Place #1 ~ The Great Controversy

Ellen White makes a statement in the introduction of The Great Controversy that I believe has a tremendous bearing on this whole question concerning the New World Order:

 “As the Spirit of God has opened to my mind the great truths of His word, and the scenes of the past and the future, I have been bidden to make known to others that which has thus been revealed—to trace the history of the controversy in past ages, and especially so to present it as to shed a light on the fast-approaching struggle of the future.”  {Great Controversy xi}

 Before I comment on that statement I would like you to read just a little of what Ellen White said in other places concerning the book The Great Controversy:

 “The Great Controversy should be very widely circulated. It contains the story of the past, the present, and the future. In its outline of the closing scenes of this earth’s history, it bears a powerful testimony in behalf of the truth. I am more anxious to see a wide circulation for this book than for any others I have written; for in The Great Controversy, the last message of warning to the world is given more distinctly than in any of my other books.”—Letter 281, 1905.  {Colporteur Ministry 127}

 “I was shown . . . that I should devote myself to writing out the important matters for volume 4 [The Great Controversy]; that the warning must go where the living messenger could not go, and that it would call the attention of many to the important events to occur in the closing scenes of this world’s history.”—Letter 1, 1890.  {Colporteur Ministry 128}

 I chose those two specific quotes because they both stress, in different words, the same important truth that she states in the introduction of The Great Controversy. The second Colporteur Ministry quote said, “[The Great Controversy] would call the attention of many to the important events to occur in the closing scenes of this world’s history.” In the introduction of The Great Controversy she says God had “bidden [her] make known to others that which has thus been revealed…especially so to present it as to shed a light on the fast-approaching struggle of the future.” She also says, in the other Colporteur Ministry quote, “…in The Great Controversy, the last message of warning to the world is given more distinctly than in any of my other books.”

Now, I think it is fair to say that in the minds of those who truly believe in it, the New World Order is a major part of “the fast-approaching struggle of the future”, as well as a major part of “the important events to occur in the closing scenes of this world’s history.” Therefore, in the light of these quotes I’ve just shared, what would seem to me to be the obvious and all-important question is—Where, and to what extent, is this whole New World Order warning to be found in The Great Controversy?

I have probably read entirely through The Great Controversy half a dozen times or more. I have read certain chapters and portions many, many more times. Two chapters that immediately come to mind are—“The Impending Conflict” and “The Final Warning.” If there is any place in The Great Controversy where one would expect the warning concerning the New World Order not to be left out, I would certainly think it would be in these two chapters. Their titles alone would seem to strongly suggest that. The warning of the coming New World Order, as it is taught by so many Christians, including many Seventh-day Adventists, is simply not there. “The Impending Conflict” is 11 pages and “The Final Warning” is 10 pages. Please, make it a point to set aside some time to read them. Find out for yourself whether what I am saying is correct or not.

I have heard some who believe this teaching make the argument that Ellen White did not have all the light. While it is true that she didn’t have all the light, I would nonetheless say, that to use this fact—that Ellen White didn’t have all the light—as a justification why this ‘extremely important’ subject of the New World Order is not found in the book The Great Controversy is a very serious mistake, with very serious implications. For those of you that are inclined to believe that argument—please, go back and read over and over and over those first three quotes concerning The Great Controversy.

Not only is this New World Order teaching not found in The Great Controversy, but many of the things that are taught by those who believe in it are in direct contradiction to things that Ellen White teaches in The Great Controversy. I’ll give two examples.

Let me say one thing before giving them. I would imagine that those who believe in this teaching do not believe exactly alike on all points. Therefore, the examples I’m going to give may not be held by every single believer of this teaching.

Example #1—I have read, and heard, believers in the New World Order (one quite famous), teach that some secret societies, or whoever it is that they believe are working behind the scenes to set up the New World Order, founded America to further their cause. Compare that idea with what Ellen White says in The Great Controversy:

 “In the midst of exile and hardship their love and faith waxed strong. They trusted the Lord’s promises, and He did not fail them in time of need. His angels were by their side, to encourage and support them. And when God’s hand seemed pointing them across the sea, to a land where they might found for themselves a state, and leave to their children the precious heritage of religious liberty, they went forward, without shrinking, in the path of providence.
“God had permitted trials to come upon His people to prepare them for the accomplishment of His gracious purpose toward them. The church had been brought low, that she might be exalted. God was about to display His power in her behalf, to give to the world another evidence that He will not forsake those who trust in Him. He had overruled events to cause the wrath of Satan and the plots of evil men to advance His glory and to bring His people to a place of security. Persecution and exile were opening the way to freedom.”  {Great Controversy 291}

 “Such action would be directly contrary to the principles of this government, to the genius of its free institutions, to the direct and solemn avowals of the Declaration of Independence, and to the Constitution. The founders of the nation wisely sought to guard against the employment of secular power on the part of the church, with its inevitable result—intolerance and persecution.”  {Great Controversy 442}

 It seems very clear, to me at least, that the Spirit of Prophecy teaches that God led and worked in the founding of this country to give to the world an evidence of what a people and country that was founded on correct principles—“civil and religious liberty” {GC 441}—could become. I can’t remember ever reading anything in The Great Controversy, or for that matter, anywhere else in her writings, that would give any support to the idea that secret societies founded this country to further their evil agenda.

Example #2—Those who hold this teaching generally believe that the citizens of this country no longer have any real power to shape the direction in which this country goes, and I especially mean the laws that are made. They believe that powerful, hidden, international forces run this government. (I hope I’ve expressed myself clear enough.) Now, while there can be no denying that many, many politicians are corrupt, and are controlled by big money; this view is, nonetheless, a tremendous mistake. (Special interest groups like the Gay Movement and the Pro-choice people certainly know better.) And what is more important, it is in direct disagreement with what the Spirit of Prophecy teaches in The Great Controversy, especially on the point of most critical interest to all true Adventists—the coming Sunday Laws. Please read carefully the next two quotes, and remember she is telling us what is actually going to happen in the future:

 “‘Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they (italics hers) should make an image to the beast.’ Here is clearly presented a form of government in which the legislative power rests with the people…”  {Great Controversy 442,443}

 “…even in free America, rulers and legislators, in order to secure public favor, will yield to the popular demand for a law enforcing Sunday observance.”  {Great Controversy 592}

 There’s another quote that doesn’t exactly fit in with these two, but is so closely related that I believe it deserves to be included here. It also disproves the New World Order teaching that our government is totally controlled by elements of the New World Order:

 “While many of our rulers are active agents of Satan, God also has His agents among the leading men of the nation. The enemy moves upon his servants to propose measures that would greatly impede the work of God; but statesmen who fear the Lord are influenced by holy angels to oppose such propositions with unanswerable arguments. Thus a few men will hold in check a powerful current of evil. The opposition of the enemies of truth will be restrained that the third angel’s message may do its work. When the final warning shall be given, it will arrest the attention of these leading men through whom the Lord is now working, and some of them will accept it, and will stand with the people of God through the time of trouble.”  {Great Controversy 610,611}

 The real question is, and it is the question that has been asked in all ages—What are we going to build our faith on? Will we build our faith on the word of God or on the sayings of men? I believe it is an undeniable fact that people who are really in to this teaching are constantly reading material other than the word of God. And what is worse, the great majority of it doesn’t even originate from Adventist sources.