The following is a statement from the North American Division regarding the dreams of Ennie Knoll. I have bolded the important statement for quick access.
Produced by the North American Division Stewardship Department
G. Edward Reid, Stewardship Director Lori Bryan, Editor
Ed.Reid@nad.adventist.org Lori.Bryan@nad.adventist.org
12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904 ▪ 301-680-6433 Ph. ▪ 301-680-8953 Fax ▪ www.adventiststewardship.org
[for the record document]
False Prophet of Tithing
By G Edward Reid
I have a keen personal interest regarding prophecy and thank God that He has chosen to use that method of communication with mankind. We know that there will be false prophets near the end. Four times in Matthew 24 alone, Jesus counsels us to beware of false prophets. But we can’t just dismiss everyone who claims to be led of God. Paul counseled “Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thes. 5:20,21). Accordingly, when a person claims to be speaking for God, we must test his/her counsel according to the Word of God to determine the veracity of the counsel.
Recently several people have brought to my attention the “dreams” of one, Ernie Knoll. He claims to be a Seventh-day Adventist who is being given dreams from God about the condition of the church and what is coming on the earth. It is interesting that in his February 5, 2008 “dream” he gives a series of footnotes from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. I had never seen footnoted dreams before but in evaluating this one I note that he gives “tithe counsel” directly contrary to what I already know to be true.
The “false counsel” is: "It is important that His people understand while it is important that we are to return a tithe to God’s storehouse, it is equally important that they understand what the funds are being used for. If an individual is providing funds and they understand that the funds are not being used according to His will, that person will be held accountable.” To say that the individual donor of tithe and offerings is responsible for any mismanagement on the part of church leaders is totally false. There is no place in the Bible – Old or New Testament – where God has told His followers to withhold or redirect their tithes when they feel that they are being misused by the church leaders. In fact, the only offering that Jesus ever commended was when a poor widow gave two mites (apparently all she had) to a church that was just about to crucify Him! (See Mark 12:41-44).
We have two very relevant documents on our NAD website that address this very issue. They are “Timely Counsels” and “The Work in Michigan” under the Tithe tab. Here are some representative statements:
“Some have been dissatisfied and have said: ‘I will not longer pay my tithe; for I have no confidence in the way things are managed at the heart of the work."’ But will you rob God because you think the management of the work is not right? Make your complaint, plainly and openly, in the right spirit, to the proper ones. Send in your petitions for things to be adjusted and set in order; but do not withdraw from the work of God, and prove unfaithful, because others are not doing right” (9T 249).
The other article notes: “Cannot you see that it is not best under any circumstances to withhold your tithes and offerings because you are not in harmony with everything that your brethren do? The tithes and offerings are not the property of any man, but are to be used in doing a certain work for God. Unworthy ministers may receive some of the means thus raised, but dare anyone, because of this, withhold from the treasury and brave the curse of God? I dare not” (2 Sermons and Talks, 74).
There are several statements in the writings of Ellen White where she notes that those who are faithful in returning to God that which is His “will not lose their reward” but those who (among church leaders) make a wrong use of the funds will be required to give an account of their stewardship. (See 2T 518,519).
The bottom line here is that, when we play the role of donors we must be faithful in returning to God through His church storehouse what he requires. Once the money gets there, those in charge have the responsibility of using it in harmony with God’s plan.