SDA Church History

"At times, with burning earnestness and words of terrible severity, Christ denounced the abominations that He saw in the church and in the world. He would not allow the people to be deceived by false claims to righteousness and sanctity."

The Abomination of Desolation and Church History was first written in 1985 and first published in 1986. It was written in a year by year format so that the writings and admonitions of the Spirit of Prophecy to the Seventh-day Adventist church could be more easily understood.

Many of our SDA people did not understand why certain testimonies were written at different times throughout the history of the church. So by noticing the date of the testimony, and the events then taking place in the church, a clearer understanding could be obtained.

Since 1985, many more testimonies have been released by the White Estates and subsequently published--most of these previously unknown to the Adventist laity. Many of these add significant insights as to what was occurring in SDA church history. Also substantially more beneficial and informative documentation of past church actions has become available. This additional information, coupled with the fact that nearly ten years has passed since the first publication, made it obvious that a second edition was definitely needed.

This enlarged, rewritten, and updated second edition still follows the year by year format with the writings of E.G. White to the SDA church up through 1915--or the first half of the book. The second half is largely made up of statements and documents from the SDA church itself, clearly showing how the church leadership have acted out "to the letter" the prophecies and predictions given against them should they refuse to follow God's revealed will.

This writer has no ax to grind against the SDA church, but is only interested that our SDA people are awake to, and knowledgeable about, the history of their church--from its beginning till now. This knowledge is the only way that our people may be able to avoid repeating the errors of the past, and also can know God's will for His people today.

God, at an infinite cost, sent His Son to die for us in order to save our freedom and protect our power to choose whom we are going to follow--Christ or Satan. Christ tells us to count the cost of following Him--in other words to become knowledgeable of what it means and what it takes to follow Him. This book is dedicated to those who choose to count the cost, becoming knowledgeable of what it means and will take to follow God's revealed will today and not to look back.

May God help all who read this book to be enlightened by His Holy Spirit, having all darkness dispelled and the truth clearly seen, and to choose to follow Christ regardless of the cost. Heaven, and eternity with our Lord and Saviour, will be worth any sacrifice.

The phrases--"Abomination of desolation" and "Abomination that maketh desolate" are found in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament it is found in Daniel 11:31 and 12:11. In the New Testament it is found in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14. First, let us look at these parallel phrases and their meanings to ascertain what kind of abomination it is that brings the desolation.

In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for "abomination" is "shiqquts," meaning "disgusting, idolatrous or an idol, abominable filth, detestable."(1) In the New Testament the Greek word for "abomination" is "bdelugma," meaning "detestable idolatry."(2) Both these meanings apply to idolatry. But what kind of detestable idolatry is being spoken of? For this we need to look at how these words are used in the Bible, and then we can know what kind of idolatry is meant.

In the New Testament we find "bdelugma" used in Luke 16:15 and Revelation 21:27; stating that this detestable and disgusting "idolatry" is highly esteemed among men, but those who do such work will not enter heaven. In the Old Testament we find "shiqquts" used in 1 Kings 11:5-7 and 2 Kings 23:13 stating that Solomon worshipped Ashtoreth (the abomination of the Zidonians), Milcom (the abomination of the Ammonites), and Chemosh (the abomination of Moab).

Sister Ellen G. White states that God's chosen people today are considered to be His modern Israel.(3) As such we can pose the question: Is there any significance of these gods that Solomon worshipped to God's modern Israel of today--His Seventh-day Adventist people? To find the answer, let us first look at these false gods and what they stood for.

In ancient Babylonian times the sun and the constellation Orion represented Nimrod.(9) The moon, Venus (which was thought to be a star), and the constellation Cancer (the crab)(10) represented Nimrod's wife--Semiramis, who was also known as the "queen of heaven" and the "mother of the gods."(11) And the blazing star, as well as the constellation Aires (the ram) represented Tammuz,(12) the son of Semiramis--which was believed to be Nimrod reincarnated. Tammuz means "the purifying burner."(13) These three were the pagan trinity, and their symbols were also represented in the worship of Baal. The priests of Baal would sacrifice to the sun, moon, and stars.(14) But what did these symbols, especially the sun, symbolize? Lucifer! Nimrod symbolized Lucifer;(15) Tammuz--the son of Semiramis--represented Lucifer;(16) and, in fact, even Semiramis symbolized Lucifer--as Venus "the star of the morning"!(17)

God had warned Israel not to worship the sun, moon, or stars.(18) But Israel refused to listen, left the worship of the true God, and joined themselves to Baal,(19) thereby worshipping Satan. Even Solomon neglected the warnings of God and led Israel into the worship of the hosts of heaven.

The main symbol of Baal worship is the sun.(20) Sun worship has been around since the origin of Babylon and Nimrod. The main day to worship the sun is Sunday or Baal's day--the day of the sun.(21) We know that Solomon, the king of Israel, worshipped Baal and the sun. He was the wisest king that ever lived on this earth before Christ, and yet Solomon fell into idolatry. But how did he fall into sun worship, and under what circumstances?

"While Solomon exalted the law of heaven, God was with him, and wisdom was given him to rule over Israel with impartiality and mercy....But after a morning of great promise his life was darkened by apostasy....he who had led others to ascribe honor to the God of Israel, turned from the worship of Jehovah to bow before the idols of the heathen....

"In seeking to strengthen his relations with the powerful kingdom lying to the southward of Israel [which was Egypt], Solomon ventured upon forbidden ground....But in forming an alliance with a heathen nation...Solomon rashly disregarded the wise provision that God had made for maintaining the purity of His people....Solomon had begun to lose sight of the Source of his power and glory. As inclination gained the ascendancy over reason, self-confidence increased, and he sought to carry out the Lord's purpose in his own way....he entered into unholy alliance with nation after nation....The commands of Jehovah were set aside for the customs of surrounding peoples....

"So gradual was Solomon's apostasy that before he was aware of it, he had wandered far from God. Almost imperceptibly he began to put confidence in his own strength. Little by little he withheld from God that unswerving obedience which was to make Israel a peculiar people, and he conformed more and more closely to the customs of the surrounding nations....The money which should have been held in sacred trust for the benefit of the worthy poor and for the extension of principles of holy living throughout the world, was selfishly absorbed in ambitious projects....the king overlooked the need of acquiring the beauty and perfection of character....

"More and more the king came to regard luxury, self-indulgence, and the favor of the world as indications of greatness. Beautiful and attractive women were brought from Egypt, Phoenicia, Edom, Moab, and many other places....Their religion was idol worship...His wives exerted a strong influence over him and gradually prevailed on him to unite with them in their worship. Solomon had disregarded the instruction that God had given to serve as a barrier against apostasy, and now he gave himself up to the worship of false gods....

"Solomon's course brought its sure penalty. His separation from God through communication with idolaters was his ruin. As he cast off his allegiance to God, he lost the mastery of himself. His moral efficiency was gone....He mistook license for liberty. He tried--but at what cost!--to unite light with darkness, good with evil, purity with impurity, Christ with Belial....God can do little for men who lose their sense of dependence upon Him.

"During these years of apostasy, the spiritual decline of Israel progressed steadily. How could it be otherwise when their king had united his interests with satanic agencies? Through these agencies the enemy worked to confuse the minds of the Israelites in regard to true and false worship, and they became an easy prey....Refusing to follow the path of obedience, they transferred their allegiance to the enemy of righteousness....the Israelites rapidly lost their abhorrence of idol worship." Prophets and Kings, p 51-59.

"There is a lesson for us in the history of Solomon....He might have gone from strength to strength, from character to character, ever approaching nearer the similitude of the character of God, but how sad his history; he was exalted to most sacred positions of trust, but he proved unfaithful....Association with idolaters corrupted his faith; one false step led to another; there was a breaking down of the barriers which God had erected for the safety of His people; his life was corrupted...and at last he gave himself to the worship of false gods....

"Oh, how can God bear with the misdeeds of those who have had great light and advantages, and yet follow the course of their own choosing, to their eternal harm! Solomon...chose his own way, and in his heart separated from God....Solomon dishonored himself, dishonored Israel, and dishonored God.

"Looking upon this picture, we see what human beings become when they venture to separate from God. One false step prepares the way for another, and every step is taken more easily than the last. Thus souls are found following another leader than Christ.

"All who occupy positions in our institutions will be tested. If they will make Christ their pattern, He will give them wisdom and knowledge and understanding; they will grow in grace and aptitude in Christ's way; their characters will be molded after His similitude. If they fail of keeping the way of the Lord, another spirit will control the mind and judgment, and they will plan without the Lord and will take their own course and leave the positions they have occupied. The light has been given them; if they depart from it, let no man present a bribe to induce them to remain. They will be a hindrance and a snare." Testimonies, vol 7 p 217-19.

God has warned that all in SDA institutions, in positions of authority, will be tested and proved, and that the same weaknesses and sins of Solomon's apostasy are handed down to all. What would happen if the SDA church leadership would prove to be unfaithful and follow the apostasy of Solomon?

As we have discovered, the hosts of heaven were worshipped by Solomon and Israel, which constituted Baal worship. The main symbol in Baal worship is the sun, and the day to worship Baal is on Sunday--Baal's day.

We have also discovered that the word "abomination" in Daniel, Matthew, and Mark means disgusting idolatry, or more accurately: Baal worship, or even more accurately: Sunday worship. Now lets look at the meaning of the words "desolate" and "desolation" in the Old and New Testaments.

The Hebrew word for "desolate" in Daniel 11:31 and 12:11 is "shamem," meaning "to stun, astonish, destroy, devastate, desolate."(22) The Greek word for "desolation" of Matthew 24:15 is "eremosis," meaning "despoliation, or desolation."(23) Websters states "despoliation" means "to strip, to deprive of something." The word "desolation" of Mark 13:14 is the Hebrew word "shimamah," meaning "devastation, astonishment, desolation."(24)

Putting all these meanings together we come to the correct meaning of the word "desolation": it means something or some event occurs which stuns in astonishment, something is stripped away, and then destruction, devastation, and desolation follows.

What were Christ's words to His true followers? "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand); Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains" Matthew 24:15-16. In Mark 13:14 He says; "standing where it ought not." In Luke 21:21 He says; "Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it [Jerusalem] depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance."

By putting these texts together we get a more perfect picture of Christ's words. He states that when the abomination of desolation stands where it ought not, in the holy place, then let His followers which be in Jerusalem and Judea come out and flee into the mountains, and let none return. "For these be the days of vengeance." These are strong words of warning from our Saviour. Yet this warning saved the lives of those Christians that escaped before Jerusalem was destroyed.

The Roman army, under command of general Cestius, surrounded Jerusalem in A.D. 66. But just before it fell, he unexpectedly withdrew his forces and, while retreating, he planted the abomination of desolation--the banner of Rome--in the holy ground. About three years later another Roman general named Titus resumed the assult, keeping up a siege until Jerusalem fell in A.D. 70. Thus there was absolutely no excuse for any of Christ's followers to lose their lives when Jerusalem was destroyed. The only people who did lose their lives were those who chose not to follow Christ's warnings but remained within Jerusalem. And it was only the mercy of God that Jerusalem was not destroyed sooner.

Christ's warnings were extremely important--life dependant--to His true followers back then, but can it be as important to Christ's followers now? Will the abomination and the desolation that follows occur again, in our time? YES!

"Christ presented before them an outline of the prominent events to transpire before the close of time. His words were not then fully understood; but their meaning was to be unfolded as His people should need the instruction therein given. The prophecy which He uttered was twofold in its meaning: while foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem, it prefigured also the terrors of the last great day.

"Jesus declared to the listening disciples the judgments that were to fall upon apostate Israel, and especially the retributive vengeance that would come upon them for their rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah. Unmistakable signs would precede the awful climax. The dreaded hour would come suddenly and swiftly....When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground, which extended some furlongs outside the city walls, then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight. When the warning sign should be seen, judgment was to follow so quickly that those who would escape must make no delay. Throughout the land of Judea, as well as in Jerusalem itself, the signal for flight must be immediately obeyed....They must not hesitate a moment, lest they be involved in the general destruction." Great Controversy, p 25-26.

Many scholars believe that the standard or banner of Rome, which was set up in the holy ground of Jerusalem, was a lion-faced sun--its mane pictured as the alternating sun-rays. So the sign for flight was when the idolatrous standard of Rome--the banner of the sun--was set up or exalted in the holy place of Jerusalem. Christ's words of warning are also for us--His modern Israel. Since pagan Rome was replaced with papal Rome, what then is the idolatrous Roman standard of today? The banner of Roman Catholicism is undoubtedly the day of the sun--or Sunday worship. And what would be the abomination of desolation of today? It would be the setting up or the exalting of Sunday worship.

As the abomination of desolation--the banner of the sun--was set up in a holy place of Jerusalem, could it also be set up in a holy place of God's modern Israel--the Seventh-day Adventist church? Could Jerusalem prior to 70 A.D. be a representation of the SDA church today? Could the church repeat the same sins of Jerusalem that brought its destruction?

"Jerusalem is a representation of what the church will be if it refuses to walk in the light that God has given....By rejecting God's warnings in this our day, men are repeating the sin of Jerusalem." Testimonies, vol 8, p 67-68.

So Jerusalem could represent the SDA church if she refuses to follow God's truth. As such, what would be the holy place of the SDA church that the abomination of desolation, or Sunday worship--would stand in? Undoubtedly it would stand in the holy place of God's seventh-day Sabbath.

If the SDA church repeats the same sins of Solomon by disregarding the warnings and counsels of God, then they will also confound idolatry with our religion. And if they repeat the same sins of Jerusalem by refusing to walk in God's truth and rejecting His warnings, then the abomination of desolation, which is the exalting of Sunday worship in the holy place of God's Sabbath, will occur in the Seventh-day Adventist church. This would signify that the SDA church has departed from the worship of the true God, and are worshipping Lucifer instead. If this were to occur, then the sign for all of God's true SDA's to flee would be clearly seen.

"But the Israel of our time have the same temptation to scorn reproof and hate counsel as had ancient Israel....Neglect to repent and obey His word will bring as serious consequences upon God's people today as did the same sin upon ancient Israel. There is a limit beyond which He will no longer delay His judgments. The desolation of Jerusalem stands as a solemn warning before the eyes of modern Israel, that the corrections given through His chosen instruments cannot be disregarded with impunity." Testimonies, vol 4, p 165-67.

"If they will continue to disregard the reproofs He sends them, and act contrary to His declared will, ruin must follow; for God's people are kept in prosperity only by His mercy, through the care of His messengers. He will not uphold and guard a people who disregard his counsels and despise His reproofs." Testimonies, vol 4, p 176.

A serious question must be asked: Is the Seventh-day Adventist church following Christ and His teachings, or are they rejecting the truth and following the same path as did Solomon and Jerusalem--the path to ruin and destruction? The only way to answer this question is to examine the history of the SDA church.

The formal history of the Seventh-day Adventist church began in 1844. After the disappointment, God was leading our people ever closer to Himself and He greatly blessed us by giving us His messenger--Ellen Gould White. God gave, through her, the messages His people needed to hear and obey. Messages of great blessings and promises that all who remained faithful would share in. But there were also messages warning of the deceptive and seductive power of evil, and instruction on how to overcome it.

"To vindicate myself, my position, or my mission, I would not utter ten words. I would not seek to give evidence of my work. `By their fruits ye shall know them' [Matthew 7:20]." Selected Messages, book 3, p 75.

"Men may get up scheme after scheme, and the enemy will seek to seduce souls from the truth, but all who believe that the Lord has spoken through Sister White, and has given her a message, will be safe from the many delusions that will come in these last days." Selected Messages, book 3, p 83-84.

As the church was growing we kept our eyes firmly fixed on Christ, and we were greatly blessed. The message was extending far and wide, with the truth being presented in its pure, untainted form. God was working for and along with our people and we continued to prosper. There was no church organization or General Conference president, just ministers and people led by God's Holy Spirit. We prospered spiritually as well as physically because we allowed God to lead us and we were following His commandments and His biddings. Had we continued to do this, the whole world would have been warned to prepare and Christ would have come!(26) But we started to murmur. We gradually became less zealous and allowed ourselves to slow down in God's work. This is exactly what the devil was waiting for, so God sent a warning message to the church through Sister White.

"I saw Satan would work more powerfully now than ever he has before. He knows that his time is short...he will now work in every way that he can, and will try his every insinuation to get the saints off their guard and get them asleep on present truth, or doubting it, so as to prevent their being sealed with the seal of the living God...

"I saw that God wanted His people to be separate from the world; for wicked persons were the lawful prey of the enemy, and he would work through them in every way to perplex and destroy the saints, and if we were obliged to be in company with the wicked persons we must pray and watch every moment lest we should partake of their spirit; for they corrupted the atmosphere where they were and their very breath was darkness; and that the wicked would wax worse and worse, and we must cut loose from them and be free and free indeed. God does not want His people to mingle with the wicked more than they are obliged to....

"Could our eyes be opened, we should see forms of wicked angels around us, trying to invent some new and effectual way to annoy and destroy us; for I saw that God's watchful eye was over Israel, and that He would protect and save them, if they would put their trust in Him..." Manuscript 7, August 24, 1850, Last Day Events: from the Letters and Manuscripts of E.G. White, p 36-37. (See Manuscript Releases, vol 6, p 250)

God sent a message warning our people not to allow the devil to catch them off guard by their falling asleep or doubting the present truth which had made them God's people. They were also clearly instructed not to have any union with the world; they were to cut loose and be free from such darkness lest the church should partake of the world's wicked spirit and become corrupted. God also told our people that if they would continue to put their trust in Him only, His eye would be upon them to protect and save.

"...I saw that there was a great lack of faith with the servants of God, as well as with the church. They were too easily discouraged, too ready to doubt God, too willing to believe that they had a hard lot and that God had forsaken them. I saw that this was cruel....When they asked their Father in heaven for things which they thought they needed, and these did not immediately come, their faith wavered, their courage fled, and a murmuring feeling took possession of them. This, I saw, displeased God....

"...I was shown that God's people have been weighed down with clogs, that there have been Achans(27) in the camp. The work of God has progressed but little...God's frown has been brought upon the church on account of individuals with corrupt hearts being in it....Selfishness and exaltation have marked their course....The truth will take effect if the servants of God and the church will devote themselves to Him and His cause." Testimonies, vol 1, p 122 (June, 1855).

"I have seen an angel standing with scales in his hands weighing the thoughts and interest of the people of God...In one scale were the thoughts and interest tending heavenward; in the other were the thoughts and interest tending to earth....Oh, what a solemn moment! The angels of God standing with scales, weighing

the thoughts of His professed children--those who claim to be dead to the world and alive to God. The scale filled with thoughts of earth, vanity, and pride quickly went down, notwithstanding weight after weight rolled from the scale. The one with thoughts and interest tending to heaven went quickly up as the other went down, and oh, how light it was!...Said the angel: `Can such enter heaven? No, no, never. Tell them the hope they now possess is vain, and unless they speedily repent, and obtain salvation, they must perish.'

"A form of godliness will not save any....We are co-workers with Christ, or co-workers with the enemy. We either gather with Christ or scatter abroad. We are decided, wholehearted Christians, or none at all. Says Christ: `I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth' [Revelation 3:15]." Testimonies, vol 1, p 124-126.

"...I was shown in vision some things that concern the church...I was pointed back to the years 1843 and 1844. There was a spirit of consecration then that there is not now. What has come over the professed peculiar people of God? I saw conformity to the world, the unwillingness to suffer for the truth's sake. I saw a great lack of submission to the will of God....

"Jesus is coming; and will He find a people conformed to the world? And will He acknowledge these as His people that He has purified to Himself? Oh, no. None but the pure and holy will He acknowledge as His. Those who have been purified and made white through suffering, and have kept themselves separate, unspotted from the world, He will own as His.

"As I saw the dreadful fact that God's people were conformed to the world, with no distinction, except in name, between many of the professed disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus and unbelievers, my soul felt deep anguish. I saw that Jesus was wounded and put to an open shame. Said the angel, as with sorrow he saw the professed people of God loving the world, partaking of its spirit, and following its fashions: `Cut loose! Cut loose! lest He appoint you your portion with hypocrites and unbelievers outside the city. Your profession will only cause you greater anguish, and your punishment will be greater because ye knew His will, but did it not.'...

"God will have a people separate and distinct from the world. And as soon as any have a desire to imitate...the world, that they do not immediately subdue, just so soon God ceases to acknowledge them as His children. They are the children of the world and of darkness." Testimonies, vol 1, p 127-37 (May 27, 1856).

God will accept only the pure and the holy as His; only those who keep themselves from union with the world. Profession alone is worthless; a form of godliness will not save anyone. If the church chooses to unite themselves with the world, "just so soon God ceases to acknowledge them as His" people!

"...The Lord has shown me in vision some things concerning the church in its present lukewarm state, which I will relate to you. The church was presented before me in vision. Said the angel to the church: `Jesus speaks to thee, "Be zealous and repent."' This work, I saw, should be taken hold of in earnest. There is something to repent of. Worldly-mindedness, selfishness, and covetousness have been eating out the spirituality and life of God's people....

"We must be awake to see our wrongs, to search for our sins, and to zealously repent of them....After all our lukewarmness and sins He says: `Return unto Me, and I will return unto thee, and will heal all thy backslidings' [Jeremiah 3:22]." Testimonies, vol 1, p 141-43.

God in His great mercy did not denounce the SDA church as Laodicea even though we fit the description by being lukewarm. We were given a period of time to repent; but we rejected repentance and the SDA church was denounced as Laodicea.

"I was shown that the testimony to the Laodiceans applies to God's people at the present time, and the reason it has not accomplished a greater work is because of hardness of their hearts. But God has given the message time to do its work. The heart must be purified from sins which have so long shut out Jesus. This fearful message will do its work....I saw that this message would not accomplish its work in a few months. It is designed to arouse the people of God, to discover to them their backslidings, and to lead to zealous repentance, that they may be favored with the presence of Jesus,(A) and be fitted for the loud cry of the third angel....

"God will prove His people. Jesus bears patiently with them, and does not spew them out of His mouth in a moment.(B) Said the angel: `God is weighing His people.'(C) If the message had been of as short duration as many of us supposed, there would have been no time for them to develop character....

"Said the angel: `God will bring His work closer and closer to test and prove every one of His people.'...If any will not be purified through obeying the truth, and overcome their selfishness, their pride, and evil passions, the angels of God have their charge: `They are joined to their idols, let them alone,' and they pass on to their work, leaving these with their sinful traits unsubdued, to the control of evil angels.(D) Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation."(E) Testimonies, vol 1, p 186-87.

"The Church is in the Laodicean state. The presence of Christ is not in her midst....Abridge the work, limit your labors, and you remove your Helper!...What a terrible thing it is to exclude Christ from His own church." Notebook Leaflets, p 99.

"The figure of spewing out of His mouth means that He cannot offer up your prayers or your expressions of love to God. He cannot endorse your teachings of His word, or your spiritual work in anywise. He cannot present your religious exercises with the request that grace be given you." Testimonies, vol 6, p 408.

"God is represented as weighing all men, their words, their deeds, their motives, that which determines character....Now read the claims of God upon every man and woman: `Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself' [Luke 10:27]. He will not release one atom of His claim; He will not accept half worship while half the heart is given to some idol....

"God's claim is placed in one scale, and man's character in the other; and by the balances of the heavenly sanctuary every man's doom is fixed for eternity....Men are weighed in the balance and found wanting when they are living in the practice of any known sin." Testimonies to Ministers, p 438-40.

"However high any minister may have stood in the favor of God, if he neglects to follow out the light given him of God, if he refuses to be taught as a little child, he will go into darkness and satanic delusions and will lead others in the same path." Testimonies, vol 5, p 214.

"I was shown that if the people of God make no effort on their part, but wait for the refreshing to come upon them and remove their wrongs and correct their errors; if they depend upon that to cleanse them from filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and fit them to engage in the loud cry of the third angel, they will be found wanting. The refreshing or power of God comes only on those who have prepared themselves for it by doing the work which God bids them, namely, cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Testimonies, vol 1, p 619.

"I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful, and were looking to the time of `refreshing' and the `latter rain' to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God." Early Writings, p 71.

As we can see, the message that the SDA church is Laodicea is to bring repentance and purification. If the church does not accept the truth and repent of her backslidings and lukewarmness, then Christ's presence cannot return to the church. It will be found wanting. Its ministers will be led by Satan and will deceive our people, and they will not receive the latter rain which is to fit them to be part of the 144,000--to be translated to heaven. Truly this was a solemn and fearful message of warning and admonition to the SDA church in 1859.

"How many shrink from the purifying process! They are unwilling to live out the truth, unwilling to appear singular in the eyes of the world.(29) It is this mingling with the world that destroys our spirituality, pureness, and zeal. Satan's power is constantly exercised to stupefy the sensibilities of God's people, that their consciences may not be sensitive to wrong, and that the sign of distinction between them and the world may be destroyed....

"Those who profess to be Christians amid the perils of the last days, and do not imitate the humble, self-denying Pattern, place themselves in the enemy's ranks....The distance is widening between Christ and His people, and lessening between them and the world. The marks of distinction between Christ's professed people and the world have almost disappeared. Like ancient Israel,(30) they follow after the abominations of the nations around them....

"The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself; this consecration to God and separation from the world is plainly and positively enjoined in both the Old and the New Testament. There is a wall of separation which the Lord Himself has established between the things of the world and the things He has chosen out of the world and sanctified unto Himself. The calling and character of God's people are peculiar, their prospects are peculiar, and these peculiarities distinguish them from all other people....

"The opinions and wisdom of men must not guide or govern us.(31) They will always lead away from the cross....The members of Christ are called to come out and be separate from the friendship and spirit of the world; their strength and power consists in being chosen and accepted of God....

"Those who will be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ to the immortal inheritance, will be peculiar. Yes, so peculiar that God places a mark upon them as His, wholly His. Think ye that God will receive, honor, and acknowledge a people so mixed up with the world that they differ from them only in name?...It is soon to be known who is on the Lord's side..." Testimonies, vol 1, p 274-87.

"I was shown that a most solemn work is before us. Its importance and magnitude are not realized. As I marked the indifference which was everywhere apparent, I was alarmed for ministers and people. There seemed to be a paralysis upon the cause of present truth. The work of God seemed stayed....In their present state of worldly ambition, with their lack of consecration to God, their devotion to self, they are wholly unfit to receive the latter rain and, having done all, to stand against the wrath of Satan, who by his inventions would cause them to make shipwreck of faith, fastening upon them some pleasing self-deception. They think they are all right when they are all wrong....

"Ministers should be ensamples to the flock of God. But they are not safe from Satan's temptations. They are the very ones whom he will seek to ensnare....Selfishness, hypocrisy, and every species of deception, Satan clothes with a garment of apparent truth and righteousness, and triumphs in his success, even with ministers and people who profess to understand his wiles....

"I saw that before the work of God can make any decided progress, the ministers must be converted....The ministers must be converted before they can strengthen their brethren....A reformation is needed among the people, but it should first begin its purifying work with the ministers. They are watchman upon the walls of Zion, to sound the note of warning to the careless, the unsuspecting; also to portray the fate of the hypocrite in Zion....

"There is a great work to be accomplished for Sabbath-keepers. Their eyes must be opened and they see their true condition, and be zealous and repent, or they will fail of everlasting life. The spirit of the world has taken possession of them, and they are brought into captivity by the powers of darkness." Testimonies, vol 1, p 466-69, 478-79 (December 25, 1865).

Speaking through Sister White, God has told us that the SDA people have paralyzed His work; and before it can advance, the ministers must be converted again. The ministers must reform and be purified before our people can reform and be purified. Why?

"...I was shown the state of God's professed people. Many of them were in great darkness, yet seemed to be insensible to their true condition....Men who stand in very responsible positions at the heart of the work are asleep. Satan has paralyzed them in order that his plans and devices may not be discerned, while he is active to ensnare, deceive, and destroy.

"Some who occupy the position of watchmen to warn the people of danger have given up their watch and recline at ease. They are unfaithful sentinels. They remain inactive, while their wily foe enters the fort and works successfully by their side to tear down what God has commanded to be built up. They see that Satan is deceiving the inexperienced and unsuspecting; yet they take it all quietly,(32) as though they had no special interest, as though these things did not concern them. They apprehend no special danger; they see no cause to raise an alarm. To them everything seems to be going well, and they see no necessity of raising the faithful, trumpet notes of warning which they hear borne by the plain testimonies, to show the people their transgressions and the house of Israel their sins. These reproofs and warnings disturb the quiet of these sleepy, ease-loving sentinels, and they are not pleased....

"These are the true feelings of many of our people. And Satan exults at his success in controlling the minds of so many who profess to be Christians. He has deceived them, benumbed their sensibilities, and planted his hellish banner right in their midst, and they are so completely deceived that they know not that it is he." Testimonies, vol 2, p 439-40 (October 2, 1868).

Before we continue with the above testimony, let us understand what we have just read. Satan has so deceived the SDA leaders and ministers that they have willingly allowed him to deceive our people! They have also allowed Satan to plant his hellish banner in the midst of the church, where God's banner should be.

"This distinctive banner, described in the words, `Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus...' [Revelation 14:12]"(33) Testimonies, vol 6, p 144.

God's banner is pure white, and Satan's banner is black with the sun, moon, and stars on it. As we read earlier, the sun, moon, and stars were symbols of Baal worship, and Baal's day is Sunday. Now the SDA leaders have allowed Satan to plant this hellish sun banner within SDA churches!

Solomon followed after Baal until his candlestick was removed and Israel fell into apostasy. This did not happen all at once, but was a gradual departure from God and from His truth. Will the SDA leadership also follow after Baal, gradually putting custom and tradition above God's wisdom and truth? If they do this, then their candlestick will be removed, and apostasy will prevail. This can only lead to one end--the exalting of Sunday! This will happen only if the SDA leadership continues to depart from God's light and truth, continues to link up with Satan, and unites with the world.

"God's professed people are selfish and self-caring. They love the things of this world, and have fellowship with the works of darkness. They have pleasure in unrighteousness. They have not love toward God nor love for their neighbors. They are idolaters, and are worse, far worse, in the sight of God than heathen, graven-image worshippers who have no knowledge of a better way.(34)...

"Like ancient Israel the church has dishonored her God by departing from the light, neglecting her duties, and abusing her high and exalted privilege of being peculiar and holy in character. Her members have violated their covenant to live for God and Him only. They have joined with the selfish and world-loving. Pride, the love of pleasure, and sin have been cherished, and Christ has departed. His Spirit has been quenched in the church. Satan works side by side with professed Christians; yet they are so destitute of spiritual discernment that they do not detect him....

"Very many who profess to be servants of Christ are none of His. They are deceiving their souls to their own destruction....Many, while professing to be servants of Christ, are obeying another master, working daily against the Master whom they profess to serve....

"But the Lord is dishonored and His cause reproached by His people's being in bondage to the world. They are in friendship with the world, the enemies of God. Their only hope of salvation is to separate from the world and zealously maintain their separate, holy, and peculiar character. Oh! why will not God's people comply with the conditions laid down in His word?...

"I have stated before them that, from what was shown me, but a small number of those now professing to believe the truth would eventually be saved--not because they could not be saved, but because they would not be saved in God's own appointed way. The way marked out by our divine Lord is too narrow and the gate too strait to admit them while grasping the world or while cherishing selfishness or sin of any kind....

"Seventh-day Adventists, who profess to be looking for and loving the appearing of Christ, should not follow the course of worldlings. These are no criterion for commandment keepers....Commandment-keeping Adventists occupy a peculiar, exalted position. John viewed them in holy vision and thus described them: `Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus' [Revelation 14:12]." Testimonies, vol 2, p 440-46, 450.

Before we continue with this testimony above, God shows two different classes of SDA's who are in the church. Those who are commandment-keepers, and those who profess to be. But which of these two classes of SDA's does God consider to be His true church? Let us examine each class.

"The church on earth, composed of those who are faithful and loyal to God, is the `true tabernacle,' whereof the Redeemer is the Minister. God, and not man, pitched this tabernacle on a high, elevated platform." SDA Bible Commentary, vol 7, p 931.

"Consider, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord has a people, a chosen people, His church, to be His own, His own fortress, which He holds in a sin-stricken, revolted world; and He intended that no authority should be known in it, no laws be acknowledged by it, but His own." Testimonies to Ministers, p 16.

"Those who keep God's commandments, those who live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, compose the church of the living God." SDA Bible Commentary, vol 7, p 949.

"Christ has a church in every age. Obedience to the commandments of God gives us a right to the privileges of this church. There are those in the church who are made no better by their connection with it. They themselves break the terms of their election. If we comply with the conditions God has made, we shall secure our election to salvation. Perfect obedience to His commandments is the evidence that we love God." Review and Herald, vol 4, p 202.

"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." Upward Look, p 315.

We can clearly see that commandment-keeping people compose God's true church, wherever they may be, because they are faithful, loyal, and will not obey any other authority or law except God and His Word. But what about those SDA's who profess to do all this, but who do it not?

"In taking upon themselves the solemn covenant of the church they have pledged themselves to receive and obey the word of God, to give themselves to God's service, but they do not do this. In profession they claim to be sons of God, but in life and character they deny(35) the relationship. They do not surrender the will to God. They are living a lie." Christ's Object Lessons, p 279.

"John [the Baptist] declared to the Jews that their standing before God was to be decided by their character and life, profession was worthless. If their life and character were not in harmony with God's law, they were not His people." Desire of Ages, p 107.

"There are many who profess the name of Christ whose hearts are not engaged in His service. They have simply arrayed themselves in a profession of godliness, and by this very act they have made greater their condemnation, and have become more deceptive and more successful agents of Satan in the ruin of souls."(36) Review and Herald, vol 2, p 197.

"Those who profess to be Christians, yet do not act as Christ would were He in their place, greatly injure the cause of God. They misrepresent their Saviour, and are standing under false colors...When Christians do not reveal Christ of what value are they? Are they not like savorless salt, `good for nothing'?" Review and Herald, vol 4, p 343.

We can clearly see that those SDA's who make a profession alone are denying Christ, misrepresenting Him, standing under the false colors of Satan's black banner, living a lie, are good for nothing, and are not God's true people. Nor are they a part of His true church, but are successful agents of Satan in deceiving their brethren.

"Speaking to His church Christ said, `Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them' [Matthew 18:19-20]. The professing Christian who is not a Christian in practice, is not included in this promise." Manuscript 9, February 10, 1908, Manuscript Releases, vol 17, p 164.

"Either the evil angels or the angels of God are controlling the minds of men. Our minds are given to the control of God, or to the control of the powers of darkness; and it will be well for us to inquire where we are standing today--whether under the blood-stained banner of Prince Emmanuel, or under the black banner of the powers of darkness." SDA Bible Commentary, vol 6, p 1120.

"There can be only two classes. Each party is distinctly stamped, either with the seal of the living God, or with the mark of the beast or his image. Each son and daughter of Adam chooses Christ or Barabbas as his general. All who place themselves on the side of the disloyal are under Satan's black banner, and are charged with rejecting and despitefully using Christ. They are charged with deliberately crucifying the Lord of life and glory." Review and Herald, vol 4, p 148.

"Satan has a large confederacy, his church. Christ calls them the synagogue of Satan because the members are the children of sin. The members of Satan's church have been constantly working to cast off the divine law, and confuse the distinction between good and evil. Satan is working with great power in and through the children of disobedience to exalt treason and apostasy as truth and loyalty." Testimonies to Ministers, p 16.

"You think that those who worship at the saint's feet, [`the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie, behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee'] (Rev. 3:9), will at last be saved. Here I must differ with you; for God has shew me that this class were professed Adventists, who had fallen away, and `crucified to themselves the Son of God afresh,(37) and put Him to an open shame' [Hebrews 6:6].(38) And in the hour of temptation, which is yet to come, to show out every one's true character, they will know that they are forever lost; and overwhelmed with anguish of spirit, they will bow at the saint's feet." A Word to the little Flock, p 12 (April, 1847).

"Those in the synagogue of Satan will profess to be converted and, unless God's servants have keen eyesight, they will not discern the working of the power of darkness." Manuscript Releases, vol 1, p 281.

Sister White has extremely important testimonies dealing with God's church, and we must be able to distinguish which class that is being referred to--God's true people or those who say they are Adventists, and are not, but they do lie. Also remember that God's true church are those whose only authority is God. They keep His law, and have the faith of Jesus; while Satan's church are those professed SDA's who are the children of sin and disobedience, who confuse good and evil, and exalt treason and apostasy.

"I have been looking over the Testimonies given for Sabbath-keepers and I am astonished at the mercy of God and His care for His people in giving them so many warnings, pointing out their dangers, and presenting before them the exalted position which He would have them occupy....

"I have waited anxiously, hoping that God would put His Spirit upon some and use them as instruments of righteousness to awaken and set in order His church. I have almost despaired as I have seen, year after year, a greater departure from that simplicity which God has shown me should characterize the life of His followers....

"But very few have an experimental knowledge of the sanctifying influence of the truths which they profess. Their obedience and devotion have not been in accordance with their light and privileges. They have no real sense of the obligation resting upon them to walk as children of the light, and not as children of darkness. If the light that has been given to these had been given to Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes, and would have escaped the signal wrath of God. It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for those who have been privileged with the clear light, and have had a vast amount of labor, but have not profited by it. They have neglected the great salvation which God in mercy was willing to bestow. They were so blinded by the devil that they verily thought themselves rich in the favor of God, when the True Witness declares them to be wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Testimonies, vol 2, p 483-84, 488-89.

"I have been shown that the greatest reason why the people of God are now found in this state of spiritual blindness is that they will not receive correction. Many have despised the reproofs and warnings given them. The True Witness condemns the lukewarm condition of the people of God, which gives Satan great power over them in this waiting, watching time....

"Faith in the soon coming of Christ is waning. `My Lord delayeth His coming' [Matthew 24:48] is not only said in the heart, but expressed in words and most decidedly in works.(39) Stupidity in this watching time is sealing the senses of God's people as to the signs of the times."(40)

"Those who are reproved by the Spirit of God should not rise up against the humble instrument. It is God, and not an erring mortal, who has spoken to save them from ruin. Those who despise the warning will be left in blindness to become self-deceived. But those who will heed it, and zealously go about the work of separating their sins from them in order to have the needed graces, will be opening the door of their hearts that the dear Saviour may come in and dwell with them. This class you will ever find in perfect harmony with the testimony of the Spirit of God....

"Some, in their tempted condition, charge the difficulties and perplexities of the people of God to the testimonies of reproof that we have given them. They think the trouble is with the ones who bear the message of warning, who point out the sins of the people and correct their errors. Many are deceived by the adversary of souls....They are doing the work of Satan, but think they have a zeal for God....They think that the people of God are not in need of plain dealing and of reproof,(41) but that God is with them. These tempted ones, whose souls have ever been at war with the faithful reproving of sin, would cry: Speak unto us smooth things....

"The people of God must see their wrongs and arouse to zealous repentance and a putting away of those sins which have brought them into such a deplorable condition of poverty, blindness, wretchedness, and fearful deception. I was shown that the pointed testimony must live in the church. This alone will answer to the message to the Laodiceans. Wrongs must be reproved, sin must be called sin, and iniquity must be met promptly and decidedly, and put away from us as a people." Testimonies, vol 3, p 254-60.

God's mercy is great towards the SDA people. SDA leaders, ministers, and people refused the warnings to repent from their sins, and still God did not send His judgments against them. In love He continues to send warnings. But how long can the professed church continue to refuse Christ and His warnings without consequences? As sins continued to grow, the testimonies became more pointed and blunt.

"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.

"Satan's chief work is at the headquarters of our faith. He spares no pains to corrupt men in responsible positions and to persuade them to be unfaithful to their several trusts....Satan is doing his utmost to deceive and allure them, that they may not only be destroyed themselves, but may influence others to do wrong and to injure the great work. He seeks by all the means in his power to shake the confidence of God's people in the voice of warning and reproof through which God designs to purify the church and prosper His cause.

"It is Satan's plan to weaken the faith of God's people in the Testimonies.(42) Next follows skepticism in regard to the vital points of our faith, the pillars of our positions,(43) then doubt as to the Holy Scriptures,(44) and then the downward march to perdition. When the Testimonies, which were once believed, are doubted and given up, Satan knows the deceived ones will not stop at this; and he redoubles his efforts till he launches them into open rebellion, which becomes incurable(45) and ends in destruction." Testimonies, vol 4, p 210-11 (January 5, 1875).

God has graciously warned His people about the future. If the heart of the work, the headquarters of the SDA church--or the General Conference, becomes corrupt then everything connected with the General Conference throughout the whole world will also be affected with the corruption. Not only this, but if this occurs, then the testimonies will be disbelieved, the pillars of our faith will be given up, the Holy Scriptures doubted, then incurable rebellion follows, bringing destruction upon the SDA church.

"God does not send judgments upon His people without first warning them to repent.(46) He uses every means to bring them back to obedience and does not visit their iniquity with judgments until He has given them ample opportunity to repent....To defy the words of the Lord, spoken through His chosen instruments, will only provoke His anger and eventually bring certain ruin upon the offender.(47) Indignation often kindles in the heart of the sinner against the agent whom God chooses to deliver His reproofs. It has ever been thus, and the same spirit exists today that persecuted and imprisoned Jeremiah for obeying the word of the Lord....

"There are many false prophets in these days, to whom sin does not appear specially repulsive. They complain that the peace of the people is unnecessarily disturbed by the reproofs and warnings of God's messengers. As for them, they lull the souls of sinners into a fatal ease by smooth and deceitful teachings. Ancient Israel was thus charmed by the flattering messages of the corrupt priests. Their prediction of prosperity was more pleasing than the message of the true prophet, who counseled repentance and submission....

"Those who seek to cloak sin and make it appear less aggravating to the mind of the offender are doing the work of the false prophets and may expect the retributive wrath of God to follow such a course. The Lord will never accommodate His ways to the wishes of corrupt men." Testimonies, vol 4, p 179-85.

"A sin-hating God calls upon those who profess to keep His law to depart from all iniquity. Neglect to repent and obey His word will bring as serious consequences upon God's people today as did the same sin upon ancient Israel.(48) There is a limit beyond which He will no longer delay His judgments. The desolation of Jerusalem stands as a solemn warning before the eyes of modern Israel, that the corrections given through His chosen instruments cannot be disregarded with impunity." Testimonies, vol 4, p 166-67.

"The religious life of the Jewish nation had become a pretense....The truth that should have been to them a savor of life unto life became a savor of death unto death....Their own stubborn hearts were the obstacle to their receiving the truth. They resisted the conviction of the Spirit of God....While professing to obey they refused to render obedience to God. They were not doers of the truth which they professed to teach....

"God called them to be co-workers with Him in blessing the world; but while in profession they accepted the call, in action they refused obedience....They refused to do the work which God had appointed them, and because of their transgression the Lord was about to divorce Himself from the disobedient nation....

"To this people were committed the oracles of God. They were hedged about by the precepts of His law, the everlasting principles of truth, justice, and purity. Obedience to these principles was to be their protection, for it would save them from destroying themselves by sinful practices....

"The warning was not heeded by the Jewish people. They forgot God, and lost sight of their high privilege as His representatives. The blessings they had received brought no blessing to the world. All their advantages were appropriated for their own glorification....The priests and teachers were not faithful instructors of the people....

"The guilt of these leaders in Israel was not like the guilt of the ordinary sinner. These men stood under the most solemn obligation to God....But the priests and teachers did not perform the work of their sacred office as if they were handling the property of God. They were systematically robbing Him of the means and facilities entrusted to them for the advancement of His work....

"The Jewish people cherished the idea that they were the favorites of heaven, and that they were always to be exalted as the church of God....But by lives of unfaithfulness they were preparing for the condemnation of heaven and for separation from God....They rejected the Light of the world, and thenceforth their lives were surrounded with darkness as the darkness of midnight. The doom foretold came upon the Jewish nation....Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple laid in ruins, and its site plowed like a field."(49) Christ's Object Lessons, p 276-96.

"In the Jewish nation it was the priests and teachers who, by misleading the people, had robbed God of the service which He claimed. It was they who turned the nation away from Christ....They had set human teaching above God's word,(50) and had turned the people away from His precepts. They would not give up their man-made commandments in order to obey the requirements of the word of God....When Christ came, presenting to the nation the claims of God, the priests and elders denied His right to interpose between them and the people....

"As a people, we are backsliding from God. The hearts of His professed children are being estranged from Him. While they have a name to live, the true, vital energies of the soul have become spiritually dead....

"I plead with our brethren and sisters to make the most of their God-given opportunities. Christ, when weeping over Jerusalem, exclaimed, `If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes' [Luke 19:42]. Jerusalem's sin was in abusing past privileges, and she was sealing her doom in rejecting present mercies and warnings. The weak faith of our people today shows that past warnings and reproofs have not been heeded, and hardness of heart, and indifference, and unbelief are the result....

"The hour of probation is fast passing; the cup of God's indignation is fast filling. Will those who profess to be waiting for the appearing of their Lord from heaven be found wanting...? Must the fast westering sun of merciful probation set, and the sentence be pronounced, `but now they are hid from thine eyes'?...

"All such professed Christians are represented by the man who built his house upon the sand; while the hearers and doers of the Word are represented by the man who built his house upon the Rock, and amid tempest, storm, and flood, it remained unmoved. Thus the true foundation for every soul is represented by those who not only hear the truth but practice it." Review and Herald, vol 1, p 208-09 (July 10, 1879).

"Dishonesty is practiced all through our ranks, and this is the cause of lukewarmness on the part of many who profess to believe the truth. They are not connected with Christ and are deceiving their own souls. I am pained to make the statement that there is an alarming lack of honesty even among Sabbathkeepers....

"The Bible condemns in the strongest terms all falsehood, false dealing, and dishonesty.(51) Right and wrong are plainly stated. But I was shown that God's people have placed themselves on the enemy's ground; they have yielded to his temptations and followed his devices until their sensibilities have become fearfully blunted....The least departure from truthfulness and rectitude is a transgression of the law of God." Testimonies, vol 4, p 310-12.

"I saw that the very spirit of perjury, that would turn truth into falsehood, good into evil,(52) and innocence into crime, is now active, doing a work which savors of hell rather than of heaven. Satan exults over the condition of God's professed people." Special Testimony, p 80, July, 1881, Testimonies, vol 5, p 94-95.

As we have seen, SDA leaders and ministers did reject God's warnings. They were deceived and were leading God's people into Satan's trap. Faithfully Sister White gave repeated warnings from God to the church. Nevertheless, the truth continued to be turned into falsehood! How much longer could this continue before a crisis occurs?

"I knew that a crisis must come. God has given this people plain and pointed testimonies to prevent this state of things. Had they obeyed the voice of the Holy Spirit in warning, counsel, and entreaty, they would now enjoy unity and peace. But these testimonies have not been heeded by those who profess to believe them, and as a result there has been a wide departure from God, and the withdrawal of His blessing....Without Christ you can have nothing but a delusive hope, for He Himself declares: `If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned' [John 15:6].(53)...

"I tell you, in the fear of God, I have been shown that many of you will fail of everlasting life because you are building your hopes of heaven on a false foundation. God is leaving you to yourselves, `To humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart.' You have neglected the Scriptures. You despise and reject the testimonies because they reprove your darling sins and disturb your self-complacency....

"I had thought to remain silent and let you go on until you should see and abhor the sinfulness of your course; but backsliding from God produces hardness of heart and blindness of mind, and there is less and less perception of the true condition, until the grace of God is finally withdrawn, as from the Jewish nation....

"The class of professed Sabbathkeepers who try to form a union between Christ and Belial, who take hold of the truth with one hand and of the world with the other, have surrounded their children and clouded the church with an atmosphere entirely foreign to religion and the Spirit of Christ. They dared not openly oppose the claims of truth. They dared not take a bold stand and say they did not believe the testimonies; but, when nominally believing both, they have obeyed neither....This class are all professed Christians....

"The testimony borne to you by the Spirit of God is: Parley not with the enemy. Kill the thorns, or they will kill you. Break up the fallow ground of the heart. Let the work go deep and thorough. Let the plowshare of truth tear out the weeds and briers....

"God has given us, as a people, warnings, reproofs, and cautions, on the right hand and on the left, to lead us away from worldly customs and worldly policy. He requires us to be peculiar in faith and in character, to meet a standard far in advance of worldlings....The Lord is looking into every heart. He weighs our motives. He will try every soul. Who will bear the test?" Testimonies, vol 5, p 46-62 (March 28, 1882).

"Christ longs to work mightily by His Spirit for the conviction and conversion of sinners. But, according to His divine plan, the work must be performed through the instrumentality of His church; and her members have so far departed from Him that He cannot accomplish His will through them....Only those who trust wholly in God are safe now. We must not follow any human example or lean upon any human support. Many are constantly taking wrong positions and making wrong moves; if we trust to their guidance we shall be misled....

"The rebuke of the Lord is upon His people for their pride and unbelief. He will not restore unto them the joys of His salvation while they are departing from the instructions of His Word and His Spirit.(54) He will give grace to those who fear Him and walk in the truth, and He will withdraw His blessings from all that assimilate to the world. Mercy and truth are promised to the humble and penitent, and judgments are denounced against the rebellious....

"I counsel this church to give heed to the Saviour's admonition: `Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent' [Revelation 2:5]." Testimonies, vol 5, p 189-91.

"My heart aches day after day and night after night for our churches. Many are progressing, but in the back track. `The path of the just...shineth more and more unto the perfect day.' Their march is onward and upward. They progress from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory. This is the privilege of all our churches. But, oh, how different has it been with them! They need divine illumination. They must face square about. I know what I say. Unless they shall become Christians indeed,(55) they will go from weakness to weakness, divisions will increase, and many souls will be led to perdition....

"The sin of ancient Israel was in disregarding the expressed will of God and following their own way according to the leadings of unsanctified hearts. Modern Israel are fast following in their footsteps, and the displeasure of the Lord is as surely resting upon them." Testimonies, vol 5, p 93-94.