Introduction

While in the Protestant contemporary theology eschatology “might not be as extensive as in the past,”¹ in the Adventist theology it occupies a central place. This is not only indicated by the name “Adventist.”² The “Adventist theology arose as a truly ‘eschatological’ theology a century before the German ‘eschatological’ theologians Wolfhart Pannenberg and Jürgen Moltmann came to prominence.”³ Two doctrines stand as integrative factors for the Adventist doctrinal system: the sanctuary and the three angels’ messages.⁴ The doctrine of the sanctuary received far more attention than the three angels’ messages both in biblical and theological studies.⁵ The former is considered to be the “hermeneutical key” that unlocks the meaning of the biblical metanarrative.⁶ This metanarrative is the great controversy between good and evil. Integrating all doctrines into a whole, the cosmic controversy is “the hermeneutical principle of articulation in biblical Adventist theology.”⁷ The articulation principle is part of the hermeneutical principles of theology.⁸ These principles, coupled with the cognitive, teleological, and methodological principles delineate any theological system.⁹

The Adventist doctrinal system is mission-oriented. Furthermore, its ecclesiological identity is based upon the eschatological mission, symbolized by the three angels’ messages in Revelation 14:6-12.¹⁰ As a missional-theological synthesis, the three angels’ messages can be equated with the teleological principle of the entire doctrinal structure. Hence, the teleological principle is eschatological in nature. Consequently, the purpose of the theological system is identified with the ultimate purpose of the cosmic salvific plan. The whole effort of understanding the historical-cognitive realm of Scripture by methodologically applying hermeneutical criteria is thus teleologically oriented.¹¹ While the cognitive, hermeneutical, and methodological principles received reasonably treatment in the Adventist theology,¹² the teleological principle was not so favored.¹³ While the topic of mission is addressed from an ecclesiological perspective,¹⁴ it seems that a discussion of the integrative role of the three angels’ message as a teleological principle of Adventist systematic theology is still wanting.¹⁵

Eschatology is considered only a part of the theological system, being thus confined into the bonds of a limited set of doctrines.¹⁶ It becomes apparent that eschatology as symbolized by the three angels’ messages is more than a part of the Adventist theological system. It functions as its teleological principle. How do the three angels’ messages encapsulate this principle? The argument of this paper is that the three angels’ messages comprise the rationale of the great controversy which articulates every Adventist doctrine. As the teleological principle, it creates an eschatological interconnectedness of the entire theological system.

The Adventist theology is based on a historical-grammatical understanding of the apocalyptic prophecies. This paper accepts this as a necessary presupposition in order to fulfill its purpose. After the introduction, the second part of the paper presents an overview of the Adventist theological system. A short presentation of its cognitive, hermeneutical, and methodological principles follows. The third part introduces the three angels’ messages as the teleological principle. In order to place this criterion in its proper theological context, first a short presentation of the doctrinal development of three angels’ message is set forth. Second, the theological content of three angels’ message is analyzed. As a result, the teleological characteristics that result from the analysis are presented. These characteristics are related with the major systematic sets of doctrines (God, man, salvation, church, and last things). Within this interaction, the eschatological interconnectedness is emphasized, reinforcing the teleological character of the three angels’ messages. The last part presents the conclusions of this research.

The Adventist Theological System

The Adventist theology is more than the sum of its doctrines. It is a unified system, articulated by the biblical metanarrative of salvation. The whole doctrinal structure is oriented toward the eschatological fulfillment of the Great Commission presented both in Matthew 28:18-20 and in Revelation 14:6-12. As such, the Adventist theological system is inherently missiological. This identity derives from the biblical source that supports the system. The cognitive substratum represents a particular hermeneutical combination of metaphysical and epistemological assumptions. These guide the methodological steps followed in order to reach the teleological goal presented in the three angels’ messages. The teleological orientation of the threefold angelic messages can be clearly perceived within the theological system. For this reason, the first section of this part outlines the Adventist system of beliefs. The following sections offer concise details about the cognitive, the hermeneutical, and the methodological principles describing the doctrinal structure.

An Overview of the System

The Adventist system of beliefs is based on the concise doctrinal formulation expressed in 28 fundamental beliefs.¹⁷ These doctrines follow what can be termed a “theological-experiential” order. The narrative behind this order is formed by the cosmic plan of salvation. It is a pendular history, oscillating between divine initiative and human autonomy, between divine presence and human loyalty, and between divine intervention and human restoration. Hence, the 28 beliefs can be grouped in six larger categories reflecting these oscillatory movements.¹⁸

The divine initiative in relation with creation is presented in the first group of doctrines. It starts with the epistemic foundation of human knowledge about God: the Scriptures. Theology proper follows, with a presentation of the three persons of the Godhead.¹⁹ The human autonomy is presented in the context of Creation and Fall, making the second category mainly anthropological.²⁰ The divine initiative materializes in the divine presence in the context of the sin problem. The divine presence is actualized both in the larger and narrower perspectives on salvation. Hence the soteriological flavor of the third category.²¹ For the human beings accepting salvation, autonomy gives way to loyalty. Adherence to God creates unity in the divinely appointed mission for the world. This becomes the core feature of the new community of believers which outlines the fourth category.²²

In the fifth category, human loyalty appears under the guise of Christian behavior.²³ Obedience to divine commandments has a significance for the real life. It embraces a responsible care of the variegated personal, social or material gifts received from God. The Sabbath becomes a reminder of requisite care, a symbol of continual dependence on God, and a foretaste of future life. The inward restoration of humanity is made possible by Christ’s intercession and completed by divine intervention at the second coming of Jesus. The eschatological restoration universally vindicates God’s character. The last things presented in the sixth category become the prologue of a new creation.²⁴

The narrative history of Adventist beliefs marks the progression from the divine initiative to the final cosmic restoration by the divine intervention. A coherent unity transpires. This oneness is articulated according to an eschatological goal. It follows that the Adventist theology has all the characteristics of a theological system. As a result, the main thrust of the system is theological “in its purest sense.”²⁵

The Cognitive Principle

Any theological system can be defined as “a cognitive whole of articulated theological doctrines.”²⁶ This implies that there are several necessary conditions for a system to exist.²⁷ The first condition is cognitive, referring to the data to be analyzed. The second condition is teleological, pointing to the purpose of the system. The third condition is hermeneutical, interpreting data according to the fourth condition, methodology.

The cognitive condition is vital for the system. It refers to the epistemic source accepted as normative for theology. In the Adventist theology, the cognitive principle is Scripture alone.²⁸ The sola-tota-prima Scriptura principle explicitly rejects other sources like “science, philosophy, tradition, or experience;” hence, the biblical “complete system of theological and philosophical truths replaces the system of theological and philosophical truths of tradition.”²⁹

There are several tenets derived from the cognitive principle.³⁰ First, the Bible is sufficient for inferring doctrinal truth (sola Scriptura). Philosophy or science need not to midwife theology in order to arrive at truth.³¹ Second, the biblical teachings are found in the whole corpus of the Scriptures (tota Scriptura). A doctrine cannot be based on a singular text, but on a network of interconnected passages. These form certain themes, motifs, or structures running throughout the Bible, contributing to a broader perspective on the biblical teaching. Third, one has to distinguish between the universal principles and their application in a specific biblical context. While “God’s Word is not culturally or historically conditioned,” it is “culturally/historically constituted.”³² These universal principles have primacy over other principles based on tradition, experience, or reason (prima Scriptura).

The Hermeneutical Principles

The hermeneutical principles of a theological system set the “the pattern through which the cognitive material with which the theologian works should be interpreted.”³³ At the confluence of the biblical metaphysics and biblical epistemology, a threefold hermeneutical structure is formed. The first element is the principle of reality. It refers to the reality of God, of humanity, and of the world. The principle of articulation constitutes the second element. It comprises the interaction between the divine and the created realms. The last element, the principle of knowledge, indicates the way theological knowledge is constructed. All these three principles intertwine into a complex pattern that delineates the theological territory to be explored.

The main concern of the biblical metaphysics is reality. In the “spatiality and temporality of the entities and things, either empirical or metaemprical,” the biblical reality presents God, the human beings, and the world as relating with each other.³⁴ Far from atemporality, the Bible depicts God as temporal. His reality “is essentially temporal and historical.”³⁵ As a result, his actions recorded in the Bible are not mythological but actual. God lives and acts in an analogous temporal flow, orienting human history toward a linear end.³⁶

The divine interest in the human history is a manifestation of the care and of the compassion God has for the world. This relationship is best characterized by love.³⁷ The revelation of God’s love is circumscribed by the biblical metanarrative of the great controversy. The cosmic conflict originated in heaven and later spread to the earth through the Fall.³⁸ Through his life, death, resurrection, intercession, second coming, and final judgment, Christ will put an end to this conflict forever. This metaphysical interaction between the Godhead and the world constitutes the principle that articulates coherently the entire Adventist theological system.

The epistemological principle concerns the source, the nature, and the function of the theological knowledge. According to the cognitive principle, the Scripture contains and provides the knowledge for the Christian theology.³⁹ Therefore, the nature of knowledge can be understood through a careful study of the process of revelation-inspiration. God meets man in the flow of history. With a redemptive purpose in mind, God communicates with the human beings by accommodating his truth into human “cognitive and linguistic patterns.”⁴⁰ Given that “knowledge is interpretation produced with the presuppositions we bring to the objects we attempt to understand,” the theologian must acknowledge his assumptions about reality and replace them with the ones intrinsic to the Bible.⁴¹

The Methodological Principle

The methodological principle of the Adventist theological system involves three constitutive parts: (1) the biblical data, (2) the matter in question, and (3) the assumptions.⁴² Each part encompasses one of the principles mentioned above. The biblical data refers to the cognitive and to the articulation principles. The subject matter reflects the principle of reality. The assumptions are related with the principle of knowledge.

The principles of reality and of articulation are used as tools to uncover the core elements of theology that constitute the problem of research.⁴³ These basic elements refer to the attributes and the activities of God and of his creatures. As such, they indicate the doctrine of God, the doctrine of man, and the doctrine of Creation. In addition, the interaction between the Creator and his Creation on the same historical and temporal level encompasses the doctrine of salvation, the doctrine of the church, and the doctrine of the last things. Interpreting these doctrines within the presuppositional borders outlined by the epistemological principle is conducive to a biblically grounded systematic theology.

Given that “[t]he subject-matter of systematic theology is not the interpretation of the written text of Scripture, but of the living text of reality,” the methodological principle bridges the theoretical and the practical aspects of theology.⁴⁴ As such, it reveals that the various doctrinal systematic components are teleologically oriented toward the fulfillment of God’s cosmic plan of salvation. This goal is what defines the identity of the teleological principle. In the Adventist theology, the three angels’ messages capture the essence of this principle. To these messages the research now turns.

The Three Angels’ Messages As The Teleological Principle

The three angelic proclamations orient the Adventist theology toward the fulfillment of its missiological identity. The teleological character of the threefold message was perceived from the beginning of Adventism. The first section of this part reveals this perception by indicating briefly the doctrinal development of the three angels’ messages. Revelation 14:6-12 addresses each systematic doctrinal category. The theological content of the angelic proclamations detailed in the second section makes this plain. Moreover, the purposive nature of the three angels’ messages interconnects the systemic categories by their traits. The third section presents these characteristics.

The Doctrinal Development of the Three Angels’ Messages

The doctrinal background of the Adventist understanding of the three angelic pronouncements is found in the Millerite theology.⁴⁵ A former Millerite preacher, Joseph Bates was the first Sabbatarian Adventist to perceive the teleological nature of three angels’ proclamations.⁴⁶ Pointing to the eschatological significance of the Sabbath, he presents the relation between the Sabbath and the three angels’ messages.⁴⁷ As part of the “commandments of God” (Rev 14:12),⁴⁸ the Sabbath was identified with the seal of God, making the third angels’ message “the sealing message.”⁴⁹

Very soon after Bates’ tract was printed, James White publishes “A Word to the Little Flock.”⁵⁰ In it, he summarizes the incipient Adventist understanding of the three angels’ messages. The first proclamation “presents the advent message, to the church and world.” The second angel “brought us to the 7th month, 1844.” The third message “was, and still is, a WARNING [sic] to the saints ‘to hold fast’ and not to go back, and ‘receive’ the marks which the virgin band got rid of, during the second angel’s cry.”⁵¹

The first and second angels’ messages announced the proclamation of the Second Coming and the decadency of a corrupted church. These were recognized as having a historical incipient fulfillment in the Millerite experience. The third angel’s message was “assumed by the pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist church as their duty and responsibility.”⁵² It comprised both the first and the second proclamation, and was enriched with the doctrine of the Sabbath, and later with the health message (1860s) and a broader understanding of righteousness by faith (1880s).⁵³

The Theological Content of the Three Angels’ Messages

The three angels represent a faithful remnant in the end-time which has an “universal mission and divine credentials to proclaim a message of judgment.”⁵⁴ As such, their messages have a prophetic character. Each of the three angelic proclamations embodies a theological synthesis of the Adventist teachings. They unwrap in a “chronological sequence” their content.⁵⁵ Each subsequent message integrates the previous one. As a result, the three proclamations “eventually merge into one threefold message.”⁵⁶

The first angelic announcement represents the gospel call to repentance:⁵⁷

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Rev 14:6–7)

Only through remorse the divine imperatives appealing human beings to revere, to glorify, and to worship God can be obeyed. These imperatives point to an estrangement of Creation from its Creator due to sin. But the proclamation of the first angel “creates a new spiritual Israel of God in the end-time.”⁵⁸ This group announces the fulfillment of God’s cosmic plan of salvation through the final judgment of sin. The first phase of the final judgment takes place before the Second Coming. It is identified with the pre-Advent judgment begun in the heavenly sanctuary as described in Daniel 7. The date for the beginning of the judgment is the year 1844 A.D.⁵⁹

The judgment is closely associated with Creation. The Sabbath is alluded in verse 7. Therefore, the first angel’s message “calls for the restoration of true worship by presenting before the world Christ the Creator and Lord of the Bible Sabbath.”⁶⁰ The visible sign of repentance is the “loving obedience” to God’s commandments, Sabbath included.⁶¹ The Creator is glorified “when true worship is restored and believers live the principles of God's kingdom.”⁶²

The second angelic proclamation indicates the result of rejecting the first angel’s message: “Another angel, a second, followed, saying, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality’” (Rev 14:8).⁶³ Babylon is understood as representing “church and state on a world scale” joined together against God’s people.⁶⁴ It is an illicit relation that results in enforcing non-biblical religious teachings which intoxicate human conscience.⁶⁵ The angelic repetition “fallen, fallen” indicates one of the verdicts of the divine judgment. The second angelic message is echoed in Revelation 18, calling God’s people to come out of a morally fallen Babylon, in order to escape from the carrying out of the heavenly verdict.⁶⁶ As such, this proclamation continues the process of gathering God’s people into one body of believers.

As a culmination of the previous two messages, the third angel’s proclamation is considered by Adventists as the identifying marker of their theological system. It announces “the most solemn and fearful warning in the Bible:”⁶⁷

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” (Rev 14:9– 11)

The language used by the angel indicates that this is the last divine message announced to the inhabitants of the earth. In the Revelation narrative, it is followed by the Second Coming. If the second proclamation indicates the moral fall of Babylon, the third message announces the individual fate of those who choose to give their allegiance to the corrupt powers and not to God.

Central to the third angelic message is a “confrontation of signs.”⁶⁸ The loyalty toward God is manifested by accepting God’s sign, the Sabbath. The allegiance to the opposing powers is revealed by receiving the mark of the beast. While the offer of rest, present in the Sabbath observance is refused, the followers of antichrist remain restlessness. Trying to secure the present by running from a temporal death (Rev 13:15), they run into eternal death, forfeiting their future bliss. The angel clearly presents the temporal nature of the human being. In addition, it indicates the inability of man to save himself. The entire effort to participate “in a form of worship God has forbidden but which the beast and his image command, a man-made worship” is doomed to failure.⁶⁹ Only by accepting God’s seal of righteousness, human beings can be saved.

The third angel’s message is summarized in Revelation 14:12: “In this point is the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (personal translation). As a result of the proclamation of the three angels, the process of gathering of all true believers is made complete. They honor God more than their own threatened lives. In the book of Revelation, “God has made rejection of the mark of the beast an essential qualification of the conquerors.”⁷⁰ The followers of the Lamb seem to be the defeated, while the followers of the antichrist seem to triumph. But at Jesus’ second coming, his followers are saved and secured forever. Those who received the mark of the beast suffer under the pouring of the seven plagues (Rev 16) and are annihilated in the executive judgment (Rev 20:11-15).

The Teleological Characteristics of the Three Angels’ Messages

The three angelic proclamations have a “historical-missiological” orientation that impacts the entire Adventist theological system.⁷¹ The Millerite experience is interpreted, understood and integrated into the Adventist theological system.⁷² The articulation principle of the cosmic controversy provides the tool for this historical integration. In addition, the three apocalyptic angels are understood as referring to a definite group of people with a distinct message for the world.⁷³ As a result, the newly born theological identity reflects a “prophetically pre-ordained destiny.”⁷⁴

The three angels’ messages provide a missionary orientation for the Adventist theology. Several traits circumscribe this teleological character. First, all three messages have a temporal nature which influences their content. The first message announces the beginning of the judgment before the Second Coming. Also, it alludes to the Sabbath, a literal period of rest. The second message proclaims the beginning of the moral fall of Babylon. With the first mention of the word in Revelation 14:8, Babylon is depicted as a temporal entity, which has a beginning and also an end. The third message points to the specific moment when the mark of the beast becomes effectual. Through his messengers, God exhorts the world against its reception. Moreover, the third proclamation indicates the temporal finitude of the human beings. The followers of the beast are annihilated in the eschatological fire. In addition, the conclusion of the threefold angelic warning indicates a time when God’s faithful believers will unite with the remnant church persevering in keeping God’s commandments and Jesus’ faithfulness. Therefore, as a part of the historical flow of salvation, the messages are eschatologically focused.

Second, the angelic proclamations indicate the pre-Advent judgment as central to God’s plan of salvation. This judgment is connected with the heavenly sanctuary, one of the central foci of Revelation. The entire celestial creation loyal to God is presented in a court setting. The purpose of judgment is threefold: (1) to reveal God’s justice, (2) to save God’s people on earth, and (3) to condemn the persecuting powers.⁷⁵ As such, the judgment hints the final restoration, taking place after the destruction of the wicked, when the Lamb and his angels return to the earth (Rev 14:10).

The third teleological trait is represented by the concept of the Sabbath. The Sabbath plays a central role in the last book of the Bible.⁷⁶ As the seal of God’s law, the seventh day is directly alluded in Revelation 14:7, and indirectly in verses 9 and 11.⁷⁷ Standing in direct opposition with the imprint of the opposing apocalyptic power, the Sabbath observance identifies the loyal adherence to God.⁷⁸ It recognizes God’s power to save, and makes human effort futile. Moreover, by remembering the theme of creation in the midst of a solemn warning, the seventh day retells the cosmic conflict.⁷⁹ The Sabbath marks the border between destruction and restoration. As a result, the proclamation of the Sabbath comes at the juncture between past and future, being filled with eschatological overtones.

The Sabbath imagery, the pre-Advent judgment, and the temporal nature present in the three angelic messages outline their teleological character. The three teleological traits interconnect the themes of creation, redemption, and restoration in the metanarrative of the great controversy. These three themes are essential for any systematic theology based on the sola-tota-prima Scriptura principle. As a result, the three angelic proclamations interact with every doctrinal category of the Adventist theology. This dynamic eschatological interconnectedness is presented in the next part.

The Eschatological Interconnectedness of the Adventist Theological System

The three angels’ messages function as the teleological principle of the Adventist theological system. Through their rich eschatological overtones, the angelic proclamations interconnect all other doctrines, orienting them toward the ecclesiological-missiological fulfillment. This fourth part restructures the teleological characteristics presented in the previous part according to the major categories of systematic theology: the doctrine of God, the doctrine of man, the doctrine of salvation, the doctrine of the church, and the doctrine of the last things. The eschatological relation of the three angels’ messages with each doctrinal category is analyzed in each of the following sections.

The Three Angels’ Messages and the Doctrine of God

Having the reverence to God, the glorification of his name, and the worship given to him at their center, the threefold angelic messages address the doctrine of God. Theology proper can be structured in three major parts:⁸⁰ (1) the reality of God, (2) the divine attributes, and (3) the divine activities. The three proclamations interact with each part, enriching their understanding. Through the Sabbath allusion, God is presented as Creator. Through the imagery of judgment, God is presented as Savior. Through the imagery of the executive judgment, God is presented as a Restorer.

Coming at the end of the Creation week, the seventh day is not situated “outside of the historical reality of Creation.”⁸¹ The historicity of the Genesis account is fundamental for understanding God’s reality. Far from atemporality, the Bible depicts God as temporal.⁸² His reality “is essentially temporal and historical.”⁸³ As a result, his actions recorded in the Bible are not mythological but actual. The Bible can speak about salvation and restoration “only because God is the Creator.”⁸⁴ As Creator, God is an all-powerful being that transcends Creation. The bringing into existence of the world presupposes God’s pre-existence and his independence of matter. He is not dependent on creation, but creation is contingent on him.⁸⁵ This is the reason behind the fervent appeal of “fear God and give him glory” (Rev 14:7). God wants to restore the imago Dei in his creatures. But these need to turn to him, in order to become what they were intended to be.

The fact that God intervenes in the world through judgment reveals his immanence. The Sabbath, along with the Sanctuary and the Incarnation are a revelation of a “Person who relates with men and women as He dwells with them throughout and within the flow of human history.”⁸⁶ God is humanity’s Savior. This function is reflected in the concept of judgment. Through judgment, God unveils his love. Five traits characterize this revelation of love.⁸⁷ First, God chooses to act through judgment, extending salvation to his creatures: love is volitional. Second, God expects human beings to answer his appeals. He is not impassible: his love appraises human interaction. Third, God is emotionally involved in restoring the true worship. The metaphors of “wrath” and “anger” reveal that his love is emotional (Rev 14:10). Fourth, the ten commandments and the faithfulness of Jesus are embodied in the Sabbath. The seventh day is presented as the seal of God in Revelation. Similar to the Sabbath, the ten commandments and the faithfulness of Jesus are a gift from God. Keeping the gift becomes a condition of maintaining the divine-human covenant. This reflects the foreconditional aspect of divine love. Fifth, God’s judgment is an invitation addressed to humanity. Each individual is free to choose or to reject it. This indicates that God’s love is ideally reciprocal and not a rigid determinism.

To the attribute of temporality, transcendence, immanence, and divine love, immutability is added.⁸⁸ God does not abrogate or change his law when sin invades his Creation, nor when Jesus dies on the cross. Rather, he warns humanity of the dreadful consequences of rejecting his law (Rev 14:10). The permanence of the law and its important role in the end-time events show that God is involved in a controversy wherein his faithfulness is at stake. It also reveals the divine activities of foreknowledge and predestination.⁸⁹ God was not surprised by the Fall. The existence of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil shows that the Godhead took sin into account when they created the world. This means that the external written law was designed with a latent potential to counteract the effects of sin through its spiritual dimensions. In the subsequent history, the various applications of the law present God’s actions to redeem and to restore Creation. The three angels’ messages reveal the Creator’s presence in the world. He acts as its ruler, condemning evil and uplifting good. As Judge, God puts an end to evil through his divine power, in order to restore it. The themes of creation, salvation, and restoration sum up the divine salvific efforts. Therefore, the three angelic pronouncements orient humanity’s salvation toward completion. As a result, the human beings are placed in the center of the divine interest.

The Three Angels’ Messages and the Doctrine of Man

Relationships are essential to the three angels’ messages and to anthropology.⁹⁰ There are two levels on which these relations are present. First, there is the vertical level. Humanity needs to relate with the metaphysical realm. But this realm is clashed in a cosmic controversy. There are two competing forces: God and the devil. Each human being is compelled to choose one side or the other. Second, there is the horizontal level. In the end times, humankind is polarized in two major groups, reflecting a specific set of characteristics: the followers of the Lamb and the followers of the dragon.

The three angels’ messages embody the essential features of the reality of human beings’ existence and their activities in relation to God and others. As a reminder of Creation, the angelic proclamations point first to human createdness. By intertwining the imagery of Creation with that of the mark as an imprint, the three angelic proclamations forcefully recall that humanity bears the imago Dei, not imago bestiae. In his original state, the human being was imprinted with the image of his Maker.⁹¹ In the postlapsarian state, God’s image was marred. But through Christ, the Godhead makes the restoration of the divine resemblance possible. In this sense, the three angels call human beings to accept the divine restoration by refusing the image of the malefic adversary.

Second, the three messages indicate the temporal nature of the human beings.⁹² The strong warning of the third angel runs against the prevalent notion of the natural immortality of the soul. The future of those receiving the mark of the beast is described in a vivid language: they “will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb” (Rev 14:10). They are transformed into ashes. As with the Old Testament cities which were destroyed forever, “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever” (Rev 14:11).⁹³

The third anthropological characteristic of the three angels’ messages is the equality of humanity. The first angel proclaims the gospel “to every nation and tribe and language and people” (Rev 14:6). Nobody is excluded or exempted. All stand on a level ground, being reminded that they have equal value before their Creator. The angel does not recognize the artificial barriers mounted by human beings. All individuals have the same right to hear the gospel proclamation.

Closely connected with equality stands the human freedom. God respects the right of each individual being to choose. This contrasts with the coercion that characterizes the beast and its followers. While the divine appeal indicates which is the end of those accepting the mark of the adversary, the beast threatens with the end those refusing its imprint. True freedom manifests when coercion is the strongest. Those choosing to have their divine resemblance restored oppose the beast even unto death. Those refusing to bear the imago Dei accept the character of the beast.

Some of the major elements that circumscribe the human identity are embodied in the three angels’ messages: createdness, temporality, freedom, and equality. All become central in the eschatological conflict of the end-time. By indicating them, the angelic proclamations reveal human beings as the focus of the divine salvific efforts. Accepting God’s appeal, humanity chooses salvation.

The Three Angels’ Messages and the Doctrine of Salvation

The central idea of salvation is that “God visits His people and delivers them from those problems or powers that imperil their existence.”⁹⁴ As such, the doctrine of salvation is closely connected with the three angels’ messages. Their content depicts God visiting his creation and announcing the climax of the gospel proclamation. It is a cri de coeur from God toward his Creation. Before putting a cosmic end to the evil, God urges human beings to recognize him as their God and Savior. By revering, glorifying, and worshipping God, humanity confesses that He is trustworthy. Hence, the eschatological nature of the three angelic proclamations is reinforced by their temporal nature. Once humanity takes sides, God intervenes to save his people from the persecution imposed by the beast and its followers.

The human allegiance is manifested through the obedience to God’s law. The acceptance of the Sabbath as God’s loyalty emblem reveals the disposition to trust God’s ability to provide what is necessary for individual and collective salvation. Therefore, God’s seal becomes indicative of conversion from self-dependence to divine-dependence. Only passing though this conversion humanity can trust in God’s protective care and leadership in the end times. Ceasing from his efforts, the human being accepts God’s intervention. This results in an inner transformation: God’s loyal followers are called “saints” (Rev 14:12). As such, the Sabbath is related with sanctification. God bestows his holiness on man, restoring the imago Dei. As a result, human beings become imitatores Dei.⁹⁵ The spiritual growth and maturation in Christ is closely intertwined with the Sabbath observance. In the final conflict, God’s people receive the strength to endure privations and even the loss of life.

While the first angelic proclamation indicates that salvation is based on God’s acts and not human works, the third angelic message indicates that the judgment is according to works. This is the reason the Sabbath observance is so important in the eschatological conflict. As a mark of sanctification, it speaks of a complete surrender to God. The relation between sanctification and judgment “is best understood in the Christological setting of the relationship between Jesus as Saviour (stressing the gift of God), and Jesus as Lord (stressing the claim of God). To magnify His gift is to magnify His claim.”⁹⁶ Given that the followers of the beast have a dissimulated religious facade, a vindication of God’s true saints is needed. Therefore, for all those professing to be followers of the Lamb, the pre-Advent judgment is “judicial, yet redemptive.”⁹⁷ It reveals the real or the dissimulated allegiance to God.

In addition to the anthropological perspective, salvation adds a broader dimension. The three angels’ messages are brought from heaven down to earth. The angels are involved in the completion of the plan of salvation. The witness of heaven is alluded through the imagery of the angels in the Lamb’s entourage. They agree with the divine decisions taken regarding the followers of the beast (Rev 14:10). This hints to the cosmic dimensions of salvation. As on earth, the moral law, “expressed to the different orders of created beings in specific precepts, is central to the controversy that arose in the universe.”⁹⁸ This controversy started in heaven, in the very presence of God. Lucifer, the angelic ruler started to entertain thoughts of jealousy and pride. He developed a strong hatred against Christ.⁹⁹ Also, he questioned the limits of the created beings and attacked God’s moral government.¹⁰⁰ Acting as a judge, God expelled Satan and the fallen angels from heaven. This was the start of a conflict later to be reflected in the human history.¹⁰¹ The end of this conflict is presented in the book of Revelation. The same malefic intelligence is behind the satanic trinity, leading a global rebellion against God and his people. But this brawny force encounters a growing resistance movement: the remnant.

The Three Angels’ Messages and the Doctrine of Church

Whether in the Old or in the New Testament, “[w]here there are people of God, there is the church.”¹⁰² This principle is also reflected in the end-time. The Adventist theology recognizes the existence of a “universal church” which “is composed of all who truly believe in Christ;” nevertheless, it summarizes its own ecclesiological identity through the concept of remnant: “but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”¹⁰³ The three angels symbolize the remnant church, and their proclamation, the church’s mission. The universal church thus comprises a visible part—the remnant—and an invisible part.¹⁰⁴

In the historical flow, the three angelic proclamations point both to the formation of the remnant and to the gathering of the whole church of Christ under the same coat of arms: the Sabbath. The seventh day unites the remnant in worship and mission. It also becomes an invitation for others to join in. Therefore, “the church does not merely have a mission, the church is mission.”¹⁰⁵ The purpose of the three angels is fulfilled when all true invisible believers forsake Babylon and step into the visible realm uniting themselves with the remnant church.

The church reveals that unity cannot be imposed or forced on people. It becomes a reality when people come together to revere, glorify, and worship their Creator. Only then can the church reflect the oneness that characterizes the Godhead. In contrast, the apparent unity of Babylon under the mark of the beast is doomed to failure. The second angel announces the fall of Babylon. In Revelation 18, the true nature of Babylon is revealed: it is a “dwelling place for demons,” which fought hard to overthrow God’s authority on earth (Rev 18:2).

Opposed to everything what Babylon stands for, the remnant obeys God’s commandments through faith. By this, the church confesses that it accepts the Bible as authoritative for each religious practice. Accepting God’s word as the cognitive foundation for its theology, the remnant-church recognizes the reality and the identity of God. United in worship, the church members confess that there is only one body and a sole head of the Church: Jesus Christ (Col 1:18). Consequently, they reject all other pretended heads that are put up by the dragon and its allies. The sea-beast attracts the attention of the whole world when it imitates the experience of Jesus Christ, receiving a “mortal wound” which is then healed (Rev 13:3).¹⁰⁶ But the imitation is tawdry as it does not reflect the character of the original. The amazement is turned into a manipulating tool: all people are forced to receive its mark by the earth-beast (Rev 13:12-17).

The eschatological imposition of the mark of the beast is countered by the proclamation of the three angels’ messages. These angels gather the believers into a remnant-church and sends them to proclaim the Sabbath, the judgment, the second coming, and the conditional immortality of humanity as a part of God’s final message to the world. Hence, the threefold angelic messages connect the church with the present, through its temporal character, but also with the future restoration. Still, before restoration, a final battle for human allegiance takes place. The battle between God’s mark of loyalty and Satan’s imprint of defiance is the denouement of the great controversy.

The Three Angels’ Messages and the Doctrine of Last Things

While it is true that the three angels’ messages cannot be fully proclaimed without being lived, they cannot be lived without being proclaimed. As the teleological goal of church’s identity, they circumscribe the divine-human resistance movement. When human beings accept the angelic proclamations, God’s rulership is restored in their hearts. Accepting the seal of the living God (Rev 7:2), they become part of the remnant, waiting for the final restoration.

The ecclesiological proclamation is not a serene mission. The Bible portraits it as a fierce battle for human allegiance. Satan, the malefic force behind the Fall coup, identifies his followers with his brand (Rev 13:16-17). Imitating God’s seal of ownership, this apocalyptic imprint designates the opposing values of the usurper. The Sabbath is a specific period of time; the other is also a specific period, prophetically and historically identified with Sunday.¹⁰⁷ The seventh day is a reminder of God’s authority as Creator; the mark is a reminder of the rebel’s authority. God’s day indicates freedom and equality; the beast’s imprint reveals coercion and inequity. The day of rest redeems and restores; the sign of unrest enslaves and crushes. One reflects love whereas the other hate. Honoring the Sabbath in the midst of a “nearly universal disregard of the Sabbath among contemporary Christians” cannot avoid confrontation.¹⁰⁸

By proclaiming the “imposing portfolio of meanings” embodied in the Sabbath, the remnant church expresses its faithfulness in God.¹⁰⁹ The seventh day is a sign of allegiance, revealing human loyalty. The Sabbath recognizes “God as Creator and our willingness to do what He says for His sake alone.”¹¹⁰ The human willingness to observe the seventh day results from the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. Bearing resemblance to Jesus, the “exact imprint [Gr. charaktēr]” of the divine nature (Heb 1:3), the remnant confesses Christ’s faithfulness. As a result, the Sabbath observance becomes a means of restoring God’s reputation in the great controversy.¹¹¹ Understood as a revelation of God’s character, the angelic proclamation of the Sabbath is extremely important in the end-time. The final eschatological battle between good and evil is fought around what Sabbath signifies: worship. As with the marital relation, the covenantal relationship symbolized by the Sabbath is exclusive. One cannot serve God and his adversary. Therefore, each human being must choose whom to worship. As the three angels reveal, the observance of the seventh day becomes the visible litmus test of the end times.¹¹²

Up to the Second Coming, the three angel’s messages fulfill their teleological role. They orient human allegiance toward God through its proclamation. By remembering Creation, they invite humanity to worship the Creator. By announcing judgment, they entreat human beings to receive their Savior. By indicating the end of evil, they exhort men and women to enter God’s everlasting rest. When they accept the angelic pronouncements, the believers receive the power to keep God’s commandments and have the faith of Jesus until the Second Coming. Even if they go through the darkest hour of history, they have the promise of restoration.

Conclusions

The Adventist theological system is a unified whole. The entire doctrinal structure is oriented toward the eschatological fulfillment having thus a missiological nature. This orientation is embodied in the three angels’ messages. These constitute the teleological principle of the Adventist theology. Each of the other fundamental principles (cognitive, hermeneutical, and methodological) is informed by the three angelic proclamations.

The threefold pronouncements encapsulate their teleological character in three features: the temporal frame of reference, the pre-Advent judgment, and the Sabbath. These features interconnect the themes of creation, salvation, and future restoration in the metanarrative of the great controversy. Given that the major categories of systematic theology follow the ordo salutis of the biblical metanarrative, the three angelic messages interact with every doctrinal category of the Adventist theology creating a dynamic eschatological interconnectedness. As such, they distill the ecclesiological raison d'être, becoming an indispensable organic part of church’s identity and mission. Given their importance, any treatment of Adventist theology needs to integrate the teleological features of the three angels’ messages as part of the systematic discussion.