Shall we pray? Heavenly Father, I ask for your presence as we bring another thought together concerning the role of Islam in Bible prophecy. I ask that you give us discernment to see the significance, the role that they play, and what it's supposed to mean to us as individuals. We ask for the presence of your Holy Spirit and that once again you pour out your latter rain upon us here at this time. We ask that you set the human aside and speak to us. We thank you for what you've been doing this week, what you've done in the lives of those that reconsecrated themselves through baptism earlier and that joined your people through baptism. It's been a blessed week and we thank you for it. It's been a blessed Sabbath day and we thank you for that. Now we ask that you would continue to bless us in this presentation in Jesus' name. Amen. We often refer to Habakkuk chapter 2 as the passage in scripture that the Lord used to lead the Millerite watchmen to produce the charts, the tables that are represented here. But if you read closely, there was two passages of scripture that led them to that. Sister White comments on both of them, quotes both of them in The Great Controversy. And I want to start with the other passage, Ezekiel chapter 12. Put it in the mix and hopefully when we get to the conclusion of this presentation we'll draw a conclusion about Ezekiel chapter 12 then. In verse 21, this is also one of the passages that led the Millerites to produce these charts. And it says, verse 21 of Ezekiel 12, if you're there. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, what is the proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying the days are prolonged and every vision felleth? Tell them therefore, thus saith the Lord God, I will make this proverb to cease. And they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel, but saying to them, the days are at hand, the effect of every vision. I happen to believe that even though this is definitely a passage that led the Millerites to produce the charts in their day and age, that this is more specifically speaking in our day and age, which is the case with all the prophets. They're speaking more about the time of the 144,000 than any other history. And at the end of the world, one of the things that takes place is the effect of every vision is at hand. And if you were here yesterday, when we went through and showed how all seven histories represented by the seven churches are repeated in the history of Laodicea, and also that all the reform movements throughout sacred history are repeated in the history of Laodicea, and that the seven churches govern the history of ancient Israel, and therefore all seven histories of ancient Israel are repeated in Laodicea, then we saw how the Lord has shrunk the Bible down to one history, the history of Laodicea, which covers the last six verses of Daniel 11. And we can also see that it's in that history when the effect of every vision will be fulfilled, because all the prophets and all the prophetic testimony are fulfilled in Laodicea. Verse 24, For there shall be no more any vain vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord, I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass, that it shall be no more prolonged. For in your days, O rebellious house, will I say a word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God. Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesied of times that are far off. I know I've told this story before, but I'll tell it one more time. I was in a camp meeting in Canada, and there was a general conference man there that was there speaking. It was in Canada, to the group at the camp meeting that spoke French, and he was a European, so he spoke French. So there were several speakers there, and I was doing Bible prophecy in one building, and he was doing his version of Bible prophecy in the other building to the French-speaking people. And the French-speaking people would also be coming to our meetings, because they spoke English as well. And the French-speaking brethren that were listening to the brother, they came to me during that camp meeting, and they'd say, you know, you're dealing with Daniel 11, 40 to 45, and you keep telling us that the Sunday Law is imminent, and he's telling us that it's at least 50 years away, and you keep saying that the One World Government is imminent, and he says the One World Government's at least 200 years away. And verse 27 says, You see, brothers and sisters, in Bible prophecy, there comes a point where you're living in the last generation. And that generation is standing when the Lord comes. Now keep that in mind, Lord willing, we will get back to that thought. Go to your syllabus, if you have it, page 316, just to put a couple things, remind us of a couple things. This is review, no doubt, after this week. The issue of Islam in Bible prophecy, page 316, is the restraint of Islam. When I was flying through Isaiah 20, 21, 22, in the last presentation, in the last part of Isaiah 21, there was a couple questions from sisters that came up here afterwards, in verse 16, where it says, And what I was trying to say about the days of a hireling is that expression is identifying that a hireling knows how many days he's been hired for, even if the employer doesn't remember. So it's saying, in connection with Islam and Bible prophecy, there's some kind of time that is precise involved. And in the next verse, it says, verse 17 of Isaiah 21, And the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, and Ishmael, are warriors, shall be diminished, the mighty men, the warriors of Ishmael, they will not be wiped out, they're going to be diminished, for the Lord God of Israel has spoken. So one of the components of the prophecy of Islam is there's a precise time element, and also it identifies when there is a restraint placed upon the warfare of Islam. They're not wiped out, they're diminished, and that's what we're saying about August 11, 1840, is Islam was restrained, and that on 2001, 9-11, it doesn't matter who brought down the Twin Towers, immediately thereafter, no one can deny that George Bush went to the world, and a restraint was put upon Islam. That's the fulfillment, is the restraint that was placed upon Islam, that paralleled the restraint that was placed upon Islam on August 11, 1840. From there, as another argument to the validity of this, is we know, Sister White plainly says, that August 11, 1840, when Islam was restrained, what that did for the Millerites, is it confirmed the primary rule of prophecy that they were using, which was the year-day principle, and on September 11, 2001, it confirmed the primary rule of biblical prophecy that we're applying here at the end of the world, which is, the Millerite history is repeated to the very letter, and when a restraint was put on Islam by George Bush, it was paralleling the restraint that was put on Islam on August 11, 1840, and at that time, the mighty angel of Revelation 10 came down, therefore, on September 11, 2001, the mighty angel of Revelation 18 came down. So, on page 316, we have Revelation 7, 1-3, under the four angels, we've dealt with that. We see an angel ascending from the east, and this is the sealing angel, and in that same passage, the four winds of strife are restrained, and Sister White tells us that the four winds represent what? An angry horse. And what's the angry horse of Bible prophecy? Or, forget Bible prophecy. What's the angry horse according to the understanding of Ellen White, who was a Millerite pioneer? The angry horse is Islam. Sister White, in her terminology, says that the angry horse is the four winds that are restrained, and Islam was restrained in 1840, and the four winds are restrained at the beginning of the latter rain, and she tells us the four winds are the angry horse of Islam. So, the restraint of Islam is the issue. Now, notice early writings, page 85. She's commenting on something that she had said previously in the book. It says, this view was given in 1847, when there were very few of Advent brethren observing the Sabbath, and of these but few supposed that its observance was of sufficient importance to draw a line between the people of God and unbelievers. Now the fulfillment of that view is beginning to be seen. The commencement of that time of trouble, what we would call in Adventism today, the little time of trouble. The commencement of the little time of trouble begins at the Sunday Law in the United States. It escalates until Michael stands up, and the great time of trouble begins, and she's making sure that what she has said, that the people understand that she wasn't talking about the great time of trouble when probation closes. She's talking about the little time of trouble during the Sunday Law crisis. She says, the commencement of that time of trouble, here mentioned, does not refer to a time when the plague shall be poured out, but to a short period, just before they're poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary. There's a time of trouble, while probation is still open, Christ is in the sanctuary. It's before Michael stands up. Then she says, at that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth. He will be a wild man. His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand will be against him. Trouble will be coming upon the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check. The angering of the nations is marked, but the marking of it is that whatever is causing the angering of the nations is also held in check. It's restrained. Yet held in check, so as not to prevent the work of the third angel at that time. At what time? When the angering of the nations are held in check, at that time, while probation is still open, at that time the latter rain, or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in a period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out. Whatever it is that angers the nations, when that is fulfilled, Revelation 11, 18, the nations were angry, thy wrath is come. When the angering of the nations is fulfilled, the latter rain begins. Not when it's fulfilled just alone. When the angering of the nation arrives, and they're also simultaneously held in check, the latter rain begins. Brothers and sisters, do you think, just within the past couple of days, do you know what Iran has said while you've been here on the mountaintop? Iran says, we're going to go in and we're going to blow up Israel's nuclear sites. Now, over the past year, Israel's saying, we're going to go in and we're going to blow up Iran's nuclear sites. Now it's reversed. Iran's going to blow up their nuclear sites. Who's Iran? Islam. And Iran went on further to say that when they do it, when they do this, they're going to attack the Israeli interest in the Middle East, and who else's? Who else's interests are going to get attacked, Iran says? The American interests. Is that the angering of the nations? Okay, but at the time the angering of the nations is going on, they're also held in check. Has there been a restraint placed upon Islam? At that time, the latter rain begins to fall. This quote, I'm on page 317. I'm moving through. From Manuscript Releases, Volume 20, page 217. There's two paragraphs there. I'm going to take the boldface on the bottom of the first paragraph, start there. Angels are holding the four winds, represented as an angry horse seeking to break loose and rush over the face of the whole earth, bearing destruction and death in its path. Shall we sleep on the verge of the eternal world? Shall we be dull and cold and dead? Oh, that we might have in our churches the spirit and breath of God breathed into his people, that they might stand upon their feet and live. We need to see that the way is narrow and the gate is straight, but as we pass through the straight gate, its wideness is without limit. Now, brothers and sisters, we went through this. Sister White here, this is Ezekiel 37, verse 9, that she's referring to. She's taking Ezekiel 37, verse 9, where Ezekiel prophesies the bones are already covered with the flesh and muscle, but they're not alive until verse 9, when he prophesies again. And then the breath comes into them, and they stand on their feet, a mighty army, and it's the whole house of Israel, Ezekiel says. But this prophecy that brings them to the feet, what does Ezekiel say? Where does it come from? It comes from the four winds. And the four winds of Islam were restrained. And in Revelation 7, when the four winds are restrained, there's an angel that ascends from where? From the east. Who's the children of east in Bible prophecy? Islam. Islam is the sealing message. Turn in your notes to page 333. All of these histories, these Reform movements, we only have two up here. We have the Reform movement of the Millerites, the Reform movement of the 144,000. But it matters not whether it's the Reform movement of Noah. Were there any signs in the Reform movement of Noah? Was the animals getting on the ark a sign? In the Reform movement of Moses, was there any signs? The signs and wonders that were done in Egypt, the Bible often refers to. Were there any signs in the Reform movement of Christ? Yes, yes. So every one of these Reform movements have signs, and we know one of the signs for Adventists, this is the easy one, is the Sunday Law, right? The Sunday Law is the sign to do what? To get out of the larger cities, right? And when did that sign arrive? 1888, brothers and sisters. 1888 was the sign to get out of the cities. We haven't got time to go there, but most Adventists don't understand that. But Sister White, when she talks about that, she quotes Matthew 24, 15, and in Matthew 24, 15, Jesus tells us that we need to understand what? The book of Daniel, but more importantly, what do we need to understand about the book of Daniel? The abomination of desolation, and what's the abomination of desolation? It's Rome, and what does Rome do? It establishes the vision, okay? You've got to understand it, Jesus said. Jesus places the same emphasis that we heard this morning. Rome establishes the vision, and when pagan Rome came into the sacred precincts of the temple and placed the banners of their pagan religion inside those sacred precincts, that was a sign for the Christians to flee Jerusalem, and not one Christian died in the destruction that came. And when, just prior to the papacy taking control in 538, when the Christians of that time period, based upon second Thessalonians, when they realized that the man of sin had placed himself in the temple of God, in Great Controversy, page 48-50, it says that they separated. They fled, that was their sign, and they fled where? Into the wilderness, just like the Christians in Jerusalem had fled into the wilderness. They had their sign, because the papacy had placed the standards of its power where? In the sacred precincts in the Christian church. So when the standards are placed in the sacred precincts, that's the sign, and in 1888 in the Blair Bill, the sacred precincts here at the end of the world is what? What did Pastor Taylor say it was this morning, if you heard it? A constitution. And in 1888, the Sunday Law was there in Congress, and it's on the testimony of several, but the main person that turned that Sunday Law legislation back was what? Who? A.T. Jones, the messenger of the latter rain, went into Congress and explained to them why that would be wrong, and it did not pass. Just like when pagan Rome came and placed the standards of its authority inside the sacred precincts, and they mysteriously withdrew, giving time for Christians to get out of Jerusalem, so too in 1888 the standards of Rome power were placed in the sacred precincts of the Constitution of the United States, and every time Sister White talks about country living before 1888, she phrases it in the very near future, we will need to get out of the city after 1888, she places it in the context, we have to be out of the city. 1901, she says, out of the cities, out of the cities, out of the cities, this is my message. So when we know about that sign, it tells us that we even know that in our time period, this generation, there are signs. But the sign that we're going to deal with here is Islam. Islam is a sign. Page 333, starting with Luke 21, verses 5-7. It's in your notes. You can use your Bible. If you're there, say amen. As some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, as for these things which ye behold, the days will come in which there shall be not left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? And what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? And you have a quote from The Desire of Ages, where Sister White plainly teaches the principle of Bible prophecy that we deal with so often, that history illustrates the end, and he began to tell them the story of the destruction of Jerusalem, and in so doing, he was illustrating the destruction at the end of the world. He blended these two stories together in mercy, she says, as you can see there in The Desire of Ages. In Luke 21, if you'll turn there now. It's in your notes, but let's turn there. In Luke 21, the disciples are asked, what is the sign of the end of the world? How many have read Hiram Edson's articles, The Times of the Gentiles, on the 2520? Raise your hands high. Okay, not very many. Brothers and sisters, there's a series of articles written by Hiram Edson, and Hiram Edson is the brother that immediately after October 22, 1844, was given a vision. Was he not? And he saw Christ move from the holy place to the most holy place, so Hiram Edson was not a Laodicean Millerite. He had an experience that qualified him to the level that he could be given a vision. And Ellen and James White certainly had confidence in him because they named one of their sons after him, Edson White. And in 1856, James White had asked him to help produce articles for the Young Review and Herald magazine, and he produced a series of articles that he never finished called The Times of the Gentiles. And in it, he said that what William Miller identifies here about the 2520 that he disagreed with, because William Miller applies the 2520 against the southern kingdom of Judah, and Hiram Edson said it should have been applied against the northern kingdom of Judah. And those articles just kind of got covered up with rubbish and sand in fulfillment of Miller's dream until about 2005. And in 2005, those articles were re-recognized, and at first it was just an interesting fascination for all of us because no one knew what the 2520 was, basically. Even some of us, such as myself, who had been using the charts for years, hadn't clicked on about the 2520. But once you see Hiram Edson's articles, he's saying, you know, I disagree with Miller. Miller says from 677, and we're going to correct Miller's error here of the time, to 1844 was the 2520 against Judah. And Edson says Miller's wrong. It should have been against the northern kingdom, and I started this a little bit off. It should have started in 723, and if so, then it would end in 1798. And as I said in the last presentation, the basic approach to Bible prophecy for the Millerites is that Daniel and Revelation is talking about two desolating powers, and every Millerite understood this. Paganism and papalism that would trample down the sanctuary and the host. That's what they built their understanding of prophecy on. So these two desolating powers are supreme in the Millerite mindset. So Hiram Edson, one of his strongest arguments, is if you start the 2520 against the northern kingdom in 723, and you go to the dead center of it, it's 538, which produces two 1260-year trampling-downs or scattering. The first is accomplished by paganism, the second by papalism. There's no way that that can be an accident, and as we begin to look at that, it was interesting. And then finally it started being clarified, and when Hiram Edson wrote this series of articles, he titled them The Times of the Gentiles, because he believed the scattering that ended in 1798 was the times of the Gentiles, when Israel was scattered to the Gentiles, but the times of the Gentiles ended in 1798. Personally, I still do like Hiram Edson's articles. When I read them, I liked them, but I knew he was wrong. Later I found out he wasn't wrong. But I had concluded years before that the times of the Gentiles ended in 1844, so even though I liked his article and I hadn't learned anything before that about the 2520, I just couldn't turn loose that 1844 was the times of the Gentiles. So the disciples asked Jesus, what's the sign of the end of the world? And he begins to tell them, and we'll take it up in Luke 21, verse 24. Speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, but at the same time blending that history into a prophecy about the end of the world, it says in verse 24, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. So Hiram Edson used that, and he goes to Revelation 11. Go with me to Revelation 11, verse 2. Revelation 11, 2 says, But the court which is without the temple leave out and measure it not, for it is given to the Gentiles, okay, times of the Gentiles, for it is given to the Gentiles, and the holy city, what's the holy city? Jerusalem, shall be trodden down under foot 42 months. When was the holy city trodden down for 42 months? From 538 to 1798, so when you go back to Luke 21, 24, and Hiram Edson says in verse 24, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. He puts it with Revelation 11, 2, and it's airtight, is it not? We know that 42 months ends in 1798, but it's not so airtight in my mind, because I know it ends in 1844. Go to Daniel 8, 13. And I don't need to be putting myself in this presentation. I only do it so you can keep the two arguments together so you can see how they come together, all right? Daniel 8, 13. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot? Where's the sanctuary? It's in Jerusalem, right? So there's a question about how long Jerusalem's going to be trodden underfoot right here, right? How long shall be the vision concerning the daily and the transgression of desolation to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot? And what's the answer? It's verse 14. Until 1844. Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. I'm seeing this verse, and I'm saying, hey, I don't care what high remittance is. I determined a long time ago the trodding down ends here, and so at some point in time, go back to Luke 21, 24, we've seen the S. Until the times. What's times mean? Plural. Until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And the times, plural of the Gentiles, one was fulfilled in 1798, the other 1844, marking the 46-year period from 1798 to 1844 when the Lord raised up the Millerite Sanctuary so he could suddenly come to his temple as the messenger of the covenant and fulfillment of Malachi 3, which Sister White says in The Great Controversy is the same event as him coming to the Most Holy Place on October 22, 1844, but Malachi is talking about the messenger of the covenant and the two 2520s are punishments against Israel for breaking the covenant, and when those two punishments are over, the Lord entered into covenant with modern Israel when the messenger of the covenant suddenly came to his temple on October 22, 1844 and fulfillment of Malachi 3, but before he could come to his temple and enter into covenant with modern Israel, he had to raise up the temple. That's why when he told the Jews in John 2, destroy this temple and in three days I'll raise it up, the Jews said it took 46 years to raise up this temple and from 1798 to 1844, in 46 years, and by the way, when Moses went on the mount to receive the instruction on how to build the earthly sanctuary, how many days was he on the mount? 46, a day for a year, okay? The temple was raised up because he was messenger of the covenant was going to suddenly come to the temple on October 22, 1844 and he did so at the conclusion of the times of the Gentiles, so when the disciples asked Jesus what's the sign of the end of the world, Jesus takes us to the Millerite history, takes us to the Millerite history and in verse 25 he says, and that there shall be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars, sun and in the moon and in the stars and when did the falling of the stars take place? 1833, let me ask it another way, when did Miller receive his credentials to preach? 1833, it's one of the signs and what's the next expression? And on earth, distress of nations. The distress of nations was brought to a conclusion on August 11, 1840 when the four great European powers interceded into the crisis in the middle of East and put a restraint upon Islam. The sea and the waves roaring, man's heart failing them for fear and looking for after those things which are coming on the earth for the powers of heaven shall be shaken and then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory and when these things begin to come to pass then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. Now he's going to do what Christ always does, he's going to repeat and enlarge, he's going to give a parable to repeat and enlarge this information. And he spake to them a parable, behold the fig tree and all the trees. When they now shoot forth, you see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when you see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. So as he's setting forth these signs, one of the things he says in verse 27, and what we're saying, brothers and sisters, this is the signs of the end of the world. The end of the world is the time period of the 144,000, amen? But the 144,000, that history, is the repeat of the Millerite history, right? So Luke 21, it's easy to see, is both a testimony to the Millerites and a testimony to you and I, correct? And in verse 27, it says, what's it say? That this generation, they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now, some of you know what I'm gonna ask. Some of you know what I'm gonna ask. Don't answer, for those of you that don't know this question. Did the Millerites see Christ come in the clouds? If you don't know this question, then go ahead and answer. Did the Millerites see Christ come in the clouds? Yes, yes. Turn to Daniel 7.13. This is standard. Daniel 7.13. And I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. When did Christ come to the Ancient of Days in fulfillment of Daniel 7.13? On October 22, 1844, Christ came with the clouds. This is a type of this history, right? The Millerite generation did not pass till they saw the signs for their history, including Christ coming in the clouds. Now what that means, what that means is if there is a sign in Luke 21 identified for you and I, that that generation that sees that sign does not pass till Jesus returns. Luke 21, if there's a sign that we can identify that is for Adventism at the end of the world, if it can be identified, when that sign arrives, it means based on Bible prophecy, does Bible prophecy ever fail? Based on Bible prophecy, the generation that sees that sign is the last generation, period. So let's go to the parable. And he spake to them a parable. Behold the fig tree and all the trees. When they shall now shoot forth, ye shall know of your own selves that summer is nigh at hand. You see I have some references in here for you. On page 338, Jeremiah 820, the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. Matthew 1339, the enemy that sowed them is the devil, the harvest. It's at the end of the world. So when Jesus says here in the parable, in Luke 21, verse 30, when they now shoot forth, ye know of your own selves that summer is nigh at hand, what period of history is he dealing with now? The harvest, the end of the world. The parable. The parable is dealing with the end of the world, more specifically than the Millerite history, right? Talking about summertime. Now I heard, I think, Pastor Taylor, I think I heard Pastor Senke touch a little bit on this. And I have a little bit of a disagreement. I don't disagree with anything I heard them say, but a little bit of a disagreement. Because they emphasize something that is true, but there's something else that we need to understand. The leaves, and you have the notes in here. You can read them from Spirit of Prophecy. What do the leaves represent? What do they represent, Pastor Taylor? Are you listening? What do the leaves represent? Profession. And what was being emphasized is we don't want just profession, do we? We want the fruit. But you know something? In the Millerite history, there was a time when the leaves began to bud out in the Millerite history. They began to make a profession. When did they begin to make a profession? It was in the time period of the second angel. Wasn't it? Because in the time period of the second angels, they reached the conclusion that they had to come out of Babylon. And they had to call people out of Babylon. Which means they'd been in those churches, but they stepped out of those churches and said those churches are no longer God's churches, we're God's church. They made a profession to being God's people. Did they not? You see the logic? And what was the time period when they did that? During this time period, when the midnight cry, the latter rain of that history was falling. Because what is it that causes the trees to bud out in the springtime in the Middle East? It's the latter rain. The latter rain. So what we're saying, and I'm a little bit off target, but I want to be clear about this profession. If the latter rain begins to sprinkle on 2001, 9-11, and it did, what's it going to do? Brothers and sisters, if this message that we're preaching is true, if it's true, the implications of teaching that the latter rain begins to fall on September 11, 2001, is that you will have to see, at that point in history, a group of people that profess to understand this message in opposition to the whole rest of the world, including the majority of Adventism that isn't understanding it. Now if you think I'm telling you that you need to separate from the Seventh-day Adventist Church or the Church of Babylon, you're not listening straight. What I'm saying is, when the latter rain begins to sprinkle, there has to be, in fulfillment of prophecy, the leaves of profession appearing, and the leaves of profession is identifying a group of people, according to Millerite history, that are understanding that they have a distinct work, a distinct message. There has to be a movement that is identifiable. Alright? So, back to the study. That was a little bit outside this study. On page 338. Signs of His Advent. Christ had bidden His people watch for the signs of His Second Advent. From Great Controversy 308. Christ had bidden His people watch for the signs of His Advent and rejoice as they should behold the tokens of their coming King. When these things begin to come to pass, He said, then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. Here's our sign, brothers and sisters. He pointed His followers to the budding trees of spring. What is it that causes the trees to spring and bud out in the springtime? The latter rain. Jesus says, our sign. Our sign is the latter rain. Our sign is the latter rain. How are we going to know that the latter rain is here? Well, we have to recognize it, right? We've spent a lot of time this week on the places where Sister White says we're required to recognize the latter rain. Testimonies to ministers where she says the latter rain will be falling on hearts all around them but they won't deserve or receive or recognize it. There's a time period where the latter rain begins to fall on Seventh-day Adventists. There's one group that is receiving it and recognizing it. And there's another group, they don't see it, they don't discern it, they don't recognize it. They don't receive it, they don't recognize it. And the word recognize is a word that means you have to have already seen it before. Recognition, as was pointed out here earlier, if I've never seen any of you ever before in my lifetime and I walk into the room, I'm not going to recognize any of you. If I walk into this room and I don't know any one of you except for Glenn here, and I've known Glenn for 20-some years, I will recognize him because I've seen him before. The people that will recognize the latter rain are the people that have seen it somewhere. Where have we seen it? Where? What about Pentecost? Pentecost, the Millerite history. That's why Sister White compares the latter rain to Pentecost in the Millerite history. The same characteristics that are in the Millerite history that are also in the history of the 144,000 are in the history of Christ, are they not? The time of the end for Christ was His birth, the fulfillment of prophecy. The time of the end is the fulfillment of prophecy in every Reform movement. And the fulfillment of that prophecy in every Reform movement sheds light on that generation. And the prophecy that was fulfilled that marked the time of the end for the time of Christ was the birth of Christ. And the students of prophecy at that time, the shepherds, the wise men, they recognized the increase of knowledge about the birth of Christ and the light that it shed upon that generation is that the Messiah had come to confirm the covenant with many for one week. That was their time of the end. There was an increase of knowledge and the message had to be formalized. The message is always formalized. Who formalized the message for Christ's generation? William Miller did. Didn't he? William Miller. I say that because William Miller... Who does Sister White compare William Miller to? John the Baptist. Okay? They're parallel way marks. It's the same history. And John the Baptist started his ministry. It goes through history. And it was empowered when the divine symbol came down. Was it not? For Miller, it was the mighty angel of Revelation 10. What divine symbol came down to empower John the Baptist's message? The dove at the baptism. Once the message was empowered in the Millerite history or in Christ's history, then we see the activities of the enemies, the Protestants, close their doors to the churches against Millerites and the Sanhedrin decides that it's expedient for one to die than the whole nation perish. After that, we have the midnight cry in the Millerite history and the history that Sister White uses to illustrate the midnight cry is the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem just before the cross. The cross was the judgment which prefigured the opening of the judgment of October 22nd, 1844. Brothers and sisters, they're absolutely airtight parallels and this history of Christ, which is this history of the Millerites, identifies an outpouring of the Spirit of God to identify the outpouring of the Spirit of God in this history. And what was it that marked the outpouring of the glorious manifestation of God? Where did that begin in the Millerite history according to Great Controversy, page 611, which we probably quoted at least 10 times this week. 1840 to 1844 was a glorious manifestation of the power of God. Right? This history, 1840 to 1844, was a glorious manifestation of the power of God. She says that in one paragraph. She talks about it. She says, the first angel's message was carried to every mission station in the world. What's the first sentence of the next paragraph? She says, it will be similar to Pentecost. 1840, 1844, Pentecost, are an illustration of the latter reign. Have you seen it? Do you see it? Because you have to see it in order to recognize the latter reign. That's how you recognize the latter reign. Recognition means something you've seen before. Right? So when this history is repeated, brothers and sisters, when it's repeated, the latter reign begins to sprinkle. The trees begin to bud out. Christ pointed his followers to the budding trees of spring. Right? The latter reign is what causes the budding trees of spring to bud out. The trees of spring to bud out. What marks the beginning of the latter reign? This is the test question for the prophecy school. What marks the beginning of the latter reign? Somebody said the Sunday Law. No, no, no, that's the right answer. It's not the Sunday Law. 9-11 is when it happened. 2001 is when it happened. When Islam is restrained, you know that the angel comes down. When did the angel come down in the Millerite history? When Islam was restrained. Now, brothers and sisters, how many Seventh-day Adventists are going to see this? How many of them are going to recognize it? If they're not studying prophecy, could they recognize it? How many are going to see it? Well, I'll give you an easy answer. Did the Lord ever try to pour the latter reign out upon His people before? 1888. How many of them recognized it? Are all the prophets speaking more about the end of the world than the days in which they lived? Did Sister White record 1888 for us that are living at the end of the world? How many Seventh-day Adventists are going to recognize that the restraint of Islam is the beginning of the latter reign and that the trees of spring are budding out? 144,000. There's a good answer, but I hope it's more than that. Don't you? Brothers and sisters, the 144,000, whatever you may want to say about it, I don't want to get into that argument if you don't mind, but from my study, the only thing you can be really certain about is those people that have the seal of God, that are alive when Michael stands up, are the 144,000. But you and I may very well receive the seal of God at the Sunday Law in the United States and die before Michael stands up. Right? Whose left standing is the 144,000? We need to strive to be among them. But brothers and sisters, what does the parable say? This generation does not pass. If you're living at the time that Islam is restrained, and you can recognize, it doesn't even matter if you can recognize, if you're living when Islam is restrained and this glorious manifestation of the power of God begins to repeat, you are in the final generation of earth's history. You will live until Michael stands up and he comes in the clouds of heaven. You may die before then, but this generation has the longevity to stand until he returns. That's why this chart, being a way mark of this history, this chart here, it was also produced based upon Ezekiel 12. Sister White says it in the grain controversy, the pioneers all quote it. And what does Ezekiel 12 say? Last couple of verses. Verse 27. Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, the vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesied of times that are far off, therefore saying to them, saith the Lord God, there shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God. Now brothers and sisters, there's a teaching in Adventism that, based upon the spirit of prophecy quote, that when the character of Christ is perfectly reflected in his people, then he will come, and therefore, if we refuse to develop his character, he may not come for another 10, 50, 100, 1,000 years if you want to carry that logic to its logical conclusion. But brothers and sisters, Jesus gave us the sign of the end of the world. It was the restraint of Islam which marked the beginning of the latter reign. But he didn't just give us that one sign. He gave us this whole Millerite history. How many of you have been, raise your hand on this one. How many of you have been Adventist for 15 years or longer? Raise your hand. Okay, that's a lot of us. All right, for those of you that have been Adventist 15 years or longer, be honest now. Before five years ago, let's go back five years. Before five years ago, how many of you that raised your hand had any serious interest in these charts? Okay, I see one hand. I could raise my hand. I may have had a little serious interest, but you get my point, brothers and sisters. You know how much these charts cost, these vinyl ones? I mean, we've sold the paper ones or told people where they could buy paper ones for many years. One's five bucks, one's 10 bucks. But you know how much these charts are? We sell them for 95 bucks each. That's a lot of money, isn't it? We get them, I think, correct me if I'm wrong, Bronwyn and Jason, but I think we have them printed 20 or 25 each when we have them printed. And then when we run out, we print 25 of these and 25 of these. Pastor Sankey, he prints these things too. He sells them. You sell them for 95 bucks, don't you? So there's people around the world selling these charts for 95 bucks each, and we have to go down on a regular basis and print them again. Wonderful, but the point is, brothers and sisters, these charts are being studied all over planet Earth now. Period, they are. They're here. They're here. And of course, when the 1843 chart came into this history, it produced the closing of the doors by the Protestants. It contributed to it greatly. So if these charts are back in history, what's it tell you? That the door is about to close. How many doors closed? Let's go to Christ's history. Okay, what's the two marks of closing doors in the history of Christ, the ones I'm asking about? The cleansing of the temple. How did Christ cleanse the temple? He overturned the tables and made a whip, but how did He cleanse the temple? How did He drive the people out of the temple? Divinity flashed through humanity. You remember that? Suddenly, they all seen His divinity and they fled out of the temple. Was it not? What cleansed the temple was a manifestation of the power of God, and it happened twice. It happened twice in the history of Christ. Amen? How many manifestations of the power of God were there in the Millerite history? Well, there was the one when the mighty angel came down in 1840, and what it did, it produced a closing of the door right here, and then there was a manifestation of the power of God here that produced a closing of the door here. It's the manifestation of the power of God that produces the closing of the door. And on September 11, 2001, there was a manifestation of the power of God, but most of them, they Adventists, they don't really think that was a manifestation of the power of God, do they? But what it's doing, it's closing the door on them. It's closing the door, and then comes the manifestation of the power of God and a loud cry that closes the door on all mankind. Two temple cleansings. You see it? Brothers and sisters, September 11, 2001 is the subject of Bible prophecy. It's one of the most, perhaps the most serious prophecy in the scriptures in terms of its necessity of being correctly recognized by God's people. Islam. Islam. The two chariots of Islam. That the Millerite... Brothers, if you didn't understand me last time, some sisters didn't, so you probably all didn't. The Watchmen in Isaiah 21 of the Millerite history. They've seen two chariots representing Islam. They've seen the first woe and the second woe. We have to see those same two chariots. But the only way we can see those two chariots is to be standing on the foundations accepting the pioneer understanding. If you and I accept the pioneer understanding of these two chariots, then we have the information to see the third chariot. And the third chariot is the sign that identifies that the latter rain begins to fall and that we're the generation that is living when Jesus returns in the clouds of heaven. Shall we pray? Heavenly Father, You've told us that the third angel's message is the most fearful message ever given to mankind, and it is a solemn and serious message that You've placed before us. Calling us individually to the foot of the cross to bring our lives in agreement with this message, but commanding us to go warn our brothers and sisters within this church that is about to be swept away at the Sunday Law. Commanding us to carry this message to sleeping people that are on the verge of receiving strong delusion. Giving us the information to tell them of a fulfillment of prophecy that they refuse to see, yet we must do it. Lord, we ask that You would give us the ability to clearly present these things to our family, our friends, our neighbors. Give us the courage to live the consistent life that's necessary to empower the message that we share. Lord, we know that when You were baptized by John, that You were immediately tested of the devil, and we know that there were many souls that made that same commitment to You here today, and that that is an example for them, that they have a test that's going to confront them here in the very near future in fulfillment of the type that You've left. Forewarn them to be on their guard. And You've told us through the spirit of prophecy that when we come to meetings like this, that we're on a mountaintop as we've truly been, when these meetings are over, that we're going down in the valley, and that we have to be on our guard, that we don't leave the spiritual experience up on the mountain and find ourselves down in the valleys of doubt and discouragement when we leave here. So I ask that You would place upon us an extra measure of Your Spirit to give us the discernment of people that are living in the last scenes of Earth's history, the generation that will be standing when You return for us, and help us keep close to You constantly, that the test and the discouragement and the attacks that Satan is most surely going to throw at us as we leave this encampment tomorrow, that we will have the wisdom to flee to You and not be taken off guard by these things. We thank You for the week that we've had so far, the blessings You've given us. If You could do one thing for me, Heavenly Father, it would be to place a burden upon everyone in this room that's been hearing these things, that they will go home and test and determine from the Word of God and through prayer whether this is true or false. Give them no peace until they do that. Don't let them take the position that they can put it off for some other time. If this message is true, there is no more time to put anything off other than coming to You. Put that burden upon their heart, I ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.