The Seventh-day Adventists – Adventists Immortal Souls Part 1
His Holiness Pope Shenouda discusses the beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventists and fundamentally rejects their idea about death and the end of the world, focusing on what he sees as a deviation from the Coptic Orthodox faith.
On the immortality of the soul and the state of death
He explains that the Adventists declare that the soul is not immortal and that death means a complete absence of consciousness and feeling, and that the spirit does not live after death until the resurrection. He points out the Orthodox concern about denying the existence of the soul after death because the Holy Scripture shows spiritual states of the dead and communion with God, and because scriptural testimonies should not be understood only in this literal way.
On the resurrection and scriptural proofs
He discusses passages (John, Ezekiel, Ecclesiastes, Revelation, and the Epistle to the Hebrews) clarifying that Adventist interpretations are used selectively. He gives examples such as Christ’s conversation with the penitent thief and the description of the souls of the martyrs in John’s Revelation to support the consciousness of the soul after death.
On purgatory and the intercession of the saints
The Pope discusses the Adventists’ rejection of the notion of purgatory and the intercessions of the saints, considering this rejection influenced by their view that souls are “nonexistent” after death, while Orthodox tradition sees spiritual continuity and intercession by the saints.
On the millennium and the earthly kingdom
He explains that the Adventists teach two resurrections: the righteous rise and ascend with Christ to rule in heaven, then a thousand years during which Satan is bound on earth while the wicked are dead, then his final release and the purification of the world by fire and the righteous live on a renewed earth. The Pope objects to some literal interpretations of these images and emphasizes that the true kingdom transcends material enjoyment.
Critique of a material conception of the kingdom
He criticizes the belief that makes the kingdom merely an earthly rebuilding with houses, vineyards and construction, stressing that the promised kingdom arises from union with Christ and exceeds material pictures that may be read literally.
Practical summary
He concludes with main points: denial of the soul’s immortality, absence of consciousness after death, return of consciousness at the resurrection, their belief in an earthly kingdom and a thousand-year rule with Christ in heaven, then the release of Satan and the resurrection of the wicked followed by purification and the end. He calls to confront these views by returning to the understanding of Holy Scripture and the Orthodox tradition.
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