"EXPLODED"—"FALSE PROPHETS."
By D. T. BOURDEAU
THESE are some of the epithets that are maliciously and slanderously flung at the Advent doctrine and at those who preach it, by the religious press and in the pulpit, because Adventists were disappointed in their expectations in 1844. It is claimed that because the Lord did not come in 1844, the Advent doctrine38is exploded, and those who preached it in 1844, as well as those who proclaim it now, are false prophets. But a thing that is exploded is dead, and there is no propriety in raising an alarm against it. Why make such a great ado through the religious press and in the pulpit, if Adventism, or Millerism as it is falsely called, is exploded? No, my readers, Adventism is not dead. The Bible is full of it. It is, as it were, the Alpha and Omega of the Old and New Testaments, and of the plan of salvation. Without it the doctrine of the first coming of the Saviour has no power. He comes the second time to save and redeem that for which he died at his first coming. The second coming of Christ is the great event towards which the typical law and the prophets point; for the second advent is contemplated in the first. Why don't those who raise the cry of "explosion," "false prophets," etc., touch these points? Why don't they show that Adventists were wrong in their teachings on the four universal monarchies as symbolized in the prophecy of Daniel, by which it is shown that we are this side of the reign of Papacy as a persecuting power, and that consequently we have reached the time of the end, and that Paul's caution to not look for Christ (see 1 Thess. ii, etc.) until these things have transpired, is removed? Why do they not meet Adventists on the signs of Christ's second coming, as given by himself in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, and elsewhere, and which bring us to the last generation? Why do they not even show that Adventists were not right on the fulfillment of all prophetic times, and that the longest period in the Bible—the 2300 days—given of course for the benefit of God's people, and to be understood at the time of its termination, did not end in 1844? We still stand by the old landmarks. Let them dispute the territory, and show that we occupy forbidden ground. These periods were given for some wise purpose. Why is it not our duty to understand them, when they are being fulfilled, as Christ understood those times of Daniel that were to reach to Messiah the Prince, when he entered upon his mission, saying, with the first breath, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel?" Mark i, 15. Let them also grapple with additional signs of Christ's coming accumulating on our pathway, and which were unknown even to Adventists in 1843; such as Spiritualism, the Two-Horned Beast, as a symbol of this government, (see Rev. xiii, 11, etc.,) and the three messages of Rev. xiv, symbolizing the three great advances in Advent experience, the last of which exposes the corruptions of Papacy, and brings to view "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Will they show us that we are wrong on these points? Will they in all candor, as Christians, as Protestants, give us Bible authority for the change of the Sabbath, and show that the fourth commandment, enjoining the observance of God's rest-day, the seventh day, is not still binding? and not set out to write an article on the Christian Sabbath, without quoting one full text from Scripture, to prove the change of the Sabbath, but referring to the fact of the first day's being universally kept, and quoting from Eusebius and Justin Martyr, as did the editor of the Advocate at San Francisco, not long since. We are in earnest upon these points. The Lord is coming, and the masses are unprepared to meet him. We preach to all. Sinners need the present truth, and professors should not turn from it. If they do, there is something wrong, and they, too, need converting. When we go into a place to preach, we invite the preachers and people to come and hear. We offer to sit and consult with preachers as brethren, at their dwellings, in our tent, or at our home. But when they bitterly oppose us, and the truths that are dear to us, behind our backs, and by false reports prejudice the people against the truth, then it is time to expose their inconsistencies in plainness, however high may be their profession. But because we were disappointed in 1844, they will have it that we are wrong, and are false prophets after all. But the fact of our disappointment does not in the least invalidate the great truths that we had on time and on the coming of the Lord in this generation. The disciples, who shouted, "Hosannah! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord," with the expectation that he was then coming to be their king, were greatly disappointed when the Saviour was crucified, even more so than were Adventists in 1844; yet who will, for one moment, hence contend that the gospel that the disciples preached was a humbug, and that the disciples were false prophets? But our disappointment is all explained in the subject of the cleansing of the sanctuary, at the end of the 2300 days, which clearly sets forth our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, as accomplishing his last solemn judgment work for the church, preparatory to his return to earth to reward every one according as his work shall be. But if Adventists had understood the whole truth in 1844, how could the path of the just have shone more and more unto the perfect day? and where would there have been room for the second and third messages to do their work? And what would have become of the cross of Christ in the message, which is so necessary? When the disciples were disappointed 1800 years ago, the Jews verily thought that the gospel of Christ had exploded; but to their astonishment and great annoyance it had a resurrection when its Author was raised from the dead; and the cross of Christ, which was a stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greeks, was preached with power, and accomplished a great work. So we believe it will be with the Advent doctrine. And men should take heed how they oppose it, lest peradventure they be found fighting against God, saying, "My Lord delayeth his coming," "smiting their fellow-servants," who try to give meat in due season; Matt. xxiv; and uniting with the "scoffers" that were to "come in the last days," "saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation," 2 Peter iii, 3, 4, and thus tearing down a work of divine origin, which they should heartily engage in building up, and adding to the labor of those who would do their whole duty, in response to the law of God and the prophetic word.