The two great errors of the last days are the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness.  Belief in the immortality of the soul provides a basis for spirits of devils to interact with human beings who will see these spirits as their departed loved ones.  Sunday sacredness was brought into Christianity by Rome as a counterfeit to the seventh-day Sabbath.  The Sabbath is the sign that God is the Creator (Eze. 20:20), while Sunday is Rome’s sign that they have the authority to change God’s instructions.

We are told:

“Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions.  While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.” Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pg. 588.

Two seemingly innocent foundation errors

There are two popular errors that seem innocent but which form the foundation for the ideas of the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness.  Belief in the Trinity forms the foundation for belief in the immortality of the soul and hence, spiritualism, while a false concept of the atonement makes Sabbath-keeping irrelevant to salvation and thus open the way for Sunday sacredness.

The Trinity concept makes Christ co-eternal with the Father even while being dead.  This view supports the idea that someone who is dead has a part of them that is still alive.  Many people who openly believe in the immortality of the soul, misinterpret 1 Peter 3:19 and say that during the three days that Christ was in the tomb He went and preached to people who were in prison.  Those who do not believe in the immortality of the soul would not say that but if they think that Christ is a part of the one God who is co-eternal, they would really have no argument against the immortality of the soul.

The notion that Christ’s death on Calvary provides a free gift of salvation to the entire world and that once a person accepts that free gift they are saved, that makes it irrelevant to keep the Sabbath.   The notion that one keeps the commandments because they are saved implies that no Sunday worshipper is saved; otherwise they would keep the fourth commandment.  So, since Sabbath-keepers believe that there are many Sunday worshippers who are saved, it means that their not keeping the Sabbath is not an issue.

Truth of the matter

The truth of the matter is firstly, that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.  He became flesh and died.  His Father raised him from the dead.  The Son of God is not part of a co-eternal Trinity.  Secondly, the death of Christ does not provide atonement for all sins.  Rather it provides the basis for atonement to be made for all sins.  Atonement is made only for sins that are confessed and repented of.   This atonement, Jesus is now doing in His capacity as High Priest, not when He was dead, hanging on the cross.

No matter how clear the truth is, many will reject it.  Why?  It goes against some desire that they have – whether a preferred lifestyle or being in harmony with their church or something like that.  That is how sin is conceived; “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” (James 1:14).  Those who do not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved, will believe a lie and be damned (2 Thess. 2:10-12).

Some time ago a former Sabbath-keeping pastor and religious educator announced on Jamaican television that in Jesus he has everything, so there is no need to keep the Sabbath.  Many will end up at the same place, embracing one or both of the two great errors of the last days unless they give up the two seemingly innocent errors that lay the foundation.  My prayer is that no one who has the opportunity to read this will reject it or fall to any of the two great errors of the last days.

“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15).

• Zerubbabel (Zech. 4:6)

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