Adrian Welsh on Ernie Knoll

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It is somewhat amazing that Adrian Welsh defends Ernie Knoll’s dreams. But not really. Both are ignorant of the solidity of the type/antitype literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 and exactly what occurred in the last literal fulfillment and must occur in the next literal fulfillment for it to indeed be literal as Ellen White says it will be. One can choose between God’s Word and Ellen White as to whether Ezekiel 9 is literal or not, and whether or not the apostate Jewish church was cleansed and rained upon (Early/Latter rain) in the last literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9. Ezekiel 22 leaves no room for debate on this issue as I prove further down in this document. Ezekiel 22 is an elaboration on Ezekiel 9. There were no chapter designations in the original manuscripts.

What makes Ernie Knoll a false prophet is his dreams that the omega of apostasy new movement, new organization “church,” masquerading as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, will be cleansed and rained upon by the Holy Spirit latter rain. Adrian Welsh believes the same lie. This totally contradicts Scriputure in Ezekiel 22. This chapter was part of the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9, so any future literal fulfillment would not be literal as Ellen White says it will be—IF APOSTATE NEW MOVEMENT ADVENTISM WAS CLEANSED AND RAINED UPON. Knoll’s and Welsh’s error stem from their lack of knowledge of Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy, as regards the prefigure (type) literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 which in turn demands a literal typical fulfillment or it would not be literal at all. But Ellen White says both--that it will be literally fulfilled and that the words of Jesus to His disciples were twofold, symbolizing:

 

1.    The destruction of Jerusalem beginning at His Sanctuary.

2.    The terrors of the last great day. The Great Controversy, p. 25.

 

Careless readers bereft of spiritual discernment, apply only point number 2 to the end time and the destruction of the world. They can’t discern the fact that the destruction of Jerusalem was a prefigure type, demands a similar antitypical fulfillment BEGINNING with His Sanctuary, HIS CHURCH, 5T 211, and ending with Babylon—the world, The Great Controversy, pp. 653-656.

 

Begin at My Sanctuary -- "Here we see that the church--the Lord's sanctuary--was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God's power as in former days. Times have changed. These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. Thus 'Peace and safety" is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God's people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together." E. G. White, Testimonies, Vol. 5, 211.

 

Ezekiel 22:23-31 on the Literal Fulfillment of Ezekiel 9

 

23And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

 24Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.

 25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

 26Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

 27Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.

 28And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.

 29The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.

 30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

 31Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 22:23-31.

 

Is Ernie Knoll’s and Adrian Welsh’s Teaching of a Cleansing of the Apostate SDA Church Serious Error?

 

In the typical literal fulfillment of Ezekiel 9, Great Controversy, Chapter 1, which records that fulfillment, says that false prophets were bribed and hired by the leadership to tell the people that if they wanted to be saved and safe they must remain at the Temple and that the Roman Army would not penetrate the gates of the city. Of course that was a lie and all who believed it remained in the city and the apostate church at Jerusalem and were slaughtered and burned. Some of the more able bodied were taken to Rome as slaves. In short, all who did not separate from the apostate Jewish church to join the true church of Jesus and His disciples, were forever lost. That will be the fate of all who believe what Ernie, Adrian, and SDA leaders are teaching them about Ezekiel 9. Just as in the last literal Ezekiel 9 fulfillment, False prophets are telling SDA’s the same lie today. That is another proof that Ellen White was right! It is all literal! Is this serious?

 

Below is Adrian’s defense of Ernie Knoll’s dreams in his book Prophetic Parallels between Israel and Adventism.

 

Chapter 17

 

Another Prophet?

 

How to Test a Prophet by Adrian Welsh

 

If we want to avoid being deceived by false prophets while remaining open to true ones, we must be willing to test them according to the tests God has given us, not our own. The Bible clearly teaches how we are to test a prophet. Some of these tests include:

 

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”812 The message of a true prophet will not contradict the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy.

 

“If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.”813 Miracles do not prove whether a prophet is true or false. If a professed prophet tries to lead us away from God, as revealed in His Word, we should reject them.

 

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”814 This does not merely mean Jesus was a human, but that He took upon Himself fallen human flesh as was pointed out in chapter 12.

 

“But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”815 We must keep in mind that sometimes what a prophet says is conditional even when they don’t realize it is.816

 

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?”817 The fruit of a prophet’s ministry is proof of their calling. This is revealed in different ways. In Noah’s day, very few accepted his message, and only eight people survived the Flood. Elijah was rejected until God vindicated him on Mount Carmel. We should not be looking for quantity of fruit, but quality.

 

Sadly, many have not followed the Bible’s counsel on how to test a prophet before rejecting Ernie Knoll. Instead, they use human reasoning to test his dreams and conclude that he is a false prophet. When has our human reasoning ever been safe to trust? The Jews used human reasoning when they rejected Jesus. They reasoned that if He was not going to set up a literal kingdom and free them from the hated Romans, He could not be the Messiah that was predicted to come. The high priest Caiaphas falsely reasoned that, “it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.”818 The leadership then sought every way possible to put Jesus to death. Many others listen to what popular people have concluded and refuse to even consider testing Ernie. Isn’t this how Jesus was treated?

 

As you read the words of Ernie’s critics, you can’t help but wonder about it being “proof” that he is a false prophet. No one has yet proven his dreams contain error, even after three and a half years of public ministry. It is true that many have accused him of teaching error regarding the subject of tithe, but these accusations are based on tradition and not on the Word of God. There is an excellent book on Ernie’s website (not written by Ernie) that answers what many critics have said about Ernie, including the tithe issue. It can be viewed at www.formypeople.org/the_truth/index.html and is called the TRUTH, the whole TRUTH, and nothing but the TRUTH (referred to as “the Truth Book”).

 

The honest seeker of truth will come away blessed after reading and comparing the dreams of Ernie with the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. They will find that Ernie, like Ellen White, passes the Biblical tests of a prophet. He may fail man-made tests, but these are only subjective and not reliable.

 

Ernie Knoll’s Sin and Repentance

 

Probably the strongest reason why so many are now convinced that Ernie is a false prophet is because of the sin he fell into. It is true that his sin has in no way helped his credibility. In November 2007, Ernie became discouraged because of the opposition he was receiving. Instead of seeking God for his strength, he lost his faith and made up an impressive story of a prostitute who had an angel visit and was told to read his dreams. Ernie hoped this would convince people his dreams were from God, and probably for a time, some were convinced. However, truth cannot exist with falsehood, and eventually Ernie’s deception was found out. His actions resulted in the collapse of his ministry and many walked away from him. But a few remained, and determined to study the Word of God for answers, as they could not accept the fact that Satan was responsible for their renewed devotion to God. It was found that many of God’s prophets failed at times to live an upright life. Commenting on this fact, Ellen White wrote:

 

“The pen of inspiration, true to its task, tells us of the sins that overcame Noah, Lot, Moses, Abraham, David, and Solomon, and that even Elijah's strong spirit sank under temptation during his fearful trial. Jonah's disobedience and Israel's idolatry are faithfully recorded. Peter's denial of Christ, the sharp contention of Paul and Barnabas, the failings and infirmities of the prophets and apostles, are all laid bare by the Holy Ghost, who lifts the veil from the human heart. There before us lie the lives of the believers, with all their faults and follies, which are intended as a lesson to all the generations following them. If they had been without foible they would have been more than human, and our sinful natures would despair of ever reaching such a point of excellence. But seeing where they struggled and fell, where they took heart again and conquered through the grace of God, we are encouraged, and led to press over the obstacles that degenerate nature places in our way.”819 819 Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, p. 12

 

Many feel that God could forgive David for his heinous sin, and Moses’ moment of weakness where he took to himself the glory of God, or Peter’s rash denial of Jesus, but they feel that God cannot forgive Ernie because he willingly deceived people and only confessed his sin after he was found out. However, the Bible plainly reveals that Abraham lied to Pharaoh and Abimelech, and yet God stilled called him a prophet.820 Jacob deceived his father to secure the birthright, and yet God promised to bless him after he fled from his brother.821 David repented of his great sin, and has been a source of encouragement to many who fall short of God’s ideal, but many fail to realize that David did not confess his sin until after Nathan the prophet rebuked him.822

 

Ernie’s sin cannot be excused, but his repentance and desire to live according to God’s commandments are apparent. As with the prophets of old, the Holy Spirit has not sought to hide Ernie’s sin. His dreams contain rebukes directed at Ernie and his sin is laid open for all to know what he has done and gain encouragement from the fact that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”823 In the Truth book, there is a chapter dedicated to his sin and repentance that provides further information.824

 

Before Jesus was arrested and crucified, His disciples trusted implicitly that He was the promised Messiah. They were willing to lay down their lives for Him. They had believed that Jesus was the Messiah, even when the leaders of the church refused to accept Him and declared He was from Beelzebub. However, as they witnessed His death, their hopes were shattered. All the doubts of those who rejected Him flooded their mind until they were ready to admit He wasn’t the Promised One. As two of His disciples traveled back to Emmaus, they confided with One who they thought was a stranger and said, “But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.”825 Their reply revealed their deep disappointment and loss of faith. Little did they know the One they were talking with was the One they had trusted! By the end of the day, their disappointment was turned into joy and they exclaimed, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”826

 

God often allows His people to pass through a time of disappointment to prove them. This was the case when the children of Israel came up to the Red Sea. It was the case in 1844 when Jesus did not return as expected, and it was the case with those who had accepted Ernie’s dreams. Should we have expected anything differently? Like the disciples, the One who spoke with them caused their hearts to burn within them. So the One speaking through Ernie’s dreams leads many to feel the same and to know that Jesus is coming.

 

As Joshua succeeded, but in no way supplanted Moses, so Ernie is now being used to wake up God’s sleeping people. He is directing them back to the importance of Ellen White’s writings and the Bible so that they can be prepared for the greatest event this world has ever witnessed—the subject of our next chapter. Adrian Welsh, Prophetic Paralles, Chapter 17, Another Prophet?

 

819 Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, p. 12

820 See Genesis 20:3-7

821 See Genesis 28

822 See 2 Samuel 12:7-13

823 1 John 1:9

824http://www.formypeople.org/the_truth/chapter10.html.

825 Luke 24:21

826 Luke 24:32

 

The End