Radio Transcript

Denominational Doctrines (11)

The Seventh Day Adventist Church

Our study of denominational doctrines continues with a look at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In reality, the Seventh Day Adventist more closely resembles a cult than a denomination, since it claims an inspired authority in addition to the scriptures. The Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh Day Adventists includes the following statement, "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" (end of quote).

William Miller is the first of two founders of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Miller studied prophecy and came to the conclusion that the world would end sometime between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. When Miller’s predictions proved false, Samuel Snow, a follower, predicted Christ would return on October 22, 1844. When this prediction failed, others concluded that Christ entered the "holy of holies" in heaven to begin "blotting out sins." They said that Christ would come when this is completed.

Ellen G. Harmon White is the second person responsible for the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In 1842 she, along with her family, became followers of William Miller. In 1844, she claimed to have had the first of the hundreds of visions and revelations which continued throughout her life. In 1846, Ellen married James White, a young Millerite preacher. Because of her "supposedly inspired" revelations, she became the leader of the Millerite movement. In 1860, the name "Seventh Day Adventist" was adopted by the Millerites led by Mrs. White. In1863, a general conference was held in Battle Creek, Michigan, and the Seventh Day Adventist church was officially organized.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church, like most all religious groups, does teach some truth. They believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the scriptures. They believe in the Genesis account of the creation and oppose evolution.

But the Seventh Day Adventist Church teaches many things that are contrary to the Bible. First, the Seventh Day Adventists claim that two laws were given to Moses on Mount Sinai. They teach that the law of God (the Ten Commandments) is still binding. They teach that the Law of Moses (the ceremonial law) was abolished.

But the Seventh Day Adventists make a distinction that the Bible does not make! Let’s notice Nehemiah chapter eight, verse one "Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel." Now notice verse eighteen of that same chapter, "Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner." Did you notice something? The "Law of Moses" was also called the "Law of God." They were one and the same. Now notice the following from Luke 2:22-23, "Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord"). Notice again that the terms "Law of Moses" and "Law of the Lord" were used interchangeably, with no distinction made between the two.

Christ fulfilled the law that God gave at Mt. Sinai. The Law of Moses was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). We know from Romans chapter seven, verses four and seven, that this included the Ten Commandments. Consider Romans 7:4, "Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God." Now consider verse seven, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, you shall not covet." Did you notice something friends? In verse four, Paul wrote that we are dead to the law. We know this includes the Ten Commandments because in verse seven, Paul makes specific reference to the commandment, "You shall not covet," one of the Ten Commandments found in the twentieth chapter of Exodus.

Second, the Seventh Day Adventist teach that the Sabbath (that is, the seventh day of the week, Saturday) must be kept as a day of worship, was given at creation, and sanctified at Mt. Sinai. The "Fundamental Beliefs" of the Seventh Day Adventist Church includes the following statement, "The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom." The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts" (end of quote).

But when Moses wrote Genesis 2:2-3, the Sabbath day had been given at Mount Sinai and he, in retrospect, explained the reason the seventh day was chosen. Along with this, consider Exodus 20:11, "For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." But the Sabbath law was not given at creation, as the Seventh Days Adventists claim, but at Mt. Sinai. Notice the following from Nehemiah 9:13-14, "You came down also on Mt. Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes, and laws, By the hand of Moses your servant." When does Nehemiah 9:13-14 indicate God made the Sabbath law known? It was made known when he gave the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The Sabbath was a sign between God and Israel (Exodus 31:17). The Sabbath was a part of the old law, written on tablets of stone, which was nailed to the cross (II Corinthians 3:7 along with Colossians 2:14).

The first day of the week, Sunday, is the day of worship for Christians. Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1). The New Testament church had its beginning on the first day of the week (Acts 2:1-47). The early Christians met on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Revelation 1:10).

Third, the Seventh Day Adventists forbid eating pork. The "Fundamental Beliefs" of the Seventh Day Adventist church includes the following statement, "Along with adequate exercise and rest, we are to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified in the Scriptures." But this is a dietary restriction of the Law of Moses, which is no longer in effect. Notice the following from Leviticus 11:7, "and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you." But notice what Paul wrote to Timothy, recorded in I Timothy 4:1-5, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." Also notice the following from Acts 11:4-9, "But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying; I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me. When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord! for nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God has cleansed you must not call uncommon."

Fourth, the Seventh Day Adventists claim that Ellen White prophesied. The Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh Day Adventist Church includes the following statement, "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" (end of quote). But the prophets of the Old Testament prophesied that when Christ brought salvation to man, prophecy would cease. Consider the following from Zechariah 13:1-3, "In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. It shall be in that day, says the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord. And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies."

Paul wrote that when "that which is perfect" is come (that is, the completed writing of the New Testament), prophecy and all other spiritual gifts would cease (I Corinthians 13:8-10).

Fifth, Seventh Day Adventists deny the doctrine of eternal punishment in hell for the disobedient. They believe Satan and all the unrighteous will be annihilated. The Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh Day Adventist Church includes the following statement, "The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel. The Savior’s coming will be literal, personal, visible, and worldwide. When he returns, the righteous dead will be resurrected, and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven, but the unrighteous will die." It goes on to day, "The millennium is the thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged; the earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close Christ with His saints and the Holy City will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the city; but fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth" (end of quote).

Friends, the Seventh Day Adventist Church cannot be the church we read about in the Bible, for it has the wrong founder and teaches a doctrine that stands in stark opposition to the teachings of the New Testament Church.