Because these men who do not have the Holy Spirit did not see the head of the Church Jesus Christ, they take it upon themselves to organize themselves. Can you imagine a human being trying to organize or create his own human body putting together all the cells, body parts, organs and making it live? Men may gather in counsels and conference’s around the world but they could never organize the human body.
The human body is “fearfully and wonderfully made”. This is God’s work to organize it. But carnal men continue to try.
So how is it that men can attempt to organize the body of Christ? And especially organize the head of that body? It is impossible for any man or counsel of men to organize Christ or the body of Christ. They would have to be God himself. But yet this is what we see everywhere that we look. Men who believe that they have organized the Church of God sitting in the temple of God showing themselves as God. (2 Thess 2:4)
The bible talks about the people as “trees”.
Isaiah 61:3 … that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Some might think it’s hard to imagine men trying to organize the human body, or the body of Christ. Can you imagine trees trying to organize the trees? The bible talks about this very thing happening. Let’s look at the results:
Judges 9:8-15 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. (9) But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? (10) And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. (11) But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? (12) Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. (13) And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? (14) Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou,and reign over us. (15) And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.
Finally the thorn bush which was good for nothing but to be burned accepted the role of ruler, the worst tree of them all. It is often the basest men who desire the highest position, and it was no different in this case. The good for nothing thorn bush made a bargain and the bargain was that if it was anointed the king, then you must sit under it, and be pricked or else don’t sit under it and be devoured by fire.
What kind of a deal is this? But yet the other trees still wanted this bush to be the head. They rejected the true King God, and desired a King that would rule them, prick them and if they did not conform to this ruler’s belief he would burn them. This is the ultimate outcome of these organizations. But yet they still do this today anointing rulers over themselves such as Popes and kings.
They asked Gideon to rule over them in Judges 8 and the reply of Gideon was “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.”(Judges 8:23) They wanted a good tree to rule over them. But the good trees did not want to be promoted over the other trees. The good tree only wanted to serve the other trees.
Matthew 23:10-12 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. (11) But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. (12) And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
However one of Gideon’s sons did desire this position, Abimelech killed sixty nine of Gideon’s sons and was made king by the house of Shechem and after three years Abimelech killed and beat down the city of Shechem and the house of Millo and after that he himself was slain.
But yet after this failed and even after this truly dreadful attempt by men to organize a head over themselves, they still failed to recognize God as the King and again forsook God and the principles in the matter and a few years later the people cried to Samuel “make us a king, to judge us, that we may be like the nations.”(1 Samuel 8:5).
God said to Samuel “They have rejected me”(1 Samuel 8:7) and despite Samuel’s protest they said “nay, but we will have a king over us”(verse 19) and finally several years later sealed their fate when they said “We have no King but Caesar”(John 19:15) and they used that King of the earth to nail the true “King of the Jews” to the cross.
There is a like call by the people today who have done exactly the same thing in saying “Give us a king so that we may be like the denominations.” And the people are sure that the man whom they have made head of their denomination is the answer to the apostasy and disorder in their manmade organization.
The Corrupt Organization
The Roman Church would search high and low for a good man to rule in their Church. And once they found the best man to do it, he was no longer the best man to do it anymore. The system had corrupted him. The principles of the entire system were corrupt, thus it was the corruption of the system that he took over that eventually made the man corrupt.
The type of organization is the problem. The people would say that the Popes are demons, but the organization of which the Pope was the head of they considered to be “divine” or “God’s Church”. The practices of the church were considered abominable, but yet the organization from where they came from the people called “God’s organization” or “His Remnant Church”.
When Gideon refused to rule over the people as King, (Judges 8:23) he knew that God was the King. The apostles did not appoint a head to the Church because that was not the way of His Church. They had one head and that was Christ.
Matthew 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Matthew 20:25-27 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. (26) But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; (27) And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Jesus said “It shall not be so among you”. The Church is not like the “Gentiles”. The word Gentile also translates to “nations” or “heathen”. So what Christ is saying is that ye shall not be like the nations or ye shall not be like the heathen who have kings, rulers, popes, and arbitrary authorities.
Overseers Not Overlords
Christ purchased the Church with his own blood, and Christ by his spirit has made us overseers of his Church. An overseer is not an overlord of the flock.
1 Peter 5:2-3 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; (3) Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
We are to feed the flock its food, nourish it, but not rule it. “It shall not be so among you”. Moses was a servant in this house (Heb 3:5) as was Jesus and as are any who have the oversight of the flock. None in the Church of God are to rule as an arbitrary authority. They are not overlords.
The Church built on the Rock
Respecting God’s Church it is written “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Yet we can be sure that every organization that was not built on the rock has had the gates of hell prevail against it. These organizations have been nothing less than the cages of devils filled with hell itself.(Revelation 18:2-4). They have persecuted God’s people since the time of Cain and Abel.
Acts 4:10-11 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. (11) This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
These builders were not building on the rock. They had a counterfeit building. They were also counterfeit builders since Christ told us “I will build my Church”.
But the rock on which the true Church is built is a particular point of truth. It is the statement that Peter made. Notice:
Matthew 16:13-18 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? (14) And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. (15) He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? (16) And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (17) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (18) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The rock on which Jesus is going to build his Church is Peter’s answer to Christ as to whom Christ was. His identity. The rock on which the Church is built is that Christ is “the Son of the living God.”
The truth about God’s love is based on this doctrine:
1Jn 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
God is only revealed to us through Jesus Christ His Son, there is only one way to heaven, and that is by Jesus Christ the Son of God.(Acts 4:11, 12)
The Church of the Firstborn
Regarding the Church of God here is the truth of the matter, it is called “The Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven”(Hebrews 12:23). This doctrine is a key to knowing God’s Church.
Jesus Christ is the firstborn of God. We read of this in Colossians.
Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
The doctrine that Christ is the firstborn or only born child of God is something that every single manmade organization denies, a doctrine on which you will be called a “heretic” for.
I am convicted that prophecy has been given in scripture and is being fulfilled. I am convicted that these same prophecies were told to us again in more detail over the last 150 years. And as we continue these studies I want to examine beliefs and statements made by the pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist movement.
We will first examine if the foundation and pillars have been changed. We will look at some quotes from the writings of Ellen G. White on this matter as well as some other pioneers to examine a little more about the foundation. We will examine the foundation closely to see if we have been building on the rock or if we have been building a “new organization…on sand”. A counterfeit church.
Regarding the firstborn child of God, Ellen White once wrote:
“The dedication of the first-born had its origin in the earliest times. God had promised to give the First-born of heaven to save the sinner.” {The Desire of Ages, p. 51}
This is the foundation of the Church which has been changed as we shall see. Christ being the Son of God before being made in the likeness of men, and God really giving a literal Son. Today we are told by the leaders of the General Conference organization of Seventh-day Adventists that Christ is a co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit and that this is merely a role that Christ has taken. Many in the General Conference Church are teaching that “The Father–Son relationship in the Godhead should be understood in a metaphorical sense, not in a literal sense”. (Max Hatton, Understanding the Trinity, p. 97)
Metaphorical – A figure of speech.
This statement and many like it deny the very foundation of our faith. That Christ is the firstborn of heaven from earliest times and that God the Father gave his Son. Statements like these, of which there are many more, deny that Christ was truly and literally the Son of God. This is a denial of God’s love for us.
1Jn 5:10 …. he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
Also if God never really had a son to give, that means He is not really His Father. Is God a liar? Is He only pretending or acting?
1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
Who is lying? God or the antichrist? Is there a real Father and Son? In Revelation 14, we are told of God’s children at the end of time. They have an identifier in their forehead, symbolic of the knowledge and character in their mind. (See Deu 11:16-18) The name of our one God the father is written on our foreheads. What name is written on the forehead of the 144,000?
Revelation 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
The name of the God of the 144,000. The name of the God of Jesus and our God. [Rev 3:9, John 20:17] The father’s name, the only true God [John 17:3]. Jehovah.
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
Who is the God of Jesus? The Father. Our God is the God and Father of Jesus. But there is some confusion, which I will discuss in the next chapter. The confusion originates from Babylon.
Joh 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
Most Adventists are familiar with the teaching that the Roman Catholic Church is antichrist, and is also the woman in Revelation 17 referred to at times as “the whore of Babylon”.(For more information visit (www.thethirdangelsmessage.com) What is the name of the God of Babylon?
The MYSTERY of the Trinity is the name of her God. Now if we were to look for the name of the God of the whore and now knowing that the forehead is where the name of our God is written, we would likely find the name of her God written on her forehead, since we find the name of the God of the 144,000 written on their forehead. And what do we find on this woman’s forehead?
Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT MYSTERY, great confusion. The Hebrew word Babel or Babylon actually means “confusion”. The trinity is the great confusion. The General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists actually accepted it, but claim their Trinity is different than the Catholic Trinity. Is this not great confusion? Why would they use the same name? But yet say they worship a different God? In fact, you can ask a number of people who believe in the Trinity and almost every one of them has a different view of what their God is. The word “Babel” the origin of “Babylon” means “confusion”. Is it not rightly called “Confusion the great?” There certainly is a lot of confusion regarding this doctrine.
This doctrine is called the Trinity. This is the central and very foundation of the Church of Babylon. The sand on which Babylon is built is thus:
“The mystery of the Trinity is the central doctrine of the catholic church. As they say, upon it are based all the teachings of the church”[Handbook for todays Catholic Page 11] That’s the foundation.
Women are likened to churches in prophecy. We are told in Jeremiah 6:2″I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman.”
Zechariah prophesied of women going out to build churches in the land of Shinar (Babylon see Gen 11:2-9). They didn’t accept the foundation or rock on which the Church of Christ was built. So they began to form their own churches or organizations denying the rock on which God’s Church is built.
Zec 5:9-11 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women… To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base(foundation).
An organization built on sand. History will reveal whether these prophecies have come to pass as we continue to read.
Summary:
1. Men cannot organize themselves just as trees cannot organize the trees.
2. The Church is built on a rock.
3. Christ is the firstborn of heaven the son of God
3. The gates of hell cannot prevail against God’s Church that has this foundation.
4. The Church is likened to a woman
5. The name of the God of the church is written in the forehead
6. The base or foundation of the Roman Church is the Trinity which deny’s the literal son-ship of Christ.
7. The RCC is recognized as Babylon and antichrist
Next Chapter – Foundation and Pillars of our Faith Changed
Book: “God’s Church Organization – The House Built on the Rock”
Chapters:
1: The Counterfeit Church Organization and the True Building
2: Reformers on the Church
3: Man Appoints a Head to the Organization
4: Foundation and Pillars of our Faith Changed
5: Deadliest Heresy in Seventh Day Adventism
6: God’s church is not confined to an Earthly organization
7: The True Seed of Abraham
8: The Elijah Message
9: Philadelphia – The 144,000
10: A Great Danger Right Before the Plagues are Poured Out
11: The Principles of Separation
12: Not to go and Listen to Error
13: Abomination and 25 Men A Prophecy by Ezekiel
14: Rebuilding That Which is Fallen – Reorganization
15: Church of the Firstborn – The Name of God’s People
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