The SDA Church Today: Part of Babylon or Yahuwah's Remnant Ekklesia?
Introduction
We firmly believe that the Seventh-day Adventist Church today has joined fallen Babylon, and is no longer corporately part of Yahuwah’s remnant. We believe that there is overwhelming evidence in support of this conclusion. In such a life and death matter, we believe that Yahuwah is providing ample evidence, to enable His true and faithful people to see the situation of the Church as He sees it, and to respond to His call by coming out of her.The process, by which we were led to this inescapable conclusion about the Church’s status, “required much study and anxious care to search it out link after link.” 1T 79. We were greatly blessed in our study, by adhering to the weight of evidence principle, recommended by Yahuwah’s servant, Ellen G. White:
“Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. [Yahuwah] does not propose to remove all occasion for unbelief. He gives evidence, which must be carefully investigated with a humble mind and a teachable spirit, and all should decide from the weight of evidence.” 3T 255.
And since our study involved diligent search of the Spirit of Prophecy writings, we found the following inspired counsel to be most useful to remember:
“Regarding the testimonies, nothing is ignored; nothing is cast aside; but time and place must be considered”. 1SM 57.
The underlying premise of our study is the fact that Yahuwah did not immune the Seventh-day Adventist Church from falling:
“In this day He has instituted no new plan to preserve the purity of His people.” 4T 165.
In fact, He never immunes any person or church from falling:
“The [Master Yahushua] will always have a chosen people to serve Him. When the Jewish people rejected Christ, the Prince of life, He took from them the kingdom of [Yahuwah] and gave it unto the Gentiles. [Yahuwah] will continue to work on this principle with every branch of His work. When a church proves unfaithful to the word of [Yahuwah], whatever their position may be, however high and sacred their calling, [Yahuwah] can no longer work with them. Others are then chosen to bear important responsibilities.” 14Ms 102, UL 131.
In our study we have come to learn that a church can fall and become fallen Babylon by meeting one of the three following conditions:
“In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of her errors and sins, because of her rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven.” GC 606.
We believe, after reviewing all the available public evidence, that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has indeed committed far exceeding sins and errors than was ever thought possible, and has rejected much of the counsel given her by Yahuwah, so that she has sadly and regrettably become part of the fallen Babylon. Therefore it is ripe time that Yahuwah’s people in the Seventh-day Adventist Church heed His call and ‘come out of her’ to join Yahuwah’s remnant.
In 1903 the “Instructor” Declared the Seventh-day Adventist Church to Have Become a Harlot Church
The following pronouncement of Yahuwah in 1903 about the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a most solemn and fearful event:
“Why is there so dim a perception of the true spiritual condition of the church? . . . Who can truthfully say, ‘Our gold is tried in the fire; our garments are unspotted by the world’? I saw our Instructor pointing to the garments of so-called righteousness. Stripping them off, He laid bare the defilement beneath. Then He said to me: ‘Can you not see how they have pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? ‘How is the faithful city become an harlot!’ My Father’s house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed! For this cause there is weakness, and strength is lacking.’” 8T 248, 250.
By this awesome declaration, two things were highlighted regarding the Seventh-day Adventist Church:
- The presence of Yahuwah, as of 1903, is no longer in her midst, and hence
- His glory is no longer to be found in the Church. The main reason for this judgment of Yahuwah can be found in the following quote which was also written in 1903:
“Instead of leading the world to render obedience to [Yahuwah]'s law, the church is uniting more and more closely with the world in transgression. Daily the church is becoming converted to the world.” 8T 119.
Sadly, almost from the very beginning of her history, the Seventh-day Adventist Church was, more often than not, in a state of worldliness and lukewarmness. A cursory chronological review would demonstrate this tragic fact:
1859:
“I was shown that the testimony to the Laodiceans applies to [Yahuwah]'s people at the present time, and the reason it has not accomplished a greater work is because of the hardness of their hearts.” 1T 186-87.
1870:
“[Yahuwah]’s professed people are selfish and self-caring. They love the things of this world, and have fellowship with the works of darkness. They have pleasure in unrighteousness...They are idolaters, and are worse, far worse, in the sight of [Yahuwah] than the heathen, graven-image worshipers who have no knowledge of a better way.” 2T 440.2.
1879:
“As a people, we are backsliding from [Yahuwah]. The hearts of His professed children are being estranged from Him. While they have a name to live, the true, vital energies of the soul have become spiritually dead.” RH, July 10, 1879.
1882:
“My heart aches day after day and night after night for our churches. Many are progressing, but in the back track…Unless they shall become Christians indeed, they will go from weakness to weakness, divisions will increase, and many souls will be led to perdition.” 5T 93.
1885:
“Like ancient Israel, the church has dishonored her [Eloah] by departing from the light, neglecting her duties, and abusing her high and exalted privilege of being peculiar and holy in character. Her members have violated their covenant to live for [Yahuwah] and him only. They have joined with the selfish and world-loving. Pride, the love of pleasure, and sin have been cherished, and Christ has departed. His Spirit has been quenched in the church.” RH, May 5, 1885.
1887:
“What is our condition in this fearful and solemn time? Alas, what pride is prevailing in the church, what hypocrisy, what deception, what love of dress, frivolity, and amusement, what desire for the supremacy! All these sins have clouded the mind, so that eternal things have not been discerned.” RH, March 22, 1887
1888:
“Spiritual death has come upon the people that should be manifesting life and zeal, purity and consecration, by the most earnest devotion to the cause of truth. The facts concerning the real condition of the professed people of [Yahuwah], speak more loudly than their profession, and make it evident that some power has cut the cable that anchored them to the Eternal Rock, and that they are drifting away to sea, without chart or compass.” RH, July 24, 1888.
In Minneapolis, 1888, at the General Conference meetings later in the year, Yahuwah called the attention of the Adventist people to Christ’s righteousness as a pre-requisite to receiving the latter rain, in a forceful way through the ministry of two young ministers, Jones and Waggoner. Ellen White supported these two young ministers, who faced great opposition from most of the Church delegates at the time, especially the leadership. But this was a timely message, and although Ellen White, in the face of the Church’s refusal to accept this light, considered leaving the Church, she was impressed by Yahuwah to persevere in explaining the message of Christ’s righteousness. So she took the young preachers with her and preached in the various churches the message that was not endorsed at the General Conference session.
1889:
“I was confirmed in all I had stated in Minneapolis, that a reformation must go through the churches. Reforms must be made, for spiritual weakness and blindness were upon the people who had been blessed with great light and precious opportunities and privileges. As reformers they had come out of the denominational churches, but they now act a part similar to that which the churches acted. We hoped that there would not be the necessity for another coming out. While we will endeavor to keep the “unity of the Spirit” in the bonds of peace, we will not with pen or voice cease to protest against bigotry.” EGW'88, 356, 357 (1889), LDE 48.1.
1890:
After two years of taking the message of Christ and His righteousness directly to the people, it looked as though these efforts were not yielding any fruit:
“For nearly two years we have been urging the people to come up and accept the light and the truth concerning the righteousness of Christ, and they do not know whether to come and take hold of this precious truth or not. They are bound about with their own ideas. They do not let the Saviour in.” RH, March 11, 1890.
However, by May of 1890 Ellen White reported in the Review and Herald that early fruits of repentance and righteousness were beginning to be noticed:
“We have seen souls turned from sin to righteousness. We have seen faith revived in the hearts of the contrite ones.” RH, May 27, 1890.
In 1893 the Seventh-day Adventist Church Was Not to be Called a "Harlot"
At the General Conference meetings of 1893, Stanton and Caldwell distributed a pamphlet called the Loud Cry in which they denounced the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a harlot – Babylonian church, hence the need for Yahuwah’s people to come ‘out of her’. Caldwell was sent to Australia to enlist the endorsement of Ellen White to this call. Ellen White reacted quite forcefully in condemning this message, in the light of the fact that Yahuwah’s people, at that time (1893), were heeding the counsel of the True Witness, and were confessing their sins and repenting. Therefore, it was not the correct message to give or receive. Below are some of the quotes from her writings in response to the Loud Cry pamphlet:
“How dare mortal man pass his judgment upon them, and call the church a harlot, Babylon, a den of thieves, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, the habitation of devils, making the nations drunk with the wine of her fornication, confederating with the kings and great men of the earth, waxing rich through the abundance of her delicacies, and proclaiming that her sins have reached unto heaven and [Yahuwah] hath remembered her iniquities?” Manuscript 21 , 1893.
“I understood that both these men were at the General Conference (held in Battle Creek, February 17-March 6, 1893), that is, Stanton and Caldwell. Could they not discern there the revealings of the Spirit of [Yahuwah]? Could they not see that [Yahuwah] was opening the windows of heaven and pouring out a blessing? Why was this? Testimonies had been given correcting and counseling the church and many had made a practical application of the message to the Laodicean Church, and were confessing their sins and repenting in contrition of soul. They were hearing the voice of [Yahushua], the heavenly Merchantman: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” RH, June 12, 1893.
“Those who assert that the Seventh-day Adventist churches constitute Babylon, or any part of Babylon, might better stay at home. Let them stop and consider what is the message to be proclaimed at this time.” TM 37.
“There is but one church in the world who are at the present time standing in the breach, and making up the hedge, building up the old waste places; and for any man to call the attention of the world and other churches to this church, denouncing her as Babylon, is to do a work in harmony with him who is the accuser of the brethren.” TM 50.
“How could they come from that meeting where the power of [Yahuwah] was revealed in so marked a manner, and proclaim that the loud cry was that the commandment-keeping people were Babylon?” RH, June 12, 1893.
“The work of Satan is to cover the repentant, believing, COMMANDMENT-KEEPING people of [Yahuwah] with defiling garments...” RH, June 12, 1893.
“Beware of those who arise with a great burden to denounce the church. The chosen ones who are standing and breasting the storm of opposition from the world, and are uplifting the downtrodden commandments of [Yahuwah] to exalt them as honorable and holy, are indeed the light of the world.” RH, June 12, 1893.
From the above quotes we can outline the reasons why the Seventh-day Adventist Church of 1893 could not – at that time – be denounced as harlot, Babylon, a den of thieves, a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, the habitation of devils:
- In 1893 the Church was heeding the counsel of the True Witness (the message to the Laodicean Church), and were confessing their sins and repenting.
- In 1893 the members were commandment-keeping
- In 1893 the power of Yahuwah was in her midst.
- In 1893 the Seventh-day Adventist Church was the only Church in the world who was ‘standing in the breach, and making up the hedge, building up the old waste places.’
- In 1893 the Seventh-day Adventist Church was ‘breasting the storm of opposition from the world.’
- In 1893 the Seventh-day Adventist Church was ‘uplifting the downtrodden commandments of Yahuwah to exalt them as honorable and holy.’
- In 1893 the Seventh-day Adventist Church was ‘indeed the light of the world.’
The Condition of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Between 1893 and 1903
Alas, this auspicious start of revival and reformation which was clearly seen in the General Conference meetings of 1893 did not grow towards a full blossom, as would be seen from the following chronological statements:
1894:
“In following a course of this kind, men are pursuing a similar course to that of the Roman Catholics who center in the pope every power of the church, and ascribe to him authority to act as [Yahuwah] … [Yahuwah] does not purpose to have one man prescribe how his fellow workmen shall perform His work. When this manner of action comes in among our people, there is need of a protest.” Letter 53, 1894.
1895:
“When men who profess to serve [Yahuwah] ignore His parental character and depart from honor and righteousness in dealing with their fellowmen, Satan exults; for he has inspired them with his attributes. They are following in the track of Romanism.” TM 362.
1900:
“The day of [Yahuwah] is right upon us, and the world has converted the church. Both are in harmony, and are acting upon a short-sighted policy”. E.G. White, General Conference Bulletin, 1st Quarter, 1900 .
1901:
“The people have lost confidence in those who have the management of the work. Yet we hear that the voice of the Conference is the Voice of [Yahuwah]. Every time I have heard this, I have thought that it was almost blasphemy....We have reached the time when the work cannot advance while wrong principles are cherished.” Ms. 37, 1901.
“That these men should stand in a sacred place to be the voice of [Yahuwah] to the people as we once believed the General Conference to be, that is past.” GC Bulletin 1901, 25.
1903:
“Instead of leading the world to render obedience to [Yahuwah]'s law, the church is uniting more and more closely with the world in transgression. Daily the church is becoming converted to the world.” 8T 119 (1903).
Clearly, the long overdue revival and reformation which flourished for a while in 1893 and has been the reason for Ellen White’s refusal to denounce the Seventh-day Adventist Church as Babylon in 1893 was short-lived; for soon afterwards, the Church leaders, along with the members, pursued a course which brought the Church closer to Rome and she was daily being converted to the world. It was the refusal of the Church to reform in a lasting way, and to heed permanently the counsel of the True Witness, that led the Instructor to declare the Church as a harlot and Babylonian. The seriousness of the situation was such that General Conference leadership could no longer be counted on to be the voice of Yahuwah. And daily, the Church was being converted to the world instead of the other way round.
Faced with such a deadly pronouncement, the Church in 1903 could do one of two things: (1) Repent genuinely and seek anew Yahuwah’s glory and presence in her midst, or (2) continue deeper and further in her own ways, which caused Yahuwah to denounce her as a harlot. If the Church pursues the second route, then inevitably with a certain apostate action, she becomes, in the eyes of Yahuwah, a fallen Babylonian harlot church. As long as she is harlot but not fallen, there is always the possibility of corporate repentance and forgiveness. But when a church persists in her rebellion and rejects all of Yahuwah’s appeals, then there comes a moment when she reaches the point of no return, and becomes a fallen corporate entity. This has been the case with the Jewish Church, and the Roman Catholic and the various Protestant Churches. When a ‘church’ corporately falls, it becomes the urgent duty of Yahuwah’s faithful people to heed His voice and ‘come out of her’.
Let us review what course of action the Seventh-day Adventist Church took from 1903 and until the death of Yahuwah’s messenger, Ellen White, in 1915.
Condition of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Between 1903 and 1915
1903:
“The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result? – (1) The principles of truth that [Yahuwah] in His wisdom has given to the remnant church would be discarded. (2) Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. (3) A new organization would be established. (4) Books of a new order would be written. (5) A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. (6) The founders of this system would go into the cities and do a wonderful work. (7) The Sabbath, of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the [Eloah] who created it. (8) Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but (9) [Yahuwah] being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which without [Yahuwah], is worthless. (10) Their foundation would be built upon the sand, (11) and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure.” – Letter 242, October 1903 & Special Testimonies, Series B #7, pp. 36-42; (numbers are added for emphasis).
1904:
“Be not deceived; many will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. We have now before us the alpha of this danger. The omega WILL BE OF A MOST STARTLING NATURE.” Testimonies, Series B, No. 2, p. 16, written July 24, 1904.
1906:
“One thing it is certain is soon to be realized, – the great apostasy, which is developing and increasing and waxing stronger, and will continue to do so until the [Master] shall descend from heaven with a shout. We are to hold fast the first principles of our denominated faith, and go forward from strength to increased faith. Ever we are to keep the faith that has been substantiated by the Holy Spirit of [Yahuwah] from the earlier events of our experience until the present time. We need now larger breadth, and deeper, more earnest, unwavering faith in the leadings of the Holy Spirit. If we needed the manifest proof of the Holy Spirit's power to confirm truth in the beginning after the passing of the time, we need today all the evidence in the confirmation of the truth, when souls are departing from the faith and giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. There must not be any languishing of soul now.”NYI, February 7, 1906, para. 1.
“The warning is given in the Word, ‘Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils’. 1Timothy 4:1. We now repeat – Parents, keep your children away from Battle Creek. Some of our medical missionary workers are becoming leavened with infidelity. Specious heresy has been taking hold of minds and its threads have been woven into the pattern of the figure. Who is responsible for giving young men and women an education that has left a seducing influence upon their minds? One father writes that of his two children, who were sent to Battle Creek, one is now an infidel and the other has given up the truth. Ms 760, 26.4.
“Letters such as this have been coming from different ones. The warning is given me to give to parents, If your children are in Battle Creek, call them away without delay. Satan has come down with great power to work with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.” Ms 20, 1906. "Preach the Word," February 7, 1906. Ms760, 27.1.
1908:
“On every hand we see those who have had much light and knowledge deliberately choosing evil in the place of good. Making no attempt to reform, they are growing worse and worse.” RP (Report of Progress), September 15, 1908, para. 13.
1909:
“Study the 9th chapter of Ezekiel. These words will be literally fulfilled; yet the time is passing and the people are asleep. They refuse to humble their souls and to be converted. Not a great while longer will [Yahuwah] bear with the people who have such great and important truths revealed to them, but who refuse to bring these truths into their individual experience. The time is short. [Yahuwah] is calling; will you hear?” Letter 106, 1909.
1913:
“When our workers realize as they should the importance of the times in which we live, there will be seen a determined purpose to be on [Yahuwah]'s side, and they will become in truth laborers together with [Yahuwah]. 2SM 400.1.
“It will be well for us to consider what is soon to come upon the earth. This is no time for trifling or self-seeking. If the times in which we are living fail to impress our minds seriously, what can reach us? Do not the Scriptures call for a more pure and holy work than we have yet seen? 2SM 400.2.
“During the General Conference of 1909 a work should have been done in the hearts of those in attendance that was not done. Hours should have been given up to heart searching, that would have led to the breaking up of the fallow ground of the hearts of those who were at the meeting. This would have given them insight to understand the work so essential to be done by them in repentance and confession. But, though opportunities were given for confession of sin, for heartfelt repentance, and for a decided reformation, thorough work was not done. Some felt the influence of the Holy Spirit, and responded; but all did not yield to this influence. The minds of some were running in forbidden channels. Had there been on the part of all in the assembly a humbling of heart, there would have been manifested a wonderful blessing.” 2SM 400.4.
1915:
“I am charged to tell our people that they do not realize that the devil has device after device, and he carries them out in ways that they do not expect. Satan’s agencies will invent ways to make sinners out of saints. I tell you now, that when I am laid to rest, great changes will take place. I do not know when I shall be taken; and I desire to warn all against the devices of the devil. I want the people to know that I warned them fully before my death.” Manuscript 1, February 24, 1915.
Based on the above quotes, the historic period 1903-1915 presents the following facts:
- Right after our Instructor (Yahushua) declared the Church a harlot, Ellen White prophesied that the Church would soon face the Omega of Apostasy. There would be 11 features to this rather “startling” apostasy. In this apostasy, a new movement would take shape resulting in a new organization. This ‘new movement/new organization’ would bring about a change in the religion of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In the resulting new religion the old pillars of faith would be discarded. And the Sabbath would be lightly regarded and not respected. More ominous is the fact that nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of this apostasy. In other words, no amount of revival and reformation, sighing or crying, would succeed in reversing this Omega of apostasy. And finally, it has been prophesied by Yahuwah’s messenger that this apostasy will remain until the end of time, and it would lead the Church to be swept away by tempest and storm.
- Sure enough, as predicted by Yahuwah’s messenger, the condition within the Church continued to deteriorate to the extent that in 1906 she warned the parents not to send their children to Battle Creek, and if they were there already, then to call them back, lest their minds be influenced and seduced.
- The hoped-for repentance and confession in the General Conference meetings of 1909 did not take place. And the spiritual condition of the Church was getting worse and worse.
- Her last testimony to the Church was a most sobering warning. In that warning she prophesied that ‘great changes will take place’ after her death. And she wanted the people to know that she had fully warned them.
It is clear that upto the last day in the life of Ellen White, the Seventh-day Adventist Church did not regain either the glory or the presence of Yahuwah which this Church had lost in 1903, because she persisted in her rebellion and apostasy. But as soon as Yahuwah’s messenger was laid to rest, and the last of the pioneers was buried, the Omega of Apostasy began to take shape in a startling manner, as was predicted. It is because the Omega of Apostasy did not materialize during the life of Yahuwah’s messenger, or of the pioneers, that the call to ‘come out of her’ was not given. But now that we have the benefit of seeing the entire fulfillment of the solemn prophecy, the responsibility is laid on us of not only heeding the call of Christ ourselves to ‘come out of her’, but also to sound it in a loud and no uncertain way to Yahuwah’s people still trapped in this apostate and fallen Church.
The honest in heart would, upon evaluating the evidence of apostasy, readily concede that there is more than is needed to make an irrefutable case for the fallen state of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We are seeking to place at the disposal of such some of the evidence proving that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has indeed “fallen because of her errors and sins, because of her rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven.” GC 606.
1. Today She is Babylonian and Fallen Because She Lessens the Distance with Rome
1903:
Let us review briefly some of this evidence:
We have been warned in the Spirit of Prophecy that “[Yahuwah] has pronounced a curse upon those who take from or add to the Scriptures. The great I AM has decided what shall constitute the rule of faith and doctrine, and he has designed that the Bible shall be a household book. The church that holds to the word of [Yahuwah] is irreconcilably separated from Rome. Protestants were once thus apart from this great church of apostasy, but they have approached more nearly to her, and are still in the path of reconciliation to the Church of Rome. Rome never changes. Her principles have not altered in the least. She has not lessened the breach between herself and Protestants; they have done all the advancing. But what does this argue for the Protestantism of this day? It is the rejection of Bible truth which makes men approach to infidelity. It is a backsliding church that lessens the distance between itself and the Papacy.” ST, February 19, 1894, para. 4.
In the Spirit of Prophecy, backsliding is synonymous with apostasy and apostasy is synonymous with Babylon: “There are idols within and idols without; but [Yahuwah] sends the Comforter as a reprover of sin, that his people may be warned of their apostasy and rebuked for their backsliding.” RH, Dec 15, 1891. “They declared the Church of Rome to be the apostate Babylon of the apocalypse…Through ages of darkness and apostasy, there were Waldenses who denied the supremacy of Rome…” GC 88.
Has the Seventh-day Adventist Church lessened the distance between herself and the Papacy? We will highlight a sample list of events and statements by the Seventh-day Adventist Church going back 112 years, to determine if the distance with Rome has been lessened or increased:
1894:
Sister Ellen White warned that the General Conference leadership were “pursuing a similar course to that of the Roman Catholics;” Manuscript Releases, vol 9, p.179 – Letter 53, 1894; that they were trying to make the General Conference “like Rome, the great head of the work.” Manuscript Release #133, p. 27 – Letter 71, April 8, 1894.
1903:
“The proposed new constitution reverses the reformatory steps that were taken...in the constitution of 1901....but I want to say to you that any man who has ever read Neander's History of the Christian Church, Mosheim's, or any other of the great church historians...can come to no other conclusion but that the principles which are to be brought in through this proposed constitution, and in the way in which they are brought in, are the same principles, and introduced in precisely the same way, as they were hundreds of years ago when the papacy was made.” 1903 General Conference Bulletin, p. 150 (words of Percy Magan opposing the new constitution, which was adopted anyhow by the Church in 1903).
1942:
“On Tuesday afternoon more than 400 persons attended the dedication of the new $80,000 library of the Washington Missionary College. Included in the group were leading educators and librarians from nearby schools and colleges.... Praising the project, Dr. Roy J. Deferrari, general secretary of the Catholic University of America, as principal speaker, said the ‘library is worthy of pride and admiration.’” The Journal (USA), October 9, 1942.
1953:
“Outsiders should not interfere in family quarrels. Let Seventh-day Adventists settle their own disputes among themselves. We do not want to get involved in the strife as to whether this or that direction is a true representation of Adventism.... In 1914 two percent of the members were disfellowshipped from the German Seventh-day Adventist Church, because they declared that participation in war service, and that on the Sabbath (Saturday), cannot be reconciled with the Adventist doctrine. The disfellowshiped believers have considered themselves as the true keepers and defenders of Adventism.... In the spring of 1936, this ‘Reform Movement’ was dissolved and forbidden all over the country, as ‘under the cloak of religious activities they were pursuing aims which were opposed to the world views of National Socialism.’ Penalties were applied in the form of imprisonment and confinement in concentration camps.... The Adventist ‘Reform Movement’ in Germany is now reproaching the originally incorporated and recognized Seventh-day Adventist Church for the fact that they are seeking ‘better relations to the powers of darkness’, that they consider the Sabbath commandment as suspended in time of war, that they adhered to the Nazi State, that they do not observe the meat-eating prohibition, that they permit remarriage of divorced parties, and that they extend the number of those saved beyond 144,000.... There is something else, however, which is important to us. The original SDA Church assures us emphatically that they will 'abstain from any instigation against Catholicism.’” Paulinus (Catholic paper in Germany), March 8, 1953
1959:
“When we as Protestant Christians consider the term of office of Pius XII, we cannot refrain from showing due respect to the pious and reverence-imposing personality of the deceased Pope. . . . John XXIII, whose motto is 'Obedientia et Pax' (obedience and peace), is piloting the Catholic Church thru a difficult time. I am convinced that the prayers of the Protestant world in behalf of a good Pope, make sense. May his decisions stand before One Who is greater than he is!” Jugendleitstern (German Seventh-day Adventist paper), January 1959.
1963:
“For the first time in India, Protestant and Catholic choirs organized a joint concert in New Delhi to raise funds for the Indian Red Cross. The Catholic Sacred Heart Cathedral choir sang with choirs of Anglican, Methodist, Seventh-day Adventist and other churches and the Delhi Choir Society.” Universe (England), January 4, 1963.
“Then, another aspect of the friendliness – the way they arranged for the press of the world to have the best seats at the opening ceremony. I sat closer to the Pope than any of the cardinals. I was only forty feet away from him for three or four hours, and I had the clearest view, just as clear as some of you forty feet away. The reason I know he was forty feet away – I stepped it out after the service was over, because I thought, ‘Nobody will ever believe me, that I sat so long, so near to His Holiness.’” Arthur S. Maxwell, Editor, Signs of the Times, "The Outstretched Hand," A Sermon Report, given at the Loma Linda University of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Loma Linda, California.
Comment: How in the world could a high official of the Seventh-day Adventist Church call the man of sin, ‘His Holiness’? Pioneer Seventh-day Adventists would be astonished that an Adventist would refer to the Antichrist as ‘His Holiness.’
“Then, another aspect of this new friendliness was the pope's opening speech. I have it with me. I'm not going to read it because it took a long time, but it was a beautiful speech. This was at the opening of the final session. Do you know what his subject was? Love. I quote one paragraph: . . .” ibid., Arthur S. Maxwell, Editor, Signs of the Times, "The Outstretched Hand," A Sermon Report, given at the Loma Linda University Seventh-day Adventist Church, Loma Linda, California.
Comment:
“Shall this power, whose record for a thousand years is written in the blood of the saints, be now acknowledged as a part of the church of Christ?” The Great Controversy, page 571.
“Her spirit is no less cruel and despotic now than when she crushed out human liberty and slew the saints of the Most High.” The Great Controversy 571.
1964:
“Public protest against Seventh Day Adventist publications offensive to Catholics blew up in 1940 when a book, This Mighty Hour, published by the Signs Publishing Company, another subsidiary of the Adventists, caricatured the Pope as ‘Antichrist’ and as the ‘Beast’ of the Book of Revelation.
“Following upon readers' letters, action was taken by the Catholic Women's Social Guild which made a spirited public protest. Many people, including proprietors of hotels and guest houses, refused to purchase products of the Sanitarium Health Food Company, another Adventist subsidiary.
“The result was that officials of the Sanitarium Health Food Company called at The Advocate office and expressed regret for the publication of the offensive matter. The secretary for Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania of the Sanitarium Health Food Company said in a statement to The Advocate that the book in which the offensive statements appeared ‘was originally published in Europe and was republished by the Signs Publishing Company here without their careful customary scrutiny of its contents.’ The passages complained of, it was said, ‘do not represent the views of the Signs Publishing Company's management and certainly not of the Sanitarium Health Food Company.’
“It was said, further, that the book had not been in circulation for some considerable time, was not then being circulated and was not likely to be reproduced by the Signs Publishing Company. ‘They greatly regret their part in having republished it and doubtless will attempt by some suitable means to rectify some things so far as lies in their power.’
“Though other Adventists also called at The Advocate office and repudiated the secretary's statement, we accepted the assurance of the secretary, as an official.
“Since later publications had not come to our notice and it seemed that the above offensive type of publication was disappearing in the better climate that has been developing in the intervening years, The Advocate accepted recently in good faith the Sanitarium Health Food Company's advertisement.
“Following protests from some of our readers we contacted the Seventh Day Adventist headquarters at Yarra St. Hawthorn, and I spoke to Pastor L. Jones. He assured us that the book, This Mighty Hour, had been withdrawn early in the forties and was not now in circulation. He said that the author had, in fact, too recently visited Australia and was asked about the book. ! According to Pastor Jones, the author said that were he to write such a book today he would write it differently. Pastor Jones added that a new climate now happily existed between the religious denominations and that so far as he knew nothing of this kind of literature, which might be deemed offensive, was now being circulated by the Adventists.” The Advocate (Catholic paper in Australia), February 13, 1964.
1966:
“The event took place in the chapel of the Christian Adventist Church, whose leaders invited the diocesan bishop of Goya (Corrientes), Monsignor Alberto Devoto. He was a member of the Preparations Committee for Vatican Council II, correspondent for the Press at the 4th session of the council, a member of the Liturgic Reforms Committee that introduced different changes in Catholic worship, and he belongs to the line of dignitaries renovating the Argentine Ecclesiastical hierarchy.
“The news of Monsignor Devoto's visit to the Adventist Church had created great interest and expectation. Pastor Victor Schulz, local leader of the Adventist Church, received the high dignitary of the Catholic Church on his arrival. After a welcome had been given him, Monsignor Devoto entered the church accompanied by the Adventist leaders. The distinguished visitor was then introduced to the assembly by Pastor Schulz. He expressed the pleasure of the Christian Adventist Church ‘for having on its rostrum such a learned priest of the Catholic Church,’ and he said he was looking forward with great interest to ‘the subject of his address,’ considering the fact that he (Monsignor Devoto) had attended all the meetings of the Council, thus being thoroughly informed concerning the atmosphere of the eminent congress, and familiar with the historic transcendences of the thoughts of its promoters, John XXIII and Paul VI.” Asi (Argentine magazine), October 1966.
1968:
“During the visit of the Church-State Study Commission to Italy, the members joined in a general papal audience in St. Peter's. Afterwards three members of the commission spoke briefly with the Pope: Pierre Lanares, religious liberty secretary of the Southern European Division; Roland R. Hegstad, editor, Liberty; and Leif Kr. Tobiassen of Andrews University. The pope . . . (presented) . . . a souvenir medal to Dr. Tobiassen.” RH, May 30, 1968.
1969:
“Sister Bernice, a Roman Catholic nun, who is a graduate student in mathematics at Andrews University, recently spoke to the ministerial club at Andrews.” Lake Union Herald (SDA paper in USA), January 2, 1969.
1972:
“Adventists dedicate a chapel (in Maringa, Parana, Brazil). The presence of diocesan bishop Jayme Luiz Coelho and other priests and pastors transformed the dedication of the central chapel of the Seventh-day Adventist Church into an authentic example of ecumenism.... During the dedication services, Pastor Jose Ira JA da Costa e Silva who handed the chapel over to the congregation, the diocesan bishop and Mayor Adriano Valente had the floor.” Folha de Londrina (Brazilian newspaper), May 14, 1972.
1973:
In 1973 Bert Beverly Beach co-authored a book with Lukas Vischer, Secretary of the World Council of Churches. The title of the book was, So Much In Common, the subtitle, ‘Between the World Council of Churches and the Seventh-day Adventist Church.’ The book was published by the World Council of Churches, Geneva, Switzerland, in 1973. In this book, Beach disclosed that the co-operation between the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the World Council of Churches started with Vatican II Council. “In view of the fact that informal conversations between the World Council of Churches and the Seventh-day Adventist Church have been taking place on a regular basis for over four years, it is not inappropriate to consider the significance of these contacts and take stock of what has been accomplished so far.”Bert B. Beach, So Much In Common, page 98.
The first meeting was held in 1965, the participants being selected by the two organizers. Thus, the Conversations got underway on a completely informal basis and were held under the sole responsibility of the participants. Subsequent meetings have become somewhat more formal, in the sense that the employing bodies of the SDA participants have authorized and financed their presence and the executive committees of the three Adventist Divisions involved have given their blessing by facilitating the selection of the SDA representatives; the World Council of Churches has defrayed the expenses of its group. The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has been kept informed regarding the meetings, though it has taken no direct, active part in the Consultations, except through its three European Divisional branch offices. The November 24-26, 1969, Consultation was the fifth in the series.” ibid., Bert B. Beach, So Much In Common, page 98.
“Samuele Bacchiocchi, who studied at Andrews University and was Bible teacher at the Adventist Junior College in Ethiopia, recently received a gold medal from Pope Paul VI for taking the degree of licentiate in church history with distinction (summa cum laude), at the Papal Gregorian University in Rome.” Adventecho (German SDA paper), June 15, 1973.
“What we like about this going concern is that it has cut across denominational boundaries. At the recent election of officers at the annual general meeting, a new committee was elected. It consists of two Catholics, one Presbyterian, one Anglican, one Pentecostal, and four Australian-Chinese Adventists (the four who saw the need and went into action).” Australasian Record (Australian SDA paper), September 3, 1973.
Comment: “Now and ever we are to stand as a distinct and peculiar people, free from all worldly policy, unembarrassed by confederating with those who have not wisdom to discern the claims of [Yahuwah], so plainly set forth in His law.” Battle Creek Letters, page 52.
1974:
“Although it is true that there was a period in the life of the Seventh-day Adventist Church when the denomination took a distinctly anti-Roman Catholic viewpoint...that attitude on the Church's part was nothing more than a manifestation of widespread anti-popery among conservative Protestant denominations in the early part of this century and the latter part of the last, and which has now been consigned to the historical trash heap so far as the Seventh-day Adventist Church is concerned.” –Neal C. Wilson, past president of the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference; Court Transcript of United States vs. the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission vs. the Pacific Press Publishing Association and the General Conference. Reply Brief for Defendants, p. 4, Civil Case #74-2025 CBR, presided over by Judge Charles B. Renfrew, U.S. District Court, San Francisco, California, 1974-1975.
1975:
“Not all those co-operating in the project are Seventh-day Adventists. Father Sean O'Donoghue, rector of the Kodiak Catholic church, offered the facilities of the St. Mary's Parish School for use by Maranatha.... The fellowship is genuine. Father O'Donoghue delivers one of the early morning worship talks and prays for the success of the Adventist center. He and the Sisters of the Sacred Heart eat with the workers and seem intently interested in a religion that would motivate people to perform as Maranatha is doing. Father O'Donoghue is invited to participate in the opening services of the new SDA church.” Gleaner (official publication of the North Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Union Conference), August 18, 1975.
“Robert Hunter, pastor of the Morganton, North Carolina (SDA) district, and a member of the local ministerial association, joined in PULPIT EXCHANGE DAY, exchanging pulpits with (Father) Thomas Burke of St. Charles Roman Catholic Church. The theme of the city-wide program was ‘Blest Be the Tie.’” Southern Tidings (official publication of the Southern Union), April 1975.
1977:
B. B. Beach has a private audience with Pope Paul VI in the Vatican and presents him with gold medallion confirming friendship of the SDA Church with the Vatican. RH, Aug 11, 1977.
“Seeking the Objectives of Complete Unity
“After the general audience of Wednesday, the 18th inst., the Holy Father received the participants of the Conference of Secretaries of World Confessional Families. The group was accompanied by Bishop John Howe, General Secretary of the Anglican Consultative Council, and Mr. B. B. Beach, General Secretary of the Seventh-day Adventists. This was the first time that representatives of the Seventh-day Adventists met the Pope.
“To commemorate this significant moment, they offered an artistic gold medal to the Holy Father.
“The Holy Father directed the following discourse to them:
“Dear brethren in Christ:
“We rejoice to be able to receive such an important group today, and we welcome you to Peter's See.
“In you we greet the representatives of a considerable portion of the Christian people, and through you we send our wishes of grace and peace in the Lord to your Confessional Families.
“We are happy to express, in your presence, our common faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only Mediator with the Father, the Saviour of the world. Yes, brethren, together with the Apostle Peter, we proclaim that ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ Acts 4:12.
“On her part, the Catholic Church is solemnly engaged, through Vatican Council II, in an ecumenism based on increased fidelity to Christ the Lord and on heart conversion. At the same time, she is conscious that ‘nothing is more alien to ecumenism than that false irenicism that would harm the Catholic doctrine and obscure its genuine and precise meaning.’
“Reinforced by the power of the word of God, let us therefore pursue, despite all difficulties, the objective of full unity in Christ and in the Church.
“And, with humbleness and love, let us direct our thoughts and our hopes to our Lord Jesus Christ. Glory be given to Him, as well as to the Father and to the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.” L’Osservatore Romano (Catholic paper, Portuguese edition), May 29, 1977.
Adventists for the First Time With the Pope
“On Wednesday, May 18, Pope Paul VI received in special audience the representatives of the Conference of Secretaries of World Confessional Families. In the group there were, among others, Bishop John Howe, First Secretary of the Anglican Advisory Council, and Mr. B. B. Beach, First Secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This is the first time that a representative of this religious body has come to meet the Pope. On that occasion, to commemorate their visit, they presented the Pope with a gold medal....
“The Conference of Secretaries of World Confessional Families was organized twenty years ago, and its founder was the First Secretary of the Anglican Advisory Council, Bishop John Howe. The present Secretary of the Conference and at the same time the First Secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Mr. Beach, made a statement at the Vatican Radio emphasizing the importance of this first meeting of Adventists with the Pope. Word for word, this is what he said: ‘It was a great honor for me, as the Secretary of the Conference, to be present here in Rome, in audience with the Holy Father. On this occasion I presented to the Pope a book about the world-wide work of the Adventist Church.’” Glas Koncila (Catholic paper in Yugoslavia), June 5, 1977.
1981:
“There is another universal and truly catholic organization, the Seventh-day Adventist Church.” Neal C. Wilson, General Conference President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in Adventist Review, March 5, 1981, p. 3.
1986:
Judge William T. Hart issued the following ruling against Derrick Proctor and in favor of the SDA Church. He stated: “Church documents that prescribe the church's structure and governance confirm that all parts of the church are parts of a single entity. Next to the Roman Catholic church, the Adventist church is the most centralized of all the major Christian denominations in this country.” Derrick Proctor vs. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, case #81 C 4938: Findings of Fact, Section B, Church Objectives and Structures, p. 22.
1990:
In the 1990 General Conference session in Indianapolis, B.B. Beach said: “I am pleased to introduce to the assembly this afternoon T. J. Murphy, representing the PONTIFICAL Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He is here to give greetings on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church.” (Applause). T.J. Murphy then proceeded to give his ecumenical welcome, and was even allowed to have a prayer for the assembly. Adventist Review, July 13, 1990, page 8; see also Review, August 11, 1977, page 23.
A condensation of ‘The Great Controversy’ was handed out in Indianapolis. “Shirley Burton, a spokesperson for the denomination, told the Indianapolis Star Daily newspaper that the tract was ‘trash....The main body of the Church has moved away from an anti-Catholic position. The new position of co-operation with the Catholic Church was exemplified by the invitation from the Seventh-day Adventists to the Vatican to send an official observer to the conference.” Arkansas Catholic 7-29-90. The following are further comments found in The Indianapolis Star, July 14, 1990:
“Though Adventist officials conceded the history of the denomination has an anti-Catholic bent, they said the modern church is trying to move from that stance. ‘They (the dissidents) want us to be like we were 100 years ago,’ said Herbert Ford, news director for the 6.2 million-member church.
“But, the church has to move not away from the eternal principles of [Yahuwah], but things do have to change. ‘These people are a thorn in the flesh, but the church tolerates them. united states in prophecy (Great Controversy) which was sponsored by Adventist Lay workers Affiliate of Tennessee calls Catholicism a pagan religion and refers to the pope as a beast. Adventists who want to cling to the church's historic anti-Catholic beliefs represent only about 1,000 in the North American division of 750,000 members,’ Ford said.”
1991:
“But just think: if you were a Catholic, what time does Mass begin? What? 6:00 a.m. And Catholic means universal. So you really are a Catholic-Adventist Catholic, a Roman Catholic...” Transcript of Taped Sermon by SDA pastor Gale Gabbert, November 9, 1991, p. 1; LaGrange Seventh-day Adventist Church, Georgia, USA.
“The Eucharist, turning the communion bread into the literal body of Christ, fits into the circle of the three angels' messages.” Review, May 2, 1991, Roy Adams.
1993:
“The Seventh-day Adventist Church follows a model of organizational order in the church which is modified from the orders of Roman Catholicism, but it retains the same notions of clerical order which separates the members of the Church into two classes–clergy and laity.” Douglas Devnich, president of the Canadian Union of Seventh-day Adventists, in the Messenger (Official Journal of the Canadian Union Conference), December, 1993, p 2.
1995:
“Seventh-day Adventists believe that all sincere Christians, of whatever communion, constitute the people of [Yahuwah]. . .” SDA leadership states: “They regret that their sense of world mission makes membership in the National Council and the World Council impracticable.” ibid., Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, Second Revised Edition, 1995, Art. “Ecumenism.”
“...the Pope and I descended from the same Father, that makes us brothers who should not go around making personal attacks on each other.... differences, no matter how legitimate, would not justify the alienation of a member of the family....After all, the Pope and I are brothers.” Columbia Union Visitor, June 1, 1995, quoting Mitchell Tyner, the associate general counsel for the General Conference.
At the 1995 General Conference Session in the Netherlands, the Vatican flag was carried through the meeting hall in a singular fashion amidst an unusually loud ovation.
“Baptism will be the theme of the Roots and Branches Convocation, Thursday through Sunday at (Seventh-day Adventist) Union College (Nebraska), sponsored by Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska. Speakers include William Cardinal Keeler, archbishop of Baltimore and president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops; the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, dean of Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky; the Rev. Gayle Felton of Duke University Divinity School; and Brigalia Bam, general secretary of the South African Council of Churches. The event is the first in three-year series of annual convocations for laypersons and clergy, said Daniel Davis, executive secretary of the Interchurch Ministries of Nebraska. More than 200 people from across Nebraska and around the country are expected to attend Convocations in 1996 and 1997 and will focus on communion and ministry. ‘Together with baptism, they represent the three key ecumenical issues facing efforts at church co-operation and unity worldwide,’ Davis said. The convocation is an opportunity for people ‘to come together and celebrate together, worship together, talk together, enjoy together,’ he said. ‘So far as we know this is the first time anywhere this kind of thing has been done. ...’ Edward Cardinal Cassidy, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, was scheduled to attend, but at the last minute was sent by the pope to Romania. Monsignor John Radano, a staff member of the Pontifical Council, will attend as his representative. A worship service at 7 p.m. at College View Seventh-day Adventist Church, 3015 S. 49th St., with (Cardinal) Keeler speaking on ‘Baptism and the Community’ is open to the public. ...” Lincoln Journal Star, Saturday, October 21, 1995. (Emphasis supplied.)
Comment: What is the business of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to host a meeting between the fallen Roman Catholic and Evangelical church leaders to promote ‘the three key ecumenical issues facing efforts at church co-operation and unity worldwide?’ Are not Seventh-day Adventists supposed to call people out of Babylon? Revelation 18:4. Or has the Seventh-day Adventist Church in reality given up her Yahuwah-given mission in pursuit of acceptance by the fallen churches?
The Seventh-day Adventist Church merged her health care system in Colorado, USA, with the Roman Catholic Health system. The following are some excerpts from the press release announcing the event to the world:
TWO OF COLORADO'S LARGEST HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS FORM SINGLE ORGANIZATION:– Denver, Colorado, December 14, 1995. Two of Colorado's largest health care providers have finalized an agreement to form a single management company, which will create Colorado's largest provider of integrated health services… The announcement made at a news conference today held by PorterCare Adventist Health System and Sister of Charity Health Services Colorado… Purpose of the new management company is to extend to the community each system's mission of service…The new organization will be a unique organization in the United States which financially combines two separate Christian health care systems in this manner… Factors that brought these systems together include…shared values of health care as mission derived from a common Christian heritage… The organization will be governed by a board of directors who represent both PorterCare Adventist Health System and Sister of Charity Health Services Colorado. Sisnara will serve as chief executive officer… Louisville, (CO) Times, December 16, 1995, page 10.
Comment: We will quote two of the divine counsels regarding the above action.
“[Yahuwah] has repeatedly instructed me to say to His people that they are not to bind up with the world in business partnerships of any kind, and especially in so important a matter as the establishment of a sanitarium. Believers and unbelievers, serving two masters, cannot properly be linked together in [Yahuwah]'s work. ‘Can two walk together, except they be agreed?’ [Yahuwah] forbids His people to unite with unbelievers in the building up of His institutions.” 6BIO 42.1, 1905.
“Let not [Yahuwah]'s people in any of our institutions sign a truce with the enemy of [Yahuwah] and man. The duty of the church to the world is not to come down to their ideas and accept their opinions, their suggestions, but to heed the words of Christ through His servant Paul, ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?’ This means in a special sense marriage with unbelievers, but it covers more ground than this: it means in our instrumentalities ordained of [Yahuwah], in our institutions for health, in our colleges, in our publishing houses… Be afraid of uniting or binding up in bundles with them communicating the works connected with [Yahuwah]'s cause to those who have no part with [Yahuwah] or sympathy with those who love the truth of [Yahuwah]: ‘And I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith [Yahuwah] Almighty.” TM 271.2; Review & Herald, Feb 18, 1890.
Disregard of such clear instructions by the Seventh-day Adventist Church proves that she has chosen the friendship of Yahuwah’s arch-enemy rather than of Yahuwah.
1996:
Father Benedict O'Cinnsealeigh presented a talk on Sabbath morning, September 14, 1996, to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kettering, Ohio. His talk centered on and was titled: “The Similarities of Adventism and Catholicism.”
1999:
When the pope visited St. Louis in January of 1999, he held a Vespers Service where there was an ecumenical gathering. Representatives of many faiths came together to meet the Pope and welcome him to America. The Dayton Daily News of January 28, 1999, recorded this event: “The pope continued the theme of unity at his final ceremony Wednesday evening at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, where representatives of many faiths - Judaism, Hinduism, Seventh-day Adventists - joined him in prayer.” This description only touches the tip of the iceberg, friend. The conference had a representative there, Pastor B.T. Rice of the Northside Seventh-day Adventist Church, who spoke and made a presentation to the Pope! Before he and other religious leaders spoke, a Catholic representative made the statement: “For many people outside the Catholic community with willingness and graciousness, our brothers and sisters of the ecumenical and inter-religious community, have accepted the invitation to come together this evening with your holiness.” A little later, Pastor Rice spoke; “Pope, your Holiness (!), your historic visit to St. Louis Missouri has served as a catalyst in the creation of this program (ecumenical program?) and it transforms your presence into a lasting legacy for our region. Today, we present to you this proclamation, announcing the Creation of Faith Beyond Walls; your commitment to improving inter-faith relations has fostered an environment wherein the spirit of collective faith positively can thrive. In addition, we also present you with this banner, the emblem of Faith Beyond Walls. We hope and pray it will inspire inter-faith communities around the world to focus their efforts on improving health and the quality of life for all humanity. Again, we welcome you to our region.” He then approached the pope and shook his hand. This was covered on television with 2,800 members of the press covering the event and can be seen in the video Victory in St. Louis produced by the ministry Modern Manna. Modern Manna had 40 volunteers in St. Louis at that time to hand out 100,000 Is Mary Dead or Alive books. "And soon, after the Holy Spirit had been poured out and their mission completed, an apology would be offered by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to the Pope of Rome, ‘...begging pardon for their (Modern Manna’s) bigotry.’”
“...Honesty demands an acknowledgment that in recent decades Roman Catholicism has changed in positive ways in most parts of the world.... There is much spirituality in the Roman Catholic Church of which Protestants can be envious. Furthermore, the Catholic Church has formally accepted the principle of religious freedom. It is not fair to suggest that these and other positive developments are just window dressing and must, in fact, be watched with suspicion, or that they should be seen as clever tactics to lull other Christians into sleep while Catholics await a fortuitous moment when they can wipe out other Christians, Adventists first and foremost.
“In criticizing Catholic history, Adventists should try to be more balanced than in the past and should avoid offering a simple extension of the often biased and inaccurate picture that many past Protestants have offered of the medieval Church. Medieval Christianity also had positive and beautiful dimension.” Reinder Brinsma, “Adventists and Catholics: Prophetic Preview or Prejudice?” Spectrum, summer 1999. (Reinder Brinsma is the secretary of the Trans-European Division. He received his B.D. Hons. and Ph.D. in theology from the University of London. An author in English and Dutch, he has published numerous articles and ten books. His most recent English book is It’s Time to Stop Rehearsing What We Believe and Start Looking at What Difference It Makes (Idaho: Pacific Press, 1998)."—Spectrum, summer 1999.
2002:
“Members of the London Adventist Credit Union prayed on one of the chapels in St. Peter’s, the Vatican, during their ten-day tour of Italy….” Messenger, Feb 11, 2002, Journal of the SDA Church in the UK & Ireland.
2005:
“Also spearheading reconciliation with Rome is the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, formerly one of the strongest critics of the papacy.” James Ng’ang’a – Taken from the article entitled:It is imperative that all the world’s faiths unite under a global church; dated June 17, 2005, at www.vaticanfm.com
By applying the ‘weight of evidence’ principle, one is compelled to conclude that the distance between the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Roman Catholic Church has narrowed dramatically, though not completely gone. Worse, along the road to Romanism, there was no sign of sadness or repentance by the Church. To the contrary, we note ever bolder steps in the wrong direction, culminating in merging their health assets with those of the Catholic Church in Colorado, USA. This means that in the eyes of Yahuwah the Church, by disregarding His instructions and choosing to please Satan’s masterpiece (the papacy), has chosen Satan as her master. His people then have no business staying in a place where Yahuwah is not to be found, and where Satan is in charge. It has now become Babylon fallen.
2. Today She is Babylonian and Fallen Because of Her Ever Increasing Worldliness
1903:
“The world must not be introduced into the church and married to the church. Through union with the world the church will become corrupt, – ‘a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.’ The customs of the world must not have a place; for they will be open doors through which the prince of darkness will find access, and the line of demarcation will become indistinguishable between him that serveth [Yahuwah] and him that serveth him not.” RH, February 26, 1895, par. 4.
In 1980 there was serious concern about the spiritual condition of the educational system of the Church which led to the voicing of the following loud alarm by Kenneth Wood, Adventist Review editor:
“We confess that we are alarmed by the fact that some of our colleges seem to be drifting away from the standards and objectives established for them by their founders. We are alarmed by the secular climate that prevails on some campuses. We are alarmed by the strange winds of doctrine that blow on some campuses. We are alarmed by lax moral standards that prevail on some campuses. We are alarmed by the feeble efforts put forth by some administrators and faculty members to create a spiritual climate that will prepare students for the greatest event in earth’s history, the Second Coming of [Yahushua].” Adventist Review, February 21, 1980, by Kenneth Wood.
Since 1980 the situation has much worsened, to the extent that the line of demarcation between the colleges and the universities of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the world is no longer distinguishable. In a Ph.D. study undertaken by Pastor Bradley Strahan aimed at students between 19 and 24 years of age in the South Pacific Division, it was shown that “there was no significant difference between young adults who were Adventist schooled, partly-Adventist schooled or non-Adventist schooled on the measure of Christian commitment, denominational loyalty, doctrinal orthodoxy, social responsibility, self-esteem, ego-identity, or participation in risk behaviors”. South Pacific Division Record, May 2, 1998. The research study has further revealed the following statistics:
1. Nearly 30 percent of participants reported experiencing some kind of abuse.
2. More than half the perpetrators of abuse attended church; nearly one in five were involved in church leadership.
3. Forty-four percent of the participants had engaged in premarital sex at least once, with more than one-half of these (54 percent) using no contraceptives.
4. More than 40 percent of participants reported drinking in the past 12 months; more than 20 percent reported binge drinking.
The study concluded: “The figures are so close to national norms, they suggest that Adventists are not much different from the rest of the population.” Ibid.
Is it better elsewhere? How is it with the Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities in the USA?
“In the United States, Seventh-day Adventist Colleges have advertised a large range of gay and lesbian books advertised by the book store (La Sierra University); permitted the cardinal archbishop of Baltimore, Cardinal Kesler, Chairman of the Roman Catholic Bishops’ Conference, to preach on the subject of baptism during a Thursday evening in their church (Union College, Nebraska); published specifically Roman Catholic depictions of Christ in their student identification book (Andrews University); provided free condoms for students (Walla Walla College); formed a gay and lesbian society with two theology professors, a sociology professor and two deans on the committee (Walla Walla College); employed a chaplain and teacher who published a book, freely sold in Adventist book centers, which advocated that unmarried couples should engage in sexual activities, the one limitation being that both parties agree (Loma Linda University); arranged abortions for their students (Pacific Union College); promoted interschool sporting competitions (Columbia Union College and Southwestern Adventist University); taught that Christ is not our example, that the redeemed will sin after the close of probation, that the Holy Spirit does not dwell in the heart of the individual and that the day-year principle is invalid (Southern Adventist University).” Landmarks, September 1998, by Russell Standish.
The above signs of worldliness within the educational system of the Seventh-day Adventist Church confirm that the church has “become corrupt, – a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” This description is mentioned only in Revelation 18: 1-5, where Yahuwah in a loud voice is commanding His people (the last call of mercy) to come out of Babylon, because it is now the cage of “every unclean and hateful bird”.
It was rejection of truth by the Seventh-day Adventist Church which led to the gradual but steady erosion of the line of demarcation between her schools and those of the world. [Yahuwah]’s servant in 1909 cautioned the Church with the following warning: “Our people are now being tested as to whether they will obtain their wisdom from the greatest Teacher the world ever knew, or seek to the [eloah] of Ekron. Let us determine that we will not be tied by so much as a thread to the educational policies of those who do not discern the voice of [Yahuwah] and who will not hearken to His commandments.” CT 255.4; Letter 132, 1909.
But the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church voted in 1931 to submit all the educational institutions to governmental accreditation. This step yoked the Church to the world. “Conformity to worldly customs converts the church to the world; it never converts the world to Christ.” GC88 509.1.
3. Today She is Babylonian and Fallen Because of Her Continuing Pursuit of Acceptance and Unity (Ecumenism) with the Fallen Churches
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a member of the Christian World Communions. If you click on this link http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/links/church.html#cwc you will find the list of those world churches that are part of this confederacy. Here is the list of denominations as it appears in the above link:
- Anglican Communion
- Baptist World Alliance
- Church of the Brethren*
- Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council
- Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
- Friends World Committee for Consultation
- General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
- Lutheran World Federation
- Mennonite Central Committee
- Mennonite World Conference
- Moscow Patriarchate (Russian Orthodox Church)
- Pentecostal World Conference
- Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
- Reformed Ecumenical Council
- Salvation Army
- World Alliance of Reformed Churches - World Convention of Churches of Christ
- World Evangelical Fellowship
- World Methodist Council
What unites the above world Christian churches is that they all share “the same tradition or confession”, as can be read in the same above link. The general secretary of the Conference of Secretaries of the Christian World Communions is John R. Graz, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was re-elected in November 2004 to this post. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been member of this confederacy since 1970. How could a Church entrusted by Yahuwah to give the world His last call of mercy, be found in pursuit of acceptance and recognition by the fallen churches, through ecumenical links and confederacy? To find the answer to this question we need to go back in history to 1926 - a very important year in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
It was in 1926, under the presidency of William Spicer, that the Seventh-day Adventist Church took an action, which we point to as the one single one which sealed her fate, and converted the Church from a harlot Babylonian to harlot Babylonian fallen. This action is what opened the way for the leadership of the Church to actively pursue ecumenical links and associations with all the fallen churches of the world. The actions are tagged General Conference working policy #075. Here below is the evidence for this conclusion:
“Back in 1926, long before ecumenism was in vogue, the General Conference Executive Committee adopted an important statement that is now a part of the General Conference Working Policy (075). This declaration has significant ecumenical implications. The concern of the statement was for the mission field and relationships with other "missionary societies." However, the statement has now been broadened to deal with "religious organizations" in general. It affirms that Seventh-day Adventists "recognize those agencies that lift up Christ before men as a part of the divine plan for evangelization of the world, and ... hold in high esteem Christian men and women in other communions who are engaged in winning souls to Christ." In the Church’s dealings with other churches, "Christian courtesy, frankness, and fairness" are to prevail. ...” ibid., Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, Second Revised Edition, 1995, Art. "Ecumenism"; emphasis supplied.
Dear Reader:
Can you not see how by this single act of treason, the Seventh-day Adventist Church decided, in 1926, (in place of confession and repentance of all her past sins and rebellion, for she was deprived of Yahuwah’s presence and glory since 1903) to abandon the only reason for her existence (the giving of the Three Angels’ Messages) and instead to pursue a course in which she sought to be recognized, loved, and accepted by Yahuwah’s arch-enemies? How could the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church recognize the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) as ‘part of the divine plan for evangelization of the world’? By this single act of treason (adoption of working policy #075) the Seventh-day Adventist Church has exchanged acceptance by Yahuwah for the acceptance by Satan. Hence, from that very year, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has corporately fallen for ever.
When that most treacherous act in the eyes of Yahuwah was undertaken in 1926, the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church knew very well that the working policy #075 would have ‘significant ecumenical implications.’ It means that the Church was ready to pay any price doctrinally to be recognized by the fallen churches. Nothing would be too dear as a price for acceptance by the fallen churches.
It would take years and decades, however, until the repercussions of this treacherous policy can be noted and seen by the fallen churches (for to the fallen churches it represents 180 degree reversal of position) as well as by her members. Let us survey the slow but steady implementation of this policy by the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Remember, dear Reader, that since 1926 the Church became wholeheartedly Satan’s domain, and he goes about his work in a most deceitful and calculated manner, so as not arouse suspicion of the members.
1956:
“Well-known Protestant leaders had talks with top Adventist leaders and finally declared: ‘We are delighted to do justice to a much maligned group of sincere believers, and in our minds and hearts . . . acknowledge them as redeemed brethren and members of the Body of Christ.’” Time Magazine (USA), December 31, 1956.
“Mr. Martin went to Tacoma Park, Washington, D. C., and the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist movement. At first the two groups looked upon each other with great suspicion. Mr. Martin had read a vast quantity of Adventist literature and presented them with a series of approximately forty questions concerning their theological position. On a second visit he was presented with scores of pages of detailed theological answers to his questions. Immediately it was perceived that the Adventists were strenuously denying certain doctrinal positions which have been previously attributed to them.
“As Mr. Martin read their answers he came, for example, upon a statement that they repudiated absolutely the thought that seventh-day Sabbath-keeping was a basis for salvation and a denial of any teaching that the keeping of the first day of the week is as yet considered to be the receiving of the anti-Christian ‘mark of the beast.’ He pointed out to them that in their book-store adjoining the building in which these meetings were taking place a certain volume published by them and written by one of their ministers categorically stated the contrary to what they were now asserting. The leaders sent for the book, discovered that Mr. Martin was correct, and immediately brought this fact to the attention of the General Conference officers, that this situation might be remedied and such publications be corrected. This same procedure was repeated regarding the nature of Christ while in the flesh which the majority of the denomination has always held to be sinless, holy, and perfect despite the fact that certain of their writers have occasionally gotten into print with contrary views completely repugnant to the Church at large. They further explained to Mr. Martin that they had among their number certain members of their 'lunatic fringe' even as there are similar wild-eyed irresponsibles in every field of fundamental Christianity. This action of the Seventh-day Adventists was indicative of similar steps that were taken subsequently.
“Mr. Martin's book on Seventh-day Adventism will appear in print within a few months. It will carry a foreword by responsible leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the effect that they have not been misquoted in the volume and that the areas of agreement and disagreement as set forth by Mr. Martin are accurate from their point of view as well as from our evangelical point of view. All of Mr. Martin's references to a new Adventist volume on their doctrines will be from the page proof of their book, which will appear in print simultaneously with his work. Henceforth any fair criticism of the Adventist movement must refer to these simultaneous publications.
“The position of the Adventists seems to some of us in certain cases to be a new position; to them it may be merely the position of the majority group of sane leadership which is determined to put the brakes on any members who seek to hold views divergent from that of the responsible leadership of the denomination.
“To avoid charges that have been brought against them by evangelicals, Adventists have already worked out arrangements that the Voice of Prophecy radio program and the Signs of the Times, their largest paper, be identified as presentations of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.” Eternity, September 1956.
1957:
“We are one with our fellow Christian denominational groups in the great fundamentals of the faith once delivered to the saints.” Questions on Doctrine (Seventh-day Adventist book), p. 32. This book came right after the end of the discussion of 1955, 1956 with the Protestants Barnhouse and Walter. In this book the Church changed her position on Christ’s nature to that of Adam’s nature before the fall, and changed her teaching on the Atonement being completed at the Cross, instead of actually starting at the Cross. These compromises and changes were required by the Protestant leaders in order to categorize the Seventh-day Adventist Church as an evangelical Christian church instead of being classified as a sect.
1958:
“I think that you are justified in granting permission for the use of your church building for an Easter service to be held by other religious bodies” RH, May 22, 1958.
1959:
“Merger of Churches in China. Of late more and more news has been coming in about churches joining one another and merging together. What a unification on a local basis looks like, can be seen from the guiding principles adopted for the merger between the Church of Christ and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Chinchow, Liaoning Province, which we quote word by word from ‘China Bulletin’ published by the Far East Office of the Foreign Missions Department of the National Council of Churches in USA: 1. The denominational names heretofore adopted by both churches are abolished, and from now on the church will be called 'Christian State Church of Chinchow.' 2. The organization, the buildings, the properties, and the personnel become one. Surplus property will be used for the socialistic upbuilding. 3. The Adventist tithe-paying custom is revoked; let everyone give as much as he likes. 4. Previously adopted patriotic resolutions will be adapted to the new conditions after the unification. Provisions will be made for a reformation in the way of thinking of the individual church members. Der Adventbote (German Seventh-day Adventist paper), December 15, 1959.
1960:
“The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an associate of the National Council of Churches.... The Seventh-day Adventists have been affiliated with a unit of the Council since its formation in 1950.” Letter from National Council of Churches (USA), March 21, 1960.
1962:
“The Seventh-day Adventists were one of the first denominations to become reformed and to join the Communist Church. Other denominations followed before long, but not all. These were the Evangelical Church and the Chinese Orthodox Church, the former under the leadership of Rev. Wang, and the latter under the leadership of Rev. Watchman Nee.” Haagse Courant (Dutch newspaper), January 27, 1962.
“The Holy Spirit came down upon the people.... Scores received the precious baptism with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues.... There were representatives of many faiths assembled for a common purpose: Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Dutch Reformed laymen, Methodists, Lutherans, Nazarenes, Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists – and hosts of others – all meeting at the feet of [Yahushua].” “Full Gospel Men’s Voice”, September 1962.
1965:
“Ringwood's Inter-Church Council comprises representatives of the Church of Christ, Church of England, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Salvation Army, Seventh-day Adventist and the Ringwood East Baptist churches.” Eastern Post Gazette (Australian newspaper), November 11, 1965.
1966:
“An important ‘pre-theological’ ecumenical meeting took place under the sponsorship of John XXIII Center, of the Pontifical University of Salamanca, May 24-25 (1966). Besides the professors of this University, there were Catholic specialists, Adventist, Baptist, and Episcopalian ministers as well as pastors of the Evangelical Church, in attendance. The participants decided to continue having dialogues of this kind on an annual basis.” Lactualite Oecumenique ( France), June 15, 1966.
1967:
“Those gathering together to praise [Yahuwah] in song were from the following churches: Raymond Blackford, Bethel Lutheran; Dr. William Early, Cicero Methodist; Rev. Stephen Bard, Cicero Wesleyan; Father Duane Craycraft, Sacred Heart Catholic Church; Rev. Don Paden, Cicero Christian; and Pastor Randal Murphy, Cicero SDA Church.” L'Actualite Economique, March 9, 1967.
“On October 29, 1966, a further step was taken toward religious freedom in Colombia, with the foundation of the Religious Liberty Association of Colombia.... A Seventh-day Adventist, Raimundo Pardo Suarez, was chosen as president. The vice president is the Reverend Noel Olaya, a Catholic priest and a relative of several of Colombia's past presidents. H. Niemann, pastor of the central church of Bogota, was elected secretary, and Fernando Tapias, an Adventist businessman, treasurer. Dr. Carlos Didacio Alvarez, a Catholic lawyer and staunch defender of religious liberty, was appointed auditor. The rest of the directorate was chosen from among leaders of various religious persuasions.” L'Actualite Economique, March 9, 1967.
“A visit with Ecumenical Patriarch ATHENAGORAS.... I disengaged myself from his gray-black whiskers and asked him jocularly, 'Did you give me the same kiss of peace you gave Pope Paul on the Mount of Olives?' His large expressive brown eyes twinkled. 'Yes,' he replied, 'the very same kiss. But with you it was not necessary, for with you I have not been at war!” Roland R. Hegstad, Liberty (SDA paper in USA), March-April 1967.
“Friday, May 13 (1967), at 8:00 p.m., the crypt of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Pompeii was crammed. An act of meditation and prayer, organized by the Ecumenical Center of Barcelona, was taking place. The ceremony was jointly conducted by the Archbishop of Barcelona, Dr. Marcelo Gonzalez; Rev. Enrique Capo, pastor of the Spanish Evangelical Church; Mr. Antonio Comavella, of the Adventist Church; and Bro. Roberto Giscard, monk of the Protestant community of Taize.” La Vanguardia Espanola (Spanish newspaper), May 18, 1967.
“Adventists are working in close cooperation with the Ecumenical Council.” Tribuna Ludu (Polish newspaper), December 15, 1967.
“Pastor Dombrowski and Pastor Lyko (Seventh-day Adventist pastors) were honored with the badge which was granted at the celebration of the 'One-thousand year-Christianization.' Furthermore, they were on the Board of Directors at the Peace Conference of All Christians.” BiwleWnach Infortnacynich (Polish magazine), May 16, 1967.
1968:
“Particularly comforting is the discovery that one of [Yahuwah]'s latter-day champions is none other than Archbishop Ramsey himself, one hundredth occupant of the See of Canterbury.” The Signs of the Times, January 1968.
“The World Council of Churches today admitted nine Roman Catholic theologians to membership in its principal theological body, the Commission on Faith and Order.... Also admitted to full membership were six representatives of other nonmember churches, including the Seventh Day Adventist Church....” New York Times ( USA), July 12, 1968.
1971 :
“The nominations committee yesterday (July 25, 1971) announced acceptance of the nomination of the family of a Seventh-day Adventist minister (Pastor C. Banaag) in search for the Christian Family of 1971.... Minister Banaag has visited many countries in Asia and the United States. His last trip was in 1968 when, as a member of the International Church-State Commission composed of 34 religious liberty secretaries of various countries, he visited the countries of Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia and was given a one-half hour audience by the Pope Paul VI at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Pastor Banaag also attended the ecumenical encounter with the Pope at the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Avenue last year when the pontiff came to Manila for a visit. This year's search is under the joint sponsorship of the Christian Family Movement and the Philippines Herald, by appointment of the papal nuncio, with the cooperation of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines.” The Philippines Herald, July 26, 1971.
1973:
“As a delegate of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, I attended the annual session of the General Conference of Seventh-day Baptists, which was opened August 12, in Milton, Wisconsin, USA.” Adventecho (German SDA paper), October 15, 1973.
“To celebrate her 75-year jubilee, our church in Hungary conducted several religious services September 5 thru 8 (1973).... The meeting held on Thursday was attended also by representatives of the Government and representatives of other churches and denominations.” Adventecho (German SDA paper), December 15, 1973.
“Since 1965 there have been yearly dialogues between the World Council of Churches and the Seventh-day Adventists.... Since 1968, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is acknowledged by other international churches as a 'World Confessional Family.' The Adventist participation in the yearly conference of the 'world confessional families' has brought good results.... Conscientious co-operation is necessary, as long as there is no compromise regarding firmly established beliefs and religious aims.” Adventecho (German Seventh-day Adventist paper), February 15, 1973.
1974:
“Plan to attend the Art Festival at St. Joseph's School on January 5 and 6 with public viewing to take place on Sunday, Jan. 6 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. This is sponsored by the Wayland Council of Churches which includes Sacred Heart of Perkinsville, St. Joseph's, United Methodist, United Church of Christ, and Seventh Day Adventist.... The Festival will close with an Ecumenical Service in the Church on Sunday afternoon....”; The Valley News, January 2, 1974.
1975:
“The Community Thanksgiving Service will be held Thursday morning at 10 o'clock at the Bowmar Avenue Baptist Church. Dr. John G. McCall, pastor of the First Baptist Church will be the guest speaker.... Father Michael Glynn, pastor of St. Paul's Catholic Church will lead the responsive reading, the Rev. C. Anthony Russo, pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church will offer the Thanksgiving prayer, and the Rev. Harold Jordon, pastor of the Bowmar Avenue Baptist Church will direct music.” Vicksburg's ( USA) Evening Post, November 26, 1975.
“When Adventist world leaders were convinced that the church could carry on its work without any change in its teachings or means of support, they yielded to government demands to align with the Protestant organization.... Thus, with mixed feelings on both sides, on March 24, 1972, Seventh-day Adventists became the forty-second communicant in the Church of Christ in Zaire.” RH, Feb. 27, 1975.
1976:
“Representatives of several Christian denominations attended the 'Oitavario' (festival of eight days) of Prayers in Behalf of Christian Unity, which will close today (January 25, 1976) with an Ecumenical Service to be held at 11 a.m. in the English Church (Anglican Church) on Quebra Costas Street. (The photo shows) from left: Rev. Harper, chaplain of the English Church at Funchal; Rev. Pedro Barbosa, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church; Right Reverend Satterthwaite, Bishop of Fulham and Gibraltar; Father Rafael Andrade, representative of the Funchal Diocese; and Rev. Paulo Falcao, pastor of the Adventist Church.” Jornal da Madeira (Portuguese newspaper), January 25, 1976.
“‘For those who died in the Santa Luzia accident there is hope of resurrection.’ With these words of introduction, Dom Joao de Rezende Costa, archbishop of Belo Horizonte, opened the ecumenical worship in honor of the 18 victims of the accident.... Mass was celebrated by the archbishop.... At the end, a choir of the Seventh-day Adventist Church sang a few religious hymns and popular songs.” Diario da Tarde (Brazilian newspaper), September 1, 1976.
1977:
“Evangelist Billy Graham has accepted an invitation to hold a crusade in Hungary. Graham's acceptance was announced jointly by the evangelist and Sandor Palotoy, chairman of the Council of Free Churches in Hungary. Palotoy extended the invitation to Graham while in the United States for a General Council meeting of the Baptist World Alliance. Himself a Seventh-day Adventist, Palotoy represents the eight evangelical churches in Hungary.” Southern Tidings (official publication of the Southern Union), September 1977.
“Mr. Graham's visit . . . was sponsored by the Council of Free Churches, an alliance of Baptist, Pentecostal, Methodist, Seventh-day Adventist, and other denominations.” Religious News Service ( USA), October 14, 1977.
1984:
“N. C. Wilson, the president of the world organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, along with other high-ranking church officials, stayed in our country at the invitation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hungary between January 18 and 30. They discussed church related matters and visited local congregations.
“N. C. Wilson and Denes Zarka, the president of the church in Hungary and their respective retinues visited Imre Miklos, the undersecretary of State and president of the office for Church Affairs. At this meeting N. C. Wilson informed Mr. Miklos of the steps they were going to take concerning the matter of the splinter group within the Hungarian Church. N. C. Wilson stated that, as in other countries, the Seventh-day Adventist world organization recognizes only one church organization, the one elected at the electoral conference, and which also the State has recognized.
“N. C. Wilson has expressed his appreciation for the useful and beneficial attitude of the Hungarian State toward the church, as well as for the high degree of religious liberty he had experienced in Hungary.” Nepszabadsag (Hungarian newspaper), January 31, 1984.
Not surprisingly then to see that the adoption by the executive committee of the General Conference working policy #075 has led the Seventh-day Adventist Church to change the major pillars of her faith: the fallen nature of Christ, the Beast of Revelation 13, and the Atonement doctrine. It further led the Church to be active in ecumenical initiatives with the other fallen churches, whereby the Church could no longer freely give her distinctive present-truth message.
That course of action alone disqualifies the Church as Yahuwah’s remnant, and as such Yahuwah’s true followers still in the Seventh-day Adventist Church should heed the call of Christ to ‘come out of her, My people’ before it is too late.
4. Today She is Babylonian and Fallen Because She Makes Other Babylonian and Fallen Churches Her Role Models
A natural corollary of adoption of the working policy #075 is the desire to learn from the fallen churches, since they are regarded by the Seventh-day Adventist Church as co-workers in Yahuwah’s vineyard. Therefore, not surprisingly, we find that in the late eighties the Seventh-day Adventist Church experimented with the celebration style of worship to draw potential members into the churches. By the celebration style of worship we mean the usage of semi-Pentecostal worship music, theatrical skits, and other entertainments. While this worldly/Babylonian mode of worship (highly condemned by the Spirit of Prophecy) was pleasing to the liberals of the Church, it nevertheless alienated the conservatives, who are the main financial supporters of the denomination. The results of the experiments were not very encouraging to the leaders as they led the conservatives to hold back some their financial backing, out of their dissatisfaction with the new direction.
Around this time Bill Hybels started his new Protestant church in Chicago, the Willow Creek Church. He achieved tremendous success in drawing thousands of people into his church. He found out that what people really wanted was very little of church and lots of entertainment, little of Christianity and lots of songs and theatrics, little of formality and lots of casualness and food, little of Christ and His teaching and lots of other ‘interesting’ things. Basically, he converted the church into a community entertainment center.
The success frenzy caught the attention of all the Christian denominations in North America. The Willow Creek Church soon became a training center for other Protestant churches, who wanted to learn how to transfer the success into their local churches. The Seventh-day Adventist leaders saw in the Willow Creek Church model what they were lacking to achieve the kind of membership growth they aimed for.
Learning from the celebration experiment of the eighties, the leaders this time decided to start entirely new churches built on the Willow Creek model. This way they would avoid alienating the conservatives, while giving the new churches total freedom to experiment with radically new lines of ‘religious’ entertainment.
The launching of this new and modern initiative, which was labeled Church Planting, was undertaken with great excitement and funfare. Under the headline “Church Planting Summit Brings Spirited Response”, the Adventist Review of September 19, 1996, reported the event as follows:
“A movement was born when Adventists across North America converged on Andrews University for Seeds ’96, a church planting summit, June 12-15.
“More than 400 church members, pastors, administrators, and educators participated in this inauguration of a massive church planting endeavor . .
“The Seeds conference included 15 seminars and presentations. NAD president Alfred C. McClure gave the keynote address. The overflow crowd interrupted McClure time after time with cheering, applause, and thunderous amends.
“‘We’ve come here this week to change the way this division thinks about church planting,’ said McClure. ‘This is the day that North America turns a corner. Today the North American church establishes a new battle plan. Today this division launches the most aggressive and intentional church planting in its history. . .
“‘It is imperative that we be willing to devise new wineskins to serve as vehicles for the water of life.”
Was the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church entrusted by Yahuwah with giving the Three Angels’ Messages, ashamed of seeking guidance from a Babylonian church instead of seeking wisdom and insight from the inspired instructions she has received? Not at all.
“Fact: Adventists, both pastors and lay people, consistently make up one of the largest groups at Willow Creek’s half-dozen annual seminars.”Adventist Review, December 18, 1997.
The training that some of the Seventh-day Adventist ministers got at Willow Creek Church training center led some leaders to realize that the denomination’s name was a liability and a big drawback. Hence, several churches which adopted the Willow Creek model have changed their names. The following is a list of some of the names adopted by these ‘Adventist Willow Creek churches’:
- Oasis Christian Center, Washington
- New Life Celebration Fellowship, Oregon
- Sun Valley Fellowship, Canada
- New Hope Church, Maryland
- South Hills Bible Fellowship, Pennsylvania
- Hamilton Community Church, Tennessee
- New Life Christian Fellowship, Washington
- Center for Creative Activity, Nebraska
- New Church Plant, Canada
The fascination of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America with the Babylonian Willow Creek Church can be seen in the following quote:
“What to do with Willow Creek?
“Fact: America’s most attended church, a noncharismatic nondenominational church in suburban Chicago, continues to shape not only its immediate community but, more notably, the 2,200 member churches from 70 denominations participating in the Willow Creek Association. WCA endeavors to “help the church turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Christ.” Adventist Review , December 18, 1997.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is grateful for the impact of Willow Creek on her Church.
“What to do with Willow Creek? . . .I’m grateful for Willow Creek. It was there that my former academy church, Forest Lake, got intentional about worship; that Adventist friends and relatives recognized their natural abilities—from drama to maintenance—as natural ministries…I’ve never exited the $34.3 million (Willow Creek) complex without positive thoughts.”Adventist Review , December 18, 1997.
In a final appeal the Adventist Review presents the following plea:
“Adventists should continue gleaning from Willow Creek . . . Willow Creek has its place in prophecy too.” Adventist Review , December 18, 1997.
Only a Church which has fallen so low beyond any recovery, to where she can no longer differentiate between the holy and the profane, would find guidance and instructions in a Babylonian church. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?”Amos 3:3.
On May 30, 1882, Ellen G. White made the following sad statement about the condition of the Seventh-day Adventist Church then:
“The church has turned back from following Christ her Leader and is steadily retreating toward Egypt. Yet few are alarmed or astonished at their want of spiritual power.” 5T 217.
The craving of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to implement today the Satanic methods of Willow Creek is a strong evidence that she has finished retreating and is not only settled but that indeed she has become an integral part of spiritual Egypt.
5. Today She is Babylonian and Fallen Because She Has Formed an Image to the Beast
In the late seventies and early eighties, the General Conference came under increasing pressure from Catholic leaders, who were upset by the activity of some ‘rogue’ Seventh-day Adventist churches which were actively giving the Third Angel’s Message in the USA and publicly denouncing the man of sin. It was demanded by the Catholic and ecumenical leaders that the General Conference abide by the understanding reached previously with the General Conference that such ‘hostile’ activities were to cease if the Seventh-day Adventist Church was to be accepted and recognized as part of mainstream Christianity. The Seventh-day Adventist Church had really no control over those independent churches, who were calling themselves by the same name; such churches were indeed financially and administratively not controlled by the General Conference.
To get out of this embarrassment and make good with his ecumenical partners, Neil C. Wilson, in 1980, hired attorney Vincent Ramik, a practicing Roman Catholic trademark lawyer, to register the brand Seventh-day Adventist as an intellectual property, solely owned by the General Conference Corporation. The General Conference kept this devilish initiative secret from members all over the world for five years, until the no-objection period expired. After the expiration of the no-objection period, the General Conference became in 1985 the undisputed legal owner of the trademark Seventh-day Adventist, and thus was in a position to restrict the usage of the name to only those who would not cross the lines. Neil C. Wilson, through the legal department of the General Conference began to harass and threaten all independent Seventh-day Adventist churches which were actively giving the Third Angel’s Message. They started legal action against Pastor Perez of the Eternal Gospel Seventh-day Adventist Church in Miami, and Pastor Marik in Kona, Hawaii.
We have been warned in The Great Controversy that “Whenever the church has obtained secular power, she has employed it to punish dissent from her doctrines. Protestant churches that have followed in the steps of Rome by forming alliance with worldly powers have manifested a similar desire to restrict liberty of conscience."The Great Controversy 443. When the General Conference sought the aid of the civil power, it was for the purpose of punishing those who stand in the way of the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. By this action they have indeed formed an image to the beast similar to the image of the beast which will be formed when the Protestant fallen churches will seek the civil authorities to impose Sunday worship.
By trade-marking the Church’s Yahuwah-given name, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has provided the Protestants with a practical demonstration of how to seek the aid of the civil authorities to control the actions of the people. For this reason alone (if not for other reasons), for which the Seventh-day Adventist Church has never repented, we cannot help but conclude that the Church has fallen beyond repair.
Now that the Church is Fallen, What to Do Next?
If the Seventh-day Adventist Church is fallen, then there is only one course of action for a son or daughter of Yahuwah to pursue: to come out of her at once and follow Christ. Such a son/daughter of Yahuwah would not then be accountable before Yahuwah for the sins of the Church, if he/she severs all links (membership, association, etc.) with this apostate entity. But to harbor the elusion, that though the Church is indeed fallen, but I must stay to reform it, is going against the clear will of Yahuwah. The nature of Babylon, as revealed in the Bible, defies healing. Divine instruction tells us: “We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her…” Jeremiah 51:9. Since Babylon cannot be healed, what are Yahuwah’s children instructed to do? As if ‘forsake her’ is not clear enough, we are commanded to “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity.” Jeremiah 51:6. A third similar command is given in the same chapter: “My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of Yahuwah.” Jeremiah 51:45.
If you think that the words of Jeremiah above do not apply to us today, please pay heed to the following divine counsel:
“The prophets of [Yahuwah] spoke less for their own time than for the ages to come, and especially for the generation that would live amid the last scenes of this earth's history.” ST, January 13, 1898, par. 8.
Yahuwah’s messenger foresaw the day when the Three Angels’ Messages were to be especially given to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, including the last call of mercy of Revelation chapter 18.
“The first, second, and third angel's messages are to be repeated. The call is to be given to the church: ‘Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird....come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.’” RH, October 31, 1899 (vol 4, p. 109, col. 3).
The Bible tells us that the heeding of the call to come out of her represents merely the first step in the process of being accepted by Yahuwah as His sons and daughters:
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of [Yahuwah] with idols? For ye are the temple of the living [Eloah]; as [Yahuwah] hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in (them); and I will be their [Eloah], and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith [Yahuwah], and touch not the unclean (thing); and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith [Yahuwah] Almighty.” 2Cor. 6:14-18.
Yahuwah’s messenger has foreseen that just before the close of probation, a final ‘come out of her’ call will be given to Yahuwah’s people in the fallen churches as well as to the Adventist people:
“I saw that [Yahuwah] has honest children among the nominal Adventists and the fallen churches, and before the plagues shall be poured out, ministers and people will be called out from these churches and will gladly receive the truth. Satan knows this; and before the loud cry of the third angel is given, he raises an excitement in these religious bodies, that those who have rejected the truth may think that [Yahuwah] is with them. He hopes to deceive the honest and lead them to think that [Yahuwah] is still working for the churches. But the light will shine, and all who are honest will leave the fallen churches, and take their stand with the remnant.” EW 261.1.
We pray that you will be among the few honest ones who would not need to be deceived by Satan’s generated excitement seen right now in many of the Seventh-day Adventist churches, and which is falsely taken as a sign “that [Yahuwah] is still working for the churches.” Furthermore, do not be deceived by Satan’s agents in the Church who are giving false definition of ‘nominal Adventists.’ Leave to Yahuwah’s servant to define herself what she meant by nominal Adventists. In the same book, Early Writings, she defines nominal Adventists as those ‘who reject the present truth.’ EW 69.2.
A Final Solemn Warning For Seventh-day Adventists
We are told in the first chapter of The Great Controversy that the destruction of Jerusalem was a type (a prefigure) of the destruction of the Church and world in the last days. In the type, we note that Jewish leaders, while Jerusalem was besieged by the Romans, hired and bribed many false prophets and shepherds to assure the Jews of the inevitability of deliverance by Yahuwah at the eleventh hour.
“To establish their power more firmly, they (Jewish leaders) bribed false prophets to proclaim, even while Roman legions were besieging the temple, that the people were to wait for deliverance from [Yahuwah]. To the last, multitudes held fast to the belief that the Most High would interpose for the defeat of their adversaries.” GC 28.
Is this false hope of final cleansing and deliverance of the Church promulgated today in the Seventh-day Adventist Church as it was done in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.? Sadly, it is. Both the leadership of the Church as well as the various independent ministries are spreading around this false anti-divine counsel in a big way. While the creditability of the leadership amongst the conservative members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church may not be high, we find Satan deceiving very effectively those very conservatives through the various independent ministries today, which often teach a lot of truth, while at the same time fighting satanically against any attempt to call Yahuwah’s people out of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. By such a course, those ministries represent Satan’s most destructive tool as regards entrapping Yahuwah’s people in this doomed Church, which will be the first to experience the ire of Yahuwah. Satan is able to use them so effectively because the ratio of truth in their teachings is much higher than it is within the Conference-controlled churches.
We feel a solemn duty to expose those false shepherds by name. Many a soul would be lost because they look up to those leaders, and when they see them refusing to come out of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the members assume it to be the correct stand. Such a member, although presented with overwhelming evidence of the need to heed Yahuwah’s call before it is too late, yet gets influenced by the stand of those false shepherds. Beware of following such individuals and do not follow nor listen to their teachings, for they always appear as angels of light , but they invariably fail in the acid test. For they not only would not come out of the Church themselves, but would discourage any hesitant member from heeding Yahuwah’s final call of mercy.
We do not know the ‘heart’ reasons for their stand. Only Yahuwah can read their hearts. We cannot understand how they would not see the necessity of coming out of the fallen Seventh-day Adventist Church. About those false shepherds we quote the following divine injunction:
“Those ministers who are men pleasers, who cry, Peace, peace, when [Yahuwah] has not spoken peace, might well humble their hearts before [Yahuwah], asking pardon for their insincerity and their lack of moral courage. It is not from love for their neighbors that they smooth down the message entrusted to them, but because they are self-indulgent and ease-loving. True love seeks first the honor of [Yahuwah] and the salvation of souls. Those who have this love will not evade the truth to save themselves from the unpleasant results of plain speaking. When souls are in peril, [Yahuwah]'s ministers will not consider self, but will speak the word given them to speak, refusing to excuse or palliate evil.” RH, Mar. 25, 1890.
While the false shepherds roaming within the Seventh-day Adventist Church are plentiful, we praise Yahuwah that there are a few faithful shepherds who have heeded Yahuwah’s call and have since been giving the trumpet a certain sound. They call upon Yahuwah’s people to come out of all fallen churches and systems of religions, not excluding any church entity. Often their names have been much tarnished and maligned by some of the false shepherds, but this did not cause them to deviate from duty.
For you, our most dear Reader, we would like to end this short study by quoting the following divine counsel:
“There can be no unity between truth and error. We can unite with those who have been led into deception only when they are converted.” UL 88.
In Q & A in this site, we have a section on the importance of forming home-churches once they leave their fallen churches. We would say the same to those determining to leave the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In home-churches we are to ripen for the harvest. There will be many challenges on the way. But we have enough inspired counsel and guidance to lead us in Yahuwah’s chosen path.
May Yahuwah bless and strengthen each of us to do His will. Amen.
In His love and service,
galal doss.
We have taken out from the original quotations all pagan names and titles of the Father and Son (with the exception of some of the apostate quotations), and have replaced them with the original given names. Furthermore, we have restored in the Scriptures quoted the names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. -WLC Team