Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists

eings.
But while heaven rejoices, earth must take
warning: "'Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and
the sea! For the devil has come down to you,
having great wrath, because he knows that he has a
short time'" (Rev. 12:12).
To vent his anger Satan began persecuting the
woman--the church (Rev. 12:13), which, though it
suffered greatly, nevertheless survived. Sparsely
populated areas of the earth--"the wilderness"--
provided refuge for God's faithful during the 1260
prophetic days or 1260 literal years (Rev. 12:14-
16; see chapter 4, p. 41, on the year-day
principle).[2]
At the end of this wilderness experience God's
people emerge in response to signs of the soon
return of Christ. John identifies this faithful group
as "the remnant. ... which keep the commandments
of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ"
(Rev. 12:7, KJV). The devil particularly hates this
remnant (Rev. 12:17).
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