“Watchman,
what of the night?”
"The hour
has come, the hour is striking and striking at you,
the hour and the end!" Eze. 7:6 (Moffatt)
WHO ARE THE
OFF-SHOOTS?
(Excerpt from Watchman,
What of the Night? dated September 1982)
There is a sentiment among
the rank and file of the laity of the Church; that is, among those who have not
embraced the heretical teachings of Dr. Desmond Ford, nor have bought the
plagiarism charges of Elder Walter Rea, that anyone who differs with the
hierarchy is an "offshoot,” and anything which does not carry the official
imprimatur of the publishing Committees of the Church is an
"offshoot" publication. This is not new, nor peculiar to these
present times. The charge of "offshoot" has been a favorite smear
tactic used by religious leaders in their attempt to blind the eyes of sincere
seekers of truth, and to keep those who might wish to investigate truth from
doing so.
[Note: (a) “Off-Shoots” is a pejorative term applied
to those who have departed from pure Bible Truth. In the eyes of the
laity who have remained loyal to the Church Organization, ALF is an
Off-Shoot. This misconception is fostered by the Church Organization.
(b) “Hierarchy” is a pejorative term applied to
the Church Organization which has evolved over the past century into an
apostate system of hierarchical church governance. Grotheer applies the
term repeatedly to the Church Organization; and the strongly negative
connotation is demonstrated by his reference to Lucifer (Satan) as the first
Off-Shoot (see next paragraph.)]
An
"offshoot" by definition is "a side root or branch from the main
stem of the plant." The first "offshoot" was Lucifer. Jesus
told it very simply as to why he became an "offshoot" - "He ...
abode not in the truth." (John 8,:44) And in the
same breath, Jesus charged the religious leaders of His day as being of their
"father the devil." They were the true off-shoots of Christ's day,
that is, if the criterion by which judgment is to be made is truth. And why? Jesus emphatically stated - "He that is of God
[the main stem] heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are
not of God." (John 8:47) In other words,
"offshoots!"
(Underscored emphasis added.)
This charge by Christ stung
these self-appointed guardians of orthodoxy. They said to Him - "Say we
not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil." (verse
48) Calling Christ a Samaritan was the worse epithet they could use to cause
the rank and file of Israel to have nothing to do with Jesus, for the Jews had
no dealings with the Samaritans. (John 4:9) To this they now added thou
"hast a devil." In so doing they sought to toss back the charge upon
Jesus that He abode not in the truth. Jesus ignored the charge of being a
Samaritan, but emphatically denied the allegation that he was possessed with a
devil, and stated why - "I have not a devil; but I honor my Father."
(John 8:49)
Herein was the basic
difference between Himself and the religious leaders of His day. These leaders
and spiritual guardians of the people would not believe Jesus nor the message He brought from God. Why? Jesus revealed the
answer by asking on another occasion, a question - "How can ye believe,
which receive honor one from another, and seek not that honor that cometh from
God only?" (John 5:44) When we seek the honor and prestige that men can give, rather
than seeking to uphold the truth and honor of God alone, we will compromise
truth so as to gain the favor of men. At that point we become
"offshoots".
The Jewish leadership played
the "offshoot" name calling to the hilt. After the encounter with the
Jews as to who was of the devil, or who had a devil,
Jesus performed a miracle by giving sight to one who had been born blind. It
being on the
p 2 -- Sabbath day, "eyebrows"
were raised. The former blind man was brought before the Pharisees. One segment
after hearing the testimony stated of Jesus - "This man is not of
God." He is an "offshoot" Some were not quite so sure because
here was a miracle that could not be gainsaid. (John 9:1-16) However, as the
issue became more intense, they closed ranks behind the one argument which
seemed to keep everybody in line. To the former blind man they haughtily
responded - "We be Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as
for this fellow, we know not whence He is." (verses
28 & 29) In simple words, they sought to picture Jesus as having so far
departed from the norm which they defined a "Moses" that they could
not even perceive if He ever had been associated in
the same concepts they professed. And He never had. That was why He was where He
was, and they were where they were. If He had sought honor of men, and had been
willing to look to them for the guidance of His Mission, they would have
readily accepted Him. Had not Nicodemus stated their original evaluation of
Him, when he said - "We know that thou art a teacher come from God."
(John 3:2)
These ancient
guardians of orthodoxy find their counterparts today in those who profess to
acknowledge the historic Adventist beliefs, while they adhere to the
compromises represented in the books - Questions on Doctrine and Movement of
Destiny. They further confess their allegiance to the Statement of Beliefs
which reflects the heresy of these books and continues the compromise so as to
be accepted by the World Council of Churches when they think the time is ripe
to cast their lot with that Council. Those who expose this departure from the
truth are labeled as "off-shoots," and
this as effectively closes the minds of the "devout" as did the
charge that Christ was a "Samaritan" close the minds of the Jewish
people till they could concur in His crucifixion. (Underscored emphasis added.)
There is an
interesting parable that Jesus told which should cause us to consider very
carefully as to who really is an "offshoot" In connection with His
delineation of the signs which would mark the end times of human history, Jesus
also gave some illustrations to help clarify the issues that would be involved
with those end times. One such illustration is the parable of the Ten Virgins. [I am well aware of the fact that the
early pioneers in the Advent Movement applied aspects of this parable to the
experience associated with the summer of 1844. (See Second Advent Review, June 9, 1851, Paris, ME, p. 1f) However,
in 1896, Ellen G. White commented - "My mind was carried into the future,
when the signal will be given, 'Behold the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet
him.'" (R&H, Feb. 11, 1896)]
[Note : In the
illustration of the Parable of the Ten Virgins, Grotheer reasons that
separation is inevitable. See the last paragraph. This confirms
that ALF is separated from the Church Organization.]
Jesus
pictured the Ten Virgins as all together in one group - albeit, all asleep.
Suddenly at midnight, a voice is heard from outside the sleeping virgins
calling, 'Behold the Bridegroom, go ye out to a meeting of Him." (Matt.
25:6 Gr.) Suddenly there is an arousement. All trim
their lamps - they all perceive the nearness of the end! But five find they are
short of oil - spiritual perception - and their lamps start to flicker in the
final waiting period. These go to those who merchandise in the things of God -
the hierarchy, the so-called guardians of the spiritual interests of the
people. The other five - the wise virgins - go out to a meeting with their
Lord. There is separation! Who are
the "off-shoots"? The wise or the foolish? (Underscored and bold emphasis added.)
While the foolish turn to the
venders of spiritual merchandise, the Bridegroom comes, and they that are ready
go in with Him to the marriage, and the door is shut! (Matt. 25:10) Again who are
the "off- shoots"?
I am sure that the
venders - the hierarchy - would console the foolish with the idea that the
wise separated themselves from them because they would not listen to them,
the venerable supporters of orthodoxy. These venders in heavenly wares urge
the foolish - "Stay with the ship; those others are very foolish; they
have become "offshoots." But while the foolish consider
themselves so wise by placing their trust in men, the door is shut against
them, and when they knock, the Lord confesses woefully, I know you not."
Who then are the real "offshoots" if you are really serious about
heaven? (Underscored emphasis added.)