The understanding of the law and the two covenants has a rich and colorful history in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its ebb and flow has had high water marks as well as low. It reached its height in the 1888 message of the everlasting covenant as presented by E.J. Waggoner.
His key concept was that the new covenant and the old covenant can be seen as two parallel tracks that have run from the Fall of man until the time when Christ brings in the everlasting kingdom. They are primarily conditions of the heart. One is a ministration of righteousness. The other is a ministration of death. One is faith in the promise of God. The other is the self-dependent promise of the people to be obedient.
The low water mark of the covenants in Adventist history was the rejection of the 1888 message and its messengers. Some thought that Waggoner presented justification by faith as a "rider" in order to bring his understanding of the moral law in Galatians 3. Since they believed that the law in Galatians was the ceremonial law, they were biased against hearing the message of the covenants in the context of the gospel. covenants in the context of the gospel.
Calvary at Sinai chronicles this story in the latter part of the nineteenth century. History is like a puzzle with many pieces. The individual parts must interconnect perfectly in order for the picture to fit properly and make sense. To take one piece here and one piece there out of its setting is to distort the picture. The approach we have taken here has been to assemble the data in such a way that the pieces connect in a coherent, chronological setting. Careful attention has been paid to letting the original witnesses speak for themselves. Conclusions have been drawn based upon the evidence.
There were certain events leading up to the 1888 Minneapolis Conference that precipitated a crisis. It did not just happened in a vacuum. The Sunday-law movement was gaining momentum. The law in Galatians had been vigorously discussed as early as 1856, when J. H. Waggoner expressed views about it being the moral law. Some of the leading Adventist writers took the position that Galatians dealt primarily with the ceremonial law. ceremonial law.
How did E. J. Waggoner come to his understanding of righteousness by faith, the law, and the two covenants? He had a keen interest in Bible study, especially the writings of the Apostle Paul.
What happened at "that terrible conference" at Battle Creek in 1886? Something occurred that caused D. M. Canright to decide that he had enough of Adventism. He left the church and became one of its bitterest opponents.
Some believed there was a conspiracy on the West Coast to bring in controversial topics to the Minneapolis Conference. Was there an East-West rivalry? What suspicions developed over the church prophetess, Ellen White, in that time period?
The year 1888 brought momentous opportunities and challenges to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. What was the key issue that created such a vigorous discussion? How do we know what E. J. Waggoner presented at the 1888 Minneapolis Conference, since no verbatim reports were taken? were taken?
Some have felt that the conference was all about the issue of the law in Galatians. But others saw the keynote of the gospel and justification by faith. Where does the truth lie? How are the law and the covenants related to each other? For that matter, what do they have to do with righteousness by faith?
The aftermath of the 1888 Minneapolis Conference was hard feelings and polarized positions on the law and the two covenants. There are sources, both published and unpublished, which provide documentation about events immediately following 1888. They tell an intriguing story of behind-the-scenes activities among church leadership in regard to the message and the messengers. messengers.
One commonly accepted view is that after Uriah Smith and George Butler made their confessions in 1890 and thereafter, they came to appreciate the light of righteousness by faith. However, the controversy over the law in Galatians and the two covenants continued to play a role in church discussions long after the 1888 Minneapolis Conference.
Calvary at Sinai explores the battle over the law in Galatians and the two covenants. Did the brethren confess and embrace "the most precious message" of Christ our righteousness as presented by E. J. Waggoner through the theme of the two covenants? Why did Elder J. S. Washburn say that 1890 was "Minneapolis over again"? Was the view of the law in Galatians and the two covenants, presented by E. J. Waggoner at the 1888 conference, endorsed by Ellen White? When did she speak to the issues of the law and the two covenants?
Only our history can tell the story.