Not long ago, a college-age friend made a big turnaround in his life. Wanting to learn more from God’s Word, he dug deeply into Daniel and Revelation, amazed at the accuracy of prophecy. But recently he was startled to hear a presenter on his Adventist campus state, “When I no longer have anything to say about Jesus, then I’ll talk about prophecy.”

“Jesus is what matters,” a theology major echoed. “And the fruits of the spirit. Love. Joy. Peace.” 

Basics are fundamental, but it’s important to grow beyond “one-plus-one.”

No doubt about it—Jesus is my “all in all.” He is the foundation of my faith. But He is much more. Jesus reveals Himself through prophecy. “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7, NKJV, see also 1 Peter 1:10-11).* We cannot separate Jesus from prophecy.

Many churches, including ours, preach the amazing truth that Jesus died on the cross to save sinners—and we are all sinners. Many, including Adventists, serve the underprivileged and seek justice.

But Jesus calls us to move beyond Basic Christianity 101. He calls us to be His remnant people, those who “keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV), and He urges us to preach the “everlasting gospel”: “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth”(verse 7, NKJV).

This is no exclusive club—He wants all “who dwell on the earth” (verse 6, NKJV) to be part of His remnant church. The more I learn about Jesus, the more amazed I am that He actually entrusts the proclamation of His powerful, life-changing, lifesaving prophetic messages to us.

* Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.