A recent article in a theologically liberal Adventist publication offers four key objections to the doctrinal construct known as Last Generation Theology [1]. The article, like so much more in the contemporary church, demonstrates how many members—employees and laity alike—are thinking about this cluster of issues and their implications for the purpose and witness of Seventh-day Adventism.

As a lifelong devotee of Last Generation Theology, I find the renewed attention to this collection of doctrines most encouraging. Objections such as those the present article will address simply attract greater focus to what evidence suggests is truly the heart of the Seventh-day Adventist message and mission.

What is Last Generation Theology?

A quick review of what has come to be known as Last Generation Theology finds the following points as most central to its claims:

1. That human beings become sinners by choice, not by merely being born with a fallen nature.

2. That Jesus was born into this world with a fallen human nature, and in that nature lived a perfect life through the same divine power available to you and me.

3. That salvation is accomplished in human lives by both the justifying and sanctifying righteousness of Jesus.

4. That justifying (forgiving) righteousness both declares and makes us righteous.

5. That through the same divine power used by Jesus while on earth, human beings in this life can live without sinning, and that when a generation of believers achieves this experience through God’s power, God’s character will be vindicated before the universe and Jesus will return [2].

Despite the disproportionate focus of certain ones on several notable figures in Adventist history as the source of this set of doctrines, outside witnesses have verified through extensive research the pervasiveness of this theology in Adventism from the church’s beginnings. Anglican scholar Geoffrey Paxton, in his 1977 book The Shaking of Adventism, observed in the light of his study of a century’s worth of Adventist literature:

The doctrine of the perfecting of the final generation stands near the heart of Adventist theology [##3|Geoofrey J. Paxton, The Shaking of Adventism (Wilmington, DE: Zenith Publishing Co, 1977), p. 114.##].

Two more recent scholars, one a former Adventist and another who was raised an Adventist but was never baptized, have offered similar observations:

If Christ had an unfair advantage, how could individuals be expected to follow his example in living a perfect life? The problem was particularly acute since perfection had been suggested by Ellen White as the goal of the Adventist people: “While our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ.” Her call to perfection was urgent: “Jesus does not change the character at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now.” . . .

Prior to [Edward] Heppenstall, no important Adventist writer denied the possibility of perfection. Ellen White had been unequivocal: “As the Son of Man was perfect in His life, so His followers are to be perfect in their life” [##4|Malcolm Bull and Keith Lockhart, Seeking a Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventism and the American Dream (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2007), pp. 86-87.##].

The article in question is thus correct when it describes Last Generation Theology as a “unique, Adventist-rooted ideology” [5]. (Those on another liberal Adventist website who have lately voiced fears that aspects of Last Generation Theology are being echoed in the current Sabbath School Quarterly [6] may perhaps need reminding that when all is said and done, this theology is deeply embedded in the DNA of classic Adventist doctrine.) The fact is that whatever one thinks of Last Generation Theology, it cannot be relegated to the margins of Seventh-day Adventist thought. Its pervasiveness throughout the Adventist narrative does not, of course, prove it to be correct on the basis of either Scripture or the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. But it cannot be fairly discredited by its critics as an alleged product of the church’s fringes.

Four Objections

The author of the article in question writes: “An adequate discussion of Last Generation Theology and its theological difficulties far exceeds my available space. I will, therefore, just briefly list some objections I have” [7]. Following are the four (4) objections he chooses to raise in his article, and the present writer’s response:

1. The Second Coming becomes constrained by human performance, specifically the necessity of free-willed beings to achieve perfection. Continued failure would then forever preclude Jesus’ return [8].

While free will is imperative at every level of the Biblical salvation process, only through heaven’s power can the promised perfection of character be achieved. The use of the term “human performance” conveys, by itself, the notion of human beings acting in their own strength. Despite allegations to the contrary, Last Generation Theology has never taught that perfection can be achieved in this way, nor have its advocates ever taught that at any time the saints will stand victorious in their own power, after probation’s close or otherwise.

The victory of the Last Generation is essential as a prerequisite for the Second Coming because this victory will vindicate God’s character from the charges of Satan against the divine law and thus bring the great controversy to a triumphant close. It is true, as critics of Last Generation Theology have reminded us, that according to Ellen White “Satan’s charges were refuted” by Jesus’ earthly life and death [##9|Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 762.##]. But Ellen White is equally clear that the full vindication of God is still in the future, and she explains why:

Yet Satan was not then destroyed. The angels did not even then understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more fully revealed. And for the sake of man, Satan’s existence must be continued. Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. He must choose whom he will serve [##10|——The Desire of Ages, p. 761.##].

The warfare against God’s law, which was begun in heaven, will be continued until the end of time. Every man will be tested. Obedience or disobedience is the question to be decided by the whole world. All will be called to choose between the law of God and the laws of men. Here the dividing line will be drawn. There will be but two classes. Every character will be fully developed, and all will show whether they have chosen the side of loyalty or that of rebellion.

Then the end will come. God will vindicate His law and deliver His people [##11|——The Desire of Ages, p. 763.##].

In other words, even the angels didn’t fully understand the principles of the great controversy when Jesus died on the cross. Thus “the principles at stake were to be more fully revealed” through “the contrast between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness” [##12|——The Desire of Ages, p. 761.##]. The contrast here described will mean that “every character will be fully developed” [##13|——The Desire of Ages, p. 763.##]. Thus Ellen White describes the dual harvest of righteousness and sin at the end of time in the following statements:

Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own [##14|——Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69.##].

John foresaw the conflict between the remnant church and the power of evil, and said, “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

The forces of darkness will unite with human agents who have given themselves into the control of Satan, and the same scenes that were exhibited at the trial, rejection, and crucifixion of Christ will be revived. Through yielding to satanic influences, men will be transformed into fiends; and those who were created in the image of God, who were formed to honor and glorify their Creator, will become the habitation of dragons, and Satan will see in an apostate race his masterpiece of evil—men who reflect his own image [##15|——SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 974.##].

The Bible itself is clear that Satan must be defeated by the people of God as well as by Jesus. In Genesis 3:15 we read the first prophecy of the coming Savior when God declared to the serpent in Eden, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” But the apostle Paul prophesied in the epistle to the Romans, regarding God’s people: “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20). If Jesus had done all the bruising necessary, this promise by the apostle would be quite unnecessary.

Ellen White echoes these words of Paul when she writes:

The church will yet see troublous times. She will prophesy in sackcloth. But although she must meet heresies and persecutions, although she must battle with the infidel and the apostate, yet by the help of God she is bruising the head of Satan [##16|——Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 594.##].

God help us to take heed to ourselves or we shall certainly lose heaven. Little departures from right, little indulgences, seem a trifling thing at present; but Satan will lead us on a track that will separate us from righteousness and from God. We want not our ways but God’s ways. We want to strive with all the powers of being to bruise Satan under our feet and be sure that we are right with God, that we have a clear title to our immortal inheritance [##17|——This Day With God, p. 27.##].

Another statement is clear that the work of refuting Satan’s lies about God’s requirements is not the work of Christ alone, but of both Christ and all His followers:

Unselfishness, the principle of God’s kingdom, is the principle that Satan hates; its very existence he denies. From the beginning of the great controversy he has endeavored to prove God’s principles of action to be selfish, and he deals in the same way with all who serve God. To disprove Satan’s claim is the work of Christ and of all who bear His name [##18|——Education, p. 154.##].

While it is true, regarding Satan’s claim that God’s law can’t be kept, that “Christ proved this statement false” [##19|——Signs of the Times, Sept. 24, 1901.##], Ellen White is clear that this claim of the adversary is still operative in the great controversy, and that therefore, how human beings live today either sustains or disproves Satan’s accusation against the law of God. Thus Ellen White declares that “all who break God’s commandments are sustaining Satan’s claim that the law is unjust, and cannot be obeyed” [##20|——The Desire of Ages, p. 309.##], and that “those who live the life of a Christian are battling against the devil’s lie that man cannot keep God’s law” [##21|——Signs of the Times, July 10, 1901.##]. Even more strongly, she writes elsewhere:

Exact obedience is required, and those who say that it is not possible to live a perfect life, throw upon God the imputation of injustice and untruth [##22|——Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, p. 369.##].

Therefore he (Satan) is constantly seeking to deceive the followers of Christ with his fatal sophistry that it is impossible for them to overcome [##23|——The Great Controversy, p. 489.##].

According to Ellen White, the universe itself is at risk in the decisions God’s people make in the struggle with sin. In her words:

All heaven is represented to me as watching the unfolding of events. A crisis is to be revealed in the great and prolonged controversy in the government of God on earth. Something great and decisive is to take place, and that right early. If any delay, the character of God and His throne will be compromised [##24|——Manuscript 27, 1892.##].

No wonder Ellen White declares, in another statement:

We were brought into existence because we were needed. How sad the thought that if we stand on the wrong side, in the ranks of the enemy, we are lost to the design of our Creator [##25|——Signs of the Times, April 22, 1903.##].

Returning to the objection voiced by the article in question, it is quite true that the timing of the Second Coming is constrained by “the necessity of free-willed beings to achieve perfection” [26]. (Let us keep in mind that this achievement is accomplished, in Ellen White’s words, “through the grace of God and their own diligent effort” [##27|——The Great Controversy, p. 425.##]. Without God’s empowering grace we are all helpless.) To say, as this author does, that “continued failure would forever preclude Jesus’ return” [28] is in fact true, but the good news is that God will in fact have a remnant who keep His commandments (Rev. 12:17; 14:12) and will “not do iniquity” (Zeph. 3:13).

God has risked Himself by giving His creatures free choice, but as He knows the future in all its detail, He knows the time will come when the free choice of a faithful generation will result in the total conquest of sin through heaven’s power, thus making possible the close of the great controversy and the return of Jesus to this earth.

2. While perfection perhaps can be achieved unwittingly, it obviously helps to understand the goal. And I defy anyone to define sin with algorithmic precision, so its commission—in all cases—is knowable to the ones striving for perfection. While much sin is easily recognizable, correctly categorizing every possibility is (I contend) impossible for humans to do [29].

“I contend” is the key phrase here. This is a fallible human opinion, nothing more. The Bible is clear in both Testaments that God’s requirements for moral rectitude are both knowable and (through His grace) achievable. In the words of the apostle Paul:

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Cor. 7:1).

In Ellen White’s words:

God has plainly stated that He expects us to be perfect, and because He expects this, He has made provision for us to be partakers of the divine nature. Only thus can we gain success in striving for eternal life. The power is given by Christ [##30|White, Our High Calling, p. 213.##].

So perfect is the character represented which men must have in order to be Christ’s disciples that the infidel has said that it is not possible for any human being to attain unto it. But no less a standard must be presented by all who claim to be children of God. Infidels know not that celestial aid is provided for all who seek for it by faith. Every provision has been made in behalf of every soul who shall seek to be a partaker of the divine nature and be complete in Jesus Christ. Every defect is to be discerned and cut away from the character with an unsparing decision [##31|——In Heavenly Places, p. 201.##].

And the best news of all is that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9). Too many who object to perfection theology, I fear, have an image of God much like the military drill instructor on the 1982 movie “An Officer and a Gentleman,” who was played by Lou Gossett Jr. (Not a movie I’d recommend, to be sure, but the older readers of this article might remember it.) In the movie, “Sargent Foley,” the drill instructor, vows to “use every means necessary, fair and unfair,” to trip up his cadets.

I suspect many who recoil from the idea of seeking and achieving perfection have been given a similar view of God, one totally unwarranted when one reads the inspired writings.

The God of the Bible has not given complicated, mysterious rules designed to confuse and trip up His followers. He wants us in heaven more passionately than we want to get there. His standards of conduct, as articulated in His written counsel, are plain and self-explanatory. None need fear the alleged machinations of a fictive celestial tyrant seeking to make needlessly difficult our entrance to his kingdom.

3. Last Generation Theology turns inward, as sinlessness is the goal. But evangelism involves “rubbing shoulders” with the unsaved, thus possibly polluting the perfection-striver. So evangelism is risky, dangerous to one’s own salvation. To me, this makes God’s mandates schizophrenic [32].

It would seem this brother has forgotten about Jesus. He rubbed shoulders with the unsaved on a regular basis (Luke 15:1-2), yet He was totally without sin. In my own experience as a fifth-generation Adventist, I have found those most interested in evangelism to be the most likely to believe in the possibility—indeed, the necessity—of divinely-empowered character perfection on this earth. This is truly one of the strangest objections to Last Generation Theology that I’ve ever encountered. Certainly it is not borne out by the practical experience of the great majority of perfection-believing Adventists of my acquaintance.

This allegation of an “inward” focus on the part of Last Generation Theology is a half-truth which conveys the effect of an untruth. The Bible commands Christians to “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith” (II Cor. 13:5), and Ellen White agrees:

The daily review of our acts, to see whether conscience approves or condemns, is necessary for all who wish to arrive at the perfection of Christian character [##33|White, Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 512.##].

But this doesn’t mean the Christian’s principal focus is inward, as the only source of power for victory in the quest for perfection comes from Jesus. Yes, we must examine ourselves and compare our daily choices with the divine standard. But the power to prevail in the making of right choices and the struggle against wrong ones is the Lord’s, not ours. Even the cooperative effort we exert in this process is the Lord’s, and our cooperation with His empowering grace simply returns to Him what was His in the first place (I Chron. 29:14). Without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5), but with Him, we can do all things (Phil. 4:13).

4. What’s the point of demonstrating sinlessness? Some have suggested its achievement somehow makes one “safe to save.” So admitting such ones to heaven would then preclude sin’s future reappearance. But since this has presumably not been the criterion until the last days, heaven is going to have a lot of saved people who are, shall we say, justified but not fully sanctified. Like the thief on the cross. If safety is God’s overriding concern, then there will be plenty of “risky” people in heaven [34].

This objection does raise thought-provoking questions which merit careful consideration. The final generation doesn’t have to reach the highest height of sinless obedience simply to qualify for heaven. While all in every age must, by the grace of God, live up to all the light and truth revealed to them, different levels of light and spiritual awareness have existed at different times. Multitudes of Christians throughout history will be in heaven who died sinning ignorantly (see Acts 17:30; James 4:17). According to Ellen White, the mediation of Christ in heaven covers such shortcomings:

The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. This atonement is made for the righteous dead as well as for the righteous living. It includes all who died trusting in Christ, but who, not having received the light upon God’s commandments, had sinned ignorantly in transgressing its precepts [##35|White, Early Writings, p. 254.##].

But this mediation will have ended when probation closes, which is why Ellen White states regarding the Last Generation saints:

When our earthly labors are ended, and Christ shall come for His faithful children, we shall then shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of our Father. But before that time shall come, everything that is imperfect in us will have been seen and put away. All envy and jealousy and evil surmising and every selfish plan will have been banished from the life [##36|——Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 427 (italics supplied).##].

Some might ask why God doesn’t reveal all ignorant sin to His faithful people in every age, if He knows all along they would be willing to accept it. But when we ponder this question, the words of Jesus to His disciples come to mind: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). The human experience can only absorb so much at a given time. And even if an individual can bear greater light, many within one’s sphere of influence might not be able. No man is an island, as the saying goes. Too much light and truth revealed all at once can have the effect of red-hot iron suddenly plunged into ice-cold water. God is therefore limited as to how much He can reveal to men and women at a given moment. Hence the delay of the fullest revelation of light and truth till the end of time.

But while men and women can qualify for heaven without this fullest revelation in their earthly lives, the delay of Jesus’ coming till that fullest revelation is complete is for a very different reason. This is where the vindication of God, His character, and His government enters the picture. Certainly the trials of the last days will be vastly beyond anything experienced by the people of God in previous times, thus necessitating a level of preparedness not seen before. But only when it is demonstrated that unbroken, unsullied adherence to the divine law is possible even under such challenges—even in the most adverse, disagreeable, and unexpected of circumstances, with no heavenly Mediator to plead their case should they fall—can the universe at last be secure against another rebellion.

Conclusion: Humility and Ambiguity

The author of the article in question makes a common mistake among theological liberals when he confuses humility with ambiguity. But ambiguity is no more a manifestation of Bible humility than a beautiful woman thinking she’s ugly or an intelligent man thinking he’s a fool. Ellen White addresses this misunderstanding of Biblical humility when she writes: “Skepticism and unbelief are not humility. Implicit belief in Christ’s word is true humility, true self-surrender” [##37|——The Desire of Ages, p. 535.##].

He writes that “we ought to have humility and candor about what we do not understand” [38]. But while it is true that the Christian’s earthly sojourn encompasses a significant measure of uncertainty, the inspired text is clear that the reason for the delay of Jesus’ coming is not left unexplained.

The prophet Zephaniah writes that “the remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth” (Zeph. 3:13), a prophecy that will reach ultimate fulfillment in the Last Generation saints (Rev. 12:17; 14:5,12). The New Testament repeats this assurance in its various passages declaring perfection of character to be a prerequisite for the coming of Jesus (I Thess. 5:23; II Peter 3:10-14; I John 3:2-3; Rev. 3:21; 7:1-3; 10:7). Ellen White’s numerous statements on this subject are but an affirmation of this Biblical promise [##39|White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69; The Great Controversy, pp. 425,623; Early Writings, p. 71; Testimonies, vol. 1, pp. 187,340,619; vol. 2, pp. 355,505; vol. 3, p. 472; vol. 5, pp. 214,216; Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 506-507; SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, pp. 1055,1118; Evangelism, p. 702; Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 427; From the Heart, p. 44; Review and Herald, May 30, 1882; Nov. 19, 1908.## ].

The author of the article in question writes, regarding the delay of Jesus’ coming:

What I see here is the likelihood that the Delay Problem I intertwined with God’s addressing the Problem of Evil. And the Problem of Evil is a deep, vexing difficulty for Christians. The best theodicies are partial and it’s obviously uncomfortable to have an incomplete or problematic belief-structure. We want certainty, but we aren’t going to get it [40].

In reply, I would urge this author to consider that the premises, contentions, and contours of Last Generation Theology offer the best solution within the crosscurrents of Christian thought to the lingering, soul-tormenting presence of evil in our world. No explanation as to this greatest of Christian vexations makes more sense than the fact that God awaits the development of a global community in whose lives selfless purity and service to others will offer a flawless contrast to the self-absorption and exploitation pervasive thus far throughout the human story. Critics of Last Generation Theology must ask themselves if in fact their own discomfort with the moral injunctions of this theological construct have prevented them from acknowledging the answers it offers to the persistent, soul-troubling dilemmas of so many thoughtful minds, now and throughout history.

REFERENCES

1. Rich Hannon, “The Delay Problem & Last Generation Theology,” Adventist Today, Aug. 2, 2022 https://atoday.org/the-delay-problem/

2. Kevin D. Paulson, What is . . . Last Generation Theology? (Ukiah, CA: Last Generation for Christ Publishers, 2021), p. 5. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a433da0e4c11b9a8d2cca3/t/61b28000863cb25a40a1ac85/1639088129710/Last_Generation_Theology.pdf

3. Geoffrey J. Paxton, The Shaking of Adventism (Wilmington, DE: Zenith Publishing Co, 1977), p. 114.

4. Malcolm Bull and Keith Lockhart, Seeking a Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventists and the American Dream (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2007), pp. 86-87.

5. Hannon, “The Delay Problem & Last Generation Theology,” Adventist Today, Aug. 2, 2022 https://atoday.org/the-delay-problem/

6. Alexander Carpenter, “Penultimate Generation Theology,” Spectrum, Aug. 3, 2022 https://spectrummagazine.org/sabbath-school/2022/penultimate-generation-theology

7. Hannon, “The Delay Problem & Last Generation Theology,” Adventist Today, Aug. 2, 2022 https://atoday.org/the-delay-problem/

8. Ibid.

9. Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 762.

10. Ibid, p. 761.

11. Ibid, p. 763.

12. Ibid, p. 761.

13. Ibid, p. 763.

14. ----Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69.

15. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 974.

16. ----Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 594.

17. ----This Day With God, p. 27.

18. ----Education, p. 154.

19. ----Signs of the Times, Sept. 24, 1901.

20. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 309.

21. ----Signs of the Times, July 10, 1901.

22. ----Manuscript Releases, vol. 1, p. 369.

23. ----The Great Controversy, p. 489.

24. ----Manuscript 27, 1892.

25. ----Signs of the Times, April 22, 1903.

26. Hannon, “The Delay Problem & Last Generation Theology,” Adventist Today, Aug. 2, 2022 https://atoday.org/the-delay-problem/

27. White, The Great Controversy, p. 425.

28. Hannon, “The Delay Problem & Last Generation Theology,” Adventist Today, Aug. 2, 2022 https://atoday.org/the-delay-problem/

29. Ibid.

30. White, Our High Calling, p. 213.

31. ----In Heavenly Places, p. 201.

32. Hannon, “The Delay Problem & Last Generation Theology,” Adventist Today, Aug. 2, 2022 https://atoday.org/the-delay-problem/

33. White, Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 512.

34. Hannon, “The Delay Problem & Last Generation Theology,” Adventist Today, Aug. 2, 2022 (italics original). https://atoday.org/the-delay-problem/

35. White, Early Writings, p. 254.

36. ----Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 427 (italics supplied).

37. ----The Desire of Ages, p. 535.

38. Hannon, “The Delay Problem & Last Generation Theology,” Adventist Today, Aug. 2, 2022 (italics original). https://atoday.org/the-delay-problem/

39. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69; The Great Controversy, pp. 425,623; Early Writings, p. 71; Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 187,340,619; vol. 2, pp. 355,505; vol. 3, p. 472; vol. 5, pp. 214,216; Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 506-507; SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, pp. 1055,1118; Evangelism, p. 702; Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 427; From the Heart, p. 44; Review and Herald, May 30, 1882; Nov. 19, 1908.

40. Hannon, “The Delay Problem & Last Generation Theology,” Adventist Today, Aug. 2, 2022 (italics original). https://atoday.org/the-delay-problem/

Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan