The word advent simply means “coming.” Many Christians observe and celebrate Advent in preparation for Christmas, as they remember Christ’s coming to earth as a baby. The future return of Christ is often called the second coming or the second advent. Broadly speaking, anyone who expects Christ to return might be referred to as an Adventist. However, the term Adventist is normally reserved for people or groups who expect Christ to return at any moment, or who at least allow for that possibility. Postmillennialists and those who believe in a post-tribulation rapture would not fall into this category; however, those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture would. (In this sense, even Got Questions could be considered an Adventist group.) Even though the rapture is not synonymous with the second advent, it is seen as the “opening act” of the second advent. Beyond the broad theological meaning that could apply to a great number of Christians, a limited number of groups through the years have been referred to as Adventists.
The beginning of Adventism as a movement is often credited to William Miller, a preacher who predicted that Jesus Christ would return some time in 1843 or 1844. Trusting Miller, his followers withdrew from society and waited. This resulted in what is referred to as the Great Disappointment of 1844. When Jesus did not return when Miller predicted He would, most of the Millerites went back to their normal lives. Miller continued to express confidence in the return of Christ but admitted that he may have made some errors in his calculations.
Today, there are two major groups that have the label “Advent” or “Adventist” in their names.
Seventh-day Adventists arose directly from the theological line of William Miller through the further teachings of Ellen G. White. There are many doctrinal problems with Seventh-day Adventism, but the name “Seventh-day Adventists” refers to two parts of their theology: they observe the seventh day (Saturday) as a Sabbath, and they expect the Lord to return at any time. They are Adventists who observe the seventh day.
The Advent Christian Church is another significant body with “advent” in its name. Sometimes they refer to themselves as “First-day Adventists.” There are some significant differences between Advent Christians and Seventh-day Adventists, although both trace their development back to William Miller. Advent Christians are generally orthodox with the exception that they teach “soul sleep,” which means that, when a person dies, he “sleeps” until the return of Christ—in other words, the soul is not consciously aware of anything until it is reunited with the resurrected body at the second advent or, in the case of unbelievers, resurrected for judgment. This doctrine is an error as the Scriptures teach that, for the believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (Philippians 1:23).
Another problem with the Advent Christian Church is clarity regarding the means of salvation. Neither their Statement of Faith nor the Declaration of Principles (an elaboration on their statement of faith) contains an unambiguous statement of “justification by faith alone,” so it is not uncommon to find some within the Advent Christian Church who are trusting Christ alone for salvation and others who are holding on to some mixture of faith and works. (The same can be said of many churches that do have clear statement regarding justification by faith!)
In addition to these two major groups, there are a number of minor Adventist groups.
In the final analysis, all Adventists hold in common an expectation of the imminent return of Christ. Beyond that belief, there are a great many differences that have to be examined and evaluated separately. While Scripture does teach us to expect the return of Christ at any time, setting dates and making specific predictions is always unbiblical (see Matthew 24:36).
Misleading CULT ARTCLE 'statement of “justification by faith alone,” so it is not uncommon to find some within the Advent Christian Church who are trusting Christ alone for salvation and others who are holding on to some mixture of faith and works.'
Another misleading LIE!
So what is wrong with realizing faith comes FIRST then good works follows and that would CERTAINLY BE A GOOD MIX you false teaching IDIOT tinyfaithdavid! I told you if you post this misleading garbage then you OWN it as your own words! GOT IT!
What does the Bible have to say on that 'MIX' of hand (FAITH) first and glove (WORKS) next?
James 2:17-24 in CONTEXT!
17. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22. Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23. And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
GEESH, Does tinydavid even read his own worshipped copy and paste???
ANOTHER FALSE DOCTRINE and CULT TEACHING by littledavid, for he says - 'Advent Christians teach “soul sleep,” which means that, when a person dies, he “sleeps” until the return of Christ—in other words, the soul is not consciously aware of anything until it is reunited with the resurrected body at the second advent or, in the case of unbelievers, resurrected for judgment. >>>This doctrine is an error as the Scriptures teach that, for the believer, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (Philippians 1:23).<<<
So littledavid claims 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 IN CONTEXT is in direct contradiction with the singular verse found in Philippians 1:23???
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 IN CONTEXT
13. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
So Paul is talking about the saints that are sleeping in hell the graves and not to have sorrow for them, Right?
14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Paul is saying, So come resurrection day, those that are asleep (death is nothing more than a sleeping time!) will be raised from the graves and YHWH will bring them with Him when He takes them back to heaven with Him at that time! Nothing Paul says of any saint being able to live without a body in anyway shape or form!
15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
Paul goes on to describe in more detail both above verse and below verses - those 'which are >>>alive<<< and remain' from the ones that were sleeping the sleep of death and have risen first, then the alive will be resurrected afterward, next verses!
16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Nothing said in any of the above verse both in Philippians chapter 1 or the verses of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 IN ITS CONTEXT about a saint human being, being able to exist without a body without reading it all into the text! So the FALSE DOCTRINE and CULT TEACHING by littledavid of his 'soul person within a body' or a 'spirit person within a body' that cannot die is exposed because a human cannot exist without a BODY!!!! EXPOSED!
Hell has become a controversial subject in recent years, even among Christians. However, the controversy is entirely man-made. The rejection of the reality of hell stems from a human inability to reconcile the love of God with eternal punishment or from an outright rejection of God’s Word. Even some professing Christians have come to unbiblical conclusions. Some have tried to redefine hell, create an intermediate state not found in Scripture, or deny hell altogether. In doing so, they are ignoring Jesus’ warning in Revelation 22:19, “If anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.”
Hell is mentioned 167 times in the Bible, sometimes called Gehenna, Hades, the pit, the Abyss, or everlasting punishment (Proverbs 7:27; Luke 8:31; 10:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:9). Jesus spoke of heaven and hell as real places (Matthew 13:41–42; 23:33; Mark 9:43–47; Luke 12:5). The story Jesus told about the rich man and Lazarus was an actual event that demonstrated the reality of the two eternal destinations (Luke 16:19–31). Heaven is the dwelling place of God (2 Chronicles 30:27) where Jesus has gone to “prepare a place” for those who love Him (John 14:2). Hell was created for “the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). But because every human being is a sinner, every person past the age of accountability has already been condemned to hell (Romans 3:10; 5:12; John 3:18). We all deserve hell as the just punishment for our rebellion against God (Romans 6:23).
Jesus was clear that “no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3). He was also clear that hell is an eternal punishment for those who do not obey Him (Matthew 25:46). Second Thessalonians 1:8–9 says that in the end God “will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” John the Baptist said about Jesus, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12).
John 3:18 explains in the simplest terms who will go to heaven and who will go to hell: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” So, those who go to hell are specifically those who do not believe in Jesus’ name. To “believe” goes beyond a mental recognition of the truth. To believe in Christ for salvation requires a transfer of allegiance. We stop worshiping ourselves, we forsake our sin, and we begin to worship God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matthew 22:36–37; Mark 12:30).
God desires that every person spend eternity with Him (Matthew 18:14; 2 Peter 3:9), but He honors our free will (John 4:14). Anyone who so desires can go to heaven (John 1:12). Jesus already paid the price for our salvation, but we must accept that gift and transfer ownership of our lives to Him (Luke 9:23). Heaven is perfect, and God cannot take anyone there who insists on holding on to his or her sin. We must allow Him to cleanse us of our sin and make us righteous in His sight (2 Corinthians 5:21). John 1:10–12 shows us the problem and the solution: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
We can choose to trust in Jesus’ payment for our sin, or we can choose to pay for our sins ourselves—but we must remember that the payment for our sin is eternity in hell. C. S. Lewis said it this way: “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’”
