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# The Book of Joel and The Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist Church - Number Thirty-Nine

Number Thirty-Nine

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

February 2, 2026

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Key Takeaways

- The omega capstone test requires defining storehouse + meat; the “jewels” are both God’s people and God’s truths.
- The measuring command in Revelation 11 is read as measuring temple + worshippers, leaving off the outer court (linked to the Gentile trampling period).
- The “windows of heaven” motif is treated as the internal test signal: Noah’s windows (flood), Malachi’s windows (blessing/curse), Miller’s windows (rubbish out / jewels gathered), and “heaven opened” (army/bride imagery).
- Forty-day / forty-year / forty-unit patterns are stacked as repeated templates: Noah’s forty days, Israel’s forty years, Jesus’ forty days, and “forty” as a covenant/testing signature that repeats across lines.
- Leviticus 23 is two matched sets: spring feasts (verses 1–22) and fall feasts (verses 23–44), each presented as a complete unit, with the fall feasts emphasizing warning → judgment → joy.
- The fall feasts are mapped to the “truth structure”: Feast of Trumpets (warning), Day of Atonement (judgment/test), Feast of Tabernacles (joy after cleansing), with the eighth-day Sabbath after Tabernacles typifying the millennial rest.
- Probation/“cut off” in two ways: “determined/cut off” in Daniel 9:24 (probation portioned) vs “cut off” as covenant rejection elsewhere; “seventy” is a probation-limit logic (e.g., Matthew 18:21–22).

The internal omega capstone test that follows the external alpha foundation test of 2024, requires a definition of the “storehouse,” and of the “meat” that is kept in the storehouse. The test is prophetic, and has an internal and external line of truth. Are the jewels James White’s remnant, or are they the truths if God’s Word? They are both.

At 9/11, God’s people were called to eat the little book and return to Jeremiah’s old paths, where the foundations were then laid. At 9/11, it was seen that when John, in Revelation chapter eleven was told to measure, he was told to measure two things. He was told to measure both the temple, and the worshippers therein. He was told to leave off the courtyard of the 1,260 years of the Gentiles trampling down the sanctuary and host. The sanctuary and the host are the temple and the worshippers therein.

In 2023, the same angel that had descended at 9/11 descended again, unsealing the message of the Midnight Cry, and then in 2024 the external foundational test of whether the symbol of Rome still establishes the vision as it had for the Millerites.

The “open windows” of heaven identify the arrival of the internal omega test of the temple and the call to “return.” The test requires identifying two symbols. When the third angel arrived in 1844, and then again at 9/11, John is told to measure the temple and the worshippers therein, thus identifying a prophetic work of measuring the temple and worshippers in 2023. Malachi raises the question of what is the “storehouse,” and what is the “meat?” These same questions in Miller’s dream would be, what is “the casket,” and what is “the jewels.”

Miller’s dream identifies the open windows of heaven as the point where the church triumphant in Revelation nineteen is raised up in white linen to ride upon the white horses of the army of the Lord of hosts. The open windows are where Malachi’s blessing or curse is poured out. Miller’s open window is where the rubbish is removed and the jewels are gathered into the casket.

The first reference to the windows of heaven is in the story of Noah, and when those windows were opened, there was rain for forty days and forty nights. When the windows are opened eight souls are on the ark. The baptism at the Red Sea introduced forty years of wandering until the Jordan was crossed. When Christ was later baptized at that very spot, He was driven into the wilderness for forty days. When He was resurrected, as typified by His baptism He taught the disciples for forty days before He ascended to heaven.

When the church changes from the church militant unto the church triumphant, thirty-year-old king David will reign for forty years. The church triumphant is represented with a prophet, a priest and a king. The prophet who was thirty years old when he began his ministry of twenty-two years was Ezekiel, and he began that ministry, when the heavens were opened.

> Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. Ezekiel 1:1.

At thirty years old Joseph began to reign as priest and he was confronted with the east wind of Islam bringing an escalating crisis that allowed Egypt, the dragon that lieth in the sea, to implement a one-world government. In that crisis Joseph gathered the meat into the storehouses.

In July of 2023, a voice was heard in the wilderness, then the Lion of the tribe of Judah began to unseal the message of the Midnight Cry. In 2024, the foundational external alpha test separated two classes, and the process of unsealing continued. Now in 2026, the temple internal omega test that will once again separate two classes has arrived.

The sacred week that Christ, as the Messenger of the Covenant, confirmed the covenant with many is the courtyard, and the holy place. October 22, 1844 until Michael stands up (as He did at the end of that sacred week when Stephen was stoned) is the Most Holy Place. The spring feasts were fulfilled in the sacred week, and are the alpha of the feasts, and the fall feasts of the trumpets on the first day, the day of Atonement on the tenth day, and then the feast of tabernacles from the fifteenth to twenty-second day are the omega of the feasts.

> “In like manner the types which relate to the second advent must be fulfilled at the time pointed out in the symbolic service. Under the Mosaic system the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the great Day of Atonement, occurred on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month (Leviticus 16:29–34), when the high priest, having made an atonement for all Israel, and thus removed their sins from the sanctuary, came forth and blessed the people. So it was believed that Christ, our great High Priest, would appear to purify the earth by the destruction of sin and sinners, and to bless His waiting people with immortality. The tenth day of the seventh month, the great Day of Atonement, the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which in the year 1844 fell upon the twenty-second of October, was regarded as the time of the Lord’s coming. This was in harmony with the proofs already presented that the 2300 days would terminate in the autumn, and the conclusion seemed irresistible.

> “In the parable of Matthew 25 the time of waiting and slumber is followed by the coming of the bridegroom. This was in accordance with the arguments just presented, both from prophecy and from the types. They carried strong conviction of their truthfulness; and the ‘midnight cry’ was heralded by thousands of believers.

> “Like a tidal wave the movement swept over the land. From city to city, from village to village, and into remote country places it went, until the waiting people of God were fully aroused. Fanaticism disappeared before this proclamation like early frost before the rising sun. Believers saw their doubt and perplexity removed, and hope and courage animated their hearts. The work was free from those extremes which are ever manifested when there is human excitement without the controlling influence of the word and Spirit of God. It was similar in character to those seasons of humiliation and returning unto the Lord which among ancient Israel followed messages of reproof from His servants. It bore the characteristics that mark the work of God in every age. There was little ecstatic joy, but rather deep searching of heart, confession of sin, and forsaking of the world. A preparation to meet the Lord was the burden of agonizing spirits. There was persevering prayer and unreserved consecration to God.” The Great Controversy, 400.

The spring feasts were fulfilled in the sacred week, and the early or alpha rain was then poured out at Pentecost, thus typifying the outpouring of the latter rain in the fall feasts. Those spring feasts are set forth in Leviticus 23, verses one through twenty-two. The fall feasts are in verses 23 to 44. 2300 years brings you to 1844. Twenty-two verses for the spring feasts and twenty-two verses for the fall feasts. Two sets of twenty-two in chapter twenty-three.

The feast of trumpets was a warning that judgment would occur in ten days, and the feast of tabernacles was a celebration of joy for sins that were forgiven on the Day of Atonement. The Sabbath and eighth day after the feast represent the earth’s thousand-year Sabbath rest.

> But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8.

The first angel announced the opening of the judgment, and at that prophetic level, 1798, which was Daniel’s “time of the end,” is the fulfillment of the feast of trumpets, but on August 11, 1840, the unsealed message of the first angel of 1798, was empowered with the fulfillment of the prophecy of the second woe. Islam is part of the warning of the feast of trumpets, that announces the approaching day of judgment.

For those who are willing to see, the fall feasts of trumpets and tabernacles represent alpha and omega feasts, with judgment in the middle. It is not an accident that these feasts are identified in Leviticus twenty-three. Twenty-three is the symbol of the atonement. It is not an accident that the first feast is on the first day of the seventh month and that the last feast ends on the twenty-second day. The feast of trumpets is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the day of Atonement is middle letter and the feast of tabernacles is the twenty-second letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Chapter twenty-three, verses 23 through 44 of Leviticus is twenty-two verses set within the “framework of truth.” The tenth day in the middle identifies a test, for ten is a symbol of a test, and the day of Atonement is where the rebellion of the lost is registered and resolved, and that rebellion is represented by the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The middle letter of the Hebrew word truth is the thirteenth, and it aligns with the tenth day of the seventh month, and as a waymark it possesses the prophetic attributes of the Hebrew alphabet and specific day. Ten plus thirteen is twenty-three. Seventy is the sum of 10 times 7, and the tenth day of the seventh month also equates to seventy, which is a symbol of the end of probation.

> Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21, 22.

Four hundred and ninety years were cut off for ancient Israel. Those years were cut off from the twenty-three hundred years and were represented as seventy weeks, so Jesus identified that the limit of probationary time is four hundred and ninety, that is represented by “seventy” weeks in Daniel nine.

> Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Daniel 9:24.

The Hebrew word translated as “cut off” is only used in this verse in the Old Testament, and it means “determined or decreed.” It is different than the word typically employed that is translated as “cut off,” which is based on Abram cutting the offerings in the first step of the covenant in Genesis fifteen. It was “determined” and “decreed” that Israel would have four hundred and ninety years of probationary time, and then they would be cut off as God’s covenant people. Two different “cut offs;” one that represents the period as a probationary period that was “cut off” of a larger number by the number seventy, and when Joel’s “new wine” is “cut off” from their mouths, probation closes. Seventy represents the close of probation.

The fall feasts possess the three steps of the Hebrew word “truth.” The fall feasts begin in Leviticus 23:23, the middle waymark of the Day of Atonement is the tenth day and the thirteenth letter, equating to 23, and the feast of Tabernacles ends on the twenty-second day, and then a high Sabbath that follows the feast, and the passage ends at 23:44.

Leviticus means the Levitical priesthood. The spring feasts are represented in chapter 23:1–22, then the fall feasts are represented in 23:23–44. The spring feasts are represented by twenty-two verses, and the Hebrew alphabet is twenty-two letters. The fall feasts are also set forth in twenty-two verses. The feast of trumpets announces the approach of judgment at the Day of Atonement. Then the feast of Tabernacles lasts for seven days, that ends on the twenty-second day of the seventh month. The first of the seven days was a ceremonial Sabbath, as was the eighth day, which was the day after the seven-day feast. The first and eighth day make the eighth day a symbol of the eighth that is of the seven.

> Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. … Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. Leviticus 23:34–36, 39.

The eighth-day ceremonial Sabbath, represents the Sabbath of the millennium, which follows the feast of Tabernacles. Ancient Israel’s wandering in the wilderness for forty years is commemorated by living in booths during the days of the feast of Tabernacles, and it represents not only the outpouring of the latter rain, but the time of Jacob’s trouble, when angels have led God’s faithful into the hills and mountains for protection.

> “In the time of trouble, we all fled from the cities and villages, but were pursued by the wicked, who entered the houses of the saints with the sword. They raised the sword to kill us, but it broke, and fell as powerless as a straw. Then we all cried day and night for deliverance, and the cry came up before God. The sun came up, and the moon stood still. The streams ceased to flow. Dark heavy clouds came up, and clashed against each other. But there was one clear place of settled glory, from whence came the voice of God like many waters, which shook the heavens, and the earth. The sky opened and shut, and was in commotion. The mountains shook like a reed in the wind, and cast out ragged rocks all around. The sea boiled like a pot, and cast out stones upon the land. And as God spake the day and hour of Jesus’ coming, and delivered the everlasting covenant to his people, he spake one sentence, and then paused, while the words were rolling through the earth. The Israel of God stood with their eyes fixed upwards, listening to the words as they came from the mouth of Jehovah, and rolled through the earth like peals of loudest thunder. It was awfully solemn. At the end of every sentence, the saints shouted, Glory! Hallelujah! Their countenances were lighted up with the glory of God; and they shone with the glory as Moses’ face did when he came down from Sinai. The wicked could not look on them for the glory. And when the never-ending blessing was pronounced on those who had honored God, in keeping his Sabbath holy, there was a mighty shout of victory over the Beast, and over his Image.

> “Then commenced the jubilee, when the land should rest.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1851.

Jesus returns and the earth rests for one thousand years, as typified by the seventh-year Sabbath of the land and the jubilee. In verse three, of Leviticus twenty-three the seventh-day Sabbath for man is identified as the introduction of the chapter that ends with the eighth, that is of the seven, and represents the seventh-year-Sabbath for the land resting.

> And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. Leviticus 23:1–3.

The alpha of chapter twenty-three is the seventh-day Sabbath, and the omega of the chapter is the thousand years of the earth being empty, which has been typified by the seventh-year Sabbath for the land and the jubilee. The alpha of the chapter is the spring feasts that begins with the seventh-day Sabbath and ends in verse twenty-two; whereas, the omega of the chapter ends on the twenty-second day of the seventh month, followed by the eighth day ceremonial Sabbath that represents the seventh-year Sabbath of the land.

Verses one to twenty-two represent Christ’s work as the Heavenly High Priest in the holy place; verses twenty-three to forty-four represent His work in the Most Holy Place. Leviticus is a symbol of the priests, and it represents Christ High Priestly ministry. The alpha Sabbath of the seventh-day reaches back to creation, and the omega seventh-year Sabbath reaches to the Earth made new. Leviticus twenty-three historically spans from creation to re-creation.

The joy or shame of the prophetic message is a symbol of those who have the message of the Midnight Cry or a counterfeit. Until this truth is factored into the narrative, the issue that produces the shame is missed. Those who possess the genuine oil, will not miss this point. The joy is represented by those whose sins have been removed, and they are presented by those who are celebrating the feast of tabernacles.

> And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14.

The Greek word translated as “dwelt” means “to tabernacle.” Jesus became flesh and tabernacled with us. He took our human nature, our tabernacle, our tent, our booth, our flesh. Peter said it this way:

> Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. 2 Peter 1:13, 14.

Paul said it this way:

> For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 2 Corinthians 5:1–4.

The feast of tabernacles is symbolic of the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, which is accomplished when the windows of heaven are opened. When the sins of the one hundred and forty-four thousand are removed, the Holy Spirit will be poured out without measure upon the church triumphant. Judgment is finished for the one hundred and forty-four thousand and they that are sealed go forth to proclaim the loud cry of the third angel under the power of the Holy Spirit as represented with the feast of Tabernacle’s.

Our body is a temple, and a tent, which is a tabernacle. Those who gathered to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of tabernacles, were celebrating that their sins had been blotted out. Moses was used to raise the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the feast of tabernacles at the end was celebrated by living in booths in the wilderness, for Jesus always illustrates the end with the beginning.

> Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Hebrews 3:1–6.

Moses was the faithful servant that God used to erect the tabernacle temple, but Christ as the High Priest and Apostle hath more honor than the servant Moses. Every house, from Moses’ tabernacle temple, to Solomon’s temple, to Herod’s forty-six-year remodeled temple, the human temple with its 46 chromosomes and the Millerite temple of 1798 unto 1844 were all built by God. In the prophetic line of the various manifestations of temples, that would begin in the Garden of Eden, then after sin, at the gate of the Garden, then after the flood at altars unto Moses; the three primary waymarks are Moses, Christ and the one hundred and forty-four thousand.

Moses and Christ represent the alpha and omega of ancient Israel, and together they represent the combination of humanity and Divinity, which is also represented by the one hundred and forty-four thousand. At the arrival of the third angel, in Revelation chapter eleven, John is told to measure the temple, and at the arrival of that same angel at 9/11, John is told to measure the temple again. In both cases he is told to leave off the courtyard of 1,260 days. In 2023, the same angel arrived, and God’s people are now called to measure the temple. The 1,260 days, or three days and a half ended in 2023, and from that point until just before the Sunday law the temple is to be raised. 2024 marked the laying of the foundations, and it saw the rebellion manifested as a group which “despised the day of small things,” protesting Miller’s identification of the symbol that establishes the vision.

> Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. Zechariah 4:8–10.

To reject Miller’s identification that it is Rome that establishes the vision, is to reject the foundations, and it is “to despise the day of small things.” The Millerite movement was the alpha movement of the first and second angels’ and the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand is the omega movement of the third angel. It is twenty-two times more powerful than the alpha. In this prophetic sense the foundations of the Millerite movement is “the day of small things.” To despise any foundational truth represented upon Habakkuk’s two tables, is to die, for the vision that is established in verse fourteen of Daniel eleven is the same vision Solomon identified.

> Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18.

The capstone vision is marvelous, for it identifies that the foundational cornerstone is also the capstone, but with twenty-two times more power. The alpha foundational test of 2024 was the external intellectual sealing message and the omega temple test of 2026 is the internal spiritual sealing message. One identifies the image and mark of the beast and the other the image and mark of God. That omega internal test is represented by the two symbols of Miller’s dream that must be defined in the context of the events of the latter days. What is the storehouse? and what is the meat?

We will continue these things in the next article.

A Jewish marriage in Jesus’ time unfolded in three major phases, often spread over months or a year. The first step was the legal marriage, called the betrothal, at which point the marriage is legally established, but the bride and groom remain separated, while the groom returned to his father’s house to prepare a place for his bride. This is why Mary, Joseph’s wife was called his wife, even before they lived together. Unfaithfulness in this period of time was considered adultery.

The waiting period was uncertain and could be days, weeks or months. The uncertainty is an essential element of the parable. The father might wait for up to a year, to confirm the brides celibacy. The groom did not announce the exact day or hour of his return, for it was his father’s decision to decide when, so the bride knew the wedding was coming—but not when. This uncertainty was intentional, and until the father commanded the groom to go and get his bride everything involved tarried.

When the father said, “go and get your bride,” the groom would come at night, with friends, shouting and blowing a trumpet. It would always occur at night to avoid travelling long distances in the heat of the day, which can be oppressive in land of Israel. Torches and oil were required, for there were no street lights, and the procession could last hours. The actual ritual expression in the ancient Hebrew marriages that was proclaimed during the processions was, “Behold the bridegroom cometh!”

The virgins (bridesmaids) in the parable were not random women, they were the bride’s attendants, waiting with her, expected to join the procession, and responsible to be ready at any hour and to carry their own oil to light the path to the groom’s house. The torches burned fast, so it was a necessity to bring extra oil, in case of a long journey. There was no communal sharing of the oil.

The delay is normal in the ancient procession and marriage and was not a problem culturally. Delays were expected, and falling asleep was normal. The distinction is not in the sleeping, but in the preparation, not the wakefulness. The foolish virgins didn’t plan for a delay as the wise ones did. Everyone would sleep for the period from the legal betrothal to the consummation may take a year.

Once the procession reached the groom’s house, the marriage feast began and the door was shut permanently and late arrivals were not admitted. This was not cruelty—it was custom, for anyone knocking later after the door was shut meant they were not part of the procession.

Jesus wasn’t inventing imagery, and He provided no explanation of this parable as He often did. He did not need to provide an explanation, for all these cultural details were fully understood by His audience. Jesus was identifying a literal Eastern marriage, not abstraction.

The details are upheld fully from the Hebrew testimony, as well as the historians of the Roman and Greek periods.

The Mishnah (2nd century AD, but preserving pre-70 AD Temple-era customs)

The Talmud (later compilation, but quoting earlier practice)

Josephus (1st century Jewish historian)

Rabbinic wedding liturgy and legal discussions

Greco-Roman observers of Judea

Josephus does not give a neat “wedding manual,” but the legal and cultural details he assumes align exactly with the Mishnah/Talmud descriptions. The Mishnah is the key source.

The parable landed so hard on a 1st-century Jewish listener, for nothing in Matthew 25 needed explaining. The midnight arrival was normal, the lamps and oil were obvious necessities, and a delay between the legal marriage betrothal and the midnight procession was expected, and the shut door was standard operating procedure! The virgins who were excluded, were ashamed, and to the Jewish audience of Jesus’ period, the foolish virgin’s shame was absolutely deserved. Fully knowing the ritual, Jesus’ audience would have no sympathy for the foolish virgins, for everyone knew the preparation was an absolute responsibility for any virgin that was asked to be in the procession. These truths were so obvious to the Jewish audience that Jesus never needed to provide any explanation of the parable.

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