Buyer Beware: The Adventist Church’s Unholy Alliance with the United Nations
A solemn greeting to you all. I bring wishes from my wife, back in Berrien Springs, and I’m grateful to be here with our son and so many like-minded believers on this Sabbath. My heartfelt thanks go to Brother John Records and the entire team for organizing this incredible weekend of fellowship and growth in grace and truth.
Yesterday, we focused on the signs of the times unfolding in the world around us. Today, we turn our gaze inward, to matters within our own church that should be of profound concern to every one of us. The title of my message is simple: “Buyer Beware.”
We are living in the most momentous times in human history. The last five years have been a wake-up call, revealing the many “gods” of this world and how easily conscience can be surrendered to government mandates and pressure points. It is now incumbent upon us to reflect, to jettison any spiritual junk, and to ensure that nothing stands between us and our Heavenly Father.
This morning, I want to speak about a decision made decades ago that has had a deep and, until recently, largely unseen impact on our church: our formal relationship with the United Nations.
The Unvoted Alliance: A Decision Made in Secret
On June 6, 1985, the Adventist Review published a short news item. On the front was a picture of Ellen G. White, and inside was a brief announcement: The General Conference had been granted “Consultative NGO Status” by the United Nations.
This status, granted by the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), allows the church to have a “presence” at UN meetings, to speak, and to submit statements on issues of importance. The announcement claimed this would “enhance its positive Christian outreach.”
But here is the critical, and often overlooked, detail: This momentous decision to ally our church with a global political body was never voted on by the General Conference in Session. It was never debated or approved by the global body of believers. The decision was made by the administration just before the 1985 Session, and the delegates were simply informed that it was a fait accompli.
By accepting this status, the General Conference formally agreed to align its “aims and purposes” with the “spirit, purposes, and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.” This was not a mere formality; it was a spiritual and philosophical covenant.
The UN Problem: When “Human Rights” Override “Inalienable Rights”
The United Nations was founded on noble-sounding pillars: peace and security, human rights, the rule of law, and development. As Adventists, we particularly celebrate Article 18 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which upholds freedom of thought, conscience, religion, and the right to change one’s belief.
However, the foundation of the UN’s rights framework is fundamentally different from the biblical one. The American Declaration of Independence speaks of rights that are inalienable—given by our Creator and which no government can rightfully take away. The UN speaks of human rights—rights granted by governments and legal codes, which can be given and taken away.
This crucial distinction is laid bare in Articles 29.2 and 29.3 of the same UN Declaration. It states that all these “rights” are subject to limitations “determined by law solely for the purpose of… the general welfare in a democratic society.” Furthermore, these rights may “in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.”
In plain English: Your freedom of conscience is only valid as long as the UN and its member governments agree that it serves the “common good.”
COVID-19: The Fruition of a Deadly Compromise
We saw this play out in devastating clarity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our own GC Working Policy for the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) department states its purpose is to “promote and maintain religious liberty, with particular emphasis upon… individual liberty of conscience.” This is the freedom to obey the convictions of the Holy Spirit.
Yet, when mandates came, the GC issued a “Reaffirmation Statement” on vaccination. Buried within two pages of reassuring language was this fulcrum sentence:
“Therefore, claims of religious liberty are not used appropriately in objecting to government mandates or employer programs… designed to protect the health and safety of their communities.”
With this statement, our leadership officially declared to every Adventist that their prayerfully considered, deeply held convictions could be overridden by what the state—or the church in agreement with the state—deemed to be the “general welfare.” This is the precise language of Article 29 of the UN Declaration.
In denying liberty of conscience, the GC was acting in harmony with its covenant with the UN. The alliance had borne its bitter fruit: the subordination of the Holy Spirit’s leading to the dictates of a globalist agenda.
A Confederacy with the Antichrist and the Occult
The spiritual compromise runs even deeper. Who are our “partners” in this UN alliance?
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The Papacy: The Vatican holds “Permanent Observer State” status at the UN. Scripture identifies the papacy as the antichrist power (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), a blasphemous and persecuting system (Daniel 7:25) empowered by Satan himself (Revelation 13:2). We are in a formal alliance with the very power our message warns the world against.
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The Jesuits: The Pope’s most loyal soldiers, created to destroy Protestantism and re-establish papal supremacy, are now being called to lead a global mission of “reconciliation” and “the common good.” Astonishingly, ADRA is now publicly partnering with Jesuit organizations on projects, finding “common cause” with those whose historic aim is our destruction.
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The Lucis Trust: This organization, founded by occultist Alice Bailey as the Lucifer Publishing Company, also holds consultative status with the UN. We sit at the same table, committed to the same overarching principles, as open Satanists.
How can God’s remnant church claim to be separate from Babylon while being in a formal confederacy with the Antichrist, the Jesuits, and the occult?
The Clear Counsel of Scripture and Spirit of Prophecy
The word of God is unambiguous on this point:
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? … Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17)
The Spirit of Prophecy echoes this with stark clarity:
“God has warned His people not to unite with the world. Those who join themselves to worldly confederacies are binding up with the enemy of God and truth.” (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7, p. 84)
“Any confederacy with the world is strictly forbidden by the Scriptures. God would have His people distinct from all confederacies.”
This alliance is causing a slow but sure erosion of our identity. We are shifting from prophetic proclamation to humanitarian language, from calling people out of Babylon to walking hand-in-hand with it.
A Call to Action: What Can We Do?
This is not a time for despair, but for decisive action and a return to primitive godliness.
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Demand Withdrawal: We must respectfully and firmly call upon the General Conference to immediately cancel its NGO consultative status with the UN, and that of ADRA and the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA).
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Learn from History: When the Jehovah’s Witnesses discovered their leadership had obtained the same UN status, their members rose up and forced them to withdraw. If they can do it, so can God’s remnant people.
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Withdraw Blind Support: Be faithful in your tithe, but direct it to levels of the organization you can trust—your local conference, if it is faithful. Our financial support must be coupled with a demand for biblical accountability and transparency.
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Stand Up and Speak Out: Silence equals consent. Raise these issues with your pastors, your local elders, and conference officials. Contend for the faith once delivered (Jude 1:3).
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Pursue Primitive Godliness: Ultimately, the battle is won on our knees. Before the final judgments fall, God has promised “a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times” (GC 464). This revival must begin in my heart and in yours.
The battle is fierce, but it is the Lord’s. Remember the words of Hezekiah: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him; for there is one greater with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” (2 Chronicles 32:7-8)
May God give us the courage to be a distinct and separate people, faithful to our calling until Jesus comes.