7th Day Sabbath Mormons
History and Succession
The church was organized in New York on April 6, 1830. Since 1838
they have continuously been called the “Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints” in the same style most often used before
1844, without the British hyphenation later adopted by the other Mormons.
Joseph Smith Jr. presided over the church from 1830 to 1844, and
James J. Strang presided from 1844 to 1856.
Joseph Smith Jr. appointed James J. Strang to be his successor with a
document that survives at Yale University. Scholars have determined
that it has an authentic postmark “Nauvoo, June 19, 1844”
on an envelope addressed in the same hand as the whole document. The
envelope is block-printed in a style strikingly similar to that
occasionally used by Hyrum Smith’s scribe, but is probably in
the rare printing of Joseph Smith Jr. himself. The text of the
document matches the language, style, and passion of Joseph Smith Jr.
The document is published with the Revelations of James J. Strang.
links
Sabbath (7th day) Mormons, Churches of God, Seventh Day Adventist,
Jews for Jesus and Messianic Jews
Chester had tears in his eyes. The Master waited with respect before
giving Chester final instructions. "You leave tommorow to go
back to your home and your people. Seek and understand the persecuted ones."
Chester dried his eyes. "You refer to the Sabbath keepers who
believe in Jesus."
The Master nodded, "They are misunderstood and are a persecuted
and scattered flock. Satan presses hard against them as the End Time
approaches. Satan wants to veil all minds from the blessing of the
Sabbath and make it difficult to enjoy the union with God this
special day provides us."
"At the Time of the End, God will be their home." Chester
recited it as if trying to remember a lesson."
Church of God
The modern Church of God is a scattered group. Several church
organizations trace their heritage back to the work of Herbert
W. Armstrong. Christ revealed to Mr. Armstrong the Christian
spiritual meaning of the Holy Days as kept by Old Testament
Israel. The New Testament meaning of the Holy Days contain the
details of the Plan of God for the salvation of all of mankind. His
crowning achievment was the book Mystery
of the Ages.
Adventist
Doctrinally, Seventh-day Adventists are heirs of the interfaith
Millerite movement of the 1840s which predicted the return of Christ
in 1844, in what was later called the Great Disappointment. The
movement experienced a later rebirth from the leadership of Ellen
G. White. She enjoyed God's special guidance as she wrote her
counsels to mankind. She was the trusted spiritual counselor of the
Adventist's for over seventy years until her death in 1915. She was
blessed with a knowledge vision of "The Great Controversy
Between Christ and His Angels and Satan and His Angels", which
is the subtitle of her 219-page book, Spiritual Gifts, volume
1, published in 1858.
Messianic Jews
The primary goal of the Messianic Jews and Jews for Jesus is to reach
Jewish people with the Gospel of Yeshua Hamashiach, Jesus the
Messiah. These Jews believe that God has fulfilled the promise He
made to the Fathers: The Messiah has come (Acts 13:23) "Of this
man's seed hath God according to his promise, raised unto Israel a
Saviour, Jesus!"
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Essenes
The Essenes were a third religious sect during the time of Christ
that lived away from the towns. Instead they lived in simple
communities. The Essenes practiced the seventh day sabbath,
non-violence to all living creatures and the sharing of all material
possesions. They were uninvolved in the politics of the Sadducees and
Pharisees and shunned publicity. Because of the discovery of dead sea
scroll material, this ancient sect and their teachings are back
alive. The dead sea scrolls were hidden by this ancient people long
ago in the caves of Qumram. Josephus writing around 80 A.D. said that
the Essenes were Jews by birth but semed to have a greater affection
for one another than they did for the Pharisees and Sadducees. Their
piety toward God was extraordinary. They wore chitw garments. They
used no profanity. They were ministers of peace. They spend a great
deal of time studying the writings of the ancients.
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