“THEN shall the kingdom of
heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth
to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were
foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with
them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the
bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.”1
Christ is the bridegroom
of the parable.2 The
going forth to meet the bridegroom must therefore represent a movement on
the part of the Lord’s people to meet Christ at his coming, for the
subject of the discourse of Matthew twenty-four and twenty-five is the
coming of the Lord. The word of the Lord is the lamp.3 All
the virgins took their lamps. The foolishness of a part of the virgins
consisted in their taking simply the theory of the truth, without that
earnest consecration to the Lord which would develop the graces of the
Spirit in the heart of the believer. This work is represented in the
parable by “oil in their vessels.” The tarrying of the bridegroom must
represent some disappointment on the part of those going forth expecting
to meet their Lord.
The
Time when the Parable Applies
The word “then,” with
which the parable opens, gives us a clue to the time of its application.
It follows close upon what had been stated in the previous chapter, not
after
1 Matt.
25:1-5.
2 Mark
2:18-20.
3 Ps.
119:105.
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the Lord’s second coming,
but after the parable of the fig-tree had been proclaimed, announcing that
Christ’s coming is “at the doors,” and that the generation has come which
will not pass until Christ himself appears in the clouds of heaven. It
also applies at a time when some of the servants who have been giving the
message say in their hearts, “My Lord delayeth his coming; and begin to
smite their fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.”
Smiting their Fellow-Servants
These have been
“fellow-servants,” harmoniously proclaiming the same message; but now a
part of them turn from that which they have taught, and “smite” their
fellow-servants who are giving the “meat in due season”-declaring the
needful preparation to meet the soon-coming Lord. They “smite” in the
same manner that it was proposed to smite Jeremiah. The people said,
“Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to
any of his words.”4 So
did these servants begin to teach in a manner to hinder the work of the
“faithful” servants. This same class are thus addressed, “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.”5
The parable of the virgins
applies at a time when “fellow-servants” are turning from the message of
the near coming of the Lord, and “begin to smite.” They also begin to do
something else-to “eat and drink with the drunken.” They join in feasting
with those who wish to gratify their appetites. Solomon said of such, “Be
not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh; for the drunkard and
the glutton shall come to poverty.”6
The
First Disappointment
The inquiry will now
arise, “What was there in the advent experience that answers to these
statements?” There
4 Jer. 18:18.
5 Rev. 3:3.
6 Prov.
23:20, 21.
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were movements which
accord fully with the prophecy. Those giving the message down to April,
1844, labored among the churches, and the ministers of the various
churches united with their efforts. Thus they were “fellow-servants.”
Those giving the message
taught that the twenty-three hundred days of Dan. 8:14 would terminate
with the Jewish year 1843, which would be in our year 1844. They
proclaimed the hour of God’s judgment to come at the close of that
period. Every denomination in the land at that time held that the
judgment day would be introduced by the second coming of our Lord. Thus
it will readily be seen that the Adventists supposed the Lord would come
at the close of that prophetic period. They said, “This period may
terminate with the month, March 21, 1844, the last of the natural Jewish
year 1843.” So they looked to the last of March or the first of April,
1844, as a time when the Saviour might come.
Evil Servants Developed
When the last of March
came, and passed by, and the Lord did not come, those who had previously
labored with the Lord’s messengers, but had not from the heart fully
consecrated their lives to the message, turned against it, began to oppose
the work, and to do all in their power to hedge up the way of those who
still continued teaching the doctrine of the Lord’s near coming and the
judgment hour message. “In their hearts” they said, “My Lord delayeth his
coming.” With their lips they now taught that all the world must be
converted before the Lord would come; that the Jews must all return to
Palestine, and establish their temple service in Jerusalem, before Messiah
would come. Some even taught that Christ’s coming was a “spiritual
coming,” that it took place at conversion, and also at the death of his
people.
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Giving “Meat in due Season”
While these thus turned
against their fellow-servants, those who still held fast the faith were
calling the believers together in halls and groves, giving them the “meat
in due season”-showing them that the signs of the times and fulfilled
prophecy declared, the same as before their disappointment, that Christ’s
coming was “near, even at the doors.”
Church Feasting
While they were doing this
there began what was before unknown in Protestant churches-the calling of
the people together in the church for feasting and “making of sport.” All
who would come were invited to partake with them of their dainties.
The first we ever heard of
anything of this kind in America was in the month of May, 1844, just after
the disappointment. It was on this wise: While William Miller, in a hall
in Rochester, N.Y., was instructing and exhorting several hundred
Adventists, telling them, “We are in the tarrying time of Matthew
twenty-five; hold fast your faith; we shall soon have more light on this
matter,” there was appointed in the basement of one of the largest
meeting-houses in Rochester, “a festival.” A crowd of people came
together, both church members and unbelievers, and while the president of
a theological college made fun for the crowd by ridiculing William Miller,
they sold to them oysters, ice-cream, sweetmeats, and for twenty-five
cents a small pamphlet which this man had prepared. The book was called An
Expose of Millerism.
In less than a fortnight
from that time another denomination in the same city appointed “a
festival” in a public hall, charging twenty-five cents admission, and
inviting all who would to come and partake with them of their oysters,
ice-cream, cake, and sweets. Then and there began this modern feasting in
churches, which has developed into “crazy
152
socials,” “grab bags,”
“fish ponds,” “kissing bees,” and so on. This feature of feasting in
churches has grown to that extent that now a modern church building is not
up to the standard unless it has its kitchen, pantry, and dining-room.
This state of things is that which began in the “tarrying time,” just as
designated in the parable.
Wm. Miller himself speaks
of the incident that occurred in Rochester in the following words: “One of
the D.D.’s in Rochester, Mr._____, of the _____ church, wrote a pamphlet
against Millerism, called his lords and ladies into the house of the Lord,
made a great feast of oysters and other ‘picnics,’ Belshazzar-like, drank
their coffee and tea, ate their costly delicacies and sold their ice-cream
and sweetmeats, and his pamphlet against the second advent of the dear
Saviour.
“The night before I left,
another of the reverend gentlemen had a picnic feast at a public house, or
hall, and sold as above, his tickets, ice-cream, and sweetmeats. I was
happy to hear that some of the churches of the different sects did not
approve of such Babylonian feasts; and I do hope, in my soul, that not
all of these sectarian churches will be found ‘eating and drinking with
the drunken’ when Christ shall come. I am astonished that these reverend
gentlemen do not see themselves in the glass of God’s word; and I would
recommend them to read Luke 14:12-14; Matt. 24:48-51; Luke 13:25-28; 2
Peter 2:13; Jude 10-21. These are the last times surely.”
If Elder Miller had
obtained a view of what the churches have since entered into, in their
donation parties, with “ring guess-cakes, ten-cent kissing bees, donkey
shows, crazy socials, holy lotteries,” and other chance game arrangements,
etc., he would have recoiled with holy horror.
The
Tarrying Time
The Adventists found
consolation in the scriptural fact that when the announcement was made of
the near coming of
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the Lord there would be
connected with it a “tarrying time.” This they saw in our Saviour’s words
in Matt. 25:5, 6, and in Hab. 2:1-3.
As to their attitude in
the spring of 1844, we quote from the Midnight Cry of May 9, 1844:-
“Having passed the point
of the apparent termination of the prophetic periods, we are placed in a
position which God foresaw his children would be placed in at the end of
the vision; and for which he made provision, by the prophet Habakkuk, when
he says, ‘I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will
watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am
reproved,’ or as it reads in the margin, ‘argued with.’ ‘And the Lord
answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,
that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed
time, but at the end [of the prophetic periods] it shall speak and not
lie: though it tarry [beyond their apparent termination], wait for it;
because it will surely come, [in the fullness of the prophetic times,
beyond which] it will not tarry.’7
“That this admonition has
reference to the present time, is evident from Paul’s quotation of it in
Heb. 10:36-39: ‘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.’
“We believe that we are
occupying that period spoken of by the Saviour, when the bridegroom
tarries (Matt. 25:5)-to which the kingdom of heaven should be
likened,-when ‘that evil servant [there having been an apparent failure in
the time] shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming, and shall
begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and
7 Hab. 2:1-3.
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drink with the drunken,’
and the Lord should ‘come in a day when he looketh not for him.’
“We believe that we are
now occupying that period of time spoken of by Peter, when their
‘judgement now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation
slumbereth not;’ where they were to ‘privily bring in damnable heresies.’8 These,
Peter says, were to be, even as there were false prophets when the
Scriptures were indited. As therefore they of the house of Israel said,
‘The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth,’9 so
must there have been a time when there would be an apparent passing of the
time, that the scoffers of 2 Peter 3:4 might inquire, ‘Where is the
promise of his coming?’ and flatter themselves that ‘all things continue
as they were from the beginning of the creation.’
“We believe it was in view
of such a tarrying of the vision that the apostle James said, ‘Be patient,
therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord;’ ‘be ye also patient;
stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.’ And,
‘Behold, the Judge standeth before the door.’
“And we believe in
anticipation of the passing by of the expected time that our Saviour
admonished us, in the twelfth chapter of Luke, ‘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; that when he cometh
and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.’10
To wait implies a passing of the time, for till that time we do not wait.
Therefore our Lord adds, ‘Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he
cometh shall find watching.’
“We shall continue, God
willing, to proclaim, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet
him;’ and, ‘The hour of his judgment is come.’ And we trust we shall not
fail to continue to cry aloud to the world and church, to arouse
themselves from their songs of ‘peace,’ and to listen
8 2 Peter
2:1, 3.
9 Eze. 12:22.
10 Luke
12:35, 36.
155
to God’s overtures of
mercy. We intend to continue waiting and watching for the coming of the
Lord, believing that it is just upon us.”
A
Vindication of Their Work
A good idea as to how the
Adventists viewed their work previous to March 21, 1844, and just after
that date, can be obtained by reading the following quotation, taken from
an article under the caption, “Vindication,” in the Advent Herald of Nov.
13,1844, published by J. V. Himes, S. Bliss, and A. Hale:-
“We were not hasty in
embracing our opinions. We believe that we were honest and sincere
inquirers after truth. We obeyed our Saviour’s command to search the
Scriptures. We relied not upon our own wisdom; but we looked to God for
guidance and direction, and endeavored to lay ourselves upon his altar,
trusting that he would direct our footsteps aright. We examined all the
arguments which were advanced against us with a sincere desire to know the
truth and be kept from error; but we must confess that the varied and
multiform positions of our opponents only confirmed us in our views. We
saw that whether we were right or wrong, our opponents could not be right;
and they had no agreement among themselves. The arguments of each were so
weak and puerile that they were under the necessity of continually undoing
what they had themselves done; and by their opposite and contradictory
views they demonstrated that however they might regard our opinions, they
had no confidence in the opinions of each other. And, moreover, there was
not a cardinal point in our whole position in which we were not sustained
by one or more of those who labored to disprove the immediate coming of
the Lord. While we had the literal rendering of the Scriptures to sustain
us, our opponents endeavored in vain to prove that the Scriptures are not
to be understood literally, although every prophecy which
156
has been fulfilled has
been so in its most literally minute particulars.
The
Disappointment Explained
“But the time-the year
1843, the Jewish year- passed, and we were disappointed in not beholding
the King in his beauty. And all who opposed us honestly supposed that
every distinctive characteristic of our belief had been demonstrated to be
false; and that we should, as honest men, abandon our whole position. And
therefore it was with surprise that they saw us still clinging to our
hope, and still expecting our King.
“We, however, in our
disappointment, saw no reason for discouragement. We saw that the
Scriptures indicated that there must be a tarrying time, and that while
the vision tarried we must wait for it. We saw also that with the end of
the year the period could not be fully terminated, even upon the
supposition that our chronology was correct; and that they could only be
fulfilled some time in the present year; and yet we frankly and fully
admitted to the world that we were mistaken in the definite point to which
we had looked with so much confidence; but while we were thus mistaken, we
can see the hand of God in that matter. We can see that he has made use
of that proclamation as an alarm to the world, and a test to the church.
It placed his people in an attitude of expectation. It called out those
who were willing to suffer for his name’s sake. It demonstrated to whom
the cry of the Lord’s coming was tidings of great joy, and to whom it was
an unwelcome sound in their ears. It has shown the universe who would
welcome the Lord’s return, and who would reject him at his second, as the
Jews did at his first advent. And we regard it as a step in the
accomplishment of God’s purpose, in this ‘day of his preparation,’ that he
might lead forth a people who should only seek the will of the Lord, that
they might be prepared for his coming.”
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HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT AFTER MARCH, 1844
A brief history of the
advent movement after March 21, 1844, is set forth in the following, taken
from the Signs of the Times of Oct. 31, 1844:-
“After the passing away of
1843,- the Jewish Year, - the great body of the Adventists settled down in
the belief that we could henceforth reckon on particular times with no
degree of positiveness. They believed that we were where our chronology
points, at the end of all the prophetic periods, at the termination of
which the advent is expected; and that while we should have to wait only
the little while that our chronology might vary from God’s time, yet they
believed that we could have no more clue to the definite time. They had
all taken their lamps and gone forth to meet the Bridegroom; but the
Bridegroom had tarried beyond the time (1843) in which he was expected.
During this tarrying of the vision, it seemed to be the determination of
all to wait for it, believing it could not be delayed, and that it might
be momentarily expected. It was, however, soon very evident that
multitudes were forming plans for the future, which they would not form if
they believed the Lord would come this year; and that they had fallen
asleep with regard to a realizing sense of the Lord’s immediate
appearing. In other words, they thought he might come any day, or that it
might be delayed some little while, during which they might enjoy a
refreshing repose. Well, this was as our Saviour said it would be, ‘While
the Bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.’
Attention Called to the Autumn of 1844
“As early as May, 1843,
Brother Miller had called our attention to the seventh month of the Jewish
sacred year, as the time of the observance of those types which point to
the second advent; and the last autumn we looked to that point of time
with much interest. After it had passed away,
158
Brother S. S. Snow fully
embraced the opinion that, according to the types, the advent of the Lord,
when it does occur, must occur on the tenth day of the seventh month; but
he was not positive as to the year. He afterward saw that the prophetic
periods do not actually expire until the present year, 1844; he then
planted himself on the ground that about the 22nd of October-the tenth day
of the seventh month of this present year-we should witness the advent of
the Lord of glory. This he preached in New York, Philadelphia, and other
places during the past spring and summer; and while many embraced his
views, yet no particular manifestation of its effects was seen until about
July.
Crops Left in the Fields
“In the early part of the
season some of our brethren in the north of New Hampshire had been so
impressed with the belief that the Lord would come before another winter,
that they did not cultivate their fields. About the middle of July,-which
was the evening of the midnight of the Jewish day-year (evening-morning,
reckoning from the new moon of April, the commencement of this Jewish
year), others who had sown and planted their fields were so impressed with
a sense of the Lord’s immediate appearing, that they could not,
consistently with their faith, harvest their crops. Some, on going into
their fields to cut their grass, found themselves entirely unable to
proceed, and, conforming to their sense of duty, left their crops standing
in the field, to show their faith by their works, and thus to condemn the
world. This rapidly extended through the north of New England.
The
Judgment to Precede the Advent
“During the same time our
brethren in Maine had embraced the view that the judgment must precede the
advent; that it synchronized with the harvest, and was not only at the end
of the world, but occupied a period immediately preceding the end. In
accordance with this view, they thought
159
that we were in the
judgment, that the dividing line was being drawn, and that the servants of
God were being sealed in their foreheads, the accomplishment of which
would be the signal for the four angels holding the four winds of the
earth (Rev. 7:1), to loose their hold.
A
Midnight Awakening
“About the middle of July
the blessing of God in reclaiming backsliders began to attend the
proclamation of the time, and those who embraced either of the views
referred to, manifested a marked change in their deportment, and a sudden
waking out of sleep, as was predicted. ‘At midnight there was a cry made,
Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those
virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.’ From July these movements were in
different parts of New England, and distinct from one another; but they
were all attended by the blessing of God in reclaiming many whose lamps
had well-nigh gone out, and in the sanctification of his saints. At the
Exeter camp-meeting, all these influences met, mingled into one great
movement, and rapidly spread through all the advent bands in the land.”
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10. THE
MIDNIGHT CRY
“AT midnight there was a
cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh: go ye out to meet him. Then all
those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.”1
We have already spoken of
the tarrying time brought to view in this parable of the “ten virgins,”
and will now give special attention to that part of it introduced in the
above text, designated by the Adventist people as the “midnight cry.” A
prominent writer upon this subject, in a periodical called the Midnight
Cry, Oct. 3, 1844, says:-
“But how came we into this
tarrying night? Because we commenced the vision [the vision of the
twenty-three hundred days] in the spring, instead of the fall, 457 B.C. We
fell short of reaching the destined port six months and a few days over.
It threw us into the tarrying night, six months.”
Another writer, S. S.
Snow, in the Cry of Aug. 22, 1844, speaking of the twenty-three hundred
days, said:-
“They began at the going
forth of the decree to restore and build Jerusalem. The decree was made at
the first by Cyrus, renewed by Darius, and completed by Artaxerxes
Longimanus in the seventh year of his reign. It was promulgated and went
into effect in the autumn of the year B.C. 457, when Ezra, having arrived
at Jerusalem by the good hand of the Lord, restored the Jewish
commonwealth, appointed magistrates and judges, and commenced the building
of the wall.”2
As the time of the vision
was twenty-three hundred full years, it would require all of 457 and all
of 1843 to make twenty-three hundred, and if the decree did not go forth
1 Matt. 25:6,
7.
2 See Dan.
9:25; Ezra 7:21-26; 9:9; Neh. 1:3; 2:12-17.
161
until the seventh month of
457 B.C., it was taught that the period would not end until the seventh
month of 1844. As the observance of the tenth day of the seventh month
seemed to be the event which marked the beginning of the period, so it was
shown conclusively that on the tenth day of the seventh month (Jewish
time), Oct. 22, 1844, the twenty-three hundred days would end, and the
time come for the sanctuary to be cleansed. All the evidence used for the
close of the period in 1843 applied with equal force to the reckoning for
1844, and with it an assurance that they had discovered what seemed a
certain solution of the cause of their disappointment. The manner in
which the Adventists proclaimed the “true midnight cry,” as it was then
denominated, cannot be better illustrated than by quoting from the
writings of those who were prominently engaged in the work at that time.
“Go
Ye Out to Meet Him”
In the Cry for Oct. 3,
1844, was an article written by George Storrs, under the heading, “Go Ye
Out to Meet Him,” in which he said:-
“I take up my pen with
feelings such as I never before experienced. Beyond a doubt, in my mind,
the tenth day of the seventh month will witness the revelation of our Lord
Jesus Christ in the clouds of heaven. We are within a few days of that
event- awful moment to those unprepared, but glorious to those who are
ready.
“ ‘Behold, the Bridegroom
cometh’ this year; ‘go ye out to meet him.’ We have done with the nominal
churches and all the wicked, except so far as this cry may affect them.
Our work is now to wake up the ‘virgins who took their lamps and went
forth to meet the bridegroom.’ Where are we now? ‘If the vision tarry,
wait for it.’ Is not that our answer since last March or April?-Yes. What
happened while the Bridegroom tarried?-The virgins all slumbered and
slept, did they not? Christ’s words have not failed; and ‘the Scripture
cannot be broken.’ It is of no use for us to
162
pretend that we have been
awake; we have been slumbering, not on the fact of Christ’s coming, but on
the time. We came into the tarrying time; we did not know ‘how long’ it
would tarry, and on that point we have slumbered. Some of us have said in
our sleep, ‘Don’t fix another time!’ so we slept. Now the trouble is to
wake us up. Lord, help, for vain is the help of man. Speak thyself,
Lord. O that the ‘Father’ may now ‘make known’ the time.
The
Midnight of the Message
“How long is the tarrying
time?-Half a year. How do you know?-Because our Lord says, ‘at midnight,’
while the Bridegroom tarried. The vision was for ‘twenty-three hundred
evening-mornings,’ or days. An ‘evening,’ or night, is half of one of
those prophetic days, and is, therefore, six months. That is the whole
length of the tarrying time. The present strong cry of time commenced
about the middle of July, and has spread with great rapidity and power,
and is attended with a demonstration of the Spirit, such as I never
witnessed when the cry was ‘1843.’ It is now literally, ‘Go ye out to
meet him.’ There is a leaving all that I never dreamed could be seen.
When this cry gets hold of the heart, farmers leave their farms, with
their crops. There is a strong crying with tears, and a consecration of
all to God, such as I never witnessed. There is a confidence in this
truth such as was never felt in the previous cry, in the same degree, and
a weeping or melting glory in it that passes all understanding except to
those who have felt it.
“On this present truth, I,
through grace, dare venture all, and feel that to indulge in doubt about
it would be to offend God and bring upon myself ‘swift destruction.’ I am
satisfied that now ‘whosoever shall seek to save his life,’ where this cry
has been fairly made, by indulging in an ‘if it don’t come,’ or by a fear
to venture out on this truth, ‘shall lose his life.’ It requires the same
faith that led Abraham to offer up Isaac, or Noah to build the ark, or Lot
to leave
163 Sodom, or the children
of Israel to stand all night waiting for their departure out of Egypt, or
for Daniel to go into the lions’ den, or the three Hebrews into the fiery
furnace. We have fancied that we were going into the kingdom without such
a test of faith, but I am satisfied we are not. This last truth brings
such a test, and none will venture upon it but such as dare to be
accounted fools, madmen, or anything else that antediluvian Sodomites, a
lukewarm church, or sleeping virgins are disposed to heap upon them. Once
more would I cry, ‘Escape for thy life;’ ‘Look not behind you;’ ‘Remember
Lot’s wife.’ “
Storrs’ Flat Rock
In the Midnight Cry of
Oct. 10, 1844, there appeared, from the pen of George Storrs, the
following, under the heading, “The Finale,” but called by the Adventists,
“Storrs’ Flat Rock”:-
“How shall we be ready for
that day?-Believe God’s truth, and venture out upon it, by strong faith
that gives glory to God. We must have the same state of mind that we
would have if we knew we were to die upon that day, the same entire
consecration to God and deadness to the world.
“I cannot better
illustrate what I mean than to suppose a large flat rock in the midst of
the ocean. A promise is made by a glorious and mighty prince that at a
given time he will send a splendid steamer to carry all persons whom he
shall find there with the evidence that they fully credited his word, to a
glorious country. Many venture out to the rock. Some, when they are safe
on the rock, cut the rope, and their craft with which they came there
drifts away from them, and they look after it no more, but are watching
for the arrival of the steamship. They have no doubt of the truth of the
promise, and risk all upon it. Others who come there think it is enough
that they are on the rock. But they would be ‘wise’ and not run too great
a risk.
164
“According to thy faith be
it unto thee” had been sounded before the time the steamer was expected.
The day arrives. The prudent ones, it may be, intend to cut their boats
loose, and let them float off, if they see the steamer coming. It appears
in sight; but now it is too late to let go their boats without being
discovered; and besides, the same prudence would dictate now that they do
not let their boats float away till they are certain that they are not
mistaken in the approaching vessel. Now it comes so near that they cannot
possibly cut loose without being discovered.
“The steamer arrives at
the rock. ‘What is the evidence that you had implicit confidence in the
promise of the arrival of the steamer?’-’Our boats are cut loose, and have
floated away from us, so that we could not possibly get to land, and must
have perished if the steamer had not arrived, for it is a rock where no
other vessel ever passes.’ ‘That is enough,’ cries the commander of the
steam vessel; ‘come on board; such confidence shall not be disappointed.’
“Those who had kept their
boats made fast to the rock now crowd around and strive to get on board
the steamer. The commander asks, ‘What mean those boats I see made fast
to the rocks yonder, or whose ropes have only been cut since I arrived in
sight?’ They answer, ‘We thought we would be prudent, so that if the
steamer did not arrive, we might have something with which to get back to
land.’ ‘You made provision for the flesh, then,’ cries the commander,
‘did you, and so doubted my words? According to thy faith be it unto thee.
The evidence is against you. You made provision to return, and now you
must reap the fruit of your unbelief.’ ‘So they could not enter in
because of unbelief.’ O, awful state of despair!
“Cut your ropes now,
brethren; let your boats float out of sight; yea, make haste before the
‘sign of the Son of man appear.’ Then it will be too late. Venture now,
and venture all. O, my heart is pained for you; don’t dally; push off that
boat, or you are lost; for ‘whosoever shall seek to
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save his life shall lose
it,’ so saith Jesus Christ, our Lord and Judge. Make haste, then, once
more I entreat you, O make haste! Let go every boat by which you are now
calculating to escape to land; ‘if it don’t come.’ That ‘if’ will ruin
you. It is now the last trial and temptation. Do as our Lord did with the
last temptation of the devil- ‘Get thee hence, Satan,’ said he. Then the
devil leaveth him, and ‘behold, angels came and ministered unto him.’ So
will it be with you when you have gained this triumph.”
Rapid Work of the Midnight Cry
As to the rapidity, power,
and effect of the message of the “midnight cry,” we gain a correct idea
from the words of N. Southard, editor of the paper from which we have
previously quoted-the Midnight Cry. In the copy dated Oct. 31, 1844, he
says:-
“At first the definite
time was generally opposed; but there seemed to be an irresistible power
attending its proclamation, which prostrated all before it. It swept over
the land with the velocity of a tornado, and it reached hearts in
different and distant places almost simultaneously, and in a manner which
can be accounted for only on the supposition that God was in it. It
produced everywhere the most deep searching of heart and humiliation of
soul before High Heaven. It caused a weaning of affections from the
things of this world, a healing of controversies and animosities, a
confession of wrongs, a breaking down before God, and penitent,
broken-hearted supplications to him for pardon and acceptance. It caused
self-abasement and prostration of soul, such as we never before witnessed.
As God, by Joel, commanded, when the great day of God should be at hand,
it produced a rending of hearts and not of garments, and a turning unto
the Lord with fasting and weeping and mourning. As God said by Zechariah,
a spirit of grace and supplication was poured out upon his children; they
looked to him whom they had pierced, and there was a great mourning
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in the land, every family
apart, and their wives apart; and those who were looking for the Lord
afflicted their souls before him.”
The
People Moved by a Supernatural Power
Again, of this stirring
proclamation he says:-
“It seemed to us to have
been so independent of human agency that we could but regard it as a
fulfillment of the ‘midnight cry,’ after the tarrying of the Bridegroom,
and the slumbering and sleeping of the virgins, when they were all to
arise and trim their lamps. And the last work seems to have been done;
for there has never been a time before when the respective advent bands
were in so good a state of preparation for the Lord’s coming.”
Worldly Possessions Disposed of
Under the stirring
proclamation of the advent doctrine, many disposed of their worldly
possessions, using their substance in sustaining the public speakers in
their labor, or scattering the printed papers and tracts, or supplying the
wants of the needy, thus giving to the world the best evidence of their
sincerity and earnestness; while those who clung to their earthly
possessions, and made no special sacrifice for the work, were marked by
the worldling as not really believing what they professed. By way of
illustration I will give two instances, one on each side of the question.
A
Potato Field
The first is that of a
believer who lived in New Ipswich, N.H., by the name of Hastings, who had
a large field of splendid potatoes which he left undug. His neighbors
were anxious about them and came to him offering to dig them and put them
in the cellar for him free, if he would let them, “for,” said they, “you
may want them.” “No!” said Mr. Hastings, “I am going to let that field of
potatoes preach my faith in the Lord’s soon appearing.”
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That fall, as may be
learned from the Claremont (N.H.) Eagle, the New York True Sun, and
various other public journals, the potato crop was almost a total loss
from the “potato rot.” As expressed in the Sun, “How painful it is to
learn that whole crops of this valuable esculent have been destroyed by
the rot. A correspondent of a Philadelphia paper says the potato crop in
that State is ruined. The only section from which little complaint is
heard, is Maine, but even there the crop has not escaped the disease.”
As the fall was mild, and
Mr. Hastings’s potatoes were left in the ground until November, none of
them rotted. Consequently he had an abundant supply for himself and his
unfortunate neighbors who had been so solicitous for his welfare the
previous October, and who, in the spring, were obliged to buy seed
potatoes of him, and were glad to pay a good price for them. What they
supposed was going to be such a calamity to Mr. Hastings, God turned to a
temporal blessing, and not only to him, but to his neighbors also.
Denied His Faith
The second instance
occurred in my own place of residence. It was that of a church-member who
had much to say in meeting about the Lord’s coming in the fall of 1844. He
was a man of considerable property, and among other things, had a lot of
hogs at just the right age for keeping over for the spring market. An
uncle of mine, who made no religious pretensions, and whose business was
the buying and selling of stock, went to this professed Adventist to buy
his hogs, but learned from him that he did not wish to sell them, as he
was going to keep them over till next spring for “store hogs.” Uncle came
to my grandfather, who was an Adventist believer, and said, “That man
doesn’t believe what he professes.” “Why?” asked grandfather. “Because,”
said uncle, “he says the Lord is coming, and the world is coming to an
end this fall, but he wants to keep
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his hogs till next
spring. He need not talk to me; he doesn’t believe a word of it.”
Means Offered too Late
There were men who held on
to their means, struggling all the while under the conviction that they
should use it to advance the work, until it was too late to invest it.
Such came to those engaged in printing the message, urging them with tears
to accept their money, but the reply was, “You are too late! We have paid
for all the printing matter we can possibly circulate before the end. We
have hired several power presses to run night and day; we do not want any
more money.” An eye witness testified to me that he saw men lay thousands
of dollars on the desk before the publisher of the Voice of Truth, and in
anguish of spirit beg of him to take it and use it. The reply was, “You
are too late! We don’t want your money now! We can’t use it!” Then they
asked, “Cannot it be given to the poor?” The answer was the same, “We have
made provision for the immediate wants of all such that we can reach.” In
distress of mind the men took away their money, declaring that the frown
of God was upon them for their lack of faith, and for the covetousness
which had led them to withhold means from the cause of God when it was
needed and would have been gladly used.
Guardians Appointed
The character and
principles of those who left their crops standing unharvested and their
shops desolate, to scatter the printed page or to talk and pray with the
people questioned not that such men and women believed every word they
said, and withal, such a power attended them that the honest hearted could
not gainsay nor resist their words. Thousands were by this means led to
believe the truth, and sought and found God’s mercy.
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The scoffing sinner and
the worldly professor, however, decided that this work of scattering
advent publications must be stopped. These men who were taking a township
or a whole county and going from house to house with this advent doctrine,
and neglecting their business and families, must be beside themselves,
they said, and must therefore have guardians placed over them. The
alleged evidences of an unsound mind exhibited by the believers (being
simply labor for the salvation of their fellow-men, without testimony that
the families were suffering because of the leaving of their business),
were insufficient proof of insanity; consequently but few persons were
placed under guardianship. Judging by the glibness with which opponents of
the present day speak of the fact, one would think there were many
instances; yet in all my labors as an Adventist minister, covering a
period of over fifty-six years, I have met with only two cases of
“Millerites” who were placed under guardians. A brief notice of these may
not be out of place.
His
Own Guardian
The first occurred in the
State of New York, less than thirty miles from where I lived. A man
accepted the advent doctrine who was worth about $100,000. He gave about
half of this sum to his wife and children, who were not with him in the
faith. The remainder he considered was his to use as he saw fit; and as
some of it went into the advent cause, his children raised objections, and
counseled with a judge, pleading that a guardian be appointed over their
father. After the judge had explained to them the duties and power of a
guardian in managing the property, he asked them to nominate whom they
wished him to appoint. After consulting together for a time, they decided
that they knew of no man with whom they dare trust the property, and
reported to the judge that they had selected their father as his own
guardian. The judge turned to the man and said, “Mr.LLL, your children
have chosen you
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as the proper person to
manage your own property. Your affairs stand just the same as before you
were brought into court.”3
A
Ludicrous Situation
The other case was that of
Stockbridge Howland, of Topsham, Me. He was one of the best mechanics in
all that section of country, a master workman in the construction of mills
and bridges. In this “midnight cry” movement, Mr. Howland went on
horseback over several townships, scattering advent papers and tracts from
house to house, greatly to the annoyance of opponents and scoffers, who
complained that in this tract distribution he neglected his business. So
they at once secured the appointment of a guardian, who found more to do
than he anticipated, as Mr. Howland sent to him all tax collectors, and in
fact every one who came with accounts to be paid; “for,” said he, “I am
not considered competent to do any business.” Soon afterward the county
wished to construct a bridge over the Kennebec River,-a bridge that would
stand the torrent of raging waters and floating ice in the time of spring
freshets. The county commissioners and selectmen of the town decided that
Stockbridge Howland was the man for the work. When they came with
specifications and a contract for him to build the bridge, he said,
ironically, “Gentlemen, you will have to go to my guardian. You know I am
not considered competent to care for my own business, and do you come to
me to build a bridge!” The situation was a little too ludicrous for
sensible men, and the guardianship suddenly ended. Suffice it to say that
his persecutors afterward made the most humble acknowledgments for the
unjust and uncalled-for course they had taken.
3 Although
well acquainted with the person and the facts, I am not at liberty to give
the name.
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