Prophecies Misapprehended
By Eliza H. Morton
Disappointments That Have Resulted—Blessings That Have Followed the Disappointment GOD’S messages to man are not always understood in their completeness by those through whom they are given. The prophets of old did not fully comprehend their own predictions, as is shown by the fact that they searched “what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister.” 1 Peter 1: 10-12. Two great time messages are brought to view in the Scriptures,—one connected with the first coming of Christ, and one with His second appearing. Both of these messages are based on the prophecies of Daniel, and both are connected with the longest prophetic period mentioned in the Scriptures—that of the twenty-three hundred prophetic days [years] of Daniel 8 and 9. The sixty-nine weeks of Daniel 9, beginning with “the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” (Dan. 9: 25), extended to the baptism of Christ or His anointing as the Messiah. Ezra 7: 11-14, margin. Christ, referring to this period, said, “The time is fulfilled.” Mark 1: 15. The sixty-nine weeks is the only definite prophetic time marking the first advent of the Messiah. The burden of the message was, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The disciples preached that message, thinking, all the time, that it referred to the temporal kingdom of Christ on this earth. Christ told them plainly that His kingdom was “not of this world,” but they did not understand. The death of Christ crushed the hopes of the disciples; but later they saw their mistake, and realized that the Scriptures were fulfilled and the promises of God ratified. THE DISAPPOINTMENT A BLESSING
The disappointment and trial that came to the early disciples were necessary to purify their hearts, test their faith, enlarge their vision, and take away their false conceptions of things to come, thus preparing them to preach with power the gospel of a risen Saviour. The prophecies were correct, and the disappointment was due to man’s limited conception of their meaning. After Christ came from the dead, He expounded to His followers the scriptures concerning Himself. Luke 24: 27. The veil, as it were, was removed, and the light shone clearly on what had seemed dim and obscure. The proclamation of the second coming of Christ, declaring that “the hour of His Judgment is come” (Rev. 14: 7), is parallel, in manner of fulfillment, with that of the message of His first coming. The events of both mark the termination of time periods, and both were misapprehended by those proclaiming them. The latter message of Dan. 8: 14, of which the seventy weeks form the first part, announced the termination of the twenty-three hundred days [years], at which time the sanctuary would be cleansed. Those proclaiming this message, like those proclaiming the first advent, followed the generally accepted belief, that the sanctuary was this earth, hence its cleansing must be its purification by fire, at the end of the world. Their disappointment was as deep as that of the early disciples. THE 1844 MOVEMENT A BLESSING
The passing of the time in 1844 was a bitter disappointment to the believer, but it led the true-hearted ones to search the Scriptures and to pray for light. It aroused the world to a sense of the importance of a preparation to meet God. The trial was soon found to be not without fruit, and was really a blessing in disguise, for it established the truth that is brought forth very clearly in Revelation 10, which describes the disappointment, under the symbol of a little book—the book of Daniel—in the hand of an angel. A voice said: “Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth [world-wide message]. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter [disappointment]. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” Rev. 10: 8-11. ANOTHER MESSAGE TO FOLLOW
This indicated another message to follow the one given, or a more complete development of the one already proclaimed. This is now sounding to all the world. It is a reform message, bringing to view the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and uttering a warning against the worship of an apostate power. Rev. 14: 9-14. It is not based on definite time, but marks the speedy coming of Christ by no uncertain signs. The end of the twenty-three hundred years marked the beginning of the Investigative Judgment in heaven, which is now in session. Its close will usher in the kingdom of glory, when Christ will come as King of kings. All hail the dawning of that glad day!