Established, Strengthened, and Settled

"You know what the three R's are," I recently asked a student.

"Sure," she replied, "Reading, Writing, and Rather not do it!"

Well, in true education, the Christian life, we have what I call the three S's.

"Stablish, Strengthen, Settle." 1 Peter 5:10

Established, Strengthened, and Settled. This three-word expression is used in Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, p. 546. The context has to do with our need to be thoroughly grounded in the truth. But these words also beautifully summarize the three phases of Christian experience. We are established in Christ at our conversion. Our walk with the Lord is to strengthen that experience. And the final phase, which I call crystallization, is when we have become so settled in Christ that we cannot be moved.

Daniel 11

Interest in Daniel 11 is growing. This includes a desire to understand the last six verses of the chapter. New views have emerged in recent times and Bible students are divided in their interpretations. Having been a part of this discussion for the past few years, and being familiar with the arguments on each side, I have come to the conclusion that the Seventh-day Adventist church was led by God in its early days to a correct understanding of this important prophetic chapter.

Here are some resources that relate to this subject:

Who is the King of the South? (Official 2018 Daniel 11 Prophecy Conference Paper)

Objections Answered (Official 2021 Daniel 11 Prophecy Conference Paper)

Daniel 11:16 (Who is "He that cometh against him?")

Testing Daniel 11:16-22 (Rethinking verses 17-21)

The Time of the End (March 2016 presentation that explains Daniel 11:40-45 and more)

The Eastern Question (Is it something ministers should preach about?)

A Revitalized Prophecy (July 2015 campmeeting presentation with slides; 50 minutes)

The Kings of the North and South

The West in Daniel 11

"Thy People" and the Remnant of Israel (Presented at the 2019 Las Vegas symposium)

Of Those Who Reinterpret the Prophecies

Daniel's Climaxes (Comparing the destinations reached in Daniel's four lines of prophecy)

Daniel 11:45 and the Middle East Crisis (My first attempt presenting the classical view)

Daniel and Revelation Bound Together (A sharing book explaining the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation)

Daniel: History's Empires Foretold (Prophecy Resource Folders for Daniel, arranged by empire or time period)

Of Those Who Reinterpret the Prophecies

“There are persons ready to catch up every new idea. The prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation are misinterpreted. These persons do not consider that the truth has been set forth at the appointed time by the very men whom God was leading to do this special work. These men followed on step by step in the very fulfillment of prophecy, and those who have not had a personal experience in this work are to take the Word of God and believe on ‘their word’ who have been led by the Lord in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages.” (17MR 14.3)

“It is true that there are prophecies yet to be fulfilled. But very erroneous work has been done again and again, and will continue to be done by those who seek to find new light in the prophecies, and who begin by turning away from the light that God has already given. . . . But the Lord does not lay upon those who have not had an experience in His work the burden of making a new exposition of those prophecies which He has, by His Holy Spirit, moved upon His chosen servants to explain.” (17MR 15.1)

“You and other of our brethren must accept the truth as God has given it to His students of prophecy, as they have been led by genuine, living experience, advancing point by point, tested, proved, and tried, until the truth is to them a reality. From their voices and pens the truth in bright, warm rays has gone to all parts of the world, and that which was to them testing truth, as brought by the Lord's delegated messengers, is testing truth to all to whom this message is proclaimed.” (17MR 3.2)

“There must be no long discussions, no presenting of new theories in regard to prophecies that God has already made plain.” (RH, Nov. 27, 1900 par. 13)

The Eastern Question

Ellen White's references to the Eastern Question are significant because of statements such as:

"Our people need to be silent upon questions which have no relation to the third angel's message." (2SM 336)

Ellen White could not endorse the presentation by our ministers of any topic that had no relation to the third angel's message.

"Let us confine our public efforts to the presentation of the important lines of truth on which we are united, and on which we have clear light." (1SM 167)

So, her endorsement of a public presentation by our ministers implies (1) that it is an important line of truth, (2) that it is a subject on which the church was united, and (3) that it is a subject on which we have clear light. If a presentation did not meet those criteria, the minister had no business talking about it. The subject should not be discussed in our meetings.

"Matters of vital importance have been plainly revealed in the Word of God. These subjects are worthy of our deepest thought. But we are not to search into matters on which God has been silent." (1SM 173)

If the Eastern Question can be found in the Word of God, it is worthy of our deepest thought. But if not, we certainly should not be preaching about it.

The Eastern Question was the diplomatic problem posed by the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Adventist ministers tied the fulfillment of Daniel 11:45 to the ultimate outcome of that question. If Daniel 11:45 has nothing to do with the Ottoman Empire or its aftermath, our ministers were preaching about something on which God is silent.

But notice the comments of the Lord's messenger endorsing the public presentations on this subject. The sermons were "of special interest." In presenting this subject, Uriah Smith was "fully and thoroughly united with us." What he was presenting was described by Ellen White as "these great events in the near future." And the message was classed as "the truth."

September 6, 1877
“Sunday morning the weather was still cloudy, but before it was time for the people to assemble the sun shone forth. Boats and trains poured their living freight upon the ground, as was the case last year. Elder Smith spoke in the morning upon the Eastern question. The subject was of special interest, and the people listened with the most earnest attention. It seemed to be just what they wanted to hear.” (RH 9-6-1877)

August 24, 1884
“Elder Smith spoke on the Sabbath question to a large congregation this morning, and this evening he speaks on the Eastern question. I feel so grateful that Brother Smith is not lost to the cause. He seems fully and thoroughly united with us; seems like Brother Smith of old. Oh, thank the Lord! Praise His Holy Name, that His love, His wondrous love has been exercised toward the children of men. It is so dark, I must stop. Will write you tomorrow.” (Lt55-1884 par. 6)

August 25, 1884
“Aug. 25, 11:00 a.m. The first two pages were written Sunday after I had spoken to the crowd. The evening meeting was largely attended. Elder Smith spoke with great clearness, and many listened with open eyes, ears, and mouths. The outsiders seemed to be intensely interested in the Eastern question. He closed with a very solemn address to those who had not been preparing for these great events in the near future.” (Lt55-1884 par. 7)

December 25, 1898
“Elder Daniells speaks this evening upon the Eastern Question. May the Lord give His Holy Spirit to inspire the hearts to make the truth plain.” (Ms189-1898 par. 9)

The Possibility of Being Wrong

"The question is not whether you see as your brother does on controverted points; but what spirit has characterized your actions? Have you an experience in close self-examination, in humbling the heart before God? Have you made it a practice of your life to confess your errors to God and to your brethren? All are liable to err; therefore the word of God tells us plainly how to correct and heal these mistakes. None can say that he never makes a mistake, that he never sinned at all; but it is important to consider what disposition you make of these wrongs. The apostle Paul made grievous mistakes, all the time thinking that he was doing God service; but when the Spirit of the Lord set the matter before him in its true light, he confessed his wrong-doing, and afterward acknowledged the great mercy of God in forgiving his transgression. You also may have done wrong, thinking you were perfectly right; but when time reveals your error, then it is your duty to humble the heart, and confess your sin. Fall on the Rock and be broken; then Jesus can give you a new heart, a new spirit." RH, December 16, 1890 par. 12

Fundamental Principles

In 1904 Ellen White wrote:

"Messages of every order and kind have been urged upon Seventh-day Adventists, to take the place of the truth which, point by point, has been sought out by prayerful study, and testified to by the miracle-working power of the Lord. But the waymarks which have made us what we are, are to be preserved, as God has signified through His Word and the testimony of His Spirit. He calls upon us to hold firmly, with the grip of faith, to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority." 1SM 208

"The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result? The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced." 1SM 204

To what fundamental principles was she referring? In 1872 a pamphlet was printed on the steam press of the Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association in Battle Creek, Michigan. It was entitled, A Declaration of the Fundamental Principles Taught and Practiced by the Seventh-day Adventists. As stated in its opening paragraph, it was "a brief statement of what is, and has been, with great unanimity, held by them." It had 25 points.

In 1874 James White founded the periodical Signs of the Times. The very first issue, Volume I, Number I, June 4, 1874, featured the church's declaration of Fundamental Principles just as it had appeared in the earlier pamphlet. Again, the description was included that this doctrinal statement represented "what is, and has been, with great unanimity," held by "our people."

In the years 1889, 1905, and 1907-1914, the same list of Fundamental Principles was included in the Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. It was prefaced with this comment:

"Seventh-day Adventists have no creed but the Bible; but they hold to certain well-defined points of faith, for which they feel prepared to give a reason 'to every man that asketh' them. The following propositions may be taken as a summary of the principle features of their religious faith, upon which there is, so far as is known, entire unanimity throughout the body."

There can be no doubt, then, that these long-published Fundamental Principles were what Ellen White had in mind when in 1904 she warned against discarding "the fundamental principles that have sustained the work" for so many years.

Below is a link to a digitized archive of this historically important doctrinal summary. You will notice that care is taken to dispel any notion that early Seventh-day Adventists viewed their statement of beliefs as a standard of disciple. It was merely informational.

A Declaration of the Fundamental Principles of the Seventh-day Adventists

What is a Creed?

The difference between a creed and a statement of beliefs is the degree of authority it carries. A statement of beliefs is for informational purposes only. A creed is intended as a standard of discipline.

Some would define the difference in terms of changeability. A statement of beliefs, they say, can be changed. A creed cannot. But history does not bear that out. A review of the early ecumenical creeds shows that, council after council, creeds were changed. A faith statement is a creed when it is designed as a doctrinal test.