Introduction.
In 1902, Ellen G. White said the following. Seventh day Adventists have been chosen by God as a peculiar people, separate from the world. By the great cleaver of truth, He has cut them out from the quarry of the world and brought them into connection with Himself. He has made them His representatives and has called them to be ambassadors for Him in the last work of salvation. The greatest wealth of truth ever entrusted to mortals, the most solemn and fearful warnings ever sent by God to man, have been committed to them to be given to the world; and in the accomplishment of this work our publishing houses are among the most effective agencies. (7T 138.2).
When Gods faithful, little remnant proclaims the message with which they have been entrusted it will not go unnoticed. There will be two very different reactions to the preaching. 1) Many will take the preaching to heart and these will turn to the God of heaven. 2) Those who do not accept this preaching will harden and attack the Adventists, first with lies and later with force and violence. False revivals will occur, and these will be followed by mysterious signs and wonders, such as Revelation 13:13 tells us. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. These false revivals will also be followed by false conversions that lead people from darkness to pitch darkness. The one behind the false revivals and conversions is our enemy, Satan, and he is leading the world on its path to destruction. However, he does not give up so easily, and he will do everything in his power for God’s faithful little one to fall from the faith.
Our world is at full speed towards the latest crisis, and we see that the world is being drawn more and more towards an ecumenical cooperation which does not only embrace the Christian churches, but which also embraces all pagan religions and secular organisations. We can read about this happening in Revelation 13:1-3. And saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Anyone who has read a little about this topic knows that the beast from the sea is the Roman Empire in both phases, both military-political and religious-political, i.e. the papacy. The papacy has absorbed all pagan religions, philosophy and human traditions from its predecessors, the leopard (Greece), the bear (Medo-Persia) and the lion (Babylon), (see English; General information about the book of Daniel and Revelation; The Book of Daniel. Introduction and Chapter 2) and further developed this. We also know that the papacy was deadly wounded in 1798 when the pope was deposed and thrown into prison, only to regain religious power shortly after when a new pope was elected, and political power in 1929 when Mussolini returned the Vatican to the pope. The wound was healed, and after the Second Vatican Council, which is called the 21st Ecumenical Council, which was held in four sessions from 1962 to 1965, ecumenical cooperation really took off.
On 31 October 2017, on the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Reformation, the Reformation was formally ended at an ecumenical ceremony where representatives from almost all the various Reformed and Lutheran churches joined the Catholic Church in a so-called ‘commemoration of the Reformation‘, which only was the third and final step on the road to a complete obliteration of the Reformation. (See also English; The end times begin; End time events, part 1.)
However, there is a group of Christians who do not allow themselves to be swallowed by this ecumenical cooperation. This group of Christians is mentioned in the Bible as those which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17), and those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, (Revelation 14:12). Revelation 12:17 also tells that this group of Christians will be the object of Satan’s great hatred. John saw in his visions when he sat on Patmos that the dragon (= Satan), was wroth with the woman (= the church), and he went to male war against the remnant of her seed (= those who do not want to conform to the ecumenical cooperation), which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The testimony of Jesus Christ is also the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).
God’s commandments, and especially God’s fourth commandment, the Sabbath commandment, will be the subject of the last great trial that God’s people must go through. The papacy has introduced a false Sabbath – Sunday, and shortly a worldwide Sunday law will be introduced which everyone must respect. What kind of packaging it gets remains to seen, but it is coming. Perhaps in the form of «Family Day» or in the form of «the ten climate commandments». Anything can be baked into such a law, but the essence will be that Sunday will be the world’s day of rest, given by the papacy.
Those who will not comply with the orders of the coming Sunday law will be exposed to persecution, and eventually a death decree will be issued against those who keep God’s Sabbath – Saturday, because this group will eventually be blamed for all the misery, the wicked will experience as result of the last seven plagues. These plagues will only befall the wicked and not God’s faithful little remnant.
It is undeniable that it leads to polarization as long as there is a group of Christians that does not want to be blinded by the great and beautiful words of the Pope. This strange little group refuses to be sucked into ecumenical cooperation. They cling to God’s Ten Commandments and are willing to follow their saviour wherever He asks them to go, be it to the stake or to the gallows. In Revelation 14:4 John says the following about this group. These are they, which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they, which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
All Bible texts are from the King James Version 1611/1769 unless otherwise stated.
History has shown us.
Already in Old Testament times, there were many who engaged in spirit summoning, and we see that this phenomenon is absolutely very successful in our time. In Old Testament times, these were called sorcerers. We see that what once happened to Israel and to the early church has also happened in our time. This shows us that Satan is working according to a determined plan to cause God’s faithful remnant to fall away from the true faith. Although he uses different means to bring the people down, the plan is the same. The devil wants to take as many as possible with him into perdition, and preferably all of humanity.
In Norway, we have a princess who had a school where you could learn to talk with angels. This school was in operation from the early 2000s until the summer of 2019. This school was called Astarta Education and gave students training in how to develop their spiritual dimension, and how to meet their guardian angel. In 2022, this princess has become engaged to a shaman. Evil has also found its way into the Norwegian royal house.
In Old Testament times, it was associated with the death penalty to get involved in spirit conjuring, divination, interpretation of signs and spiritism. In our time, this has been accepted and we find New Age theology in many Christian denominations. We know how this has found its way into the Christian church. When Emperor Constantine converted» to Christianity, yes, I write, «converted» in quotation marks because it was not a true conversion that happened to Emperor Constantine. It was only politically motivated. When Constantine made Christianity a state religion, along with all the other religions, including worshiping the emperor, the emperor opened the gates of hell and paganism literally flooded the church at the beginning of the 4th century. All the pagan religions that accumulated through Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and into the Roman Empire now flourished fully in the Christian church. Over time, the papacy continued to develop this and today we have a syncretism the world has not seen the counterpart of in the form of the fallen Catholic Church and her daughters, the fallen Lutheran and Protestant denominations that have crawled back to the mother. It is no wonder that both Peter and John call the Catholic Church Babylon (Babel). One of the meanings of the word Babylon (Babel) is confusion.
In Old Testament times.
After God had brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He gave them many commandments and laws that told them what they could do and what they absolutely should not do. God did not want His people to follow the customs of their pagan neighbours, but to keep themselves clean before Him, but it was not long before Israel took after the paganism of the neighbouring peoples. In Judges 17:1-6, it says: And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name [was] Micah. And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred [shekels] of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and speakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver [is] with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed [be thou] of the LORD, my son. And when he had restored the eleven hundred [shekels] of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred [shekels] of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah. And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days, [there was] no king in Israel, [but] every man did [that which was] right in his own eyes.
Pay particular attention to the last sentence: Every man did [that which was] right in his own eyes. I wonder if we do not see the same in our days. As we see from this text, Israel had fallen from the right faith, and there was no one who could lead them on the right path. There was no king in Israel in those days, it says. The question is whether it got any better when Israel got a king.
Saul was anointed the first king of Israel, so we can see what happened during his reign. Towards the end of his reign, Saul wanted to consult with the prophet Samuel, but the problem was that Samuel was dead. Then Saul sought out a spirit medium in Endor to get her to contact the dead prophet. In 1 Samuel 28:7 it says: … Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, [there is] a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
Solomon too, who loved the Lord (1 Kings 3:3) fell and built sacrificial mounds for foreign gods: Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that [is] before Jerusalem, and for Moloch, the abomination of the children of Ammon, (1 Kings 11:7). After Solomon, the spiritual life of God’s people went up and down. At times, they were faithful to God and then fell again, and this happened repeatedly.
In New Testament times.
When we come to New Testament times, we see that this problem still exists, and that it has even developed. In Samaria there was a sorcerer named Simon who repented when he saw the miracles the apostles did. When he saw that those whom the apostles baptized received the Holy Spirit, he wanted to buy this gift. Luke tells about this in Acts 8:9-25. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one, (verse 9). And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost, (verses 18 and 19).
Sometime later, Barnabas and Paul were in Cyprus. In Acts 13:4-12 Luke writes this: And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name [was] Bar-jesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith, (verses 6-8).
Paul says to the Galatians. O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? Galatians 3:1.
In Galatians chapter 5, Paul discusses ‘walking in the Spirit’, and in verses 16-21, we read. [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies. Envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like, of which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
In chapter 18 of the Revelation, the apostle John addresses the situation in the church he helped found. When John says in Revelation 18:23 «And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee*«, it is the Catholic Church he means when the chapter deals with the judgment of the fallen church, something that comes to light in verse 4 where he says «come out of her, my people.» Her here is the church. In verse 21 the term Babylon is used, which is also an expression of the church and in verse 23* John says. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee, for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. As we see, John prophesied when the church was still virtually pure and untainted by paganism that there would be a change.
In the last chapter of Revelation, chapter 22, John says this: Blessed [are] they that do His commandments that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without [are] dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie, Revelation 22:14-15. Only those who do His commandments, which are God’s commandments, will enter into eternal life, not the sorcerers, they will be outside with all the others who have not repented of their sins
What does the Bible say about this?
It was common among the pagans to engage in spirit conjuring, divination, interpretation of signs, spiritism, and more, and in Deuteronomy 18:10-12 we read. There shall not be found among you [any one] that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire [or] that useth divination, [or] an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things [are] an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD, thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
In order to avoid being caught in the spiritism snare, we must be aware of what the various organizations stand for and not least what the Bible says about such things. Without having studied the Scriptures, we have no opportunity to stand against the evil forces behind the spiritism of our time. But how can we do this in a biblical way? Just after Israel had taken Canaan, Joshua said to them: Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods, which your fathers served on the other, side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.(Joshua 24:14.)
What kind of religion did the Egyptians practice? They had a large number of gods, and Pharaoh considered himself god on earth. It was all basically spiritism, which the Bible warns us against repeatedly. How seriously God views this is shown by the following verse: Leviticus 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I [am] the LORD your God. Leviticus 20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. Leviticus 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood [shall be] upon them.
Furthermore, we find this. It is written about Manasseh, who became king when he was 12 years old, that he rebuilt the sacrificial mounds, erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole, and in 2 Kings 21:6 we read. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards, he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke [him] to anger. Also in 2 Chronicles 33:6 it is written about the same king Manasseh. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom, also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
In Isaiah 8:19 the prophet says this. And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? … and Isaiah continues in verse 20 to tell the only way to avoid spiritism is a to the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.
Isaiah 19:1-3 addresses the problem of Egypt. He tells what will happen to the Egyptians because they worship idols and engage in magic, and in familiar spirits and spiritism. The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother and every one against his neighbour; city against city, [and] kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
There were also bright spots in ancient Israel. 2 Kings 23:24 tells us about the reformation that King Josiah started. Moreover the [workers with] familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.
As we see, one of the Old Testament books that had been recovered in a temple wall that was being restored triggered a reformation and revival in Josiah’s time.
In this way, we too must be fortified in the truth. We have it available, and we must use every free time to study the scriptures, and especially what is about the last time in which we live. We know from Jesus’ speech to the disciples on the Mount of Olives just before he was crucified that there will be false prophets and false christs. In order to be able to determine which are false and which are genuine, we must have good Bible knowledge. We must put ourselves in such a situation that we can say. «Thus saith the Lord» and «To the law and the testimony«. If someone asks us to seek advice from the dead, we should ask them the question: Why ask the dead, when we can seek the advice of the living God? The dead are and will be dead, among them no one thinks, they know nothing, so why should we ask the dead for advice? Just look at what the wise King Solomon said. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any [thing] that is done under the sun, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest, Ecclesiastes 9:10.
False shepherds.
There are many who present themselves as righteous and beautiful people in the church which is God’s last church on earth, the end-time church. These people appear to be true Adventists when they are with other people, but they have their hidden sins that they cherish. This applies to both doctors and scholars. Those who have the greatest responsibility are those who have undertaken the task of leading the congregation forward to the goal, they are those who have a theological education and who call themselves pastors. About these, Ellen G. White writes. I have been shown that the false shepherds were drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. The truth of God is sealed up to them; they cannot read it. When they are interrogated as to what the Seventh-day Sabbath is, whether or not it is the true Sabbath of the Bible, they lead the mind to fables. I saw that these prophets were like the foxes of the desert. They have not gone up into the gaps, they have not made up the hedge that the people of God may stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. When the minds of any get stirred up, and they begin to inquire of these false shepherds about the truth, they take the easiest and best manner to effect their object and quiet the minds of the inquiring ones, even changing their own position to do it, (Early Writings, 123.1).
How then will the church find its way in the confusion that has also crept in among God’s faithful people in the end times? An important chapter that tells us about the mission God has given his end-time church is found in Isaiah, and in chapter 58:12, we find this text. And [they that shall be] of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
However, many of our pastors are unfortunately in the dark. Although they have received light over scripture, they will not accept this light. Instead of building on God’s truth, they choose to live in darkness and create their own truths. They have allowed themselves to be inspired by spiritism, and they are leading the church to fall. This problem has found its way all the way up to the top management within our church community. And if we look at the preachers and writers who today are preferred by our supreme body, the General Conference, to write explanations for the books of the Bible, etc. then we see that the common denominator for them is that many of them preach things for which they find no support in the Bible, such as supporting homosexuality, and they also preach that God does not judge – because God is love! They do this despite knowing what the Bible says.
About homosexuality, Paul says in Romans 1:25-32 that they (who) changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections, for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers. Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful. Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. In 1 Timothy 1:8-10 Paul says this. But we know that the law [is] good, if a man use it lawfully. Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers. For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.
Regarding the judgment and God’s role, the Bible says this in Psalm 9:9 [KJV: 8] And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness, (see also Psalm 96:13; 98:9). In Romans 2:16 it says: In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. In the Acts 17:31 Luke says: In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back..
A personal experience.
Short time after I was baptized, I was very eager to seek help from one of my church’s pastors, and he was more than willing to help me. I felt I was making progress in my studies and was satisfied with this. But then it started to backfire. Every time I was going to write something about the prophecies, and I consulted with ‘my pastor‘ for help on how to understand a verse or paragraph, it stopped by itself. I just could not move on. Then one night I had a dream. I must add that I never, with a few exceptions, remember what I dream, and this is what makes this dream so special to me. This dream was a revelation for me in many ways. It was like this: I was out walking on a long plain, and in front of me walked a man. No matter how fast or slow I walked, the distance to him was the same, and I only saw his back. Then he started walking down a hill and I followed. Down the hill it was getting darker and darker, but there was still enough light to see. At the bottom, there was a huge rock, from which you had to jump down to get further, and just beyond this rock, the darkness was intense. The one who walked in front of me jumped down, and when I got to this rock, I understood that I would never get back up if I jumped down, so I did not jump down. When he realized I had not jumped, he turned around and to my great surprise; I saw the face of my pastor. When I awoke, I decided not to consult this pastor any more, and again got on with my work. I am sure I was warned against following him, or anyone else for that matter.
I mention this because what we are talking about is that far too many of our leaders, and other ordinary members for that matter, present themselves as something other than what they really are. My pastor really enjoys a lot of attention and when he preach in the church it is full. People come who would never otherwise have come. His name draws them to the church, not Jesus. That in itself should have been a warning and thought provoking. Sometime later, I heard a recording of a speech the pastor in question had given where he says that God does not judge the wicked. He had also at one point held a symposium in our church where he had invited participants to shed light on «the problem surrounding our attitude to homosexuality», and where both he and the other participants defended what the Bible calls an abomination.
Ellen G. White advises us against associating with these people, and says we should have nothing to do with them. We will not even go to their meetings, because then we encourage them, she says. In Early Writings, 124.3, she says this: I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach error that is a deadly poison to the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good. If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness.
To avoid ending up in the same situation, we must daily, and individually, study the Bible in prayer and seek God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit. It might sound a little strange that I say it like that. Have not our theologians studied the scriptures? Of course, they have. Nevertheless, many of them have absorbed a lot of praise from their surroundings, and praise is something that characterizes the pride of us humans. When pride is allowed to grow in one’s heart, Jesus will diminish, and suddenly one finds oneself in a place one should not be. When he reached the end of the plain and began to walk down the hill. However, there is still time to change, because when you reach the rock at the bottom you have to make an active choice. Either you actively choose to jump down the last part of the descent or you actively choose to turn around and start going up again.
However, we must be careful with everything we say and do. All the things we spend a lot of time on, time we should have spent on Bible study and prayer, will help bring us closer to this rock at the bottom of the hill. We must always keep that in mind. Let us not be proud of not having jumped down, but let us thank God that He shows us the right path that leads us up and home.