Rome Establishes the Vision - Number Four

We have been forewarned that “old controversies” would be revived in the last days.

Invariably those old controversies were a satanic attempt to undermine the role of Modern Rome, for it is papal Rome of the last days who establishes the vision. There are several examples of this fact in the history of Adventism. The first was the controversy between the Protestants and the Millerites as represented upon the 1843 pioneer chart. The only reference on the sacred 1843 pioneer chart, which “was directed by the Lord and should not be altered,” that was not a direct reference to a prophetic truth of God’s word, was the representation of the controversy of the Millerites with the Protestants of that period. The Protestants identified the “robbers of thy people” of Daniel chapter eleven, verse fourteen as Antiochus Epiphanes, while the Millerites knew it was Rome.

Thereafter there was the controversy between James White and Uriah Smith over the correct identification of the “king of the north” in Daniel chapter eleven. James was correct in identifying the “king of the north” in the final verses of Daniel eleven as papal Rome, or as I call it modern Rome. Smith argued the “king of the north” of Daniel chapter eleven, verse thirty-six was atheistic France.

Smith inserted his own “private interpretation” when he stated, “The king here introduced cannot denote the same power which was last noticed; namely, the papal power; for the specifications will not hold good if applied to that power.” God’s Word never fails, and it is grammatically incorrect to use a human proposition to deny the clear grammatical structure of the passage. The verse says “and the king” which demands that the king being identified is the same king represented in the previous passage. There is no evidence of a new king, and Smith affirms the “same power which was last noticed” was the “papal power.” He acknowledges in his book that from verse thirty-one through verse thirty-five is the papal power, and with no grammatical evidence identifying a new king in verse thirty-six, he simply argues that the verses following verse thirty-five do not represent the prophetic characteristics of the papal power. He therefore inserts his opinion about France.

When Smith addresses verse forty, the faulty prophetic platform he has erected with his private interpretation forces him to identify a three way war, that by his conjectures identifies the king of the south as Egypt, who in the verse “pushes” against France, and Turkey he identifies as the king of the north who also comes against France. That added human interpretation builds a prophetic model that has Smith identifying a literal Armageddon, where Turkey marches to Jerusalem, marking the close of human probation as Michael stands up. Many books in Adventism’s history have been written correctly identifying the fallacy of such an application.

It is not the purpose of this article to address the fruits of Uriah Smith’s private interpretation, but simply to identify the controversy that ensued when he began to promote his private interpretation, for as James White opposed his fallacious view it became another line of controversy in Adventism where the correct identification of Rome was attacked by a false application.

There was also the long-drawn-out controversy over “the daily” in the book of Daniel, when Laodicean Adventism adopted the apostate Protestant view identifying “the daily” in the book of Daniel as Christ’s sanctuary ministry, in contradiction to the established foundational truth that “the daily” was a symbol of pagan Rome.

At the time of the end, in 1989, when the last six verses of Daniel eleven were unsealed, the king of the north was then recognized to be papal Rome, just as James White previously identified in his controversy with Uriah Smith. White had applied the methodology of “line upon line” as he addressed Smith’s fallacy. White argued if the last power represented in Daniel two, and the last power represented in Daniel seven, and the last power represented in Daniel eight were all Rome, then upon three lines of witnesses the power who comes to his end in Daniel eleven is Rome, not Smith’s claim that it is Turkey.

The prophetic movement of the third angel which began in 1989, was confronted shortly after September 11, 2001 with a controversy over Joel chapter one. Within the first five verses, two witnesses, first of generations, then of insects identify a progressive destruction brought upon Adventism by Rome. The “drunkards” in prophecy according to Isaiah are the “scornful men which rule Jerusalem.” They awake in the fourth and final generation. The progressive destruction is a spiritual destruction for it is addressing Jerusalem of the last days, and from the rebellion of 1863 onward the Laodicean Seventh-day Adventists progressively imbibed in the doctrines of Rome.

After the great buildings of New York City came down, it was understood that the latter rain then began to “sprinkle”, and that the controversy of Habakkuk chapter two, that was fulfilled in Millerite history, was once again under way. The controversy was over correct prophetic methodology.

The testing of Habakkuk two typified the testing of the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand which began when the mighty angel of Revelation chapter eighteen descended on September 11, 2001. Then a controversy began between those who stood upon the foundations of Adventism represented upon the 1843 pioneer chart, and those who in Habakkuk transgress “by wine” and who were the “drunkards” of Joel who then “awoke,” only to have the “new wine” cut off from their “mouth.”

The Hebrew word “reproved” in verse one means “argued with”. The argument given to the Millerite watchmen was represented upon the 1843 pioneer chart which was produced in May of 1842 in fulfillment of these verses. One class who lived by their faith was in controversy over the prophetic present truth message for that period, with another class who transgressed by wine. Those are Joel’s drunkards who awake to find the wine, a symbol of doctrine, is cut off from their mouths. They are Isaiah’s drunkards of Ephraim who rule Jerusalem and are unable to understand the book that is sealed.

The argument of Habakkuk between the drunkards of Ephraim and those who walk by faith in God’s prophetic Word is specifically identified as the argument over correct versus incorrect methodology in Isaiah’s testimony, for Isaiah identifies that it is the methodology of “line upon line” that causes the drunkards to stumble and enter into a covenant of death.

Isaiah then identifies what God placed into the controversy of Habakkuk that would bring judgment upon the drunkards, and it was the foundation stone, the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six, which was the first time prophecy that Gabriel and the angels led William Miller to understand.

Shortly after the Lord led His people back to the old paths, beginning on September 11, 2001 there was a group who had been participating in the movement who determined that the four insects of Joel represented Islam of the third woe. When the methodology of “line upon line” had been opened up to God’s people in that final generation, a key prophetic rule was recognized. That rule is the triple application of prophecy, and the group that determined the four generations of Joel represented Islam of the third woe, incorrectly applied the rule of a triple application of prophecy to uphold their incorrect application.

Then in the 2014 time period Satan was allowed into this movement with the homosexual “woke” agenda out of Great Britain and Australia that based its attack upon a false interpretation of the history represented in Daniel chapter eleven verses one through fifteen. The pro-homosexual leaders who infiltrated and attacked this movement ultimately claimed that Adventism needed to apologize to the pope of Rome, for supposedly making false accusations against the antichrist, the pope of Rome. The purpose of this attack was to slay the movement, and primarily to produce confusion on the very passage (Daniel 11:1–15) where “the robbers of thy people” are identified.

All these controversies were an attempt by Satan to confuse the symbol of papal Rome. There is nothing new under the sun, according to the wisest man who ever lived. Today the controversy is again based upon the identification of Rome, symbolized as “the robbers of thy people”. The new and private interpretation claims “the robbers of thy people” is the United States, and in doing so they are evidently unaware that this is the identical controversy as the very first controversy between the Millerites and Protestants, and the old saying attributed to sixteenth century author John Heywood that states, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” Another variation of his phrase is “None so deaf as those who will not hear.” Most probably don’t know this phrase is attributed to Heywood, nor do they understand that the phrase of Heywood was derived from the Bible passages such as found in Jeremiah, Isaiah and quoted by Jesus in the New Testament.

It is Daniel’s “wicked” and Matthew’s “foolish virgins” that do not understand the “increase of knowledge”. The increase of knowledge in 1989 was primarily the recognition that the last six verses of Daniel chapter eleven identify the final rise and fall of papal, or as I labeled it Modern Rome. The verses identify the United States, but only the relation of the United States to the papal power. The “wicked” and “foolish” are contrasted with the “wise”, and the wise of the last days do have understanding of the increase of knowledge in 1989. The foolish are those who have eyes, but do not see, and ears and do not hear.

The people being addressed in Isaiah chapter six, are those who profess to be in the “present truth” message that arrived on September 11, 2001, for Isaiah six marks the passage as occurring when “the earth is full of the glory of the Lord”. The earth was lightened with God’s glory when the angel of Revelation eighteen descended when the great buildings of New York City were thrown down by a touch from God.

Sister White connects the angel’s proclamation with the event that marks when the angel of Revelation chapter eighteen fills the earth with his glory.

Isaiah, representing God’s people during the sealing time that began on September 11, 2001, was given a message to carry to a people who had eyes, but did not choose to see, and ears, but did not choose to hear. Jesus, as Alpha and Omega, illustrates the end of the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand with the beginning. At the end there will again be a messenger represented by Isaiah who carries a message to a people who choose not to see and hear. That message will produce the final purging of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. The message is the words of Truth, that are brought from God’s prophetic testimony. That prophetic testimony is the “vision” that is established by the power symbolized as “the robbers of thy people”.

In the next article we will take each of these controversies and lay them over each other in a line-upon-line fashion. The Millerite line, the Smith and White line, the “daily” line, the “king of the north” in 1989 line, the insects of Joel line and the current controversy. Six old controversies, which when viewed line-upon-line clearly uphold the truth of the first controversy which is represented upon the 1843 pioneer chart. That truth being that Rome is “the robbers of thy people”, who exalt themselves, and who fall, and establish the vision.

To reject the truths upon that chart is to simultaneously reject the authority of the Spirit of Prophecy, and the chart identifies that it is Rome, not the United States, who establishes “the vision”, which is the vision that Solomon instructs us that without that “vision”, God’s people will perish.