The Achilles Heel of Seventh Day Adventism: 1844

The Seventh Day Adventists are best known for their promotion of "Seventh Day" (Saturday/Sabbath) Worship (which I've discussed Here), but surprisingly that Sabbath teaching isn't even their most important doctrine! Since SDAs are quite often militant against Catholics, I think this apologetics piece will be quite handy in stopping them dead in their tracks. The key is to look at the other half of their name: Adventist.

The SDAs have "28 Fundamental Beliefs" [Here] which are basically their unique set of dogmas that are required believing for any SDA to be in good standing. While everyone is aware of their Sabbath teaching, what is far less known is that the SDAs have a dogma concerning the year 1844, and the reason why you don't know about it is because it is quite embarrassing for the SDAs. The full text of the Fundamental Belief #24 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 2300 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. In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. 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. It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Lev. 16; Num. 14:34; Ezek. 4:6; Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14; 9:24-27; Heb. 1:3; 2:16, 17; 4:14-16; 8:1-5; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; Rev. 8:3-5; 11:19; 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:11, 12.)

You might be having a hard time understanding what is being said in the above FD#24 about this "Investigative Judgment" (I.J.), but that's because it isn't meant to make sense. The dogma is complete nonsense, reworded in order to save face as to the original meaning. If you read the official page dedicated to explaining this IJ [here] you will see that it spends many paragraphs saying nonsense. However, it does give us some details as to what it all originally meant, such as the following quote (trimmed back for length): 

The prophet Daniel was shown the heavenly Sanctuary and its cleansing in a vision from God. During this vision, he saw an overview of future world events. Then he overheard a discussion. “How long will the vision be?” asks a “holy one” (Daniel 8:13, NKJV). Another “holy one” answers: “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed” (Daniel 8:14, NKJV).

Through the study of this prophecy, Bible scholars found that this time period represents twenty-three hundred years. Daniel 9 shares that the beginning of this prophecy would occur when “the command to restore and build Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:25, NKJV) was given. This command was given by the King Artaxerxes in B.C. 457. Beginning at this date, the end of the prophecy would be in the year 1844 A.D.

In the 1800s, a group of believers who traced these prophetic lines believed the earth was the sanctuary. They believed the cleansing of the sanctuary would be at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Just as the earthly sanctuary was cleansed on the Day of Atonement, they believed Jesus would return on the Day of Atonement in 1844. 

As this message was shared, many sincere people started preparing for Jesus’ soon coming. They were called Advent believers because of their faith in Christ’s literal return. They worked to warn the world of its impending end. As the day of October 22, 1844 dawned, the hope of the Advent believers was palpable. Imagine the deep disappointment when the glorious event didn’t happen. However, through more prayer and Bible study, it was found the Bible didn’t teach that the earth was the sanctuary. God had a heavenly Sanctuary.

Instead of returning to earth on the Day of Atonement, God began this process in the Most Holy Place. He began the work of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary. In 1844, the ministry of Jesus expanded to begin the process of the judgment. Not only is He available to forgive sins and to intercede on our behalf. Now He is working with His Father to see who has decided to let Him be their Savior and Lord. Jesus is on hand to plead for us. Because of His sacrifice, He asks for our salvation.

Here we see the origin of the term Adventist. Catholics know of the term "Advent" because of the Season of Advent, which in Latin means "Coming/Arrival" of Jesus. In this situation, the Adventist movement was a group of Protestants in the 1800s who began trying to predict the Second Coming, and using wacky methods like turning "2300 days" into 2300 years, they came up with 1844 for the Second Coming of Jesus. If this kind of talk sounds familiar, that's because I have written about it before with regards to another Adventist group from the 1800s, the Jehovah's Witnesses, who make similar claims about the year 1914 (see my other JW posts). 

What is noteworthy about the 1844 prediction is that it got many Protestants in the United States excited about the Second Coming. But when the Second Coming did not end up happening, this news became famously known as the "Great Disappointment" (here). Notice how the above quote even admits this: "Imagine the deep disappointment when the glorious event didn’t happen." In other words, they admit the prophecy was false. But in order to save face, they re-interpreted the prophecy to mean now Jesus has begun a new ministry in heaven, a cleansing ministry and judgement. Both of these ideas are nonsense, as the Bible (especially the book of Hebrews) shows the cleansing and judgment have already taken place and/or are continuing since Jesus originally went back to heaven at the Ascension. Thus, the SDAs are now stuck affirming (a) 1844 was a crucial year in Salvation History, and (b) that a cleansing/judgment began. Note that nothing out of the ordinary even happened on earth to even suggest new things were happening in heaven, unlike the Jehovah's Witnesses who can at least claim that World War 1 broke out in 1914. Why can the SDAs not just dump this 1844 doctrine? Because their own "Prophets" taught it, so the credibility of their own Prophets like Ellen White cannot be found to be in error. So the SDAs are caught affirming this blatantly false prophecy, and they are quite embarrassed by it, which is why they don't like to talk about it and why you've never heard of it. And then what is the point of calling yourself "Adventist" if you simply believe in an unknown time for the Second Coming, just like the entire rest of Christianity?

Building a new denomination around a prophetic date is crucial, because in order for a new denomination to have credibility and claim to be the One True (Restored) Church, they have to prove themselves capable of properly interpreting the Bible. This goes back to the very beginning of Protestantism, where it was essential for Luther/Calvin to say the Pope was the Antichrist and the world was going to end soon [see HERE]. Hence the Jehovah's Witnesses founder Charles Russell and the SDA's official prophet, Ellen White (co-founder of the SDAs in 1844), as the SDA Fundamental Belief #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.

Just as with the Jehovah's Witnesses, as I've explained elsewhere, the key feature that makes them stand out is Biblical prophecy. In the case of the JWs, they need their 1914 doctrine to stand out from everyone else. Otherwise, without 1914, the JWs would basically be a typical invisible Protestant denomination who didn't believe in the Trinity. Likewise, without the 1844 doctrine, the SDAs would simply be one of many invisible Protestant denominations, who simply got excited about the Sabbath Day. So the 1844 doctrine is linchpin for the SDAs, just as 1914 is for the JWs. And we can see how deeply embarrassed both groups are now that it is has been 178 years since 1844 and 107 years since 1914. At what point does a prophecy lose all credibility? What is the point of the Bible telling us a specific date if Jesus doesn't return within a decade or so, and instead drags on for over 100 years? Just to show the audacity of the SDAs, they had a 150th year anniversary conference in 2013, where they said:

Our 150th anniversary is not a time for parties or celebration — those who founded the General Conference in May 1863 would have undoubtedly been deeply disappointed to know that their descendants would still be on earth in 2013. This important anniversary is rather a time for reflection; for repentance; for thanksgiving; and for renewed commitment to the purpose for which God called this movement into being.

Notice that even the SDAs officially admit the original SDAs would be embarrassed to see their prediction was wrong by 150 years. They would have most likely admitted they were wrong. But here we are today, and the SDA says that being wrong by at least 100 years is merely a "time for reflection"!

If you bring this up to an SDA, you will just shut them down. I've interacted with militant SDAs who come in full force, just to instantly retreat once I mentioned 1844 to them. It is blatant false prophecy. Period. It is so embarrassing that even conservative SDA pastors have publicly doubted the 1844 prophecy and even today some want the SDAs to officially get rid of it as a "fundamental belief". Just Google and you will see. 

As a bonus, consider Fundamental Belief #22, which says:

We are called to be a godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony with biblical principles in all aspects of personal and social life. For the Spirit to recreate in us the character of our Lord we involve ourselves only in those things that will produce Christlike purity, health, and joy in our lives. This means that our amusement and entertainment should meet the highest standards of Christian taste and beauty. While recognizing cultural differences, our dress is to be simple, modest, and neat, befitting those whose true beauty does not consist of outward adornment but in the imperishable ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit. It also means that because our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, we are to care for them intelligently. Along with adequate exercise and rest, we are to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified in the Scriptures. Since alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and the irresponsible use of drugs and narcotics are harmful to our bodies, we are to abstain from them as well. Instead, we are to engage in whatever brings our thoughts and bodies into the discipline of Christ, who desires our wholesomeness, joy, and goodness. (Gen. 7:2; Exod. 20:15; Lev. 11:1-47; Ps. 106:3; Rom. 12:1, 2; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 10:31; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 10:5; Eph. 5:1-21; Phil. 2:4; 4:8; 1 Tim. 2:9, 10; Titus 2:11, 12; 1 Peter 3:1-4; 1 John 2:6; 3 John 2.)

Notice that within an otherwise innocent and legitimate call for modest living, the SDAs sneak into this statement a sentence about abstaining from "unclean foods" mentioned in the Scriptures. When you look carefully, their Biblical proof text is Leviticus 11, where it says the Israelites were to avoid things like eating pork. But this command to avoid pork is an Old Testament regulation, not a new one (see many sites online showing the New Testament allowance of eating pork). This teaching is blatantly at odds with the New Testament and a form of Judaizing, but the SDAs don't care, nor do they see the inconsistency in deciding to keep some Levitical laws while avoiding other Levitical laws. Furthermore, in their official statement Caring for the Environment, the SDAs say: "We promote a simple vegetarian diet." While they don't make vegetarianism a dogma, the SDAs strongly promote being vegetarian, and you're not really considered a healthy true believer if you don't be vegetarian. So where did this vegetarianism/pork/alcohol/health mindset come from? Back in the 1800s, just like today, there were health fads going around, and even health fads that got caught up with Protestant preaching. This is why groups like the Mormons, who also came around during the mid-1800s, also promoted vegetarianism and no alchohol/caffeine. This is despite the fact Jesus ate the Passover lamb and the New Testament (and Old) plainly allows responsible use of alcohol, including at the Last Supper. 

The "Great Disappointment" 1844