Adventism

Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that traces its origins to the Millerist Movement that occurred in the United States in the mid-XIX and which is characterized by its emphasis on the belief that the personal, visible and glorious return of Christ —that is, the Second Coming— is imminent. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has become the organization with the largest extension and membership, with congregations in more than 200 countries and a membership exceeding 22 million, followed by the Church of God (Seventh Day), with a presence in 45 countries of the world.

History

Apostolic Origins

The roots of Adventism, according to Vyhmeister's Nancy Weber "sink back to apostolic times, since the pioneers considered themselves to be continuators of the New Testament tradition"

“The original “Adventists,” or believers in the second coming of Christ, were the apostles themselves. Paul awaited the return of Jesus with great expectation (1 Thes. 4:16). All these expressions of faith were ultimately based on Jesus' own promise: “I will come again” Jn 14:3)»

Millerite Movement

The Adventist movement originated from the ideas of William Miller, an American Baptist farmer who began preaching during the Second Great Religious Awakening, which occurred during the first half of the XIX. Miller—who had converted to the Baptist faith during the 1820s—began to study the Bible, especially the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation. Primarily on the basis of his interpretation of Daniel 8:14, which spoke of a period of 2,300 days, he concluded that Christ would return around 1843. He began preaching his discoveries in 1831, and he soon emerged as the leader of a popular movement. As the year 1843 approached, Miller more specifically predicted that Christ would return between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844.

The Great Disappointment

Miller and his followers faced much ridicule for his predictions. Although expectations were raised when a comet suddenly appeared in the night sky in March 1843, they were greatly disappointed when the Second Coming did not occur in March 1844. After this first failure, one of the movement's followers, Samuel S. Snow suggested a new date, October 22, 1844. On that day, between 50,000 and 250,000 people eagerly awaited the Second Coming of Christ. When nothing extraordinary happened, the Millerites were sorely disappointed. The event became known as the Great Disappointment, and most believers left the movement.

Birth of the Sabbatarian Movement

Among those who continued to accept Miller's prophecy were Joseph Bates, James White, and White's wife, Ellen G. White. They believed that Miller had set the correct date but had misinterpreted the events. From reading chapters 8 and 9 of the book of Daniel, they concluded that Christ had begun the "cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary," that is, a judgment investigator—an action invisible to the human eye—which would then be followed by the pronouncement and execution of the sentence, a future visible event. In 1844, in their view, God had begun an examination of all the names in the Book of Life, and only after this was completed would Jesus literally and visibly return to earth, an event that adherents to they continued to regard this position as imminent, although they avoided henceforth stating a specific date. They also came to believe that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, should be observed as a Sabbath by Christians.

Organization of the Church of God (Seventh Day)

In 1858, Gilbert Cranmer and a group of Millerite Adventists decided to break away from the group that adhered to the visions of Ellen G. White in Michigan. This group took Cranmer's words to some Millerite leaders as their initial motto: "My Bible and only my Bible" and organized themselves into the Church of God (Seventh Day). Another independent Sabbath Adventist group formed in Iowa in 1860 later joined the Church of God (Seventh Day) in 1863.

Organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

The practice of Sabbath worship gave the denomination—established in 1863—a new name: the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Seventh-day Adventists also believed that Ellen G. White had the gift of prophecy, and his writings shaped the later beliefs and practices of the church.

Later groups

Other Adventist groups arose during the XIX. Some, such as the Advent Christian Church and the Life and Advent Union—which merged into the Advent Christian Church in 1964—rejected both Ellen White's prophetic status and seventh-day observance. Another group inspired by Miller and Adventist teachings was the International Bible Students Association, founded by preacher Charles Taze Russell in 1872. Changing its name to Jehovah's Witnesses in the 1930s, it became the second successful group in emerge from the Millerite movement. Another Sabbatarian church, the Worldwide Church of God, arose in the 1930s as a division of the Church of God (Seventh Day); at its peak in the 1980s, it had more than 100,000 members. During the 1990s, the Worldwide Church of God engaged in a process of doctrinal reassessment that led it to renounce the beliefs he had inherited from Adventism and join evangelicalism.

Development of the first branches of adventism after 1844 in the XIXexcluding subsequent schisms.

Adventist denominations

The Handbook of Denominations in the United States 12th ed., describes the following churches as "Adventist and Sabbatarian (Hebrew) churches":