Our Message
What We Believe and Teach
The message presented by The Branch – The Ensign grows from a simple conviction:
God has spoken through His Word, and His Word deserves to be taken seriously.
We believe Scripture reveals both God's saving work and His purpose for humanity. It records what He has done, explains how His people are to live and points forward to events that will culminate in the establishment of Christ's everlasting kingdom.
Our message therefore brings together Scripture, prophecy, obedience and preparation.
The following is a summary rather than a complete statement of faith. The Bible studies and publications on this website provide the fuller biblical arguments behind these convictions.
Scripture and Present Truth
We accept the Holy Scriptures as the foundation upon which our teaching must be tested.
We believe biblical prophecy contains truths applicable to successive generations and that particular prophetic truths become especially significant as the events to which they point approach fulfilment.
For this reason we seek to understand both fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecy and its implications for God's people today.
We invite readers neither to accept nor reject our conclusions simply because they agree or disagree with familiar religious positions.
Test them by Scripture.
Christ and the Coming Kingdom
Jesus Christ stands at the centre of God's plan of salvation.
We believe in His saving work, His continuing ministry and His promised return.
We also believe that the coming kingdom should be understood as the real fulfilment of the prophetic promises of Scripture. Daniel describes a kingdom established by God that will never be destroyed, while the prophets picture the nations learning God's ways under His righteous government.
The Christian hope therefore reaches beyond the conditions of the present world toward the establishment of the everlasting kingdom of Christ.
God's Law and His Appointed Times
We believe God's commandments remain important to the life of faith and that obedience is the fruit of a genuine relationship with Him.
As Seventh-day Adventists, we keep the seventh-day Sabbath.
Our studies have also led us to believe that God's biblical appointed times deserve serious attention. The original Ensign statement specifically identifies Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles as part of its religious observance and understanding.
We recognise that this differs from the practice of most Seventh-day Adventists.
We therefore present the biblical case for examination rather than asking readers to accept the position without study.
The Holy Spirit and Wisdom
One of the most distinctive areas of our teaching concerns the identity of the Holy Spirit.
Our studies understand the biblical figure of Wisdom, particularly as presented in Proverbs, as personally significant to the identity and work of the Holy Spirit. The original Ensign teaching consequently understands the Holy Spirit as feminine rather than masculine and connects this interpretation with biblical passages concerning Wisdom, the Spirit and the imagery of Sarah.
We recognise that this interpretation differs substantially from conventional Christian and Seventh-day Adventist teaching.
For precisely that reason, it should not be reduced to a slogan.
The relevant Bible studies and publications set out the scriptural reasoning so readers can examine the passages and reach their own conclusions.
Prophecy, Gathering and Preparation
We believe the prophetic Word points toward a gathering and preparation of God's people before the establishment of Christ's kingdom.
This conviction is closely connected with the name The Ensign.
Our interest in prophecy is therefore practical rather than merely speculative. If God reveals events before they occur, the important question is not simply whether we can correctly identify them.
The greater question is:
How should that knowledge change the way we live?
Prophecy should produce faith, obedience, watchfulness and preparation.
Faith in Practice
We believe biblical faith should be visible in everyday life.
The original Ensign statement emphasises voluntary service, charitable giving, temperance, abstinence from tobacco and alcoholic beverages, and careful attention to health and wholesome living.
These practices are not presented as a substitute for salvation through Christ. Rather, they reflect the conviction that our spiritual, physical and practical lives belong to God.
An Invitation to Examine
Some teachings presented by The Branch – The Ensign will be familiar. Others will not.
We do not expect a thoughtful reader to accept an unfamiliar interpretation simply because it appears on this website.
We ask something more valuable:
Examine it.
Read the Scriptures cited. Consider the context. Compare one passage with another. Read the studies and publications in which the evidence is presented. Pray for understanding.
And where our conclusions can be demonstrated from Scripture, follow the evidence wherever it leads.
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:21