Carmelo Luis Martines, El remanente fiel: Un debate contemporáneo (The Faithful Remnant: A Contemporary Debate), (Libertador San Martin, Argentina: Editorial Universidad Adventista del Plata, 2014), xii+249 pages, ISBN: 978-987-1378-30-2. Paperback, US$20.00.

Carmelo L. Martines (PhD., River Plate Adventist University, Argentina) serves as systematic theology professor and research secretary of the theology faculty and postgraduate academic secretary in the same faculty. This work is adapted from his doctoral dissertation defended in 2002 under the title “El concepto de remanente en la Iglesia Adventista del Séptima: Razones subyacentes en el debate contemporáneo” (“The Remnant Concept in the Seventh-day Adventist Church: Underlying Reasons in the Contemporary Debate”). Having a bibliographical-historical, systematic-descriptive, and analytical-evaluative character (7, 8); it consists of six chapters—besides its extensive bibliography and authors index—that are presented as follows:

The first and last chapters coherently introduce and conclude the work. The first chapter presents the background of the problem that some Adventist circles have with the remnant concept and set the limitations of the study. The last chapter, in turn, offers an overview, conclusions, and recommendations for further studies.

The second chapter, “El ‘remanente’ en las Escrituras” (“The ‘Remnant’ in the Scriptures”) surveys the theme in the Old Testament, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Qumran documents, and rabbinic literature. Then it reviews Revelation 12:17, a key verse that has given Adventists their identity (42–44).

The third chapter, “El ‘remanente’ según los pioneros de la Iglesia Adventista” (“The ‘Remnant’ according to the SDA Pioneers”), focuses on three key objectives: (1) to ascertain the biblical concepts of “remnant” held by the Adventist pioneers; (2) to examine how they understood it; and (3) to specify their reasons or theological starting points (51). This is done through a historical review of the Millerite movement, the Adventist pioneers and the important role played by Ellen G. White in defining the “remnant” (63–69).

The fourth chapter, “Razones teológicas subyacentes en las posiciones tradicional y de desarrollo con respecto al ‘remanente’” (“Underlying Reasons in Traditional Theological Positions and of Development Regarding the ‘Remnant’”), is divided into two parts. The first reiterates “the position of the pioneers on the remnant” (76), and also shows the linkage of the remnant with the prophetic gift—that is, White’s ministry (81, 84). The analysis of the second position argues that “since the 1950s, Adventist theology is in a situation of tension” (126), given some critical trends to review our distinctive doctrines. Additionally, Martines is clear in stating that both positions do not disagree because the development position has “the merit of extending its biblical basis for understanding the remnant’s nature and mission beyond the mere proof texts used by the traditional position” (129).

The fifth chapter, “El ‘remanente’ y las razones Teológicas que fundamentan las posiciones de cambio y de rechazo” (“The ‘Remnant’ and Theological Reasons Underlying the Shift and Rejection Positions”), is also divided into two. The first part exposes leading exponents who support the shift position—Jack W. Provonsha, Charles W. Teel, Roy Branson, Charles Scriven, Bruce Moyer, Stephan Paul Mitchell, and Michael Pearson—showing that “there is an underlying theological reason in all of the authors’ proposals for the position change, namely, a hermeneutic approach based on the historical-critical method to investigate the Bible and the socio-political resources to critique and evaluate Adventism” (163). In the second part, Martines considers three of the most prominent exponents who support the idea of rejecting the Seventh-day Adventist Church as the remnant: Daniel G. Smith, Ingemar Lindén Daily, and Steven Gerald (164). Again, Martines evaluates the arguments of each and concludes that the authors who do not recognize the distinctiveness of the Adventist Church do so on the basis of hermeneutical methods hostile to the Bible such as the historical-critical method and historical and social studies (173).

Martines should be commended for an excellent job exploring the concept of “remnant” from the beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the present day. Further, the summaries presented in each chapter allow readers to compare the different viewpoints on the remnant. Such comparison indicates that the traditional view of the Adventist Church as the end-time remnant has been questioned in some Adventist circles, given the hermeneutical approach adopted by the critics (177, 184).

Any person committed to the Church’s message and mission—laypersons, church administrators, and Bible teachers—have a lot to gain by reading this important study. For now, the work is only in Spanish, but soon an English translation will be available, extending its influence to a wider audience.