Lunch was over. We cleaned up the crumbs and streamed back into the sanctuary. The first speaker was John Zirkle.
John Zirkle
Danbury Letter from Thomas Jefferson,
“Gentlemen,
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. My duties dictate a faithful & zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing. Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties. I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common Father and Creator of man, and tender you for yourselves and your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Th. Jefferson Jan. 1. 1802.”
The separation between church and state was not completelyJefferson’s idea. Much of it came from Roger Williams.
Religious Liberty Commission.
Ben Carson is on it. Franklin Graham is on it, and many others. Wall of separation is not in the U.S. Constitution, although the idea is there.
There were seven sessions in the Religious Liberty Commission. Zirkle watched a big part of it, though not all of it. Some of the topics were:
Women in military
Antisemitism
Health care
Religious Liberty under Attack by Hostile Departments
The RLC concluded that religion strengthens a family, and protects it against totalitarianism. A government that fears faith harms the people. Oppression happens slowly, not overnight.
Totalitarian power fears the power of one. Tyrants can’t stand that person. Tyrants want to control people’s thoughts. Put ideology in its place. A strong religious belief is the antidote to this.
During Covid, religion was outlawed. Tattoo, abortion clinics, and liquor stores were open. Religion is a threat to tyranny.
The Constitution was made for a moral people. George Washington said this too.
One nice thing about being a Seventh day Adventist is you can go anywhere in the world and find kindred people. John has done this many times.
One lady speaking to the RLC runs an anti-abortion counseling center. Sister Mary Elizabeth. They were told in New York that they could not have confidentiality unless they were performing abortions. One problem down through history is that religious organizations often secularize in order to receive grants. ADRA did, and many others.
Erika Bachiochi (not related to SDA Bacchiocchi’s) is a lady feminist. She addressed the RLC.
Johnson Amendment keeps churches from endorsing political candidates. Lots of regional churches must not have gotten the memo, like Hansen Place Church in Brooklyn NYC. As of April 2026, it remains in effect, prohibiting 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches and nonprofits, from endorsing political candidates.
One of the arguments against the separation is that it is bad since many people who work for government are biblically illiterate. Some of the suggestions from the RLC include:
Post Ten Commandments here and there.
Allow prayer in school.
Stack the deck.
Pick better judges.
Post signs that separation of church and state is not in the Constution. And claims that it is are untrue.
Historically, the Vatican was skeptical of America’s founding principles, particularly the separation of church and state, which clashed with Catholic doctrines of the time.
Politics and culture are all tribal today. In 1776 most of the colonies had churches. History of Europe is the blending of church and state —America was different. Colonies said the state cannot control what you believe.
Separation of church and state is not a lie. People should be educated on this. Charity work should be holistic—but not government funded.
In the Roman Empire, Caesar demanded worship. In the Roman Church, the pope took the place of Caesar demanding worship. He announced himself God on earth (blasphemy).
Dennis Page
Prison ministry, Drop of Grace.
In Matthew 24, Jesus talks about earthquakes once and deception 4 times. It’s an important warning. Don’t be deceived.
The greatest deception is self deception — thinking we are ready when God knows we are not.
Many people don’t know why they keep Sunday. They do it because of Catholic influence. Satan works from deception to coercion.
More on Dan Patrick’s statement about separation of church and state. Some tips for the end times.
Carry an actual Bible.
Small groups can be beneficial.
Have religious meetings. Do evangelism. Have prayer life.
“Do not confederate with the world to receive financial assistance” (9T 233).
Medical missionary work.
Preach the straight truth.
Lead people to Bible, not church policy.
Humble yourselves.
God allowed Covid to awaken his people. If you spoke against it, you were labeled, deplatformed and cancelled. Count the cost. And go forward.
Stay in the Bible.
Rejoice.
Don’t try to figure out how God will take care of you. That’s His prerogative.
Ron Duffield
Ron’s website. Much of the Salamanca material shared in this presentation is available on Return of the Latter Rain Website.
Ron can be contacted at RLRPublishers@gmail.com
Presentation
God raised up this country. It was a miracle.
Ellen Harmon was cancelled from the Methodist church. 18,000 people left churches in the Adventist movement. Many were cancelled.
There is a moral decline in America. In the 1860’s there was one too. Socialism and communism was on the rise.
In 1879 they suggested blue laws. Many states voted for them. Jones and Waggoner were raised up at that time.
Religious liberty was also rejected at the 1888 conference. Many people do not know that.
Jones was prevented by the head elder from speaking at the Battle Creek tabernacle. He was finally allowed. EGW said they would rent a hall in Battle Creek for Jones to speak, if the head elder would not relent and allow him to speak. Head elder relented. Sound familiar?
The local paper printed his (Jones) sermon. The Review did not. Remind you of anything? The pushback didn’t stop there. There was a secret antagonism from the GC.
in 1890, Jones was voted off editorial committee. Printed material had to go through the excomm and there was a disagreement on RL. There was a push to distance ourselves from distinctive beliefs so more non-Adventist people would align with us. Jones was debating Cardinal Gibbons on RL. Gibbons was talking about religious liberty while trying to blend church and state.
EGW was in Salamanca, NY. She stepped in icy water, and got an ear infection and a kind of cold. She received a vision at night. She couldn’t remember it until later. One thing she was shown was that people in the GC were trying to form a confederacy with the world.
No Confederacy With the World
No confederacy with unbeliever.
Don’t do it with any department.
Forbidden to join the world in charity.
Do it in the Name of Jesus Christ, not United Nations.
All this was from the Salamanca incident.
As Adventists, we have an injunction to stand against these confederacies. Ellen received a vision warning us on this. There should be protests. There should be speaking out.
Confederacies with the world are like Israel demanding a king. Like the Baal worship on mount Carmel. Referring to GC, Ellen white said “Baal will be the fate of a sorrowful number among us” (1890). Ron is a good researcher — G.
It was in this setting that she (EGW) saw said the GC was no longer speaking for God. Voice of God was not in their decisions. It was the voice of 1-3 men. A strange voice with strange fire. One year later, she was sent to Australia (1891).
She said there were secret plans and projects going on. WC (Willie) White was astonished to hear some of these things, from Ellen.
Then she received a warning about worldliness coming into the church. She was unable to call to mind the vision she received initially. NRLA men had a secret meeting to temper our message to gain more non-Adventist support. They didn’t like the American Sentinel. They voted to start a new liberty magazine. Ellen gets a vision at 3 am.
Men of the world were advocating concessions for us. They urged, stop talking about the Sabbath. We will join you with greater strength and support. Confronted with Ellen’s vision, Ballanger repented of his efforts to eleiminate the Sentinel magazine.
The most important part of this story, is making confederacies with the world. Strong warnings were given against this. Liberty Magazine took over.
The International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA)—the religious liberty department affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church—launched the scholarly journal Fides et Libertas (meaning "Faith and Liberty") in 1998. Their first edition in `98 was a praise of the UN (United Nations).
Just by speaking at this conference, Ron was told by somone that he has “joined the village church rebellion.” He’ll let heaven decide that.
“May the Lord deliver us from what we have gotten ourselves into. Dear Lord, please break us free from worldly attachments.”
Amen.
Conclusion
There was a very good spirit at these meetings. I met lots of old friends, and made some new ones. I met several of our writers, including Joey Carrion, Michelle Proctor Stenbridge, Daniel Bacchiocchi, John Zirkle and others. Great people. As I said before, I could tell that these attendees enjoy being around each other. That too, is a taste of heaven.
****