point upon which the matter turned. If we were right on the subject
of the cleansing of the sanctuary, then the door or ministration of
the holy place was shut, and the door or ministration of the most holy
place was opened, the 2300 days had ended, the preaching of time was
correct, and the entire movement was right. But let our opponents show
that we were in error upon the sanctuary question, that Christ had not
entered the most holy place to cleanse the sanctuary, then the 2300
days had not ended, the preaching of the time was an error, and the
entire movement was wrong. And, again, if the door or ministration of
the most holy place was opened, and the faith of the waiting ones was
to view Jesus standing before the mercy-seat and the ark of the ten
commandments in Heaven, how forcible the arguments for the perpetuity
and claims of the entire law of God, the fourth precept not excepted.
The hand of the Lord was with those who took a firm position that the
great Advent movement had been in his direct providence, and that the
time had come for the Sabbath reform, and many embraced these views.
Then it was that our opponents arose in the spirit of persecution,
manifesting the wrath of the dragon against those who kept the
commandments of God, and labored to open the door that had been shut,
and to shut that door which had been opened, and thus put an end to the
matter. Hence the strong expressions quoted above--“He that openeth and
no _man_ shutteth, and shutteth and no _man_ openeth.” “Behold I have
set before thee an open door, and no _man_ can shut it.” Nothing can be
plainer than that man, or a set of men, near the close of the history
of the church, would war against the truth of God in reference to the
shut and open door.
And to this day those who retain the spirit of war upon those who keep
the commandments of God, make the belief in the shut and open door
odious, and charge it all upon Seventh-day Adventists. Many of them,
however, are not unaware of the injustice of this. Some of this people
did believe in the shut door, in common with the Adventists generally,
soon after the passing of the time. Some of us held fast this position
longer than those did who gave up their Advent experience, and drew
back in the direction of perdition. And God be thanked that we did hold
fast to that position till the matter was explained by light from the
heavenly sanctuary.
And it may be worthy of notice that although the belief in, and
abandonment of, the shut-door position has been general, there have
been two distinct and opposite ways of getting out of it. One class
did this by casting away their confidence in the Advent movement, by
confessions to those who had opposed and had scoffed at them, and by
ascribing the powerful work of the Holy Spirit to human or satanic
influences. These got out of the position on the side of perdition.
Another class heeded the many exhortations of Christ and his
apostles, applicable to their position, with its trials, dangers, and
duties--Watch--Be ye therefore patient--Cast not away therefore your
confidence--For ye have need of patience--Hold fast. They waited,
watched, and prayed, till light came, and they by faith in the word saw
the open door of the heavenly sanctuary, and Jesus there pleading his
precious blood before the ark of the most holy place.
But what was that ark? It was the ark of God’s testimony, the ten
commandments. Reader, please follow these trusting, waiting ones, as
they by faith enter the heavenly sanctuary. They take you into the holy
place and show you “the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread,”
and other articles of furniture. Then they lead you into the most holy
where stands Jesus, clad in priestly garments, before the mercy-seat
which is upon, and but the cover of, the ark containing the law of God.
They lift the cover and bid you look into the sacred ark, and there you
behold the ten commandments, a copy of which God gave to Moses. Yes,
dear reader, there, safe from the wrath of man and the rage of demons,
beside his own holiness, are the ten precepts of God’s holy law.
The waiting, watching, praying ones, embraced the fourth precept of
that law, and with fresh courage took their onward course to the golden
gates of the city of God, cheered by the closing benediction of the Son
of God: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the
city.” Thus they came out of the position of the shut door on the side
of loyalty to the God of high Heaven, the tree of life, and the eternal
city of the redeemed. The reader will not fail to see the difference
between their course and getting out of the shut door on the side of
perdition. God pity the apostate.
THE SEVENTH ANGEL.
The seventh angel, the last of the seven trumpet angels, had been
supposed to be the same as the “last trump,” which will awake the
righteous dead. But many among the Adventists were about this time
taking a different view of the subject. The six former trumpet angels
were symbols, and each had occupied a period of time, during which a
series of events took place. Why not the seventh be a symbol covering a
period of time, during which a series of events might also transpire?
But the scenes connected with the last trump mentioned by the apostle,
are represented as transpiring “in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye.” Not so with the events under the sounding of the seventh angel.
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,” is the testimony
of Rev. x, 7. As this entire chapter has a direct bearing upon the
subject of the great Advent movement as symbolized by the three
messages of Rev. xiv, I will here give it with a few brief remarks of
application.
“And I saw another mighty angel come down from Heaven, clothed with a
cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the
sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little
book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot
on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and
when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And the angel
which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand
to Heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever and ever, who created
Heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things
that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that
there should be time no longer.” Verses 1-6.
I will briefly call attention to the following points in the above
quotation:
1. The angel, in a most solemn manner, swore that there should be
time no longer. This does not mean that with the oath of the angel,
time, as measured by days, months and years, would cease; for the
next verse speaks of the “days” of the voice of the seventh angel.
And even from the second advent of Christ and the resurrection of the
just, a thousand years are marked as reaching to the resurrection of
the unjust. In fact, while the earth and the sun and moon shall endure
and continue their revolutions, so long will there be days, months
and years. And there is no scripture evidence that these bodies will
ever cease to exist. The oath of the angel, therefore, must refer to
prophetic time.
2. The angel holds in his hand, as he swears upon the subject of time,
a little book open. It may be inferred from this language, that this
book was at some time closed up. This was true of the book of Daniel.
“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the
time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased.” Dan. xii, 4. It was to be sealed only to the time of the
end, when it was to be opened, knowledge of the subject of which it
treats should be increased, and many run to and fro in the Scriptures
and obtain knowledge upon the subject. If this open book in the hand
of the angel represents the unsealed book of Daniel, how forcible the
application of his solemn oath to the manner in which the close of
prophetic time was proclaimed in 1844.
The oath of this angel must be regarded as a symbol of a most solemn
and positive message proclaimed by the servants of God. His right foot
upon the earth, and his left upon the sea, represent its extent, and
shows that it was to be borne to the people by sea and by land. The
prophet continues:
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin
to sound, the mystery of God shall be finished, as he hath declared to
his servants, the prophets.” Verse 7.
Why introduce the sounding of the seventh angel thus, unless his
sounding commenced with the termination of the prophetic time? He is
to continue his sounding a period of days, probably prophetic, meaning
years, and in the beginning of his sounding, or during the first
portion of the period of his sounding, the mystery of God is to be
finished. This mystery is the gospel considered with especial reference
to the means by which its blessings are secured to the nations of the
earth. It is something which, before the apostles’ days, even from the
foundation of the world, was not made known as it was then revealed.
Rom. xvi, 25, 26; Eph. iii, 3-5. It was known that the woman’s seed
should bruise the serpent’s head, and that in Abraham and his seed
should all the nations of the earth be blessed; but how this was to
be accomplished was not understood till more fully revealed at the
first advent of the Saviour, and set forth by the preaching of his
apostles. Before this it was not seen that when the Redeemer should be
manifested to the world, all walls of partition shall be broken down,
all distinctions be obliterated, and Jew and Gentile, male and female,
bond and free, be on equal terms and in equal measure blessed in him.
Hence Paul presents as the distinguishing feature of the mystery of
God, the fact “that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the
same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel,” and
that in Christ all might be gathered together in one. Eph. iii, 6; i,
9, 10. Hence we more fully define the mystery of God to mean the great
plan of salvation, as it centers in the work of Christ, and is revealed
in the New Testament. See also Eph. vi, 19; Col. iv, 3; and Gal. i, 11,
12, compared with Eph. iii, 3.
The finishing of the mystery of God is the completion of the great
plan of salvation in connection with Christ’s ministry in the heavenly
sanctuary. In the type the yearly round of service was finished on the
tenth day of the seventh month. In the antitype Christ entered the
most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary at the end of the 2300 days,
to finish the great plan of salvation. The mystery of God was to be
finished, as he had declared by his servants, the prophets; and the
cleansing of the sanctuary spoken of by the prophet Daniel, is only
another expression signifying the same thing as the finishing of the
mystery of God. Hence the seventh angel began to sound at the close of
the 2300 days, in 1844, when the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the
finishing of the mystery of God, commenced.
A series of events to occur under the sounding of the seventh angel
is mentioned in chapter xi. After the announcement, in verses 15-17,
of his sounding, during which period all earthly kingdoms are to pass
into the hands of the King of kings, an event which interests both
earth and Heaven, and calls for the grateful thanks of the good of both
worlds, this series is given as follows:
1. “And the nations were angry.” This is supposed to have reference to
the political commotions and wars of the nations, which the prophets of
God have described as marking the closing hours of probation.
2. “And thy wrath is come.” This has reference to the seven last
plagues, which will be poured out immediately following the ministry of
Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.
3. “And the time of the dead, that they should be judged.” This is
not the investigative Judgment of the righteous. That closes with the
ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. It is the Judgment of
the wicked dead. We are therefore carried forward in this third event
to the time of Christ’s appearing in the clouds of heaven, and the
resurrection of the just, when he and they will sit in Judgment on the
cases of the wicked during the one thousand years.
4. “And that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants, the prophets,
and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great” It is
true that all these receive immortality at the second coming of Christ,
at the commencement of this great Judgment period; but their reward
embraces the promised inheritance, the new earth, which will not appear
till the close of the one thousand years. “Blessed are the meek for
they shall inherit the earth.” Then, at the close of the one thousand
years, will the prophets, the saints, and all who fear the name of God,
both small and great, receive their full reward.
5. “And shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth.” This is also
the period of the final destruction of God’s enemies, who have taken
part in destroying (corrupting, margin,) the earth. And here closes
the sounding of the seventh angel, or the third woe. The prophet still
continues:
“And the voice which I heard from Heaven spake unto me again, and said,
Go, and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel
which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the
angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto
me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it
shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of
the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey;
and as soon as I had eaten it my belly was bitter.” Verses 8-10.
In this highly-figurative portion of the prophecy, John, in receiving
the little book from the hand of the angel, represents those who
received the doctrine of the coming and kingdom of Christ, as
proclaimed in connection with the time, based upon the prophecy of
Daniel. His eating the little book, and enjoying its sweetness,
represents the holy delight with which they feasted upon the gospel of
the coming kingdom. In the symbol, the little book in the mouth of John
was as sweet as honey. “What is sweeter than honey?” And what could
feast the consecrated soul, imbued with the love of Jesus, as the news
of his soon return in glory, with all the holy angels, to redeem those
who loved and looked for his appearing?
But in the symbol there is a change from the sweetness of honey to
bitterness. This represents the change from the joy of bright hope to
the painful sadness of disappointment, experienced by believers at the
passing of the time. The hope and faith had been to them an anchor
in the storm, a shield in the fight, and their exceeding joy all the
day long; and as they drew near the point of expectation, their hopes
grew brighter, their faith stronger, and their joys were complete.
The time passed; and only those who felt it can form any idea of the
bitterness of that disappointment. Probably there never has been a time
since the crucifixion, that the high expectations and bright hopes
of the disciples of Jesus, have been so completely crushed as at the
passing of the time in 1844. And the feelings of the many thousands of
disappointed ones were like those expressed by Mary: “They have taken
away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have
laid him.”
A good degree of relief, however, very soon came in the well-defined
position that there was a time of waiting for the Lord, and trial of
faith, after just such a disappointment as believers had experienced.
And with it came also the general impression that our work, in bearing
testimony to the world, was finished. The solemn announcement of the
hour of God’s Judgment, in the first message of Rev. xiv, had been
made. The stirring testimony in reference to the condition of those who
rejected this message, and still clung to a corrupted Christianity,
symbolized by the second message, had been borne. Everywhere among
believers had been heard the solemn cry, “Babylon is fallen, is
fallen.” “Come out of her my people.” And these messages were clearly
seen to be in the past.
But when was the third message to be given? This is one of the series,
all of which are to be given in the history of God’s people in this
mortal state. This is as distinctly marked in the prophetic sketch
of Rev. xiv, as the first and second messages are. And although the
disappointed ones felt for a time that their work in warning the world
was done, yet God designed to roll upon them again the burden of his
work, and they go forth and proclaim the third message. This work,
dear reader, is most clearly pointed out in the remaining verse of the
chapter upon which I have been commenting: “And he said unto me, Thou
must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and
kings.”
To prophesy sometimes means simply to teach, as in 1 Cor. xi, 4,
5; xiv, 3, 24; Matt. vii, 22. In the first and second messages the
prophecies had been opened to the people, and they had been taught the
solemn and stirring truths relating to the Judgment. Believers had come
up to the time of expectation with a testimony for the people, and the
burden of the work upon them. The time passed, and with it also passed
from them the burden of the work, and they suddenly found themselves
destitute of any message for the people. They felt that their work was
done for the world. In that position they should have waited until the
great truths connected with the third message were seen by the light of
the heavenly sanctuary, and the Spirit of God impressed them with the
new work before them, to proclaim the third message, expressed by the
prophetic words, “Thou must prophesy [teach the people] again.” This
brings me to consider briefly the three messages of Rev. xiv.
THE FIRST MESSAGE.
“And I saw another angel fly 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, saying with a loud
voice, 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.” Rev. xiv, 6, 7.
This is called the first angel, because it is the first of the series.
See verse 9. John calls it “another angel,” from the fact that he had
previously seen an angel flying in the midst of heaven.
This proclamation is one of pre-eminent importance. It is not a mere
local judgment, but one that concerns all the inhabitants of the
earth. Hence it has reference to the final Judgment scene. It is the
same gospel that Paul preached that is here styled the “everlasting
gospel.” But the great truth uttered by this angel would not have
been a truth if uttered by Paul, for he lived at the commencement of
the gospel dispensation, and this proclamation relates to its closing
scenes. It seems to be the same as “this gospel of the kingdom,” that
our Lord presents in Matt. xxiv, 14, as the sign of the end of this
dispensation, and which was to be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations before the end should come.
The truth on this point is well expressed in the following language of
the late Mr. Bliss, editor of the _Advent Herald_, December 14, 1850:
“As an indication of the approach of the end, there was, however, to
be seen another angel flying through 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. Rev. xiv, 6. The
burden of this angel was to be the same gospel which had been before
proclaimed; but connected with it was the additional motive of the
proximity of the kingdom, ‘saying with a loud voice, 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.’ Verse 7. No mere preaching of the gospel without announcing
its proximity, could fulfill this message.”
In harmony with this testimony from the editor of the _Herald_, I
will here give another from a tract on prophecy, published by J. V.
Himes about the same time, which also speaks of the character of the
message and the time of its application. The title of the tract is “Our
Specific Work.”
“The proclamation of an everlasting gospel, ‘The hour of his Judgment
is come,’ Rev. xiv, 6, 7, is the leading Advent proclamation.
“The facts summed up are these: John, looking into the distant future,
gazing upon the theatre of the final conflict, sees a messenger, a
minister of an everlasting gospel, fly through mid-heaven, with a
special, elevated, joyous, public, proclamation, requiring haste and
extraordinary energy in its delivery. The proclamation contains a
fact, and a command founded upon that fact. 1. The fact: ‘The hour of
his Judgment is come.’ 2. The command: ‘Fear God,’ &c. These are the
elements of this special commission. The work of this symbol agent is
thus clearly defined; no terms more specific.
“Does this messenger symbolize a class of teachers? Such has been the
general understanding of expositors. Mr. Wesley and Dr. Benson so
interpret the passage. On this point there is great unanimity. It is
plain from the fact that it is said to preach. That class of people is
modern. Mr. Wesley and Dr. Benson make this messenger symbolize the
Protestant reformers in the days of Luther. With their view agree a
mass of expositors. This commission, however, cannot be Luther’s.
“That body must exist somewhere, and, in its character and in the
nature of its work, it must agree with the symbol messenger. They
must agree as face to face in a mirror. Can such a body be found? The
proclamation above stated has been heard. The world can bear testimony
to this. The cry, ‘The hour of his Judgment is come,’ sounded through
all Christendom. The multitudes heard, and scoffed, or trembled. By
what body of believers was this proclamation made? Not by those who
taught that that Judgment was a thousand years in the future. No church
which holds to the doctrine of a spiritual reign can be that body, as
the elements of their proclamation flatly contradict those elements
above stated. Such a body now existing can be found alone among those
who constitute the Advent believers in Europe and America.”
In proof that this message has not been fulfilled in the history of the
church in ages past, I offer the following reasons:
1. No proclamation of the hour of God’s Judgment come, has ever been
made in any past age.
2. If such a proclamation had been made many centuries in the past, as
some contend, it would have been a false one.
3. The prophecies on which such a proclamation to men in a state of
probation must be based, were closed up and sealed to the time of the
end.
4. The Scriptures plainly locate the message of warning respecting the
Judgment in a brief space immediately preceding the advent of our Lord;
thus directly contradicting the view that locates these messages in
past ages.
We now offer proof in support of the foregoing propositions. If they
are sustained, they establish the fact that the present generation
is that one to which the angels’ messages are addressed. We earnestly
invite all who wish the truth, to weigh this part of the argument with
especial care.
1. Has the proclamation of the hour of God’s Judgment come, been made
in any past age? If such a proclamation has never been made in past
centuries, there is an end to controversy on this part of the subject.
No persons have ever been able to show any such proclamation in the
past. The apostles did not make such a proclamation. On the contrary,
they plainly inform us that the day of the Lord was not then at hand.
Martin Luther did not make this proclamation; for he thought the
Judgment about three hundred years in the future. And finally, the
history of the church presents no such proclamation in the past. Had
the first angel preached to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and
people, that the hour of God’s Judgment had come, the publicity of
such a proclamation would be a sufficient guaranty that the history
of the world would contain some record of the fact. Its total silence
respecting such a proclamation, is ample proof that it never was made,
and should put to silence those who make such an affirmation.