The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4

Note 1. Page 206.--William Miller's views as to the exact time of the second advent were based on the prophecy of Daniel 8:14: "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." That a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year, see Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6. As the period of 2300 prophetic days, or literal years, extended far beyond the close of the Jewish dispensation, it could not refer to the sanctuary of that dispensation. Mr. Miller held the generally received view that in the Christian age the Earth is the sanctuary, and hence concluded that the cleansing of the sanctuary brought to view in Daniel 8:14 represented the purification of the earth by fire at the second coming of Christ. The point from which to reckon the 2300 days is found in Daniel 9:24-27, which is an explanation of the vision of chapter 8. It is stated that 70 weeks, or 490 years, are determined, literally, cut off, as specially pertaining to the Jews. The only period from which the 70 weeks could be cut off is the 2300 days, that being the only period of time mentioned in the vision of chapter 8. The 70 weeks must therefore be a part of the 2300 days, and the two periods must begin together. The 70 weeks are declared by the angel to date from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. If, then, we can correctly locate this commandment, we have the starting-point for the great period of the 2300 days. The Bible furnishes us with four tests by which we may determine when the true date is found:--

1. From the time the commandment was given, 49 years were to witness the completion of the street and wall of Jerusalem. Daniel 9:25.

2. Threescore and two weeks from this time, or, in all, 69 weeks, 483 years, were to extend to Messiah the Prince, or to the anointing of Christ by the Holy Spirit at his baptism, the word Messiah signifying anointed.

3. Sixty-nine and a half weeks were to extend to the crucifixion,--the cessation of sacrifice and oblation in the midst of the week. Verse 27.

4. The full period of 70 weeks was to witness the complete confirmation of the covenant with Daniel's people. At the termination of this period, the Jews having ceased to be God's chosen people, the gospel would be preached to the Gentiles.

In the seventh of Ezra we find the decree which we seek. It was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, B. C. 457. In Ezra 6:14 the house of the Lord at Jerusalem is said to have been built "according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia." The three kings did the one work; it was begun by Cyrus, carried forward by Darius, and completed by Artaxerxes. The scripture counts this action one decree. That the later decrees were a continuation or completion of that of Cyrus, see Ezra 6:1-14. Taking B. C. 457 as the date of the commandment, every specification of the prophecy concerning the 70 weeks is fulfilled. That the reader may see the reasonableness of Mr. Miller's position on the prophetic periods, we copy the following, which was published in the Advent Herald, Boston, in March, 1850, in answer to a correspondent:--

"It is by the Canon of Ptolemy that the great prophetical period of the seventy weeks is fixed. This Canon places the seventh year of Artaxerxes in the year B. C. 457; and the accuracy of the Canon is demonstrated by the concurrent agreement of more than twenty eclipses. The seventy weeks date from the going forth of a decree respecting the restoration of Jerusalem. There were no decrees between the seventh and twentieth years of artaxerxes. Four hundred and ninety years, beginning with the seventh, must commence in B. C. 457, and end in A. D. 34. Commencing in the twentieth, they must commence in B. C. 444, and end in A. D. 47. As no event occurred in A. D. 47 to mark their termination, we cannot reckon from the twentieth; we must therefore look to the seventh of Artaxerxes. This date we cannot change from B. C. 457 without first demonstrating the inaccuracy of Ptolemy's Canon. To do this, it would be necessary to show that the large number of eclipses by which its accuracy has been repeatedly demonstrated, have not been correctly computed; and such a result would unsettle every chronological date, and leave the settlement of epochs and the adjustment of eras entirely at the mercy of every dreamer, so that chronology would be of no more value than mere guess-work. As the seventy weeks must terminate in A. D. 34, unless the seventh of Artaxerxes is wrongly fixed, and as that cannot be changed without some evidence to that effect, we inquire, what evidence marked that termination? The time when the apostles turned to the Gentiles harmonizes with that date better than any other which has been named. And the crucifixion, in A. D. 31, in the midst of the last week, is sustained by a mass of testimony which cannot be easily invalidated."

As the 70 weeks and the 2300 days have a common starting-point, the calculation of Mr. Miller is verified at a glance by subtracting the 457 years B. C. from the 2300. Thus,

2300
457
--------------
1843 A. D.

But it requires 457 full years before Christ, and 1843 full years after Christ, to make the 2300. Now the decree of Artaxerxes did not go into effect at the beginning of the year 457 B. C., but in the autumn of that year; it follows that the 2300 days would not terminate in 1843, but would extend to the autumn of 1844. This is plainly seen by the following simple diagram:--

 457                 2300              end of 1843
|_________________________________________________|

|_________________________________________________|
 Decree given        2300         Days end in 1844

This fact not being at first perceived by Mr. Miller and his associates, they looked for the coming of Christ in 1843; hence the first disappointment and the seeming delay. It was the discovery of the correct time, in connection with other scripture testimony, that led to the movement known as the midnight cry of 1844. And to this day the computation of the prophetic periods placing the close of the 2300 days in the autumn of 1844, stands without impeachment.

Then the question arises, if Wm. Miller's calculation of time was correct, whence his disappointment? This was due to his mistake as to the event. The prophecy says, "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Mr. Miller and his associates failed to understand the subject of the sanctuary and its cleansing. Here was the secret of their disappointment. For a brief explanation of this important point, showing what is the sanctuary, and how its cleansing--beginning at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844--fulfills the prophecy of Daniel 8:14, see chapter 18., entitled "The Sanctuary."

Another question then arises: "If he was mistaken in the event, was not his whole work an error?" That does not follow. The disciples of Christ were utterly mistaken when he rode into Jerusalem, and they hailed him as a king with tokens of victory. They thought he was then to be crowned a king on David's throne. But it was not an error in them to act according to their belief; is so doing they fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, which they would not have done if they had realized that he was going to judgment and to death. But that scripture must be fulfilled, if it were necessary to make the stones cry out. Luke 19:37-40. In like manner it appears that Mr. Miller and his associates fulfilled prophecy, and gave a proclamation (see Revelation 14:6, 7) which they would not have given had they understood that yet other proclamations were to be made before the Lord should come. Revelation 14:8-14.

Note 2. Page 225.--That a wrong use is often made of the text (Matthew 24:36), is evident from the context. One question of the disciples was concerning the sign of Christ's coming and of the end of the world. This question Jesus answered. In verse 29 he gave signs, and said, "When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Verse 33. One saying of the Saviour must not be made to destroy another. Though no man knoweth the day nor the hour, we are instructed and required (for it is in the imperative) to know when it is near, even at the doors. And we are further taught that it will be as fatal to us to disregard his warning, and refuse or neglect to know, as it was for those who lived in the days of Noah not to know when the flood was coming. Verses 37-39. And verses 44-51 show in what light Christ, when He comes, will regard and reward those whom he finds watching and teaching his coming, and those denying it. "Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching." Luke 12:37.

Note 3. Page 228.--The story that the Adventists made robes with which to ascend "to meet the Lord in the air," was invented by those who wished to reproach the cause. It was circulated so industriously that many believed it; but careful inquiry proved its falsity. For many years a large reward has been offered for proof that one such instance ever occurred; but the proof has not been produced. None who loved the appearing of the Saviour were so ignorant of the teachings of the Scriptures as to suppose that robes which they could make would be necessary for that occasion. The only robe which the saints will need to meet the Lord will be that of the righteousness of Christ. See Revelation 19:8.

Note 4. Page 241.--The year 1843, during which Adventists at first expected the coming of Christ, was regarded as extending to the spring of 1844. The reason for this, briefly stated, is as follows: Anciently the year did not commence in mid-winter, as now, but at the first new moon after the vernal equinox. Therefore, as the period of 2300 days was begun in a year reckoned by the ancient method, it was considered necessary to conform to that method to its close. Hence, 1843 was counted as ending in the spring, and not in the winter.

Note 5. Page 260.--That the earth is the sanctuary was inferred from those scriptures which teach that the earth will be purified and fitted up for the eternal dwelling-place of the saints, according to the original design of the creator. Adventists understood this just as it was taught by Wesley and others. And their minds did not rest on any other dwelling-place or any other thing which needed cleansing. The only scriptures which we ever knew to be offered in favor of the earth or any dwelling-place of man being called the sanctuary, fairly disprove the position. They are only three in number, as follows:--

Exodus 15:17: "Thou shalt bring them [the people] in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established."

Without taking time or space to give an exposition of the text, it is sufficient for the present purpose to remark that it disproves the idea of the earth being the sanctuary. Whatever construction may be placed upon the text, it teaches that the people were not then in the sanctuary; but they were in the earth. Then it is claimed that it referred to that part of the earth into which they were to be brought, namely, Palestine. This is disproved by the second text.

Joshua 24:26: "And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord."

The stone and the oak were in Palestine, but they were by the sanctuary of the Lord--not in it. And the other text is more restrictive still, and equally conclusive against the inference to which reference is herein made.

Psalm 78:54: "And he brought them [his people] to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased."

The mountain was mount moriah, on which the temple of solomon was built; yet being brought unto it is called being brought "to the border of his sanctuary." Thus these texts do not prove that the earth is the sanctuary, but rather the reverse.

Jehoshaphat's prayer gives the true idea of the relation of that land to the sanctuary: "Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever? And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name." 2 Chronicles 20:7, 8. This corresponds to the order in Exodus 25:8: "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." In this same book is given a minute description of the sanctuary, its erection, and approval by the Lord. The process of cleansing the sanctuary is described in Leviticus 16. When the children of Israel possessed Canaan, Solomon built a temple, in which was a holy and a most holy place, and the vessels of the movable sanctuary, which was made in the desert of Arabia, were transferred to the temple. This was then the sanctuary,--the dwelling-place of God's glory upon the earth. Even a partial knowledge of the teachings of the scriptures on this subject will justify all that the author has said in reference to it in pages 260-67.

Note 6. Page 268.--Almost all Adventists, including Mr. Miller, did, for a short time after their disappointment in 1844, believe that the world had received its last warning. They could hardly think otherwise, with their faith in the message which they had given,--"The hour of his judgment is come." Revelation 14:6, 7. They naturally thought that this proclamation must close the dispensation. They were as unable to find their bearings at once as were the disciples when their Lord, whom they had hailed as their king coming to his throne, was crucified and buried. In both cases they were unable to comprehend their terrible disappointment.

But the idea that the work of the gospel was finished was soon renounced, except by some fanatical ones who would neither be counseled nor receive instruction. But most of those who renounced it, and yet retained their faith in the work, continued to believe that they who clearly saw the light of the heaven-sent warning and persistently rejected it, were rejected of the Lord. There is no more fanaticism in that than there is in the common belief that those obdurate Jews who continued to reject the light of the advanced truth sent to that generation, were rejected of God.

There was one class who soon renounced the idea that "the door of mercy was shut," because they discovered that other messages were to be proclaimed after that declaring, the hour of judgment is come; and that that of the third angel, the last one, was to go to "many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." They learned that the judgment sits in heaven before the coming of the Lord; that the judgment of the righteous is fully accomplished while Jesus is yet their advocate before the Father's throne; that eternal life is instantly given to the saints when their Saviour comes, which is proof that they have been judged and acquitted. As the hopes of the disciples revived, and they were "glad when they saw the Lord," and declared his Messiahship with yet greater confidence, so did these rejoice when they discovered the truth of the third Angel's message, which, to them, was like life from the dead. With renewed zeal and strengthened confidence they began again to proclaim the soon coming of the Lord.

With the light on the third message they also received light on the sanctuary and its cleansing, by which they understood that the antitypical work of the day of atonement, which was accomplished in the most holy place, was that which was pointed out by the message which they had given. They saw that there were two vails or doors in the temple of God; Hebrews 9:3; and that at that time one was shut and the other was opened. With earnest zeal and new hope they preached these truths, and urged their fellowmen to seek an entrance by faith into the most holy place within the second vail, where our great High Priest is gone to blot out the sins of all his faithful ones, from Abel to the present time. Their faith was in an open door which no man can shut until the work therein is fully done. In the work of inviting sinners to come to this open door, they continue until the present time; and this will be their work until Jesus himself shall proclaim, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still;" Revelation 22:11; that is, until probation is closed and the ministry of the gospel is ended.

Among the first who taught the third message and the open door, was the author of this book. By her untiring zeal, her earnest appeals, and the clear light of the testimony which she bore, she did much to advance the cause, to correct the errors of fanaticism, to renew the hopes of the desponding, and to cheer the hearts of the "little flock" who loved the appearing of their soon-coming Saviour.

Note 7. Page 275.--For a brief examination of important points in the third angel's message of Revelation 14:9-12, see note 8. This message contains the last warning that men on probation will ever receive, as it is followed by the coming of the Son of man to reap the harvest of the earth,--to "gather the wheat into his garner," and to cast the clusters of the vine of the earth into the winepress of the wrath of God. See verses 14-20. It is for this reason that it is given in such strong, such terrible language of threatening. The wrath which it denounces upon the worshipers of the beast and his image is contained in "the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God." Revelation 15:1. Compare chap. 16:1, 2. That wrath "is poured out without mixture;" for then judgment falls upon the incorrigible without mercy, because our Saviour will then have finished his priestly work, and he will come, not to offer salvation, but to take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9.

But the throne of God will be clear, and sinners will be without excuse; for the warnings of the scriptures are given in no uncertain language. To the impious the Lord says: "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." Proverbs 1:24-28. And the warning of the last message is going to all the world. It also is clear and decisive in its utterance. "The commandments of God," which it enforces, are not obscure or hard to be understood. The fourth says, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." This was the Lord's day--his holy day--from the creation of the world. He claims no other as his; he sanctified no other; he never commanded any other to be observed. They who turn away from a truth so plain, who reject a warning so solemn, will have no answer to make when the Lord commands them to depart.

But terrible as these words of threatening are, the message is given in mercy. It is a last effort on the part of the Lord to arouse men to a sense of their danger; to induce them to turn from their evil ways--from their transgressions of his holy law--that they may have eternal life. The Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11. But if they will not come unto him that they may have life; if they choose to follow the multitude to do evil, rather than to walk in the way of God's commandments, then they must bear their iniquity. Their blood will be upon their own heads. God gives them the power to choose, and warns them against the evil which lies before them. Against all his entreaties, they do despite to the spirit of grace, and trample on the precious blood of Christ which was shed for their redemption.

Note 8. Page 396.--These words are based upon the prophecy of Revelation 13 and 14. The people with whom the author stands connected have taught for years that all classes except "the little flock" will unite to exalt the sunday and enforce it upon all by stringent laws. It may assist the reader in understanding the points in the latter part of chapter XXX. To notice the facts of the prophecy on which this idea is based. 1. The beast of Revelation 13:1-10 is understood to refer to the papal power. This has been the general opinion of Protestants.

2. "The sea" out of which this beast arose is the same as "the waters" of Revelation 17:15, explained to be "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues." The papacy was upheld by many nations.

3. This beast has the characteristics of the four beasts of Dan 7, which represent the four empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. It is the inheritor of the power held by these four empires successively.

4. The beast with two horns, Revelation 13:11-17, is in a different locality, "Coming up out of the earth;" not by the conquest of nations and peoples, but growing as a plant, out of the earth. This represents the united states, a locality outside of the dominion of "All the world," as known to the ancients.

5. This beast has two horns, the civil and the ecclesiastical. That a church is represented by a horn is proved in Daniel 7, the "little horn" representing the Roman Church, even before it was possessed of civil power. So also in Revelation 13. The dragon (pagan Rome) gave the beast (the church) his power (civil power), and seat (city of Rome), and great authority.

6. The two-horned beast appears in two phases,--with the gentleness of a lamb and the fierceness of the dragon. This has, to some extent, already been shown, in the inconsistency of sending forth to the world the doctrine of the equality of all men in respect to natural rights,--the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,--and upholding by law all the evils of American slavery. Also, by professing to grant the privilege to all to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and then persecuting the Baptists and Quakers for following their conscientious convictions. But this will be shown more fully in the future, when Congress shall be called upon to make laws concerning religion.

7. The identity of the "two-horned beast" is further shown by its wonder working; by its deceiving "them that dwell on the earth by those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast." Revelation 13:14. Spiritualism arose in the United States, and has gone to all the world by means of American mediums.

8. This beast causes both "the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast." This can be easily referred to laws compelling the observance of the Sunday instead of the Sabbath of the Lord,--the seventh day. The Sunday- Sabbath institution is traced directly to the Romish Church, which, indeed, claims the honor of originating it; and no one has been able to dispute this claim. The Sabbath of Jehovah commemorates the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the commandment for its observance was given that the earth and its inhabitants might glorify the creator. The law which compels the observance of the Sunday-Sabbath annuls the commandment of God, and the earth and them that dwell therein are caused to do homage to the power which originated it, by resting thereon. Protestants have ascribed various institutions to the papacy, and applied this prophecy to them; but in none is the earth, in distinction from those who dwell upon the earth, caused to worship that power, except in the Sunday rest enforced upon all the land.

9. And this sufficiently shows that it is no mere assumption to say that Catholics and Protestants will unite in enforcing the Sunday. Catholics honor it as the evidence of their authority to "institute festivals of precept, and to command them under sin," and Protestants are making most strenuous efforts for its universal enforcement. It is a well-known fact that most of the protestant denominations are greatly modifying their opposition to the Catholic Church, and united action of the two bodies in favor of the sunday is by no means improbable. But a few years ago this view was taught on the strength of the prophecy alone. New we see in passing events strong indications of its fulfillment. The special object of the "National Reform Association' is to procure a religious amendment to the National Constitution that the Sunday may be rescued from desecration and universally enforced.

10. This beast not only compels the earth and its inhabitants to worship the first beast, as above noticed, but it causes them that dwell upon the earth to make an image to the first beast. This can be done only by a union of Church and State, or by so subordinating the civil to the ecclesiastical power that the State will be compelled to enforce the tenets and requirements of the Church. A Religious Amendment to the Constitution of the United States would speedily insure this result.

11. This exposition of the prophecy is confirmed by the message from the Lord found in Revelation 14:9-12, which is based altogether on the facts of Revelation 13:11-17, and which condemns in the very strongest terms the action of this beast and the worship which it enforces; it also calls to keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and one of these commandments enforces the Sabbath of the Lord,--the seventh day. Therefore the contrast in the facts and in the message which refers to the facts, is between the Sabbath of the Lord and an opposing Sabbath, namely, the Sunday.

This is a very brief statement of the facts which justify the expressions of the author on pages 396,397.

Note 9. Page 431.--The word 'seal' is used in the Scriptures in various senses, even as in common life. The definition given by Webster, the most comprehensive, is as follows: "That which confirms, ratifies, or makes stable; assurance; that which authenticates; that which secures, makes reliable, or stable." The terms "mark" and "sign," also given by him, are used in the Scriptures as synonymous with seal, as in Romans 4:11. In the covenant with Noah it is used in the sense of assurance, or evidence of stability. The bow in the cloud was given as a sign or token that God would not again destroy the earth by a flood. Genesis 9:13. In the covenant with Abraham, circumcision was the token or sign. This ratified, or made sure; for they who had not this token were cut off. Genesis 17:11, 14. This sign or token was an institution, a rite. Gesenius gives "a memorial" as one definition of the word found in the original of these texts. But a memorial, in the sense of a reminder, or a remembrancer, is a token or sign.

In Exodus 31:17 and Ezekiel 20:12, 20, the Sabbath of the Lord is called a sign. It is a memorial of the Creator's work, and so a sign of his power and Godhead. Romans 1:20. This is also an institution as was circumcision; but there was this distinction: circumcision was a sign in the flesh, while the Sabbath was a sign in the mind. "Hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God" Ezekiel 20:20.

In Ezekiel 9:4 the word used in the original is translated mark. Gesenius says, "a mark, sign." The Septuagint gives the same word in this text that is given in the Greek of Romans 4:11, rendered "sign." Thus the words token, sign, mark, and seal are applied to the same things, or used as of like signification, in the Scriptures.

In Ezekiel 9:4 and Revelation 7:2, 3, the mark or sign is said to be placed in the foreheads of the servants of God. Both these scriptures refer to a time when utter destruction is coming on the ungodly. The seal is placed upon God's people as a safeguard to preserve them from the evil impending. But "the forehead" is evidently used as a figure, to denote the intellect or mind, as "the heart" is used to denote the disposition or affections. To mark or seal in the forehead is the same as to "write in the mind." Hebrews 10:16.

The Sabbath is the sign of God; it is the seal of his law. Isaiah 8:16. It is the token of his authority and power. It is a sign whereby we may know that he is God, and therefore it is appropriately said to be placed in the forehead. The worshipers of the beast (Revelation 13) are said to receive his mark in their foreheads or in their hands. As the forehead represents the intellect, the hand represents power, as Psalm 89:48, "Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?" Compulsory worship is not acceptable to God; his servants are sealed only in their foreheads. But it is acceptable to wicked powers; it has always been craved by the Romish hierarchy. See Note 8 for proof on the nature of this mark. The sign or seal of God is his Sabbath, and the seal or mark of the beast is in direct opposition to it; it is a counterfeit Sabbath on the "day of the sun." In the message of the third angel (Revelation 14:9-12) they who do not receive the mark of the beast keep the commandments of God, and the Sabbath is in the fourth precept; they keep the Sabbath of the Lord; they have his sign or seal. The importance of this sign is shown in this, that the fourth commandment is the only one in the law which distinguishes the creator from false Gods. Compare Jeremiah 10:10-12; Acts 17:23, 24; Revelation 14:6, 7; etc. and it is that part of his law for keeping which his people will suffer persecution. But when the wrath of God comes upon the persecutors who are found enforcing the sign or mark of the beast, then they will realize the importance of the Sabbath,--the seal of the living God. They who turn away from that which the Lord spoke when his voice shook the earth, will confess their fatal error when his voice shall shake the heavens and the earth. Hebrews 12:25, 26: Joel 3:9-16, and others. See also page 457 of this book.