Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
"A recent internet message by David Gates (Even At The Door) has caused quite a sensation among many in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. At Secrets Unsealed, we have received numerous emails, text messages and phone calls asking what we think of his message.
I strongly disagree with David’s ongoing tendency to point to specific contemporary historical events as the fulfillment of specific Bible time prophecies. He has repeatedly denied that he does this but in actual practice, he has done it many times and continues to do it.
Several weeks before David posted his latest video on the internet I spoke with him on the phone and admonished him against his tendency to set dates for current events. On numerous occasions, David has invited me to travel to his production studio in Bolivia to tape programs for television broadcast. I have resisted because I did not want people to get the impression that Secrets Unsealed agrees with David’s time setting tendencies.
It is true that in his most recent internet message, David stated repeatedly that he was not
being dogmatic, that he was not trying to set dates, that viewers should trust God, not him, and that we should not rely on human opinion. He also stated that things might not turn out exactly as he saw them and that his views were his own personal conviction. In spite of his disclaimer, David did set a series of specific dates and time-periods for prophetic events.
In support for his novel views, he said that others have reached the same conclusions, that friends have had dreams that corroborate his convictions and that the Lord has personally impressed him.
Ellen White constantly admonishes us not to set dates for prophetic events that create a false excitement. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that David has predicted the timing for specific current events by a misuse of the Biblical material.
In 2010, he reapplied the story of the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine in Egypt to events that transpired between 2001 and 2015. On another occasion, David bought into the idea that Christ will come before the year 2031.
In a recent visit to Chattanooga, I warned the hearers about the dangers of David’s persistent tendency to set dates for current events and someone wrote me a less than complementary email accusing me of betraying David like Judas betrayed Jesus. Others have written and admonished me to share my views with David in private because all conservative Adventist supporting ministries need to work together and not be at odds with one another.
I agree that all supporting ministries should work together to extend the three angels’ message. However, David went public with his views and they have gone viral on the
internet. His views are no longer personal and private and therefore we must scrutinize them and provide a response in public. As I stated before, my comments about David are not personal. He is a good man. I consider him my friend. I admire his tireless work for the kingdom. Ellen White wrote the following appropriate words about the need to oppose good men who are time setters:
"Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance. "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power." False teachers may appear to be very zealous for the work of God, and may expend means to bring their theories before the world and the church; but as they mingle error with truth, their message is one of deception, and will lead souls into false paths. They are to be met and opposed, not because they are bad men, but because they are teachers of falsehood and are endeavoring to put upon falsehood the stamp of truth." TM, p. 55.
David made several comments in his video presentation that are factually challenged or misleading. I will mention only three:
First, he stated that when Pope Francis visited the United States, Donald Trump told him that he was willing to follow his orders. Where is the corroborating source for this statement?
The fact is that Donald Trump and Pope Francis are at odds on almost every single issue. When Donald Trump visited the Vatican shortly after his inauguration, the body language of both Pope Francis and President Trump showed that they were quite uncomfortable.
President Trump is a capitalist and the pope is a socialist (dare I say a Communist?). President Trump favors nationalism (‘America First’) while the pope is a globalist, wanting to establish a New World Order.
Donald Trump’s budget approved a massive military buildup (by 700 billion dollars) while the pope is for disarmament.
President Trump strongly opposes illegal immigration (building a wall along the southern border) and the pope is for open borders.
Donald Trump rejects the climate change calling it a hoax (signing the Keystone pipeline executive order, authorizing drilling in Anwar, deregulating the coal industry and withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement) while climate change is at the top of the pope’s agenda.
Trump does not favor spreading the wealth of the United States to poorer nations while the pope favors a redistribution of wealth from the rich nations to the poorer ones ‘for the common good’.
Trump claims to be a convert to social conservatism (against abortion, gay marriage, LGBTQ, etc.) but the pope is liberal on these social issues, saying very little about them and asking, ‘who am I to judge?’ Donald Trump is not following the pope’s orders! He may be following the counsel of the evangelicals but not of the pope!
David made a second inaccurate statement when he said that all the justices of the Supreme Court are Catholics except for one. In fact, the Court has five Catholics, one who grew up Catholic but attends the Episcopalian church and three Jews.
The third erroneous statement is the most serious. David claims that the corporate Seventh-day Adventist Church at the General Conference Session in San Antonio in 2015 rejected the imminent second coming of Jesus and the inspired writings of Ellen White. He seemed to be implying that probation closed for the corporate church at that time.
David protested because the delegates of the World Church voted to change the word ‘imminent’ to ‘soon’ in the Statement of Fundamental Beliefs thus, in his mind, rejecting the second coming.
In his presentation, David claimed that Ellen White’s statements against time setting, in their context, apply only to setting a specific time for the second coming. However, is this statement accurate? Ellen White made it clear that the prohibition against time setting extends to other events besides the second coming:
"Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance." TM, p. 55. SecretsUnsealed
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
"A recent internet message by David Gates (Even At The Door) has caused quite a sensation among many in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. At Secrets Unsealed, we have received numerous emails, text messages and phone calls asking what we think of his message.
I strongly disagree with David’s ongoing tendency to point to specific contemporary historical events as the fulfillment of specific Bible time prophecies. He has repeatedly denied that he does this but in actual practice, he has done it many times and continues to do it.
Several weeks before David posted his latest video on the internet I spoke with him on the phone and admonished him against his tendency to set dates for current events. On numerous occasions, David has invited me to travel to his production studio in Bolivia to tape programs for television broadcast. I have resisted because I did not want people to get the impression that Secrets Unsealed agrees with David’s time setting tendencies.
It is true that in his most recent internet message, David stated repeatedly that he was not
In support for his novel views, he said that others have reached the same conclusions, that friends have had dreams that corroborate his convictions and that the Lord has personally impressed him.
Ellen White constantly admonishes us not to set dates for prophetic events that create a false excitement. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that David has predicted the timing for specific current events by a misuse of the Biblical material.
In 2010, he reapplied the story of the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine in Egypt to events that transpired between 2001 and 2015. On another occasion, David bought into the idea that Christ will come before the year 2031.
In a recent visit to Chattanooga, I warned the hearers about the dangers of David’s persistent tendency to set dates for current events and someone wrote me a less than complementary email accusing me of betraying David like Judas betrayed Jesus. Others have written and admonished me to share my views with David in private because all conservative Adventist supporting ministries need to work together and not be at odds with one another.
I agree that all supporting ministries should work together to extend the three angels’ message. However, David went public with his views and they have gone viral on the
"Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance. "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power." False teachers may appear to be very zealous for the work of God, and may expend means to bring their theories before the world and the church; but as they mingle error with truth, their message is one of deception, and will lead souls into false paths. They are to be met and opposed, not because they are bad men, but because they are teachers of falsehood and are endeavoring to put upon falsehood the stamp of truth." TM, p. 55.
David made several comments in his video presentation that are factually challenged or misleading. I will mention only three:
First, he stated that when Pope Francis visited the United States, Donald Trump told him that he was willing to follow his orders. Where is the corroborating source for this statement?
The fact is that Donald Trump and Pope Francis are at odds on almost every single issue. When Donald Trump visited the Vatican shortly after his inauguration, the body language of both Pope Francis and President Trump showed that they were quite uncomfortable.
President Trump is a capitalist and the pope is a socialist (dare I say a Communist?). President Trump favors nationalism (‘America First’) while the pope is a globalist, wanting to establish a New World Order.
Donald Trump’s budget approved a massive military buildup (by 700 billion dollars) while the pope is for disarmament.
President Trump strongly opposes illegal immigration (building a wall along the southern border) and the pope is for open borders.
Donald Trump rejects the climate change calling it a hoax (signing the Keystone pipeline executive order, authorizing drilling in Anwar, deregulating the coal industry and withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement) while climate change is at the top of the pope’s agenda.
Trump does not favor spreading the wealth of the United States to poorer nations while the pope favors a redistribution of wealth from the rich nations to the poorer ones ‘for the common good’.
Trump claims to be a convert to social conservatism (against abortion, gay marriage, LGBTQ, etc.) but the pope is liberal on these social issues, saying very little about them and asking, ‘who am I to judge?’ Donald Trump is not following the pope’s orders! He may be following the counsel of the evangelicals but not of the pope!
David made a second inaccurate statement when he said that all the justices of the Supreme Court are Catholics except for one. In fact, the Court has five Catholics, one who grew up Catholic but attends the Episcopalian church and three Jews.
The third erroneous statement is the most serious. David claims that the corporate Seventh-day Adventist Church at the General Conference Session in San Antonio in 2015 rejected the imminent second coming of Jesus and the inspired writings of Ellen White. He seemed to be implying that probation closed for the corporate church at that time.
David protested because the delegates of the World Church voted to change the word ‘imminent’ to ‘soon’ in the Statement of Fundamental Beliefs thus, in his mind, rejecting the second coming.
In his presentation, David claimed that Ellen White’s statements against time setting, in their context, apply only to setting a specific time for the second coming. However, is this statement accurate? Ellen White made it clear that the prohibition against time setting extends to other events besides the second coming:
"Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance." TM, p. 55. SecretsUnsealed