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THE WORLD'S GREATEST HOLINESS PREACHER!

A New Light Dawns!

,

HIS EXAMPLE

THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS



 

WAS THAT OF A HOLY LIFE

BUT  NOT PERFECT!  

6 Commonly Proposed Pictures or Personalities of Jesus Christ

Jesus #1, if he existed at all was a simple man, of little historical consequence. Jesus  #2, is as the Church councils have pictured him, a God who posed as a man Jesus #3, was an Essene, a man who lived a "Perfect" life, that we cannot match.

OUR HIGH PRIEST

      TRULY HUMAN

   BUT WITH TALENT!
Jesus #4, lived a celibate  life, like other Essenes, and Catholic priests and popes. Jesus #5, was our "High Priest" but we cannot possibly live like he lived Jesus #6, was not a high priest, but an occasionally sinful person such as we are.

 

Dr. Robert F. Holt, MD pictured here with this montage of pictures representing the Dead Sea Scrolls, is obviously biased towards Jesus #3, that Jesus was an Essene, and that's the assumption that he'll use on this page, although he'll discuss the other "pictures" of Jesus on other pages.

AN ESSENE JESUS,

one who kept all of the multitude of RULES in the COMMUNITY RULE, the major law scroll that regulated the lives of all the ESSENES and who lived in the Qumran Monastery and the other Essene Sites along the Western Shore of the Dead Sea, would have, of course, been living a much more "PERFECT LIFE" than we do, and more "PERFECT" than the lives of any of the Gentiles the Apostle Paul was addressing his Epistles to!

But "PERFECT" in the sense in which Westerners with their Greek and Roman LOGIC think of the word "PERFECT"?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

 

NOT KNOWING THIS TO BE TRUE, OF COURSE, THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS HAVING NOT YET BEEN DISCOVERED, AND JOSEPHUS' ACCURACY ON THE SUBJECT OF THE ESSENES STILL BEING QUESTIONED IN THE DAYS OF ELLEN WHITE AND THE MILLERITES AND EARLY ADVENTISTS, THERE WAS MUCH DEBATE IN THOSE DAYS ON THE SUBJECT OF

PERFECTION!

 

 

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48.

God intends that improvement shall be the lifework of all His followers and that it shall be guided and controlled by correct experience. The true man is one who is willing to sacrifice his own interest for the good of others and who exercises himself in binding up the brokenhearted. The true object of life has scarcely begun to be understood by many....

Intellect alone does not make the man, according to the divine standard. There is a power in intellect if sanctified and controlled by the Spirit of God. It is superior to riches and to physical power, yet it must be cultivated in order to make the man....

That which will bless humanity is spiritual life. If the man is in harmony with God, he will depend continually upon Him for strength. “

Be ye therefore perfect,

even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” It is our lifework to be reaching forward to

the perfection of Christian character,

striving continually for conformity to the will of God. The efforts begun upon earth will continue through eternity. God’s standard of man is elevated to

the highest meaning of the term,

 and if he acts up to his God-given manhood he will promote happiness in this life, which will lead to glory and an eternal reward in the life to come.

The members of the human family are entitled to the name of men and women only when they employ their talents, in every possible way, for the good of others. The life of Christ is before us as a pattern, and it is when ministering, like angels of mercy, to the wants of others that man is closely allied to God. It is the nature of Christianity to make happy families and happy society. Discord, selfishness, and strife will be put away from every man and woman who possesses the true spirit of Christ.

Those who are partakers of Christ’s love have no right to think that there is a limit to their influence and work in trying to benefit humanity. Did Christ become weary in His efforts to save fallen man? Our work is to be continuous and persevering. We shall find work to do until the Master shall bid us lay our armor at His feet. God is a moral governor, and we must wait, submissive to His will, ready and willing to spring to our duty whenever work needs to be done (Testimonies For The Church 4:519, 520).

Our Saviour took up the true relationship of a human being as the Son of God. We are sons and daughters of God....

 We must follow where Christ leads the way.

    For 30 years He lived the life of a perfect man, meeting the highest standard of perfection (The S.D.A. Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, vol. 5, 1085, 1086).

 

THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER  IS THAT DURING THE 30 YEARS HERE MENTIONED BY ELLEN WHITE, THE "HIGHEST STANDARD OF PERFECTION" WAS ATTAINED BY THE ESSENE HIGH PRIESTS,

 

AND THAT JESUS WAS NEVER ACCEPTED DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME AS AN "ESSENE HIGH PRIEST"!

INDEED ON THE ONE OCCASION IN 32 AD ON A YOM KIPPUR "DAY OF ATONEMENT" IN WHICH HE TEMPORARILY SWAPPED GARMENTS AND RITUAL WITH JONATHAN ANNAS, A "REAL" ESSENE HIGH PRIEST, HE PRECIPITATED A TEMPORARY CRISIS WHICH ALMOST ENDED HIS CAREER AS AN

 ESSENE "MESSIAH"

 

PRE-1888 Statements by Ellen G. White

From "A Chronological Study by

Woodrow W. Whidden II"

Probably the most striking features of Ellen White's presentation of the doctrine of perfection is the high goal to be attained and the many forthright, ringing declarations that its attainment is possible.

The Goal of Perfection—
The following terms and expressions come from the entire pre-1888 era and express the goal of perfection in seemingly absolute terms.

"We can overcome. Yes; fully, entirely. Jesus died to make a way of escape for us, that we might overcome every evil temper, every sin, every temptation" (1T 144). "The Son of God was faultless. We must aim at this perfection and overcome as He overcame" (3T 336). Human beings can reach "a perfection of intelligence and a purity of character but little lower than the perfection and purity of angels" (4T 93). "All His righteous demands must be fully met" (RH, Aug. 23, 1881). "Every defect of character must be overcome, or it will overcome us, and become a controlling power for evil" (ibid., June 3, 1884). "The law demands perfect, unswerving obedience" (TM 440). "Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain the victory. . . . This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble" (GC 623).

In addition to these presumably absolute expressions, there were numerous strong presentations that believers, after the Fall, must meet the same standard as required of Adam before the Fall. She was explicit that God's requirement of "Adam in paradise before he fell" is just the same "at this moment" for all who live "in grace" (RH, July 15, 1890). She 

further enforced this by declaring that it is "not the work of the gospel to weaken the claims of God's holy law, but to bring men up where they can keep its precepts" (ibid., Oct. 5, 1886).

The various contexts of these statements make it clear that this is a requirement that is to be met in the believer's Spirit-empowered performance, not just through the accounting of Christ's perfect life of obedience to the penitent's account.

These are some of the strongest and most perplexing statements of perfection found in the writings of Ellen White. The key issue is whether her definition of perfection was qualified because of the sinfulness of human nature. We will deal more with this critical question a little later. Another theme that expressed the high goal was her repeated employment of Matthew 5:48: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Pointing to the importance of this theme, she clearly outlined the goal: "Holiness of heart and purity of life was the great subject of the teachings of Christ. In His Sermon on the Mount, after specifying what must be done in order to be blessed, and what must not be done, He says: `Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.'

"Perfection, holiness, nothing short of this, would give them success in carrying out the principles He had given them" (2T 441).

Please note that "perfection and holiness" (apparently one and the same thing here) were not only the goal, but also the means of "success in carrying out the principles" of the Sermon on the Mount. A very similar expression was published in the Review of September 20, 1881: "`Be ye therefore perfect, [even] as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.' It should be our lifework to be constantly reaching forward to the perfection of Christian character, ever striving for conformity to the will of God. The efforts begun here will continue through eternity."

Thus it is clear that her comments on Matthew 5:48 were employed to express not only a high goal, but the dynamic means to reach this goal. Perfection was thus defined as both a goal and a relative experience that consists of pressing toward the goal. The concept she pictured here arises out of the whole experience of growth. The goal of growth is always maturity, but there is relative perfection at each stage of the dynamic unfolding

The Attainment of Perfection—Not only was the demand and goal of perfection very high and seemingly absolute, but she also was very positive that this goal is attainable.

Indeed, it must be attained this side of the close of probation and the glorification of the saints at the Second Coming.

An Important Debate—Ellen White's interpreters disagree as to whether those who refuse to claim holiness or perfection are really sinlessly perfect or just being shy about their spiritual growth. Let us try to sharpen the focus on this issue with two questions: Is their refusal to claim perfection reflective of a truly realistic view that their perfection is relative, or are they truly sinlessly perfect and just being spiritually modest? Is the perfection they refuse to claim relatively sinless or absolutely sinless?

Dennis Priebe feels that "there can be a difference between being sinless and claiming to be sinless" (84). He bases this conclusion on Ellen White's statement which declared that "no one who claims holiness is really holy. Those who are registered as holy in the books of heaven are not aware of the fact, and are the last ones to boast of their own goodness" (ST, Feb. 26, 1885).

Helmut Ott seems to be more accurate in his appraisal of the numerous statements that Ellen White makes to the effect that holy saints have not, nor ever will, claim holiness or sinlessness. Referring to her statements that the saints will not claim "to be pure and holy" (GC 470) and noting their confession of a "sense of. . . weakness and imperfection" (PP 85), Ott comments: "Their admission of guilt and sinfulness did not result from a false sense of modesty or an inability to recognize their true spiritual standing. Instead, it rested on the fact that their unusually close relationship with God enabled them to acquire both the point of reference and the spiritual perception they needed to see themselves as they really were" (58, 59).

What they really were is perfect and holy in only a relative sense of the word, and this realization is the source of the reticence—not some sense of false modesty. Furthermore, they instinctively realize that to make a claim of perfection would even endanger the beauty of the relative reality! Sinful condition always plays a subtle trick on even religious persons: they are usually quite optimistic about their "own righteousness, which is of the law" (Phil. 3:9). Truly converted persons are much more sober about the reality of moral self-deception.

Perfection Accompanied by Strict Obedience
Sanctification and perfection involve a reverence for and strict obedience to the law of God. The focus here is the practical outworking of her firm conviction that believers are saved from sin, not in sin. Sinners are not saved by works, but neither are they saved without them (ST, July 13, 1888).

IN SEVERAL OF THE GOSPEL STORIES, THIS STORY OF JESUS' GARMENT AND RITUAL SWAP WITH JONATHAN ANNAS IS PRESENTED IN A DECEPTIVE WAY THAT ALLOWS LATER READERS TO SEE JESUS "GLORIFIED" OR "TRANSFIGURED"

ADVENTISTS, AS WELL AS MOST OTHER CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN SO DECIEVED BY THIS DECEPTIVE PICTURE THAT THEY HAVE IMAGINED A JESUS THAT INDEED NO ONE THAT IS HUMAN CAN REALLY FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE OF, OR LIVE LIKE -- AS ELLEN WHITE, NOT KNOWING THIS TO BE IMPOSSIBLE, REPEATEDLY URGED WAS THE "DUTY" OF ADVENTISTS TO DO!

 

    Eventually, beginning in 1888, Adventists "fell off" their original pathway and accepted the "Divine Trinity" caricature of Jesus --

and although the old debates still rage on in the rarified air of Adventist Academia, ordinary church members in their pews are content to not even try to live like the Real Jesus, the Essene Jesus, in any meaningful way!

 

 

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The REAL LIFE of Jesus Christ differed in significant ways from the life described in the FOUR GOSPELS.  Now we can know what these differences were!

For Dr. Bob Holt's description--

Click Here!

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