The evidence that the world cannot withstand and controvert, that God has sent Jesus into the world as its Redeemer, is in the oneness of the church. Their unity and harmony is the convincing argument. Satan is therefore constantly at work to prevent this harmony and union.

But suppose you disagree with me and think one or more of those ideas is true. Here is my lesson for you during the pandemic: The ninth commandment forcibly forbids conspiratorial gossip. You and I are not at liberty to spread malicious information about elites unless we are witnesses of the truthfulness of the information. The fact that a ruler is evil is not excuse enough to spread a lie about him, if you hope to be a commandment keeper. "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor" (Exod. 20:16).

The government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppressive; on every hand were crying abuses—extortion, intolerance, and grinding cruelty. Yet the Saviour attempted no civil reforms. He attacked no national abuses, nor condemned the national enemies. He did not interfere with the authority or administration of those in power. He who was our example kept aloof from earthly governments. Not because He was indifferent to the woes of men, but because the remedy did not lie in merely human and external measures. To be efficient, the cure must reach men individually, and must regenerate the heart.

The three pastors never did tell church members what we actually believed about the pandemic, the science, or the media's handling of these things. Why didn't we express to the church what we believed about it all? Because our goal was to keep the church from getting all divided over it. If we had given our personal opinions, some would have been very happy with us, but others would have been upset. What good would that have done? We were determined to keep our church functioning as well as possible. Was this the best we could do?

And here is where I want to make an appeal to all sides. We should not identify with any political ideology or party. We should simply be known as faithful Seventh-day Adventists who promote the three angels' messages. I am afraid that many of us believe we are defending the three angels' messages when, in reality, we are defending a secular ideology from the culture around us. When we cannot discern the difference between the partisan messages around us and the three angels' messages, we have truly failed to understand our message and mission.

We should ever remember that the object of the medical missionary work is to point sin-sick men and women to the Man of Calvary, who taketh away the sin of the world. By beholding Him, they will be changed into His likeness. We are to encourage the sick and suffering to look to Jesus and live. Let the workers keep Christ, the Great Physician, constantly before those to whom disease of body and soul has brought discouragement. Point them to the One who can heal both physical and spiritual disease.

The word here translated as "science" in the King James Version [in 1 Timothy 6:20] is gnōsis, which means knowledge. In the New Testament, not surprisingly, gnōsis is used mostly for knowledge about God and things relating to God. Almost all translations today render it here as "knowledge." Even so, the King James translation of this verse invites us to think a bit about science, which is certainly one area of knowledge. Paul is not saying (and neither are we) that there is no science, or that it should never be listened to. He is saying that science (knowledge) can be true or false, and that Timothy is to know the difference.

"Is this a day of new beginnings Time to remember and move on?" So begins hymn #352 in the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, a song especially appropriate for New Year's observances. But it came to my mind as we are launching a revival of Adventists Affirm after a hiatus of about eight years. We can look back and remember about a quarter of a century of faithful, provocative publication, but it is also time that we move on, moving ahead with additional materials, new issues, new challenges. So even as we establish continuity with the earlier publications, this is a day of new beginnings.