Date of Award

2002

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Religion, Adventist Studies PhD

First Advisor

George R. Knight

Second Advisor

P. Gerard Damsteegt

Third Advisor

Jerry Moon

Abstract

The topic . The doctrines of the sanctuary and the Sabbath, along with Ellen White's prophetic role, progressively evolved and integrated during the five years following the October 1844 Millerite time expectation and were the fundamental elements in the formation of the Sabbatarian Adventist movement and ultimately the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The purpose . The purpose of the study was to situate the interconnected development of the sanctuary, the Sabbath, and Ellen White's prophetic ministry within the ferment of Adventist ideas and events, show the immediate theological climate, and give a connected progression of Bridegroom (or Shut Door) Adventism and Sabbatarian Adventism from October 1844 to July 1849. In order to accomplish the primary purpose of this dissertation it was necessary to chronologically reconstruct and analyze the interconnected historical development of the selected Adventist doctrines against the backdrop of Adventist interactions, ideas, and experience by showing their stage-by-stage integrated progression.

The sources . This was a documentary study based primarily on published and unpublished primary sources produced by Millerite and post-Millerite Adventists between 1844 and 1849. Both primary and secondary sources were used for background, historical context, and perspective. The most heavily used primary sources were periodicals, the correspondence collections of the Ellen G. White Estate, and other archives containing Adventist resources.

Conclusions . The theological development of the sanctuary, the Sabbath, and Ellen G. White's prophetic influence within the Bridegroom and Sabbatarian Adventist branches of Millerite Adventism demonstrates a connected progression with apparent chronological stages between October 1844 and the formation of the new religious entity in 1849. The three elements studied first developed somewhat independently during the Bridegroom phase of 1845 and 1846. Then they integrated into a new Sabbatarian Adventist movement from the fall of 1846 to the summer of 1849.

Subject Area

Sanctuary doctrine (Seventh-day Adventists), Adventists -- Doctrines -- History -- 19th century, Sabbath -- History of doctrines -- 19th century, Millerite movement, Shut door (Seventh-day Adventists)

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.32597/dissertations/19/

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