What is our Identity?

We can define this into two parts:

Seventh-Day1

Adventist2

“The name Seventh-day Adventist carries the true features of our faith in front, and will convict the inquiring mind. Like an arrow from the Lord's quiver, it will wound the transgressors of God's law, and will lead to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Testimonies for the Church (1T 224.2)

Seventh-Day

/sev-uhnth-dey/

A Christian denomination that follows the Biblical 7th-day as the day of rest & religious observance.

“Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.”

Exodus 31:13

“The Sabbath is a public token by which the world may recognize the true and living God.” 5MR 123.2
“The Sabbath is the sign of God; it is the seal of His law. Isaiah 8:16. It is the token of His authority and power. It is a sign whereby we may know that He is God, and therefore it is appropriately said to be placed in the forehead. The worshipers of the beast (Revelation 13) are said to receive his mark in their foreheads or in their hands. As the forehead represents the intellect, the hand represents power, as Psalm 89:48, “Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?” Compulsory worship is not acceptable to God; His servants are sealed only in their foreheads. But it is acceptable to wicked powers; it has always been craved by the Romish hierarchy. See chapter 25 for proof on the nature of this mark. The sign or seal of God is his Sabbath, and the seal or mark of the beast is in direct opposition to it; it is a counterfeit Sabbath on the “day of the sun.” According to Revelation 14:9-12, they who do not receive the mark of the beast keep the commandments of God; and the Sabbath is in the fourth precept; they keep the Sabbath of the Lord; they have his sign or seal. The importance of this sign is shown in this, that the fourth commandment is the only one in the law which distinguishes the Creator from false gods. Compare Jeremiah 10:10-12; Acts 17:23, 24; Revelation 14:6, 7, etc. and it is that part of his law for keeping which his people will suffer persecution. But when the wrath of God comes upon the persecutors who are found enforcing the sign or mark of the beast, then they will realize the importance of the Sabbath,—the seal of the living God. They who turn away from that which the Lord spoke when his voice shook the earth, will confess their fatal error when his voice shall shake the heavens and the earth. Hebrews 12:25, 26; Joel 3:9-16” The Great Controversy (GC88 691.3)
“All through the week we are to have the Sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandment. We are not merely to observe the Sabbath as a legal matter. We are to understand its spiritual bearing upon all the transactions of life. All who regard the Sabbath as a sign between them and God, showing that He is the God who sanctifies them, will represent the principles of His government. They will bring into daily practice the laws of His kingdom. Daily it will be their prayer that the sanctification of the Sabbath may rest upon them. Every day they will have the companionship of Christ and will exemplify the perfection of His character. Every day their light will shine forth to others in good works.” Testimonies (6T 353.4)
“Not all who profess to keep the Sabbath will be sealed. There are many even among those who teach the truth to others who will not receive the seal of God in their foreheads. They had the light of truth, they knew their Master's will, they understood every point of our faith, but they had not corresponding works.” Testimonies (5T 213.2)

“All who regard the Sabbath as a sign between them and God, showing that He is the God who sanctifies them, will represent the principles of His government.”

Testimonies (6T 353.4)

The keeping of the Sabbath is a sign that we wish to be sanctified by God.

What is the second half of our identity?

Adventist

/ˈadˌven(t)əst/

Believing in the imminent second coming of Christ.

“I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

John 14:3

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”

Titus 2:13

“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God...”

2 Peter 3:12

Not only do we believe Jesus will return imminently, but that we have a role to play to hasten His return!

“By giving the gospel to the world
it is in our power to hasten our Lord's return...”

Desire of Ages (DA 633.3)

Our Role in Hastening Jesus Return

“Long has God waited for the spirit of service to take possession of the whole church so that everyone shall be working for Him according to his ability. When the members of the church of God do their appointed work in the needy fields at home and abroad, in fulfillment of the gospel commission, the whole world will soon be warned and the Lord Jesus will return to this earth with power and great glory.”

The Acts of the Apostles (AA 111.1)

“Had the purpose of God been carried out by His people in giving to the world the message of mercy, Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth, and the saints would have received their welcome into the city of God.”

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9 (9T 29.2)

When we fulfill our purpose Jesus will return! What exactly is our purpose?!?

3rd Angel's Message

“God's purpose in giving the third angel's message to the world is to prepare a people to stand true to Him during the investigative judgment. This is the purpose for which we establish and maintain our publishing houses, our schools, our sanitariums, hygienic restaurants, treatment rooms, and food factories. This is our purpose in carrying forward every line of work in the cause.”

Manuscript Releases (1MR 228.2)

“Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel's message, and I have answered, 'It is the third angel's message in verity'.” E.G. White, Review & Herald, April 1, 1890
“...justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God... This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure.” Testimonies to Ministers (TM 91.2)
“...justification by faith and the righteousness of Christ in relation to the law. This was no new light, but it was old light placed where it should be in the third angel's message...” 3SM 168.1
“...let every one who claims to believe that the Lord is soon coming, search the Scriptures as never before; for satan is determined to try every device possible to keep souls in darkness, and blind the mind to the perils of the times in which we are living. Let every believer take up his Bible with earnest prayer, that he may be enlightened by the Holy Spirit as to what is truth, that he may know more of God and of Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Search for the truth as for hidden treasures, and disappoint the enemy. The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth. For it is the work of every one to whom the message of warning has come, to lift up Jesus, to present Him to the world as revealed in types, as shadowed in symbols, as manifested in the revelations of the prophets, as unveiled in the lessons given to His disciples and in the wonderful miracles wrought for the sons of men. Search the Scriptures; for they are they that testify of Him.” 1SM 362.4
Learn more about the Third Angels Message
Preparing a people to stand true

“From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God.”

Desire of Ages (DA 161.1)

God desires to dwell inside of us, but as a people we became uninhabitable; however God still desired to be as close to us as He could without destroying our darkness with His light.

“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them..”

Exodus 25:8

While God lived with us in the earthly Sanctuary, that was not His perfect plan... God wishes to prepare a people who He can once again dwell in.

“Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin...”

Desire of Ages (DA 161.1)

Jesus mission is to cleanse us from sin! How can we understand this process better?!?

“Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?.”

Psalms 77:13

“We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”

Hebrews 8:1-2

Jesus work today is in the Heavenly Sanctuary, we would be wise to understand what His role is there and what our role must be.

“All need to become more intelligent in regard to the work of the atonement, which is going on in the sanctuary above. When this grand truth is seen and understood, those who hold it will work in harmony with Christ to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God, and their efforts will be successful.”

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5 (5T 575.1)

“... after the close of Jesus’ mediation, the saints were living in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor.”

Early Writings (EW 280.2)

“Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God's people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.”

E.G. White - Christ in His Sanctuary (CIHS 153.1)

“The seal of the living God will be placed upon those only who bear a likeness to Christ in character.”

SDA Bible Commentary 7:970

“I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully.”

Early Writings (EW 71.1)

“We cannot wait until the judgment before we consent to deny self and to lift the cross. We cannot then form characters for heaven.”

E. G. White, Sermon “Preparation for the Judgment”
June 27, 1886, Orebro, Sweden

“God demands of us that we build a character that will stand that close test of the judgment. We will not have His protection in the time when the flood comes, if at that time it is found that we have wasted the hours of probation granted us now to build characters for eternity. For the character which we now build is not only for time, but for eternity.”

E. G. White, Sermon “Hearing and Doing"
Santa Rosa, California Sabbath, March 7, 1885

“There is nothing that satan fears so much as that the people of God shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, so that the Lord can pour out His Spirit upon a languishing church.... Every temptation, every opposing influence, whether open or secret, may be successfully resisted...”

Selected Messages 1:124 (1887)

“It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be thus delayed.”

Selected Messages Book 1 (1SM 68.3)

Why the delay?

“God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness… But those to whom it was first preached, went not in because of unbelief’ (Heb. 3:19). Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them.”

Selected Messages Book 1 (1SM 68.3)

“I know that if the people of God had preserved a living connection with Him, if they had obeyed His Word, they would today be in the heavenly Canaan.”

Selected Messages Book 1 (1SM 68.3)

Why did Israelites not enter into Canaan?

“...And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan...” Numbers 13:1-21
What was the report?

Let’s go at once to take the land,we can certainly conquer it! Numbers 13:30

We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are! Numbers 13:31

Numbers 13:1-21
What was the result?
Wandering in Wilderness 40 Years Later
“How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the LORD has given to you?” Joshua 18:3
… this story of Joshua and Caleb repeated… again in 1888… this time it was by two new scouts who spied out the heavenly canan …
“The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God... This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure.” Testimonies to Ministers (TM 91.2)
“Elder E. J. Waggoner had the privilege granted him of speaking plainly and presenting his views upon justification by faith and the righteousness of Christ in relation to the law.” 3SM 168.1

“Had Adventists, after the great disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith, and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world, they would have seen the salvation of God, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward.”

E. G. White Manuscript 4, 1883, in “Testimony of Jesus,” pp. 99. 100 (EGWMR 32.1)

We have a role to play!

God is waiting for us!

“Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary, and he is there to make an atonement for the people. He is there to present his wounded side and pierced hands to his Father. He is there to plead for his Church that is upon the earth. He is cleansing the sanctuary from the sins of the people. What is our work? It is our work to be in harmony with the work of Christ. By faith we are to work with him, to be in union with him.”

E.G. White, Review & Herald, January 28, 1890

“We are to give ourselves to the service of God, and we should seek to make the offering as nearly perfect as possible. God will not be pleased with anything less than the best we can offer. Those who love Him with all the heart, will desire to give Him the best service of the life, and they will be constantly seeking to bring every power of their being into harmony with the laws that will promote their ability to do His will.”

Patriarchs & Prophets (PP 352.3)

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Romans 12:1

“If men are willing to be molded, there will be brought about a sanctification of the whole being...”

Acts of Apostles (AA 52.5)

The “Final Generation” is the generation which carries the purpose God has set. Will we choose to be part of the final generation?

a chosen generation

“When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.”

Christ’s Object Lessons (COL 69.1)

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

1 Peter 2:9

Learn more about our Role!