October 29, 1956
President R. R. Figuhr and
General Conference Committee of Seventh-day Adventists
Takoma Park, Washington, D. C.
Dear Brethren:
The five letters I have written you have called to your mind the beginning of the Judgment of the Living, which according to Sister White and the Bible, begins at the house of God – the church. The information given in the letters represents only a small portion of the evidence that is available to prove the time it begins.
Surely everyone will agree that since God is going to judge the world, it would be necessary for Him to make known the beginning of that judgment, else it would not be legal or just.
Even the courts of the land first notify the individual of his pending trial before they fix his penalty. Is God more unjust than the unjust judges? As Nicodemus says, “Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?” John 7:51.
We all well know that the church cannot tell the world that the living are being judged unless she has a starting time – without which there can be no “Loud Cry” message. The knowledge of the starting time, therefore, is what adds power to the third angel’s message; and as it is proclaimed throughout the world under the ministration of the Holy Spirit it swells to a “Loud Cry,” sounding everywhere. “Come out of her, My people.” Rev. 18:4.
Before the Lord judges the world He must first judge the church (1 Pet. 4:17), Sister White makes this plain in the following statements:
“The church will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary.” – Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 83.
“In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the
privileges and advantages that she has had.” – Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 247. “Our condemnation in the judgment will not result from the
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fact that we have been in error, but from the fact that we have neglected heaven-sent opportunities for learning what is
truth.” – The Desire of Ages, p. 490.
What happens before the blotting out of sins?
“But before this can be accomplished, there must be an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefit of His atonement. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigation – a work of judgment. This work must be performed prior to the coming of Christ to redeem His people; for when He comes, His reward is with Him to give to every man according to his works. Revelation 22:12.” – The Great Controversy, p. 422.
“‘The solemn scenes of the judgment, the great day of atonement, should be kept before the people, and urged upon their consciences with earnestness and power.” – Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 421.
“The announcement, ‘The hour of His judgment is come’ points to the closing work of Christ’s ministration for the salvation of men.” – The Great Controversy, p. 435.
“We need to humble ourselves before the Lord, with fasting and prayer, and to meditate much upon His word, especially upon the scenes of the judgment.” – Ibid., p. 601.
In The Great Controversy, pages 423 and 424, Sister White tells about the disappointment in 1844: how they expected their Lord to come to earth. It was not that their message was wrong, but that they did not understand the event to take place.
It seems incredible, brethren, that God’s people of today would be so unaware of the devil’s devices that he could catch us by this same trick and blind our eyes to the event that is to take place now. No, it is not the devil that has tricked us into believing that the Lord is coming in the clouds before He comes to the temple (the church) to cleanse it before His visible coming. I repeat, this could not be the work of the devil. The Lord has His hand over these prophecies, as He has always done, that His people not proclaim the message of the Judgment of the Living out of season. The Lord will come in due time; but not until after He first examines our cases in the heavenly sanctuary and purifies the church on earth, that He might receive unto Himself a glorious church “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Eph. 5:27.
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So brethren, let us not say, “the Lord delayeth His coming,” but rather, “He has already come to His temple and is now investigating our cases before the Great Judge in heaven.”
“I am often referred to the ten virgins, five of whom were wise and five foolish. This parable has been and will be fulfilled to the very letter, for it has a special application to this time.” – E. G. White, Review and Herald, Mar. 13, 1947, Reprint.
Sister White not only places the parable of the ten virgins in the past, but also in the future.
“What time is here referred to? Not to the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven . . . . No; but to His return from His ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary . . . . This is the time of reckoning with His servants.” – Testimonies, Vol. 2, pp. 190,191.
Also Sister White says that Revelation 14 “will be repeated with distinct utterances.” – Review and Herald, Oct. 13, 1904.
These statements plainly show that there is another coming of the Lord to His temple and whether you believes that now is the time for the fulfillment of these prophecies; nevertheless, you can easily see that they will be fulfilled to the very letter before Jesus comes in the clouds when every eye shall see Him.
Since you have been so busy, brethren, with Autumn Council meetings, I have been careful not to urge these things upon you. But because of the profound importance of this message to the church, I humbly beseech you by the mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ that you grant me a hearing before the Autumn Council before the brethren return to the foreign fields. Since General Conference is composed of our brethren from all over the world, they should have the opportunity to be present at these meetings that their judgment may be exercised.
My request is that you grant me time for five one-hour studies, free from interruption before, or immediately following the close of Fall Council. This is of as serious a consequence as could be possible or it is of no importance at all. Either the church’s destiny is hanging in the balances of the sanctuary, or it is not. This is for you to decide, brethren.
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Please give me a written reply whether for or against, by Wednesday, October 31, 1956. Thank you.
Yours in Christian Love,
Ben L. Roden
1These additional paragraphs were written by Ben Roden on September 15, 1976 to be printed in the booklet version of the Seven Letters to Elder FiguhrP.S. To date (September 15, 1976), no reply to any of the seven letters that were written to Elder Figuhr and the General Conference Committee from September 1956 to February 1957, has been received either from Elder Figuhr or any of his successors or any member of the General Conference.In the past twenty (20) years, since 1956, much light and instruction has been received for God’s remnant church from the mighty Angel of Revelation 18:1. Each subject of enlightenment received is exceedingly vital for the salvation of the church.
“The solemn testimony upon which the destiny of the church hangs has been lightly esteemed, if not entirely disregarded.” – Early Writings, p. 270.
Therefore, the message of the Angel of Revelation 18:1, the antitypical Elijah message, the very last, the Judgment of the Living at the house of God – Seventh-day Adventist – to Elder Pierson and the General Conference at the present time, is a request for seven (7) uninterrupted studies, one (1) hour each, to be given to the entire body of Seventh-day Adventists in session at the next General Conference, which is tentatively planned for April 20-26, 1980, in Dallas, Texas.
Yours for the salvation of God’s people, the Seventh-day Adventist church,
Ben L. Roden
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- 1These additional paragraphs were written by Ben Roden on September 15, 1976 to be printed in the booklet version of the Seven Letters to Elder Figuhr
