A small evangelical denomination that emerged from the Millerite movement of the 1840s, emphasizing conditional immortality — the belief that the dead are unconscious until the resurrection.
The Advent Christian Church emerged from the aftermath of the Great Disappointment of 1844, when William Miller's prediction of Christ's return proved incorrect and the Millerite movement fragmented. The Advent Christians represent a stream that retained the Adventist expectation of Christ's imminent return but rejected the Seventh-day Adventist doctrines of the Sabbath and Ellen White's prophetic authority.
The defining theological distinctive of Advent Christians is conditional immortality — the belief that the soul is not naturally immortal, but that immortality is a gift of God granted at the resurrection. This means that the dead are unconscious (often called 'soul sleep') until the resurrection at Christ's return, rather than immediately entering heaven or hell at death.
Apart from conditional immortality, Advent Christians are broadly evangelical — they affirm the authority of Scripture, salvation by grace through faith, believer's baptism, and the premillennial return of Christ. The denomination is small (about 25,000 members in North America) and concentrated in New England and the Southeast.
Advent Christians are distinguished by their doctrine of conditional immortality (soul sleep), which sets them apart from virtually all other evangelical denominations. They share their Adventist roots with Seventh-day Adventists but reject the Sabbath doctrine and Ellen White's authority.
Traditional evangelical — hymns, expository preaching, and a focus on Scripture. Advent Christian worship tends to be simple and unpretentious.
Emerged from the Millerite movement after 1844; formally organized 1860.
Their doctrine of conditional immortality and their origins in the Millerite movement of the 1840s.