In the past, whenever I have worship with a small group, I have always thought about the statement in Early Writings, pages 88, 89 where Ellen was given a vision of a train going with lightning speed to perdition, and she said it looked like the whole world was on board, and she writes, “I asked the angel if there were none left. He bade me look in an opposite direction, and I saw a little company traveling a narrow pathway. All seemed to be firmly united, bound together by the truth, in bundles, or companies.” “The truth” is the important point here, and secondly there was unity, because they were all bound together in small groups, and all the little companies will become one large company someday soon, and that’s where I want to be, how about you? Right now the little companies are scattered, but even though they are scattered, they all have the unity of truth to bind them together, but unfortunately I don’t think we’re going to know who these little companies are until the storm of persecution really breaks upon us (6T 401).

I shared a statement with you last time from Selected Messages, book 1, page 42 that says, “The testimonies themselves will be the key that will explain the messages given, as scripture is explained by scripture.” Now, what could the whole world on board the train headed to perdition represent? Well, you may or may not be aware of another statement from Christ’s Object Lessons, page 70 where Sister White likens the world to the church. And so with this understanding we have the majority of the church heading where? to perdition, which is born out by many other statements, by the way. It’s always the majority that are being led by the devil, who is the conductor on the train, and then we have the “little company” being led by Jesus up the straight and narrow path, and friends, it means eternal life for us to be a part of that “little company.” And so, with these things in mind, I’d like to use these thoughts as a jump off point this morning as we discuss the alpha of apostasy that Sister White said had entered the church back in the early 1900s, and how it would develop into the omega apostasy within the church just before Jesus comes back to deliver His faithful little company.

Turn with me please to the book of Revelation. I’d like to begin by reading a particularly important verse in chapter 1:8 where the apostle John reveals to us what Jesus revealed to him. Jesus said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

As you probably know, Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, or the beginning and the ending, as the verse says. And so, Jesus is telling us here that he is the “all ruling, absolute universal sovereign God”, that He is the “Omnipotent One” or the One who has unlimited power, that’s what “Almighty” means! He is before all things, He has always been, and He will always be. This is difficult for finite beings like us to comprehend, isn’t it? Because everything in our world has a beginning and an end, and our mind just cannot take it in, and yet it’s absolutely true! This is where faith comes in, but it’s not a blind faith, it’s a faith that has by experience and exercise grown from a tiny little mustard seed into a tree so large the birds of the air can come and lodge in its branches. That’s how Jesus explained the faith experience. It grows as we study His word, believe it, and choose to obey what it says.

According to Romans 12:3, each one of us were born into this world with “a measure of faith,” which is given to us by God, and it’s up to us to cultivate it so it can grow larger. And so, it takes faith to believe that God has no beginning and will have no end, but here’s the good news, if we become one with Christ, as it’s our privilege to do, even though we have all had a beginning, someday soon we will all have no end.

In Review and Herald, March 12, 1908 it says, “The crowning glory of Christ’s attributes is His holiness. The angels bow before Him in adoration, exclaiming, ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.’” I read this statement to you this morning because I’ve talked with many professed Adventists who don’t believe what we just read, even though they claim to believe the Spirit of Prophecy, that Jesus is God Almighty, but He is! If He wasn’t, then His sacrifice in our behalf wasn’t good enough, because only One who was equal to the Ten Commandment law could save us from the penalty of breaking it. Also if Jesus was somehow inferior to the Father, then heaven didn’t give us it’s best to redeem us, did it? But no, heaven did give it’s best when it gave us a Saviour in Jesus; does that make sense? Not only is Jesus the A and the Z, but He’s everything in between. In other words, Jesus is all we need! When He was here, He said, “I and my Father are one.” So if we have Jesus, we also have the Father, and if we have the Father and the Son, we also have the Holy Spirit that Jesus said would be sent as another comforter after He went away, and the word “another” doesn’t mean the same. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead and not just an essence that proceeds from the Father and the Son as some claim. Some people are all mixed up about that. Do you think it’s important for us to know these things? Yes, it is; especially at a time when every wind of doctrine is blowing. And by the way, that wind is only going to get stronger and stronger as time goes on, so we better know what we believe. In The Great Controversy, page 593 we’re told that only those who have fortified their minds with the word of truth will be able to stand through the last great conflict.

In Evangelism, page 485 it says, “All the great truths of the Scriptures center in Christ; rightly understood, all lead to Him. Let Christ be presented as the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, of the great plan of redemption.” And in another place we’re admonished to make a “thus saith the Lord the Alpha and Omega of our experience”, and we must do that on a daily basis if we expect to be a part of that little company we read about.

But you know, there’s someone else who wants to be the alpha and omega, and I think you know who it is. According to Isaiah 14:14, Lucifer’s ambition is to do what? “Be like the most High.” Now if his goal were to be like the Most High in character, that would be perfectly fine, wouldn’t it? That should be the goal of all of us, but that’s not what he wants, is it? His ambition is to usurp the position of Christ; and since he failed to do that in heaven, he was cast out for trying, and the next best thing for him to do is to try to destroy Christ’s woman, the church, by trying to make her think that he is Jesus through an impersonation of the Most High, and that’s something that may happen very soon now.

Since Satan’s goal is to be like the Most High, I think that’s the reason Ellen White used the words Alpha and Omega to describe the great apostasy that would develop within the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. If the alpha started in the church, which we’ll see that it did shortly, then it also has to develop into the omega within the church. And so, it’s imperative that we know what the alpha and omega of apostasy is all about so we won’t be fooled by the one who is trying to take God’s place.

Some years ago as I was studying this subject I came to understand that the alpha of apostasy had to do with the pantheistic theories brought out in the book “Living Temple”, by John Harvey Kellogg, about the year 1903. Some of you may already be familiar with this, and what pantheism is all about, but just in case you aren’t, I’d like to define it from the dictionary. Pantheism is, “The belief that God is the only reality, transcending all, and that the universe and everything in it are mere manifestations of Him.”

To put it simply, pantheism teaches that God is in everything, and to put it in Biblical terms we would call it Baal worship. Without going into great detail, Baal was the chief god of the Canaanites, and Baalim, which is the plural form of Baal, were the various gods who dwelt in the different objects of nature. It’s much like the church of environmentalism today, worshiping and protecting nature above mankind and sacrificing to it in order to lessen our carbon footprint. These are people who worship nature instead of the God of nature. Pantheism is also closely associated with the New Age movement, which according to the encyclopedia is a conglomeration of Eastern religions, Spiritualism, Paganism, Occultism, Mysticism, Psychic phenomena, Astrology, One world religion, Universalism, and the Age of Aquarius. Doesn’t sound like anything a Christian should be involved with, does it?

I got on the Internet and went to several New Age websites to get a sense of what they believe, and I found a very enlightening definition of pantheism as one of its major teachings. Here’s what one website said, “All that exists is God; God is all that exists. This leads naturally to the concept of the divinity of the individual, that we are all Gods.  We do not seek God as revealed in a sacred text or as exists in a remote heaven, we seek God within the self and throughout the entire universe.”

Turn with me please to 1 John 5:11, 12 and we’ll see where this teaching leads. John says, “And this is the record, that God hath given (that means we didn’t have it) that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

If we’re all gods or if God is in everyone, as pantheism teaches, then why do we need the Son to give us something we already have? And if everyone has eternal life, what happens to the penalty for sin? And what need is there then for the sacrifice of Christ? And what need for confession and repentance? Followed to its logical conclusion, pantheism sweeps away the whole plan of salvation and puts a universal salvation in its place that makes a complete mockery of God and the plan He has to save every individual who comes to Him. These are the kinds of things that were presented in the book “Living Temple”, only much more subtle. And by the way, pantheism is closely related to the false teaching of eternal security, or once saved always saved, because to believe that God is in you, when because of sin He isn’t, is pretty much the same thing, isn’t it? Just a different twist, but very much the same, and both will end in eternal destruction because they give a false hope.

In Testimonies for the Church, series B, #2 Ellen White wrote an article titled “Beware”, and in this testimony she wrote to the brethren and warned them about the sophistry in Kellogg’s book and encouraged them not to be “Drawn away from the platform of eternal truth.” And on page 50 of the testimony she wrote this, “In the book ‘Living Temple’ there is presented the alpha of deadly heresies, (or we could say the beginning of deadly heresies). The omega will follow (or the final result will follow), and will be received by those who are not willing to heed the warning God has given.” Also, three times she mentions that Kellogg’s book “introduces. . . speculation in regard to the personality of God and where his presence is. . . (and) followed to their logical conclusion, (would) sweep away the whole Christian economy.” And we can see how pantheism would do this, because, if we are already a part of the essence of God, regardless of how we live, then not only is the sacrifice of Christ not needed, but also His work as our advocate in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary is not needed either. And if pantheism were true, then what need would there be to partake of the divine nature, we already have it! According to pantheism we were all born with God in us, so what need is there to be born again? On page 53 of the testimony Ellen tells how she had to meet these same sentiments early on in her ministry, and that, “Living Temple” contains the alpha of these (same) theories.  Then she says, “I knew that the omega would follow in a little while: and I tremble for our people.” Also on page 16 she said, “be not deceived, many will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. We have now before us the alpha of this danger. The omega will be of a most startling nature.” Remember that: “The Omega will be of a most startling nature.”

What we understand from these statements is that the omega apostasy, just like the alpha, would develop within the confines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church where Doctor Kellogg was a member. That’s why she said, “I tremble for our people.” She wasn’t warning the world in general here, or warning about something that would come into the church from outside, but within the church itself! Therefore we must look for the alpha to develop into the omega within the church. Does that make sense? I hope so, because if we miss this point, we will be looking for it to come from outside the church and miss what’s happening right before our eyes.

Sermons and Talks, volume 1, page 341 says, “These beautiful representations (in the book Living Temple) are similar to the temptation that the enemy brought to Adam and Eve in Eden.” And what was the temptation that Satan brought to Adam and Eve in Eden? Well, it was two-fold. Let’s read it in Genesis 3:1-5 and we’ll find out. “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die (that was the first half of Satan’s deception, the first sermon preached on the immortality of the soul, which is a lie! Then the second half of his deception follows): For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as (what?) gods, knowing good and evil.” That’s where the teaching of pantheism comes from. You shall be as gods. Then verse 6 says, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” And so, Satan scored his first victory on planet earth by introducing his deceptive plan to thwart God’s plan, and this will also be the basis of his plan to deceive the whole world on board that train that’s headed to perdition.

Sermons and Talks, volume 1, page 343 continues, “In Living Temple the assertion is made that God is in the flower, in the leaf, in the sinner. But God does not live in the sinner. (Notice, this is extremely important), “God does not live in the sinner. The Word declares that He abides only in the hearts of those who love Him and do righteousness.  God does not abide in the heart of the sinner; it is the enemy who abides there.”

Now let me ask you a question, and I want you to think about it for a minute before you answer. Are you a sinner? Most Christians when they’re asked that question will readily say, “Yes, of course I am a sinner”, but according to what we just read, if you’re a sinner, God does not abide in your heart! And if God doesn’t abide there, who does? The enemy! We need to understand that we have a sinful nature, yes, but we don’t have to give in to it if we have partaken of the divine nature. The divine nature is what gives us a choice, that’s why Jesus told Nicodemus, “you must be born again.” Without the divine nature we have no choice, but even if we have partaken of the divine nature, we can still chose to sin, and if we do, then sin becomes our own act. But the thing is, we don’t have to choose sin, we can choose not to, but if we go ahead and choose sin, then Jesus leaves and the enemy takes over.

Bible Commentary, volume 7, page 958 says, “Christ speaks of the church over which Satan presides as the synagogue of Satan. Its members are the children of disobedience. They are those who choose to sin.” You see, the “er” on the end of the word “sinner” means you are engaged in sinning. Just as a welder is engaged in welding, and a plumber in plumbing; so a sinner is engaged in sinning, and if you’re engaged in sinning, then you are riding that train to perdition.

Let’s take a look at a few Bible texts to see what God says about this, because the devil has a way of twisting even the very plainest of statements. You may think that the texts we’re about to read are elementary, and they are, but it doesn’t hurt to go over that which we should already know, but having said that, there are many who just can’t accept the plain teachings of God’s word. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of (what?) knowledge”, and so we don’t want to be ignorant of these elementary things of Scripture. Now I have quite a few verses to share with you and I have them all written out here, so I’m not going to take the time to turn to each one, but you can jot them down and check me out later.

The first one is Psalm 119:158, “I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word.” And so, those who transgress God’s law do not obey His word, plain and simple.

Ecclesiastes 9:18, “Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.” The wise man says, sinners destroy that which is good.

Isaiah 1:28, “And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.” We have three categories here. Transgressors, sinners, and they that forsake the Lord, and they are all slightly different, but all three will be consumed in the end. Remember what Moses said in Exodus 34:7 when God passed by before him? He says God forgives “iniquity and transgression and sin”, why the difference? Because they all have different slightly meanings. Iniquity is “to do wickedly or evil”, transgression is “to revolt or rebel”, that’s where forsaking the Lord comes in, and sin means to try but “miss the mark.” All three will be consumed by the fire that comes down from God out of heaven, but the good news is, God is willing to forgive all three once we realize that God is not in us when we do these things. And so, praise the Lord for that!

Isaiah 13:9, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Sinners will be destroyed.

Ezekiel 18:4, “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eternally! They shall suffer the second death from which there is no resurrection.

Luke 15:7, “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. . . Verse 10, Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke says sinners need to repent if they would be forgiven and be saved at last, and once we’re forgiven, we are no longer sinners, are we?

John 9:31, “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.” The blind man that Jesus healed spoke the truth, God does not hear sinners, unless it’s a prayer of confession and repentance.

Hebrews 12:3, “For consider him (that is Jesus) that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” And so, sinners are against Christ or we could say, one with antichrist.

James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” Sinners have unclean (or guilty) hands and impure hearts.

Jude 15, 16, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” And so, sinners are ungodly.

And let’s finish up with my all-time favorite chapter in the Bible, 1 John 3 and we’ll read verses 1-10, You can turn to this one because it’s rather long and it’s also very important. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God, therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

By the way, this is not our subject this morning, but this verse says that when Jesus comes, we will already be like Him and not become like Him at His appearing. This pretty much destroys the idea that Jesus is going to change our character when He comes. We will have a physical change, but not a character change. Our probation to form a righteous character has to take place now, during this life, or it will never take place at all.

Now I have to bring out another important point that does have to do with the subject at hand, and it’s a statement found in the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, volume 7, page 649 that says the following, and let’s see if you agree with what it says. These are comments on what we just read in 1 John 3:2 where it says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” These are not EGW comments, but an official statement of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. Notice what the commentary says, “It is now, while we are falling into sin that we are said to be the children of God.” What do you think about that? Agree or disagree? “It is now, while we are falling into sin that we are said to be the children of God.” If you’re not sure, I think you will be by the time we get done reading the rest of the chapter. But before we do that, let me read you something else that you might find interesting. In Ministry Magazine, this is the churches official publication for ministers, December 1948, page 23, speaking of the Review and Herald Publishing Association it says, “When the finished product carries the stamp of a standard publishing house, it bears denominational approval. It is then a denominational, not a private, publication. It has a measure of authority and dignity not otherwise possible.” So, when a publication has on it the stamp of a denominational publishing house, such as the Commentaries, it does not just contain the view of the authors, but the denomination itself.

Also, in Adventist Review, January 20, 1983 it says the Adventist Review is, “The voice of the church, for the church.” And so, the “Adventist Review” and anything that carries the stamp of the church’s publishing houses, is inseparable from the church and is for the church to read and believe. In other words, in the Commentary on 1 John 3:2 they’re stating plainly that this is what they believe, that we are the children of God while we are still falling into sin. But someone says, “sometimes they probably make mistakes and allow something to be published that has error in it, after all, they can’t catch everything. We can’t blame them for that.”

Notice what it says in the same Ministry Magazine I quoted from just a minute ago, “Our houses (that would be our publishing houses). . . are partners in a threefold compact, they serve and protect the denomination itself, the denominational publisher, and the denominational author. They have both a denominational name to safeguard, and a publisher’s name and reputation to protect. They, therefore, have book committees to read, evaluate, and recommend specific action and improvements on manuscripts. They have boards to make final decision, skilled staffs to check, edit, and correct the copy, and put it into acceptable form.” In other words, nothing is accidently going to get in the publications that they don’t approve of.

Now we could spend a lot of time talking about many different publications that have come off denominational presses that have serious problems and implications, like the book Questions on Doctrines that was published over 60 years ago in 1957 for instance, but we don’t have the time. I’m just zeroing in on what the SDA Bible commentary says about 1 John 3:2. “It is now, while we are falling into sin that we are said to be the children of God”, and I think the commentaries were published around that same time as the questionable doctrine book. So you see, these various errors have been coming in for a long time and have been doing their work in the development of the omega apostasy.

Now let’s continue reading 1 John 3:3 and allow the apostle to expose this denominational error. Verse 3, “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil (Oh, you mean we’re not the children of God when we are falling into sin? No, we are of the devil! The Commentary on 1 John 3:2 didn’t just slip by all the proofreaders, and editors, and their book committee and all their skilled staff. They have told us plainly what they believe); He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (In our hearts). Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin (as long as he abides in Christ that is), because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest (or made known), and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

According to all the many verses we’ve read this morning, if I say, “yes I’m a sinner”, then wouldn’t I be condemning myself? So, if we are not sinners, what are we? That’s a good question, and I’ll read you the answer from both the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy.

Romans 1:7, “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be (what?) saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” God has called each one of us to live a holy life. The word “saint” and “holy” are the same word in the Greek. We are called to be a holy people, not sinners!

Paul says the same thing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:2, “Unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 4:7, “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”

1 Peter 1:15, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” Or in all your behavior or conduct.

And of course, the Spirit of Prophecy agrees with all these Scriptures. Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, page 87, “The eternal God has drawn the line of distinction between the saints and the sinners, the converted and the unconverted (saints are converted, sinners are unconverted, that’s the distinction). The two classes do not blend into each other imperceptibly, like the colors of the rainbow.  They are as distinct as midday and midnight.”

Manuscript Releases, volume 21, page 350, “No one can occupy middle ground.  Men and women are either saints or sinners, either entitled to a glorious life of eternity, or doomed to eternal death.”

Signs of the Times, volume 6, August 22, 1900, “The sinner must freely surrender his own will to God (that’s the key), and accept Christ as his substitute and surety.  He must rely upon Him as the only one who can change a sinner to a saint.”

As long as we die to self and let Jesus live out His life within us, we are classified as saints and registered in the books of heaven as such, but as soon as I forget that Jesus is the power in my life, I leave the little company and join the crowd on the train. And so, I hope that’s clear. Sainthood, if we can call it that, is nothing that comes from within, because that would be pantheism, but it’s something that comes to us from without. If Jesus doesn’t abide we are sinners, but if we have Jesus in our hearts, we will live a holy life. And so, I without Christ am a sinner, but I with Christ am a saint. But even though we are a saint we are told never to say, “I am holy.” One who is holy will never be heard saying that, but that does not mean that holiness is unattainable, because we just read that we are called to be saints.

Let me read it to you from Selected Messages, Book 3, page 354, because this is too important to miss the point. “I want to say to whomsoever the glory of God has been revealed, ‘You will never have the least inclination to say, “I am holy, I am sanctified.”

“After my first vision of glory, I could not discern the brightest light. It was thought that my eyesight was gone, but when I again became accustomed to the things of this world I could see again. This is why I tell you never to boast, saying, ‘I am holy, I am sanctified,’ (You see, boasting is the problem here, it’s a wrong attitude. Boasting is evidence that we are not who we think we are.) for it is the surest evidence that you know not the Scripture or the power of God. Let God write it in his books if he will, but you should never utter it.

“I have never dared to say, ‘I am holy, I am sinless,’ but whatever I have thought was the will of God I have tried to do it with all my heart, and I have the sweet peace of God in my soul.”

What do you suppose could be at least one of the problems with boasting about being a saint? What if I label myself a saint and then I yield to temptation? Won’t people be turned off by that? Won’t they label me a hypocrite, and rightly so? So, we must be very careful that we do not misrepresent the truth and come across as holier than thou. It’s only the one who knows he has no goodness apart from Christ that will rightly represent what true Christianity is all about. In other words, if I say I am holy, it’s a sure bet that I’m not.

What we’ve seen so far is that the alpha of apostasy, as brought out in the book “Living Temple,” taught that God abides in the sinner, and therefore the omega would be an outgrowth of that false teaching in the last days. Let me read a few more quotes from the Spirit of Prophecy that will bring this point out very clearly.

The Great Controversy, page 582, “From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God’s law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. . . The last great conflict (which would be the omega apostasy, because it represents the end) The last great conflict between truth and error is but a final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God.”

And so, the great controversy is all about whether God saves us in our sins, or from our sins, and Matthew 1:21 is very clear that Jesus came into the world “to save His people from their sins.” “From” means He’s going to save us apart from sins because we’ve moved away from them! Are you aware that God is only going to ask one question in the judgment? And based on the answer to that one question, your name will either be retained in the Lambs book of life, or blotted out. Do you think it’s important to know what that one question is? Here it is: Gospel Workers, page 315, this is what God is going to ask. “The only question asked in the judgment will be, ‘Have they been obedient to My commandments?’” Pretty simple, isn’t it? And as our name comes up in review before God, the answer to that one question will determine if we are saints or sinners.

The Great Controversy, page 572, “It (the papacy) is prepared for two classes of mankind, embracing nearly the whole world, those who would be saved by their merits, and those who would be saved in their sins.  Here is the secret of its power.”

Why is it powerful for the papacy to teach salvation by works and salvation in sin? Because people want to live the way their fallen flesh wants them to live and still get to go to heaven. If a person thinks they can be saved by their own merits, or their own goodness, which they don’t have, then they automatically fall into the category of those who would be saved in their sins, because their own merits have deceived them into thinking that there’s a way to be saved other than the blood of Christ. People who think they have merit apart from Christ are deceived by a species of pantheism, because they think there’s some goodness in themselves, but in reality they are slaves of the devil and they don’t even know it! It’s one of the greatest deceptions of the enemy, and it’s the main reason for the Protestant Reformation. The world was turned upside down one day as Martin Luther climbed Pilot’s staircase on his knees and heard the Holy Spirit speak the words of Romans 1:17, “The just shall live by faith.” And those words are just as true and powerful today as they were back then.

The Great Controversy, page 569, “It is Satan’s constant effort to misrepresent the character of God, the nature of sin, and the real issues at stake in the great controversy. His sophistry lessens the obligation of the divine law and gives men license to sin.”

How does Satan misrepresent the character of God when it comes to His law? “Oh God is so loving that He won’t destroy anyone. We’re all sinners and God knows we can’t help it. Just keep your sins confessed and don’t worry about actually having victory over the sin that so easily besets you, and heaven will be your home.” And how does Satan misrepresent the nature of sin? The Bible says the nature of sin is that if you sin you’re going to die, because the wages of sin is death. But the devil says, “You shall not surely die, God has lied to you.” Isn’t that what he told Eve? And like foolish Eve, the majority of professed Christians have fallen for the same lie.

I was reading Cindy’s devotional email the other day and the Spirit of Prophecy quote she used was in Review and Herald, March 8, 1881, and it fits perfectly with the subject today. It says, “The doctrine which teaches freedom, through grace, to break the law, is a fatal delusion. Every transgressor of God’s law is a sinner, and none can be sanctified (or be a saint) while living in known sin.” By the way, if you’d like to be added to Cindy’s devotional email list, go to our website at gospel-workers.com and you’ll find it at the bottom of the home page.

The Great Controversy, pages 561, 562, “Satan has long been preparing for his final effort (again, the omega apostasy) to deceive the world (or we could say, the church in the world. That would certainly be included here.). The foundation of his work was laid by the assurance given to Eve in Eden: ‘ye shall not surely die (The immortality of the soul error). In the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods (pantheism), knowing good and evil.’  Little by little he has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism. (You see, spiritualism is not just an incorrect understanding of the state of the dead, incorporated into it is the belief that you can disobey God and still have eternal life; it’s the idea that you’re in a saved condition even while you are committing sin. It’s the idea that we are the children of God while we are still falling into sin. This is the devil’s “masterpiece of deception”, and it’s the basis of the alpha omega apostasy) He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs; (and remember, this was written over 100 years ago) but it will be reached in the last remnants of time (and we are so close). . . Except those who are kept by the power of God (kept from sinning, or from yielding to sin), through faith in His word, the whole world will be swept into the ranks of this delusion. The people are fast being lulled to a fatal security, to be awakened only by the outpouring of the wrath of God.”

The “wrath of God” is contained in the seven last plagues; that’s the reason for the loud cry of the third angel’s massage; a warning to come out of Babylon and away from those who are not keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. That’s our work, and we should allow nothing else to absorb our attention, we’re told.

The Great Controversy, page 533, “The divine sentence, ‘the soul that sinneth, it shall die’, is made to mean: the soul that sinneth, it shall not die, but live eternally.”

And on page 510 there’s a bit of good news where it says, “No man without his own consent can be overcome by Satan. The tempter has no power to control the will or to force the soul to sin.” Isn’t that good news? You mean we can’t say, “the devil made me do it?” NO! We can’t say “I have a sinful nature and I can’t help it? NO! Sin is our own choice! And if we can choose to sin, through the power of the Spirit we can also choose not to.

The Great Controversy, page 489, “Through defects in the character, Satan works to gain control of the whole mind, and he knows that if these defects are cherished, he will succeed. Therefore he is constantly seeking to deceive the followers of Christ with his fatal sophistry that it is impossible for them to overcome.”

If a person doesn’t believe they can overcome, there’s no way they can, and that’s the problem. Faith and belief are closely related, and if a person has been taught they can’t stop sinning, or they really don’t need to in order to be saved, they never will. They need to quit to their preacher and start studying for themselves if they’re ever going to discover this error that Satan is constantly trying to deceive them with.

The Great Controversy, page 518, “The great controversy between Christ and Satan, that has been carried forward for nearly 6000 years, is soon to close; and the wicked one redoubles his efforts to defeat the work of Christ in man’s behalf and to fasten souls in his snares. To hold the people in darkness and impenitence (that is, without repentance) till the Saviour’s mediation is ended, and there is no longer a sacrifice for sin, is the object which he seeks to accomplish.” Do you think Satan knows that human probation is soon to close? Of course he does, and if he can just keep them fooled a little longer, then he will have succeeded in causing millions to be eternally lost.

Early Writings, page 43, “Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth (or the loud cry, which is the third and fourth angel’s messages combined. And what is the essence of that loud cry? Stop sinning by keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and separate from those who don’t. That’s as simple as I know how to make it. Salvation is not complicated. Now let me start over) “Satan is now using every device in this sealing time to keep the minds of God’s people from the present truth, and to cause them to waver. I saw a covering that God was drawing over His people to protect them in the time of trouble; and every soul that was decided on the truth (the present truth) and was pure in heart was to be covered with the covering of the Almighty. (The covering is the precious blood) Satan knew this, and he was at work in mighty power to keep the minds of as many people as he possibly could wavering and unsettled on the truth (what truth? The present truth). . . and cause them to doubt the teachings and power of the Holy Ghost.”

Friends, the Holy Ghost teaches us that He has power to keep us from falling into sin! And it’s Satan’s purpose to cause us to think that God is going to have to save us in our sins, and he’s done a good job of convincing millions of those who call themselves Christians that there’s no way to stop. And because the experience of most has been to sin and repent, sin and repent, sin and repent, it’s much more difficult for God to convince them otherwise. And I can tell you one thing for certain, if you don’t think you can overcome, the devil will make sure you don’t, because it’s impossible for doubt to overcome sin. The new theology of salvation in sin, which isn’t very new, because it’s at least 6000 years old, has been preached from Adventist pulpits for over 60 years that I know of, perhaps longer, and what could have caused the prophet of God to “tremble for our people”; and what could be more “startling” than to discover that the very people God raised up to expose this pantheistic Omega apostasy, are themselves responsible for nurturing it, and cradling it, and promoting it until it has permeated the entire body of Sabbath keepers.

Listen to what Sister White said when the alpha apostasy was being brought in, and shouldn’t these words resound in our ears today as we see how the omega has developed within the Adventist church.

Testimonies for the Church, series B, #7, pages 63, 64, “The 58th chapter of Isaiah contains instruction for us today. ‘Cry aloud, spared not, lift up thy Voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sin.’ God does not accept Dr. Kellogg as a laborer, unless he will now break with Satan. The work would not have been hindered as it has been for the past several years if Dr. Kellogg were a converted man. ‘Come,’ I call, ‘come ye out and be separate from him and his associates whom he has leavened.’ I am now giving the message God has given me, to give to all who claim to believe the truth: ‘come out from among them, and be ye separate,’ else their sin in justifying wrongs and framing deceits will continue to be the ruin of souls. We cannot afford to be on the wrong side.”

Brothers and sisters, the reason I’m sharing this information with you today is because I don’t want you to end up on the wrong side. The reason I said earlier that the new theology has been preached from Adventist pulpits for at least the last 60 plus years is because, back in the 1940s, the teaching about the nature of sin, the human nature of Christ, and perfection of character began to go through a theological shift. Subtle at first, until finally in 2006 an official statement came out that revealed the denomination’s true stand on these issues.

What I’m going to share with you now is an article titled “A Profile of Seventh-day Adventists” by William G. Johnsson, Ph.D. editor of the Review for many years. This article speaks of what took place on November 1, 2006 at Silver Springs, MD. This is an official statement coming from the headquarters of the church, and what happens when the headquarters becomes contaminated with error? Let me read you what happens from Testimonies for the Church, volume 4, page 210, and we’ll get back to Mr. Johnsson’s statement in a minute. “The great heart of the work is at Battle Creek (today we would say Silver Springs, MD); and as the human heart throws its living current of blood into all parts of the body, so does the management at this place, the headquarters of our church, affect the whole body of believers. If the physical heart is healthy, the blood that is sent from it through the system is also healthy; but if this fountain is impure, the whole organism becomes diseased by the poison of the vital fluid.”

Oh friends, I’m truly sorry to have to share these things with you this morning, but the truth is the truth; somebody has to say it, and unfortunately for me perhaps, this is the message the Lord has laid on my heart. When there is cancer in the blood it affects the whole person from head to toe, and if you allow contaminated blood to enter your system, you will become infected with the same disease. When there is a communicable disease, you have to get away from the infection or it will affect you. We’ve learned this very painfully with the Coronavirus. That’s why the prophet repeated the words of the apostle Paul by saying, “come out from among them, and be ye separate.”

Now for William Johnsson’s statement. This is a response from a dialog that went on between the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Presbyterian Church 14 years ago. Here’s what Johnsson says, and remember, he is speaking for the denomination as a whole and not just from his own feelings and understanding. “During the early 1980s, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, especially in North America and Australia, went through a period of theological debate and some dissension. (That would be in the 1980s when many people began speaking out about the changes they saw coming into the church.) At issue were the Church’s beliefs concerning the ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, the pre-Advent judgment, and the role and authority of the writings of Ellen White. (You know, those writings that have now been consigned to the historical trash heaps.) While the subsequent years have not brought significant new debate, Adventists in general retain a lively concern for theology (these are code words for having a duplicity of teaching on just about every subject). The issues frequently heard involve areas of long-standing contention among Christians—Christ’s human nature and Christian ‘perfection.’ A small but vociferous minority continue to urge the ideal of sinless perfection; they do not have the support of church leaders.”

Do you know what vociferous means? I didn’t either, I had to look it up. It means “to cry out so loud or insistent as to compel attention.” Sounds to me a lot like, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sin.” Johnsson was correct about one thing, there’s only a small minority who are doing that today, and the rest have been lulled to sleep by a fatal sophistry that it is impossible for them to overcome, and therefore It is now, while they are falling into sin that they are said to be the children of God.

Now just to be clear, when Johnsson speaks of “the ideal of sinless perfection”, he’s not talking about the false teaching of holy flesh, but the idea that we can actually become like Christ in character and that we can actually live life without yielding to sin. And regarding the human nature of Christ, you would be hard pressed to find a conference pastor today who believes Jesus had a fallen human nature.

Now, we don’t have the time to go through all the inspired statements that clearly teach that Jesus had a fallen human nature such as we bear, and all the statements that teach the absolute necessity of perfecting a Christ-like character if we plan on being in the first resurrection. We don’t have the time to read it this morning, but read it for yourself. Compare Genesis 5:1 with Romans 8:3 and you will see that there was a big difference between the way Adam was created and the way Jesus came into this world.

Every time you read the word “flesh” in the New Testament, unless it’s talking about animal flesh, the Greek means “carnal”, or sinful. You can also read 1 John chapter 4 where it tells us plainly that those who teach that Jesus did not come in sinful flesh is not of God.  Also in John 1:7-11. We just don’t have time to read it this morning. But I will read you one statement out of the Spirit of Prophecy.

Review and Herald, December 15, 1896, “Clad in the vestments of humanity, the Son of God came down to the level of those He wished to save. In Him was no guile or sinfulness; He was ever pure and undefiled; yet He took upon Him our sinful nature.”

Now what about perfection of character? Read 2 Corinthians 7:1. Read 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, and Christ’s Object Lessons, page 69 where it says, “ When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.”

Let me read one more statement before we close from Special Testimonies, series B, #7, page 57 titled “Standing in the Way of God’s Messages”, written at Sanitarium, Cal., Dec. 4, 1905, and it’s in the context of the alpha omega apostasy. Here is what it says. “One thing it is certain is soon to be realized, the great apostasy, which is developing and increasing and waxing stronger (in the church remember), and will continue to do so until the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout.”

So dear friends, if you’re waiting for the day when the denomination will turn around and get with God’s program, you’ll be waiting a long long time, because it’s never going to happen. If we believe what we just read, it’s not going to get better, only worse, just like the world in general keeps getting worse. But please don’t be discouraged, because we’ve been warned ahead of time that this would happen, and as it does, we are that much closer to the time when we will see Jesus coming in the clouds with power and great glory.

Now let me ask you one final question before we close: What’s going to happen to every Seventh-day Adventist who believes the omega apostasy that says “It is now while we are falling into sin that we are said to be the children of God”? when Sunday is enforce by law? If they believe that then I guarantee you that they will follow the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet to perdition, because why suffer persecution for violating the fourth commandment when they believer they are still the children of God while they’re doing it.

Friends, God is calling us to be saints, to be one of the “vociferous minority” of that “little company who are standing in the light”, and to be able to help others understand that the omega apostasy is here, today, and that our only safety is to “come out from among them and be ye separate, says the Lord.” May God help us to work while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work, and it’s closer than we think.

Sermon notes in pdf  THE ALPHA AND OMEGA APOSTASY