This is html page #4 of 4 for the book: Views of the Prophecies and Prophetic Chronology, Selected from the Manuscripts of William Miller
PART THIRD.
REVIEWS AND LETTERS.
A REVIEW OF ETHAN SMITH'S AND
DAVID CAMBELL'S EXPOSITION OF
THE "LITTLE HORN," AND RETURN
OF THE JEWS.
DANIEL viii. 9.
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
1. WE might inquire what power this "little horn" represents. I answer, the Romans, or Daniel's fourth kingdom, as explained by the heavenly messenger, Dan. vii. 23-26: "Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them, and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, times, and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end."
Messrs. Smith and Cambell say that it is Mahomet. What right they have for giving a different construction, without any intimation from God, the angel, or Daniel, I cannot conceive; but when men have false theories to support, they must explain to suit their convenience.
The text says, "out of one of them," - meaning one of the four kingdoms into which Alexander's was divided, - "came forth a little horn." Rollin says "that these four kingdoms all became Roman provinces between the years 148 and 30 B.C." Of course, they ceased to be kingdoms. And, as this little horn "came out of one of them," it must have arisen before Christ, instead of 622 years after Christ, when Mahomet arose. (See Rollin, vol. iv. pp. 210, 246, 264, 377.)
The angel says, Dan. viii. 10, "it waxed great, even to the host of heaven." Now if host of heaven means the Jews, then it must be before they were cut off as a nation, and of course the Mahometan power cannot be the "little horn." For God has cut off the Jews, and said, "I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. For ye are not my people, and I will not be your God." Hosea i. 6, 9. "For the Lord God shall slay thee, (Jews,) and call his servants by another name." Isa. lxv. 15. They cannot, then, wax great to the host of heaven nearly six hundred years after they are not the host of heaven. If they should say it means the christian church, then I ask, what is meant by the place of his sanctuary? See 11th verse: "Yea, he (little horn) magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down." Who is the prince of the host? It cannot be the high priest, as some say; for the priesthood was abolished many centuries before Mahomet lived. What is the place of his sanctuary? They must and will answer, if they answer at all, Jerusalem. And Jerusalem was cast down by the Romans five hundred and fifty years before Mahomet lived. How can these things be?
Again. The angel says, Dan. viii. 23, "And in the latter time of their kingdom," (the four kingdoms of Alexander's empire, the last of which was destroyed, as Rollin has shown, thirty years B.C.,) "when the transgressors are come to the full," - that is, when the Jews are come to the height of their transgression, in the cup of abominations, God will suffer them to make a league with the Romans, or little horn; and "a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up," meaning Rome, for Mahomet did not exist until five hundred and fifty years after the Jews were destroyed for their transgressions. Moses explains this, Deut. xxviii. 49, 50: "The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old nor show favor to the young." All commentators agree that Moses is prophesying the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Romans. If so, then is Daniel prophesying the same, for the characters and descriptions are the same.
Verse 24: "And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power." Now this is representing the Roman kingdom in its last part, Papacy, as in the vision of the little horn, Dan. vii. 25: "And they shall be given into his hand," not by his own power. Here is an agreement with the little horn of Papacy, and agrees with the ten horns giving up their power to the papal beast. See Rev. xvii. 13, 17: "These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled."
"And he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." Mahomet certainly did bear rule by his own power, he governed by his own laws, and, as John tells us, he was not raised up to destroy green things, (the people of the Holy One,) "but only those men who have not the seal of God in their foreheads." Rev. ix. 4: "And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads."
Dan. viii. 25: "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart." Compare this with the little horn of Papacy, Dan. vii. 25: "And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, times, and the dividing of time." 2 Thes. ii. 4: "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
Rev. xiii. 4-6: "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven." "And by peace shall destroy many." That is, by pretending to be a minister of peace he shall destroy many by his delegated power over heretics. "He shall stand up against the Prince of princes." This is the Antichrist spoken of by John, in 1 John ii. 18: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." Against the Prince of princes, cannot apply to Mahomet, for he did not stand up against Christ nor the high priest. "But he shall be broken without hand." I answer, he must be broken by the stone cut out without hands. See Daniel ii. 34, 35: "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth," which carries away all the kingdoms of the earth, and sets up the kingdom of Christ, which will stand forever.
Mr. Smith and Mr. Cambell admit, that the twenty-three hundred days will end in 1843; and then Mahometanism will be destroyed, the Jews return, &c. Very well; I will show that the papal beast will be destroyed at the same time, and that Christ will come at the same time, and if ever the Jews return it must be at the same time when the false prophet is destroyed. See Rev. xix. 20: "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." This text shows their destruction to be at one time. Now the coming of Christ. See 2 Thes. ii. 8: "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." This text proves that Christ will come in his glory before the beast will be destroyed, meaning Papacy. See also Dan. vii. 21, 22: "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." See also Dan. vii. 9, 10, 13, 14: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Will Mr. Smith or Cambell tell us what these texts mean, if it is not Christ's second coming.
II. THE RETURN OF THE JEWS. "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."* (* Luke xxi. 24-28.) This proves that Jerusalem shall be trodden down or possessed by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. See Rom. ii. 9, 10: "Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil; of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile. But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." We see by this text that the time of the Gentiles carries us to the end of the gospel dispensation. And if old Jerusalem is ever built again, it cannot be until the end of the gospel day. See Rom. xi. 25, 26: "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits,) that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." When the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, then all Israel (spiritually) shall be saved. Isa. vi. 3: "And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." "His glory is the fulness of the whole earth," (i.e. Gentiles.) Eph. i. 9, 10, also 23: "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself: that, in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him:" "which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
By these and similar texts we are taught that the gospel church among the Gentiles is the fulness of Christ, and the times of the Gentiles must of course be the fulness of the gospel day. If then the Jews are to return to their own land and build Jerusalem again, it cannot be until the gospel dispensation is finished, or "the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." For while the gospel dispensation lasts, if they continue not in unbelief, they are grafted in among the Gentiles, and are all one in Christ. And as long as they are without faith they cannot please God, and, of course, cannot be the people of God. Paul argues the above in the eleventh chapter of Romans. Where, in the New Testament, can a single passage be found to prove the return of the Jews to their own land? And, if it is not in the New Testament, what biblical rule has any one to say that it remains to be fulfilled? If you say the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, Isa. xi. 11, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea;" - if this means the Jews, then it was fulfilled in the return of the Jews from Babylon.
1. They were redeemed from Egypt. See Deut. vii. 8, xv. 15: "But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt." "And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to-day." 1 Chron. xvii. 21: "And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?"
2. They were redeemed from Babylon. See Ezra ii. 1: "Now these are the children of the province that went up out of captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city." Neh. i. 8-10: "Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: but if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them, though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants, and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand." Dan. ix. 2, 15: "In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." "And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly." Micah iv. 10: "Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon: there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies."
If this means spiritual Israel, then why look for the Jews' return? True, God will redeem his people (spiritually) the second time: -
1. From Sin by regeneration through faith. Heb. ix. 15: "And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." Titus ii. 14: "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Ps. cxxx. 8: "And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities."
2. From Death by the power of God in the resurrection. Hosea xiii. 14: "I will ransom thee from the power of the grave; I will redeem thee from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction; repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. Rom. viii. 23: "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."
So let Messrs. Smith and Cambell take which horn of the dilemma they please. I have shown by the plain scripture, that the SON OF MAN must come at the time specified, Dan. viii. 14: "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." And as it is the main object of these writers to try to support a "Millennium" before Christ's second coming, I challenge them all, or either, to prove it by the Bible, and nothing but the Bible; let them keep to the point.
WILLIAM MILLER.
Boston, March 15, 1840.
BRIEF REVIEW OF DOWLING'S REPLY
TO MILLER. No. I.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: - I thank you for the book you sent me, - "Dowling's Reply to Miller." I was in hopes, when I read his introduction, we should have fair argument at least; yet when he gave his reasons for exposing my expositions, (as he calls them,) I had some fears that I had not found in him an honest, disinterested opponent.
"Were the doctrine of Mr. Miller established upon evidence satisfactory to my own mind, I would not rest till I had published in the streets, and proclaimed in the ears of my fellow-townsmen, and especially of my beloved flock, '"THE DAY OF THE LORD IS AT HAND!" Build no more houses! plant no more fields and gardens! forsake your shops and farms, and all secular pursuits, and give every moment to preparation for this great event! for in three short years this earth shall be burned up, and Christ shall come in the clouds, awake the sleeping dead, and call all the living before his dread tribunal.' It is not, therefore, in a captious spirit that the following pages are sent into the world, but in order to vindicate myself, as a minister of the gospel, from what would be a most criminal neglect in not sounding such an ALARM."
The amount of the above extract is simply this: he would disobey the positive command of Christ, "occupy till I come," and counteract a prophecy of the dear Savior, Luke xvii. 28-30, "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot: they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all: even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed," - and be a fanatic. No danger, Mr. Dowling; with these motives, God will never call you to warn mankind: your wisdom would be folly with God. But I have read the work, and, if I am not in an "egregious error," I plainly saw that Mr. Dowling was laboring in an uphill business. It was like the prayer we heard in Boston last winter, when the speaker prayed to God, "begging that he would not suffer men to burn up their Bibles after 1843." I find it, also, to be full of the same spirit of boasting and bragging which we find in "Miller Overthrown," "Miller Exploded," "Boston Resolution," &c.; all of which are signs of the last days. See 2 Tim. iii. 1,2: "This know, also, that in the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy." Our great men were in trouble; therefore Mr. Dowling must throw darkness upon the Bible - he must preach up that men cannot understand the Bible unless we come to him or some other A.M. or a D.D. Let me here say, once for all, I do not despise good men who may have worn or now wear these titles. I do not despise learning; for of all things on earth which I ever beheld, a humble, learned man I truly love. But I do despise these baubles or titles, which have become too common in the christian world, which the Son of God never wore, and taught his followers to reject.
Mr. Dowling begins first with the seventy weeks; and, after shifting, twisting, and turning, he says, page 49, "Mr. Miller says the 490 years begin B.C. 457, which is correct. He says they end A.D. 33, which is also correct." This is all I ask. If it ended in 33, then 1810 would end in 1843. Let this part of the controversy be settled here. No matter when Christ died, it has nothing to do with the argument. We are then agreed that 70 weeks or 490 days were just fulfilled in 490 years, ending A.D. 33. So far we agree. In his next section, page 53, after quoting Daniel's vision, he then begins to confuse the minds of his readers, by quoting all the ancient and modern opinions of men; - he dares not stand on Bible alone. But I shall not follow him in his confusion of tongues. We wish to understand the question, Dan. viii. 13, "For how long a time shall the vision last, the daily sacrifice be taken away, and the transgression of desolation continue, to give both the sanctuary and host to be trodden under foot?" Answer, "Unto two thousand three hundred days." With this translation, I have no difficulty. But what vision? I answer, the ram, he-goat, and little horn. Mr. Dowling, on pages 85 and 86, has endeavored to make people believe that I fix the rise of the little horn at the beginning of the vision. I cannot impute this to his ignorance; it cannot be less than a wanton disregard to truth; for he well knew I had applied the "little horn" to Rome pagan and papal. See page 59 of his own work. The text inquires, "For how long time shall the vision last?" not how long shall the little horn last? So all that he has said on that point is sheer duplicity, to blind, and draw his readers from the point at issue. The point at issue is, doth the vision contain any thing, or time, but the history of Antiochus, and the time he defiled the temple? I answer, it does; and every reader must see that it contains a part, if not all, of the Persian history, all of the Grecian, and all of the "little horn," which evidently includes Antichrist, which power is to end only with Christ's coming. See Dan. vii. 21, 22. 2 Thess. ii. 8. Remember the question: "For how long time shall the vision last?" The vision begins with the ram pushing westward, which is Persia warring against Grecia, according to Mr. Dowling's own showing. Then for him to say the answer only includes Antiochus Epiphanes, is a perversion of the question. It includes Grecia under Alexander, the four kingdoms into which his was divided, then another power, called a "little horn," when the transgression of the Jews should come to the full. See the instruction of the angel, Dan. viii. 23-25: "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and be shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes: but he shall be broken without hand." Was this all done under Antiochus? was it not his own power which defiled the temple? Surely it was. But Mr. Dowling says this "little horn" means a person, not a kingdom. He says, "To this it may be replied, that while in most instances in this prophecy," and he ought to have said in every instance, "a horn does signify a kingdom, to assert that it does so in this case is begging the question." Is this your logic, Mr. Dowling? Suppose, sir, you write me a letter; in that letter you use the word "student" ten times - nine times you explain yourself to mean a "wise man;" would it be begging the question to call the tenth a "wise man?" And if my opponent called it "a fool," would he not be put upon his proof to show you meant in this isolated case "a fool?" And as Mr. Dowling has admitted my proof, and brought not a particle of proof from the Bible to support his assertion, I can safely rest my view, that it means the Roman kingdom, or that abomination spoken of by Christ, Matt. xxiv. 15, which would destroy the city and sanctuary, the Jews as a people, and magnify himself, and stand up against Christ.
I shall now examine the evidence he has brought against the seventy weeks being a part of the vision. In this he evidently has tried to blind people's eyes, by hiding the truth and throwing dust.
"But the reader who has not read Mr. Miller's book will inquire, Does he place the date so far back without a shadow of a reason? I reply, I have read his third lecture very carefully, to discover whether he has any reason whatever for placing the commencement of the 2300 years at the same time as the commencement of the 70 weeks, and I can discover none, except a most singular inference he draws from the words in Dan. viii. 21, 'the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision, at the beginning, touched me,' &c."
He says I have brought no other proof but Dan. viii. 21. Now let the reader turn to my lectures, page 57, twenty-second and twenty-third lines from the top. "Does not the angel say to Daniel, ix. 23, [not viii. or ix. 21,] Therefore understand the matter and consider the vision?" He has quoted a wrong verse, and then says the word "the" is not in the Hebrew; he dares not say the word "the" is not in the twenty-third and twenty-fourth verses, - "to seal up the vision," &c. You see, my dear reader, how your ministers will stoop to the meanest subterfuges to deceive you, and "cry peace." But not all of them. No: I bless God there are a few honest ones left yet. But this book is evidently got up to throw darkness upon the people, to misrepresent my views, and to clothe the scripture in a mantle of darkness.
In pages 84-86 he has misrepresented my views entirely: I have nowhere said the "little horn" began the vision, or had its rise until 158 years B.C., when the Grecians ceased to trouble the Jews, and the Romans began to work deceitfully. All his arguments, then, are founded on false premises. And I may well say the whole of his arguments are built upon false premises and conjectures. His four years, of which he attempts to make so much, has no effect on my system at all. I think Christ died A.D. 33. He thinks Christ died A.D. 29. But the end of the 70 weeks, he says, was A.D. 33. Very well, sir, this is all I ask; you may think what you please about Christ's death, it is the year I want, whether you reckon 453 and add 37, or reckon 457 and add 33. We agree it is 33, according to our chronology. And from the end of the 70 weeks I may reckon "backwards or forwards" as I please. Now, sir, if the instruction that Gabriel gives Daniel in the 9th chapter is concerning the vision of the 8th chapter, then I am right. If not, then I may be wrong.
Let all of our readers examine for themselves, and then their blood must be on their own heads. I wish not to deceive any - nor be deceived. I ask the reader to read Daniel viii. 16-19; then read Daniel ix. 21 to 24; and determine for himself what "vision" the angel came to make Daniel understand, and what "vision and prophet or prophecy" would be sealed up by the 70 weeks. This is the turning point, and Mr. Dowling knows it, or he would never have tried so hard to misquote and darken my arguments, which he will not call "arguments," and by which expression he has discovered his prejudice, and his unfitness to review any serious or candid work. "Let no man deceive you by any means."
WILLIAM MILLER.
Low Hampton, July 13, 1840.
REVIEW OF DOWLING. No. II.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: - I am pained to the heart when I see the deceit and art that are used at the present day to lull the church to sleep and deceive souls. Yes, I see even those who profess to be servants of Christ and lovers of souls, taking sides with the scoffer, and ridiculing and treating with contempt an important doctrine of the Bible, which has eternal consequences hanging upon a right understanding and a just appreciation of its truth. Of all the writers which I have seen, none is equal to "John Dowling, A.M., pastor of the Pine-street Baptist church, Providence, R.I." He, in my opinion, will be the means of sinking more souls into perdition, than your "Parsons Cooke, Whittemore, Skinner, Cobb, Thomas," and all the host of scoffers put together. For they have only prompted men to read and hear with more attention and profit. But Dowling steals upon men in that sly, deceitful, and artful manner, that they are chilled before they know it, and poisoned with a noxious vapor by the air they breathe. The effects will be easily seen, wherever Dowling's work is read and believed: the Bible will be neglected, reformations will cease, and indifference succeed.
Permit me, now, in a farther review of this work, to examine a few of his main attacks on my "four pillars," as he calls them. 1. The 2300 days, Dan. viii. 13, 14. This he has endeavored to destroy, root and branch; and if his assertion were evidence, I would give it up; but to a rational and free mind it is not sufficient. He begins with the 70 weeks, at the last end of my argument. (He calls it no argument.) You may inquire why he begins with the seventy weeks. This is very evident; - he wishes to avoid the main argument. And first, he asserts, over and over again, that I am ignorant. This would throw some dust in the reader's eyes. What is his final conclusion? I answer - he finally concludes, that 70 weeks were fulfilled in 490 years, and ended A.D. 33. Ignorant as I am, we agree in this to a charm. Very well. What is his next argument? His next argument of any bearing or force is, that "the vision of the ram and he-goat" was Antiochus Epiphanes. Here, he is very careful to keep out of sight my argument that the three visions, had at three several times, are but one prophecy: Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel ii. 26-45; also Daniel vii.; and then Daniel viii., the ram and he-goat. My argument was, that these three visions are but one prophecy. "The dreams are the same," as Joseph said to Pharaoh. And if this be true, then the little horn, instead of being Antiochus, must be the Roman kingdom. This would be natural; and then, to be consistent, all the proof that I should be under any obligation to show would be the agreement between the little horn and the Roman kingdom. The little horn in the 7th chapter is explained to mean the fourth or Roman kingdom. See Dan. vii. 7, 8. And what rule has Mr. Dowling to apply the same "little horn," in the next vision, to some other kingdom, when the inspired writer has nowhere told us he meant another kingdom, but the reverse? See Dan. viii. 1: "After (or like) that which appeared unto me at the first." Then he sees the vision of the Medes and Persians; (compare Dan. vii. 5, with viii. 3, 4;) then of the Grecian, Dan. vii. 6, with viii. 5-8. Then the little horn answers to the fourth kingdom. Now let us compare Daniel vii. 7, 8, with viii. 9, 10. The first was "dreadful, and terrible, and strong exceedingly." The other "waxed exceeding great towards the south, towards the east, and towards the pleasant land." The first "devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it." The next, "It cast down some (or residue) of the host and stars to the ground, and stamped upon them." The first, Dan. vii. 21, "made war with the saints and prevailed against them." The other "waxed great against the host of heaven." The first "shall speak great words against the Most High," Dan. vii. 25. The last, "Yea, he magnified himself against the Prince of the host." The Roman kingdom is described by Moses, Deut. xxviii. 49, 50, as "a nation of fierce countenance," "a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand." Daniel says this little horn is "a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences." The first, Dan. vii. 25, 26: "And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end." Now, viii. 24, 25: "And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand."
Surely, Mr. Dowling, this is an argument that you cannot guess away; nor can all the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and soothsayers of Babylon confute it.
The next argument Mr. Dowling brings is, "that he does not regard the 2300 evenings and mornings as prophetical days or years," page 84. What do I care what he regards? Shall we crouch and fawn to his dogmatism? No, my dear reader; if you have read my lectures, you know I have proved as clearly that the 70 weeks is a part of the vision, as he has proved that the 70 weeks were 490 years. And if 490 years were included in the same vision, (see Dan. ix. 23, 24,) then of course his 3 years and 55 days, and all his long struggle on that point, is but wind. For the question is, as he has shown, page 70, - "For how long a time shall the vision last?" I answer, as he says, page 71, "Unto two thousand and three hundred days." But what was to be done in the vision? The text says, as Mr. Lowth translates it, "The daily sacrifice be taken away, and the transgression of desolation continue." What does Daniel say about taking away daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation continuing? Dan. xii. 11: "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." Here, Mr. Dowling, are 1290 days, and you acknowledge, page 71, that these are probably years; where then are your "1150 evenings and mornings?" A lame conclusion, poor logic, this! What else must be done in the vision? "To give both the sanctuary and host to be trodden under foot." What do Daniel and John say about treading under foot? Dan. vii. 7, 19, 25: "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and the dividing of time." Rev. xi. 2: "But the court which is without the temple, leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."
These times spoken of in Daniel and Revelation mean 1260 years, he admits, on page 71. Where then is your 1150 common days, Mr. Dowling? Is there no argument in this? The argument about the little horn, page 86, "Placing the little horn which was to spring from the head of the goat, before the time when the goat began to exist," which he charges me as having done, is a subterfuge too base to be replied to, and an argument too silly to need a serious answer. The vision began 457 B.C., not the little horn.
If Mr. Dowling's cause is so weak that he must descend to such misrepresentations, and contradictory arguments, I would advise him to apply to the Boston clergy for a "resolution" in his favor, or to get a few more puffs from the "Watchman" and "Secretary," to sustain him in his inconsistent course!
I have removed the principal difficulties that he has thrown in the way of sincere seekers after truth, and now take my leave of the work.
WILLIAM MILLER.
Low Hampton, July 18, 1840.
BRIEF REVIEW OF S. COBB'S
LECTURES ON THE "MILLER MANIA."
THE Rev. S. Cobb, of Waltham, Mass., some time last year gave a course of lectures to the Universalist society in that town, and has since published them in the "Christian Freeman," under the caption of the "Miller Mania." The following passing notice of them, by brother Miller, will give the reader some idea of their merit.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: I have by your politeness received Rev. S. Cobb's Lectures on the "Miller Mania." I think a few such lectures would do good among the followers of Universalism here. For they have been taught here that Christ will never come again to the earth, that his second coming was at Jerusalem; and Mr. Cobb has admitted that the "glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" is yet future. He has also admitted that Paul, in 1 Thess. iv. 16, means a coming that is yet future. Admitting these two passages to apply to the future coming of Christ, it follows, of course, that all Mr. Miller claims may be true; for the passages of like import and expression must have a like meaning. 1st. Take Titus ii. 13: "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ." Then the text in Heb. ix. 28 must have a similar meaning and the same fulfilment. "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him (looking for, says Paul to Titus) shall he appear (glorious appearing) the second time (first time was when he was offered, second time will be when he comes to bless his people and consummate their hopes) without sin unto salvation." Where then can his coming to Jerusalem be placed? It cannot be his first, for that was before. It cannot be his second, for that is the one we are looking for, and yet in the future. Can Mr. Cobb get a space between one and two? Try again, my dear sir; it is a difficult task, but try again; you can wrest the scripture. A desperate cause needs a desperate effort.
Again; let Mr. Cobb compare 1 John ii. 28: "And now, little children, abide in him; that when he shall appear we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming." Was this written before Jerusalem was destroyed? Be careful, Mr. Cobb; you may yet prove that John was dead before Jerusalem was destroyed, and if so, your theory all goes to the wind. If, then, this text from John's epistle was written twenty years after Jerusalem was destroyed, then his appearing must be in the future. And why this caution, "Little children, abide in him," &c.? How is this? who can be ashamed before him at his coming, if all will be happy and holy? This text does favor my views, surely. "Some to shame and everlasting contempt."
Mr. Cobb admits that 1 Thess. iv. 16, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first," is a future coming of Christ. This is admitting the whole ground; for the following verses, to the fourth verse of the fifth chapter, - "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape," - must mean the same coming. And three things are plain and obvious: -
1. The duty of brethren to comfort one another with talking and preaching this doctrine of Christ's coming, which Mr. Cobb opposes.
2. That the brethren have no need that he write of the times and seasons, for they very well knew, yes, they perfectly knew; that the day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night, to some, and they would be destroyed, and should not escape. I ask, how did they know this thing? I answer, by Christ's words. Matt. xxiv. 38-44: "For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away: so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Mark xiii. 32-37: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye, therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh; at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning: lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch." Luke xii. 35-40: "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the lord, when he cometh, shall find watching; verily, I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the good man of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye, therefore, ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." By these texts they knew it perfectly. And this proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Christ in Matthew had reference to a yet future coming, according to Mr. Cobb's own admission.
3. That those who say "peace and safety" are the ones that will be destroyed. And "when they shall say it," we know that the time is at hand when they shall be destroyed, and that suddenly.
Here we have a strong evidence that the coming of the Lord, according to Mr. Cobb's own concession, is near at hand. See "Christian Freeman," vol. i. No. 43, p. 1. 2d col.: "And the accomplishment of the great and glorious purpose of God, in the resurrection of all men from the dead, is also in a few instances called the coming of Christ; as in 1 Thess. iv. 16: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead shall rise in Christ first." And in whom, I inquire, will they rise next? The Bible says, "And the dead in Christ shall rise first." But Mr. Cobb can transpose and say, "And the dead shall rise in Christ first." This wresting of scripture to suit our own creed would make even the notorious Whittemore blush. But this is proving 2 Peter iii. 16, - "As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction," - to be fulfilled, and completes Paul's sign, "For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then (at that time) sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, (surely the Universalists are in great trouble,) and they shall not escape. This "great and glorious purpose of God" is what I am trying to prove. Mr. C., why in so much trouble, then? Do you not like to have the "glorious purpose" of God done? Why so much perplexity and distress? The "glorious purpose of God" will be done in earth as in heaven. "Ah! yes, Oh! Oh!! that is what I am afraid off," said the guilty man. You are safe, and need have no fear; why are you all in such a bluster?
Again; in the introduction to his first lecture, Mr. Cobb has tried to make out that I am governed by some corrupt motive, such as vain-glory, marvellousness, design to deceive, &c. This shows the true character of the man. No man can have an honest motive in writing or giving his views of scripture. Why not? Because he judges out of his own heart, and from his own conduct. And as he does not pretend to know me personally, of course his judgment must proceed from his knowledge of his own motives, (James iv. 12;) and as such a course was not called for to put down an error, so easily disposed of, as he says, it cannot but satisfy every thinking mind that he had grappled with arguments too powerful for him to encounter, without the aid of misrepresentation and lying, to prejudice his hearers and blind their judgment. This mode of beginning a religious discourse is calculated to destroy all confidence in the man, as a Christian or an honest opponent.
Again; his main argument is that all judgment was fulfilled at Jerusalem. And this view of our Savior's predictions, hatched up between our D.D.s' standard authors on the one part, and Universalists, or modern Deists, or scoffers, on the other part, has produced a doctrine which will be the means of carrying thousands of the unthinking part of the world to endless ruin. All that Mr. Cobb does is to bring one of these D.D.s to prove his point; no matter what the Bible may say, one of these will put down all the Bible in the world. They feed on all rotten carcasses, and will find themselves in the end where John has placed them, Rev. xxii. 18, 19, and 15: "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book; and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." This hobby of the Universalists has been confuted a thousand times; yet they will harp on a broken string their discordant notes, to lull mortals to sleep, and to prevent the lost children of men from hearing the midnight cry and preparing for judgment.
I will confute them once more. Acts xvii. 30-32: "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter." This judgment day is at the resurrection, evidently; and this day is appointed, and I am showing the appointed time. Amos iii. 7: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets;" and I have plainly shown that he has so done it, Phelps, Cambell, Skinner and Whittemore to the contrary notwithstanding.
WILLIAM MILLER.
Low Hampton, Aug. 1, l840.
REVIEW OF "A BIBLE READER" ON
THE TWO WITNESSES, REV. XI. 8.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: The rules which are given in the 13th No. of the "Signs of the Times," by a "Bible Reader," to interpret scripture, I believe to be good, and worthy to be known and read of all men. Therefore, I wish to apply his rules to the text in question, Rev. xi. 8: "And their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified."
Now let me inquire of the Holy Spirit, -
1. What dead bodies? Spirit answers: The two witnesses, or testimony of Jesus Christ. Rev. xi. 3-7: "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive-trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."
2. What are those witnesses? Rev. xi. 4: "These are the two olive-trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." Zech. iv.: The candlestick is there called the word of God unto Zerubbabel. Psalm cxix. 105: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." The olive-trees are sons of oil, the evidence for our faith in Christ. John v. 39: "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." The answer then is, the Scriptures.
3. Who killed the witnesses? The Spirit answers, John v. 7: "The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit." What is the beast? Spirit answers, Rev. xvii. 3: "So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns." This beast had seven heads and ten horns. Now read Rev. xvii. 4-8: "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest, was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, (whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,) when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is." Daniel has explained this beast. Dan. vii. 7 and 23: "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces." The answer then will be, in plain, simple language, "The Roman kingdom, while under the woman (or false church) or last head." Rev. xvii. 13: "These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength to the beast."
What great city is this alluded to in the text? Spirit answers, Rev. xvii. 18: "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." Also Rev. xvi. 19: "And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." Again, Rev. xiv. 8: "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." Then this great city is Babylon mystical; yes, or Rome under papal rule. Why is it called Sodom and Egypt? Because the Holy Spirit has made them an ensample or figure of other cities or nations that should afterwards live as they had lived. 2 Peter ii. 6: "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." Jude 5- 7: "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though you once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."
Why does it say "where also our Lord was crucified?" Answer. If Sodom and Egypt are used figuratively in the text, which "the Bible Reader" must admit by his own exposition; then also must "where the Lord was crucified" be so used; for it says "where also;" i.e., in like manner as this place would sin like Sodom and Egypt, so would they crucify the Lord of glory afresh. Heb. vi. 6: "If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." In his mystical body, Col. i. 24: "Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church."
How many streets were in this great city? Answer. Rev. xi. 13: "And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven." Ten streets, agreeing with ten toes, ten horns, and meaning ten kingdoms. Rev. xvii. 12: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast."
Were these witnesses only to be slain in one kingdom? No more. Rev. xi. 9: "And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations, shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves."
Which of the ten kingdoms would do this; or in which would it be done? I answer, the Holy Spirit has not told us. This is only to be known when the subject matter is fulfilled. Here, "the Bible Reader" seems to be confused. He has gone into the city of Jerusalem, he is hunting for the street where Christ was crucified. Dear sir, you will never find it there. Go you out of the city on the mount that is paved with skulls; go where criminals suffer, if you would find where the Sodomitish rulers and Egyptian tyrants will persecute or slay the Son of God. Again, he is looking for Elijah to come; Christ says he has come already. "Have these astounding predictions ever been so fulfilled?" he inquires. I answer, they have. "Who has seen them?" Not the proud Pharisee; he had eyes, but he saw not. Why, he could not believe, although he saw the "astounding" miracles of our Savior. I know of many who have seen these things, and believed them too, and are now waiting for the consolation of Israel. But you say, "When?" I answer, in the French revolution, and since.* (* See next article.) "Where?" In France, in Europe, in America, and in all the world. "These astounding predictions," these "amazing wonders," have been, are now, and will be shortly fulfilled, or fulfilling, and will be seen by every eye. He closes with good advice; may we all go and do likewise.
WILLIAM MILLER.
Low Hampton, Oct. 20, 1840.
REMARKABLE FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY, RELATING TO
FRANCE AND THE "TWO WITNESSES."
QUOTATIONS FROM EMINENT EXPOSITORS OF PROPHECY,
WITH REMARKS BY MR. MILLER.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: I send you a few extracts from some ancient authors on the subject of the "two witnesses." Please to give them a place in your new work, and you will oblige many.
I. I shall quote Dr. Thomas Goodwin, president of the Magdalen College, Oxford, who wrote an exposition of Revelation in A.D. 1639, more than two hundred years since. On Rev. xi. 13, he remarks: "By the tenth part of the city, I understand some one tenth part of Europe. By earthquake here is meant a great concussion or shaking of states, politic, or ecclesiastical. By this earthquake's so falling out in a tenth part of the city, this tenth part of it is so shaken that it falls; that is, ceaseth to be a tenth part of the city, or to belong to its jurisdiction any longer. The effect of this earthquake, and fall of this tenth part of the city, is killing seven thousand of the names of men. Now, by men of name, in scripture, is meant men of title, office and dignity; these having killed the witnesses, themselves are to be killed, by being bereft of their names and titles, which are to be rooted out forever. Now which of these ten kingdoms (may be intended,) it is not hard to conjecture. The saints and churches of France, God has made a wonder unto me in all his proceedings towards them, first and last; and there would seem some great and special honor reserved for them, yet, at the last; for it is certain that the first light of the gospel, by the first and second angel's preaching, in Rev. xiv., which laid the foundation of Antichrist's ruin, was out from among them, namely those of Lyons, and other places in France. And they bore and underwent the great heat of that morning of persecution, which was as great, if not greater, than any since. And so, as that kingdom had the first great stroke, so now it should have the honor of having the last great stroke in the ruin of Rome."
So much for Dr. Goodwin. And who has read the history of the French revolution, but will acknowledge that these extracts breathe a spirit of prophecy, literally fulfilled in about one hundred and fifty years afterwards?
I will next quote Dr. H. Moore. In his book, "MYSTERY OF INIQUITY contained in the kingdom of Antichrist," Book 2, ch. 12, on Rev. xi. 13, he observes: "That an earthquake signifies political commotions and change of affairs, is obvious to any one; but that the city here mentioned should be understood not of a city of brick or stone, but a polity. For I conceive it is plain enough that this city is the very city mentioned in the eighth verse, which is called the great city, and this great city is the whore of Babylon, and the whore of Babylon is nothing but the body of the idolatrous clergy in the empire, who appertain to the seventh or last head of the beast, which is an head of blasphemy, as well as the six first, that is to say, an idolatrous head. Whence we may understand what is meant by these seven thousand names of men; for neither seven nor thousand signify any determinate number, but only the nature or property of these names of men that are said to be slain, namely, that they are TITLES, DIGNITIES, OFFICES OR ORDERS of men belonging to the state of Christendom. As under the seventh head, that is become idolatrous and antichristian, and this number seven is multiplied into a thousand, it signifies a perfect nulling of all such offices and orders of men; for no men at all here are necessarily implied to be slain, but only all antichristian OFFICES and FRATERNITIES to be dissolved and abrogated, and things to be reduced to the purity of the first four hundred years. For to slay by a diorismus, signifies nothing else but a causing a thing to cease to be. This, but little question, is the true meaning of this place. And the tenth part of the city will have a sense marvellously coincident therewith."
The above sentiment was published by Dr. Moore, A.D. 1663. In a little more than a hundred and thirty years afterwards it became a matter of fact, instead of prophecy and opinion. No one need to be informed, that one of the ten kingdoms of western Rome, or of Papacy, France, abolished all titles and orders in one day or decree, in A.D. 1793 or 1794.
I will now give you a few extracts from REV. PETER JURINE, a minister of the French church at Rotterdam, taken from a work entitled "The Accomplishment of Scripture Prophecies, or the approaching Deliverance of the Church." This work was translated into English in the year 1687, more than one hundred and fifty years ago. He says, Part II. page 68, "We shall see such admirable agreement between the events and the prophecies explained, that shall abundantly convince that what I am about to say is not simple conjecture." Page 242, on Rev. xi. 13, he says, "There shall be an earthquake, that is, a great emotion and trouble in the world, and in the antichristian kingdom. In this emotion a tenth part of the city shall fall; that is, a tenth part of the antichristian kingdom shall be taken away from it. Now what is the tenth part of the city which shall fall? In my opinion we cannot doubt that it is France. This kingdom is the most considerable part or piece of the ten horns, or states, which once made up the great Babylon city. It fell. This does not signify that the French monarchy shall be ruined; but it may be humbled; but in all appearance, Providence does design for her afterwards a great elevation. It is highly probable that God will not let go unpunished the horrible outrages which it acts at this day (of persecution.)
"Afterward, it must build its greatness upon the ruins of the papal empire, and enrich itself with the spoils of those who shall take part with the Papacy. They who persecute the Protestants, know not where God is leading them: this is not the way by which he will lead France to the height of glory. If she comes thither, it is because she shall shortly change her road. Her greatness will be no damage to Protestant states; on the contrary, the Protestant states shall be enriched with the spoils of others, and be strengthened by the fall of Antichrist's empire. This tenth part of the city shall fall with respect to the Papacy; it shall break with Rome, and the Roman religion. One thing is certain, that the Babylonian empire shall perish through the refusal of obedience by the ten kings, who had given their power to the beast. The thing is already come to pass in part. The kingdoms of Sweden, Denmark, England, and the states of Germany, have withdrawn themselves from the jurisdiction of the Pope. They have spoiled the harlot of her riches. They have eaten her flesh, that is, seized on her benefices and revenues which she had in their countries. This must go on, and be finished as it is begun. The kings who yet remain under the empire of Rome, must break with her, leave her solitary and desolate. But who must begin this last revolt? It is most probable that FRANCE shall. Not Spain, which is as yet under the clergy, and plunged in superstition and under tyranny as much as ever. Not the emperor, who in temporals is subject to the Pope, and permits that in his states the archbishop of Strigonium should teach that the Pope can take away the imperial crown from him. It cannot be any country but France."
How can it be possible that this servant of God could, without a prophetic spirit, so exactly describe events more than a hundred years before they were literally fulfilled? I beg of you, my brethren of the ministry, read this over again; compare it with the history of Europe for fifty years past. Why will you be so unbelieving? Are you not ashamed of your unbelief, when you see the faith, boldness, and honesty of this French Protestant, who lived in the days of persecution when the world wondered after the beast? Oh Lord God! what will become of our stall-fed, indolent, unbelieving, hypocritical, and proud clergy of the present day? Do they believe any scripture is fulfilling at the present day? No. They are blind and cannot see afar off; they love to slumber, they will not bark. And if any of thy servants do lift up their voices, these will only murmur in their nests, and dream on, I fear, into eternity. Oh God! awaken us to a sense of our awful danger.
Again, he says, "Seeing that the tenth part of the city that must fall is France, this gives me some hopes that the death of the 'two witnesses' hath a particular relation to this kingdom. It is the street or place of this city, that is, the most fair and eminent part of it. The witnesses must remain dead upon this street, and upon it they must be raised again. And, as the death of the witnesses and their resurrection have a relation to the kingdom of France, it may well fall out that we are not far distant from the time." On age 50, speaking of the time, he says "that it will fall on the year 1785." On page 279, he says, "If I should be mistaken nine or ten years, - I do not think that any could justly treat me as a false prophet, and accuse me of rashness." In another place, he says, "And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand; in the Greek it is names of men, not seven thousand men. I confess that this seems somewhat mysterious: in other places we find not this phrase, names of men, put simply for men. Perhaps there is here a figure of grammar called hypallage casus, so that names of men are put for men of name, that is, of raised or considerable quality, be it on account of riches, dignity, or of learning. But I am more inclined to say, that here these words, names of men, are put for men of name, and must be taken in their natural signification, and do intimate that the total reformation of France shall not be made with bloodshed; nothing shall be destroyed but NAMES, such as the names of Monks, Carmalites, Augustines, Dominicans, Jacobins, Franciscans, Capuchins, Jesuites, Minimes, and an infinite company of others, whose number it is not easy to define, and which the Holy Ghost denotes by the number seven, which is the number of perfection, to signify that the order of monks and nuns shall perish forever. This is an institution so degenerated from its first original, that it is become the arm of Antichrist. These orders cannot perish one with another. These great events deserve to be distinguished from all others, for they will change THE WHOLE FACE OF THE WORLD."
What can we think, when we compare this prophecy, if you please to call it such, with the history of the French revolution, but that God in the fulfilment has given us indubitable proof that these servants of his, in their exposition of this passage, gathered the true and simple meaning of the Holy Spirit? They could not have written to support any particular theory, for neither do any of them appear to have any on this point. They wrote while it was yet a prophecy. They could have no national prejudice, for they were from different nations. Surely, we must admire their harmony, and the power and goodness of God, in thus giving them knowledge of these events spoken of in this prophecy, so as to tell the manner, place, and time when these things should be fulfilled.
Let me quote to you from Rev. John Willison, minister of Dundee, who published a number of sermons under the title of "The Balm of Gilead." In one of these, he says, "Before Antichrist's fall, one of the ten kingdoms which supported the beast shall undergo a marvellous revolution. Rev. xi. 13: 'And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven;' by which tenth part is to be understood one of the ten kingdoms into which the great city, Romish Babylon, was divided. This many take to be the kingdom of France, it being the tenth and last of the kingdoms, according to the rise, and that which gave Rome the denomination of the beast with ten horns, and also it being the only one of the ten that was never conquered since its rise. However unlikely this, and other prophesied events, may appear at the time, yet the almighty hand of the only wise God can soon bring them about when least expected." These sermons were published in A.D. 1742, more than fifty years before the fulfilment of the prediction.
Many other authors of great celebrity, who wrote many years before the French revolution, might be quoted, who all believed that the two witnesses would be slain in France, that the earthquake would be in that kingdom, and that there the names, titles, or orders of men would be abolished. And nearly all of them fixed the time between the years 1785 and 1795. I will give one more extract on this point, from DR. GILL, taken from a sermon on the answer to the question, "Watchman, what of the night?" published in A.D. 1748, almost one hundred years since. He says, "If it should be asked, What time it is with us now? whereabout we are? and what is yet to come of this night? as a faithful watchman, I will give you the best account I can. I take it, we are in the Sardian church state, in the last part of it, which brought on the Reformation, and represents that. We are in the decline of that state, and there are many things said of that church which agree with us, as that we have a name that we live, and are dead, &c. - It is a sort of twilight with us, between clear and dark, between day and night. As to what of the night is yet to come, or what will befal the churches, and will bring on the dismal night before us; - they are the slaying of the witnesses, and the universal spread of Popery all over Christendom; and the latter is the unavoidable consequence of the former. The slaying of the witnesses, which I understand not so much in a literal sense, or of a corporal death, though there may be many slain in this sense when it will be, but in a civil sense, with respect to their ministry being silenced by their enemies, and neglected by their friends; - this is an affair that is not yet over: the witnesses have not yet finished their testimony; they are still prophesying, though in sackcloth or under some discouragements; whereas it will be, when they have finished their testimony, and at the close of the 1260 days or years of Antichrist's reign, that they will be killed. - The ruin of Antichrist will immediately follow the rising and ascension of these witnesses; for at the same hour that they shall ascend, will be a great earthquake, or a revolution in the papal state; and the tenth part of the city, or of the Romish jurisdiction, shall fall; that is, one of its ten horns, kings or kingdoms belonging to it, and perhaps the kingdom of FRANCE is meant, and seven thousand men of name will be slain, and the rest be affrighted, and give glory to God; nothing of which has yet been done. From all of which it may be concluded, that the slaying of witnesses is yet to come, and will make the dismal part of that night we are entering into, and which will be accompanied with a universal spread of Popery: - but her 'plagues shall come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine, and she shall be utterly burnt with fire.' Before the utter destruction of Antichrist, he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many; yea, he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas, in the glorious holy mountain, or the mountain of delight, of holiness; and what place is there, in all the globe, to which this description so well answers as Great Britain? (I answer, Italy.) This will be done before, and but a little before, his ruin; for it follows, 'yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.'"
If these doctors had lived in this day, with the same spirit in which they then wrote, they would not have called my views "moonshine," for they harmonize to a charm; or if our D.D.s had a little more of their Bible knowledge, some of their modesty, and less of their own sufficiency, they would not bluster in "resolutions," nor be blinded in "lunar rays," but, like our author above quoted, they would be able to give the time of night, that the people might be prepared for the morning.
These writers which I have quoted, and a number more which might be given with equal propriety, predicted, on the authority of the Bible, a grand and very important revolution in France, a change of ecclesiastical and civil polity, the introduction of a new system, fatal to Popery and tyranny, but friendly to the liberty, peace, and happiness of man. They foretold that this revolution should be effected, not in the ordinary course of things, nor by the ministry of the gospel, but by a peculiar dispensation of God; by a sudden convulsion, like an earthquake, attended with the destruction of names, titles, dignities, orders, and the humiliation of the French monarchy, falling from the support of Papacy. They foretold her subsequent exaltation, liberty of the nations, spread of the gospel, and the death and resurrection of the witnesses. They fixed the time between 1785 and 1795. Love, who wrote in 1651, prophesied that Babylon should begin to fall in 1790. Rev. Robert Fleming, minister of the Scotts church in London, in a discourse on the rise and fall of Papacy, published in 1701, says, "The French monarchy will begin to be humbled as soon as 1794."
What can all this mean? Can you not see the signs of the times in all this? If not, your eyes are indeed closed that you cannot see, and your ears stopped that you will not hear; and in such an hour as ye think not, it will come upon you. Oh! you scoffers, and scorners of the cry, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!" - what will you do?
LETTER I.
ON THE SECOND ADVENT.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: - The following is an extract of a letter which I wrote sixteen years since to a friend, on the subject of the near approach of the dear Savior. This was several years before I publicly avowed my faith in the doctrine.
WILLIAM MILLER.
1.*Come, blessed Savior! nor let time delay (* The figures refer to proof-texts, having the same numbers, immediately following the letter.)
2. The sacred morn of that expected day,
3. When all the happy throng, the heavenly band,
4. Descending from above, "the spirit land;"
5. When the seventh trump its solemn blast shall sound,
6. And Gabriel's voice shall shake the solid ground.
7. Then sleeping myriads from their graves shall rise,
8. And meet their Savior in those nether skies;
9. While those who yet remain, by men oppressed,
10. Will feel a sudden change and join the bless'd;
11. Where, in one chorus joined, the song be raised,
12.To God, the Father, Son, - "Ancient of days."
I sometimes almost flatter myself I shall live to see this glorious day. "Fanatical," say you. Very well; I should not be surprised if you and I should both be on this earth, alive, -
13. When from the east we see a cloud arise,
14. And bring to view a Savior long despised;
15. When we shall hear that trumpet's dreadful roll,
16. That shakes the earth from centre to the pole;
17. When, from the great white throne, indignant ire
18. Shoots forth its blaze, and sets the world on fire: -
19. Then all the wicked, all that pride can boast,
20. Shall be as stubble, saith the Lord of hosts;
21. When kings, and captains, tyrants, mighty men,
22. Are the great supper for the fowls of heaven;
23. And kingdoms, thrones, and powers, dominions riven,
24. Like chaff before the angry whirlwind driven.
25. The dragon, papal beast, and great arch foe,
26. Shall sink in endless night, eternal woe;
27. The orb of day, his face be hid in gloom,
28. And the old reeling earth in Nature's tomb.
"Then you believe in annihilation?" methinks I hear you say. No, sir; I believe
29. That this dark orb shall from its ashes rise,
30. And the new heavens, descending from the skies,
31. The happy bride, adorned in righteousness,
32. Shall with the Bridegroom enter to his rest.
33. Then, O my soul, will you, permitted, view
34. This word fulfilled, "created all things new;"
35. And all be banished - trials, sins, and fears,
36. To live and reign with Christ a thousand years.
37. The beloved city, filled with boys and men,
38. Will constitute the New Jerusalem,
39. And there, as priests to God, with Christ to dwell,
40. While Satan and his hosts are chained in hell. -
41. But, lo! a thousand years are past and gone,
42. Since the new world was from the old one born;
43. When death gives up the particles of dust,
44. And hell lets loose the spirits of the cursed.
45. Then on the surface of the earth they stand,
46. A company unnumbered as the sand;
47. For in their flesh they sinned in time that's pass'd,
48. So in the flesh must they be judged at last;
49. Driven and gathered, round the city roam,
50. To hear their sentence and receive their doom.
51. But can they scale those walls, so great and high?
52. No; nothing enters that doth make a lie.
53. Lo! on the golden walls, from tower to tower,
54. See saints stand judging them in this dread hour!
55. There justice, from above, in fiery breath,
56. Destroys the rebels - "this the second death!"
I am almost persuaded to believe that we shall never meet again until that day, when the Sun of righteousness shall rise
57. With healing wings, and grace on grace distil,
58. And cleanse the church on Zion's holy hill;
59. Where sin no more controls, nor death by sin,
60. But justified and glorified with him:
61. No need of sun or moon, for he's our light;
62. No changing seasons there, nor gloomy night;
63. No parting there of friends, nor farewells given,
64. But gathered all in one from earth and heaven.
65. On this my faith is fixed, my hope is raised -
66. To him the glory, and his name the praise.
67. Then, while I stay in this unfriendly state,
68. Lord, give me grace, and patiently I'll wait.
The above is written to you, my brother, hoping that you may catch some of the feelings and exercises of the author's heart, while he has often read and pondered over the blessed passages to which you are referred in the conclusion, under head of "Proof-texts." I can only claim your indulgence; merit I claim not.
For poets say, and surely they can tell,
To read a poet right, "drink from his well;"
To feel the spirit, catch the spirit's flame,
And kindred spirits kindle back again.
Then read the proof, my brother, and believe,
If I'm not right, I'm happy being deceived;
For hope's an anchor, - all in this agree, -
And faith a helmsman - so at least with me;
The word of God my compass, love the pole,
Experience are my sails, and Christ the whole.
Grace is my ballast, for it keeps me low;
The Spirit is the wind, that bears me through;
Perfection is the haven for which I run,
Consigned to him who gave for me his Son;
Life is the voyage, and I am "homeward bound,"
Time is my log-book, death my anchor-ground;
The resurrection is my ship o'erhauled,
Eternity unites us all in all.
WILLIAM MILLER.
August 17, 1826.
PROOF-TEXTS.
1. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. - Rev. xxii. 20.
2. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. - Psa. cxxx. 6.
3. To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. - 1 Thess. iii. 13.
4. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. - Psa. 1. 4.
5. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever. - Rev. xi. 15.
6. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty; when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. - Isa. ii. 19-21.
7. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth. - John v. 28.
8. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. - 1 Thess. iv. 17.
9. Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you, who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. - 2 Thess. i. 5-7.
10. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. - 1 Cor. xv. 52.
11. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. - Rev. v. 9.
12. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not he destroyed. - Dan. vii. 9-14.
13. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. - Rev. xiv. 14-16.
14. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless, I say, unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. - Matt. xxvi. 64.
15. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. - Isa. xxvii. 13.
16. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. - Matt. xxiv. 29.
17. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. - Rev. xx. 11.
18. For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. - Isa. lxvi. 15, 16.
19. For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. - Mal. iv. 1.
20. Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. - Isa. v. 24.
21. That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. - Rev. xix. 18.
22. And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. - Ezek. xxxix. 17-20.
23. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. - Dan. ii. 35, 44.
24. The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. - Isa. xvii. 13.
25. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. - Rev. xiii. 1-7.
26. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. - Rev. xx. 10.
27. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously. - Isa. xxiv. 23.
28. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it: and it shall fall, and not rise again. - Isa. xxiv. 20.
29. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. - 2 Pet. iii. 13.
30. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. - Rev. xxi. 2.
31. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. - Rev. xix. 8.
32. There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. - Heb. iv. 9-11.
33. Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do if God permit. - Heb. vi. 2, 3.
34. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. - Isa. lxv. 17.
35. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. - Isa. xxxv. 10.
36. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. - Rev. xx. 6.
37. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. - Rev. xx. 9. Zech. viii. 5.
38. Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. - Rev. iii. 12.
39. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. - Rev. v. 10.
40. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season. - Rev. xx. 2, 3.
41. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. - Rev. xx. 7.
42. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. - Rev. xxi. 1.
43, 44. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works. - Rev. xx. 13.
45. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. - Rev. xx. 9.
46. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. - Rev. xx. 8.
47. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. - Rom. vii. 5.
48. For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. - l Pet. iv. 6.
49. They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. - Ps. lix. 6, 14.
50. Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them. - Jer. iv. 12.
51. And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. - Rev. xxi. 12.
52. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. - Rev. xxi. 27.
53. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. All the land shall he turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner-gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's wine-presses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. - Zech. xiv. 9-11.
54. Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? - 1 Cor. vi. 2.
55. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. - Rev. xx. 9.
56. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. - Rev. xx. 14, 15.
57. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. - Mal. iv. 2.
58. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. - Isa. iv. 3-5.
59. I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. - Hos. xiii. 14.
60. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. - Rom. viii. 17.
61. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. - Rev. xxi. 23.
62. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever. - Rev. xxii. 5.
63. Therefore, they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock, and of the herd; and their soul shall be as a watered garden: and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord. - Jer. xxxi. 12-14.
64. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him. - Eph. i. 10.
65. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. - Tit. ii. 13.
66. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. - Rev. iv. 11.
67. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. - Eph. vi. 13.
68. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.- Heb. x. 36, 37.
LETTER II.
ON THE RETURN OF THE JEWS.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: - I am now at home - found my family and friends well; yesterday was very sick, owing to my great anxiety to see home, and my fatigue on my journey. To-day I feel much better, and shall employ a little time in writing to you.
Those souls whom I have addressed in my six months' tour are continually before me, sleeping or waking. I can see them perishing by thousands; and when I reflect on the accountability of their teachers, who cry "peace and safety," I am in pain for them. How many souls will brothers Phelps, Cambell, and others, who are sticklers for the Jews' return, and for a temporal millennium, be the means of lulling to sleep; and while they are flattering themselves that their teachers are right, find, to their eternal cost, that their preparation for the eternal world was delayed a few days too long, on the vain supposition that the Jews must return and a millennium intervene. Why will they not listen to reason and scripture? Peter was converted from such a selfish and bigoted mind, when he said, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Acts x. 34, 35. And yet, truly, if the Jews ever return, they must be respected of God; for will not all acknowledge that they are to be gathered by God out of all nations, &c.? Isa. lxvi. 20: "And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord." They are not gathered because they work righteousness, or because they are children of faith; but because they are "God's ancient covenant people." For if they believe, they are grafted in among the Gentile believers, and are no more Jews in that sense. Rom. x. 12: "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him."
Now if the Jew be restored because he is a Jew, then Peter needed another conversion; for he said he perceived that God was no respecter of persons. What a pity that Peter had not the aid of brother Phelps and his deacon to teach him better. Again - how foolish Paul must have been to wish himself accursed, Rom. ix. 3: "For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh;" when brother Phelps, Skinner, and the notorious Whittemore,* (* These gentlemen, with a few others, made themselves conspicuous by their hostility to Mr. Miller and his views, when in Boston in the winter of 1840.) if they had lived in his day, could have told him, in five words, "Father Paul, God will not cast away his ancient covenant people; for all Israel shall be saved."
Once more - if James had lived in the days of the Boston trio, he might have written a very different epistle than the one he wrote to the "twelve tribes scattered abroad." Instead of pointing to the law of liberty and faith in Christ Jesus as their justification, and respect of persons, he might have told them to remain steadfast as Jews, and in the end they would all be gathered in and saved. Yes, how different would James have written, if he had believed in the return of the Jews, and the salvation of God's ancient covenant people.
If then the Jew, as a Jew in the flesh, must have another day, God must have respect of persons, without any reference to the work of righteousness. Or God must give the Gentile another day, after the Jew. Rom. i. 16, 17: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith."
Here we are plainly taught that the Jew has had his day, and now the Gentile has his. Rom. ii. 7, 11, 28, 29: "To them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life; for there is no respect of persons with God. For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."
These passages show plainly, that the Jews have had their day, and have been visited with the indignation and wrath of God, of which they are a sample unto us who afterwards should live ungodly. Now, if they, as unbelievers, after suffering, as a nation, the vengeance of God, are to be gathered again and restored to their privileges, land and laws, then the Gentiles, after suffering the vengeance of eternal life, are to be restored again to their present privileges, country, and laws. Will the trio agree to this? I think not. Yet the type must agree with the anti-type. But the gospel promise, which was before the law made to Abraham, was in Christ unto all them which believe, both Jew and Gentile. This is certainly the apostle's reasoning in the 3d and 4th chapters of Romans, and he says not one word about the Jews' return, when he sums up the advantage the Jew had over the Gentile. Rom. iii. 1, 9: "What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin."
Not a word about this return, and inheritance of Judea again. Yet, if so, their restoration would be a great advantage over the Gentile. Deut. xxx. 7: "And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee." Isa. xi. 14: "But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them." Isa. liv. 7, 8, 15: "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake." Hosea i. 11: "Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel."
If these passages mean the Jews, then certainly they will rule over the Gentiles; and it was an unpardonable neglect in the apostle to the Gentiles not to give us warning of it. But he does tell us that the chief advantage of the Jew was, that he had the praise of God, which advantage the Gentile now has over the Jew. So it is to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.
Again - are the Jews to be gathered to their own land, and never pulled up again? Amos ix. 15: "And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God." If so, how can Paul reconcile Gal. vi. 15: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature?" Eph. i. 10: "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." Also ii. 12, 16: "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."
And how would our dear Savior explain John x. 16: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." How is this explained, if the Jews are to be a separate people again, and never pulled up? When will Christ break down the partition wall? When will he unite Jew and Gentile in one body? And if the church be the fulness of him, (see Eph. i. 22, 23:) "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all," - how can the Jew, as a Jew, be a part of his body, inheriting old Jerusalem, while the church is the fulness of him who inherits all things, and the Jew at the same time contribute to the prosperity of the New Jerusalem? Can brother Phelps, or Cambell his prompter, answer these questions? Let us have plain, distinct answers; keep to the point. But, say these judaizing teachers, what shall we do with all those passages in the prophets that speak the Jews' return to their own land? I answer, sirs, will you be so good as to notice that all the passages which you dare quote to prove your doctrine were written or prophesied before the Jews were restored from Babylon, and had their literal fulfilment in that event.
But, say you, some of them, such as they should "never be pulled up," "David shall be their king forever," &c. &c., were not fulfilled. Very well, gentlemen. If you will examine your Bibles you will find every prophecy which could not be fulfilled literally, has a direct allusion to the new covenant, and cannot be fulfilled under the old. There, Israel, Judah, and my people are to be understood as spiritual Israel, &c., as in Isa. xi. 10, 12: "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people: to it shall the Gentiles seek; and his rest shall be glorious. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."
The 11th verse speaks of the gathering of the remnant of his people. The 10th and 12th verses show that it is under the new covenant. Also Jer. xxxii. 37, 40: "Behold, I will gather them out of all countries whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely; and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."
Verses 36th and 37th speak of their being gathered out of Babylon; 38th and 40th show plainly that it is under the new covenant. Again, Ezekiel xxxvii. 21, 28: "And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: and the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore."
The 21st and 22d verses speak of the children of Israel being gathered, the 23d and 24th show the new covenant, 25th speaks of their dwelling in the land forever, 26th and 28th of the new covenant. These specimens show how the prophecies may be understood, and the scriptures harmonize; but if we take into consideration the names and phrases used by the prophets under the Old Testament, we must, unless we are willingly ignorant, see that no other names would or could be used with propriety, but such as have been used. And every bible student must have discovered this, and seen that if it were not so, in vain might we look for any prophecy in the Old Testament concerning the church in the New. By thus having a veil over their faces, and thus construing scripture, Skinner and Whittemore can throw all judgment on the poor Jews, and Phelps and Cambell can give them all the promises. But father Paul gives to each a portion in due season: "Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; but glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile."
If brother Cambell's book is published, send me a copy, and if brother Phelps publishes his lectures, send them also. I long for the privilege of squaring them by the Bible, the rule which will sweep away the cobwebs of man-made wisdom, like darkness before the rising sun. I have not had time to read "Miller Exploded," nor "Miller Overthrown." If they are as sarcastic and foolish as I am informed they are, I shall take no pains to answer them. Let the authors meet him whose word they have ridiculed. I remain, as ever, yours,
WILLIAM MILLER.
Low Hampton, March 31, 1840.
LETTER III.
TO MR. CAMBELL, ON THE LITTLE HORN, THE EVENING AND MORNING VISION,
JEWS' RETURN, AND MILLENNIUM BEFORE THE RESURRECTION.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: I perceive in the last number of the "Signs of the Times," that Bro. Cambell is still harping on his little horn of the third beast, and separating the morning from the evening vision. And, without any proof, he continually asserts the Jews' return and millennial reign before the resurrection. Do I understand aright?
Now, I think Bro. Cambell may be put right, or at least he will help a brother, in charity, out of his "vagaries."
I. As it respects the little horn of Daniel, eighth chapter, he says it is Mahomedism; and yet it belongs to the third or Grecian kingdom, and, of course, is now in existence, and must be until 2300 years are accomplished, which, according to his own showing, will be in A.D. 1843. Then, the fourth, or Roman kingdom, is not yet in being; for the fourth kingdom was to bear rule over, or tread down, the whole earth. Dan. vii. 23: "Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces." And this little horn is the third kingdom, and is said to wax exceeding great. Dan. viii. 9-11.
Surely, Bro. Cambell will help Bro. Miller out of this "vagary." Rollin tells us "that the four kingdoms of the Grecian monarchy became Roman provinces thirty years before Christ," which was six hundred and fifty before Mahomet. Daniel tells us that this little horn would stand up in the latter time of these four kingdoms. Mr. Cambell makes him stand up six hundred and fifty years after the fourth kingdom had destroyed the whole earth. Dan. viii. 23-25: "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." Surely this is a paradox; or I am dreaming.
II. Concerning the evening and morning vision,I will say, "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder." Dan. viii. 26, 27: "And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told, is true; wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it." Here Daniel plainly unites the visions of the evening and morning, as Mr. Cambell calls them, and Daniel unites them in one, calling it "the vision;" and plainly says "it shall be for many days." What shall be for many days? The vision of the evening and morning. How many days? I answer, 2300 days. Either both are to be understood as but one vision, seen at different times, or both ending at the same time. If the morning vision is only numbered, why does the prophet unite them and tell us it is for many days?
III. As it respects the Jews return, I say there is not a text, promise or prophecy, written or given of God, which was not given before their return from Babylon, and I believe was then literally fulfilled.
IV. With reference to the millennial reign before Christ comes, I ask Bro. Cambell to reconcile the following passages with his views, and give me light: - Dan. vii. 21, 22: "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom;" - compared with Dan. vii. 9, 10, 13: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him." Also, Luke xvii. 26-30. Mark xiii. 23-29. 1 Thess. iv. 14-18: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." Also, v. 1-4. 2 Thess. ii. 7-10: "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, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." Rev. xiv. 14-20.
In the mean time, I advise you, my dear reader, not to put off your preparation for eternity; I entreat you, by all that is dear, not to wait; I warn you now to secure your title to heaven, to happiness, and glory. Do not wait until you see the end of our discussion. Perhaps, before we have finished our controversy, the voice from the "great white throne" may pronounce these dreadful words, "IT IS DONE!" There is no harm in being secure. It is safe to be ready. If I thought, that I should be the means of your neglecting this one thing needful, by my writings, I would write no more. Let not curiosity or neglect be the means of your eternal regret and misery.
WILLIAM MILLER.
New York, May 19, 1840.
LETTER IV.
PREFATORY REMARKS - CLOSING UP OF THE DOOR OF
MERCY - MILLENNIUM - THE CHRONOLOGY.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: Your letters, both from Portland and Boston, were received last Saturday, when on my way to Dresden, where I have lectured four days.
We had a good time. The Lord was there. Day after to-morrow I begin a course of lectures at Fort Ann. The next week I go north, where I have three places, which will take three weeks at least. I do not know what to say to you about coming to Massachusetts again. I have more business on hand than two men like me could perform. I must lecture twice every day. I must converse with many - answer a host of questions - write answers to letters from all points of the compass, from Canada to Florida, from Maine to Missouri. I must read all the candid arguments, (which I confess are not many,) that are urged against me. I must read all the "slang" of the drunken and the sober; and since "hard cider" has become so popular, these publications are not few. The polar star must be kept in view, the Chart consulted, the compass watched, the reckoning kept, the sails set, the rudder managed, the ship cleaned, the sailors fed, the voyage prosecuted, the port of rest to which we are destined understood, the watchman to answer the call, "Watchman, what of the night?"
CLOSING OF THE DOOR OF MERCY - MILLENNIUM. Yours, and brother Litch's articles on the closing of the door of mercy, are good.* (* See Appendix, No. III. Also, see articles in the Signs of the Times, No. 9, page 70, by MR. LITCH.) All that I can do in addition, would be to bring a few passages of scripture as proof that in the end of the world there must be a little time to gather the wicked from the just, to separate the bad from the good.
1. The parable of the Tares. Matt. xiii. 37-42. "He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Take notice, the tares and the wheat grow together until the harvest, verse 30. The harvest is the end of the world. Now let me ask, Can this scripture be true, and at the same time brother Cambell's and Dowling's views of the millennium be fulfilled? Every unprejudiced mind must answer, No. Before, or at the end of the world, he gathers out of his kingdom all that do iniquity or offend; and at the end of the world they are burnt. They must grow together until the harvest, and "the harvest is the end of the world." Where, then, can Mr. D. or C. find a place for their millennium?
Again; see Matt. xiii. 47-50: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Take notice, the net is the gospel; it gathers good and bad. In the end of the world it is drawn ashore, full of good and bad. They then sit down and gather the good into vessels, and cast the bad away. After they have drawn the net ashore, they cannot take more fish. Now must come a little time to separate the good from the bad. "So shall it be in the end of the world." Where can there be a time when all the fish are good? If there is such a time; surely before they get to shore they must fall from grace. Will brothers Cambell and Dowling admit this?
Again; Rev. xiv. 15-19: "And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap; for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God." The earth is first reaped, and the precious fruit gathered in. Then, before the angel having power over fire can burn the world, and execute that purpose of God, the vine must be harvested, and cast into the wine-press of the wrath of God, and the last battle be fought. In my opinion, when this last bloody battle begins, the earth will have been reaped, the good fruit will then he gathered, and the vine [kingdoms and combinations of earthly men] destroyed, and carried away, and no place found for them on earth. Here we see a little time will be necessary to execute this last work of God's vengeance on the earth. "For by pestilence, famine, and the sword, will God plead with all flesh." Some say the time is too short now for all this to be done before 1843. But we ought to remember that God has said, "A short work will the Lord make upon the earth." Rom. ix. 28. And if the destruction of Jerusalem was a type of the end of the world, as we generally believe it was, then this would all be performed in two or three years, at most. To say positively when the door will be shut, I cannot; for I do not know how much time may be included in the words "when the seventh trump begins to sound." That the seventh trump has begun to sound, I have little or no doubt; and how long beginning to sound may last, whether one month, six months, or a year, I cannot tell. At any rate, it will do us no harm to be ready. God says, Rev. x. 7, "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." And Paul tells us, in his epistle to the Ephesians, iii. 4-9, "Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ."
What the mystery of God is, which God hath revealed to his holy prophets and apostles - that it is the gospel preached unto the Gentiles. Then "time shall be no longer," means gospel time, and "the mystery of God shall be finished," means the preaching of the gospel to the world shall be completed. This agrees with Matt. xxiv. 14: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
Every one can judge for himself how long time "the seventh trumpet beginning to sound" may be. Mr. Cambell, and those who believe in a temporal millennium, must suppose it to last more than a thousand years, in order to be consistent with themselves, and then it would only begin to sound. And this would be a short work, too! Can any man, with a sound mind, believe in a doctrine so full of absurdities? I, for myself, can never believe it.
THE CHRONOLOGY. As it respects the Chronology I sent you, no fault can be found, except in two or three places: the time of Joshua and Samuel, and the length of the administration of the Judges. Our chronology, by Usher, fixes the time of the Judges only about three hundred and thirty years. Paul, in Acts, says it was four hundred and fifty years. They have one text, from which I expect they draw some conclusions; but they do not follow that 1 Kings vi. 1. This says four hundred and eighty years after the children of Israel came out of Egypt. Now let us see how they abide by this. Forty years in wilderness, thirty years for Joshua and Elders before their bondage in Mesopotamia. Twenty-one years under Samuel certain, and perhaps more. Forty years under Saul, forty years under David, and four years of Solomon, making in all but the Judges one hundred and seventy-five years, leaving three hundred and five years for Judges. Usher has about three hundred and sixty, or three hundred and sixty-five. Now it is morally certain he cannot agree with the text in 1 Kings vi. 1. I should prefer Paul's account to Usher's; for Usher and others agree with neither. I agree with Paul, and the Bible account of the Judges, which you will see exactly harmonize. No doubt the would-be masters and teachers will criticise and grumble. But if they will not follow the Bible, it is no reason why we should hide the truth from the perishing sinner. Brother Dowling will undoubtedly fret some; for he has forestalled himself on the six thousand years. But I think brother Cambell will look at it candidly. I may be mistaken; but if he knows that a number of worthy and learned divines have examined and come to the same conclusion, I think he will treat it with candor.
WILLIAM MILLER.
Low Hampton, Aug. 12, 1840.
LETTER V.
MR. MILLER RECOVERING - DISAPPOINTMENT IN BEING DEPRIVED OF MEETING
THE CONFERENCE - HIS RESIGNATION - HIS FRIENDS.
DEAR BRO. HIMES: - Again, by the blessing of God, I am able to sit up and write a few lines to my friends. You, and the dear friends of the Conference in Boston, have been in my mind both in my sleep and while awake, and my prayers have been continually raised for the blessing of God upon your deliberations - that the Spirit of the Most High might direct your counsels. I have feelings, and feel yet a confidence in God, that your Conference* (* General Conference of the believers in the Advent near, held in Boston, Oct. 14, 15, 1840.) will be instrumental of doing much good, in rending the veil of tradition from all faces, and exposing the unscriptural doctrine of "peace and safety," the "spiritual millennium," and "return of the Jews." Why was I deprived of meeting those congenial minds, in this good, this glorious cause of light and truth? Why am I to bear this last affliction, and not enjoy this one pleasure of meeting once more fellow-laborers in a cause so big with prospects, so glorious in its results, so honoring to God, so safe for man? Why are the providences of God so mysterious? I have often inquired - Am I never to have my will? No, never; until my will shall harmonize with thine, O Father! Yes, God is right, his providence is right, his ways are just and true, and I am foolish thus to murmur or complain.
I had set my heart on this, to see and to hear brothers Jones, Litch, Ward, Cole, Himes, Plumer, Millard, Burnham, French, Parker, Medbury, Ayres, Smith, and others. Yes, and then to see those private brethren, too - brothers Shaw, Nichols, and Wood - but I cannot name them all. Those colored brethren, too, at Belknap street, with christian hearts; Heaven, I hope, has stamped them as its favorites. Oh! I had vainly hoped to see you all, to breathe and feel that sacred flame of love, of heavenly fire; to hear and speak of that dear and blessed Savior's near approach.
Away, ye cold, ye calculating formalists, ye proud and haughty worldly professors. I had rather have one hour with those whom I have named above, and hundreds more that could with the same propriety be named, than to enjoy an age of all that you call great or good. But here I am, a weak, a feeble, toil-worn old man, upon a bed of sickness, with feeble nerves, and worst of all, I fear, in part unreconciled to God. But bless the Lord, my soul; I have yet great blessings, more than I can number. I was not taken sick far away from home; I am in the bosom of my family; I have my reason; I can think, believe, and love. I have a Bible. O, blessed book! If I cannot read, I have a daughter who loves that book, and she can read for me. How pleasant it is to hear these infant voices read that holy book. How soft the couch of sickness may be made by dutiful children, and the book of God. I have a hope, yes, yes, "a blessed hope," founded on that word that never fails; my hope is on Him, who soon will come, and will not tarry. I love the thought; it makes my bed in sickness; I hope it will in death. I wait for him; my soul, wait thou on God. I have the Spirit; O blessed Holy Spirit! He whispers in my heart, "Fear not, I am with thee; be not dismayed, I will sustain thee." I have a promise from the great I AM: "Though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."
I have many friends, and I am persuaded they will last forever; for they are not built on worldly prospects, on earthly honors, nor selfish creeds. If they could gain any of these by me, I might suspect them. But no; if they love me, it is for the work's sake; it is for my Master's sake; and if they truly love my Master, he will love them; and this love of his is eternal, and being reciprocal, makes us one forever. I am confident that I have daily prayers from many hearts. I feel it truly. You worldly wise may smile at this idea, and call it fanaticism. But look ye, can you not believe that many do believe the message that I bring? O yes, no doubt some fools, say you. Well, call us what you please; but do not those who do believe call it good news? Perhaps they may. Well, if they in their minds should call it good, would they not be apt to call it very good, yes, even glorious, great, very great? We will admit all that. Very well; I now inquire, If a messenger should bring you news that you had drawn a prize of fifty thousand dollars, and being poor, yes, very poor, had spent his time and health to give you notice, would you not wish him well? I would not be ungrateful, say you. Neither will these. For what is fifty thousand dollars' worth of gold, compared with this good news, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him?" Away with paltry gold; it bears no just comparison. Will, then, these thousands of hearts be now ungrateful, whom I have seen rejoice, with joy so great, that all the air was love where we were sitting? And I have no need to say, where I have carried the news, that thousands have been made to hope in God, that never hoped before. Are these ungrateful? No, never.
I see, my brother, I have been preaching, instead of writing to you. I must close. Yours,
WILLIAM MILLER.
Low Hampton, Oct. 15, 1840.
APPENDIX.
LETTER V.
No. I.
EXTRACT FROM FERGUSON'S ASTRONOMY.
THE vulgar era of Christ's birth was never settled till the year 527, when Dionysius Exigus, a Roman abbot, fixed it to the end of the 4713th year of the Julian period, which was four years too late. For our Savior was born before the death of Herod, who sought to kill him as soon as he heard of his birth; and, according to the testimony of Josephus, (B. xvii. ch. 8,) there was an eclipse of the moon in the time of Herod's last illness; which eclipse appears, by our astronomical tables, to have been in the year of the Julian period 4710, March 13th, at three hours past midnight, at Jerusalem. Now, as our Savior must have been born some months before Herod's death, since in the interval he was carried into Egypt, the latest time in which we can fix the true era of his birth, is about the end of the 4709th year of the Julian period. There is a remarkable prophecy delivered to us in the ninth chapter of the book of Daniel, which, from a certain epoch, fixes the time of restoring the state of the Jews, and of building the walls of Jerusalem, the coming of Messiah, his death, and the destruction of Jerusalem. But some parts of this prophecy (ver. 25) are so injudiciously pointed in our English translation of the Bible, that, if they be read according to those stops of pointing, they are quite unintelligible. But the learned Dr. Prideaux, by altering these stops, makes the sense plain; and, as he seems to me to have explained the whole of it better than any other author I have read on the subject, I shall set down the whole of the prophecy according as he has pointed it, to show in what manner he has divided it into four different parts.
Ver. 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Ver. 25. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the prince, shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. Ver. 26. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Ver. 27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst* (* It is said this should be rendered last half, instead of midst.) of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
This commandment was given to Ezra by Artaxerxes Longimanus, in the seventh year of that king's reign, (Ezra vii. ver. 11-26.) Ezra began the work, which was afterward accomplished by Nehemiah, in which they meet with great opposition and trouble from the Samaritans and others, during the first seven weeks, or 49 years.
From this accomplishment till the time when Christ's messenger, John the Baptist, began to preach the kingdom of the Messiah, 62 weeks, or 434 years.
From thence to the beginning of Christ's public ministry, half a week, or three and a half years.
And from thence to the death of Christ, half a week, or three and a half years; in which half week he preached and confirmed the covenant of the Gospel with many.
In all, from the going forth of the commandment, till the death of Christ, 70 weeks, or 490 years.
And, lastly, in a very striking manner, the prophecy foretells what should come to pass after the expiration of the 70 weeks; namely, the destruction of the city and sanctuary by the people of the prince that was to come; which were the Roman armies, under the command of Titus their prince, who came upon Jerusalem as a torrent, with their idolatrous images, which were an abomination to the Jews, and under which they marched against them, invaded their land, and besieged their holy city, and by a calamitous war brought such utter destruction upon both, that the Jews have never been able to recover themselves, even to this day.
Now, both by the undoubted canon of Ptolemy, and the famous era of Nabonassar, the beginning of the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, king of Persia, (who is called Ahasuerus in the book of Esther,) is pinned down to the 4256th year of the Julian period, in which year he gave Ezra the above-mentioned ample commission; from which count 490 years to the death of Christ, and it will carry the same to the 4746th year of the Julian period.
Our Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath; and it is plain, from St. Mark, ch. xv. ver. 42, and St. Luke, ch. xxiii. ver. 54, that Christ was crucified on Friday, seeing the crucifixion was on the day next before the Jewish Sabbath; and according to St. John, ch. xviii. ver. 28, on the day that the passover was to be eaten, at least by many of the Jews.
The Jews reckoned their months by the moon, and their years by the apparent revolution of the sun; and they ate the passover on the 14th day of the month Nisan, which was the first month of the year, reckoning from the first appearance of the new moon, which at that time of the year might be on the evening of the day next after the change, if the sky was clear. So that their 14th day of the month answers to our 15th day of the moon, on which she is full. Consequently, the passover was always kept on the day of full moon.
And the full moon at which it was kept, was that one which happened next after the vernal equinox. For Josephus expressly says, (Antiq. B. iii. ch. 10,) the passover was kept on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, according to the moon, when the sun was in Aries. And the sun always enters Aries at the instant of the vernal equinox; which, in our Savior's time, fell on the 22d day of March.
The dispute among chronologers about the year of Christ's death, is limited to four or five years at most. But as we have shown that he was crucified on the day of a paschal full moon, and on a Friday, all that we have to do, in order to ascertain the year of his death, is only to compute in which of those years there was a passover full moon on a Friday. For the full moons anticipate eleven days every year, (12 lunar months being so much short of a solar year,) and therefore once in every three years, at least, the Jews were obliged to set their passover a month farther forward than it fell by the course of the moon, on the year next before, in order to keep it at the full moon next after the equinox. Therefore there could not be two passovers on the same day of the week, within the compass of a few neighboring years. And I find by calculation, the only passover full moon that fell on a Friday, for several years before or after the disputed year of the crucifixion, was on the 3d day of April, in the 4746th year of the Julian period, which was the 490th year after Ezra received the above-mentioned commission from Artaxerxes Longimanus, according to Ptolemy's canon, and the year in which the Messiah was to be cut off, according to the prophecy, reckoning from the going forth of that commission or commandment: and this 490th year was the 33d year of our Savior's age, reckoning from the vulgar era of his birth; but the 37th, reckoning from the true era thereof.
And when we reflect on what the Jews told him, some time before his death, (John viii. 57,) "Thou art not yet fifty years old," we must confess, that it should seem much likelier to have been said to a person near forty, than to one but just turned of thirty. And we may easily suppose, that St. Luke expressed himself only in round numbers, when he said that Christ was baptized about the 30th year of his age, when he began his public ministry; as our Savior himself did, when he said he should lie three days and three nights in the grave.
The 4746th year of the Julian period, which we have astronomically proved to be the year of the crucifixion, was the 4th of the 202d Olympiad; in which year, Phlegon, a heathen writer, tells us there was a most extraordinary eclipse of the sun that ever was seen. But I find by calculation, that there could be no total eclipse of the sun at Jerusalem, in a natural way, in that year. So that what Phlegon here calls an eclipse of the sun, seems to have been the great darkness for three hours at the time of our Savior's crucifixion, as mentioned by the evangelist; a darkness altogether supernatural, as the moon was then in the side of the heavens opposite to the sun; and therefore could not possibly darken the sun to any part of the earth.
No. II.
THE following extract from the "Present Crisis," by Rev. John Hooper, Eng., will go to confirm Mr. Miller's view of this subject. There are many who seem indisposed to hear of the coming of Christ, who, we fear, do not know what manner of spirit they are of. Let such attentively read the following illustration, and examine themselves in reference to the advent of the great Redeemer.
EXTRACT.
It was a prominent characteristic of the primitive Christians "that they loved (Christ's) appearing," and looked forward to it as the period that would consummate their happiness. Surely, if our affections were placed on the Savior - if he was to us the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely - if we had none in heaven but him, or on earth that we desired in comparison of him - we should desire his return - we should long to "see him as he is" - should pray, "thy kingdom come" - "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." "Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot?" The observations of Mr. Drummond on this subject, in a speech which that gentleman delivered at the Eleventh Anniversary of the Continental Society, are so much to the point, that I cannot refrain from quoting them. "Let us suppose," says he, "for instance, a woman whose husband is a long way absent from her, perhaps in the East Indies. She is possibly very diligent in the management of his affairs, and conducts herself with perfect outward propriety, but always breaks out into a passion whenever any one speaks to her of her husband's return: 'Oh no,' she says, 'he cannot be coming yet; I expect to be much better off before he comes; I expect his estate under my management to be much more extensive; if he were to come now, he would disarrange all my plans, besides, what is the use of thinking about his coming - I may die first, and that will be exactly the same as his coming to me.' Let her asseverations of love and affection be what they man, you cannot believe otherwise than that her heart is alienated from her lord, and probably fixed upon another. Now let us suppose another woman in the same situation: see her constantly reading his letters, and especially those parts of them which describe the time and the circumstances attendant upon his return; hear her talking of it to her children, and teaching them to look forward to it as the consummation of her and their fondest wishes. Mark the silent scorn with which she treats a judicious friend who would try to persuade her that there was no use in looking out for his return, for that he had never mentioned the month, far less the day or the hour, when it was to take place. Though she may make no noisy protestations of love; though she may speak but little about him, except to her children, and to those whose hearts are tuned in unison with her own, we cannot for a moment entertain a doubt of the real state of her affections. Let us apply this figure to ourselves: and of this I am certain, and I wish I could make the warning ring through every corner of our professing land, that a dislike to hear of the coming of the Lord is a more decided proof of the affections of the religious world at large, and of every single member of it, being alienated from Christ, and, therefore, in an unholy, unsanctified, and unconverted state, than all the noisy protestations at annual meetings, all the Bibles and tracts circulated, and missionaries sent out, are proofs of the REVERSE."
No. III.
VIEWS OF THE CLOSING OF THE DOOR
OF MERCY.
THE following is an extract of one of the articles* (* "Signs of the Times." No. 9. page 69) to which Mr. Miller refers in Letter IV., page 236. We have thought best to give it in this work, that all careful, inquiring, and candid students of prophecy may understand Mr. Miller's, as well as our own views of this solemn subject. We are more particular on this point because we have been misunderstood and misrepresented.
EXTRACT.
As there has been much inquiry of late on the subject of the closing up of the day of grace, or probation, we here give the scriptures on which this opinion is founded, with some remarks, and leave our readers to judge for themselves. Rev. xvi. 12-21. The attentive reader of the foregoing passages will see that on the pouring out of the "seventh vial," a voice "from the throne" proclaimed, - "IT IS DONE." This was after the battle of "Armageddon." If it is after that, then the day of grace will continue to the end of the world, or till Christ comes. 1 Cor. xv. 23, 24: "Afterwards, they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father." On this passage, Prof. STUART, of Andover, makes the following remark: - "The apostle here represents the end as coming when Christ will deliver up his mediatorial kingdom, after he has put all enemies under his feet: this accomplished, his mediatorial work is done; his embassy is completed; his mission, therefore, comes to an end."✝ (✝ Biblical Repository for July, 1840. Art. Future Punishment.) Again; Rev. x. 7: "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." When the sixth trumpet hath ceased to sound, the seventh begins, and "in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall BEGIN to sound, the mystery of God [or dispensation of grace] shall be finished." It would appear from this, that upon the fall of the Turkish empire, which will take place on the closing up of the "sixth vial" and "trumpet," that the day of probation will close. Again, Rev. xi. 15: "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever." This most certainly closes up the gospel dispensation, and brings us to the glorified state; for we are to "reign forever and ever." This will take place when the seventh angel shall sound. Here we have this most solemn and momentous subject, as brought to view in the book of Revelation. There is one other passage that we quote, which has an important bearing upon this subject. Matt. xxv. 10-12: "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the DOOR WAS SHUT." We learn that the preparation was made by the wise when the midnight cry was given: but the foolish deferred the matter until it was too late; for while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, "and the door was shut." "Afterwards, the foolish virgins came, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us. But he answered and said, Verily, I say unto you, I know you not." This is the time referred to in Rev. xxii. 11: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still."
"And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. He which testifieth these things saith, SURELY, I come quickly; Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
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