September 5, 1999 (David W. Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, 1701 Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 98277, http://www.wayoflife.org/) - In the book Kingdom of the Cults, the late Dr. Walter Martin (he died in 1989) defended the Seventh-day Adventist Church as orthodox and refused to label this group a cult. Martin’s position in this influential book has resulted in widespread confusion on this subject. The course I took on cults in Bible school in 1975 used Martin’s Kingdom of the Cults as the main textbook. Since I had been confronted with the errors of Seventh-day Adventism soon after I was saved in 1973, I was surprised to learn that Walter Martin was not treating this group as a cult. When I was only a few weeks old in the Lord, I had checked out the book Planet in Rebellion by George Vandeman from a public library. Most of the Adventist doctrinal heresies are taught in this book, and I was somewhat confused by the things I read. I had joined a little independent Baptist church, and my pastor patiently showed me the error of the Adventist heresies. He explained that they are a dangerous cult. Thus, when I was confronted with Martin’s position on Adventism in The Kingdom of the Cults a couple of years later, I was amazed. I determined to pursue a diligent firsthand study of Adventism in order to make a decision about this matter for myself. I took three or four Adventist correspondence courses and traveled to Adventist schools, churches, and bookstores. My study entitled Avoiding the Snare of Seventh-day Adventism was the fruit of that research. The first edition of it was never published in English, but it appeared in a book on cults that I printed in the Nepalese language in the country of Nepal during the early years of our missionary work there. I submitted an expanded edition of the manuscript to Challenge Press in the early 1980s, and they published the book in 1984.

In the following study I analyze Walter Martin’s approach to Seventh-day Adventism and contrast it with that of those who view this group as a dangerous cult.

WALTER MARTIN ACCEPTED THE STATEMENTS OF ONE PARTICULAR SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST PUBLICATION, QUESTIONS ON DOCTRINES, AS THE BASIS FOR HIS EVALUATION.

The book Questions on Doctrines was published by the SDA denomination especially for general public use to answer charges of heresy that have been leveled at them. Martin thinks it wrong that other contenders for the faith have based their evaluation of Seventh-day Adventism on a variety of SDA literature, arguing that these are not an official representation of SDA doctrine. He even contends that Mrs. White’s writings are not a fair representation of SDA teaching. Consider the following statement from The Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin:

"In 1957 the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists released the first definitive and comprehensive explanation of their faith, an authoritative volume entitled Questions on Doctrine. This book truthfully presents the theology and doctrine which the leaders of Seventh-day Adventism affirm they have always held. … It is therefore unfair to quote any one Adventist writer or a group of writers as representing ‘the position of our denomination in the area of church doctrine and prophetic interpretation…’" (Kingdom of the Cults, p. 369).

What Is Wrong with This?

1. Questions on Doctrine is no longer in print. The Seventh-day Adventists must not have considered it too important as an authoritative statement of their doctrine or they would not have allowed to go out of print. In 1977, I visited the bookstore at the large Adventist Bible College in Collegedale, Tennessee, in search of this book. I was told that the book was out of print and would not again be available.

2. Ellen White’s writings are presented by the Adventists as inspired. The following statements are from an Adventist correspondence course that I took in the mid-1970s titled Prophetic Guidance in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I was also given two books with this course: Ellen G. White: Messenger to the Remnant and The Spirit of Prophecy Treasure Chest. All of these materials are produced by the Adventist publisher Review and Herald. These books were still available in Adventist bookstores when I last checked in the early 1990s. This correspondence course exalts Ellen White as a prophetess of God and her writings as inspired revelation:

"These inspired books, such as Desire of Ages, Great Controversy, and Patriarchs and Prophets, are indeed divine revelations of truth upon which we may place full dependence" (Prophetic Guidance in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, p. 20).

"The Messages for these days shall be written in books and shall stand immortalized" (Prophetic Guidance, p. 50).

"These messages, we believe, should be faithfully followed by every believer" (Prophetic Guidance, p. 60).

"Consistency calls for acceptance of the Spirit of Prophecy [Ellen White’s] writings as a whole. We cannot justify accepting part and rejecting part" (Prophetic Guidance, p. 70).

"We recognize that the principles set forth in the Spirit of Prophecy writings do not change with the passage of the years … and are of equal value to the church in all lands" (Spirit of Prophecy Treasure Chest, p. 125).

"The Messages [Ellen White’s writings] themselves are worthy of a different kind of consideration from that given to other modern writings. They are messages from God and must always be treated as such" (Treasure Chest, p. 142).

Mrs. White’s books are sold by Adventist ministries, bookstores, and colporteurs worldwide and are advertised as inspired counsel of God. Since Ellen White’s writings are thus regarded by the Adventist denomination, why would they protest the evaluation of her writings as representative of SDA doctrine? Their own books continually site Ellen White’s writings as authoritative, and it certainly not wrong for an outside researcher to do the same.

If Ellen White’s writings are not accurate representations of Adventist doctrine, their entire foundation is washed away.

3. The Seventh-day Adventists have themselves stated that their authorized publications are reliable.

"Denominationally-authorized productions carry the official imprint of the issuing organization, and may be relied upon" (Prophetic Guidance, p. 82).

In light of this statement it certainly would be proper to study any of the publications of the major Adventist presses in order to know Adventist beliefs. They have told us these materials are reliable. We are not, therefore, confined to any one publication for official SDA doctrine. All of the publications used in Avoiding the Snare of Seventh-day Adventism are either Ellen White’s writings or are publications of the official Adventist publishing houses. It is very strange for the Adventist Church to publish books and then to protest because we use those books to evaluate their beliefs. There is something that appears very deceitful here.

4. Dr. Martin did not treat other groups like he demanded the Seventh-day Adventists be treated. In his research of other groups, such as the Mormons, Martin did not draw back from using any authoritative material necessary to draw an accurate conclusion about the doctrinal position of the group. He did not base his research of other groups strictly upon one volume provided by those groups. He was very extremely inconsistent in this matter.

5. Dr. Martin failed to apply his knowledge of cultic deceitfulness to the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. He well knew the chameleon nature of false teachers. Frequently in critiques of various false groups, Walter Martin warned that they tend to be less than honest in their presentation of doctrine, especially in their materials designed for general public consumption.

One entire chapter of Dr. Martin’s booklet Jehovah’s Witnesses deals with this reality. The chapter is entitled "The Watchtower Chameleon." Martin shows how the Witnesses have a history of attempting to hide their heretical nature. They say one thing on one hand and something completely different on the other hand. The wise investigator must learn to dig through this deception in order to arrive at the truth.

It is not difficult to see this trait in Seventh-day Adventism. In an attempt to appear orthodox they sometimes dilute, even alter their beliefs. Sometimes, for example, they proudly and boldly teach that Ellen White’s writings are inspired revelation from God and that they should be accepted as authoritative by all Christians. They do this in the aforementioned correspondence course, Prophetic Guidance in the Adventist Movement. On other occasions they will deny the charge that they revere Ellen White’s writings as divine revelation.

Dr. Martin admitted that there is confusion and "conflicting statements" among SDA publications.

"There can be no doubt of the fact that there are conflicting statements in Adventist publications and diverse opinions about certain areas of Adventist theology and interpretation, some of which is quite the opposite of classical orthodox Christianity" (Kingdom of the Cults, p. 369).

It is very sad that Dr. Martin did not discern this as apostate deceitfulness instead of overlooking it. Consider some of the contradictions between quotations Dr. Martin uses from Questions on Doctrines and quotes from other books produced by the same official Adventist publishers:

Example # 1: Inspiration of Ellen White’s Writings

Dr. Martin’s Statements: "If Seventh-day Adventists did indeed claim for Mrs. White inspiration in every area of her writings, then we might well be cautious about having fellowship with them. However, this they do not do, as I have amply demonstrated from official sources" (Kingdom of the Cults, p. 383).

Contradicting Adventist Statements: "These inspired books, such as Desire of Ages, Great Controversy, and Patriarchs and Prophets, are indeed divine revelations of truth upon which we may place full dependence" (Prophetic Guidance in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, p. 20). "The Messages for these days shall be written in books and shall stand immortalized" (Prophetic Guidance, p. 50). "Consistency calls for acceptance of the Spirit of Prophecy [Ellen White’s] writings as a whole. We cannot justify accepting part and rejecting part" (Prophetic Guidance, p. 70). "The Messages [Ellen White’s writings] themselves are worthy of a different kind of consideration from that given to other modern writings. They are messages from God and must always be treated as such" (Treasure Chest, p. 142).

Example #2: Universality of Ellen White’s Writings

Dr. Martin’s Statements: "These counsels are primarily for the Seventh-day Adventist denominations" (Kingdom of the Cults, p. 380). "We do not think of them [Ellen White’s writings] as of universal application, as is the Bible…" (Kingdom of the Cults, p. 380).

Contradicting Adventist Statements: "She was ever mindful that she was writing for the world as well as for the church" (Prophetic Guidance, p. 50). "These messages, we believe, should be faithfully followed by every believer" (Prophetic Guidance, p. 60). "We recognize that the principles set forth in the Spirit of Prophecy writings do not change with the passage of the years … and are of equal value to the church in all lands" (Spirit of Prophecy Treasure Chest, p. 125).

Example #3: Ellen White’s Role in the Development of Adventist Doctrine

Dr. Martin’s Statements: "If they interpreted the Bible in the light of her writings, and not the reverse, if they willingly admitted this and owned it as their position, then his criticism would be justified, but they do not do so" (Kingdom of the Cults, p. 378).

Contradicting Adventist Statements: "When they came to the point in their study where they said, ‘We can do nothing more,’ the Spirit of the Lord would come to me, I would be taken off in vision, and a clear explanation of the passages we had been studying would be given me. … Thus light was given that helped us to understand the Scriptures … they accepted as light direct from heaven the revelations given [to Ellen White]" (Ellen G. White Messenger to the Remnant, pp. 34,38,39).

It is true that Adventist leaders often deny that their doctrine was developed through Ellen White’s visions, but in the above statement Ellen White herself admitted that her visions played a definitive role in how the early leaders understood Bible doctrine. A cult researcher like Walter Martin should have known that it would be impossible to develop from the Bible alone Adventist doctrines such as Investigative Judgment, Satan as sin bearer, Sunday worship the mark of the beast, Seventh-day Adventism as the fulfillment of Revelation 14:6, and Satan bound on earth for 1,000 years. He should have realized, therefore, that there would have to be duplicity involved in any such claim. Again, for some reason he failed to apply his knowledge of cultic deception to Seventh-day Adventism. When the Jehovah’s Witnesses play games with theological terms and appear in different colors according to different situations, Dr. Martin judged them as heretical chameleons. When the Seventh-day Adventists play similar games, he alleged that it is only because they "are handicapped by the lack of a comprehensive volume which adequately defines their doctrinal position."

Could it have been that Dr. Martin had developed close relationships with Adventist leaders in California and therefore became blinded to the reality of Adventism? We believe this is exactly what happened. He admitted such friendships in his writings (Calvary Contender, October 1, 1995).

"Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners" (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Example #4: Salvation by Grace Alone

Dr. Martin’s Statements: "Literally scores of times in their book Questions on Doctrine and in various other publications the Adventists affirm that salvation comes only by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross" (Kingdom of the Cults, p. 378).

Contradicting Adventist Statements: "So we have clearly outlined the steps that we need to take in order to become a Christian: to believe in God, to repent of and to confess our sins, to be baptized, and to obey all the commandments of the Lord" (New Life Voice of Prophecy Guide #12). "Christ says to every man in this world what He said to the rich young ruler: ‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments’ … In other words, the standards for admission into heaven is a character built according to the ten specifications, or commandments, of God’s law" (Charles Everson, Saved by Grace, Review and Herald Publishing, pp. 45,46).

These are quotes from two Adventist publications written specifically to explain to the public their doctrine of salvation. Dr. Martin quoted only one publication, Questions on Doctrines. On the one hand, they do claim to believe that salvation is by grace alone without works; but on the other hand, they redefine grace to include works and the deeds of the law. Their New Life correspondence course plainly states that to be saved one must believe in God, repent of sins, be baptized, and obey all the commandments of the Lord. This is what every cult does. They claim to believe in salvation by grace, but they cleverly redefine grace to include works.

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See Part II of II for the conclusion to this article.

The complete article is at under the Cults section of the End Time Apostasy Database at the Way of Life Literature web site -- http://www.wayoflife.org/

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This article is from the book AVOIDING THE SNARE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM by David W. Cloud. Called the best on the subject by the editor of The Baptist Challenge, this book is diligently researched from official publications of the Seventh-day Adventist organization. The author proves conclusively that the Seventh-day Adventist gospel is false. The two major divisions of the book are: "Adventist History Proves It is Heretical" and "Adventist Doctrine Proves It Is Heretical." The book analyzes Adventist doctrines such as Sabbath-keeping, Soul-sleep, Annihilation of the wicked, Ellen White as a Prophetess, Investigative Judgment, and Misuse of the Mosaic Law. Another chapter is titled "Why Some Have Considered Seventh-day Adventism Evangelical." This analyzes Walter Martin's (author of Kingdom of the Cults) faulty view of Adventism. The 2nd edition (1999) includes selections from D.M. Canright's 1898 book Seventh-day Adventism Renounced. Canright was an early leader in Adventism who left and became a Baptist pastor. The 2nd edition also includes a chapter entitled "Adventists Wanted Me to Revise This Book," describing the attempt by the Seventh-day Adventist denomination to have me change the book. 161 pages, 5 X 8", perfect bound. $5.95 + $4 S/H.