- Seventh-Day Adventists started in the 1800s as a
denomination.
During a time of religious revival in
the northeastern United States,
many religious movements began,
including early Seventh Day
Adventists. It was during the
Second Great Awakening that
preacher William Miller predicted
Christ ’s return on October 22, 1844
When he was wrong (called
the Great Disappointment), his
following of Millerites split into
several groups, including what
would become modern Seventh
Day Adventists , who said the date
was correct, but that on that date,
Jesus had begun the last phase of
his atoning ministry in the
“sanctuary in heaven.”
2. Seventh-Day Adventists follow a doctrine called the 28
Fundamental Beliefs.
The document that Seventh Day
Adventists ascribe to is the 28
Fundamental Beliefs, which
discuss the teachings of “Holy
Scriptures.” They are categorized
as doctrines of God, man,
salvation, church, Christian life
and end day events.
The beliefs about God are: the
Bible as the Word of God; the
Trinity as a unity of God, the
Father and the Son; the Father as
the creator; the Son as the God
incarnate; the Holy Spirit as an
inspiration for the scriptures.
Other beliefs are that God created
the world in six days; humans are
fallen; the conflict between Christ
and Satan is a “great controversy.”
On Salvation, the church says that
the resurrection of Christ is
atonement for human sin and that
Jesus saves man. A full list of
those 28 beliefs can be seen here
3. Sabbath is on Saturday
Seventh Day Adventists believe
that the Sabbath begins at the end
of the sixth day, which is
considered Friday and lasts one
day, which is Saturday. The
Sabbath “protects man’s
friendship with God and provides
time essential for the development
of that relationship.”
4. Adventists believe in what’s called Heavenly Sanctuary.
Seventh Day Adventists believe
that there is a sanctuary in
heaven set up by God. There,
Christ ministers on our behalf. In
the first phase of this, called the
ascension, Jesus became High
Priest of this sanctuary. In 1844 at
the end of a prophetic period of
2,300 days, Jesus entered the
second phase of his atoning
ministry. During this phase, Jesus’
work at the heavenly sanctuary is
on eradicating all sin.
5. Seventh-Day Adventists believe death is an
unconscious state.
According to the 28 Fundamental
Beliefs, the wages of sin is death,
but God will give eternal life to his
followers. Until Christ returns,
death is an unconscious state for
all people.
This belief comes from
Ecclesiastes 9, which says, “For
the living know that they will die.”
Another verse often pointed to for
this belief is 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18 , which says, “For we
believe that Jesus died and rose
again, and so we believe that God
will bring with Jesus those who
have fallen asleep in
him.
6. Adventists might have better longevity than others.
Many Adventists ascribe to a
vegetarian or plant-based diet.
They take this direction from
scripture, which says God gave
nuts, grains, and herbs as
nourishment.
Because of this diet, many experts
have said Seventh Day Adventists
can live an average of 10 years
longer than most Americans. In a
study from Loma Linda University,
scientists found that Adventists
can die of cancer, stroke or heart
disease, but the age at which
those diseases and illnesses are
diagnosed is much later because
of their healthy lifestyle and
resting on the Sabbath.
7. They don’t believe hell is infinite torture.
Adventists believe that hell is not
an eternity of suffering and
torture. They believe God is just
but also merciful and it’s not in the
nature of God to torture the
unrighteous for eternity. Instead,
sinners and unbelievers will
ultimately die for eternity.
8. The highest-ranking authority in the church is the
General Conference.
With some 19 million
members and 82,000 churches,
Seventh Day Adventists follow a
hierarchal network. The General
Conference oversees the global
ministry of the church. The
General Conference is also
responsible for the spiritual
development of the church. It is
headquartered in Silver Spring,
Maryland.
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