Dearly Beloved,
We are gathered here today in solemn remembrance of an event that did not take place.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://spectrummagazine.org/arts-essays/2023/how-observe-disappointment-day
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://spectrummagazine.org/arts-essays/2023/how-observe-disappointment-day
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It all started with arrogant Miller, who despite Jesusās warning against date-setting assumed a day and the year of Lordās coming, which resulted in another deluded denomination propped up by false visions and dreams. If this movement were of God, it wouldnāt have ended up in disappointment.
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When God said donāt do it, He āreallyā meant do it. (Wm Miller explaining why he started date setting)
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At least William Miller backtracked, never did it again, and refrained from inventing a wacky, complicated theory while saying that God held his hand over the truth so they would dig around and Suddenly! We found the Investigative Judgement! Great piece.
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While itās true Wm. Miller, EGW, et. als., were supposedly told āno man knows the hourā, they had also been assured by the OT āprophetā Amos that:
āSurely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.ā
So in order to do what is ābiblicalā, the modern day prophet has no choice but to somehow, and at once, say nothing and something.
A third option, which seems to satisfy all the facts, and make sense of the past two millennia?
Admit that Amos could have used a period instead of a comma and left off the last half of his memory verse.
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a fourth option, which i think Miller must have considered, is to say that no man knowing the day or hour refers to the people to whom these words were spokenā¦the text isnāt exactly saying that no man, at any time, will ever know when Christ will return to earthā¦
a fifth option, which Miller may have also considered, is to say that no man knowing the day or hour refers to people unaided by the HS, either through the bible or a visionā¦this option has the advantage of fitting the parallel of the flood, given in the textā¦that is, the antediluvians who were destroyed in the flood didnāt know when the flood was coming, if they even believed a flood was coming, but Noah knew, because heād received a vision about itā¦
i donāt think this question is as slam dunk as it seemsā¦the Millerites could have had several considerations that persuaded them that they were on the right side of the bibleā¦
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Every religion-including countless āBible-basedā but decidedly contradictory ones-claims to be on the right side of their presupposed āholy bookā.
However, none of them have provided any tangible evidence to show that the god mentioned in those books actually exists or that the book went to press with the imprimatur of the creator of the universe.
In fact, and as Iāve mentioned previously, the existence of so many books about god which do not agree on even the most basic elements is used by atheists to support their disbelief in any gods, and most specifically an omnipotent one. That is, an all-powerful god would not allow so many confusing biographies to have been written about him!
(And please donāt ask me to explain again how there is no logical connection between miracles and prophecies with the alleged truthfulness of the miracle worker or the self-professed seer.)
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Adventists have to unlearn the doctrines developed from the aftermath of this deluded movement, instead of celebrating it as the milestone of their proud āremnantā church
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Jeremy that is adding to the word of God, plus what they predicted didnāt happen , that qualifies them for being false prophets.
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i donāt think the Millerites claimed to be prophetsā¦thatās just falseā¦
but itās true that they were wrong in what they thought would happenā¦in the same way, the disciples were wrong in what they thought would happenā¦none of them expected the crucifixion, or anything that happened afterwardsā¦but they were still Christās chosen 12ā¦he didnāt cast them asideā¦in time, he saw fit to enlighten them with facts that they didnāt anticipateā¦
the same thing happened to the Milleritesā¦they were wrong in their expectations from Christā¦but eventually they came to understand that the event the prophecies were pointing to was the beginning of Christās final segment in his heavenly priestly ministryā¦an entire line of biblical teaching, that they didnāt suspect, suddently became clearā¦some of the Millerites went on to become the recipients of the all-important gift of prophecy, and as a result, went on to become the Adventist Church, or the Remnant Church of all timeā¦
i think in hindsight, neither the disciples nor the Millerites who became Adventists would want it any other wayā¦knowing that you are in the truth, and ultimately a recipient of eternal life, is worth any disappointment, and any set-backā¦
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Given all of the other unbelievable things that supposedly happened in the Bible, thereās good reason to suspect that eternal life is simply more of the same.
IOW, to know that one will be the recipient of this āgiftā may fall into the category of things Mark Twain warned about, i.e., āthings one knows that aināt soā
Fortunately, there is also very good reason to believe that if eternal life isnāt a real thing, then at least the disappointment one experiences on learning that this is the case will be short lived.
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Adventists canāt afford doing this. They have no a backbone to be honest and admit to the farce. Their best shot is trying to block the spreading of information around the world. Filtering info was easier in the past, but with the Internet being available basically everywhere, they must be indeed deluded trying to do that now. But they duped their members in the past, they still do it, and they will continue doing it. So unfortunate.
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What do you suppose that would look like?
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Right, because the disciples werenāt at all disappointed about Jesusā death.
Right, because we know Jonah was a false prophet.
Okay, just looking over the 28 Fundamental Beliefs, here are some thoughts about what it COULD look like:
One: Reword this one to reject Bible literalism and add the idea of wisdom literature.
2, 3, 4, and 5 - pretty much okay.
Six: Creation: re-word to change the creation concept to include progressive revelation from the natural sciences.
Seven: Marriage: re-word Man and Woman to humanity.
Eight: The Great Controversy - speculative, DELETE.
Nine: Life Death & Resurrection: add broader concepts than substitutionary atonement.
10, 11, 12 - Okay
Thirteen: Remnant - DELETE
14. Okay.
Fifteen: Baptism: delete the word Immersion.
16 & 17 - Okay.
Eighteen: Gift of Prophecy - DELETE
Nineteen: The Law: use Hebrews instead of Exodus.
Twenty: Sabbath: acknowledge the benefits of a rest day, and that worship happens any and every day.
Twenty One: Stewardship: delete the specific Tithe wording.
22. Okay.
Twenty Three. Marriage and family: delete Man/Woman, simplify, and make it inclusive to all kinds of families.
Twenty Four: Heavenly Sanctuary: speculative, DELETE
Twenty Five: 2nd Coming: reword to emphasize Christ/God with us now.
Twenty Six: Death and Resurrection: speculative, DELETE
Twenty Seven: Millennium: speculative - re-word or DELETE
Twenty Eight: New Earth: speculative, but sort of okay.
The denomination would be left with a strong, diverse, worldwide organization which emphasizes the whole person in Christ: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, and which also recommends and follows a probable traditional Jesus-y day of rest on the seventh day. Contrary to some, the church would not āfallā if some of the more dubious ideas were DELETED.
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Carolynā¦I love itā¦especially your liberal use of the word 'DELETE"!
George, I remember questioning things after searching on the internet. Another member told me not to read that stuff anymore! Wish I wouldāve went with my gut instinct at that time.
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In the early 80ās, while still leaving in Brazil, I Got all books/literature that were appearing at the time of Glacier View. I was not a Church employee. Long story made short, after a while the Divisionās Secretary (Mario Veloso) came to my home for a visit aiming to make sure I wouldnāt be spreading the information I was learning. Imagine!!!
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The very first thing that popped into my head when I read that wasā¦
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