p 9 -- MORE ON THE MEDALLION (Given to the Pope) -- In the "Friendship Issue" of the Adventist Review (undated), p. 22, a photograph of the type of medallion given to the Pope by Dr. B. B. Beach appears. The caption under the picture does not tell you this, however. It is interesting as to what is said about this medallion and what it is suppose to stand for. It reads: The obverse of the church's medallion illustrates the term "Adventist" in the church's name, signifying the belief that Christ will come back to earth to set things right. The reverse illustrates the term "Seventh-day" in the name. Trusting wholly for salvation in Christ, who died to save men, church members consider it an honor to observe the day Christ, who was also Creator, set apart as a memorial of His mighty creative acts. The Sabbath is also a symbol of Christ's desire to be with His people. The Bible is Christ's message to the church.
First let us consider the reverse side. Supposedly it speaks to the fact of the first part of the church name - "Seventh-day." Where is the "seventh day" mentioned on the medallion's reverse side, or obverse side for that matter? The quotes from the fourth commandment are barely different from the way the commandment is quoted in the Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine. (See p. 8, Footnote #5)
Now look closely at the obverse side which is supposed to represent our belief as an "Adventist." Honestly, as I have studied the medallion, I have wondered if the representation of the cloud only covered the fact that Christ's feet are touching the earth as indicated by the circular line. Now this gnawing question is further heightened by the fact the explanation indicates when Christ returns, He "will come back to earth to set things right." Now the Bible teaches when Jesus returns the second time, "He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:31), "to meet the Lord in the air" (I Thess. 4:17). The angels, thus to fulfill the words of Jesus Himself, do not stand with folded wings and hands in adoration as is pictured on the medallion. They have a part to play. Revelation pictures these angels as taking part in the warfare which accompanies the return of Jesus as King of kings, and Lord of lords to tread "the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God." (Rev. 19: 11-16)
You ask - why do we raise this question? In another publication - also for missionary purposes -Man the World Needs Most - there is a chapter on the return of Jesus the second time entitled, "What Will He Do?" It is a detailed enlargement of the sentence - "Christ will soon come back to earth to set things right." After telling about his visits to a convalescent hospital, the author, the late Arthur S. Maxwell, tells of his reaction - "As I walked past the doors, there used to come over me a great longing to do something for these poor people." Then he writes:
p 10 -- Well, Somebody is going to do something about it. Indeed it will be one of the first tasks of the new world Leader.
Looking forward to that wonderful day the prophet Isaiah wrote: "Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." Isaiah 35:5, 6.
It will be like old times to Him. For that is exactly what He did in Palestine long ago. Matthew tells us that "He went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and curing whatever illness or infirmity there was among the people. His fame reached the whole of Syria; and sufferers from every kind of illness, racked with pain, possessed by devils, epileptic, or paralyzed, were brought to Him, and He cured them." Matthew 4:23, 24 NEB.
As He passed from village to village not a single sick person was left behind. All who sought healing found it in Him.
Now He is about to do it again, on a global scale. His coming invasion of the world will have a similar miraculous result. Hospitals and convalescent homes will be emptied, their one-time occupants bursting with new life and vigor, radiant with joy and gratitude at their sudden restoration to health.
Even the worst patients in mental homes will be brought back to sanity. Curing the mind is His specialty. Just as the master watchmaker knows best how to repair a damaged timepiece, so He, having devised the marvelous mechanism of the human mind in the beginning, knows better than anyone else how to restore it. Thousands upon thousands will rejoice at His touch upon their poor, confused brains. (pp. 77-78)
How can we square this teaching with the Scripture as to what will take place when Jesus returns the second time "in righteousness" to "judge and make war." (Rev. 19:11) How can we relate this picture of what Christ will do when He returns with the song of Asaph - "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be tempestuous around about Him." (Ps. 50:3) How can we harmonize, -how can we reconcile this picture with Paul's representation of the Advent to the Thessalonians - "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thess. 1:7-8) BUT the Maxwell view can be harmonized with the explanation given in the Adventist Review concerning the obverse side of the gold medallion - "Christ will soon come back to earth to set things right." And Maxwell closed his chapter with the sentences: "The Man the world needs most will soon be here. He may even now be on His way." (p. 86)
On the next page of the "Friendship Issue" (p. 23) is listed what we believe. In this list of 14 points is found this in regard to the return of Jesus: When God intervenes in human history to eradicate evil and those who persist in it, He will re-create the earth and introduce the perfect society,
p 11 --in which only those who voluntarily have accepted God's plan and live by the principles of His kingdom will share (Rev. 21:1-4). His intervention involves, first, Christ's personal return to this earth (often spoken of as the second coming of Christ) to take His people to heaven, then, 1,000 years later, returning them to live on a re-created earth, from which all traces of evil and all perpetrators of evil will have been eliminated.
Now then let us be honest with ourselves. Is this medallion picturing the "third" coming of Christ when His feet will touch the Mt. of Olives, and it will become a great plain upon which the Holy City will descend? (See Zech. 14:4-5) If so, since when did the name "Adventist" represent an emphasis of His "third" coming? Why are we trying to mitigate the historical teaching of the church regarding the return of Jesus the second time? Are we subconsciously preparing ourselves for the final deception of Satan when he will come clothed as an angel of light and repeat the acts of Jesus, which He did when He walked among men 2,000 years ago?
SIGNS OF THE TRENDS -- Only "Incidental" - The Publishing Fellowship, published by the Publishing Department of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists featured an article - "New Fringe Benefits" It reads as follows: "New fringe benefits have been added to the literature evangelist's remuneration for 1978. Any literature evangelist who delivers more than $100,000 worth of books during 1978 will be given the use of a new car in addition to his other benefits.
p 12 -- Beginning January 1, 1979, each literature evangelist who delivers more than $60,000 in 1978 will be furnished a new Ford Fairmont, together with insurance, maintenance and repairs. He can continue to use it as long as he meets specified sales requirements.
"After being furnished the car for one year, if he again delivers more than $60,000 during the second year he will have the choice of receiving a clear title to the car or being furnished another new car. A third year of delivering in excess of $60,000 will entitle him to a clear title to the first car if he chooses, and being furnished another new car for his use.
"The above benefits are in addition to other benefits which are given to those who meet the qualifications. These include a paid year vacation, rent and auto subsidy, automobile insurance, scholarship grants, medical allowance, and sustentation benefits." (p. 2, Feb. 1978)
"Replenished from the East" (Isa. 2:6) -- "Interest in mysticism is increasing and may become a worldwide force to 're-spiritualize religion' according to the author of a new book on Jewish mysticism. Perle Epstein, author of Kabbalah, said she has observed a new surge of interest in Western mysticism largely developing from the interest in Eastern religions of the past few decades." Ms. Epstein has a Ph. D in English and comparative literature and has taught mysticism at New York University and Briarcliff College.
She has a personal link to Jewish mysticism inasmuch as one of her paternal ancestors was the great Kabbalist and founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov ("master of the Holy Name.") The interest in mysticism is especially noticeable in Israel where mystics of the Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Sufi, and other faiths are establishing centers; and frequently interacting with each other. "Many Jews and Christians are coming into Jewish mysticism and Christian mysticism via Eastern religions," observed Ms. Epstein, including herself in this category. A central concept in the Kabbalah is that in order to reach the "highest Throne, God" one must first contact the spark of divinity, which abides in his own heart. Then the up reaching of the love from the heart of the disciple to God, opens the way for the mystic union. (RNS, Feb. 16, 1978 pp. 4-5)
Compare the "central concept" of the Kabbalah with this statement from the Spiritualist Manual, by J. F. Newton: "Man wandered over the earth for ages, searching in all places, high and low, far and near, before he thought to look within himself for the divinity he sought. At last slowly, dimly, he began to realize that what he thought was afar off, hidden in the 'pathos of distance' is nearer that the breath he breathes, even in his own heart." (Quoted in the Review & Herald, Sept. 20, 1962, p. 4) ---(1978 June) --- END ---
First let us consider the reverse side. Supposedly it speaks to the fact of the first part of the church name - "Seventh-day." Where is the "seventh day" mentioned on the medallion's reverse side, or obverse side for that matter? The quotes from the fourth commandment are barely different from the way the commandment is quoted in the Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine. (See p. 8, Footnote #5)
Now look closely at the obverse side which is supposed to represent our belief as an "Adventist." Honestly, as I have studied the medallion, I have wondered if the representation of the cloud only covered the fact that Christ's feet are touching the earth as indicated by the circular line. Now this gnawing question is further heightened by the fact the explanation indicates when Christ returns, He "will come back to earth to set things right." Now the Bible teaches when Jesus returns the second time, "He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:31), "to meet the Lord in the air" (I Thess. 4:17). The angels, thus to fulfill the words of Jesus Himself, do not stand with folded wings and hands in adoration as is pictured on the medallion. They have a part to play. Revelation pictures these angels as taking part in the warfare which accompanies the return of Jesus as King of kings, and Lord of lords to tread "the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God." (Rev. 19: 11-16)
You ask - why do we raise this question? In another publication - also for missionary purposes -Man the World Needs Most - there is a chapter on the return of Jesus the second time entitled, "What Will He Do?" It is a detailed enlargement of the sentence - "Christ will soon come back to earth to set things right." After telling about his visits to a convalescent hospital, the author, the late Arthur S. Maxwell, tells of his reaction - "As I walked past the doors, there used to come over me a great longing to do something for these poor people." Then he writes:
p 10 -- Well, Somebody is going to do something about it. Indeed it will be one of the first tasks of the new world Leader.
Looking forward to that wonderful day the prophet Isaiah wrote: "Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an heart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." Isaiah 35:5, 6.
It will be like old times to Him. For that is exactly what He did in Palestine long ago. Matthew tells us that "He went round the whole of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and curing whatever illness or infirmity there was among the people. His fame reached the whole of Syria; and sufferers from every kind of illness, racked with pain, possessed by devils, epileptic, or paralyzed, were brought to Him, and He cured them." Matthew 4:23, 24 NEB.
As He passed from village to village not a single sick person was left behind. All who sought healing found it in Him.
Now He is about to do it again, on a global scale. His coming invasion of the world will have a similar miraculous result. Hospitals and convalescent homes will be emptied, their one-time occupants bursting with new life and vigor, radiant with joy and gratitude at their sudden restoration to health.
Even the worst patients in mental homes will be brought back to sanity. Curing the mind is His specialty. Just as the master watchmaker knows best how to repair a damaged timepiece, so He, having devised the marvelous mechanism of the human mind in the beginning, knows better than anyone else how to restore it. Thousands upon thousands will rejoice at His touch upon their poor, confused brains. (pp. 77-78)
How can we square this teaching with the Scripture as to what will take place when Jesus returns the second time "in righteousness" to "judge and make war." (Rev. 19:11) How can we relate this picture of what Christ will do when He returns with the song of Asaph - "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be tempestuous around about Him." (Ps. 50:3) How can we harmonize, -how can we reconcile this picture with Paul's representation of the Advent to the Thessalonians - "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." (II Thess. 1:7-8) BUT the Maxwell view can be harmonized with the explanation given in the Adventist Review concerning the obverse side of the gold medallion - "Christ will soon come back to earth to set things right." And Maxwell closed his chapter with the sentences: "The Man the world needs most will soon be here. He may even now be on His way." (p. 86)
On the next page of the "Friendship Issue" (p. 23) is listed what we believe. In this list of 14 points is found this in regard to the return of Jesus: When God intervenes in human history to eradicate evil and those who persist in it, He will re-create the earth and introduce the perfect society,
p 11 --in which only those who voluntarily have accepted God's plan and live by the principles of His kingdom will share (Rev. 21:1-4). His intervention involves, first, Christ's personal return to this earth (often spoken of as the second coming of Christ) to take His people to heaven, then, 1,000 years later, returning them to live on a re-created earth, from which all traces of evil and all perpetrators of evil will have been eliminated.
Now then let us be honest with ourselves. Is this medallion picturing the "third" coming of Christ when His feet will touch the Mt. of Olives, and it will become a great plain upon which the Holy City will descend? (See Zech. 14:4-5) If so, since when did the name "Adventist" represent an emphasis of His "third" coming? Why are we trying to mitigate the historical teaching of the church regarding the return of Jesus the second time? Are we subconsciously preparing ourselves for the final deception of Satan when he will come clothed as an angel of light and repeat the acts of Jesus, which He did when He walked among men 2,000 years ago?
SIGNS OF THE TRENDS -- Only "Incidental" - The Publishing Fellowship, published by the Publishing Department of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists featured an article - "New Fringe Benefits" It reads as follows: "New fringe benefits have been added to the literature evangelist's remuneration for 1978. Any literature evangelist who delivers more than $100,000 worth of books during 1978 will be given the use of a new car in addition to his other benefits.
p 12 -- Beginning January 1, 1979, each literature evangelist who delivers more than $60,000 in 1978 will be furnished a new Ford Fairmont, together with insurance, maintenance and repairs. He can continue to use it as long as he meets specified sales requirements.
"After being furnished the car for one year, if he again delivers more than $60,000 during the second year he will have the choice of receiving a clear title to the car or being furnished another new car. A third year of delivering in excess of $60,000 will entitle him to a clear title to the first car if he chooses, and being furnished another new car for his use.
"The above benefits are in addition to other benefits which are given to those who meet the qualifications. These include a paid year vacation, rent and auto subsidy, automobile insurance, scholarship grants, medical allowance, and sustentation benefits." (p. 2, Feb. 1978)
"Replenished from the East" (Isa. 2:6) -- "Interest in mysticism is increasing and may become a worldwide force to 're-spiritualize religion' according to the author of a new book on Jewish mysticism. Perle Epstein, author of Kabbalah, said she has observed a new surge of interest in Western mysticism largely developing from the interest in Eastern religions of the past few decades." Ms. Epstein has a Ph. D in English and comparative literature and has taught mysticism at New York University and Briarcliff College.
She has a personal link to Jewish mysticism inasmuch as one of her paternal ancestors was the great Kabbalist and founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov ("master of the Holy Name.") The interest in mysticism is especially noticeable in Israel where mystics of the Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Sufi, and other faiths are establishing centers; and frequently interacting with each other. "Many Jews and Christians are coming into Jewish mysticism and Christian mysticism via Eastern religions," observed Ms. Epstein, including herself in this category. A central concept in the Kabbalah is that in order to reach the "highest Throne, God" one must first contact the spark of divinity, which abides in his own heart. Then the up reaching of the love from the heart of the disciple to God, opens the way for the mystic union. (RNS, Feb. 16, 1978 pp. 4-5)
Compare the "central concept" of the Kabbalah with this statement from the Spiritualist Manual, by J. F. Newton: "Man wandered over the earth for ages, searching in all places, high and low, far and near, before he thought to look within himself for the divinity he sought. At last slowly, dimly, he began to realize that what he thought was afar off, hidden in the 'pathos of distance' is nearer that the breath he breathes, even in his own heart." (Quoted in the Review & Herald, Sept. 20, 1962, p. 4) ---(1978 June) --- END ---