Monday, September 21, 2026
Why 1844 Misses the Whole Point of the Day of Atonement
Hello, I'm Ronald Obidos. For 24 years, I served as a Seventh-day Adventist apologist and evangelist. However, on September 12, 2019, I discovered true salvation—through grace, faith, and Christ alone. This blog is now my platform as a Christian apologist and thinker, where I share my faith and commitment to preaching the gospel, guided solely by the Scriptures alone.
“Second Coming: Saved Already, or Not Sure?”
Let’s talk about something that hits hard for those of us who grew up inside the Adventist system.
Look closely at Hebrews 9:28: Jesus returns "not to bear sin." This simple phrase completely debunks the idea of an 1844 Investigative Judgment or a "final atonement" process. In the Adventist system, sin is still being audited, transferred, and dealt with in a heavenly sanctuary phase. But Hebrews makes it clear: Christ’s work of bearing sin was finished 2,000 years ago on Calvary. When He ascended, He sat down because the purification for sin was complete (Hebrews 1:3). When He comes back, He isn't coming to audit books or handle sin records, He is coming to bring the full, glorious arrival of the salvation we already possess in Him.
Hello, I'm Ronald Obidos. For 24 years, I served as a Seventh-day Adventist apologist and evangelist. However, on September 12, 2019, I discovered true salvation—through grace, faith, and Christ alone. This blog is now my platform as a Christian apologist and thinker, where I share my faith and commitment to preaching the gospel, guided solely by the Scriptures alone.
Sunday, September 20, 2026
VIDEO & ENGLISH OUTLINE: Part 2: "The Problem with the SDAs Gift of Prophecy!"
Investigating Adventism LIVE Q&A Podcast for September 20, 2026
Introduction
Welcome back to the podcast, everyone! Today, we are diving deep into a topic that always comes up in our discussions with our Seventh-day Adventist friends: the prophetic claims surrounding Ellen G. White. Whenever her authority is questioned, a common defense we hear is, "But she perfectly passes the Bible's own tests for a prophet!"
SDA Fundamental Belief #18: The Gift of Prophecy.
The Scriptures testify that one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church, and we believe it was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. Her writings speak with prophetic authority and provide comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction to the church. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. (Num. 12:6; 2 Chron. 20:20; Joel 2:28, 29; Amos 3:7; Acts 2:14-21; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 12:17; 19:10; 22:8, 9.)
We are going to walk through the exact biblical tests they present in that chapter. But instead of just accepting their conclusions, we’ll weigh those claims carefully against Scripture to see if the standard holds up, or if it has been quietly redefined to fit her ministry. Let's get right into it.
- Canon: The collection of books officially recognized as sacred, inspired Scripture (the 66 books of the Bible). Something that is "canonical" is binding, infallible, and the ultimate standard for faith and practice.
- Quasi-: A prefix meaning "resembling," "having a likeness to," "virtually," or "functioning as if."
- Authority: The right or power to define truth, establish doctrine, and govern beliefs or behaviors.
- Interpretive Key: Their writings become the official "lens" through which the Bible must be read and understood. If an individual's interpretation of a Bible verse conflicts with this authority's writings, the person's view is considered wrong.
- Doctrinal Standard: Although the official stance might be "the Bible alone is our supreme standard," in actual usage, agreeing with this source's unique doctrines becomes mandatory for orthodoxy or good standing within the group.
- Unquestioned Guidance: Their claims, visions, or directives are viewed as coming directly from God, making them functionally immune to standard critical evaluation or testing.
- A Standard Charismatic Gift (1 Corinthians 14): A believer might give a word of encouragement, revelation, or warning. It is local, situational, non-binding on the whole church, and must be weighed, tested, and filtered by the leadership and the Bible. It never creates new binding doctrines for all believers.
- Quasi-Canonical Authority: The person's writings span decades, cover comprehensive systems (health, prophetic timelines, theology, church structure), and serve as an authoritative, overarching guide for an entire global denomination over generations.
“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls." Joel 2:28-32(NIV)
"No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." Acts 2:16-17(NIV)
"The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." Joel 2:31(NIV)
“Immediately after the distress of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken." Matthew 24:29(NIV)
Q3: "Regarding the first biblical test in Isaiah 8:20, does Ellen White's teaching truly agree with Scripture?"
- The Shut Door. Right after the 1844 Great Disappointment, early Adventist teaching, affirmed by Ellen White, was that the door of salvation had literally shut for anyone who hadn't joined the movement before October 22, 1844. That's not a minor wrinkle; that's a soteriological claim contradicted by the open, ongoing gospel invitation all through the New Testament (Rev. 22:17; 2 Peter 3:9).
- Investigative Judgment. Built to explain away the failed 1844 prediction, not derived from exegesis of Daniel or Hebrews. Hebrews actually teaches the opposite: Christ's one sacrifice already secured our standing (Heb. 10:14, 19-22); there's no biblical warrant for a secret pre-Advent audit of the books starting in 1844.
- Soul sleep / annihilationism. Runs against Paul's own expectation of being "with Christ" immediately at death (Phil. 1:23) and "at home with the Lord" apart from the body (2 Cor. 5:8).
- Sabbath as end-time test doctrine. Under New Covenant Theology, Sabbath-keeping was a sign of the Mosaic covenant, and Paul explicitly tells believers not to let anyone judge them over Sabbath observance (Col. 2:16-17; Gal. 4:9-10). Elevating it to a last-days loyalty test cuts against Paul's own instruction.
Q4: "Regarding the second test in Deuteronomy 18:21–22, do her predictions come to pass, such as her statements on spiritualism and ecumenism?"
Q5: "Regarding the third test in 1 John 4:2–3, does her theology correctly confess Christ coming in the flesh?"
This test, strictly read, is about denying that Jesus came in the flesh at all, outright docetism or gnostic denial. She clearly didn't do that; her Christology is Christ-centered in tone. So on the narrow wording of 1 John 4, sure, she clears that bar.
"He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." Titus 1:9(NIV)
"You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine." Titus 2:1(NIV)
"At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” Revelation 19:10(NIV)
This is a grammar-and-hermeneutics point that's worth slowing down on. "The testimony of Jesus" most naturally reads as a subjective genitive, the testimony that Jesus himself gives/bears (compare Rev. 1:2, "the testimony of Jesus Christ" as what John received from Him), not an SDA-specific technical title meaning "the modern prophetic gift operating in one particular 19th-century denomination."
"The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw, that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 1:1-2(NIV)
Closing Word
Hello, I'm Ronald Obidos. For 24 years, I served as a Seventh-day Adventist apologist and evangelist. However, on September 12, 2019, I discovered true salvation—through grace, faith, and Christ alone. This blog is now my platform as a Christian apologist and thinker, where I share my faith and commitment to preaching the gospel, guided solely by the Scriptures alone.
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