by in this matter.
We ought to walk as He walked according to 1 John 2:6. And Paul says in Colossians 2:6, "As ye have received Christ Jesus, so walk ye in HIM." See Luke 4:16.
The Pastor claims that stopping at Burger King for a hot sandwich while traveling between churches, bible studies, etc. is a real blessing, and is in accordance with Sabbath keeping because he is employed in the Lord’s work. Where is the pattern found in scripture that the Pastor follows? Remember what Jesus said, in regards to His disciples. He would have us know that in regards to the Sabbath law, as God gave it, they were in fact guiltless. They were not making a purchase at a fruit/vegetable stand as in the days of Nehemiah, or being served by a waitress in a restaurant. They were hungry and plucked off grain to eat. They made an obvious effort to satisfy their hunger because sadly the members of the synagogue where they had recently left, wouldn’t minister to their needs. There should be no confusion on this issue if we read the Word, and follow the Word Jesus Christ, however confusion has been generated by this method of teaching and line of reason, which the pastor has used to convey his personal convictions and very private interpretations......"
In it there were 3 things that immediately became clear:
1) The Sabbath is the defining line which clearly shows the direction of persons life. Those coming to Christ grasp the truth close to them, those leaving find rationale or excuses to reject the Sabbath and its purpose.
2) Anyone that opposes them and tries to stand up for the truth will be attacked with a twisting of what scripture says and be portrayed as “the accuser of the brethren” and cause of dissension and confusion of the faithful.
3) Those who are outside of the church will pick up and use the same logic used by Adventist to skirt the Sabbath and other truths and the same arguments against the Sabbath that some inside are using now. Much like the Catholic Church used it against the claim of 'sola scriptura' by the Reformation church's who still followed the Catholics in the pagan day of worship, Sunday.
Sabbath will be taken away by Adventist Pastors and Members as they separate themselves from Gods truth. The other pillars of Adventism will then become their targets, and they will argue, excuse and finally outright fight against what has guided and been shown to the Adventist movement from its foundation. Those who try to hold on to the truth will be called "Tares" and be ridiculed as not being 'mature christians' who grow into 'needed change' as I have already come across.(see link http://www.heavenlysanctuary.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=52005 )I see this already in the Adventist church's to say nothing of the online forums who purport to be Adventist. They try to lull you by saying its all part of the end times and not to worry or fret, but I say it is time to clearly show and loudly preach the truths we hold and don't sit and wait for the Omega of Apostasy to show itself at the leadership level, the church level, or directly to you by a fellow member. We must shake loose from our Laodicea slumber and begin the final days standing firmly for God and His Commandments and the testimony of Jesus Christ.....
