Sermon: "Why Be Adventist?" by George Knight

Pastoral Welcome: Darold Retzer

Charles E. Weniger Award Presentation: Randy Roberts

Children’s Feature: Jackie Bishop

Scripture Reading: Rev. 1:17b–18, TNIV - Joseph Kim

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERMON

Why be Seventh-day Adventist? An excellent question with some pretty poor answers. The only real answer can be summed up in one word--HOPE! 

Too many readers open the book of Revelation and see only beasts, red dragons, and 666s. And beasts are important. They have dominated world history. They may have begun with ancient Babylon and Assyria and their brutal ways, but they have remained around in modern times in such forms as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Saddam, and others. Beastliness is a part of history. And so are disease and death.

But those aspects of the book of Revelation only form a backdrop for the real story line--that Jesus who has won the victory over the beastly powers of heaven and earth and who holds the keys of death and the grave. The gospel according to the book of Revelation is that Jesus is more than willing to share His victory with His followers and is returning to earth to put an end to the beastly aspects of history and to create a new earth in which beastliness and death are relegated to the dust bin of history. The real focal point of Revelation is life in Christ, victory, HOPE.

That truth explains the “Adventist” half of our question. To grasp the “seventh-day” part takes us to the very core of the book of Revelation itself, especially the passage running from 11:19-14:20. That passage features “worship” as the central issue at the end of time as planet earth moves toward its climactic end at the Second Advent. Everybody will be worshiping somebody during those perilous times; either the Creator God of Hope or some alternative. The book of Revelation makes the choices clear as the God of Hope moves toward His final act in earth’s history.

George Knight
Professor Emeritus of Church History
Andrews University

MEDITATION
Why be Adventist? Good question. HOPE is the only answer. Too many readers open the book of Revelation and see only beasts and dragons, but the real center is Jesus who returns to put an end to the beastly aspects of life and to rescue a world gone wrong. That insight explains the “Adventist” half of our question. To grasp the “seventh-day” part takes us to the core of Revelation itself. – George Knight

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