This is a question that puzzles many people. When you watch a television show like It Is Written or hear a radio broadcast like Voice of Prophecy and both are aired on Christian networks, you may wonder why anyone could even think that this was not a Christian denomination. I wondered this too for a long time myself because I had heard it said that Seventh-day Adventists are cultists in league with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Needless to say that I found this hard to believe after seeing the television show and hearing the radio broadcast. I watched and listened intently searching for anything that might sound ‘cultish.’ The closest thing I could find from these sources was a strong emphasis on vegetarian diets. Now I thought that this was a little strange but certainly not worth calling them a cult for.What was it about the SDA church that caused some people concern? For this I had to do a bit of searching. The first place I looked to was the MacGregor Ministries web site. [1] Now there I found a lot of information that sure didn’t sound like the SDA church that was represented on radio and television! They have a page there called, Facts Seventh-day Adventists Won’t Tell You at Their Seminars, [2] which lists a number of things that separate them from orthodox and evangelical Christianity. Here is a shortened list of some of the more important assertions made here:

1.) SDA’s consider themselves to be the only true, remnant church. All others will be condemned in time.

2.) SDA’s will make your salvation dependent on observing the Saturday Sabbath, worshiping with them.

3.) SDA’s won’t tell you that they once denied the Trinity. Left over from that time period is the heresy that Jesus Christ is Michael. SDA’s have attempted to incorporate this false doctrine of Jesus being Michael by manipulation of scriptures, so EGW can be correct in their eyes when she says Michael is an OT name for Jesus. Shades of Jehovah’s Witnesses!

4.) The SDA Church made this statement in their “Ministry” magazine of Oct. 1981 and has never retracted it:
“We believe the revelation and inspiration of both the Bible and Ellen White’s writings to be of equal quality. The superintendence of the Holy Spirit was just as careful and thorough in one case as in the other”.
One former SDA Pastor reported that he was given a choice between the Bible or the writings of EGW. When he chose the Bible, he was excommunicated from the SDA church.

5.) The SDA’s continue to cling to views similar to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, such as “soul sleep” and denying the reality of Hell. Jesus, however, taught more about hellfire than He taught about heaven.

Okay, now on the surface and at first glance, these seem to indicate some clear deviations from Scripture. Before we take a closer look at these however, we need to back up a bit. We first need a little backgound history as to how this church began and who Ellen G. White is.

A Brief History [3]

Modern Seventh-day Adventism traces its origins back to the early 1800’s to Mr. William Miller (1782-1849) of Low Hampton, New York. Mr. Miller had converted from deism to Christianity in 1816 and became a Baptist. He was an avid reader, dedicated to God’s word, and sought to reconcile apparent biblical difficulties raised by deists. He relied heavily on the Cruden’s Concordance in his studies and developed a focus on the imminent return of Jesus. He began preaching at the age of 50.

The time was right. America was hot with discussions on the return of Christ. As a result, many thousands (called Millerites) accepted his idea that Jesus would return in the year covering 1843-1844. He had arrived at this date based upon a study of Daniel 8:14 which says, “And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.” He interpreted the 2300 evenings and mornings to be years and counted forward from 457 BC when the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem was given (Dan. 9:24-25). When his initial predictions failed, he adjusted his findings to conclude that Jesus would return on March 21, 1844 and then later on October 22, 1844. After these too failed, Miller quit promoting his ideas on Jesus’ return and the “Millerites” broke up.

On the morning following the “Great Disappointment” of October 22, 1844, a Mr. Hiram Edson claimed to have seen a vision. He said that he saw Jesus standing at the altar of heaven and concluded that Miller had been right about the time, but wrong about the place. In other words, Jesus’ return was not to earth, but a move into the heavenly sanctuary as is referenced in Hebrews 8:1-2.

Mr. Joseph Bates (1792-1872), a retired sea captain and a convert to “Millerism” then began to promote the idea of Jesus moving into the heavenly sanctuary. He published a pamphlet which greatly influenced James (1821-1881) and Ellen White (1827-1915). It is these three who were the driving force behind the SDA movement.

Numerous reports state that Ellen G. White (1827-1915) saw visions from an early age. Such was the case shortly after the Great Disappointment. Mrs. White claimed to see in a vision of a narrow path where an angel was guiding Adventists. Subsequent visions resulted in interpretations of the three angels in Revelations 14:6-11 as being 1843-1844 as the hour of God’s judgment; the fall of Babylon signified by Adventists leaving various churches, and admonitions against Sunday worship.

* 1849 - First paper, the Present Truth, was printed in Middletown, Conn.
* 1850 - First issue of the Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, printed in Paris, Maine.
* 1860 - Name of Seventh-day Adventist adopted by the church.
* 1863 - First General Conference and formation of the SDA church on May 21, 1863.
* 1871 - First college opened which became Andrews University.
* 1871 - J. N. Andrews sent to Switzerland as a missionary.
* 1885 - Missionary work begun in Australia.
* 1915 - Ellen G. White dies on July 16, at St. Helena, CA.
* 1941 - Opening of Theological Seminary at Takoma Park.
* 1942 - Voice of Prophecy radio show begins broadcasting coast to coast.
* 1950 - Faith for Today TV show begins.
* 1955 - SDA membership hits 1 million.
* 1986 - SDA membership hits 5 million.

Today, the SDA church is very active with mission efforts world wide, numerous publications, and many educational facilities. It claims over 8 million members world wide and is growing rapidly with its educational, TV, Radio, and publication based outreaches.

Now with numbers continuing to grow and all of the ministries that this church has to offer, we may begin to wonder just what all the fuss is about. Many Christians I’ve talked to say that they have been blessed by something they have heard on an SDA broadcast. Many claim that their health has been significantly improved by adopting the dietary principles taught by the SDA church. Even I, many years ago wrote to them after hearing a broadcast discussing spiritual warfare and requested the free booklet offered on the program. So what about these claims against the SDA church that seem to make it out to be a ‘cult?’

Fundamental Beliefs

Well, the next obvious place to go was the official web site [4] for the SDA church to see just what the official SDA beliefs are. There you will find a page called Fundamental Beliefs [5] which we could call the SDA Statement of Faith. Here is listed 27 beliefs that are considered to be ‘fundamental’ or ‘essential’ to being a Seventh-day Adventist. Compare this list with the traditional creeds known as The Nicene Creed [6] and The Apostles Creed [7] which most Christian Churches adhere to and we will see a significant difference. It is not until we read down to fundamental belief number twelve however that we begin to see differences that relate to the assertions made at the MacGregor website. So we will begin there and then look at some other fundamentals as well.

“12. The Remnant and Its Mission:
The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

Here we begin to see why the MacGregors would compare the SDA church to the Watchtower. This is the same claim made by the Jehovah’s Witnesses who claim to be ‘God’s visible organization’ chosen and called out above every other church. This claim is also made by the Mormons, the Unification Church, the Boston Church of Christ and many other groups who hold doctrinal statements which set them apart as the only true church today.

“14. Baptism:
By baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in newness of life. Thus we acknowledge Christ as Lord and Saviour, become His people, and are received as members by His church.”

Here we see that baptism is also considered to be essential to be ‘received as members by His church.’ Now remember that ‘His church’ is the SDA church and no one else’s. They are ‘the Remnant.’ Therefore it stands to reason that any baptism performed in any other church would not be considered valid by the SDA church. You would have to be baptised again in the SDA church in order to be part of this ‘remnant.’

“17. The Gift of Prophecy:
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.”

Here we can see another of the MacGregors assertions verified, namely that Ellen G. White is revered as a messenger from God and one must agree with this as a ‘fundamental belief’ of the SDA church in order to be a member of God’s remnant church. There are several resources available that prove that Ellen G. White was not only a false prophet but a plagerist as well [8].

“18. The Law of God:
The great principles of God’s law are embodied in the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life of Christ. They express God’s love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships and are binding upon all people in every age.”

Now as Christians we must ask ourselves, “Are we still under the law?” If we are, then how are we to interpret Colossians 2:16,17; Galatians 3:23-25; Romans 10:4 and Romans 8:1-4? It would appear from these passages that the ten commandments are no longer binding for salvation as the SDA church asserts. For the SDA church to hold anyone ‘bound’ to the keeping of the ten commandments in order to be a member of Gods remnant church is also to deny the truth of Ephesians 2:8,9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” (NIV).

“19. The Sabbath:
The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of this 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.”

Seventh-Day Adventists make the Saturday Sabbath of extreme importance in their plan of salvation. Yet it is not binding on Christians, because Deuteronomy 5:15 applies it only to the Jews “And you shall remember that YOU WERE A SLAVE IN THE LAND OF EGYPT and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; THEREFORE the LORD your God commanded you to OBSERVE THE SABBATH DAY.”

Notice that the Sabbath was a special covenant for those people delivered from bondage in Egypt. (see also Ezekiel 20:10-12; Exodus 31:12-18; Exodus 16:29; Nehemiah 9:13, 14.)

As we have already seen, the ten commandments are not binding in and of themselves, therefore the requirement of Saturday Sabbath observance in order to be part of Gods Remant Church is no more binding than any of the other commandments.

“21. Christian Behavior:
We are called to be a godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony with the principles of heaven.”

So now our ‘behaviour’ must also be judged and legislated by the SDA church in order to be a member of Gods remnant church in ‘these end times.’ The SDA church has included our choices of entertainment, choices of clothing and choices of diet as things which must be determined to be either ‘godly’ or ‘ungodly’ by the SDA church. If you are unsure as to what may be considered acceptable or not then consult your local SDA elder. They will decide what you can and cannot do in order to be part of Gods remnant church. This is also the common practice of other groups that we would classify as cults.

“22. Marriage and the Family:
For the Christian [aka faithful SDA member of Gods remnant church] a marriage commitment is to God as well as to the spouse, and should be entered into only between partners who share a common faith.”

Now it stands to reason that since this is a ‘fundamental belief’ of the SDA church, that should any member of the SDA church marry outside of the SDA church, they would have to forfiet their SDA membership status and therefore no longer be part of Gods remnant church and therefore face certain condemnation on judgement day for this blatant sin of marrying outside of the SDA church. Of course this could be avoided should the SDA partner be successful in converting the non-SDA partner to the faith.

Another ‘fundamental belief’ included here is that SDA members can only divorce for reason of infidelity. This is also a shared belief of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. So now if a husband should choose to leave his wife for whatever reason, she cannot divorce him and remarry unless she can prove that he has been with another woman. This can leave women, many who are now effectively single mothers, left to support their children on their own. For many women, this can last idefinitely since their husband may have moved out of the country making it impossible to prove infidelity. Should the woman choose to divorce her husband without being able to prove infidelity, she faces losing her membership status in Gods remnant church.

“23. Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary:
There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the time of His ascension. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry.”

This is perhaps one of the most controversial of all the ‘fundamental beliefs’ of the SDA church. Here the SDA church has publicly stated that Jesus’ last words on the cross, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30) were untrue. Again there is a similarity here with the Watchtower which stated that Jesus Christ returned invisibly in 1914 to set up his kingdom. Jesus has always been our ‘great High Priest’ (Psalm 110:4; John 4:14; John 5:6). We are also warned in Scripture about date setting (Luke 12:40; Matthew 24:36) and false prophets preaching ‘a different gospel’ (Galatians 1:6-10).

So, the SDA church offers us a Jesus who didn’t finish ‘His atoning ministry’ when he said he did and also a Jesus who needs our works added to his in order to save us. The Jesus of the SDA church was also wrong when he told us that only the Father knows about the dates of the end times. We are warned in Scripture to beware of those who preach ‘another Jesus’ (2 Corinthians 11:1-6; Mark 13:22). Surely, the Jesus of the SDA church is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Finally, numbers 24-27 on the list of ‘fundamental beliefs’ deal with the SDA view of the end times which teach us about their idea of ’soul sleep’ and their denial of the existence of hell. So what about our initial surprise at the statements made at the MacGregor web site? Was this really the same SDA church that we see on television and hear on radio? Well, according to the official SDA church web site which offers us their fundamental beliefs, it really is the same SDA church.

So back to our original question: Seventh-day Adventism - Christian or not? We can only conclude that based on their own official statements of ‘Fundamental Beliefs’ that this is not a Christian church. Can you be a Seventh-day Adventist and still be a Christian? It is not for me to say who is a Christian and who is not, but let’s turn that question around. Can you be a Christian who follows the real Jesus of the Bible who’s death on the cross was sufficient for our redemption apart from works and the law, a Christian who is born again and saved by grace, can you be this kind of Christian and still be a Seventh-day Adventist? It would appear that one would have to deny a number of Seventh-day Adventist fundamental beliefs in order to be this kind of Christian.

What kind of Christian are you? Are you saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as He is in the Bible or do you cling to a hope that your works will be enough to grant you salvation?

“Should I not be conerned?” - Jonah 4:11

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Notes:
1.) MacGregor Ministries http://www.macgregorministries.org
The image above is of the video called Seventh-day Adventism - The Spirit Behind the Church available on VHS or DVD by mail order from MacGregor Ministries.
2.) http://www.macgregorministries.org/seventh_day_adventists/sda_facts.html
3.) http://www.carm.org/sda/history.htm
4.) http://www.adventist.org/
5.) http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html
6.) http://www.reformed.org/documents/nicene.html
7.) http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apocreed.htm
8.) http://www.sdaoutreach.org/
http://www.macgregorministries.org/seventh_day_adventists/egw_writtings.html
http://www.Bible.ca/sabbath.htm
http://www.truthorfables.com/
http://www.ratzlaf.com/
http://www.ellenwhite.org/