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FiddleChick

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Ok I just have a few questions for all the SDA. I am a Christian who is very good friends with a SDA family, but I myself am not SDA. Basically I have come to the understanding that the only difference in me and SDA is that we choose to have our Sabbath on two different days. Is this right?

Also another thing that I have heard about SDA is that they believe that when you die, you just 'sleep' in your grave. I hope this isn't true, but I would like to know.

And lastly,
Typically, in general, what do SDA think about other denominations? Do SDA usually or ever marry or date 'outside' of their 'religion'? Is that generally considered wrong by their fellow SDA's? I know someone who is SDA and has expressed interest in dating other people outside of his religion (Christians just not SDA) he is very hard core SDA to top it off. Has anyone ever had an experience or heard of this happening much? I personally don't like 'religion', and believe that if you love the Lord with all your heart and trust in him and want/try to do the right things, you should not be 'banned' from having relationships 'outside' of your religion with other people who feel the same.

If anyone could help me on these subjects, I would be very grateful!! Thanks!!
 

ttreg

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Cliff2

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The Sabbath is often a difference between SDA's and other Christians.

As you know SDA's keep the 7th day Sabbath.

We believe that the Bible says that when we die we do sleep until Jesus comes.

Imagine you were married and one day your husband and yourself were involved in a very bad accident.

Just for the sake of the illustration I am giving, you were killed and went staraight to heaven as many Christians believe today.

As time went by your husband did get over your death and found that he wanted to marry. He had found a very lovely woman and they did get married.

All the time you are watching in heaven while all this is going on.

How do you think you would feel about all that?

Perhaps it would not concern you at all. Then on the other hand you may take the other view on seeing your husband get married again.

Your next point about marriage by an SDA to a non-SDA.

It is not encouraged at all. We believe that a couple should be equally yoked together as the Bible says so.

I hope this helps you have a better understanding of what we believe.

Blessings
 
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Cheryl06

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great explanation
why would God who I know to be loving and compassionate want us to be in Heaven where we are supposed to be happy, and watch our loved ones down here on earth to suffer pain and hearttache. Quite simple He doesn't which is why we sleep til He comes to take us Home
 
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seangoh

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hi, yes Adventists regard friday sundown till saturday sundown as the Sabbath day. Sabbath by definition means that time period actually.

We also believe that when you die you just die and stay dead.lol..what an assuring thought don't you think?

As for choice of a partner, it's all about practicality. Wouldn't you prefer marrying someone who has similar values with you? The Bible gives a general statement on being equally yoked and it applies here too. A baptist can marry a presbyterian but still there are some differences in beliefs and such differences can break the relationship. So ideally it's best to stay on the safe side and get someone with similar values and beliefs.
 
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Riddick

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FiddleChick said:
Basically I have come to the understanding that the only difference in me and SDA is that we choose to have our Sabbath on two different days. Is this right?
you choose to worship on sunday, that is one difference between us. the term "sabbath" refers to the specific day of the week "saturday".


FiddleChick said:
Also another thing that I have heard about SDA is that they believe that when you die, you just 'sleep' in your grave. I hope this isn't true, but I would like to know.
that is true, it is a "dead" sleep, which you will not awaken from until christ returns. the good thing about it, is that you don't have to be in heaven watching your friends and family die from car accidents, gunshots, or just slowly die from old age. that is definately an advantage to being dead in the grave. think about it: how can you have fun in heaven watching your friends and family die from disease, etc.? no way you can be happy in heaven watching that go on down here. much smarter to be dead waiting from christ's return.

FiddleChick said:
Typically, in general, what do SDA think about other denominations?
probly the same thing they think about us.

FiddleChick said:
Do SDA usually or ever marry or date 'outside' of their 'religion'?
no. this is what jesus referred to as "being unequally yoked." there are exceptions, of course, but generally, no.

FiddleChick said:
you should not be 'banned' from having relationships 'outside' of your religion with other people who feel the same.
we are not banned from relationships outside of SDAs. that is much different from marrying someone outside the faith, however.
 
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Cliff2

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This is an issue that I have never been able to grasp. Many Christains believe that at death the dead person is taken to heaven.

Now if I was truly in love with such a person I would really want to go and join them.

Why so many tears at the graveside if we know that the person is now in heaven.

As SDA's we do not believe they are in heaven but sleeping until the resurrection.

Blessings
 
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Sophia7

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Riddick said:
no. this is what jesus referred to as "being unequally yoked." there are exceptions, of course, but generally, no.

we are not banned from relationships outside of SDAs. that is much different from marrying someone outside the faith, however.

One thing that I would like to clarify is that it is not uncommon for Adventists to marry people of other denominations. It happens all the time although it is discouraged for the reasons mentioned above. It causes a lot of conflict within marriages, especially in raising children, when two people cannot agree on their fundamental religious beliefs.

My husband and I have experienced some of these problems in our own families. Both of our mothers were Adventists who married non-Adventists. My dad was a Lutheran when my parents married, and we often attended the Lutheran Church when I was young. He eventually decided to join the Adventist Church, but that doesn't usually happen; more often, one or both people quit going to church. Also, my sister married a Catholic and is now divorced and remarried to another Catholic.

My husband's dad was a Catholic, and his mom was an Adventist, and by the time he and his brother were born, both parents had left their respective churches and practiced no religion. Their marriage ended in divorce, and his mom is now remarried to a guy who was raised as an atheist. My husband went to the Adventist Church when he was growing up, but only because his grandparents took him.

This issue has also come up in our churches several times. My husband, as an Adventist pastor, is not supposed to perform marriage ceremonies for an Adventist who is marrying a non-Adventist. There are some pastors who will compromise on this, but my husband stands up for these principles, and it often upsets people. However, if he is marrying people before God, he wants them to have the best possible outlook for marriage and not start out with a huge spiritual handicap that will affect not only them but also all of the people around them.

I would advise anyone thinking of getting married or even just dating (because you are probably going to marry someone that you have dated first) to choose someone who shares the same religious beliefs--at least on the things that are most important and most likely to cause conflict in the family if there is dissention. People can disagree on little things, and obviously no two people can always agree, but the big differences that they might gloss over while dating will become more and more divisive once they are married.
 
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Sophia7

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FiddleChick said:
Also another thing that I have heard about SDA is that they believe that when you die, you just 'sleep' in your grave. I hope this isn't true, but I would like to know.

I just wanted to address a couple of your points. Some have already commented on our beliefs about death. Here is a link that presents the biblical evidence for our views:
http://www.christianforums.com/t2196368-the-bible-doctrine-concerning-death.html

I would also like to point out that we believe that death is temporary and that we will be resurrected when Jesus comes. Here is what 1 Corinthians 15 says about our hope of the resurrection:


Here is more from later in the chapter:


Notice that the Bible says here that we do not put on immortality until Jesus comes to resurrect the dead in Christ and take them to heaven with those who are still living at His coming. And here is one more text, from 1 Thessalonians 4:



See my previous post for my response to this.


The problem is that even if you love the Lord with all your heart and trust Him, we still have many different denominations, all claiming that this is the most important thing. And I agree that it is. Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor. However, the application of these commandments varies widely among people of different denominations, and that is what causes much of the friction. If you choose not to belong to any denomination, that's up to you, but then you should probably find a husband who shares your views on that.

One of our fundamental beliefs (and I would say the most important one) is that we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ. I think most Christians can agree on this in theory. Practically, though, just about every denomination has different ways of explaining and applying that principle. They also have different ways of defining what you referred to as doing "the right things." The Seventh-day Adventist Church holds to certain beliefs that are out of the mainstream of most Protestant denominations--and if you haven't already read them, you can go to this site:
http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html

A "hard core SDA," as you put it, would have a hard time reconciling many of his beliefs and lifestyle practices with those of another Christian who is not an Adventist. It causes a lot of tension and conflict in marriage. Friendships are great, but I would strongly advise against romantic relationships with anyone who does not share your same basic beliefs and religious practices, especially if you are somewhat unfavorable toward organized religion or denominational affiliations.
 
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TrustAndObey

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I have started approaching the whole "asleep until the resurrection" conflict a little differently recently.

For those that believe you go straight to heaven when you die, I'd like to see some scriptural backing for that. I don't think it's a crazy thing to ask for.

What I usually get answered with is a PARABLE and two or three other verses. That's IT.

There is undeniable proof (within Scripture) that the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is indeed a Parable, and it's about the choices we make in life...NOT about what happens to us after we die.

Verse after verse after verse talks about how we sleep in our graves until the resurrection, so when someone tells me that they sure "hope" we don't believe we sleep in the grave after death, I just have to take a step back and think "they're fighting with Scripture, not with me."
 
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seangoh

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Cliff2 said:
Correct, far too much divorce in the Adventist Church.

Yes i'm not surprised too. Because 2 adventists can be unequally yoked too. Most likely, i believe,because the values are different. It's not just belief in the Adventist faith that matters, but life values too.
 
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mystery4

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winslow said:
If my wife followed the belief of not entering relationships outside the faith we would never have dated, let alone gotten married.

I know of a few of my classmates (studying theology to be pastors) who had their wives not married them, then they would probably have never been Adventists let alone even answering God's call to the ministry. Also my Mum would never have become an Adventist either had my Dad not married her.
 
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Tavita

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In regards to sleeping in the grave, what do you make of the above scripture concerning those who have come out of tribulation being before His throne and serve him day and night.

Is this after the resurrection or before? The passage jumps straight from the 144,000 being sealed to the saints before the throne which makes me think the resurrection hasn't taken place yet?

Can anyone shed some light on it?
 
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OntheDL

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Hi,

The 144000 are the last generation of true believers upon Jesus' return. The bible talks above two type of believers whom will be taken up at the second coming. Those who are dead in christ and those who are alive (1 Thess 4:15-17, and also typified on the Mount of Transfiguration).

The 144000 are the last living generation that will never see death.

Rev 7 & 14 are the 2 chapters that talks about the 144000. It says they serve around the throne. This is in the spiritual sense. These 144000 are perfectly christ-like character-wise. There is a thread on the Sanctuary study that will explore this particular scene. Please watch for it.

Also the 144000 will not be identified/sealed until before the 7 final plagues. So the vision chronicly could be from that time to after the second coming. And Rev 14 talks about those 'were redeemed from the earth', so that vision could be about after the resurrection. But the focus of the visions of the 144000 is about their characters.

Hope this makes sense.
 
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Tavita

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Thanks OntheDL.
Though I wasn't really concerned with the 144,000 as much as with the multitude that stands before the throne. These were those who came out of great tribulation, a number too great to count and they served the Lord before the throne.

(Rev 7:9) After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;

This seems to take place before the half hour's silence after the Lamb broke the seventh seal and then there was judgement sent upon the earth. There is also the vision of the prayers of the saints still on the earth being offered.
I don't believe this multitude who stand before the throne serving the Lord is in a spiritual sense, as these verses show, they were those who 'died' physically, in the great tribulation.

13 ¶ Then one of the twenty–four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”
Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.
15 “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne
and serve him day and night in his Temple.

I'm not saying that the belief that we sleep before the resurrection is wrong, I'd like to look at it further, I just wonder why this multitude of dead saints are before the throne, before the resurrection. I don't believe in a pre-trib rapture and wonder what the SDA stance is on that too.
 
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OntheDL

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Hi,

I think I know what you are asking...

If you look up the original Greek, the phrase in vs14 is: "erchomenoi ek", meaning "go from" or "come out". I looked up KJV, NKJV, NLB, NIV... they all say came out or have come out of the great tribulation. I don't know what translation you quoted from. But you quoted it correctly in your previous question. I think you should double check that. It doesn't say they are those who died in the tribulation.

About the multitude... they are by no means referring to those who are dead in Christ. The multitude John saw after he heard are the 144000. They are the same group. Here's the thing... when Hebrew mindset tells something important, it tells again but slightly different, to emphasize it. This pattern is found repeatedly in the Bible. So the listener gets views from diferent angles for the same object. The picture is more complete.

Rev 7 deals with the 144000. If we read it carefully, we read that John first heard the number of the group: 144000. He then saw the group. It is a multitude. 144000 is a multitude that no one can count. Also multitude does not necessarily mean milions. Use Jesus' resurrection story as an example, there were multitude who were resurrected with Jesus. They walked the streets of Jerusalem. They were not an army of milions. So multitude is used to refer to a group. The Greek word for multitude is 'ochlos', meaning company, number of people, a class of people...

Hope this clears it up...
 
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