Chapter 20—Love for Christ's Coming

The first angel's message of Revelation 14 predicts a great religious awakening. It portrays an angel flying “in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.” “With a loud voice,” he proclaims, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” (Revelation 14:6, 7.) 5TC 208.2

An angel represents the high character of the work the message was to accomplish and the power and glory that would accompany it. The angel's flight “in the midst of heaven,” the “loud voice,” and its going “to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” show the rapid, worldwide reach of the movement. As for the time when it is to happen, it announces the opening of the judgment. 5TC 208.3

This message is a part of the gospel which could only be proclaimed in the last days, because only then would it be true that the hour of judgment had come. Daniel was told to close up the part of his prophecy that related to the last days and to seal it “until the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4). Not until this time could a message about the judgment be proclaimed, based on a fulfillment of these prophecies. 5TC 209.1

Paul warned the church not to look for the coming of Christ in his day. Only after the great apostasy and the long reign of the “man of sin” can we look for the advent of our Lord. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:3.) The man of sin—also “the mystery of lawlessness,” “the son of perdition,” and “the lawless one”—represents the papacy, which was to maintain its supremacy for 1,260 years. This period ended in 1798. The coming of Christ could not take place before that time. Paul's caution covers the whole Christian era down to the year 1798. The message of Christ's second coming is to be proclaimed after that time. 5TC 209.2

No such message has ever been given in past ages. As we have seen, Paul did not preach it. He pointed into the then far-distant future for the coming of the Lord. The Reformers did not proclaim it. Martin Luther put the judgment about three hundred years into the future from his day. But since 1798 the book of Daniel has been unsealed, and many have proclaimed the message that the judgment is near. 5TC 209.3

In Different Countries Simultaneously

Like the Reformation of the sixteenth century, the Advent movement appeared in different countries at the same time. God led people of faith to study the prophecies, and they saw convincing evidence that the end was near. Isolated groups of Christians arrived at the belief that the Savior's coming was near, just by studying the Scriptures. 5TC 209.4

Three years after Miller had arrived at his understanding of the prophecies, Dr. Joseph Wolff, “the missionary to the world,” began to proclaim the Lord's soon coming. Born in Germany of Hebrew parents, he was convinced while very young that the Christian religion was true. He had listened eagerly to conversations in his father's house as devout Hebrews came together to discuss the hopes of their people, the glory of the coming Messiah, and the restoration of Israel. One day, hearing Jesus of Nazareth mentioned, the boy inquired who He was. “A Jew of the greatest talent,” was his father's answer; “but because He pretended to be the Messiah, the Jewish tribunal sentenced Him to death.” 5TC 209.5

“Why,” the boy asked, “is Jerusalem destroyed, and why are we in captivity?” 5TC 210.1

“Alas, alas!” answered his father, “because the Jews murdered the prophets.” The thought immediately came to the child, “Perhaps Jesus was also a prophet, and the Jews killed Him when He was innocent.” Although he was forbidden to enter a Christian church, he often lingered outside to listen to the preaching. When only seven years old, he was boasting to a Christian neighbor of Israel's future triumph when the Messiah would come. The old man said kindly: “Dear boy, I will tell you who the real Messiah was. He was Jesus of Nazareth, ... whom your ancestors have crucified.... Go home and read the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, and you will be convinced that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”^{1Travels and Adventures of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, volume 1, pages 6, 7.} 5TC 210.2

He went home and read the scripture, amazed to see how perfectly it had been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. Were the words of the Christian true? The boy asked his father for an explanation of the prophecy but was met with silence so stern that he never again dared to refer to the subject. 5TC 210.3

When only eleven years old, he went out into the world to gain an education, to choose his religion and his lifework. Alone and with no money, he had to make his own way. He studied diligently, supporting himself by teaching Hebrew. He came to accept the Catholic faith and went to pursue his studies in the College of the Propaganda at Rome. Here he openly attacked the abuses of the church and urged reform. After a time, he was sent away from Rome. It became clear that he could never be brought to submit to the rule of Romanism. He was declared to be beyond hope and was allowed to go where he pleased. He made his way to England and joined the English Church. After two years’ study, in 1821 he set out on his mission. 5TC 210.4

Wolff saw that the prophecies point to Christ's second coming with power and glory. While he tried to lead his people to Jesus of Nazareth as the Promised One, to point them to His first coming as a sacrifice for sin, he also taught them about His second coming. 5TC 211.1

Wolff believed the coming of the Lord was very near. His interpretation of the prophetic periods placed it within a few years of the time that Miller pointed out. “Did our Lord ... not give us signs of the times, so that we may know at least the approach of His coming, as one knows the approach of the summer by the fig tree putting forth its leaves? Enough ... shall be known by the signs of the times to persuade us to prepare for His coming, as Noah prepared the ark.”^{2Joseph Wolff, Researches and Missionary Labors, pages 404, 405.} 5TC 211.2

Against Popular Interpretations

Concerning the popular system of interpreting the Scriptures, Wolff wrote: “Most of the Christian church have swerved from the plain sense of Scripture, and ... suppose that when they are reading Jews, they must understand Gentiles; and when they read Jerusalem, they must understand the church; and if it says earth, it means sky; and for the coming of the Lord they must understand the progress of the missionary societies; and going up to the mountain of the Lord's house, signifies a grand class meeting of Methodists.”^{3Journal of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, page 96.} 5TC 211.3

From 1821 to 1845, Wolff traveled in Egypt, Ethiopia, Palestine, Syria, Persia, Bokhara,^{*A remote region of Turkistan, between Afghanistan and Russia.} India, and the United States. 5TC 211.4

Power in the Book

Dr. Wolff traveled in the most uncivilized countries without protection, enduring hardships and surrounded with countless dangers. He was starved, sold as a slave, condemned to death three times, attacked by robbers, and sometimes nearly died of thirst. Once he was stripped of all his possessions and left to travel hundreds of miles on foot through mountains, snow beating in his face and his bare feet numbed by the frozen ground. 5TC 212.1

When people warned him against going unarmed among savage, hostile tribes, he said he was “provided with arms”—“prayer, zeal for Christ, and confidence in His help.” “I am also provided with the love of God and my neighbor in my heart, and the Bible is in my hand.” “I felt my power was in the Book, and that its might would sustain me.”^{4W. H. D. Adams, In Perils Oft, pages 192, 201.} 5TC 212.2

He kept on working until the message had gone to a large part of the populated world. Among Jews, Turks, Persians, Hindus, and other nationalities and races he distributed the Word of God in various languages, and everywhere he announced the Messiah's coming. 5TC 212.3

In Bokhara he found an isolated people who held the doctrine of the Lord's soon return. The Arabs of Yemen, he says, “are in possession of a book called Seera, which predicts the second coming of Christ and His reign in glory; and they expect great events to take place in the year 1840.” “I found children of Israel, of the tribe of Dan, ... who expect, with the children of Rechab, the speedy arrival of the Messiah in the clouds of heaven.”^{5Journal of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, pages 377, 389.} 5TC 212.4

Another missionary found a similar belief in Tatary, an area in Eastern Europe. A Tatar priest asked him when Christ would come the second time. When the missionary answered that he knew nothing about it, the priest seemed surprised to find such ignorance in a Bible teacher. He stated his own belief, based on prophecy, that Christ would come about 1844. 5TC 212.5

The Advent Message in England

As early as 1826 the advent message began to be preached in England. This did not usually involve teaching the exact time of the advent, but the truth of Christ's soon coming in power and glory was proclaimed extensively. An English writer states that about seven hundred ministers of the Church of England were preaching “this gospel of the kingdom.” 5TC 213.1

Great Britain received the message pointing to 1844 as the time of the Lord's coming, as well. Advent publications from the United States circulated widely. In 1842, Robert Winter, an Englishman who had accepted the advent faith in America, returned to his native country to spread the news of the Lord's coming. Many joined him in the work in various parts of England. 5TC 213.2

In South America, Lacunza, a Jesuit from Spain, received the truth of Christ's speedy return. Wanting to avoid condemnation from Rome, he published his version under the assumed name of Rabbi Ben-Ezra, who claimed to be a converted Jew. About 1825 his book was translated into English. It helped to deepen the interest already awakening in England. 5TC 213.3

Revelation Unfolds to Bengel

In Germany Bengel, a Lutheran minister and Bible scholar, had taught the doctrine of Christ's soon return. While he was preparing a sermon from Revelation 21, the light of Christ's second coming broke in on his mind, and the prophecies of the Revelation opened to his understanding. The importance and glory of the prophetic scenes overwhelmed him, and he had to turn away from the subject for a time. In the pulpit it came to him again vividly. From that time he devoted himself to studying the prophecies, and soon he arrived at the belief that the coming of Christ was near. The date he established as the time of the Second Advent was within a few years of the one that Miller later held. 5TC 213.4

Bengel's writings spread in his own state of Würtemberg and to other parts of Germany. People in Germany heard the advent message at the same time that it was attracting attention in other lands. 5TC 213.5

At Geneva, Switzerland, Gaussen preached the Second Advent. When he entered the ministry he was inclined to doubt. In his youth he had become interested in prophecy. After reading Rollin's Ancient History, he read the second chapter of Daniel. He was struck with how the prophecy had been fulfilled exactly. Here was an indication that the Scriptures were inspired. He could not remain satisfied with rationalism, and in studying the Bible he found a positive faith. 5TC 214.1

He came to the belief that the coming of the Lord was near. Impressed that this truth was important, he wanted to present it to the people. But the popular belief that no one could understand the prophecies of Daniel was a serious obstacle. As Farel had done before him in evangelizing Geneva, he finally decided to begin with the children, and he hoped to interest the parents through them. He said, “I gather an audience of children; if the group grows, and I see that they listen, are pleased, interested, that they understand and explain the subject, I am sure to have a second circle soon, and in a while, grown people will see that it is worth their time to sit down and study. When this happens, the cause has won.”^{6L. Gaussen, Daniel the Prophet, volume 2, preface.} 5TC 214.2

As he spoke to the children, older people came to listen. The seats of his church were filled with hearers, people of rank and learning, and strangers and foreigners visiting Geneva. They, in turn, carried the message to other parts. 5TC 214.3

Encouraged by this, Gaussen published his lessons with the hope of promoting the study of the prophetic books. Later he became a teacher in a theological school, while on Sunday he continued his work of speaking to children and instructing them in the Scriptures. From the professor's chair, through the press, and as a teacher of children, for many years he was instrumental in calling people's attention to the prophecies that showed that the Lord's coming was near. 5TC 214.4

Child Preachers of Scandinavia

The advent message was also proclaimed in Scandinavia. It stirred many people to confess and forsake their sins and to ask for forgiveness in the name of Christ. But the clergy of the state church opposed the movement, and some who preached the message were thrown into prison. 5TC 215.1

In many places where officials silenced the preachers of the Lord's soon coming, God chose to send the message through little children. Since they were under age, the state could not stop them, and they were allowed to speak without interference. 5TC 215.2

In the simple homes of workers the people gathered to hear the warning. Some of the child preachers were not more than six or eight years old. While their lives testified that they loved the Savior, ordinarily they showed only the intelligence and ability that children of that age usually had. But when they stood before the people, an influence that was beyond their natural gifts moved them. Their tone and manner changed, and with solemn power they gave the warning of the judgment, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come.” 5TC 215.3

The people heard with trembling. The Spirit of God spoke to hearts. Many began to search the Scriptures, the drunken and immoral were reformed, and a change took place so remarkable that even ministers of the state church had to admit that the hand of God was in the movement. 5TC 215.4

It was God's will to give the news of the Savior's coming in Scandinavia, and He put His Spirit on the children to accomplish the work. When Jesus came near to Jerusalem, the people, intimidated by the priests and rulers, stopped their joyful proclamation as they entered the gates of Jerusalem. But the children in the temple courtyard took up the chorus and shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:8-16). As God worked through children at the time of Christ's first advent, so He worked through them in giving the message of His second advent. 5TC 215.5

The Message Spreads

America became the center of the great Advent movement. The writings of Miller and his associates went from there to distant lands, wherever missionaries had gone in all the world. The message of the everlasting gospel spread far and wide: “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come.” 5TC 216.1

The prophecies that seemed to point to the coming of Christ in the spring of 1844 took deep hold of the minds of the people. Many were convinced that the arguments from the prophetic periods were correct. Sacrificing pride of opinion, they received the truth with joy. Some ministers left their salaries and churches and joined in proclaiming the coming of Jesus. Comparatively few ministers, however, would accept this message, and so God entrusted it mostly to humble laymen. Farmers left their fields; mechanics, their tools; traders, their merchandise; professional men, their positions. They willingly endured hard work, poverty, and suffering, in order to call people to repentance and salvation. Thousands accepted the advent truth. 5TC 216.2

Simple Scripture Brings Conviction

Like John the Baptist, the preachers aimed the axe at the root of the tree and urged everyone to bear “fruits worthy of repentance.” In sharp contrast to assurances of peace and safety coming from popular pulpits, the simple testimony of Scripture brought conviction few were able to resist entirely. Many came to the Lord with repentance. The affections they had set on earthly things for so long, they now fixed on heaven. With softened and subdued hearts they joined to proclaim the message, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come.” 5TC 216.3

Sinners asked with tears, “What must I do to be saved?” Those who had been dishonest were anxious to make things right. Everyone who found peace in Christ longed to see others share the blessing. The hearts of parents turned to their children, and the hearts of children to their parents (Malachi 4:5, 6). Barriers of pride and reluctance were swept away. People made heartfelt confessions. Everywhere hearts were pleading with God. Many wrestled all night in prayer for the assurance that their sins were forgiven or for the conversion of relatives or neighbors. 5TC 216.4

All classes, rich and poor, high and low, were anxious to hear the teaching of the Second Advent. The Spirit of God gave power to His truth. People felt the presence of holy angels in these gatherings, and many more joined the believers every day. Huge crowds listened in silence to the solemn words. Heaven and earth seemed to approach each other. People went home with praises on their lips, and the glad sound rang out on the still night air. None who attended those meetings could ever forget those scenes of deepest interest. 5TC 217.1

The Message Opposed

The message of a definite time for Christ's coming stirred up great opposition from many people in all parts of society, from the minister in the pulpit to the most Heaven-daring sinner. Many declared that they were not against the doctrine of the Second Advent, they just objected to the definite time. But God's all-seeing eye read their hearts. They did not want to hear that Christ would come to judge the world in righteousness. Their works would not pass the inspection of the heart-searching God, and they were afraid to meet their Lord. Like the Jews at the time of Christ's first advent, they were not prepared to welcome Jesus. They not only refused to listen to the clear arguments from the Bible but ridiculed those who were looking for the Lord. Satan flung the taunt in the face of Christ that His professed people had so little love for Him that they did not want Him to return. 5TC 217.2

Those who rejected the advent faith most often used the argument, “No one knows the day nor the hour.” The scripture text is: “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36). Those who were looking for the Lord gave a clear explanation of this text and showed plainly how their opponents were using it wrongly. 5TC 217.3

One saying of the Savior must not be made to destroy another. Though no one knows the day nor the hour of His coming, we are required to know when it is near. To refuse or neglect to know when His advent is near will be as fatal for us as it was for people in the days of Noah not to know when the Flood was coming. Christ says, “Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you” (Revelation 3:3). 5TC 217.4

Paul speaks of those who have accepted the Savior's warning: “You, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:4, 5). 5TC 218.1

But those who wanted an excuse to reject truth refused to listen to this explanation, and the words “No one knows the day nor the hour” continued to echo from the scoffer and even the professed minister of Christ. As the people began to ask about the way of salvation, religious teachers stepped in between them and the truth by falsely interpreting the Word of God. 5TC 218.2

The most devoted in the churches were usually the first to accept the message. Wherever the people were not controlled by the clergy, wherever they would search the Word of God for themselves, they only needed to compare the advent doctrine with Scripture to be convinced of its divine authority. 5TC 218.3

Many were misled by husbands, wives, parents, or children and were made to believe it was a sin even to listen to such “heresies” as the Adventists taught. God sent His angels to keep faithful watch over these people, for another light was going to shine on them from His throne. 5TC 218.4

Those who had accepted the message watched for the coming of their Savior. The time when they expected to meet Him had almost arrived. They approached this hour calmly and solemnly. None who experienced this can forget those precious hours of waiting. For some weeks before the time, for the most part they set worldly business aside. Sincere believers carefully examined their hearts as if in a few hours their earthly lives would end. There was no making of “ascension robes” (see Appendix), but all of them felt the need for inner assurance that they were prepared to meet the Savior. Their white robes were purity of heart—characters cleansed by the atoning blood of Christ. Oh, if only the people of God still had the same heart searching, the same earnest faith! 5TC 218.5

God intended to test His people. His hand covered a mistake in computing the prophetic periods. The time of expectation [that is, that Christ would come in the spring of 1844] passed, and Christ did not appear. Those who had looked for their Savior experienced a bitter disappointment. Yet God was testing the hearts of those who claimed to be waiting for His appearing. Many had acted from fear. These people declared that they had never believed that Christ would come. They were among the first to ridicule the sorrow of the true believers. 5TC 219.1

But Jesus and all of heaven looked with love and sympathy on the faithful yet disappointed ones. If the veil separating the visible from the invisible world could have been swept back, these loyal believers would have seen angels drawing near to them and shielding them from Satan's arrows. 5TC 219.2