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Habakkuk’s Two Tables – Number 01 – Part One: The Spirit Of Prophecy – The Midnight Cry
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Invocation by Brother Jeff Pippenger: Heavenly Father, as we take up worship this morning and as we begin this series, we ask that you would take control of not only the spoken presentation but the work that we are accomplishing through Livestreaming and through recording this series on DVDs. We ask that you would bless that what we attempt to share here will be available for God’s people wherever they can obtain this information. We know that this is sacred information and that human beings can only participate in sharing this if you grant them the presence of your Holy Spirit and if you take control of their words and their thoughts, and we would ask that you would do that at this time. Forgive my sins, purify me, cleanse me that your Holy Spirit might be able to convey what you have for us in this series; and, we ask that you prepare the hearts and minds of the brothers and sisters that will be hearing this that they might receive it and put it into place where they might be more prepared to giving answer to those that have questions about these subjects and that this truth might go into their heart and work a transformation where they become more like you in thought, word, deed, and character. And we thank you for these things in Jesus’s name. Amen.
Brother Pippenger: So, we are going to be looking at Habakkuk’s Two Tables in this series for a long period of time. These are Habakkuk’s Two Tables, the 1843 and the 1850 Charts.
But, we are going to begin with putting the Midnight Cry in place. As I have already said, much of this in the initial presentations here will be review for those of us who have been following this message for some time; but, because we are preparing a series that has the potential of being studied by people who are new in this message, we have to put some of the basic ideas in place for them, for the DVD.
And, we are going to begin with the Midnight Cry, and we are going to begin by dealing with an aspect of the Midnight Cry that is found in Ellen White’s first vision. And, I will go through what I have just gone through again, but we will read this first paragraph from Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, page 57.
“It was not long after the passing of the time, in 1844, that my first vision was given me.”—
When you look at her visions, there are two types of visions. There are open visions that take place in the presence of people, and there are night visions that take place in the privacy of the prophetess and the angels that are involved with the visions and dreams.
This is her first open vision, and it takes place in Portland, Maine, as her last open vision takes place 40 years later in Portland, Oregon. And when you study the circumstances why the Lord quit providing open visions for the Church in the ministry of Ellen White, it was because there had been a rejection of the Spirit of Prophecy by the leadership and the lay people at large; and, of course, this is documented in history. In 1882 Uriah Smith began to publish, began to teach in the college that when Sister White received a vision and she was shown something that this was inspired, but when she wrote a testimony, it was just her personal opinion.
And, of course, when she comments on this rejection by Uriah Smith, and of course he is teaching this in the school and publishing it in the periodicals of Adventism, she comments on it that the reason that he did this is that he had been personally rebuked by a testimony from Ellen White. So, at that point he is going to determine that testimonies are not inspired: he gets to pick and choose what he wants to accept.
And the nest year the General Conference President, in 1883, George Butler does a series of ten articles in The Review and Herald where he identifies which portions of the Bible are inspired and which portions are not. And in his tenth article he gives a list of passages in the Bible that are not inspired.
So, 1882 – 1883 you have the leadership of the educational work, of the printing work, and the leadership of the General Conference is rejecting the Spirit of Prophecy. So, in 1884, forty years after the first open vision, the last open vision is given; and, it was not a coincidence that it was also in Portland, only that it was in Portland, Oregon.
So, this is her first open vision, and it says,
—”It was not long after the passing of the time, in 1844, that my first [open] vision was given me. I was visiting Mrs. Haines at Portland, [Maine,] a dear sister in Christ, whose heart was knit with mine; five of us, all women, were kneeling quietly at the family altar. While we were praying, the power of God came upon me as I had never felt it before.”—
Now, these five women, their hearts were knit with Sister White. They are not opposing any manifestation of the power of God. And if you want to see it, they are all women, which represent the Church that can be marked as five wise virgins. I do not know what that means, but it is an observation there.
Second paragraph:
“I seemed to be surrounded with light, and to be rising higher and higher from the earth. I turned to look for the advent people in the world, but could not find them, when a voice said to me, ‘Look again, and look a little higher.’ At this, I raised my eyes, and saw a straight and narrow path, cast up high above the world. On this path the advent people were traveling to the city which was at the farther end of the path. They had a bright light set up behind them at the beginning of the path, which an angel told me was the ‘midnight cry.’ [SEE MATTHEW 25:6.] This light shone all along the path, and gave light for their feet, so that they might not stumble.
“If they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them to the city, they were safe. But soon some grew weary, and said the city was a great way off, and they expected to have entered it before. Then Jesus would encourage them by raising His glorious right arm, and from His arm came a light which waved over the advent band, and they shouted ‘Alleluia!’ Others rashly denied the light behind them, and said that it was not God that had led them out so far. The light behind them went out, leaving their feet in perfect darkness, and they stumbled and lost sight of the mark and of Jesus, and fell off the path down into the dark and wicked world below.” Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, 57.
So, what we are going to attempt to cover in this first presentation, after we put a few things in place, is that—and maybe I can turn right to it in your notes.
On page 7 of your notes it says, “Low Hampton Conference of Adventists, December 28, 29, 1844.” Okay. In December of 1844 some of the Millerites had a conference, and we are going to get to that point but in that conference William Miller rejects the understanding of the Midnight Cry. So, the logic here is, is that this vision primarily—not primarily, it is for all of us; but, it is for William Miller. Okay? William Miller has just at this very same month he is denying the light behind them, the Midnight Cry, which is going to cause him to fall off the path to the wicked world below. We are going to deal with some of the implications of that, and we are going to show that the historical evidence is going to show the Millerites all believed that they were fulfilling the parable of the Ten Virgins. It was common knowledge among them.
I do not know that I will bring in any historical references to prove that, but that is an historical fact.
But, of a certainty we are going to show you that William Miller had an understanding of what the Midnight Cry was. William Miller’s understanding of the Midnight Cry was that it was the Judgment Hour message of Daniel 8:14 and of Revelation 14:6-9. William Miller believed that the message that he began proclaiming in the early 1830s was the Midnight Cry, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh!” He believed that Jesus was coming to the world, and that was the Bridegroom coming.
So, for most of Millerite History, they believed that they were fulfilling the parable of the Ten Virgins; but, they believed that the Midnight Cry was describing the presentation of the message that they had been proclaiming; whereas, when you get to the summer of 1844, there is a new and correct understanding of what the Midnight Cry is. It is The Seventh Month Movement: Jesus is going to come on the tenth day of the seventh month. That is the True Midnight Cry.
So, when Miller is going to reject in December of 1844 the True Midnight Cry, he is rejecting the history of the summer of 1844. He is saying, “This is not of the Lord,” and he reverts back to his old position, that it is just the message in general from the 1830s. So, we are going to show that here because we need to understand, I want you to understand, the dynamics connected with the history of the Midnight Cry. The reason that I want you to understand that is that if you do not understand the 2520 as the Millerites did, then you cannot understand the Midnight Cry; and, if you cannot understand the Midnight Cry the way the Millerites did, you fall off the path to the wicked world below.
And what we are going to do in this presentation is we are going to start with some of these truths on this 1843 Chart that are rejected, openly rejected by Adventism today. The Biblical Research Institute of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and most of the theologians of Adventism reject the 2520. Okay? We will no doubt deal with that Biblically as we proceed, but we are going to start initially by just showing you that Ellen White fully and completely endorses the 2520.
The Biblical Research Institute and most of the theologians in Adventism today, they reject the Pioneer understanding of the Daily. We will show you that in the Bible later on; but, we are going to show you to start with that if you reject the Pioneer understanding that the Daily being Paganism, you are rejecting the Spirit of Prophecy.
The Biblical Research Institute of the Seventh-day Adventist Church publicly rejects the Pioneer understanding of the Trumpets. These are the Fifth and Sixth Trumpets [referring to the 1843 Chart]. We are going to begin, in the first presentations we give, showing you that if you reject the Pioneer understanding of the Trumpets, you are rejecting the Spirit of Prophecy.
In Adventism today, most people are very vague at best about the 1290 and the 1335. If you do not have the Pioneer understanding of the 1335, then you do not have the Biblical justification for identifying the tarrying time that arrived on March 22, 1844. And if you do not understand the tarrying time, then you cannot understand the dynamics of the Midnight Cry. And if you do not understand the Midnight Cry, you fall off the path to the wicked world below.
So, we are going to show you those truths on this 1843 Chart, in terms of just the black-and-white endorsement of the Spirit of Prophecy; and, then, we will go through and dissect these from the Word of God.
But, before we do that we need to see what surrounded the Millerite History, what produces the Midnight Cry.
1798−The First Angel Arrives
So, we are going to being with Uriah Smith’s Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, page 521. We are going to show you the Millerite History, and we are going to deal with 1798: What is 1798?
This is Uriah Smith, Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, page 521.
“The chronology of the events of Revelation 10 is further ascertained from the fact that this angel is identical with the first angel of Revelation 14.”—
You should underline that and make sure you understand it. In Revelation chapter 10 there is a Mighty Angel that comes down out of Heaven with a Little Book opened in His hand. Sister White informs us that this Mighty Angel is no less the personage than Jesus Christ, and that the Little Book, opened in His hand, is the Book of Daniel. And by the time you get to the end of chapter 10, John is told to go take that Little Book and eat it and it is going to be sweet in his mouth and bitter in his stomach; and, in so doing John is representing the Millerite History that has the message of Daniel that is sweet but leads them to the bitter disappointment.
And the Mighty Angel of Revelation 10, according to the Pioneer logic, is the First Angel of Revelation 14. They are the same Angel.
We do not spend much time being specific about these Angels in Revelation, but we should. Okay? I want you to see that this Mighty Angel that comes down in Revelation 10 is also the Angel that William Miller believed he was fulfilling the Midnight Cry by accomplishing the work of the First Angel of Revelation 14, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: . . . ,” the hour of His judgment being Daniel 8:14. They are the same Angel, but these Angels are identifying different aspects of the work that is accomplished.
So, back to Uriah Smith:
—”The chronology of the events of Revelation 10 is further ascertained from the fact that this angel is identical with the first angel of Revelation 14.”—now he is going to tell us what ties them together—”The points of identity between them are easily seen: (1) They both have a special message to proclaim; (2) they both utter their proclamation with a loud voice; (3) they both use similar language, referring to the great Creator as the maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and the things that are therein; and (4) they both proclaim time, one swearing that time should be no more, and the other proclaiming that the hour of God’s judgment has come. But the message of Revelation 14:6 is located this side of the commencement of the time of the end.”—
Now Uriah Smith is going to tell us the time of the end is 1798 and that the message of Revelation 14 comes on this side [indicating to the right of the time of the end on the time line in Figure No. 1].
1798. Time of Aug 11,
the End 1833 1840 Angel of Rev 10 1844
1st Angel 1st Angel
of Rev. 14 Empowered
Arrives
Figure No. 1A.
So, when he says the message of Revelation 14 comes on this side, he is placing it over here [to the right of the time of the end], somewhere.
—But the message of Revelation 14:6 is located this side of the commencement of the time of the end. It is a proclamation of the hour of God’s judgment come, and hence must have its application in the last generation. Paul did not preach the hour of judgment come. Luther and his coadjutors did not preach it. Paul reasoned of a judgment to come, indefinitely future; and Luther placed it at least three hundred years off from his day. Moreover, Paul warns the church against any such preaching as that the hour of God’s judgment has come, until a certain time. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3, he [Paul] says: ‘Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,’ etc. Here Paul introduces to our view the man of sin, the little horn, the papacy, and covers with a caution the whole period of his supremacy, which, as already noticed, continued 1260 years, ending in 1798.
“In 1798, therefore, the restriction against proclaiming the day of Christ at hand ceased; in 1798, the time of the end commenced, and the seal was taken from the little book. Since that period, therefore, the angel of Revelation 14 has gone forth”
Now, notice what he says. He is saying, if you will see it, that since 1798 the First Angel’s Message has gone forth, the Angel of Revelation 14.
So, in 1798 the First Angel of Revelation 14 arrives in history: Pioneer understanding, absolutely air-tight correct.
—”Since that period, therefore, the angel of Revelation 14 has gone forth proclaiming the hour of God’s judgment come; and it is since that time, too, that the angel of chapter 10 has taken his stand on sea and land, and sworn that time shall be no more. Of their identity there can be no question; and all the arguments which go to locate the one, are equally effective in the case of the other. We need not enter into any argument here to show that the present generation is witnessing the fulfillment of these two prophecies. In the preaching of the advent, more especially from 1840 to 1844, began their full and circumstantial accomplishment.”—
So, now he is marking 1840 and 1844; and, he is doing it in reference to the First Angel of Revelation 14 arriving in 1798; but, he is going to mark this First Angel here in 1840. And he will not say it this way, but this where the First Angel is empowered; but, he is still marking the history and tying them together.
—”In the preaching of the advent, more especially from 1840 to 1844, began their full and circumstantial accomplishment. The position of this angel, one foot upon the sea and the other on the land, denotes the wide extent of his proclamation by sea and by land. Had this message been designed for only one country, it would have been sufficient for the angel to take his position on the land only. But he has one foot upon the sea, from which we may infer that his message would cross the ocean, and extend to the various nations and divisions of the globe; and this inference is strengthened by the fact that the Advent proclamation, above referred to, did go to every missionary station in the world. More on this under chapter 14.” Uriah Smith, Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, 521.
And we know this. From 1840 the First Angel’s Message, according to Sister White, was carried to every mission station in the world. Uriah Smith is quoting her there. This is accomplished when the year-day principle of Bible prophecy is confirmed with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
We are not dealing with the details at this point. We are just trying to put some things in place of the history of the Millerites so that we can see the dynamics of the Midnight Cry.
1833. Okay. In 1833 we have the falling of the stars. Sister White comments on this in The Great Controversy, page 333. She says,
“In 1833, two years after Miller began to present in public the evidences of Christ’s soon coming,”—
So, when did Miller begin to present in public the evidence of His soon coming? 1831, evidently. And what he did, he began to write articles that were being published. Okay? This does not necessarily mean that he is standing in a pulpit in 1831, but it is an historical fact that he began to have his work published in 1831.
—”In 1833, two years after Miller began to present in public the evidences of Christ’s soon coming, the last of the signs appeared which were promised by the Saviour as tokens of His second advent. Said Jesus: ‘The stars shall fall from heaven.’ Matthew 24:29. And John in the Revelation declared, as he beheld in vision the scenes that should herald the day of God: ‘The stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.’ Revelation 6:13. This prophecy received a striking and impressive fulfillment in the great meteoric shower of November 13, 1833.” The Great Controversy, 333.
Now, notice, this is William Miller’s testimony here. I like this testimony. You will, too, probably.
“One Saturday after breakfast,”—
How would we say that today?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: “One Sabbath . . . .”
BROTHER PIPPENGER: He would know it. He was not a Sabbath keeper. He never became a Sabbath keeper. But:
—”On Saturday [Sabbath] after breakfast, in the summer of 1833, I sat down at my desk to examine some point; and as I arose to go out to work, it came home to me with more force than ever, ‘Go and tell it to the world.’ The impression was so sudden, and came with such force, that I settled down into my chair, saying, I can’t go, Lord. ‘Why not?’ seemed to be the response; and then all my excuses came up, my want of ability, etc.; but my distress became so great, I entered into a solemn covenant with God, that if he would open the way, I would go and perform my duty to the world. ‘What do you mean by opening the way?’ seemed to come to me. Why, said I, if I should have an invitation to speak publicly in any place, I will go and tell them what I find in the Bible about the Lord’s coming. Instantly all my burden was gone; and I rejoiced that I should not probably be thus called upon; for I had never had such an invitation: my trials were not known, and I had but little expectation of being invited to any field of labor.
“In about half an hour from this time, before I had left the room, a son of Mr. Guilford, of Dresden, about sixteen miles from my residence, came in and said that his father had sent for me, and wished me to go home with him. Supposing that he wished to see me on some business, I asked him what he wanted? He replied that there was to be no preaching in their church the next day, and his father wished to have me come and talk to the people on the subject of the Lord’s coming. I was immediately angry with myself for having made the covenant I had; I rebelled at once against the Lord, and determined not to go. I left the boy without giving him any answer, and retired in great distress to a grove nearby. There I struggled with the Lord for about an hour, endeavoring to release myself from the covenant I had made with him; but I could get no relief. It was impressed upon my conscience, ‘Will you make a covenant with God, and break it so soon?’ and the exceeding sinfulness of thus doing overwhelmed me. I finally submitted, and promised the Lord that if he would sustain me, I would go, trusting in him to give me grace and ability to perform all he should require of me. I returned to the house, and found the boy still waiting; he remained till after dinner, and I returned with him to Dresden.” William Miller, Apology and Defense, 17–18.
And that is how Miller, in the summer of 1833, began to publicly in person began to present the message.
And what did the Lord do for him?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: He sustained him.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: He sustained him, but in the summer of 1833 He produced the falling of the stars to put a solemnity with his message.
The First Message Empowered
So, Sister White comments on 1840. Now, Brothers and Sisters, this is one of the most controverted passages in the Spirit of Prophecy. There are books written that try to undermine this passage in the Spirit of Prophecy. There are arguments in Adventism that are saying, “Uriah Smith snuck this passage into The Great Controversy,” that Sister White did not actually write it. It is a bunch of foolishness; but, if you are not familiar with the attack on these two paragraphs, I am just letting you know. And if you are really going to wrap your mind around these two paragraphs, this is the beginning of the chapter. You need to go into the conclusion of the preceding chapter and see that she is speaking about the sequence of prophetic fulfillments that have led up to 1840. That is what she is talking about. It is about the fulfillment of the falling of the stars, the Dark Day. She is listing out prophecies that are fulfilled in the Millerite History, leading to 1840.
And then she says this:
“In the year 1840 another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy excited widespread interest.”—
Now, the reason that I am saying that you go to the previous chapters and read this is, in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in the Biblical Research Institute, they reject the Pioneer position of the Trumpets; and, right here, Ellen White is endorsing the Pioneer position of the Trumpets.
And one of the arguments in this passage that is made is that, “Well, Sister White is not really saying that 1840 was a fulfillment of a Biblical prophecy; she is saying that Josiah Litch made a prediction and his prediction came true and it was simply a human prediction and that the Lord went ahead and used his prediction to help add some momentum to the Millerite Movement.” It is a foolish argument, and it does not stand the grammatical structure. If you step back into the previous chapter and see that she is talking about the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies, and then when you come to this, the opening sentence of this chapter, it says,
—”In the year 1840 another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy exited widespread interest.”—
She is talking about fulfillment of prophecy. She is not talking about a human prediction by Josiah Litch.
—”Two years before, Josiah Litch, one of the leading ministers preaching the second advent, published an exposition of Revelation 9,”—
And one thing that is sometimes missed about this here, this exposition of Revelation 9 is on this 1843 Chart, and this Chart was produced in 1842, a couple of years after this prediction of Josiah Litch; but, sometimes what is not noted is that Josiah Litch is not the only Millerite that was presenting this at that time. What Josiah Litch is, is he is the Millerite that was led by the Lord to put it in writing. He was going to publish a tract about the collapse about the Ottoman Empire.
This is Miller’s work as much as Litch’s.
—”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 9, predicting the fall of the Ottoman Empire. According to his calculations, this power was to be overthrown . . . 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.’
“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.”—
It is not just Josiah Litch’s prediction. It is the prediction of God’s Word.
—”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.” The Great Controversy, 334, 335.
Now, here, Uriah Smith told that the First Angel arrived here in 1798; but, it is the same Angel as the Angel of Revelation 10. And this is the Angel of Revelation 10 (See Figure No. 1A).
How do we know that? Well, we are not going to take the time, but I am going to tell you how we know it: Because, in Revelation 10, John is told to go take the Little Book out of the Angel’s hand and eat it, and, “It will become sweet in thy mouth.” The Millerite message becomes sweet on August 11, 1840, because they have been for two years predicting the collapse of the Ottoman Empire based upon the year-day principle of Bible prophecy, and everyone thought they were a bunch of idiots for doing so. But, when it came to pass—how does she say it?—”The event exactly fulfilled the prediction.” The message that they had been proclaiming became sweet in their mouths.
It was on August 11, 1840, that the message becomes sweet in his mouth; and, therefore, John is told to go take the Little Book out of the Angel’s hand that has descended. The Angel descends on August 11, 1840. And this Angel of Revelation 10 is the same Angel of Revelation 14; but, Revelation 14’s Angel, He arrives in 1798 at the time of the end, but His message is empowered on August 11, 1844. And that is what she says here. When it became known, multitudes were convinced in the correctness of “the principles of prophetic interpretation adopted by Miller and his associates.”
And, of course, Adventists reject since the 1930s—beginning in 1919 but the work was really pushed through in the 1930s—but we reject since the 1930s the interpretation adopted by Miller and his associates in Adventism today, those Rules being the proof-text method of Bible study.
The 1843 Chart
1798. Time of Aug 11, June Mar 22.
the End 1833 1840 Angel May 1842 1844 1844
of Rev 10 1842
43. 1st Angel 1st Angel 2nd Angel
of Rev. 14 Empowered Arrives
Arrives
Figure No. 1B.
Okay. The next waymark in history here; the 1843 Chart. And, of course, we call it the 1843 Chart because it is predicting the end of the world in 1843, this Chart here; but, it was actually produced in June of 1842.
Sister White says this:
“I have seen that the 1843 chart was directed by the hand of the Lord, and that it should not be altered; that the figures were as He wanted them; that His hand was over and hid a mistake in some of the figures, so that none could see it, until His hand was removed.
“Then I saw in relation to the ‘daily’ (Daniel 8:12) that the word ‘sacrifice’ was supplied by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the text, and that the Lord gave the correct view of it to those who gave the judgment hour cry. When union existed, before 1844, nearly all were united on the correct view of the ‘daily’; but in the confusion since 1844, other views have been embraced, and darkness and confusion have followed. Time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never again be a test.” Early Writings, 74–75.
Okay, this Chart is definitely a waymark. It comes into history, and Sister White says so. Sister White tells us that the production of this Chart was a fulfillment of Habakkuk 2; so, it is a prophetic waymark.
In May of 1842 is when it is produced; because, in June of 1842 the Protestant churches are going to close their doors and the Second Angel arrives.
The Second Message Arrives
Notice this next quote from Testimonies, volume 2, page 21.
“In June, 1842, Mr. Miller gave his second course of lectures at the Casco Street church in Portland [Maine]. . . . With few exceptions, the different denominations closed the doors of their churches against Mr. Miller.” Testimonies, volume 1, 21.
Sister White informs us, as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, we should learn to reason from cause to effect. The cause that had the Protestant churches close their doors was the introduction of this 1843 Chart. When this Chart was introduced in May, the Protestant churches then determined that the Millerites were a bunch of deluded fanatics.
The First Disappointment: the Tarrying Time
Okay, the first disappointment, from The Great Controversy, page 393:
“As early as 1842 the direction given in this prophecy to ‘write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it,’ had suggested to Charles Fitch the preparation of a prophetic chart to illustrate the visions of Daniel and the Revelation.”—
Who is Charles Fitch? Well, Charles Fitch died just before the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844. He died because he got pneumonia, I believe, from doing a baptism during the wintertime.
But, Sister White has a vision of Charles Fitch in the Earth made new; and, Brothers Stockman and Fitch asked her about what had taken place on the Earth once they were laid to rest, and she just said, “Don’t worry about it, man. The glory of this place exceeds whatever went on Earth.” That is a paraphrase.
But, Charles Fitch is a redeemed man. He has been seen in the Earth made new.
And what else did Charles Fitch do besides produce this 1843 Chart? He is the one, in the summer of 1844, that printed the first article saying that the Protestant churches were Babylon and that we needed to come out of them. So, Charles Fitch was someone who was being used by the Lord in this history, and he prepares this 1843 Chart, and in May of 1842 it is going to get published.
—”The publication of this chart was regarded as a fulfillment of the command given by Habakkuk. No one, however, then noticed than an apparent delay in the accomplishment of the vision—a tarrying time—is presented in the same prophecy. After the disappointment, this scripture appeared very significant: ‘The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. . . . The just shall live by his faith.'” The Great Controversy, 393.
And the tarrying time is the first disappointment, and it comes on March 22, 1844. The reason that it comes at that point in time is the Millerites were predicting the end of the world in 1843, but they were using the Biblical reckoning of time, and the year 1843 began on March 21, 1843; the Biblical reckoning, not the calendar that we use today.
First Disappointment, 1843
Mar 21, 1843 Mar 21, 1844
First Disappointment
Mar 22, 1844
Figure No. 2.
So, the end of 1843, Biblically, in that time period, would be March 21, 1844. And, when the Lord had not come in this period of time in 1843, the first disappointment sets in right here on March 22, 1844.
1798. Time of Aug 11, June Mar 22.
the End 1833 1840 Angel May 1842 1844 1844
of Rev 10 1842
43. 1st Angel 1st Angel 2nd Angel
of Rev. 14 Empowered Arrives
Arrives Tarrying
Time
Figure No. 3.
That is the first disappointment, and that is the tarrying time. It is the tarrying time in the parable of the Ten Virgins. It is the tarrying time in Habakkuk 2 that Sister White just referred to. It is also the tarrying time of Daniel 12.
Turn with me, if you would, to Daniel 12.
Did you know that the tarrying time was in Daniel 12? Daniel 12:11-12 says,
“11And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,”—
And when did the Pioneers understand that Paganism was subdued? In AD508 the Battle of the Visigoths, the last resistance to the rise of the Papacy, was subdued. Clovis defeated the Visigoths.
So, from the time that the Daily is taken away, removed,
—”and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,”—
The Papacy was set up 30 years later in AD538.
From the time that Paganism is taken away and the Papacy is set up,
—”there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”—
And what does the next verse say? The next verse says,
—”12Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” Daniel 12:11-12 (KJV).
THE 1290 AND 1335
MIDNIGHT CRY
Mar 22, Oct 22,
AD508 538 1798 1844 1844
WAIT. 1290. 1335
Figure No. 4.
Now, 508 + 1335 = 1843. “Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to 1844.” All right, so how is that the tarrying time?
That is what I am saying. I am saying that the 1335 is marking the tarrying time. It is saying, “Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to 1844,” if you uphold the Pioneer understanding of the Daily, as Sister White does so often in her writings. So, how can that be?
Go to Isaiah 30, verse 18. This is not in your notes, for those of you that are watching Livestreaming and are downloading the notes.
“18And therefore will the Lord wait,”—
Who is waiting here in this verse? The Lord.
Who is the Lord in the parable of the Ten Virgins? He is the bridegroom, and He is tarrying, is He not?
“And therefore will the [Bridegroom tarry], that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that”—what?—”wait for him.” Isaiah 30:18 (KJV).
Is that not Daniel 12:12, “Blessed is he who waiteth, and cometh to the 1335?
So, when is it that the Bridegroom tarries? He tarries on March 22, 1844. There is a blessing attached with coming to the first disappointment, and then thereafter waiting.
There is a blessing to coming to this point in history [March 22, 1844]. And when you get here, you are to wait.
What are you to wait for? Go to Habakkuk. This is what Sister White was referring to, what we just read from The Great Controversy; but, let us put it in our memory bank, because all of these Scriptures go together if you use the proof-text method of Bible prophecy. If you do not, if you use the method of Bible prophecy that was adopted in the 1930s, you will find that you will have to determine what is the history surrounding Daniel and what is the history surrounding Isaiah, and what is the history surrounding in Habakkuk. And those historical settings mean that you do not have the justification for tying these verses together.
But, if you are simply going to let the Bible be its own authority and establish truth by proof-texting, going line upon line, then you realize that all the prophets are speaking about the same point in history at the end of the world and they are all telling the same story.
So, in Habakkuk 2, verse 2, it says,
“2And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,”—
Sister White just described this for us that in 1842, in fulfillment of Habakkuk 2, that Charles Fitch produced this 1843 Chart. So, this Chart is what, in verse 2? It is the vision.
—”Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry,”—
Did the vision tarry?
What do we call this Chart? We call it [pointing to each of the references on the Chart].the 1843 Chart, the 1843 Chart, the 1843 Chart, the 1843 Chart, because it is predicting the end of the world.
Though the vision, what? Tarry.
When is the tarrying time of 1843? March 22, 1844.
And what does it say in verse 3 of Habakkuk 2?
—”though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Habakkuk 2:2-3 (KJV).
When is it going to come? It is going to come exactly seven months later, on October 22, 1844. It was the last day of the Biblical year of 1843.
The True Midnight Cry
The blessing of coming to the 1335 was the blessing of coming to this history that the Lord was going to accomplish what in this history? He is going to accomplish, right in here, the Midnight Cry. That is the blessing.
But, not everyone is going to be allowed to participate in the Midnight Cry. There are some people that are travelling along this prophetic history with the Millerites that they are there not because of their own personal experience with Jesus Christ, not from their own personal study of God’s Word. They are there because of fear. And the Lord determines, before the Midnight Cry arrives, He is going to separate those brethren from this Movement, and how does He do it? The first disappointment.
The first disappointment is part of the process where the Lord is preparing for the Midnight Cry.
Do we need to understand this? Well, according to Ellen White, if we do not understand this, we fall off the path to the wicked world below.
Back to our notes, Early Writings, page 238:
“Near the close of the second angel’s message, I saw a great light from heaven shining upon the people of God. The rays of this light seemed bright as the sun. And I heard the voices of angels crying, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!'”—
Here is the Midnight Cry, right in here.
1798. Time of Aug 11, June Mar 22. Oct 22,
the End 1833 1840 Angel May 1842 1844 1844
of Rev 10 1842
Midnight
1843 Cry
Chart
1st Angel 1st Angel 2nd Angel 3rd Angel
of Rev. 14 Empowered Arrives Arrives
Arrives Tarrying
Time
Figure No. 5A.
—”This was the midnight cry, which was to give power to the second angel’s message.”—
And, what was it to do?
All right, Brothers and Sisters, this is what I want you to see, if you will. This is why we took time with Uriah Smith.
The Pioneers understood that the First Angel’s Message arrived in 1798; but, it was empowered with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1840. All the messages arrive at a point in time, and they are thereafter empowered.
The Second Angel’s Message arrived in June of 1842 when the Protestant churches began to close their doors against the Millerite message. But, when is it that the Midnight Cry is empowered? Sister White just said.
—”This was the midnight cry, which was to give power to the second angel’s message.”—
The Second Angel is now empowered.
Of course, the Third Angel’s Message arrives on October 22, 1844. And, when is the Third Angel empowered? When the Mighty Angel of Revelation 18 joins it.
Every message arrives in history and is thereafter empowered. You need to understand this.
Okay.
—”This was the midnight cry, which was to give power to the second angel’s message. Angels were sent from heaven to arouse the discouraged saints and prepare them for the great work before them. The most talented men were not the first to receive this message.”—
Who was the first to receive this message?
FROM THE AUDIENCE: William Miller.
BROTHER PIPPENGER: No, no, no, no. William Miller was not the first to receive this message. Quite the opposite: William Miller is the last to receive this message.
What was William Miller? He was the most talented. In terms of understanding the message, he had the best grasp of the message of all those men. He was the point of reference. It says, “The most talented men were not the first to receive this message.” Who was the first? Samuel Snow.
If you read it in there, Sister White is kind of saying that Samuel Snow was not the most talented, because he was the first one to receive it. Okay? Bear that in mind; because, shortly after 1844, Samuel Snow determines that he is Elijah the prophet and he goes out into a type of delusion that is just unbelievable.
—”Angels were sent to the humble, devoted ones, and constrained them to raise the cry, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!’ Those entrusted with the cry made haste, and in the power of the Holy Spirit sounded the message, and aroused their discouraged brethren. This work did not stand in the wisdom and learning of men, but in the power of God, and His saints who heard the cry could not resist it. The most spiritual received this message first”—so, Snow must have been the most spiritual. I stand corrected—”and those who had formerly led in the work were the last to receive and help swell the cry, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!'”—
I want you to notice that, “those who had formerly led in the work were the last.” Who had formerly led in the work? William Miller. And, it is an historical fact that the last person to accept the message of the Midnight Cry was William Miller.
—”In every part of the land, light was given upon the second angel’s message, and the cry melted the hearts of thousands. It went from city to city, and from village to village, until the waiting people of God were fully aroused. In many churches the message was not permitted to be given, and a large company who had the living testimony left these fallen churches. A mighty work was accomplished by the midnight cry. The message was heart-searching, leading the believers to seek a living experience for themselves. They knew that they could not lean upon one another.” Early Writings, 238.
In the Summer of 1844—50,000
The Great Controversy, page 376, if you have ever wondered where this concept of 50,000 comes from, Sister White is saying that in the time of the Second Angel’s Message, in the empowerment of the Midnight Cry, there are 50,000 that leave the churches.
“As [Miller’s] his work tended to build up the churches, it was for a time regarded with favor. But as ministers and religious leaders decided against the Advent doctrine, and desired to suppress all agitation of the subject, they not only opposed it from the pulpit, but denied their members the privilege of attending preaching upon the Second Advent, or even of speaking of their hope in the social meetings of the church.”—
It reaches a point with the prophetic message in Miller’s time where you are not allowed to present it in the church, and you cannot even present in the privacy of your own home in a social meeting. Of course, I think actually the social meeting here is what we would call prayer meeting in our day and age, in the terminology of Ellen White.
But, do you get the point? These leaders in the Adventist Church today that are dealing with those people that are studying this message and forbidding them to teach this message in the church and telling them that they cannot even share this message in the privacy of their own homes, this is prefigured right here in the Millerite Movement.
—”Thus the believers found themselves in a position of great trial and perplexity. They loved their churches, and were loath to separate from them; but as they saw the testimony of God’s Word suppressed, and their right to investigate the prophecies denied,—
Their right to investigate the what? Does it say the right to investigate dress reform? Their right to investigate the health message? No, their right to investigate the prophecies denied.
—”they felt that loyalty to God forbade them to submit. Those who sought to shut out the testimony of God’s Word they could not regard as constituting the church of Christ, ‘the pillar and ground of the truth.’ Hence they felt themselves justified in separating from their former connection. In the summer of 1844 about fifty thousand withdrew from the churches.” The Great Controversy, 376.
So, this is where you get the number leading into the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844, of 50,000.
Miller’s Midnight Cry
Now, here, from P. Gerard Damsteegt’s book, Foundation of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, pages 41, 44, you have the description of Miller’s understanding of the Midnight Cry, which I have already told you, but you have it spelled out for you.
“The Midnight Cry (Mt. 25:6) Miller defined as ‘the watchmen, or some of them, who by the word of God discover the time as revealed, and immediately give the warning voice, Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.‘ This fulfillment he saw being accomplished in the current widespread preaching on the imminence of the Second Advent based on the exposition of the 2300 days: ‘This has been fulfilled in a most remarkable manner. One or two on every quarter of the globe have proclaimed the news, and agree in the time. [Joseph] Wolff, of Asia; [Edward] Irving, late of England; [Archibald] Mason of Scotland; [William C.] Davis of South Carolina; and quite a number in this region, are, or have been giving the cry.’ . . .
“The parable of Mt. 25 was considered by the Millerites as a present reality predicted by Jesus Himself. Yet, there were some slight differences in the interpretation. While Miller applied the parable to the general widespread expectation of the Second Advent, others historicized the parable more in the light of the specific experience of the Millerites. This was done especially during the years 1843 and 1844 when the realization that they were proclaiming the Midnight Cry to awaken the sleeping virgins provided one of the major motivations in their theology of mission. At that time, most Millerites came to see their missionary activity as a fulfillment of a part of salvation history predicted in Christ’s eschatological discourse and the Apocalypse of John.” P. Gerard Damsteegt, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, 41, 44.
Miller believed that from this history here, the proclamation of Daniel 8:14 and the First Angel of Revelation 14, that this proclamation, “for the hour of God’s judgment is come,” he believed that this was identifying the Second Coming of Christ. He believed that this message, Daniel 8:14 and the connected prophecies was the message, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh! Behold Jesus is coming! This is the Midnight Cry.”
So, Miller believed this whole history was the Midnight Cry; but, Sister White is telling us the Midnight Cry was accomplished right here when the Second Angel’s Message is empowered. So, there are two Midnight Cries going on here. In fact, when Samuel Snow published his presentation on the Midnight Cry, what does he call it? What is the title? “The True Midnight Cry.”
The only reason Snow is saying it is the True Midnight Cry is because he is well aware there is a Millerite teaching of what the Midnight Cry is and this is contradicting. He is saying this is the true one.
The True Midnight Cry
Okay. We have already read this next quote under “The True Midnight Cry.” We have read this passage in the previous quote. It says,
“The most spiritual received this message first, and those who had formerly led in the work were the last to receive and help swell the cry, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!'” Early Writings, 238.
Those Who Formerly Led in the Work
Now we are going to discuss William Miller a little bit. William Miller has formerly led in this work, from 1833 onward; but, here, when the Midnight Cry message comes in August of 1844, he has trouble with it. He has trouble with it because he is not sure that we should be separating from the churches. He has trouble with it because he has been teaching another understanding of the Midnight Cry for many, many years.
Now, here is one place where he addresses this, and there are several points in here that we want to put in the record. This is William Miller, Apology and Defense, 24–25:
“I had never been positive as to any particular day for the Lord’s appearing, believing that no man could know the day and hour. In all my published lectures, it will be seen on the title page, ‘about the year 1843.’ In all my oral lectures, I invariably told my audiences that the periods would terminate in 1843, if there were no mistake in my calculation; but that I could not say the end might not come even before that time, and they should be continually prepared. In 1842, some of my brethren preached with great positiveness the exact year, and censured me for putting in an IF.”—
What is this referring to? In May of 1842, the 1843 Chart is published.
Now, this 1843 Chart in their meetings is saying the Lord is returning in 1843, and the head of the Movement, William Miller, is saying, “If my calculations are right, it will be 1843,” and the brethren came to William Miller and they said, “Take the IF out of your presentation. It is 1843, without a doubt.”
So, he is commenting on what happens when Habakkuk 2 is fulfilled; because, Habakkuk 2 is fulfilled with the publication of this 1843 Chart.
Continuing on:
—”The public press had also published that I had fixed upon a definite day, the 23rd of April, for the Lord’s Advent. Therefore, in December of that year, as I could see no error in my reckoning, I published my belief, that sometime between March 21st, 1843, and March 21st, 1844, the Lord would come.”—
Do you see the Karaite reckoning of time there?
—”Some had their minds fixed on particular days; but I could see no evidence for such, unless the types of the Mosaic law pointed to the feast of Tabernacles.”—
I have that bold faced for you because William Miller had already came to the conclusion of the tenth day of the seventh month. Okay? And long before Samuel Snow uses this conclusion to proclaim the Midnight Cry here, William Miller has already written about it. So, William Miller is actually the one the Lord used to put together the logic that Samuel Snow employs to identify October 22, 1844.
Continuing on with Miller:
—”During the year ‘43, the most violent denunciations were heaped upon me, and those associated with me, by the press, and some pulpits. Our motives were assailed, our principles misrepresented, and our characters traduced.”—
What does traduced mean? I think traduce is what happens when you hit someone with a sword and where you cut them in half. You are getting cut up, chewed up, and spit out. All right?
—”Time passed on: and the 21st of March, 1844 went by, without our witnessing the appearing of the Lord. Our disappointment was great; and many walked no more with us.”—
This tarrying time, this first disappointment, it purges the Millerite Movement.
I looked for an historical reference. Somewhere I have read—I have it, no doubt, in my notes—that before this time from 1840 in this history, they estimated some 200,000 Millerites; but, by the time you get down here to October 22, 1844, it is 50. What took the 150,000 out was this first disappointment, “many walked no more with us.”
Next, continuing on with Miller:
—”Previously to this, in the fall of ‘43, some of my brethren began to call the churches Babylon, and to urge that it was the duty of Adventists to come out of them. With this I was much grieved, as not only the effect was very bad, but I regarded it as a perversion of the word of God,—a wresting of Scripture.”—
So, he is having a problem with the Second Angel’s Message, which is going to make it more difficult for him to accept the True Midnight Cry message. He is struggling.
—”But the practice spread extensively; and from that time the churches, as might have been expected, were closed against us. It prejudiced many against us so that they would not listen to the truth. It created a deep feeling of hostility between Adventists and those who did not embrace the doctrine; so that most of the Adventists were separated from their respective churches. This was a result, which I never desired, nor expected; but it was brought about by unforeseen circumstances. We could then only act in accordance with the position in which we were thus placed.
“On the passing of my published time, I frankly acknowledged my disappointment in reference to the exact period; but my faith was unchanged in any essential feature. I therefore continued my labors, principally at the West during the summer of ‘44, until ‘the seventh month movement,’ as it is called.”—
You can even see right there a little bit of disdain, because he is going to set this aside and he is going to determine that this is false; and, he is no doubt writing this after he has done that. He says,
—”the ‘seventh month movement,’ as it is called. I had had no participation in this, only as I wrote a letter eighteen months previously (Signs of the Times, May 17, 1843),”—
Okay, he wrote this letter where he sets forth the types that Samuel Snow is going to use to make the Midnight Cry prediction.
—”only as I wrote a letter eighteen months previously (Signs of the Times, May 17, 1843), presenting the observances under the Mosaic law, which pointed to that month as a probable time when the Advent might be expected. This was written because some were looking to definite days in the Spring. I had, however, no expectation that so unwarranted a use would be made of those types, that any should regard a belief in such mere inferential evidence a test of salvation.”—
So, he is talking about Samuel Snow using his work to predict October 22, 1844, and he says, “I had no idea that someone would take a shallow presentation and turn it into a salvational issue.” So, he is pretty frustrated when he is writing this.
—”I therefore had no fellowship with that movement until about two or three weeks previous to the 22nd of October,”—
“Those that formerly led in the work were the last to receive the message of the midnight cry.”
Two or three weeks before—and, in fact, underneath here we have the letter where he accepts it on October 6th.
—”I therefore had no fellowship with that movement until about two or three weeks previous to the 22nd of October, when seeing it had obtained such prevalence, and considering it was at a probable point of time, I was persuaded that it was a work of God, and felt that if it should pass by I should be more disappointed than I was in my first published time.” William Miller, Apology and Defense, 24–25.
October 6, 1844
Now, here is a letter that he wrote to Himes, on October 6, 1844, sixteen days before the Great Disappointment.
“Dear Brother Himes: I see a glory in the seventh month which I never saw before. Although the Lord had shown me the typical bearing of the seventh month, one year and a half ago, yet I did not realize the force of the types. Now, blessed be the name of the Lord, I see a beauty, a harmony, and an agreement in the Scriptures, for which I have long prayed, but did not see until today. Thank the Lord, O my soul. Let Brother Snow, Brother Storrs, and others, be blessed for their instrumentality in opening my eyes. I am almost home. Glory! Glory! Glory! Glory!” William Miller, Signs of the Times, October 16, 1844.
This he wrote on October 6; so, what we just read previously he wrote after he had rejected the Midnight Cry. He rethought it and he said, “That was fanaticism.” So, you can see the sarcasm or disdain that he had.
Snow’s Calculation
Okay. From Damsteegt’s book, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, page 95, speaking of the Midnight Cry, he acknowledges that Snow had got his basic outline of the Midnight Cry message from work that Miller had put together a year and a half before.
“Although these calculations indicated the season in which the Second Advent would take place, the exact date was determined by Snow through the topological argument which had been expounded by Miller more than a year before. Miller had shown that the Jewish feasts were types that were to be fulfilled by Christ at both His First and Second Advent.” P. Gerard Damsteegt, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, 95.
1798. Time of Aug 11, June Mar 22. Oct 22,
the End 1833 1840 Angel May 1842 1844 1844
of Rev 10 1842
Mar Midnight
1843 1844 Cry
Chart
1st Angel 1st Angel 2nd Angel 3rd Angel
of Rev. 14 Empowered Arrives Arrives
Arrives Tarrying Exeter
Time Camp Mtg
Aug 12-17,
1844. Figure No. 5B.
The next quote from Damsteegt, again from Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, page 96, it says,
“For months Snow’s calculations aroused but little attention.”—
Snow published his work back here in March of 1844; but, it never impacted anyone until you get to the Exeter Camp Meeting, from the 12th through the 17th of August, 1844. This is where it takes hold. That is what Damsteegt is saying here.
—”For months Snow’s calculations aroused but little attention. At the Exeter camp meeting (August 12–17, 1844), however, his exact date for Christ’s return stirred many Millerites with an enormous enthusiasm, bringing their missionary endeavor to a peak. Their response as a whole came quickly to be known as the Seventh Month movement. Although the Millerite leaders recognized some value in Snow’s position, they were skeptical about the renewed emphasis on time and pointed out that ‘in view of our Savior’s assurance, that we know not the day or the hour, or as some read it, no man maketh it known, . . . the very day.’ Some weeks before the expected event, however, the leaders joined the Seventh Month movement and allowed Snow’s views to be printed in the major Millerite periodicals and gave their full support.” P. Gerard Damsteegt, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, 96.
Okay, those that formerly led in the work were the last to receive it.
What are we doing here? Well, we are doing this: Sister White has a vision, her first vision where she sees God’s people on a path going to Heaven, and there is a light behind them that sheds light all along the way and it is called the Midnight Cry.
The Midnight Cry message, what Samuel Snow presented, needs to be understood. Let me give you a little bit of an overview on that. Maybe you are aware of this and maybe you are not. We are almost done here. We have two more quotes.
But, I want you to see something here.
THE 1290 AND 1335
MIDNIGHT CRY
May Mar 22, Oct 22,
AD508 538 1798 1844 1844 1844
WAIT. 1290 NO CHART
1335 300 Preachers
300 Charts
Figure No. 6.
In May of 1842 they print 300 Charts because there were 300 preachers. There were 300 Millerite preachers that take these Charts in May of 1842 and they tell William Miller, “Quit saying IF the Lord is returning in 1843.”
1843 Biblically end on March 21, 1844; so, on March 22, 1844, up here, you have the first disappointment. What did they do? Well, one of the things they do is they set this 1843 Chart aside. There is no chart now; because, 1843 is passed. They quit using the Chart, and what happens to their Movement? A whole bunch of people leave the Movement.
What happens to their zeal? Well, it is taken out of themselves.
Now, they are waiting: “Blessed is he who comes to the first disappointment, 1843,” the 1335. “Blessed is he who comes here and waits.” Some of them do not wait; some of them turn against the message. Okay? There are two classes developed at this disappointment.
They wait, but now they do not have any chart; but, they are going to come to understand the same evidence that led them to predict 1843 then proves 1844. They are going to come to understand that.
But, at the Midnight Cry, what Samuel Snow’s message does, it does not simply allow them to predict 1844. He predicts October 22, 1844, because the Day of Atonement is on the tent day of the seventh month. And the tenth day of the seventh month in 1844 was October 22, 1844.
At this camp meeting, at the Exeter Camp Meeting here, he brings the arguments that show, “No, the Lord is not just coming in 1844. He is coming on October 22, 1844,” and this is what impels them to go and proclaim this message.
There is a nice passage by Joseph Bates that fits in here nicely. After he left the Exeter Camp Meeting he is telling how he got on a train and it was full of people who had been at the camp meeting; and, he says he was walking through the cars of the train where people were sitting in the passenger cars and he says you could hear the rumble of people’s voices and what you would hear over and over again, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh! Behold, the bridegroom cometh!” That is all that everyone was talking about when they left the Exeter Camp Meeting.
And we have already read that this Movement swept over the United States in two months, leading to what? To the Great Disappointment on October 22, 1844.
Low Hampton Conference of Adventists, December 28, 29, 1844
Now, we are at where we looked forward earlier, at Damsteegt’s commentary on a conference that took place in December of 1844. That is over here, to the right of the Great Disappointment, which Joshua Himes and William Miller are involved with.
P. Gerhard Damsteegt, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, 113, 114, says,
“At the Low Hampton Conference of Adventists (December 28, 29, 1844) Himes urged three aspects of future missionary activity: (1) Comforting the saints who are still looking for the kingdom at hand; (2) arousing the professed Christian world once more to prepare for the Advent; (3) fully and freely proclaiming salvation to lost and perishing sinners. A few weeks later the Advent press was again in operation, and Himes declared, ‘I am more and more convinced that the door of salvation is open wide, and that we are to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all the world, in the faith that sinners may and will be converted, until the end comes.'”—
They believed that probation closed on October 22, 1844; so, they are struggling with this closed-door theory, and he is commenting on that, though we are not dealing with that here.
—”In response to reports about new conversions and pressure of some of his colleagues Miller became gradually less dogmatic on the extreme shut door concept and after the Jewish Karaite year 1844 had passed he gave it up”—
He gave up his idea that salvation had closed on October 22, 1844; but, that is not all that he gave up.
—”. . . he gave it up and returned to his original view of the Midnight Cry.”—
Now, in that very same month, Ellen White has her first vision where she sees the Advent people on a path and says that those people that reject the Midnight Cry, they fall off the path. That vision was for William Miller, as much as anyone else because he was doing that very thing.
—”However, new interpretations of the Disappointment, relating it to Christ’s heavenly ministry, seemed to some to confirm the validity of the Seventh Month movement and some kind of a shut-door concept, and created a strong controversy—even fanaticism—among Adventists.
“At the end of April 1845 at Albany, New York, a conference of Adventists was called together by Himes with the object of ending the confusion and division. Miller commented, ‘It need not be replied that it was convened to deliberate respecting, and if possible extricate ourselves from the anarchy and confusion of BABYLON in which we had so unexpectedly found ourselves.’ At the Albany Conference, chaired by Miller, it was decided to reject all new theological interpretations which had been developed since the Disappointment. Thus the conference refused to accept the newly developed views which recognized the special significance of the Seventh Month movement in salvation history.” P. Gerhard Damsteegt, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, 113, 114.
Now, in Early Writings, page 257, and we are closing with this, it says,
“My attention was then called to William Miller. He looked perplexed and was bowed with anxiety and distress for his people. The company who had been united and loving in 1844 was losing their love, opposing one another, and falling into a cold, backslidden state. As he beheld this, grief wasted his strength. I saw leading men watching him,”—primarily, Joshua Himes—”and fearing lest he should receive the third angel’s message”—
Okay. So, now she is going to talk about William Miller being confronted with the reception of what? What is the Third Angel’s Message in this context? The Sabbath—okay?—the Sabbath.
—”fearing lest he should receive the third angel’s message and the commandments of God. And as he would lean toward the light from heaven, these men would lay some plan to draw his mind away. A human influence was exerted to keep him in darkness and to retain his influence among those who opposed the truth. At length William Miller raised his voice against the light from heaven.”—
What light from Heaven is she speaking about here? The Sabbath.
—”He failed in not receiving the message which would have fully explained his disappointment and cast a light and glory on the past, which would have revived his exhausted energies, brightened his hope, and led him to glorify God. He leaned to human wisdom instead of divine, but being broken with arduous labor in his Master’s cause and by age, he was not as accountable as those who kept him from the truth. They are responsible; the sin rests upon them.
“If William Miller could have seen the light of the third message, many things which looked dark and mysterious to him would have been explained. But his brethren professed so deep love and interest for him, that he thought he could not tear away from them. His heart would incline toward the truth, and then he looked at his brethren; they opposed it. Could he tear away from those who had stood side by side with him in proclaiming the coming of Jesus? He thought they surely would not lead him astray.
“God suffered him to fall under the power of Satan, the dominion of death, and hid him in the grave from those who were constantly drawing him from the truth. Moses erred as he was about to enter the Promised Land. So also, I saw that William Miller erred as he was soon to enter the heavenly Canaan, in suffering his influence to go against the truth. Others led him to this; others must account for it. But angels watch the precious dust of this servant of God, and he will come forth at the sound of the last trump.” Early Writings, 257–258.
Now, I want to pull some things together in conclusion here.
William Miller is typifying Seventh-day Adventists at the end of the world. Ellen White’s first vision is more for our day than the days in which she gave it. At the end of the world Seventh-day Adventists are going to reject the light of the Midnight Cry, and the light of the Midnight Cry—in our next presentation we will show you—the light of the Midnight Cry can only be understood when you understand this history.
Okay. The first disappointment, it purges the Millerite Movement from those that are there for the wrong reasons. It prepares a people to go into this testing experience that will lead them into the Most Holy Place.
The ones that come to the first disappointment are blessed only if they wait? Why do they wait? “Though the vision tarry, wait for it.” They have to wait for October 22, 1844. So, from the first disappointment to the second disappointment, this time is designed by God to produce a people that He will gather into the Most Holy Place with Him. To reject the Midnight Cry, therefore, and fall off the path is to reject this entire history.
Now, William Miller makes three mistakes, and we are always tested by three tests. What was William Miller’s first error? He rejected the Midnight Cry in December of 1844.
What was his second mistake? He listened to men instead of God.
And by doing this, he was led to his third mistake. What was his third mistake? He rejected the Sabbath.
At the end of the world, Seventh-day Adventists are going to reject the history of the Midnight Cry. They are going to reject the call to return to the Old Paths; and, the reason they are going to do it is they are going to listen to their leaders, to the men they have confidence in; and, in so doing they are preparing themselves for the mark of the beast. They are repeating the three-step testing process of William Miller, but that testing process begins with how they relate to the message surrounding the Midnight Cry, the history surrounding the Midnight Cry, the prophecies that established the Midnight Cry.
And there is no way, there are only two prophecies, Brothers and Sisters—there are only two prophecies that we will show in our next presentation—there are only two prophecies that deal with this history, the first disappointment to the second disappointment. There are only two prophecies.
What are the two prophecies that mark the first disappointment and the second disappointment? It is the 2300 days: “Though the vision tarry, wait for it”; and, the 2520. To reject the 2520 is to reject the Midnight Cry. To reject the Midnight Cry is to fall off the path to the wicked world below.
We will take that up tomorrow morning.
Shall we pray?
Benediction: Heavenly Father, we want to be focused on Jesus and the light that is coming from His right arm. We want to keep our eyes upon Him, that we stay on the path, and we want to receive and accept the light that is produced by the Midnight Cry in our past history. We ask that you allow your Holy Spirit to bring this history into better focus for us so that we can understand the implications that it has for us here at the end of the world. Sister White tells us that when someone falls that it is to be as a warning beacon to us, and we want to understand that William Miller’s failure at the end of his life is a warning beacon to us here at the end of the world that have the possibility of repeating his three mistakes as we approach The Sunday Law. Let this not be the case for any of us who are studying these things, we would ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.