Participants:
Series Code: GLM
Program Code: GLM200004S
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00:39 Hello, and welcome again to the fourth presentation
00:43 in our series, dealing with the last message 00:46 to go to the world. 00:47 God's sending a message to the world. 00:50 And that very important subject is the theme 00:53 for these eight presentations all together. 00:55 We're so happy to welcome 00:57 those of you who are in the studio, 00:59 and those who wherever you live around the world, 01:02 we are glad that you have tuned in to this presentation today. 01:08 You may remember that we should always 01:11 commence with prayer. 01:12 So let us bow our heads in a word of prayer. 01:16 Dear loving Father, we thank You, Lord, 01:17 for the confidence 01:19 that we can have in opening Your Word. 01:22 It is the word of truth. 01:24 It's the word that leads us to eternal life we but believe 01:29 and before we commence today, we ask for the one 01:31 who is sent to guide us into truth, 01:33 the Holy Spirit, may He be present not only here, 01:37 but in each heart of those who are listening. 01:39 And we ask this in Jesus' precious name, amen. 01:44 In the first three presentations of this series, 01:47 we set up a chart that describes the events 01:52 outlined in Bible prophecy 01:54 of what would happen in the time of the end. 01:58 Now, that's an unusual expression, 01:59 but it's found in the scriptures. 02:01 And it refers to the period of time, 02:03 from 1798 until the second coming of Jesus. 02:08 And during that time, 02:10 the Bible all ready has predicted. 02:13 And I want you to notice that word. 02:15 It's foretold in the future, 02:16 what's going to happen in the world 02:19 as we lead up to the second coming of Jesus. 02:23 And these events as you can see on the screen. 02:26 First of all, we've dealt with Daniel's book being closed 02:30 until the time of the end. 02:32 We found that the time of the end began at the end 02:36 of that prophetic time period that you see on the screen 02:39 of 1, 260 days/years. 02:43 And when that year came, 1798, 02:46 that's the beginning of the time of the end. 02:50 Now those are all features that the Bible has predicted. 02:54 Today, we're going to begin to look at how the events 02:57 that we've seen in that chart, 02:59 during the last three presentations 03:02 are all going to be 03:03 miraculously and marvelously fulfilled. 03:08 Because today we're going to go back, 03:10 and we need to go back to France. 03:12 It's the 1790s, the time of the great deluge 03:16 or the French Revolution. 03:18 France was involved in a terrible period of time. 03:21 The people were rising up against their rulers, 03:25 with thousands of people executed with the guillotine. 03:30 The country's rebellion against God 03:32 actually reached its zenith, its pinnacle in 1793. 03:38 Because in that year, they led King Louie XVI 03:43 to the guillotine himself. 03:46 And that terrible time, 03:48 not only brought an end to the life of the king, 03:51 but it brought an end to religion in France, 03:55 because in 1793, 03:57 the National Assembly of France abolished 04:00 the worship of God, Bibles were burned, 04:04 and all religion was formally abolished. 04:08 In their rebellious zeal, 04:10 the French government was determined also 04:12 to abolish the power and the authority 04:15 of the Church of Rome. 04:18 And as a result, that power had to be brought to judgment 04:24 in the estimation of the French. 04:26 So in a very dramatic fulfillment, 04:29 the 1, 260 years of supremacy was brought to an end. 04:34 And at that particular time, 04:36 some very dramatic events occurred in that year. 04:41 On February the 10th, 1798, right on time, I say again, 04:47 under orders from the French government, 04:50 General Berthier entered Rome. 04:53 And on February the 15th, he came to the Sistine Chapel. 05:00 And there on that day, the pope, Pope Pius VI, 05:05 was receiving congratulations 05:06 because it happened to be the day 05:08 when they were celebrating his anniversary as pope 05:13 of the Roman Church. 05:15 Here he was sitting in the Sistine Chapel, 05:19 you see it there in a yellow circle, 05:22 very closely connected to St. Peter's Square 05:25 there on the right hand side of the picture. 05:28 But on that particular day, 05:30 the pope, as I said, was in the Sistine Chapel. 05:33 And there's the outside of the building, 05:35 very impressive. 05:37 It's been there for a long time, 05:38 the Sistine Chapel. 05:40 In fact, it's in that chapel, where they elect the new popes. 05:44 Every time a new pope is elected, 05:46 they come to the Sistine Chapel, 05:49 and there they will find it. 05:51 And inside it is a beautiful building. 05:54 Some of you may have stood inside that building. 05:56 I have and looked up at, at its impressive ceiling, 06:00 paintings by Michelangelo, the famous painter, 06:03 portraying various scenes in the Bible. 06:07 But as I stood there looking up at that ceiling, 06:11 and there's a picture of the, some of Michelangelo's 06:14 beautiful paintings. 06:16 I was amazed to see 06:18 that he painted one particular person. 06:24 Michelangelo painted Daniel, 06:27 on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. 06:30 And when he painted it, he could never have imagined 06:34 that right underneath that painting, in 1798, 06:38 one of Daniel's most impressive prophecies 06:41 would be fulfilled... 06:43 because there he is right there, 06:46 painted with a book in his hand. 06:49 Daniel is written on the bottom of the painting, 06:52 very significant in the light of what happened 06:55 there at that time. 06:58 Well, sometime later, 07:00 I had the opportunity of walking down 07:02 the Vatican Museum, 07:04 and I was amazed to find painted above a doorway 07:07 in the museum, 07:09 a painting commemorating 07:12 if that's the right word I should use this time 07:15 when General Berthier was capturing the pope 07:19 and taking him prisoner. 07:21 He went across to France and in 1799 he died. 07:27 The following year, 07:28 Pope Pius VI died as a prisoner in France. 07:32 And Napoleon had said 07:34 there will be no more popes elected. 07:37 Well, Napoleon was not a student of Bible prophecy, 07:41 as we will see. 07:43 About a century later, Joseph Rickerby, 07:46 who was a Jesuit priest, 07:48 observed about the events of 1798. 07:52 Half of Europe thought that with the pope, 07:56 the papacy was dead. 07:59 The time of the end had begun, 1798. 08:05 If the Book of Daniel was to be opened up 08:07 in the time of the end, 08:08 we would expect that after 1798, 08:12 that there would be a great awakening of interest 08:15 in the Book of Daniel that was predicted. 08:19 Today we're looking at the marvelous story 08:21 of how history has been fulfilled. 08:24 Because did anything happen after 1798 08:28 in their interest in the Book of Daniel? 08:31 True to the prediction, 08:33 the events that had happened in Rome, 08:35 with the capture of the pope, and they declared 08:37 that the Papal States were abolished. 08:40 He lost his authority over the nations of Europe. 08:43 That was what had happened in 1798. 08:46 Is there anything to indicate that after that, 08:50 Bible scholars began to look at the Book of Daniel, 08:55 they saw that Daniel 7 08:57 that recorded the 1, 260 years had been fulfilled. 09:02 And so they began a period of great study. 09:05 And I find this amazing and marvelous, 09:08 that at that time, they began to see so many events 09:12 that were now being fulfilled. 09:14 I'm going to put on the screen a chart. 09:18 Now, you won't be able to see the details of the chart 09:21 except for something that I want to point out to you. 09:24 Because this is a chart of the old world interpreters 09:29 who began to look at the Book of Daniel. 09:32 Now, even though you can't see probably the individual 09:35 horizontal lines, 09:37 because each of those lines represents 09:39 some Bible scholar student, 09:42 somebody who was interested in studying the Book of Daniel. 09:46 The line represents their lifeline 09:48 as I, if I could describe it that way. 09:51 But I want you to notice that there are two heavy 09:54 vertical lines on that chart. 09:57 At the top of the vertical line on the left is the year 1798. 10:03 At the top of the horizontal line 10:05 on the right is the year 1844. 10:10 Now, what I find very interesting 10:13 in looking at this chart 10:15 is that on those horizontal lines, 10:18 you'll notice that there are some little black dots. 10:21 And those little black dots represent a pamphlet, 10:26 or a book, or some kind of published material, 10:30 where those authors listed there 10:33 have written on the Book of Daniel. 10:37 Now, if I was to ask you, could you see 10:39 any little black dots on the left of 1798? 10:44 I think if you could see it more clearly, 10:47 there, probably there's just one. 10:50 But if you could see all the black dots 10:53 and you'll notice them as you go toward 10:54 the bottom of the screen. 10:56 There are many black dots, all indicating, I say again, 11:00 something that was published a pamphlet or a book, 11:04 or something like that on the Book of Daniel. 11:08 Why do we see so many black dots in the middle, 11:12 on the left only about one 11:14 and it peters off even after 1844. 11:18 Difference I believe that as you're looking at that chart, 11:21 you're looking at a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. 11:24 Because the Book of Daniel was to be opened up, 11:26 it was to be unsealed... 11:29 after the time of the end. 11:34 What was their focus after 1798? 11:38 They began to just read it to be realized 11:41 that not only was there a time prophecy 11:43 in Daniel 7, 11:45 they only had to turn their pages of their Bible 11:47 over one page. 11:48 And there is the longest time prophecy in the Bible. 11:53 And they began to study Daniel 8. 11:57 What is this longest time prophecy? 12:00 In Daniel 8:14, 12:02 we've looked at it in our previous presentations, 12:05 we see this prophecy for. 12:07 "And he said to me, 'For 2,300 days, 12:13 then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.'" 12:18 In our discussion of this prophecy, 12:19 in our previous presentations, 12:21 we saw that the highest angel in heaven 12:25 was sent down to Daniel to explain this very prophecy, 12:30 the 2, 300 days or years. 12:33 And we read about that in the next verse. 12:36 "Then it happened, when I, Daniel, 12:38 had seen the vision 12:40 and was seeking the meaning of the vision, 12:43 that suddenly there stood before me 12:45 one having the appearance of a man. 12:49 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, 12:52 " that's a river, "who called, and said, 'Gabriel, 12:56 make this man understand the vision.'" 13:01 And now notice what follows. 13:03 "So he came near where I stood, 13:05 and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face, 13:09 but he said to me, 'Understand, son of man, 13:12 that the vision refers to the time of the end." 13:17 In that last expression, we read there, 13:20 that the vision of the 2,300 years 13:23 would be fulfilled in the time of the end, 13:26 sometime after 1798. 13:30 Well, we need to look today a little bit more 13:33 at that because what happened in history. 13:36 After the events of 1798, 13:38 scholars began to look at these 2,300 year prophecy. 13:43 And with the approaching end of this longest time prophecy 13:47 given to Daniel, 13:49 I'm encouraged as I consider that God raised up 13:53 a whole army as it were of prophetic interpreters 13:58 to witness its fulfillment. 14:00 You know, somebody has said 14:01 that there is nothing more powerful 14:04 than a prophetic truth, whose time has come. 14:09 Never and I use that word wisely, dear friends, 14:12 never in the history of prophetic interpretation 14:15 was there such a chorus of voices as those proclaiming 14:20 the imminent fulfillment of the 2,300 year prophecy. 14:24 Scholars, leading men of the age 14:26 from practically every religious persuasion. 14:30 You may not have heard of Dr. Froom, 14:32 who has written a monumental work 14:34 of four volumes that he called, 14:37 "The Prophetic Faith of our Fathers, " 14:40 dealing with the history of prophetic understanding 14:44 over the previous 2,000 years. 14:47 And he lists, listen to this, 14:49 132 scholars between 1800 and 1844 14:55 who were studying the prophecy of the 2,300 years. 15:00 And with remarkable unanimity, 15:02 they pointed to the fulfillment in the 1840s. 15:07 I want you to look at some statements 15:09 that Dr. Froom has made. 15:12 "Concerning these distinguished expositors, " 15:14 that is the people who were beginning to see 15:17 and study the 2,300 year prophecy. 15:20 "Concerning these distinguished expositors 15:23 they were scattered over Europe, 15:24 the British Isles, the United States, 15:27 Canada, Mexico, Northern Africa, 15:29 and even India, 15:31 not to mention Dr. Joseph Wolff, 15:33 who traveled all over Asia and Asia Minor, 15:36 and parts of Africa, 15:37 as well as Europe and the United States, 15:40 " and these men were all, notice, " 15:42 proclaiming the same, 15:44 the prophecy of the 2,300 years, 15:48 and agreeing in the time when it would be fulfilled 15:53 sometime in the 1840s." 15:56 And notice, Dr. From continues. 15:59 "These men were among the leading clergyman, 16:03 theologians, educators, editors, college presidents, 16:08 physicians, statesmen, 16:09 barristers and military men of the time, 16:12 and were of every religious persuasion, 16:14 Anglican, Presbyterian, Congregational, 16:17 Baptist, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist, Christian, 16:21 Disciple, and even including a Roman Catholic." 16:25 I want you to begin to see that there's something 16:27 significant happening. 16:29 But remember, as we have discovered, 16:31 this was all foretold as going to happen in the future, 16:35 in the time of the end. 16:37 Dr. Froom continues... 16:40 "The approaching terminus, " 16:42 that is the approaching date at the end, 16:45 "of the 2300 years, had a far wider, 16:50 more numerous 16:51 and noteworthy body of heralding expositors 16:55 than any previous fulfillment." 16:59 And he continues, 17:01 "It was 'the most wide-spread prophetic message 17:05 ever heralded to men up to that time.'" 17:10 This is nothing that's hidden in a corner, dear friends. 17:13 God is working, 17:15 He had predicted this would happen. 17:17 And now we're beginning to see 17:18 the amazing fulfillment of this time. 17:22 One of the many scores of these Bible students 17:27 was an unassuming man by the name of William Miller. 17:33 The chart that you're now seeing 17:35 on the screen is a chart of 88 men 17:41 who were speaking about the 2,300 year prophecy. 17:47 God is working here, 17:49 something significant is happening. 17:51 And the one that's underlined in yellow there on the chart 17:54 is this man, William Miller, number 77. 17:58 And it's his story that I want to tell you about this morning 18:02 because of its significance. 18:04 William Miller was a Baptist. 18:07 And he lived in the state of New York. 18:10 And he was the man who responded to God's call 18:14 to lead the greatest movement, 18:16 emphasizing the soon coming of Jesus 18:19 in the history of the world. 18:23 Let's have a look at this man, William Miller. 18:26 Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1782, 18:30 to Christian parents, 18:32 and when he was four years of age, 18:34 his family moved to Low Hampton, 18:37 in the state of New York. 18:40 Now you might see a little arrow 18:41 there in that paint, in that map, 18:44 and that's pointing to Hampton or Low Hampton 18:46 as it was called, right on the border 18:49 between the state of Vermont, 18:51 and that large state in the white, 18:54 the state of New York. 18:56 And it was here that William Miller 18:59 spent most of his life. 19:01 Soon after his marriage in 1803 19:05 to his wife, Lucy... 19:09 they moved to Poultney in the state of Vermont, 19:12 just over the border. 19:13 And here, this young Christian couple 19:17 came under the influence 19:19 of people in the village who would deists. 19:23 Now, deism, 19:24 which is a, you could almost call it a religion. 19:27 Deism had developed from the French Revolution. 19:31 And this is in the early 1800s, the 1790s, 19:34 of course, for the French Revolution, 19:36 and he became a deist. 19:38 Now, you might not know what a deist believes. 19:40 Now let me put it on the screen for you. 19:43 A theist and a deist, 19:45 there are two words that are closely to each other 19:47 but a theist, a theist or deist, rather, 19:51 is from the Latin word for God-deus. 19:55 And a deist believes in a God who set the world under law. 20:00 He created the world, put it under law, 20:03 the law of gravity and all the other laws 20:05 that govern our world. 20:06 But notice the difference. 20:08 He then withdrew from planet earth, 20:12 with no more interest in its affairs. 20:15 That's what deists believed. 20:17 And therefore, if you're a deist, 20:20 for a deist, there is no Bible. 20:24 Because why would a God 20:25 who has gone to the edge of the universe, 20:27 bother to write anything 20:28 that's going to be helpful for the people on a planet 20:31 that He's got no more interest in. 20:33 Not only would there be no more Bible needed, 20:37 but you don't believe in prayer if you're a deist. 20:40 Because this God is so far away, 20:42 He's not interested in the affairs 20:44 that you're facing on earth. 20:46 Then too, if you're a deist, there is no savior. 20:51 Because why would this God ever personally visit a planet 20:55 where He had no more interest? 20:57 And finally, dear friends, if you're a deist, 21:02 there's no resurrection. 21:05 And it was this religion of deism 21:07 that young William Miller and his wife accepted, 21:11 they gave up their Christian faith. 21:14 And that was a very significant time in his life. 21:20 Well, he came to New York State, 21:23 and here he built this home. 21:26 It's still standing today and you can visit it. 21:31 And I've had the pleasure 21:32 and the privilege of visiting this home, 21:35 constructed by this man, William Miller. 21:38 And that's the back view of his home. 21:41 But what we need to know about it, 21:43 because it's good news from now on. 21:45 In 1816, William Miller, 21:48 when he was 34 years of age was reconverted. 21:53 He came back to realize 21:54 the great and wonderful truths of salvation. 21:58 And he writes about it in this way. 22:00 And I want you to notice what he says, 22:03 "I was constrained to admit," 22:07 rather reluctantly at the beginning, 22:10 "that the scriptures must be..." 22:12 Now remember what I said about the Bible when you're a deist, 22:15 "the scriptures must be a revelation from God. 22:18 They became my delight 22:20 and in Jesus I found a friend... 22:23 The scriptures, which before were dark and contradictory, 22:27 now became the lamp to my feet, and light to my path. 22:33 The Bible now became my chief study, 22:37 and I can truly say, 22:39 " and want to keep this in mind with all I'm about to tell you, 22:42 "I searched it with great delight. 22:45 I found the half was never told me," he says. 22:50 That was his experience. 22:52 And here, when I had the privilege of visiting 22:55 William Miller's study, 22:58 it was here that he spent, 23:00 after coming to that conclusion in 1816, 23:04 the next two years, 23:06 sometimes studying right through the night, 23:08 taking the Bible that he had now 23:10 kind of fallen in love with, 23:12 to search what the Bible really teaches. 23:16 He went right through the Bible, 23:17 examining every text, 23:20 and the only other book he ever used was a Concordance, 23:22 to show him other texts in the Bible that mentioned 23:26 the word that he was now studying 23:28 in the scriptures. 23:30 He was earnestly searching for truth. 23:32 And as he studied, he came, 23:34 and I'm going to leave these three with you, 23:36 three very significant conclusions. 23:40 What were they? 23:42 First of all, the postmillennial view. 23:45 Now that probably needs a little explanation. 23:48 The postmillennial view is referring to the belief 23:51 that was widely held among 23:54 Protestant Christians in America in the early 1800s. 23:58 They thought that the second coming of Jesus 24:02 would come at the end of the millennium. 24:05 Now that word millennium 24:07 is referring to the 1, 000 years 24:09 of that I mentioned in the Book of Revelation Chapter 20, 24:12 if you want to follow it up a little bit more. 24:16 The postmillennial view 24:17 that Jesus was coming 1, 000 years 24:19 at the end of the millennium, 24:21 and the gospel was going to be preached during the millennium 24:25 to the world. 24:26 And God's kingdom would be established on the earth. 24:30 Notice that the ideas 24:31 that are part of this postmillennial view. 24:35 Most Christians believed that at the time in the early 1800s. 24:39 And that helps me to understand 24:40 how startling they found Miller's view, 24:44 because Miller realized 24:46 that this postmillennial view was wrong, 24:51 that the coming of Christ would come 24:53 before the millennium, not at the end. 24:56 And so Christians in those days, 24:58 particularly in America were saying, "Well, 25:01 we're almost living at the beginning 25:03 of the millennium. 25:04 But if Jesus is not coming till the end of the millennium, 25:07 the coming of Jesus is 1,000 years off." 25:12 But Miller found that that view was wrong, 25:16 that the millennium that was introduced 25:20 by the coming of Jesus, 25:22 that the second coming of Christ would take place 25:24 at the beginning of the millennium, 25:26 not at the other end. 25:28 That was a startling conclusion. 25:31 But then there was something else 25:32 that he taught. 25:34 And that is that the 2,300 days 25:36 that we've noticed in Daniel 8:14, 25:39 represented 2,300 years to be fulfilled. 25:44 Miller worked out about 1843 or 1844. 25:51 You know, friends, 25:52 it surprises me but in these days 25:54 when communication between people is so easy, 25:57 and we can pick up newspapers and go to the web, 26:00 and computers, etc. 26:02 But in those days when the communication 26:04 wasn't so good, 26:06 Miller never realized that they were... 26:08 Remember that chart, 26:10 the 88 people who were studying 26:12 the 2,300 years as well, he never realized that. 26:16 He thought he was the only one in the world 26:18 coming to the conclusions that he was coming to. 26:21 And what was the third conclusion 26:23 he came to? 26:24 That the cleansing of the sanctuary. 26:26 Now what do we mean by that? 26:28 Do you remember the text? 26:29 Unto 2,300 years, 26:31 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 26:35 He had to say, "Well, what's the cleansing 26:36 of the sanctuary?" 26:38 He did what he had honestly and earnestly done before. 26:42 When he came across a word that he couldn't understand, 26:45 took his Concordance 26:47 and looked up the word sanctuary, 26:49 and looked up at all the verses in the Bible, 26:51 probably you and I have never done that, 26:54 that mentioned the word sanctuary, 26:55 to discover what it meant. 26:57 And he discovered that there were seven things in the Bible 27:00 that could be described as being associated 27:02 with the sanctuary, five of them that he dismissed, 27:05 because he said, those things can't be cleansed. 27:09 Unto 2,300 days or years, 27:12 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 27:15 And he accepted two, 27:17 which pointed him to the fact that he believed the earth 27:21 was going to be cleansed by fire 27:24 at the second coming of Jesus. 27:27 Now, that was an incorrect conclusion. 27:31 But that's what he believed. 27:34 And we find that Miller came back to his home 27:36 and there in his study, the more he studied, 27:40 the more he was convinced that this was true. 27:43 Because as he looked at what the Bible taught, 27:48 he examined for the next five years, 27:51 every possible objection to his conclusions. 27:55 You know, people afterwards who went to his meetings, 27:57 and they had a question time, 28:00 they never found 28:01 that they could ask a question to William Miller, 28:03 that he couldn't give an answer from the scriptures. 28:07 And for five years, he went over every text 28:09 that he thought contradicted what its conclusions were. 28:13 And then for the next nine years, 28:15 he continued on. 28:17 And the longer he delayed, 28:20 the longer and the heavy it became, 28:22 rather the convictions. 28:24 If Jesus is coming in round 1843-44, 28:28 I've got to tell the world. 28:31 But he felt he was too old to preach. 28:35 He was just a farmer. 28:37 He'd never been to a theology school. 28:40 And the more he delayed, trying to justify himself, 28:45 the more he was convicted, you must tell the world. 28:50 And finally, in August 1831, he made a bargain with God. 28:57 You know, dear friends, it's a bit dangerous 28:59 to make bargains with God. 29:01 God has the habit of keeping His side of the bargain. 29:06 And what was his bargain? 29:08 He was now 49 years of age 29:11 and he said, "If anyone invites me to preach, Lord, 29:15 I'll go. 29:17 I'll go. " 29:18 Quite confident that the Lord could not use 29:20 a 49 year old preacher. 29:23 I don't know. 29:25 And you know, dear friends, history tells us 29:28 that within half an hour of that bargain, 29:31 there was a knock at the door of his home 29:35 and he saw there his 16 year old nephew, 29:38 Irving Guilford. 29:41 And he was inviting him 29:43 to preach at his father's church 29:45 in Dresden about 25 kilometers away 29:50 and to tell the people what you've been studying 29:53 about the soon coming of Jesus. 29:56 Well, his little daughter Lucy tells us 29:59 that she never forgot that day. 30:01 She saw her father go to the back door of the house, 30:05 slam the door and walk across towards the maple grove, 30:12 just opposite the back door of the house. 30:16 I have walked over that field into that maple grove. 30:21 And that day, Miller went right into the maple grove. 30:26 And he knelt in prayer, wrestling with God. 30:31 For one whole hour, dear friends, 30:33 he wrestled with God. 30:36 But somebody has said, he went into that grove, 30:39 a farmer, and he came out a preacher. 30:43 He came out a preacher. 30:47 From 1832-1844, 30:52 William Miller preached some 3,200 sermons. 30:57 In 1833, he had been granted a license 31:01 by the Baptist Church, 31:02 and there it is, to preach. 31:06 And he took advantage of that license 31:07 and began to preach. 31:10 And between 1832 as I said, 31:12 he preached 3, 200 sermons 31:14 in more than 500 villages and cities 31:18 of the Eastern United States. 31:20 Sometimes he preached to 8-10,000 people. 31:24 Soon hundreds of ministers joined him. 31:26 Estimates vary that from 700, 31:29 some historians even say up to 2,000 ministers 31:33 of various denominations 31:35 convinced that what Miller was preaching 31:37 was biblical and true. 31:39 In England, there were some 700 Anglican clergymen 31:43 proclaiming the event as well. 31:46 After 1840, they began to conduct large public rallies 31:50 along the Eastern Seaboard, because America 31:53 was not as it is today with so many states westward. 31:56 California was not yet hardly invented. 32:00 Here they set up 125 camp meetings 32:04 that attracted up to 10,000 people. 32:07 It's estimated that one in every 35 Americans 32:09 attended one of the Millerite meetings. 32:13 On the screen, 32:15 and I've taken this from a newspaper at the time, 32:18 they erected the largest tent 32:20 ever erected in America up to that time. 32:24 It was a tent that could seat 4,000 people. 32:27 And soon they found it too small, 32:28 and they had to put a splice across the tent, 32:31 so that another 2,000 could be fitted in, 6,000 people. 32:34 And even that proved too small. 32:38 They began to publish a series of journals, magazines. 32:44 Over 30 of these journals were published. 32:48 And they released what one historian has said, 32:52 was an unprecedented media blitz. 32:55 The world needed to be warned that Jesus was coming soon. 33:00 It's estimated that some 5 million pieces of literature 33:04 were published to tell the world, Jesus is coming. 33:09 And the world had to be warned. 33:12 Initially, dear friends, Miller set the date as 1843. 33:18 But he didn't realize that when you cross BC to AD time, 33:24 there is no year zero. 33:26 It's BC 3, BC 2, BC 1, 33:31 1 AD, 2 AD, 3 AD. 33:35 And that meant when he realized 33:36 that he had to adjust it to 1844. 33:41 And eventually, in August 1844, a date was set in 1844, 33:48 based upon what they thought was biblical evidence 33:53 in the Book of Leviticus Chapter 16, 33:56 a chapter that describes 33:57 one of the seven annual Jewish feasts. 34:02 And many Christians today and then certainly believe 34:07 that these seven feasts 34:08 when you really begin to look at them, 34:11 they point to significant events 34:13 in the life and ministry of Jesus. 34:17 And of all the seven feasts, 34:19 the most solemn of them was the Day of Atonement. 34:23 On that day, 34:25 the ancient Jewish sanctuary was cleansed, 34:29 listen to my words, was cleansed of the sins 34:34 that had been confessed during the previous year. 34:38 It was held on the 10th day of the seventh Jewish month, 34:44 which in the year 1844, because they said, well, 34:47 they went to the leading Jewish scholars of the time, 34:51 and said, "When is the 10th day 34:53 of the seventh Jewish month in 1844?" 34:58 And they received the answer from the Karaite Jews. 35:02 It's October 22, 1844. 35:07 It was concluded then, that on this day 35:10 Jesus would complete the cleansing work in heaven 35:15 and return to the earth on October the 22nd, 1844. 35:22 The effect of this announcement 35:24 upon the whole movement was electrifying. 35:29 I want you to notice a statement by Joshua Himes. 35:34 This man was the leading, what should I call him, 35:38 the public relations officer for the Millerite movement. 35:41 A godly minister and he wrote this, 35:45 talking about that seventh month movement, 35:48 the 10th day of the seventh month, 35:50 when they realized from Scripture 35:52 that October 22 was this date. 35:54 Notice what he says, "In the seventh month movement, 35:58 'there seemed to be an irresistible power, 36:00 which prostrated all before it." 36:03 Its message 'reached hearts 36:04 in different and distant places, 36:07 almost simultaneously, and in a manner 36:10 which can be accounted for only 36:14 on the supposition that God was in it. 36:18 It produced everywhere 36:19 the most deep searching of heart, 36:21 " please notice this, 36:23 "and humiliation of soul 36:25 before the God of high heaven..." 36:27 "We could but exclaim, " said Joshua Himes, 36:30 'What were we, that we should resist God?' 36:37 " What were we that we should resist God? 36:43 Well, many who participated in that movement 36:48 later testified that of all the religious movements 36:51 since the days of the apostles, 36:54 none have been more free of human perfection 36:58 and Satan's deceptions 37:01 than was that of the autumn of 1844, 37:04 autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. 37:06 Even many years later, 37:08 they spoke of their convictions, 37:10 that the movement was blessed by God. 37:16 As the expected day drew near, dear friends, 37:19 more than 150, 000 waited for Jesus to come. 37:25 Now, some scholars I noticed put the number 37:28 much higher than that. 37:31 But I've taken the lowest estimate, 37:32 150, 000 people were waiting for Jesus to come. 37:37 And I was interested to sort of work it out 37:39 that when you compare that number 37:42 to the population at that time, 37:45 and blow that number up to compare it 37:48 with the population of America today, 37:51 it means that there would be 37:53 one and a half million people waiting for Jesus to come. 37:59 It was the greatest second coming, 38:02 second Advent movement since apostolic days, 38:08 the second coming of Jesus. 38:10 I don't know whether you've ever tried to imagine 38:12 what the second coming was like, dear friends, 38:15 or would be like. 38:17 When Jesus returns, 38:18 you know, the Bible tells me that 38:20 He's coming not just on His own, 38:23 but He's coming with all the angels in heaven. 38:27 And the Bible tells me that there are 10,000 times 38:30 10, 000 angels in heaven, plus many more. 38:33 That's a 100 million. 38:36 We speak rather glibly about the second coming. 38:39 But when we think of what will like, 38:41 what will be like, no wonder they look forward to it. 38:45 Not only of course, because of its glory and appearance, 38:48 but what a sweet, sweet experience 38:50 it was going to be, where there'll be no more pain, 38:53 no more sickness, 38:55 no more of those things of earth 38:56 that brought us unhappiness and suffering. 39:00 The meeting with loved ones that had died. 39:02 They were going to be resurrected, 39:05 when they saw Jesus coming. 39:08 What a day. 39:10 But above all else, I guess what meant most of them 39:13 was that they were going to see Jesus in the clouds. 39:18 What a time to be alive. 39:21 And as the day approached, shops were closed. 39:25 At camp meetings, sins were confessed. 39:29 Large sums of money were donated 39:31 so the poor could repay their debts. 39:35 Their harvests were abandoned. 39:39 Many were baptized. 39:42 They wanted to be ready for Jesus to come. 39:47 Hundreds of thousands of copies of those journals 39:51 were published in the last three weeks, 39:54 just before that date. 39:56 On October the 19th, the presses stopped, 40:00 the speakers all returned to their homes. 40:04 And I want to ask you a question this morning. 40:09 That if I could prove to you... 40:13 that Jesus was coming next Tuesday... 40:19 how would you spend the days between now and next Tuesday? 40:27 Obviously, you cannot answer me. 40:30 But I'd like you to think about that question. 40:34 Because it's Tuesday, October the 22nd, 1844 dawned, 40:40 the scattered believers, 40:41 those tens of thousands of people 40:43 who believe that Jesus was coming, 40:46 they waited in companies, some large companies, 40:49 some very small, they waited in tabernacles, 40:52 in churches, 40:54 in their private homes with friends. 40:57 And in Low Hampton, William Miller's wife, 41:02 and his eight children waited in his home. 41:09 If I could take you to the home today, 41:12 just shortly, short distance away 41:15 behind that maple grove where Miller prayed, 41:17 you remember, 41:19 is a large outcrop of limestone rock. 41:24 It's interesting that the American Historical Society 41:27 has called this rock, "Ascension Rock". 41:34 After what was expected to happen that day, 41:37 that when Jesus appeared in the clouds, 41:41 then they would ascend to meet the Lord 41:45 in the air. 41:48 And I've often tried to imagine 41:50 how those people felt during the morning, 41:54 maybe He's coming in the afternoon. 41:58 They went through the afternoon, 41:59 I'm sure they sang and prayed. 42:03 And then the evening came. 42:05 And as the hours went by, 42:07 until the clock told 12 at midnight, 42:13 they still waited. 42:17 But then, of course, when the clock did told 12, 42:22 Jesus had not appeared. 42:27 And their disappointment 42:29 and I know this is an understatement, my friends, 42:32 but their disappointment must have been intense, 42:37 bitterly intense. 42:40 How could they manage to pick up the pieces 42:42 and still believe in God, and in His Word, 42:46 after such a great disappointment? 42:51 Do you remember our chart? 42:55 Just as prophecy had predicted... 42:59 the Book of Daniel 43:00 had been opened in the time of the end. 43:05 A message unsealing the 2,300 year prophecy 43:10 had been preached in the time of the end. 43:16 And out of that message, they believe 43:18 they should warn the world that Jesus was coming 43:22 and be soon to be replaced by the kingdom of God. 43:28 As Revelation 10 had said, 43:29 though, they didn't understand Revelation 10 at the time, 43:33 God's mystery of gathering 43:35 all the peoples into one great family 43:39 was about to happen. 43:43 This message had been sweet to hear, dear friends. 43:46 So very, very sweet. 43:48 Jesus was coming. 43:51 But you remember in Revelation 10, 43:54 the Bible predicts that that sweet experience 43:58 would become a very bitter one. 44:01 Do you remember how we looked in our, 44:02 one of our last presentations? 44:04 How John, the writer of the Book of Revelation 44:08 had been told to go and eat the little Book of Daniel. 44:13 And it tells us there in Revelation 10 44:15 that when he ate it, it was sweet in his mouth. 44:20 But when digestion had started, and it went into his stomach, 44:25 it says it was a bitter experience, 44:30 a bitter experience. 44:34 Why hadn't Jesus come? 44:38 Think about it. 44:41 Today, we look back and we see Miller's great mistake. 44:47 He was wrong, terribly wrong about the event 44:51 that would happen at the end of the 2,300 years. 44:57 But Miller was right in a lot of the things that he said. 45:02 And I want to put just three of them on the screen 45:04 for you to see. 45:06 Miller was right, first of all, 45:08 in preaching the soon coming of Jesus. 45:12 Before the millennium, 45:14 after all, do you know that the second coming of Jesus 45:17 is mentioned 300 times in the New Testament? 45:22 It's mentioned there, it's Bible truth, 45:24 Jesus one day is going to come back to this world. 45:28 And when you look at the Bible writers, 45:31 many of them preached about the soon coming of Jesus. 45:35 So Miller was in good company. 45:38 But then two, Miller was right in urging people 45:43 to prepare for His, for Jesus return. 45:47 After all, Jesus Himself said, in Matthew Chapter 24, 45:52 "Be ye also ready for in such an hour as you think not, 45:57 the Son of Man is going to come." 45:59 So Miller was in good company, again, 46:03 in preaching the importance of being ready 46:06 for the coming of Jesus. 46:08 But then to number three, 46:11 he was right in stating that the 2,300 days 46:17 represented 2,300 years. 46:23 Many, many Bible scholars apart from Miller at the time, 46:27 agreed in the day for a year 46:29 principle of interpreting Bible prophecy. 46:31 And many of them believed that he was right 46:35 in stating that it reached into the 1840s. 46:39 Dear friends, as I look back upon those days, 46:43 Miller never realized 46:47 that he was the most important link 46:50 in God's great plan 46:52 to raise up out of that great disappointment, 46:56 people who would take to the world, 46:58 God's last message 47:01 that God is ever going to send to this world, 47:04 to prepare them, to prepare the world 47:07 for the coming, the coming of Jesus. 47:12 I've got a map here to show you on the screen. 47:16 It's a map showing the location of William Miller's home, 47:21 Ascension Rock that we just looked at, 47:25 the little chapel that is just in front of Ascension Rock, 47:29 and not far away the cemetery 47:32 where William Miller is buried. 47:36 When I visited this area, I wanted to go and see 47:40 the resting place of this great man of God. 47:44 And certainly there you can see the grave of William Miller 47:49 next to it is Lucy, his wife. 47:53 And I was interested as I stood there 47:55 looking at his gravestone 47:57 that there on the top, as you can see, 47:59 there seems to be an open Bible. 48:03 And as I drew near and took the photograph 48:06 of what was there in that open Bible, 48:09 I noticed that on the left hand side, 48:11 and you could almost predict this, 48:13 couldn't you, was Daniel 8:14, 48:17 "And he said unto me, 'Unto 2,300 days, 48:21 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed, '" 48:26 written on his gravestone. 48:29 Well, today, dear friends, we are more than 175 years, 48:34 removed from the day of that bitter disappointment. 48:39 But we are that many years closer to the coming of Jesus. 48:44 And the signs that we are seeing in the world today 48:47 are shouting to us, 48:49 that His coming is hastening quickly. 48:53 The return of Jesus is the greatest event 48:56 that this world will ever see. 48:59 And I want to remind you this morning 49:00 and those of you who are listening, 49:03 that it will decide the eternal destiny 49:08 of everyone hearing my voice today. 49:13 My question I want to leave on your hearts this morning, 49:17 is to each of you, 49:18 are you ready for Jesus to come? 49:23 Being ready is not just having our names in the church books. 49:29 Being ready is not just having a position of responsibility 49:32 in the church. 49:35 Being ready is not just being 49:37 a respected member in our community. 49:41 Being ready is not just attending church every week. 49:46 Being ready is not giving money to help the poor 49:50 and the disadvantaged. 49:53 What does being ready as Jesus said, you remember, 49:56 "Be ye also ready, for an hour 50:01 that you don't expect, Jesus is going to come." 50:06 It means, dear friends, 50:07 recognizing that all of us listening to my voice, 50:13 all of us here today are sinners. 50:18 It means recognizing that you have sinned 50:20 and that you believe that Jesus died on a cross 50:26 to pay the penalty for your sins. 50:30 It means believing that Jesus has forgiven every sin 50:34 that you've ever committed. 50:36 It means that Jesus will give you in return, 50:41 His righteousness, 50:43 His perfect life to be credited as it were to you. 50:49 It means giving your life over to Jesus, 50:51 accepting Him as your Savior and Lord, 50:54 and getting to really know Jesus as a friend. 51:00 When I think about it, 51:02 I have met many Christians in my life. 51:06 But who have said to me that they felt 51:09 they did not know Jesus. 51:13 Think about this. 51:16 You know, the most famous sermon 51:18 that Jesus ever preached 51:21 is known as the Sermon on the Mount. 51:25 And at the end of that sermon, 51:27 He preached some very sobering words. 51:31 And I want you to notice them, 51:33 as they're found in Matthew 51:35 7:21-23. 51:41 Jesus said this, 51:43 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord, ' 51:48 shall enter the kingdom of heaven.'" 51:49 Notice that? 51:51 There are people today who speak to Jesus, 51:53 and they might even call Him Lord. 51:56 But not everybody who just uses the word, 'Lord, Lord, ' 51:59 when they're talking about Jesus, 52:00 they're not going to begin to automatically 52:02 go into the kingdom. 52:05 But Jesus said, 52:07 "But he who does the will of My Father in heaven." 52:13 And then Jesus went on to say these words, 52:17 "Many will say to Me," notice that, 52:20 "Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, 52:27 have we not prophesied in Your name, 52:30 preached in Your name, 52:32 have we not cast out demons in Your name, 52:37 have we not done many wonders in Your name?' 52:43 " These people, I guess we could say, 52:45 were professing Christians. 52:48 They called Jesus Lord. 52:51 They had been preaching in Jesus' name. 52:56 They had cast out demons in Jesus' name. 53:01 And they had then done many miracles as it were, 53:03 many wonders in Jesus' name. 53:08 You would think that such people 53:11 would inherit God's kingdom 53:13 and be ready to meet Jesus when He comes. 53:17 But I want you to notice the very next verse. 53:22 "And then I, Jesus, will declare to them, 53:28 'I never knew you, depart from Me, 53:33 you who practice lawlessness!' 53:37 " Those people were not thinking 53:38 that they were practicing lawlessness, 53:41 no law, lawlessness. 53:43 They were doing things in Jesus' name. 53:46 They were preaching in His name. 53:49 They honored the name of Jesus, evidently. 53:53 But Jesus has to say to them, "I never knew you." 53:59 And I would suggest, dear friends, 54:01 that Jesus could only say those words 54:04 if they didn't know Jesus. 54:11 My friends, what will Jesus say to you... 54:17 when He returns? 54:20 Will He say to you, "I never knew you. 54:25 You never took the time to get to know Me." 54:31 Are you getting to know Jesus? 54:36 In John 17:3, 54:40 Jesus was giving His last prayer 54:43 to His Father before He died. 54:46 And in that prayer, Jesus said these words, 54:52 "And this is eternal life. 54:55 This is eternal life that they may know You, 55:01 the only true God, 55:04 and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." 55:10 "This is eternal life, 55:12 that they might know you, the only true God, 55:17 and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." 55:23 Dear friends, if you have not made this decision, 55:27 can I urge you today to consider... 55:31 that if you should die tonight... 55:34 would you know that you would be ready 55:39 to meet Jesus? 55:41 I want to suggest there is no more important question 55:45 that you should think about and be sure of your answer. 55:51 Jesus is still coming. 55:54 Before that great event, God is going to send a message, 55:58 His last message to the world. 56:00 And we're going to talk about that over 56:01 the next few presentations. 56:06 And He's doing that, because He loves you. 56:09 He loves every one of you in my way, 56:11 hearing my, hearing of my voice, 56:14 and He wants you to be with Him in His Kingdom. 56:17 You know, after the disappointment, 56:20 William Miller built a little chapel, 56:23 just behind Ascension Rock, 56:26 where they had waited to see Jesus that day. 56:31 It's a beautiful little building. 56:34 I've gone into that building and thought so much 56:38 of William Miller being at that pulpit 56:41 and preaching to the more group of people 56:44 who were still holding on as he was, 56:47 to the fact that Jesus was coming soon. 56:50 And at the end, you'll notice he had printed 56:52 at the time appointed 56:54 from the Book of Daniel Chapter 8, 56:57 "The end shall be." 57:00 Well, that was the little chapel. 57:03 And as he stood there often 57:05 I believe that this statement that he made, 57:08 just after the disappointment is something that is true. 57:11 "Brethren, hold fast, let no man take your crown. 57:15 I have fixed my mind on another time, 57:18 and here I mean to stand until God gives me more light 57:22 and that is to-day, TO-DAY, and TO-DAY, 57:25 until He comes, and I see him 57:29 for whom my soul yearns." 57:35 In our next presentation, dear friends, 57:36 we're going to answer the question, 57:38 why didn't Jesus come? 57:41 Could God have really been in a movement that ended 57:43 so bitterly as it did, 57:46 or was that great movement His appointment 57:49 to do much greater things for His people? 57:53 Let us have a word of prayer. 57:55 Dear loving Father, as we've considered the past, 57:59 and seeing that great movement rise up 58:01 in fulfillment of Bible prophecy 58:03 that focused upon Jesus and His coming, 58:06 we are saddened by their disappointment. 58:09 But we are gladdened by the fact 58:10 that Jesus is soon to come and that promise is sure. 58:14 Help all who hear my voice 58:16 to be ready for that day is my prayer, 58:19 in Jesus' precious name, amen. |
Revised 2021-02-05