There is one word that summarises the Adventist vision of what lies beyond the evils of this world: hope. Adventists show sincere joy for life, and the reason for this is the certainty they have about the return of Jesus, who will put an end to all human pain and limitations. This certainty also defines the denomination. Its members are Adventists precisely because they believe in the advent of Christ.
The addition of the expression seventh day identifies the belief in the biblical Sabbath as a day established for a relationship with God and solidarity work in favour of people, which adds quality to the lifestyle and strengthens faith.
The Bible presents the Sabbath as the memorial of the creation of life, which holds that ‘in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it’ (Exodus 20:11). From sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday (as we read in Leviticus 23:32), the seventh day remains a time set aside for worship and communion with God and service to one’s neighbour.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
In the 19th century, the world experienced a prophetic religious revival. In South America, the Jesuit priest Manuel Lacunza wrote a book about the return of Jesus. In Europe, preachers such as the Jewish Christian Joseph Wolff also emphasised this belief.
In the United States, Baptist preacher William Miller was the one who gave great impetus to the movement awaiting Christ’s return. In 1818, while studying the Bible, Miller realised that Jesus would return between the spring of 1843 and 1844. The news spread quickly, and the number of followers grew rapidly. The Millerites, as they became known, believed that the cleansing of the sanctuary mentioned in chapter 8 of the book of the prophet Daniel was the second coming of Jesus. Thousands looked forward to the day when they would enter heavenly glory. But the period passed and nothing happened.
However, in August 1844, Samuel Snow offered an explanation for this. According to the Jewish calendar, the prophecy would be fulfilled on 22 October, when the Day of Atonement would be celebrated. So this would have been the date of the second coming, but it went down in history as the day of the Great Disappointment.
As a result, the movement fragmented into three groups: one continued to set new dates; another became an unbeliever; and the third persisted in studying the Bible. This last group concluded that the date was correct, but that there was an error in the interpretation of the prophecy, because the sanctuary purified on that occasion was the heavenly one, and not the one on earth (Hebrews 9:22-24). According to this interpretation, Christ passed from the holy place to the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary, where he has since acted as intercessor and judge for all human beings. It was from this latter group that the Seventh-day Adventist Church officially emerged in 1863.
The message presented by the Adventist Church reached South America at the end of the 19th century.
In Argentina, colporteurs (sellers of religious literature) like Albert Stauffer and Frank Westphal, the first Adventist pastor to work on the continent, shared health principles and the great messages found in the Bible. Little by little, it spread to other neighbouring nations, which led to growth in membership and institutional organisation. Since 1976, the denomination’s administrative headquarters for eight South American countries has been located in Brasilia, Distrito Federal, in the heart of Brazil. Its world headquarters, which leads actions across the globe, is in Maryland, Washington, in the United States.
However, in August 1844, Samuel Snow presented an explanation for this fact. According to the Jewish calendar, the prophecy would be fulfilled on October 22, the day of Atonement. So this would have been the day of the second coming, but it went down in history as the day of the Great Disappointment.
However, in August 1844, Samuel Snow presented an explanation for this fact. According to the Jewish calendar, the prophecy would be fulfilled on October 22, the day of Atonement. So this would have been the day of the second coming, but it went down in history as the day of the Great Disappointment.
PIONEERS OF THE
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
José Bates (1792-1872)
A former sailor, he was a minister and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Bates played a key role in propagating Adventist beliefs, especially the doctrine of the Sabbath as the holy day. He is recognized for his dedication to the Adventist cause andhis contribution to shaping the Church ‘s identity and doctrine .
Tiago White (1821-1861)
From an early age, he had a talent for teaching. As well as being a teacher, he became a pastor and one of the Church’s most important strategists in its early years. He played a key rolein theprocess of organizing the denomination and was the first editor of an official periodical. His recognized work in this area boosted the reach of the Adventist message.
Ellen White (1827-1915)
One of the most translated authors in history, Ellen White carried out a prophetic ministry for 70 years. She was recognized as a woman called by God to counsel, exhort and inspire people about the importanceand relevance of the Bible, which she always exalted, and the need to prepare for the soonreturn of Jesus.
ELLEN
WHITE
Biography
Beginning of ministry
Family
Health message
Legacy
Biography
BIOGRAPHY
Ellen White was a person of remarkable spiritual gifts and lived most of her life during the 19th century. She wrote over 5,000 articles and 49 books. Today, including compilations of her manuscripts, more than 150 books in English and about 90 in Portuguese are available. She is one of the most translated authors in the history of literature. Her writings cover a wide range of topics, including religion, education, health, social relationships, evangelism, prophecy, publishing work, nutrition, and administration.
From the age of 17 until her passing at 87, God granted her approximately 2,000 dreams and visions. The visions varied in length, ranging from less than a minute to about four hours. The knowledge and counsel received through these revelations were written by her to be shared with others.
Beginning of ministry
BEGINNING OF THE MINISTRY
Born on November 26, 1827, Ellen had a twin sister named Elizabeth. She and her family lived on a small farm near the village of Gorham, Maine, about 12 miles east of Portland, Maine, in the northeastern United States. During her childhood, Ellen helped with household chores and assisted her father in the manufacture of hats. At the age of nine, while returning home from school, she was injured by a stone thrown by a classmate. This accident nearly cost her life. She was unconscious for three weeks, and in the following years, she suffered greatly as a result of the severe injury to her nose.
At 12 years old, she gave her heart to God. At her insistence, she was baptized by immersion by a minister in the waters that bathed the shores of Portland, and on that same day, she was received as a member of the Methodist Church.
Along with other family members, Ellen attended Adventist meetings in Portland in 1840 and 1842, fully accepting the views presented by the preacher William Miller and those who accompanied him. She eagerly awaited the return of Jesus in 1843, and then in 1844. She was a fervent missionary worker and did her part in proclaiming the Advent message.
On one occasion, she joined four other women in family worship while at the home of someone also awaiting Christ’s return, in southern Portland, on a morning in late December 1844. On this day, she lost awareness of her surroundings, and in a revelation, she witnessed the travels of the Advent people to the city of God. When the 17-year-old girl tremblingly and reluctantly shared this vision with believers in Portland, it was accepted as light from God. Following the Lord’s direction, she traveled with friends and family from place to place. On these occasions, she reported to scattered groups of Adventists what had been revealed to her, both in the first vision and in those that followed.
Family
FAMILY
In August 1846, she married the preacher and future pastor James White. In the few weeks following their marriage, James and Ellen developed a pamphlet study of forty-six pages published by Pastor Joseph Bates in New Bedford, Massachusetts, titled The Seventh-day Sabbath, which presented scriptural evidence for the holiness of the seventh day.
As a mother of four children, Ellen experienced the pain of losing two of them. Herbert died at a few weeks old, and Henry at 16 years old. The other two sons, Edson and William, became Adventist pastors. James, her husband, dedicated his life to proclaiming the Advent message and passed away in 1881.
Health message
HEALTH MESSAGE
In her vision on June 6, 1863, Ellen White received instructions on health-related matters, such as the use of drugs, tobacco, tea, coffee, animal-based foods, and the importance of physical activity, sunlight, fresh air, and a balanced diet. Her health advice, grounded in this and other visions, has helped Adventists develop a lifestyle that gives them, on average, seven years more longevity than people in general.
Legacy
LEGACY
Ellen Gould Harmon and her twin sister, Elizabeth, were born on a farm in the northeastern United States, in the village of Gorham, near Portland, Maine, on November 26, 1827.
Daughters of farmer Robert and Eunice Harmon, they grew up among their six siblings. A few years after the birth of the twins, Robert left farming and dedicated himself to hat manufacturing in the city of Portland.
PIONEERS OF
ADVENTIST CHURCH
IN SOUTH AMERICA
JORGE H. RIFFELArgentina, 1890
Of Russian-German origin, he was part of a group of immigrants who left Germany in 1876, initially settling in southern Brazil and later moving towards the Argentine region of Entre Rios. He traveled with his wife, María Ziegler, and their three-year-old son, Davi. He was baptized in 1888 in the United States. He is considered the first self-supporting missionary.
ALBERT STAUFFERBrazil, 1893
A pioneer colporteur in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, he was the first missionary appointed by the General Conference of the Adventist Church to arrive in Brazil in May 1893. He primarily worked in German-speaking colonies. Alongside Albert Bachmeyer, he sold Adventist books in various locations in São Paulo. In the early 20th century, he took on administrative roles in the southern part of the country. He arrived in Uruguay in 1892, working especially in the Waldensian colonies of the country.
FRANK WESTPHALChile, 1894
He was the first Adventist minister sent to serve in South America in 1894. He became the first to perform baptisms in regions where the existence of Adventist congregations was barely known. For example, he baptized Guilherme Stein Jr., considered the first Brazilian to be baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist, in April 1895, in the Piracicaba River, São Paulo.
ALBERT STAUFFERUruguay, 1895
He arrived in Uruguay in 1892. He worked very successfully in the German-speaking Swiss colonies. For this reason, he is seen as the person who initiated the Adventist message in Uruguay. He sold many books among the Swiss-German settlers.
EDUARDO W. THOMANNBolivia, 1897
With his wife, Flora, he first settled in Cochabamba, Bolivia, as head of Adventist work in the country in June 1907. He was the first editor of the magazine Señales de los Tiempos (a version of Signs of the Times) in 1900. In 1902, he and José Luis Escobar spent about four months in the country distributing books and selling copies of Señales de los Tiempos.
VICTOR THOMANNPeru, 1898
With his wife and the families of José Luis Escobar and Victor Osório, Thomann settled in Lima, where he worked and preached the gospel. He was baptized in Chile with his brother Eduardo. He founded the first Adventist school in that country, known as Filadélfia. Victor and Eduardo were part of the first Sabbath School in the country, held in Santiago.
ROBERT HABENICHTParaguay, 1903
A doctor and founder of the Sanatorio Adventista del Plata in Argentina, he arrived in Buenos Aires on December 2, 1901, from the United States. He spent part of his time founding new churches and was a forerunner of Adventism in Paraguay, as he visited and prepared some families for baptism in 1903.
THOMAS H. DAVISEcuador, 1904
On August 30, 1902, he arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He dedicated his life to the gospel through the colporteurship, after also being a pioneer in Chile.
He is considered the first herald of the Adventist faith in Ecuador. In 1907, he began to see the results of his missionary efforts with the baptism of the first Ecuadorian, C. E. Yépez, who performed important services for the cause of God.
VEJA TAMBÉM
NOSSO NOME
O logotipo da Igreja Adventista reforça aspectos fundamentais de sua identidade e missão. Também destaca crenças e sua base bíblica, que apontam para o plano de Deus para a humanidade e o papel redentor de Cristo.
MISSÃO, MÉTODO E VISÃO
A missão da Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia é comunicar o evangelho eterno do amor de Deus a todas as pessoas. Para isso, se vale do Ministério da Pregação, do Ensino e Social e de Saúde. Eles são baseados no ministério do próprio Jesus.
Você precisa saber
Quais são e o que significam as três mensagens angélicas? Por que o cuidado com a saúde é tão importante? Entenda essas e outras questões nesta série.
STRUCTURE organizational
From the local church to the world headquarters, learn about the administrative levels that work to strengthen the faith, teach the Bible and support different initiatives aimed at members, others and society.
One of the main fronts on which Adventists work is precisely in providing social and humanitarian assistance to thousands of people, which is in harmony with the ministry of Christ himself.