EXPOSÉ ON VARIANT PROPHETIC MISUNDERSTANDINGS  -2 

BY JEFF PIPPENGER

OR ANY PROMISE OF SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE

"Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance. 'It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.'" Testimonies to Ministers, 55. [This reference is included in an article from The Firm Foundation magazine, page 36, in M_ B_'s book titled, Date Setting, Time Setting, Futurism, and Dirty Theology.]

In spite of this previous passage, M_ B_'s application of the 1335 days at the end of the world teaches that when the 1335 day arrives in history, there will be a special blessing associated with it. This blessing of course is part of the prediction of Daniel 12:12. The blessing that M_ B_ identifies is that on this day, (the 1335 day since the Sunday law) God will pronounce the day and hour of Christ's return to His faithful people:

"'Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.' Daniel 12:12.

"What is the 'Blessing' for which God's people wait?

"'The Voice of God is heard from heaven, declaring the day and hour of Jesus coming, and delivering the everlasting covenant to His people. . . . And when the BLESSING is pronounced on those who have honored God by keeping His Sabbath holy, there is a mighty shout of victory.' The Great Controversy, 640.

"The declaration of the everlasting covenant by the Voice of God is the blessing for which they wait, because, like the reading of a will, it tells what God's people will get" Emphasis in the original. Updated Condensation of WARNING! page 74-75, M_ B_.

What did Sister White say? "Beware of anyone who would set a time in regard to any promise He has made of special significance." Is the pronouncement of the everlasting covenant and the day and hour of Christ's return of special significance? Beware!

If you are questioning my motives and purposes in specifically addressing the teachings of M_ B_. Be assured that there are several variations of M_ B_'s fallacies in Adventism today and those various interpretations seem to borrow each others flawed reasoning. But the question may still remain-why such a specific attack on her ideas? Consider the complete paragraph just cited from Testimonies to Ministers, 55:

"Let all our brethren and sisters beware of anyone who would set a time for the Lord to fulfill His word in regard to His coming, or in regard to any other promise He has made of special significance. 'It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.' False teachers may appear to be very zealous for the work of God, and may expend means to bring their theories before the world and the church; but as they mingle error with truth, their message is one of deception, and will lead souls into false paths. They are to be met and opposed, not because they are bad men, but because they are teachers of falsehood and are endeavoring to put upon falsehood the stamp of truth."

But how serious could a falsehood such as M_ B_'s be? Let me answer that by first suggesting that the primary reason the Jews rejected and crucified Christ was from a misunderstanding of prophecy:

THERE ARE PERSONS READY TO CATCH UP EVERY NEW IDEA

"Satan is working that the history of the Jewish nation may be repeated in the experience of those who claim to believe present truth. The Jews had the Old Testament Scriptures, and supposed themselves conversant with them. But they made a woeful mistake. The prophecies that refer to the glorious second appearing of Christ in the clouds of heaven they regarded as referring to His first coming. Because He did not come according to their expectations, they turned away from Him. Satan knew just how to take these men in his net, and deceive and destroy them. . . .

"The very same Satan is at work to undermine the faith of the people of God at this time. There are persons ready to catch up every new idea. The prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation are misinterpreted. These persons do not consider that the truth has been set forth at the appointed time by the very men whom God was leading to do this special work. These men followed on step by step in the very fulfillment of prophecy, and those who have not had a personal experience in this work, are to take the Word of God and believe on 'their word' who have been led by the Lord in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages. These messages, received and acted upon, are doing their work to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God. If we search the Scriptures to confirm the truth God has given His servants for the world, we shall be found proclaiming the first, second, and third angels' messages.

"It is true that there are prophecies yet to be fulfilled. But very erroneous work has been done again and again, and will continue to be done by those who seek to find new light in the prophecies, and who begin by turning away from the light that God has already given. The messages of Revelation 14 are those by which the world is to be tested; they are the everlasting gospel, and are to be sounded everywhere. But the Lord does not lay upon those who have not had an experience in His work the burden of making a new exposition of those prophecies which He has, by His Holy Spirit, moved upon His chosen servants to explain." Selected Messages, book 2, 110-113.

So Satan is attempting to repeat the misunderstanding of prophecy that took place among the Jews within" those who claim to believe present truth" within the Adventist church. More specifically Satan will accomplish this by leading men to" catch up new ideas" without considering that" the truth has been set forth at the appointed time by the very men whom God was leading." Not only do they not consider the truth set forth by these appointed men, but they will be seeking to find" new light" and "begin" their search "by turning away from the light that God has already given." Specifically these deluded souls will have a burden to make a "new exposition of those prophecies which He has moved upon His chosen servants to explain." All of this will take place instead of following the counsel within the passage that identifies our responsibility to" take the Word of God and believe on 'their word' who have been led by the Lord in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages". Did she really say that we were to believe the word of the pioneers? But doesn't M_ B_ expose their errors and redefine their conclusions?

"There must be no long discussions, presenting new theories in regard to the prophecies which God has already made plain." Evangelism, 199.

The prophetic parallel to the rejection of Christ by the Jews is even more specifically identified than the previous passage. It is not simply to reject the conclusions of the pioneers or to seek for new light in prophecies that have already been established. It is a specific type of prophetic study that is taken up by those who would follow in the footsteps of ancient Israel:

"In our day as in Christ's day, there may be a misreading and misinterpreting of the Scriptures. If the Jews had studied the Scriptures with earnest, prayerful hearts, their searching would have been rewarded with a true knowledge of the time, and not only the time, but also the manner of Christ's appearing. They would not have ascribed the glorious second appearing of Christ to His first advent. They had the testimony of Daniel; they had the testimony of Isaiah and the other prophets; they had the teachings of Moses; and here was Christ in their very midst, and still they were searching the Scriptures for evidence in regard to His coming. And they were doing unto Christ the very things that had been prophesied they would do. They were so blinded they knew not what they were doing.

"And many are doing the same thing today, in 1897 [2002], because they have not had experience in the testing messages comprehended in the first, second, and third angel's messages. There are those who are searching the Scriptures for proof that these messages are still in the future. They gather together the truthfulness of the messages, but they fail to give them their proper place in prophetic history. Therefore such are in danger of misleading the people in regard to locating the messages. They do not see and understand the time of the end, or when to locate the messages." Evangelism, 613.

Did that passage impact you? Prophetically, the strong delusion Adventists receive as they parallel the rejection and crucifixion of Christ, will take place among those who" are searching the Scriptures for proof that" "messages are still in the future. They" will "fail to give them their proper place in prophetic history." "Such" people" are in danger of misleading" "people in regard to locating the messages. They do not see and understand the time of the end, or when to locate the messages." How many people do you know who applying the 2300 days at the end of the world? Remember, this deception takes place with those who" claim to believe present truth". How many people professing to believe present truth are re-applying the time prophecies of Daniel 8? Must be some other prophetic periods that are pointed out in the warnings, Don't you think?

When we address prophetic ideas such as M_ B_'s, we are under conviction that the ideas are as dangerous as someone misunderstanding Who the Messiah was - in the days when Jesus walked among men. The seriousness of this type of false application of prophecy is generally not recognized. The Messiah was generally not recognized. Yet we still stand amazed at the blindness in the Jewish response to Jesus when he walked among them. How could they not see? "When Christ came to the world, his own nation rejected him. He brought from heaven the message of salvation, hope, freedom, and peace; but men would not accept his good tidings. Christians have condemned the Jewish nation for rejecting the Saviour; but many who profess to be followers of Christ are doing even worse than did the Jews, for they are rejecting greater light in despising the truth for this time." Review and Herald, November 5, 1889.

We are in a time period paralleling the days when Christ was upon earth and we have been warned that as Seventh-day Adventists, some of us will repeat the rejection and crucifixion of Christ by turning away from truth that was established by the pioneers concerning the prophetic periods which were proclaimed during the Millerite time period. Those who fulfill this dreadful prediction will not simply turn away from the pioneer positions, they will also seek to place the prophetic fulfillments identified by the pioneers somewhere in the future. In May of 1998 I received a letter from M_ B_. This is some of the counsel for me:

"You also need to do a computer search and/or investigate all Ellen G. White's comments in regard to dual applications. You will soon discover that in her earlier years she supported fully the pioneers past applications, but as she passed the 1888 milestone, her statements began to apply the last chapter of Daniel to the future and much that in Revelation had been understood to have occurred in the past is to have another fulfillment. . . .

"I wish we could get together and talk before you set your course and do great damage to present truth all over the world. You started out so well with Daniel 11 . What happened? What changed your attitudes? Do you not understand that the three timelines of Daniel 12 simply explain that God's people will once again be persecuted by 2nd Papal Supremacy and that it will last only 1290 days and that God's people will wait it out until they are delivered from the Death Decree of Revelation 13:15? It is just Revelation 13 reiterated, and Great Controversy repeated in detail. No dates are set.

"Sincerely, M_ B_" Letter, dated April 25, 1998.

If I may paraphrase some of these statements:

My paraphrase: You need to "search the Scriptures" and the Spirit of Prophecy "for proof that these messages are still in the future”.

(Based upon: You also need to do a computer search and/ or investigate all Ellen G. White's comments in regard to dual applications. )

My paraphrase: You need to turn "away from the light that God has already given by the men whom God was leading in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages."

(Based upon: You will soon discover that in her earlier years she supported fully the pioneers past applications, but as she passed the 1888 milestone, her statements began to apply the last chapter of Daniel to the future".

My paraphrase: You need to stop "search[ing] the Scriptures to confirm the truth God has given His servants for the world."

(Based upon: "You started out so well with Daniel 11. What happened? What changed your attitudes? Do you not understand that the three timelines of Daniel 12 simply explain. . .")

"Again and again have I been warned in regard to time setting. There will never again be a message for the people of God that will be based on time." Selected Messages, book 1, 188.

A WARNING WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND

Those who promote false ideas invariably twist the Spirit of Prophecy to meet their own ideas. A classic example of this is illustrated in the quotation from Manuscript Releases, volume 15, 228, ­229. The entire quotation is on the front cover of this newsletter. Those who seek to reapply Daniel 12, pull a couple sentences out of this passage to isolate and magnify: "Let us read and study the twelfth chapter of Daniel. It is a warning that we shall all need to understand before the time of the end." These sentences are used by M_ B_ in her manuscript titled, Warning. She uses this passage to twist the warning in Daniel 12 from the importance of character development into the need to believe in the future fulfillment of the prophetic periods in Daniel 12 that came to pass in the Millerite time period.

But when you study the entire passage thoroughly, you recognize the true warning of Daniel 12. This same warning was addressed in our December newsletter, in the article by James White about the" time of the end." Ellen and James White both recognized the warning of Daniel 12 to be a warning to be among those who shine as the stars of heaven and lead many to righteousness. In the opening paragraph of this passage Sister White speaks about" the unprepared condition of our churches" and our need to "keep our feet in the straight and narrow path" while warning us to "make no missteps now". She points to "the first and second chapters of Colossians as an expression of what our churches should be." She then speaks of Paul not being able to share his complete message because the church members would have "made a misapplication of the great truths" he shared. The first paragraph contains a warning, which includes misapplication of truth and the possibility of leaving the path of truth. But what is it in the first two chapters Colossians that is of importance? Isn't it summed up in chapter 1 verses 26 through 28?

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. The mystery of Godliness - the hope of Glory, is the warning we are to share with every man. It is a warning that those in the Laodicean church need to accept. This is the warning in the first paragraph of the passage!

The warning in paragraph two, which is where M_ B_ lifts her sentences about Daniel 12 out of, opens with the summary of the entire paragraph. "The people of God need to study what characters they must form in order to pass through the test and proving of the last days." This is the same emphasis as in the first paragraph. So. Are the timelines of Daniel 12 somehow a warning about character sanctification? In M_ B_'s letter above she said the timelines of Daniel 12 were to "simply explain that God's people will once again be persecuted by 2nd Papal Supremacy and that it will last only 1290 days and that God's people will wait it out until the are delivered from the Death Decree of Revelation 13:15? It is just Revelation 13 reiterated, and Great Controversy repeated in detail. No dates are set." But is there other information in Daniel 12 that more accurately reflects the warning Sister White is emphasizing in her entire record? Oh yes! A very serious warning, but it is not about future application of previously fulfilled time prophecy:

And at that time shall Michael stand up, [Probation is closed!] the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: [During which you must have a character prepared to stand when there is no longer intercession available for sin!] and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book. [Some will be delivered!] And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. [Some will not be delivered. A solemn warning.]

And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; [Here are those who heed the warning in Daniel 12 and shake off their Laodicean lethargy.] but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; [And here are those in Adventism (and those outside Adventism) who reject the warning of Daniel 12.] but the wise shall understand. [Do we understand the warning of Daniel 12?] Daniel 12:1-3, 10.

The warning we need to understand is not about time prophecy.

The third paragraph identifies a warning that is in perfect agreement with the previous paragraphs. "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things". No connection to a timeline warning. Is there?

Paragraph four emphasizes the wise and foolish virgins at the end of the world. Again we see the identical theme from the first word in paragraph one to the closing thought of the complete passage, "When the foolish virgins reached the banqueting hall, they received an unexpected denial. The master of the feast declared, 'I know you not' They were left standing without in the empty street, in the blackness of the night" Once again, no connection to the timeline warning.

The warning in Daniel 12 which we need to understand before the time of the end is a warning to be among the wise virgins, with our lights shining, leading many to righteousness, with Christ the hope of glory, in us. Yet M_ B_ and others would have you believe it is a warning to apply the timelines of Daniel 12 at the end of the world. Nonsense!

M_ B_ states that Sister White" supported fully the pioneers past applications, but as she passed the 1888 milestone, her statements began to apply the last chapter of Daniel to the future." If Sister White changed her inspired position half way through her ministry she is a false prophet if she identified truth at one point and later identified it as error her inspiration was not of the Lord:

"My Instructor said to me, Tell these men that God has not committed to them the work of measuring, classifying, and defining the character of the testimonies. Those who attempt this are sure to err in their conclusions. . . .

"Those who carefully read the testimonies as they have appeared from the early days, need not be perplexed as to their origin." Selected Messages, book 1,49.

Some might incorrectly say that this statement identifies that the early Testimonies were more important than the later. (There are those who do this very thing in Adventism today.) But what she is conveying is that from the beginning of her ministry to the very close of her ministry her message is consistent with itself. M_ B_ would have us believe that after 1888 her understanding on the timelines of Daniel 12 changed. How do we understand the next statement?

THAT WHICH WAS FROM THE BEGINNING

"John bore no uncertain message. 'That which was from the beginning,' he says, 'which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us); that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ' [Notice the Inspired emphasis on retaining that which was from the beginning.]

"We have, as had John, a message to bear of the things which we have seen and heard. God is not giving us a new message. We are to proclaim the message that in 1843 and 1844 brought us out of the other churches." Review and Herald, January 19, 1905.

There are several passages, when correctly understood, all by themselves­ expose M_ B_'s philosophy as false. This last passage is one of them. M_ B_ does not deny that the information on the 1843 chart was what the pioneers were presenting prior to the Great Disappointment on October 22, 1844. So whether the pioneers were correct or incorrect, the message that brought the people out of the churches included the pioneer understanding of the timelines in Daniel 12. You can't get away from that historical fact. Even if their presentation on Daniel 12 were later found to be erroneous, historically we know, that it was part of the Millerite message that "brought the people out of the churches".

So we have some choices to make here. Do we accept M_ B_'s commentary that after 1888 Sister White changed her position on the pioneer message of Daniel 12? If so, Sister White needs to clarify or retract this previous passage. M_ B_ states, "in her earlier years she supported fully the pioneers past applications, but as she passed the 1888 milestone, her statements began to apply the last chapter of Daniel to the future" . That pioneer message was definitely part of what brought people out of the churches and if we believe M_ B_ it was a false message. If we choose M_ B_'s conclusions we identify that Ellen White counsels us to preach a message which contains error and that Sister White (at certain times) opposes her own testimonies. To accept that reasoning means we end up with a false prophet!

By the way, Notice the date that Sister White wrote this previous statement. 1905 is well after 1888, Perhaps, Sister White forgot that she no longer believed the pioneer message on Daniel 12. As I said to open the previous paragraph, "We have some choices to make".

The reason the pioneer message (including Daniel 12) brought the people out of the churches is because the message was a test to the people of that day,

"I saw that God was in the proclamation of the time in 1843. It was His design to arouse the people and bring them to a testing point, where they should decide for or against the truth. Ministers were convinced of the correctness of the positions taken on the prophetic periods, and some renounced their pride, and left their salaries and their churches to go forth from place to place to give the message," Early Writings, 232.

"To William Miller and his co-laborers it was given to preach the message in America, and the light kindled by their labors shone out to distant lands. The testimony of the Scriptures pointing to the coming of Christ in 1843, awakened wide­spread interest. Many were convinced that the arguments from the prophetic periods were correct, and, sacrificing their pride of opinion, they joyfully received the truth," Spiritual Gifts, volume 4, 222.

"There have been one and another who in studying their Bibles thought they discovered great light, and new theories, but these have not been correct. The Scripture is all true, but by misapplying the Scripture men arrive at wrong conclusions. We are engaged in a mighty conflict, and it will become more close and determined, as we near the final struggle. We have a sleepless adversary, and he is constantly at work upon human minds that have not had a personal experience in the teachings of the people of God for the past fifty years. Some will take the truth applicable to their time, and place it in the future. Events in the train of prophecy that had their fulfillment away in the past are made future, and thus by these theories the faith of some is undermined.

"From the light that the Lord has been pleased to give me, you are in danger of doing the same work, presenting before others truths which have had their place and done their specific work for the time, in the history of the faith of the people of God. You recognize these facts in Bible history as true, but apply them to the future. They have their force still in their proper place, in the chain of events that have made us as a people what we are today, and as such, they are to be presented to those who are in the darkness of error. The true workers of Jesus Christ are to cooperate with their brethren who have had an experience in the work from the very rise of the third angel's message. These followed on step by step, receiving light and truth as they advanced, bearing one test after another, lifting the cross that lay directly in their pathway, and pressing on to know the Lord, whose goings forth are prepared as the morning. You and other of our brethren must accept the truth as God has given it to His students of prophecy, as they have been led by genuine, living experience, advancing point by point, tested, proved, and tried, until the truth is to them a reality. From their voices and pens the truth in bright, warm rays has gone to all parts of the world, and that which was to them testing truth, as brought by the Lord's delegated messengers, is testing truth to all to whom this message is proclaimed." Selected Messages, book 2, 102.

"The burden of the warning now to come to the people of God, nigh and afar off, is the third angel's message. And those who are seeking to understand this message will not be led by the Lord to make an application of the Word that will undermine the foundation and remove the pillars of the faith that has made Seventh-day Adventists what they are today. The truths that have been unfolding in their order, as we have advanced along the line of prophecy revealed in the Word of God, are truth, sacred, eternal truth today. Those who passed over the ground step by step in the past history of our experience, seeing the chain of truth in the prophecies, were prepared to accept and obey every ray of light. They were praying, fasting, searching, digging for the truth as for hidden treasures, and the Holy Spirit, we know, was teaching and guiding us. Many theories were advanced, bearing a semblance of truth, but so mingled with misinterpreted and misapplied scriptures, that they led to dangerous errors. Very well do we know how every point of truth was established. and the seal set upon it by the Holy Spirit of God. And all the time voices were heard, 'Here is the truth,' 'I have the truth; follow me.' But the warnings came, 'Go not ye after them. 1 have not sent them, but they ran.' See Jeremiah 23:21.

"The leadings of the Lord were marked, and most wonderful were His revelations of what is truth. Point after point was established by the Lord God of heaven. That which was truth then, is truth today. But the voices do not cease to be heard-'This is truth. I have new light.' But these new lights in prophetic lines are manifest in misapplying the Word and setting the people of God adrift without an anchor to hold them. If the student of the Word would take the truths which God has revealed in the leadings of His people, and appropriate these truths, digest them, and bring them into their practical life, they would then be living channels of light. But those who have set themselves to study out new theories, have a mixture of truth and error combined, and after trying to make these things prominent, have demonstrated that they have not kindled their taper from the divine altar, and it has gone out in darkness.

"The proclamation of the first, second, and third angels' messages has been located by the Word of Inspiration. Not a peg or pin is to be removed. No human authority has any more right to change the location of these messages than to substitute the New Testament for the Old. The Old Testament is the gospel in figures and symbols. The New Testament is the substance. One is as essential as the other. The Old Testament presents lessons from the lips of Christ, and these lessons have not lost their force in any particular.

"The first and second messages were given in 1843 and 1844, and we are now under the proclamation of the third; but all three of the messages are still to be proclaimed. It is just as essential now as ever before that they shall be repeated to those who are seeking for the truth. By pen and voice we are to sound the proclamation, showing their order, and the application of the prophecies that bring us to the third angel's message. There cannot be a third without the first and second. These messages we are to give to the world in publications, in discourses, showing in the line of prophetic history the things that have been and the things that will be." Selected Messages, book 2, 104.

THE 1290 AND 1335 DAYS

Another important prophetic period upon which the Advent doctrine is based, is the 1335 days of Daniel 12, with which the 1290 days are so intimately connected. These two periods are introduced to us as follows:

And from the time that the daily (sacrifice) shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. Daniel 12:11-13.

The questions at once arise, Can we tell what the events are, from which these periods are to be dated; and if so, can we tell when they took place? We first enquire. What is the "daily" (sacrifice) and the "abomination that maketh desolate?" It will be noticed that the word, sacrifice, is in italics: denoting that it is a supplied word. The same will be noticed in the other instances of its occurrence in the book of Daniel, viz., chapter 11:31 and 8:11-13. Let us briefly refer to this latter chapter. In verse 13 it will be observed that two desolations are brought to view; the daily (desolation,) and the transgression of desolation. This fact is made so plain by Josiah Litch that we cannot do better than quote his language:

"The daily sacrifice is the present reading of the text; but no such thing as sacrifice is found in the original. This is acknowledged on all hands. It is a gloss or construction put upon it by the translators. The true reading is, 'the daily and the transgression of desolation;' daily and transgression being connected together by' and;' the daily desolation and the transgression of desolation. They are two desolating powers which were to desolate the Sanctuary and the host."

From this it is evident that the "daily," can have no reference to the Jewish worship to which it has been applied by the older and more prevalent opinion; and this is further evident from the consideration that if these periods, taken either literally or figuratively, be dated from any taking away of this worship, they do not bring us to any event whatever worthy of note.

The daily and the abomination then, are two desolating powers which were to oppress the church: can we ascertain what these powers are? We have only to adopt William Miller's method of reasoning on this point to arrive at the same conclusion with him. He says:

"I read on, and could find no other case in which if [the daily] was found but in Daniel. I then [by the aid of a concordance] took those words which stood in connection with it, 'take away;' he shall take away the daily; 'from the time that the daily shall be taken away.' I read on and thought I should find no light on the text. Finally I came to 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, 'For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked be revealed.' And when I had come to that text, 0, how clear and glorious the truth appeared! There it is! That is 'the daily!' Well, now, what does Paul mean by 'he who now letteth' or hindereth? By 'the Man of Sin,' and the 'wicked,' Popery is meant. Well what is it which hinders Popery from being revealed? Why it is Paganism. Well, then, 'the daily' must mean Paganism."

We see from Daniel 8, that it is the little horn, which succeeded the goat, or Grecian empire, that takes away the" daily;" and it is the only power brought to view after the division of Alexander's kingdom down to the time when the Sanctuary should be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days. This little horn we have in its proper place showed to be Rome taken as a unit, corresponding with the fourth kingdom of Daniel's other visions. Now it is a fact that a change did take place in the Roman power from Paganism to Papacy. Paganism from the days of the Assyrian kings down to the time of its modification into Popery, had been the daily, or as Prof. Whiting renders it, "the continual" desolation, by which Satan had stood up against the cause of Jehovah. In its priests, its altars and its sacrifices, it bore resemblance to the Levitical form of Jehovah's worship; but when the Levitical gave place to the Christian form of worship, Satan, in order to successfully oppose the work, must change also his form of opposition; hence the temples, altars and statues of Paganism are baptized into the blasphemies of Popery.

But the daily, Paganism, is said in the prophecy, to have a sanctuary, and the place of its sanctuary was to be cast down. That a sanctuary is frequently connected with idolatry and heathenism, as the place of its devotion and worship, is evident from the following scriptures: Isaiah 16:12; Amos 7:9,13, margin. Ezekiel  28:18. Concerning the sanctuary of the daily of Daniel 8, we offer the following from Apollos Hale:

"What can be meant by the 'sanctuary' of Paganism? Paganism, and error of every kind, have their sanctuaries, as well as truth. These are the temples or asylums consecrated to their service. Some particular and renowned temple of Paganism may, then, be supposed to be here spoken of. Which of its numerous distinguished temples may it be? One of the most magnificent specimens of classic architecture is called the Pantheon. Its name signifies the 'temple or asylum of all the gods.' The place of its location is Rome. The idols of the nations conquered by the Romans were sacredly deposited in some niche or department of this temple, and in many cases became objects of worship by the Romans themselves. Could we find a temple of Paganism that was more strikingly 'his sanctuary.'" Having now ascertained that the daily is Paganism, and the transgression of desolation, or "the abomination that maketh desolate," is the Papacy, and that the especial sanctuary of Paganism was the Pantheon, and that the "place" of its location was Rome, we inquire further.

1. Was Paganism "taken away" by the Roman civil power? The following statement of an important and well-known fact in the history of the church and world, we think answers to the prophecy. It refers to Constantine the first ‘Christian' emperor, and says:

"His first act of government was the dispatch of an edict throughout the empire, exhorting his subjects to embrace Christianity."

2. Was Rome the city or place of his sanctuary, (the Pantheon,) cast down by the authority of the State? The following extract answers:

"The death of the last rival of Constantine had sealed the peace of the empire. Rome was once more the undisputed queen of nations. But, in that hour of elevation and splendor, she had been raised to the edge of a precipice. Her next step was to be downward and irrecoverable. The change of the government to Constantinople still perplexes the historian. It was an act in direct repugnance to the whole course of the ancient and honorable prejudices of the Roman mind. It was the work of no luxurious Asiatic, devoted to the indulgences of eastern customs and climates, but an iron conqueror, born in the west, and contemptuous, like all Romans, of the habits of the Orientals; it was the work of a keen politician, yet it was impolitic in the most palpable degree. Yet Constantine abandoned Rome, the great citadel and throne of the Caesars, for an obscure corner of Thrace, and expended the remainder of his vigorous and ambitious life in the double toil of raising a colony into the capital of his empire, and degrading the capital into the feeble honors and humiliated strength of a colony."

This record from the pen of the historian, is too plain to need comment. The place of his sanctuary was cast down, says the prophecy; and after a statement of facts like the above, the most fastidious in prophetic interpretation must be satisfied of its application.

From the time that the daily shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred five and thirty days. With the facts before us that the daily is Paganism, that the abomination that maketh desolate is the Papacy, that there was a change from the former to the latter in the Roman power, and by the authority of State we have but to inquire further when this took place in a manner to fulfill the prophecy; for if we can ascertain this, we have the starting point from which the prophetic periods in the text before us are to be dated. Therefore,

When did the event referred to in the prophecy take place? Let it be observed, the question is not, when were the saints given into the hands of the Papacy, but when had the change of religion from Paganism to Papacy been so far effected as to make the latter the national religion, and place it in a condition to start upon its career. This, like all other great revolutions, was not the work of a moment. Its incipient workings were manifest long before. Paul said that even in his day the mystery of iniquity, the Man of Sin, the "abomination that maketh desolate," was already at work. And it is in the light of this scripture that we must understand our Lord's words in Matthew 24:15, concerning the abomination of desolation, where he makes evident reference to Daniel 9:27. For although Paganism had not given place to the Papacy in the year 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans we do understand that the power which then appeared modified somewhat in name and form, was the very power that should, as the abomination of desolation, wear out the saints and desolate the church of the Most High.

Up to the time of the conversion of Clovis, king of France, which took place in 496, the French and other nations of western Rome were Pagan; but subsequent to that event the efforts to convert idolaters to Christ were crowned with great success. It is said that the conversion of Clovis gave rise to the custom of addressing the French monarch with the titles of Most Christian Majesty and Eldest Son of the Church. "Between that time and AD. 508 by alliances,' 'capitulations' and conquests, 'the Avborici,' the 'Roman garrisons in the west,' Brittany, the Burgundians and the Visigoths, were brought into subjection."

"Paganism in the western Roman Empire, though it doubtless retarded the progress of the Christian faith, especially in those nations which were molested, as in the case of England, by the inroads of the barbarous clans, who continued idolaters, henceforth had not the power, if it had the disposition to suppress the Catholic faith, or to hinder the encroachments of the Roman Pontiff. From that time, the Papal abomination was triumphant, so far as Paganism was concerned. Its future contests were with the other Christian sects, who were always treated as heretics; and with princes who were always treated as rebels or dividers of the body of Christ. The prominent powers of Europe gave up their attachment to Paganism only to perpetuate its abominations in another form; for Paganism needed only to be baptized to become Christian in the Catholic sense; and when the interests or vengeance of its presiding minister made the demand, their possessions and thrones, - perhaps their lives, - must be laid on the altar.

In England, Arthur, the first Christian king, founded the Christian worship on the ruins of the Pagan. Rapin, who claims to be more exact in the chronology of events in his history, states that he was elected monarch of Britain in 508. Book ii, p.129. What was the condition of the See of Rome at this time? "Symmachus was Pope from 498 or 9 to 514. His pontificate was distinguished by these remarkable circumstances and events:

"I. He 'left Paganism' when he entered the 'church of Rome.' "

2. He found his way to the Papal chair by striving with his competitor even unto blood. Du Pin.

"3. By the adulation paid to him as the successor of St. Peter.

"4. By the excommunication of the Emperor Anastasius. "How much," says Mosheim, "the opinions of some were favorable to the lordly demands of the Roman Pontiffs, may be easily imagined from an expression of Ennodius, that infamous and extravagant flatterer of Symmachus, who was a prelate of ambiguous fame. This parasitical panegyrist, among other impertinent assertions maintained that the Pontiff was constituted judge in the place of God, which he filled as the Vicegerent of the Most High."

By the strength secured to the Catholic cause in the west, by these successes, and the agency of the vicars, and other agents of the See of Rome, the Papal party in Constantinople were "placed" in a position to justify open hostilities in behalf of their master at Rome. "In 508 the whirlwind of fanaticism and civil war swept in fire and blood through the streets of the eastern capital"

Gibbon, under the years 508-514, speaking of the commotions in Constantinople, says "The statues of the emperor were broken, and his person was concealed in a suburb, till, at the end of three days, he dared to implore the mercy of his subjects. [Popery is triumphant.] Without his diadem, and in the posture of a suppliant, Anastasius appeared on the 'throne of the circus. The Catholics, before his face, rehearsed the genuine Trisagion; they exulted in the offer which he proclaimed by the voice of a herald, of abdicating the purple; they listened to the admonition, that, since all could not reign, they should previously agree in the choice of a sovereign; and they accepted the blood of two unpopular ministers, whom their master, without hesitation, condemned to the lions. These furious but transient seditions were encouraged by the success of Vitalian, who with his army of Huns and Bulgarians, for the most part idolaters, declared himself the champion of the Catholic faith. In this pious rebellion he depopulated Thrace, besieged Constantinople, exterminated sixty-five thousand of his fellow Christians, till he obtained the recall of the bishops, the satisfaction of the Pope, and the establishment of the council of Chalcedon, an orthodox treaty, reluctantly signed by the dying Anastasius, and more faithfully performed by the uncle of Justinian. And such was the event of the first of the religious wars which have been waged in the name, and by the disciples, of the God of Peace."

With the following extract from Appollos Hale, we close the testimony on this point: "We now invite our modern Gamaliels to take a position with us in the place of the sanctuary of Paganism (since claimed as the 'patrimony of St. Peter') in 508. We look a few years into the past, and the rude Paganism of the northern barbarians is pouring down upon the nominally christian empire of Western Rome ­triumphing everywhere - and its triumphs everywhere distinguished by the most savage cruelty.... The empire falls and is broken into fragments. One by one the lords and rulers of these fragments, abandon their Paganism and profess the Christian faith. In religion the conquerors are yielding to the conquered. But still Paganism is triumphant. Among its supporters there is one stern and successful conqueror. (Clovis.) But soon he also bows before the power of the new faith and becomes its champion. He is still triumphant, but, as a hero and conqueror, reaches the zenith at the point we occupy, A.D. 508.

"In or near the same year, the last important subdivision of the fallen empire is publicly, and by the coronation of its triumphant 'monarch' christianized.

"The pontiff for the period on which we stand is a recently converted Pagan. The bloody contest which placed him in the chair was decided by the interposition of an Arian king. He is bowed to and saluted as filling 'the place of God on earth.' The senate is so far under his power, that, on suspicion that the interests of the See of Rome demand it, they excommunicate the emperor. In 508 the mine is sprung beneath the throne of the Eastern Empire. The result of the confusion and strife it occasions is the humiliation of its rightful lord. Now the question is, At what time was Paganism so far suppressed, as to make room for its substitute and successor, the Papal abomination? When was this abomination placed in a position to start on its career of blasphemy and blood? Is there any other date for its being 'placed,' or 'set up' in the room of Paganism, but 508? If the mysterious enchantress has not now brought all her victims within her power, she has taken her position, and some have yielded to the fascination. The others are at length subdued, 'and kings, and peoples and multitudes, and nations, and tongues,' are brought under the spell which prepares them, even while 'drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus,' to 'think they are doing God service,' and to fancy themselves the exclusive favorites of heaven, while becoming an easier and richer prey for the damnation of hell" The Review and Herald, January 28, 1858.