Joseph Bates (Adventist)

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Joseph Bates
Joseph Bates
Born	July 8, 1792(1792-07-08) Rochester, Massachusetts
Died	March 19, 1872 (aged 79) (age 79) Battle Creek, Michigan
Occupation	Sailor, Author, Teacher, Entrepreneur, Minister/Preacher, Statesman

Joseph Bates (July 8, 1792 - March 19, 1872) was an American seaman and revivalist minister. He was the founder and developer of Sabbatarian Adventism that developed into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Bates is also credited with convincing James White and Ellen G. White of the validity of the seventh-day Sabbath.

Joseph Bates was born in Rochester, Massachusetts on July 8, 1792. (He did not have a middle name.) His father, also named Joseph,^[1] was a volunteer in the Revolutionary War and his mother was the daughter of Barnabas Rye of Sandwich, MA. In 1793, Bates' family moved to the part of New Bedford, Massachusetts that would become Fairhaven in 1812. In June 1807, Bates sailed as cabin boy on the new ship commanded by Elias Terry, called the Fanny to London via New York City. This was the commencement of Bates sailing career.^[2]

In 1810 Bates was forced into servitude for the British navy and spent time as a prisoner during the War of 1812. After his release he continued his career eventually becoming captain of a ship. During one of his voyages he read a copy of the Bible that his wife packed for him. He experienced conversion and became involved in a variety of reforms including helping to found an early temperance society. Bates became disturbed by the way the sailors (regardless of their religion) were forced to go to Anglican services; later in life he became adamant that the separation of church and state should be upheld. He also was a strong supporter of abolition. In his everyday life as a sailor he noticed the intemperance of the sailors and the resulting side effects. Many of these problems came from poor rations but many more were the result of overindulgence by the men. He became one of the champions of health reform; abstaining from all alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine, even becoming a vegetarian. In 1839 he accepted the teachings of William Miller that Jesus was coming soon.

Home of Joseph Bates, photographed in 2005

After October 22, 1844, like many other Millerites, Bates sought meaning out of the Great Disappointment. During the spring of 1845 Bates accepted the seventh-day Sabbath after reading a pamphlet by T. M. Preble. Bates soon became known as the "apostle of the Sabbath" and wrote several booklets on the topic. One of the first, published in 1846, was entitled The Seventh Day Sabbath, a Perpetual Sign.^[3] One of Bates' most significant contribution was his ability to connect theologically the Sabbath with a unique understanding of the heavenly sanctuary. This apocalyptic understanding of theology would become known as the Great Controversy theme.

Joseph Bates was a strong supporter of James White and the prophetic gift, which he believed was manifested in visions received by the young Ellen G. White. He contributed to early publications such as A Word to the "Little Flock." Bates was active with the Whites in participating in a series of Bible Conferences held in 1848 to 1850 that have become known as the Sabbath and Sanctuary Conferences. During the 1850s Bates supported the development of more formal church organization that culminated in 1863 with the formation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Joseph Bates died on March 19, 1872 in Battle Creek, Michigan and is buried in Poplar Hill Cemetery in Monterey, Michigan.

[edit] Bibliography

The best primary resource is: Joseph Bates, Autobiography (Battle Creek: Battle Creek Steam Press, 1868) and republished and annotated in 2004 by Andrews University Press. Other helpful treatments include G. T. Anderson, Outrider of the Apocalypse: Life and Times of Joseph Bates (Review and Herald, 1972) and George R. Knight, Joseph Bates: The Real Founder of Seventh-day Adventism (Review and Herald, 2004).

Some of Bates' major publications include:

The Opening Heavens Or, A Connected View of the Testimony of the Prophets and Apostles (1846)
The Seventh Day Sabbath: A Perpetual Sign from the Beginning to the Entering Into the Gates (1846, revised edition 1847)
Second Advent Way Marks and High Heaps (1847)
A Word to the "Little Flock" (1847, with James and Ellen White)
A Vindication of the Seventh-Day Sabbath and the Commandments of God (1848)
A Seal of the Living God (1849)
An Explanation of the Typical and Anti-Typical Sanctuary (1850)
The Autobiography of Elder Joseph Bates (1868)