Labor Unions in the Bible and SOP/EGW Writings

Bible

Revelation 12:7-17King James Version (KJV)

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.


EGW/SOP
Avoid Party Strifes
Men have confederated to oppose the Lord of hosts. These confederacies will continue until Christ shall leave His place of intercession before the mercy seat, and shall put on the garments of vengeance. Satanic agencies are in every city, busily organizing into parties those opposed to the law of God. Professed saints and avowed unbelievers take their stand with these parties. This is no time for the people of God to be weaklings. We cannot afford to be off our guard for a moment.—Testimonies for the Church 8:42 (1904). {2SM 141.2}
The trades unions will be one of the agencies that will bring upon this earth a time of trouble such as has not been since the world began.Letter 200, 1903. {2SM 142.1}
 
Preparing for the Issue
The trades unions and confederacies of the world are a snare. Keep out of them, and away from them, brethren. Have nothing to do with them. Because of these unions and confederacies, it will soon be very difficult for our institutions to carry on their work in the cities. My warning is: Keep out of the cities. Build no sanitariums in the cities. Educate our people to get out of the cities into the country, where they can obtain a small piece of land, and make a home for themselves and their children {2SM 142.3}
Conflicts Between Trade Confederacies and Labor Unions
The work of the people of God is to prepare for the events of the future, which will soon come upon them with blinding force. In the world gigantic monopolies will be formed. Men will bind themselves together in unions that will wrap them in the folds of the enemy. A few men will combine to grasp all the means to be obtained in certain lines of business. Trades unions will be formed, and those who refuse to join these unions will be marked men.—Letter 26, 1903. {2SM 142.2}
In Disregard of the Decalogue
These unions are one of the signs of the last days. Men are binding up in bundles ready to be burned. They may be church members, but while they belong to these unions, they cannot possibly keep the commandments of God; for to belong to these unions means to disregard the entire Decalogue. {2SM 143.3}
 
Unions that are Formed or shall be Formed
Those who claim to be the children of God are in no case to bind up with the labor unions that are formed or that shall be formed. This the Lord forbids. Cannot those who study the prophecies see and understand what is before us?Letter 201, 1902. {2SM 144.1}
Labor Unions in the Cities
Satan is busily at work in our crowded cities. His work is to be seen in the confusion, the strife and discord between labor and capital, and the hypocrisy that has come into the churches.... The lust of the flesh, the pride of the eyes, the display of selfishness, the misuse of power, the cruelty and the force used to cause men to unite with confederacies and unions—binding themselves up in bundles for the burning of the great fires of the last days—all these are the working of satanic agencies.—Evangelism, 26 (1903). {LDE 116.1}
The wicked are being bound up in bundles, bound up in trusts, in unions, in confederacies. Let us have nothing to do with these organizations. God is our Ruler, our Governor, and He calls us to come out from the world and be separate. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing” [2 Corinthians 6:17]. If we refuse to do this, if we continue to link up with the world and to look at every matter from a worldly standpoint, we shall become like the world. When worldly policy and worldly ideas govern our transactions we cannot stand on the high and holy platform of eternal truth.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 4:1142 (1903). {LDE 116.2}
Labor Unions a Source of Trouble for Adventists
The trades unions will be one of the agencies that will bring upon this earth a time of trouble such as has not been since the world began.... {LDE 116.3}
A few men will combine to grasp all the means to be obtained in certain lines of business. Trades unions will be formed, and those who refuse to join these unions will be marked men.... {LDE 117.1}
Because of these unions and confederacies, it will soon be very difficult for our institutions to carry on their work in the cities. My warning is: Keep out of the cities. Build no sanitariums in the cities.—Selected Messages 2:142 (1903). {LDE 117.2}
The time is fast coming when the controlling power of the labor unions will be very oppressive.—Selected Messages 2:141 (1904). {LDE 117.3}
 
Unions That Are Formed or Shall Be Formed
Those who claim to be the children of God are in no case to bind up with the labor unions that are formed or that shall be formed. This the Lord forbids. Cannot those who study the prophecies see and understand what is before us?Letter 201, 1902. {CL 12.1}

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