Chapter 22—Prophecies Fulfilled

When the spring of 1844 passed—the time when people first expected the Lord's coming—those who had looked for His appearing experienced doubt and uncertainty. Many continued to search the Scriptures, examining again the evidence for their faith. The prophecies, clear and certain, pointed to the coming of Christ as near. The blessing of the Lord in converting and reviving Christians had testified that the message was from Heaven. Interwoven with prophecies that they thought applied to the time of the Second Advent was instruction encouraging them to wait patiently in faith that what was now unclear to them would be made plain. Among these prophecies was Habakkuk 2:1-4. No one, however, noticed that an apparent delay—a tarrying time—is in the prophecy. After the disappointment, this scripture seemed very significant: “The vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.... The just shall live by his faith.” 5TC 229.2

Ezekiel's prophecy also comforted the believers: “Thus says the Lord GOD: ... ‘The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.... I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed.’” “The word which I speak will be done.” (Ezekiel 12:23, 25, 28.) 5TC 230.1

Those who were waiting rejoiced. God, who knows the end from the beginning, had given them hope. Without Scriptures like these, their faith would have failed. 5TC 230.2

The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 also illustrates the experience of the Adventist people. Here we see the church in the last days. Their experience is illustrated by the events of an Eastern marriage: 5TC 230.3

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’” (Matthew 25:1-6). 5TC 230.4

The coming of the bridegroom represented the coming of Christ, as announced by the first angel's message. The virgins’ going out to meet the bridegroom corresponded to the widespread reformation that accompanied the message of Christ's soon coming. In this parable, all had taken their lamps, the Bible, and had gone “out to meet the bridegroom.” But while the foolish “took no oil with them,” “the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” They had studied the Scriptures to learn the truth and had a personal experience, a faith in God that disappointment and delay could not overthrow. The others responded to emotion, to their fears that the message stirred up. But they had depended on the faith of the “wise,” satisfied with the flickering light of emotion, without a thorough understanding of truth or a genuine work of grace in the heart. These had gone out “to meet” the Lord, expecting an immediate reward, but they were not prepared for delay and disappointment. Their faith failed. 5TC 230.5

“While the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.” This extended waiting for the bridegroom represents the passing of the time, the disappointment, the seeming delay. Those who based their faith on a personal knowledge of the Bible had a rock to stand on, which the waves of disappointment could not wash away. “They all slumbered and slept,” one class in abandoning their faith, the other patiently waiting till clearer light would come. The superficial ones could no longer lean on the faith of the others. Each must stand or fall for himself. 5TC 231.1

Fanaticism Appears

About this time, fanaticism began to appear. Some who claimed to be believers showed a bigoted zeal. Their fanatical ideas gained no sympathy from the great majority of Adventists, yet they brought disgrace on the cause of truth. 5TC 231.2

Satan was losing his servants, and in order give the cause of God a bad reputation, he worked to deceive some who called themselves believers and drive them to extremes. Then his followers stood ready to take hold of every error, every strange or questionable act, and hold it up in the most exaggerated light to portray Adventists as a disgrace. The more people he could crowd in to profess faith in the Second Advent while his power controlled their hearts, the more advantage he would gain. 5TC 231.3

Satan is “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). His spirit inspires his followers to watch for defects in the Lord's people and hold them up to notice, while not mentioning their good deeds. 5TC 231.4

In all the history of the church no reformation has moved forward without meeting serious obstacles. Wherever Paul raised up a church, some who claimed to receive the faith brought in heresies. Luther also experienced distress from fanatical persons who claimed that God had spoken directly through them, who put their own ideas above Scripture. Many were deceived by the new teachers and joined Satan in tearing down what God had led Luther to build up. The Wesleys saw Satan's work in pushing unbalanced, unsanctified people into fanaticism. 5TC 231.5

William Miller had no sympathy with fanaticism. “The devil,” said Miller, “has great power over the minds of some today.” “I have often gotten more evidence of genuine devotion to God from an animated eye, a wet cheek, and a choked response, than from all the noise in Christendom.”^{1S. Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, pages 236, 237.} 5TC 232.1

In the Reformation its enemies blamed the evils of fanaticism on the ones who were working most earnestly against it. Those who opposed the Advent movement followed a similar course. Not content with exaggerating the errors of fanatics, they spread reports that had not a shred of truth. Their peace was disturbed by the proclamation that Christ was almost here. They feared it might be true, yet hoped it was not. This was the secret of their warfare against Adventists. 5TC 232.2

The preaching of the first angel's message tended directly to hold fanaticism back. Those who participated in these solemn movements were in harmony. Their hearts were filled with love for one another and for Jesus, whom they expected soon to see. The one faith, the one blessed hope, proved to be a shield against Satan's assaults. 5TC 232.3

Mistake Corrected

“While the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard, ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’” In the summer of 1844 the believers proclaimed this message in the very words of Scripture. 5TC 232.4

The event that led to this movement was the discovery that the decree of Artaxerxes to restore Jerusalem, which was the starting point for the 2,300 days, went into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C. and not at the beginning of the year, as had been believed. Starting the calculation from the autumn of 457, the 2,300 years end in the autumn of 1844. The Old Testament symbols also pointed to the autumn as the time when the “cleansing of the sanctuary” must take place. 5TC 232.5

The killing of the Passover lamb was a shadow of the death of Christ, a symbol fulfilled, not only in relation to the event, but also to the time. On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which for centuries the Passover lamb had been killed, Christ instituted the Lord's Supper, the feast that was to commemorate His own death as “the Lamb of God.” That same night He was taken to be crucified and killed. 5TC 233.1

In the same way, the symbols that relate to the Second Advent must be fulfilled at the time indicated in the symbolic service. The cleansing of the sanctuary, or the Day of Atonement, happened on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month. On that day the high priest, after making an atonement for all Israel and in this way removing their sins from the sanctuary, came out and blessed the people. So it was believed that Christ would appear to purify the earth by destroying sin and sinners and to bless His waiting people with immortality. The tenth day of the seventh month—the great Day of Atonement, the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which in 1844 fell on the twenty-second of October—was thought to be the day the Lord would come. The 2,300 days would end in the autumn, and the conclusion seemed irresistible. 5TC 233.2

“Midnight Cry”

The arguments carried strong conviction, and thousands of believers gave the “midnight cry.” Like a tidal wave the movement swept from city to city, from village to village. Fanaticism disappeared like early frost in the rising sun. The work was like those times when ancient Israel returned to the Lord following messages of rebuke from His servants. There was little ecstatic joy, but instead deep searching of heart, confession of sin, and forsaking of the world. People showed full consecration to God, with nothing held back. 5TC 233.3

Of all the great religious movements since the days of the apostles, none have been more free from human imperfection and Satan's deceptions than was the Advent movement in the autumn of 1844. 5TC 234.1

In response to the call, “The bridegroom is coming,” the waiting ones “arose and trimmed their lamps”; they studied the Word of God with an intensity of interest unlike anything before. The first to obey the call were not the most talented, but the most humble and devoted. Farmers left their crops in the fields, mechanics laid down their tools and happily went out to give the warning. The churches in general closed their doors against this message, and a large number of people who received it withdrew their membership. Unbelievers who flocked to the Adventist meetings felt convincing power supporting the message, “Behold, the bridegroom is coming!” Faith brought answers to prayer. Like showers of rain on the thirsty earth, the Spirit of grace descended on the earnest seekers. Those who expected soon to stand face-to-face with their Redeemer felt a solemn joy. The Holy Spirit melted their hearts. 5TC 234.2

Those who received the message came up to the time when they hoped to meet their Lord. They prayed frequently with one another. They often met in out-of-the-way places to talk with God, and the voice of intercession went up to heaven from fields and wooded groves. They wanted the assurance of the Savior's approval more than their daily food, and if a cloud darkened their minds, they did not rest until they felt the assurance of pardoning grace. 5TC 234.3

Disappointed Again

But again, the time that they expected Jesus to come passed, and their Savior did not appear. Now they felt like Mary did when she came to the Savior's tomb and found it empty, and she exclaimed with tears, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him” (John 20:13). 5TC 234.4

The fear that the message might be true had restrained the unbelieving world. But when they saw no signs of God's anger, they recovered from their fears and began their taunts and ridicule again. A large number who had claimed to believe renounced their faith. The scoffers persuaded the weak and cowardly to join them, and they all united in declaring that the world might stay the same for thousands of years. 5TC 234.5

The earnest, sincere believers had given up everything for Christ. They believed they had given their last warning to the world. With intense desire they had prayed, “Come, Lord Jesus.” But now to pick up the burden of life's perplexities again and to endure the jeers of a scoffing world was a terrible trial. 5TC 235.1

When Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, His followers believed that He was about to take the throne of David and deliver Israel from her oppressors. With high hopes, many spread their outer garments as a carpet in His path or strewed leafy palm branches before Him. The disciples were fulfilling God's intentions, yet they were doomed to a bitter disappointment. Only a few days passed before they witnessed the Savior's agonizing death and laid Him in the tomb. Their hopes died with Jesus. Not till their Lord had come out from the grave could they understand that prophecy had foretold all of this. 5TC 235.2

Messages Given at the Right Time

Similarly, Miller and his associates fulfilled prophecy and gave a message that Inspiration had foretold should go to the world. They could not have given it if they had fully understood the prophecies pointing out their disappointment and presenting another message that would have to be preached to all nations before the Lord returns. The first and second angels’ messages were given at the right time and accomplished the work that God intended them to accomplish. 5TC 235.3

The world had been expecting that if Christ did not appear, people would give up their Adventism. Many did surrender their faith, but there were some who stood firm. The fruits of the Advent movement—the spirit of heart searching, of renouncing the world and of reforming the life—testified that it was from God. They dared not deny that the Holy Spirit had blessed the preaching of the Second Advent. They could find no error in the prophetic periods. Their opponents had not succeeded in disproving their prophetic interpretation. They could not agree to renounce beliefs they had come to through earnest, prayerful study of the Scriptures, by minds enlightened by the Spirit of God and hearts burning with its living power, and which had stood firm against the arguments of educated and eloquent opponents. 5TC 235.4

Adventists believed that God had led them to give the warning of the judgment. They declared, “It has tested the hearts of all who heard it, ... so that those who will examine their own hearts may know on which side ... they would have been found, if the Lord had come then—whether they would have exclaimed, ‘Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us;’ or whether they would have called to the rocks and mountains to fall on them to hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne!”^{2The Advent Herald and Signs of the Times Reporter, volume 8, number 14 (November 13, 1844).} 5TC 236.1

William Miller expressed the feelings of those who still believed that God had led them: “My hope in the coming of Christ is as strong as ever. I have done only what I felt it my duty to do, after years of solemn consideration.” “To all human appearance, many thousands have been made to study the Scriptures by the preaching of the time; and by that means they have been reconciled to God through faith and the sprinkling of the blood of Christ.”^{3Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller, pages 256, 255, 277, 280, 281.} 5TC 236.2

Belief Maintained

God's Spirit still stayed with those who did not rashly deny the light they had received and denounce the Advent movement. “Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: ‘For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:35-39). 5TC 236.3

This counsel is addressed to the church in the last days. It plainly implies that the Lord would seem to delay His coming. The people addressed here had done the will of God by following the guidance of His Spirit and His Word, yet they could not understand His purpose in their experience. They were tempted to doubt whether God had indeed been leading them. The words, “Now the just shall live by faith,” were applicable at this time. Crushed by disappointed hopes, they could stand only by faith in God and His Word. To renounce their faith and deny the power of the Holy Spirit that had accompanied the message would be to go back toward being lost. Their only safe course was to cherish the light they had already received from God, continue to search the Scriptures, and patiently wait and watch for further light. 5TC 237.1