Dear Reader,
Walter Rea revealed
the crux of the matter concerning his criticism of Ellen G. White, when he told
his College Place audience on Saturday afternoon:
"Walter Rea inadvertently revealed the crux of the matter when he
told his College Place audience on Saturday afternoon: 'Don't you do to the
Bible what I am doing to the writings of Ellen White or you will destroy the
Bible, too." -Alden Thompson, quoted in The North Pacific Union Gleaner,
February 1, 1982,p. 10.
Walter Rea was
speaking from his own experience of destroying the Bible, to wit: http://www.truthorfables.net/walter_rea.htm
Ron Beaulieu
https://omega77.tripod.com/speakagainstholyghost.htm
“White Lie Soap”: Morgan Defends Ellen White & Rea Agrees! https://adventlife.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/white-lie-soap-morgan-defends-ellen-white-rea-agrees-by-nic-samojluk/
http://www.adventistbookcenter.com/white-lie-soap.html
http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/whitelie.html
http://atoday.org/walter-rea-dies-famous-research-ellen-white/
As quoted in The North Pacific Union Gleaner, February
1, 1982,p. 10.
What is this Walter Rea issue all about?
Why is it being done? How should we respond to it?
Those who have read his book,
"White Lie," or attended one of his meetings have found that either
they must reject Walter Rea and his messages, or they must reject the
Scriptures. And those who have attempted to keep to some "half-way
point" between the two, report that they have seen their faith in the
Bible and their interest in reading it gradually erode away, —until they have
had to make their decision to cut loose from Bible study entirely, or cut loose
from Walter Rea and the Rea Lie.
Here is the basic
issue in the whole matter. If you grasp it and accept it you will be safe from
the Rea Lie and enabled to keep your hold on the Inspired Word:
"Walter Rea inadvertently revealed
the crux of the matter when he told his College Place audience on Saturday
afternoon: 'Don't you do to the Bible what I am doing to the writings of Ellen
White or you will destroy the Bible, too." -Alden Thompson, quoted in The
North Pacific Union Gleaner, February 1, 1982,p. 10.
And that is the basic error in the Rea
Doctrine: Anytime a human being uses phrases similar to any that another had in
print before his time, he is a plagiarist, and cannot at all be an inspired
prophet of God. Many of those who listen to Rea's words or read his book are
charmed by the devil to become fascinated with this subtle error. There is a
bewitching power when we willingly stop to listen to the agents of Satan. A
darkness enters our lives. And many are leaving God and His Inspired
revelations as a result. Or they are having to retrace their steps and cry to
God for help. For they find that they have tarried too long in considering
questions and cavil in regard to the Word of God.
It is more important that you and I
cling to the Scriptures than that we help Walter Rea in his personal fight
against Adventists. If Walter Rea wants to lose his own soul, that will have
to be his decision. We dare not crowd around him with interested ears—or we may
be lost too.
Walter Rea has now traveled for well
over a year holding paid lectures all over North America and overseas as well.
A close acquaintance of his, personally told me that Rea is now taking in
between $7-10,000 per weekend. He is sponsored in this evil work of destroying
men's confidence in Scripture, by the Association of Adventist Forums,
publishers of "Spectrum" magazine. Without their help-and the fact
that he is Seventh-day Adventist in good and regular standing (in the Central
California Conference) -his lectures could not be widely presented to
Adventist workers, laymen and students. *
*Adventist Forum meetings are frequently
advertised as being officially sponsored 'by the General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists. As one reads this on a sheet announcing a Forum meeting
in his locality, he is more likely to attend because he thinks that historic
Adventism will be upheld there. But that which he finds may implant a set of
doubts that will eventually carry him away from the Bible, the Spirit of
Prophecy and the Third Angel's Message. "God is displeased with us when we
go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to
those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the
will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we
are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and
the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with
the darkness. "-Early Writings, 725.
Here is another quotation about a Rea
lecture, this one held next to Atlantic Union College so that the students
there could listen to his atheistic sentiments:
"Sunday, January 24, many AUC
students and faculty members left their TV sets and the Super Bowl to attend an
event which promised to be nearly as exciting-John Wood, Assistant Professor of
Religion, facing Walter Rea, former Adventist pastor, and author of the
forthcoming book 'The White Lie.' The confrontation, held at Lancaster Town
Hall, and sponsored by the Association of Adventist Forums, attracted a fairly
large audience. Rea spoke first, his talk being entitled 'The White Lie.'
An Adventist minister for 35 years
before his dismissal in 1980, he still considers himself an Adventist, and is
still officially a member. . [After a devastating attack on the Spirit of
Prophecy, Inspiration, and several historic Adventist beliefs, he says:] We
should trust our theologians [instead of the Inspired Word] -if we can't, 'why
did we educate them in the first place?'. . Remember that 'God is bigger than
Adventism, and heaven is bigger than the Adventist ghetto. '
"[How did Elder John Wood, the
religion teacher at the college, reply to Rea? —by attacking the Bible. This is
what happens when you try to debate with an agent of Satan: you begin to use
his ideas.] Elder Wood spoke on 'Prophets and Plagiarists,' centering his
arguments on what he feels is the real issue-the nature of inspiration. He
attacked the 'Fundamentalist heresy,'. . He gave numerous examples where the
Bible 'plagiarizes' from apocryphal and even pagan sources. Psalm 29, he said,
is a Canaanite psalm describing an appearance of Baal to his people. . The
tabernacle and Solomon's temple were shown to be similar in design and
decoration to pagan temples. . [Wood then gave other reasons to help strengthen
our doubts in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy].
"[After the lecture was concluded,
some of the students and one faculty member were asked what it had done to
their thinking:] A senior theology major said, 'I was sitting there thinking,
'This ought to be on 'Real People!' " I've never seen anybody get so many
words into such a short time period!' 'I was impressed,' said another student.
'I thought Rea was going to be a bitter person. He seemed more rational,
logical, and sincere than I expected.' One person felt that 'Rea was impressed
with Wood.' Dale Crandall commented, 'It was clear that if we were to reject
Ellen White on the basis of Elder Rea's conclusions, we would also have to reject
all the prophets of the Bible, because they also borrowed from their
contemporaries.' Alwyn. Fraser, History Department Chairman, said, 'The spirit
was good. Rea wasn't being vitriolic.' "-"Rea vs. Wood at Town
Hall," in The Lancastrian, the official Atlantic Union College weekly new
paper, February 9, 7982,p. 7.
Do you want darkening doubts in your
life? Do you want to be washed away from the Rock of Scripture to the sea where
there is no help and no hope? Is this the kind of atheistic sentiments that
you want your sons and daughters to have?
If you want a daily walk with God and
the angels, then stay away from Walter Rea and Adventist Forum meetings when
they are held in your area. And share this sheet of paper with everyone else
that you want to warn against men who are subtly trying to destroy the faith of
Seventh-day Adventists. If you will not fight these errors, they will take over
your soul and the souls of your loved ones. Then fight them. Don't attend these
lectures yourself and encourage your friends to stay away from them also.
Walter Rea likes comparisons. Here are a
few that may help you see the truth about what we are dealing with here. First,
here are some samplings from a mind that has become terribly twisted through
imbibing for too many years the suggestions of Satan:
Here is what Walter Rea thinks about
humble Adventists, such as yourself, who love God and want with all their
hearts to go to heaven:
"Part of the Adventist theology is
that the redeemed will some day, during the golden
age of the millennium, sit on those pearly white thrones in the Far Beyond and
help to judge the wicked. There all the juicy morsels of other's acts and sins
will be finally revealed to them. That thought alone has helped many faithful
go on to the end."-"White Lie," page 40-41.
His moral nature has become so darkened
by the years he has fed on doubt that he has no confidence in the motives of
those who sincerely love Jesus and desire only to be in His presence. Do you
want to feed on the errors and Satanic suggestions of such a shrunken soul?
Here is what he says about how our
Sanctuary Message began, as Hiram Edson recognized, for the first time, on
that October morn that Jesus had entered the Second Apartment of the Heavenly
Sanctuary:
"The poor man in the cornfield
might have seen a scarecrow instead of a vision." -"White Lie,"
page 39.
In a recent national television
broadcast, Rea said that he is a minister and a member of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church and this is why he can speak and be heard by the
non-Adventist world. Here is what he says about the Seventh-day Adventist
Church, itself, and about Ellen White:
"In this odyssey that we take
together, the super-salesmen will be the clergymen, the preachers, the
reverends, the divines-who more than any professionals have been granted
license. . to peddle their wares to the unwary, to project their fears on the
fearful, and to sell their guilt to the unremorseful. The patron saint will be
Ellen Gould White, the canonized leader of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church."- "White lie," pages 25-26.
Here is what he says about her writings:
"With no thought of failure, the
Adventists assigned this awesome task [of inventing doctrinal error] to [Ellen
White] . . Here was a ready-made opportunity. Religious history gives ample
evidence that the 'true believer' is much more likely to accept the dictums of
the simpleminded if these dictums can somehow be given a heavenly
setting."-"White Lie," page 31.
Shallow and simpleminded is what he
calls the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. In contrast, he generously
describes himself as a very capable individual that people should give
attention to:
"If Ford's studies were disturbing,
Rea's research was downright frightening. Word of it sent administrators racing
to the computers with sweaty palms. . The true believer is being sold the
interpretation of the truth of Scripture through the super-salesmen of his
system. . Rea, on the other hand, was a guerilla fighter. He seemed to be
aiming for the jugular. His studies were meant to . . bypass the authority of
the super-salesmen of the system."-"White Lie," pages 270-271.
How did Rea get into this frame of mind?
What is the key to his motives for this violent attack on one who loved God
with all her heart and who wrote so beautifully about Him? Walter does not
leave us questioning as to the reasons. He tells us:
"Regardless of new evidence or lack
of evidence, intelligent and reasonable people do not go along with Ellen. .
that a woman is more spiritual if she doesn't wear a wedding ring; . , that in
the matter of sex play by happily married couples (it having been pronounced a
concession to the 'animal' nature, and perhaps a cause of disease), less is
better;. . that flesh food has a tendency to animalize the nature and to rob
man of the sympathy he should feel for everyone," -"White Lie,"
page 271.
Of course, we can see here a twisting of
Spirit of Prophecy concepts in the way Rea rephrases them. But beneath it all,
we can also see the real reason why Walter Rea began his "Source
Research," Personal justification was needed for lowered standards.
At this point, having viewed the
wreckage that once was a strong warrior for Christ, let us now consider the
individual that Walter Rea has dedicated so much of his time to speaking evil
about.
One does not have to read very far into
the writings of another before sensing the personality of the writer. What you
say is as powerful a testimony to your personal characteristics as is the look
on your face.
As you read a sampling of statements
written by Ellen White, such as is given below, in thoughtful honesty ask
yourself a few questions: Is this worth reading? Will it help me? Will it help
my children and other of my loved ones? Should I share such as this with them?
Will it bring souls to Christ? Does Satan want such statements shared with
them? Does he want me to read them myself? Would he rather that I didn't read
them?
What attitude should
I take toward these writings? We know that Ellen White claimed to be guided by
God in her selection of materials. Either she was a hardened liar, or
hopelessly insane, or she was a kindly child of God and that which she
claimed-she spoke truthfully.
You have just sampled Walter Rea—and
Walter surely shone through his writings. Now sample writings that have helped
hundreds of thousands to find God, to come back to Him, and to stay close by
His side. Here is the Spirit of Prophecy:
“We are to look upon every duty, however
humble, as sacred because it is a part of God's service. Our daily prayer
should be, 'Lord, help me to do my best. Teach me how to do better work. Give
me energy and cheerfulness. Help me to bring into my service the loving
ministry of the Saviour. "-The Ministry of Healing, page 474.
'When in faith we take hold of His
strength, He will change, wonderfully change, the most hopeless, discouraging
outlook. He will do this for the glory of His name. "-Prophets and Kings,
page 620.
'We must individually hear Him speaking
to the heart. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before
Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us,
'Be still and know that I am God.' Psalm 46: 10. Here alone can true rest be
found. "-The Desire of Ages, page 363.
"Make every opportunity to keep
open the communion between Jesus and your own soul. Seek every opportunity to
go where prayer is wont to be made. "-Steps to Christ, page 98.
"Never a prayer is offered, however
faltering, never a tear is shed, however secret, never a sincere desire after
God is cherished, however feeble, but the Spirit of God goes forth to meet it.
"-Christ's Object Lessons, page 206.
"Nothing is apparently more
helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness
and relies on the merits of the Saviour. By prayer, by the study of His Word,
by faith in His abiding presence, the weakest of human beings may live in
contact with the living Christ, and He will hold them by a hand that will never
let go. "- The Ministry of Healing, page 182.
'We need to understand better than we do
the mission of the angels. It would be well to remember that every true child
of God has the co-operation of heavenly beings. Invisible armies of light and
power attend the meek and lowly ones who believe and claim the promises of God.
"-The Acts of the Apostles, page 154. "Let your heart break for the
longing it has for God, for the living God. The life of Christ has shown what
humanity can do by being partaker of the divine nature. All that Christ received
from God we too may have. Then ask and receive. With the persevering faith of
Jacob, with the unyielding persistence of Elijah, claim for yourself all that
God has promised. "-Christ's Object Lessons, page 149.
"Above all things, parents should
surround their children with an atmosphere of cheerfulness, courtesy, and love.
A home where love dwells and where it finds expression in looks, in words, in
acts, is a place where angels delight to dwell. "-The Adventist Home, page
426.
'As a shield from temptation and an
inspiration to purity and truth, no other influence can equal the sense of
God's presence. "-Education, page 255.
"If you will seek the Lord and be
converted every day; it you will of your own spiritual choice be free and
joyous in God; if with gladsome consent of heart to His gracious call you come
wearing the yoke of Christ,—the yoke of obedience and service, all your
murmurings will be stilled, all your difficulties will be removed, all the
perplexing problems that now confront you will be solved,"- The Mount of
Blessing, page 101.
The End