III. Summary and Conclusions

For those who became Sabbatarian Adventists, and later Seventh-day Adventists, the shut-door idea went through successive stages that progressively changed the meaning of the term. Presented first by William Miller, the shut door was connected to the October 1844 disappointment. For a short time most Adventists believed that the world had been warned of the soon coming of Jesus and had either accepted or rejected the message. Soon, though, Adventism split into two groups. The mainline group abandoned the October 1844 date, looked to a future fulfillment of the prophecies, and resumed evangelistic work. A minority group retained faith in the October 1844 date.1EGWLM 56.2

The minority group, described in this article as Bridegroom Adventists, initially adopted a more open view on the shut door than Miller's simple position that probation had closed. They believed that only “sinners” who had rejected truth could no longer be saved and allowed that individuals who had not rejected light could still be saved. This position as presented in the Advent Mirror became the new baseline shut-door view.1EGWLM 56.3

During 1845 significant theological disagreement developed among Bridegroom Adventists over whether Jesus was still ministering as high priest in the heavenly sanctuary or whether He had laid aside His priestly robes and begun to reign as king. Key individuals such as Samuel Snow and Joseph Turner argued that Jesus had completed His one-day work as high priest in the Most Holy Place on October 22, 1844. Others, such as O.R.L. Crosier, Emily Clemons, and Ellen White, believed that Jesus had begun a final extended atonement as high priest on October 22, 1844. Snow's and Turner's view theologically led to the belief that probation was closed for the world, while Crosier's, Clemons’, and White's view suggested a continuation of probation.1EGWLM 56.4

By 1846 Crosier and others had connected the idea of a shut door to the partition between the holy place and Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary but continued to believe that “sinners” could not be converted. In January 1847 Joseph Bates linked Jesus’ ministry in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary to the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments. This linkage suggested that the Sabbath needed to be promoted and shared in light of its eschatological importance. These ideas—the continuation of Jesus as a high priest and the need to proclaim the Sabbath—increased theological tension regarding the meaning of the shut door.1EGWLM 56.5

During 1848 and 1849 Bates further refined the eschatological importance of the Sabbath into the sealing message based on Revelation 7 and 14. The Sabbath as the seal of God required that a Sabbath proclamation be given to the world before Jesus could return. This put further strain on the idea of a shut door for “sinners.” Sabbatarian Adventists began to emphasize the open door into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary, and the term shut door was redefined to mean something very different from a shut door of probation. It came to represent the validity of the 1844 experience that Sabbatarian Adventism had embraced. During 1850 and 1851 the movement grew very rapidly, with nearly 1,000 new converts in New York alone.1EGWLM 57.1

By 1852 the idea that “sinners” could not be converted was abandoned, and Sabbatarian Adventists acknowledged that Jesus’ ministry in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary included effecting salvation for sinners. Nevertheless, they continued to believe that the door of probation had closed for those who had persistently resisted the Holy Spirit in the seventh-month movement.1EGWLM 57.2

While Ellen White's visions steadfastly affirmed the continued significance of the October 1844 prophetic message, they also suggested that probation had not yet closed for everyone since Jesus was still functioning as a high priest. Ellen White never denied salvation to individuals, but the tenor of her statements and those closely connected with her suggests that for a time she continued to believe that evangelistic work for the unconverted world had ended. Her visions did not require this understanding, however, and theologically led to a more open view. Her first vision, while referring to the “wicked world which God had rejected,” can be understood in terms of the spiritual rejection principle. Her February 1845 Bridegroom vision portrayed Jesus as still ministering as a high priest; her October 1845 time of trouble vision indicated that the “sealing” and the great time of trouble had not yet begun and thus suggested that probation had not yet closed; her March and April 1847 Sabbath halo visions revealed that the Sabbath was to be proclaimed more fully before Jesus would return; and her autumn 1848 and March 1849 sealing message visions revealed that Jesus was holding back the winds of strife until God's people could be sealed and that Jesus had opened the door into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary.1EGWLM 57.3

The theological discontinuity between these visions and the shut door was resolved by 1852. The terms shut door and open door came to represent the new theological understanding that integrated the Sabbath and the sanctuary, explained the 1844 experience, and gave a reason for a new and distinctive evangelistic outreach to the world.1EGWLM 57.4

Perhaps the most important point to be made regarding Ellen White and the shut door is the tenor of her visions. Her first visions pursued a theological path away from previous misconceptions received from William Miller. Her visions also differed from the mainline ideas on the shut door promoted by Joseph Turner and Samuel Snow. It was Ellen White's visions in combination with Joseph Bates's sealing message that helped Sabbatarian Adventists eventually to think in terms of a worldwide mission.1EGWLM 58.1

James White reflected in later years on the benefit Sabbatarian Adventists had received by moving more slowly in abandoning some of their misunderstandings concerning the shut door: “Some of this people did believe in the shut door, in common with the Adventists generally, soon after the passing of the time. Some of us held fast this position longer than those did who gave up their Advent experience, and drew back in the direction of perdition. And God be thanked that we did hold fast to that position till the matter was explained by light from the heavenly sanctuary.”^{80James White, Life Incidents, p. 207.}1EGWLM 58.2

From Scripture we understand that special revelation and inspiration do not automatically confer infallibility of understanding to inspired messengers. However, the Holy Spirit makes sure that His intended message is transmitted in a trustworthy and accurate manner. Additionally, God makes sure that His intended result is accomplished. As illustrated by the experience of prophets and apostles in the Bible, this may require repetition and expansion of messages over a period of time through visions and dreams. Thus Scripture provides instructive models on how we should expect the prophetic gift to function in the experience of Ellen White.1EGWLM 58.3