Reflections on the SDA Church as the Eschatological Remnant Church

Abstract

During recent years there has been a tendency among some Seventh-day
Adventists, including some leaders and scholars, to question the traditional claim
that, in a special sense, the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church constitutes the
eschatological Remnant Church depicted in the book of Revelation. On the one
hand, some feel that such a claim is arrogant, that there are dedicated Christians in
other churches, and that other churches beside ours are preaching the gospel of
Christ and have much truth. On the other hand are those who are involved in
independent ministries and who believe and teach that the SDA Church is in deep
apostasy, and though it once was the Remnant Church, it is no longer so.
One factor that may help individuals who are troubled about this issue to feel
more comfortable with the traditional claim, is a clear understanding of how early
believers during the formative years of the SDA Church came to understand
themselves as the "Remnant Church." A second factor is a clear understanding of
the distinction between the "visible" church and the "invisible" church. A third
factor is reflection upon how and why a visible church may lose its standing as the
visible church of God.