At an Ecumenical Gathering with Catholics and Protestants, an Adventist Church Leader Prays for One Body, One Faith, One Baptism, One Unified Witness and Calls us to Ignore Church Differences

A large group of ecumenical clergy from all over Malaysia’s Sarawak province gathered to pray, sing, and worship together. In the Christian Ecumenical Worship Center on July 21, 2022, believers from the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Seventh-day Adventist, Evangelical, Methodist, The Salvation Army, Baptist, and even some indigenous faiths gathered “shoulder to shoulder.” [1] This information was provided courtesy of the Sarawakian Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching’s online news publication.

The Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) was responsible for organizing this ecumenical event. The Roman Catholic Archbishop Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng is the Chairman of the ACS [2] and the reasons for organizing this interfaith prayer and worship service were as follows:

“The order of the service will cover different themes of scripture reading and prayers. The recitation of the Holy Scriptures will be in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Bidayuh Biatah and Iban to signify that churches are made up of different ethic groups but united in one belief and one God.” [3]

The ecumenical celebration began with traditional music, shouting, and indigenous tribal dancing. These ancient rituals were similar to those practiced by the primitive animists and pagans that first inhabited what is now the country of Malaysia. As the clergy entered the building, it was interesting to note that these shamans, or witch doctors (spiritualism), were leading the procession of people from the various churches. This was a truly interfaith, cross-cultural event that included Seventh-day Adventism, Roman Catholicism, apostate Protestantism, and spiritualism.

As seen in the video above, the opening prayer was delivered by Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng, the Archbishop of the local Roman Catholic Archdiocese. He said, in part, the following in his remarks:

Almighty and eternal God, our loving Father in heaven, we stand before you this night as your family. Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, has prayed for us that we may be one.

Tonight, Heavenly Father, your family, the flock of your Son Jesus Christ, united by the bond of one faith and one Baptism and together with our brothers and sisters from other faiths and all people of good will, humbly beseech you to look kindly upon us.

We pray upon both political and religious leaders as well as upon all of us that we may continue to show our love to our country and to strive to lead our country together for the betterment of the future … We offer this prayer to you through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen! (YouTube video).

Pastor Terry Valten Simon, a Seventh-day Adventist from the Sarawak Mission, spoke on behalf of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the video above. The new attitudes that we are encouraging in the ecumenical movement show how the faith is being abandoned:

Our mighty and holy God in heaven, creator of heaven and earth, You are the life sustainer for all human kind. We call upon your holy name and bow down in adoration before you tonight. We humbly seek your grace and mercy upon us, as we bring before You our petition of prayer. Lord, we want to pray for the Holy Spirit to empower our mind, our heart and our being. Help us to be a humble and obedient servant as we seek You in prayer.

Our Father in heaven, we want to pray for the Christian unity in our State of Sarawak, we need Your Holy Spirit to fill all of us with Love from above. Help us to love one another as Jesus instructed His disciples to love one another. Help us not to see the difference and weaknesses among us. Instead, help us to see the amazing work that You have entrusted among us for Your glory and honor. Open our eyes that we may see the need to work together bringing this gospel to all nations.

We pray that You will help us to stand as a true Christian, holding up high moral values in this world that are full of trouble. We want to be united and seen as a living witness of our holiness in our community.

Help us O Lord … to be the light, the light that shines into the life of all nations. As the gospel of Matthew 5:16 says, let Your light shine before others, that they may see Your good deeds and glorify Your Father in heaven.

Our gracious God, we desire to be called Your servant and worthy to be accepted as members in Christ’s body … to uplift Your words and bring love, peace and joy in the lives of others who we encounter. Help us O Lord, to depend fully on the guidance of Your Spirit … Your word is the lamp unto my feet and the light unto my path.

Ephesians 4:4-6 reminds us of who we are before You. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as You were called to one hope at Your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour we pray. Amen (YouTube Video).

Here we see a classic example of what happens when we embark on the path of interfaith dialogue, prayers, worship, and other ecumenical entanglements. We have leaders in the Seventh-day Adventist Church who have abandoned the faith and are joining with Roman Catholics in calling for one body, one faith, one baptism, and one mission. This is truly a sad day for all the true sons and daughters of the Protestant Reformation, and it should make every pastor and leader gasp for air.

We are witnessing how the ecumenical, worldly, Catholic liturgical celebration is causing all the churches to embrace Rome’s baptism, Eucharist, and ministry. Vatican II has been embraced by many Seventh-day Adventist pastors, who are urging people to “be united” in a living witness with Rome. We are being instructed to ignore our differences with the other churches and instead seek unity so that we can share a common gospel with the world. Instead of engaging in ecumenical demagoguery that mocks the Three Angels’ Messages, we should declare that Babylon is fallen and call people out of her.

No, instead we would rather abandon God’s sacred mission and message by joining in these celebrations. The excuse for participating in the ecumenical movement is that we are doing so with “good intentions.” The road to hell is paved with good intentions. All of these embarrassing and shameful episodes of blasphemous ecumenical liturgies, deep down, indicate that those who participate in them have become more Roman Catholic than Protestant. The historic Seventh-day Adventist faith is being changed, and the change from Adventism to Roman Catholicism is a matter of prophecy:

“I dreamed that I was in Battle Creek (former headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church) looking out from the side glass at the door and saw a company marching up to the house, two and two. They looked stern and determined. I knew them well and turned to open the parlor door to receive them, but thought I would look again. The scene was changed. The company now presented the appearance of a Catholic procession.” (Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 577).

Even though these individuals may still be employed by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, it is obvious they are all in for Rome. We have leaders who no longer agree with the views expressed by Martin Luther about the Roman Catholic Church. Biblical purity, truth, and doctrinal accuracy no longer matter. For too many, the protest is over. If there is no protest, then there isn’t any compelling reason to be a Protestant. What follows next is the default position of the ecumenical movement. The default position when the protest ceases is to run to Rome with open arms and become Catholic Seventh-day Adventists.

This is the logical conclusion after participating in ecumenism for so many years. All the churches, including Muslims, Jews, Orthodox, and even the pagan religions, are all going back to Rome. It is no wonder that the Roman Catholic Archbishop is seen in the above video smiling, dancing, and singing. Their mission is complete, so they think.

What we need today are pastors and leaders who will protect and proclaim God’s eternal, unchanging truth contained in Revelation 14:6-12. Far too many in the church have hesitated in the face of worldly pressure and are turning away from our mission, which in turn is leading God’s people further from Christ. We need leaders and laypeople who are committed to ensuring that our pastors will stand firm on the foundation of the Scriptures and proclaim the Three Angels’ Messages to the world.

We have been warned not to head down the road toward Rome. How long before God holds us accountable for rejecting His counsels?

“The alliances made by the Israelites with their heathen neighbors resulted in the loss of their identity as God’s peculiar people. They became leavened by the evil practices of those with whom they formed forbidden alliances. Affiliation with worldlings caused them to lose their first love, and their zeal for God’s service. The advantages they sold themselves to gain, brought only disappointment, and caused the loss of many souls” (Review and Herald, August 4, 1904, paragraph 9).

“The experience of Israel will be the experience of all who go to the world for strength, turning away from the living God. Those who forsake the mighty One, the source of all strength, and affiliate with worldlings, placing on them their dependence, become weak in moral power, as are those in whom they trust” (Ibid., paragraph 10).

“God comes with entreaties and assurances to those who are making mistakes. He seeks to show them their error, and lead them to repentance. But if they refuse to humble their hearts before him, if they strive to exalt themselves above him, he must speak to them in judgment. No semblance of nearness to God, no assertion of connection with him, will be accepted from those who persist in dishonoring him by leaning upon the arm of worldly power.” Ibid., paragraph 11).

Sources

[1] https://www.todayscatholic.com.my/2022/07/large-crowd-at-special-sarawak-day-prayer-service-for-better-sarawak/

[2] https://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/catholic-archbishop-simon-poh-re-elected-chairman-of-acs/58734/5

[3] https://dayakdaily.com/acs-to-host-sarawak-day-ecumenical-prayer-service-prayers-for-swak-govt-and-lawmakers/