Jan 2007 -- "The Wall of Eternity" -- Have You Been "Peeping" Behind? -- In the last issue of "Watchman, What of the Night?" we called attention to a publication written by an Australian in response to a request from Elder Robert J. Wieland. An ex-Roman Catholic, he chose to write under the pen name, "Swift Messenger." In "Appendix C" of his publication, The Masterpiece of Deception, he directs a message to Stump, Carter, and Clayton. He suggests to them, "I believe you have tried to peep behind ‘the wall of Eternity,’ when silence is golden in coming to conclusions on the origins of the Godhead." Since quoting this paragraph in the last WWN I have been mulling over in my mind the concepts of "peeping" and the "wall of eternity" and find them intriguing.

In Genesis 1:1 it reads in the Hebrew — "In beginning, created Gods the heavens and the earth" — no article, just "in beginning." Likewise in the Gospel of John, it reads (in the Greek text) "In beginning was the Word." If "the" had been used in either verse there would have been no eternity. With the second eternity, there is a beginning prefaced by the cross and the resurrection. Jesus attested to this when He told John on the Isle of Patmos that He "was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen" (Rev. 1:18). Further, if Genesis 2:1 should include the whole universe, then how much had gone before? The mind is staggered. We creatures of time cannot perceive "eternity." It was Zophar who asked, "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? (Job 11:7).

p 2 -- We do not need to speculate at this point, although it could be done. It might be best to note what information God in the Scriptures has permitted to come from behind the "wall of eternity." First, God does have a Son. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We need to distinguish between Christ, the Son of God of the Spirit ["God is Spirit" John 4:24] and who became that Son by decree (Ps. 2:7); and Jesus, the Son of God of the flesh who became that Son by the incarnation (Luke 1:35). Could it be that that decree was a factor in the enmity Lucifer had for Christ even as the incarnation is a factor in the salvation of man? (Rom. 3:25-26).

The Bible reveals that at some point in ages past, God created Lucifer. The record reads: "Thou wast perfect in all thy ways from the day that thou wast created till iniquity was found in thee" (Eze. 28:15). But that Creator was God's Son for "without Him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3). Further, the concept of the sanctuary, a Most Holy place with the attendant Cherubim was introduced by his creation for the record reads, "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have set thee so" (Eze. 28:14). Then, taking it one step farther: this truth involving God and His Son by decree and by the incarnation was committed in sacred trust as a part of the Everlasting (Gr. "age-long") Gospel. And that Sanctuary message does include Daniel 8:14.

The Scripture does state the fact that there are myriads of the heavenly host even "thousand thousands... and ten thousand times ten thousand (Dan. 7:10; Rev. 5:11). Were they created at one time, or were they created as the universe expanded? We are not told. But we do know that with the entrance of sin, they received a new assignment:   "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Note they are "spirit" beings, not beings of the "flesh." The Author of eternal salvation even had at His call, "more than twelve legions of angels" (Mat. 26:53).

Only a few of these "ministering spirits do we know by name – Gabriel, Lucifer, and Michael, as Christ was known to the heavenly host prior to Bethlehem.

The book of Daniel reveals an interesting working relationship between Gabriel and Michael. That relationship intensifies as the prophetic revelations given to Daniel expand. By the river Ulai Daniel received a vision which climaxed in the daily, the transgression of desolation and the 2300 days, the time for the beginning of the cleansing of the sanctuary. He hears a man's voice coming from over the waters of the Ulai – "Gabriel make this man to understand the vision" (8:16). In the process, Daniel faints and "was sick certain days" (8:27). Upon recovery he studied the prophecies given to Jeremiah, and realizing how close he stood to the completion of the fulfillment of the end times allotted for the "desolations of Jerusalem" he set his face in prayer and supplication to God (9:2-20). Gabriel returned and detailed some of the parts of the vision not previously explained.

Other things were happening. Daniel fasted for three full weeks. Gabriel sought to move the Persian ruler toward the fulfilling of the prophecy given to Jeremiah. He resisted Gabriel. Michael was called to come to his assistance (10:12-13). He came, and in the conversation between Gabriel and Daniel are revealed details as to how heaven functions. Read Daniel 10: 12-21. The close association between these Two and the knowledge shared by Them is revealed by Gabriel – "There is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince."

Footnote:    If you wish your faith strengthened, read carefully Daniel 9:4-20 – Daniel's prayer. Time yourself. Read it at a pace as you would pray. Once you have finished, check your time. Then read what Gabriel told Daniel: "At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved" (verse 23). Heaven is but a prayer away! --- (2007Jan) ---  TOP

Feb 2007 -- "Catholic Priest Jailed for Rwanda Genocide, Adventist Pastor Freed" -- Read Carefully -- This title and article are taken from the Ecumenical News International (ENI Bulletin, dated 20 December 2006, p. 10. (It is somewhat jumbled and must be read carefully.) The freed Adventist pastor had already served time for the same heinous crime of genocide, for which the priest was now convicted and was being sentenced. Fredrick Nzwilli reported from Nairobi, Kenya:     "The United Nations war-crimes court for Rwanda has convicted a Roman Catholic priest of genocide and sentenced him to 15 years for his role in 1994 mass killings in the central African country. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found the Rev. Athanase Seromba guilty on two of four counts he faced in connection with the genocide which afflicted the country and in which about 800,000 people, mainly minority Tutsis and some Hutus, died. He was the first Catholic priest to have been tried in connection with the genocide.

'"The chamber finds you guilty of genocide and extermination and sentences you to a single term of fifteen years in prison,' Judge Andresia Vaz said, reading the verdict of the three-member panel.

"Last week the tribunal released Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, an 82 year-old former senior pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist

p 2 -- Church who was serving a 10-year prison sentence meted out on 19 February 2003 for his role in the genocide. Seromba was a Catholic priest at Nyange parish in Kivumu Commune and is an ethnic Tutu. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. The priest was acquitted on two lesser counts ... of genocide.

"The charges (against Ntakirutimana, the Adventist pastor had involved) the destruction of his church where about 2000 ethnic Tutsis had sought shelter in April 1994. He was accused of ordering the destruction of the church by bulldozers, which led to the deaths of all inside, and of sending in Hutu militia members to kill Tutsis who tried to flee. Seromba had claimed he was simply a parish priest and powerless to stop the killing but prosecutors had called for the maximum sentence of life in prison for the cleric.

"Meanwhile, after his release on 6 December, former pastor Ntakirutimana said, "'I have no idea where to go.'" On 7 December, the Rwanda government told the pastor he was free to return to his country. Ntakirutimana spent nearly three years at the prison during his sentencing, but the tribunal ruled an early remission for the time he had already served on remand in the United States and Arusha after being arrested in 1996 in Texas....

"He became the first ICTR convict to be set free, and left the prison in poor health. His age and state of health are thought to have facilitated his release. The pastor headed the Adventist church in western Rwanda and was also responsible for the Mugonero parish, where thousands of Tutsis were killed. He was convicted together with his son Gerard, who was a doctor at the Mugonero hospital. Gerard is now serving 25 years in prison."

This experience of the past century raises some questions. With the conviction of the Catholic priest it is evident that the "gospel" of Romanism - the Eucharist - is unable to transform human lives to such an extent that they would not take part in mass killings. It is also evident that neither the "everlasting gospel" as it was presented in Africa sufficient.

In this time frame, a missionary home on furlough from that part of Africa visited relatives living here at the foundation. I had several informative conversations with him. He was an educator connected with one of the colleges of the area. I was interested in what was being taught the students and through them, the converts as the results of their ministry. He indicated that they were not taught about the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 in connection with Revelation 14:6-7. I asked him, "Why?" His response was that the average person was not able to grasp it. But there in Rwanda is one who is spending 25 years for taking part in the genocide who is a medical doctor, and a son of an Adventist pastor. True, arithmetic does not spell salvation, but in the context of Scripture, it is involved with the sanctuary truth which is a part of the "everlasting" ("age-long" Gr.) "gospel." The first was represented in types and shadows. God's request was, "Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them" (Ex. 25:8). He promised, "I will set my tabernacle among you: I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people" (Lev. 26:11-12). The second was and is the Reality. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (John 1:14, Gr.). We need to be careful lest we commit genocide against truth. --- (2007Feb) ---End --- TOP

Mar 2007 -- A.L.F. Library - P. 0. Box 69, Ozone, AR 72854 -- Moving the operation of the Adventist Laymen's Foundation from Mississippi to Arkansas in the 1970s presented some challenges. The closest library was fifteen miles from our campus at what is now the University of the Ozarks. This school had been affiliated with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and thus many of its books were theologically orientated. Another happenstance was the fact that the Librarian's mother's maiden name was Grotheer. We had to be cousins!

The home we first built in 1976 is now the Foundation library. It contains B. T. Anderson's library, which had his father's collection (His father was the first Adventist missionary to Finland); the C. E. Holmes collection, as well as his own personal accumulation of books and papers. To this I have joined my own library.

One of the two bedrooms of the old home is now my study, in which are the biblical linguistic books, the Writings, and other key books of the Adventist "travail" of the last half of the past century. On a shelf near the desk are five two-inch, 8 by 10 metal hinged, cloth bound note books which contain my Sabbath sermon outlines. I believed that if the Holy Spirit guided my mind in the thoughts developed for a particular Sabbath presentation, He would recall the same thoughts for another Sabbath when there was a need again. One sermon was always used over again. It was the first sermon I would preach as I began my new assignment. From it, I wish to draw the "thought for the month." The "text" I took from the Writings:       We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 31). In another location of the Writings an additional thought is added -      "and His teachings in our past history" (Life Sketches, p. 196).

I was aware that in our college class in homiletics we were cautioned not to use the Writings as "Scripture," much less as a text for a sermon; however, the reference served as an introductory message well and let the congregation know where I stood in regard to Ellen G. White. The first "way" emphasized that conviction, for the first biblical "text" I used was Hosea 12:13 -      "By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved."       Over the years as I have used this reference, which points up how the Lord led and leads -"by a prophet" - there is another text which tells of the human reaction to that Divine guidance. It reads:       And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord that He had done for Israel (Joshua 24:31; Judges 2:7).

The record continues:      And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord died. ... And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there rose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel (2:8, 10).

Within a generation Israel so completely apostatized that they were unable to stand before their enemies. The Lord raised up Judges, and through them gave, deliverance. Decade after decade the pattern continued: apostasy, captivity, a new judge, deliverance, and the cycle began again.

In 1915, the "messenger to the Remnant" died. In 1919, just four years later, a Bible Conference was held in Takoma Park which discussed the place and authority of Ellen G. White in Adventism. Men were judged by how they related to her writings.

Last year, Graeme Bradford, a retired professor of Bible at Avondale College in Australia copyrighted his manuscript, More Than a Prophet in which he discusses "how we lost and found again the real Ellen G. White." The Foreword is written by Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi, who also publishes the book through his own publications' venture - "Biblical Perspectives." It is less expensive through the Pacific Press.

Bacchiocchi quotes in his foreword Bradford's own conviction in regard to Ellen G. White: -      "Let me say from the outset, I write this book as one having great confidence in the prophetic gift as it has been used in the ministry of Ellen White. After reading and studying the evidence for and against her work, I emerge as a strong believer" (pp. 9, 15).

The White Estate seems not to accept Bradford's confession. They charge on their web page that the "Foreword and advertising incorrectly state that the manuscript was evaluated favorably by the officers of the Ellen G. White Estate." They declare that "in actuality, while recognizing elements on which we can agree, the White Estate staff has strong concerns regarding several viewpoints expressed in the book." They then list three points of disagreement.

1.   The book expresses the view that the prophets in the New Testament and beyond generally carry less authority than Old Testament prophets, and that the individual and/or congregation must separate the wheat from the chaff in the messages even of genuine prophets. Such a view confirms people in the human tendency to accept what they like in inspired writings and reject as "chaff" the things with which they disagree.

This is skating on thin ice. While it is true that the prophetic office in the Old Testament was more dominant, there were New Testament prophets. The emphasis in the New Testament was apostleship. "And He gave, some apostles; and some, prophets" (Eph. 4:11).

2.   The book suggests that because Ellen White used sources in her writings relating to history, prophecy, health, or theology, the views she expressed may have originated more from her contemporaries than divine inspiration. Her depiction of end time events, for example, as found in The Great Controversy, is portrayed as deriving primarily from the expectations of 19th century North American Adventists, having little application to today's global society.

3.   While the White Estate staff recognizes that Ellen White was fallible and subject to human frailties - not unlike the biblical prophets - we maintain that certain positions taken in the book do not fairly reflect the understanding of Ellen White and her associates regarding her prophetic ministry, and fail to represent fully Ellen White's prophetic contributions to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. --- (2007Mar) ---End --- TOP

Apr 2007 -- A.L.F. Library -- "Consideration for the Month" -- In the February issue we chose as the monthly "Thought" for consideration from our library, a news release taken from the ENI (Bulletin-06-0926). A word of explanation is in order. ENI is an independent news agency covering religious, ecumenical and humanitarian affairs. It is an association under Swiss law whose members include the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches. We counseled our readers to read it carefully so as to keep each person named in the release in proper perspective. When we used the news item in February, little did we realize there would be more information to follow so soon.

In The Catholic World Report (February, 2007), on p. 21 there appeared in a box the following news release with a picture of the priest, Athanase Seromba:      A Catholic priest has been sentenced to a 15-year prison term after being convicted of involvement in Rwanda's 1994 genocidal violence.

Father Athanace Seromba was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal sitting in Arusha, Tanzania. He faces an 11-year stretch behind bars, having been given credit for the four years he served while awaiting trial. The Catholic priest was charged with directing Hutu militia members in an attack on a church where about 2,000 Tutsi people had taken refuge. The Tutsi were massacred by gunfire and explosives; the militia then demolished the church building, killing any survivors.

The 82 year old Adventist pastor, Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, who was released the same time that the Roman priest was sentenced had been charged with the same identical acts as the priest. It was suggested that the early release of the Adventist minister was because he was in ill-health. This may be true as he has died since his release; however, there is also the factor of false allegations and the attitude of the leadership of the Church in this whole affair. Was there ever a full report of this incident given by the then editor of the Adventist Review? In the February issue, we suggested that the Adventist minister may have worked in conjunction with the priest as the charges for both were identical. This possibility we now conclude to be erroneous. If there are workers in Africa, or missionaries who have the facts, we will be happy to have the full and true picture. It might also be that the new editor could begin his service by

p 2 -- doing what the retiring editor did not do - give a full report to the Church of the Rwanda incident. In current issues the fact that there are three living men who have served as editor-in-chief of the Church paper is being emphasized. This is true, but there is only one of the three - Elder Kenneth Wood - who ranks with those of the past. The new editor has yet to demonstrate his talents for such a comparison.

More on Rwanda -- CATHOLIC NUN SENTENCED FOR GENOCIDE -- A traditional court in Rwanda has sentenced a Catholic nun to :30 years in prison for her role in the 1994 genocide.

Sister Theophister Mukakibibi was convicted by a traditional Rwandian court of helping ethnic Hutu militia men to kill Tutsis hiding in the National University Hospital in the town of Butare, where she worked during the time of the genocide. She is the first nun sentenced by a Rwandian court for crimes committed in 1994.

The president of the local gacaca court in Butare said that the nun selected Tutsis sheltering in the hospital and threw them out for the militia groups to kill. The Catholic hierarchy in Rwanda has been accused of having close ties to extremist politicians and aiding Hutu militia in the weeks leading to the mass killings.

Last year, Father Guy Theunis, a Belgian missionary priest, became the first foreigner to face a gacaca court on charges of genocide. After strenuous international diplomatic intervention he was released by Rwanda on the promise that he would face the same charges before a court in his native Belgium. Two other Catholic nuns were found guilty by a Belgium court in 2001.

Rwandians are using the traditional gacaca courts to speed up the process of bringing those responsible for the genocide to justice. Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in the 1994 genocide. Many of these people had sought refuge in churches (The Catholic World Report, January 2007, p. 18).

[ The Catholic World Report is a publication of Ignatius Press, whose publisher and editor are Jesuits.] --- (2007Apr) ---End --- TOP

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