THE ROOTS OF THE SDA CHURCH

There is an oft-quoted statement from the pen of Ellen White that reads “We have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and his teaching in our past history.” Looking back over the span of history it is easy to discern God’s hand leading His people from generation to generation. Since the fall of man as described in Genesis 3, our world has been caught in the vortex of an epic cosmic struggle. A great controversy between good and evil that has played itself out in every epoch of this earth’s history between those who believe in God and those who don’t.

This struggle was especially fierce during the early middle ages in Europe largely spurred by Constantine’s decision to become a Christian. Constantine’s conversion introduced a host of pagan ideas into the church that began to choke out the truth. He polarised the church in more ways than one and from that point forward there were those who separated themselves from Constantine’s special brand of Roman Christianity. The conversion of Constantine to Christianity marked the falling away that Paul mentions in his letter to the Thessalonians and also in his final address to the Ephesian Elders under the imagery of wolves coming in among the fold in sheep’s clothing.

As this mixture of Paganism and Christianity began to grow and evolve the church began to gain more and more control over the minds of the masses. Finally, Europe plunged into an era known as the Dark Ages, a 1260 year period of largely unmitigated Papal Supremacy ranging from 538-1798 AD. During this time those who chose to cling to the unadulterated truth of God’s word found themselves persecuted and maligned, finding shelter among the peaks of the great mountains in Northern Italy and Southern France. Groups such as the Waldenses and the Albigenses chose to keep the light of gospel truth burning even amidst the prevailing darkness. Then from century to century, God began to raise up voices in the darkness to unflinchingly proclaim the light. In the 14th Century, there was John Wycliffe, whose writings and translation of the Bible sparked a spiritual revival across the continent. Then in the 15th Century, God raised up John Huss and Jerome in Bohemia who were both influenced by Wycliffe. Following this, as the 16th Century dawned, the heavyweights of the Reformation began to rise up one by one.

Martin Luther in Germany, John Calvin in France, John Knox in Scotland, Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland, all key stakeholders in the new Reformatory movement that was slowly rising throughout the century. Each reformer was a revolutionary, choosing to commit himself wholeheartedly to studying the Bible and advancing as far and as fast as the light of truth led him. However, their followers were not as quick to follow in their footsteps, choosing to hunker down around the pillars they had erected instead of steadily advancing at each sign of new light.