Obituaries are official announcements of a person’s death. Typically, they are given to preserve family history and to honor the memory of a loved one. They are intended to share the legacy of deceased relatives and friends. Having said that, the Roman Catholic Church has published the obituary of one of its sons and champions of ecumenism, Dr. Bert Beverly Beach, former Director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
On December 17, 2022, the Catholic Media Service of the Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland published the following remarks about Bert Beverly Beach:
Theologian and Ecumenist Bert B. Beach died at 94
The Swiss-born American theologian and campaigner for religious freedom Bert Beverly Beach is dead. He died at the age of 94 on December 14 in Silver Spring (Maryland/USA). The Adventist pastor is considered an important theologian of the 20th century Adventists.
Beach was Secretary General of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IRLA) until 1995. He served in numerous offices in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was well respected in international ecumenical circles as Director of Public Affairs for the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference from 1980-1995 and as General Secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist Council for Interchurch Relations from 1980-2005. From 1965 to the 1990s he was the Seventh-day Adventist liaison and adviser at the World Council of Churches in Geneva. From 1970 to 2003 he served as Secretary of the Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions (CS/CWCs).
Beach has published numerous books and articles in several languages, including Vatican II-Bridging the Abyss (1968), Ecumenism-Boon or Bane? (1974), Bright Candle of Courage (1989), Rotating the World with Rotary (1991), Ambassador for Liberty (2015). Dr. Beach has received several honorary awards, including a Maryland State Senate Special Resolution (1984) for his Contribution to Religious Freedom, a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International (1984) and a Th.D. honoris causa from the Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw (Poland). [1]
Here we see the Catholic church bestowing accolades upon Bert Beverly Beach as an “important theologian of the 20th century” within Adventism. These are the leaders Rome admires. These are the types of Adventists Rome desires. This is how Rome would like you to be. The Roman Catholic Church also says that Dr. Beach was “well respected in international ecumenical circles.” Is Rome a member and a leading advocate of the “international ecumenical circles”? Absolutely! In fact, they are the chief architects of the world-wide ecumenical movement. This means that Dr. Bert Beverly Beach was deeply admired and respected by Rome. Who knows, maybe in a few years Dr. Beach will be canonized and elevated to sainthood.
According to Rome’s obituary for this Seventh-day Adventist leader, Dr. Beach was an “ecumenist” who was well respected by the ecumenical community. That is not how I want to be remembered. I don’t want Rome to say good things about me. I’m not interested in receiving papal praise. I’d rather be consigned to hellfire for the sake of truth like Martin Luther and the other Protestant reformers by this apostate system than have them heap praise on me.
Ecumenists are agents of Rome who tell us that in order to broaden our spiritual perspectives, we must build bridges with other churches, unite with them, and attend their worship services. They advise us to move beyond the divisions of the past. In other words, this is saying that our historic Protestant teachings are all wrong and cause more harm than good. They argue that we must abandon these outdated beliefs because all religions are part of God’s universal fraternity. All are saved, so let us set aside our doctrinal differences and focus on the areas where we agree.
For Seventh-day Adventists, this means we must stop seeing ourselves as God’s chosen people. It is a call to move away from an egocentric remnant theology to a spirit of universal affirmation of all people. We actually have pastors and leaders who believe this throughout our ranks.
Are we really going to ignore the past and ignore doctrine in order to come together in unity? Will we disregard the Eucharistic Mass, the Virgin Mary’s role, Sunday sacredness, and communication with the dead? Rome’s ecumenical agents essentially tell us to embrace apostasy and heresy while attacking those who seek to preserve, defend, and proclaim the historic Seventh-day Adventist faith.
This is a call for compromise. Compromises are made the moment you step into the ecumenical forum because your faith must be left at the door. It is not welcome. You have to modify your words and your thinking in order to come together for Sunday Eucharistic worship services. You must agree to set aside the past and the things that divide us. That is a compromise.
Ellen White predicted that the Protestant churches would do this very thing. She tells us in Great Controversy, p. 444, that the “Protestant denominations” would “hush up the truth and bow the knee to the power of apostasy” (GC 444). When this happens, notice what will take place next:
“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).
This is why Rome loved and respected Bert Beverly Beach. Dr. Beach presented the Pope with a gold medal as proof of this reality.
This is the original Adventist Review article about Bert Beverly Beach awarding the Pope a gold medal. [2] Instead of rewarding him, Dr. Beach should have admonished him for breaching God’s law.
The Gold Medal to the Pope – Although astonishing, it is true. In 1977, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists presented a gold medallion to Pope Paul VI, as an expression of our close friendship with the Papal States.
Bert Beverly Beach has been our ecumenical liaison with the other denominations since at least 1965, when he became a member of a World Council of Churches committee. He made the presentation.
The inferior gives gold to the superior. This is what the nations of earth have done for centuries as they journeyed to the Tiber; now we have followed in their course. It is a defiling act to render a gold present to the man of sin, the son of perdition. (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Dr. Beach, our representative, in an audience with the pope, knelt in obeisance, and offered our fealty to the antichrist (1 John 2:18; 4:3,7).
The engraving on this medallion is unusual in several ways:
On the front side of this medal is shown a Christ standing on a cloud from whence issue thunderbolts. The thunderbolt was a favorite symbol of the mystery religions and of the medieval papacy. In the mysteries it was a symbol of Satan, and issued forth from his cloud. The papal crosier is a thunderbolt curling out of a cloud. The medallion cloud has nine bolts. It is significant that, as in the mysteries, the bolts come from the cloud, not from the man.
The Christ in this representation is standing on the summit of a mountain, with the cloud and its thunderbolts in front of his feet. The true Christ will not touch the earth when He returns. As portrayed in Protestant and Roman Catholic artwork, the false Christ will land on the earth. The thunderbolts before him identify him for who he is. The angels are facing toward and worshiping this Christ, after he has arrived on earth, rather than being shown as, with him, facing the earth as they come toward it.
This Christ is shown in the typical Catholic stance, with outstretched arms, as are many of their saint idol statues. The Vatican painting of Francis de Assisi portrays him in the same posture. This Christ has no crown on his head; the one in Revelation 19:12 does. The pope has a triple crown; this Christ has none; he too is symbolically inferior to the pope.
The reverse side (back) of this medallion features the Ten) Commandments, an empty cross, an unnamed book, and all founded on a Maltese cross.
This Maltese cross, beneath the book, is a special Vatican symbol. Typically, this has four equal rays flowing outward from a central sun. Each ray expands in width as it radiates outward and terminates in two horns, producing an eight pointed cross. It is thus a sun symbol in two ways (the radiating sun, and the eight points).
The tenth commandment is hidden, for Catholicism claims it has been split in two. The Sabbath commandment reads in a manner acceptable to all Christendom, for it does not identify it as the seventh day.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” is what is printed on the back of the gold medal. But this statement only matches the wording of the “third commandment” (after the ten were changed by the pope (Daniel 7:25) as it now reads in any standard Roman Catholic catechism!
When the Catholic Church changed the Sabbath Commandment, what did they change it to? They changed it to the exact wording given on the back of the gold medal that Beach, on behalf of the Adventist Church, presented to the Pope in 1977! Nothing has been added and nothing left out; it is the exact wording of the Sabbath Commandment as given in standard Roman Catholic catechisms.
We are very sorry that this event took place. Apparently not everyone was disappointed, for not too long afterward, Dr. Beach was elevated to a position at the General Conference.
Why was Dr. Beach selected by our Church as the one to present the gold medal to the pope? This is something of a puzzler, until one recalls that it was Dr. B. B. Beach who co-authored that major document, “So Much in Common” only four years earlier in Geneva, Switzerland with Dr. Lukas Vischer, Secretary of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches. As a result of that publication, so little known to Adventist church members, Dr. Beach became well known to leading ecumenists of the other denominations.
We have been told that God’s peculiar people are to stand as monuments in the world, exposing the man of sin (TM 118; Ev. 195), and that the man of sin is the papacy! (GC 446; AA 265,266; TM 140; 7BC 911)
“The time was when Protestants placed a high value upon the liberty of conscience which had been so dearly purchased. They taught their children to abhor popery and held that to seek harmony with Rome would be disloyalty to God. But how widely different are the sentiments now expressed!” -Great Controversy, page 563.
“It is a backsliding church that lessens the distance between itself and the Papacy.”-Signs, February 19, 1894. [3]
In the video below, Bert Beverly Beach is confronted about why he gave the Pope a gold medal.
Sources
[1] https://www.kath.ch/medienspiegel/theologe-und-oekumenekenner-bert-b-beach-mit-94-gestorben/
[2] https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH19770811-V154-32.pdf
[3] http://www.sdadefend.com/Defend-foundation/popemedl.htm
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What does this tell you when the Catholic Church says good things about us?
“The church cannot measure herself by the world nor by the opinion of men nor by what she once was. Her faith and her position in the world as they now are must be compared with what they would have been if her course had been continually onward and upward. The church will be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. If her moral character and spiritual state do not correspond with the benefits and blessings God has conferred upon her, she will be found wanting.” {5T 83.2}
Jesus said the world hated him because he preached the truth. John 7:7, KJV: “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.”
This is very appalling. I for one didn’t expect this on that level to be doing this. Christ told Peter to take of His flock. And after that interview, was he censored according to the Church Manual or the manual is for us, the ordinary church members? This is a wake up call for every Seventh-day Adventist..
There are no judgment calls made in the interfaith movement. That’s why they loved him.
They also love the current director for Public Affairs and Religious Liberty who has exceeded his predecessors.
And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. Ezekiel 9:4
And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Malachi 3:17
Remember also that the current director for Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, Dr. G. Diop, was Jesuit training in Paris, France.
Just now I am looking at my personal copy of the medallion given to the pope by B.B. Beach. The original minter of the Medallion
minted a certain number of replicas. I had the opportunity to obtain a copy along with my brother.
Dr. B.B. Beach’s mistake was not in meeting with the Pope but in giving him the wrong thing. A nice King James Bible would have been great instead of a gold medal. A
brief explanation with a positive approach, being that the Bible is our roadmap to heaven; our owner’s manual; and our textbook in the school of Christ should be
sufficient. How could the Pope disagree with that? There should be no politics as ambassadors for Christ, only a display of love for God and man. Beach blew this
opportunity with the Pope with that gold medal presentation (in my opinion). The (Protestant) Bible would have gotten the Pope’s attention more, even if it ruffled his
feathers a little. After all, a sincere thought counts too. Beach had to live with second thoughts, if any, and not us since we didn’t have his opportunity with the Pope.
Let’s be fair, balanced, practical, realistic, and non-judgmental about his “once in a lifetime” situation. We have to ask ourselves, “Could we have done worse or better
ourselves?” Can we learn something here? I hope so.
KJV James 4:4
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
The followers of Christ are to separate themselves from sinners, choosing their society only when there is opportunity to do them good. We cannot be too decided in shunning the company of those who exert an influence to draw us away from God. While we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” we are to shun temptation, so far as possible. {PP 458.2}
KJV 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
But there is no union between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness, and there can be no union between their followers. When Christians consented to unite with those who were but half converted from paganism, they entered upon a path which led further and further from the truth.{GC 45}
After a long and severe conflict, the faithful few decided to dissolve all union with the apostate church if she still refused to free herself from falsehood and idolatry. They saw that separation was an absolute necessity if they would obey the word of God. They dared not tolerate errors fatal to their own souls, and set an example which would imperil the faith of their children and children’s children. To secure peace and unity they were ready to make any concession consistent with fidelity to God; but they felt that even peace would be too dearly purchased at the sacrifice of principle. If unity could be secured only by the compromise of truth and righteousness, then let there be difference, and even war. – GC 45.3
Well would it be for the church and the world if the principles that actuated those steadfast souls were revived in the hearts of God’s professed people. There is an alarming indifference in regard to the doctrines which are the pillars of the Christian faith. The opinion is gaining ground, that, after all, these are not of vital importance. This degeneracy is strengthening the hands of the agents of Satan, so that false theories and fatal delusions which the faithful in ages past imperiled their lives to resist and expose, are now regarded with favor by thousands who claim to be followers of Christ. – GC 46.1
This was a medal the Adventist church gave out to many people, not just the pope and I was able to procure one myself albeit in bronze not gold.
The nice thing about the medal is there is one commandment that is written out, namely the 4th one. I don’t know where the gold medal is kept, likely hidden away in storage somewhere, but I like to think a Vatican employee will come across it some day and realize the Catholic church is promoting a false Sabbath.
This will be the case if Beach identified the Sabbath as the 7th day. The pope and Catholics refer to Sunday as the Sabbath so there is no distinction on this medallion. Why not give him a Great Controversy, the original version?
This man was a wolf in sheep ´s clothing he pretended to an adventist but he was working in cahoot with the jesuits to destroy the adventist faith, so he died as an unrepentant man working for his master the DEVIL and he is a candidate to the lake of eternal fire.
Let’s not judge but keep our eyes on Christ. Remember the apostle Paul went to Rome to witness. We are also to witness to every faith and to the entire world. Advents need to get out of their bubbles and seek the lost like the disciples of old. Attacking the Adventist church leaders drives away those who are seeking truth. People say…. Why should I join this church as they say it’s wrong when it’s Gods last day church. Let’s us pray for the leaders and let Jesus do the judging.
The Seven Churches and their Exponents are all in the same boat with their FAULTS
Yes, Rome knows their own very well. The true Remnant will be little known to the Catholics.
“I saw the nominal church and nominal Adventists, like Judas, would betray us to the Catholics to obtain their influence to come against the truth. The saints then will be an obscure people, little known to the Catholics.” Spalding and Magan Collection page 1.
NO ?Brother Roger; we are not judging the guy has already sealed his fate by deciding to work for the devil .This man was instrumental in changing the SDA LOGO with the Jesuit logo when he presented gold medallion as a gift to the Roman pontiff.
Zechariah 11:8
Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
Bert Beverly Beach: amalgamation between God’s church and Babylon
James Norman Woods:
Amalgamation between human and animal
Daniel Honore:
Turning conference office into vaccine administration clinic
The judgment of the living has begun this biblical year.
https://www.tm91studies.com/judgment
It is quite a conjecture that the prophecy is fulfilled in these three deaths. This being said, I can’t quite dismiss it.
I note that the article you linked has at least one mistake. Daniel Honore was not president of the Northeastern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He was the president of the Minnesota Conference.
This is a curiosity because the Minnesota conference had recently discharged it’s previous conference president, from what I understand to be at the behest of liberal church delegates from the cities, where great controversy has erupted in recent years and also in former times. Should they be reading these comments, I ask this question of these wild ones of the cities: Why do you churches with drums continually beat them to the tunes of darkness, except to be like your sisters of confusion?
Concerning your linked article, if you are wrong about these three men and Zechariah 11:18, then you will be seen as a false prophet before the Lord. The article is mixed with scripture that does not support the assertion. There is a chance you are right, but much more of a chance that you are not.