Shubee wrote:Lost Worker,

There is a pseudo-Seventh-day Adventist offshoot group in Australia that call themselves Restitution Ministries. They reject the number 3, as in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, because the number 3 is too Trinitarian for them.

Do you also reject the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--the three great personal Dignitaries of heaven--because a heavenly Trio is too Trinitarian?

Avoiding the question, Lay Worker wrote:Restitution are rabid Arians and know no better.

The Shube really ought to explain how a "Heavenly Trio", the term used in SpTB 07 p63 of 1905, happens to be Trinitarian?

Shubee replied:

The heavenly Trio in Scripture and EGW's writings is Trinitarian only in the sense that cults like ALF and Restitution Ministries are so opposed to Trinitarianism that they even deny the number 3. (Curiously, members in the cult of ALF are so secretive about their denial of a 3 Person heavenly Trio that they won't affirm or deny it publicly).

Lay Worker wrote:The Shube should ideally explain from Scripture why there are only Two Divines presented in John 1:1-3 and why the same applies in Revelation chapter 21.

There are readers who understand the Everlasting Gospel and know.
The question is of course --- Does the Shube?

Shubee replied:

That’s child’s play, a game for children, not a test for the true Elijah. I have two coins in my pocket. How many coins do I have? Answer: 3. I have two coins in one pocket and a third coin in a second pocket.

Likewise, it’s obvious to see and easy to count three Persons in the heavenly trio: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They’re all mentioned together in Matthew 28:19, Matthew 3:13-17; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2 and Revelation 1:4-5. So what rule prevents Scripture from speaking of one Person in the heavenly Trio without mentioning all Three together every time? Clearly, the purpose of John 1:1-3 is to exalt Christ (everythingimportant.org/Godhead/). Why is the Holy Spirit not mentioned in Revelation 21? For the same reason that the seven Spirits of God are before God’s throne and do not sit upon it (Revelation 1:4-5, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6).

Recall that “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (1 Corinthians 14:32). In the same manner, the Spirit of God, which is the Spirit of Christ, is subject to both the Father and the Son. Clearly, the Holy Spirit has a lesser rank and we ought to acknowledge what inspiration says about the rank of each Person in the Godhead (everythingimportant.org/Godhead/).

Those who have difficulty distinguishing between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--the three great personal Dignitaries of heaven--remind me of the sitcom Newhart. "Newhart is an American television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters." I've only seen the show a few times when it aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990. I certainly didn't like this sitcom but I will never forget the three most eccentric characters of the show, named Larry, Darryl and Darryl. The three, whose last name is never mentioned, are backwoodsmen who live in a shack. What is so memorable about these three is that Larry introduces the group the same way every time they make an appearance: "Hi, I'm Larry; this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl."





That, in brief, is my opinion of those who have difficulty with the number 3.