A CONFESSION

    We vehemently declared that “the Church” - or organization - with all its machinery and members “in good and regular standing”  who “stay with the ship,” was unconditionally destined “to triumph,” to “go through to the kingdom.”  We tried to shut our eyes to the solemn warning, “In the balances of the sanctuary the Seventh-day Adventist church is to be weighed.  She will be judged by the privileges and advantages that she has had.  If her spiritual experience does not correspond to the advantages that Christ, at infinite cost, had bestowed on her, if the blessings conferred have not qualified her to do the work entrusted to her, on her will be pronounced the sentence, ‘Found wanting.’  By the light bestowed, the opportunities given, will she be judged.” - (8T 247)  But, it was the unfailing word of the infinite One and our effort to cover up the great truth that our acceptance with God was conditional upon our obedience and humility, only renders us more guilty before Him. (C.O.L. 294)

    The jealous God who has witnessed our iniquity and rebellion has taken things into His own hands at last. Pride and position are melting before His great wrath. (Isa. 2:11-17)  We plead for mercy but there is none. God is dealing with us as we dealt without mercy with those under our care who dared to question our supreme authority or oppose our will. Our eyes that would not discern light from darkness, truth from error, that refused to behold the dangers threatening the Lord’s flock or to look with pity upon their need are consuming away in their holes. (E.W 289-90)  Our tongues that refused to cry aloud and raise a voice of warning against the fearful abominations in the Church are rotting in our mouths. Never again will we lift up our voice like a trumpet and never again will these tongues wag in denunciation and slander and evil-report against those who feared the Lord and who dared to obey Him rather than man. Our days of flattery and praise of man are over and we are eternally lost! We have condemned those who warned us of this awful hour and have betrayed them to their enemies. (Id. 282); “Early Visions”  We have warned the people not to listen to them. (T.M 233)  We have declared them to be fanatics and evil men who would ruin them. (E.W 282)  When we could not refute them by misinterpreting the Scriptures which they brought, we spared no means to blacken their characters and misinterpret their motives. (G.C 458)
We searched out iniquity (Psa. 64:6.), and laid a snare for them to make them an offender for a word. (Isa. 29:21)
Our purpose was to destroy their influence and work which was uncovering our deceptions and taking the prey form our mouths and we cared not what means was used to accomplish our end. We knew we were in the wrong just as the leaders of the Jewish church knew they were in the wrong in their hatred and opposition of Christ, but our stubborn pride and love of power would not allow us to repent. Now the people whom we have deceived are lost with us and they are turning on us with bitter hate and we shall not escape the wrath of God. Our suffering will be tenfold greater than that of the people. (E.W 282)  How true was the prophetic declaration, “ The leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.” (Isa. 9:16)

    But, our confessions are like those of Esau and Achan and Judas. (G.C 620)  We feel no real sorrow for sin- sorrow that we grieved the heart of Christ, for the Holy Spirit has left us forever. We are only sorry that our iniquity has been found out, that God has conquered. We would return, if we could, to the same disregard of His authority and the same cruel treatment of His messengers who faithfully gave the last solemn warning at the cost of all that was dear to them on earth, and even at the peril of their lives. (G.C 606-611)  But, confess we must, though we know it will bring us no relief. The great Judge has ordained that acknowledgment be made by all His creatures of their transgressions against his Holy Law. If this confession was not made voluntarily to man’s Great High Priest in secret while He was still interceding for them, then it must be made before all the universe when it is eternally too late.

    Oh, strange infatuation! We have exchanged peace, happiness, and honor, for wretchedness, infamy, and despair. By our lives we have declared, “ We will not have this Jesus to reign over us.” (Id. 668)

    But we must tell all. The weight of our guilt is crushing us! We would not listen to the tender pleadings of the Still Small voice as it appealed to us through a friend, a brother, a Redeemer. Now that Voice which we so well know, declares our condemnation. O that it were the voice of a stranger! (Id. 642)  We would not allow ourselves to be separated from sin and be washed as white as snow through the merit of the blood of the Lamb when yet that fountain was open for cleansing. We clung to our idols of pride, worldly power and authority, and the approbation of men. Were we not leaders in what we still persisted in calling “ The Remnant Church”? (Though in our hearts we knew the glory had departed). (5T 211)
How could God pass us by? We were the favorites of heaven and always to be exalted as the Church of God. We defied heaven and earth to dispossess us our rights. (C.O.L 294)  Spew us out? Never! We must have possessed superior qualities or God would never have placed us in such positions of honor. Regardless of our departure from the plainest instruction in His Word, we continued to intimidate the membership into believing that our voice was the voice of God. Our word was law. We prized our fine homes, our sleek new automobiles, and our positions more than truth and the approval of God. So He has declared ,” They are joined to their idols, let them alone.” (1T 187)  But now we must try to rid ourselves of guilt. It might be that if we bare our very souls, if we uncover all the deceptions of our years of professed service in the Advent movement we shall secure some relief.

    Our departure from the path of true holiness was very gradual and its beginning dates many years in the past. At the prophetic rise of the Advent Movement after the great disappointment of 1844 the little handful of believers constituted a pure church. The pioneers were men and women of God. Persecution, reproach, and hardship, and the awful sense of the great responsibility that had been placed upon them to give a life-and-death message to the whole world in a short time, solemnized their hearts and kept them close to their divine Leader. But in a few short years a spirit of lukewarmness and carelessness had begun to creep in. This was long before our time. It was even before the days of our predecessors in office.

    God sent startling messages of reproof and warning through the gift of the Spirit of Prophecy but they were only partially received and only half heeded. (E.W. 270)  This was called the “Laodicean Message,” the “Straight Testimony,” or the “ Counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans.”  At intervals this solemn message was repeated but it did not have the effect upon God’s professed people that were gradually drifting from Him, that He designed it should have. (1 T 185)
Many in the church whose lives and practices were condemned by this straight testimony were offended and they rose up against it. They denounced and rejected both the message and the messengers. But, they were always the “faithful few” who loved and obeyed God and through whom He was accomplishing  His purpose. These called themselves “ Philadelphians” after the prophecy of Revelation 3: 7-13. (R.H. Aug. 19, 1851; May 9, 1854)  These few cherished the spirit of “ brotherly love” while the growing majority continued-also according to the prophecy  (Rev. 3”14-20)- to become more and more “ lukewarm and indifferent.” (Definition,- “LAODICEAN: Lukewarm  or indifferent  as were the Christians of ancient Laodicea, a city in Greater Phrygia.”-Webster’s Dictionary.)

    The history of our backsliding and apostasy as leaders and church members is a dark story, indeed, and finally it reached unto heaven. (5T 208-9)  As years passed; in spite of the warnings and entreaties of the Lord through the Spirit of prophecy, the Laodicean element increased in numbers until there could scarcely be found those who were humbly walking in all the counsel of God as true "Philadelphians .” Laodiceans filled most of he positions in the Organizations and Laodiceans held most of the offices in the local churches. Warning after warning was rejected, judgment after judgment was ignored. We even became bold enough to declare publicly that the calamities that had been brought upon us as a people-terrible fires and other heart-sickening losses-were not from God at all.

    To prepare His people both physically and spiritually for translation God sent the wonderful health-reform light. Those few who gladly accepted it and began to order their lives accordingly were greatly blessed in health of body, mind, and soul. But like the Israelites in the wilderness the majority of us could not accept this simple living and plain fare, it cut directly across our perverted appetites and selfish practices. So we rejected or reasoned away as much of the precious health message as we could without openly admitting our unbelief in the “testimonies.” This phase of our apostasy steadily increased until at length our predecessors in the leadership openly repudiated a direct appeal from God to sound a decided advance in health reform- beginning at the heart of the work in Washington. We feared that such a move would split the church, and we valued numbers more than character. (6T 143; C.T. 94)  From that day until the very end of the conflict Satan had things very nearly as he pleased in the church as well as in the world in the matter of eating and drinking and in the modes of dress. Here, again a very few followed thankfully the gracious instructions that were to prepare their bodies for the time of  trouble and their minds to receive vital last-day truths. With the Holy Spirit’s aid they would be able to discern error, when every heresy and deception was being accepted as light.

    But, this small minority who chose to follow the light God had given were a continual rebuke to our self-indulgence and worldliness. By precept and example we were condemned by them. So we denounced them privately and publicly as fanatics and extremists. (T.M. 97)  We held them up to ridicule and set in motion propaganda whereby their adherence to right principles of eating and living became the butt of jokes by leaders and church members alike. We singled out a few eccentrics who were glaringly inconsistent in their practice of so called health reform and whose broken health and sour dispositions testified that they had woefully missed the real purpose of God in giving light on this subject, and held them up as examples of all who were conscientiously calling for a higher standard. This quieted our own consciences and made us more popular with the world-loving multitude of nominal church members who had constantly complained that God was too strict in His requirements for the great anti-typical Day of Atonement. Since the large majority were of the “Laodicean” element it was not difficult to keep the policy and practice of the church at a low level and in favor with the world.

    Toward the close of the great reformatory movement there were those who would not cease their activities in presenting the straight truth, in spite of our demands and threats. They had a “Thus saith the Lord” for everything and we could not refute them. Upon these we heaped the most cruel and unjust treatment. We misrepresented their teachings and their motives. We blackened their reputations  by the vilest slander and put forth almost superhuman efforts to destroy their influence or even their lives. (5T 601; G.C. 609)  For, were they not exposing our hypocrisy and deception? They even dug up our wrongs of the past that had never been acknowledged or corrected, and our departure from the plain testimonies of the Spirit of God. We thought we had covered these securely that they would never be found out, but God seems to have brought them to light. (5T 211-12)  We finally had to face the issue of our bold rejection of health reform when brought urgently to our attention for the last time by the Spirit of prophecy in 1908. We selected our “ best talent” for explaining away the plain teachings of the Word of God, and assigned to them the task of refuting this accusation. They finally came forth with a 14-page defense which really said nothing. But it did leave the minds of church-members in a greater state of confusion that ever and it served its purpose. They found in this an excuse to disregard true health reform and give reign to perverted appetite. We published articles in the “Review” about this time that confirmed this position in the minds of many. And, this explanation came nearly fifty years too late. Those hated “few” who were in the light could easily detect our deception.

    But the disregard of health reform is not the only by-path into which our apostasy led the Lord’s flock to their destruction. Our efforts under the direct leadership of his Satanic majesty covered thoroughly the field of medical missionary work. In fact God saw fit to bring the great final test to His people on this very point. (Ms [ H 121,1900]; L.L. Mess. p. 62)
And so important was this issue that Satan himself took the field as a great Medical Missionary. (G.C. 589)

    Under the direct guidance of the Spirit of prophecy a medical school was established to provide workers in this field for the Advent movement. In the most marvelous way the property and funds were provided for the founding of this school. Many hundreds of pages of carefully detailed instruction was given by the Lord Himself covering every phase of the establishment, operation, and policies of this institution. Those who were sent forth from its doors were to be true, “ Medical Evangelists” to carry the message of Christ’s love on words and deeds of mercy to all the world.

    But with this Laodicean , world-loving element on the increase in the church it was not long until the pressure and inducements of the worldly standards and practices began to influence those of us who had the direction and operation of the Medical Colleges . We found it far easier to comply with the principles, policies, and demands of the A.M.A. than to obey God and operate at cross purposes with this gigantic and corrupt monopoly. So, gradually we slipped away from the pure and lofty standard that had been laid down by the Great Physician as a charter for our school and ere long we had repudiated and reasoned away nearly every principle that God had given to us. We left the simple and natural remedies that He outlined for treating disease (Ms 73, 1908; M.H. 127) and adopted the easier, more popular, and more profitable methods of worldly physicians,- the giving of drugs, “shots”, and vaccines. We well knew that this practice was positively condemned in our divine blueprint. We had clear instructions regarding the sacredness of the human body as the temple of the Holy Spirit and the importance of keeping the mind clear and the bloodstream pure and free from all pollution. We had been warned a thousand times that drugs kill but never cure.  (B-69, 1898; M.H. 127)  But we sidestepped this objection by calling them by another name; drugs weren’t drugs anymore. Science had advanced away ahead of God! We shudder to think of the thousands of souls we shall have to answer for that we have sent unprepared to their graves by our scientific, legalized murder. And, instead of the graduates of our school giving themselves as true “medical evangelists” for the woes of a dying world, the majority settled down to the ease and luxury of private practice in the homeland. An appalling number gave up their hope and faith in the Advent movement.

    Our apostasy in medical lines extended like a giant octopus until it had entered nearly every sanitarium and hospital and private practice in the land. Our God had instructed us to build many small institutions. But we spent millions of dollars building a few very large ones. We were plainly warned that certain units including our Medical College should be established out of the city. But we knew better, so we built in “Sodom” and now the judgments of God upon these great hotbeds of iniquity are swallowing up our idols and exposing our folly. We ourselves have scarcely been aware of how far our corrupt hearts have carried us in opposition to the expressed will of God. And we opposed most violently and to the bitter end every effort of God to correct our errors and recover us from our backslidings

    Another very important phase of the Great Second Advent Moving was the educational work. This, too, was ordained of God and He was most particular in giving full directions as to how it was to be conducted. Satan well knew that this work was the very heart of the cause of God so he laid his counter-plans broad and deep and he watched for willing agents within the ranks to carry our his nefarious design.  His search was well rewarded.  All of us in whatever bracket of responsibility, who had taken lightly or had rejected the humbling testimonies of the Spirit of prophecy against Laodiceanism, were his ready allies.  By rising up against this solemn message upon which our own destiny and the destiny of the church hung (E.W. 270) we had disconnected ourselves from God and we were left to the control of evil angels.  (1T 187)  But in our blindness and frenzied zeal we accused the little company who were in the light as the ones who were deceived and out of line and we even denounced them as being of Satan.

    Through the action of our communities and boards we labored untiringly to bring the educational system of the denomination into complete accord with the world’s standards so that we could be “accredited by the State.” This made for smoother relations between the church and the world (G.C. 389-90; P.K 187; 1T 187) and went a long way toward removing “ the reproach of Christ.”  To bring this about, we were obliged, of course, to disregard the heaven-sent principles that had been given for guidance. We introduced textbooks by infidel authors and hired unconsecrated, worldly-minded teachers. And as if this were not enough, in direct opposition to our instructions (C.T. 255) we sent our teachers to the schools of “higher education” of the world, there to have what little spirituality they might still possess counteracted or destroyed by the daily association of infidel “professors” and students and the study of atheistic texts. This presumptuous practice reached its climax when we brought in worldly teachers for our medical students, who knew nothing of our distinctive God-given principles in diet and health and who had no interest in the work of the third angel’s message,- and paid them handsomely for their services and prestige.

    We seemed to forget that we had been given a sacred commission,- a solemn, judgment -hour warning for all the inhabitants of the earth to be ready for  the call of their names in the great tribunal of the universe. This life-and-death massage demanded haste - a short and speedy preparation by those who were to give it. (6T 134; C.T. 444)  But we insisted on long courses. To keep pace with the standards of the world we repeatedly added more and more to our educational requirements until by the time the students had satisfied our demands they had entirely lost sight of their objective- the great need of a perishing world- and were unfitted for participation in such a sacred work.

    The corruptions that we brought into this branch of the closing work are too numerous and revolting for description. We exchanged useful labor on the farm and in the school factory and plant, for sports and athletics- even encouraging inter-school competition. We lowered the standards of dress and healthful diet. We encouraged worldly and senseless school programs and school papers so full of vanity and foolishness that they made the true Christian student ashamed. Moving pictures that had no place in a Christian school, and entertainment by highly paid professional talent from the outside, were a regular feature in all of the higher-level schools.

    But, perhaps the greatest abomination which we succeeded in bringing into our educational system at all levels was the Spirit of Pharisaism, self- complacency, and false-security that is a stock-in -trade of Laodiceanism. Students were taught from childhood that the Seventh-day Adventist church with headquarters at Washington, D. C., was the “Remnant church” and that to be a member of this organization “in good and regular standing,” was as good as having an insured passport into heaven. They were taught that this denomination was the “Laodicean “ church (and that was the sad truth) and that it was “going through “ unconditionally to the kingdom.  We well knew that there was no scriptural foundation for such a doctrine but we liked it, and we clung to it tenaciously in spite of the glaring inconsistencies that were pointed out to us in this theory.

    This false interpretation of prophecy-so completely out of harmony with Scripture, with reason and with the understanding of the Advent pioneers-reached its climax in the erroneous teaching instilled into the minds of ministerial students in the colleges and the Theological Seminary. The acceptance of this long-cherished heresy put a false light on all of the last-day prophecies and placed the student where he could not define his true position nor discern the working of God in the closing drama.

    The enemy of souls did not forget the publishing work so he enlisted our eager services in this most valuable branch of the activities of the church. Volumes had been given in counsel from the Lord on this subject but we found it just as easy to ignore the plain “ Thus saith the Lord” here as on any other point. We had wise men in our ranks and were not the ideas and policies developed by them more reliable-and much more acceptable to the world-than the instructions form the pen of a woman with only three grades of education? (5T 79) 

 The Lord had declared that the printed page was to act a very important part in the closing work (7T 140) so the arch-enemy called for volunteers to carry out his hellish work of thwarting the divine purposes.  Here again, the ever-increasing army of Laodiceans  stood ready to do his bidding-and, under the guise of loyalty to the Church. We succeeded  in lowering  the standard in our “ Periodicals,” robbing them of any semblance of the work of reform and omitting the presentation of vital “present truth” for fear that it would arouse the antagonism of our subscribers  and decrease our popularity and the circulation of the papers. We gained the friendship of popular -and questionable-worldly magazines and through their pages boasted to the world of our benevolence and our increase in goods.

We declined the promotion of the inspired books bearing the precious truths for want of which the world was dying, and filled our presses and shelves with an ever-increasing array of “New” books, containing wisdom of men. We even stooped so low as to accept printing for the bitterest enemy of the Advent movement,-the papacy, furnishing material that was to be used in opposing the work of God! (8T 91)  Then, too, we found that the denominational books and periodicals were very effective as a medium for denouncing those who were lamenting our apostasy and pointing out our errors and abuses. By this means we were  able to keep the cords bound securely about any who might be inclined to detect our hypocrisy and step out into the light of pure truth. (E.W. 241-42)

    This is the first time we have really paused for reflection or had any disposition to review our course of action and that of our predecessors in positions of responsibility in the Advent Movement. But the God of heaven has had a jealous care for His church (6T 42) and has kept a faithful record of our disregard of the admonitions, warnings, and entreaties He had given us all through the years. Now when our probation has closed and the deceptive power of Satan that has been upon us has accomplished its purpose (G.C. 654-5) we behold with horror the fruit of our labors that have barred us and those whom we have succeeded in misguiding, from the kingdom of Christ. Now we see, too late, that our apostasy advanced steadily with the increase in membership until it permeated every branch and department of the work. The Laodicean element grew until it was the controlling power throughout the world field, and the true, humble Philadelphian could scarcely be found.

    Certain outstanding incidents of rebellion against the divine Leadership of the Church (5T 217) weigh so heavily upon our doomed souls that we must acknowledge them, though some of the guilty actors have since fallen in death. One of the most shameful of these was the debacle of 1888.

    The time had come for the God of heaven to finish His work and take His children home. He sent messages over a period of many months to prepare His professed people for the message and work of that mighty angel of Revelation 18 who was to lighten the whole earth with the glory of God. Through humble human instruments the great power of the Holy Spirit was manifested in such rich currents of love and mercy and light that it would seem that humanity would not be capable of resisting it. But Satan was also on the grounds at the General Conference in Minneapolis, and he succeeded in stirring up leaders and people against the message and the messengers . (C.O.R. (1941) 49) 

The men whom the Lord used to bring great truth of Righteousness by faith to His people were ridiculed, scoffed at, and rejected. The work of the Holy Spirit was attributed to Satan. So, that mighty messenger from heaven was insulted by puny man and he was obliged to return to the presence of the infinite One with such a report of the professed followers of Christ. Through the action of our own brethren the light of this angel which was quickly to prepare earth’s inhabitants for the coming of Christ, was rejected and kept away from the world. (R.H. Nov. 27, 1883)  Soon afterward the message came from God, that if the light he sent had been received and acted upon, Jesus could have come in a very few years from that date. But instead, there began, not forty, but seventy years of wandering in the wilderness. Later near the close of probation when the angel finally returned to join the “third” angel and give power to the last phase of his solemn work, we treated him-in the person of the Lord’s humble and faithful messengers-even more shamefully than in 1888. We denounced him as Satan, violently resisted his efforts, we declared his glory to be a false light, and attributed his power to be from the prince of devils. As the years passed we tried desperately to deny our guilt and to justify our course of action at the 1888 Conference in the eyes of our membership, but the “True Witness” has frustrated our efforts and the naked truth eventually became universally known. Because we had rejected and risen up against the Laodicean message we were left thoroughly deceived and were enlisted as efficient workers for the powers of darkness.

    Then there were other occasions when the Lord called in vain for deep heart-searching and repentance- for a revival and reformation, until His messenger was bowed in grief and anguish almost to the point of despair. All the while the Laodicean element continued to increase the numbers and in power. But the Lord bore along with His wayward people. His salvation was to be made known to all the world and in His long-suffering He condescended to spare them yet a little while longer, hoping that they would fulfill His purpose.

    Another glaring departure from the principles of righteousness looms up before us. Back in the days when, through the Spirit of prophecy, the decisions of the entire body of the General Conference in regular session was acknowledged to be the voice of God, the leaders studied carefully over a period of years the matter of having a church manual. It was finally decided that to do so would be contrary to the very principles of simplicity and freedom in Christ upon which the denomination had been founded. It would lay down a creed and tend to bind men to men encouraging the workers to look to flesh instead of to Christ their leader. So it was unanimously decided that there should be no manual. (R.H. Nov. 27, 1883)  Furthermore, the leaders did not expect that there would ever be one. But later, in our day, after the Lord had declared that the voice of the General Conference was no longer to be regarded as the voice of God (G.C. Bull Extra No. 1, April 3, 1901) we decided that we knew better than our heaven-directed predecessors, so we prepared and adopted a church manual after the order of the creeds of the other popular churches. This manual we followed more carefully than the teachings of Inspiration and we denounced as heretics any who would dare to disregard it, though the worker might be in perfect harmony with the instruction of the Scriptures and Spirit of prophecy. This procedure had the desired effect,-it tended to destroy individual accountability (T.M. 348-50) and turned the eyes of leaders and laymen alike from Christ, the true Head of the church, to finite and erring men. The working of this principle is declared to be the mystery of iniquity. (E.W. 213; T.M. 118)

    But there is still more! How shall we ever clear ourselves for our gigantic apostasy during the first and second World Wars! How can we bear the retribution that we have heaped up for ourselves in our treachery and injustice toward our brethren who would not join us in disregarding the Sabbath and the sixth commandment of God’s holy law when the governments of earth demanded it! The patience and fortitude of those “faithful few” whom we so humiliating disfellowshipped  and abused and finally betrayed  to the cruelty of the bloodthirsty war-lords, burns into our guilty souls like bursts of atomic fire.

How could we ever have been so blind and presumptuous as to hold that  the majority ( about 98%) of the leaders and membership in parts of Europe, who were treading under foot God’s law-though their church membership was intact and they had the backing of the General Conference , and although they maintained possession and operation of churches, colleges, printing plants, and sanitariums,-that these were the true people of God, the “Remnant Church!” And how well we remember the tender urgent appeals of the humble souls whom we had so grievously wronged, pleading to be reinstated into fellowship with their brethren. But we harshly refused to remove the curse of God from the church by rectifying our great wrong, declaring again that even to bring up the subject at the General Conference session would “split the denomination wide open.” We thirsted to maintain and increase our membership even if it be done at the sacrifice of principle and the spirituality of the church. So, acknowledgment was never made of this heinous sin when yet there was time to repent and be forgiven and to counteract in some small degree the damage we had wrought; now we are forced to confess our guilt when it is too late!

    Then it was that Ellen G. White, the messenger of the Lord who for seventy years had faithfully brought to the church the warnings, rebukes, entreaties, and instruction from the throne of God, passed to her rest (July 16, 1915). During her long and arduous life of burden and trial we had honored her with our lips yet like the religious leaders of all past time in their attitude toward the Lord’s messengers, we ignored, slighted, and rejected much of the precious light the Lord of heaven sent us through her testimony. We manifested respect and deference at her grave but we were secretly glad to be free from the correction and rebukes she was so frequently called to administer to us. Could it be that her death was the fulfillment of her own prediction made in 1882?-“ It may  be that ere long all prophesyings  among us will be at an end, and the voice which has stirred the people may no longer disturb their carnal slumbers.” (5T 77)  July 16, 1955 marked the close of the fortieth year since this voice became silent. In the time-table of heaven could there not have been a significant connection between this event and the prophetic utterance,-“ Warning, expostulation, and forbearance, are about to cease; mark the cursing of the fig tree, representing the Jewish nation, covered with the leaves of profession , but no fruit to be found thereon. The curse is pronounced upon the fig tree which represents the moral thinking, living agent, cursed of God, living as were the Jews for forty years after this event, yet dead.” (Spec. to Min. No. 7, p. 60)

    So, with direct and living communication between God and his professed people apparently terminated and Laodiceanism greatly in the ascendancy and still on the increase, the trend was rapidly downward until every conceivable abuse and corruption had entered the church and the presence and glory of the Lord had departed. (5T 210; E.W. 261, 273) While we dogmatically claimed to be the “Remnant” (See book, “Remnant Church.”) yet in practice we neither truly kept the commandments of God nor possessed the living active gift of the Spirit of prophecy. We had abundant Scriptural evidence that God would again manifest His leading through the “living testimony”- active gift of the Spirit of prophecy, which He had promised would be one of the distinguishing features of the true “Remnant Church” until the close of time. (Rev. 12:17; Joel 2:28; E.W. 133-43, 279)  But we had well-formulated plans that would counterwork any such manifestation. We were certain that any communications from God down in the closing work would be no more flattering than Sr. White, and we did not care for any more denunciations for our wrongs.

    We were fully aware that where there was a genuine, Satan would multiply his counterfeits. Our policy was to single out the most glaringly spurious manifestations of the gift of prophecy and hold these up to ridicule, pointing to them as examples of any and all such manifestations. We stubbornly declared that we needed no more of the “living testimony,” we expected no more, and there would be no more. Therefore any further evidence of this gift in the closing work was a fraud and any whom God might choose as channels for the communication of light to His true “Remnant” who were to pass through the period of the plagues and endure the awful trial of the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” were false prophets and were to be cast out, shunned, and denounced as dangerous agents of the devil. We would not venture to conduct or suggest an investigation in any instance, for we knew that there would surely be found the true and genuine “messengers” for God. We urged and demanded a universal rejection of the least indication of direct communication being restored between heaven  and earth. We utterly ignored the plainest inspired statements:

    “The Spirit and power of the coming One will be imparted in large measure to those who are preparing to stand in the day of God, who are hastening  the second advent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To these faithful ones Christ gives special communications. He talks with them as he talked with the disciples before leaving them.” (To Br’n. in Resp. Pos., Basle, Switz., 1886)

     “Communications from heaven are made to those who will catch the first gleams of spiritual knowledge.” (M.Y.P. 191)

    The messenger of the Lord had predicted that after her death great change would take place. (To W. C. White, Feb. 24, 1915)  (This has been true both in the church and in the world.)

    Satan, who is the very best student of Bible prophecy, could discern that the time was near when his hated enemy, the Prince of light, was to bring His work to a close. He knew that his time was short. Since we were now working on the side of the enemy and we had betrayed the cause of  God into his hands (2 T 439-40; 5T 294) there was no department or phase of the work that did not bear the mark of our apostasy. The more sacred the feature the more thoroughly did the prince of evil weave his principles and policies into our plans and activities.

    We entered the field of “labor.” In the face of the plainest instructions form heaven warning us to have nothing to do with Labor Unions, to avoid friction and make it easy for our church members to keep their jobs, we compromised and negotiated an “arrangement with labor unions” that satisfied  their demands and yet did not disturb our consciences as a violation of the plain “Thus saith the Lord.” This cowardly act involved many thousands of our church members and bound them inextricably to evil forces which became the cause of the greatest bloodshed this world had ever seen. (Letters 26, 200, 1903)

    Then we were brought face to face with the necessity of taking a definite position on the matter of war. We had clear instruction on this point in the Scriptures and the Spirit of prophecy. And experience had taught us much. (1 T 361-62)
But we saw that a strict adherence to principle would make us appear “peculiar” in the eyes of the world and would involve us in a serious disagreement with the powers that be. Again we arranged for a compromise and in one bold stroke we sold the flower of our youth, the strength of our young-manhood which God had designed should be the power in His closing work, to the heartless greed and ruthless ambition of the devil’s masterpiece of destruction. We knew full well that no man could obey his heavenly Master while under rigid and arbitrary dictatorship of army officers who knew nothing of the fear of God and who had no sympathy for His closing work.

We tried frantically to ease our consciences by arguing that our beautiful and increasingly popular “Medical Cadet” corps was designed to “save life”. But its duties included the administering of drugs, which God had condemned. And to be honest, we could see little difference between taking of life oneself, and the care and restoration of others who had been injured in the act of taking life so they could return to their bloody post of duty. We, as professed shepherds of the Lord’s flock, made all arrangements with the government men and the army officials and we urged our precious young men to accept an arrangement without question. We went further. We resorted to the ever-effective weapon of ridicule and fear of losing membership, against any of these youth who might cherish and endeavor to carry out any convictions of their own contrary to our demands.

    How the prophecy now rings in our ears,-“My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray…” (Jer. 50:6)

    In all our backslidings and world policies there was one thing that impresses and pleased us. We noticed that in the matter of labor unions, of war, of our relation with the medical association, and of  our standing with the great institutions of learning, as time passed we were becoming more and more popular and acceptable. It was of little consequence to us that we were obliged to lower our  standards and compromise principle to accomplish this end. Our purpose was being achieved, our ambition realized; we were finding a smoother way to heaven- a path where self-denial and the reproach of Christ were greatly lessened. This made it easier to gain members and we erroneously estimated our success and the blessings of God by this increase in numbers. (6 T 143)  We were succeeding in converting the church to the world (C.O.R. 150 [1926 ed.] ) to the extent that our ministers and workers could join the ministerial associations of the popular churches which for years have constituted “Babylon,” and feel perfectly at ease taking part in their association and activities. We could even swell with pride as we heard over TV the name of our church praised as having at last taken its rightful place among these great religious bodies. (P.U. Record. 1953, Donn Thomas)

    As the end drew near our activities broadened to include the smaller  details of the professed work of God as well as the larger aspects. By constant effort we succeeded in exalting the “organization,” the “machinery” until, in the eyes of the workers and the membership, it was of far greater importance than the souls which it was designed to save. Like the Jewish church it had been founded by divine authority but it had experienced the same falling away (5 T 76) and we had been fearful for a long time that the power and presence of God were lacking. (5 T 210) We substituted this with an increased round of human activities and inventions which partially concealed the spiritual destitution of the church and its leaders. And we intimidated our flocks into believing that a word spoken against any abuse or corruption in the organization was as blasphemous as a word against God Himself. For this we had the example of the leaders of the Jewish church in their blind reverence for the temple.

    We placed “the church” (meaning our vaunted Laodicean organization) above Christ at every opportunity. We insisted on baptizing souls “into the church” instead of “into Christ.” We craved and strove for a “doubled membership,” we cared little as to whether or not our membership were converted. We required all who applied for baptism and entrance into the church to sign and accept the falsehood placed by our bold sophistry in the very heart of the pledge,- that they believed the Seventh-day Adventist denomination or organization (declared by our own leaders to be the Laodicean church) was the “Remnant Church.” We had the plainest statements from the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy exposing this deadly error and warning that all Laodiceanism was doomed (R.H., Sept. 3, 1880; C.O.R. 108 [1926] ) and that the Laodecians were the “foolish virgins” of Christ’s parable (R.H., Aug. 19, 1890) but by the suppressing truth, denouncing those who were in the light, and by confusing the issue, we were surprisingly successful in keeping the people deceived and at rest in a false security until it was too late. Now we have also the blood of these souls on our garments.

    We could go on and on in our agonizing acknowledgment of sins and wrongs perpetuated in holy office. We could tell of our misuse of God’s sacred money and of the highhanded and deceptive means we used in extracting it from our membership. We could tell of law-suits between church members or instigated by church leaders against the laity - all carried out of by the recommended of the Conference Officials. We could tell of the wrath and denunciation we heaped upon any faithful soul who through earnest searching of the Word of God and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, came forth with new light or old, forgotten- yet much-needed -light for God’s people. We could tell of the Testimonies slighted or rejected or suppressed so that the members of our flock could not have access to them because they exposed our errors and condemned our practices. We tried to hide or excuse these atrocities but the God of heaven has uncovered our hypocrisy and we are weary of our lives. O that death might hasten  and deliver us from our misery!

    As the work of God was about to enter its final phase we were seized with a frenzied zeal which we ourselves could not fully understand. We accepted it as the long-looked-for and much-overdue revival and reformation that we had long predicted was to be experienced “within the church.” In spite of our apostasy we still insisted that we were the true “Remnant,” “we had the light,” “God was with us.” (E.W. 241)  In spite of corruption in the leadership at all levels we persistently declared that “ The law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet.” (Jer. 18:18)  We would brook no suggestion that the Lord would or could finish His work without us and outside of the Laodicean organization, regardless of the state of backsliding to which it had come. In fact, we flattered ourselves that the church was flourishing ; in typical Laodicean fashion we congratulated ourselves for our magnificent worldwide achievements and expressed our conviction that we were always to be exalted as the church of God- that our organization “ was going through to the kingdom.” (C.O.L. 294)  So this apparent religious awakening (E.W. 261; G.C. 464) confirmed our long-cherished hope and we threw ourselves into the spirit of this subtle and deceptive movement with all the resources at our command. People flocked to our churches. Our membership rapidly increased and we were jubilant over our success. (Isa. 2; Micah 4.)

    Apparently it was time for the last movements before the “swelling” of the message of the “third angel”  into a “loud cry.” The forces of both good and evil had awakened and the entire population of the earth were aligning themselves on either one side or the other. The Laodicean message in its strength and purity  was again being  proclaimed-for the last time-to a sleeping and impenitent  church. We , the “Ancient men” were not permitted to have a part in giving this message, for, how could we ? Lukewarm Laodiceans  ourselves (2T 337) how could we give a startling “straight testimony” to a sleeping flock when we were in the same spiritual condition as they?  Those of our number, either ministers or laymen, who did become aroused to repentance and action in this true reformatory movement, we denounced, cast out, and blackened in an effort to completely destroy their influence, lest through these enlightened souls our apostasy should be unmasked. We wanted nothing in our midst that would point out or rebuke sin. (T.M. 411)  But the vast majority of both leaders and members rose up against the message (5T 136) denouncing it as the work of Satan. Thus it was only a short while until the only voice of warning to be heard was coming from without the  Laodicean organization. The prophecy stated those who rejected this final appeal to the church were “lost sight of “ and “left to the control of evil angels.” (E.W. 270; 1T 187)
So when this message had completed its work the judgment of the church was finished. They had been weighed in the balances of the sanctuary and had been found wanting. (8T 247)  Only a very “little company,” the “faithful few,” had humbly accepted the message and had repented and become purified. (E.W. 270; 5T 207-16)  We had tried all along to convince the church that the large majority were to be saved but the voice form heaven testified that not one in twenty or even one in one hundred had an experimental knowledge of the conditions of eternal life. (C.O.R. 87; 1T 632)

    As this work progressed and we saw a power which we could neither understand nor refute accompanying the message, we became desperate. We could plainly see that the Lord had passed us by and was using agencies of His own choice in the closing work. (T.M. 106, 300; C.O.L. 296-306)  Our envy and jealousy knew no bounds. God could not treat us thus! We would renew our efforts, consolidate our forces, and become more violent yet more deceptive in our opposition against those whom we could not help seeing had been chosen by God to bear the burden of the work in this solemn hour. (5T 80)

    About the time that the true work of reform was getting under way, a rapidly-increasing number of false reformers began to enter the field. These were possessed of another spirit and tended only to confuse the people, harass the true worker for God, and bring reproach upon the cause of truth. They were distinguishable by their fruits. These spurious teachers consisted of every type of fanatic and extremist imaginable and their theories and practices were fantastic beyond belief. No two of these deluded souls believed alike and their unscriptural  teachings and positions were well calculated to “shake” everything that could be shaken, as well as to disgust many an honest soul and turn him  from the true work of reform. We at once saw in this state of confusion an effective means for arousing prejudice against the work of the “little company who were standing in the light” (5T 209) and of leading many to attribute all reformatory activities to the work of Satan. Our plan worked well. In a short we had set in motion throughout the field, propaganda that spread like fire in the stubble, turning men and women and even children bitterly against any and all who were even suspected of having any part or sympathy with those who would “raise the standard and pour forth the straight truth.” We would not permit any of these to have a hearing for we knew that an honest investigation would uncover vital truth, which we feared. So we adopted a regular procedure for any who would dare lift up their voice in rebuke of sin. We disfellowshipped these without a fair trial justifying our action from certain man-made precepts in the divinely unauthorized church manual.

    This wholesale disfellowshipping continued and increased until thousands of loyal, tithe-paying, consecrated church members had been cruelly cast out and disgraced by slander and misrepresentation . Their only offense was that they had studied the Word of God for themselves and had been aroused to a determined effort to bring their own lives into harmony with its teachings and to sound a warning to their brothers and sisters in the church before it should be forever too late. As a warning to our membership and to intimidate them into submission and recognition of our supreme authority over their destiny in things spiritual , we publicized this great campaign and made mention of it in the pulpit whenever it might serve our purpose. Our effort thus to bind men was not without effect. (T.M. 485-505) 

We also used “the press” to our advantage to misrepresent and denounce any who would dare to lift their voice against the increasing abominations in the church (5T 210) or to follow the dictates of the Holy Spirit (R.H., July 23, 1895; Oct. 18, 1951) and enter upon a work for God, without first having received their commission from us and agreeing  to follow unconditionally our directions in every detail. (T.M. 300)  We held tenaciously to two great errors:  First, that God would not operate through any instrumentality outside the Laodicean organization and without the authorization of its leadership; second, that every word spoken and every action taken by the leading brethren was to be accepted as from God Himself. What heresy! What deception! How well we knew that this was the great apostate principle of the “Mother of Harlots”! And now when we are lost and when these errors have led multitudes of our people to perdition , we are forced to acknowledge our crime which has been an insult to high heaven. So all who would not concede to this erroneous position and render unto us the homage we demanded, we disfellowshipped and indiscriminately denounced as “off shoots,” classing them every time with vile and discordant element that had ever  arisen to harass the Church of Christ.

    These troublesome off-shoots were in our thoughts day and night. Certain of them had become so well established over a period of years and had so fully partaken of the same spirit of worldliness, self-complacency, and self-righteousness that we saw very little need of opposing them. Others who were constantly springing up here and there were in their teachings so glaringly out of harmony with the principles of the Word of God that they were scarcely to be taken seriously . Many of these were “here today and gone tomorrow.” So this class gave us no undue caused for alarm. But there was a third class whose presence and activities caused us to tremble. We could find no fault with their lives-except floating rumors that were  set into circulation by individuals whose wrong course had been rebuked by them. The fruit of this class bore the divine credentials,-it was into holiness. (C.O.R. 44)  The only grounds we could find for opposing or denouncing them was that they “ didn’t come through us ,” they did not recognize our authority nor consult us as to their work or their message. We could think of Bible characters who were guilty of this same “crime.” Their testimony was with power but the spirit that controlled us was violently antagonistic to the spirit that actuated them. And, these certain individuals seemed to be placed strategically all over the earth and the greatest marvel was that in their literature and teachings they all spoke the same things although they had not previously seen or heard of each other.

    As the conflict grew fiercer we found ourselves spending more and more of our time and effort in a futile attempt to counteract or put a stop to the work  of these humble souls. We could not refute their message (E.W. 33) so we maligned and misrepresented their motives, attacked their characters, and blackened their reputation. (G.C 458)  We intensified our published propaganda against them (See R.H. from 1952-55) and circulated all manner of falsehoods regarding them and their work. We could not tolerate such an element as this in our midst, for their clear, simple teachings drawn directly from the inspired writings cut to the “quick” and laid bare our sham. We denounced their literature and held it up to ridicule- though we could find no fault with it, except that it spoke the unvarnished truth. We even ventured so far as to assert that it was these undaunted laborers who feared nothing but God and hated nothing but sin, who  were hindering the work of God and were responsible for the delay in Christ’s coming. (Dr. Geo. Mcready Price, R.H., 1954)

    We excited prejudice and in every conceivable way worked to convince our constituency that these people were dangerous and what they taught was falsehood and rank heresy. We accused them of “ tearing down” the work of God, when we well knew that the only thing they were tearing down was the mighty bulwark of error, tradition, glorification of men, and the feeling of false security that Satan, over a period of many years, had insidiously brought into the church. It was the spirit of pride and worldliness that was being attacked by the cutting truths of the Word of God  spoken by these servants of Christ.

    The divine standard was being presented and the temple, the altar, and them that worship therein were being measured. (Rev. 11:1; 7T 219) God had given to His witnesses (Rev. 11:3) and they were beginning to prophesy in sackcloth. (4T 594)  His true church- the “faithful souls” (A.A 11) - were coming into line and putting on the armor of Christ’s righteousness as they entered upon their final conflict. “(P.K. 725)

    The accusations we hurled against this little company which we found scattered throughout the world are too numerous and revolting for words. Only the malignant scheming of the arch - fiend could have put such falsehoods, misrepresentations, and malicious insinuations into our minds. We were bent on destroying the influence and work- if not the lives- of these humble instruments and we cared not what means we used to accomplish our purpose. If we could not rule we would ruin. We charged them with selfishly desiring to “gain a following” start some new organization in which they could occupy the highest place. (We were reminded of One in another age who was suspected by the leaders of His own church and nation of establishing a rival kingdom. “He who is guilty of wrong is the first to suspect wrong.” M.B 181)

    But we knew this to be false, for they had steadfastly refused worldly honor or position or recognition. They had declined to accept the homage even of those whom they had brought to Christ. Their  oneness with their Lord and His power by which they were enabled to witness for Him, had cost- as it had the Apostle Paul- the loss of all things dear to them on earth,- family, friends, home, position, reputation, and a life of comfort and ease. And it had bestowed in the place of these, sorrow, suffering, hardship, the hatred and reproach of their brethren, and an agonizing burden for the lost souls for whom Jesus lived and died. And it was yet to bring them bitter persecution, torture, and possible death. These faithful workers had no smooth message to give and no position or human honor to bestow upon these who should accept the light from heaven which they brought. They were not popular with the world nor with world-loving churches. Nor was it a vision of financial gain that inspired them for they labored in an entirely self-supporting manner as did the great apostle to the gentiles. It was a love for the truth and for their sin-pardoning Savior that constrained both the giver and the receiver of the message. Far from striving for a following, when the messengers saw that too much honor and attention were being focused on them they quietly withdrew to labor in another place.

    We had become so adept at accusing these fearless workers of “criticism” that in our own minds we had fully counteracted the commanded of God meant for this very time,- “ Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isa. 58:1) “Cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.” (Ezek. 16:2)  We labeled everything that did not conform to our well-outlined “peace and safety” message, as “Criticizing” or “condemning” or “accusing,” and now we only expect “sudden destruction.” (1 Thess. 5:3)  Much of what was presented pointing out our errors and apostasy was directly quoted from the Word of Inspiration and was plainly seen to be applicable to the very conditions cited. But that made no difference to us. We loved our sins and our worldly policies and we were determined to denounce any voice that might be raised against them. So, the cry of “Criticizing the church”! or “Condemning the leaders”! became the subterfuge behind which we all hid whenever  the least effort was made to lead us into the light of present truth. Some of our leaders prepared sermons which they preached to the largest gatherings obtainable, demanding that more respect must  be given to the ministers and leading brethren. We were fully aware that there would be no need for such an appeal if our lives and influence had been approved by the Holy Spirit.

    We were especially fond of bringing the charge that the “Remnant Church” was being called “Babylon.” We had a great regard for the first few pages of the book,  “Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers” which, by cleverly misapplying and taking out of their setting as to time and circumstances (Ms. Oct. 10, 1911) we could seem to make condemn the work of these true reformers in the closing work. We were deathly afraid of the remaining several hundred pages of this wonderful message written especially written for us, for it repeatedly  and unequivocally condemned  the very sins and practices of which we were guilty and which have now caused us to be numbered among the lost. It condemned our high-handed exercise of power. (T.M. 361) our effort to control the minds and activities of those whom God had chosen to do a work for Him (Id. 347-8) our refusal to candidly consider new truths because they did not agree with our preconceived  ideas nor come through a source pleasing to us (Id. 89-98, 105-11)  It condemned our cherishing man-made theories as to how and  through whom the Holy Spirit was to manifest itself in the closing work (Id. 64-5)
and pointed out many other evil practices and abuses which were corrupting our ministry.

    And as for calling the “Remnant Church” “Babylon,” we knew very well that this was entirely contrary to the message of these people as was clearly shown in their oral and written presentations . We knew that the Scriptures and the Spirit of prophecy show plainly that the true “Remnant” was an invisible number known only to God and whose names are engraved in the Lamb’s book of life in heaven where no man or group of men could touch them. (Rev. 10:2, 8-10; Dan. 12:1; E.W. 279)  There was a time when, as with the Hebrew church, “the people of God” and “the organization” were more nearly synonymous. But that time had long since passed. We knew also that the true “Remnant” had renounced their own self- righteousness and had  “put on Christ” (P.K. 725) and by faith in His indwelling presence were really keeping the commandments of God from the heart (Rev. 12:17) and that they had in their midst the gift of the Spirit of prophecy which had been promised to the true church until it should come in the unity of the faith unto a perfect man. (Eph. 4:11-17; 1 Cor 12:10)  And we knew that these true reformers showed from the word of God that the “Remnant” were the “living saints,” the 144,000 who were to be translated to heaven alive at the coming of Christ. (E.W. 15)  So to make the accusation that this select and holy people were being called” Babylon” or a part of “Babylon” was not only false and unjust, but absurd.

    But we shudder now as we realize the true meaning and designation of the term “Babylon” and of the people who compose that vast and sorrowful throng. Now that probation has closed we see that all the world is divided into but two classes. The little and insignificant company who had the light and power of God and were sighing and crying for the abomination in the church (3T 267) and whom we tried to exterminate from the face of the earth, have stood the final test and have been sealed and marked for translation. (E.W 15)  These make up the “Philadelphians” of the prophecy (Rev. 3:7-13) these compose the “Remnant church.” We, the great army of Laodiceans, who have been rejected of God and spewed out of His mouth (6T 408; C.O.R 89) did not accept the saving present truth and when the “life and death test” was brought upon the world (C.O.L. 412) we took the easy, popular side. (G.C. 608)  Now with all our boasts, our deceptive reasoning, and our counter-charges, we find ourselves unavoidably apart of “Babylon.” Since we would not ally ourselves with the forces of Christ we now find we are bound up for the burning with all the corrupt and vile and blasphemous that compose “The Great City” which is to receive the full measure of the wrath of God. And presently we shall be worshipping at the saints’ feet. (E.W. 15; Wd. To L. Flock 12)

    Among the multitude of false accusations that we used in our attempt to dissuade these heaven-ordained workers was the charge that they “misapplied the Testimonies”- “took things out of their setting.” We were so guilty of this wrong ourselves that we were well qualified to make the charge against others when their well-chosen and correctly-applied references from the inspired writings condemned some of our cherished sins. We knew that by the consecrated intelligent mind it could easily be discerned as to whether a statement were misapplied or taken out of its proper setting. And when the reference is given, the student may always turn and consult the context. But this malicious charge increased the prejudice against the Lord’s servants and turned many from the light.

    We also made cleverly prepared statements in our many publications classing all whose consciences and activities in religious work we could not control, as “off-shoots” and denouncing then one and all as agents of Satan and as not having “a high sense of honor and integrity” (“Beware!”, in U.C. Papers) when the very articles in which we made these accusations were so glaringly full of deception and misrepresentation that it hardly seems possible that anyone could help detecting our hypocrisy.

    After this conflict had continued with increasing ferocity for many months these “troublesome elements” were becoming so numerous that they were found in nearly every church and community. All  conference and church workers were warned regarding them. No distinction was made, no effort was to be made to “try the spirits” (1 John 4) to see if it might not be that God was endeavoring to bring about a work of revival and reformation “within the church.” All who would not readily submit to he arbitrary demands of the church leaders and accept their claim to the right to “interpret” the word of God and dictate to all the church members as to their Christian duty, were to be disfellowshipped and denounced as “off-shoots.” Any word that tended to arouse the carnal slumbers of either laymen or minister was to be looked upon with suspicion and promptly dealt with as dangerous. (R.H. Nov. 7, 1918)  All leaders were taught to ignore the principle that vital present truth causes dissension (T.M. 106) persecution (G.C. 48) and a sword. (Matt. 10:34)  We wanted  only wanted “Unity” in the church even if it be at the cost of compromise with the kingdom of darkness. (R.H., Apr. 19, 1906)

    So we took counsel and decided to prepare a small book that would cover the subject thoroughly, and to distribute this work free of charge or at a very low figure to all our leaders and people throughout the world. This booklet was purportedly to be from the pen of Ellen G. White and written for the very circumstances in which the denomination now found itself. Its purpose as clearly stated in the “forward” was allegedly to prove from  the inspired writings that the Seventh-day Adventist organization with headquarters at Washington D.C., always was and always would be the chosen people of God, the  “Remnant Church” of the prophecy . It was to show that the church had not lost the favor of God and would never lose it, but was destined unconditionally to go through to the kingdom, and that all who should follow the rules and regulations of the leaders and should stay by the ship would triumph with her. Furthermore, it was to strike forever the death-knell for all “off-shoots” of whatever brand or division they might be.

    So we had this book published bearing the significant title,-   “ THE REMNANT CHURCH,” by “ Ellen G. White.” It bore the orthodox signature of the “Pacific Press Publishing Association,” so that the denominations which had been thoroughly warned not to accept or venture to read anything that was not produced or recommended by the “Conference,” would know that this was safe for their consumption. We had these little books scattered like the leaves of autumn. They went into every institution and every church. They entered many of the homes of church members. This publication met with remarkable success. Our plan worked well. Members who had begun to be aroused to study for themselves and to become alarmingly aware of their own need and the need of the church, were set at ease and lulled back to sleep in the deceptive security that “the church was going through to the kingdom and all who remained with it in good and regular standing were sure of heaven.” Many a soul who had been convicted of sin by the Spirit of God and who had begun to set his life and his house in order and to turn his attention and worship from man to the God who made heaven and cattle, was thrown into perplexity by this masterpiece of deception.. Weak-minded and inexperienced individuals wavered, then they doubted the truth that had come to them, and finally they denied the light that had  touched their hearts and had begun a work of revival and  reformation in their lives. (E.W. 45)  They were plunged into impenetrable darkness and became the easy prey of the enemy. All who had been convicted of their sins by the teachings of the true advocates of reform yet who were secretly looking for some avenue of escape from the reproach and self-crucifixion that true Christianity requires , grasped at this peace and safety message as the answer to their wish, quieting their consciences with the long-held error that the men in holy office must be right. (L.P.  21)  After all, how could so many apparently good and honest and intelligent men be wrong and such a small, humble, and unpretentious little company be right?

    Now that it is too late to repent we can see clearly that the circulation of this misleading compilation of the writings of the messenger of God, was a master- stroke in apostasy under direct leadership of the prince of evil. It was our boldest effort thus far to bind the minds and souls of His precious flock in darkness and error unto their eternal destruction. (G.C. 607)
Now we confess our deception with tears of burning anguish and we must answer for the great company of souls who were found unprepared when the great Judge took their names upon His lips in the final decision for eternity.

    We stated in our book that certain ones had “gone out from us.” We made the same assertion in the “Review.” We knew this was false. They had not “gone out,” they had been ruthlessly “cast out” because they could not be intimidated into relinquishing their God -given right of freedom of conscience, or forced to continue their worship of man in the place of the Lord of hosts. They were forbidden, with threat of  violence, even to attend the church services or other religious gatherings. They loved their brethren and their church and it caused them indescribable grief to be severed from it even if it had not been done unjustly. (G.C. 376)  And these earnest souls who had been favored with the light of present truth had not called anyone to “draw off into some new organization” as we had charged. They had already seen too much of corrupt dictator organizations. They realized that this was the closing work of the third angel’s message and that it was going forward “ under the direction of the angel,” “contrary to any human planning” (T.M. 300) and they were happy to find that God had accounted them worthy  to be a part of His great divine organization as He took “the reins in His own hands” in the final phase of the Advent movement. (Id.)  The organization was the best yet,- myriads of angels with the Captain of the Lord’s host in command, and having direct communication with His human agents through the gift of prophecy, and all working in perfect harmony by the Holy Spirit all over the world. The workers were no more working independently than Peter and John and Stephen and Philip and Paul were working independently. God had declared,- “ The Spirit is poured out upon all who will yield to its promptings, and casting off all man’s machinery, his binding rules and cautious methods, they will declare the truth with the might of the Spirit’s power.” (R.H. July 13, 1895; Oct. 18, 1951)
This is what we were witnessing, but we condemned it as stubbornness, pride, and unsanctifed independence. (See E.W. 88-9)

    In addition to making these misrepresentations in the “forward” of our book, we also used certain terms and words interchangeably in an effort to confuse the minds of the readers leading them to conclude that the Spirit of prophecy taught that the “Advent movement,” the “Seventh-day Adventist church organization with headquarters at Washington, D.C.,” and the “Remnant Church” were one and the same thing and that, notwithstanding its state of apostasy and the corruptions we had brought in, the organization with all that the term implied was unconditionally destined to triumph gloriously. In this “forward” we set the mold for the mind of the reader and with the aid of well worded  sub-heads led him to see in these inspired statements which we had taken out of their setting and misapplied, justification for our false theories and Satanic course of action. We were well aware that other statements by the same author could be placed beside these that we had published that would completely reverse the sentiments and conclusions of our book. Yet we knew that this inspired author did not contradict herself. The word of God is properly understood only by the aid of that Spirit by whom the word was given. After all, we were a self-declared “ Laodicean” church who had prepared and published this little book for the purpose of silencing every vice that would dare to point out our abominations, and to prove that our theories and polices were correct and that “ the Laodicean church” was “the translation church.” (R.H. Nov. 30 ,1939; Oct. 19, 1950)
Since we were blind, deceived people (Rev. 3:17; 3T 253) what could be expected here but a work of deception! This was our masterpiece!

    The “shaking” or “sifting” of the church was finally completed. God had demanded and promised a “pure church.” The rebels had been “purged out” (T.M. 372-3) and the true people of God- so very few in number- were a united people giving the final warning with power. Here was the nucleus of the “Remnant church”- with membership written in heaven and known only to God.

     Our Laodicean church was still intact operating pompously. (5T 210; Isa. 2:6)  It had united fully with the world and was multiplying its membership in the most astounding manner. (Micah 4; Isa. 2)  The power and presence of God were lacking so it required  no cross for a worldling to unite with the church. We congratulated ourselves for our marvelous success and prosperity. We called it the blessing of God and flattered ourselves that at last the “great revival” had come. the “straight testimony” of the “True Witness” was no more heard rebuking sin and calling to repentance. We had succeeded in silencing this voice in the church forever. We had represented  to the people that the “shaking” was to separate from the Laodicean organization all who were out of harmony with its spirit and practices. These were the harmony with its spirit and practices. These were the “tares” and how glad we were now that with God’s  help we had gotten rid of them. Now the church could prosper.

    But God viewed things in an entirely different light. His chosen messengers who had faithfully given the Laodicean message to His professed people had been cast out by men but had been  registered indelibly in the book of life. The “sifting” so long debated and anticipated was accomplished and we know see clearly that to be “shaken out” meant to be separated in God’s reckoning from the “faithful souls” who from the beginning have constituted His true invisible church. (A.A. 11)  To be retained in “good and regular standing” with our corrupt, doomed Laodicean organization meant to be “shaken out” from the true translation church- the Philadelphian Remnant.

    How we fought all through the closing work to convince our people that the church was going through with all those who had stayed by the ship, and to be cast out of membership with the denomination was equivalent to having one’s name blotted out of the book of life. We found this to be the most effective “whip” we could hold over our constituency for it drove them to any lengths of blind submission and compromise rather than suffer the “disgrace” (?) of being disfellowshipped or run the risk of losing eternal life. The involvements of our excommunications   were little less than those practiced by the church of Rome. (G.C. 141)

    Since the destiny of our church as well as our own destiny hung on the attitude taken toward the “Laodicean message,” when this message had completed its work it is evident that the church had been judged , it had sealed its destiny. We can see now that the vast majority of the church, who rose up against this solemn call to repentance and humility, did not endure the final test and they are our companions in agony as the judgments of God are falling upon our unprotected heads. The judgment of the living had been in progress while many were looking for this awfully solemn event to begin at some future time.

    Near the close of this period of witnessing in sackcloth (Rev. 11:3; 4T 594) “ a sudden and unlooked for calamity” (C.O.L 412) occurred, “a series of events revealing that God” was “master of the situation.” (9T 96)  Thus commenced the “little time of trouble” when “the Holy Spirit was poured out in the “latter rain” before the plagues began to fall. (E.W. 33, 85-6)  This catastrophic occurrence inevitably involved the proper observance of the Seventh-day Sabbath of the holy law of God. Both wise and foolish virgins (C.O.L. 406-413) both Laodiceans and Philadelphians, were brought face-to -face with death in this supreme test over the question of whether they would obey God or man.   Only those who had followed on in the light and who had gained an experience with the Holy Spirit (C.O.L. 412) were able to endure the test and retain their position of loyalty to their Creator. (E.W. 33, 85-6)  We saw the issue and sensed the need. We began to see how far our apostasy had carried us in opposing God and His faithful servants, but we had no power to act. (Spec. to Min., No. 7, 54-5)  To preserve our lives and retain our positions we issued an order for our worldwide membership that, “just for the emergency,” all loyal Seventh-day Adventists were expected to comply with the demands of their governments in regard to their attitude toward Sabbath (Saturday) observance. We persuaded ourselves that in this act we would not be violating the Sabbath command, we would be but carrying out the inspired admonition to obey “the powers that be.” (Rom. 13:1)  We had staged a preview of this terrible drama at an earlier date. This was the crowning abomination of the “Ancient Men” seen by the prophet before the slaughter began. (Ezek. 8:16)

    Then through our malice and treachery and to save our own lives we betrayed our former brethren-even our closest friends and relatives-into the hands of the “State” to be abused, tortured, or even put to death for non-compliance with the laws of the land contrary  to the requirements of Jehovah. (G.C. 608-610)  Thus began the days of trial and persecution for the “feeble Remnant.” The members of the true “body of Christ” were drawn  close together in tender sympathy and love as souls in all the religious bodies responded to the “loud cry of the third angel” and came out and united with the little company who were in the light, and endured the persecution with them. (6T 401)  The judgments of God were in the land and soon in a great blaze of power and glory the final clash between the true people of God  and the powers of darkness was waged and the work of salvation for guilty man was finished! Human probation was ended and WE WERE SHUT OUT ! To all our bitter agonizing cries for mercy, we heard only the mournful words, -“Too late! TOO LATE!

    Soon the death decree was issued against the loyal people of God and they were plunged into the “time of Jacob’s trouble.” Here again, we had our parts to act, like Judas, in betraying them to their enemies. (“Early Visions,” Doorchester, Me., Oct. 23, 1850)  During this awful time of agony and trial when, like their patient Master, they were “drinking of the cup and being baptized with the baptism,” we stood by and joined in the mocking taunts and derisive jests that were hurled at these saints of God. But they heeded us not. Shortly, like peals of loudest thunder, the voice of God turned their captivity upon them has been conferred a power and radiance before which we cannot stand. The all-important question as to who ere right and who were wrong, who have been in the light and who have not, has been forever settled. Now we can see who are accepted and loved of God, and we, who have claimed to be Jews- the true people of God- and are not (Rev. 3:9) are falling and worshipping at their feet. (Id.; Wd. To the L. Flock 12)  We have lost all for time and for eternity! To those whom we have deceived and led to perdition (G.C. 640) we are forced to make this agonizing confession before the swords that have been whetted to destroy the saints shall fall upon our guilty heads. O that we had discerned and heeded the tender tones of the still small voice while yet there was hope! But now it is forever too late!