The NITPICKER'S GUIDE

Lexicon

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Adventist

Adventist is a term first widely used in the 1800s to indicate a person who believed that the Second Coming of Christ (his second "advent") was imminent, and that proclaiming a warning about this was a vital job for every Christian. In the 1840s it particularly referred to a person involved in the movement that formed around William Miller, a preacher who taught that Jesus would be coming back in 1844. The term is commonly used today to identify a person who is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, but this is an inaccurate use of the term. The members of that Church are all adventists, but not all adventists are members of the SDA denomination. (See the profiles of William Miller and the Seventh-day Adventist movement on the WWOR website for more details.)

Appointed times

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. (Gen 1:14-16)

The word seasons in the quotation above is not a reference to summer, winter, spring, and autumn. The Hebrew word underlying the translation is moedim, and indicates an appointment or fixed time. In other places in the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as appointed times, as well as feasts and is a reference to the annual religious observances such as the Feast of Tabernacles.

Armstrong, Herbert W.

Herbert W. Armstrong was the founder of the Worldwide Church of God (originally named the Radio Church of God), original voice of the WCG's radio program The World Tomorrow, and editor of the WCG's Plain Truth Magazine. For more details, see the profile regarding the WCG on the WWOR.

Church of God, Seventh Day

The name Church of God, Seventh Day is used by a number of small Sabbatarian denominations that have roots in the Adventist movement of the 1800s. The largest at this time has headquarters in Denver, CO, but there are others with headquarters in Meridian, ID, and elsewhere. All observe the seventh-day Sabbath on Saturday, and some, including the one in Meridian, observe the annual biblical Feasts.

Dodd, C.O.

Dodd was at one time a Church of God, Seventh Day minister. He collaborated in the 1930s with CG7 minister Andrew Dugger in authoring a well-known book in modern Sabbatarian COG circles, titled History of the True Church. He later withdrew from the CG7, in part over his promotion of the doctrine of the Sacred Name, and began his own independent ministry. For more details, see the profile of Dodd in the WWOR website.

Dugger, Andrew

Dugger was at one time a Church of God, Seventh Day minister. He collaborated in the 1930s with CG7 minister C.O.Dodd in authoring a well-known book in modern Sabbatarian COG circles, titled History of the True Church. He withdrew from the CG7 much later than Dodd, in particular over issues of prophetic speculation. He began his own independent ministry in the 1950s with headquarters in Jerusalem. For more details, see the profile of Dugger in the WWOR website.

 

Feasts

Among those Christians who observe the annual Biblical religious celebrations, the term feasts is used to indicate those observances. Although most of them (other than the Day of Atonement / Yom Kippur, which is a day of complete fasting) are indeed days when celebrants eat festive meals, the term feast in this case is not a reference to eating at all. In most versions of the Bible feasts is the English word chosen to translate the Hebrew word moedim, which means appointed times. 

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.' (Lev 23:2)

Foot-washing service

In the night He was betrayed, as described in the Gospel of John, Jesus taught His disciples a lesson in humility by washing their feet. He ended this act by telling them:

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:14-17)

Many Bible students come to the conclusion that Jesus is merely telling the disciples here that they should willingly and humbly serve one another's needs throughout the year. But a significant number of Christians throughout the centuries have also concluded that He intended for actual washing of feet to be a symbolic act to be done as part of a memorial of His Last Supper. Most groups that do this refer to the practice as a foot-washing service. It is most frequently done as part of a longer meeting that features partaking of bread and wine (or grape juice) in a communion service. Among Sabbatarian groups, this is most often done once a year, at Passover time. In other settings, it is frequently a monthly practice.

Hebrew calendar

The term Hebrew calendar is typically used, by both Christians and by Jews themselves,  to refer to the modern calendar used by the Jews. The Wikipedia website has a useful brief overview of this calendar and its history. For information about debates in Church of God circles about this calendar, see the article on this website: The NITPICKER'S GUIDE to COG Doctrinal Debates on The Biblical Calendar.

Hebrew Roots movement

The Hebrew Roots movement is made up of a wide variety of groups and teachers, not necessarily formally connected with one another in any way. What they share in common is the promotion of the idea that believers in the Messiah, in order to have the deepest spiritual experience and understanding possible, need to know more about His "Hebrew Roots" as a first century Jew, and thus the roots of their own Faith--which was launched by His teachings and the teachings of His Jewish disciples. For more details, see the profile of the Hebrew Roots Movement on the WWOR.

Holy Days

The typical description in the Bible for special religious observances, such as that in Leviticus 23, refers to "the Feasts of the Lord." That term seems to be applied both to seasons of celebration that last several days, such as the Feast of Tabernacles, as well as individual days, such as the Feast of Pentecost. However, among Christians who observe these annual Feasts, it is typical for the individual worship days (a "day of solemn assembly"), such as the first and last day of the seven Days of Unleavened, to be referred to as Holy Days.

Israelites

Descendants of the twelve sons of the Biblical Patriarch Jacob, whose name was later changed by God to Israel. are all known as Israelites. Under Kings David and Solomon (descendants of Israel's son Judah), the nation of Israel was made up of members of all of the tribes descended from Israel. A later civil war divided the nation into two warring factions. Those who remained loyal to the royal line of David, primarily members of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, became known as the "House of Judah." The majority of those in the rest of the tribes rejected the Davidic line and established a new, rival line of kings, and became known as the House of Israel. The House of Israel was taken into captivity in the 700s BC, and dispersed from the land of Israel. The House of Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonians in the 600s BC, but many of the people were allowed decades later to return and inhabit the land of Israel again.  By the time of Jesus, the inhabitants of the country of Israel under Roman occupation were referred to in general as "Jews," the descendants primarily of the House of Judah.

The bottom line of this long story is that all descendants of  the House of Judah are Israelites, but not all Israelites have historically been referred to as Jews.

Messianic Jew

If a Jewish person (who is Jewish either by ethnic background or conversion to the religion of Judaism) comes to believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is actually the prophesied Messiah of the Jewish people, and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior, that person is then often referred to as a Messianic Jew. For an explanation of the broader use of the term Messianic in some quarters, see Messianics.

Messianics

Although a Jewish person who believes in Jesus as Messiah is often referred to as a Messianic, in recent decades the term Messianics has taken on a different connotation in some circles. Many non-Jewish people who come to accept Jesus as their Savior have decided that they do not like the term "Christian" because they believe that it implies certain doctrinal beliefs that they do not embrace. In addition, they may wish to adopt many of the trappings of Judaism, including Jewish Holy Day customs, traditional dress such as prayer shawls and headcoverings, and more. And thus increasing numbers of such people have chosen to refer to themselves as Messianics rather than Christians. (See the profile of the Hebrew Roots movement on the WWOR website for more information on this phenomenon.)

Meyer, Jacob O.

Meyer was founder (1960s) and authoritarian head of the Assemblies of Yahweh denomination with headquarters in Bethel, Pennsylvania. He is editor of the Sacred Name Broadcaster magazine, and uses a shortwave radio tower to disseminate his Sacred Name Broadcast radio program around the world.

Miller, William

William Miller was a 19th century Protestant preacher who decided that he had correctly calculated, from Biblical and historical information, that Jesus would return to the Earth in 1843. He gathered large crowds at lectures throughout the country, and thousands joined the Adventist movement spawned by his preaching. When the predicted Second Coming failed to happen on the specified date in 1843, he adjusted his calculations to point to 1844 and continued gathering supporters. When that date failed also, he abandoned his preaching, and died a short time later, a broken man. Although the Seventh-day Adventist movement grew out of groups of Miller's former supporters, Miller himself was never a Sabbatarian. (See the profile of William Miller on the WWOR website for more details.)

Moedim

Moedim is the Hebrew word often translated feasts in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Mt. Sinai

Mt. Sinai is the location where Moses received the Ten Commandments and the Israelites agreed to their Covenant with God.

Passover

The term Passover as used by modern Jews is a descriptive title for the whole seven day period that is referred to in the Old Testament as the Days of Unleavened Bread. Thus many calendars will note that "Passover begins" on a certain date and ends seven days later.  However, in the Bible itself, the word refers most often to the meal that is eaten with lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs, memorializing when the Israelites came out of Egypt; or  the lamb that is killed for that observance. This continues on into the New Testament ...  Paul says in I Corinthians 5:7, "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." Thus one is said to "eat the Passover" or "kill the Passover." In other words, it isn't technically a "day" that arrives with a beginning and end, like the Day of Pentecost.

Postponements

The calendar used by modern Jews, which developed over many centuries starting after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, is constructed using several rules called in English postponements. These rules adjust the timing of the beginning of the Sacred year and the beginnings of some months in order to meet several specifications regarding the observance of the Feasts and Holy Days. For more details see the section on Postponements in the article on the Biblical Calendar on this website.

Sabbatarian

The term Sabbatarian in common use designates a Christian who has accepted that the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments is the day that is now called Saturday, and that Christians ought to set it apart as a day of rest and worship.

Sacred Name

The term Sacred Name is used in certain Sabbatarian circles to indicate the Hebrew "name of God" introduced to Moses in the Exodus. It is most often indicated by the letters YHWH, or sometimes YHVH. Groups which use this term insist that Believers ought to use it when praying to or speaking or writing about the Creator, and that English terms such as God and Lord are only "titles" of the Creator at best ... and pagan substitutes at worst. There is considerable disagreement among the supporters of this Sacred Name doctrine on just how the Name should be pronounced. See the Sacred Name article on this website for further details.

Seder

The ceremonial meal eaten in Jewish homes in memorial of the ancient Exodus from Egypt is called in Hebrew a seder.

Seventh-day Adventists

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a specific religious denomination, and its members are technically referred to as Seventh-day Adventists. Those unfamiliar with the Sabbatarian movement in general are often under the impression that anyone who claims to be both a Christian and a seventh-day Sabbath keeper is automatically a Seventh-day Adventist. Although the Seventh-day Adventist denomination is indeed the largest Sabbatarian group in the world, there are hundreds of thousands of people who belong to other Sabbatarian denominations, or who accept the importance of the Sabbath for themselves but are not part of any official church group.

The term adventist is also confusing to many. It is a reference to a person who is expecting the Second Coming of Christ to be sometime in the near future, and who embraces this belief as a very significant part of their religious foundation, expending perhaps considerable effort to convince others of their conviction on the matter. There is no direct connection between the term adventist and the belief in the seventh-day Sabbath. There have been numerous groups of "Sunday-keeping Adventists" since the mid-1800s.

Thus while all Seventh-day Adventists are both Sabbatarians and adventists, not all Sabbatarians are either adventists in general or Seventh-day Adventists in particular.

And not all adventists are either Sabbatarians in general or Seventh-day Adventists in particular.

Tetragrammaton

The four consonants making up the ancient Hebrew name of God, represented most often in English as YHWH, are referred to as the Tetragrammaton, a word derived from Greek tetra (four) and gramma (letter). See the Sacred Name article on this website for further details.

Weekly Sabbath

Although the Bible never explicitly refers to the annual religious Holy Days outlined in Leviticus as "Sabbaths," many non-Jewish groups who observe these days have adopted the convention of referring to them as "annual Sabbaths" because God commanded the Israelites to rest from their regular work on them, and gather for worship. Thus to avoid confusion when discussing those days in connection with the regular seventh-day Sabbath, the term "weekly Sabbath" is sometimes used for that seventh-day Sabbath.

White, Ellen G.

The modern Seventh-day Adventist church traces its roots back to the Adventist movement that formed around prophetic preacher William Miller in the 1840s. After Miller's death, some of his supporters began forming new denominations rather than go back to the churches where they had been attending before jumping on his prophetic band wagon. Young Ellen G. White was a part of one of these groups. When she began claiming to be receiving direct, divine revelations from God about prophecy and other matters, those around her quickly chose up sides. Those who accepted her claims, and believed her to have the "gift of prophecy,"  soon helped her to form the new Seventh-day Adventist Church. Those who rejected her claims moved on, some eventually to form the beginnings of such groups as the various Church of God, Seventh Day denominations. (For more details, see the profile of  Seventh-day Adventism on the WWOR website.)

Worldwide Church of God (WCG)

The WCG was a Sabbatarian denomination (originally named the "Radio Church of God")  founded by pioneer radio evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong in the 1930s. After Armstrong's death in 1986, his successors in the top leadership of the organization dismantled most of the doctrinal base of the church as it had been structured under Armstrong, eventually even rejecting worship on the seventh-day Sabbath. For more details, see the profile of the WCG on the WWOR website.