Seventh-day Adventism Under Increasing Scrutiny

By The Remnant Herald

“Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, but a change will come. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence.” Testimonies for the Church, volume 5, p. 546

It was a complete surprise to many Seventh-day Adventists to have seen their faith and heritage mentioned by the secular press in America in connection with the “Trump Uprising” on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021. Following the illegal entry by hundreds of people into the halls of Congress to pressure its lawmakers to halt the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election, the God-given name of Seventh-day Adventists (Selected Messages, volume 2, p. 384 — Letter 110, 1902) was tied with those pronounced guilty by the liberal establishment of promoting “conspiracy theories.” Our historical background came under scrutiny from the media — portrayed by one commentator as an example of how a “new religion” can be created from a movement spouting “conspiracy theories.” The following piece demonstrates that even after almost 180 years, the history of the Great Disappointment is being interpreted by vested interests to advance their own view on current events:

“…if history has taught us anything, it is that failed prophecies and frustrated predictions don’t always mark the beginning of the end for radical social movements…

“In the early 19th century, New York farmer and Baptist preacher William Miller preached that the return of Jesus Christ was imminent. His prophecy was based largely on his study of the biblical book of Daniel. His interpretation led him to conclude, initially at least, that Christ would return sometime between March 1843 and 1844. When March 1844 passed without the appearance of Christ and His angels in the sky, Miller picked another date — April 18, 1844 — which also slid by without cosmic incident or divine intervention. A follower of Miller’s, Samuel Snow, proposed a third date in October, but the Day of Judgment had still not arrived. The Millerites were understandably disillusioned. One member, Henry Emmons, wrote that he had to be helped to his bedroom, where he lay ‘sick with disappointment.’…

“[After the Great Disappointment] One group began to argue that they were only partly wrong. The prophecies weren’t about the Second Coming and end of the world but, rather, about the cleansing of a heavenly sanctuary. It wasn’t an earthly event, it was a heavenly one, and this explained why, to us mere humans, it might appear that nothing had happened. It was out of this group that the Seventh-day Adventist Church arose. Today the Seventh-day Adventist Church has between 20-25 million members. They are, according to Christianity Today, [January 22, 2015], ‘the fifth largest Christian communion world-wide.’…

“While it might seem that the moral of this story is ‘be vague about your prophecies,’ the book of Daniel is in the Bible and the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a major denomination in Christianity. The initial prophecies weren’t strictly accurate, but the movements they generated, pivoted and flourished. Social psychologists call this phenomenon cognitive dissonance.” Website of Daily Beast (USA): How a New Religion Could Rise From the Ashes of QAnon. January 21, 2021. Candida Moss

The author of this piece, neglecting to include crucial material regarding the interpretation of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, omitting any reference to William Miller’s 13 years of research on the prophecies, ignoring the extensive interest in the books of Daniel and Revelation across multiple countries by many thousands of Christians during “The Great Second Advent Awakening”, and failing to make any reference to the common misunderstanding prevalent in that era on the “clean-sing of the sanctuary” as pertaining to this planet, did herself no credit whatsoever by giving a false extrapolation that the Advent Movement can be likened to a “conspiracy theory”. (Her line of reasoning lacked further credibility when she said that the book of Daniel was written during the time of Antiochus Epiphanes [175–164 B.C.] and that the twelfth chapter of Daniel was added by someone else at a later period).

It appears that within the last ten years or so, more and more people who call themselves atheists, liberals and progressives have become emboldened to smear any biblical belief they disagree with as a “conspiracy theory,”  especially targeting fundamentalist, conservative Christians. Implicit confidence in Scripture is held up to be “primitive,” “backward,” “unenlightened” and “unscientific.” Those Seventh-day Adventists who believe in the credibility and authenticity of Scripture (including the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, and the biblical account of Creation, thereby upholding the validity of the seventh-day Sabbath) will be increasingly accused of promoting “conspiracy theories.”

Back in 2018, Newsweek magazine carried an article by Stephan Lewandowsky, Chairman of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Bristol, England, entitled, “Is Creationism the Ultimate Conspiracy Theo-ry?” This piece is illustrative of how “the intelligentsia” evaluates people of faith who prefer the word of God above their evolutionary “science”—

“…teleological thinking — the idea that things came into being and exist for a purpose…[is] rejected by scientists because [it appeals] to intentions…trees do not grow leaves and rain clouds do not drop water with an out-come in mind. It rains because of physics. And those physics would apply if there were no flowers or any other life on the planet…

“There is growing evidence that indulging in conspiracy theories predisposes people to reject scientific findings from climate change to vaccinations and AIDS. And researchers have now found that teleological thinking also links in conspiracy theories and creationism…the researchers [from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland] also showed a strong association between creationism and conspiracism … The new study takes the role of conspiratorial thought a step further. It suggests that creationism itself could be seen as a belief system involving the ultimate conspiracy theory: THE PURPOSEFUL CREATION OF ALL THINGS.” Newsweek, August 22, 2018. New York City, New York. (Capitalization supplied by the Editor)

Evolutionary science has long defied God by denying Him His proper place in the creation of this world (and, by extension, the universe) and the reason for it:

“For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, HE FORMED IT TO BE INHABITED: I am the LORD; and there is none else.” Isaiah 45:18. (Capitalization supplied by the Editor)

“For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth…all things were created by Him, and for Him.” Colossians 1:15, 16

“He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion.” Jeremiah 10:12

The servant of the Lord wrote regarding the sustaining power of God in upholding His creation:

“In dwelling upon the laws of matter and the laws of nature, many lose sight of, if they do not deny, the continual and direct agency of God. They convey the idea that nature acts independently of God, having in and of itself its own limits and its own powers wherewith to work…This is false science; there is nothing in the word of God to sustain it. God does not annul His laws, but He is continually working through them, using them as His instruments. They are not self-working. God is perpetually at work in nature. She is His servant, directed as He pleases. Nature in her work testifies of the intelligent presence and active agency of a Being who moves in all His works according to His will. It is not an original power inherent in nature that year by year yields its bounties and continues its march around the sun. The hand of infinite power is perpetually at work guiding this planet. It is God’s power momentarily exercised that keeps it in position in its rotation.

“The God of heaven is constantly at work. It is by His power that vegetation is caused to flourish, that every leaf appears and every flower blooms. Every drop of rain or flake of snow, every spire of grass, every leaf and flower and shrub, testifies of God. These little things so common around us teach the lesson that nothing is beneath the notice of the infinite God, nothing is too small for His attention … Every breath, every throb of the heart, is a continual evidence of the power of an ever-present God.” Testimonies for the Church, volume 8, pp. 259–260

“Learned” scientists, who pride themselves on their intellectual superiority and independence from biblical revelation, only reveal their human foolishness:

“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” Romans 1:23; Psalm 14:1 (also Psalm 53:1)

The “rationale” of linking creationism with conspiracy theories has been entrenched within the scientific community, even more so after the Capitol Hill invasion. A professor emeritus in chemistry at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, recently asserted that creationism is not only a more enduring and dangerous “conspiracy theory,” but one in which its adherents live in a “parallel universe”—an alternate existence:

“Many people around the world looked on aghast as they witnessed the harm done by conspiracy theories such as QAnon and the myth of the stolen U.S. election that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6. Yet while these ideas will no doubt fade in time, there is arguably a much more enduring conspiracy theory that also pervades America in the form of young Earth creationism…

“In the U.S. today, up to 40% of adults agree with the young Earth creationist claim that all humans are descended from Adam and Eve within the past 10,000 years. They also believe that living creatures are the result of ‘special creation’ rather than evolution and shared ancestry. And that Noah’s flood was worldwide and responsible for the sediments in the geologic column…such as those exposed in the Grand Canyon.

“Such beliefs derive from the doctrine of biblical infallibility, long accepted as integral to the faith of numerous evangelical and Baptist churches throughout the world, including the Free Church of Scotland. But I would argue that the present-day creationist movement is a fully fledged conspiracy theory…

“I fear that the creationist conspiracy theory will not be so short-lived. It is driven by a deep-seated power struggle within religious communities, between modernists and literalists; between those who regard Scripture as coming to us through human authors, however inspired, and those who regard it as a perfect supernatural revelation. And that is a struggle that will be with us for a long time to come.” Website of The Conversation (Melbourne, Australia): Why Creationism Bears All the Hallmarks of a Conspiracy Theory. February 4, 2021

We may ascertain the intensity of the final contest just before us when the truths of God — set upon the infallibility and perpetuity of divine revelation — will be cast against the errors of all religions and that of “science falsely so called” (1 Timothy 6:20). What will be said of those Seventh-day Adventists upon whom the latter rain will be poured out in the proclamation of the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6–12, beginning with the first, which contains these words:

“Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Revelation 14:7

What type of forces will confederate together to try to counteract this heaven-sent appeal? And that’s just the first angel’s message! Can you imagine the magnitude of the opposition that shall be arrayed against the ambassadors of Christ when the second and third angels’ messages will also be heralded, against Babylon, the beast and its mark and its image, against the unholy alliance of church and state, against the entire system of deception that underpins the conspiracy of the last days? What manner of persecutions shall be unleashed when the message of Revelation 18 is proclaimed in the Loud Cry, when “the sins of Babylon will be laid open…all will be unmasked” (The Great Controversy, p. 424. 1884 edition)? We can get a sense of what God’s servants will face in the future when we read the final chapters of The Great Controversy. In another place, Sister White wrote:

“Our people have been regarded as too insignificant to be worthy of notice, BUT A CHANGE WILL COME. The Christian world is now making movements which will necessarily bring commandment-keeping people into prominence. There is a constant supplanting of God’s truth by the theories and false doctrines of human origin. Movements are being set on foot to enslave the consciences of those who are loyal to God. The law-making powers will be against God’s people. Every soul will be tested.” Testimonies for the Church, volume 5, p. 546. (Capitalization supplied by the Editor)

Central to the attack on the messages of the three angels of Revelation 14 and the angel of Revelation 18 is a denial of the key words of the fourth commandment, all written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18):

“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:11

The coming contest over the Sabbath-Sunday question will put the full focus on Seventh-day Adventists, especially when it has been freely admitted by the Roman Catholic Church itself:

“If the Bible is the only guide for the Christian, then the Seventh-day Adventist is right in observing the Saturday with the Jew.” The Question-Box Answers, p. 254. Bertrand Conway [Catholic]. The Columbus Press. New York City, New York. 1903

“People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority should logically become Seventh-day Adventists and keep Saturday.” Saint Catherine Church Sentinel, May 21, 1995. Algonac, Michigan

Increasing numbers of our people — particularly in Western nations like Australia and the United States — either mock, dismiss, or welcome the eventuality of a Sunday Law in the near future:

Matthew Quartey (studied at Andrews University, and Creighton University — A JESUIT INSTITUTION in Omaha, Nebraska): “Ours is a different world now…A world which suggests that Sunday laws likely may not be enacted, at least not in our lifetimes, and maybe never.” Spectrum, September 17, 2020

Stephen Ferguson (SDA lawyer from Perth, Australia): “I have no fear of an impending Sunday law. In fact, I welcome it. I can only dream of a guaranteed day of complete rest. I long for a time when mowing the lawn, cleaning the pool, putting out laundry, or washing the car on a Sunday will be illegal.” Website of Adventist Today: Why Sunday is My Day of Rest. May 10, 2024

The sad reality of the spotlight that shall shine upon Seventh-day Adventists at the time of the Loud Cry is that attention will also be given to those who will renounce their faith in order to please the world:

“When Sabbath-keepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.” The Great Controversy, p. 426. 1884 edition (also page 608. 1888 and 1911 eds.)

Amidst the cry of “conspiracy theories” and the great falling away at the end of time, the flood lamps upon God’s faithful and obedient people will shine forth the living testimony to the world. “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with its glory” (Revelation 18:1). The glorious appeal which will be proclaimed by the faithful flock is a repeat of what the apostle Peter told the church leaders of his day — and affirmed by the servant of the Lord:

“We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29

“‘A Thus saith the Lord’ is not to be set aside for a ‘Thus saith the church’ or a ‘Thus saith the state.’” Acts of the Apostles, p. 69

About: The Remnant Herald is an Australian publication produced by Remnant Ministries. The current editor and author is Elvis Placer, and we have reproduced this article with his permission. You can contact Elvis Placer through email at rh1844@pm.me or call the office clerk at +61 3 9706 2173 to request a FREE subscription to the Remnant Herald.