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I would like to begin with a passage from the Book of Acts, describing a rather significant development in the early Christian Church. We read, “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the Twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, ‘It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word.’
“And the saying pleased the whole multitude; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch, whom they set before the apostles. And when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the Word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:1-7)
While it is true that the Old Testament, in symbols and types, lays out much that is a pattern for what comes afterwards, there really is no equivalent in the Levitical Priesthood for the deacon. There were always assistants, and helpers, but nothing like this specific appointment. And yet, when we read about how this Church office came about, it was not through a voice from Heaven. It was not from the instruction of a dedicated prophet, taken off in vision. It was not from intense study of the Scriptures. No… it was from a suggestion of the apostles that pleased the Church.
We read this well-known passage, said first to Peter, and then to all the apostles: “And I will give unto thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” (Mat 16:19) “Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” (Mat 18:18)
What are these “Keys to the Kingdom?” As Creation Seventh Day Adventists, we have used this phrase a few times. When we speak of a “rule of thumb,” like saying “I am,” vs. “I feel,” or when we talk about thought processing, or when we discuss the Snares of Satan that keep one from grasping the divine mind, we speak of Keys to the Kingdom. The Keys represent the wisdom that Yahweh has given to His Church – exclusively His Church, not to the world, or to self-sent messengers who believe they are doing Yahweh a service by further dividing the flock.
Yahweh has committed judgment to His Son, and to the Bride of His Son. We know that passage from 1 Corinthians that tells us that the least member of the Church is equipped by the Holy Spirit to judge the things of the earth, and that generally speaking the Church is designed to prepare a people to judge eternal matters on behalf of the King. This is what we mean by the “Keys.” The wisdom that Yahweh has given the Church will either open, or close, the gates to everlasting life.
Now, I want to be particularly clear on this matter. I did not just say that Yahweh has given the Church the authority to either open, or close, the gates to everlasting life. It is the wisdom that is the key that opens and closes. The wisdom resides in the Church, but it did not originate with the Church, nor does the Church have the arbitrary authority to decide when to use it, share it, or suppress it. This is what the Roman Catholic Church, historically, has misunderstood. They read that Yahweh has given authority to the Church. They read that Peter was given the “Keys to the Kingdom,” and thinking that this is just raw, naked authority, and not wisdom that must be properly used in order to be effective, they have assumed a role far above their intended station.
In reading these words, the Catholics, and other Churches at times, have come to the conclusion that Yahweh is giving the Church authority over the Law, and therefore even the Lawgiver. They forget their role, and the result has been Sunday-sacredness and a host of other injurious errors. Even if the Roman Catholic Church consisted of a faithful, commandment-keeping people, even if it were a legitimate Church, it is not the role of the Bride to be in control of the decisions of Her Husband. What bride would overrule her husband in matters of law, business, or conviction? This is out of Biblical order, where the husband is the “head,” and the one who sets the pace and direction.
If the bride were the head of the husband, or if the Church had authority to change the Law, then the Catholic Church would be correct. We should be Sunday keepers. We should be venerating dead saints. We should be submitting to rituals and ordinances enacted centuries after Christ’s death. But because Christ remains the Head, and the Church the Body, the Bible remains the authoritative Word of Yahweh on which the foundation of every commonly held doctrine must rest.
So, where does this leave us? It leaves us, as with every other teaching, in the middle of a narrow road of truth, with destructive errors widely spread out on either side. The Church has authority. It has the Keys to the Kingdom, wisdom to teach that will draw the repentant sinner, and that will educate him about victory over sin, purity of doctrine, and unity with Yahweh and His People. It is the wisdom that saves, the wisdom that comes from the “mind of Christ.” The Church is the channel of that wisdom, but it is not the master of that wisdom. Hear what James has to say on the matter. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5) “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17)
It is the wisdom that Yahweh gives, that which comes from above, that is the wisdom that opens the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is not to be separated from the context of the New Testament Covenant, for it was the Church and its members to which James was writing, not to any outside body or fellowship – but the point stands. There was order. There was organization, a structure that Yahweh put in place, but this did not replace man’s individual relationship with Yahweh, or his ability to request what he needed, such as divine insight and discernment.
This has been one of Satan’s most effective modern deceptions, to make it an either-or choice. By this I mean, men are taught to think, “I need to choose. I can either have a relationship with the Father and Son directly, OR a place within an organized religion.” “I can have a relationship with a building, a pastor, a people, OR a relationship with God directly.” This is wickedness. The people who believe it are not necessarily wicked, they are terribly deceived, but it is a wicked deception, and contrary to all that the Bible teaches.
We see people posting quotes from the Scriptures, or Ellen White, all the time, “reminding” us that the Church does not consist of a grand cathedral, or a system of formal priestcraft. And this is all true; however, I can’t think of anyone since the time of Christ Himself who wrote more, or more positively, about the vital importance of the Church covenant than Ellen White. Her statements were never written to undermine what the God of Order has brought about for His people, to prepare them to stand as one against the Beast and his image… but diseased minds that love individualism more than sanctification have picked out a statement here, a phrase there, and made of Ellen White a heretic to her own beliefs, and a hypocrite of the highest order, contradicting herself in the most absurd ways in order to throw away the very gift that our Father has given us for our growth, development, training, and refinement.
We do not discard wisdom simply because our Father sends it to us through the channel of the Church. We do not discard individuality simply because it is found in Christ, and among His people. I realize that some of this comes across as a little harsh; it is not fashionable to criticize the independent ministries that are turning the people back to the truth – as they say – about various matters like the feasts, and the true nature of the Godhead, and health reform, and so on… but these doctrines mean nothing if the character is not transformed into one that loves the Father above all else, and his neighbor as himself. If the soul that hears the “message” is not made to fall in love with a covenant between himself and Yahweh, and a covenanted place among fellow believers with the same goals and principles, then that message is not the one borne by the Three Angels of Revelation, which gathers the 144,000. For some people, chanting their pet doctrine so zealously, only a harsh message can be heard over the noise of their drums.
The Faith of Yahshua teaches us that sanctified humans are pleased by a wise answer, and therefore that wise answer is accepted by Heaven. Whatsoever, in faith, we develop, approve, or allow on earth, is accepted by Heaven. These are the true elements of divine wisdom, and therefore the true Keys to the Kingdom. It is not papal authority, or arbitrary spiritual power… no, it is wisdom from above, which no man may control, but of which we are all called to be messengers. Those that despise and reject this calling now, this fellowship of believers here on earth, with whom will they be content to worship in Heaven? We are the same people they will meet there, should they somehow survive the time of trouble, and they will be ashamed that they did not work with us to save the souls of the lost. They will be regretful, to the degree that anything of regret can exist in Heaven, that they did not rejoice in their salvation alongside us.
A pleasing answer reveals that authority and judgment have been placed by Yahweh upon His people. He accepts their pleasure, their approval, because His Spirit dwells within us, guiding our choices and our reactions to the choices of others. It is a perfect system – none are controlled, but all have a voice in the direction that the Church takes.
Here is a good passage, and one that is worthy of serious contemplation as we reach out to the lost and deceived: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2Tim 4:3, 4)
As I have said, it is a great deception of Satan, it is one of these “fables,” that there is a choice to make between order and genuine faith. Any who speak of an organized Church, according to the Bible’s own specified pattern, are often misunderstood because Satan has ensured that the water was long muddied by the papacy. That is the primary example in the world of organized religion. And so, when people think of organized religion, they do indeed think of the grand, expensive cathedrals, and the gold and fancy robes of professional priests. They think of formality, and rituals, rather than charity, and the building of character. They think of the authority of the clergy, rather than the freedom experienced by those who are guided by the Holy Spirit.
They must be deprogrammed, and then educated, about what the Scriptures teach. But it is difficult, so difficult, with so many would-be “reformers” reinforcing exactly what the papacy was created to do, rubbing salt in the wounds of those who have been injured by nominal Churches, so that they can never heal, and remain vulnerable to being misled and taken captive. Of course, we reject the papacy, and the nominal forms of Christianity, and the cold formality often seen in religious organizations, but we do not reject the true organization and the genuine order that they exploited in order to gain secular power, and arbitrary control over the consciences of their congregants.
There must be wisdom to see the difference between the two, to reject the formality and ritualism that Satan has married to the concept of organization, while understanding the importance of organization itself. It is a fine line, a delicate spiritual surgery, but it must be done, so that we cut away the fable, but preserve the truth. One might think it an easy task, because what I am saying here is exactly what was said by Peter, and Paul, and James… but many today read those works through the lens of modern religiosity, their prior painful experiences, and their own personal failings. This is how Satan would have it… but the People of Yahweh must be ready to bring healing to those who are willing to put their burdens down, and find new life in Christ Yahshua.
An answer that pleases Yahweh’s people, a suggestion that they approve, is accepted by Yahweh, because His Spirit dwells among us. “Where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” (Pro 11:14) Those who have found the People of Yahweh, known by their love, their character, and their testimony, may well rejoice that they have found safety. The voices of those who worship Yahweh share divine wisdom, and people who are actively pursuing their sanctification give reliable advice. This is what the inspired writings have always said, and those who use inspired words for purposes contrary to this will be deeply ashamed in the Day of Judgment, those who seek profit and renown more than the gathering of Yahweh’s people for their everlasting benefit. It is not a small thing. It is not a light thing to work contrary to the Almighty Creator.
Here again, the invitation goes out to those who are seeking a spiritual home. There are a people whose pleasure is Yahweh’s pleasure, and whose joy is His joy. There are a people who speak accurately about the Father and Son, even as Job spoke well of Yahweh to his well-intentioned friends who were deceived by the common earthly wisdom of their day. There are a people who have indeed been given the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven, and for whom it is declared that what they bind on earth is bound in Heaven, and what they loose on earth is loosed also in Heaven. Such a people exist, and are to be found, just as the Scriptures describe, and they are here, working in the vineyard to gather the final harvest.
But this is not the end of the message.
So far, much of this is valuable to those who are not yet secure in Yahweh’s covenant. However, there is also wisdom for those who already understand and accept this idea of organization and unity. Our task becomes cooperation and participation. A pleasing answer that is approved by Heaven cannot come only from those who seem to be leaders. It was not when the apostles suggested the creation of the Office of the Deacon that Yahweh approved it. It was here, from the original passage quoted: “And the saying pleased the whole multitude.” That is when it was divinely approved.
The Holy Spirit is not an individual Person; therefore, it does not just speak through a single witness. While some individuals may be recognized as prophetically gifted, the Scriptures make it very clear that this does not give them unique authority to declare a judgment – at least, not in the New Testament covenant. “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.” (1Cor 14:29) I am firmly convinced that one of the reasons Seventh-day Adventism did not become more successful, did not complete the work of gathering the last generation of saints, is because they did not understand or properly appreciate the spiritual gifts that had manifest among them. First of all, it was rejected by the individuals to whom it had been initially offered. Then, it was often rejected by those who heard the testimonies in their proper place and time. Finally, in an act of over-compensation, many took the inspired SDA writings and made of them a second Bible, one much longer, complicated, and in some places contradictory. We have a lot to learn from our Pioneers, but not the proper way to manage the gift of prophecy.
If they had prayed for wisdom, and followed through, they would have let the prophets speak two or three, and let others judge, so that one individual did not have to be the seer, the corrector, the chastiser, and the decider. This balanced approach would have appealed to those who were aroused by the Great Awakening in the 1800s, more people would have studied the Word alongside our Pioneers, and perhaps the Great Disappointment might not have been necessary. Who can say how human history would have been different, if the instructions of our Father has been better understood, and more fervently obeyed? Who can say how human history would have been different, if all the professed people of Yahweh had decided to diligently participate in the Church and its works?
The divine wisdom offered to the world through the Church should please “the whole multitude.” Every member is given the opportunity to approve of it, for this is how the Spirit speaks… not through the appointed, but sometimes – often – through the flock itself directly. Those leaders with the right character will not be offended by accountability to their own people.
Consider another “pleasing” event in religious history: “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And Moses’ father in law said unto him, ‘The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee, for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and let them judge the people at all seasons. And it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge, so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.’ So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.” (Exo 18:13, 17-19, 21, 22, 24)
Even though Yahweh did not tell him directly, Moses recognized divine wisdom when he heard it, and accepted it as a beneficial truth. If Moses had been prideful, as many are today, he would have rejected the idea, and said, “This will never work. Who can I trust beside myself to judge rightly? I’m the one appointed by God. I am the only one that is necessary, and who can do this job correctly.” This is the mind of the beast, the one who strives for the mastery. This is the very thinking that Yahshua worked to stamp out among His disciples, rebuking them when they argued among themselves about who was the greatest of His followers. (Mark 9:33-37)
But those who are truly appointed by Yahweh do not seek to be powerful, or authoritarian. They desire the approval of their brethren, to have their suggestions validated, and so receive reassurance that Heaven also favors their plans. They seek to hear a pleasing answer.
In this generation, we are greatly blessed. Although we are not physically near one another, we are nevertheless members of a global Church that communicates far more frequently than any distant people ever did, or could, at any time in the past. Let us take advantage of this new Church environment according to old and proper principles. We don’t have a physical neighborhood, we don’t have a local Church. Nevertheless, what Yahweh has given us, according to His providence, is just what we need to learn the lessons necessary for our growth and perfection. The Faith of Yahshua teaches us that our Father always give us exactly what we need, so let us not despise the gifts.
When we speak, in our online environment, let us be heard. Let us share ourselves, posting our thoughts, and responding to the thoughts of others in such ways as we are able. This is how we build the divine community. While the Internet, and applications like Facebook and email, have been used for so much evil, and even among Yahweh’s professed people we see such Babylon, such confusion of ideas… the true and faithful people of Yahweh may draw a blessing even from this. Let us cooperate and participate in the gifts that we have been given, so that the things that please us will also please the Father and Son, with Whom we share one unique and Holy Spirit.
With regard to the Church, and its covenant, and its blessings, those on the outside are invited inside, because that is where the gifts are. Those on the inside are invited to participate in the distribution and use of the gifts, because that is what the value of those gifts are. Let us be committed, then, as the “whole multitude” of Yahweh’s faithful and wise people, to make known the blessings and wisdom we have received, so that we, and our brethren, and all of mankind, will benefit, many unto everlasting life.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“God has a distinct people, a church on earth, second to none, but superior to all in their facilities to teach the truth, to vindicate the law of God. God has divinely appointed agencies – men whom He is leading, who have borne the heat and burden of the day, who are cooperating with heavenly instrumentalities to advance the kingdom of Christ in our world. Let all unite with these chosen agents, and be found at last among those who have the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus.” [Counsels for the Church, p. 240]
“Our Saviour follows His lessons of instruction with a promise that if two or three should be united in asking anything of God it should be given them. Christ here shows that there must be union with others, even in our desires for a given object. Great importance is attached to the united prayer, the union of purpose. God hears the prayers of individuals, but on this occasion Jesus was giving especial and important lessons that were to have a special bearing upon His newly organized church on the earth. There must be an agreement in the things which they desire and for which they pray. It was not merely the thoughts and exercises of one mind, liable to deception; but the petition was to be the earnest desire of several minds centered on the same point.” [Counsels for the Church, p. 242]
“It is God’s desire that in all our institutions there shall be perfect harmony and agreement, that from them the light of heaven may be reflected. Open the windows of the soul heavenward and close them earthward, that the bright rays of the glory of God may shine into your hearts.” [The General Conference Bulletin, April 6, 1903]