Asia Adventist Seminary Studies for 1998
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AASS Asia Adventist Seminary Studies VOLUME 1 1998 1-3 A Child Is Born (Editorial) Adventist Theological Education in the Third Millenium 5-17 G. T. NG What Constitutes "Acceptable Contextualization"? 19-25 CARLOS MARTIN Like Father, Like Son: Belsha77ar's Relationship to King Nebuchadnezzar 27-31 ZDRAVKO STEFANOVIC A Brief Introduction to the Eschatology of the Reformers: Second Coming, Resurrection of the Dead, and Final Judgment 33-51 HUMBERTO TREIYER Reflections on Revelation 53-62 RON BISSELL The Sanctuary Terminology in Hebrews 63-83 EDWIN REYNOLDS Doctoral Dissertation Abstracts 85—Book Reviews 93 7 .-1 /k. It 11' 1- i.r.rie 4+. d 4.4,, 1, i_i,?' ,A1,fg,:•:'-' e; t,' I 1-, IJ.,.,.' .-17., - 0 1 r, r„ 6k II ,J1114' — I Y r.,..1;,,e„ C ' , it„.10?_, ,,, - .3, xi.'4.,- -4r.: ,, ,1 ./ _ .6 .- ,1 ,_,„,, ,-. _ .4 , '.44 ii, • . 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'it• - 1 • -!•. .• :7,T, _,n_. .-•,/,•,-:.; -- VII 4.- 'l . .2 4.7.,. 7 - -.. :F. r •--1-'7.':••••11 _L . 4 . -ff -.:17--- ASIA ADVENTIST SEMINARY STUDIES PUBLISHED ANNUALLY BY THE ADVENTIST INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES Asia Adventist Seminary Studies (AASS) is published once a year by AIIAS Publications under the auspices of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), Silang, Cavite, Republic of the Philippines. It is the official scholarly journal of the AIIAS Theological Seminary. AIIAS is a graduate-level institution of Christian education operated by the General Conference of Seventh- day Adventists, serving especially the Asia-Pacific region. EDITOR Edwin Reynolds ASSISTANT EDITOR Felipe Tan, Jr. EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Anne Bissell EDITORIAL SECRETARY CIRCULATION MANAGER Glenice Joy Ondap EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS Carlos Martin Zdravko Stefanovic THE MISSION of AASS is to publish research findings and practical contributions from AIIAS Theological Seminary by which pastors, teachers, administrators, and other church members may be benefitted in carrying out more knowledgeably and effectively the mission of the church in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world. SUBSCRIPTIONS to AASS may be obtained by writing to: Asia Adventist Seminary Studies P.O. Box 038 4118 Silang, Cavite Republic of the Philippines Annual subscription cost is US$4.00 within Asia, and US$5.00 elsewhere. This includes postage. Payment may be made by cash, US dollar check, or international money order. Additional fees may be assessed if checks are not negotiable. Copyright ''1998 by AIIAS Publications A CHILD IS BORN (Editorial) Jesus once said that "when a woman is in travail she has SO1TOW, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world" (John 16:21). This rather well expresses the sentiments of those who have labored long to bring this infant into the world. I use the word "long" in its fullest sense. This journal has had a long history of fits and starts before reaching this final stage. I do not intend to recount that history, but those who have •participated in the process know full well what I mean. I have a file of articles prepared for publication in years past that never reached the publication stage. Editors have come and gone without seeing the reward of their labors. There was great concern that this not happen again, and some have been reluctant to take the time and trouble to submit materials, fearing that their labor would again be for naught. We have been determined that the past not be repeated, and if you find yourself reading this copy, you will know that our labor has not been in vain. As you peruse this journal, sent out on a complimentary basis at first, with the hope that you will choose to subscribe to future issues, you may have questions as to what this seminary represents and why we chose to publish a scholarly journal. I would like to give a brief history here to acquaint our readers with who we are and what we stand for as an institution. The Theological Seminary is one of two schools of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), an institution of graduate education operated by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The seminary began in 1957 as a part of Philippine Union College, now the Adventist University of the Philippines. In 1978 it was adopted by the Far Eastern Division of the Seventh- day Adventist (SDA) Church, taking the name Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Far East. The name was later changed to the Asia Adventist Theological Seminary (AATS), a legal entity which still exists to offer programs as deemed essential for students who cannot qualify for AIIAS graduate programs. In 1986 the Theological Seminary became one of two schools to operate under a charter granted by the Philippine government to open AIIAS as an international institution for graduate education. When the SDA Church in the Asia-Pacific region was being restructured in 1996, AIIAS became a General Conference institution. It thus serves the world, though with special responsibility to the Asia-Pacific region. A special feature of AIIAS is its Distance Education Division, in which programs are offered at many different Distance Learning Centers around the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, enabling students to continue with their employment while attending short intensive courses offered by AIIAS professors at convenient, regional locations. 1 2 Asia Adventist Seminary Studies The Theological Seminary offers three professional programs, the Master of Divinity, the Master of Ministry, and the Doctor of Ministry. We also have two academic programs, the Master of Arts in Religion and the Doctor of Philosophy in Religion. Besides these regular on-campus programs, the Master of Ministry program is offered also through the Distance Education Division. The seminary departments have been undergoing some restructuring recently. There are now three new departments on campus, each encompassing two formerly independent departments. The Applied Theology department covers Christian Ministry and World Mission. The Biblical Studies department encompasses Old Testament and New Testament. And the Historical/Theological Studies department teaches Church History as well as Theology, Christian Philosophy, and Ethics. AIIAS is officially and legally recognized by the government of the Republic of the Philippines as a graduate educational institution of international character, having a special classification as a foreign school with an international student body, faculty, management, funding support, programs, curricular offerings, calendar, fee structure, and academic stndards. AIIAS degrees are accredited by the Adventist Accrediting Association (AAA), located near Washington, DC, USA. In addition, Theological Seminary degrees are accredited by the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA). ATESEA is a member of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), as well as the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions (WOCATI), of which ATESEA was a founding member. The mission of AIIAS is to deliver dynamic Seventh-day Adventist graduate education on campus and at different Distance Learning Centers iii such fields as business, education, health, and religion, in order that its graduates will effectively fulfill the Gospel Commission by providing competent leadership and service based on integrity, respect, and love in meeting the needs of the church andsociety. The mission statement of this journal is printed on the inside cover. We encourage you to read it. It is, of course, to be interpreted within the mission of AIIAS and of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a whole. At this point the journal is being internally refereed by a committee voted by the faculty. It is our hope that we will be viewed as making a contribution to scholarship as well as to practical religion and applied theology in order not merely to perform an academic exercise but to prove useful to the field. We solicit your response, whether positive or negative, so that we may know the measure of the journal's usefulness and success. We also encourage you to subscribe in order to support and encourage our efforts to disseminate the journal with its contributions. Finally, I would like to briefly introduce to you those who have contributed articles for this issue of the journal. G. T. Ng is the dean of the Theological Seminary, director of the PhD in Religion program, and Associate Professor of Christian Ministry and World Mission. He hails from Singapore and holds a PhD from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA. He is entering his eighth year of teaching at AIIAS. Carlos Martin is the assistant dean of the seminary, director of the DMin program, chair of the new Applied Theology department, Associate Professor of World Editorial. A Child Is Born 3 Mission, and a consulting editor of AASS. He is originally from Uruguay and holds a PhD from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.