The Teachings of Hyveth Williams

In late summer 1996 while pastoring a church in Boston, consideration was given to extending a call for her to pastor the Loma Linda Hill Church. The call was confirmed when she arrived and gave a sample sermon or two. There was no doubt that she could really talk. The congregation loved it—and she became their new pastor.

But, after hearing what she began teaching, those who did not like what she had to say transferred out rather quickly.

The community of Loma Linda, California, has two churches: the immense Loma Linda University Church and the medium-size Loma Linda Hill Church. Set on a knoll next to the campus, the Hill Church is the original church in the area. Back in the 1960s, while working on the Great Controversy tabloid, the present writer attended both churches on different Sabbaths.

For many years, the Hill Church was the more conservative of the two. You may recall that Ralph Larson was its senior pastor back in the early 1980s and, from its pulpit, openly opposed the errors of Desmond Ford. But after Larson’s departure, liberalism began creeping in.

To that quiet church, Hyveth has arrived and, with the blessing of the members, has brought a different spirit to the congregation.

In this present study, we will focus on a few of the many unusual teachings which she vigorously proclaims. Since most any type of belief system is acceptable to the two conference offices in southern California (as long as nothing negative is said about the organization), Hyveth is having a great time sharing her messages near and far.

In August 1996, the Woman’s Retreat of South New Zealand invited Hyveth to speak at a series of meetings. Hyveth had just finished delivering a few sample sermons at the Hill Church and had been accepted as their new pastor, when she was invited to present that series in New Zealand.

So the teachings we will discuss below are not new to Hyveth. In mid-1996, at the time of her arrival in Loma Linda, she was already preaching them in earnest.

I am sure that, as a result, Loma Linda will never be the same again. Prior to her arrival it was one of our most liberal communities, but she has brought to it a variety of peculiar new concepts.

The Woman’s Retreat meetings were held in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Sabbath and Sunday, August 17 and 18, 1996. During that time, Hyveth gave 5 sermons. The entire series was taped by the Woman’s Retreat organization and made available to everyone who wanted them.

So we do not have here something done in secret. Hyveth is not the type to do things quietly. She is very open and very public about her views.

One faithful brother down under obtained a copy of those tapes, and we are indebted to him for his concern.

On the first tape, we are told that Hyveth came "with the blessings of the General Conference president, Elder Robert Folkenberg." Most of the first tape consisted of a talk, entitled "A Woman by God’s Design," given by Rose Otis. The remainder of the tapes (tapes 2 to 5) consists of Hyveth’s remarkable sermons. When you read what is to follow, you will understand why her messages tend to be unforgettable. Her teachings bear little resemblance to Adventism—historic or modern!

REMARKABLE CONCEPTS

• Hyveth says that Mary Magdalene was violated as a child, and that was why it took a long time for Christ to cast the devils out of her.

• She says that Jesus used to be called Barabbas. That was His other name.

• She says that God is a Mother-Father God; God, the Mother, and God, the Father.

• She says that Christ comes in the form of the Holy Spirit. Later in the series, she says that Emmanuel is the Holy Spirit.

• She mentions that it is all right to wear jewelry.

MILLIONS HAVE WALKED ON WATER

According to Hyveth, the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River on top of the water! The title of that particular address was "Get Out of the Boat and Walk!"

THE GOOD LAODICEANS

Hyveth mentions that the word, Laodicea, means "a righteous people," and so God has complimented us in giving us that name. Her teaching is that Laodiceanism is not a condition to be repented of. Laodiceans are good people, just as they are. God counts them as righteous.

This, of course, is standard new theology; we are saved in our sins.

PENTECOSTAL EXHIBITIONS

Hyveth explains that, when one receives the righteousness of God from the Holy Spirit, he "goes boogying from one end of the stage to the other."

From the way she preaches, one would hardly expect that she ever attended an Adventist school or read an Adventist book.

"Now here’s the gospel. He made us who were sinners to be so reconciled with God that we become the righteousness of God in Christ. That is awesome to me. That is awesome.

"I once read a statement that said, ‘When the will of man cooperates fully with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent’ [Christ’s Object Lessons, 333]. Can you believe that? We are scared of it, you know."

Hyveth then explains the meaning of that quotation:

"I remember one time I preached at a camp meeting, and I preached about the Holy Spirit. And this particular lady—and people were getting on fire, and people were singing with power, and people were reading scriptures with power, and this lady came up to me, when we had a break and she said ‘I want you to stop preaching about the Holy Spirit.’ She said, ‘I don’t want you to say another thing about the Holy Spirit because I don’t know what He’s going to ask me to do, and I’ve been a quiet, conservative lady all my life.’

"See, the Spirit was about to break her chains and she was going to go boogying from one end of the stage to the other. And she was scared of it! Freedom scares us!"

The Spirit of Prophecy speaks of freedom in Christ as being the power of His grace, enabling us to obey the law of God. But Hyveth only sees in such freedom an opportunity for Pentecostal wildness. It is "boogying" across the "stage"; that is, showing off your new-found powers before others.

"The things you have described . . the Lord has shown me would take place just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit."—Revival and Beyond, 50 (Maranatha, 234).

After listening to Hyveth for a time, one gets the eerie feeling that she makes up theology as she goes along. Her concepts seem so utterly strange.

FORGET ABOUT SUNDAY LAWS

She mentions that the greatest sign of our times, by which we can know that Jesus is soon to return,—is "body piercing."

Regarding important events in our time, Sunday laws, she says, are irrelevant. They have no meaning for us today. Instead, they only were something the founders of our church were concerned about. So, according to Hyveth, you can forget about Sunday laws.

In reality, enactment of the National Sunday Law in America will be the event which will thrust the world into final events. But Hyveth has thrown all that out.

ABOUT REVELATION

Hyveth introduces her remarks, on the book of Revelation, with a special statement. She prepares her audience for what she is about to tell them with the words, "Forget everything you knew about the symbols [of Revelation]."

"Turn with me to Revelation chapter 13. This is a familiar passage, Revelation chapter 13. And we normally look at it from a prophetic point of view, and, and we miss the opportunity to see the salvation that God has placed there.

"Remember that Revelation is an apocalyptic book—I’m lucky I pronounced it correctly the first time round. But, it’s a book of symbols. And the symbols have meaning. And we have to understand the symbols in order to get the meaning. And what we have done throughout Christian history is that we’ve taken the symbols and made them to fit according to what we want to say and how we want to say it, rather than what God has to say and how He wants to say it.

"So this morning we’re going to go back to these symbols; forget everything you knew about the symbols, and listen anew."

We are to forget everything we ever believed about Revelation and listen to her. Yet one would think she was a Jesuit agent, the way she systematically defends the pope and the Catholic Church!

THE 666 DOES NOT REFER TO THE POPE

First, according to Hyveth, the numerals 666 do not refer to the pope:

"A lot of people say that 666 means all kinds of things, you know, it means the pope, it means Ellen White, it means Ronald Reagan. Anybody’s name that’s letters can number 666, but it means none of those things."

Hyveth shrewdly lists several names which we would all reject as applying to the 666,—and includes the pope in the list.

Every Jesuit knows that the best way to overthrow the faith of Seventh-day Adventists is to teach them that their prophetic beliefs are wrong and that the Spirit of Prophecy does not mean what it says. We find inferences to both in Hyveth’s messages.

THE 666 REFERS TO EVERYBODY

She said to "forget everything you knew about the symbols and listen anew." We are learning why she said that. According to Hyveth, the 666 refers not to the pope, but to everyone!

"The number six represents man. Human beings were created on the sixth day. So the number six represents human beings. And when human beings usurp the role of God, and, take the place of God, we present ourselves as the Trinity. So we write our names, like the Trinity three times. So that’s all that is, simple isn’t it? it’s just saying that a human being is taking the role of God, is taking the place of God.

"So 666 simply means anybody. I can be 666 if I come here, and try to steal your heart from God. Then I’m antichrist, I’m against Christ. That’s all it is, it’s as simple as that. So anybody, regardless of which denomination or affiliation, that takes the place of God in the lives of human beings is antichrist, and has written their names, six, six, six. That’s it."

Such shallow theology is astounding. We might expect this from a Pentecostal or an Anglican; definitely from a Catholic priest,—but not from an Adventist church member and not from an Adventist preacher! Hyveth Williams may have come "with the blessing of Elder Robert Folkenberg," but she is bringing a curse to anyone who accepts her teachings.

According to Hyveth, the 666 refers to the antichrist and can apply to anyone in the world—but not to the pope of Rome! He claims to be god on earth, and yet Hyveth is careful to instruct the congregation that he was one person the number could not refer to.

The most remarkable thing about this whole matter is not Hyveth’s non-Adventist teachings, but that she is permitted to remain in the Seventh-day Adventist ministry while preaching this as openly and widely as possible! Anything goes in Adventism now, as long as nothing negative is spoken about the organization.

The Bible says the 666 is "the number of a man"; but, like the other feminists, Hyveth here makes both sexes "a man." The 666 applies to everyone. This is a philosophical inconsistency.

IS A SNAKEBITE

Two key points in Revelation are the identification of the antichrist and the mark of the beast. Having applied the antichrist label to everyone except the pope, Hyveth next proceeds to place the mark on all mankind.

"The word here for ‘mark’ comes from a;—a Hebrew word, which originally meant ‘snake bite.’ "

Hyveth, where did you go to school? certainly not in an Adventist school (or maybe you did!) The book of Revelation was written in Greek, not Hebrew. The Greek word, charagma, means scratch, etching, mark, or a slavery stamp mark. It does not mean snakebite!

But, assuming that Hyveth looked for "mark" in a Hebrew lexicon instead of a New Testament Greek lexicon, on checking this we find that not one of the several Hebrew words for mark means snakebite. It appears that Hyveth just dreams up her theology. Whatever seems fanciful must be true.

THE MARK OF THE BEAST AT BIRTH

Building on her theory, she continues:

"The original word for ‘mark,’ originally meant ‘snake bite’ and I’m going to show you where it was first used in the Bible in a minute. But listen to this, the serpent, the dragon, the devil; he caused all—the rich, the small and the great, the rich and the poor and the free man and the slave—to be bitten, to be given that snake bite. The Bible tells us that we’re all born in sin from Adam and Eve fell, all human beings have been born in sin and shaped in iniquity, because we’ve all been given that snake bite, great and small, rich and poor, it doesn’t matter who you are, we have that snake bite."

So we are told that everyone born into this world was born with the mark of the beast already on him!

And, from what Hyveth says, this mark of the beast is none other than the Catholic doctrine of Original Sin, invented by "Saint" Augustine, the revered seventh-century Catholic priest who admittedly could not control himself anymore than Clinton can. In spite of his admitted ongoing lust and adulteries, Augustine was desperate to find a way to get himself to heaven—so he invented Original Sin, the concept that no one can resist sin.

So we are told that we were given the mark of the beast at birth with a snakebite. Does that sound like historic Adventism? If Hyveth is not a Jesuit, she surely preaches like one.

Hyveth does not explain what happens to babies, born with this "snakebite" of sin, which die before accepting Christ. Are they lost? After all, this is supposed to be the mark of the beast given them at birth—and the Bible says all who have the mark will perish in hellfire (Revelation 14:11).

Now we can understand why, before she started explaining Revelation, Hyveth was careful to tell the audience, "Forget everything you ever know about the symbols and learn anew!"

"And when we have that snake bite it pours a venom inside of our bodies that makes us hate God. There has never been anyone born, after Adam and Eve, who were lovers of God. We naturally hate God. It is contradiction to our nature to love God. That is why there is this great act of reconciliation."

How many little children did you ever meet who hated God? They may be selfish at times, but I have never met any which had a settled hatred for anyone.

"And;—and it says that all of them had this mark, and;—and they had it in their minds. And it influenced what they did. It influenced what they did to the point where those who;—who no longer had the mark because of the gift of Jesus Christ have difficulty living with those who do. It influences the way we do our economics. It says that those who;—who have the mark;—he provided that no one who;—who had, and he;—and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell except those who have the mark. And when we have the bite of the snake, before the transforming work of Jesus Christ, it influences how we buy and sell. We do [not do] things correctly. We don’t mind fudging a little bit. We don’t mind stealing a little bit. We don’t mind lying a little bit. But when that venom is stopped, we cease to do these things."

There are such strange quirks of thinking here. The Bible says we should avoid receiving the mark, but Hyveth teaches that everyone began life with it. According to Hyveth, all those who have gained the victory over the beast by refusing to accept the mark—already had it.

She is also backward on the buy-sell matter:

"And when we have the bite of the snake, before the transforming work of Jesus Christ, it influences how we buy and sell."

But, according to Revelation, no one can buy or sell unless they have the mark.

On one of these seven tapes, Hyveth mentioned the fact that many in her audience were non-Adventists.

"We Adventists—sorry, those of you who are not Seventh-day Adventists; just bear with me a minute."

Hyveth Williams is a very popular speaker, especially in our black churches. What kind of message is she giving our people as she travels around preaching at our retreats and camp meetings? What is she teaching to non-Adventists in attendance?

Why is she paid from the sacred tithe to carry on this work of changing Adventists into non-Adventists?

Why is it that, as long as a church worker does not reprove the wrongdoing of leadership, a pastor or administrator in our church can do most anything and teach most anything he wishes?

MORE ERRORS

Here are several other peculiar concepts which Hyveth presented at about this same point in her lecture series:

• "The Holy Spirit will break your chains and have yo’ be-hopping in the church."

• The two-horned beast of Revelation 13 is not the United States; it is Satan.

• The "earth" in Revelation 13 does not mean a place with few people, but those who follow Satan.

THE SABBATH IS NOT THE SEAL

Hyveth next turns her attention to the Bible Sabbath. Hopeful that she has successfully changed the truth about the mark, the 666, the antichrist, the buy-sell decree, the two-horned beast, and the earth into a lie, she next deals with the Sabbath and the seal.

"And a lot of people have been teaching that the Sabbath is the seal of God—and not even our founder Ellen White said so."

Are these misconceptions on her part or outright lies? Surely, somewhere in her life, Hyveth learned the truth about this.

"The Sabbath of the fourth commandment is the seal of the living God."—Signs of the Times, November 1, 1899.

"This Sabbath God has enjoined, and those who claim to be commandment keepers, who believe that they are now under the proclamation of the third angel’s message, will see the important part the Sabbath of the fourth commandment holds in that message. It is the seal of the living God."—Selected Messages, Vol. 3, 423.

Hyveth denies that the Bible Sabbath is the special point on which the saints will be sealed in the final crisis of the Sunday Law.

THE SEAL IS THE CROSS

What then does she consider the seal to be?

"So that, the sealing of God’s people by the Holy Spirit, is the cross of Jesus Christ. When the;—when the Holy Spirit seals us, He imprints on our place of decision the cross of Jesus Christ. That’s what the sealing of the Holy Spirit is."

So the seal of God is said to be a mark, or sign, of the cross. The Jesuits would love an interpretation like that! As usual, Hyveth proves nothing by the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy. It is to be accepted as truth because she says so.

What does the Catholic Church do with the cross?

"Papists place crosses upon their churches, upon their altars, and upon their garments. Everywhere is seen the insignia of the cross. Everywhere it is outwardly honored and exalted. But the teachings of Christ are buried beneath a mass of senseless traditions, false interpretations, and rigorous exactions.

"The Saviour’s words concerning the bigoted Jews, apply with still greater force to the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church: ‘They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.’ Matthew 23:4. Conscientious souls are kept in constant terror fearing the wrath of an offended God, while many of the dignitaries of the church are living in luxury and sensual pleasure."—Great Controversy, 568.

What is the truth about the sealing?

"The seal given in the forehead is God, New Jerusalem. ‘I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God.’ Revelation 3:12."—Manuscript Releases, Vol. 15, 225.

"Just as soon as the people of God are sealed in their foreheads—it is not any seal or mark that can be seen, but a settling into the truth, both intellectually and spiritually, so they cannot be moved—just as soon as God’s people are sealed and prepared for the shaking, it will come."—S.D.A. Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 1161.

In order to help strengthen her point that the seal is the sign of the cross, and not the Bible Sabbath and the change of character accompanying it,—Hyveth claims that, when the children of Israel were about to leave the land of Egypt, they made the sign of the cross on their houses—with a marking on them. That apparently sealed the homes.

IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN

Hyveth then turns her attention to the Garden of Eden.

"And I just wanted to share with you what that sword is, because;—umm, most of Christianity has taught that this sword is something that’s used to keep human beings out of the garden. And it’s—it’s;—we;—we picture God like He’s this incredible, horrible, ancient of days, with this huge sword and if you come near He’s going to slaughter you with it.

"But, we have to remember that—umm, when Moses wrote this, some of the words and the descriptive language we have today, He didn’t have then. And, when;—when the Spirit showed him what was at the garden; what he saw, was this incredible, blazing shape. And he didn’t have the word as we know as the cross. He didn’t even have the word ‘T-A-U.’ He, so he described it to the best of his ability. And what does the shape look like to him?

"The;—the;—the shape of this thing—it looked like a sword, doesn’t it with the handle and the;— you know. So when he’s describing it, he’s telling us in his language. But do you know what Moses saw at the gate? He saw the cross of Jesus Christ, at the gate, of the garden of Eden."

Hyveth discards the idea that it could be a sword with the comment that "most of Christianity" has taught that it is a sword which guards the way. But God placed the sword there, angels called it a sword, and Ellen White confirmed it:

God placed the sword there:

God places an angel with a flaming sword: "Thus sin was brought into the world. God closed against the disobedient pair the gates of Paradise, placing an angel with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life. Man must not now eat of the fruit of the life-giving tree; for sin must not be immortalized. One star of hope illuminated the dark and dismal future. God said to the serpent, ‘I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.’ Thus was given the promise of the Redeemer."—Signs of the Times October 10, 1900.

Angels called it a sword:

"Then I was pointed to Adam and Eve in Eden. They partook of the forbidden tree, and then the flaming sword was placed around the tree of life, and they were driven from the Garden, lest they should partake of the tree of life, and be immortal sinners. The tree of life was to perpetuate immortality. I heard an angel ask, ‘Who of the family of Adam have passed that flaming sword, and have partaken of the tree of life?’ I heard another angel answer, ‘Not one of the family of Adam have passed that flaming sword, and partaken of that tree; therefore there is not an immortal sinner. The soul that sinneth it shall die an everlasting death; a death that will last for ever, there will be no hope of a resurrection; and then the wrath of God will be appeased."—A Sketch of the Christian Experience and Views of Ellen G. White, 32.

The Spirit of Prophecy called it a sword:

"Transgression of God’s requirements excluded Adam from the Garden of Eden. A flaming sword was placed around the tree of life, lest man should put forth his hand and partake of it, immortalizing sin. Obedience to all the commandments of God was the condition of eating of the tree of life. Adam fell by disobedience, forfeiting by sin all right to use either the life-giving fruit of the tree in the midst of the Garden, or its leaves, which are for the healing of the nations."—S.D.A. Bible Commentary Vol. 1, 1086.

Hyveth says that Moses wrote the word, "sword," because he did not know the word, "cross." If we accept the theory that the Inspired writers wrote one word for another—which we imagine we can recreate—all Scriptural study will become a chaos.

Ellen White, who was equally inspired with Moses, wrote the word, "sword,"—and she knew both words when describing that event in the Garden of Eden.

YE ARE GODS

As if all this is not enough, Hyveth next presents a more subtle heresy, one which causes us to pull back in astonishment: We are all gods!

Unbelievable, you say? But it is Hyveth who is speaking.

As she has done earlier, Hyveth uses a strange home-spun logic to prove her point:

"Now, when a cat has a baby, what is that baby called? A kitten, And why is it called a kitten? Because it’s a little cat. When a dog has a baby, what is it called? (audience ‘puppy’) And why is it called a puppy? (audience, ‘because it’s a dog’). And when I have a baby, what is it called? A baby, a human, why is it called a baby?

"So when God has a baby, what is that baby called? (noise in audience, not clear)—with a little g. Are you with me yet?

"Now, I want you to get this concept and hold onto it. Don’t let it go, don’t be afraid of it. This isn’t New Age, you can’t do anything on your own. In fact, if you’re a little g, you have a greater responsibility than anybody else, because you ought to live like your Father. You ought to look like your Father. You ought to talk like your Father. You ought to walk like your Father.

"So, so, so hear me out. And I want you to get this very closely, so when it says here, in Romans, that you’re sons and daughters of God, that you’re children of God, because the seed, Christ, was dropped in us, and this new creature, this holy thing, has become a little g-o-d. Are you with me?

"So don’t go home any more and live like a little d-o-g."

Hyveth tries to be very subtle in presenting this major error. But she is saying this: As a cat gives birth to little cats, so God gave birth to little gods—which is us. She concludes: Live like gods, not like dogs.

Hyveth’s logic is based on such superficial things, such as spelling "god" backward, yet the magnitude of her heresy is not lessened thereby.

Note that she says that, as little gods, we have become a "holy thing" as Christ was at His birth:

"Because the seed, Christ, was dropped in us, and this new creature, this holy thing, has become a little g-o-d."

In the Garden of Eden, Satan clearly spoke, what we refer to as, the first two lies: "Ye shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4) and "Ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). Hyveth is now voicing the second of these lies.

Although, through the grace of Christ, we can be adopted as the sons and daughters of God,—that does not make us God or god!

Notice that Hyveth’s claim is based on the error that God gave birth to us, the way a cat gives birth to kittens. That is not true. God created us; He did not give birth to us. The same God who created us also created robins and whales. But that does not make them gods.

Hyveth builds her theology in this manner:

First, discard the direct and obvious teachings of Scripture.

Second, dream up a new idea.

Third, support it with logic and twist Scripture.

Fourth, in the process deny other Scriptural facts.

Fifth, tell the people to ignore everything they have ever been taught—and accept this new absolute truth. On what basis? For no reason other than that Hyveth has enthusiastically presented it.

Hyveth is well aware of the seriousness of her heresy, for she fears to come right out and say that we are gods. Most of the time, she only spells it out or uses an initial letter. We thus see a deceptive factor here. Hyveth realizes the magnitude of the error, and so is furtively trying to get the idea across without actually coming out and saying it. But her message is clear. "Ye shall be as God."

(For those who wish to dig deeper into this: The word, "god," in both the Hebrew and Greek, can also refer to "magistrate." Elohim has this meaning in Exodus 7:1 where, by following the directions of God, Moses was to become as a magistrate to Pharaoh; that is, actually ruling over him. Theos has this meaning in John 10:34, where Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders, who held such religious power over the minds of the people. In an attempt to prove her point, Hyveth quotes John 10:34.)

LAODICEA IS A RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE

Relax, Hyveth says. You and all the other Adventists are doing just fine, in spite of your increasing worldliness. God says you are a righteous people!

"The misconception that we have, is that the word La-o-di-cea, means ‘lukewarm.’ And it really doesn’t. And if you’ve been taught that it means ‘lukewarm’ someone did not tell you the right thing.

"The word ‘Laodicea,’ is a Greek word, that’s made up of two Greek words you probably already know.

"Laos; you have the word ‘laity’ that comes from that word, and it means simply people.

"And this word, dike comes from the Greek word d-a-k-a-y-o—where’s, my Greek? Some Greek scholar will kill me for misspelling it; but, it means ‘righteous.’

"So when you put the two together, the word means, ‘righteous people,’ not lukewarm. And this is the church that Jesus is coming back to take to Heaven."

Hyveth is correct in saying that the meaning of the word, "Laodicea," is not "lukewarm." The Laodicean church was predicted by Christ to be lukewarm, even though the name does not mean that.

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth."—Revelation 3:15-16.

Jesus says that, unless we change, He will cast us off. Hyveth says we do not need to change, for we are inherently righteous!

Let us now find out what the word, "Laodicea," actually means:

The second part of the word comes from the Greek, diko—which means not righteous, but "judgment, punish, vengeance"!

(I should mention there that the Greek dikenuo [righteous] means "show," and the Greek dikaious [righteous] means "to be accounted righteous.")

So the very word, "Laodicea," means a people which are judged, a judged people.

JESUS LOOKED WITH DESIRE

Next, Hyveth turns her attention to Jesus, and tells the audience that Christ looked at women with a desire to do things with them.

"Some people want to believe that Jesus never looked at a woman with desire. There is no record that He did—that’s what we would say—and there’s no record that He didn’t. But in Hebrews it says that He experienced all that we experience."

Must Hyveth confuse Adventists on everything? The book of Hebrews says that in all points Jesus was tempted as we are tempted—yet without sin.

But sin begins in the mind, not in the action. Jesus never sinned, not in the slightest degree. Yet to look on a woman "with desire" is to have yielded to temptation to commit adultery with her in the heart.

Desire is an emotion, not a temptation. If a man looks at a woman and the temptation comes, and he dwells on that temptation, then he is sinning. Thus, when he looks at a woman with desire, he is already committing sin.

Jesus did not sin. He never looked at a woman with desire. Although Satan hurled one temptation after another at Him, Jesus instantly resisted them all.

"Not even by a thought did Christ yield to temptation, so it may be with us."—Desire of Ages, 123.

PERFECT DOES NOT MEAN PERFECT

Hyveth earlier said that we are gods, but now she says we cannot be perfect like God. So we are little gods in our sins. —That is great new theology, and sure to please the liberals at Loma Linda.

"There’s a passage, that is so misunderstood, I think it’s in Matthew where it says, "Be ye perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect [Matthew 5:48]."

"And a lot of people who teach perfectionism says that ‘we need to be perfect like God.’

"But that’s not what that passage is saying. The word that is translated ‘perfect’ means ‘mature’ ‘complete.’

"And, there’s a deeper meaning of the word ‘perfect,’ it means ‘nothing added.’ You see—God, who is perfect and complete, needs nothing added to Him. But we human beings, even [when] we enter into Heaven, will not be perfect, you know that— because, even when we go to Heaven [we] will still be learning and growing, only God will be perfect in the sense that ‘nothing is to be added’ to Him.

"Throughout eternal ages we will be living and growing and learning, and as long as there’s something else for us to live and grow and learn, we still will not be at that level where God is—so don’t even start trying down here on earth."

First, Hyveth says perfection does not mean overcoming sins. Second, we will not be perfect when we reach heaven. Third, we will grow in heaven. Fourth, therefore we do not need to grow down here! That is how she explains Matthew 5:48.

Hyveth says we are to wait till we get to heaven to begin growing. Her thinking apparently is that, since we are already little gods, we really do not need to grow much down here.

But, in reality, the word, "perfect," does not mean "nothing added." The word in the Greek is telios, which means complete. In Matthew 5:48, Jesus did not say "Have ye nothing added, even as your Father in heaven has nothing added." He said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." We are to be complete, whole, wholly clean—just as God is.

"Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." —1 Peter 1:16.

It is now that we are to live clean, godly lives. We are not to wait till heaven arrives to begin doing that.

So Hyveth has told us that Jesus, our Example, looked at women with desire, and now she tells us we cannot be perfect like God. But the Spirit of Prophecy tells us that we can control all animal propensities.

"None who have a sense of their accountability to God will allow the animal propensities to control reason. Those who do this are not Christians, whoever they may be and however exalted their profession. The injunction of Christ is, ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ He here shows us that we may be as perfect in our sphere as God is in His sphere."—Testimonies, Vol. 4, 454-455.

It is only the humble, trusting, obedient children of God who will go through to the end. Those who accept the winds of doctrine will, in the end, be found lacking.

HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE BIBLE

Not once does Hyveth urge her readers to put away sin in the strength of Christ. Instead, she tells them they are righteous Laodiceans who cannot be perfect. Now she tries to lead her audience into still lower levels.

"I won’t give you my views, but I’ll tell you what the Bible says. Umm; the Bible says that;—there, there’s nowhere in the Bible where homosexual’s are condemned; it is the practice of homosexuality that is condemned. And, just like, there is nowhere in the Bible where the sinner is condemned, it’s the sin that’s condemned. God says love the sinner, and hate the sin.

"In the Bible everywhere it says that the practice of homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord.

"I don’t know why people are homosexuals. It could be, because of sin, that this has happened. And some people are born that way—but the bottom line is, whoever is that way, the Bible requires that they be celibate, just like heterosexuals who are not married . .

"But because they are homosexuals there is no condemnation. I know many celibate Christians, Adventist homosexuals, and I am pleased to be counted among them."

If it were true that God does not condemn sinners, but the sin, what is it then that gets burned up in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels? Sin, or sinners? In the Bible, sinners are called to repentance. Those who do not do so will eventually be destroyed. The wages of sin is death, and the wages apply to the sinner.

The Bible teaches that it is because of the lusts of the heart of those who dishonor their bodies, that God gives them over to a reprobate mind. Being attracted by the same sex begins in the mind. Here is Romans 1:

"[24] Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: [25] Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

"[26] For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: [27] And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.

"[28] And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; [29] being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, [30] backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, [31] without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: [32] who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."—Romans 1:24-30.

The Bible condemns a homosexual who is thinking about it in his heart, just as the Bible condemns the adulterer who does it. It is not necessary to commit the act to be guilty.

God created people to be attracted to the opposite sex, but not to lust after them. He did not create homosexuals. It is not natural. According to Romans 1, homosexuality is the result of personal choices; it is not something one is born with. If the pattern was there at birth, it would be natural and not sinful.

What does the last part of the following statement by Hyveth mean?

"Whoever is that way, the Bible requires that they be celibate, just like heterosexuals who are not married . . But because they are homosexuals there is no condemnation. I know many celibate Christians, Adventist homosexuals, and I am pleased to be counted among them."

Is she publicly announcing that she, the pastor of a large Adventist church in southern California, is a homosexual?

It appears that we have an unusual situation here. As with other liberals in our time, Hyveth’s situation seems to be dictating her theology. In her view, Jesus desired to have sex with those He was not married to. Throughout our lives on earth, we do not need to overcome. We are righteous Laodiceans. There is no coming crisis, and the pope is our friend. Everyone already has the mark of the beast. All we need is the cross. We are already gods. There is no such thing as moral perfection.

After completing this study, a feature interview of Hyveth Williams appeared in the May 20, 1999 issue of the Review. The article and its title (Hyveth Williams: Senior Pastor) calls attention to fact that she is a woman pastor, in charge of a large Adventist church.

Having graduated from theology at Columbia Union College, she went to Andrews for an M.Div., and is old enough to have a 32-year-old son. Surely, at her age, Hyveth ought to know our beliefs!

Hyveth’s fundamental training was as "an actress and model in England." At Campus Hill Church in Loma Linda, she instructs upwards of 500 LLU students each Friday evening in a "Back to Basics" program. The students love it, because it is "a contemporary service." The 8:30 a.m. Sabbath morning service is also "contemporary," and the 11:00 a.m. "traditional." She mentions that, in our denomination, "many of our church leaders and pastors have attended Willow Creek,"—which is a leading Evangelical celebration church training center.

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