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“Throughout the Bible, people are warned
about false prophets (Ezek. 13; Matt. 24:23-27; 2 Pet. 3:3). False prophets claim
to speak for God, but they speak falsehood.
To gain a hearing, they come to people “in
sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are
ferocious wolves” (Matt. 7:15). No matter
how innocent and harmless these teachers
appear on the outside, they have the nature
of wolves—they are intent on destroying
faith, causing spiritual carnage in the
church, and enriching themselves. They
“secretly introduce destructive heresies,”
“bring the way of truth into disrepute,” and
“exploit you with fabricated stories” (2 Pet. 2:1-3).
The false teachers don
“sheep’s clothing” so they can mingle with
the sheep without arousing suspicion. They
usually are not up front about what they
believe; rather, they mix in some truth with
their falsehood and carefully choose their
words to sound orthodox. In reality, they
“follow their own ungodly desires” (Jude 1:17-18), and “they never stop sinning; they
seduce the unstable; they are experts in
greed” (2 Pet. 3:14).”[1]
The New Testament
warns that false prophets
and false teachers would be in the Church
and we are told to test them by the Word of God. The
strongest warnings in the Bible are against
false prophets and false teachers leading
the Church away from the truth.
The New Testament offers many examples
of false teachers who the scriptures say God
has devoted to destruction (Matt. 24:24;
John 8:44; 1 Tim. 1:20; Titus 1:16), and
the Judaizers that Paul had to deal with in
Galatians 1:8-9 are included in that
company. Paul had to denounce the Galatians’
perversion of the gospel, and sometimes we
have to do the same.
There is only one true gospel, justification
by faith alone, in Christ alone, apart from works of the law.
Galatians 5:2-4 says, “Look: I, Paul,
say to you that if you accept circumcision,
Christ will be of no advantage to you. I
testify again to every man who accepts
circumcision that he is obligated to keep
the whole law.
You are severed from Christ, you who
would be justified by the law; you have
fallen away from grace.”
Salvation
by Law-keeping is an impossibility.
Any attempt to be justified by the law is to
reject salvation by grace alone, through
faith alone, in Christ alone. Those who seek to be justified
by the law are separated from Christ and
lose all possibility of God’s salvation (Deut. 27:26; Rom. 19:5; Gal. 3:10-13; James 2:8-10). Their abandonment of
Jesus and the gospel simply serves to
demonstrate that their faith was never
real to begin with (Luke 8:13-14; 1 Jn. 2:19).
The Bible warns us
repeatedly that
there will be false prophets and false teachers in
the Church.
Mark 13:22 says,
“for
false Christs and false prophets will arise,
and will show signs and wonders, in order to
lead astray, if possible, the elect.”
1 John 4:1 says,
“Beloved, do not
believe every spirit, but test the spirits
to see whether they are from God, because
many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
1 Timothy 4:1-5
says,
“But the Spirit explicitly says that in
later times some will fall away from the
faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits
and doctrines of demons, by means of the
hypocrisy of liars seared in their own
conscience as with a branding iron, men who
forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from
foods which God has created to be gratefully
shared in by those who believe and know the
truth. For everything created by God is
good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is
received with gratitude; for it is
sanctified by means of the word of God and
prayer.”
2 Timothy 3:1-5
says,
“But realize this, that in the last days
difficult times will come. For men will be
lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful,
arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents,
ungrateful, unholy, unloving,
irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without
self-control, brutal, haters of good,
treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding
to a form of godliness, although they have
denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
2 Peter 2:1-3 says, “But false
prophets also arose among the people, just
as there will also be false teachers among
you, who will secretly introduce destructive
heresies, even denying the Master who bought
them, bringing swift destruction upon
themselves. Many will follow their
sensuality, and because of them the way of
the truth will be maligned; and in their
greed they will exploit you with false
words; their judgment from long ago is not
idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 says, “For
such people are false apostles, deceitful
workers, disguising themselves as apostles
of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan
disguises himself as an angel of light. So
it is no great surprise if his servants also
disguise themselves as servants of
righteousness. Their end will be according
to their works.” (CSB)
We have a responsibility to test
what those who claim to be prophets teach by
the written word of God.
1 Corinthians 14:32
says, “and the spirits of prophets are
subject to prophets;”
2 Timothy 4:1-5 says, “I charge you in the
presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is
to judge the living and the dead, and by his
appearing and his kingdom: preach the word;
be ready in season and out of season;
reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete
patience and teaching. For the time is
coming when people will not endure sound
teaching, but having itching ears they will
accumulate for themselves teachers to suit
their own passions, and will turn away from
listening to the truth and wander off into
myths. As for you, always be sober-minded,
endure suffering, do the work of an
evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
As Christians we have to
heed the counsel of 2 Timothy 4:2. Paul
tells us to be ready “in season and out of
season” to deal with the false teachers.
We have to always be ready to correct,
rebuke, or encourage those who God has put
under our care.
How do we deal with false prophets
and false teachers? We must correct their
false teaching with the truths of scripture.
Titus 1:9 says, “He must hold firm to the
trustworthy word as taught, so that he may
be able to give instruction in sound
doctrine and also to rebuke those who
contradict it.”
2 Timothy 2:24-25
says, “And the Lord’s servant must not be
quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to
teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting
his opponents with gentleness. God may
perhaps grant them repentance leading to a
knowledge of the truth,”
Jude 1:3
says, “Beloved, although I was very eager to
write to you about our common salvation, I
found it necessary to write appealing to you
to contend for the faith that was once for
all delivered to the saints.”
(see
also: 1 Pet. 3:15; 2 Cor. 10:3-6; Col. 4:5-6; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:16-17; 2 Thess. 2:15).
What should we do if the false teacher will not
submit to the authority of the
pastor or the chosen leaders of the
congregation?
Romans 16:16-19
says, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of Christ greet you. I
appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for
those who cause divisions and create
obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you
have been taught; avoid them. For such
persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but
their own appetites, and by smooth talk and
flattery they deceive the hearts of the
naive. For your obedience is known to all,
so that I rejoice over you, but I want you
to be wise as to what is good and innocent
as to what is evil.”
Titus 3:10 says,
“As for a person who stirs up division,
after warning him once and then twice, have
nothing more to do with him.”
1 Corinthians 5:11
says, “But now I am writing to you not to
associate with anyone who bears the name of
brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality
or greed, or is an idolater, reviler,
drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with
such a one.”
(see also: 1 Tim. 1:19-20; 2 Jn. 1:7-11;
Acts 20:28-29; Titus 1:9; 2 Thess. 3:6).
Sometimes, false teachers need to be removed
from the church for the sake of the flock.
2 Thessalonians 3:13-15 says, “As for you,
brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.
If anyone does not obey what we say in this
letter, take note of that person, and have
nothing to do with him, that he may be
ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but
warn him as a brother.”
Matthew 18:17 says, “If he refuses to listen
to them, tell it to the church. And if he
refuses to listen even to the church, let
him be to you as a Gentile and a tax
collector.”
(see also: 1 Cor. 5:1-5; 2 Cor. 2:17; 11:19-20;
Titus 1:10-11; 3 Jn. 1:9; Jude 1:8).
So, how
should we deal with someone like Ellen G.
White?
Was she a true prophet of God, or
a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
Ellen G. White claimed her commission embraced
“the work of a prophet” and more!
“I am now instructed that I am not to be
hindered in my work by those who engage in
suppositions regarding its nature, whose
minds are struggling with so many intricate
problems connected with the supposed work of
a prophet. My
commission embraces the work of a prophet,
but it does not end there. It
embraces much more than the minds of those
who have been sowing the seeds of unbelief
can comprehend. —Letter 244, 1906. Addressed
to elders of the Battle Creek church;”
(Selected Messages, Book 1, pp. 34-36).
“My work includes much more than this
name signifies. I regard myself as a
messenger, entrusted by the Lord with
messages for His people.” (Letter 55, 1905,
Selected Messages, Book 1, pp. 32, 35, 36).
Ellen G. White said she was
shown future events by the Spirit of God.
“As the Spirit of God has opened to my
mind the great truths of His word, and the
scenes of the past and the future, I have
been bidden to make known to others that
which has thus been revealed — to trace the
history of the controversy in past ages, and
especially so to present it as to shed a
light on the fast-approaching struggle of
the future. In pursuance of this purpose, I
have endeavored to select and group together
events in the history of the church in such
a manner as to trace the unfolding of the
great testing truths that at different
periods have been given to the world, that
have excited the wrath of Satan, and the
enmity of a world-loving church, and that
have been maintained by the witness of those
who “loved not their lives unto the death.”
(The Great Controversy xi. 2).
Ellen White said that one had to either
believe everything she said was from God, or
none of it was.
“The
visions are either of God or the devil.
There is no half-way position to be taken in
the matter. God does not work in partnership
with Satan. Those who occupy this position
cannot stand there long. They go a step
farther and account the instrument God has
used a deceiver and the woman Jezebel. If
after they had taken the first step it
should be told them what position they would
soon occupy in regard to the visions, they
would have resented it as a thing
impossible. But Satan leads them on
blindfolded in a perfect deception in regard
to the true state of their feelings until he
takes them in his snare” (Letter 8, 1860,
pp. 16, 17, to Brother John Andrews, June
11, 1860. 1MR 307.1).
“…I am
presenting to you what the Lord has
presented to me. I do not write one article
in the paper expressing merely my own ideas,
they are what God has opened before me in
vision- precious rays of light shining from
the throne.” (Testimonies
for the Church,
Volume 5, p. 67).
Was
Ellen G. White a true prophet of God or was she a false prophet?
“In examining
some of the predictions made by Ellen White,
it is evident she badly failed this test.
Most of Mrs. White’s specific predictions
were made early in her career, and virtually
every single one of them failed to come to
pass. The further she progressed in life,
the less predictions she made, and if she
did make a prediction, it was usually
something vague and ambiguous, such as
“crime will worsen,” “cities will be more
polluted,” or “the earth will become more
and more corrupt.” It appears that Mrs.
White learned from her early failures, and
was more careful in later predictions to
make them obscure and ambiguous enough so
that she could not be accused by her
detractors of making false predictions.”[2]
Ellen G. White lied about her sources
on many occasions and she was afraid of
being sued for
stealing the writings of
other authors. She
contradicted the Bible on many occasions
and she made
many
false prophecies about people and future events:
the Shut Door prophecies, the Civil War, England invading the United
States, and Sunday worship
leading to the mark of the beast.
Ellen G. White
falsely claimed that the Sabbath was a
requirement for Christians in the New
Covenant and that the day of worship was
changed by Rome. All the historical data
shows that the early church set apart the
First day of the week as their
day for rest and worship. Neither the pope, nor
Constantine changed the day of worship.
Seventh-day Adventist historians have now
proven that fact.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church
says that Ellen G. White
speaks with prophetic authority.
The Seventh-day Adventist Belief #18, “The Gift of Prophecy”
says, “The Scriptures testify that one of the gifts
of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is
an identifying mark of the remnant church
and we believe it was manifested in the
ministry of Ellen G. White. Her writings
speak with prophetic authority and provide
comfort, guidance, instruction, and
correction to the church. They also make
clear that the Bible is the standard by
which all teaching and experience must be
tested.”
The Bible
says Jesus
Christ is the living Word of God and
the final revelation of God to man (John 1:1-3).
Hebrews 1:1-2 says,
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways,
God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
but in these last days he has spoken to us
by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of
all things, through whom also he created the
world.”
Now notice what Ellen G. White said
about her role as the last-day prophet of
the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
“In ancient times God spoke to men by
the mouth of prophets and apostles. In these days he speaks to them by the
testimonies of his Spirit [her writings].
There was never a time when God instructed
his people more earnestly than he instructs
them now concerning his
will and the course that he would have them
pursue.” (Testimonies for the Church, Volume
5, p. 661).
It is hard to believe but
Ellen G. White arrogantly
claimed that she, not Jesus, was
the final interpreter of scripture and truth.
Ellen G. White even claimed that her
testimonies were
infallible and said those who reject her
gift are “rebelling against God.”
“Yet, now when I send you a testimony of
warning and reproof, many of you declare it
to be merely the opinion of Sister White.
You thereby insulted the Spirit of God.”
(Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 64).
“In
these letters which I write, in the
testimonies I bear, I am presenting to you
that which the Lord has presented to me. I
do not write one article in the paper
expressing merely my own ideas. They are
what God has opened before me in vision, the
precious rays of light shining from the
throne.” (Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5, p. 67).
“God is either teaching His church,
reproving their wrongs and strengthening
their faith, or He is not. This work is of
God, or it is not. God does nothing in
partnership with Satan. My work for the past
thirty years bears the stamp of God or the
stamp of the enemy. There is no halfway work
in the matter. The Testimonies are of the
Spirit of God, or of the devil. In arraying
yourself against the servants of God you are
doing a work either for God or for the
devil.” (Testimonies for the Church, Volume 4, p. 230).
“If you lessen
the confidence of God’s people in the
testimonies He has sent them, you are
rebelling against God as were Korah, Dathan,
and Abiram.” (Testimonies for the Church,
Volume 5,
p. 66).
There is not one doctrine
that Ellen G. White advocated for that the
Seventh-day Adventists will openly go against. Even
when it can be shown she made false
predictions and heretical statements that go
against God’s word.
Ellen G. White’s
first visions about
the shut door were all proven to be false. How many false prophecies does it
take to prove someone is a false prophet?
When
Seventh-day Adventists say they believe the
Bible alone, they are either lying to
themselves, or deliberately deceiving those
they are speaking to. It has to be one or
the other! There is no middle ground on the
subject. Ellen White didn’t leave you with
that option. Remember what she said about
her own ministry, “This work is of God, or
it is not. God does nothing in partnership
with Satan. My work for the past thirty
years bears the stamp of God or the stamp of
the enemy. There is no halfway work in the
matter. The Testimonies are of the Spirit of
God, or of the devil. In arraying yourself
against the servants of God you are doing a
work either for God or for the devil.”
(Testimonies for the Church, Volume 4, p.
230).
To
defend the doctrines of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church is to defend the heretical
teachings of their false prophet, Ellen G.
White.
Who do you choose to follow, Jesus
Christ, or Ellen G. White? Do you believe the
Bible, or the writings and teachings of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church?
If any of you
follow someone who claims to have a
special word from God because of visions
and dreams, you need to carefully consider what they
teach more than anyone else you know, or
follow. God has warned you! The last thing
anyone should ever want to do is lead
another person into a false religious
system. Their lives really are at stake!
1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, “But
examine everything carefully; hold fast to
that which is good.” (NASB)
References:
1.
See:
What does it mean that false prophets are
wolves in sheep’s clothing?
2. See:
Does Mrs. White Pass the Biblical Tests of a
Prophet?
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