Hi. My name is Sam Oliveira, and I’m a senior journalism major at Southern Adventist University. In my Interactive Journalism class, we will be exploring the topic of the generational divide within the Seventh-day Adventist church.
I will be investigating whether church members’ acceptance of prophecy has changed over the decades. Have previous generations looked at prophecy differently than current believers? Have the Millennial and GenZ generations become fatigued with the subject? We constantly hear that the time is near and that Jesus is coming, but do we really believe it will happen during our lifetime? Evangelists have been preaching it for so long!
I am passionate about investigating this issue because I have always been intrigued by prophecy and the Biblical books of Daniel and Revelation.
Growing up in Brazil within the context of a conservative Advenstist household, I heard constantly about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I found the topic fascinating because the Bible was packed with prophetic eschatology. There was so much information available that I wondered how people could ignore it.
Eventually, my family moved to Chicago, and that’s where I embarked on a journey to understand prophecy at a deeper level. On one occasion, SDA Evangelist Mark Finley came to my church with his “Amazing Facts” series. While delivering one of his sermons, he decoded prophecy and broke it down in the simplest way. It was amazing, and it made me feel like I finally could understand all the “gibberish” that was Daniel and Revelation.
Sure, I knew some of the symbolism, but it never quite made sense to me until that day.
However, I’ve heard about the end times since I was a child. Back then, I thought it was awesome that Jesus was coming back to take all of us to Heaven. As I got older, my acceptance of the prophecy got stronger but weaker at the same time. While I am still excited for Jesus’ soon return, I question how long is soon. Have I been understanding prophecy correctly?
The acceptance of prophecy is a niche topic that will be carefully researched. I will be adding interactive pieces to my story to allow for a greater understanding of the issue. So, let’s embark on this journey together!