0802-03P XXX

THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS

(2 Timothy 4:1-5)

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SUBJECT: Christian Cults

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INTRODUCTION:

A. At the beginning of our study, we defined a “Christian cult” as a religious group which claimed to be Christian, perhaps the only true expression of Christianity, but its beliefs and practices were so far from the biblical faith as to render it clearly non-Christian. We’re not really concerned with scientology, for example, because scientology makes no pretension of being Christian and is openly anti-Christian. And were not concerned about Wesleyanism either, because Wesleyanism, though confused on important issues, would be solid on the central doctrines of the Bible.

And the first such present-day Christian cult we considered was Mormonism, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because Mormonism denies the Trinity and teaches that there are many gods, because it teaches works salvation through self-effort and celestial marriage, we must conclude that Mormonism is something quite different from the faith of the Bible, and that those who truly believe what Mormonism teaches are not on their way to heaven.

B. Tonight we take up another present-day, growing Christian cult, which has its origins in the same period as Mormonism, only a bit later. Its name helps us understand two of the three streams of unusual teaching that converged to form this group. “Seventh-day” refers to its practice of regarding Saturday, the seventh-day of the week, as the proper day for Christian worship, as opposed to the first day, the Lord’s Day, Sunday. And the term “adventism” refers to its focus on the Lord’s second advent or second coming. These two streams of teaching were brought together, along with the third tributary of “continued revelation,” especially the revelations of the prophetess, Ellen G. White. These three have merged to form the worldwide, swelling river of religious belief and practice known as Seventh-Day Adventism.

C. I should hasten to add that there are some within the Christian church who would object to our placing Seventh-Day Adventism in the category of a Christian cult. They would acknowledge that many of its practices are unusual, even bizarre, but that it should not be condemned as a cult. I think that it is so severely defective on key issues, especially authority and justification, that we should not welcome Adventists as our brothers and sisters in Christ, but should warn them to flee this false church and come to living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. THE BACKGROUND OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM.

A. There is no doubt but that a discussion of Seventh-Day Adventism should begin with a man named William Miller, who lived 1782-1849, even though he never joined the Seventh-Day Adventist movement. He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. When he was a boy his family moved to Low Hampton, Vermont. As a young man he was a religious skeptic, even though he was raised in a Christian home. After serving a term in the army, he returned to Low Hampton and became a respected, prosperous farmer. In 1816, he became converted from skepticism. He embarked on a two year, intensive study of the Bible, without the aid of any commentaries, only Cruden’s Concordance. Notice the mindset of “just me and my Bible.” In 1818, he concluded that Christ would return in twenty-five years, in 1843. He continued his studies and became even more convinced, but largely kept his conclusions to himself.

In 1831, a friend in whom he had confided convinced him to state his views publicly. After doing so, he became such a sought-after speaker that in 1934, he became a Baptist preacher. His main message was prophecy and the return of Christ (in 1843). And because of the revivalist times in which he lived, he was able to gather quite a following. Eventually he refined his prophecy: Christ would definitely return sometime during the Jewish year that ran from March 21, 1843 to March 21, 1844. When this failed to take place (of course), Miller was perplexed, but kept insisting that his calculations were correct. This led on of his followers to suggest that the date should be seventh months later, specifically October 22, 1844. On that date Miller’s followers gathered in homes, but were (of course) disappointed. This later became known as “The Great Disappointment.” Miller and his followers were ridiculed as laughingstocks.

However, one bewildered follower, Hiram Edson, had a vision the next day, in which he saw that Christ indeed on that day did come to “cleanse the temple,” though it was the spiritual temple. On that day, Jesus, the great High Priest, left the only place in the spiritual temple, and entered the most holy place, where he made purification for sins. Just as the Old Testament priests offered daily sacrifices for sins, and then on one day of the year offered the annual atoning sacrifice, so Jesus had been offering daily sacrifices, from his ascension until October 22, 1844. But on that day he fully cleansed the temple. So Miller’s date was not wrong, just the location.

We should note here that instead of their just admitting they had been wrong and then giving up their speculative date setting and getting back to the work of making disciples of all nations, they came up with this bizarre teaching in order to justify themselves.

So now, to the previous error of setting a date for Christ’s return, they added this new strange teaching of Christ’s subsequent cleansing the temple, a work of atonement after his work on the cross.

B. The second stream flowed into this growing group through a wealthy ship captain and owner named Joseph Bates. Bates had been converted aboard ship and settled in Fair Haven, Massachusetts. He joined there the Christian Connection Church and quickly became an Adventist leader. After reading an article on the Sabbath in 1845, he became convinced that Saturday, the seventh day was the proper day for Christian worship. After consulting with others who had become convinced of the seventh-day principle, Bates published a tract in 1846 and 1847 which declared that the seventh-day was the only biblical day for worship.

He quoted the message of the third angel from Revelation 14:6-12, who threatened severe penalties for those who worshipped the beast and his image and received his mark. The “beast,” according to Bates, was the Pope in Rome, the Papacy. It was the Roman church that wrongly changed the day of Christian worship from Saturday to Sunday, according to Bates. All true Christians must reject the mark of the beast (Sunday worship) and remain true to God and his commandments, especially the fourth commandment which requires Saturday worship. Those who obeyed God and followed the seventh-day Sabbath were the remnant church spoken of in Revelation, the 144,000. So now we have the two elements that make up the name “Seventh-Day (worship and) Adventism (the elevation of the second coming of Christ into the forefront, the fixation on date-setting, and, in this instance, the belief that the second-coming has already taken place).

C. But the third stream that completed the river of this cult of Seventh-Day Adventism was the doctrine of continued revelation, specifically the visions and revelations of Ellen G. White. Ellen Gould Harmon was born 1827 near Portland, Maine. She was seriously injured and disfigured as a child when an older girl hit her in the face with a rock. Her family were originally Methodists but were excommunicated when they embraced that Adventist teachings of William Miller. She had her first vision at the age of 17 just after the Great Disappointment. In this vision, she saw faithful Adventists being led to heaven by Jesus himself. Her second vision was a sort of call for her to witness to these visions, even though she would encounter hardships along the way. Two years later, in 1846, she married James White, a young Adventist leader and follower of Miller.

Her visions continued, and soon there was a group around Portland, Maine which acknowledged her as a true prophetess, whose revelations were to be followed. Eventually others began to recognize her authority. Her subsequent visions confirmed key elements of Adventist teaching. For example, one vision in 1845 showed Jesus entering the holy of holies of the heavenly sanctuary, confirming Hiram Edson’s vision and confirmation of Miller’s timetable of Christ’s spiritual return. In 1847, she had a vision in which she was taken into the holy of holies and there shown the Ten Commandments in the Ark of the Covenant with a glorious halo around the fourth (seventh-day Sabbath) commandment. This confirmed Joseph Bates’ teaching about Saturday only worship. Her husband estimated that she had between 100 and 200 open visions and various other revelations, and began an extensive writing career on a host of diverse subjects such as the doctrine of salvation, church history, the home and society, health, temperance, missions, and the organization of the church.

We should understand that the Seventh-Day Adventist church recognizes her visions and revelations as the fulfillment of what the consider a biblical prophecy. Listen to Revelation 12:17, KJV: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” From this they understand that in the last days there would be a remnant of the true church that would be characterized by keeping the commandments of God (especially the fourth commandment of Saturday worship) and by having “the testimony of Jesus Christ.” What is this testimony of Jesus Christ? It is “the spirit of prophecy” according to Revelation 19:10: “And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” This “spirit of prophecy” was given to none other than Ellen G. White. So the Seventh-Day Adventist church sees itself to be a restoration, the only remnant of the true church because it alone keeps all the commandments of God, and it alone has received the “spirit of prophecy” in Ellen G. White.

II. SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST DOCTRINES.

A. When it comes to assessing the doctrines of the Seventh-Day Adventists, we can understand why some would mistake them for just another Christian denomination. Their views on God, creation, on mankind and on the effects of sin are certainly in line with orthodox Christianity. Though they claim to be neither Calvinist nor Arminian (which is logically impossible, since the two are at opposite extremes), a survey of their doctrines of the fall and salvation show them to be clearly Arminian. Unlike so many of the other cults, they are quite orthodox on their doctrine of Christ. He is fully God and fully man.

And, while their doctrines on the church and on the last things or end times are admittedly strange (they are the foretold “remnant” of Revelation 12:17, making them, apparently, the only true church; and Christ has already come again, though spiritually, to cleanse the holy of holies in 1844), these curiosities would not rule them as outside the true church.

But there are two specific teachings which require us to withhold the right hand of fellowship as a sister Christian church.

B. The first is the question of authority. The Seventh-Day Adventist church does acknowledge the full authority of the Scriptures (unlike many, liberal Protestant churches), and for this we can be thankful. But they also acknowledge the authority of the “spirit of prophecy” in Ellen G. White. Mrs. White’s revelations become “the bible in the left hand,” and in many ways it is this other “bible” which leads the way.

In this they follow a practice that has become quite common today when numerous groups are claiming that God is again speaking in dreams, visions, and prophecies. These new revelations are “tested,” we are told, by the Scriptures. What this means is that as long as these new revelations do not contradict anything taught in Scripture, then we may accept them. So if a revelation teaches that it is alright to have multiple husbands or wives, or that God was once a man like we are, then those revelations are false, because they clearly contradict Scripture’s teaching. But what if someone has a vision that teaches that good Christians should only wear white clothing to church, as a sign of their holiness? This doesn’t clearly teach anything contrary to the explicit teaching of the Scriptures. Are we then bound to follow this “revelation?” Would we risk disobedience to God if we wore brown, black or blue? This “does not contradict Scripture” rule is not a sufficient test. And this might explain why there is so much turmoil and confusion in churches which give great credence to present-day visions, revelations, and prophecies.

Do they really test Ellen G. White’s “spirit of prophecy”?

1. They declare that ALL of her prophecies are in accord with Scripture. This means that either they have tested all of her extensive prophecies or they have already decided before hand that her prophecies pass the test. In fact, there is no official recognition that Mrs. White has ever been wrong. Those who challenge her authority have been excommunicated.

2. They also call her writings “inspired counsels from the Lord,” and say that “the Holy Spirit opened to her mind important events and called her to give certain instructions for these last days.” If this is true, then these teachings must be beyond criticism. Who could correct the Lord or the Holy Spirit? And if her teachings are inspired and her instructions are from the Holy Spirit, then why bother testing them by Scripture?