In my last post, I wrote that I had studied different religions and that I had left my church, which was the Seventh-Day-Adventist Church. I still believe in the teachings of the SDA Church. I believe they follow the teachings of the Bible more closely than any other church.
The reason I left was because the church I was going to was... well, it was a very personal reason and perhaps wouldn't be nice of me to write about here. It was not because of what they believe.
I thought it would be nice to cite a few of the main differences between the SDA Church and other churches.
1. They do not believe in a hell that goes on forever and ever. Jesus said those who have done little evil will receive few "stripes" but those who caused great evil will suffer many "stripes." Some people will suffer longer than others, but their suffering will stop. God is not a monster who makes people suffer forever and ever.
In the Old Testament God said,
"For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head." He will punish people according to what they have done to others. Obadiah 1:15
"The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy." Psalm 145:20 Destroy means obliterate.
"And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts." Malachi 4:3
"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire." Rev. 20:13,14
"The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41,42
"Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. John 5:28,29
"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
"And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them." Revelation 20:9 If people are alive in hell, they are not devoured.
"For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5,6
"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord." 1Thessalonians 4:16,17 The dead in Christ are in their graves now and so are the wicked. There will be two resurrections.
If you want to study this or any other belief of the Seventh-Day-Adventists, you can go to www.amazingfacts.com Click on Bible Study and then Bible Study Guides. I'll write about some other different beliefs next time.
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