Linda Kirk’s Letter

This appendix contains the open letter that Linda Kirk wrote to Ernie Knoll. You can view the original pdf version here.

May 18, 2008

Dear Ernie,

Before you read this letter, please pray, specifically asking God for “the wisdom that is from above” which is “easy to be intreated.”

It is with much prayer and loving concern that I write this letter to you. I feel the need to give you an explanation as to why I have come to believe, after much prayerful consideration over the past six months, that the dreams are not from God.

The content of your dreams, Ernie, appeals to many that are serious about following God, and the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy – the conservative Seventh-day Adventist. We believe in lifting the standards high. We are grieved about the worldliness in the church, worldliness in adornment, entertainment, sports, diet, music, dress and many other issues. We are concerned about the general Laodicean condition, the love of money, and focus on material things. We long for the outpouring of the latter rain. We have studied about the shaking, end-time events, the time of trouble, the Sunday law, and we are on the lookout for signs of the end. We know about the calamities and destruction during the time of trouble because we read about them in the Spirit of Prophecy. We know we are in the time of the end, and believe in the imminent return of Christ. These topics are present truth, and are very close to our hearts.

Thus, when these topics are presented in the dreams, in a similar way to the Spirit of Prophecy, it seems to be speaking to our hearts, and we are in agreement with the message. We long for the church to wake up and follow the straight testimony. The thought comes, if these dreams can help God reach our brothers and sisters, and bring stronger conviction to our hearts as well, then they must be from God.

But let’s consider what else we know from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. If Satan has a specific target in our world today, it would be the sincere, spiritually minded Seventh-day Adventist, who is sighing and crying for the abominations done in the land and in the church. They are open to prophecy because they believe in the Spirit of Prophecy. They are open to new light because Ellen White has said there will be new light. They are open to dreams and visions, because Ellen White had dreams and visions, and the Bible prophesies that this will take place in the last days. So, what deception could Satan use to reach this group?

Since Satan is the master deceiver, and he especially hates God’s remnant people, wouldn’t we expect that he would mastermind a deception specifically targeted to this select group of people? And since he is the master deceiver, wouldn’t we expect it to be so close to the truth that it is barely discernable? With those thoughts in mind, when something comes along that has many of the earmarks of the true prophetic gift, we should be ever so cautious to investigate it thoroughly, lest Satan catch us off guard, and pull us into his deception.

While there is much good counsel and truth in the dreams, which agrees with the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, we cannot afford to overlook any insinuation, allusion, or hint of anything that would almost imperceptibly lead one off the narrow path. Satan doesn’t mind using much truth, if he can slip in a tiny bit of error, hopefully unnoticed.

We know that Satan is preparing for the ultimate deception. As Seventh-day Adventists, we are well aware that he will personate Christ. We are told just how this will happen. So, we’re on guard and prepared, we think. But what if he throws in some pre-personating deceptions? Are we prepared?

Think about this: Since, at the personating of Christ, Satan will “bear the appearance of Christ in every particular,” “His voice is soft and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people...” (5T698, GC 624) We know he is going to do that. Shouldn’t we also know that, in his deceptions even now, he can appear to look and talk just like Jesus, heal people, and present the same messages Jesus presented through the Spirit of Prophecy?

Of course he can! He can put thoughts, even good thoughts, into our minds, so it seems that our prayers are being answered. Oh, how very, very careful we must be to not fall for his deceptions, which are increasing in delusive attraction. His deceptions are going to be this powerful: “So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures.” GC 539 That tells me that we cannot be too careful in testing every little thing when dealing with supernatural experiences.

You will recall how I expressed several times how earnestly I was praying that the Lord would reveal to me the origin of the dreams. I prayed for several signs, such as things I would like the Lord to reveal to you in a dream. None of those signs were fulfilled. My concerns and questions were mounting even while I was becoming more personally involved with your ministry.

While we all have our faults that need to be overcome by the blood of the Lamb, a person claiming to have a divine calling puts themselves under the microscope of character examination. The Bible tells us to test the fruits, so we may know the origin of inspiration. The fruits are the character of the messenger and the results of the message. Therefore, the following observations are not for the purpose of character assassination, but rather to follow the biblical injunction and the Spirit of Prophecy counsel that “By their testimony [the scriptures] every statement and every miracle must be tested.”--GC 593

Using the Spirit of Prophecy as a guide, here is what we were looking for in you, since you are claiming to be receiving messages directly from God: “The holy deportment of the minister of Christ should be a rebuke to vain, frothy professors. The love of truth and holiness manifested in your serious, heavenly conversation, will convict others, and lead them to the truth, and those around you will be compelled to say, "God is with this man, of a truth." “--Vol. I, p. 434

The quote on your web site tells us that in looking for proof of the genuineness of the dreams, we must take into account the persons who have them, and the circumstances under which they are given. So, that is what we will do now: take into account your character, and under what circumstances you had the dreams, particularly the first three.

I will be recounting many of our shared experiences together, and let you know some of my thoughts and concerns that I was having at that time. When I first heard about the dreams from an email from Ethel Price back in late August or early September, 2007, I wanted to know more. I was open to the thought that God might have a last day prophet, and if He did, I certainly wanted to know what He had to say to us. So, I did an Internet search, found your phone number and called you. We talked for over an hour, as we did during another conversation a couple of weeks later. Then I found out that you and Becky were going to be close to our area at the end of October. We talked on the phone frequently until you came down to visit, so I felt like I knew you and Becky before we even met.

I enjoyed our conversations as you are a pleasant and personable individual, and very enthusiastic about your dreams. There is a sense of importance that one can gain by associating with one they believe has a direct line to God. This can be very attractive to humanity.

One thing that you mentioned several times is that your were not an “up front” type of person and you did not like to be in the spotlight. It seemed like you were trying to convince me that you were very humble. But in our conversation, I sensed something else. You told the story about your trip to Ohio in the restaurant how the group of people wanted you to sit in the middle of the table, and you went to the very corner. Ernie, a humble person doesn’t need to tell others how humble he is.

There were several things that made me question the origin of the dreams right from the start. One of them was the fact that you could ask the “angel” anything you wanted in the dreams. It was not like you were really asleep, but that you could have a list of questions that you wanted to ask, and talk to him as if you were awake. The questions that you chose to ask, I remember thinking at the time, were not questions that concerned the people of God as a whole, but more personal questions. I remember you telling me that one of the questions that you asked the angel was that if you should receive tithe, and the angel said yes. That bothered me greatly at the time. Another was about the Bible code. I don’t think any serious Bible student would have even bothered with this question.

I remember sitting around our table Saturday night, October 27, with you and Becky talking about the dreams. You were explaining how you could ask the angel any questions you had. Becky and I were talking about how it would be nice to know how God felt about women wearing pants, and coloring their hair, and even plucking their eyebrows. We suggested that you put those on your list. We talked about several other issues, including knowing which people that were having dreams, like Soo, and Pebbles, were of God. Then I read in the dreams that the angel says you are asleep when you are having the dreams. Can a sleeping person decide on questions to ask in his sleep?

Less than one month after my initial contact with you, Ernie, you called me up one morning, and said, “You’d better sit down. I have something very important to tell you.” You then proceeded to tell me that the angel had selected me to edit the dream you just had. I was to edit it, and to email it directly to the web master, without you even seeing the final copy. Before I emailed it, I was to show it to my husband, who was to make any necessary corrections to it according to information that the Lord would show him. You suggested that my husband might have a dream that might add to your dream.

I received by email a rough draft of the SDA Church dream on September 28, 2007. I edited it, as per instructions, and emailed it to my husband, who was out of town on a business trip. He read it and said he didn’t have anything to add. He had received nothing from the Lord. We both thought this was rather strange. I then emailed it to the web master. But, I noticed that the dream that was posted had some minor changes made to my edition. I guess the web master felt at liberty to change some things that even you weren’t supposed to change.

Pride likes to be noticed. The evil angels are good at flattering their victims and making them feel special. Both my husband and myself felt at the time that it was rather unusual that the angel should single us out in this way. You wanted to put our names in the dream, but we both felt uncomfortable with that and insisted that you not do so.

You asked the angel in the dream if my husband had received the same dream. Here is the angel’s answer: “Many are shown and they share. Many are shown and they are afraid to share. Many are shown and they do not recall. Many are shown and they recall after the appointed time. Many are shown through the Father’s Spirit.” This statement from the angel made absolutely no sense to us. Did Brian have a dream that he didn’t remember? We had no clue.

We continued communicating with you, developing a close friendship. While we felt supportive of the dreams, it was not without some reservations. You told me about a forum where they were talking negatively about you and the dreams, and I wrote on the forum in support of the dreams. Actually, I was not totally endorsing the dreams, but mostly appealing to people to be willing to check them out before they discounted the dreams. It seemed to me that some were willing to make a final decision about the dreams without any investigation. I felt that something as huge as a claim to be receiving direct communication from Jesus needs to be put to the test, to see if the claim is valid.

I did some research of my own. First, I asked you if you were involved in a small group, such as a Bible study group or fellowship. You said no. I asked who your close friends were locally, and you said you didn’t have many close friends. I asked where you fellowshipped at church, and you said that you didn’t attend church regularly, because you often just rested at home on Sabbath. Other times you visited around to churches, because the church your membership was at was too far away. You also talked about your speaking appointments, but as it turned out, you had really had few speaking appointments, and two of the major ones turned out to be disasters for you because they were cancelled after you arrived.

I was trying to find others who knew you before the dreams came, from whom I could obtain a character reference. I called your pastor, but he didn’t want to talk about you much, and referred me to your father-in-law. I called that number, and talked with your mother-in-law.

On October 21, 2007, you called me, Ernie, to tell me about a dream you had just had. I talked to both you and Becky. You stated that you were shaking, and seemed quiet emotional. I don’t know what word to use to describe your feelings, but I believe you stated you were scared. You stated that this was the first dream that had a direct prophecy in it, and you expressed the fact that you were afraid that, if it was not fulfilled, that it would prove your dreams to be false. I remember mentioning to Brian afterwards, that it seems like you would certainly want to know if the dreams were false, and this would be a good way to test it! You actually seemed more worried for your reputation than about finding out if the dreams were really from God.

My reaction was that I was happy, knowing that soon I would know for sure if the dreams were from God, and I wouldn’t have to wonder any more! If the fulfillment came true, they were from God. If it didn’t, they were false! Simple as that! I was then given the name of the person who was supposed to connect with you to help the dreams go out faster. I was to be one of the 5 witnesses who would verify, when this person contacted you, that this was a fulfilled prophecy. And so I waited.

I felt very close to Becky, as she is a very sweet and sincere person. She seemed to have a genuine relationship with Jesus. I remember telling Brian, if Becky was the one receiving the dreams, I would find it a lot easier to believe in them.

Then we met you in person when you came to our home Friday evening, October 26, 2007. We found you to be a very likeable and talkative person, with the conversation totally centered around your dreams. I was really hoping for a deep season of prayer, and some discussion of truth as found in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, but instead the entire focus was on your dreams. Your prayer was brief and casual, not like someone who had truly encountered Divinity.

Throughout the weekend, every topic that was brought up always was redirected to your dreams. You even shared some dreams with us that were not inspired, and even a bit silly. This got a little wearisome to us. You mentioned several times how you’d like to fly your remote control airplanes on our large property. This seemed so trivial to me.

I asked you about your outreach endeavors. Perhaps, I thought, you were involved in Bible studies, or distributing literature, and so on. You said that you told people whenever you got a chance that you were receiving dreams from God. This did not sound like witnessing at all to me, but rather a way to exalt yourself. This troubled me also.

The concern was expressed by some who met you that day that they did not sense a spirit of humility. I mentioned to Becky on the side that she needed to tell you not to recount how muscular and strong you were as a young man, what a powerful job you had in which you told the executives in hospitals how to spend millions of dollars, how you had a mansion and expensive cars, and so on. What it felt like is that you were trying to impress everyone that you were truly an important person.

Our pastor, who couldn’t be at the meeting we scheduled, asked me to have the spiritual leaders of the church come and evaluate you and your message, to see if we should invite you to come and present a church-wide meeting. We all listened to you and Becky for over three hours, and had opportunity to ask any questions we wanted. After the meeting, I waited for the reactions of those present. There were a couple of women who were excited, and seemed to believe in the dreams, but neither of these women were invited there as church leaders, but just happened to be there. Brian and I found it very disconcerting that not one of the spiritual church leaders even suggested that we should have you come back to the church for an official presentation, even though they knew that was the original intention. One of the elders was especially concerned, and contacted Pastor Wohlberg, our former pastor, and you know the end of that story.

I will share some of the impressions and concerns of the group that heard you speak to us that Sabbath, October 27, 2007. The deaconess stated that she was not impressed because of your lack of humility. When one of the elders asked questions in a very humble manner, she said that you responded rather defensively, justifying your position, and discounting his questions. She was concerned about the light hearted, almost joking manner in which you talked about heavenly things. But she was mostly concerned when you stated that you accepted tithe. She felt that this was inappropriate, and that you, of all people, should be most careful not to do anything that could be questionable like accepting tithe.

Also, she had noticed on your web site that you stated that you had made a presentation at Southern University. Naturally, this would lend credibility to claims to have spoken at an SDA college. You then explained to us how you had this appointment, made the travel arrangements, and arrived at Southern, only to be told upon arrival that your meeting had been cancelled. You told how you met with some officials, and that this was a fulfillment of the dream Go Forth. You did talk to a small group out on the lawn, but this certainly was not an official meeting at Southern University. The deaconess felt that posting the meetings on the web site was a dishonest way to lend credibility to your dreams. [That posting has since been removed.]

An elder and his wife stated that it seemed like your talk was ego-centric. He didn’t sense the message to be helpful spiritually. He was also uncomfortable about the Southern University announcement, and felt it was deceptive to use as an endorsement. They both felt very uneasy about your presentation. These are just comments that some of those present at the meetings shared with me.

Since I had written in support of the dreams on a forum, many of the people on the forum had given me questions to ask you. There was quite a list of questions that you addressed the next morning on a video tape. These were mostly personal questions regarding your past.

Here are some of the words you spoke, that were recorded on video at my home:

Ernie: “Up until last December, I was, what I call, a nominal Adventist. I didn’t have what I called a close relationship with Jesus that most Seventh-day Adventist should have. Very close to before December 2006 I became a workaholic where I was working 6 days a week. I was traveling Sunday through Friday, come home Friday evening, get ready for Sabbath, and you (Becky) and I and our daughter would enjoy Sabbath together, and then I’d get up again and get ready to go. I found that I was putting work before God....”

[Description of your health condition.] “I wasn’t observing the health message at all....”

[About the first two dreams ] “That was spring of 2005. The first two dreams I had, we didn’t really think anything about it. I shared them with you (Becky) and some other close friends, and we really never thought anything about it. We just thought these were really interesting dreams.

[Describing the evening of December 9, 2006] “Later, after the pain went away, you helped me get in bed, and that’s when you were talking to me, and I knew that was when I was going to die that night. I knew that this had to be it. I told you good night but I was actually saying good bye. But, I should also back up, and share, of course I had this disease, I was very sick, but I should also share that up until this point, my walk with God had changed. Before I got sick, I was a nominal Adventist. After I got sick, we lost everything, we lost our house, all of our personal belongings, the fine cars that we had, all of our earthly treasures that we think about now, we lost them all because I could not support our family. And so we lost all that, and I took all that out on God and at first started off asking Him why this was happening, and then over the course of two years I started blaming Him for everything that was happening.

“And on December 9th, I remember going to sleep that night asking God to take my life, that I was unhappy, and I know that He says that He loves me but I did not feel loved. And I begged Him and I had been begging Him to please come down and talk to me like He does the other prophets and the other people in the Bible. But I never felt like He would ever come down. I didn’t feel like there was any love, no love. Actually I felt hate, I felt like God hated me. And I could not figure out why He would hate me. What had I done to do this? Well, that night, December 9, I said good night to you (Becky), I was also saying good-bye and I went to sleep after many hours of prayer.”

[Becky talks: “Can you share with us what you were praying that night?]

Ernie: “That night I was asking God, bluntly, to end my life. I was asking Him just to stop it, that I did not feel the love that I thought a person would feel, and of course you can tell that it is hard for me to relate this, because this is not a story or something you’d watch on TV or some story you’d read out of a book. This was my real life; this is what I’ve experienced. But that night I went to sleep, and the next morning I woke up. Sunday morning I woke up and I had just finished having this tremendous dream...”

“I have to tell you, at this point in my life, before the dream, I had read about Jesus, I had spoken about Jesus, I had sung songs about Jesus, I had prayed to Jesus. But it wasn’t until this time that I really knew who Jesus was...”

[Describing the end of the dream] Ernie: “When I came in to land, I had seen Jesus way up to the left, and when I came in to land, my intention was to return to the temple where I had been in before when the dream first started, but Jesus walked down and he approached me and I knew it was Jesus, I automatically knew it was Jesus, but I also noticed as he walked toward me I noticed that angels would bow and acknowledge him as the Creator of the universe. But Jesus walked down and even till this point in the dream, I really didn’t know who he really was but after he came down, the two of us, just Jesus and I, we started walking and of course I didn’t have a watch, I don’t know how long it was for, but I’ve guesstimated that Jesus and I walked and we talked for half an hour. It could have been longer. It could have been an hour. I kind of like to think it was an eternity.

“But Jesus and I walked and we talked, and we discussed many things I’d seen, the things in the temple, the animals I saw, the birds I saw flying, the angels, the different types of people, the different heights of the people, the wall of the city, we talked about many, many different things, but as I would walk and talk with Him, the same Jesus I had talked about, sang songs about, the same Jesus I had prayed to, I don’t know how to put it, but I developed a love unlike any love that I could ever tell, and I know many people have asked, well, when you see Jesus, what did He look like, and I always tell them, well the characteristics I noticed was that he was dressed in a white garment that went from his neck to his feet to his wrist, but his skin was very well tanned, his hair was straight back, not parted.

“And people always want to ask about his eyes, what color is his eyes. I don’t know what color his eyes were. I’ve never noticed the color of his eyes but what attracted me more than anything was what I saw in his eyes. The color of his eyes was not important but what I saw in his eyes when I looked in his eyes and the only way that I’ve been able to describe that is the love of the love of the love. When you look in Jesus’ eyes, you see a love that is indescribable, and I know now that when I sing songs about Jesus and I pray, it’s all different now. And people ask well, why are you wanting to share these dreams, well, I want to share because I’ve been told to but it’s also because of what I have seen. And I know that my prayer would be that, if my prayer could be answered that every one that watches this and has read this dream, that you could see what I see when I look into the eyes of Jesus. There’s a love that we cannot describe, there’s no words, except just to say of the love of the love of the love.”

[Becky: “So that was the time of his true conversion, when he saw the love of Jesus in his eyes.”]

From your own testimony, Ernie, the biggest red flag that has been raised is regarding your conversion experience. You shared with us how you were a “pew warmer” for those 25 years that you were an Elder, and didn’t have a close relationship with Jesus. Then, you got sick, lost your job, and lost everything. You began questioning God, then you started blaming God for allowing you to become sick, and cause you to lose your job, and to be humbled to being a person of no importance, even to having to vacuum your mother-in-law’s living room. When you went to bed on the night of December 9, 2006, you were discouraged, angry at God, and wanting to die. You challenged God to prove that he loved you, by coming down and talking to you like He did the other prophets.

We are warned in God’s Word: “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;” Hebrews 12:15

“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” Eph 4:26,27

In the above text, the word “place” in the Greek means opportunity, power, occasion for action. According to your own testimony, you were in a miserable frame of mind that night. You had not spent significant time in God’s Word, and admitted you didn’t know Christ. Your prayers were full of bitterness, blame and doubt. You disbelieved the very Word of God, which tells us beyond question of God’s love for us. You were unhappy, discontented, discouraged, begging God to let you die. It was in this frame of mind that you went to sleep. Ernie, I believe your ungodly state of mind gave place to the devil, giving him opportunity, power and occasion for action. You were also begging for a supernatural experience. And you received one, did you not?

It seems apparent that this is what opened the door to a satanic delusion. You were not spiritually prepared to be called to be a holy messenger of God’s pure truth to His people. You were, instead, setting the scene for an encounter with demons.

Even the dream itself posed major concerns. How could God take one who was in a rebellious, doubting frame of mind and exalt him to the height few humans have ever experienced, to have direct communication with Jesus? And when you saw Jesus, and talked with Him, what was your experience then? I would have thought, according to many the biblical accounts of holy prophets who encountered divine or angelic beings, that you would have fallen on your face, in acknowledgement of great unworthiness, especially in the light of your frame of mind when you fell asleep. I would have thought that you would have wept and bemoaned your lack of faith, your blatant challenge to God, your prior wasted life in denying the power of God. A genuine conversion would have included all of this. Instead, you talked about the material aspects of heaven. That seems very shallow and superficial.

And as I questioned you further about your conversion, you stated that you woke up converted, in love with Jesus. Please tell me, how does one become converted in his sleep? This is an absolute impossibility!

Ernie, I ask you to seriously search your heart regarding these things I am sharing with you. I care about you, and about your eternal salvation. Jesus does love you! He has loved you your whole life. He was calling you to surrender your heart to Him even when you lost your job, lost your possessions, and became seriously ill. He wanted you to turn to Him of your own free will, because of your recognition of your sinfulness and deep need of Him. We struggle with feelings of inadequacy because of self. When we are dead to self, we no longer have to deal with insecurity and problems with ego. Jesus knew of your struggle with your lack of self-worth, and He wanted you to know that, like all of us, you are special only as you are abiding in Him, because He alone is worthy!

Another concern was the supernatural beings that kept appearing to you, that you could see only out of the corner of you eye, as you were being pressured to tell the dream during the two weeks following the dream. That’s downright spooky. That sounds like the works of the angels of darkness, not of pure, holy, heavenly beings.

Here is how you described it: “For two weeks I did not tell the next part of the dream. For two weeks I did not share the most important part of this dream. For two weeks I kept it secret, but for two weeks I would, still knowing that I was sitting at home, I wasn’t going out anywhere, I would all of the sudden see things walk around out of the corner of my eye, and I’d look and there wasn’t anybody there. But at the same time I would hear a voice say, ‘You need to share the end of the dream.’ I’d go to sleep at night, and I’d fall asleep, only to be wakened up later, and I’d hear a voice say, ‘You need to share the rest of the dream.’ This went on for two weeks...”

There were a few other issues that were uncovered that made me continue to question your calling. One of these was the fact that you and Becky revealed to me Sunday morning after our meeting that you had become discouraged with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and had left it for a while, and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Reform movement. You were involved with them for several years, and then found that they had problems too, so you came back to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. When you state on your web site that: “I am a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian of over 50 years, an ordained elder for over 25 years and have served as a lay pastor” that gives the impression of a faithful, godly, loyal Seventh-day Adventist, does it not? When the truth is known of your lack of conversion, failure to follow the health reform, and your actually leaving the church for a while, this places the matter in an entirely different light.

Again we will consider the quote on your web site that you have selected for giving evidence of the divine origin of the dreams:

“Dreams from the Lord are classed in the word of God with visions and are as truly the fruits of the spirit of prophecy as visions. Such dreams, taking into the account the persons who have them and the circumstances under which they are given, contain their own proofs of their genuineness.” {1T 569, 570}

Throughout this letter, we have been taking into account the person who had them, and the circumstances under which they are given. This character examination is required for testing the dreams.

Another fact that surfaced unexpectedly was that you were actually fired from the job that you had before December 2006, and it was explained that you were confrontational and not able to get along personally with your co-workers and associates. Your testimony that you gave at our home was stated in such a way as to lead one to believe that it was your ill health that caused your loss of employment. Again, this brings up issues of integrity.

Ernie, I have another question. According to your own testimony, on December 9, 2006, you were a pew-warming, workaholic, unconverted Laodicean. If you look at the definition of the word hypocrite, it also seems to apply. (definition of a hypocrite is: “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion; a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.”) You were a church elder, and yet you stated that you did not know Jesus.

So, in this condition, you had 2 dreams in the spring of 2005. You said that you “thought nothing of them” other than that they were interesting. They obviously made little impact on your lifestyle or spiritual commitment. Then, you start having more dreams, had a “conversion” experience in your sleep, and put up a web site. Now, these first two dreams from 2005 are elevated right along with your other dreams to become God’s last day message for His people, part of the message we are commanded to believe as we bow before the being professing to be Jesus who gave them? How do you explain that?

All of these things continued to add up, along with the concerns in the dreams themselves. Right at the beginning, we asked you if you had counseled with godly men regarding the source of these dreams, and if you were willing to be placed under close scrutiny. You had the attitude that, since these dreams were from God Himself, you didn’t need to ask anyone permission, or to seek anyone’s counsel. This is not how God operates in His church. He is the head, we are all part of the body. Not one part is to be exalted to the point of not needing to be examined, and confirmed by the rest of the body. The fact that so few significant Bible students accepted the dreams was another major cause for concern.

As you left our home, we hugged and all expressed our enjoyment of our time together. It was an exciting and confusing time. We remember you stating that Brian and I, along with a couple in Ohio, the web master, and a pastor in Ohio were your main supporters. While that made us feel special, it also made us wonder why so few were accepting the dreams.

How did the dreams affect me personally? Did they drive me to the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. Well, in a certain sense they did. We did study a lot on end time events during our time of belief in the dreams. But the final result was that the dreams took preeminence in our thoughts. Since they were “new light,” they added to and superceded what we had previously believed. I found myself funneling spiritual thoughts through the nuances found in the dreams. It actually felt like I was becoming acquainted with a “new” God, because I’d think about things in the dream much more than scripture or the Spirit of Prophecy. They made much more exciting reading. That should have clued me in!

I found the dreams to have a supernatural pull, like an addiction. I would check the web site frequently, with my heart pounding, hoping and praying that there would be a new dream. And when a new dream showed up, my excitement and interest in the dream was incredibly high. When I believed in the dreams, my emotional involvement wouldn’t let me read them objectively. Things that normally would have made me uncomfortable I was able to pass over because of my attachment to the whole experience. I found that my belief in these dreams removed my objectivity, because of an addictive power that overrides reason. I believe this is a supernatural phenomena used by the devil to trap people and keep them in a delusion.

Something that surfaces in the dreams is your feeling of being discouraged, alone or persecuted. Reference is made to spears and arrows. You seem to be receiving constant affirmation and special tokens throughout your dreams. This focus on emotion, and coddling seems to be encouraging the opportunity for pride and self-exaltation. Would this tend to increase your humility? Would not Christ be concerned lest you be puffed up with pride at your high, exalted position?

There are many confusing things in the dreams themselves, that would leave the readers wondering how they are supposed to respond. A few that come to mind are:

Watch, As I am Coming: “Smiling again the angel explains, "Because you do not understand, you know. If you were to know, you would not understand. All of heaven knows, as well as all of earth, whom God has chosen.” This is very confusing!

A View of Heaven Dream: “The two of us walk and talk together for quite some time. One of the things we talked about was how beautiful the music was that I heard in heaven. I mentioned that it was unlike anything I had ever heard in our worship services on Earth. I asked Him if He enjoys the music and worship services we have. He responded, “That is just it. They are your worship services not mine. He said that some of the music we have is inspired not by Himself, the Father or the Holy Spirit but by a whole different spirit.”

This paragraph brings up more questions than answers. Does Jesus not like any of our music? If He does like some, what kind does He like? When the being says in the dream, “They are your worship services not mine,” what is meant by that? Are all our worship services displeasing to Him? How do we know when we go into a church on Sabbath if the worship service is displeasing to Him? Should we even go to church if the worship services are not Jesus’? I find this leaves message leaves me totally confused. While we can know some music is not spiritual music because it is based on worldly principles, this “message from Jesus” does provide anything that can be helpful to us in knowing how to worship Jesus in a way that is pleasing to Him.

At our meeting, we remember someone asking you what kind of music you listened to, and you responded, I really don’t like to listen to any music, because I’ve heard heavenly music, so any earthly music is not appealing to me. This is certainly not helpful to the rest of us. It tends to place you above us.

The Work Now Begins: “As for me not having a broad understanding of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, the Herald says that I have a broader understanding than I might know and that because I am not ordained of man does not mean I am not ordained of God. The angel says that the Great Teacher has many ways of teaching other than what one can read in what He has written.” This last sentence directly contradicts the following statement: “The Bible will never be superseded by miraculous manifestations. The truth must be studied, it must be searched for as hidden treasure. Wonderful illuminations will not be given aside from the Word or to take the place of it.” 2SM 48 This clearly says that God will not bypass His Word.

If God was going to go against all His biblical principles in selecting you as His end-time messenger, and exalting you above all other humans on the earth as having the final Word from Him, how would we be able to know that? Based on your word? By miracles? By your emotional love for the being that has appeared before you? By “miraculous” feelings and impressions. None of these are safe guides. We are left with the option of standing by the God of the Bible, who has revealed Himself to us through His Word and the Spirit of Prophecy.

There are many other things in the dreams that bring confusion. I will not go into them all. Those who have read the dreams should know what I am talking about.

As you ended your video, your prayer for each one who viewed the video was stated as this: “And I know that my prayer would be that, if my prayer could be answered that every one that watches this and has read this dream, that you could see what I see when I look into the eyes of Jesus. There’s a love that we cannot describe, there’s no words, except just to say of the love of the love of the love.”

Ernie, do you really think it is in the wise plan of God to give each one of His children a vision of Jesus? And if we don’t have such a vision, should we feel that we aren’t special enough? This does not sound like the prayer of a prophet to me. A true prophet would encourage God’s people to endure, as seeing Him who is invisible, by faith. “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” 1 Peter 1:8

The first part of this year, there was quite a dry spell with no dreams, and I had little communication with you and Becky. My confidence was waning..

It was after speaking with Steve Wohlberg on the weekend retreat at Wawona Camp in Yosemite in March of this year that I realized the absolute danger of these dreams. Besides all the concerns I had listed above, the tithe issue was the clincher.

In a real practical way, I thought this out: Let’s say a pastor in our conference is mingling spiritualistic theories in his teaching. I express my concern to the conference president. Nothing is done, the teaching continues. I decide to give my tithe to you, Ernie, instead of to my conference, since you are “doing the Lord’s bidding” and I wouldn’t want to be responsible for supporting the pastor who was teaching spiritualism. What would happen to my own godly pastor’s salary if I withheld my tithe? What if all my friends did the same? What if half of the people in my conference did the same? Wouldn’t that be what the “Jesus” in your dreams would want us to do, so we wouldn’t support that spiritualistic pastor? So, what happens to my godly pastor whose salary comes from the same fund? He’s out of a job!

Multiply that scenario around the world, and what happens to the church? I think you get my point. However you interpret the Spirit of Prophecy statements about tithe, this teaching in the dream could only bring upheaval and confusion to the church.

At that time, I knew I could no longer be connected in any way with the 4HisPeople ministry. I told Steve Wohlberg the name of the person in the Much To Do dream. That was part of my disassociation from the dreams.

I decided to stop checking the dreams. Amazingly, this was a difficult decision for me, and required a struggle. As I mentioned, the addictive power of the dreams is strong. Even with all my doubts and concerns, I still had been in the habit of checking the web site almost daily.

I went through a time of purging the dreams from my thoughts, and repenting to the Lord for believing in the dreams. On April 19, 2008 I felt convicted by the Lord to make a statement on the same forum in which I had posted in support of your dreams. That was the first time I publicly spoke out against the dreams, even though I had not been promoting them for quite a while.

The more I turned away from the dreams, the more powerfully the Lord convicted me that these dreams were not from Him. It was almost as if a light came on, and I could see now! I began processing all the information I had, and the truth came out clearly that I had been ensnared in a delusion.

I determined to dig a little deeper and find out from Shawn Boonstra if he had received any impressions about your dreams, either from God or Satan. You’ve probably seen the statement from IIW that was made as a result of my inquiry. No matter what the angel tries to say about God’s timing, the prophecy, made Oct. 21, 2007 was made when you asked Jesus: “Is there someone I can be connected with so that these messages can go out faster? Jesus replies “Yes, I will connect you with Shawn Boonstra.”

Over six months later, Shawn Boonstra dictated the following statement: “A number of people have communicated with our office recently, asking about our official position on the dreams and visions of Mr. Ernie Knoll. More specifically, some have been asking if Shawn Boonstra has received any sort of confirmation from God that Mr. Knoll’s experience is genuine. At this point in time, Pastor Boonstra has had no such experience... To date, It Is Written has not come into possession of any information that suggests the claims of Mr. Knoll are genuine.”

The bottom line is, Jesus did not connect you with Shawn Boonstra so that the messages can go out faster. Even if he were to “connect” with you today, over six months after your appeal to help the dreams go out faster, it’s obvious that he didn’t help them go out faster! Anybody can see that. There is no question that this was a false prophecy.

Another false prophecy was given on Aug. 14, 2007 in the dream Watch, As I Am Coming. The angels said to you regarding Doug Batchelor: “You both walk a road parallel and your roads will cross.” You thought perhaps this prophecy may have been fulfilled shortly after that when you attended a church where Doug Batchelor was speaking, although there was no conversation between you. Regarding the parallel paths, his secretary, Bonnie Ensminger, stated to me on April 23, 2008 that Pastor Batchelor has refused, and continues to refuse to meet with you and talk with you, although there was an attempt to make an appointment with him. That doesn’t sound like parallel roads to me! He certainly is not in agreement with the road that you are on!

It may seem strange to you that I hung on so long after having so many concerns. Let me tell you, I wanted so much for these dreams to be from God! I was willing to overlook many of the concerns, and keep hanging on. Like a friend expressed to me, “If I turn away from the dreams, what do I do with all the feelings of hope and closeness to God they’ve generated?” I felt that way, but now I realize those feelings were strictly emotion, not reality.

Since I have let go of the dreams, I have been drawn closer to God than I’ve ever been before! It has lifted a heavy burden off of me. God has been teaching me many valuable lessons for which I am extremely grateful. I am so thankful for the Word of God. I have immersed myself in the scriptures with a fervor like never before! I thank God for a good memory, and for the hundreds and hundreds of scriptures that I have hidden in my heart. Now, in the night, these scriptures are my delightful meditation.

This entire experience has not been all bad: God can take these things, and use them to make us stronger and wiser in Him. I will be more equipped with His Word for the next deception that comes along. And we are told that we will face many false prophets as we near the end so we all need to have our minds fortified with the scriptures.

What about all the “miracles,” the changed lives, the sweet fellowship and new friendships, and increased love for Jesus that the followers of the dreams seem to have experienced? How could Satan be doing all this? Listen: “Popular revivals are too often carried by appeals to the imagination, by exciting the emotions, by gratifying the love for what is new and startling. Converts thus gained have little desire to listen to Bible truth, little interest in the testimony of prophets and apostles. Unless a religious service has something of a sensational character, it has no attractions for them. A message which appeals to unimpassioned reason awakens no response. The plain warnings of God's word, relating directly to their eternal interests, are unheeded.” {NL 9.2}

The fact that the spiritual awakening came as a result of an emotionally charged supernatural dream causes one to wonder: Would those whose lives have been changed by the hearing of your dreams have responded to a biblical message without the “appeals to the imagination, by exciting the emotions, by gratifying the love for what is new and startling”? And if not, then, have their lives really been changed for the better? There seems to be a revival, but it is based on a shaky foundation. Just because there is a seeming revival at a new, startling, exciting message does not mean that it is of God. False revival look very close to true revivals.

Ernie, I appeal to you to consider the foundation of your religious experience. The heart of our message is righteousness by faith. “For we walk by faith and not by sight.” Righteousness by faith, is the three angels messages in verity, in truth. Faith is trusting in God’s love and mercy, believing that His Word is true, and that He means what He says. Faith is based on that which is not seen. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Ernie, the “righteousness” you obtained in your dream-conversion was righteousness by sight, the “love” you “felt” when you looked into the eyes of the arch anti-christ. This is what “converted” you, and it was a false conversion experience, based on emotion and not on faith. God could never accept this false conversion and then exalt you to be His mouthpiece to the people whom He has called to experience and proclaim the great message of righteousness by faith. You have never experienced righteousness by faith, only by sight.

Jesus said, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20:29. Your “prophet’s prayer” at the conclusion of your video reveals your spiritual ignorance, as you are desiring all God’s people to receive righteousness by sight by “seeing the love of Jesus in his eyes.”

If your conversion experience is held up as a model to your followers, they would see that this is a strange, new religion, not the Christianity of the Bible, and certainly not the calling of the remnant church. Just this morning I read, “If we have not a deep experience in the things of God, if we have not a thorough knowledge of His Word, we shall be beguiled to our ruin by the errors and sophistries of the enemy.” Mar. 95. Ernie, because of your admitted lack of a deep understanding and knowledge of the Word, you have been beguiled, and you are spreading your error around the world.

I am grieved that I dishonored my Lord by falling for such a lie, and I praise Him for opening my eyes. I pray for all those who have believed your lies, that their eyes will be opened, and they will receive the love of the truth, so that God will not send them strong delusions, that they should believe a lie.

Ernie, the Lord is calling to you to repent of your wickedness, and to turn to Him with all your heart, with deep contrition and sorrow for your sins. Surrender your entire will to Him, and let Him guide you in the necessary work of restoration. He wants you to strip off your pride, and allow Him lay your glory in the dust, so He alone can be exalted. He can do a great work in you if you are willing to be crucified with Christ. Praise God, there still is hope. Do not delay. “Cast off the works of darkness,” and “Christ shall give thee light.” “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Rom 13:12, Eph 5:14, James 4:7

I urge you, I implore you, to take your dreams off of your web site, and replace them with a message renouncing your dreams, and the demonic beings in your dreams. How tragic if souls are lost because of their belief in your dreams! Redeem the time, and make quick work of restoring the truth to the hearts of these precious souls. And stop receiving the holy tithe that is dedicated to God’s work.

No doubt Satan will endeavor to offer you stronger inducements to continue doing his bidding, but in the strength of Jesus, resist him. Jesus was willing to lay aside His glory, and made Himself of no reputation for us. Are you willing to lay down your lofty position and your reputation for His sake?

To sum up this letter, we have, according to the biblical injunction, placed the messenger and the message under the spotlight of God’s Word. The conclusion is that:

• As we follow the counsel in the very statement used on the web site regarding testing the genuineness of the dreams by considering who has the dreams, under what circumstances, we can clearly see that the dreams are not genuine.
  
  
• The character of the messenger lacks integrity and humility. There is no evidence of genuine repentance and conversion.


• The “conversion” described goes against righteousness by faith. The Bible is not exalted as the final authority. Feelings and impressions are used as a guide. There is error in the dreams. There is confusion in the dreams.
  


• The results of the dreams are manifested in a false revival based on “appeals to the imagination, by exciting the emotions, by gratifying the love for what is new and startling.” Followers are being forced to make decisions that will eventually separate them from the fellowship of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There seems to be an unreasonable loyalty and defensiveness among the believers in the dreams.
  


• At least 2 false prophecies were made.
  


• The last two dreams contain the spirit of control, manipulation and force that is not in harmony with God’s character of grace and mercy. In light of all of the above, we must conclude that the dreams come from a demonic source.
  

Ernie, these are not spears and arrows directed at you. This letter is written out of love and concern for you. I am acting toward you as I would want done to me if I were in your place. Please, please, open your heart to receive these words. Someday, I pray, you will thank me for writing this letter. All of us are targets of the enemy, and we need each other’s prayers and encouragement. I am praying earnestly for you and for all those who believe in the dreams.

Does God have a special work for you? Absolutely! “Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God.” COL 326. I pray that you will be encouraged and comforted by the mercy and grace of our Lord, and allow Him to show you His true will for your life.

My prayer for everyone that reads this letter who has believed in the supernatural beings that have been communicating with you is that God will “open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith.” Acts 26:18
I will close with this powerful quotation on our need for understanding the Word of God:

"We see and feel the importance of each having an understanding of the Scriptures. There may be those who will tell us of the things contained in the Word of God, but that will not meet the requirements. We must search the Scriptures for ourselves. There are special points that we must understand pertaining to our own time. We are living in an age of error and heresy on every hand. Christ has told us that 'there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, who shall show great signs and wonders: insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.' Matt. 24:24. These teachers spoken of by Christ will come in sheep's clothing, and will delude the people with their heresies, and this we shall see more and more as we draw nearer the end. Consequently it is of the greatest necessity that we search the Scriptures for ourselves, and learn their contents.

"Our text tells us that we have something sure, and that is the Scriptures that are revealed to us, and this is the voice of God that is speaking to us. One may come and say that he has truth, and such teachers will multiply, but we must not take their word in the matter. We must go directly to the Word. Feelings should not be our guide. The plain declaration of the Word is what is required. 'All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.' 2 Timothy 3:16-17."--Manuscript 43, 1886.

Praise God for His Word!

In Christ’s love,

Linda Kirk

Statement from Brian Kirk: Ernie, I’ve read the above letter, and having witnessed or been a participant of a large portion of the conversations, I agree with its accuracy. I hope and pray that you will humbly reconsider the facts that clearly indicate the source of these dreams, and act accordingly.