Contemporary Relevance

The Spirit of Prophecy is as relevant today as it was when it was written. It is accurate, uplifting, instructive, and powerful as it points to Christ and to the Holy Bible. It is truly the testimony of Jesus, and that’s why I believe in the prophetic ministry of Ellen White.GOP 418.2

The Spirit of Prophecy is portrayed in Revelation 12:17 as one of the two characteristics of God’s last-day, remnant church. That verse says, “And the dragon [Satan] was enraged with the woman [God’s church], and he went to make war with the rest [or remnant] of her offspring [or seed—God’s last-day people and church], who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”GOP 418.3

The two distinctive characteristics of God’s people are so plain. God’s remnant people keep the commandments of God, including the vital fourth commandment. That commandment identifies who God is and indicates our submission to our Creator, who in six literal, consecutive days created this earth recently by His word and then rested on the seventh-day Sabbath. Its sacredness is God’s sign of authority and the seal of His people for eternity.GOP 418.4

The first angel’s call in Revelation 14:7 to worship God as the Creator automatically places upon people the responsibility to observe the seventh-day Sabbath as a memorial that honors His creative activity. A created being cannot honor his Creator while defying the Creator’s command to keep holy the seventh-day Sabbath. The Sabbath will be the focal point of conflict between good and evil during the final time of trouble. The Great Controversy, page 605, says that “the Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not.” The Sabbath is a sign of our relationship with God and of our dependence on Him for creation and salvation. He gave the Sabbath to the human race as the culmination of the Creation week as described in Genesis 2 and reaffirmed at Mount Sinai.GOP 418.5

In July 2014 it was a peculiar privilege to stand on top of Mount Sinai and realize that was the area where God gave His precious Ten Commandments through His prophet Moses. Belief in God’s prophets helps us realize that the seventh-day Sabbath is integral to our faith and even to our name as we show love and allegiance to our Creator and Redeemer.GOP 418.6