Seventh Day Adventist Beliefs

The Seventh Day Adventists

The Seventh Day Adventists Christian or cultic in nature? by Dr. David R. Reagan

There are two distinctive doctrines of the SDA.20 First and foremost is "The Investigative Judgment."
This is the unbiblical concept that in 1844 Jesus entered "the second and last phase" of His atoning ministry - the work of investigative judgment. Instead of returning to earth on October 22, 1844, as William Miller predicted, Jesus entered the Holy of Holies in Heaven and began a review of the works of all believers who have ever lived to determine how faithful they were to the commandments of God. "Sins that have not been repented of and forsaken will not be pardoned and blotted out of the books of record, but will stand to witness against the sinner."  According to Ellen White, a person must believe this doctrine to be saved: "All need a knowledge of the position [in the Holy of Holies] and work [investigative judgment] of their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time or to occupy the position which God designs for them to fill."22

Twisting Bible Prophecy

There is absolutely no valid biblical basis for this bizarre doctrine. As pointed out earlier, it is based upon a misinterpretation and misapplication of Daniel 8:14. The prophecy concerns the actions of Antiochus Epiphanes (215-164 BC). It refers to a restoration of "the holy place" after it has been "trampled." This occurred when Antiochus took Jerusalem in 167 BC and stopped the sacrifices in the Temple. This led to the Maccabean revolt which succeeded in reconquering Jerusalem. In 164 BC the Jews cleansed and rededicated the Temple. Hanukkah is the eight day festival celebrating this event. Applying this prophecy to the Heavenly sanctuary is ridiculous. Since when has the Holy of Holies in Heaven ever been defiled or trampled down? Since when has it needed to be restored? The prophecy also refers to a time period during which the "holy place" will remain desecrated. That time period is "2,300 evenings and mornings." The King James version translates this to read "2,300 days." William Miller converted these days into years. SDA teachers defend this conversion on the basis of Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 where prophets were specifically told to interpret days in their prophecies as years. But those verses have no application to Daniel 8:14.