Date of Award

1951

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

College

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Program

Religion, MA

First Advisor

No advisor named

Abstract

The Problem

Statement of the problem. It is the purpose of this study (1) to lay a groundwork for a correct present understanding of the seven churches by examining representative historical interpretations; (2) to determine its place in the Advent Awakening culminating in the 1844 movement; (3) to study the opinions of early Sabbath-keeping Adventists on the meaning of this prophecy; (4) and above all, to ascertain, if possible, its significance to Seventh-day Adventists today.

Importance of the Study

If the passage in the third chapter of Revelation addressed to the Laodicean Church has any special reference to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, then a study of the history of the subject in the church is of great importance. The transition, among Sabbath-keeping Adventists, from their early interpretation to one directly opposite is both interesting and enlightening; and without an understanding of this transition, the subsequent place of the subject in the church cannot be accurately evaluated. But doubtless the most important phase of the subject is the study of the messages coming, from time to time, through Mrs. E. G. White, whom Seventh-day Adventists recognize as Heaven's special messenger to the church, and the reaction of the church to those messages.

The Organization of the Thesis

In the pursuit of this study and the writing of the results, the plan is roughly, to sketch the history of interpretation on the seven churches from the beginning of the post-apostolic age, about 100 A.D. to the time of the Advent Awakening soon after 1800; then to discover the place of the subject in that movement; next, to determine its position in and just after the 1844 experience; and finally, to follow the repeated pronouncements on the Laodicean Message in the Seventh-day Adventist Church from its first presentation in 1856 to the present time, and to note the reactions of the church. The last two chapters treat of the predicted future place and effect of the message in the church.

Subject Area

Laodicea; White, Ellen G., 1827-1915--Views on Laodicea

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