White Robes by Joseph Clarke

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 28, 1872

White Robes.

By Joseph Clarke

“And white robes were given unto every one of them.” Rev. 6:9.

By reference to “Thoughts on Revelation,” pp. 102–106, it will be seen that the souls under the altar who cried for vengeance were the murdered victims of papal cruelty, who had died, protesting against the corruptions of the papal church; and after death, their characters were so maligned, and misrepresented, and covered with obloquy, that their names were mentioned only with abhorrence; but the reformers of the 16th century discovered that all this disgrace, arose, not because of real crimes, or errors of the martyrs, but from the misrepresentations and falsehoods of the enemies of the truth, who wished to traduce their victims, so that the guilt of such persecutions might not fall upon them, but upon the innocent and noble martyrs, who died in the fear and love of God, rejoicing that they were counted worthy of such a death.

The reformers of the 16th century, by uncovering the hypocrisy and cruelty of the papacy and bringing to light the true character of the multitudes of victims who had fallen under the Roman Catholic censure, and had died in dungeons, and inquisitions, and at the stake, by millions, instead of being criminals, deserving death, were the good and true; were the real friends of good governments, and the upholders of law and order. They were the intelligent and studious citizens who had the moral courage to stand up manfully in support of the gospel of Christ and of purity of doctrine and practice. They were men of candor and magnanimity, men of noble impulses, who could not behold unmoved the course of the priests and officials of the Roman Catholic church, who by oppression, fraud, licentiousness, and cruelty, were desolating the fairest portions of Christendom. This was their crime. For this they were persecuted, tortured, murdered; their farms, and towns, and estates, were confiscated, or wasted, and destroyed, all because they would not bow down to the golden image, that Satan had set up at Rome.

In doing this act of the commonest justice to the memories of the fallen brave and noble army of martyrs, the Reformers had placed white robes upon them. For this, the Reformers have our warmest gratitude, and God our highest praise.

But have we nothing to do of this kind? The noble man who proclaimed the first angel’s message, and his worthy co-workers, have many of them fallen in death. Their names are cast out as evil, and the name of William Miller is only another term for fanaticism, and error. We believe we are now having the third message, which is not to be proved, unless William Miller proclaimed the first message. Now shall we not do all in our power, to prove the purity, and moderation, and excellence, of the man who led the way, in the proclamation of the first message? Was not he a man of God? Was he not a true prophet, or a true interpreter of prophecy? If he was not, then we must give up the third message as we understand it.

To be true to our faith, this is one of our first duties, to rescue from reproach, the reputation of this man of God, to place his work upon its true merit, and to set his character in its true light.

The life, and character, and work, of William Miller, should be as familiar to a Seventh-day Adventist, as the life of Washington is to an American statesman. You will find a noble and fair monument to the fame of Wm Miller, in “Life Incidents,” by Elder James White.

This book should be in every house, where the third message is believed and accepted. Those who neglect to read up on the important points of our faith, will find the world creeping in, or the love of other things, until the memory will lose the sweet impression that present truth has made upon the mind, and evidences will be forgotten.

Take your money and buy these books, if you have to sacrifice some comfort in consequence; and then take time to read them, and pray over them, even if your work does not move on as briskly as before. Verily, man lives, not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. If you cannot find time to read, and to teach these things to your family, you may find time to sicken, and time to die.

Let us rescue the truth from disgrace, and its advocates from unjust reproach, and thus become co-workers with those noble men, who, in the 16th century, ventured their all, and jeopardized their lives, to justify their brethren who had gone before them in the service of Jesus Christ.

JOSEPH CLARKE.