Dear Friends,

I am overjoyed to be able to report this fast breaking news from the Eternal Gospel Church and the General Conference's litigation.

Pastor Rafael Perez called me this afternoon to update me on what has been happening. He just returned from a campmeeting in New Zealand and found on his desk some papers from his attorney. As you may recall, the last event of any consequence was the Mediation Hearing held in November. At that time several proposals were presented to the GC for their consideration. As can be expected the GC took their merry time about responding and not releasing their inquisitorial attitude towards the Eternal Gospel Church.

What you won't read in "The Review" is that they were facing mounting opposition from many fronts and were seeing a diminished return on tithe monies. The oil that lubricates the Church Organization.

With this in mind, the GC has responded back to the Court that they will NOT oppose the use of the name Seventh-day Adventist by the Eternal Gospel Church NOR any other splinter or "offshoot" group that desires to be known as a Seventh-day Adventist.

There are some aspects that need to be considered. For example: Eternal Gospel Seventh-day Adventist Church may be frowned on but Eternal Gospel Church of Seventh-day Adventist is perfectly alright.

The "Organization," seeing that the Eternal Gospel Church was appealing this case and had let it be known that this case would go as far as the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary and seeing that they and other ministries were not backing down to their diabolical tactics and being reminded on every side by the statements found in 3 Selected Messages pp. 299-305 "The Seventh-day Adventist and Lawsuits" decided that this was not going to be the best route to take. Personally, speaking, I seriously doubt that you will read about their capitulation in "The Review." They have never publically repented of any prior ill-conceived acts and I don't see that trend changing any time soon. (I'm editorializing here...forgive me!)

The result of this action by the GC will mean that the Eternal Gospel Church will be able to drop it's appeal before the 3rd U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia and resume the task that the Lord placed before this humble little group of Seventh-day Adventists. Praise the Lord!!

Also on Pastor Perez's desk were over 500 letters from newspapers from around the world but mostly within the North American Continent wanting to carry the Earth's Final Warning! Do I hear a mighty AMEN!! During the past few years many comments were made about the efficacy or wisdom of pursuing this legal battle. I want to again propose that regardless what man may have thought or wrote about, The Almighty Lord was and IS in control. What do you think is meant by a refining fire?

While the Eternal Gospel Church dealt with many frustrating moments during this trial and remains leery of other tactics, we want to let everyone know that no animosity is held towards the leadership that brought this action upon the Seventh-day Adventist people. While the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy teaches that strong rebuke and reproof need to be directed at those that perpetrate these acts upon its own people or those of other faiths, the admonitions are meant for one purpose alone and that is to bring the wrongdoer to a state of humble repentance before those wronged, affected or influenced by their evil actions. Then they can supplicate the Lord for forgiveness and show by their acts a 180 degree turnaround. In the days of Ancient Israel, the wearing of sackcloth ans ashes would be in order.

I hope and pray that each of you will bring the Eternal Gospel Church before the Lord for their needs are great if they are to continue with the task at hand of proclaiming the Three Angel's Messages to all the world.

May the Lord's presence be your constant shadow,


Bob

Final Chapter in Adventist Trademark Suit
West Palm Beach, Florida, USA .... [Carlos Medley/Adventist Review/ANN]

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A three-year trademark infringement suit between the Seventh-day Adventist Church and a West Palm Beach, Florida congregation over the use of the name "Seventh-day Adventist" in identifying the church, has ended with a court-approved settlement.

On February 15, 2001, attorneys for the Adventist Church's General Conference and pastor Raphael Perez of the Eternal Gospel Church, filed a settlement agreement in the U.S. District Court in Miami, Florida. The case had been under appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The settlement comes 10 months after federal Judge James Lawrence King ordered Perez and his church to stop using the words Seventh-day Adventist, the acronym SDA, or the Spanish equivalent, to advertise or publicize their congregation.

According to the terms of the settlement agreement, Perez's church will be able to identify itself with a two-line logo as follows:

When asked why the Adventist Church chose to settle the case, Walter E. Carson, an associate counsel in the Office of General Counsel explained, "We achieved, in the agreement, precisely what we sought in the litigation. Mr. Perez can no longer use the Seventh-day Adventist Church's name as the name of his church. The agreement prevents the likelihood of confusion, which was the original reason for the litigation."

Carson emphasized that the "tag line" permitted by the agreement merely describes persons who organized the Eternal Gospel Church and is not considered a part of the group's name.

"Church attorneys saw this as a basis on which the dispute could be resolved without affecting in any way the viability of King's decision," Carson said. "Our attorneys were extremely confident that the Court of Appeals would affirm King's ruling.

Carson expressed hope that other independent congregations who may be tempted to infringe on the church's trademark might find in this agreement a basis to change their names. Carson said that the church will carefully monitor Mr. Perez's activities to ensure his full compliance with the court-approved agreement.

"We would hope they [other independent groups] consider selecting names that would come within the fair use exception utilized in the settlement agreement," he said.

According to court documents, The Eternal Gospel Church was formed in 1991 by Perez and 40 to 50 supporters. In 1991 and 1992, Perez attempted to gain admission to the Southeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and later the Florida Conference. Each time the conferences denied Perez membership.

In 1994, Perez began placing newspaper advertisements around the United States using the Seventh-day Adventist name, or SDA. The church's name had also been used widely in his group's fliers, billboards, audio tape recordings, and on radio broadcasts.

The following article from LandMarks, June 2001, is the "Official Perez Report":

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