A Spiritual Post Mortem

In 2005 we had correspondence with Mr. Bacchiocchi, a Seventh Day Adventist author and scholar. He was unable to defend his errors concerning God and the Bible. After a final attempt to reason with him, we never heard from him again.

More recently, in May 2009, we were sent one of Mr. Bacchiocchi’s papers, “Hell: Annihilation or Eternal Torment?” Searching out some background information, I learned that Mr. Bacchiocchi died of liver cancer in December 2008.

God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked; neither do we, but there are some things to learn from this man’s death, both the death in which he lived, and the physical death he met because of his Life-deprived spiritual condition.

Mr. Bacchiocchi preached annihilation of the unbelieving who die, because he was dead. He believed the Seventh Day Adventist doctrine that the physically dead are asleep, because he was asleep, as are all Seventh Day Adventists. They are among the unconscious dead. They have never known the Life of God, Jesus Christ.

So what can this man teach us, from his life of death and death of life? A post mortem can tell an instructive story to the living who listen and learn from its lessons. It also serves as a warning to the dead of their impending judgment.

Our subject presented himself as “Dr. Bacchiocchi,” a doctor of church history, so designated by men’s schools of “higher” learning. This degree and title may impress men, but not God. All of God’s servants learn directly from Him, the Highest there is, without fanfare before men. Did the apostle Paul introduce himself to the Athenian idolaters or his Roman tribunal as “Dr. Paul”? The very idea is absurd! Paul had left all that behind, calling it dung (Philippians 3:8).

By calling himself “doctor,” Bacchiocchi presented himself as a professor of theology, an authority on God. Men respect this claim, but here is the reality:

“That which is highly esteemed amongst men is abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).

Not only did Mr. Bacchiocchi take pride in his doctorate from men, but this doctorate came from the Pontifical Gregorian University of all places!

Seventh Day Adventists teach that the papacy represents the antiChrist, but Mr. Bacchiocchi is a doctor of divinity based on the authority of the pope of Rome!

Consider the contradiction. This is the nature of all false religion. False religion is in league with the Devil himself, by seeking the approval and acceptance of men to further its self-promoting agenda.

From his website:

“In 1969 Dr. Bacchiocchi returned to his native city of Rome to study at the prestigious Pontifical Gregorian University, where he was the first non-Catholic to be admitted in over 450 years of its history. At the Gregoriana he spent the next five years working toward a Doctoratus in Church History. He was awarded a gold medal by Pope Paul VI for attaining the academic distinction of summa cum laude for his class-work and dissertation From Sabbath to Sunday.”

If the pope’s office represents the antiChrist (and it does, along with Seventh Day Adventists and all other religious organizations), why should the honors the Catholic Church confers on Mr. Bacchiocchi be acknowledged by followers of Christ or any persons desiring the truth?

Of course they are not, not for a second.

If Mr. Bacchiocchi’s preeminent claim to knowledge and position comes from the antiChrist, according to his own church’s teaching, why should anyone follow him as a teacher of God?

In his zeal to fully maximize the benefits of his degree and honors from the pope, Mr. Bacchiocchi overstated his accomplishments, according to his Catholic Alma Mater, and the resulting contest of interpretations went on for years, through many correspondences of considerable length. Here is a very short summary:

Devil A (Catholic Church): Dr. Bacchiocchi, we must ask you to stop using our good name to exaggerate your academic accomplishments at our pontifical institution and claiming we supported the publication of your dissertation.

Devil B (Bacchiocchi): You are quite mistaken in your charges. Now that you have publicized this matter and have people questioning my credibility, I will produce the beautiful diplomas hand crafted by Vatican scribes and other proofs of the awards and backing you have given me.

Devil A: We will concede that you received such and such a distinction, but not the others, as you present them. We apologize for our mistake about the publication of portions of your dissertation, which we did allow.

Devil B: Good enough for now. Though some allegations remain unresolved, in the spirit of Christian forgiveness, I consider the case closed.

With that, the audience applauded both devils as they went about their respective work, spreading their religions as a substitute for reality and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He had no degrees in this world, and He confers none. He gives something infinitely better, Himself and His Nature, to those who believe, obey, and follow Him.

The world thinks it a good thing that the various religious get along, not knowing that they are supporting a single entity called Mystery, Babylon the Great. No wonder the first title is Mystery, as men are mystified and awed by this tremendous fraud.

This entity is shown by God to be “the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” She, in contrast to another woman - the heavenly Jerusalem from above, is a whore who is drunk on the blood of the saints, whom she has persecuted and murdered from the beginning. She has slurped and usurped, but now her day is finished.

Mr. Bacchiocchi is the quintessential representative of this mighty whore, of her ways, and of her reward.

Around the time of his dispute with his brothers in the Catholic Church, Mr. Bacchiocchi was diagnosed with cancer. After surgery on his colon cancer, he began chemotherapy and a new localized radiation treatment for his liver cancer.

He described his approach:

“My strategy is to attack the cancer in the liver using three methods: 1) faith in divine healing, 2) the latest conventional remedies, and 3) natural products that can boost my immune system.”

Let’s call this the shotgun approach. You hope that if you spread your shot wide enough, you will hit something. “Can the Lord heal me? Sure, let’s hope that will happen. Do conventional remedies work? I believe the doctors know what they are doing. Add those to my list. Are there natural products that can boost my chances? Indeed, I will do those, too.”

Belief in divine healing is not the same thing as putting one’s trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The first is a concept; the second is a relationship. If I am in jail and I need to make bail, believing my father cares about me is not the same thing as calling him and asking for his help. Maybe he will provide bail money, or maybe he will think I need to remain there and learn a lesson; either way, he will be engaged in the process of exercising his care for me.

Throughout his ordeal with cancer, Mr. Bacchiocchi would attribute things he deemed as positive to God, but never was there a word from God or the assurance of a victory.

At first, the conventional methods of chemotherapy and radiation seemed to be working. Mr. Bacchiocchi reported:

“It is hard for me to believe that the Lord is giving me a new lease on life in a most unexpected way. Two months ago the prognosis was bleak: only a few months to live. Today the prognosis is hopeful. The battle against the liver cancer is being won and the Lord is pleased to add years to my life to make it possible for me to continue my ministry of biblical research and proclamation of Bible truths in many parts of the world.”

Was the Lord adding years to Mr. Bacchiocchi’s ministry, or did the chemotherapy and radiation kill his cancer temporarily while frying his liver?

He had no doubts in his Don Quixote-like delusional thinking:

“I believe that the Lord have restored me to greater health and strength than I had before, because He wants me to accomplish greater things for Him in this Endtime. Pray that the Lord may give me the wisdom to expose errors and present the truth in a clear and loving way.”

A year later reality reasserted itself:

“…about three months ago, I was made forcefully aware that my cancer was active again, because my belly became like a balloon filled with fluid. Three times the Cancer Center removed over 4 liters of fluid.

On the basis of blood tests and PET/CAN scans taken two months ago, my oncologist, a most caring and compassionate doctor, told me that my liver was not functioning (fibrosis condition) and consequently the fluid were dispersed in my abdomen. Apparently the chimo and the radiations had damaged my liver making it unable to process fluids. The condition is usually irreversible.”

What happened to the Lord’s healing? Does He heal only to allow the dreaded disease to come back with a vengeance? Were the lepers He healed only in remission for a time? Did the woman who was bent over and couldn’t straighten her back for eighteen years cripple over again in a short while? Or did the woman with an issue of blood that was healed after twelve years, who spent all her money on physicians that couldn’t help her, go back to her bleeding?

Mr. Bacchiocchi, even with the news of his relapse and its cause, said his physicians helped him:

“Providentially the Lord led me to the Center for Cancer Care in Goshen, Indiana that treated my liver with microsphere radiation and chimo. These shut down over 90% of my liver cancer.”

They also shut down his liver.

God says that none of this world’s terrible diseases will come on those who keep His Commandments. Is He unable to make up His mind or deliver on His promises?

“If with all your heart you will give attention to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His eyes, giving ear to His orders and keeping His laws, I will not put on you any of the diseases which I put on the Egyptians: for I am the Lord your Life-giver” (Exodus 15:26 BBE).

If the heart of one so diseased turns to Him, can He not deliver? Does God bring blessing and curse together? Or does He do a pure work?

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17 EMTV).

Now all that was left for Mr. Bacchiocchi, after the failure of his medical course, was option 1 - divine healing. Along with some of his family and close friends, he met every night for a week in a conference call to pray for the healing of his liver. Here is his report of what happened:

“The healing effect of these intercessory prayers soon became evident. The first night I slept with a new sense of wellbeing. Somehow I felt that healing was taking place in my body. I woke up in the morning with a new surge of energy. I could only thank God for restoring my strength….On that Sabbath I felt like a new man, with a new surge of energy. Contrary to most weekends, on Saturday evening I felt great. I was not exhausted as usual.

To express my gratitude to God, I asked Lyndon Parson, the godly pastor of the Murrieta church, to conduct a private anointing service for me. It was a simple but very meaningful service attended by a dozen of persons. I sensed again the reassurance of God’s healing power in my body.

On Tuesday, October 14, my wife and I drove to the Center for Cancer Care in Goshen, Indiana, to undergo the PET/CAT scan that had been rescheduled for a week. We were eager to see if the new test would show that my liver cancer had improved dramatically after one intense week of prayer. We were not disappointed. At 4:00 p. m. when we met with the oncologist to evaluate the results of the PET/CAT SCAN, the doctor showed us the contrast between the picture of the last PET/CAT SCAN taken over two months ago with that taken on that day.

The contrast was evident. The latest PET/CAT SCAN shows that the size of the cancer has shrinked considerably. Not only the size was much smaller but even the color was less intense than the previous picture. The doctor explained that the lighter color indicates that the activity of the cancer has slowed down considerably.

My oncologist was surprised because the shrinking of the cancer occurred without any medication. In fact the last infusion of chimo took place over two months ago. I explained to the doctor that our family and a circle of close friends had prayed intensively for God’s healing of my cancer and for us the picture of the shrinked cancer was a proof that our prayers had been answered and the healing power of God was at work.

This experience has convinced me of the truth that ‘the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much’ (James 5:16). Moreover, I have learned that I need to turn to God FIRST, not LAST when all the medical resources have failed.”

Mr. Bacchiocchi admitted that he had been looking to man all the time he was talking such a good game about looking to God and giving Him credit for his healing, though he did not confess it as sin. Only after he found himself out of options and with apparent success through his prayer group did he come to the conclusion that he had missed out the first time. Now he learned that he needed to turn to God first, after God had supposedly heard his and his group’s prayers and had answered them.

He was once again proven a righteous man in his own sight, still able to teach others about the ways of God. He did not confess himself a sinner, but one who wisely learned from his mistake. Far from being a sinner, he considered himself a righteous man, because his prayer seemed to be heard by God.

How can one pray fervently as a righteous man when there is unconfessed sin? Does God hear the prayers of those who are not doing His will?

“Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him” (John 9:31 EMTV).

Mr. Bacchiocchi and his group’s prayers were made without first clearing up the outstanding matter between him and the Lord. He had not acknowledged his offense of looking to men rather than to God. He had not acknowledged that he was serving and promoting himself by his religious works. He supposed that he had been healed by men, but he wasn’t. He was still unrepentant of putting his trust in men.

Jesus said it is impossible for such to receive from God:

“I have come in My Father’s Name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory which is from the only God?” (John 5:43-44 EMTV)

Mr. Bacchiocchi, encouraged by his scan report, continued to exude optimism and false hope to the end. He died two months after his victorious report, without a word about being wrong or in sin. To men, this behaviour can appear as noble and praiseworthy persistence in the face of great difficulties, but the truth is much different:

“A wise man fears, and departs from evil; but the fool behaves overbearingly, and is confident” (Proverbs 14:16 JPS).

Mr. Bacchiocchi went to his death as a fool. Who can argue with the results of his faith? Either God, to Whom supernatural healing was accredited, does not exist, or Mr. Bacchiocchi’s connection to God was nonexistent.

We know that not only does God exist, He reigns over all things, doing whatever He pleases, and He is fully capable of keeping what is committed to His care. The problem was on Mr. Bacchiocchi’s end, and as any good post mortem should do, we have identified the cause of his death.

Mr. Bacchiocchi was seeking a place and name for himself in this world, rather than losing his life for God’s sake, which is the Way of Life through Jesus Christ.

His last article in his last newsletter is a perfect summation of his man-pleasing, middle of the road, self-serving ways.

In this article, he acknowledges the pagan origin of Christmas, yet he argues for keeping it at another time of the year:

“Personally I am not inspired by the elaborate Christmas decorations and celebration, because as a church historian I am aware of their pagan origin. Jesus was born in a humble manger. There were no fanciful decorations to celebrate His birth. It would be more in keeping with the setting of His birth, to keep the decorations simple, designed to help people catch the real spirit of Christ’s humble birth.

It was the celebration of the birth of the Sun-god in ancient Rome that was accompanied by a profusion of lights and torches and the decoration of trees. To facilitate the acceptance of the Christian faith by the pagan masses, the Church of Rome found it expedient to make not only the Day of the Sun the weekly celebration of Christ’s resurrection, but also the Birth Day of the Invincible Sun-God on December 25, the annual celebration of Christ’s birth. This point will be expanded later.

A Witnessing Opportunity

The recognition of the pagan origin of Christmas, with all its lights, decoration, partying, and celebration, does not mean that it is wrong to take time to remember the birth of Jesus at this time of the year. After all it would be well for us to remember every day how Jesus was willing to leave His glorious heavenly position in order to be born into the human family as a helpless baby to become our Savior.

...

The time of the Feast of Tabernacles provides Christians today with a more accurate Biblical timing and typology for celebrating Christ’s birth, than the pagan dating of December 25th. The latter date not only is removed from the actual time of Christ’s birth, but is also derived from the pagan celebration of the birth of the Sun-god. Why celebrate Christ’s birth at the wrong time of the year because of a pagan tradition, when we can observe it at the right season on the basis of sound biblical reasons?”

If God instituted Christmas, would He not have given a date, time, and instructions, just as He did, very specifically, with the feast days that He gave Israel through Moses? The quotes above are man’s reason for keeping something God never wanted. God will have obedience, not sacrifice. And if not sacrifice, certainly not partying.

What observance has God introduced since Christ came, except the fulfillment of the three major feasts of Israel, which were done away with in shadow form after the resurrection, because the Substance had come to fulfill them within through God’s Holy Spirit?

“Dr. Bacchiocchi” gave us satanic reasoning, yes, satanic, because it savors the things of men (gift-giving, lights, action, tradition, carnal pleasures) while using Christ’s Name. For this reason, God hates it with a passion.

Knowing that Christmas is based on and uses heathen traditions, that there is no known date for it, and that God never commanded it, the “good doctor” still sends his patients to hell with his religious-coated advice about Christmas:

“May our celebration of Christ’s birth, at any time of the year, incorporate these essential elements: worship, giving, and praise.”

Samuele Bacchiocchi represented the compromising spirit of the worldly religious: “Christmas is heathen, but don’t let that stop you from celebrating it. The pope is the antiChrist, but don’t let that stop you from honoring him if he honors you.”

This accommodation with darkness is why he could not hear us, and it explains his confusion at what we told him. The worst part of it was not that he couldn’t understand, but that he refused understanding. He wanted to keep his life, and so he lost it, as Jesus warned.

The Lord came to Samuele as a thief, through us, and Samuele rejected Him. His heart was exposed and his course set for destruction. He did not recognize his day of visitation.

Paul Cohen

Our correspondence with Mr. Bacchiochi:

We contacted Samuele Bacchiochi with this letter:

Greetings in the Lord Jesus Christ, Samuele!

I have some things to say to you about one of your postings, “The Bible and Race,” which came my way recently by an email from a friend in South Africa. I am commenting because the Lord has taught me by revelation and the personal application of truth in my life that what you have said is wrong, which I am sure you would be interested to hear about, as it seems you are trying to get it right! Here is your quote regarding the situation described in Ezra 9 and 10:

“Frankly, I find this sad story very disconcerting. It does not seem to be a sensible solution to break up families by sending away wives and children, in order to restore racial purity and to bring out the spiritual reformation. After all, it was the men who caused the problem in the first place by marrying foreign women. There are no indications in the story that these women were insubordinate and determine to promote their pagan beliefs. In my view, the men should have been challenged to accept responsibility for their wrong doings and to become the spiritual priest of their homes by leading their wives and children to the true worship of God.

The only way I can make sense of the story is by noting the importance that the Bible attaches to respecting racial and cultural distinctions. The Jews were instructed not to marry foreigners, because people are conditioned not only by culture and education, but also by racial and genetic patterns. This is why God has set some boundaries for the orderly functioning of the human family (Acts 17:26; Gen 10:25,32; Deut 32:8).”

The problem there had nothing to do with race or genetics. It was a spiritual issue. Some of those people would have had common genetics with the Israelites, such as the Moabites for example, the offspring of Lot, who was the nephew of Abraham. Perhaps all of them were related in some manner. I am not prepared to research or comment on that at the moment, and it does not matter, for we can see there was a genetic connection between at least some of the people involved. It was not, therefore, a genetic issue.

My own example will illustrate this point. In January of 1978, I began to read the Bible. What was most noteworthy was that I was led to do so of God, and I was led, in particular, to read the New Testament. As a Jew I had never learned about Jesus Christ. I had never professed faith or belief in God as a Jew. But at this time, God drew me and began to reveal Himself to me in Christ. It was a most wonderful thing, I can tell you.

However, I did not repent of my sins as I needed to and would later. My old life of independence and carnal relationships continued. In particular, I continued in a sexual relationship with my Jewish girlfriend. God did indeed warn me of the wrongness in doing this, but I continued headstrong into what I wanted. I ended up moving to California where she attended school, and we lived together.

My conscience bothered me about living together. Rather than repenting of fornication, however, I brought up the idea of getting married, which we ended up doing by mutual consent. She knew I professed to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it did not matter as long as I was pleasing to her, and consenting to sin did make me acceptable. I say this without suggesting the blame was hers. I was the one who knew better, who was being called to forsake the world, and who had the decision to make, not her.

I say that now with understanding. At the time I did not know what was going on. In fact, because I was so clued out, and growing increasingly perplexed and uncomfortable, I began asking the Lord to send someone to tell me what was my problem. I could not figure it out, though it was always staring me in the face.

Now, there we were, two Jews, having gone together to the homeland of Jews, Israel, anticipating living there. We had the same genetics. We had the same values. We were legally married. But we did not have the same calling. It was not that she was belligerent or unwilling to try. It was that she was not called, and I was. It was that simple. A Jew is not one outwardly, but inwardly (Romans 2:29). We are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14).

There I was, having knowingly entered into the most intimate of relationships with one who did not believe. Oh yes, I had my justifications at the time, “She is favorable towards my belief, she loves me, etc.” It was all justification to do what I wanted to, being also led by what she wanted to do. I gave myself over to sin.

When God graciously answered my prayer and sent a man to Israel to tell me these things (God having shown him that I was in fornication), I knew what I was told was true. I could not deny it, being convicted of the truth, though I did question it, and I looked for a possible way out of the verdict from God that I needed to leave my wife. I considered that if what I was told was the truth, the Scriptures would also speak to what was required of me, and They would confirm that ill-conceived and unholy marriages were put away by the commandment of God.

Samuele, it was the very Scriptures of Ezra referred to in your writing that the Lord showed me as corroboration of His will and commandment. He led me into those verses and opened my understanding, which came at a dear price, but truth bought cheap is soon despised. It was not what I wanted to hear, yet at the same time, I rejoiced greatly that God had answered me.

No, the issue was not race; it has always been the calling and will of God. Sons of God cannot choose the daughters of men as they please. They are not sons by DNA, but by His Spirit. I was called at that time to become a son of God, and my kinswoman of the flesh was not.

The viewpoint and counsel you suggest are not good. You would have told me to try to win my spouse over as priest of the household, which would have been a work of the flesh, unclean; it would have brought the wrath of God rather than His blessing. In fact I did try very hard to do what you suggest, and it did not work. It made things worse.

Believers who marry contrary to the expressed will of God do not have His blessing. He never did bring such together. What He has brought together let no man take apart, but what He has not sanctioned let no man keep together. It works both ways.

Unbelievers can also marry against the will of God. Anything that can be sanctified by God can be polluted by men, whether it is the land, marriage, or the Sabbath - nothing is clean and holy of itself except God. If God is not building the house, they that do so labor in vain.

When I left my wife, a professing evangelical believer that had been a college mate of mine tried to tell me that I was wrong to do so, even though he had reservations about our relationship before we married. The Lord gave me this Scripture in reply to his arguments, which also applies to what you have stated contrary to the expressed will and work of God:

“There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD” (Proverbs 21:30).

You might say, Samuele, that it was not clearly the counsel of God for the men to forsake their wives, but hear what the Scripture reports Ezra the priest, who officiated over the people in the Name of God, said:

“Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do His pleasure; and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives” (Ezra 10:11).

That you do not know or understand these things shows me that you have not yet learned to know what is clean and what is unclean. Are you called to be a son of God? If so, you must come out from among them. Who are they that you must come out from? You are receiving The Issues of Life, which speak of the differences between light and darkness. There is more on our web page. I suggest you read:

The Case for Coming Out
The True Marks of a Cult
The Church

I pray that these things I share with you will encourage you in the faith, to identify with the Lord Jesus Christ at all costs. Anything less is not acceptable or profitable. The will of the Lord be done.

Paul Cohen

Mr. Bacchiocchi’s reply:

HI PAUL:

THE POINT IS THAT FORCED RACE INTEGRATION IS UNKNOWN IN THE BIBLE. In the Apostolic church JEWISH CHRISTIANS AND GENTILE CHRISTIANS coexhisted as two separate churches. No forced integration.
--
Christian regards

Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.,
Retired Professor of Theology and Church History, Andrews University
4990 Appian Way
Berrien Springs, MI 49103

Phone (269) 471-2915 Fax (269) 978-6898

WWW HOMEPAGE: http://www.biblicalperspectives.com

Paul’s reply:

Hi Samuele,

Our wires appear to have gotten crossed. Did you read my letter? It seems you did not. The portion of your letter I replied to was not about forced race integration, but about God’s specific command to separate believers from unbelievers in unholy marriages. I do not see what forced race integration has to do with that, or of what relevance that has to a believer in Christ. Jesus Christ does not force people to do anything as men use force. Can you possibly explain where you are coming from, and what message you are trying to convey?

What do you mean by saying that the early Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians coexisted as two separate churches? What is the point and application for us today? What about Luke traveling with Paul? What about the Jews who ministered to the Gentile churches? Did they not mingle? How do you apply this? I am a Jew living amongst Gentiles. Shall I not be joined to Gentile believers?

Who is a Jew anyway? Paul writes that a true Jew is not one outwardly, but inwardly. So all true believers are Jews, in spirit. And all unbelieving Jews are Gentiles in spirit. That brings us back to the point I was making in my letter. The issue of faith is not a race issue. God does not bless any relationship of unequal yoke between believer and unbeliever.

To add to the confusion, by what you said in your quote (posted below in my original letter), you appear to be supporting forced race integration (using your definition of these terms). By suggesting the Israelite men who married foreign women should have served as priests in their homes to convert those women and their children to the faith, you are advocating race integration, where it was specifically prohibited by God no less!

Paul

Mr. Bacchiocchi’s reply:

Thank you for sharing your experience. Frankly I do not understand what you are trying to say.

Ezra’s command to send away wives and children because of the fear of idolatry, without trying first to teach them the ways of the Lord, seems irrational to me. The problem were not the wives or children, but the Jewish men themselves who failed to be the spiritual leaders God wanted them to be.
--
Christian regards

Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.

Victor’s reply:

Samuele, what we are saying is that Ezra, Nehemiah, the priests and elders of Israel, and ultimately God, Who was leading them and speaking to them on any matter of importance, as the whole Biblical record shows, were directing the people to do what they did. It was God’s judgment (correction/will). Although one will not find a record of God’s speaking this command to them, the leaders were right in saying that because they joined themselves in marriage to unbelievers, His wrath was upon them. They knew that. As well, God was not discouraging this course of action. If it had been so wrong, He would have made it known to them, as He had with so many other things.

They were undoing that which was not to be done in the first place. One does not please God by correcting disobedience by rearranging the circumstances brought on by sin. One may find divorce in this case to be abhorrent to the flesh, but to such Jesus says, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offence to Me because you savor the things of men and not of God.”

Of all the SDAs I have met, I can understand your thoughts and judgment on this matter. You think as you do because you trust your own righteousness, your own goodness or concept of it, and your own ability to interpret the Bible as you think fit. God is removed from you. That is because you have never received the Spirit of God to understand the things of God.

You need to repent of your own understanding and wisdom, which is foolishness with God. All the SDAs I have known think it is their right, yea, duty, and in their power to figure it all out with their carnal minds, not considering, or even being vaguely aware, that the carnal mind is at enmity with God. How can anyone be aware of God’s perspective and will without His Spirit to provide the contrast?

Victor Hafichuk