The Protestant Roots of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a  Christian Protestant Denomination , born from an American religious movement that arose in the mid-19th century.¹

And though the Adventist Church didn’t exist at the time of the Protestant Reformation, it emerged because of the Reformation and the principles the Reformers stood for.

Like the Reformers before them, the founders of the Adventist Church were earnestly studying the Scriptures. They were more concerned about following the Bible’s teachings than following tradition.

These believers weren’t looking to form their own movement, though. But when they were no longer welcome in their own churches, they began gathering in groups to study the Bible.

Eventually, the believers came to the conclusion that they’d only be able to grow by becoming an official denomination. And with that realization, they gathered together to establish the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

This page will trace the chain of truth from the Reformation down to the time of this denomination. We’ll cover:

• The Protestant pursuit of truth
• The chain of truth from the Reformation to the Great Awakenings
• Discoveries that led to the Millerite Movement
• The Adventist Church’s growth out of the Millerite Movement
• How Adventism upholds Protestant principles
• What it means to carry the torch of the Reformation

To get started, let’s look at what was happening in Christianity long before the Adventist Church was formed.

The Protestant pursuit of truth

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

The Protestant Reformation began as a small religious movement that spread throughout Europe during the 16th century. It started with a desire to pursue biblical truth, even if that truth went against the authority of church tradition.

What makes this movement so noteworthy is that it arose during a time when the Christian church had significant power and authority.

Back then, even kings feared the church’s power.

But the Reformers recognized that God and His Word were their ultimate authority. If church tradition stood in the way of that, they had to be willing to press on to greater truth, despite opposition. We’ll look at more details about the Reformation in a moment, but the point here is this:

The Reformation was all about seeking a greater and greater understanding of truth in God’s Word.

The idea is perhaps best summarized by John Robinson, a Puritan (and Protestant) who spoke to the pilgrims before they sailed to America:

“I charge you before God and His blessed angels to follow me no farther than I have followed Christ. If God should reveal anything to you by any other instrument of His, be as ready to receive it as ever you were to receive any truth of my ministry; for I am very confident the Lord hath more truth and light yet to break forth out of His holy word.”²

For human beings, this encouragement isn’t easy to follow. We get comfortable, and change is difficult.

But down through the centuries since the Reformation, small groups here and there have followed this counsel and formed a chain of growing truth.

The Protestant Reformation’s connection to the Great Awakenings

The Protestant Reformation began when a theology professor named Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church in 1517.³

This document called people to return to Bible truth, declaring that many of the teachings and traditions taught by the official church at the time (the Catholic Church) contradicted Scripture.

Luther was far from the first person to notice discrepancies between church traditions and God’s Word. Many years before his time, other Bible scholars, including John Wycliffe, John Huss, and Jerome of Faulfish, pointed out problems with corruption within the church,⁴ but it was Luther that truly sparked the beginning of the Reformation.

Much of this was due to the fact that Luther presented his theses in the age of the printing press, when documents and news could be reprinted at a faster rate and circulated more widely than ever before.⁵

With this technology, news of Luther’s theses spread and caused quite a stir, leading many people to question the official church and seek truth from the Scriptures (which had also become more available thanks to the printing press).⁶

Luther’s discoveries helped people realize they didn’t need a priest to come to God or to interpret Scripture for them. Instead, they saw that they could⁷:

1. Freely come to God through Jesus Christ
2. Study the Bible for themselves

Reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin led the way in upholding Bible truths that had been neglected by the church. They attempted to reform the church from within, but the church was resistant.

The Austrian historian, Johann Loserth, explains that:

“More radically than any other party for church reformation [the Reformers] strove to follow the footsteps of the church of the first century and to renew unadulterated original Christianity.”⁸

Photo by Pixabay

These principles were so important to the Protestant Reformers that when faced with the choice to give up their beliefs or leave the church, they chose to leave.

Over time, the Reformers’ followers formed into groups, and eventually denominations. Looking back to the Reformation, we can see how these groups and churches carried a chain of truth as each successive one rediscovered and re-emphasized Bible teachings:

• The Lutheran Church⁹: They adopted and spread Martin Luther’s teachings. This included the truth that our salvation comes from accepting Jesus as our Savior, not from any good deeds we do. Another important truth was “the priesthood of all believers,” the idea that people don’t need a human priest to access God because everyone can access God through Jesus.¹⁰

• The Swiss Reformers¹¹: These reformers, largely led by Ulrich Zwingli, emphasized the importance of sanctification, or the idea that Christians, are called to reflect the love and goodness of Christ throughout their lives. They also worked to reform Catholic mass. They rejected the idea that the bread and wine could be turned into the actual body and blood of Jesus by a priest. Instead, they thought of these objects as symbols of Christ’s sacrifice.

• Anabaptists¹²: These believers rejected the practice of infant baptism, holding onto the biblical truth that baptism is based on personal conviction and a declaration of faith.

• Sabbatarians¹³: These believers were the first reformers to keep the biblical seventh-day Sabbath.

• The Puritan Movement¹⁴: They emphasized the importance of following the Bible over church tradition.

• The Baptist Church¹⁵: This group of believers taught that baptism must involve full submersion in water.¹⁶ Roger Williams, who was a member of the Baptist Church for a time, promoted the truth of religious liberty—that everyone has the right to believe as their conscience dictates.¹⁷ He even went on to establish the Rhode Island colony, a place where settlers would be free to worship as they chose.¹⁸

• The Methodist Church¹⁹: They emphasized the importance of sanctification and having a personal faith experience. Unlike many churches at the time, they rejected predestination, the teaching that God chooses ahead of time who will be saved and who will be lost. Instead, they saw that Scripture shows anyone can accept or reject salvation based on free will.²⁰ They also felt it was their Christian duty to stand for social justice.

One after another, Protestant churches formed as believers came upon Bible truths.

But many only went so far in pursuing truth..

Often, one group of believers would settle into their beliefs and close themselves off from accepting further truth.

The Lutheran Church, for example, didn’t accept the Swiss Reformers’ teaching on sanctification.²¹ They also didn’t accept the Anabaptist teaching of confessions of faith for baptism and continued to baptize infants.²²

The Anglican Church didn’t prioritize Bible study as much as the Puritans.²³ And neither the Puritan nor the Anglican Churches accepted the Baptist teaching of religious liberty.²⁴ The Calvinist Church held to predestination rather than accepting the Methodist teaching that salvation is based on each individual’s choice to accept Jesus.²⁵

As believers chose to stand up for biblical truth within their faith traditions, many of them experienced persecution—ironically, from those who had also once been the subject of persecution themselves.²⁶

Though each group began with a commitment to follow God’s Word, they resisted new waves of progress. They became uncomfortable with the idea of accepting any revelations from other Reformers, even though the entire Protestant Reformation was based on the continuous pursuit of Bible truth.

But that wouldn’t be the end of religious reform.

Later on, great religious revivals took place in North America.

The First Great Awakening occurred from the 1720s to the 1740s.²⁷ It re-emphasized the importance of turning back to God in the face of a secular society.²⁸ The Second Great Awakening occurred from 1795 to 1835.²⁹ It recognized free will and the need for personal spiritual revival and societal reform.³⁰

As the names suggest, these revivals reawakened people to Bible truths. Many Protestant churches, like the Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches, began to flourish during this time.³¹

These revivals set the stage for the Millerite Movement.

Discoveries that led to the Millerite Movement

During the Second Great Awakening, a farmer named William Miller developed a fascination with Bible prophecy and began studying the 2300-day prophecy in Daniel 8:14. He compared the prophecies he found in the Old Testament with the prophecies he found in the New Testament.

Eventually, he came to believe that the prophecy in Daniel referred to the Second Coming of Christ because it spoke of a time when the sanctuary—what many Christians believed to be symbolic for the earth—would be cleansed.

As he tried to put together the pieces of the prophetic puzzle, he concluded that the 2300-day prophecy referred to 2,300 literal years, based on the year-day principle of Bible prophecy (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:5-6). It began in 457 BC and would come to an end in 1843 or 1844.

He believed this meant Jesus would come again at that time.

William Miller shared this message and gained a large following of people, many of whom were Protestant believers.

According to W. L. Emmerson, author of The Reformation and the Advent Movement,

“From a study of 174 Millerite preachers and lecturers, E.N. Dick found that 44.3 percent were Methodists, 27 percent Baptists, 9 percent Congregationalists, 8 percent Christian Connection, and 7 percent Presbyterian, while less than 5 percent came from the Anglican, Lutheran, and Reformed churches.”³²

Though the Millerites were mistaken in their attempts to predict the Second Coming, they did uncover some valuable truths about the Second Coming. At a time when so many people taught that the Second Coming was symbolic, or in the distant future,³³ they showed that the Bible said the Second Coming was literal, visible, and soon.

For Miller’s followers, soon meant October 22, 1844.

But when that date arrived, Jesus didn’t come, and the Millerites were heartbroken. The day was known as the Great Disappointment.

Sadly, some of the Millerites left the faith altogether.

However, one group of people, out of a desire to seek further truth, wanted to understand where they’d gone wrong.

They continued to seek God and study their Bibles, forming the movement that led to the Adventist Church.

The Adventist Church’s growth out of the Millerite Movement

In the wake of the Great Disappointment, one group of Millerites turned to the Bible for answers. They wanted to understand why the Advent, or Second Coming, didn’t happen.

As Protestants, these Advent believers saw the Bible as the ultimate authority on Christian faith. This meant they only adopted teachings that aligned with the Word of God and principles of Scripture.

After several study sessions, they learned that October 22, 1844, did have some prophetic significance. But it didn’t point to the Second Coming like they thought. Instead, they learned that this day pointed to another event. It was the day Jesus entered the Most Holy Place to begin a special work of judgment there.

Encouraged by this knowledge, the Advent believers continued to search for Bible truth. In doing so, they rediscovered long-forgotten doctrines like the holy day of worship—the seventh-day Sabbath.

Their group grew. Eventually, the believers felt that in order to continue their group’s growth and pay their own pastors, they would need to establish a denomination.³⁴

On May 21, 1863, the Advent believers established an organized church body. They named it the Seventh-day Adventist Church. And many of the believers who had been involved in the studies, like James White and Ellen G. White, went on to become Adventism’s pioneers and leaders.

How the Adventist Church upholds Protestant principles

Photo by John-Mark Smith

The Adventist Church isn’t just a branch of Protestant Christianity. It honors the very principles the Reformers stood for, otherwise known as the five solas—soli Deo gloria, sola gratia, sola fide, sola Christus, and sola Scriptura.³⁵

Because we believe that God alone is worthy of worship, we believe in the Protestant principle of soli Deo gloria, or the idea that glory belongs to God and God alone.³⁶

A section of our fundamental belief on God says:

“God, who is love, is forever worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation.”³⁷

We believe in the Protestant principles of sola gratia and sola fide, or the ideas that we are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus.³⁸

This is evident in a section of our fundamental belief on the experience of salvation:

“Led by the Holy Spirit we sense our need, acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and exercise faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord, Substitute and Example. This saving faith comes through the divine power of the Word and is the gift of God’s grace.”³⁹

We believe in sola Christus, or the idea that Jesus is the only mediator between God and humankind.⁴⁰ This idea lies at the heart of our fundamental belief on Jesus’ role as our mediator and High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.⁴¹

In our congregations, we also uphold sola Scriptura. This principle teaches that the Bible is the ultimate authority of our faith.

Our first Fundamental Belief reaffirms this, saying,

“The Holy Scriptures are the supreme, authoritative, and the infallible revelation of His [God’s] will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the definitive revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God’s acts in history.”⁴²

To this day, Adventists continue to emphasize the importance of personal Bible study. We see it as a way to not only pursue Bible truth but also build a closer relationship with Jesus.

Carrying the torch of the Reformation

The desire for truth fueled the Protestant Reformation.

The Reformers broke away from the church because they wanted to live by the Bible. In doing so, they created a chain of Protestant denominations, all looking to relearn Bible truths.

In the same way, the believers that founded the Adventist Church didn’t let tradition stop them from pursuing Bible truth. Instead, they held the Bible up as the foundation of their faith, just as we Adventists do today.

The Adventist Church believes the Bible is inspired by God and is reliable and trustworthy.

Even though some of our doctrines differ from other Christian denominations, we still maintain the Protestant desire to pursue biblical truth.

As one of our co-founders, Ellen G. White puts it:

“The truth of God is progressive; it is always onward, going from strength to a greater strength, from light to a greater light. We have every reason to believe that the Lord will send us increased truth, for a great work is yet to be done.”⁴³

Like the Reformers of old, we are dedicated to following God’s will as expressed in His Holy Word. And we remain open to adopting new truths as the Holy Spirit reveals them to us.

1. Melton, Gordon J., and James Hutchinson Smylie, “Adventist,” Britannica. [↵]
2. Quoted in White, Ellen, The Great Controversy, p. 291. [↵]
3. Wylie, James Aitken, The History of Protestantism, vol. 1, pp.540-542 [↵]
4. “Huss and Jerome: The Bohemian Revolution,” Lineage Journey. [↵]
5. “Gutenberg’s Press and It’s Impact on the Reformation,” Lineage Journey. [↵]
6. Ibid [↵]
7. “The Great Awakening,” Lineage Journey. [↵]
8. Quoted in Emmerson, W.L., The Reformation and The Advent Movement, Orion Publishing, 2001, p. 9. [↵]
9. Hillerbrand, Hans J, “Lutheranism,” Britannica. [↵]
10. “Priesthood of All Believers,” Britannica. [↵]
11. Emmerson, p. 33. [↵]
12. Emmerson, pp. 37-39. [↵]
13. Emmerson, pp. 74, 77-78. [↵]
14. Mark, Joshua J. “Puritans,” World History Encyclopedia, Jan. 21, 2021. [↵]
15. Hudson, Winthrop S.“Baptist,” Britannica, April 8, 2024. [↵]
16. Emmerson, p. 135-136. [↵]
17. “Roger Williams,” Britannica. [↵]
18. Emmerson, pp. 167-169. [↵]
19. “Distinctive Wesleyan Emphases,” United Methodist Communications. [↵]
20. Davies, Rupert E., “Methodism,” Britannica. [↵]
21. Emmerson, pp. 13-14. [↵]
22. Hillerbrand, Hans J., “Worship and organization,” Britannica. [↵]
23. Mark, Joshua J., “Puritans,” [↵]
24. Ibid. [↵]
25. Davies. [↵]
26. Ibid, p. 181. [↵]
27. “Great Awakening,” Britannica. [↵]
28. Ibid. [↵]
29. “Second Great Awakening,” Britannica. [↵]
30. Ibid. [↵]
31. “The Great Awakening,” Khan Academy. [↵]
32. Emmerson, p. 200. [↵]
33. Ibid, pp. 194-196. [↵]
34. Douglass, Herbert E., Messenger of the Lord, p. 183. [↵]
35. Engle, Karen, “5 Solas of the Reformation—What They Are & Why They Matter,” Logos, Oct. 8, 2021. [↵]
36. Engle; “Official Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” Seventh-day Adventist Church. [↵]
37. “Official Beliefs.” [↵]
38. Engle. [↵]
39. “Official Beliefs.” [↵]
40. Engle. [↵]
41. “Official Beliefs.” [↵]
42. Ibid. [↵]
43. White, Ellen Gould, Signs of the Times. [↵]

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