Unmasking the Cultic Spirit

SAMUEL PESTES

A cult is a simple structure designed to lock you inside a religious or psychological box. It raises walls all around you ostensibly to protect you from danger. Once inside those walls, you see yourself as an “insider”. Others are referred to as “outsiders.” You find yourself in a world of “us” and “them.” Result? Isolation and a false sense of security steeped in a self-righteousness that is expressed by an ego that must be “right” at any price. 

This phenomenon is more widespread than we may think and describes the situation in the days of Christ. In building a system for protection against error, the religious leaders in Jerusalem became impervious to anything that did not fit inside their structure. When Jesus came to broaden their horizons and to introduce them to a spiritual reality that went beyond human logic, they locked Him out of their minds. His new approach did not fit inside their religious box. When He indicated there was much reality beyond their limited horizon, they panicked. Their security was undermined. Leaders and followers alike were convinced on “scriptural authority” that they possessed the ultimate truth. They had the writings of the prophets. They had the promises of God. They “knew” that they were right! Jesus would either fit inside their airtight box, or He was shunned as an outsider. Case closed! 

Cultic clues identified

1. Beware of promoters in religion or business who do not identify themselves up front. 
2. They often use the Bible to cover their true objectives.
3. These tend to control information by blocking or downplaying any source that could raise questions regarding the validity of their doctrines. 
4. Fear tactics and insecurity are fundamental to their success.

I was raised in a Christian home where our parents taught us to love the Lord and to think for ourselves. Check all things by the Word of God, we were told. Most of our neighbors were nominal Christians who did not let religion interfere with their pleasures. As a result, I found myself somewhat alone because I was not comfortable participating in their rowdy drinking parties. We associated on a neighborly basis, but I simply did not fit regardless of how hard I tried. 

I decided to serve the Lord by becoming a minister of the Gospel and enrolled in an SDA college where I received my Bachelor degree in theology. At first it was a treat to be accepted as one of the “club.” However, I had been taught by my parents not to use the Bible as a tool to support my beliefs, but rather as a gold mine of truth to be explored with an open mind. I soon noticed what appeared to be discrepancies between some of the teachings of that denomination and what the Bible seemed to say. When I inquired regarding some of those problems, I was referred to Ellen White on whose writings that church was structured.

Today Adventist scholars publicly try to avoid resorting to Ellen White as their “final authority,” but neither the doctrines nor the Adventists’ dependence upon her interpretations have changed.

Answers to all Bible questions were to be found in the “Spirit of Prophecy” writings. (Today Adventist scholars publicly try to avoid resorting to Ellen White as their “final authority,” but neither the doctrines nor the Adventists’ dependence upon her interpretations have changed.) As I look back now, I can hardly believe that I had ignored the danger signals for so many years. If authority told me that black was white, then I “knew” that in spite of what my eyes showed me, black was really white. Here are some of the techniques they used (and still use) to capture and hold sincere people.

By linking Ellen White with the “Spirit of Prophecy” (The Spirit of Prophecy is the person of the Holy Spirit) they set her on a pedestal above the ordinary saints. This gives her writings an air of infallibility. By this mind-bending trick the leaders assume the role of infallibility and are responsible only to themselves. 

Isolation. Isolation from other Christians is seen as a safeguard against spiritual contamination. Worshiping with other Christians in their churches on Sunday makes people vulnerable to the mark of the beast. Bible studies conducted by people of other denominations are to be avoided for fear of polluting one’s mind with error. Teachers who give such warnings claim that they are the custodians of all essential truth to the last generation before the coming of the Lord. 

Fear was and remains the driving motive of the denomination to this day. To solidify their central and separating doctrine in the minds of believers they teach: 

• Going to church on Sunday is a pagan institution, and people who persist in worshiping on that day will receive the Mark of the Beast spoken of in Revelation. 

• Sunday laws will soon be enacted, and Satan will use these laws to prepare the world to receive the Mark of the Beast. This scare tactic has been used to win converts to the denomination since the 1840s. The leadership ignore the fact that Sunday laws would not prevent the powerful Jewish lobbies and other groups who prefer to worship on Saturdays, from attending church on that day. Should such laws actually be enacted, they would simply decree Sunday as a national holiday but would not force people to work on a Saturday, or on a Friday, or on any other day for that matter. Yet many innocent victims of this denomination would stake their lives on Saturday observance for fear of receiving the Mark of the Beast. 

Nowhere does the Bible connect worship on Sunday, or on any other day that God has made, with the Mark of the Beast.

Nowhere does the Bible connect worship on Sunday, or on any other day that God has made, with the Mark of the Beast. This tactic is the product of human logic and conjecture. In this we have a prime example of how deceptive tactics are used to target and paralyze unsuspecting victims. Christians are called to regard every day as the Lord’s day (Romans 14:5,6).

Insecurity regarding my salvation was probably the most damaging doctrine I had to overcome. Fear of the final judgment hung over our heads every day. We were taught that we could not be certain of our salvation until we stood before the judgment bar of God at the second coming of Christ. We may repent of our known sins, but we could never be sure of our standing with God, because we might still have some flaw that was not confessed. They seem ignorant of the fact Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension ensure salvation to all who place their faith in Him.  

Fear of God’s rejection was and remains a driving force in the arsenal of this church. In spite of their claims to the contrary, insecurity drives these people to struggle at proving to God that they love Him. Thus they resort to giving lip service to an Old Covenant law given at Sinai solely for the benefit of a rebellious nation (Deuteronomy 5:2,3).

While the old school continues to promote Saturday sanctity, there is a new theological twist among some SDA scholars. Realizing that Saturday observance was never required of the church after the Old Covenant was nailed to the cross, they say they cling to the Sinai Sabbath merely as a service of love with which they hope to impress God by going beyond that which He requires. How did God regard Cain’s “offering of love?” See Genesis 4:5 and Mark 7:6,7. Man-made rules create a breech in the body of Christ by erecting walls between believers. Mrs. White’s unscholarly guidelines on Bible interpretation, diet and isolation from the larger body of Christ, have spawned a subculture that has enslaved millions of innocent people. God warned of such last day deceptions in Matthew 24:24. 

When the fog lifted. 

What did Jesus mean in Matthew 11:13 when He said, “All the prophets and the Law prophesied until John”?

Probably the clearest picture of the passing of the era of Law and the introduction of the new era of faith is in the Mount of Transfiguration record. In Matthew 17:1-8 we see Jesus accompanied by Peter, James and John standing on a high mountain. Suddenly, Jesus the Man was seen for whom He really was—the Son of God Himself. At that moment, the past, the present and the future were presented in full view. Moses, the mediator of the covenant of Law that pointed to the coming Messiah, appeared on one side of his Lord. On the other, was Elijah representing all the prophets who had predicted the coming of the same Messiah. Jesus, the central figure, commanded the scene.

Probably the clearest picture of the passing of the era of Law and the introduction of the new era of faith is in the Mount of Transfiguration record.

Recovering from their shock, the three looked again, but to their amazement, both Moses and Elijah had disappeared. There in the brilliance of divinity stood one figure—alone! He needed no man to support Him. He needed no human props. Then, out of the heavens a voice summarized the whole gospel message. Moses, who ruled by law, had fulfilled his purpose. Elijah, representing the prophets, had completed his mission. Their missions accomplished, both retreated to the pages of history. Jesus alone remains! God Himself had just closed off the past with an exclamation mark and a period as the old era was gone! 

The eternal Jesus, however, was still there! He stood alone, clothed in the glory and power of divinity. He is God, the beginning and the end! He, the Creator and Redeemer, rules. Then, out of heaven came a voice that still rings to this day: 

This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5, NIV)

From that point onward, the apostles knew that all truth was inherent in, and came through Jesus. He opened a window into the mysteries of eternity. Henceforth, all that Moses had taught had to be seen and understood through the eyes of Jesus. Everything the prophets had predicted only served to verify that Jesus, in truth, was the promised Messiah. 

Let us not become so accustomed to life in prison that we fear to venture into the freedom Jesus made available to us. He came to open the prison gates and to set us free. The evidence is clear. The choice is ours. 

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2, NIV). †

---

Samuel Pestes graduated from Canadian Union College in 1947 and from Walla Walla College in 1950 with a B.Th. He entered SDA evangelistic and pastoral ministry in British Columbia, Canada, but resigned in 1957 because of theological disagreements. Samuel has published four books. His first, Christian Be Free, pub. 1981, discussed the law’s fulfillment in the New Covenant. He and his wife Dorothy have two sons and a daughter.