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# The Book of Joel and The Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist Church - Number Forty-Six

Number Forty-Six

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

February 12, 2026

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Key Takeaways

- Caesarea Philippi to Caesarea Maritima represents a prophetic period divided at the Mount of Transfiguration, aligning with key waymarks preceding the Pentecostal Sunday law.
- The Father’s voice at the Mount of Transfiguration and in John 12:27–29 marks pivotal sealing and glorification moments, connected to Revelation 3:12–13 and the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand.
- Peter represents the one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed at Caesarea Philippi and lifted up as an ensign to proclaim the corrected message of Islam and the closed door.
- Elijah’s testing at Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18:20–24 establishes the pattern of a distinction between true and false messengers through the fulfillment of a prediction.
- Millerite history, including the fulfilled prediction of August 11, 1840 and the Midnight Cry of October 22, 1844, illustrates the power of corrected prophecy and the separation between those who accept and reject present truth.
- The feast of trumpets is identified as the seventh trumpet and third woe, representing Islam and functioning as a litmus test that marks the beginning of the Midnight Cry.
- Daniel 11:13–16 is applied to the battle of Panium and the progression toward the Sunday law, identifying contemporary geopolitical events within the prophetic framework.

Caesarea Philippi to Caesarea Maritima represents the period from the third to the ninth hour, which is divided at the sixth hour. The division of Caesarea to Caesarea was the Mount of Transfiguration. The Mount of Transfiguration aligns two other lines to the waymark of three steps that precedes the Pentecostal Sunday law by five days.

At the Mount, God the Father spoke a second time. The first time He spoke was at Christ’s baptism, the last time was just before the cross.

> Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. John 12:27–29.

God glorifies His name when He seals the one hundred and forty-four thousand and writes upon them His name.

> Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Revelation 3:12, 13.

At the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John were the only disciples present, as they were at the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter and also again at Gethsemane. Gethsemane, like unto the Father speaking in John twelve—came just before the cross. Gethsemane means “oil press,” identifying the oil test of the virgins. Gethsemane is the “crisis” that brings the soul “face to face with death,” and the wise virgins pass the test, for in the second temple test they came face to face with life, as Jesus taught “face to face” for thirty days.

The first time the Father spoke was at Christ’s baptism and the first time He exclusively took Peter, James and John was when the twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus was resurrected. The resurrection of the twelve-year-old virgin aligns with the baptism of Christ, which symbolizes the power of the resurrection. The resurrection of Jairus’s daughter aligns with the baptism of Christ and Caesarea Philippi. Gethsemane and the troubling of Christ when the Father spoke just before the cross align with Caesarea Maritima.

Line upon line Peter represents the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are sealed at Caesarea Philippi, when Simon Barjona’s name is changed to Peter. Once sealed at Panium, which is Caesarea Philippi, Peter goes to the sixth hour of the Mount, where he is lifted up as an ensign as he continues on to answer the call of Cornelius at Caesarea Maritima. At Caesarea Philippi Peter leaves the Exeter camp meeting with the seal of God and the message of the Midnight Cry to proclaim. The message of Islam as represented by the feast of trumpets carries Peter on to Caesarea by the sea. The message of Islam lifts up Peter to the view of the world, for Peter has predicted the prophetic arrival of Islam in advance of the feast of trumpets.

> Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Malachi 4:5, 6.

Line upon line the Elijah message is the message that is premised upon aligning the fathers with their children. Elijah was Father Miller, who illustrates his children. The one hundred and forty-four thousand are the children of William Miller, and to turn the hearts of Miller to his children is to align Millerite history with the history of Elijah, as well as John the Baptist with the messenger associated with the one hundred and forty-four thousand. An element of the alignment of these four lines is that in each of the testing histories of Elijah, John and Miller the only message of present truth—was the message which came through the messenger.

> And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 1 Kings 17:1.

Sister White is clear that those who did not accept the message of John, who Jesus identified as Elijah, would not be benefitted by the teachings of Jesus, and also that those who rejected the message of Miller, as represented as the first angel’s message, could not be benefitted by the message of the second angel. Accompanying Elijah’s announcement that rain would only come at his command, was the ultimate test that included the command to choose between Elijah’s message or Baal’s message. The prophetic symbol of “how long” aligns Elijah’s Mount Carmel with the Sunday law.

> So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. 1 Kings 18:20–24.

The test of Carmel was choosing between two messages. A test between true and false prophecy, and the messenger Elijah or the prophets who sat at Jezebel’s table. It was about the messenger and the message. In 1844, Carmel was repeated as the Lord brought about a test which manifested Miller as the true prophet, and Miller’s message as the dew and rain. The distinction between the true prophet and true message in contrast with the false prophet and the false message was represented at the Exeter camp meeting by the Exeter tent and the tent of the Watertown group. Two tabernacles representing the true in contrast with the false. The distinction made at Carmel and the history of 1844 is identified at Caesarea Philippi when Peter is sealed and lifted up to the Mount as an ensign. He is lifted up because he had claimed that his message was the only true message of the latter rain. He was lifted up when his prediction was fulfilled.

The feast of trumpets is the third and litmus test in the Pentecostal season and before the litmus test Peter identifies that Islam is to be loosed to mark the beginning of the proclamation of the Midnight Cry. The fulfillment of prophecy is what made the distinction between the Millerites and the Protestants, who represent the former covenant people who are being passed by. Elijah personally killed the false prophets, once the distinction between true and false was manifested. The distinction is made at the feast of trumpets, when a prediction of Islam is fulfilled.

The Midnight Cry of Millerite history was a prediction that was corrected and thereafter fulfilled. It was fulfilled on October 22, 1844, whereas Miller’s original understanding of the Midnight Cry was the year 1843. Samuel Snow represents the correction of the message, and his message became known as the “true” Midnight Cry message.

1844 was an illustration of the distinction between the message of Miller and the message of the Protestants. In the testing process the Protestants were slain by Miller and they then became apostate Protestantism, the daughters of Rome, the priests of Jezebel. The distinction was manifested by either a reception or rejection of the prophetic message. With John and Miller the prophetic message exposed the false message of the former covenant people who were being passed by. Elijah’s message claimed there would be no rain except at his word, and after three and a half years the test of that claim was to be made manifest.

> And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table. 1 Kings 18:17–19.

The distinction between the false and true, whether it be the messenger or the message was made in a testing process that included accusations against both the message and the messenger. Elijah was the one who was accused of troubling Israel, for his message had stopped the rain. Had it continued to rain in Israel, no issue about Elijah would have been raised. The issue was based upon Elijah’s prediction, and its fulfillment over the three and a half years.

When Peter is at the litmus test of Caesarea Philippi, which is the feast of trumpets, and also where the ass is loosed, the beginning of the message of the Midnight Cry is marked. Peter like unto Elijah, has just witnessed the confirmation of his prediction, and the distinction between the true and false has been demonstrated for all to see. The prediction’s confirmation is represented by the feast of trumpets—which is the litmus test. The prediction was typified by both 1840 and 1844, where a prediction is corrected and thereafter fulfilled. The corrected prediction of Josiah Litch empowered the first angel on August 11, 1840 and the prediction of the year 1843 by Miller was corrected by Snow.

> “In the year 1840 another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy excited widespread interest. two years before, Josiah Litch, one of the leading ministers preaching the second advent, published an exposition of Revelation 9, predicting the fall of the Ottoman Empire. According to his calculations, this power was to be overthrown . . . on the 11th of August, 1840, when the Ottoman power in Constantinople may be expected to be broken. And this, I believe, will be found to be the case.’

> “At the very time specified, Turkey, through her ambassadors, accepted the protection of the allied powers of Europe, and thus placed herself under the control of Christian nations. The event exactly fulfilled the prediction. When it became known, multitudes were convinced of the correctness of the principles of prophetic interpretation adopted by Miller and his associates, and a wonderful impetus was given to the advent movement. Men of learning and position united with Miller, both in preaching and in publishing his views, and from 1840 to 1844 the work rapidly extended.” The Great Controversy, 334, 335.

The prediction of Litch was about Islam, and the prediction of Snow was about the closed door. When Litch’s prediction was fulfilled, the methodology that established the message was accepted, and those who accepted the message “united” with the messenger. Both the message and the messenger was recognized in the fulfillment of the prediction. The prediction of Litch was about Islam, and the prediction of Snow was about the closed door.

> “I saw the people of God joyful in expectation, looking for their Lord. But God designed to prove them. His hand covered a mistake in the reckoning of the prophetic periods. Those who were looking for their Lord did not discover this mistake, and the most learned men who opposed the time also failed to see it. God designed that His people should meet with a disappointment. The time passed, and those who had looked with joyful expectation for their Saviour were sad and disheartened, while those who had not loved the appearing of Jesus, but embraced the message through fear, were pleased that He did not come at the time of expectation. Their profession had not affected the heart and purified the life. The passing of the time was well calculated to reveal such hearts. They were the first to turn and ridicule the sorrowful, disappointed ones who really loved the appearing of their Saviour. I saw the wisdom of God in proving His people and giving them a searching test to discover those who would shrink and turn back in the hour of trial.

> “Jesus and all the heavenly host looked with sympathy and love upon those who had with sweet expectation longed to see Him whom their souls loved. Angels were hovering around them, to sustain them in the hour of their trial. Those who had neglected to receive the heavenly message were left in darkness, and God’s anger was kindled against them, because they would not receive the light which He had sent them from heaven. Those faithful, disappointed ones, who could not understand why their Lord did not come, were not left in darkness. Again they were led to their Bibles to search the prophetic periods. The hand of the Lord was removed from the figures, and the mistake was explained. They saw that the prophetic periods reached to 1844, and that the same evidence which they had presented to show that the prophetic periods closed in 1843, proved that they would terminate in 1844. Light from the Word of God shone upon their position, and they discovered a tarrying time—‘Though it [the vision] tarry, wait for it.’ In their love for Christ’s immediate coming, they had overlooked the tarrying of the vision, which was calculated to manifest the true waiting ones. Again they had a point of time. Yet I saw that many of them could not rise above their severe disappointment to possess that degree of zeal and energy which had marked their faith in 1843.

> “Satan and his angels triumphed over them, and those who would not receive the message congratulated themselves upon their farseeing judgment and wisdom in not receiving the delusion, as they called it. They did not realize that they were rejecting the counsel of God against themselves, and were working in union with Satan and his angels to perplex God’s people, who were living out the heaven-sent message.

> “The believers in this message were oppressed in the churches. For a time, those who would not receive the message were restrained by fear from acting out the sentiments of their hearts; but the passing of the time revealed their true feelings. They wished to silence the testimony which the waiting ones felt compelled to bear, that the prophetic periods extended to 1844. With clearness the believers explained their mistake and gave the reasons why they expected their Lord in 1844. Their opposers could bring no arguments against the powerful reasons offered. Yet the anger of the churches was kindled; they were determined not to listen to evidence, and to shut the testimony out of the churches, so the others could not hear it. Those who dared not withhold from others the light which God had given them, were shut out of the churches; but Jesus was with them, and they were joyful in the light of His countenance. They were prepared to receive the message of the second angel.” Early Writings, 235–237.

Peter represents the one hundred and forty-four thousand who like unto Litch present a corrected prediction about Islam and the end of a kingdom; and like unto Snow, Peter also presents a corrected prediction of the closed door. Litch’s message of the second woe of Islam was an external prediction, and Snow’s closed door was an internal prediction. For Snow the work began when the Lord removed his hand from the figures, and it was then seen that same evidence that had been previously been thought to prove 1843, actually proved October 22, 1844. For Litch it was a calculation that when fulfilled brought the angel of Revelation ten down to stand upon the earth and the sea.

The fact that Litch recalculated his prediction ten days before its fulfillment identifies the work of correcting a previous prediction as a test. Is the beginning in 1840 and the ending in 1844 actually a prophetic symbol of a prediction that is recalculated to become the true Midnight Cry? Does the alpha and omega of Millerite history which concluded with the proclamation of the Midnight Cry actually typify the prophetic characteristics of the true Midnight Cry of the one hundred and forty-four thousand?

In both periods of the corrected prediction’s proclamation, controversy was manifested against the Millerite message, for the message troubled the people. When Peter stands at Caesarea Philippi there is a controversy over the message that began prior to Caesarea Philippi, for it is the fulfillment that confirms that it was only at Peter’s word that the message of rain would fall. Caesarea Philippi is the feast of trumpets aligns with Christ sending two disciples, representing the second angel, to loose the ass of Islam. The loosing of the ass of Islam announces the beginning of the message of the Midnight Cry at Exeter camp meeting, for arriving on horse a day late, on August 13, Samuel Snow, who had tarried rather than arrive on the opening day, marks the end of the tarrying time and the beginning of the message that would be carried like a tidal wave when the meeting ended on the 17th.

The controversy of Millerite history, the accusations of king Ahab and the resistance of the quibbling Jews as Christ entered Jerusalem all identify a controversy that reaches its conclusion at the feast of trumpets, when the ass is loosed. The loosing of the ass is the confirmation of a prophecy that identifies a closed door upon Adventism in the beginning at Caesarea Philippi and a closed door at the end of the period at Caesarea Maritima. The ass is a symbol of Islam of the third woe that strikes the United States, including Nashville, Tennessee. The failed prediction of July 18, 2020, is now being progressively corrected as the Lord removes His hand, and unseals the revelation of Jesus Christ. That unsealing began in the wilderness in July of 2023.

## The vision of Daniel Eleven

The feast of trumpets represents the seventh trumpet, which is the third woe, which is Islam. A trumpet is an external warning message of war, but it may also be understood as an internal call to a holy convocation. As the litmus test that begins when the thirty days of the second temple test concludes, it is both an external and internal message. The first foundational test arrived in the spring of 2024 with the external vision of antichrist as represented in Daniel 11:14.

> And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. Daniel 11:14.

The previous verse introduced Panium, and the testimony of Panium continues through to verse fifteen.

> For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. Daniel 11:13.

The king of the north in verses ten through fifteen is the proxy power of the papacy, who was represented by Ronald Reagan in verse ten when the wall of the iron curtain was removed as typified by the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. Verse sixteen marks the removal of the wall of separation of church and state at the Sunday law. Verse eleven and twelve represent the Ukrainian war that began in 2014, and verse thirteen is identifying the election of 2024, when Trump, the eighth president since Reagan, who is also the eighth president who is of the seven previous presidents, “returns” with more power, for when he returns he “shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years.” The “certain years” are the four years of Joe Biden.

After 2024, in agreement with verse thirteen, Rome will insert itself into the prophetic history of Panium. May 8, 2025 the first pope from the spiritual glorious land was selected and He chose the name of Leo, that carries with it many significant prophetic characteristics. Then in verse fifteen the battle is engaged.

> So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. Daniel 11:15.

The battle of Panium is engaged in verse fifteen and the earth-beast represented by Donald Trump will defeat the kingdom of the south. The king of the south in verse eleven began a war with Ukraine, the papacy’s proxy power who was financed and supported by the papacy’s proxy power of verse ten—the United States. The king of the south would be victorious in the battle of Raphia, but in the aftermath of the victory the progressive dissolution which is always associated with the demise of a dragon kingdom of the south, leaves the king of the south in an extremely vulnerable position as the king of the north returns, stronger than ever and prepares for the battle of Panium. Russia and Putin are the king of the south when the United States initiated the Ukrainian War in 2014. In 2022 the invasion began and blood began to flow. In 2024 the king of the north returned.

Peter is at Caesarea Philippi, which is the beginning of the proclamation of the message of the Midnight Cry. Peter, like unto Elijah and the Millerites as represented by Litch and Snow has previously set forth a prediction of a closed door and Islam. Its fulfillment identifies the distinction between the true and false latter rain messages, and the true and false messengers. Peter’s message is the corrected message of Nashville and Islam, and when he is standing in Caesarea Philippi, he is standing at Panium, the battle that leads to the Sunday law of verse sixteen. The fulfillment of Peter’s prediction identifies the beginning of the proclamation of the Midnight Cry, when Islam is loosed, which is also, line upon line when the battle of Panium arrives.

## The Vision of Daniel ten

The feast of trumpets represents the seventh trumpet, which is the third woe, which is Islam. A trumpet is a warning message, and also a call to a holy convocation. It also is the litmus test that begins when the thirty days of the second temple test concludes. The first foundational external testing vision of antichrist arrived in the spring of 2024, and the second internal testing vision of Christ, as represented in Daniel 10 arrived in 2026.

> Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.

> And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

> Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.

> Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.

> And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb.

> And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.

> Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Daniel 10:5–19.

Daniel on the twenty-second day, sees the vision of the heavenly High Priest in the latter days. The vision of Rome establishing the vision was the foundational and alpha test of 2024, and the vision of Christ is the temple test. It produces a separation of the class who flee from Daniel and hide. That class hides under lies and falsehoods, and for this reason they receive strong delusion.

Daniel is then touched three times, the first by Gabriel then by Christ and then a third time by Gabriel. In the Most Holy Place, when Daniel is touched three times he is portraying a strengthening, for it begins with him having no strength when he saw the vision, but by the third touch he is ultimately strengthened. He is strengthened to understand what shall befall God’s people in the latter days. The prophetic message of what befalls God’s people in the latter days is the message represented within the parable of the ten virgins.

Daniel begins with no strength, for the looking glass vision of Christ left him with no strength, but by the end of the three touches he is strengthened, and the command to “be strong, yea, be strong,” is a doubling, which marks the second angel or the second test. The second test is the temple test where God’s people are strengthened to proclaim the message of the Midnight Cry when the Exeter camp meeting ends. That test is the temple test where the cap stone, that was the foundation and corner stone becomes the marvelous capstone of the temple, thus marking its completion. Daniel is strengthened on the twenty-second day, when he enters the Most Holy Place by faith. When he does Gabriel touches him, then Christ touches him and then Gabriel touches him again. Daniel is therefore strengthened to proclaim the message in the Most Holy Place where he sees Christ between two angels, and the place in the Most Holy Place where Christ is in the middle is the mercy seat with the two covering cherubs looking to the ark that is illuminated from the light of the Shekinah glory of Christ seated upon His throne. The vision of Daniel ten is prophetically structured with Daniel looking upon the glory of Christ as the Shekinah upon the throne of the mercy seat, while the two covering cherubs gaze into the ark!

Before the feast of trumpets Elijah claims his message of rain is the only message of rain that is of the Lord, and he sets forth a prediction that reaches its conclusion with a demonstration which proves who is or is not the messenger and what is or what isn’t the message. For three and a half years before Carmel king Ahab was searching for Elijah, for there is a period of controversy that precedes Carmel. Mount Carmel is simply the litmus test where character is manifested. The same period in Millerite history contained the same witness, as those who hated the message shut the faithful out of the churches and the faithful thereafter raised a message calling people out of the fallen former covenant people who were being passed by.

Peter is at the Pentecostal Sunday law proclaiming the message of Joel, which means Peter is proclaiming the same message when the period of the Midnight Cry begins at the end of the Exeter camp meeting, which began when the prediction of Peter had been corrected as was Snow and Litch’s messages. A controversy always precedes the fulfillment of the prediction. The controversy therefore begins before the fulfillment of the prediction.

The message that causes anxiety for Ahab, Jezebel and her prophets, and the quibbling Jews of Christ day, and the fallen Protestants of Millerite history is identified by Peter as the book of Joel. Before the third litmus test that is marked by the loosing of the ass, Peter’s message is attacked by Laodicean Adventism, and Peter responds to the resistance by identifying that the messengers are not drunk, they are simply a fulfillment of Joel’s three chapters. Joel’s three chapters begin with a scathing condemnation of Laodicean Adventism. When the message reaches the ears of those who are drunken with strong drink they will respond. They confronted Christ as He descended the mount on His way to Jerusalem, and they confronted Him again in Jerusalem.

The ass is loosed, the entry begins; the quibbling Jews want the message silenced. Jesus continues and then stops and weeps over the Adventism’s last day of probationary time. Then in Jerusalem another confrontation with the Jews who wish the people to cease their message. When the sun went down that day, probation for the Jewish nation reached another step. The progression of resistance continues to the death of the cross, and it began in earnest with the resurrection of Lazarus, which marked the arrival of the second angel and the tarrying time.

> “Bethany was so near Jerusalem that the news of the raising of Lazarus was soon carried to the city. Through spies who had witnessed the miracle the Jewish rulers were speedily in possession of the facts. A meeting of the Sanhedrin was at once called to decide as to what should be done. Christ had now fully made manifest His control of death and the grave. That mighty miracle was the crowning evidence offered by God to men that He had sent His Son into the world for their salvation. It was a demonstration of divine power sufficient to convince every mind that was under the control of reason and enlightened conscience. Many who witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus were led to believe on Jesus. But the hatred of the priests against Him was intensified. They had rejected all lesser evidence of His divinity, and they were only enraged at this new miracle. The dead had been raised in the full light of day, and before a crowd of witnesses. No artifice could explain away such evidence. For this very reason the enmity of the priests grew deadlier. They were more than ever determined to put a stop to Christ’s work.

> “The Sadducees, though not favorable to Christ, had not been so full of malignity toward Him as were the Pharisees. Their hatred had not been so bitter. But they were now thoroughly alarmed. They did not believe in a resurrection of the dead. Producing so-called science, they had reasoned that it would be an impossibility for a dead body to be brought to life. But by a few words from Christ their theory had been overthrown. They were shown to be ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. They could see no possibility of removing the impression made on the people by the miracle. How could men be turned away from Him who had prevailed to rob the grave of its dead? Lying reports were put in circulation, but the miracle could not be denied, and how to counteract its effect they knew not. Thus far the Sadducees had not encouraged the plan of putting Christ to death. But after the resurrection of Lazarus they decided that only by His death could His fearless denunciations against them be stopped.” The Desire of Ages, 537.

Lazarus’s death marked the beginning of the four days that Jesus tarried. His death represented the arrival of the second angel, that marks the beginning of the tarrying time. His resurrection marks the resurrection of the two witnesses on December 31, 2023, twenty-two years after 9/11. His resurrection marks the resurrection of Ezekiel’s dead dry bones. His resurrection was typified by the creation of Adam, which consisted of humanity, represented by clay, being combined with Divinity, represented by the breath of life.

> “The priests and rulers of the Jews hated Jesus; but multitudes thronged to listen to His words of wisdom and to witness His mighty works. The people were stirred with the deepest interest and anxiously followed Jesus to hear the instructions of this wonderful teacher. Many of the rulers believed on Him, but dared not confess their faith lest they should be put out of the synagogue. The priests and elders decided that something must be done to draw the attention of the people from Jesus. They feared that all men would believe on Him. They could see no safety for themselves. They must lose their position or put Jesus to death. And after they should put Him to death, there would still be those who were living monuments of His power. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, and they feared that if they should kill Jesus, Lazarus would testify of His mighty power. The people were flocking to see him who was raised from the dead, and the rulers determined to slay Lazarus also, and put down the excitement. Then they would turn the people to the traditions and doctrines of men, to tithe mint and rue, and again have influence over them. They agreed to take Jesus when He was alone; for if they should attempt to take Him in a crowd, when the minds of the people were all interested in Him, they would be stoned.” Early Writings, 165.

On July 18, 2020 the two witnesses of Revelation were slain and the second angel and tarrying time arrived. December 31, 2023 the two step resurrection process began. The first step was the foundation; the second step was the erection of the temple upon the foundation. The Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist church hated the message from the time it was born in 1989, and they hate it still. Now that the hated witnesses they thought were dead, are alive again; they will hate the message even more. They will argue about the prediction of July 18, 2020 with a venom that the Jews had for the resurrection of Lazarus. In the history of the temple test, Peter will answer their erroneous charges by pointing to the book of Joel as the answer to all their lies.

We will continue this study in the next article.

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