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The work of God
in the earth presents, from age to age, a striking similarity in
every great reformation or religious movement. The principles of
God's dealing with men are ever the same. The important movements of
the present have their parallel in those of the past, and the
experience of the church in former ages has lessons of great value
for our own time.
No truth is more clearly taught in the
Bible than that God by His Holy Spirit especially directs His servants
on earth in the great movements for the carrying forward of the work of
salvation. Men are instruments in the hand of God, employed by Him to
accomplish His purposes of grace and mercy. Each has his part to act; to
each is granted a measure of light, adapted to the necessities of his
time, and sufficient to enable him to perform the work which God has
given him to do. But no man, however honored of Heaven, has ever
attained to a full understanding of the great plan of redemption, or
even to a perfect appreciation of the divine purpose in the work for his
own time. Men do not fully understand what God would accomplish by the
work which He gives them to do; they do not comprehend, in all its
bearings, the message which they utter in His name.
"Canst thou by searching find out God?
canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" "My thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the
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Lord. For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than
your thoughts." "I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end
from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet
done." Job 11:7; Isaiah 55:8, 9; 46:9, 10.
Even the prophets who were favored
with the special illumination of the Spirit did not fully comprehend the
import of the revelations committed to them. The meaning was to be
unfolded from age to age, as the people of God should need the
instruction therein contained.
Peter, writing of the salvation
brought to light through the gospel, says: Of this salvation "the
prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the
grace that should come unto you: searching
what,
or
what manner of time
the Spirit of Christ which was in them
did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and
the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto
themselves,
but unto
us
they did minister." 1 Peter 1:10-12.
Yet while it was not given to the
prophets to understand fully the things revealed to them, they earnestly
sought to obtain all the light which God had been pleased to make
manifest. They "inquired and searched diligently," "searching what, or
what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify."
What a lesson to the people of God in the Christian age, for whose
benefit these prophecies were given to His servants! "Unto whom it was
revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister."
Witness those holy men of God as they "inquired and searched diligently"
concerning revelations given them for generations that were yet unborn.
Contrast their holy zeal with the listless unconcern with which the
favored ones of later ages treat this gift of Heaven. What a rebuke to
the ease-loving, world-loving indifference which is content to declare
that the prophecies cannot be understood!
Though the finite minds of men are
inadequate to enter
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into the counsels of the Infinite One, or
to understand fully the working out of His purposes, yet often it is
because of some error or neglect on their own part that they so dimly
comprehend the messages of Heaven. Not infrequently the minds of the
people, and even of God's servants, are so blinded by human opinions,
the traditions and false teaching of men, that they are able only
partially to grasp the great things which He has revealed in His word.
Thus it was with the disciples of Christ, even when the Saviour was with
them in person. Their minds had become imbued with the popular
conception of the Messiah as a temporal prince, who was to exalt Israel
to the throne of the universal empire, and they could not understand the
meaning of His words foretelling His sufferings and death.
Christ Himself had sent them forth
with the message: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15. That message was
based on the prophecy of Daniel 9. The sixty-nine weeks were declared by
the angel to extend to "the Messiah the Prince," and with high hopes and
joyful anticipations the disciples looked forward to the establishment
of Messiah's kingdom at Jerusalem to rule over the whole earth.
They preached the message which Christ
had committed to them, though they themselves misapprehended its
meaning. While their announcement was founded on Daniel 9:25, they did
not see, in the next verse of the same chapter, that Messiah was to be
cut off. From their very birth their hearts had been set upon the
anticipated glory of an earthly empire, and this blinded their
understanding alike to the specifications of the prophecy and to the
words of Christ.
They performed their duty in
presenting to the Jewish nation the invitation of mercy, and then, at
the very time when they expected to see their Lord ascend the throne of
David, they beheld Him seized as a malefactor, scourged, derided, and
condemned, and lifted up on the cross of
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Calvary. What despair and anguish wrung
the hearts of those disciples during the days while their Lord was
sleeping in the tomb!
Christ had come at the exact time and
in the manner foretold by prophecy. The testimony of Scripture had been
fulfilled in every detail of His ministry. He had preached the message
of salvation, and "His word was with power." The hearts of His hearers
had witnessed that it was of Heaven. The word and the Spirit of God
attested the divine commission of His Son.
The disciples still clung with undying
affection to their beloved Master. And yet their minds were shrouded in
uncertainty and doubt. In their anguish they did not then recall the
words of Christ pointing forward to His suffering and death. If Jesus of
Nazareth had been the true Messiah, would they have been thus plunged in
grief and disappointment? This was the question that tortured their
souls while the Saviour lay in His sepulcher during the hopeless hours
of that Sabbath which intervened between His death and His resurrection.
Though the night of sorrow gathered
dark about these followers of Jesus, yet were they not forsaken. Saith
the prophet: "When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.
. . . He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His
righteousness." "Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night
shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee."
God hath spoken: "Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness."
"I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in
paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them,
and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not
forsake them." Micah 7:8, 9; Psalms 139:12; 112:4; Isaiah 42:16.
The announcement which had been made
by the disciples in the name of the Lord was in every particular
correct, and the events to which it pointed were even then taking place.
"The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand," had
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been their message. At the expiration of
"the time"--the sixty-nine weeks of Daniel 9, which were to extend to
the Messiah, "the Anointed One"--Christ had received the anointing of
the Spirit after His baptism by John in Jordan. And the "kingdom of God"
which they had declared to be at hand was established by the death of
Christ. This kingdom was not, as they had been taught to believe, an
earthly empire. Nor was it that future, immortal kingdom which shall be
set up when "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of
the Most High;" that everlasting kingdom, in which "all dominions shall
serve and obey Him." Daniel 7:27. As used in the Bible, the expression
"kingdom of God" is employed to designate both the kingdom of grace and
the kingdom of glory. The kingdom of grace is brought to view by Paul in
the Epistle to the Hebrews. After pointing to Christ, the compassionate
intercessor who is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities," the
apostle says: "Let us therefore come boldly unto
the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find
grace." Hebrews 4:15, 16. The throne of grace represents the kingdom of
grace; for the existence of a throne implies the existence of a kingdom.
In many of His parables Christ uses the expression "the kingdom of
heaven" to designate the work of divine grace upon the hearts of men.
So the throne of glory represents the
kingdom of glory; and this kingdom is referred to in the Saviour's
words: "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy
angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and
before Him shall be gathered all nations." Matthew 25:31, 32. This
kingdom is yet future. It is not to be set up until the second advent of
Christ.
The kingdom of grace was instituted
immediately after the fall of man, when a plan was devised for the
redemption of the guilty race. It then existed in the purpose and by the
promise of God; and through faith, men could become its subjects. Yet it
was not actually established until the death of
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Christ. Even after entering upon His
earthly mission, the Saviour, wearied with the stubbornness and
ingratitude of men, might have drawn back from the sacrifice of Calvary.
In Gethsemane the cup of woe trembled in His hand. He might even then
have wiped the blood-sweat from His brow and have left the guilty race
to perish in their iniquity. Had He done this, there could have been no
redemption for fallen men. But when the Saviour yielded up His life, and
with His expiring breath cried out, "It is finished," then the
fulfillment of the plan of redemption was assured. The promise of
salvation made to the sinful pair in Eden was ratified. The kingdom of
grace, which had before existed by the promise of God, was then
established.
Thus the death of Christ--the very
event which the disciples had looked upon as the final destruction of
their hope --was that which made it forever sure. While it had brought
them a cruel disappointment, it was the climax of proof that their
belief had been correct. The event that had filled them with mourning
and despair was that which opened the door of hope to every child of
Adam, and in which centered the future life and eternal happiness of all
God's faithful ones in all the ages.
Purposes of infinite mercy were
reaching their fulfillment, even though the disappointment of the
disciples. While their hearts had been won by the divine grace and power
of His teaching, who "spake as never man spake," yet intermingled with
the pure gold of their love for Jesus, was the base alloy of worldly
pride and selfish ambitions. Even in the Passover chamber, at that
solemn hour when their Master was already entering the shadow of
Gethsemane, there was "a strife among them, which of them should be
accounted the greatest." Luke 22:24. Their vision was filled with the
throne, the crown, and the glory, while just before them lay the shame
and agony of the garden, the judgment hall, the cross of Calvary. It was
their pride of heart, their thirst for worldly
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glory, that had led them to cling so
tenaciously to the false teaching of their time, and to pass unheeded
the Saviour's words showing the true nature of His kingdom, and pointing
forward to His agony and death. And these error resulted in the
trial--sharp but needful--which was permitted for their correction.
Though the disciples had mistaken the meaning of their message, and had
failed to realize their expectations, yet they had preached the warning
given them of God, and the Lord would reward their faith and honor their
obedience. To them was to be entrusted the work of heralding to all
nations the glorious gospel of their risen Lord. It was to prepare them
for this work that the experience which seemed to them so bitter had
been permitted.
After His resurrection Jesus appeared
to His disciples on the way to Emmaus, and, "beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things
concerning Himself." Luke 24:27. The hearts of the disciples were
stirred. Faith was kindled. They were "begotten again into a lively
hope" even before Jesus revealed Himself to them. It was His purpose to
enlighten their understanding and to fasten their faith upon the "sure
word of prophecy." He wished the truth to take firm root in their minds,
not merely because it was supported by His personal testimony, but
because of the unquestionable evidence presented by the symbols and
shadows of the typical law, and by the prophecies of the Old Testament.
It was needful for the followers of Christ to have an intelligent faith,
not only in their own behalf, but that they might carry the knowledge of
Christ to the world. And as the very first step in imparting this
knowledge, Jesus directed the disciples to "Moses and all the prophets."
Such was the testimony given by the risen Saviour to the value and
importance of the Old Testament Scriptures.
What a change was wrought in the
hearts of the disciples as they looked once more on the loved
countenance of their
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Master! Luke 24:32. In a more complete
and perfect sense than ever before they had "found Him, of whom Moses in
the law, and the prophets, did write." The uncertainty, the anguish, the
despair, gave place to perfect assurance, to unclouded faith. What
marvel that after His ascension they "were continually in the temple,
praising and blessing God." The people, knowing only of the Saviour's
ignominious death, looked to see in their faces the expression of
sorrow, confusion, and defeat; but they saw there gladness and triumph.
What a preparation these disciples had received for the work before
them! They had passed through the deepest trial which it was possible
for them to experience, and had seen how, when to human vision all was
lost, the word of God had been triumphantly accomplished. Henceforward
what could daunt their faith or chill the ardor of their love? In the
keenest sorrow they had "strong consolation," a hope which was as "an
anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast." Hebrews 6:18, 19. They had
been witness to the wisdom and power of God, and they were "persuaded,
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature," would be able to separate them from "the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." "In all these things," they
said, "we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." Romans
8:38, 39, 37. "The word of the Lord endureth forever." 1 Peter 1:25. And
"who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is
risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:34.
Saith the Lord: "My people shall never
be ashamed." Joel 2:26. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh
in the morning." Psalm 30:5. When on His resurrection day these
disciples met the Saviour, and their hearts burned within them as they
listened to His words; when they looked upon the head and hands and feet
that had been bruised for them; when, before His ascension, Jesus led
them out as
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far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands
in blessing, bade them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel," adding, "Lo, I am with you alway" (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:20);
when on the Day of Pentecost the promised Comforter descended and the
power from on high was given and the souls of the believers thrilled
with the conscious presence of their ascended Lord--then, even though,
like His, their pathway led through sacrifice and martyrdom, would they
have exchanged the ministry of the gospel of His grace, with the "crown
of righteousness" to be received at His coming, for the glory of an
earthly throne, which had been the hope of their earlier discipleship?
He who is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think," had granted them, with the fellowship of His sufferings, the
communion of His joy--the joy of "bringing many sons unto glory," joy
unspeakable, an "eternal weight of glory," to which, says Paul, "our
light affliction, which is but for a moment," is "not worthy to be
compared."
The experience of the disciples who
preached the "gospel of the kingdom" at the first advent of Christ, had
its counterpart in the experience of those who proclaimed the message of
His second advent. As the disciples went out preaching, "The time is
fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand," so Miller and his associates
proclaimed that the longest and last prophetic period brought to view in
the Bible was about to expire, that the judgment was at hand, and the
everlasting kingdom was to be ushered in. The preaching of the disciples
in regard to time was based on the seventy weeks of Daniel 9. The
message given by Miller and his associates announced the termination of
the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, of which the seventy weeks form a part.
The preaching of each was based upon the fulfillment of a different
portion of the same great prophetic period.
Like the first disciples, William
Miller and his associates did not, themselves, fully comprehend the
import of the message which they bore. Errors that had been long
established
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in the church prevented them from
arriving at a correct interpretation of an important point in the
prophecy. Therefore, though they proclaimed the message which God had
committed to them to be given to the world, yet through a
misapprehension of its meaning they suffered disappointment.
In explaining Daniel 8:14, "Unto two
thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,"
Miller, as has been stated, adopted the generally received view that the
earth is the sanctuary, and he believed that the cleansing of the
sanctuary represented the purification of the earth by fire at the
coming of the Lord. When, therefore, he found that the close of the 2300
days was definitely foretold, he concluded that this revealed the time
of the second advent. His error resulted from accepting the popular view
as to what constitutes the sanctuary.
In the typical system, which was a
shadow of the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the
sanctuary was the last service performed by the high priest in the
yearly round of ministration. It was the closing work of the atonement
--a removal or putting away of sin from Israel. It prefigured the
closing work in the ministration of our High Priest in heaven, in the
removal or blotting out of the sins of His people, which are registered
in the heavenly records. This service involves a work of investigation,
a work of judgment; and it immediately precedes the coming of Christ in
the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; for when He comes,
every case has been decided. Says Jesus: "My reward is with Me, to give
every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12. It is this
work of judgment, immediately preceding the second advent, that is
announced in the first angel's message of Revelation 14:7: "Fear God,
and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come."
Those who proclaimed this warning gave
the right message at the right time. But as the early disciples
declared, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand,"
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based on the prophecy of Daniel 9, while
they failed to perceive that the death of the Messiah was foretold in
the same scripture, so Miller and his associates preached the message
based on Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 14:7, and failed to see that there
were still other messages brought to view in Revelation 14, which were
also to be given before the advent of the Lord. As the disciples were
mistaken in regard to the kingdom to be set up at the end of the seventy
weeks, so Adventists were mistaken in regard to the event to take place
at the expiration of the 2300 days. In both cases there was an
acceptance of, or rather an adherence to, popular errors that blinded
the mind to the truth. Both classes fulfilled the will of God in
delivering the message which He desired to be given, and both, through
their own misapprehension of their message, suffered disappointment.
Yet God accomplished His own
beneficent purpose in permitting the warning of the judgment to be given
just as it was. The great day was at hand, and in His providence the
people were brought to the test of a definite time, in order to reveal
to them what was in their hearts. The message was designed for the
testing and purification of the church. They were to be led to see
whether their affections were set upon this world or upon Christ and
heaven. They professed to love the Saviour; now they were to prove their
love. Were they ready to renounce their worldly hopes and ambitions, and
welcome with joy the advent of their Lord? The message was designed to
enable them to discern their true spiritual state; it was sent in mercy
to arouse them to seek the Lord with repentance and humiliation.
The disappointment also, though the
result of their own misapprehension of the message which they gave, was
to be overruled for good. It would test the hearts of those who had
professed to receive the warning. In the face of their disappointment
would they rashly give up their experience and cast away their
confidence in God's word? or would they, in
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prayer and humility, seek to discern
where they had failed to comprehend the significance of the prophecy?
How many had moved from fear, or from impulse and excitement? How many
were halfhearted and unbelieving? Multitudes professed to love the
appearing of the Lord. When called to endure the scoffs and reproach of
the world, and the test of delay and disappointment, would they renounce
the faith? Because they did not immediately understand the dealings of
God with them, would they cast aside truths sustained by the clearest
testimony of His word?
This test would reveal the strength of
those who with real faith had obeyed what they believed to be the
teaching of the word and the Spirit of God. It would teach them, as only
such an experience could, the danger of accepting the theories and
interpretations of men, instead of making the Bible its own interpreter.
To the children of faith the perplexity and sorrow resulting from their
error would work the needed correction. They would be led to a closer
study of the prophetic word. They would be taught to examine more
carefully the foundation of their faith, and to reject everything,
however widely accepted by the Christian world, that was not founded
upon the Scriptures of truth.
With these believers, as with the
first disciples, that which in the hour of trial seemed dark to their
understanding would afterward be made plain. When they should see the
"end of the Lord" they would know that, notwithstanding the trial
resulting from their errors, His purposes of love toward them had been
steadily fulfilling. They would learn by a blessed experience that He is
"very pitiful, and of tender mercy;" that all His paths "are mercy and
truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies."
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