Articles

God saw that is was not good for man to be alone. Genesis 2:18. Therefore, He established the marriage institution and enunciated the law of marriage for all the children of Adam to the close of time. God Himself gave Adam one wife as a companion. “He ordained that men and women should be united in holy wedlock, to rear families whose members, crowned with honor, should be recognized as members of the family above.” Ministry of Healing, p. 356. According to the plan of God, in the marriage relationship, every man should consider his wife as his second self, “bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.” Genesis 2:18, 23, 24; Mark 10:6-8; Ephesians 5:28, 29; Colossians 3:19.Read More »Marriage

After Christ’s ascension, and after the disciples had surrendered themselves fully to God, through faith and prayer, and after they had come into perfect unity, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them in fullness. Luke 24:49; Acts 2:1-4. Spiritual gifts were then committed to them, to be used for the common good of the church and for the advancement of the work of God. The gifts that were bestowed on the early Christians, by the Spirit, included apostleship, the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, prophecy, discerning of spirits, miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues, teaching, administration, and charity (pure love in action). Amos 3:7; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7, 8, 11; 1 Peter 4:10, 11.Read More »The Gift of Prophecy

A few years prior to the end of the period of 2300 years (Daniel 8:14), shortly before Christ as our High Priest entered into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, there began a worldwide revival in expectation of the soon coming of Christ. Faithful Advent believers recognized the message of Revelation 14:6-8 as being entrusted to them by God. Although the majority among the Christian denominations rejected the solemn message of preparation, the first angel’s message, and thus became Babylon (confusion), the second angel’s message, serving as a warning, prepared the way for the third. Revelation 14:9-12. Since then, the everlasting gospel truth, which includes the commandments of God, is being proclaimed to all peoples, nations, and tongues. The gathering of the last church before the second coming of Christ is under way.Read More »The Three Angels’ Messages

The Lord directed the Israelites to build a sanctuary, or tabernacle, which was a type of the heavenly ministration. Exodus 25:8; Psalm 77:13. It was composed of a court with an altar of burnt offerings and a laver for the priests to wash themselves before entering the sanctuary. The tabernacle itself contained two apartments, the holy place and the most holy place. The service of the priests connected with the sanctuary was a representation of the work of Christ, our great High Priest, in the true tabernacle “which the Lord pitched and not man.” Hebrews 8:1-5; 9:19-28.Read More »The Sanctuary

A. FEET WASHING

Before the emblems of Christ’s body and blood were distributed among the disciples, Christ washed their feet. “By the act of our Lord this humiliating ceremony was made a consecrated ordinance.”—Desire of Ages, p. 650. The purpose of this ordinance, which is binding upon all Christians, is to lead the participants to search their hearts, see their own roots of bitterness and other defects of character and clear away misunderstandings between brethren. John 13:1-17.Read More »The Communion Service

Since there is only one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one faith, one hope, and one body, there can be only one symbol (one type of baptism, by immersion) to represent the beginning of a new life and our identification with these great facts of Christianity and our acceptance into the body of Christ, the church. Matthew 3:13-16; Ephesians 4:3-6.

Baptism is an outward sign pointing to an inward spiritual washing, a cleansing from sin by the blood of Christ already experienced by the believer who has accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour. Apart from this relationship with Christ, baptism, like any other rite, is merely a meaningless outward form. The death and burial of the “old man,” as well as the resurrection of the “new man” with Christ, for a new life in Him, are represented by this ordinance. Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3-9; Colossians 2:12, 13; 1 Peter 3:21; Ephesians 4:22-24.Read More »Baptism

“God is love.” His nature, His law, His government, His dealings with man, and every one of His manifestations are expressions of His love. 1 John 4:16. And God’s love is associated with other qualities of His character. See chapter I. Then how could God permit evil to originate?

All intelligent beings were created free to choose between obedience or disobedience to the great principles of truth, righteousness, and love. Lucifer (meaning “light-bearer”), one of the most exalted cherubim, misused his freedom of choice. Deuteronomy 30:19; Galatians 6:7, 8. This was the beginning of the great rebellion in heaven. Lucifer became Satan (Hebrew Shatan, meaning “adversary”). He set aside the law of God through self-exaltation, deception, lying, and murder. Ezekiel 28:13-15, 17; Isaiah 14:12-14; Revelation 12:7, 8; John 8:44 (cf 1 John 3:15).Read More »Origin of Evil and the Fall of Lucifer

After the Lord had completed the works of creation, He rested on the seventh day. He then blessed it and sanctified it for the benefit of man to keep it holy and to cease from all his secular labor. Thus the Sabbath was instituted as a memorial of the works of the Creator. This is the Lord’s day. Genesis 2:1-3; Mark 2:28; Exodus 20:8-11; 16:23; Isaiah 56:2; 58:13. The Sabbath is also a sign of God’s spiritual rest in which He wanted Adam and his descendants to take part. To us the Sabbath is, therefore, a sign of rest that we find in Christ. Hebrews 3:18, 19; 4:1-4, 9-11 (cf Matthew 11:28, 29).Read More »The Sabbath

The Bible presents moral, ceremonial, and other laws. The writers of the New Testament books are not always specific; but we understand from the context to which law(s) they refer.Read More »Divine Laws