This is an American sect which
is close to that of the Baptist, but gives preference to the Old Testament. It
was originated circa 1830 — 40, by a farmer William Miller. By reading the Holy
Scripture he came to the conclusion that the end of the world was near and the
beginning of 1000 years of the Kingdom of Christ was to follow. He was confused
by the words of Christ: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, not
the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Mat. 24:36). He decided,
that this was literally about hours and days, but not applied to the years. He
calculated on his own, that the Second Coming of Christ would be in 1844. He also
indicated the time, day and a mountain in the state of New York, where Jesus
Christ would come. His followers, dressed in white garments, gathered in large
numbers at the Mountain of Judgment. After their disappointment, all followers
remained faithful to Miller. Non-Christian elements misused the trust of the
followers of this movement to enrich themselves. One of Miller’s followers, by
the name of George Sparr published his sermons in which he rejected the
immortality of a soul and maintained that eternal suffering — is the complete
annihilation of a sinner. The date of the Second Coming was changed to 1914,
then to 1933, and finally to 1995. This last date coincided with the prediction
of some Jewish rabbis who were waiting for the coming of their "messiah."
The Adventists teach that the Second Coming is the most important part in
the Holy Scripture, everything else is — secondary. They accept very literally
the 20th chapter in the Book of Revelation and on this assumption they teach
that in the 1000 years in the Kingdom of Christ only the righteous will be
resurrected. After 1000 years Christ will come for the third time, when
all sinners will be resurrected and the heavenly fire will soon annihilate
them. The earth will become "newly" inhabited only by the
"righteous," and eternal paradise will begin.
The Orthodox Church teaches, that the 1000 year period in the 20th chapter
in the Book of Revelation is in an allegoric sense: after His death on the
cross and His Resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ took away from Satan the
power over mankind. The number 1000 is a symbol and represents a long period of
time, the exactness known only to God. Before the end of time, the Devil will
regain some power over the unfaithful, but only for a short time. Jesus Christ
will come the Second time to judge the world, after which the eternal Kingdom
will begin. Therefore, "the First Resurrection" — is the spiritual
regeneration of the faithful, which had begun from the time of Christ and is
continuing until now. "The Second Coming" — is when all souls will be
united with their renewed and resurrected bodies, which will happen at the end
of time (the end of the world). Then all people will be resurrected, not only
the righteous ones. Their appearance at resurrection will reflect their
spiritual state: righteous or sinful. We have to remember, that The Book of
Revelation is full of symbols, and it has to be understood in the context of
Christian teaching about the end of the world.
The teaching of our Savior about "The Second Comming" is well
described in the Holy Gospel and in the Writings of Apostles (see Mat. ch. 24;
1 Thes.4:13-18 through 5:1-3; 2 Thes. ch.2).
It has nothing to do with Adventist teaching. The Holy Gospel is very
specific about two comings of Christ and about One Judgment: first, when Christ
was born in the town of Bethlehem; second — before the end of the world. Some
teachings of Adventists were taken from rabbinical books and are relevant to
rabbinical teachings about the Jewish Messiah. The teaching about the third
coming of Christ is totally made up by Adventists.
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