"The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization.  Were this reformation to take place, what would result?  The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church, would be discarded.  Our religion would be changed.  The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error.  A new organization would be established.  Books of a new order would be written.  A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced.  The founders of this system would go into the cities, and do a wonderful work.  The Sabbath of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it.  Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement.  The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless.  Their foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure.

     "Who has authority to begin such a movement?  We have our Bibles.  We have our experience, attested to by the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit.  We have a truth that admits of no compromise.  Shall we not repudiate everything that is not in harmony with this truth?"

     God raised up the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church out of the great disappointment of October 22, 1844, to live and preach the Three Angels' Messages to the whole world, and then Christ would come.  This means that the sole foundational basis for the existence of the SDA church would be the Three Angels' Messages, and its sole mission in these last days would be the proclamation of these heavenly messages!

     "What is the Raison D'etre [French word for "reason for existence"] of the Seventh-day Adventist church?  In short, it is to proclaim to the entire world the gospel in the setting of God's special threefold message [Revelation 14] and thus prepare a people for the coming of Christ." Adventist Review, August 19, 1982, p 13 (see also Ministry, December, 1992, p 24).

     If this occurs, then the sole foundational basis for the existence of the SDA church in these last days would be the counterfeit three unclean spirits' messages of satanic doctrine, and its sole mission would be the proclamation of these specious doctrines!  As such, the SDA church would be no different than all the other churches which have given up the light of heaven.  Hence our response to her must be the same as our response to the other churches of Babylon.

     "...the truth, as we understand it for this end time, is real, its relevant, its defensible, it will stand the test of scrutiny." Robert Folkenberg, from a taped Question & Answer talk show titled "Issues and Interviews," hosted by Don Snyder (president of Northern California Conference), February 19, 1993 from 8:00-10:00 pm on KCDS (an SDA radio station in Angwin, Calif).

     In showing if the SDA church has changed its position on the original understanding of the Three Angels' Messages, we will be quoting mainly from SDA church publications, church papers, and taped statements of well known church leaders.

     Some will argue that the various SDA books or the articles in the church papers, which are both printed off the church's press, carry only the views of the authors and not the authority of the SDA church denomination unless specifically noted.  But this is not correct!

     "Seventh-day Adventist publishing houses, built by denominational investment, were instituted not to publish whatever a worker may elect, but to produce the finest literature possible to give our basic message the widest consistent circulation in the most representative fashion.

     "Our houses...are partners in a threefold compact--they serve and protect the denomination itself, the denominational publisher, and the denominational author.  They have both a denominational name to safeguard, and a publisher's name and reputation to protect.  They, therefore, have book committees to read, evaluate, and recommend specific action and improvements on manuscripts.  They have boards to make final decision, skilled staffs to check, edit, and correct the copy, and put it into acceptable form....

     "When the finished product carries the stamp of a standard publishing house, it bears denominational approval.  It is then a denominational, not a private, publication.  It has a measure of authority and dignity not otherwise possible." Ministry, December, 1948, p 23, Review and Herald Publishing Association.

     But specifically, these are stated to speak for the SDA church: The Voice of Prophecy programs, and hence its Voice of Prophecy News paper, and The Signs of the Times.  These are "presentations of the Seventh-day Adventist church." Eternity magazine, September, 1957, quoting the stated positions of SDA church leaders.

     What does the SDA church believe about the Everlasting Gospel being freedom from past sins through justification, and from sinning through the union of humanity with divinity in using our will power in putting forth personal efforts to overcome sin?

     "...the 'everlasting gospel'...is salvation by faith in Jesus Christ apart from any works of righteousness on our part." Marked! (Mkd), p 39, by Bob Spangler, Review and Herald Publishing Association (R&HPA), 1981.

(Other statements along this same line; AR October 27, 1983, p 5, AR October 24, 1985, p 5, AR June 2, 1988, p 10.)

     "The gospel is not doing something in order to make ourselves better.  It is not reforming ourselves, using our will power to stop bad habits...this is not the gospel....Its good news: not that we should do something for God...it is salvation by faith...'Its all of Grace.'" Voice of Prophecy (VOP) News, February, 1976, p 6, H.M.S. Richards, Sr.

     Yet this false doctrine is strongly and blatantly taught to the Adventist members.

     "Is our obedience to God's will (as some assert) composed partly of our efforts and part of God's?  No!  Such is not the case!"  Mkd 129.

     In fact, the SDA church admits this:

     "As Adventists we believe in teaching the gospel, just like most of the churches around us....We are all saved by grace, not by what we do....

     "The Seventh-day Adventist church is unique not in its preaching of the gospel, but in the setting in which it is preached." AR Sept 13, 1984, p 7.

     "...the good news about the Seventh-day Adventist Church..." Pacific Union Recorder (PUR), September 18, 1989, p 12.

     "[Matthew 28:19-20 quoted].  The church has one business: The crucified and resurrected Lord commanded us to make disciples of men and women everywhere, and, after making these people faithful disciples, to teach them to become disciple-makers." AR April 7, 1988, p 23.

     "[Jesus] Took Sinless Nature of Adam Before Fall." Movement of Destiny (MOD), p 497, by Leroy Edwin Froom, R&HPA, 1971.

     But what does the church teach?

     "Man sins because he is sinful.  He is not sinful because he sins....You don't have to sin to be sinful; all you have to do is get yourself born!...Jesus is the only one who was born righteous." TKG 22-23.

     "To a degree, perhaps inexplicable this side of eternity, His [Christ's] substitution necessitated [using] His divinity...[at end of article in the footnotes section]...Christ is portrayed...as using His own divine attributes...He could use His own divine powers..." AR February 1, 1990, p 21-22.

     "When Jesus took the liabilities of fallen man, there was one that He did not take--man's sinful nature.  He had a spiritual nature from birth...Jesus had no desire for sin.  Can you say that about yourself?...

     "All of this leads us to a very practical question: Did Jesus have some sort of advantage over us?  Yes, He had an advantage over us..." Ministry, May, 1982, p 19.

     "Because His humanity [nature] was sinless, Jesus could not experience the inner...urgings of sinful humans." AR February 1, 1990, p 21.

     "Sin...is any life that is apart from God." TKG 22.

     "...there is only one Justification, and it accompanies the believer from the time of faith's inception...all the way into the final judgment..." AR August 11, 1983, p 4.

     "Salvation is still given people only on the basis of their faith in Jesus Christ, not because of their faithful keeping of God's law or any of its special parts." AR April 12, 1984, p 9.

     "God declares us to be justified, or righteous, before our characters are changed.  God accepts us as His sons and daughters even before we act like sons and daughters." Mkd 105.

     "...nothing we can ever do will merit the favor of God." Questions On Doctrines (QOD), p 108, by R&HPA, 1957.

     "You give God glory by keeping alert for things that show He's 'alive and a-love'--the wiggly, licky affection of a puppy, the aerodynamic miracle that is a bumblebee, the crisp sweetness of ripe watermelon, the damp, sleepy hug of a bedtime child, the steady pulse of life along your neck." SOT March, 1993, p 15.

     "The key question is not how to worship, but whom to worship....Worship means that the eternal gospel extends to all nations, tribes, tongues, and people.  Worship means focusing on a God who loves our homelands even more than we do....Worship means embracing the hope of a New Jerusalem while living with Babylon all around us." AR Dec 31, 1992, p 10.

     "The General Conference, then, is the Seventh-day Adventist Church....The embodiment of the Remnant Church as a Christian Denomination, in a unified world-wide organization to which all baptized Seventh-day Adventists owe spiritual allegiance." Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (US Government) vs Pacific Press Publishing Association (SDA Church), Civ #74-2025 CBR, p 17 (trial proceedings from 1974-75).

     "Satan has triumphed time and again by getting religious people to believe that when they fall or fail, they are condemned." FTW 192.

     "For those of us who have been sitting out our lives in the devil's prison house, beaten and bruised by the enemy while living in this world of sin, it is good news that the judgment is coming soon and that God's justice will be dealt out against sin.  It means that our custody is almost over.  It is almost time for us to be delivered." SOT November, 1986, p 13.

     "...God is not keeping a record of our sins up there [in heaven]..." AR September 8, 1988, p 10.

     Then what does the SDA church teach is the basis?

     "...the judgment scene...makes it clear that the basis for evaluating our fitness for the kingdom is the way we relate to those most difficult to relate to: the suffering and the outcast." AR January 7, 1988, p 14 (emphasis in original).

     "The word lost in the New Testament does not mean that someone is damned or doomed." AR April 1, 1993, p 21. (NOTE: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible translates "lost" (#622) to mean "to destroy, die, lose, mar, perish.")

     What about the Second Angel's Message?

     The Roman Catholic church had already become Babylon many centuries before 1844, and God had chosen the Protestant churches to reveal His truths to the world.  But they had, as a corporate body, chosen to depart from the side of Christ--her Husband, and to unite themselves with the world.  God mercifully sent the First Angel's Message to break their harlotrous love affair with the world, and to bring them back to His side as a faithful bride once again.  But they refused, and thus became Babylon fallen (4SOP 230-240).  And the wine of Babylon is her false doctrines which she is founded upon--namely Sunday observance and the immortality of the soul (Ev 365, 6T 317, GC 536, 2SM 118, 7BC 979).

     The SDA church believes that Babylon is:

-- a modern "wicked city" (SOT June, 1992, p 29).

-- the "wickedness of my city" (AR December 31, 1992, p 9).

-- "evil influences" (SOT June, 1992, p 29).

-- "the archenemy of Christ and His church" (AR July 13, 1989, p 11).

-- "is still present as a mind-set or attitude" (SOT May, 1992, p 13).

-- "worshiping anyone but God alone" (AR October 15, 1992, p 11).

-- "spiritual compromise" (SOT Special Issue, 1985, p 8).

-- to "attempt to gain salvation through one's own works" (AR December 31, 1992, p 9. see also Mkd 150).

-- "...the idea that I can save myself or that I can 'do it myself,' in terms of living the Christian life or of getting to heaven" (The Return of Elijah (ROE), p 61, by Morris L. Venden, PPPA, 1982).

-- "...the futility of building one's life on either a try-harder or a do-as-you-please principle...both nations and individuals..." (AR September 7, 1989, p 26).

-- "fallen is racism, child abuse, death squads, loneliness, crack, torture, separation, death" (AR December 31, 1992, p 9).

-- the "Collapse of the Soviet Union" (SOT May, 1992, p 12-13).

-- to "flee evil" (AR February 16, 1984, p 7).

-- to "come out of falsehood" (SOT March, 1990, p 28. see also Mkd 83).

-- to "set aside our natural self-sufficiency and pride and give our wills to God" (Mkd 84).

     "The ideology of continued world progress--that man has the solutions to the besetting problems of our age; that given a little more time, he can, without divine intervention, produce a better world--is the intoxicating wine that Babylon has dispensed to the entire world." AR September 7, 1989, p 26.

     We can clearly see that the SDA church has changed the truth of the Second Angel's Message into extreme vagueness, falsehood, and is keeping people in bondage to the real Babylon.  So the SDA church has rejected the truth of the Second Angel's Message, and has replaced it with, and adopted, the second unclean spirit's message!

     What about the Third Angel's Message?

     "And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities" Revelation 14:9-11, 18:1-5.

     Truths such as:

--The Seventh-day or Saturday being the only Lord's day of worship as the Sabbath (Genesis 2:2-3, Revelation 1:10, 6T 128), that it is the sign or seal of God (Ezekiel 20:12, 20), and there is no biblical truth supporting a change to Sunday as the Lord's day (Exodus 20:8-11, Hebrews 4:3-11, Ezekiel 20:12-20, 1 Chronicles 17:27), hence we must keep the Sabbath if we would see heaven (EW 37, DA 206, 8T 196-98, GC 455, 6T 349, PK 182, 7BC 949, 3T 392, Ev 290, 1T 532, 2T 705, LS 117-18).

     "God is glad for us to go to church both days [Saturday and Sunday].  He wants us to worship Him both days....Anybody who takes a whole day out of every week to spend with God will have more of God's power in his life, and God can do more through him and in him." SOT March, 1990, p 22-23.

     "In the first centuries the true Sabbath had been kept by all Christians.  They were jealous for the honor of God, and, believing that His law is immutable, they zealously guarded the sacredness of its precepts.  But with great subtlety, Satan worked through his agents to bring about his object.  That the attention of the people might be called to the Sunday, it was made a festival in honor of the resurrection of Christ.  Religious services were held upon it...

     "Another step must be taken; the false Sabbath must be exalted to an equality with the true....the bishop of Rome conferred on the Sunday the title of Lord's day." 4SOP 55.

     "...the Sabbath is the seal of our love and allegiance to a loving heavenly Father." Robert Folkenberg, AR May 5, 1994, p 18.

     "What Do Seventh-day Adventists Believe?  Hear pastor/evangelist Jere Webb present a fresh look at 'The Truth.'  Subjects include...'Christ centered reasons for Sunday worship'..." PUR June 4, 1990, p 27.

     "If you don't worship on the Sabbath, are you going to hell?  No!" SDA Evangelist Kenneth Cox representing the SDA church on "Central Florida Live" TV talk show, hosted by George Crossley, Central Florida TV station WTGL, channel 52, February 8, 1993.

     "Included in such discussions have been related theological concepts such as the nature of Christ, the nature of man, the nature of sin, perfection, and the question as to whether it is possible for a Christian to live a sinless life.  In our judgment these complex theological and biblical issues need not be settled in detail in order to rejoice in the gracious provision of salvation through faith in Christ...We are requesting that we refrain from involving ourselves in public presentations of the fine points and the controversial aspects of the theology of righteousness by faith....

     "We should all seek to diminish the flood of cassettes, brochures, books, and miscellaneous documents...This ended the discussion because the voice of the highest authority had spoken." AR May 24, 1979, p 4-5.

     The Beast is not referred to as being Catholicism, but is vaguely referred to as being "the false lord" (AR December 31, 1992, p 10), or representing "the forces that oppose God's last day people" (Robert Folkenberg, AR May 5, 1994, p 18).

     "The purpose of this essay is primarily to show how Seventh-day Adventist understanding of the eucharist or the Lord's supper...[and] to highlight Adventist understanding and practice of the eucharist...

     "In preparation for the celebration of the eucharist Seventh-day Adventists practice the washing of feet..." Churches Respond to BEM (Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry), vol 2 (2BEM), p 341-343, 1985. (This is the SDA churchs' official response to the ecumenical meeting they were a part of at the Faith and Order Conference of the World Council of Churches (WCC) of January, 1982 in Lima, Peru).

     Then appears this amazing declaration:

     "And we could go on if space permitted--to mention the WCC's... accentuation of the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist.  All of these emphases fit into the ambit of the three angels' messages." AR May 2, 1991, p 10.

     "Although it is true that there was a period in the life of the Seventh-day Adventist Church when the denomination took a distinctly anti-Roman Catholic viewpoint...that attitude on the church's part was nothing more than a manifestation of widespread anti-popery among conservative protestant denominations in the early part of this century and the latter part of the last, and which has now been consigned to the historical trash heap so far as the Seventh-day Adventist church is concerned." EEOC vs PPPA Civ #74-2025 CBR, Reply Brief for Defendants, p 4.

     "...if he was taught that the Pope is the anti-christ, I think that would be a misunderstanding.  I don't feel that's what we as a church believe....

     "...[the anti-christ], that's not a person.  That's not an individual..." Kenneth Cox, WTGL TV interview, February 8, 1993.

     The anti-christ is not referred to as "the papacy," because the Catholic church has "defended belief in Christ's fleshly nature" (AR October 27, 1983, p 7).  But the Anti-christ is referred to as being:

-- "former christians" (SOT September, 1990, p 25).

-- "a mind-set" (SOT September, 1990, p 26).

-- those who teach "false doctrine qualify" (AR October 27, 1983, p 7).

-- those who "draw us away from our commitment to Christ" (SOT September, 1990, p 26).

-- those who "deny that Jesus is the Christ or the Messiah" (SOT September, 1990, p 25). [Hence the Devil and all his angels cannot be anti-christ either (Matt 8:29, Mark 1;24, Luke 4:34)!]

     What about the Lamb-like Beast being the United States?

     The Lamb-like Beast is not referred to as being the USA, but is vaguely referred to as being "an idol-making power" (AR October 15, 1992, p 10).  Or referred to as "the antispirit" (AR September 7, 1989, p 22-23).

     The Image of the Beast is not referred to as being apostate Protestantism, but is vaguely referred to as being an idol or an image we worship "rather than the Creator-God" (AR October 15, 1992, p 9).

     The Image is also referred to as setting "yourself up against the Lord of heaven...this type of idol" (AR October 15, 1992, p 10).

     "...the Image to the Beast is enforcing a religious duty by human power....The combination of belief in God...and trying to obey through your own efforts, is the Image of the Beast." ROE 77.

     "If he [Lamb-like beast or the antispirit] cannot lead us to outright disobedience (which gives us a mark in the forehead), then he leads us to adopt a token (or surface) obedience (which qualifies us for the mark in the hand).

     "This is how the antispirit makes an image to the beast.  Surface obedience, not rooted in love, will eventually produce a character like that of the beast." AR September 7, 1989, p 23.

     The SDA church does not warn against the apostate Protestant churches or the WCC, because they are united with and one of them!

     In 1973 the SDA church, in conjunction with the WCC, wrote a book titled So Much In Common.  George Vandeman also wrote a book praising the apostate churches titled What I Like About...The Lutherans, The Baptists, The Methodists, The Charismatics, The Catholics, Our Jewish Friends, The Adventists; Rescuers of Neglected Truth, PPPA, 1986.

     "...we love one another [Christians of other denominations], and work together.  That's what its all about....That's what we [SDA church] are here for--is to profit from one another [other denominations]." Kenneth Cox, WTGL TV interview, February 8, 1993.

     "Adventist Find Friends At The World Council of Churches." Canadian Union Messenger, September, 1983, p 5.

     "The Mark of the Beast principle is that man can...do something that will get him to heaven and make him acceptable to God." Mkd 88.

     "Ellen White...[writing about the Sunday laws] told the people do not go contrary to civil authority." Kenneth Cox, WTGL TV interview, Feb 8, 1993.

     "...the Sabbath...[is] God's sign of obedience....But we must beware!  Anyone whose focus is on the Sabbath...who looks at His Sabbathkeeping as the ground of his salvation...is a candidate for the mark of the beast." AR September 7, 1989, p 26.

     The Bible states that "the soul that sins, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20).  But the SDA church teaches that no one can overcome all sin, and yet God will not destroy you, but will make you perfect and take you to heaven giving you eternal life anyway.  That's immortality of the soul!

     "...I will always fall short of my potential....Those who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness...[are] striving after an elusive goal..." AR December 6, 1984, p 6.

     "...God's remnant church is Laodicea which undeniably has its problems.  But no less sure is God's offered remedy...The promise that Christ at His coming will 'present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.'" AR March 7, 1991, p 10.

     "...[the] Apostles' Creed, states: 'I believe in God the Father...and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord, who...suffered under Pontius pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.  He descended to hell, the third day rose again from the dead, ascended to heaven...'

     "To this confession...which in principle goes back to the second century A.D., The Seventh-day Adventist Christian can say whole heartedly, 'Amen!'" AR June 10, 1982, p 4 (emphasis in original).

     "The Bible presents eternal life as a present endowment of salvation....Not just later, but now." SOT May, 1992, p 11 (emphasis in original).

(Another statement along this same line: AR August 11, 1983, p 7).

     Is the SDA church really teaching holy flesh?

     "...we are born with a nature that enjoys sinning more than not sinning.  So we need new natures....That's what Jesus offers.  He promises to change our natures if we let Him." SOT June, 1992, p 20.

     "The third angel of Revelation 14 warns that in the end the wrath of God, unmixed with mercy, will be poured out on the heads of unrepentant sinners....God gives up such people and turns them over to the results of their rebelliousness....Since faith and love cannot be forced, what else can God do but sadly give up those who reject Him?

     "God's wrath...is His turning away in loving disappointment from those who do not want Him, thus leaving them to the inevitable consequences of their own rebellious choice.

     "Such [is] a picture of God's wrath..." SOT July, 1978, p 19.

     "There is a sanctuary in heaven...In it Christ ministers on our behalf...In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry." 27 Doc, 312 (#23).

     This statement removes the words "most holy place" that were used in the other statements dealing with the fundamental beliefs of SDA's (1872 #10, 1912 #10), and replaced it with the words "second and last phase." (Another article not mentioning two apartments while discussing the Heavenly Sanctuary: AR Feb 16, 1984, p 7-8).

     "...the sacrificial act on the cross--a complete, perfect, and final atonement for man's sin....That is the Adventist understanding of the atonement..." Ministry, February, 1957, p 10, 44.

(Other statements along this same line: AR Nov 6, 1986, p 18; 27 Doc 106; AR January 6, 1983, p 3; AR Feb 7, 1985, p 9; AR March 5, 1992, p 11 (p 251)).

     "When, therefore, one hears an Adventist say, or reads in Adventist literature--even in the writings of Ellen G. White--that Christ is making atonement now, it should be understood that we mean simply that Christ is now making application of the benefits of the sacrificial atonement He made on the cross." QOD 354-55.

     But what does the SDA church teach about this?

     "...during His earthly ministry Christ was both priest and offering.  His death on the cross was part of His priestly work." 27 Doc 53.

     "Elder Robert H. Pierson is the president of the General Conference and, as such the first minister of the Seventh-day Adventist church....including myself as its first minister." EEOC vs PPPA, Civ #74-2025 CBR.

     "We see here that his [Aaron's] principle responsibility was to act as mediator, as a link between the holy and profane, between God and man....In like manner the [SDA] minister of the Gospel today is the high priest....Today we [SDA ministers] are the high priests....What a tremendous responsibility to act as mediators between God and man!" Ministry, December, 1961, p 27, 29.

     "The four classical marks of the Biblical church apply to Seventh-day Adventists: its holiness (in Jesus Christ), its catholicity (universality), its apostolicity (in harmony with the witness of the apostles/founders), its unity (one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism)" AR October 1, 1992, p 27 (emphasis in original).

     "There are Four Marks by which the church of Christ [Catholic] may be recognized.  It must be One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic." Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p 26, by Peter Geiermann (see also The Catholic Encyclopedia, p 99).

     Judge William T. Hart of the U.S. District Court, North District of Illinois, East Division, handed down a decision in favor of the General Conference of SDA's who was being sued by Derrick Proctor.  Judge hart stated:

     "Church documents that prescribe the church's structure and governance confirm that all parts of the church are parts of a single entity.  Next to the Roman Catholic church, the Adventist church is the most centralized of all the major Christian denominations in this country." Derrick Proctor vs General Conference of SDA, case #81 C 4938, Findings of Fact, Section B, Church Objectives and Structures, p 22, October 29, 1986.

     "...[the 9 Volumes of the Testimonies For the Church, which was made up of individual Testimonies] was a particular message to that individual that did not apply to everybody....So you can't take the Testimonies and make that a general application to everybody....[So when] God spoke to her...that didn't apply to everybody." Kenneth Cox, WTGL TV interview, February 8, 1993.

     "Many wrongly believe that their standing before God depends on their good or bad deeds." 27 Docs 121.

     "...He [God] does not expect us to fight sin" SBF 71.

     "...God has not called leaders to provide a perfect, unblemished reflection of Christ..." Church Ministries Worker: A Journal for Church Leaders, January-March, 1987, p 4, PPPA.

(Another statement along this same line: AR March 2, 1989, p 10).

     "...[the wrong view is that] we must do something to free ourselves from sin.  It is the [false] spirit that teaches we cannot trust all to Christ, and let Him work out our own righteousness for us." AS 47.

(Other statements along this same line: AR January 2, 1986, p 13, AR April 18, 1985, p 17).

     "As to the believer's past, at the moment of justification the believer is also sanctified..." 27 Doc, 123

     "Do you wonder if you are saved?...Do you believe that Jesus is your Saviour?  Have you confessed your sins?  Have you given yourself over to Him?  Then, regardless of how you feel--whether or not you feel 'right'--you are saved....Only saved people...are conscious of how short they fall of God's ideal....[Anyone] who loves Jesus knows and can know that he or she is saved." SOT June, 1989, p 12-14 (emphasis in original).

     "His (Christ's) perfect character is portrayed as a wedding garment or a robe of righteousness that He gives to cover the filthy rags of human attempts to achieve righteousness." 27 Docs, 114.

     "That is the inmost heart of the Everlasting Gospel.  That is the sole basis for holiness in the sight of a holy God....It is His righteousness, not our achievement.  That is the Gospel in glorious operation.  That is the First, Second, and Third Angel's Message in 'verity.'" MOD 634 (1971 edition, emphasis in original).

     "'But,' you say, 'I'm not "without blemish,"...Yes, the blemishes and the blame are still there (as they are for the vast billions of humans everywhere); but nonetheless Christ's sacrifice in our behalf gives Him the astounding right to 'present' us before the Father and His universe as 'holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.'" SOT May, 1986, p 27, by Robert Wieland, (parenthesis and emphasis in original).

     "To have the Spirit of Jesus is one of God's conditions for salvation.  Moral perfection is not....Christians still keep on sinning after they find salvation in Jesus." SOT November, 1986, p 19.

(Another statement along this same line: AR October 27, 1983, p 7).

     We can see with very little trouble that the SDA church has taken all Three Angels' Messages and transmuted them into another form from their original biblical and God-endorsed meanings.  So the SDA church has rejected all Three Angels' Messages and replaced them with, and has adopted, the three unclean spirits' messages of satanic falsehood.

     Hence, the foundational basis for the existence of the SDA church today is not the real Three Angels' Messages found in Revelation 14, but the three unclean spirits' messages found in Revelation 16!  Thus the SDA church is not doing the work which God commissioned, but the work which Satan commissioned; it is not preaching the gospel of God, but the gospel of Satan; it is not fulfilling the mission of God, but the mission of Satan.  So every time you hear the SDA church talk about doing God's work, fulfilling God's mission, and spreading God's gospel, it has nothing to do with God at all, but it's all for the Devil.  And if you support the SDA church with your tithe and money, then you are supporting the work and mission of the Devil and the spreading of satanic falsehood: and you will be held accountable for every penny (see 6T 448, 1T 261-62, 2T 552, 4SOP 339, 3T 553, 4T 469)!

     The church has educated a whole new generation of SDA's to accept the false new three angels' messages, and are now united upon this false new foundation and platform, as we were warned--"Our religion would be changed"!  All this is even admitted!

     "Not until some voices ceased, and a new leadership came to the fore in certain sections, could certain tenets of truth come into their own in general, unhandicapped acceptance.  Pockets of resistance had to die out, with a new generation coming to the fore uninhabited by past impediments and circumstances.  That took time.  The change has now taken place.  A new generation of workers and laity are upon the stage of action....We are now united upon a sound platform of Fundamental Beliefs.  We are now ready for the great final phase of the Advent Movement--the final, rapid movements that have been depicted." Eternal Verities Triumphant, p 50, 52, (Syllabus preceding publication of MOD) by Leroy Froom (very similar statements in MOD 17-23).

     "The Seventh-day Adventist church is privileged, I believe, to have a treasure in our understanding of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, and particularly the message of Revelation...the Three Angels' Messages.  And the good news is that the proclamation of the gospel message and the Three Angels' Messages...is our highest priority by every means possible: through the spoken word from the pulpit of our churches; through the medium of public evangelism; by means of the airways and the media; through our institutional program, our publishing program; and through every avenue that's available to us.  That is our highest objective, and it is the standard against which we measure our accomplishment....

     "But take it clearly from me, there is no adulteration or undermining of any of the fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist church.  Take it as a simple statement of fact....Please take my word for it.  The General Conference and the Seventh-day Adventist church stand behind our historic Adventist beliefs unequivocally.  We preach them, we preach them clearly and fervently and compassionately." Robert Folkenberg, "Issues and Interviews" on SDA radio station--KCDS, February 19, 1993.

     But not only has the SDA church rejected the Three Angels' Messages, and replaced the true ministers and leaders with false error believing and preaching brethren, but in doing these things they have rejected someOne else.  They have rejected the precious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

     Since the SDA church has rejected all Three Angels' Messages, which was the sole reason why God raised up the SDA church in the first place, can it still be God's true church?  NO!  It cannot be God's true church anymore, but it has become a counterfeit of God's true church.  And if it is not God's church, then whose church is it?  Satan's!  And what is another name for Satan's church listed in the Bible?  Babylon!

     The SDA church images the harlot mother Roman Catholic church--which is Babylon.  The SDA church is united with the harlot daughter Protestant churches and the WCC--which is Babylon.  And is so closely and ecumenically united with the fallen Babylon Protestant churches that she is like a sister to them, or a sister to Babylon!  In fact, Sister White warned the SDA church of this very thing.

     "We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted, and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird." Last Day Events from the Letters and Manuscripts of Ellen G. White, p 64 (Letter 51, September 6, 1886).

     "Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.  Thou art thy mother's daughter, that loatheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which loathed their husbands and their children." Ezekiel 16:44-45.

     With some, no matter how much you try to show them that there are no promises of God given without conditions of obedience (FW 47, Ev 695, 1SM 67, PK 293), and that Ellen White wrote that the SDA church could be converted into Babylon if they did not meet God's conditions (TM 265, 2SM 68, 8T 250); they still would not believe.  But instead of arguing with them in this issue, may be, just may be this next point will help these dear brothers and sisters see clearly.

     The SDA church herself would surely know if she was Babylon or not, wouldn't she?  What if the SDA church declared herself to be Babylon, and told all her members to separate from her?  Surely no one could then deny that the SDA church was Babylon; because the church herself would have stated so!

     Did you know that the SDA church has, in essence, declared herself to be part of Babylon, and told all her members to separate from her!  Did you know that?  Please pay close attention to what the SDA church herself states in the SDA Encyclopedia, Volume 10 of the Bible Commentary Reference Series, p 410-411, under ECUMENISM:

     "The capstone of the ecumenical effort came with the creation of the World Council of Churches....

     "On the basis of Bible prophecy and the writings of Ellen G. White, SDA's anticipate the eventual success of the ecumenical movement both in eliminating the divisions of Protestantism and in reuniting Christendom by bridging the gulf that separates non-Catholic communions from Rome.  The ecumenical movement will then become a concerted effort to unite the world and to secure universal peace and security by enlisting the power of the civil government in a universal religio-political crusade to eliminate all dissent.  SDA's envision this crusade as the great apostasy to which John the revelator refers as 'Babylon the great.'  They understand, also, that God's last message of mercy to the world prior to the return of Christ in power and glory will consist of a warning against this great apostate movement, and a call to all who choose to remain loyal to Him to leave the churches connected with it."

     "...in the case with the [SDA] Laodicean Church, as a church, is different, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  The last church will not be spewed out; it will not be rejected; it will go through triumphantly." Review, November 9, 1939.

(Other statements along this same line: AR November 25, 1982, p 3, 10; AR July 19, 1984, p 15; AR May 1, 1986, p 18; AR November 2, 1989, p 31).

     "...[finding the SDA church is] Finding a Refuge." AR November 2, 1989, p 28.

     "Many times pastors have compared the church to an ark of safety, and I believe it is....The church is a place to preserve our lives..." AR August 7, 1986, p 23.

     "The local (SDA) church becomes the 'port of entry' to the kingdom of God." AR October 1, 1992, p 23.

     "I appeal to all who are outside the fold [SDA church] just now....If you are not here, He [Christ] misses you....The Father owns the house.  Return to Him.  For every good love story should have a happy ending." AR November 2, 1989, p 8.

     This catholic teaching is so firmly entrenched in some SDA minds that even after they decide to physically leave the corrupt SDA church, they still retain their names on the corporate membership roll.  They still retain a foot in mother's door, still holding on to mother's apron string, still touching or remaining connected with the corrupt mother church just in case the corporate church, with all its listed members, did indeed make it to heaven in the end!

     But is this position acceptable in God's sight?  Does your name on the membership rolls of an apostate church of Babylon, who has rejected light from heaven, mean anything?

     "My [Ellen White's] brother continued to fail rapidly.  If he felt a cloud shutting Jesus from him, he would not rest until it was dispelled, and bright hope again cheered him.  To all who visited him, he conversed upon the goodness of God, and would often lift his emaciated finger, pointing upwards, while a heavenly light rested upon his countenance, and say, 'My treasure is laid up on high.'  It was a wonder to all that his life of suffering was thus protracted.  He had a hemorrhage of the lungs, and was thought to be dying.  Then an unfulfilled duty presented itself to him.  He had again connected himself with the Methodist church.  He was expelled in 1843 with the other members of the family, on account of his faith.  He said he could not die in peace until his name was taken from the church-book, and requested father to go immediately and have it taken off.

     "In the morning father visited the minister, stating my brother's request.  He said that he would visit him, and then if it was still his wish to be considered no longer a member of their church, his request should be granted.  Just before the minister arrived my brother had a second hemorrhage, and whispered his fears that he should not live to do this duty.  The minister visited him, and he immediately expressed his desire, and told him he could not die in peace until his name was taken from the church-book; that he should not have united with them again if he had been standing in the light....Soon after this my brother fell asleep in Jesus, in full hope of having a part in the first resurrection." Spiritual Gifts, Volume Two, p 163-64.

     What does God want His people to do with a church that has a form of godliness, but denies the power?  Does God want his people to remain touching, connected, retaining a foot in the door, or continuing to hold on to the apron strings of a corrupt apostate unclean church which has rejected the truths of the First, Second, and Third Angels' Messages?

     "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" 2 Timothy 3:5.

     "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

     When a priest of Israel, who was consecrated and made holy to minister before God, had come in contact with a dead body--even if it was but the slightest touch of the hem of his garments--his whole person was contaminated and declared unclean.  According to the God-given process of cleansing found in Numbers chapter 19, the unclean priest had to separate himself from the church and camp of Israel, and be cleansed twice--on the first day and on the last day.  This cleansing process involved running water being poured through the ashes of a red heifer which had been sacrificed.  If after being cleansed, the worker of God went back to the camp of Israel and touched the dead body again, he would become unclean and would have to go through the whole process once again of separation out of the camp in order to be cleansed.

     The sacrificed red heifer represents Christ--the Word of God.  The running water represents the purifying action of the Holy Spirit cleansing us through the Word of God.  And the dead body represents a spiritually dead church.  So by our connection to and membership in a spiritually dead church body, even if it is just the slightest touch, makes us unclean and unfit to minister or work for a holy God.  And the only God-given way in which we can become cleansed and accepted back to Him, is to separate ourselves completely from that unclean church, be cleansed twice by Christ's sacrifice and the purifying work of the Holy Spirit, and then not to reconnect ourselves with that dead unclean church.  We can warn others about where the unclean and dead church is, and what to do if they are touching it.  But if we want to serve and witness for a holy God, we dare not touch or reconnect ourselves to the church again.

     So even by the slightest touch or unity with the unclean, impure harlot church, we would ourselves become unclean!

     "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?  Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?" Proverbs 6:27-28.

     "Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?  Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot?  God forbid.  What?  Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body?  For two, saith He, shall be one flesh" 1 Corinthians 6:16.

     "In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed....Why is there so dim a perception of the true spiritual condition of the church?...The heavenly Teacher inquired: 'What stronger delusion can beguile the mind than the pretense that you are building on the right foundation and that God accepts your works, when in reality you are working out many things according to worldly policy and are sinning against Jehovah?...

     "I saw our Instructor pointing to the garments of so-called righteousness.  Stripping them off, He laid bare the defilement beneath.  Then He said to me: 'Can you not see how they have pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character?  'How is the faithful city become a harlot!'  My Father's house is made a house of merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed." 8T 247-50.

     Christ does not what to see His people--whom He has imprinted upon the palms of His hands, fall along with their harlot church.  So He is calling them to come completely away from the harlot churches, and join Him before the plagues fall.

     This separation struggle is not easy, but it is absolutely necessary for salvation and the saving of our souls!

     "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance...My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord" Jeremiah 51:6, 45.

     "Of those who boast of their light, and yet fail to walk in it, Christ says, 'But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.  And thou, Capernaum [Seventh-day Adventists, who have had great light], with art exalted unto heaven [in point of privilege], shalt be brought down to hell...'

     "'And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by My name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.  And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim'" 3RH 69, August 1, 1893 [brackets in original].

     "If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15.

     "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" Matthew 7:24-27.

By elder robert sessler