Who Only Inhabits Eternity??

gillespie9669 · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2003 3:53 am Post subject: Who Only Inhabits Eternity??

WHO ONLY INHABITS ETERNITY?

Before addressing, and commenting on this issue, I ask you to carefully survey the Words of the Creator, and the Spirit of Prophecy application of BOTH the words, “the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity”, and the name “I AM”.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name [is] Holy; I dwell in the high and holy [place], with him also [that is] of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM.
8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

“God always has been. He is the great I AM. The psalmist declares, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." Ps. 90:2. He is the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity. "I am the Lord, I change not," He declares. With Him there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. He is "the same yesterday, and to day and for ever." Heb. 13:8. He is infinite and omnipresent. No words of ours can describe His greatness and majesty.
-E.G. White, The Faith I Live By, pg. 42

“I AM means an eternal presence; the past, present, and future are alike to God… the great I Am”
-E.G. White, Manuscript 5a, 1895. {cited in 1BC, pg. 1099}

“With solemn dignity Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM." Silence fell upon the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by this Galilean Rabbi. He had announced Himself to be the self-existent One, He who had been promised to Israel, "whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity." Micah 5:2, margin.”
-E.G. White, Desire of Ages, pgs. 469, 470

"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ's church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church. Where two or three are present who love and obey the commandments of God, Jesus there presides…”
-E.G. White, Letter 108, Oct. 28, 1886 {cited in The Upward Look, pg. 315

"Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God. . . . In speaking of His pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. . . . His divine life could not be reckoned by human computation. The existence of Christ before His incarnation is not measured by figures Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father.”
-E.G. White, The Faith I Live By, pg. 46

COMMENTS

After such a forceful display of the words of the Spirit, I do think that my puny comments are probably unnecessary. However, let me put the foregoing in proper perspective, so that the heresies of the Enemy of truth will be laid bare before our readers.

The word eternal, from which eternity comes, means, according to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary of American English:

Eternal
ETER'NAL, a. [L. oeternus, composed of oevum and ternus, oeviternus, Varro. The origin of the last component part of the word is not obvious. It occurs in diuturnus, and seems to denote continuance.]

1. Without beginning or end of existence.

2. Without beginning of existence.

3. Without end of existence or duration; everlasting; endless; immortal.

Now, that is absolutely clear, and interesting. And it is even more interesting that this is precisely the definition Mrs. White was operating by in the 1800s; as a speaker of 1800s American English.
It quickly becomes evident that this is therefore a term, which, in its absoluteness, applies only to those of the God-kind. It has no application in its absoluteness to created beings and things. Unfallen angels, and humans finally saved, have been and will be given the GIFT of eternal life progressing forwards. But ONLY those of the God-kind can ever be considered as TRULY eternal, i.e. being FROM (backward progression) ALL eternity. The word “ALL” has NEVER been associated with limitation. Thus if it precedes the word “eternity” the meaning cannot be tampered with. Angels, existing before earth’s time, are NOT from eternity, much more “ALL eternity”, because the expression “eternal angels” is NOT in Holy Writ; for obvious reasons. This is because they existed within the TIME since the creation of unfallen worlds. That is why, of all the five or so places the expression “from everlasting” occurs in the Bible it is applied only to those of the God-kind. That is why only those of the God-kind TRULY has the name and nature, “I AM”. That is also why the Spirit inspired E.G White to apply the expression, “One who inhabitheth eternity” to ONLY those of the God-kind. The “Eternal Spirit” (the Holy Spirit; Heb 9:14; a member of “The Eternal Godhead”, according to “SOP”) makes it absolutely clear that even if Jesus is “begotten” this should never be imposed upon the Words of the Creator to mean He had a beginning, in the sense of there was a period in eternity when He was not. Why? Because, apart from the expression “from all eternity” or “from everlasting”, by definition, EXCLUDING such a ridiculous Arian and or semi-Arian type proposition, the words of Proverbs 8:1, 22-31 puts the issue beyond doubt. Jesus is symbolized as God’s eternal wisdom, WHICH NEVER CAME AFTER GOD, BUT EXISTED ALWAYS WITH HIM. Note the words of the Spirit of prophecy again:

“In speaking of His pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God. . .His divine life could not be reckoned by human computation. The existence of Christ before His incarnation is not measured by figures Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father.”

Even though eternity is a timeless concept, it can only be expressed in our language (paradoxically) as a time related idea. Thus “there never was a time a time” in the “dateless ages” of “ALL [unlimited] eternity” when Jesus was ( not “in”, but notice), “with” [alongside] the Father, “in close fellowship [communion in a group] WITH the eternal God”. The Bible truth is that to "inhabit' anything suggests a full possession of ALL its boundaries. The Bible truth is that Jesus, the begotten, yes the only begotten Son, still "inhabits' ALL boundaries of eternity. “Incomprehensible”? “Infinitely mysterious in itself”? That was the admission of the “SOP” through the humble servant, given to the remnant Church, who said of her testimony (which some like to downplay):

“ All… truths are immortalized in my writings. The Lord never
denies his Word. Men may set up scheme after scheme, and the enemy will seek to seduce souls from the truth, but all who believe that the Lord has Spoken through Sister White, and has given her a message, will be safe from the many delusions that will come in these last days”
(Manuscript Release, pg, 22,23).
Mrs. White further declared that we should hold fast to the pillars of truth, “not one jot or tittle has changed”. What is it that we are to hold to, and what is it that has not changed? Certainly not just the perspectives of other pioneers and the colleagues of Mrs. White in the early Adventist Church, perspectives which in some respects have been expanded on and or corrected by Mrs. White, but truth as it has been confirmed and “tested” by the ‘Spirit of Prophecy” as the Church gradually hammered out truth.
Some narrowly claim that since the Bible and the Bible only should be appealed to then there is no real place for the ‘Spirit of Prophecy’ in the establishment or understanding of doctrine. This is a fallacy and the reason for much disunity evidenced by the detractors in the Church on this critical issue. ‘Sola scriptura’ (or “the sriptures alone) obligates us to “Quench not the Spirit… despise not prophecyings…believe the prophets and you will prosper” (see 1 Thess. 5:19,20; 2 Chron. 20:20). This instruction given by the Bible itself is essential so that we be not “tossed to and fro” but “all come in the UNITY of the faith (Eph. 4:11-15). So many wish to deny the very sign which identifies the remnant, “the spirit of prophecy”, under the guise of uplifting the Bible.
So therefore the Remnant Church (Rev. 12:17/Rev. 19:10/Rev.22: 8,9), identified by the “Spirit of prophecy” is blessed with the insights of Mrs. White on critical yet controversial doctrines such as the Godhead or the “essence” or nature of the God-kind. I am certainly not contending that the “Spirit of Prophecy” writings should be the source of doctrine but rather should be the means of re-confirmation of doctrines, which were drawn from the Bible only, and first confirmed by its Holy message of truth (Is. 8:20).
He that hath an ear, let him hear. Its certainly hard to kick against the pricks.
_________________
Derrick Gillespie (First labelled "SDA", THEN, "Pseudo-SDA", and then "Impolite". What label next?)