For the past hundred years or so, whenever the striving faithful in the Seventh-day Adventist Church get discouraged about the denomination’s spiritual condition, particularly that of its leaders, doubts invariably arise as to whether inspired promises about the ultimate triumph of the visible church will in fact come true.

A recent article on a website notably critical of the organized Seventh-day Adventist Church has again raised this issue [1], relative to a famous Ellen White promise about the church enduring despite the shaking out of sinners from its ranks.

Most of us know this Ellen White statement well:

The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out, the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place [2].

The claim is being made—and it isn’t the first time—that the above statement is being taken out of context by those who hold that corporate Adventism will not apostatize and that the apostate majority will abandon its fellowship, leaving only the faithful within its ranks.

Is This Promise Unconditional?

Let’s be careful when we speak of conditionality, or unconditionality, relative to the promise found in the above passage. Ellen White was very clear in her writings that certain doctrinal teachings convert a church to Babylon, and that one clear evidence that the Seventh-day Adventist denomination had not become Babylon was (and is) the absence of these teachings:

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 pre-existence 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 [3].

The wine of Babylon is the exalting of the false and spurious sabbath above the Sabbath which the Lord Jehovah hath blessed and sanctified for the use of man, also [it is] the immortality of the soul. These kindred heresies, and the rejection of the truth, convert the church into Babylon [4].

The context of both of the above statements involves persons in Ellen White’s day who were denouncing the Seventh-day Adventist church organization as having become part of Babylon. In identifying the doctrines noted in these passages as the distinguishing marks of apostate Babylon, Ellen White is demonstrating how the Seventh-day Adventist Church can’t possibly be Babylon, because the above doctrines are not accepted by our denomination.

If in fact this were to change, if the General Conference in session—the only governing body in the church entrusted with the task of defining our official beliefs—were to embrace Sunday sacredness, the natural immortality of the soul, the eternal torment of the wicked, or the denial of Jesus’ pre-existence prior to His birth in Bethlehem, the case for abandoning official Adventism and starting a new movement would likely become compelling. Even if the worldwide Adventist body were to do what the Worldwide Church of God did a number of years ago, in making observance of the Bible Sabbath entirely discretionary, the case for withdrawing from congregations affiliated with the General Conference would likely become persuasive.

What is imperative to keep in mind is that none of the doctrines listed by Ellen White as converting a church to Babylon—the exaltation of Sunday over the true Sabbath, natural immortality, eternal torment, the denial of Christ’s pre-existence before His incarnation—could claim even a minuscule presence in the contemporary Seventh-day Adventist Church, much less posing a serious possibility of being adopted as part of our official faith. We can be sure that once the end-time crisis breaks, with the promotion of Sunday laws and the ubiquitous presence of miracles performed allegedly by disembodied spirits, the popularity of these heresies within Adventism will surely accelerate.

“The Sinners in Zion Will Be Sifted Out”

But then we have the following promise in the statement quoted at the beginning, to which the article in question pays almost no attention:

It (the church) remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out, the chaff separated from the precious wheat [5].

Like others in Adventist history who have held similar viewpoints, the author of the article in question focuses instead on the statement, “the church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall,” and identifies this “church” as follows:

The “church” that may appear as about to fall is a “remnant” (her own words) that is present at the time of the imposition of Sunday laws. . . . The church that is in view in 2SM 380.2 is not the present church structure. The “church” that is the subject of the well-known quote is a true “remnant” that is not identifiable until the imposition of Sunday laws because it doesn’t appear as an identifiable body of people until “the trying process” comes upon them. That “church” is an identifiable body of believers that constitute a remnant of something that preceded it [6].

But if the church identified by Ellen White in this particular statement “is not the present church structure,” what in fact constitutes “Zion” as depicted in this statement? Other Ellen White statements about the end-time shaking are crystal clear that the apostate majority are removed from the church by the shaking process:

The shaking of God blows away multitudes like dry leaves. Prosperity multiplies a mass of professors. Adversity purges them out of the church. As a class their spirits are not steadfast with God. They go out from us because they are not of us; for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, many are offended [7].

At the eleventh hour the Lord will gather a company out of the world to serve Him. There will be a converted ministry. Those who have had privileges and opportunities to become intelligent in regard to the truth, and yet who continue to counterwork the work God would have accomplished, will be purged out [8].

Some have entered the work with a human commission rather than the divine. . . . In short, they have a theory but not true conversion and sanctification through the truth. The great issue so near at hand will weed out those whom God has not appointed and He will have a pure, true, sanctified ministry, prepared for the latter rain [9].

As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel's message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position, and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light, and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side [10].

None of these statements make sense if one believes that the church being described here is the true and faithful only. If the “church” described in these statements is the true and faithful only, why then does it have sinners who need to be sifted out of it? How can Ellen White speak of the church containing a “mass of professors” (false believers) who are purged out by adversity, if the church she is talking about consists only of true believers?

She speaks in the above statements of unsanctified ministers, of people who “have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth,” abandoning their position and being “purged out.” What position do they abandon? These are not faithful people ceasing to be faithful. These are professed believers giving up their profession, which exists by virtue of their membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

In other words, the “Zion” described in the statement quoted at the beginning is identified by the Ellen White consensus as the visible denomination with a present majority of superficial and apostate believers, whose faith and practice do not match their profession. These false believers, as identified by all of the above statements, are purged out by the end-time shaking in the face of the final crisis.

It should be noted, in fairness to the article in question, that the author rightly points out the fact that the time frame in which the church is described as appearing to fall, but not falling, is that of the final Sunday law crisis [11]. Just prior to the statement that “the church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall” [12], the following is stated:

Nations will be stirred to their very center. Support will be withdrawn from those who proclaim God’s only standard of righteousness, the only sure test of character. And all who will not bow to the decree of the national councils and obey the national laws to exalt the sabbath instituted by the man of sin, to the disregard of God’s holy day, will feel, not the oppressive power of popery alone, but of the Protestant world, the image of the beast.

Satan will work his miracles to deceive; he will set up his power as supreme [13].

The article in question is therefore correct in stating that to apply this statement, as some do, “to the current events of WO or LGBTQ issues, etc. . . . is to apply it out of context” [14]. I would offer one caution, however, and that is to say that those who permit Biblical faithfulness in our present context to be undermined by personal experience and popular opinion are in fact preparing for the end-time mark of the beast, and thus for the mass departure from visible Adventism that will attend that pivotal event.

Let us dispose of one false issue before we go any further. The issue in this discussion is not whether all the church’s organizational machinery will be functional up until the time Jesus appears in the clouds of heaven. Considering the fact that the church’s activities will be illegal throughout the world in the final moments of history, it is doubtful much in the way of visible machinery will be possible. But Ellen White is clear that, at least to some degree (and she doesn’t explain exactly how), the lines of church organization will still hold the people of God together at the close of time:

Some have advanced the thought that as we near the close of time, every child of God will act independently of any religious organization. But I have been instructed by the Lord that in this work there is no such thing as every man’s being independent. The stars of heaven are all under law, each influencing the other to do the will of God, yielding their common obedience to the law that controls their action [15].

In other words, one way or another, God’s people during the final crisis will remain an organized body. Underground organizations, both good and bad, do exist in our world, and in light of the above statement we can trust that to some degree, somehow, a coherent witness and unity of action will be maintained among God’s people.

Back to the Conditionality Issue

The article in question quotes the following statements from the context of the passage which speaks of the church appearing about to fall, but not falling:

If we as a people are not constantly elevating, becoming more and more spiritual minded, we are becoming like the Pharisees—self-righteous—while we do not the will of God [16].

God never forsakes people or individuals until they forsake Him. Outward opposition will not cause the faith of God’s people, who are keeping His commandments, to become dim. The neglect to bring purity and truth into practice will grieve the Spirit of God and weaken them because God is not in their midst to bless. Internal corruption will bring the denunciations of God upon this people as it did upon Jerusalem. Oh, let pleading voices, let earnest prayer be heard, that those who preach to others shall not themselves be castaways. My brethren, we know not what is before us, and our only safety is in following the Light of the world. God will work with us and for us if the sins which brought His wrath upon the old world, upon Sodom and Gomorrah and upon ancient Jerusalem, do not become our crime [17].

The article in question then states:

So, it is evident from context of the letter to Butler and Haskel, reproduced in Book 2 of Selected Messages, Chapter 48, that the favorite quote is not an unconditional statement! [18].

But the fact that wickedness exists in the organized church, even to an overwhelming degree, in no way undermines or places in doubt the promise in this passage, or similar promises elsewhere, of the faithless majority being removed from the church by the shaking. All of these predictions, as we have seen, declare that the apostate majority will stop professing the Adventist faith and be purged out of the church. Never does Ellen White warn that the sinners in Zion might take over. Rather, she is clear that “the sinners in Zion will be sifted out” [19].

If Ellen White were not so clear about the unfaithful dominating the visible church until the shaking removes them, we might have cause for doubt as to the church’s future. But until and unless the church at its highest level embraces one or another of Babylon’s theological earmarks, forsaking the fellowship of official Adventism cannot be part of the divine plan. Ellen White stated right up until the close of her life and ministry that private independence and private judgment was to be surrendered to the collective wisdom of the General Conference in session [20]. Should that collective wisdom ever abandon the inspired witness, such surrender of individual judgment should rightfully come to an end. But such issues as vaccine mandates and other culture-driven issues should never be held as a measure by which to endorse or condemn the actions of God’s organized body.

Another Out-of-Context Statement

In the online discussion following the article in question, several persons cite another Ellen White statement that is frequently wrenched from context by those with a negative attitude toward the organized Seventh-day Adventist Church:

God has a church. It is not the great cathedral, neither is it the national establishment, neither is it the various denominations; it is the people who love God and keep His commandments [21].

The use of this statement to denigrate the imperative of membership in the visible Adventist Church is really very strange, as it is taken from a letter written by Ellen White to her sister and brother-in-law who had not yet joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In The Upward Look, where this statement is included, it is noted that this passage is taken from “Letter 108, Oct. 28, 1886, to [Ellen White’s] older sister and her husband who had not accepted the Sabbath truth” [22].

Quite clearly, in context, she is seeking to persuade them to unite themselves with the organized Adventist body. This obviously means that when she speaks of “the great cathedral,” “the national establishment,” and “the various denominations,” she certainly does not have the organized Seventh-day Adventist denomination in mind. Rather, she is drawing a contrast between the nominal Christian churches (who do not enjoin obedience to all of God’s commandments) and God’s remnant community (which does), thus endeavoring to convince her sister and the latter’s husband to forsake the former and join the latter.

Another False Issue

The article in question inserts a false issue into the conversation by stating. regarding the reference about the church appearing to fall but not falling:

This “key quote” is offered as a comforting word that even if the decisions and actions of the leadership of the church do not correspond to what one believes is right and proper, not to worry – God is in control and all will be well for the corporate SDA church in the end. It also inherently relieves one of any responsibility to be involved in opposing those decisions and actions.

The church surely seems to be falling, but take heart, we “know” it will not fall. God will take care of it eventually! [23].

Again, in fairness, it isn’t wrong to warn our people against the abuse of this powerful inspired promise. How well I remember a book, written some years ago, which encouraged its readers as to the church’s eventual triumph despite current troubles, while simultaneously denigrating Ellen White’s doctrinal authority, casting doubt on any number of Bible/Spirit of Prophecy standards relative to worship and lifestyle, and promoting the assurance of salvation despite occasional sin in the life. Reading the book, one could easily understand how Adventists troubled by apostasy in the church could get a negative impression of the way some were quoting Ellen White’s promises that the “church is going through.”

But in no way does the inspired promise of the church’s ultimate triumph over apostasy relieve godly members of the imperative of holding the corporate body of believers accountable for faithfulness to inspired counsel, or relieve them of the necessity of seeking corrective measures to the evident decline of doctrinal and moral integrity in various segments of the church. From all we read in the inspired writings about the end-time shaking, it is fair to expect that anyone complacently assuming that God will “take care of everything” so far as the church’s problems are concerned, thus assuming they need not take responsibility for maintaining the consistency of the church’s Biblical witness, will find themselves outside the church when in fact it does go through.

As with personal salvation and the mission of the church in general, the future triumph of the church is a cooperative endeavor. God has promised final victory, but each of us must do our part to make it happen. Mordecai’s admonition to Queen Esther as she contemplated what to do to help her people comes pointedly to mind in this regard:

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed (Esther 4:14).

And so it remains. God has promised that His church will be victorious over rampant apostasy and sin, but if we don’t do our part in facilitating this victory, it will be accomplished through our removal from the visible body of Christ.

Conclusion

In short, contrary to the article in question, those holding to the eventual triumph of corporate Adventism over apostasy through the removal via the shaking of the church’s apostate majority, have not violated the context of the Ellen White statement in question in holding to this belief. Rather, it is the article in question that has violated the statement’s context, by ignoring the very clear statement in the following sentence that the church’s not falling will take place because “the sinners in Zion will be sifted out” [24].

The promise of the church going through triumphant is not unconditional, but as we have seen, the conditions on which this triumph might not happen are specifically spelled out in the inspired writings. Ancient Israel experienced centuries of grotesque apostasy—idolatry, human sacrifice, Sabbath desecration, unholy alliances, social injustice, not to mention the murder of prophets who rebuked all of these transgressions. But none of these succeeded in annulling Israel’s identity as God’s chosen people. Only when the testing truth of the promised Messiah was presented to Israel, culminating in the stoning of Stephen, did Israel’s corporate probation cease (Dan. 9:24).

In the final crisis of sacred history, the testing truths will be the seventh-day Sabbath and the state of man in death, the violation of which comprise the two great errors which characterize Babylon [25]. Without question, numerous issues of unfaithfulness will vex God’s people until this ultimate test. And the manner in which we address these issues, accepting or rejecting the inspired witness relative thereto, will go far in deciding our response to this ultimate test. But the overwhelming presence of wrongful teachings and practices in the church has already been anticipated by the inspired forecast, and with it, the assurance that the final ordeal called the shaking will remove from our ranks the great majority who embrace these wrongs.

The article in question identifies the church that will not fall with “the remnant that purify their souls by obeying the truth” [26]. This is correct. But once the shaking cleanses Zion of the sinners heretofore dominating its fellowship, the visible church (whose majority was once apostate) and the invisible church (consisting of those who “purify their souls by obeying the truth”)—will become one and the same.

REFERENCES

1. Len Cornwell, “The Church May Appear as About to Fall But it Does Not Fall . . .” Fulcrum7, Feb. 24, 2025 https://www.fulcrum7.com/blog/2025/2/24/the-church-may-appear-as-about-to-fall-but-it-does-not-fall-

2. Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 380.

3. ----Testimonies to Ministers, p. 61.

4. ----Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 68.

5. Ibid, p. 380 (italics supplied).

6. Cornwell, “The Church May Appear as About to Fall But it Does Not Fall . . .” Fulcrum7, Feb. 24, 2025 https://www.fulcrum7.com/blog/2025/2/24/the-church-may-appear-as-about-to-fall-but-it-does-not-fall-

7. White, Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 89 (italics supplied).

8. ----Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, p. 320 (italics supplied).

9. Ibid, vol. 12, p. 327 (italics supplied).

10. ----The Great Controversy, p. 608.

11. Cornwell, “The Church May Appear as About to Fall But it Does Not Fall . . .” Fulcrum7, Feb. 24, 2025 https://www.fulcrum7.com/blog/2025/2/24/the-church-may-appear-as-about-to-fall-but-it-does-not-fall-

12. White, Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 380.

13. Ibid.

14. Cornwell, “The Church May Appear as About to Fall But it Does Not Fall . . .” Fulcrum7, Feb. 24, 2025 https://www.fulcrum7.com/blog/2025/2/24/the-church-may-appear-as-about-to-fall-but-it-does-not-fall-

15. White, Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 258.

16. ----Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 376.

17. Ibid, pp. 378-379.

18. Cornwell, “The Church May Appear as About to Fall But it Does Not Fall . . .” Fulcrum7, Feb. 24, 2025 https://www.fulcrum7.com/blog/2025/2/24/the-church-may-appear-as-about-to-fall-but-it-does-not-fall-

19. White, Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 380.

20. ----Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 260-261.

21. ----The Upward Look, p. 315.

22. Ibid.

23. Cornwell, “The Church May Appear as About to Fall But it Does Not Fall . . .” Fulcrum7, Feb. 24, 2025 https://www.fulcrum7.com/blog/2025/2/24/the-church-may-appear-as-about-to-fall-but-it-does-not-fall-

24. White, Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 380.

25. ----The Great Controversy, p. 588.

26. ----Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 380.

Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan