The time begin the observance the sabbath

B. The Heavenly Sanctuary

1. Ellen White's first written statement upon this subject came about a year after the conclusions of Hiram Edson, O.R.L. Crosier, and Dr. Frederick Hahn had been written out by Crosier and published in the Day-Star, and Day-Dawn.

(1) And, interestingly, not one of the pioneers appealed to these 11 visions as "proof" of the validity of this doctrine! EGW was not even mentioned in their articles!

(2) Their evidence and arguments were drawn solely from the Scriptures!

b. In 1841 he wrote An Enquiry: Are the Souls of the Wicked Immortal? In Three Letters.

(1) He revised it the next year (1842), with a slightly different subtitle.

D. The Sabbath
1. The doctrine of the Sabbath.

a. This doctrine was first brought to the attention of ex-Millerites by Joseph Bates (who would later--with EGW and JW--be considered one of the three co-founders of the SDA Church).

b. A copy of Bates' tract on the Sabbath was given to them about the time of their marriage, Aug. 30, 1846. They accepted the Sabbath on the basis of Bible proof alone.

c. The first vision dealing with the sacredness of the 7th-day Sabbath (and also of the existence of the heavenly sanctuary) was given April 3, 1847, seven months after the Whites had commenced its observance on the basis of Bible evidence alone (cf. Lt 2, 1874; cited in EW 323-35).

c. John Nevins Andrews, then only 26 years of age (but a scholar who could readily read the original Hebrew of the OT and the Greek of the NT) was commissioned by church leaders to study the matter