Article

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

Number Thirty-Five

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

January 27, 2026

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Key Takeaways

- Early Writings p. 81 is significant because “81” symbolizes one High Priest + eighty priests, and Miller’s dream starts on that page.
- Miller was typified by Nebuchadnezzar, who had two dreams, and connects Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream in Daniel 4 to Leviticus 26 (“seven times” and scattering).
- Miller taught the 2,520 using Daniel 4 to illustrate the “seven times” of Leviticus 26, though Miller called it simply “seven times.”
- Miller as a prophetic “old man” of modern sacred history, linking him to Joel 2:28 (old men dream dreams) and to the “plowboy” prophecy attributed to William Tyndale.
- Early Writings 230 as evidence that angels guided Miller to build “a perfect chain of truth” by comparing Scripture with Scripture.
- Sets a 220-year framing: King James Bible (1611) → Miller publication (1831), describing this as a “220-year” marker connected to Miller’s role.
- Presents Miller’s “alpha” discovery as 2,520 and his “omega” discovery as 2,300 (ending together in 1844), and treats “220” as symbolically tied to those relationships.

On page 81 of Early Writings (and “81” is a symbol of one divine High Priest and eighty priests), William Miller’s second dream is recorded. Like unto Nebuchadnezzar, William Miller had two dreams. Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream in chapter four of Daniel, is set within the context of Moses’ “seven times” of Leviticus 26. Miller employed Daniel chapter four to illustrate Leviticus twenty-six’s “seven times” when he taught the 2,520, though he called it the “seven times.” Miller did not recognize that he had been typified by Nebuchadnezzar, but Nebuchadnezzar’s 2,520 days in chapter four, is represented by both the word “scatter” and the fact that it occurs ‘seven times,’ before the dirt brush man arrived in Miller’s dream.

Miller is called “Father Miller” by Sister White, but not in the pagan way as Catholics do, but in a patriarchal way, like unto father Abraham. Miller is a symbol, he is a covenant man, representing the chain of biblical symbols along the path to the final covenant with the one hundred and forty-four thousand. Joel informs us that in the last days, the old men would dream dreams, and William Miller is the old man of our history, and also the farmer that fulfilled William Tyndale’s prophecy that states, “If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost.”

> “God sent His angel to move upon the heart of a farmer who had not believed the Bible, to lead him to search the prophecies. Angels of God repeatedly visited that chosen one, to guide his mind and open to his understanding prophecies which had ever been dark to God’s people. The commencement of the chain of truth was given to him, and he was led on to search for link after link, until he looked with wonder and admiration upon the Word of God. He saw there a perfect chain of truth. That Word which he had regarded as uninspired now opened before his vision in its beauty and glory. He saw that one portion of Scripture explains another, and when one passage was closed to his understanding, he found in another part of the Word that which explained it. He regarded the sacred Word of God with joy and with the deepest respect and awe.” Early Writings, 230.

Miller was the farmer who fulfilled Tyndale’s prophecy, and his first publication of the prophetic knowledge he had assembled from the unsealing of Daniel 8:14 was in 1831, two hundred and twenty years after the publication of the King James Version of the Bible. John Wycliff, William Tyndale and the publication of the King James Bible in 1611, represent three waymarks that begins the two-hundred-and-twenty-year prophecy that ends when Tyndale’s plow boy would open God’s Word to the first angel’s message, that was to be followed by two other angels. That first angel arrived in 1798 and the third in 1844. Wycliff, Tyndale and King James connect to the farmer who would fulfill Tyndale’s prediction, and who would symbolize the history of three angels from 1798 unto 1844.

William Miller’s alpha discovery was the 2,520 years of Leviticus twenty-six and his omega discovery was the 2,300 years of Daniel 8:14. The 2,520 scattering of Judah began in 677 BC and ended in 1844. The 2,300 years of Daniel 8:14 ended in 1844. Both ended together in 1844, and the starting point of the alpha and omega discoveries of William Miller were separated by two hundred and twenty years. “Two hundred and twenty” is a symbol of William Miller, upon two witnesses. The alpha and omega discoveries of Miller are represented by 1798 and 1844. The 2,520 scattering against the northern kingdom ended in 1798, and forty-six years later in 1844 the 2,300 years ended.

The 2,520 years that ended in 1798, marks that date and the 2,520 years against Judah, which ended in 1844 produces a two-hundred-and-twenty-year period. This means the 2,520 against Israel produces the prophetic period of forty-six years, and the 2,520 against Judah produces the prophetic period of two hundred and twenty years. The alpha of that period is 677 BC and the omega is 457 BC, which means the alpha of the forty-six-year period and of the two-hundred-and-twenty-year period is represented by the 2,520, and the omega of both of the lines is the 2,300. The two “scatterings” of 2,520 years provide two witnesses of a period that begins with the 2,520 and ends with the 2,300. Both of those lines identify the alpha and omega discoveries of William Miller.

> “William Miller’s Dream

> “I dreamed that God, by an unseen hand, sent me a curiously wrought casket about ten inches long by six square, made of ebony and pearls curiously inlaid. To the casket there was a key attached. I immediately took the key and opened the casket, when, to my wonder and surprise, I found it filled with all sorts and sizes of jewels, diamonds, precious stones, and gold and silver coin of every dimension and value, beautifully arranged in their several places in the casket; and thus arranged they reflected a light and glory equaled only to the sun.

> “I thought it was not my duty to enjoy this wonderful sight alone, although my heart was overjoyed at the brilliancy, beauty, and value of its contents. I therefore placed it on a center table in my room and gave out word that all who had a desire might come and see the most glorious and brilliant sight ever seen by man in this life.

> “The people began to come in, at first few in number, but increasing to a crowd. When they first looked into the casket, they would wonder and shout for joy. But when the spectators increased, everyone would begin to trouble the jewels, taking them out of the casket and scattering them on the table.

> “I began to think that the owner would require the casket and the jewels again at my hand; and if I suffered them to be scattered, I could never place them in their places in the casket again as before; and felt I should never be able to meet the accountability, for it would be immense. I then began to plead with the people not to handle them, nor to take them out of the casket; but the more I pleaded, the more they scattered; and now they seemed to scatter them all over the room, on the floor and on every piece of furniture in the room.

> “I then saw that among the genuine jewels and coin they had scattered an innumerable quantity of spurious jewels and counterfeit coin. I was highly incensed at their base conduct and ingratitude, and reproved and reproached them for it; but the more I reproved, the more they scattered the spurious jewels and false coin among the genuine.

> “I then became vexed in my physical soul and began to use physical force to push them out of the room; but while I was pushing out one, three more would enter and bring in dirt and shavings and sand and all manner of rubbish, until they covered every one of the true jewels, diamonds, and coins, which were all excluded from sight. They also tore in pieces my casket and scattered it among the rubbish. I thought no man regarded my sorrow or my anger. I became wholly discouraged and disheartened, and sat down and wept.

> “While I was thus weeping and mourning for my great loss and accountability, I remembered God, and earnestly prayed that He would send me help.

> “Immediately the door opened, and a man entered the room, when the people all left it; and he, having a dirt brush in his hand, opened the windows, and began to brush the dirt and rubbish from the room.

> “I cried to him to forbear, for there were some precious jewels scattered among the rubbish.

> “He told me to ‘fear not,’ for he would ‘take care of them’.

> “Then, while he brushed the dirt and rubbish, false jewels and counterfeit coin, all rose and went out of the window like a cloud, and the wind carried them away. In the bustle I closed my eyes for a moment; when I opened them, the rubbish was all gone. The precious jewels, the diamonds, the gold and silver coins, lay scattered in profusion all over the room.

> “He then placed on the table a casket, much larger and more beautiful than the former, and gathered up the jewels, the diamonds, the coins, by the handful, and cast them into the casket, till not one was left, although some of the diamonds were not bigger than the point of a pin.

> “He then called upon me to ‘come and see.’

> “I looked into the casket, but my eyes were dazzled with the sight. They shone with ten times their former glory. I thought they had been scoured in the sand by the feet of those wicked persons who had scattered and trod them in the dust. They were arranged in beautiful order in the casket, everyone in its place, without any visible pains of the man who cast them in. I shouted with very joy, and that shout awoke me.” Early Writings, 81–83.

Beginning on page “81,” a symbol of the priests, the dream identifies the history of the Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist church’s work of destroying the foundational truths assembled by Divinity through the humanity of William Miller. The history ends when Miller “shouted with very joy” and the shout “awoke” him. The history represented in the dream concludes at the loud cry of the third angel, which is the climax of the Midnight Cry. The historical narrative of Miller’s dream also represents the waymarks of the Millerite history, and it therefore also represents the parallel history of the movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand. Just as significant is that the dream’s historical representation also contains a prophetic fractal of the history that began to repeat in 2023.

The jewels of truth that were recognized in the history of the one hundred and forty-four thousand were placed into the public record in 2004 and then again in 2012, when the presentation of Habakkuk’s Tables gathered a group that was destined to be scattered. Those truths were set upon the table in 2004, with the first presentation of the truths which had been unsealed in 1989. A “few” considered the message then, but in 2012, the series of 95 presentations titled Habakkuk’s Tables brought in a crowd, for the “people began to come in, at first few in number, but increasing to a crowd.”

From 2012 unto July 18, 2020 those truths were progressively scattered and covered with rubbish. On July 18, 2020, the proponents of the message of Habakkuk’s Tables were scattered for a period of three and a half days.

> 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 11:7–10.

On Sabbath, December 30, 2023 Future for America joined a zoom meeting for its first public meeting since July 18, 2020. December 30, 2023 is 1,260 days after July 18, 2020, or “three days and an half.” While Elijah and Moses were dead in the street, the other class is “rejoicing.” Future for America had returned to publishing the prophetic message in July of 2023, for the message that was then to go to the entire earth, would of prophetic necessity need to come from the “wilderness.” Three and a half days, or 1,260 days are a wilderness.

> And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Revelation 12:6.

The “wilderness” is “a thousand two hundred and threescore days,” which is 1,260 days, which is also “three days and a half,” and is represented in Revelation 12:6, and “126” is a tithe of 1,260. One of the amazing truths that was then unsealed was the need of repentance in fulfillment of the prayer of the “seven times” in Leviticus twenty-six.

1,260 days is also a symbol of 2,520 days. The “seven times” against the northern kingdom began in 723 BC and ended in 1798. The midpoint is 538, thus creating 1,260 years that paganism trampled down the sanctuary and host followed by 1,260 that papalism trampled down the sanctuary and host. This prophetic structure is aligned with the 1,260 days from Christ’s baptism to the cross, that is followed by 1,260 prophetic days unto 34 AD, when the gospel went to the Gentiles. Thus, upon two witnesses 1,260 is part of 2,520 days, or Moses’ “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six.

The voice in the wilderness period beginning on Sabbath, July 18, 2020 unto Sabbath, December 30, 2023 began to cry in July of 2023, and when the “wilderness” period ended on Sabbath, December 30, 2023 the resurrection of Moses and Elijah arrived. The message of the voice identified that the waymark of the parallel first disappointments in every reform movement explained the false prediction of July 18, 2020, in the context of the parable of the ten virgins. It called men and women to the repentance represented by the Leviticus twenty-six prayer. Miller’s dream represents that very repentance when he records, “While I was thus weeping and mourning for my great loss and accountability, I remembered God, and earnestly prayed that He would send me help.”

## Come and See

Miller’s dream is divided by two expressions of “come and see.” The first time Miller invites people to “come and see,” and the second time the “dirt brush man” invites Miller to come and see. “Come and see” is a prophetic symbol that identifies a prophetic truth that is unsealed. The first four seals each contain the command to “come and see.”

> And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. … And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. … And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. … And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. Revelation 6:1, 3, 5, 7.

The “come and see” in the beginning of Miller’s dream is the alpha and the ending “come and see” is the omega. The dream identifies the unsealing in the beginning of the dream as jewels that when “arranged they reflected a light and glory equaled only to the sun.” When Christ invited Miller to “come and see” the omega, Miller says, “my eyes were dazzled with the sight. They shone with ten times their former glory.” The alpha light was as the sun and the omega light was ten times the sun.

## Scatter

Miller’s mourning and repentance is represented at the end of the period that began with the first “come and see,” and the last “come and see.” In the period which begins with Miller’s unsealing a message to the people and then ends with Christ unsealing a message to Miller, the word “scatter” is represented “seven times.” Miller will use the word again, but between the first and last unsealing, “scatter” is expressed “seven times.” The Bible identifies the judgment of the “seven times” with the word, “scatter.”

> And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Leviticus 26:33.

The very first truth Miller discovered was the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six, and in his dream the period between Miller’s message being published and Christ’s message being published, all the foundational truths represented by the work of William Miller were to be covered with the rubbish and counterfeit coins of the theologians of Laodicean Seventh-day Adventism. That rejection of the foundational truths is represented as seven scatterings within the history between the alpha and omega. The “seven times” is a symbol of the work of William Miller, which in turn are the foundations of Seventh-day Adventism, of which; the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14 are the central pillar of that very foundation. What this identifies is that the 2,520 years of scattering that was the first, or alpha discovery of William Miller marks the beginning of a period, that ended with the omega discovery of William Miller, which was the 2,300 days.

When Laodicean Seventh-day Adventism set aside the “seven times” in 1863, they set aside William Miller’s first discovery, which would be his alpha discovery and his foundational discovery. The last of Miller’s discoveries was the 2,300 days, which was his omega discovery and his capstone discovery. The “seven times” that concluded in 1798 marked the 2,520 and the 2,300 days were marked in 1844.

It is the dirt brush man who assembles the jewels after they are scattered for seven times. Then the casket is larger and more beautiful and shines ten times brighter than the sun. Ten is a symbol of a test, and those jewels therefore shine at the test over the day of the sun, so Miller’s dream begins in 1798 and ends at the loud cry of the third angel at the Sunday law.

The history of the Millerites from 1798 unto 1863 is also the history from 1798 until the soon-coming Sunday law. The history represented in William Miller’s dream that occurs between Miller saying “come and see” unto the Dirt Brush man saying “come and see,” is both the period of 1798 unto 1863, and also the period of 1798 unto the Sunday law. The line that ends in 1863 is a prophetic fractal of the line that begins in 1798 and ends at the Sunday law. Both those lines are represented in Miller’s dream.

The closed door on October 22, 1844 typifies the closed door at the Sunday law. The prophecy of 2,300 years that was fulfilled in 1844, typifies the Sunday law.

> “The coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy place, for the cleansing of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel 8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple, foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage, described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25.” The Great Controversy, 426.

## Lines

The omega of Miller’s discoveries was the 2,300-year prophecy, so both 1844 and the Sunday law are represented by the 2,300 years. This means that the 2,520 is the alpha and the 2,300 is the omega of both lines; one line concludes in 1863, and the other line concludes at the Sunday law. On both lines the 2,520 prophecy is the alpha, and or the foundation stone. The fractal of 1798 unto 1863 in the foundational history of the Millerites, also aligns with another fractal in the omega, capstone history of the one hundred and forty-four thousand.

At 9/11 God called His people to return to Jeremiah’s old paths, which are the foundations, which are in turn represented by the messenger of the foundational history, who is in turn represented by his foundational alpha discovery of the “seven times.” The “seven times” is the symbol of the foundations of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, and at 9/11 the sealing of that group began with the testing message of the foundations, represented by the very first foundational truth of William Miller and Adventism. At 9/11 the sealing time began and at the soon-coming Sunday law the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand concludes.

That history is a fractal that begins with 2,520 and ends with 2,300, and that history is therefore the third line of prophetic history represented in William Miller’s dream. The 2,520 was fulfilled in 1798 and the 2,300 in 1844. The work represented by the two lines is the work of Christ in combining His divinity with our humanity. It is the work of changing a sinner into a saint, restoring the higher nature to its rightful throne over the lower nature. For this reason, the human body takes 2,520 days to totally reproduce every cell in the body, and that very same body is based upon 23 male chromosomes combined with 23 female chromosomes. Together they produce a living temple, which is represented as the number “46,” which is the period of 1798 to 1844, which is the period of William Miller’s dream from the 2,520 in 1798 unto the 2,300 in 1844.

William Miller’s dream also contains another fractal of note. From 9/11 unto the Sunday law is a fractal of 1798 unto the Sunday law, as in 1798 unto 1863. 2023 unto the Sunday law is a fractal of 9/11 unto the Sunday law, and this is the history that all of the lines within Miller’s dream point to as the omega of them all. This is the period where the original truths are magnified ten times the sun.

## The Two Bustles

In the 1840’s, the word “bustle” (as a noun) commonly meant energetic, busy, or noisy activity—often with a sense of fuss, excitement, hurry, or agitation. It referred to lively movement, commotion, or bustling about, whether in a crowd, a household, a marketplace, or during a particular event. The “bustle” of Miller’s dream would thus describe the immediate flurry of activity, excitement, or urgent business happening right then—the transient stir or commotion of the present situation or occasion.

Miller states, “Then, while he brushed the dirt and rubbish, false jewels and counterfeit coin, all rose and went out of the window like a cloud, and the wind carried them away. In the bustle I closed my eyes for a moment; when I opened them, the rubbish was all gone.”

The “bustle” identifies two points in Miller’s dream; The first when the crowd is scattering the jewels, and then when the dirt brush man opens the windows and begins to sweep out the false jewels. The first and alpha bustle is the covering up of the jewels and the second and omega bustle is the restoration of the jewels. During the bustle, Miller closed his eyes. Miller was laid to rest in 1849, the very point that Christ was stretching forth His hand a second time to gather the remnant of His people. Miller then closed his eyes, and in 1850 his truths were again placed upon a table in fulfillment of Habakkuk’s command to write the vision and make it plain. That bustle period, Miller closes his eyes and when he awakes the jewels are in the process of being restored.

The second bustle in his dream takes place when the ensign of the one hundred and forty-four thousand is being resurrected, purged and purified as the ensign which Zechariah identifies as jewels upon a crown.

> And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids. Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. Zechariah 9:16–10:3.

The “flock of His people” are both an ensign and stones (jewels) upon a crown. The flock of His people are identified during the latter rain, for the command is to ask for the latter rain in the time of the latter rain. The flock is contrasted with the “flock” that went their own way, rather than the way of Jeremiah’s old paths. In the time of the latter rain the jewels that are His flock will be His goodly horse in the battle. That “goodly horse” is the church triumphant, represented in the first Christian bride, symbolized by Peter who, as a white horse in the period of the first seal went forth conquering and to conquer.

> And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Revelation 6:1, 2.

Peter therefore is the symbol of the first Christian church of the apostles during the Pentecostal outpouring of the rain, and the symbol of the last Christian church during the latter rain, that was typified by the Pentecostal outpouring.

> And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Revelation 19:11–14.

The white horses represent Christ’s army that are resurrected in Ezekiel 37, and they are the church triumphant, and they are stones in a crown, for Christ establishes His kingdom of glory in the time of the latter rain. As representatives of His kingdom the one hundred and forty-four thousand are jewels upon the crown which is the symbol of the kingdom he receives at the conclusion of the 2,300 days, which was both October 22, 1844 and will be again at the Sunday law. That kingdom of white horses is raised up during the latter rain, when the windows of heaven are opened, for John saw the white horse when heaven was opened.

In the alpha bustle of 1849, Miller closed his eyes in death, for a little moment. Miller was Elijah, and Elijah died on July 18, 2020, and he laid in the street for 1,260 days until he reached the omega bustle and was then awakened. His awakening is marked as arriving when the dirt brush man opened the window of heaven to sweep out the rubbish. The army of white horses is raised when heaven’s window is opened, and when that occurs a separation of true and false is identified. That separation is also identified in the book of Malachi.

> Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:10.

The spirits of the prophets are subject unto the prophets, and John in Revelation, Miller’s dream and Malachi provide three witnesses of the time when the windows of heaven are opened. In Miller’s dream it is at the omega of the call to “come and see.” The bustle in the alpha was when the scattering began, and the omega is when the gathering begins.

Before we proceed further into Miller’s dream we want to include James White’s commentary on the dream. James White identifies the true jewels as God’s true people and the counterfeit jewels as the wicked. I identify the jewels as truths contrasted with error. The jewels and the counterfeit jewels are both the message and the messengers contrasted with error and false messengers.

> “BROTHER MILLER’S DREAM

> “The following dream was published in the Advent Herald, more than two years since. I then saw that it clearly marked out our past second advent experience, and that God gave the dream for the benefit of the scattered flock.

> “Among the signs of the near approach of the great and the terrible day of the Lord, God has placed dreams. See Joel 2:28–31; Acts 2:17–20. Dreams may come in three ways; first, ‘through the multitude of business.’ See Ecclesiastes 5:3. Second, those who are under the foul spirit and deception of Satan, may have dreams through his influence. See Deuteronomy 8:1–5; Jeremiah 23:25–28; 27:9; 29:8; Zechariah 10:2; Jude 8. And third, God has always taught, and still teaches his people more or less by dreams, which come through the agency of angels and the Holy Spirit. Those who stand in the clear light of truth will know when God gives them a dream; and such will not be deceived and led astray by false dreams.

> “‘And he said, Hear now my words; if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.’ Numbers 12:6. Said Jacob, ‘The angel of the Lord spake unto me in a dream.’ Genesis 31:2. ‘And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night.’ Genesis 31:24. Read the dreams of Joseph, [Genesis 37:5–9,] and then the interesting story of their fulfilment in Egypt. ‘In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night.’ 1 Kings 3:55. The great important image of the second chapter of Daniel was given in a dream, also the four beasts, etc. of the seventh chapter. When Herod sought to destroy the infant Saviour Joseph was warned in a dream to flee into Egypt. Matthew 2:13.

> “‘And it shall come to pass in the LAST DAYS, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.’ Acts 2:17.

> “The gift of prophecy, by dreams and visions, is here the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and in the last days is to be manifested sufficiently to constitute a sign. It is one of the gifts of the gospel church.

> “‘And he gave some apostles; and some PROPHETS; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.’ Ephesians 4:11, 12.

> “‘And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily PROPHETS,’ etc. 1 Corinthians 12:28. ‘Despise not PROPHESYINGS.’ 1 Thessalonians 5:20. See also Acts 13:1; 21:9; Romans 7:6; 1 Corinthians 14:1, 24, 39. Prophets or prophesyings are for the edification of the church of Christ; and there is no evidence that can be produced from the word of God, that they were to cease before evangelists, pastors and teachers were to cease. But says the objector, ‘There has been so many false visions and dreams that I can not have confidence in anything of the kind.’ It is true that Satan has his counterfeit. He always had false prophets, and certainly we may expect them now in this his last hour of deception and triumph. Those who reject such special revelations because the counterfeit exists, may with equal propriety go a little farther and deny that God ever revealed himself to man in a dream or a vision, for the counterfeit always existed.

> “Dreams and visions are the medium through which God has revealed himself to man. Through this medium he spake to the prophets; he has placed the gift of prophecy among the gifts of the gospel church, and has classed dreams and visions with the other signs of the ‘LAST DAYS.’ Amen.

> “My object in the above remarks has been to remove objections in a scriptural manner, and prepare the mind of the reader for the following.

> “WM. MILLER,

> “Low Hampton, N. Y. Dec. 3, 1847.” James White, Brother Miller’s Dream, 1–6.

> “1. The ‘casket’ represents the great truths of the Bible, relative to the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, which were given Brother Miller to publish to the world.

> “2. The ‘key attached’ was his manner of interpreting the prophetic Word—Comparing scripture with scripture—the Bible its own interpreter. With this key Brother Miller opened the ‘casket,’ or the great truth of the advent to the world.

> “3. The ‘jewels, diamonds, etc.’ of ‘all sorts and sizes’ so ‘beautifully arranged in their several places in the casket’ represent the children of God, [Malachi 3:17,] from all the churches, and from almost every station, and situation of life, who received the advent faith, and were seen to take a bold stand in their several stations, in the holy cause of truth. While moving in this order, each attending to his own duty, and walking humbly before God, ‘they reflected a light and glory’ to the world, equaled only by the church in the days of the apostles. The message, [Revelation 14:6,7,] went as it were, upon the wings of the wind, and the invitation, ‘Come, for all things are now ready,’ [Luke 14:17.] went abroad with power and effect.

> “4. ‘The people began to come in, at first few in number, but increased to a crowd.’ When the advent doctrine was first preached by Brother Miller, and a very few others, it had but little effect, and but very few were waked up by it; but from 1840 to 1844, wherever it was preached, the whole community was aroused.

> “5. When the flying angel [Revelation 14:6–7] first began to preach the everlasting good news, ‘Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come,’ many shouted for joy in view of the coming of Jesus, and the restitution, who afterwards opposed and scoffed and ridiculed the truth that a little before filled them with joy. They troubled and scattered the jewels. This brings us to the autumn of 1844, when the scattering time commenced.

> “Mark this: It was those who once ‘shouted for joy’ that troubled and scattered the jewels. And none have so effectually scattered the flock, and led them astray since 1844, as those who once preached the truth, and rejoiced in it; but have since denied the work of God, and the fulfillment of prophecy in our past advent experience.

> “6. The ‘spurious jewels and counterfeit coin’ that were scattered among the genuine, clearly represent false converts, or ‘strange children,’ [Hosea 5:7] since the door was shut in 1844.

> “7. The ‘dirt and shavings, sand and all manner of rubbish,’ represent the various and numerous errors that have been brought in among second advent believers, since the autumn of 1844. Here I will notice a few of them.

> “1. The stand that some of the ‘shepherds’ presumptuously took immediately after the Midnight cry was given, that the solemn melting power of the Holy Ghost that attended the seventh month movement was a mesmeric influence. George Storrs was among the first to take this stand. See his writings in the latter part of 1844, in the Midnight-Cry, then published in New York City. J. V. Himes, at the Albany Conference in the spring of 1845, said that the seventh month movement produced mesmerism seven feet deep. This I am told by one who was present, and heard the remark. Others who took an active part in the seventh month cry, have since pronounced that movement the work of the Devil. Attributing the work of Christ and the Holy Ghost to the Devil was in the days of our Savior, blasphemy, and it is blasphemy now. 2. The many experiments on definite time. Since the 2300 days ended in 1844, quite a number of times have been set, by different individuals, for their termination. In doing this they have removed the ‘landmarks,’ and have thrown darkness and doubt over the whole advent movement. 3. Spiritualism with all its fancies and extravagances. This wile of the Devil, which has accomplished an awful work of death, is very fitly represented by ‘shavings,’ and ‘all manner of rubbish.’ Many of those who drank down the poison of spiritualism admitted the truth of our past advent experience, and from this fact many have been made to believe that spiritualism was the natural fruit of believing that God conducted the great advent movements in 1843 and 1844. Peter, speaking of those who should ‘bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them,’ says ‘BY REASON OF WHOM THE WAY OF TRUTH SHALL BE EVIL SPOKEN OF.’ 4. S. S. Snow professing to be ‘Elijah the Prophet.’ This man in his strange and wild career, has also acted his part in this work of death, and his course has had a tendency to bring the true position for the waiting saints into disrepute, in the minds of many honest souls.

> “To this catalogue of errors I might add many more, such as the ‘thousand years’ of Revelation 20:4, 7, in the past, the 144,000 of Revelation 7:4; 14:1, those who ‘arose and came out of the graves’ after Christ’s resurrection, the no-work doctrine, the doctrine of the destruction of infants, etc. etc. These errors were so industriously propagated, and urged upon the waiting flock that, at the time Brother Miller had the dream the true jewels were ‘excluded from sight,’ and the words of the prophet were applicable—‘And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off,’ etc. etc. See Isaiah 56:14.

> “At that time there was not an advent paper in the land that advocated the cause of present truth. The ‘Day-Dawn,’ was the last to defend the true position of the little flock; but that died a number of months before the Lord gave Brother Miller this dream; and in its last dying struggle pointed the weary sighing saints to 1877, then thirty years in the future, as the time of their final deliverance. Alas! alas! No wonder that Brother Miller in his dream, ‘sat down and wept’ over this sad state of things.

> “8. The casket, represents the advent truth that Brother Miller published to the world, as is marked out by the parable of the ten virgins. Matthew 25:1–11. First the time, 1843, second, the tarrying time, third the midnight cry, at the seventh month, 1844, and fourth, the shut door. No one who has read the Second Advent papers since 1843, will deny that Brother Miller has advocated these four important points in advent history. This harmonious system of truth or ‘casket’ has been torn in pieces, and scattered among the rubbish by those who have rejected their own experience, and have denied the very truths that they, with Brother Miller so fearlessly preached to the world.

> “9. The man with the ‘dirt-brush’ represents the clear light of present truth, as brought to view by the third angel’s message, [Revelation 14:9–12,] which is now purging the errors away from the remnant. The cause of present truth began to revive in the spring of 1848, and has been rising and gaining strength from that time to the present. The ‘dirt-brush’ has been moving, and the errors have been passing away before the clear light of truth, and some of the precious jewels, who but a short time since were covered up and excluded from sight by darkness and error, now stand in the clear light of present truth.

> “This work of bringing out the jewels, and purging away error is fast increasing, and is destined to move on with increasing power, until the saints are all searched out, and receive the seal of the living God. Compare this with the thirty-fourth chapter of Ezekiel, and you will see that God has promised to gather his flock that have been scattered in this dark and cloudy day, since 1844. Before Jesus comes, the ‘little flock’ will be gathered into the ‘unity of the faith.’ Jesus is now purifying ‘unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works,’ and when he comes he will find his ‘church not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.’ ‘Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner, etc.’ Matthew 3:12.

> “10. The second ‘casket much larger and more beautiful than the former’ into which the scattered ‘jewels,’ ‘diamonds’ and coins were gathered, represents the broad field of living present truth into which the scattered flock will be gathered, even 144,000, all of them having the seal of the living God. Not one of the precious diamonds will be left in the dark. Although some are not bigger than the point of a pin, they will not be overlooked, and left out in this day when God is making up his jewels. [Malachi 3:16–18] He can send his angels and haste them out as he did Lot out of Sodom. ‘A short work will the Lord make upon the earth.’ ‘He will cut it short in righteousness.’ See Romans 9:28.” James White, Footnotes to Brother Miller’s Dream.

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