09/28/2024
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.RH March 18, 1884, par. 8
IT HAS BEGUN.
16 Religious Communities, Including Adventists, Joined Together to Set an Example of Solidarity, Inclusion and Peace by Opening the Doors of Their Churches on Sunday
In an act of unity, inclusivity, and harmony, sixteen churches in Graz, Austria, reportedly opened their doors to commemorate a "Day of Religions" on Sunday, September 22, 2024, according to the Catholic Press Agency in Austria. The religious communities in the area publicly came together to show their mutual support and solidarity. The churches' cooperation in opening their doors on Sunday to allow a tour bus to transport visitors to the various Catholic, Buddhist, Protestant, Muslim, and Adventist houses of worship was another striking example of their strong commitment to unity.
Catholic Press Agency published the following:
• "On Sunday, September 22, the 'Day of Religions' will take place for the first time in Graz. The initiative, which was launched by the interreligious advisory board of the city of Graz ... and is intended to set an example for solidarity, inclusion and peace. 16 religious communities will open their doors on this day (Sunday), including churches, meeting centers, the synagogue and a mosque." [1]
• "It is important that the religious communities here in Graz hold a Day of Religions in order to jointly set an example for a solidarity-based, inclusive and peaceful city," emphasized Mayor Kahr. The day will end with a joint conclusion at 6:30 p.m. at the Stupa in the Volksgarten, accompanied by music, thoughts on peace and solidarity and an agape." [1]
• "Visitors are invited to experience the religious and cultural diversity of the city - whether through meditations in the spirit of Buddhism, guided tours of the Jewish community or choir singing in the Old Catholic Church." [1]
• "Participating religious communities and churches include the Buddhist religious community, the Old Catholic parish, the Jewish community of Graz, the Islamic religious community of Styria, the Evangelical Church of Styria, the Evangelical Methodist Church, the Catholic Church of Styria, the Free Churches in Austria, the Baptist community of Graz, the center of the Bahá'í community, the Greek, Serbian and Romanian Orthodox Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Graz, the Christian Community of Graz, the Unification Church in Styria and the Seventh-day Adventist Church." [1]
This event was also promoted by the City of Graz, and they actually published a list of the participating churches, which included the Seventh-day Adventist Church located at Alte Poststraße 247, 8020 Graz, Austria. [2] The devil is hard at work these days, and his goal is to create a single confederacy that will unite the entire world. Students of prophecy are aware that a union of all peoples and religions, including Catholicism, apostate Protestantism, and spiritualism, is imminent. Sunday sacredness will be the common ground that will bring the religious world to Rome.
"The word of God plainly declares that his law is to be scorned, trampled upon, by the world; there will be an extraordinary prevalence of iniquity. The professed Protestant world will form a confederacy with the man of sin, and the church and the world will be in corrupt harmony" (Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 367).
Why are so many Seventh-day Adventists so willing to abandon their mission to devote themselves to the ecumenical movement? The responsibility of proclaiming the three angels' messages has been entrusted to us, and God help us if we should be the ones to betray our sacred mission and join the ranks of the opposition.
Instead of building bridges on Sunday to celebrate religious diversity, Seventh-day Adventists need to proclaim the messages that God has given us (Revelation 14:6–12) to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus. Instead of standing in solidarity with Rome, we need to share the Three Angels’ Message because this message represents the work that God’s people will be doing at the end of time. Our end-time prophetic warnings are so important that we have been told not to allow anything else to engross our minds. Nothing, including Rome's ecumenical message, is to be allowed to draw away our attention or to occupy our time:
“They have been given a work of the most solemn import—the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention” (Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 19).
Ecumenism, interfaith bridge-building, and inter-confessional cooperation have opened the door to dangerous errors. Rome's universal fraternity destroys the notion of absolute truth and of an end-time, prophetic, and unique Remnant Church. Ecumenism promotes the idea that every belief system has its own unique perspective and identity and must be affirmed. And tragically, the Roman Catholic Church has apparently had the most to gain from the atmosphere of ecumenism. The entire world is being wooed to join the great apostate fellowship found in Revelation 13, 17, and 18.
“Precious time is rapidly passing, and there is danger that many will be robbed of the time which should be given to the proclamation of the messages that God has sent to a fallen world. Satan is pleased to see the diversion of minds that should be engaged in a study of the truths which have to do with eternal realities” (Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 302).
Sources
[1] https://www.kathpress.at/goto/meldung/2406572/erster-tag-der-religionen-am-sonntag-in-graz
[2] https://www.graz.at/cms/ziel/13509032/DE
