1888 Minneapolis General Conference
Encyclopedia
The 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session was a meeting
of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
held in Minneapolis
, Minnesota
in October of 1888. It is regarded as a landmark event in the history
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
. Key participants were Alonzo T. Jones
, Ellet J. Waggoner
who presented a message on Justification
supported by Ellen G. White
, but met resistance from leaders such G. I. Butler
, Uriah Smith
and others. The session discussed crucial theological issues such as the meaning of "righteousness by faith", and the nature of the Godhead, and the relationship between law
and grace
.
General Conference Session
of 1888 was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was one of the most explosive and significant meetings the denomination has ever had. Church historians, theologians, and laypersons consider the session to be important. They differ in their own perspective and interpretation of the specific events, the message presented there, and the ensuing reactions. The “joint Minneapolis Institute and General Conference, of 1888, involved vastly more than appeared on the surface. It was the culmination of a whole series of developments that led up to it.”
prophecy
, the sanctuary types and their fulfillment, and the perpetuity of the law of God, they saw the necessity for organization as a means for proclaiming these truths to the world. The denomination was formally organized on May 23, 1863 in Battle Creek, Michigan
.
The men and women who were a part of the development of this denomination came from various religious backgrounds, bringing with them into the new movement some beliefs peculiar to their former associations. Two significant hold-over theological views were semi-Pelagianism
and semi-Arianism
. The focus of the early Seventh-day Adventist Church tended more toward basic denominational organization and development, emphasis on obedience to the Ten Commandments
, and efforts at evangelism
and church growth during the anguish of the American Civil War
and its aftermath. Salvation and righteousness by faith were kept in the background, because these truths were familiar to most churches, so refining of these and other specific theological points awaited later focus and discussion.
and had mission fields around the world. As the church grew, so did opposition (and in some places, persecution), particularly regarding the seventh-day Sabbath. Emphasis on the Ten Commandments
as a part of obedience to God was a firmly established and vigorously defended tenet of the denomination by the 1870s. Sunday-keeping Christians claimed that keeping the seventh-day Sabbath was a sign of legalism
or judaizing. Convinced of the Biblical correctness of the seventh-day Sabbath, Seventh-day Adventists turned to their Bibles to sustain their position, prompting the moniker “People of the Book” to be applied to them, and not a few became decidedly legalistic.
of Christ. This was not an openly discussed theological perspective but was a view firmly held by certain prominent individuals. Uriah Smith
(1832–1903), long-time editor of the Review and Herald (now Adventist Review), the official organ of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had expounded this position in his discourse on the Book of Revelation
first published in 1865. Commenting on Revelation 1:4, Smith set forth a straight Arian
position by claiming that the language of the verse was “applicable only to God the Father,” and was “never applied to Christ.”
Another Adventist pioneer who held to the Arian view was Joseph H. Waggoner (1820–1889), Ellet J. Waggoner’s father. J.H. Waggoner was an early convert to the Advent movement, serving on the committee called in 1860 to form the legal organization of the denomination. In 1881, Joseph H. Waggoner succeeded James White
as editor of the Pacific coast evangelistic magazine, Signs of the Times. Through his several books on the atonement, the elder Waggoner taught that Christ was only God in “a subordinate sense,” and thus not fully divine. His main point of dispute was the Trinitarian concept of three divine persons (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
). In his expanded volume on the atonement, J.H. Waggoner devoted two chapters in his attempt to prove that the Trinitarian view was false because it inferred that Christ, being God, could not have died on the cross of Calvary
, and thus full atonement for sin
could not have been made.
Ellen White was neutral on the subject of the trinity and never gave her husband (James White) a rebuke about his view on Arianism. However the Seventh Day Adventist Church has taken her writings about the divinity of Christ and made their own conclusion that the Church holds today on the trinity.
to attend the 1886 General Conference session held that year at Battle Creek, Michigan
. When he arrived he found that church leaders such as Butler strongly opposed his emphasis on Christ as the sole source of righteousness, especially in light of Waggoner’s teaching on the law in Galatians. Butler prepared a small booklet titled “The Law in the Book of Galatians” that was handed out to all the delegates at that conference, countering Waggoner’s position.(Read a PDF of this document online) In this document, Butler presented his position on the law in Galatians, and stated that Waggoner's view would lead the antinomian Christians who opposed Sabbath-keeping to find a reason to claim that the moral law (especially the fourth commandment) was “nailed to the cross” and therefore was “no longer binding” on New Testament
Christians.
were one of the ten horns (tribes or nations) described prophetically in Daniel 7. Smith took grave exception to this new view, relying on the traditional position of the Millerites
to support his position.
“Jones had done his homework well. No one was able effectively to dispute the historical evidence he cited in favor of the Alemanni’s right to supplant the Huns as one of the kingdoms succeeding Rome. Uriah Smith, Adventism’s most noted prophetic expositor, was placed on the defensive. On one occasion he modestly disclaimed originality for the list of kingdoms he had given in Thoughts on Daniel. Smith admitted having simply followed Millerite and earlier interpreters on this point.” Such strong lines were drawn regarding this subject that during the ensuing weeks of the conference when men would pass each other in the halls, they inquired of each other whether they were “Huns” or “Alemanni.”
“Thus did a dispute over a minor point set the pot of controversy boiling before the really significant theological presentation began.” “Many had come to the Conference expecting a clash, and so were not disappointed. Such entered it in a fighting spirit, and a definite split developed. The gulf was wide and deep.”
Waggoner began to present what he had discovered from the Bible on the subject of Christ and His righteousness. “The preaching of the younger men (Waggoner was 33, Jones was 38) was trying to the older leaders. Their vigorous preaching somehow seemed to have a note of authority that was resented.” Supported in their resistance by letters of encouragement from G.I. Butler to “stand by the old landmarks” these older men resisted what was being presented.
J. H. Morrison was selected to offer the rebuttal to Waggoner’s presentations. He spoke sincerely and earnestly expressing the fear that Waggoner’s view, if adopted, would direct attention away from the Adventist position of explicit obedience to all the commandments of God. When it was again Waggoner’s turn at the pulpit, he and A.T. Jones offered a unique reply. Standing before the assembly they opened their Bibles and without personal comment alternately read sixteen passages bearing on the subject at hand.
comes through faith in Jesus Christ, but the emphasis had been more on sanctification
. Placing righteousness by faith squarely on the foundation of Christ and His righteousness, and Christ’s work as our High Priest during the antitypical Day of Atonement
brought a fresh perspective to the doctrine as it had previously been preached from Adventist pulpits.
Such an expanded concept on the length and breadth of the atonement had never been heard before from any pulpit. It was declared to be “a most precious message,” a message that “was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God."
This was the message of Christ and His righteousness presented by E.J. Waggoner and A.T. Jones at the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference. Due to the conflict, Jones and Waggoner’s presentations were coolly received or outrightly rejected by many of the leaders of the denomination. Even so, these two men were invited to preach at subsequent camp meetings, worker’s meetings, and ministerial institutes over the next several years. E.J. Waggoner wrote extensively on the subject of Christ and His righteousness, developing the stenographic notes made by his wife during the 1888 conference into a book with that title. A.T. Jones would be a principal speaker at the next several General Conference sessions, and would write an exposition on the work of Christ as our High Priest relating to the perfection of Christian character, titled Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection (1901).
Ellen White supported Waggoner’s and Jones' Christ centered view on justification by faith
and their refutation of Arianism, and later wrote that she had been teaching for "forty-five years" this same message as Jones and Waggoner had presented it at that session Eight years later, in 1896, Ellen White wrote, “In this scripture [Gal. 3:24], the Holy Spirit through the apostle is speaking especially of the moral law. The law reveals sin to us, and causes us to feel our need of Christ and to flee to Him for pardon and peace."
General Conference Session
The General Conference Session is the official world meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The first session was held on May 20, 1863 with 20 delegates in attendance, and it is now held quinquennially ....
of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is located in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, where it moved in 1989...
held in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
in October of 1888. It is regarded as a landmark event in the history
History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s and 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edson, James Springer White and his wife Ellen G. White, Joseph...
of the Seventh-day Adventist Church
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
. Key participants were Alonzo T. Jones
Alonzo T. Jones
A.[lonzo] T.[révier] Jones was a Seventh-day Adventist known for his impact on the theology of the church, along with friend and associate Ellet J. Waggoner.- Biography :...
, Ellet J. Waggoner
Ellet J. Waggoner
E.[llet] J.[oseph] Waggoner was a Seventh-day Adventist particularly known for his impact on the theology of the church, along with friend and associate Alonzo T. Jones.- Biography :...
who presented a message on Justification
Justification (theology)
Rising out of the Protestant Reformation, Justification is the chief article of faith describing God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice....
supported by Ellen G. White
Ellen G. White
Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...
, but met resistance from leaders such G. I. Butler
George Ide Butler
George Ide Butler was a Seventh-day Adventist minister, administrator, and author. Originally from Vermont, United States, Butler's parents were closely involved in the beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but George expressed leanings to infidelity. In 1853 his family moved to Iowa...
, Uriah Smith
Uriah Smith
Uriah Smith was a Seventh-day Adventist author and editor who worked for the Review and Herald for 50 years....
and others. The session discussed crucial theological issues such as the meaning of "righteousness by faith", and the nature of the Godhead, and the relationship between law
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
and grace
Divine grace
In Christian theology, grace is God’s gift of God’s self to humankind. It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man - "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" - that takes the form of divine favour, love and clemency. It is an attribute of God that is most...
.
Introduction
The Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
General Conference Session
General Conference Session
The General Conference Session is the official world meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The first session was held on May 20, 1863 with 20 delegates in attendance, and it is now held quinquennially ....
of 1888 was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was one of the most explosive and significant meetings the denomination has ever had. Church historians, theologians, and laypersons consider the session to be important. They differ in their own perspective and interpretation of the specific events, the message presented there, and the ensuing reactions. The “joint Minneapolis Institute and General Conference, of 1888, involved vastly more than appeared on the surface. It was the culmination of a whole series of developments that led up to it.”
Foundational experience
The founding pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour and the Bible as their guide in life. Those who had come through the Millerite Movement had first-hand knowledge of disappointment and discouragement. As they studied the Scriptures concerning end timeEnd times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
, the sanctuary types and their fulfillment, and the perpetuity of the law of God, they saw the necessity for organization as a means for proclaiming these truths to the world. The denomination was formally organized on May 23, 1863 in Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
.
The men and women who were a part of the development of this denomination came from various religious backgrounds, bringing with them into the new movement some beliefs peculiar to their former associations. Two significant hold-over theological views were semi-Pelagianism
Pelagianism
Pelagianism is a theological theory named after Pelagius , although he denied, at least at some point in his life, many of the doctrines associated with his name. It is the belief that original sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without...
and semi-Arianism
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
. The focus of the early Seventh-day Adventist Church tended more toward basic denominational organization and development, emphasis on obedience to the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
, and efforts at evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
and church growth during the anguish of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and its aftermath. Salvation and righteousness by faith were kept in the background, because these truths were familiar to most churches, so refining of these and other specific theological points awaited later focus and discussion.
“There was nothing wrong with such material progress. . . .It was right and proper that institutes be established, that the work spread into new regions and churches everywhere be raised up. But ministers and laity alike mistook this growth for the true end and purpose of the Advent movement — a spiritual preparation for the return of Christ. Confusion resulted, and self-esteem and complacency began to surface in the weekly reports of ‘the advance of the cause’ as published in the Review.”
Sources of the developing conflict
By the second generation of the movement, the denomination had become well established across the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and had mission fields around the world. As the church grew, so did opposition (and in some places, persecution), particularly regarding the seventh-day Sabbath. Emphasis on the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
as a part of obedience to God was a firmly established and vigorously defended tenet of the denomination by the 1870s. Sunday-keeping Christians claimed that keeping the seventh-day Sabbath was a sign of legalism
Legalism (theology)
Legalism, in Christian theology, is a sometimes-pejorative term referring to an over-emphasis on discipline of conduct, or legal ideas, usually implying an allegation of misguided rigour, pride, superficiality, the neglect of mercy, and ignorance of the grace of God or emphasizing the letter of...
or judaizing. Convinced of the Biblical correctness of the seventh-day Sabbath, Seventh-day Adventists turned to their Bibles to sustain their position, prompting the moniker “People of the Book” to be applied to them, and not a few became decidedly legalistic.
Defending Sabbath observance
Ministers and laypersons alike developed expertise in debating the beliefs of Adventist, including this particular issue from Scripture. However, there was still much opposition to the Sabbath belief, and there were Christians that said that Seventh-day Adventists were indeed legalists who held strictly to the “letter of the law.” All the work involved in developing and extending the denomination seemed to force attention upon what the individual could accomplish, opening the door to self-reliance in spiritual matters as well. The Christ centered gospel was displaced by man’s efforts.
“Powerful arguments were developed to establish [the law’s] ‘binding obligations.’ Debaters and polemicists emerged, stressing the Sabbath, the Law, etc. — like lawyers arguing a case. Spirituality waned, and not a few became decided legalists. . . . Cold intellectualism and dry theory increased. Christ often became secondary, and Righteousness by Faith largely lost sight of, through outward profession without inner experience. The majesty of the message and the law was magnified. But something was lacking. Discussions were logical and convincing, but not Christ centered.”
Arianism and the atonement
A second issue that paved the way for the heated discussions at Minneapolis was the semi-Arian view on the divinityDivinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
of Christ. This was not an openly discussed theological perspective but was a view firmly held by certain prominent individuals. Uriah Smith
Uriah Smith
Uriah Smith was a Seventh-day Adventist author and editor who worked for the Review and Herald for 50 years....
(1832–1903), long-time editor of the Review and Herald (now Adventist Review), the official organ of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had expounded this position in his discourse on the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
first published in 1865. Commenting on Revelation 1:4, Smith set forth a straight Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
position by claiming that the language of the verse was “applicable only to God the Father,” and was “never applied to Christ.”
Another Adventist pioneer who held to the Arian view was Joseph H. Waggoner (1820–1889), Ellet J. Waggoner’s father. J.H. Waggoner was an early convert to the Advent movement, serving on the committee called in 1860 to form the legal organization of the denomination. In 1881, Joseph H. Waggoner succeeded James White
James Springer White
James Springer White , also known as Elder White was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and husband of Ellen G. White...
as editor of the Pacific coast evangelistic magazine, Signs of the Times. Through his several books on the atonement, the elder Waggoner taught that Christ was only God in “a subordinate sense,” and thus not fully divine. His main point of dispute was the Trinitarian concept of three divine persons (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
). In his expanded volume on the atonement, J.H. Waggoner devoted two chapters in his attempt to prove that the Trinitarian view was false because it inferred that Christ, being God, could not have died on the cross of Calvary
Calvary
Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...
, and thus full atonement for sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
could not have been made.
Ellen White was neutral on the subject of the trinity and never gave her husband (James White) a rebuke about his view on Arianism. However the Seventh Day Adventist Church has taken her writings about the divinity of Christ and made their own conclusion that the Church holds today on the trinity.
Open confrontation
E.J. Waggoner was selected as a delegate from CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to attend the 1886 General Conference session held that year at Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county...
. When he arrived he found that church leaders such as Butler strongly opposed his emphasis on Christ as the sole source of righteousness, especially in light of Waggoner’s teaching on the law in Galatians. Butler prepared a small booklet titled “The Law in the Book of Galatians” that was handed out to all the delegates at that conference, countering Waggoner’s position.(Read a PDF of this document online) In this document, Butler presented his position on the law in Galatians, and stated that Waggoner's view would lead the antinomian Christians who opposed Sabbath-keeping to find a reason to claim that the moral law (especially the fourth commandment) was “nailed to the cross” and therefore was “no longer binding” on New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
Christians.
“The Westerners had reverted to the early Seventh-day Adventist position that the law Paul here referred to as the ‘schoolmaster to bring us to Christ’ (verse 24) was the whole body of the moral law including the Ten Commandments. This position the Adventists had almost entirely abandoned during the 1860s and 1870s; the ‘schoolmaster’ was reinterpreted to mean the ceremonial and sacrificial laws of Moses which pointed forward to the Messiah. This reinterpretation had developed largely as a reaction to Protestant clergymen who interpreted Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:25 (‘we are no longer under the schoolmaster’) to mean that the Ten Commandment law had been abrogated; thus, the seventh-day Sabbath was no longer viable.”
Summary of the forerunning conflict
Thus we find these two main points of contention facing the delegates at Minneapolis: justification is by faith alone not by works of the law, and the semi-Arian view of the Godhead and its effect on the doctrine of the atonement. Prior to the 1888 Minneapolis conference a third topic of contention developed between Uriah Smith and A.T. Jones. Jones was an avid student of history, especially as it applied to the prophecies of the Bible. He had discovered that the Alemanni and not the HunsHuns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
were one of the ten horns (tribes or nations) described prophetically in Daniel 7. Smith took grave exception to this new view, relying on the traditional position of the Millerites
Millerites
The Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller who, in 1833, first shared publicly his belief in the coming Second Advent of Jesus Christ in roughly the year 1843.-Origins:...
to support his position.
“Jones was accordingly regarded by some as the fosterer of a new historical ‘heresy,’ while Waggoner was thought to be projecting a doctrinal deviation — which departures would have to be settled at the Minneapolis Meeting.” Preconceived opinions and strong prejudice were firmly entrenched due to the previous two years’ contentions between Waggoner and Butler, and Jones and Smith.
Ministerial Bible Institute
Prior to the actual General Conference session, a Bible Institute was convened beginning on Wednesday Oct. 10, 1888. The General Conference session began on Oct. 18 and ran through more than two full weeks, ending on Sunday Nov. 4, 1888. It was during the Bible Institute that A.T. Jones delivered his evidence supporting the idea that the Alemanni were one of the ten horns of prophecy that succeeded the crumbling Roman Empire.“Jones had done his homework well. No one was able effectively to dispute the historical evidence he cited in favor of the Alemanni’s right to supplant the Huns as one of the kingdoms succeeding Rome. Uriah Smith, Adventism’s most noted prophetic expositor, was placed on the defensive. On one occasion he modestly disclaimed originality for the list of kingdoms he had given in Thoughts on Daniel. Smith admitted having simply followed Millerite and earlier interpreters on this point.” Such strong lines were drawn regarding this subject that during the ensuing weeks of the conference when men would pass each other in the halls, they inquired of each other whether they were “Huns” or “Alemanni.”
“Thus did a dispute over a minor point set the pot of controversy boiling before the really significant theological presentation began.” “Many had come to the Conference expecting a clash, and so were not disappointed. Such entered it in a fighting spirit, and a definite split developed. The gulf was wide and deep.”
General Conference session
When E.J. Waggoner arrived at the Conference, a blackboard had been placed on the speaker’s platform with views on the law in Galatians written upon it. J.H. Morrison had affixed his signature under the statement: “Resolved — That the Law in Galatians Is the Ceremonial Law.” Waggoner was invited to place his signature under the opposing proposition: “Resolved — That the Law in Galatians Is the Moral Law.” Waggoner declined, saying that he had not come to the meetings to debate, but to present truth as it is found in Scripture.Waggoner began to present what he had discovered from the Bible on the subject of Christ and His righteousness. “The preaching of the younger men (Waggoner was 33, Jones was 38) was trying to the older leaders. Their vigorous preaching somehow seemed to have a note of authority that was resented.” Supported in their resistance by letters of encouragement from G.I. Butler to “stand by the old landmarks” these older men resisted what was being presented.
J. H. Morrison was selected to offer the rebuttal to Waggoner’s presentations. He spoke sincerely and earnestly expressing the fear that Waggoner’s view, if adopted, would direct attention away from the Adventist position of explicit obedience to all the commandments of God. When it was again Waggoner’s turn at the pulpit, he and A.T. Jones offered a unique reply. Standing before the assembly they opened their Bibles and without personal comment alternately read sixteen passages bearing on the subject at hand.
Most Precious Message
The claim was that Waggoner’s “new light” was nothing more than what Adventists had always presented on justification by faith, which was theoretically true as Adventist taught that salvationSalvation
Within religion salvation is the phenomenon of being saved from the undesirable condition of bondage or suffering experienced by the psyche or soul that has arisen as a result of unskillful or immoral actions generically referred to as sins. Salvation may also be called "deliverance" or...
comes through faith in Jesus Christ, but the emphasis had been more on sanctification
Sanctification
Sanctity is an ancient concept widespread among religions, a property of a thing or person sacred or set apart within the religion, from totem poles through temple vessels to days of the week, to a human believer who achieves this state. Sanctification is the act or process of acquiring sanctity,...
. Placing righteousness by faith squarely on the foundation of Christ and His righteousness, and Christ’s work as our High Priest during the antitypical Day of Atonement
Day of Atonement
Day of Atonement may refer to:*Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement* Day of Atonement , a national day established in 1995 by the Nation of Islam...
brought a fresh perspective to the doctrine as it had previously been preached from Adventist pulpits.
Refutation of Arianism
Waggoner centered his logical proof on the fact that Christ possesses “all the fullness of the Godhead” being “by nature the very substance of God, and having life in Himself, He is properly called Jehovah, the self-existent One.” This is a truth no Arian would ever admit. However, it is also true that Waggoner would never have utilized the term Arian in a pejorative manner. While he rejected the idea that Christ was a created being, he still maintained: "There was a time when Christ proceeded forth and came from God, from the bosom of the Father (John 8:42; 1:18), but that time was so far back in the days of eternity that to finite comprehension it is practically without beginning." The nature and relationship of the Godhead, let alone the divinity of Christ, is too complex for human comprehension. Nonetheless, Waggoner’s entire discussion on Christ and His righteousness was linked to the divinity of Christ. For Waggoner, the equality of Christ with God magnifies his condescension and humility in assuming humanity. In fact, Waggoner wrote: "Let no one, therefore, who honors Christ at all, give Him less honor than he gives the Father, for this would be to dishonor the Father by just so much; but let all, with the angels in heaven worship the Son, having no fear that they are worshiping and serving the creature instead of the Creator." The everlasting covenant promise God made to fallen Adam in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15) was that Emmanuel—God with us—would “save His people from their sin” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus fulfilled this promise in every aspect.
“Think of it; God swore by Himself! That is, He pledged Himself, and His own existence, to our salvation in Jesus Christ. He put Himself in pawn. His life for ours, if we are lost while trusting Him. His honour is at stake.”
Such an expanded concept on the length and breadth of the atonement had never been heard before from any pulpit. It was declared to be “a most precious message,” a message that “was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God."
Foundation for Righteousness by Faith
Far from promoting antinomian sentiments, Waggoner’s message presented Christ in all His glory as the Saviour of all mankind. When properly understood through a heart appreciation of what it cost the Godhead to redeem fallen man from sin, this truth results in a heart surrender to the will of God, producing faithful obedience to all the commandments of God.
“‘Do you mean to teach universal salvation?’ someone may ask. We mean to teach just what the Word of God teaches — that the ‘grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men.’ Titus 2:11. God has wrought out salvation for every man, and has given it to him;’ but the majority spurn it and throw it away. The judgment will reveal the fact that full salvation was given to every man and that the lost have deliberately thrown away their birthright possession.”
This was the message of Christ and His righteousness presented by E.J. Waggoner and A.T. Jones at the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference. Due to the conflict, Jones and Waggoner’s presentations were coolly received or outrightly rejected by many of the leaders of the denomination. Even so, these two men were invited to preach at subsequent camp meetings, worker’s meetings, and ministerial institutes over the next several years. E.J. Waggoner wrote extensively on the subject of Christ and His righteousness, developing the stenographic notes made by his wife during the 1888 conference into a book with that title. A.T. Jones would be a principal speaker at the next several General Conference sessions, and would write an exposition on the work of Christ as our High Priest relating to the perfection of Christian character, titled Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection (1901).
Ellen White supported Waggoner’s and Jones' Christ centered view on justification by faith
Justification (theology)
Rising out of the Protestant Reformation, Justification is the chief article of faith describing God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice....
and their refutation of Arianism, and later wrote that she had been teaching for "forty-five years" this same message as Jones and Waggoner had presented it at that session Eight years later, in 1896, Ellen White wrote, “In this scripture [Gal. 3:24], the Holy Spirit through the apostle is speaking especially of the moral law. The law reveals sin to us, and causes us to feel our need of Christ and to flee to Him for pardon and peace."
See also
- Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventist ChurchThe Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
- History of the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchHistory of the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchThe Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s and 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edson, James Springer White and his wife Ellen G. White, Joseph...
- 28 fundamental beliefs
- Questions on DoctrineQuestions on DoctrineSeventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine is a book published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1957 to help explain Adventism to conservative Protestants and Evangelicals...
- Biblical Research InstituteBiblical Research InstituteThe Biblical Research Institute is a service department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with the three stated functions of research, apologetics , and service to the church. It serves as a theological consultant to the General Conference...
- MilleritesMilleritesThe Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller who, in 1833, first shared publicly his belief in the coming Second Advent of Jesus Christ in roughly the year 1843.-Origins:...
- William Miller (preacher)William Miller (preacher)William Miller was an American Baptist preacher who is credited with beginning the mid-nineteenth century North American religious movement now known as Adventism. Among his direct spiritual heirs are several major religious denominations, including Seventh-day Adventists and Advent Christians...
- Ellen G. WhiteEllen G. WhiteEllen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...
- Teachings of Ellen White#End times
- Inspiration of Ellen WhiteInspiration of Ellen WhiteSeventh-day Adventists believe church co-founder Ellen G. White was inspired by God as a prophet, today understood as a manifestation of the New Testament "gift of prophecy", as described in the official beliefs of the church...
- List of Ellen White writings
- Ellen G. White EstateEllen G. White EstateThe Ellen G. White Estate, Incorporated, or simply the White Estate, is the official organization created by Ellen G. White to act as the custodian of her writings, which are of importance to the Seventh-day Adventist Church...
- Prophecy in the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchProphecy in the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchSeventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White, one of the church's co-founders, was a prophet, understood today as an expression of the New Testament spiritual gift of prophecy....
- Seventh-day Adventist eschatology
- Sabbath in Seventh-day AdventismSabbath in Seventh-day AdventismSabbath is an important part of the belief and practice of seventh-day Christians. These believers observe Sabbath on the seventh Hebrew day of the week, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, in similar manner as in Judaism, rather than Lord's day on Sunday like a most forms of Christianity...
- Seventh-day Adventist worshipSeventh-day Adventist worshipThis article describes worship practice in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.The Seventh-day Sabbath is seen as an important aspect of worship....
External links
- "Minneapolis, 1888: An Adventist Watershed" by Gerhard Pfandl. Adventist WorldAdventist WorldAdventist World is a monthly international magazine of the Seventh-day Adventist Church published by the Review and Herald Publishing Association...
6:1 (January 2010), p24–25 - The Significance and Meaning of Minneapolis and 1888, by Woodrow W. Whidden II.
- 1888 Most Precious Message, An Invitation from Christ, by Daniel Peters
- The Archives and Statistics Research Papers section of the Adventist Archives contains several papers dealing with this era of Adventist History.
- Audio Readings From A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner, Sherman Haywood Cox II reads writings from Jones and Waggoner on this website.
- Listen to or Read Audio Books by A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner on this Website, such as Lessons on Faith The Consecrated Way, and Christ and His Righteousness.
- "Primacy of the Gospel Committee - Report" from the Biblical Research InstituteBiblical Research InstituteThe Biblical Research Institute is a service department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with the three stated functions of research, apologetics , and service to the church. It serves as a theological consultant to the General Conference...