What's the Difference Between Christians and Seventh-Day Adventists?

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Hello, friends. Today's podcast question says, "My family and I have several friends who are Seventh-Day Adventists. Would you do a podcast explaining the differences between Christians and Seventh-Day Adventists?" The answer to this question is yes, I will do a podcast on this question, and that's the podcast we're going to do today.

So this is the question that we're going to be answering today on the Foundation Worldview Podcast, where we seek to answer your questions so that you can equip the children that God has placed in your care to carefully evaluate every idea they encounter and understand the truth of the biblical worldview. I'm your host, Elizabeth Urbanowicz, and I'm so grateful you've joined me for another episode today.

Now, before I go into answering this question, I did want to clarify some part of the wording. This question asks me to explain the difference between Christians and Seventh-Day Adventists. I do believe that the modern evangelical Seventh-Day Adventist Church does get the gospel right. So this is not like podcasts I've done before where I have been explaining the difference between Christians and Mormons, because I do not believe that the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints understand the gospel or that they are following the true historic Christian faith. Whereas I do believe that the modern evangelical Seventh-Day Adventist Church does get the gospel right.

So what I'm going to be comparing and contrasting in this podcast is some of the teachings historically of the Christian church that are upheld today by modern evangelicalism, and how that differs from some of the teachings of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. I'm fairly certain that some of our faithful Foundation Worldview podcast listeners are members of a Seventh-Day Adventist Church. So that's what we're going to dive down deep into today.

Why This Episode Matters Even If You Don't Know Any Adventists

Now you may be thinking, "I'm not a Seventh-Day Adventist. I don't know any Seventh-Day Adventists. I don't know that I want to listen to the rest of this podcast." Well, I think this podcast could be helpful because one thing we're going to cover is how we can help our children understand beliefs that are different from our own.

So if you have friends or family members who are coming from another denomination of Christianity, another sect, a cult that has its root in Christianity, or an alternate religion, I think no matter where on the spectrum you're looking, there are three steps we can take to help train our children to understand the beliefs of somebody coming from a slightly different or completely different worldview perspective.

Three Steps for Researching a Different Belief System

Step one: find a source that can help point you in the right direction. If you're trying to research something and you're thinking, "I don't even know where to begin," just find a trusted source that can point you in the right direction.

Step two: continue that research straight from the horse's mouth. To make sure that you're understanding differing beliefs correctly, you're going to want to go straight to that organization's websites or books printed by them to understand what that denomination, sect, cult, or other religion actually teaches.

Step three: ask your friend or family member directly. If you have a friend or family member who is part of this differing belief system, once you've done your research, go ask them: "This is what I researched in finding out more about X, Y, or Z. Is this what you believe?" Sometimes someone who's part of another worldview or group might hold beliefs different from the official teachings of that organization. So if we want to love and reach out to and care for that person, we want to understand: is what I researched what you personally believe?

My hope and prayer is that this video will function as that first step for the questioner and for anybody else who's interested in learning more about Seventh-Day Adventism. After watching this — and you can watch it with your children if you'd like — you can go right to the Seventh-Day Adventist website, which I believe is adventist.org. Then you can go to your friends or family members and say, "Hey, I was researching more about what Adventists believe, and this is what I found on the website. Is this what you personally believe?"

So what I'm going to do for the remainder of this podcast is two things. First, I'm going to go into a little bit of the background of Seventh-Day Adventism and its origins. Then I'm going to go into some of the beliefs of Seventh-Day Adventists that differ from the teachings historically of the Christian church.

The Origins of Adventism: The Great Disappointment

Adventism actually started in the mid-1800s with something known as the Great Disappointment. During the Second Great Awakening, which was from the early 1800s to the mid-1800s, there was a very heavy emphasis on the second coming of Christ — the advent of Christ.

One of the preachers very much pushing the second advent of Christ was a man named William Miller. He gained a large following, and his followers were known as Millerites. William Miller predicted that the 2,300 evenings and mornings prophesied about in Daniel 8:14 meant that Jesus would return at some point between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844. All of us sitting here today know that Jesus did not return between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844.

When that prediction failed, Miller changed his prediction to align with another group's prediction of October 22, 1844. When this prediction also failed and Christ did not return on that day, it became known as the Great Disappointment, because there was this large group of people who rightly were anticipating Christ's return. As Christians, we should all greatly anticipate the return of Christ. But the hope they had that Christ would return by October 22, 1844, was crushed.

Several days later, on October 25, 1844 — three days after the failed prediction — a man named Hiram Edson, who was one of Miller's followers, had what he claimed was a revelation that October 22, 1844, was the right calculation for the prophecy of Daniel 8:14. However, in his revelation, he learned that it wasn't that Jesus was coming back on October 22, 1844, but rather that Jesus had entered into the second phase of his ministry in the heavenly sanctuary to begin what is known as the investigative judgment. We'll get into the investigative judgment in more detail later in this podcast.

So that's part of the origin story of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. It started with this group of Millerites who experienced the Great Disappointment, and several of the leaders from that Millerite movement went on to found the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

The Role of Ellen G. White

One of the more widely known leaders is a woman named Ellen G. White. She was one of the Millerites who would go on to help found the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. The early Seventh-Day Adventist Church in the 1800s heavily emphasized the spirit of prophecy that is written about in Revelation 19:10. Ellen G. White was recognized by the early Seventh-Day Adventists as the person who possessed the spirit of prophecy — a restoring of the spiritual gift of prophecy.

Ellen G. White had many visions and she wrote them down. She wrote down other teachings as well. She called herself a "lesser light" pointing to a greater light. She was heavily influential in the early teachings of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Since around the 1960s, when Seventh-Day Adventism took a more evangelical turn, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church has downplayed her role as prophet — it's not as widely talked about as it was prior to the 1960s. Today, the official Adventist website, adventist.org, describes her as "a gifted author, speaker, and administrator who enjoyed God's special guidance."

But in Seventh-Day Adventism today, her writings are still revered by Seventh-Day Adventists in a way that no extra-biblical author's writings are revered in broader evangelicalism. I have several friends who are Seventh-Day Adventists, and I once visited the campus of Andrews University, which is the flagship university for Seventh-Day Adventism. When I was at the bookstore there, I was caught off guard by the sheer volume of books written by Ellen G. White. She still is considered very important in Adventism.

On the Adventist website, there is a "Statement on the Confidence in the Writings of Ellen G. White" that was written on July 7, 2015. It says:

"We reaffirm our conviction that her writings are divinely inspired, truly Christ-centered and Bible-based. Rather than replacing the Bible, they uplift the normative character of Scripture and correct inaccurate interpretations of it derived from tradition, human reason, personal experience, and modern culture. We commit ourselves to study the writings of Ellen G. White prayerfully and with hearts willing to follow the counsels and instructions we find there."

Adventists also hold to 28 fundamentals of the faith. Fundamental 18 says:

"The scriptures testify that one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church, and we believe it was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. Her writings speak with prophetic authority and provide comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction to the church. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested."

So you can see that Adventists hold the Bible up as the only infallible writings of God. However, Ellen G. White is viewed as a prophet, and her writings are highly revered and viewed as pointing people toward true interpretation of Scripture.

That's a little bit of the background on how the Seventh-Day Adventist Church got started in the Great Disappointment, and the key role Ellen G. White played in the formation of the church. Now I'm going to walk through how current beliefs of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church differ from the historic teachings of Christianity.

Differences from Historic Christian Teaching

As I mentioned, I read Fundamental 18 of the Adventist fundamentals. There are 28 of them, and you can hop over to adventist.org to check out the 28 different fundamental beliefs. What I'm going to do is walk through how some of those fundamentals differ from the historic teachings of Christianity.

Before I do, one important note: as I go through each of these fundamentals, I am not going to present a complete apologetic. This is not a full argument for why I believe these things are inaccurate. I'm just going to show in Scripture where the historic Christian church has differed from the teachings of Adventism. This is not going to be a full and thorough apologetic for why I believe certain fundamentals of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church are not accurate. I'm just going to show how they are different — simply because this is a podcast we work hard to keep under a half hour, and there's not time for that in this podcast.

Difference 1: The Investigative Judgment

The first difference is the investigative judgment. Fundamental 24 of the Adventist core beliefs says:

"There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle that the Lord set up and not humans. In it, Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of his atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. At his ascension, he was inaugurated as our great high priest and began his intercessory ministry, which was typified by the work of the high priest in the holy place of the earthly sanctuary. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2,300 days, he entered the second and last phase of his atoning ministry, which was typified by the work of the high priest in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary. It is a work of investigative judgment, which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the day of atonement... The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore in him are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection... The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of the human probation before the second advent."

So the Adventist belief is that in October of 1844, Jesus entered into the second phase of his atoning work, known as the investigative judgment.

The historic Christian position is that the work of atonement of Christ is finished. The teaching has always been that Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, meaning that his work is done — atonement has already been made. There is no second phase.

Several passages of Scripture reference Christ being seated:

"Again the high priest asked him, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?' And Jesus said, 'I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.'" (Mark 14:61–62)

"When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, 'If you are the Christ, tell us.' But he said to them, 'If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.'" (Luke 22:66–69)

"What is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 1:19–20)

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." (Colossians 3:1)

"He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Hebrews 1:3)

"Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

So this is one of the differences. Adventists hold to the investigative judgment — that Jesus is in the second phase of atonement. Historically, the Christian church has taught that because Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, the atonement is finished. It has already been completed. Christ's work is complete.

Difference 2: Sabbath-Keeping

Another difference in the beliefs of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church is Sabbath-keeping. Fundamental 20 of the Seventh-Day Adventist fundamentals says:

"The gracious Creator, after the six days of creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of creation. The fourth commandment of God's unchangeable law requires the observance of the 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. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of his eternal covenant between him and his people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts."

So for Seventh-Day Adventists, their day of corporate worship is Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. We should worship God every day, but their corporate worship is on Saturday. Seventh-Day Adventists hold to still keeping the Jewish Sabbath.

The historic Christian position is that after Christ's ascension, shortly after, Christians went from worshiping on Saturday to worshiping on Sunday in honor of the resurrection. If you would like a thorough treatment of this topic, there's a book by D. A. Carson called From Sabbath to Lord's Day. One quick scriptural reference: John references "the Lord's Day" in Revelation 1:10: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet."

So the historic Christian teaching is that Christians changed from corporate worship on the Sabbath on Saturday to corporate worship on Sunday in honor of the resurrection. One thing that's interesting for Seventh-Day Adventists is that to celebrate Easter, they have to come together on a day that's not their traditional corporate worship day — they're worshiping corporately on Saturday, but then to celebrate Easter, they get together on a Sunday.

The historic Christian teaching on the Sabbath has been that the Sabbath commandment is the only one of the Ten Commandments that is not repeated in the New Testament — it is not given as a command to New Testament believers. In fact, Colossians 2:16–17 says:

"Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

So the historic Christian teaching has been that the Sabbath is a shadow of the things to come — a shadow of our rest, resting from our working. That has come in Christ. We know we don't have to work for our salvation; we rest in Christ. Christ is our true Sabbath rest. The Sabbath that the Jewish believers followed in the Old Testament was a shadow of the rest that we currently have in Christ.

Difference 3: Annihilationism

Another difference between Seventh-Day Adventism and historic Christian teaching is annihilationism. Fundamental 27 of the Adventist Church says:

"The millennium is a thousand-year reign of Christ with his saints in heaven between the first and second resurrections. During this time the wicked dead will be judged. The earth will be utterly desolate, without living human inhabitants, but occupied by Satan and his angels. At its close, Christ with his saints and the holy city will descend from heaven to earth. The unrighteous dead will then be resurrected, and with Satan and his angels will surround the city. But fire from God will consume them and cleanse the earth. The universe will thus be freed of sin and sinners forever."

So this teaching is that God will send fire that will destroy Satan and his angels and all who are unrepentant of their sin once and for all — they're not living forever in hell; they're destroyed once and for all.

The historic Christian position is that hell is eternal conscious torment. Those who are in hell are not annihilated. They are part of the second death, where they're in the fire of hell forever.

Some passages that speak to this:

"And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:47–48)

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" (Matthew 25:41)

"And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.'" (Revelation 14:9–11)

So we have these references to the fires of hell being eternal — not once and for all cleansed, but eternal.

Difference 4: Soul Sleep

Another difference is the Adventist belief in something called soul sleep. I read the whole of Fundamental 24 earlier; I'll just read part of it again:

"The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore in him are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection."

The term "asleep in Christ" — the Adventist belief is that when you die, your soul is asleep. So it's not that you die and then you're immediately in the presence of the Lord. Here temporally on earth, your soul is just asleep. And then finally in the resurrection, all will — actually, I shouldn't say the second resurrection; I didn't research enough into this to know precisely when Adventists believe the soul and the body will be resurrected together — but the soul right now is asleep as the body is decaying.

The historic Christian position is that a person is immediately in the presence of Christ upon death. In Luke 23:42–43, when Jesus is on the cross:

"And he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' And he said to him, 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.'"

Jesus is saying to the thief on the cross that today he is going to be with him. I know that the Adventist response to this is that the comma has been misplaced. The Adventist church would teach that what Jesus is saying is, "Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise." However, this phrase "truly I say to you" or "truly, truly I say to you" is used 72 times throughout the gospels, and not one of those 72 times is "truly I say to you" followed by "today" — except for that one instance where Jesus is talking to the thief on the cross. So it wouldn't make sense from Jesus's pattern of speaking that this one time he adds "today" to "truly I say to you." It makes much more literary sense to say that Jesus is saying, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise."

Another passage that speaks to this is 2 Corinthians 5:8–9. Paul writes:

"Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him."

And similarly, in Philippians 1:21 and 24, Paul writes:

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account."

With the way Paul is writing in both of these passages, he's longing to be with Christ. He's not longing for his soul to be asleep just so he can get some rest until Jesus returns. He's torn between being on earth, which means fruitful labor, or being with the Lord in his presence once he dies.

Bringing It Back to the Three Steps

There are several other differences between Seventh-Day Adventism and broader historic Christianity. I just pulled out these four to show some of the main ones.

As a reminder, what I've recommended is this: any time we want to research the beliefs of a friend or family member who has different beliefs — whether it's different denominational beliefs, sect beliefs, someone who's part of a cult like Mormonism or Jehovah's Witnesses, or another religion — there are three steps.

First, find a source that can help point you in the right direction. As I mentioned, I hope this video functions as that for you — a trusted source to point you in the right direction.

Second, use what you've learned from that source to research straight from the horse's mouth what that religious group believes. In this case, I highly recommend that you go to adventist.org to learn more straight from the horse's mouth.

Third, present your friends or family from that worldview with what you learned and ask if that is what they personally believe. They might hold purely to the teachings of that religious group, or they might have some differing beliefs. If you want to know and love that friend or loved one really well, you're going to want to find out what they believe and whether what you've learned actually aligns with their belief.

If you found this episode helpful, you can sign up for our newsletter to get future biblical parenting episodes and resources delivered straight to your inbox — so you don't miss new content that helps you equip the children in your care to evaluate every idea they encounter.

As we leave our time together, my prayer for you is that no matter the situation in which you and the children God has placed in your care find yourselves, you would trust that God is working all things together for your good by using all things to conform you more into the image of his Son.

I'll see you next time.