Originally published on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, 3:30 pm in German at www.letztercountdown.org
By studying the Clock of God in Orion we came to understand how God led and preserved His church the past 166 years of its journey to heaven, but we also learned about immense trials it had to pass through and how those trials caused ever-worsening damage to the church ship. Huge reefs stood against the boat: The First World War in 1914 which divided the church into two parts, and then the Nazi regime which for ten years beginning with 1936 caused a further sifting within the church. It all goes to show us today that the Seventh-day Adventist church is more likely to take its stand with the world rulers in times of crisis. God marked the year 1986 in the history of His church, but many could not recognize it right away because so many false teachings had already penetrated the church too much for all the members to maintain completely clear judgment. The Seventh-day Adventist Church reached the point where it even approached the papacy with gifts and eventually began to publicly and officially participate in world ecumenical events. Who would have imagined that the only “strictly Protestant church” would kneel down together with the pope to pray for world peace, which according to the Bible will never exist, and even the very talk of such peace heralds the destruction of mankind?
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:3)
Therefore, we must ask ourselves how it could have come to this? There was the church split in 1914 due to the issues of whether a Christian can participate in war or not, and how far the Sabbath may be transgressed in such a situation, and there was even the treachery committed against the brethren by some of the church leaders in Germany during the years under the Nazi regime—all these horrible acts were still not enough to say that the church came to the point of “committing fornication” with the papacy on the world stage as Jesus expressed it. It is in the message to the fourth church, Thyatira, which coincides with the beginning of the fourth seal of 1986 and reads as follows:
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel [the Roman church], which calleth herself a prophetess [Vatican], to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space [the first six marches around Jericho, see History repeats] to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation [time of trouble], except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death [the 7 plagues]; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works [the Second Coming of Jesus]. (Revelation 2:20-23)
The Sabbath was never completely given up by the church despite the transgressions of the leaders of 18 European countries during the seals of 1914 and 1936. The leaders of German and Austrian churches even officially apologized in May 2005 for the church having supported the Nazi regime during the war years of World War II and that it had participated in the persecution of Jews through their passive behavior (AdventistReview.org Archives 2005):
Church Leaders Say “We're Sorry”
German and Austrian churches apologize for Holocaust actionsBY MARK A. KELLNER, assistant director for news and information of the General Conference Communication Department
Noting the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II, Seventh-day Adventist church leaders in Germany and Austria have released a declaration saying they “deeply regret” any participation in or support of Nazi activities during the war. The church bodies “honestly confess” a failure “in following our Lord” by not protecting Jews, and others, from that era's genocide, widely known as the Holocaust. Millions of people perished from war atrocities, including more than 6 million Jews who were exterminated in Nazi persecutions during the 12-year period of 1933 to 1945.
The declaration was initially published in the May 2005 issue of Advent-Echo, a monthly German-language church magazine, and also will appear in other German publications, said Günther Machel, president of the South German Union Conference and one of three signatories to the statement.
A copy of the statement has been provided to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Israel, added Rolf Pöhler, a former North German church area president who is now that region's theological advisor and was involved with the drafting of the declaration.
“We deeply regret that the character of National Socialist dictatorship had not been realized in time and distinctly enough, and the ungodly nature of [Nazi] ideology had not clearly been identified,” the statement, as translated from German, reads. The church says it also regrets “that in some of our publications . . . there were found articles glorifying Adolf Hitler and agreeing with the ideology of anti-Semitism in a way that is unbelievable from today's [perspective].”
Church leaders also expressed regret that “our peoples became associated with racial fanaticism destroying the lives and freedom of 6 million Jews and representatives of minorities in all of Europe” and “that many Seventh-day Adventists did not share the need and suffering of their Jewish fellow-citizens.”
A paramount regret, the statement indicated, was that German and Austrian Adventist congregations “excluded, separated and left [church members who were] . . . of Jewish origin to themselves so that they were delivered to imprisonment, exile or death.”
Under various racial decrees, some Adventist congregations expelled members of Jewish heritage. One, Max-Israel Munk, was placed in two concentration camps by the Nazis and survived and returned to his church after the war. He said he did not wish to act toward his congregation in the way in which he had been treated, according to Daniel Heinz, a church archivist at Friedensau Adventist University who has studied Adventist activities during the National Socialist era.
Along with Machel, the other leaders who signed the statement were Klaus-Juergen van Treeck, North German Union Conference president, and Herbert Brugger, president of the Adventist Church in Austria. Pöhler and Johannes Hartlapp, church historian at Friedensau, drafted the statement on which the declaration is based. All three church geographic areas voted to approve the text, Pöhler said.
In the statement, the three assert that the “obedience we owe to the state authorities does not lead to giving up biblical convictions and values.” They said that while only God can judge the actions of prior generations, “in our day, however, we want to take a decided stand for right and justice-towards all people.”
Brugger, in a telephone interview, said, “Our church members really appreciated the publishing of this document.” No indication of a reaction from Austria's Jewish community has been received, but Brugger said the Adventist Church is not as well known in Austria as some other movements are.
Asked how a church that considers keeping the Sabbath as one of its core beliefs could forsake Jewish Sabbath-keepers during a time of persecution, Brugger suggested that it was political, not theological, considerations that may have led to the strategy.
During World War I a portion of the German Adventist church had split off, opposing any military service. This led the National Socialists in 1936 to ban the so-called “Reform Movement” during their time in power. Brugger said concern over a Nazi closure of the main Adventist churches may have weighed on leaders in that era.
“I think during these times the official leaders of our church were afraid of losing the control over the church and losing the church because the political authorities had already . . . [confused] our church with the Reform movement,” he explained. “I think our leaders were afraid to lose the official recognition of our church, so therefore maybe they were not [as faithful] to our beliefs as would have been necessary.”
The main Seventh-day Adventist church in Germany was also briefly banned under the Nazis, notes Pöhler. A quick reversal by the regime led to relief among Adventists but also to a level of cooperation with the government that was unhealthy.
“We not only kept silent, but we also published things we never should have published. We published anti-Semitic ideas that, from our perspective, weren't really needed,” Pöhler said in a telephone interview.
“We had to realize that one wrong statement, one wrong move by a person meant he could end up in a concentration camp,” Pöhler said of that era. "[That was the] reason why we excluded and disfellowshipped Jewish-born Adventists from our midst: If a local church had not done this, [the Nazis] would have closed the church, taken the elder to prison, and it would have meant the whole church would be forbidden.”
While some European Adventists took courageous stands to protect Jews, others went along in part because of concern for their families and churches. It would be difficult enough for an individual to reach out to a Jewish person, Pöhler explained, but to risk the lives of those in a congregation was an added burden. Such caution was even reflected in the nomenclature used by German Adventists, he said.
Daniel Heinz, director of church archives at the Adventist university in Friedensau, Germany, said his research into the stories of Adventists who helped Jews during the war led to his discovery of those who acted less honorably.
Resistance to Nazi policies, as well as the compassionate yet brave response of many Christians, among them Seventh-day Adventists, to protect lives of those under Nazi persecution, have been documented throughout Europe, including Poland, Hungary, Holland, and Denmark.
“I found some very impressive stories of Adventists who helped Jews in the Third Reich, risking their lives, and I found the opposite,” Heinz said. Among other church members, one Latvian Adventist family took in a Jewish man, hid him during the war, and survived. The refugee became an Adventist believer and church pastor after the war ended.
According to Machel, “Sixty years after World War II is late-but we saw it as the last chance for a declaration.”
Young adult church members reacted positively to the statement's expressions of concern and contrition.
“To humbly reveal our sins and failures is the most important thing God wants us to do,” said Sara Gehler, 25. “And even though 60 years have already passed, I think it was necessary for us as [the Seventh-day Adventist] Church to take a stand on the Second World War.” She added, “It is our duty as Christians to protect and help those who are weak, helpless, and in need.”
Said John Graz, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty director for the Adventist world headquarters, “For those who believe in God's love for every member of the human family, against any kind of discrimination based on race, religion, or gender, this declaration written by a generation which had no responsibility in the Holocaust and the war, but endorse the responsibility of their parents, will stand as a positive landmark and great encouragement.”
It is sad that the original letter of apology is lacking any acknowledgement that the Seventh-day Adventist Church in those years of World War I and II treated their own brothers and sisters exactly like they treated the Jewish brethren, when they wanted to keep the Sabbath under any circumstance and avoid breaking the commandment “Thou shalt not kill”. The original statement of apology reads:
...that fellow citizens of Jewish origin have been marginalized and excluded by us, left to themselves, and therefore have been delivered to prison, exile or death.
It hurts to read such half-hearted apologies when on the other hand we read stories about loyal Adventists who died for their faith, as we will soon have to do when the last trial of the Sunday law comes upon us. While the Seventh-day Adventist Church corrupted itself with the Nazi regime in 1936, the Reformation church was banned, and its members had to bear their cross. Two examples could stand for hundreds of faithful Adventists of the Reformation Movement, who died in the prisons and concentration camps of the Nazis without even being mentioned by their “big brothers”.
Let’s read the last two letters that the Reformation Adventist Gustav Psyrembel wrote to his wife:
Berlin NW40, March 12, 1940
Dear . . .
The peace of the Lord be with you!
I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to write you a few lines, because every new day that dawns may be the last one for me. . . . Therefore, we will not yield in the hour of decision, for this is the right way and the truth. It is His work, and He will not let it perish. It is very regrettable that many of our fellow believers [in the threefold message] stray from the right way, leave our Leader and banner, fall away from Him, begin to doubt His divine love and guidance, and thus grieve Him.
Someday they will bitterly regret it and acknowledge their wrong, but then it will perhaps be forever too late and there will be no help or salvation. They do not realize that they are betraying those who hold fast to God and that they are making their battle unspeakably heavy. When a case such as mine comes up before the war tribunal, [the officers] say: “The other [Adventists] are all convinced that they are doing their duty without violating their conscience and without breaking God’s commandments; why can’t you do the same?” It is very, very hard in such a case to defend the truth, to explain our stand to the authorities and say that we cannot do otherwise. Another reproach came upon me because of my “unteachability” and “stubbornness.”
These [compliant believers], especially the ministers, have managed to deceive the people. Through their false representations of the truth, they depict us as criminals and say we are deceived. Not content with avoiding conflict and trying to find a way around the difficulties, they also try to justify their wrong actions through statements and examples from the Scriptures that are not at all relevant. I have seen this in a long, seven-page letter from a minister who used arguments which are supposedly confirmed by the Testimonies. But all this should not shake us. The truth remains the truth, and what is right will remain right; and the future will reveal on which side it can be found. . . .
In the faith that there will be a reunion, I will now close. The Lord be with you. Receive my many cordial greetings and kisses from deeply loving Papa.
Best greetings to all those who always think of me.
Your Gustav.
Berlin NW 40, March 29, 1940
Dear . . .
Greetings with 2 Cor. 4:16–18.
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
I have just learned that tomorrow, the 30th, at 5:00 a.m., I am to be executed. Once again I had the opportunity to strengthen myself with the Word of God for this last journey. The New Testament was brought for me to read. (But I got less food to eat.) The portions of bread are much smaller here, and in general everything is much stricter, than at Ploetzensee; but I have borne everything gladly and patiently, for I know for whom I do all these things and I am not the first nor the only one to be apportioned this lot. The Lord says: ‘Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven.’ ‘Lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh.’ These words and precious promises keep us going in our heavy but wonderful battle. The Lord has promised His power and protection, and He is also prepared to grant it to His children when they are in need of it. I have experienced this in all the years of my battle up to this very hour. The Lord be thanked and praised! He has kept me healthy in body and soul and has given me His joy and love in a rich measure. He will not leave me in the last hour. We shall not be sad, but happy, and regard it a privilege to suffer and die for His sake. ‘Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.’
He has promised, and with faith in this power and salvation I will depart from this life in the hope, my dear ones, that we shall see each other again in His kingdom, to be forever with Him who has loved us until death and has always had good intentions toward us. There we will live in the undisturbed and inseparable happiness and peace for which we have longed so much here. We shall be as such that dream and will hardly be able to comprehend the happiness that will be the portion of us sinful, unworthy creatures, who have deserved death and punishment. What a precious privilege it is to know and believe all this. And you, dear Mama, do not permit this precious treasure ever to be taken from you; trust in the Lord in all the circumstances of your life, and He will be at your side and never leave you; overcome the pain and finish the race; be comforted and of good cheer. “I would not give up this faith for all the world. He who loves Christ can never leave Him. The Lord will grant success to all His children who endeavor to keep His commandments. It will also be a comfort to you that I will be dead before I am buried, and will not be buried alive. I hope that the Lord will sustain you. May He bless and keep you; may He let His protection and grace be over you and grant you His peace! This is my last wish and prayer. Amen.
Once again, and for the last time, very heartfelt greetings from your dear Papa. Best greetings also to Mother and all our dear brothers and sisters in the faith, as well as all our relatives on both your side and mine.
Gustav Psyrembel.” —And Follow Their Faith!, pp. 10–13.
And this is the last letter of the Austrian Adventist of the Reformation Movement and conscientious objector Anton Brugger to his fiancée Esther, which he wrote from the prison Brandenburg-Goert on February 3, 1943:
My dearly beloved Esther, cherished treasure!
Unfortunately, it has not been granted us to see each other again. Alas, how I desired to see your loving face once more and to speak a few words with you. Your lovely picture I have always kept with me. In the back of my Bible is your picture before me. Now take the Bible as a remembrance from me. I hope you have also received my last letter. When you go to my Mother, she will give you these letters.
We would never have thought that we had seen each other for the last time at Niederroden. Still I always had a certain feeling that a great, severe test would yet come, but I would not tell you of it so as not to frighten you. Now the very thing which I feared so long, and which I expected to come to pass, has actually become a reality. Oh, how gladly I would have lived on to work and to do good unto others. How nice it would have been, I imagine, to work together with you in doing good. There could have been no more perfect happiness for me than this.
The thought about all the grief of my dear, good Mother is especially painful. Oh, please take good care of her and give her comfort. Alas, dear Esther, I know it will strike you very severely also. But be not dismayed and comfort yourself in the Lord. We also have to take this sad fate patiently from the hand of the Lord. He knows why He has permitted all this. There is no other way to choose, because it is impossible for me, according to the conviction of my faith, to partake in war. I could be free only if I would commit myself to carry out unreservedly every command of the government, and this I cannot do without coming into conflict with my conscience. I will, therefore, rather suffer the death penalty, which shall be carried out today, on February 3, 1943, at 6 o’clock in the evening. Although it is hard, the Lord will have mercy upon me and help me to the end. Since our hearts’ desire to be united together here on earth is now made impossible by this sad thing, we shall simply comfort ourselves with the precious hope of seeing each other again by the Lord. I trust in the grace and the mercy of the Saviour, that He will accept me and graciously pardon my sins. Be also faithful to the Lord Jesus and love and serve Him with all your strength. Be not dismayed and be comforted. After the Lord’s coming no one shall separate us anymore, and no suffering and pain can then fall upon us. “Greet all dear ones from me. My heart has always been with them. Especially give my best regards to your dear parents and your dear brother. . . .
I would have gladly been buried in the earth, but all those here are burned at the crematory. I have already requested my Mother to ask permission to entomb the urn with my ashes in Salzburg; that is the best place. I hope I have not lived in vain.
Now, Darling, my beloved, may the Lord bless you and all your dear ones, and protect and help you graciously so that we may see each other again forever beside Him in His glorious kingdom of peace. I love you dearly to the end.
Farewell, Darling, auf WIEDERSEHEN!
Your Anton.” —And Follow Their Faith!, pp. 49–51.
After reading these testimonies in the book “The History of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement,” I could understand why God placed Orion in the sky. He wanted to make sure that these martyrs were not forgotten, and He wanted to show how much He loves those who live and die for Him and His cause. No, dear Anton Brugger and dear Gustav Psyrembel, you have not lived in vain, and neither have you died in vain! Our Lord erected a special monument for you and your fellow sufferers: the two shoulder stars of Orion are dedicated to you—to all those who died in both World Wars for their faith and loyalty to the commandments of God like those who gave their lives in the previous persecutions of the first round of the first six seals. Your testimonies will not be lost; everyone who reads this article today and has understood the Orion message will be very pleased to meet you again in heaven with Jesus once they have passed through their own impending trials. I would like to recommend that everyone read the chapter with these testimonies in the above-mentioned book. It can be downloaded HERE.
Wouldn’t it be appropriate to seek reconciliation between the three Adventist churches on account of these witnesses for Jesus, since God Himself indicates with a whole constellation of stars that He has not forgotten the sins of His people? (The three different Adventist churches are: the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement, and the International Missionary Society.) While looking into the faces of these humble and forgiving brethren who never resented their fellows who betrayed them, and like true Christians even asked for Jesus to forgive them—can we still doubt that God desires the churches to come back together in unity of faith?
If the Reformation churches are the heirs of these heroes of faith who accepted Jesus’ counsel to always forgive if we want to be forgiven, then are they allowed to cherish resentments against—and aversions to—their brethren of the big Seventh-day Adventist Church? Since they are prone to error and sin just like all other human beings, are they allowed to think themselves superior and judge the members of the big church as lost? I had to experience that from the pastors and leaders of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement in South America. No, that was not the spirit of these faithful followers of Christ, and it is not the spirit of those who will be sealed. It is even less the spirit of those who will soon be among the 144,000. Keep in mind that I am talking about some leaders of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement whom I know personally; there are also many wonderful Christians among them who do not cherish the same spirit.
Jesus made it clear that only those who seek peace and unity in the church will be saved. Recently, a high leader of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Germany publicly called me a “great separatist.” The Reform churches also gave me the title “great heretic.” My only concern is to fulfill the mission that God has given me and to pass on the knowledge that He has entrusted to me through His Holy Spirit for His organized churches. My only claim is to have recognized Orion and I repeatedly say that I do not claim my interpretations to be 100% correct. These studies are provided to encourage self-study. The Internet is full of sites that tell what happened in the Orion years of 1844, 1846, 1914, 1936 and 1986. Again I say: test everything and keep that which is good!
The reactions of the leaders are so pathetic! One organized church confronts the other so hatefully! Orion shows the sins of the house of Jacob, His people, but it also shows that God did not abandon them. How can we expect reunification to eventually happen if no one is willing to budge a little from their fixed position? Everyone talks about the sifting! Yes, it started a long time ago as Ellen G. White stated. The sifting had already begun in her day, but the sifting wasn’t only the splitting of the two churches in 1914 and the re-splitting of the Reform church in 1951. Yes, those events are marked by God in Orion as negative events, but it is not the events themselves that cause the sifting. It is the doctrines that are behind those dates and events. The sifting began through false doctrines and will culminate in the final shaking which will come through the Sunday laws. Soon, people from all the Adventist organizations—as well as non-Adventists—will come together through the Orion message. As they understand the message of God, they will receive the Holy Spirit and form the 144,000. They will understand what the false doctrines are that caused the sifting and will correct their views, if necessary, according to the teachings shown by Orion. This and the following articles deal with the “throne lines” of Orion, which point out the divisive barriers that exist between the churches and the many offshoots. The articles will show what God’s will and true doctrine is, which we should accept right now in all its glory. God leaves nothing in the dark, and everyone who reads the rest of this article series about “The Throne Lines” will also shine like a light in a dark place.
I had to chuckle when I recently studied the Sabbath School lessons from the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement for the second and third quarters of 2010. It was obvious that they deliberately chose topics that related to the Orion message and tried to firmly ground their members by republishing and repeating well-known former light on the subject. They did that to discourage them from believing in any further revelation of God from Orion. I love this Sabbath School quarterly because it is strictly based on the writings of Ellen G. White. There is nothing unnecessary in it; it just has the questions and quotes of Ellen G. White giving the answers. Theological reviews, like in the Sabbath School lessons of the Seventh-day Adventist church are happily absent. In these two quarterlies I found an incredible load of material that fit perfectly in my articles. It confirmed the Orion message in a special way even though the brethren had the intention of refuting it. I could not find a single line of the two Sabbath Schools quarterlies or even one quote of Ellen G. White that contradicts the Orion message. The Orion message is in perfect harmony with all the basic Adventist doctrines and full agreement with all the teachings of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.
Orion shows the errors that the church—indeed the whole of God’s organized Seventh-day Adventist churches (including the offshoots)—has committed since 1844. If all the churches would come to the recognition and repentance of their sins through Orion, then the purified church of God would emerge without the need for any new foundations. The message of Orion is not a call-out message or a message of separation from any of the Seventh-day Adventist churches. It is a message of unity of faith because Jesus teaches us how the divisive viewpoints appear in the light of His will and what constitutes a false or true doctrine in His eyes. We will see that God addresses all divisive doctrines in Orion. It will be a shock for many leaders to learn that they have cherished false views, and that they will have to change if they don’t want to receive the plagues. Will they be humble enough to accept the correction of Jesus?
All the Reform churches believe almost immovably that they are the only true church, and that the wider church community has completely developed into Babylon and that it no more receives God’s blessings or approval. If that were the case, then why does God make an effort to go on with the history of the big Seventh-day Adventist church in Orion? The year 1986, the fourth church and the fourth seal, is mainly the history of the big Seventh-day Adventist church. Orion shows that the churches exist in parallel. Re-read the letters to the churches; two groups are always indicated. This was, of course, quickly recognized by the Reform churches when I forwarded them the first study of the Orion clock in January. They realized that the clock clearly indicates that the big Seventh-day Adventist church was not completely excluded from God’s grace, and it calls into question their alleged monopoly on the position of the only true church of God since 1914 or 1951. For that reason, the Orion message was immediately rejected by the General Conferences of the Reform churches, and they sent their pastors corresponding circulars instructing them to suppress the Orion message. I know this from my personal experience with the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement, but based on a few e-mails I received, I think that the exact same thing happened at the International Missionary Society too.
On the other hand, the big Seventh-day Adventist church is ashamed of its errors, of course, and does not want them to come to light. Thus, the General Conference also had to judge the Orion message as totally consisting of false doctrine and heresy. They also recognize that there is more in Orion than I had published so far (in the first version of the Orion study). Those leaders, who belong to the enemy’s camp, know very well that the Orion message brings tidings from the north (the throne of God) and from the east (where Orion itself is) according to Daniel 11:44. It troubles them and their head, the pope, the representative of Satan on earth, just like the verse says:
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. (Daniel 11:44)
We all know that these “tidings”, or messages, from the east and north will lead to the loud cry which is also described in this verse. The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. There will be no more dispute about religious issues, no discussion about certain controversial doctrines that have existed for years, because God Himself shows us the whole truth in Orion. As soon as the church unites under the whole truth, forgetting all boundaries between the several organized churches and offshoot groups, the time will have come for Satan to tremble. This frightens him to the core because he knows exactly what is written in Orion: The answers to all the disputes in the churches...the whole truth. He knows that there will be 144,000 who unite in the church of Philadelphia. The true unity of faith that Jesus prayed for in John 17 will reign in it. The following articles will terrify Satan because he recognizes the fact that the Spirit of God has started to take effect in some. For thousands of years Satan has known that this would eventually happen! He gave the order to build the pyramids of Giza in the exact arrangement of the belt stars of Orion. He dedicated them to sun worship because he knew that the true sanctuary of God, or its symbol, the real and true Orion constellation in the sky, would bear a special message one day. He knew that it would identify God’s people during the investigative judgment and would show them the truth about controversial issues that were not clearly understood from the Bible thus far and which caused enduring divisions among the Advent people. Satan ordered the pyramids that way to make virtually everybody think the Orion message is a forgery and a false doctrine.
Satan warned his servants, who had already infiltrated all of the churches and offshoot groups: “Beware of the Orion message. You must not allow members to study this!” Therefore, a person hears “leaders” everywhere saying things like “Don’t waste your time messing with that Orion nonsense. It is just a waste of time!” Where will those leaders be when the Sunday laws really come and everything coincides exactly with the last two dates on the clock, 2012/2013 and 2014/2015? Won’t they be among those who ask the rocks to fall on them and bury them?
If Orion would only be recognized for what it really is: God’s final message and a call to remove all obstacles to the union of the Seventh-day Adventist churches. It is a message for the churches to be ashamed of their past mistakes, to repent of them, also to seek forgiveness and not repeat those errors. If they would do that, what would prevent the unity of faith that was lost along the way since 1844 from being reestablished, finally leading to the loud cry?
In this “Throne Lines” series of articles, we will discover four more dates in the Orion clock. Each of these dates has a special story to tell. I worked long and hard with prayer to gather the facts that I want to expound to you in these articles. I had to dig very deep in some cases because many things have been intentionally obscured and buried. Satan does not want certain things to come to light.
At the outset, I asked how it was possible that despite a certain degree of confession and repentance, the Seventh-day Adventist church has gone further along the path of an ever-closer link with Rome. Jesus speaks such harsh words against the church of Thyatira, and even calls it an adulteress. Something must have happened in the 50 years between 1936 and 1986 that has escaped our attention. We correctly recognized the period beginning in 1936 as the Pergamos era, mirroring the classical Pergamos era: the compromising church, which became corrupted by false doctrines and finally developed into paganism, ultimately to Thyatira.
Let us read from the Seventh-day Adventist Bible course again (“Seminario Revelaciones del Apocalipsis”), which I already mentioned in the previous article. The commentary on the verses of Revelation 2:12-17 says:
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr [the faithful Reformation Adventists], who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth [Europe, especially Germany in 1936]. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication [worldliness, disregard of the health message, standards of dress]. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans [sun worship, Santa Claus, etc.], which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth [the Bible]. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Revelation 2:12-17)
[Pergamos] spans the fourth, fifth and the first part of the sixth century [in the repetition the period after 1936 of National Socialism, the time of communism, the Cold War and finally the ecumenical movement]. When Satan saw that he could not destroy the church by persecution, he tried to corrupt it by seducing it to compromise with the government [the admitted compromise with the Hitler government, ecumenism and much more to read in the future articles], and thus unconverted heathen [e.g. Jesuits] infiltrated the church and contributed their doctrines. The paganism, that had entered church, withdrew it of its spiritual force.
We know that Orion tells us mainly about the Seventh-day Adventist churches and their history. So the question is: what exactly happened in the Seventh-day Adventist church to develop it into an ecumenical church, or in other words, an adulteress? To read more about why a church that supports the ecumenical movement is in apostasy, I would like to refer the reader to the article titled The Ecumenical Adventist in the category Nothing Happened?
Is it possible that this horrible development still exists mainly because of the wrong view of some leaders during the two World Wars, because those leaders held the view that Adventists could participate in military service without violating God’s laws, as the Reformation Adventists emphasize so fervently?
I think not. Let’s read a recently published statement from Adventist World on the subject, written by the long-time former president of the global Seventh-day Adventist church, Jan Paulsen:
Clear Thinking About Military Service
By Jan Paulsen
In many ways, I am a child of the Second World War. As a young boy, I saw the terrible devastation of those years—ruined lives, diminished families, and large-scale upheaval of society. My family had evacuated to the country, and for the five years of the war we lived in the caretaker’s flat of an old school building. The classrooms had been turned into dormitories that housed more than 300 young German soldiers.
I remember one day toward the end of the war asking my mother, “Why are the German soldiers crying?” I could hear them sobbing in their rooms. My mother replied: “They are just young boys. They miss their home; they miss their mommies and daddies. They don’t understand why they have to be here in the cold of northern Norway. They don’t understand why they have to be a part of all this.” They were young men, deprived of the chance to grow up and experience a youth of a different kind.
Today, more than 60 years removed from that time, the world has undergone profound changes—political, economic, and technological. Yet the role of the military in the life of many nations, as well as in transnational disputes around the globe, continues to place firmly before us an important moral and spiritual question: How should a Christian—a Seventh-day Adventist Christian—relate to the military? And when faced with a choice to serve in the armed forces—either as a combatant or in some other capacity—what principles should guide us?
Guiding principles
We each feel strong kinship—a sense of solidarity—with our own people and our own country. Our citizenship in a nation commands a sense of loyalty, a sharing in both the struggles and the joys of the people among whom we live. There is no virtue in isolating ourselves from our communities. It is natural to feel civic pride, and it is healthy to participate in the life of the nation to which we belong. Yet how should this sense of solidarity express itself when it comes to the military of our country, when our paramount duty to God raises tensions that are not always easy to reconcile?
I believe any discussion of this topic must rest on two essential foundations.
First, the church is called to be an unambiguous voice of principle.
War, peace, and participation in military service are not morally neutral issues. Scripture is not silent on these things, and the church, as it interprets and expresses the principles of Scripture, must be a voice of moral authority and influence. This is not an “optional” responsibility—one that we can put aside should it become uncomfortable or go against majority feeling. If we are silent, we fail in our duty to God and to humanity.
Second, the church is God’s agent of grace.
When you carry arms you imply that you are prepared to use them to take another’s life. This, also, is a fundamental responsibility. Every human being, no matter what their choices or conduct, is of infinite value to God. As the church expresses itself on this issue and offers counsel to both its own members and broader society, it must never allow itself to forget this one unchangeable fact: the God we serve is a healer and a Savior. Healing and saving are also the first business of the church. As individuals struggle with these questions—and perhaps make choices that, in hindsight, they wish they had not—the church must constantly reflect God’s infinite, healing love.
So, keeping these things in mind, I’d like to reflect on two questions regarding the church’s attitude toward military service, both historically and today. These questions—broad areas of concerns—have come to me time and again over recent years as I have visited with both laypeople and church leaders in many parts of the world.
1. A loss of clarity?
The historic position of our church regarding service in the armed forces was clearly expressed some 150 years ago—very early on in our history, against the background of the American Civil War. The consensus, expressed in articles and documents of the time, as well as an 1867 General Conference resolution, was unequivocal. “…[T]he bearing of arms, or engaging in war, is a direct violation of the teachings of our Savior and the spirit and letter of the law of God” (1867, Fifth Annual General Conference Session). This has, in broad terms, been our guiding principle: When you carry arms you imply that you are prepared to use them to take another’s life, and taking the life of one of God’s children, even that of our “enemy,” is inconsistent with what we hold to be sacred and right.
Through the years, this principle has shaped the conduct of Seventh-day Adventists both in times of peace and conflict. Many have chosen to engage in medical work within the armed forces. They participate as healers. They say to their nation: “I cannot operate as a taker of life; it would destroy me as an individual. But I can help people who are hurt by this conflict. I can function as a Christian if I can function as a healer.”
Today in some countries young people are subject to a draft—a period of compulsory military service. Fortunately, in most instances an alternate service is offered, one that does not require an individual to train with or use arms. This option could simply be spending a year and a half doing hard labor building roads or helping with some other civic project.
There are, however, some countries where the draft deprives you of the ability to conduct yourself as an Adventist believer. You cannot keep the Sabbath. You are given no option but to carry arms. In such circumstances, you have before you a very serious choice. Accepting the penalty of dissent—perhaps even imprisonment—may be the decision you make simply to be faithful to your fundamental convictions and your Lord.
Is there today any confusion about the church’s position? Have we done a good job of articulating these principles? Clearly, this question will not be answered in the same way in every part of the world church. Yet, in talking with church members in many different countries I have sensed, at times, a certain ambivalence toward our historic position—a sense, perhaps, that “that was then, and this is now.” And yet I know of no reason why this should be so.
2. A lack of moral guidance?
This leads me to my second question. Do we provide adequate guidance in our churches and schools for our young people as they face difficult choices regarding service in the military? Have we at times neglected our role as a moral compass on this issue? In the absence of guidance from their church, do some of our young people view joining the military as “just another career option,” rather than a complex moral decision with potentially far-reaching, maybe unforeseen, consequences for their own spiritual life?
It is not difficult to understand the forces that may lead someone to consider a military career. Their choice may be driven by a desire to serve their country, or the military may open up educational and professional opportunities that may seem unavailable anywhere else. Young people may see it as a short-term option, a much-needed stepping-stone to something else. They may view it as a “necessary evil”—a road to the future that, for lack of financial resources or other opportunities, they must take in order to fulfill their potential.
Yet in some instances, to voluntarily enlist in the armed forces is to sacrifice one’s choice not to bear arms, or to request provision for Sabbath keeping. You freely choose to give up your rights in these things. And so I would ask: “Have you really thought about this? Have you considered the consequences to your relationship with Christ and to your own deepest convictions?”
Some may calculate the risk and say: “Although I technically don’t have a choice about whether or not I will carry arms, the chances are, nine out of ten, that I will not find myself in a combat situation where I will need to use them.” But regardless of whether you go into combat or not, you have made a decision about certain basic values and declared this publicly. You are accepting the possibility that you may have to go down that road, and this will inevitably do something to you as a person. It will change and shape you. In proactively choosing to accept circumstances where you may be required to carry arms or forfeit your ability to keep the Sabbath, I suggest that you have placed the spiritual and moral foundations of your life in serious jeopardy.
So, when military recruiters come to our universities and colleges, or even our secondary schools, laying out before young students the opportunities that the armed forces present, is the church providing a clear, alternate message? Is there someone also asking: “Have you considered this? Have you thought about what this may do to you? Have you thought about the price you may pay in terms of the basic values you really treasure?” The Department of Chaplaincy Ministries at the General Conference is developing some specific initiatives to help provide much-needed advice and counsel within our schools and churches, and I welcome this.
I feel especially for those individuals who have taken the “calculated risk” and find themselves drawn into a combat situation, the very position they had hoped and prayed to avoid. They see no way out. What should their church say to them? “I told you so?” “Shame on you?” No! The church is a ministering, healing, saving community. This is the moment when a young person, regardless of poor choices or wrong turns, needs to feel the embrace of their church.
Conclusion
This is not a simple topic, nor is it “complete”; it is just one aspect of the broader issue of war, peace, and Christian responsibility. And the questions I have posed do not lend themselves to sound-bite answers or pat responses. They are questions that generate strong—sometimes visceral—feelings. They reach deep into our self-understanding and identity, as both citizens of our country and members of God’s family. Our responses are shaped in large part by our own experiences and culture, as well as our love for our country and our desire to share in its history and future. Although these are difficult issues, they cannot be put aside simply for this reason. So let us consider these things together—in our homes, our churches, and our schools—and let us do so with open hearts and a spirit of humility.
This is a clear statement of the fact that the bearing of arms or participation in military service is anti-Adventist, and even anti-Christian. I have many friends in the larger church who do not have the same opinion and still believe that the Reform churches are too strict. No, dear friends, your own church president explained it to you here again in no uncertain terms! It is a sin to kill your neighbor, even in cases of war, and it is a sin to even bear arms. What doesn’t find any mention in the full article, however, are how the martyrs gave their lives in the two World Wars for this belief. “Dear Jan Paulsen, couldn’t you at least mention your brethren who actually died for this same conviction you have? Or do you still have to play hide and seek so no one will notice that two Reform churches actually exist? Yes, I understand you, but do you have to step so hard on the already sore toes of the Reform Adventists, to not even mention them in your statement about this extremely controversial issue? Or is there perhaps a hidden agenda behind your statement?”
But wait, where is the problem between the churches on this issue? The problem is simply no longer there! After a detailed statement of a church president in no uncertain terms, at least this issue should be completely clear! No bearing of arms, no military service, no killing no matter how or under what circumstances. Beloved Reform Adventists, why then do you still have a problem with your brothers and sisters in the greater church?
The truth is that there are other deep chasms, but where would we look for them? And where must we direct our energies to ensure that these apparently insurmountable obstacles can be overcome between the churches? As we all know, it all boils down to obedience to the commandments of God and the testimonies of Ellen G. White. The Seventh Day Adventist Reform churches have put their focus on the health message (to the point that they are almost blind to anything else), and the Seventh-day Adventist church has a “liberal” view of things, with membership numbers having priority over rebuking disloyal brothers and sisters. Therefore, worldliness takes hold of the church more and more, and we should not be surprised that the majority are now Ecumenical Adventists.
While some actually open the door to the world (through open days with ecumenical churches, worldwide ecumenical church days, public participation of all kinds in ecumenical events, etc.), the others are guarding the doors from their brethren, armed to the spiritual teeth with Ellen G. White quotes and Bible verses, and if someone makes one wrong move he is immediately taken under discipline and interrogated in meetings until three o’clock in the morning. Both are wrong; both are extremes. Being a Christian means to be balanced, not extreme. Love should be the basis for dealing with another, not the seeking of profit or organizational growth, or misunderstood and exaggerated liberalism, or fanatical censoriousness. But where do we draw the line? Have we already received advice on this? Or has God left us all alone, almost provoking the churches to fight on such matters? Was it His intention to cause separation among the Seventh-day Adventist churches by leaving certain points obscure in His Word? Of course not, and very soon we will see that once again God has clearly written in Orion what His requirements and messages are, and which doctrines are from Him and which ones aren’t.
Many might ask, “Really? Is all this written in Orion?” Yes, Orion still has many lessons for our churches. We have not even begun to understand everything. We have already identified the time period during which we could expect Orion to show us something more, specifically the time range from 1936 to 1986. We would expect it to explain to us how it was possible for the Seventh-day Adventist church to reach its current fallen state. Now we start to dig even deeper into Orion together!
So far, we have only considered the pointer stars, the four living creatures of Revelation 4, and the central star of the clock, Alnitak, the star of Jesus. So far we have not taken into account that Scripture always talks about seven stars when it comes to Orion as the clock of God. Jesus holds seven stars in His hand, but so far we only used five of those to solve the riddle of the book with seven seals. So, which stars are missing from our consideration?
Correct! So far we did not use the two stars that make up the rest of the throne of God:
Alnilam, the middle of the belt stars, the throne of God the Father, and
Mintaka, the rightmost of the belt stars, the throne of the Holy Spirit.
So far we haven’t assigned any meaning or lines to these stars. I want to do it right now. Like before, we draw lines from the center of the clock (Alnitak, the star of Jesus) but this time through each of the other two throne stars. If we look at Orion with the naked eye, it seems as if the three belt stars are arranged in a perfect line, but that is not really the case. Mintaka is slightly above the line and Alnilam is slightly below it. This small shift results in two lines that look like an ever-widening ray of light shining on two years in the Orion clock:
As we can easily see in the picture, Jesus reveals two more years marked in Orion: 1949 and 1950. Now, I want to stress by the use of the color red that we are dealing here with very special lines and years. I say this because the two clock hands pointing to these years are not formed by Jesus and mere seraphim (angels with six wings), but by the entire Godhead: the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit Themselves. These three Persons of the Divine Counsel are represented by a triangle that points to 1949 and 1950! This is about issues of utmost holiness, and we are treading on holy ground. It is about doctrines and matters relating to the Deity Himself where the Godhead and His divine plan of salvation was attacked! Please, let us never forget this as we proceed in our study!
Let us now consider each of these very special dates individually and try to figure out what happened in those years that are of such weighty importance to God and His people that they are highlighted in Orion with “The Throne Lines”, as I will call this particular triangle from now on. In our journey into the past experiences of the Adventist church, we will discover things that have not only divided the church internally into different camps, but also still impede the churches from reuniting.
We will discover that God has marked these years to clearly show us what divides us, and also to show the utmost importance He places on these religious issues and what He wants us to do. He wants us to unite, and He shows us that no single church is standing on the truth. It will be revealed in our investigation that none of the churches are really doing the will of God. The truth will be perfectly and clearly shown—the truth that God has confirmed in His great revelation, the book with seven seals in Orion. The following articles will show terrible consequences for many leaders, and they will have to decide whether to continue holding their previous views and go to perdition, or to teach and live what God requires of them. I’m guessing that many of them were already scared to death as soon as they saw the two new year dates in the above chart; they know exactly what they mean.
To decide for God will require a supreme sacrifice of many leaders. The truth has its price! For many, it will mean the loss of all their worldly support to take their stand on God’s side. May He help them to know the truth and grant them the strength to make the right decisions for Him, at any cost. May He bless them—they are our brothers, after all, and Jesus died for them. We should love them how He does, too. Orion helps us to distinguish truth from error and correct our brothers and sisters with God’s love message from Orion.
After all, the 144,000 are teachers who make up the church of Philadelphia, and “Philadelphia” means “brotherly love”!
