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kootvanwykLast
Generation Theology: Interpretation of Suspicion and Interpretation of
Affirmation
Koot van Wyk
(DLitt et Phil; ThD) Visiting Professor in the Department of Liberal Education,
Kyungpook National University, Sangju Campus, South Korea; Conjoint Research
Lecturer at Avondale College, Australia.
LGT is the abbreviation in Adventism for
“Last Generation Theology”. Recently, we attended a Campmeeting in South Korea
where the ex-President of Sahmyook University pronounced LGT as “wrong”.
Shocked by the statement, led me to investigate online since my dealing with
the biblical text has assured me that LGT is biblical not pioneer parachuting
misgivings.
Two articles are placed here side by
side dealing with this topic: the interpretation of suspicion one is that of A.
M. Rodriquez who is a retired director of the Biblical Research Institute at
the General Conference. It became clear earlier that Rodriquez had problems,
when in 2001 he made the strange comments that Vicarius Filii Dei for 666 is no
longer accepted in Adventism as proper science in a Sabbath School Book. To
counter his claim, Edwin de Kock (2011), a retired history professor studied
the topic and came out with a nearly 1000 page book indicating the firm
existence of this link in history of both the Catholic Church and the history
of Interpretation. Debunking efforts were linked to either not enough data or
to trends of liberalistic inroads in Adventism.
The interpretation of affirmation
article is that of K. Paulson in 2017 talking about five myths of LGT. Paulson
listed five wrong understandings by some in the Adventist church about this
theology. Myth No. 1: Last Generation Theology is based on Ellen White rather
than the Bible. Myth No. 2: Last Generation Theology contradicts the Bible
doctrine of salvation by grace through faith. Myth No. 3: Last Generation
Theology teaches that following the close of probation, God’s people will stand
on their own power. Myth No. 4: Last Generation Theology teaches that God’s
requirements are inconsistent. Myth No. 5: Last Generation Theology is
primarily the product of the teachings of A. T. Jones, E. J. Waggoner, and M. L.
Andreasen, and has never been part of mainstream Seventh-day Adventist thought.
Added to the articles below, are the
comments that readers made as well. When the topic of perfection in characters
before Christ comes was dealt with in Andreasen emphasized, a reader suggested
to others that a good book on the issue of perfection is George Knight’s book: "I
Used to be Perfect”. Immediately another reader discounted dr. Knight’s book: “It
does not quote not highlight many of Ellen G.White's statements that requires
christians to become perfect. In fact it is the very antithesis of Christ's
statement in Mt.5.48. George Knight's view about sin is flawed. He views sin as
nature, not a choice. Hence, his perfection as nature follows along with it. If
George Knight says "I used to be perfect" I say, “I Used to be
imperfect,". I used to be imperfect, but now I am striving to be perfect.
And I'm happy in this striving to be perfect. I find striving a healthy
activity. Those who do not strive a[re] sickly. Sorry for those who lag behind
like George Knight.” George Knight was maybe perfect as he
says but he left the Adventist church in 1966/7 and returned a decade later to
become a professor at Andrews University. He is a divorced scholar and furthermore his
colleagues called him a “revisionist scholar”. He says that he is a “Christian
first before he is an Adventist” a polarization that is not fair to Adventism.
He is correct in one aspect and that is that he is a preterist before he is a
historicist. He tends to lace Adventist truths with preterism in order to
mystify the subject or blur the content for the audience. At the London
Conference in 2017 George Knight said: 1. It is right to rebel against the GC
2015 decision on WO because Paul did it in Corinthians against the decision of
Acts 15; 2. G. Knight (2017: 5) real lesson of Acts 15 is one of unity in
diversity but he is wrong since if one look at the Acts Sabbath School
Quarterly on Acts 1957 page 12 and EGW in the following: “The diversity of
gifts leads to a diversity of operations; but ‘it is the same God which worketh
all in all.’ “—Ellen White, Testimonies, Vol. 9, pp. 144, 145.; 3. G. Knight
2017: 6 Knight wrote about Adventists as if he is not one: “But a fascinating
aspect of the use of those verses is that both the Adventists in their recent
documents and the Roman Catholics have misread the text in the same manner for
similar ends.” 4. G. Knight 2017: 6 Ordination is not biblical as we know it: “The word ‘ordination’ as Adventists use it
is not a biblical teaching but one that finds its roots in the early and
earlymedieval church. From that perspective, the distinction between ordaining
and commissioning is a word game of no biblical substance.”, well….; 5. G.
Knight 2017: on EGW that we should not
think our doctrines are infallible. “as a people we are certainly in great
danger, if we are not constantly guarded, of considering our ideas, because
long cherished, to be Bible doctrine and in every point infallible, and
measuring everyone by the rule of our interpretation of Bible truth. This is
our danger, and this would be the greatest evil that could ever come to us as a
people.” This statement of Ellen White provided him the blank license to undo
many Adventist doctrines and ideas researched thoroughly in the past by
Adventist scholars; 6. G. Knight 2017:
showing W White attempt to go his own way against the session: [Take
courage rebels!]; 7. Ordination by G. Knight 2017: Ordination not biblical: “We noted earlier
that ordination as practiced by the church is not a biblical issue. But according
to Ellen White, it did become an important issue in the history of the early
church…” 7. G. Knight 2017: 9 What
ordination cannot do: “so it is that the laying on of hands in what has come to
be called ordination does not confer power but is symbolic in recognition of
the power already conferred by God in the calling and empowerment of a pastor.”;
8. G. Knight 2017: 9 Non-biblical verbal
gymnastics currently at GC: “And the Seventh-day Adventist Church has for many
years recognized that God calls both men and women to pastoral ministry. The
only difference is that the church has opted to call one ordination and the
other commissioning. Such non-biblical verbal gymnastics must lead the angels
to scratch their heads in bewilderment. However, it all seems to be clear in
Adventist policy.” So he is rebelling against the General Conference Vote on
the position of Women Ordination. Biblically and theologically it was not
considered possible by the GC vote but Knight and his friends wanted to whine
about it at this conference in London, trying to ‘kick up dust’ for others to
participate in rebellion. Almost was his books taken off the shelves recently
at in the Michigan Conference at the ABC stores, see online.
The problem of the entry of liberalism in the church is a very good question. An
example from RSA: the DRC or Dutch Reform Church was very conservative in South
Africa and many laymen still are. But, what happened is that the many
professors in the State Institutions and Seminaries bought into Evolutionism,
then pampered and cherished Higher Criticism and then ended with the shift from
epistemology to ontology, the shift from
epistemology in Modernism 1910-1960, to ontology in Post-Modernism from 1960-1989 (see K. van Wyk,
“Critical Evaluation of a Smartphone Movie project ……... STEM 16(1) 2015: 215ff.) with the reference to B. McHale 2007 with
the article: “What was Post-Modernism?” One can see in Canale’s article on “Emergent
Church” in ATS Journal last paragraph
he is asking exactly this question whether there is a shift from epistemology
as authority to ontology as authority in Adventism. Thanks professor Canale!
I have written before about the two main
streams in philosophy: Platonism and Aristotelianism. Plato is shown by Raphael
(1508) in the ‘School of Athens’ painting in the Cistine Chapel at the Vatican to
point upwards because reality is in heaven and not in ourselves. Aristotle is
pointing down because reality is here on earth and nowhere else. Liberalism is
a shift in paradigm from biblical revelatory truth and reality coming from the
outside, to an Aristotelian cultural interpretation of the scriptures so much
so that it is just a product of man. Because the bible is constructed with
culture therefore, these Woman Ordination adherents are saying modern culture
can upturn the tide of the Biblical Text. Culture over Revelation is Aristotle’s
way and Revelation over Culture is Plato’s way. Plato is epistemologically
inclined (mind-living = ‘let’s do it God’s way’) and Aristotle is ontologically
inclined (existence-living = “I do it my way’). _________________________________________________________________ Essay one:
Interpretation of Suspicion
Angel
Manuel Rodríguez, “Theology of the Last Generation” Adventist Review October
20, 2013. Online accessed 7th of August 2017 at http://www.adventistreview.org/2013-1528-p42. [retired,
was director of the Biblical Research Institute, General Conference]
The theology of the last generation was
developed and popularized in the Adventist Church by M. L. Andreasen (The Sanctuary
Service [Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1937; revised 1947]).
Andreasen was building on insights from A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner. This
theology introduced a strong element of legalism in some sectors of the church
by claiming that the character of God, maligned by Satan in the cosmic
conflict, will be vindicated through the holy and perfect life of obedience of
the last generation of believers. This generation will reach a level of
character development unequaled in Christian history, copying perfectly in
their lives what God did in Christ. Once this happens, the Lord will return.
This theology seeks to explain why the Lord has not returned and the nature and
purpose of Christian perfection. It is based primarily on a particular reading
of the writings of Ellen G. White.
Christ
and the Vindication of God: In the Bible and the writings of Ellen
G. White the cosmic vindication of God is the exclusive result of the
sacrificial death of Christ. He was the only one who could reveal who God is
and therefore vindicate Him in the cosmic conflict (John 1:18). White is also
very clear: “By His life and His death, Christ proved that God’s justice did
not destroy His mercy, but that sin could be forgiven, and that the law is
righteous, and can be perfectly obeyed. Satan’s charges were refuted. God had
given man unmistakable evidence of His love.”1 What Christ accomplished does
not need to be supplemented; it is more than enough.
Christian
Perfection: God’s will for His people has always been the same:
Victory over the enslaving power of sin in their lives (Rom. 6:11-14; 8:5-8). Christ has always been the model for
the Christian life. But true Christian perfection cannot be separated from the
eternal efficacy of the cross and our constant reliance on its forgiving power
(1 John 2:1, 2). Christian perfection is a constant growth in grace accompanied
by a constant reliance on God’s forgiving grace. Notice how precise Ellen G.
White is on this important theological topic: “As the penitent sinner, contrite
before God, discerns Christ’s atonement in his behalf, and accepts this
atonement as his only hope in this life and the future life, his sins are
pardoned. This is justification by faith. Every believing soul is to conform
his will entirely to God’s will, and keep in a state of repentance and contrition, exercising faith in the atoning
merits of the Redeemer and advancing from strength to strength, from glory to
glory.”2 We will perfectly reproduce the character of Christ in our lives
through growth in grace and by absolutely relying every day in Christ’s
forgiving grace.
Safety
in Heaven:
Although it would be possible for sin to arise again in heaven, this will never
happen in actuality. The reason is not found in the unique experience of the
last generation of believers but in the work of Christ on the cross. He,
through the cross, reconciled the whole cosmos to God in a permanent bond of
union (Col. 1:19, 20). Again, White is powerfully clear: “The angels ascribe
honor and glory to Christ, for even they are not secure except by looking to
the sufferings of the Son of God. It is through the efficacy of the cross that
the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy. Without the cross they would be
no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan”3 The
perfection of creatures is not powerful enough to hold the cosmos together.
Praise God for Christ!
Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain
View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1898), p. 762. (Italics supplied.) The Seventh-day Adventist Bible
Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, vol. 6, p. 1070. (Italics supplied.) Ellen G. White, “What Was Secured by the
Death of Christ,” Signs of the Times, Dec. 30, 1889. _________________________________________________________________ Readers Comments
Neale • 4 years ago Bro. Rodriguez attempts to muddy the
waters on this issue by name calling/labelling as legalism before he actually
makes an argument. I pray that each of
us would prayerfully consider texts such as Heb. 11:39 - 12:4, 2 Pet. 1:2-12,
and 1 John 3:1-9 before buying the theories being sold by Bro. Rodriguez. Better to buy, before it is too
late (see Matt. 25:1-13), what is being sold by Jesus to the Laodicean church
(Rev. 3:14-22). You might also consider reading Ministry of Healing page 180
("... Christ came to make us 'partakers of the divine nature,' and His
life declares that humanity, combined with divinity, does not commit
sin."). And consider this quote from the Testimony of Jesus: "Satan
declared that it was impossible for the sons and daughters of Adam to keep the
law of God, and thus charged upon God a lack of wisdom and love. If they could
not keep the law, then there was fault with the Lawgiver. Men who are under the
control of Satan repeat these accusations against God, in asserting that men
cannot keep the law of God. ... Through the victory of Christ the same
advantages that He had are provided for man; for he may be a partaker of a power
out of and above himself, even a partaker of the divine nature, by which he may
overcome the corruption that is in the world through lust." (Signs of the Times, January 16, 1896). As
for the last generation issue, consider 1 Cor. 10:11. Considering that verse,
Sis. White says that "The prophets of God spoke less for their own time
than for the ages to come, especially for the generation that would live amid
the last scenes of this earth's history...." (Signs of the Times, January
13, 1898). May God help us to rely upon His Word and the Holy Spirit inspired
writings of the Spirit of Prophecy, rather than upon the writings of men and
"books of a new order" that God foretold would be written. 3
•Reply•Share › Avatar Patrick Mbokodi • 2 years ago Is it really possible for man not to sin
if that man is in Jesus Christ? Take one commandment - the Sabbath for a practical
example. I personally started to 'keep the Seventh Day holy' in the year 1965.
I was very meticulous. I forfeited jobs. I did not attend funerals- even of my
closest relatives! I did not attend weddings. I was baptised by immersion in
water. I accepted Jesus as my Saviour. However I was not happy about my
observance and keeping the seventh day holy. My thoughts for example. I have
had to repent at the close of every Sabbath Day, realising I had failed to meet
the required standard. Of course the same applies to all the other
commandments. My thoughts always get the better of me. So can someone tell me
exactly how they stop sinning when they have accepted Jesus as their Saviour? 1
•Reply•Share › Avatar Christoper Patrick Mbokodi • a year ago Galatians 5:16 and Romans 8:4 bro. May
these helpful •Reply•Share › Avatar Greg Bratcher • 3 years ago Amen. When our focus becomes our own Righteousness
rather than His Righteousness, we are merely following the Pharisees. We all
fall short, as did Paul, Peter and John. Let us believe the
same gospel they taught and believed. I recommend the book, "I Used to be
Perfect" by Dr. George Knight. 1 •Reply•Share › Avatar Zerksepraga Desideriius Greg Bratcher • a month ago I do not recommend that book, "I
Used to be Perfect." It does not quote not highlight many of Ellen
G.White's statements that requires christians to become perfect. In fact it is
the very antithesis of Christ's statement in Mt.5.48. George Knight's view
about sin is flawed. He views sin as nature, not a choice. Hence, his
perfection as nature follows along with it. If George Knight says "I used
to be perfect" I say, I Used to be imperfect,". I used to be
imperfect, but now I am striving to be perfect. And I'm happy in this striving
to be perfect. I find striving a healthy activity. Those who do not strive a
sickly. Sorry for those who lag behind like George Knight. •Reply•Share › Avatar Karl Wagner • 3 years ago Thank you Angel for tackling such a
thorny topic. If the last generation is saved by anything more than past geneations,
then we have "another gospel' and that cannot be. Ellen White's concepts
of perfection were Christian character perfection, not this ultimate
sinlessness, or having arrived. M L Andreasen took her statements with some
Jones and Waggoner statements and systemized them into a new system of Last
Generation Perfection (see Andreasen's
Sanctuary Service, chapter: The Last Generation). This "invented"
doctrine has caused a lot of navel gazing among us and interupts the giving of the real gospel of
salvation in the last days-the three angels messages. 1
•Reply•Share › Avatar Zerksepraga Desideriius Karl Wagner • a month ago Do you really understand what three
angels message is all about? And have you read in its entirety Andreasen's
letters? Hear and other side. I doubt if you read A.T. Jones' Studies in
Galatians, and E.J. Waggoner's Glad Tidings, along with their other 1888
presentations about the righteousness of
Christ. Have you known the compromise of our church with Evangelicals
during 1956 with that fox Walter R. Martin who says that the Law cannot be
kept? And who says that God's Law cannot be kept? God's people have perfectly
kept them. It does not matter if in the past they may have failed. What mattered to God is that after their
repentance, they walk steadfastly and are trustworthy, and in the end, they
died faithful/steadfast, that is, perfectly immovable in their own
righteousness. •Reply•Share › Avatar Christoper • a year ago The unlocking key is in the
justification by faith. Why we reject this doctrine? It is
because we do not fully understand the gospel yet. Of course it would not be happened
when we use our sinful flesh. But the LORD said: the just shall live by faith.
By faith in Him. By His power which worketh in us. In us who believe in His
power. •Reply•Share › Avatar Zerksepraga Desideriius Christoper • a month ago The just shall live by faith, -his
faith, the faith that is in that just man. It is not "faith in Him."
The Hebrew word is "EMUNAH" (literally, firmness). God expects that
firmness to be lived in the righteous themselves so that they will survive any
catastrophe. "The righteous, by his firmness, he can survive"
(Hab.2.4). •Reply•Share › Avatar TC • a year ago In my humble opinion, the LG theology is
difficult to settle conclusively. Firstly we do not know if this or the next
generation is the LG. Secondly, the LG theology by definition precludes any
precedents that we might hold up to do some character analytics. Discuss it as
an interesting topic by all means. But don't be too sure. And don't let it
become a polarising point. •Reply•Share › Avatar Trine • 2 years ago Revelation 14:3 And they sung as it were
a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man
could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand,
which were redeemed from the earth.
4 These are they which were not defiled with
women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb
whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the
firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
5 And in their mouth was found no guile:
for they are without fault before the throne of God. (He will wash the last
people, it is not their acts but believe of Christ that will make them without
fault; if you do not not believe that God ALMIGHTY can cleanse us now, how can
you believe he can later? For God nothing is imposible.) :) •Reply•Share › Avatar Ezekiel • 2 years ago While I have deep respect for Rodriguez,
I feel more could be done in his analysis of ML Andreasen and Ellen White on
this topic. Paul M. Evan has done extensive study on this topic for years. I
found his analysis more comprehensive. You might check it out: "Ellen
White's Views Regarding the Final Generation: Is She in Andreasen's Camp?"
P •Reply•Share › Avatar Norman Robinson • 3 years ago 7 And to the angel of the church in
Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he
that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth,
and no man openeth;
8 I know thy works: behold, I have set
before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength,
and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
9 Behold, I will make them of the
synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I
will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have
loved thee.
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my
patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come
upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that
fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a
pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon
him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new
Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon
him my new name. Bro Rodriguez is an official
representative of Laodicea and as we know from the book of Revelation out of
Laodicea comes forth nothing but error.. 14 And unto the angel of the church of
the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true
witness, the beginning of the creation of God;