Adventist eschatology, which is based on a historicist interpretation of prophecy, is characterized principally by the premillennial second coming of Jesus Christ.

Traditionally, the church has taught that the second coming will be preceded by a global crisis with the Sabbath as a central issue.

It is believed that when Jesus returns, the righteous will be taken to heaven for one thousand years. After the millennium, the unsaved will be punished by annihilation while the saved will live on a recreated Earth for eternity.