Unity Sabbath Quarterly is an Adventist Shot Across the Bow

Just like we reported last year when stewardship as slipped in to up the giving, this quarter is another subtle dig into the political parts of the church.

While there's nothing wrong with the substance, maybe, on its own, but slipping it into a Sabbath School quarter, is a tad underhanded. Hmmmm. Heavy handed?

Make no mistake about it. This unity is the leaders' idea of untiy. Not yours. Not mine. Not ours. But theirs. Fall in line, or else.

Some have even started to say that we have become militant. That we are now coming up with rules and regulations that a member MUST follow or else....excommunicated. (for lack of a better word).

The people at the tower of babel were united. Apparently that was not a good thing.

Unity for unity's sake, is a farce.

So what do we think the real issue is in unity? Perhaps more than one:

Ordination of women. Get in line with U N I T Y.

Perhaps we can toss in gay marriage, 6 day creation, and other things.

You would think with the experts we have in charge, and the amount of money we pay them, that they would be able to hash out a Biblical solution.

But...no.

We can be unified on a number of things. But how about the full set of 28 fundamental beliefs? We would hazard a guess that most people have an issue with at least one point or subpoints.

Have you ever read what you swear to on a baptismal certificate..done in a church by a pastor who actually cares about such things? You raise your right hand and sweat to a lot of things. Things that have nothing to do with salvation as told in The Gospel. So we come up with rules made by men.

Except for major sin, nobody was ever told to leave the early church, or kicked out. Paul and Peter, were not in agreement. They were unified in The Gospel.

If this Sabbath quarterly will focus on the unity of The Gospel, no problem.

Buy we will predict that as you dig into it and go further...you will see what you must do and believe. and if not, you are a rebel and not unified.

No organized church, including The Seventh Day Adventist Church, has the power to set the rules of salvation. None. The very things we call out the Catholic church for....we are rapidly becoming.

No one man (or woman) has the power to set themselves up in a dictatorship of a church.

How unified are you?

Why do we read The Bible differently than Ellen G White?

For Adventists, their beliefs and Ellen G White go hand in hand. Or so it seems for many members. They can't seem to do anything without scraping up what she sad about whatever is in question. However, we should always remember our first and foremost fundamental belief:

"The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God's acts in history."

But is that true? Do we really read The Bible as infallible and where we get our doctrines? It seems we do not. We change words. We cut out things. We talk about symbolism, other times, present truth, translations. Just about everything we can to slice and dice parts of The Bible that we do not follow. But we NEVER do that with Ellen G White. If she said it, well, it must be gospel. We must follow everything she said word for word, especially in certain books.

That is what makes us seem like a cult. We don't follow the Scriptures, we follow Mrs. White.

The Apostle Paul many times tells us how to act. He describes what women should do. What men should do. What the church should do. Paul even many times says that is what we MUST do. And yet, we just strip it away.

The Under Cover Adventist believes we should read EGW no differently.

If not, we will watch things unfold in the world, and we will be left clinging to things that are not relevant, let alone coming true.

For example. Why don't we read John in Revelation the same way we read Spirit of Prophecy? We seldom take John at his word. He talks about the mark of the beast being on heads and hands. Should we leave it there? No, we don't. Maybe we should...but we don't. We try six ways from Sunday to explain it away because Ellen White said something. Perhaps, just perhaps, we need to dissect her writings with the same scalpel that we do authors in The Bible.

Maybe when Mrs. White talks about Catholics, Sunday Laws, etc., we need to look at these as if they are symbolic. False worship. There is a whole lot more to false worship than just Sunday. While you are waiting for a Sunday Law that might not actually be a true, "Sunday Law," another religion will sneak in and make you keep Friday holy.

Did you know there are countries in the world today that force people to keep Friday holy? Probably not. We are too busy relying on EGW instead of The Bible, history, and present times.

Here is a little known passage from Paul in Galatians 4

²² For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. ²³ But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, ²⁴ which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— ²⁵ for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— ²⁶ but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.


Right now in The United States, business are being troubled if they refuse service to gays. If you own a business, you will suffer a lot if you somehow express your beliefs in The Bible. You boycotted or sued. Schools are teaching the gay lifestyle is normal and should be accepted.

California is considering a law that will make it illegal to sell anything, or offer a service, if you also publish and pronounce that homo sexuality is wrong and should be stopped.

Just do a search for
AB 2942
AB 2943

Wake up and smell the abominations.

Many states have banned travel and business with anyone and any thing that disagrees with gay marriage and lifestyle.

We should begin and end with our first fundamental belief. If it is really not in The Bible, or can be inferred from The Bible, what good does it do us to defend it? We obviously can't use The Bible in these cases....and that poses a dramatic problem: Admitting that we look elsewhere for truth and doctrine.

The Seventh Day Adventist will change. Either kicking and screaming, or through The Bible in a most severe way. Luckily there are Adventist pastors who are already on board. Seeking truth. Taking heed of Ellen White's own words. She should never be preached from the pulpit. There will be more truth. More trumpets.

The Trinity: Monotheism or Polytheism?

The Adventists' second fundamental belief is as follows:

"There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons. God is immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present. He is infinite and beyond human comprehension, yet known through His self-revelation. God, who is love, is forever worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation. (Gen. 1:26; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 6:8; Matt. 28:19; John 3:16 2 Cor. 1:21, 22; 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2.)"

So, right off the bat, Adventists affirm that there is but one God. They carefully chose the word, capitalized, "Persons," to describe Jesus, The Father, and The Holy Spirit. They did not choose to describe it as three deities.

To be more exact, it is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three coeternal Persons. It is not a God, then another God, then yet another God. They are all one God.

One reference puts it this way:
" This monotheistic emphasis does not contradict the Christian concept of the triune God or Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; rather, it affirms that there is no pantheon of various deities.
All three were at creation, thus "us" was used. But then talking about the unity of them being all one God, you only have to read The Bible to find this is reiterated.  " https://www.adventist.org/en/beliefs/god/trinity/

The First Commandment of The Ten affirms this in Genesis 20.

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before me.

The word "I" and "me" are chosen. Not us. Telling us that there is but one God.

 Malachi 2:10.
Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another By profaning the covenant of the fathers?

Ephesians 4

⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

 1 Timothy 2:5

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

If we say there are three deities, then we do not have a trinity.

The New Testament makes it clear of the unity of all three being one. Jesus says, I and my father are one. If you've seen me, you have seen the Father. Nowhere does Jesus ever say that His Father and himself are different Gods.

Only God can forgive sins. The pharisees were calling Jesus a blasphemer because he claimed to be God...NOT a God.

All three Persons work together. They are working as one God, and only one God.

Not a great choice is the word persons, as it gives the idea of three separate and distinct "beings." It is what gets people in trouble when talking about The Trinity. You cannot say they are three separate and distinct deities....because then you have no trinity. People who do not believe in the Trinity will use these words against, and perhaps convince you that there is no triune.

Adventists and some of their churches are trying to void the 2nd belief.

Will you stand?

There are numerous problems with polytheism. Not the least of which is a belief in multiple gods. Worse, multiple "gods" that are equal. The whole Gospel of Jesus falls apart. It might not seem like it on the surface, but if Jesus is not God....then what? And there lies the problem.

Are we worshiping another god? Are we following another god? What happened to God of the Old Testament? If Jesus is not God, then we would have nothing more than another made up religion following another deity. Another buddha? Another cult or sect? Is Christianity based on the true God, or more Gods? Why stop at just three? Jesus never told anyone that he was starting a new religion. He came to complete and promote the old one.

If God never changes, and is forever, then how can we possibly say Jesus is another God? What happened to the first one?

Stewardship: Adventists were duped!

So you just finished a great series on "Stewardship." You are now pumped up for the cause. Adventists are feeling recharged and ready to open their pocketbooks. Well, at least that was the goal.

Back in 2015, the good people that run the Adventist Church, decided we needed a reboot. That giving was not up to snuff, and by golly, they were bound and determined to do something about it.

They created stewardship directors for each division. Thirteen in all. They were given salary, benefits, and travel to shepherd the masses. They wanted to teach every man, woman, and child in the church about stewardship. In other words, you gotta spend money to make money.


Of course it fell flat. Local churches and pastors were not really on board.

It was a perfect storm, really. The GC had troubles with the strong dollar, less tithe money coming in, and a few questionable business practices. Something had to be done.

We need to get people on board to start tithing!

In the Fall of 2017, the stewardship directors met and decided the faithful in the pews needed a swat on the behind to start giving.

So, a solid, three month study on stewardship was benevolently bestowed upon us.

Do you feel duped?

Now you know why the Sabbath School Quarterly had some biting things in it. Like how you cannot possibly be a good Christian unless you tithe. Maybe you are not even fully saved.

Did you feel a little shaken down? Well, now you know the rest of the story. https://news.adventist.org/en/all-news/news/go/2017-10-10/in-the-face-of-financial-challenges-the-adventist-church-refocuses-on-stewardship-and-systematic-gi/

We at the Undercover Adventist encourages people to give as freely as THEIR heart guided by God leads them to. Not to be under pressure.

Should Adventists Celebrate Easter

If by Easter, one means the death and resurrection of Jesus, most certainly we should observe and celebrate Easter. Celebrations were part of ancient Jewish life, even commanded by God. The celebration of Purim was started in the book of Esther.

Of course bunnies, eggs, chicks, and other things are not to be promoted in the church.

Easter does not really have pagan beginnings. It is called Pascha in both Greek and Latin. It is named after the month it occurs in.

Don't be caught up in the falsehoods that are generated each time during Easter. It is just a name. The name came from a book, and from the name of a month in that book. Nothing more, nothing less.

Easter is no more pagan than modern weddings. Yes modern weddings have their origin in pagan beliefs.

So you would sound quite foolish by telling people about the paganism they are doing when they celebrate Easter, as you condone wedding cakes, veils, dresses, flowers, rings, rice, and more. They all have pagan origins. In fact, many if not most, of our customs and everyday items, can be traced to paganism.

And anyone that knows this, will start schooling you on such pagan practices that you do.... as you berate them about Easter.

Easter is not about bunnies or any other such nonsense. But a person do such a thing can hardly be called pagan. The origins of those things do not exist today.

We seem to quote only half The Bible, and only things we like. Consider tattoos. We love to criticize people over those, all the while ignoring something in the same passage: Trimming your beard with round corners. Funny how we never talk about the pagan practice of rounding the edges of your beard.

Why not? Because it's not a good sound bite the way Easter is.

Easter, and Christmas, should be all about Jesus Christ. If it is, then go in peace.

Oh and one more thing. Do you use The King James version of The Bible? And hate Easter? Better get a new Bible. The word Easter is in there. Read little know Bible facts and trivia.

Being Good Stewards, Money, and the Parables of Jesus

This quarter the church is studying about being good stewards. The first thing we think about is money. We must indeed be good stewards with money. We are also being instructed to save your money, think about the future, and not waste things. We need to save and worry about retirement, kid's college, new car, etc.

But won't the Earth be destroyed, and everything in it?

Why does The Bible, Jesus, Bible Authors, and Apostles warn us to NOT think about the future? That is, our monetary future? We are not supposed to worry about such and such when we don't even know what will happen today.

Did Jesus tell us that the lily has no worries about its clothes and so should we be?

What then, does one make about the parables of Jesus about money. These parables apparently teach us about saving and investing money.

Or do they....

Jesus told parables about sheep. We readily agree the parables are NOT about sheep keeping.

Jesus tells us parables on sowing seeds. Of course this is not about farming.

He warns us about having oil in lamps. Most assuredly he is not talking about having lamps lighted.

A son returns to his father after squandering his inheritance. Family matters are not what that was about.

Whey then do we talk about the parables of money.....as if they were about money?

We cannot have it both ways. We cannot be told to worry about the future....but we must save our money just in case?

Jesus tells of a man who did just that. Saved huge amounts in his barns....and then was satisfied. But he died without ever enjoying it. No retirement for him.

Jesus' parables on money must be on something more. Just like all of His other parables.

Each and every one of these parables of money could have The Light substituted for money.

The people in these parables who hid the money were not rewarded.

Are we supposed to hide The Gospel?

The people who took the money and made it grow were rewarded.

Are we not required to spread The Gospel?

After further review, each and every parable that Jesus told was about spreading The Good News. Not saving and investing money.

Jesus had no money. The disciples had little money. Peter and John had no money to give the lame beggar. They have him Jesus.

We should not be saving money just for the sake of saving money. We should not be investing money because Jesus told a parable on it. Just like we would not be going out and taking care of one hundred sheep.

We must use our money, whenever we can, for spreading of The Gospel. We would be foolish and very un-Biblical to say to ourselves, "I'm putting my money in stocks, bonds, CDs, and annuities because I need retirement money to live until I'm 90."

Let's look at what Jesus says:

Matthew 6:34 

³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

James 4:13-16 
 
^"13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; ¹⁴ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil."

Conclusions?

Of course we need to think about the future. If you spend your time worrying about your retirement, socking money away, and other worries, you are not listening to what The Bible says.

What if you die tomorrow? What good is your retirement savings? What good is your bank account? What good is your new car? What came of your worries and plannings?


A Biblical perspective on your future money worries, or non-worries, is what you should be concentrating on.

Are you using your money wisely to spread The Gospel, or filling your earthly storehouses?
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Work and The Sabbath

As Adventists, you have heard that having a medical job is sacred. That somehow you can work on The Sabbath because you are a healer. Ditto with other "emergency" jobs that someone else has deemed sacred. So, why is this?

If you happen to work at a department store, and called to work on Saturday, we become militant. We tell them in no uncertain terms that they MUST get off. That they must trust God to somehow come to their rescue.

However, if you have the privilege of being a doctor, we give you a pass. Or a nurse. We tell them they are doing some sort of God's work, so that is okay.

Of course this makes us look foolish.

Oh sure, some people say to give the money you earn on Sabbath back to the church, and you are pure. But you still worked your regular job!

Working on Sabbath seems to be okay so long as you :
A) Have a medical or emergency job.
And, perhaps....
B) Give the money back to the church.

Of course this violates Sabbath keeping, does it not?

Is one job sacred over another?

This is related to tithing and faith.

If someone says they have no money left over to pay tithe after bills, then you should pay God first, and God will miraculously make up the difference.

Doctors, nurses, and others, seem to live in a parallel Sabbath universe.

They are told no such thing. They are not told to make other arrangements. They are not told to trust God with their patients. (Or their employer.) They are not told to give their employer a threat of a lawsuit if they are forced to work on Sabbath.


Of course giving back the money you earn on Sabbath opens up a whole slew of problems. If your normal week is 5 days, then is it fair to only take the money you earn on 4 days, when someone else who is "lucky," takes home 5 days pay?

Do we really, really want to talk about faith?

Why do we try and force the little guy to have so much faith, and doctors a pass?

I imagine that most (yes this is a logical statement) doctors, at least in the United States, have quite a lot of wealth. As opposed to a department store employee.

Do we not tell people that God will supply all their needs? Oh...unless you are a doctor or nurse. Then somehow your faith is irrelevant. You must be available on The Sabbath.

Jesus never charged a mite on Sabbath for healing. He never took money on this day, then gave it to the church.

Jesus said to do good on The Sabbath. He certainly did not say do any work on The Sabbath, nor did He say get paid for your good works on The Sabbath.

So the conundrum is there. And we seem to have taken sides.

To some, we tell them to be harsh on their employers and demand to not work on The Sabbath.

To others we say, work in peace. You are doing "good" work, so you are okay.

There must be some other slant. We know this.

It is NOT about flat out working or not working on The Sabbath. There is a principle there. There is a pureness of heart. Jesus told them that they took their ox out of a ditch because it was the right thing to do. Jesus did not tell them to trust God that the ox will keep until sundown.

We do not know the motives or struggles of people who are trying to keep The Sabbath.

However, it seems to us here at The Undercover Adventist, that we tell some people to struggle, and others not to.

Shouldn't we tell everyone to not struggle and live by faith? Without judgement?

Very difficult to do if we take sides and deem some jobs sacred, others not.

In the very near future, we will address more of this. Stay tuned!