Ecumenism Will Pave the Way for the Mark of the Beast Crisis

Ecumenism has no place in Adventism. When church leaders attend these interfaith ceremonies designed to unite the churches, exalt Sunday worship, promote spiritualism, reject biblical truth, and unite us under one head, Rome, we must recognize that our participation means we are sanctioning their efforts and thus demonstrating our support. This is a scandal for our people as well as all other religions, and it has serious consequences. Notice how clearly the pen of inspiration warns us about the role of the ecumenical movement in bringing about the final crisis during the mark of the beast:

 The Religious Denominations will Unite with the Papacy

“When the religious denominations unite with the papacy to oppress God’s people, places where there is religious freedom will be opened by evangelistic canvassing” (Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 478).

A Unity in Common Ground

“The wide diversity of belief in the Protestant churches is regarded by many as decisive proof that no effort to secure a forced uniformity can ever be made. But there has been for years, in churches of the Protestant faith, a strong and growing sentiment in favor of a union based upon common points of doctrine. To secure such a union, the discussion of subjects upon which all were not agreed—however important they might be from a Bible standpoint—must necessarily be waived” (Great Controversy, p. 444).

Common Ground Will Lead to the Image of the Beast

“When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the State to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result.” (Great Controversy, p. 445).

Religious Unity Will Lead to Sunday Exaltation

“These records of the past clearly reveal the enmity of Rome toward the true Sabbath and its defenders, and the means which she employs to honor the institution of her creating. The Word of God teaches that these scenes are to be repeated as papists and Protestants shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday” (Great Controversy, p. 578).

The Union of Churches will Embrace Spiritualism

“Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul, and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience” (Great Controversy, p. 588).

This Threefold Union will Exalt Papal Falsehoods

“By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near” (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 451).

Everyone will be United Under “One Head – the Papal Power”

“The world is filled with storm and war and variance. Yet under one head—the papal power—the people will unite to oppose God in the person of His witnesses. This union is cemented by the great apostate. While he seeks to unite his agents in warring against the truth” (Testimonies, Vol. 7, p. 182).

Embracing Liberalism will Hasten the Union with Rome

“How the Roman Church can clear herself from the charge of idolatry we cannot see … And this is the religion which Protestants are beginning to look upon with so much favor, and which will eventually be united with Protestantism. This union will not, however, be effected by a change in Catholicism; for Rome never changes. She claims infallibility. It is Protestantism that will change. The adoption of liberal ideas on its part will bring it where it can clasp the hand of Catholicism”  (Review and Herald, June 6, 1886).

This Confederacy will be Corrupt

“The professed Protestant world will form a confederacy with the man of sin, and the church and the world will be in corrupt harmony” (Selected Messages, Book 2, p. 367).

Stay Away from Their Deadly Poison

“I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach error that is a deadly poison to the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good. If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness” (Early Writings, p. 124).

If we don’t voice our disagreement with what is happening, then we automatically agree. Keeping quiet is the same as sanctioning their activities. We are actively aiding and abetting in the formation of the image of the beast by participating in Rome’s ecumenical movement, either by offering calls for unity and engaging in interfaith worship with them, or by remaining silent or neutral on the issues listed above through the pen of inspiration. We are lending our support to a system that will very soon discriminate against and oppress the religious beliefs of others. We have been commanded not to remain silent on these issues:

“Prophecy represents Protestantism as having lamb-like horns, but speaking like a dragon. Already we are beginning to hear the voice of the dragon. There is a satanic force propelling the Sunday movement, but it is concealed. Even the men who are engaged in the work, are themselves blinded to the results which will follow their movement. Let not the commandment-keeping people of God be silent at this time, as though we gracefully accepted the situation. There is the prospect before us, of waging a continuous war, at the risk of imprisonment, of losing property and even life itself, to defend the law of God, which is being made void by the laws of men” (Review and Herald, January 1, 1889).

It is impossible to participate in religious ceremonies that invoke various gods and remain silent without being contaminated. Without a doubt, Rome is delighted that our people are joining their interfaith movement. How many leaders has Rome turned away from the Adventist faith, and as a result, we no longer speak of apostasy in the world or in the church?

Those who continue down this path towards Rome will eventually abandon every foundational doctrine that has made us God’s peculiar people. The confusion promoted by Ganoune Diop and other church leaders, as well as the example they have set, is trickling down to the rest of the church and establishing a bad precedent. By doing so, many of our people will adopt an ecumenical mindset, and as a result, they will become one of the greatest obstacles for the people of God during the mark of the beast crisis:

“As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position, and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbath-keepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them” (Great Controversy, p. 608).

“Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat” (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 81).