Year-end Meetings in the Adventist Church in the Southern Asia-Pacific Region Begins with Focus on Eternity and Mission

The Southern Asia-Pacific Division’s Year-End Meeting began on November 11 at the Life Hope Center in Silang, Cavite, Philippines, bringing together church leaders and delegates through November 14. This gathering serves as an important moment for reflecting on God’s eternal purpose and assessing the Adventist Church’s progress, challenges, and vision across a region marked by rich cultural diversity and spiritual opportunity.

On the first day, Pastor Violeto Bocala, former president of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division and now 90 years old, delivered an inspiring devotional message. He urged participants to contemplate the profound scope of God’s eternal plan and the vital role that each one is called to play within it.

God is Eternal

Pastor Violeto Bocala opened his devotional message at the Southern Asia-Pacific Division’s Year-End Meeting with a reflection on the timeless nature of God, drawing from Psalm 90:2, which describes God as existing “from everlasting to everlasting,” without beginning or end. Bocala highlighted that humanity, created in God’s image, was originally designed to live in eternal communion with Him. Citing Ecclesiastes 3:11, he emphasized that God “set eternity in the human heart,” instilling in each person a deep-rooted longing for everlasting life. This divine design, he explained, signifies that life on Earth is not the ultimate destination but a journey toward eternal fellowship with the Creator.

The Temporary Time

Bocala continued by emphasizing the contrast between God's eternal nature and humanity’s existence within a temporary, sin-affected world. While God initially granted humanity dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28), disobedience led to a loss of this authority, allowing suffering, chaos, and mortality to take hold under Satan's influence. This marked the beginning of a "temporary time," where sickness, calamities, and death became intrinsic to human life. Bocala underscored that despite this finite existence, God’s promise of eternal life remains open to those who align themselves with Him. The message pointed toward a hopeful future: God’s ultimate plan to restore eternal life on earth. In this light, the “end of time” symbolizes the conclusion of this temporary, sin-afflicted state, heralding the return of a restored and eternal existence unmarred by suffering.

Called for Mission

Bocala also emphasized the church's critical mission within the constraints of this temporary world. Drawing reference from Acts 2:47, he highlighted that God “added to their number daily those who were being saved,” underscoring the church’s role in leading people to salvation. Evangelism, he explained, lies at the heart of this mission, providing a message of hope to a world in need. Quoting The Desire of Ages, page 822, Bocala reminded attendees that the church is entrusted with delivering “the last warning to a perishing world.” Living in the “time of the end,” believers are called to share the gospel diligently, anticipating the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise in Matthew 24 that the end will arrive when the church has completed its mission. Until then, he noted, God’s justice allows each person the opportunity to choose their eternal destiny. Bocala shared references from the Spirit of Prophecy regarding five important statements that remind the church, from its leaders to its members, the value of the mission, particularly in the end times.

Five Statements from Spirit of the Prophecy

1. “I tell you my brethren the Lord has an organized body through whom He will work.” Manuscript 21, 1892

God operates through a structured community—His church—to accomplish His mission on Earth. This organized body is intended to be a unified, collaborative group of believers through whom God channels His message, guidance, and influence. It highlights the importance of order and collective purpose in advancing God’s work, suggesting that while individual efforts are valuable, they are most effective within the framework of a unified, divinely guided organization. 

2. “We are Seventh-day Adventists. Are we ashamed of the name? We answer, No, No!! We are not. It is the name the Lord has given us.” Selected Messages 384

This is a strong affirmation of the Seventh-day Adventist identity, which underscores pride and conviction in the unique calling and mission that the name represents—a name given by God to highlight the distinct beliefs of the church, particularly the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath and the anticipation of Christ’s return. This encourages members to embrace and uphold faith identity with confidence and commitment.

3. “A company was presented before me under the name of Seventh-Day Adventist. This distinctive banner is to be born through the world to the close of probation.” Selected Messages 385

This passage serves as a reminder of the church’s identity as a unique group chosen by God, called to carry its message—symbolized by the "distinctive banner" of the Adventist name—across the world until the end of probation, the final phase before Christ’s return. It underscores the Adventists' responsibility to faithfully share their faith and uphold their mission until the close of time.

4. “In a special sense, Seventh-day Adventists has been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world.” 9T, 19.

Adventists have a unique role as guardians and guides for spiritual truth. They are entrusted with delivering the final message of warning and hope to a world facing spiritual peril, calling others to prepare for Christ’s return. This underscores the church’s mission to illuminate the path to salvation in these critical times.

5. “This is the last message. There are no more to follow, no more invitation of mercy to be given after this message shall have done its work.” 5T, 206-207

Adventist Mission underscores the urgency of sharing the gospel to the world. It emphasizes that this message is God’s final call of mercy to humanity; once it has been delivered, there will be no further opportunities for salvation. This conveys the seriousness of the mission to share this message while time remains.

Back to Eternity

Bocala’s devotional reminder left a powerful reminder of the church's identity and mission as God's chosen people, entrusted with delivering the final message to a world in need. He drew a parallel between Israel's original calling to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 43:10) and the role of today’s church. Referring to Revelation 12:17, Bocala described God’s end-time people as those who “keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus,” underscoring the church’s distinctive purpose. He called all delegates to be faithful co-workers with Christ, dedicated to bringing an end to the temporary time defined by sin and to ushering in eternity. “Jesus is coming again,” promising that at His return, humanity will be reunited with God, and temporary time will cease,” said Bocala. “We are back to eternity, back to our Creator,” he affirmed, reinforcing the hope of eternal life.

Join us and participate in the upcoming SSD Year End Meetings to stay informed. Watch our livestream at https://www.youtube.com/@AdventistAsia.