In our previous article we examined the origin of the Lord’s Supper and its Old Testament parallel in the Passover feast. The guidelines and restrictions given in the Passover ritual of the slain lamb teach important principles about the New Testament communion service commemorating the one great sacrifice of the true Lamb of God. By comparing these two ordinances, it becomes evident that the communion service is specifically intended for those who have by faith accepted the blood of the covenant. They are church members whose commitment has already been sealed by baptism into His body, just as the Passover participants had already sealed their commitment of faith into ancient Israel by the rite of circumcision.

Many sincere yet misguided souls stumble over the fact that there are a few quotations from the testimonies of the Spirit of Prophecy which are often interpreted in a way that suggests that there can be communion with those who are in error. Yet the Spirit of Prophecy tells us that we should not even attend the meetings of the fallen churches - those who daily teach new errors:

“I was shown the necessity of those who believe that we are having the last message of mercy, being separate from those who are daily imbibing new errors. I saw that neither young nor old should attend their meetings; for it is wrong to thus encourage them while they teach error that is a deadly poison to the soul and teach for doctrines the commandments of men. The influence of such gatherings is not good. If God has delivered us from such darkness and error, we should stand fast in the liberty wherewith He has set us free and rejoice in the truth. God is displeased with us when we go to listen to error, without being obliged to go; for unless He sends us to those meetings where error is forced home to the people by the power of the will, He will not keep us. The angels cease their watchful care over us, and we are left to the buffetings of the enemy, to be darkened and weakened by him and the power of his evil angels; and the light around us becomes contaminated with the darkness.”1

The following paragraphs are used to defend the practice of sharing the bread and the wine with any person present at the meeting:

“Christ’s example forbids exclu-siveness at the Lord’s Supper. It is true that open sin excludes the guilty. This the Holy Spirit plainly teaches (1 Corinthians 5:11). But beyond this none are to pass judgment. God has not left it with men to say who shall present themselves on these occasions. For who can read the heart? Who can distinguish the tares from the wheat? ‘Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.’ For ‘whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.’ ‘He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body’ (1 Corinthians 11:28, 27, 29).

“When believers assemble to celebrate the ordinances, there are present messengers unseen by human eyes. There may be a Judas in the company, and if so, messengers from the prince of darkness are there, for they attend all who refuse to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Heavenly angels also are present. These unseen visitants are present on every such occasion. There may come into the company persons who are not in heart servants of truth and holiness, but who may wish to take part in the service. They should not be forbidden. There are witnesses present who were present when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples and of Judas. More than human eyes beheld the scene.”2

The Spirit of Prophecy comments on the experience that Jesus had with the twelve disciples and especially how Judas was allowed to take part in the ordinance. Judas was a member, rather, a minister of the organized church. He was one of the twelve. Though he was not true in heart, the other disciples did not know it. Only Jesus could read the heart, and he allowed him to have communion with the other disciples, because they were ignorant of his plan to betray his Master. They did not understand his true character until he carried out his plan. He was a tare, but it could not be rooted out because the fruit was not yet revealed.

The above testimony does not say that unbelievers or non-members can take part in the communion service, but that “persons who are not in heart servants of truth and holiness,” like Judas, may be present and they should not be forbidden. The apostle Paul also mentions that every believer should examine himself or herself and so take of the bread and of the wine, because if he or she eats the bread or drinks the wine unworthily, he or she becomes guilty of the body and the blood of Christ. But it is altogether different to have communion with someone who believes differently, acts differently, maintains a spirit of independence, or belongs to another church.

If a person wishes to receive the benefit of the communion service he or she should believe the same as the whole body of Christ believes, live according to the same principles, and be baptized and fellowshipped into the same body, and then have the same privilege to partake in the ordinance service.

If a person believes differently, we do not condemn him or her; we respect his or her conscience. But in this case, if he or her ever will be saved, he or her should be saved without the communion of the church. This is what the Spirit of Prophecy says about a person who could not be fellowshipped in the church:

“It is impossible for E to be fellowshipped by the church of God. He has placed himself where he cannot be helped by the church, where he can have no communion with nor voice in the church. He has placed himself there in the face of light and truth. He has stubbornly chosen his own course, and refused to listen to reproof. He has followed the inclinations of his corrupt heart, has violated the holy law of God, and has disgraced the cause of present truth. If he repents ever so heartily, the church must let his case alone. If he goes to heaven, it must be alone, without the fellowship of the church.”3

It has happened many times in our experience that some who were not truly converted, but were members of the church, have taken part in the communion service. They took of the bread and the wine to their own damnation. But the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper should not be taken outside the house - the church. It must be kept within the church. One experience in the history of the Adventist people occurred in 1893:

“Sabbath morning, when the church at _____ celebrated the ordinances, Brother _____ was present. He was invited to unite in the ordinance of feet washing, but said he preferred to witness it. He asked if participation in this ordinance was required before one could partake of communion, and was assured by our brethren that it was not obligatory, and that he would be welcome to the table of the Lord. This Sabbath was a most precious day to his soul; he said that he had never had a happier day in his life.

“He afterward desired an interview with me, and we had a pleasant visit. His conversation was very interesting, and we had a precious season of prayer together. I believe that he is a servant of God. I gave him my books Great Controversy, Patriarchs and Prophets, and Steps to Christ. He seemed much pleased, said he wanted all the light he could get in order to meet the opponents of our faith. He was baptized before leaving for his home, and will return to present the truth to his own congregation.”4

Of this experience, a few important remarks should be made:

1. The brethren (not Sister White) invited the visitor to unite with them in the feet-washing ceremony.

2. The brethren told him that feet-washing was not obligatory, whereas in The Desire of Ages, p. 651, this ceremony that precedes the Lord’s Supper is called “the preparatory service.”

3. The narration of this experience does not affirm that the visitor took part in the Lord’s Supper, but that the brethren told him that he would be welcome to the table of the Lord. He might have taken part, but it is not clearly stated.

4. Sister White just mentions an exceptional event without commenting whether the brethren did right or wrong. In the paragraph she neither condemns nor endorses such proceedings.

If this very rare event took place, and even if it was with the consent of Sister White, it is an isolated, unique case. The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper should not be regulated by an exception but by the rule:

“The ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are two monumental pillars, one without and one within the church.”5

According to the new order of things (free communion), we could permit our non-member children to take part in the communion service. They have more right to the ordinance than an unbeliever, a Protestant, a Catholic, a Pentecostal, a Spiritualist, and so forth. How can we have communion with the members of that do not know present truth?

“Satan has a large confederacy, his church. Christ calls them the synagogue of Satan because the members are the children of sin. The members of Satan’s church have been constantly working to cast off the divine law, and confuse the distinction between good and evil. Satan is working with great power in and through the children of disobedience to exalt treason and apostasy as truth and loyalty.”6 The ordinance is only for those that are members of the church, like the Passover feast in Old Testament times.

“I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:15-17).