Questions and Answers
Readers Questions are Welcome
QUESTION: How was God’s Son begotten in heaven?
ANSWER: I don’t know. No one knows except God the Father, and He has not revealed it.
QUESTION: How did the Son become a human?
ANSWER: I don’t know. All we know is that God’s Son “clothed His divinity with humanity.” We are told that “a body of flesh” was prepared for Him. Hebrews 10:5. YI. May 31.1900. We assume it was formed by the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary. This Spirit is not a separate God in His own right, but the Spirit of the Father, who we assume prepared the body for His Son, but we do not know. We do not know either when God’s Son entered that body, but we do know it was painful. “Christ, at an infinite cost, by a painful process, mysterious to angels as well as to men, assumed humanity.” 7 BC 915. (I have seen a quote that says we do not know when Christ entered the body, or words to that effect, but cannot find it. If anyone knows where it is, can they let me know please)
QUESTION: Why can’t I see the non-trinitarian position? All my friends see it, but I can’t. What if I never see it?
ANSWER: I don’t know why you can’t see it, but it depends on how hard you are looking, praying, and studying. It also depends on whether you are willing to put aside your belief in the Trinity, and whether your method of study is eisegesis or exegesis. If you are doing all the above with an honest heart, you will see it. Do not worry, just pray and study.
QUESTION: Is the subject salvational?
ANSWER: Yes, it is salvational because it relates to ‘who’ we worship. At this present time we are all learning, but there will come a time when it will mean receiving the latter rain or not receiving it. God will only give the fulness of His Spirit - at that time - to those who worship Him in truth. By that time, decisions will have been made, and those who have a measure of the true Spirit, will receive more of it in latter rain power.
QUESTION: Do you think Trinitarians worship the devil?
ANSWER: No, I do not. All who live up to the light they have received will have God’s true Spirit working on their hearts, and if they are fully surrendered will have the Spirit of Christ dwelling within. It is only when we are convicted of the truth that God will judge us. If we reject it, God cannot dwell within. If we accept it, we will have great joy.
QUESTION: The Bible says Jesus was born of the Holy Ghost. Does that mean His Father is the Holy Ghost?
ANSWER: No, God the Father is the Father of Christ. This is clear in the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy. It is not stated anywhere that the Holy Spirit is the Father. It you believe the Holy Spirit is a God-Person in His own right, it is an obvious conclusion , as we are told that Mary “was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 1:18. And, “that which was conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Matthews 1:20. It could then be said that Mary's child was the Son of God, providing the Spirit is God. However, if this were so, it contradicts Scripture. Trinitarians know the Holy Ghost is not the Father and generally believe the Holy Spirit helped the Son in some way.
QUESTION: How can the Father and Jesus have the same Spirit?
ANSWER: I don’t know. The Father is the great Source of the Spirit and it emanates from Him. It comes from His being as a fountain pours forth water. The Father gives it to His Son and He gives it to us. That is all we know. The ‘how’ is not revealed.
QUESTION: When I receive the Spirit, do I receive the Father or the Son?
ANSWER: You receive both. When mankind sinned, it was against the Father. Christ made it possible by His death to be reunited back to God the Father, so He gives us His Spirit. Remember, the Spirit “proceedeth forth from the Father”, but it is given to us by Christ. The Spirit is called the Father’s Spirit as well as Christ’s Spirit, so both are involved. Jesus promised the Christian that He and His Father would “make our abode with him.” John 14: 23. Jesus said He would “be in you.” John 14: 20. So when we receive the Spirit we receive both the Father and the Son.
QUESTION: If the Holy Spirit is God, why should not I worship Him?
ANSWER: This is a valid question if the Trinitarian belief is correct that the Spirit is God as an individual God-Person of the Trinity. However, the Spirit comes from God’s being, and He wants us to worship Him, not His Spirit. To worship the Spirit as an individual God-Person in his own right is not Scriptural, and if it is false, we are in danger of worshipping a false god, which could turn out to be an evil angel, or the devil himself. After all, that is his main aim on this earth.
QUESTION: Where do I start in studying the subject?
ANSWER: The subject is a big one, but there is much available. This site has much you can read, however, you need to do your own research as it must become your own. The easier part is whether Christ is the Son of God, so read the gospels and listen to Jesus’ words about Himself. Read of the rebellion of Lucifer in Patriarchs and Prophets or The Story of Redemption. You will see clearly that Lucifer’s rebellion was against the Son. Read it all as truth from the Spirit of Prophecy, which is the Spirit of Jesus. Make certain you believe God had a Son to send and then look up the verses where Jesus said God sent Him. Read carefully the OT and NT verses on the Spirit and realize that it is the Spirit OF God, like the Word OF God and the blessing OF God. Pray much for enlightenment and God will bless you.
QUESTION: Why did you say in your book 'The Very Long Story' that Eve was not created on the 6th day with Adam?
ANSWER: My thoughts on this are my own. I felt that if Adam was created on the latter part of Day 6, after all the animals were created, there would not be time for him to name them all, realise he did not have a mate, and then have Eve created before the setting sun. I assume the creation took place during the daylight hours, and not during the dark part of the day. This means a day for the creation to take place is twelve hours and not twenty four, cutting the time in half. We are told the animals were brought to Adam to name, and when you consider how many animals there were (the original kind), it would have to be like an assembly line -- dog, cat, horse, elephant, kangaroo, lion...... I do not believe it was like that. The animals were to be his friends, and he would have taken at least a few moments with each of them to take in their individuality, uniqueness and in many cases beauty. Towards the end of this work, he would have realised he did not have a mate, and I believe one was given to him after he had questioned the Creator. Of course I may not be correct, but as I do not have specific statements to base it on, I have used what I believe to be sanctified reasoning to come to my conclusion.
QUESTION: Why do you say naming the animals took a few weeks?
ANSWER: My reasoning is based on the previous answer. For Adam to work leisurely and name each animal as they are brought to him was perhaps ten minutes for each animal and bird. If he worked for eight hours of the day, he would have seen forty eight animals in one day. If he took five minutes with each, he could see ninety six animals. Many ideas are put forward as to how many kinds were created. Let us say there were 2000 kinds, and I do believe there were many more, but it would have taken Adam over three weeks to name them if he took five minutes with each one. Personally I think it is reasonable to think it took some time.
QUESTION: Don't you think 2000 kinds is a bit low?
ANSWER: Oh yes, the figure could have been 35,000 or more. I was only giving an illustration to show that it takes time, even for a few. Thanks for writing.
QUESTION: I notice you warned Jesus told Adam and Eve of Lucifer, but the Spirit of Prophecy said angels warned them.
ANSWER: You are right and I am wrong. It was something I did not realise when I wrote it, but later read it in the Spirit of Prophecy, too late to change. I hope it doesn't put people off, although probably others would not know either. That doesn't make it an excuse of course. My apologies.
QUESTION: Do you believe 1 John 5:7 should be in the Bible?
ANSWER: I don't really know. Of course we read of Erasmus inserting it under duress, however, it is still a debatable subject, with both sides strong for their view. I don't try to prove it, but ask people to read the whole of 1 John and see what John is saying to his readers. The epistle is not about the Trinity, and to take those few lines and use them to prove a completely different point is not exegesis. The message of John is all about God sending His Son. Let us first hear what God is saying before we try to prove anything else.
QUESTION: Will I be lost if I believe the Trinity?
ANSWER: No, of course not. Jesus loves you and wants you in heaven with Him. However, you need to love truth and seek it out, rather than simply accept what you have been taught. Everyone needs to do this, including Adventists. In some ways it is more difficult for us than for other denominations, simply because we have a prophet and know our history was blessed of God. Yes, God called us out of Babylon and gave us the truth, but we must ask ourselves if we are holding on to that truth. Or have we changed? Certainly we have matured, but we can never mature to a different understanding, especially on the God we worship. So I ask you to study for yourself, stay close to Jesus and ask God to lead you into all truth.
QUESTION: Based on our history, how can we be wrong? And there are only seven churches -- we are the last church . There is no eighth.
ANSWER: Yes, our history is wonderful and God certainly led us, but we have not continued in the truth about who we worship. Our own historians and others say we have changed from being non-trinitarian to being trinitarian. So great is this change that our pioneers could not join the church today if they had to subscribe to the Trinity. Think about that and realise how big it is. So, yes, our history is true, but we have changed --- that is how we can be wrong.
It is true there is no eighth church, but the concept of seeing the seventh church as a title and not a condition makes a difference to our understanding. You may not have thought of it as a title before, but I well remember in Sabbath School a Pentecostal visitor could not keep quiet after hearing the teacher say many times, 'We are the Laodicean Church'. She said, 'If you know you are the Laodicean Church, why don't you do something about it?' The teacher did not understand what she meant, but this lady understood that it is a condition. The teacher was using it as a title.
The church of Philadelphia (during the time of our pioneers) became Laodicean -- as a condition -- not many years after 1848. Those who will be ready to meet Jesus will again be Philadelphian -- as a condition. It will not be an eighth church, but their experience will be the same as those of Philadelphia. It is not a matter of calling ourselves Philadelphians, again, that is a title. We must have the experience, and God will be the one to say who has the experience, not man.
QUESTION: God began to pour the Holy Spirit out in 1888, but He had to withdraw it because the church was not ready. I think it was because they were non-trinitarian.
ANSWER: That is an interesting thought. Perhaps there are other reasons you may have thought of. The church had become Laodicean as I mentioned in the previous answer, and so their experience was not acceptable to God. It could be that this is the reason in 1888. In 1844, the church (or movement as it was then) had the Philadelphian experience which was acceptable to God, however, they did not have the truth. My understanding is that in 1888, they had the truth, but not the experience. I believe God is waiting for us to have the truth and the experience. Can I suggest you read the article 'The Line of Truth' on this site.
QUESTION: I have just learnt the truth about God and His Son. What should I do? Do I need to tell everyone? Or can I keep quiet about it?
ANSWER: Praise God you have come to an understanding of the relationship between our heavenly Father and His beloved Son. What should you do? There are no hard and fast rules, and so you need to ask God what you should do. Some Adventist leaders and lay people believe the truth, but they are quiet about it. In this way they maintain their positions, not for this reason, but so they can work quietly with their peers. Otherwise they would be 'cast out' and lose that opportunity. Many Jewish people do this very thing and thus they are able to discuss, debate, teach everyone in their sphere with a prayer that the identity of Yeshua will be seen to be the Messiah. And they are very successful. It may be the same for you, so long as you are willing to share in a way that make people think.
However, God might want you to make a stand. Both leaders and lay people have given their testimony knowing they would be disfellowshipped, however, they were willing to pay the price. In this way they can teach or speak wherever the Lord leads.
The Lord knows His plans for you, so spend time with Him and ask for His will. Bless you.
QUESTION: Do you think believers in the Father and Son should become a church?
ANSWER: I assume you mean choose a name and leaders to become a new denomination? If so, my answer is NO. We are members of THE church, God's ecclesia, His called out ones. Most of us are or were Seventh-day Adventists. Those who have been disfellowshipped or left the church of their own accord, are still seventh-day Adventists, but not as official church members. Even before our name was chosen, those who kept the first day were called first-day Adventists and those who kept the seventh day were called seventh-day Adventists. It is a historic, but unofficial name, until 1863, when it became Seventh-day Adventist. (Note one has a capital letter, the other does not. This is important because of the trade mark issue) We don't need a new denomination. Christ is our leader and although scattered around the world, we are in harmony if we hold on to the truth as revealed in God's Word.
QUESTION: Those who believe in the Father and Son don't seem to be in unity at present. There are so many different doctrines among us. If we were an official denomination we could disfellowship those who don't believe all the truth.
ANSWER: This is true, there are many differences among us. It is sad, but I don't think becoming another denomination and being able to disfellowship brethren is the answer. Remember Jesus said in His parable of the tares among the wheat that the tares are not to be pulled out otherwise some of the wheat would be rooted up as well. We are to let them grow together until the harvest and then the angels will separate them. At this present time, how do we know who is a tare? A person may believe differently, but that does not make them a tare. They may be in the process of studying and working things out and soon come to the realisation that what they believe is wrong. They may be very sincere and soon accept all the truth. If a person is living immorally, we can deal with that in the local group where we worship, according to the Ten Commandments. We don't need to be an official denomination for this purpose.
If a person does not believe the same as we do, we can study together and come to an agreement to disagree if necessary. If the differences are major we need to pray about it as a group, and ask the Lord to work it out. The group can request the person to not continually speak of the subject, so as to make others uncomfortable, and if they will not refrain, again, we need to ask the Lord to deal with it. If the differences are minor, we should worship the Lord together in the things we can agree. Let all things be done with love, considering the feelings of the other person at all times. Always remember that we ourselves may have beliefs that are not acceptable to others, and we would want them to treat us with kindness and love.
QUESTION: Was God lonely when He was alone in the universe?
ANSWER: Mmmmm. I think that is a question you will have to ask God the Father in heaven. However, I do not believe He was lonely because God is the source of everything. He is love, so He does not need someone to love to have love. Love begins with Him. He doesn't need friends to feel wanted as He is the source of friendship. Friendship begins with God. Maybe loneliness does not exist except in this sinful world. Make God your best Friend.
QUESTION: Is the Son of God the same substance as the Father or is He like substance with the Father?
ANSWER: Well, well, that sounds a bit like the question at Nicaea. I have thought a bit about your question and come to the conclusion, as did Constantine (or was it Hosius) that they mean the same, if you take the words as we normally mean them. When the word homoosius was added to the creed, they took it to mean the Son was the same substance as your finger is the same substance as your hand. It is part of your hand. It is not separate from your hand. So the Son is the same substance (or one substance) as the Father in that sense.
However, you can take the word to mean that your hand and my hand are the same substance, that is, both are human flesh and bones. If this is how the word is viewed, then we can say they are like substance. Then both words mean the same. However, at Nicaea, because they used same substance to mean one substance, like substance was unacceptable to the Athanasius party. The Arians could have accepted like substance because it meant that the body of the Father and the body of the Son were similar or like each other, but they were two separate persons.
When speaking of the Trinitarian view as I have may not be acceptable by those who believe in the same substance as at Nicaea, because although they believe in one substance, they still say the person of the Son and the person of the Father are two persons within one Godhead. And of course they add a third, the person of the Holy Spirit, so there are three persons in the Trinity. But how there are three persons, yet at the same time the same substance or one substance, is a mystery. And I have no idea. By the way, neither does anyone else.
Our prophet clearly says the Father and the Son are two distinct and separate persons, "... they were two, yet little short of being identical; two in individuality, yet one in spirit, and heart, and character." Youth's Instructor. December 16. 1897.