Adventist World August 2023 English

Colonialism and Christian Mission

The Kitchen Table

By Sikhululekile Daco

You’re sitting around the kitchen table for a family meeting. Something has happened that caused one of the family members pain—pain perhaps inflicted by another member of the family. I’ve been involved in such meetings. They are hard. It is tempting to simply pretend the harm never happened, in order to avoid the difficult conversation.

The thing about difficult conversations is just that—they are difficult. These conversations touch cherished values and threaten to derail worldviews. At times it may feel as though the very fabric of our reality may unravel if we even consider certain thoughts, let alone engage in an exchange with someone who sees things differently. Yet these conversations are some of the most important. They cut through any pretense and address themselves to what matters most to us.

For some readers the focus of this issue represents a difficult conversation. Questions have been brewing, particularly among those who have inherited the negative effects of colonialism, about the role of the church in that enterprise.

Some question the veracity and viability of Adventist doctrine given the time during which Adventism arose and spread. Does the fact that the spread of Christianity has been linked with the colonial enterprise disqualify its teachings? Does the fact that Adventist’s prophetic understanding developed during the colonial era? Is our traditional interpretation of Daniel and Revelation so tainted by a colonial mindset that it is wholly unreliable?

In order to begin to address these questions and others like them, we must take a look at some uncomfortable facts from our history. The articles in this issue are by no means exhaustive. Think of them as guiding a conversation in which much more could and should be said. The goal is not to be condemnatory, but to be candid. It is only when we honestly face our past that we can properly move forward in the present.

Back at that kitchen table, it may become apparent, as the family listens to each other, that some of the hurt was misconstrued. What may have felt like deliberate malevolence might be softened in interpretation. Reactions are impacted by a humble, open, and honest consideration of different perspectives. Even when the issue is not resolved, engaging in the discussion brings us closer together as the family of God. If nothing else, we will better understand each other, which will help us to better love each other.

Let us sit together around the proverbial kitchen table and address ourselves to a topic that may be challenging to discuss. With the empathy, compassion, and kindness of Christ, speaking the truth in love, we can forge a more authentic Christian unity.

Deriba Olana

Boubakar Sanou

David Shin

Cover image: vovashevchuk / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images

We believe in the power of prayer, and we welcome prayer requests that can be shared at our weekly staff worship every Wednesday morning. Send your requests to prayer@adventistworld.org, and pray for us as we work together to advance God’s kingdom.

Carlos Magalhaes, digital strategies manager for the South American Division, shares about the creation of the video streaming service Feliz7Play during the GAiN Americas event, held at the North American Division headquarters.

Lucas Cardino / AME (CC BY 4.0)

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The number of Adventist leaders, health center managers, and health advocates who met in Coimbra, Portugal, for the European Congress on Adventist Lifestyle Centers May 30June 3. Participants spent time during this international event networking and discussing the role, function, and mission opportunities of lifestyle centers driven by the Adventist health message. During the four-day event they had the opportunity to attend presentations on the Adventist health message and the role of lifestyle centers, as well as participate in panels and workshops on the more practical aspects of founding, developing, and operating these facilities. Lifestyle centers are very useful tools for health promotion and as a form of first contact with the people and the communities in which they are located.

More Than 150

–John Graz, former general secretary of the International Religious Liberty Association, at the national Brazil conference on religious freedom titled “Freedom 25.” The event took place in São Paulo, May 13-15. Freedom 25 suggested 100 practical ideas to strengthen religious freedom, all to be implemented by 2025. It trained and mobilized students, pastors, and volunteer leaders to promote, advocate, and protect religious freedom. It also sought to advance 25 specific topics in five areas: church, society, state, labor, and education.

The number of Pathfinder teams that participated in the 2023 Pathfinder Bible Experience in Tampa Bay, Florida, United States, April 21-22. This was the second year the event was back in person after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event online in 2020 and 2021. This will also mark the second year that teams unable to travel could participate remotely in real time with those gathered in Florida. Organizers are thrilled about the high number of teams that attended the event held this year at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall. (->)

“My purpose was to build on Paul preaching in Athens about the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 17. But more than preaching about the Holy Spirit, we prayed for and taught [about] and sang [of] and experienced the Holy Spirit! It was an international audience with Greeks as well as people from Zambia, China, the Philippines, Ghana, Romania, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Serbia, France, Cyprus, Cameroon, Tunisia, and the U.S.—all in one place!”

–Glenn Aguirre, pastor of the Calhoun church in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference, North American Division, about an evangelistic series held in Athens, Greece, April 28-May 3. The series was part of the Christ for Europe initiative and had a steady attendance of more than 60 people for the entire time.

“People are discriminated against because of their religion. It’s a situation that hasn’t changed, and I’m not sure it will. That’s why it’s so important to talk about it, and Brazil is one of the best countries to debate this topic.”

The number of young people that participated in the twelfth motivation camp, which was hosted by the Sabah Mission and took place in Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia. The camp, held at one of the region’s recreational campgrounds, included a variety of activities, such as archery, fishing, boating, swimming, team-building exercises, group challenges, and more. The Sabah Mission Youth Ministries Department organizes the motivation camp each year. The program, which is specifically intended for high school graduates who are awaiting the results of their national examinations, attempts to prepare students for their forthcoming move to higher education. It gives these young people a chance to get out of their comfort zones and prepare for the difficulties that await them at college or university.

–G. Alexander Bryant, president of the North American Division, about the grand opening of The Well worship complex in Apopka, Florida, United States, March 17-18. When the church acquired the Apopka property in 2019, it wasn’t designed as a church building; instead, it included space for athletic and community programs. The Well serves hundreds of people who participate in activities such as gymnastics, basketball, tutoring, and workplace screening. The complex also has space for worship, which provides a spiritual complement to the physical activities that are offered.

Pieter Damsteegt

“Do you know what the emphasis is in the world church today? It’s to have a place like this—to turn our worship centers into community places that will serve the needs of the people for whom Jesus Christ died. How do we take our places of worship and turn them from places that gather just two hours a week to places that serve the community seven days a week?”

Unprecedented Evangelistic Initiative Runs Across Europe

Marcos Paseggi, Adventist World

It is the phrase carved on the foundation stone under the John Hus memorial in Old Town Square in Prague, Czech Republic. The phrase was taken from one of Hus’s famous sermons. Its translation? “Love each other and wish the truth to everybody.”

The Bohemian Reformer, who preached faithfulness to the Bible a century before Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation in Germany, was burned as a heretic in 1415. He might never have imagined how his example and his words would keep resonating across the centuries, and how, in Adventist Church cofounder Ellen G. White’s words, “the truths for which he died could never perish.”1

The John Hus memorial has been a meaningful place since its inauguration more than a century ago. It became a place of collective pride, a spot that reinforces a sense of national identity. It is told that during the post-World War II Communist rule, sitting at the feet of the memorial became a way of

quietly expressing one’s opposition to oppression.

Against this background it is perhaps no coincidence that the Seventh-day Adventist Church launched its continent-wide Christ for Europe initiative from Prague. Guest speaker for the May 12-27 evangelistic meetings was General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson, who shared Bible messages at the Bethany Social Center, just a few miles south from the John Hus memorial.

Before the end of 2023 hundreds of church leaders and other volunteers will preach and lead outreach initiatives in more than three dozen countries and 1,500 venues across Europe.

Since its introduction Christ for Europe has experienced an influx of volunteers, Adventist World Radio (AWR) president Duane McKey said. “Thirty church unions, 38 countries, and 1,514 sites will be involved,” McKey announced at the General Conference church meetings in April.

“One hundred fifty international evangelists have signed on to preach, teach, and baptize,” he added. “Their

efforts will be combined with hundreds of laypersons, local volunteers, and members at various sites.” AWR has been instrumental in the lead-up to the massive effort, which McKey called “the most extensive evangelistic outreach conducted in Europe in the history of the Adventist Church.”

The European continent includes three of the 13 Adventist Church world divisions and the attached field of Ukraine. In total, the European population is approximately 747 million.

The Czech Republic (population 10.8 million) has followed the religious trends that have impacted other European nations. According to religion data, about 90 percent of the population was Christian before World War II. As of 2021 almost half of the population identifies as irreligious (agnostic, atheist, or other irreligious stances), and another 30 percent does not identify as either religious or irreligious. Those who identify as Christians are just 12 percent of the population.

According to Adventist Church data, the Czecho-Slovakian Union Conference, which includes the Czech Republic and neighboring Slovakia, included, as of June 2022, 9,471 baptized church members who worship in 187 churches and companies.

Adventist leaders hope that Hus’s “example of faith and constancy,” which encouraged “multitudes to stand firm for the truth,”2 may lead many Czechs and others to go back to the Bible to find truth, just as Hus did more than six centuries ago.

Christ for Europe is sharing the message in thousands of venues.

“Milujte se, pravdy každému přejte.”

1 Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911), p. 110. 2 Ibid.

General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson preaches in Prague, Czech Republic, as interpreter Rene Metz looks on.

Marcos Paseggi, Adventist World

Businesspeople Convention Highlights Potential for Mission

The fourth annual Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries (ASi) Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID) convention was held at the Victoria Falls, May 10-13. Dozens of businesspeople and church leaders converged in Livingstone, Zambia, for the event. Under the theme Enterprise Unusual, business presentations sought to equip and inspire church members.

SID vice president Jongimpi Papu led the devotional plenary sessions.

ASi-SID president Advocate Dengure said he believes the event will become a game changer, as members live up to the convention’s theme.

Hopeson Bonya, the SID vice president who oversees ASi affairs in the region, agreed. “As a world church division, we are pleased to see the business community working hand in glove for the mission of the church. If we as a church can continue with this spirit, we will finish the work very soon.”

ASi leaders believe that when businesspeople meet to share ideas, the end product will be an explosion in evangelism. Participants said they enjoyed presentations that sought to instill a spirit of collaboration.

One of the guest speakers was the first female mayor of the city of Livingstone. Constance Nalishebo Mukelebai thanked the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Zambia for uplifting lives in the fields of education and health. “The government of Zambia is very happy,” she said, “with the work accomplished by churches, especially the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to improve the lives of ordinary people.”

Vanny Munyumbwe, president

of the Southern Zambia Union Conference, highlighted the visit of the mayor. “The presence of government shows that we are doing a good job and that the government is watching us, so let us keep up the good work,” he said.

Businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei further challenged delegates, asking them to be united, since, he said, it will be impossible to accomplish the mission of the church while divided. He also called delegates to step up. “As businesspeople, we must make our resources available for God’s work so that we can hasten His second coming.”

One of the highlights of this convention was the ASi members’ pledge to emulate Jesus Christ’s ministry of love and compassion by raising funds to assist the 23 former sex workers who were baptized after recent Adventist World Radio evangelistic meetings. The group, now affectionately known as “The Friends of Jesus,” have been given financial support to help them start a new life and support

Sister Esther, the spokesperson of the group, thanked the Adventist Church for its support. “We are thankful to the Seventh-day Adventist Church for this good gesture of pointing us to Jesus and taking us away from the streets,” she said. “They have given us cash to look after our families; they have paid our rent for five months and launched several projects so that we can have a meaningful income as we develop our own businesses.”

ASi businesspeople then invited the group for a big Sabbath celebration and worship, and raised additional funds that will further support them as they find their way back into the community.

ASi-SID projects director Stanley Kondongwe explained the rationale for their actions. “By donating to our dear sisters, we are impacting Livingstone,” he said. “We are showing we are not here just to talk but—as our motto says—to share Christ in the marketplace.”

The 2023 ASi-SID event was held in Livingstone, Zambia.

Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division and Adventist World

Adventist businesspeople listen to the proceedings at the 2023 ASi convention in Livingstone, Zambia.

Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division News their loved ones.

Leaders Dedicate First Nations Building to Be a Healing Place

Shelley Poole, Adventist Record, and Adventist World

During Reconciliation Week in late May, officers of the Australian Union Conference (AUC) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ministries (ATSIM) representatives, and the honorable mayor of Armadale in Australia met to celebrate the opening of a new building and extension to Mamarapha College.

The Adventist educational institution is located on Whadjuk Noongar land (also known as Karragullen) in Western Australia.

A HIGHER EXPERIENCE

Coming in under budget, at just under Australian $2 million (about US$1.34 million), the pristine new classrooms, student common area, computer lab, administrative offices, and Faith FM recording studio will support growth in First Nations ministry and health education at Mamarapha College.

“I expected to learn about the Bible at Mamarapha, but I never expected the experience to be life-changing!” Teeharnee Robinson, a current ministry student, said. “I never expected to be speaking in front of a mic in front of you today, and I never expected to have opportunities to travel like I have.”

More than a Bible college, this landmark Registered Training Organisation offers accredited courses to support real work opportunities and human flourishing for its Aboriginal students. “I would love to be a chaplain and work with kids someday,” Robinson said.

Connie Toga, ministry course coordinator at Mamarapha, agreed. “The new spaces have already given a great boost to student morale, as

they have been designed with our students in mind—right down to the carpet color,” she said. “The buildings have also led to greater recognition that there are church leaders and members lending support to students who want to be equipped to minister to their own people.”

AUC ATSIM director Darren Garlett said that “the Mamarapha experience has been raised even higher. The new buildings represent how much we value the work of Mamarapha College, its students, and, more broadly, First Nations ministry.”

JESUS’ MODEL OF RECONCILIATION

In his dedication speech AUC president Terry Johnson discussed the importance of Christians leading the way in repairing relationships with First Nations people. “Central to the Christian message is Jesus’ work of reconciliation, which began here on earth. While our church has formally apologized to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations after the Bringing Them Home investigation, and while we are seeing great things at Mamarapha here today, the work of reconciliation has just begun,” Johnson said.

In Australia, Mamarapha College seeks to impact indigenous peoples.

“Our hope for continued reconciliation with First Nations people is in the hands of our membership,” Garlett added. “It’s up to local churches to lead in practical ways, such as improving understanding and connecting with their local indigenous communities. It’s important that our leadership lead, not only in word, but in actions that affirm our commitment to reconciliation.”

THE BEST IS YET TO COME

According to AUC secretary Michael Worker, there are plans to add new courses to broaden the impact and influence of the college throughout First Nations communities, including vocational trade qualifications.

Mamarapha College principal David Garrard said he is excited for the new ministry opportunities within the space. “The new Faith FM studio will allow us to provide spiritual content in both English and Aboriginal languages,” he shared. “We are currently working in partnership to deliver a Certificate II in Community Services. We aim to add this vocational course in 2024, then progress to the Certificate III,” he said.

Leaders and government officers during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the revamped Mamarapha College in Australia.

A Table of All Nations

God calls us to be people of reconciliation.

In Genesis 10 there’s a strange list of names. Following the Flood, Noah’s sons take seriously the command to “be fruitful and multiply”

(see Gen. 9:7). Shem, Ham, and Japheth have children. Then their children have children, and over a series of generations, couples become families, then tribes, then nations.

Among this “Table of Nations” are such colorful characters as Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and Canaan. If you’ve read your Bible, you’ll recognize these names—they’re the villains of the story. These are the pagan-worshipping, tribalistic aggressors that bring conflict to God’s people. However, a closer reading reveals a shocking truth: that our heroes are related by blood to these people.

Throughout history we’ve seen an effective tactic used by warmongers and empire builders—dehumanizing the enemy. During World war I the Allies called the Germans “The Hun” as a pejorative. Several decades later the propaganda campaign was in full use against

both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Fueled by real fear, these campaigns often capitalized on the worst stereotypes.

To see an enemy as “other,” “not like us,” or, at worst, “barely human” is pragmatic—it helps mobilize entire nations in times of war. But the effects of these propaganda campaigns are often felt long after the war is over. My grandfather, who fought in Papua New Guinea during World War II, had an uneasy attitude toward Japanese people even decades after the war was over, as did many of his generation.

When we see the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Canaanites, and others in the biblical text, it’s easy to view them as my grandfather viewed the Japanese. The nations mentioned in Genesis 10 reveals that those “monsters” descended from the same line. They were all brothers, sisters, and cousins.

This realization reframed the story for me. Instead of seeing it as a black-and-white tale of heroes and villains, I began to see the biblical conflict for what it really is: a tragic family drama. Later the failure of Abraham’s family is compounded when we consider their purpose: to be a nation through whom all nations would be blessed. Of course, Jesus comes along many years later

to fulfill that messianic promise, but one must wonder about the geopolitical opportunities missed along the way.

Reconciliation can be messy. Some sociologists estimate that about 930 current ethnic groups exist today. In such diversity it’s easy to see those who don’t look like you, speak like you, or share your worldview as “other” or “alien.” However, if we believe that we are all descendants of Noah, then we must also believe that each person, regardless of race or culture, is a long-lost brother or sister. Thus, anything we can do to bring more dignity, autonomy, or justice to disenfranchised people groups is not an act of me versus you; it is, in fact, an act of family reconciliation.

I’m encouraged that at the end of time, our differences are not erased, but celebrated. Of the New Jerusalem, John the revelator says, “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it” (Rev. 21:24, NIV). He then later brings to our attention the tree of life, whose leaves are “for the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:2). How beautiful to consider that the ugliness of human civilization will find its redemption in the new earth. Until that day, let’s be people of reconciliation.

Clay Banks

Image: Lightstock / PhotoGranary

Decolonizing Christianity

Lessons from the woman at the well

BY DERIBA OLANA

In the third century B.C. China was united under the Qin dynasty, which masterminded and developed the Great Wall of China. Though less known, the greatest achievement of this dynasty is likely the fact that it created what political scientists today would call a modern state. Separating the government from the royal family, China’s efficient bureaucracy gave rise to a powerful state that had no equal in Europe until a few hundred years ago.

Remarkable as these achievements are, the Old Testament ignores them. It also ignores the architectural wisdom and advances in civilization of the Mayan people in Mesoamerica, preferring instead to dwell on the shifting power dynamics between Israel and a handful of rivals, all found in the ancient Near East. Is this insensitivity to other civilizations intentional, or is it caused by a lack of the global awareness our postmodern experiences have gifted us?

This question becomes more pressing when we consider that the Old Testament claims to begin history with the origin of humanity. Isn’t it paradoxical that a narrative starting with the creation of Adam, the father of all humanity, degenerates into stories and prophecies about localized contests, between the descendants of Abraham and their enemies, over a relatively small stretch of land in the ancient Near East?

FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL

Strangely, the provincial stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have since captured the imagination of the world. Similarly, Jesus of Nazareth, a Galilean who was not well traveled, promised a group of culturally narrow-minded men that what He taught them would eventually be heard by everyone around the world. Those peasants who followed Jesus became world-changing agents, with inspiring perspectives of Christ that have endured the test of time. How can we explain the narrative arc of the Bible, which begins globally with Adam, becomes narrow with Abraham, and reemerges as persistently global through the spread of Christianity?

The famous yet nameless Samaritan woman said to Jesus, “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem” (John 4:20, NIV).

Her statement echoes a postmodern critique of narratives that thrive on tension between the violently strong and the weak. God approved worship on “this mountain” for her ancestors. But “you Jews” arrogantly claim that “the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” Her accusation is that Jews have dispossessed Samaritans of their sense of time (history) and space by desacralizing Mount Gerizim, the ancestral mountain of worship. In its place they imposed the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which was off-limits to Samaritans.

Christ’s response was not politically correct: “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews” (verse 22, NIV).

By including Himself within the Jews, Christ reasserts God’s longlived tendency of affiliating with peculiar and local people, lands, and times. Though Abraham’s rural life seems arbitrary and peculiar, it becomes the source of blessing to all families of the world. And from a specific manger in Bethlehem, the promised Savior of the world was born almost 2,000 years after Abraham’s death.

Again and again God identifies with the small, the particular, and the local. He then launches

globally impactful cultural and historical miracles from His chosen narrow platform. That is why the pastoral Hebrew literature of the Old Testament still outshines the cosmopolitan wisdom of ancient Greece and Rome.

A FORM OF IDOLATRY

God’s entry into the limitations of history defies its limitations. By affiliating Himself with one Abraham, God blesses all the families of the earth. His aim in associating with Jerusalem is not to remain there, for He says, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, ESV).1

Responding to the Samaritan woman, Jesus also said, “The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. . . . The true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:21-23, ESV).

God didn’t want the Holy Mount in Jerusalem to be a cultural fixation that would alienate others. Isaiah says, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isa. 56.7, ESV). God moves through history from one individual to many, from what is local to what is global. Jerusalem is privileged because God loves the world and wishes to save it.

As God works within the confines of history, humanity unfortunately pays more attention to the instruments of His miracles than to His wider aims. The Pharisees in the days of Christ took great pride in being children of Abraham. While they were his genetic descendants, their hatred of Christ revealed they would have also been hostile to Abraham’s beliefs (John 8:39, 40).

What Abraham physically gave to his descendants was not an

immortal seed. Salvation comes only “through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23, NIV). God’s enduring Word reaches one human through another. Abraham’s faithfulness created an effective (though flawed) cultural vehicle that allowed for the unbroken transmission of God’s enduring Word—His thoughts and feelings. Ultimately this manifested itself as a long list of prophets who were inspired by God’s willingness to speak through flawed men and women.

Yet when God, in His kindness, passes through the wreckage of our misguided experiences, we tend to worship the broken ground He walked on rather than humbly following His steps. This is idolatry. And by doing this, we become worse sinners than before we knew God.

Because of this, in His argument with the Pharisees Christ drew attention to the violent tension between the their perverted human logic and divine realities (John 8:31-59). To the Pharisees who took pride in their physical association with Abraham Christ said, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him” (John 8.44, ESV). These are stern words of caution for anyone who gives greater worship to God’s earthly instruments than to the more enduring and infinitely expansive love of God for all.

FLAWED AGENTS

In the years since the New Testament canon closed, the way God intervenes in human affairs has not changed. History confirms Christ’s accurate prediction that the gospel would begin in Jerusalem and reach Samaria before spreading across the world. Though its initial spread depended on the apostles, who

Christ’s power to save overrides those who misrepresent His gospel.

were descendants of Abraham, the Word of God was not chained when they were imprisoned and killed.

We must then ask: Who became the preeminent cultural vehicle to transmit the gospel after the disciples? Who has primarily carried the burden of copying and translating God’s Word while also preaching Christ in the most remote corners of the world? We cannot deny the presence of resilient Christian traditions in Armenia, India, or Ethiopia during the past 2,000 years. But these traditions were not primarily responsible for launching a worldwide gospel enlightenment in keeping with Christ’s prophecy.

That Europe became the main platform of Christian activity after Jerusalem cannot be contested. In the centuries after the Reformation, this became only more emphatic as the gospel was disseminated with a global power that has not been equaled since Pentecost. Today millions are literate because they (or their ancestors) first learned to read the Bible in their native tongues. We have such revolutionaries as Tyndale, Knox, and Luther to thank for this.

We cannot speak of the success of Protestantism in Europe and America while turning a blind eye to its unfortunate cruelties. Many missionaries of European and American origin shared the pitiful bigotry that animated colonial oppressors. The fact that the gospel was committed to them filled many preachers with a oppressive sense of triumphalism as they came in contact with societies that didn’t know God.

While honestly facing the sad aftermath of this shameful underside of Christian history, we must also remember that God always uses flawed beings to communicate His goodness to humanity. And God’s mercy is always more stunning than the savagery of our

hypocrisy; Christ’s power to save overrides those who misrepresent His gospel. There is no human flaw (be it Peter’s or Calvin’s) that will impede His communication with the world. Christian Eurocentrism is a perverse interpretation of the reality that God used Europe as an instrument to change the world. But it did not impede God’s design of reaching those who will be saved.

In his day, dealing with the same unfaithfulness of the human instrument, Paul wrote, “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means!” Instead “our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God” (Rom. 3:3-5, ESV).

We don’t have to reinterpret biblical history and prophecy to reckon with the evils perpetrated by European Christians against indigenous people and the Global South.

The rapid growth of Christianity in Africa is an ironic reminder to increasingly secular Westerners that Christianity means more to people of color than injuries caused by dead European colonial strategists.

In converting to Adventism, a believer from Cambodia doesn’t have to subordinate their cultural identity to the Western perspective of American missionaries. Patriotically equating Christ with America leads to racist nationalism, which will receive God’s just condemnation. Likewise, reducing Christian history to a Marxist dialectic of oppressed and privileged nationalities creates a cursed, atheistic vacuum that denies God space in history.

God has chosen to enter history and use its limited instruments to save all of humanity. Anciently He worked through Jerusalem to reach the world. In the most recent past His work centered on Europe and America to (again) reach the world. How do we know this? Because

when God moves in a certain place, He does so to bless the whole world. And we see that God has blessed the world through Jerusalem, and God has also blessed the world through Europe and America. These shifting locations suggest that God can work from any place and time of His choosing. The miracle that transcends the limitations of space and time always belongs to God, while we are responsible for the dust of confusion that is created in its wake. We should therefore leave our prejudicial mountains of worship and turn to our Father in spirit and truth.

“To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel . . .” (Dan. 9:7, ESV).

“The Bible has little to say in praise of men. Little space is given to recounting the virtues of even the best men who have ever lived. This silence is not without purpose. . . . All the good qualities that men possess are the gift of God; their good deeds are performed by the grace of God through Christ. Since they owe all to God the glory of whatever they are or do belongs to Him alone; they are but instruments in His hands. More than this—as all the lessons of Bible history teach—it is a perilous thing to praise or exalt men; for if one comes to lose sight of his entire dependence on God, and to trust to his own strength, he is sure to fall.”2

1 Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Deriba Olana works with the Living Parchment Ministry, which is dedicated to reaching Ethiopians everywhere through print social media, and runs a school dedicated to increasing biblical literacy among youth in Addis Ababa

2 Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1890, 1908), p. 717.

Colonialism and Christian Mission

A critical look

BY BOUBAKAR SANOU

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries most of the world was greatly impacted by colonialism. Although it was carried out not only by European nations, this article focuses on Western colonialism but applies to other contexts as well. What is often not commonly known is that Christian missionaries were sometimes a partner in the colonial effort. Both colonialism and missionaries have been credited with advancing societies. Some of the ways the two worked together, however, are concerning.

DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES ON COLONIALISM

During colonialism Western nations took land, artifacts, and resources from other regions and forced their languages and cultures on them. Europeans brought their culture to the Americas, Australia, and parts of Africa and Asia. This started from the beginning of the sixteenth century.1 European colonialism has been both defended and criticized. As Western nations began their expansion conquests, they offered arguments to make their actions seem reasonable.

The most popular argument was that of the “White man’s burden.” This stated that it was the duty of the “superior” White race to civilize and elevate the “inferior” races. Colonialism was seen as one of the best ways to bring civilization and social, economic, and political progress to backward peoples. Even today, some say we should focus on and appreciate what colonialism brought to the colonized countries. They insist these supposed benefits of colonial rule far outweigh its harmful legacies.

The critics of colonialism argue that the contributions of colonial rule should not be used to underestimate the

negative impact on colonized peoples. It was a morally wrong and oppressive system that hurt colonized peoples and their societies. Colonizers suppressed cultures and languages, took land, exploited economies, oppressed politically, and created systems of racial and social inequalities.

In order to gain and maintain power, some colonizers took a “divide-and-conquer” strategy. Colonial powers broke colonized groups into smaller tribes and ethnic groups. They also worked to keep these smaller groups from uniting against the colonizers. The “divide-andconquer” method was nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century colonialism’s single most successful tactic of domination. But it was also a disaster. There are echoes still “in civil wars and regional tensions across the globe.”2 Countless studies on colonialism agree that while colonial rule brought some improvements, many of the world’s most serious difficulties are directly related to colonialism.3

TENSIONS BETWEEN COLONIALISM AND MISSIONARY OUTREACH

What is hard to believe is that some missionaries were in partnership with colonizers. They saw their work as not only to bring Christianity to people, but also Western culture. When the people were not interested in converting to Christianity, some missionaries pressured colonial powers to get involved. They saw that the presence of soldiers acted like “providential nutcrackers for the preaching of the gospel.”4

Blinded by such prejudiced doctrines as the White man’s burden and encouraged by the colonial framework, these missionaries saw their job as elevating their converts and their societies from a state of barbarism to one of refinement. These early perspectives have been significantly revised through time. The distorted stereotypes of other races they helped develop are still to some extent perpetuated today. The Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda are an example of this.5

Some Adventist missionaries remained silent in the face of colonial atrocities. They did little to stop them, cooperated with colonial powers, or silently operated in a colonial system. Seeking to avoid confrontation, some Adventist missionaries encouraged their converts to be law-abiding citizens.6 William H. Anderson, an early American Seventh-day Adventist missionary to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) was directed to open his mission work in a district in which the colonialists wanted to subdue a rebellion. “Missionaries,” he was told by Cecil Rhodes, the prime minister of Cape Colony in South Africa, are “much better for keeping the natives quiet than soldiers, and certainly a good deal cheaper.”7 In

this way, it is well documented that some missionaries were used by colonial authorities as junior partners.

There are examples of Adventist missionaries that obediently lived by the values promoted by colonial authorities rather than using their prophetic voices to take biblical and moral stands.8 During the Truth and Reconciliation Committee hearings held in South Africa between 1995 and 1998, following the end of apartheid, it was confirmed that many South African faith communities, including the Seventh-day Adventist Church, were either active or silent supporters of apartheid.

I. F. du Preez and Roy H. du Pre remarked that “the Adventist Church was always far ahead of the government of the day in applying racial segregation in the church, and far behind when it comes to scrapping racially discriminatory measures. By the time apartheid was introduced in law after 1948, Adventists had been practicing it for twenty or more years.”9

MOVING FORWARD

While many may feel disillusioned or even betrayed by the past actions and inactions of the Adventist Church or its representatives, the Adventist movement of today must remain focused on our spiritual growth and our God-given mission to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Here are some suggestions for how to move forward.

First, it is essential to acknowledge that the church’s primary motive behind sending out missionaries was to promote Christianity, not to be helping hands to colonial governments. It is therefore necessary to separate the actions of individuals who misrepresented the gospel from the core teachings of the Bible. We should recognize that there were many missionaries who stood up to or challenged the status quo of colonial governments.10

Second, it is helpful to evaluate the church’s response to the past. The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists on June 27, 1985,11 and September 15, 2020,12 released two official statements condemning various forms of racial discrimination. Three years after the formal end of apartheid, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa also acknowledged their wrongful participation.13 It is encouraging to know that the church recognizes the hurt and trauma caused by the actions of some of its members during colonialism, apartheid, and racial genocides.

Third, it is necessary to stay focused on why we are Seventh-day Adventists. We must commit ourselves to being change agents and allies to those who are still experiencing various forms of discrimination. One of the best ways to advocate for deep and lasting change is not to become part of the problem. As we fight against discrimination, we must be careful not to discriminate ourselves. Extreme reactions should be avoided.

Fourth, sharing official church statements on social issues is crucial. It might also be well to include specific advocacy components and frameworks for action in these statements. In light of our official positions, we must do the work of assessing all our institutions and procedures to ensure they align with our mission values. We must strive to remain biblically faithful to avoid repeating past mistakes and failures. Our goal should be to translate our fundamental doctrines and official statements not only into different languages, but into biblically informed decisions for all aspects of life.

1 Margaret Kohn and Kavita Reddy, “Colonialism,” in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman (Spring 2023), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2023/entries/colonialism/.

2 Conn Hallinan, “Divide and Conquer as Imperial Rules,” Foreign Policy in Focus (2005), https://fpif.org/ divide_and_conquer_as_imperial_rules/, accessed Apr. 15, 2023.

3 Brandon Kendhammer, “A Controversial Article Praises Colonialism. But Colonialism’s Real Legacy Was Ugly,” Washington Post, Sept. 19, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/ wp/2017/09/19/colonialism-left-behind-a-long-legacy-most-of-it-bad/, accessed Apr. 23, 2023.

4 Beauty Maenzanise, “The Church and Zimbabwe’s Liberation Struggle,” Methodist History 46, no. 2 (January 2008): 70, 71.

5 See Jay J. Carney, “Beyond Tribalism: The Hutu-Tutsi Question and Catholic Rhetoric in Colonial Rwanda,” Journal of Religion in Africa 42 (2012): 173.

6 Godfrey K. Sang and Peter Omari Nyangwencha, “Colonialism and the Seventh-day Adventists in Kenya,” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=EE2E, accessed May 1, 2023.

7 Willian H. Anderson, On the Trail of Livingstone (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 2012), p. 81.

8 The constitution and bylaws of the Southern African Division of Seventh-day Adventists is an example of this. See Southern African Division Working Policy (1931), p. 139.

9 I. F. du Preez and Roy H. du Pre, A Century of Good Hope: A History of the Good Hope Conference, Its Educational Institutions and Early Workers, 1893-1993 (London: Western Research Group/Southern History Association, 1994), p. 116.

10 See, for example, Robert Woodberry, “The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy,” American Political Science Review 106, no. 2 (May 2012): 244-274.

11 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, “Racism,” June 27, 1985, https://www.adventist.org/ articles/racism/.

12 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, “One Humanity: A Human Relations Statement Addressing Racism, Casteism, Tribalism, and Ethnocentrism,” Sept. 15, 2020, https://www.adventist.org/articles/ one-humanity-a-human-relations-statement-addressing-racism-casteism-tribalism-and-ethnocentrism/.

13 Antonio Pantalone, “The Afrikaanse Konferensie (1968-1974) and Its Significance for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa” (Th.D. diss., University of Durban-Westville, 1999), p. 309.

Boubakar Sanou, Ph.D., a native of Burkina Faso, is an associate professor of mission and intercultural leadership at Andrews University.

We must strive to remain biblically faithful to avoid repeating past mistakes and failures.

Step by Step

What are you going to do next? What are your plans?” The questions came in rapid succession. Everyone seemed to want to know my future. Truth be told, I wanted to know too. I had “itchy feet,” a sense that it was time for something new. My teaching contract would end soon, and I would move to another part of Korea. But I didn’t have a clear picture of what to do next.

Other people had various opinions: Get your Ph.D. Keep teaching. Write more. Have kids. Don’t have kids. Start a business. As I listened to their perspectives, I was tempted to live in the future, impatiently trying to figure out my next steps. I disliked not having a clear, far-reaching vision.

At the same time, I knew that fresh challenges would come when I moved, and I didn’t want to rush past the good things in my current circumstances. I didn’t want to miss what God had for me now because I was too focused on tomorrow. I needed wisdom to balance the present and the future.

Also, I knew that God did not feel the same sense of hurry that I did. The Bible’s wisdom was at the forefront of my mind: “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Eccl. 3:11).1 “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Prov. 16:9). “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matt. 6:34).

Yet I still worried! Was something wrong with me for not having a clearer plan, even if I had some general ideas? Was I being too flexible? lazy? Or maybe God didn’t have anything to say?

One day I stumbled across a quote: “As thou goest step by step I will open up the way before thee.”

It sounded like a Bible verse, but I discovered it was the title of a poem by Arthur C. Ritchie. As I read the poem, written in God’s voice, the lines felt like a balm to my anxious heart:

“One step thou seest—then go forward boldly;

One step is far enough for faith to see; Take that, and thy next duty shall be told thee,

For step by step, thy Lord is leading thee.”

It was the reminder I needed. It also made me think of Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” A lamp sheds just enough light for a few steps at a time.

As Christian author Richard Strauss comments on this verse: “When an ancient traveller journeyed at night, he carried an oil lamp with him. As he walked along, swinging the lamp out in front of him, he could see the rocks and ruts directly ahead of him in the road, and he could avoid them. . . . That is how God uses His word to guide us. He does not promise a brilliant blaze of light to illuminate the road for miles ahead. He promises a lamp to our feet, enough light for the next step.”2

I didn’t have all the answers for “what next,” but that was OK. It was something I could work out with God, day by day, step by step, as I was faithful in my current situation.

If you too are at a decision-making place, may you see how God compassionately guides you. May your way become clear with each choice, as He leads you in right paths for His name’s sake (see Ps. 23:3).

1 Unless otherwise noted, Bible texts are from the New International Version.

2 Decisions! Decisions! How God Shows the Way (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1979), quoted in https://bible.org/seriespage/one-step-time.

Lynette Yoon, originally from England, makes her home and teaches English in Korea

Far From an Endorsement

A prophetic repudiation of colonialism

BY DAVID SHIN

Iremember sitting with my grandfather and hearing stories of the colonization of Korea. My grandfather was forced to learn Japanese, had his name changed, and saw every element of Korean culture almost eradicated. As he told me instances of how he was treated as a second-class citizen, I could sense the pain in him all these years later. The effects of colonization are still evident in the psyche of my grandparents’ generation, and the emotions are strong, as the ravages of the collective rape of a nation under colonialism remain.

Though I was born in the United States and I’m one generation removed from the traumas of colonization, I’m still challenged by other aspects. I remember sitting in a theological symposium during which a Korean Adventist scholar was sharing how his mother wanted him to study prophecy when he was a teenager. After his study he went to his mother and asked, “Mom, where is Korea?” Where is the rest of the world, for that matter? The “developing world” and the “Global South” seems completely left out of the narrative. This hermeneutic seems conveniently Eurocentric. When the powers of Western Europe colonized the rest of the world, they brought with them Christianity. Is it possible that they also brought with them a Eurocentric interpretation of Scripture? For instance, the traditional prophetic interpretation of Daniel 2, 7, and 8 includes Greece, Rome, and the nations of Western Europe; however, the rest of the world is completely left out except for Babylon and Medo-Persia. Could it be that this is the hermeneutical presupposition of a Eurocentric mindset of a bygone era? Is our interpretation of the book of Daniel just a vestige of colonialism?

THE HERMENEUTIC OF A COLONIZED MAN

Before we attempt to answer this question, a Bible-believing Christian cannot minimize the significance of the book of Daniel in its relevance to the issue of colonialism. Daniel himself was a victim of colonization. He was taken captive and had his name changed; perhaps he was castrated, and his culture systematically eradicated. Furthermore, Jesus, who was living under the colonial yoke of the Roman Empire, gives His endorsement of the book of Daniel in Matthew 24:15 when He exhorts us to read and study the book in the last days. It cannot be overstated that both Jesus and Daniel understood what it meant to be colonized. It was not just a historical footnote in their experience; it was part of their existential reality.

I contend that the book of Daniel is not an endorsement of colonization; it is a repudiation of it.

First, there is no denying Daniel’s interpretative framework for the powers described. In Daniel 2:38 Daniel, the victim of colonization, interprets the vision of the metal man by stating the head of gold represented Babylon. Daniel 2, 7, and 8 are built on the same framework. Daniel 2 lays the foundation. Daniel 7 builds on the same theme with more details, and Daniel 8 repeats and enlarges. Therefore, the starting point for the powerful nations that follow all of the visions of Daniel 2, 7, and 8 is Babylon.

Given that Daniel, who was subject to colonization, has interpreted the visions of Daniel 2, 7, and 8 as beginning with Babylon, followed by Medo-Persia (Dan. 6; 8:20), and then followed by Greece (Dan. 8:21), he establishes that the framework is following the historical record of geopolitical powers that subjugate and colonize other nations. This is far from an endorsement; it is a description of historical facts that the book of Daniel predicted.

Going to the New Testament, we have, in Luke 2:1, the record of the power that follows Greece: Caesar Augustus sends out a decree that “all the world should be taxed” (KJV). The one who taxes the world rules the world. The event that determined the birthplace of Jesus was painful evidence that He was born into a nation that had been colonized by the Roman Empire. Daniel describes this power as one that will “crush all the others” (Dan. 2:40).

The hermeneutic of a colonized man, Daniel, is a stunning portrayal of the colonial powers of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. However, it does not end there. Daniel 7 describes the breakup of the

Roman Empire into 10 kingdoms of Western Europe. In other words, colonialism would continue. However, it would not be just one power that colonizes; it would be multiple powers from Western Europe.

Why is the official language of Chile, Colombia, Panama, and Peru Spanish? Why is the official language of Brazil and Mozambique Portuguese? Why is the official language of Gabon, Guadeloupe, Mali, and Martinique French? And why is the official language of Ghana, Gambia, Namibia, and Zambia English? The answer is simple—the colonization of the world by Western Europe.

A MIRACLE OF GRACE

The prophecies in the book of Daniel describe with undeniable accuracy the colonization of the world beginning with Babylon and ending with Western European colonization. This is not a Eurocentric hermeneutic; this is the hermeneutic of a man that is experiencing the ravages of colonization in real time. However, the narrative to this point in Daniel’s prophecy is descriptive, not prescriptive.

How do we know? Because the next kingdom destroys the entire human edifice of colonization. “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Dan. 2:44).

The kingdom of God forever ends the reign of colonization. This is the hermeneutic of a colonized man.

In the new kingdom the leaves from the tree of life are for the “healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:2). In other words, there is an acknowledgment by the leader of

How is it possible that Daniel, who repudiates colonialism, can love the very person that is solely responsible for the rape of his nation?

the new kingdom that there are national wounds that need to be healed. The tree of life is not only a source of individual healing for my soul but also a place of collective healing for every nation, kindred, tribe, tongue, and people. In the new kingdom the Zimbabweans can worship with the British, the Brazilians with the Portuguese, the Koreans with the Japanese, and the Jews with the Germans, because God is the healer of our collective national traumas.

Again, the book of Daniel is not an endorsement of colonization; it is a repudiation of it. However, Daniel’s repudiation of the philosophy of colonization led him down a unique path. In Daniel 4 Daniel is tasked with interpreting a dream for his oppressor. Nebuchadnezzar had been the one that separated Daniel from his parents when he was a teenager, and marched him 1,000 miles across the desert in chains to Babylon. Perhaps his parents were slaughtered in front of him in cold-blooded genocide.

Daniel was the victim of physical, psychological, and emotional abuse. His Jewish culture was replaced by Babylonian culture, and his identity was systematically deconstructed. His city lay in ruins, and his beloved temple was destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar was the quintessential colonizer and the epitome of a subjugator and tyrant.

There is no doubt that Daniel cared about his people. He centered his life on them; he prayed for the restoration of Jerusalem three times a day. Daniel prayed to God in sackcloth and ashes, pleading that his people might be restored and freed from captivity (Dan. 9). Daniel fainted and couldn’t eat because of the mysterious vision showing the future (Dan. 8:27). The effects of colonization were a deep part of his emotional psyche and experience. I think it safe to say that Daniel hated colonization. Yet did he hate the subjugator of his people? How did he relate to his oppressor?

In Daniel 4 Nebuchadnezzar had another dream. It’s a dream that foretold his demise. If the king did not repent, he would lose his mind and become a beast for seven years. Justice. Vindication. Retribution. He deserved it. Finally, the king would get what was coming to him.

The spirit of Daniel is mind-boggling; Daniel, after interpreting a dream of warning to the king, appealed for his soul (Dan. 4:27).

It is clear that Daniel cared deeply about the salvation of his oppressor. How is this even possible? How is it possible that Daniel, who repudiates colonialism, can love the very person that was solely responsible for the rape of his nation? It’s a miracle of grace. It’s evidence that we don’t have to wait until the new earth to receive

the healing from the traumas of colonization that we so desperately need. We can receive that healing now. The same God that healed the heart of Daniel can heal my heart today. God is the great healer of hearts. God’s healing enables us to transcend the bitterness of nationalistic grievances and translate it to the grace-filled work of soul saving.

In his book there is only one chapter that is not written by Daniel. It is written by his colonizer (Dan. 4). Ellen White implies that Nebuchadnezzar will be in heaven, because he was “thoroughly converted.”* God’s amazing grace. This is the hermeneutic of a colonized man.

David Shin, D.Min., is a speaker, educator, administrator, and pastor who holds both a master’s degree in theological studies and a doctorate from Andrews Theological Seminary. He has a passion for the deep study of God’s Word and for sharing its truth and principles with others.

* Ellen G. White, in Review and Herald, Jan. 11, 1906.

Image: Jeremy Park

Solid as a Rock

It was just a small card pressed into the hand of a young man at his baptism. On one side was a detailed picture of the image described in Daniel 2, standing on top of the world. Not long after receiving the card, the eager Bible student typed explanatory notes on the back side of the card. Little did 20-year-old Franz Hasel realize the important role that card would play in future events.

Two decades later the Second World War broke out. Hasel, now 40 years old and married with three children, was drafted into the army of Adolf Hitler. As a Seventh-day Adventist conscientious objector, he asked to serve as a medic, but was instead placed on the front lines building bridges for Hitler’s war machine.

Determined, by God’s grace, to be true to his faith, Hasel brought his Bible, along with the little card outlining the prophecy of Daniel 2, into the battle with him. As the war progressed, Hasel faced many challenges but remained true, eventually winning the confidence and admiration of many of his fellow soldiers, including his company commander.

As the German front pushed east, Hasel and company eventually found themselves deep into the Russian territory of the Soviet Union. But in spite of the demands of military life, Hasel was faithful in reading his Bible daily.

BIBLE STUDY IN A WAR ZONE

One day he was summoned to the commander’s office and told to bring his Bible with him. Dutifully he arrived at the appointed time and was surprised to find his supervising sergeant and lieutenant there as well. Without delay the commander began asking questions regarding various Bible teachings. Patiently Hasel

Prophecy proves itself true.

answered the commander’s questions, showing him answers from the Bible texts. Eventually the commander was satisfied and exclaimed, “So you do know your Bible inside and out!”1

Now it was Hasel’s turn to ask some questions. Knowing that in civilian life the commander was a history professor, Hasel stated, “The Bible contains some prophecies with historical content that were written around 600 B.C. . . . I have always wanted to check them out with an expert in the field. Would you be willing to let me present them, and then give me your feedback on the accuracy of the facts?”

The commander readily agreed, and Hasel proceeded with the intriguing study found in Daniel 2, explaining how the different metals of gold, silver, bronze, and iron represented the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

Astonished, the commander confirmed the historical accuracy of the ancient prophecy. He then asked about the meaning of the image’s feet. “Franz explained the 10 toes represented the 10 tribes of modern Europe. He described the characteristics of iron and clay that make it impossible for these two substances to stick together. With that, he brought the Bible study to a conclusion.”2

FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE

The commander was quiet for a moment, then asked, “What does it mean?” Praying for courage, Hasel explained, “The only conclusion a Bible student can come to is that the Führer cannot win this war. It will not be possible for him to unite Europe under his leadership and establish his 1,000-year Third Reich.” Pressing the point further, he added, “Sir, the Bible’s predictions have been proved accurate again and again. And if they’re accurate here, it means that we’re fighting a losing battle.”3

Everyone in the room was silent. Suddenly the commander stood up, announcing it was time for lunch, and asking to borrow Franz’s Bible. A week later the commander returned the Bible, telling Franz privately, “I appreciate what you shared with me. From now on we will no longer operate a third of our motorized vehicles. The gasoline rations thus saved I want you to store in drums and canisters so that when the end comes we will have enough fuel to get back home.”4

Based on the commander’s actions because of his belief in the accuracy of the interpretation of Daniel 2, and specifically of the image’s toes conveying the fact that Europe would never unite, the company had enough fuel for their retreat, saving the life of Hasel and several others, including the commanding officer who believed.

THE INTERPRETATION IS SURE

Let’s briefly review the end of that magnificent prophecy in Daniel 2, which so accurately describes the history of modern Europe, followed by the second coming of Christ: “And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure” (verses 42-45).

Friends, today we too are given the assurance that the “dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” The prophecies found in the books of Daniel and Revelation are absolutely reliable. By the accuracy of their fulfillment in the past, we can rest assured that what is predicted for the future will also be fulfilled. Let’s claim the beautiful promise given to us in 2 Chronicles 20:20: “Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”

Ted N. C. Wilson is president of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. Additional articles and commentaries are available from the president’s office on Twitter: @pastortedwilson and on Facebook: @Pastor Ted Wilson.

The prophecies found in the books of Daniel and Revelation are absolutely reliable. By the accuracy of their fulfillment in the past, we can rest assured that what is predicted for the future will also be fulfilled.

After the General Conference Session at Minneapolis in 1888, Ellen White was asked what she thought of the new light Ellet J. Waggoner and Alonzo T. Jones had presented. She responded, “Why, I have been presenting it to you for the last 45 years—the matchless charms of Christ. This is what I have been trying to present before your minds.”1 What did she mean by “the matchless charms of Christ,” and is there evidence that she presented them earlier in her ministry?

EMPHASIS IN HER EARLY MINISTRY

Ellen White’s first use of the expression “matchless charms” in reference to Christ appears in a testimony in 1857. She wrote, “If Christ be in us the hope of glory, we shall discover such matchless charms in Him that the soul will be enamored. It will cleave to Him, choose to love Him, and in admiration of Him, self will be forgotten. Jesus will be magnified and adored,

Discovering the Spirit of Prophecy

and self abased and humbled.”2 She used the similar expression “matchless depths of a Saviour’s love” several times throughout her early writings.

In 1852 she wrote about the happiness of children in the new earth: “They will look to the blessed Saviour who has given Himself for them, and, with admiration and love for Him who is smiling upon them, raise their voices and sing to His praise and glory, while they feel and realize the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love.”3 In another article she described Christ’s sacrifice for their salvation. “He died that you might live. O What a sacrifice was this! The tongue of an angel cannot tell the ‘matchless depths of a Saviour’s love.’ ”4 It is interesting that these early expressions were all addressed to young people.

Between 1858 and 1864 Ellen White wrote four volumes titled Spiritual Gifts, which contain the earliest version of the great controversy theme. While the expressions appear infrequently in these

The Matchless Charms of Christ

As presented in Ellen White’s earlier writings

writings, when used they continue to highlight the Christocentric focus of her writings. For example, we find these words of amazement: “I lay down the pen, and exclaim, O what love! What wondrous love! The most exalted language cannot describe the glory of heaven, nor the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love.”5

One of the most impressive descriptions in all of Ellen White’s writings of the sufferings and atoning death of Christ was first published in 1869.6 No one who carefully reads this chapter could ever think that Ellen White’s focus on the cross of Christ came to the fore only in the latter part of her ministry. Note this passage: “The scenes of Calvary call for the deepest emotion. . . . The length, the breadth, the height, the depth, of such amazing love we cannot fathom. The contemplation of the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love should fill the mind, touch and melt the soul, refine and elevate the affections, and completely transform the whole character.”7

CONTINUED EMPHASIS, 1869 TO 1888

Because of the emphasis given to the 1888 General Conference Session, her Christocentric focus in the preceding decades has often been overlooked, even underrated. Consider these examples. From 1869: “We see beauty, and loveliness, and glory in Jesus. We behold in Him matchless charms.”8 In May 1870: “I recommend to you Jesus, my blessed Saviour. I adore Him; I magnify Him. Oh, that I had an immortal tongue, that I could praise Him as I desire! that I could stand before the assembled universe and speak in praise of His matchless charms!”9 In an earnest testimony to ministers: “They should keep before the mind the worth of souls, and the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love. This will awaken the soul so that with David they may say: ‘My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned.’ ”10

In 1876 Ellen White published a series of articles about her early life, Christian experience, and labors. In describing her opposers following the disappointment of 1844, she observed, “Those who had little interest for the salvation of souls . could not comprehend the love of God in my soul that quickened my desire to help those in darkness to the same light that cheered my path.” Then she made this significant remark: “Could they also have seen what had been revealed to me of God’s matchless love for men, manifested in giving His only Son to die for them, they would not have doubted my sincerity.”11

The death of Ellen White’s husband, James White, in August 1881 brought grief and loneliness, but it only intensified her desire to trust more fully in Christ and to uplift Him before fellow Christians and unbelievers. At the funeral

she spoke about the resurrection, saying, “I look to that morning when the broken family links shall be re-united, and we shall see the King in His beauty, and behold His matchless charms, and cast our glittering crowns at His feet, and touch the golden harp and fill all Heaven with the strains of our music and songs to the Lamb. We will sing together there. We will triumph around the great white throne.”12

Ellen White spent two years in Europe, from 1885 to 1887. Her sermons contain frequent appeals to the matchless charms of Christ. A few examples will suffice. Preaching at Grimsby, England, she urged the importance of Bible study: “You should search the Bible, for it tells you of Jesus. I want you to read the Bible and see the matchless charms of Jesus. I want you to fall in love with the Man of Calvary, so that at every step you can say to the world, ‘His ways are ways of pleasantness, and all His paths are peace’ (see Proverbs 3:17).”13 About a month later, at Nimes, France, she raised the question, “Shall we not work for the Master?” Answering her own question, she urged, “We must put our best intellect to work for the Master. We must confess Christ to the world in His matchless charms.”14

CONCLUSION

Ellen White’s writings were Christ-centered from beginning to end. She continually presented the matchless love of God manifested in Christ’s incarnation, ministry, suffering, atoning death, and the unspeakable gift of Christ’s righteousness for undeserving sinners. She exalted her Savior as the one altogether lovely, the Desire of all ages and all nations. For her it could all be summed up in the phrase “the matchless charms of Christ.” She was therefore fully justified when she said in 1889

that she had been presenting the matchless charms of Christ for the past 45 years. She continued to do so for another quarter century. And it was her desire, expressed in 1870, to do so for all eternity: “Oh, that I had an immortal tongue, that I could praise Him as I desire! That I could stand before the assembled universe and speak in praise of His matchless charms!”15

1 Ellen G. White, Sermons and Talks (Silver Spring, Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990), vol. 1, pp. 116, 117.

2 Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 1, pp. 162, 163.

3 In The Youth’s Instructor, October 1852.

4 In Review and Herald, July 25, 1854.

5 Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts (Battle Creek, Mich.: Seventh-day Adventist Pub. Assn., 1858), vol. 1, pp. 210, 211.

6 Now found in Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 200-215.

7 Ibid., p. 213.

8 In Review and Herald, Apr. 19, 1870. Toward the end of those remarks Ellen White called upon her hearers not to dwell upon their troubles and perplexities, but rather upon “the matchless charms of the loving Saviour, and His undying love for sinners” (ibid.).

9 In Review and Herald, May 31, 1870; also in Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 593.

10 Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 504.

11 In Signs of the Times, May 11, 1876.

12 Ellen G. White, In Memoriam: A Sketch of the Last Sickness and Death of Elder James White (Battle Creek, Mich.: Review and Herald Press, 1881), p. 43.

13 Ellen G. White manuscript 80, 1886, in Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases (Silver Spring, Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990), vol. 9, pp. 250, 251, retrieved from https://egwwritings.org/book/b14054.

14 Ellen G. White manuscript 39, 1886, in E. G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, p. 70, retrieved from https://egwwritings.org/ book/b14054.

15 Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 593.

Peter M. van Bemmelen, Th.D., is professor of theology, emeritus, at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. This article was adapted from a Festschrift for Hans LaRondelle in Christ, Salvation, and the Eschaton, published in 2009.

Ellen White exalted her Saviour as the One altogether lovely, the Desire of all ages and all nations.

Justification by Works

AIt certainly sounds like it, but it is not. Before addressing the statement quoted, let us first consider the psalmist’s understanding of the human condition before God and the meaning of God’s righteousness in the Psalms.

The Human Condition: When it comes to the natural goodness of humans, the Psalms are very clear: “There is none who does good, no, not one” (Ps. 14:3; cf. Rom. 3:12). Sinfulness belongs to the human condition (Ps. 32:1) to the point that humans commit sins that they do not even know about (Ps. 19:12). Our sinfulness is a congenital or constitutional component of fallen human nature—“I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5). Now, with respect to being righteous before God, the psalmist declares, “In Your [God’s] sight no one living is righteous” (Ps. 143:2). Before God we all stand condemned for our lack of righteousness.

God’s Righteousness: The solution to our lack of righteousness is God’s righteousness. Divine righteousness is manifested in different ways in the life of Israel, but for our purpose the most important is the forgiveness of sins. In order for humans to stand before God without fear, sin has to be dealt with (cf. Ps. 130:3, 4). This is the exclusive work of God. David asked the Lord to forgive his sin, and promised that his “tongue [would] sing aloud of [God’s] righteousness,” that is to say, God’s forgiving and justifying grace (Ps. 51:14; cf. verses 1-7). God “executes [bestows] righteousness,” and consequently He does not deal with us “according to our sins” (Ps. 103:6, 10). Those whose sins have been forgiven are called “righteous” (Ps. 32:1, 2, 11). Hence, righteousness

is a gift from God to us. Even those who are obedient to the Lord go to the temple seeking to receive “blessing from the Lord, and righteousness” (Ps. 24:5; cf. verses 3, 4), i.e., a divine declaration of righteousness. Isaiah clarifies that such Jesus shall declare many righteous, “for He shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:11). God can impute righteousness to us because our sin was placed on the Servant of the Lord (Christ) instead of on us. The Righteousness of Believers: Based on what we have discussed, the psalmist is not expressing justification through human works in the passage you quoted. The context clarifies that when he says “my righteousness” he is affirming his covenant faithfulness or what we call sanctifying grace. David declares his innocence, saying that he “has kept the ways of the Lord,” but not in a legalistic way, because, he adds, it is the Lord who “makes my way perfect” (Ps. 18:32). His righteous life is the result of the work of God in him and is grounded on God’s mercy and not on self-righteousness (verse 50). The psalmist mentions his righteous life in humility and dependence on God and not as an expression of pride, for he knows very well that the Lord “will save the humble people, but will bring down the haughty looks” (verse 27). Christ also expects us to live a righteous life (Matt. 5:20), and John categorically states: “He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He [Jesus] is righteous” (1 John 3:7). Justification by faith leads to living a righteous life before God and others (cf. Mark 6:20).

Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, Th.D., is retired after a career serving as pastor, professor, and theologian.

QI was surprised to read in Psalm 18:20 that “the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness.” Is not that justification by works?

Cavities Minimizing This Oral Threat

In the previous issue we talked about dentistry and oral health. We are going to continue discussing this important subject here and in the next issue, as well.

Oral health is vital to overall well-being. A person who has a nice smile and comfortable mouth is best equipped to communicate, be confident, and function in society. That person is also more likely to be well nourished, enjoy life, enjoy eating, and avoid several serious systemic diseases.

The most common threats to oral health come from two mouth diseases: cavities and periodontal disease. Almost everyone has one or the other, or both, at some level of severity during the normal life span. Fortunately, avoiding these diseases is not terribly complicated, and with proper care, even more serious forms can be avoided or successfully treated.

Today we will talk about dental caries (cavities): how this disease occurs and best practices to avoid it. Cavities occur when acids from bacteria or other sources dissolve tooth enamel faster than minerals in saliva can replace it. Dentists have traditionally emphasized oral hygiene, but caries are caused by several factors. Some of these are under our control; some are not. Genetics is a factor over which we obviously have no control. Factors we can influence are: the ecology of the oral bacterial community, the acidity and mineral level in our saliva, our diet and the amount of time food is left on teeth during the day.

Here are some successful strategies for avoiding or minimizing dental cavities:

„ Live healthfully in all matters. A healthy body and mind contribute to oral health. A healthy mouth is very important to overall health.

„ Brush and floss meticulously twice each day, preferably after breakfast and before bed. For maximum effectiveness, be sure you are flossing correctly. Ask your dentist or hygienist for tips.

„ Eat healthy foods. Whole, natural foods are best. Minimize highly processed foods, especially those with high sugar content, and sticky/ gooey foods.

„ It’s best to avoid or minimize snacks so there are at least two twohour times during the day that nothing with calories is eaten. If snacks are necessary, fresh, crisp foods such as apples or carrots and those high in proteins (sunflower seeds, nuts, beans, or cheese) are best.

„ Plan systematic dental care. Some people should see the dentist every few months. For others, every two years is fine. A dentist can evaluate your mouth for caries risk and let you know what schedule is best for you. The doctor may take X-rays, which are important to detect tiny cavities just starting. Many of these can be reversed. An untreated small cavity can become a painful, inconvenient, and expensive problem, so why not care for it early?

„ Schedule regular cleanings by a dentist or hygienist, and possibly incorporate the use of fluoride into your regimen. This not only will make caries less likely, but also will help protect you from periodontal disease. But that is a subject for next time.

Doyle Nick, D.D.S., specializes in prosthodontics at Koppel Special Care Dentistry in Loma Linda, California, and is the associate director for Global Dental Affairs at the General Conference.

The Enemy in the Boat

I Tell You a Story?”

Pastor Tana, we need you to come back to the mission office, sort through all our youth supplies, and make sure the right dishes and pots and pans and microphones and tarps and other things are on the boat that’s going to the other district event. By the way, that boat needs to leave about 4:00 tomorrow morning.”

“OK,” Pastor Tana shouted above the sound of the engine. Then he waved goodbye and directed the boat toward the harbor entrance, singing happily and enjoying himself.

At the harbor entrance he had to decide whether to take the old shortcut through the reefs or follow the warning and go the safer ocean route.

BY DICK DUERKSEN

The message from the mission president reached Pastor Tana late in the afternoon, just before he was to lead a revival Bible study with the seven Adventist families who lived down by the lagoon in a small Solomon Islands village. As a youth leader for the church in the Solomons, he knew where the supplies were stored, and was a good person to sort everything out before the boat was to leave.

CHOOSE A DIFFERENT ROUTE

“I knew that I needed to go, and go quickly,” Pastor Tana remembers. “So I asked one of the fishermen if I could borrow his boat for the fourhour trip back to our mission headquarters. He told me that that would be OK, but not till after the meeting.”

Pastor Tana led the Bible study meeting, then went with the elders down to the lagoon.

“We prayed for guidance and protection,” Pastor Tana remembers. “Then I jumped into the eight-foot boat, started the 25-horsepower outboard engine, and roared away from the jetty.”

Just before he pulled out, one of the elders warned him that recent storms had changed the channels, and that he should take the longer ocean route rather than the old shortcut through the reefs.

“I chose the route they told me not to take,” says Pastor Tana. “That way I would save more than two hours. I could quickly sort out all the equipment and have it on the other boat before they needed to leave in the morning. If I hurried, I could make it easier for the others at headquarters. I would be careful.”

Rather than go around on the ocean side, Pastor Tana’s little boat began threading its way through the hidden coral, just as he had been warned not to do.

NOT MOVING

“I was traveling along very well, with no problems, until I came to where a longer reef connects two small islands. Knowing this was a dangerous place, I slowed the engine and steered the boat very carefully through the reef. Several times I dipped an oar into the water to be sure the depth was still safe for my boat.”

“May

All went well, until it didn’t. This time he dipped the oar into the water, and it didn’t go down very far. This place was much too shallow and dangerous. He quickly stopped the engine, tilted the motor up, and began slowly paddling with his oar. After about 15 minutes he checked again. The water was still too shallow. And it didn’t seem as though he was making any progress!

“At first I didn’t notice that my paddling wasn’t moving the boat forward, so I kept paddling. Going harder all the time. But when I realized my boat was still in the same spot, I began worrying. The current was moving the same direction I wanted to travel, but my boat was sitting still. Even when I used the paddle to push the boat along over the rocks, I stayed in the very same spot!”

Thinking he must be hung up on some rocks, Pastor Tana jumped over the side to see what was holding up his progress.

“The boat was floating, and there was nothing holding the boat. There was clear water all around it. But it wasn’t moving. It was standing still. Staying right there. Not moving!”

Pastor Tana got back into the boat, cold and shivering, and started paddling really hard. Then, realizing something very big was going wrong, he stopped paddling and started praying.

“Big Fella Up Top,” he prayed in Pidgin English, “I don’t know what’s happening, but You know what’s happening, and I need Your help!”

Then he went to work with the paddle. This time he watched the front of the boat and saw that every time he pushed his paddle through the water, someone in the front of the boat pushed another paddle through the water in exactly the opposite direction.

“When I paddled harder, the person in the other end of the boat also paddled harder. So I figured a way to catch him. I ran from the back to the front of the boat and began paddling furiously!”

It was a good idea, but it didn’t help. No matter how hard Pastor Tana paddled, the invisible person paddled with

exactly the same strokes, but always in the opposite direction. The boat was not moving forward.

A PRAYER AND FAITH

Suddenly Pastor Tana realized exactly how to fix what was happening! He fell down in the boat and began to pray— very loudly!

“Big Fella Up Top,” he shouted in Pidgin English, “I am on Your business, not mine, and I do not want to waste time out here. In the name of Jesus, I call for You to defeat whoever is battling against us.”

Then he stood up, walked purposefully to the back of the boat, tilted the outboard’s propeller into the water, and pulled the starter cord. The engine roared to life, and he pushed it to full throttle. Then, without worrying about how shallow the reef might be, Pastor Tana pointed the boat toward home.

“The moment I did that”—Pastor Tana goes very quiet as he remembers that dark Solomon Islands night—“a bright light came on under the boat, and I could see all of the dangerous rocks clearly.”

That light shone brightly for the next three hours. All the way, as the boat purred through the water to the mission station.

“The bright light replaced the invisible enemy. Chased him right away! That’s when I knew the Lord was right there in the boat with me! So I talked with Him and sang with Him, not worrying at all about the rocks. Clear to the mission compound.”

“It was like I was traveling with my very best friend.”

This story is from Elder Lawrence Tanabose of the Solomon Islands. Pastor Tana served for many years in youth ministry and church leadership. He retired in 2013 from his role as general secretary of the South Pacific Division of Seventhday Adventists.

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Adventist World is published monthly and printed simultaneously in Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Austria, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States. Vol. 19, No. 7

Prophecy Why does it matter?

Have you ever heard people talk about “prophecy”? Some people love it, but some think it’s unnecessary and, well, “hard to digest.” This is kind of funny, since two famous Bible prophets, Ezekiel and John, were told to eat a scroll and then tell others about what was written on it. Ezekiel said the scroll tasted sweet. For John, the scroll started out sweet like honey, but turned bitter in his stomach. Why would prophecy be sweet for one person and make someone else’s stomach hurt? And who would eat a book, anyway?

First, let’s cover some basics. What is prophecy, and why does it matter? A prophet is someone chosen by God to share a message of instruction or warning or predict the future. Prophecy is the name given

to that message. The Bible contains lots of prophecy. Some prophecies are tucked into unexpected places. There are at least 14 about Jesus’ crucifixion in Psalm 22 alone, and every single one came true. What sweet prophecies! They teach us that we can trust fully in God’s Word. As David exclaimed: “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103).

Then there are “wow” types of prophecies, like the water ditch prophecy. You can read the story in 2 Kings 3:16-24. Jehoram, king of Israel, and his allies journeyed seven days into the wilderness on their way to fight the king of Moab. They discovered that there was no water for the troops or animals. Oops! Elisha the prophet reluctantly came to the rescue and shared

God’s action plan. Dig ditches all over the valley! To prove this was not a coincidence, God said there would be no wind or rain, yet the valley would be filled with water enough for every person and animal. Oh, and I’ll give you victory over the Moabites as well, He said. The valley filled with water, just as God had promised, and the Moabites were defeated by an optical illusion. Wow!

How about the prophecy that predicted a ruler named Cyrus would help rescue God’s people from their captivity in Babylon more than 100 years before it happened? (See Isaiah 44 and 45.) Wow! Excavations at Babylon in the 1800s led to the discovery of a clay barrel, known as the Cyrus Cylinder, which confirmed the biblical story.1

Other prophetic writings

seem kind of confusing and are written in a sort of code language Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John, who wrote Revelation, all had visions in which they saw strange sights, sounds, and symbols. Think flaming wheels, four-headed beasts, or giant grasshoppers (locusts) with lions’ teeth. Sounds interesting, but not for those who tend to have nightmares.

God definitely doesn’t want to scare us. The Bible says “Fear not” and “Do not be afraid.”2 Why all the strange and scary symbols? Well, what if you were a four-star general and wanted to get a very important message across enemy lines to some prisoners to tell them about a rescue operation—one that would save them from certain death. Writing in code language makes a lot of sense

during a war. Young friends, we are in an epic war! Which brings us to the second half of our question from the beginning. Why does prophecy matter?

Prophecy is not just for predicting the future and showing that God’s Word can be trusted. The main purpose of prophecy is to help you get to know the God of creation, who holds the future and wants you to live forever with Him. He loves you so much He gave His life to save you. What sweet words! Studying prophecy also leads to hard choices. It uncovers dishonest traps Satan puts in our way.

Prophecy is often a loud warning. Watch out! Destruction ahead! Through prophecy Jesus is calling us to change and turn away from the sin that will destroy us. An honest study of prophecy affects people’s lives.

It either brings them closer to Jesus or turns them away. God’s words are sweet when we accept them fully and let them change us. At the same time, it can be a painful process that feels a little bitter.

No, you don’t need to eat any books. But do taste and see that the Lord is good! That means read God’s Word, pray, and trust Him with every decision. God promises if you read, hear, and take to heart His words, you will be blessed, now and forever.

Shama Stock writes at Revelationforkids.com. Studying Bible prophecy has profoundly changed her life in unexpected ways.

1 Ira M. Price, The Monuments and the Old Testament (Chicago: Christian Culture Press, 1902), p. 234.

2 Psalm 91:5; Isaiah 41:10, 13; Matthew 10:31; Revelation 1:17.

If you read, hear, and take to heart His words, you will be blessed, now and forever.

What we do can change the world. together