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What Seventh-Day Adventists Should Know About Other Sabbath-Keepers

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What Seventh-Day Adventists Should Know About Other Sabbath-Keepers What Seventh-Day Adventists Should Know About Other Sabbath-keepers s a Christian who keeps Saturday as the Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), I am sometimes a source of bewilderment to others not familiar with A my beliefs. They persistently think that I am either a Jew or a Seventh-day Adventist. I am neither. But in the eyes of many, these are the only religions observing the Seventh-Day Sabbath. Most people have heard of Orthodox, American continent came about 200 years Conservative, and Reform Jews. The well- before there was a Seventh-day Adventist. The known Seventh-day Adventists number in the first Sabbath-keeping settler in the Oregon millions. Yet most Seventh-day Adventists country was not an Adventist either. know little or nothing of the hundreds of other There has never been a time since the Sabbath-keeping groups who believe the Seventh-day Adventist church was formed in Messiah has come. For a listing, with the 1860s that all Christian Sabbath-keepers addresses and in many cases a summary of were in their fold. The Seventh-day Adventist their distinctive doctrines, write for the Church is not the only descendant of the Directory of Sabbath-Observing Groups, from Adventist movement led by the Sunday- the Bible Sabbath Association, 3316 Alberta keeping William Miller in the 1840s. The Drive, Gillette, WY 82718.. largest non-SDA body of Sabbath-keepers, the Seventh-day Adventists should know more various Churches of God, were not an about others who hold very similar beliefs. “offshoot” of the Seventh-day Adventists, but Their fellow Sabbath-keepers live in the same existed long before the SDA denomination was communities as Adventists, yet in many cases formed. They parted company over the visions neither knows about the existence of the other. of Ellen G. White and various other doctrinal Both know little about the doctrinal beliefs or views. the history of the other. This is really not too I urge that my SDA friends read my two surprising. The typical Protestant or Catholic books: History of the Seventh Day Church of knows little about the history and doctrines of God, Volume I, and Six Papers on the History his own denomination, let alone that of of the Church of God, available from: Giving another. Few will bother to know what their & Sharing, PO Box 100, Neck City, church believes, fewer still will find out what Missouri 64849. The SDA Loma Linda and others believe. James Andrews Universities have requested I have written extensively on Sabbatarian these books. history and have closely examined Adventist Regretfully, the history of SDA’s and non- doctrine, as well as that of many other SDA’s has been marked by much dissension Sabbath-observing groups. There are very and mutual name-calling. SDA official writ- sincere and dedicated Seventh-day Adventists. ings have denounced those in the Church of I share many beliefs with Adventists. Yet they God as “fanatics” and “rebels,” who in turn are lacking in two areas: (1) Adventists need to denounced Ellen G. White’s visions as from know their own history, and (2) Adventists the devil. Her husband James White referred need to know their fellow Sabbath-keepers and to Church of God people as “bold slanderers” their doctrines. and “baptized liars.” But then there are many Sabbath-keepers Unknown History who have never had close relationships historically or doctrinally with SDA’s. The The oldest continuously organized and Seventh Day Baptists were the first operating Christian Sabbath-keeping church, Sabbatarian settlers of the New World. Some the Mill Yard Church in London, England, is of the Adventists learned about the Sabbath not, and never was, Seventh-day Adventist. from a Seventh Day Baptist lady in New The first Christian Sabbath-keeper on the Hampshire. Seventh-day Adventists and Seventh-Day Adventists 1 Seventh Day Baptists continue to be the two includes those who trace their history back to best known long-established Sabbath-keeping Sabbath-keeping Adventists (not SDA’s) who groups. However, Church of God leader H.E. did not go along with the visions of Ellen G. Carver of the Marion, Iowa, Church of God White. Seventh Day Churches of God have Seventh Day, in a letter written in the February never been united in one organization 8, 1872, Seventh Day Baptist Sabbath comparable to that of SDA’s. Their history has Recorder, noted that at that time there were been characterized by local autonomous “hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Sabbath- groups, and splits into factions when groups keepers scattered over the land, from the did organize. Atlantic coast to the shores of the Pacific, who (a) Church of God (Seventh Day) is a do not belong either to your church subgroup of dozens of independent groups, the organization [SDB’s], or that of the Seventh- largest of which is headquartered in Denver, day Adventists. Some of these are lonely ones, Colorado. This grouping is the subject of my having no church privileges.” books on Church history. The Denver group This is even more true today. But it is a has about 6,000 North American members and fact not well-known among Seventh-day 100,000 overseas. It publishes the Bible Adventists. Advocate (began in 1863 as The Hope of Israel) and is organized into conferences of Overview of Major Sabbath-Keeping local churches similar to that of Adventists. Groups Major distinguishing beliefs are: annual observance of the Lord’s Supper, abstinence Here is a brief outline of some of the major from unclean meats, a Wednesday crucifixion, Messianic Sabbatarian groups, broken down in Sabbath resurrection of Christ (three days and broad classifications: three nights in the tomb), the millennium on (1) Seventh Day Baptists number about the earth, the Holy Spirit not a Trinity but the 5,000 in the USA, and over 50,000 overseas. mind and power of God, and nonobservance of Their USA headquarters is in Janesville, Christmas and Easter. Some of the other Wisconsin. The oldest SDB church, the Mill headquarters of Church of God (Seventh Day) Yard church in London, England, dates back at groups are Meridian, Idaho; Salem, West least to the 1600s. SDB churches have Virginia; Caldwell, Idaho; and Jerusalem, considerable local autonomy. Their first Israel. Tens of thousands of local Church of church in America was organized in 1671 in God believers in Africa (Nigeria, Kenya, and Newport, Rhode Island. Their magazine, The Ghana primarily), India, the Philippines, Sabbath Recorder, started in 1844 and is still Central and South America, and the Caribbean, being published. SDB’s are much like other are affiliated, but not solidly tied to any Baptists doctrinally, but keep the Sabbath. organization. Beliefs vary. Some keep the There are independent SDB groups as well. Biblical Holy Days, some do not, etc. (2) Seventh-day Adventists number over (b) The Worldwide Church of God 12.9 million (2005) with nearly a million and its offshoot groups is a large and well- members in North America. The Church adds known Sabbath-keeping body other than almost a million members a year, and doubles SDA’s. At one time, the parent organization in size every 12 years. They easily dwarf all had over 100,000 members, but in the mid other Sabbatarian groups in sheer size. Their 1990s, splits had reduced its membership by hospitals, colleges and universities, publishing 60% or more. Founded by Herbert W. houses, literature, radio and television, make Armstrong in 1933-34, the WWC had a them well-known. Their teaching on worldwide coverage due to its World vegetarianism is well-known, but few know of Tomorrow television program, and large their other teachings which differ from circulation The Plain Truth magazine. It had mainline Protestants (man is mortal, the dead offices and churches in many countries, and is sleep, immortality will be conferred upon the controlled centrally from Pasadena, California. righteous at Christ’s second coming, the Herbert Armstrong was ordained by the millennium in heaven). Church of God (Seventh-Day) and was ousted (3) The Church of God numbers from from them in 1937 over his doctrines of Anglo- 300,000-500,000. This broad classification Israelism and Biblical Holy Days (ideas which 2 Seventh-Day Adventists some in the Seventh Day Church of God had Church of God (Seventh-Day). held long before him, and which many The largest Sacred Name group is the continued to hold who were never associated Assemblies of Yahweh, Bethel, Pennsylvania, with him). The Worldwide Church of God’s headed by Jacob O. Meyer since the late classical distinctive teachings were: belief in 1960s. His Sacred Name Broadcast radio the Holy Days described in the Old Testament, program and Sacred Name Broadcaster that the United States and the British magazine have wide coverage. “Yahwists,” as Commonwealth are mainly the descendants of they call themselves (rather than “Christians”) Israel, in the three tithes described in the Old are even more prone to local independence and Testament, non-observance of holidays such as splits than the Church of God (Seventh-Day). Christmas and Easter, and abstinence from In the early 1980s, Donald Mansager led a pork and shellfish. After Armstrong’s death in major defection from Meyer’s group and 1986, the Church had abandoned its “Anglo- formed what later became known as Yahweh’s Israel” teaching, accepted the Trinity doctrine, New Covenant Assembly headquartered in rejected the Biblical requirement to observe the Missouri. They publish Light magazine. Sabbath and Holy Days, and approved eating Many other Sacred Name groups have existed unclean meats. Its classical doctrines were from the 1930s to the present.
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