Seventh-day Adventists “Caveat Emptor!”

Seventh-day Adventists claim to be people of the Bible and that their beliefs are supported by Scripture. They reject the Roman Catholic Church beliefs such as, praying to Mary and the saints, the confessional, rosary, holy water, the Pope as head of the church, etc. They reject Joseph Smith and his book of Mormon; they reject Mary Baker Eddy and her book Science and Health with Keys to Scripture. They reject the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which have the Watchtower to guide them. Seventh-day Adventists reject all beliefs that cannot be supported by the Bible.

The paradox is that the Seventh-day Adventists Church accepts Ellen White's additions to the Bible and her contradictions without question. Then like any other cult expects members to do likewise. The Seventh-day Adventists church insists all these additions and contradictions came straight from God, thus making God to be a liar and part of their deception.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church tell us: "The writings of Mrs. White were never designed to be an addition to the canon of Scripture. They are nevertheless the messages of God to the remnant church and should be received as such as were the messages of the prophets of old.  Just as Samuel was a prophet to Israel in his day, as Jeremiah was a prophet to Israel in the days of the captivity, as John the Baptist came as a special messenger of the Lord to prepare the way for Christ’s appearing, so we believe that Mrs. White was a prophet to the Church of Christ today. And the same as the messages of the prophets were received in olden times, so her messages should be received at the present time." (Review and Herald, October 4, 1928).

Ellen G White claimed infallibility: 

"Yet, now when I send you a testimony of warning and reproof, many of you declare it to be merely the opinion of Sister White. You thereby insulted the Spirit of God." (Testimonies, Vol. 5, p.64).

"In these letters which I write, in the testimonies I bear, I am presenting to you that which the Lord has presented to me. I do not write one article in the paper expressing merely my own ideas. They are what God has opened before me in vision, the preious rays of light shining from the throne."  ( Testimonies, Vol. 5, p.67)

"If you lessen the confidence of God's people in the testimonies He has sent them, you are rebelling against God as were Korah, Dathan, and Abriram."   ( Testimonies, Vol. 5, p.66 )

"The Testimonies are of the Spirit of God, or of the devil. In arraying yourself against the servants of God you are doing a work either for God or for the devil."  (  Testimonies Vol. 4, p. 230)

The origin of the Seventh-day Adventists comes to many Adventists as a surprise. In 1782 William Miller was born on the east coast of the United States. 

As a young man he was a farmer and during the war of 1812, he served as a captain in the American armed forces.  In 1833 he was licensed to preach by a Baptist church but was never ordained.  After having studied the Bible for two years, in 1818 Miller announced to the world that in 25 years (March 1844) Jesus Christ would return to the earth.  At the height of his ministry, Miller had gathered some 50,000 followers, who had also become known as "Adventists."

When March 1844 came and went with no sign of Jesus Christ having returned, Miller recalculated the new date to October 22, 1844. When Jesus did not return on October 22, 1844, the entire Millerite movement collapsed as his followers' Christian faith were destroyed.  Miller revamped his doctrine to say that Christ had indeed returned, but that Miller had not understood that Christ first had to come to the "Heavenly Sanctuary," which He is now busy cleaning.  Once Jesus has cleansed things up in heaven, He would be coming back to the earth.

The remnant that bought into this lie formed the Advent Church and in 1845 William Miller became its first president.  The name was later changed to Seventh Day Adventists and after the death of Miller in 1849 a new false prophet came on the scene, this time a woman, Ellen G. White. At the age of 13, Ellen was taken to a meeting where William Miller spoke and was converted to the Adventist faith. During the month of December, 1844, Ellen was holding a prayer meeting in which she had a vision and felt that she was transported to heaven and shown that Christ could not come back to the earth until the Great Commission has been fulfilled.  This revelation was later going to be mixed in with the teaching that Christ had come back in 1844, but that He stopped in the heaven sanctuary to first clean that up.  Thus, like with so many other false movements, the leaders in the Advents movement had to cover up for the false prophecy of William Miller.

On August 30, 1846 Ellen married James White, who had been ordained into the Adventist church in 1843. 

Her ascension as a "prophetess" in the Seventh Day Adventist Church had now begun.  During her  years as the "seer" for the SDA church, she prophesied a number of predictions, which did not come true.  One of the most blatant false prophecies she made was when she predicted before the American Civil war, that the Union would not be preserved but that the United States would be divided, slavery would not be abolished but England would intervene and declare war on the United States.  Any student of history knows differently.  But, like so many other false movements, these failed prophecies are swept under the rug and most Seventh Day Adventists today do not even know about them.

Like so many other cults, the doctrine of the SDA church evolved with time.  The doctrine of Saturday as the Sabbath was not preached by William Miller, but came in later.  Neither did Miller preach and believe in vegetarianism.

With the collapse of Miller's prediction that Christ would return in 1844, the movement needed a cause in order to survive.  After the damage control had been completed and the SDA spin doctors had cured the disease, it was time for the SDA leadership to hammer out some kind of "theology" that could be used to attract new converts to their fold.

The teaching of vegetarianism came from the Whites.  In 1864 Ellen's husband became ill and Ellen nursed him back to health.  After his recovery James and Ellen began to think about food and eating habits.  Since just a practical experience would not do the job of changing the theology of the SDA church, Ellen had a "convenient" vision from the Lord, and vegetarianism was not introduced to the church as a "THUS SAYS THE LORD."  In 1866 the Western Health Reform Institute was founded at Battle Creek, Michigan.  Despite the new vegetarian diet, James White died in1881.

Ellen was always writing for the SDA denominational publications, and wrote a string of books.  One well known book and still pushed hard by the SDA members is, "The Great Controversy." It is important to note that Ellen was a proven plagiarist. The explanation of the SDA Church for her plagiarism, that there were no copyright laws back then does not excuse her "borrowing".

Seventh Day Adventists often make every effort to appear "evangelical", joining in with inter-ministry groups and trying to "blend in" with the Christian community. However, make no mistake about it, they believe they are exclusively correct because they recognize and follow Ellen G. White. Among themselves, they mock the Christian's beliefs, calling our concept of salvation, "cheap grace". They privately consider themselves to be spiritually superior to the rest of us.

The SDA Church made this statement in their "Ministry" magazine of October 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."

Seventh Day Adventists Cultic Beliefs:

• Great emphasis is laid upon the teaching that the Sabbath day is on Saturday, and if a person does not keep Saturday as Sabbath, he cannot be saved.  Ultimately, according to SDA theology, your salvation in the last days boils down to the day you worship on. Simply put, there is no salvation outside the SDA church. The Bible says we are saved by grace through faith and nothing more. Ephesians 2:8-9
  
   

• Ellen G. White taught that all other churches except the Seventh Day Adventists church were teaching lies from the Devil.  Only SDA members are true and obedient believers; prayers spoken in other churches are only answered by the Devil. This is a man-made doctrine not found in the Bible.
  
   

• They believe that in the last days just before Christ returns, only those worshipping on Saturday will be saved.  They particularly believe that worshipping on Sunday will be the mark of the beast. They consider themselves to be the only true, remnant church and all others will be condemned in time. This is a man-made doctrine not found in the Bible. The mark of the beast will be a literal mark, either in your forehead or in your hand. Revelation 14:9
  
   

• They firmly believe that Jesus is Michael the Archangel and this is the name used for him (Jesus) in the Old Testament; yet also believe that Jesus is God. Jesus is God, he is the Creator; (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-6) whereas, Michael is just an angel, a created being.
  
   

• They believe that the atonement through Jesus is not complete until He comes again, only your past sins are forgiven by grace up to that point. The Bible says that the atoning work of Jesus is finished, never again to be repeated. John 19:30; Hebrews 9:24-28
  
   

• They believe in the "sanctuary teaching" that Jesus is now cleaning the sanctuary in the heavens before he can return to the earth. This is a man-made doctrine not found in the Bible.
  
   

• They believe you will have to stand in the presence of the living God for judgment without a mediator. The Bible says that there is one mediator between God and men, and that is Jesus himself. I Timothy 2:5
  
   

• The believe you can be sinless, also known as "sinless perfection". Meaning that a person can become sinless while they are still living on this earth in their physical body. The Bible says that all are born with sin. All throughout the New Testament, the various authors write about fleeing and resisting sin, they themselves struggled with sin. This is a man-made doctrine not found in the Bible.
  
   

• They won’t tell you that early Adventists expected the literal second coming of Christ in 1843 and 1844 only to be disappointed. They won’t tell you that their 1844 "investigative judgment" teaching was born out of an attempt to cover over this false prophecy. Instead of repenting over this false date, they believe that Christ really came, but INVISIBLY in heaven. As an SDA you now enter a period of "investigative judgment" where every deed you do or don’t do is recorded for judgment day. You will even be judged for "idle moments" where you could have been more obedient. When Christ comes, every eye shall see it (Revelation 1:7). At the Judgment Seat of Christ, we will be judged.  I Corinthians 3:11-15; II Corinthians 5:10
  
   

• They believe the doctrine of soul sleeping, which states that the souls of believers in Christ are not in heaven, but are sleeping in the graves. The Bible says those who were saved on earth by receiving Jesus Christ as their Saviour and died are now living a full and joyous life in heaven. Revelation 7:9-17
  
   

• They believe in the final and total annihilation of the wicked, where they will simply cease to exist after the final judgment.  This doctrine is in harmony with the Jehovah's Witnesses. The Bible says they will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Revelation 20:12-15
  
   

• They do not believe in the eternal punishment of Satan and his fallen angels.  They believe that the penalty for sinning against a Holy God is merely annihilation. Satan is the scapegoat; the sins of the believers are laid upon him, and he and these sins are finally burned up. The Bible says that Satan and his fallen angels will be cast in the Lake of Fire. Revelation 20:10-15
  
   

• They believe in and demand vegetarianism.  There is no place in the Bible where God demands this. There is nothing wrong if a person chooses to be vegetarian for personal or health reasons, but it should never be tied in with our salvation.
  
   

• They believe you should revere their founding prophetess, Ellen G. White, viewing her as having the "spirit of prophecy" referred to in the book of Revelation. Ellen G. White's writing is considered as inspired as the Bible and is used as an authoritative source of truth. In spite of revering her, they won’t ordain women as ministers.

Caveat emptor “buyer beware!” all cults at some time will shift their theological point of authority away from God's full and final written Word, the Bible, to their own unique, self-promoting opinions about the Bible; they generally will use parts of the Bible but will have their own unique scripture which is considered to be superior to the Bible.

All cults teach that eternal life depends upon something other than the Atonement; faith in the atoning, finished work of Christ on the cross is deemed not to be sufficient (usually replaced with human works and human responsibility). Rather than relying on the grace of God alone for salvation, the salvation message of the cults always boils down to required obedience to, or abstention from, certain obligations and practices (some even including obedience to the Old Testament law). The issue of a cult member's salvation is never settled, but is constantly affected by the changing circumstances of life; in this way, cult leaders are able to produce continued obligation and spiritual bondage, rather than spiritual freedom.

Cult leaders are looked to as the infallible interpreter of Scripture, specially appointed by God to be a special saint, guru, or contemporary messiah, and thereby, has divine authority that must not be violated. Cultists almost always quote their leader rather than the Bible. The cult's adherents often expound the virtues of the founders and seek to cover the founder's sins and wickedness.

Just as Mormons are not quick to reveal their belief that God was a man, who has now become the God of planet Earth. The SDA tend to cover their deceptive claims concerning their cult's true spiritual beliefs. 

There is tremendous emphasis in the New Testament upon the fact that human salvation is the result of God’s Grace. This beautiful truth should never be minimized and at the same time, it must never be perverted.

In the New Testament, “grace” is used 156 times and takes on a special redemptive sense in which God makes available his favor on behalf of sinners, who actually do not deserve it. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."  (Ephesians 2:8)

This peace can only come through our Lord Jesus Christ. He and His work is our entire ground for peace. In fact, Jesus is our peace.  “For Christ himself has made peace between us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one people. He has broken down the wall of hostility that used to separate us.  By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law that excluded the Gentiles. His purpose was to make peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two groups.  Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He has brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and to us Jews who were near. Now all of us, both Jews and Gentiles, may come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.”  (Eph 2:14-18)

Many cult members do not have the Peace of God because they are always trying to do better…  I will try to pray more, witness more, read my bible more, or follow all the do’s and don’ts etc…   All of these are good and noble intentions, but it will never establish a righteous standing with God. Only by His Grace we all are able to stand.  He loves us and accepts our brokenness and our messiness.  By committing our life over to Him and accepting his will for our life and making sure He is in the driver seat, then we will I truly have the Peace of God.