This message was gradually accepted and formed the topic of the first edition of the church publication The Present Truth, which appeared in July 1849. Preble, who in turn had been influenced by Rachel Oakes Preston, a young Seventh Day Baptist. Bates was introduced to the Sabbath doctrine through a tract written by Millerite preacher Thomas M. The foremost proponent of Sabbath-keeping among early Adventists was Joseph Bates. This group of Adventists continued to believe that Christ's second coming would continue to be imminent, however they resisted setting further dates for the event, citing Revelation 10:6, "that there should be time no longer." Development of Sabbatarianism Īs the early Adventist movement consolidated its beliefs, the question of the biblical day of rest and worship was raised. Over the next few decades this understanding of a sanctuary in heaven developed into the doctrine of the investigative judgment, an eschatological process that commenced in 1844, in which every person would be judged to verify their eligibility for salvation and God's justice will be confirmed before the universe. These Adventists came to the conviction that Daniel 8:14 foretold Christ's entrance into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary rather than his Second Coming. Hiram Edson and other Millerites came to believe that Miller's calculations were correct, but that his interpretation of Daniel 8:14 was flawed as he assumed Christ would come to cleanse the world. Miller's failed prediction became known as the " Great Disappointment". In the summer of 1844, Millerites came to believe that Jesus would return on October 22, 1844, understood to be the biblical Day of Atonement for that year. William Miller predicted on the basis of Daniel 8:14–16 and the " day-year principle" that Jesus Christ would return to Earth between the spring of 1843 and the spring of 1844. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest of several Adventist groups which arose from the Millerite movement of the 1840s in upstate New York, a phase of the Second Great Awakening. Main article: History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church The church operates over 7,500 schools including over 100 post-secondary institutions, numerous hospitals, and publishing houses worldwide, a humanitarian aid organization known as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and tax-exempt businesses such as Sanitarium which fund the church's charitable and religious activities. It is ethnically and culturally diverse, and maintains a missionary presence in over 215 countries and territories. As of May 2007, it was the twelfth-largest religious body in the world, and the sixth-largest highly international religious body. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is currently "one of the fastest-growing and most widespread churches worldwide", with a worldwide baptized membership of over 21 million people, and 25 million adherents. The world church is governed by a General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, with smaller regions administered by divisions, unions, local conferences and local missions. The second coming of Christ, and resurrection of the dead, are among official beliefs. Marriage is defined as a lifelong union between a man and a woman. The Church holds the belief that "God created the universe, and in a recent six-day creation made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day". that the body, soul, and spirit form one inseparable entity. The church places an emphasis on diet and health, including adhering to Kosher food laws, advocating vegetarianism, and its holistic view of human nature-i.e. Distinctive post-tribulation teachings include the unconscious state of the dead and the doctrine of an investigative judgment. Much of the theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church corresponds to common evangelical Christian teachings, such as the Trinity and the infallibility of Scripture. White, whose extensive writings are still held in high regard by the church. The denomination grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the mid-19th century and it was formally established in 1863. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, its emphasis on the imminent Second Coming (advent) of Jesus Christ, and its annihilationist soteriology.
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