Article

# What is Truth? - Number Four

Let not Your Heart be Troubled

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

September 9, 2023

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Key Takeaways

- Historical Parallels and Prophetic Messages: Draws on the unsealing of Daniel’s visions (Ulai and Hiddekel) and connects them to internal (church) and external (enemies) messages for God’s people.
- Role of Disappointment and Tarrying: Similar to the Millerite experience, believers face disappointments and waiting periods that test faith, as illustrated in the parable of the ten virgins.
- The Holy Spirit as Comforter: Jesus’ promise of the “Comforter” in John 14–17 highlights the Holy Spirit’s role in providing strength and understanding during crises.
- Threefold Testing Process: Discusses three steps of the gospel (purification, sanctification, and judgment), seen as essential for spiritual maturity and readiness.
- The Midnight Cry and Current Prophetic Time: References 2020 as a modern “tarrying time,” urging believers to discern the unfolding Midnight Cry message.
- God’s Threefold Presence: Examines the “heavenly trio” (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), emphasizing how understanding their unified work in redemption can guide believers today.
- Spiritual Readiness: Encourages believers to “cleanse” and “purify” themselves in preparation for coming judgments, with a call to separate the “precious from the vile.”

At the beginning of Millerite history in 1798, the vision of the Ulai River in the book of Daniel was unsealed, producing an increase of knowledge that tested and manifested two classes of worshippers. The Ulai vision represents the internal message for God’s people as represented by the seven churches of Revelation chapters two and three. At the end of the prophetic history that began in 1798, at the Exeter camp meeting from August 12–17, 1844, the message of the Midnight Cry was unsealed when the Lion of the tribe of Judah removed His hand from a hidden truth, which produced an increase of knowledge that tested and manifested two classes of worshippers.

In 1989, when, as described in Daniel eleven, verse forty, the countries representing the former Soviet Union were swept away by the papacy and the United States, the vision of the Hiddekel River in the book of Daniel was unsealed, producing an increase of knowledge that tested and manifested two classes of worshippers. The Hiddekel vision represents the external message of the enemies of God’s people as represented by the seven seals in the book of Revelation. At the end of the prophetic history that began in 1989, beginning in the last couple of weeks of July, 2023, the Lion of the tribe of Judah began the process of unsealing the message of the Midnight Cry by removing His hand from a hidden truth, which is producing an increase of knowledge that is testing and will ultimately manifest two classes of worshippers among God’s people.

In the first verse of John chapter fourteen, Christ encourages the disciples to let not their hearts be troubled.

> Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1.

Within hours Christ was arrested and shortly thereafter He was crucified, buried and resurrected. After ascending to the Father, He returned to His disciples.

> And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Luke 24:36–38.

The first disappointment in a reform line occurs when God’s people forget a previously revealed truth. The disciples had forgotten what Jesus had told them less than a week before their fear and disappointment was manifested at the crisis of the cross. The first disappointment is followed by a time of tarrying, which in the parable of the ten virgins is represented by the absence of the Bridegroom. Jesus had directly told the disciples He was going to His Father but would be back. The foreknowledge He had provided the disciples did not prevent them from being overwhelmed by the crisis. In the context of the parable of the ten virgins, a crisis is where character is manifested, but never developed. Jesus had chosen and ordained the disciples, and he told them that very truth before the crisis.

> Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. John 15:16.

Yet even though they were chosen, it did not prevent them from being overwhelmed by the crisis.

> “Character is revealed by a crisis. When the earnest voice proclaimed at midnight, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,’ the sleeping virgins roused from their slumbers, and it was seen who had made preparation for the event. Both parties were taken unawares, but one was prepared for the emergency, and the other was found without preparation. Character is revealed by circumstances. Emergencies bring out the true metal of character. Some sudden and unlooked-for calamity, bereavement, or crisis, some unexpected sickness or anguish, something that brings the soul face to face with death, will bring out the true inwardness of the character. It will be made manifest whether or not there is any real faith in the promises of the word of God. It will be made manifest whether or not the soul is sustained by grace, whether there is oil in the vessel with the lamp.

> “Testing times come to all. How do we conduct ourselves under the test and proving of God? Do our lamps go out? or do we still keep them burning? Are we prepared for every emergency by our connection with Him who is full of grace and truth? The five wise virgins could not impart their character to the five foolish virgins. Character must be formed by us as individuals.” Review and Herald, October 17, 1895.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ that is identified in the first verses of the book of Revelation is the final warning message to the church and thereafter to the world. That revelation is unsealed just before the close of probation by the Lion of the tribe of Judah who has been identified in Revelation chapter five as the only one who is worthy to open the book that was sealed.

> And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. Revelation 5:5.

The Lion of the tribe of Judah is also the “root of David,” and He is also “the son of David” and He is also the Lord of David. The connection represented by the Lion of the tribe of Judah identifies that when the Lion of the tribe of Judah seals or unseals a truth, he does so by employing the rule of first mention, that identifies the end of a thing by the beginning of a thing as represented by Jesus as the “root of David.” When a truth is unsealed at ‘a’ time of the end, a purification process is initiated as represented in Daniel twelve.

> “It was the Lion of the tribe of Judah who unsealed the book and gave to John the revelation of what should be in these last days. Daniel stood in his lot to bear his testimony, which was sealed until the time of the end, when the first angel’s message should be proclaimed to our world. These matters are of infinite importance in these last days, but while ‘many shall be purified, and made white, and tried,’ ‘the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand.’” Manuscript Releases, volume 18, 14, 15.

The work of Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah is of infinite importance, but “none” of the “wicked shall understand” his work or the message that is unsealed.

> And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. Daniel 12:9, 10.

The testing process is represented by three steps; “purified, made white, and tried.” These three steps represent the three steps of “the everlasting gospel,” which in the first angel’s message is represented as fear God (purified), give him glory (made white) for the hour of His judgment is come (tried). Those three steps are the ‘truth,’ as represented by the first letter, thirteenth letter and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and when those letters are brought together in that order, the Hebrew word “truth” is created.

Those three steps are the ‘way,’ for God’s way, according to Asaph in Psalms 77:13 is in the sanctuary where in the courtyard a sinner is purified by the shedding of blood. The blood is thereafter taken into the holy place which represents sanctification which is the process of being “made white.”

> And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:13, 14.

The justified and sanctified sinner is then prepared to be “tried” in the judgment represented by the Most Holy Place. Jesus is the “way”, the “truth” and the “life”. The way is the beginning, the truth is the middle and the life is the end. If we are purified by the first step, we are on the way, which is the path of the justified.

> But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Proverbs 4:18.

The second step is the manifestation of righteousness that is accomplished by His truth, for His Word is truth.

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

Those justified are represented by step one, the sanctified are represented by step two. The first two steps prepare those who are justified and sanctified to enter into judgment and receive eternal life. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

> “Righteousness within is testified to by righteousness without. He who is righteous within is not hard-hearted and unsympathetic, but day by day he grows into the image of Christ, going on from strength to strength. He who is being sanctified by the truth will be self-controlled, and will follow in the footsteps of Christ until grace is lost in glory. The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven.” Review and Herald, June 4, 1895.

John chapter fourteen through chapter seventeen repeatedly addresses the issues of the disciple’s reaction when Christ leaves them to go to His Father. He promises to return, and he understood, (though the disciples did not), that the soon-coming crisis would produce a profound disappointment. Woven into the four chapters is the identification and definition of the Holy Spirit as the “Comforter.” The Holy Spirit is identified four times as the “Comforter” in the gospel of John, and once in first John, but there the word is translated as “advocate.” It is located nowhere else in the New Testament.

The Old Testament has a Hebrew word that has been translated as “comforter” in Ecclesiastes four verse one and in Lamentations chapter one verses nine and sixteen. All three of those references identify that oppressors have oppressed God’s people and they have no comforter to support them in the distress and disappointment they find themselves in.

The identification of the Holy Spirit as the “Comforter” is placed in the passage that Jesus is seeking to prepare the disciples for the great disappointment that lies just hours ahead. In that context He emphasizes that even in His absence the Holy Spirit will be present to provide them with comfort. In identifying the Holy Spirit in the context of the Comforter, Jesus specifies the characteristics of the work that the Comforter will accomplish.

Jesus’ repeated references of His departure and return, places that very subject at the top of the list in terms of the primary theme of the passage.

John 14:2–4, 18, 19, 28, 16:5–7, 10, 28, 17:11–13 are verses that directly address the tarrying time in the parable of the ten virgins. Included with the previous verses is the following passage that through repetition emphasizes the tarrying time, for “the Lord does not repeat things that are of no great consequence.”

> A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father? They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. John 16:16–22.

At least twenty-one verses in chapter fourteen through chapter seventeen identify the period of time in which the disciples would need to wait for Christ to return. That period of time would begin at Christ’s death and continue until His return from His Father. The time they were to wait for His return symbolizes the tarrying time in the parable of the ten virgins. As with Luke’s account of the disciples of Emmaus, the disappointment of the cross is prophetically typifying the beginning of the tarrying time that follows the first disappointment.

In the first passage of the first book of the Bible we find the creation story and we recognize the three persons of the heavenly trio. In the first passage of the last book of the Bible we find the three persons of the heavenly trio. In the four chapters we are considering we find the three persons of the heavenly trio. Recognizing this fact allows us to lay John’s four chapters over the prophetic line of Genesis chapter one verse one through to chapter two verse three and over Revelation chapter one verses one through eleven.

In the passage Jesus says to Thomas that if a person has seen Jesus, they have seen the Father. The passage also identifies that Christ is the one who comforted the disciples by his presence, but that when he leaves, He would send “another” “comforter.” The Holy Spirit is the comforter, but Christ was also the comforter.

> If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? John 14:7–9.

Thomas represents those in Adventism that refuse to see the testimony of the relationship of the heavenly trio, in spite of the fact that they probably have read the testimonies which uphold that truth over and over.

> And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. John 14:16–19.

If we have seen Jesus, we have seen the Father. Jesus is the “Comforter” and the Holy Spirit is “another Comforter.” If we have seen Jesus, we have seen the Father and we have seen the Comforter. Of the five times the word comforter is used in the Bible, they are all employed by the apostle John. In the fifth reference the word is translated as “advocate.”

> My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1.

If any man sin, we have a Comforter, Jesus Christ the righteous. An advocate is one who intercedes in behalf of the sinner. Paul identifies Jesus’ work as our advocate.

> Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Romans 8:34.

Jesus is the sinner’s advocate, which includes that He is the comforter. In the same chapter Paul had previously identified that the Holy Spirit also makes intercession for us.

> Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26, 27.

Jesus and the Holy Spirit are both identified as the Comforter, and therefore they are both advocates that make intercession for us. The three persons of the heavenly trio are all represented in the passage of John we are considering, and when brought together with the first testimony of the first book of the Bible and the first testimony of the last book of the Bible the light concerning the relationship and work of the three persons of the godhead is magnified.

> “The Father cannot be described by the things of earth. The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight. The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested. The word of God declares Him to be ‘the express image of His person.’ ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Here is shown the personality of the Father.

> “The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven, is the Spirit in all the fullness of the Godhead, making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio. In the name of these three powers,—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will cooperate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.

> “What is the sinner to do?—Believe in Christ. He is Christ’s property, bought with the blood of the Son of God. Through test and trial the Saviour redeemed human beings from the slavery of sin. What then must we do to be saved from sin?—Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the sin-pardoning Saviour. He who confesses his sin and humbles his heart will receive forgiveness. Jesus is the sin-pardoning Saviour as well as the only begotten Son of the infinite God. The pardoned sinner is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ our Deliverer from sin. Keeping in the path of holiness, he is a subject of the grace of God. There is brought to him full salvation, joy, and peace, and the true wisdom that comes from God.

> “Faith in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ is the assurance of pardon. Christ can cleanse away all sin. Simple reliance on that power day by day will give the human agent keen wisdom to discern what will keep the soul in these last days from the bondage of sin. By faith and prayer, through the knowledge of Christ, he is to work out his own salvation.

> “The Holy Spirit recognizes and guides us into all truth. God has given His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Christ is the sinner’s Saviour. Christ’s death has redeemed the sinner. This is our only hope. If we make a full surrender of self, and practice the virtues of Christ, we shall gain the prize of eternal life.

> “‘He that believeth in the Son, hath the Father also.’ He who has continual faith in the Father and the Son has the Spirit also. The Holy Spirit is his comforter, and he never departs from the truth.” Bible Training School, March 1, 1906.

Beyond the added light of the work and relationship of the heavenly trio, the identification of the heavenly trio in the passage provides a witness that these four chapters are to be aligned with the message that is now being unsealed by the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

The witness in the story of the disciples of Emmaus, represents three testimonies that identify that the disappointment and tarrying times that followed the cross represents the disappointment and tarrying time that follows the first disappointment. There is another witness that upholds that the history represented in John’s four chapters represents the circumstances of the first disappointment.

The final verse of the creation story that is the first truth mentioned in God’s Word ends with three words, and each of those words begin with one of the three letters that create the word truth, and they do so in the correct order. The creation story in Genesis begins with the words, “In the beginning” and it ends with the three words “God created and made.”

The first letter of those three words when combined create the word truth. The creation story starts with the “beginning” and ends with the word symbolically represented by the letters that represent the Alpha and Omega. So too, in the opening passage of the last book of the Bible Jesus is twice identified as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and ending, the first and the last. Those three letters which represent the Alpha and Omega provide still another witness that the passage in John must be brought together with the prophetic line at the beginning of Genesis and the prophetic line at the beginning of Revelation. That testimony is recognized within the description of the work of the Comforter. The work of the Comforter is the three-step work represented by those same three Hebrew letters. The signature of Alpha and Omega allows us to place these four chapters in the context of the message of the Revelation of Jesus Christ that is unsealed just before probation closes.

The seven thunders represent four specific waymarks (points in time) and three specific periods of time that begin with the waymark of the descent of an angel that is to lighten the earth with His glory. That waymark was a point in time. The second waymark (point in time) is the first disappointment, that ushers in the period of the tarrying time. The tarrying time leads to the third waymark (point in time) where a truth is unsealed and that produces a movement. The movement concludes at the fourth waymark (point in time) represented as judgment. Those four waymarks and the three periods of time each represent a thunder, totaling seven thunders. They also represent a four-three combination.

In earlier articles we have identified that the pioneer understanding of the seven churches, the seven seals and the seven trumpets acknowledge a ‘four-three combination.’ The first four churches, seals and trumpets are distinct from the last three churches, seals and trumpets. The seven thunders represent four waymarks, but within those four waymarks are three periods of time. The divine combination of ‘four and three’ that in the book of Revelation is established upon three witnesses (churches, seals and trumpets), and those witnesses testify to the validity of the ‘four and three’ combination of the book of Revelation’s seven thunders.

Yet embedded within the line of history represented by the seven thunders is another hidden and distinct line of prophecy that possesses three waymarks that are distinct from the symbol represented as seven thunders. Therefore, when we consider the prophetic relation of the seven thunders with the hidden history that is now being unsealed, we find that the seven thunders present four waymarks (points in time) and the hidden history presents three waymarks (points in time.) Like unto the churches, seals, trumpets and thunders the hidden history represents three waymarks that are connected with the four waymarks of the seven thunders. The hidden history also possesses a three-four combination.

In the hidden history which is embedded within the seven thunders, there are three distinct waymarks that are each a ‘point in time,’ and the first and last of those three waymarks represent a disappointment. There is a distinct ‘period of time’ between the first and second waymarks and a distinct ‘period of time’ between the second and third points in time. The word “disappointment” evolved from the concept of a missed appointment and carries with its definition the emphasis of a point in time. Midnight is also a specific time. The hidden history is portrayed by three points in time separated by two periods of time; the tarrying time and the seventh month movement.

The first waymark of the hidden history identifies a disappointment and the last waymark also identifies a disappointment. Therefore, from the first disappointment on unto the last disappointment is a hidden line of prophecy that possesses the same three steps as do all reform lines. It also possesses the signature of Alpha and Omega, for the three letters that create “truth” correspond to the three waymarks that begin and end with a disappointment. That hidden history within the seven thunders is the truth that the Lion of the tribe of Judah is currently unsealing.

The passage in John we are considering is introduced in the previous chapter with the Last Supper, emphasizing that the message of these four chapters is to be eaten. Those four chapters end with the walk to Gethsemane. The narrative takes place in the movement from the eating until the crisis of the cross begins. Prophetically the setting of the four chapters defines the last message that is to be eaten before the judgment. The message that leads to judgment closing, is the message that is unsealed in the book of Revelation, just before judgment closes.

The disciples and Jesus are at the point in prophetic history where they are being informed of the tarrying time. In Millerite history the Lord removed His hand to produce the understanding of the message of the Midnight Cry, but the understanding that produced the message of Samuel Snow also informed the Millerites that they were in the tarrying time of the ten virgins. The disciples had just eaten the Last Supper and as they were digesting the message Christ explained the tarrying time in John’s four chapters.

Samuel Snow’s understanding can be documented as a series of articles, that developed the final understanding represented as the Midnight Cry message. As his message was developing, he also presented the message at a series of camp meetings. The series of articles leading to the camp meetings ultimately brought him to the Exeter camp meeting, which lasted six days. Prophetically the message of the Midnight Cry is progressively developed over a period of time. The four chapters in John take place in the prophetic history where the message is being developed.

In John’s four chapters we have the work of the Holy Spirit defined as three steps; conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment. These three steps are also the three waymarks of the hidden history embedded within the seven thunders.

> Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. John 16:7–14.

In Millerite history, Jesus did not return to end the tarrying time at the Midnight Cry. He removed His hand, and poured out or sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit represented as the Comforter, came to dispel the disappointment. He came to provide comfort to those who have been chosen, but who were perplexed by the disappointment of a failed prediction.

We have previously pointed out that the apostle John, Ezekiel and Jeremiah all are illustrated eating the little book that is sweet as honey in the mouth. There is a purposeful distinction between those three prophets, that is often missed.

Ezekiel is used to illustrate those who ate the little book, and are given a message to take to God’s apostate church. Ezekiel represents that the book that is eaten identifies the work that is then to be accomplished. He represents the message given to the former chosen people of God. His message is what binds the former chosen people into bundles destined for the fire. In John’s four chapters Jesus identifies the purpose of Ezekiel’s work.

> Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me. John 15:20–26.

Ezekiel’s work, that began when he ate the book represents the presentation of a message that will be rejected, but the rejection is the evidence that they hate God and have fully filled their cup of probationary time.

> And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. Ezekiel 2:3–5.

Ezekiel’s work was as a witness against the former covenant people, as was Christ with the quibbling Jews and thus Ezekiel’s message is the final warning message that binds the former covenant people as tares as a bundle, destined for the fire of destruction.

> “I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, ‘Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention.’” Early Writings, 118.

The work represented with the eating of the little book begins when the mighty angel descends with a little book in his hand. In the first angel’s history that took place on August 11, 1840 and in the history of the third angel it took place on September 11, 2001. Both those dates represent fulfillments of prophecies associated with either Islam of the second woe or Islam of the third woe respectively. That is why Isaiah in chapter twenty-two, when describing the crisis in the valley of vision for the Philadelphians and the Laodiceans identifies that the Laodiceans, which were the chosen people of Protestantism in 1840 and Adventism who were the chosen people in 2001 were “bound by the archers.” The archers of Bible prophecy are Islam, and when the vision of Islam was fulfilled in 1840 and in 2001, the former chosen people rejected the prophecy of Islam as presented by those represented by Ezekiel. They were there and then bound as tares. The work of Ezekiel was to remove the “cloak” covering “their sin,” which is represented by Jesus as hatred for God.

> The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops? Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, a joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle. All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. Isaiah 22:1–3.

> And God was with the lad [Ishmael]; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. Genesis 21:20.

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

Jeremiah represents those that ate the book when the mighty angel descended that was to lighten the earth with his glory, but who experienced the disappointment of the failed prediction of 1843. Jeremiah considers prophetically if God had lied. That reference connects Jeremiah with Habakkuk two.

> I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 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. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:1–4.

John was used to symbolize those who experienced the sweetness and the bitter disappointment, representing the entire history of August 11, 1840 until October 22, 1844.

> And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. Revelation 10:9, 10.

Ezekiel represents the work of presenting the prophetic message that binds off the former chosen people that was initiated when the angel descended on August 11, 1840 and September 11, 2001.

> But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. Ezekiel 2:8–3:3.

Jeremiah represents the history of August 11, 1840 until just before the Midnight Cry.

> Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brazen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible. Jeremiah 15:16–21.

Jeremiah represents our current history and message. The current message is the Midnight Cry message that is being progressively developed at the point when God’s people represented by Jeremiah have been “filled” with “indignation” thinking their “pain” was to be “perpetual” and their “wound incurable,” a wound that was never to be healed. They have separated from the “assembly of mockers.” They no longer “rejoice” as they had when they first had eaten the book and it had been the “rejoicing of” their “heart.”

But there is counsel for those in that condition. “If thou return” and also “if thou take forth the precious from the vile” then God will return unto them. In the Hebrew “will I bring thee again” in the passage means, God will return unto them, if they return unto Him.

> Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:7–10.

If they will draw nigh unto God, He will draw nigh unto them. If they will do these things, then they will “stand before” the Lord and they will be God’s “mouth.” Further he instructs Jeremiah (us) that he will make His people a “fenced brazen wall” for the “wicked” and thereafter the “terrible” are going to bring a war against those represented by Jeremiah. The “wicked” are Daniel’s representation of Matthew’s foolish virgins. The “terrible” represents the three-fold union of modern Babylon during the Sunday law crisis.

The three prophets’ testimonies all address the same history, but they address three different aspects of the same history. Jeremiah represents those who have just experienced the first disappointment, but have not yet reached the waymark of the Midnight Cry. This is where we have been since July 18, 2020. The question is whether we will return. If we do, we will “speak” for the Lord at the very time the United States “speaks” as a dragon.

The history Jeremiah is illustrating is our current history and it is the history represented by the three hidden waymarks within the seven thunders. It is also the history where the passage in John is prophetically set, for the emphasis of the four chapters in John is the work of the Holy Spirit in comforting Jeremiah who is questioning whether he has believed a lie, and whether the message that tasted so sweet was actually failed waters.

Jeremiah therefore represents the history from September 11, 2001 onward to July 18, 2020 when the tarrying time began as represented by three and a half symbolic days after. When I say “symbolic” I am not referring to a time prediction. I am saying that July 18, 2020 is when the two witnesses, the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy were slain and their dead bodies were left in the street for three and a half days in Revelation eleven.

> And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. Revelation 11:3–10.

The witness presented by Jeremiah’s condition is located after the disappointment, but before the Midnight Cry. Jeremiah needed to return before he could be the voice of the message of the Midnight Cry. This is our condition today. It is also the historical setting of the four chapters in John that we are considering, and it is also the history represented by the hidden history within the seven thunders.

If we consider the light connected with the “Comforter” in John’s four-chapter testimony, we find abundant evidence to recognize the narrative is about July 18, 2020, the disappointment and tarrying time, the message of the Midnight Cry which is unsealed, and the coming judgment of the Sunday law. The chapters are building upon the prophetic structure of the hidden history.

If we are to be as God’s mouth in the soon coming crisis our work now is to “take forth the precious from the vile,” or as James identifies the same work, we are to “cleanse” our “hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” as an ensign in the very near future.

> And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:12.

We will bring our consideration of these four chapters to a conclusion in the next article.

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