“And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.” 2 Samuel 13:39 KJV.
“To show how believers in universal salvation wrest the Scriptures to sustain their soul-destroying dogmas, it is needful only to cite their own utterances. At the funeral of an irreligious young man, who was killed instantly by an accident, a Universalist minister selected as his text the Scripture statement concerning David, ‘He was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.’
‘I am frequently asked,’ said the speaker, ‘what will be the fate of those who leave the world in sin, die, perhaps, in a state of inebriation, die with the scarlet stains of crime unwashed from their robes, or die as this young man died, having never made a profession or enjoyed an experience of religion. We are content with the Scriptures; their answer shall solve the awful problem. Amnon was exceedingly sinful; he was unrepentant, he was made drunk, and while drunk was killed. David was a prophet of God; he must have known whether it would be ill or well for Amnon in the world to come. What were the expressions of his heart?—’The soul of King David longed to go forth unto Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.’
‘And what is the inference to be deduced from this language? Is it not that endless suffering formed no part of his religious belief?—So we conceive; and here we discover a triumphant argument in support of the more pleasing, more enlightened, more benevolent hypothesis of ultimate universal purity and peace. He was comforted, seeing his son was dead. And why so?-Because by the eye of prophecy he could look forward into the glorious future, and see that son far removed from all temptations, released from the bondage and purified from the corruptions of sin, and after being made sufficiently holy and enlightened, admitted to the assembly of ascended and rejoicing spirits. His only comfort was, that in being removed from the present state of sin and suffering, his beloved son had gone where the loftiest breathings of the Holy Spirit would be shed upon his darkened soul; where his mind would be unfolded to the wisdom of Heaven and the sweet raptures of immortal love, and thus prepared with a sanctified nature to enjoy the rest and society of the heavenly inheritance.’
‘In these thoughts we would be understood to believe that the salvation of Heaven depends upon nothing which we can do in this life; neither upon a present change of heart, nor upon present belief, or a present profession of religion.’
Thus does the professed minister of Christ reiterate the falsehood uttered by the serpent in Eden,—’Ye shall not surely die.’ ‘In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods.’ The vilest of sinners,—the murderer, the
thief; and the adulterer,—will after death be prepared to enter into immortal bliss.
And from what does this perverter of the Scriptures draw his conclusions?—From a single sentence expressing David’s submission to the dispensation of Providence. His soul ‘longed to go forth unto Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.’ The poignancy of his grief having been softened by time, his thoughts turned from the dead to the living son, self-banished through fear of the just punishment of his crime. And this is the evidence that the incestuous, drunken Amnon was at death immediately transported to the abodes of bliss, there to be purified and prepared for the companionship of sinless angels! A pleasing fable indeed, well suited to gratify the carnal heart! This is Satan’s own doctrine, and it does his work effectually. Should we be surprised that, with such instruction, wickedness abounds? Is there not need of contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints?
The course pursued by this one false teacher illustrates that of many others. A few words of Scripture are separated from the context, which Would in many cases show its meaning to be exactly opposite to the interpretation put upon it; and such disjointed passages are perverted and used in proof of doctrines that have no foundation in the word of God. The testimony cited as evidence that the drunken Amnon is in Heaven, is a mere inference, directly contradicted by the plain and positive statement of the Scriptures, that no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God. It is thus that doubters, unbelievers, and skeptics turn the truth into a lie. And multitudes have been deceived by their sophistry, and rocked to sleep in the cradle of carnal security.” EGW, SOP, Vol 4, 1884, pp. 357-360.
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EG White and the SDA pioneers rejected the trinity doctrine, Sunday sacredness, and other unscriptural teachings. They believed in the One True God and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ and their Holy Spirit. They published this truth in their Fundamental Principles of 1872 and 1889. They have no creed except the Scriptures alone. EG White never changed this Biblical SDA faith. She died in 1915.
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I fully appreciate your support and prayers for this Ministry. Thank you so much.
Sincerely in the Blessed Hope.