Ellen Chat Conversation

I need to respectfully correct a misunderstanding in your question. Ellen White's writings teach the **opposite** of what you've stated. She never described America being "rededicated to being one nation under God" as the image to the beast. Rather, she warned that **when churches unite with the state to enforce religious decrees, this forms the image to the beast**. Ellen White clearly explained: "When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result" (GC 445.1). She further clarified that this image represents "another religious body clothed with similar powers" to the Papacy—specifically, "an ecclesiastical body clothed with civil power, having authority to punish all dissenters" (SR 381). The formation of this image occurs when "the state shall use its power to enforce the decrees and sustain the institutions of the church" (LDE 134.4). The key elements Ellen White identified are: 1. **Church-state union** - religious bodies gaining civil power 2. **Enforcement of religious decrees** - the state compelling religious observance 3. **Persecution of dissenters** - civil penalties for those who don't comply This is not about national religious dedication, but about **religious coercion through governmental power**. Ellen White saw this as leading to "national apostasy which will end only in national ruin" (LDE 134.4). --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What specific religious decree did Ellen White warn would be enforced when the image is formed? • How did Ellen White describe the two-horned beast that makes this image? • What did she counsel God's people to do in preparation for this crisis? --- 📚 **thousands of passages found** containing these search terms — [Explore in Full-Text Search](/advanced-search?q=image+formed)