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April 24, 2020

The Visible Church

There are approximately 33,000 Christian denominations in the world. Even if that number is inflated it is certainly obvious that there is a plurality of beliefs within the larger Christian community. If there are so many churches can any one of denomination claim to be God's church? Does God even have a visible corporate institution? That's certainly a question that many ask both without and within Christianity.

I would like to posit that there is and that this church is not just a system of beliefs but a visible church. Let's go to two passages. The first passage comes can be found in Revelation 12:17 and it says:

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. Revelation 12:17

The dragon in this passage is a symbol for the devil. We know this because a few verses earlier in the same chapter we read:

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9

The dragon then or the devil is angry with the woman. The woman is a symbol for the church. In Jeremiah 6:2 we read:

I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. Jeremiah 6:2

This verse tells us that the devil was angry with the church in Revelation 12:17. But notice that while the devil is angry with the church he shifts brunt of his wrath to her offspring or the remnant of her seed. The remnant ,which according to Merriam Websters Dictionary means a small surviving group," is a group that comes from the Christian church. According to Revelation 12:17 this group has unique characteristics that set it apart. This remnant church keeps the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus. 

Only one denomination meets both of these criteria: the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The reason for this is that only the Seventh-day Adventist Church keeps all ten commandments of God including the seventh day Sabbath and has the testimony of Jesus. In Revelation 19:10 we read that the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.

From it's inception the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been built on the historical principles of prophecy that were once common place in Protestantism; principles that allowed the reformers to identify the Papacy as the Antichrist and the beast power of Revelation 13. These principles of historicism one accepted by the majority of Protestantism have now lost favor within wider Christianity. But as God's remnant people the Seventh-day Adventist Church continues to teach and preach the identifying marks of the Antichrist and the beast power of the Papacy.

Now it is important to note that our first passage of study, Revelation 12:17, is set in a certain context within history. The verse falls in Revelation just after the earth helped the woman and swallowed up the flood in Revelation 12:16. The flood is a symbol. The bible explains in Revelation 17:15:

And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. Revelation 17:15

The flood then was a flood of people and it was swallowed up by the earth or an unpopulated area. This unpopulated area was the new world and what has now become the United States. Through a series of historical developments the United States swallowed up the persecuted peoples from around the world seeking religious freedom and asylum from persecution and oppression. It is in this context that we read our first verse of study that says that the dragon or devil was angry with the church and went to make war with her offspring or the remnant.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church formed in the United States from the Second Great Awakening that occurred in the first several decades after the formation of the United States. This then places the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the right historical context of prophecy and as the fulfillment of the characteristics of the remnant church both keeping all of the commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus which is the Spirit of Prophecy.

The Bible then identifies the Seventh-day Adventist Church as the remnant church. But can God's remnant church truly be a denomination with organizational structure in this day and age? Can God's truth really be perpetuated by an institution? The answer to that question is found in examining our second and final text for today. the Bible says in Ephesians 4:4,5:

 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:4,5

If there is one body, one faith and one baptism then there must be a visible church. The reason for this is that if God has a remnant church that is identified with certain characteristics and we are to be baptized into that church then it must be visible. It must be identifiable. If there is no way for the sheep thatGod has in other folds to find the fold then God could not call them into that fold. And call them God does. The bible says:

9 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: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 1 Peter 1:9,10

God has called a people out of darkness and into His marvelous light. It this light, the light of God's character as illustrated by the keeping of the Ten Commandments that brings on the ire of the devil. Jesus said:

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35

And then just a few verses later:

If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15

The outward expression of love is the keeping of God's commandments which identify God's people as followers of Christ. At the time of the end God has a people, a visible, identifiable people that keep the commandments and have the testimony of Jesus. Will you join God's people today? He is calling you out darkness into his marvelous light.