“The Very Last Deception…”
by
Clarence
Settle
Click to go to our Home PageWe
are told that “Satan is…constantly pressing in the spurious––to lead away
from the truth. The very last deception of Satan will be to make of
none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. ‘Where there is no
vision, the people perish.’ (Prov. 29:18). Satan
will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to
unsettle the confidence of God’s remnant people in the true testimony.––10 MS:312. “There will be a hatred kindled
against the testimonies which is satanic. The workings of Satan will be to
unsettle the faith of the churches in them, for this reason: Satan cannot have
so clear a track to bring in his deceptions and bind up souls in his
delusions if the warnings and reproofs and counsels of the Spirit of God are
heeded. ––Letter 40, 1890.” 1SM:48 This
study will endeavor to prove that this “last deception of Satan”
is taking place right now among us, and it’s being perpetrated by those who
claim to be defenders of fundamental, historic Adventist truth, those who
claim to be preserving the truth in its purity. Our focus will be the “Day-Star
Extra”, which is an enlargement of the very same account found in Early
Writings pp. 54,55.
Space does not allow us to reproduce the entire article, but in
summary, it is an account of Jesus going from the holy into the holy of
holies in 1844. Two companies are mentioned. One company looked to Jesus and
followed Him into the holy of holies. The other company, careless and
uninterested, did not realize that Jesus had left the holy place and that “Satan
appeared to be by the throne, trying to carry on the work of God. I saw them
look up to the throne, and pray, ‘Father, give us Thy Spirit.’ Satan
would then breathe upon them an unholy influence; in it there was light and
much power, but no sweet love, joy, and peace. Satan’s object was to keep
them deceived and to DRAW BACK AND DECEIVE God’s children.” And in the “Day-Star Extra” this
significant sentence is added: “I saw one after another leave the
company who were praying to Jesus in the Holiest, go and join those before
the throne and they at once received the unholy influence of Satan.” This
vision has been adamantly opposed and rejected as not referring to the
present corporate SDA church because it strikes at the very heart and root of
those halfway ministries who are calling for a reconciliation with the
apostate structure, and it also offends those who are going back into the
apostasy and are now speaking against the separation movement, the movement
they once belonged to, defended and believed in. Many, it seems, have loved
ones or relatives still within the structure. Perhaps that is the reason for
their turnabout. If so, how sad and tragic indeed. There are two arguments
raised against the application of this vision to the present SDA structure.
One, they state that it cannot refer to the present time but rather applies only
to that period of time around 1844 when the message was being given. Let’s
look at that and see if it has any light in it. In
Early Writings p:55 it states: “Those who
arose when Jesus did, kept their eyes fixed on Him as He left the throne and
led them out a little way. Then He raised His right arm, and we heard His
lovely voice saying, ‘Wait here; I am going to my Father to receive the kingdom; keep your garments
spotless, and in a little while I will return from the wedding and
receive you to Myself.’” Now
if we accept the argument that this was only for that period of time back
there, then either they are still waiting (which is too ridiculous to even
consider), or Jesus returned from the wedding before those waiting
ones died. Let’s look at that view. We
read: “The proclamation, ‘Behold the Bridegroom cometh,’ in the summer of
1844, led thousands to expect the immediate advent of the Lord. At the
appointed time the Bridegroom came, not to the earth, as the people expected,
but to the Ancient of days in heaven, to the marriage, the reception of His
kingdom. ‘They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage and the door
was shut.’ They were not to be present in person at the marriage; for it
takes place in Heaven, while they are upon the earth. The followers of Christ
are to ‘wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding.’
Luke 12:36. But they are to understand His work, and to follow Him by
faith as he goes in before God. It is in this sense that they are said to go
in to the marriage.” GC:427 Again,
in establishing the time period when Christ shall return from the wedding,
we read: “The great truth of Christ’s
second coming is ever to be kept before the church. ‘Let your loins be
girded about,’ we are admonished, ‘and your lights burning; and ye yourselves
like unto men that wait for their lord, when He will return from the
wedding; that when He cometh and knocketh, they
may open unto Him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when
He cometh shall find watching.” 10RH:11-13-13 As
can be shown by these and many other statements, when Christ told His
faithful followers to “WAIT HERE” until He returned from the wedding, He was
telling them to stay there in the Most Holy place until His 2nd
coming! So how can any reasonable and rational person claim that the
vision only applied to that time period. Why is that vision recorded in Early
Writings then? Is it just an inconsequential account? Would the Lord
leave such instructions knowing it was only to give His people false
hope? God does not work like that. Another
objection vehemently raised to the application of this vision to present time
is that this very same vision is tied to statements found in Early
Writings pp.260-261: “I saw that as the Jews crucified Jesus, so the nominal
churches had crucified these messages, and therefore they have no knowledge
of the way into the most holy, and they cannot be benefited by the
intercession of Jesus there. Like the Jews, who offered their useless
sacrifices, they offer up their useless prayers to the apartment which
Jesus has left, and Satan, pleased with the deception, assumes a religious
character, and leads the minds of these professed Christians to himself,
working with his power, his signs and lying wonders, to fasten them in his
snare…The churches are elated, and consider that God is working marvelously
for them, when it is the work of another spirit. The excitement
will die away and leave the world and the church in a worse condition than
before. I
saw that God has honest children among the nominal Adventists
and the fallen churches, and before the plagues shall be
poured out, ministers and people will be called out from these churches
and will gladly receive the truth. Satan knows this; and before the loud cry
of the third angel is given, (“The first, second, and third angel’s messages are
to be repeated. The call is to be given to the church {not by the
church} ‘ The
reason these statements are almost violently opposed as not referring to the
present apostate SDA structure, according to their reasoning, is that when E.G.
White said nominal Adventist, she meant the other Seventh-day
churches of her day, (7th Day Baptists, etc.) and therefore that
terminology cannot apply to the SDA church of today. We shall see if this is
in fact a legitimate argument for rejecting this vital testimony. The
dictionary defines nominal as “professed, in name only,” but these
defenders of the structure adamantly state that we cannot go by what the
dictionary states––only by how E.G.White allegedly
defines the word. Strangely enough they conveniently ignore a few of E.G.
White’s plainest statements such as: “Regarding
the testimonies, nothing is ignored; nothing is cast aside; but time and
place must be considered.” 1SM:57. Another principle that is
also overlooked by these folk is: “The principles of God’s dealing with
men are ever the same. The important movements of the present have
their parallel in those of the past, and the experience of the church in
former ages has lessons of great value for our own time.” GC: 343. Well, it will be conclusively demonstrated
that the word nominal also refers to the present day SDA structure.
There will be absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind, though of course there
will be some who as in Christ’s day “neither will they be persuaded,
though one rose from the dead.” The
bottom line is this: The SDA church is either in the first Apartment, or (by
faith) in the Holiest, where Jesus is right now. The SDA church is either worshipping or
praying to God in the most holy place, or they are worshipping and offering
up their useless prayers to Satan in the apartment, which Jesus has left.
There is no third position or location possible. There is no third choice.
It’s either one or the other! What does the Spirit of Prophecy tell us, and
what does the evidence show us? We
read: (In reference to the SDA church) “The command is, ‘Go through the
midst of the city, through the midst of In
case some question that the previous testimony was specifically referring to
the SDA church, the next two examples leave absolutely no room for doubt that
the SDA church is being referred to. We read: “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. If her
spiritual experience does not correspond to the advantages that Christ, at
infinite cost, has bestowed on her, if the blessings conferred have not
qualified her to do the work entrusted to her, on her will be pronounced the
sentence, ‘Found wanting.’ By the light bestowed, the opportunities given,
will she be judged…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 an harlot? My Father’s house
is made a house of merchandise, Again
comes the question: If the divine presence and glory
have departed, then who are they worshipping, who
are they praying to, and who is answering their prayers? And
since the divine presence and glory have departed, which apartment of the
sanctuary are they occupying? But let us go on. We read: ”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. (Reorganization
is something that takes place on a denominational, not individual basis. So
we can see once again that this is referring to the entire Again
we read: “Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false
prophecy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan. If
doubts and unbelief are cherished, the faithful ministers will be removed
from the people who think they know so much.” TM:409-10.
Here we have indisputable proof that the faithful ministers will not
remain to preach in “our” pulpits. Why? Because if the ministers that remain in the
church are preaching with their torch “kindled from the hellish torch of
Satan” then it is obvious who they and those that remain to
listen to them are worshipping; it is obvious who they are
praying to and who is answering their prayers, and WHICH
APARTMENT OF THE SANCTUARY THEY ARE IN! We
read: “It is with reluctance that the Lord WITHDRAWS HIS
PRESENCE from those who have been blessed with great light and who
have felt the power of the word in ministering to others. They were once His
faithful servants, favored with His presence and guidance; but THEY
DEPARTED FROM HIM and led others into error, and therefore are brought
under the divine displeasure.” 5T:212 This quotation clearly
illustrates the experience of those who “one after another leave the
company who were praying to Jesus in the Holiest, go and join those before
the throne and they at once received the unholy influence of Satan”
and are now standing in the SDA Church pulpits giving Satan’s falsehoods. [“ Thus
far we have looked at the words of Inspiration, but is there actual,
irrefutable evidence that clearly illustrates that the SDA church
structure is now presently in the first apartment of the Sanctuary instead of
the Holiest, in fulfillment of the Day-Star article?
Let us look at a few undeniable examples. 1. 1. The Tithe––
Inspiration tells us: ”The tithe is to be
used for one purpose,––to sustain the ministers whom the Lord has
appointed to do His work. It is to be used to support those who speak the
words of life to the people, and carry the burden of the flock of God.” 1MR:188.
Millions of dollars of God’s money
has been invested and lost in such schemes as the Davenport fiasco in the
early 1980’s where some $40 million were lost––and no one was ever brought to
account for it. And just recently, some $3.4 million has been lost in some
“video Bibles for kids” scheme––and no one seems to know where the money
went! And what about the millions of church dollars invested with firms
having sizable department of defense contracts that were invested by the G.C.
in the 1970’s? These were companies that were making such things as M-16
rifles, missile and weapon systems, howitzers and antipersonnel launchers, bombing
navigation and weapon systems and other such instruments of death! Not to
mention the millions of church dollars invested in such firms as the K Mart
Corp. and Southland Corp.––places that not only ignore the fourth commandment
but also sell liquor and cigarettes! Is it God’s will that His money be used
for gambling in the stock market? And what about the hundreds of thousands of
tithe dollars that are used by the G.C. to pay Catholic attorneys for
lawsuits against “dissident” Seventh-Day Adventists, many of whom are simply
“contending for the faith once delivered to the saints”? “There are only
two places in the world where we can deposit our treasures––in God’s
storehouse or in Satan’s, and all that is not devoted to Christ’s
service is counted on Satan’s side and goes to strengthen his cause.” 6T:448 So with this blatant misuse of God’s
money, again the question comes: God or Satan, who is being
worshipped here? Who’s cause is being
strengthened? In who’s storehouse is
this treasure being deposited? 2. 2. Witnessing––“In
the very time in which we live the Lord has called His people and has given
them a message to bear. He has called them to expose the wickedness of the
man of sin who has made the Sunday law a distinctive power, who has
thought to change time and laws, and to oppress the people of God who stand
firmly to honor Him by keeping the only true Sabbath, the Sabbath of
creation, as holy unto the Lord.” TM:118 Is the SDA church structure carrying out
this divine mandate? Can it be said that, at least in this respect, the
church is following and obeying God?
What do the facts say? In 1968
it was reported in the RH, May 30th that three Adventist leaders
(Pierre Lanares, Roland Hegstad,
Leif Kr Tobiassen), members of the Church-State
Commission, went to the Vatican to receive a souvenir medal directly from the
Pope’s hands. Would Jesus or His apostles graciously accept a souvenir medal
from the pope, Caiphas or even Satan himself––would
Ellen G. White? In a turnabout of
events, in 1977 3. 3. Organization––“What
we want now is reorganization. We want to begin at the foundation and to
build upon a different principle.”GCB-1901, p.25, E.G.White.
Decentralization was the call of the 1901 plan. Although surface changes
occurred, the principles actuating the church government remained the same.
E.A. Sutherland wrote: “Now it seems to me the thing we are to fear
more than anything else in this is the danger of centralization and
consolidating, it is a fact that during the last two years, in spite of
everything, there has been a tendency to centralize..and
we know that the work has been retarded because of that spirit.”
1903 GCB 167,168. In March 1984 Judge Hart made this startling
but true assessment. “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 the
country.” And again, Raymond Cottrell (former associate editor
of the Adventist Review and the SDA Bible Commentary) states: “ STRUCTURE. At the local conference
level the We can go on and on giving example after example,
proof after proof that the We were warned: “The Lord has declared that the
history of the past shall be rehearsed upon the closing work. Every truth
that He has given for these last days is to be proclaimed to the world. Every
pillar that He has established is to be strengthened. We cannot
now step off the foundation that God has established. We cannot now enter
into any new organization; for this would mean apostasy from the truth.”
MR 20:151. The present There can be no denying that the corporate “How
came the Reformation? The Reformation did not and does not consist in
exposure and denunciations of the iniquities of the Roman church. That is
included in the Reformation, as an incident; because it is of the essence of
Christianity to hate iniquity, as it is to love righteousness. “It was
the iniquities, enormities, and desolations, wrought by the Roman church, that caused the universal desire and
the pressing demand that there should be a reformation. Yet the reformation
was not wrought by magnifying or dwelling upon those things. “The
Reformation springs from another principle, lives in another atmosphere, and
works in another field than that. “If
exposure and denunciation of the iniquities could have wrought reformation,
then the Reformation would have been in the world more than five hundred
years before it was. “The…many
scathing words of denunciation and exposure of the Roman church on her own
part, and of the papacy as a whole, and all by men of standing in that church
itself, are sufficient to show that if that could work reformation, there was
enough of it to have accomplished the most complete and perfect reformation. “Yet all
that is only a little of what could just as easily be quoted. And all of it
said by men who lived all their days and died in full and honored membership
in that church; and some of them are now saints of that church. “The
men whose preaching made the
Reformation could have said all that they ever said,
and more in denunciation of the iniquity in the church and the enormities of the Popes; and yet could have remained
in good standing in that
church, all their days: if they had still held that church to be the only and
true church, and have held themselves in conformity with her accordingly. “All men
saw the iniquities practiced. They actually felt them on every side. Nobles,
kings, emperors, priests, bishops, cardinals, and councils called for
reformation. Even Popes confessed the sore need of it… “The church
was ‘the ark of God,’ the ‘ship of Salvation.’ The pilot, the captain, and
the crew, might all be pirates, and use every motion of the ship only for
piratical purposes, and load her to the sinking point with piratical plunder,
and keep her ever headed toward perdition, yet ‘the grand old ship’ herself
was all right and would come safely to the heavenly port. Therefore ‘cling to
the ark,’ ‘stand by the old ship,’ and you will be safe and will land at last
on the heavenly shore… “They denounced the men and the activities
of the men, even of the Popes and the papal court, but still apologized and
pleaded for the machine. “They
condemned the evil practices, but justified the system by which alone it was
possible that those practices could not only be perpetuated, but could even
exist. “So long as
this delusion was systematically inculcated, blindly received, and fondly
hugged, of course reformation was impossible. “But as
soon as there arose men with the courage and conviction and the confidence of
truth and spoke out plainly and flatly that the Roman system is not the
Church at all in any feature or any sense, then the Reformation had begun.” A.T.
Jones “Lessons from the Reformation” “Behold,
I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are
not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy
feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” Rev.3:9 Clarence
A. Settle |