Increasing Light by I. Sanborn

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 3, 1875

Increasing Light.

By I. Sanborn

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent; because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Acts 17:30, 31. We wish to call the reader’s attention to this statement in the text: God “hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world.” “Appoint, To fix upon, to name.”—Webster. According to the definition of the term appoint, we should find that God has fixed upon a definite time for the investigative Judgment, in which he will decide who are worthy of eternal life, and will blot out their sins. On this subject, Paul says, “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.” Acts 3:19.

The time God has fixed upon for this work is given in the following scripture: “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14. But Daniel said, “I was astonished at the vision; but none understood it.” We notice by reading the whole chapter that every thing that Daniel saw in that vision was explained except the 2300 days. The angel did not say anything to him about time on that occasion. But sometime afterward, we find Daniel making it a subject of prayer to God. He says, “And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, . . . yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. . . . Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Seventy weeks are determined [or cut off of the 2300 days of chap. 8:14] upon thy people and upon thy holy city. . . . Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.” Dan. 9:20–26.

We want the reader to note carefully that the seventy weeks are cut off from the 2300 days, and also that 69 of the 70 weeks reach from the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to Messiah the Prince, or to his baptism, where he was publicly declared to be the Son of God by a voice from heaven. This event is thus recorded, “It came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21, 22.

The giving of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem is thus recorded: “Now this is a copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel. Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. I make a decree [that is, I give a command], that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own free-will to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.” Ezra 7:11–14. This command went into effect in the middle of the year 457 B. C. Now, in just 483 years from this time, we must reach Christ’s baptism, because 69 weeks contain just 483 days, each day standing for a year in symbolic prophecy. Commencing 457 B. C., this date reaches to A. D. 27, the time when Christ stood before the people declaring himself to be the one anointed to preach the gospel.

After he had been baptized and been tempted in the wilderness for forty days, “he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Luke 4:14–21, compare with Isa. 61:1–3.

Jesus opened his ministry with the announcement “The time is fulfilled,” Mark 1:15. The time he speaks of, must be the 483 years, beginning B. C. 457, and reaching to A. D. 27, making 483 years, and answering to the 69 weeks of days. In the midst of the seventieth week shall Messiah be cut off. Dan. 9:26. Three years and a half from his baptism reach to his crucifixion; and three and a half years from his crucifixion reach to A. D. 34, when Stephen was put to death and Saul was consenting unto the death. Acts 8:1. As one week of days symbolizes seven years, we will now add that number to 483, making 490 years, answering to the 70 weeks of days. Now, we find that there are 1810 years left of the 2300; for subtracting 490 from 2300, we have 1810. To find when the 2300 years ended we add the 1810 to A. D. 34, when the 490 years ended, and we have 1844. Then, said the angel, shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

The tenth day of the seventh month God said should be a day of atonement. Lev. 23:27. On this day the work of cleansing the sanctuary was performed, which is thus described: “Then shall he [Aaron] kill the goat of sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil. . . . And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins; and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation. . . . And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it. . . . And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” Lev. 16:15–20.

While Aaron was doing this work he was required to have the breastplate of judgment upon his heart when he went into the holy place. We read: “And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.” Ex. 28:29, 30. Paul says, “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” Heb. 9:23. “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man.” Heb. 8:1, 2.

Thus Paul teaches us that Christ is our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary, which he says must be cleansed with better sacrifices, i. e., the blood of Christ. The work of cleansing the sanctuary is the work of blotting out the sins of God’s people, and takes place at the end of the 2300 days, or years, which, as we have already shown, ended in 1844. At that time the following message was being proclaimed to all the nations of the earth: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come.” Rev. 14:6, 7. Then the day of which the apostle speaks, in the which God will judge the world has already arrived, and since 1844 ministers of Christ should preach that the hour of his Judgment is come. This Seventh-day Adventist ministers are doing.

Another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen;” showing the confused and fallen state of religious society in the world at the present time.

“And the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:9–12.

Thus we have three messages brought to view to be given to the world, between the year A. D. 1844 and the second coming of Christ. The first declares, by the word of the Lord, that the solemn investigative Judgment, or the work of cleansing the sanctuary has now commenced. The second points out by the word of God the confused state of religious society in its fallen condition. And the third, the most solemn message ever given to fallen man, is a warning against the worship of the beast. This message is bringing out a people who are looking patiently for the coming of the Lord; who are also keeping the holy Sabbath of the fourth commandment and the faith of Jesus; who will refuse to worship the image of the beast or to receive his mark, and therefore, will not receive the wrath of God; and whom John finally saw stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb.

May the reader and the writer finally stand with them. I. SANBORN.

(To be Continued.)