Seventh Day Adventism:  A power point on the history and teachings of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.  See notes below.  Taught by John Oakes in Jakarta 1/07/2010.

 Seventh Day Adventism 155.50 Kb

7^th Day Adventism

Grew out of Millerite Adventist movement in the 1840s

Miller prophesied that Jesus Christ would come back October 22, 1844 (based on a misinterpretation of Daniel 8:14-16 2300 evenings and mornings.)

Thousands quit their jobs, preached the Advent of Jesus and waited.  When it did not happen the movement scattered, forming a number of small groups (one of which led to Jehovah’s Witness Church, another of which led to 7^th Day Adventist movement).

Some taught that the date 1844 was correct, but that Jesus came back silently, entering the heavenly tabernacle, beginning the "Investigative Judgement"

Adventists see themselves as NT church restorationists-as inheritors of the tradition of the Waldenses, Puritans, Anabaptists and other reformer/restorationist sects.

"7^th Day" sect Founded by Ellen G. White-the chief prophetess of this movement 1860s and her husband.

Ellen G. White claimed to be a modern-day prophet.   her writings are considered "a continuing and authoritative source of truth"

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen. G. White . As the Lord’s messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:14-21; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 12:17; 19:10.)

Health

At the age of nine, White sustained a blow to the head from a rock thrown at her. It is frequently interpreted from various speculations on the incident that Ellen White spent three weeks in a coma and that a brain trauma might explain her visions.^[32] Individuals with epilepsy have also been found to have delusions and hallucinations in relationship to God. Abnormalities in the hippocampus are associated with religiosity in refractory epileptic patients similar to Ellen G.White.

Plagiarism

While the Adventist church has no mechanism for canonizing a person’s writings or elevating a "prophet" into sainthood (as the Catholic Church does), they have their own system which accomplishes the same effect, by protecting and promoting the perception of Ellen White as a "true" prophet. The core of Seventh-day Adventist doctrine came directly from the "visions" of Ellen White and are still espoused officially by the church, as evidenced by their current teachings and official positions.

Desmond Ford and many others’ research (see references below)correctly points out that Ellen White copied generously, in some cases chapter and verse and word for word from other writers of her day, while calling these writings "hers" and saying emphatically that they were revealed to her by god-given visions. The Phoenix Sun Times and other newspapers in 1975 reported documentation that the church leadership, particularly the executors of the Ellen G. White Estate (all of whom are church officials) have known about her copious plagiarism for years.

Emphasis:

Worship on the 7^th Day (obviously)

Carrying of certain OT laws into NT Christianity:  especially the Sabbath.

Strong emphasis on healthy eating, vegetarianism.   Abstinance from pork and shellfish for sure (based on OT laws)

Do not believe in hell, but that after judgement, the lost are annihilated.

Emphasis on premillenialism    (Jesus coming back and reigning on the earth for 1000 years before final judgment)

Response to Adventism;

1. Probably the day of worship is not a salvation issue, but…

            a. We know from the New Testament that the church worshipped on Sunday: the

               "eighth day."

                Acts 20:7    Rev 1:10 "On the Lord’s Day"  (which all scholars agree is Sunday).

               Paul met with the Jews in synagogue on Sabbath, and with the church on Sunday.

            b. All the evidence is unanimous that the early church worshipped on Sunday.  There is

                absolutely no doubt about this.

2.  The idea that we, as Christians, are subject to or required to obey selected laws of Moses is not biblical.    

Galatians 2:21  If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.

Gal 3:10-12   Those who rely on observing the law are under a curse.

Gal 5:2-4    You have fallen away from grace.

Colossians 2:13-23