Corporate Repentance - Robert J. Wieland

Appendix B
Laodicea Is Not Doomed
Serious efforts have been made to convince
church members to leave the organized Seventhday
Adventist Church, or at least to withdraw their
support and fellowship. The argument is that
Philadelphia, not Laodicea, represents the true
church that will get ready for Christ's coming.
Joseph Bates is cited as a venerable authority for
this view. But this dear pioneer was mistaken in
this, as he was on some other points as well. Ellen
White never lent her endorsement to this idea of
his. Her early testimonies about the Laodicean
message thoroughly contradict his view (see
Testimonies, vol. 1, pages 185-195; Testimonies,
vol. 3, pages 252-255).
The idea that Philadelphia, not Laodicea, is the
translation church conflicts with the general pattern
of the prophetic picture in Revelation. The number
seven indicates that the seven churches symbolize
the true church through succeeding periods of
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