Full Form White
Seventh day Adventists Ellen G White, tithe, bondage, etc?
Is it true Seventh day adventists believe Ellen G. White was a full blown prophet like Isaiah and so forth? Is it true they require a certain amount of tithe and when you get baptized as a member you have to vow to pay it? Isn't that, along with preaching the law about keeping the sabbath and only eating certain meats putting people in bondage like Paul warned against in Galatians, Romans, Ephesians 2:8-9, etc? Also am I understanding Doug Batchelor correctly that they believe in this bizarre form of annihilationism where the unsaved dead are resurrected and boiled in the lake of fire for a while, the length of time depending on how bad they were, then finally destroyed again forever? What happens if a member is caught eating pork or lifting of heavy box on Saturday or fails to pay their tithe? Are they excommunicated? Are excommunicated people shunned?
1. Yes Ellen White is considered to be a full prophet like Isaiah. The Bible has specific tests to determine if some one is a prophet of God. Ellen White passed all those tests (see link below).
2. Yes Members do vow to pay 10% of their income in support of the Church. No the church does not send the Men in Black around to ensure payment. If you don't pay the church has to work with less funding. Percentages of the Tithe go not only to the local church but to the Union and World conferences respectively to further world missions and church activities world wide. For a long time ADRA (Adventist Development & Relief Agency) had its entire administration budget funded by the church. This year they had change that due to the economy biting into church tithes so much that they can't afford to foot that large a bill now. So if you don't pay your tithe the work suffers.
3. The Bible says that the Sabbath is not a burden. It also says in Revelation that those that will be saved will keep the Sabbath and have his testament (that is will keep the 10 commandments). If you want to live in Gods heavenly kingdom you are going to have to live by his rules. If you find you can't live under those rules, then you probably won't happy in heaven anyway. Your Christian journey is more concerned with the direction in which you are heading and not so much individual incidents. Adventists are not legalists (as much as non-adventists want to label them as such). You don't get into heaven by simply following a bunch of rules and regulations. You get there by simply accepting Jesus as your saviour. You keep the commandments and try to live a life like Jesus did because you love Jesus and not for any kind of reward. No you won't for excommunicated for breaking "the rules". But it might be a good idea to pray to God and ask his forgiveness in the event you realise you do. But that is a personal choice. There probably is a situation when a particular church has excommunicated someone, but it is usually for some major indiscretion that has so removed the Member from Gods path that they had to be removed for the Church's good. The church manual might say more about that (link below). No, I don't believe they are shunned. I certainly have never seen it.
4. The unsaved that are still alive at the second coming will be killed instantly by the glory of God. Sin cannot exist in his presence. Those that are saved will return with Jesus for a thousand years to live in heaven and go over the book of life to ensure that everyone who wasn't saved was judged rightly. After the thousand years, God and his heavenly city will return to Earth where the second resurrection of the unsaved dead will happen. There will be one last battle (Armageddon) where Lucifer will lead the unsaved in a last pitched attack against God and his city. God will then destroy them permanently (and fairly quickly) when the entire Earth is turned into one huge "lake of fire". There will be no hell. Once the unsaved are obliterated, the Earth will be cleansed and turned in a new planet where the Saved will eventually live in eternity with God. God's city, the New Jerusalem, will be God's capital on earth for the whole universe.
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