Adventist Art & Illustration

Some of my favorite Adventist illustration, from books published in my childhood, and long before.

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Nice 3-color illustration (4 if you include the cream colored paper). Great font, too. Note the points around the sword. Do they show light? Movement? Some undefinable force?

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The perfect Adventist family.

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“Devils are depicted with bats' wings and good angels with birds' wings, not because anyone holds that moral deterioration would be likely to turn feathers into membrane, but because most men like birds better than bats.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

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What is this event?

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Always love these panoramas that stretch time across the canvas. This one seems a bit crowded. Not sure how all of these connect, though sacrifice seems to be a feature. What’s the meaning of the volcano erupting over Egypt? 

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Another school of thought favoured the idea that the pre-cursed serpent was a winged snake. In his Commentary Upon the Whole Bible (1708-10), Matthew Henry opined: "Perhaps it was a flying serpent, which seemed to come from on high as a messenger from the upper world, one of the seraphim; for the fiery serpents were flying, Isa. xiv. 29. Many a dangerous temptation comes to us in gay fine colours that are but skin-deep, and seems to come from above; for Satan can seem an angel of light."

shukurnature

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Techniques for Modesty in Biblical Art, #3: Hand, and strategically-placed iris. 

'The Temptation' - Hugo van der Goes, 1470. Note the iris covering Eve, and the odd dinosaurish serpent—which has a female face.  “According to the Zohar (Book of Splendour), which constitutes the main text of the Jewish Qabalah (Kabbalah) and provides a vast commentary upon the Pentateuch, in its pre-cursed form it had stood upright on two hind legs, just like humans, and was as tall as a camel. Similarly, certain ancient Egyptian carvings depict the pre-cursed serpent as an exceedingly slender biped with a long neck and tail, a pair of lengthy arms, and standing slightly taller than a human on two elongate hind legs, offering Adam a fruit with one of its paws. When it was cursed, however, God (or St Michael, according to St Barnabas's apocryphal gospel) cut off its arms and legs, thereby yielding the limbless snake known today. God also took away its power of human speech by splitting its tongue, so that it could only hiss thereafter.” shukurnature

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Techniques for Modesty in Biblical Art, #2: Standing behind flowers and artful posture to hide the private bits. 

Interestingly, unclad bosoms didn’t seem to be a problem in 1822, though genitalia was. 

From the Harmon family Bible (Ellen White’s family), title page of the Columbian Family and Pulpit Bible, published by Joseph Teal in 1822. Thanks to Ron Graybill.

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Techniques for Modesty in Biblical Art #1: Tropical plants

Adorable Eve and fascinating talking serpent. 

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Talk about nightmares!

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Who was Melchizedek, really? Was he a Yahweh worshipper before Abraham? (I’ve even heard a theory that he was Jesus in an early human incarnation, come to earth to receive Abraham’s tithes.)

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Romans 6:4-5

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What is literal and what isn't? Is Jesus actually standing in Old Testament priest garb before the actual Ark of the Covenant each time we pray?

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"If our lives are wretched, impoverished, and spiritually emaciated, the fault must be ours, not his."

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Christians deplore violence, which is why the Bible sticks to stories that children can enjoy.

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Samuel taking Saul to task. Bad boy! Bad!