His brief reign of two years began and ended badly.
It started with a disastrous war with Moab (II Kings 1:1), and closed with an accident that cut his life short, though not for physical reasons.
King Ahaziah was the son and successor of the infamous Ahab, notorious in Bible history for having done “more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (I Kings 16:33). The ruinous example of his father and mother should have been sufficient to warn Ahaziah against following a similar course. Indeed, the negative consequences of his father’s spiritual rebellion had resulted in his father’s death in battle at the hands of the Syrians (I Kings 22:15-37). Ahaziah came to the throne when he did, in other words, because his father had disobeyed God through the witness of the prophet Micaiah.
Then one day, for some reason, the new king fell through a latticed window in the upper chamber of his palace, and was seriously injured as a result (II Kings 1:2). But rather than seek help from the true God, whose power he had witnessed firsthand, he chose to send messengers to a pagan oracle in the Philistine city of Ekron as a means of learning his fate. Like similar shrines in the Hellenic and later the Roman world, this one presumed to offer insights into the future. In Ellen White’s words:
The god of Ekron was supposed to give information, through the medium of its priests, concerning future events. Large numbers of people went to inquire of it; but the predictions there uttered, and the information given, proceeded from the prince of darkness [1].
The Biblical narrative recounts how King Ahaziah’s messengers were intercepted by the prophet Elijah, who had been instructed by the angel of the Lord to meet them. The first chapter of Second Kings records the prophet’s words to the king’s envoys:
Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?
Now therefore, thus says the Lord: You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die (II Kings 1:3-4, NKJV).
Drama and judgment quickly followed. The royal messengers returned to the king with the prophet’s message of doom (verse 6), whereupon the king sent two companies of soldiers to arrest Elijah and bring him to the palace, only to have both companies and their captains destroyed by fire from heaven (verses 9-12). The third captain and his men, by contrast, humbled themselves before the prophet, and Elijah agreed to accompany them to the king’s presence (verses 9-12).
You would think that by this time, Ahaziah would have figured out that God was trying to get his attention. But his heart steeled itself against the efforts of the Holy Spirit to bring him to repentance. Ellen White encapsulates the defiant king’s failed life in the following statement:
During his father’s reign, Ahaziah had witnessed the wondrous works of the Most High. He had seen the terrible evidence that God had given apostate Israel of the way in which He regards those who set aside the binding claims of His law. Ahaziah had acted as if these awful realities were but idle tales. Instead of humbling his heart before the Lord, he had followed after Baal, and had last he had entered upon this, his most daring act of impiety. Rebellious, and unwilling to repent, Ahaziah died, “according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken” [2].
This “most daring act of impiety,” in context, was his choice to send messengers to a heathen oracle as a means of learning whether or not his wounds would heal, rather than seeking help from the God of Israel.
The Quest for Spiritual Enlightenment From Beyond the Church’s Borders
The lure of spiritual guidance from beyond the borders of the faith community didn’t cease with the death of King Ahaziah. Ellen White, under divine inspiration, offers warnings against this allurement in statements like the following:
If God has any new light to communicate, He will let His chosen and beloved understand it, without their going to have their minds enlightened by hearing those who are in darkness and error [3].
Through a lack of faith, many who seek to obey the commandments of God have little peace and joy; they do not correctly represent the sanctification that is to come through obedience to the truth. They are not anchored in Christ. Many feel a lack in their experience; they desire something which they have not; and thus some are led to attend holiness meetings, and are charmed with the sentiments of those who break the law of God [4].
There is no safety, much less benefit, for our people in attending these popular holiness meetings; let us rather search the Scriptures with much carefulness and earnest prayer, that we may understand the ground of our faith. Then we shall not be tempted to mingle with those who, while making high claims, are in opposition to the law of God [5].
A new order of things has come into the ministry. There is a desire to pattern after other churches, and simplicity and humility are almost unknown. The young ministers seek to be original, and to introduce new ideas and new plans for labor. Some open revival meetings, and by this means call large numbers into the church. But when the excitement is over, where are the converted ones? Repentance and confession of sin are not seen. The sinner is entreated to believe in Christ and accept Him, without regard to his past life of sin and rebellion. The heart is not broken. There is no contrition of soul. The supposed converted ones have not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus [6].
Those employed in any department of the work whereby the world may be transformed, must not enter into alliance with those who know not the truth. The world know not the Father or the Son, and they have no spiritual discernment as to the character of our work, as to what we shall do or shall not do. We must obey the orders that come from above. We are not to hear the counsel or follow the plans suggested by unbelievers. Suggestions made by those who know not the work that God is doing for this time will be such as to weaken the power of the instrumentalities of God. By accepting such suggestions, the counsel of Christ is set at nought [7[.
Reading the above warnings, it isn’t difficult to discern any number of ways in which this counsel has been disregarded by certain ones in Adventist ranks during the second half of the twentieth century. The Questions on Doctrine debacle, the embrace of various aspects of evangelical salvation theology, the use by “progressive” Adventist scholars of the historical-critical method of Bible study, the “celebration” worship movement, and the efforts of some to introduce unscriptural, experience-driven approaches to spirituality, most assuredly come to mind. In his review of Geoffrey Paxton’s 1977 book The Shaking of Adventism, the late Desmond Ford alleged the following:
Fortunately, there have always been individual Adventist pastors who, like Ellen White herself, have read on this topic (righteousness by faith, perfection) outside the realms of the Pacific Press, the Southern Publishing Association and the Review and Herald Publishing Association, and this has been their salvation and likewise for their flocks [8].
Considering the theological and moral implications of the Ford-Paxton gospel for so many modern and contemporary Adventists, the word “damnation” would be far more appropriate to describe the impact of the non-Adventist theological presuppositions introduced into the church along these lines. One adherent of the Fordian gospel, who became an atheist before he died, also noted the impact of non-Adventist theologians on the thinking of modern Adventists regarding salvation, and the consequences of this thinking for such doctrines as the Sabbath:
In the 1970s many Adventists were introduced to the writings of the great masters outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and this has meant a lot more than most are aware of [9].
Whatever one’s theological views, it is difficult if not impossible to argue with the above observation. All one need do is read Desmond Ford’s documents from the 1976 conference on righteousness by faith in the little town of Palmdale, California, and the saturation of Calvinistic Protestant theories and copious quotes from authors of that background as a means of discerning the Biblical scope of the phrase “righteousness by faith” [10], confirms all too pointedly the truth of the above author’s statement. The fact is that one need not consult any uninspired theologians, Adventist or otherwise, in order to learn the scope of Biblical righteousness by faith. The Biblical evidence by itself is abundantly clear, in contrast with the claims of Ford and others, that this phrase includes both justifying and sanctifying righteousness, both the work of Christ for us and His work in us [11].
Danger in Unlikely Corners
Sadly, the lure of “greener grass” outside the church’s borders is not solely a problem among Adventists of an evangelical or liberal theological bent. It can also find its way into the ranks of theological conservatives if they aren’t careful.
A number of decades ago, certain very restrictive dietary practices—going beyond the counsel of Scripture and the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy—were brought into a number of conservative Adventist circles from non-Adventist sources, the principal source being a well-known nutritionist who later took his own life [12]. The radically extreme I Kissed Dating Good-bye genre of social orthodoxy [13], now badly discredited by the renunciation of both Christianity and his marriage by the movement’s founder [14], has also gained adherents among faithful Seventh-day Adventists.
More recently, a certain segment of conservative Adventism has found very attractive the equation of Biblical Christianity with right-wing politics, a fascination that has diverted the attention of these folks from the Bible/Spirit of Prophecy scenario of end-time events (with its focus on the coming Sunday law crisis and the theocratic political goals predicted for Catholicism, apostate Protestantism, and spiritualism by the inspired writings) toward anticipation of a secular, left-wing totalitarianism stoked by leading figures in the non-Adventist evangelical world [15]. Right-wing conspiracy theories, with a particular ire toward civil government, the mainstream media, vaccine mandates, and the climate change movement, have also gained traction with this group. It is important for faithful Adventists to recognize that these non-Adventist Christians lack the prophetic focus unique to our classical faith, and that their fear of a looming secular onslaught against Christianity is seriously at odds with the forecasts of the inspired writings, in particular the stress in those writings on the working of miracles in connection with the end-time crisis (Rev. 16:14) [16]—a pending reality not at all congruent with the presuppositions of the secular mind.
In the very recent past, a prominent Adventist church in one of our large institutional communities invited a non-Adventist physician to occupy the platform, likely due to his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine [17], together with a former Adventist pastor who has left the church and become a Southern Baptist [18], who has even served as dean of Liberty University Law School [19]—the university founded by the late Jerry Falwell. In light of Elder Wilson’s admonition at the 2014 Annual Council that “we must not ask those who do not know God’s full truth to preach sermons from our pulpits” [20], it is more than slightly disappointing to find a conservative Adventist congregation inviting such persons to occupy its rostrum.
Conclusion: The God of Ekron Still Beckons
The moral of the story is really quite simple: Seventh-day Adventists never go right when they jump the borders of our faith community in search of spiritual enlightenment. Whether the attraction arises from one philosophical direction or another, such allurement is always dangerous. The inspired instruction we’ve been given as a church regarding issues of lifestyle and the coming end-time crisis needs no supplementing or revamping at the hands of persons not of our faith. As Elijah asked the envoys of the wayward king of Israel long ago:
Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? (II Kings 1:6).
Tragically, the god of Ekron still beckons, and its appeal has breached the defenses of Seventh-day Adventists in some surprising places. Let us claim the grace and wisdom of our Lord to resist that appeal, and to immerse ourselves even more fully in the all-sufficient writings of the inspired pen.
REFERENCES
1. Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 208.
2. Ibid, pp. 209-210.
3. ----Early Writings, p. 124.
4. ----Evangelism, p. 599.
5. Ibid, p. 364.
6. ----Selected Messages, vol. 2, pp. 18-19.
7. ----Testimonies to Ministers, p. 463.
8. Desmond Ford, “The Truth of Paxton’s Thesis,” Spectrum, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 38-39.
9. Aage Rendalen, letter to Verdict, September 1981, p. 3.
10. Ford, “The Scope and Limits of the Pauline Expression ‘Righteousness by Faith,’” Documents from the Palmdale Conference on Righteousness by faith (Goodlettsville, TN: Jack D. Walker, Publisher, 1976), pp. 3-4,11-13.
11. See Kevin D. Paulson, “The Biblical Scope of Righteousness by Faith,” ADvindicate, July 3, 2019 http://advindicate.com/articles/2019/7/3/the-biblical-scope-of-righteousness-by-faith
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Pritikin
13. Joshua Harris, I Kissed Dating Good-bye (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 1997).
14. https://www.instagram.com/p/B0CtVRingGj/?utm_source=ig_embed; “Author Joshua Harris Kisses His Faith Goodbye: ‘I Am Not a Christian,’” CBN News, July 28, 2019 https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/entertainment/2019/july/author-joshua-harris-kisses-his-faith-goodbye-i-am-not-a-christian.
15. See Paulson, “Anticipating the Wrong Tyranny,” ADvindicate, Feb. 12, 2021 http://advindicate.com/articles/paulson-hdy8e-njr8t-naz29-sza26
16. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 588-589,612.
17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_A._McCullough
18. https://villagesda.org/covid19/
19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathew_Staver
20. Ted N.C. Wilson, “God’s Prophetic Movement, Message, and Mission and Their Attempted Neutralization by the Devil,” Adventist Review, Oct. 11, 2014 https://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/%E2%80%98god%E2%80%99s-prophetic-movement,-message,-and-mission-and-their-attempted-neutralization-by-the-devil%E2%80%99
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan