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Adventism is a branch of
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the
Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
when
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
preacher William Miller first publicly shared his belief that the Second Coming would occur at some point between 1843 and 1844. His followers became known as Millerites. After Miller's prophecies failed, the Millerite movement split up and was continued by a number of groups that held different doctrines from one another. These groups, stemming from a common Millerite ancestor, became known collectively as the Adventist movement. Although the Adventist churches hold much in common with mainline Christianity, their theologies differ on whether the intermediate state of the dead is unconscious sleep or consciousness, whether the ultimate punishment of the wicked is
annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total ener ...
or eternal torment, the nature of immortality, whether the wicked are resurrected after the millennium, and whether the sanctuary of Daniel 8 refers to the one in heaven or one on earth. The movement has encouraged the examination of the whole
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
, leading Seventh-day Adventists and some smaller Adventist groups to observe the seventh day Sabbath. The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has compiled that church's core beliefs in
the 28 Fundamental Beliefs 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, a ...
(1980 and 2005), which use biblical references as justification. In 2010, Adventism claimed some 22 million believers scattered in various independent churches. The largest church within the movement—the Seventh-day Adventist Church—had more than 21 million members in 2020.


History

Adventism began as an inter-denominational movement. Its most vocal leader was William Miller. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people in the United States supported Miller's predictions of Christ's return. After the " Great Disappointment" of October 22, 1844, many people in the movement gave up on Adventism. Of those remaining Adventist, the majority gave up believing in any prophetic (biblical) significance for the October 22 date, yet they remained expectant of the near Advent (
second coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messia ...
of Jesus).George Knight, ''A Brief History of Seventh-day Adventists'' Of those who retained the October 22 date, many maintained that Jesus had come not literally but "spiritually", and consequently were known as "spiritualizers". A small minority held that something concrete had indeed happened on October 22, but that this event had been misinterpreted. This belief later emerged and crystallized with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the largest remaining body today.


Albany Conference (1845)

The Albany Conference in 1845, attended by 61 delegates, was called to attempt to determine the future course and meaning of the Millerite movement. Following this meeting, the "Millerites" then became known as "Adventists" or "Second Adventists". However, the delegates disagreed on several theological points. Four groups emerged from the conference: The Evangelical Adventists, The Life and Advent Union, the Advent Christian Church, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The largest group was organized as the American Millennial Association, a portion of which was later known as the Evangelical Adventist Church. Unique among the Adventists, they believed in an eternal hell and consciousness in death. They declined in numbers, and by 1916 their name did not appear in the United States Census of Religious Bodies. It has diminished to almost non-existence today. Their main publication was the ''Advent Herald'', of which
Sylvester Bliss Sylvester Bliss (1814–1863) was a Millerite minister; editor and author. Biography Bliss was a Congregationalist from Hartford, Connecticut, with a radical education, he also belonged to the Historical Society of Boston. And he was the Milleri ...
was the editor until his death in 1863. It was later called the ''Messiah's Herald''. The Life and Advent Union was founded by George Storrs in 1863. He had established ''The Bible Examiner'' in 1842. It merged with the Adventist Christian Church in 1964. The Advent Christian Church officially formed in 1861 and grew rapidly at first. It declined a little during the 20th century. The Advent Christians publish the four magazines ''The Advent Christian Witness'', ''Advent Christian News'', ''Advent Christian Missions'' and ''Maranatha''. They also operate a liberal arts college at Aurora, Illinois; and a one-year Bible College in Lenox, Massachusetts, called Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies. The Primitive Advent Christian Church later separated from a few congregations in West Virginia. The Seventh-day Adventist Church officially formed in 1863. It believes in the sanctity of the seventh-day Sabbath as a holy day for worship. It publishes the ''
Adventist Review The General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its headquarters is located in Silver Spring, Maryland and oversees the church in directing its various divisions an ...
'', which evolved from several early church publications. Youth publications include ''KidsView'', '' Guide'' and '' Insight''. It has grown to a large worldwide denomination and has a significant network of medical and educational institutions. Miller did not join any of the movements, and he spent the last few years of his life working for unity, before dying in 1849.


Denominations

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


Christadelphians

The Christadelphians were founded in 1844 by John Thomas and had an estimated 25,000 members in 170 ecclesias, or churches, in 2000 in America.


Advent Christian Church

The Advent Christian Church was founded in 1860 and had 25,277 members in 302 churches in 2002 in America. It is a "first-day" body of Adventist Christians founded on the teachings of William Miller. It adopted the "conditional immortality" doctrine of Charles F. Hudson and George Storrs, who formed the "Advent Christian Association" in
Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the ...
, in 1860.


Primitive Advent Christian Church

The Primitive Advent Christian Church is a small group which separated from the Advent Christian Church. It differs from the parent body mainly on two points. Its members observe foot washing as a rite of the church, and they teach that reclaimed backsliders should be baptized (even though they had formerly been baptized). This is sometimes referred to as rebaptism.


Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church, founded in 1863, had over 19,500,000 baptized members (not counting children of members) worldwide as of June 2016. It is best known for its teaching that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is the Sabbath and is the appropriate day for worship. However, the second coming of Jesus Christ along with the Judgement day based on the three angels message in Revelation 14:6–13 remain core beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists.


Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement

The Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement is a small offshoot with an unknown number of members from the Seventh-day Adventist Church caused by disagreement over military service on the Sabbath day during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.


Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association

The Davidians (originally named Shepherd's Rod) is a small offshoot with an unknown number of members made up primarily of voluntarily disfellowshipped members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They were originally known as the Shepherd's Rod and are still sometimes referred to as such. The group derives its name from two books on Bible doctrine written by its founder,
Victor Houteff Victor Tasho Houteff ( Bulgarian; Виктор Ташо Хутев ; March 2, 1885 – February 5, 1955) was the founder of the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist organization, known as The Shepherd's Rod. Early life Houteff was born in Raicovo, Eas ...
, in 1929. ;Branch Davidians The Branch Davidians were a split ("branch") from the Davidians. A group that gathered around David Koresh (the so-called ''Koreshians'') abandoned Davidian teachings and turned into a religious cult. Many of them were killed during the infamous Waco Siege of April 1993.


Church of God (Seventh Day)

The Church of God (Seventh-Day) was founded in 1863 and it had an estimated 11,000 members in 185 churches in 1999 in America. Its founding members separated in 1858 from those Adventists associated with
Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...
who later organized themselves as Seventh-day Adventists in 1863. The Church of God (Seventh Day) split in 1933, creating two bodies: one headquartered in Salem, West Virginia, and known as the
Church of God (7th day) – Salem Conference The Churches of God (Seventh-Day) is composed of a number of sabbath-keeping churches, among which the General Conference of the Church of God, or simply CoG7, is the best-known organization. The Churches of God (Seventh Day) observe Sabbath on ...
and the other one headquartered in Denver, Colorado and known as the
General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh-Day) The Churches of God (Seventh-Day) is composed of a number of sabbath-keeping churches, among which the General Conference of the Church of God, or simply CoG7, is the best-known organization. The Churches of God (Seventh Day) observe Sabbath o ...
. The Worldwide Church of God splintered from this.


Church of God General Conference

Many denominations known as " Church of God" have Adventist origins. The Church of God General Conference was founded in 1921 and had 7,634 members in 162 churches in 2004 in America. It is a first-day Adventist Christian body which is also known as the ''Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith'' and the ''Church of God General Conference (Morrow, GA)''.


Creation Seventh-Day Adventist Church

The Creation Seventh-Day Adventist Church is a small group that broke off from the Seventh-Day Adventists in 1988, and organized itself as a church in 1991.


United Seventh-Day Brethren

The United Seventh-Day Brethren is a small Sabbatarian Adventist body. In 1947, several individuals and two independent congregations within the Church of God Adventist movement formed the ''United Seventh-Day Brethren'', seeking to increase fellowship and to combine their efforts in evangelism, publications, and other .


Other minor Adventist groups

* True and Free Adventists, a
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
offshoot * At least two denominations and numerous individual churches with a charismatic or
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movementcharismatic Adventism generally *
Church of the Blessed Hope The Church of the Blessed Hope (or Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith) is a small first-day Adventist Christian body. The churches have common roots with the Christadelphians and the Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith). Backgr ...
, a first-day Adventist church * United Sabbath-Day Adventist Church, an
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
* Celestia, a Christian communal town near Laporte in Sullivan County,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, founded by Millerite Peter E. Armstrong. It disintegrated before the end of the 19th century


Other relationships

Early in its development, the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell had close connections with the Millerite movement and stalwarts of the Adventist faith, including George Storrs and Joseph Seiss. Although both Jehovah's Witnesses and the Bible Students do not identify as part of the Millerite Adventist movement (or other denominations, in general), some theologians categorize these groups and related sects as Millerite Adventist because of their teachings regarding an imminent Second Coming and their use of specific dates. The various independent Bible Student groups currently have a cumulative membership of about 20,000 worldwide. As of 2021 there were nearly 8.7 million Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide.


See also

* Advent Christian Church * Adventist and related churches * List of Christian denominations#Millerites and comparable groups * Seventh-day Adventist Church * Other movements in
Adventism Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher W ...
** Great Disappointment ** William Miller (preacher) ** Millennialism ** Millerites **
Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
General: * Christian revival * Christianity in the 19th century


References


Bibliography

* Butler, Jonathan. "From Millerism to Seventh-Day Adventism: Boundlessness to Consolidation", ''Church History'', Vol. 55, 1986 * Jordan, Anne Devereaux. ''The Seventh-Day Adventists: A History'' (1988) * Land, Gary. ''Adventism in America: A History'' (1998) * Land, Gary. ''Historical Dictionary of the Seventh-Day Adventists'' (2005) * Morgan, Douglas. ''Adventism and the American Republic: The Public Involvement of a Major Apocalyptic Movement'' (University of Tennessee Press, 2001) *


External links


History of the Millerite Movement
a reprint from the ''
Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia The ''Seventh-day Adventist Commentary Reference Series'' is a set of volumes produced primarily by Seventh-day Adventist scholars, and designed for both scholarly and popular level use. It includes the seven-volume ''Seventh-day Adventist Bibl ...
'' 10:892–898, 1976.
Graphical timeline of major Millerite groups
from the Worldwide Church of God official website
Seventh-day Adventist Beliefs
list of beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church movement. {{Authority control History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Christian eschatology Christian terminology