And was there a 13th tribe?
Many of the unique beliefs and tenets of the Seventh-day Adventists are attributed to the visions and prophecies of co-founder Ellen G. White, who was said to have been divinely inspired by God and wrote prolifically on her transcendental experiences.
James and Ellen White's (pictured) solution was the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which they officially founded together in 1863 with around 3,000 initial followers. They believed that October 22, 1844 wasn't actually the day of Christ's second coming, but rather marked the commencement of the next step of his preparation for the rapture.
The early Seventh-day Adventists first appeared at the height of the Second Great Awakening during the mid-1800s. They were one of a number of new denominations that broke off from the Millerites.
Seventh-day Adventism is a unique denomination of Protestant Christianity that originated in the Northeastern United States.
The Millerites were followers of William Miller (pictured), who interpreted the Bible in such a way that pointed towards October 22, 1844 as the day of Christ's second coming. When that day came and went, in an event known as the Great Disappointment, the ex-Millerites were forced to reinterpret their central prophecy.
Ellen White is credited with writing hundreds of books, but the most cherished and most read by Seventh-day Adventists is 1892's 'Steps to Christ,' which outlines explicitly what the church believes and how an individual can foster a relationship with God through the lens of Seventh-day Adventism.
The reason that Seventh-day Adventists worship on Saturdays instead of Sundays stretches back thousands of years. Saturday, since ancient Hebrew times, has been the official day of rest. It wasn't until Roman Emperor Constantine I, in 321 CE, officially decreed that Sunday become the new official day of rest that it came to be so. For Seventh-day Adventists, it is crucial to keep the original Sabbath on the seventh day of the week: Saturday.
The eighth fundamental belief is the belief in the "Great Controversy," or the cosmic and earthly struggle between God and Satan. The concept was allegedly seen by Ellen White in a vision, and she wrote down all she knew and distributed it throughout the congregation.
Generally, Seventh-day Adventists are also forbidden to observe weddings or funerals on the Sabbath. Preferably, after church, families will gather together and prepare a meal and share it in mindful fellowship.
Seventh-day Adventists also have unique rules and traditions for the Sabbath. Besides going to church for worship, followers also must refrain from secular work starting at the end of Friday until the beginning of Sunday. Fundamentalist Seventh-day Adventists also forbid secular activities like swimming, as well as secular entertainment.
The Seventh-day Adventist concept of heaven involves a place called the Heavenly Sanctuary, which God has been preparing for all believers since his return after his time on Earth. The preparation consists of a number of phases.
And what of those who have already passed? According to some sects of Christianity, individuals go straight to heaven or hell after death. According to Seventh-day Adventists, however, every human remains unconscious in death, until they are reawakened for judgment on the advent of the second coming.
The second phase, known as the prophetic period, actually overlaps with the ascension. It started 450 years before Jesus' return to heaven, and lasted for 1,844 years after the ascension. It was in 457 BCE that the Edict of Cyrus prophesized that Christ's second coming would occur, 2,300 "days" after that year. William Miller interpreted these "days" to be actual years, placing the second coming around 1844 CE. The prophetic period ended when Miller's interpretation was proven wrong.
Although no one knows exactly when Jesus will return to Earth, Seventh-day Adventists believe there are many signs that the day is coming soon. Parts of the prophecy that have already been fulfilled include the appearance of false prophets, and an increase in global conflict.
On that day, all the dead in the world will be resurrected to face judgment. Those who are deemed worthy will go to live in heaven with God for 1,000 years while the Earth is cleansed of sin.
Now, according to Ellen White's prophecies, Christ has started the second step towards preparing the Heavenly Sanctuary: eradicating the sanctuary of all sin. As he cleanses the heavens, the chosen ones are expected to hold fast and stay true.
Compounded with the signs that Jesus is coming soon is the Adventist belief in Christ's imminence, meaning that no one can really know what "soon" means, and therefore true believers will be sure to always be prepared for judgment at any given moment.
This differs from many other Christian ideas of hell, in which sinners suffer for eternity. Seventh-day Adventists believe that God's mercy will allow the cursed to eventually die and be released from agony.
Seventh-day Adventists are famously healthy people. Their abstinence from smoking and drinking, along with their vegetarian diets, have been shown in studies to cause believers to live four to seven years longer than any other denomination, which much lower chances of developing cancer as well.
Numerous people in the public eye are Seventh-day Adventists or were raised in an Adventist household. Most notable is politician and one-time presidential candidate Ben Carson (pictured), while other personalities include Prince, who was raised in a Seventh-day Adventist household, and Malcolm X, who was also raised Adventist before converting to Islam.
Sources: (North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists) (Christianity.com) (BBC)
Over 25 million people worldwide adhere to Seventh-day Adventism, with around 21 million of those individuals having been baptized. It has proclaimed itself one of the fastest growing churches in the world.
The highest authority of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the General Conference, located in Silver Spring, Maryland. The General Conference and all below it work together democratically.
The 83,000 or so Seventh-day Adventist churches scattered around the world fall into 13 distinct divisions. The sect is present in just about all corners of the world, with divisions set up for North America, West-Central Africa, Northern Asia-Pacific, and Euro-Asia.
Learning from past mistakes, no Adventist leader has attempted to guess the exact time or date of Jesus' second coming. However, most believe the signs of the times indicate that the day is extremely close.
White's divine inspirations brought the church to the conclusion that the "second phase" of Christ's ministry of the Heavenly Sanctuary had begun. White also affirmed, as the messenger of God, that Seventh-day Adventists were the "remnant" congregation, or the only true believers in God, and that all other forms of orthodoxy or Protestantism had strayed from the truth and must be saved. It's this God-given truth that has led to the Church's extensive history of evangelism.
The Bible is still considered the indisputable supreme text in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but second to the Bible is White's 'Steps to Christ' and the 28 Fundamental Beliefs, first published in 1931. These act as 28 simple commandments that directly express the core beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists.
The first phase, known as the ascension, started when Jesus was brought back by God to become the High Priest of the Heavenly Sanctuary.
The book covers history from the first Jewish-Roman war and delves into the future, where White claims the Catholic Church, the United States government, and Protestant apostates will unite against the Seventh-day Adventists and impose a "Sunday law," banning worship on the Saturday Sabbath, just before the second coming of Christ.
Those who are found to be unrighteous, along with Satan and his helpers, will be annihilated from the Earth after 1,000 years of suffering.
Seventh-day Adventism is a little-understood but rapidly growing Christian church that has spread all over the world since its initial divergence more than 200 years ago. A politician or celebrity here and there might allude to their upbringing in a Seventh-day Adventist household, but what do most people really know about the denomination? What separates the Seventh-day Adventist from any other Protestant, and why are they shrouded in such mystery?
Read on to shed some light on Seventh-day Adventism.
Everything there is to know about Seventh-day Adventism
Learn more about this quickly growing sect of Christianity
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Seventh-day Adventism is a little-understood but rapidly growing Christian church that has spread all over the world since its initial divergence more than 200 years ago. A politician or celebrity here and there might allude to their upbringing in a Seventh-day Adventist household, but what do most people really know about the denomination? What separates the Seventh-day Adventist from any other Protestant, and why are they shrouded in such mystery?
Read on to shed some light on Seventh-day Adventism.