Article

# The Book of Joel and The Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist Church - Number Thirty

Number Thirty

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

January 16, 2026

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Key Takeaways

- Waymark 8 — The Midnight Cry
- Midnight Cry as “Light on the Path”
- Waymark 9 — Judas / 30 Pieces of Silver
- Sanhedrin Pattern Applied to Adventist Leadership
- Four-Generation Decline Framed Through Churches and Ezekiel 8
- Concrete “Compromise Evidence”

The Messianic fulfillments in the book of Matthew include the waymark of the time of the end, the waymark of the message being formalized, two witnesses of the waymark of 9/11, one a witness of the internal message to Laodicea and the other the external message of Islam’s terrorism. It is fitting that the waymark of 9/11 is represented by two of the twelve Messianic fulfillments in Matthew, for 9/11 includes the message of the second angel, where there is always a doubling. The death of July 18, 2020, was the fifth waymark we considered, and then the voice in the wilderness in July 2023, was the sixth and the resurrection of 2024 was number seven. The eighth Messianic fulfillment is the Midnight Cry.

## The Eighth Messianic Waymark is the Midnight Cry

> All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. Matthew 21:4, 5.

## Prediction

> Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. Zechariah 9:9.

> “Five hundred years before, the Lord had declared by the prophet Zechariah, ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’ [Zechariah 9:9.] Had the disciples realized that Christ was going to judgment and to death, they could not have fulfilled this prophecy.

> “In like manner, Miller and his associates fulfilled prophecy, and gave a message which inspiration had foretold should be given to the world, but which they could not have given had they fully understood the prophecies pointing out their disappointment, and presenting another message to be preached to all nations before the Lord should come. The first and second angels’ messages were given at the right time, and accomplished the work which God designed to accomplish by them.” The Great Controversy, 405.

The misunderstanding of God’s prophetic Word was involved with the history of Christ’s triumphal entry, and also with the parallel history of the proclamation of the Midnight Cry message in 1844. The one hundred and forty-four thousand are required to understand “the prophecies pointing out their disappointment.” John in Revelation ten is told in advance, that the message of the little book that was going to be sweet in his mouth, would turn bitter.

> “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.” Life Sketches, 196.

The “Lord’s leading” in the past is represented among other providential acts, as His hand covering a mistake in the figures, for it was not best for the Millerites to understand their disappointment in advance, any more than it was for the disciples to understand all the elements of their disappointment at the cross. But the history of the proclamation of the Midnight Cry is identified as the very light that leads to heaven, and this is noted in Ellen White’s very first vision. The one hundred and forty-four thousand must understand the disappointments of the disciples and the Millerites. To refuse that light is to fall off the path.

> “They had a bright light set up behind them at the beginning of the path, which an angel told me was the ‘midnight cry.’ This light shone all along the path, and gave light for their feet, so that they might not stumble.

> “If they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them to the city, they were safe. But soon some grew weary, and said the city was a great way off, and they expected to have entered it before. Then Jesus would encourage them by raising His glorious right arm, and from His arm came a light which waved over the advent band, and they shouted ‘Alleluia!’ Others rashly denied the light behind them, and said that it was not God that had led them out so far. The light behind them went out, leaving their feet in perfect darkness, and they stumbled and lost sight of the mark and of Jesus, and fell off the path down into the dark and wicked world below.” Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 57.

The eighth waymark is the Midnight Cry as typified by Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

> “The midnight cry was not so much carried by argument, though the Scripture proof was clear and conclusive. There went with it an impelling power that moved the soul. There was no doubt, no questioning. Upon the occasion of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the people who were assembled from all parts of the land to keep the feast, flocked to the Mount of Olives, and as they joined the throng that were escorting Jesus, they caught the inspiration of the hour, and helped to swell the shout, ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!’ [Matthew 21:9.] In like manner did unbelievers who flocked to the Adventist meetings—some from curiosity, some merely to ridicule—feel the convincing power attending the message, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!’” Spirit of Prophecy, volume 4, 250, 251.

To be a wise virgin in the latter days, would of prophetic necessity require that those wise virgins suffer a disappointment, that in turn ushers in the tarrying time of the parable. Without the tarrying time experience you are not a wise or a foolish virgin.

> “The parable of the ten virgins of Matthew 25 also illustrates the experience of the Adventist people.” The Great Controversy, 393.

Either way, the wise virgins of the last days must experience a disappointment that paralleled April 19, 1844, for the experience of the parable is the experience of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, who John in the Revelation identifies as virgins.

> These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. Revelation 14:4.

How many parables of Christ are directly and specifically identified as being fulfilled to the very letter? Every parable will be fulfilled to the very letter, but the parable of the ten virgins is specifically set forth as being fulfilled in the past and the future “to the very letter.” It is compared to the third angel that is to remain present truth from 1844 onward until Michael stands up and human probation closes.

> “I am often referred to the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise, and five foolish. This parable has been and will be fulfilled to the very letter, for it has a special application to this time, and, like the third angel’s message, has been fulfilled and will continue to be present truth till the close of time.” Review and Herald, August 19, 1890.

Until the close of time, the parable of the ten virgins is present truth, and the Midnight Cry will be fulfilled again to the very letter.

> “There is a world lying in wickedness, in deception and delusion, in the very shadow of death,—asleep, asleep. Who are feeling travail of soul to awaken them? What voice can reach them? My mind was carried to the future, when the signal will be given. ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’ But some will have delayed to obtain the oil for replenishing their lamps, and too late they will find that character, which is represented by the oil, is not transferable.” Review and Herald, February 11, 1896.

The Midnight Cry is the next waymark on the horizon in the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. That waymark is accompanied by the persecution that begins against the faithful in advance of the Sunday law. That persecution is external, and internal, and the internal persecution includes two distinct symbols. One of those symbols is Judas, the other the Sanhedrin.

## The Ninth Messianic Waymark is the Betrayal for 30 Silver Pieces

> Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me. Matthew 27:9, 10.

## Prediction

> And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Zechariah 11:12, 13.

The betrayal of Judas represents the betrayal of the counterfeit priests, for the number 30 represents the age of the priests. The priests, who are also Levites are purified as gold and silver by the Messenger of the Covenant. Judas’s thirty pieces of silver represents the purging of the false priests at the Sunday law, though Judas died just before the cross, it was still the same day. Judas is not the symbol of the Sanhedrin; he is a symbol of one who was thought to be among the disciples of Christ.

As a disciple of Christ, you were a disciple of the anointing of Jesus. The anointing at His baptism changed Jesus’ name unto Jesus Christ, for Christ means—the anointed one. His name then changed, for He was then to confirm the covenant with many for one week, and a premier symbol of covenant relationship is a changed name. Jesus was anointed with power at His baptism. To be a disciple of Christ, meant you were a disciple of His baptism. It was at His baptism that He was anointed with power. The statement by Peter in Matthew 16:18 is known in the Christian theological world as the “Christian Confession.” It is one of the great themes for discussion among theologians and scholars. Generally, a discussion of the theologians and scholars identifies something of no, or perhaps minor importance, but the point remains, that Christianity understands that when Jesus was anointed, He then became the Messiah.

> He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matthew 16:15, 16.

Peter’s original name conveyed that very truth, for Simon Barjona means “one who hears the message of the dove,” which was the message of His baptism. His baptism aligns with 9/11, and Judas represents those who at some point professed an understanding of 9/11, but lose their way along the path. Judas is not a symbol of the Sanhedrin, for they represent the Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist church. Judas provided a witness for the Sanhedrin, but the symbolism of the Sanhedrin’s rebellion is different than the rebellion of Judas. The Sanhedrin’s rebellion is expressed in the following dream.

> “I gathered up my writings, and we started on our journey. On the way we held two meetings in Orange and had evidence that the church was profited and encouraged. We were ourselves refreshed by the Spirit of the Lord. That night I dreamed that I was in Battle Creek looking out from the side glass at the door and saw a company marching up to the house, two and two. They looked stern and determined. I knew them well and turned to open the parlor door to receive them, but thought I would look again. The scene was changed. The company now presented the appearance of a Catholic procession. One bore in his hand a cross, another a reed. And as they approached, the one carrying a reed made a circle around the house, saying three times: ‘This house is proscribed. The goods must be confiscated. They have spoken against our holy order.’ Terror seized me, and I ran through the house, out of the north door, and found myself in the midst of a company, some of whom I knew, but I dared not speak a word to them for fear of being betrayed. I tried to seek a retired spot where I might weep and pray without meeting eager, inquisitive eyes wherever I turned. I repeated frequently: ‘If I could only understand this! If they will tell me what I have said or what I have done!’

> “I wept and prayed much as I saw our goods confiscated. I tried to read sympathy or pity for me in the looks of those around me, and marked the countenances of several whom I thought would speak to me and comfort me if they did not fear that they would be observed by others. I made one attempt to escape from the crowd, but seeing that I was watched, I concealed my intentions. I commenced weeping aloud, and saying: ‘If they would only tell me what I have done or what I have said!’ My husband, who was sleeping in a bed in the same room, heard me weeping aloud and awoke me. My pillow was wet with tears, and a sad depression of spirits was upon me.” Testimonies, volume 1, 577, 578.

Applying the principle that the prophets speak more about the latter days than the days in which they lived, raises a very solemn question for the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Sister White “gathered up” her “writings” and began a return journey to Battle Creek. Battle Creek was then the heart of the work, as is Tacoma Park today, or Jerusalem in the days of Christ. She gathered up her writings for the trip, after she set forth a struggle she had been having concerning her writings. The context of her dream is about her writings. The struggle took place in the town of Wright.

> “While in Wright we had sent my manuscript for No. 11 to the office of publication, and I was improving almost every moment when out of meeting in writing out matter for No. 12. My energies, both physical and mental, had been severely taxed while laboring for the church in Wright. I felt that I should have rest, but could see no opportunity for relief. I was speaking to the people several times a week, and writing many pages of personal testimonies. The burden of souls was upon me, and the responsibilities I felt were so great that I could obtain but a few hours of sleep each night.

> “While thus laboring in speaking and writing, I received letters of a discouraging character from Battle Creek. As I read them I felt an inexpressible depression of spirits, amounting to agony of mind, which seemed for a short period to palsy my vital energies. For three nights I scarcely slept at all. My thoughts were troubled and perplexed. I concealed my feelings as well as I could from my husband and the sympathizing family with whom we were. None knew my labor or burden of mind as I united with the family in morning and evening devotion, and sought to lay my burden upon the great Burden Bearer. But my petitions came from a heart wrung with anguish, and my prayers were broken and disconnected because of uncontrollable grief. The blood rushed to my brain, frequently causing me to reel and nearly fall. I had the nosebleed often, especially after making an effort to write. I was compelled to lay aside my writing, but could not throw off the burden of anxiety and responsibility upon me, as I realized that I had testimonies for others which I was unable to present to them.

> “I received still another letter, informing me that it was thought best to defer the publication of No. 11 until I could write out that which I had been shown in regard to the Health Institute, as those in charge of that enterprise stood in great want of means and needed the influence of my testimony to move the brethren. I then wrote out a portion of that which was shown me in regard to the Institute, but could not get out the entire subject because of pressure of blood to the brain. Had I thought that No. 12 would be so long delayed, I should not in any case have sent that portion of the matter contained in No. 11. I supposed that after resting a few days I could again resume my writing. But to my great grief I found that the condition of my brain made it impossible for me to write. The idea of writing testimonies, either general or personal, was given up, and I was in continual distress because I could not write them.

> “In this state of things it was decided that we would return to Battle Creek and there remain while the roads were in a muddy, broken-up condition, and that I would there complete No. 12. My husband was very anxious to see his brethren at Battle Creek and speak to them and rejoice with them in the work which God was doing for him. I gathered up my writings, and we started on our journey. …” Testimonies, volume 1, 576, 577.

In the latter days, the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist church, represented as Battle Creek and those she “knew well,” changed into a Catholic procession. The leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist church changed into a Catholic procession. In the dream they came “two by two,” one with a reed, another with a cross. They drew a circle around the house and proclaimed three times, “This house is proscribed. The goods must be confiscated. They have spoken against our holy order.” What are the “goods” in the “house” which the Catholic leaders of Battle Creek “confiscated?” What “holy order” of the Catholic church was “spoken against?”

More directly the question might be, “what order of Catholicism led out in the inquisition?” The inquisition began with the order of Dominicans, before the Jesuits arrived in history, but once involved they became the order that championed the cruelty and bloodshed.

> “Throughout Christendom, Protestantism was menaced by formidable foes. The first triumphs of the Reformation past, Rome summoned new forces, hoping to accomplish its destruction. At this time the order of the Jesuits was created, the most cruel, unscrupulous, and powerful of all the champions of popery. Cut off from earthly ties and human interests, dead to the claims of natural affection, reason and conscience wholly silenced, they knew no rule, no tie, but that of their order, and no duty but to extend its power. The gospel of Christ had enabled its adherents to meet danger and endure suffering, undismayed by cold, hunger, toil, and poverty, to uphold the banner of truth in face of the rack, the dungeon, and the stake. To combat these forces, Jesuitism inspired its followers with a fanaticism that enabled them to endure like dangers, and to oppose to the power of truth all the weapons of deception. There was no crime too great for them to commit, no deception too base for them to practice, no disguise too difficult for them to assume. Vowed to perpetual poverty and humility, it was their studied aim to secure wealth and power, to be devoted to the overthrow of Protestantism, and the re-establishment of the papal supremacy.

> “When appearing as members of their order, they wore a garb of sanctity, visiting prisons and hospitals, ministering to the sick and the poor, professing to have renounced the world, and bearing the sacred name of Jesus, who went about doing good. But under this blameless exterior the most criminal and deadly purposes were often concealed. It was a fundamental principle of the order that the end justifies the means. By this code, lying, theft, perjury, assassination, were not only pardonable but commendable, when they served the interests of the church. Under various disguises the Jesuits worked their way into offices of state, climbing up to be the counselors of kings, and shaping the policy of nations. They became servants to act as spies upon their masters. They established colleges for the sons of princes and nobles, and schools for the common people; and the children of Protestant parents were drawn into an observance of popish rites. All the outward pomp and display of the Romish worship was brought to bear to confuse the mind and dazzle and captivate the imagination, and thus the liberty for which the fathers had toiled and bled was betrayed by the sons. The Jesuits rapidly spread themselves over Europe, and wherever they went, there followed a revival of popery.

> “To give them greater power, a bull was issued re-establishing the inquisition. Notwithstanding the general abhorrence with which it was regarded, even in Catholic countries, this terrible tribunal was again set up by popish rulers, and atrocities too terrible to bear the light of day were repeated in its secret dungeons. In many countries, thousands upon thousands of the very flower of the nation, the purest and noblest, the most intellectual and highly educated, pious and devoted pastors, industrious and patriotic citizens, brilliant scholars, talented artists, skillful artisans, were slain or forced to flee to other lands.

> “Such were the means which Rome had invoked to quench the light of the Reformation, to withdraw from men the Bible, and to restore the ignorance and superstition of the Dark Ages. But under God’s blessing and the labors of those noble men whom He had raised up to succeed Luther, Protestantism was not overthrown. Not to the favor or arms of princes was it to owe its strength. The smallest countries, the humblest and least powerful nations, became its strongholds. It was little Geneva in the midst of mighty foes plotting her destruction; it was Holland on her sandbanks by the northern sea, wrestling against the tyranny of Spain, then the greatest and most opulent of kingdoms; it was bleak, sterile Sweden, that gained victories for the Reformation.” The Great Controversy, 234, 235.

The Catholic church did all they could to hide the Bible from men, by claiming their pagan traditions and customs are above God’s Word. The leaders of Laodicean Adventism will not take dissenters to court over the writings of Ellen White, but Catholics professing to be the leaders of Battle Creek will. The very essence of the beast of Catholicism is employing secular power to accomplish religious purposes. When Adventism sought the legal secular power to manage its institutions, the fruits of their ”holy order” can be seen.

In the context of the Spanish Inquisitions auto-da-fé (act of faith) ceremonies, the reed and cross appear as symbolic elements tied to Christ’s crucifixion. The reed refers to the mock scepter placed in Jesus’ hand during his crowning with thorns, used by Roman soldiers to strike him, symbolizing mockery, suffering, and scorn.

The cross is prominently featured in auto-da-fé processions. A green cross (often veiled in black crepe) served as the emblem of the Inquisition, carried in a separate preparatory procession the day before and displayed during the event. It symbolized the tribunal’s authority.

Proscribing of goods refers to the confiscation (sequestration or proscription) of a convicted person’s property, a common Inquisition penalty to fund the tribunal and punish heresy. This was publicly announced in the auto-da-fé sentences, emphasizing public humiliation and deterrence.

The writings of Ellen G. White clearly and conclusively condemn the leadership that will proscribe her writings in an attempt to silence the song of the vineyard being sung, but it is the last action of an unholy order, just before they manifest their characters openly at the Sunday law. A “Catholic procession,” aligns with 25 ancient men bowing to the sun. In the following four paragraphs, the first paragraph sets forth the “professed people of God,” in the “last days.” The passage clearly teaches that in the last days, Seventh-day Adventist ministers will in “churches and in large gatherings in the open air,” “urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the first day of the week.”

> “The Lord has a controversy with his professed people in these last days. In this controversy men in responsible positions will take a course directly opposite to that pursued by Nehemiah. They will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but they will try to keep it from others by burying it beneath the rubbish of custom and tradition. In churches and in large gatherings in the open air, ministers will urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the first day of the week. There are calamities on sea and land: and these calamities will increase, one disaster following close upon another; and the little band of conscientious Sabbath-keepers will be pointed out as the ones who are bringing the wrath of God upon the world by their disregard of Sunday.”

This is clearly identifying Seventh-day Adventists as the “professed people of God” who will encourage Sunday keeping, and that they will also point “out” “the little band of conscientious Sabbath-keepers.” The next paragraph she emphasizes that the persecution of past ages will be repeated. The previous paragraph ended with her identifying the professed people of God in contrast with those she says are conscientious Sabbath-keepers. She then introduces past histories, and warns those histories will be repeated in the latter days. She is very clear.

> “Satan urges this falsehood that he may take the world captive. It is his plan to compel men to accept errors. He takes an active part in the promulgation of all false religions, and will stop at nothing in his efforts to enforce erroneous doctrines. Under a cloak of religious zeal, men, influenced by his spirit, have invented the most cruel tortures for their fellow-men, and have inflicted the most awful sufferings upon them. Satan and his agents have the same spirit still; and the history of the past will be repeated in our day.

> “There are men who have set their minds and will to accomplish evil; in the dark recesses of their hearts they have resolved what crimes they will commit. These men are self-deceived. They have rejected God’s great rule of right, and in its stead have erected a standard of their own, and comparing themselves with this standard they pronounce themselves holy. The Lord will permit them to reveal what is in their hearts, to act out the spirit of the master that controls them. He will let them show their hatred of his law in their treatment of those who are loyal to its requirements. They will be actuated by the same spirit of religious frenzy that goaded on the mob that crucified Christ; church and State will be united in the same corrupt harmony.

> “The church of today has followed in the steps of the Jews of old, who set aside the commandments of God for their own traditions. She has changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant, and now, as then, pride, unbelief, and infidelity are the result. Her true condition is set forth in these words from the song of Moses: ‘They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?’” Review and Herald, March 18, 1884.

There is passage after passage in the Spirit of Prophecy identifying the latter-day persecution of God’s faithful, and the “church of today” which she is identifying is not Christianity in general, it is the church she repeatedly identifies as being typified by the Jewish church. Those clear passages in her writings are the motivation for the Seventh-day Adventist church to attempt to place restrictions upon the writings of Sister White, as her dream so aptly identifies. Their actions against her writings, which were the obvious goods of her house that are to be proscribed by the leaders of Battle Creek who changed into a holy order of Catholicism. Their attack upon her writings is also represented by the attack upon Jeremiah’s writings. Ellen White’s dream is a second witness to Jeremiah’s writings being burned.

In the third generation of Laodicean Adventism compromise was the predominant theme. The third generation is represented by the church of Pergamos. Beginning with the publication of W. W. Prescott’s book titled The Doctrine of Christ in 1919, through to the publication of Questions on Doctrine in 1956, marks a period of transition represented by an alpha publication and ending with an omega publication. The first book represented W. W. Prescott’s rejection of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, for the apostate Protestant view of Christ. Prescott’s book, aptly titled The Doctrine of Christ, gutted the Millerite prophetic message, leaving the empty definition of Jesus that is worshipped by Catholicism and apostate Protestantism. The last book in that generation defines a sanctification and justification that destroys God’s law, His justice and mercy. Ancient Israel was given the responsibility to be the depositaries of God’s law, and Adventism was to be the depositaries of not only God’s law, but also His prophetic Word. In 1919 a book that rejected the defense of God’s prophetic Word, marking the beginning of the third generation of Laodicean Adventism that ended with a book that rejects God’s law.

> “If you indulge stubbornness of heart, and through pride and self-righteousness do not confess your faults, you will be left subject to Satan’s temptations. If when the Lord reveals your errors you do not repent or make confession, his providence will bring you over the ground again and again. You will be left to make mistakes of a similar character, you will continue to lack wisdom, and will call sin righteousness, and righteousness sin. The multitude of deceptions that will prevail in these last days will encircle you, and you will change leaders, and not know that you have done so.” Review and Herald, December 16, 1890.

Pergamos, the third church led to Thyatira, the papal church, which is the fourth generation, when the 25 men bow to the symbol of Thyatira’s authority.

> “The regulation adopted by the early colonists, of permitting only members of the church to vote or to hold office in the civil government, led to most pernicious results. This measure had been accepted as a means of preserving the purity of the state, but it resulted in the corruption of the church. A profession of religion being the condition of suffrage and officeholding, many, actuated solely by motives of worldly policy, united with the church without a change of heart. Thus the churches came to consist, to a considerable extent, of unconverted persons; and even in the ministry were those who not only held errors of doctrine, but who were ignorant of the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. Thus again was demonstrated the evil results, so often witnessed in the history of the church from the days of Constantine to the present, of attempting to build up the church by the aid of the state, of appealing to the secular power in support of the gospel of Him who declared: ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’ John 18:36. The union of the church with the state, be the degree never so slight, while it may appear to bring the world nearer to the church, does in reality but bring the church nearer to the world.” The Great Controversy, 297.

The “union of the church with the state, be the degree never so slight, while it may appear to bring the world nearer to the church, does in reality but bring the church nearer to the world.” On May 18, 1977, Bert B. Beach (a director in the church’s Northern Europe-West Africa Division and involved in interchurch relations) presented a gold-covered medallion to the antichrist, Pope Paul VI during a group audience in Rome. It was part of a meeting of the Conference of Secretaries of World Confessional Families. The event was reported in the Adventist Review (August 11, 1977) and noted by Religious News Service as the first time an official SDA representative met a Pontiff.

> “The Lord has pronounced a curse upon those who take from or add to the Scriptures. The great I AM has decided what shall constitute the rule of faith and doctrine, and he has designed that the Bible shall be a household book. The church that holds to the word of God is irreconcilably separated from Rome. Protestants were once thus apart from this great church of apostasy, but they have approached more nearly to her, and are still in the path of reconciliation to the Church of Rome. Rome never changes. Her principles have not altered in the least. She has not lessened the breach between herself and Protestants; they have done all the advancing. But what does this argue for the Protestantism of this day? It is the rejection of Bible truth which makes men approach to infidelity. It is a backsliding church that lessens the distance between itself and the Papacy.

> “It is souls like Luther, Cranmer, Ridley, Hooper, and the thousands of noble men who were martyrs for the truth’s sake, who are the true Protestants. They stood as faithful sentinels of truth, declaring that Protestantism is incapable of union with Romanism, but must be as far separated from the principles of the Papacy as is the east from the west. Such advocates of truth could no more harmonize with ‘the man of sin’ than could Christ and his apostles. In earlier ages the righteous felt that it was impossible to affiliate with Rome, and, though their antagonism to this system of error was maintained at risk of property and life, yet they had courage to maintain their separation, and manfully struggled for the truth. Bible truth was dearer to them than wealth, honor, or even life itself. They could not endure to see the truth buried under a mass of superstition and lying sophistry. They took the word of God in their hands, and raised the standard of truth before the people, boldly declaring that which God had revealed unto them through diligent searching of the Bible. They died the cruelest of deaths for their fidelity to God, but by their blood they purchased for us liberties and privileges that many who claim to be Protestants are easily yielding up to the power of evil. But shall we yield up these dearly bought privileges? Shall we offer insult to the God of heaven, and, after he has freed us from the Romish yoke, again place ourselves in bondage to this antichristian power? Shall we prove our degeneracy by signing away our religious liberty, our right to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience?

> “The voice of Luther, that echoed in mountains and valleys, that shook Europe as with an earthquake, summoned forth an army of noble apostles of Jesus, and the truth they advocated could not be silenced by fagots, by tortures, by dungeons, by death; and still the voices of the noble army of martyrs are telling us that the Roman power is the predicted apostasy of the last days, the mystery of iniquity which Paul saw beginning to work even in his day. Roman Catholicism is rapidly gaining ground. Popery is on the increase, and those who have turned their ears away from hearing the truth are listening to her delusive fables. Papal chapels, papal colleges, nunneries, and monasteries are on the increase, and the Protestant world seems to be asleep. Protestants are losing the mark of distinction that distinguished them from the world, and they are lessening the distance between themselves and the Roman power. They have turned away their ears from hearing the truth; they have been unwilling to accept light which God shed upon their pathway, and are therefore going into darkness. They speak with contempt of the idea that there will be a revival of the past cruel persecution on the part of Romanists and those who affiliate with them. They do not recognize the fact that the word of God fully predicts such a revival, and will not concede that the people of God in the last days shall suffer persecution, although the Bible says, ‘The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.’

> “Popery is the religion of human nature, and the mass of humanity love a doctrine that permits them to commit sin, and yet frees them from its consequences. People must have some form of religion, and this religion, formed by human device, and yet claiming divine authority, suits the carnal mind. Men who think themselves wise and intelligent turn away in pride from the standard of righteousness, the ten commandments, and do not think it is in harmony with their dignity to inquire into the ways of God. Therefore they go into false ways, into forbidden paths, become self-sufficient, self inflated, after the pattern of the pope, not after the pattern of Jesus Christ. They must have the form of religion that has the least requirement of spirituality and self-denial, and as unsanctified human wisdom will not lead them to loathe popery, they are naturally drawn toward its provisions and doctrines. They do not want to walk in the ways of the Lord. They are altogether too much enlightened to seek God prayerfully and humbly, with an intelligent knowledge of his word. Not caring to know the ways of the Lord, their minds are all open to delusions, all ready to accept and believe a lie. They are willing to have the most unreasonable, most inconsistent falsehoods palmed off upon them as truth.

> “Satan’s masterpiece of deception is popery; and while it has been demonstrated that a day of great intellectual darkness was favorable to Romanism, it will also be demonstrated that a day of great intellectual light is also favorable to its power; for the minds of men are concentrated on their own superiority, and do not like to retain God in their knowledge. Rome claims infallibility, and Protestants are following in the same line. They do not desire to search for truth and go on from light to a greater light. They wall themselves in with prejudice, and seem willing to be deceived and to deceive others.

> “But though the attitude of the churches is discouraging, yet there is no need of being disheartened; for God has a people who will preserve their fidelity to his truth, who will make the Bible, and the Bible alone, their rule of faith and doctrine, who will elevate the standard, and hold aloft the banner on which is inscribed, “The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” They will value a pure gospel, and make the Bible the foundation of their faith and doctrine.

> “For such a time as this, when men are casting aside the law of the Lord of hosts, the prayer of David is applicable,—‘It is time for thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void thy law.’ We are coming to a time when almost universal scorn will be heaped upon the law of God, and God’s commandment-keeping people will be severely tried; but will they lose their respect for the law of Jehovah because others do not see and realize its binding claims? Let God’s commandment-keeping people, like David, reverence God’s law in proportion as men cast it aside and heap upon it disrespect and contempt.” Signs of the Times, February 19, 1894.

Two years before the antichrist was given a golden medal by a leader of the Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist church, in 1975, a lawsuit was brought against the Seventh-day Adventist church; EEOC v. Pacific Press Publishing Association (Case No. C-74-2025 CBR in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California), where the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the church’s publishing house on behalf of two female employees—Merikay Silver (a former editor who had left by the time of the suit) and Lorna Tobler—alleging gender-based discrimination in pay and benefits. The church defended its practices partly by invoking religious exemptions and discussing its governance structure.

In a sworn statement dated February 6, 1976 (part of a defense brief submitted to the court), Neal C. Wilson (then president of the church’s North American Division, and later General Conference president from 1979–1990) addressed the church’s historical views on Roman Catholicism. The statement was made in the context of arguing against characterizations of the church as having a “hierarchy” similar to the papal system. The full relevant quote is: “Although it is true that there was a period in the life of the Seventh-day Adventist Church when the denomination took a distinctly anti-Roman Catholic viewpoint, and the term ‘hierarchy’ was used in a pejorative sense to refer to the papal form of church governance, that attitude on the Church’s part was nothing more than a manifestation of widespread anti-popery among conservative protestant denominations in the early part of this century and the latter part of the last, and which has now been consigned to the historical trash heap so far as the Seventh-day Adventist Church is concerned.”

This reflects a shift away from the church’s traditional prophetic interpretation, which identified the papacy as the ‘beast’ or antichrist in Revelation. Critics within and outside the church have interpreted it as downplaying or abandoning that anti-Catholic stance to align with modern ecumenism or legal defenses. Wilson, in 1985 identified the Presidents of the various Divisions of the church as “cardinals,” when he stated, “… there is no ‘cardinal’ from all the countries of the Far East, while there will probably be two ‘cardinals’ from Africa.”

Sister White stated that it is a backslidden church that lessens the distance between itself and the pope! The compromise of the third generation is represented as weeping for Tammuz in Ezekiel eight, and by the compromise of Pergamos. The first generation from 1863 unto 1888 represented the church of Ephesus, a church that lost its first love, and the Millerite movements first love was the prophetic message, and the first chapter of that prophetic message was the “seven times” that were set aside in 1863.

From 1888 unto 1919, the second generation represented by Smyrna and Ezekiel’s secret chambers, witnessed the death of the Spirit of Prophecy, as Sister White was laid to rest in 1915. More details of the four generations are necessary to complete the testimony, but the progressive rebellion must be understood to fully appreciate how an apostate people could “proscribe” the writings of Ellen White, or how they could promote the first day of the week as acceptable. Judas works with the “drunkards of Ephraim” that “rule this people” in Jerusalem, and those that rule Jerusalem and bow to the sun, are represented by the Sanhedrin.

We will continue this study in the next article.

> “Among the professed children of God, how little patience has been manifested, how many bitter words have been spoken, how much denunciation has been uttered against those not of our faith. Many have looked upon those belonging to other churches as great sinners, when the Lord does not thus regard them. Those who look thus upon the members of other churches, have need to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God. Those whom they condemn may have had but little light, few opportunities and privileges. If they had had the light that many of the members of our churches have had, they might have advanced at a far greater rate, and have better represented their faith to the world. Of those who boast of their light, and yet fail to walk in it, Christ says, ‘But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum [Seventh-day Adventists, who have had great light], which art exalted unto heaven [in point of privilege], shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.’ At that time Jesus answered and said, ‘I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent [in their own estimation], and hast revealed them unto babes.’

> “‘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.’

> “The Lord has established among us institutions of great importance, and they are to be managed, not as worldly institutions are managed, but after God’s order. They are to be managed with an eye single to his glory, that by all means perishing souls may be saved. To the people of God the testimonies of the Spirit have come, and yet many have not taken heed to reproofs, warnings, and counsels.

> “‘Here now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not: fear ye not me saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual degree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? but this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. . . . They judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord; shall not my soul be revenged on such a nation as this?’

> “Shall the Lord be compelled to say, ‘Pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee’? ‘Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain. . . . Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?’” Review and Herald, August 1, 1893.

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