"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 upon 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: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." (Rev. 10:1-7)
An Angel a Symbol of Human Messengers
As already shown, the work of preaching the gospel has been committed to man, and the Lord has promised his blessing on that instrumentality till the "end of the world." (Matt. 28:19-20) So the angel bearing this message must be a symbol of a message concerning time which is to be preached to earth's inhabitants. The message is proclaimed from a book that is "open," clearly implying that it had once been closed. These messengers are esteemed of God; for the "bow," a token of God's covenant, is over them, and they stand clothed with the light of God's glory, and declare the message on the authority of the Creator of all things. That which is here declared is a time message, once "sealed," but now proclaimed from an "open" book.
In previous chapters it has been proved that the Lord marked the time when the light should be given relative to the close of the great prophetic period- twenty-three hundred days-leading to the investigative judgment; that the prediction that knowledge should be increased was accurately fulfilled by the raising up of many to whom he revealed that light; and that he also marked the time when the "parable of the fig-tree" should be learned, by raising up his teachers then and there to go forth and herald that parable to the world. Just so accurately has he marked the point when the time message should swell to its loud cry, and just so accurately was that fulfilled.
The Loud Cry of the First Message
The point of time when the loud cry of this proclamation was to be made is a question of interest. It is here placed between the sounding of the sixth and seventh trumpets, which may be seen not only by its position in the Scripture record, but by the message itself, which says: "In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." This is conclusive evidence that the time proclaimed in this message extends to the sounding of the seventh trumpet.
The Time of the Loud Cry
When the seventh angel sounds, we read that "the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." (Rev. 11:19) In the service of the earthly sanctuary, the apartment containing the ark-the most holy place-was opened only once a year; that was on the day of atonement, and for the purpose of blotting out sins-the cleansing of the sanctuary. The time spoken of by the prophets, when this cleansing work, as accomp-lished by Christ, should take place, is at the close of the twenty-three hundred days. (Dan. 8:14) It is also stated that when the seventh angel sounds, voices in heaven say that the time is come for the dead to be judged. (Rev. 11:18)
This prophetic symbol of Revelation 10 presents the time when this message is to go forth "with a loud voice," and finally, "as when a lion roareth." The time when, according to this prophecy, the message was to increase to its "loud cry" is from the close of the sixth trumpet to the end of that prophetic period leading to the cleansing of the sanctuary, in other words, to the end of the twenty-three hundred days. The first four trumpets met their fulfillment in the wars of the Goths, Vandals, Huns, etc., which divided Western Rome into ten parts or kingdoms.
The Fifth Trumpet
The fifth trumpet presents the rise of Mohammedanism with its cloud of errors, but especially the period of "five months," or one hundred and fifty literal years from the time they "had a king over them." July 27, 1299, Othman, the founder of the Ottoman empire, invaded the territory of Nicomedia. From that time the Ottomans harassed and "tormented" the Eastern empire of Rome till July 27, 1449, the one hundred and fifty years of the sound-ing of the fifth trumpet. At that time the Turks came with their forces against the city of Constantinople itself, using gunpowder in their warfare; and from a ponderous cannon, which the historian Gibbon says required sixty oxen to draw, they fired great rocks against the walls of Constantinople.
The Close of the Sixth Trumpet
About this time John Palleologus, who is set down by historians as the last Greek emperor, died. Constantine Decozes was the rightful heir to the throne, but it is said that his fears of Amurath, the Turkish sultan, who was waging this warfare against him, led him to ask permission of Amurath to ascend the throne. Such an act would almost seem a resignation of the throne to the Turks. In fact, very shortly the Ottomans had possession of the city of Constantinople and the Eastern empire of Rome. Thus they (politically) "killed" that empire which they had before "tormented." They were to "slay" it for "an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year."
Taking this as prophetic time, a day for a year, how long a time would it be? The problem is a simple one: a year, 360 days, or years; a month, 30 days, or years; and one day, one year,-in all 391 days, or, literally, 391 years. An hour being the twenty-forth part of a day, as a symbol would be half a month, or fifteen days. The whole time of Mohammedan independent rule of Eastern Roman territory would therefore be 391 years and 15 days. This added to July 27, 1449, brings us to August 11, 1840, for the termination of the period of Turkish independence, as set forth under the sixth trumpet.
Dr. Josiah Litch Predicts the Fall of the Ottoman Empire
In 1838 Dr. Josiah Litch, of Philadelphia, Pa., having embraced the truth set forth by William Miller, united in the work of giving greater publicity to the message. He prepared articles for the public print on the subject of the seven trumpets of the Revelation. He took the unqualified position that the sixth trumpet would cease to sound and the Ottoman power fall on the 11th day of August, 1840, and that that would demonstrate to the world that a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year of literal time.
Some of the brethren, even those who believed with him on this point, trembled with fear for the result "if it should not come to pass" as he said. This did not, however, daunt him, but he went forward to do all in his power to give publicity to his views on the Turkish question. Public journals spread abroad the claim he had made on the subject. Infidel clubs discussed the question in their meetings, and said, "Here is a man that ventures something, and if this matter comes out as he says, it will establish his claim without a doubt that a day in prophecy symbolizes a year, and that twenty-three hundred days is so many years, and that they will terminate in 1844."
The publication of Dr. Litch's lecture made a general stir, and many thousands were thus called to watch for the termination of the difficulties that had sprung up between Mehemet Ali, the pasha of Egypt, and the Turkish sultan. Hundreds said, "If this affair terminates as the doctor has asserted, it will establish the 'yearday' principle of interpreting symbolic time, and we will be Adventists."
The Turkish Sultan at War with the Pasha of Egypt
For several years previous to 1840, the sultan had been embroiled in a war with Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt. In 1838 the trouble between the sultan and his Egyptian vassal was for the time being restrained by the influence of the foreign embassadors. In 1839, however, hostilities were again begun, and were prosecuted until, in a general battle between the armies of the sultan and Mehemet, the sultan's army was entirely cut up and destroyed, and his fleet taken by Mehemet and carried into Egypt. So completely had the sultan been reduced, that, when the war again began in August, he had only two first-rates and three frigates as the sad remains of the once powerful Turkish fleet. This fleet Mehemet positively refused to give up and return to the sultan, and declared that if the powers attempted to take it from him, he would burn it. In this posture affairs stood, when, in 1840, England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia interposed, and determined on a settlement of the difficulty; for it was evident that if let alone, Mehemet would soon become master of the sultan's throne.
Intervention of the Allied Powers
"The sultan accepted this intervention of the allied powers, and thus made a voluntary surrender of the question into their hands. A conference of these powers was held in London, the sheik, Effendi Bey Likgis, being present as Ottoman plenipotentiary. An ultimatum was drawn up, to be presented to the pasha of Egypt, whereby the sultan was to offer him the hereditary government of Egypt, and all that part of Syria extending from the Gulf of Suez to the Lake of Tiberias, together with the province of Acre, for life; he, on his part, to evacuate all other parts of the sultan's dominions then occupied by him and to return the Ottoman fleet. In case he refused this offer from the sultan, the four powers were to take the matter into their own hands, and use such other means to bring him to terms as they should see fit.
"It was apparent that just as soon as this ultimatum should be put into the hands of Mehemet Ali, the matter would forever be beyond the control of the former [the sultan], and the disposal of his affairs would, from that moment, be in the hands of the foreign powers.
The Prophecy Fulfilled End of Turkish Independence
"The sultan dispatched Rifat Bey on a government steamer to Alexandria, to communicate the ultimatum to the pasha. It was put into his hands, and by him taken in charge, on the eleventh day of August, 1840! On the same day a note was addressed by the sultan to the embassadors of the four powers, inquiring what plan was to be adopted in case the pasha should refuse to comply with the terms of the ultimatum; to which they made answer that provision had been made, and there was no necessity of his alarming himself about any contingency that might arise. This day the period of three hundred ninety-one years and fifteen days allotted to the continuance of the Ottoman power ended; and where was the sultan's independence?- Gone!" [1]
From that day to this the sultan has had to move under the dictation of the powers, and watch the dismemberment of his kingdom, as slice by slice it has been appropriated to their own use.
Public Interest in Prophecy Aroused
This striking fulfillment of the prophecy had a tremendous effect upon the public mind. It intensified the interest of the people to hear upon the subject of fulfilled and fulfilling prophecy. Dr. Litch said that within a few months after August 11, 1840, he had received letters from more than one thousand prominent infidels, some of them leaders of infidel clubs, in which they stated that they had given up the battle against the Bible, and had accepted it as God's revelation to man. Some of these were fully converted to God, and a number of them became able speakers in the great second advent movement. Some expressed themselves to Dr. Litch on this wise: "We have said that expositors of prophecy quote from the musty pages of history to substantiate their claims of prophetic fulfillments; but in this case we have the living facts right before our eyes."
To illustrate how, just at the close of the sixth trumpet, the advent message began to go "with a loud voice," I will note a case as related to me by one of the actors in this message.
In the year 1840, E. C. Williams, an extensive tent and sail maker, of Rochester, N.Y., accepted the message, and invited Elders Miller and Himes to come to Rochester and speak to the thousands of that city. They replied that they lacked the money necessary to secure a hall of sufficient size to accommodate the people. He replied, "I have a circular tent 120 feet in diameter. I will pitch it, seat it, and care for it, free. Come on and proclaim the message." "They came," he said to me, "and the tent did not half hold those who came to hear, so I put in a forty-foot splice, making a tent 160 x 120 feet in size. This tent was filled with people daily, and hundreds crowded near on the outside, all eager to hear the word."
Hundreds Proclaiming the Message
To meet the growing interest, large tents were used, and grove meetings were held in the summer season. Some of the largest church buildings and public halls were used in the winter, and all were packed to their utmost capacity with interested listeners. Instead of Elder Miller now standing, as he had previous to 1840, "almost alone" in declaring the message, about three hundred joined him in publicly proclaiming the termination of the twenty-three-hundred-day period, and in giving the cry, "There shall be time no longer," and, "The hour of his judgment is come." Thus we see how, when the Lord's time came for the message to make its world-wide advancement, his word was fulfilled, and the millions were moved with a desire to hear the call.
What was true of the movement in America was true in other countries. From the year 1840, instead of a few individuals scattering their publications, scores sprang, as it were, to the front to proclaim the cry. In England there were seven hundred ministers of the Church of England alone proclaiming the message, to say nought of the scores of others engaged in the same work. In more than a score of the different leading nations of the earth a message was going with that zeal which led the looker-on to say, "This people are terribly in earnest."
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