SDA Open letter - Introduction

Hello to my SDA friends out there.  I wrote a letter to your leadership recently and sent this also to some of the other denominations.  In that letter I asked for some answers that need clarification for many christians, including SDA members as to whether the teachings from the recent "last Empire crusade" is true.

Unfortunately, the SDA leadership in Vanuatu has not replied to my letter so I thought it only fair that as I called it an Open letter that I post it on here. For those of you who are from whatever church background, from SDA to Catholic, and from Sabbath to Sunday keepers, I honestly hope that my letter helps you in making your own opinion in actually coming to the Truth - Jesus Christ.



My letter was a very long one, so I will cut it down into bite sized posts. I asked 14 questions to them each with a number of sub-questions, so I guess that I will cut this letter into 14 posts, or so.  I have also added more information here too to further assist you in discerning the truth.

God is a merciful God and I am delighted to report that since this crusade, I have had the honour of witnessing to a sizable number of SDA members who have since been convicted enough to come to terms and return to their saviour - Jesus Christ.  Where sin abounds, grace doth but more abound.  So let me lead you too through my letter and see if you agree or not with what is said.

So here we go.....



OPEN LETTER TO THE SDA CHURCH LEADERSHIP
written by Dan Dempsey
Sent by email  - 29 September 2014 to the SDA Church Head Office, Port Vila

I am writing this letter in response to the “Last Empire” crusade that has been presented in Port Vila over the last few weeks.  In the weeks preceding the event I saw posters going up all around town, but one thing I noticed missing on those posters was the sponsor.  I was interested to know who was behind the crusade.  At first I contacted the Last Empire team through email, asking if they could tell me a little more about who they were and what their doctrines were.  I received no reply.  I found this unusual as virtually every other ministry that comes here is only too willing to share their doctrines and will declare who is covering them.  So I did an internet search and discovered that it was operating under the SDA church although neither the Last Empire website nor the posters declare that fact.  I wondered why this was.  But on further research, including an excellent internet article entitled, “Things the SDA Church does not what you to know,” I discovered that it is standard SDA policy to not reveal who they are when launching campaigns of this nature.  So I have two opening  questions.  Why is the SDA church in the habit of hiding who they are?  Is the SDA Church ashamed of their message?

I understand from concerned Christians who have come to see me that the speakers have come out strongly against Sunday worshippers.  I am writing this letter in the hope that you can answer some questions for the clarification of all.  I was delighted when the speakers at that crusade gave an open invitation to Sunday-Keeping Pastors to state their case.  So it is with great delight that I take up your generous opportunity to debate this issue.  I hope that you take my letter seriously and respond in kind.   

Now to be fair, I have my own answers to the questions but I want to find out if my answers match yours and how well both our answers stand up to historical and biblical evidence.

I have many SDA friends, including elders and youth group leaders, and I know that one thing that SDA followers should be commended for is their healthy lifestyle.  I also know that the SDAs spend an extraordinary amount of energy studying biblical prophecy, especially those of the Prophet Daniel.  I have shared meals with SDA church members when visiting outer islands and I have found them to be welcoming and hospitable. So before I continue, I want you to understand that I have nothing personal against Sabbath keepers as I believe that Sabbath keepers are doing so, believing that this is the correct way to honour and obey God in the hope of salvation.  Essentially anything which brings glory and honour to God is honoured in turn by God.  However, for those of you in leadership to claim that Sunday keepers are heading to destruction and will get the Mark of the Beast is a very bold claim.  So given this claim, I would love to receive your answers to these questions.

Is it true that there is no reference to a group of believers meeting on the first day of the week – the day after the Sabbath?

I heard that a preacher from the Solomon Islands put out a challenge to the audience at Freswota Park for any person to come up on stage and show just one verse from scripture that shows Christians meeting on Sunday.  He proudly stated that there is nothing in scripture that shows this.

The first thing is to define “Sunday” by which I believe you mean the first day of the week, the day after Saturday.  As you correctlyobserve, the Sabbath begins at 6pm (or sundown) on Friday night and ends 6pm on Saturday.  The Jewish day goes from 6pm to 6pm while our western day goes from midnight to midnight.  So according to SDAs and Jews, “Sunday” or the first day begins Saturday evening.  I do not deny that the Sabbath is for convenience 6pm Friday to 6pm Saturday. Actually, in Rabbinical Law, the Sabbath begins and ends when three stars can be seen in the sky.  To deny that is to deny scripture.  I think where confusion arises came when the Puritans (a group of devout Christian people from England who later migrated to America) began calling the Sunday the Sabbath.  This was an unfortunate term as it transpired because it led many to believe the Sabbath had transferred to Sunday. The debate here is not Sunday but the First Day, in much the same way that the Sabbath is not technically Saturday.

So I would appreciate it if you could please explain the following verse to me

And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.  Acts 20:7 [KJV] 

By my understanding, this shows a group of people, known as the disciples (Christians, since this was the common term for any believer in Jesus Christ in those days) meeting on the first day of the week (Sunday, or the day AFTER the Sabbath – The First Day) to break bread.  Breaking bread is a term used for communion and has its origins in the Passover meal known as the Seder and was the meal that Jesus celebrated at the last Supper (See mark 16:22).  At the same gathering, Paul preached. 

So correct me if I am wrong, but according to Acts 20:7, a group of believers met together on the first day, had communion and listened to a sermon.  That sounds very much like a church service involving at least one Apostle!

So I did some research to see if others agree with me on this.  I was surprised when I found this:

C Mervyn Maxwell

 That same hermeneutic was used in the Gentile mission ever since Acts 15:  a mission that did not require Gentiles to keep the laws of Moses, including the Sabbath.  It is unlikely that churches throughout the empire would, without controversy, develop the same practice unless that practice had been present from the beginning. It is also unlikely that people throughout the empire would, without controversy, develop the same practice unless that practice had been present from the beginning.  It is also unlikely that people throughout the empire would give the same reasons for their practice unless those reasons had also been present from the beginning. (Source: Maxwell, C. Mervyn, and P. Gerard Damsteegt, eds., Source Book for the History of Sabbath and Sunday. Berrien Springs, Mich.: Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, 1992.)

C. Mervyn Maxwell is an SDA Theologian – that is, an expert in SDA theology.  You can see that his statement that the Gentile believers (mission) ever since Acts 15 did not keep the laws of Moses, including the Sabbath.

J N Andrews

Now Maxwell published this claim in 1992, so perhaps I thought this was a modern change that the SDAs were waking up to, but then I discovered that Ellen White’s chief historian (and General Conference President) J.N. Andrews admitted in 1859 that Sunday worship was widespread in the Christian Church around 100AD and universal by 200AD.   Incidentally, Andrews University was named after him.  C Mervyn Maxwell was the chairman and professor of church history at the SDA Theological Seminary based at this University for 25 years!

[I must add at this time for non SDA people, that the SDA church was founded by Ellen G White who even today many SDAs claim to be a true prophet of God]  Andrews’ 1859 declaration came 4 years before the SDA church was founded so even as the SDA doctrines were being formulated, the top men in the church knew Sunday worship was normal for Christian believers!  So it actually appears that the SDA leadership has always known that Christians have always regularly met on Sunday.]

So since I have proven here with support from a SDA Theologian and from Ellen G White’s Chief historian that Christians did not worship on the Sabbath and have provided the verse that the Solomon Island preacher asked for, can you please tell me where I can claim my million vatu prize?  

to be continued......