In Jamaica: Adventist Leader Says ‘Yes’ to Freedom and ‘No’ to Legislative Rest

Religious liberty advocate urges spiritual readiness while defending freedom of conscience.

February 9, 2026 | Kingston, Jamaica | Jamaica Union Communication Department and Inter-American Division News Staff

Calling for renewed spiritual vigilance, Adventist religious liberty advocate Nigel Coke recently encouraged church members to remain prepared while defending freedom of conscience for all. He highlighted the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s long-standing opposition to efforts to legally enforce Sunday as a universal day of rest, reminding listeners that Adventists have opposed such legislation for more than 160 years — whether framed in explicitly religious language or justified through secular arguments such as public health, national unity, or family welfare.

During a recent sermon titled “It’s Buying Time,” drawn from Revelation 3:14–22, Coke, who is public affairs and religious liberty director of the Jamaica Union, warned that amid increasing global anxiety, social division, and growing threats to religious freedom, God’s people in the last days face two main dangers: internal spiritual lukewarmness and external restrictions on religious liberty.

Coke shared these remarks at the Andrews Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Religious Liberty Day celebration in Kingston on January 24, coinciding with the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s annual Religious Liberty Sabbath—observed worldwide on the third Sabbath in January—an emphasis day dedicated to promoting and defending freedom of conscience and worship for all people.

Jamaica is home to one of the region’s largest Adventist communities, with more than 354,000 members worshipping in approximately 740 churches and congregations, roughly one Seventh-day Adventist for every 12 people on the island. The message gained broader public visibility after it was carried by The Jamaica Observer, one of the country’s major newspapers.

Concerns Over Legislated Sunday Rest

Citing a recent North American proposal promoting a legally enforced “uniform day of rest” on Sunday, Coke said the plan — advanced by a Washington, D.C.–based advocacy group — encourages governments to limit commercial activity in order to strengthen family life, spiritual involvement, and social cohesion. While acknowledging that rest, family time, and community stability are positive values, he warned that such proposals raise serious concerns.

“Such proposals, however well-meaning or patriotically packaged, cross a vital line when they effectively favor one religious tradition’s day of worship over others,” Coke said. “Seventh-day Adventists believe in the freedom of every religion, whether Baptist, Catholic, or Muslim. Everyone should have the right to worship on any day they choose, whether Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.”

He added that limitations on Sunday commerce may appear mild or harmless to many, yet they can create real challenges for those who worship on other days, including Seventh-day Adventists, Orthodox Jews, and members of other faith communities. For these groups, such laws may restrict their ability to work, operate businesses, or function freely in society, and indirectly pressure them to conform to Sunday as the default sacred day.

The proposal conflicts with the First Amendment’s long-standing tradition of safeguarding religious freedom for all citizens, which requires governmental neutrality among different faiths. Historically, Adventists have seen such measures as attempts, however subtle, to override freedom of conscience.

“Everyone has an equal right to worship whomever, whenever, wherever, whatever, and however he or she wishes to worship,” Coke declared.

Using the repeated appeal, “It’s buying time,” Coke encouraged believers to accept the spiritual gifts Jesus offers in Revelation 3:18, “gold” tried in the fire, representing faith working through love; “white raiment,” symbolizing Christ’s righteousness; and “eye salve,” enabling discernment between good and evil, as the only secure preparation for future crises. Central to this preparation, he said, is a clear, Bible-grounded understanding of religious liberty and a principled rejection of attempts to legislate a day of worship.

A Call for Spiritual Discernment

Linking the Sunday rest debate to the language of Revelation 3:18, the sermon connected the issue directly with Christ’s call to “anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.” This “eye salve,” Coke explained, symbolizes the spiritual discernment needed to navigate complex and often confusing developments in society and law.

“If there’s any time that we need to have spiritual eye salve, it’s now,” Coke said. “Whether it is a day of prayer or 10 days of prayer, the number one thing we need to put on the agenda is prayer for discernment. We live in an age of fake news and all kinds of information — eye salve helps us discern good from evil.”

“We need this discernment desperately today,” he continued, “because laws may be framed in the name of ‘unity’ or ‘safety’ that subtly erode conscience. The Spirit-given eye salve helps us see beyond appearances — to read the times, recognize God’s leading, and discern when religious liberty, though still present on paper, is being undermined in practice in many parts of the world, including Jamaica.”

He encouraged believers to stay informed about religious liberty issues while interpreting current events through a biblical lens rather than a narrowly political one. Coke urged members to test every movement through prayer, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the teachings of Scripture as a vital part of end-time preparation.

Coke invited members to “buy” from Christ the gold of living faith, the white raiment of His righteousness, and the eye salve of spiritual clarity, reminding them that only a heart transformed by grace can stand firm in love when pressures mount. He challenged them to use their present freedoms to worship, witness, serve their communities, and advocate for freedom of conscience for all people.

“Now, while grace is freely offered, while we still have the liberty to worship, study, and witness, Christ invites us to buy from Him the only riches that will endure,” Coke said.