Public Confession and Apology
[1Jo 1:9 KJV] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
[our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jam 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that
ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.
Brothers
and Sisters in Christ,
Allow
me to explain my experience while I share my testimony. I will begin with the
moment of my conversion and in a summarized manner bring certain important
points to your knowledge to help you understand the whole story I will
share.
When
I converted and joined the nominal SDA church, it did not take long for me to
realize there is something wrong with the nominal SDA church. I could not
understand why open sin was tolerated in the nominal SDA church. As I continued
everyday study and prayer eventually a brother at that time, shared with me
that he is going to leave the church because of the church's apostasy. He
explained it was the apostasy concerning the Godhead.
I
started to research it and found from another brother that Ellen White
prophesied Omega apostasy. I googled Omega Ellen White and I discovered the
Omega Countdown Ministry webpage. I studied the OCM webpage for months before I
decided to contact Brother Beaulieu myself. We started to email each other and
an opportunity opened for me to go and see him, which I did. After the meeting,
we started to speak more often, a couple of times per week and he was willing
to share many things. I was interested in prophesying and I asked many
questions.
Amongst
other things, he did share with me a lot about the nature of the inspiration he
had. He shared how he got the visions and how he recognized heavenly
communications. I was a man who was interested in prophesying so I asked him to
teach me how to prophesy the way he did. He believed I possessed the necessary
qualifications to continue leading the Omega Countdown ministry and start my
own.
One
of the first things he taught me was the importance of the weight of evidence.
He explained how his visions and revelations were based on the proper
application of the weight of evidence formula. Ellen White said:
"Those
who are engaged in proclaiming the third angel’s message are searching the
Scriptures upon the same plan that Father Miller adopted. In the little book
entitled “Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chronology,” Father Miller
gives the following simple but intelligent and important rules for Bible study
and interpretation: {RH November 25, 1884, par. 23}
“1.
Every word must have its proper bearing on the subject presented in the Bible;
2. All Scripture is necessary, and may be understood by diligent application
and study; 3. Nothing revealed in Scripture can or will be hid from those who
ask in faith, not wavering; 4. To understand doctrine, bring all the scriptures
together on the subject you wish to know, then let every word have its proper
influence; and if you can form your theory without a contradiction, you cannot
be in error; 5. Scripture must be its own expositor, since it is a rule of
itself. If I depend on a teacher to expound to me, and he should guess at its
meaning, or desire to have it so on account of his sectarian creed, or to be
thought wise, then his guessing, desire, creed, or wisdom is my rule, and not
the Bible.” {RH November 25, 1884, par. 24}
The
above is a portion of these rules; and in our study of the Bible we shall all
do well to heed the principles set forth. {RH November 25, 1884, par. 25}
End
quote.
Here
I learned that if we can form a theory or a conclusion without contradiction
that this was all it takes to know that we are correct. He taught me that if
your teaching/doctrine/conclusion fulfills this requirement that it is proof of
inspiration. As he shared with me more and more I realized his inspiration was
an inspiration based on the understanding of the scripture and the spirit of
prophecy. In other words, it was not an inspiration based on real events or
visions as most people think of them, like Daniel or Ezekiel's type of visions
but based on his understanding of the scriptures and spirit of prophecy
statements. He confirmed it.
During
these studies, I asked him about the revelations which I discovered in the word
of God that seemed inspired to me because, as far as I remember, I have not
heard them from anybody but they were clearly new light or fresh views of the
old truths. The way he described his visions sounded similar, in nature, to the
revelations I received. As I shared a number of these revelations he confirmed
my suspicion and told me that it is very clear that God is communicating with
me. He told me that those revelations were visions God was giving to me. I
asked him how to present these revelations to the people. During the studies,
when I would present one of those revelations, people would frequently ask,
'Where did you get these things from' or 'How did you see these things?'
Because of the decades of his experience, I wanted to know if is it better to
give God glory and say that God showed me those things or to express myself and
say I discovered it by study.
Dear
reader, if you are wondering why would I ask such a question, let me explain.
If you ever studied the scriptures then you know that at times you can study
the scripture for hours and not get a single revelation. It is just not
happening. No matter how much you want it to happen, no matter how much time,
energy, focus, or effort you are investing it just seems like you are reading
and that's it. But there were also times when I would sit down to study and I
would literally read one word and I would immediately get a new revelation. As
I would start to write it down it would keep unfolding. Sometimes this lasts
for hours. A good comparison would be mining. The word of God is God's mine.
Each time we come to study we are starting a mining session. Miners enter the
mine each day hoping they will discover some valuable material – gold, silver,
or some other precious stone or ore. Despite exerting serious effort each day
many days they dig hard and find nothing. They can exhaust themselves
completely, yet it can be in vain. The human agent is tired and has to call it
a day. But there are also days in the life of the miners in which after their
first strike at the target, they discover a gold vein. At times it happens that
they find treasure merely by walking through the mine without actually using
the pickaxe. Those that had similar experiences can understand what I mean.
Once you had this experience you can understand a bit better just how much we
are actually dependent on God sending us his own Spirit to imbue us with
thoughts, ideas, and new views. So you can know through this experimental
knowledge that without God's help, all of our investigations would be
fruitless.
Ellen
White explains this experience:
“Search
the scriptures,” Christ declared, “for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). Those who dig beneath the
surface discover the hidden gems of truth. The Holy Spirit is present with the
earnest searcher. Its illumination shines upon the Word, stamping the truth
upon the mind with a new, fresh importance. The searcher is filled with a sense
of peace and joy never before felt. The preciousness of truth is realized as
never before. A new, heavenly light shines upon the Word, illuminating it as
though every letter were tinged with gold. God Himself has spoken to the mind
and heart, making the Word spirit and life." {2SM 39.1}
End
quote.
This
is why I started to feel that those revelations, although given to me, were not
actually mine. They belong to God. I wanted people to know this because I knew
that no man can get a revelation from the Bible on his own. When we investigate
the Scriptures it is either the spirit of God or the spirit of the devil that
is aiding us in our search. So I was curious and asked Brother Beaulieu what
would be the appropriate thing to do. He said it was very clear to him that we
should give glory to God for His revelations instead of claiming it was something
we discovered on our own. He believed that it was time for me to decide do I
want to be in the ministry or not. He told me, you either assume the role of a
prophet and acknowledge that you have the gift of prophecy by giving God glory
or you continue claiming these revelations are something you discovered on your
own, thus rejecting the gift and opting to remain a believer but not working in
the ministry.
This
really got me thinking. I was conflicted because I was sure that God was
leading me in my studies and I knew that He was the reason I was able to get
the revelations. And now it was said that I had to either give God glory by
assuming the role of the prophet or deny this and have it my way. Those were
the two options presented. (I was not aware at that time that this was a false
dilemma. I discovered later as I studied the gospel order and the nature of
inspiration, both very interesting subjects connected with our present
understanding, that there were more options than just the two options he presented.
Of course, I thought that he must have an understanding of how things are done
when we are talking about inviting the people in the ministry to become the
messengers since regular lines are disrupted.) I wanted to be in the ministry
and he believed that I was the man to continue with it in case he dies or is
unable to lead the ministry anymore.
Later
I remembered that in some of his visions and documents, he presents
communication with angels in which angels told him things. There were other
examples where he claimed he saw something in his vision and then tells his
readers all about it. I inquired specifically about those types of encounters
or communications. He then informed me that those encounters and communications
were his representation of the things; they were based on his belief that God
was speaking to him directly through the scriptures so he presented them how he
thought this communication or encounter happened. In other words, it was not a
description of a real event that truly happened, but of his belief and
understanding of how it might have happened or how he thinks it happened. When
I realized this I was surprised. I was shocked. It seemed clear to me that this
was a fraud, a deception of God's people and the readers of the website. It is
hard for me to explain the feelings and thoughts that filled me at that time. I
did not realize this then, but through this, the enemy was trying to undermine
and destroy the faith of God's people in God's word and the spirit of prophecy.
Knowing Brother Beaulieu personally I could not understand why he decided to do
this thing. It seemed obvious it was wrong, but at the same time, his
presentations on the Godhead, on the apostasy of the nominal SDA church, and
other present truth revelations, I believed, testified that the connection with
heaven was not severed. The readers of the website know very well how many
people tried to gainsay his arguments but they were unable to prove Brother
Beaulieu wrong by Bible or by Ellen White's writings. I proceeded to ask,
'Where were the proofs that we could do such a thing? How can we claim that we
see or hear things and then present them like that to the church and to the
world?' Brother Beaulieu then shared with me a couple of quotations from the
writings of Ellen White that seem to confirm this idea. Here are some of them:
The
Bible—God's voice: “The Bible is God's voice speaking to us, just as surely as
though we could hear it with our ears.”—Testimonies For The Church 6:393
“The
Scriptures are to be received as God's word to us, not written merely, but
spoken....
“So
with all the promises of God's Word. In them He is speaking to us individually,
speaking as directly as if we could listen to His voice.”—The Ministry of
Healing, 122
“Never
attempt to search the Scriptures unless you are ready to listen ... to the
Word of God as though His voice were speaking directly to you from the living
Oracles.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:919
The Bible is God’s voice speaking to us just as surely as
though we could hear him with our ears. The Word of the living God is not
merely written, but spoken. Do we receive the Bible as the oracle of God?
If we realized the importance of this Word, with what awe would we open it, and
with what awe would we open it, and with what earnestness would we search its
precepts. The reading and contemplation of the Scriptures would be regarded
as an audience with the Most High. {Ms 30a, 1896, par. 2}
End quote.
According
to Brother Beaulieu's interpretation and understanding of these statements he
took them as he read them and used them as permission to present things the way
he did. He believed these statements gave him authority to accept the words of
the Bible as the words of God spoken directly to him and present them in the
documents as real events and conversations that truly happened based on the understanding
of how revelations were delivered to God's people in the past. (This is
fanaticism. The enemy managed to infiltrate himself and he wrought on man's
imagination).
So,
he thought those statements allowed such an application. But I realized the danger
connected with it because anybody is then able to make such claims. So, after
his explanation, I asked him, 'But what is the difference between the two of us
reading the Bible as the voice of God spoken to us and presenting it as the
vision to other people versus any other human being doing the same thing?' He
answered, 'Faith.' He said God's messengers have the belief to not merely covet
the role of a prophet but actually assume the role of the prophet. He continued
explaining that God's people need this to have their faith restored in the gift
of prophecy. (He presented it as faith, but in actuality, it was a devastating
presumption. A counterfeit of faith.) He also used the book of Jeremiah to
explain that visions are not always what people believe visions to be. He used
verses such as:
Jer
13:3 KJV - And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
Jer
13:4 KJV - Take the girdle that thou hast got, which [is] upon thy loins, and
arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
Jer
16:1 KJV - The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,
Jer
16:2 KJV - Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or
daughters in this place.
He
believed that those verses, among many others, show that a prophet does not have
to actually see something to have a vision and nevertheless, the Scripture
still calls it a vision.
After
the explanation and the meeting, even during it, I felt deeply disturbed. I did
not understand what was happening because this seemed wrong. It looked very
clear. His reasons for his beliefs were presented from the Bible and the
writings of Ellen White. It was now up to me. I had to decide if those things
presented had enough support in the Word or not. I remembered the weight of the
evidence formula. I needed to put it into practice.
As I
was contemplating these things and studying, I decided to ask Brother Beaulieu
specifically for the claim that it was Gabriel himself who personally came to
him to confirm when will the National Sunday Law be legislated. He told me to
open the Bible on Daniel 8. He read the words:
[Dan
8:16 KJV] And I heard a man's voice between [the banks of] Ulai, which called,
and said, Gabriel, make this [man] to understand the vision.
[Dan
8:17 KJV] So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and
fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the
time of the end [shall be] the vision.
He
then said that since the Bible is the voice of God speaking directly to him, he
claims the promise of this and believes that it was Gabriel himself who
explained to him these things because that's literally what the text is saying.
The text is saying that Gabriel explains the vision and so he said he claims
the promise and presents it as the revelation that he received from Gabriel. He
then said the Bible is not merely read and heard, it is spoken to us. He also
shared this quote:
"The
words of the angel, “I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God,” show
that he holds a position of high honor in the heavenly courts. When he came
with a message to Daniel, he said, “There is none that holdeth with me in these
things, but Michael [Christ] your Prince.” Daniel 10:21. Of Gabriel the Saviour
speaks in the Revelation, saying that “He sent and signified it by His angel
unto His servant John.” Revelation 1:1. And to John the angel declared, “I am a
fellow servant with thee and with thy brethren the prophets.” Revelation 22:9,
R. V. Wonderful thought—that the angel who stands next in honor to the Son of
God is the one chosen to open the purposes of God to sinful men." {DA
99.1}
End
quote.
Based
on this he thought that it was the angel Gabriel that was assigned to bring
these revelations to man. So basically it was presented as, you either believe
it is so, or you don't and that makes all the difference.
I
could now understand the reasons for his beliefs. I reread the SOP quotations
and now, after his presentation, I realized he took those spirit of prophecy
quotes much more seriously than I did. I went and read more from the book of
Jeremiah and realized his revelation concerning the visions and people's
understanding of visions was true. I found confirmation for this in 1Chr 17,
1Sam 3, and 2Sam 7. I understood that when we hear the term 'vision' we have
our own established ideas and definitions of the word, but not many ask the
question, what does the Bible teach about it? Even fewer are willing to invest
their time to investigate it. There are not many people in the world that
actually understand how the word of God uses this word.
I
was a bit suspicious and so I tried looking online. I continued researching and
discovered that Brother's close family members accused him of certain things. I
thought he probably does not want the people to know about this. But I was
wrong. He actually had a document that explained his side of the story and
allowed the readers to come to conclusions on their own. When Brother Beaulieu
made a mistake, he was willing to publicly confess it and asked for an apology.
He presented the confessions in the document and kept it available online. This
was not a small thing. A public confession of these things displays willingness
to confess on a mass scale in front of everybody even if it is humiliating and
uncomfortable for our sinful nature.
I
started to weigh the evidence. On one side of the scale, I placed all the
proofs that I believed witnessed that this teaching is the truth, on the other
side I placed the weights that I believed show this was a lie. Approximately
this is what I ended up with.
Proofs
that this is the truth:
1)This
ministry had the present truth as far as I could understand;
2)Brother
Beaulieu offered the best explanations available (according to my knowledge and
the available materials I personally researched) for supposed contradictions in
the word of God and the writings of Ellen White; as far as I could judge he
accepted all the statements of the spirit of prophecy and interpreted them so
that they do not contradict;
3)It looked
like he had the truth concerning the Godhead;
4)Public
apologies and confessions for his mistakes;
5)30+ years
in the ministry and his experience versus my inexperience;
6)He did seem
to have direct confirmation from the writings of Ellen White and indirect from
the word of God for his belief and at least partial explanation for his
actions;
Proofs
against:
1)This still
felt wrong. It seemed wrong. It seemed like a deception of God's people;
2)There were
also some other minor things that were odd, but nothing concrete.
As I
kept thinking about it, I thought to myself, are you willing to claim that even
this man is wrong? Am I prepared to ignore all those proofs and just go with
this feeling? If I decide against it, how can I explain all those revelations
and the present truth? Moreover, do I believe I have better judgment than a
brother who is 30+ years in the ministry? Do I know more about prophesying than
a brother that is instructing me on prophesying? He confirmed my doubts about
the church's apostasy. He corrected my view of the Godhead. He helped me
understand and interpret the Bible and the writings of Ellen White and actually
enabled me to realize what it means to believe the word of God and SOP. Am I
sure I know better now? Ellen White says:
"Young
men who have had only a few years of imperfect experience in the cause of
present truth ...should manifest a delicacy in taking positions contrary to the
judgment and opinions of those whose lives have been interwoven with the cause
of God and who have had an active part in this work for many years. God does
not select to lead out in His sacred, important work, men of immature judgment
and great self-confidence. Those who have not passed through the sufferings,
trials, opposition, and privations that have been endured to bring the work to
its present condition of prosperity, should cultivate modesty and humility.
They should be careful how they become exalted, lest they be overthrown. They
will be accountable for the clear light of truth which shines upon them. {GW
318.1}
I
saw that God is displeased with the disposition that some have to murmur
against those who have fought the heaviest battles for them, and who endured so
much in the beginning of the message, when the work went hard. The experienced
laborers,—those who toiled under the weight and the oppressive burdens when
there were but few to help bear them,—God regards; and He has a jealous care
for those who have proved faithful. He is displeased with those who are ready
to find fault with and reproach the servants of God who have grown gray in
building up the cause of present truth. Your reproaches and murmurings, young
men, will surely stand against you in the day of God." {GW 318.2}
End
quote.
Eventually,
I concluded that it would be impossible for him to receive all those new
revelations if this was a sin. I have heard some other ministers and ministries
explain the apostasy of the nominal SDA church before, but the advanced light
on the Godhead and the investigative judgment was not something I could find
elsewhere. Even the things concerning visions and prophesying. The proper
response to any apostasy (especially the nominal SDA apostasy), the correct
Biblical stance, and the separation message of the 3 Angels Messages was
restored. I was somewhat aware of my own ignorance and the lack of years and
wisdom as it pertained to my ability to properly assess all of this, but
finally attributed my own inexperience as the reason why this bad feeling was
lingering.
I
started to present some things in the way Brother Beaulieu taught me, but then
God interposed and took us on a journey that opened my eyes. I could finally
see this as God sees it. Through the combination of experience, study, prayer,
and mistakes he instructed us in the areas we lacked education in. He enabled
us to detect these fanatical ideas and check them.
I
now understand that sinful humanity was manifested at the time of that
decision-making. If I stood firmly for the truth, investigated, and studied
more to show Brother Beaulieu where and how he was wrong, I could have perhaps
prolonged his service and caused him to confess as he did before. This simple
question should have been enough: Is it wrong or not? Is it a sin or not? And
it was wrong, it was a sin.
Many
brothers and sisters and readers read and study Omega Countdown ministry's
documents. Sharing my testimony is one thing, but what the readers should be
interested in is – Can I prove that what I claim is true?
I
believe yes. I will show 3 additional proofs to all the readers of the Omega
countdown ministries that the testimony I shared is true. My testimony is proof
#4. I can understand that because Brother Beaulieu was in a ministry for such a
long time, and presented so many lessons to readers of the OCM webpage will want
irrefutable proofs for this. This is as it should be. I will present the
remaining 3 proofs.
Proofs
#1 and #2 actually come from Brother Beaulieu himself.
So I will start with proof #1 – His own vision documents.
I
will immediately get to the issue at hand. How can we detect this and where can
we get the confirmation for this in his writings? Here are a couple of examples
from his documents that clearly portray this.
Example #1:
Link
to the original document:
https://omega77.tripod.com/daniel8daniel12.htm
Brother
Beaulieu's statement from the vision:
"I
was taken in vision to Daniel 12. I was told three times that Daniel 12:1 gives
the setting of the chapter, and that its end-day fulfillment begins after
Michael stands up, and that He will not stand up until the time of the
legislation of the National Sunday Law, when the earth thus declares His law
null and void, (break one, break all) and that event will begin the judging of
the living, because they cannot be judged before making their decision to obey
God or man, and receiving the great test of obedience to God's Holy Day. I was
shown that those who knew the Sabbath truth, but gave it up prior to this test,
have already judged themselves. They thus have taken their eyes off the
Midnight Cry Lighted Path, making it impossible for them to get on the path
again, Word to the Little Flock, p. 14."
End
quote.
He
made a claim that:
a)Michael
stands up at the time Sunday law is legislated.
b)That this
Sunday Law legislation starts the judgment of the living.
He claimed that this was shown to him in a vision.
I
will first deal with the claim that Michael stands up in the context of Dan
12:1 at the time when the Sunday law is legislated.
Ellen
White had a vision where she claims that Michael stands up at the end of
probation, not at the Sunday law legislation. In The Great Controversy,
Chapter 39—The Time of Trouble, she testifies:
“At
that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the
children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was
since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people
shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book.” Daniel
12:1. {GC 613.1}
When the third angel’s message closes, mercy no longer
pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their work. They
have received “the latter rain,” “the refreshing from the presence of the
Lord,” and they are prepared for the trying hour before them. Angels are
hastening to and fro in heaven. An angel returning from the earth announces
that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all
who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received “the
seal of the living God.” Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary
above. He lifts His hands and with a loud voice says, “It is done;” and all
the angelic host lay off their crowns as He makes the solemn announcement: “He
that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be
filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that
is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation 22:11. Every case has been decided
for life or death. Christ has made the atonement for His people and blotted out
their sins. The number of His subjects is made up; “the kingdom and dominion,
and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven,” is about to be given
to the heirs of salvation, and Jesus is to reign as King of kings and Lord of
lords. {GC 613.2}
And
in another place:
The
Lord has shown me in vision, that Jesus rose up, and shut the door, and entered
the Holy of Holies, at the 7th month 1844; but Michael’s standing up (Daniel
12:1) to deliver his people, is in the future. {WLF 12.4}
This, will not take place, until Jesus has finished his
priestly office in the Heavenly Sanctuary, and lays off his priestly attire, and puts on his most
kingly robes, and crown, to ride forth on the cloudy chariot, to “thresh the
heathen in anger,” and deliver his people. {WLF 12.5}
Then
Jesus will have the sharp sickle in his hand, (Revelation 14:14) and then the
saints will cry day and night to Jesus on the cloud, to thrust in his sharp
sickle and reap. {WLF 12.6}
This, will be the time of Jacob’s trouble, (Jeremiah 30:5-8) out of which, the saints will be
delivered by the voice of God. {WLF 12.7}
End
quote.
Dear
readers ask yourselves, what would be the point of Michael standing up in the
context of Dan 12:1 to end probation when the Loud Cry starts at that time and
many people will at that time be converted to the truth? This does not make
sense.
So
whom do we believe? Ellen White's vision or Brother Beaulieu's vision? The
answer is clear. To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according
to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Unfortunately,
here Brother Beaulieu presented his conclusion as a vision from God. Some of
the people studying his documents and believing his discoveries were led to
believe the wrong thing about the standing up of Michael and then they
presented that to other people. This can lead to devastating movements and
actions. It is our duty to expose this and warn God's people about it.
(There
is a way in which Jesus will stand at the time of the legislation of the
Sunday law but this standing up is not the time when every human being decided
his destiny and the end of all probation for humankind is over. If God allows,
I will explain this at some later time.)
In
his later documents, he changed his initial claim and harmonized with Ellen
White by saying:
"In
a night vision of December 17, 2016, the Lord laid upon me the responsibility
of explaining the truth on the issue of time…
The
time when Michael stands up is when probation closes and the plagues begin…
Michael
will stand up when the great time of trouble begins and probation closes…
The
Biblical reference to Michael standing up is Daniel 12. In context with that
chapter, we find three time lines in direct context of Michael standing up—1260
days, 1290 days and 1335 days. Michael stands up after those literal times are
fulfilled…"
End
quote.
Original
link for these statements:
https://omega77.tripod.com/myvisionmichaelstandsup.htm
So
did God reveal in vision to Brother Beaulieu that Michael stands up to end
probation at the legislation of the Sunday Law or 1335 days after the Sunday
Law legislation?
We
can see that he corrected his view when he realized that he had it wrong. We
now know that at least one of these so-called visions was not given by God. But
unfortunately, he did not confess that this was his theory which he presented
as a vision, and then after he discovered the truth from the writings of Ellen
White, he, sadly, proceeded to write another "vision" to correct the
old one.
Let us now deal with the start of the judgment of the
living at the Sunday law legislation that Brother Beaulieu claimed was shown to
him in a vision.
When
does it start according to Ellen White? Well, the Holy Ghost did use her and
the pioneers to establish the Fundamental principles of the Seventh-day
Adventists and make them the pillars of our faith. The fundamental principle
#21 says:
"XXI.
That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary (See proposition X.),
synchronizing with the time of the proclamation of the third message (Rev. 14:
9,10), is a time of investigative judgment, first, with reference to the
dead, and secondly, at the close of probation, with reference to the living,
to determine who of the myriads now sleeping in the dust of the earth are
worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes
are worthy of translation, — points which must be determined before the Lord
appears."
End
quote.
Because
we know she fully supported the fundamental principles, we can conclude that
the reason why she did not know when the judgment of the living will start is
because the close of probation was not revealed to her (or anybody for that
matter). The statement below seems to support this view:
"Every
case had been decided for life or death. While Jesus had been ministering in
the sanctuary, the judgment had been going on for the righteous dead, and then
for the righteous living. Christ had received His kingdom, having made the
atonement for His people and blotted out their sins. The subjects of the
kingdom were made up. The marriage of the Lamb was consummated. And the
kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, was given to
Jesus and the heirs of salvation, and Jesus was to reign as King of kings and
Lord of lords. {EW 280.1}
End
quote.
We
definitively know from the Fundamental principles of the Seventh Day
Adventists, that the judgment of the living starts when the probation closes.
We
can again clearly see that Brother Beaulieu was presenting his conclusions as
visions given him of God when this is clearly not the case here.
Another example:
Brother
Beaulieu also claimed that on July 30, 2005, his angel told him that all 3
persons of the Godhead come to us.
Original
Link:
https://omega77.tripod.com/hslb1.htm
These
statements come from that document:
"I
asked God to show me why Ellen White said there were three persons to the
Godhead and how I could prove such from Scripture only. I asked God to show me
the Bible basis on which she made her conclusions. Though I was shown much of
the detail previously, what follows is an additional revelation as to what God
answered to me in vision Sabbath morning of July 30, 2005. I was shown a
panorama juxtaposition of the following Bible passages and the explanation of
them which I relate below. The Scriptural evidence is overwhelmingly
sufficient, but I have included some Spirit of Prophecy references to
demonstrate how Ellen White and Scripture agree."
"My
instructing angel told me the only way to resolve the above "apparent
contradictions of Scripture," is to conclude as he showed me, that Ellen
White was correct in saying that the Holy Spirit is the life and soul of Christ
which at His Incarnation, He laid aside (emptied Himself of) and commended to
the Father for our empowerment and regeneration back to the image of God. It is
the ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT, which all three persons have in common, so they all
come to us, but the DIVINE ONLY life of the Son was expressly laid aside
(emptied Himelf of) as the Holy Spirit to come to us and teach us all things
and empower us with the graces of the Spirit. That Holy Spirit is a person for
it is referred to as HE, HIM, HIMSELF. It is not Christ in His new estate as
the Son of MAN; the Son of God in a new sense as Ellen White describes
it."
End
quote.
However,
on Feb 23, 2017, he made a different claim:
Original
Link:
https://omega77.tripod.com/myvisiongodheadjohn14.htm
"A
few years ago from this February 23, 2017, I asked the Lord if He would show me
an understanding of the Godhead…
Thanks
be to God, in vision He showed me a view…
Ellen
White and the Bible teach THREE PERSONS to the Godhead, but NOT three
CO-ETERNAL PERSONS, for the God/man humanity of Christ was/is NOT eternal.
There was no ETERNALLY EXISTING GOD/MAN before the Incarnation. This is
established in John 14, where we find that only the Holy Spirit of the Father
and only the Holy Spirit of the Son BOTH come to us. The reason the Spirit of
BOTH OF THEM come to us is because they consist of ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT, and this
is what makes them ONE GOD.
…But
that must be true because His humanity cumbers His three omni’s. That is why
only His Holy Spirit and the Father’s Holy Spirit BOTH come to us, AND NOT HIS
(Christ’s) HUMANITY PERSON in John Chapter 13…"
End
quote.
Does
new light contradict old light? No, it does not! It is evident that he changed
his opinion and went from 3 come to us to 2 come to us. His explanation is that
the humanity of Jesus Christ cumbers him and prevents him from being able to
come to us. There was no communication happening with heavenly intelligence in
at least one of the documents, yet BOTH are presented as light from heaven.
This cannot be.
As I
stated, Brother Beaulieu, unfortunately, presented his conclusions as visions
from God and thus actually prevented the Holy Ghost from operating as He was
supposed to and allowed the enemy to hide Jesus from view.
I will use one more example.
This
document was removed from the website so there is no webpage link to check it
out. However, Brother L from Canada saved the original document, sent it to
Brother Beaulieu's wife, and asked for an explanation of the vision because it
contradicted a later vision. The document still exists and some brethren saved
it so it is still obtainable. In the document, Brother Beaulieu claims it is a
vision from God about the Godhead. Here are some paragraphs from the document:
"Friend,
I will tell you the truth of this riddle as God showed it
to
me in a most vivid vision--the most vivid I have ever
experienced.
God duplicated Himself when the Son was
brought
forth. He was brought forth from the bosom of the
Father.
But the riddle is solved by this fact: The Son, in coming
forth
from the bosom of the Father, was a total and complete
duplicate
of the Father in every way--in totality--so that the
Son
was just like He existed from eternity--just as the Father
had.
He had every attribute of the Father--every essence--
substance--SPIRIT.
Thus, He, the Son could say that He also
was
the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega, because He
came
forth just as the Father was in all His stature--in all His
experience
from eternity. This is why and how the Son was the
Everlasting
Father. He was a duplicate, a reproduction of the Everlasting Father in the
Father's totality of Being. Thus, He
was
like He had ALWAYS BEEN. This is why He and the
Father
are interchangeably called Father. This is why they are
interchangeably
called God. This is why Ellen White refers to
them
both as Jehovah. This is why they both are first and last,
Alpha
and Omega.
This
is the true meaning of "begotten." The Son was Begotten
as
an exact duplicate of the Father for the purpose of
demonstrating
the self-sacrificing love not only of the Son, but
of
the Father. In essence, the Father sacrificed Himself in
permitting
His Son to be offered as a sacrifice. This should
make
the Father ever nearer and dearer to us. He deserves it as
much
as Christ, because in giving His only begotten Son, He
was
in essence literally giving Himself--a precise duplicate of
Himself.
This is part of the mystery of the Godhead, but God
gave
me this answer when I asked the meaning of begotten…
Is
Ellen White contradicting herself and Scripture in saying
that
the Father ALONE is entitled to receive supreme
reverence
and worship, and then saying that Christ is Jehovah?
Not
at all. He is TWO WHO ARE ONE. It is still a mystery,
but
God has made that mystery a little clearer in this
elaboration
that He gave me in vision.
And
never forget, they BOTH were Testators to the Everlasting
Covenant,
and both must sacrifice. In giving His life, the
Father
participated in every feeling the Son experienced, because they were of the same
SPIRIT, ESSENCE AND
SUBSTANCE.
When the Father agreed to the Son's sacrifice, it
was
like the Father was also sacrificing because He felt every
pang
the Son felt. After all, is he not OMNISCIENT? To
conclude
anything else would be to deny His omniscience. The
plan
of Salvation made the duplication of God an absolute
necessity
in order for God to still exist when the Son (as God)
laid
aside His divine attributes and commended them to the
Father
as a gift to us. Who would the Father have commended
His
attributes to if He was the only person to the Godhead, and
He
made the sacrifice the Son did? Who would officiate as
God
when the Son died? When the Son was in the womb?
As a
help to your understanding, consider that if you could be
duplicated
right now and your duplicate had every experience
by
way of memory, attribute etc., that you now have, what
would
it matter which came first and when, you or your
duplicate?
Hope this helps, but nothing can adequately explain
the
nature of the Godhead. It is beyond human comprehension.
Ellen
White teaches a heavenly trio of three distinct and
separate
persons and I fully endorse that teaching.
Dear
friend of mine, this is all very beautiful and notice how it
all
agrees in perfect harmony--nothing contradicting. Yes, the
Son
is the Everlasting Father! The Bible does not contradict
itself."
End
quote.
Yes,
this was unfortunately presented as a vision from God. I will allow Brother
Beaulieu himself to dismantle these false claims. In his later document, he
states:
Original
document:
https://omega77.tripod.com/myvisiondignitaries.htm
"From
the beginning there was the Father and the Son. When the Incarnation occurred, a
third person accrued in the form of the Holy Ghost sired Son of Man born from
the womb of a human mother, Mary. At His Incarnation, the Son divested
(separated) the personality of His Holy Spirit personality, from the
personality of His humanity, and they became two different and independent
distinct persons. This is when and how a THIRD PERSON accrued to the Godhead,
who was an eternal dignitary in the sense that the Holy Ghost was the Father of
Jesus’ humanity for it is He who sired Jesus into her Womb. This is also how
Jesus was fully human and fully divine, but even His humanity was sired by
Divinity. This is a mystery that no man fully understands at this time."
Or:
Original
link:
https://omega77.tripod.com/eternaldignitariesegw.htm
"The
only two ETERNAL persons in the entire Bible are the Father and the Son’s
(Divine Nature ONLY) HOLY SPIRIT. This is so elementary that I feel redundant
in pointing this out, but I’m trying to make it as plain as possible without
any contradictions as we are instructed to do…
That
Evangelism p. 616 paragraph heading IS NOT the words of Ellen G. White. She
NEVER ONCE used the word Trinity, and there ARE NOT THREE ETERNAL PERSONS TO
THE GODHEAD. There are only TWO ETERNAL PERSONS, the Father and the Son and
their shared ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT comprise TWO PERSONS. The God/Man human nature
of Christ was adopted into the Godhead after the Son of God met the conditions
of the Testator’s Everlasting Covenant as a result of the Incarnation of God
come in the likeness of sinful flesh…
The
Father, The Son’s Holy Spirit Divine Nature, and the adopted Son’s humanity are
all in heaven. But only two are eternal. The adopted humanity of Christ became
a distinct person at His Incarnation. Therefore the God/Man, or God come in the
likeness of sinful flesh, occurred at the Incarnation and is not eternal. The
God element (His Holy Spirit Divine Nature) is eternal, but not the human
element, and remember that He was fully human as well as fully divine…
I
have proven from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, that the three
dignitaries to the Godhead are not THREE ETERNAL, BUT TWO. There are three
persons but one, the God/Man come in the likeness of sinful flesh human nature
IS NOT/ WAS NOT eternal. His humanity WAS NOT ETERNAL and Ellen White and John
14 prove that it is not His humanity that comes to us, but the two ETERNAL
PERSONS, as the ONE ETERNAL SPIRIT OF THE FATHER AND THE SON."
End
quote.
We
will finish it off with this statement from Brother Beaulieu's document which
Brother L from Canada thought was in contradiction with:
Original
Link:
https://omega77.tripod.com/begottenbroughtforth.htm
"Any
other teaching that Christ is not God in the highest sense, is seriously
antichrist. Such error is anti the truth associated with Jesus Christ, and
derives from men and women who are either novices in the word and/or without
spiritual discernment to see the truth on this serious issue that is so basic
to Christianity and everything that clusters around it."
End
quote.
https://omega77.tripod.com/eternalpreexistencechrist.htm
Again,
the obvious question is – which one of these was a vision from God? Was the
duplicate theory something that God showed him in vision? Most certainly not.
This would disqualify Christ from being the Testator of the Testament because
it would make him a creation! Brother Beaulieu's fanaticism is thus unmasked
and manifested.
We
can see the devastating effect of claiming that these were visions of God. They
are his personal conclusions that developed as his understanding and knowledge
developed.
Sister
Beaulieu arranged the meeting and I spoke with Brother L and explained that the
earlier document, a supposed vision, is in fact wrong and unbiblical. I had to
tell Brother L that there was no other explanation other than the fact that
Brother Beaulieu presented his opinions and discoveries as visions from God.
Since
then, Brother L sent me another example of these contradictions and asked me to
explain which one is the correct one. I can sure understand him. He trusted
Brother Beaulieu's documents and claims. But I hope that Brother L from Canada,
as well as everybody that read this document, will not ignore these
well-documented and obvious proofs. We are to love our neighbors/brethren as
ourselves, but we must put no man where God is. The first commandment is to
love God with all our heart, mind, power, and soul. And God did provide
unquestionable proofs for us that we can validate and see. The love of Christ
constraineth us to be obedient to God and to follow evidence because only the
truth can sanctify us.
Proof #2 – Omega Countdown Journals
Omega
Countdown Journals were Brother Beaulieu's printed scripts he was publishing
until he switched to online work and created the OCM webpage. In those scripts,
he taught many of the same teachings about the Godhead and nominal SDA church
apostasy. And, as far as I know, nowhere in them, was brother claiming that
those things were shown to him in vision. They were lengthy documents with many
quotations, comments, and notes. He shared there many new concepts and
understandings which proved his teachings. He presented the teachings from the
word of God and SOP bringing the same messages yet claiming no direct inspiration.
He is describing no personal visionary encounters or personal heavenly
communications. Therefore, it is obvious he had many things already as a part
of his message before any visionary claims. I believe this is exactly how it
was supposed to stay. This was fair. This was just. To trust in the weight of
evidence presented from the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy and then leave the
results in the hands of God.
I
have some Omega Countdown Ministries journals in my possession. I read some of
them fully, some of them partially. They are free from any prophetic claims yet
they pack the same amount of power and evidence as the documents on the
webpage, if not more, while being free from that devastating extremism. They
show that we do not need to try to give more credibility to our message by any
deceptive or untruthful act. The truth is all we need. The truth can afford to
be fair. Feel free to check these and I am sure you will notice the absence of
that kind of language used in webpage documents.
Proof #3 – The testimony of Brother Beaulieu's wife,
Shirley Beaulieu, and the testimony of Brother Beaulieu's proofreader.
Both
sisters felt very relieved when we discovered this. They have lived with
Brother Beaulieu for many years and they have a testimony of their own. They
agree with the things written in this document. They have been members of the
Church in Canada for over 30 years. They remember Brother Beaulieu's transition
period and they felt it was wrong as well, they protested but they said that they
did not know how to explain to him that this was wrong. If somebody would like
to contact them and arrange a meeting or a conversation this can be done via
this email: dealthybread2021@gmail.com
As I already said, proof number #4 is my own testimony.
My
weight of evidence consists of these 4 proofs. Even if you ignore the last 3
proofs, the first one presented is so clear and obvious that none needs to be
deceived by this question.
So what does this mean?
Does
this mean that everything Brother Beaulieu taught was wrong? No, it does not.
What was wrong we now addressed. And if we discover that something else is
wrong we will confess and correct ourselves as much as we need to be in harmony
with the Word.
Was
Martin Luther wrong on all 95 theses because he believed in purgatory? Of
course not. Did he later change his belief on many points and got in harmony
with the Bible on many of them? Yes, he did.
Was
Jean Calvin wrong on all points because he established Calvinism? No, no, no,
and no.
I
hope all of you did notice that I used Brother Beaulieu's own writings to show
you that he himself corrected his teachings and informed everybody what he
believed to be the truth. He even apologized for certain mistakes he made when
he realized he made them.
For almost
4 years now many of Brother Beaulieu's discoveries about the Godhead and the
nominal SDA church apostasy have only been solidified and established.
But
what he did not apologize for is for claiming that each one of those documents
was a vision from God. We showed very clearly that they were not. In every
example I presented he flat-out denies what was supposedly revealed in an
earlier vision. This is not the case with the visions of God. When God gives
you a vision it is the truth and it does not need a later correction. It may
require you to grow in knowledge to understand it more fully or God can give
further visions to explain it further or amplify it but it is never rendered as
a lie or a false concept or as a thing that needs to be corrected.
From
this, it is evident that Brother Beaulieu did not in fact understand the nature
of his inspiration. As far as we know, he did not understand that there is a
difference between direct and indirect inspiration. He never shared any
information about this. In addition to that, at times he failed to understand
the difference between God's inspiration and a man's theory.
What
he did is exactly what was written in the weight of evidence formula. He formed
theories that he concluded were most probable considering the available proofs
he had and he presented them as visions from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. This is why he had to make additional later "vision" documents
to correct himself – because as time was passing he learned more about the topic
at hand, discovered new evidence, and realized he had to adjust the weights in
the balances. This resulted in later "vision" documents contradicting
earlier "vision" documents to compensate for the shift in balances.
This
is not the case when God gives visions. God has omniscience. His balance does
not need adjustments. Ellen White did not correct herself – not even on a
single vision. Every single one of them is true just as much now as when she
got them. Whether they were from the beginning or the end of her prophetic
ministry they are always true. We know that it can happen that a prophet does
not have the proper understanding of the vision or a thing shown in a vision.
Then God, in his love, corrects the prophet. He does not correct a vision.
Because
these contradictions were causing some confusion to brethren and other people
investigating the webpage Brother Beaulieu wrote an explanation explaining that
prophets have a progressive experience and that God uses weak, erring men.
While it is completely true that the prophets do have a progressive experience,
and that God uses weak, erring men, it is not true that this progressive
experience can be used to justify presenting our theories or imaginations of
our hearts as visions from God. It is wrong to use the Scriptures or Ellen
White's writings to teach that either one of them gives us a license to do so
when there are no such examples in them. In Brother Beaulieu's School of the
Prophets and in some documents on his webpage there were such attempts. We do
not support this. This is not biblical.
Brother
Beaulieu is not with us anymore to apologize for these actions himself. This is
now in God's hands and we know that God is just and fair. God only knows the
intentions of the human heart and the motives behind it. But I can apologize in
the name of the Omega Countdown Ministries.
We in the Omega Countdown Ministries apologize for every
document that claims it is a vision from God. While we believe that some documents were inspired by
God, we now know that there is a difference between direct and indirect
inspiration, and even more importantly there is a difference between a
devil-inspired man's theory and the inspiration of God. It is obvious that
Brother Beaulieu at times presented his own theories, which were later
disproved, as revelations from God.
We believe that it was wrong to present the indirect
inspiration as a direct inspiration.
We believe that it was even more wrong to present a
formed theory as a vision of God. These
are mistakes we are asking forgiveness for. With God's help, we will not
repeat this in the future.
We apologize for all the pain and sorrow these claims
caused to every human being and for all the contradictions supposedly shown to
us by the Holy Ghost. While
there can be apparent contradictions that we can struggle to understand, and
eventually reconcile, He is not the author of confusion.
We apologize for every corrected "vision" and
for the wrong impressions and teachings shared up until the time they were
corrected.
We in the Omega Countdown Ministries ask for forgiveness
from every man and woman that were negatively influenced in any way by such
claims and actions.
We apologize for the fanaticism that was spreading from
this source to every corner of the earth all these years.
Please
brothers and sisters, it is imperative that all people understand, that all
"vision" documents on Omega Countdown Ministries webpage are
conclusions and theories. Brother Beaulieu's writings should not be treated as
directly inspired writings. They should not be placed on the same level as the
writings of Ellen White. We dare not say Brother Beaulieu was not led by God at
times, we believe he was, at least up to the year 2000, but the claim that he
was a messenger in the same sense as Ellen White or other prophets is simply
not true. The idea that these writings should be obeyed as readily as God's
voice in the Bible and Ellen White's writings is completely wrong. This is just
not the case.
Notice:
"One
of the great troubles with us has been that we have looked upon men as
infallible. But no matter how high a position a man may hold, it is no
reason that he should be looked upon as incapable of making mistakes. The Lord
may have given him a work to do, but unless Christ abides with him continually,
unless he abides in Christ without a moment’s separation, he will make
mistakes and fall into error. But if men do make mistakes and fall into
error, it is no reason that we should withdraw our confidence from them; for
God alone is infallible. We must have the truth abiding in our hearts; we must
draw nigh to God continually; for we shall have the powers of darkness to meet
just as long as time shall last. We shall have to battle with the enemy of our
souls until the coming of the Lord. When Christ was upon the earth, he
contended with the enemy for the salvation of men, and when he left the world,
he committed the conflict to his followers, to be carried forward in his name;
and we are to wage this war day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. To every
soul of us belongs the battle. We do not know what God has for us to do. If we
have only one talent, we should put it out to the exchangers; for if we are
faithful in that which is least, in the future we shall be made ruler over many
things. We should bring glory to God, and not make ourselves a center, and God
will make us fruitful branches. We must center in Christ, as the branch is in
the vine, and then we shall be in a position to bless all who come within the
sphere of our influence. {RH March 25, 1890, par. 3}
“I
am the vine, ye are the branches,” said Jesus. We do not half understand the
preciousness of this lesson; we must learn more and more the significance of
these words. We need our eyes anointed that we may see the light of truth. We
must not think, “Well, we have all the truth, we understand the main pillars of
our faith, and we may rest on this knowledge.” The truth is an advancing truth,
and we must walk in the increasing light. A brother asked, “Sister White, do
you think we must understand the truth for ourselves? Why can we not take the
truths that others have gathered together, and believe them because they have
investigated the subjects, and then we shall be free to go on without the
taxing of the powers of the mind in the investigation of all these subjects? Do
you not think that these men who have brought out the truth in the past were
inspired of God?” I dare not say they were not led of God, for Christ leads
into all truth; but when it comes to inspiration in the fullest sense of the
word, I answer, No. I believe that God has given them a work to do, but if
they are not fully consecrated to God at all times, they will weave self and
their peculiar traits of character into what they are doing, and will put their
mold upon the work, and fashion men in religious experience after their own
pattern. It is dangerous for us to make flesh our arm. We should lean upon the
arm of infinite power. God has been revealing this to us for years. We must
have living faith in our hearts, and reach out for larger knowledge and more
advanced light. {RH March 25, 1890, par. 4}
Do not trust to the wisdom of any man, or to the
investigations of any man. Go to the Scriptures for yourselves, search the
inspired word with humble hearts, lay aside your preconceived opinions; for you
will obtain no benefit unless you come as children to the word of God. You should say, “If God has anything for me, I want it.
If God has given evidence from his word to this or that brother that a
certain thing is truth, he will give it to me. I can find that evidence if I
search the Scriptures with constant prayer, and I can know that I do know what
is truth.” You need not preach the truth as the product of another man’s mind,
you must make it your own. When the woman of Samaria was convinced that
Jesus was the Messiah, she hastened to tell her neighbors and townsmen. She
said, “Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did: is not this
the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.... And many of
the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which
testified, He told me all that ever I did.... And many more believed because of
his own word; and said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy
saying; for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the
Christ.” {RH March 25, 1890, par. 5}
Brethren, we must sink the shaft deep in the mine of
truth. You may question matters with yourselves
and with one another, if you only do it in the right spirit; but too often self
is large, and as soon as investigation begins, an unchristian spirit is
manifested. This is just what Satan delights in, but we should come with a
humble heart to know for ourselves what is truth. The time is coming when we
shall be separated and scattered, and each one of us will have to stand
without the privilege of communion with those of like precious faith; and
how can you stand unless God is by your side, and you know that he is leading
and guiding you? Whenever we come to investigate Bible truth, the Master of
assemblies is with us. The Lord does not leave the ship one moment to be
steered by ignorant pilots. We may receive our orders from the Captain of our
salvation. {RH March 25, 1890, par. 6}
We must be able to present the precious truth at the
right time. We do not claim that in the doctrines
sought out by those who have studied the word of truth, there may not be some
error, for no man that lives is infallible; but if God has sent light, we want
it; and God has sent light, and let every man be careful how he treats it. As
the truth is proclaimed, men will say, “Be careful now, do not be too zealous,
too positive; you want the truth.” Of course we want the truth, and we want it
as it is in Jesus. {RH March 25, 1890, par. 7}
Therefore,
we dare not say he was not led of God at times, at least before the year
2000, for Christ leads into all truth; but when it comes to inspiration in
the fullest sense of the word, we answer, No.
"If
a brother in the church commits a wrong, and then confesses his sin, and does
all in his power to make wrong right, he has done his part, and his brothers
and sisters in the church should not refuse to come into unity with him. Should
they refuse, they would be committing an offense against God, entering upon a
warfare against the One who has taken upon His own soul the transgression of
the repentant sinner. If the one who has offended humbles himself, and
confesses his sins, his brethren are to show a kind, tender, Christlike spirit
in dealing with him, saying, Christ has pardoned my transgressions, and why
should I not forgive my brother. When this is done, unity comes in, and the
Spirit of Christ sets His seal to the work." {Ms 143, 1905, par. 16}
My personal apology:
It
is both with great sadness and great joy that I am penning down this confession
and apology. Sadness is present, of course, because we were deceived and
blinded long enough to commit an error and present it to the flock. However,
Joy is also present because the Light dispelled the darkness and we can confess
our sins and mistakes and ask for forgiveness. We have to do everything we can
to help prepare the King's Highway as well as strengthen the unity of the
church.
A
couple of years ago I made this claim which I want to apologize for:
"Sign,
marking the imminence of the National Sunday Law, was indeed given to one
Ronald William Beaulieu. This, obviously, happened while he was still alive.
This
knowledge he passed on to me, Dejan Meznarić, to warn the people of God of
the National Sunday Law time. This information was confirmed to me by the angel
Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God."
While
my brother did share this information with me, I am confessing that Gabriel did
not confirm this to me in a direct, personal way and that it was a presumptuous
thing to write that in such a way so that the readers conclude that this
visitation really happened. It did not. It was based on an understanding of how
God gives His revelations but it was unfortunately presented as a moment of
direct inspiration. This is not the case and I am asking forgiveness from all
the readers of the Omega Countdown webpage and especially from my brothers and
sisters in faith. My understanding of the gift of prophecy was different and
there was much to learn in that regard over the past couple of years. Time,
experience, and study of the scriptures and writings of Ellen White greatly
affected the way I understand the gift of the spirit of prophecy now. At the
time that was written, it was done from a belief that it was the right thing to
write and that it will inspire faith in the spirit of prophecy, but in the
meanwhile, I learned that such a thing has nothing to do with faith and that it
was a presumptuous, horrifying mistake, designed to lead God's people astray
because it was presenting to them a fable and an imagination of a confused
human heart.
Brother
did share the information with me concerning the signs of the proximity of the
Sunday law and I will present them in this document, but I will present it as
it is – his private belief. Whether or not this will truly happen this way time
will tell. But I have the duty to warn my brothers and sisters about this so
they may be aware of this.
I
would also like to apologize for using the phrases such as "I was
shown" or "God showed me in a vision" or any phrase similar to
that because I do not want to lead my brothers and sisters to the conclusion
that each time I wrote such a phrase it was a visionary revelation. At the time
I did this, I believed I was being humble in giving the glory to God because I
wanted no glory for myself, but today I see this in a different light, as an
overconfident, disrespectful, foolish behavior achieving the exact opposite of
the effect I was trying to achieve. Example:
"God
has shown me in vision that when "the voice of the bridegroom and the
voice of the bride shall be heard no more at all" in Babylon, we will see
that no trumpets or plagues will be able to awake anybody."
As
you can see, this is also based on the understanding of the scriptures and I am
apologizing for expressing myself this way. I want all my moves to be clear as
the day. My brothers and sisters, please forgive me for this.
It
is written:
[1Jo
1:7 KJV] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.
[1Jo
1:9 KJV] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our]
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[Jas
5:16 KJV] Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that
ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.
Ellen
White wrote:
…I
have confessions to make before God and before Christ, who died for me, and
before man. I will now humble my heart before the Lord and no longer submit to
the ruling power of the accuser. I declare that the hope of eternal life with
Christ in His kingdom, as I once believed it, is worth more to every soul than
all that can be obtained by justifying self and denouncing others. If God will
break the spell that for years has been gathering about my soul, I will be
willing to work in any position to which He may assign me. I must have heaven,
even though it be at the loss of all else.” {Lt271-1904.4}
"Let
physicians and ministers remember that true righteousness bears fruit that is a
blessing to others. God would have His people at this time in a repentant,
contrite state of mind, confessing their sins and asking forgiveness. This is
the work of preparation that we are to do for His coming. As did the children
of Israel in the typical day of atonement, we are to stand before Him,
confessing our sins. No one needs to be ashamed to say, “I have done wrong. I
have made a mistake. I have sinned.” {Lt271-1904.20}
"I
am given a decided message to bear to all our medical missionaries. For a long
time you have been losing a sense of the exalted virtues of a Christian life.
You have been bolstering yourselves up in self-righteousness. You have listened
to deceptive, subtle reasonings and human sophistries. Will you now clear the
King’s highway by taking yourselves in hand and seeking the Lord? Will you
confess your sins as did Daniel? Never, never regard it as a virtue to be able
to say, “I did not confess.” {Lt271-1904.21}
In
Panorama of Truth vol. 1 Mr. J. W. Johnson wrote his own insightful confession.
His description leaves the impression that he passed through a very similar
experience as we did. He used these words:
"It
would be unfair of me if I failed, at this point, to also reveal the mistakes
which I made. I was young, and ignorant. There were many things that I had not
yet learned, so I was over-zealous. And with the increased understanding, not
only of our doctrines but of other matters, I passed through a period of
over-confidence. There were times, I know, when I confused speculation with
truth. And I did make some rather serious errors in things which I said and
did. This was very unfortunate. Unquestionably, God used these erroneous
experiences to teach me some valuable lessons, and I thank Him that I was able
to survive those disciplinary experiences. But I am genuinely sorry for any
damage which they may have caused, not only to our institution, but to some of
its students.
…But
my old nature of selfishness and self-confidence did also make spasmodic
inroads upon my Christian experience, leading to errors of thought and
expression. Periodic over-confidence in the genuineness of my experience
resulted in self-constructed theories and deductions, which undermined the
genuine truths. Youthful ignorance accounted for some mistakes, which were
seized upon as negative evidence. And the net result of all this was a rather
decided loss in prestige with many people, particularly with parents in the
field, and others who were unfamiliar with the entire story. And this in turn
resulted in serious personal injury and bitter emotional trial.
Meanwhile,
God has continued to bring me a clearer perception of many important truths.
And the impress of these truths, their important relation to our present need,
and my ever-growing conviction of the genuineness of this expanding panorama,
impel me against all personal fear and caution, to present them to you at this
late hour.
While
I recognize, only too well, that there have been times in the past when my
thinking has not been too clear, I believe God has now enabled me to level off
in my assessment of these matters; that sound logic prevails, and that the
danger of sliding into radicalism, extremism, and fanaticism, has decreased to
a tolerable extent. None of us is completely free from this danger, and that is
why we must work together and counsel one with another. And your assistance in
this matter, your co-operation and counsel, will be most deeply appreciated. It
is my desire to remain faithful to God through thick and thin; to stand by Him
and His people until the end. And this, I am sure, He will enable all of us to
do, if we put our complete trust in Him.
And
so for the present, this very much abbreviated summary of the background
experiences must of necessity suffice. If you feel that there is any merit in
the truths which I shall present, and you would care to investigate further the
details of the events leading up to these things, I shall be very happy to give
them in a more complete form.“ Panorama of truth vol 1. End quote.
In
the name of Jesus Christ, I claim these promises and I apologize for this
fanaticism. I know that you will forgive me and accept my humblest apologies.
Dejan
Meznarić
Apology in the name of Omega Countdown Ministries
I
will now continue apologizing in the name of the Omega Countdown Ministries for
all the documents on the webpage that bring forth the claim that they are
visions from God, or for any expression in them that uses this kind of language.
Brother Beaulieu had many so-called vision documents where this claim was made.
We apologize for every time some kind of heavenly
communication is mentioned leaving the impression that it was a real event.
We apologize for every time a supposed vision of God was
corrected in some later document which was also a supposed vision of God. We
apologize for this confusion.
We apologize for all the misunderstandings that had to be
explained away at some later time.
We
at Omega Countdown Ministries need to confess our sins and mistakes and ask for
forgiveness and love as much as any other person or ministry does, if not even
more. And we do believe that we need it much more than anybody out there. When
I converted I converted to the truth and I decided I would be loyal to the
truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. When we discovered the truth
concerning these questions, the love of Jesus moved us to make crooked paths
straight.
Brothers
and sisters, will you forgive us?
The Apology of the Church in Canada
The
church of Canada expressed its desire to put in this document its apology. They
said:
"Dear
Visitors to Omega Countdown Ministries (OCM),
We
would like to continue on this theme by making a public confession regarding
our misunderstanding of the Spirit of Prophecy and the difference
between direct and indirect inspiration. Especially for our
blindness and weakness that led us to accept man made theories as oracles from
God. Messengers from God of all ages have either been directly or indirectly,
divinely inspired. We deeply regret and apologize that there was some implied
reference to having direct inspiration in Omega’s writings. This was
fanaticism, which was very damaging to all involved in it and influenced by it!
We are now in humble fasting and prayers requesting that God will help prepare
us to a healthy spiritual condition and overcome every inherited or cultivated
tendency toward evil to make us fit for direct inspiration, considering the
signs of the times unfolding in the world around us. (Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17;
also 1Thess 5:19-21)
Furthermore,
on behalf of all of us at OCM we would like to make a public apology to anyone
who may have at any time experienced unkind behaviour from anyone here at OCM.
We are so sorry if we needlessly offended a fellow human being, especially
living in these end-times! To be clear, we can never apologize for the life
saving truths of our separation message, because the weight of evidence from
the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy is clear and concise about the necessity of
adhering to the 3 Angels Messages (separation from the world and apostate
churches). But if in our zeal to proclaim the separation message, anyone of us
ever demonstrated an un-Christlike spirit, we truly regret this, and pray you
will forgive us. We ask that if this is your experience, that you would contact
us so we can apologize to you personally. We are now living in the last days
here on earth, and it is time that we all be right with God and man!
Again,
in conclusion, we offer our heart-felt apology for the grievous errors and
mistakes of OCM and the negative effects it had on our readers and our loving
Saviour! Our long-suffering Saviour!
Love
in Jesus, The Church of Canada
Please
feel free to contact us at: dealthybread2021@gmail.com
The Signs of the Approaching Sunday Law as Believed by
Brother Beaulieu – Daniel 8 and U.S.A. vs Iran
Brother
Beaulieu told me the two signs he believed will happen before the national
Sunday law is legislated. This was his belief. I want to stress again that this
was not shown to him in a vision despite his claims that it was. The two signs
that he believed will happen to warn us of the nearness of the Sunday law
legislation are:
1)The USA
attacks Iran and dominates the war breaking Iran's horn.
2)Breaking
away of the notable USA horn to prepare the way for the rise of the little
horn, the papacy, on American soil.
Those
were the two signs Brother Beaulieu believed will happen before the Sunday Law
Legislation. He left us on his website proof that he truly believed as much.
Here is where you can find it in his writings:
On
the overflow page, you find search for this comment:
https://omega77.tripod.com/overflow.htm
"Second
Gaza flotilla still on track, Israel preparing for “extreme violence” [After
the U.S. stomps Iran, it won't be long before the little horn arises per
Daniel 8--This will constitute a major WAYMARK TO THE END--We're
nearing home brothers and sisters! No time to sin now!]"
Here
is the proof concerning the second claim that U.S.A.'s (he-goat's) great horn
power will be broken before the Sunday law legislation:
Link
to the original document:
https://omega77.tripod.com/daniel8daniel12.htm#_ftn2
Brother's
statement from that document:
"One
should keep in mind that Ellen White says national apostasy is followed by national
ruin. According to Daniel 8:8,9, the great horn (power) is broken BEFORE the
little horn (beast power) arises. This factor as well should be considered
in determining when to sell your property and putting the money in God’s cause
of warning others of the impending doom."
In
the document below he again states the same:
Original
document:
https://omega77.tripod.com/daniel8.htm
"The
Ram has two horns denoting two powers. Iraq is one horn. Iran is the other. One
horn is bigger than the other. Iran is the biggest horn--the most powerful
threat. According to Daniel 8, America will attack Iran. She has already
attacked one of the horns, Iraq. Her attack on Iran will be successful as far
as subduing that country, but it will come at a huge financial drain on the
U.S. So much so, that her notable horn will be broken, Daniel 8:8.
The breaking of her (U.S.A.) notable horn (power) will
involve financial ruin because of the great cost involved. Already her national debt is beyond recovery except she
devalue her currency, and that is what she will finally be forced to do. That
is why we must get out of debt before she decimates the value of her currency
to the point that most Americans will be direly impoverished. She will be
humbled in the dust."
End
quote.
Will
it truly happen like this? Time will tell. Obviously, it is not without any
evidence that he believed this. The U.S.A. did attack and broke Iraq. Will it
attack Iran and then collapse just before the Sunday law? We will have to wait
and see.
Let
me ask you a question brothers and sisters: how many of you shared this vision
concerning the U.S.A. being the he-goat and Iraq and Iran being the ram? How
many of you claimed this is something God showed to you or that this is the
teaching of the word of God? If this happens according to how Brother Beaulieu
believed great. Your case will be vindicated and maybe somebody will be won
over to the side of truth.
But
what happens if it does not happen the way you said it will happen? How will
you then explain yourself to others? What kind of apology will you produce? And
will others then be able to trust again in the words that do come out of your
own mouth? How many will go through a shipwreck of faith and be lost forever?
Infinitely more.
Because
let me share two reasons why it does not have to go down the way brother
believed.
Reason
number 1 is because Ellen White says that national ruin follows national
apostasy. In other words, first, we have national apostasy and then we have
national ruin. According to Brother Beaulieu's words, U.S.A.'s big horn will
brake BEFORE the national Sunday law. We know that now, U.S.A.'s economy and
finances are already broken. So we may look at this and say it already
happened. But, will it be obvious like it is in Daniel 8? Will the big horn
truly brake for all to see? The big horn was Alexandar the Great. This breaking
away of that historic horn everybody knew about. It was not something that went
under the radar and the repercussions were immediately felt in the world and
the Macedonian/Greek kingdom. It split into 4 horns, that is, 4 kingdoms. Why
did Brother Beaulieu skip this step after the great horn breaks in his
explanation? Should not the U.S.A. then first be divided into 4 sections before
the small horn rises from one of them? Will a similar thing happen to the
U.S.A.? Again, we will have to wait and see.
The
second reason is the fundamental principle number 7. Notice:
"VII.
That the world's history from specified dates in the past, the rise and fall of
empires, and the chronological succession of events down to the setting up of
God's everlasting kingdom, are outlined in numerous great chains of prophecy;
and that these prophecies are now all fulfilled except the closing scenes."
End
quote.
One
of the pillar doctrines of the Seventh-Day Adventists states that these
prophecies are now all fulfilled except the closing scenes. We believe that
some prophecies have more than one fulfillment. But is Daniel 8 one of them? We
know that the Daniel 8 historical fulfillment is heavily supported by Ellen
White and our pioneers. They clearly said it was fulfilled and it is one of the
greatest pillars of Adventism and the reasons why we do exist as a people. We
believe in historic fulfillment and we will not move a pin from it. But will it
truly fulfill in the future? What do we do with the 2300 days? I have seen many
people suggest that it has another fulfillment, but I have not seen a valid
2300 days explanation for the future fulfillment.
I
would like to apologize for one more thing. One of the false charters, as
Brother Beaulieu called them, named Gary, quoted him from one of his documents
where he made this claim:
"The
following charges MUST be answered. These charges can not be refuted. If Ron
would be living he would realize that these charges unanswered would prove
Ron's Ministry from Satan.
Ron
was warned in vision that if he continued to be faithful he would be given the
sign that Sunday Law is coming." End quote.
He
then quoted Brother Beaulieu's statement (from this link: https://omega77.tripod.com/myvisionnationalsundaylaw2019.htm
):
"I
was assured that because I have given the FULL TRUTH on all serious issues
befalling God’s people, if continuing to be faithful, He will honor me by
giving me the sign we all should look for. I repeat: I was instructed that I
will be given the sign to warn God’s people of the time of the National
Sunday Law." End quote.
This
is yet another example of the things confessed in this document. Here Brother
Beaulieu made a claim that he will warn God's people of the time of the
National Sunday Law since he taught full truth and if he continues to be
faithful.
I
explained at that time what I believed about the ministry and Brother Beaulieu
personally. We now know better. Gary finished with this:
"Ron
Beaulieu has not been honoured by God, he will not be sounding any warning of a
National Sunday Law.
May
God help each of us to be faithful to the Living Word
Gary"
End quote.
I
will say this much: While I do not agree with Gary on many things he said, nor
do I support the teachings he is spreading, I have to confess that Gary did
have a point here in which he was correct. This looks like a valid point that
further proves the things stated in this document. Brother Beaulieu went too
far with his claims and he was caught presenting his theory as a vision from
God again, and this time it backfired.
So I
apologize to Gary for trying to explain away Brother's obvious mistake. Will
you please forgive me?
While
Brother Beaulieu did share with us what he believed to be the waymarks to the
National Sunday Law and even if we have his writings to confirm this, we can
not deny that he will not be here personally to warn the people of God.
Dear
Readers, you now have the adjusted weight of evidence. While only God will be
able to determine and judge justly how the balances are shifted concerning
Brother Beaulieu and his ministry, we want to build up old waste places and set
our record straight.
The Difference Between a Direct and Undirected
Inspiration
We
have mentioned several times in this document that there is a difference
between direct and indirect inspiration from God. Ellen White explains it:
Chapter 6—The Schools of the Prophets
“They
sat down at Thy feet; everyone shall receive of Thy words.”
Wherever
in Israel God’s plan of education was carried into effect, its results
testified of its Author. But in very many households the training appointed by
Heaven, and the characters thus developed, were alike rare. God’s plan was but
partially and imperfectly fulfilled. By unbelief and by disregard of the Lord’s
directions, the Israelites surrounded themselves with temptations that few had
power to resist. At their settlement in Canaan “they did not destroy the
nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them: but were mingled among the
heathen, and learned their works. And they served their idols: which were a
snare unto them.” Their heart was not right with God, “neither were they
steadfast in His covenant. But He, being full of compassion, forgave their
iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned He His anger away....
For He remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and
cometh not again.” Psalm 106:34-36; 78:37-39. Fathers and mothers in Israel
became indifferent to their obligation to God, indifferent to their obligation
to their children. Through unfaithfulness in the home, and idolatrous
influences without, many of the Hebrew youth received an education differing
widely from that which God had planned for them. They learned the ways of the
heathen. {Ed 45.1}
To
meet this growing evil, God provided other agencies as an aid to parents in the
work of education. From the earliest times, prophets had been recognized as
teachers divinely appointed. In the highest sense the prophet was one who
spoke by direct inspiration, communicating to the people the messages he had
received from God. But the name was given also to those who, though
not so directly inspired, were divinely called to instruct the people in
the works and ways of God. For the training of such a class of teachers,
Samuel, by the Lord’s direction, established the schools of the prophets. {Ed
46.1}
These
schools were intended to serve as a barrier against the wide-spreading
corruption, to provide for the mental and spiritual welfare of the youth, and
to promote the prosperity of the nation by furnishing it with men qualified to
act in the fear of God as leaders and counselors. To this end, Samuel gathered
companies of young men who were pious, intelligent, and studious. These were
called the sons of the prophets. As they studied the word and the works of God,
His life-giving power quickened the energies of mind and soul, and the students
received wisdom from above. The instructors were not only versed in divine
truth, but had themselves enjoyed communion with God, and had received the
special endowment of His Spirit. They had the respect and confidence of the
people, both for learning and for piety. In Samuel’s day there were two of
these schools—one at Ramah, the home of the prophet, and the other at Kirjath-jearim.
In later times others were established. {Ed 46.2}
Paul’s
Advisers Not Infallible—This concession was not in harmony with his teachings
nor with the firm integrity of his character. His advisers were not infallible.
Though some of these men wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit of
God, yet when not under its direct influence they sometimes erred. It
will be remembered that on one occasion Paul withstood Peter to the face
because he was acting a double part (Sketches from the Life of Paul, 214). {6BC
1065.4}
Conclusions from these statements:
The
prophet in the highest sense of the word is a person who speaks by direct
inspiration from God. This means that God communicates with him in a direct
fashion. Samuel was such a prophet. Direct inspiration means communication
directly from God.
Indirect inspiration from God is when we are indirectly
inspired through directly inspired writings. Such people can receive revelations as well, however,
if they are faithful, they will not claim it is a vision directly from God,
rather they will say their revelation is from directly inspired writings.
When people are directly inspired by God they do not make
mistakes. Therefore, if you see a prophet, who
claims something will come to pass and it does not, he is not directly
inspired.
If
somebody says God showed him something will happen at a certain time and that
does not happen at that time, he does not have a direct inspiration. He does
not understand the inspiration.
If
somebody claims something was shown to him by God and then later corrects
himself, he does not have direct inspiration. If he had it, he would not commit
a mistake. Again, he does not understand the inspiration.
In
the schools of the prophets, a class of teachers was trained.
It
is possible to train somebody to be better and better at studying and
understanding the Scriptures. I believe this increases the chances to receive
revelations in an indirect fashion.
As
far as I understand from the Bible and SOP, nobody can teach you direct
inspiration. You are either chosen by God, or you are not.
There
is more I could share about this topic, but I will save this for another time.
So,
when a minister or a preacher, a pastor, or anybody else claims that God showed
them something, be very mindful of how they will present it. Try to see if they
understand what they claim or if they do not. If they explain they got it from
the Scriptures or if they say that God "somehow" showed this to them
and they just know it is from Him. And if they claim that God verily showed
them this in a vision, and they fulfill all the conditions of a true prophet
in harmony with Is 8:20, then this will have to happen because God does not
err. But if it does not happen like that, or at the time when it was said it will
happen or is later "explained away" by some kind of "learning
process", or by another "vision" which ignores the previous
vision or completely overrides it, you are dealing with fanaticism.
A Special Warning Against Fanaticism
I
communicated with brethren from different parts of the world. Brethren from
Canada, the USA, Germany, Romania, Greece, and all of them displayed some form
of fanaticism and extremism. They made extreme moves or had extreme beliefs, or
they were discouraged, even regressing back to lukewarmness, and worldliness,
some even apostate. Why all of this? This was a form of Fanaticism.
According
to my knowledge, Brother Beaulieu's message was in OCM journals from 1990 all
the way till the year 2000. We believe that it is evident from those scripts
that he presented his findings from his studies and showed his beliefs in the
Godhead, the investigative judgment, and nominal SDA church apostasy prior to
any evidence of fanaticism. The earliest prophetic claim I could track was from
a document on the webpage dated 13th of November 2000. In it, there was no
claim of a vision, but only what he said was his prophecy for the nominal SDA
church. I believe it would have been wiser to say that this was his prediction
based on the unbiblical doctrines taught by the new movement SDA organization,
their present condition, and the SOP quotes and warnings.
https://omega77.tripod.com/Scenario1.htm
From
that moment up to 2005, he very rarely used such language. It is uncommon even
up to 2010. From that point forward he started to use it more and more
frequently. Fanaticism was left unchecked up until now, and the fruits are now
manifested. As time went on and on and Brother's sensitivity was blunted, it
increasingly developed more and more distinctly to suit the enemy's goals. What
was the Arch deceiver trying to achieve? Lets us look into the writings of
Ellen White:
"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” (Proverbs
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. He will bring in spurious visions to mislead, and will mingle the
false with the true, and so disgust people that they will regard everything
that bears the name of visions as a species of fanaticism; but honest souls, by
contrasting false and true, will be enabled to distinguish between them.…
{2SM 78.2}
End
quote.
This
was specially designed to destroy the faith of God's people in the gifts of the
spirit and true testimony. Why did the enemy do this? Was God trying to do
something through Brother's ministry? She continues:
"Satan
is now working with all his insinuating, deceiving power, to lead men away from
the work of the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with mighty
power. When the enemy sees that the Lord is blessing His people, and
preparing them to discern his delusions, he will work with his masterly power
to bring in fanaticism on one hand and cold formalism on the other,
that he may gather in a harvest of souls. Now is the time to watch unceasingly.
Watch for the first step of advance that Satan may make among us."—The
Review and Herald, January 24, 1893. {ChS 40.1}
End
quote.
Satan
had to do this to prevent God's blessing and to disable us to discern his
delusions. He successfully infiltrated himself and remained undetected for
years. But God was gracious and allowed us to detect this so we may sound
the alarm. Ellen White says:
Counterfeiting
Spiritual Gifts—"Many errors arose, and though I was then little more than
a child, I was sent by the Lord from place to place to rebuke those who were
holding these false doctrines. There were those who were in danger of going
into fanaticism, and I was bidden in the name of the Lord to give them a
warning from heaven. {Ev 610.1}
We shall have to meet these same false doctrines again.
There will be those who will claim to have visions. When God gives you clear evidence that the vision is
from Him, you may accept it, but do not accept it on any other evidence; for
people are going to be led more and more astray in foreign countries and in
America. The Lord wants His people to act like men
and women of sense. {Ev 610.2}
In the future, deception of every kind is to arise, and we want solid
ground for our feet. We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to
be removed from that which the Lord has established.... Where shall we find
safety unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last
fifty years?—The Review and Herald, May 25, 1905. {Ev
610.3}
End
quote.
Ellen
White claimed that we will meet these claims of visions in the future. She
believed that our defense from them will be in the solid pillars of the
building, in the truths we taught since 1850. So there are lessons ahead for us
about the pillars of the faith that we need to learn and understand in order to
protect ourselves from such claims.
She
continues:
As
the Serpent Beguiled Eve—False theories, repeated again and again, appear as
falsely inviting today as did the fruit of the forbidden tree in the Garden of
Eden. The fruit was very beautiful, and apparently desirable for food. Through
false doctrines many souls have already been destroyed.—Manuscript 37, 1906.
{Ev 610.4}
Diseased
With Fanaticism and Extremism—As the natural eyesight of persons becomes so
impaired as to be almost useless, so in the case of religious fanaticism and
extremists, the eye of the soul through which good and evil may be
discerned, becomes so perverted that nothing is distinguished clearly. A
healthful discernment is ruined, so the spirit of truth and righteousness
cannot be distinguished from the spirit of error and fanaticism. {Ev 610.5}
There is a disease of the spiritual faculties when a man
or woman fancies that he sees things which do not exist. He is intoxicated with an illusion as verily as the
liquor drinker becomes intoxicated by using strong drink. There is an
inspiration, but not of God. The mental faculties are perverted. Let every
soul make God his trust and obtain an experience that is wholesome and
healthy.—Manuscript 41, 1900. {Ev 611.1}
In
the Fire or in the Water—There is a class of people who are always ready to go
off on some tangent, who want to catch up something strange and wonderful and
new; but God desires us all to move calmly, considerately, choosing our words
in harmony with the solid truth for this time. The truth should be presented to
the mind as free as possible from that which is emotional, while still bearing
the intensity and solemnity befitting its character. We must guard against
encouraging extremists, those who would be either in the fire or in the water.
{Ev 611.2}
I beseech you to weed out of your teachings every
extravagant expression, everything that unbalanced minds and those who are
inexperienced will catch up and which will lead them to make wild, immature
movements. It is necessary for you to cultivate caution
in every statement, lest you start some on a wrong track, and make confusion
that will require much sorrowful labor to set in order, thus diverting
the strength of the laborers into lines which God does not design shall be
entered. One manifestation of fanaticism among us will close many doors
against the soundest principles of truth.—Manuscript 82, 1894. {Ev 611.3}
End
quote.
The
warning above should be constantly before the eyes of our minds. In Brother
Beaulieu's writings there is one particular claim that was extravagant and
uncautiously repeated many times – a claim that all can prophesy. There is a
letter and a warning connected with that claim that I want my brethren to see.
Ellen White said:
Lt
6a, 1894
Brethren
and Sisters
George’s
Terrace, St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia
March
16, 1894
This
letter is published in entirety in PC 127-130.
Dear
Brethren and Sisters:
As
the report has been quite widely circulated that Sister White has endorsed what
has been written and circulated as revelations from God to Miss Anna Phillips,
I feel that it is my duty to speak. I have not endorsed these productions.
Warnings have been given to me in reference to them, that they will most
certainly mislead. Woven in them will be statements that will lead to
extremes and to wrong actions on the part of those who accept them. It
would be well for our brethren and sisters to move more cautiously, in
accordance with the light given them. They should test these so-called
visions before accepting them and presenting them in connection with the
light God has given me. I see that our people are in danger of making grave
blunders and premature movements. God says of these prophets that are
springing up, “I have not sent them, and yet they ran. Believe them not.” [See
Jeremiah 23:21.] {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 1}
But
that which grieves me is that some of our brethren have associated the
exercises of Anna Phillips with the testimonies of Sister White, and have
presented the two to the people as one and the same thing. Many have accepted
the whole as proceeding from me. And when the result of such productions shall
be seen in their true character, when falsehoods are presented as truths
from God, and individuals act upon these things, believing them to be a message
from the Lord, movements will be made that bear not the divine credentials, doubt
will be cast upon the true work of the Spirit of prophecy, and the testimonies
that God sends to the people will bear the stigma of these false utterances.
These revelations are largely a repetition of that which has been before the
people in publication for years; and yet mingled with this are some things that
will lead astray. {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 2}
I
cannot endorse the course Brother Jones has pursued. He has not written one
word to me, to see if God has given any light in this matter; yet he has
presented them in public, making manifest his confidence in them. The fact
that Brother Jones has been presenting precious light to the people leads
them to regard all he says as if inspired of God; hence they feel that
those revelations must be from God, else Brother Jones would not present them
as he has done. I cannot see wisdom in this course. More clearly than
do my brethren, I discern the inwardness of this thing, and the
results that will follow. I have already made decided statements in
reference to this matter, and I am sorry it has been brought up as it has, to
do a work which will cast reflections upon the testimonies God has given. Where
these so-called revelations are accepted, they will surely lead many into
erroneous, precipitate action. I am burdened over these things. {Lt 6a,
1894, par. 3}
Recently
a letter was published in the Melbourne Age, from a New York correspondent,
giving an account of the wonderful meeting held in Battle Creek on the occasion
when so much jewelry was donated. And the work was said to have been done after
the reading of a vision given by Mrs. White, a prophetess, urging the people to
sell and give away their property. How can you think I feel, to be at work here
in this new field, and just as the interest is ripening off, souls deciding for
the truth, have some of the productions of Anna Phillips brought in, to be
received and to go out as my testimony? {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 4}
Will
my brethren please make no reference to the testimonies of Sister White in
connection with Anna Phillips? In the name of the Lord I protest against this
mixing-up work, for it will result in making the testimonies God has given me
responsible for the influence and effect of Anna Phillips’ words. I beg my
brethren just to come to the people with the evidence from the Bible, and not
strengthen the opposition which is so strong against us and is intensified by
the falsehoods of Grant and Canright. {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 5}
From
time to time reports come to me concerning statements that Sister White is said
to have made, but which are entirely new to me, and which cannot fail to
mislead the people as to my real views and teaching. A sister, in a letter
to her friends, speaks with much enthusiasm of a statement by Brother Jones
that Sister White has seen that the time has come when, if we hold the right
relation to God, all can have the gift of prophecy to the same extent as do
those who are now having visions. Where is the authority for this statement?
I must believe that the sister failed to understand Brother Jones, for I cannot
think that he made the statement. The writer continues: “Brother Jones said
last night that is the case, not that God will speak to all for the benefit of
every one else, but to each for his own benefit, and this will fulfill the
prophecy of Joel.” {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 6}
“He
stated that this is already being developed in numerous instances. He spoke as
if he thought none would hold such a leading position as Sister White had done,
and will still do. Referred to Moses as a parallel. He was a leader, but many
others are referred to as prophesying, though their prophecies are not
published. He (Brother Jones) will not give permission to have the matter
copied for general circulation that has been read here from some sister. I
wonder if you have seen one of these visions? They represent us as in the
closing moments of time with the hours all in the past. And it is moments now.
How solemn!” {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 7}
These statements, interwoven with other matter that professes to be from
God, are misleading: many minds will eagerly seize upon them and, through
false impressions, will misapprehend our true position and work. With much
that is truth, there is mingled error that is accepted in its extreme
meaning, and acted upon by persons of excitable temperament. Thus
fanaticism will take the place of well-regulated, well-disciplined,
heaven-ordained efforts to carry forward the work to its completion. {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 8}
These ideas in relation to prophesying, I do not hesitate
to say, might better never have been expressed. Such statements prepare the way
for a state of things that Satan will surely take advantage of to bring in
spurious exercises. There is danger, not only that unbalanced minds will be led
into fanaticism, but that
designing persons will take advantage of this excitement to further their own
selfish purposes. Jesus has raised His
voice in warning: “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.” [Matthew 7:15, 16.] “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, hearken not unto
the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; they make you vain; they
speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.”
[Jeremiah 23:16.] “If any man shall say to you, Lo here is Christ, or lo, he is
there, believe him not; for false christs and false prophets shall arise, and
shall show signs and wonders to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
But take ye heed; behold, I have foretold you all things.” [Mark 13:21-23.] {Lt
6a, 1894, par. 9}
I
have a warning to give to our brethren, that they shall follow their Leader and
not run ahead of Christ. Let there be no haphazard work in these times. Beware
of making strong expressions which will lead unbalanced minds to think that
they have wonderful light from God. The one who bears a message to the people
from God must exercise perfect control. He should ever bear in mind that the
path of presumption lies close beside the path of faith. In no case
should he make use of extravagant expressions, for a certain class are sure to
be affected, and influences are set in motion that can no more be controlled
than can an impetuous horse. Once let impulse and emotion get the mastery over
calm judgment, and there may be altogether too much speed, even in traveling a
right road. He who travels too fast will find it perilous in more ways than
one. It may not be long before he will branch off from the right road into a
wrong path. {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 10}
Not once should feeling be allowed to get the mastery
over judgment. There is danger of excess in that which
is lawful, and that which is not lawful will surely lead into false paths. If
there is not careful, earnest, sensible work, solid as a rock in the
advancement of every idea and principle, and in every representation given,
souls will be ruined. {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 11}
Truth
is mighty, and it will prevail. It will do its own work upon human hearts. We
need not resort to the use of strong expressions that lead to overaction.
The truth stated calmly, clearly, will enter into the mind of the receiver and
become a part of his very nature. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, remolds the
character, making a new man in Christ Jesus. The thoughts, the ideas, the
principles, are sound, sensible, bearing with them a weight of influence that
flows in the new and divine channel. The heart and souls are enlisted. The yea
and amen of heaven must bring up the rear of every movement, else the worker
will lose the reward of success. But he should weed out from every effort all
extravagant expressions. {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 12}
This
caution will make his work far more efficient and commendable, even to those
who do not believe the truth. There is danger, even in reproof, of causing
minds to dwell upon topics that lead to sensuality. Even the subject of moral
purity may be so treated as to produce the very results it is designed to guard
against. {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 13}
The greatest care should be exercised concerning those
who claim to receive revelations from God. There needs to be much close
watching and much praying. Those who are acting a part in the great work
for these last days need to counsel together in regard to every new thing that
shall be introduced, for no one man’s mind is to be left to judge of, or to
place before the public, important matters which have a relation to the cause
of God. {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 14}
At this very time we are suffering from the reproach that
was brought on the cause at the first message by unwise, ill-balanced minds who
thought they were obtaining a wonderful experience which would receive the
credence of all men. In our early
experience we had to encounter their over-strained humility and false notions.
The first labor given me was to reprove their man-made tests. The testimony
which I bore against fanaticism gained for me [the] envy, jealousy, evil
surmising, and criticism of those who participated in these movements. We
know full well what it cost us personally because we would not receive the visions,
dreams and testimonies of these fanatics. We were compelled to know
something of their cruel influence upon the cause of God. The truth had
to bear the reproach of the error and fanaticism which we were everywhere
called to condemn and reprove. And now that fanaticism I labored faithfully
to repress, bearing the testimony given me of God to counteract its baleful
influence, is by Grant and Canright charged upon me. {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 15}
I have been shown that whenever and wherever God works,
we must watch; every man and woman must stand as a
faithful sentinel, for the arch deceiver is waiting and ready to set in operation
various devices for misleading souls. If possible he will mingle the
counterfeit with the genuine so that, in the effort to separate the two, souls
will be imperiled. Whenever and wherever God works, Satan and his
angels are on the ground. (Please read Life Sketches [of James and Ellen
White (1888 ed.),] pp. 92-94.) {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 16}
The
Lord has not commissioned Brother A. T. Jones to present Anna Phillips’
revelations to our people. The truth of the Word of God is of sufficient
authority and power. It bears its own credentials. The testimonies given me of
God are designed to call the attention of the people to a “Thus Saith the
Lord.” {Lt 6a, 1894, par. 17}
Brother
Jones is in positive danger, and his brethren do not see that danger. They
are placing the servant where God should be. The Lord has given Brother Jones a
message to prepare a people to stand in the day of God; but when the people
shall look to Elder Jones instead of to God, they will become weak instead of
strong. It is no time now to be careless and ignorant of Satan’s masterly
devices to draw the people into deceptions and delusions. {Lt 6a, 1894,
par. 18}
End
quote.
These
conclusions present themselves:
a)Devil is
trying to introduce fanaticism and extremism wherever and whenever God works.
b)He does
this to cause doubt upon the true gift and work of the spirit of prophecy and
testimony that God sends.
c)Ellen White
could discern these deceptions more easily than other brethren.
d)When God
gives a brother light to present to the flock, people make the mistake of
thinking that everything that brother says is inspired by God.
e)If these
false visions, dreams, testimonies, and impressions are received they will lead
to erroneous and precipitated actions and movements.
f)She did not
hesitate to say that the claim that 'all can prophesy' should not have been
expressed. She knew that Satan will take advantage of this and bring in fearful
waves of fanaticism. (I will deal with this later)
g)The path of
presumption lies close beside the path of truth.
h)Satan will
mingle counterfeit with genuine so that, in an effort to separate the two,
souls will be imperiled.
i)The Lord
gave a message to Brother Jones to prepare people to stand in the day of God.
Despite this, we can see that Brother Jones was in danger and people around him
knew this not. We must not put man where God is. This is one of Satan's
masterly deceptions and delusions. (We can say the same thing about Brother
Beaulieu. Despite having a message for the people of God, he was in danger and
his brethren knew not.)
j)Generally,
SDA brethren had a real problem and serious trouble establishing what was the
light of God and what was the enemy's counterfeit. They had problems
establishing whether Anna Phillips's visions were genuine or not. Some accepted
them as the letter above testifies. But it is pretty obvious that this would
have been far worse if Ellen White did not raise her voice in warning and
helped many brethren. She recognized the counterfeit. God was with her. Prior
to this, Minneapolis general conference happened where brothers Jones and
Waggoner brought the message of righteousness by faith, even the Latter Rain
message, and the vast majority rejected it. Ellen White even says that she was
the only one who truly accepted the message at that time. Think about it! Then,
after that, the same brethren whom God chose to deliver the message in the
past, Jones and Waggoner, rejected the message of warning from Ellen White and
sided with J. H. Kellog and were swept by Alpha heresy. Other brethren as well
believed that Kellog had wonderful light. Ellen White thought that his
deception would be discerned but it was not. She had to warn everybody. You can
read about it in 1SM Chapter 25 – The Foundation of Our Faith. This is why we
are told – close watching and much praying.
There are more warnings from the pen of Ellen White:
Sacred
Truth Dishonored by Excitement—We need to be thoughtful and still, and to
contemplate the truths of revelation. Excitement is not favorable to growth in
grace, to true purity and sanctification of the Spirit. {Ev 612.1}
God
wants us to deal with sacred truth. This alone will convince the gainsayer.
Calm, sensible labor must be put forth.... {Ev 612.2}
God
calls upon His people to walk with sobriety and holy consistency. They
should be very careful not to misrepresent and dishonor the holy doctrines of
truth by strange performances, by confusion and tumult. By this unbelievers are
led to think that Seventh-day Adventists are a set of fanatics. Thus prejudice
is created that prevents souls from receiving the message for this time.
When believers speak the truth as it is in Jesus, they reveal a holy, sensible
calm, not a storm of confusion.—Manuscript 76a, 1901. {Ev 612.3}
Every phase of fanaticism and erroneous theories,
claiming to be the truth, will be brought in among the remnant people of God. These will fill minds with erroneous sentiments
which have no part in the truth for this time. Any man who supposes that in the
strength of his own devised resolutions, in his intellectual might united with
science or supposed knowledge, he can start a work which will conquer the
world, will find himself lying among the ruins of his own speculations, and
will plainly understand why he is there.... {2SM 14.2}
From
the light given me of the Lord, men will arise speaking perverse things. Yea,
already they have been working and speaking things which God has never
revealed, bringing sacred truth upon a level with common things. Issues have
been and will continue to be made of men’s conceited fallacies, not of truth.
The devisings of men’s minds will invent tests that are
no tests at all, that when the true test shall be made prominent, it shall
be considered on a par with the man-made tests that have been of no value. We
may expect that everything will be brought in and mingled with sound doctrine, but
by clear, spiritual discernment, by the heavenly
anointing, we must distinguish the sacred from the common which is being
brought in to confuse faith and sound judgment, and demerit the great, grand,
testing truth for this time....
{2SM 14.3}
Never,
never was there a time when the truth suffered more from being misrepresented,
belittled, demerited through the perverse disputings of men than in these last
days. Men have brought themselves in with their heterogeneous mass of
heresies which they represent as oracles for the people. The people are charmed
with some strange new thing, and are not wise in experience to discern the
character of ideas that men may frame up as something. But to call it
something of great consequence and tie it to the oracles of God, does not make
it truth. Oh, how this rebukes the low standard of piety in the churches.
{2SM 15.1}
Men who want to present something original will conjure
up things new and strange, and without consideration will step forward on these
unstable theories, that have been woven
together as a precious theory, and present it as a life and death
question.—Letter 136a, 1898. {2SM 15.2}
Fanaticism will appear in the very midst of us. Deceptions will come, and of such a character that
if it were possible they would mislead the very elect. If marked inconsistencies and untruthful utterances
were apparent in these manifestations, the words from the
lips of the Great Teacher would not be needed. It is because of the
many and varied dangers that would arise, that this warning is given. {2SM
16.4}
The reason why I hang out the danger signal is that
through the enlightenment of the Spirit of God I can see that which my brethren
do not discern. It may not be a
positive necessity for me to point out all these peculiar phases of deception
that they will need to guard against. It is enough for me to tell you, Be on
your guard; and as faithful sentinels keep the flock of God from accepting
indiscriminately all that professes to be communicated to them from the Lord.
If we work to create an excitement of feeling, we shall have all we want, and
more than we can possibly know how to manage. Calmly and clearly “Preach the
word.” We must not regard it as our work to create an excitement. {2SM 16.5}
There is danger of those in our ranks making a mistake in
regard to receiving the Holy Ghost. Many suppose an emotion or a rapture of feeling to be
an evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. There is danger that right
sentiments will not be understood, and that Christ’s words, “Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20), will lose
their significance. There is danger that original devisings and
superstitious imaginings will take the place of the Scriptures. Tell
our people: “Be not anxious to bring in something not revealed in the Word.
Keep close to Christ”.... {2SM 18.2}
Let
us remember that the Word Christ has commanded us to preach to all nations,
kindreds, tongues, and peoples is confirmed by the Holy Spirit. This is God’s
plan of work. Christ is the mighty power which confirms the Word, bringing men
and women, through conversion to the truth, to an understanding faith, making
them willing to do whatsoever He has commanded them. The human agent, the seen
instrument, is to preach the Word, and the Lord Jesus, the unseen, agency, by
His Holy Spirit is to make the Word efficacious and powerful.—Letter 105, 1900.
{2SM 18.3}
End
Quote.
Ask yourself
this question: If I was deceived by my brother's theories, why did it take me
so long to detect it?
And
if you did not discern it, ask yourself: Why was I not able to detect it?
Here
is what Ellen White says about it:
Chapter
2—Early Fanaticism to be Repeated
Removing
the Landmarks
Our people need to understand the reasons of our faith
and our past experiences. How sad
it is that so many of them apparently place unlimited confidence in men who
present theories tending to uproot our past experiences and to remove the old
landmarks! Those who can so easily be led by a false spirit show that
they have been following the wrong captain for some time—so long that they do
not discern that they are departing from the faith, or that they are not
building upon the true foundation. We need to urge all to put on their
spiritual eyeglasses, to have their eyes anointed that they may see clearly and
discern the true pillars of the faith. Then they will know that “the
foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that
are his” (2 Timothy 2:19). We need to revive the old evidences of the faith
once delivered to the saints. {2SM 25.1}
We
have reached a time when things are to be called by their right name. As we
did in the earlier days, we must arise, and, under the Spirit of God, rebuke
the work of deception. Some of the sentiments now expressed are the alpha
of some of the most fanatical ideas that could be presented. Teachings similar
to those we had to meet soon after 1844 are being taught by some who occupy
important positions in the work of God. {2SM 26.1}
In
New Hampshire, in Vermont, and in other places we had to resist the
stealthy, deceptive work of fanaticism. Presumptuous sins
were committed, and unholy lusts were freely indulged by some, under the
cloak of sanctification. The doctrine of spiritual free-love was advocated. We
saw the fulfillment of the scripture “that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils” (1 Timothy 4:1).—The Southern Watchman, April 5, 1904. {2SM 26.2}
Again
and again in past years I have been bidden to speak in protest against the
fanciful and forbidden schemes that have been presented by one and another. My
message has ever been, Preach the Word in simplicity and all humility; present
clear, unadulterated truth to the people. Open no door to fanatical
movements, for the influence of these is to bring confusion of mind and
discouragement and lack of faith to God’s people.... {2SM 28.2}
Whenever
I have been called to meet fanaticism in its varied forms, I have received
clear, positive, and definite instruction to lift my voice against its
influence. With some the evil has revealed itself in the form of man-made tests
for ascertaining a knowledge of the will of God; and I was shown that this was
a delusion which became an infatuation, and that it is contrary to the will of
the Lord. If we follow such methods, we shall be found aiding the enemy’s
plans. In times past certain among the believers had great faith in the setting
of signs by which to decide their duty. Some had such confidence in these signs
that men went so far as to exchange wives, thus bringing adultery into the
church. {2SM 28.3}
I have been shown that deceptions like those we were
called to meet in the early experiences of the message would be repeated, and
that we shall have to meet them again in the closing days of the work. At this time we are required to bring all our powers
under the control of God, exercising our faculties in accordance with the light
He has given. Read the fourth and fifth chapters of Matthew. Study
Matthew 4:8-10; also Chapter 5:13. Meditate upon the sacred work that was
carried forward by Christ. It is thus that the principles of the Word of God
are to be brought into our labors.—Letter 36, 1911. {2SM 28.4}
We are not out of danger even now. Every soul who
engages to give to the world the message of warning will be sorely tempted to
pursue such a course in life as will deny his faith. {2SM 29.2}
Again
and again in the progress of our work, fanatical movements have arisen, and
when the matter was presented before me, I have had to bear a message similar
to the message I am bearing to my brethren from Indiana. I have been instructed
by the Lord that this movement in Indiana is of the same character as have been
the movements in years past. In your religious meetings there have been
exercises similar to those I have witnessed in connection with those movements
in the past. {2SM 33.4}
In the
period of disappointment after the passing of the time in 1844, fanaticism
in various forms arose. Some held that the resurrection of the
righteous dead had already taken place. I was sent to bear a message to those
believing this, as I am now bearing a message to you. They declared that they
were perfected, that body, soul, and spirit were holy. They made demonstrations
similar to those you have made, and confused their own minds and the minds of
others by their wonderful suppositions. Yet these persons were our beloved
brethren, and we were longing to help them. I went into their meetings. There
was much excitement, with noise and confusion. One could not tell what was
piped or what was harped. Some appeared to be in vision, and fell to the floor.
Others were jumping, dancing, and shouting. They declared that as their flesh
was purified, they were ready for translation. This they repeated again and
again. I bore my testimony in the name of the Lord, placing His rebuke upon
these manifestations. {2SM 34.1}
Some who had engaged in these movements were brought to
their right mind, and saw their delusion. Some had been excellent, honest
people, but they thought that sanctified flesh could not sin, and thus they
had been taken in Satan’s trap. They had carried their strong ideas so far
that they became a reproach to the precious cause of God. These sorely
repented, and some were afterward among our most reliable men and women.
But there were others who ever after walked in sadness. We could not at any
time make them feel that they were worthy to work for the Master, whose
precious cause they had so greatly dishonored. {2SM 34.2}
Notice in the two paragraphs below how fearful can the
consequences be!
As the result of fanatical movements such as I have described, persons in no way
responsible for them have in some cases lost their reason. They could
not harmonize the scenes of excitement and tumult with their own past precious
experience; they were pressed beyond measure to receive the message of
error; it was represented to them that unless they did this they would be lost;
and as the result their mind was unbalanced, and some became insane.
These things bring a reproach upon the cause of truth, and hinder the
proclamation of the last message of mercy to the world. {2SM 34.3}
I
also saw that God had messengers that He would use in His cause, but they were
not ready. They were too light and trifling to exert a good influence over the
flock and did not feel the weight of the cause and the worth of souls as God’s messengers
must feel in order to effect good. Said the angel, “Be ye clean that bear the
vessels of the Lord. Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” They can
accomplish but little good unless they are wholly given up to God and feel the
importance and solemnity of the last message of mercy that is now being given
to the scattered flock. Some who are not called of God are very willing to go
with the message. But if they felt the weight of the cause and the
responsibilities of such a station, they would feel to shrink back and say with
the apostle, “Who is sufficient for these things?” One reason why they are so
willing to go is that God has not laid upon them the weight of the cause. Not
all who proclaimed the first and the second angel’s message are to give the
third, even after they fully embrace it, for some have been in so many errors
and delusions that they can but just save their own souls, and if they
undertake to guide others, they will be the means of overthrowing them. But
I saw that some who have formerly run deep into fanaticism would be the first
now to run before God sends them, before they are purified from their past
errors; having error mixed with the truth, they would feed the flock of God
with it, and if they were suffered to go on, the flock would become sickly, and
distraction and death would follow. I saw that they would have to be
sifted and sifted, until they were freed from all their errors, or they could
never enter the kingdom. The messengers could not have that confidence in the
judgment and discernment of those who have been in errors and fanaticism that
they could have in those who have been in the truth and not in extravagant
errors. Many, also, are too apt to urge out into the field some who have but
just professed the present truth, who have much to learn and much to do before
they can be right in the sight of God themselves, much less point out the way
to others. {EW 62.1}
God
calls upon His people to walk with sobriety and holy consistency. They should
be very careful not to misrepresent and dishonor the holy doctrines of truth by
strange performances, by confusion and tumult. By this, unbelievers are led to
think that Seventh-day Adventists are a set of fanatics. Thus prejudice is
created that prevents souls from receiving the message for this time. When
believers speak the truth as it is in Jesus, they reveal a holy, sensible calm,
not a storm of confusion.—The General Conference Bulletin, April 23, 1901. {2SM
36.1}
The third angel’s message is to be given in straight lines. It is to be kept
free from every thread of the cheap, miserable inventions of men’s theories,
prepared by the father of lies, and disguised as was the brilliant serpent used
by Satan as a medium of deceiving our first parents. Thus Satan tries to
put his stamp upon the work God would have stand forth in purity. {2SM 37.4}
Two
weeks ago today, while I was writing, my son W. C. White came into my room and
stated that there were two persons below who wished to speak with me. I went
downstairs into our sitting room and there met a man and his wife who claim to
follow the Word of God and to believe the Testimonies. They have had an unusual
experience during the past two or three years. They seemed to be honest-hearted
people. {2SM 41.1}
I
listened while they related some of their experiences, and then I told them
something of the work we had to do in meeting and opposing fanaticism soon
after the passing of the time when we expected to see our Lord. During those
trying days some of our most precious believers were led into fanaticism. I
said further that before the end we would see strange manifestations by those
who professed to be led by the Holy Spirit. There are those who will treat
as something of great importance these peculiar manifestations, which are not
of God, but which are calculated to divert the minds of many away from the
teachings of the Word. {2SM 41.2}
In this stage of our history we must be very careful to
guard against everything that savors of fanaticism and disorder. We must guard against all peculiar exercises that
would be likely to stir up the minds of unbelievers, and lead them to think
that as a people we are led by impulse, and delight in noise and confusion
accompanied by eccentricities of action. In the last days the enemy of
present truth will bring in manifestations that are not in harmony with the
workings of the Spirit, but are calculated to lead astray those who stand ready
to take up with something new and strange. {2SM 41.3}
I
told this brother and his wife that the experience through which I passed in
my youth, shortly after the passing of the time in 1844, had led me to be very,
very cautious about accepting anything similar to that which we then met and
rebuked in the name of the Lord. {2SM 41.4}
No greater harm could be done to the work of God at this
time than for us to allow a spirit of fanaticism to come into our churches,
accompanied by strange workings which are incorrectly supposed to be operations
of the Spirit of God. {2SM
42.1}
As
this brother and his wife outlined their experiences, which they claim have
come to them as the result of receiving the Holy Ghost with apostolic power, it
seemed to be a facsimile of that which we were called to meet and correct in
our early experience. {2SM 42.2}
Toward
the close of our interview Brother L proposed that we unite in prayer, with
the thought that possibly while in prayer his wife would be exercised as they
had described to me, and that then I might be able to discern whether this was
of the Lord or not. To this I could not consent, because I have been instructed
that when one offers to exhibit these peculiar manifestations, this is a
decided evidence that it is not the work of God. {2SM 42.3}
We must not permit these experiences to lead us to feel
discouraged. Such experiences will come to us from time to time. Let us give no place to strange exercisings, which
really take the mind away from the deep movings of the Holy Spirit. God’s work
is ever characterized by calmness and dignity. We cannot afford to sanction
anything that would bring in confusion and weaken our zeal in regard to the
great work that God has given us to do in the world to prepare for the
second coming of Christ.—Letter 338, 1908. {2SM 42.4}
There is constant danger of allowing something to come
into our midst that we may regard as the workings of the Holy Spirit, but that
in reality is the fruit of a spirit of fanaticism. So long as we allow the
enemy of truth to lead us into a wrong way, we cannot hope to reach the honest
in heart with the third angel’s message. We are to be sanctified through obedience to the truth.
I am afraid of anything that would have a tendency to turn the mind away from
the solid evidences of the truth as revealed in God’s Word. I am afraid of it;
I am afraid of it. We must bring our minds within the bounds of reason, lest
the enemy so come in as to set everything in a disorderly way. There are
persons of an excitable temperament who are easily led into fanaticism; and
should we allow anything to come into our churches that would lead such persons
into error, we would soon see these errors carried to extreme lengths,
and then because of the course of these disorderly elements, a stigma would
rest upon the whole body of Seventh-day Adventists. {2SM 43.2}
I
have been studying how to get some of these early experiences into print again,
so that more of our people may be informed, for I have long known that
fanaticism will be manifest again, in different ways. We are to
strengthen our position by dwelling on the Word, and by avoiding all oddities
and strange exercisings that some would be very quick to catch up and practice.
If we were to allow confusion to come into our ranks, we could not bind off our
work as we should.... {2SM 44.1}
During
the years of Christ’s ministry on earth godly women assisted in the work that
the Saviour and His disciples were carrying forward. If those who were
opposing this work could have found anything out of the regular order in the
conduct of these women, it would have closed the work at once. But while women
were laboring with Christ and the apostles, the entire work was conducted on
so high a plane as to be above the shadow of a suspicion. No occasion
for any accusation could be found. The minds of all were directed to the
Scriptures, rather than individuals. The truth was proclaimed intelligently,
and so plainly that all could understand. {2SM 44.2}
How afraid I am to have anything of a fanatical nature
brought in among our people. There are
many, many who must be sanctified, but they are to be sanctified through
obedience to the message of truth.… {2SM 44.3}
We cannot allow excitable elements among us to
display themselves in a way that would destroy our influence with those whom
we wish to reach with the truth. It
took us years to outlive the unfavorable impression that unbelievers gained of
Adventists through their knowledge of the strange and wicked workings of
fanatical elements among us during the early years of our existence as a
separate people.—Manuscript 115, 1908. {2SM 44.4}
Great
light has been given to the people of God. Let our people awake, and go forward
to perfection. You will be exposed to the fallacies of satanic agencies.
Fearful waves of fanaticism will come. But God will deliver the people who
will earnestly seek the Lord, and consecrate themselves to His service.—Pacific
Union Recorder, December 31, 1908. {2SM 47.3}
There will always be false and fanatical movements made
by persons in the church who claim to be led of God—those who will run before they are sent, and will give
day and date for the occurrence of unfulfilled prophecy. The enemy is pleased to have them do this, for their
successive failures and leading into false lines cause confusion and
unbelief.—Letter 28, 1897. {2SM 84.3}
How
is it, my brother, that you have taken up these communications, and presented
them before the people, weaving them in with the testimonies God has given
Sister White? Where is your evidence that these are of God? You cannot be too
careful how you hear, how you receive, how you believe. You
cannot be too careful how you talk of the gift of prophesying, and
state that I have said this and that in reference to this matter. Such
statements, I well know, encourage men and women and children to imagine
that they have special light in revelations from God, when they have not
received such light. This, I have been shown, would be one of Satan’s
masterpieces of deception. You are giving to the work a mold which
it will take precious time and wearing soul labor to correct, to save the cause
of God from another spasm of fanaticism.... {2SM 86.3}
Do
you not think I know something about these matters? All along our pathway to
the heavenly Canaan we see many souls that have made shipwreck of faith, and
in their false movements have led others astray through the supposition that
they were led of God in special revelations. I have had to write many,
many pages to correct these errors. I have been burdened and oppressed night
after night, unable to sleep because of the agony of my soul for God’s
heritage, His people, who are in danger of being misled. Many things in these
visions and dreams seem to be all straight, a repetition of that which has been
in the field for many years; but soon they introduce a jot here, a tittle of
error there, just a little seed which takes root and flourishes, and many are
defiled therewith. {2SM 86.4}
I
want to say just as little as possible in regard to Anna Phillips. The less
this matter is talked over and agitated, the better. There is a “dead fly in the
ointment.” Before this reaches you, you will have received a letter giving a
more complete statement in regard to what we may expect in the case. I am more
sorry than I can express to you that the matter has been handled unwisely. We
shall have scores of just such developments, and if our leading brethren shall
catch up things of this character and endorse them as they have done in this
case, we shall have one of the most sweeping tidal waves of fanaticism that has
been seen in our experience. There will be the wildest performances. Satan has
already begun his work. To give ready credence to these things, and make
loose, unguarded statements endorsing them without sufficient evidence of their
genuine character, is one of Satan’s devices. The Lord Jesus has
certainly given cautions sufficient in regard to this matter, so that none need
be deceived. {2SM 92.1}
Every
conceivable message is coming to counterfeit the work of God, and always
bearing the inscription of truth upon its banner.… {2SM 92.3}
It is no light matter to substitute for God’s revealed
will, opinions and assertions, dreams, symbols, and figures from human, finite
beings. Our actions, words, spirit, and influence
are watched and criticized. Those whom God has chosen to be His ministers are
to settle solidly into His Word, and let the Word of God be their authority.…
{2SM 93.1}
At this time above all others, hasty judgment, opinions
formed carelessly, without sufficient evidence, may lead to most disastrous
results. When we trace from cause to effect, we shall find that harm has thus
been done which in some cases can never be remedied. Oh, what wisdom and fine spiritual perceptions are
needed in giving food to the flock of God, that it be pure provender,
thoroughly winnowed. The natural, hereditary traits of the character need a
firm curb, else earnest zeal, good purposes, will run into evil, and the
excess of feeling will produce such impressions upon human hearts that they
will be carried away by impulse and will allow impressions to become their
guide. {2SM 93.2}
A curb must be kept upon the spiritual impulse, that no
injudicious words shall be spoken, no overwrought ideas expressed, that shall
cause impulsive persons to lose their bearings. There are some whose feelings are quickly stirred by
strong assertions, and their imagination magnifies the statement to large
dimensions; it all appears real to them, and they become fanatical. The
spiritual experience is fevered, diseased. When persons yield their will in perfect
submission to the will of God, and the spirit is humble and teachable, the Lord
will correct them by His Holy Spirit, and lead them into safe paths.—Letter
66, 1894. {2SM 93.3}
Now
we read in the Bible of a good conscience; and there are not only good but bad
consciences. There is a conscientiousness that will carry everything to
extremes, and make Christian duties as burdensome as the Jews made the
observance of the Sabbath. The rebuke which Jesus gave to the scribes and
Pharisees applies to this class as well: “Ye tithe mint and rue and all manner
of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God” (Luke 11:42). One
fanatic, with his strong spirit and radical ideas, who will oppress the
conscience of those who want to be right, will do great harm. The church needs
to be purified from all such influences. {2SM 319.3}
Test everything before it shall be presented to the flock
of God.... In messages that profess to be from
Heaven, expressions will be made that are misleading, and if the influence of
these things be accepted, it will lead to exaggerated movements, plans, and
devising that will bring in the very things that Satan would have current—a
strange spirit, an unclean spirit, under the garments of sanctity; a strong
spirit to overbear everything. Fanaticism will come in, and will so
mingle and interweave itself with the workings of the Spirit of God, that many
will accept it all as from God, and will be deceived and misled thereby.
{3SM 403.1}
There
will be counterfeit messages coming from persons in all directions. One
after another will rise up, appearing to be inspired, when they have not the
inspiration of heaven, but are under the deception of the enemy. All
who receive their messages will be led astray. Then let us walk carefully, and
not open wide the door for the enemy to enter through impressions, dreams, and
visions. God help us to look in faith to Jesus, and be guided by the words
He has spoken.—Letter 66, 1894. {3SM 404.4}
September
20, 1860, my fourth child, John Herbert White, was born. When he was three
weeks old my husband felt it to be his duty to travel West. About one week
before he was to visit Mauston, we received letters from M. E. S. for
publication, purporting to be visions given her of the Lord. As we read these
communications we felt distressed. We knew that they were not from the right
source. And as my husband knew nothing of what he was about to meet at Mauston,
we feared he would be unprepared to meet the fanaticism, and that it would
have a discouraging influence upon his mind. We had passed through so many
such scenes in our early experience, and had suffered so much from these unruly,
untamable spirits, that we have dreaded to be brought in contact with them.
{2SG 294a.1}
Fanatics
and Fanaticism Will Press In—We are living in a time when every phase of
fanaticism will press its way in among believers and unbelievers. Satan
will come in, speaking lies in hypocrisy. Everything that he can invent to
deceive men and women will be brought forward.—Letter 121, 1901 {1MCP 38.1}
How
Satan Does It—We have found in our experience
that if Satan cannot keep souls bound in the ice of indifference, he will try to
push them into the fire of fanaticism. When
the Spirit of the Lord comes among His people, the enemy seizes his opportunity
to work also upon different minds and lead them to mingle their own peculiar
traits of character with the work of God. Thus there is always danger that
they may allow their own spirit to mingle with the work and that unwise moves
may be made. Many carry on a work of their own devising that is not prompted by
God.—Letter 34, 1889 (Similar to Testimonies for the Church 5:644.) {1MCP 38.2}
Reaction
of a Fanatic—A few years since, a man named N, of Red Bluff, California, came
to me to deliver his message.... He thought God had passed all the leading
workers and given him the message. I attempted to show him that he was
mistaken.... When we told him our reasons and set the matter before him, that
he was in error, he had great power come upon him, and he certainly gave a loud
cry.... We had much trouble with him; his mind became unbalanced, and he had to
be placed in the insane asylum.—Letter 16, 1893. (Selected Messages 2:64.)
{1MCP 41.2}
How
to Meet the Fanatic—God calls upon His servants to study His mind and will.
Then when men come with their curiously invented theories, enter not into controversy with them, but affirm what
you know. “It is written” is to be your weapon. There are men who will
try to spin out their fine threads of false theories. Thank God that there are
those also who have been taught of Him and who know what is truth.—Letter 191,
1905. {1MCP 41.3}
Beware
of “New,” “Wonderful,” So-called Advanced Light—My soul is much burdened, for I
know what is before us. Every conceivable deception will be brought to bear
upon those who have not a daily, living connection with God. Satan’s angels are
wise to do evil, and they will create that which some will claim to be
advanced light and will proclaim it as new and wonderful; yet while in some
respects the message may be truth, it will be mingled with human inventions and
will teach for doctrine the commandments of men. If there was ever a time
when we should watch and pray in real earnest, it is now. {1MCP 42.2}
Many apparently good things will need to be carefully
considered with much prayer; for they are specious devices of the enemy to lead
souls in a path which lies so close to the path of truth that it will be
scarcely distinguishable from it. But the eye of faith may discern that it is
diverging, though almost imperceptibly, from the right path. At first it may be
thought positively right, but after a while it is seen to be widely divergent
from the way which leads to holiness and heaven. My brethren, I warn you to make straight paths for your
feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way.—Manuscript 82, 1894. {1MCP 42.3}
Fanaticism
Hard to Quench—Fanaticism, once started and left unchecked, is as hard to
quench as a fire which has obtained hold of a building. Those who have
entered into and sustained this fanaticism [holy flesh] might far better be
engaged in secular labor, for by their inconsistent course of action they are
dishonoring the Lord and imperiling His people. Many such movements will arise
at this time when the Lord’s work should stand elevated, pure, unadulterated
with superstition and fables. We need to be on our guard, to maintain a close
connection with Christ, that we be not deceived by Satan’s devices.—The General
Conference Bulletin, April 23, 1901. (Selected Messages 2:35.) {1MCP 43.1}
Let
every minister make earnest efforts to ascertain what is the mind of Christ. There
are those who pick out from the Word of God, and also from the Testimonies,
detached paragraphs or sentences that may be interpreted to suit their ideas,
and they dwell upon these and build themselves up in their own positions, when
God is not leading them. Now all this pleases the enemy. We should not
needlessly take a course that will make differences or cause dissension. We
should not give the impression that if our particular ideas are not followed,
it is because the ministers are lacking in comprehension. {1MCP 43.3}
But,
as far as the work has gone here in Battle Creek, there has been no fanaticism.
We have felt the need of guarding it on every hand with the greatest care; for
if the enemy can push individuals to extremes, he is well pleased. He can thus do greater harm than if there had been no
religious awakening. We know that there has never yet been a religious
effort made in which Satan has not tried his best to
intrude himself, and in these last days he will do this as never before. He
sees that his time is short, and he will work with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness to mingle errors and incorrect views with the work of God and
push men into false positions. {5T 644.4}
“The design of the message to the Laodiceans was to
rid the church of just such fanatical influences; but the effort of
Satan has been to corrupt the message and to prevent its proper effect. He would be better pleased to have fanatical persons
embrace the testimony and use it in his cause, than to have them remain in a
lukewarm state. I have seen that it was not the design of the
message to lead any one to sit in judgment upon his brother, to tell him what
to do and just how far to go; but for each individual to search his own heart,
and attend to his own individual work. It is the work of the angels to watch
the development of character, and weigh moral worth.” [The testimony to the
Laodiceans here referred to may be found in “Testimony for the Church” No. 5,
to which the reader’s attention is specially called.] {LS88 333.2}
While
at Dartmouth, Mass., a few weeks since, again the power of God rested upon me
and I was wrapped up in a vision of God’s glory. In that vision I was shown the
state of things in Connecticut, in Massachusetts, in Maine, and in New York
City. My soul was wrung with keen anguish as I saw the state of things. I was
shown that the ministers, or those who professed to be servants of God, had
caused much of this sad state of things for lack of real spiritual intelligence.
Ministers of God should understand their work and their calling. They should
not give the least influence to a hurried, fanatical spirit. {Lt19-1859.}
I
saw that Brother Barr had done this, and when the message to the Laodiceans was
given, a hurried fanatical spirit came in and burdens and exercises were had
that the Lord was not in. No time was granted individuals to develop
character. Angels of God were patiently waiting to weigh moral worth, and
to mark the development of character. But some went ahead of the angels and
were burdened and exercised because the work was not closed up at once. They
did not wait patiently for the Lord to test character and to spue out the
lukewarm, but took that work into their own hands; and unless they could see
individuals coming up to the point they thought they should reach, they pushed
them off. A fear came over them—fear to associate with
the ones they thought spued out of the mouth of the Lord. Why did they not read the
connection—Revelation 3:18-22? A strange, fearful, excitable, fanatical
spirit came in and bore rule. {Lt19-1859.}
I
saw that if Brother Barr had understood his duty, he would have checked this
spirit at once. But he was not standing in the counsel of the Lord. I was
pointed to the work in Connecticut. O, what a work! The brethren Graham were
led by a wrong spirit. Those burdens and exercises they had were not of the
Lord. They were in a deception. Brother Barr encouraged this, and by his words
created a fearful excitement when Sister Lyman was set aside by one of these
burdens. Brother Barr said, “‘He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck
shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.’ [Proverbs 29:1.] Who
goes next? There may be hope today; tomorrow it is gone.” {Lt19-1859.}
I
was shown Sophronia C. mixed up with these strange exercises; and the burdens
and exercises for Mary North and John Wilcox were uncalled for. It was not of
God. They were made to believe that they had greatly
sinned where there was no sin. Their thinking of marriage might have been
injudicious; further than this they were not guilty, and the treatment of Mary
was cruel in the extreme. God loves Mary and John. {Lt19-1859.}
Then
the moves Brother Barr made in your place were not actuated by the Lord. It was
in his own spirit he came to you. His influence over you and the burning of
those pictures and the cases was not right. I was shown that this was a loss
that need not to have been. The cases could have been exchanged for something
useful. And then again I saw that there was destruction of property that was
not your own. It belonged to another. And if you could not conscientiously keep
it you should have handed it to the owners and then you would be clear.
{Lt19-1859.}
The fanatical teachers gave themselves up to be governed by impressions, calling
every thought of the mind the voice of God; consequently they went to great
extremes. Some even burned their Bibles,
exclaiming, “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” Men naturally
love the marvelous, and whatever flatters their pride, and many were ready to
accept Munzer’s teachings. He soon denounced all order in public worship, and
declared that to obey princes was to attempt to serve both God and Belial. {4SP
150.1}
By
your noncommittal position, and by your course in this fanaticism you have
done more injury to the cause of God in Wisconsin than you have done good in
all your life. Our faith has been made disgusting to unbelievers; a wound,
an incurable wound, has been given to the cause of God, and yet many,
with yourself, seem astonished that so much is said and made of this
fanaticism. One evil seed sown takes root, grows rank, and bears fruit, and
there is an abundant harvest. Evil flourishes and needs no culture while the
good seed sown needs to be watered, carefully tended, and continually
nourished, or the precious plants will die. Satan, evil angels, and wicked men
are trying to root up and destroy the good, and it requires the greatest
vigilance, and the most constant care, to have it live and flourish. An evil
seed sown cannot be easily rooted out. It spreads, and springs up in every
direction, to crush out the precious seed; and if left alone it will grow
strong, and shut out the rays of the sun from the precious plants, until they
grow sickly and die. {1T 317.3}
Professed
believers in and about —— do not come up to the work, and practice the truths
which they profess. A blighting influence is upon the cause in northern
Wisconsin. If all had felt that attachment for the Review which God designed
they should, they would have been benefited and instructed by the truths it
advocates. They would have had a correct faith, a
settled position upon the truth applicable for this time, and would have been
guarded and saved from this fanaticism. The
sensibilities of many are blunted; false excitement has destroyed their discernment
and spiritual eyesight. It is of the highest
importance now for them to move understandingly, that Satan’s object may
not be fully accomplished in overthrowing those whom he has had power to
deceive. {1T 323.1}
When those who have witnessed and experienced false
exercises, are convinced of their mistake, then Satan
takes advantage of their error, and holds it constantly before them, to make
them afraid of any spiritual exercise, and in this way he seeks to destroy
their faith in true godliness. Because they were once deceived, they fear to
make any effort by earnest, fervent prayer to God for special aid and victory.
Such must not let Satan gain his object, and drive them to cold formality and
unbelief. They must remember that the foundation of God standeth
sure. Let God be true, and
every man a liar. Their only safety is to plant their feet upon a firm
platform, to see and understand the third angel’s message, to prize, love, and
obey the truth. {1T 323.2}
There is order in heaven; and there should be
system and order upon the earth, that the work may move forward
without confusion and fanaticism.
Our brethren have been working to this end; but while some of our ministers
continually bear the burden of souls, and ever seek to bring the people up in
spiritual attainments, those who are not so conscientious, and who have not
carried the cross of Christ nor felt the value of souls as reflected from
Calvary, will, in teaching and educating others in the mechanical working,
become formal and powerless themselves, and bring no Saviour to the people. {4T
601.4}
There is in human nature a tendency to run to extremes
and from one extreme to another entirely opposite. Many are fanatics. They are consumed by a fiery zeal which is mistaken for
religion, but character is the true test of discipleship. Have they the
meekness of Christ? have they His humility and sweet benevolence? Is the
soul-temple emptied of pride, arrogance, selfishness, and censoriousness? If
not, they know not what manner of spirit they are of. They do not realize that
true Christianity consists in bearing much fruit to the glory of God. {5T
305.4}
Others go to an extreme in their conformity to the world.
There is no clear, distinct line of separation between them and the worldling.
If in one case men are driven away from the truth by a harsh, censorious,
condemnatory spirit, in this they are led to conclude that the professed
Christian is destitute of principle and knows nothing of a change of heart or
character. “Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven,” are
the words of Christ. {5T 306.1}
I recognize, on the other hand, the danger of yielding to
the temptation to conceal sin or to compromise with it, and thus act the
hypocrite. Be sure that the confession fully covers
the influence of the wrong committed, that no duty to God, to your neighbor, or
to the church is left undone, and then you may lay hold upon Christ with
confidence, expecting His blessing.
But the question of how and to whom sins should be
confessed is one that demands careful, prayerful study. We must consider it
from all points, weighing it before God and seeking divine illumination. We
should inquire whether to confess publicly the sins of which we have been
guilty will do good or harm. Will it show forth the praises of Him who has
called us out of the darkness into His marvelous light? Will it help to purify
the minds of the people, or will the open relation of the deceptions practiced
in denying the truth have an after influence to contaminate other minds and
destroy confidence in us? {5T 646.3}
By prayer and confession of sin we
must clear the King’s highway. As we do this, the power of the Spirit will
come to us. We need the Pentecostal energy. This will come, for the Lord has
promised to send His Spirit as the all-conquering power. {8T 297.6}
The
false impressions of these fanatics might have turned me from my duty, had not
the Lord previously shown me where to go and what to do. Although so young
and inexperienced, I was preserved from falling into the snare of the
enemy, through the mercy of God, in giving me special instructions whom
to fear and whom to trust. Had it not been for this protection, I now see many times when I might have been led from the
path of duty. {LSMS
102.4}
On this occasion a talented minister came to me and said
he would accompany me to Portsmouth, for he wanted my message to be given
there. He was one of those who were indulging fanatical fancies, and I had
been warned to be afraid of all such ones. I told him that I could not go with
him. I had been instructed that men would come to me, urging that I should
go with them to this place and that place, but that I was not to go. At the
same time it was presented to me that I could trust Elder James White, that he
would guard me and that with him I would be in no danger. {LSMS 102.5}
After
I had borne my testimony, as stated, I hurried away to find his wife, for I had
a message of comfort for her. I found her at home, weeping. She said, “Sister
Ellen, my heart is breaking.” I related the vision of reproof given me for her
husband, which she confirmed. She told me that her husband had often brought to
the home a young sister, and spent much time conversing with her and exercising
his mesmeric influence over her. As a result, this young woman thought she had
visions in which she was instructed that she must go with him and engage in
public labor. “And because I can not receive these things,” she said, “He
tells me that I am a lost soul.” I told her that the Lord was not in any such
work as she had described and as had been revealed to me, and that she should
not accept the words of censure and discouragement. Other honest,
precious souls had been told by these fanatics that they were rejected of God.
These cruel words, coming from men whom they believed to be men of God, wholly
overthrew some, while others were much discouraged for a time; but comforting
testimonies were given me by God for them, which gave them hope and courage.
{LSMS 128.2}
The
Fruits of Fanaticism
When
I again returned to Portland, there were [sic] increasing evidence of the
desolating effects of this fanaticism. The fanatical ones seemed
to think that religion consisted in great excitement and noise. They would
talk in a manner that would irritate unbelievers, and have an influence to
cause them to hate them and the doctrines they taught. Then they would rejoice
that they had suffered persecution. Unbelievers could see no
consistency in such a course. The brethren in some places were prevented from
assembling for meetings. The innocent suffered with the guilty. {LSMS
130.1}
I
carried a sad and heavy heart much of the time. It seemed so cruel that the
cause of Christ should be injured by the course of these injudicious men.
They were not only ruining their own souls, but placing upon the cause a stigma
that could not easily be removed. And Satan loved to have it so. It suited
him well to see the truth handled by unsanctified men; to have it mixed with
error, and then all together trampled in the dust. He looked with triumph upon
the confused, scattered state of God’s children. {LSMS 130.2}
I
was invited to attend a meeting in Roxbury, and relate what the Lord had shown
me. Brother Nichols took my sister and me to the meeting, where we found twenty
persons assembled. Among them were brethren and sisters whom I dearly loved. They
had acted a noble part in the advent movement, but they had been led astray by
spiritualistic theories and fanciful doctrines, which led on and on, till they
calumniated in lovesick sentimentalism and rank fanaticism. {LSMS 152.4}
Some
of the company assembled were individuals whom I had been shown were strong fanatics. They dealt in human or satanic
influence, and called it the Spirit of God. I had not seen them before
with my natural eyes, yet as I looked upon them, their countenances were
familiar to me; for their course of life, their errors and corrupting
influences had been shown me. The power of God came upon me, and I warned them
of their dangers. {LSMS 152.5}
The
leading ones, considering this a favorable opportunity to exert their influence
over me, and cause me to yield to their views, urged me to relate the visions. But
I was impressed that their only object was to mangle the truths presented in
the visions, and spiritualize away their literal meaning. I felt that they
would endeavor to throw a Satanic influence upon me, and call it the power of
God. I felt forbidden to relate my visions to this company, and I refused to
tell them anything except the part which related to them. They flattered, but
it had no effect. Then they tried to terrify me, commanding me. They said it
was my duty to tell them the visions. {LSMS 153.1}
We
told them we had no fellowship with their spirit, and that in the name of the
Lord we would resist it. I faithfully warned those whom I believed to be
honest, and begged them to renounce their errors, and leave the company that
was leading them astray. I told them that the views that they had accepted
were but the Alpha of a great deception. {LSMS 153.2}
Those
were troublous times. If we had not stood firmly then, we should have made a
shipwreck of our faith. Some said we were stubborn; but we were obliged to set
our faces as a flint, and not turn to the right hand nor to the left. Those who
believed in the spiritual coming of Christ, were insinuating, like the great
serpent in the garden. When it suited their purposes they would show such a
mild, meek spirit that we had to be on our guard, strengthened on every side
with Scripture testimony concerning the literal, personal appearing of our
Saviour. I left them, free from their influence and spirit. In a few weeks a
portion of that company were left to run into the basest fanaticism. {LSMS 153.3}
I
hope all of you reading these things will ask yourselves, How did I miss all of
this? And if you noticed something wrong, Why did I not study to get enough
knowledge so I could d it in the proper way and show it from the bible and the
SOP? The fact that people did not detect this or in the least, they were not
able to explain it testifies that our knowledge of Scripture was/is not at the
level that it should be. This is evidence that our understanding of certain
teachings in the word of God is very shallow. Ask yourself, Why did it take me
so long to figure it out?
Here is a summary of the testimonies contained in the
statements above:
Fanaticism:
-will
come in the midst of us.
-creates
prejudices that will prevent souls from receiving the message for this time.
-has
many phases and various forms.
-will
make men’s minds invent tests that are no tests at all.
-will
not have marked inconsistencies and apparent untruthful utterances.
-can
have much that is true; there is mingled error that is accepted in its extreme
meaning and acted upon by persons of excitable temperament.
-creates
a danger of those in our ranks making a mistake in regard to receiving the Holy
Ghost.
-is
a deception to deceive if possible even the elect.
-it
must be rebuked as the work of deception.
-is
a stealthy, deceptive work of presumptuous sins.
-brings
the confusion of mind and discouragement and lack of faith to God’s people.
-can
affect excellent, honest people.
-can
cause people to ever after walk in sadness; can cause the feeling in people
that they are not worthy to work for the Master, whose precious cause they had
so greatly dishonored.
-can
lead people to lose their reason. (Why? They were pressed beyond measure to
receive the message of error; it was represented to them that unless they did
this they would be lost; and as a result, their mind was unbalanced, and some
became insane.)
-would
cause people to run before God sends them, before they are purified from their
past errors; having error mixed with the truth, they would feed the
flock of God with it, and if they were suffered to go on, the flock
would become sickly, and distraction and death would follow.
-once
started and left unchecked, is as hard to quench as a fire that has obtained
hold of a building.
-attacks
order.
-brings
disorderly elements and a stigma upon the body of SDA.
-destroys
our influence with those whom we wish to reach with the truth.
-comes
in through uncareful talk of the gift of prophesying, and states that Ellen
White has said this and that in reference to this matter. Such statements, she
well knows, encourage men and women, and children to imagine that they have a
special light in revelations from God when they have not received such light.
This, she has been shown, would be one of Satan’s masterpieces of deception.
Through this Satan is giving to the work a mold which it will take precious
time and wearing soul labor to correct, to save the cause of God from another
spasm of fanaticism.
(This
work we have now started. This confession is a beginning of a work to save the
cause of God from the Omega wave of fanaticism.)
-is
any false movement that leads others astray through the supposition that they
were led of God in special revelations.
-is
hasty judgment, opinions formed carelessly, without sufficient evidence, which
can lead to the most disastrous results. When we trace from cause to effect, we
shall find that harm has thus been done which in some cases can never be
remedied.
-is
when earnest zeal, good purposes, run into evil, and the excess of
feeling produce such impressions upon human hearts that they will be carried
away by impulse and will allow impressions to become their guide.
-is
when injudicious words are spoken and overwrought ideas expressed which excite
the spiritual impulse of persons and cause them to lose their bearings. There
are some whose feelings are quickly stirred by strong assertions, and their
imagination magnifies the statement to large dimensions; it all appears real to
them, and they become fanatical. The spiritual experience is fevered and
diseased.
-is
when in messages that profess to be from Heaven, expressions lead to
exaggerated movements, plans, and devising that will bring in the very things
that Satan would have current—a strange spirit, an unclean spirit, under the
garments of sanctity; a strong spirit to overbear everything.
-mingles
and interweaves itself with the workings of the Spirit of God, that many will
accept it all as from God, and will be deceived and misled thereby.
-will
lead people to accept and promulgate the error, and when the reproof comes that
will place matters in the true light, those who have had little experience and
who are ignorant of the oft-repeated workings of Satan, will cast away with the
rubbish of error that which has been before them as truth. Thus the light and
warnings which God gives for this time will be made of no effect.
-is
when people rise up, appearing to be inspired, when they have not the
inspiration of heaven but are under the deception of the enemy.
-appears
when Satan cannot keep souls bound in the ice of indifference, so he tries to
push them into the fire of fanaticism.
-occurs
When the Spirit of the Lord comes among His people because the enemy seizes his
opportunity to work also upon different minds and lead them to mingle their own
peculiar traits of character with the work of God.
-does
greater harm than if there had been no religious awakening. Satan tries his
best to intrude himself in every true religious effort.
-enters
because there is a lack of real spiritual intelligence.
-is
a strange, fearful, excitable, hurried spirit that does not grant the time to
individuals to develop their character; it is trying to push people off and
close up work too fast; it creates fear to associate with the ones they thought
spued out of the mouth of the Lord.
-causes
that from those man made tests harshness and cruelty are displayed toward
brothers and sisters, even to make them believe that they had greatly sinned
where there was no sin.
-blunts
the sensibilities and through false excitement destroys our discernment and
spiritual eyesight.
Other important coclusions:
--Offering
to exhibit these peculiar manifestations is decided evidence that it is not the
work of God.
--With
it, we cannot hope to reach the honest in heart with the third angel's message.
--Some
excitable temperaments are easily led in fanaticism.
--To
give ready credence to these things, and make loose, unguarded statements
endorsing them without sufficient evidence of their genuine character is one of
Satan’s devices.
--One
fanatic, with his strong spirit and radical ideas, who will oppress the
conscience of those who want to be right, will do great harm. The church needs
to be purified from all such influences.
--It
is dangerous to be unprepared to meet fanaticism because it could have a
discouraging influence on a person's mind.
--We
are not out of danger even now.
--Every
soul who engages to give to the world the message of warning will be sorely
tempted to pursue such a course in life as will deny his faith.
--Enter
not into controversy with fanatics, but affirm what you know. “It is written”
is to be your weapon.
--The
design of the message to the Laodiceans was to rid the church of just such
fanatical influences. Satan would be better pleased to have fanatical persons
embrace the testimony and use it in his cause than to have them remain in a
lukewarm state.
--Fanatical
teachers allow themselves to be governed by impressions and sometimes call
every thought of the mind a voice from God. This leads to great extremes.
--In
fanaticism, we can do more harm than good in all our lives, disgust the
unbelievers and possibly even cause an incurable wound to the cause of God.
--When
people are convinced of their mistake, then Satan takes advantage of their
error, and holds it constantly before them, to make them afraid of any
spiritual exercise, and in this way, he seeks to destroy their faith in true
godliness. Because they were once deceived, they fear to make any effort by
earnest, fervent prayer to God for special aid and victory. Such must not let
Satan gain his object, and drive them to cold formality and unbelief. They must
remember that the foundation of God standeth sure.
--Human
nature has a tendency to run to extremes and from one extreme to another
entirely opposite. Many are fanatics.
--Ellen
White herself says she 'now see many times when I might have been led from the
path of duty', if not for God's mercy and warnings given her.
--She
said God told her to be afraid of those ministers who indulged in fanatical
fancies. She refused to go anywhere with them.
--A
fanatic can spend much time conversing with a person and exercising his
mesmeric influence over them resulting in convincing people to think they have
visions and then be instructed that they must go with him and engage in public
labor.
--Other
honest, precious souls had been told by these fanatics that they were rejected
of God. These cruel words, coming from men whom they believed to be men of God,
wholly overthrew some people.
--Fanatics
would talk in a manner that would irritate unbelievers, and have an influence
to cause them to hate them and the doctrines they taught. Then they would
rejoice that they had suffered persecution.
--Strong
fanatics deal in human or satanic influence, and call it the Spirit of God;
they tried to spiritualize away the literal meaning of Ellen White's visions.
--Ellen
White called certain views the alpha of some of the most fanatical ideas.
--Ellen
White said that the views that they had accepted were but the Alpha of a great
deception. This means that the Omega will be fanaticism of even greater danger.
The Alpha and Omega apostasy is connected with fanaticism.
Testimonies contained certain very important
encouragements and promises:
-We
must not permit these experiences to lead us to feel discouraged. (Such
experiences will come to us from time to time and will try to prevent
preparation for the second coming of Christ.)
-Fanaticism
can be detected by clear, spiritual discernment, by the heavenly anointing,
we must distinguish the sacred from the common which is being brought in to
confuse faith and sound judgment and demerit the great, grand, testing truth
for this time.
-A
correct faith, a settled position upon the truth applicable for this time,
guards and saves from fanaticism.
-We
must prepare for fanaticism by knowing the reasons for our faith and
our past experience. We must not allow the removal of old landmarks. We are
again pointed toward the pillars of our faith and the revival of our old
evidence of faith. Anointed eyes discern the true pillars of our faith!
After
our great disappointment, we at the Omega Countdown Ministries were led to
discover the importance of the Fundamental Principles of the Seventh-day
Adventists. This is the first point. This topic is too big to cover
now and if God allows we will explain why these pillars of our faith are our
only true foundation.
-People
can be brought to their right mind, and see their delusion.
-Some
sorely repented, and were afterward among our most reliable men and
women.
-Persons
that yield their will in perfect submission to the will of God, and their
spirit is humble and teachable, the Lord will correct by His Holy Spirit, and
lead them into safe paths.
-It
is of the highest importance when fanaticism is checked to move understandingly,
that Satan’s object may not be fully accomplished in overthrowing those whom he
has had the power to deceive.
-Order
on earth, as is the order in heaven, will eliminate this confusion and
fanaticism. This is the second point that we learned from this lesson:
we have to establish the gospel order. With the apostasy of the nominal
SDA church, the gospel order has to be established to eliminate this confusion
and fanaticism.
-The
confession has to fully cover the influence of the wrong committed, that no
duty to God, to your neighbor, or to the church is left undone, and then you
may lay hold upon Christ with confidence, expecting His blessing.
The
prayer with thorough, wise confession will cause the Spirit of Christ to come
to us.
We
hope that you will once again receive my personal apology and apology in the
name of the Omega Countdown Ministries for everything we apologized for in this
document. We are truly sorry. We believe God will bless the ministry in the
future for He is a just and compassionate God.
Pro
28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and
forsaketh them shall have mercy.
"Those
who profess to be servants of the living God must be willing to be servants of
all, instead of being exalted above the brethren, and they must possess a kind,
courteous spirit. If they err, they should be ready to confess thoroughly.
Honesty of intention cannot stand as an excuse for not confessing errors. Confession
would not lessen the confidence of the church in the messenger, and he would
set a good example; a spirit of confession would be encouraged in the church,
and sweet union would be the result. Those who profess to be teachers
should be patterns of piety, meekness, and humility, possessing a kind spirit,
to win souls to Jesus and the truth of the Bible. A minister of Christ should
be pure in conversation and in actions. He should ever bear in mind that he is
handling words of inspiration, words of a holy God. He must also bear in mind
that the flock is entrusted to his care, and that he is to bear their cases to
Jesus, and plead for them as Jesus pleads for us with the Father. I was pointed
back to the children of Israel anciently and saw how pure and holy the
ministers of the sanctuary had to be, because they were brought by their work
into a close connection with God. They that minister must be holy, pure, and
without blemish, or God will destroy them. God has not changed. He is just
as holy and pure, just as particular, as He ever was. Those who profess to be
the ministers of Jesus should be men of experience and deep piety, and then at
all times and in all places they can shed a holy influence. {EW 102.2}
My
brothers and sisters, I am asking you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to
look at your lives and ask yourself, 'Is there something in my life that I have
to confess and apologize for?' If you know there is, make haste. Do not gamble
with your salvation. Go, go and do the right things while the blood of the Son
of God is still pleading for forgiveness in the courts of heaven above. Now is
the day of salvation. Today. Do not hesitate for nothing will be gained by
this. If you know you are wrong, go and make things right and you will have
pardon and life.
Dear
Reader, do you want the latter rain refreshment? Then confess and ask
forgiveness. We must be cleansed before the time the Angel of Revelation 18
descends. Today is the time!
Sincerely,
with love and sadness,
Dejan
Meznarić and the Omega Countdown Ministries
P.S. Some additional quotes by Ellen White on confession:
"Daniel was a man greatly beloved of God, but he did
not say, “I did not confess.” “I set my face unto the Lord God,” he says, “and
made my confession, and said, O Lord, the
great and dreadful God, keeping covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and
to them that keep His commandments; we have sinned, and have committed
iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy
precepts and from Thy judgments; neither have we harkened unto Thy servants the
prophets, which spake in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto Thee,
but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day.” [Daniel 9:3-7.]
{Lt271-1904.12}
It
is the man who has humbled himself, and whom God has honored, who understands
what true greatness is. In the sight of God exalted position does not amount to
anything; it is righteousness and truth that give honor to the man. God
calls for sensible men who will walk before Him in humility and with contrition
of heart confess their sins and receive forgiveness. Not far hence the ruin of
souls now being accomplished, because men have refused to confess their sins,
will be far from a boasting matter. {Lt271-1904.16}
Was
it because you had naught to confess that you could say this? Oh no, no, no!
The boastful and unrepentant man by his attitude is closing the gates of the
Holy City against himself. {Lt271-1904.22}
The
day of test and trial is upon us. Every man’s character is being weighed.
Examine yourself and discern what kind of a conscience you have. Examine and
see if your theology, your religion is a mixture of odds and ends, arranged to
serve your own purpose. {Lt271-1904.23}
Now,
just now, is the great day of preparation. We have no time to serve in Satan’s
ranks. Already many have learned to follow false methods, but may the Lord
help us so to confess our sins that they will go beforehand to judgment, that
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, these
sins may be blotted out. {Lt271-1904.24}