Reformation vs. Fanaticism.
By R. F. Cottrell
“THERE is a wide gulf between a reformation based on the word of God, and a fanatical excitement. “Whenever a great religious ferment takes place in the church, some impure elements always appear with the manifestations of truth. We see the rise of one or more false reforms proceeding from man, and which serve as a testimony or countersign to the real reform. Thus many false Messiahs in the time of Christ testified that the real Messiah had appeared. The Reformation of the sixteenth century could not be accomplished without presenting a similar phenomenon.” D'Aubigne. Yes, to cast reproach upon the Reformation advocated by Luther and his fellow-laborers, wild spirits arose who were for rushing forward the reform, “so feebly sketched out by Luther,” to speedy consummation, and this upon altogether different grounds. The Spirit of God was moving Luther in the direction of his Holy Word; but these saw no use of clinging so closely to the Bible, and cried out, “The Spirit, the Spirit.” The Lord was doing a great work, and it was Satan's work to breathe a spirit of fanaticism into unsanctified souls, in order to bring the cause of truth into disrepute. So it is now. The Lord has begun a work, foretold in his word, to prepare his people for the second advent of the Messiah; and time and space would fail to tell of the thousand and one theories and vagaries that have been attempted to be imposed upon the people as the only true and genuine advent doctrine. The cry has been, “Lo, here, and lo, there.” Still the truth commends itself to all honest persons who will take time and pains to look at it long enough to come to a true decision. And it is very manifest to the candid inquirer that the truth lies with those who adhere to the word—who make a harmony of the different messages of this work, as given in prophecy, and, besides this, have a real reform in respect to religious duty—a turning to God and his moral requirements—to preach to the people, and not merely some theory to be embraced that will not practically affect the moral character of the receiver. Whatever may be said of the Spirit—there are many spirits in the world—the true work, though guided by the Spirit of God, will be anchored firmly on the revealed word of God, the Bible. This is the true test—the detector by which to try the spirits. If there was nothing divine in the great advent movement of 1840-4, then there is nothing but delusion in any of the theories that have come up, claiming to be the true position, and the present truth—the true advent doctrine. Different and opposing theories cannot all be true; for truth is a unit, and always consistent with itself. The truth will be found, then, with those, and only those, who make a harmony of the prophetic advent messages of Rev. xiv, 6-12, with the history of the advent movement of our own times. If there is no harmony between the prophecy and that which claims to be its fulfillment, this claim is false. Hence all Adventists of our time who make the time movement of 1844 false, that is, take the position that it was not the fulfillment of the message, “Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come,” are out of harmony with the inspired description of the Advent movement as foretold in prophecy, and consequently not building upon the true foundation. All those, I say, claiming that the advent is at hand, and that the time message has not been given, deny their parentage, or the very means which gave them birth, as Adventists, and prove conclusively that they are not on the track of truth, and that their whole scheme is spurious. And yet there are men, professing to be true Adventists, who make the first, i. e., the time message, a mistake, and ignore the third and most important message altogether. They would have the Lord come without the proclamation of this most solemn and fearful warning, which God has evidently designed to prepare a people for that event of events. It would be better for them to give up the whole matter at once. Their bark is in the rapids, and they are trusting for safety to a cable, which, with their own hands, they have cut loose from the only anchor that can hold them. The rapids of fanaticism are furiously sweeping them downward to the abyss of infidelity. They reject the anchor of the first message, and refuse to get on board the life-boat of the third, the frame-work of which is the commandments of God, and its finishing, the faith and the testimony of Jesus Christ. This they would not do. They would not despise this life-boat, but for its Sabbath keel, into which all its other timbers fasten. But remove the keel, and the vessel would go to the bottom. Their work is fanatical; it is not based on the word of God. It is only calculated to cast reproach on the truth, and turn men, in disgust, away from it. But God permits it so that “they which are approved may be made manifest.” On the other hand, the true reform for these days, the present work of the Lord, is based upon the perfect word of the Lord. Prophecy has clearly predicted, and accurately described it. The terms of the warning message were laid down some eighteen hundred years ago, and the distinguishing characteristics of the people who should receive it, described in terms unmistakable. “Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” The commandments include the Sabbath, and the faith of Jesus, the doctrine of his soon coming, according to his promise; both of which are in especial disrepute at the present time. Hence it is no other than Sabbath-keeping, or Seventh-day Adventists, who are so clearly pointed out in the prophecy. No other people fill the description. “How egotistical,” do I hear you say? I must tell you the truth; for the truth alone can do you good. Our work is based upon the word of God. It is a real reformation. It teaches us what we must do to be prepared for the advent. It is developing moral character, and teaching the true faith. It is not fanaticism, but a real reform.
R. F. COTTRELL.