Fides et Historia, vol. XXXIII, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 2001): 13-30

AT THE EDGES OF HOLINESS Seventh-Day Adventism Receives the Holy Ghost, 1892-1900

Gary Land, Andrews University

In June, 1897, Albion Fox Ballenger, a young Seventh-day Adventist minister who

worked primarily as a religious liberty advocate, attended the denomination's

Pennsylvania camp meeting. "The great cardinal principles of the message were

presented with the freshness and power of the Holy Ghost," he reported a short

time later in the Review and Herald, the church's official weekly paper. "Old sermon

notes were thrown away; old, stereotyped ways of presenting the truth were

discarded," as Ballenger and his fellow ministers and workers publicly sought

"baptism of the Holy Spirit."1 Although Ballenger continued his religious liberty

efforts, he began shifting to preaching during the remainder of the summer, at­

tending camp meetings in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, at all of which he called for

the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which he saw "going from conference to conference

like a prairie fire."2

Apparently because of the impact that he had on these gatherings, the General

Conference of Seventh-day Adventists asked Ballenger to come to Battle Creek,

Michigan, location of denominational headquarters, and lead a revival series.

Beginning with a Sabbath sermon on August 14 at the Battle Creek Tabernacle, the

city's large Adventist church, Ballenger continued preaching, with help from oth­

er ministers, for the next two and a half months. The theme of every discourse, ac­

cording to the Review and Herald, was "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost." 3 Revival spread

from the church to Battle Creek College, the near-by Adventist school, and even­

tually to the denomination's local elementary school and the Haskell Home for or­

phans. 4 Thus began a remarkable Holiness thrust within Seventh-day Adventism

that continued until the turn of the century.

Portions of this paper are drawn from Chapter 3, "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost, 1897-1900," in Calvin W. Edwards and Gary Land, Seeker After Light: A. F. Ballenger, Adventism, and American Christianity (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 2000). 1A. F. Ballenger, "The Pennsylvania Camp-Meeting/, Review and Herald (hereafter cited as RH), 29 June 1897: 411. 2A. F. Ballenger to G. Α. Irwin, 6 September 1897, Seventh-day Adventist Archives, General

Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Silver Spring, Md. (hereafter cited as SDA Archives). 3A. F. Ballenger, "In Battle Creek," RH, 23 November 1897: 747. 4Homer R. Salisbury, "In Battle Creek," RH, 30 November 1897: 764-65; Α. F. Ballenger, "In Battle Creek," RH, 30 November 1897: 764; Α. F. Ballenger, "In Battle Creek," RH, 14 December 1897: 793; RH, 14 December 1897: 804.

Gary Land

Seventh-Day Adventism and Legalism

Seventh-day Adventism had emerged out of the debacle of William Miller's pre­diction that Jesus would return m 1844 5 In the confusion following the "Great Disappointment," a group of Sabbatarian Adventists arose which gradually em­braced several distinctive beliefs, among them the idea that m 1844 Christ had en­tered the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary to begm a fmal work prepara­tory for His return, the obligation to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath, and the divme inspiration of Ellen G White Growmg slowly, the Sabbatarian Adventists organ­ized the Seventh-day Adventist Church between 1861 and 1863, expanded west­ward m the United States, and m 1874 sent their first missionary abroad By the mid-1890s, the church had about 40,000 members m America, the bulk of them in the Great Lakes and plams states Another 7,000 members existed abroad, about half of whom lived m Europe 6

Although m its Millente phase, Adventism had helped brmg premillennial-îsm mto prommence, the 1844 experience discredited Miller's histoncist approach to biblical prophecy With the adoption of dispensationahsm m the late nineteenth century by most premillenniahsts, Seventh-day Adventism—which mamtamed Miller's histoncism—was considerably isolated from other conservative Protes­tants, a situation exacerbated by its several distinctive doctrines and separatist outlook 7

Durmg most of the denomination's first half-century of existence, Adventist theology focused primarily on the nearness of the premillennial second advent and the necessity of keepmg God's commandments Although most members probably would not have accepted the designation, Richard W Schwarz com­ments that many readers of an 1872 statement of Seventh-day Adventist beliefs prepared by Uriah Smith, editor of the Review and Herald, "might well have re­ceived the impression that Adventists were 'legalists ' The emphasis seemed to be on what man must do rather than on what Christ had done and would do m and through his followers " 8 Beginning m the mid-1880s, however, primarily through the efforts of two young mmisters—Alonzo Τ Jones and Eilet J Waggoner—a new

5For the history of the Millente movement, see George R Knight, Millennial Fever and the End of the World (Boise Pacific Press, 1993) See also Gary Land, "The Historians and the Millentes An Histonographical Essay," m William Miller and the Advent Crisis, Everett Ν Dick, ed Gary Land (Berrien Sprmgs, Mich Andrews University Press, 1994) 6For the history of Seventh-day Adventism, see Gary Land, ed, Adventism in America A History, 2nd ed , (Berrien Sprmgs, Mich Andrews University Press, 1998), and Richard W Schwarz and Floyd Greenleaf, Light Bearers A History of the Seventh day Adventist Church, rev ed ( Nampa, Idaho Pacific Press, 2000) 7For analysis of dispensahonahsm's development, see Ernest R Sandeen, The Roots of Fundamentalism British and American Millenarianism, 1800-1930 (Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1970), George M Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism, 1870-1925 (New York Oxford University Press, 1980) Timothy Ρ Weber, Living in the Shadow of the Second Coming American Premillenniahsm, 1875-1982, enl ed, (Grand Rapids, Académie Books, 1983), and Paul S Boyer, When Time Shall be No More Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture (Cambridge, Mass Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992) 8Schwarz and Greenleaf, Light Bearers, 175

AT THE EDGES OF HOLINESS

emphasis on Christ emerged, coming to a head at the 1888 General Conference ses­sion. Although the denomination emerged from this conference deeply divided theologically, the advocates of "righteousness by faith," as this theological em­phasis became known among Adventists, gradually gained ascendency in the de­nomination, particularly after gaining the support of Ellen G. White.9

The First Adventist Holiness Revival, 1892-94

As the emphasis on righteousness by faith spread, Adventism's belief that Christ's coming was imminent intensified because of the renewed effort by several Ameri­can groups for establishment and enforcement of Sunday laws,10 which Adventists understood would come into being just before Christ's return. Within this context, a significant revival, particularly among the Adventists at Battle Creek, took place in the autumn of 1892, which had great impact upon the General Conference ses­sion of the following year. Believing that "the latter rain" of the Holy Spirit was about to produce the "loud cry" of the third angel of Revelation 14:9, A. T. Jones and W. W. Prescott, president of Battle Creek College, preached in both Adventist and other settings in Battle Creek in November and December. When the General Conference session took place in February and March, 1893, both men expounded their belief that the Holy Spirit was about to descend on the church.11

The revival continued into 1894 with Jones and Prescott expanding it by cir­culating the prophetic writings of Anna Rice, a young woman whom they believed to be inspired by God. When Ellen White wrote from Australia that Rice was not speaking for God, it not only forced Jones and Prescott to recant their support for the alleged new prophet, it also undermined the revival, because Rice's "testi­monies" had become such an important element in the spiritual excitement.12

Nonetheless, a spiritual hunger had been stirred within Adventism that was not yet satisfied.

9Despite its importance to Adventism, there is no full scholarly study of the 1888 controver­

sy over "righteousness by faith/' For a brief account, see Schwarz and Greenleaf, Light

Bearers, 175-88. More extensive treatments include A. V. Olson, Through Crisis to Victory: From

the Minneapolis Meeting to the Reorganization of the General Conference (Washington, D.C.:

Review and Herald Publishing, 1966); George R. Knight, From 1888 to Apostasy: The Case of

Α. Τ Jones (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing, 1987), 23-74; George R. Knight,

Angry Saints: Tensions and Possibilities in the Adventist Struggle Over Righteousness by Faith

(Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing, 1989); Woodrow W. Whidden II, Ellen

White on Salvation: A Chronological Study (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing,

1995), 69-115; and George R. Knight, A User Friendly Guide to the 1888 Message (Hagerstown,

Md.: Review and Herald Publishing, 1998). 1 0Dennis Pettibone provides a brief history of "The Sunday Law Movement" in The World of

Ellen G. White, ed. Gary Land (Washington, D C : Review and Herald Publishing, 1987),

113-28. For a more extensive treatment, see Dennis Lynn Pettibone, "Caesar's Sabbath: The

Sunday-law Controversy in the United States, 1879-1892" (Ph.D. diss., University of Cali­

fornia-Riverside, 1979). n Knight, From 1888 to Apostasy, 89-103; Gilbert M. Valentine, The Shaping of Adventism: The

Case ofW. W. Prescott (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 1992), 60-61. 1 2Knight, From 1888 to Apostasy, 104-12; Valentine, The Shaping of Adventism, 63-65.

Gary Land

Seventh-Day Adventism and the Holiness Movement

Although Adventists apparently continued to give some attention to the Holy Spirit after 1894, most obviously at the 1897 Pennsylvania camp meeting, it did not agam emerge to prommence until Ballenger began promoting "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost" at camp meetings m the late summer of 1897 and m Battle Creek that fall From that pomt on, however, Adventist preaching focused to a great degree on the need to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost Significantly, this Adventist revival reflected the Holmess movement that was gaining strength m the United States durmg the last two decades of the nineteenth century13 Emphasizmg sanc­tification, Holmess preachers called for Christians to experience the "second bless­ing" or "entire sanctification," through "baptism of the Holy Spirit," and prayed for the "latter ram "

Ballenger had promoted A Τ Jones's preaching m 1893 and therefore was aware of the Holmess and revival themes m Adventism from that time forward In addition to his acquamtance with Adventist usage of such Holmess terminolo­gy as the "latter ram" and "baptism of the Holy Spirit," that had appeared m the 1892-93 revival, it is apparent through quotations that Ballenger used m an article published during the summer of 1897,14 that at a minimum he knew of two Holmess books from outside Adventism A J Gordon's How Christ Came to Church (1895) and John MacNeil's The Spirit-Filled Life (1896)15 Although what other books Ballenger might have read or preachers he might have heard is not known, it may be significant that J Wilbur Chapman, a Presbyterian evangelist, had pub­lished Received Ye the Holy Ghost7 in 1894 1 6 Furthermore, much of Ballenger's per­spective and terminology paralleled that of the Holmess literature written by such men as Gordon, A M Hills, and A Β Simpson 1 7 Finally, it is apparent that Adven-

1 3For the history of the Holiness movement, see Vmson Synon, The Holiness Pentecostal

Movement in the United States (Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1971), 13-54, Robert Mapes

Anderson, Vision of the Disinherited The Making of American Pentecostahsm (New York Oxford

University Press, 1979), 28-46, Melvm Easterday Dieter, The Holiness Revival of the Nineteenth

Century, Studies m Evangelicalism, no 1 (Metuchen, Ν J Scarecrow Press, 1980), and Charles

Edwm Jones, Perfectionist Persuasion The Holiness Movement and American Methodism,

1867-1936, ATLA Monograph Series, no 5 (Metuchen, Ν J Scarecrow Press, 1974) George

Knight comments on the relationship of the Adventist revivals of this period to the Holmess

movement m From 1888 to Apostasy, 168 1 4 A F B[allenger], "The Fourth Century and the Nineteenth Century," American Sentinal, 12

August 1897 504-505 1 5 A J Gordon, How Christ Came to Church, The Pastor's Dream A Spiritual Autobiography with

the Life-story, and the Dream as Interpreting the Man by A Τ Pierson (Philadelphia American

Baptist Publication Society, 1895), John MacNeil, The Spirit-Filled Life, intro by Andrew

Murray (Chicago The Bible Institute Colportage Association, 1896) 1 6J Wilbur Chapman, Received Ye the Holy Ghost7 (1894) reprinted m Late Nineteenth Century Revivalist Teachings on the Holy Spirit, The Higher Christian Life Sources for the Study of the Holmess, Pentecostal, and Keswick Movements, no 12, ed Donald W Dayton (New York Garland Publishing, 1985) 1 7For a historical analysis of the Holmess movement's theology, see Donald W Dayton, Theological Roots of Pentecostahsm, foreword by Martin E Marty (Grand Rapids Francis Asbury Press, 1987)

AT THE EDGES OF HOLINESS

tists were acquainted with Hannah Whitehall Smith's The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life, which A. T. Jones critically commented on at the General Conference session of 1893 and the Review and Herald advertized in 1896, describing the vol­ume as "one of the most helpful books that has ever been written for those who are struggling against sin/'18 As the Holiness thrust developed over the next two years, Adventists revealed their acquaintance with Holiness literature by quoting from R.A. Torrey's The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, publishing excerpts from an arti­cle by A. B. Simpson and William Arthur's The Tongue of Fire, and frequently using quotations from The King's Messenger as "filler" in the Review and Herald.19 Clearly, the "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost" movement grew out of a combination of internal developments within Adventism that had been at work since 1888 and the influ­ence of the external Holiness movement on Adventism generally and Ballenger in particular.

The Second Adventist Holiness Revival, 1897-1900

After Ballenger completed the Battle Creek revival of 1897, the General Conference sponsored him for the next two years as an itinerant preacher traveling to Adventist institutional centers, camp meetings, and churches, promoting the theme of "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Leaving Battle Creek on January 4,1898, he traveled to Kansas, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Washington. In May he ob­served that the "message, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost,' grows in importance, clear­ness, and power."20 This "growth" included a new emphasis on healing. Regard­ing College View, Nebraska, he stated that "much time was spent in praying with the sick near the close of the meetings, and several marvelous cases of healing were witnessed."21 When in the spring he began hitting the camp-meeting circuit, he re­ported that the response in Oregon had been the best because the message "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" had already been accepted and preached around the conference. He narrated how he was convicted that God could not perform heal­ing miracles until sin had been removed from the camp and therefore preached to this point, with the result that many confessed their wrongdoings and asked for cleansing from sin. "Following this cleansing of the camp, there was a most won­derful manifestation of God's healing power," Ballenger wrote. "One afflicted soul after another sought the Lord, and realized his blessed healing p o w e r . . . . just in proportion as the cleansing work goes on will the majestic tread of the great Healer be realized among us."22

After a similar experience in California, Ballenger spoke at camp meetings in

18A. T. Jones, "The Third Angel's Message—No. 15," General Conference Daily Bulletin 5 (23 February 1893): 358-59; RH, 23 June 1896: 399. 19RH, 23 June 1896:399; RH, 9 November 1897: 707; Signs of the Times, 28 April 1898:5. Many quotations from The King's Messenger appeared in 1899 and 1900. For example, see "Healing/7

RH, 21 February 1899:114. 20A. F. Ballenger, "The College View Meetings," RH, 3 May 1898: 288. 21Ibid. 22A. F. Ballenger, "Notes from the Salem, Ore., Camp-meeting," RH, 12 July 1898: 448. See also A. J. Breed, "The North Pacific Camp-Meeting," RH, 28 June 1898: 414.

Gary Land

the plams states and Midwest durmg the summer Acknowledging "conflict," "fierce battles," and desertions to "the enemy's ranks," he nonetheless said that there had been no defeats and that victory over every sm continued to be preached When the General Conference session took place m February, 1899, at South Lancaster, Massachusetts, Ballenger preached two sermons which reiterated the themes of his revival tour Believing that the new emphasis on the Holy Spirit de­veloped out of the "righteousness by faith" theology brought to the fore m 1888, he stated,

The truth that God gave us some time ago through Brethren Jones and Waggoner, and the truth that he is giving through them now, is summed up m the two sentences Something to tell, power to tell it Righteousness by faith furnishes a man something to tell, and the bap­tism of the Holy Spirit furnishes him power to tell it m a mighty power to the world 23

"Righteousness by faith was given us of God to stop our sinning," he urged 24

After the conference closed, Ballenger held further meetings at South Lancas­ter, where one participant reported that he gave "'the straight testimony' m the power of the Holy Ghost " Through the sprmg and summer of 1899 Ballenger agam traveled the country, preaching m churches and camp meetings "Devoid of every semblance of excitement and personal magnetism," the Review and Herald stated regardmg the Marne camp meeting, "the work of 'house cleaning' went deep and thorough till the entire camp moved forward as one man to receive the Holy Ghost "2 5 Clearly, Ballenger still preached "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost" with dramatic results throughout 1899 As L A Hoopes, secretary of the General Con­ference, wrote to an enquirer, "I appreciate what you say with reference to Brother Ballenger 's work He does give the message a certam ring, and I know the work is very much appreciated "26

Although Ballenger was the leadmg figure promoting reception of the Holy Ghost at Adventist camp meetings and churches, he was by no means alone The camp meeting and other reports appearmg in the Review and Herald durmg these years reveal a widespread emphasis on this theme As noted previously, Ballenger said that his own work m Oregon m early 1898 was easier because "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" had already been extensively preached there While some of the re­ports of camp meetings durmg the summer of 1897 refer to the working of the Holy Spirit and probably reflect the developing Holmess thrust, the first specifi­cally Holmess language, apart from Ballenger 's report of the Pennsylvania camp meeting, appears m the report of the Colorado camp meeting, held m early October Among the subjects were "the latter ram, and the reception of the Holy Spirit "2 7 From this pomt on, nearly every issue of the paper reflected the belief that the Holy Spirit was at work withm the Adventist community of believers A few examples will illustrate

23 A F Ballenger, "Victory," General Conference Daily Bulletin 8 (27 February 1899) 96 24Ibid 25C H Edwards, "Mam Camp-Meeting," RH, 31 October 1899 708 26L A Hoopes to H W Decker, 10 July 1899, SD A Archives 27J M Rees, "Colorado," RH, 16 November 1897 733

AT THE EDGES OF HOLINESS

At a series of meetings in several towns in the fall of 1897, F. L. Mead re­ported studying the subject of the Holy Spirit with the result that "on many occa­sions rich showers of the Holy Spirit were poured upon the congregation."28 In early 1898 "the Holy Spirit rested heavily" upon students at South Lancaster Acad­emy during a revival series. "The formality common to social meetings generally, was entirely broken up, some persons speaking several times, as the Spirit gave them utterance."29 At about the same time, Adventists in Montana were "receiv­ing showers of the latter rain."30 In March, R. M. Kilgore reported from Oklahoma that some "Holiness people" had begun keeping the Sabbath. "When they see us claiming the promise of the Spirit by faith, they are with us. If Seventh-day Adven­tists will receive the Holy Ghost, they can win many to Christ."31

Adventist behavior at camp meetings seemed to become more emotional as reports of "shouts of victory" began appearing. In Washington state, for instance, "a shout of victory came into the camp. The work of grace in the hearts of the peo­ple went deeper and deeper each day, until the shout of victory was heard from nearly all present."32 Similarly in Kansas, "The shout of victory was generally heard throughout the camp."33 George A. Irwin, president of the General Confer­ence, stated that the Minnesota camp meeting in early June experienced "a pente-costal blessing of the Holy Spirit such as I have never before seen on any camp­ground."34 From Indiana S. S. Davis wrote that at a Sunday night meeting

the subject was "The Baptism of the Holy Ghost," and the Spirit was poured out in large measure. It seemed that we were all filled to the utmost of our capacity to receive. We have reached the time of the message, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost," and we are actually having pentecostal times and apostolic experiences.35

From Virginia, it was reported that the speaker leading a study on the "Spirit of God" would stop when the Spirit came in a "marked manner" as "the brethren and sisters would rise and begin to confess their sins, and in some instances to praise the Lord. Many praised God that we are in the time of the outpouring of his Spirit."36 Although the foregoing represent only a scattered sampling of the camp meeting and other reports appearing in the church paper, they clearly suggest that emphasis on and experience of the Holy Spirit was appearing within Adventism in virtually all parts of the United States throughout 1898. As Mrs. S.M.I. Henry, who had spent fifty-eight days traveling and speaking at camp meetings,37 stated after conducting a revival at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, "Light was

2 8F L. Mead, "Pennsylvania," RH, 23 November 1897: 748. 29J. H. Haughey, "In the Schools: South Lancaster Academy," RH, 15 February 1898: 111. 30W. J. Stone, "Montana," RH, 22 February 1898:128. 31R. M. Kilgore, "District 5," RH, 22 March 1898:192. 32A. J. Breed, "The Upper Columbia Conference," RH, 21 June 1898: 400. 33J. W. Westphal, "The Salina (Kan.) Camp-Meeting," RH, 11 October 1898: 654. 34Geo. A. Irwin, "Camp-Meetings in Iowa and Minnesota," RH, 21 June 1898: 398. 35S. S. Davis, "Indiana," RH, 23 August 1898: 543. 3 6R A. Underwood, "Virginia Camp-Meeting," RH, 6 September 1898: 574 37Mrs. S.M.I. Henry, "The Camp-Meetings," RH, 25 October 1898: 686.

Gary Land

breaking Prayer breathed everywhere, and as the service progressed, we had the same kmd of outpouring of the Holy Spirit that has marked so many of the Sabbath mornings on the camp-grounds "3 8

The following year, 1899, saw a similar experience, as reports came to the Re­view and Herald that the Holy Spirit was bemg poured out on Adventist churches and camp meetings At the Black Hills camp meeting "everything was left open to the dictates of the Holy Spirit," with the result that "the sweet gentle Spirit of the Lord came m and men, women, and children were separating themselves from sin, those from without [not Seventh-day Adventists], looking on, said that surely this was genume Christianity Not a wave of excitement could be seen, but a clear­ing of the King's highway for the Holy Ghost message "3 9 From sparsely popu­lated Arizona, C D M Williams, who worked among the "Spanish-speaking people," wrote that "it is time not only to receive the Holy Ghost, but to give the message with a power and zeal never before known to our people "4 0 Lookmg back on her summer camp meeting tour, S M I Henry commented, "There is a thirst for the conscious presence of the Holy Spirit among our people " Perhaps F D Starr spoke for many Adventists when he wrote m early 1900, that the "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" message had seemed to him "dark, incomprehensi­ble, and rather unwelcome," but then he had been conquered by the "power of love " "I am thankful that before the message 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost,' passes forever from the pages of the REVIEW," he concluded, "and from the sanctuary above, the tidings have become welcome to me "4 1

As noted previously, Ballenger reported healings at some of his meetings While such healing does not seem to have become a major element of the Adventist Holmess revival, such experiences occasionally appeared m the church papers and seem to have been accepted as one of the manifestations of the Spirit's work In Virginia, for mstance, the "Holy Sprit was present with wonderful power at one meeting when a paralyzed woman began to walk up and down the isle, praising God for deliverance "4 2 One Michigan mmister reported that "some accepted the Saviour as a power not only to keep them from sinning, but also as a healer of their bodily infirmities," and then described the cure of a young woman from a "run­ning scrofulous sore m the neck" and accompanying deafness 4 3 In Kentucky, af­ter "the Lord took charge of the meeting the calm, tender Spirit was present and all over the room shouts of praise were heard One sister suffermg with spmal trou­ble requested prayer, and several short prayers were offered She arose, saymg, 'The pam is all gone " , 4 4 Although such experiences were not entirely new to Adventism, the denomination had long emphasized healthful living rather than dramatic healmgs, under the influence of the "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" move-

38Mrs S M I Henry, "The Camp-Meetings," RH, 8 November 1898 720 3 9 0 S Farren, "The Black Hills Camp-Meeting," RH, 29 August 1899 560

^ C D M Williams, "Arizona Tucson," RH, 5September 1899 576 41F D Starr, "A Peaceful Conquest," RH, 13 February 1900 109 42D C Babcock, "Danville," Virginia Messenger, 10 October 1899 200 43W Ostrander, "Michigan," RH, 15 August 1899 529

^Mollie R Long, "Kentucky," RH, 19 December 1899 826

AT THE EDGES OF HOLINESS

ment it is apparent that preachers and lay people began to expect physical as well as spiritual results when baptized with the spirit.

Adventist Holiness Theology

Although the camp meeting and other reports reveal the spread of Holiness among Seventh-day Adventists and suggest a longing for a higher spirituality, they pro­vide relatively little evidence for the Adventist theological understanding of this experience. Because they expected the soon return of Christ and regarded obedi­ence to the ten commandments, particularly the seventh-day Sabbath, as a neces­sary element in preparation for His coming, Adventists shaped their understand­ing of Holiness in a unique way. The writings of three individuals—A. T. Jones, S.M.I. Henry, and A. F. Ballenger—provide insight into the Holiness that was preached at Adventist camp meetings, evangelistic meetings, and churches.

Jones had been converted to Adventism in 1874 while serving in the United States Army in Washington Territory. Becoming a preacher after his discharge, Jones quickly rose to prominence in the young denomination. While serving as an editor of Signs of the Times in the mid-1880s, he had begun promoting "righteous­ness by faith" along with E. J. Waggoner and had played an important role in the 1888 General Conference session that had debated the issue. He also had advo­cated Holiness during its first appearance in Adventism in 1892-94. Thus, when Holiness emerged once again in 1897 Jones came to the forefront, this time as co-editor of the Review and Herald, a platform from which he could reach virtually the entire church.45 Although he spoke frequently at churches and camp meetings, Jones primarily impacted the "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost" movement through his weekly editorials in the denomination's major paper.46

In one of his first editorials, Jones reported that correspondence from "all over the field" showed "a longing, a hungering and thirsting, for the Holy Spirit." He therefore announced that "the time has come to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is freely given, and is now waiting to be received."47 Soon he was ending virtually all of his editorials with the phrase, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost."48

Four major themes pervaded Jones's editorials. The one to which he devoted the most attention was the need to overcome sin, or perfectionism. Believing like Ballenger that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was the next step in the preaching of the "righteousness by faith" that had been his central concern since the mid-1880s, Jones stated that we first gain righteousness by believing that God has forgiven us and then ask for the Holy Spirit in order to overcome the power of sin in our lives,

45For Jones's background, see Knight, From 1888 to Apostasy, 15-158. Jones was first listed as co-editor with Uriah Smith in RH, 5 October 1897: 632. See also, Directors, "Important Announcement," F(H, 5 October 1897: 640. 46These editorials are unsigned, but their style and content are clearly that of Jones. 47[Untitled Editorial] RH, 19 October 1897: 664. 48The first editorial to end with this phrase was "Will You Receive, Or Will You Grieve, the Holy Spirit?" RH, 16 November 1897: 728.

Gary Land

although like other Adventists he does not seem to have used "second blessing"

terminology 4 9 "Instead of bemg required to be perfect m order to receive the Holy

Spirit," he wrote, "we must receive the Holy Spirit m order to be perfect " 5 0 As the

Holy Spirit enters into our life, he consumes sin and we become a "partaker of his

holmess " 5 1

References to the Holy spirit consuming sm and bestowmg "the disposition,

the character of the Lord," 5 2 suggest that Jones may have believed that the bap­

tism of the Holy Spirit eradicates the human disposition to sm But it seems more

likely that he understood the work of the Holy Spirit as a countervailing power to

the force of sm m one's life that over time brings one mto conformity with God's

wi l l 5 3 In a sermon preached at the General Conference session of 1899, for in­

stance, Jones stated that perfection was a dynamic process, that we can be perfect

at the beginning but move toward its ultimate expression

This is to be accomplished m you and me by growth, but there can be no growth where there is no life This is growth m the knowledge of God, growth m the wisdom of God, growth m the character of God, growth in God, therefore it can be only by the life of God But that life is planted m the man at the new birth He is born agam, born of the Holy Ghost, and the life of God is planted there, that "he may grow up, mto him"—m how much7—"In all thmgs " 5 4

Jones's Adventism became particularly clear when he defmed this holmess as

the keepmg of God's commandments, although accomplished through the power

of the spirit rather than human effort

And "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments " And as all his command­ments are righteousness, as the keepmg of his commandments is the manifestation of the love of God m the life, and as this love of God is shed abroad m the life by the Holy Ghost, this is the righteousness of the law, which is fulfilled m us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit55

"The keepmg of the commandments of God," Jones unequivocally asserted, "is the

great object of the gift of the Holy Ghost " 5 6

Nonetheless, Jones believed, baptism of the Holy Spirit accomplished more

for the believer than outward conformity with God's law Although his language

was often vague, perhaps because he was attempting to express the inexpressible,

Jones understood that through the Holy Spirit an intimate relationship developed

between the Christian and God "To have the Spirit of Christ," he wrote, "is to have

49"The Seal of Righteousness," RH, 19 October 1897 664-65 5 0 , , ,Unto Perfection/" RH, 14 December 1897 790 51[Untitled Editorial], RH, 26 October 1897 678 52[Untitled Editorial], RH, 17 May 1898 316 See also [Untitled Editorial], RH, 8 March 1898 156 53Jones's understanding may therefore have been more in line with the Keswick under­standing of sanctification than that of American Holmess preachers See Dieter, The Holiness Revival, 249, and Jones, Perfectionist Persuasion, 85 54A Τ Jones, "Christian Perfection," RH, 1 August 1899 487 (emphasis m the original) 55[Untitled Editorial], RH, 20 December 1898 814 56[Untitled Editorial], RH, 18 October 1898 666

AT THE EDGES OF HOLINESS

the disposition, the nature, the character of God imparted to you."57 Elsewhere he spoke of being "filled with all the fulness of God," the "bestowal of the disposi­tion, the character of the Lord," and the experience of "the love of God in our hearts."58 Through a daily commitment of faith, he believed, we maintain contact with the Holy Spirit, which provides whatever power is needed for the moment. "But the Holy Ghost can not be received to-day for next year," asserted Jones, "nor for next week, nor for next day. He must be received to-day for to-day, now for just now. He must be received for the need, just when the need is."59

But this work is not just for ourselves. Jones emphasized that we receive the Holy Spirit in order to serve God.60 Only through the Spirit's power can we be true witnesses.61 Only through that power can we preach effectively. Indeed, when we do so, Jones stated, the same power that lay behind primitive Christianity will manifest itself in bringing sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, walking to the lame, and life to the dead.62 "Power with God is the way," he observed, "and the only true way, to POWER WITH MEN."63

Jones's belief that Christ's soon coming required the efforts of the Adventist people to both proclaim their message and live according to the commandments, intensified his call for reception of the Holy Spirit. For him this call grew out of more than a simple desire to experience a higher Christian life, for it was intimately involved with his sense of the impending end of all things. "Now is the time of the sealing of the servants of God," he wrote, "because the sealing of the servants of God must precede the day of redemption."64 The Holy Spirit will cleanse the church, for "The Lord is coming. And without holiness, no man can see him in peace. Have you holiness?"65

Other churches might preach purity and baptism, Jones argued in a "Bible les­son" preached at the 1899 General Conference session, but Seventh-day Adventists

are to preach holiness, Christian perfection, in such a degree as it has never been preached since the days of the apostles, since Christ was in the world. Indeed, with no shadow of vari­ance from the perfection of Christ, we are to preach this, always and everywhere. That will be more Christian perfection than any other Christian denomination had. This is not to say that the denominations are not now loving the truth, and longing for all that is in Christ: it is only to say they will not find it aside from the third angel's message, which we preach.66

Because Adventists believed that they would play the central role in the clos­ing events of earth's history, Holiness as articulated by Jones, carried an urgency

57[Untitled Editorial], RH, 8 March 1898:156. 58"The Things of God to Us," RH, 30 September 1897: 761; [Untitled Editorial], RH, 17 May 1898: 316; "Eulogies Again," RH, 14 December 1897: 791. 59[Untitled Editorial], RH, 11 July 1899: 444 (emphasis in the original). 60[Untitled Editorial], RH, 15 February 1898:108; [Untitled Editorial], RH, 13 September 1898:586. 61[Untitled Editorial], RH, 16 August 1898: 524. 62"Christ's Word to John the Baptist," RH, 21 December 1897: 812. 63[Untitled Editorial], RH, 29 August 1899: 556 (emphasis in the original). ^[Untitled Editorial], RH, 29 November 1898: 767 (emphasis in the original). 65[Untitled Editorial], RH, 9 August 1898: 508; [Untitled Editorial], RH, 7 June 1898: 364. 66A. T. Jones, "Christ and the Doctrine," RH, 4 July 1899: 424.

Gary Land

probably not present m the mainstream Holmess movement 6 7 The end of time

was near at hand, Jones believed, and God through the Holy Spirit was preparmg

a commandment-keeping people who would spread the final warning message

with the power of the first disciples Holmess was absolutely essential for all true

Christians, for "we are m the days when the mystery of God will be fmished, which

means that we are m the days when God will prepare his people for translation,

by bringing us to perfection accordmg to the measure of the stature of the fulness

of Christ Bless the Lord'" 6 8

In contrast to Jones's heated rhetoric, a much calmer, mdeed solemn, approach

to the Holy Spirit pervaded the work of Sarepta Myrenda Irish [ S M I ] Henry

Perhaps this approach arose out of her previous experience Converted to Adven­

tism m 1896 while a patient at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, Henry had previously

served for a number of years as a promment leader m the W C Τ U , a role that she

continued despite her associates' consternation over her adherence to what was

regarded as a fringe religious movement 6 9 Previously a Methodist, she brought

its perfectionism mto her Adventism, but now combmed it with a new emphasis

on God's law Although she certainly believed m the soon commg of Jesus, Henry

does not seem to have shared the apocalyptic sense that the end of all things was

at hand or the triumphahsm that pervaded the preaching and writing of Jones and

many other Adventists

Licensed as a minister by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 7 0 Henry trav­

eled extensively, speakmg at camp meetings durmg the summers of 1898 and 1899

Although she gave much of her attention to home life and the role of the Christian

woman, durmg the summer of 1898 she also spoke extensively on the work of the

Holy Spirit From the stenographic notes of her talks, she developed a manuscript

that was published as The Abiding Spirit m 1899 7 1 The General Conference Bulletin

described this book as "a brief, yet concise view of the office and operation of the

Holy Spirit," while the Review and Herald said that it made plam "how to meet and

co-operate with the Holy Spirit m the common, every-day affairs—the abiding

things—of the Christian life " 7 2

Henry argued that "the Spirit of God is an abidmg presence m every life with

6 7 O n the relationship between premillenniahsm and Holiness, see Dayton, Theological Roots

of Pentecostahsm, 163-66 6 8[Untitled Editorial], RH, 13 December 1898 798 6 9See Mary Henry Rossiter, My Mother s Life The Evolution of a Recluse, întro by John H Vincent (Chicago Fleming H Réveil, 1900), Margaret Rossiter White, The Whirlwind of the Lord The Story of Mrs SMI Henry (Washington, D C Review and Herald Publishing, 1953), "Sister S M I Henry," RH, 23 January 1900 64, and "Henry, Sarepta Myrenda (Irish)," Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, Commentary Reference Series, vol 10 (Washmgton, D C Review and Herald Publishing, 1966), 518 70Henry is first identified as a licensed minister in "Worker's Directory," General Conference Bulletin, 2 (Third Quarter, 1897) 121 A "licensed" minister was authorized to preach, but not to carry out such activities as baptisms and marriages as were "ordained" ministers 71S M I Henry, "Notice," RH, 27 June 1899 415, Mrs S M I Henry, The Abiding Spirit (Battle Creek, Mich Review and Herald Publishing, 1899) 72"The Abidmg Spirit," General Conference Bulletin, 3 (First Quarter, 1899) 31, RH, 9 May 1899 304 (emphasis m the original)

AT THE EDGES OF HOLINESS

which there must be contention or agreement."73 Therefore, each individual faces a fundamental choice of whether to side with the divine will or pursue the path of sin, a choice that has eternal consequences. "A man's power of choice is as to whether or not the Spirit of God shall cleanse him from sin now/' Henry wrote, "or whether in the final cleansing of the universe, when every sinful thing shall be ut­terly destroyed, he shall be destroyed with it."74 Henry believed that through the power of the Holy Spirit perfection was both possible and necessary. She spoke of the Holy Spirit killing all sin, of the Lord requiring "that we shall stop sinning," and of the need to cease sinning, "as God counts sinning," if we are to see God.75

She described the Holy Spirit as a fire that "shall pass through us, and over us, and burn up sin and leave us absolutely fire-proof."76 Using a different metaphor, she asserted that the mind—which she believed controls the body—is "made clean by the washing of regeneration."77 As with Jones, such statements suggested eradi­cation of sinful human nature, but elsewhere she stated that Jesus "is a holy Christ in sinful human nature, who by his presence in sinful nature sanctifies fallen hu­manity," which suggests that sanctification does not necessarily remove the hu­man propensity to sin.78

Reflecting her Adventist perspective, Henry included obedience to the law as a necessary part of this perfection, but she emphasized that the law is the expres­sion of God's character rather than an arbitrary legal requirement.

To surrender to the law in letter and spirit, is to surrender to Christ, and to that unspeakable love of which the law is an expression; and then the astonished soul will find that every com­mandment has been transposed into a promise, through which the Holy Spirit breathes the power for its perfect keeping.79

The Holy Spirit not only will provide the power for fulfilling the law's demands, but also will enable the "the enlightened, believing soul [to] see the face of his beloved Lord therein, and by this token claim the wonderful promise of eternal life and fruitfulness."80 As with many other Adventists, the concept of the Holy Spirit provided Henry with a means of reconciling the law and the gospel. Furthermore, when the Spirit enters into the very physical being of the Christian believer, she understood, he "builds an holy habitation for himself, in which the mind of Christ can have perfect freedom to manifest itself in thought and purpose accord­ing to his own will; and to use the body as an instrument for his own service, just as was the case between the flesh and spirit in Jesus."81 The harmony between flesh and spirit will be such that "the flesh in all its functions can become as sweet

73Henry, The Abiding Spirit, 6. 74Ibid., 55. 75Ibid., 239,272-73,285-86. 76Ibid., 156. 77Ibid., 172. 78S. M. I. H[enry], "Christ in Holy Flesh, or a Holy Christ in Sinful Flesh," RH, 2 October 1900: 635. 79Henry, The Abiding Spirit, 84. 80Ibid., 235. 81Ibid., 211-12.

Gary Land

and pure from all suggestions of evil as the spiritual body of the new earth

will be " 8 2

With such a unity between flesh and spirit, it is not surprising that Henry also

spoke of physical healmg, although she did not emphasize it The logic of her un­

derstanding of the work of the Holy Spirit as a healer of physical disease received

further support from her belief that she had experienced supernatural healmg

while a patient at Battle Creek Samtanum As the Spirit permeates the entire be­

ing, she asserted, it will eliminate disease and restore perfect health 8 3 She expect­

ed dramatic results from this harmony of flesh and Spirit

Through the operation of the Spirit of God those who are weak shall be made strong, those who are infirm shall be given vigor, those who are deformed and crippled shall be made whole God has no use for weakness, infirmity, or deformity The Abidmg Spirit has been giv­en to dwell m us that we may be delivered from infirmities, and made unto the glorious im­age which has been revealed as the pattern for us to grow by 8 4

"Salvation to the uttermost," she believed, "covering every ailment, sm, and infir­

mity, is the portion of the children of God " 8 5

In 1900, A F Ballenger, the leading preacher m the Adventist Holmess revival,

published Power for Witnessing,86 which seems to have been drawn from the ser­

mons he had preached at camp meetings, churches, and other gathermgs for the

past two years Written m a colloquial style that, as with his evangelistic preach­

ing, called upon the reader to respond, the work reflected major themes of the

"Receive ye the Holy Ghost" movement The first of these themes centered around

Acts 5 31 "Him both God exalted with His right hand to be a Prmce and a Savior

for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins " Ballenger saw m these

words evidence that after forgiveness the Christian must move to another state,

victory over sm

It is plam that no-one can share m the "latter ram," or the fullness of the power of the Holy Ghost for witnessing until he knows m his own life, not only that God forgives sms, but that He gives the victory over every besetting sm Fullness of victory, then fullness of witnessing power Something to tell, then power to tell i t 8 7

Secondly, Ballenger asserted that "the work of the spirit m conversion and m

character-building is primarily for our own salvation and secondly for the salva­

tion of others, but the baptism of the Spirit is primarily for the salvation of others " 8 8

While the first phase of the Holy Spirit's work mcludes conversion and sanc­

tification, Ballenger believed, the second phase gives the individual power for ef-

8 2Ibid, 172 8 3lbid, 215-16

^lbid, 220 8 5lbid, 280 86A F Ballenger, Power for Witnessing (Oakland, Calif Pacific Press, 1900) Editions also ap­peared m Australia (Melbourne Victoria Echo Publishing, η d ) and England (London Partridge, η d ) More recently, a paperback edition appeared m the United States (Minneapolis Dimension Paperbacks, 1963) 8 7Ibid, 9 8 8Ibid, 87 (emphasis m the original)

AT THE EDGES OF HOLINESS

fective witnessing, hence the title of his book. Ballenger 's separation of the bap­tism of the Holy Spirit from its initial bestowal is seen in such statements as: "Can you not see that the Spirit for service must come in response to faith; just as for­giveness or victory over temptation came in response to faith."89 "Reader, don't you think that after receiving so many gifts from God (repentance, forgiveness of sins, victory over temptation), you ought to be accustomed to receiving gifts, so that you could receive the gift of the Holy Ghost?"90 "The laying on of hands in Paul's teaching occupies the same place as the receiving of the Holy Spirit in Peter's teaching. Both follow baptism."91

Finally, Ballenger addressed the gifts of the Spirit, the third phase of its work. From the outset he identified the gifts as independent of salvation. "The fruit of the Spirit must appear in the life of the Christian; the gifts of the Spirit may not. Millions will be saved who never had the gift of miracles, but no one will ever be saved who did not possess the fruit of love."92 Ballenger essentially equated the gifts with miracles, particularly with "miracles of healing."93 "The gospel," he stated, "includes salvation from sickness as well as salvation from sin."94 He lamented that the gift of healing is "nowhere seen" because "the church is back­slidden."95 Thus the church needed to experience the "miracle of miracles, salva­tion from sin and sinning" before it can receive the gift of healing within its ranks.96

The book closed with one more exhortation to receive the Holy Spirit and allow it to purge the dross from one's life."97

Although direct influence cannot be positively established, the major themes of Power for Witnessing paralleled the teaching of the period's major Holiness writers. Both The Ministry of the Spirit (1894) by A. J. Gordon and The Holy Spirit (1895-96) by A. B. Simpson—with whom Ballenger may have had direct contact— separated, as did Ballenger, the work of the Holy Spirit into two distinct phases.98

In Holiness and Power for the Church and the Ministry (1897), A. M. Hills spoke of both cleansing from sin and power for service.99 Furthermore, Simpson, Gordon,

89Ibid., 96. 90Ibid., 111. 91Ibid., 100. 92Ibid., 140 (emphasis in the original). 93This is the title of Chapter 24, ibid., 144. 94Ibid., 147. 95Ibid., 153-54. 96Ibid., 182-84. 97Ibid., 200-201. 98Dayton, Theological Roots of Pentecostahsm, 94,106-107. See A. J. Gordon, The Ministry of the Spirit (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1894) and A. B. Simpson, The Holy Spirit; or, Power from on High: An Unfolding of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments, 2 vols. (New York: Christian Alliance Publishing, 1895-96). John Kolvoord, a long-time Battle Creek resident, wrote in 1927 that Ballenger had visited "A. B. Simpson's school/' New York Missionary College, prior to writing Power for Witnessing. See John Kolvoord to E. S. Ballenger, 5 September 1927, Ballenger-Mote Papers, Adventist Heritage Center, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Mich. 99A. M. Hills, Holiness and Power for the Church and the Ministry (Cincinnati: M. W. Knap, 1897).

Gary Land

and R Kelso Carter all mcluded healmg as part of the atonement 10° Finally, Bal-lenger used common Holmess words and phrases, mcludmg "power," "baptism of the Holy Spirit," "pentecostal power," "spirit-filled," and "cleansing "

The Revival Ends

At the very time that Ballenger was writing his book, however, the revival that he so powerfully led was wanmg One stalwart voice for Holmess was silenced when Mrs SMI Henry died of pneumonia on January 16,1900 1 0 1 A few weeks later, the General Conference Committee determined "that Elder A F Ballenger contin­ue to labor m the Chesapeake Conference " 1 0 2 Although Ballenger wanted to get back on the camp meeting circuit, Hoopes explamed that the General Conference was attempting to curtail expenses 1 0 3 There appears to have been more to the sto­ry, however For some time, the emphasis on the Holy Spirit had brought forth among Advemtists m Indiana the "Holy Flesh" movement, which reached culmi­nation at that state's camp meeting m the summer of 1900 Unfortunately, nearly all of the sources which might help us trace the development of this movement ap­pear to have been lost,104 leavmg us with only a few accounts, mostly datmg after the 1900 camp meeting and often written by detractors Led by the president and the evangelist of the Indiana Conference, this movement, among other things, seems to have taught that true conversion replaces corruptible earthly flesh with incorruptible "translation" flesh, a transformation that must occur among those awaiting Christ's return 1 0 5 It appears that this teaching interpreted m a specifi-

1 0 0Dayton, Theological Roots of Pentecostahsm, 127-30 Representative books include A Β

Simpson, The Gospel of Healing (1888, rev ed , New York Christian Alliance Publishing, 1915),

A J Gordon, The Ministry of Healing Miracles of Cure in All Ages (Boston Η Gannet, 1882),

Robert Kelso Carter, The Atonement for Sin and Sickness, or, A Full Salvation for Soul and Body

(Boston Willard Tract Depository, 1884) Carter later backed off from positions taken in his

1884 book See R Kelso Carter, "Faith Healing" Reviewed After Twenty Years (1897) reprmted

m Carter, Russell Kelso Carter on Faith Healing,' The Higher Christian Life, no 9 (New York

Garland Publishing, 1985) 1 0 1 "SisterS Μ I Henry/7 RH, 23 January 1900 64 1 0 2"Proceedings of the General Conference Committee," General Conference Bulletin 3 (6,

1900) 122 1 0 3 L A Hoopes to A F Ballenger, 10 April 1900, SDA Archives 1 0 4 The Indiana Conference began publishing a state paper, Indiana Reporter, m the mid-1890s,

but no extant issues prior to the early twentieth century have been found R S Donnell, pres­

ident of the Indiana Conference at the time of the Holy Flesh movement and subsequently

dismissed from the Adventist ministry for allegedly teaching this aberrant doctrme, later

reprmted articles that he had written for the Indiana Reporter in What I Taught in Indiana (η ρ ,

η d ) What appears to be the only extant copy of this tract is located m the Ellen G White

Estate, Ine , Silver Sprmg, Md 1 0 5 O n the Holy Flesh movement, see Ella Ν Robinson, S Ν Haskell Man of Action (Washing­

ton, D C Review and Herald Publishing, 1967), 168-76, and Lowell Tarlmg, The Edges of

Seventh day Adventism (Barraga Bay, Australia Galilee, 1981), 74-81 Ballenger had been in­

vited to the Indiana camp meetmg m 1899 but could not attend See R S Donnell to L A

Hoopes, 26 June 1899, R S Donnell to A F Ballenger, 27 June 1899, and R S Donnell to

AT THE EDGES OF HOLINESS

cally apocalyptic manner the more radical perfectionist statements of Jones, Henry,

and Ballenger regarding the overcoming of sin and the healing of disease through

appropriation of Christ's atonement, thereby pushing Adventist Holiness to its

seemingly logical conclusion Although he made no specific reference to "Holy

Flesh" teaching, evangelist S. S. Davis, one of its principle exponents, described

the impact of his preaching at several churches in early 1900.

The Lord laid it on my heart to preach the Laodicean message He gave power to the word, and I never before saw such manifestations of the power of God m repentance as I have been permitted to witness m the [churches] In all these places shouts of victory made the churches ring 1 0 6

At the Indiana camp meeting of 1900, use of decidedly un-Adventist musical in­

struments such as drums and horns heightened the emotional impact of the "Holy

Flesh" message. 1 0 7

The General Conference had supported the "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost"

movement for the past three years, sponsoring—among other things—Ballenger

and Henry in their camp meeting travels, for the message seemed to bring revival

and reform to the church. But now both the emotionalism and the theology pro­

moting it seemed have reached an unacceptable stage, although few people spec­

ified the problems. Reporting to the Review and Herald during the summer of 1899,

A. J. Breed had stated that he saw some things at the Indiana camp meeting that

he "was very sorry to see," 1 0 8 probably a veiled reference to "Holy Flesh" teach­

ing and its accompanying behavior. Presumably he gave more detailed infor­

mation to church leaders. Apparently becoming concerned in early 1900 over de­

velopments in Indiana, the General Conference leaders may not have wanted

preachers such as Ballenger to continue raising the emotional temperature of the

church. 1 0 9 Reflecting this outlook, Hoopes told Ballenger that he had traveled

much of the same territory that the revivalist had traversed in 1899 and discovered

"that so many have the idea that they are to jump, that they go by leaps and

bounds; but I do not understand the operation of the Holy Spirit that way." He

concluded, "It is a walk by faith."1 1 0

Although some of the camp meetings during the summer of 1900 continued

L A Hoopes, 6 July 1899, SDA Archives Dieter describes what appears to have been a sim­ilar movement outside Adventism that emerged m Texas where some "extreme" Holmess preachers taught that "salvation from sm is salvation from death " See Dieter, The Holiness Revival, 181 1 0 6S S and Einora Davis, "Indiana," RH, 10 April 1900 237 107The Review and Herald report does not mention these thmgs See R S Donnell, "Indiana," RH, 23 October 1900 686-87 See also Robmson, S Ν Haskell, 169 1 0 8A J Breed, "The Indiana Camp-Meeting," RH, 29 August 1899 561 109Bert Haloviak, archivist of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, has com­piled and arranged chronologically contemporary statements regardmg the Holy Flesh movement which suggest that concerns among the church leaders arose prior to the summer of 1900 See Bert Haloviak, "From Righteousness to Holy Flesh Disunity and the Perversion of the 1888 Message," 33, SDA Archives 110L A Hoopes to A F Ballenger, 30 July 1900, SDA Archives

Gary Land

to report reception of the Holy Spirit,111 their number was far smaller than m pre­vious years Perhaps partly the church was expenencmg a natural downturn of the revival cycle but, more importantly, the General Conference officials had con­sciously decided that the time had come to shift direction Holmess had appealed to Seventh-day Adventists because it seemed to offer a way of reconciling the law and gospel and thereby brmg about the perfection that they believed was required of those waiting for the second commg of Christ It also seems to have addressed a spiritual need that the denomination's historic emphasis on doctrme and be­havior could not fulfill Although never a part of the Holmess network, m ad­dressing their own needs, Seventh-day Adventists had reinterpreted and reshaped Holmess understanding withm its framework of emphasis on the Sabbath and the premillennial return of Jesus Ironically, it was Adventism's own apocalyptic pre-millenniahsm that undermined the Holmess thrust as the "Holy Flesh" movement radicalized the movement's themes beyond acceptable bounds

But the spiritual needs and theological tension between law and gospel re­mained Some twenty years later another Holmess movement emerged, this time under the name "Victorious Life," which agam borrowed much of its theology and terminology from those outside Adventism 112 Both the experience of the 1890s and that of later years suggest that Adventism holds a more intimate relationship with the surrounding Christian environment than either exponents or detractors have recognized as it has struggled with the tensions of its own theological and ex­periential heritage

m F o r example, see B F Stureman, "Michigan," RH, 28 August 1900 553, S H Lane, "The Texas Camp-Meeting," RH, 4 September 1900 572, and H W Cottrell, "Atlantic Confer­ence," RH, 23 October 1900 685 112For a brief discussion of the "Victorious Life" movement within Adventism, see Gary Land, "Shaping the Modern Church, 1906-1930," m Adventism in America, 132-35

^ s

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