Andrews University recently released a small book in the form of a study journal, containing only the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation and study notes.
The new resource may be a first for Adventist publishing, said Andrea Luxton, president of Andrews University and chair of the Andrews University Press Board. The Great Prophetic Books of Daniel and Revelation: A Bible Study Journal became officially available to customers on September 1, 2020.
Luxton said the book is already receiving wide appreciation from church leaders and pastors, who see its immediate usefulness for public evangelism, small group ministry, and personal spiritual revival.
“The world is changing rapidly, and we are surrounded by uncertainty and anxiety. In that context the books of Daniel and Revelation provide both a needed frame of hope and the certainty that God will work out His purposes in this world,” Luxton said. “Thus, this little book is very timely. And Ellen White’s specific counsel about distributing those parts of Scripture in this form gives us extra confidence that this is an opportunity we cannot and should not miss.”
Luxton shared that more than 5,000 pastors in North America will receive the book over the next few months, with financial sponsorship from Andrews, The Foundation for Adventist Education (established by the Zinke family), and the North American Division (NAD) Ministerial Association.
“We see the immediate value of this little book for helping our members sharpen the essential prophetic focus of our faith,” Ivan Williams, director of the NAD Ministerial Association, said. “And our pastors across this great division are in a good position to know how to use it in their churches and in their outreach. So we have been pleased to help make sure that each one gets a copy. They will take it from there.”
And they already are. Ronald Knott, director of Andrews University Press, said pastors in two conferences that have just received the books have already ordered more than 2,000 copies for their churches and for public evangelism. One of those conferences is already discussing plans to use 5,000 more copies for a major evangelistic event next year.
The development of the book was inspired by comments Ellen White made in 1898 to John Harvey Kellogg, and again in 1902 to her son, William C. White, according to Knott.
“She said that she had been ‘instructed that the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation should be printed in small books, together with the necessary explanations, and should be sent all over the world.’ So that’s exactly what we’ve done, and are doing,” Knott said. “We will be content to be proven wrong, but up to now, we think this may be the first time that Adventist publishing has produced such a work.”
The Ellen White quotation appears on a jacket wrap on the front of the 176-page, small-format book. According to Knott, the book is designed with the same manufacturing specifications as high-quality blank book journals. It features easy-to-read, two-color printing of the Bible text, high-grade paper for writing, cover foil stamping and rounded corners, and a marker ribbon.
“This really is a Bible study journal,” Knott said. “It is intended to make the study of these two books of the Bible a practical, beautiful, and interactive experience.”