In 1903, Ellen White Said the SDA Church Was a Harlot of Babylon--Has That Changed?

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Dear Reader,

It is being taught by irresponsible New Movement Adventists, that no one, least of all Ellen White, never had a message calling the SDA church a harlot of Babylon. They are saying that she stated that the church would never become Babylon under any conditions! They cite a Willie White hearsay statement to Lida Scott as their proof that the church would never apostatize to the point there would ever be any coming out of a faithful remnant.

That is a direct contradiction of Ellen White and the following Testimony concerning the church in 1903:

"In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed. She will be judged by the privileges and advantages that she has had. . . .I saw our Instructor pointing to the garments of so-called righteousness. Stripping them of, He laid bare he defilement beneath. Then He said to me: 'Can you not see how they have pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? How is the faithful city become an harlot?" E. G. White, Testimonies, Vol. 8, pp. 247-250.

Ellen White defines Babylon as a Harlot and a Harlot as Babylon

"In Revelation 17, Babylon is represented as a woman, a figure which is used in the Scriptures as the symbol of a church. A virtuous woman represents a pure church, a vile woman an apostate church. Babylon is said to be a HARLOT; and the prophet beheld her drunken with the blood of saints and martyrs. The Babylon thus described represents Rome, that apostate church which has so cruelly persecuted the followers of Christ. But Babylon the HARLOT is the MOTHER of DAUGHTERS (Harlots) who follow her example of corruption." E.G. White, The Spirit of Prophecy, Volume Four, p. 233.

The Conditional Terms of the Above Statement or Has the Church Changed and Will it Change?

"Unless the church, which is now being leavened with her own backsliding, shall repent and be converted, she will eat of the fruit of her own doing, until she shall abhor herself. When (in the context of IF) she resists the evil and chooses the good, when (IF) she seeks God will all humility and reaches her high calling in Christ, standing on the platform of eternal truth and by faith laying hold upon the attainments prepared for her, she will be healed. She will appear in her God-given simplicity and purity, separate from earthly entanglements, showing that the truth has made her free indeed. Then her members will indeed by the chosen of God, His representatives.

The time has come for a thorough reformation to take place. When (IF) this reformation begins, the spirit of prayer will actuate every believer, and will banish from the church the spirit of discord and strife. Those who have not been living in a Christian fellowship will draw close to one another. One member working in right lines will lead other members to unite with him in making intercession for the revelation of the Holy Spirit. There will be no confusion, because all will be in harmony with the mind of the Spirit. The barriers separating believer from believer will be broken down,and God's servants will speak the same things. The Lord will co-operate with His servants. All will pray understandingly the prayer that Christ taught His servants: 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10." E.G. White, Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 250, 251.

Questions:

  • Is there any record that the church repented?
  • Is there any indication that the backsliding was reversed?
  • Is there evidence that the backsliding became worse in the Omega of Apostasy which followed this 1903 statement?
  • Has the church become separate from the world's entanglements? What about co-ownership with the Catholics of the Colorado Hospital? Ellen White said in Early Writings, 273, that the fallen churches are indistinguishable from the world. So is co-partnership with the Catholics an entanglement with the world?

The Prophesied Fate of the Church

Will Ezekiel chapters 5 and 9, which Ellen White said will be literally fulfilled (they are variations on the same theme), be re-written. Will the following statement by Ellen White be proven wrong?

Time Frame of the Following Statements A and B--"When His wrath shall go forth in Judgments."

A. "In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God's honor and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favor of any. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous. They are powerless to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they are filled with grief and alarm. They mourn before God to see religion despised in the very homes of those who have had great light [Adventists]. They lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind are in the church. The Spirit 211 of God, which prompts to reproof, is trampled underfoot, while the servants of Satan triumph. God is dishonored, the truth made of none effect. {5T 210.3}

Questions:

  • From the evidence in the above statement, does the church reform "when His wrath shall go forth in judgments?" or is deception of almost every kind in the church?
  • Will the truth be made of none effect in the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments?
  • Does this even hint of any great reformation having taken place in the church?

B. The leaven of godliness has not entirely lost its power. At the time when the danger and depression of the church are greatest, the little company who are standing in the light [Ezekiel 5:3] will be sighing and crying for the abominations that are done in the land. But more especially will their prayers arise in behalf 210 of the church because its members are doing after the manner of the world. {5T 209.3}

The earnest prayers of this faithful few will not be in vain. When the Lord comes forth as an avenger, He will also come as a protector of all those who have preserved the faith in its purity and kept themselves unspotted from the world. It is at this time that God has promised to avenge His own elect which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them. {5T 210.1}

The command is: "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof." These sighing, crying ones had been holding forth the words of life; they had reproved, counseled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonoring God repented and humbled their hearts before Him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking. {5T 210.2}

Questions and Statements:

  • "When the danger and depression of the church are greatest..." is a serious time of trouble. Even the time of Jacob's Great Trouble. According to Ellen White, probation will be over at that time.
  • What are the MEMBERS of the church doing at that time? Are they doing "after the manner of the world?"
  • Do these prophesies of the fate of the church coincide with the Bible in Ezekiel 5 and 9? Are these the reasons Ellen White said that Ezekiel 9 will be literally fulfilled in the midst's of Jerusalem, the professing Seventh-day Adventist church? Is that a most startling message to a church who teaches that all the bad will be shaken out of her?
  • In spite of the above scenario of the fate of the church, a faithful remnant escapes out of Jerusalem, Isaiah 37:31,32, and Ezekiel 5:3.A few in number are taken in His skirt and saved. That is the true Seventh-day Adventist ship that goes through.

"When this church is weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, it is found wanting, having left its first love....What is the fatal deficiency?--'Thou has left thy first love...' The light that gladdened your heart when you first understood the message for this time is an essential element in your experience and labors, and this has been lost out of your heart and life. Christ beholds your lack of zeal, and declares that you have FALLEN, and are in a perilous position." E.G. White, Review and Herald, vol. 2, pp. 462-3.

"We must as a people arouse and cleanse the camp of Israel. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy, and unholy practices are coming in among us in a large degree...We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird, and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil? E. G. White, Manuscript Releases No. 449, pp. 17, 18.

"If the church of God becomes LUKEWARM [LAODICEAN] it does not stand in favor with God any more than do the churches that are represented as having fallen and become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Those who have had opportunities to hear and receive the truth, and who have united with the Seventh-day Adventist church, calling themselves the commandment keeping people of God, and yet possess no more vitality and consecration to God than do the nominal churches, will receive of the plagues of God just as verily as the churches who oppose the law of God." E.G. White, Letter 35, 1898.

"Any connection with infidels and UNBELIEVERS which would identify us with them is FORBIDDEN by the word. We are to come out from them and be separate. in no case are we to link ourselves with them in their plans or work." E. G. White, Fundamentals of Christian Education, 482.

The SDA church violates the above instruction which is forbidden by Isaiah 8:9-20, by ecumenical linkage via MEMBERSHIP in the World Council of Churches via its MEMBERSHIP in a number of National Councils of Churches around the world, and that is the requirement for MEMBERSHIP in the World Council of Churches. Any church that is a MEMBER of any National Council of Churches, is automatically a member of the World Council of Chruches. Also, Membership in local Ministerial Associations are members of National Councils of Chruches and the WCC. That is the chain of command to the WCC.

"We must AS A PEOPLE arouse and cleanse the camp of Israel. Licentiousness, unlawful intimacy, and unholy practices are coming in among us in a large degree....We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird, and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil? E. G. White, Manuscript Release No. 449, pp. 17, 18.

"It is now the duty of God's commandment-keeping people to watch and pray, to search the Scriptures diligently, to hide the word of God in the heart, lest they sin against Him in idolatrous thoughts and debasing practices, and thus the church of God become demoralized like the fallen churches whom prophecy represents as being filled with every unclean and hateful bird." E. G. White, Review and Herald, May 17, 1887; also found in Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce, 188.

"The world must not be introduced into the church, and married to the church, forming a bond of unity. Through this means the church will become indeed corrupt, and as stated in Revelation, 'a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.'" Testimonies to Ministers, p. 265.

"The church cannot measure herself by the world nor by the opinion of men nor by what she ONCE was. Her faith and her position in the world as they NOW ARE must be COMPARED (JUDGED) with what they would have been if her course had been continually onward and upward. The church will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. If her moral character and spiritual state do not correspond with the benefits and blessings God has conferred upon her, SHE WILL BE FOUND WANTING." Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 83, 84.

The above statement applies individually and corporately to the church entity.

"Worldly policy is taking the place of true piety and wisdom that comes from above, and God will remove His prospering hand from the conference. Shall the ark of the covenant be removed from this people? Shall idols be smuggled in? Shall false principles and false precepts be brought into the sanctuary? Shall antichrist be respected? Shall the true doctrines and principles given us of God, which have made us what we are, be ignored?.... This is directly where the enemy, through blinded, unconsecrated men, is leading us." E. G. White, Manuscript 29, 1890.

"If most earnest vigilance is not manifested at the great heart of the work to protect the interests of the cause, the church will become as corrupt as the churches of other denominations." Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, p. 513.

"Christ has plainly taught that those who persist in open sin must be separated from the church..." E. G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, 71.

"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." Rev. 18:2-4.

Statement by Willie White and Ellen G. White

Confidential is posting the following statements on Internet SDA e-group forums in an attempt to prove that the church would NEVER, under any condition, fully apostatize so that there would be any need of another coming out of another church.

It is true that there will never be any other church, but that does not preclude another coming out to maintain the truth of the one true pioneer SDA church. If the following Statements can be proven to be correct, then Ellen White is made to be a self-contradictory false prophet, because she said that the Omega of Apostasy would be formed within the church and that nothing would be allowed to stand in its way.

Also, she said that the Omega of Apostasy would develop and wax stronger until Jesus comes. That circumstance demands another coming out from a church that will remain apostate and will receive another literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9. Here is the information you need:

"One thing it is certain is soon to be realized, the great apostasy [The Omega of Apostasy in context], which is developing and increasing and waxing stronger, and will continue to do so until the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout. We are to hold fast the first principles of our denominated faith, and go forward from strength to increased faith. Ever we are to keep the faith that has been substantiated by the Holy Spirit of God from the earlier events of our experience until the present time. We need now larger breadth, and deeper, more earnest, unwavering faith in the leadings of the Holy Spirit. If we needed the manifest proof of the Holy Spirit's power to confirm truth in the beginning, after the passing of the time, we need to-day all the evidence in the confirmation of the truth, when souls are departing from the faith and giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. There must not be any languishing of soul now." (E.G. White, Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, p. 57).

"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 [NEW] 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?" E.G. White, Selected Messages, Book 1, 204-205.

The New Organization has existed since 1903, when Ellen White called the church a harlot. The professing church and its leaders say that a thorough reformation was made in 1901, correcting the evil and errors. But that is thoroughly disproved by Ellen White calling the church a harlot in 1903. She did make favorable statements about the church after that time, but all of those favorable statements relate to the SDA church triumphant, and are misapplied by the church militant to itself.

Here are the statements by Confidential and David M. Curtis

I TOLD HER [MRS. LIDA SCOTT] HOW MOTHER REGARDED THE EXPERIENCE OF THE REMNANT CHURCH, AND OF HER POSITIVE TEACHING THAT GOD WOULD NOT PERMIT THIS DENOMINATION TO SO FULLY APOSTATIZE THAT THERE WOULD BE THE COMING OUT OF ANOTHER CHURCH.--W. C. White to E. E. Andross, May 23, 1915, White Estate Correspondence File. {LDE 56.4}

After this experience, light was given me that the Lord had raised me up to bear testimony for Him in many countries, and that He would give me grace and strength for the work. It was also shown me that my son, W. C. White, should be my helper and counselor, and that the Lord would place on him the spirit of wisdom and of a sound mind. I was shown that the Lord would guide him, and that he would not be led away, because he would recognize the leadings and guidance of the Holy Spirit. {1SM 54.3} This word was given me in 1882, and since that time I have been assured that the grace of wisdom was given to him. More recently, in a time of perplexity, the Lord said: "I have given you My servant, W. C. White, and I will give him judgment to be your helper. I will give him skill and understanding to manage wisely." {1SM 55.2} Yes we should trust statements by Willie White! Other Statements by Ellen White About her Son Willie as Printed by Dr. Rue in the Layworker, in the 1980's.

"...my son Willie may be lost." E.G. White, Manuscript Release, 127.

"Many times I have come to things in the Testimonies, as also in the Bible, that I do not understand, that I could not explain and harmonize...many of the testimonies I do not understand. In many cases if I were commissioned to use any discretion in the matter, I would not send them out." Willie White, Spaulding-Magan Collection, Health Research Edition, p. 469.

"There are some thing in connection with the Testimonies, and the opposition to them, that have been more trials to me and in times of great perplexity--I have thrown myself on my face before God in agony of soul and said, 'O God, why didst thou choose my mother to be the instrument for this work?" Willie White, Spaulding-Magan Collection, Health Research Edition, p. 469.

"Mother, you often speak of matters being revealed to you in the night season. You speak of dreams in which light comes to you. We all have dreams. How do you know that God is speaking to you in the dreams of which you so frequently speak?" Willie White, Voice of Prophecy Treasure Chest," P. 21.

We CANNOT trust Willie White. He may have been trustworthy for a time as Ellen White testifies, but ultimately he and his "hearsay" statements cannot be trusted.

Also, if Ellen White's statements about the Omega of Apostasy are correct, and if Ezekiel 5:9 is correct, there will be another literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 as Ellen White states, and it will be upon the professing, Omega of Apostasy, SDA church.

"Study the 9th chapter of Ezekiel. These words will be literally fulfilled; yet the time is passing, and the people are asleep. They refuse to humble their souls and to be converted. Not a great while longer will the Lord bear with the people who have such great and important truths revealed to them, but who refuse to bring these truths into their individual experience. The time is short. God is calling; will YOU hear? Will YOU receive His message? Will YOU be converted before it is too late? Soon, very soon, every case will be decided for eternity. Letter 106, 1909, pp. 2, 3, 5, 7. (To "The churches in Oakland and Berkeley, September 26, 1909.)" E. G. White Manuscript Releases Volume One, p. 260.

"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 the week." E.G. White, Review and Herald, vol. 1, p. 405, col. 3.

Ron Beaulieu