I wonder if a company of Seventh-day Adventists have ever come together who have sought God as earnestly for new light as did the pioneers of this message. See "Life Sketches," pp. 196, 24, 25 (1915 ed.). We know the result of their investigation. They developed a system of truth that has withstood all the attacks of error through the years, and it shines more resplendently today than ever before. We have believed and taught through the years that this is the last phase of the gospel message to go to the world. Those who accept the message of Revelation 14 are the ones who will stand on the sea of glass. Of the integrity of this message Mrs. White says:
"But the waymarks which have made us what we are, are to be preserved, and they will be preserved, as God has signified through His word and the testimony of His Spirit. He calls upon us to hold firmly, with the grip of faith, to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority."—Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, p. 59 (May 18, 1904).
"As a people we are to stand firm on the platform of eternal truth that has withstood test and trial. We are to hold to the sure pillars of our faith. The principles of truth that God has revealed to us are our only true foundation. They have made us what we are. The lapse of time has not lessened their value."—Id., p. 51 (May 18, 1904). (See also "Testimonies," Vol. VI, p. 17; Vol. V. pp. 206, 207; "Early Writings," p. 258, 1858 ed.)
Is the message that God has given us complete in every detail? Has the Lord given us all the light that He has for His church ? I have never thought so. When Christ was here on earth, He didn't reveal to His church the entire truth of God. He said:
"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye ' cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself ; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come." John /6 :12, 13.
The truth of God is progressive, and the same Spirit of God which led the disciples back there is promised to His church today. The path of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. I believe there is still truth to be revealed. I have some 'statements on this:
"We must not think, 'Well, we have all the truth, we understand the main pillars of our faith, and we may rest on this knowledge.' The truth is an advancing truth, and we must walk in the increasing light."—"Counsels to Editors," Ellen G. White, p. 23.
"New light will ever be revealed on the word of God to him who is in living connection with the Sun of Righteousness. Let no one come to the conclusion that there is no more truth to be revealed. The diligent, prayerful seeker for truth will find precious rays of light yet to shine forth from the word of God. Many gems are yet scattered that are to be gathered together to become the property of the remnant people of God."—"Counsels on Sabbath School Work," P. 34. (See also "Gospel Workers," p. 300.),
What will be the character of the new light? I have often wondered about that. Will the new light change the past teachings of this people ? I think not in any essential feature. It certainly will not change the fundamentals that we have held through the years. What do I mean by the fundamentals ? I mean the threefold message of Revelation 14, and the elucidation of that message in various ways. I have always considered the articles of belief published in our Year Book from year to year to constitute the fundamentals of our message today. These beliefs, as stated there, are the threefold message of Revelation 14, merely drawn out in detail. I do not conceive that any of these fundamentals will be changed by future study.
Changes in Details, but Not in Fundamentals
There may come a change in some detail. We do not believe now in every detail what we believed once. There was a time when we began the Sabbath differently from the way we do at the present time. I think it was observed first from midnight to midnight, and then from six o'clock to six o'clock, and finally we took the Bible reckoning from sundown to sundown as we hold it today. When I became a Seventh-day Adventist, we knew very little about tithes and offerings as we teach them today. We had what was known then as systematic benevolence. In the little church to which I belonged, we pledged a certain amount to be paid at different times, quarterly or weekly. After further study we discovered that the Bible clearly teaches the system of tithing as we now teach it. In my judgment, this illustrates the changes in some of the details of our teachings which may take place in days to come. But I do not believe that those changes will involve the great fundamentals. I believe that for the most part the new light that will come will be confirmatory of the old light, or it will be new spiritual truth.
We recently printed in the Review an article from Professor Howell, in which he gives an exposition of the promise of Christ to the thief on the cross, which presents confirmatory evidence of our teaching on this scripture. He gives evidence from a new translation of the Scriptures which tallies with the interpretation that we have always believed. We have three articles from M. L. Andreasen on the burnt offering of the sanctuary service. I think he brings out some new light. As I read those articles I thanked the Lord that I was able to see in that burnt offering that Israel made back there, spiritual lessons that I never saw before, spiritual lessons which if Israel saw them must have made that sacrifice more than a mere form to them. I believe that we should have that attitude of mind, that when we study the word of God He can speak to us by His Spirit.
What will be the test of the new light as it comes to us? Isaiah, in speaking of certain delusions, concludes: "To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." New light must, of course, be found in the word of God. It must agree with the word of God, and it must agree with the instruction that has come to us through the messenger of the Lord. No new light today will deny the old light of yesterday. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His Spirit speaks through the prophets of every age, and I cannot conceive that the Lord through His prophet or teachers or preachers will give new light today that will dispute or set aside the light of yesterday.
God does not ordinarily give light to one or two people and pass by His church. God remembers that He has a church in the world. (See "Testimonies," Vol. V, pp. 291, 295, 296; "Testimonies to Ministers," p. 61.) It is well for us to remember in the midst of voices sounding from every quarter that God has a people on this earth, and is leading, not stray offshoots, not one here and one there, but a people. Through the years, various ones have arisen who claimed to be prophets. Shortly after Sister White passed away there were eight persons I know of who claimed that the Lord had appointed them to take her place. I had a very go®d lesson some years ago from one of these prophetesses. I was editor of the Sabbath School Worker at that time. I received a testimony from a woman .who claimed to have divine revelations, and to be the successor of Sister White. She sent me a testimony to be published. I wondered what I should do, and I decided to take counsel about it. I wrote a letter to S. N. Haskell. I have always remembered his reply:
"Brother Wilcox, you should remember that the Lord is never in a hurry in such matters as this. He is willing that you take time for developments. His prophets aren't established in the church in a day. It takes time for that procedure to be worked out."
Some time ago another woman sent me a number of testimonies, and said that the Lord had appointed me to introduce her to the church. I replied to her that if the Lord had appointed me to do that work, He was quite able to speak to me, and that I should wait for direct counsel from Him. Pretended prophets will arise in the future. We must keep our bearings. We must not be switched away from the truth of God. We must not lose our heads.
Assault Upon the Foundations
The devil is going to make a great assault upon the foundations of this message. "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Suppose we sweep away the foundations of our faith, what can we do then? Following his question, the psalmist declares: "The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men." Ps. 2 :4. The psalmist here seems to link the satanic attack upon the foundations with the sanctuary service—"The Lord is in His holy temple." If there is one question above another that is the object of the enemy's attack, it is the sanctuary. If we abandon our faith in the sanctuary as we have held it through the years, we might as well discard every other doctrine that we hold as a denomination. I quote again from the Spirit of prophecy:
"Not one pin is to be removed from that which the Lord has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty years ?"—Review and Herald, May 25, 1905.
"Satan is striving continually to bring in fanciful suppositions in regard to the sanctuary, degrading the wonderful representations of God and the ministry of Christ for our salvation into something that suits the carnal mind. He removes its presiding power from the hearts of believers, and supplies its place with fantastic theories invented to make void the truths of the atonement, and destroy our confidence in the doctrines which we have held sacred since the third angel's message was first given. Thus he would rob us of our faith in the very message that has made us a separate people, and has given character and power to our work."—Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, p. zp (Nov. 20, 1905). (See also "Gospel Workers," p. 303.)
The Lord wants us to give a balanced message. We ought to avoid unimportant questions in our discussions. We have one good brother who believes he knows what the seven thunders uttered, and he feels that it should be published in the Review. All the time we are receiving questions as to just who will constitute the 144,000, whether there will be included those who die in the message, or only those alive when the Lord comes. I have to answer those people that I do not know. That is a question I leave with the Lord. We had seven articles in our files some time ago as to the identity of Melchizedek. We receive now and then articles on "this generation." There is a disposition on the part of some to try to figure out just when it began, the length of a generation, and when the generation will close. I do not know when it began, nor how long it is, and consequently I do not know when it will close. Our papers should always give the trumpet a certain sound. Our papers are not forums to discuss new light.
I believe that we should keep speculation out of our papers. We may indulge in it personally if we are careful that it does not lead us away from the great fundamental truths of the word of God. In our speculation we ought to hold to the old-time doctrines. If our speculations lead us afield from the old fundamentals, we should get back to the old-time truths that we have held through the years. It is well for us to remember a statement made by Lyman Beecher, an old American divine. In talking to a divinity class one day, he gave them this counsel:
"Beware of speculation. Sometimes I venture out into the great sea of speculation myself. But before doing so, I make fast to some old stump of a doctrine that has stood on the shore and resisted the winds and waves for many years. Then I cautiously venture forth. If there comes along a big wave and I lose my footing and do not know where I am, I know where that old stump is, and so I haul in on the rope and get back to shore."
Fallacy of Personal Prediction
Can Seventh-day Adventists judge how prophecy will be fulfilled in detail? It is amazing the way some preach on prophecy. I listened to a man a short time ago. He knew just how this war was coming out, knew just how things were to be fulfilled. I think if you and I can predict in detail just how prophecy is to be fulfilled, then we have a prophetic insight ourselves. We ought to watch the development of prophecy very closely, and when it is fulfilled, we ought to be ouick to recognize it. But we should be very backward in predicting just how future events will unfold. I have seen many, many predictions made through the years, and when the predictions failed, those who made them were counted sensationalists.
I feel that as editors we need to cultivate a tender conscience, and develop a tough hide. Whatever we do, we are subjects of criticism. We need to learn to withstand criticisms in good spirit; but on the other hand, let us develop and keep a tender conscience, so that God can speak to us by His Spirit, and through the humblest member in the church. I thank God for the messages that come to us from the humble ones of our ranks. They have great confidence in the leadership of this movement. We cannot afford to disappoint them. When you and I once disappoint the simple confidence of our people, we have destroyed the greatest asset that this denomination has.
