By Arnie Suntag
There is a widening political gap in our church that parallels what is happening throughout the nation, and by virtue of the apostasy that has imbued the General Conference leadership with a papal spirit, the organization has now taken a giant leap into the abyss. It happened when Ganoune Diop gave a landmark speech that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that our leadership is beholden to papal interests and that perhaps we should all prayerfully consider our alignment with this organization. Over the past few years, I have struggled with the apparent futility of investing precious time and energy in sounding the alarm about our church leadership’s imprudent actions because so many in the church refuse to wake up to the reality of these startling forays into oblivion that are prophetically unfolding before our eyes. It is almost enough to make one throw his arms up in disgust and just sit by, while all of those who sympathize with this chicanery go down with the ship. However, after Ganoune Diop’s coup de grâce at the 2024 General Conference Spring Meeting, I cannot restrain myself. It is high time for all true Seventh-day Adventists to cry aloud and spare not. We are at a major turning point.
Ganoune Diop’s Video Presentation Played at Spring Meeting 2024 pic.twitter.com/qIoIYFYhhs
— Advent Messenger (@Advent1844) April 23, 2024
What Diop asked of the millions in the Seventh-day Adventist church is nothing short of blasphemy. [1] It is of a magnitude that almost defies description, although he surely does not see it that way. But Diop is not alone. Ted Wilson and others in senior roles at the GC have adopted the same narrative—a papal implant that has also been embraced by corrupt politicians and government institutions worldwide. In short, they now want you to accept a bastardized theology and the edicts it invariably spawns instead of the truths memorialized in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. They endeavor to discard every vestige of our church’s foundational principles in order to become like the rest of the world. They want you to bow a knee to Baal, right along with the millions of others who have swallowed the hook that will reel them right into Rome’s arms. Just like those in government today, they are parroting the words and sentiments of Pope Francis and the underlying Marxist ideology that characterizes papal doctrine—the same ideology that has destroyed nations throughout history. And when the mandates that will inevitably arise from these ideologies arrive on your doorstep, they will expect you to put up or shut up. Just do what you’re told and stop complaining about it.
Many of those who have tried to uphold the founding principles that identify us as Seventh-day Adventists have discovered the rather aggressive trend undermining our theology. They have learned that if you speak out and challenge the status quo, you will be censured or perhaps even get yourself disfellowshipped. I have been banned from speaking in at least one of our conferences because of my stance on the COVID-19 mandates and the LGBTQ agenda that has permeated our churches. But I have no regrets whatsoever. I did my job. If only more of our membership would step up and do what is right in God’s eyes instead of pledging their allegiance to worldly ideologies. But unfortunately, the masses remain reticent, or worse yet, they applaud men like Ganoune Diop and Ted Wilson, both of whom stand together in solidarity on these issues.
What Diop said at the GC Spring Meeting may have perhaps finally blown the cover off the dark ecumenical movement that has been swallowing up true Seventh-day Adventist theology for decades. It is out in the open now. He could not have framed it more plainly, characterizing those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ as terrorists. [1] According to Diop, the Three Angels’ Messages are no longer applicable. They are an aberration in today’s world. Furthermore, Diop implies that those who speak out against the Pope or his secular advocates, who support doctrines couched in Marxist rhetoric, are engaging in hate speech and should be viewed as extremists. [1] This song and dance is the same clever strategy that was used quite effectively by authoritarian government officials and the media during the pandemic. It pigeonholes sincere and well-meaning people as fundamentalists or conspiracy theorists and relegates the truth to the proverbial scrapheap.
In an effort to add even more drama and angst to his comments, Diop alluded to the fact that promoting Bible truths and their relationship to history and current events can place the lives of all Seventh-day Adventists in jeopardy. In other words, present truth is nothing more than an effort to incite violence. This is a trend we have been seeing at many of our churches where the Spirit of Prophecy has been relegated to the “historical trash heap”; part of a quote by Neal Wilson (Ted’s father) during a court hearing in 1975 when he tried to allay concerns about the so-called anti-popery sentiments of conservative Protestantism. He was the GC vice president at the time (later to become president), and like many others, he sold out. It seems that this political maneuver has been brought out of mothballs, and today’s GC leaders are now playing the same game. The irony in Diop’s statement about Seventh-day Adventists being placed at risk is that he has apparently forgotten what the Bible says about God’s true church in the last days. We are supposed to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9). This sets us apart from others, and, by virtue of this position, we will indeed face persecution. E.G. White sums it up this way: “Those who live during the last days of this earth’s history will know what it means to be persecuted for the truth’s sake” {ST, May 26, 1898, par. 10}. She elaborated even further: “When we reach the standard that the Lord would have us reach, worldlings will regard Seventh-day Adventists as odd, singular, straightlaced extremists” {RH, January 9, 1894, par. 10}. So, does Diop mean that if we keep our mouths shut about the truth behind the papal agenda and the falsehoods that are making inroads into our church, ultimately tainting our theology, we will be free from persecution?
In an interview in 1984, Yuri Bezmenov, a former KGB informant and defector to Canada, warned America about an effort to subvert American ideology. It has now come full-bore into our church. © Russia Beyond
How did this veritable nightmare happen? How could men in the highest positions of the church’s organizational hierarchy, who profess to be sincere, well-studied Seventh-day Adventists, make vehement statements that defy the very principles that founded our church? Even worse, how is it that millions of church members believe and applaud them? The answer lies in an agenda that has been percolating literally for decades. It is the same subversive process that has unraveled American politics, particularly over the past few years. It is yet another underground movement, one with an overriding conviction to turn our country away from its roots as a democratic republic and into a totalitarian regime where freedom of conscience will be obsolete. It is also a movement to do away with Christianity, since a truly faith-based society cannot be amenable to Marxist ideology. The two are antithetical. The highly orchestrated process of maligning Biblical truth and slowly chipping away at our freedoms was aptly described by Yuri Bezmenov in the mid-1980s. Bezmenov was a KGB informant who defected to Canada. In books and television interviews, he described the process of ideological subversion—a four-step methodology designed to turn sound, rational thinking upside down, propelling us into a social structure where freedom of conscience is virtually non-existent. We have come to know this more recently as the “woke” agenda. Now this same paradigm threatens to undermine the tenets of our faith all because of our leadership’s complicity with worldly instrumentalities, and you can bet that the full scope of this apostacy will soon be coming to a Seventh-day Adventist church near you. Do not believe for a moment that because you attend a “conservative” church, it will not be the next victim of this aggressive movement by GC leadership to undermine its commitment to Biblical truth and our foundational principles.
Those in our church who have studied scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy over the years know full well about the legacy of papal Rome. Nonetheless, many still see Ganoune Diop as a great leader who, as Director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) for the General Conference, sincerely works to promote religious liberty and freedom of conscience. It is an absolute paradox. It is astounding to me just how effective the subtle process of ideological subversion has made its way into the minds of those in our church—even those who have read The Great Controversy and should know better. They have been thoroughly indoctrinated and do not realize that they are merely following the Pied Piper of Roman Catholicism. They are lost.
The reality of this incursion by Marxist ideology into our church struck close to home after a message I gave at one of our churches quite some time ago. After I spoke, a couple of church members approached me, obviously incensed about how I characterized Ganoune Diop’s actions. They insisted that he is “such a good man.” In the message, I merely pointed out the contradictions in Diop’s perspectives, illustrating how a secular, Jesuit-inspired educational background (the University of Paris) and his theological contributions to Jesuit organizations such as the Berkley Center at Georgetown University are no doubt indicative of those perspectives. This is also at the root of his involvement with Pope Francis and the ecumenical movement, as the myriad photos of the two of them together attest. Simply stated, the man is an advocate of woke ideology. It is evident even in the buzzwords he used in his message at the GC Spring Meeting. Terms such as misinformation and disinformation have become the mainstay of the woke technocrats’ jargon. The message I gave at the aforementioned church, which I felt was reasonably balanced and informative, would normally have been uploaded to that church’s YouTube channel. But instead, it was destroyed, and I was not invited to speak there again. That is, until the reality of what I revealed in my message was later plastered all over the media.
There truly is a Great Controversy in our church, and I am not talking about the book by Sister White. It is a satanically inspired political divide that has been infused into the organized church through an unrelenting barrage of media propaganda and leadership collusion. It was inspired by the Jesuits or Jesuit-trained individuals who infiltrated the Seventh-day Adventist Church at the highest level many years ago. It is so repugnant to me that many in our church consider the reality of an intrusion by the Jesuits and their ideologues into the GC to be a mere conspiracy theory or a two-dimensional tale with all the relevance of the average cartoon. But they fail to recall the lessons that history provides. When JFK gave his speech on secret societies in 1961, he knew exactly who these secret societies represented. Unfortunately, just like Abraham Lincoln, he paid for his assault on their agenda with his life. It is serious business. To think that the ideological subversion spoken of by Yuri Bezmenov can evolve without the help of these nefarious agencies and their minions is sheer foolishness—exactly the mindset these subversive forces would like us to maintain so that they can carry out their plans unhampered, under the radar.
In his speech on secret societies, John F. Kennedy helped to highlight the reality of the covert forces that are now working to subvert American ideology and to remove God and the Bible from the equation. © The Nation
When will those in our church wake up? What will it take? In a “normal” body of people, one would expect the tide to turn and for those in leadership roles who flagrantly violate the principles and beliefs their constituents profess to follow to be summarily removed from their offices. In light of recent events, particularly the scandal surrounding the COVID mandates, you would almost expect a contingent to head down to Silver Springs and demand that these apostate mercenaries resign. But this is not happening in our church or in our nation. Instead, the crowds hail these people as great leaders and exonerate them even when their rights have been violated. It is shocking that people can be so complacent that they will not even raise an eyebrow when betrayed by those who supposedly represent their interests. But it is a fact of life now in a world rife with hidden agendas and satanic influences. Sadly, those who have failed to take action when they have had more than ample opportunity to do so will ultimately face the consequences.
“If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God.” {3T 280.3}
There is a true church—a remnant—that will prevail in the end. The true church is represented by the people who follow the founding principles of the Seventh-day Adventist movement, not the organized church or an apostate General Conference that has turned its back on God.
About the author: Arnie Suntag is the founder and president of Walk of Faith Media, an organization that offers wellness information and contemporary news through television, print, and social media. Walk of Faith Media also conducts seminars and educational series on health and disease prevention and provides outreach to the community. For inquiries or comments call (866) 359-2640 or email Arnie Suntag at arniesuntag@walkoffaithmedia.org
Sources
[1] https://www.youtube.com/live/6o3IcKV829o?si=DrCF51ZaKkstb9ak (start at 3:30:34)
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Diop needs to be permanently retired and go work directly for Rome.
As I look up the word “fundamental principles” in the EGW app just now it comes up with 86 hits in Mrs. White’s writings. God is speaking through His human agent here and from what I read there are fundamental principles in a variety of topics like this nation being founded on republicanism and Protestantism, about education, about dress reform, about temperance and especially regarding our Seventh-day Adventist faith which is quite distinct and non-Babylonian. It is refreshingly clear and pointed and defined. I believe the Fundamental Principles of 1872 and 1889 are accurate. The 1889 version was reprinted pretty much yearly until 1 year (1914) before Mrs. White died. These Fundamental Principles are what make us what we are… Seventh-day Adventists.
It is not a ®️ that makes us Seventh-day Adventists (see the USPTO.gov website for what names are®️ and notice it started in 1980).The main one is this next link which started before the GC Session of 1980. To me the GC Session of that year started the new organization publicly opposed to God and what HE stands for. It was a public denouncing of our pioneer doctrines in favor of ecumenical and evangelical doctrines so that we could be “recognized” like the Diops of today so desperately desire.
https://tsdr.uspto.gov/#caseNumber=73261136&caseSearchType=US_APPLICATION&caseType=DEFAULT&searchType=statusSearch
The original Seventh-day Adventists were on the platform of eternal truth and they would have spotted Diop long ago as an apostate just by the fruits of his lips and his actions and from where he was educated. How stupid we have become to hire people from Jesuit universities. (See also https://www.nadadventist.org/nad_directory/staff/Melissa–Reid ). Do we think we can educate with the Jesuits and not become like them?
I request each person who reads this to check out in detail this chapter entitled “The Foundation of Our Faith” from SpTB02 51-59. This is one amazing chapter!
The final paragraph says this:
“ We are God’s commandment-keeping people. For the past fifty years every phase of heresy has been brought to bear upon us, to becloud our minds regarding the teaching of the word,—especially concerning the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, and the message of heaven for these last days, as given by the angels of the fourteenth chapter of Revelation. Messages of every order and kind have been urged upon Seventh-day Adventists, to take the place of the truth which, point by point, has been sought out by prayerful study, and testified to by the miracle-working power of the Lord. But the way-marks which have made us what we are, are to be preserved, and they will be preserved, as God has signified through His word and the testimony of His Spirit. He calls upon us to hold firmly, with the grip of faith, to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority.” SpTB02 58.2-SpTB02 59.1
An organization that doesn’t uphold these fundamental principles is the new organization. We are not authorized by God (a personal spiritual being) nor His Son Jesus Christ to hold onto this new organization. It is joining to its idols and must be left alone to reap what it has sown. The people inside must be warned so they can grip with a grip of faith these “ fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority”. We must hold onto to Christ who is our head whose head is God.
Really…who are we to question God and how he led us as a people?
Unity does not supersede the truth of the 3 Angels’ Message.
When The SOP mentions “Unity” it usually mentions keeping “God’s Commandments” nearby to it,
Have found GC representatives & pastors often talking about disunity and do believe they have been mistrained to cherry pick quotes from the SOP.
Example see 2SM 159.3
When Ted Wilson read this He stopped short of :
“What is the recipe for the cure of the leprosy strife and dissensiion?
Obedience to the commandments of God”
My only problem is that we were always called to be in peace and in unity .. as Christian’s in general so that was a moot point by him . It’s when our denomination because apologetics and then attempt to appease with gravity of dismissing our qualifying contending points as a church .. we have an issue
The only true unity is in Jesus.
How long are we going to put up
with this man? Each Church should
petition their conference to push
the GC to fire Mr. Diop immediately.
I wonder Who run the church, Ganoune Diop Layolason or Ted Wilson Popeson?
This sound like the beginning of the persecution. Sunday law is at hand!!
Knowing the church has dropped the ball on exposing the wickedness of the man of sin and preaching the Three Angel’s Messages is one reason I have become even more bold about it, speaking out fearlessly all the time about it.
“perhaps we should all prayerfully consider our alignment with this organization”
Rather, we should heed the counsel given to us regarding this issue.
Satan will set up his power as supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but IT DOES NOT FALL. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths. We must be divested of our self-righteousness and arrayed in the righteousness of Christ. The remnant that purify their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness AMID the surrounding apostasy. 4LtMs, Lt 55, 1886, par. 18
We are Seventh-day Adventists. Are we ashamed of our name? We answer, “No, no! We are not. It is the name the Lord has given us. 2SM 384.1
We are Seventh-day Adventists, and of this name we are never to be ashamed. 2SM 384.2
I have been shown that this name means much, and in adopting it we have followed the light given us from heaven…. The Sabbath is God’s memorial of His creative work, and it is a sign that is to be kept before the world. 2SM 384.3
WE ARE NOT TO SPEND OUR TIME IN CONTROVERSY with those who know the truth, and upon whom the light of truth has been shining, when they turn away their ear from the truth to turn to fables. I was told that men will employ every policy to make less prominent the difference between the faith of Seventh-day Adventists and those who observe the first day of the week. In this controversy the whole world will be engaged, and the time is short. This is no time to haul down our colors. 2SM 385.1
The Seventh-day Adventist church goes through to the end. The chaff leaves the church, not the wheat. And of that chaff are the accusers of the brethren.
It is God Himself who sees fit to use sinful, erring humans and not even the angels of Heaven bring railing accusations against them. Prayerfully consider that.
“In the representations the Lord has given me, I have seen those who follow their own desires, misrepresenting the truth, oppressing their brethren, and placing difficulties before them. Characters are now being developed, and men are taking sides, some on the side of the Lord Jesus Christ, some on the side of Satan and his angels. The Lord calls for all who will be true and obedient to His law to come out of and away from all connection with those who placed themselves on the side of the enemy.” -Letter 256, August 1, 1906 & Last Day Events fro the Letters and Manuscripts of E.G. White, p 94 & This Day With God, p 222
“The enemy of souls, has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith , and engaging in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result?—The principles of truth that God in His wisdom has given to the remnant church would be discarded. Our religion would be changed . The fundamental principles that has sustained the work for the last fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced . The founders of this system would go into the cities and do a wonderful work. The Sabbath, of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it. Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built upton the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure.” -Letter 242, October 1903 & Special Testimonies, Series B #7, p. 36-42
Amen brother. And also:
I know that the Lord loves His church. It is not to be disorganized or broken up into independent atoms. There is not the least consistency in this; there is not the least evidence that such a thing will be.—Selected Messages 2:63, 68, 69 (1893). LDE 51.3
I tell you, my brethren, the Lord has an organized body through whom He will work…. When anyone is drawing apart from the organized body of God’s commandment-keeping people, when he begins to weigh the church in his human scales and begins to pronounce judgment against them, then you may know that God is not leading him. He is on the wrong track.—Selected Messages 3:17, 18 (1893). LDE 51.4
A Comment on a Previous post is appropriate here, as Ganoune Diop will do all that the Lord Told Sister White.
Ted Wilson, Ganoune Diop, and the World wide Seventh Day Adventist will support Satan and the Papacy in Support of Sunday. It was Told by the Lord to E.G. White.
The Lord has a controversy with his professed people in these last days. In this controversy men in responsible positions will take a course directly opposite to that pursued by Nehemiah. They will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but they will try to keep it from others by burying it beneath the rubbish of custom and tradition. In churches and in large gatherings in the open air, ministers will urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the first day of the week. There are calamities on sea and land: and these calamities will increase, one disaster following close upon another; and the little band of conscientious Sabbath-keepers will be pointed out as the ones who are bringing the wrath of God upon the world by their disregard of Sunday.
Review and Herald March 18 1884.
Gods True Faithful will Leave the Seventh Day Adventist Church Harlot.
I saw that God has honest children among the nominal Adventists and the fallen churches, and before the plagues shall be poured out,
ministers and people will be called out from these churches and will gladly receive the truth. Satan knows this; and before the loud cry
of the third angel is given, he raises an excitement in these religious bodies, that those who have rejected the truth may think that God is
with them. He hopes to deceive the honest and lead them to think that God is still working for the churches. But the light will shine,
and all who are honest will leave the fallen churches, and take their stand with the remnant.
Early Writings 1882 Edition pg 249
The Lord is unchangeable, therefore His law is immutable; but the pope has exalted himself above God, in seeking to change His
immutable precepts of holiness, justice, and goodness. He has trampled underfoot God’s sanctified day, and, on his own authority,
put in its place one of the six laboring days. The whole nation has followed after the beast, and every week they rob God of His holy
time. The pope has made a breach in the holy law of God, but I saw that the time had fully come for this breach to be made up by the
people of God and the waste places built up.
I pleaded before the angel for God to save His people who had gone astray, to save them for His mercy’s sake. When the plagues
begin to fall, those who continue to break the holy Sabbath will not open their mouths to plead those excuses that they now make to get
rid of keeping it. Their mouths will be closed while the plagues are falling, and the great Lawgiver is requiring justice of those who have
had His holy law in derision and have called it “a curse to man,” “miserable,” and “rickety.” When such feel the iron grasp of this law
taking hold of them, these expressions will appear before them in living characters, and they will then realize the sin of having that
law in derision which the Word of God calls “holy, just, and good.”
Early Writings 1882 Edition pg 80
I was pointed to those who claim to be Adventists, but who reject the present truth, and saw that they were crumbling and that the hand of the Lord was in their
midst to divide and scatter them now in the gathering time, so that the precious jewels among them, who have formerly been deceived, may have their eyes opened to see their true state. And now when the truth is presented to them by the Lord’s messengers, they are prepared to listen, and see its beauty and harmony, and to leave their former associates and errors, embrace the precious truth and stand where they can define their position.
I saw that those who oppose the Sabbath of the Lord could not take the Bible and show that our position is incorrect; therefore they would slander those who believe and teach the truth and would attack their characters. Many who were once conscientious and loved God and His Word have become so hardened by rejecting the light of truth that they do not hesitate to wickedly misrepresent and falsely accuse those who love the holy Sabbath, if by so doing they can injure the influence of those who fearlessly declare the truth. But these things will not hinder the work of God. In fact, this course pursued by those who hate the truth will be the very means of opening the eyes of some. Every jewel will be brought out and gathered, for the hand of the Lord is set to recover the remnant of His people, and He will accomplish the work gloriously
Early Writings 1882 Edition pg 84
I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully.
I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of “refreshing” and the “latter rain” to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God. Those who refuse to be hewed by the prophets and fail to purify their souls in obeying the whole truth, and who are willing to believe that their condition is far better than it really is, will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building. But there will be no time then to do it and no Mediator to plead their cause before the Father. Before this time the awfully solemn declaration has gone forth, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” I saw that none could share the “refreshing” unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action. We should, therefore, be drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Let all remember that God is holy and that none but holy beings can ever dwell in His Presence.
Early Writings 1882 Edition pg 85, 86
*’Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.’* Ezekiel 22:26!
In Ezekiel 22 we meet a catalogue of sins prevailing in Jerusalem before its destruction. Outstanding in the list is murder and idolatry *(see Ezekiel 22:3).* Priests were supposed to stop the rot by standing in for God. *”For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.”* Malach 2:7. Unfortunately priests were leaders in lawlessness and violating the Sabbath – the day God set aside for holy assembly and instruction of the masses *(see Leviticus 23:2-3).* The legacy of lawlessness and Sabbath desecration was repeated in the Dark Ages. The cycle of lawlessness and Sabbath desecration will be at the centre of the Mark of the Beast controversy *(see Revelation 14:9-11).*
_The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not. While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God’s law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the other choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority, receive the seal of God._
_Heretofore those who presented the truths of the third angel’s message have often been regarded as mere alarmists. Their predictions that religious intolerance would gain control in the United States, that church and state would unite to persecute those who keep the commandments of God, have been pronounced groundless and absurd. It has been confidently declared that this land could never become other than what it has been—the defender of religious freedom. But as the question of enforcing Sunday observance is widely agitated, the event so long doubted and disbelieved is seen to be approaching, and the third message will produce an effect which it could not have had before._ [GC 605.3]
“Idolaters were led to receive a part of the Christian faith, while they rejected other essential truths. They professed to accept Jesus as the Son of God and to believe in His death and resurrection, but they had no conviction of sin and felt no need of repentance or of a change of heart. With some concessions on their part they proposed that Christians should make concessions, that all might unite on the platform of belief in Christ.” GC42
“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.
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….” GC 45,46
{God holds his people, as a body, responsible for sins existing in individuals among them. If there is a neglect with the leaders of the church to diligently search out the sins which bring the displeasure of God upon his people as a body, they become responsible for these sins. But this is the nicest work that men ever engaged in, to deal with minds. All are not fitted to correct the erring. They have not wisdom to deal justly, while loving mercy. They will not be inclined to see the necessity of mingling love and tender compassion with faithful reproof of wrongs. Some will ever be needlessly severe, and will not feel the necessity of the injunction of the apostle, “And of some have compassion, making a difference; and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.” There are many who do not have the discretion of Joshua, and who have no special duty to search out wrongs, and to deal promptly with the sins existing among them. Let not such hinder those who have the burden of this work upon them. Let them not stand in the way of those who have this duty to do. Some make it a point to question, and doubt, and find fault, because others do the work that God has not laid upon themselves. These stand directly in the way to hinder those upon whom God has laid the burden of reproof, and of correcting the sins that are prevailing, that his frown may be turned away from his people. Should a case like Achan’s be among us, there are many who would accuse those who might act the part of Joshua in searching out the wrong, of having a fault-finding, wicked spirit. God is not to be trifled with, and his warnings disregarded with impunity by a perverse people RH June 8, 1886, par. 7}
I just heard yesterday that Dr. Ganoune Diop suffered a cardiac arrest and was hospitalized at Johns Hopkins in Maryland, and that a meeting was cancelled where he would be speaking on May 18, 2024, but I have not heard how he is doing now. Is he still in the hospital? Is he okay or not? Concerned.