Editorial Keynotes

There is, thank God, a firm, immovable foun­dation, or platform, upon which the marvelous superstructure of this movement is built. It Teaches down to the very bedrock of changeless, eternal truth—God; His  immutable government and law ; His perfect, "ever­lasting-gospel" plan for compassing human redemption; His immutable dealings with mankind on the basis of obedience or disobedience to His revealed will ; His match­less scheme of salvation through Christ, with its divine, substitutionary Sacrifice to satisfy the joint demands of justice and mercy, and its priestly ministry of the risen Christ in the sanctuary above; the heralding of the final judgment hour at the close of the last prophetic time period, and the supreme test of obedience in connection therewith; the identity, character, time, and revival of the power of the beast-opposer of God and His people ; the ultimate segregation of mankind into the loyal and the disloyal, on the basis of the restored Sabbath sign of allegiance ; and the rally call out of Babylon to the one standard of the command­ments of God, the faith of Jesus, and the guid­ing testimony of the Spirit of prophecy.

This majestic platform thus spreads out to encompass all the- truth of God, and is known to us as the first, second, and third angels' messages, historically developed at the time designated of God, grounded on the inerrant word of God, and divinely attested by the ap­pointed messenger to the advent movement. Consequently, he who seeks to dislodge any part of this triple platform is in reality seeking—though futilely—to dislodge a portion of the foundational truth and provision of God for the consummating hour of human history. Truly it is a fearful thing either to abandon or to attack the basic things of the government of God, and of His remnant church on earth. Dreadful will be the accountability of those who thus do despite to the Spirit and purpose of God.

There are majestic doctrinal, prophetic, and spiritual pillars that support the beautiful and symmetrical temple of truth and faith which rises from this impregnable foundation plat­form of eternal principle. These, springing from the Word, are likewise specified and certi­fied by the gracious gift which God has placed in the remnant church for its guidance, and for the establishment of its certainties. There can be no rightful confusion and no evasion here. They who tamper with these divinely attested pillars of the faith are fighting against God, and denying the veracity of the testimonies of His Spirit. They are, in reality, attempting to remodel—and therefore to alter and ulti­mately to weaken—the very structure of truth. Grave is the responsibility of those who show such temerity.

There are fundamental old landmarks that stake out the scope and the major involvements of this faith of heavenly origin. They were placed in their historic position by agreement in pioneer days, after laborious study and agonizing prayer. And these fundamental po­sitions are likewise specifically confirmed by the Spirit of prophecy. They bear the insigne of heaven, and he who denies them, or attempts to alter, cover, or remove them, is guilty of grave offense against both the dead and the living. And gravest of all—he is guilty of de­nying the attestations of both the Spirit of prophecy and the Scriptures upon which they are based. Such an attitude involves a warn­ing parallel to the solemn declaration of the apostle John in Revelation 22:19, which per­tains to taking away from the Book of God. This is our first proposition, on which all true Adventists stand and to the defense of which they are irrevocably committed.

But there is an inescapable corollary to this proposition—just as true, as unassailable, and as inexorable as the main proposition itself. It is this: That this foundational platform, these towering pillars, and  these imperishable land­marks—specified and en­dorsed by the Spirit of prophecy—are all clearly enumerated, elabo­rated, and repeated therein time and again. Therefore, he who injects into the category of primary fundamentals secondary or supple­mental items which are never named or ad­mitted as essentials by the Spirit of prophecy writings, is guilty of misuse of the gift, even though unwittingly. This is attempting to at­tach unaccredited "riders," as it were, to the un­debatable platform, so as to gain "Testimony" endorsement for some minor item perhaps held by some individual pioneer or group, and for which authoritative and inclusive endorsement is sought. Never should it be forgotten that the silences of the Spirit of prophecy are just as significant and determinative as are its spe­cific and repeated declarations. In a way, these silences constitute as clear guidance of what is not primary, and therefore not to be declared foundational, as the declared statements do of what does constitute the established and in­dispensable essentials from which we must never depart.