Recently, the Washington Times printed a two-page
advertisement by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church attacking
the Roman Catholic Church and proclaiming Saturday as the
true Sabbath instead of Sunday. Who are these people anyway?
A reader in Mount Vernon The Seventh-Day Adventist
Church was founded by William Miller (1782-1849). Born in
Pittsfield, Mass., on Feb. 15, 1782, he was a veteran of the
War of 1812 and a farmer in upstate New York. At the age of
34, he abandoned Deism to join the Baptist Church.
Self-ordained, he began preaching in 1831. Enthralled by the
prophecies of the Bible, he believed that every prophecy that
had not been fulfilled by Christ during His time on earth
would be fulfilled in His Second Coming. Miller's
scholarship, however, was superficial at best. Nevertheless,
his interpretation of Daniel and the Book of Revelation
(Apocalypse) led him to predict the Second Coming. Miller
thought that the prophecies concerning the end of the world
contained a numerical code that could be deciphered. He took
the 2,300 evenings mentioned in Daniel (8:14) regarding the
coming purification of the Temple, converted them to years,
and then counted from the year 457 BC (which he maintained
was "70 weeks" since the commencement of the first coming) to
predict the Second Coming of Christ on March 21, 1843. He
gained great following through his preaching and through the
publication of The Midnight Cry. While his prediction
caused great excitement, it failed to come true. Not to be
thwarted, he revised his calculations and predicted March 21,
1844 as the time of the Second Coming. When that prediction
also failed, he predicted Oct. 22, 1844 as the date. Again,
Miller was wrong. This last failure became known as the
"Great Disappointment," and caused most of his followers to
abandon him. His remaining followers met the following year
in Albany, and formed a plan to keep the millennial movement
alive. Factions developed, but one strong group survived. In
1860, they formally inaugurated the Seventh-Day Adventist
Church. James White became the president of the Seventh-Day
Adventists after the denomination was organized at Battle
Creek, Mich., in 1863. Mrs. Ellen Gould Harmon White
(1827-1915), a devout follower of Miller and wife of James,
influenced the sect heavily. Probably due to her delicate
health, she experienced visions, claiming to have had over
2,000 during her lifetime. Several factors influenced her
religious perspective: (1) Methodist revivalism, which led to
her conversion in 1841; (2) faith healing, upon which she
depended for her many and frequent ailments; (3) supernatural
visions; and (4) the teaching of Miller. Although she had
only a third-grade education, she wrote 45 major books and
more than 4,000 articles. Steps to Christ has been
translated into 85 languages. Most of Mrs. White's teachings
which have been incorporated into official doctrine were
derived from her various visions and are considered to be
inspired. Ellen White and her confrere Hiram Edson restudied
the Biblical prophecies regarding the Second Coming and
Miller's own teachings, and concluded that they indicated the
beginning of the final judgment. They now taught that the
Second Coming was still imminent, but the day and hour were
unpredictable. White also believed that Saturday, not Sunday,
was the Sabbath day commanded by God in Genesis. According to
her, the change of the Sabbath to Sunday was introduced by
the anti-Christ or papacy. Of course, Christian tradition
since the apostolic times has regarded Sunday as the Lord's
Day, since our Lord rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. We
find evidence of this in Acts of the apostles "On the first
day of the week, when we gathered for the breaking of bread,
Paul preached to them" (Acts 20:7), and St. Paul in his First
Letter to the Corinthians speaks of the faithful gathering
and taking up charitable collections on the "first day of the
week" (16:2). The great apologist, St. Justin Martyr (d.
165), wrote, "Sunday, indeed, is the day on which we hold our
common assembly because it is the first day on which God,
transforming the darkness and matter, created the world; and
our Savior, Jesus Christ, arose from the dead on the same
day" (First Apology). Interestingly, the Seventh-Day
Adventists changed a tradition originating in apostolic times
and consistently recognized by Christians over the centuries.
Clearly, such a change shows what force a personal revelation
can have! Just as a "fun" aside, Ellen White had a vision on
June 5, 1863, in which she learned that meat, alcohol, and
tobacco were forbidden, that doctors and drugs were to be
avoided, and that the disciples should have a healthy regimen
of fresh air, sunshine, rest, exercise, and diet. Any sexual
impurity was also condemned. Interestingly, these teachings
inspired Sylvester Graham to develop a nutritious cracker to
promote well-being, hence, the "Graham Cracker." Also, John
Kellogg of Battle Creek, Mich., developed a wholesome diet of
fruit, grain, and vegetables, and, yes, cereals, that not
only insured health but prevented sexual impurity. (I don't
think Count Chocula knew he had such an impact. However, in
our Washington area, some people may have overdosed on Fruit
Loops while others should eat more Lucky Charms.) Concerning
their tenets today, the Seventh-Day Adventists affirm the
full deity of Christ. Seventh-Day Adventists believe that man
is by nature mortal, not immortal. Death is considered a
sleep. The resurrection of the righteous dead will occur at
the Second Coming, when both they and living will be taken to
Heaven, where together they will spend the millennium. Those
living in this hour who have rejected salvation will be
destroyed; they and the wicked dead will rise when Christ
returns at the end of the 1,000 years to cleanse the earth.
At that time they will be destroyed forever by fire. The
earth will then be restored to the state of the Garden of
Eden and provide a paradise for the saints. The Seventh-Day
Adventists have two primary liturgical rites: Baptism by
immersion is reserved for those of sufficient maturity to
understand its meaning. Secondly, imitating the Last Supper,
a communion service is held four times a year and is preceded
by a foot-washing ceremony; however, the bread and
unfermented wine used are considered only symbols of the body
and blood of Christ. Seventh-Day Adventists observe the
Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. All
unnecessary work, including cooking, is avoided during these
hours. They attend church and Sabbath school on Friday
evening and Saturday morning. They tithe one-tenth of their
income. Most members follow a vegetarian diet; those who do
not must abstain from foods forbidden by the Old Testament,
such as pork, ham, and shrimp. For health reasons, they
abstain from liquor and tobacco. The church also operates an
extensive medical program with hospitals and clinics around
the world. The church government is democratic. Each local
church is governed congregationally but belongs to a state
conference which appoints its minister. Four or more
conferences comprise a union conference and several union
conferences make up a division. There are 10 divisions in 189
countries with a headquarters in Washington, D.C. In 1998,
the Seventh-Day Adventists reported a membership of 5 million
in the United States, and 9-10 million worldwide. Since this
article was inspired by an advertisement in the Washington
Times attacking the Roman Catholic Church, please
remember two points: First, the Roman Catholic Church is the
first Christian Church founded directly by Christ. Second,
someone must be pretty desperate and insecure to try to gain
members through bigotry and half-truths. Copyright ?1998
Arlington Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.