Chapter Twenty
A Great Religious Awakening
A Great religious awakening under the proclamation
of Christ’s soon coming is foretold in the prophecy of
the first angel’s message of
Revelation 14. An angel is seen
flying “in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel
to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every
nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” “With a loud
voice” he proclaims the message: “Fear God, and give glory
to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship
Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters.”
Verses 6, 7.
The fact that an angel is said to be the herald of this warning
is significant. By the purity, the glory, and the power of
the heavenly messenger, divine wisdom has been pleased to
represent the exalted character of the work to be accomplished
by the message and the power and glory that were to
attend it. And the angel’s flight “in the midst of heaven,” the
“loud voice” with which the warning is uttered, and its
promulgation to all “that dwell on the earth,” —“to every
nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,” —give evidence
of the rapidity and world-wide extent of the movement.
The message itself sheds light as to the time when this
movement is to take place. It is declared to be a part of the
“everlasting gospel;” and it announces the opening of the
judgment. The message of salvation has been preached in
all ages; but this message is a part of the gospel which could
be proclaimed only in the last days, for only then would it be
true that the hour of judgment had come. The prophecies
present a succession of events leading down to the opening of
the judgment. This is especially true of the book of Daniel.
But that part of his prophecy which related to the last days,
Daniel was bidden to close up and seal “to the time of the
end.” Not till we reach this time could a message concerning
the judgment be proclaimed, based on the fulfillment of these
prophecies. But at the time of the end, says the prophet,
“many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased.”
Daniel 12:4.
The apostle Paul warned the church not to look for the
coming of Christ in his day. “That day shall not come,” he
says, “except there come a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed.”
2 Thessalonians 2:3. Not till after the great
apostasy, and the long period of the reign of the “man of
sin,” can we look for the advent of our Lord. The “man
of sin,” which is also styled “the mystery of iniquity,” “the
son of perdition,” and “that wicked,” represents the papacy,
which, as foretold in prophecy, was to maintain its supremacy
for 1260 years. This period ended in 1798. The coming of
Christ could not take place before that time. Paul covers with
his caution the whole of the Christian dispensation down to
the year 1798. It is this side of that time that the message
of Christ’s second coming is to be proclaimed.
No such message has ever been given in past ages. Paul,
as we have seen, did not preach it; he pointed his brethren
into the then far-distant future for the coming of the Lord.
The Reformers did not proclaim it. Martin Luther placed
the judgment about three hundred years in the future from
his day. But since 1798 the book of Daniel has been unsealed,
knowledge of the prophecies has increased, and many
have proclaimed the solemn message of the judgment near.
Like the great Reformation of the sixteenth century, the
advent movement appeared in different countries of Christendom
at the same time. In both Europe and America men of
faith and prayer were led to the study of the prophecies, and,
tracing down the inspired record, they saw convincing
evidence that the end of all things was at hand. In different
lands there were isolated bodies of Christians who, solely by
the study of the Scriptures, arrived at the belief that the
Saviour’s advent was near.
In 1821, three years after Miller had arrived at his exposition
of the prophecies pointing to the time of the judgment,
Dr. Joseph Wolff, “the missionary to the world,” began to
proclaim the Lord’s soon coming. Wolff was born in Germany,
of Hebrew parentage, his father being a Jewish rabbi.
While very young he was convinced of the truth of the
Christian religion. Of an active, inquiring mind, he had been
an eager listener to the conversations that took place in his
father’s house as devout Hebrews daily assembled to recount
the hopes and anticipations of their people, the glory of the
coming Messiah, and the restoration of Israel. One day hearing
Jesus of Nazareth mentioned, the boy inquired who He
was. “A Jew of the greatest talent,” was the answer; “but as
He pretended to be the Messiah, the Jewish tribunal
sentenced Him to death.” “Why,” rejoined the questioner, “is
Jerusalem destroyed, and why are we in captivity?” “Alas,
alas!” answered his father, “because the Jews murdered the
prophets.” The thought was at once suggested to the child:
“Perhaps Jesus was also a prophet, and the Jews killed Him
when He was innocent.” —Travels and Adventures of the
Rev. Joseph Wolff, vol. 1, p. 6. So strong was this feeling
that, though forbidden to enter a Christian church, he would
often linger outside to listen to the preaching.
When only seven years old he was boasting to an aged
Christian neighbor of the future triumph of Israel at the
advent of the Messiah, when the old man said kindly: “Dear
boy, I will tell you who the real Messiah was: He was Jesus
of Nazareth, . . . whom your ancestors have crucified, as
they did the prophets of old. Go home and read the
fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, and you will be convinced that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God.” —Ibid., vol. 1, p. 7. Conviction at
once fastened upon him. He went home and read the scripture,
wondering to see how perfectly it had been fulfilled in
Jesus of Nazareth. Were the words of the Christian true?
The boy asked of his father an explanation of the prophecy,
but was met with a silence so stern that he never again dared
to refer to the subject. This, however, only increased his
desire to know more of the Christian religion.
The knowledge he sought was studiously kept from him
in his Jewish home; but, when only eleven years old, he left
his father’s house and went out into the world to gain for
himself an education, to choose his religion and his lifework.
He found a home for a time with kinsmen, but was soon
driven from them as an apostate, and alone and penniless he
had to make his own way among strangers. He went from
place to place, studying diligently and maintaining himself
by teaching Hebrew. Through the influence of a Catholic
instructor he was led to accept the Romish faith and formed
the purpose of becoming a missionary to his own people.
With this object he went, a few years later, to pursue his
studies in the College of the Propaganda at Rome. Here his
habit of independent thought and candid speech brought
upon him the imputation of heresy. He openly attacked the
abuses of the church and urged the necessity of reform.
Though at first treated with special favor by the papal dignitaries,
he was after a time removed from Rome. Under the
surveillance of the church he went from place to place, until
it became evident that he could never be brought to submit to
the bondage of Romanism. He was declared to be incorrigible
and was left at liberty to go where he pleased. He now made
his way to England and, professing the Protestant faith,
united with the English Church. After two years’ study he
set out, in 1821, upon his mission.
While Wolff accepted the great truth of Christ’s first
advent as “a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief,” he
saw that the prophecies bring to view with equal clearness
His second advent with power and glory. And while he
sought to lead his people to Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised
One, and to point them to His first coming in humiliation
as a sacrifice for the sins of men, he taught them also of
His second coming as a king and deliverer.
“Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah,” he said, “whose
hands and feet were pierced, who was brought like a lamb to
the slaughter, who was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted
with grief, who after the scepter was taken from Judah, and
the legislative power from between his feet, came the first
time; shall come the second time in the clouds of heaven, and
with the trump of the Archangel” (Joseph Wolff, Researches
and Missionary Labors, page 62) “and shall stand upon the
Mount of Olives; and that dominion, once consigned to
Adam over the creation, and forfeited by him (Genesis 1:26;
3:17), shall be given to Jesus. He shall be king over all the
earth. The groanings and lamentations of the creation shall
cease, but songs of praises and thanksgivings shall be heard.
... When Jesus comes in the glory of His Father, with the
holy angels,... the dead believers shall rise first.
1 Thessalonians
4:16;
1 Corinthians 15:32. This is what we Christians
call the first resurrection. Then the animal kingdom shall
change its nature (Isaiah 11:6-9), and be subdued unto Jesus.
Psalm 8. Universal peace shall prevail.” —Journal of the Rev.
Joseph Wolff, pages 378, 379. “The Lord again shall look
down upon the earth, and say, ‘Behold, it is very good.’”
—Ibid., page 294.
Wolff believed the coming of the Lord to be at hand, his
interpretation of the prophetic periods placing the great
consummation within a very few years of the time pointed out
by Miller. To those who urged from the scripture, “Of that
day and hour knoweth no man,” that men are to know
nothing concerning the nearness of the advent, Wolff
replied: “Did our Lord say that that day and hour should never
be known? Did He not give us signs of the times, in order
that we may know at least the approach of His coming, as
one knows the approach of the summer by the fig tree putting
forth its leaves?
Matthew 24:32. Are we never to know
that period, whilst He Himself exhorteth us not only to read
Daniel the prophet, but to understand it? and in that very
Daniel, where it is said that the words were shut up to the
time of the end (which was the case in his time), and that
‘many shall run to and fro’ (a Hebrew expression for observing
and thinking upon the time), ‘and knowledge’ (regarding
that time) ‘shall be increased.’
Daniel 12:4. Besides this,
our Lord does not intend to say by this, that the approach
of the time shall not be known, but that the exact ‘day and
hour knoweth no man.’ Enough, He does say, shall be
known by the signs of the times, to induce us to prepare for
His coming, as Noah prepared the ark.” —Wolff, Researches
and Missionary Labors, pages 404, 405.
Concerning the popular system of interpreting, or
misinterpreting, the Scriptures, Wolff wrote: “The greater part
of the Christian church have swerved from the plain sense of
Scripture, and have turned to the phantomizing system of the
Buddhists, who believe that the future happiness of mankind
will consist in moving about in the air, and suppose that
when they are reading Jews they must understand Gentiles;
and when they read Jerusalem, they must understand the
church; and if it is said earth, it means sky; and for
coming of the Lord they must understand the progress of
the missionary societies; and going up to the mountain of the
Lord’s house, signifies a grand class meeting of Methodists.”
—Journal of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, page 96.
During the twenty-four years from 1821 to 1845, Wolff
traveled extensively: in Africa, visiting Egypt and Abyssinia;
in Asia, traversing Palestine, Syria, Persia, Bokhara, and
India. He also visited the United States, on the journey thither
preaching on the island of Saint Helena. He arrived in New
York in August, 1837; and, after speaking in that city, he
preached in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and finally
proceeded to Washington. Here, he says, “on a motion brought
forward by the ex-President, John Quincy Adams, in one of
the houses of Congress, the House unanimously granted to
me the use of the Congress Hall for a lecture, which I
delivered on a Saturday, honored with the presence of all the
members of Congress, and also of the bishop of Virginia, and
of the clergy and citizens of Washington. The same honor
was granted to me by the members of the government of
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in whose presence I delivered
lectures on my researches in Asia, and also on the personal
reign of Jesus Christ.” —Ibid., pages 398, 399.
Dr. Wolff traveled in the most barbarous countries without
the protection of any European authority, enduring
many hardships and surrounded with countless perils. He
was bastinadoed and starved, sold as a slave, and three times
condemned to death. He was beset by robbers, and sometimes
nearly perished from thirst. Once he was stripped of
all that he possessed and left to travel hundreds of miles on
foot through the mountains, the snow beating in his face and
his naked feet benumbed by contact with the frozen ground.
When warned against going unarmed among savage and
hostile tribes, he declared himself “provided with arms”
—“prayer, zeal for Christ, and confidence in His help.” “I am
also,” he said, “provided with the love of God and my neighbor
in my heart, and the Bible is in my hand.” —W.H.D.
Adams, In Perils Oft, page 192. The Bible in Hebrew and
English he carried with him wherever he went. Of one of
his later journeys he says: “I . . . kept the Bible open in my
hand. I felt my power was in the Book, and that its might
would sustain me.” —Ibid., page 201.
Thus he persevered in his labors until the message of the
judgment had been carried to a large part of the habitable
globe. Among Jews, Turks, Parsees, Hindus, and many other
nationalities and races he distributed the word of God in
these various tongues and everywhere heralded the approaching
reign of the Messiah.
In his travels in Bokhara he found the doctrine of the
Lord’s soon coming held by a remote and isolated people.
The Arabs of Yemen, he says, “are in possession of a book
called Seera, which gives notice of the second coming of
Christ and His reign in glory; and they expect great events
to take place in the year 1840.” —Journal of the Rev. Joseph
Wolff, page 377. “In Yemen . . . I spent six days with the
children of Rechab. They drink no wine, plant no vineyard,
sow no seed, and live in tents, and remember good old
Jonadab, the son of Rechab; and I found in their company
children of Israel, of the tribe of Dan, . . . who expect, with
the children of Rechab, the speedy arrival of the Messiah in
the clouds of heaven.” —Ibid., page 389.
A similar belief was found by another missionary to exist
in Tatary. A Tatar priest put the question to the missionary
as to when Christ would come the second time. When
the missionary answered that he knew nothing about it,
the priest seemed greatly surprised at such ignorance in
one who professed to be a Bible teacher, and stated his own
belief, founded on prophecy, that Christ would come about
1844.
As early as 1826 the advent message began to be preached
in England. The movement here did not take so definite a
form as in America; the exact time of the advent was not so
generally taught, but the great truth of Christ’s soon coming
in power and glory was extensively proclaimed. And this
not among the dissenters and nonconformists only. Mourant
Brock, an English writer, states that about seven hundred
ministers of the Church of England were engaged in preaching
“this gospel of the kingdom.” The message pointing to
1844 as the time of the Lord’s coming was also given in Great
Britain. Advent publications from the United States were
widely circulated. Books and journals were republished in
England. And in 1842 Robert Winter, an Englishman by
birth, who had received the advent faith in America,
returned to his native country to herald the coming of the
Lord. Many united with him in the work, and the message
of the judgment was proclaimed in various parts of England.
In South America, in the midst of barbarism and priest-craft,
Lacunza, a Spaniard and a Jesuit, found his way to the
Scriptures and thus received the truth of Christ’s speedy
return. Impelled to give the warning, yet desiring to escape the
censures of Rome, he published his views under the assumed
name of “Rabbi Ben-Ezra,” representing himself as a converted
Jew. Lacunza lived in the eighteenth century, but
it was about 1825 that his book, having found its way to
London, was translated into the English language. Its publication
served to deepen the interest already awakening in
England in the subject of the second advent.
In Germany the doctrine had been taught in the eighteenth
century by Bengel, a minister in the Lutheran Church and a
celebrated Biblical scholar and critic. Upon completing his
education, Bengel had “devoted himself to the study of theology,
to which the grave and religious tone of his mind, deepened
by his early training and discipline, naturally inclined
him. Like other young men of thoughtful character, before
and since, he had to struggle with doubts and difficulties of
a religious nature, and he alludes, with much feeling, to the
‘many arrows which pierced his poor heart, and made his
youth hard to bear.’” Becoming a member of the consistory
of Wurttemberg, he advocated the cause of religious liberty.
“While maintaining the rights and privileges of the church,
he was an advocate for all reasonable freedom being accorded
to those who felt themselves bound, on grounds of
conscience, to withdraw from her communion.” —Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 9th ed., art. “Bengel.” The good effects of this
policy are still felt in his native province.
It was while preparing a sermon from Revelation 21 for
advent Sunday that the light of Christ’s second coming broke
in upon Bengel’s mind. The prophecies of the Revelation
unfolded to his understanding as never before. Overwhelmed
with a sense of the stupendous importance and surpassing
glory of the scenes presented by the prophet, he was forced to
turn for a time from the contemplation of the subject. In the
pulpit it again presented itself to him with all its vividness
and power. From that time he devoted himself to the study
of the prophecies, especially those of the Apocalypse, and
soon arrived at the belief that they pointed to the coming of
Christ as near. The date which he fixed upon as the time of
the second advent was within a very few years of that afterward
held by Miller.
Bengel’s writings have been spread throughout Christendom.
His views of prophecy were quite generally received
in his own state of Wurttemberg, and to some extent in other
parts of Germany. The movement continued after his death,
and the advent message was heard in Germany at the same
time that it was attracting attention in other lands. At an
early date some of the believers went to Russia and there
formed colonies, and the faith of Christ’s soon coming is
still held by the German churches of that country.
The light shone also in France and Switzerland. At
Geneva where Farel and Calvin had spread the truth of the
Reformation, Gaussen preached the message of the second
advent. While a student at school, Gaussen had encountered
that spirit of rationalism which pervaded all Europe during
the latter part of the eighteenth and the opening of the
nineteenth century; and when he entered the ministry he was
not only ignorant of true faith, but inclined to skepticism. In
his youth he had become interested in the study of prophecy.
After reading Rollin’s Ancient History, his attention was
called to the second chapter of Daniel, and he was struck
with the wonderful exactness with which the prophecy had
been fulfilled, as seen in the historian’s record. Here was a
testimony to the inspiration of the Scriptures, which served
as an anchor to him amid the perils of later years. He could
not rest satisfied with the teachings of rationalism, and in
studying the Bible and searching for clearer light he was,
after a time, led to a positive faith.
As he pursued his investigation of the prophecies he
arrived at the belief that the coming of the Lord was at hand.
Impressed with the solemnity and importance of this great
truth, he desired to bring it before the people; but the popular
belief that the prophecies of Daniel are mysteries and cannot
be understood was a serious obstacle in his way. He finally
determined—as Farel had done before him in evangelizing
Geneva—to begin with the children, through whom he
hoped to interest the parents.
“I desire this to be understood,” he afterward said, speaking
of his object in this undertaking, “it is not because of its
small importance, but on the contrary because of its great
value, that I wished to present it in this familiar form, and
that I addressed it to the children. I desired to be heard, and
I feared that I would not be if I addressed myself to the grown
people first.” “I determined therefore to go to the youngest.
I gather an audience of children; if the group enlarges, if it is
seen that they listen, are pleased, interested, that they understand
and explain the subject, I am sure to have a second circle
soon, and in their turn, grown people will see that it is worth
their while to sit down and study. When this is done, the
cause is gained.” —L. Gaussen, Daniel the Prophet, vol. 2,
Preface.
The effort was successful. As he addressed the children,
older persons came to listen. The galleries of his church were
filled with attentive hearers. Among them were men of rank
and learning, and strangers and foreigners visiting Geneva;
and thus the message was carried to other parts.
Encouraged by this success, Gaussen published his lessons,
with the hope of promoting the study of the prophetic books
in the churches of the French-speaking people. “To publish
instruction given to the children,” says Gaussen, “is to say to
adults, who too often neglect such books under the false
pretense that they are obscure, ‘How can they be obscure, since
your children understand them?’” “I had a great desire,” he
adds, “to render a knowledge of the prophecies popular in
our flocks, if possible.” “There is no study, indeed, which it
seems to me answers the needs of the time better.” “It is by
this that we are to prepare for the tribulation near at hand,
and watch and wait for Jesus Christ.”
Though one of the most distinguished and beloved of
preachers in the French language, Gaussen was after a time
suspended from the ministry, his principal offense being that
instead of the church’s catechism, a tame and rationalistic
manual, almost destitute of positive faith, he had used the
Bible in giving instruction to the youth. He afterward
became teacher in a theological school, while on Sunday he
continued his work as catechist, addressing the children and
instructing them in the Scriptures. His works on prophecy
also excited much interest. From the professor’s chair,
through the press, and in his favorite occupation as teacher
of children he continued for many years to exert an extensive
influence and was instrumental in calling the attention of
many to the study of the prophecies which showed that the
coming of the Lord was near.
In Scandinavia also the advent message was proclaimed,
and a widespread interest was kindled. Many were roused
from their careless security to confess and forsake their sins,
and seek pardon in the name of Christ. But the clergy of the
state church opposed the movement, and through their
influence some who preached the message were thrown into
prison. In many places where the preachers of the Lord’s soon
coming were thus silenced, God was pleased to send the
message, in a miraculous manner, through little children. As
they were under age, the law of the state could not restrain
them, and they were permitted to speak unmolested.
The movement was chiefly among the lower class, and it
was in the humble dwellings of the laborers that the people
assembled to hear the warning. The child-preachers themselves
were mostly poor cottagers. Some of them were not
more than six or eight years of age; and while their lives
testified that they loved the Saviour, and were trying to live
in obedience to God’s holy requirements, they ordinarily
manifested only the intelligence and ability usually seen in
children of that age. When standing before the people,
however, it was evident that they were moved by an influence
beyond their own natural gifts. Tone and manner changed,
and with solemn power they gave the warning of the
judgment, employing the very words of Scripture: “Fear God,
and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is
come.” They reproved the sins of the people, not only
condemning immorality and vice, but rebuking worldliness
and backsliding, and warning their hearers to make haste
to flee from the wrath to come.
The people heard with trembling. The convicting Spirit
of God spoke to their hearts. Many were led to search the
Scriptures with new and deeper interest, the intemperate
and immoral were reformed, others abandoned their
dishonest practices, and a work was done so marked that even
ministers of the state church were forced to acknowledge
that the hand of God was in the movement.
It was God’s will that the tidings of the Saviour’s coming
should be given in the Scandinavian countries; and when the
voices of His servants were silenced, He put His Spirit upon
the children, that the work might be accomplished. When
Jesus drew near to Jerusalem attended by the rejoicing multitudes
that, with shouts of triumph and the waving of palm
branches, heralded Him as the Son of David, the jealous
Pharisees called upon Him to silence them; but Jesus
answered that all this was in fulfillment of prophecy, and if
these should hold their peace, the very stones would cry out.
The people, intimidated by the threats of the priests and
rulers, ceased their joyful proclamation as they entered the
gates of Jerusalem; but the children in the temple courts
afterward took up the refrain, and, waving their branches of
palm, they cried: “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
Matthew
21:8-16. When the Pharisees, sorely displeased, said unto
Him, “Hearest Thou what these say?” Jesus answered, “Yea;
have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
Thou hast perfected praise?” As God wrought through children
at the time of Christ’s first advent, so He wrought
through them in giving the message of His second advent.
God’s word must be fulfilled, that the proclamation of the
Saviour’s coming should be given to all peoples, tongues, and
nations.
To William Miller and his colaborers it was given to
preach the warning in America. This country became the
center of the great advent movement. It was here that the
prophecy of the first angel’s message had its most direct
fulfillment. The writings of Miller and his associates were
carried to distant lands. Wherever missionaries had
penetrated in all the world, were sent the glad tidings of Christ’s
speedy return. Far and wide spread the message of the
everlasting gospel: “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the
hour of His judgment is come.”
The testimony of the prophecies which seemed to point
to the coming of Christ in the spring of 1844 took deep hold
of the minds of the people. As the message went from state
to state, there was everywhere awakened widespread interest.
Many were convinced that the arguments from the prophetic
periods were correct, and, sacrificing their pride of opinion,
they joyfully received the truth. Some ministers laid aside
their sectarian views and feelings, left their salaries and their
churches, and united in proclaiming the coming of Jesus.
There were comparatively few ministers, however, who
would accept this message; therefore it was largely
committed to humble laymen. Farmers left their fields, mechanics
their tools, traders their merchandise, professional men
their positions; and yet the number of workers was small in
comparison with the work to be accomplished. The
condition of an ungodly church and a world lying in wickedness,
burdened the souls of the true watchmen, and they
willingly endured toil, privation, and suffering, that they
might call men to repentance unto salvation. Though
opposed by Satan, the work went steadily forward, and the
advent truth was accepted by many thousands.
Everywhere the searching testimony was heard, warning
sinners, both worldlings and church members, to flee from
the wrath to come. Like John the Baptist, the forerunner of
Christ, the preachers laid the ax at the root of the tree and
urged all to bring forth fruit meet for repentance. Their
stirring appeals were in marked contrast to the assurances of
peace and safety that were heard from popular pulpits; and
wherever the message was given, it moved the people. The
simple, direct testimony of the Scriptures, set home by the
power of the Holy Spirit, brought a weight of conviction
which few were able wholly to resist. Professors of
religion were roused from their false security. They saw their
backslidings, their worldliness and unbelief, their pride and
selfishness. Many sought the Lord with repentance and
humiliation. The affections that had so long clung to earthly
things they now fixed upon heaven. The Spirit of God
rested upon them, and with hearts softened and subdued
they joined to sound the cry: “Fear God, and give glory to
Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.”
Sinners inquired with weeping: “What must I do to be
saved?” Those whose lives had been marked with dishonesty
were anxious to make restitution. All who found peace in
Christ longed to see others share the blessing. The hearts
of parents were turned to their children, and the hearts of
children to their parents. The barriers of pride and reserve
were swept away. Heartfelt confessions were made, and the
members of the household labored for the salvation of those
who were nearest and dearest. Often was heard the sound of
earnest intercession. Everywhere were souls in deep anguish
pleading with God. Many wrestled all night in prayer for
the assurance that their own sins were pardoned, or for the
conversion of their relatives or neighbors.
All classes flocked to the Adventist meetings. Rich and
poor, high and low, were, from various causes, anxious to
hear for themselves the doctrine of the second advent. The
Lord held the spirit of opposition in check while His servants
explained the reasons of their faith. Sometimes the instrument
was feeble; but the Spirit of God gave power to His
truth. The presence of holy angels was felt in these
assemblies, and many were daily added to the believers. As the
evidences of Christ’s soon coming were repeated, vast crowds
listened in breathless silence to the solemn words. Heaven
and earth seemed to approach each other. The power of God
was felt upon old and young and middle-aged. Men sought
their homes with praises upon their lips, and the glad sound
rang out upon the still night air. None who attended those
meetings can ever forget those scenes of deepest interest.
The proclamation of a definite time for Christ’s coming
called forth great opposition from many of all classes, from
the minister in the pulpit down to the most reckless, Heaven-daring
sinner. The words of prophecy were fulfilled: “There
shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own
lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for
since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were
from the beginning of the creation.”
2 Peter 3:3, 4. Many
who professed to love the Saviour, declared that they had no
opposition to the doctrine of the second advent; they merely
objected to the definite time. But God’s all-seeing eye read
their hearts. They did not wish to hear of Christ’s coming
to judge the world in righteousness. They had been unfaithful
servants, their works would not bear the inspection of the
heart-searching God, and they feared to meet their Lord.
Like the Jews at the time of Christ’s first advent they were
not prepared to welcome Jesus. They not only refused to
listen to the plain arguments from the Bible, but ridiculed
those who were looking for the Lord. Satan and his angels
exulted, and flung the taunt in the face of Christ and holy
angels that His professed people had so little love for Him
that they did not desire His appearing.
“No man knoweth the day nor the hour” was the argument
most often brought forward by rejecters of the advent
faith. The scripture is: “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”
Matthew 24:36. A clear and harmonious explanation of this
text was given by those who were looking for the Lord, and
the wrong use made of it by their opponents was clearly
shown. The words were spoken by Christ in that memorable
conversation with His disciples upon Olivet after He had for
the last time departed from the temple. The disciples had
asked the question: “What shall be the sign of Thy coming,
and of the end of the world?” Jesus gave them signs, and
said: “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near,
even at the doors.”
Verses 3,
33. One saying of the Saviour
must not be made to destroy another. Though no man knoweth
the day nor the hour of His coming, we are instructed
and required to know when it is near. We are further taught
that to disregard His warning, and refuse or neglect to know
when His advent is near, will be as fatal for us as it was for
those who lived in the days of Noah not to know when the
flood was coming. And the parable in the same chapter,
contrasting the faithful and the unfaithful servant, and giving
the doom of him who said in his heart, “My Lord delayeth
His coming,” shows in what light Christ will regard and
reward those whom He finds watching, and teaching His
coming, and those denying it. “Watch therefore,” He says.
“Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh
shall find so doing.”
Verses 42, 46. “If therefore thou shalt
not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not
know what hour I will come upon thee.”
Revelation 3:3.
Paul speaks of a class to whom the Lord’s appearing will
come unawares. “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in
the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then
sudden destruction cometh upon them, . . . and they shall
not escape.” But he adds, to those who have given heed to the
Saviour’s warning: “Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that
that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children
of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the
night, nor of darkness.”
1 Thessalonians 5:2-5.
Thus it was shown that Scripture gives no warrant for
men to remain in ignorance concerning the nearness of
Christ’s coming. But those who desired only an excuse to
reject the truth closed their ears to this explanation, and the
words “No man knoweth the day nor the hour” continued
to be echoed by the bold scoffer and even by the professed
minister of Christ. As the people were roused, and began to
inquire the way of salvation, religious teachers stepped in
between them and the truth, seeking to quiet their fears by
falsely interpreting the word of God. Unfaithful watchmen
united in the work of the great deceiver, crying, Peace, peace,
when God had not spoken peace. Like the Pharisees in
Christ’s day, many refused to enter the kingdom of heaven
themselves, and those who were entering in they hindered.
The blood of these souls will be required at their hand.
The most humble and devoted in the churches were
usually the first to receive the message. Those who studied
the Bible for themselves could not but see the unscriptural
character of the popular views of prophecy; and wherever
the people were not controlled by the influence of the clergy,
wherever they would search the word of God for themselves,
the advent doctrine needed only to be compared with the
Scriptures to establish its divine authority.
Many were persecuted by their unbelieving brethren. In
order to retain their position in the church, some consented
to be silent in regard to their hope; but others felt that loyalty
to God forbade them thus to hide the truths which He had
committed to their trust. Not a few were cut off from the
fellowship of the church for no other reason than expressing
their belief in the coming of Christ. Very precious to those
who bore this trial of their faith were the words of the
prophet: “Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for
My name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but He shall
appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.”
Isaiah 66:5.
Angels of God were watching with the deepest interest
the result of the warning. When there was a general rejection
of the message by the churches, angels turned away in
sadness. But there were many who had not yet been tested
in regard to the advent truth. Many were misled by
husbands, wives, parents, or children, and were made to believe
it a sin even to listen to such heresies as were taught by the
Adventists. Angels were bidden to keep faithful watch over
these souls, for another light was yet to shine upon them
from the throne of God.
With unspeakable desire those who had received the
message watched for the coming of their Saviour. The time
when they expected to meet Him was at hand. They
approached this hour with a calm solemnity. They rested in
sweet communion with God, and earnest of the peace that was
to be theirs in the bright hereafter. None who experienced
this hope and trust can forget those precious hours of waiting.
For some weeks preceding the time, worldly business was
for the most part laid aside. The sincere believers carefully
examined every thought and emotion of their hearts as if
upon their deathbeds and in a few hours to close their eyes
upon earthly scenes. There was no making of “ascension
robes” (see
Appendix); but all felt the need of internal
evidence that they were prepared to meet the Saviour; their
white robes were purity of soul—characters cleansed from sin
by the atoning blood of Christ. Would that there were still
with the professed people of God the same spirit of heart
searching, the same earnest, determined faith. Had they
continued thus to humble themselves before the Lord and
press their petitions at the mercy seat they would be in
possession of a far richer experience than they now have. There
is too little prayer, too little real conviction of sin, and the lack
of living faith leaves many destitute of the grace so richly
provided by our Redeemer.
God designed to prove His people. His hand covered a
mistake in the reckoning of the prophetic periods. Adventists
did not discover the error, nor was it discovered by the
most learned of their opponents. The latter said: “Your
reckoning of the prophetic periods is correct. Some great
event is about to take place; but it is not what Mr. Miller
predicts; it is the conversion of the world, and not the second
advent of Christ.” (See
Appendix.)
The time of expectation passed, and Christ did not appear
for the deliverance of His people. Those who with sincere
faith and love had looked for their Saviour, experienced a
bitter disappointment. Yet the purposes of God were being
accomplished; He was testing the hearts of those
professed to be waiting for His appearing. There were among
them many who had been actuated by no higher motive than
fear. Their profession of faith had not affected their hearts
or their lives. When the expected event failed to take place,
these persons declared that they were not disappointed; they
had never believed that Christ would come. They were
among the first to ridicule the sorrow of the true believers.
But Jesus and all the heavenly host looked with love and
sympathy upon the tried and faithful yet disappointed ones.
Could the evil separating the visible world
have been swept back, angels would have been seen drawing
near to these steadfast souls and shielding them from the
shafts of Satan.
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