The Adventists

The Seventh-day Adventist church is a Christian sect which grew out of the Millerite movement (named after William Miller) during the Second Great Awakening. Joseph Bates and Ellen G. White were notable figures who led the church into what it has become. The term "adventist" has to do with belief in the second advent (coming) of Jesus Christ. The term "seventh-day" refers to the belief in a literal six-day creation and that God sanctified the "seventh-day" (Genesis 2:3), thus they go to church on Saturdays rather than Sunday. Seventh-day Adventists today are sometimes noted for their simple and modest apparel (based on 1 Peter 3:3-4). Seventh-day Adventists are also known for their concerns onhealth, education, and religious liberty.

Origin of Adventist Theology

Seventh-day Adventists borrow theology from Lutherans, Puritans, Pietists, Reformed/ Calvinists, Radical Reformation/Anabaptists, and Restorationists. Their historicist views on prophecy, belief in soul sleep, and the seventh-day Sabbath have existed long before them, thus they are not some mere inventions of some "cult". They also borrow much of their theology concerning sin, the nature of man, and salvation from Wesleyan theology. This Wesleyan theology has been carried on to the Seventh-day Adventist church by Ellen G. White, herself being the Methodist she was. In essence, Seventh-day Adventists are a remnant of the Protestant Reformation.

Investigative Judgement and the Wesleyan Connection

Perhaps one of the most distinct doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist church is that of a "investigative judgement" in which God, His name, His sanctuary, and His people are vindicated before heavenly intelligences. This doctrine is based on the prophecies of Daniel and it's said that the 2300 days for the sanctuary to be "cleansed" was fulfilled in 1844.

The year 1844 is said to be the anti-typical day of atonement (based on Leviticus 23:26-32) and is believed to be when Christ actually entered the most holy place. The translation of "hagios" in Hebrews 9:12 is said to actually be "the holy places" or "the sanctuary".

This doctrine may not be so unique in that is has some similarities with the Wesleyan doctrine of "final salvation", the only difference is that the "investigative judgment" is a preadvent evaluation of the books in heaven.

Other interesting facts:

Adventists traditionally apply tthe symbol of Laodicea to themselves as a self-criticism of being like warm in faith (Revelation 3:15-16). Adventists believe God has people in all faiths (or non-faths), which is based on Revelation 18:4 which has God calling His people out of Babylon....