Dear Pastor Bachelor,

   I pray your Sabbath is a joyful one. I have been listening to your "Panorama in Prophecy" audio series, and I have been very blessed by it. I have been impressed to write to you because of some things you have said, which I wish to expand upon, and perhaps be a blessing to you also. Please don't dismiss this right away, I will try to be as clear and brief as possible, while at the same time remaining true to detail in what I say.

   In identifying Babylon (and I'm agreeing with everything you said), you gave this characteristic: it is a woman (religion) that is joined to a state government, just as Jezebel joined herself to Ahab. This is quite in keeping with SDA understanding of these matters. I have no need to go through all the Biblical examples with you, I am sure :)

   But I have noticed an interesting precedent in the Bible. Whenever a church joins itself to a state government, forming a manifestation of Spiritual Babylon, God's true people are called out into a new body. You have cited quotes similar to this one in your study, which I am listening to again as I write this: "The 'image to the beast' represents that form of apostate Protestantism which will be developed when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil power for the enforcement of their dogmas." [Great Controversy p. 445]

   When Ham's children, who were supposed to be teaching the world the true religion, apostatized and formed a human kingdom, the first Babylon was formed. Abraham and his descendants were called out. When the Israelites joined themselves to Pagan Rome, they formed an image to Babylon. "But they cried out, 'Away with [Christ], away with Him, crucify Him.' Pilate saith unto them, 'Shall I crucify your King?' The chief priests answered, 'We have no king but Caesar.'" (John 19:16) Mrs. White's comments on this passage: "With the other priests [Caiaphas] instructed the people to choose Barabbas instead of Christ. They cried out for the crucifixion of Christ and, as representatives of the Jewish nation, placed themselves under the Roman jurisdiction, which they despised, by saying, "We have no king but Caesar." When they said this, they unchurched themselves." [Manuscript Releases Volume Twelve, page 388, paragraph 1]

    There are three things I wish to point to in the paragraph above.

   First, Israel did not like the Roman government unto which it joined itself. A desire for the union is not necessarily a part of the apostasy.

   Second, it was the leaders who did the action, yet we find in Acts 2, Peter declares that ALL the Israelites (even the devout ones of Acts 2:5) were guilty of rejecting and cruicifying the Messiah. "Therefore let ALL the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom YE have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36) The devout men, realizing this, acted as devout men do. "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said unto them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.'" (Acts 2:37,38)

   Third, Mrs. White declares that a church/state union produces a beast that is no longer considered a church. Again she writes, "It was apostasy that led the early church to seek the aid of the civil government, and this prepared the way for the development of the papacy-- the beast. Said Paul: "There" shall "come a falling away, . . . and that man of sin be revealed." 2 Thessalonians 2:3. So apostasy in the church will prepare the way for the image to the beast." [Great Controversy pp 443-444] The Jewish nation, by rejecting Christ and accepting the Word as a "second husband," forever severed its connection to Yahweh. And we realize how serious this is by reading Deuteronomy 24:1-4 and Jer 3:1-3. The separation is irreversible, and even the "latter rain" is withheld because of such an action, as Jeremiah says.

   I pray I have established this precedent clearly. Here is the progress of it: After this point in history, the Apostolic Church also joined itself to Pagan rome forming a beast, the Papacy. I can back this up with Scripture and Great Controversy quotes, but I imagine you know the references better than I do! So then let us move on. When the Papacy was formed, a new group was called out, exactly as Abraham was called out of Shinar, and the Church was called out of earthly Israel. It fits perfectly.

   Then this new group, the Protestants, joined themselves to the state government, the "second beast" of the US Government, and formed an image to the papacy in the 1800s to attempt to enforce the Sunday Laws, which I know you are aware of. At this point the SDA movement was called out. The first Great Controversy quote I gave you in this email refers to this very situation. Now, this union was later dissolved, but why was the movement still called to be separate? Because of the verses I just shared with you. Deu 24 reads, "And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled..." (verses 3&4a) Even though that second union was dissolved, it had been formed, and the ties were cut forever. A new church was called out.

   But what shall we say to this? Did you know that the General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists has formed a union with the US Government? In the 1980s, it trademarked the name "Seventh Day Adventist" in order to disallow any non-Conference led groups to use the title. Not only that, but Mrs. White's words ring ominously true: "Whenever the church has obtained secular power, she has employed it to punish dissent from her doctrines. Protestant churches that have followed in the steps of Rome by forming alliance with worldly powers have manifested a similar desire to restrict liberty of conscience." [Great Controversy p443] Sir, it is with the gravest of emotions that I say this, but the Conference has not only crucified Christ in rejecting Him by forming the Church/State union, but it has also "stoned Stephen" be persecuting offshoot SDA groups such as the Eternal Gospel SDA Church in Miami Florida and a Pastor John Marik in Kona Hawaii. There may be others by now.

   I have all the necessary documenation to illustrate this, and I will provide you with whatsoever you desire, however... if you wish to seek this information from a source other than me, that may even be better, because none of this was done in secret. But by Christ's Spirit, I am constrained to tell all what I know - just as by the actions of their leaders the Jewish nation was left desolate, so the SDA General Conference church, because of it's leaders' actions, has become wholly guilty of blood. A percentage of every member's tithe, for example, goes to feed that beast's legal department, in spite of what Paul wrote, "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?" (1 Cor 6:1 and verses following)

   Mrs. White wrote, "But in the very act of enforcing a religious duty by secular power, the churches would themselves form an image to the beast; hence the enforcement of Sundaykeeping in the United States would be an enforcement of the worship of the beast and his image." [Great Controversy p.449] Notice I am taking all these quotes from the same 50 pages, all dealing with the mark of the beast. And I urge you to note her wording carefully. Sundaykeeping would be AN enforcement of the mark (worship) of the beast; it need not be the only one! Whenever any church has formed a union with a civil government, as I hope I have established in my preceeding paragraphs, an image to the beast has been formed. In every case.

   Pastors I have spoken to have said, "Well, times have changed. We need to protect the name God gave us." "I respectfully disagree," as you are fond of saying :) First of all, if we agree God gave us the name, and the conference did not invent it, what heavenly right do they have to "trademark" it? It's legal under the laws of the United States to do so, but... you must see how it's wrong. They are treating the name God gave us as if it were a product. And they are restricting our right to trade in the Gospel under that name. A trademark is a buy-and-sell (trade) mark. What does it say would happen to those who would not take the mark? "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." (Rev 13:17)

   Another objection I get is people quoting Mrs. White saying, "The Church will go through." I agree, the true Church will, but notice her comments on the John 19 verse above - a church joined to the world has "unchurched" itself. The true Church is then called out as a remnant from the larger body. That same, pure Church that has existed from Genesis will assuredly triumph. We have been overcomers ever since we took the name Israel. I hope I have been clear so far on this particular point...

   Yes, the SDA Church inherited all the promises of God, including the declarations that He would never leave nor forsake them. Yet, as Mrs. White points out, "'Thus saith the Lord: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord.' (Jer 31:...37) These words the Jews applied to themselves. And because God had shown them so great favor and mercy, they flattered themselves that, notwithstanding their sins and iniquities, he would still retain them as his favored people, and shower especial blessings upon them. They misapplied the words of Jeremiah, and depended for their salvation upon being called the children of Abraham. If they had indeed been worthy of the name of Abraham's children, they would have followed the righteous example of their father Abraham, and would have done the works of Abraham." [The Spirit of Prophecy Volume Two, page 52]"

   And again, "Balaam knew that the prosperity of Israel depended upon their obedience to God, and that there was no way to cause their overthrow but by seducing them into sin." [Patriarchs and Prophets p.451] Yes, it was possible for the SDA church to fall: "We are in danger of becoming a sister to fallen Babylon, of allowing our churches to become corrupted, and filled with every foul spirit, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird; and will we be clear unless we make decided movements to cure the existing evil?" [Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce., page 188, paragraph 3]

   Incidentally, this warning was given relating specifically to the matter of sexual sin, and it was originally to bring suit against Kinship International, a homosexual SDA support group, that the Trademark law was first initiated! To the letter has Mrs. White's warnings been fulfilled by the leaders of the Conference.

   One of the manifestations of the mark of the beast must be this church/state trademark law - I don't see any way around that conclusion.

   Consider also the reason why the original tower of Babel was built: "And they said, 'Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.'" (Gen 11:4) As it was in Genesis, so it is in Revelation - the mark of the beast is established by an attempt to protect a name. Men have taken the authority due to Chirst as the Husband/Head/Protector of the Church, and given it to man, to secular human government. I humbly submit to you that this is an abomination of desolation that has been seen in every age past, when God's people were told to flee from the current system into the true Body, being baptized and calling upon the name of the Lord.

   There is so much more to say, sir, but I would like to give you one last quote, and I pray your heart is drawn to the clearest presentation I can muster on the subject. Here it is, and the documentation I (and many others) am in possession of makes it plain that this condition has indeed been repeated in Spiritual Israel before our very eyes: "What astonishing deception and fearful blindness had, like a dark cloud, covered Israel! This blindness and apostasy had not closed about them suddenly; it had come upon them gradually as they had not heeded the word of reproof and warning which the Lord had sent to them because of their pride and their sins. And now, in this fearful crisis, in the presence of the idolatrous priests and the apostate king, they remained neutral. If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God." [Testimonies for the Church Volume Three, page 280-281]

   Please hear me... this is so vital to our being prepared, to our being, "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish," for His glorious advent. (Eph 5:27)

   I am a Creation Seventh Day Adventist... and of that name I shall never be ashamed. The Conference will most likely, when it has enough precedent, turn on us also. It may be only after this point that some are drawn to see the matter clearly presented, and we are willing to make that sacrifice. I must obey Yahweh rather than men. I cannot give up the name bestowed upon me by my loving Father, and because of it, all the world, including former brethren, will soon bring the sword of Ceasar to bear.

   I understand what accepting this message will cost you. I fact, I cannot claim that. I do not know what it will cost you, but our Father knows. All I know is that we could really use your help in getting the wheat ready for the harvest which is even now at the door. You gave the most moving examples I have yet heard of not bowing to Babylon in this audio presentation. The three Hebrew worthies who said that they would rather die than disobey God's voice, for example. The Jews in Acts 2 also saw their spiritual need and came out. As you rightly and fittingly ended your sermon, you said, "What's going to be our only safety, friends? Our only safety is going to be the Rock of God's Word. We must build on Christ and His teachings, or we will be decieved... What are you going to believe? Are you going to believe what everyone tells you to believe, what everyone's doing, what your senses tell you? Or is your faith so thoroughly rooted in the Word of God you're going to do what the Lord says, instead of what you feel? Friends, I pray that this will be your decision."

   I pray you see the applications in all I have said, and that you are one of the precious few that have the courage of their convictions. This is only the beginning, what I have shown you so far. This message lacks nothing... but messengers. I pray that Christ's pure faith will be carried to the world on the wings of eagles: yours, mine, and everyone who is willing to brave the fires of the furnace with trust in our all-powerful Creator.

Your servant in Christ,
David Aguilar.

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