A "pharisee and the son of a pharisee", my father served the denomination faithfully without question for sixty years.  My great-grandfather was a founder of the Oklahoma conference, a missionary to the Indians of the Oklahoma territory.  I was a pastor for 13 years.

If this testimony were to be expanded into a book -- it would be titled "Saints in Purgatory."  I am not bitter about my experience.
I have many friends who are still corporate adventists; I am not
one of those who won't go near an SDA church.  I attend here and there now and then.  If I were to compare myself to a minion of a parliamentary style of government, I would characterize myself as a member of "the loyal opposition".  The doctrine of the Investigative Judgment, the current sacred cow of the organization, sometimes referred to as the "corporate church", is unbiblical.  It was conceived by one Hiram Edson, who had a vision while crossing a cornfield.  Later subscribed to by the 'little flock', it was an excellent cop-out to explain the time-setting errors of the Millerite movement.

Ellen Harmon, a fourth-grade dropout, to whom her future husband James White referred to as "that deformed little thing", was at best suggestible.  She bought the IJ deception, as did many others.  It has become the keystone of the theology of the corporate church to the extent that the whole structure would fall if it were removed.   My Bible says "he that believeth is not judged" Jno 3:18; Jno 5:24, 45.   The saverse says that unbelievers are judged already.  THIS IS STRIKE ONE.

Methodists are basically Calvinists.  As such, no one should be surprised at Ellen's early espousal of the doctrine of the 'shut door'.  My Bible says "whosoever believeth in Him shall be saved."  THIS IS STRIKE TWO.

Back to my point about purgatory . . .  If salvation is conditional, if it is not complete until Michael stands up, receives His kingdom, and separates the sheep from the goats, then SDAs do, in fact, live in purgatory.  They live in limbo, with no assurance of salvation.  How many sermons have I heard in my time about the IJ -- "the judgment began in 1844; if the angels started with the "A"s how soon will they get to you?"  My name start with a "C".  I was born 80 years after the judgment allegedly started.  Not good news.  Ellen White made the above statement in print.  My father preached it many times.  I have heard it word for word from many others.

My Bible says "there is now therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus."  Rom. 8:1.  The question is moot.  My Bible says Jesus Christ sat down at the right hand of the Father on the Resurrection day.  I can't find anything about veils or separate apartments in heaven.  When the unseen hand rent the temple veil from top to bottom, that part of God's plan was over, forever.  The covenant of ordinances GRAVEN IN STONES [there was only one such document; in John 3:45 Jesus says 'Don't think I will accuse you. Moses, whom you trust, did accuse you . . .'] was nailed to His cross.

"Sat down" in biblical parlance means to take office, be invested, be equal to -- my Bible doesn't say anything about Jesus Christ standing before the veil for 2000 years.  We live under a new covenant, based on better promises.  Yes, if you will, we are saved by works . . .  His, not ours.  He "sat down".  The Levite priest never sat down.  It was part of his duty to stand and keep moving. 

Ellen describes the alleged scene in heaven, 'a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, with the breastplate . . .'  What's wrong with this picture?  Is Jesus Christ a Levite?  No.  He was born the Son of David.  He is a PPriest forever after the orde of Melchisidek.  I wonder why The Prophet didn't know that?   STRIKE THREE!  Historic Adventism is OUT!

==

With that exposition of my state of mind, let me go to square one of my life's experience.  No, friend, I'm not going to "tell my life story."  Hang on.  Keep reading . . .

I started my education in the White Memorial church school in Los Angeles in 1931.   I had good teachers and bad.  They were all "sincere."  I believe that was the only credential required in those days.  [When I went to college every effort was expended to prevent church school teachers from qualifying for a credential.  They were "worldly."  And, if they had a credential, they wouldn’t work for church school pay.  It took me more than two years later on to qualify.]  I never spent a day in a public school until I became principal of one in 1957.  This is not the time nor place to recount my baptism by fire at the hands of these 'sincere' people.  Many of my teachers were true saints.  You have to be one or the other to survive SDA education.  I experienced saintly influences, merely 'sincere' influences, incompetence, perversion, deception, conspiracy, and the company of numerous sons of Belial, both teachers and students, on the way.  I emerged from the other end of the conveyor belt in 1945.

I was an excellent clone.  I was completely brainwashed.  I believed everything I was taught.  Isn't that what we're supposed to do?

I became a pastor.  In 1948 I was ordained In 1950 I was asked to be Conference Evangelist.  After two months preparing for this post, I was diverted to be pastor of another conference.  I was elected to the conference committee.  I was pastor of the headquarters church. I always raised my Ingathering, I baptized a respectable number of people every year, and I believed in Ellen White.  I even preached a sermon in her defense at a Camp Meeting in 1951.

One day  I made the ghastly mistake of voting, in the conference committee, against a pet project of the Union Conference President who was meeting with us.

Like Lucifer, I was cast, like lightning, from heaven.  While on vacation in 1952, I was replaced.  No one told me.  I came home to find someone else in my pulpit. I was offered no alternative.  I did make a comeback from 1954-56, but was constantly dogged by innuendo and false accusations by associates of said brother.  In disgust over with this no-win situation, and partly because I couldn't bear the thought of another bogus Ingathering campaign, I voluntarily went on extended leave in 1956.

I moved back west.  I had a few friends there.  I was asked to speak in this church and that.  One Week of Prayer, when I was invited to read the mandatory document from the Review and Herald.

The Conference President showed up and pre-empted me.  All I was going to do was read from the Review.

I never have understood . . .

About that time I discovered QOD and the boot-licking activities of Brethren Froom and Anderson in seeking the favor of Drs. Barnhouse and Martin.  That was the first crack in my SDA armor.  I could not and cannot accept thedoctrine of the Immaculate Conception.  If I were going to do that I'd get it first hand and convert to Roman Catholicism.

I started to study.  I'm not a great scholar, but am reasonably quick to discern truth from error.

Let me back up here for a moment.  I was baptized, by my father, when I was 11.   I expected to be changed -- not that I wasn't a good kid.  I was an exceptionally good kid.  I was all for law and order, I loved classical music, I never created a disturbance . . . no rebel.  But I knew that inside I wasn't so great, and somehow got the idea that baptism would change me.  It didn't.  My behavior was still circumspect, but I didn't understand what was supposed to happen at baptism.  I didn't understand anything but conformity, salvation by works.  I asked questions, but no one either could or would answer.  The SDA church did understand the simple doctrine of salvation well enough to explain it to a fifth-grader!

I had listened to sermons from babyhood.  My mother used to take me up in the projection booth they built for the stereopticon in the Odd Fellows Hall in 1926.  I saw pictures of beasts and charts of 2300 days put on the screen . . .  I know I sound like I'm making fun.  I'm not.  They were sincere to a fault.  By the time I was eight years old, I was running the projector.

Nobody knew what else to do.  When I baptized my quota as a minister, I did it the same way.  I still did not comprehend John 3.

The only thing I ever heard about salvation, was that it could be had by keeping the commandments, paying tithe [to the proper place], not reading newspapers or listening to the radio on Sabbath, and eating and dressing according to Ellen White . . .

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I became a public school teacher.  I believed,but kept it to myself.  I witnessed when I had a chance.  I still had this idea that if I didn't shape up the Lord would be mad at me and leave me out of His book.  Sound silly?  That's what I had been taught.   

All this time my friends were reading Walter Rea and ridiculing EGW; a cousin defected to Mormonism and divorced his wife and married a Mormon girl and went to BYU for his PhD.  I thought that a strange thing to do in protest against Ellen White.  I still believed in Ellen White.

In 1969, out of a clear blue sky, no warning, I got a registered letter from the LaSierra Church informing me I had been disfellowshipped for "not contributing to the building fund."  That was the end of that. 

Many years later, I went to a meeting of the Historical Adventists.  I heard a soul-wrenching jeremiad on confessing sin, getting rid of sin [even if you weren't aware of sinning], standing in the sight of a perfect God during the time of trouble without an intercessor, "will they come to your name TONIGHT?"

Between meetings I was sitting in the back row by myself, pondering why this didn't seem to make sense.  I can't do all this purifying and sanctifying on my own?   Isn't Christ supposed to do this?  In other words, did God require me to wash the dishes myself before putting them into the dishwasher?  Do I have to pass a heavenly SAT test in order to qualify for salvation?

All these un-Adventist thoughts were swirling through my head when a voice, not audibly, but in my head, clearly said "You're on the right track".  There have been two or three other direct divine interventions since then.  Suffice it to say, it never happened to me until I was ready to say "goodbye" to Adventism.

Here I was, 69 years old, former pastor,in church, trying to understand, and the Lord speaks to me saying in effect "don't listen to them, use your head and read your Bible."

I began to listen, and the Spirit began to show me the way.  I realized that there was prophecy still to be fulfilled.

I realized Daniel's little book was about to be opened.  I realized that while no man knows the day nor the hour of the second coming, that a time period of 1335 days would precede it.  I realized that when Jesus said "it is finished" it was.  I realized that the only way to salvation was not through any human agency, but through a daily relationship with Jesus Christ, daily submission to His will, daily guidance by His Holy Spirit.

Yes, I'm an adventist [small "a"].  I keep the seventh-day, but devoid of pharasaical restrictions.  It isn't required any more, but it does bring a blessing.  God saves people -- individuals, like you and me -- not churches.  And I walk with Him daily and am guided by His Spirit.

Sometimes I'm asked to sing.  I do this.  I feel that sacred music is often far more meaningful than the sermons that are preached.  Perhaps that is because so many were written by non-adventists.

I believe the Bible means exactly what it says, not what men say it means.

Before, while I was afraid to say it out loud, I used to hope the Lord wouldn't come in my day.  I was afraid of Him.

Now I'm homesick for heaven . . .  Are you coming with me?

Visit my web page, Seekers for Truth

Paul Cales