entrance of sin severely disrupted
the fullness of God's presence with
us. Satan became the temporary
“ruler of this world” (John 12:31;
14:30; 16:11), and evil, suffering,
and death became part of all human
experience.
But God responded with amazing
grace, promising that a descendant
of Eve's would come and crush the
serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15)—foretell-
ing that Christ would endure the
ultimate suffering to defeat Satan
and eventually eliminate evil, so
that God could be with us again in
fullness, forevermore.
GOD’S PRESENCE IS CENTRAL
TO ADVENTIST FAITH
Many identify God's presence as
Scripture’s central theme.? Accord-
ingly, God's presence is central to
Adventist theology and identity,
embedded in our very name—Sev-
enth-day Adventist. The “Adventist”
part of our name identifies our
faith in Christ's second coming,
after which “we shall always be
with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). The
“Seventh-day” part emphasizes the
Sabbath, the seventh day, set apart
for worship and restful communion
with God as a memorial of God's
works of creation (Ex. 20:11) and
deliverance (Deut. 5:15).
In these and many other ways,
Adventist faith is bound up with the
hope of unbroken communion with
God. Altogether, the name Sev-
enth-day Adventist highlights God's
presence with us in “time” (the gift
of the Sabbath) and the final resto-
ration of God's personal presence
with us (the Second Coming).
Alongside these stands the sanc-
tuary system, through which God
makes a way to be with us despite
the disruption brought by sin. The
entire story of redemption revolves
around God's presence, with Christ's
works of atonement bringing about
the ultimate fulfillment of God's
12 November 2023 AdventistWorld.org
promises to be with His people.
Let us briefly take a closer look
at these three pillars of Adventist
faith and identity—the Sabbath, the
sanctuary, and the Second Coming.
THE GIFT OF THE SABBATH
Some view Sabbath as a burden,
but it is the opposite—a great gift
of grace! The Sabbath is a gift of
God's presence; a day in which
we can rest in His works so we do
not have to work (the opposite of
works-based religion). As Jacques
Doukhan explains: “In obeying the
fourth commandment, the believer
does not negate the value of grace”
but “through obedience to God's
law, the believer expresses faith in
God's grace”
The Sabbath is a sign that God
saves His people—God sanctifies
(makes holy) His people as His
work of grace, in which believers
can rest. As God proclaims in
Ezekiel 20:12: “I also gave them
My Sabbaths, to be a sign between
them and Me, that they might
know that I am the Lord who
sanctifies them.”
The Sabbath thus stands as a
sign of the identity of God's people,
those who belong to Him and are
saved by Him. At the same time,
the Sabbath rejects any attempts
to locate our value or identity in
our productivity or achievement,
calling people to rest in what God
has done and is doing.
The Sabbath is also a day of
deliverance, remembering how God
saved Israel from slavery in Egypt
(see Deut. 5:15). Isaiah 58 further
sets the Sabbath in the context of
God's concern for justice, calling
God's people to “release the bonds
of wickedness, to undo the ropes of
the yoke, and to let the oppressed
go free, and break every yoke,” to
share “bread with the hungry and
bring the homeless poor into” our
house, to clothe the naked and not
hide ourselves from our brothers
and sisters and their needs (Isa.
58:6, 7, NASB)*—the kinds of things
Jesus was criticized for doing on
the Sabbath (Matt. 12; John 5; cf.
Luke 4:18, 19). Notably, in a chapter
on the Sabbath in The Desire of
Ages, Ellen White wrote: “Every
false religion teaches its adherents
to be careless of human needs,
sufferings, and rights.”
In this and other ways, the Sab-
bath stands as a sign of allegiance
to Christ and His kingdom of
unselfish love and justice over and
against the powers of this world
that follow the dragon, Satan (see
Rev. 12-14). The Sabbath likewise
stands as a temple in time; a day
God sets aside for rest and relation-
ship, to rejoice in the love of our
Creator and Sustainer.
In contrast to our achieve-
ment-obsessed world, which
fosters anxiety and burnout,
the Sabbath offers us a time to
celebrate God's work for us instead
of focusing on our works—to
commune with Him, enjoying what
He has made instead of chasing
after what we might strive to make
of ourselves, to rest in Him. In an
age in which people are becoming
more lonely, busy, anxious, and
distracted, such sacred time is
increasingly important.
Among other things, the
Sabbath provides sacred time for
undistracted relationship with
God and others. What a gift! Christ
invites you: “Come to Me, all you
who labor and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).
THE GOOD NEWS OF THE
SANCTUARY
Alongside the Sabbath—a temple
in time—stands the sanctuary. The
earthly tabernacle and temples pre-
figured the heavenly sanctuary in
which Christ intercedes for us as our
High Priest (Heb. 8:1, 2; 9:11, 12), to