Collected by Slawomir Gromadzki
Pastor E. H. “Jack” Sequeira (1932–2022)
My Personal Experience with Pastor Sequeira
In 1990, I had the privilege of attending a series of lectures presented by Pastor Jack Sequeira at the health centre in the United States, directed by Dr Agatha Thrash. Although I did not fully understand everything I heard at the time, I clearly sensed the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit, impressing upon my heart that this was a message God had given to His people. I became convinced that, if properly understood and accepted, it could bring genuine revival and prepare God’s church for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Those meetings profoundly shaped my spiritual life and the direction of my ministry. For over four decades, I have continued to study and share this message through sermons, literature and websites, first in Poland and later in the United Kingdom. It is my sincere hope that others will also study it carefully and prayerfully, experience its transforming power, and faithfully share the wonderful truth of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ, His life and cross.
This article presents Pastor Sequeira’s remarkable personal experiences, while a comprehensive account of his life and ministry can be found in the separate article [LINK].
About Pastor Sequeira
Pastor E. H. “Jack” Sequeira (1932–2022) was a devoted and faithful Seventh-day Adventist pastor, theologian, author, and evangelist. After studying at Newbold College and later completing a Master’s degree in Systematic Theology at Andrews University, he served for seventeen years as a missionary in Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. In 1972, he and his family were expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin’s regime, losing almost everything they owned. They continued their missionary work in Ethiopia until 1982, when they relocated to the United States. Pastor Sequeira later shared that, because of the restrictions imposed by Ethiopia’s communist government, his family had to leave most of their possessions behind. However, in what he regarded as a remarkable answer to prayer and God’s providence, their belongings were eventually released and shipped to the United States. He later served as senior pastor of the Capital Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington, D.C. Even after retirement, he continued preaching the everlasting gospel and the righteousness of Christ throughout the world, blessing thousands of lives through his sermons, books, and Bible seminars.
Pastor Jack Sequeira repeatedly risked his life while standing for the truth in Uganda under Idi Amin, as well as in countries ruled by communist governments and religious leaders such as Abuna (patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church), who tried to kill pastor Sequeira for not submitting to his demand to refuse holding an evangelistic crusade. As a result of that blessed and protected by God effort, seventy students were baptised and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Pastor Sequeira’s Christian experience is blessed with numerous extraordinary stories proving God’s inspiration, guidance and protection; with regard to his opponents, such as Angel Manuel Rodriguez (ex-director of BRI), no such evidence is available.
When Apostle Paul was accused by false brothers (legalistic Judeo-Christians) of being a self-appointed apostle and proclaiming heresies, to prove he was called and guided by God, Paul often denied those accusations by telling Christians how miraculously God protected him whenever he risked his life proclaiming the gospel. The same is true with regard to Elder Sequeira, who also risked his life while proclaiming the fully recovered everlasting gospel and was always protected by God.
Unfortunately, as two thousand years ago some Judaizers attacked Paul and the gospel he preached, so today pastor Sequeira and the gospel he proclaims are opposed by some Adventists (modern Judaizers) such as Angel M. Rodriguez and BRI, Larry J. Kane, or Colin and Russell Standish.
Below I have included some of the remarkable experiences Pastor Sequeira shared in his sermons and lectures—experiences that have encouraged and strengthened the faith of countless believers around the world.
Facing Idi Amin’s Guard Squad in Uganda
During one of the sermons he preached in London, pastor Sequeira shared an interesting experience from the time when he was serving as principal of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in Uganda, during the years when the country came under the dictatorial rule of Idi Amin. Because of his bizarre and irrational ideas, some people jokingly referred to him as “Idiot Amin.”
One day, after an electrical fault, the fuses at the seminary blew, leaving the entire school without electricity. They had to travel to a town to obtain replacement fuses. However, the only route passed through one of Idi Amin’s military bases, where the soldiers were notorious for being drunk, violent, and unpredictable. They would sometimes kill innocent travellers and steal their vehicles.
Pastor Sequeira felt it would not be right, as principal, to send someone else on such a dangerous journey. Instead, he decided to go himself, taking with him a student who spoke the local language.
As they drove through the military base that evening, three drunk soldiers stopped their vehicle. Shouting aggressively, they dragged them out of the car. The frightened student tried to explain who they were, but the senior-ranking soldier ordered the others to shoot him.
At that very moment, Brother Sequeira suddenly said something he had never intended to say. In a loud, commanding voice he shouted, “Attention!” Immediately, all three soldiers snapped to attention.
Then he said, “What is the meaning of this? Don’t you know who I am? I don’t want you stopping us again when we come back.”
With that, they calmly got back into the vehicle and drove on. Once they were safely back in the car, the student, still trembling with fear and utterly astonished, asked, “Brother, why did you speak to them like that?”
Pastor Sequeira replied, “I never intended to say those words. Do you remember what the Lord Jesus said? “When they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” I believe that is exactly what happened. The Holy Spirit gave me the very words I needed at that moment.
Some time later, as they were returning through the same military base, those very same three soldiers were standing in a line, as straight as ramrods, at attention. As Brother Sequeira drove past, they all saluted him.
Conversion of Rebellious Students
Story as told by Pastor Jack Sequeira in one of his sermons:
“Toward the end of my stay at Andrews University, one of my friends directed my attention to the message of justification by faith which the Lord gave to His people in 1888. That truth made an enormous impression on me, so much so that from that time on I devoted most of my time to everything that could help me understand it better, praying that the Lord would also help me proclaim this wonderful truth.
In 1973, shortly after completing my studies at Andrews University, I went to Ethiopia. Only a few days after my arrival, the president of the church in that country telephoned me and told me that Adventists owned a college in Ethiopia, but because of financial difficulties, they had been forced to admit students who were not Adventists. This led to the point where non-Adventists made up as much as 75 per cent of all the students at that college.
The parents of these students were very wealthy. Unfortunately, the young people were especially unruly and rebellious, and at times even dangerous to those around them. For this reason, they had previously been expelled from government schools. So their parents sent them to our school in the hope that perhaps Adventists would be able to change them. But these young people had no intention of changing and showed hostility toward everything connected with religion.
Because of this, during a Week of Prayer, they even openly rebelled. They overturned two cars belonging to the school and three motorcycles and set them on fire. They did not want anyone to force them to attend worship services or Bible lectures. After this incident, the administration decided to close the school for a time.
Shortly afterwards, however, the government forced the school leadership to reopen it and even to readmit those rebellious students—the same ones who had burned the cars and motorcycles. The principal and the teachers then wondered whether it might be better to cancel the Week of Prayer.
Finally, however, they said, ‘This is an Adventist school, and we cannot give up the Week of Prayer. This time, however, we will ask one of the national ministers to lead the meetings, not a foreigner, since previously the main speaker had been a pastor from Canada. When our own man speaks,’ they said, ‘they certainly will not harm him.’
So a speaker was chosen, but two days before the Week of Prayer began, that man changed his mind because he feared that this time his car would be burned. In this situation, the church president desperately looked for someone who would replace him. The rebellious youth were so dangerous that no one wanted to take such a risk.
Finally, he contacted me, asking me to conduct the meetings. Before I gave him an answer, I prayed: ‘Lord, You said in Romans that the gospel is Your power. Please show now that this is true. You have allowed me to know this wonderful truth; now let me test its power on these rebellious young people.’ Immediately after that telephone conversation I boarded a plane, and shortly afterwards I arrived in Addis Ababa.
Several missionaries were waiting for me at the airport, and they told me I had acted unwisely by agreeing to do this. I replied, ‘Yes, you are right. It does indeed look like an unwise decision. So I have one request: if you have to bury me, remember that I like gladiolas.’
Finally I reached the college. I did not yet know that five leaders of those unruly young people had prepared a pile of stones in front of the church to stone me if they did not like what I said.
When the service began, all five sat in the front row directly in front of the pulpit, looking me straight in the eyes. And so I began a series of sermons on the gospel from the book of Romans. But thanks be to God, I was able to speak without interruption.
On the third day something extraordinary happened. One of those five leaders came up to me and said, ‘This is the most wonderful news I have ever heard!’
Some time later all five were baptised and joined our church, and the chief leader of those rebellious youth even graduated from Andrews University and now works in the church as a minister.”
This encouraging experience confirms even more strongly that what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1:16 is true: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” — Romans 1:16.
Some believe that to restore order and raise the level of morality—whether in the family, the state, or even the church—it is necessary to introduce more prohibitions, commands, and stricter laws. But such a method has more in common with communism and dictatorship than with Christianity.
This goal cannot be achieved by any compulsion, external improvement of behaviour, or superficial growth in morality forced by fear of punishment. Only the gospel can accomplish it—the gospel that is the power of God, the gospel whose acceptance leads to being born of the Spirit.
The Abune’s Murder Plot and 70 Baptisms in Ethiopia
Historical Background: The Powerful Abune of Ethiopia
In the early 1970s, Ethiopia was a country in which the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church exercised enormous religious and social influence.
At that time, the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was Patriarch Abune Theophilos, who had been elected in April 1971 and solemnly enthroned in Addis Ababa on 9 May 1971, during the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie. Theophilos remained patriarch until his removal from office by Ethiopia’s Marxist military government in 1976.
Abune Theophilos
The title Abune (or Abuna), meaning our father, was used for senior Ethiopian Orthodox clergy, but Theophilos held the highest ecclesiastical office in the country. He was therefore an exceptionally influential religious figure.
There is also independent historical evidence that Patriarch Theophilos strongly opposed the growing evangelical movement in Ethiopia. An article published in Christianity Today in November 1972 reported that evangelical Christians were experiencing persecution and restrictions on their religious gatherings. It specifically identified Theophilos as regarding the movement as a threat because it was attracting increasing numbers of young people away from the Orthodox Church.
This provides an important historical background to the extraordinary experience later related by Pastor Jack Sequeira.
Pastor Sequeira began his missionary service in Ethiopia in 1973. If this confrontation occurred during the early years of his ministry, as the circumstances suggest, it would have taken place between 1973 and 1976, when Abune Theophilos was Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. However, the most likely date is 1973 or before September 1974, when Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown by a Marxist military regime.
The Decision to Conduct Public Evangelistic Meetings
During his missionary service in Ethiopia, Pastor Jack Sequeira decided to organise a series of public evangelistic meetings in Addis Ababa, where the Ethiopian Orthodox Church exercised a powerful influence.
However, when he shared his plans, he was strongly warned against proceeding. He was told that the city was effectively under the authority of the Abune and that attempting to conduct public Protestant evangelistic meetings without his approval would be extremely dangerous.
Despite these warnings, Pastor Sequeira was determined to proclaim the gospel.
He therefore approached the governor of the city and requested official permission to conduct public Bible lectures. The governor granted his request, and Sequeira began preparing for the evangelistic campaign.
However, when the time came to begin the meetings, he was unexpectedly informed that he would not be permitted to proceed because the Abuna had not given his approval.
Surprised by this sudden reversal, Pastor Sequeira returned to the governor and asked why he was being prevented from conducting the meetings when the governor himself had already authorised them.
The governor explained that he had not realised Sequeira had failed to obtain the Abuna’s permission. He then told Pastor Sequeira something astonishing: the Abuna was so powerful and influential that even the governor himself, or anyone else in the country, could not simply disregard his wishes. In other words, although the governor had granted civil permission, he was unwilling to challenge the authority of the Abuna.
Determined not to abandon his mission, Pastor Sequeira decided to approach this powerful religious leader personally.
The Confrontation: The Abune Seated on a Throne Above a Long Staircase
It was around midday, and the Ethiopian sun was scorching. Pastor Sequeira arrived at the Abuna’s residence and requested an audience. However, he was made to wait for several hours in the intense heat before he was finally permitted to enter.
When permission was eventually granted, he was directed towards a long staircase. At the very top of the stairs, seated high above him on an imposing throne, was the Abune.
Pastor Sequeira had to climb the long staircase to approach the powerful religious leader. The elevated throne, the imposing surroundings and the long wait all contributed to an atmosphere of intimidation.
The Abuna demanded to know why Sequeira wanted to conduct public evangelistic meetings and made it clear that he must abandon his plans.
But Pastor Sequeira respectfully refused: “I cannot do that,” he replied, “because I must obey my Boss.”
The Abune was surprised by this unexpected response: “Who is your Boss?” he demanded.
Pastor Sequeira answered: “You will be happy to hear that my Boss is Jesus Christ, who commanded me to preach the gospel to all the world!”
Instead of being pleased, the Abuna became furious. He warned Pastor Sequeira not to attempt to conduct the evangelistic meetings and threatened that, if he persisted, there would be bloodshed.
This was no ordinary disagreement. Pastor Sequeira had been personally warned by one of the most powerful religious authorities in Ethiopia that his determination to preach the gospel could cost him his life. Yet he refused to abandon the mission Christ had entrusted to him.
The Bible Seminar in the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Following this confrontation, Pastor Sequeira decided that, rather than conducting the evangelistic campaign in a public venue, he would hold the Bible seminar inside the local Seventh-day Adventist church. He was determined that the gospel should still be proclaimed, despite the Abuna’s threats.
Before the meetings began, arrangements were made to advertise the seminar throughout the city. A car equipped with a loudspeaker drove through the streets, publicly announcing the forthcoming Bible lectures and inviting people to attend.
According to the account, the Abune warned the people that anyone who attended Pastor Sequeira’s meetings would be denied burial in the church cemetery. This was a frightening threat, as many believed that being denied a church burial would mean losing their hope of eternal salvation.
Seventy university students came to attend the Bible seminar
The response was remarkable. Seventy university students came to attend the Bible seminar. They had grown tired of being told by the Abune what they could and could not do.
Pastor Sequeira began presenting the gospel, explaining the wonderful truth of salvation through Jesus Christ. The students listened with growing interest as he opened the Scriptures and proclaimed the good news of God’s love and righteousness.
What had initially seemed an almost impossible evangelistic undertaking was beginning to bear remarkable fruit. However, the Abuna had not forgotten his warning.
An Attempt to Kill Pastor Sequeira
On the third day of the evangelistic meetings, the Abune sent monks with stones and clubs to attack and kill Pastor Sequeira. That morning, Pastor Sequeira was inside the Adventist church, conducting a meeting with nine pastors and four students from an Adventist college.
Suddenly, a young man rushed into the building and urgently warned them to flee. A large, hostile crowd was approaching, armed with sticks and stones, intending to kill Pastor Sequeira. The nine pastors immediately stood up, ready to escape.
But Pastor Sequeira urged them to remain. He pointed out that they were strangers in the mountainous region, whereas their attackers knew the surrounding countryside intimately. Attempting to flee would be futile. He therefore told them that, if they had to die, they should die in God’s church.
The young man pleaded with them again, insisting that the attackers were serious about killing them. Pastor Sequeira acknowledged the danger but remained determined to trust God, even if faithfulness meant losing his life.
Later, he admitted that they had been genuinely terrified. Their knees were trembling as they prayed, believing that they might be facing their final moments.
God’s Remarkable Intervention
What Pastor Sequeira did not know was that the father of one of the attending students was the local chief of police. The young man had rushed to inform his father of the impending attack.
Just as the angry crowd approached the church, a truck carrying armed policemen arrived. They took up positions in front of the building with automatic rifles. The police addressed the approaching crowd through a loudspeaker, warning that the officers would open fire if the attackers advanced any further.
They declared that the Adventists had every legal right to conduct their religious meetings and that their church was officially recognised in Ethiopia.
Confronted by the armed officers, the attackers repeatedly shouted, “Stone him! Stone him!” directing their threats at Pastor Sequeira. Eventually, however, they abandoned their efforts and dispersed.
Pastor Sequeira and those gathered with him had been spared. What had appeared to be an almost certain tragedy ended without bloodshed. For Pastor Sequeira and his companions, the unexpected arrival of the police was a remarkable answer to prayer.
Seventy University Students Baptised
Despite the threats, intimidation and attempt on his life, Pastor Sequeira’s evangelistic effort was not in vain. All seventy university students who had attended the Bible seminar eventually accepted the gospel, were baptised, and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
What had begun with opposition and threats of bloodshed ended in a remarkable spiritual victory. The Abuna had attempted to silence the preaching of the gospel, but the message continued to spread, and seventy young people committed their lives to Jesus Christ.
The experience illustrates the wonderful truth expressed by the apostle Paul: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes.” — Romans 1:16.
It also reminds us of the words of Peter and the other apostles when the religious authorities commanded them to stop preaching: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” — Acts 5:29.
Pastor Sequeira’s experience demonstrates that genuine faith does not necessarily remove fear, but enables believers to remain faithful to Christ despite it. Above all, it reveals that the gospel is not merely a collection of religious teachings. It is the power of God, capable of transforming human lives and giving His servants courage even when they face persecution and death.
As Jesus Himself promised: “And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” — Matthew 28:20.
The Tragic Fate of Abune Theophilos
Interestingly, Abune Theophilos, who had strongly opposed Pastor Sequeira’s evangelistic meetings, shortly afterwards met a tragic end himself. In February 1976, he was arrested and removed from office by Ethiopia’s Marxist military government, known as the Derg. After more than three years of imprisonment, he was secretly executed in 1979, reportedly by strangulation. It remains a striking conclusion to the story of a powerful religious leader who had once sought to prevent others from hearing the gospel. His remains were recovered in 1992, following the collapse of the communist regime.
“Dahud Is Dead, You Are Now Talking to a Christian”
In 1990, I was invited for a one-year-long health training to America, and we were also invited by Dr Agatha Thrash to the Uchi Pines Institute in Tennessee, where she invited Pastor Jack Sequeira and for 7 days, twice a day, we could listen to him explaining the gospel on the basis of the book of Romans.
And when he was dealing with the passages of Romans where Paul stated that we all died with Christ, Pastor Sequeira told us that when he was working as a missionary in Ethiopia, he was invited to preach during the week of prayer in an Adventist college.
And one day, after he finished preaching, a senior student from Egypt whose name was Dahoud (Da’ud) asked pastor Sequeira if it was OK for him to join the Egyptian army and fight against Israel. So, Pastor answered that he shouldn’t carry arms and kill others because he died in Christ and was hidden with Christ in God.
But Dahoud said, “No, I am not dead and will join the army”. So, Pastor gave him a few Bible verses to prove he died with and in Christ. But since Dahoud disagreed again, pastor Sequeira said, OK, Dahoud, but remember you are not opposing me but the Word of God.
Soon after that, Dahoud was testing a tractor with his instructor, and when they were driving down the hill, the brakes stopped working, and the tractor hit a big tree. Dahoud was taken to the hospital and, after careful examination, was pronounced dead by two physicians.
However, at the same time, a group of students from the seminary school were praying for him. And when the nurse came to cover the body of the dead Dahoud, she noticed that his eye blinked, so she quickly called the doctor, and he managed to detect a faint heartbeat, so Dahoud was brought back to life by God.
When pastor Sequeira was told that Dahoud was alive, he came to the hospital to visit him after a week or so. And when he came, Dahoud was lying on the bed with his head almost completely covered with bandages except for his eyes and mouth.
So, pastor Sequeira said, Hi, Dahoud, how are you? And he said he would never forget Dahoud’s answer. When the pastor asked, how are you, the same Dahoud who previously refused to accept the truth about his death in Christ said, “Dahoud is dead. You are now talking to a Christian.” He learned the truth in a very painful way.
After graduating from the college, Dahoud returned to Egypt and refused to join the Egyptian army. Because of his convictions, he had to flee Egypt. Sweden accepted him as a refugee, and there he settled and worked as a physician.
The Seventh-day Pentecostal Church
If we present the Sabbath only in the light of the law, it is not surprising that many sincere Evangelical Christians struggle to accept it. The Sabbath can be fully understood only in the light of the gospel. Among Adventist theologians, Pastor Jack Sequeira was one of the strongest advocates of presenting the Sabbath as part of the gospel of righteousness by faith.
While preaching in London, he shared a remarkable experience from Ethiopia. A Pentecostal pastor once asked him, “Jack, how is it possible that you preach the gospel so beautifully and still keep the Sabbath?” Sequeira replied, “Would you like me to answer that question privately, or in front of your whole congregation?” The pastor chose the second option.
As a result, Sequeira was invited to present a series of Bible studies on the Sabbath to approximately 800 members of one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Addis Ababa. Instead of presenting the Sabbath merely as a commandment, he showed that it is God’s sign of righteousness by faith and a memorial of Christ’s finished work of redemption.
The result was extraordinary. The entire congregation accepted the seventh-day Sabbath and changed the name of their Church to the “Seventh-day Pentecostal Church.”
The story beautifully illustrates an important truth: when the Sabbath is presented in the light of the gospel, sincere Christians often see it in a completely different way.
8,000 Adventist Youth Imprisoned by Idi Amin
If we base our salvation on our own righteousness and on what level of Christianity we represent, and not on Christ, then it may turn out that in the time of trial, lacking the assurance of salvation or the conviction that Christ is our righteousness, we will deny Him, just as Peter did.
We will deny Him because, focusing on ourselves and not on Christ, it will seem to us that we are not yet good and righteous enough to be able to die with the conviction that we will certainly find ourselves among the saved.
In reference to this, Pastor Jack Sequeira relates a very sad experience that took place in Uganda during the bloody rule of dictator Idi Amin.
At that time, there was a large dynamic group of young Seventh-day Adventists in that country, numbering up to 8,000 people.
Idi Amin hated Christians, and one Friday he ordered his army to surround these 8,000 young Adventists.
The soldiers then presented them with an ultimatum: either the next day, on Sabbath, they would go to work, or they would all be shot.
Additionally, they ordered them to utter blasphemies against God and Christ.
What do you think, how many of those 8,000 young people preferred to lose their lives rather than deny Christ and insult God?
It may be hard to believe, but out of those 8,000 young Adventists, only one young man refused to perform work on the Sabbath and did not utter blasphemy against God and Christ!
Only one person! When, after 2 years, the communists released all these young people, our pastors tried to find out why, except for one person, everyone broke the fourth commandment and denied Christ.
As a result of many conversations conducted, it turned out that it was so because each of them thought that if they lost their life at that moment, they would not find themselves among the saved.
All these young people did not feel good enough, righteous enough, to have the assurance of salvation.
Feelings told them that if they died then, with such a level of sanctification, they could not be saved.
They were afraid to die for Christ because back then everyone – except that one – did not understand the gospel.
Additionally, it seemed to them that by denying Christ they committed the unpardonable sin.
When, however, Pastor Sequeira was later asked to present to them the message of salvation solely through faith in Christ based on the Letter to the Romans, and when they understood how great God’s love is, and that Christ does not reject them despite the fact that they denied Him, then those same young Adventists were completely transformed.
Shortly thereafter, a time of trial came upon them again, and when they were presented with the same ultimatum, then out of those several thousand young people, not even one person denied Christ, and many of them died a martyr’s death with a song on their lips and full assurance of salvation.
Among them was also a young girl, to whom a soldier said: “If you do not go to work tomorrow, I will kill you!”
To which she replied with a smile on her face: “You can kill my body, but you cannot take away the eternal life that the Lord Jesus gave me”.
Irritated by her stubbornness, the soldier threw her to the ground and jumped on her, breaking her spine.
This brave girl survived this experience, but since then she has been paralysed.
She still, however, enjoys inner peace, and her paralysis constitutes for many people a testimony of faith and the power of the gospel – the truth and love of God, which brought her freedom not only from sin and death, but also from the fear of death.
As for that young Adventist who previously was the only one among 8,000 who did not deny Christ, God protected him from death, and he currently works in Sweden as a doctor.
This sad experience shows how important a proper understanding and acceptance of the truth that is in Christ is, and how essential it is to rely solely on the righteousness of the Saviour in striving for salvation.
According to what the Word of God says, we too will one day face persecution, and some of us even death. And when that time comes, feelings will then tell us that we are not yet good enough to die, possessing at the same time the assurance of salvation.
But if we focus on Christ, His love, and His righteousness, which is imputed to us through faith, then even when we face death, the Holy Spirit will remind us that indeed “there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,” the Holy Spirit will remind us of the words of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of John 5:24: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24
If, therefore, we look not at ourselves but at Christ and believe God’s promises, then we will never deny our Saviour, we will not dishonour God, and no decree, not even a death decree, will force us to work on the Sabbath.
Capital Memorial Church Revival Through the Message of the Cross
For the unbelieving Romans and Jews who rejected Christ, “the cross of Christ was foolishness”, because they regarded crucifixion as the most despised form of death. And, therefore, believing that someone who died on the cross was God and the Saviour of the world was “foolishness”. But “to those who are being saved”, like the Gospel, which according to Romans 1:16 is God’s power unto salvation for everyone who believes, also “the message of the cross is” the life-transforming “power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18).
But let me give you an example.
There is a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington, DC, and some time ago, the members of that church were divided into two groups, black and white. And they were fighting like cats and dogs. The white members complained that the black ones were too noisy. The black members, in turn, accused the white members of being proud and spiritually dead.
So, the conference sent one pastor after another to unite that stubborn church, but unfortunately, all of them failed.
So, finally, the conference sent Pastor Jack Sequeira, who had served as a missionary in Africa and was known as a gospel-centred pastor.
When he arrived, both groups asked him which side he would take. He replied, “Neither. I am on the side of Jesus.”
And since that time on, everything he did was preaching the cross of Christ and the true, fully restored gospel on every Sabbath. It took two years of preaching this message, but after two years, the members were finally united. They stopped fighting and started respecting and loving one another.
As a result, the membership grew from about 100 to over 500 members in just a few years!
Seeing what happened, the conference brothers asked Pastor Sequeira how he managed to unite that divided church. It wasn’t me, he answered, but the message of the cross and the gospel of Christ, which is the power of God, did it.
And also in our lives, this message will become a life-transforming power of God, if we study it carefully and patiently, pray over it, and believe with all our heart.
It was true in the life of Christ’s disciples who, after understanding that Christ became a curse for them, were never the same again.
Ten Young Pastors Left Hartland
Pastor Sequeira was once invited by Hartland leaders for a public discussion. As a result of that debate, ten young pastors changed their views and couldn’t identify themselves anymore with Hartland’s teachings, as they realised that their leaders were opposing the truth of the gospel, using Bible verses and Ellen White quotes out of context instead of proving their point in a systematic biblical way. The above video is the best example of how they manipulate the Bible and the writings of Ellen White. Read or watch Sequeira’s seminars on Romans, and you will see a huge difference.
Angel Manuel Rodríguez (BRI) Prevented Pastor Jack Sequeira from Preaching at a Camp Meeting
Unfortunately, Adventists who try to share either the message associated with the “in Christ” motif or His true incarnation often experience opposition or even hostility. One of them is Pastor Jack Sequeira, who, by the grace of God, has been travelling all over America and the world proclaiming the good news of the gospel, including its three most vital aspects (Christ’s experience of second death, His true incarnation and the universal salvation in Him).
During those years, the SDA Biblical Research Institute (especially its former director – Angel Manuel Rodriguez) desperately tried to silence him.
For example, on one occasion the pastor of the Spencerville SDA Church in Washington, DC, who was Sequeira’s predecessor at the Capital Memorial Church (also Washington, DC), asked him to be the main speaker at the annual Spencerville camp meeting because he wanted “his people to hear the true gospel”.
The Spencerville Church, however, is attended by most of the GC brethren, including A. M. Rodrigues. Therefore, when everything was already arranged, and Elder Sequeira was supposed to be the main speaker at that camp meeting, Rodriguez, using his position, forced the Spencerville pastor to choose another speaker.
When he asked for the reason, Rodriguez only explained he couldn’t allow Sequeira to speak there because he preached federalism. But when pastor Sequeira was told about that humiliating news and asked for a meeting with Rodriguez, and the pastor of the Spencerville Church (to witness the conversation), Rodriguez refused to give him the opportunity to defend himself and his teachings.
It is true that we are not to allow heresies and false ideas to undermine the fundamental truths found in the Word of God, but no one, including the leaders of the Church, has the right to threaten or deprive our pastors or members of the freedom of expressing their beliefs without proving that their ideas can’t be sustained by the Word of God.
The Lord never gave leaders, pastors and men like A. M. Rodriguez authority to use their position in order to silence members because the ideas they try to share do not match their own preconceived understanding!
Using the authority of his position, Angel M. Rodriguez sinned by violating religious freedom. He dared to deprive thousands of Adventists of the opportunity to hear the most wonderful message of the gospel of freedom that could have been presented to them by the SDA-ordained Pastor (Jack Sequeira), who repeatedly risked his life while standing for the truth in Uganda under Idi Amin, as well as in countries ruled by communist governments and religious leaders such as Abune (patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church), who tried to kill pastor Sequeira for not submitting to his demand to refuse to hold an evangelistic crusade. As a result of that blessed and protected by God effort, seventy students were baptised and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Pastor Sequeira’s Christian experience is blessed with numerous extraordinary stories proving God’s inspiration, guidance and protection, while with regard to Angel Manuel Rodriguez, no such evidence is available.
When Apostle Paul was accused by false brothers (legalistic Judeo-Christians) of being a self-appointed apostle and proclaiming heresies, to prove he was called and guided by God, Paul often denied those accusations by telling Christians how miraculously God protected him whenever he risked his life proclaiming the gospel. The same is true with regard to Elder Sequeira, who also risked his life while proclaiming the fully recovered everlasting gospel and was always protected by God.
Unfortunately, like two thousand years ago, some Judaizers attacked Paul and the gospel he preached; also today, Pastor Sequeira and the gospel he proclaims are opposed by some Adventists (modern Judaizers) such as Angel M. Rodriguez, Larry J. Kane, Colin and Russell Standish, and many others.
Life of Pastor Jack Sequeira (LINK)
Pastor Sequeira’s Personal Faith Journey
By E.H. “Jack” Sequeira
For some time now, individuals and organisations have made verbal and written public statements about me and my theology. Many of these statements contain errors and falsehoods. True and good journalism always checks for accuracy when writing about someone else. Since this has not been done, the purpose of this paper is to set the record straight.
Let me start with my historical background. My parents originated from Goa, a Portuguese enclave on the west coast of India. They migrated to the British Colony of Kenya, East Africa, in 1913. My father worked in Nairobi (capital of Kenya) as an accountant for the British Government. It was here that I was born in 1932. Four years later, my parents moved to Mombasa, the main port of Kenya and the second largest city of the country.
This is where I grew up and, being devout, my parents raised me as a staunch Roman Catholic. I served as an altar boy in my younger years. My elementary and high school education was completed in Catholic schools.
In the early 1950s, the Mau Mau uprising by one of the largest tribes, the Kikuyu, took place in Kenya. Their home area in the highlands of Kenya was taken over by English settlers, and the Kikuyu fought for independence under the leadership of Jomo Kenyatta, who later became the first president of Kenya.
At that time, the British Government introduced national service, and I moved to Nairobi to do my two years’ service. Having finished my national service, I remained in Nairobi working as an architect.
Across from the home where I was living was a Seventh-day Adventist missionary, Robert Wieland and his family. He was the president of the Central Kenya Field. Since public transportation was not very reliable in those days, one of his burdens was to help the African pastors with reliable means of transportation. Many pastors were in charge of eight to ten churches. Elder Wieland would buy wrecked motorcycles from insurance companies and fix them for the workers.
One of my hobbies at that time was racing motorcycles. It was this that led Elder Wieland to come to me for help in the above project. We became good friends, but not once did he bring up the subject of religion. I, however, had learnt some of the beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists from my landlady’s daughter, who was a member of the SDA church.
However, in 1957, the Central Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nairobi planned an evangelistic effort. My landlady, a Presbyterian, wanted to attend these meetings, at the request of her SDA daughter who had moved to the U.K. for graduate studies. She went to Elder Wieland, requesting that he take her to the meetings. Being wise, Elder Wieland came to me with the request that I take her. He knew that, as a staunch Roman Catholic, I would not attend these meetings on my own.
As a result, I sat at the back of the church and listened to Elder Dale Ringering, the evangelist, for some three weeks. It was the first time in my life I was exposed to the prophecies and truths of the Bible. As a Catholic, I had not even seen a Bible, let alone read one. The Holy Spirit convicted me, and, as a result, I decided to join the Adventist church. This required that I go through a series of baptismal classes before I could be baptized.
The missionary who gave me these baptismal studies was the late Elder Joe Hunt. Twice a week I rode two miles to his home on my motorcycle. I could not understand, at that time, why Elder Wieland was unable to give me these studies, since he lived right across the road from where I lived. However, on the day Elder Wieland was baptizing his son Bob, Elder Joe Hunt requested him to baptize me at the same time, since my baptism studies were completed and Elder Wieland was already in the baptistry.
Many years later I learned why Elder Wieland was unable to study with me. His manuscript on “1888 Re-examined,” co-authored by Elder Don Short, was rejected by the GC [General Conference] Committee and, as a result, Wieland was black-listed by the missionaries of the East African Union. Consequently, Elder Wieland was not allowed to study with me, lest he influence me with his “strange beliefs on 1888.” So the accusation often made that my theology was influenced by Wieland on the 1888 message is entirely false, even though we both came to the same conclusion regarding the 1888 message independently.
Not long after I became a Seventh-day Adventist, I discovered that I had moved from one form of legalism (salvation by human effort), the Roman Catholic Church, to another form of legalism, the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Both churches had given me no assurance of salvation, unless I met all the requirements of God (which I was failing to accomplish, no matter how hard I tried). This is a common problem, even today, among our members.
Six months after my conversion to the Seventh-day Adventist church, I was entitled to a three-month home leave from work, a rule established by the British Government for non-Africans living in Kenya, allowing them to visit their original homeland. Since I had never lived in India, I decided to ride my motorcycle from Nairobi to London. This was in 1958.
Just before I left, the youth director of the East African Union, Elder Bob Osmunson, handed me a Youth Instructor magazine with the words that he was convinced God had called me to the gospel ministry. This issue had an article on Newbold College in England, and he encouraged me to attend it, that is, if I made it to England on a motorcycle. Needless to say, being an introvert, I fought against his suggestion. But all through my journey, I could not escape the idea that God called me to the gospel ministry.
introvert – (psychology) a person who is more concerned with his own thoughts and feelings than with other people or happenings outside him. Introverts are more reserved, less outgoing, and less sociable. They are not necessarily asocial, but they tend to have smaller circles of friends and are less likely to thrive on making new social contacts.
So, when I arrived in the U.K., two months later, I finally decided to study for the ministry. After serving as a literature evangelist for a year, I attended Newbold College for four years (Fall of 1959 to the Spring of 1963) and graduated with a B.A. degree in theology. During my four years at Newbold College, I made many promises to God, especially at the end of the Weeks of Prayer. But all these promises were like “ropes of sand.” Hence, I graduated with a B.A. degree in theology but with no peace or assurance of salvation.
After graduation, I married my wife, Jean, and the East African Union recommended we come to the U.S., where I could study for my M.A. degree in theology (in order to qualify for a work permit in East Africa). I hoped that Andrews University would give me the assurance of salvation for which I was desperately looking. Unfortunately, this did not happen (I don’t think it was the fault of the professors). As a result, I graduated in 1965 with an M.A. degree in Systematic Theology but still no peace or assurance of salvation in my heart.
I came to the conclusion that maybe serving God in the mission field would bring that to me. But five years of mission service in Uganda brought me no consolation. However, it was at this time, I believe, God stepped in. Here are the circumstances.
In 1969, the British Parliament cancelled all British Passports issued in the colonies. Since this is what I had, it meant I became stateless. As a result, the Uganda Government under Milton Obote cancelled my work permit. This left me a refugee, without a country or a job, and no country at that time was willing to accept me. Only the U.S. Embassy in Kampala was willing to give me a green card. As a result, the Afro-Mideast Division decided to send me back to Andrews University to study for another degree, while at the same time setting the wheels in motion towards obtaining my U.S. citizenship.
During my mission service in Uganda, I heard, for the first time, about the 1888 Message on Righteousness by Faith from some African pastors who had been taught by Elder Robert Wieland. But no one could tell me the substance of this message, since, they said, it was withdrawn because the church had rejected it. That was no help to me. So I decided to research the 1888 message while at Andrews University studying for my M.Div.
As a result, I did an in-depth study of what E.J. Waggoner and A.T. Jones taught, along with what Ellen G. White had to say about the 1888 message. At last my eyes were opened to the fact that what God was requiring from me for salvation was actually accomplished for me in Christ over two thousand years ago. That was indeed exceedingly good news.
My only problem, however, was that these two men used the proof text method to prove their points, a common practice among SDAs. Consequently, I was not absolutely sure their messages were exegetically correct. But I did return to Uganda with peace and assurance of salvation.
Not long after I returned to Uganda, the country experienced a coup under Idi Amin, the brutal dictator, and he became the new ruler of the country. Being a Muslim, he was anti-Christian, as well as against the Asian community, who were the business people of the country. Consequently, in 1972 he deported all the Asians from Uganda, even though many of them were second- and third-generation citizens of Uganda. My family and I were among the eighty thousand deportees.
As a result, we landed in Beirut, the headquarters of the Afro-Middle East Division. It was finally decided by the Division to assign me to Ethiopia. Waiting for a work permit to Ethiopia took about three months, which gave me time to do an exegetical study at the Middle East College Library on the two main books Waggoner and Jones used to proclaim the 1888 message, Paul’s Epistles to the Romans and Galatians.
Exegesis is what comes out of the Bible, as against what gets read into it. (Of course, the ways we use to find out from the Bible are often merely ways to put something into it ‘between the lines’. In a more theological setting, exegesis means what comes from the use of certain methods of studying the Bible. The main types are :
- historical (using the form, word choices, editing work, historical context, main themes, and so on, to find what it meant back when it was written or when it happened),
- canonical (treating the Bible as a whole document designed to be what a specific community lives by),
- symbolic/allegorical (figuring out what each character and event represents),
- rational (thinking it through using logic and deductive technique).
“Exegesis…is an act of love. It means loving the one who speaks the words enough to want to get the words right. It is respecting the words enough to use every means we have to get the words right. Exegesis is loving God enough to stop and listen carefully.” — Eugene Peterson, in Theology Today
I discovered that, even though these two men did take a few of the texts they used out of context, they were absolutely correct on the whole in their presentations on Christ our Righteousness and the doctrine of Righteousness by Faith. This is what sealed my convictions on the 1888 message and completely transformed my ministry.
Ever since then (1973), my total ministry has changed, and I have been mainly presenting this incredible good news of salvation in Christ to our Seventh-day Adventist members, many of whom have no assurance of salvation. This has continued even after my official retirement in 2001. As a result, many have written to thank me for opening their eyes to such good news, and consequently are still members of the Adventist Church today.
However, as those who have heard me know, my presentations are based on the Word of God, especially the writings of the apostle Paul, and not on the teachings of Waggoner and Jones. Therefore, I would appreciate it if those who disagree or oppose my teachings would follow Christ’s instructions in Matthew 18 and take time to discuss their differences exegetically from the Scriptures. As sincere Christians, before saying or writing negatively about me or my theology, would it not be more Christlike to take these steps?