Article

# The Book of Daniel - Number Sixty-Five

The Prophetic Unveiling: Understanding the July 18, 2020 Disappointment and the Unfolding Message of the Midnight Cry in the Last Days

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

January 29, 2024

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Key Takeaways

- July 18, 2020, is seen as a crucial disappointment in the context of this religious reformatory movement.
- July 18, 2020 marks a significant point in the history of the third Woe, the latter rain, and the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand.
- The history of this movement is compared to previous reformatory movements in sacred history, particularly the Millerite movement.
- The article refers to the parable of the ten virgins and Habakkuk, suggesting that the tarrying time mentioned in these contexts is relevant to the events of July 18, 2020.
- Laodicean Adventism is mentioned as being tested by the arrival of the third Woe on September 11, 2001.
- The failed prediction of July 18, 2020, is highlighted as a turning point, leading some to drift back toward Rome, similar to the Protestants in the Millerite history.
- The article discusses the concept of the “vision” mentioned in Habakkuk 2:3 and its relationship to the events of July 18, 2020.

On July 18, 2020, the first disappointment for God’s last-day reformatory movement arrived. It marked a waymark in the history of the third Woe, which is the history of the latter rain, and also the history of the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. That history has been represented by every reformatory movement of sacred history, and it was more specifically represented by the history of the Millerite movement, and illustrated by the parable of the ten virgins, and it represents the prophetic history which every prophet identified.

July 18, 2020, represents the first disappointment of the movement, and as such it marks the arrival of the tarrying time in the parable of the ten virgins and Habakkuk. In the Millerite history the same evidence that led to their erroneous proclamation was seen to identify the true date. The tarrying time of the parable of the ten virgins was then seen as present truth, and that tarrying time was the same tarrying time in Habakkuk two. The parable of the ten virgins is repeated to the very letter, and that reality identifies that only those who were involved with the disappointment are candidates to either be a wise or foolish virgin.

The great body of Laodicean Adventism was tested by the arrival of the third Woe on September 11, 2001, and when the failed prediction of July 18, 2020 passed, Laodicean Adventism was left behind to drift aimlessly back toward Rome, as were the Protestants in Millerite history.

Not only did the Millerites identify the tarrying time as the fulfillment of the parable of the ten virgins, but they saw that in Habakkuk the command to wait for the vision, though it tarried, was the same prophetic waymark. Habakkuk then confirms that the vision that had been erroneously presented and which had produced the first disappointment was the vision that would “speak” at the end.

> For 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. Habakkuk 2:3.

The message that produced the first disappointment was the same message that was to be recognized as being fulfilled in the near future, but it was a message that was still based upon the previous prophetic arguments that were employed in the first erroneous proclamation.

In the Millerite history the former covenant people were first tested, thereafter the new covenant people were tested. The test began for the Protestants when the first angel of Revelation ten and the first angel of Revelation fourteen (for they are the same angel), descended on August 11, 1840. Their test concluded with the first disappointment and arrival of the second angel of Revelation fourteen.

In Millerite history the test for the Millerites began with the arrival of the second angel at the first disappointment and concluded with the arrival of the Midnight Cry, which Sister White portrays as a multitude of angels, who join the second angel. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, the Millerites who recognized and accepted the message of the Midnight Cry, were then separated from the Millerites who did not recognize the message that was falling all around them. On October 22, 1844, the third angel arrived and the vision that had tarried then spoke.

In the history of the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, the former covenant people were first tested, then the new covenant people. The test began for Laodicean Adventism when the first voice of the angel of Revelation eighteen and the third angel of Revelation fourteen (for they are the same angel), descended on September 11, 2001. Their test concluded with the disappointment of July 18, 2020.

In the movement of the third angel, the test for the one hundred and forty-four thousand began with the arrival of the first disappointment, and will conclude with the arrival of the message of the Midnight Cry. Under the power of the Holy Spirit those who now recognize and accept the message of the Midnight Cry, are then separated from the foolish and wicked who did not recognize the multifaceted message that is now falling all around them.

At the soon-coming Sunday law, the second “voice” of the angel of Revelation eighteen speaks, which is also the vision that “tarried” speaking. It also represents the third angel’s message that “swells” to the loud cry.

The Midnight Cry is represented as many angels that join with the previous angel. The message of the Midnight Cry has several elements that contribute to the entire message, and angels are symbols of messages. In Millerite history the pioneer identified as leading out in bringing the message of the true Midnight Cry together was Samuel S. Snow. In that history it is well documented that Snow’s understanding of the message of the Midnight Cry developed over a period of time.

That history is repeated to the very letter, and the message of the final Midnight Cry has been publicly developing since the end of July, 2023. It is not simply the message of Islam, but it also includes the message of the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. It includes the revelation that the two horns of the earth beast, both go through a “death and resurrection”, as they parallel the image of the beast, that in the same history fulfills the prophetic riddle that “the eighth is of the seven”. It includes the revelations associated with the “hidden history” of the Seven Thunders, and it fulfills the prophetic riddle of the “stone” that was rejected becoming “the head of the corner”, as the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six is revealed to be the thread that weaves all the truths of Miller’s history together, with the truths that were unsealed at the time of the end in 1989. The Psalmist says it this way:

> The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:22–24.

The “stone”, which was the first “jewel” William Miller discovered (and jewels are stones), is the “day which the Lord hath made.” It has been shown in previous articles that the structure, and the words of the Sabbath commandment are identical to the structure to the sacred cycle of seven, as set forth in Leviticus chapter twenty-five. Resting on the seventh day typified the land resting on the seventh year, and when the two commandments are considered in this fashion, they provide a witness that a day represents a year in Bible prophecy.

They also show that the understanding that Miller proclaimed concerning God’s indignation of “seven times,” in Leviticus twenty-six is represented as “a day”, for the Lord made the sacred cycle of seven years, as certainly as He made the heavens and earth in six days, and rested the seventh.

When Jesus concluded the parable of the vineyard He asked a question to the Pharisees.

> When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. Matthew 21:40–45.

The parable of the vineyard is the parable of the former chosen people being passed by, and the kingdom being given to a new chosen people. The “stone” which was rejected according to Jesus, is the “stone” that either saves or destroys, based upon how it is received. The “stone” must be a biblical truth in the context employed by Jesus, for it has the ability to bring forth righteous fruit, and the righteousness of Christ is only produced in men and women when they receive His Word of truth.

> Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17.

The “stone” is a doctrine that is either accepted or rejected, and Jesus is the Word, and in the book of Acts, Peter identifies the “stone” as Christ.

> Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:10–12.

And then in first Peter, he takes the symbolism of the “stone,” even further, but he keeps it in the same context of the passing-by of a former covenant people and the selection of a new chosen people, who as he states, “in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

> To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 1 Peter 2:4–8.

Peter says of the former chosen people, “unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.”

Jesus is represented by every sacred illustration of the foundation.

> For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11.

The foundation the Millerites built was the Rock of Ages (the Stone).

> “The warning has come: Nothing is to be allowed to come in that will disturb the foundation of the faith upon which we have been building ever since the message came in 1842, 1843, and 1844. I was in this message, and ever since I have been standing before the world, true to the light that God has given us. We do not propose to take our feet off the platform on which they were placed as day by day we sought the Lord with earnest prayer, seeking for light. Do you think that I could give up the light that God has given me? It is to be as the Rock of Ages. It has been guiding me ever since it was given.” Review and Herald, April 14, 1903.

The first jewel Miller discovered that became part of the Millerite foundation, which is as the Rock of Ages, was the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six, and the “seven times,” was the first foundational truth to be set aside by those Millerite pioneers who had just built the Millerite foundation. It was the builders that were to reject the foundational stone. That “stone,” which typifies Christ, is also the day which the Lord made, for he made the seventh day as a day of rest, and the seventh year as a year the land would rest. In 1863, the foundation stone was rejected, but it is to be made the “head of the corner” and the “stone of stumbling” for the disobedient.

The message of Islam of the third woe is the theme for the reform movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, and the testing process began when the angel of Revelation eighteen descended, as the great buildings of New York City were thrown down on September 11, 2001. Adventism was silent concerning the prophetic identification that September 11, 2001, was the arrival of the “day of the east wind.” On July 18, 2020, they were left behind as the two witnesses of Revelation chapter eleven, were slain in the streets of that great city. The test of Adventism was over, and the test for those who had professed to recognize the message of Islam was under way.

After laying dead in the streets until the end of July, 2023, the dead dry bones were then aroused by the first message of Ezekiel. The second message of Ezekiel is the message of the four winds of Islam of the third Woe, representing the progressive unsealing of the message of the Midnight Cry, which is the vision that tarried, and the theme of the entire period of the movement. Various truths were then unsealed, for the message of the Midnight Cry represents a multifaceted message. The first truth that confronted the dead dry bones was the first truth rejected by Laodicean Adventism, and it represents the truth that marks the transition of Laodicea unto Philadelphia.

The truth is the sealing message, and therefore needs to be settled into both intellectually and also spiritually. It is not enough to recognize the period the two witnesses were dead in the street is a symbol of the scattering of the “seven times,” it also requires an experiential acceptance of the truth.

Miller’s jewels, which represents the truths unsealed at the time of the end in 1798, become a test for the virgins of the last days. The experience of settling into the truth “spiritually” is represented by Miller’s first jewel, and the “intellectual” settling into the truth is represented by the message of Islam of the third woe. The calling for repentance and confession represented by the “seven times,” identifies a work that is carried out in conjunction with Christ in the Most Holy Place, and is represented by the “mareh” vision.

The “intellectual” understanding of Islam of the third Woe is represented by the “chazon” vision, and both are required for those who will be sealed. In 1863, Laodicean Adventism chose to rebuild Jericho, and left its work of restoring Jerusalem. Jericho is a symbol of affluence as also represented by the Laodicean blindness.

> “One of the strongest fortresses in the land—the large and wealthy city of Jericho—lay just before them, but a little distance from their camp at Gilgal. On the border of a fertile plain abounding with the rich and varied productions of the tropics, its palaces and temples the abode of luxury and vice, this proud city, behind its massive battlements, offered defiance to the God of Israel. Jericho was one of the principal seats of idol worship, being especially devoted to Ashtaroth, the goddess of the moon. Here centered all that was vilest and most degrading in the religion of the Canaanites. The people of Israel, in whose minds were fresh the fearful results of their sin at Beth-peor, could look upon this heathen city only with disgust and horror.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 487.

The “stone” the builders rejected in 1863, as they rebuilt Jericho, was the “seven times” that in the last days would become the truth (jewel), that becomes “the head of the corner”, for it is the truth that weaves together the beginning of Adventism in the movement of the Millerites, with the end of Adventism in the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. That jewel, which is the “seven times,” is also “the day which the Lord made”, and it is Christ himself, for He is the Word, and He is “Truth.” The subject of Islam is the theme which produces the cleansing of both the former and new chosen people, and the two-fold cleansing began on September 11, 2001, which was “the day of the east wind”. In that day the watchmen were to sing the very same song Christ sang, when He proclaimed the parable of the vineyard. The one hundred and forty-four thousand sing the song of Moses (the “seven times”), and the song of the Lamb.

> And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Revelation 15:2, 3.

The “Lamb” is Christ who was slain, and He was slain in the midst of twenty-five hundred and twenty days, thus threading together the sacrifice of His life and blood (where He confirmed the covenant), together with Moses’ “quarrel of His covenant,” in Leviticus twenty-six. The song of Moses and the Lamb is the song of the chazon of prophetic history and the song of the mareh of His “appearance”. It is the song of an intellectual and spiritual understanding as represented by the two visions of Daniel chapter eight. It is the song of a covenant people being judged and passed by, while a new chosen people are selected. The selection process, and therefore the song began on September 11, 2001.

> He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind. By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up. Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof. When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will show them no favour. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. Isaiah 27:6–13.

Rightly understood these verses are identifying September 11, 2001, until the soon-coming Sunday law. Verse six identifies the entire history, by identifying the beginning of the plant which takes root, then blossoms and buds, and eventually fills the earth with fruit. The fruit that fills the earth does so during the “hour,” which is the Sunday law crisis. While Christ is then gathering his fruit into his garner, he is also bringing judgment upon Babylon. The judgment that occurs during the time when the earth is filled with fruit is represented in verse seven, when the two questions are asked, “Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?”

Then in verse eight, the sprinkling of the latter rain is marked with the expression, “In measure.” What causes the plants to shoot forth is the rain, and when the beginning of the latter rain is marked, it is marked as beginning “in measure, when it shooteth forth.” When the latter rain begins, it is poured out “in measure”, for it is not poured out without measure if the harvest is a mixture of true and false.

> “Every truly converted soul will be intensely desirous to bring others from the darkness of error into the marvelous light of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The great outpouring of the Spirit of God, which lightens the whole earth with his glory, will not come until we have an enlightened people, that know by experience what it means to be laborers together with God. When we have entire, whole-hearted consecration to the service of Christ, God will recognize the fact by an outpouring of his Spirit without measure; but this will not be while the largest portion of the church are not laborers together with God. God cannot pour out his Spirit when selfishness and self-indulgence are so manifest; when a spirit prevails that, if put into words, would express that answer of Cain,—‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ If the truth for this time, if the signs that are thickening on every hand, that testify that the end of all things is at hand, are not-sufficient to arouse the sleeping energy of those who profess to know the truth, then darkness proportionate to the light which has been shining will overtake these souls. There is not the semblance of an excuse for their indifference that they will be able to present to God in the great day of final reckoning. There will be no reason to offer as to why they did not live and walk and work in the light of the sacred truth of the word of God, and thus reveal to a sin-darkened world, through their conduct, their sympathy, and their zeal, that the power and reality of the gospel could not be controverted.” Review and Herald, July 21, 1896.

Sister White identifies the passage as the point when the angel of Revelation descends, for she says, “the great outpouring of the Spirit of God, which lightens the whole earth with his glory.” In another passage we have often cited in these articles, she identified that when “the great buildings of New York” “are thrown down,” “Revelation chapter eighteen, verses one through three will be fulfilled.”

We will continue these thoughts in the next article.

> Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. Isaiah 5:1–7.

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