Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Theology

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Religion, Adventist Studies PhD

First Advisor

Denis Fortin

Second Advisor

Merlin D. Burt

Third Advisor

Jo Ann Davidson

Abstract

The Topic

This dissertation explores continuity and development in the eschatological understanding of the seventh-day Sabbath within selected Adventist theological writings from its Millerite origins to the contemporary scholarship of Jo Ann Davidson. The eschatological aspects of the Sabbath have played a central role in both pioneer and contemporary Adventist thought, particularly in its identification as the seal of God in Revelation and as a sign of covenant loyalty in the final crisis. While this understanding has displayed remarkable continuity in its essential themes, it has also undergone significant maturation in tone, scope, and theological emphasis. By tracing both enduring theological commitments, understood as stable and recurring affirmations across Adventist authors, and interpretive developments, understood as shifts in emphasis, articulation, or thematic focus within those commitments, this study analyzes how the Sabbath’s eschatological significance has been articulated, refined, and theologically grounded within the denomination’s developing doctrinal framework.

The Purpose

The purpose of this research was to examine the theological understanding of the eschatological Sabbath within contemporary Seventh-day Adventist thought in relation to the perspectives of the church’s pioneers. Specifically, the study sought to determine areas of alignment and divergence between modern and pioneer interpretations, to identify significant developments in theological understanding over time, and to assess the implications and meaning of these developments for contemporary Adventist faith and practice.

The Sources

This study is based on a thematic analysis of selected pioneer and contemporary Seventh-day Adventist monographs, tracing the development of Adventist theological interpretations of the Sabbath from 1842 through 2020.

Conclusions

Three major developments were identified: a movement from immediacy to readiness, shifting from early urgent expectation to a more enduring covenantal perspective; from confrontation to invitation, evolving from polemical defense to a grace-filled and more relational expression; and from external test to internal experience emphasis, with Sabbath observance increasingly framed as a lived response to divine grace alongside its continued role as a doctrinal marker. The Sabbath as the seal of God illustrates both continuity and development within selected Adventist monographic treatments, with early eschatological themes preserved, rearticulated, expanded, or deemphasized in selected contemporary interpretive treatments.

Subject Area

Sabbath--History of doctrines; Seventh-day Adventists--Doctrines--History; Eschatology

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