Chronology of SDA Apostasy
Introduction
We are faced today with a life and death issue. God is calling His people to separate from sin and apostasy. This is not a new teaching of God. Through out history, it was a requirement of God for His people
"As in the days of Noah and Lot, there must be a marked separation from sin and sinners… There was a coming out, a decided (Dict: Decided : clearly marked, distinct, vigorous and determined.) separation FROM the wicked, and escape for life. So it was in the days of Noah, so with Lot; So with the disciples prior to the destruction of Jerusalem; (So with the Reformers and so with the founders of the SDA movement.) And so it will be in the last days. "{ PP, p 167}.
Today I am convinced that it is imperative to separate from the SDA church. Yet, you may want a clear 'thus says the Lord' for such a call. Well, if you search the SOP for such a call you will not find it. But does the absence of a such clear call invalidate the call? Definitely not! For God has given us ample teachings and principles to go by, so as to make the case for such a call, out of the SDA church, a compelling one. You see, the pioneers of the SDA movement did not have a clear and direct light on each point of doctrine. They had to build up their understanding of the truth 'link by link'.
"God by His Holy Spirit let light shine forth upon His servants, and the subject gradually opened to their minds. It required much study and anxious care to search it out link after link. By care, anxiety, and incessant labor has the work moved on until the great truths of our message, a clear, connected, perfect whole, have been given to the world". {1T, p 79}.
You may wonder if, in our search for the truth about separating from the SDA church, God would remove all doubts from our minds and presents us with a 'completely-sealed case'? Well the principle, by which we should go about our study of this subject, or any other for this matter, has been enunciated already in inspired writings.
"Satan has ability to suggest doubts and to devise objections to the pointed testimony that God sends, and many think it a virtue, a mark of intelligence in them, to be unbelieving and to question and quibble. Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God 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, p 255}.
"The unbelief that demands perfect knowledge will never yield to the evidence that God is pleased to give. He requires of His people faith that rests upon the weight of evidence, not upon perfect knowledge. Those followers of Christ who accept the light that God sends them must obey the voice of God speaking to them when there are many other voices crying out against it. It requires discernment to distinguish the voice of God." 3 T:258.
It is the principle of the 'weight of evidence' by which we should undertake this study. Is the weight of evidence in favor of separating or not separating from the SDA church? I propose to you today that the weight of evidence is in favor of separating. Again, keep in mind that God will not 'remove all occasion for unbelief'. Only those who have a 'teachable spirit' will be able to decide based on the 'weight of evidence'. With that said, in the way of an introduction, let us begin our short study.
Why does God, to begin with, ask us to separate from the wicked?
"You are exhorted to touch not the unclean thing; for in touching this, you will yourself become unclean. It is impossible for you to unite with those who are corrupt, and still remain pure". {RH, January 2, 1900}.
"We have a testing message to give, and I am instructed to say to our people, "Unify, unify." But we are not to unify with those who are departing from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils". Manuscript 31, 1906. {3SM, p 412}.
The history of which nation will the people of God just before the second coming going to repeat?
"We want to understand the time in which we live. We do not half understand it. We do not half take it in. My heart trembles in me when I think of what a foe we have to meet, and how poorly we are prepared to meet him. The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ--how the enemy sought every occasion to take control of the minds of the Jews, and today he is seeking to blind the minds of God's servants, that they may not be able to discern the precious truth." {1SM, p 406}.
Since the people of God just before the Second Coming of Christ will repeat the exact the experience of the Jewish church, it pays to go over that ancient history briefly.
Did the people of the old Jewish church worship their church more than the God of their church?
"The Jews worshiped the temple and were filled with greater indignation at anything spoken against that building than if it had been spoken against God." {EW, p 198}.
Did Christ attempt to expose the rulers of the Jewish church in order to liberate His people from the slavery of the priesthood?
"The Sanhedrin had rejected Christ's message and was bent upon His death; therefore Jesus departed from Jerusalem, from the priests, the temple, the religious leaders, the people who had been instructed in the law, and turned to another class to proclaim His message, and to gather out those who should carry the gospel to all nations." {DA, p 232}.
Those who wanted to follow Christ at the time of the Jews had to be gathered out from the Jewish system. Has this been the case with every succeeding generation?
"As the light and life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation. Again and again the history of Christ's withdrawal from Judea has been repeated. When the Reformers preached the word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church; but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light, and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth. In our day few of the professed followers of the Reformers are actuated by their spirit. Few are listening for the voice of God, and ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in order to declare the plain teaching of the word of God. And many times those who are seeking for light are by the same teaching obliged to leave the church of their fathers, that they may render obedience." {DA, p 232}.
When the religious leaders of the Jewish church were found guilty of rejecting the light of Christ, who was charged guilty of this most serious of sins?
"The time of the greatest responsibility for the Jewish people was when Christ was among them. And had they but known it, this was also the time of their greatest privilege and blessing. But they refused every overture of mercy, and rejected the Son of God, and thus made themselves guilty of the greatest of all sins. Christ charged the whole nation with this sin." {RH, December 13, 1898}.
Since we are told in 1SM 406 that God's people in the end times will repeat the history of the Jewish church, did the Jewish church ever become part of fallen Babylon?
" Babylon is also charged with the sin of unlawful connection with "the kings of the earth." It was by departure from the Lord, and alliance with the heathen, that the Jewish church became a harlot…" {GC, p 382}.
But is being a harlot and Babylon one in the eyes of God?
"A virtuous woman represents a pure church, a vile woman an apostate church. Babylon is said to be a harlot." {2SOP, p 233}.
Since the God's church in the end times will face the same destiny of the Jewish church according to 1SM 406, did God give any unconditional promise to the SDA church?
"In these day HE (God) has instituted no new plan to preserve the purity of His people." {4T, p. 165}.
"The principle of God's dealing with men are ever the same." GC: 343
"God's promises are all made upon conditions." {FW, p.47}.
Since God's promises are all conditional it follows that the SDA church was not given any unconditional promise. Is there any SOP in support for such a conclusion?
"In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the privileges and advantages that she has had. If her spiritual experience does not correspond to the advantages that Christ, at infinite cost, has bestowed on her, if the blessings conferred have not qualified her to do the work entrusted to her, on her will be pronounced the sentence: "Found wanting." By the light bestowed, the opportunities given, will she be judged." {8T, p 247}.
What if the SDA church is found unfaithful in fulfilling His destined mission? Does God have a back-up plan for such an emergency?
"The Lord Jesus 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 God and gave it unto the Gentiles. God will continue to work on this principle with every branch of His work. When a church proves unfaithful to the word of the Lord, whatever their position may be, however high and sacred their calling, the Lord can no longer work with them. Others are then chosen to bear important responsibilities." {14MR, p 102}. UL, p 131.
What about then the following quotes, which appear on the surface to prohibit us from calling the SDA church as Babylon?
"To claim that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is Babylon, is to make the same claim as does Satan, who is an accuser of the brethren, who accuses them before God night and day". {TM, p 43- 1893}.
"If those who have been proclaiming the message that the church is Babylon had used the money expended in publishing and circulating this error, in building up, instead of tearing down, they would have made it evident that they were people whom God is leading". {TM, p43- 1893}.
How do we reconcile the above two quotes with our conclusion that the SDA church has indeed fallen and is now part of fallen Babylon?
Ellen White sets out the following divine principle when studying the testimonies:
"Regarding the testimonies, nothing is ignored; nothing is cast aside; but time and place must be considered". {1SM, p 57}.
With the above principle in mind of the need to consider the 'time and place' for the above two quotes, what is the circumstances that have led the prophetess of God to state the above quotes and were the quotes qualified or unconditional in nature?
In 1893 a man by the name of A.W. Stanton issued and circulated a tract (called: Loud Cry) calling the SDA church Babylon. But in 1893 the church was not fully united with the world to be identified with Babylon. Ellen White stated then that this message was from Satan and not from God. For only God can declare the church to be Babylon. The only testimony in which Ellen White ever spoke about this issue was in 1893, and solely in response to the Stanton tract. Nothing about this subject was stated before or after 1893, which strongly suggests that this testimony was written in the present tense form. In the same testimony she said the following:
"There is but one church who is AT THE PRESENT TIME standing in the breach, and making up the hedge…". {TM, p 50-1893}.
Earlier, in June 12, 1893, she wrote something similar which suggests strongly that when she said the church was not Babylon, she was referring to the church in 1893:
"The Lord has had a church from that day, through all the changing scenes of time to the present period, 1893." {3SM, p 18}.
As a further proof that what she wrote in 1893 in response to the Stanton tract was in the present tense form of the condition of the SDA church, there and then, is the following quote. In this quote , which was written two years later, she warned the church not to be married to the world lest, it [SDA church] become a 'cage of every unclean and hateful bird'. This phrase is taken directly from Revelation 18, which the Lord uses to describe the state of Babylon, and hence the need to come out of her.
"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 God and him that serveth him not… Satanic forces are continually at work through the world, and it is the object of Satan to bring the church and the world into such close fellowship that their aims, their spirit, their principles, shall harmonize…". {RH, February 26, 1895}.
Did the Lord's messenger ever predict the downfall of the SDA church? YES!
"Of those who boast of their light, and yet fail to walk in it, Christ says, ‘but I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum[Seventh-day Adventists, who have had great light], which art exalted unto heaven [in point of privilege], shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment, than for thee.’ At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent [in their own estimation], and hast revealed them unto babes." {RH, August 1, 1893}. [THE BRACKETED COMMENTS ARE BY ELLEN WHITE].
That Ellen White never excluded from her writings the possibility of the SDA church falling and becoming part of fallen Babylon is further evidenced in the following quote:
"We must as a people arouse and cleanse the camp of Israel. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy, and unholy practices are coming in among us in a large degree; and ministers who are handling sacred things are guilty of sin in this respect. They are coveting their neighbors' wives, and the seventh commandment is broken. We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted, and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird; and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil?" {21MR, p 380, 1886}.
In 1894 Ellen White confirmed in the following quote that the SDA church did not heed the Lord's council of not being married to the world:
"The church has taken the world into her fellowship, and has given her affections to the enemies of holiness. The church and the world are standing on the same ground in transgression of the law of God. The church prefers to assimilate to the world rather than separate from its customs and vanities'. {ST, March 12, 1894}.
In spite of the repeated warnings of the Lord's messenger to the SDA leadership to repent and obey God's testimonies, did the leadership reverse their rebellious course?
"God gave them clear light as to what they should do, and what they should not do, but they departed from that light… That these men should stand in a sacred place, to be as the voice of God to the people, as we once believed the General Conference to be-- that is past…God wants them removed…". {GCB, April 3, 1901, p.23-26}.
Although there was a cosmetic change in the leadership of the General Conference in 1901; there was not a true surrender of 'kingly power'. Hence, the opportunity for a genuine change of course by the leadership in 1901 was wasted.
"What a wonderful work could have been done for the vast company gathered in Battle Creek at the General Conference of 1901, if the leaders of our work had taken themselves in hand. But the work that all heaven was waiting to do as soon as men prepared the way, was not done; for the leaders closed and bolted the door against the Spirit's entrance. There was a stopping short of entire surrender to God. And hearts that might have been purified from all error were strengthened in wrongdoing. The doors were barred against the heavenly current that would have swept away all evil. Men left their sins unconfused. They built themselves up in wrongdoing, and said to the Spirit of God, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a more convenient season, I will call for thee." {Letter 123, August 23, 1902}.
The rejection of the testimonies by the SDA leadership in the GC session of 1901 became the saddest event in the life of Ellen White up to that time .
"The results of the last general conference (1901) has been the greatest, the most terrible sorrow of my life, no change was made… Men did not receive the testimonies of the Spirit of God…
"It is a perilous thing to reject the light that God sends…So today upon those who have had light and evidence, but who have refused to heed the Lord's warnings and entreaties, heaven's woe is pronounced…The Lord bore long with the perversity of Israel, but the time came when the people passed the boundaries…" {13MR, p 122-123/Letter 17, January 14, 1903}.
Shortly after this God pronounced the SDA church an harlot and announced that His presence has left the SDA 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, p 250}.
What is the significance of God's declaration in 1903, just 2 weeks after the end of the GC session, that His presence has left the SDA church?
"He (Christ) declared it to be His will that where He was, there His church should be…" {SDA Bible Commentary, vol.7A, p.1150, col. 2}.
"God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ's church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church." {UL, p 315}.
When the Spirit of God departed the SDA church in 1903 it ceased to be His church . The only way for this state of being a God-less church to change was for the SDA church to reverse its rebellious course and repent its ways. When a church is first declared a harlot ( Babylon), it is not declared a fallen Babylon until it persists in its harlotry and passes God's boundary of mercy and grace. Here is the SOP support for this understanding? Here is what Ellen White said about where God's people where at the proclamation of the first angel's message:
"At the proclamation of the first angel's message, the people of God were in Babylon…" {4SOP, p 23}.
We know that the first angel's message was first proclaimed in 1833 and began to gain steady momentum by 1840. So, God's church in 1840 was declared to be Babylon by the pen of inspiration. And why was God's church declared Babylon at the proclamation of the first angel's message?
"The churches became corrupted by allying themselves with the world." {4SOP, p 194}.
Christ gave the Protestant churches, which had become Babylonian, the first angel's message to win them back to Him, away from Babylonian influences.
"It was to separate the church of Christfrom the corrupting influence of the world that the first angel's message was given." {4SOP, p 231}.
When the Protestant churches of God, who were considered to be Babylonian due to their worldly corruption, rejected the first angel's message they were then declared a fallen Babylon. And hence, God's people had to, in addition to giving the declaration that Babylon is fallen, separate from her.
"When the churches spurned the counsel of God by rejecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them. The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." [REV. 14:8] This message was understood [ They did not have a 'thus says the Lord' for such a conclusion. But inspiration confirmed their understanding of God's ways] by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message. The proclamation, " Babylon is fallen," was given in the summer of 1844, and as the result, about fifty thousand withdrew from these churches." {4SOP, p 232}. [Brackets supplied].
When God first declared the Protestant churches to be Babylon, He gave them one last chance before totally rejecting them. Their chance was accepting the first angel's message. If they rejected this last message then they would be declared by God as fallen Babylon, and His people inside those churches would have to come out of and be separate.
"I saw Jesus turn His face from those who rejected and despised His coming, and then He bade angels lead His people out from among the unclean, lest they should be defiled. Those who were obedient to the message stood out free and united. A holy light shone upon them. They renounced the world, sacrificed their earthly interests, gave up their earthly treasures, and directed their anxious gaze to heaven, expecting to see their loved Deliverer. A holy light beamed upon their countenances, telling of the peace and joy, which reigned within. Jesus bade His angels go and strengthens them, for the hour of their trial drew on. I saw that these waiting ones were not yet tried as they must be. They were not free from errors. And I saw the mercy and goodness of God in sending a warning to the people of the earth, and repeated messages to lead them to a diligent searching of heart, and study of the Scriptures, that they might divest themselves of errors which have been handed down from the heathen and papists." {EW, p 249-250}.
The above has revealed to us that when a God's church is first declared Babylon it has a chance to repent. If it persists in its harlotry then it will present to God's people a compelling case of its having become a fallen Babylonian church. When this understanding is reached by God's people then the declaration of its fallen status is coupled with decided move to separate and come out of her.
In 1903 GOD HIMSELF, and not the prophet, declared the church to be a harlot. (See again 8T, p 250). It was given a last chance for repentance. The question which faces us today is: Has the SDA church repented or persisted in its evil course since last warned in 1903? The honest in heart can not but agree that the church has not repented by one bit. In fact, even during the last years of Ellen White (between 1903 and 1915) we find that the church has not repented; to the extent that she has made some very startling statements concerning the condition of the church at HER TIME..
"" I have a work to do, and I am now making decisions . I must remain away from conference meetings. I must not attend camp meetings. The spirit of drawing apart, as the result of judging one another, has become so common, and the churches are becoming so leavened with this spirit, that I have no desire to attend these meetings . After returning from them, it is often weeks before I am able to take up my neglected work.
Because those in positions of responsibility have for years left the Southern field unworked, notwithstanding the most decided testimonies urging them to take up this work; because they continue to neglect this field and use every manner of device in trying to uproot the confidence of the people in those who have done the hardest and most self-sacrificing work in the South , I have but very little confidence that the Lord is giving these men in positions of responsibility spiritual eyesight and heavenly discernment. I am thrown into perplexity over their course; and I desire now to attend to my special work, to have no part in any of their councils, and to attend no meetings, nigh nor afar off. My mind shall not be dragged into confusion by the tendency they manifest to work directly contrary to the light that God has given me. I am done. I will preserve my God-given intelligence.
"My voice has been heard in the different conferences and at camp meetings. I must now make a change. I cannot enter the atmosphere of strife and then have to bear testimonies that cost me much more than those to whom they are sent can imagine. When I attend the different meetings, I am compelled to deal with men, standing in responsible places, who I know are not exerting an influence that God can endorse. And when I bear a testimony in reference to their course of action, advantage is taken of this testimony. These men have not clear understanding. Should I say the things that I know, they would not, with their present experience, use this instruction wisely, and would bring upon me inconceivable burdens.
"I shall, therefore, leave them to receive word from the Bible, in which the principles upon which they should work are laid down in straight lines." {17 MS, p 65-66}. [Written in December 2, 1902, in a letter to Edson and Willie]. Letter 186, 1902
"The warning is given in the Word, "Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." 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." {20 MS, p 67}. Letter 208, June 29, 1906.
"There are serious objections to having the school located at Battle Creek. Here is a large church, and there are quite a number of youth connected with this church. And in so large a church, where one has influence over another, if this influence is of an elevating character, leading to purity and consecration to God, then the youth coming to Battle Creek will have greater advantages than if the school was located elsewhere. But if the influences at Battle Creek shall be in the future what they have been for several years past, I would warn parents to keep their children from Battle Creek. There are but few in that large church who have an influence that will steadily draw souls to Christ. There are many who would, by their example, lead the youth away from God to the love of the world." {Testimonies to the Church at Battle Creek, p 50}. 3T, p 197- PH 123, p 50, 1872.
"Now, those who have had years in this same experience, know not God nor Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and should such go forth as representatives of Jesus Christ? These men will never give the right mold to other minds; they have not grown up to the full stature of men and women in Christ. They simply have the name of Christians but are not fitted for the work of God, and never will be until they are born again, and learn the A.B.C. in true religion of Jesus Christ. There is a little hope in one direction: Take the young men and women, and place them where they will come as little in contact with our churches as possible, that the low grade of piety which is current in this day shall not leaven their ideas of what it means to be a Christian." {12 MS, p 334}
Some may suggest that the above quotes represent only the condition of the SDA church at the then world head quarters, and therefore far away churches could be insulated from the evil leaven of world headquarters. Listen to what Ellen White had to say about this very point:
"The great heart of the work is at -----; and, as the human heart throws its living current of blood into all parts of the body, so does the management at this place, the headquarters of our church, affect the whole body of believers. If the physical heart is healthy, the blood that is sent from it through the system is also healthy; but if this fountain is impure, the whole organism becomes diseased by the poison of the vital fluid. So it is with us. If the heart of the work becomes corrupt, the whole church, in its various branches and interests, scattered abroad over the face of the earth, suffers in consequence." {4T, p 210}.
Therefore, after the SDA church was first declared a harlot in 1903 the church was given a last chance of repentance. This is why from 1903 and until her death (1915), the Lord's servant did not call God's people out of the SDA church. But did she hold much faith of genuine repentance by the SDA leadership after her disappearance from the scene? Here are her words in her last testimony, few months before her death:
"I am charged to tell our people that 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. I do not know especially what changes will take place; but they should watch every conceivable sin that Satan will try to immortalize.’ " {1MS, p1,1915}.
Did 'great changes' in the SDA church take place after her death as she predicted? YES. Where those changes for the better or for the worse? An honest in heart would not have difficulty answering those questions.
If 'great changes' for the worse took place in the SDA church since her death, is it reasonable to conclude that the SDA church, has since 1915, at the some point in time crossed God's boundaries and became fallen Babylon?
In the Great Controversy God outlines for us, through inspiration, the reasons why a once-chosen church becomes part of fallen Babylon .
"The sins of Babylon will be laid open… By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these. In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of [1] her errors and [2]sins, because of her [3] rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven." {GC, p 606}. [Brackets supplied].
A harlot church becomes fallen Babylon due to 3 reasons:
1. Her sins.
2. Her errors.
3. Her rejections of truth sent to her from heaven .
How will the SDA church stand if tested against the above criteria ? Let us examine each of the above 3 qualifications in relations to the SDA church, to see if it has indeed met the 'fallen Babylon' condition or not!
1) Her sins:
The sins of the SDA church are easily documented. For brevity I will state few of her major sins:
• NLP (neuro linguistic programming),
• Celebration style of worship, borrowed directly from Vatican Council II.
• Joining the SDA health care system with that of the Papacy. Going 180 degrees against 1 Cor. 6:14-18.
• Persecuting those who preach the three angel's messages, by taking them to court to stop their activities.
• Using tithe money to hire Catholic lawyer to bring faithful members to court.
• Disfellowshiping members engaged in literature distribution, which identifies the Man of Sin.
• The hierarchical church organization, allowing man to control man, and resulting in abusive kingly power.
• Adopting the Church Manual, against the council of God.
• Joining the WCC stealthily, though denying it publicly.
• The blasphemy of claiming that the church has the authority to change doctrine:
"...The General Conference of the Church, the only body having AUTHORITY TO ALTER the structure of the CHURCH either in DOCTRINE or organization."{ EEOC vs. PPPA, 1975}. [ (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, Opening Brief for the Church, Civil Case #74-2025 CBR, December 4, 1974, p 17]
"..The General Conference session holds the singular AUTHORITY FOR REVISING the Church Manual--including THE CHURCH'S FUNDAMENTAL beliefs." { Adventist Review 7-5-1990}.
"Only a committee appointed by the General Conference can interpret prophecy." (Adventist Review, June 5, 1986, p 2).
"It is our responsibility to study the Scriptures for ourselves, to ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to submit our understandings to those in the church who are able to judge our findings, and then to abide to the decisions of the church..." (Seventh-day Adventist Church Adult Sabbath School Quarterly, Lesson 13, March 28, 1987, p 92, or p 153 in the Teacher’s Edition).
Adopting the Roman Catholic model of church organization, in flagrant disregard to the council of God. Here is what Raymond Cottrell, associate editor of the SDA Bible Commentary, stated in the Spectrum:
" Structure. At the local conference level the Seventh-day Adventist Church has a representative form of government. Above that level the polity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is hierarchical: Authority flows downward and members in local congregations have virtually no voice. Above that level, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a closed, self-operating, and self-perpetuating system similar to the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, in which those in authority are not responsible to lower echelons. Above the local conference level, those in authority are not elected by, representative of, or administratively accountable to, local congregations or the membership at large." Spectrum, March 1984, pg. 42
In the same year, 1984, in a court case involving the Harris Pine Mills, as asset owned by the SDA church, Judge William T. Hart, presiding over the case stated the following:
" Next to the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, the Adventist church is the most centralized of all the major denominations in the country."
Is it surprising to SDA's after what has been quoted above to read what Neal C. Wilson had to say about modeling the SDA church after the Roman Catholic Church? Here is what he said:
" There is ANOTHER universal and TRULY CATHOLIC ORGANIZATION, the SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH." Neal Wilson. Adventist Review, 3/5/1981.
Four years later at the GC in New Orleans, Neal C. Wilson referred five times to his vice presidents as cardinals.
2) Her errors:
• Incorporating major Babylonian errors into the 27 beliefs, such as belief nos. 2, 4, 6, and 23.
• Departing from the pillars of our faith such as the investigative judgment, as evidenced in the following quote by Falkenberg, ex-GC president:
"We don't have to worry whether our name has come up yet in the heavenly courtroom. We don't have to be anxious about the judgment closing before we have had a chance to CONFESS ALL OUR SINS." We Still Believe, pg. 45.
• Giving up on the historic position of the Ellen White and the pioneers on the nature of Christ and the atoning work of Christ in heaven, to accommodate the Protestant denominations.
• Placing loyalty to church above loyalty to the word of God:
"Often the Scriptures set forth merely general principles, leaving it to the church to decide specific policies. The Adventist Church has done this in the Church Manual. Once a matter has been discussed and voted, minority opinion gives way to majority, and loyalty dictates that all follow the new actions...Thus there is clearly a teaching AUTHORITY in the church BEYOND THE RECOGNIZED TEACHING AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE . There is, then, a teaching AUTHORITY in the Adventist Church that ought to be obeyed. Every member must not do merely 'that which is right in his own eyes.' Ministers and church leaders must uphold this AUTHORITY ." {Review and Herald 1-31-1974}.
Again, loyalty to the church {and not God} is clearly set in the following court record by the leaders of the SDA church:
"The General Conference, then is the Seventh-day Adventist church... the embodiment of the remnant church as a Christian denomination, in a unified worldwide organization, to which all baptized Seventh-day Adventists owe spiritual allegiance." {EEOC vs PPPA, Civil Case #74-2025 CBR, p 17, Opening Brief, 1974-1975}.
• Departure from the Biblical and SOP truth regarding the man of sin.
In the Reply Brief for Defendants of the Mary Kay-Silver trial, on page 4, Neal C. Wilson stated for the SDA church:
"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, and the term 'hierarchy' was used in a pejorative sense to refer to the papal form of church governance, 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." Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Vs the Pacific Press Publishing Association and SDA Church, civ #74-2025 CBR, 1975.
3) Her rejection of truth sent to her from heaven:
The SDA church has rejected the testimonies of God at least in the following areas:
• Health reform
• Dress reform
• Sanitariums
• Church structure and organization
• Church investments
• Tithing
• Insurance
• Evangelism
Based on the above can the honest in heart deny that the SDA church, which was first, declared a harlot (Babylonian) in 1903 has indeed fallen because of her continued and increasing sins, errors, and rejection of truth sent to her from heaven?
Has Ellen White ever prophesied that God's people just before the falling of the plagues will be called out of the SDA churches? YES!
"I saw that God 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 God is with them." {EW, p 261}.
The most fearful news here is the prophecy that those who will reject the call to come out of the SDA churches and the fallen churches will experience an 'excitement', coming from Satan to deceive them into thinking that 'God is with them".
How do we know from inspired writings that we are now living just before the 'plagues shall be poured out' and therefore have to separate from the fallen Babylonian SDA church and the other churches as well?
We know that we are in just this 'critical time' because of the wild spreading of the 'celebration' style of worship in the SDA churches and the other fallen churches around the world, as accurately predicted by Ellen White.
"The things you have described as taking place in Indiana, the Lord has shown me would take place just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit." {2SM, p 36}.
There are many more angles from which one can present the subject of separation. Examples of other equally convincing angels would be: wheat and tares, abomination of desolation, and corporate accountability. The purpose of this short study is not to address all major points and objections, which may arise from this initial study. It would satisfy me greatly if the only benefit that can accrue, at this point, would be the realization of the importance of subject matter; and hence, the determination to study it further and more deeply. In the section For SDAs Only in this website, you will find a lot of content to satisfy your 'Berean' attitude. Nothing equals the beauty of divine truth.
We are faced today with a life and death issue. God is calling His people to separate from sin and apostasy. This is not a new teaching of God. Through out history, it was a requirement of God for His people
"As in the days of Noah and Lot, there must be a marked separation from sin and sinners… There was a coming out, a decided (Dict: Decided : clearly marked, distinct, vigorous and determined.) separation FROM the wicked, and escape for life. So it was in the days of Noah, so with Lot; So with the disciples prior to the destruction of Jerusalem; (So with the Reformers and so with the founders of the SDA movement.) And so it will be in the last days. "{ PP, p 167}.
Today I am convinced that it is imperative to separate from the SDA church. Yet, you may want a clear 'thus says the Lord' for such a call. Well, if you search the SOP for such a call you will not find it. But does the absence of a such clear call invalidate the call? Definitely not! For God has given us ample teachings and principles to go by, so as to make the case for such a call, out of the SDA church, a compelling one. You see, the pioneers of the SDA movement did not have a clear and direct light on each point of doctrine. They had to build up their understanding of the truth 'link by link'.
"God by His Holy Spirit let light shine forth upon His servants, and the subject gradually opened to their minds. It required much study and anxious care to search it out link after link. By care, anxiety, and incessant labor has the work moved on until the great truths of our message, a clear, connected, perfect whole, have been given to the world". {1T, p 79}.
You may wonder if, in our search for the truth about separating from the SDA church, God would remove all doubts from our minds and presents us with a 'completely-sealed case'? Well the principle, by which we should go about our study of this subject, or any other for this matter, has been enunciated already in inspired writings.
"Satan has ability to suggest doubts and to devise objections to the pointed testimony that God sends, and many think it a virtue, a mark of intelligence in them, to be unbelieving and to question and quibble. Those who desire to doubt will have plenty of room. God 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, p 255}.
"The unbelief that demands perfect knowledge will never yield to the evidence that God is pleased to give. He requires of His people faith that rests upon the weight of evidence, not upon perfect knowledge. Those followers of Christ who accept the light that God sends them must obey the voice of God speaking to them when there are many other voices crying out against it. It requires discernment to distinguish the voice of God." 3 T:258.
It is the principle of the 'weight of evidence' by which we should undertake this study. Is the weight of evidence in favor of separating or not separating from the SDA church? I propose to you today that the weight of evidence is in favor of separating. Again, keep in mind that God will not 'remove all occasion for unbelief'. Only those who have a 'teachable spirit' will be able to decide based on the 'weight of evidence'. With that said, in the way of an introduction, let us begin our short study.
Why does God, to begin with, ask us to separate from the wicked?
"You are exhorted to touch not the unclean thing; for in touching this, you will yourself become unclean. It is impossible for you to unite with those who are corrupt, and still remain pure". {RH, January 2, 1900}.
"We have a testing message to give, and I am instructed to say to our people, "Unify, unify." But we are not to unify with those who are departing from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils". Manuscript 31, 1906. {3SM, p 412}.
The history of which nation will the people of God just before the second coming going to repeat?
"We want to understand the time in which we live. We do not half understand it. We do not half take it in. My heart trembles in me when I think of what a foe we have to meet, and how poorly we are prepared to meet him. The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ--how the enemy sought every occasion to take control of the minds of the Jews, and today he is seeking to blind the minds of God's servants, that they may not be able to discern the precious truth." {1SM, p 406}.
Since the people of God just before the Second Coming of Christ will repeat the exact the experience of the Jewish church, it pays to go over that ancient history briefly.
Did the people of the old Jewish church worship their church more than the God of their church?
"The Jews worshiped the temple and were filled with greater indignation at anything spoken against that building than if it had been spoken against God." {EW, p 198}.
Did Christ attempt to expose the rulers of the Jewish church in order to liberate His people from the slavery of the priesthood?
"The Sanhedrin had rejected Christ's message and was bent upon His death; therefore Jesus departed from Jerusalem, from the priests, the temple, the religious leaders, the people who had been instructed in the law, and turned to another class to proclaim His message, and to gather out those who should carry the gospel to all nations." {DA, p 232}.
Those who wanted to follow Christ at the time of the Jews had to be gathered out from the Jewish system. Has this been the case with every succeeding generation?
"As the light and life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation. Again and again the history of Christ's withdrawal from Judea has been repeated. When the Reformers preached the word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church; but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light, and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth. In our day few of the professed followers of the Reformers are actuated by their spirit. Few are listening for the voice of God, and ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in order to declare the plain teaching of the word of God. And many times those who are seeking for light are by the same teaching obliged to leave the church of their fathers, that they may render obedience." {DA, p 232}.
When the religious leaders of the Jewish church were found guilty of rejecting the light of Christ, who was charged guilty of this most serious of sins?
"The time of the greatest responsibility for the Jewish people was when Christ was among them. And had they but known it, this was also the time of their greatest privilege and blessing. But they refused every overture of mercy, and rejected the Son of God, and thus made themselves guilty of the greatest of all sins. Christ charged the whole nation with this sin." {RH, December 13, 1898}.
Since we are told in 1SM 406 that God's people in the end times will repeat the history of the Jewish church, did the Jewish church ever become part of fallen Babylon?
" Babylon is also charged with the sin of unlawful connection with "the kings of the earth." It was by departure from the Lord, and alliance with the heathen, that the Jewish church became a harlot…" {GC, p 382}.
But is being a harlot and Babylon one in the eyes of God?
"A virtuous woman represents a pure church, a vile woman an apostate church. Babylon is said to be a harlot." {2SOP, p 233}.
Since the God's church in the end times will face the same destiny of the Jewish church according to 1SM 406, did God give any unconditional promise to the SDA church?
"In these day HE (God) has instituted no new plan to preserve the purity of His people." {4T, p. 165}.
"The principle of God's dealing with men are ever the same." GC: 343
"God's promises are all made upon conditions." {FW, p.47}.
Since God's promises are all conditional it follows that the SDA church was not given any unconditional promise. Is there any SOP in support for such a conclusion?
"In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the privileges and advantages that she has had. If her spiritual experience does not correspond to the advantages that Christ, at infinite cost, has bestowed on her, if the blessings conferred have not qualified her to do the work entrusted to her, on her will be pronounced the sentence: "Found wanting." By the light bestowed, the opportunities given, will she be judged." {8T, p 247}.
What if the SDA church is found unfaithful in fulfilling His destined mission? Does God have a back-up plan for such an emergency?
"The Lord Jesus 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 God and gave it unto the Gentiles. God will continue to work on this principle with every branch of His work. When a church proves unfaithful to the word of the Lord, whatever their position may be, however high and sacred their calling, the Lord can no longer work with them. Others are then chosen to bear important responsibilities." {14MR, p 102}. UL, p 131.
What about then the following quotes, which appear on the surface to prohibit us from calling the SDA church as Babylon?
"To claim that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is Babylon, is to make the same claim as does Satan, who is an accuser of the brethren, who accuses them before God night and day". {TM, p 43- 1893}.
"If those who have been proclaiming the message that the church is Babylon had used the money expended in publishing and circulating this error, in building up, instead of tearing down, they would have made it evident that they were people whom God is leading". {TM, p43- 1893}.
How do we reconcile the above two quotes with our conclusion that the SDA church has indeed fallen and is now part of fallen Babylon?
Ellen White sets out the following divine principle when studying the testimonies:
"Regarding the testimonies, nothing is ignored; nothing is cast aside; but time and place must be considered". {1SM, p 57}.
With the above principle in mind of the need to consider the 'time and place' for the above two quotes, what is the circumstances that have led the prophetess of God to state the above quotes and were the quotes qualified or unconditional in nature?
In 1893 a man by the name of A.W. Stanton issued and circulated a tract (called: Loud Cry) calling the SDA church Babylon. But in 1893 the church was not fully united with the world to be identified with Babylon. Ellen White stated then that this message was from Satan and not from God. For only God can declare the church to be Babylon. The only testimony in which Ellen White ever spoke about this issue was in 1893, and solely in response to the Stanton tract. Nothing about this subject was stated before or after 1893, which strongly suggests that this testimony was written in the present tense form. In the same testimony she said the following:
"There is but one church who is AT THE PRESENT TIME standing in the breach, and making up the hedge…". {TM, p 50-1893}.
Earlier, in June 12, 1893, she wrote something similar which suggests strongly that when she said the church was not Babylon, she was referring to the church in 1893:
"The Lord has had a church from that day, through all the changing scenes of time to the present period, 1893." {3SM, p 18}.
As a further proof that what she wrote in 1893 in response to the Stanton tract was in the present tense form of the condition of the SDA church, there and then, is the following quote. In this quote , which was written two years later, she warned the church not to be married to the world lest, it [SDA church] become a 'cage of every unclean and hateful bird'. This phrase is taken directly from Revelation 18, which the Lord uses to describe the state of Babylon, and hence the need to come out of her.
"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 God and him that serveth him not… Satanic forces are continually at work through the world, and it is the object of Satan to bring the church and the world into such close fellowship that their aims, their spirit, their principles, shall harmonize…". {RH, February 26, 1895}.
Did the Lord's messenger ever predict the downfall of the SDA church? YES!
"Of those who boast of their light, and yet fail to walk in it, Christ says, ‘but I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum[Seventh-day Adventists, who have had great light], which art exalted unto heaven [in point of privilege], shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment, than for thee.’ At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent [in their own estimation], and hast revealed them unto babes." {RH, August 1, 1893}. [THE BRACKETED COMMENTS ARE BY ELLEN WHITE].
That Ellen White never excluded from her writings the possibility of the SDA church falling and becoming part of fallen Babylon is further evidenced in the following quote:
"We must as a people arouse and cleanse the camp of Israel. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy, and unholy practices are coming in among us in a large degree; and ministers who are handling sacred things are guilty of sin in this respect. They are coveting their neighbors' wives, and the seventh commandment is broken. We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted, and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird; and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil?" {21MR, p 380, 1886}.
In 1894 Ellen White confirmed in the following quote that the SDA church did not heed the Lord's council of not being married to the world:
"The church has taken the world into her fellowship, and has given her affections to the enemies of holiness. The church and the world are standing on the same ground in transgression of the law of God. The church prefers to assimilate to the world rather than separate from its customs and vanities'. {ST, March 12, 1894}.
In spite of the repeated warnings of the Lord's messenger to the SDA leadership to repent and obey God's testimonies, did the leadership reverse their rebellious course?
"God gave them clear light as to what they should do, and what they should not do, but they departed from that light… That these men should stand in a sacred place, to be as the voice of God to the people, as we once believed the General Conference to be-- that is past…God wants them removed…". {GCB, April 3, 1901, p.23-26}.
Although there was a cosmetic change in the leadership of the General Conference in 1901; there was not a true surrender of 'kingly power'. Hence, the opportunity for a genuine change of course by the leadership in 1901 was wasted.
"What a wonderful work could have been done for the vast company gathered in Battle Creek at the General Conference of 1901, if the leaders of our work had taken themselves in hand. But the work that all heaven was waiting to do as soon as men prepared the way, was not done; for the leaders closed and bolted the door against the Spirit's entrance. There was a stopping short of entire surrender to God. And hearts that might have been purified from all error were strengthened in wrongdoing. The doors were barred against the heavenly current that would have swept away all evil. Men left their sins unconfused. They built themselves up in wrongdoing, and said to the Spirit of God, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a more convenient season, I will call for thee." {Letter 123, August 23, 1902}.
The rejection of the testimonies by the SDA leadership in the GC session of 1901 became the saddest event in the life of Ellen White up to that time .
"The results of the last general conference (1901) has been the greatest, the most terrible sorrow of my life, no change was made… Men did not receive the testimonies of the Spirit of God…
"It is a perilous thing to reject the light that God sends…So today upon those who have had light and evidence, but who have refused to heed the Lord's warnings and entreaties, heaven's woe is pronounced…The Lord bore long with the perversity of Israel, but the time came when the people passed the boundaries…" {13MR, p 122-123/Letter 17, January 14, 1903}.
Shortly after this God pronounced the SDA church an harlot and announced that His presence has left the SDA 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, p 250}.
What is the significance of God's declaration in 1903, just 2 weeks after the end of the GC session, that His presence has left the SDA church?
"He (Christ) declared it to be His will that where He was, there His church should be…" {SDA Bible Commentary, vol.7A, p.1150, col. 2}.
"God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments. "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). Where Christ is even among the humble few, this is Christ's church, for the presence of the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity can alone constitute a church." {UL, p 315}.
When the Spirit of God departed the SDA church in 1903 it ceased to be His church . The only way for this state of being a God-less church to change was for the SDA church to reverse its rebellious course and repent its ways. When a church is first declared a harlot ( Babylon), it is not declared a fallen Babylon until it persists in its harlotry and passes God's boundary of mercy and grace. Here is the SOP support for this understanding? Here is what Ellen White said about where God's people where at the proclamation of the first angel's message:
"At the proclamation of the first angel's message, the people of God were in Babylon…" {4SOP, p 23}.
We know that the first angel's message was first proclaimed in 1833 and began to gain steady momentum by 1840. So, God's church in 1840 was declared to be Babylon by the pen of inspiration. And why was God's church declared Babylon at the proclamation of the first angel's message?
"The churches became corrupted by allying themselves with the world." {4SOP, p 194}.
Christ gave the Protestant churches, which had become Babylonian, the first angel's message to win them back to Him, away from Babylonian influences.
"It was to separate the church of Christfrom the corrupting influence of the world that the first angel's message was given." {4SOP, p 231}.
When the Protestant churches of God, who were considered to be Babylonian due to their worldly corruption, rejected the first angel's message they were then declared a fallen Babylon. And hence, God's people had to, in addition to giving the declaration that Babylon is fallen, separate from her.
"When the churches spurned the counsel of God by rejecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them. The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, " Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." [REV. 14:8] This message was understood [ They did not have a 'thus says the Lord' for such a conclusion. But inspiration confirmed their understanding of God's ways] by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message. The proclamation, " Babylon is fallen," was given in the summer of 1844, and as the result, about fifty thousand withdrew from these churches." {4SOP, p 232}. [Brackets supplied].
When God first declared the Protestant churches to be Babylon, He gave them one last chance before totally rejecting them. Their chance was accepting the first angel's message. If they rejected this last message then they would be declared by God as fallen Babylon, and His people inside those churches would have to come out of and be separate.
"I saw Jesus turn His face from those who rejected and despised His coming, and then He bade angels lead His people out from among the unclean, lest they should be defiled. Those who were obedient to the message stood out free and united. A holy light shone upon them. They renounced the world, sacrificed their earthly interests, gave up their earthly treasures, and directed their anxious gaze to heaven, expecting to see their loved Deliverer. A holy light beamed upon their countenances, telling of the peace and joy, which reigned within. Jesus bade His angels go and strengthens them, for the hour of their trial drew on. I saw that these waiting ones were not yet tried as they must be. They were not free from errors. And I saw the mercy and goodness of God in sending a warning to the people of the earth, and repeated messages to lead them to a diligent searching of heart, and study of the Scriptures, that they might divest themselves of errors which have been handed down from the heathen and papists." {EW, p 249-250}.
The above has revealed to us that when a God's church is first declared Babylon it has a chance to repent. If it persists in its harlotry then it will present to God's people a compelling case of its having become a fallen Babylonian church. When this understanding is reached by God's people then the declaration of its fallen status is coupled with decided move to separate and come out of her.
In 1903 GOD HIMSELF, and not the prophet, declared the church to be a harlot. (See again 8T, p 250). It was given a last chance for repentance. The question which faces us today is: Has the SDA church repented or persisted in its evil course since last warned in 1903? The honest in heart can not but agree that the church has not repented by one bit. In fact, even during the last years of Ellen White (between 1903 and 1915) we find that the church has not repented; to the extent that she has made some very startling statements concerning the condition of the church at HER TIME..
"" I have a work to do, and I am now making decisions . I must remain away from conference meetings. I must not attend camp meetings. The spirit of drawing apart, as the result of judging one another, has become so common, and the churches are becoming so leavened with this spirit, that I have no desire to attend these meetings . After returning from them, it is often weeks before I am able to take up my neglected work.
Because those in positions of responsibility have for years left the Southern field unworked, notwithstanding the most decided testimonies urging them to take up this work; because they continue to neglect this field and use every manner of device in trying to uproot the confidence of the people in those who have done the hardest and most self-sacrificing work in the South , I have but very little confidence that the Lord is giving these men in positions of responsibility spiritual eyesight and heavenly discernment. I am thrown into perplexity over their course; and I desire now to attend to my special work, to have no part in any of their councils, and to attend no meetings, nigh nor afar off. My mind shall not be dragged into confusion by the tendency they manifest to work directly contrary to the light that God has given me. I am done. I will preserve my God-given intelligence.
"My voice has been heard in the different conferences and at camp meetings. I must now make a change. I cannot enter the atmosphere of strife and then have to bear testimonies that cost me much more than those to whom they are sent can imagine. When I attend the different meetings, I am compelled to deal with men, standing in responsible places, who I know are not exerting an influence that God can endorse. And when I bear a testimony in reference to their course of action, advantage is taken of this testimony. These men have not clear understanding. Should I say the things that I know, they would not, with their present experience, use this instruction wisely, and would bring upon me inconceivable burdens.
"I shall, therefore, leave them to receive word from the Bible, in which the principles upon which they should work are laid down in straight lines." {17 MS, p 65-66}. [Written in December 2, 1902, in a letter to Edson and Willie]. Letter 186, 1902
"The warning is given in the Word, "Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils." 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." {20 MS, p 67}. Letter 208, June 29, 1906.
"There are serious objections to having the school located at Battle Creek. Here is a large church, and there are quite a number of youth connected with this church. And in so large a church, where one has influence over another, if this influence is of an elevating character, leading to purity and consecration to God, then the youth coming to Battle Creek will have greater advantages than if the school was located elsewhere. But if the influences at Battle Creek shall be in the future what they have been for several years past, I would warn parents to keep their children from Battle Creek. There are but few in that large church who have an influence that will steadily draw souls to Christ. There are many who would, by their example, lead the youth away from God to the love of the world." {Testimonies to the Church at Battle Creek, p 50}. 3T, p 197- PH 123, p 50, 1872.
"Now, those who have had years in this same experience, know not God nor Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and should such go forth as representatives of Jesus Christ? These men will never give the right mold to other minds; they have not grown up to the full stature of men and women in Christ. They simply have the name of Christians but are not fitted for the work of God, and never will be until they are born again, and learn the A.B.C. in true religion of Jesus Christ. There is a little hope in one direction: Take the young men and women, and place them where they will come as little in contact with our churches as possible, that the low grade of piety which is current in this day shall not leaven their ideas of what it means to be a Christian." {12 MS, p 334}
Some may suggest that the above quotes represent only the condition of the SDA church at the then world head quarters, and therefore far away churches could be insulated from the evil leaven of world headquarters. Listen to what Ellen White had to say about this very point:
"The great heart of the work is at -----; and, as the human heart throws its living current of blood into all parts of the body, so does the management at this place, the headquarters of our church, affect the whole body of believers. If the physical heart is healthy, the blood that is sent from it through the system is also healthy; but if this fountain is impure, the whole organism becomes diseased by the poison of the vital fluid. So it is with us. If the heart of the work becomes corrupt, the whole church, in its various branches and interests, scattered abroad over the face of the earth, suffers in consequence." {4T, p 210}.
Therefore, after the SDA church was first declared a harlot in 1903 the church was given a last chance of repentance. This is why from 1903 and until her death (1915), the Lord's servant did not call God's people out of the SDA church. But did she hold much faith of genuine repentance by the SDA leadership after her disappearance from the scene? Here are her words in her last testimony, few months before her death:
"I am charged to tell our people that 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. I do not know especially what changes will take place; but they should watch every conceivable sin that Satan will try to immortalize.’ " {1MS, p1,1915}.
Did 'great changes' in the SDA church take place after her death as she predicted? YES. Where those changes for the better or for the worse? An honest in heart would not have difficulty answering those questions.
If 'great changes' for the worse took place in the SDA church since her death, is it reasonable to conclude that the SDA church, has since 1915, at the some point in time crossed God's boundaries and became fallen Babylon?
In the Great Controversy God outlines for us, through inspiration, the reasons why a once-chosen church becomes part of fallen Babylon .
"The sins of Babylon will be laid open… By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these. In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of [1] her errors and [2]sins, because of her [3] rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven." {GC, p 606}. [Brackets supplied].
A harlot church becomes fallen Babylon due to 3 reasons:
1. Her sins.
2. Her errors.
3. Her rejections of truth sent to her from heaven .
How will the SDA church stand if tested against the above criteria ? Let us examine each of the above 3 qualifications in relations to the SDA church, to see if it has indeed met the 'fallen Babylon' condition or not!
1) Her sins:
The sins of the SDA church are easily documented. For brevity I will state few of her major sins:
• NLP (neuro linguistic programming),
• Celebration style of worship, borrowed directly from Vatican Council II.
• Joining the SDA health care system with that of the Papacy. Going 180 degrees against 1 Cor. 6:14-18.
• Persecuting those who preach the three angel's messages, by taking them to court to stop their activities.
• Using tithe money to hire Catholic lawyer to bring faithful members to court.
• Disfellowshiping members engaged in literature distribution, which identifies the Man of Sin.
• The hierarchical church organization, allowing man to control man, and resulting in abusive kingly power.
• Adopting the Church Manual, against the council of God.
• Joining the WCC stealthily, though denying it publicly.
• The blasphemy of claiming that the church has the authority to change doctrine:
"...The General Conference of the Church, the only body having AUTHORITY TO ALTER the structure of the CHURCH either in DOCTRINE or organization."{ EEOC vs. PPPA, 1975}. [ (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, Opening Brief for the Church, Civil Case #74-2025 CBR, December 4, 1974, p 17]
"..The General Conference session holds the singular AUTHORITY FOR REVISING the Church Manual--including THE CHURCH'S FUNDAMENTAL beliefs." { Adventist Review 7-5-1990}.
"Only a committee appointed by the General Conference can interpret prophecy." (Adventist Review, June 5, 1986, p 2).
"It is our responsibility to study the Scriptures for ourselves, to ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to submit our understandings to those in the church who are able to judge our findings, and then to abide to the decisions of the church..." (Seventh-day Adventist Church Adult Sabbath School Quarterly, Lesson 13, March 28, 1987, p 92, or p 153 in the Teacher’s Edition).
Adopting the Roman Catholic model of church organization, in flagrant disregard to the council of God. Here is what Raymond Cottrell, associate editor of the SDA Bible Commentary, stated in the Spectrum:
" Structure. At the local conference level the Seventh-day Adventist Church has a representative form of government. Above that level the polity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is hierarchical: Authority flows downward and members in local congregations have virtually no voice. Above that level, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a closed, self-operating, and self-perpetuating system similar to the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, in which those in authority are not responsible to lower echelons. Above the local conference level, those in authority are not elected by, representative of, or administratively accountable to, local congregations or the membership at large." Spectrum, March 1984, pg. 42
In the same year, 1984, in a court case involving the Harris Pine Mills, as asset owned by the SDA church, Judge William T. Hart, presiding over the case stated the following:
" Next to the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, the Adventist church is the most centralized of all the major denominations in the country."
Is it surprising to SDA's after what has been quoted above to read what Neal C. Wilson had to say about modeling the SDA church after the Roman Catholic Church? Here is what he said:
" There is ANOTHER universal and TRULY CATHOLIC ORGANIZATION, the SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH." Neal Wilson. Adventist Review, 3/5/1981.
Four years later at the GC in New Orleans, Neal C. Wilson referred five times to his vice presidents as cardinals.
2) Her errors:
• Incorporating major Babylonian errors into the 27 beliefs, such as belief nos. 2, 4, 6, and 23.
• Departing from the pillars of our faith such as the investigative judgment, as evidenced in the following quote by Falkenberg, ex-GC president:
"We don't have to worry whether our name has come up yet in the heavenly courtroom. We don't have to be anxious about the judgment closing before we have had a chance to CONFESS ALL OUR SINS." We Still Believe, pg. 45.
• Giving up on the historic position of the Ellen White and the pioneers on the nature of Christ and the atoning work of Christ in heaven, to accommodate the Protestant denominations.
• Placing loyalty to church above loyalty to the word of God:
"Often the Scriptures set forth merely general principles, leaving it to the church to decide specific policies. The Adventist Church has done this in the Church Manual. Once a matter has been discussed and voted, minority opinion gives way to majority, and loyalty dictates that all follow the new actions...Thus there is clearly a teaching AUTHORITY in the church BEYOND THE RECOGNIZED TEACHING AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE . There is, then, a teaching AUTHORITY in the Adventist Church that ought to be obeyed. Every member must not do merely 'that which is right in his own eyes.' Ministers and church leaders must uphold this AUTHORITY ." {Review and Herald 1-31-1974}.
Again, loyalty to the church {and not God} is clearly set in the following court record by the leaders of the SDA church:
"The General Conference, then is the Seventh-day Adventist church... the embodiment of the remnant church as a Christian denomination, in a unified worldwide organization, to which all baptized Seventh-day Adventists owe spiritual allegiance." {EEOC vs PPPA, Civil Case #74-2025 CBR, p 17, Opening Brief, 1974-1975}.
• Departure from the Biblical and SOP truth regarding the man of sin.
In the Reply Brief for Defendants of the Mary Kay-Silver trial, on page 4, Neal C. Wilson stated for the SDA church:
"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, and the term 'hierarchy' was used in a pejorative sense to refer to the papal form of church governance, 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." Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Vs the Pacific Press Publishing Association and SDA Church, civ #74-2025 CBR, 1975.
3) Her rejection of truth sent to her from heaven:
The SDA church has rejected the testimonies of God at least in the following areas:
• Health reform
• Dress reform
• Sanitariums
• Church structure and organization
• Church investments
• Tithing
• Insurance
• Evangelism
Based on the above can the honest in heart deny that the SDA church, which was first, declared a harlot (Babylonian) in 1903 has indeed fallen because of her continued and increasing sins, errors, and rejection of truth sent to her from heaven?
Has Ellen White ever prophesied that God's people just before the falling of the plagues will be called out of the SDA churches? YES!
"I saw that God 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 God is with them." {EW, p 261}.
The most fearful news here is the prophecy that those who will reject the call to come out of the SDA churches and the fallen churches will experience an 'excitement', coming from Satan to deceive them into thinking that 'God is with them".
How do we know from inspired writings that we are now living just before the 'plagues shall be poured out' and therefore have to separate from the fallen Babylonian SDA church and the other churches as well?
We know that we are in just this 'critical time' because of the wild spreading of the 'celebration' style of worship in the SDA churches and the other fallen churches around the world, as accurately predicted by Ellen White.
"The things you have described as taking place in Indiana, the Lord has shown me would take place just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit." {2SM, p 36}.
There are many more angles from which one can present the subject of separation. Examples of other equally convincing angels would be: wheat and tares, abomination of desolation, and corporate accountability. The purpose of this short study is not to address all major points and objections, which may arise from this initial study. It would satisfy me greatly if the only benefit that can accrue, at this point, would be the realization of the importance of subject matter; and hence, the determination to study it further and more deeply. In the section For SDAs Only in this website, you will find a lot of content to satisfy your 'Berean' attitude. Nothing equals the beauty of divine truth.
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