WORLD RELIGIONS WEEK 11 COMPARING FULL GOSPEL BELIEFS

WORLD RELIGIONS, WEEK 11– COMPARING FULL GOSPEL BELIEFS TO SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST WELCOME! Coffee, donuts and snacks are available in the Lobby!

CENTRAL TENET OF THIS COURSE: The 66 Book Holy Bible(KJV, or NIV) is the inerrant Word of God, written by 40 different men over a span of 1, 500 years, inspired by God, and ascribe as Canon by bible scholars at the 1 st Council of Carthage, 397 AD, and has remained virtually unchanged for over the past 1, 700 years. • • Per the AG Position Papers: “The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct: ” • • (2 Timothy 3: 15 -17; 1 Thessalonians 2: 13; 2 Peter 1: 21)” (KJV). 1 • The referenced books (see References page: ) are considered accurate, and up to date.

BASIC BELIEFS MARTIN LUTHER’S 5 SOLAS Salvation is given by: 1. By grace alone, 2. By Christ alone 3. by faith alone, 4. By Scripture alone, 5. Glory to God alone. • FOUR AG CORE BELIEFS 1. Salvation 2. Baptism in the Holy Spirit 3. Divine Healing 4. The 2 nd Coming of Christ.

AG’S 16 “FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS” 1. The Scriptures Inspired 9. Sanctification 2. The One True God 3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ 10. The Church and Its Mission 4. The Fall of Man 12. Divine Healing 5. The Salvation of Man 13. The Blessed Hope 6. The Ordinances of the Church 14. The Millennial Reign of Christ 7. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit 15. The Final Judgment 8. The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit COPYRIGHT BY DAVID BONILLA, OCTOBER 2017 11. The Ministry 16. The New Heavens and the New Earth

WHAT DO OUR CHURCH’S BY-LAWS SAY? • ARTICLE SIX – TENETS OF FAITH • As Tenets of Faith, this church accepts the Holy Bible as the inspired and revealed Will of God, the all sufficient rule of faith and practice , and for the purpose of maintaining general unity, adopts the Statement of fundamental truths approved by the General Council, as same is now and from time to time may be revised, and as recited in the true copy thereof which follows as an addendum to this code of Constitution and Bylaws, by this reference incorporated herein as through set forth in full.

HOW DID SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST START? • During the “Second Great Awakening”, preacher William Miller, founder, predicted Christ’s return on October 22, 1844. • When he was wrong (called the Great Disappointment), his following of Millerites split into several groups, including what would become modern Seventh Day Adventists, who said the date was correct, but that on that date, Jesus had begun the last phase of his atoning ministry in the “sanctuary in heaven. ” • A few hundreds of Seventh Day Adventists grew to about 3, 000 by 1863; the official establishment of the church. •

COMPARISONS OF BELIEFS THEY ASCRIBE TO 28 FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS (SHOW THIS LINK) ASSEMBLY OF GOD • Most are same a AG Beliefs except: • Four Core Beliefs • A called out “remnant” in last days • 16 Fundamental Truths • The Sabbath vs. Sunday worship • Ignores baptism of the Holy Spirit • Christ’s ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary • Soul sleep

THE BIG DIFFERENCES • Seventh Day Adventists believe that the Sabbath begins at the end of the sixth day, which is considered Friday and lasts one day, which is Saturday. The Sabbath “protects man’s friendship with God and provides time essential for the development of that relationship. ” • The Heavenly Sanctuary is considered the heavenly model for the Old Testament sanctuaries. What Israelite priests did in those sanctuaries is what Christ is now doing for us. (No Bible Verses to support this. ) • The Holy Spirit: is a 3 rd divine “person” that inspired Christ and us. • Hell is not an eternity of suffering and torture. Sinners eventually are annihilated. • Death is an unconscious state. • No emphasis on Divine Healing

WHAT ABOUT THE SABBATH? • Retired sea captain Joseph Bates, and a co-founder of 7 DA, (1792 – 1872 convinced James White and Ellen G. White of the validity of the seventhday Sabbath. • Ellen G. White, rejected Sunday because she believed (wrongly) that Sunday worship was instituted be a Pope. • Sunday Worship (but not of rest) started in ~150 AD as The Lord’s Day (Eucharist) because He arose on Sunday, and He first appeared to His disciples on Sunday • Early Christians worshipped every day - did not abandon Saturdays • See Colossians 2: 16, 17; Romans 13: 8 -10; Galatians 4: 9 -11 • Emperor Constantine decreed in 321 AD that Sundays be a day of rest

OTHER BELIEFS • Many still follow the teachings of their early 19 th century prophet, and cofounder Ellen G. White (1827 -1915). • Her book “Steps to Christ” (1892) has been published in 196 different languages. She had “inspired interpretations” (a so called “Spirit of Prophecy”) of the Bible. • They eschew: tobacco, liquor, caffeine, “unclean meat” • They promote moral purity, family unity, vegetarism, physical well being, their missionary, medical, welfare and educational programs • The do NOT celebrate Christmas, nor Easter (dates are uncertain) • Note: Adventists might have better longevity than others (10+ years); credited to a vegetarian, or plant-based diet.

STATISTICS -1 • Seventh Day Adventists, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, follow a hierarchal organizational network. • The highest-ranking authority in the church is the General Conference. • The General Conference oversees the global ministry of the church. • The General Conference is also responsible for the spiritual development of the church. • They have 19 million members and 82, 000 churches, in 13 divisions worldwide.

STATISTICS - II • Adventists serve the whole person and have developed educational, health-care, publishing, media (radio, print, television, web, satellite), and other institutions. • Their multiple units of the world Church, whether congregations, conferences, health-care institutions, publishing houses, schools, or other organizations, • Their local churches are semi-autonomous, elected their own boards • They own & operate 69, 909 companies, with 279, 604 employees; 7, 792 schools, 22 food industries, 175 hospitals and sanitariums • Thy publish in 974 language; work in 215 countries

THIS IS IT FOR TODAY • God be with you •

REFERENCES: • • Author Unknow, What’s the Difference? Examining the differences between Christianity & cults, Christianity & world religions, and Baptists & denominations, Publisher Unknown, Downloaded from the Internet 06/12/2010, • Boa, Kenneth, Cults, World Religions, and the Occult, Victor Books, Springfield, IL, 1977 • Parrinder, Geofrey, World Religions, from Ancient History to the Present, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, NY, 1985 • Re Manning, et al, 30 Second Religion, the 50 Most Thought Provoking Beliefs; each explained in half a minute, Metro Books NY, 2011 • STATISTICS ON THE ASSEMBLIES OF GOD (USA), DOWNLOADED JUNE 6 TH 2019, FROM https: //ag. org/About/Statistics • Solas: http: //www. religious-beliefs. com/protestant-religion. htm, retrieved June 6 th, 2019

REFERENCES - II • Eddy, Mary Bake: https: //www. marybakereddylibrary. org/mary-baker -eddy/the-life-of-mary-baker-eddy/ • Christian Scientish Beliefs: retrieved 8/29/19 from Reference: http: //www. eaec. org/cults/christianscience. htm • Seventh Day Adventist Beliefs, retrieved 9/13/19 from https: //szu. adventist. org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/28_Beliefs. pdf • Seventh Day Adventist Organization, retrieved 9/13/19 from https: //www. nadadventist. org/about-our-church/organizationalstructure