EDITOR’S CORNER

What designates a person a Seventh-day Adventist, really?

Is it membership on the church books? No, we’ve all known people who’ve left the church in heart and life, but whose names remain on the records. Surely membership doesn’t make one a real Seventh-day Adventist.

Is it Sabbath keeping? No, other groups who do not want to be confused with Seventh-day Adventists keep the Sabbath: Jews, Seventh Day Baptists and members of the Worldwide Church of God, among others.

Is it belief in the second coming of Jesus, then? No, many Christian groups, and even Moslems, believe that Jesus is coming back.

“Well,” someone will say, “it is both keeping the Sabbath and believing in the return of Jesus. That’s what our name signifies.” As good as that answer is, again Seventh Day Baptists and the Worldwide Church of God, and perhaps other groups, hold both doctrines.

So what is it that makes a person a real Seventh-day Adventist?

Certainly it includes Sabbath keeping and believing that Jesus is coming soon. But it seems to me that real Seventh-day Adventists are different from even these others because of why they do these things.

For example, Seventh Day Baptists, from whom the early Adventists learned of the Sabbath, keep it because it is part of the Ten Commandments, and nowhere in Scripture have those commandments ever been changed or set aside. Seventh-day Adventists also believe this, but they see the issue in a greater and more compelling light. They note that in Revelation 11:19 John reports that “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple” (RSV).

In the earthly sanctuary, the Most Holy Place where the ark was kept was only opened, or entered, on the Day of Atonement—judgment day. This passage, which leads right into the great prophetic drama of chapters 12–14 featuring the remnant, the beast, the three angels’ messages and the return of Jesus, proclaims the heavenlysanctuary opened for judgment, with the law of God on “center stage.” Here is a crucial last-day reason for keeping the Sabbath. No wonder that in vision, Ellen White saw the believers before the end as they “went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully” (Early Writings, p. 85, emphasis mine).

Like our understanding of the Sabbath, our doctrine of Jesus’ return is unique. Many groups expect a secret rapture first before Jesus’ visible coming; most who believe in His return expect Him to establish a kingdom here on earth during the millennium. None that I am aware of in mainstream Christianity focus on any preparation other than accepting Christ as Savior. But Seventh-day Adventists believe Christ’s second coming will be visible to all (Rev 1:7). We believe in a heavenly millennium (see Rev 20). And we note that the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6–12 lead directly to the return of Jesus in verses 14–16. We believe these messages are essential to preparing the world for the Lord’s coming, as John the Baptist’s message was to Jesus’ first advent. In other words, we have a distinctive, crucial message to proclaim to the world.

Those who are Seventh-day Adventists in more than just name recognize that God has given us this distinctive message and the commission to spread it. They do not try to downplay or alter the message or to evade the work. Jesus is coming!

We must be ready, and we must help others get ready. This special message and special calling are the focus of ADVENTISTS AFFIRM this time.

In This Issue. Gerhard Hasel, in “The Remnant Today,” challenges us to consider biblically what it means to be the remnant, especially when some within the church would have us abandon or change our self-understanding about it.

The three angels’ messages are the subject of C. Mervyn Maxwell’s “What God Hath Joined Together . . . .” Do we excuse what we don’t want from these messages, presenting only what appeals to us?

Kathy Usilton, one of our behind-the-scenes workers, “interviews” Ellen G. White on the three angels’ messages. Mrs. Usilton assists Mrs. Jemison on a volunteer basis with the day-to-day work of ADVENTISTS AFFIRM, making this publication possible. The article distills research she undertook to understand these messages better for herself.

In “Bridging the Gulf,” Samuele Bacchiocchi shows how the Catholic church and its top leader are gaining favor among Protestants today, a scenario Adventists have long expected on the basis of the prophecies of Revelation.

Norman Yeager explores the meaning of Babylon throughout the Bible in “Babylon Is Fallen,” his first article for ADVENTISTS AFFIRM. Dr. Yeager has preached the Adventist message for twenty-three years, first in Michigan and now in Texas.

C. Mervyn Maxwell shares two stories highlighting the certainty of the Bible’s prophetic message, in “Two Dads and Daniel Two.” And in “The Man Without a Funeral,” Jan Doward reminds us of how those will live who are expecting soon to meet Jesus.

Finally, we again let Ellen G. White speak to us about our distinctive message in “The Truth for Our Time.”

With Jesus’ coming not far off, it’s time for all ADVENTISTS TO AFFIRM our special identity, message and calling.