Conclusion and Recommendations

Abstract

This chapter recapitulates the earlier chapters and suggests some ways forwards. It makes it clear that in order to complete the project of articulating a distinctively Adventist version of communio ecclesiology, one needs to investigate (1) how the church is maintained in the truth of revelation (a ‘sanctuary-based system of interpretation’ of the Bible), (2) how it foreshadows the eschatological destiny of all humanity under God (the proclamation of Three Angels’ message from Revelation 14.6–12, an announcement that, among other things, includes the five pillars of the Adventist faith) and (3) the relationship between discipleship of Christ and relationship with God (especially in the context of Christ’s pre-Advent cosmic ministry of restoration that commenced in 1844 and will climax in the event of Parousia). In these three respects, the Adventist account will differ from that of at least some other Christian churches. Only by integrating these three distinctive Adventist convictions—hermeneutical, eschatological and Christological—into a new ecclesiological synthesis, can the Adventist interpretation of the concept of church as koinonia remain faithful to the genetic core of Adventist theological identity.