The Search for the True Church - By Joe Crews

7/28/2019 The Search for the True Church - By Joe Crews

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Copyright 2003 byLu Ann Crews

All rights reserved.Printed in the USA.

Published byAmazing Facts, Inc.

P. O. Box 1058

Roseville, CA 95678-8058

Cover Design by Haley Trimmer

Layout Design by Greg Solie


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C H A P T E R 1The Search

Is there a true church in the world today?And if so, how can it be identified?

Of all the religious questions facing themodern truth-seeker, this is certainly the mostdemanding and also the most frustrating.

Conflicting voices from every quarter declarethat they have the answer. Denominations,sects, and cults make strident claims basedupon emotional interpretations of isolatedBible texts.

The average Christian today has been sototally turned off by these exaggerated boaststhat many have even discounted the possibilitythat any true church could really exist.Others have questioned the criteria by whichany church could be tested and rated as

truer than another.It is very important to recognize that nochurch can be proven superior because itsmembers are without sin. People are people,and all are subject to the same frailties of humannature.Yet, it is also true that every Christian

has access to the same mighty power of God forovercoming those frailties. Therefore, any

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The Search for the True Church4

basis of the Scriptures and your own spiritualconvictions. If it is truth, the Holy Spirit willguide you into joyful recognition of it. My

personal feeling is that you will find thisexperience to be the most exciting adventure

you have ever had in Gods Word.Our quest for truth will focus upon the

twelfth chapter of Revelation. Limited timeand space does not allow for an exhaustive

study, but two principles will be givenpriorityaccuracy and simplicity. Overtwelve hundred years of history must be dealtwith only briefly as we follow the absorbingstory of the true church to its surprisingclimax. Further confirming evidence for thehistorical part of the prophecy has beenprovided in my book entitled The Beast, theDragon, and the Woman.


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In the New Testament, the true Israel ofGod is no longer a nation but a churchcomposed of Jews and Gentiles who receive

Christ as their Savior. Therefore, the womanof Revelation 12 flashes us the picture-storyof the church at the time of Christ. Theclothing of sunlight typifies the glorious NewCovenant of grace, and the twelve starsrepresent the twelve apostles. The moon

under her feet indicates the fading glory ofthe Old Covenant in the presence of the trueLamb of God.

Now begins the thrilling part! We aregoing to follow the unfolding future of thattrue church of our Lord Jesus.The next versesvividly delineate the course of truth throughthe ages. We want to know where thatwoman can be found TODAY! Dont miss astep of the prophecy as we trace thevicissitudes of the true church right down to

the present day!The first thing we discover is that thewoman is about to give birth to a baby.Andshe being with child cried, travailing in birth,and pained to be delivered. And thereappeared another wonder in heaven; and

behold a great red dragon, having seven headsand ten horns, and seven crowns upon his



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of Jesus, and finally, he managed to bring Himto that mockery of a trial where He wastortured, crucified, and buried. But the grave

could not contain the Son of God, and on thethird day He burst out of the tomb. Later, Heascended to His Father in heaven.


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what the true church did as the pressures ofpersecution built up to a climax:And to thewoman were given two wings of a great

eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness,into her place, where she is nourished for atime, and times, and half a time, from the faceof the serpent.

In order to escape extinction, the faithfulProtestant refugees fled back into the Alpine

mountains and valleys holding onto the truedoctrine delivered by Jesus. Another book ofActs could be written about the heroism of theWaldenses, Huguenots, and Albigenses whorefused to surrender their faith during thosecenturies of fierce oppression. God fought forthem, and sometimes the pursuing armies ofRome were cut off by mysterious avalanchesand rock slides. At other times the mountainstreams were reddened by the blood of thosefaithful ones who sealed their devotion to the

truth with their lives. The Revelationprophecy gives a symbolic picture of thedesperate attempts made to wipe out thoseminority Christians who were now in hidingfor their very survival: And the serpent castout of his mouth water as a flood after the

woman, that he might cause her to be carriedaway of the flood (Revelation 12:15).



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elsewhere in these words:. . . forty days, eachday for a year (Numbers 14:34).

Please note that this applies only to

symbolic prophecy, and cannot be read intoother portions of the Scripture. A day is usedfor a year only in the setting of an obviousprophetic context.This places the woman inher wilderness hideaway for the full period of1,260 literal years.

Our conclusion must be, then, that thetrue church could not appear in the worlduntil the end of the 1,260 years. Did such athing happen to the true people of God? Howlong did the papal power continue to suppressthe true doctrines by the exercise of herreligio-political authority?

Here is a fascinating point of history. InA.D. 538 a decree by Emperor Justinian wentinto effect which assigned absolute spiritualpreeminence to the church of Rome.

Gradually, this religious tyranny drifted intounion with civil powers until eventually kingswere forced to seek permission from the popebefore they could begin to rule.This authorityremained in force until the year 1798 whenEurope was rocked by the French Revolution.

In the subsequent rebellion of the oppressedpeasants against the privileged clergy, the pope



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C H A P T E R 4Three Marks of the True Church

This brings us to a most importantobservation: THE TRUE CHURCHCOULD NOT APPEAR IN THE WORLD

UNTIL AFTER THE YEAR 1798. It was toremain in hiding until the end of the 1,260

years, and that wilderness period ended in

1798.We have before us now one of the mostamazing marks of identification for the truechurch. It is not based on some emotionalfeeling or upon some strained interpretationof a single Bible text. It is rooted in aprophetic revelation of a specific time periodwhich can be verified by scores of historicalrecords. The woman (church) simply couldnot make her appearance until the inhibitingpowers of papal opposition had been takenout of the way. That prophesied event took

place in 1798, and the truth which had beenclothed in sackcloth now began to emergefrom obscurity, soon to appear as the gloriousremnant of the woman.

Now we are brought to an actualdescription of the woman as she would appear

before the world sometime after the year1798: And the dragon was wroth with the

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AND WENT TO MAKE WAR WITH THEREMNANT OF HER SEED . . . Here a newword is introduced into the picture. Satan is

going to fight against the REMNANT of thetrue church.What is a remnant? It is the lastend piece on a bolt of cloth. It is exactly likethe first piece that came off the bolt, but ithappens to be at the very end and is always asmall piece.

What does this tell us about the remnantof the woman? It is the last part of the truechurch, at the very end of time, which will beholding the exact same doctrines as did theearly, apostolic church. But lets read on.

WHICH KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OFGOD. . . What commandments would this bereferring to? This designates the great morallaw written by the finger of God on tables ofstone. The Ten Commandments reflect thecharacter of God, reveal His will for all His

creatures, and form the basis for all moralityand true worship.Here we are confronted with the second

intriguing mark of identification of the truechurch. Not only must it arise some time afterthe year 1798, but on the authority of the

Word of God, it would have to be keepingALLtheTen Commandments of God.



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sought-after secret in the Word of God? Weare getting closer and closer to identifying thespecial people of God in our day and their

special message. And we are doing it byallowing the Bible to make the identification.We have not fabricated a single one of thesethree definitive characteristics. No one canhonestly challenge their application to theend-time church of Jesus Christ.That remnant

church will have to possess all three of thesebiblical tags of identity:

1.ARISE AFTER 17982. KEEP ALL THE TEN COMMANDMENTS3. HAVE THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY

I know that some are already puzzlingover that third mark.The spirit of prophecyis just about as incomprehensible as thetestimony of Jesus. But stay with me, and wewill get the explanation for that point veryshortly.



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midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospelto preach unto them that dwell on the earth,and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue,

and people, Saying with a loud voice . . .(Revelation 14:6, 7).

The next few verses describe preciselywhat that special last proclamation of the gospelwill consist of. Then immediately John said,And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and

upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son ofman,having on his head a golden crown,and inhis hand a sharp sickle . . . and he that sat on thecloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and theearth was reaped (Revelation 14:14-16).

Did you catch that? The end comes just as

soon as this particular gospel message hasgone to every nation on earth. Jesus said thesame thing,this gospel . . . shall be preached inall the world . . . and then shall the end come.

I submit to you that whatever thismessage is, it has to be the most urgent andcompelling one that human ears have everheard. Both John and Jesus testify that uponcompletion it will usher in the gloriouskingdom of Christ.

Can we know what that final warning

will contain? John spelled it out so simply thatnone need be in doubt. Saying with a loud



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is the maker of everything. Over and overthroughout the Bible God claims worshipBECAUSE He created all things. thou are

worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honorand power: FOR THOU HAST CREATED ALLTHINGS (Revelation 4:11).

God challenged the false gods repeatedlybecause they could not create.The gods thathave not made the heavens and the earth, even

they shall perish from the earth . . . He hathmade the earth by his power(Jeremiah 10:11,12).God himself . . . formedthe earth and made it . . . I am the LORD; andthere is none else (Isaiah 45:18).

The Sabbath was instituted by God as a

great reminder-sign of His sovereign authorityas the only God to be worshiped.The Creatorset in motion the arbitrary cycle of the seven-day week to mark off the true Sabbath, so thatthe world would be without excuse inknowing whom to worship and when. Thusthe first angels message called for men toworship him that made heaven, and earth, andthe seaa call to true Sabbath-keeping.

The second and third angels messagesdescribed by John can be summarized

briefly: Babylon is fallen . . . If any manworship the beast . . . and receive his mark in



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Could any thinking person be indifferenttoward what we have discovered thus far? Wehave in our hands right now the key to unlock

one of the most fantastic spiritual secrets inthe world. God has concentrated all the cluesin this one, tremendous, prophetic chapter ofRevelation. Look at the marks ofidentification. This is Gods list, not mine. Isimply lifted them from the inspired pages of

Gods Book. What do they tell us about thetrue church today?

First of all, it could not have arisen before1798. This eliminates most of the greatpopular Protestant churches of the world.Practically all of them were formed before

1798. Secondly, it would have to be a churchwhich keeps all the Ten Commandments. Atfirst glance, this would seem to be a very poordefinitive test for discovering which church isright. Surely all of them would teach andpractice obedience to the great moral law ofGod or would they? The fact is that veryfew contemporary denominations even layclaim to keeping all the Ten Commandments.Most of them admit freely that they do notobserve the seventh-day Sabbath required by

the fourth commandment. They observe thefirst day of the week instead of the Sabbath.



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containing the special sign of Gods creativeand redemptive power, has been rejected anddesecrated.

Yet we have just discovered that the truechurch will be distinguished for keeping thecommandments. Mark it down: according tothe clear teaching of the Bible, no churchcould be the remnant of the woman unless itkeeps the seventh-day Sabbath as well as all

the other nine commandments. Suddenly, wesee the vast majority of those who passed thefirst test failing to meet the second.

But now we move on to the thirdrequirement of the prophecy. The last-dayremnant church must have the spirit of

prophecy manifested in it. What does thatmean? Without doubt this particular flag ofidentity is the most important one on our list.We shall discover that this involves more thanmerely understanding and preachingprophecy.

Finally, this special church will bedistinguished by the unique message itproclaims to all nations on earththe

judgment is begun, the seventh day is theSabbath, Babylon is fallen, and warnings

against the mark of the beast.



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C H A P T E R 7The Spirit of Prophecy

Under the inspiration of God, Johndeclared that the remnant of thewoman would have the testimony

of Jesus. Since that expression is somewhatambiguous, John later gave a clarificationwhich still leaves much to be desired. He said

simply,The testimony of Jesus is the spirit ofprophecy (Revelation 19:10).

At least this is moving in the rightdirection, but we must now discover what

John means by that expression, spirit ofprophecy. Whatever it is, it ranks high with

God, because He designates it as one of theways by which to recognize His true churchin these last days.

The picture begins to clear up when weexamine the full context of the statement.Anangel appears to John, and John falls upon theground in awe and admiration. Said theRevelator, And I fell at his feet to worshiphim.And he said unto me, See thou do it not:I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethrenthat have the testimony of Jesus: worship God;

for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit ofprophecy (Revelation 19:10).

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in all utterance, and in all knowledge; Even asthe testimony of Christ(spirit of prophecy) wasconfirmed in you: So that ye come behind in

no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord JesusChrist (1 Corinthians 1:5-7).

Here the testimony of Jesus is called agift instead of the spirit of prophecy. Andthe implication is very strong that the gift willbe in operation at the return of our Savior.

With this inspired insight from Paul weare back on familiar ground again.We have noproblem with the term gift of prophecy.The New Testament epistles are filled withreferences to all the gifts of the Spirit,including the gift of prophecy. Paul told the

church at Ephesus just how and when the giftswere bestowed:Wherefore he saith,When heascended up on high, he led captivity captive,and gave gifts unto men (Ephesians 4:8).

Little comment is needed on this. It is awell-known fact that when Jesus returnedto heaven He left certain special gifts orabilities with His people on earth. In fact, theyare named: And he gave some, apostles; andsome, prophets; and some, evangelists; andsome, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11).

For what reason did Jesus endow certainones in the church with these appropriate



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walked not in my statutes, and they despisedmy judgments, which if a man do, he shalleven live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly

polluted: then I said, I would pour out my furyupon them in the wilderness, to consumethem.

Surely we can see that the reason Godgave no divine direction was because theyhad forsaken His law and had broken His

Sabbath. It was the violation of the fourthcommandment which especially provoked thedispleasure of God.

Now we are prepared to deal with thequestion of prophets in the New Testament,and why they disappeared after two or three

centuries.What happened to Gods law at thevery same time the gift of prophecydisappeared from the church? The history ofthat early period shows that the Sabbath wasset aside in favor of the pagan day of the sun.A disgraceful compromise with heathen sun-worship led to an open rejection of the trueseventh-day Sabbath. And when thishappened, God did exactly what He hadalways done before when His people turnedfrom His holy law;He withdrew the guidance

of the spirit of prophecy. Prophets disappearedfrom the church.




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time restoration of the faith of the apostles.The same Sabbath will be restored.The samegifts of the spirit will be manifested, and all the

great apostolic doctrines will be stripped ofthe effects of 1,260 years of papal distortion.A church, called the remnant,must appear

on the scene some time after 1798. It willrestore the foundation of many generations bykeeping the Sabbath, the same one that Jesus

made for man during creation week, and thesame Sabbath He observed when He was onthe earth. In that church will be manifestedthe true gift of prophecy. Under the anointingof unusual spiritual blessing and power thatremnant church will carry the special last

warning message of Revelation 14 to all thecountries in the world. As we have alreadydiscovered, this glorious gospel of the threeangels includes the present-hour judgment,the Sabbath, the fall of Babylon, and the beastmessage.

This church is identified again by John inthese words: Here is the patience of thesaints: here are they that keep thecommandments of God, and the faith of

Jesus (Revelation 14:12). Do not overlook

the fact that these commandment-keepingsaints are empowered to do what they do only




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truth was narrow and few there be that findit (Matthew 7:14).Again He declared,Andas it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also

in the days of the Son of man (Luke 17:26).None should be deceived by trusting greatnumbers, the majority. The saved will becomparable to the eight souls taken into theark at the time of the great flood. Truth hasnever been popular, and it will be less so in

the final age of sensual pleasure andmaterialism.The remnant church will not befound among the great, popular churcheswith their indulgent life-styles. Said Jesus, Ifany man will come after me, let him denyhimself, and take up his cross, and follow me

(Matthew 16:24).Pauls counsel was: Come out from

among them, and be ye separate, saith theLord (2 Corinthians 6:17).To Titus he wrote,For the grace of God that bringeth salvationhath appeared to all men, Teaching us that,denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we shouldlive soberly, righteously, and godly . . . a peculiar

people, zealous of good works (Titus 2:11-14).These and many other related verses seem

to indicate that the true church of the last days

will be looked upon by the world in the samemanner that Jesus and His followers were




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Christs righteousness. This is why it isaltogether possible for many even in theremnant church to be lost. Others who have

not so great light will be accepted if theyknow Jesus and walk in all the light that hasbeen revealed.

But after making those observations, wemust also concede that God has a specialchurch with a special message which is

designated as the remnant of the woman. Itwill appear near the end, holding the samedoctrines as did the apostolic church, keepingall the Ten Commandments (including theSabbath), having the gift of prophecy, andpreaching Revelation 14 to the entire world.




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that would never exist. Out of all theecclesiastical systems in existence at this date,there is only one that fully meets the biblical

criteria of the remnant.This must be our conclusion based uponhistorical facts and not because we have anyaxe to grind for some particular church.Theinspired record of Revelation 12 contains noemotional bias toward any existing church.

The most disinterested person would have tocome to the same conclusion after examiningthe full, prophetic picture. This leaves noroom for boasting or pride.The secret was notrevealed by any man but by the Word of God.

As we name the church, it must be with

some trepidation.There will always be a fewready to charge us with sectarianism in spiteof the undeniable evidence before us. Otherswill allow personal prejudice to rob them ofthis glorious truth.

The only church fulfilling the propheticdescription of the true remnant is theSeventh-day Adventist church.Arising around1844 this movement of destiny began thepredicted program of restoring the truthwhich had been lost or distorted during the

Dark Ages. One after another of the originaldoctrines of Christ and the early church were

f44



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considered a part of the sacred canon ofScripture.Though inspired by the same Spirit,they do not add to nor take away from the

Holy Writ, but like a magnifying glass theybring out the beauty and truth of the Word.Perhaps the greatest wonder of all is how

the emerging remnant church, in theprovidence of God, settled upon the verysame doctrines of Revelation 14the ones

specified by Jesus and John as the finalmessageas the heart of its teaching. Butthere is yet another miracle! How could thatinfant church, with only a few hundredmembers in 1860, reach out with itsunpopular message and evangelize every

country in the world? Yet, that is exactly whathas happened! The work of Seventh-dayAdventists has been established in countriesrepresenting nearly 100 percent of the worldpopulation. And every one of these uniquedoctrines of Revelation 14, including the

judgment, the Sabbath, and the beast message,is being witnessed to those nations.

There are several churches which qualifyon the first point of identity, and there are afew who fit the second also;but, it is a singularfact that only one church conforms perfectlyto all four points.With a simplicity and logic

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We cant obey Him until we have knelt,broken-hearted because of our sin, andaccepted Him as Lord and Savior. Love for

Him provides both the motive and the powerto fulfill His Word. If you havent acceptedHim already, make that your first decision.Then under the strength of that new loverelationship follow Him into service as amember of the true remnant church.


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The Search for the True Church - By Joe Crews