The Seventh-Day Adventist Church has branded their unique “gospel” as “The Three Angels Messages” and “The Everlasting Gospel,” borrowing these terms from Revelation 14:6-12. In his theological teaching series on the book of Revelation, SDA theologian Jon Paulien notes how the SDA Church has their own “version of the gospel of Jesus Christ” where he writes:
The final message of earth’s history is depicted in the form of three angels. This comes very close to the heart for Seventh-day Adventists. In fact, Seventh-day Adventists have often referred to their version of the gospel of Jesus Christ as the “three angels’ messages.” The final, eternal gospel is given in the context of end-time events.
Dr. Jon Paulien, NT386 Seventh-day Adventist Perspective on Revelation (Lexham Press)
This is to say the Seventh-day Adventist Church has their own unique message of salvation that they call the “gospel” that is different than what Jesus gave to the apostles (Galatians 1:6-12). As SDA pioneer James White wrote in their church paper, The Review & Herald, where he said:
Another scene, and another chain of prophetic events is introduced in these verses. We here have what is known as the three angels’ messages of Rev. 14 The first angel is called another angel, because John had already seen one flying in a similar manner. Rev. 8:18. He proclaims the gospel, not a new one, but the everlasting gospel, called in Matt. 24:14, “the gospel of the kingdom.” But while it is the same gospel, there are particular features which constitute the burden of the message, chief among which as shown by verse 7, is the nearness of the kingdom. This message cannot therefore symbolize the preaching of the gospel by the apostles, nor by the reformers, nor by any class of people except those who live when the end is just at hand. The advent proclamation, especially from 1840 to 1844, completely answers to the prophecy, and is the only great religious movement which can be pointed to as its fulfillment.
James S. White, The Review & Herald, November 18, 1862
We find this same thing being reiterated repeatedly in the same publication. Regarding the phrase “everlasting gospel” in Revelation 14:6, they write:
The very fact that this prophecy of the three angels’ messages covers the period between 1844 and the end of this age, shows conclusively that this threefold message is God’s special message for us at this very hour. Just as surely as we are living between 1844 and the coming of Christ, just so surely may we know that this threefold message of Revelation 14:6-12 is God’s present truth for this present time. The time for this message is very definitely fixed to the present generation. He who will receive this prophecy as given by Jesus Christ, may be just as sure that this is Christ’s special message for us today, as if Jesus were to appear in person and speak this threefold proclamation with an audible voice.
In harmony with this idea that this message is limited to the period between 1844 and the end, we find that no one’ prior to 1844 had ever claimed to have given this threefold message. Neither Luther nor Calvin, not Knox, Wesley, Alexander Campbell, or any other of the great lights of those times, set up the claim that they were doing this predicted work of Revelation 14: 6-12. If this work had been done by any of them, they would surely have known it….This prophecy of Revelation 14:6-14 does not and cannot refer to any proclamation of the gospel in the days of the apostles, the early Christian Fathers, or the Reformers of the sixteenth, seventeenth, or eighteenth centuries. It is strictly a last-day message, applicable to those who live just before the return of Christ.
Review & Herald, May 5, 1932
In the same publication, they explain how they understand the “everlasting gospel” to be their entire system of doctrines which have been funneled through their unique extra-biblical paradigm that they call the Great Controversy Theme. They write:
This movement with which we are connected stands for certain great fundamental truths,—the existence of God, the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, salvation alone through the vicarious sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, repentance, regeneration and the gift of righteousness by faith, the work of the Holy Spirit, the immutability of God’s law, the binding claims of the Bible Sabbath, the priestly ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, the investigative judgment now going on, the soon coming of Christ to take His children home, the doctrine of spiritual gifts, the manifestation of the gift of prophecy in the remnant church, life only in Christ, Christian Temperance, and other leading important Bible doctrines. These great truths constitute the everlasting gospel message for this time. To the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been committed, this message.
Review & Herald, November 29, 1934
As they note, this “gospel” has only been entrusted to the SDA Church and no one before them preached it. It is strictly a “last day” message—the “last days” in their theology began in 1798.
This is to say by “everlasting gospel,” they are referring to all of their the pillar doctrines including young earth creationism, the investigative judgement, the “spirit of prophecy” supposedly contained in the writings of Ellen G. White, leaving “apostate Protestant” churches and joining them as the Remnant, seventh-day sabbath observance, the state of the dead (conditional immortality and annihilationism), the investigative judgement, and their message of health reform.
While all of these areas fall under the general heading of theology, they do not constitute the gospel message that Jesus Christ gave to the apostles (Galatians 1:12). Paul is clear that there is only one gospel and any other supposed “gospel” is cursed by God (Galatians 1:8-9). The same Paul tells us that the gospel is the power of God to salvation for all that believe it (Romans 1:16). Since no one believed the investigative judgement, for example, until the SDA pioneers craftily concocted it up in response to the Great Disappointment in 1844, it can’t possibly be something that is part of the gospel.
Paul also very clearly says in Ephesians 1:11-14 that when a person hears the Word of truth, the gospel of their salvation, and believes that gospel, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption. That word of truth is the same message Jesus left His disciples with before His ascension which was the good news about faith in His life, death, burial, and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:46-47; 1 Corinthians 15:1-14), not Seventh-day Adventist systematic theology, and most certainly not novel, 19th-century doctrines such as the investigative judgment.
