A Warning and an Appeal
“Elmshaven,” St. Helena, California
November 20, 1905
This manuscript is published in entirety in SpTB #7 8-18. +NoteOne or more typed copies of this document contain additional Ellen White handwritten interlineations which may be viewed at the main office of the Ellen G. White Estate.
To the Battle Creek Church,—
I have words to speak to the church in Battle Creek. My brethren and sisters, you have need now to consider carefully your course of action. Where will those be found who continue in a course of rebellion against God? I am bidden to repeat to you this message: “Hear [ye, O mountains, the Lord's] controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with His people, and He will plead with Israel. O My people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against Me.” [Micah 6:2, 3.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 1
And again, “Hear O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters; they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” [Isaiah 1:2-4.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 2
“Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more; the whole head is sick, the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire. ... 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 3
“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” [Verses 5-7, 16-20.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 4
“Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow observeth the time of their coming, but My people know not the judgment of the Lord.” [Jeremiah 8:7.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 5
How true is the solemn statement, “My people know not the judgment of the Lord.” [Verse 7.] Has not this been repeatedly demonstrated in Battle Creek? Have not men stood up in public assemblies and ridiculed the idea that the burning of our two largest institutions was a reproof and a judgment from God? Could they have seen the presentation given me of what will be in the future, their ridicule would suddenly have turned to mourning. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 6
The burning of these two institutions was verily a judgment from God. And yet men who have been given wonderful advantages and opportunities, and who are capable of understanding the dealings of God with His people of old, have stood up to defy, as it were, the Holy One of Israel, and to make of none effect the working of God’s providence in His dealings with His people. Such ones should remember that an unerring record is kept of such utterances, and that they are written in the books. Some are filled with a wicked spirit of resistance and opposition, and this spirit they will continue to cherish till the bitter, bitter end. Unless those who have dared to brave God’s will fully repent and turn to Him in humility and contrition, they will perish with all who do evil and who stand in the way of the work of God. They have chosen the power of worldly law, but they will one day feel the power of a higher law, from which they have departed, but which it is impossible to evade or escape. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 7
What wonderful truths fell from the lips of Christ when He called His disciples to consider the fowls of the air and the flowers of the field, which obey the orders of God’s will. These come to us as lessons of admonition and reproof for our ingratitude and lack of faith. Gifted with higher, nobler powers than the lower orders or creation, man has nevertheless chosen to disobey his Creator. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 8
Christ Himself, the Son of the infinite God, clothed His divinity with humanity and came to this world to show human beings what they may become by obeying the principles of heaven. Through His grace they may become partakers of the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world through lust. Clearly God makes known His will to men and women. Evidence after evidence is given of His unwillingness that any should perish. It is His desire that all, through believing and obeying His Word, shall have eternal life. The Saviour’s reference to the flowers and the birds is a rebuke to human beings who depart from the plan of God in their behalf and lower themselves to do acts that dishonor their Maker and Him who came to teach men and women how to practice the virtues that will give them a welcome into the heavenly courts. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 9
In His lessons Christ shows us how we may reveal the pure, unselfish love and the unquestioning faith that He manifested in coming from heaven to become one with humanity, that human beings, by living pure, holy lives, might become one with Him and thus one with God. Keenly does He rebuke all distrust and every phase of unbelief. He invites us to learn to cast all our care upon Him; for without help from Him we cannot carry aright the heavy burdens of life. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 10
Unbelief has led many in Battle Creek to the doing of evil works and to the carrying out of wrong principles. It has led them to strengthen themselves in a wrong course. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 11
“Consider the lilies of the field,” said Christ, “how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? for after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” [Matthew 6:28-32.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 12
What a rebuke to a life of self-serving in the part of those who claim to be disciples of Christ. Are those who claim to be followers of Christ showing anxious care about the things of this life, are they giving first consideration to houses and lands and business interests? Are they showing the greed, the selfishness, the sinfulness of sharp practices? In the past this was done in our institutions in Battle Creek, and it placed them where the rebuke of God fell on their unrighteousness. His judgments came upon the two largest of our institutions. Before all the world, His displeasure was shown by stern judgments. And yet, there are those who, since these terrible experiences, have refused correction and have followed a course of determined obstinacy. Some seem determined to continue doing those things that brought the expression of the displeasure of God upon those who would not heed admonitions and warnings. They have kept up a continual defiance against God and warfare against the testimonies of reproof that He has sent. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 13
Much has been done to hinder the advancement of the great work that God has committed to His people—the proclamation of the last gospel message to all nations and kindreds and tongues and peoples. Some who have houses and other property in Battle Creek have shown themselves very much opposed to heeding the warnings that God in mercy has given them to remove from Battle Creek to places where their influence would be of far greater account. But the time is drawing nigh when the judgments of God will be more signally seen in Battle Creek. Many claiming to be believers have dishonored the truth of God. They have diverted His money into wrong channels, to carry out worldly plans. But because of the righteous who are among them the Lord has waited and shown patience. The cause of God has suffered great hindrance because the talents entrusted to His people have not been used in the work of proclaiming the truth, and on every hand we see unworked fields. Saith the Lord, When I visit them for their iniquity, I will punish them for all their greed, and their worldliness, as the Gentiles. I will not spare, unless they repent. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 14
The sentiments of unbelief that were expressed after the judgments of God had come showed that some would keep up their rebellion until the hour of God’s patience is exhausted. Those who have acted as the Gentiles act will be punished as the Gentiles, only with as much greater severity as the abundance of light given them makes their sin against God the greater. He will not spare, neither will He have money, unless there is a thorough conversion of soul, and that repentance which needeth not to be repented of. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 15
What will the believers in Battle Creek do now is the question? Christ has given me a message to give to them. “That, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” [Romans 13:11, 12.] “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” [Ephesians 5:16.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 16
There is presented before me the work which has not been done, but which might have been done had those professing to be Christians been Christlike in character. I am bidden to say that all boasting is evidence that Christ’s invitation, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest,” has not been heeded. [Matthew 11:28.] Those who boast show that they are not wearing His yoke, or learning of Him His meekness and lowliness. All pretense is self-deception. When Christlikeness is not revealed in the life, it shows that the Saviour has been excluded from the soul. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 17
Many will never, never have eternal life unless they see the sinfulness of their course of action and realize how greatly it has dishonored God. They are not servants of Christ, because they do not do His works. The Lord says, Proclaim My message; say to those who have professed to be followers of Jesus, but have dishonored their profession by making false paths for their feet and the feet of others, Repent; for your souls’ sake, repent and be converted. You have been going on and on for years against light, against knowledge, until the Laodicean message applies to your case. Many have become corrupted in faith, corrupted in principle. Many have dishonored God, and sold themselves to sin, and in word and deed have helped others on in the strange paths they have chosen, until they do not know what pure religion is. They have sacrificed faith for worldly favor and are leavened with that which is opposed to righteousness. At first they felt some compunction of conscience, but they refused to turn back, and now hardness of heart is preparing them for hopeless apostasy and the judgments of God. The appeals of their Saviour have been resisted, His mercy abused, His provisions of redeeming love, made by infinite sacrifice, rejected. His heart yearns over them, His hand has been outstretched to save, but they turned away, slighting His invitations of mercy. And yet His hand is stretched out still, for our Saviour made provision that all who receive Him shall be given power to become the sons of God. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 18
Infinite treasure has been richly and freely bestowed upon God’s people. Says the apostle: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And besides all this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” [2 Peter 1:2-12.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 19
Again we read that “Of His fulness have we received, and grace for grace.” [John 1:16.] And again, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” [2 Corinthians 12:9.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 20
Says the Saviour: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” [Matthew 28:18-20.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 21
Shall this wealth of grace and power for service continue to be unappreciated and turned from without relish or appetite? Shall we not heed the words of our great Leader, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” [Matthew 16:24.] “So shall he be My disciple.” [See John 15:8.] The privilege of becoming one with Christ is worth more than the treasures of the whole world. God calls upon His subjects to give the world evidence of their thorough loyalty to Him. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 22
In the camp there have been many traitors in disguise, and Christ knows every one of them. God has been dishonored by disloyal subjects, who, were Christ on the earth today in human form, would cry, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” [Luke 23:21.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 23
How will it be with the unrepentant sinner hereafter? The higher the position and the greater the light accorded to the man who has become disloyal, and has denied his Saviour, the greater will be his punishment. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 24
To those abiding in Battle Creek, I say, “For your souls’ sake, let as many as can get away from its strife and its perils.” Some have solemn responsibilities there, and they may have to abide there, even until near the time of the destruction from the Lord; but God will recognize and save every true soul. To those who are seeking their own convenience and pleasure, instead of the service and honor of their Saviour, my message is, “Repent, repent, repent, and be converted. Confess your sins, that they may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” [See Acts 3:19.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 25
There is a great overturning and overturning to take place in Battle Creek. That which has been done there since the General Conference held at Oakland in 1903 will result in the loss of many souls. Men who might have stood in clear light doing valiant service as ministers of the gospel and medical missionaries have been accepting false theories and sophistries, which organized with the father of lies, and yet they do not realize that they have changed. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 26
“Whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall of it.” [Matthew 7:24-27.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 27
I am bidden to give this message to you at Battle Creek. Now is your time and opportunity to do the will of God from a sincere, devoted heart. Now, just now, take your stand against the power of darkness which has come in and has led many souls captive. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 28
The work of the medical missionary is not to deny God, but he who has stood at the head of the medical missionary work has been accepting theories that do away with God. At times he has felt where he was going and has feared to advance. But again the tempter would place his brilliant representations before him, and he would neglect to flee to the stronghold that is his only safety. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 29
To those medical missionaries and ministers who have been drinking in the scientific sophistries and bewitching fables against which you have been warned, I would say, Your souls are in peril. The world must know where you are standing and where Seventh-day Adventists are standing. God calls for all who have accepted these soul-destroying delusions no longer to halt between two opinions. If the Lord be God, follow Him. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 30
Satan with all his host is on the battle field. Christ’s soldiers are now to rally round the blood-stained banner of Emmanuel. In the name of the Lord, leave the black banner of the prince of darkness, and take your position with the Prince of heaven. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 31
“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” [Matthew 11:15.] Read your Bibles. From higher ground, under the instruction given me of God, I present these things before you. The time is near when the deceptive powers of satanic agencies will be fully developed. On one side is Christ, who has been given all power in heaven and earth. On the other side is Satan, continually exercising his power to allure, to deceive with strong, spiritualistic sophistries, to remove God out of the place that He should occupy in the minds of men. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 32
Satan is striving continually to bring in fanciful suppositions in regard to the sanctuary, degrading the wonderful representations of God and the ministry of Christ for our salvation into something that suits the carnal mind. He removes its presiding power from the hearts of believers and supplies its place with fantastic theories, invented to make void the truths of the atonement and destroy our confidence in the doctrines which we have held sacred since the third angel’s messages was first given. Thus he would rob us of our faith in the very message that has made us a separate people and has given character and power to our work. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 33
In the Word of God warnings regarding this are plainly given, yet fanciful representations and interpretations of truth have been stealing in step by step, unperceived by men who ought, through a clear understanding of the Scriptures, to be prepared to see the danger and sound a note of warning. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 34
In this our day there is need of clear spiritual discernment. Let all who fear God in Battle Creek say, Who is sufficient for these things? for blindness hath happened unto Israel, unto teachers and unto those who are taught. 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 35
The message given me for the believers in Battle Creek is, Why do you take counsel with men who have not been walking in the counsel of the Lord? Much of the work that is being carried forward in Battle Creek in medical missionary lines is not acceptable to God, because a man stands at the head who is continually filling his mind with sophistries and deceptions. The Lord’s voice crieth in the city, “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee but to deal justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 36
“The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the men of wisdom shall see Thy name; hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it. Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.” [Micah 6:8-13.] 20LtMs, Ms 108, 1905, par. 37