Chapter 2, Nothing New Under the Sun Daniel and Revelation contain messages which the wise will understand. We read in Prophets and Kings pages 547 to 548 these words. As we near the close of this world's history, the prophecies recorded by Daniel demand our special attention as they relate to the very time in which we are living. With them should be linked the teachings of the last book of the New Testament Scriptures. Satan has led many to believe that the prophetic portions of the writings of Daniel and of John the Revelator cannot be understood. But the promise is plain that a special blessing will accompany the study of these prophecies. The wise shall understand, Daniel 12 verse 10, was spoken of the visions of Daniel that were to be unsealed in the latter days. And of the revelation that Christ gave to his servant John for the guidance of God's people all through the centuries, the promise is, blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein. Revelation 1 verse 3, end of quote. Perhaps the most important aspect for us to recognize as we attempt to understand these prophecies is the counsel given to us to understand sacred history, great and solemn events. We read in Selected Messages book 2 page 109 these words, all that God has in prophetic history specified to be fulfilled in the past has been and all that is yet to come in its order will be. Daniel, God's prophet stands in his place. John stands in his place. In the revelation the Lion of the tribe of Judah has opened to the students of prophecy the book of Daniel and thus is Daniel standing in his place. He bears his testimony that which the Lord revealed to him in vision of the great and solemn events which we must know as we stand on the very threshold of their fulfillment, end of quote. And then we read in Testimonies to Ministers pages 116 to 117 these words, we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Many of the prophecies are about to be fulfilled in quick succession. Every element of power is about to be set to work. Past history will be repeated. Old controversies will arouse to new life and peril will beset God's people on every side. Prophecy is taking hold of the human family. It is permeating everything upon the earth. Study revelation in connection with Daniel for history will be repeated. As we near the close of this world's history the prophecies relating to the last days especially demand our study. The last book of the New Testament Scriptures is full of truth that we need to understand. Satan has blinded the minds of many so that they have been glad of any excuse for not making the revelation their study, end of quote. To stand on the threshold of great and solemn events means that they are still in front of us. We have been commanded to know these events. In order to recognize them, we are directed to the history of God's people as a point of reference. We read in Selected Messages, Book 3, page 339, these words. The Bible has accumulated and bound up together its treasures for this last generation. All the great events and solemn transactions of Old Testament history have been and are repeating themselves in the Church in these last days. There, the whole accumulated truths are presented in force to us that we may profit by their teachings, end of quote. It is through studying the history of the Church that the Holy Spirit supplies the knowledge and discernment necessary to recognize the solemn events which are ahead of us. It is in knowing the history of the relationship of God with His people that we find our assurance. We read in Testimonies to Ministers, page 31, these words. In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, praise God! As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, end of quote. Revival of the Past Recognizing that our greatest need is for a revival and that a revival will come in connection with an understanding of the books of Daniel and Revelation, it is not hard to look back into the history of our Church and discover a time when an understanding of these books brought about a revival. This very scenario was evidenced at the beginning of the Millerite movement. This movement began with an increased understanding of the book of Daniel, particularly concerning the vision by the banks of the Uli as recorded in the 8th chapter of Daniel. Though the Millerite movement was based upon an understanding of the 2300 days of Daniel 814, it was not until well into the movement that, as a result of an increase of knowledge upon the very subject of the 2300 days, that a powerful revival took place. We read in the Great Controversy, pages 398-399, these words, While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps, Matthew 25, verses 5-7. In the summer of 1844, midway between the time when it had been first thought that the 2300 days would end, and the autumn of the same year to which it was afterward found that they extended, the message was proclaimed in the very words of scripture, Behold, the bridegroom cometh. That which led to this movement was the discovery that the decree of Artaxerxes for the restoration of Jerusalem, which formed the starting point for the period of the 2300 days, went into effect in the autumn of the year 457 B.C., and not at the beginning of the year as had been formerly believed. Reckoning from the autumn of 457, the 2300 years terminate in the autumn of 1844. Could this experience of increased light be a history which will be repeated at the end of time? Is there additional light to be revealed concerning these very prophecies which we have proclaimed? Something of this sort might be expected, for, as we mentioned in the first chapter, it will be through an increase of knowledge found in the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation that a people will be prepared to stand. We read in Selected Messages Book 2, pages 105-106, these words, The book of Daniel is now unsealed, and the revelation made by Christ to John is to come to all the inhabitants of the earth. By the increase of knowledge, a people is to be prepared to stand in the latter days. In the first angel's message, men are called upon to worship God, our Creator, who made the world and all things that are therein. They have paid homage to an institution of the papacy, making of no effect the law of Jehovah, but there is to be an increase of knowledge on this subject. The First Ten Virgins When new light came to the Millerites, identifying the correct starting point for the twenty-three hundred days, the people began to proclaim the message, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh. This was the beginning of the great revival of their day, and was the fulfillment of the parable of the ten virgins. It added momentum to the second message, calling people out of Babylon. In the Eastern culture, the Bridegroom comes at both the beginning and at the end of the marriage procession. First he comes to the bride's home, and then he comes back to his own home. The Bridegroom comes twice. Could this be part of the parable, part of the history, which is to be repeated? Pioneer experience repeated. We read in the Review and Herald, August 19, 1890, these words, I am often referred to the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise, and five foolish. This parable has been and will be fulfilled to the very letter, for it has a special application to this time, and, like the third angel's message, has been fulfilled and will continue to be present truth till the close of time. Esther White clearly states that there will be a repetition of the parable of the ten virgins, which, when first fulfilled in the summer of 1844, was the catalyst of the early reign experience during the pioneer movement. She also addresses the parallel between the second and fourth angels' messages. We read in Early Writings, pages 277-278, these words, I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven, descending to the earth, and again ascending to heaven, preparing for the fulfillment of some important event. Then I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory. The light which attended this angel penetrated everywhere, as he cried mightily with a strong voice, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, Revelation 18 verse 2. The message of the fall of Babylon, as given by the second angel, is repeated with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the churches since 1844. The work of this angel comes in at the right time to join in the last great work of the third angel's message, as it swells to a loud cry. And the people of God are thus prepared to stand in the hour of temptation, which they are soon to meet. I saw a great light resting upon them, and they united to fearlessly proclaim the third angel's message. Angels were sent to aid the mighty angel from heaven, and I heard voices which seemed to sound everywhere, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities, verses 4 and 5. This message seemed to be an addition to the third message, joining it as the midnight cry joined the second angel's message in 1844. The glory of God rested upon the patient, waiting saints, and they fearlessly gave the last solemn warning, proclaiming the fall of Babylon and calling upon God's people to come out of her, that they might escape her fearful doom. The counsel for us to prepare for the future, through an understanding of the history of the past, in connection with the historical fulfillment of the parable of the ten virgins in the 1840 time period, identifies that the revival which our church is waiting for will parallel the revival of the pioneer movement. We should expect increased light on the very message that we have been proclaiming for over 150 years. That message being the third angel's message bringing a warning about the Sunday Law. Daniel 11, 40-45 identifies the next event in prophecy as the Sunday Law in the United States. For the pioneers, the new information was the starting point for the 2,300 days of Daniel 8, 14. It was new light on the message they had previously been proclaiming. Prior to the new light that brought about the revival of the Midnight Cry, there was a historical event that had been recognized and proclaimed which had added increased momentum to the Millerite movement, the catalyst of prophecy. We read in the Great Controversy, pages 334-335, these words. In the year 1840, another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy excited widespread interest. Two years before, Josiah Litch, one of the leading ministers preaching the Second Advent, published an exposition of Revelation chapter 9 predicting the fall of the Ottoman Empire. According to his calculations, this power was to be overthrown in A.D. 1840, sometime in the month of August, and only a few days previous to its accomplishment, he wrote, quote, allowing the first period, 150 years, to have been exactly fulfilled before Dacosus ascended the throne by permission of the Turks, and that the 391 years, 15 days, commenced at the close of the first period, it will end on the 11th of August, 1840, when the Ottoman power in Constantinople may be expected to be broken, and this, I believe, will be found to be the case, unquote. At the very time specified, Turkey, through her ambassadors, accepted the protection of the allied powers of Europe, and thus placed herself under the control of Christian nations. The event exactly fulfilled the prediction. When it became known, multitudes were convinced of the correctness of the principles of prophetic interpretation adopted by Miller and his associates, and a wonderful impetus was given to the Advent movement. Men of learning and position united with Miller, both in preaching and in publishing his views, and from 1840 to 1844 the work rapidly extended, end of quote. Two items are identified with the fulfillment of Litch's prediction. Not only was a wonderful impetus given to the movement, but also the prophetic rules of interpretation used by William Miller were verified as the correct rules of study. When we, like the pioneers, follow prophetic interpretations which agree with the rules by Miller and his associates, we will then have reliable tools with which to understand prophecy. If Adventism today would strictly adhere to these rules, and none other, possibly half of the heresies confronting our church today would disappear like morning fog on a summer day. But more solemn is the age-old question, what if? What if we had recognized and proclaimed prior to 1989 that there would be a secret alliance formed between the Vatican and the United States which would bring about the collapse of the Soviet Union? Would we have been scoffed at, as were those who proclaimed Litch's prediction? What would have happened when it finally came to pass? Litch's prediction of the fall of the Ottoman Empire brought a great power into the early Advent movement. God designed into the prophecy of Daniel 11 verse 40 the same potential for a wonderful impetus as was brought by Litch's prediction. God would have had his people recognize and proclaim this truth in advance of it becoming past history. We read in Testimonies, Volume 7, page 14 these words, Those who place themselves under God's control to be led and guided by him will catch the steady tread of the events ordained by him to take place. The final movements are now underway. Yet, unlike the impetus provided to the message by Litch's prediction in advance of the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the fall of the Soviet Union in our day created little more than a sigh from God's people. The experience of the pioneer movement was designed to be repeated in our day, but we in Laodicea have slept on. Certainly, it is high time for us to awaken. We read in the Review and Herald, November 22, 1892, these words, The days in which we live are eventful and full of peril. The signs of the coming of the end are thickening around us, and events are to come to pass that will be of a more terrible character than any the world has yet witnessed. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them. But to those who have the light, it has been written, Ye brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief? We are all the children of light, and the children of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober, 1 Thessalonians 5 verses 3 through 6, and that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand, let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light, Romans 13, 11 through 12. Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning, lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping, Mark 13 verses 35 through 36.