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 pop ...

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 compete ...

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 The Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller, who in 1831 first shared publicly his belief that the Second Advent of Jesus Christ would occur in roughly the year 1843–1844. Coming during the Second Great Awakening, his ...

. 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 In some forms of Christianity the intermediate state or interim state is a person's existence between death and the universal resurrection. In addition, there are beliefs in a particular judgment right after death and a general judgment or last ...

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 energy a ...

or eternal torment, the nature of immortality, whether the wicked are resurrected after the millennium, and whether the sanctuary of

Daniel 8 Daniel 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel. It tells of Daniel's vision of a two-horned ram destroyed by a one-horned goat, followed by the history of the "little horn", which is Daniel's code-word for the Greek king Antiochus IV Epip ...

refers to the one in

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

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, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, leading Seventh-day Adventists and some smaller Adventist groups to observe the

seventh day Sabbath 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 ...

. 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 ...

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, an ...

(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 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 ...

—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 The Great Disappointment in the Millerite movement was the reaction that followed Baptist preacher William Miller's proclamations that Jesus Christ would return to the Earth by 1844, which he called the Second Advent. His study of the Daniel 8 p ...

" 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 messi ...

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. Adventism-en

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 The Advent Christian Church, also known as the Advent Christian General Conference (ACGC), is a "first-day" body of Adventist Christians founded on the teachings of William Miller in 1860. The organization's Executive Director is Reverend Steve ...

, and the

. 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 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 George Storrs (December 13, 1796 – December 28, 1879) was a Christian teacher and writer in the United States. Biography George Storrs was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire on December 13, 1796, son to Colonel Constant Storrs (a wheelwright in ...

in 1863. He had established ''The Bible Examiner'' in 1842. It merged with the Adventist Christian Church in 1964. The

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

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 and ...

'', which evolved from several early church publications. Youth publications include ''KidsView'', ''

Guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Expl ...

'' and ''

Insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intu ...

''. 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

, who formed the "Advent Christian Association" in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, 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 In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

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

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 one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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, Ea ...

, in 1929. ;Branch Davidians The

Branch Davidian The Branch Davidians (or the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists) were an apocalyptic new religious movement founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General Association of ...

s were a split ("branch") from the Davidians. A group that gathered around

David Koresh David Koresh (; born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993. As the head of the Branch Davidians, a religious sect and offshoot of the Davidian Sev ...

(the so-called ''Koreshians'') abandoned Davidian teachings and turned into a

religious cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This s ...

. Many of them were killed during the infamous

Waco Siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the law enforcement siege of the compound that belonged to the religious sect Branch Davidians. It was carried out by the U.S. federal government, Texas state law enforcement, and the U.S. mi ...

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 and the other one headquartered in Denver, Colorado and known as the General Conference of the Church of God (Seventh-Day). The

Worldwide Church of God Worldwide may refer to: * Pertaining to the entire world * Worldwide (rapper) (born 1986), American rapper * Pitbull (rapper) (born 1981), also known as Mr. Worldwide, American rapper * ''Worldwide'' (Audio Adrenaline album), 2003 * ''Worldwide ...

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 national ...

offshoot * At least two denominations and numerous individual churches with a charismatic or

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

-type bent have been influenced by or were offshoots – see

charismatic Adventism Charismatic Adventists are a segment of Adventism, specifically the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as well as some other Adventist denominations, such as the Adventist Church of Promise and the International Missionary Society of Seventh-Day Adven ...

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 Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

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 The Bible Student movement is a Millennialist Restorationist Christian movement. It emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell (1852–1916), also known as Pastor Russell, and his founding of the Zion's Watch Tower Tract S ...

founded by

Charles Taze Russell Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), or Pastor Russell, was an American Christian restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement. He was an ...

had close connections with the Millerite movement and stalwarts of the Adventist faith, including George Storrs and

Joseph Seiss Joseph Augustus Seiss (March 18, 1823 – June 20, 1904) was an American theologian and Lutheran minister. He was known for his religious writings on pyramidology and dispensationalism. Life Seiss was born in Graceham, Frederick County, Mar ...

. Although both

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

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.

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

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