Lesson 17: Understanding Seventh-Day Adventism

Linda was puzzled to see many people on her street going to church every Saturday. She asked her neighbors about it, and they told her that Saturday is the right day for rest and worship. They explained that on Saturday they did not do business or shopping or much entertainment. Linda thought that they must have a religion very different from other churches, but they seemed to believe the same things about God and salvation.

Read 1 Timothy 1 aloud. Write a paragraph that summarizes this scripture passage. What does this passage say about teaching doctrine? Write a list of statements. 

Origin of Seventh-Day Adventism

William Miller, a Baptist preacher, began to preach in the 1830’s that Jesus would be returning soon. His followers were called Millerites for several years. In 1844, the Millerites predicted the return of Christ on October 22, 1844. Thousands of people were convinced. Many of the Millerites left the movement after Jesus did not appear. Hiram Edson claimed to receive a revelation that on that date Jesus began a new ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. Those who stayed with the movement became the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

William Miller: [10]

There are other churches that emphasize that Saturday is the correct day for Christian worship. There were also others before this organization that taught that doctrine, but the Seventh-Day Adventists are the largest and most influential.

Present Influence

The Seventh-Day Adventists claim 71 thousand churches and 17 million members. They work in 209 countries and minister in 921 languages. They have 173 hospitals and 7,800 schools.[1]

The Doctrine of Seventh-Day Adventists

Adventists believe in basic Christian doctrines such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit, the final authority of the Bible, and salvation by grace through faith.

Adventists believe that man is not inherently immortal. At death people go into an unconscious condition until they are resurrected. Salvation is a promise of eternal life that will be given at the resurrection to those who are saved. Those who are not saved will be resurrected for judgment then destroyed in the lake of fire. They believe that Satan and the other demons will also be destroyed completely. There is no eternal punishment.[2]

Adventists believe that Christians should keep certain Old Testament rules for diet.[3] They believe that the dietary rules were for the sake of health. They claim that Adventists tend to live longer than other people.

Adventists believe that the law of God shows Christians how they are to live, and that a Christian should live in victory over sin. They say they do not believe that a person is saved by works, but they believe that a true Christian will live a life of obedience to God. They believe that a person will lose his salvation if he does not continue to live for God.[4]

The main organization of Adventists does not believe in salvation by works. However, there are individuals and groups of Adventists that have emphasized the law so much that they seem to say that obeying the law is the means of salvation. If a person expects to be accepted by God because of his works, he is not putting his faith in the grace provided by Christ.

► What is the right view of works? How do we explain that we are saved by grace even though it is necessary to live in obedience to God?[5]

Adventists are most known for their doctrine of the Sabbath. They believe that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is the right day for Christian rest and worship. They believe that churches that worship on Sunday have followed a pagan custom.

Attitude toward Other Churches

Adventists believe that they are the faithful “remnant,” the ones who still keep the commandments of God in a world of compromised Christianity. They believe that Babylon in biblical prophecy refers to apostate religious organizations and their allies in the world’s system.

They believe that there are real Christians in the various Christian denominations who are obeying God as far as they understand, but do not understand all that he requires. In the last days before the coming of the Lord, everyone will come to a crisis and have to receive light and walk in it or be destroyed in God’s judgment. Sunday worshippers who do not accept the truth will eventually accept the “mark of the beast.”

Adventists recognize that various people in church history were true Christians and used by God, like the Reformation leaders. They also read and quote from theologians and biblical scholars that are not Adventists.

► How would you describe the Adventist’s attitude toward other churches?

The Importance of Prophecy

Adventists believe that prophecy is a gift for the church, needed for continual guidance. Their most important prophet was Ellen White. She began to prophecy in 1844. She wrote more than 2,000 visions. Her visions and other writings make 80 books. Adventists encourage their members to read her writings regularly.[6]

Adventists believe that the Bible is the final authority, and that all prophecy must be tested by Scripture. Ellen White herself said that her book entitled Testimonies would not be needed if people would follow the Scripture closely enough. She said that her writings were not intended to reveal anything not implied in the Bible.[7]

Adventists still publish and distribute Ellen White’s books as the best explanation of their doctrine. They quote her constantly in their publications. They do not claim that her writing is an authority comparable to the Bible.

Much of Ellen White’s writing expresses opinions that are not in the Bible, and gives explanation of Scripture that depends on new revelation rather than normal interpretation. There is a danger that Adventists give too much authority to writings other than the Bible, and do not let the Bible have the supreme authority.

► What is the proper use of the writings of pastors and teachers?

The Adventists’ focus on end-time prophecy is shown in their church’s name, which refers to the coming of the Lord. They emphasize detailed interpretation of end-time biblical prophecy, including many obscure passages of Scripture. Adventists emphasize the role of visions and miracles in their modern ministry.

The Issue of the Seventh Day

The Adventists begin their Sabbath on Friday evening at sunset and end it on Saturday at sunset, like the Jews do.

The Seventh-Day Adventists believe that worship on Sunday instead of Saturday is the “mark of the beast” described in the book of Revelation.[8] They believe the time will come when the world will try to require Sunday worship and will persecute those who try to maintain observance of Saturday as the Sabbath. They believe that right now there are true Christians who are in churches that worship on Sunday, but at some time in the future they will have to change to the truth of the Saturday Sabbath or lose their souls for resisting the truth. They believe that when the crisis comes all true Christians will be faithful to the Saturday Sabbath even if it means death, and anyone who follows the Sunday as the Lord’s Day is not a Christian.

There is no indication in the book of Revelation that a day of the week is the issue. Instead, the issue is the worship of a person who is not God.

Consider the implications of the Adventists’ beliefs. If they are right, almost all of the Christian church has been wrong from the first century. Almost none of the millions of godly, spiritual Christians who ever lived realized that they were following the “mark of the beast,” and apparently God never showed this to them. This is not a minor doctrine that was lost, but one so important that according to Adventists, in the last days a person will lose his soul if he is wrong.

Sunday is the day for worship for Christians in every nation of the world. Millions of Christians around the world gather to worship God and listen to his Word. They testify to his love and grace and commit to serve him. Millions of them suffer severe perse­cution for their commitment to God. Can we really believe that they are following a Satanic doctrine and will someday lose their souls if they are not convinced of the Saturday Sabbath?

► Think of all the godly examples that have been a blessing to your life. Is it possible to believe that they all will be lost unless they change their mind on this issue?

Adventists claim that Sunday worship began at the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325. The fact is that the decisions of the council did not create any new doctrines. They were establishing the doctrines that they believed were from the apostles.

Christians began keeping Sunday as the Lord’s Day so early that we cannot find the beginning date. The Didache was written near the end of the first century of the church. It is a summary of the teaching of the apostles. It was used in churches everywhere. The Didache says that Christians should meet on the Lord’s Day for communion. This writing was not trying to teach anything new, but review established doctrine, which means that this practice was already common, and that most Christians already knew it was a doctrine of the apostles.

The Epistle of Barnabas was written near the end of the first century. It is not Scripture, but was used as devotional material in the churches. It calls Sunday the “eighth day,” the day when Jesus rose from the dead. It says that Christians celebrate the eighth day.

We do not find a place in the Bible where it is explained that the Sabbath is switched to Sunday. Instead we find commands that a person is not to be judged about Sabbath observance (Colossians 2:16-17, Romans 14:5-6). We also find that the New Testament Christians were to give offerings on Sunday (1 Corinthians 16:1-2), they met for services on Sunday (Acts 20:7), and they were calling Sunday the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10).[9]

The Jewish Sabbath is not a requirement for Christians, but the principle of the day of rest is a creation principle for all time. Therefore, a Christian should avoid being involved in work or business on Sunday.

Summary of the Issue of the Seventh Day

(1) There is no indication in the book of Revelation that the “mark of the beast” refers to the issue of which day of the week is for worship.

(2) It is unrealistic to believe that almost all of the Christians in all times and all places have been wrong on a doctrine that could cause them to lose their souls.

(3) The Bible tells us not to judge others regarding Sabbath observance.

(4) Worship on Sunday was already established in the first century as the doctrine of the apostles.

(5) New Testament Christians met on Sunday and called it the Lord’s Day.

Now go back and read the footnotes for the entire section on Seventh-Day Adventism. Look up the referenced Scripture verses and read them.

[1] Reported in 2014

[2] Jesus said there would be everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46).

[3] All meat is permissible for the Christian, according to 1 Timothy 4:4.

[4] Adventists are right that sin breaks our relationship with God. Jesus said that we remain in a relationship of love with him by keeping his commandments (John 15:10).

[5] We obey God to stay in relationship with him, but our works cannot earn our salvation or make us worthy of it. We are forgiven because of Jesus’ death for us. If a person lives in disobedience, he has left his relationship with God and his salvation.

[6] “Enthusiasm [fanaticism] in general may be defined thus: A religious madness arising from some falsely imagined influence or inspiration of God; at least, from expecting something from God which ought not to be expected from him.”
- John Wesley, “The Nature of Enthusiasm”

[7] Ellen White, Testimonies, Volume 5, pp. 664-665

[8] The “mark of the beast” in the book of Revelation does not seem anything like worshipping on a particular day (Revelation 13:16).

[9] “On the Lord's Day, gather yourselves together and break bread, give thanks, but first confess your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure.”
- Didache (from the 1st century church)

[10]Image: "William Miller", by J. H. Bufford Lithography Company, retrieved from the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.80.107, public domain (CC0).

We should not say that a person is not a Christian because he is a Seventh-Day Adventist. It is possible that a person who believes all of the Adventist doctrines has been saved. The problem in fellowshipping with some Adventists is not that we reject them but that they reject us.

We agree with the Adventists that a Christian lives in obedience to God. We do not agree with churches that teach that because we are saved by grace it is not important to live in victory over sin.

Some Adventists seem to believe that a person is saved by works rather than by grace. Some seem to believe that if a person is not keeping Old Testament requirements he is not saved, even if he is sincerely following the Bible as he understands it. Those Adventists do not understand the scriptural gospel. For those Adventists, use the following points from the Handbook of Doctrine:

(9) Salvation is only by the atonement of Christ.

(11) We receive salvation by faith.

(12) We can have personal assurance of salvation.

You can respond to the Sabbath issue with the sections in this lesson about “The Issue of the Seventh Day.”

If an Adventist truly believes that the teachings of the Bible are sufficient for salvation without any other revelation, that is good. If an Adventist seems to think that other revelations, such as those of Ellen White, are necessary, you should show him the scriptures referenced in the Handbook of Doctrine, in section

(1) The Bible is sufficient for doctrine.

Evan was a member of the Seventh-Day Adventists for twelve years. He studied their doctrines and read the writings of Ellen White. His main concern was to know how a person is saved and sanctified. He says that Adventist doctrine teaches that we are saved by keeping the commandments. He read Galatians 5:4, which says that if we are trying to be justified by the law we do not have Christ. He said that Adventists also seem to say that the gospel will change in the last days, and people who do not keep the right Sabbath cannot be saved, even if sincere people were saved without keeping the Sabbath before. Evan still believes that we must obey God, but he left the Adventists because he believes they have a gospel of works.

Now read 1 Timothy 1 again. Write a paragraph explaining the message this passage has for the follower of Seventh-Day Adventism.