Editing Seventh-day Adventist Church (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church}}
[[File:HamptonNY_WilliamMillerAscensionRock.jpg|thumb|left|Ascension Rock where some Millerites waited for the Second Coming of Jesus]]
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest of several [[Adventism|Adventist]] groups which arose from the [[Millerism|Millerite]] movement of the 1840s in upstate [[New York (state)|New York]],<ref name="history">{{Cite web |last=Harounoff |first=Jonathan |date=2019-05-03 |title=Seventh-day Adventists fit into the rhythms – and faiths – of Israeli life |url=https://religionnews.com/2019/05/03/seventh-day-adventists-fit-into-the-rhythms-and-faiths-of-israeli-life/ |access-date=2022-09-10 |website=[[Religion News Service]]}}</ref> a phase of the [[Second Great Awakening]].<ref name=beginning>{{Cite web|url=https://thegospelcoalition.org/article/9-things-you-should-know-about-seventh-day-adventism/|title=9 Things Yoy Should Know About Seventh-day Adventism|last=Carter|first=Joe|date=2016-03-08|website=[[The Gospel Coalition]]|access-date=2022-09-22}}</ref> [[William Miller (preacher)|William Miller]] predicted on the basis of Daniel 8:14–16<ref>{{bibleverse|Daniel|8:14–16}}.</ref> and the "[[day-year principle]]" that [[Jesus Christ]] would return to Earth between the spring of 1843 and the spring of 1844. In the summer of 1844, Millerites came to believe that Jesus would return on October 22, 1844, understood to be the biblical Day of Atonement for that year. Miller's failed prediction became known as the "[[Great Disappointment]]".<ref name=history/><ref name=beginning/>

[[Hiram Edson]] and other Millerites came to believe that Miller's calculations were correct, but that his interpretation of Daniel 8:14 was flawed as he assumed Christ would come to cleanse the world. These Adventists came to the conviction that Daniel 8:14 foretold Christ's entrance into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary rather than his [[Second Coming]].<ref name=beginning/> Over the next few decades this understanding of a sanctuary in heaven developed into the doctrine of the [[investigative judgment]], an [[eschatology|eschatological]] process that commenced in 1844, in which every person would be judged to verify their eligibility for [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] and God's justice will be confirmed before the universe. This group of Adventists continued to believe that Christ's second coming would continue to be imminent, however they resisted setting further dates for the event, citing Revelation 10:6, "that there should be time no longer."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cottrell |first=R. F. |date=June 26, 1855 |title=Definite Time |url=http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH18550626-V06-32__B.pdf#view=fit |journal=Review and Herald |location=Rochester, New York |publisher=James White |volume=VI |issue=32 |page=5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525135752/http://docs.adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH18550626-V06-32__B.pdf?q=docs/RH/RH18550626-V06-32__B.pdf |archive-date=25 May 2013}}</ref>

===Development of Sabbatarianism===
As the early Adventist movement consolidated its beliefs, the question of the biblical day of rest and worship was raised. The foremost proponent of [[Sabbath in seventh-day churches|Sabbath]]-keeping among early Adventists was [[Joseph Bates (Adventist)|Joseph Bates]]. Bates was introduced to the Sabbath doctrine through a tract written by Millerite preacher [[T. M. Preble|Thomas M. Preble]], who in turn had been influenced by [[Rachel Oakes Preston]], a young [[Seventh Day Baptist]]. This message was gradually accepted and formed the topic of the first edition of the church publication ''The Present Truth'', which appeared in July 1849.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maseko |first=Achim |title=Church Schism & Corruption: Book 6 |year=2008 |location=Durban |pages=134}}</ref>

===Organization and recognition===
For about 20 years, the Adventist movement consisted of a small, loosely knit group of people who came from many churches and whose primary means of connection and interaction was through James White's periodical ''The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald''. They embraced the doctrines of the Sabbath, the [[heavenly sanctuary]] interpretation of Daniel 8:14, [[Christian conditionalism|conditional immortality]], and the expectation of Christ's [[premillennialism|premillennial]] return. Among its most prominent figures were Joseph Bates, [[James Springer White|James White]], and [[Ellen G. White]]. Ellen White came to occupy a particularly central role; her many visions and spiritual leadership convinced her fellow Adventists that she possessed the [[spiritual gift|gift]] of [[prophecy]].{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

On May 21, 1863, the Seventh-day Adventist Church was officially founded in [[Battle Creek, Michigan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/seventh-day-adventists-in-alabama/|title=Seventh-day Adventists in Alabama|last=Baker|first=Benjamin|date=2019-03-06|website=[[Encyclopedia of Alabama]]|access-date=2023-08-21}}</ref> The denominational headquarters were later moved from Battle Creek to [[Takoma Park, Maryland]], where they remained until 1989.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1985/03/02/adventists-sell-takoma-park-headquarters-near-metro-stop/2fd6fe1d-4d29-4ff5-a458-14fd792e7797/|title=Adventists Sell Takoma Park Headquarters Near Metro Stop|last=Hyer|first=Marjorie|date=1985-03-02|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=2023-08-21}}</ref> The General Conference headquarters then moved to its current location in [[Silver Spring, Maryland]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Melton |first1=J. Gordon |last2=Smylie |first2=James Hutchinson |title=Adventism |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Adventism#ref151 |newspaper=Encyclopedia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. |access-date=January 31, 2020}}</ref><ref name=protestant>{{Cite web|url=https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/the-seventh-day-adventist-church/|title=The Seventh Day Adventist Church|website=[[Musée protestant]]|access-date=2023-10-28}}</ref>

In the 1870s, the denomination turned to evangelism through missionary work and revivals, tripling its membership to 16,000 by 1880 and establishing a presence beyond [[North America]] during the late 19th century. The denomination's rapid growth continued, with 75,000 members in 1901. By that time, the denomination operated two colleges, a medical school, a dozen academies, 27 hospitals, and 13 publishing houses. By 1945, the church estimated that it had 210,000 members in the US and Canada, along with 360,000 members who lived in other parts of the world; the church's budget was $29 million and the number of students who were enrolled in the church's schools was 140,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/ASR/ASR1945__B.pdf#view=fit|title=Statistical Report of Seventh-day Adventist Conferences, Missions, and Institutions. The Eighty-third Annual Report Year Ending December 31, 1945, pp. 2, 4|website=adventistarchives.org|access-date=March 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229190357/http://www.adventistarchives.org/docs/ASR/ASR1945__B.pdf#view=fit|archive-date=December 29, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>