Ellet Joseph "E.J." Waggoner (January 12, 1855 – May 28, 1916) was a
Seventh-day Adventist
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 ...
particularly known for his impact on the
theology of the church, along with friend and associate
Alonzo T. Jones
Alonzo Trévier Jones (1850 – May 12, 1923) was a Seventh-day Adventist known for his impact on the theology of the church, along with friend and associate Ellet J. Waggoner. He was a key participant in the 1888 Minneapolis General Confer ...
at the
1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session. At the
meeting
A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision making.
Defin ...
of the
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
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 and ...
Ellet J. Waggoner along with
Alonzo T. Jones
Alonzo Trévier Jones (1850 – May 12, 1923) was a Seventh-day Adventist known for his impact on the theology of the church, along with friend and associate Ellet J. Waggoner. He was a key participant in the 1888 Minneapolis General Confer ...
presented a message on
justification
Justification may refer to:
* Justification (epistemology), a property of beliefs that a person has good reasons for holding
* Justification (jurisprudence), defence in a prosecution for a criminal offenses
* Justification (theology), God's act of ...
supported by
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 ...
, but resisted by church leaders such as
G. I. Butler
George Ide Butler (1834–1918) was a Seventh-day Adventist minister, administrator, and author. Originally from Vermont, United States, Butler's parents were closely involved in the beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 1853 his fami ...
and others. He supported theological issues such as the meaning of "righteousness by faith", the nature of the Godhead, the relationship between
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
and
grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...
, and
Justification
Justification may refer to:
* Justification (epistemology), a property of beliefs that a person has good reasons for holding
* Justification (jurisprudence), defence in a prosecution for a criminal offenses
* Justification (theology), God's act of ...
and its relationship to
Sanctification
Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare la, sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. ...
.
Biography
Waggoner was born in
Baraboo
Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is sit ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
on January 12, 1855, to Joseph Harvey and Maryetta Hall Waggoner. He was the sixth of ten children.
His father had joined an Advent group in 1852, which would later become the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Soon thereafter he became a preacher and writer, and remained active until his death in 1889. He was on the committee that adopted the official name – Seventh-day Adventist – that is still in use today.
Ellet Waggoner attended Battle Creek College (now
Andrews University
Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship univer ...
) and later graduated as a physician from
Bellevue Medical College
Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. For some time he served on the staff of the
Battle Creek Sanitarium
The Battle Creek Sanitarium was a world-renowned health resort in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. It started in 1866 on health principles advocated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and from 1876 to 1943 was managed by Dr. John ...
. During this time, he married Jessie Moser, whom he had met at Battle Creek College. Jessie and Waggoner had two daughters, Bessie and Pearl. They moved to
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
about 1880, where he served as manager of the
St. Helena Hospital
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...
in
Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three consti ...
, California.
In 1883, Waggoner stopped practicing medicine and became the assistant editor for the ''
Signs of the Times'' – an official paper presenting the stands and views of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His father, J. H. Waggoner was then the editor.
He met Alonzo T. Jones in 1884. In 1886 Ellet Waggoner and his friend Jones became joint editors of the ''Signs of the Times''. Waggoner held this post until 1891. The magazine published a number of his articles in the five years preceding the notable
1888 Minneapolis General Conference
The 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session was a meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in October 1888. It is regarded as a landmark event in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Chu ...
. In 1888 Waggoner presented his ideas regarding righteousness by faith at the
General Conference session held in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...
. The events surrounding and topics presented at that session continue to be debated and studied.
In 1892 Waggoner went to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
where he became the editor of The Present Truth magazine. He remained there for ten years, working with
W. W. Prescott
William Warren Prescott (1855–1944) was an administrator, educator, and scholar in the early Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Biography
Prescott's parents were part of the Millerite movement.
W. W. Prescott graduated from Dartmouth College in ...
in the training school in England, and continuing in his writing and studies on Christ and His righteousness.
Upon his return to the United States, he joined the faculty of Emmanuel Missionary College (now
Andrews University
Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship univer ...
). Because of a divorce and his subsequent remarriage, he separated from denominational employment. He spent the last years of his life employed by the Battle Creek Sanitarium.
Waggoner experienced a stroke in his sleep and died at home in
Battle Creek
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which encom ...
on Friday, May 28, 1916.
Publications
Some of his better known writings include
The Glad Tidings (1900 Original)*''The Everlasting Covenant'' (1896)
*
' (1895)
*
' (1887)
*''Waggoner on Romans'' (1896)
*''Sermons on Romans'' (1891)
*''Christ and His Righteousness'' (1889)
*''The Fathers of the Catholic Church''
Also:
*
Prophetic Lights' (
DjVu format)
See also
*
Alonzo T. Jones
Alonzo Trévier Jones (1850 – May 12, 1923) was a Seventh-day Adventist known for his impact on the theology of the church, along with friend and associate Ellet J. Waggoner. He was a key participant in the 1888 Minneapolis General Confer ...
*
1888 Minneapolis General Conference
The 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session was a meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in October 1888. It is regarded as a landmark event in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Chu ...
*
History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s to the 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edso ...
*
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
*
Seventh-day Adventist theology
The theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church resembles that of Protestant Christianity, combining elements from Lutheran, Wesleyan-Arminian, and Anabaptist branches of Protestantism. Adventists believe in the infallibility of Scripture and ...
*
Seventh-day Adventist eschatology
The Seventh-day Adventist Church holds a unique system of eschatological (or end-times) beliefs. Adventist eschatology, which is based on a historicist interpretation of prophecy, is characterised principally by the premillennial Second Coming ...
*
Teachings of Ellen White
Ellen G. White, one of the co-founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was extremely influential on the church, which considers her a prophet, understood today as an expression of the New Testament spiritual gift of prophecy. She was a volumi ...
*
Inspiration of Ellen White
Most Seventh-day Adventists believe church co-founder Ellen G. White (1827–1915) was inspired by God as a prophet, today understood as a manifestation of the New Testament "gift of prophecy," as described in the official beliefs of the church. ...
*
Prophecy in the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White, one of the church's co-founders, was a prophetess, understood today as an expression of the New Testament spiritual gift of prophecy.
Seventh-day Adventist believe that White had the spiritual gi ...
*
Investigative judgment
The investigative judgment, or pre-Advent Judgment (or, more accurately the pre-Second Advent Judgment), is a unique Seventh-day Adventist doctrine, which asserts that the divine judgment of professed Christians has been in progress since 1844. It ...
*
The Pillars of Adventism
The Pillars of Adventism are landmark doctrines for Seventh-day Adventists. They are Bible doctrines that define who they are as a people of faith; doctrines that are "non-negotiables" in Adventist theology. The Seventh-day Adventist church teache ...
*
Second Advent
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 messian ...
*
Baptism by Immersion
Immersion baptism (also known as baptism by immersion or baptism by submersion) is a method of baptism that is distinguished from baptism by affusion (pouring) and by aspersion (sprinkling), sometimes without specifying whether the immersion is ...
*
Conditional Immortality
In Christian theology, conditionalism or conditional immortality is a concept in which the gift of immortality is attached to (conditional upon) belief in Jesus Christ. This doctrine is based in part upon another biblical argument, that the human ...
*
Historicism
Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely ...
*
Three Angels' Messages
The "three angels' messages" is an interpretation of the messages given by three angels in Revelation . The Seventh-day Adventist church teaches that these messages are given to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ, and sees the ...
*
End times
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that neg ...
*
Sabbath in Seventh-day Adventism
The seventh-day Sabbath, observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening, is an important part of the beliefs and practices of seventh-day churches. These churches emphasize biblical references such as the ancient Hebrew practice of beginning a ...
*
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 ...
*
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 and ...
*
Adventist
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 Wil ...
*
Seventh-day Adventist Church Pioneers
The Seventh-day Adventist Church pioneers were members of Seventh-day Adventist Church, part of the group of Millerites, who came together after the Great Disappointment across the United States and formed the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 18 ...
*
Seventh-day Adventist worship
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, and ...
References and external links
* Richard Lewis, ed. ''The Living Witness'' (Mountain View, Calf.: Pacific Press, 1959).
* David P. McMahon.
Ellet Joseph Waggoner: The Myth and the Man'
(Fallbrook, Calif.: Verdict Publications, 1979).
* R. W. Schwartz. ''Light Bearers to the Remnant'' (Boise, Idaho: Pacific Press, 1979).
* A. W. Spalding. ''Captains of the Host''. (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1949).
* Clinton Wahlen, "What Did E. J. Waggoner Say at Minneapolis?" ''
Adventist Heritage
Progressive Adventists are members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who prefer different emphases or disagree with certain beliefs traditionally held by mainstream Adventism and officially by the church. While they are often described as lib ...
'' 13:1 (Winter 1988): 22–37
* "The Christology of Ellet Joseph Waggoner", chapter 3 in Reprinted with permission by
Andrews University
Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship univer ...
Press.
Berrien Springs
Berrien Springs is a village in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,800 at the time of the 2010 census. The village is located within Oronoko Charter Township.
History
Berrien Springs, like Berrien County, is ...
,
MI (February 1992)
* Woodrow W. Whidden II. ''E. J. Waggoner: From the Physician of Good News to Agent of Division'' (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waggoner, Ellet Joseph
Seventh-day Adventist religious workers
Seventh-day Adventist theologians
American theologians
1855 births
1916 deaths
American Seventh-day Adventists
People from Baraboo, Wisconsin
Andrews University alumni