DISTRINCTIVE DOCTRINES OF

SDA
 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE:
• 1. Major Term Paper (15-20 pages)
• 2. Reading Assignments
• 3. Listening Assignments
• 4. Book reading Reports
• 5. Attendants
• 6. Class Discussion's Participation
• 7. Mid Term Examination
• 8. Final Examination
•REMNANT AND IT’S MSSION
What is the Main Purpose of the
existence of God’s Church on
Earth in the last days?
• God has a special mission. He choses a group of people to
accomplish His mission. This group of people is called remnant.

• So the main purpose of the existence of the remnant is mission.

• Remnant call is a Call for Salvation or mission?

• The remnant call is to be understood not as a call for salvation but
as a call for mission.

• The call for salvation is always personal in nature. The idea of

corporate salvation is not found in the Bible. Therefore, the remnant
call, which is corporate, is to be understood as a call for salvation but
as a call for mission.
 THREE TYPES OF REMNANT

• The Old Testament terminology for remnant is used to designate

three types of remnants.

• The first one is called a historical remnant and describes a group of

individuals who survived a life-threatening experience; an experience
of such a magnitude that it could have resulted in the extinction of
the larger group to which they belonged.
 FAITHFUL REMNANT
• The second one is designated a faithful remnant. With respect to the
historical remnant this one distinguishes itself by its faith
commitment to the Lord. It is through this remnant that God moves
on to accomplish His eternal purpose within history.
 3-ESCHATOLOGICAL REMNANT
• Finally, there is the eschatological remnant, those who will go
"through the cleansing judgments and apocalyptic woes of the end
time and emerge victoriously after the Day of Yahweh as the recipient
of the everlasting kingdom.“

• It is also called as “End Time Remnant”

• We shall now proceed to develop a little more those three usages of

the concept of the remnant in the Old Testament.
 HISTORICAL REMNANT

• The historical remnant is the one that survived a life-threatening situation

that would have put an end to the nation as a whole. In most cases the
remnant left was an insignificant one but they were the bearers of the
promises of God and the hope for the preservation of the nation.
• The emphasis in those passages is on the fact that a group of individuals
survived the catastrophe and not necessarily on their spiritual quality and
commitment. Hence we refer to them as a historical remnant.
• It is important to observe that the preservation of this remnant was not
determined or based on the goodness of its members but on God's
gracious love. His plan for the human race was not going to be frustrated
by the sin and rebelliousness of His people because He was ready to
preserve a remnant through whom His purpose was to be accomplished.
 FAITHFUL REMNANT

• The first explicit biblical reference to a faithful remnant is recorded in

Gen 7:23: "Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark." This
remnant is identified as a faithful one because Noah is described as "a
righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he
walked with God" (6:10).
• The Lord said to him, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family,
because I have found you righteous in this generation" (7:1). During a
time of universal wickedness Noah stood up as the only one who was
loyal to the Lord and through him God preserved the human race
from total destruction.
• During the time of Elijah apostasy had reached national dimensions and
the prophet concluded that he was the only one left loyal to the Lord: "The
Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put
your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they
are trying to kill me too" (1 Kgs 19:14).
• Elijah feared that no faithful remnant will survive the attacks of Ahab and
Jezebel against them and consequently the Lord will be left without a
representative among His people. He was overly concerned about the fate
of God's faithful remnant and the Lord said to him, "I reserve seven
thousand in Israel–all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all
whose mouths have not kissed him" (19:18). The prophet did not know the
numerical extent of the faithful remnant preserved by the Lord and not by
human power.
• According to Isaiah the Lord was going to bring destruction on the land
leaving behind Him a small number of survivors who were to be destroyed.
But this word of judgment was followed by a promise of salvation for a very
small faithful remnant: "But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when
they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land" (6:12-13).
There is still a future for those faithful to the Lord.
• Jeremiah identifies God's faithful remnant as those who will return from
exile and with whom the Lord will make a new covenant (31:7-9, 31-
34).[32] It is God Himself who will gather His people, His remnant from
among the nations and will bring them back to the land (23:3).
• It is interesting to notice that it was God's intention to transform the
historical remnant into the faithful remnant. This was to take place
through a purifying process:
In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the
survivors in Israel. Those who are left in Zion, who remain in
Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the
living in Jerusalem. The Lord will wash away the filth of the
women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by
a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire (Isa 4:2-4).
• This cleansing act is needed because the historical remnant is formed
by faithful and unfaithful Israelites:
• This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the
nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been
scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again. They will
return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will
give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will
remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They
will be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose
hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols I will bring
down on their own heads what they have done (Ezekiel 11:17-21).
• The context makes clear that God scattered the remnant among the
nations but did not abandon them (11:16). He went into exile with them,
as the following verses indicate (vv. 22, 23). Judgment gives way now to a
promise of salvation:
• The Lord will gather the remnant and bring them back to the land. A spiritual
renewal of the remnant is announced resulting in the transformation of their heart
through the power of God. They will be unconditionally committed to the Lord, a
new covenant will be instituted and God will be their God and they will be His
people. However the passage makes clear that some members of the historical
remnant will not be willing to enter into a new covenant relationship with God and
will continue to practice idolatry.

• This group will be finally removed from among God's remnant and the historical
remnant will become the faithful remnant.
• The faithful remnant is formed by those who under life-threatening
circumstances remain faithfully committed to the Lord, trusting in His
saving power.
• There seems to be a significant difference between the faithful and
the historical remnants in that the historical appears to be formed by
faithful and unfaithful people.
• It was God's plan to purify His remnant people by separating the
wicked from the faithful ones.
 Eschatological Remnant

• The eschatological remnant is formed by the purified historical

remnant who remained faithful to the Lord during God's final
judgments upon the nations, but it also incorporates the remnant of
the nations who have chosen to serve the Lord.

• This is an important idea because it implies that God's remnant

included people who originally were not members of the Israelite
historical and faithful remnant.
The Old Testament often announces the coming of a time when God's
rulership will be universal and His people will live in peace in the land.
Shortly before that time God will do the work of cleansing among the
end-time remnant that we just mentioned. Let us examine a few more
passages.
In the whole land,' declares the Lord, 'two-thirds will be struck
down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will
bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like
gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say,
They are my people, and they will say, The Lord is our God'
(Zech13:8-9).
The Lord will act in a powerful way on behalf of His remnant:
• Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on
the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder. . . . The
remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies, nor will
deceit be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one
will make them afraid (3:9, 13).
• After God's eschatological judgment against Jerusalem He will
preserve a remnant whom He will send to the nations "who have not
heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory
among the nations" (Isa 66:19-20). The purified historical and faithful
remnant has become a messenger of salvation to the nations.
• The remnant in Revelation is fundamentally and end-time entity. It
designates the eschatological remnant that, after 1798, is being
gathered by the Lord from every nation, tribe and tongue. It is initially
formed by those raised by the Lord soon after the religious
oppression that took place during the 1260 prophetic years. They are
being used by Him to gather the rest of the eschatological remnant
(Rev 14:6-12; 18:4).
THE NATURE OF END TIME REMNANT
1. Historical Entity
First, we should notice that the remnant is a historical entity–it is a
community of believers that appear after the attack of the dragon
against the church, represented by the women clothed with the sun,
during 1260 years (538-1798). It was the intention of the dragon to
exterminate the people of God, but the Lord preserved for Himself that
remnant through whom He is going to fulfill His saving purpose.
• There is historical progression in the development of the events
narrated in Rev 12. It portrays the attacks of the dragon against God's
people throughout the Christian era beginning with its attempt to
destroy the Savior, then the Church, and finally the end-time
remnant.
• At the close of human history there is left on the planet a group of
descendants of the woman that is expected to work with the Lord in
the preparation of the planet for the return of Christ. They appeared
in the flow of history after 1798.

• This remnant becomes the focus of interest in Rev 13-14. Revelation

13 introduces the instruments the dragon will use in his attack against
it. Two are mentioned under the symbols of a beast from the sea and
a beast from the earth. The beast from the sea was the instrument
used by the dragon to attack the women during the 1260 years.
• During that time the eschatological remnant is being gathered by God
from every nation, tribe, language and people through the messages
of the three angels (Rev 14:6-12), proclaimed by those who are
already members of the end-time remnant. The implication is that,
apart from the remnant, there is a large group of God's people that
should join the remnant at the close of human history (18:4).
2. Visible Entity

• The second thing we should notice with respect to the end-time

remnant is that it is not an invisible entity but rather one that is easily
identifiable. John describes it for us in order to assist us to recognize
it.
 The Characteristics Of End Time Remnant

• 1. Keep the commandments of God

• In Rev 12:17 two of them are explicitly mentioned:

• Keep the commandments of God.
• Revelation is very much interested in the commandments of God, particularly those
of the first table, dealing with God and His worship. There are allusions to some of
the other commandments but the main emphasis is on the recognition that there is
only one God and that He is the only true object of worship, not the dragon. The
remnant is a commandment-keeping group of people.

“Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God
and the faith of Jesus” (Rev 14:12).
• Keeping the commandments of God as one of the typical
characteristics of the remnant is closely related to its role in the
setting of the universal great controversy.
• God’s moral law has been one of the most critical issues in this
controversy between good and evil.(Ellen White, Patriarch and
Prophets,69).
• “The Remnant church thus honors the commandments of God, and
observes them, not any legalistic sense but as a revelation of the
character of God and of Christ, who dwells in the heart of true
believers.” (ASD Bible Commentary, 7:883).
 2. Having the Testimony of Christ

• The second mark is defined as having the testimony of Jesus.

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make
war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ.”

What is the testimony of Jesus?

There are two possible interpretations:

One views it as the “testimony” Christians bear witness

concerning Jesus, and the other views “the Testimony” that
originated with Christ and is revealed to his Church through the
Prophets.

Adventist understand that the testimony of Jesus mentioned in

Rev 12:17 is the spirit of prophesy for Rev 19:10 says,” The
Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophesy”.
• In Rev 19:10 that expression seems to be explained or even
equated with the spirit of prophecy. The implication here is
that there is among the historical remnant a manifestation of
the gift of prophecy. In a sense it is a prophetic community.

• Adventist believe that the testimony of Jesus Christ or the

Spirit of Prophesy has been manifested through the ministry
of Ellen G. White.
 3. The End Time Remnant Keeps
“the faith of Jesus”
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev 14:12.

The Greek translation of “faith of Jesus in this verse may be understood

either as “faith of Jesus” or as “Faith in Jesus.”

Faith of Jesus or Faith in Jesus?

• The “faith in Jesus” is the faith with which a sinner accepts
Jesus as his or her personal Savor. The “faith of Jesus “is the
faith which Jesus had and practiced while he was on earth.

• Since the “faith in Jesus” is the faith which all Christ

possessed not only by the remnant but also by all other
sincere Christians, so it cannot be considered as a
characteristic of the remnant.
• The “faith of Jesus” as a characteristic of the remnant is this sort of
faith.

“We must chose to follow Him, in daily life we must follow His example, as
flock trustfully follows its shepherd. We are to follow Him by suffering for His
sake, saying, at every step, ‘Though He slays me, yet will I trust Him in Him,’.
His life must be our practice. And as we mush seek to like Him, and to bring
our wills into conformity to His will, we shall reveal Him.”(Ellen White, R&H,
April, 12, 1898).
• “God’s people are characterized by a faith similar
to which Jesus had. They reflect Jesus’ unaskable
confidence in God and the authority of Scripture.
They believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah of
Prophecy, Son of God, who comes a s the world’s
Savor. Their faith encompasses all truth of the
bible- those which Christ believed and
taught.”(Seventh-day Adventist Believe, 162).
 What kind of faith did Jesus possessed and
exercised while He was on earth?
1. The faith of Jesu was faith did not care about His own salvation or
eternal life.

“Just the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and
to give His life a ransom for many.”(Matt 20:28).
He gave His life for the wages of sin which was death, not only physical
death but also eternal death.
2. The faith of Jesus was the faith which glorified God.

“Whatever you asked in my name, that I will do,

that the Father may be glorified.”(John 14:13).
“ I have glorified you in the earth, I have given the
work which you have given Me to do.”(John 17:4).
• From His birth to His death, Jesus lived not for His own
glory, but for the glory of God the Father alone. He
never concerned of His own glory. Thus those
possessed the “faith of Jesu” will never live for their
own salvation but for another and the glory of God
alone is the focus of their faith.
 4. Mission of the Remnant
• One of the most important characteristics of the End Remnant is its
unique mission.
• God has a mission. He choses a group of people to accomplish His
mission. This group of people is called remnant. So the main purpose
of the existence of the remnant is mission.
• The remnant call is to be understood not as a call for salvation but as
a call for mission.
• Even in OT the call of Israel also not for salvation but for mission.
• I will bless you and you will be a blessing to the earth.
 Remnant Call is not individual call but
corporate call
• Individual church member are not to be considered as remnant. Each
member is not a remnant but a part of remnant.
• “The Remnant of OT times is thus composed od successive generations of
Israelites-God’s chosen people…This remnant was formally appointed group
to which God purposed to send the Messiah and through which He proposed
to evangelized the heathen, it did not consist of scattered individuals as such,
however they faithful they may be, but was a corporate entity, God’s visible,
divinely commissioned organization on earth.”(SDA Bible Commentary, 7:814).

• The call for salvation is always personal in nature. The idea of corporate
salvation is not found in the Bible. Therefore, the remnant call, which is
corporate, is to be understood as a call not for salvation but as a call for
mission.
 Remnant call is not for Salvation but for
mission
• None of the main characteristics of the end time remnant is related to
the condition of Salvation:

1. Keeping the commandments of God is neither the condition for

salvation nor means of salvation.

SDAs insist that “there can be no salvation by works of the law”

(SDA Encyclopedia, “Law”).
Ellen White says,
“Let it be distinctly understood that there is no salvation in
the law. There is no redeeming quality in law. Redeeming is through
the blood of Christ.”
(White, Sign of the Times, 20 Dec. 1877).
The second characteristic: “Having the
testimony of Jesus”
2. Having “the testimony of Jesus Christ” is not a condition for
salvation either.
“In His Word, God has committed to men the knowledge
necessary for salvation.”(GC, vii).
Ellen White writings are not to be considered as a compulsory
source for salvation.
The third characteristic: The End Time
Remnant Keeps “the faith of Jesus”
3. The faith which saves a sinner is not the faith of Jesus but the faith
in Jesus.
The faith that saves a sinner is the “faith in Jesus.” Keeping the
“faith of Jesus” is, by no means, a condition for salvation.
 A Threefold Special Mission of the Remnant
1. To Restore the Law
“The prophet here describes a people who, in a time of general departure from
truth and righteousness, are seeking to restore the principles that are the
foundation of the kingdom of God. They are repairers of a breach that has been
made in God's law--the wall that He has placed around His chosen ones for their
protection, and obedience to whose precepts of justice, truth, and purity is to be
their perpetual safeguard. In words of unmistakable meaning the prophet points
out the specific work of this remnant people who build the wall.

"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My
holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and
shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor
speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will
cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the
heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Isaiah
58:13, 14.(PK, 678).
 “God has a distinct people, a church on earth, second to none, but superior
to all in their facilities to teach the truth, to vindicate the law of God.”(TM,
58).

2. Remnant has been called to vindicate God’s character before the whole
universe.
“Today the remnant people of God are to glorify His name by proclaiming
the last message of warning, the last invitation to the marriage supper of
the Lamb. The only way in which they can fulfill God’s expectations is by
being representative of the truth for this time.”(8T, 153).
 “It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is
enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His
character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At this
time a message from God is to be proclaimed, a message
illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character
is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be
shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy, and
truth.” (COL, 415).
“ The last rays of merciful light, the last message of the mercy to
be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of
love.”(COL,416).
3. The Remnant has been called to prepare the world for the Second
Coming
“Those who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of
Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God found that these were the
truths presented in Revelation 14. The messages of this chapter
constitute a threefold warning which is to prepare the
inhabitants of the earth for the Lord's second coming.”(GC, 435).

“Christ is coming the second time, with power unto salvation. To

prepare human beings for this event, He has sent the first, second,
and third angel messages. These angels represent those who receive
the truth, and with power open the gospel to the world.”(E. G. White,
SDA Bible Commentary , 7:978-979).
 MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF ELLEN WHITE’S
WRITINGS RELATION TO REMNANT
1. Bible is universally applied; it is given to all people in all ages.

2. The Bible provide sufficient knowledge of salvation

3. God arises His special people, the remnant, in the last days of earth’s
history, whose mission is to prepare the world for second coming.

4. The testimony of Jesus Christ, the spirit of prophesy , is given to help

the remnant for the fulfillment of its mission.
5. The primary purpose of the writings of Ellen White is to encourage
and to guide the remnant to successfully accomplish its mission in the
context of the great controversy between good and evil.

6. Bible is given for human salvation, the writings of Ellen White is given
for mission for end time remnant in the last days.
7. So the spirit of prophecy is mainly for Adventist. It is one the
characteristics of true End-Time Remnant.