Some misunderstandings of the Adventists.

Surely, I cannot praise them in every thing. For example, Jesus is not going to reign upon the earth for a literal thousand years. No seed of Jehoichin, descendant of David, will rule in the literal earthly Jerusalem (Jeremiah 22:30; Matthew 1:11). Jesus, descendant of Jehoichin, has reigned now for about 2000 years but while “sitting on David's throne” in Heaven along side God the Father. Jesus feet will never touch the earth again including Palestine's Jerusalem (Acts 2:30,31; 1 Thessalonians 4:17). The Bible's prophet Daniel predicted His type of reign (Daniel 7:13,14; Matthew 26:64), hundreds of years before it happened.

Misunderstanding of the Return of Jesus. To be fair, the “premillineal doctrine” of the Adventists is better than other theories of a thousand year reign because it does not predict the saving of all Jews. The Bible never elevates the fleshly Jew above obedience to God. Romans 11:26 says that the Jew is to be saved by the same criterion “so” as every other human being. The reign of Jesus had begun on that important Pentecost of Acts 2 when the gospel was first preached by Peter and the apostles.

No spirit and No body at death? Would this not require a “re-creation.” The live spirits (accordding to Ecclesiastes 12:7; 1 Corinthians 15:42f; 2 Corinthians 5:2) are with God until they are united to new bodies at the resurrection when Jesus comes in the heavens with His angels (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Jesus never sets a foot upon the earth and therefore will not rule on earth. All saints shall be lifted up to meet Him in the clouds and will be with Him forever in the new heavens and the new earth (2 Peter 3:17).

Being Unconscious at Death. The passage used by Adventists in Ecclesiastes for the unconscious dead is talking about not having “knowledge of things under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:3-6). This rather declares that dead saints do not have a news report of occurrences on earth. Neither are new opportunities available after death. Our contacts on earth are the here and now and not at death. Those that die in Jesus rest in the place Jesus called “Paradise” to the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43). Earlier, Jesus called it “Abraham's bosom” in His story of the deaths of a rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:23). Both persons were conscious.

Misunderstanding that only the “LAW OF MOSES” WAS “DONE AWAY”? The New Testament designates the purification rule (moral law) of the Old Testament as both “the Law of Moses” and “the Law of the Lord” (Luke 2:23,24). There was ONLY one Law under the Old and it was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14; Ephesians 2:15). The New Testament Kingdom, according to Jesus, brings forth some treasures from the Old Testament to complete its New Testament (Matthew 13:52). This includes some of the basic Law's marriage and divorce commandments (Matthew 5:31,32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16) along with the portion of the ten commandments that deal with personal relationships and love (Romans 13:8,9).

Now The Sabbath (Rest) Remains for Christians. But it is not the weekly day of the Old Testament. That day was designed for Israel in commemorating their salvation from Egypt. Deuteronomy 5:15, “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.” Hebrews 4:9, “But God has promised us a Sabbath when we will rest, even though it has not yet come.” verse 11, “We should do our best to enter that place of rest, so that none of us will disobey and miss going there, as they [Jews under Joshua] did.”

PROPHECIES IN DANIEL. Fortune telling, soothsaying, stars, and cookies are fascinating to people but the real and actual predictions like those in the Bible are breathtaking. Daniel gave predictions ahead of time about the coming world empires and history relative to Israel that culminated in the establishment of God's kingdom. Having studied the history of ancient empires, one is so fascinated to read the prophecies in Daniel. Daniel wrote, for example, of the sequence of the Medo-Persian Empire, being replaced by the Grecian Empire, its divisions, and finally, the Roman Empire. The appearance of the “Son of Man's Kingdom” is at the last stages of the Empire.

Because of the accuracy of the Daniel prophecies, agnostics have always argued that the book was editorialized or written AFTER the facts. Since the papyri of Daniel fragments have been found with the Dead Sea Scrolls, their attempted arguments have fallen.

Along with the King we must agree. Daniel 2:47, “The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.” Daniel's God is true and faithful and is the God of the Bible.

-- GAYLON WEST, edited by Janie Ward and Mary West