By Hazel Holland
Excerpt from "The Naked truth..."
“Our history as a denomination reveals that generations of Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs) have been involved, to some degree, in striving to obey the Ten Commandments, especially the fourth. The idea we inherited from our forbearers was that in order to please God we must obey His law. In the dream our striving to obey the law was represented as our holding on to endless columns of indecipherable fine print inside the magazines (packages) that were impossible to read without the aid of a magnifying glass (p. 59)
The man-made rules and teachings of Adventism that have been added to the old covenant lists of requirements for proper Sabbath observance have replaced the list that the Pharisees added, but both have caused a heaviness on the people. However, those who were carrying the packages in the dream did not realize this heaviness. As long as the content of Adventism’s package remained tightly sealed it didn’t appear to be a heavy burden to those carrying it. It was only after the content of my package was ripped open and exposed to the light of the cross that the growing “weight” of Adventism’s package became unbearable (p. 59).
I remember well my striving in the dream to hold on to Adventism’s package after the brown paper covering was ripped and the “package” contents exposed, because I supposed it was a “gift.”… As a third generation Adventist I initially felt that the special truths of Adventism had been handed down to me as a “gift” that I was fortunate and privileged to have received. Therefore, it was my responsibility to become a good steward and take care of this “package” I had received and pass it on. In a million years I would never have dreamed of discarding this “gift” or letting it fall to the ground or of throwing it away. That is why I was so horrified and dismayed in the dream when I was thrown headfirst across the top of a desk and the “package” was ripped open… (p. 34)
In the hope of disguising the darkness of the inner contents of the “package” that people were seen carrying, the corporate leadership of the SDA church has covered up the true nature of the “package” contents by making the outer covering appear attractive and desirable. In fact each generation of SDAs has tried to package Adventism’s message in such a way as to make it even more desirable and more attractive than the generation before them. However, the attractive packaging does not change the nature of what is inside the “package.”… No matter how hard we try to make Adventism’s package attractive to others, from God’s perspective Adventism’s “package” can never be dressed up to look like anything but filthy rags! (p. 35)
In essence, the graphic imagery portrayed on the front covers of the magazines ( Adventism’s package) reveal that the Adventist people are having an adulterous relationship with the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Fear of being lost has caused many to cling to the false savior—the Law—rather than the Groom—Jesus Christ. The futility of trusting in our own obedience instead of Christ’s obedience for us is equivalent to spiritual adultery (p. 53).
An equally offensive betrayal of His grace is the belief that He gives us the ability, through the Holy Spirit, to obey the old covenant law. I believe that God is revealing, through the imagery in the dream, a systemic problem of spiritual pornography and adultery within the body of Adventism about which most members are oblivious. Yet, unbeknownst to them, they are most certainly victims of this most subtle form of spiritual impurity (p. 54)
One of the most alluring attributes of pornography is its promise of intimacy. In fact the entire porn industry is founded upon the premise that everyone needs intimacy. So victims of pornography, having being lured in by loneliness, lust or desire, discover too late that they have become addicted to an empty, false and destructive imitation of their true needs. This false intimacy momentarily gratifies lust but leaves their deeper needs untouched as they slide toward a black hole of death. Using the pornographic industry as a metaphor for illegitimate fulfillment of legitimate needs helps to identify some of the ways in which Adventism has appealed to the need for intimacy with God through their man-made solutions (p. 54).
Adventism’s foundational teachings are spiritually destructive in nature precisely because they deceive people into thinking that they will find true intimacy and acceptance with God by striving to obey the Ten Commandments. Consequently, millions have been lured into slavishly striving to obey the Sabbath of the 4th commandment. Instead of finding the true intimacy with God they desired, they strive, out of fear, to obey a poor facsimile (the law of sin and death) of the real thing—Jesus Christ (p. 54).
Since the truth of the gospel has been perverted by Adventism’s unbiblical teachings, I believe most Adventists are unaware of the fact that the brand of “Christianity” being promoted by the SDA church at large is cultic in nature. From the outside, the church looks good as its slick marketing techniques present worthy programs and admirable community endeavors that can fool the casual observer. However, all of the spin in the world is no substitute for the intimacy with our Maker that come from living in the reality of the gospel by the power of the Spirit.” (p. 54).
Next post: The Central Pillar
Excerpt from "The Naked truth..."
“Our history as a denomination reveals that generations of Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs) have been involved, to some degree, in striving to obey the Ten Commandments, especially the fourth. The idea we inherited from our forbearers was that in order to please God we must obey His law. In the dream our striving to obey the law was represented as our holding on to endless columns of indecipherable fine print inside the magazines (packages) that were impossible to read without the aid of a magnifying glass (p. 59)
The man-made rules and teachings of Adventism that have been added to the old covenant lists of requirements for proper Sabbath observance have replaced the list that the Pharisees added, but both have caused a heaviness on the people. However, those who were carrying the packages in the dream did not realize this heaviness. As long as the content of Adventism’s package remained tightly sealed it didn’t appear to be a heavy burden to those carrying it. It was only after the content of my package was ripped open and exposed to the light of the cross that the growing “weight” of Adventism’s package became unbearable (p. 59).
I remember well my striving in the dream to hold on to Adventism’s package after the brown paper covering was ripped and the “package” contents exposed, because I supposed it was a “gift.”… As a third generation Adventist I initially felt that the special truths of Adventism had been handed down to me as a “gift” that I was fortunate and privileged to have received. Therefore, it was my responsibility to become a good steward and take care of this “package” I had received and pass it on. In a million years I would never have dreamed of discarding this “gift” or letting it fall to the ground or of throwing it away. That is why I was so horrified and dismayed in the dream when I was thrown headfirst across the top of a desk and the “package” was ripped open… (p. 34)
In the hope of disguising the darkness of the inner contents of the “package” that people were seen carrying, the corporate leadership of the SDA church has covered up the true nature of the “package” contents by making the outer covering appear attractive and desirable. In fact each generation of SDAs has tried to package Adventism’s message in such a way as to make it even more desirable and more attractive than the generation before them. However, the attractive packaging does not change the nature of what is inside the “package.”… No matter how hard we try to make Adventism’s package attractive to others, from God’s perspective Adventism’s “package” can never be dressed up to look like anything but filthy rags! (p. 35)
In essence, the graphic imagery portrayed on the front covers of the magazines ( Adventism’s package) reveal that the Adventist people are having an adulterous relationship with the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Fear of being lost has caused many to cling to the false savior—the Law—rather than the Groom—Jesus Christ. The futility of trusting in our own obedience instead of Christ’s obedience for us is equivalent to spiritual adultery (p. 53).
An equally offensive betrayal of His grace is the belief that He gives us the ability, through the Holy Spirit, to obey the old covenant law. I believe that God is revealing, through the imagery in the dream, a systemic problem of spiritual pornography and adultery within the body of Adventism about which most members are oblivious. Yet, unbeknownst to them, they are most certainly victims of this most subtle form of spiritual impurity (p. 54)
One of the most alluring attributes of pornography is its promise of intimacy. In fact the entire porn industry is founded upon the premise that everyone needs intimacy. So victims of pornography, having being lured in by loneliness, lust or desire, discover too late that they have become addicted to an empty, false and destructive imitation of their true needs. This false intimacy momentarily gratifies lust but leaves their deeper needs untouched as they slide toward a black hole of death. Using the pornographic industry as a metaphor for illegitimate fulfillment of legitimate needs helps to identify some of the ways in which Adventism has appealed to the need for intimacy with God through their man-made solutions (p. 54).
Adventism’s foundational teachings are spiritually destructive in nature precisely because they deceive people into thinking that they will find true intimacy and acceptance with God by striving to obey the Ten Commandments. Consequently, millions have been lured into slavishly striving to obey the Sabbath of the 4th commandment. Instead of finding the true intimacy with God they desired, they strive, out of fear, to obey a poor facsimile (the law of sin and death) of the real thing—Jesus Christ (p. 54).
Since the truth of the gospel has been perverted by Adventism’s unbiblical teachings, I believe most Adventists are unaware of the fact that the brand of “Christianity” being promoted by the SDA church at large is cultic in nature. From the outside, the church looks good as its slick marketing techniques present worthy programs and admirable community endeavors that can fool the casual observer. However, all of the spin in the world is no substitute for the intimacy with our Maker that come from living in the reality of the gospel by the power of the Spirit.” (p. 54).
Next post: The Central Pillar
