Focus on the goal instead of what’s holding you back. By Kai Mester
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A statement by Ellen White has led some Seventh-day Adventists to believe that they will separate from their churches just before the apocalyptic world crisis.
“I have seen that God has sincere children among the nominal Adventists and the fallen churches. Before the plagues are poured out, ministers and simple believers are being called out of these churches and are willingly accepting the truth. Because the enemy knows this, he brings about a revival in these religious communities even before the third angel gives his loud cry. In this way, he also wants to make people who are opposed to the truth believe that God is with them. He hopes to deceive the sincere that God is still working for these churches. But the light will shine, and all the sincere will leave the fallen churches and join the rest.”(Early Writings, 261)
The following quote makes it clear that Ellen White is referring to nominal Adventists, the believers who are waiting for Jesus’ return but who sanctify Sunday, or those communities that have emerged from the Advent movement without accepting the Sabbath.
“I have seen that there are children of God who neither recognize nor keep the Sabbath. They have never been enlightened about it. At the beginning of the tribulation period, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit. We will go out and proclaim the Sabbath more holistically. This will displease the churches and the nominal Adventists because the truth about the Sabbath is not undeniable. At this time, all the heart children of God clearly recognize that we (the Sabbatarians) are right. They come out and endure persecution with us. I saw sword, famine, pestilence and great chaos in the land. The wicked will think the Sabbatarians are to blame for these judgments. They get together and discuss how they can be wiped off the face of the earth. They think they can thereby put a stop to the disaster.”(Early Writings, 33)
In another statement, she describes the believers as nominal Adventists who do not recognize their prophetic gift:
“Fanaticism was occurring in the state of Maine at this time. Some stopped working altogether and excluded from their congregation anyone who disagreed with them and also rejected some of what they considered to be religious duties. God revealed these errors to me in a vision and sent me to his erring children to enlighten them. However, many of them didn’t want to know anything about it and accused me of conforming to the world. On the other side were the name Adventists , who even accused me of fanaticism. I was actually the brains behind all the fanaticism. And yet I was trying to oppose it.” (Review and Herald, July 21, 1851)
It is certainly possible to be a nominal Adventist while keeping the Sabbath and believing in the Spirit of Prophecy. But this is not an invitation to separate from the Adventist Church. The Sabbath and the Spirit of Prophecy are really two components that can bring great blessing to our life of faith. Like two lighthouses, they can protect us from the dangerous cliffs of the religious dynamics of these days.
Source: hoffnung-weltweit.info
