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Seventh-day Adventist Church
History Christianity Protestantism Millerism Great Disappointment 1888 General Conference
Theology 28 Fundamental Beliefs Pillars Three Angels' Messages Sabbath Eschatology Pre-Second Advent Judgment Premillennialism Conditional immortality Remnant
Organization General Conference Divisions East-Central Africa Division Euro-Asia Division Inter-American Division Inter-European Division North American Division Northern Asia-Pacific Division Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division South American Division South Pacific Division Southern Asia Division Southern Asia-Pacific Division Trans-European Division West-Central Africa Division
Periodicals Adventist Review Signs of the Times List of Ellen White writings
Service Adventist Development and Relief Agency Maranatha Volunteers International Pathfinders Adventurers Medical Cadet Corps Seventh-day Adventist education Secondary schools Colleges and universities Hospitals
Media ministries Hope Channel Loma Linda Broadcasting Network It Is Written Voice of Prophecy Three Angels Broadcasting Network Amazing Facts
People Ellen G. White James S. White Joseph Bates J. N. Andrews Uriah Smith J. H. Kellogg James Caleb Jackson W. C. White F. D. Nichol M. L. Andreasen Le Roy Froom Arthur L. White George Vandeman H. M. S. Richards Edward Heppenstall Herbert E. Douglass Morris Venden Samuele Bacchiocchi E. E. Cleveland Walter Veith Mark Finley
Adventism
v t e

The theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church resembles early Protestant Christianity, combining elements from Lutheran, Wesleyan-Arminian, and Anabaptist branches of Protestantism. Adventists believe in the infallibility of the Scripture's teaching regarding salvation, which comes from grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The 28 fundamental beliefs constitute the church's current doctrinal positions, but they are revisable under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and are not a creed.

There are many teachings held exclusively by Seventh-day Adventists. Some distinctive doctrines of the Seventh-Day Adventist church which differentiate it from other Christian churches include: the perpetuity of the seventh-day Sabbath, the state of unconsciousness in death, conditional immortality, an atoning ministry of Jesus Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, and an 'investigative judgment' that commenced in 1844. Furthermore, a traditionally historicist approach to prophecy has led Adventists to develop a unique system of eschatological beliefs which incorporates a commandment-keeping 'remnant', a universal end-time crisis revolving around the law of God, and the visible return of Jesus Christ prior to a millennial reign of believers in heaven.

(For differing theological perspectives, see the articles on Progressive Adventists and Historic Adventists.)

Overview

Official beliefs

The Seventh-day Adventist denomination expresses its official teachings in a formal statement known as the 28 Fundamental Beliefs. This statement of beliefs was originally adopted by the church's General Conference in 1980, with an additional belief (number 11) being added in 2005.^[1] The General Conference session in San Antonio, Texas in 2015 made some changes to the wording of several fundamental beliefs.^[2] Also significant are the baptismal vows, of which there are two versions; candidates for church membership are required to accept one.

In addition to the fundamental beliefs, a number of "Official Statements" have been voted on by the church leadership, although only some of these are doctrinal in nature. The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary is a significant expression of Adventist theological thought.

Source of authority

View of Scripture

The first fundamental belief of the church stated that "The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of will." Adventist theologians generally reject the "verbal inspiration" position on Scripture held by many conservative evangelical Christians. They believe instead that God inspired the thoughts of the biblical authors, and that the authors then expressed these thoughts in their own words.^[3] This view is popularly known as "thought inspiration", and most Adventist members hold to that view. According to Ed Christian, former JATS editor, "few if any ATS members believe in verbal inerrancy".^[4]

Adventists generally reject higher critical approaches to Scripture. The 1986 statement Methods of Bible Study, "urge Adventist Bible students to avoid relying on the use of the presuppositions and the resultant deductions associated with the historical-critical method."

Role of Ellen White

Seventh-day Adventist approaches to theology are affected by the level of authority accorded the writings of Ellen White. Mainstream Adventists believe that White had the spiritual gift of prophecy, but that her writings are subject to testing by the Bible, which has ultimate authority.

According to one church document, "her expositions on any given Bible passage offer an inspired guide to the meaning of texts without exhausting their meaning or preempting the task of exegesis."^[5] "The Inspiration and Authority of the Ellen G. White Writings", document was issued by the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. It has received worldwide review and input, although is not an official statement. It concludes that a proper understanding will avoid the two extremes of regarding her "writings as functioning on a canonical level identical with Scripture, or considering them as ordinary Christian literature."^[6]

Because of Ellen's endorsement in 1888, of some of Jones and Waggoner's positions, many went on to accept nearly everything they said a truth.^[7] However, Jones lead those who would not seek Bible counsel alone into four false ideas, 1) to use Ellen's works as basis for sermons, 2) verbal inspiration of all her writings, 3) her writings were inerrant with no factual errors, and 4) literary and historical context of a statement was not important. Ellen rejected these positions and Jones eventually became Ellen's most vocal enemy.^[8] Some SDAs still accept and promote these flawed uses of Ellen's writings.^[8]

Relation to other groups

Adventist theology is distinctly Protestant, and holds much in common with Evangelicalism in particular. However, in common with many restorationist groups, Adventists have traditionally taught that the majority of Protestant churches have failed to "complete" the Reformation by overturning the errors of Roman Catholicism (see also Great Apostasy) and "restoring" the beliefs and practices of the primitive church—including Sabbath keeping, adult baptism and conditional immortality.^[9]

Adventists typically do not consider themselves part of the Fundamentalist Christianity community: "Theologically, Seventh-day Adventists have a number of beliefs in common with Fundamentalists, but for various reasons have never been identified with the movement... On their part, Adventists reject as unbiblical a number of teachings held by many (though not all) Fundamentalists..."^[10]

Theological background

Seventh-day Adventist theology has undergone development since the beginning of the movement. These developments have been associated with significant events, such as the Great Disappointment, the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference and discussions with evangelicals in the middle of the 20th century which prompted the publication of Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine.

Theological roots

While Adventism is a child of the 16th century Reformation initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, its theological orientation really finds itself at home with the Radical Reformation or the Anabaptists. Anabaptists went back to the original early church teachings and rejected infant baptism and state support of the church. They called for a believer's church where baptism followed faith, and stood for a separation of church and state. Anabaptists viewed the Major Reformation churches as not being consistent in the belief of Sola Scriptura. They sought to get back towards New Testament church ideals, rather than stick to where Luther, Calvin or Zwingli did theologically, moving away from church traditions and creedal formulas. Anabaptism influence permeated the evangelical denominations of the 19th century.^[11]

Restorationism was a vital force in many 19th century American religious movements. Restorationists believe that the Reformation, which began in the 16th century, would not be complete until the last vestiges of tradition were gone. Roman Catholic errors needed to be overturned and the teaching of the Bible firmly in place. They espoused Sola Scriptura, wanting Biblical evidence for every position. The Bible was to be their only guide-book in faith and practice. Its largest impact was the fostering of the getting back to the Bible attitude. Christian Connexion made an extremely large impact on Millerite Adventism and Sabbatarian Adventism. Adventist theology is distinctly Protestant, and holds much in common with Evangelicalism. However, like many restorationist groups, Adventists have typically taught that the majority of Protestant churches have failed to "complete" the Reformation by "restoring" the beliefs and practices of the primitive church—including Sabbath keeping, adult baptism and conditional immortality. Captain Joseph Bates described the seventh-day Sabbath as one of things that needed to be restored to the church before Christ would return.^[12][13]

The Methodist or Wesleyan movement was influential in early 19th-century America. Its freewill orientation (as opposed to the predestination perspective of the Puritan heritage) seemed to line up with the experience of a nation nurtured in a frontier mentality where anything could be accomplished if one willed it and worked at it. Methodism popularized such ideas as Christ dying for all people rather than for just a predestined elect; that people had free will rather than a predestined will; that God's Spirit worked with every person through prevenient grace to wake them up to a sense of their need to turn to Christ; that people could accept salvation through a faith response to God's Holy Spirit; that one could resist grace and harden the heart; and that a Christian could fall from grace through apostasy. Those theological concepts stood in sharp contrast to the inherited Puritan/Calvinistic mentality that had dominated colonial Christianity. Adventists also accepted with Wesley the Reformation concept of justification by faith. To counteract antinomianism, Wesley emphasized sanctification as a process of becoming more like Jesus. Justification was the work of a moment while sanctification was the work of a lifetime. The concept the perfection was the dynamic biblical concept in which one lived in a growing state of perfect love toward God and other people.^[14]

Deism also influenced SDA theology. William Miller had been a Deist before his conversion. His generation lived in a world highly appreciative of rational approaches to everything, including religion. Miller utilized this logical approach in his study of the Bible, referring to his experience as a "feast of reason." His evangelistic method aimed at his hearers' heads rather than their emotions. Such an intellectualist approach to religion found a central role in Sabbatarian and eventually Seventh-day Adventism.^[15]

The Puritan influence played a large part in shaping the thought of 19th-century America. They placed a major emphasis on the authority of the Bible and a Christian's obligation to the law. They specifically stressed the importance of strict Sabbath observance (by Sabbath they meant the "Lord's Day" -- Sunday). Their "Lord's Day" was not merely for worship but it also had relational overtones, where by if society is faithful to God, He will bless it, but if it is disobedient He will remove the blessings. This led to endless attempts to legislate Christian morality. By the 19th-century Puritan ideas on sabbatarianism had infiltrated the general thinking of religious people in the US. This brought the importance of the seventh-day Sabbath to the minds of early Adventists.^[16]

Along with most Americans, Adventists had confidence in the ability of the "common person" to do almost anything, including theology. Theology had once been the domain of trained scholars, but the impact of a more radical democracy in the early 19th-century opened up possibilities for laypersons to take leadership initiatives.^[17][18]

Like Baconianism, where facts of science were found by examining the world, amassing information and then deriving conclusions, so too was the Bible studied in like manner. Gather all the relevant biblical facts (or texts) on a topic, and you will be correct in your interpretation.^[18]

Shared Protestant doctrine

Seventh-day Adventists uphold the central doctrines of Protestant Christianity:^[19]

1. "That God is the Sovereign Creator, upholder, and ruler of the universe, and that He is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.
2. That the Godhead, the Trinity, comprises God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
3. That the Scriptures are the inspired revelation of God to men; and that the Bible is the sole rule of faith and practice.
4. That Jesus Christ is very God, and that He has existed with the Father from all eternity.
5. That the Holy Spirit is a personal being, sharing the attributes of deity with the Father and the Son.
6. That Christ, the Word of God, became incarnate through the miraculous conception and the virgin birth; and that He lived an absolutely sinless life here on earth.
7. That the vicarious, atoning death of Jesus Christ, once for all, is all-sufficient for the redemption of a lost race.
8. That Jesus Christ arose literally and bodily from the grave.
9. That He ascended literally and bodily into heaven.
10. That He now serves as our advocate in priestly ministry and mediation before the Father.
11. That He will return in a premillennial, personal, imminent second advent.
12. That man was created sinless, but by his subsequent fall entered a state of alienation and depravity.
13. That salvation through Christ is by grace alone, through faith in His blood.
14. That entrance upon the new life in Christ is by regeneration, or the new birth.
15. That man is justified by faith.
16. That man is sanctified by the indwelling Christ through the Holy Spirit.
17. That man will be glorified at the resurrection or translation of the saints, when the Lord returns.
18. That there will be a judgment of all men.
19. That the gospel is to be preached as a witness to all the world."

Millerism

The theological foundation of Seventh-Day Adventism is traced back to the teachings of William Miller. Four topics were especially important in understanding that substructure; 1) Miller's use of the Bible, 2) his eschatology, 3) his perspective on the 1st and 2nd angel's messages of Revelation 14, and 4) the seventh-month movement that ended with the "Great Disappointment".^[20]

Bible use

Miller's approach to Bible study was thorough and methodical, intensive and extensive. His central principle of Bible interpretation was the idea that "all scripture is necessary". He said, "bring all scriptures together on the subject you wish to know; then let every word have its proper influence, and if you can form your theory without a contradiction you cannot be in error." He held that the Bible should be its own expositor. By comparing scripture with scripture a person could unlock the meaning of the Bible.

Thus the Bible became a person's authority, rather than a creed or traditional writings. If a creed of other individuals or their writings served as the basis of authority, then that external authority becomes central rather than the Bible itself. Miller's guidelines concerning the interpretation Bible prophecy was built upon the same four concepts.^[17] The Bible, so far as millers and his followers were concerned was the supreme authority in all matters of faith and doctrine.^[21]

Second Advent

Millerism was essentially a one-doctrine movement--the visual, literal, premillennial return of Jesus. Miller was not alone in his interest in prophecies. The unprecedented upheaval of the French Revolution in the 1790s was one of several factors that turned the eyes of Bible students around the world to the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Coming to the Bible with a historicist scheme of interpretation and the concept that a prophetic day equals a real time year, Bible scholars began to study the time prophecies. Of special interest to many was the 1260 prophetic day time prophecy of Daniel. Many concluded that the end of the 1260-day prophecy initiated the "time of the end", which they dated to the 1790s.^[22]

1st & 2nd Angels' messages of Revelation 14

The first angel proclaimed the "everlasting gospel" and "the hour of judgment is come." Miller believed that the first angel's message had recently been fulfilled with "the sending out of Missionaries and Bibles into every part of the world, which began about 1798." His followers came to see "the hour of his judgment" as when Jesus would return.

Throughout the 1830s increasing numbers of Protestant churches opened their doors to his preaching, not so much because of his "peculiar" preaching but because of his ability to bring converts to fill their churches. But a message that seemed harmless enough at first threatened to disrupt the churches by 1843. Millerism was not a separate movement at that time and the majority of believers remained members of the various churches. As 1843 approached, and Millerites became more assertive on the truth of the Bible over creeds, they increasingly found themselves forbidden to speak of their beliefs in their own congregations. When they persisted they were disfellowshipped. Also, large numbers of congregations expelled pastors who supported Miller's teachings, and refused to listen to Second Advent preaching.

Millerite preacher Charles Fitch tied this to the second angels message of "Babylon is fallen .. come out of her my people." Fitch included those protestant churches which rejected the Millerite teachings of the imminent second Advent with the Rome Catholic Church as being "Babylon." He called for his hearers to "come out of Babylon or perish." He provided his fellow Adventists a theological rationale for separating from their churches. It is difficult to overestimate the impact on the Adventist movement by Fitch's call. By 1844 some estimate that more than 50,000 Millerite believers had left their churches.^[23]

7th-month movement

Miller originally resisted being too specific about the exact time of Christ's return. Eventually, though, his message "about the year 1943" morphed into sometime between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. Although this time passed, the spring disappointment did not greatly affect the movement. Then, S.S. Snow argued that the Day of Atonement, which fell on October 22 in 1844, would be the day that Christ would come. At first, Miller and Himes were reluctant to accept this date, however by October 6, they both came out in support of the 22nd of October. With the expectation of the Second Advent at an all-time high, October 22, 1844, was the climax of Millerism. The day arrived and went, thus encouraging scoffers and fearful, and leaving the Millerites is total disarray. Whereas once the movement knew exactly where it was going, it was now in a state of uncertainty and in a state of crisis.^[24]

The Great Disappointment

The vast majority of Millerites suffered loss of faith and some even left Christianity altogether. The minority that remained split into several camps.^[25] Joshua V. Himes rapidly concluded that the prediction of the Advent of Jesus was correct, but they were wrong about the time. He believed that they "should watch and wait for the coming of Christ as an event that may take place at any hour."^[26] The smallest group of Millerites consisted of a few dozen Bible students scattered across New England. They did not become well acquainted until about 1847. They held on to the fulfillment of the 2300 days prophecy of Daniel 8:14 as 1844, but disagreed with the other Millerites on the event that took place. Future leaders of Seventh-day Adventism came from this group.^[27]

Theological development following The Great Disappointment

In the early days of the movement, Seventh-day Adventist typically focused on those doctrines that were distinctive to Adventism.^[28]

"Present Truth" and the Pillars

Pioneering Adventists emphasized the concept of "present truth"—see 2 Peter 1:12 (NKJV). James White explained, “The church ever had a present truth. The present truth now, is that which shows present duty, and the right position for us…” ”Present truth is present truth, and not future truth, and the Word as a lamp shines brightly where we stand, and not so plainly on the path in the distance.” Ellen White pointed out that “present truth, which is a test to the people of this generation, was not a test to the people of generations far back.”^{[29][30][31][32]} The founders of the SDA church had a dynamic concept of what they called present truth, opposed to creedal rigidity, and had an openness to new theological understandings that built upon the landmark doctrines, or Pillars of Adventism that had made them a people.^[33]

Still, the possibilities of dynamic change in Seventh-day Adventist beliefs are not unlimited.^[34] The landmark doctrines are non-negotiables in Adventist theology. Collectively they provide Seventh-day Adventists with an identity.^[33] These pillars of their faith were thoroughly studied out in the Scripture and attested to by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. Ellen White said, "When the power of God testifies as to what is truth, that truth is to stand forever as the truth. ... Men will arise with interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but which are not truth. The truth for this time God has given as a foundation for our faith."^[35]

These foundations, pillars, and landmarks are:

• the investigative judgement,
• the sanctuary that brings this judgment to light,
• the three angels' messages of Revelation,
• the law of God,
• the faith of Jesus,
• the Sabbath,
• the state of the dead, and
• the special gift of prophecy.^[36]

Still, the possibilities of dynamic change in Seventh-day Adventist beliefs are not unlimited.^[37] Those landmark doctrines are non-negotiables in Adventist theology. Collectively they have provided the Seventh-day Adventists with an identity.^[33] The pillars of their faith—the Bible doctrines that define who they are as a people—have been thoroughly studied in the Scripture and have been attested to by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. As Ellen White put it, "When the power of God testifies as to what is truth, that truth is to stand forever as the truth. ... Men will arise with interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but which are not truth. The truth for this time, God has given us as a foundation for our faith.^[38] Robert Johnston noted, “Without repudiating the past leading of the Lord, it seeks even to understand better what that leading was. It is always open to better insights to learn—to seek for truth as for hid treasure. … Adventists are still pilgrims on a doctrinal journey who do not repudiate the way marks, but neither do they remain stopped at any of them.”^[39] White further said that there is more truth to be revealed and that true doctrine will stand close investigation.^[40] But there is a solid foundation to build new truth upon.^[41]

Unity and variation

A 2002 survey of Adventists worldwide showed 91% acceptance of the following beliefs:^[42][43]

A "Valuegenesis" study in 2000 of students at Adventist high schools in North America showed a generally high acceptance of the church's beliefs, with some such as marriage within the same faith, the remnant, Ellen White's gift of prophecy, and the investigative judgment with acceptance rates less than 63% percent.^[44] "In looking at the research this may be because over the first ten years of Valuegenesis research, fewer young people were reading their Bibles and Ellen White. And for a church that values a written revelation of God, less reading of the Bible probably means less understanding of its beliefs."^[44]

In a 1985 questionnaire, the percentage of North American Adventist lecturers who nominated various beliefs as contributions they believed Adventists had made to contemporary theology are:^[45]