IAUA End Time Ministry
Preparing for the End of Time
The Lord is Coming! Are you ready?
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IAUA End Time Ministry |
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Preparing for the End of Time | |
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Dear Brothers and Sisters in IAUA (ee-uh-oo-uh) our Father,
Greetings on this day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath. I pray this newsletter finds you in good health and happy in the service of the Lord. This is the 17th day of the 8th month of God's Sacred Calendar in the year 6012 Anno Mundi. It is about seven months until the Spring Sabbaths begin with the evening of the 15th day of the 1st month which is the first Unleavened Bread Sabbath (Saturday, April 11 on the 2009 Gregorian calendar, beginning sunset on Friday, April 10). _____ During the recent discussions between newsletter readers about the tassels (tzitzit), the role of the Spirit of Prophecy in the work of Ellen White was discussed. Comments have been edited and are kept anonymous. _____ Hi Frank, Thank you for including me in this message. The commandment to wear 'tassels' is simple and straight forward according to Moses. 'Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments' (Numbers 15) Jesus himself says that the instructions given on mount Horeb stands until heaven and earth passes away. Sabbatarians rightfully stand behind Christ's 'law will never change' disclaimer to validate the immutability of the 7th day Sabbath, yet the same group of people cannot seem to reconcile the wearing of tassels based on this same principal. Many Seventh Day Adventist Bible students are particularly reluctant to move forward and execute one of the 'least' of the commandments because Ellen's words seems to excuse them from doing so. 'The people of God are not now required to have a special mark placed upon their garments.' (Ellen G. White) Should those seeking to receive the 'seal of God' refrain from executing a commandment proceeding directly from our Heavenly Father because a dreamer or visionary gives them a good excuse not to perform it? According to Moses this will bring destruction upon the chosen people. 'If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, 'Let us follow other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and let us worship them,' you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. Y.H.W.H. your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is Y.H.W.H. your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commandments and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.' (Deuteronomy 13:1-4) Do the prophets really agree? ... As for me, being a blood Israelite, I must be faithful to the covenant and wear the cords as commanded. I am often asked about them and their purpose and am happy to see the open door to proclaim the greatness of the God of Israel and warn about what is to come. Y.H.W.H. has a work for me to prepare the world for the last days. I hope this brings about some balance on the subject, I know I covered a lot of areas and I am certainly happy to hear comments, answer questions, and improve in my understanding of these critical matters. _____ Another reader responds: _____ Gentlemen: I like and agree with XXX's thinking on the Tzitzit. While I do not know if I have any Jewish blood in me at all, I rest heavily on Galatians 3:29 for example as well as on the principle of being grafted in. I see clearly, my responsibility to wear the reminders on the 4 corners of my talit katans. If the Creator of the Universe saw a need to remind Himself of the Covenant of not destroying the earth again by flood, why should I think that I don't need a daily, hourly, minute by minute reminder to keep me thinking of His commands - - His instructions? As to EGW writings, I may have told some of you or maybe all of you that my wife and I have started keeping a bit more abreast of her writings in an attempt to keep on speaking terms with our SDA brothers. It has been difficult, however, for just the reason given below about not needing to follow certain instructions! I see the same problem with what she has to say about Christmas celebrations even though certain Biblical passages certainly do not support her words. I think most specifically about the words found in Jeremiah 10 and again the recounting of the women in the gates of the city weeping for Tamuz. Neither seem to lend credibility to the words of EGW. In my mind, the question becomes one of: Is each pronouncement inspired by God? Does she shoot from her own lip from time to time? Do we have every word that ever dripped from the pen of Paul, or sounded forth from the mouth of Moses or King David? Or are only specified and highly selected passages preserved for our consumption? Yet, I see the need to know what the SDAs are teaching or have been taught so that we might walk more comfortably among them in a witnessing mode. Your thoughts? _____ My response: _____ I understand your concerns completely. While I have always had the greatest respect for Ellen White and her work, I have never placed her on the pedestal that many SDA have. I firmly believe that she was a prophet of God but it seems that many have elevated her to the level of Second to the Messiah in pronouncement and infallability. I struggled with what she has said that is used to speak against the Bible. By careful study and prayer the Holy Spirit has led me to see that God has great patience and tolerance for frail human beings. He even allows His truth to be trampled sometimes but He still works with us to draw us back. Malachi 4 speaks very strongly to me that at the end, He will restore all things to their rightful place here on earth for a very brief time and then the final separation comes. As I stress in my book we have come from the depths of great and widespread apostasy. We are still struggling back to all the truth even now. Those who were led step by step such as Martin Luther and Ellen White are not to be faulted for moving as far as the Holy Spirit could lead them at the time and place where they worked. At times it is clear that Ellen partially saw much more than was understood. At times she indicates that things were taken away from her. I believe it was because the church would not follow and the Holy Spirit was careful not to put a large gap between her and the church. I think we can learn a lot from this. With careful study of what she says I believe firmly that she does not speak against anything the Bible says. (How could it be otherwise?) It can certainly be stretched in that direction by those who don't want to follow the Bible all the way anyway. It can be seen in a sympathetic understanding by those who do wish to follow all the way and understand the struggle. Paul was also misunderstood as Peter himself acknowledged. Today those who don't want to do all of what God says still try to make it look like Paul disagreed with God. Silly isn't it? It would be funny if the results were not so disastrous. God is in charge and He has everything under control. Follow Him and He will judge the results. Be patient and kind to each other and to those in the church who see things differently. Never forget how patient and kind He is to us in our weakness. _____ Are you kind and considerate to others who also struggle in the search for truth? I pray we may all continue to seek love, peace, and unity in truth preparing for the soon coming of IAUShUO (ee-uh-oo-shoo-oh) Messiah, the Son of God.
Frank T. Clark
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Revised 2008-10-24 |