Chapter VII: Part 7

“The wicked, consequently, flocked to the various places of meeting, some out of idle curiosity to hear, others out of concern for their spiritual interests, and others still to scoff at solemn things. Those who believed they should so shortly stand in their Saviour’s presence, and whose works corresponded with their faith, could not but feel a nearness of access to God, and sweet communion with him; and the souls of such were greatly blessed. With a realizing sense of such a nearness of the greatest of all events, as we came up to that point of time, all other unnecessary cares were laid aside, and the whole soul was devoted to a preparation for the great event. God being more ready to give than we are to receive, does not permit any thus to plead in vain; and his Holy Spirit came down like copious showers upon the parched earth. It was then evident that there was faith upon the earth, such faith as is ever ready to act in accordance with what the soul believes that God has spoken; such faith as would, in obedience to a supposed command, bid all the pleasures of this world adieu, having respect to the recompense of reward. Such was a faith like that of Abraham’s when, at the command of God, he went out, ‘not knowing whither he went,’ nor withheld his only son; and here were those all ready to join the multitude, who through faith will inherit the promises.”

THE PASSING OF THE TIME.

The tenth day of the seventh month of the Jewish year 1844, came and passed, and left impressions upon the minds of believers not easily effaced; and although a quarter of a century has passed since that memorable period, yet that work has not lost its interest and force upon the minds of those who participated in it. Even now, when one who shared in that blessed work, and who feels its hallowed influence rekindling upon his mind--if in obedience to the injunction of the apostle when he says, “Call to remembrance the former days in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions, partly whilst ye were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used”--shall speak of that solemn work, of that consecration of all, made in full view of eternal scenes, and of that sweet peace and holy joy which filled the minds of the waiting ones, his words will not fail to touch the feelings of all who shared the blessings of that work and have held fast.

And those who participated in that movement are not the only ones who can now go back in their experience, and feast upon the faith-reviving, soul-inspiring realities of the past. Those who have since embraced the Advent faith and hope, and who have seen in the three messages, of Revelation xiv, the past consecration and blessedness, the present work of preparation, and the future glory, may go back with us to the autumn of 1844, and with us share the rekindling of the heavenly illumination. Was that our Jerusalem, where we waited for, and enjoyed, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Then as all Christians, as well as Christ’s first disciples who were present on the occasion, have looked back to the day of Pentecost with pleasure and profit, so may these who have embraced the doctrine of the Second Advent since the memorable seventh-month movement, look back to that period with all that interest those can who participated in it.

The impressions made and left upon the minds of believers were deep and lasting. However far one has since departed from God and his truth, there still remains upon the soul of the apostate traces of the work. Let him hear the subject afresh; let the simple facts be again brought before his mind, and he will feel upon this subject as he can feel upon no other. And those who took part in that work, who are far backslidden from God, yet cherish regard for the word of God and Christian experience, will yet feel deeply over this subject, and the faith of many of them will be resurrected to new life. God grant that these pages may prove a blessing to many such.

The disappointment at the passing of the time was a bitter one. True believers had given up all for Christ, and had shared his presence as never before. They had, as they supposed, given their last warning to the world, and had separated themselves, more or less, from the unbelieving, scoffing multitude. And with the divine blessing upon them, they felt more like associating with their soon-expected Master and the holy angels, than with those from whom they had separated themselves. The love of Jesus filled every soul, and beamed from every face, and with inexpressible desires they prayed, “Come Lord Jesus, and come quickly.” But he did not come. And now to turn again to the cares, perplexities, and dangers of life, in full view of the jeers and revilings of unbelievers who now scoffed as never before, was a terrible trial of faith and patience. When Elder Himes visited Portland, Me., a few days after the passing of the time, and stated that the brethren should prepare for another cold winter, my feelings were almost uncontrollable. I left the place of meeting and wept like a child.

But God did not forsake his people. His Spirit upon them still abode, with all who did not rashly deny and denounce the good work in the Advent movement up to that time. And with especial force and comfort did such passages as the following, to the Hebrews, come home to the minds and hearts of the tried, waiting ones: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Chap. x, 35-39. The points of interest in this portion of Scripture are--

1. Those addressed are in danger of casting away their confidence in that in which they had done right.

2. They had done the will of God, and were brought into that state of trial where patience was necessary.

3. The just at this time are to live by faith, not by doubting whether they had done the will of God, but faith, in that in which they had done the will of God.

4. Those who should not endure the trial of faith, but should cast away their confidence in the work in which they did the will of God, and draw back, would take the direct road to perdition.

But why apply all this to the subject of the second advent? Answer: Because Paul applies it there. His words, in the very center of the foregoing quotation from his epistle to the Hebrews, forbid any other application: “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” No one will for a moment question that the second advent is the subject upon which the apostle treats. The peculiar situation of those who should be looking for the second appearing of Jesus, is the burden of his exhortation. And how wonderfully applicable to those who were sadly disappointed, tempted and tried, in the autumn of 1844, are his words. With great confidence had they proclaimed the coming of the Lord, with the assurance that they were doing the will of God. But as the time passed, they were brought into a position exceedingly trying to faith and patience. Hence the words of Paul to them, just then, and just there. “Cast not away therefore your confidence ... Ye have need of patience.... Ye have done the will of God.” To this decision of the apostle every true Adventist, who tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, in the movement of 1844, will respond, Amen.

But how fearful the words which follow: “Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” As Adventists came up to the point of expectation in the blazing light of unsealed prophecy, and the rapidly-fulfilling signs that Christ’s coming was at the doors, they walked, as it were, by sight. But now they stand with disappointed hopes, and stricken hearts, and live by faith in the sure word, and the work of God in their Second-Advent experience. With these who hold fast, God is well pleased; but in those who draw back he has no pleasure. These believe to the saving of the soul; while those who become impatient, cast away their confidence in the way God has led them, and give it up as the work of man, or of Satan, and draw back to perdition.

This and many other portions of Scripture of like import, having a direct application to the condition of believers at that time, served not only as an encouragement to them to hold fast their faith, but as a warning to them not to apostatize. And a general impression remained upon the minds of believers for some time after the disappointment, that the seventh-month movement was in the direct providence of God, and that those who had been engaged in this work had done his will.

And according to the best light they then had, there was a general agreement that the seventh-month movement was the last great test, that the harvest of the earth was ripe for the sickle of the Son of man, and that the door was shut. That the salvation of the soul, or perdition, hung upon the manner in which those who heard treated that solemn message, I doubt not. And this is especially clear in the case of the disappointed believers after the time passed. In holding fast and believing, there was salvation; in drawing back, the result would be perdition. The view, however, that the harvest of the earth was ripe, and that the door was shut, was soon abandoned. But although all, long since, gave up this position as incorrect, I fail to see why they should be censured for taking it upon the passing of the time. In fact, the conclusion seems very natural, and I hardly see how they could have come to any other. I will here mention some of the reasons why such a conclusion was reasonable, if not unavoidable.

1. William Miller and others had taught that the door would be shut, and that probation would close a short time before the second advent. In a letter to Elder J. V. Himes, October 6, 1844, he said: “I am strong in the opinion that the next will be the last Lord’s day sinners will ever have in probation. And within ten or fifteen days from thence, they will see Him whom they have hated and despised, to their shame and everlasting contempt.”

2. And, certainly, that probation will close prior to the second advent is plainly taught in the following emphatic testimony from Rev. xxii, 11, 12: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And behold I come quickly.” I will only add, that the order of events here given is, first, the final decision of all men living at the close of probation, and, second, then follows the advent of Him who says, “And behold I come quickly.”

3. All true believers expected that probation would close as soon as the tenth day of the seventh month. And as the time of expectation drew near, their burdened spirits felt more and still more heavily the weight and responsibility of doing every duty to others. But as the point of expectation was finally reached, all this burden at once fell off. This was as true of the isolated brother or sister, in some distant part of the country, as with those in the crowded city mingling with hundreds of like faith. It was true of all. All felt that their work in warning sinners was done. No one can have a just idea of this great change, only those who participated in the movement, and came up to the time of expectation with the burden of the solemn work upon them. Jesus had not come as they expected, and why this great change had come over all was a matter of proper inquiry. And how natural the conclusion, to say the least, that probation was ended.

4. The change that had suddenly come over the ungodly seemed to strengthen the conviction that the door was shut. Although the passing of the time, removing their fears, may now be regarded as a sufficient cause for the change in them, yet at that time the fiend-like conduct of many after the tenth day passed, who but a few hours or days before had appeared penitent, gave the idea that the restraining influence of the Spirit of God had forever left them.

In view of these things it should not be a matter of surprise to any, that Adventists were agreed that the midnight cry was the last great test, that the work for the world was finished, and that the door was shut. That this was their faith, may be seen by reviewing the writings of leading men in the cause, published immediately after the passing of the time.

William Miller, in a letter addressed to J. V. Himes, says:

“We have done our work in warning sinners, and in trying to awaken a formal church. God, in his providence, has shut the door; we can only stir one another up to be patient; and be diligent to make our calling and election sure. We are now living in the time specified by Malachi iii, 18; also Dan. xii, 10; Rev. xxii, 10-12. In this passage we cannot help but see that a little while before Christ should come, there would be a separation between the just and unjust, the righteous and wicked, between those who love his appearing and those who hate it. And never, since the days of the apostles, has there been such a division line drawn as was drawn about the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month. Since that time they say ‘they have no confidence in us.’ We have now need of patience, after we have done the will of God, that we may receive the promise.”

The _Advent Herald_, for November 13, 1844, J. V. Himes, S. Bliss, and A. Hale, editors, says:

“But the alarm was everywhere made; the cry was everywhere given. And again we can see that God was with us. It was a soul-purifying work; and the children of God bowed themselves in his presence and received blessings to their souls, unprecedented in the history of the Advent cause. And yet we are disappointed; the day passed away and we are still here. And those who only looked on, and passed by, were ready to exclaim that it was all a delusion; and that now of a certainty we must relinquish all our hopes, and abandon all our expectations. We, however, do not thus feel. As great a paradox as it may be to our opponents, yet we can discern in it the leadings of God’s providence; and when we are reviled and censured by those to whom the world look as the Gamaliels of our age, we feel that they are only speaking evil of the things they understand not.

“Those who have not been in this late movement, can appreciate nothing respecting it. And we regard it as another, and a more searching test, than the first proclamation of the time. It has searched Jerusalem as with candles; and it has purged out the old leaven. It has tested the hearts of all who heard it, and awakened a love for the Lord’s appearing; or it has called forth a hatred, more or less perceivable, but known to God, of his coming. It has drawn a line, and awakened sensibilities, so that those who will examine their own hearts, may know on which side of it they would have been found, had the Lord then come; whether they would have exclaimed, ‘Lo! this is our God, we have waited for him and he will save us;’ or whether they would have called to rocks and mountains to fall on them to hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. God thus, as we believe, has tested his people, has tried their faith, has proved them, and seen whether they would shrink, in the hour of trial, from the position in which He might see fit to place them; and whether they would relinquish this world and rely with implicit confidence in the work of God.

“And we as much believe that we have done the will of God in thus sounding the alarm, as we believe that Jonah did when he entered into Nineveh a day’s journey, and cried, saying, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown.’ Nineveh was not then overthrown; nor has the Lord yet wrought deliverance in the earth, nor the inhabitants of the world fallen. Was Jonah a false prophet when he preached the _time_ of Nineveh’s destruction? No; he had only preached the preaching that God had bid him. But God had said that ‘at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it; if that nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.’ Jer. xviii, 7, 8. ‘So, the people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them; and God saw their works that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil that he said he would do unto them; and he did it not.’ The preaching of Jonah served as a test to the inhabitants of Nineveh, and accomplished God’s purposes, as much as it would have done had the city perished.

“So we believe that this last cry has been a test; and that with our views of duty, we should as much have sinned against God, had we refrained from giving that message, as Jonah did when ‘he rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord;’ that we should as much have sinned, had we refused to give heed to it, as the Ninevites would in refusing to repent at his preaching; and that all who are angry that we have preached a time which has not been realized, are as guilty as Jonah was when he was angry and prayed the Lord to take his life from him, because God had spared that great city.”

The following is from the _Advent Herald_ of October 30, 1844, relative to the suspension of meetings in the Advent Tabernacle of Boston. The article from which it is taken, had previously been inserted in several of the daily papers of that city. It is important, as it correctly sets forth the views and feelings of Adventists at that time. In view of such testimony, it is vain for any man to deny that it was the universal belief of Adventists, in the autumn of 1844, that their work for the world was forever done. After giving some of the reasons why they expected the Lord on the tenth day of the seventh month, the writer of the article says:

“With this expectation we were desirous to meet once more, to mingle our prayers, and to encourage one another in the last work of preparation; and for this purpose we had met at our well-known place of worship in this city. We gave no special notice of our meeting, we made no appeal to the public, and it was characterized by no exercises which were calculated to excite either the mirth or vengeance of any portion of the community.

“We were serious, we were bowed in penitence and prayer before God, or heartily affected by the mutual confessions of tried and dear friends. We had no ill-feeling to indulge toward any man; we felt that we were done with the world, and had forgiven them the many injuries they had inflicted upon us; but stale and silly slanders in reference to us were revived; the restless spirits of the community have been aroused; we could not meet in peace, and our meetings in consequence have been suspended. And we now make these remarks to disabuse the public, and with the hope that some, who would not otherwise give their attention to the calls of the present time, may lay them to heart.

“To the city authorities, who faithfully rendered their services, we are grateful, though we could not promote the objects of the meeting when such protection was needed.

“We forgive our enemies. They have not injured us; and oh! that they could see how much they may have injured themselves; but we have done with them now. We expect the realization of the promise of God. He who delivered Noah and Lot; he who brought his people out of Egypt and Babylon, has promised (as we believe) to save them finally ‘by his Son from Heaven.’ We expect it. We have hazarded all on that expectation; and we only ask that God may give us, and all who look for him, grace to abide the issue.

“In behalf of the Adventists in Boston and vicinity,

“JOSHUA V. HIMES.”

I have not a word of censure for a single soul who came to the honest conclusion that the work of warning sinners closed with the burden of the midnight cry. And more, I solemnly believe that the providence of God brought us to that position. And there the Advent hosts should have remained, patiently waiting, watching and praying, until our true position could have been clearly seen by the light of the heavenly sanctuary.

ARGUMENT FROM THE TYPES.

In the providence of God, in the seventh-month movement the attention of the people was turned to the types of the law of Moses. The argument which had been given, that as the vernal types, namely, the passover, the wave sheaf, and the meat-offering, were fulfilled in their order and time in the crucifixion, the resurrection of Christ, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, so would the autumnal types be fulfilled as to time, in the events connected with the second advent, seemed to be conclusive and satisfactory. The position taken was, that as the high priest came out of the typical sanctuary on the tenth day of the seventh month and blessed the people, so Christ, our great High Priest, would on that day come out of Heaven to bless his waiting people.

But it should be borne in mind that at that time those types which point to the work in the heavenly sanctuary were not understood. In fact, no one had any definite idea of the tabernacle of God in Heaven. We now see that the two holies of the typical sanctuary, made by the direction of the Lord to Moses, with their two distinct ministrations--the daily and the yearly services,--were, in the language of Paul to the Hebrews, “patterns of things in the Heavens,” “figures of the true,” chapter ix. He also says of the work of the Jewish priests in chapter viii, “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.” His words mean simply this: In Heaven there is a sanctuary where Christ ministers, and that sanctuary has two holies, and two distinct ministrations, as truly as the earthly sanctuary had. If his words do not mean this, they have no meaning at all. How natural, then, the conclusion, that as the Jewish priests ministered daily in connection with the holy place of the sanctuary, and on the tenth day of the seventh month, at the close of their yearly round of service, the high priest entered the most holy place to make atonement for the cleansing of the sanctuary, so Christ ministered in connection with the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary from the time of his ascension to the ending of the 2300 days of Dan. viii, in 1844, when on the tenth day of the seventh month of that year he entered the most holy place of the heavenly tabernacle to make a special atonement for the blotting out of the sins of his people, or, which is the same thing, for the cleansing of the sanctuary. “Unto two thousand three hundred days,” said the angel to the prophet, “then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

The typical sanctuary was cleansed from the sins of the people with the offering of blood. The nature of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary may be learned from the type. By virtue of his own blood, Christ entered the most holy to make a special atonement for the cleansing of the heavenly tabernacle. For clear and full expositions of the sanctuary and the nature of its cleansing, see works upon the subject by J. N. Andrews and U. Smith, for sale at the Review Office, Battle Creek, Mich.

With this view of the heavenly sanctuary before the reader, he can see the defect in the seventh-month theory. It now appears evident that the conclusion that Christ would come out of Heaven on that day is not justified by the premises in the case. But if Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary was to last but one year, on the last day of which he would make an atonement for the cleansing of the heavenly tabernacle, according to the type, then the conclusion that he would on that day come out and bless his waiting people, would be irresistible.

But let it be remembered that “the law having a shadow of good things to come,” was “not the very image of the things.” In the shadow, the round of service, first in the holy place for the entire year, save one day, and second, in the most holy place on the last day of that year, was repeated each successive year. But not so in the ministry of Christ. He entered the holy place of that heavenly sanctuary at his ascension once for all. There he ministered till the time for the cleansing of the sanctuary at the close of the 2300 days in the autumn of 1844. To accomplish this work, he then entered the most holy place once for all. Christ suffered upon the cross--not often--but once for all. He entered upon his work in the holy place once for all. And he cleanses the heavenly sanctuary for the sins of his people once for all. His ministry in the holy, from his ascension in the spring of A. D. 31 to the autumn of 1844, was eighteen hundred and thirteen years and six months. The period of his ministry in the most holy can no more be defined before its close, than the time of his ministry in the holy could be defined before it terminated. Therefore, however much the tenth-day atonement for the cleansing of the typical sanctuary proved that our great High Priest would enter the most holy of the heavenly tabernacle on the tenth day of the seventh month, it proved nothing to the point that he would on that day come out of the most holy place.

But just what was accomplished on the tenth day of the seventh month became a matter of discussion. Some took the rash position that the movement had not been directed by the providence of God. They cast away their confidence in that work, not having sufficient faith and patience to “wait” and “watch,” until it should be explained by the light of the sanctuary and the three messages of Rev. xiv, and they drew back, to say the least, toward perdition.

Others trembled for this fearful step, and felt the deepest solicitude for the welfare of the flock, and exhorted the brethren to patiently wait and watch for the coming of the Lord, in full faith that God had been in the work. Among these was William Miller. In a letter published in the _Advent Herald_ for Dec. 11, 1844, he says:

“DEAR BRO. HIMES: Be patient, establish your heart, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”

The following is from the cheering pen of Eld. F. G. Brown, who was not only a man of ability, but one who drank deeply at the fountain of advent experience. He saw and felt the danger of drawing back, and wrote the following letter to encourage his brethren to hold fast and believe to the saving of the soul. It was written Nov. 11, 1844, and published in the _Advent Herald_.

“DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS: The great God has dealt wonderfully with us. When we were in a state of alarming blindness in relation to the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord, he saw fit to awaken us from our death-like slumbers, to a knowledge of these things. How little of our own or man’s agency was employed in this work, you know. Our prejudices, education, tastes, both intellectual and moral, were all opposed to the doctrine of the Lord’s coming. We know that it was the Almighty’s arm that disposed us to receive this grace. The Holy Ghost wrought it in our inmost souls, yea, incorporated it into our very being, so that it is now a part of us, and no man can take it from us. It is our hope, our joy, our all. The Bible reads it, every page is full of the Lord’s immediate coming, and much from without strengthens us in the belief that the Judge standeth at the door! At present everything tries us. Well, we have heretofore had almost uninterrupted peace and exceeding great joy. True, we have had some trials formerly, but what were they in comparison with the glory to be revealed? We are permitted to live in the days of the Son of man, which Jesus spake of as a desirable day. How special the honor! How unspeakable the privilege!

“And shall we be so selfish as not to be willing to endure a little trial for such a day, when all our worthy and honored predecessors have so patiently submitted to the toils and sufferings incident to their pilgrimage and to their times? Let it never be! We know that God has been with us. Perhaps never before this has he for a moment seemed to depart from us. Shall we now begin like the children of Israel to doubt, and to fear, and repine, after he has so frequently and signally shown us his hand in effecting for us one deliverance after another? Has God blessed us with sanctification, and salvation, and glory, now to rebuke and destroy us? The thought is almost blasphemous. Away with it! Have we been so long with our Lord and yet not know him? Have we read our Bibles in vain? Have we forgotten the record of his wonderful dealings unto his people in all past ages? Let us pause, and wait, and read, and pray, before we act rashly or pronounce a hasty judgment upon the ways and works of God. If we are in darkness, and see not as clearly as heretofore, let us not be impatient. We shall have light just as soon as God sees it will be for our good. Mark it, dearly beloved, our great Joshua will surely bring us unto the goodly land. I have no kind of fears of it, and I will not desert him before he does me.

“He is doing the work just right. Glory to his name! Remember, you have been sailing a long, long voyage, and you began to think yourselves pretty skillful sailors until you approached the home coast, when the Pilot coming on board, you had to relinquish the charge to him, and oh! how hard it is to commit all your precious cargo and your noble vessel into his hands. You fear, you tremble, lest the gallant ship should become a wreck, and the dearly-bought freight be emptied into the ocean! But don’t fear. Throw off the master, and like a good, social, relieved officer, go and take your place with the humble, yet sturdy crew, and talk over home scenes and endearments. Cheer up, ‘all’s well.’

“You have finished your work, and now be patient, and you shall have the reward.

“It was necessary that our ‘faith’ and ‘patience’ should be tried before our work could be completed. We closed up our work with the world some time ago. This is my conviction. And now God has given us a little season of self-preparation, to prove us before the world. Who now will abide the test? Who is resolved to see the end of his faith, live or die? Who will go to Heaven if he has to go alone? Who will fight the battle through, though the armor-bearers faint, and fear, and fail? Who will keep his eye alone on the floating flag of his King, and, if need be, sacrifice his last drop of blood for it? Such only are worthy to be crowned, and such only will reap the glorious laurels.

“We must be in speaking distance of port. God’s recent work for us proves it. We needed just such a work if Christ is coming forthwith. I bless God for such glorious manifestations of himself to his people. Don’t dishonor him, questioning whether it might not have been the work of man, for he will vindicate that, and his word, too, very shortly, is my solemn belief. Do not be allured by the baits that may be flung out to draw you back from your confidence in God. The world and the nominal church know nothing at all of your hope. They cannot be made to understand us. Let them alone. You have buried your name and reputation once, and now do not go to digging it up again, when all manner of evil is spoken of you, falsely, for Christ’s sake. Pray for your enemies. Do look straight ahead, lest your minds again become occupied with earth--its business, cares, labors, pleasures, friends. The Bible, the Bible, is the best teacher now. Prayer, prayer, is the best helper. The next signal we have will be the final one. Oh! shall any of us be found with our lamps going out when the Master comes? Oh! how impressive the Saviour’s repeated admonition, _Watch, watch, watch_.”

Many concluded that great changes took place on the tenth day of the seventh month, closely connected with the final destiny of men, but as yet there was no well-defined position as to what did take place.

Joseph Marsh, editor of the _Voice of Truth_, Nov. 7, 1844, says:

“We did believe that he would come at that time; and now, though we sorrow on account of our disappointment, yet we rejoice that we have acted according to our faith. We have had, and still have, a conscience void of offense in this matter, toward God and man. God has blessed us abundantly, and we have not a doubt but that all will soon be made to work together for the good of his dear people, and his glory.

“We cheerfully admit that we have been mistaken in the nature of the event we expected would occur on the tenth day of the seventh month; but we cannot yet admit that our great High Priest did not on that very day accomplish all that the type would justify us to expect. We now believe he did.”

Where are we in the fulfillment of prophecy? soon became a matter of most interesting inquiry. Some yielded to the clamors of the church and world, who called for confessions that they had been mistaken at least in the time, and among this number were several able ministers. Their fearful course greatly increased the anxiety to understand the real position. The hour was a most trying one. There seemed to be a strong inclination with many to draw back, which ripened in them into a general stampede in the direction of Egypt. Finally, not a few settled, with more or less clearness, upon a position embracing the following points:

1. That the parable of the ten virgins represented the great Advent movement, each specification illustrating a corresponding event connected with Second-Advent history.

2. That, in answer to the inquiry, Where are we? the point of time was reached, when the words of our Lord following the parable were applicable, “Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matt. xxv, 13.

3. That the time had come to liken, or to compare, the experience of those who were looking for the kingdom, here called the kingdom of Heaven, with an eastern marriage, and that in order to do this, both must be matters of history, showing that each specification in the parable was already fulfilled.

4. That the time when to compare Second-Advent experience with the events in the marriage was definitely pointed out by our Lord when he says, “_Then_ shall the kingdom of Heaven be likened unto ten virgins.” When? He had just closed a description of two kinds of servants in chapter xxiv, one servant giving meat to his master’s household in due season, the other smiting this good and faithful servant, and in his heart saying, “My Lord delayeth his coming.” Just then may the events connected with Advent history be compared with the specifications of the parable. These two servants had been engaged in the same work. But by some means one begins to say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming, and smites his fellow. No one who wished to see, could fail to see a clear fulfillment of this illustration in the labors and general course of Advent ministers soon after the passing of the time. All came up to that time apparently a band of brothers. The time passed. Some became impatient and cast away their confidence in the work, confessed to a scoffing church and world, and because others would not confess as they had done, that a human or satanic influence had controlled them, they were ready to smite those who were strengthening the Master’s household with the bread of Heaven.

The spiritual food for that time was by no means that teaching which would let them down from the position they had taken, and send them weeping and mourning back to Egypt. But meat in due season was those expositions of God’s word which showed his hand in the movement, and such cheering testimonies as are quoted in the foregoing pages in vindication of the Advent movement. How humiliating and painful the fact that Satan is permitted to bring the spiritual warfare within the Second-Advent ranks.

5. That in the sense of the parable the Bridegroom had come. Come where? Answer, To the marriage. Was the marriage of the Lamb to take place in this world at the second appearing of Christ? The Bridegroom had not come. But if the marriage of the Lamb was to take place in Heaven, the position might be correct. And right here the charge of our Lord to the waiting ones comes in with peculiar force: “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord when he will return from the wedding.” Luke xii, 35, 36. If our Lord at his second appearing returns from the wedding, then the marriage of the Lamb must take place in Heaven prior to his return. Therefore, the coming of the bridegroom in the parable illustrated some change in the position and work of our great High Priest in Heaven in reference to the marriage of the Lamb.

In a letter to the _Voice of Truth_ for Feb. 19, 1845, William Miller says:

“I presume, Bro. Marsh, you have seen Brn. Hale and Turner’s _Advent Mirror_, printed in Boston, Jan., 1845, concerning the marriage, in the parable of the virgins. I do believe in the main they are right--that cannot be the personal coming of Christ. Why, say you? Read Luke xii, 36: ‘And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he shall return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him immediately.’ You see his coming, for which we look, is after the wedding.

“Has Christ come in the sense spoken of, Matt. xxv, 10? I think he has.

“I know many of my brethren whom I highly esteem, will, and do, disagree with me on this matter. I would advise them not to have any hardness. Remember what James says, v, 9: ‘Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold the Judge standeth before the door.’ It would seem that in this very time when we have need of patience, the apostle, by the inspiration of the divine Spirit, foresaw that there would be danger of grudging, or grieving one another, and warns us not to do it, lest ye be condemned: for ‘the Judge standeth before the door!’

“Let the dear brethren see to it, that we give meat in due season. Let no one say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming, and begin to beat and bruise, and grudge against his fellow-servant. He that seeks to save his life now by conformity to the world, or worldly men, will lose it; and he that loses his life now for the truth’s sake, will find eternal life.”

6. That the established view, that in the marriage of the Lamb the church is the bride of Christ, was among the errors of past times. By investigation it was clearly seen that there were two things which the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments illustrate by marriage. First, the union of God’s people in all past ages, as well as at the present time, with their Lord. Second, Christ’s reception of the throne of David, which is in the New Jerusalem. But union of believers with their Lord has existed since the days of Adam, and cannot be regarded as the marriage of the Lamb. It is supposed that Isaiah [liv, 5,] speaks of the church when he says, “Thy Maker is thine husband;” but Paul, in Gal. iv, applies this prophecy to the New Jerusalem.

Says John, speaking of Christ, “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom.” John iii, 29. That Christ is here represented in his relation to his followers by a bridegroom, and his followers by a bride, is true; but that he and they are here called the bridegroom and bride, is not true. No one believes that the event called the marriage of the Lamb took place eighteen hundred years since.

Paul, in writing to the church, 2 Cor. xi, 2, says, “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you a chaste virgin to Christ.” But does this prove that the marriage of the Lamb took place in Corinth? Or, did Paul only wish to represent by marriage, the union which he had effected, through the gospel, between Christ and the church at Corinth?

He also says, Eph. v, 23, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church.” But please turn and read from verse 22, and it will be seen that Paul’s subject is the relation and duty of man and wife to each other. This is illustrated and enforced by the relation of Christ and the church. Those who suppose that Paul is here defining who the Lamb’s wife is, are greatly mistaken. That is not his subject. He commences, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands.” Verse 22. “Husbands, love your wives.” Verse 25. It is, indeed, an excellent subject, but has nothing to do in determining what the bride is.

The marriage of the Lamb does not cover the entire period of probation, in which believers are united to their Lord, from Adam to the close of probation. It is one event, to take place at one point of time, and that is just prior to the resurrection of the just.

Then what is the bride in the marriage of the Lamb? Said the angel to John, “Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Rev. xxi, 9. Did the angel show John the church? Let John testify. “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God.” Verse 10.

The New Jerusalem is also represented as the mother. “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Gal. iv, 26. Christ is represented (Isa. ix, 6,) as the “everlasting Father” of his people; the New Jerusalem, the mother, and the subjects of the first resurrection, the children. And, beyond all doubt, the resurrection of the just is represented by birth. How appropriate, then, is the view that the marriage of the Lamb takes place in Heaven before the Lord comes, and before the children of the great family of Heaven are brought forth at the resurrection of the just.

Let those who are disposed to cling to the old view that the church is the bride, and that the marriage is after Christ comes, and the saints are caught up to Heaven, answer the following questions:

1. Who are illustrated by the man found at the marriage, Matt. xxii, not having on the wedding garment?

2. Will any be caught up by mistake, to be bound hand and foot, and be cast down to the earth again?

3. If the church is the wife, who are they that are called to the marriage as guests?

4. Jerusalem above is the mother of the children of promise; but if the church is the Lamb’s wife, who are the children?

5. That the door was shut. The clear light from the heavenly sanctuary that a door, or ministration, was opened at the close of the 2300 days, while another was closed at that time, had not yet been seen. And in the absence of light in reference to the shut and open door of the heavenly sanctuary, the reader can hardly see how those who held fast their Advent experience, as illustrated by the parable of the ten virgins, could fail to come to the conclusion that probation for sinners had closed.

But light on the subject soon came, and then it was seen that although Christ closed one ministration at the termination of the 2300 days, he had opened another in the most holy place, and still presented his blood before the Father for sinners. As the high priest, in the type, on the tenth day of the seventh month, entered the most holy place, and offered blood for the sins of the people, before the ark of the testament and the mercy-seat, so Christ, at the close of the 2300 days, came before the ark of God and the mercy-seat to plead his blood in behalf of sinners. Mark this: The great Redeemer then approached the mercy-seat in behalf of sinners. Was the door of mercy closed? This is an unscriptural expression, but, if I may be allowed to use it, may I not say that in the fullest sense of the expression the door of mercy was opened on the tenth day of the seventh month, 1844?

Beside the ark of God containing the ten precepts of his holy law, over which was the mercy-seat, did the trusting ones now behold their merciful High Priest. They had stood in harmony with the whole Advent host at the passing of the time, then represented as “the church in Philadelphia;” meaning brotherly love. And with what inexpressible sweetness did the following words addressed to that church come home to their stricken hearts: “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth. I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” Rev. iii, 7, 8.

Adventists were agreed that the seven churches of Rev. ii and iii, symbolized seven states of the Christian church, covering the entire period from the first advent of Christ to his second appearing, and that the sixth state addressed represented those who with one united voice proclaimed the coming of Jesus, in the autumn of 1844. This church was about to enter upon a period of great trial. And they were to find relief from it, so far as ascertaining their true position is concerned, by light from the heavenly sanctuary. After the light should come, then would also come the battle upon the shut and open door. Here was seen the connecting link between the work of God in the past Advent movement, present duty to keep the commandments of God, and the future glory and reward. And as these views were taught in vindication of the Advent movement, in connection with the claims of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, these men, especially those who had given up their Advent experience, felt called upon to oppose. And their opposition, as a general thing, was most violent, bitter, and wicked.

The shut and open door of the heavenly sanctuary constituted the strong point upon which the matter turned. If we were right on the subject of the cleansing of the sanctuary, then the door or ministration of the holy place was shut, and the door or ministration of the most holy place was opened, the 2300 days had ended, the preaching of time was correct, and the entire movement was right. But let our opponents show that we were in error upon the sanctuary question, that Christ had not entered the most holy place to cleanse the sanctuary, then the 2300 days had not ended, the preaching of the time was an error, and the entire movement was wrong. And, again, if the door or ministration of the most holy place was opened, and the faith of the waiting ones was to view Jesus standing before the mercy-seat and the ark of the ten commandments in Heaven, how forcible the arguments for the perpetuity and claims of the entire law of God, the fourth precept not excepted. The hand of the Lord was with those who took a firm position that the great Advent movement had been in his direct providence, and that the time had come for the Sabbath reform, and many embraced these views. Then it was that our opponents arose in the spirit of persecution, manifesting the wrath of the dragon against those who kept the commandments of God, and labored to open the door that had been shut, and to shut that door which had been opened, and thus put an end to the matter. Hence the strong expressions quoted above--“He that openeth and no _man_ shutteth, and shutteth and no _man_ openeth.” “Behold I have set before thee an open door, and no _man_ can shut it.” Nothing can be plainer than that man, or a set of men, near the close of the history of the church, would war against the truth of God in reference to the shut and open door.

And to this day those who retain the spirit of war upon those who keep the commandments of God, make the belief in the shut and open door odious, and charge it all upon Seventh-day Adventists. Many of them, however, are not unaware of the injustice of this. Some of this people did believe in the shut door, in common with the Adventists generally, soon after the passing of the time. Some of us held fast this position longer than those did who gave up their Advent experience, and drew back in the direction of perdition. And God be thanked that we did hold fast to that position till the matter was explained by light from the heavenly sanctuary.