Is the Holy Spirit a Person?
Click here for the MP3 sermon based on this page
Click here to view this page as a video
Click here for a Letter from G.B Starr of a conversation regarding Melchizidek with Ellen White
      (Who was G.B. Starr? See his obituary on page 11 of the Pacific Union Recorder)
Vern Bates explains who Melchisedec 

Some are taught Jesus is the Comforter?

NOTE: For those claiming the Holy Spirit is not an actual God or a person but only a "force" or "mindset" between the Father and the Son; how I ask is it possible to blaspheme a "force" or "mindset?" Jesus Christ was very clear when He defined how one blasphemes the Holy Ghost.

This sermon is to address a movement among some separated brethren that left the SDA church wherein they were drawn into error and now declare the Holy Spirit doesn’t exist. Satan knows many people stopped reading bibles today, so it’s easy to get them to believe all sorts of strange doctrines because most trust their pastors and never check what they preach in the Word of God. And yes, I am aware that some do look into their Bibles to verify this strange doctrine. But if they already have a pre-conceived idea of what the verses “should” mean according to their corrupted pastor’s out of context doctrine, they can’t see the truth for what it is because they trust their leaders more than they do their own God. This too was prophesied for our day. These souls were spoken of in Romans 1:25 where it says they are among those, "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."

Before starting, I need to define how "new light" is given by the Lord to those honestly studying and seeking the truth as it is penned in His Word. Reason being is, some in this bizarre movement are declaring this strange doctrine regarding the Lord’s Spirit as if it is “new light” when in fact, it is not. As Isaiah 8:20 illustrates, new light would never go against God's old light.

• Isaiah 8:20, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."

Basically, “new light” is merely something that is revealed in God’s Word that beforehand was missed by those studying His Word over the years. The prophecies of Daniel are a good example of this. For literally thousands of years no one could understand what they meant. Then one day the Lord revealed them in the early 1800’s to a number of preachers all around the world, and this truth was considered new light because its doctrinal viewpoint was a perfect match to the already written Word of God. Plus, the prophetic symbols furthermore matched with those books of the Bible that preceded and followed Daniel’s book. What some seem to miss is, by God's standards, this is not actually new light at all, but an old eternal truth that fallible man, who has a tendency to choose his own path, missed due to a number of reasons. Be it sin, or prophetic timing set forth by the Lord who wrote it, mankind is often guilty of misunderstanding the Word of God. When either repentance comes to the sinful man, or the timing is right as per the Lord’s plan, as was the case with Daniel’s prophecies, it then becomes "new light" to the man when it finally "clicks" in the heart of God’s people as to what the Lord is saying, or has been saying all along. However, if the “new light” speaks of something that is in direct opposition, or contrary to Scripture, as is the case with this strange doctrine of a nonexistent being in the Holy Spirit, then it is not new light at all. It is a doctrine of demons that seeks to “change the truth of God into a lie.”

As we get closer and closer to our King’s return, we will find more souls embracing strange doctrines and traditions as if they are Heaven sent. This was prophesied to happen and so we expect this. I will get into that a bit later on. Many thought most of these strange doctrines died off long ago, only to find them given new life recently as we get nearer to the end; hence, the reason for this sermon.

It was thought by some of the pioneers of the Seventh Day Adventist church for example that the Holy Spirit was nothing more than the thought process of the Father or the Son. Of course, those pioneers later recanted this doctrine as heresy and put it down. But as we can see, some in our day have opted to preach that false doctrine as if it was truth once again. And so with this sermon I plan to expose that heresy.

Another sad reality of all this is, this controversy between truth and error has returned for the sole purpose of stopping some of the brethren from preaching present truth. We have a work to do to warn the world. But Satan fears this present truth message. Therefore he causes some to busy themselves pushing this old heretical doctrine as if it is new light somehow. What amazes many with eyes that see is how they can think it is new when in fact it was preached, exposed as error, and then recanted long ago. Still, it was prophesied that many doctrines of demons would become the norm for some in these last days, and so they have.

• 1 Timothy 4:1-2, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;  Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;"

That being said, I would like to present to you what the Holy Scriptures and the Spirit of prophecy say about the Holy Spirit and why I believe the Bible says He walked among us long ago as the priest, Melchisedec. I need not point out that we already know the Father is in fact a God on His own, and it has also been exhaustively proven on this website using scores of verses that Jesus Christ is also a God Himself and therefore the second person of the Godhead. You can see the verses on the pages linked in box #4 of the notes. And by the way, some in the fallen churches that claim Jesus is not a God, have recently discovered they were wrong. The effort of the SDR church workers has been successful here due to the Spirit Himself watering the seeds planted. But what about the Holy Spirit and His personhood? Yes, it’s also true, I have scores of verses on the site showing the Holy Spirit is indeed a God and therefore the third person of the Godhead. But sadly, since some choose to deny He exists at all and is therefore only a thought process that runs through the mind of the Father and the Son, we need to better illustrate who Melchisedec is so as to allow some seeds to find fertile soil. The problem with attempting such a sermon as this may be seen as impossible because in order to have the wisdom to understand such a truth, you first need to believe the Holy Spirit exists in the first place because since it is He that gives us the wisdom to understand the truth. After all, didn’t Paul say in 1 Corinthians 2:13 that "we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." And in 1 Corinthians 12:7-8 he said, "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;" There are of course many other verses that declare we gain wisdom by the Holy Spirit, but I hope these two were sufficient to make my point at this time.

Getting back to the person of the Spirit; I thought it a good idea to go ahead and use those passages found in the Word that make it quite blunt and easy to see that yes, the Holy Spirit is in fact a person all on His own. The reason I share this particular fact is because it is His personhood that is in question by those that embrace this bizarre doctrine.

·         Hebrews 7:1-8, "For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth."

Notice here that Melchisedec is called King three times, and in all cases the word King is capitalized. The word “king” comes up 1756 times in the KJV Bible. But when God Himself is being mentioned as a King, we see the word capitalized. In most instances whenever the word “king” is used for mankind, it is from the Hebrew word “Melek.” Which is translated merely as a king. But when the King of kings is mentioned it’s quite different. For example, in 1 Timothy 6:15 when it speaks of Christ as “King of kings,” the word “King” here is from the Greek word “basileus,” which is translated as a Christ or a God type King.

·         1 Timothy 6:15 "Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;"

That very same word “basileus,” which is used here in 1 Timothy is the exact same word used in Hebrews 7:2 where it is used three times to describe Melchisedec.

As we move forward in the Hebrews 7 passage we also see that Melchisedec was “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” Is this not one of the basic attributes of a true and ever living God? This is the elementary definition of a being that is eternal, is it not? Just to name a few, is it not also written in Deuteronomy 33:27, Isaiah 57:15 and 1 Timothy 1:17 that God is in fact eternal?

·         Deuteronomy 33:27, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them."

·         Isaiah 57:15, "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

·         1 Timothy 1:17, "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Better yet, with these eternal attributes found in Hebrews 7:1-8, we also see that Melchisedec was to abide as a “priest continually.” Men, who are called to be priests, do in fact live and die, do they not? Basic reality here is, it is written in Hebrews 9:27 that , "..it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" But the truth all Christians understand is that our God simply never dies. The passage in Hebrews chapter seven even goes on to say that men, “that die,” receive tithes as priests. But Melchisedec is noted in that passage as one that will receive the tithe because “he liveth.”

The truth here is this; before Moses was given the pattern of the Sanctuary, and the office of High priest, it was Melchisedec who was to represent Christ before the people until He came as Messiah in 27AD. Long before Moses came, Melchisedec was standing as High Priest in Abraham's day. This is why He received the tithe.

One other thing to notice here is that, we know Jesus Christ is eternal and standing in Heaven as our High Priest right now. But have you ever noticed how He is proclaimed High Priest? Notice the wording of Hebrews 7:17 wherein it says He is “a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” How can it not be seen that Melchisedec is in fact of the Godhead by that statement? According to what Scriptures says about both Christ and Melchisedec, both live eternal, do they not? As Christians we learned this about Christ when we were still babes. But for some of you that are new to this Truth, you just heard it for the first time in Hebrews 7:1-8 that Melchisedec has those exact same attributes. The fact of the matter is, Melchisedec could not be used as a Pattern for Christ unless He first had eternal attributes. Melchisedec had to be an eternal being, else He would not have been used as an example regarding the eternal office of our High Priest Jesus Christ. The fact Jesus stood as “a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec” proves this is undeniable truth.

Normal men have become high priests over the centuries, yes. But none of them did so after the "order" of Melchisedec. Only Christ could do such a thing, and only Christ is mentioned in the Word as worthy of it. As I said earlier, men can only live and die. As we know it says in Hebrews, these men “die” that receive tithes, but Melchisedec “liveth” and he lives continually “Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” Basic reality to all this is, only a God can do this.

Now I know many that frequent this website are in fact Seventh day Adventists as well as separated brethren that are new in the faith, or have been approached by some who preach the Holy Spirit doesn’t exist recently. For those of you that do understand Ellen White is a prophet you need to understand this. First off all, Sister White did in fact predict those strange doctrines adopted and then later retracted by the SDA pioneers would be brought forward again in our day. She said…

• "In history and prophecy the Word of God portrays the long, continued conflict between truth and error. That conflict is yet in progress. Those things that have been will be repeated. Old controversies will be revived, and new theories will be continually arising. But God’s people, who in their belief in fulfillment of prophecy have acted a part in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages, know where they stand. . . . They are to stand firm as a rock, holding the beginning of their confidence steadfast unto the end." -Christ triumphant p. 341

Unless it was a doctrine that was part of the church body itself, it would not be considered a controversy. Therefore it is clear as to what context this statement is referring to. That being said, what did Sister White actually say about Melchisedek?

• "God has never left Himself without witness on the earth. At one time Melchisedek represented the Lord Jesus Christ in person, to reveal the truth of heaven, and perpetuate the law of God (Letter 190, 1905).
• It was Christ that spoke through Melchisedek, the priest of the most high God. Melchisedek was not Christ, but he was the voice of God in the world, the representative of the Father. -(Review & Herald Feb. 18, 1890). {Bible Commentary Vol. 1 page 1093.1}
• "The high priest was designed in an especial manner to represent Christ, who was to become a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. This order of priesthood was not to pass to another, or be superseded by another (Redemption: The First Advent of Christ, p. 14). {Bible Commentary Vol.7 page 930.12}

As we just saw in the Spirit of Prophecy, Ellen White clearly said Melchisedec is not Christ. With that in mind, we also know that John 1:18 says, "No man hath seen God at any time..” Therefore Melchisedec could not have been God the Father either because Abraham is in fact a man that saw Melchisedec with his own eyes when he paid tithes unto Him. Both Scripture and Sister White declare Melchisedec could not be Christ or the Father. That leaves only one more person of the Godhead that we call the Holy Spirit. Still.. it gets Better yet!

Even though all this evidence is so clear and rock solid. I still have one more piece of evidence to share that will lock it down tight. In a document written by an SDA Pioneer, Elder George. B. Starr and then later Published by yet another Pinoneer, Elder Haskell in South Lancaster Massachussettes, we see it recorded wherein Sister White was bluntly asked the following question…

• “Who then is Melchisedec?”
  She replied… “I will tell you who Melchisedec was. He was the Holy Spirit, and a third person of the Godhead, who took the form of humanity, and represented the Lord Jesus Christ to that generation.”
  (click here to download a copy of the document)

 Now for the clincher...

As a remnant people, we know that we worship God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Having the Spirit within that grants the wisdom to see and understand the truth, it is that much easier to see why the next verse I am about to share has been removed from the NIV, the NASB, and all the other corrupted Bibles. For it plainly says in, 1 John 5:7, "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." The word “one” is used here to illustrate they are “in agreement” of course. If you have one of these corrupted Bibles, look into it and you will see that passage is in fact removed. For example: I just shared what the KJV Bible says. What I would like to share next is what the NIV bible says regarding both 1 John 5:7 & 8.

·         1 John 5:7,8 “For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” -NIV

(For more info about the NIV & NASB corrupted Bibles, see my “Bogus Bibles” page in the site)

This verse is so powerful and it so exposes both the one God theorist as well as the Trinitarians of Rome, their only recourse was to delete it. Another reason they removed this verse is because Antichrist cannot appear as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit at his simulated second coming. He only has permission to stand as one God. He is prophesied to deceive many by acting as if he is Jesus to the Christians, Allah to the Muslims and Messiah to the Jews. So, he must get everyone to believe in just one God. (For more on this prophesied agenda, see my “one god” page) By the way, this is also why those that preach the Holy Spirit doesn’t exist remove this verse from their sermons as well as claim it is a verse unworthy of being in their Bibles. It boldly declares their doctrine is false; so they avoid it at all costs just as the Word of God prophesied they would. When speaking of people such as these, Jesus says in Mark 7:7-9, "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."

That is the basic definition of what we call a creed today. The word “creed” defined is…

Creed n.

1. A formal statement of religious belief; a confession of faith.

2. A system of belief, principles, or opinions

As the Pharisees of old, so do the wolves on pulpits today place creeds above the written Word of God. Their uplifting of their strange doctrine wherein they physically remove Bible verses from the Word of God so as to keep their creed intact proves they are a very dangerous people indeed. Their traditions and doctrines of men are easily proven demonic by using the very Bible verses they deny and even rip from the Word. 1 Timothy 4:1, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" These people fulfill this prophecy directly.

When we use the “line upon line, and precept upon precept” as the prophet Isaiah declared is necessary when learning doctrine, we find that avoiding, ignoring or removing certain passages that expose the malicious creeds, traditions of man, or doctrines of demons embraced by the leaders in the church is not a wise act.

·         Isaiah 28:9-10, "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:"

When we use the methods put forth in the Word of God to understand doctrine written within it, we will always be safe. When the bible exposes the error, or the doctrine presented is not properly confirmed in the Word, our Lord instructs that we are not to declare His Word to be spurious to uplift a man made creed. Especially today, for it was prophesied in the same Bible that such things as this would happen right before our eyes.

 A sobering thought…

·         2 Peter 2:1-2,12 says, "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;"

May our God have mercy on their souls.

I would now like to share a few more verses out of many verses that when shared with those claiming the Holy Spirit is not a God or even a person, they find they are entirely unable to respond. Share these passages with those the Lord sends your way who embrace this heresy. Perhaps the seeds you plant will find good soil and the Holy Spirit they deny will still water them with love and mercy. But only if they’re found to be honest souls.

·         John 16:13, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

If the Holy Spirit is not a person, how is it Jesus speaks of Him in the third person in this passage? How can the Spirit speak of “himself” when he has no “self” but is only a thought process between the Father and the Son?

·         Isaiah 6:3, "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."

If the Jesus or the Holy Spirit are not to be considered God’s in the Godhead and there is only one God as the Roman Catholic trinity teaches, then Isaiah would not have repeated the worshipful praise three times. Truth is, King David also spoke of three separate God's in the Godhead when in prayer and song.

·         Psalms 136:1-3, "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever."

Why would give thanks three times is only one was needed? And finally, Jesus said…

·         Matthew 12:31-32, "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.  And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."

Two things stand out here. #1, you can only blaspheme a God. Jesus is clearly stating He can be blasphemed here. #2, they claim the Holy Spirit is only a thought process of either Jesus or the Father and not an actual person. If that is so, how is it you can blaspheme Jesus and be forgiven, but you cannot blaspheme the Holy Spirit and expect forgiveness? Perhaps this is the main reason Satan invented this doctrine. It tempts mankind to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. And by the way, this is one of the “strange delusions” that have been promised upon the wicked that hate the truth. For it is written in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11, "…because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  …for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"

How do we know they “love not the truth?” It is by their fruits. Look upon their doctrinal works and you will find they ignore the passages that confirm their doctrines false and they actually delete the ones that boldly declare their doctrine is a lie. In other words, they love not the truth. And this is why this strong delusion has come upon them. Still.. if the Lord sends one your way, share the truth with them. They still may have a small bit of soil left to cultivate.

In closing, I would like to share something David said as he was led into prayer one day. He said in Psalms 138:1, "I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee." When you look into the Hebrew translation of this passage you will find the word “gods” here is translated in Strong’s 0430 as 'elohiym.’ Elohiym is the Hebrew word for the Godhead which is written in the plural sense.

By the way, this is the exact same definition of the word “God” found in Genesis 1:1 that says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And then later this very same God said in Genesis 1:26, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:"

So, the question remains. When they say the Holy Spirit doesn’t exist, and Jesus isn’t a God, or like the Vatican and all the Protestant churches, including the SDA church, claim there is only “one God” in the Trinity, how is it the Bible says in Genesis there is more than one God and David sends forth his praise “before the gods?” It’s because of what I said earlier, they are those that prophecy declared would place their creed above the written Word of God in the last days. They do so by ignoring and twisting verses as well as actually declaring some verses need to be deleted. In fact, they are doing exactly as Rome did long ago. They are removing the Bible from the hands of the people and from their pulpits place the creed of their leaders in its place. May God have mercy on their souls.

“Rome withheld the Bible from the people and required all men to accept her teachings in its place. It was the work of the Reformation to restore to men the word of God; but is it not too true that in the churches of our time men are taught to rest their faith upon their creed and the teachings of their church rather than on the Scriptures? Said Charles Beecher, speaking of the Protestant churches: "They shrink from any rude word against creeds with the same sensitiveness with which those holy fathers would have shrunk from a rude word against the rising veneration of saints and martyrs which they were fostering. . . . The Protestant evangelical denominations have so tied up one another's hands, and their own, that, between them all, a man cannot become a preacher at all, anywhere, without accepting some book besides the Bible.... There is nothing imaginary in the statement that the creed power is now beginning to prohibit the Bible as really as Rome did, though in a subtler way." -Sermon on "The Bible a Sufficient Creed," delivered at Fort Wayne, Indiana, Feb. 22, 1846.  –Great Controversy page 388.3