Center for Creative Ministry A research organization and research center for Seventh-day Adventist pastors and their congregations
Some Principles of Prophecy
Do you remember being told that you won’t always have access to a calculator, or that we’ll need to know how to work through advanced formulas and conversions at a moment’s notice?
A lot of people do, and based on the countless memes resulting from the old adages, it seems the advice aged poorly … but did it, really?
Across social media, just as many order of operations (PEMDAS) puzzles abound, with users’ solutions never matching each other’s. Not all calculators (in this point of time) can support lengthy formulas, so it’s up to our brains to work out these problems one step at a time.
In other words, knowing math is still important, a claim that Urban Institute backs up with cold, hard stats. As it turns out, quality math instruction in our developmental years helps us cognitively, which in turn aids us in other areas of life during our adulthood.
Studies show that if we don’t actually learn math, and instead rely too heavily on our calculators (and AI) to do the work for us, we don’t develop useful cognitive skills. It’s like reading the texts of the Bible without actually processing what the words say, or reading snippets of it but not its entirety.
As it is with math, when we fail to study God’s Word, we won’t be properly equipped for what life has to offer. Scripture itself tells us that when we absorb Biblical truth, which is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”, we will be made “complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:15-17, NKJV).
We will also be equipped for understanding the Book of Revelation.
Now, many say that Revelation is a mystery too difficult to unravel. Others say it’s fearmongering, evoking extreme anxiety over end-time events. Either way, people who fall into these camps tend to neglect reading this divinely-inspired scripture. Even Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, claimed, “My spirit cannot accommodate itself to this book,” suggesting that the symbolism was too complex and that he could not find Christ preached in its pages.
The irony is that the messages contained within Revelation were hidden from humanity (Daniel 12:9)! However, by the time Revelation was penned, the prophecy was to be revealed, and thus God commanded the prophet to share the message (Revelation 22:10).
Revelation became a type of cipher, decoding the visions of Daniel, and likewise Daniel’s visions shedding light on Revelation.
That doesn’t mean that the decoding comes about quickly. Rather, it requires diligent study, letting Holy Scripture interpret itself.
We cannot solve God’s divinely planted equations without the Biblical formula! Only then can we see that Daniel and Revelation join forces to fill in the blanks of the story. Our story.
For Reflection
Connecting: What was something you didn’t appreciate in your youth but are grateful for now? Why?
Sharing: Why is so much of Scripture expressed in symbols rather than plain, straightforward language?
- Scripture is written for those with eyes to perceive, ears to hear, and hearts to understand (Matthew 13:9-16)
- Symbolic language was the way people spoke and wrote back then
- So that symbols are consistent throughout the Bible, letting the Holy Scripture interpret itself
- So that different denominations (with their own interpretations) would arise to reach different peoples
- To make abstract and complex concepts more digestible; it’s how God communicated with finite human minds
- Other
Applying: In the midst of all the unsettling end-time symbolism of Revelation, where can hope be found? How can you help an anxious or impatient reader find the hope contained in Revelation’s passages?
Valuing: What was your initial reaction to Revelation? What have you learned since then?
~ Stefani Leeper
Monte Sahlin – Adventist Church Leader Passes to His Rest
Pastor, Mentor, Leader, Professor, Author are just some of the beloved references to Monte Sahlin by those whose lives he touched. These references highlight the career of one of our denomination’s most productive church leaders, pastors and researchers. Dr. Sahlin, 76, passed away peacefully in Kettering, Ohio, April 2, 2025, surrounded by his loving family.
Over more than 60 years in ministry with the Adventist church, Monte began at the Voice of Prophecy developing programs for new generations of radio listeners. Then he became the director of urban ministries in Los Angeles, California, Washington DC, and Boston, Massachusetts, followed by pastoring in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Worthington, Ohio.
Throughout his career Monte spearheaded dozens of inner city projects which are now in their second or third generation, and mentored pastors and community services leaders as they established local and regional programs. His work in the urban areas of the Northeast are chronicled in his book “Mission in Metropolis: The Adventist Movement in the Urban World,” and his many contributions to the work of the church are described in the festschrift book in his honor titled “As One Who Serves: Perspectives on Adventist Mission Ministry to Members, Families and Communities,” both published by the Center for Creative Ministry.
Sahlin then served in the newly formed North American Division (NAD) from 1987-1998 where he led the development of church ministries and began the semi-annual church ministry convention for union and local conference departmental leaders. He particularly enjoyed the transformation of the inner city program and Adventist Community Services into a first-rate professional agency resulting in a network of agencies and programs in many major cities of the U.S. and with a robust national disaster response program in collaboration with the United States government for which they gave him with an Outstanding Public Service Award in 1995.
Sahlin pioneered social research within the Adventist church and the use of survey data in the development of ministries and ministry tools. He directed more than 130 research projects over the last four decades. He authored twenty-six books and more than one hundred research reports and articles over his career. He served as an adjunct professor for Andrews University (who surprised him with an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 2023) and for the Tony Campolo Center for Ministry at Eastern University in Philadelphia. From the NAD, Monte became the Vice President for Ministries for the Columbia Union in Columbia, Maryland from 1999-2007.
Sahlin retired from denominational employment in 2014 after working in the Ohio conference coordinating metropolitan ministries and research and development projects. His ministry continued as executive director for Adventist Today, an independent journalism agency for eight years concluding in 2020. His research and writing continued until just weeks before his death.
Monte is survived by his wife Gretchen, brother Chris, daughters Stephanie, Melissa and Najwa, grandchildren Zeke, Zoe, Alex, and Marco, and many friends and close colleagues. His legacy of service lives on in the lives of his family as well as the many pastors, students, and community services professionals he mentored throughout his career. At his request, his colleagues with the Center for Creative Ministry, an organization whose board he chaired for many years, will continue his important research and publishing activities.
Paul Richardson
The Center for Creative Ministry is fully recognized by the North American Division (NAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church; it is also a 501c3 nonprofit organization which makes donations tax deductible in the U.S.
