SCRIPTURE
STUDIES
VOLUME THREE - THY
KINGDOM COME
STUDY
III
DAYS OF WAITING FOR THE KINGDOM
—DANIEL XII
The
Kingdom Work Epitomized — The Waiting Period to be Marked by Great Increase of Knowledge and of Travel
— Sir Isaac Newton’s Foreview of Railroading
— The 1260 Days — The Flood from the Mouth of the Dragon — The 1290 Days Mark the Spread of an
Understanding of the
Vision, Partially Correct — The Disappointment, Trial and
Consequences — The 1335 Days — The Blessing Then upon the Faithful “Waiting” Ones
— The Lord’s Reference to These Waiting Days,
in The Parable of The
Ten Virgins.
THE “Time of the End” having been pointed out in
chapter eleven, chapter twelve points to the Kingdom, and tells of
waiting, etc., which would precede its establishment, during the “Time
of the End.” The first
three verses express in few words the grand outcome of God’s plan.
“And at [in] that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince
which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time
of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall
be found written in the book. And
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
lasting life, and some to shame and lasting contempt.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament [the Sun—Matt. 13:43]; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars, for ever and ever.” [page 62]
If, in the eleventh chapter, the summary of 2,300 years of the
world’s history was brief and pointed, yet clear, this summary of
Messiah’s Millennial reign, in three verses, is still more so.
And yet it is all there. Michael
(which signifies “Who as God,” or one representing God) is the name
here applied to our great Redeemer, who is indeed the great Prince
ordained of God to stand forth and deliver Daniel’s people, God’s
people—all who love God in truth and sincerity—Israelites indeed.
(Rom. 9:6,25,26; Gal. 6:16) He
will deliver them from sin, ignorance, pain and death, and from all the
persecutions and besetments of Satan’s blinded servants, which have in
the past almost overwhelmed them. All found written in the Lamb’s Book
of life will be delivered forever, from all enemies: those written as
worthy during the Jewish and Patriarchal ages as well as those written
during the Gospel age, and those who will be written during the Millennial
age. Though all God’s
people (all who, when brought to a knowledge of him, love and obey him)
will be delivered, yet the degrees of honor to be granted to some—the
overcomers—are carefully noted; also the fact that some of the great
ones of the past—Alexander, Nero, Napoleon, the Caesars, the popes,
etc.—whose talents, misused, crushed while they dazzled the world, will
be seen in their true characters, and be ashamed and dishonored during
that Millennial age. Nor does
this brief synopsis of Christ’s reign omit mention of the great time of
trouble by which it will be inaugurated—a time of trouble in comparison
with which no past revolution will compare, a trouble with which even the
French Revolution will be small, a time of trouble such as was not since
there was a nation, no, nor ever shall be; for this great Prince, Michael,
will not only conquer the whole world, but his dominion is to be an
everlasting dominion. Justice
is the foundation of [page 63]
his throne, and when mankind has once tasted of its
benefits the great majority will never consent to another, for his Kingdom
will be “the desire of all nations.”
Here the thread of this prophecy, having run its full length,
stops, and the remaining verses of the chapter are for the purpose of
furnishing (not to Daniel and his fellowservants in his day, but to
God’s children, Daniel’s fellowservants living in the Time of the End)
certain periods of 1260, 1290 and 1335 symbolic days, respectively, by
which, in the due time, we may be convinced, concerning the time in which
we are living that it is indeed the Harvest time or “End” of the
Gospel age.
Daniel, who had heard the long account of the strifes between the
kingdoms of this world, and now finally of the triumph of God’s Kingdom
in the hands of Michael, the great Prince, was anxious to know when
it would deliver the Lord’s people.
But he is told (verse 4): “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words,
and seal the book, even to the Time of the End: [then] many shall run to
and fro, and knowledge shall be increase.”
Not only does the general increase of knowledge experienced confirm
the teachings of Daniel xi, that the Time of the End began in 1799, but
the predicted running to and fro—much and rapid traveling—also
confirms it. These all belong to the Time of the End.
The first steamboat was operated in 1807; the first steamcar in
1831; the first telegraph in 1844; yet today thousands of mammoth cars and
steamships are carrying multitudes hither and thither, “to and fro.”
Sir Isaac Newton, the celebrated astronomer of the seventeenth
century, was greatly interested in this statement by the Prophet Daniel,
and declared his belief that in fulfilment of it human knowledge would so
increase that men would possibly travel at the rate of fifty miles an
hour. [page 64]
Voltaire, the noted French infidel, got hold of this statement and
scornfully remarked:
“Now look at the mighty mind of Newton, the great philosopher who
discovered the law of gravitation: when he became an old man and got into
his dotage, he began to study the book called the Bible, and in order to
credit its fabulous nonsense he would have us believe that the knowledge
of mankind will yet be so increased that we shall by-and-by be able to
travel fifty miles an hour! Poor
dotard!”
Both of these men died long before the Time of the End had brought
its wonderful increase of knowledge, which more than fulfils the
prediction of the Christian philosopher, based upon the divine revelation.
Not for Daniel, but for God’s children living during the Time of
the End, was the conversation, etc., related in verses 5-7: “And I,
Daniel, looked, and behold there were two others standing, one on this
side of the bank of the flood
[Young’s
translation], and the other on that side of the bank of the flood.
And one said to the man who was above the waters of the stream,
‘How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?’
Then heard I the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of
the flood; and he lifted up his right hand and his left unto the heavens
and swore by the Everliving One that [the end should be] after a time,
times and half a time.”
The matter of special inquiry was the “abomination of
desolation,” of chapter 11:31-33, which Daniel rightly associated with
the terrible character seen in his previous visions, recorded in chapters
7:8-11,21,24-26 and 8:10-12, 24-26.
The time, times and half a time, or three and a half times or years
(360 x 3 1/2 = 1260 days, symbolic time—1260 literal years), here
mentioned, are elsewhere shown to be the period of Papacy’s power.
Compare Dan. 7:25; 12:7 and Rev. 12:14 [page 65]
with Rev. 12:6; 13:5. The “flood” in or during which these 1260 years of Papal
power terminated—as shown by the angel standing upon
the flood, declaring the limit of the times—symbolized a condition of
things during the French revolution already referred to.
This is the same “flood” mentioned in Rev. 12:15,16, where it
is shown more fully, as coming out of the mouth of the serpent or dragon,
and where its real object, from Satan’s standpoint, is explained to be
to overwhelm the “woman” (the protesting Church of God), as her three
and a half times (1260 years) of wilderness-hiding were about closing, and
she was coming forward into prominence “leaning on [the arm of] her
beloved,” The Word of God. Songs of Solomon 8:5
In symbol, water generally represents truth,
and the symbol preserves its meaning even though it be said to issue from
the mouth of the dragon or serpent. The
thought conveyed by this symbol is that truth would issue forth through evil agencies, and with an evil
intent. And just this we
find: the strength of the French revolution lay in the fact that it was
instigated by many stern truths,
regarding priest-craft and king-craft, and regarding the individual rights
and liberties of all. “The
Rights of Man” was indeed the watchword of that revolt against civil and
ecclesiastical oppression. Truths regarding human rights were seen and
expressed there which cause us surprise when we consider the ignorance,
superstition and servility of that day, under which the masses had so long
rested. Many of the truths
which then swept as a “flood” over France, deluging it with blood, are
now very generally accepted among all civilized peoples; but they were too
strong, and too suddenly put, for that time.
Indeed, the prophecy clearly shows that the serpent, Satan, did not
intend what under God’s providence has resulted, but the reverse. In this he overreached himself, as he [page 66]
has done on other occasions.
Satan will never send forth the waters of truth to bless and
refresh and release from bondage: on the contrary his effort has all along
been to blind and securely bind mankind under ignorance and superstition;
and this sudden flood of waters (truth) was designed to act as an emetic,
to lead to the casting out of the food
of liberty already being received by the people from the Bible, as the
result of the Reformation, and thus to force rulers and teachers to oppose
the truth through fear of anarchy.
Satan’s design in instigating the French revolution was to create
an alarm throughout Europe, especially among the influential class,
unfavorable to liberty and to illustrate in France the theory that, were
the superstitions of Rome to be overthrown and liberty to be given full
sway, all law and order would speedily end.
This was a master-stroke of policy, worthy of its author, and
designed, as the prophet shows, to overwhelm the “woman” (the reformed
Church), and to drive all conservatives and peace-lovers—rulers and
ruled—back to union and harmony with Papacy.
The failure of the scheme was not due to lack of craftiness in its
designer, but to the overruling power of God, whereby he is able to cause
all things to work together for good.
In this case God’s plan, for the protection of the “woman”
(Church) from Satan’s wiles and for causing the intended ill to work out
good, may be clearly traced, in exact fulfilment of the prediction made
seventeen hundred years before, viz: “And the earth helped the woman,
and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon
cast out of his mouth.” The “earth,” in symbol, as already explained, represents
society—order-loving people; and it is a fact of history that the flood
of truth which spread over France—arraigning Papacy and its
priest-craft, and monarchy and its parasitic aristocracy, as the
responsible causes of much of the ignorance, poverty and superstition of
the people—was swallowed up, or absorbed [page 67]
by the people of Europe generally (the Roman
“earth”). To such an
extent was this the case, that though Papacy and royal aristocracy were
thoroughly alarmed, they were also thoroughly separated, by the fall of
Papal influence as well as by Napoleon’s armies.
And when the “man of destiny” was finally crushed, and the
rulers of Europe formed what was called “The Holy Alliance,” for the
suppression of the liberties of the people and the perpetuation of their
own thrones, it was too late to fetter the people; for, having drunk up
the flood of waters, they would not submit.
It was also too late to think of re-establishing Papacy, which had
been so terribly humiliated and whose anathemas against liberty and the
French had so reacted against itself; so the pope was not even invited to join the “Holy Alliance,” of which
before he would have been the recognized head.
Thus the “woman,” the reformed and progressing Church of God,
was helped, spared from being overwhelmed, and liberty and truth stepped
out to prominence before men; and from that time forward the spirit of
liberty and God’s Word have led all who were willing to follow, into
more and more light and truth.
Here, then, was the “flood” which marked both the end of Papal
power and the beginning of the Lord’s “Day of Preparation” or
“Time of the End.” It was
on this flood that the Lord’s messenger was prophetically seen to stand,
to announce the close of the time, times and half a time. And this
announcement was made in reply to the query, “How long to the end of
these strange things?” The
“strange things” or “wonders” referred to were not the things of
chapter 12:1-3, relating to the Kingdom of God. Those were not strange,
but expected. The “strange
things” were the intervening troubles, persecutions and trials of
God’s holy people, especially
during, and as a result of, the supremacy of the peculiar power or
“horn,” Papacy; concerning which Daniel had before specially inquired.
(Dan. 7:19-22) [page 68] The query was, How long will God permit these
wonderful perversions of the truth, this wonderful deception of his
children and the nations? The
answer given measures the Papal power, giving definitely the time of its
close, and adds, “When the crushing of the power of the holy people is
[thus] ended, all these [strange] things shall be finished.”
In verse 5, Daniel is shown a person on each side of the
“flood,” asking jointly when the strange things would end. This seems
to indicate that even when Papal power had ended, people would be in doubt
as before, as to whether or not its persecuting and crushing power was
really at an end. And no wonder, when we remember that even after its
power was broken, after its “dominion was taken
away,” and even while it was being consumed, this “horn,” as
recently as 1870, uttered great words concerning its infallibility.
Daniel, representing the saints, says (Dan. 7:11), “I watched it then
[after its dominion was gone and it was powerless longer to crush the
truth, the power of the holy people], because
of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke, and I saw that [it
got no power over the holy saints and the truth, but it did have another
effect] the beast was slain, the body thereof destroyed and given to the
burning flame”—general anarchy. The
destruction of the remnant of governments in the old Roman empire, caused
by the misleading influence of Papacy’s continued bombastic utterances,
even after its dominion is gone, is thus shown.
Since the close of the times of Papal power are not only thus
clearly fixed, as occurring during the French Revolution, but also by the
events of chapter 11:40-44, which mark the very year 1799, we can readily
measure backward 1260 years to note whether Papal power had its beginning
there. If we find that it
had, we have our evidence as clear and strong as faith could ask.
Let us thus verify. [page 69]
Measuring back 1260 years from 1799 would bring us to A.D. 539,
where we shall show the Papal power began.
But the Papal system has been such a mixture of state-craft and
priest-craft, and had such a small and gradual beginning, as well as
gradual ending, that a variety of opinions as to its commencement and
close would be reasonable as well as possible, until we obtain God’s
fixed dates for its rise and fall, and see how very correct they are.
Papacy claimed supremacy in church and state affairs, and mixed in
politics, before it was recognized by opponents; even as it has also
attempted to exercise civil authority, and has declared its head
infallible, since the period at which prophecy shows its power was broken
and its consumption began. But
Papacy has not been recognized by the Italian people of the province of
Romagna since the spell of ignorance and superstitious reverence was
broken during the French Revolution.
Though at times, between revolutions, the pope has sat as nominal
ruler of the Papal states, it has been merely as a foreign invader, the
representative of Austria or France, whose troops by turns protected him
in office.
Now, knowing that the 1260 years began at A.D. 539, we are enabled
to find what would not before have been recognized. Papists themselves are
more inclined to date their beginning of power either at the conversion of
Constantine and the nominal Christianizing of the Roman empire in A.D.
328, or from the presentation of the Papal states to the church by
Charlemagne in A.D. 800. The
fact stands, however, that Constantine in no wise recognized civil power
as a right or possession of the church.
On the contrary, though he favored Christianity, it was rather the
church that made the emperor at least its associate
head, so that the emperor called church councils and meddled in
church affairs, though the church was not permitted to meddle in civil
matters. The date A.D. 539,
shown by the prophetic measuring rod of 1260 years, is nearly midway
between this [page 70]
union of church and empire in A.D. 328, and its full,
complete recognition by Charlemagne, as the head of all authority—the
dispenser of civil as well as religious authority—A.D. 800.
From the time of Constantine, the bishops of Rome had held a most
prominent position before the world, and they began ere long to claim an
authority over all others—in the church as well as in the
world—demanding that some one
person should be recognized as an authority or head in the church, and
that the bishops of Rome should be that one. They claimed that Peter as
well as Paul had lived in Rome, and that Rome was thus constituted the
seat of apostolic authority, and also that, by reason of its long having
been the seat of the Caesars and the seat of civil government, it held a
place of authority in the minds of the people.
These pleas for supremacy were not readily conceded, however.
The spirit of rivalry was abroad, and other bishops in other large
cities claimed supremacy also, some upon one and some upon another ground.
It was not until A.D. 533 that the bishop of Rome was thus
recognized by the emperor, Justinian I.
This was in connection with a warm religious discussion in which
the emperor took sides with the bishop of Rome, recognizing the Virgin
Mary’s worthiness of adoration, and disputing with the Eutychians and
Nestorians regarding distinctions and blendings of natures in our Lord
Jesus. The emperor feared
that the discussion might divide the church, and thus divide the empire
which he was desirous of more firmly uniting; for even at that early day
the nominal church and the empire were one and the
same—“Christendom.” And desiring to have some authority as a standard to settle
the dispute, and to tell the people what to believe and what to
disbelieve, and finding the bishop of Rome already the most popular of the
claimants to primacy (popedom or headship), as well as the one most
“orthodox”—the one most nearly in harmony [page 71]
with the emperor’s views on the
questions—Justinian, by documents, not only condemned the doctrines of
the Eutychians and Nestorians, but, addressing the bishop of Rome as the Head of all the holy
churches, and of all the holy priests of God, thus acknowledged him, and
desired to assist the pope in putting down the heresy and in establishing
the unity of the church.
In conjunction with this edict, the emperor thus addressed Pope
John, patriarch of Rome*:
“The victorious Justinian, the devout, the fortunate, the
renowned, the triumphant, the ever august, to John, the most holy
archbishop of the fostering city of Rome, and patriarch. Rendering honor
to the Apostolic See and to your Holiness (as always was and is our
desire), and reverencing your Blessedness, as befits a father, we have
hastened to bring to the notice of your Holiness everything which concerns
the condition of the churches, since it has always been our great desire
to guard the unity of your Apostolic See, and the standing of the holy
churches of God, which still maintains itself and endures unshaken, with
nothing to [page 72]
prevail against it.
And so we have hastened to make subject to the See of your
Holiness, and to unite with it, all the priests of the whole Eastern
district. At present, then,
we have held it necessary that there come to the notice of your Holiness
the matters which are in commotion, however plain and certain they are,
and however firmly they have always been guarded and declared by all the
priests according to the doctrine of your Apostolic See.
For we do not permit that any question be raised as to anything
which concerns the state of the churches, however plain and certain it be,
that be not also made known to your Holiness, who is the Head of all the
holy churches. For in all
points (as has been said) we are eager to add to the honor and authority
of your See.”
—————
*“Victor
Justinianus, pius, felix, inclytus, triumphator, semper Augustus, Joanni
sanctissimo Archiepiscopo almae Urbis Romae et Patriarchae.
“Reddentes honorem apostolicae sedi, et vestrae sanctitati (quod
semper nobis in voto et fuit et est), et ut decet patrem honorantes
vestram beatitudinem, omnia quae ad ecclesiarum statum pertinent
festinavimus ad notitiam deferre vestrae sanctitatis; quoniam semper nobis
fuit magnum studium, unitatem vestrae apostolicae sedis, et statum
sanctarum Dei ecclesiarum custodire, qui hactenus obtinet, et in commote
permanet, nulla intercedente contrarietate Ideoque omnes sacerdotes
universi Orientalis tractus et subjicere et unire sedi vestrae sanctitatis
properavimus. In praesenti
ergo quae commota sunt (quamvis manifesta et indubitata sint et secundum
apostolicae vestrae sedis doctrinam ab omnibus semper sacertotibus firme
custodita et praedicata) necessarium duximus, ut ad notitiam vestrae
sanctitatis perveniant. Nec
enim patimur quicquam, quod ad ecclesiarum statum pertinet, quamvis
manifestum et indubitatum sit, quod movetur, ut non etiam vestrae
innotescat sanctitati quae caput est omnium sanctarum ecclesiarum. Per
omnia enim (ut distum est) properamus honorem et auctoritatem crescere
vestrae sedis.”
The epistle next refers to certain views, styled heretical, which
were causing the commotion, and gives the emperor’s faith as in harmony
with that of the Church of Rome. It
concludes as follows*:
—————
*“Suscipimus
autem sancta quatuor concilia: id est, trecentorum decem et octo sanctorum
patrum qui in Nicaena urbe congregati sunt: et centum quinquaginta
sanctorum patrum qui in hac regia urbe convenerunt: et sanctorum patrum
qui in Epheso primo congregati sunt: et sanctorum patrum qui in Chalcedone
convenerunt: sicut vestra apostolica sedis docet atque praedicat.
Omnes ergo sacerdotes sequentes doctrinam apostolicae sedis vestrae
ita credunt et praedicant.
“Unde properavimus hoc ad notitiam deferre vestrae sanctitatis
per Hypatium et Demetrium, beatissimos episcopos, ut nec vestram
sanctitatem lateat, quae et a quibusdam paucis monachis male et Judaice
secundum Nestorii perfidiam denegata sunt.
Petimus ergo vestrum paternum afectum; ut vestris ad nos destinatis
literis, et ad sanctissimum episcopum hujus almae urbis, et patriarcham
vestrum fratrem (quoniam et ipse per eosdem scripsit ad vestram
sanctitatem, festinans in omnibus sedem sequi apostolicam beatitudinis
vestrae), manifestum nobis faciatis, quod omnes qui praedicta recte
confitentur, suscipit vestra sanctitas, et eorum qui Judaice aussi sint
rectam denegare fidem, condemnat perfidiam.
Plus enim ita circa vos omnium amor, et vestrae sedis crescet
auctoritas; et quae ad vos est unitas sanctarum ecclesiarum inturbata
servabitur, quando per vos didicerint omnes beatissimi episcopi eorum,
quae ad vos relata sunt, sinceram vestrae sanctitatis doctrinam.
Petimus autem vestram beautitudinem orare pro nobis, et Dei nobis
adquirere providentiam.”
[page 73]
“Now we admit [the validity of] four sacred councils: that is, of
the 318 holy fathers who gathered in the city of Nicae [Council of Nice],
and of the 140 holy fathers who assembled in this royal city [Council of
Constantinople], and of the holy fathers who first gathered in Ephesus
[Council of Ephesus], and of the holy fathers who assembled in Chalcedon
[Council of Chalcedon], as your Apostolic See teaches and affirms.
All priests, therefore, who follow the doctrine of your Apostolic
See, so believe, and confess, and affirm.
Hence we have hastened to bring to the notice of your Holiness,
through Hypatius and Demetrius, most blessed bishops, that it may not lie
hidden from your Holiness what [doctrines] have been wickedly denied by
some few monks, after the Jewish manner, according to the heresy of
Nestorius. We therefore seek
your paternal regard, [praying] that by a letter addressed to us and to
the most holy bishops of this fair city, and to the patriarch, your
brother (since he himself, too, has written by the same to your Holiness,
hastening in all points to follow the Apostolic See of your Blessedness),
you make manifest to us that your Holiness accepts all who duly confess
what is ordained, and condemns the heresy of these who have dared, after
the Jewish manner, to deny the true faith. For thus the love of all for you and the authority of your
See will grow the greater; and the unity of the holy churches, which has
been disturbed, will be preserved to you, since through you all the most
blessed bishops will have learned the genuine doctrine of your Holiness,
as to those points which have been referred
to you. Now we
entreat your Blessedness to pray for us, and to obtain for us the
protection of heaven.”
Pope John replied to the above, under date of March 24th, A.D. 534.*
—————
*We
quote as follows from his reply:
“Gloriosissimo et clementissimo filio Justiniano Augusto,
“Johannes
Episcopus Urbis Romae.
“Inter claras saptentiae ac mansuetudinis vestrae laudes,
Christianissime principum, puriore luce tanquam aliquod sydus irradiat,
quod amore fidei, quod charitatis studio edocti ecclesiasticis disiplinis,
Romanae sedis reverentiam conservatis, et ei cuncta subjicitis, et ad ejus
deducitis unitatem, ad cujus auctorem, hoc est apostolorum primum, Domino
loquente praeceptum est, Pasce oves meas: Quam esse
omnium vere ecclesiarum caput, et patrum regulae
et principum statuta declarant, et pietatis vestrae reverendissimi
testantur affatus.*** Proinde
serenitatis vestrae apices, per Hypatium atque Demetrium, sanctissimos
viros, fratres et coepiscopos meos, reverentia consueta sescepimus: quorum
etiam relatione comperimus, quod fidelibus populis proposuistis edictum
amore fidei pro submovenda haereticorum intentione, secundum apostolicam
doctrinam, fratum et coepiscoporum nostrorum interveniente consensu. Quod, quia apostolicae doctrinae convenit, nostra auctoritate
confirmamus.”
[page 74]
Upon the same occasion the emperor wrote to the patriarch of
Constantinople. The first
paragraph of his letter we quote, as follows*:
“Epiphanius, the most holy and most blessed Archbishop of this
royal city, and Ecumenical Patriarch:—Wishing your Holiness to know all
matters which relate to the condition of the church, we have held it
necessary to make use of these ecclesiastical compends, and through these
to make manifest what movements are already started, although we are
persuaded that you also know of these.
And since we had ascertained that certain ones, aliens from the
Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, had followed the heresy of the impious
Nestorius and Eutyches, we promulgated an ecclesiastical edict (as your
Holiness also knows) in which we censured the madness of the heretics.
In no manner whatever have we changed, or shall we change, or have
we (as your Holiness also knows) passed beyond [page 75] that position of the church which, by the favor of
God, has as yet been preserved; but in all respects the unity of the most holy
churches with his SUPREME HOLINESS, THE POPE OF ANCIENT ROME (to
whom we have written in like manner), has been maintained. For we do not suffer that any of those matters which relate
to the state of the church be not also referred to HIS BLESSEDNESS, since
he is the head of all the most holy churches of God; even
especially for this reason, that as often as heretics have sprung up in
those parts, they have been repressed [literally, pruned off, as the
sprouts of a tree] by the wisdom and righteous decisions of that venerable
See.”
—————
*“Epiphanio
sanctissimo et beatissimo Archiepiscopo Regiae hujus Urbis et Ecumenico
Patriarchae.
“Cognoscere volentes tuam sanctitatem ea omnia quae ad
ecclesiasticum spectant statum: necessarium duximus, hisce ad eam uti
divinis compendiis, ac per ea manifesta eidem facere, quae jam moveri
coepta sunt, quamquam et illa eandem cognoscere sumus persuasi.
Cum itaque comperissemus quosdam alienos a sancta, catholica, et
apostolica ecclesia, impiorum Nestorii et Eutychetis sequutos deceptionem,
divinum antehac promulgavimus edictum (quod et tua novit sanctitas) per
quod haereticorum furores reprehendimus, ita ut nullo quovis omnino modo
immutaverimus, immutemus aut praetergressi simus eum, qui nunc usque,
coadjuvante Deo, servatus est, ecclesiasticum statum (quemadmodum et tua
novit sanctitas) sed in omnibus servato statu unitatis sanctissimarum
ecclesiarum cum ipso S. S. Papa veteris Romae, ad quem similia hisce
perscripsimus. Nec enim
patimur ut quicquam eorum, quae ad ecclesiasticum spectant statum, non
etiam ac ejusdem referatur beatitudinem: quum ea sit caput omnium
sanctissimorum Dei sacertotum; vel eo maxime quod, quoties in eis locis
haeretici pullularunt, et sententia et recto judicio illius venerabilis
sedis coerciti sunt.”
The letters from which we have given the foregoing extracts may be
found complete, together with the Edict of Justinian*
referred to, in the Volume of the Civil Law. Codicis lib. I tit. i
This, the first official recognition of Papacy’s claims, was
afterward confessed more and more pointedly by Phocus and succeeding
emperors.
—————
*An
extract from this edict reads as follows:
“Imp. Justinian. A. Constantinopolitis.
“Cum Salvatorem et Dominum omnium Jesum Christum verum Deum
nostrum colamus per omnia, studemus etiam (quatenus datum est humanae
menti assequi) imitari ejus condescensionem seu demissionem. Etenim cum
quosdam invenerimus morbo atque insania detentos impiorum Nestorii et
Eutychetis. Dei et sanctae catholicae et apostolicae ecclesiae hostium,
nempe qui detrectabant sanctam gloriosam semper virginem Mariam Theotocon
sive Deiparam appellare proprie et secundum veritatem: illos festinavimus
quae sit recta Christianorum fides edocere. Nam hi incurabiles cum sint,
celantes errorem suum passim circumeunt (sicut didicimus) et simpliciorium
animos exturbant et scandalizant, ea astruentes quae sunt sanctae
catholicae ecclesiae contraria. Necessarium
igitur esse putavimus, tam haereticorum vaniloquia et mendacia dissipare,
quam omnibus insinuare, quomodo aut sentiat sancta Dei et catholica et
apostolica ecclesia, aut praedicent sanctissimi ejus sacerdotes; quos et
nos sequuti, manifesta constituimus ea quae fidei nostrae sunt; non quidem
innovantes fidem (quod absit) sed coarguantes eorum insaniam qui eadem cum
impiis haereticis sentiunt. Quod
quidem et nos in nostri imperii primordiis pridem satagentes cunctis
fecimus manifestum.”
But even after being recognized as a ruler, a sacerdotal emperor,
for the time it was of no special advantage to Papacy, beyond the empty
name; for Justinian was far from [page 76]
Rome, with his capital at Constantinople.
Rome, and Italy in general, was under the sway of another
kingdom—the Ostrogoths—who did not recognize the bishop of Rome as
supreme pontiff; for they were mainly Arians in faith.
Papacy, therefore, was exalted and advantaged in name only, by the
emperor’s recognition, until the fall of the Ostrogothic Monarchy, when
its exaltation became an actual fact.
Indeed, as if by a preconcerted arrangement, the emperor at once
(A.D. 534) sent Belisarius and an army into Italy, and in six years after
the pope’s recognition by the emperor, the Ostrogothic power was
vanquished, and their king Vitiges and the flower of his army were taken
with other trophies to Justinian’s feet.
This was in A.D. 539, which is therefore the point of time from
which we should reckon the “Desolating Abomination set
up.” Papacy there had its small beginning. There the little, peculiar “horn” noted in Daniel’s
prophecy (Dan. 7:8,11,20-22,25), just began to push itself up, upon the
Roman beast. It began to form
or take root two centuries before, and in two centuries after its small
appearance its “look was more stout than its fellows”—the other
horns, authorities or powers, in the territory of the old empire—and its
eyes, and its mouth speaking great swelling words, began to develop; and
it lorded it over the other horns, claiming divine right to do so.
The Prophet had said that three horns would be plucked up, or
rooted out, to make room or prepare the way for this peculiar power or
“horn.” And so we find
it: Constantine built Constantinople, and removed his capital thither;
this, though favorable to Papacy’s development in the seat of the
Caesars, was unfavorable to the empire; and soon it was found expedient to
divide the empire, and Italy was thenceforth [page 77]
known as the Western Empire, whose seat or capital
was at Ravenna. This was one
of the “horns”: it fell, A.D. 476, at the hands of the Heruli, another
of the horns, which established itself on its ruins.
Next came the Ostrogothic kingdom, another “horn,” overthrowing
the Heruli and establishing itself as ruler of Italy, A.D. 489.
And, as we have just seen, it was during the power of this
“horn” (the third to be rooted out to make way for the papal horn)
that Justinian acknowledged the papal supremacy; and it was by his orders,
and by his general and his army, that it was plucked up.
And, as we have seen, its plucking up was necessary to the
advancement of Papacy to power, as a peculiar blending of political and
religious power—a peculiar “horn,” differing from its fellows.
Indeed, it seems not improbable that the Papacy was secretly
favorable to the fall of each of these “horns” or powers, hoping thus
to open the way to its own exaltation, just as it finally resulted.
With the overthrow of the Ostrogoths, the Roman emperor was
recognized for some time as the ruler of Italy, and was represented by
Exarchs; but since these had their capital at Ravenna, and not at Rome,
and since they had come to recognize the Papacy in the manner shown, it
follows that from A.D. 539 Papacy was recognized as the chief authority in
the city of Rome; and that from that date (when it was “set up”) it
began to grow and thrive as a “horn” or power
among the other “horns” or powers, representing the formerly united
power of Rome. The fact of
the greatly disturbed condition of Italy, and especially of Rome, about
this period, subject to the pillage of invaders from the North, as well as
to heavy taxes by whichever master was nearest at the time, helped to
break up political loyalty to the imperial power at Constantinople; so
that the church-rulers, always with them, speaking the same language, and
sharing their advantages and losses, were readily accepted [page 78]
by the people as the advisers, protectors and rulers
of the city of Rome and its environs.
No doubt, indeed, the object of Justinian in acknowledging the
claims of the bishop of Rome to superiority over others was also in part
to gain his cooperation in the war he was about to wage against the
Ostrogoths, to regain Italy as a part of the Eastern Roman Empire; for the
influence of the pope and the church was by no means inconsiderable even
then; and to have them on his side in the war was half the conquest won,
at the very outstart.
Though the Goths rebelled against the empire, and sacked the city
of Rome, they did not re-establish their rule, and its only government was
that of the church. And
though the Lombard kingdom soon came in and established its rule over most
of Italy, even overthrowing the rule of the Eastern empire established by
Justinian in the hands of the Exarchs, yet be it carefully noted that the
Lombards recognized the authority of the Papacy in Rome.
It was not until near the end of that kingdom, in the eighth
century, that any serious attempts were made against the Papal authority,
the narrative of which only serves to establish the fact that the popes in
turn were Rome’s real rulers, the claimed “successors of the
Caesars”—“the spiritual Caesars”—though they claimed the protection
of the government at Constantinople as long as it advantaged them to do
so. When the Lombards finally sought to take possession of Rome, the pope
appealed to the French king to protect
the church (Papacy), and to maintain them in their long uninterrupted
control of what they called “The Patrimony of St. Peter,” which they
claimed*
had been bestowed upon the church by Constantine.
—————
*That
those claims were false, and based upon forgeries—“The Forged
Decretals”—is now freely acknowledged, even by Roman Catholics.
Constantine made no such gift: Papacy grew into its power and
control of Rome, as we have here described.
[page 79]
The French kings, Pepin and Charlemagne, each in turn brought his
army for the protection of Papacy’s dominion, and vanquished the
Lombards. It was the latter
of these who in A.D. 800 formally presented to Papacy several states known
as the “Papal States,” already referred to—additional to the city and suburbs of Rome, actually held by
Papacy from A.D. 539. So,
then, the Lombard Kingdom or “horn” did not hinder, nor occupy the
place of, the papal horn, as some have surmised, even though it did
sometimes crowd it.
Of this attack by the Lombards upon Rome, Gibbon says:
“A memorable example of repentance and piety was exhibited by
Lutiprand, king of the Lombards. In
arms, at the gate of the Vatican, the conqueror listened to the voice of
Gregory I, withdrew his troops, resigned his conquest, respectfully
visited the church of St. Peter, and, after performing his devotions,
offered his sword and dagger, his cuirass and mantle, his silver cross and
crown of gold, on the tomb of the apostle.”
But “His successor, Astolphus, declared himself the equal enemy
of the emperor and the pope:...Rome was summoned to acknowledge the
victorious Lombard as her lawful sovereign....The Romans hesitated; they
entreated; they complained; and the threatening barbarians were checked by
arms and negotiations until the popes had
engaged the friendship of an ally and avenger beyond the Alps.”
The pope (Stephen III) visited France, and succeeded in getting the
needed assistance; and, says Gibbon, returned as a conqueror at the head
of a French army which was led by the king [Pepin] in person.
The Lombards, after a weak resistance, obtained an ignominious
peace, and swore to restore the possessions and to respect the sanctity of the Roman
Church.
As an illustration of the claims of the popes and of the kind of
power by which they claimed and held dominion, we quote again from Gibbon
a letter of Pope Stephen III, [page 80]
sent at this time to the king of France.
The Lombards had again assaulted Rome, shortly after the French
army had retired, and the pope desired fresh assistance.
He wrote in the name of the Apostle Peter, saying:
“The Apostle assures his adopted sons, the king, the clergy and
the nobles of France, that, dead in the flesh, he is still alive in the
spirit; that they now hear, and must obey, the voice of the founder and guardian of the Roman
church; that the Virgin, the angels, the saints, the martyrs, and all the
host of heaven unanimously urge the request, and will confess the obligation;
that riches, victory and paradise will crown their pious enterprise, and
that eternal
damnation will be the penalty of their neglect, if they suffer his
tomb, his temple and his people to fall into the hands of the perfidious
Lombards.” And Gibbon adds,
“The second expedition of Pepin was not less rapid and fortunate than
the first: St. Peter was satisfied; Rome was again saved.”
As this beginning of Papacy’s dominion
was obscure, and yet important to be recognized clearly, it has seemed to
us to require careful marking as above.
And in concluding the proof, that A.D. 539 was the date
prophetically pointed out, we quote corroborative
testimony from Roman Catholic writings, as follows:
“After the downfall of the Western Roman empire the political
influence of the popes in Italy became of still more importance, from the
fact that the popes had to take under their protection the unfortunate
country, but particularly Rome and its environs, which were so often
changing masters and continually exposed to the invasions of coarse and
brutal conquerors. While the
successors of St. Peter were so energetically interesting themselves in
the welfare of the inhabitants of Italy, the latter were totally neglected
by the Eastern Roman emperors who still laid claim to rule the
land. Even after Justinian I
had reconquered a part of Italy [A.D. 539] and converted it into a Grecian
province, the lot of the inhabitants was no better; for the Byzantine
emperors could only exhaust by taxation the subjects of the Exarchate [page 81]
of Ravenna, but in no way could they afford her the
necessary protection.
“Under these circumstances it happened that the...emperors
...lost all actual
power, and remained only
in name masters of the government, while the popes, in virtue of
the needs of the moment, came practically in possession of
that supremacy over the Roman domain....This spontaneous result of
generous exertion was in after times acknowledged as a lawful acquisition [by
Pepin and Charlemagne]....Pepin, as contemporary writers express it, ‘restored’
the conquered territory to the Apostolic See.
This donation or
restitution of Pepin was confirmed and enlarged by his son
Charlemagne, who in A.D. 774 put an end to the Lombard rule in Italy.
In
this legitimate way, the TEMPORAL POWER AND SOVEREIGNTY OF THE
POPES was, by divine providence, gradually
established.”
The above quotations are from “The History of the Catholic
Church,” by H. Brueck, D.D., Vol. I, pp. 250,251. As this is a standard
work among Roman Catholics, used in their colleges and seminaries, and
approved by papal dignitaries, its testimony is of value, touching the gradual
rise of the temporal power of Papacy, and the time when its beginning was favored by circumstances. It
proves that the fall of the Ostrogothic kingdom in A.D. 539 was, as
clearly indicated by the prophetic measure (1260 years), the exact point
of time when this desolating and, in the sight of God, abominable system
was “set
up.”
In harmony with the same line of thought, and in the endeavor
clearly to establish the fact that Papal authority began before
the day of Charlemagne, another Catholic work, The
Chair of St. Peter, in a chapter on “The growth of the temporal
power” (page 173), says: “Rome was ruled nominally only by a Patrician
appointed by the emperor, but in
reality, through the force of circumstances, the popes became the
supreme lords of the city.” In
proof of this authority and rulership, the writer proceeds to cite
historic proofs of the power of the popes, and of the powerlessness of the
[page 82]
nominal rulers.
He refers to Pope Gregory the Great (A.D. 590—only fifty years
after Papacy was “set up”) as an illustration
of power already possessed by the popes, saying:
“We find him dispatching Leontius as governor to Nepi in Etruria,
enjoining on the inhabitants that they should obey him as they would
himself. Again he appoints
Constantius to the important post of governor of Naples.
Next he writes to the bishops about the defense and provisioning
of their respective cities; issues orders
to the military commanders. ...In a word, he becomes the actual
ruler and protector of Italy; so that he is fully justified in
saying, ‘Whoever fills my place as pastor is gravely occupied with
external cares, so that it frequently becomes uncertain whether he
discharges the functions of a pastor or of a temporal prince.’”
So great as this was the growth of temporal power in the short
space of fifty years from its small beginning, A.D. 539. We may therefore
feel assured that the 1260 years, or three and a half times, of papal
dominion, are well and clearly marked at both ends.
Daniel, who had heard the limit placed upon the power of the
abomination to desolate the Church and to crush the truth, the power of
the Lord’s people, saw that this would not still usher in the kingdom of
Michael (Christ), and the exaltation of the saints to power, but that it
would merely grant them release from their oppressor.
This, therefore, was still not the understanding which he desired:
“I heard, but I [still] understood not.
Then said I, O my lord, what shall be later than [or after] these
things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel [it is useless for you to try
to comprehend the matter], for the words are closed up and sealed till the
Time of the End. From the
time that the continual sacrifice shall be taken away and the desolating
abomination set
up [A.D. 539] shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days
[years. Then] many shall
purify [separate] themselves, yea, make themselves white, yea, be tried as
by fire; but the [page 83]
wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked
shall understand; but the wise shall understand [then].
Oh! the blessedness of him who is waiting earnestly when the
thousand three hundred and five and thirty [1335] days touch. And thou, go
[thy way] till the end: and thou shalt rest, and rise again for thy lot
[portion, reward] after the end of the days.” Dan. 12:8-13
The careful student will note that these 1290 and 1335 prophetic
days, literal years, have the same starting point as the 1260 years of
papal power to crush, viz., from the time the desolating abomination was
“set up”—A.D. 539. Where
two events occurring at different times are mentioned, as in this
case—the taking away of the “daily” (or, more correctly, the continual sacrifice), and the setting up of the
abomination—we must always reckon from the time that both were true.
The taking away of the “continual sacrifice,” we will show in
the next chapter, occurred some years before the setting
up of the abomination in 539; and it was the important item which
caused it to be named “the abomination.” We should and do, therefore,
reckon the “setting up” of the abomination from the last of these two
events.
And note, further, that both of these measures are given in answer
to Daniel’s question as to what would occur to God’s holy ones after
their power (the truth) would be released from Papal crushing, (that is,
after 1799), and before the setting up of the kingdom of
Messiah—Michael. The reply in substance is that Daniel need not hope to
understand further, but that in thirty
years after the beginning of the Time of the End (1260 + 30 = 1290), a
purifying, cleansing, refining work would begin among the holy people, in
connection with which an understanding of the prophecy would be granted to
the wise among this tried, cleansed, separated class; yet the knowledge
would be so communicated that the ungodly and unpurified would not receive
or [page 84]
believe it. It
was shown, further, that the right
understanding of the vision would be far from complete or full; in
fact it would be deficient in some of its chief elements until 45 years
later (1290 + 45 = 1335), or 75 years after the beginning of the Time of
the End, A.D. 1799 (1260 + 75 = 1335). This is clearly indicated by the
Hebrew text, which represents the matter as though the watchers, who
already have seen something, and are waiting patiently, would suddenly
(when “1335 days” had passed) get a full, clear view, far beyond their
expectations. “Oh! the
blessedness of him!”
Reckoning from A.D. 539, the 1290 symbolic days ended in 1829, and
the 1335 days in the close of 1874. Let
the reader judge carefully how accurately these dates mark the
understanding of the vision, and all the prophecies connected with the
Time of the End, and the separating, cleansing, and refining as by fire,
to bring God’s children to the childlike, humble, trustful condition of
mind and heart, needful that they might be ready to receive and appreciate
God’s work in God’s way and time.
A religious movement culminated in 1844, the participants in which
were then, and since, generally known as “Second Adventists” and “Millerites,”
because they expected the second advent of the Lord to occur at that date,
and because a Mr. William Miller was the leader and prime mover.
The movement, which began about 1829, had before 1844 (when they
expected the Lord’s return) attracted the attention of all classes of
Christian people, especially in the Eastern and Middle States where it
amounted to an excitement. A long while before this, Prof. Bengel, in
Tubingen, Germany, began to call attention to the prophecies and the
coming Kingdom of Messiah, while the celebrated missionary Wolff did the
same in Asia. The center of the work, however, was America, where social,
political and religious [page 85]
conditions have favored, more than elsewhere,
independence in Bible study as well as in other matters; just as the first
advent movement was confined to Judea, though all the devout Israelites,
everywhere, heard more or less of it. Acts 2:5
All know something of the failure of Brother Miller’s
expectations. The Lord did not come in 1844, and the world was not burned
up with fire, as he had expected and taught others to expect; and this was
a great disappointment to those “holy people” who had so confidently
looked for Christ (“Michael”) then to appear and to exalt them with
him in power and glory. But,
notwithstanding the disappointment, the movement had its designed
effects—of awakening an interest in the subject of the Lord’s coming,
and of casting reproach upon the subject by reason of mistaken
expectations. We say designed
effects because without a doubt the hand of the Lord was in it.
It not only did a work corresponding to that of the first advent
movement, when our Lord was born, when the wise men came from the East and
when “all men were in expectation of him” (Matt. 2:1,2; Luke 3:15),
but it corresponded with it in time also, being just thirty years before
the anointing of our Lord, at thirty years of age, at the beginning of his
work as Messiah. That “Miller movement,” as it is slightingly called,
brought also an individual blessing to the “holy people” who
participated in it: it led to a careful searching of the Scriptures, and
to confidence in God’s Word above the traditions of men; and it warmed
and fed and united the hearts of God’s children in unsectarian
fellowship; for those interested were of all denominations, though
principally Baptists. It is
since that movement ended, that some of these have
organized and bound themselves as new sects, thus blinding themselves to
some of the blessings due in the “harvest.” [page 86]
While, as the reader will have observed, we disagree with Mr.
Miller’s interpretations and deductions, on almost every point—viewing
the object, as well as the manner
and the time, of our Lord’s coming, in a very different light—yet we
recognize that movement as being in God’s order, and as doing a very
important work in the separating, purifying, refining, and thus making
ready, of a waiting people prepared for the Lord.
And not only did it do a purifying and testing work in its own day,
but, by casting reproach upon the study of prophecy and upon the doctrine
of the Lord’s second advent, it has ever since served to test and prove
the consecrated, regardless of any association with Mr. Miller’s views
and expectations. The very
mention of the subject of prophecy, the Lord’s coming and the Millennial
Kingdom, now excites the contempt of the worldly-wise, especially in the
nominal church. This was
undoubtedly of the Lord’s providence, and for a purpose very similar to
the sending of the infant Jesus for a time to Nazareth, “that he might
be called a Nazarene,” though really born in the honorable city of
Bethlehem. That evidently was
in order that the truth might separate the “Israelites indeed” from
the chaff of God’s chosen nation. The
chaff was driven off by the statement that our Lord was a Nazarene; for
they reasoned, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Just so some now contemptuously inquire, “Can any good thing come
out of Adventism?” and dismiss unconsidered the testimony of the Lord
and the apostles and prophets. But
the humble, holy ones, wise in God’s sight though foolish in the
world’s estimation, take no such attitude.
But the “Miller movement” was more than this: it was the
beginning of the right
understanding of Daniel’s visions, and at the right time to fit the
prophecy. Mr. Miller’s
application of the three and a half times (1260 years) was practically the
same as that we have just given, but he made the [page 87]
mistake of not starting the 1290 and 1335 periods at
the same point. Had he done
so he would have been right. On
the contrary, he started them thirty years sooner—about 509 instead of
539, which ended the 1335 days in 1844, instead of 1874.*
It was, nevertheless, the beginning of the right understanding of the prophecy; for, after
all, the 1260 period, which he saw correctly, was the key; and the
preaching of this truth (even though in combination with errors, and
misapplications, and false inferences) had the effect of separating and
purifying “many,” and at the very time the Lord had foretold.
—————
*We
have been unable to secure Mr. Miller’s writings to compare his
interpretations. We have
merely learned the dates at which he applied the prophetic numbers.
Not understanding the manner nor the object of the Lord’s return,
but expecting a sudden appearance, and the end of all things in one day,
he supposed all the time prophecies must end there; and it was his aim and
effort to force them all to this common terminus: hence his
failure—beyond which God did not then enlighten any, further
enlightenment not being then due.
Mr. Miller was an earnest and esteemed member of the Baptist
Church; and, being a careful student of the Scriptures, the prophecies
began to open before him. After
becoming thoroughly convinced himself, as to the correctness of his
applications, he began to disseminate his views among ministers, chiefly
Baptists at first, but afterward among all classes and all denominations.
As the work spread, he, with many colaborers, traveled and preached
extensively. The beginning of
this work among the Baptist ministers was, as nearly as can be learned
from his memoirs, in 1829, Elder Fuller of the Baptist Church at Poultney,
Vt., being the first convert to preach his views in public.
In a letter written about three years after, Mr. Miller says:
[page 88]
“The Lord is scattering the seed.
I can now reckon eight ministers who preach this doctrine, more or
less, besides myself. I know
of more than one hundred private brethren who say that they have adopted
my views. Be this as it may,
‘The truth is mighty and will prevail.’”
Thus it will be seen that the separating work of the “Miller
movement” had its beginning at the time foretold—at the end of the
1290 days, 1829.
Now, how about the waiting earnestly until the 1335 days had been touched?
Who have thus waited?
Some of God’s children, the “holy people,” the writer among
the number, though not associated with the “Miller movement,” nor with
the denomination subsequently organized, which calls itself the “Second
Advent Church,” have been looking and “earnestly waiting” for
Michael’s Kingdom; and gladly we bear testimony to the “blessedness”
of the wonderfully clear unfoldings of our Father’s plan, at and since
the fall of 1874—the end of the 1335 days.
Words fail us to express this blessedness!
Only those who have been refreshed in spirit with this new wine of
the Kingdom could appreciate it, if we could describe it. It is therefore something to be felt, rather than told.
It was at and since the ending of those 1335 prophetic, symbolic
days that the precious views of the Lord’s presence,
and the fact that we are even now living in the time of the “harvest”
of this Gospel age, and in the time of the setting up of Michael’s
(Christ’s) Kingdom, came to be known.
Oh, the blessedness of this favored time!
Oh, the harmony, the beauty, the grandeur of the divine plan as it
began to unfold when the 1335 days were “touched!”
It is to express, as far as lies within our power, this
“blessedness” and fuller unfolding of the divine plan, now due to be understood by
all the “holy people” now living, that this SCRIPTURES STUDIES series
is being published. None but
the [page 89]
“holy people” will understand it.
It is granted as a favor. “None of the wicked shall
understand”; and those of the “holy people” who have fellowship with
the worldly, who unwisely
stand in the assemblies of the wicked, and sit in the seat of the scorner,
shall not understand, and shall not be able to experience this
blessedness, now due only to those “holy” ones, truly “wise,” who
delight in the Law of the Lord and meditate [study] therein day and night.
Psa. 1:1,2
This message concerning Michael’s Kingdom, gradually opening from
1829 onward, is symbolically represented in the book of Revelation (chap.
10:2,8-10) as a “little book,” which the “wise” of the “holy
people,” represented by John, are instructed to eat.
And John’s experience, as expressed in verse 10, is the
experience of all who receive these truths.
They bring wondrous sweetness: Oh, the blessedness!
But the after effects are always more or less a blending of the
bitterness of persecution with the sweetness. And the effect upon those
who patiently endure to the end is to purge, purify and refine, and thus
to make the bride of Christ ready for the marriage and exaltation, due
toward the close of the Day of Preparation.
Concerning this disappointment, which we have shown was
nevertheless a blessing and a beginning of the correct interpretation of
the vision, the Prophet Habakkuk is caused to write a word of
encouragement, saying (chap. 2:2), “Write the vision, make it plain upon
tables [charts], that he [desiring] may read it readily...Though it tarry,
wait
for it [“Oh, the blessedness of him that waiteth unto the 1335 days!”], for it will surely come; it
will not tarry.” Its
seeming tarrying or delay was not so, but a partial mistake on the part of
Mr. Miller, foreknown and permitted by the Lord for the testing of his
“holy people.”
As an evidence of the consecration, Bible study and faith
engendered by this movement, we quote from a letter written [page 90]
by Mr. Miller, after the disappointment of 1844, to
those who had been disappointed with him, as follows:
“We thank God always on your behalf, when we hear, as we already
have, that your and our late disappointment has produced in you, and we
hope in us also, a deep humiliation, and a careful inspection of our
hearts. And though we are humbled, and in a measure pained, by the
jeers of a wicked and perverse generation, we are not terrified nor cast
down. You can, all of you,
when inquired of for the reasons of your hope, open your Bibles, and with
meekness and fear show the inquirer why you hope in the glorious appearing
of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
You need not in a single instance refer the inquirer to your
minister, for the reason of your faith.
Your creed is the Scriptures;... your philosophy is the wisdom
which cometh down from God; your bond of union is the love and fellowship
of the saints; your teacher is the Holy Spirit; and your professor is the
Lord Jesus Christ....We exhort you, by all the love and fellowship of the
saints, to hold fast to this hope. It is warranted by every promise in the Word of God.
It is secured to you by the two immutable things—the council and
oath of God, in which it is impossible for him to lie.
It is ratified and sealed by the death, blood, and resurrection,
and life of Jesus Christ....Never fear, brethren; God has told you what to
say. Do as he bids you, and
he will take care of the consequences.
God says, ‘Say unto them, The
days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.’ [See Ezek.
12:22,23]...It is to me almost a demonstration that God’s hand is in
this thing. Many thousands have been made to study the Scriptures by the
preaching of the time....God’s wisdom has in a great measure marked out
our path, which
he has devised for such good as he will accomplish in his own time and
manner.”
One of our Lord’s parables was given expressly to illustrate this
period of waiting,
from the disappointment of 1844 to the realizations at the end of the
“1335 days.” We refer
to— [page 91]
The
Parable of the Ten Virgins
—Matt.
25:1-12—
This parable begins with “then,” thus indicating that it was
not applicable at once, in the Lord’s day, but sometime in the future.
“Then shall the Kingdom of heaven [in its embryo
condition—represented by some or all of the holy people, probationers
for heirship in that Kingdom] be likened unto ten virgins, who took their
lamps and went forth to meet the Bridegroom.
And five of them were wise and five were foolish.”
The numbers are not significant; neither are the proportions. The
parable teaches a movement among the heirs of the Kingdom, in expectation
of meeting the Bridegroom—a movement in which two classes would be
manifested, here styled “wise” and “foolish.”
The word “virgin” signifies pure; so these represented in the
parable, both the wise and the foolish, represent “holy people.”
In fact, no lovers of the Bridegroom, longing to meet him, can be
lovers of sin, even though many of them are “foolish.”
The movement noted by our Lord in this parable corresponds exactly
to one which began with the “Miller movement,” and which is still in
progress. That, though begun
by a Baptist, was an undenominational movement, joined in by the most
devout and faithful of all denominations. Accounts of those times, of
their fervency of zeal, etc., fill our hearts with admiration for men and
women who had the honesty to act out their convictions, even though we
cannot coincide with those convictions.
Money was poured out like water, in printing tracts and papers in
various languages, and in sending the message the world over.
It is said that in the churches of all denominations a revival
spirit spread, and that in some congregations, where all were under the
influence of this teaching, those who had money to [page 92]
spare piled it upon a table in front of the pulpit,
where it was free to all needing it; and the sincerity and zeal of
believers at that time were such that, it is said, the money thus
consecrated to the Lord needed no guarding, as those who did not need it
would not touch it.
The virgins of the parable are shown as all having lamps trimmed
and giving them light. These
lamps represent the Scriptures (“Thy word is a lamp to my feet”); and
such a general trimming of
lamps—searching the Scriptures—by all classes of Christians probably
never before took place. The
oil represents the spirit of the truth.
It was manifest, then, in the lamps of all; but all had not the
spirit of the truth in themselves—the “vessels.”
The disappointment of 1844 is briefly recorded in the parable, by
the statement that “the Bridegroom tarried”—i.e., he seemed to the
expectant ones to tarry. And
the confusion and darkness experienced by all, and the many false and
visionary views entered into by some who were there disappointed, are
shown in the parable by the statement: “While the Bridegroom tarried,
they all slumbered
and slept.” Yea, and in
their darkness and slumber many of them dreamed strange, unreasonable
things.
But the parable shows a second movement, similar, and yet
different, among the same virgins. The
same general class is referred to but not necessarily the same
individuals. As the first movement was the result of light upon the
prophecy, regarding the time for Messiah’s second advent as the
Bridegroom of the Church, so was the second movement. But there are
several differences. In the
first, the lamps of all the virgins burned alike, and the company
expecting the Bridegroom was mixed; whereas in the second movement, while
all will be aroused, only those will be led out who have the spirit of the
truth in their hearts, as well as a knowledge of the Bible—a trimmed
lamp. Disappointment [page 93]
was predicted for the first movement, and waiting for
the 1335 days was necessary; but the second was not a disappointment, and
a waiting was no longer necessary; for fulfilment came exactly at the
close of the 1335 prophetic days—in October 1874.
It was just following the close of the 1335 years, the period of
“waiting,” that the fact of our Lord’s presence, as taught by the
foregoing prophecies, began to be recognized.
It was very early in the morning of the new age, but it was the
“midnight” hour, so far as the deep slumbering of the virgins was
concerned, when the cry (which is still ringing) went forth, “Behold the
Bridegroom!”—not Behold the Bridegroom cometh,*
but Behold he has come, and we are now
living “in the [parousia] presence of the Son of man.”
And such has been the character of the present movement, since that
date: a proclamation of the Lord’s presence and of the
kingdom work now in progress. The
writer, and colaborers, proclaimed the fact of the Lord’s presence, demonstrating it
from prophecy, and on charts or tables, such as are used in this book,
until the fall of 1878, when arrangements were made for starting our
present publication, “ZION’S WATCH TOWER, and Herald
of Christ’s Presence.” By
the Lord’s blessing, millions of copies of this publication have carried
abroad the tidings that the time is fulfilled, and that the Kingdom of
Christ is even now being set up, while the kingdoms
and systems of men are crumbling to their utter destruction.
—————
*The
oldest Greek manuscripts (Sinaitic and Vatican) omit cometh,
and read, “Behold the Bridegroom!”
The parable forewarns us that, though all the virgin class trim
their lamps, all cannot see. Only those who
have the oil in their vessels (in themselves—the fully consecrated) can
get the light from their lamps, and appreciate the facts. The others (all the pure, the virgins) will get the oil and
the light sometime, and be greatly blessed by it; but only those filled
[page 94] with the oil, the spirit of the truth, will have the
light in season and get the great blessing.
Only these go in with the Bridegroom to the marriage.
The oil, or spirit of consecration, and its attendant light cannot
be communicated from one virgin to another.
Each for himself must be filled with the spirit; each must get his
own supply of this oil (the Truth, and its spirit of consecration and
holiness); and the cost is considerable in the way of self-denial and
misrepresentation and fiery trial. Experience in the great time of trouble will be the market in
which the foolish virgins will purchase their oil. But it will then be too late to go into the marriage, as
members of the Bride, the Lamb’s wife.
The Scriptures point out, however, that, as vessels unto “less
honor,” these, repentant of their folly, will not be destroyed; but,
being thus fitted for the Master’s use, they shall yet serve
him in his temple.
Recurring to the angel’s words to Daniel—verse 13 reads: “But
go thou thy way till the end; for thou shalt rest, and arise again for thy
lot [portion, reward] at [after] the end of the [1335] days”—during
the harvest then beginning.
In the expression, “Go thou thy way till the end,” the “end” should be noticed
as of very different significance from the “Time of the End.”
“The harvest
is the end of the age”; and the
harvest, as already shown, is the period of 40 years from the fall of A.D.
1874, the termination of the “1335 days,” to the fall of A.D. 1914.
And Daniel is to receive his portion, reward or lot in the Kingdom
of Michael (Christ), together with all the holy prophets, as well as the
saints of the Gospel age, at the end of this “harvest”
period; the saints being first in order, as well as in honor, in that
Kingdom. (Heb. 11:40) See
SCRIPTURE STUDIES, Vol. I, page 288.
