Belief 22:Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman in loving companionship.  For the Christian a marriage commitment is to God as well as to the spouse, and should be entered into only between partners who share a common faith.  Mutual love, honor, respect, and responsibility are the fabric of this relationship, which is to reflect the love, sanctity, closeness, and permanence of the relationship between Christ and His church.  Regarding divorce, Jesus taught that the person who divorces a spouse, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery.  Although some family relationships may fall short of the ideal, marriage partners who fully commit themselves to each other in Christ may achieve loving unity through the guidance of the Spirit and the nurture of the church.  God blesses the family and intends that its members shall assist each other toward complete maturity.  Parents are to bring up their children to love and obey the Lord.  By their examples and their words they are to teach them that Christ is a loving disciplinarian , ever tender and caring, who want them to become members of His body, the family of God. Increasing family closeness is one of the earmarks of the final gospel message.

Belief 23:There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man.  In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to all believers the benefits of his atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross.  He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the time of His ascension.  In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His  atoning ministry.  It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement.  In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus.  The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligence who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection.  It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the Commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom.  This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus.  It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom.  The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent.

Belief 24:The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel.  The Savior's coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide.  When He returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die.  The almost complete fulfillment of most lines of prophecy, together with the present condition of the world, indicates that Christ's coming is imminent.  The time of tat event has not been revealed, and we are therefore exhorted to be ready at all times.

Belief 25:The wages of sin is death.  But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed.  Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people.  When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord.  The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later.

Belief 26:The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections.  During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels.  At its close Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth.  The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth.  The universe will thus be freed from sin and sinners forever.

Belief 27: On the new earth, in which righteousness dwells, God will provide an eternal home for the redeemed and the perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy, and learning in His presence.  For here God Himself will dwell with His people, and suffering and death will have passed away.  The great controversy will be ended, and sin will be no more.  All things, animate and inanimate, will declare that god is love; and He shall reign forever.  Amen!