Part 6: Final Thoughts

This is the sixth and final installment of our series responding to the lectures delivered at the North American Division ministerial meeting in June 2022 in Lexington, Kentucky, in which the cluster of teachings known as Last Generation Theology were conspicuously and publicly challenged. This installment will focus on the misrepresentation of the teachings of M.L. Andreasen by one of the lecturers in question, and will offer some final thoughts on the controversy in general.

Again we remind our readers that the lectures in question are referenced in the form of audio recordings, and that each reference to one or the other of the featured lecturers is noted in terms of the minutes and seconds where the statement in question is found in the lecture being cited.

Andreasen Misrepresented

A popular myth among contemporary critics of Last Generation Theology is that this doctrinal construct is primarily the brainchild of three individuals—A.T. Jones, E.J. Waggoner, and M.L. Andreasen [##1|See Roy Adams, The Nature of Christ: Help for a church divided over perfection (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1994), pp. 29-51; Angel Manuel Rodriguez, “Theology of the Last Generation,” Adventist Review, Oct. 10, 2013, p. 42; Gluder Quispe, “A Journey of Grace,” Adventist World (NAD), January 2016, p. 35; Jiri Moskala and John C. Peckham (eds.), God’s Character and the Last Generation (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Assn, 2018), pp. 25-35,190-192; George R. Knight, End-Time Events and the Last Generation: The Explosive 1950s (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Assn, 2018), pp. 23-37.##]. In fact, careful scholars on both sides of the controversy have demonstrated the pervasive presence of this cluster of teachings throughout Seventh-day Adventist history.

The late Herbert Douglass has traced both the roots and the ubiquitous witness of this theology since the beginning of the Advent movement [##2|Herbert E. Douglass, Why Jesus Waits: How the Sanctuary Doctrine Explains the Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1976), pp. 47-49; A Fork in the Road: Questions on Doctrine: The Historic Divide of 1957 (Colwater, MI: Remnant Publications, 2008), p. 19.##]. One contemporary Adventist scholar, in a recent doctoral dissertation, speaks of having discovered “all of the basic components of Andreasen’s final-generation theology expressed by previous Adventist writers” [##3|Paul M. Evans, A Historical-Contextual Analysis of the Final-Generation Theology of M.L. Andreasen (Andrews University: SDA Theological Seminary, 2010), p. 3.##]. The same scholar identifies the total conquest of sin by the Last Generation of Christians as “a nearly universally held view of Adventists throughout their short history” [##4|Evans, A Historical-Contextual Analysis of the Final-Generation Theology of M.L. Andreasen, p. 319.##].

On the other side of the debate, Anglican scholar Geoffrey Paxton—a theological ally of Desmond Ford and Robert Brinsmead during the 1970s—wrote in his book The Shaking of Adventism that “the doctrine of the perfecting of the final generation stands near the heart of Adventist theology” [##5|Geoffrey J. Paxton, The Shaking of Adventism (Wilmington, DE: Zenith Publishing Co, 1977), p. 114.##]. Two more recent scholars—one a former Adventist, the other from an Adventist background but who was never baptized—have noted that “prior to [Edward] Heppenstall, no important Adventist writer denied the possibility of perfection” [##6|Malcolm Bull and Keith Lockhart, Seeking a Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventists and the American Dream (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2007), p. 87.##].

The point here is not to diminish in any way the contribution of Jones, Waggoner, and Andreasen to Adventist thought on this subject; we only wish to affirm the pervasiveness of key features of Last Generation Theology throughout the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and to underscore the fact that these teachings cannot be dismissed as primarily the agenda of persons disgruntled or marginalized, for whatever reason, within the Seventh-day Adventist family.

But a notable feature of one of the lectures in question regarding Last Generation Theology is a blatant, even outrageous distortion of Andreasen’s teachings regarding the saints during the great time of trouble following probation’s close. What follows is a statement by Andreasen as quoted by the lecturer in question [7]:

God removes His Spirit from the earth. . . . God, to make the demonstration complete, does one more thing. He hides Himself. The sanctuary in heaven is closed. The saints cry to God day and night for deliverance, but He appears not to hear. . . . They must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor [##8|M.L. Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service (second edition) (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 2006), pp. 317-318.##].

Now let’s look at the above statement as Andreasen actually wrote it, without the ellipses and especially with the inclusion of the paragraph which immediately follows the above statement:

God removes His Spirit from the earth. Satan will have a greater measure of control than he has ever had before. True, he may not kill God’s people, but that seems to be the only limitation. And he uses every permission he has. He knows what is at stake. It is now or never.

God, to make the demonstration complete, does one more thing. He hides Himself. The sanctuary in heaven is closed. The saints cry to God day and night for deliverance, but He appears not to hear. God’s chosen ones are passing through Gethsemane. They are having a little taste of Christ’s experience those three hours on the cross. Seemingly they must fight their battles alone. They must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor.

But though Christ has finished His intercession, the saints are still the object of God’s love and care. Holy angels watch over them. God provides them shelter from their enemies; He provides them with food, shields them from destruction, and supplies grace and power for holy living. (See Psalm 91.) Yet they are still in the world, still tempted, afflicted, tormented [##9|Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service, pp. 317-318.##].

To be sure, the statement that God “hides Himself” [##10|Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service, p. 317.##] might have been better worded, but quite obviously, Andreasen is not saying that the Last Generation saints are standing on their own, without God’s help, during the time specified. Rather, he is saying that God “appears not to hear” their cries for help [##11|Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service, p. 318 (italics supplied).##], that “seemingly they must fight their battles alone” [##12|Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service, p. 318 (italics supplied).##]. But in reality, Andreasen says, “the saints are still the object of God’s love and care” [##13|Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service, p. 318.##], that God still protects them and “supplies grace and power for holy living” [##14|Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service, p. 318.##]. In no way can one fairly represent Andreasen as saying God’s people at this time are standing and overcoming in their own strength.

The above comparison between the lecturer’s representation of Andreasen’s teaching regarding the Last Generation saints and their source of power after the close of probation, and Andreasen’s own statement in context, should be sufficient for the reader to determine whether or not the lecturer in question has accurately portrayed Andreasen’s position.

Final Thoughts

Unlike other contemporary critics of Last Generation Theology, who openly dispute the doctrinal authority of Ellen White’s writings [##15|Knight, End-Time Events and the Last Generation, p. 105.##] and even that of the Bible [##16|Reinder Bruinsma, In All Humility: Saying No to Last Generation Theology (Westlake Village, CA: Oak & Acorn Publishing, 2018), pp. 10,11,73,74,104,110,112,115,168.##], the lecturers in the series under review profess to hold both Scripture and the writings of Ellen White as theologically authoritative. It is therefore incumbent upon their hearers and readers to compare the use of the inspired writings in these lectures with the immediate context and larger consensus of those writings.

Those who have followed the present series of articles can compare the use of the inspired text in the referenced lectures with what the text actually says. All of us, whatever our level of formal training, must place our convictions and opinions under the judgment of the inspired consensus. On that basis, the present writer believes the evidence presented in this series of articles finds the case against Last Generation Theology by the lectures in question to be fundamentally and woefully wanting.

The recent and continuing attacks in certain circles against Last Generation Theology have, in one decisive way, proved a great blessing to the church—by bringing this cluster of issues out of the shadows and laying them before our people. Many will remember that it wasn’t so long ago that public consideration of these issues was deliberately, at times even severely, discouraged. No longer. The inspired evidence presented by both camps can thus be carefully examined by inquiring and thoughtful minds, and the inspired consensus thus discovered. Like the Bereans of old, it is incumbent upon all to “search the Scriptures daily” to see whether what we hear and read is so (Acts 17:11). Let us also search the writings of God’s modern prophet, who has admonished us as follows:

Men may get up scheme after scheme, and the enemy will see 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 [##17|Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 3, pp. 83-84.##].

REFERENCES

1. See Roy Adams, The Nature of Christ: Help for a church divided over perfection (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1994), pp. 29-51; Angel Manuel Rodriguez, “Theology of the Last Generation,” Adventist Review, Oct. 10, 2013, p. 42; Gluder Quispe, “A Journey of Grace,” Adventist World (NAD), January 2016, p. 35; Jiri Moskala and John C. Peckham (eds.), God’s Character and the Last Generation, (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Assn, 2018), pp. 25-35,190-192; George R. Knight, End-Time Events and the Last Generation: The Explosive 1950s), pp. 23-37.

2. Herbert E. Douglass, Why Jesus Waits: How the Sanctuary Doctrine Explains the Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1976), pp. 47-49; A Fork in the Road: Questions on Doctrine: The Historic Divide of 1957 (Coldwater, MI: Remnant Publications, 2008), p. 19.

3. Paul M. Evans, A Historical-Contextual Analysis of the Final-Generation Theology of M.L. Andreasen (Andrews University: SDA Theological Seminary, 2010), p. 3. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2996&context=dissertations

4. Ibid, p. 319.

5. Geoffrey J. Paxton, The Shaking of Adventism (Wilmington, DE: Zenith Publishing Co, 1977), p. 114.

6. Malcolm Bull and Keith Lockhart, Seeking a Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventists and the American Dream (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2007), p. 87.

7. Jiri Moskala, “God’s Character and the Last Generation—2,” 6:44. http://www.lastgenerationforchrist.org/articles

8. M.L. Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service (second edition) (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 2006), pp. 317-318.

9. Ibid, pp. 317-318.

10. Ibid, p. 317.

11. Ibid, p. 318 (italics supplied).

12. Ibid (italics supplied).

13. Ibid.

14. Ibid.

15. Knight, End-Time Events and the Last Generation, p. 105.

16. Reinder Bruinsma, In All Humility: Saying No to Last Generation Theology (Westlake Village, CA: Oak & Acorn Publishing, 2018), pp. 10,11,73,74,104,110,112,115,168.

17. Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 3, pp. 83-84.

Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan