REMEMBRANCE OF FORMER DAYS
By Washington Morse
Of late I have been greatly blessed in reviewing the prophecies, and examining the framework of this glorious message that God has given us. The message presented in the tenth chapter of Revelation is the same as the message in the fourteenth chapter, sixth and seventh verses,—the First Angel's Message. The placing of one foot upon the sea and the other upon the land signifies that the message was to go to the entire world, just the same as the message in the fourteenth chapter. When this angel said that time should be no longer, he brought us to the same period to which the first angel brings us when he says that the hour of His judgment is come. “Thou must prophesy again.” The very fact that the message was to be continued after the experience connected with the proclamation of it, shows us that when this angel says that time shall be no longer, he does not refer to either ordinary time or probationary time; because there were still to be days, weeks, months, and years, during which this message was to be continued. Reference must have been made to prophetic time. We find several periods of time brought to view in the prophecies, the longest of which is twenty-three hundred years. This long period began in 457 B. C., and ended in 1844 A. D. This is not only the longest period, but it comes down to the latest point in time, of any prophetic period. When that period terminates, all definite prophetic time ends. So this angel says, “Time shall be no longer.” In making this statement, we understand that he declared just what is declared in the fourteenth chapter,—that the hour of God's judgment is come; for the termination of the prophetic period brings us to the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. The expressions, “the hour of His judgment is come,” and, “there should be time no longer,” mean the same. The angel who proclaimed that time should be no longer, held in his hand a little book. That book was the book of Daniel. The proclamation that time should be no longer was based upon that book. There, only, the data are recorded. John was told to go and take the little book out of the angel's hand; and as he took it, the angel said: “Take it, and eat it up.” In Jer. 15:16 we have a similar statement. We sometimes hear persons speak of devouring the contents of a book. This, of course, means to meditate upon it, to get such a knowledge of it that it becomes a part of ourselves. The message that was in the book that the angel held up his hand, was sweet. The world had never had such light. The prophets desired to know its meaning. Even the angels searched and inquired diligently concerning it. In the preaching of the First Angel's Message we took that message and ate it, and it was the joy and rejoicing of our hearts. The angel said that it would be in the mouth sweet as honey, but afterward it would become bitter; and so it was. We saw that we were fulfilling the parable of the ten virgins, in Matthew 25, as we went forth to give the midnight cry, about the middle of July, 1844. With light upon the types, and having our understanding of the ending of the sixth trumpet, we had published to the world in 1838, that on the 11th day of August, 1840, the Turkish Empire would fall. We had watched and had seen that upon that date the Turkish Empire lost its independence, and passed into the hands of the European Powers. From that time great power rested upon the ministers. Right there the message seemed to take wings. We knew that the sixth trumpet ended in 1840, and we knew that the seventh trumpet would begin to sound in 1844, at the end of the twenty-three hundred years. Accordingly, we believed that our Saviour would come the tenth day of the seventh month, which fell upon the twenty-second day of October, 1844. We had no “if” in our faith. But that day came and passed, and the darkness of another night closed in upon the world. But with that darkness came a pang of disappointment to the Advent believers that can find a parallel only in the sorrow of the disciples after the crucifixion of their Lord. The passing of the time was a bitter disappointment. True believers had given up all for Christ, and had shared His presence as never before. The love of Jesus filled every soul; and with inexpressible desire they prayed, “Come, Lord Jesus, and come quickly;” but He did not come. And now, to turn again to the cares, perplexities, and dangers of life, in full view of jeering and reviling unbelievers who scoffed as never before, was a terrible trial of faith and patience. When Elder Himes visited Waterbury, Vt., a short time after the passing of the time, and stated that the brethren should prepare for another cold winter, my feelings were almost uncontrollable. I left the place of meeting and wept like a child. This was the bitterness that followed the sweetness. The angel said, “Thou must prophesy again.” We did not see all there was in Rev. 10:7. “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished.” Now the sounding of the seventh angel covers a long period of time. It reaches beyond the close of probation, and passes over the thousand years into the new earth. See Rev. 11:15–19. It has been sounding fifty-six years, and it is still the beginning of the seventh angel. “In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished.” The mystery of God is the everlasting gospel, and now is the finishing of the gospel taking place. In 1844 our Saviour passed from the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary into the second apartment; then began the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary; that is, the work of investigative judgment. “The hour of His judgment is come.” And now is the time.