Wines of Babylon – Steps to Life

June 7 – 13, 2026

Key Text

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8

Study Help: Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, 290–302; The Great Controversy, 551–562

Introduction

“Those who are guided by the word of the Lord will discern with certainty between falsehood and truth, between sin and righteousness.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, 907

Sunday

1 IMPORTANT TRUTHS CAST DOWN

1.a. What must we realize about Christ’s position in the plan of salvation? John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 4:12. How have attempts been made to subvert His authority?

Note: “Instead of trusting in the Son of God for forgiveness of sins and for eternal salvation, the people looked to the pope, and to the priests and prelates to whom he delegated authority. They were taught that the pope was their earthly mediator and that none could approach God except through him; and, further, that he stood in the place of God to them and was therefore to be implicitly obeyed.” The Great Controversy, 55

“Still another fabrication was needed to enable Rome to profit by the fears and the vices of her adherents. This was supplied by the doctrine of indulgences. Full remission of sins, past, present, and future, and release from all the pains and penalties incurred, were promised to all who would enlist in the pontiff’s wars to extend his temporal dominion, to punish his enemies, or to exterminate those who dared deny his spiritual supremacy.” Ibid., 59

1.b. In the Lord’s supper, what is represented by the bread and the wine? 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:23–26. Explain the doctrine of transubstantiation (see dictionary).

Note: “The Scriptural ordinance of the Lord’s Supper had been supplanted by the idolatrous sacrifice of the mass. Papal priests pretended, by their senseless mummery, to convert the simple bread and wine into the actual ‘body and blood of Christ.’—Cardinal Wiseman, The Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Eucharist, Proved From Scripture, lecture 8, sec. 3, par. 26. With blasphemous presumption, they openly claimed the power of creating God, the Creator of all things.” The Great Controversy (1911), 59. [Author’s italics.]

Monday

2 PAGAN TEACHINGS ADOPTED

2.a. What does the Bible teach concerning (a) the state of the dead, and (b) the end of the wicked? How were these teachings perverted? (a) Job 14:7–14; Psalm 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10. (b) Psalm 37:10, 20, 38; 145:20; Revelation 20:9

Note: “Serious errors were … introduced into the Christian faith. Prominent among these was the belief in man’s natural immortality and his consciousness in death. This doctrine laid the foundation upon which Rome established the invocation of saints and the adoration of the Virgin Mary. From this sprang also the heresy of eternal torment for the finally impenitent, which was early incorporated into the papal faith.

“Then the way was prepared for the introduction of still another invention of paganism, which Rome named purgatory, and employed to terrify the credulous and superstitious multitudes.” The Great Controversy, 58

2.b. According to Scripture, when will the righteous be vested with immortality and taken to heaven? 1 Corinthians 15:50–55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17; John 14:1–3. On the other hand, what does popular theology teach?

Note: “According to the popular belief, the redeemed in heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth and especially with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind. But how could it be a source of happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed by their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows, disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of heaven’s bliss would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on earth?” The Great Controversy, 545

Tuesday

3 BABYLONIAN “WINES” AMONG PROTESTANTS

3.a. How must God’s people act in reference to four heresies which Protestants have inherited from the Catholic Church? Matthew 15:13

Note: “In the professedly Christian world, many turn away from the plain teachings of the Bible and build up a creed from human speculations and pleasing fables, and they point to their tower as a way to climb up to heaven.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 124

“The fallen denominational churches are Babylon. Babylon has been fostering poisonous doctrines, the wine of error. This wine of error is made up of false doctrines, such as the natural immortality of the soul, the eternal torment of the wicked, the denial of the preexistence of Christ prior to His birth in Bethlehem, and advocating and exalting the first day of the week above God’s holy and sanctified day.” Testimonies for Ministers and Gospel Workers, 61

3.b. How did Paul and Peter warn the believers against the danger of accepting false teachings? 1 Corinthians 11:19; 2 Peter 2:1. What do many Protestant churches teach about the creation of the world, the second coming of Christ, and the millennium?

Note: “The sophistry in regard to the world’s being created in an indefinite period of time is one of Satan’s falsehoods. God speaks to the human family in language they can comprehend. He does not leave the matter so indefinite that human beings can handle it according to their theories. When the Lord declares that He made the world in six days and rested on seventh day, He means the day of twenty-four hours, which He has marked off by the rising and setting of the sun.” Testimonies for Ministers and Gospel Workers, 135, 136

“The teaching so widely echoed from popular pulpits, that the second advent of Christ is His coming to each individual at death, is a device to divert the minds of men from His personal coming in the clouds of heaven.” The Great Controversy, 525

“Prominent among these false doctrines is that of the temporal millennium—a thousand years of spiritual peace and prosperity, in which the world is to be converted, before the coming of Christ. This siren song has lulled thousands of souls to sleep over the abyss of eternal ruin.” The Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, 235

Wednesday

4 MODERN HERESIES

4.a. Prove from the Bible that salvation is conditional. Matthew 7:21; Revelation 3:5; 22:14. Why is Universalism (the teaching that all people will finally be saved) so erroneous and dangerous to the soul?

Note: “A large class to whom the doctrine of eternal torment is revolting are driven to the opposite error. They see that the Scriptures represent God as a being of love and compassion, and they cannot believe that He will consign His creatures to the fires of an eternally burning hell. But holding that the soul is naturally immortal, they see no alternative but to conclude that all mankind will finally be saved.” The Great Controversy, 537

4.b. How does the Bible conflict with the doctrine of “faith, and faith only?” James 1:22–25; 2:14–17

Note: “The desire for an easy religion that requires no striving, no self-denial, no divorce from the follies of the world, has made the doctrine of faith, and faith only, a popular doctrine; but what saith the word of God? …

“The testimony of the word of God is against this ensnaring doctrine of faith without works. It is not faith that claims the favor of Heaven without complying with the conditions upon which mercy is to be granted, it is presumption; for genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of the Scriptures.” The Great Controversy, 472

Thursday

5 OTHER DANGEROUS HERESIES

5.a. How can we prove that those who teach “once saved, always saved,” are in conflict with the Bible? Ezekiel 18:23–26; Matthew 24:13. Give at least two examples to this effect. 1 Kings 13:26; 2 Peter 2:15–20

Note: “There is no such thing in the word of God as unconditional election—once in grace, always in grace. In the second chapter of Second Peter the subject is made plain and distinct.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 6, 1114

5.b. Another dangerous philosophy is the modern idea that man is self-sufficient and that he need only develop his innate powers. What does the Bible say on this? Jeremiah 13:23; John 15:5; Colossians 2:8. What is our only safety? Isaiah 8:20; Luke 11:28

Note: “If Satan can so befog and deceive the human mind as to lead mortals to think that there is an inherent power in themselves to accomplish great and good works, they cease to rely upon God to do for them that which they think there is power in themselves to do. They acknowledge not a superior power. They give not God the glory which He claims, and which is due to His great and excellent Majesty. Satan’s object is thus accomplished, and he exults that fallen men presumptuously exalt themselves as he exalted himself in heaven and was thrust out. He knows that if man exalts himself, his ruin is just as certain as was his own.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 1, 294

“It is the first and highest duty of every rational being to learn from the Scriptures what is truth, and then to walk in the light and encourage others to follow his example. We should day by day study the Bible diligently, weighing every thought and comparing scripture with scripture. With divine help we are to form our opinions for ourselves as we are to answer for ourselves before God.” The Great Controversy, 598

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

How has Romanism sought to subvert Christ and His teachings?
Which scriptural texts clarify the actual state of the dead?
Name some popular errors which the Protestant world has imbibed.
How does the Bible teach that salvation is conditional?
Why is it essential to realize our frailty and need of God’s Word?