Untitled article | AdventAI

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Third-day, November 19, 1867

THE REFRESHING.

That this dispensation is to close with a great refreshing upon the church, a remarkable outpouring of the Spirit of God upon his people, there can be no doubt. There are many passages in the Scriptures of truth, containing a clear enunciation of this great fact. As one of these we refer to Acts iii, 19–21: “Repent ye, therefore, and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the Heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”

A vast field is opened before us in this remarkable passage. We doubt if another portion of scripture can be found embracing so much in so few words. Peter, standing at the threshold of the present dispensation, takes in at one broad view the whole work of grace from that time forward, and the grand completion of the great plan of salvation. There is the work of repentance and conversion which should go forward continually, till the day of probation should close. There is the blotting out of sins, which is the last work of our great High Priest in the sanctuary in Heaven, the close of his ministration in behalf of fallen man. There is the refreshing upon the church to fit them up for translation into the everlasting kingdom. There is the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, a further step in the work of redemption. And finally there is the restitution of all things, spoken of by all the holy prophets, which must embrace the restoration of this earth, the purchased possession, back to all its primeval loveliness and glory.

Each of these precious promises, is a theme sufficient for a volume. We purpose to mention only two points which are established by this testimony respecting the refreshing: 1. Its chronology. 2. Its extent.

1. The time when this refreshing is to be given is unmistakably located; for first, it is to take place in connection with the blotting out of sins which is the last act to be performed in the sanctuary where our great High Priest now ministers in Heaven, and denotes the close of probation; and secondly, it is the last experience of the church prior to the appearing of the Saviour; for the event which here chronologically follows it, next in order is, “and he shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you.” Every argument therefore which shows that the Lord is now engaged in the last act of his ministry in the sanctuary in Heaven, or that the end of all things is at hand, and the Saviour is about to appear in the clouds of heaven, is an argument to show that we have reached the time when this refreshing upon the church is to be expected.

2. Its extent. This may be gathered from a consideration of the circumstances under which this language was spoken. These were remarkable. Peter had just passed through the scenes of Pentecost when the Spirit descended like a mighty rushing wind, and sat upon the disciples like a tongue of fire. A wonderful work of God was accomplished; people from every nation were amazed to hear the gospel from those unlearned men, each in his own tongue; and three thousand souls in a day were added unto the church. These scenes must all, of course, have been intensely fresh in Peter’s mind; and was not here a refreshing upon the church sufficient to engross their minds to the exclusion of any special thoughts of blessings in future? But no! Peter passes right over that, and speaks of a refreshing in the future, a refreshing which he calls the refreshing, the times of which were to come at some distant day, from the presence of the Lord. Then this refreshing shall far exceed that experienced by the disciples on the day of Pentecost; and this is the point we wished to show; for if it is something in comparison with which that is not worthy to be mentioned, which this language implies, we get a very vivid idea of its nature and extent. This, then, so far in excess of the former, or Pentecost blessing, must be the blessing brought to view by James under the figure of the latter rain, for which we are to wait with patience, as the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. James v, 7, 8.

In connection with this we wish to call the attention of the reader to the language of the prophet in Hosea vi, 1–3. “Come and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn and he will heal us; he hath smitten and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us; in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord, his going forth is prepared as the morning, and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain and former rain unto the earth.”

How much of this language may have an application to the church at this time, or how far it may apply, may perhaps be a question; but there is one point in it, which it seems can be located with definiteness and certainty; and that is the latter rain here brought to view. This must be the same as that spoken of by James, and the same as the great refreshing brought to view in the language we have quoted from Peter, and which we may expect soon to be experienced by the church. Then the query arises, where shall we look for those other events which seem, according to the language of Hosea, to immediately precede this latter rain. As we have reached the time when we may expect the latter rain soon to be given, as promised in verse 3, are we passing through the scenes brought to view in the preceding verses, 1 and 2, of the same chapter? Without affirming anything positively on the point, we wish to suggest the idea that there is a wonderful change in the history of believers in the third message for the past two years and a quarter, to make an application of this language to ourselves.

1. Come and let us return unto the Lord. There seems to be of late a remarkable movement on the part of the church in this respect; a manifest desire to return unto the Lord.

2. He hath torn and smitten. This has been emphatically true of us since Aug. 1865. We have been an afflicted and smitten people. To what extent this has been the case, see an article put forth in the Review by the General Conference Committee, a year ago last spring. This is also the rebuking and chastening of the faithful and true Witness upon the Laodicean church, to bring them into the right way, Rev. iii, 19, which we have for years believed applied to this people.

3. He will heal where he has torn, and bind up where he has smitten, when his chastening has had the desired effect upon us. Do we believe he will fulfill this promise? He certainly will.

4. After two days will he revive us. If these days are mentioned as marking the time when the smiting and chastening of the Lord began to be especially inflicted, then the two days (prophetic days, years,) are already in the past, as above noticed.

5. In the third day he will raise us up. On the principle laid down in the preceding proposition, we are now in this third day. And what seems to confirm this view is, that we now behold a reviving commencing among us, and see the Lord’s arm reached down to raise us up. The Lord’s servants are being freed from the power of disease, and going forth with new strength and a new testimony to the waiting people of God.

6. We shall live in his sight. We shall live and act, as “ever in the great Taskmaster’s eye,” and shall enjoy his special presence.

Then is brought to view a following on by the church to know the Lord, rapid attainments in the work of grace, and finally the outpouring of the latter rain upon the weary and waiting flock.

Are these things so? Have we passed the two years of special affliction and depression upon this cause? Have we reached the third year, in which, returning unto the Lord, his chastening hand is to be removed from us, and we are to be raised up and live in his sight? Have we reached the time when the rebuked and chastened church is to be zealous and repent, when they will indeed hear the tender voice of the True Witness who patiently stands without, knocking at the door of their hearts, and will arise and let him in, and enjoy the glorious repast with him which he has promised to them who thus make him a welcome guest? Are we entering upon the time of reviving from which a few rapid strides in the way of holiness, a short period of new and fresh attainments in the developments of the fruits of the holy Spirit, will bring us to the great refreshing from the presence of the Lord which is to prepare us for translation into the kingdom of his dear Son? If so, what reason have backsliders to be alarmed? What reason have those who are at ease in Zion to break away with fear and trembling from the snare of the enemy? And what reason have the earnest struggling ones to take fresh courage, and with holy joy look up and lift up their heads, knowing that their redemption draweth nigh?

We have said that we affirm nothing positively respecting the application of Hosea vi, 1–3, to this people; but while we so say, we shall, for our own part, claim the consolation of believing that it does so apply, until it can be shown that its wonderful fitness to our recent experience is a mere matter of chance.