THE GREAT 
SECOND ADVENT MOVEMENT

ITS RISE AND PROGRESS

11. THE SECOND ANGEL’S MESSAGE

“AND there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”¹

“Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.”²

The Lord through his ministers had stirred the world with the message, “The hour of his judgment is come,”-a message on which all his professed people might have united if they would.  This was the first call to the marriage “supper.”  It had been declared “to them that were bidden.”³  As this call was set aside with various excuses, a second call was given, corresponding to the second angel’s message.⁴  By this call the Lord separated a people to go forth to the end of time with the advancing light of his truth. 

The Second Call to the Marriage Supper

The second message-the one following the judgment hour cry-says, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” And the second call to the supper reads, “Go ye quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.”  In each of these scriptures the Lord’s 

¹ Rev. 14:8. ² Luke 14:21. ³ Luke 14:17. ⁴ Luke 14:21; Rev. 14:8.

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professed people are called a “city.”  With their conflicting, confused creeds they are called “Babylon.” By another scripture referring to the last times, we see that just before the Lord’s coming his people are called out of “Babylon:”  “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. . . .  Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”⁵

“Remember How Thou Hast Heard”

In the address to the Sardis church we read, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.  If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”⁶ The Sardis church seems to have been brought out by the Reformation, after the dark period of the work of “Jezebel”-the apostate church.  The church of Sardis was told that she had been a live church; but when she heard and rejected the doctrine of the Lord’s coming, she placed herself where she was liable to be overtaken by that event as by a “thief in the night.”  So, it is stated by the apostle Paul in 1 Thess. 5:1-5, will be the condition of those who cry, “Peace and safety,” when the Lord’s coming is near.  Those who follow the light of truth are called the “children of the day,” and the Lord will not come on them as a thief.

In this prophetic description of the seven churches, we see the fall of the Sardis church is immediately followed by the Philadelphia, or (as the word signifies) brotherly love, church. Such, indeed, were the 50,000 believers who, by the second angel’s message, were brought out from all the varied churches, and united in one bond of brotherly love on the great cardinal truth of the immediate advent of Christ.

⁶ Rev. 3:3.  For a full exposition of the seven churches, see Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation. 

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How the Second Message was Proclaimed

The Midnight Cry of Sept. 12, 1844, contains a statement made by Elder J. V. Himes respecting the second angel’s message, and the circumstances which led to the proclamation of the same.  His letter is dated, McConnellsville, Ohio, Aug. 29, 1844, and reads:-

“When we commenced the work with Brother Miller in 1840, he had been lecturing nine years. During that time he stood almost alone.  But his labors had been incessant and effectual in awakening professors of religion to the true hope of God’s people, and the necessary preparation for the advent of the Lord; as also the awakening of all classes of the unconverted to a sense of their lost condition, and the duty of immediate repentance and conversion to God, as a preparation to meet the Bridegroom in peace at his coming.  Those were the great objects of his labors.  He made no attempt to convert men to a sect or party in religion.  

“When we were persuaded of the truth of the advent at hand, and embraced the doctrine publicly, we entertained the same views, and pursued the same course among the different sects, where we were called, in the providence of God, to labor.  We told the ministers and churches that it was no part of our business to break them up, or to divide and distract them.  We had one distinct object, and that was to give the ‘cry,’ the warning of the judgment ‘at the door,’ and persuade our fellow-men to get ready for the event. . . . The ministry and membership who availed themselves of our labors, but had not sincerely embraced the doctrine, saw that they must either go with the doctrine, and preach and maintain it, or in the crisis which was right upon them, they would have difficulty with the decided and determined believers.  They therefore decided against the doctrine, and determined, some by one policy and some by another, to suppress the subject. This placed our brethren and sisters among them in a most trying position.  Most of them loved

174 their churches, and could not think of leaving.  But when they were ridiculed, oppressed, and in various ways cut off from their former privileges and enjoyments, and when the ‘meat in due season’ was sounded in their ears from Sabbath to Sabbath, they were soon weaned from their party predilections, and arose in the majesty of their strength, shook off the yoke, and raised the cry, ‘Come out of her, my people.’

In a Trying Position

“This state of things placed us in a trying position, (1) Because we were right at the end of our prophetic time, in which we expected the Lord would gather all his people in one; and (2) we had always preached a different doctrine; and now that the circumstances had changed, it would be regarded as dishonesty in us if we should unite in the cry of separation and breaking up of churches that had received us and our message. We therefore hesitated, and continued to act on our first position, until the church and ministry carried the matter so far that we were obliged, in the fear of God, to take a position of defense for the truth and the down-trodden children of God.

Apostolic Example for Our Course

“ ‘And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.  But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.’⁷  It was not until ‘divers were hardened’ and ‘spake evil of that way [the Lord’s coming] before the multitude,’ that our brethren were moved to come out and separate from the churches.  They could not endure this ‘evil speaking’ of the ‘evil servants,’ and the churches that could pursue the course

⁷ Acts 19:8, 9.

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of oppression and ‘evil speaking’ toward those who were looking for the ‘blessed hope,’ were to them none other than the daughters of the mystic Babylon.  They so proclaimed them, and came into the liberty of the gospel.  And though we may not all be agreed as to what constitutes Babylon, we are agreed in the instant and final separation from all who oppose the doctrine of the coming and kingdom of God at hand.  We believe it to be a case of life and death. It is death to remain connected with those bodies that speak lightly of or oppose the coming of the Lord.  It is life to come out from all human tradition, and stand upon the word of God, and look daily for the appearing of the Lord.  We therefore now say to all who are in any way entangled in the yoke of bondage, ‘Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.’ “⁸

Unaccountable Opposition

Wm. Miller thus speaks of the conflict which existed at that time between the churches and the Adventists:-

“It is most unnatural and unaccountable that the Christian churches should exclude this doctrine and their members for this blessed hope.  I know some of the Baptist churches say they do not exclude them for their faith, but for their communion with the advent believers.  Then if it is not for their faith in a coming Saviour, why am I excluded from their pulpits, who have never communed with any but a Baptist church? It is a false plea. But this cannot be the plea of the Methodists and Presbyterians; for they believe in mixed communion.  What do they exclude for?  I heard of some being excluded for ‘hymning’ second advent melodies; others for insanity, when all the insanity proved against them was, they were watching for Christ.  O God, ‘forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ “

⁸ 2 Cor. 6:17, 18.

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Storrs on the Attitude of the Churches

George Storrs spoke of the attitude of the churches toward the Adventists, on this wise:-

“Which of them, at this moment, are not saying, ‘I sit as a queen’? And which of them are not pleasing themselves with the idea that some day they are to effect the conquest of the world, and that it is to be subjected to their faith?  Which of them will suffer a soul to remain among them in peace, that openly and fearlessly avows his faith in the advent at the door?  Are not the terms of remaining among them undisturbed, that you ‘wholly refrain’ from a public expression of faith in the coming of the Lord this year, whatever your convictions may be on the subject, and however important you may feel it to cry, ‘Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come’?”

Mansfield’s Testimony

L. D. Mansfield, writing from Oneida, N.Y., March 21, 1844, thus testifies:-

“God is moving upon the minds of his dear children who are waiting for the Lord from heaven, and leading them not only to heed the angel ‘having the everlasting gospel to preach, saying, The hour of his judgment  is  come,’  but to obey the subsequent command, ‘Come out of her, my people!’  I am more fully persuaded than ever before, that the religious organizations of the present day constitute no small portion of that Babylon which is to be thrown down with violence, and found no more at all. . . .  It seems to me, however, that in some of the organizations the resemblance to the little horn is most striking.  Some instances will illustrate the matter. 

The Mob Spirit Manifest

“A brother who had labored very successfully in this region, in proclaiming the coming of the Lord, made an 

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appointment to lecture at a certain place at a given time.  The Lord so ordered it that he was sixteen miles from the appointment, but a-minister was present, at the head of a mob, with tar and feathers, for the purpose of applying them to that servant of the Most High God. This same minister commenced a protracted meeting soon after, but all was as cold and icy as the glacier of the North-no souls awakened or converted.  At length the minister said he believed he should ‘have to take the anxious seat.’

“A class-leader in this village said to his class since we have been holding meetings here, that if any man should come into his house and say he believed Christ would come this year, he would turn him out of doors.”

Duty to the Churches

We will at this point introduce a testimony from an address to the advent conference of believers assembled in Boston, Mass., dated May 31, 1844, and signed by Wm. Miller, Elon Galusha, N. N. Whiting, Apollos Hale, and J. V. Himes.  They say:-

“Upon our duty to the churches we may also say a word.  The danger here, as in most other cases, appears to us to be in the extremes.  The first form of the danger is that of allowing the authority of the church with which we may be associated to impose silence upon us in such a question of duty.  We have no doubt thousands have brought themselves into condemnation

before God by yielding to the unscriptural claims of their churches in this matter, who, if they had been decided and faithful, would now be in a much more safe condition, and more useful, though they might also be called to suffer.

“The second form of danger is that of yielding to a spirit of revenge against the churches on account of their injustice toward us, and of waging an indiscriminate warfare against all such organizations. As to the duty of the Adventists, 

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in reference to the churches with which they may be associated, if we were called upon to do it, we could give no directions which could be of general application.  They must act in the fear of God, as the circumstances of the case require. 

“We should, however, be decided in doing our duty, in testifying for the truth on all proper and suitable occasions.  And if by taking this course we give offense to the churches, and they threaten us with expulsion unless we remain silent (though if we see fit to dissolve our relation to the church amicably, it may be the better way), let us do our duty, and when we are expelled, be patient in suffering the wrong, and be willing with our Master to ‘go forth without the gate, bearing his reproach.’ “

From these quotations respecting the action of the churches toward those giving the second angel’s message, it can be readily seen how, as the first result of giving this second call to the “supper,” those who were gathered into one spiritual fold are spoken of as the “maimed,” “the halt,” and “the blind,” which strongly suggests the ill treatment they had received from the “smiting” of their “fellow-servants,” from whom they had been separated.

A Separate People Chosen to Receive New Truths

The purpose of the Lord can be clearly discerned in bringing out a distinct people under the proclamation of the second angel’s message-the second call to the “supper”-and the “midnight cry.”  Precious truths for the last days were to be searched out and proclaimed-a work which could not be done in “creed-bound” churches any more than the heralding of the gospel to the world could be accomplished by the apostolic church while retaining a connection with the Jewish sects.  God called for separation there,⁹ and he also called for separation of the advent believers from those who would seek to hold them in the circle of their creeds.

⁹ Acts 13:46.

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Storrs’s Six Sermons

Soon after this coming out we note that the light came to the advent bands on the subject of future punishment, as set forth in the pamphlet, Six Sermons, by George Storrs, taking the position that man by nature is mortal; that the dead are unconscious between death and the resurrection; that the final punishment of the ungodly will be total extinction; and that immortality is a gift of God, to be received only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thousands of the Adventists accepted this doctrine of man’s nature, but not all of them.  The rejection of it brought no confusion among them, as it was regarded as a matter of belief simply, and no test of moral standing; hence the united effort to warn the world of the near approach of Christ was unbroken.  It did, however, have the effect to stir up the ire of the churches against them.

Unable to Refute the Six Sermons

The Methodist minister in the town where I lived, and who had previously joined in preaching the advent doctrine in 1843, received the Six Sermons, read it, and admitted to his church members  that he was unable to refute  the doctrine;  but on finding that many of his church members were accepting it, he advised others not to read  the book, as they “would believe the doctrine if they read it.”  In the month of September, 1844,  after this minister returned from the annual conference, he arose in his pulpit and publicly renounced the advent doctrine, and humbly asked the pardon of the church for ever inviting the lecturers to speak in the house.

Tried for Heresy

This action on the part of the minister was soon followed by an effort to deal with the advent believers for heresy; but as they were allowed to plead their cases from

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the Bible, no victory was gained by the church.  Several were excluded from this church because their course was not in harmony with the discipline, and many others withdrew because of this exclusion of members whose faith could not be shown to be contrary to the Scriptures. Thus the advent doctrine was forever shut out of the church where hundreds had found the Saviour and been made happy in God.

What was done in my native town was also enacted in hundreds of other churches throughout the country. Those who were thus treated by their former brethren found much consolation in the words of the prophet Isaiah:  “Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word: Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.”¹⁰

Wrath of the Wicked Displayed

As the day drew near on which the Lord was expected, the believers became more earnest in their labors, and the wicked raged and scoffed the more fiercely, as will be seen by the following statement made by the editor of the Midnight Cry of Oct. 31, 1844:-

“The effect that this movement produced upon the wicked, also greatly served to confirm us in our belief that God was in it.  When God’s children were met together to prostrate and humble themselves before him, and to prepare for his appearing, as it became a company of sinners to do, who would only be saved by grace, the wicked manifested the greatest malice.  When we had given no notice of our meetings save in our own paper, nor had invited the public there, the sons of Belial crowded into them, and caused much disturbance.  On the evening of Saturday, the 12th instant [Oct. 12, 1844], we held no meeting at the tabernacle, that the sexton [janitor], might have an  opportunity to cleanse the house for the Sabbath [Sunday].  But the mob broke into the house, and refused even that privilege.  The

¹⁰ Isa. 66:5.

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mayor, however, unsolicited, promptly interfered, and expelled them.

“At our meetings on the Sabbath following, after the tabernacle was filled, a dense crowd occupied the street in front of the building, many of them being enraged that any should believe in the advent of the Lord.  In the evening, on account of the excitement of the populace, no meeting was held; yet the street was filled with the mob at an early hour;  but the prompt  interference of the mayor and his efficient police cleared the street, after sending a few to the watch-house.  We could only liken the conduct of the mob to that which surrounded the door of Lot, on the evening pending the destruction of Sodom. . . .  This movement on their part was so sudden, simultaneous, and extensive, that its manifestation on the first day of the Jewish seventh month strengthened us in our opinion that this must be the month.”

Scoffers Put on Ascension Robes

On the 22nd of October, 1844, the day the twenty-three hundred days terminated, at Paris, Maine, while the believers were assembled in the house of worship, engaged in solemn prayer to God, in expectation that the Lord would come that day, the scoffing mockers gathered around the house, singing songs in burlesque.  Two of these rowdies put on long white robes and climbed upon the house top, sang songs, and mocked those in the house who were praying  and waiting for the Lord to come.

It is probable that from this circumstance originated the falsehoods circulated about Adventist’s putting on ascension robes; for notwithstanding advent papers have offered rewards as high a $500 for one authentic instance  where an Adventist put on an ascension robe in 1844, and thus waited for the Lord to come, not one case has ever been produced.

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Hazen Foss’s Vision, 1844

About this time there lived in Poland, Maine, a young man by the name of Hazen Foss, who firmly believed the Lord would come on the tenth day of the seventh month. He was a man of fine appearance, pleasing address, and quite well educated.  A few weeks before the “midnight cry” ended, the Lord came near and gave him a vision, in which he was shown the journey of the advent people to the city of God, with their dangers. Some messages of warning were given to him, which he was to deliver, and he had also a view of the trials and persecution that would consequently follow if he was faithful in relating what had been shown him. He, like Mr. Foy, was shown three steps by which the people of God were to come fully upon the pathway to the holy city.  Being a firm believer in the Lord’s coming “in a few more days” (as they then sang), the part of the vision relating to the three steps onto the pathway was to him unexplainable; and being naturally of a proud spirit, he shrunk from the cross, and refused to relate it.  The vision was repeated the second time, and in addition he was told that if he still refused to relate what had been shown him, the burden would be taken from him, and be given to one of the weakest of the Lord’s children, one who would faithfully relate what God would reveal. He again refused. Then a third vision was given, and he was told that he was released, and the burden was laid upon one of the weakest of the weak, who would do the Lord’s bidding.

Foss Fails to Relate His Vision

This startled the young man, and he decided to relate what had been shown him, and accordingly gave out his appointment.  The people crowded together to see and hear.

He carefully related his experience, how he had refused to relate what the Lord had shown him, and what 

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would result from his refusal.  “Now,” said he, “I will relate the vision.”  But alas! it was too late: he stood before the people as dumb as a statue, and finally said in the deepest agony, “I cannot remember a word of the vision.”  He wrung his hands in anguish, saying, “God has fulfilled his word.  He has taken the vision from me,” and in great distress of mind said, “I am a lost man.”  From that time he lost his hope in Christ, and went into a state of despair. He never attended an Adventist meeting again, and had no personal interest in religion. His demeanor in many respects, to say the least, has been that of one deprived of the gentle influence of the Spirit of the Master, of one “left to his own ways, to be filled with his own doings.”  In this condition of mind he died in 1893.

Foss’s Vision Related by Another

About three months from the time he failed to recall his vision, he heard from an adjoining room a vision related by another.  The meeting was held in a dwelling-house where he was. He was urged to come into the meeting, but refused to do so.  He said the vision was as near like that shown him as two persons would relate the same thing.  And thus was known what he saw but could not remember when trying to relate it.  On getting a view of the person afterward, he said, “That is the instrument on whom the Lord has laid the burden.”

Sadly Disappointed

The tenth day of the seventh month, Jewish time (Oct. 22, 1844), at last came.  It found thousands upon thousands who were looking to that point for the consummation of their hopes. They had made provisions for nothing earthly beyond that date.  They had not even cherished the thought, “if it doesn’t come,” but had planned their worldly affairs as they would if they had expected that day to end

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the period of their natural lives.  They had warned and exhorted the wicked to flee from the wrath to come, and many of these feared that the message might prove true.  They had counseled and prayed with their relatives, and had bidden good-bye to such of them as had not given their hearts to God. In short, they had bidden adieu to all earthly things with all the solemnity of one who regards himself as about to appear face to face with the Judge of all the earth. Thus, in almost breathless anxiety, they assembled at their places of worship, expecting, momentarily, to hear “the voice of the archangel and the trump of God,” and to see the heavens ablaze with the glory of their coming King.

The hours passed slowly by, and when at last the sun sank below the western horizon, the Jewish tenth day of the seventh month was ended. The shades of night once more spread their gloomy pall over the world; but with that darkness came a pang of sadness to the hearts of the advent believers, such in kind as can only find a parallel in the sorrow of the disciples of our Lord, as they solemnly wended their way to their homes on the night following the crucifixion and burial of him whom but a little while before they had triumphantly escorted into Jerusalem as their King.

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12. THE DISAPPOINTMENT-THE BITTER BOOK

“I TOOK the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”¹

In scriptural language, the “eating” of a book represents the reception of truth in order to communicate it to others, as is seen in Ezekiel, where the prophet is shown “a roll of a book,” and it was said to him, “Eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.” After eating the roll, he says, “Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.”²

The prophet Jeremiah uses this same figure: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.”³  From this language we learn that the “sweetness” of the book while eating it represents the joy and satisfaction experienced by those who thus feed on the word of the Lord.

The Book Sweet, then Bitter

The book mentioned in Revelation 10, of which it is said that to the eater it was sweet as honey, but as soon as eaten was “bitter” (or, as some translate, “as soon as I had 

¹ Rev. 10:10, 11; 11:1. ² Eze. 3:1-3. ³ Jer. 15:16.

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digested it, in my stomach it was picra”⁴), was that book from which the angel announced, on the authority of him who made heaven, earth, and sea, “Time shall be no longer.” Eating this book, then, must represent the joyful acceptance of the time proclamation.  The sudden bitterness of the morsel to those who ate it must represent the sad contrast in their experience after the time of the book is expired, and they find themselves sorely disappointed in their expectations.

The Time Proclamation a Sweet Morsel

The proclamation of the time in 1844 was indeed joyful news to those who believed, and who, without a doubt, expected so soon an eternal deliverance from all the ills, woes, and sorrows of this sinful world.  The thought that in a few short weeks they should be glorified, immortalized, and be in the golden city of God, with their King, was indeed soul-inspiring. As expressed by one who had that experience, “Those who sincerely love Jesus can appreciate the feelings of those who watched with the most intense interest for the coming of their Saviour. . . .  We approached this hour with a calm solemnity.  The true believers rested in a sweet communion with God, an earnest of the peace that was to be theirs in the bright hereafter.  Those who experienced this hope and trust can never forget those precious hours of waiting.” 

The peculiarly trying position of those who, on the eleventh day of the seventh month, found themselves still in this dark world of trial and temptation, where they must meet the scorn, sneers, and ridicule of those whom a few hours before they had exhorted to get ready to meet their Lord, finds a fitting illustration in the case of Mary as she “stood without at the sepulcher weeping;” and when accosted by the angels with the question, “Woman, why weepest thou?” said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.”⁵

⁴ Picra - a most disagreeable, bitter preparation of alcohol, aloes, and gum myrrh. ⁵ John 20:13.

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Disappointed, but not Discouraged

Those who passed through this trying scene said of it: “We were perplexed and disappointed, yet did not renounce our faith. We felt that we had done our duty; we had lived up to our precious faith; we were disappointed, but not discouraged.  We needed unbounded patience, for the scoffers were many.  We were frequently greeted by scornful allusions to our former disappointment.  ‘You have not gone up yet; when do you expect to go up?’ and similar sarcasms were often vented upon us by our worldly acquaintances, and even by some professed Christians, who accepted the Bible, yet failed to learn its great and important truths.  Mortality still clung to us; the effects of the curse were all around us. It was hard to take up the vexing cares of life that we thought had been laid down forever.”

Compared with the Disappointed Disciples

The feelings of such, when compared with their joy and rejoicing of a few hours previous, must have been to them like the pungent bitterness of picra.  The world around supposed, as no doubt the masses did after Christ’s crucifixion, that the believers would now renounce their faith, and join in scoffing at their own supposed folly.  They very soon learned to their astonishment that the love of the Lord’s appearing was not easily eradicated from the affections of those who had truly consecrated themselves to God.

“Sat not with the Mockers”

The course these earnest ones did pursue, and their feelings, are well defined by the words of the prophet Jeremiah, where he says, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.  I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced: I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation. 

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Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed?  Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?”⁶

James White on the Disappointment

A few brief quotations from some of these disappointed, yet hopeful ones, will give a good idea of the situation.  The first is from Elder James White, who labored very successfully in 1843 and 1844. He says:-

“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 holy angels, than with those from whom they had separated themselves.  The love of Jesus filled the soul, and beamed from every face, and with inexpressible desires they prayed, ‘Come, Lord Jesus, and come quickly,’ but he did not come.

“But God did not forsake his people. . . .  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.’⁷  The points of interest in this portion of Scripture are these:-

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

⁶ Jer. 15:16-18. ⁷ Heb. 10:35-39.

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“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 were 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 drew back, would take the direct road to perdition.”⁸

From N. Southard, Editor of the Midnight Cry

In the Midnight Cry of Oct. 31, 1844, about ten days after the close of the twenty-three hundred days, the following was published from the pen of the editor:-

“In view of all the circumstances attending this movement, the blessed effects it has produced on the minds of God’s children, and the hatred and malice his enemies have displayed, we must regard it as the true ‘midnight cry.’  And if we have a few days in which to try our faith, it is still in accordance with the parable of the ten virgins; for when they had all arisen and trimmed their lamps, there was still to be a time when the lamps of the foolish virgins would be going out.  This could not be till after the passing of the tenth day; for till that time their lamps would burn.  There must, therefore, be a passing by of that day, for the foolish to give up their faith, as there must have been of 1843, for the tarrying time.  A little delay is therefore no cause for disappointment, but shows how exact God is in the fulfillment of his word.  Let us therefore hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful who has promised.”

From Joseph Marsh, Editor of the Voice of Truth

In the Voice of Truth of Nov. 7, 1844, we read:-

“We cheerfully admit that we have been mistaken in the nature of the event we expected would occur on the

⁸ Life Sketches, pp. 107-109.

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tenth day of the seventh month; but we cannot yet admit that our great high Priest did not on that day accomplish all that the type would justify us in expecting.  We now believe he did.”

It was expected by the Adventists that on the tenth day of the seventh month, 1844, the twenty-three hundred days would end, and that on that day Christ would complete his priestly work and come to earth to bless his people.  Later investigation has demonstrated that it was the beginning of his work of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary that took place on that day, and not the completion of his work as a priest.9  Instead of regarding the work of cleansing the sanctuary as any part of Christ’s work as a priest, it was claimed that the cleansing of the sanctuary was to be the purification of the earth by fire at Christ’s coming.  If not the whole of it, at least the land of Canaan would be cleansed at that time. 

The Sanctuary Believed to be the Earth

This idea is brought out in an article by Geo. Storrs, in the Midnight Cry of April 25, 1844. He asks, “What is the sanctuary to be cleansed?  My previous views have been that it was the whole earth. That it is a part of the earth I still believe.  But what part? is the inquiry I shall endeavor to answer.”

He quotes the promise to Abraham, the establishment of the same to Isaac, and its renewal to Jacob, and then quotes the song of Moses, composed by Miriam after the passage of the Red Sea, in which they sang: “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.”¹⁰

If the reader will carefully compare the above text with the record of its fulfillment made by the psalmist, he will see that it does not state that even the land of Palestine is

⁹ No one at that time had any idea of a sanctuary in heaven. ¹⁰ Ex. 15:17.

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the sanctuary. David says, when speaking of the Lord’s leading the children of Israel: “He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased.”¹¹  In the song at the Red Sea it is said of the land of Canaan, that it was the place he had made to “dwell in, in the sanctuary.”  So in this quotation from the psalms, the Mount Moriah, where the sanctuary was built, is only called “the border of his sanctuary.” But in this same psalm it is said, “He chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which he loved. And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established forever.”¹²

Cleansing the Sanctuary Thought to be Purifying the Earth

In the article above referred to, after quoting the supposed proof that the earth, or at least the land of Palestine, was the sanctuary, the elder next proceeds to inquire, “How will the sanctuary be cleansed?”  In the words of the prophet Micah, he replies, “For, behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.”¹³

With the idea, commonly accepted at that time, that the earth was the sanctuary, the reader will readily see why they supposed, without a doubt, that at the end of the twenty-three hundred days the Lord would come and purify the earth in the manner described by Micah.  In all the opposition raised against the Adventists, not an opponent even intimated that the cleansing of the earth by fire was not the event to take place as the cleansing of the sanctuary, at the end of the twenty-three hundred days. 

The Apostles Disappointed, Yet Fulfilled Scripture

This is not the only instance where people have done the will of the Lord, fulfilled scripture, and yet have been disappointed

¹¹ Ps. 78:54. ¹² Ps. 78:68, 69. ¹³ Micah 1:3, 4.

192 in their expectations simply because they did not understand the nature of the event to transpire. Thus it was with the apostles of Christ.  When he was seated on the colt, riding into Jerusalem, they shouted as they remembered the words of the prophet:14 “Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:  behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”15 It was so needful that there should be shouting on that occasion that had they held their peace, the very stones would have cried out.16  The disciples supposed that Christ, then and there, was going to ascend the throne of David as a temporal king (“we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel”17), and so they shouted, “Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord.”18 How much shouting would there have been on that occasion had they understood that within a week Christ would be dead in Joseph’s tomb, surrounded by the Roman guard?  How much of giving “glory” to God and of consecration would there have been with the Adventists in 1844 had they understood that the cleansing of the sanctuary at the end of all prophetic time was to occupy a series of years before the Lord would come?

No Mistake in Reckoning the 2300 Days

As this people carefully looked over their reckoning of the period, they found no defect; but the Lord did not come, neither was the earth cleansed by fire.  What did it mean?  Of a surety they knew that the Lord had been with them in the great movement; but now they were in suspense. Their confidence in the Lord was unshaken.  They knew he would not forsake them.  The light would come from some source.  The trying question before them is stated in the words of Jeremiah already referred to, “Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?”  Faith did not cherish this doubt, for the words of the Lord by the prophet Habakkuk respecting the vision occurred to their minds, “At the end it shall speak, and not lie.”19 The expression already quoted from the editor of the Voice of Truth well sets forth their position: “We cannot yet admit that our great High Priest did not on that very day accomplish all that the type would justify us in expecting.”

14 John 12:16. 15 Zech. 9:9. 16 Luke 19:40. 17 Luke 24:21. 18 Mark 11:10.  

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Light on the Sanctuary Discovered

Hiram Edson, of Port Gibson, N.Y., told me that the day after the passing of the time in 1844, as he was praying behind the shocks of corn in a field, the Spirit of God came upon him in such a powerful manner that he was almost smitten to the earth, and with it came an impression, “The sanctuary to be cleansed is in heaven.”  He communicated this thought to O. R. L. Crosier, and they together carefully investigated the subject. In the early part of 1846 an elaborate exposition of the sanctuary question from a Bible  standpoint, written by Mr. Crosier, was printed in the Day Star, a paper then published in Canandaigua, N.Y. In that lengthy essay it was made to appear that the work of cleansing the sanctuary was the concluding work of Christ as our high priest, beginning in 1844 and closing just before he actually comes again in the clouds of heaven as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Churches Seeking Lost Members

The tenth day of the seventh month had passed, and the churches thought they were going to have an easy time regaining lost members, who had been separated from them under the “midnight cry” and the second angel’s message; but in this they were greatly disappointed, as will be shown by the following reply to the importunities to return to their former organizations, as given in the Midnight Cry of Dec. 26, 1844:-

“But what are the facts?  They well know that in the great  mass of these churches the prominent themes are, ‘The

¹⁹ Hab. 2:3.

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world’s conversion,’ ‘a thousand years’ millennium,’ and ‘the return of the Jews to Palestine,’ before the personal advent of the Savior.  Those that go back to sit under the lullaby songs of such unscriptural, unreasonable doctrines, do it with eyes open; and such a course on their part will be ‘going back,’ indeed.

“Having become ‘free’ in a scriptural sense, it is much more safe to ‘press forward’ than either to ‘go back’ or to ‘draw back,’ especially at this time, when the crown of glory is so soon to be given to the faithful in Christ Jesus.”

The course of the churches in putting off the coming of the Lord by the advocacy of the above unscriptural doctrines, suggested to the Adventists these words of the prophet Ezekiel: “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.”  In the same connection is found the reply which the Adventists used, “Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God: There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord God.”²⁰

“Thou Must Prophesy Again”

Those who “ate” the book, and gave the “time” proclamation, deemed their work for the world was done; hence the declaration that they must again teach nations, and tongues, and kings. Another part of the  work, hitherto unseen, must now be accomplished, -that of presenting to the people the real character of the temple of God in heaven and its altar service.  The command to measure the temple²¹ is needful in order to gain a knowledge of the nature of the event to transpire at the close of the prophetic time, and thus an explanation be given of the words, “Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

Notice that the angel of this time proclamation came from heaven, and before his work is completed he gives a commission

²⁰ Eze. 12:27, 28. ²¹ In a measurement where no figures are given as the result, it is character, and not dimensions, that is involved.

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to teach the people again. The message, then, which is to explain the sanctuary question,
to give confidence to the disappointed ones, and at the same time furnish them with a
“reed,” or “rod,” or rule, by which the people of God can try their moral standing before
him, must bear evident marks that it is heaven born, and not of human origin.
20 Eze. 12:27, 28.
21 In a measurement where no figures are given as the result, it is character, and not
dimensions, that is involved.

 

Prejudice Barred Access to the People

The existing prejudice against the advent doctrine was an almost impassable barrier to the people; and to try to teach them again without clear and positive light as to the cause of the disappointment, would be useless.  The Adventist  believers themselves needed to have their own souls inspired anew with a heavenly commission, before the people could be correctly taught; and how could this be accomplished? Could it be done by merely human wisdom? or would those who had experienced the deep work of the Spirit of God under the late movement, be satisfied  with simply human reasoning? Nothing but a work like that of the “third angel’s message”²² could lift them out of their perplexities; and this, step by step, as they could receive it, was duly inaugurated, bearing most convincing proofs that it was of heavenly origin.

Like Sheep without a Shepherd

Here was the great advent body, in one sense, as sheep without a shepherd, thousands of whom only a few weeks previously had separated themselves from all churches and creeds, no human organizations being responsible for their spiritual welfare.  They had no earthly counselors in whom they could confide; in God alone was their trust.

They were confident, however, of one thing, and this to them was like an anchor, -the time proclamation was right.²³  But as a people they were in a position where, unless God should guide and keep them, they were liable to accept false 

²² Rev. l4:9-l2.
²³ By the most careful review of their reckoning of the 2300 days, they could find no mistake, neither yet
can any be found.

 

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explanations, or lose “patience” and give up faith in their past experience.  This some did; while others, with an eye of faith fixed on him whom their souls loved, earnestly inquired, “Watchman, what of the night?  Watchman, what of the night?  The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.”²⁴

J. N. Andrews on the Disappointment

Elder J. N. Andrews, one who passed through this experience in 1844, thus speaks of the disappointment:-

“Those were disappointed who expected the Lord in 1843 and in 1844.  This fact is with many a sufficient reason for rejecting all the testimony in this case.  We acknowledge the disappointment, but cannot acknowledge that this furnishes a just reason for denying the hand of God in this work. The Jewish church were disappointed when, at the close of the work of John the Baptist, Jesus presented himself as the promised Messiah. And the trusting disciples were most sadly disappointed when he whom they expected to deliver Israel was by wicked hands taken and slain.  And after his resurrection, when they expected him to restore again the kingdom to Israel, they could not but be disappointed when they understood that he was going away to his Father, and that they were to be left for a long season to tribulation and anguish.  But disappointment does not prove that God has no hand in the guidance of his people.  It should lead them to correct their errors, but it should not lead them to cast away their confidence in God.  It was because the children of Israel were disappointed in the wilderness, that they so often denied divine guidance. They are set forth as an admonition to us, that we should not fall after the same example of unbelief.”²⁵

Truth Has a Baptism of Unpopularity

It seems to be the Lord’s plan to place important truths in an unpopular channel where it will be a cross²⁶ to accept

²⁴ Isa. 21:11, 12. ²⁵ The Three Messages of Rev. 14:6-12, p. 33.²⁶ Matt. 16:24.

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and obey them.  This is especially true in these last days. Peter, speaking of that time when the end of all things will be “at hand,” and when the “judgment” shall “begin at the house of God,” says, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye: for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”²⁷

When the truth has received its baptism of unpopularity, to accept it requires more grace than simply to follow the faith of the masses.  Hypocritical pretenders see no great inducement to accept a truth which requires action, like rowing up stream “ ‘gainst wind and tide.” Thus the truth becomes a test to the loyal, honest-hearted, sincere, and conscientious.

We have before shown that the prophecy of the advent movement calls for a disappointment.  It came; and thus, in the providence of God, the acceptance of that message had its cross. 

²⁷ 1 Peter 4:7, 17, 12-14.

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