History

Seventh Day Adventist Roots, part 4

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At the close of two years of intensive study, in 1818, William Miller came to the conclusion that there were a dozen points on which he differed radically with the popular views of the day. He was convinced that: “1. The popular view of a temporal millennium before the second advent, and the end of the age, was a fallacy. 2. The theory of the return of the Jews was not sustained by the Word. 3. Jesus will come again personally, with all the holy angels with Him. 4. The kingdom of God will be established at that coming. 5. The earth will perish in a deluge of fire. 6. The new earth will spring forth out of its ashes. 7. The righteous dead will be resurrected at the advent. 8. The wicked dead will not come forth until the close of the thousand years. 9. The papal Little Horn will be destroyed at the advent. 10. We are living in the last phase of the outline prophecies —such as, in Daniel 2, in the period of the ‘feet and toes.’ 11. All prophetic time periods—such as the 70 weeks, the 1260 days, and the rest—are to be computed on the year-day principle. 12. The 2300 year-days, extending from 457 B.C. to about A.D. 1843, will bring the climax of prophecy and of human history; and that Jesus will come ‘on or before’ the Jewish year ‘1843.’ ” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 463.

Miller concluded at the end of his intensive study that in about 25 years (1843) the world would come to an end at the Second Coming of Christ. As far as he knew, no one agreed with him in this belief. His findings so startled him that he thought that there was something wrong, and he determined to restudy the prophecies and to challenge each step considering every objection including the scriptural statement “no man knows the day or the hour.”

He spent another four years in his restudy and, in 1822, Miller was persuaded that his conclusions were correct and he then wrote his “Compendium of Faith,” which contained his “Twenty Articles of Faith.”

Miller formulated fourteen rules for Bible study. We will enumerate seven of his rules as they show his procedures in the study of the prophecies and how he formulated his conclusions.

“IV. To understand doctrine, bring all the Scriptures together on the subject you wish to know; then let every word have its proper influence; and if you can form your theory without a contradiction, you cannot be in error.

“V. Scripture must be its own expositor, since it is a rule of itself. If I depend on a teacher to expound to me, and he should guess at its meaning, or desire to have it so on account of his sectarian creed, or to be thought wise, then his guessing, desire, creed or wisdom, is my rule, and not the Bible.

“VI. God has revealed things to come, by visions, in figures and parables; and in this way the same things are oftentimes revealed again and again, by different visions, or in different figures and parables. If you wish to understand them, you must combine them all in one.

“VIII. Figures always have a figurative meaning, and are used much in prophecy to represent future things, times and events—such as mountains, meaning governments.

“X. Figures sometimes have two or more different signification, as day is used in a figurative sense to represent three different periods of time, namely, first, indefinite; second definite, a day for a year; and third, a day for a thousand years.

“XII. ‘To learn the meaning of a figure, trace the word through your Bible, and when you find it explained, substitute the explanation for the word used; and, if it makes good sense, you need not look further; if not, look again.

“XIII. To know whether we have the true historical event for the fulfillment of a prophecy: If you find every word of the prophecy (after the figures are understood) is literally fulfilled, then you may know that your history is the true event; but if one word lacks a fulfillment, then you must look for another event, or wait its future development; for God takes care that history and prophecy shall agree, so that the true believing children of God may never be ashamed.” Ibid., 470.

 

A Message to Proclaim

 

As the year 1831 approached, the conviction began to grow in Miller’s mind that he must proclaim his findings, especially regarding the imminent return of Jesus to this earth, to the world. He stated: “After a number of years I was compelled by the Spirit of God, the power of truth, and the love of souls, to take up my cross and proclaim these things to a dying and perishing world.” The Great Second Advent Movement, 120. He thought he could comply with the impression by writing and publishing his views in public journals and his first article appeared in the Vermont Telegraph, a Baptist paper printed in Brandon, Vermont.

Nevertheless, all the writing and publishing of Miller’s views did not quiet the urging in his mind to proclaim, to the world, the nearness of Christ’s coming. One day, as he rose to do something, the strong conviction came to him that he was to go and tell the world about the coming of Jesus. The impression was so strong that he began to make excuses to the Lord that he could not go. Some of the excuses he made were: I am too old, I am not a preacher, I lack ability or I am slow of speech. But none or all of these excuses “could silence the voice of conviction that insisted it was his bounden obligation to share his faith with others in a public way.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 482.

 

A Monomaniac?

 

An incident occurred in Miller’s experience that illustrates the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. There was a doctor living in Miller’s community that had expressed the opinion that Miller was a fine man, but that he was a monomaniac on the subject of the Second Coming.

When one of Miller’s children became ill he called this doctor to handle the case. While the doctor was treating the child, Miller sat in a corner of the room not uttering a word. When the doctor finished he asked Miller what was wrong. “Well, I hardly know . . . I want you to see what the trouble is and prescribe for me.

“The Doctor’s superficial examination revealed no symptoms. So he asked Miller what he thought was wrong.

“I don’t know . . . but perhaps I am a monomaniac. I want you to examine me and see if I am; and if so, cure me. Can you tell when a man is a monomaniac?

“The doctor blushed at the question, but replied that he thought he could.

“How can you tell? Miller asked.

“Why, a monomaniac is rational on all subjects but one; and when you talk about that subject, he will react violently.

“In that case I must insist that you see whether or not I am a monomaniac; and if I am, you must cure me. You shall therefore sit down with me for two hours while I present the subject of the Advent to you, and if I am a monomaniac, you will be able to tell it by that time.

“When the doctor hesitated, Miller insisted, reminding him that the problem involved his mental health and that therefore the doctor might feel free to make his regular charge for professional services. Unable to find a graceful way out of the situation, the doctor finally consented. So for the next two hours Miller asked questions. And the doctor, under Miller’s direction, read the answers from the Bible, in what was probably one of the most unusual Bible studies ever given. Before the study ended, the doctor had been led step by step to the conclusion that Christ was coming to the earth in 1843. At the end of the study he sat back in his chair, paused a moment as if to speak, thought better of it, and without saying another word picked up his hat and left the room. “But the next morning he returned to the Miller home, very much upset.

“Mr. Miller . . . I feel that I am going to be lost. I have not slept a wink since I was here yesterday. I have looked at the question from every side, and I cannot see but that the vision will end about 1843, and I am not prepared. “So each day for the next week Miller and the doctor spent some time together studying the Bible prophecies. And at the end of the week the doctor was as great a monomaniac as Miller was.” The Urgent Voice, 38, 39, by Robert Gale.

 

Miller’s Covenant with God

 

In 1832, Miller’s distress of soul was so great that he entered into a covenant with God that if He would open the way, he would go and perform his duty to the world. He further agreed that if an invitation should come to speak publicly in any place, he would accept the invitation and go and tell others what he had found in his Bible studies.

“Little did he dream that within a scant half hour he would be confronted with just such an opening. He had thought himself safe, through the terms of his condition, from having to carry out his compact. His burden seemed lifted. And he felt relieved. But at that self-same moment a lad of sixteen was riding down the road on horseback from nearby Dresden to Low Hampton, bearing an invitation to Miller to come and tell the members of the Baptist church of Dresden his views on the second advent.” Ibid., 483.

When the lad arrived and delivered his message, Miller was thunderstruck, and he became angry with himself for having made such a covenant. He rebelled at once against the Lord and determined not to go and stormed out of the house. In a maple-grove near his house, Miller fell to his knees and at first asked God to release him from his promise. But the only answer he received was to go. Finally He surrendered to the clear command of God and said, “Lord, I will go.”

Thus William Miller was launched on a career of itinerant preaching for the next ten plus years. Invitations poured in for him to lecture mostly in churches all over the northeastern states. Miller was determined to fill as many appointments as was physically possible, and to do his best to warn as many people as he could of the end of all things.

 

Events that Validated Prophecy

 

There were two astronomical phenomena that occurred between 1833 and 1844 that attracted attention to the Bible prophecies. The first was the falling of the stars on November 13, 1833. The meteor shower was especially heavy over the northeastern states where the Millerite movement had begun and exerted its greatest influence. Many people that were not necessarily believers in Miller’s message were inclined to regard his teaching with more seriousness than before.

The second occurred between February 28 and April 1, 1843. A great comet (not Haley’s Comet)appeared, causing those that were serious minded to take note that what Miller was teaching might be true and that the end of all things was at hand.

But more than these two occurrences there was a direct fulfillment of prophecy that inspired increased faith in the Scriptures as the Word of God and strengthened the position of the Millerite movement regarding the prophecies of the Bible.

A Millerite preacher, by the name of Josiah Litch, wrote a number of articles on the seven trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9. He said that the sixth trumpet would cease to sound on August 11, 1840, and that the Ottoman Empire would come to its end on that day. When that happened he said that the fulfillment would substantiate a day for a year in Bible prophecy.

War broke out between Turkey and Egypt in 1839 and continued until August, 1840, when Turkey asked the allied powers of England, Russia, Austria and Prussia to intervene, and on August 11, the Ottoman Empire came to an end. “In the Words of Dr. Jerome Clark, ‘By accepting the intervention of the Allied powers to bring a settlement of his difficulties with Egypt’s pasha, the Ottoman Turkish sultan had lost control of his external affairs insofar as Egypt was concerned . . . The pasha took the message under advisement on August 11, 1840. That same day the sultan wrote the four powers for assurances of their help should the ultimatum be refused. Turkey from that time forward was known as the sick man of Europe. The pasha complied with the ultimatum. The prophecy of the 1391 years and fifteen days of Ottoman Turkish domination had been fulfilled to the day.’ The event exactly fulfilled the prediction.” Ibid., 51, 52.

This fulfillment of prophecy made a deep impression on thousands of people. Josiah Litch wrote that, within a few months, more than a thousand infidels wrote to him saying that they had been led to accept the Bible as the Word of God. Some of these men became preachers in the Millerite movement. As a result of the astronomical events and what had occurred in the Middle East, Miller’s name became a household word all over the United States.

 

Some Rejected the Light

 

It was only natural for some churches to reject Miller and his message, and some ministers warned their congregations to stay away from his lectures. In one town, after delivering his first lecture, “Miller received a letter signed by ten ‘bullies and blackguards’ saying that if he did not get out of the State they would put him where even the dogs would not be able to find him. But Miller was not a man to cower before a threat. He stayed; he delivered his lectures and God blessed his work in that community.” Ibid., 52.

Noah Webster wrote to Miller saying, “Your preaching can be of no use to society but it is a great annoyance. If you expect to frighten men and women into religion, you are probably mistaken . . . If your preaching drives people into despair or insanity, you are responsible for the consequences. I advise you to abandon your preaching: you are doing no good, but you may do a great deal of harm.” Ibid., 52. This man had never attended any of Miller’s lectures. Miller’s marching orders came from God, not man.

With the busy schedule Miller had set for himself, he still had a farm to run from which he gained the means for supporting his itinerary. Near the end of 1843, his lecturing was taking up so much of his time that he had to decide whether to farm or to continue to preach. He decided to rent out his farm to one of his sons. “At the same time he wrote to (Elder) Hendryx, ‘I devote my whole time, lecturing.’ ” Ibid., 53.

Next month we will continue the story of William Miller and we will meet a few old friends that came into his life and continued with the Great Advent Movement to their death.

 

SDA Roots, part 5

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A great revival developed as a result of Miller ’s preaching. People flocked to his meetings not only from the community but also from surrounding towns. His lectures made such an impression upon the listeners that they kept asking for more. His messages could not be presented in one lecture, so he was persuaded to continue preaching. This was Miller’s experience wherever he went, and the result was the conversion of many souls.

Miller’s small town preaching ended in 1839. On November 12, he met Joshua V. Himes, pastor of the Chardon Street Chapel, in Boston, Massachusetts, who invited Miller to preach to his church family. While preaching in the Chapel, Miller lived with Himes, and they began a friendship which lasted for many years. “God in His providence had brought the two men together. The beginning of this association opened a new era in Miller’s work of spreading his convictions regarding the soon coming Christ.” The Urgent Voice, 63. The interest generated by Miller’s preaching became so great that he was compelled to present another series. Charles Fitch’s Marlboro Chapel was rented for the series.

 

Miller Begins to Write

 

From this time until the great disappointment, Miller hardly had time to pause in his public proclamation of the Second Coming of Christ. Almost from the beginning, he received so many invitations to preach that he could not possibly comply, for lack of time. This prompted him to begin publishing his views in printed form. He prepared a series of articles and sent them as anonymous contributions to the Baptist weekly paper, the Vermont Telegraph at Brandon, Vermont. The editor of the paper refused to publish the articles unless the author was identified,whereupon Miller consented and they were printed with the initials, W.M.

Miller wrote a book in which he detailed his views on the prophecies and particularly the Second Coming. This book had a great and profound influence upon all that read it. The editor of the Boston Daily Times, in which sections of Miller’s book were published, was the first to give Miller’s views favorable publicity through the press. The editor continued to print Miller’s articles, and they created a pronounced impact upon the public mind.

However, not all publicity was favorable. One pastor, Ethan Smith, submitted two articles rebutting Miller’s views. The opposition was not very effective, and in most cases it just spurred on the reader to a more careful study of Miller’s message. Even Ethan Smith stated: “I wish to encourage the study of the prophecies and signs of the times: and have been much tried, to see so little attention paid to them; and to hear so many ministers speaking most disrespectfully of this study! I view this fact to be a very dark sign of the times! I think such ministers have got to repent of this sin, or they must sink under it. It is a great insult offered to the Holy Ghost, who inspired the prophecies and commanded us to study and understand them.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 517.

“It was about this time that the copy of Miller’s Lectures was placed in the hands of Josiah Litch, a Methodist minister in Massachusetts, who soon became persuaded of its essential soundness and began to write and publish on the subject. Practically the same experience came to Charles Fitch, pastor of the Marlboro Congregational Church of Boston. Meantime Miller was lecturing in some of the moderate-sized towns of Massachusetts, such as Lowell, where he was invited to preach by Timothy Cole, a minister of the Christian Connection, who was likewise greatly impressed.” Ibid., 519.

 

Himes Helps the Work

 

The acquaintance with Himes, in late 1839, led to a greatly expanded and accelerated Advent Movement in the larger cities. Himes did not associate himself with Miller without counting the cost of such a move. He stated: “We are not insensible of the fact, that much obloquy will be cast upon us in consequence of our association with the author of this work [Miller]. This, however, gives us no pain. We had rather be associated with such a man as William Miller, and stand with him in gloom or glory, in the cause of the living God, than to be associated with his enemies, and enjoy all the honors of the world.”

“Thus it was that Joshua V. Himes, scarcely thirty-five years old, gave up a promising future to cast his lot with an unpopular cause. But Himes was no stranger to unpopular causes. He was an energetic opponent of the liquor traffic, and for a time he had worked closely with William Lloyd Garrison in the battle against slavery. As pastor of the Chardon Street Chapel, he had opened the doors of the church to more than one reform cause. Millerism was therefore only one of several ‘causes’ with which Himes was actively associated. But it was the one to which he was to devote the most time and effort. And, with Miller and Fitch, he became one of Millerism’s three leading figures.” The Urgent Voice, 64.

Himes’ abilities as a public speaker were unusual, and he frequently lectured on the subject of the Second Coming. But his most valuable accomplishments with the Millerite Movement were in the area of organization and promotion. He was responsible for the publication of tracts, songbooks, pamphlets, charts, broadsides and handbills. Himes, at various times, published more than a dozen periodicals promoting the teachings on the Second Advent.

 

A Voice for the Advent Movement

 

By the beginning of 1840, most papers, both religious and secular, had become most unsympathetic in their treatment of Miller and refused to print anything from him in rebuttal. Miller had for quite some time wanted to put out a periodical to serve as the voice of Millerism, but he had not been able to find anyone that would risk his reputation and finances on such a publication. When Miller spoke to Himes of his desire, he accepted the challenge and produced the first issue of the Signs of the Times, a week later.

In 1844, the name of this periodical was changed to the Advent Herald. In 1874, when James White began to publish a weekly paper to speak for the Seventh-day Adventists on the Pacific Coast, he took the name that Himes had abandoned and called it Signs of the Times. James White’s paper was not a continuation of Hime’s periodical and there was no connection between the two, except for the name.

Another person who opposed Miller’s teachings was John Dowling, a Baptist clergyman from New York. He published a Review of Miller, in which he presented the old Antiochus theory for the Little Horn of Daniel 8. He explained that the 2300 evenings and mornings were half days or 1150 literal days and that this referred to the second century B.C. He also taught that the millennium came before the Second Advent. This led to a Refutation by Litch suggesting, like Miller, that the six thousand years of the world’s history would terminate about 1843. He also wrote An Address to the Clergy, which caused many ministers to examine the question more thoroughly and convinced not a few of them of the true character and truth of the Millerite positions.

 

Campmeetings are Born

 

Despite the negative reaction and prejudice, aroused by the press, to the public meetings of the Millerites and those that favored his views on prophecy, a considerable interest caused the need for larger meeting-houses. As the result of this growth in interest in the Second Advent preaching, a weeklong meeting was held in Boston in early 1842. Thus the camp meeting was born. In June, Litch held meetings in East Canada resulting in between five hundred and six hundred conversions. “Great gatherings throughout Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine followed, which according to Litch, literally ‘shook the nation.’ ” Ibid., 522.

To accommodate the ever-increasing crowds, a big tent, seating six thousand, was erected six times the first season in New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Jersey. Marked results were seen. Fitch preached the Second Advent to the students and faculty of Oberlin College in Ohio, and elsewhere, finally establishing himself in Cleveland. Litch declares of this time: “The work spread with a power unparalleled in the history of religious excitements. And had it been the object of Adventists to form a sect, never was there a more favorable opportunity to carry all before them, given to any people. But higher and holier objects were in their vision—the saving of sinners from death, and the obtaining of a preparation for the coming of the Lord, were the objects of their highest ambition.” Ibid.

Miller and Himes returned to New York City in 1842 and lectured in the large Methodist church where George Storrs was the pastor. An Adventist daily paper was started called the Midnight Cry, edited by Joshua Himes, L. D. Fleming and Nathaniel Southard. Fitch also established many Second Advent papers and periodicals in Cleveland, and H. B. Skinner and Luther Caldwell did the same in Canada.

Wherever Miller’s writings were circulated, the sale and study of the Bible was stimulated. The movement was known as a Bible movement, and Litch stated that, “a course of lectures in a village, would open a door for the sale of more Bibles in a week than would have been sold before for years.” The tone of the movement was Protestant, the Bible and the Bible only as the rule of practice and faith.

“There were among the Millerite ministers men of commanding talent and attainment—only a few have thus far been named—who were the equal of the wise and learned opposers of the land, raised up, they believed, at a time when such help was needed. As to the actual number of ministers in the Millerite movement at this time Litch frankly said, ‘We have no means of ascertaining the number of ministers, and others, who have embraced the Advent faith. We only know that there are several hundred congregations, and a still larger number of ministers, who have publicly professed the faith, besides many who still remain in the churches of the land.’ These, he explained, were associated together for the accomplishment of a definite objective—to ‘sound the alarm.’ And any organization that existed was of the most ‘simple, voluntary and primitive form.’ ” Ibid., 527.

Next month we will take a closer look at some of the men associated with Miller in the proclamation of the Second Advent. We will scan a little of their backgrounds, training, talents, standing and religious affiliation.

 

Martyr’s Mirror

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In the year 1549, about three weeks before Easter, two beloved men, named Fije and Eelken, were apprehended at Boorn, in West Friesland. They were brought before the lords, where they boldly confessed their faith.

They first interrogated Eelken, saying:

“Who has authorized you to assemble the people, to teach them?”

Ans. “God has authorized me.” Heb. 10:25.

Ques. “What have you taught?”

Ans. “Ask them that heard it, what we taught among ourselves; for you have apprehended a woman that heard it.” They then asked the woman what she had heard from Eelken.

Ans. “He read the four Evangelists, Paul, Peter, the epistles of John, and the acts of the apostles.” Eelken was then asked again: “What do you hold concerning the sacrament?”

Ans. “I know nothing of your baked God.”

Ques. “Friend, take care what you say; such words cost necks. What do you think of the mother of God?”

Ans. “Much.”

Ques. “What do you say; did the Son of God not receive flesh and blood from Mary?”

Ans. “No: With regard to this, I believe what the Son of God Himself declares concerning it.” John 1:14.

Ques. “What do you hold concerning our holy Roman church?”

Ans. “I know nothing of your holy church. I do not know it; I never in all my life was in a holy church.”

Ques. “You speak too spitefully; I have compassion for you,” said one of the lords of the council, “and fear that you will lose your neck. Are you not baptized?”

Ans. “I am not baptized, but greatly desire baptism.”

Ques. “What do you think of these false teachers who run about and baptize the people?”

Ans. “Of false teachers I think nothing, but have greatly longed to hear a teacher sent from God?”

They said: “But we have heard that you are a teacher.” Eelken said: “Who made me a teacher?”

They replied: “We do not know.”

Eelken said: “If you ask me what you do not know yourselves, how should I know it? I know of no one that has made me a teacher; but God has given me all for which I have besought Him.”

They said: “We have now written down all the articles concerning which we have interrogated you on this occasion; if there is anything of which you repent, we will gladly strike it out!”

Ans. “Do you think that I should deny God?”

Eelken and Fije were then both sentenced and brought together; they embraced each other, yea, kissed one another’s hands and feet with great love, so that all that saw and heard it were astonished. The beadles and servants ran to the lords and said: “Never men loved one another as do these.” Eelken said to Fije: “Dear brother, do not take it amiss, that you have been brought into suffering through me.” Fije answered: “Dear brother, do not think so, for it is the power of God.”

Their execution was deferred till the third day after the sentence was passed. Eelken was first executed with the sword. When Fije’s sentence was read, he did not listen to it, because of his leaped, praising and thanking God, saying: “This is the only way.”

They led Fije into the boat in which Eelken lay beheaded, and beside him the wheel upon which Eelken was to be place, and the stake at which Fije was to stand, to be burned. In the boat, Fije’s hands became loose, but he sat still nevertheless. The monks then said: “Bind him again.” The hangman replied: “You bind him.” But the castellan commanded him to bind Fije again. Some women who beheld it wept bitterly. But Fije said:

“Weep not for me, but for your sins.” He further said to the executioner: “What are you going to do to me?”

Ans. “That you will see.”

“Yea, yea,” said Fije, “do what you will. I have committed myself into the hands of my Lord.”

The brethren went out with him, together with the common people, and when Fije saw some of his acquaintances, he cried out: “Friends rejoice with me over this marriage feast which is prepared for me.”

When he arrived at the place of execution, some brethren, who greatly rejoiced with him, spoke to him saying: “This is the narrow way; this is the Lord’s wine press; from this depends the crown.” But when the castellan heard this cry, he called out: “Let no man lay his hands on him, on pain of life, and property.”

The executioner had forgotten his instruments, and ran to the town to get them. In the meantime, the castellan and the two monks had Fije in the confessional, greatly tempting him with bread and wine; but they could not prevail upon him, for Fije did nothing but sing and speak, praising and thanking God.

When they could not prevail on him, and the executioner returned, they said to Fije: “How is it that you are so obstinate, when you say that you are a member of Christ? Why then will you not do the works of mercy, and receive this bread and wine as bread and wine, for our sakes.”

Ans. “I do not hunger for your bread and wine; for there is food prepared for me in heaven.”

When they could not prevail upon him, they said: “Be gone, you heretic, be gone!”

The castellan said: “I have seen many a heretic; but in all my life I never saw a more obdurate one than this.”

Fije, standing prepared for death, said to the executioner: “Master, have you finished your work?”

He replied: “Not yet.”

Fije said: “Here is the sheep for which you are wanted.”

The executioner then went up to Fije, tore open his shirt, took the cap from his head, and filled it with gunpowder.

Standing at the stake at which he was to be strangled, Fije exclaimed: “O Lord, receive Thy servant.”

He was then strangled and burnt, and thus fell asleep in the Lord. The common people cried out saying: “This was a pious Christian; if he is not a Christian, there is not one in the whole world.”

Taken from Martyr’s Mirror, 484, 485.

 

SDA Roots, part 2

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In the previous article, two major events were noted that are important to the student of Bible prophecy. First was the taking of the pope prisoner by the French army and the second was the discovery of the Rosetta stone which confirmed the authenticity of the ancient Bible records.

“So the very people who thought to exterminate the Bible were, all unconsciously to themselves, used to bring about a fulfillment of prophecy in taking away the dominion of the papacy at the end of the 1260 years, and also discovered the key to the very writings which confirm the truthfulness of the Scriptures they tried so hard to destroy.” The Great Second Advent Movement, 8, by J. N. Loughborough.

Before 1798, expositors of Bible prophecy knew the beginning date for the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 but did not see the connection between the seventy weeks and the 2300 days of chapter 8. As a result they did not have a beginning date for the 2300 days.

“As this knowledge was ‘sealed up’ until the Lord’s appointed time came for its opening up to the understanding of His people, so just as truly when the ‘time of the end’ came, many were to ‘run to and fro’ through the Scriptures, searching out these things.” Ibid., 85.

“Nothing in this old earth is more powerful than a prophetic truth whose time has come. When Rome was ruling the Western world, a large group of contemporary students of prophecy recognized and proclaimed the identity and fate of the fourth prophetic world empire. When Rome was in process of tenfold division, another cluster of expositors left the written record of their perception, and their fears, of the coming Antichrist. When the papal Little Horn had unveiled its real character and identity, a great host of Reformers in many lands gave their witness to this advancing and then present fulfillment of prophecy—so powerfully that it brought on the Counter Reformation with its clever counter system of interpretation. When the 1260 years were ending, this solemn fact was also proclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic as then in process of fulfillment, while men awaited the next great event.

“And now when the judgment hour was approaching, with the ending of prophetic time, and the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary and the imminence of the advent had come, suddenly the witness was heard in different continents and many lands, giving startlingly similar testimony and exposition of prophecy thereon.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 3, 741, 742.

The following is a list of some of those who arrived at basically the same conclusions regarding the 2300 days, about the same time: William Miller, New York; A. J. Krupp, Pennsylvania; David Mcgregor, Maine; Edward Irving, England; A. Mason, Scotland; L. H. Kelber, Stuttgart, Germany; Laucunza, Spain; Hentzepeter, Holland; Rau, Bavaria; and there were many more.

“Is it not a wonderful coincidence that so many writers, without any knowledge of one another, came to the same conclusion about the same time?” Midnight Cry, June 15, 1842.

 

Decline in Europe

 

The momentum of the proclamation of the 2300-day prophecy in England and Europe declined rapidly due to the serious divergences as well as the similarities among the expositors of that prophecy. This resulted in the breakdown of the great Advent Awakening. But with the loss of momentum in the Old World there developed a rapid advance of it in America. The heralds of the advent in Europe failed to go on to perfection but they supplied the literature for those in America that did proclaim with “a loud voice” the message of the imminent appearing of Christ.

“Around the turn of the century [1800], during and following the world-shaking events and repercussions of the French Revolution, there was an unprecedented general turning to Bible prophecy on the part of an impressive number of thoughtful students of the Word among all leading Protestant faiths. And where one sermon on the theme was published, many more were evidently given orally, without ever getting into print. It seemed as if men had entered a new epoch in searching the pages of the two leading books of prophecy—Daniel in the Old Testament and Revelation in the New—the one obviously the complement of the other.

“It was as though a baffling seal of mystery and restricted understanding of its latter portions had at last been broken. As men of all persuasions on both sides of the Atlantic began poring over these pages as never before, comparing part with part and checking them with history, light began to dawn on certain heretofore mysterious symbols, and greater understanding came on some of its cryptic phrases concerning the last events of the age. And this investigation continued with increasing momentum for several decades.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 4, 56.

There were five major factors leading to the decline in the Old World.

  1. There was a diversity of opinion regarding the number 2300. Is it 2300 or 2400?
  2. Did the 2300 years end in 1844 or 1867? (Assuming that the 1260 and 1335 years had the same starting date).
  3. There was a wide diversity of view as to the cleansing of the sanctuary. Some believed it meant the restoration of the Jews to Palestine, among other views.
  4. The “judgments” of God to be poured out upon the Papacy and Mohammedanism was the message to be proclaimed.
  5. The Catholic Futurist and Preterist counterinterpretations broke the unity of the Protestant’s interpretation when some of them accepted the Catholic view.

When the early expectations of the advent in 1843 did not materialize, certain rationalistic theologians denied that the prophecies connected with this event were inspired. They further stated that the little horn was Antiochus Epiphanes. Rationalistic higher criticism was introduced to lead people away from the truth regarding the authenticity of the Scriptures and this led to the breakdown of the historical school of interpretation in the Old World. By turning men’s minds away from the Scriptures, Satan attempted to negate the great Second Advent message, so that people would be lulled to sleep and ultimately lost.

Following the events that brought in “the time of the end,” the prophecies of Daniel that had been previously sealed were now opened to the minds of those proclaiming the nearness of Christ’s Second Coming. The extent of the quest and activity of these pious men was without a parallel in history. Books and sermons began to pour from them with which nothing could be compared in sheer numbers. This was recognized as a sign of the times and was considered to be a fulfillment of prophecy.

 

Signs of the Times Discerned

 

“The signs of the times, the obvious nearness to the end, and the second coming of Christ to wind up human affairs and vindicate the right and punish wrong, as well as the imminent introduction of the millennium—these were the themes that men studied and upon which they wrote and discoursed most earnestly. Again and again they were led to record their conviction that they were manifestly entering the final epoch in the affairs of mankind.” Ibid., 58.

In Matthew 24, Jesus referred to the great tribulation that should be shortened. (This was accomplished in part by the decree of Maria Theresa and the Acts of Toleration, in France [1773-1776] to save the church in the wilderness from extinction.) He also said that signs (the dark day, the falling of the stars) would follow, indicating the nearness of His coming.

Then Jesus said, “Now learn a parable of the figtree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:32–35.

Here we are brought to the time for this parable and the judgment hour message of Revelation 14:6, 7, to be proclaimed to the world. The time had arrived to arouse the world to the fact that Jesus’ coming was at the door.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century many expositors were proclaiming that the time of the end had arrived. There was definite interest in both the Old and New World in the prophesied signs of the nearness of the Second Advent and millenium.

There was general acceptance that under the sixth seal (Revelation 6:12–17) three events would occur in sequence—a great earthquake, a dark day and a unique falling of the stars. These were to be tokens of the approaching advent.

 

World Events Influence Proclamation

 

“There are transition hours in the course of world events when history seems to change its fundamental course, when it takes on an acceleration, a significance, and a direction previously unknown, as a new concept or revolutionary idea moves mankind forward to new attainments. However, the greatest advances connected with these transition times have not always been merely mechanical or material. Oftentimes they have been intellectual and spiritual, though at times all these factors have converged, as at the opening decade of the eighteenth and the early decades of the nineteenth century.

“It was a time characterized by new and heretofore undiscovered forces, by a new understanding of the times, by the rechanneling of pent-up energies; by new concepts of the world, of power, of society, of freedom, of progress; also often by a new sense of spiritual responsibility, and by new convictions of divine destiny. And strange as it may at first seem, these concepts were to a surprising degree derived from a profound conviction that the destined hour of fulfillment of a great prophetic time and truth, long foretold in Holy Writ, had now come.” Ibid., 82.

Professor K. S. Latourette, of Yale University, lists a number of factors that deeply influenced the religious developments of the nineteenth century. 1. Man’s increased knowledge of the physical universe, which both helped and hindered Christianity. For some, it caused them to believe the Bible to be obsolete and to remove God out of the individual’s experience. 2. The invention of machinery, steamship, railroad and telegraph made possible the more rapid spread of Christianity. This brought about the Industrial Revolution that drastically changed society. 3. Rationalism, Romanticism and the beginnings of evolution all occurred during this period. 4. Nationalism was on the increase. 5. The unprecedented worldwide spread of Christianity by increased immigration of large segments of people from the Old World to the New as well as within the Old.

“Prophecy was the motivating force in much of the religious thought and activity of America in the opening decades of the nineteenth century, according to history professor Oliver W. Elsbee, of Bucknell University. The common conviction held by religious leaders of various denominations regarding the prophetic significance of the time in which they were living, was expressed in pamphlets, periodical articles, and books, as well as in sermons preached before church groups or missionary societies.” Ibid., 85.

By 1833, “The Lord was raising up His messengers or ministers in various parts of the world, who from 1833 to 1834 sounded the cry of Christ’s coming near, ‘even at the doors;’ and these taught the parable of the fig-tree, pointing to these signs of His coming, even as He had instructed them to do. This message, either by the living teacher or through the agency of the printed page, went to every missionary station in the world, and to every seaport on the earth.” The Great Second Advent Movement, 98.

 

Similarities to the Reformation

 

The spread of the interest in and proclamation of the 2300 days and the Second Advent may be compared with the rise of the Reformation in the sixteenth century.

“Germany did not communicate the truth to Switzerland, nor Switzerland to France, nor France to England. All these countries received it from God, just as one part of the world does not transmit the light to another part; but the same shining globe communicates it directly to all the earth. Christ, the day spring from on high, infinitely exalted above all mankind, was, at the period of the Reformation, as at the establishment of Christianity, the divine fire which gave life to the world. In the sixteenth century, one and the same doctrine was at once established in the homes and churches of the most distant and diversified nations. The reason is, that the same Spirit was everywhere at work producing the same faith . . .

“The advent proclamation arose in a similar manner to that above traced in the Reformation. Men were moved out simultaneously in more than four times as many parts of the world, with no knowledge of, or any communication of sentiment with, one another, and began the proclamation of the same Scripture truths, not simply in four nations of the earth, but to the whole civilized world.” Ibid., 99, 100.

In His time and in His manner the God of heaven will carry out His plan for the proclamation of the Gospel of Salvation to a sin-sick world. Men may cause delay because they do not desire to do as the Lord asks them, but nevertheless someone will obey the Divine commands. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:14.

In the next article we will take a look at some of the leading men, around the world as well as in America, who were responsible for the development of the Second Advent Movement, leading up to 1844, that swelled to a great crescendo in America.

 

SDA Roots, part 1

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The Reformation spread quickly during the sixteenth century in Europe. Rome became concerned over the spreading “heresy” and determined to stop it. The persecutions inflicted were not as effective as she had hoped. The more pressure that was put upon the Protestants to yield to her demands, the more they increased. So another approach was initiated.

“The Papacy suffered a major setback throughout the Reformation. The help of the monastic orders was sought, but they were so decadent that they had lost the respect of the people. The Dominicans and Franciscans, peddling relics and indulgences, had become the butt of ridicule and mockery. At this crisis Loyola and his companions offered their services, to go wherever the pope should designate, as preachers, missionaries, teachers, counselors, reformers. A new order was created, authorized in 1540, which infused a new spirit and spread rapidly over Europe. Like a wounded giant, Romanism arose in desperation to recover her lost prestige and enlarge shrunken territory.

“From 1540, then, the Counter Reformation may be dated. Within fifty years the Jesuits had planted stations in Peru, Africa, the islands of the East Indies, Hindustan, Japan, and China, and before long in the Canadian forests and the American colonies. Their members secured important chairs in universities. They became counselors and confessors to monarchs, and were the most able of all Catholic preachers. By 1615 they had a membership of thirteen thousand. Thus through the Jesuits, the Counter Reformation, next to the Protestant Reformation itself, became the most memorable movement in the history of modern times.” The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, Vol. II, 464.

By 1565 Catholicism had reached a low ebb and it was on the defensive, as Protestantism became victorious in one stronghold after another. In 1566 Pius V revived the Inquisition, the Index, and the Company of Jesus once more assumed the offensive. All this included the Marian persecutions in England, the wars in France against the Huguenots, the burning of heretics by the Inquisition in Spain, the attempt to exterminate the Protestants in the Netherlands and the invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Protestant books were placed on the Index to be destroyed. In addition to these engines of destruction, Rome used polemics against the Protestants, and in an attempt to stem the tide she began a mission program to the heathen.

 

Deceiving Doctrines

 

None of these things had any lasting effect on stopping the Reformation. Then the Jesuits came up with an idea that was calculated to have a confusing effect upon those who had been influenced by the reformers. The main thrust of the idea was aimed at the reformer’s prophetic interpretations of Daniel and Revelation, particularly dealing with the antichrist. Luther and others had said that the antichrist of Daniel was the Papacy. To take the heat off the Papacy, the Jesuit, Francisco Ribera of Salamanca in Spain and Robert Bellarmine of Rome put forth a futuristic interpretation of Bible prophecy.

Ribera assigned the first few chapters of Revelation to ancient Rome and the rest to just before the Second Advent. Bellarmine insisted that the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation had no application to the papal power, and that the year-day principle did not apply to the prophecies.

“Protestantism and Catholicism now stand face to face in opposition over the prophecies, each with its weapons of argument drawn. The issues having been clearly enunciated, the battle is begun between the distinctively Protestant and papal interpretations, the two positions being irreconcilable. Stalwarts in the Protestant ranks arose to defend and perfect the Historical School of interpretation, though some compromisers adopted the Catholic countertheories —particularly the Preterist scheme.” Ibid., 506.

The foundation for the interpretation of the time prophecies of the Bible is the year-day principle. Thomas Brightman (1562–1607), a Puritan scholar, confuted Ribera’s Futurism and stressed the year-day principle for interpreting the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation.

As previously stated there were some Protestants that compromised with the Catholic views on the prophecies. These included Hugo Grotius a Dutch jurist, statesman, historian and theologian and Henry Hammond, called the “Father of English Biblical Criticism.” These men, among others, adopted the Catholic Preterist theory. According to this view, the prophecies of Revelation were descriptive of the victory of the early church as fulfilled by the downfall of the Jewish nation and the overthrow of Pagan Rome, thus limiting them to the first six centuries after Christ and implicating Nero as the antichrist.

“By the middle of the sixteenth century the Protestant Reformation had taken firm root in all countries north of the Alps, with the exception of France and the Netherlands. Thus Europe, for the most part, seemed lost to the Holy See. But the Catholic Counter Reformation began, with a program of reform in the Roman church, along with the formation of new religious orders. The church set about recovering the lands from which it had been driven. Its two chief instruments were the Jesuits and the Inquisition, and a third was the Council of Trent.” Ibid., 526.

Between 1555 and 1580 the Reformers were broken up into three groups—Lutherans, Calvinists and Socinians, thus weakening the Protestant position. Eventually Calvinists and Lutherans began persecuting one another; thus the Jesuits regained Poland. Religious wars developed in France and the Netherlands and a strong Catholic reaction soon followed. While the Protestants were losing power, the Catholic Counter Reformation was gaining strength. By the end of the sixteenth century Catholicism had regained almost half of Europe. While in this territory Protestantism was split into two groups, Protestant and Reformed. For some time it seemed that Catholicism would reign supreme again, but it was not to be so. There still remained the cornerstone of individual liberty in men’s hearts that could not be completely subdued. If necessary, men would fight for this freedom despite all odds.

 

Protestants Agree on Prophecies

 

During the Post-Reformation period of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, hundreds of Protestant commentaries, large and small, began to appear throughout Europe and England and now for the first time in the North American continent. In spite of some of the differences of interpretation on the part of some of the writers, there was surprising agreement on the essentials.

Throughout the seventeenth century men all over the world were focusing their attention upon the prophecies of Daniel with emphasis upon the 1260 and 2300-day prophecies. For the first time, the 70 weeks were connected to the 2300-day prophecy. Various interpretations were advanced regarding the beginning and ending dates of these prophecies, but the year-day principle of prophetic interpretation had been firmly established in the Protestant world. During the eighteenth century, the interest in and propagation of Biblical interpretation continued to grow and develop in England and Germany especially. The Huguenots in France also held the prophetic banner high. It is obvious to us now that the Lord was preparing the way for the Great Advent Movement of the nineteenth century.

“The Eighteenth century . . . was a climactic period, witnessing the recognized close of one of the greatest of the prophetic time periods. It was a century of extreme contrasts. The seeds of the Jesuit Preterist counterinterpretation sprang up and began to bear their evil fruit of acceptance among German rationalists, and thence to similar groups in England and America. Furthermore, no sooner had premillennialists repudiated the false Augustinian theory of a post millennium, than postmillennialism, introduced among Protestants by a Protestant, swept like a scourge over a large percentage of the churches. And coupled to this was the tragedy of bitter reaction against all Christianity, false and true, as the insidious principles of infidelity and atheism reached their climax in the French Revolution (1793).

“On the other hand, the ending of the 1260 year-day period took place—anticipated for a full century by a line of expositors who believed France might be the instrument to accomplish it. Prophetic students on three continents watched for and recognized the fulfillment, which they duly attested. Prophetic interpretation in the hands of able men in Britain, France, and Germany—and now in America—continued to advance. Errors were corrected, and new principles were discerned. The great Lisbon earthquake was seen as a sign that the approaching end was clearly recognized. And just before the close of the century men in two different lands independently arrived at the identical conclusion that the 70 weeks of years are the first part of the 2300 year-days. Such were the prophetic highlights of this new century.” Ibid., 640, 641.

Isaac Newton (1642–1727), one of the greatest mathematical and philosophical minds of his time, applied the same exactness to prophetic interpretation as he did to the sciences. His understanding of Daniel’s prophecies is manifested by his writings on that subject. For the most part he is correct in his interpretation as evidenced by understanding that the cleansing of the Sanctuary was still future. He also stated that the starting date for the 2300 days was 457 B.C.

There were many others in various parts of the world that were following the same line of thought regarding the prophecies. Men such as John Fletcher (1729–1785) in Switzerland, defended the year-day principle, among other teachings that dealt with prophetic interpretation. John Gill (1697–1771) in England, supported the historic position on the prophecies of Daniel. Johann Bengel (1687–1752) of Germany, taught that the beast was the Papacy and that the crucifixion occurred in the midst of the 70th week. John Petrie (1718–1792), also of Germany, believed that the 70 weeks were a part of the 2300-day prophecy.

The two common denominators that stand out among the Post-Reformation Protestant witnesses are that the Papacy is the predicted antichrist and that the year-day principle was to be applied to the prophecies. From the Renaissance on, prophetic exposition continued to steadily unfold and expand.

With the close of the eighteenth century, it is seen that the two major focal points of that period are the Reformation position that the Papacy is the antichrist and that the French Revolution was a turning point in the absolute controlling power of the Papacy. Although Protestant Historicists differed considerably as to the beginning of the 1260-day period of antichrist, they were all united upon the fact that 1260 years had been allotted him and that that period was drawing to a close. When the French Revolution occurred, it was looked upon as the stroke that brought the Papacy down. It gave a new concept of the freedom from bondage to the Roman Catholic Church.

“And if the papal system received a heavy blow in the theological and prophetic fields through the Reformation, it received an even greater stroke in some ways, through the emancipation of reason by the French Revolution. The shackles of superstition were stricken from the wrists and ankles of humanity, and mankind was seemingly delivered out of Catholicism’s hand.” Ibid., 795.

 

A New Era in Human History

 

Not only was the period of the eighteenth century remarkable for these “emancipating events” but it was also a turning point in modern history as well. Just before, during and after this time great advances were made in the harnessing of steam power and the first experiments were done with the electric light and power, which contributed greatly to the Industrial Revolution that brought about profound changes in all aspects of human thought and activity.

Political, religious and intellectual freedom lay at the foundation of all the other advances, including communication and transportation. Freedom of speech and the press resulted in religious revivals and worldwide missions, followed by the establishment of Bible and tract societies. Reformation and development followed in the fields of education, health and temperance.

“So at this turn of the century may be found the beginning of all those far-reaching influences that molded the succeeding century, and which are continuing to operate. But the implications reach not only forward into the future but back into the past. Another discovery was made in thatera—the finding of the Rosetta stone in Egypt in 1799, the deciphering of which became the magic key that unlocked the secrets of Biblical archeology. This not only cleared away many of the mists that had hung like a pall over the early ages of history, but gave us a greater and richer understanding of the Bible and its prophecies. And this, in turn, has provided an antidote for the virus of rationalism projected by the French Revolution.

“Such focusing of vital events, and the bringing forth of new wonders, all having their common beginning around the end of the eighteenth century, indicate beyond peradventure that an old epoch had come to its end and a new era had begun, just as prophecy had predicted.” Ibid., 796.

Next time we will continue our journey through the annals of history watching the unfolding of God’s plan for the continuation of the Reformation and the establishment of the Great Second Advent Movement.

 

The Origin Of Sunday Observance

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The apostle Paul made a prediction in 2 Thessalonians that a gigantic apostasy would take place within the Christian church before the Second Coming of Christ. He said, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3. The words “falling away” come from the Greek word “apostasia,” from which we get the English word “apostasy.” It means a falling away or a departure from the truth.

The apostle Paul warned that there will be a great apostasy before the second coming of Christ. As you read on, you will notice in verse five that he said, “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?” He had taught these things to the Christian churches, and he was not alone in giving this warning call. Peter, too, had predicted the same gigantic apostasy which would sweep through the church. (See 2 Peter 2.)

The apostle Paul also referred to this apostasy in his last interview with the elders at Ephesus. In Acts 20:29–31, where the discussion is recorded, notice several interesting details about what Paul predicted was going to take place. “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.”

We see in this passage of Scripture that the greatest danger for the Christian church was not the opposition from the pagan world outside, but from the apostasy which would take place inside. It would come from disciples speaking perverse things to draw disciples away after them. We know that the person who speaks the truth as it is in Jesus will draw disciples to Jesus and not to himself. To draw disciples to oneself, one must pervert the truth and apostatize. No true Christian pastor will ever attempt to draw away disciples to himself.

There is another consideration that made this danger even more perilous. Do you know who these words were spoken to? They were spoken to the bishops, the Christian ministers or elders of the church. Paul said, “Of your own selves,” that is from among the men who had been chosen to guide and care for the church of Christ, there would be those who would pervert their calling in order to build up themselves and gather disciples around themselves.

As we read the letters of the apostles in the New Testament, we see them constantly watching this spirit, checking its influence and guarding against its workings. As stated in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, the mystery of iniquity was already working. There were at that very time elements abroad which the apostle Paul could see would develop into all that the Scriptures had predicted, and scarcely were the apostles dead when this evil actually appeared in the church.

The historian said about this: “No sooner were the apostles removed from the stage of action, no sooner was their watchful attentions gone and their apostolic authority removed, than this very thing appeared of which the apostle had spoken. Certain bishops, in order to make easier the conversion of the heathen, to multiply disciples, and by this increase their own influence and authority, began to adopt heathen customs and forms.” The Great Empires of Prophecy, 377, by Alonzo T. Jones.

How did this great apostasy begin? It started as a gigantic evangelistic campaign. It was in the interest of evangelism that apostasy began. “In order to make easier the conversion of the heathen, to multiply disciples,” they lowered the standard for church fellowship. Within twenty years of the apostles’ death, the perversion of the truth of Christ had become widespread.

Mosheim writes concerning the developments in Christendom in the second century: “It is certain that to religious worship, both public and private, many rites were added, without necessity, and to the offence of sober and good men.”

The reason for this is stated. “The Christians were pronounced atheists, because they were destitute of temples, altars, victims, priests, and all that pomp in which the vulgar suppose the essence of religion to consist. For unenlightened persons are prone to estimate religion by what meets their eyes. To silence this accusation, the Christian doctors thought it necessary to introduce some external rights, which would strike the senses of the people, so that they could maintain themselves really to possess those things of which Christians were charged with being destitute—though under different forms.” Ecclesiastical History, century 2, part 2, chap. 4, par. 1, 3.

To do this, “was at once to accommodate the Christian worship and its forms to that of the heathen, and was almost at one step to heathenize Christianity. No heathen element or form can be connected with Christianity or its worship, and Christianity remain pure.” The Great Empires of Prophecy, 378. In Old Testament times whenever God’s people attempted to combine any of the forms of idolatry or heathenism with the worship of the true God they were charged by the prophet with committing spiritual adultery. (See Ezekiel 16, 23; Hosea.)

The heathen religions, in the early part of the second century, were almost all centered around sun worship. They worshipped at the dawning of the day facing towards the east. And this was one of the first pagan customs that entered the Christian church. Christians began to meet at the rising of the sun, on what was later called Easter Sunday, and they would say, “This is the time when Christ was resurrected, and we will teach the people that we meet at the rising of the sun, not to worship the sun, but to worship the One who was raised at sunrise.”

Mosheim again says, “Before the coming of Christ, all the Eastern nations performed divine worship with their faces turned to that part of the heavens where the sun displays his rising beams . . . Nor is this custom abolished even in our times, but still prevails in a great number of Christian churches.” Ecclesiastical History, century 2, part 2, chap. 4, par. 7.

The path of compromise, once you start down it, seems like it never ends. In addition to this, the day of the sun was adopted as a festival day, and the people were taught to fast on the Sabbath. Consider the effect this would have on little children growing up, if every Sabbath there was nothing to eat, but on Sunday, a child could have all he pleased. Which day would he learn to love and look forward to?

The forms of sun worship were practiced to such a degree in the “Christian” churches, that before the end of the second century the heathen themselves accused these apostate Christians with worshipping the sun. We know this because one of the Christian fathers, who wrote about A.D. 200, considered it necessary to make a defense of this practice. Here is what he said: “Others again, certainly with more information and greater or veri-similitude believe that the sun is our god . . . The idea no doubt has originated from our being known to turn toward the east in prayer. But you, many of you, also under pretense sometimes of worshipping the heavenly bodies, move your lips in the direction of the sunrise. In the same way if we devote Sunday to rejoicing, from a far different reason than sun worship, we have some resemblance to those of you who devote the day of Saturn to ease and luxury.” Apology, chap. 16, by Tertullian. His argument is, in effect, you do the same thing, and you originated it too, so why are you blaming us?

As these customs spread and such half-pagan disciples were multiplied, so did the number of pagan practices introduced in the church. It was the custom of the Jewish Christians to remember the death and resurrection of Christ during the Passover season. Passover, which was on the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish year, would fall on different days of the week each year. Rome, however, and from her all the Western Empire, adopted the day of the sun as the day of this celebration. Rome ruled that the celebration must always be on a Sunday. It was on this point that the bishop of Rome made one of the first claims at absolute power in his attempt to compel obedience.

We do not know precisely when this practice began, but it was practiced in Rome as early as the time of Sixtus the First, who was the bishop of Rome from A.D. 119 to 128. It was promoted by his successor, Antecedus, who was bishop of Rome A.D. 157–158. Here is what the historian has to say about him: He “would neither conform to that [Eastern] custom himself, nor suffer any under his jurisdiction to conform to it, obliging them to celebrate that solemnity on the Sunday next following the fourteenth of the month.” History of the Popes Under Pius and Anicetus, by Bower.

By the close of the second century, Victor, the bishop of Rome from 192 to 202 A.D., wrote a letter to the Asiatic Christian clergy “commanding them to imitate the example of the Western Christians with respect to the time of celebrating the festival of Easter. The Asiatics answered this lordly request through Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, who declared in their name, with great spirit and resolution, that they would by no means depart, in this manner from the custom handed down to them by their ancestors.” Ecclesiastical History, century 2, part 2, chapter 4, par. 11, by Mosheim.

As a result, Victor began to use the weapon of excommunication, broke communion with them, pronounced them unworthy of the name of brethren and excluded them from all fellowship with the Church of Rome.

By the end of the second century, and even more in the third century, it was difficult to distinguish between paganism and this kind of Christianity. During this time, pagan philosophy came in with full force. A school of pagan philosophy, called the Eclectics, sprang up in Egypt. They were called Platonists, and they regarded Plato as the one person above all others who had attained the nearest to truth. It was from these philosophers that a system of allegorizing and mystification of Scripture evolved.

One of the earliest professed Christians to espouse this philosophy, was Clement of Alexandria. He became the head of such a school in Alexandria, Egypt, and later further developed the same philosophical theology. The city of Alexandria, with Rome, are the two cities, in the ancient world, which come up over and over again when you study the history of Sunday observance.

These allegorizers threw great obscurity over the sacred writing and developed a system so that one could find whatever he pleased in any passage of Scripture. By their allegorical rules, the scripture could be made to support any doctrine that was ever invented by the wildest fancy of an ultra fanatic. This philosophy did immense harm to Christianity. “For it led the teachers of it to involve in philosophic obscurity many parts of our religion, which were in themselves plain and easy to be understood; and to add to the precepts of the Saviour, not a few things, of which not a word can be found in the Holy Scriptures . . . It recommended to Christians various foolish and useless rites that suited only to nourish superstition, no small part of which we see religiously observed by many even to the present day.” Ecclesiastical History, century 2, part 2, chap. 1, par. 12, by Mosheim. This allegorizing alienated many in the following centuries from Christianity itself and it produced a mixed variety of religion consisting of a combination of Christian and Platonic principles.

We will here include one example of allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures. These so called Christians, who had drunk deeply of Pagan philosophy, invented the eight-day theory when they studied about Noah and the flood. They said that because eight people were saved in the ark, then Sunday is the eighth day, and therefore we should keep Sunday. They saw in this account of the flood, in Genesis, an argument for keeping Sunday. If you interpret by allegory everything in the Scripture, and you do not just take it for what it says, there is no telling where you may end up.

During the time of Constantine, the new developments in Paganism and the apostate, paganized, sun worshiping form of Christianity merged. In Constantine the aspirations of the former emperors for a universal religion and the philosophy of Origin and the ambition of the self-exalted bishops were all realized and accomplished and a new, imperial, “universal” religion was created.

Milman wrote about it in this way: “The reign of Constantine the Great forms one of the epochs in the history of the world. It is the era of the dissolution of the Roman empire; the commencement, or rather consolidation, of a kind of Eastern despotism, with a new capital, a new patriciate, a new constitution, a new financial system, a new, though as yet imperfect, jurisprudence and, finally, a new religion.” History of Christianity, book 3, chap. 1, par. 1, by Milman. “The epoch thus formed was the epoch of the papacy; and the new religion thus created was the papal religion.” The Great Empires of Prophecy, 395, by Alonzo T. Jones. This was the beginning of that dark and dismal age which oppressed Europe for well over one thousand years.

Another historian says this about the reign of Constantine: “It is the true close of the Roman empire, the beginning of the Greek. The transition from one to the other is emphatically and abruptly marked by a new metropolis, a new religion, a new code, and, above all, a new policy. An ambitious man had attained to imperial power by personating the interests of a rapidly growing party. The unavoidable consequences were a union between the Church and the state, diverting of the dangerous classes from civil to ecclesiastical paths, and the decay in materialization of religion.” Intellectual Development of Europe, chap. 10, par. 24, by Draper.

Before the council of Nicea, in A.D. 325, the bishops in the Donatist controversy had given special dignity to the bishop of Rome declaring that Easter should be kept on the same day and on a Sunday by all the churches in the world. This union of Church and state, the exaltation of the bishop of Rome, the veneration of Sunday, and other pagan customs was not accompanied by a revival or reformation of Christianity, but by the very opposite effect.

It was at this time, in A.D. 321, that the first Sunday law was proclaimed by Constantine. Notice that there is nothing Christian about this law. There is no mention of the resurrection of Christ or the fourth commandment. Here is what it said: “Constantine, Emperor Augustus, to Helpidius: On the venerable day of the sun, let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain sowing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the 7th day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls, each of them for the second time.)” God Predicts Your Future, 268, by John Grosboll.(Originally from History of the Christian Church, vol. 3, par. 5, note 1.)

Did you note that there is no reference to any Scriptural reasons for keeping Sunday, and what was it called? The venerable day of the sun.

At every step taken in adopting the forms of sun worship and the adoption of the observance of Sunday, those who remain faithful to Christ and to the truth of the pure Word of God protested the popular disloyalty. These Bible believing Christians observed the Sabbath of the Lord according to the commandment, as a sign by which the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth is distinguished from all other gods. (See Hebrews 4 and Exodus 31.) Therefore, these Christians protested every phase and form of sun worship.

When the church tried to enforce Sunday by a law of the state, this protest became stronger than ever. And in order to accomplish her original purpose, it became necessary for the apostate Christian church to secure legislation ending all exemption and prohibiting the observance of the Sabbath so as to quench that powerful protest. This was done by the council of Laodicea in Canon 29, around the year 364 A.D. (The exact year cannot be established.) Here is what this Canon said: “Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Sabbath.” Notice the word Judaize. A thousand years later, even to the present day, if you read a document written by a Jesuit and it talks about Judaizing, it is almost every time referring to the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath. This term came to be used against anyone who kept the seventh-day Sabbath.

“Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day, but the Lord’s day they shall especially honor, and, as being Christians shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ.” Council of Laodicea, Canon 29.

During the time of Theodosius, by a law in A.D. 386, those older changes effected by the emperor of Constantine were more rigorously enforced and in general, civil transactions of every kind were strictly forbidden on Sunday. Whoever transgressed was considered guilty of sacrilege.

This Sunday law banned work, but as the people of that apostate Christian church did not have enough religion to devote the day to pious and moral exercises, the effect of the law was only to enforce idleness. Enforced idleness multiplied opportunities for dissipation and the consequence was that the circuses and the theaters were crowded every Sunday. This was not what the bishops wanted, so they complained that with such competition the theater was vastly more frequented than the church. So the next step taken was to force the circuses and the theaters to close on Sunday and other special church days so that there would be no competition.

In the circuses and the theaters there were large numbers of church members employed, and rather than giving up their jobs they worked on Sundays. The bishops complained that these men were compelled to work and prohibited to worship. They pronounced it persecution and demanded more Sunday laws for “protection,” and so in A.D. 401, another law was enacted which prohibited plays to be performed on Sunday or feast days.

However, there was still a problem. They found out that just closing the circus did not get people to church. The next logical step then was to compel them to be religious and devoted. The theocratical bishops had supplied a theory that exactly met the demand of the case. Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo said this: “Many must often be brought back to their Lord, like wicked servants, by the rod of temporal suffering, before they attain the highest grade of religious development.” The Correction of Donatists, chap. 6, by Augustine. Of this theory, the historian justly observes: “It was by Augustine, then, that a theory was proposed and founded, which . . . contained the germ of that whole system of spiritual despotism of intolerance and persecution, which ended in the tribunals of Inquisition.” History of the Christian Religion and Church, vol. 2, sec. 2, part 3, division 1, by Neander.

You see friends, Sunday legislation contains within it the philosophical basis for religious persecution. Do not ever forget that. Whenever Sunday legislation is enacted, persecution is sure to follow.

The Lord predicted this very thing hundreds of years before it happened in Daniel 11: “For the ships from Cypress [or Kittum] shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. He shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.” Daniel 11:30. What is God’s covenant that he will be enraged against? “So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.” As you read in Hebrews 8:10, in the new covenant, God’s law is written in the heart.

We have just seen who this power is which would rise up against God’s law. The time came when the Roman church became so furious against God’s holy covenant that it eventually considered any person who kept the fourth commandment, enjoining the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, or the second commandment, which prohibited the worship of idols, worthy of death—death by the most cruel means that could be devised.

In Daniel 11:33 we read that during this great tribulation, God’s people would, “fall by the sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.” In spite of all the horrible tortures inflicted on these faithful ones, it was impossible to force them to keep Sunday and work on Sabbath. It was impossible to totally quench the desire of truehearted Christians to obey God, to follow His Word and do His will. There were many groups, throughout the world during this time, that kept God’s law and taught it to others.

Let us look at the stories of some of these people:

One of the most famous of all the theologians, during this time, was a man by the name of Lucian, who lived from 250–312 A.D. One of the great biblical scholars, he was a Gentile and has been belittled in recent times by Cardinal Newman as a Judaizer. Why was he called a Judaizer? Because he kept the Sabbath. And why did he keep the Sabbath? “Why should Lucian observe Saturday as sacred? It was the general custom.” Truth Triumphant, 57, by Benjamin Wilkinson. This was written in the fourth century. Notice what Socrates said was happening at that time: “For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this.” Ecclesiastical History, book 5, chap 22, by Socrates.

This is very interesting! A historian in the fourth century says that the Christian churches throughout the world observe the mysteries on Sabbath, except in two places—Alexandria and Rome.

Look at what Sozomen, a historian contemporary to Socrates said: “The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assembled together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria.” Ecclesiastical History, book 7, chap. 19, by Sozomen.

There were communities of Asyrian Christians throughout India, who were faithful in their evangelical missionary life, and who assembled for worship on the Sabbath day. When priests from Rome entered India a thousand years later, papal hatred stigmatized the persecuted church as Judaizers. See Truth Triumphant, 298, 299.

Cosma, who resided near Babylon, widely read for his explorations in the first half of the sixth century, says that there was an infinite number of churches with their clergy and a vast number of Christian people among the Bacterians, Huns, Persians, Greeks, Eadlemites and the rest of the Indians who kept the Sabbath.

The historian A.C. Flick wrote about the Sabbath keeping Christians of the Celtic church (which was located in Wales, Scotland and Ireland). The Celtic church observed Saturday as their sacred day of rest and that reputable scholarship has asserted that the Welsh sanctified it as such until the twelfth century. See Truth Triumphant, 163.

“Widespread and enduring was the observance of the Seventh-day Sabbath among the believers of the Church of the East and the St. Thomas Christians of India who were never connected with Rome. It also was maintained among those bodies which broke off from Rome after the council of Chalcedon; namely, the Abysinians, the Jacobites, the Marinites, and the Armenians.” Truth

Triumphant, 298. “The Armenians in Hindustan . . . have preserved the Bible in its purity, and their doctrines are, as far as the author knows, the doctrines of the Bible. Besides they maintain the solemn observance of Christian worship, throughout our empire, on the seventh day.” Christian Researchs in Asia, by Buchanan, 266.

Here is another historical account about a group of people in Bulgaria. “Bulgaria, in the early season of its evangelization had been taught that no work should be performed on the Sabbath. Pope Nicholas I, in the ninth century, sent the ruling prince of Bulgaria a long document saying in it that one is to cease from work on Sunday, but not on the Sabbath.

“The head of the Greek church, offended at the interference of the papacy, declared the pope excommunicated. The Greek patriarch also sent a circulatory letter to some leading bishops of the East, censoring the Roman Catholic Church for several erroneous doctrines, especially emphasizing its rebellion against past church councils and compelling its members to fast on the Seventh-day Sabbath.” Truth Triumphant, 232.

Two hundred years later the Pope sent three legates to Constantinople with counter charges. Among others the following charge was made by the Pope against the Greek Church: “because you observe the Sabbath with the Jews.” Ibid. The Christian churches of the eastern part of the Roman empire, the Goths, the Waldensians and the Armenians, the Syrians and the Celtic churches, established by Patrick, all sanctified Saturday as the Sabbath.

There is evidence stacked upon evidence that Christians in the British Isles, the Waldenses in Italy, the Albigenses in France, the Christians in Bulgaria, the Armenians in Turkey, the Syrian churches in Palestine, the St. Thomas Christians in India, the Abysinian Christians in Africa, and the Christians in China, Afghanistan and southern Russia, all were Sabbath-keeping Christians, until they were forced to go underground and their most staunch leaders and defenders were killed by the inquisition in the fourteenth century.

Why then do the majority today keep Sunday? It is because most of the ancient Sabbath-keepers were tortured and killed just as predicted in Revelation 17:6, where John saw a woman “drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.”

Someday, if you are saved, you are going to meet and get acquainted with millions of people who died for the Sabbath. If you have been a Sabbathkeeper, you are going to have a wonderful fellowship with these people. Would you want to say to those who were burned at the stake, or had their heads chopped off, or were hanged, or languished in dark dungeons, “Well, I was afraid to keep the Sabbath because I might have lost my job”? Could you say, “I was afraid that somebody might make fun of me,” or “I was afraid that I might be unpopular if I kept the Sabbath”? We would be ashamed to be around them with such excuses! Very soon, they are going to be raised to life. We want to be with them! In that day, we will want to be found a Sabbath-keeper, to be among that group who have kept God’s Holy Covenant.

Lessons on Reformation, part 4

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Let us now see what was the state of the Church previous to the Reformation.

“The nations of Christendom no longer looked to a holy and living God for the free gift of eternal life. To obtain it, they were obliged to have a recourse to all the means that a superstitious, fearful, and alarmed imagination could devise. Heaven was filled with saints and mediators, whose duty it was to solicit this mercy. Earth was filled with pious works, sacrifices, observances, and ceremonies, by which it was to be obtained. Here is a picture of the religion of this period transmitted to us by one who was long a monk, and afterwards a fellow-labourer of Luther’s—by Myconius:

” ‘The sufferings and merits of Christ were looked upon as an idle tale, or as the fictions of Homer. There was no thought of the faith by which we become partakers of the Saviour’s righteousness and of the heritage of eternal life. Christ was looked upon as a severe judge, prepared to condemn all who should not have recourse to the intercession of the saints, or to the papal indulgences. Other intercessors appeared in His place: —first the Virgin Mary, like the Diana of paganism, and then the saints, whose numbers were continually augmented by the popes.’ ” History of the Reformation, 17, by J.H. Merle D’Aubigne.

“The two centuries intervening between 1294 and 1517, between the accession of Boniface VIII and the nailing of Luther’s Ninety-five Theses against the church door in Wittenberg, mark the gradual transition from the Middle Ages to modern times, from the universal acceptance of the papal theocracy in Western Europe to the assertion of national independence, from the supreme authority of the priesthood to the intellectual and spiritual freedom of the individual. Old things are passing away; signs of a new order increase. Institutions are seen to be breaking up. The scholastic systems of theology lose their compulsive hold on men’s minds, and even become the subject of ridicule. The abuses of the earlier Middle Ages call forth voices demanding reform on the basis of the Scriptures and the common well being of mankind. The inherent vital energies in the Church seek expression in new forms of piety and charitable deed.” History of the Christian Church, vol. VI, 1, by David Schaff.

As the world was prepared for the coming of Jesus as a babe in Bethlehem, so it was being conditioned for the coming of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. When Christ was born, the means of travel had been improved; one language was universal, the people were discontented with their religious experience and desired something better.

Similar things were beginning to take place in the thirteenth century. “The Renaissance, or revival of classical culture, unshackled the minds of men. The classical works of antiquity were once more, after the churchly disparagement of a thousand years, held forth to admiration. The confines of geography were extended by the discoveries of the continent in the West.

“To this generation, which looks back over the last four centuries, the discovery of America and the pathways to the Indies was one of the remarkable events in history, a surprise and a prophecy. In 1453, Constantinople easily passed into the hands of the Turk, and the Christian Empire of the East fell apart. In the far West the beginnings of a new empire were made, just as the Middle Ages were drawing to a close.” Ibid., 3.

By the time the Renaissance was in full bloom, the Roman Church had been in virtual control of the world for over eight hundred years. God was still in control and trying to prepare a people that would be perfect representatives of His character. The printing press was invented, making it possible to scatter the Scriptures around the world on a much larger scale. Men and women were slowly being unshackled from the bondage to the Roman Catholic heel.

 

The Reformation Begins

 

In the fourteenth century, John Wycliffe arose to become the “Morning Star of the Reformation,” because of his translation of the Scriptures into the English language. This was the greatest impetus to the freedom of man up to that time. It paved the way for the Reformation to come, nearly two hundred years later, in the person of Martin Luther and other reformers to follow.

The Reformation brought freedom not only in the religious realm but also in the secular. Withholding the Scriptures from the populace meant that there was no advance in any other area of society, particularly in education. The Papacy knew that if they kept people illiterate they would be much easier to control. Individuality was suppressed and the church then in power demanded adherence by all.

We have seen in the twentieth century the effects that attempts at control of the masses by such ideologies as Communism, Fascism and Nazism have had upon the world. Absolute control leads eventually to corruption on the part of leadership and dictatorial control of all those under their jurisdiction. It was under this type of circumstances that the Reformation began in the thirteenth century with John Wycliffe. The papal power was in almost total control of the world at that time and demanded absolute obedience to her demands.

It was not until Wycliffe and Luther translated the Bible into their respective languages that the people could see a way to obtain their freedom from the papal tyranny. “Except among the Waldenses, the Word of God had for ages been locked up in languages known only to the learned; but the time had come for the Scriptures to be translated and given to the people of different lands in their native tongue. The world had passed its midnight. The hours of darkness were wearing away, and in many lands appeared tokens of the coming dawn. In the fourteenth century arose in England the ‘Morning star of the Reformation.’ John Wycliffe was the herald of reform, not for England alone, but for all Christendom. The great protest against Rome which it was permitted him to utter was never to be silenced. That protest opened the struggle which was to result in the emancipation of individuals, of churches, and of nations.” The Great Controversy, 79, 80.

“The Reformation did not and does not consist in exposure and denunciation of the iniquities of the Roman Church.

“That is included in The Reformation, as an incident; because it is of the essence of Christianity to hate iniquity, as it is to love righteousness. “It was the iniquities, enormities, and desolations wrought by the Roman Church, that caused the universal desire and the pressing demand that there should be a reformation. Yet the Reformation was not wrought by magnifying or dwelling upon those things.

“The Reformation springs from another principle, lives in another atmosphere, and works in another field, than that.

“If exposure and denunciation of the iniquities of that church could have wrought reformation, then The Reformation would have been in the world more than five hundred years before it was.

“All men saw the iniquities practiced. They actually felt them on every side. Nobles, kings, emperors, priests, bishops, cardinals, and councils, called for reformation. Even Popes confessed the sore need of it.” Lessons from the Reformation, 102, 103, by A. T. Jones.

 

What is the Church?

 

All the reformers, in the beginning, did not plan to leave the church or think of establishing another one. Their desires were to reform the errors and evil practices within the church and bring it into line with Scripture. But even this was not a sufficient explanation for the Reformation that was to follow. There was more to it than that.

The Roman Catholic Church said that it had absolute authority over the individual both physically and spiritually. It further stated that it was only through the church, “the ark of God,” the “ship of salvation” that anyone could obtain salvation. The captain and the crew as well as the pilot could all be pirates yet the “grand old ship” was all right and would come safely to the heavenly port. The church leadership also said that it was the church, and the church only that could rightly interpret the Scriptures. The people were admonished to “stand by the old ship” and “cling to the ark” in order to land safely on the heavenly shore. Once the Bible was made available to all, it was seen that what the church had been claiming was not true at all, but that each person could, through the direction of the Holy Spirit, determine what the truth is.

The extent to which the church leaders would go in their ridiculous logic, the following quote will illustrate. This statement was made by the Pope’s legate at the General Council of Basle, in 1432. “In the time of Noah’s flood, as many as were without the ark perished.” If one is not a member in good standing he will be lost.

The study of the Bible led the reformers to the conclusion that the church was not correct in their claims but that all persons were free and only answerable to God for their faith. This brought about a disagreement between the reformers and the Roman church on the definition of the Church. According to Scripture it is the people that make up a church and not an organization or its leadership. Man’s salvation is based upon his connection with Christ and not upon what some Pope (President) decides.

“But as soon as there arose men with the courage of conviction and the confidence of truth, and spoke out plainly and flatly that the Roman system is not the Church at all in any feature or in any sense, then the Reformation had begun. “That is how The Reformation came. And without that The Reformation never could have come.” Ibid., 106.

The Roman Catholic Church could not claim Scripture for their authority; all they had was tradition that, they claimed, superceded the Bible. Unable to convince the reformers with words, their only recourse was to use the power of the state to force men to obey the their demands. The basic premise of the Roman Catholic Church was that it was supreme on the earth. It is defined to be: “The society of the validly baptized, united together in one body by the profession of the same faith, by the participation of the same sacraments, and by obedience to the same authority, Christ, its invisible head in heaven, and the Roman Pontiff, the successor of St. Peter, Christ’s visible representative and vicegerent upon earth.” Christian Apologetics, Section 300.

From this foundation, that church ruled over the earth supreme for nearly a thousand years. When the reformers began to read the Bible they saw a different picture of what constituted the Church. “Wycliffe said that the ‘Holy Church is the congregation of just men for whom Christ shed His blood . . . All who shall be saved in the bliss of heaven are members of Holy Church, and no more.’

“Matthias of Janow said: ‘All Christians who possess the Spirit of Jesus the Crucified, and who are impelled by the same Spirit, and who alone have not departed from their God, are the one Church of Christ: His beautiful bride, His body.’ “Huss said: ‘The true Church lies in nothing else than the totality of the elect.’ “Luther said: ‘We are the Church. There is no other Church than the assembly of those who have the Word of God and are purified by it.’” Lessons from the Reformation, 126, 127.

“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.” Ephesians 1:22, 23. The Church is not confined to an organization or system. It is a body of believers, whether there are two, three or a million gathered together with God in the midst.

The lesson that all the reformers learned was that every man is to be free to worship God according to his conscience and to interpret Scripture under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and not according to what a group of men decides is truth. The Reformation proclaimed Religious Liberty, not only liberty from interference from the state but also from the Church. The reformers understood the admonition of Jesus that “all ye are brethren.” Matthew 23:8.

It is sad to say that the attitude among many Adventists today is that we all must do as the leadership says, go where they say to go and preach only what they say is permissible to preach. If an individual chooses to follow the dictates of his conscience and follow the Lord’s leading, that is contrary to what the system says, he is put “out of the synagogue.”

 

A Great Awakening

 

The Reformation lay dormant for almost two hundred years before a new awakening began. Men in different parts of the world began to study the prophecies and saw that the coming of Christ was near. They began to preach their discoveries. It was in this environment that the Lord raised up a movement, in the middle of the nineteenth century, to bring about a revival of the Reformation.

At first, it seemed that this Second Advent movement would bring about a revival of the Reformation. Following the disappointment a great opposition developed against the great awakening, and most of those who had embraced the message turned away from it. There were a few who maintained their faith, and, as time passed, the Seventh-day Adventist movement grew and flourished even though there were those that exercised kingly power at times. The Church was organized and continued to develop until the problem of the 1888 General Conference, when many of the leaders rejected the message of Righteousness by Faith.

In 1901 it seemed that the organization was to be changed to what God desired it to be. However it did not go as far as the Lord desired it to. Then in 1903 all that had been accomplished in 1901 was demolished, and a papal system of organization was put in place. We are cursed with that system today. Kingly power continues to be manifested by some leaders. The freedom of the individual is slowly eroding away as more and more power is being put into the hands of fewer and fewer men. We see the virtual loss of our health institutions one by one as they ally themselves with outside institutions. The educational system is a far cry from what the Lord had His people set up in the beginning. Our schools have patterned themselves after those of the world and our young people are preparing for a lifelong career in the business world rather than a place in the Lord’s work.

Will we continue to muddle around in the wilderness for many more years and admit by our attitudes and lifestyles that we expect to be here for the rest of our lives? Or will we get serious about what the Lord wants us to do? God is waiting for a people to perfectly reflect His character so that He can use them for His purposes.

The Reformation is to be revived and if we want to be a part of that reform movement we will have to reverse our field and come into line with the Lord’s plan. God will have a people to carry the Three Angels’ Messages to the world as a final warning. Will you and I have a part in that work? If so, our priorities will have to change, and we must pattern ourselves after Christ and perfectly reflect His character. Only when our characters match that of Jesus Christ will we be safe to save and safe to be filled by the Holy Spirit.

Our God is a patient and longsuffering God but there will come a time when that patience will run out. “The Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.” Genesis 6:3. It is up to each individual to make a decision as to what their fate will be. As Joshua said: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.

 

Lessons on Reformation, part 1

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“Determined men, inspired and urged on by the first great rebel, would have resisted any interference with their plans or their evil course. In the place of the divine precepts they would have substituted laws framed in accordance with the desires of their selfish hearts, in order that they might carry out their purposes.” Review and Herald, December 10, 1903.

God is love.’ 1 John 4:16. His nature, His law, is love. It ever has been; it ever will be. ‘The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,’ whose ‘ways are everlasting,’ changeth not. With Him ‘is no variableness neither shadow of turning.’ Isaiah 57:15; Habakkuk 3:6; James 1:17.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 33.

Long before the creation of this earth and long before sin entered the courts of heaven, the Father and the Son made a covenant to meet and solve the sin problem. Christ offered to become man’s substitute and to die in his place, paying the penalty of eternal death demanded by the law.

The moment rebellion arose, the plan of salvation was placed in motion. In this and future articles we will trace the reformations that were instituted throughout history—God’s attempt to purify a people so they may be restored to the original condition as they came from His hand. It has been said that, “God will purify the church.” We will look at some of the recorded incidents where reform was begun and trace them to their conclusion to ascertain whether the reformation begun was successful or not.

“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, ‘that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16.” The Desire of Ages, 22.

The great love of God was manifested in the creation of “heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is.” Exodus 20:11. Lucifer complained that Christ was honored above him, therefore, God was unfair and a tyrant. “Little by little Lucifer came to indulge the desire for exaltation. The Scripture says, ‘Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.’ Ezekiel 28:17. ‘Thou hast said in thine heart, . . . I will exalt my throne above the stars of God . . . I will be like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14:13, 14. Though all his glory was from God, this mighty angel came to regard it as pertaining to himself. Not content with his position, though honored above the heavenly host, he ventured to covet homage due only to the Creator.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 35.

The result of his rebellion was exclusion from the heavenly host. Lucifer, along with one third of the angels who had made their decision to follow him, was cast out of heaven. We humans have the same problem that Lucifer had. We think that we are important and wish for exaltation of self, just as he did, and if we do not recognize our pride and surrender our will to God, we will end up in the same lake of fire with the devil. Pride gets in the way so that God cannot use us as He wishes to. We tend to defend our position, because we are right and the other person is wrong.

“Satan’s rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming ages—a perpetual testimony to the nature of sin and its terrible results. The working out of Satan’s rule, its effects upon both men and angels, would show what must be the fruit of setting aside the divine authority. It would testify that with the existence of God’s government is bound up the well-being of all the creatures He has made. Thus the history of this terrible experiment of rebellion was to be a perpetual safeguard to all holy beings, to prevent them from committing sin, and suffering its penalty.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 42, 43.

Lucifer continued his rebellious actions by coming to earth and tempting Eve with great success, in spite of the fact that she and Adam had been warned about him. She in turn induced Adam to partake of the forbidden fruit. As sinful human beings, Adam and Eve each began to blame the other for their problem. When sin is pointed out in the church, immediately people become defensive and accuse the person who pointed out the errors as being critical and divisive. Due to their sin, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden and the earth was cursed. But before they were put out, they were given the promise of a way of escape from the final retribution demanded by the Law. A Saviour was promised who would redeem the fallen human race.

Immediately after the fall of man, a reformation was begun by God to restore man to his rightful position. “The plan of redemption was arranged in the councils between the Father and the Son. Then Christ pledged Himself to render an account for man if he proved disloyal. He pledged Himself to make an atonement, which would unite every believing soul to God. He who lays His sins upon the substitute and surety, thus becoming a partaker of the divine nature, can unite with the apostle in saying: ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.’ ‘That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.’ In His infinite love Christ devised the plan of salvation. This plan He stands ready to fulfill in behalf of all who will co-operate with Him. In their behalf He says to the Father, Do not impute their sins to them, but lay them on Me. Be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities remember no more. They have accepted My merits, and made peace with Me; and they shall make peace with Me. My righteousness is theirs, and for My sake bless them with all spiritual blessings.” Review and Herald, May 28, 1908.

 

Man Must Cooperate

 

In order for the plan of salvation to be successful, man must cooperate with God by complete submission to His will. Jesus said, “I can of Mine own self do nothing . . . I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.” John 5:30. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5.

Seth and Enoch are two men who submitted their wills to the will of God. In spite of the prevailing iniquity that abounded in their time, these men maintained a close connection with God. They had a holy mission to accomplish, that is, to develop a righteous character and to teach the lesson of godliness to men of their time, as well as to future generations. They were reformers of the highest order. Enoch reproved sin and proclaimed that judgments would be poured out upon those who refused to obey the commands of God. His servants are to bare a similar message in the last days. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isaiah 58:1. “Satan with all his angels has come down with great power, to work with every conceivable deception to counterwork the work of God. The Lord has a message for His people. This message will be borne, whether men will accept or reject it.” Manuscript 36, 1897.

God is trying to reform His church, but He cannot bring this about unless we individually surrender fully to Him and follow Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our lives. It does not pay for man to attempt to do things his way or to lean on the arm of flesh. Jeremiah warns us, “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:5. Paul said, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1.

There are many examples of men who think to fulfill God’s commands their own way. Cain is one example. God said to bring a lamb as an offering, but Cain decided to bring the offering he thought was best. His offering was not accepted and because of that he became angry and ultimately slew his brother. God attempted to reach Cain’s heart and bring about a reform in his life, but he refused to submit to the requirements of Divinity. God will not force us to obey Him, but we will suffer the consequences of our decisions if we choose our way. Cain lost his soul because of his choice to “do it his way.”

In sparing the life of Cain, it was demonstrated what the end result would be of allowing the unrepentant sinner to live forever. It was revealed that the sentence of death pronounced upon the transgressor of God’s law was both just and merciful. “It will be seen that all who have forsaken the divine precepts have placed themselves on the side of Satan, in warfare against Christ. When the prince of this world shall be judged, and all that have united with him shall share his fate, the whole universe as witnesses to the sentence will declare, ‘Just and true are thy ways, Thou King of saints.’ Revelation 15:3.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 79.

Even though the world was in its infancy, the heart of man had become so degraded and evil that God could not allow these men to continue to live. “He said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth.’ He declared that His Spirit should not always strive with the guilty race. If they did not cease to pollute with their sins the world and its rich treasures, He would blot them from His creation, and would destroy the things with which He had delighted to bless them.” Ibid., 92.

Before He does anything to correct a bad situation, God always warns people ahead of time. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. God sent Noah to warn the world of a coming flood upon the earth. He spent the next one hundred and twenty years not only warning the world of what was coming, but he also built an ark inviting all to enter with him into the ark to escape the judgments of God upon an unrepentant generation. Unfortunately, all that were alive when the flood came refused to listen and repent, and continued their round of pleasure and merriment until the flood came and swept them all away.

Are we so busy with our everyday duties that we do not have time to stop and take a look at where we are and what we are doing? It is necessary that we arrange our priorities making God first in our lives. We need to get serious about our lives and where we are headed. What is more important, eternal life on the earth made new, or the pleasures of sin for a season? God is waiting for a people that will reflect perfectly His character, and then He will come and take us home.

After the flood God started over again. He told Noah to “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” Genesis 9:1. The Lord made a covenant with Noah by setting a bow in the clouds, indicating that there would never again be a universal flood. It was the Divine purpose that man would take dominion of the earth once again and fulfill God’s plan for the peopling of this world by those who would obey His Law and live without sin. The Lord waits for the same kind of people today to represent Him to the world.

 

Downward Trek

 

Alas, the inhabitants of this planet followed in the footsteps of the antediluvians in their downward trek on the broad path to destruction. “But no sooner was the earth repeopled than men resumed their hostility to God and heaven. They transmitted their enmity to their posterity, as though the art and device of misleading men, and causing them to continue the unnatural warfare, was a sacred legacy.” Letter 4, 1896.

We come now to another people who desired to have their way. Nimrod and his descendants would make a name for themselves by building a tower and a city. “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth.” Genesis 11:4. “This confederacy was born of rebellion against God. The dwellers on the plain of Shinar established their kingdom for selfexaltation, not for the glory of God. Had they succeeded, a mighty power would have borne sway, banishing righteousness, and inaugurating a new religion. The world would have been demoralized. The mixture of religious ideas with erroneous theories would have resulted in closing the door to peace, happiness, and security. These suppositions, erroneous theories, carried out and perfected, would have directed minds from allegiance to the divine statues, and the law of Jehovah would have been ignored and forgotten. Determined men, inspired and urged on by the first great rebel, would have resisted any interference with their plans or their evil course. In the place of the divine precepts they would have substituted laws framed in accordance with the desires of their selfish hearts, in order that they might carry out their purposes.” Review and Herald, December 10, 1903.

The Lord had told men to scatter over the earth, but mankind disobeyed the word of God. Once again God intervenes to stop man in his determination to have his own way. Only this time there was not a universal destruction, only the knocking down of a part of the tower and confounding of the language.

When Jesus comes the second time, He will destroy the wicked from off the face of the earth by the brightness of His coming. But the righteous will be preserved from the destruction that takes place all around them. God will be their refuge. “Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee.” Psalm 91:9, 10. May we make Christ our refuge and strength in the days that lie ahead.

 

Lessons on Reformation, part 3

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The promise made to Abraham concerning a son was fulfilled in the birth of Isaac and it was through his descendants that the Savior was to come. We pick up the narrative of God’s continuing attempts at reformation in His followers. Isaac has grown into manhood and married Rebecca who gave him two sons, Esau and Jacob. It was God’s plan that the firstborn receive the birthright, but Esau was too self-centered to submit himself to such a restriction on his activities. Coming home one day, tired and hungry, he sold his birthright to Jacob for a “mess of pottage.” “‘Thus Esau despised his birthright.’ In disposing of it he felt a sense of relief. Now his way was unobstructed; and he could do as he liked.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 179. Jacob, later named Israel, at the insistence of his mother, practiced deception on his father to gain that birthright for himself.

As the result of this deviousness, Jacob paid a heavy price. Laban, his father-in-law, deceived him with regard to Leah and Rachel, and changed his wages many times during the years he spent working for him. In addition, he never saw his mother again, and his sons lied to him about their treatment of Joseph. But God did not reject Jacob and blessed him throughout his life. He lived long enough to see Joseph and his sons and be reunited with them in Egypt where Joseph was the governor.

After Joseph’s death, “there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.” As this king viewed his kingdom, he saw that the Israelites were growing in number. He feared they would become strong, join the enemies of Egypt in a war and leave the country, depriving the Egyptians of their workforce.

At first the king tried to keep the Israelites from increasing in number by issuing a decree that all male babies were to be destroyed at birth. This cruel law failed and Israel continued to increase. He also made them work under severe conditions. The hard work only made the Israelites grow stronger and continue to increase.

 

Moses, a Reformer

 

It was under these circumstances that Moses now appeared upon the scene. Having grown up in the house of Pharaoh, he was to be the next ruler of Egypt. The time had come for Israel to be delivered from bondage, and Moses decided that since he was chosen by the Lord to deliver his people, he would proceed to do it. When he saw an Egyptian attacking an Israelite, he put into motion the only method he knew to carry out that deliverance. He killed the Egyptian. This was not God’s plan for the deliverance of His people, and Moses had to flee to Midian. There he spent the next forty years herding sheep and learning the lessons of humility and patience.

“Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11. These are lessons that we are to learn; lessons of truthfulness and openness, of maintaining a humble spirit and exercising patience at all times under all circumstances. With that kind of spirit the Lord can use us to bring the message of salvation to a lost world.

Moses came back to Egypt ready to lead his people out to the Promised Land. Now God could use him to bring reformation to His people. Moses did not know it, but there was a long, arduous and frustrating journey ahead of him. There would be many occasions where his patience would be severely tried. When asked to go before Pharaoh and demand that he let Israel go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord, he hesitated, giving the excuse that he had a speech impediment. The Lord was patient with Moses and consented to have Aaron,his brother, speak for him to the Egyptian ruler.

It was at Sinai that the attempt at the reformation of Israel was begun in earnest. The Ten Commandments were given to Moses on the mount to help the children of Israel understand God’s character as well as His requirements for their salvation and work. The people promised to obey every word spoken by God. However, they failed to realize their own shortcomings and inability to do as they had promised. They were tested many times before arriving at the borders of the Promised Land. Most of the time they failed those tests, but the Lord continued to work with His people in spite of these failures. He wanted them to evangelize the world in order to save lost humanity.

At Kadesh-barnea Israel refused to go into Canaan. Because of unbelief and insubordination they spent the next forty years wandering in the wilderness until all those who had been twenty or older at the Exodus from Egypt had passed off the scene of action. “It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be thus delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, happy people. But those to whom it was first preached, went not in ‘because of unbelief.’ Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them . . . We may have to remain here in this world because of insubordination many more years, as did the children of Israel; but for Christ’s sake, His people should not add sin to sin by charging God with the consequence of their own wrong course of action.” Evangelism, 696.

In the history of the Advent Movement there have been several occasions when we have come to a Kadesh-barnea experience and have refused to go into the Promised Land. The most notable of these events occurred in 1888 at the refusal by many at that conference to accept the messages of righteousness by faith. We turned into the wilderness and have been there ever since.

“How sad, how deeply regrettable, it is that this message of righteousness in Christ should, at the time of its coming, have met with opposition on the part of earnest, well-meaning men in the cause of God. The message has never been received, nor proclaimed, nor given free course as it should have been in order to convey to the church the measureless blessings that were wrapped up within it. The seriousness of exerting such an influence is indicated through the reproofs that were given.” Christ Our Righteousness, 47. By A. G. Daniels, 1941.

At the close of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Israel once again came to the borders of Canaan. The devil was working furiously to frustrate God’s plans for Israel. He was successful once more and seduced the Israelites into idolatry and infidelity. Through the efforts of some that stood for principle, this problem was solved and Israel finally entered the Promised Land.

“God had placed His people in Canaan as a mighty breastwork to stay the tide of moral evil, that it might not flood the world. If faithful to Him, God intended that Israel should go on conquering and to conquer. He would give into their hands nations greater and more powerful than the Canaanites. The promise was: ‘If ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, . . . then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.’ Deuteronomy 11:22–25.

“But regardless of their high destiny, they chose the course of ease and self-indulgence; they let slip their opportunities for completing the conquest of the land; and for many generations they were afflicted by the remnant of these idolatrous peoples, that were, as the prophet had foretold, as ‘pricks’ in their eyes, and as ‘thorns’ in their sides. Numbers 33:55.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 544.

 

Israel Desires a King

 

“Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 1 Samuel 8:5. Israel desired to be like the heathen nations around them. This was one of the consequences of not driving out the inhabitants of Canaan when Israel first entered that land. Up to this point God had been their king, but they were not satisfied with that arrangement. They wanted a king to rule over them the way the other nations were ruled. The Lord sent a warning to them regarding the consequences of having an earthly king, but they refused to listen and demanded a king. The Lord granted their wishes and Israel was led down the path into idolatry.’

The principle of becoming changed into that which we behold is one of the reasons we have been counseled to get out of the cities into a country setting. Our children would be contaminated with the lifestyle of the inhabitants of the cities and as a result would be lost. And we as adults are not immune to the influences of city life. The devil uses such settings to cause us to become so engrossed in our daily living that we lose sight of our purpose for being, that is giving the Three Angels’ Messages to the world.’

It seems that we, as modern Israel, have come to the same place as they. We desire to be like the churches around us. Two Union Conferences and one mission have joined the Council of Churches as guest members in their respective areas. That requires payment of dues. The two Unions are the North and South German Unions and the Mission is Vanuatu. Seventh-Day Adventists in the Solomon Islands have also joined as guest members. Both the German and South Pacific Councils are arms of the World Council of Churches. Will we ever learn the lessons that Old Testament history attempts to teach us? We are to be a separate and peculiar people, peculiar in that we have a unique message for fallen man.

God says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:14–18.

 

Results of Kingly Power

 

Because of this demand for an earthly king, the ten tribes were led deeper and deeper into idolatry and eventually were scattered over the earth and lost to history. Judah fared better but they too were finally taken captive to Babylon for seventy years. After returning to Jerusalem, rebuilding the city and temple, they failed to continue their reformation and were almost lost sight of, for the next four hundred years, until the time Jesus was born.

When Christ arrived as a babe in Bethlehem, the Jews were looking for a messiah but not as the one portrayed by the prophets. They were expecting a great general to free them from the Roman yoke and establish Jerusalem as the leading city of the world. Because Jesus did not fulfill their desires, He seemed to them to be a usurper of the throne of David. So they decided to eliminate Him. He interfered with their plans. His gospel included humility, which hurt their pride. Caiaphas said, “Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” John 11:50.

The Messiah had come to bring salvation and greatness to the children of Israel and they crucified Him. Yet the Spirit of God continued to plead with them until the stoning of Stephen. Then the Lord accepted Israel’s rejection of Him, and He rejected them as a people and turned to the Gentiles. Will we as a people suffer the same experience as they did and be rejected also? God is waiting for a people that will finish the Reformation that was begun in the fourteenth century with Wycliffe. He will use people; will it be you and me? If not, then who will it be?

The disciples and apostles did their best to fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18–20and they were able to reach the whole world. (See Romans 10:18.) But there came a falling away even before Paul died. He said: “the mystery of iniquity doth already work.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7.

The work Jesus had begun while he was upon the earth reached a plateau of development at the death of John and then began a steady slide down into a paganistic religion.

This descent into a false religion continued until the evils of paganism once more entered the church, leading to the establishment of the Papacy by the year 538 A.D. For the next one thousand years, that papal power ruled the consciences of men all over the world. However, there were, in various parts of the earth, groups of people that remained untainted by the false doctrines of the Papacy. These faithful souls stood steadfast and loyal to God’s Ten Commandments, including the fourth commandment.

Throughout the period known as the Dark Ages, when the Papacy was in control of most of the world, there were those who refused to be obedient to the papal demands. In many areas of the world there were people that not only obeyed the Commandments of God but also propagated the Gospel message any way they could. Because of extreme persecution by the papal power, the spread of the Gospel was limited as long as Roman Catholicism was in control. But the time was approaching when this control was to be broken. There were signs of disintegration of Papal supremacy, visible at different times and various places in the earth, revealing that God was moving upon the hearts of people. When the break came, it was like a thunderbolt to the Papacy and was to shake the Triple Crown upon the heads of the popes at Rome.

In our next article we will pick up this story of the broken shackles, and follow its movement in the world and in the hearts of men.

 

Lessons on Reformation, part 2

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” After the flood the people once more increased on the earth, and wickedness also increased. Idolatry became well-nigh universal, and the Lord finally left the hardened transgressors to follow their evil ways, while He chose Abraham, of the line of Shem, and made him the keeper of the law for future generations.” Manuscript 65, 1906.

Following the flood men decided, against the express wishes of God, to build a city and a tower in order to make a name for themselves. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. While the tower was in the process of being built, the Lord came down, destroyed it and confused their language. The effect was to scatter them over the face of the earth. Having done this He left them to their own designs.

After the flood, God had told Noah, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” Genesis 9:1. The sons of men decided that their plan was better than God’s plan and so they congregated and refused to scatter over the earth. Have we not as professed followers of the Lord fallen into the same trap that Satan laid for the men of Babel, that is, acting as though our plans are better than God’s plans? God’s instruction is, “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14.

We cannot follow our own wishes in the building and operation of institutions. One of our large university churches is expending three million, nine hundred thousand dollars to expand its facilities. The Lord has warned us over and over not to congregate: “No one is to make an urgent appeal for means with which to erect large and expensive buildings for sanitariums, colleges [college churches], or publishing houses, so absorbing means that the work in other places is crippled. Let our brethren be careful lest by drawing largely from our people for the erection of large buildings in one place, they rob other parts of the Lord’s vineyard. Unduly to invest means and exalt this work in one part of the field when there is city work to be done in many places, is not the right thing. It is selfishness and covetousness. The Lord especially condemns such a manifestation, for by it His sacred work is misrepresented before the world. He would have His work controlled and guided by equity, justice, and judgment. He does not call for the erection of immense institutions. One corner of the vineyard is not the whole world. In many places throughout the world memorials for God are to be established to represent His truth.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 13, 406, 407.

Some may argue that we need to meet the needs of the students who attend the university. If this requires such a large outlay of funds then the whole institution is too large. The goal of most students is to obtain the best education, in order to make the most money possible, in the shortest time. Our educational institutions were intended to train young people for service to mankind, not service of self.

“It is a mistake for our people to crowd together in large numbers. It is not in harmony with God’s plans. It is His will that the knowledge which we receive of the truth should be communicated to others; that the light which shines upon us should be reflected upon the pathway of those walking in darkness, so that we may lead others to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. But where a large number are congregated together in one church, this work in a large measure is neglected, and the light of truth is often only reflected back and forth upon the church-members; the world is left in darkness, the alarm is not sounded, the warning message from Heaven is not given.” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 9, 1895.

There is another problem area that needs to be addressed ,and that is the infatuation with church growth. An SDA church we attended in the state of Washington had a Pentecostal church next door. Both churches started with 300 members. Our pastor remarked to the congregation one Sabbath that the church next door now had a membership of fifteen hundred, while we had only five hundred members. He suggested that we talk to them and find out how they were able to maintain such a large membership.

More recently, in September 1997, a seminar was held at Andrews University on church growth.

The instructor was Dr. Robert Logan, vice-president of New Church Development of Church Resource Ministries, headquartered in Anaheim, California.

We have definite instruction from the Lord about utilizing the methods of the world in our work. “The divine commission needs no reform. Christ’s way of presenting the truth cannot be improved upon. The worker who tries to bring in methods that will attract the worldly minded, supposing that this will remove the objections that they feel to taking up the cross, lessens his influence. Preserve the simplicity of godliness.” Evangelism, 525.

 

We Have Sinned

 

Israel went into captivity time and time again because of disobedience to the commands of God. From the time they asked for a king to rule over them so that they could be like the other nations around them, they were determined to have their own way. We have been admonished that we are following the same path trod by ancient Israel. Should we not, pray like Daniel did, when Israel was in captivity in Babylon?

“And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets, which spake in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land . . . Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey Thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him.” Daniel 9:4–6, 10,11.

We must follow the example of Daniel and bring ourselves to the throne of God confessing our sin against Him, admitting our self-centeredness and turn back to Him for complete guidance in carrying out the great commission. Until we depend fully upon the Lord for direction, He cannot, will not, bless our efforts. Like Daniel we must plead for guidance at every step so the work may be completed in God’s way.

God told Noah’s descendants to scatter and replenish the earth, not to congregate in one area. We are told to establish many small institutions. “Instead of large establishments bringing great numbers together, let there be small institutions in different places.” Welfare Ministry, 230.

“In the centers that are formed in some places, there is constant temptation to carry the work after worldly methods. I have had presented before me the dangers before us in the future. This light I have tried to present with pen and with voice. Let the work be carried forward intelligently by men and women of sound faith and strict religious principle.” The Publishing Ministry, 63.

 

God’s Methods, Not Our Own

 

“At the ordination of the Twelve the disciples had greatly desired that Judas should become one of their number, and they had counted his accession an event of much promise to the apostolic band. He had come more into contact with the world than they, he was a man of good address, of discernment and executive ability, and, having a high estimate of his own qualifications, he had led the disciples to hold him in the same regard. But the methods he desired to introduce into Christ’ work were based upon worldly principles and were controlled by worldly policy. They looked to the securing of worldly recognition and honor—to the obtaining of the kingdom of this world.” Education, 93.

We cannot ignore God’s plan for His work and introduce our ideas, thinking they are better. The Lord has shown us plainly in His word how He desires the propagation of the Gospel to be carried forward. If we insist on doing the Lord’s work our way and refuse to heed His admonitions, we will receive the same condemnation that God gave to the wicked men after the flood. We will be left to our own devising and suffer the same fate they did. We are here to bring reformation to the world, not to join in its policies. God has placed us here as witnesses, not as attorneys, judges or juries. It is our duty and privilege to testify to the world of what God has done in our lives, thus revealing the character of Jesus to our neighbors. Then, we will not only be instruments used by God in the salvation of others, but we will save our own souls as well.

In the process of time, God called Abraham who, despite the wickedness around him, remained a worshipper of the true God. This man would be an instrument in the hand of the Lord to bring reformation to the society in which he lived. In the call to leave his home there was a promise given of a Savior that would come through his descendants.

The experiences that Abraham went through were not only for his spiritual growth but also for the benefit of all future generations. God had a problem that needed to be solved, and that problem was sin. Man cannot continue to disobey God’s expressed commands without suffering the consequences.

When years passed after the promise of a son, Abraham and Sarah became impatient and determined to take measures into their own hands. As a result there has been conflict between the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac in the Middle East ever since. It does not pay to ignore the commands of God. Our work is clearly laid out for us in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. We are to be His servants, not His board of directors.

The great Second Advent Movement was raised up by the Lord for the purpose of proclaiming to the world the full Three Angel’s Messages. He gave specifid instructions regarding the educational, publishing, evangelistic and health work. We have been blessed with a blueprint showing how to fulfill the great commission. But, like Abraham and Sarah, we have decided that the blueprint is outdated, and we will use the world’s methods to accomplish the great objective of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Our rationale is that we must keep up with the times in order to reach people. In reality, we need to get back to the primitive gospel, using God’s methods so that He can use us in His work.

 

Perfect Obedience

 

“Christ came to the world to counteract Satan’s falsehood that God had made a law which men could not keep. Taking humanity upon Himself, He came to this earth, and by a life of obedience showed that God has not made a law that man cannot keep. He showed that it is possible for man perfectly to obey the law. Those who accept Christ as their Saviour, becoming partakers of His divine nature, are enabled to follow His example, living in obedience to every precept of the law. Through the merits of Christ, man is to show by his obedience that he could be trusted in heaven.” The Faith I Live By, 114.

While Abraham was traveling south, in Palestine, a famine came upon the land. To escape it and yet be close by the Promised Land, God sent him down into Egypt where he stayed until the famine passed. “The Lord in His providence had brought this trial upon Abraham to teach him lessons of submission, patience, and faith—lessons that were to be placed on record for the benefit of all who should afterward be called to endure affliction. God leads His children by a way that they know not, but He does not forget or cast off those who put their trust in Him. He permitted affliction to come upon Job, but He did not forsake him. He allowed the beloved John to be exiled to lonely Patmos, but the Son of God met him there, and his vision was filled with scenes of immortal glory. God permits trials to assail His people, that by their constancy and obedience they themselves may be spiritually enriched, and that their example may be a source of strength to others. ‘I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil.’ Jeremiah 29:11. The very trials that tax our faith most severely and make it seem that God has forsaken us, are to lead us closer to Christ, that we may lay all our burdens at His feet and experience the peace which He will give us in exchange.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 129.

The greatest trial that Abraham had to endure was when God commanded him to sacrifice his son Isaac. What made this command more puzzling to Abraham was that a Savior had been promised that would come through Isaac’s descendants. But in spite of this seeming impossibility, Abraham obeyed without questioning God. The Lord was preparing this man to bring reformation and revival to a dying generation, and He needed someone whom He could depend upon to do the job. The effects of Abraham’s test went beyond him and his generation to future generations and to unfallen worlds: “The sacrifice required of Abraham was not alone for his own good, nor solely for the benefit of succeeding generations; but it was also for the instruction of the sinless intelligences of heaven and of other worlds. The field of the controversy between Christ and Satan—the field on which the plan of redemption is wrought out—is the lesson book of the universe. Because Abraham had shown a lack of faith in God’s promises, Satan had accused him before the angels and before God of having failed to comply with the conditions of the covenant, and as unworthy of its blessings. God desired to prove the loyalty of His servant before all heaven, to demonstrate that nothing less than perfect obedience can be accepted, and to open more fully before them the plan of salvation.” Ibid., 154, 155.

Next month we will return to our story with the raising up of Moses and God’s attempt to once again bring reformation to a lost and dying world.