The three angels' messages of Revelation 14:6–12, one of the foundations of Adventist theology, will be the focus of the book distributed by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 2022. Entitled The Last Invitation, its 79 pages detail the relevance of this portion of the biblical text for humanity and the hope that exists for those who embrace it.
The work will arrive in the year when the denomination will place special emphasis on the theme throughout the four corners of the globe, especially highlighting the need to turn our eyes to the Bible, the truthfulness of creation, the observance of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and the urgency of a true conversion to God and divine purposes.
“It's an Adventist message, but for the world. We must announce it to everyone. People ask, Why are we here? Why is there death? We have the answers to th[ose] kind[s] of question[s]. That's why it was written for people to have hope”, explains the book's author, Clifford Goldstein.
The goal of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to distribute copies of the work in more than 50 languages and dialects. In South America alone, it is estimated that more than 20 million copies will be delivered, in Portuguese and Spanish.
Strengthening Biblical Principles
“We are living in a time when many people have questioned the veracity of the Bible, pointing to the deconstruction of the biblical principle and the need to build a new philosophy. This directly affects religion and families”, diagnoses Pastor Luís Gonçalves, the denomination's evangelist for South America. “The content of the three angels' messages is like a vaccine with three doctrinal doses—a biblical remedy.”
Revelation 14:6–12 is about a warning call to the world before the second coming of Christ, which must be proclaimed by those who await His return, but how does one “translate” or clarify such specific content found in a prophetic book, which requires in-depth study to understand its symbolism and meanings? For the Adventist Church's world publishing ministry director, Pastor Almir Marroni, the form and language used by Goldstein reach people who do not have or have never had contact with the Bible. With divine help, Marroni stresses, Goldstein will awaken many people to an interest in understanding the relevance of the biblical text to human history.
To further expand the subject, throughout its 13 chapters, the work has QR codes that direct readers to complementary content, in addition to providing a way to clarify doubts via WhatsApp.
Involvement Required
In more than 13 years, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America has distributed approximately 300 million books on health, family, and spiritual life. Whether in big cities, rural areas, or anywhere on the planet, thanks to digital versions, its biblical bases have aroused the interest of thousands of people to get to know God and His purposes in depth. See all titles here.
One of these copies arrived in the hands of Jair Antonio, a retired man in the interior of São Paulo. That day, during the election period, he left home to vote. While waiting in line, a teenager handed him a copy of The Greatest Hope. When he received it, he told himself, ‘That was the very book I was looking for.’
On one occasion, while talking to his brother, Antonio discovered one of his friends, Milton Moura, was attending a church, which appeared to be Seventh-day Adventist. When talking to Moura, the information was confirmed. Antonio demonstrated his interest in attending the meetings.
When Antonio first visited the church, the pastor asked if he would come back. “I told him I went to stay. I didn't want to be a guest. I went to continue. I was decided”, he describes.
Milton was studying the Bible and looking for a denomination that would help him understand God's will. Moments before being baptized, he told Pastor Luís Gonçalves, an evangelist for the Adventist Church in eight South American countries and host of the program Na Mira de Verdade on TV Novo Tempo, “I found what I was looking for. Don't you say on television, 'Come closer’? I arrived."
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site
