B

As a book, this work, while clearly showing the biblical truth that God will take vengeance on the earth, is not an extraordinary work. What makes this book so extraordinary, is the title itself.

I first learned of the existence of this book a couple of years ago on the internet, by some people who were disaffected with the Seventh-day Adventist church, and who were trying to show how Ellen White copies her greatest work from someone else (Hastings). What is so striking, is that Hastings came out with his book in the spring of 1858, dating his Preface “January, 1858”, from Rochester N.Y. Ellen White had her “Great Controversy” vision at Lovett’s Grove, Ohio in May of the same year, giving credence to the view that perhaps she copied the title or even the contents when producing her own book.

But the contents of this book are very different from “The Great Controversy Between Christ and His Angels, and Satan and His Angels”. This book is focused on only one thing – showing how mankind has often rebelled against God, and how God has shown mercy in giving warnings to repent, and then, when the warnings go unheeded, how God destroys the rebellious. This one, single point is similar to Ellen White’s book, but her book is so much more comprehensive, showing the total view of sin in the universe before it started to after it is eliminated, that it is difficult to even compare the two. How anyone could believe that somehow Ellen White “copied” anything from this book is beyond rational thot.

The book reviewed here was downloaded and printed for me by a friend who found it in Google Books. It carries a published date of “1861”, and says “third thousand” on the cover, making me think that perhaps this is the third edition. It says it was “Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by H. L. Hastings” which makes me wonder then if the book was first printed in 1860, as it is unusual for a second or third edition to be entered. Currently, i do not know. I do know that this book has been reprinted and bound together with Ellen White’s book by the above-mentioned disaffected parties, and is available on Amazon.com.

The title itself clearly shows the theme — there is a “controversy” between God and man. Rightly so, even the Bible mentions a controversy God has with the nations in Jeremiah 25:31. And the book stays true to its theme thruout – showing how mankind must repent and turn to God, or God will destroy him – that these are the only two possible outcomes of the great controversy.

The book seems to be written to combat the prevailing error among Christians of his day, that the world was getting better and better and then would naturally usher in a millenium of peace here on this earth. Writing this in 2009, i really doubt that hardly any Christians believe in this error today. It is just too clear that things are not generally getting better morally, but worse. So while the message contained is still correct, the object of writing an entire book showing that, yes, God will destroy this earth one day, is a foregone conclusion among nearly all Christians now.

On the other hand, Ellen White’s book is so much more comprehensive, that it is almost impossible to compare the two. She writes first of Satan in heaven before his fall, the fall of Adam and Eve, how the plan of salvation was devised, Christ’s life, the disciples, the Christian church thru the centuries, the Advent movement, the particulars of the Sanctuary and the 3 Angel’s Messages, Satan’s plans for the end time in making his angels appear before us, the Shaking, how important the Sabbath is, the Loud Cry, the death decree, God delivering his people, the saints going to heaven, returning to this earth after the 1000 years, the last struggle by Satan and his followers, the lake of fire, and the never-ending enjoyment of the righteous in a universe completely free from sin. I’ve read Ellen White’s book 250 times or more, and wish to read more as i find something new just about every time i go thru it, but Hastings’ book is enough with just one reading.
…

The Great Controversy Between God and Man. Its Origin, Progress, and End by H. L. Hastings (1861)Read More »

This book has an original copyright date of 1983, but when searching on the internet, i only find two versions – one starts with the Iraqi tanks “exploding” into Kuwait, so is obviously the Gulf War timeframe of 1991 or so. But the version on the official web site of Jan Marcussen starts with “The nation trembles. Passenger jets explode into buildings”, so obviously must be after September 11, 2001. This review will be of the updated, after-2001 version.

I remember reading this book back in the ’80s while still living in America. If my memory serves me right, the basic truths of the day of worship being changed by the Catholic Church from the 7th day to the 1st day were presented, all of which i am in agreement. However, the hysterical tone, and the very poor writing style and grammar made me cringe. Perhaps some people will have the scales fall off from their eyes thru reading this book, but many more may reject the entire Three Angels’ Messages because the manner in which they were presented was so un-Christlike – meaning in the sense of poor quality and questionable reasoning. But i will read it again today (2009-05-25) to see if my previous impression was correct or not, or see if perhaps the book has been modified to produce a different impression.

Hmmm, the word “shock” is used 25 times. This isn’t a good omen, even before i start reading the book. “Will terrorism, like some giant octopus engulf the world?” Ut-oh, in just the second paragraph we already have “National Enquirer” type language being used. The phrase “take a shocking glimpse” is seen twice on my computer screen, and i’ve only scrolled once… “What John sees protends events ” Oh no, it looks to be the same or worse now….. What in the world is “protends”? Even if he means “portends”, the usage is incorrect. He writes that those dying from AIDS are “in ever greater numbers”, but in America, which is the focus for his book, the numbers for death from AIDS are less than half now than in the early 1990s.

“Crime doubles every ten years”. This is just hogwash. A 10-second search on the internet will show this to be false. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/ viort.htm “Since 1994 violent crime rates have declined, reaching the lowest level ever in 2005.”

He says “The country is broke”. Please tell that to all our creditors. This is just not true. It may become true very soon tho if we keep borrowing like there is no tomorrow. He quotes a Jesuit priest as saying “‘Americun Constitushun”, but there is no reference given, and a search on the internet only reveals this phrase as being used in this very book! “It is the responsibility of government to decree the establishment of the national observance of Sunday”. He quotes someone, but again, there is no reference given. Who is saying this? If “nation-wide papers” and “media plea to the masses” for this, it should be all over the internet. But again, as before, the only results displayed are the ones pointing to this book.

By now, any reader who is truly searching for truth will see that there are falsehoods being passed off here as truth.

“and get this”, this type of prose is low-class. “Let’s take a close look at this thing” sigh….

He is not correct in saying in many places “God loves all”, as the Bible clearly shows that God hates some people (Psalms 5:5-6 for example).

“Those who are keeping Sunday and breaking God’s fourth commandment ignorantly are not under condemnation. It’s only those who know what God commands and willfully disobey who are committing sin.”. So if we are all ignorant in everything, we can all go to heaven? He says that by starting to keep the Sabbath: “You know that now you’re not violating any of His loving commands”. Well, no. We may be breaking God’s commands in other areas…

“Obedience becomes a joy when you’re walking with Jesus!” – Amen 🙂

In talking about the ceremonial law he writes: “All of this pointed forward to the death of the Saviour on the cross and is of no value to us now.” But, if this is true, then the Millerites never would have been able to calculate the correct date for Jesus to go into the Most Holy Place – October 22, 1844, which was the Day of Atonement according to the Karaite Calendar.

“That’s heavy!” Ouch, 1970s’ funkadelic language. Same with “Man!” used as an interjection….
…

National Sunday Law by Jan MarcussenRead More »

George Knight has brought together in one short, easy-to-understand volume, the entire history of the Seventh-day Adventist church, with a focus on the early development. The layout is logical and very informative, and except for the one large error near the end of the book, could be recommended to everyone with an interest in the hows and whats of Seventh-day Adventist history.

Personally, i have typed in several William Miller books, and have read all the early Adventist material that i know of available, so have a pretty good picture of the history of our church, but was pleasantly surprised to find things mentioned that are not only important, but in the correct framework, without too much “philosophising” that is so prevalent in most written works of today.

The “Millerite Roots” section deals with of course William Miller, but also details Joshua Himes, who was the great promoter for the Advent message. “More important, however, Himes also had a forceful role in developing the Adventist camp meeting.” He then goes on to show how the camp meeting was prominent in pulling together the early Adventists.

Charles Fitch started preaching the Fall of Babylon in the summer of 1843, placing the 2nd Angel’s Message to having started by at least 1843. Josiah Litch’s prediction of the fall of the Ottoman empire is not mentioned, and the electrifying influence of the fall of the stars in 1833 etc. is not mentioned, but all in all, the high points are covered very well, showing how God has been leading this one little band of the 3 that originally carried on the Adventist faith after the Great Disappointment in 1844.
…

A Brief History of Seventh-day Adventists by George Knight (2004)Read More »

“Beyond Belief” by Jack Sequeira passed mostly under my radar screen from the publishing date of 1993 until the translation into Japanese came out in Spring, 2003. There are many different voices proclaiming different things, and being in Japan places me largely out of the loop of new developments in our Seventh-day Adventist church. When the translation came out in Japanese i eagerly began to read the book. There is such a dearth of good material in Japanese for SDAs, and the level of spirituality of members here is so low, any book that offers advice for God’s remnant people is a valued prize. Unfortunately, this book is not a prize to lead to heaven.

I wrote an article in Japanese regarding this book on June 29, 2003, and placed it on the web on my former web site. There may be some minor things lost in the translation, but receiving this critique book in English prepared by Robert Wieland and the Editorial Committee of the 1888 Message Study Committee, shows that the main points were translated faithfully. So here i will deal mostly with Wieland’s critique book.

While many excellent things are written in Jack Sequeira’s book, there are 2 major problems with it:
1. Is God’s love really “unconditional”? – No
2. Are humans really born “right with God”? – No
These 2 major problems need to be kept in mind as we review “Is Beyond Belief Beyond Belief?”

The first doctrinal error we find in this book is on page 15: “…in His incarnation Christ took the fallen, sinful nature which we all share…”. Signs of the Times 04/04/1895: “It is impossible for man in his own unaided strength to overcome the natural propensities to evil.” 1RED p.9: “God made man perfect and upright, and after his transgression there could be no sacrifice acceptable to God for him, unless the offering made should in value be superior to man as he was while in his state of perfection and innocency.” 1RED p.10 (talking of Jesus): “He was of as much more value than man, as his noble, spotless character, and exalted office, as commander of all the heavenly host, were above the work of man. He was in the express image of his Father, not in features alone, but in perfection of character. As he was without blemish, he alone could become an acceptable offering for man.” Testimonies to the Church #17 p.2: “He is a brother in our infirmities, but not possessing like passions. As the sinless One his nature recoiled from evil. He endured struggles, and torture of soul. in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity, and privilege. He required all the stronger divine support and comfort which his Father was ready to impart to his Son, who had left the joys of Heaven, chose his home, for the benefit of man, in a cold and thankless world.”

It is plain that while Jesus condescended to become a man to save us, he did not partake of sin in the least. Those who want to have Jesus become a man with inborn sinful desires and wishes, are perhaps unknowingly placing themselves as a “possible Saviour”. The fact is, is that no matter how good any of us are, even if we never commit any known sin our whole lives, we still need a Saviour – Jesus Christ. Only he can redeem us. He is the union of divinity and humanity, something none of us will ever be able to claim. Only God can know the full pain of giving up immortality, and suffering the second death for a race of rebels. What love!

Which brings us to the next big problem with this book, and is in fact the biggest problem – love. Is God’s love unconditional as Jack Sequeira and Robert Wieland say?
…

Beyond Belief by Jack SequeiraRead More »

Ron Spears is the controversal head of Hope International. “Controversial” because he is unrelenting in his criticism of the organized Seventh-day Adventist church. His organization was singled out by the General Conference, along with Steps to Life and Hartland for being “critical of the church”. His star probably did not rise any higher among SDA leadership circles with this book, as he writes: “Our greatest danger then, is not Catholicism or Apostate Protestantism, but Apostate Adventism.” Exactly right.

My heart is generally in favor with those who point out the errors and sins of the people who are carrying God’s name, as that is the work given us to do. We must “sigh and cry for all the abominations” done in the camp, or else we will fall in the general destruction of the wicked. John the Baptist is our example. And yet, we must do it in love, and never call people out of the SDA church.

But whatever the author’s beliefs and actions, this book is mostly on solid ground, with one strange thing, one unfortunate thing, and one thing that nearly all “prophecy seminar” speakers do.

He covers the landmarks, showing correctly that the Sabbath truth, Sanctuary, and State of the Dead are the 3 major doctrines that separate us SDAs from other Protestant denominations. He goes into detail on the Sanctuary message, showing clearly that yes, perfection is not just required, it IS possible. Of course it is possible in Jesus Christ alone, so we must be fully in Jesus at all times. He is very correct in stating that there is among our people a “misunderstanding the difference between perfection and perfectionism”.

The only new thot that i got from the book was that: “when the saints were defiled, the sanctuary was defiled.” This statement makes me think a new angle on the “abomination of desolation”.

The one strange thing is: “He progressively took our fallen nature from infancy to the cross.” He is adamant that Jesus took our FALLEN nature. Just when i was ready to skip to the next part, consigning him to the same “conservative SDA” heap that conveniently ignores inspired passages about Jesus being also born divine, he gives the extremely correct view that: “He was born with the nature that becomes ours when we are born again…” Then why the “progressively” stuff? Does it matter? Yes. Because we can and MUST live without sin, and Jesus is our perfect example. He then goes and tries to show that Jesus had “tendencies” to sin, but no “propensities”. Sorry sir, no semantic funny business allowed.
…

Waymarks of Adventism by Ron Spear (1986)Read More »

Starting off with a bang – the main character gets blindfolded and taken to jail for something he didn’t do – the book rivets the attention for the first half. It seems to be written to help encourage young people to take up some kind of mission work, and so is written at about a 6th grade level. Unfortunately, the predictable grammar (interspersed with a couple of errors) gets boring quickly, and the story plot loses its intensity after David is released from prison.

The first half of the book is written in flash-back fashion, with David reviewing events in his life leading up to his current predicament in prison. He was born to missionary parents and lived in Bolivia for a while when young. Being young didn’t stop the valentino in him, and he grew fond of another missionary’s daughter. But they parted ways, and lost contact. He went to America and received most of his education in Kentucky and Tennessee, the same sticks where i come from, so the place names even are quite interesting to me. By mysterious providences he was able to hook up again with his childhood sweetheart, and won her heart all over again. Ahhhh, sniff sniff. 🙂

After his encounter with the prison in Mexico, he went further south into Guyana, and worked many years there with the Indians, setting up a school and clinics, and of course flying in supplies and patients out etc. Actually, considering the title of the book, there aren’t very many stories related to actually piloting a plane.

I have been on David Gates’ email list for over a year, and have been blessed. I believe his organization is called GAMAS and they are putting most all of their resources into the TV work in South America now with a network called Advenir.

reviewed 2002/8/12

This type of book will come back to be used by the enemies of God against those who stand for the truth. My impression was that it’s basically a compilation of conspiracy theories, trying to tie them all to the Jesuits. There may in fact be some truth to it. But is this what those giving the 3rd angel’s message should be involved in? Unfortunately, this kind of book will prejudice many intelligent minds (those who bother to browse it), and prove a stumbling block even for those few who do join the truth because of it. Why? Because they will have to unlearn conspiracy-theory-type thinking before they can find the straight and narrow path.

I used to subscribe to conspiracy theories too. No doubt most of them have some grains of truth in them. But it became especially clear to me in reading Bob Trefz’s material, that i was not be uplifted, not be changed into the likeness of Jesus by reading that. Instead, i was becoming suspicious of everyone, and talking evil of rulers. Fortunately his call to arms was such a departure from the Word that i could see clear enough to break clean away from it. If you notice, Bill Hughes is making a not-so-subtle call to arms in his book also. He who lives by the sword….

To hilite a few problems with this book:
1. “The blood of the Civil War can be traced back to the Jesuit, John C. Calhoun”. But Ellen White writes in original Testimony volume 9: “”Satan was the first great leader in rebellion. God is punishing the North, that they have so long suffered to exist the accursed sin of slavery; for in the sight of heaven it is a sin of the darkest dye. God is not with the South, and he will punish them dreadfully in the end. Satan is at the bottom of all rebellion.”

So you see that the sin of slavery brought about God’s wrath on America, and that Satan, not John Calhoun, was at the bottom of it all. Sure, Satan may have inspired John Calhoun to promote the war, but laying the blame on him for the fundamental reason – slavery – is not correct.

2. There are several factual mistakes regarding how money is created. I too believe the current method is inherently wrong, and a great evil, but is it true that: “the interest on its debt must increase beyond its income, making payoff impossible”? No, not true. Is it true how he says money comes into being, that “the Federal Reserve takes the bond and writes an order to the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing to print the billion dollars’ worth of bills”? haha. This is entirely laughable, and any informed, intelligent person would throw away the book here if not sooner. There is approx. 810 billion US dollars’ worth of currency existing today (source: The Treasury). The national debt of America is approx. 6.1 trillion dollars (source: Bureau of the Public Debt). As you see, there is almost 8 times as much debt as currency!

3. “Down through history, people’s worst enemy has been their own government.” Yet it is God who sets up and takes down kings (Dan. 2:21, 4:17). Are we supposed to speak evil of our own rulers? “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.” (Jude 8-10).
…

The Secret Terrorists by Bill HughesRead More »