Article

# The Revelation of Jesus Christ - Number Eighteen

The Sins of the Fathers

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

November 19, 2023

Formats

PDF
Word

Key Takeaways

- In 1856, James and Ellen White identified the Adventist movement as “Laodicean” and emphasized the “seven times” prophecy as foundational.
- Hiram Edson’s series on this prophecy highlighted its significance but remained incomplete.
- The “seven times” was central to the Millerite foundation, symbolizing Christ as both foundation and rejected cornerstone.
- Christ’s 1844 command declared that time should no longer be used in prophecies, marking an end to time-centered predictions.
- The 1863 rejection of the “seven times” echoed the ancient Israelite sin of ignoring divine instruction, prompting symbolic “seven times” curses.
- The Nashville prediction of 2020 re-ignited debates on prophetic timelines, viewed by some as repeating past mistakes.
- Ellen White warned against setting new prophetic timelines, stressing doctrinal adherence to avoid false teachings and public reproach.

In 1856, formerly Philadelphian Millerite Adventism was identified by James and Ellen White as Laodicean. James White then began to promote the message of Laodicea to the movement through the Review and Herald. In the same publication, in the same year, increased light concerning the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six was also presented in a series of eight articles by Hiram Edson whom the Whites’ regarded so highly that they named their first son after him. The series ended with the promise that it would be completed in the future, but it never again surfaced. At the transition point of the movement of the first angel, from Philadelphia to Laodicea, the movement stumbled over the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six, representing the very first ‘time prophecy’ which the angels of God had led William Miller to recognize and proclaim.

The “seven times” was the chief corner-stone of the Millerite temple foundation. Every prophetic illustration of a sacred foundation is an illustration of Christ, for no other foundation can be laid than Christ.

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

Not only is Christ the foundation, He is also the foundation stone which the builders rejected and thereafter stumbled over. He is the stone that ultimately becomes the head of the corner. In Millerite history the “seven times” was the symbol of that corner stone.

Christ confirmed the covenant with many for one week. The structure of the prophecy of “seven times” against the northern kingdom of Israel (that Hiram Edson had identified in the eight unfinished articles) reproduced the identical structure of the prophetic week that Christ confirmed the covenant in fulfillment of Daniel chapter nine, and verse twenty seven. The week that Christ was gathering Israel is the identical structure of the week that Christ scattered Israel. The scattering of ancient Israel was twenty-five hundred and twenty years, and the gathering of spiritual Israel was twenty-five hundred and twenty days. He gathered Israel to confirm the covenant and He scattered Israel, due to the quarrel of His covenant. To identify the “seven times” as the foundation stone of the Millerite temple is in perfect agreement with identifying Christ as the foundation stone. To reject that stone, is to reject Christ.

When Christ, in 1856, for the very first time in Christian history, stood knocking at the door of Laodicea, He was seeking to produce an increase of knowledge upon the stone of stumbling that the builders were about to set aside. Seven years later, or you might say, twenty-five hundred and twenty symbolic days later, Laodicean Adventism closed the door. Sadly, Adventism refused to see the increase of knowledge. A stone that you stumble over is a stone that you do not see, but it is still there.

> My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hosea 4:6.

The curse of the “seven times,” against the southern kingdom of Judah began in 677 BC and ended on October 22, 1844, along with the twenty-three hundred years of Daniel chapter eight, verse fourteen. The “seven times” is part of the very prophecy that has been identified as the “foundation and central pillar” of the Advent movement. The foundation and central pillar of Adventism was fulfilled at the very same time as several other prophecies. The “seven times,” the twenty-three hundred days, Malachi chapter three, Daniel chapter seven, verse thirteen, and the Matthew twenty-five parable of the ten virgins all were fulfilled on October 22, 1844. The date of October 22, 1844, is the foundational date of the Advent movement, and connected with that date, there is only one command that was identified.

> And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer. Revelation 10:5, 6.

Sister White identifies the angel of Revelation chapter ten, that stood upon the earth and sea, as Jesus Christ.

> “The mighty angel who instructed John was no less a personage than Jesus Christ. Setting His right foot on the sea, and His left upon the dry land, shows the part which He is acting in the closing scenes of the great controversy with Satan. This position denotes His supreme power and authority over the whole earth.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, volume 7, 971.

Christ took the position of standing upon the sea and earth to represent His supreme authority. He then lifted up His hand and commanded that “there should be time no longer.” Christ was entering into covenant with the Millerites and He gave them one command, just as He gave Abraham when he entered into covenant with him. He commanded Abraham to circumcise the male children. When he entered into covenant with a chosen people in the history of Moses, He gave many commands, and those commands included the direction that only the priests could touch the ark. He raised His hand and swore on October 22, 1844, that prophetic time should no longer be incorporated into biblical prophecies. Jesus had addressed the subject of “times and seasons” when He ascended to heaven in a cloud of angels, thus typifying the ascension of the two witnesses as the ensign. What He commanded then was about “times and seasons.”

> When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:6–8.

Jesus did not say that there were no times and seasons, for speaking through Solomon he had confirmed that there are “times and seasons.”

> To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1.

There are “times and seasons” within the biblical record that are testimonies to Palmoni, the “Wonderful Numberer”, but as of October 22, 1844, God’s people have been commanded to never again present a prophetic message that is hung upon time. The counsel of Jesus to the disciples just before He ascended represents the history just before His purified people are lifted up as an ensign in Revelation chapter eleven, and it agrees with the command He gave on October 22, 1844. At the foundational date of Adventism, Christ commanded that there were to be no more prophetic messages based upon time, and at His ascension which typified the ascension of the two witnesses in Revelation eleven he repeated that command.

> “Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance. ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.’ False teachers may appear to be very zealous for the work of God, and may expend means to bring their theories before the world and the church; but as they mingle error with truth, their message is one of deception, and will lead souls into false paths. They are to be met and opposed, not because they are bad men, but because they are teachers of falsehood and are endeavoring to put upon falsehood the stamp of truth.” Testimonies to Ministers, 55.

Sister White was clear that we will never have a message of time identifying anything of special significance, not simply His Second Coming. Time prophecy, which was the theme of the Millerite movement, ended on October 22, 1844, and the only command associated with that foundational date was that time should never be used in the presentation of God’s message again.

In the beginning movement of the first angel, at the very point of the transition from Philadelphia to Laodicea, increased light was given upon the foundational truth of the Millerite movement. Seven years later, or twenty-five hundred and twenty symbolic days later, or a “wilderness” later, in 1863, the foundational stone of the “seven times” was set aside by the builders.

In the ending movement of the third angel, at the very point of transition from Laodicea to Philadelphia a test that includes a confession of the sins of the fathers is given. The test of the foundation for the fathers was the “seven times,” which was their foundation stone. Would the ending movement disregard the only command associated with the foundational date, as their father’s disregarded their foundational stone?

Yes. They most certainly did that very thing. They repeated the sins of their fathers.

Their fathers did not sin in the foundational date, for among other things they were still Philadelphians at that foundational date. Their fathers failed their foundational test when they transformed into Laodicea and rejected the “seven times” along with its increasing light.

Their foundational failure in 1863, was preceded by seven years of Christ knocking on the door of their Laodicean hearts. Seven years is symbolic of the “seven times” and of the “wilderness.” After the “wilderness” from 1856 to 1863, they failed their foundational test.

In the first disappointment of the movement of the third angel God’s people sinned, by rejecting the only command directly associated with the foundational date. They chose to incorporate time prediction into the prophetic message, when they knew better. In so doing they repeated the sin of Moses, neglecting to circumcise his son and the sin of Uzzah touching the ark, which he knew he was forbidden to do. The movement of the third angel did what they knew was not right! If anyone wishes to paint over that fact, then use the rest of the can of paint, to cover the truth that Moses, and Uzzah both sinned and manifested rebellion against God’s will as they typified the first disappointment of the very last of all the reform lines—the reform line that every reform line pointed forward to. The illustrations of the first disappointment in the reform lines bear the signature of Alpha and Omega, and the record therein is for the benefit of God’s people, even if God’s people refuse to be benefited thereby.

The movement of the first angel was given a period of seven years, which is a symbol of the wilderness of the “seven times,” to accept the Laodicean message along with the light of the “seven times.” The curse of the “seven times” is the curse of being spewed out of the mouth of the Lord. In 1863, they repeated the work of rebuilding Jericho, a work that contained a “curse.” The seven years from 1856, to 1863, are a miniature illustration of the rebellion of the fathers of ancient Israel’s sin that brought upon them the curse of “seven times.” Modern Israel repeated the sins of their fathers in 1863.

The movement of the third angel failed the test of the first disappointment as surely as did Moses and Uzzah. They were then slain in the streets for a “wilderness” period of three and a half days. They are now being formed into bodies by the sound of the Comforter. The sound of the Comforter is being given through the “voice” in the wilderness, and they are now being confronted with the test, not of time setting, but of the “seven times.” They already failed the test of time setting.

They are not being tested as to whether they believe the “seven times” is a valid truth, for they have previously given testimony that they accept the “seven times” as a valid prophecy. They have confessed to believe the prophecy of twenty-five hundred and twenty years of scattering. But they may be unaware that there is a new testing light of the “seven times.” They are standing where their fathers stood in 1856. The new light is that the three and a half days of Revelation eleven, is not simply identifying the French Revolution, but it is now a present truth reality.

Is the opening up of the hidden history of the seven thunders, and opening of the seventh seal actually two witnesses that identify that the Revelation of Jesus Christ is now being unsealed? If it is, is it actually true that the entire book of Revelation is speaking of the last days? If that is true, then does the three and a half days represent the tarrying time in the virgin’s parable? If it does, then does the remedy of the “seven times” actually represent a command that must be met by those who participated in the Nashville prediction of July 18, 2020?

Wow! There is a test for you! Do those that wake up and realize they are in the tarrying time, actually have to repent for their sins, and their father’s sins at the end of the three and a half days? Was it really a sin to disregard the command not to employ time in a prediction?

For those who took the position that the failed prediction of Nashville was somehow God’s intended purpose, and who thereafter have attempted to uphold that claim, I would add another observation, beyond the sin of employing time in God’s prophecies. What happened with the false prediction of Nashville was not simply a manifestation of rebellion to Christ’s command in 1844, it was an action that told those outside of Adventism that the predictions found in the Spirit of Prophecy are faulty. It was a reproach upon the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy. It provides evidence for those in the world that the writings of Ellen White are as important as the writings of Joseph Smith, or of Nostradamus. The precious words of Ellen White were corrupted with the vile words of our rebellion. It wasn’t only a rebellion against Christ, who is the Word of God, it was simultaneously a rebellion against the Spirit of Prophecy. John was being persecuted in the isle that is called Patmos, not because he placed his human opinion above the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, but because he obeyed those two witnesses.

> I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:9.

We repeated the sins of our father Moses at our first disappointment, and we need to confess this. We need to confess this for we are now at 1856. There is now new light about the “seven times,” just as there was then. We are now at the transition from Laodicea to Philadelphia as the beginning movement was at the transition of Philadelphia to Laodicea in 1856. In 1856, our fathers stopped the publication of the increase of knowledge concerning the “seven times.” We might not be able to stop the publication of that light, but we certainly can close the doors of our hearts against this light. We can pretend, as the original Seventh-day Adventist builders did, that the stone was not actually there, and continue to stumble over it. Our problem is that we don’t have over a century to put our heads in the sand, for the judgments are already beginning.

If we allow the Alpha and Omega to teach us with the principle that the end of a thing is illustrated by the beginning of a thing, we can easily see that Alpha and Omega is demonstrating that the prediction of Nashville was typified by our fathers. When we acknowledge this truth, we then will be confronted with the reality that since the prediction every effort to produce some type of human logic to justify the failed prediction was nothing more than a fig leaf. Then we will see that God has not been walking with us while we have been in the enemy’s land. He has been there, but only in the sense that He has been knocking on the doors of hearts, seeking entrance. If the fig leaf of human logic is removed, then we might also see that the denial, or the flawed human logic we have employed to justify the Nashville prediction, is evidence that we have been walking contrary to Christ.

In 1856, Philadelphian Adventism transformed into Laodicea, and they knew it. The Lord confirmed it through the words of the prophetess and her husband. Standing at the doors of those Laodicean hearts Christ offered to come in and sup with them. The food that He brought to dine upon was the foundation stone of the “seven times.” They refused.

In 2023, the last movement is now transcending from Laodicea unto Philadelphia, for the eighth church is of the seven churches. The Lord Alpha and Omega has confirmed it through His word of “truth.” Christ is now standing at the door of those recently dead dry bones offering to come in and dine with them, and the meal He wishes to share with them is the identical meal He attempted to share with their fathers in 1856. It is not simply the nuts and bolts of the doctrine of the “seven times,” as it was for their fathers in 1856. No, it’s the bitter remedy of the “seven times,” and the remedy requires the type of humility that is often hard to swallow.

> The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee. Ezekiel 28:1–3.

Perhaps those of us that participated in the Nashville prediction are wiser than Daniel?

> In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

> As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. Daniel 9:2–22.

Back to Articles