The Book of Daniel – Number Sixty Three

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Beyond Miller’s Charts: Islam, the Investigative Judgment, and the Final Testing

 

Key Takeaways

This article discusses the insights and limitations of William Miller’s understanding of the book of Revelation, particularly in relation to the prophecies about the Churches, Seals, and Trumpets. It highlights how Miller’s historical context influenced his interpretation of the book and mentions his focus on the Seven Last Plagues being judgments upon Papal Rome. The article also emphasizes the importance of understanding the whole Bible to grasp the metaphors and figures used in Revelation.

• EGW said that God directed the mind of William Miller to understand the prophecies in the book of Revelation.
• Miller’s historical background limited his understanding of specific chapters in Revelation, particularly chapters twelve, thirteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen.
• Miller’s “great light” from Revelation included insights into the Churches, Seals, and Trumpets, especially the last three Trumpets referred to as “three Woes.”
• He saw the Seven Churches as a history of the church of Christ from apostolic times to the end of the world, the Seven Seals as a history of earthly powers and God’s protection of His people, and the Seven Trumpets as judgments on the Roman kingdom.
• Miller couldn’t distinguish between pagan and papal Rome, limiting his understanding of the first four and last three Trumpets.
• He didn’t realize that the judgments on Rome were a response to Sunday enforcement.
• Miller’s “jewel” of the fifth, sixth, and seventh Trumpets, representing Islam, has become more relevant in these last days and relates to the theme of the final reformatory movement.
• The article connects various historical events and themes in Millerite history to the present and future, emphasizing the role of Islam and the Investigative Judgment.
• The sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand and the fulfillment of the parable of the ten virgins are key components in the last days, involving an “experience” and a “message.”
• The article mentions a testing period for those who have suffered a disappointment and highlights the importance of understanding the themes of “time” and “Islam” in the message of the Midnight Cry.
• It also discusses the significance of dates like October 22, 1844, and their typological representation in the last days.
• The article suggests that Adventism, as a whole, failed the test of the “seven times” in 1863 and entered the wilderness of Laodicea.
• It concludes by emphasizing the need for faith and an understanding of the broader spiritual reality beyond earthly concerns.

 

We have been informed that, “God directed the mind of William Miller to the prophecies and gave him great light upon the book of Revelation.” Miller was prevented by the history where he was raised up in from understanding the “great light” located in chapters twelve, thirteen, sixteen, seventeen and eighteen of Revelation, for those chapters identified the work of prophetic kingdoms which he could not see from his historical vantage point.

The light given Miller on the book of Revelation was the Churches, Seals and Trumpets, and it is the last three Trumpets, which are identified as “three Woes,” that are represented upon Habakkuk’s two tables. The “great light,” given to Miller in the book of Revelation concerns the role of Islam in Bible prophecy. Yet even that “great light” was limited by his historical setting.

“The seven churches of Asia is a history of the church of Christ in her seven forms, in all her windings and turnings, in all her prosperity and adversity, from the days of the apostles down to the end of the world. The seven seals are a history of the transactions of the powers and kings of the earth over the church, and God’s protection of his people during the same time. The seven trumpets are a history of seven peculiar and heavy judgments sent upon the earth, or Roman kingdom. And the seven vials are the seven last plagues sent upon Papal Rome. Mixed with these are many other events, woven in like tributary streams, and filling up the grand river of prophecy, until the whole ends us in the ocean of eternity.

“This, to me, is the plan of John’s prophecy in the book of Revelation. And the man who wishes to understand this book, must have a thorough knowledge of other parts of the word of God. The figures and metaphors used in this prophecy, are not all explained in the same, but must be found in other prophets, and explained in other passages of Scripture. Therefore it is evident that God has designed the study of the whole, even to obtain a clear knowledge of any part.” William Miller, Miller’s Lectures, volume 2, lecture 12, 178.

 

Notice that Miller understood the seven last plagues as the seven judgments upon papal Rome. He could not understand that papal Rome was given a deadly wound that was to be healed. He recognized the seven trumpets as “a history of seven peculiar and heavy judgments sent upon the earth, or Roman kingdom,” but was unable to recognize the distinction between the kingdoms of pagan and papal Rome. Therefore, his ability to see the distinction between the first four trumpets and the last three trumpets was limited.

Miller was unable to recognize that the judgments brought against Rome, was God’s response to Sunday enforcement, for the Millerites were still worshipping on Sunday in their history. Miller was correct in recognizing that the Trumpets were judgments upon Rome, but the specific reason the judgments were brought, and the distinction between the first four and last three Trumpets was limited, or non-existent. With that limited view, the “jewel” of the three Woes of Islam was still included upon the charts that were directed by the hand of God, and should not be altered.

Enlightened discernment allows a “wise” student of prophecy to recognize that God not only inspired the holy men who wrote the Bible, but He also governed the work of the men who translated the King James Bible, and He specifically says that He employed the same type of divine oversight in the production of the two sacred charts.

Miller’s “jewel” of the fifth, sixth and seventh Trumpets (Islam), shines ten times brighter in the last days, for it identifies the subject of the final Midnight Cry. The subject of the Midnight Cry in Millerite history was the date of the conclusion of the prophetic periods, and in this sense the “Midnight Cry” message of the last days (which is the message of Islam of the third Woe), has been typified by the date of October 22, 1844. That date in Millerite history typifies the soon-coming Sunday law, and both October 22, 1844, and the Sunday law were typified by the cross, which was the conclusion of the Triumphal Entry of Christ.

Miller’s “jewel” of the fifth, sixth and seventh Trumpets (Islam), shines ten times brighter in the last days, for it identifies Islam in agreement with the theme of the last-day reformatory movement, which is Islam of the third Woe. Therefore, as the theme of the final reformatory movement of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, it has been typified by the theme of each of the previous reformatory movements, whether it be the theme of “the resurrection” in the reformatory movement of Christ, the theme of “prophetic time” in the history of the Millerites, the theme of “the ark of God” in the reformatory movement of David or the theme of “the covenant” in the reformatory movement of Moses.

Whether the event of the cross, the date of October 22, 1844, or the various themes of the reformatory movements, every date and theme represented a life-or-death testing question for the generation of that time. Miller’s “jewel” of the three Woes of Islam is a life-or-death test question, as represented in the parable of the ten virgins in terms of the “oil.” Miller’s jewels in the beginning of his dream shone as the sun, but at the end of his dream they shone “ten times brighter”. Miller’s jewels were like kerosene (lamp oil) in the history of the Millerites, but today those jewels are rocket fuel!

The Millerites understood, and correctly applied, the time prophecy of Islam of the second Woe, that was fulfilled on August 11, 1840, but their understanding of the third Woe, which is the Seventh Trumpet, could not see the third Woe arriving as a judgment upon the sixth kingdom of Bible prophecy, for they did not see a fifth kingdom, let alone the sixth kingdom of Bible prophecy. Yet the “great light” on Revelation that was given to Miller is to shine ten times brighter in the “Midnight Cry” of the last days.

The truths represented upon Habakkuk’s two tables are essentially truths which were fulfilled in past history. The charts are based upon the time prophecies which Miller was led to assemble, and all those time prophecies had concluded by 1844. Those time prophecies will shine brighter in the last days, for they will be seen to be as accurate today as they were in Millerite history, but they possess no direct time predictions for the last days.  They do, however, provide repeating prophetic types of the histories they represented in the past, but with a few of Miller’s jewels, future predictions are directly represented.

The work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary that began in 1844, continues until that work is finished. The prophecy of the twenty-three hundred days, and the work of cleansing that it identified, is still “in the process of fulfillment,” as Sister White states concerning the Ulai and Hiddekel Rivers, so that prophecy has an end-of-the-world fulfillment.

“The light that Daniel received from God was given especially for these last days. The visions he saw by the banks of the Ulai and the Hiddekel, the great rivers of Shinar, are now in process of fulfillment, and all the events foretold will soon come to pass.” Testimonies to Ministers, 112.

 

Portions of the visions of Daniel chapters seven and eight, which are on the two tables, are yet future, for they both identify the sanctuary work of Christ. Yet the histories of the kingdoms of Bible prophecy in those two chapters end with papal Rome receiving its deadly wound. The “stone” that is “cut out of the mountain without hands”, and the eighth kingdom of Daniel two are still future. But most of what is represented upon the charts in relation to Daniel chapters two, seven and eight has been fulfilled.

The work of Christ in the sanctuary, and the third Woe of Islam are essentially the two subjects that represent prophetic history beyond the time of the Millerites. Along with those two themes, is the last-day history that is typified when the two charts are brought together upon one line. When that is done, the first disappointment of 1843, as represented upon the first chart, finds its correction upon the second chart. Together they produce and identify the “hidden history” of the Seven Thunders, which is now being unsealed in connection with the unsealing of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

That “hidden history” is structured upon the “truth,” which is the three Hebrew letters that when combined, create the word “truth.” The word is created by the first, thirteenth and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and represent Jesus as not only as the Truth, but as Alpha and Omega. The “hidden history” begins and ends with a disappointment, and has rebellion in the middle, for “thirteen” is a number which represents rebellion.

The year 1843, illustrated upon the first chart, identifies the first disappointment and the arrival of the tarrying time. The tarrying time leads to the arrival of the message of the Midnight Cry, where the rebellion of the foolish virgins is manifested. The message of the Midnight Cry is then proclaimed until the last disappointment. That “hidden history” of the Midnight Cry is repeated (to the very letter) in the last days.

“I am often referred to the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise, and five foolish. This parable has been and will be fulfilled to the very letter, for it has a special application to this time, and, like the third angel’s message, has been fulfilled and will continue to be present truth till the close of time.” Review and Herald, August 19, 1890.

 

When rightly understood, the previous statement identifies that the only group of people in the last days who have a possibility of being either a foolish or wise virgin, are people within a group who have suffered a disappointment. The disappointment is what produces the tarrying time, and the parable that “has been and will be fulfilled to the very letter””is premised upon the effects produced internally within the virgins during a tarrying time that begins with a disappointment. That disappointment that slew the “two witnesses” in the street of the city, and reduced them to dead, dry bones in the valley of death took place on July 18, 2020. Adventism, by and large, was not involved with that disappointment. If anything, they celebrated the failed prediction as the “two witnesses” lay slain in the street. To the very letter means “to the very letter”.

In the Millerite history, the former covenant people (Protestantism), celebrated the failed prediction of 1843 (the first disappointment), and at that point the Protestants passed the limits of their probationary testing time. The testing time had begun on August 11, 1840, when the mighty angel of Revelation ten descended at the fulfillment of the time prophecy of the second Woe (Islam). The Protestants rejected prophetic time at the first disappointment, for the erroneous prediction provided them with an excuse for no longer seeking truth. The theme of all of the waymarks of the Millerite history was “time prophecy”.

On September 11, 2001, the angel of Revelation eighteen descended at the fulfillment of the prophecy of the third Woe (Islam). The theme of all of the waymarks in the last days is Islam. The first disappointment marks the end of a cleansing of the former covenant people, as the former covenant people were then provided with an excuse for no longer seeking the truth. The testing time then began for “the virgins” of the last days, for the testing of the former covenant people that began with the descent of the angel, ended at the first disappointment. Thus, the testing of those who are represented as virgins began, and that process of testing will ultimately manifest whether the virgins are either foolish or wise.

Between the first and the last disappointment is the message of the Midnight Cry. The theme of the message of the Midnight Cry for the Millerites was “time”, and the theme of the message of the Midnight Cry in the last days is “Islam”. In Miller’s dream he is awakened with a shout (cry), and at that time, his jewels shine ten times brighter than they formerly shone. The jewels upon the charts that directly identifies a prediction for the last days is Islam and the Investigative Judgment. As such, the tests of the “message” of the Midnight Cry and of the “experience” represented by the Investigative Judgment, is not for the former covenant people, but for those who profess to be the last virgins.

The illustration that is produced when both charts are brought together, which identifies the history of the first to the last disappointment, identifies that in the time when the “hidden history” of the Seven Thunders is occurring, the final work of the Investigative Judgment is being accomplished. That final work is the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, and it takes place during the “troublous times” of Daniel nine, during the angering of the nations in Revelation eleven, the holding of the “four winds” of Revelation chapter seven, the “staying of the rough wind in the day of the east wind,” of Isaiah chapter twenty-seven, and the restraint of the “angry horse that is seeking to break loose and bring death and destruction” upon the world.  All of these prophetic witnesses represent Islam of the third Woe, as represented upon the sacred charts.

The three primary elements of the two sacred charts of Habakkuk that are specifically addressing events that were future to the publication of the charts, is the sealing of the one hundred and forty-four thousand, Islam and the fulfillment of the parable of the ten virgins. The charts identify a testing, sealing process of both an “experience” and a “message.” The experience necessary for a foolish virgin is “Christ in you the hope of glory”, which represents the perfection represented by the one hundred and forty-four thousand.

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Colossians 1:26–28.

 

The one hundred and forty-four thousand are represented as a group of people who have came out of a “captivity”. The captivity that is directly represented in the book of Revelation is the captivity of being dead in the street for three and a half days, as represented in Revelation chapter eleven. The captivity of a symbolic death is representing the “seven times” of Leviticus twenty-six, and that captivity requires the manifestation of repentance, as illustrated by Daniel’s prayer, in chapter nine.

When the dead dry bones are brought back to life, they are immediately lifted up as an “ensign”. In death they were without Christ within them, the hope of glory. Part of their required repentance was their acknowledgment that they had walked contrary to God, and that God had walked contrary to them. When they meet the requirements prophetically identified, Christ then “comes suddenly to His temple”, and the “experience” is attained that is needed in order to be a member of the ensign that is then lifted up.

The “experience” that is illustrated when the two charts are brought together, is accomplished by the final work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. That “experience” is represented by the “mareh” vision, which is the vision of “the appearance”. The “message” that is needed is the “chazon” vision, of prophetic history. That “message” is identified as the message of God’s impending judgment upon a rebellious world that is brought about by Islam of the third Woe.

In 1856, the Lord sought to finish the rebuilding of spiritual Jerusalem in Adventism. Under the arrival of the three angels from 1798 unto 1844, the Millerite temple had been built upon the foundations, represented as “jewels” in Miller’s dream, as represented by the prophetic truths on the two pioneer charts (1843 and 1850) that fulfilled Habakkuk chapter two. He then led His people to erect the wall of His seventh-day Sabbath law, and returned them to the “old paths” of ancient Israel to finish the work of the “street to walk in”.  BUT, the old path included a doctrine, a prophecy, that was designed to test and separate them. In 1863, Adventism failed the test of the “seven times”, and began to wander in the wilderness of Laodicea.

October 22, 1844, typifies the soon-coming Sunday law, and at the Sunday law the work will be accomplished represented by the forty-nine years of finishing the street and wall in troublous times, as identified by Daniel.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. Daniel 9:25.

 

All the prophets agree with one another, and the “troublous times” of Daniel is also identified in the passage from Early Writings which we have been considering.

“At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. At that time the ‘latter rain,’ or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out.” Early Writings, 85.

 

We will continue this study in the next article.

“Just as long as those who profess the truth are serving Satan, his hellish shadow will cut off their views of God and heaven. They will be as those who have lost their first love. They cannot view eternal realities. That which God has prepared for us is represented in Zechariah, chapters 3 and 4, and 4:12–14: ‘And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.’

“The Lord is full of resources. He has no lack of facilities. It is because of our lack of faith, our earthliness, our cheap talk, our unbelief, manifested in our conversation, that dark shadows gather about us. Christ is not revealed in word or character as the One altogether lovely, and the chiefest among ten thousand. When the soul is content to lift itself up unto vanity, the Spirit of the Lord can do little for it. Our shortsighted vision beholds the shadow, but cannot see the glory beyond. Angels are holding the four winds, represented as an angry horse seeking to break loose and rush over the face of the whole earth, bearing destruction and death in its path.

 “Shall we sleep on the very verge of the eternal world? Shall we be dull and cold and dead? Oh, that we might have in our churches the Spirit and breath of God breathed into His people, that they might stand upon their feet and live. We need to see that the way is narrow, and the gate strait. But as we pass through the strait gate, its wideness is without limit.” Manuscript Releases, volume 20, 217.