The Same Unholy Dance that Cost John the Baptist his Head is Drawing our Youth into the Abyss of Hell

“And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee … And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.” Mark 6:22, 25.

We underestimate Satan’s power to seduce souls through the power of dance and music. We also fail to consider the consequences of dancing with the devil. Ungodly dancing is not only being practiced in the world; it is being brought into the church to corrupt and weaken our spirituality and to completely destroy our loyalty to God. The dance performed by the daughter of Herodias was seductive and suggestive, just like much of the dancing seen at youth events taking place throughout Adventism.

We are told in Desire of Ages, p. 221, that the “sentence of death” was pronounced “upon the prophet of God” because of the “music and dancing.” John the Baptist was beheaded because the powers of lust, dance, and music were employed to silence his voice from giving the straight testimony. Satan cunningly used the dancing of a young woman to devise a plan to murder the servant of God. Have we forgotten this history? Because God certainly hasn’t. Remarkably, Satan is using these very same temptations—dance and music—to destroy God’s remnant people, who are supposed to be represented by John the Baptist.

“In this fearful time, just before Christ is to come the second time, God’s faithful preachers will have to bear a still more pointed testimony than was borne by John the Baptist. A responsible, important work is before them; and those who speak smooth things, God will not acknowledge as His shepherds. A fearful woe is upon them” (Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 321).

Tragically, many church leaders today would much rather act as Herodias’ daughter and seduce our youth with sensual, tribal, and worldly dancing, than to represent John the Baptist. God’s glory is being stolen by dancing and ungodly music. It is robbing the church of the Holy Spirit and putting our members on a path to destruction.

Where is the moral imperative to warn against the dangers that threaten our young people? Where are the fathers, mothers, pastors, and spiritual guardians of the church? Where are those who still fear God and love the Adventist faith? Where are those in leadership who are supposed to be using their influence to correct this present evil that is leading to the moral ruin of our youth?

If they don’t speak out, then they will end up in hell, where the wrath of God awaits them for being either complicit or neutral, while the youth are partaking in hellish amusements and dancing. The devil’s music is the net that is dragging people into the abyss of perdition and corruption.

“The opera, with its fascinating display and bewildering music, the masquerade, the dance, the card table, Satan employs to break down the barriers of principle and open the door to sensual indulgence. In every gathering for pleasure where pride is fostered or appetite indulged, where one is led to forget God and lose sight of eternal interests, there Satan is binding his chains about the soul” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 459).

“Theater-going, dancing, card-playing, gambling, inebriety, are all steps in the path of vice and dissipation. He who, having received the light of present truth, will yet persist in venturing into this path, is unworthy of the name of Christian. What attractions can this elder of the church find in the dance-hall? Is he in this godless company fitting himself to exert a proper influence over the flock of God?” (Signs of the Times, February 23, 1882).

The responsibility that comes with being a leader or a parent is that we will have to answer for the souls entrusted to our care and for our own souls too. If our Adventist youth are lost while they are in your care, it may very well be because their spiritual guardians were unfaithful in their responsibilities as parents and pastors, which, according to God, will ultimately lead to their own damnation.

“Those who have too little courage to reprove wrong, or who through indolence or lack of interest make no earnest effort to purify the family or the church of God, are held accountable for the evil that may result from their neglect of duty. We are just as responsible for evils that we might have checked in others by exercise of parental or pastoral authority as if the acts had been our own” (Patriarch and Prophets, p. 57).

“The plain, straight testimony must live in the church, or the curse of God will rest upon His people as surely as it did upon ancient Israel because of their sins. God holds His people, as a body, responsible for the sins existing in individuals among them. If the leaders of the church neglect to diligently search out the sins which bring the displeasure of God upon the body, they become responsible for these sins” (Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 269).