Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-07-12
"a DECLARATION
of
The Fundamental Principles
of the
Seyenth-Day Adyentists.

In presenting TO the public this SYNOPSIS If
our faith, we wish TO have il distinctly under
stood that we have no articles of faith. creed,
| or discipline, aside from the Bible. We do
not put forth this as having any authority with
our people, nor is it designed to secure uni
| formity among them, as a system of faith, but
| is brief statement of what is, and has been,
| with great unanimity, held by them. We
often find it necessary to meet inquiries on
this subject, ard sometimes to correct false
statements circulated against us, and to re-
move erroneous impressions which have OBJ
| tanned with those who have not had an oppor-
tunity to become acquainted with our faith
and practice. Our only object is to meet this
necessity.
| With these remarks, we ask the attention
of the reader to the following propositions
which aim to be concise statement of the
more prominent features of our faith.
| |. That there is one God, a personal,
spiritual being, the creator Of all things, omni-
potent omniscient, and eternal infinite in
wisdom, holiness justice, goodness, truth, and
mercy Interchangeable, and everywhere pres
ent by his representative, the Holy Spirit. Ps.
| 139: Z.
Ii. That there is one Lord Jesus Christ,
| the Son of the Eternal Father, the one by
whom God created all things, and by whom
/ AEEf 10 CUIlelob lIlb LUX On HlUl Tue HAS
ture Of the seed Of Abraham for the redemp-
| ton of our fallen race that he dwelt among
| men, full of grace aud truth, lived our exam
pie, died our sacrifice, was raised for our JUS
| tifcation, assembled on high to be our only
mediator in the sanctuary in Heaven, where
| with his own blood, he makes atonement for
our sins which atonement, so far from be-
| i'm .lade on the cross, which was but the of
fering OF the sacrifice, is the vcry last portion
of his work as priest according to the exam
| pie of the Leyitical priesthood, which fore
Swallowed and prehgured the ministry of our
| Lord in Heaven. See Lev, 10 Heb. s 4,
5, =: 6, 7; &c.
III. That the Holy Scriptures, of the Old
and New Testaments, were given by inspira-
ton of God, contain full revelation of his
viii to man, and are the only infallible rule of
faith and practice.
". That baptism is an ordinance of the
| Christian church, to follow faith and repen,
lance, an ordinance by which we commence
rate the resurrection Of Christ. as by this act
we show our faith in his burial and resurrec-
ton, and, through that, Of the resurrection of
all the saints at the last day ; and that no
other mode fifty represents these facts than that
which the Scriptures prescribe, namely, irn~
mersion. Rom. 6 3-5 !; Col. 3 ~
Y. That the new birth comprises the entire
change necessary to fit us for the kingdom of
God, and consists of two parts: First, moral
change, wrought by conversion and a chris
tan life secondly, physical change at the
second coming of Christ, whereby, if dead, we
are raised incorruptible, and, if living, are
changed to Immortality in amoment, in the
twinkling of an eye John S3, 5 Luke 20:
SO.
VI. We believe that prophecy is part of
Gods revelation to man that it is included
in that scripture which is profitable for in
structon 2 Tim. 8 16; that it is designed
for US and our children; Deut. 20 20; that
so far from being enshrouded in impenetrable
mystery, it is that which especially constitutes
the word of God lamp to our feet and light
to our path ; Ps 119: los ; Pet 2 10; that
a blessing is pronounced upon those who
study it Rev. Is and that, consequent
" it is to be understood by the people of God
sufficiently to show them their position in the
worlds history, and the special duties requir.
ed at their hands
VII. That the worlds history from specified
dates in the past, the rise and fall of empires,
and chronological succession of events down
to the setting up of Gods everlasting kingdom,
are outlined in numerous great chains of
prophecy; and that these prophecies are now
all fulfilled except the closing scenes.
VIII. That the doctrine of the worlds con.
version and temporal millennium is fable of
these last days, calculated TO lull men into
state of carnal security, and cause them to
be Oyertaken by the great day of the Lord as
by a thief in the night; that the second COM
ing of Christ is to precede, not follow the
millennium: for until the Lord appears, the
papal power, with all its denominations, is 70
continue, the wheat and tares grow together,
and evil men and seducers wax worse and
worse as the word of God declares.
TX. That the mistake of Adventists in
1914 pertained to the nature of the event then
TO transpire mot TO the time shat no prophetic
period is given to reach to the second adj
vent, but that the longest one, the two thou
sand and three hundred days of Dam STA,
terminated in that year and brought us to an
event called the cleansing of the sanctuary.
X. That the sanctuary Of the new coven-
ant is the tabernacle of God in Heaven. of
which Paul speaks in Heb. 8, and onward, of
which our Lord, as great High Priest, is min
lister; that this sanctuary is the antitype of
the Mosaic tabernacle, and that the priesty
work of our Lord, connected herewith, is
| the antique Of the Jewish priests of the for
| mer dispensation; Heb. s: /, 5,&c., that this
is the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of
| the $500 days, what is termed its cleansing
| being in this case, as in the type, simply the
entrance of the high priest into the most holy
place, TO finish the round of service connect
| ed herewith, by blotting out and removing
| from the sanctuary the SINS which have been
| transferred to il By means of the ministration
| in the first apartment; Heb 9: %, %; and
that this work, in the antique, commencing
| in 1914, occupies brief but indefinite space,
at the conclusion of which the work of mer-
CT for the world is finished.
XI. That God's moral requirements are
| the same upon all men in all dispensations;
that these are summarily contained in the
commandments spoken by Jehovah from SIM
al, engraven on the tables of stone, and de.
| posted in the ark, which was in consequence
called the .ark of the covenant" or testa-
| ment; Mum. TO- 33 Heb. 9: A &C., that this
law is immutable and perpetual, being tran
script Oft the tables deposited in the ark in
the true sanctuary on high, which is also, for
the same reason, called the ark of Gods test
ament; for under the sounding of the seventh
trumpet we are told that ''the temple of God
was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in
hisstempe the ark of his testament Rev. IL:
I9.
XII. That the fourth commandment of
this law requires that we devote the seventh
day of each week. commonly called Satur-
day, to abstinence from our own labor, and
to the performance of sacred and religious
duties; that this Is the only weekly Sabbath
known to the Bible, being the day that was
set apart before paradise was lost, Gen.2: 2,S,
and which will be observed in paradise restor-
ed, Isa. 90; %, %; that the facts upon which
the Sabbath institution is based confine it to
the seventh day, as they are not true of any
other day; and that the terms, Jewish Sabbath
and Christian Sabbath, as applied to the
weekly rest days. are names Of human in
vention, unscriptural in fact, aud false in
meaning.
XIII. That as the man of sin, the papacy
has thought 10 change times and laws (the
laws of God), Dan. Il % and has mlsed al
most all Christendom in regard to the fourth
commandment, we find prophecy of re.
form in this respect to be wrought among be-
levers just before the coming of Christ. Isa.
so: /, .; Pet. /: .; Rev. IA: Y, &c.
XIV. That, as the natural or carnal hear
is at enmity with Goo and his law, this enmi-
ty can be subdued only by radical trans
formation Of the affections, the exchange Of
| unholy for holy principles; that this trans