Shut-door theology

Last updated

Shut-door theology was a belief held by the Millerite group from 1844 to approximately 1854, some of whom later formed into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It held that as William Miller had given the final call for salvation, all who did not accept his message were lost. The door of salvation was shut, hence the term "shut door". They later understood it was concerning the sanctuary and not the events on earth so abandoned their earlier understanding. As an interpretation of the year "1844", it was connected to the investigative judgment belief, which forms one of the official 28 Fundamentals beliefs today.

Contents

History

After the disappointment of 1844, the Millerites held a Conference in 1845 in Albany, attended by 61 delegates, to determine the future course and meaning of the Millerite movement. Following this meeting, the "Millerites" then became known as "Adventists" or "Second Adventists". Four groups emerged from the conference: The Evangelical Adventists, The Life and Advent Union, the Advent Christian Church, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The largest group 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. The Life and Advent Union was founded by George Storrs in the year of 1863. He had established The Bible Examiner in 1842. The Advent Christian Church officially formed in 1861. The Seventh-day Adventist Church officially formed in 1863, so they still were known as Millerites or as "Adventists" or "Second Adventists" till they organized.

When Jesus did not arrive the Millerites who held to the 'Shut door' belief felt there was something which had to explain the delay. The understanding of the investigative judgment was given after the Great Disappointment when Hiram Edson, after a night of prayer, had "an impression or a vision" that explained why Jesus had not come: the sanctuary needed to be cleansed and a review of the records in heaven needed to be completed before Christ would appear. Those Millerites believing in the Shut door theory did not believe it necessary or possible to reach out to the lost, who had rejected Miller's final call. Salvation was only open to those who had accepted the message of William Miller.

The groundwork for the theory came from a William Miller quote published in the December 11, 1844 Advent Herald : "We have done our work in warning sinners, and in trying to awake a formal church. God, in his providence has shut the door; and we can only stir one another up to be patient; and be diligent to make our calling and election sure."

In January 1845, editors Apollos Hale of the Advent Herald and Joseph Turner of The Hope of Israel further developed this thought, eventually coming to believe that on October 22, 1844, every man's destiny was forever sealed, using Revelation 22:11,12 as their basis. The term "shut door" came from Jesus' parable of the Bridegroom and the Virgins: "and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." (Matthew 25:10) The Adventists believed that Jesus' return was imminent.

An early title the Millerites or Sabbatarian Adventists (who would become the Seventh-day Adventist Church) used for themselves was the "Sabbath and Shut Door Adventists".

Ellen White early on in her ministry supported the belief in the Shut door as most Millerites. Despite her earlier belief, beginning in November 1848, she had a vision in which she saw the Three Angels' Messages "like streams of light... clear round the world." As the Millerite movement had not been significantly multinational, her vision clearly showed that new converts could be made to the movement.

In an 1849 vision, White heard Christ tell her that the door that had been shut was the door to the Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary. However, many of the Millerites or Sabbatarian Adventists were just hearing of and unsure of Ellen White's prophetic status, and did not accept the visions as a divinely inspired denouncement of shut-door theory.

Gradually, individuals who had no prior connection with Adventism converted to the church and by 1854, religious leaders and most Adventists were ready to accept that the shut-door theory was not correct understanding.

Later and recent commentary

Ellen White was later questioned over her beliefs, and whether she had received them in vision. She denied the latter, writing in 1874:

"With my brethren and sisters, after the time passed in forty-four I did believe no more sinners would be converted. But I never had a vision that no more sinners would be converted." [1]

Robert W. Olson's 1982 compilation "The 'Shut Door' Documents" (see below) was a major step, convincing many that Millerites and early Adventists had indeed held this belief. Olson concluded, "While Ellen White's personal beliefs underwent a gradual modification during this period, I find no evidence that she at any time taught theological error in her shut door writings." [2] Similarly, Herbert E. Douglass has argued that White simply used similar language to reach her peers in their context. [3]

Graeme Bradford defends, "Some would argue that this teaching is an embarrassment to the Seventh-day Adventist Church today. Those who use such an argument should be reminded of the fact that a similar 'Shut Door teaching' was applied by early Christians (including Peter) for the first 10 years of the existence of the newly formed Christian Church. For the first 10 years they only preached to the Jews as being worthy of God's grace. That is the purpose of the vision given by God to Peter in Acts 10:9–34. All movements raised up by God still have the imperfections common to humanity." [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist 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. 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, collectively became known as the Adventist movement.

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 teachings were spread widely and grew in popularity, which led to the event known as the Great Disappointment.

The Great Disappointment in the Millerite movement was the reaction that followed Baptist preacher William Miller's proclamation that Jesus Christ would return to the Earth by 1844, which he called the Second Advent. His study of the Daniel 8 prophecy during the Second Great Awakening led him to conclude that Daniel's "cleansing of the sanctuary" was cleansing the world from sin when Christ would come, and he and many others prepared. When Jesus did not appear by October 22, 1844, Miller and his followers were disappointed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen G. White</span> American author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Ellen Gould White was an American 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 was instrumental within a small group of early Adventists who formed what became known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. White is considered a leading figure in American vegetarian history. Smithsonian named her among the "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James S. White</span> Co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

James Springer White, also known as Elder White, was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and husband of Ellen G. White. In 1849 he started the first Sabbatarian Adventist periodical entitled The Present Truth, in 1855 he relocated the fledgling center of the movement to Battle Creek, Michigan, and in 1863 played a pivotal role in the formal organization of the denomination. He later played a major role in the development of the Adventist educational structure beginning in 1874 with the formation of Battle Creek College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church</span> Aspect of history

The Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s to the 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edson, Ellen G. White, her husband James Springer White, Joseph Bates, and J. N. Andrews. Over the ensuing decades the church expanded from its original base in New England to become an international organization. Significant developments such the reviews initiated by evangelicals Donald Barnhouse and Walter Martin, in the 20th century led to its recognition as a Christian denomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uriah Smith</span> Seventh-day Adventist minister and author

Uriah Smith was a Seventh-day Adventist author, minister, educator, and theologian who is best known as the longest serving editor of the Review and Herald for over 50 years.

The investigative judgment, or pre-Advent Judgment, is a unique Seventh-day Adventist doctrine, which asserts that the divine judgment of professed Christians has been in progress since 1844. It is intimately related to the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and was described by one of the church's pioneers Ellen G. White as one of the pillars of Adventist belief. It is a major component of the broader Adventist understanding of the "heavenly sanctuary", and the two are sometimes spoken of interchangeably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seventh-day Adventist eschatology</span> Religious belief

The Seventh-day Adventist Church holds a unique system of eschatological beliefs. Adventist eschatology, which is based on a historicist interpretation of prophecy, is characterised principally by the premillennial Second Coming of Christ. Traditionally, the church has taught that the Second Coming will be preceded by a global crisis with the Sabbath as a central issue. At Jesus' return, the righteous will be taken to heaven for one thousand years. After the millennium the unsaved cease to exist as they will be punished by annihilation while the saved will live on a recreated Earth for eternity.

The 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session was a meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in October 1888. It is regarded as a landmark event in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Key participants were Alonzo T. Jones and Ellet J. Waggoner, who presented a message on justification supported by Ellen G. White, but resisted by leaders such as G. I. Butler, Uriah Smith and others. The session discussed crucial theological issues such as the meaning of "righteousness by faith", the nature of the Godhead, the relationship between law and grace, and Justification and its relationship to Sanctification.

George Raymond Knight is a leading Seventh-day Adventist historian, author, and educator. He is emeritus professor of church history at Andrews University. As of 2014 he is considered to be the best-selling and influential voice for the past three decades within the denomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Angels' Messages</span> Interpretation of Revelation 14:6–12, regarding the second coming

The "three angels' messages" is an interpretation of the messages given by three angels in Revelation 14:6–12. The Seventh-day Adventist church teaches that these messages are given to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ, and sees them as a central part of its own mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiram Edson</span> American Seventh-day Adventist leader

Hiram Edson (1806–1882) was a pioneer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, known for introducing the sanctuary doctrine to the church. Hiram Edson was a Millerite adventist, and became a Sabbath-keeping Adventist. Like all Millerites, Edson expected that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would occur on October 22, 1844. This belief was based on an interpretation of the 2300 day prophecy which predicted that "the sanctuary would be cleansed" which Millerites took to mean that Christ would return on that day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Heppenstall</span> British Seventh-day Adventist theologian

Edward E. Heppenstall was a leading Bible scholar and theologian of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A 1985 questionnaire of North American Adventist lecturers revealed Heppenstall was the Adventist writer who had most influenced them.

Charles Fitch (1805–1844) was an American preacher in the early 19th century, who rose to prominence for his work with the Millerite movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josiah Litch</span>

Josiah Litch was a Methodist Episcopal preacher in the New England region of the United States, who was best known for his connections with the Millerite movement, and for using Bible prophecy to predict a loss of power for the Ottoman Empire.

Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White, one of the church's co-founders, was a prophetess, understood today as an expression of the New Testament spiritual gift of prophecy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Washington Morse</span>

George Washington Morse was a Seventh-day Adventist pioneer. As a Millerite Adventist, he experienced the Great Advent Awakening including the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844. He joined the Sabbath-keeping Adventists in the late 1840s and remained a member until he died 60 years later. He witnessed the SDA Church's development for over a half of a century.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church pioneers were members of Seventh-day Adventist Church, part of the group of Millerites, who came together after the Great Disappointment across the United States and formed the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 1860, the pioneers of the fledgling movement settled on the name, Seventh-day Adventist, representative of the church's distinguishing beliefs. Three years later, on May 21, 1863, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists was formed and the movement became an official organization.

The Pillars of Adventism are landmark doctrines for Seventh-day Adventists. They are Bible doctrines that define who they are as a people of faith; doctrines that are "non-negotiables" in Adventist theology. The Seventh-day Adventist church teaches that these Pillars are needed to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ, and sees them as a central part of its own mission. Adventists teach that the Seventh-day Adventist Church doctrines were both a continuation of the reformation started in the 16th century and a movement of the end time rising from the Millerites, bringing God's final messages and warnings to the world.

References

  1. ↑ Letter 2, 1874. Ellen White to J. N. Loughborough from Battle Creek, Michigan in August 24, 1874. As reprinted in Selected Messages volume 1, page 74; chapter
  2. ↑ Olson, "The 'Shut Door' Documents"
  3. ↑ "Chapter 44: The Shut Door—A Case Study". www.whiteestate.org.
  4. ↑ "prophet-14-Ellen White's spiritual growth". www.sdanet.org.

Ellen G. White Estate website:

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.