Adventism

It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher William Miller first publicly shared his belief that the Second Coming would occur at some point between 1843 and 1844.

After Miller's prophecies failed, the Millerite movement split up and was continued by a number of groups that held different doctrines from one another.

Although the Adventist churches hold much in common with mainline Christianity, their theologies differ on whether the intermediate state of the dead is unconscious sleep or consciousness, whether the ultimate punishment of the wicked is annihilation or eternal torment, the nature of immortality, whether the wicked are resurrected after the millennium, and whether the sanctuary of Daniel 8 refers to the one in heaven or one on earth.

This belief later emerged and crystallized with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the largest remaining body today.

[1][5] The Albany Conference in 1845, attended by 61 delegates, was called to attempt to determine the future course and meaning of the Millerite movement.

The largest group was organized as the American Millennial Association, a portion of which was later known as the Evangelical Adventist Church.

It has grown to a large worldwide denomination and has a significant network of medical and educational institutions.

Miller did not join any of the movements, and he spent the last few years of his life working for unity, before dying in 1849.

It adopted the "conditional immortality" doctrine of Charles F. Hudson and George Storrs, who formed the "Advent Christian Association" in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1860.

However, the second coming of Jesus Christ, along with Judgment Day based on the three angels' message in Revelation 14:6–13, remain core beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists.

The group derives its name from two books on Bible doctrine written by its founder, Victor Houteff, in 1929.

A group that gathered around David Koresh (the so-called Koreshians) abandoned Davidian teachings and turned into a religious cult.

In 1947, several individuals and two independent congregations within the Church of God Adventist movement formed the United Seventh-Day Brethren, seeking to increase fellowship and to combine their efforts in evangelism, publications, and other .

Although both Jehovah's Witnesses and the Bible Students do not identify as part of the Millerite Adventist movement (or other denominations, in general), some theologians categorize these groups and related sects as Millerite Adventist because of their teachings regarding an imminent Second Coming and their use of specific dates.

[citation needed] According to the Watch Tower Society, there were about 8.8 million Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide as of 2024.