This article is a very partial excerpt from a detailed
analysis of Seventh Day Adventism in the Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible and
Christianity by David Cloud. Way Of
Life Literature offers this excellent resource in both hardcopy and
electronic versions. It is an excellent resource for Christians who are taking a faithful
stand and contending for the faith. I have found the Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible
and Christianity, based upon the King James Version and written from an uncompromising,
Bible believing position, to be an invaluable tool for study, apologetics and helping
others in these confusing times. This valuable resource may be obtained from WAY OF LIFE
LITERATURE, 1701 Harns Road, Oak Harbor, WA 98277Telephone: (360) 675-8311. Visit http://wayoflife.org/~dcloud/ency/index.html.
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM - OUTLINE
A Word About the Documentation for This Report
History of Seventh-day Adventism
Seventh-day Adventist Doctrines
Heresy #1: Redefining the Grace of Salvation
Heresy #2: Sabbath-Keeping
Heresy #3: Soul Sleep
Heresy #4: Annihilation of the Wicked
Heresy #5: Ellen White a Prophetess and Inspired Commentator
Heresy #6: Investigative Judgment
Heresy #1--Redefining the grace
of salvation to include the works of the law
Seventh-day Adventism plays the same game in salvation as every other false movement of
Christendom. They profess to teach salvation by grace through faith, but they redefine
this in a way that is contrary to N.T. doctrine.
Though they often deny this, the Adventist denomination teaches that salvation is by
grace plus law, faith plus works. Grace, according to Adventist theology, is the power and
forgiveness God gives to enable a sinner to keep the law and to thereby build a holy
character fit for Heaven. He who fails to build the right character by God's grace will
never see Heaven. Faith and works are the two oars by which the believer is propelled to
glory. [specific documentation substantiating this assertion is available should you
desire to review it].
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES: How does the true gospel of the grace of Christ differ from
the SDA gospel?
1. Salvation is by grace ALONE through faith ALONE, without the works of the law in any
sense whatsoever. Contrary to Adventist doctrine, grace and faith, law and works are not
mutually sympathetic systems and are not to be mixed.
"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But TO
HIM THAT WORKETH NOT, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness" (Ro. 4:4-5).
"AND IF BY GRACE, THEN IS IT NO MORE OF WORKS: OTHERWISE GRACE IS NO MORE GRACE.
But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work" (Ro.
11:6).
"But now the righteousness of God WITHOUT THE LAW is manifested, being witnessed
by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God; BEING JUSTIFIED FREELY by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood" (Ro. 3:21-25).
"Christ hath REDEEMED US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW, being made a curse for us: for
it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith" (Ga. 3:13-14).
"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and
hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself, NOT IMPUTING THEIR TRESPASSES UNTO THEM; and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
FOR HE HATH MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR US WHO KNEW NO SIN; THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM" (2 Co. 5:18-21).
The Good News of Christ is not salvation through grace which produces the works of the
law. It is eternal salvation by God's grace alone through faith alone WITHOUT THE LAW. All
who will be saved must come on these glorious terms, trusting in the shed blood alone for
full salvation.
Those who, after initial faith in Christ, attempt to return to the Mosaic law to
perfect their salvation are committing the same error as the Galatians of the first
century.
"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This
only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the
hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect
by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore
that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the
works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the
same are the children of Abraham" (Ga. 3:1-7).
Those who persist in placing themselves under the Mosaic law in spite of clear N.T.
teaching are outside of true salvation. Seventh-day Adventist leaders are of this number;
they are Galatian legalizers.
"But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye
again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye
observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed
upon you labour in vain" (Ga. 4:9-11).
"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in
you, I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of
you" (Ga. 4:19-20).
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be
not entangled again in the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be
circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is
circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto
you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through
the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith" (Ga. 5:1-5).
2. Salvation is secure upon conversion. The true gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ
offers perfect security, and ONLY the true gospel can offer security.
Heresy #2--Sabbath-Keeping
Let us investigate exactly what Seventh-day Adventism teaches about the Sabbath.
Following is a breakdown of these teachings taken from their own publications.
WHAT ADVENTISM TEACHES:
The Sabbath is eternally binding upon men from creation. Seventh-day Adventism says the
Sabbath was made for mankind in general and was given to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
Sabbath-keeping, therefore, is a sign of loyalty to God, the Creator.
"God instituted the Sabbath in Eden; and so long as the fact that He is our
Creator continues to be a reason why we should worship Him, so long the Sabbath will
continue as its sign and memorial. ... The keeping of the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty to
the true God" (Ellen White, The Great Controversy, p. 386).
"The Sabbath was kept by Adam in his innocence in holy Eden; by Adam, fallen yet
repentant, when he was driven from his happy estate. It was kept by all the patriarchs,
from Abel to righteous Noah, to Abraham, to Jacob." (Ibid., p. 398).
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES:
1. The sabbath, though mentioned in Ge. 2:2-3, was not given to man until it was given
to Israel in the wilderness (Ne. 9:13-14).
2. The sabbath was given, not to mankind in general, but to Israel alone as a special
covenant sign between her and God (Ex. 31:13,17).
3. Ellen White added to Scripture in teaching that Adam and the patriarchs kept the
sabbath. The Bible says absolutely nothing about this. In fact, it cannot be true. If the
sabbath had been kept by mankind in general from the creation, it could not have been
given as a special sign to Israel.
WHAT ADVENTISM TEACHES:
The Sabbath continues to be binding upon N.T. believers.
"...from this it is evident that all Ten Commandments are binding in the Christian
dispensation, and that Christ had no thought of changing any of them. One of these
commands is the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath..." (Bible Footlights,
p. 37).
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES:
1. The N.T. is the only infallible guide of what part of the Mosaic law continues to be
important for the church age believer. The N.T. plainly teaches the believer today is not
bound to the sabbath law! "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in
respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of
things to come; but the body is of Christ" (Col. 2:16-17).
2. According to the N.T. epistles, the sabbath question has no relevance to the church.
In all the instruction God gave the churches in the epistles, there is only one mention of
the sabbath-- Col. 2:16--and that one mention was only to show that it is not binding upon
N.T. believers. Is it not strange, in light of the fact that the N.T. epistles mention the
sabbath only once and that to show it is not now binding, that Seventh-day Adventism makes
such a big deal over sabbath observance? Surely, the SDA denomination has a very different
understanding of the sabbath and of the things of God than did the Apostles! The Apostles,
in their writings, placed absolutely no importance on the sabbath. The SDA, in their
writings, place great importance upon it. With one of their correspondence courses, the
SDA sent me a lovely printing of the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. This was
printed on expensive gold paper stock, and the sabbath was highlighted, supposedly as it
was highlighted in Ellen White's visions. I assume I was supposed to treasure this. No, my
friends, I do not glory in the sabbath. The Apostle Paul said the sabbath is not for me.
3. The sabbath was a type of salvation. "There remaineth therefore a rest to the
people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own
works, as God did from his" (He. 4:9,10). Adventists admit that the O.T. types and
shadows, such as the Levitical offerings, were fulfilled in the life and death of the Lord
Jesus Christ, yet, they maintain that the weekly sabbath was not a type which was
fulfilled by Christ. In Hebrews 4, though, the sabbath is presented as a type of
salvation. As God rested on the seventh day from His work of creation, the true believer
today rests in the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to enter into God's
rest, a person must quietly accept God's work. He must cease from his own work. Salvation
is God's gift.
WHAT ADVENTISM TEACHES:
The Sabbath law has been changed, with the harsh demands of the Mosaic system no longer
binding. Adventists do not keep the O.T. conditions of the sabbath, but they claim they do
not have to because the conditions pertaining to the sabbath have changed in this age. One
of Ellen White's visions is offered as proof for this.
"In the most holy place she saw the ark that contains the law, and was amazed to
note that `the fourth, the Sabbath commandment, shone above them all; for the Sabbath was
set apart to be kept in honor of God's holy name...' There was also shown her the change
of the Sabbath, the significance of Sabbath observance..." (Messenger to the Remnant,
p. 34).
"The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of mankind. ... The
law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a
blessing..." (Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 245-246).
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES:
1. The sabbath law was severe and rigid. (1) No work, Ex. 20:10; 31:14-15; (2) bear no
burden, Je. 17:21; (3) light no fire, Ex. 35:3. Only in warm climates such as that in
Israel could this be reasonably observed. The law of the sabbath was so severe that God
had an Israelite stoned merely for gathering sticks to build a fire because by this he
broke the sabbath law (Nu. 15:32-36). The law was not given to be a blessing. The Apostle
Peter had lived under the law all his life until he was converted in his adult years, and
he called it a yoke of bondage "which neither our fathers nor we were able to
bear" (Ac. 15:10).
Jam. 2:10 informs us that the law cannot be broken. Thus, anyone desiring to observe
the sabbath of the Mosaic law must observe it exactly as God demanded in the Old
Testament. And such a one must observe every other detail of the law. The O.T. law is not
the Christian's standard; Christ is!
By reducing the requirements of the sabbath law, the SDA church destroys the power of
the Mosaic law to reveal the need for the Savior. The Mosaic law was never intended as a
way of life for the justified man--"knowing this, that the law is not made for a
righteous man..." (1 Ti. 1:9). It was intended solely as a schoolmaster to bring the
sinner to the Savior and to His salvation.
2. There is no Bible authority for a change in the sabbath law. The Lord Jesus did not
change the law. He simply condemned the traditions of the Pharisees which had been added
to the law. "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Mt.
5:17-18).
3. This is another instance of Ellen White adding to the inspired revelation. Mrs.
White saw the sabbath law as more important than all others; it "shone above them
all." The inspired Apostles saw no importance in it at all for the N.T. believer.
WHAT ADVENTISM TEACHES:
Since Jesus and the Apostles kept the Sabbath, Christians should today.
"The example of Jesus is clear and consistent. His custom was a Sabbath-keeping
custom. ... Yet in spite of this, we find a strange situation in the world today. For
though we have the same Christ as our example, the same Bible as our guide,, yet we find
two Sabbath days kept by Christians..." (George Vandeman, Planet in Rebellion, p.
277).
"Christ's followers were careful to keep the Sabbath on which their buried Lord
rested from His death struggle with sin" (New Life Bible Correspondence Course, Guide
#16).
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES:
1. Jesus kept the Sabbath because He was born under the law to fulfill the demands of
the law. "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of
a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive
the adoption of sons" (Ga. 4:4-5). The Lord Jesus willingly made Himself a servant,
born under the Mosaic law, that He might redeem sinners from the curse and bondage of the
law into the eternal liberty of sonship. In Mt. 5:17-20 Jesus expounded the demands of the
law, which is perfection. Christ did indeed come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill
it, which He did. Jesus was under the law that believers might not be.
2. It cannot be proven that the Apostle Paul and the early churches observed the
Sabbath. Adventists teach this as fact, but it is mere conjecture. It is true that Paul
met in the synagogues on the Sabbath in order to preach to the Jews assembled there, but
this does not mean that he consciously observed the sabbath law of the Mosaic system.
Rather, Paul testified concerning the sabbath question, "Let no man therefore judge
you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or the sabbath
days" (Col. 2:16).
Thus, the Apostle Paul taught that sabbath keeping was not binding upon N.T. believers.
To observe or not to observe holy days is a matter of individual Christian liberty.
"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let
every man be fully persuaded in his own mind" (Ro. 14:5). Surely the inspired Apostle
would not have acted contrary to his own teaching.
According to the Bible, the reason Paul visited synagogues on the sabbath was to preach
the Gospel. Paul's burden after conversion was to preach Christ. He was burdened for his
own people, the Jews. So he went where the Jews were to preach Christ to them. Consider
Ac. 13:14-44; 16:13-14; 17:2-4; 18:4. "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto
them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures."
The fact that Paul went to synagogues on sabbaths does not prove he consciously kept
the sabbath law any more than his going to the feasts in Jerusalem proves he believed
himself bound to the laws of the feasts. He felt bound to none of these things. He was
free in Christ. Yet he went as a soul winner to witness to his kinsmen of the freedom in
Christ which he himself enjoyed.
3. There is much evidence in the Bible and in other historical sources that the early
Christians, from the days of the Apostles, met and worshipped on the first day rather than
on the sabbath. [See Sunday.]
WHAT ADVENTISM TEACHES:
The change of the day of worship from Sabbath to Sunday was done by Rome in the fourth
century. Adventists contend that the law of the sabbath was kept by Christians until
Constantine, the Emperor of Rome, required all men to observe Sunday. Adventist leaders
see Constantine as a type of the future Antichrist, whom they believe will make Sunday
worship a law binding upon all men.
Constantine was the Roman emperor. He was a sun worshiper, but he was also a keen
politician. He wanted to please everybody. It was while still a pagan that he decreed that
all government offices should be closed upon the first day of the week--`the venerable day
of the sun.'
"The church, which had now been established in Rome, had been quick to see the
temporal advantage of compromise with paganism . so it was that after a few brief years,
when Sunday had gained a foothold, the Roman church in the Council of Laodicea set aside
the clear command of God and decreed the change from the seventh to the first day of the
week" (Planet in Rebellion, p. 290).
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES:
There is much evidence in the Bible and in other historical sources that the early
Christians, from the days of the Apostles, met and worshipped on the first day, rather
than on the sabbath. [See Sunday.]
Since those days the vast majority of Christians have always met to worship on the
Lord's day. They do this in honor of the resurrection of their Savior. Christ was in the
tomb during the sabbath, and rose as the firstborn from the dead on the first day. The
sabbath signifies the last day of the old creation (Ge. 2:2). Sunday has became the first
day of the new creation.
WHAT ADVENTISM TEACHES:
The church has changed the Sabbath to Sunday without Bible authority.
"Christians of past generations observed the Sunday, supposing that in so doing
they were keeping the Bible Sabbath; and there are now true Christians in every church,
not excepting the Roman Catholic communion, who honestly believe that Sunday is the
Sabbath of divine appointment" (Ellen White, The Great Controversy, p. 394).
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES:
Sunday is not the Sabbath; it is not even a holy day. Christians do not observe a first
day sabbath in assembling on Sunday. The N.T. believer, redeemed from the obligations of
the Mosaic law, is free to observe or not to observe holy days as he pleases. (Of course
no Christian should forsake the assembly, but every Christian is free to honor or not to
honor days.) Ro. 14:1-13 and Col. 2:16 clearly state that believers are not to be judged
in respect to holy days. The Galatians' respect of holy days caused the Apostle Paul to
fear that they were not even saved! "Ye observe days, and months, and times, and
years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. ... I desire to
be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you" (Ga.
4:10-11,20).
"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? . One man esteemeth one day
above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his
own mind" (Ro. 14:4-5).
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday,
or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days" (Col. 2:16).
WHAT ADVENTISM TEACHES:
Adventism is fulfilling prophecy by proclaiming the Sabbath. Adventists believe that
God has raised them up as the last days remnant church to proclaim the truth of the
Sabbath as a test for mankind. This work will culminate in the Great Tribulation, they
believe, and in the second coming of Christ. For Bible proof of this idea, the Adventists
point to four major passages: Is. 58:12-14; Mt. 24:14; Re. 14:6-12; and Re. 12:17.
From the very first, Seventh-day Adventists have boldly proclaimed the three messages
of Revelation 14:6-12 as God's last appeal to sinners to accept Christ, and have humbly
believed their movement to be the one here designated as the 'remnant.' No other religious
body is proclaiming this composite message, and none other meets the specifications ...
Adventists have recovered these gems of truth and restored them to their rightful
setting ... Examples ... the precious Sabbath truth, as opposed to the papal Sunday.
Particularly is the Sabbath commandment to be restored to its rightful place in the
ten-commandment Law of God. Isaiah declared that God's remnant people would repair `the
breach' made in God's law when the papacy tore the fourth commandment out of the heart of
the decalog... (Prophetic Guidance Correspondence Course, p. 46).
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES:
1. The verses used by the SDA to support this idea in no way do so. Neither the Old nor
the New Testament speaks of a religious group which is to rise in the last days prior to
the second coming of Christ to proclaim the sabbath. Though Re. 14:12 does say the Great
Tribulation remnant will "keep the commandments of God," absolutely nothing is
said of a special emphasis upon the sabbath. The interpretation pushed upon this verse by
Adventist teachers illustrates their habit of twisting Scripture.
Again, Is. 56:1-7 and 58:1-13, which are used by Adventists to support the doctrine of
a sabbath-preaching last days remnant church, say absolutely nothing about such a thing.
In these verses God is simply admonishing the nation Israel to keep her sabbaths, just
as He has throughout Israel's history. Isaiah 56 and 58 speak of national Israel, not the
church of this present age. "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet,
and shew my people their transgression, and THE HOUSE OF JACOB their sins" (Is.
58:1). That Isaiah would point Israel to the sabbath law agrees with other passages which
teach that the sabbath was given to national Israel as a special covenant sign (Is.
66:20-13). Israel will always keep her covenant sabbath.
The church, though, is not the nation Israel, and the church does not fulfill Israel's
prophecies in Isaiah. There are three distinct people spoken of in the Bible--Israel, the
Gentiles, and the Church. The Apostle Paul recognized this when he wrote, "Give none
offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (1 Co.
10:32). God's plan for national Israel, as foretold in the O.T., will yet be literally
fulfilled in national Israel, not in the church.
2. The real source of this idea is Ellen White's visions, not in the Bible.
"...seven months after the Whites commenced keeping and teaching the Sabbath, the
Lord gave a vision stressing its importance . in this vision Mrs. White seemed to be
transported to heaven and conducted through the heavenly sanctuary.
"In the most holy place she saw the ark that contains the law, and was amazed to
note that `the fourth, the Sabbath commandment, shone above them all; for the Sabbath was
set apart to be kept in honor of God's holy name. THE HOLY SABBATH LOOKED GLORIOUS--A HALO
OF GLORY WAS ALL AROUND IT...'
"THERE WAS ALSO SHOWN HER THE CHANGE OF THE SABBATH, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SABBATH
OBSERVANCE, THE WORK BEFORE THEM IN PROCLAIMING THE SABBATH TRUTH, the relationship of
Sabbath observance to the troublous times before the loyal people of God, climaxing in the
second coming of Christ bringing final deliverance.
"The relationship of the Sabbath to the third angel's message was also revealed:
`I was shown its importance and its place in the third angel's message'" (E.G. White
letter 2, 1874).
In spite of Adventist denial, it is clear that these supposed visions of Ellen White
are the real authority for the doctrine that they are the remnant church of the last days
raised up by God to proclaim sabbath worship to all the world. Here again we find a key
doctrine in the Adventist system formed upon the visions of their prophetess.
We repeat: without Ellen White there would be no Seventh-day Adventist Church. Many of
their major doctrines simply could not have been derived from the Bible alone, for they
are not to be found there, except that one approach the Scriptures with ideas preconceived
from an extra-Biblical source--such as from someone's visions. The SDA, as do other
heretical cults, look at the Scriptures only through their strangely-ground heretical
spectacles. Without the Mary Baker Eddy "Spectacles" there would be no Christian
Scientists. Without the Joseph Smith "Spectacles" there would be no Mormonism.
Without the Charles Taze Russell "Spectacles" there would be no Jehovah's
Witnesses. These various personalities have provided their followers with a set of
heretical ideas through which they look at the Bible. The Seventh-day Adventists purchased
their heretical eyeglasses from the Ellen White laboratories.
WHAT ADVENTISM TEACHES:
Sabbath keeping will be the test of obedience during the Great Tribulation. Adventism
contends that during the Great Tribulation, Sunday observance will be the mark of the
beast. They say it was the pope, as a type of the Antichrist, who changed the Sabbath to
Sunday. All who observe Sunday worship in the Great Tribulation will be taking the mark of
the beast and will, therefore, be lost.
Adventist interpreters understand this mark to be not a literal brand but some sign of
allegiance that identifies the bearer as loyal to the power represented by the Beast. The
controversy at that time will center on the law of God, and particularly on the fourth
command. ... Hence, the observance of Sunday will constitute such a sign." (News From
Jesus--part two, p. 28, Adult Sabbath School Lessons, third quarter, 1974).
"...this dispensing with one of the precepts of the Decalogue and substituting in
its place a day God never commanded, is claimed by this power as the mark of its authority
to bind the consciences of men. However appalling the revelation, this establishment of
the first day of the week as a day of worship in spite of God's clear word that the
seventh day is His Sabbath--this, by overwhelming evidence and unashamed admission, is the
mark so soon to be imposed!" (Planet in Rebellion, p. 386).
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES:
The idea that Sunday observance will be the mark of the beast is certainly not found
in, nor supported by, Scripture. This is an idea conjured up and promulgated by Ellen
White, and accepted as dogma by the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. True, the
Antichrist will "think to change times and laws," yet nowhere does the Bible say
this will involve the sabbath or Sunday. The Bible simply does not reveal exactly what
laws Antichrist will change.
Whence cometh the Seventh-day Adventist ideas, then? On the back cover of the book The
Great Controversy, it is written of its author, Ellen G. White, that "she is
considered to have been inspired of God." In this book White brings out in great
detail the doctrines she supposedly was taught by angels during several visions. Here it
is, among other strange doctrines and additions to God's revelation, that she develops
fully the idea of Sunday observance as the mark of the beast. Mrs. White writes:
"Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness,
Satan will bring the people under his deceptions ... the Protestants of the United States
will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of
spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power
"...It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday
sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance
shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth
commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people. ...
"Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order.
... As Protestant churches reject the clear Scriptural arguments in defense of God's law,
they will long to silence those whose faith they cannot overthrow by the Bible. ... The
dignitaries of church and state will unite to bribe, persuade, or compel all classes to
honor the Sunday ... even in free America" (The Great Controversy, pp. 515, 517-519).
It cannot be denied that Mrs. White had an unusually vigorous imagination!
The Way of Life Encyclopedia fully explains all the heresies of Seventh Day Adventism.
The outline for the entire articles is as follows:
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