In our first look at this subject we saw how Jesus was considered to be possessed of a demon by earthly relatives. The Apostle Paul was considered insane and thought to be serving the devil. (See Sketches from the Life of Paul 59, 259.) Paul said that he and Apollos were the refuse of the world and the offscouring of all things. He was not just talking about the heathen—at that very time he was being judged by the church in Corinth and they said his speech was contemptible. (See 1 Corinthians 4; 2 Corinthians 10.) The spirit in that church resulted in their losing one of the greatest Christian teachers—Apollos hastily left Corinth because of the strife in the church.
To God’s professed people (the professed church) the Master of the House said, “Behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and of them you shall kill and crucify; and of them you shall scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth.” Matthew 23:34, 35.
Will the history of the Jews be repeated by modern Israel? “Modern Israel are in greater danger of forgetting God and being led into idolatry than were His ancient people.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 609.
“Those who believe and teach the truths of God’s word in these last days, meet with similar opposition [as Paul in Lystra from the professed people of God] from unprincipled persons who will not accept the truth, and who do not hesitate to prevaricate, and even to circulate the most glaring falsehoods in order to destroy the influence and hedge up the way of those whom God has sent with a message of warning to the world. While one class make the falsehoods and circulate them, another class are so blinded by the delusions of Satan as to receive them as the words of truth. They are in the toils of the arch-enemy, while they flatter themselves that they are the children of God.” Sketches from the Life of Paul, 60. [All emphasis supplied.]
We must face the reality that, in practice, Ellen White has been rejected as a prophet for a long time. While we have professed to believe in her as a prophet, many Adventists not only reject some of the plainest things that she wrote but oppose anybody who is conscientiously trying to live according to these testimonies of God’s Spirit.
In 1888 the Adventist people rejected what could have been the beginning of the latter rain and the loud cry and the final finishing of God’s work on the earth.
Following 1888 the brethren sent Ellen White to Australia, which she said was not God’s will. (See 1888 Materials, 1622.) After thirteen crisis years, there was an attempt to correct the problems at the 1901 General Conference. This 1901 General Conference was in essence reversed at the 1903 General Conference. During this time, the devil was trying to destroy the second Advent movement completely, by attacking it from multiple directions at once with the pantheism crisis, then the Ballenger crisis, which eventually took root in the Adventist church in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
When the Lord sent messengers to Adventism, they were rejected by the majority and all manner of false charges were used to destroy their influence. This has happened many times but just a few cases will suffice to prove the case. In 1904, when the Lord directed through the Spirit of Prophecy in the development of Madison Sanitarium and College, by Sutherland and Magan, the message on educational reform was not accepted. Rather, it was largely rejected by leaders in the General Conference and, consequently most leaders never accepted this institution. (One of the highest officials in this school when it was finally closed by church leaders, told me that its closure was entirely unnecessary.) The Lord sent reformer after reformer to bring Adventism back into harmony with Divine Counsel. Julius Gilbert White was not accepted. B.G. Wilkinson was not accepted. W.D. Frazee was not accepted. Strong opposition and charges were leveled against these reformers. Where did these charges come from—not from Babylon generally, but from the professed remnant of God. Elder Frazee’s father told me privately that the brethren “scorched him.” I heard charges against him at Loma Linda in the late 1970’s and both earlier and later in the south. With such a history—a history of almost constant rejection of every reformer that has appeared in Adventism for over 100 years, what should we expect as we approach the last great crisis? “If they have called the Master of the House Beelzebub how much more those of His household.” Matthew 10:25. This has special meaning in the very last days as we shall see.