Theology

The investigative judgment doctrine has always been an intrinsic part of Seventh-day Adventist soteriology. Throughout the history of Seventh-day Adventists, however, the investigative (or Pre-Advent) judgment has been one of the most controversial doctrines, challenged and questioned more than any other Adventist belief. For Adventists, however, the investigative judgment forms an essential part of their theology and cannot be abandoned. This is because their soteriology is locked within a meta-theological paradigm that necessitates the eschatological pre-Advent judgment. Understanding this paradigm may be helpful in explaining the beauty and uniqueness of Adventist soteriology.

World War I was a defining moment in world history. It had profound implications for religion, particularly among evangelical Christians. At the same time, it also had profound implications for Seventh-day Adventism. This presentation examines its impact for Seventh-day Adventist theology, particularly in a renewed emphasis upon Adventist eschatology. During World War I the rising fundamentalist movement held a series of prophecy conferences that captured the attention of Adventist church leaders. By the end of the conflict this sense of militarism had pervaded Protestant Christianity with various reactions to the war. This presentation surveys some of those reactions within Adventism, including how this impacted eschatological debates with Adventism and fundamentalism. The focus of this presentation is to survey Adventist eschatology and theological debates from World War I through World War II, leading up to the pivotal 1952 Bible Conference that finally culminated in continued eschatological discussions. This presentation argues that both twentieth-century world wars had a profound impact upon Seventh-day Adventist theology.

The epistle of Jude is shrouded with rich theological significance, in spite of its shortness. Theological themes like the order of salvation, faith, mission, worship, judgment, the great controversy, the second coming, the end of the world, and others are interwoven in the fabric of Jude. The book starts with protology and ends with climactic and cosmic victorious eschatology. This presentation explores Michael’s role in the great controversy according to Jude. References to Michael in the Bible are all in the context of intense violence, war, death, and resurrection. Indeed the highlight of Jude’s eschatology is Michael, the heavenly warrior who victoriously defends His people and will end the great controversy.

Adventist theology is based on a historical-grammatical understandi of the apocalyptic prophecies. This presentation accepts this as a necessary presupposition in order to fulfill its purpose. It offers an overview of the Adventist theological system and its cognitive, hermeneutical, and methodological principles. This presentation introduces the three angels’ messages as the teleological principlnge and, in order to place this criterion in its proper theological context, discusses the doctrinal development of the three angels’ message. The theological content of the three angels’ message is then analyzed. As a result, the teleological characteristics that result from the analysis are presented and related to 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.

Like most Christians, Seventh-day Adventists have historically displayed little interest in ecological matters. Around 1970, Adventist authors began addressing the issue of Christians’ responsibilities regarding the earth. However, such important efforts and official statements were neither comprehensive nor systematic. It remains for Adventists to develop a theology of environmental responsibility—one that is not only Christian but also uniquely Adventist. This presentation proposes an Adventist theology of the earth within a paradigm of five affirmations and two symbols. While none of these affirmations or symbols are entirely unique to Adventism, the assemblage is particularly characteristic of Adventist thought and practice. It asserts that such a theology of the earth is both complementary to an Adventist eschatology and necessary for it.

Since the ultimate aim of Christianity is the second coming of Jesus and the arrival of the kingdom of God, the delay of the second coming of Jesus is one of the most important issues to be solved by Christian theology. This presentation explores the understanding of Christian eschatology in modern theology with the historical dialectic method, and proposes the historical understanding of the kingdom of God as a synthesis of Christian eschatology. To understand Christian eschatology as the correct Christian theology, we should pursue the historical understanding that the Kingdom of God was presented in the past as the crucifixion of Christ, and is realized today in the lives of Christians, and will be completed in the future through the second coming of Jesus Christ.

While some may have the tendency to discern eschatological aspects of Christ’s priesthood, this presentation contends that His priesthood, as a whole, should be more broadly understood as eschatological, since this is the perspective indicated in Hebrews. This study systematically articulates an eschatological perspective of Christ’s priesthood in Hebrews, as this epistle is the only place in the New Testament where we find an explicit elaboration of priestly Christology. Considering its conceptual nature, this presentation attempts to accomplish its purpose by constructively building a theological reflection that privileges the discussion of framework of thought and concepts.

Eschatology is one of the major ways theology deals with the issue of theodicy, or the problem of evil. Issues specific to eschatology include the final fate of the wicked, the imperfect believer, the unevangelized pagan, the completeness of God’s victory over evil, and the prospect of evil's full elimination, or its possible re-emergence. Over time theologians have produced a range of eschatological responses to these issues. Some of these responses are outlined, analyzed, and compared with the comprehensive Seventh-day Adventist eschatological vision based in the pre-Advent and millennial judgments.

The author of this theological essay on the book of Daniel is a German geologist and part-time professor at Friedensau University. According to the back cover, his goal in writing this book on Daniel was to find a new approach to the book divorced from the church’s traditional understanding of Da...

This book by Raúl Kerbs, Doctor of Philosophy, will surely make an impact on philosophers and theologians. In it he develops the subject of assumptions or presuppositions and analyzes their effect on Christian theology. On the topic of identity, the author asserts that the Bible claims to be its ...