11 October 2021  |

Is Ernie Knoll a new prophet approved by our church? He claims to have dreams from God.

Signed, Searcher

Dear Searcher:

Ernie Knoll appeared on the Adventist scene about fifteen years ago, with some spectacular claims to divine messages. His initial presentations were pretty much typical Adventist end-time warnings and instructions about behavior. Some of them were encouraging and comforting, in a way that naturally appealed to a certain set of Adventists. It appears “god” also granted Ernie permission to receive tithes and offerings.

Around 2009 Ernie claimed he had an email from a prostitute named Candace, who said she’d been picked up in a car by an angel and told to seek out Ernie Knoll, though she had no prior connection to him or our church. Some of Ernie’s board members smelled a rat. It wasn’t hard to discover, with a bit of simple sleuthing in IP addresses, that Ernie was Candace, and the whole story an invention. Ernie had an excuse, but he lost a lot of credibility when the board of his ministry (which had been growing up to this time) sent out this letter: 

Ernie and Becky Knoll are suspended from any activity related to the 4 His People Ministry. Please cease contributing funds to this ministry.

Some of Ernie’s followers were reluctant to give him up. One web page (now removed) said, 

We find it hard to give Satan the credit for the renewed love for God, the renewed expectation of the soon appearing of Jesus, and the sins that have been renounced and victory gained since reading the dreams.

Aunty has noticed that self-proclaimed prophets often fall in matters of sex or money, and sometimes both. It isn’t clear how much money Ernie and Becky made, though one ex-follower told her it was a lucrative ministry. But the sex thing became pretty clear when he and Becky were reported to have been practicing nudism, and when Ernie fathered a child out of wedlock with one of his “followers” who was living at his home. Ernie’s dreams and visions became increasingly erotic. Here’s a sample of how “god” told him women should dress: 

The camisole is thin and the coloration of her nipples is shown though the cloth but the cloth is not sheer or see through. The length of the skirt is to be short where it comes just below the butt cheek. If an individual is concerned when sitting down, that part of their butt or vaginal area may come in contact with something of the seat. I was told for those that have this concern it would be better for the individual to lift the back of their skirt and sit totally butt naked on the seat.

These ex-followers have written a website about their experiences with Ernie.  You will be shocked. What Aunty has copied above is some of the instruction that “god” gave to Ernie that Aunty actually can share.

Ernie was never, in any way, approved by the denomination. It is unclear if Ernie is still calling himself a prophet, or how many still believe in him—though his website is still in operation. But it wouldn’t surprise Aunty to learn he still has followers: if there’s anything we’ve learned in the past five years, it is that there are always people eager to follow a “leader” who tells them what they want to hear, no matter the state of the leader’s morality and honesty. 

Aunt Sevvy

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