Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1887 — SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS. [ARTICLE]

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS.

A Complete History of a Peculiar * People-Objects of the Faith. Cleveland Leader, r r Seventh-day. Adventists as a denomination date their rise from about 1847. At present they number about 30,000. They have over 800 churches, with 400 ministers and licentiates, with as many more colporteurs and mission workers. They are rapidly growing and extending their work in all parts of the world. While they firmly believe in the personal coming of Christ, they have no date fixed for that event. Although they believe the prophesies are designed to be understood, and that inthe the last days great light will be shed them, “When men shall run to and fro and knowledge shalbbe increased,” yet they do not believe that any prophetic period given in the bible reaches to the coming of Christ, or was designed to mark the day or year of that event. The foolish time setting movements of First-day Adventists have brought reproach upon the Advent name, and it is natural that the Seventh-day Adventists should repudiate all connection with them. Their organization is very simple. A body of believers associate together, taking the name of Seventh-day Adventists, and attaching their names to a covenant to keep the commandments of God and the faith- of Jesus. The Bible is their only creed. A clerk is chosen to keep the records of the church, and an elder, elected by the vote of the church, is ordained to look after the spiritual interests. If the church is large, its temporal affairs are assigned to one or more deacons chosen by a vote of the church for this purpose. They hold that the terms elder, bishop ;and pastor, signify the same officer.

These need not be ordained ministers. Evangelists are not ordained ministers : who travel from place to preach the gospel, and are the only ones competent to ordain local elders and deacons. Their ministers are called “elders” They claim that the title “reverend” should never be applied to man. It is found but once in the Bible, and then is applied to God only. Psalm cxi, 9. They recognize the ten commandments to be of supreme authority; hence they observe the seventh dav, or Saturday, as the Sabbath. They believe in a change of heart called conversion, similar to the faith of the orthodox churches. Immersion is the only mode of baptism recognized by them. They maintain that life and immortality are not adherent, but miist be sought and secured by means of the gospel, through Jesus Christ. They maintain that unrepentant sinners who reject Christ ahd refuse to obey the law of God, will perish, and be utterly consumed in the renovating ; fires of the day of God; that this earth will be restored to its Edenic glory, and become the eternal home of the saved, where pain, death sin and sorrow shall be no more. They belive that the present generation shall witness the coming of the Lord and the end of all things. The churches in each State are organized into State conferences. The State conference annually elects an executive committee of three or five, who have the oversight of the work in the conference during the year. These various State coiiferenes, embracing several conferences in Europe, are organized -HLione general' conference. They i annually elect an executive committee :of seven who have the general over- , sight of the various State conferences , and missions in all parts of the world. At present . Elder George I. Butler, of Battle Creek, Mich., is the president of the general conference.