[9] The "final generation" believers hold that God's people will cease from committing sinful acts before the "close of probation," and before the "time of trouble" (Daniel 12:1; Jeremiah 30:7; Isaiah 26:20) just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
[10] Seventh-day Adventists teach that, at the end of time, there will be a Christian remnant who are faithful to God in keeping all of His ten commandments, (which includes resting on the seventh day of the week [Saturday]), and who are progressively sanctified and then sealed as "holy" and "righteous"[11] before the Second Advent of Christ.
[24] The Great Controversy has the following of the perfection of those who stand at the end while Christ still intercedes in the Most Holy Place: "The "time of trouble, such as never was," is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess and which many are too indolent to obtain.
An angel returning from the earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received "the seal of the living God."
[26][27] Hence, the remnant is an identifiable and visible Christian movement at the end time who are faithful to God, which will be manifest shortly prior to the second coming of Jesus and are sealed.
"[37]Early Adventists (such as George Storrs, Ellen White and Uriah Smith) tended to de-emphasise the corrupt nature inherited from Adam, while stressing the importance of actual, personal sins committed by the individual.
According to Augustine and Calvin, humanity inherits not only Adam's depraved nature but also the actual guilt of his transgression, and Adventists look more toward the Wesleyan model.
Others point out that the perfection spoke of this verse is not of personal piety but equanimity or disinterested benevolence, just as the Father permits the rain to fall, or sun to shine, on "both the just and unjust".
~ 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
~ Galatians 5:19-24 The Seventh-day Adventist church teaches that there is a sanctuary in heaven which was foreshadowed by the Mosaic tabernacle, according to their interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews chapters 8 and 9.
After his death, resurrection and ascension, Jesus Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary as the great High Priest, "making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice" (Fundamental Belief no.
[51] Last Generation Theology emphasizes that this ministration of Christ in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary, is a continuation of His work of "atonement" in cleansing the characters of His people from sin.
It is claimed that LGT adherents hold that the ultimate defeat of Satan would only be finally effected through the sinlessly perfected remnant of the "Last Generation" of "sealed" saints.
"[60] Well-known theologians A. T. Jones and Ellet J. Waggoner were both key participants in the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session, a landmark event in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
But Andreasen believed the final atonement could be effected from the heavenly sanctuary through the sinlessly perfected characters of the embattled, last day saints on earth.
This final atonement theology was most clearly set forth in the chapter entitled "The Last Generation" in his well-known book The Sanctuary Service Archived 2018-01-19 at the Wayback Machine (1937, 1947).
This belief in sinlessness arose particularly from M. L. Andreasen's interpretation of the investigative judgment doctrine, which he based on concepts found in The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White.
[68] He wrote, "Today, we as God’s people need to devote more thoughtful, prayerful attention to the work being carried on in our behalf in the heavenly sanctuary.
[70] Through the printed pages of the Review & Herald (now Adventist Review) and Ministry magazines, he appealed to the laity and leadership of the denomination to hold fast to teachings of the church reflected in the church's fundamental beliefs, including the doctrine of the work of Jesus Christ as High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, and the concept of the true believers overcoming all their sins, with the aid of God, prior to their baptism with the power of the Holy Spirit ("the falling of the Latter Rain") to proclaim the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14 to the world, calling upon the people to take a stand for "the commandments of God (including the seventh-day Sabbath - Saturday) and the faith of Jesus".
1900] Herbert Douglass was a prominent figure in the 1970s advocating Last Generation Theology, publishing articles in what is now the Adventist Review supporting LGT,[71] along with editor Kenneth H. Wood.
[71] Douglass also promoted the Great Controversy theme (GCT) as the conceptual key, the organizing principle that leads to an understanding of humanity's greatest questions: How did life begin?
For Douglass, the Great Controversy Theme tied together the plan of redemption, Bible truth, and the peril and triumph of Jesus’ entry into humanity and His death upon the cross.
It shows why God purposes to demonstrate through His end-time people the ultimate fruition of what His grace can do, and clarifies how Satan's charges will be finally negated.
[73] Elder Ted N. C. Wilson, current General Conference President of Seventh-day Adventists, emphasizes the need for victory over sin before the close of probation and the last generation.
He presented LGT principles in his first address to the 59th GC session in Atlanta on July 3, 2010, and in his Divine Worship message to the Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC) convention on January 1, 2011.
The Great Controversy, page 425, explains that: “Those who are living upon the Earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator.
Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil.” While Wilson does not explicitly endorse LGT, Kevin Paulson has pointed out his use of Ellen White's statement on Christ's Object Lesson, page 69, in his messages—that the Latter Rain prepares the "last generation".
Last Generation Theology and its significance among Seventh-day Adventist believers is attested by the wide range of Adventist leaders and pastors,[87][88] scholars[89][90][91] the publishing of books like QOD and Issues which are more mainstream, the counter-publishing of the 1973 and 1974 Appeals, and the persistent historical presence of its advocates in significant church positions (M. L. Andreasen, Robert H. Pierson, C. Mervyn Maxwell, Kenneth Wood, Herbert E. Douglass, Joe Crews of Amazing Facts and Doug Batchelor, Walter Veith of Amazing Discoveries, Dennis Priebe, J. R. Zurcher, Ted Wilson, etc.)
He struck a receptive chord in "historic Adventists", as Brinsmead and his colleagues were convinced that they were recovering the original core message of the founders of 19th-century Seventh-day Adventism.
This phase includes His session at the right hand of God, His high priestly ministry, and the final exhibition of His saints in their last struggle with Satan, and their glorious victory ...