The Mystery Religion of ADRA

If you follow the news of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, then you know that the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, or ADRA, tops the headlines almost constantly. Often it seems that, if it weren’t for ADRA and Ganoune Diop from the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty department, there would be little to talk about. So, with all the press ADRA gets, shouldn’t we take time to scrutinize their activities to see if they’re in line with the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy? This article attempts to reveal some things about ADRA that you might not have known, for better or for worse. When you have read through the contents and checked the sources, it’s up to you to decide whether the information presented is true and factual, and what, if anything, you’ll do about it.

Below are official press/personal profile photos for the top three men behind ADRA. There is no mistaking that they are striking the exact same, deliberate pose. If only one of them were photographed while assuming this obviously contrived stance, perhaps no one would pause to wonder if it meant anything. However, when all three of them are found posing in exactly the same manner, it certainly gives the impression that they might belong to some sort of club or secret society where the members identify themselves by making peculiar signs and gestures.

1 Jonathan Duffy, President

2 Imad Madanat, Vice President for Programs

3 Michael Kruger, Vice President for Finance

This article is not meant to accuse these men, or ADRA in general, of anything, but simply to raise awareness of the fact that certain aspects of ADRA’s operations indeed seem unbefitting of Seventh-day Adventist Christianity. As God’s messenger, Ellen White, warned us, “We are now to use all our entrusted capabilities in giving the last warning message to the world. In this work we are to preserve our individuality. We are not to unite with secret societies or with trades unions. We are to stand free in God, looking constantly to Christ for instruction. All our movements are to be made with a realization of the importance of the work to be accomplished for God.” [1]

One of ADRA’s major projects is called “Every child. Everywhere. In school.” ADRA has been quite open about the fact that they are using the Pathfinders as tools to gather signatures in order to pressure governments to implement their objectives. “Pathfinders also united in a significant ADRA project, committing themselves to join in the fight for education for ‘EVERY CHILD. EVERYWHERE. IN SCHOOL’. […] Over the next few days the Pathfinders will be adding their signatures to a petition that will help pressure governments to take more positive action. The camporee may be a fun school holiday experience for them, but the camp also aims to develop their social awareness – with the active ADRA presence being an important part of the strategy.” [2]

The design of their logo for this project features three right angle chevrons, which seem to achieve absolutely no purpose in conveying meaning. However, when we look to the symbolism of Freemasonry, we find that these chevrons are in fact an exact likeness of the square used in the ubiquitous square and compass symbol of this secret society.

Granted, this in and of itself can’t prove that ADRA is run by Freemasons or that their “Every child. Everywhere. In school.” logo is derived from Freemasonry. However, if we try to determine why they chose to use the symbol of the square three times, perhaps we will have a better understanding of what ADRA, as an organization, really stands for.

In Freemasonry, the number 3 carries special meaning. Bear in mind at this point that the aim of this article is not to teach the principles of Freemasonry, but rather to make understood the meaning of a few key Masonic symbols in order to reveal the hidden meaning of the ADRA project logo shown above.

“This ancient three-in-one teaching, often expressed simply by the number Three—the number that ‘balances’ opposites—is tremendously important. It is the key to every great religious tradition in Antiquity, and it forms the spiritual support behind every indigenous culture. Later in history it became the secret doctrine of every esoteric and occult school.

“The concept of the three-in-one is no less than the lost secret of the Freemasons.” [3]

“Everywhere among the ancients the number three was deemed the most sacred of numbers . . .. In all the mysteries, from Egypt to Scandinavia, we find a sacred regard for the number three . . ..

“It was . . . a general character of the mysteries to have three principle officers and three grades of initiation. In Freemasonry, the ternary is the most sacred of all the mystical numbers.” [4]

On a side note, it is very eye-opening to realize that this is the origin of the doctrine of the Trinity.

It’s also fascinating that, when we look at the Web site ADRA has set up specifically for their education campaign (inschool.adra.org), we see that these same three right-angle chevrons are put on prominent display along with an image of the sun. These visual elements, especially when combined together as ADRA has done with them, give a very strong hint as to their meaning and origin, as these are undeniably Masonic symbols.

In the Freemason cipher, which represents a cryptic method for Freemasons to use the alphabet and communicate in relative secrecy, we find that the symbol of the chevron—identical to the one used in ADRA’s project logo—corresponds to the letter M.

Since this symbol is used three times in the logo, this would translate to MMM. Perhaps this seems meaningless to the unsuspecting person, but according to The STANDS4 Network, “The numerical value of MMM in Chaldean Numerology is: 3,” and “The numerical value of MMM in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3.” [5]

If you’re reading this and you’re still not convinced that ADRA is using Masonic symbolism, then please pay close attention to the area within the green box in the image below, which shows a Masonic tracing board. It now appears to be beyond any reasonable argument that ADRA’s “Every child. Everywhere. In school.” logo is Masonic.

Adding further support to the assertion that ADRA is fixated on the number 3 is the ADRA logo itself, which depicts three “people” fashioned in a classically humanistic style.

Beyond the mere analysis of ADRA’s various logos, it is naturally also important to ascertain whether there is anything about their projects and undertakings that would fit the agenda of Freemasonry, because the Bible says, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20)

On the surface, it sounds really nice that ADRA would care about all the poor, disadvantaged children of the world and want to give them a proper education and access to every opportunity in life. We must keep in mind, though, through the lens of the Bible, that even Judas Iscariot was an outspoken champion of the poor. In this day and age, the pontiff of Rome is likewise, at least on paper, a champion of society’s poor and downtrodden. Many well-intentioned Christians will quickly say that Jesus would help the poor, Jesus would put every child everywhere in school, and so forth. But would He, if these schools were not places where the teachings of the Bible would be of paramount importance? and would He take the Luciferian United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals under His care and protection, as ADRA does?[6] Brothers and sisters, don’t be deceived by these Sustainable Development Goals. They truly are of the devil, as you must agree after you’ve read all that Lucis Trust (formerly Lucifer’s Trust) has to say in support of these SDGs.[7] To be clear, this is not an invitation to browse their Web site and become familiarized with the writings of Alice A. Bailey, etc. Rather, the idea is to acknowledge that these people are

occultists, and that they are the ones who have devised these SDGs in order to bring about their anti-Christian agenda.

As part of the work ADRA does with so-called disaster relief, they organize “advanced training in post-traumatic stress counselling.”[8] This sounds perfectly innocent until you read further and learn that “Response, resiliency and growth in the aftermath of traumatic, stressful events are the focus of the training.”[9] Did you notice the word “resiliency?” Do you know what this means in a behavioral health context? According to an article on titled Building Resilience: Spiritual and Mind-Body Practices, “Many professionals spend a lifetime working with survivors of trauma, helping them integrate what they saw, heard and felt into their life so they can move on. They too have achieved excellent personal results through mind/body techniques such as meditation and yoga.”[10]

In an interview with Dr. Beverly Buckles, Dean of the School of Behavioral Health at Loma Linda University and leader of the ADRA training mentioned above, she states very clearly and openly that they’ve “tried all the things that you try in behavioral health.” [11] Let’s pause for a moment. Do they employ mind/body practices such as yoga, meditation, and mindfulness in behavioral heath? You’d better believe they do! She then goes on to talk about “the biological method… a way to help individuals to use their own biology to be in the best possible place they can be.”[12] Dr. Buckles refers to this so-called biological method as “advanced knowledge that hasn’t yet been disseminated,”[13] which is strangely reminiscent of what the serpent told Eve in the garden of Eden when he said, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5) Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, Satan has been seducing mankind and luring them into the ways of spiritualism, which gives them “advanced knowledge” of mind/body practices, and ultimately leads to their being eternally lost.

But what exactly is this biological method of which Dr. Buckles speaks? Research suggests that it refers to what’s known as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). According to an article on the ScienceDaily Web site, “The biological health-related benefits occur because mindfulness meditation training fundamentally alters brain network functional connectivity patterns and the brain changes statistically explain the improvements in inflammation.”[14] “We think that these brain changes provide a neurobiological marker for improved executive control and stress resilience, such that mindfulness meditation training improves your brain’s ability to help you manage stress, and these changes improve a broad range of stress-related health outcomes, such as your inflammatory health.”[15] It is a proven fact that Dr. Buckles’ department at Loma Linda University practices MBSR. In Loma Linda University Health’s Mission 2020 document, Dr. Buckles is mentioned and pictured on page 5, and then, on page 13, it says: “Women in India following a still-birth are expected to move forward in life without grief or support for their loss. Lisa Roberts, DrPH, in the School of Nursing is exploring the use of mindfulness-based stress reduction as a method of helping the women cope with this loss. Early results demonstrate emotional relief and readiness to move forward in life.” [16]

Another Loma Linda administrator involved with ADRA’s resilience training is Dr. Adam Aréchiga. Dr. Aréchiga is quoted as saying that “nothing works quicker to help individuals regulate their nervous system and improve their resilience like the techniques we’re going to be teaching here. We find it very exciting. So, one of the things that is central to this is the concept of a resilient

zone. And the resilient zone is really where we function best in our body, mind and spirit. When we’re in our resilient zone we can handle the ups and downs of life.”[17] Here we have yet another tell-tale reference to Freemasonry, as, according to the Web site of the Masonic Service Association of North America, “The Square and Compasses, the best known symbol of a Mason, cannot replace the identity of living the life of a Mason, which is itself perpetually in a state of improving ourselves in body, mind and spirit.”[18]

Just so readers won’t think that the behavioral health training described above is an isolated case, please be assured that, like ambulance chasers, ADRA has a proven track record of racing around the world to locations hit hard by natural disasters to support the victims by giving them food, clothing, shelter, and all of these necessary things. However, they corrupt this otherwise good work by making sure that programs and policies are put in place to make spiritualism a part of these people’s way of living. A recent example of this is what ADRA has done in the Caribbean nation of Sint Maarten. “The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in the Caribbean recently co-hosted psycho-social training for mental-health professionals in Sint Maarten to assist in building community resilience as the island’s residents recover from three hurricanes that hit in 2017. The training was ADRA’s third major post-hurricane intervention on the island, ADRA leaders said.” [19]

“Soon after the devastation of the storms, ADRA responded with basic needs like food, water, hygiene kits, hot meals every day for months, shipment of goods until the end of December,” said Isaacs. ADRA also arranged a one-day training with Loma Linda University’s International Behavioral Health Trauma Team with psychologists and provided service in several schools on the island.

“The most recent training in Sint Maarten drew more than 35 health and mental-health professionals from several government and non-government organizations. They received instruction in the neuroscience of resilience and the skill set necessary to cope with mental-health trauma.” [20]

“Sint Maarten’s minister of Health Care, Social Development and Labor, Emil Lee, commended ADRA for its support on the island through the months after the hurricanes and thanked the Adventist organization for introducing the ADRA behavioral health model to the community, one that the government plans to implement.”[21]

“The training centered on a psychological model, the Community Resiliency Model (CRM), that teaches individuals how to better handle life’s stresses and traumatic events by using self-care techniques that stop trauma from “hijacking” the nervous system, organizers said.”[22]

The self-care techniques prescribed under ADRA’s model involve the spiritualistic practices of meditation, yoga, mindfulness and other soul-destroying agents of the devil. What these things do, essentially, is bridge mind and body—something that we, as Christians, must never attempt to do under any circumstances. Our bodies are carnal, and our minds ought to be spiritual. By taking active steps to bridge the two, the mind is guaranteed to become carnal. As the apostle Paul wrote, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,

neither indeed can be.” (Romans 8:5–7) The idea that our minds ought to be spiritual is supported by Ephesians 4:23, which says, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” So, while ADRA ought to be helping all of these poor people by leading them to Christ, they are instead turning them away from Christ and leading them to death, while claiming that they are doing the work of Christ.

In the process of putting together this article, the Lord drew the author’s attention many times back to ADRA’s logo, as something about it seems to feel very . . . “New Agey.” Sure enough, after spending considerable time examining it, it was clear. The logo is all about the person in the center striking a yoga pose. If you just laughed because you thought that sounded absurd, please (re)consider all the evidence that this article has brought to light. When people look at ADRA’s logo, they probably assume that it simply depicts three random people standing in front of a globe. However, there is nothing to suggest that this “globe” is actually a globe, as it isn’t styled like the globes commonly shown in other logos. It lacks latitudinal and longitudinal lines. Below is a rendering of ADRA’s logo with everything removed except the yoga person. Compare this with the picture immediately below it, which shows a real person striking the same pose we all associate with yoga and meditation (the tree poses, or Virkshasana).

In researching the Community Resilience Model (CRM) which ADRA openly promotes, it quickly became apparent that other organizations advocating the use of this model have logos suspiciously similar to that of ADRA. Among the similarities are the use of New Age-inspired stick figures in various poses and, specifically, the incorporation of three of these figures.

Finally, this last image (see below) is based on the cover of a book co-authored by Dr. Beverly Buckles, who was mentioned previously as being the leader of ADRA’s spiritualistic training program. Although there are more than three people shown in the drawing, it could be said that the three of them in the center are featured more prominently than the rest. The letters TRI,

appearing immediately beneath these three people, stand for Trauma Resource Institute, but also subtly convey the meaning of three. In addition to these stylistic elements, there is also a big, bright sun beaming down on the people and the world on which they’re standing. In keeping with ADRA-esque Masonic symbolism, the arms of the three people in the center are held in such a way that they form convenient 90-degree angles, exactly like we see in ADRA’s “Every child. Everywhere. In school.” logo.

With all of the subtle and not-so-subtle clues ADRA and their partners, including Loma Linda University, give us about their knowledge of and possible connection with secret societies and the ancient mystery religion, with certainty we may know that their work is not ordained by God.

“The world is a theater; the actors, its inhabitants, are preparing to act their part in the last great drama. With the great masses of mankind, there is no unity, except as men confederate to accomplish their selfish purposes. God is looking on. His purposes in regard to His rebellious subjects will be fulfilled. The world has not been given into the hands of men, though God is permitting the elements of confusion and disorder to bear sway for a season. A power from beneath is working to bring about the last great scenes in the drama, —Satan coming as Christ, and working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in those who are binding themselves together in secret societies. Those who are yielding to the passion for confederation are working out the plans of the enemy. The cause will be followed by the effect.” [23]

Education just happens to be the vehicle by which ADRA has seized hold of a way to partner with another SDA entity, the Pathfinders, as evidenced, for example, by the recent TED Pathfinder Camporee 2019 in England, as well as by other initiatives to promote their own special Pathfinder pins. God willing, a follow-up article will be released in the near future covering similar aspects of the various SDA scouting clubs. Until then, let us all be faithful to God and get ourselves and our families ready to meet our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

1. White, Ellen G. 1902. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 84. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association

2. https://ted.adventist.org/news/1474-it-s-tough-being-married-to-pharaoh

3. https://richardcassaro.com/tag/sun-and-moon-symbolism/

4. Albert Mackey, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction of

5. https://www.definitions.net/definition/MMM

6. https://adra.org/about-adra/sdgs-2/

7. https://www.lucistrust.org/blog_wgun/sustainable_development_goals_the_united_nations_and_the_libra_full_moon

8. https://www.newslinesamoa.ws/news/2018/local/adra-organises-behavioural-post-trauma-training

9. Ibid.

10. https://focusinginternational.org/building-personal-resilience-spiritual-and-mind-body-practices/

11. https://www.newslinesamoa.ws/news/2018/local/adra-organises-behavioural-post-trauma-training

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid.

14. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160204121956.htm

15. Ibid.

16. https://lluhvision2020.org/sites/lluhvision2020.org/files/docs/ADV-039-15%20Education%20Case%20Statement.pdf

17. https://www.newslinesamoa.ws/news/2018/local/adra-organises-behavioural-post-trauma-training

18. https://www.msana.com/masonicawareness.asp

19. https://www.adventistworld.org/adra-trains-mental-health-providers-in-sint-maarten/

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. White, Ellen G. 1904. Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 27. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association