In this issue:
Waggoner’s Other Legacy – part 1
Waggoner’s Other Legacy – part 2
Waggoner’s Other Legacy (part 1)
David Clayton
THE GOOD
E.J. Waggoner is one of the heroes of Adventism. He has gone down in history as one of the two men who brought an emphasis to the movement which has significantly impacted it for the past one hundred and twenty-six years. His name is inextricably linked to the landmark General Conference session held in Minneapolis in the year 1888. Some lament and claim that the truths which he taught were never accepted by the SDA church and they have gone to great lengths to see that these teachings are brought to light, and are understood. The church, on the other hand, has taken the position that Waggoner’s teachings ultimately resulted in positive change in the direction of the church and he is hailed as a hero who lost his way at the end.
At the time of his death, Waggoner no longer believed in some of the teachings which Adventism regards as being fundamental. He has also been accused of teachings which were pantheistic during the latter part of his life. However, most Adventists respect him greatly and hold his writings in high esteem. This high regard for Waggoner is mainly due to the fact that the message which he brought in 1888 was endorsed by Ellen White in glowing terms. It was declared to be a “most precious message,” “the third angel’s message in verity,” “the message which God commanded to be given to the world.”
There is no question that Waggoner focused the attention of Adventism on Christ in a way which had never been done before in its history. There is no question that he attempted to turn the church from an imbalanced focus on the law, to a focus which put Christ at the center. In this respect Waggoner’s message was of great value and needs to be remembered and embraced by all.
The Issues
Waggoner’s prominence began at the meetings in Minneapolis. The delegates who came to that General Conference session in 1888 came with several contentious issues on their minds. The main focus before the delegates, was the question of which law the apostle Paul referred to in his epistle to the Galatians. George Butler, the General Conference president understood this law to be exclusively the “ceremonial law,” while Waggoner insisted that it was exclusively, the “moral law.” Several articles had been written by both men before the conference with each defending his position, and sharply worded letters had passed back and forth between them. Ellen White herself made no definitive statements on the question of which law was being referred to, but during the actual meetings she threw her support behind Jones and Waggoner, and expressed great enthusiasm for what she was hearing.
However, it seems that Waggoner did not speak about the law in Galatians at the actual conference. When he arrived there was a chalkboard set up with a proposition written on either side. On the one side was the moot, “Resolved, that the law in Galatians is the Ceremonial Law.” It was signed by J.H. Morrison. On the other side was written, “Resolved, that the law in Galatians is the Moral Law.” This awaited Waggoner’s signature. However, Waggoner declared that he had not come to debate and he did not place his signature on the board.
There were no transcripts kept of the actual messages preached at the Conference but it has been widely accepted that Waggoner’s book, “Christ and His Righteousness,” which was published shortly afterwards, was a representation of what he actually preached. The chapter headings of this book give us an idea of what he dealt with at Minneapolis. They are as follows:
01 How Shall We Consider Christ
02 Is Christ God
03 Christ as Creator
04 Is Christ a Created Being
05 God Manifested in the Flesh
06 Important Practical Lessons
07 Christ the Lawgiver
08 The Righteousness of God
09 The Lord Our Righteousness
10 Acceptance with God
11 The Victory of Faith
12 Bond-servants and Freemen
13 Practical Illustrations of Deliverance from Bondage
We can see clearly that there was no focus on the law in Galatians, nor even an emphasis on the book of Galatians. The focus is the identity and work of Christ and how this is related to us in our personal experience. This is what Ellen White heard at Minneapolis and this is what she enthusiastically endorsed. When she spoke of a “most precious message,” this had nothing to do with the issue of the law in Galatians. In fact, it was not until the year 1900 that Ellen White made any definitive statement concerning the law in Galatians. In that year she stated:
“I am asked concerning the law in Galatians. What law is the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ? I answer: Both the ceremonial and the moral code of ten commandments.” {1SM 233.1}
Waggoner had insisted that the law in Galatians was the moral law, Butler was convinced that it was the ceremonial law. Both were wrong and Ellen White was correct. In the book of Galatians the apostle Paul is not dealing with one aspect of the law as opposed to the other, he is dealing with the entire system of the law inclusive of both moral and ceremonial aspects. His emphasis is the system of the law – the entire law as a system by which God governed and controlled Israel. Neither Waggoner nor Butler grasped this and the consequence was that in both cases, the entire approach to the book of Galatians was wrong.
The Bad
Today some of us treat Waggoner as if he were almost infallible. He has come to be regarded as almost a cult figure, somebody whose every word was inspired. The focus has been misplaced, instead of focusing on the emphasis and impact of his message, people have made the details of his teachings the real issue and the consequences of this misplaced emphasis have not been good. Interestingly, Ellen White never at any time gave unqualified endorsement to the message of Waggoner either before, or after 1888. In fact in 1888 Ellen White in a letter to Elder Butler stated:
He (an angel messenger) stretched out his arms toward Dr. Waggoner and to you, Elder Butler, and said in substance as follows: “Neither have all the light upon the law; neither position is perfect.” ( E. G. White, Letter to G. I. Butler, October 14, 1888, Minneapolis, Minnesota. EGW 1888, p. 93.)
Waggoner had errors in his teachings, in fact some of his ideas turned out to be positively harmful. A train of wrong conclusions have arisen from some of these teachings and the real harm lies not only in the wrong ideas which they have implanted in some heads, but more so in the fact that these teachings have obscured some of the most beautiful truths in the Bible. The terrible irony is that Waggoner, the man who brought such a great emphasis on Christ as the center of all, ultimately distorted some aspects of the truth so effectively that He shut out some of the most critical truths concerning Christ. Those who give unqualified endorsement to Waggoner today find it impossible to grasp these vital truths.
PAUL’S TEACHING IN GALATIANS 3
If we read what Paul says about the law in Galatians chapter 3, it becomes immediately obvious that Paul is speaking about the progress of God’s plan to bless the human race and he is looking at this plan as it progresses along a TIMELINE. This is the most important fact to recognize, Paul is outlining the plan along a TIMELINE. We will not examine the entire chapter here, but let us take the time to read it personally and Look at the chart on the next page. Here is the sequence of events as Paul outlines them in Galatians chapter 3:
1. God made a promise, a covenant to bless the world in Abraham’s Seed. God confirmed this promise and after that it could not be adjusted or cancelled.
2. 430 years afterwards He added the system of the law at Mount Sinai as a temporary measure. It was to continue only until the promised Seed should come.
3. This system was a schoolmaster which tutored and governed the people until the Seed arrived.
4. When the Seed arrived, the promise to Abraham was fulfilled. The new covenant was established with God’s people and the Old Covenant based on the system of the law came to an end.
The following verses from Galatians 3 especially make it clear that the law was only intended to be a temporary system of government.
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. (Galatians 3:19)
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (Galatians 3:24-25)
the Kingdom denied
We should never place undue confidence in people. The power is in truth, not in men. Undue loyalty to Waggoner has led many to believe that everything which he wrote was the gospel truth. This unwarranted conclusion has led many well-meaning brethren into accepting unscriptural ideas because of placing undue confidence in the man.
Today, among Seventh-day Adventists generally, there is very little emphasis on the changes which took place in God’s relationship with His people, since Christ came. Waggoner’s interpretation of Scripture certainly contributed to that attitude.
The realities of what happened at Pentecost, the truths of the Kingdom of Grace, the fact of the greater authority and power which have come to God’s people since Jesus came, all this has been lost. For many, there is really no difference between the privileges which God’s people enjoyed in the Old and New Testament times. Many hold to the blatantly unscriptural position that Jesus was already our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary during Old Testament times, even before He became a human being and died for us. This is one of the legacies of Waggoner’s teaching which causes much confusion today.
A New Age
The New Testament is full of evidence that Jesus brought a new age to the world, a new era, a new dimension to the relationship between God and humanity. The real mystery is how this very clear biblical emphasis could have become almost completely obscured. The following passages demonstrate what I mean:
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:11)
Is this the truth? Is Everybody who makes it into the kingdom going to be greater than John the Baptist and all who lived before him? It seems that this is what Jesus is saying, but it really makes no sense to interpret the verse that way. The real meaning is understood when we look at the following verse:
The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. (Luke 16:16)
Jesus was referring to the kingdom of grace which He was about to set up. This kingdom was about to be established on earth for the first time. John marked the end of the old age and the beginning of the new age. John had not experienced this kingdom; none of those great men of God who had lived before John had experienced it, but now, Jesus was about to set it up and the nature of the kingdom was so wonderful that the least in that kingdom would have privileges greater than any who had lived before that time. Jesus spent His entire ministry for three and a half years focusing the attention of everyone on this kingdom which He had come to establish.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. (Luke 11:20)
Of course Jesus was not referring to the physical kingdom of glory when we will be made immortal. He explained the nature of this kingdom when He was questioned about it by the Pharisees.
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20,21)
Jesus was speaking of what is called “The kingdom of Grace.” He was referring to the experience when, through the baptism of the holy spirit, heaven would come down to earth and God’s people would experience the life of heaven, even while still living on earth. This is the experience which is referred to in the following passages:
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:38-39)
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:15-17)
The essential element in this extraordinary new experience was the coming of the Comforter. This comforter was the very presence of the conquering Jesus coming back to live in his people. This experience had never been available at any time before this. It had not been possible because Jesus had not yet conquered sin and the devil. God’s people did not yet have a legal right to any of God’s blessings.
When Jesus returned to heaven He cast Satan out of heaven permanently. Let us take note of the privileges which came to Christ and His people at that moment:
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Revelation 12:9-10)
Look at the list and take note of the word, “now.” This verse refers to the time when Christ returned to heaven, having conquered sin, Satan, death and the grave. Immediately Satan was permanently expelled from heaven. Many persons apply this verse to some time near the beginning of the creation of the earth, but if we read the context carefully it becomes plain that it applies to sometime shortly after the ascension of Christ. At that moment the following things were given to God’s people:
1. Salvation
2. Strength
3. The kingdom of God
4. The power of Christ.
This is what the voice from heaven said. These things were given at that time! They had not been available before. There had been no actual salvation, only the promise of salvation, no kingdom of God, only the earthly kingdom of Israel and God’s people did not have power, authority and strength. Up until that time Satan had still been the legitimate ruler of planet earth, but when Christ was victorious over Satan, “the prince of this world,” was “cast out.” (John 12:31). All power was given to Jesus in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18), and because He has been given all power, those who are in Him also have been given power and strength. This had not been true before Christ came and gained the victory. Can we read the Bible with honest eyes and come to any other conclusion? And yet, many do!
Jesus said at one time,
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (John 7:24)
He was not referring to this situation which we are presently considering, but I want to apply His words in this setting. We need to consider the truth without bias, without consulting the stature or fame of people. Waggoner’s reputation far outweighs mine, but the testimony of the Scriptures is greater than that of all of us. let us judge, not by the reputation of Bible students, rather let us honestly and fairly consider what the word of God says, trusting Him to direct us by His spirit. Those who do this with a sincere heart will discern the truth and will come to understand that Waggoner was not always right.
Waggoner’s Other Legacy (part 2)
At first I was a die-hard fan of E.J. Waggoner. I also held to the view that his teachings were a complete presentation of the gospel. I still respect him and value his insight into Scripture, but I no longer hold to the dangerous position that he was always right – not even in the year 1888 when his teachings made such an impact on Seventh day Adventism.
It was a careful, detailed and unbiased study of the word of God (particularly the book of Galatians) which made me begin to lose confidence in some aspects of Waggoner’s teachings. I had read his booklet, “The Gospel in Galatians,” more than 30 years ago. This booklet was written in response to Elder Butler’s booklet entitled, “The law in Galatians.” In this book Waggoner defends his position that the law referred to in Galatians is the moral law. At that time, 30 years ago, I thought it was a great book and I fully accepted its teachings. However, nine years ago when I obtained a different perspective on what it means that Christ is my righteousness I began an independent study of the New Testament, especially the writings of Paul. The books of Romans, Ephesians, Galatians and Hebrews opened up to my mind as never before. I found that the apostle Paul was no longer hard to understand – everything was beautifully simple and fit together perfectly! I read a bit of Waggoner again during that period. I read “Bible Studies in the Book of Romans,” “The Glad Tidings” and “Christ and His Righteousness.” I found the books inspiring, but found that now I did not agree with some of the things Waggoner had said. I went back to “The Gospel in Galatians,” and I was amazed to find that I now had strong disagreements with many of the things Waggoner said in that book.
Waggoner’s Primary Errors
Waggoner made three primary errors. Other wrong ideas grew out of those major mistakes until there were significant problems in his teachings. These faulty ideas have been embraced by many because of Waggoner’s reputation and they have been promoted sometimes in direct opposition to the plainest biblical evidence. Here is a partial list of some of Waggoner’s teachings which I regard as being in conflict with the Scriptures:
1. All men, even the vilest criminals already possess the very life of Christ.
2. The coming of the seed in Gal. 3:19 refers to the second coming of Jesus.
3. The two covenants were not set up in a time-sequence.
4. God did not establish the old covenant with Israel.
5. The Old Covenant existed before Mount Sinai.
6. Under the law only has the meaning of being under condemnation by the law
7. The new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) has not yet been made with the house of Israel.
8. Jesus was born condemned by the law.
As I said, all of these wrong beliefs arose because of three major errors. These three errors were Waggoner’s beliefs that:
1. Christ was effectively crucified the moment man sinned.
2. All humanity was placed in Christ when He was crucified.
3. The law in Galatians is the MORAL law.
There are those who look at the list of Waggoner’s errors and reject some of them, but they agree with others. They point out that Waggoner did not believe all these things at the beginning and that some of these ideas only crept into his teachings nearly twenty years after the Minneapolis Conference. This may, or may not be true, but the point is this; Waggoner was a logical person and the conclusions which he later reached grew out of the ideas which he started with. His emphasis on Christ was good, His revival of the concept of God’s unconditional grace was wonderful, but there were errors in how he understood the details of the gospel and these later bore fruit in teachings which were completely false. For example, his teaching that the spirit of Christ dwells as fully in the vilest sinner as it does in the Christian.
Let us look a little more closely at some of these false conclusions which arose from his teachings.
Nothing New at Calvary
Christ is said to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Waggoner interpreted this to mean that every blessing which Christ came to this world to bring to humanity was already available to man from the very foundation of the world. In his words:
His death made no more change eighteen hundred years ago than it did four thousand years ago. It had no more effect on the men of that generation than on the men of any other generation. It is once for all, and therefore, has an equal effect on every age. (The Glad Tidings – p. 97)
Christ crucified was as much a reality and as available, in the days of Moses and Isaiah as in the days of Paul … Neither at the cross, nor before or since, has there been any new feature introduced, – any change in the way for sinners to approach the throne of Grace. Christ has from the foundation of the world been the Lamb slain; His life has always been the one perfect sacrifice for sin; and His royal priesthood has been unchangeable. (The Confession of Faith – E.J. Waggoner)
The greatest blessing which Christ came to bring to men was the gift of His own life. Waggoner concluded that this life was already given to men from the beginning of the world. In other words, nothing changed at Calvary in AD 31. The life, death, resurrection and glorification of Jesus were simply formalities which brought no real change in the relationship between God and men. Notice that Waggoner even says that “His royal priesthood has been unchangeable.” He believed that even then, way back from the beginning of time Christ was our High Priest! But according to the plainest teachings of the Bible Christ had no priestly ministry before He was resurrected and began His heavenly ministry after Calvary (Heb. 8:3,6; Heb. 2:17; Heb. 9:8,12,17).
As we saw in part one of this article, this is one reason why truths such as the establishing of the kingdom with the outpouring of Christ’s life at Pentecost has been given very little significance in the history of Adventism. According to Waggoner these blessings had always been available ever since man sinned. Nothing changed at the cross, nothing different happened at Pentecost!
Is Christ in every person?
Waggoner also believed that when Christ was crucified, in some mysterious way, all the human race – good and bad – was taken and placed in Christ – even those who were not yet born. So in his thinking, the life of Christ was already given to all men and is just as fully in the vilest sinner as it is in the Christian. This has been a reality from the very beginning of time. This led him to write:
The difference, then, between the sinner and the Christian is this: that, whereas Christ crucified and risen is in every man, in the sinner He is there unrecognized and ignored, while in the Christian He dwells there by faith. {1900 EJW, GTI 88.3}
When I first heard of this belief of Waggoner’s I leaned towards it. The Bible says that Christ reconciled the whole world to God (2 Cor. 3:18,19) and Waggoner explained that Christ’s life is the means by which humanity is reconciled to God. So if all the world is already reconciled to God, then it seemed to make sense that all the world must already possess the life of Christ. As Waggoner explained, when God “justifies” a person it is not just a judicial act, the person is actually made just and this happens because the life of Christ is in him. But I was uneasy because there were some things which did not fit. For example, if every man already possesses the life of Christ, then there is really no need for anyone to be born again of the spirit. All that a person would need is simply information to tell him that he already has Christ in him. All he would need to do is tap into the power which is already within him. This is not what the Bible teaches. I gave the whole question some serious thought and prayer and eventually, I had to disagree with Waggoner.
The Truth of the Two Adams
According to the Bible, Jesus is the last Adam. Waggoner concluded that just as we were all in Adam when he sinned, it must also be true that we all were in Christ when He died. His reasoning was that if we were not all there, then it is not true that He died for all of us. The fact that He is the second Adam indicates that He is the Father of all men, just as the first Adam is the father of all men. This was Waggoner’s thinking and it made sense to me at first, but as I said, there was too much in the Bible which disagreed with it. Finally, I saw where he was wrong.
It is easy for us to picture how we all came from Adam. We can see him as the source and a stream of life proceeding from him, beginning with his first son. Every person who has been born on this earth came directly from the life of Adam. God created only one human life and we all came from it. On the other hand, we cannot view the life in Christ in the same way. When Christ came to earth and became the second Adam, there were already billions of human beings who were already dead; there were billions who were not yet born. How were they all gathered up and placed in Christ when many were already dead, some not yet born and millions then alive at the same time when He was alive. Were their lives also placed in Christ even while they co-existed with Him? The picture does not make sense unless we conclude that it was all only a legal transaction, only a legal substitution where Christ died for us legally, but it really had no practical effect on us.
Yet somehow, Waggoner and many others have concluded that the life of every single human who ever lived or will live, was indeed placed in Christ on the cross in some inexplicable, illogical way, and since He believed that Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world, he concluded that the life of Christ was already given to all men, even before Christ came here and lived His life and died on the cross. Christ’s incarnation, in his thinking, brought no new benefits to humanity.
But the truth is, Christ had to live a victorious life and conquer sin as a man. As a human he had to die to sin. He had to do those things in order that He might be able to impart His victory to the human race. Christ did not simply pluck victory out of thin air on the basis of His authority as a divine Being. No, He had to provide a human life which had conquered sin and the devil, before He could impart it to His children. Therefore it was not possible for Him to give this life to anyone before He actually lived this life.
Waggoner viewed this victorious life as simply something supernaturally gifted to men out of the divine capabilities of God, but this is not the plan of salvation. The plan makes it necessary that the life which saves us is a life which has experienced the issues of sinful humanity and conquered them. Without this, Christ cannot save humanity.
So here is the true picture:
There are two Adams. There is in these two men life for the entire human race. Notice, it is not that the life of the entire race is in them, but that life for the entire race is in them. All humans came from Adam, therefore all humans inherit the sinful state which he brought upon himself. But not all humans come from Christ. It is only the redeemed human race which comes from Christ. There is life in Christ for every man, but the life of Christ is only in those who believe in Him.
In other words, in Christ, God created another human race. Christ is the Adam of this race, the first man. Now as the Father of this new creation, He gives birth to spirit children – those who are born, not of flesh or blood, but of the spirit. Birth into the first Adam occurs by a physical, fleshly process, birth into the last Adam is by a spiritual process, initiated by faith where the living spirit of Christ comes to dwell in the believer.
Waggoner did not understand this vital truth and this is why he, and those who support his views, rarely, if ever, speak of the new birth. You see, if we all are born with the life of Christ already in us then the new birth has little meaning. This is the main reason why many followers of Waggoner believe that all that a sinner needs in order to change, is information. They believe that a sinner becomes a saint simply by accepting what the Bible says. There is no emphasis on the reality that Christ actually comes to live in that person after he believes, because they teach that Christ was already in him from the moment he was born!
No New Covenant in AD 31
It follows then, that if all the blessings in Christ were already available to all men from the foundation of the world, the blessings of the New Covenant must also have been already available from that time. That covenant could not have been set up at the time when Christ came but must have been already available from the very beginning. This was Waggoner’s conclusion, but this is in direct opposition to the clear teaching of Scripture. The apostle Paul tells us:
For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. (Hebrews 9:16-17)
It was impossible for the New Covenant to be in force before Christ died. This is the very point which Paul is making. A testament cannot be of “strength” or be effective until after the one who makes it is dead.
In passages such as Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:26,27, God also made it clear that the establishment of the New Covenant was something which would take place at a future time. It was not something which had been established in the time of these prophets, but was an event which was to come afterwards. This makes it clear that the New Covenant was not simply an experience, but that it was an experience which had to wait until a certain TIME.
Waggoner dealt with such promises by applying them to the end of the world and interpreting them to apply only to God’s people as a unified, corporate body. He emphasized the phrase, “the whole house” of Israel. He wrote:
No soul is yet “under the new covenant,” for that has not been made; but every one who keeps God’s covenant with Abraham will surely be among those with whom it is made …. So surely as Jesus died and rose again, and by the power of that death and resurrection, will all Israel be gathered, and the new, the everlasting covenant be established with them {1900 EJW, EVCO 529.1}
. . . . when the new covenant shall be made, all Israel will be present-there will be none not gathered-and “our God shall come, and shall not keep silence;” . . . . So when God comes with all the angels, to make a new covenant with the whole house of Israel, “The heavens shall declare His righteousness.” …. {1900 EJW, EVCO 529.1}
What he did was to suggest that only individuals have experienced the New Covenant, but not “the house of Israel.” He interpreted the prophecy to be focused on Israel as a body. So he said that Israel as a body had never been given the New Covenant and this would not happen until the second coming of Christ.
If we think about this carefully we will see that he defines Israel as a corporate body, just as physical, typical Israel was. He did not acknowledge that the whole house of Israel, God’s true, spiritual Israel have already received the New Covenant since Pentecost. This brings up the important question of who or what is Israel today. However, this is another subject for another time.
The Critical Difference
Waggoner therefore concluded that the Old and the New Covenants were not agreements between God and the people, relating to different time periods. In his thinking there was no Old Testament age and no New Testament age. Instead, he saw the two covenants as referring to two different experiences in the personal life of an individual. In other words, there is a time in the life of a person when he is trying to be saved by keeping the Commandments of God. At that time, such a person is under the Old Covenant. When the person realizes that he cannot save himself and turns to Christ by faith, then he is under the New Covenant. So the Old or the New Covenant simply depended on a persons mindset! It is an individual and personal thing. In Waggoner’s theology it had nothing to do with the Pentecostal gift of the spirit or the coming of the kingdom of God. I repeat, this is one reason why these vital truths are so little considered among our people today.
It was strictly just a question of how a person chose to approach God, whether by means of his own works, or whether he chose to come by faith in Christ. He saw the two covenants as two ways of approaching God, existing side by side from the beginning to the end of the world, both covenants being available to every person in all ages. This is how he put it:
We see then that the two covenants are not matters of time, but of condition. Let no one flatter himself that he cannot be under the old covenant, because the time for that is passed. {October 11, 1898 EJW, ARSH 647.4}
So here is the critical difference simply put: Waggoner says that it is we humans who decide which covenant we are under and that it is simply a matter or faith or works. But the Bible says that it is God who decides which Covenant His people are under and it is a question of two different ages when God has two different kinds of relationship with His people. In the first relationship, everything was type, shadow and illustration. at that time God’s people trusted and hoped for the day when the symbols would be fulfilled. In the second relationship Christ fulfilled the symbols and shadows and brought the reality of God’s kingdom, the new birth and salvation. This is a far greater experience than anyone had experienced under the first system and this is the covenant that we who live today are privileged to experience. It is reality, not shadow. It is God’s power poured out upon His people and we should not be satisfied to come short of that glory.
It is true that the two covenants can be applied, in a secondary sense, to the experience of an individual. The apostle Paul applies it this way in Romans chapter 7. However, this is a secondary application and is not the main biblical perspective on the covenants. Jeremiah speaks of the New Covenant as something which begins at a certain point in time. He says God will make at a certain future time, a New Covenant. Paul speaks of the Old Covenant as something which is abolished and no longer in existence.
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. (Hebrews 8:13)
There is clear biblical teaching that God entered into a Covenant with the Hebrews at Mount Sinai which the Scriptures refer to as the Old Covenant. Waggoner’s explanation was that it was not God who made that covenant with Israel, but rather the Israelites who made it with God! According to him, God came to the Israelites and offered them the New Covenant, a faith-based relationship, but the people rejected the offer and chose instead the way of works. Instead of asking God to help them to obey, they promised to do all that the Lord had told them to do. In this way they chose to make the Old Covenant with God, but this was not what God had intended should happen.
Everyone of us should read the account of what happened in Exodus chapter 19 and decide for ourselves if it really happened the way Waggoner claimed.
The Law in Galatians
The law is closely tied to the covenants and Paul makes this very clear in Galatians chapters 3 and 4. The Old Covenant is the same as the system of the law, or the system of government which God gave to Israel at Mount Sinai. This system was to last until the Seed should come and at that time it would pass away. The New Covenant is the new system of the law or the new system of government brought by Christ, the Seed, in which God writes His laws (His very nature and character) on the minds of His people by the baptism of the holy spirit.
When Waggoner saw this clear TIMELINE in Paul’s explanation of the law in Galatians chapters 3 and 4, he could not accept the simple, straightforward meaning. So he had to find a way to interpret the chapter to make it fit with his understanding of the covenants.
I believe most emphatically that the law referred to is the moral law, and that the coming of the seed is the second advent of Christ, but I do not believe that the moral law is going to terminate when Christ comes; and Gal. 3:19 does not indicate that it will. {1888 EJW, GBG 42.2}
Notice his conclusions: The law mentioned is the MORAL law (the ten commandments), which will never be abolished. Therefore, He completely rejected the idea that it had to do with the law being limited to a certain period of time. He interpreted the issue in Galatians to be simply a question of “how is a person accepted with God? Is it by his works or his faith?” So he found a way to interpret Galatians 3 and 4 so that he removed the time element completely.
Waggoner’s re-interpretations
The Law Added:
So when Waggoner read that the law was “added,” he stated that the word “added,” should be interpreted to mean, “spoken.” In other words, the law was not added at Sinai, it was only spoken by God at that time but in reality, it had always been there.
Till the Seed comes:
Waggoner also needed to explain the phrase, “till the Seed should come.” The law was added, “till,” or “until” the Seed arrived. It is clear that this referred to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, but Waggoner disagreed. His explanation was that “till the Seed should come,” refers to the SECOND coming of Jesus, not the first. In other words, the law spoken of in Galatians, remains as the governing ruler, controlling the behavior of God’s people until the second coming of Christ and beyond. He rejected the idea that it came to an end in AD 31 and concluded that the “coming of the Seed,” referred to the second coming of Christ.
A Schoolmaster:
Paul says “the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but after that faith is come we are no longer under the schoolmaster.”Waggoner’s interpretation was that the law acts as our schoolmaster by bringing us under condemnation when we break it, thus bringing us to the place where we feel the need for Christ.
Under the Law:
Waggoner believed that this is what Paul meant when he said that we were, “under the law.” It means that we were condemned by the law. This is when the law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Notice, he did not believe it referred to a point in time, but to a personal experience. He said that this was how it was from the beginning of time and that it would continue to be this way until the second coming of Christ. According to Waggoner, such a person, condemned by the law, might eventually recognize his helplessness and turn to Christ. He would have faith in Christ and so would no longer be under the law, but he would be justified by faith. This is what he interpreted Paul to be saying in the book of Galatians.
All Nations will be Blessed:
But there was another problem: The promises relating to the Seed all spoke of a future blessing. Abraham was told, “all the world will be (future tense) blessed in your Seed.” If all the blessings which Christ came to give humanity were already available from the beginning of the world, long before Christ came, then what was this future blessing? Waggoner explained that this promised blessing was referring to the inheriting of the land of Palestine. God had promised to give the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham, so Waggoner claimed that this was the blessing promised in the Seed and that this blessing (the land of Palestine) would be given to God’s people at the second coming of Christ, He claimed that this was the fulfillment of the promise.
Conclusion
It is not possible in this short article to explore fully all the implications of the teachings of Waggoner, but it is evident that his ideas have deeply impacted the thinking of many of us. Today even feast-keepers cling doggedly to the ideas of Waggoner. They find a foothold in his teaching that God did not make a new covenant, did not establish a new system with the coming of Christ. Therefore they see the system of the law, the system given with the Old Covenant, as something which God intended to be permanent. This is one basis for clinging to the works of the law such as the observance of feasts.
However, we have presented these facts with the hope that they will be considered by the thoughtful and honest person. The time is long past for blind loyalty to denominations, to philosophies or to men. It is time that we listen to Christ in His word and to Him alone.
Is My Religion BC or AD?
David Clayton
It seems to come as a surprise to many, to learn that Satan was the legitimate ruler of this planet before AD 31. He was earth’s delegate to the councils of heaven (Job 1:6) and because of his authority, God’s right to act on behalf of His children here on earth was limited in some ways (see Jude 1:9 and Daniel 10:13).
While the Bible presents God as always being the Supreme Ruler, yet it is clear that in the conflict between good and evil, Satan has rights which God respects, because He is a God who is fair and just and He will not deal unfairly, even with the devil.
In the beginning Adam was given dominion over the earth. It was the kingdom of humanity with Adam as its king. Adam gifted our heritage to Satan and Satan became the legitimate king of this planet. Therefore earth fell under the dominion of Satan and no human being had any legitimate right to God’s blessings until Christ came. I am not sure what mechanism made it possible for God to act outside of these limitations on some occasions, but at times He did, such as when he raised Moses from the dead.
But legitimately, God’s RIGHT to intervene on behalf of those who worshipped Him was severely limited before Christ came. It was only the promise which even allowed humanity to continue to survive.
Before Christ came God only had the right to bless those who had not accepted Satan’s principle (that is, they had not come under the power of sin). No such person existed but some were able to rise above sin to some extent and God was able to do more for those. But the same authority which gave Satan power over death and the grave (Heb. 2:14) was the same authority which limited God’s ability to bless His people.
But when Jesus died He crushed the serpent’s head, Satan’s right to this planet was broken. For the first time there was a human being who had never come under the power of Satan’s government. By His victory Jesus took the kingdom back from Satan (Rev. 12:10) and restored it to the human race because He was a member of the human race. He took the kingdom from Satan and re-established the kingdom of God with man as its ruler. But until He was glorified, this victory was for Jesus alone. His death alone was not able to make us partakers of this victory.
At Pentecost Jesus was glorified in heaven and poured out His life and power upon His people. In this way He brought the kingdom of God into the experience of humanity, it was the kingdom of which Christ is King. In this kingdom there is all the power and authority of Christ Himself and He declares that this power is “all power in heaven and earth.” It is on this basis that He poured out His life upon His people in a measure which had never before been LEGALLY possible. It had also never before been actually possible because the life necessary for our salvation had not even existed before Christ was incarnated. At Pentecost it was a pouring out of His victorious life, a life which was a combination of divinity and humanity. Such a life had never existed before. This life had faced temptation in humanity and had been victorious, it had died to sin, it was a human life in which Satan had no foothold. Those who inherit this life possess all these things in a way which had not been possible before the incarnation.
So while the spirit of Christ worked in believers before Pentecost, it was not the same. It was not the spirit of the victorious human/divine life, it was not the spirit which had faced temptation and conquered it, it was not the spirit of the head of the human race who had been given all power in heaven and in earth. Previously, it had been a spirit which could conquer physical enemies but which could not give salvation. Thank God, today, we who believe already possess eternal life.
Keeping Your Brain Young
Lenworth Frankson
I think it would be correct to say that most people including some medical professionals believe that it is perfectly normal to start having memory lapses, that is forgetting things, by the time we reach middle age. There are others who believe that once we start experiencing memory lapses, we should seriously consider making some immediate lifestyle changes to help reverse, or at least minimize damage that might lead to dementia or ever the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease.
It is interesting to note at this point that the human brain is actually quite resilient, and it has the capacity to regenerate and repair itself. This ability is given the medical term “neuroplasticity”. (The brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life). Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment.
Research shows that exercise helps to keep our minds sharp. On the other hand, stress and poor sleeping habits are significant factors that have a negative impact on our brain function. In fact, the evidence is that the same lifestyle changes which can help to prevent diseases like diabetes can also improve brain function. This is because diabetes results in high blood “sugar” which can have an adverse effect on a person’s memory even if they are “healthy.”
Interestingly, recent studies now show that in the right cerebral hemisphere of the brain spatial attention, mysteriously appear to be protected from the ravages of aging.(Spatial attention is the ability to focus on specific stimuli in a visual environment. A classic example of spatial attention comes up in driving, where people are bombarded by stimuli. Scenery moves outside the car while the driver attempts to stay on the road and maintain a safe distance from other vehicles. The brain, rather than processing meaningless and unimportant information, focuses on the most relevant data. This can include things like road signs, the car directly in front of the driver, and so forth.) The studies are showing that older and younger adults perform in a similar way on a range of visual and non-visual tasks that measure spatial attention. These studies also suggest that both younger (aged 18 to 38 years) and older (55 to 95 years) adults had the same responses for spatial attention tasks involving touch, sight or sound.
Stress
Stress is an important factor which can have a direct effect on brain function. A recent animal study found that higher levels of stress hormones can speed up short-term memory loss in older adults. The stress hormone “cortisol” has a destructive effect that, over time, wears down the “synapses” (the tiny space between the nerve cells) responsible for memory storage and processing. Other research has also linked chronic stress with working memory impairment. Stress may even speed up the onset of more serious dementia like Alzheimer’s disease, which currently afflicts about 5.4 million people in America alone. This would include one in eight people aged 65 and over.
According to Wikipedia: “Stress can cause acute and chronic changes in certain brain areas which can cause long-term damages”… “Over-secretion of stress hormones most frequently affects memory negatively, but in a few cases can affect it positively.”…One class of stress hormone responsible for negatively affecting memory is the glucocorticoids (GCs), the most notable of which is cortisol”… “ an excess of cortisol can impair the ability of the hippocampus (the part of the brain that is involved in memory forming, organizing, and storing) to both encode and recall memories. These stress hormones are also hindering the hippocampus from receiving enough energy by diverting glucose levels to surrounding muscles.”
It might be extremely difficult to eliminate all stress from your life, however with God’s help and our willingness to trust and obey him completely, positive changes and improvement can be our experience.
Poor Sleep
Stress and poor sleep are often closely related. Like stress, lack of restorative sleep can create problems in the brain function. Some professionals believe that it can actually lead to loss of brain volume, and may accelerate the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
This is related to the fact that the brain removes toxic waste during sleep. Without sufficient sleep, our neurons will actually begin to degenerate. We cannot prevent this damage by trying to catch up on sleep during the weekends. It is therefore critical to maintain a regular sleep schedule where we get enough sleep on a nightly basis.
Recent research published in the journal Neurology showed that sleep problems like insomnia can have a distinct impact on our brain volume over time, causing it to shrink, compared to those who sleep well. This effect is particularly significant in those over 60.
Exercise
There are compelling links between exercise and brain health. Recent, research at the University of Minnesota concluded that people who have greater heart, circulatory and respiratory fitness in their teens and 20s score better on cognitive tests in their mid-40s and 50s.
Those who were fitter in their early adulthood also scored better on tests designed to assess reaction speed and the mental agility needed to answer trick questions.
Obesity on the other hand, is associated with cognitive decline, in part because it increases levels of inflammatory chemicals in your body, which are strongly damaging to brain function.
According to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, it appears your body may react to excess fat as an invader, causing levels of these inflammatory chemicals to stay elevated, thereby causing chronic inflammation.
Exercise is important for weight loss but it is also a simple and efficient way to lower your levels of these inflammatory chemicals which will help protect your brain function. Lack of sleep may cause brain shrinkage but those who exercise the most tend to have the least amount of brain shrinkage over time. One thing that we can be excited about is that exercise actually causes your brain to growin size: yes to get bigger. In one study, adults aged 60 to 80 who walked for 30 to 45 minutes, three days per week for one year, showed a two percent increase in the volume of their hippocampus (the brain region associated with memory)
Sugar
When discussing brain health it is imperative to include the hazards of a high-sugar and low-fat processed food diet. A growing body of research suggests there is a powerful connection between diet and the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. According to some experts, such as Dr. Ron Rosedale, Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders may in large part be caused by the constant burning of glucose for fuel by your brain.
This may sound surprising, but contrary to popular belief, your brain does not require a lot of glucose to function. In fact some experts believe that the brain actually functions better burning what is called ketones. (Ketones are substances that are made when the body breaks down fat for energy. Normally, your body gets the energy it needs from carbohydrate in your diet. But stored fat is broken down and ketones are made if your diet does not contain enough carbohydrate to supply the body with sugar (glucose) for energy or if your body can’t use blood sugar properly).
Type 2 diabetics lose more brain volume with age than expected—particularly gray matter. But sugar and other carbohydrates can disrupt your brain function even if you’re not diabetic nor have any signs of dementia.
After evaluating more than 140 healthy, non-diabetic, non-demented seniors, researchers concluded that higher glucose levels were associated with worse memory, a smaller hippocampus, and compromised hippocampal structure. According to study co-author Agnes Flöel, the results “provide further evidence that glucose might directly contribute to hippocampal atrophy.”
It seems clear from these studies that excess sugar consumption candisrupt our memory. The mounting evidence supports the notion that significantly reducing the consumption of sugar and refined fructose is a very important step in preventing dementia and memory disorders.
Eating for protection
For optimal benefits, it is very important to eat whole, ideally organic foods. Eat foods containing a variety of nutrients which offer greater protection and health benefits than individual nutrients in high doses. Juicing is a great way to boost your vegetable intake but also incorporate other vegetables that you may otherwise not eat. Eat a variety of dark green leafy vegetables, plus other vividly colored veggies (purple, red, yellow, and orange) to make sure you receive a broad range of those powerful plant nutrients.
A Potent Brain Food: Coconut Oil
Our bodies can convert two types of fuel into energy: carbohydrates (sugar) or fat. Ketones are what your body produces when it converts fat into energy, and a primary source of ketone bodies is coconut oil. While your brain can run quite well on glucose, evidence suggests that ketone bodies may actually help restore and renew neurons and nerve function in your brain, even after damage has set in. Glucose will not do this.
It appears that the body treats this fat metabolism as a carbohydrate and not a fat. This allows the ketone energy to hit your bloodstream without the normal insulin spike associated with carbohydrates. So in effect, coconut oil is a fat that acts like a carbohydrate when it comes to brain fuel. Therapeutic levels of this have been studied at 20 grams per day, which translates into just over two tablespoons of coconut oil. It’s best taken with food, to avoid upsetting your stomach.
Failing memory, brain atrophy, and eventual dementia, does not have to be the normal course for aging, but it definitely helps to limit or avoid sugar and refined fructose. Some experts suggest that ideally, our total sugar and fructose intake should be below 25 grams per day, or as low as 15 grams per day if we have insulin resistance or any related disorders.
In keeping our brains young it is also important to get enough sleep every night and reduce or eliminate stressful situations as best as we can from our lives. Getting enough exercise along with the proper diet is no less important.
There are other important factors in maintaining a healthy and sharp mind but we will look at these in the future. Nobody wants to “lose his mind” or suffer from memory loss especially as we get older. By making the necessary lifestyle changes or adjustments, one can experience reversal, repair and even prevention of brain damage or dementia. As the saying goes: ”a mind is a terrible thing to waste” Let’s try to keep it young!
Open Face is dedicated to the promotion and the restoration of apostolic Christianity. In particular to the restoration of those truths which have been cast down to the ground and trampled underfoot by the papacy, and adopted by her daughters.
Our purpose is to motivate our readers to commit themselves wholly to the task of personal preparation for the coming of the Lord, and to the taking of the final warning message to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
Open Face is published bi-monthly, and is sent free of cost to all who desire to receive it.
Editor: ……………… David Clayton
Publishing committee: Howard Williams
………………………… Karleen Williams
………………………… Jennifer Clayton
………………………… David Clayton
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