SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM

(1782-1849)

History

William Miller was an itinerant Baptist preacher who would be credited for the birth of the SDA movement.

Miller believed that Christ would return on 21 March 1843. He was so sure of this, that his motivation drove him to start a revival, which swept across America, Africa and Asia. As a result of this drive, 50,000 new converts were added to the Adventists (Your Friends the Adventists, by A.S. Maxwell, p. 85.) However, after one year had elapsed and still with no sign of Christ's return, members became worried; dates were recalculated; another year elapsed and, by this stage, two years after Miller's initial pronouncement of the Lord's return of 21 March 1843, many of his supporters simply left the group. 

Miller would go on to acknowledge his error but would never be officially inaugurated into Adventism and died a broken man (The truth about Seven Day Adventism, by Walter Martin, pgs. 29-30.)

With what could have been a disaster for the Adventists actually produced three breakaway groups. Anthony A. Hoekema in The Four Major Cults, pg. 98, says the following:

"The group headed by Hiram Edson in western New York State which emphasized the doctrine of the heavenly sanctuary; the group in Washington, New Hampshire, which along with Joseph Bates, advocated the observance of the seventh day; and the group around Portland, Maine, which held that Ellen G. White was a true prophetess, whose visions and works were to be followed by Adventists."

With such a wonderful endorsement and vote of confidence in Ellen White, the 'prophetess' as she would now be referred to become the 'pope' of Seventh Day Adventism. And for this new religion to take off, signs and visions would be called for from her faithful followers, and many of them would come, over 2,000 dreams and visions in fact.

Ellen White the woman 

(1827-1915)

She was born into a devout Methodist Episcopal church. However, at the age of nine, she was involved in a serious accident that affected her whole life. Ellen would also go on to explain her accident:

"In company with my twin sister and one of our schoolmates, I was crossing a common in the city of Portland, Maine, when a girl of about thirteen years of age followed us, threatening to strike us.... We were running towards home but the girl was following us rapidly, with a stone in her hand. I turned to see how far she was behind me, and as I turned, the stone hit me on my nose. A blinding, stunning sensation overpowered me and I fell senseless. When consciousness again returned, I found myself in a merchant's store; my garments covered with the blood streaming from my nose, and a large stream of blood on the floor. A kind stranger offered to take me home in his carriage. I knew not how weak I was, and told him I should greatly soil his carriage with my blood, and that I could walk home. I had walked but a few steps when I grew dizzy and faint. My twin sister and my schoolmate carried me home. I have no recollection of anything for some time after the accident. My mother says that I noticed nothing, but lay in a stupid state for three weeks.... As I aroused to consciousness, it seemed to me that I had been asleep. I was not aware of the accident, and knew not of the cause of my sickness....I was shocked at the change in my appearance. Every feature of my face seemed changed....The bones of my nose proved to be broken" (Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, 1860.)

When her father finally reached his daughter's bedside, he at first didn't recognise her. There can be no doubt that a knock to the head as fatal as this could have killed her. However, Ellen was very fortunate, but may as some doctors now believe, suffered brain damage; hence her erratic amount of writings and visions.

Ellen White the 'prophetess'

• "At the conference a very solemn vision was given me.  I saw that some of those present would be food for worms, some subjects for the seven last plagues, and some would be translated to heaven at the second coming of Christ, without seeing death" (Spiritual Gifts, volume 2, pg. 208. Also Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White, 1880 edition, pg. 321.)

• "What we have seen and heard of the pestilence, is but the beginning of what we shall see and hear.  Soon the dead and dying will be all around us.  I saw that some will be so hardened, as to even make sport of the judgements of God.  Then the slain of the Lord will be from one end of the earth, to the other; they will not be lamented, gathered, nor buried; but their ill saviour will come up from the face of the whole earth.  Those only who have the seal of the living God, will be sheltered from the storm of wrath, that will soon fall on the heads of those who have rejected the truth" (The Present Truth, 1st September 1849, paragraph 10 Article Title: Dear Brethren and Sisters.)

• "The human family was presented before me, enfeebled.  Every generation has been growing weaker, and disease of every form visits the human race. Thousands of poor mortals are dragging out a miserable existence. Some with deformed, sickly bodies, shattered nerves, and gloomy minds.  Satan's power upon the human family increases.  If the Lord should not soon come and destroy his power, the earth would soon be depopulated" (Spiritual Gifts, volume 4B, pg. 94, and Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 22 April 1862, paragraph 3.)

• A pastor's wife, Lucinda Burdick, claims to have been present when Ellen would once again make a prophecy that would never come to pass: "During the year 1845 I met Miss Ellen G. Harmon several times at my uncle's house in South Windham, Me. The first of these meetings was in the month of May, when I heard her declare that God had revealed to her that Jesus Christ would return to this earth in June, the next month" (L. Burdick letter.)

• Once again, Lucinda Burdick: "During the haying season I again met her in company with James White at the same place, and heard my uncle ask her about the failure of the Lord to appear in June according to her visions.  She replied that she had been told in the language of Canaan which she did not understand; but that she had since come to understand that Christ would return in September, at the second growth of grass instead of the first" (L. Burdick letter.)

• She would go on to write over 100,000 manuscript pages on topics such as health, education, family, Bible history and practical Christian living. Ellen would travel the globe as an ambassador for the Adventists. Many Adventists to this day believe her writings were inspired, and should be on par with the prophets, Samuel, Jeremiah and John the Baptist (The Advent Review & Herald, 4 October 1928.) 

Facts and figures 

Every 32 seconds of each day, they baptize a new convert, that's 2,600 people throughout the world.

• As of 2001, the Adventists were 12 million strong, that's more than the Jehovah's Witnesses.

• Their headquarters are in Takoma Park, Washington, D.C.

• In 1999, they collected $1.6 billion via contributions, donations and tithing.

• They employ nearly 166,000, not including their 13,815 ordained ministers worldwide.

• They claim to be working in 725 languages and over 1,000 dialects.

• They have a large investment in publishing and education. They operate 56 publishing houses and support 549 medical units (696 including 117 nursing homes and retirement centres and 30 orphanages); and 5,846 primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities (with total enrolment of over a million students.)

• Adventist World Radio broadcasts 1,000 hours per week in more than 40 languages, from 18 transmitters in 7 international locations, and have almost 13 million students enrolled in its more than 110,000 "Sabbath Schools" (11/2001, SDA website.)

• (The Adventists publishes two of their own 'bible translations.')  

• We also discover from one of their own publications, the following figures and breakdown, for Southern Asia, in 1997:

Red=Adventits

Black = Biblical Christianity

"The Lord has shown me that Satan was once an honoured angel in heaven, next to Jesus Christ" (E. G. White's, Vision Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 1 pg. 17.)

In Mic. 5:2 we read the following: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." 

This prophetic verse speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ, and clearly it states that the Messiah is eternal. Angels were created by God. Therefore, Jesus cannot be in the same league as angels. 

This heretical teaching is identical to what the Jehovah's Witnesses teach, and by advocating this blasphemous belief, Jesus is downgraded to the person of an angel.

That Christ will have to move into the second apartment in the heavenly tabernacle to perform further work, prior to His Second Coming. This is just what the Catholic church believes, a grave and heretical doctrine.

Hebrews 7:26: "For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself....But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (10:12.)

The writer of Hebrews clearly affirms that Christ offered one sacrifice for sins, which the Father accepted. Never again would this be needed (1 Pet. 3:18.)

That the soul sleeps upon death soul sleep. Hell is replaced with total annihilation (White, The Great Controversy, pg. 477- 478.)

Please see the following verses that affirm Hell is a real and conscious existence (Eze. 32: 19-32; Dan. 12:2; Matt. 3:12; 25:46; Mark 9:44-49; Luke 16:23, 24; 2 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 14:10, 11; 20:10.)

Therefore if the sinner is unwilling to receive Jesus' free gift of salvation (Acts 16:31), than God's perfect justice is accomplished (Ps. 76:10), and the unrepentant sinner is solely to blame for his/her eternal abode in Hell fire (Deut. 32:3-5.)

That the Jewish Sabbath [Saturday] must be kept by Christians (Messenger to the Remnant, pg. 34.)  

The early church meet on Sunday, the first day of the Jewish week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2) and this custom was and is practiced throughout the world to this day.  

That all believers should be vegetarians (Ellen G. White, pg. 17.)

All dietary laws are abolished in the New Testament (Acts 10:9-15.)

Ellen would call on her dead husband [necromancy] (Letter 17, 1881.)    

Communicating with the dead is strictly prohibited in Scripture (Lev. 19:31; 20:27; Deut. 18:11 & 1 Sam. 28:3.) 

Conclusion

Ellen White was a brain-damaged woman; hence why so many of her 'prophecies' never came to pass. Elders in her church should have treated her with sympathy, but never allowed her to have a position of authority.  

Her husband, James White, not only rejected the Trinity and Jesus' divinity, but according to some was also a freemason. Therefore for the real child of God that may have accidentally found their way into the SDA, can they honestly put their hand on their heart, and convince themselves that by remaining in this legalistic organization, that they are really honouring God.  

I remember debating with a charismatic about whether or not the apostolic gifts of the Holy Spirit were for today, and he told me that God needed to tell us what to do. I responded that as Christians we know too much. For example, we know that Jesus is the only Saviour of the world Who has paid for our sins; we know that we are to evangelise the world; we know that He is with us for ever; we know He's returning for us soon; we know that He will judge the living and the dead etc, etc, etc. So with all this knowledge, I wondered what else he wished to know? 

No real satisfactory answer was given to me. I said to him in conclusion, that the reason why so many charismatics wish to know 'what to do' is because they don't bother to read and study the Bible. That Book has all the answers that any genuine child of God would ever wish to know. 

The point I am trying to make is that some people want to feel important. They read the great Biblical stories of how God instructed prophets like Moses to lead His people to the Promised Land, or how Paul was commissioned to build upon the foundation of Jesus' Church, and they too want that type of commission, who wouldn't. However, if God needs to continue speaking to us and giving us fresh revelations, than the New Testament writers, under the Holy Spirit's infallible command, failed to equip us with all that we need, and this we know, is not true (1 Cor. 1:6-8; Eph.1: 3; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Jude 3.)

One final footnote: The SDA is in essence an Old Covenant style organization. They are still living under the law and expect their members to do so too. They have no real understanding of grace and therefore they will forever be in bondage to their system and to their adamic natures.

Only when they are born again and set free from this obsolete way of life, will they truly know the Lord Jesus and have the peace and joy that tragically is so elusive and endemic for them.

Sources

E. G. Gruss, Cults and the Occult

B. R. Smith, Second Warning

W. R. Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults

JGB, 2004

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