The Remnant Church

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22. THE REMNANT CHURCH Today there are many churches with a different understanding of the Bible and completely diverse teachings. How can we know who is right among them and what we should be looking for in order to know whether we are among those who are faithful to God?

In this study, we will see what the Bible teaches about those who are faithful to God through Bible history and what we should expect today from the people who are faithful to God.

Revelation 12 tells the great controversy story between Christ and Satan, which broke out in heaven and then moved to the earth, to be fought until the end of time.

1. What does the Woman Represent? What are Her Characteristics?

 Revelation 12:1-6 These verses deal with the great controversy from the rebellion of Satan in heaven until the persecution of God’s people during the Middle Ages, passing through Jesus’ birth and His ascension to heaven.

John saw a woman clothed with the sun. There are many passages in the Bible, which compare God’s people to the bride of Christ (see Isaiah 54:5, 2 Corinthians 11:2). This woman represents the true people of God throughout history, which was pure from moral and doctrinal corruption.

This includes Old Testament Israelites who were faithful and then God’s church from Jesus’ time until the end of time.

The woman is clothed with the sun and has the moon under her feet. Christ is the Sun of righteousness (see Malachi 4:2). She had a crown of twelve stars. Twelve represents God’s people: twelve tribes in Old Testament Israel and twelve apostles in the New Testament church.in the woman’s description sun, moon and stars are mentioned: the church is called to enlighten the world with the light of God’s Word.

The male child of the woman clearly represents Christ: He was to rule all nations with a rod of iron (see Revelation 19:15), Satan tried to kill Him after His birth (see Matthew 2:16) and He was caught up to God, a reference to Christ’s ascension to sit down at the right hand of God (see Hebrews 12:2).

After Christ’s ascension, Satan persecuted the church, which fled to hide from the Papacy during the 1260 year of the Papacy rule. 2 22. The Remnant Church – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019

2. Which Characteristic does the Remnant Church Have?

 Revelation 12:13-17 The rest of Revelation 12 is a repetition and enlargement of verses 1-6 and it reaches down until the end of time.

After Christ’s ascension and Pentecost, Satan started persecuting the church. During the Middle Ages, under the persecution of the Papacy, God took care of His people. The wings of the eagle are a symbol of God’s protection and deliverance (see Exodus 19:4). The wilderness represents the secluded places where God’s true people hid themselves from the fury of the Papacy.

Satan’s persecution is here represented as a river coming out from the mouth of the serpent (see

Isaiah 59:19). The earth swallowed up the river: in Revelation 13, the beast that comes up from the earth represents the United States of America. The Pilgrim Fathers fled from the oppression of the Papacy in Europe to go to America.

Then we come to the last days and we see that Satan fights against the rest or remnant of the woman’s offspring. The remnant church is the true church because it has kept the characteristics of God’s people in the Old Testament and of the New Testament church.

The remnant church is what remains of the pure apostolic church, because it teaches the truths of the Bible without mixing them with human traditions.

These are the characteristics of the remnant church:

1. It keeps the commandments of God: “the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God” (v. 17); the remnant church teaches that the law of God is still binding today.

2. It has the testimony of Jesus Christ: the book of Revelation explains what the testimony of Jesus Christ is: “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prophecy who has inspired all prophets (see 2 Peter 1:21). The remnant church has the gift of prophecy. Next study will specifically deal with this point.

3. It arose after 1798: “But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent” (v. 14). Figuratively speaking, God’s people remained in the wilderness for the 1260 years of the Papacy rule: this prophetic period ended in 1798.

After 1798, the true church was not hiding in the wilderness; this means that the remnant church, as a visible and organized entity, could not arise before 1798.

4. Global movement: “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6). The remnant church is a global movement with a message 22. The Remnant Church – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 3 to preach to all the world to prepare it for the return of Christ . This characteristic alone excludes all the churches which are not present in the vast majority of the world’s nations.

The book of Revelation talks about the historical context in which the remnant church arose. From the second half of the 1700s, some specific sings of the coming of Christ were fulfilled (see

Revelation 6:12-13, Matthew 24:29). In 1755 there was the earthquake of Lisbon, felt in almost all Europe and in North Africa. On May 19th 1780, the sun was darkened on the East coast of the USA; at midnight the moon appeared red as blood. A few decades later, on November 13th 1833, in the USA there was the greatest fall of stars ever recorded in history.

In this historical period, many studied with renewed interest the books of Daniel and Revelation and started preaching about the imminence of Christ’s return: Joseph Wolff in Europe, Africa, Asia e USA, Edward Irving e Archibald Mason in England and Scotland, Johann Bengel e Leonard Kelber in Germany, Louis Gaussen in Switzeralnd and William Miller in the United States.

The Millerite movement took the name from Miller: they were believers of different denominations who believed and preached that Christ’s return was imminent. They were also called Adventists for their emphasis on the second advent of Jesus.

3. What Event was Prophesied in the Book of Revelation Concerning the Advent Movement?

 Revelation 10:8-11 The imagery of this passage is taken from the book of Ezekiel in which God told the prophet to eat a scroll, which represented His Word (see Ezekiel 2:8-3:4). The open book that John saw represents the book of Daniel, a portion of which had been sealed (see Daniel 12:4-10).

The portion that was sealed was the understanding of the 2300 days prophecy of Daniel 8:14 (see

Daniel 8:26); it was to be sealed until the time of the end, which began in 1798 (see Daniel 7:25, 11:33-35, 12:9-10). From this time on, the understanding of this prophecy was unsealed; if the book of Daniel was open in the hand of the angel, which means the vision of Revelation 10 refers to a time that is after 1798.

The angel told John the book would be sweet as honey in the mouth and bitter in the stomach.

John here personified the Advent movement and tasted their experience. The study of the prophecies of Daniel was sweet for the Millerites because they expected Jesus to come back in 1844 at the end of the 2300-year prophecy; but their hope was bitterly disappointment because the expected event did not occur.

Notice the analogies between the birth of the Christian church and the remnant church:

1. The disciples misinterpreted the messianic prophecies and thus they did not understand the purpose of the first coming of Christ. 4 22. The Remnant Church – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019

2. The disciples thought Jesus had come to establish His kingdom on earth, but the kingdom of God they preached it was near was the kingdom of grace (see Matthew 10:7, Mark 1:15).

They preached a message they did not fully understand.

3. The disciples were greatly saddened and disappointed by the death of Christ. This was the consequence of their wrong belief about the Messiah as a king ruling over the world from Jerusalem.

4. After the disciples’ disappointment and His resurrection, Jesus led the disciples in the understanding of the messianic prophecies (see Luke 24:27,44-46). He directed their look to the heavenly sanctuary for the beginning of His priestly ministry.

5. Adventists had misinterpreted the 2300 days prophecy of Daniel 8:14.

6. Adventists believed Jesus would have come back and established His eternal kingdom in

7. They preached the hour of His judgment had come (see Revelation 14:7) but they did not fully understand the message they were preaching.

8. Adventists were bitterly disappointed when Jesus did not come back in 1844. The disappointment was the consequence of accepting a wrong view that taught the word sanctuary as representing the earth.

9. After the disappointment, Jesus led the Adventists in the understanding of Daniel and

Revelation and directed their look to the heavenly sanctuary for the beginning of the final phase of His priestly ministry, i.e. the investigative judgment.

“You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings” (v. 11): the remnant church arose out of disappointment. After the disappointment there was still a work to perform, preaching to the entire world. The book of Revelation presents the message the remnant church has to preach to the world.

4. Which are the Main Themes of This Three - Fold Message?

 Revelation 14:6-12 The three angels’ message is the message the remnant church has to preach to all the world. The Greek word aggelos literally means messenger. These angels represent the remnant church who preaches the message.

The first element of the first angel’s message is the everlasting gospel. The remnant church preaches the good news of salvation in Christ.

“Fear God and give glory to Him” (v. 7): the remnant church calls the world to honor God. In the Bible the fear of God is linked to commandment keeping (see Psalm 111:10, Ecclesiastes 12:13).

This message is a call to glorify God in the body and in the spirit (see 1 Corinthians 6:20, 10:31). 22. The Remnant Church – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 5 “For the hour of His judgment has come” (v. 7): the remnant church preaches that God’s judgement has already begun. In 1844, Jesus entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to begin the work of judgment.

“Worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (v. 7): this is a quote from the Sabbath commandment (see Exodus 20:11). The remnant church preaches that the law of God is eternal and keeps the Sabbath (see Revelation 14:12).

“Babylon is fallen, is fallen” (v. 8): the second angel’s message exposes spiritual Babylon, a religious system against God’s Word: Babylon falls because of her rejection of the truths contained in the first angel’s message. Among her false teachings are Sunday sacredness and the immortality of the soul.

“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation” (v. 9-10): the remnant church preaches the necessity to obey God rather than man, God’s Word rather than human traditions. This message is a solemn warning not to receive the mark of the beast, the enforcement of Sunday keeping.

Catholic sources say: “Protestantism, in discarding the authority of the Church, has no good reason for its Sunday theory, and ought logically, to keep Saturday as the Sabbath.” (John Gilmary Shea, American Catholic Quarterly, January 1883, p. 139) “People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy” (“Saint Catherine Church Sentinel”, Algonac, Michigan, 21/05/1995)

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