The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest of several " Adventist" groups which arose from the Millerite movement of the 1840s. The Millerite movement was part of the wave of revivalism in the United States known as the Second Great Awakening and originated with William Miller, a Baptist preacher from Low Hampton, New York. Miller predicted on the basis of Daniel 8:14 and the " day-year principle" that Jesus Christ would return to Earth on October 22, 1844 . When this failed to occur, most of his followers disbanded and returned to their original churches.

Following this "Great Disappointment " (as it came to be known), a small number of Millerites came to believe that Miller's calculations were correct, but that his interpretation of Daniel 8:14 was flawed. Beginning with a vision reported by Hiram Edson on October 23, these Adventists arrived at the conviction that Daniel 8:14 foretold Christ's entrance into the "Most Holy Place" of the heavenly sanctuary rather than his second coming. Over the next decade this understanding developed into the doctrine of the investigative judgment: an eschatological process commencing in 1844 in which Christians will be judged to verify their eligibility for salvation. The Adventists continued to believe that Christ's second coming would be imminent, although they refrained from setting further dates for the event.

Adventists often claim continuity with earlier groups such as the Waldenses , Protestant Reformers including the Anabaptists, English and Scottish Puritans, evangelicals of the 18th century including Methodism, Seventh Day Baptists and others. ^[6]

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Development of Sabbatarianism

As the early Adventist movement consolidated, the question of the biblical day of rest and worship was raised. The foremost proponent of Sabbath-keeping among early Adventists was retired sea captain Joseph Bates. Bates was introduced to the Sabbath doctrine by a tract written by a Millerite preacher named Thomas M. Preble , who in turn had been influenced by Rachel Oakes Preston , a young Seventh Day Baptist.

This message was gradually accepted and formed the topic of the first edition of the church publication The Present Truth (now the Adventist Review), which appeared in July 1849.

Edson's first wife died in 1839, leaving him to care for three children. He soon remarried in Port Gibson, New York . ^[1]

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Involvement with the Millerites

The Millerite message came to Rochester, New York, in 1843 and soon spread to Port Gibson. The message was based on the preaching of William Miller and predicted that Christ would return about the year 1843, which was later refined to October 22, 1844. This belief was based on the day-year principle and an interpretation of the 2300 days mentioned in Daniel 8:14 which predicted that "the sanctuary would be cleansed". The Millerites understood this verse to point to Christ's return to "cleanse" the earth.

Edson, a Methodist, heard and accepted the message at an evangelistic series. On the last day of the series, Edson was impressed to visit a dying neighbor and ask for his healing in the name of the Lord. He followed through on this thought, entering the neighbor's home late that night and laying his hands on him. It is said that the neighbor immediately threw off the blankets, got out of bed, and began praising God. Soon the whole household was doing the same. ^[2]

That same night Edson believed that the Lord told him to begin preaching the Advent message to his friends and neighbors. He struggled with the thought for days, finding this more difficult to do even than healing the sick. He finally acted on his belief and soon three or four hundred of his neighbors accepted the Advent message as well. ^[3]

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 The Great Disappointment

Edson spent October 22, 1844 with friends waiting for the event, and was heart-broken when Jesus did not return as expected. He later wrote,

"Our fondest hopes and expectations were blasted, and such a spirit of weeping came over us as I never experienced before. It seemed that the loss of all earthly friends could have been no comparison. We wept, and wept, till the day dawn." ^[4]

As the hours passed, Edson reflected on the events of the previous year. He believed he had been given the power to heal the sick, and he had seen many hundreds of friends turn to Jesus as a result of his preaching. His confidence soon returned, and he suggested that he and some friends visit some nearby Adventists (or Millerites) to encourage them. On the morning of October 23 they were passing through Edson's grain field where he claimed to have seen a vision. In this vision, Edson came to understand that "the cleansing of the sanctuary" meant that Jesus was moving from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary, and not to the Second Coming of Jesus to earth:

"We started, and while passing through a large field I was stopped about midway of the field. Heaven seemed opened to my view, and I saw distinctly and clearly that instead of our High Priest coming out of the Most Holy of the heavenly sanctuary to come to this earth on the tenth day of the seventh month, at the end of the 2300 days, He for the first time entered on that day the second apartment of that sanctuary; and that He had a work to perform in the Most Holy before coming to the earth." ^[5]

Edson shared what he believed he saw with many of the local Adventists who were greatly encouraged by his account. As a result Edson began studying the bible with two of the other believers in the area, O. R. L. Crosier and Franklin B. Hahn , who published their findings in a paper called the Day-Dawn. This paper explored the biblical parable of the Ten Virgins, which describes a group of women waiting at a wedding for the bridegroom to arrive. The bridegroom, who was thought to symbolise Christ, was delayed, of which the men saw a parallel in their own situation. They attempted to explain why the "bridegroom" had tarried. The article also explored the concept of the day of atonement and what the authors called "our chronology of events".

The findings published by Crosier, Hahn and Edson led to a new understanding about the sanctuary in heaven. Their paper explained how there was a sanctuary in heaven, that Christ, the heavenly High Priest, was to cleanse. The believers understood this cleansing to be what the 2300 days in Daniel was referring to. This belief is known as the investigative judgment. Crosier's published account of Edson's vision came into the possession of James White (husband of Ellen G. White) and Joseph Bates, the latter of whom visited Edson in New York and converted him to the seventh-day Sabbath .

Later Life

At the close of a revival in 1855, Edson was ordained as a local church elder. ^[6] For many years after the " Great Disappointment " when Jesus did not come as expected, he continued as a lay preacher, working with Joseph Bates, J. N. Andrews, and J. N. Loughborough. He continued to farm in the summer to pay his expenses. In 1850 Edson sold his Port Gibson farm to help support the Sabbatarian movement, and sold a second farm two years later in Port Byron, NY so that James White could purchase a printing press in Rochester. The Sabbatarian Adventist movement was formally organized as the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1863. Edson was credentialed as a minister in 1870. ^[7]

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Organization and recognition

For about twenty years, the Adventist movement consisted of a loosely knit group of people who adhered to the Sabbath, the " heavenly sanctuary " interpretation of Daniel 8:14, conditional immortality and the expectation of Christ's premillennial return. Among its most prominent figures were James White, Ellen G. White and Joseph Bates. Ellen White came to occupy a particularly central role; her many visions and strong leadership convinced her fellow Adventists that she possessed the gift of prophecy.

The church was formally established in Battle Creek , Michigan, on May 23, 1863, with a membership of 3,500. ^[4] Through the evangelistic efforts of its ministers and laity, the church quickly grew and established a presence beyond North America during the late 1800s. The denominational headquarters were later moved from Battle Creek to Takoma Park, Maryland, where they remained until 1989.

For much of the 1800s, a majority of the Adventist leaders supported the doctrine of Arianism (although Ellen G. White was not one of them). ^[7] This, along with the movement's other unique theological views, led most Christian denominations to regard it as a cult. However, the Adventist church adopted the Trinity early in the 20th century and began to dialogue with other Protestant groups towards the middle of the century, eventually gaining wide recognition as a Christian church. 

Ellen Gould White (née Harmon) ( November 26, 1827 - July 16, 1915), born to Robert and Eunice Harmon, was an American Christian leader whose prophetic ministry was instrumental in founding the Sabbatarian Adventist movement that led to the rise of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Supporters of Ellen G. White regard her as a modern-day prophet, even though she never claimed this title for herself. Support for her prophetic role is usually expressed in the language that she exhibited the spiritual gift of prophecy as outlined in the New Testament. Adventists do not consider this to conflict with the Reformation principle Sola Scriptura ("by scripture alone"), because the Bible is believed to be superior to her writings and the Bible teaches that one of the gifts to the church is the gift of phophecy. Her restorationist writings showcase the hand of God in Seventh-day Adventist history. This cosmic conflict, referred to as the " great controversy theme", is foundational to the development of Seventh-day Adventist theology. Her involvement with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would create a nucleus of believers around which a core group of shared beliefs would emerge. Ellen White believed that at the close of earth's history Jesus Christ would return to this earth to gather His people and take them to heaven.

White was a controversial figure even within her own lifetime. She claimed to have received a vision soon after the Millerite Great Disappointment. In the context of many other visionaries, she was known for her conviction and fervent faith. White is the most translated female non-fiction author in the history of literature, as well as the most translated American non-fiction author of either gender. ^[1] Her writings covered theology , evangelism , Christian lifestyle, education and health (she also advocated vegetarianism). She was a leader who emphasized education and health, and promoted the establishment of schools and medical centers.

Ellen White described the vision experience as involving a bright light which would surround her. In these visions she would be in the presence of Jesus or angels, who would show her events (historical and future) and places (on earth, in heaven, or other planets), or give her information. She described the end of her visions as involving a return to the darkness of the earth.

The transcriptions of White's visions generally contain theology, prophecy, or personal counsels to individuals or to Adventist leaders. One of the best examples of her personal counsels is found in a 9-volume series of books entitled Testimonies for the Church, that contains edited testimonies published for the general edification of the church. The spoken and written versions of her visions played a significant part in establishing and shaping the organizational structure of the emerging Sabbatarian Adventist Church. Her visions and writings continue to be used by church leaders in developing the church's policies and for devotional reading.

On March 14, 1858, in Lovett's Grove , Ohio, White received a vision while attending a funeral service. On that day James White wrote that "God manifested His power in a wonderful manner" adding that "several had decided to keep the Lord's Sabbath and go with the people of God." In writing about the vision, she stated that she received practical instruction for church members, and more significantly, a cosmic sweep of the conflict "between Christ and His angels, and Satan and his angels." Ellen White would expand upon this great controversy theme which would eventually culminate in the Conflict of the Ages series. ^[9]

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 Middle life of E.G. White

From 1861 to 1881 Ellen White's prophetic ministry became increasingly recognized among Sabbatarian Adventists. Her frequent articles in the Review and Herald (now the Adventist Review) and other church publications were a unifying influence to the beginning church. She supported her husband in the church's need for formal organization. The result was the organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1863. During the 1860s and 1870s the Whites participated in the founding of the denomination's first medical institution (1866) and school (1874). Her husband James White died in 1881.

Later ministry

After 1882 Ellen White was assisted by a close circle of friends and associates. She employed a number of literary assistants who would help her in preparing her writings for publications. She also carried on an extensive correspondence with church leaders. She then traveled to Europe on her first international trip. Upon her return she promoted E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones, young ministers, in preparation for a more Christ-centered theology for the church. When church leaders resisted her counsel on various matters, she was sent to Australia as a missionary.

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Final years of ministry and death

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"New Light"

• "Wars and Rumours of Wars"
• Global violence
• Germanic conflicts and the Holy Roman Empire
• Popes and Presidents
• United States Armed Conflicts
  (*to be updated...events listed by year, not yet by category)

• "Brother against Brother"
•    race riots (USA)
• genocides and tribal wars
• (*to be updated...events listed by year, not yet by category)

• "Plague and Pestilence"
• Pandemic outbreaks
• Historical Locusts Plagues

• "Signs from Heaven"
• Solar and stellar events
• Historic Fires
• Earthquakes
  (*to be updated...events listed by year, not yet by category)

• "Behold...the Whirlwind"
• Tornadic outbreaks
• Hurricanes
• Volcanic activity
  (*to be updated...events listed by year, not yet by category)

• "And they shall Run Like Lightnings"
• Train collisions
• Plane crashes
• advances in travel technologies
• advances in communication technologies
  (*to be updated...events listed by year, not yet by category)

• "A Loaf for a Penny"
• fianancial trends/ poverty/notable crimes/Historic Banking events
  (*to be updated...events listed by year, not yet by category)