In response to Daniel’s inquiry, “O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” he is told, “The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” What so exercised the mind of Daniel was the “when?” the “how long?” and “what shall be the end?” These were the points that perplexed and troubled the prophet, and these things only were to be closed up and sealed till the “time of the end,” and not the whole book of Daniel, as some have thought. Previous to this period of 1798, students of prophecy had light concerning the seventy weeks, and understood that they commenced B. C. 457, Christ’s public ministry, his death, etc., occurring in exact harmony with the reckoning of the sixty-nine and seventy weeks from that date. This exact fulfilment of the Saviour’s mission in harmony with this reckoning had given them a mighty proof that he was indeed the true Messiah, and that the date of the commencement of the seventy weeks was thus unalterably fixed. Their failing to discover that the seventy weeks was the first part of the twenty-three hundred days, left the matter sealed up until after 1798, as predicted.
Key to the 2300 Days
Now let us look at the facts in the case. Until the year 1798 the exponents of prophecy had no light as to when85the twenty-three hundred days would end. They could understand the symbols, the image and the beasts of the book of Daniel, but could not tell where the twenty-three hundred days would end, for as yet they had no understanding as to when the days began. As proof on this point we read in the Midnight Cry, an Adventist paper then published in New York City, under date of June 15, 1842, “It is truly interesting to find the various independent writers who since 1798 have seen what was entirely unperceived before—that the seventy weeks was a key to the twenty-three hundred days.”
Many Discovering the Light
As this knowledge was “sealed up” until the Lord’s appointed time came for its opening up to the understanding of his people, so just as truly when the “time of the end” came, many were to “run to and fro” through the Scriptures, searching out these things. By comparing a few translations of the text, this idea will be made very plain.
Dr. Adam Clarke says: “Many shall endeavor to search out the sense; and knowledge shall be increased—by this means.”
In the German Bible of Luther, revised, we read: “So shall many come over it, and find great understanding.”
The German Parallel Bible reads: “Many shall run it through, and so the knowledge will be increased.”
The German Bible of L. Van Ess, admitted also by the pope to Catholic readers, translates it: “Many will search it through, and the knowledge will be great.”
The Swedish Bible reads: “Many shall search in it, and knowledge shall become great.”
The Danish-Norwegian, revised, reads: “Many shall eagerly search, and knowledge shall become much.”
We read in the Midnight Cry of June 15, 1842, of this searching for and obtaining knowledge on that which previous to 1798 was sealed up: “Is it not a wonderful coincidence86that so many writers, without any knowledge of one another, came to the same conclusion about the same time?”
We herewith present a list of twenty different parties who discovered the truth concerning the close of the twenty-three hundred days, not by communication with each other, but as the result of diligent searching of the Scriptures, led by the influence of the Spirit of God. Heading this list we place William Miller of the State of New York; then follow A. J. Krupp, of Philadelphia, Pa.; David McGregor, of Falmouth, Maine; Edward Irving, of England; Archibald Mason, of Scotland; W. E. Davis, of South Carolina; Joseph Wolff, who labored in various parts of Asia; Alexander Campbell, in his debate with Robert Dale Owen, in 1829; Captain A. Landers, of Liverpool, England; Leonard Heinrich Kelber, of Stuttgart, Germany; Laucunza, of Spain; Hentzepeter, of The Hague, Holland; Dr. Capadose, of Amsterdam, Holland; Rau, of Bavaria; priests of Tartary, in 1821; Bible students of Yemen, in their book called “Seera;” Hengstenberg, in another part of Germany; Russians on the Caspian Sea; Molokaners on the shores of the Baltic, etc.
As to how this subject opened from time to time to the students of prophecy, and that too without a knowledge of one another, the following will show:—
In the Midnight Cry of June 15, 1842, are these words:
“Just received, a book, with the following title, ‘Two Essays on Daniel’s Prophetic Numbers of 2300 Days, and a Christian’s Duty to Inquire into the Church’s Deliverance, by Archibald Mason, minister of the gospel, Wishawtown, Scotland, Newberg. Printed from the Glasgow edition, by Ward M. Gazeley, 1820.’ In this book Mason says, ‘I have lately seen a small pamphlet, which was first published in America, by the Rev. Wm. E. Davis, of South Carolina, and republished in 1818 at Warkington, in the south of England. This author asserts that the twenty-three hundred days commenced with the seventy weeks (chap. 9:29). In this opinion I am constrained to concur.’”
Davis, of South Carolina
In the same number of the Midnight Cry, the editor said, “Davis’s book must have been written about 1810.” Speaking of the reasoning set forth in the book, he states, “The reader might really fancy himself reading the productions of Miller, Litch, Stores, or Hale, but we believe that no one of the present second advent writers knew of the existence of this book till last week. The editor of this paper [the Cry] never heard of it before. Davis’s position on time, endorsed by Mason, was that the twenty-three hundred days would end with the Jewish year 1843—our year 1844.”
Joseph Wolff and Twenty Others
In the Midnight Cry of Aug. 31, 1843, we read that “in 1822 Joseph Wolff (of England) published a book entitled ‘He Will Come Again, the Son of Man in the Clouds of Heaven.’” And further, that “in 1826 twenty persons, of all orthodox persuasions, met in London, with Mr. Wolff, to study the Bible. They came unanimously to the same conclusion. They added 45 years to the 1260.” Adding 45 years to the 1260 years which terminated in 1798, would bring us to the end of 1843, Jewish year, which is really our 1844.
Alexander Campbell’s Position
In the same number of the paper it is stated of Alexander Campbell that, “in 1829 he had his celebrated debate with Robert Owen, the infidel, in which he contended that Daniel’s visions extend to the end of time, that the twenty-three hundred days are years, and will end about 1847 years from the birth of Christ, which, according to his own showing, was four years before the common account.” So his reckoning would actually end the twenty-three hundred days at the close of 1843 full Jewish years from the A. D. period—really 1844.
In the Midnight Cry of Sept. 21, 1843, is a statement concerning a book received with this title, “A Voice to Britain and America, in a Scriptural statement of the second advent of our Lord and Saviour, which we daily pray for, saying, ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven,’ by Captain A. Landers, of Liverpool, published by S. Kent and Co., 1839.”
“He, like the others, gives a calculation of the time, giving the end of the twenty-three hundred days as 1847 years from the actual birth of Christ.” That would be our 1844, as he was born four years before the common account.
Leonard Heinrich Kelber
In the Review and Herald of May 17, 1892, is an article from Pastor L. R. Conradi, of Hamburg, Germany, in which he says:—
“The most of our readers have perhaps heard of the noted Lutheran prelate Bengel, who in the last century [according to Schaff, Bengel died in 1751], fixed the time of our Lord’s appearing in the year 1836, his calculations being based on the number 666 in the Revelation. But long ere this time expired, another man began to write, a chief schoolmaster, named Leonard Heinrich Kelber. His first pamphlet appeared in 1824, called ‘The End Near,’ containing an exposition of Matthew 24 and 25. It was printed in Bavaria. But in 1835 a larger pamphlet, with the same title, appeared in Stuttgart, containing 126 pages. This will be of special interest, and to give our readers a better idea, I add a translation of the title page: ‘The End Comes, proven in a thorough and convincing manner from the word of God and the latest events; invalidating totally all prejudice against waiting for the coming of our Lord, or reckoning of the time; showing plainly how prelate Bengel erred seven years in reference to the great decisive year; for not 1836, but the year 1843, is the terminus, at which the great struggle between light and89darkness will be finished, and the long-expected reign of peace of our Lord Jesus will commence on earth.’
“A second edition appeared in 1841, also in Stuttgart, and as far as I know another in Saxony. As the title page indicates, the pamphlet, after meeting the common prejudices, shows in a clear and explicit manner the existing connection between the twenty-three hundred days of Daniel 8 and the seventy weeks of Daniel 9, and brings them to the year 1843 (Jewish 1843—ours 1844). Then in the remainder of the book he shows by the signs of the times that this event must be near.
“The fact that several editions appeared would alone testify to the interest it created. Brother Schäche, now living in Australia, saw an advertisement of it, even in the distant province of Silicia, and after ordering it, read it with great interest, behind locked doors. In the book no trace can be found that the author had any knowledge of any similar movement in the world, and yet by the Spirit of God he came to the same conclusions.
“In 1842 he wrote a still larger pamphlet of 286 pages, also at Stuttgart, on ‘Cardinal and Scriptural Thoughts Concerning the Creation and Duration of the World’; or a thorough answer to the question: Why God has created the world in six successive days — the nearness of our Lord to judge antichrist — the great and joyful events of the year 1843.”
“Ben Ezra” (Lacunza)
About the year 1812, Lacunza, in Spain, published a book entitled, “The Coming of Messiah in Majesty and Glory.” The writer assumed the anonymous title of “Ben Ezra,” and is supposed to have been a converted Jew. Edward Irving, of England, after his work on the second advent was started, translated the above book into English. So it told its story in at least two languages.
It is truly interesting, after the lapse of years, to bring together the conclusions of the various students who, from90the beginning of the last century down to 1840, reckoned out the period of twenty-three hundred days, and located the seventy weeks as the first part of that period, and then to find them all agree as to the termination of the period in 1844.
1844 the True Terminus of the 2300 Days
The question may arise, Can we rest assured that 1844 is the true date for the close of the twenty-three hundred days? Yes! For as surely as a false fulfilment of a prophecy cannot come in the right time for the true fulfilment, so surely must we come to the conclusion that the year 1844 is the correct terminus for the twenty-three hundred days. God, who sealed up that knowledge till 1798, and promised that then the light would shine out, by his unerring Spirit guided those who earnestly sought him for a correct understanding of the time. His time had come for “knowledge” on that subject to “be increased,” and he gave the true light.
Having found the terminus of the time that was brought to the understanding of the people in the “time of the end,” it is well to inquire as to the significance of that discovery. We find in that period, in the closing up of the gospel work, definite time is to be proclaimed for the session of the judgment. “And I saw,” says John, “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: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Literal angels do not preach the gospel to men. Man is the agent chosen by the Lord himself to preach his gospel to the end of the world. This angel, then, is a symbol of a gospel message which announces the time come for the judgment to “begin at the house of God.” Such a message could not be given from the Scriptures until the time that leads to the judgment was discovered in the Scriptures. The twenty-three-hundred-day91period, as already intimated, reaches to the investigative judgment of God’s people.
The Day of Atonement a Time of Judgment
The day of atonement, the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary, was and is still understood by the Jews to be a day of judgment. And even now, in their scattered condition, though they cannot have all the service of the ancient time that was connected with that solemn day, it is observed as a day of judgment. In proof of this we will first quote from a Jewish paper published in San Francisco, California, called The Jewish Exponent, the organ of the orthodox Jews west of the Rocky Mountains. In the issue for September, 1892, was the announcement that before the issuing of the next number, the seventh month and day of atonement would come. Their name for the seventh month is Tishree, and that of the sixth is Ellul; so the paper stated, “The month of Ellul is here, and the monitory sounds of the Shofar [the trumpet that was to be blown from the first to the tenth day of the seventh month, Ps. 81: 3, 4] are to be heard every morning in the orthodox synagogues, advising preparation for the day of memorial, and the final judgment of Yom Kippur.” As they were in the close of Ellul, the sixth month, and Tishree, the seventh month, was about to open, they would, every morning for ten days, hear the trumpet announcing the final judgment of the year in that typical system.
Testimony of a Jewish Rabbi
Again, in the year 1902, Rabbi Isidore Myer, of a large congregation of Jews in San Francisco, Cal., in announcing the day of atonement, said: “While crossing the threshold of time from one year to another, the Israelite is forcibly reminded of the creation and of the universal sovereignty of the Creator, and is called upon to celebrate, with blast of trumpet, the anniversary, so to speak, of the birth of time and of the coronation of the great King. He is also summoned92by the voice of the same trumpet, or Shofar, to scrutinize retrospectively his actions of the past year while he stands tremblingly before the all-seeing eye of Eternal Justice sitting on the throne of judgment.”
As in the Jewish temple service the sanctuary was cleansed once every year, it must have been apparent to Daniel that this cleansing of the sanctuary at the end of the twenty-three hundred days must relate to something besides the yearly typical service. The Lord had already instructed his people that, when using symbols in prophecy, the time given should be counted “each day for a year.” So this period of twenty-three hundred days, as we have seen, comes down to the close of Christ’s work as high priest in the heavenly sanctuary—to the investigative judgment of those whose cases, through confession, have been brought into the heavenly sanctuary.
The Judgment Message Due in 1844
The period of time having been discovered when the judgment of the saints would commence, the way was opened so that, in the Lord’s order of events, as marked in prophecy, the message could be given, “The hour of his judgment is come.” Mark, it does not say that immediately on the discovery of that period of time the message would be proclaimed, but that the light previously “sealed up” should be made plain. We see clearly that this was accomplished. In succeeding chapters it will appear that the Lord just as definitely marked the time when the advent message would be proclaimed, and just as literally was the proclamation given to the world.
CHAPTER V
THE SECOND ADVENT MESSAGE
NOW learn a parable of the fig-tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [margin, he] is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
In this scripture our attention is directed to the time when it is possible to learn that the coming of Christ is “at the doors” with the same assurance that we know that summer is near when we see the first tender young leaves putting forth. It may also be known that we have come to the generation which shall not pass off the stage of action until Christ himself shall come. When the time comes to learn the parable, it is emphatically true that it is the Lord’s time to raise up teachers to teach the parable. The inquiry of the apostle on another occasion is equally applicable here, “How shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?”
The Time for the Signs
In the previous chapter we saw how knowledge was obtained concerning the termination of the twenty-three-hundred-day period, and that it extended to the “hour of his judgment.” In the parable here introduced we are brought to the Lord’s time for this parable and the “judgment”94message to be proclaimed to the world. After speaking of the great “tribulation” which was to come upon his people which should be “shortened,” the Saviour said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.”
Mark, it does not say of the last sign mentioned that it is a sign of his coming; but a sign that the Son of man is there, is seen coming. The events given in this text as signs on which to base faith in his near coming, are the signs in the sun, moon, and stars. The other events which follow take place in connection with his actual coming in the clouds of heaven. So immediately after the third of these signs—the one in the stars—comes the Lord’s time to raise up his teachers to teach that Christ’s coming is at the doors.
Now as to the time of the appearance of these signs: It was to be immediately after the tribulation that the sun was to be darkened. As Mark records, it was to be “in those days, after that tribulation.” Our Saviour had said that the days should be shortened. By the decree of Maria Theresa, and the Acts of Toleration from 1773 to 1776, the rage of persecution against the church was shortened. Although the persecuting power retained control of the civil arm until 1798, its persecutions were closed about 1773. Comparing the statements of the Saviour would place the first of these signs between 1773 and 1798.
The Dark Day and Night
On the 19th of May, 1780, the sun was supernaturally darkened. It was no eclipse, as the moon had fulled the day before. Notwithstanding this there was a darkness over all the northeastern portion of the United States from eleven o’clock in the morning until eleven o’clock at night. On that occasion not only was the sun darkened, but the moon refused95to reflect the light of the sun. It was a darkness that prevented the sun from shining on the disc of the moon. And as expressed by Noah Webster, many years after, “No satisfactory reason has ever been assigned for this darkness.”
Of this dark day Herschel, the astronomer, said: “The Dark Day in North America was one of those wonderful phenomena of nature which will always be read of with interest, but which philosophy is at a loss to explain.”
Those describing the darkness of the night of May 19, 1780, said, notwithstanding there was a full moon, that “if every luminous body in the universe had been struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete.”
The Falling Stars
The third of these signs, the falling of the stars, was fulfilled on the 13th of November, 1833. On that night, or rather from five hours previous to the day dawn, there was a meteoric shower compared by some to streams of fire coming down from heaven; by others, to sparks of fire flying off of some great piece of fire-works. This phenomenon covered all North America, from the Gulf of Mexico on the south to Hudson’s Bay on the north, and from the Sandwich Islands on the west to within a few hundred miles of Liverpool on the east. Wherever observed, it was the same continuous shower of stars, falling as thick as snowflakes in a snow-storm.
Concerning this star shower in 1833, we further quote from the Connecticut Observer of Nov. 25, 1833:— “The editor of the Old Countryman makes a very serious matter of the ‘falling stars.’ He says, ‘We pronounce the rain of fire, which we saw on Wednesday morning last, an awful type, a sure forerunner, a merciful sign, of that great and dreadful day which the inhabitants of the earth will witness when the sixth seal shall be opened. The time is just at hand, described not only in the New Testament, but in the Old Testament; and a more correct picture of a fig-tree96casting its fruit when blown by a mighty wind, it was not possible to behold.”
Thomas Burnett’s Prediction
The people had been taught by those of former times to look for a literal fulfilment of this sign. Thomas Burnett, in his “Theory of the Earth,” printed in London, A. D. 1697, said of Matt. 24:29:—
“No doubt there will be all sorts of fiery meteors at that time; and amongst others those called falling stars, which, though they are not considerable, singly, yet if they were multiplied in great numbers, falling, as the prophet says, as leaves from the vine or figs from the fig-tree, they would make an astonishing sight. . . . We need not look upon these things as hyperbolical and poetic strains, but as barefaced prophecies, and things that will literally come to pass.”
Olmstead’s Testimony Professor
Professor Olmstead, of Yale College, Mass., who has been called “America’s greatest meteorologist,” said of the falling stars of Nov. 13, 1833:—
“The extent of the shower of 1833 was such as to cover no inconsiderable part of the earth’s surface, from the middle of the Atlantic on the east to the Pacific on the west; and from the northern coast of South America to undefined regions among the British possessions on the north. The exhibition of shooting stars was not only visible, but everywhere presented the same appearance.”
Of this display, which began about 11 P. M., Nov. 12, and continued until about 4 A. M. of the 13th, the professor says:—
“Those who were so fortunate as to witness the exhibition of shooting stars on the morning of Nov. 13, 1833, probably saw the greatest display of celestial fire-works that has ever been seen since the creation of the world, or at least within the annals covered by the pages of history.”
Star Shower Seen Also in Europe
In a book published by Leonard Heinrich Kelber, in Stuttgart, Germany, in the year 1835, we learn that this sign was repeated on that side of the Atlantic, in the same month, but a few days later. He says:—
“On November 25, 1833, there was a fine display of falling stars on the continent of Europe,” and “in Minsterburg, Silesia, stars fell like a rain of fire. With them fell balls of fire, making the night so light that the people thought that the houses near them must be on fire.”
“At the same time in Prin, Austria, there was a falling of stars that covered a space of over five hundred square miles. It was described by some as like streams of fire coming down from heaven. Some called it a rain of fire. Horses were frightened by it, and fell to the ground. Many people were made sick through fear.”
Application of the Parable
Coming down in this line of prophecy past the fulfilment of the third sign,—the falling of the stars,—our Saviour says, “Now learn a parable of the fig-tree.” This language does not apply to the generation that was living when our Lord gave this discourse, but to the generation that was to see these things fulfilled—not fulfilling, but fulfilled. The things to be fulfilled as tokens that Christ is at the door do not include the shaking of the heavens when he will be seen actually coming. These signs of his near coming include this third sign, the one in the stars. The Lord’s appointed time for the people to learn a parable of the fig-tree dates this side of 1833. Here is the Lord’s time for the world to be aroused to the great truth that his coming is at the doors, and that his coming will be before the generation who hear that parable shall pass away. So we see how the time is marked out in this prophecy when the great advent proclamation should be given to the world.
A World-wide Proclamation
In fulfilment of this prediction we find that right then and there in 1833, the Lord was raising up his messengers or ministers in various parts of the world, who from 1833 to 1844 sounded the cry of Christ’s coming near, “even at the doors;” and these taught the parable of the fig-tree, pointing to these signs of his coming, even as he had instructed them to do. This message, either by the living teacher or through the agency of the printed page, went to every missionary station in the world, and to every seaport on the earth.
The extent of the message has been plainly set forth by the editor of the Voice of Truth, of Rochester, N. Y., in an issue of January, 1845:—
“The everlasting gospel, as described in Rev. 14:6, 7, has been preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people; saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.’ No case can be more clearly substantiated with facts than that this message has been borne to every nation and tongue under heaven, within a very few years past, in the preaching of the coming of Christ in 1843 [1843, Jewish time—our time, 1844], or near at hand. Through the medium of lectures and publications, the sound has gone into all the earth, and the words to the end of the world.”
Some people, unacquainted with the facts, have looked upon the second advent movement as limited to a certain locality, supposing it a work connected with William Miller and a few hundred ministers associated with him in the northern portion of the United States. To such it may be a surprise to learn that the movement in America, in which Elders Miller and Himes were prominent leaders, was but a small part of a great movement that, as stated above, went “to the ends of the earth.”
HOW THE MOVEMENT STARTED IN VARIOUS NATIONS
The Lord’s time came for this proclamation to go forth to the world, and in a score or more of different parts of the earth, at about the same time, men were raised up, who, without a knowledge of one another’s work, went forth to sound this message to all parts of the earth. Those mentioned in chapter IV, who received the light respecting the close of the twenty-three hundred days, with one exception,—A. Campbell,—were moved upon to engage in the proclamation of the first angel’s message of Revelation 14; this also by direct agency of the Spirit of God, and not by communicating the light to one another.
Compared with the Reformation
If we apply the same rule to this movement that D’Aubigne applied to the rise of the great Reformation of the sixteenth century, it must surely be counted as the Lord’s message and in the Lord’s time. Of that Reformation as a whole the historian said:—
“Germany did not communicate the truth to Switzerland, nor Switzerland to France, nor France to England. All these countries received it from God, just as one part of the world does not transmit the light to another part; but the same shining globe communicates it directly to all the earth. Christ, the day spring from on high, infinitely exalted above all mankind, was, at the period of the Reformation, as at the establishment of Christianity, the divine fire which gave life to the world. In the sixteenth century, one and the same doctrine was at once established in the homes and churches of the most distant and diversified nations. The reason is, that the same Spirit was everywhere at work producing the same faith.
“The Reformation of Germany and that of Switzerland demonstrate this truth. Zwingle had no intercourse with Luther. There was, no doubt, a link between these two100men; but we must search for it above the earth. He who from heaven gave the truth to Luther, gave it to Zwingle. God was the medium of communication between them. ‘I began to preach the gospel,’ says Zwingle, ‘in the year of grace 1516, in other words, at a time when the name of Luther had never been heard of in our country. I did not learn the doctrine of Christ from Luther, but from the word of God. If Luther preaches Christ, he does what I do; that is all.’”
Speaking of the work of Farel and Lefevre in France, the historian says:—
“The Reformation in France, therefore, was not a foreign importation. It had its birth on the French soil; it germinated in Paris; it had its first roots in the university itself, which formed the second power in Roman Christendom. God placed the principles of the work in the honest hearts of men of Picardy and Dauphiny before its commencement in any other country.”
“We have seen that the Swiss Reformation was independent of the German Reformation. The French Reformation was in its turn independent of both. The work began at once in these different countries, without any communication with each other; as, in a battle, all the different forces comprising the army move at the same instant, though the one does not tell the other to march, because one and the same command, proceeding from the same Commander-in-Chief, is heard by all. The time was accomplished, the people were prepared, and God began the Reformation of his church in all countries at once. Such facts demonstrate that the great Reformation of the sixteenth century was a divine work.”
Of the Reformation in England, under Thos. Bilney, Fryth, Tyndale, and others, D’Aubigne further says:—
“The Reformation of England commenced, therefore, independently of Luther and Zwingle, holding solely from101God. There was in all these countries of Christendom a simultaneous action of the divine word. The origin of the Reformation at Oxford, Cambridge, London, was the Greek New Testament published by Erasmus. [Tyndale and Thomas Bilney quitted Cambridge in the year 1519.] There came a day when England was proud of this high origin of the Reformation.”
The advent proclamation arose in a similar manner to that above traced in the Reformation. Men were moved out simultaneously in more than four times as many parts of the world, with no knowledge of, or any communication of sentiment with, one another, and began the proclamation of the same Scripture truths, not simply in four nations of the earth, but to the whole civilized world.
Joseph Wolff’s Labors
It may be well at this point to call attention to facts respecting the extent of the advent proclamation:—
“In 1831 Joseph Wolff, D. D., was sent as a missionary from Great Britain to labor among the Jews of Palestine. He, according to his journals, down to the year 1845, proclaimed the Lord’s speedy advent in Palestine, Egypt, on the shores of the Red Sea, Mesopotamia, the Crimea, Persia, Georgia, throughout the Ottoman Empire, in Greece, Arabia, Turkey, Bokhara, Afghanistan, Cashmere, Hindostan, Thibet, in Holland, Scotland, Ireland, at Constantinople, Jerusalem, St. Helena, also on shipboard in the Mediterranean, and in New York City, to all denominations. He declares that he has preached among Jews, Turks, Mohammedans, Parsees, Hindoos, Chaldeans, Yesedes, Syrians, Sabeans, to pashas, sheiks, shahs, the kings of Organtsh and Bokhara, the queen of Greece, etc.”
In Yemen, the region inhabited by the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ father-in-law, Joseph Wolff saw a book of which he thus speaks: “The Arabs of this place have a book102called ‘Seera,’ which treats of ‘The Second Coming of Christ, and His Reign in Glory!’”
In Yemen he spent six days with the Rechabites, of whom he says: “They drink no wine, plant no vineyards, sow no seed, live in tents, and remember the words of Jonadab the son of Rechab. With them were children of Israel, of the tribe of Dan, who reside near Terim in Hatramawt, who expect, in common with the children of Rechab, the speedy arrival of the Messiah in the clouds of heaven.”
We see, from the above, that in those fourteen years, Wolff himself had proclaimed the news of Christ’s coming at the doors, in more than twenty different nations. During the same time the doctrine was extensively agitated in Germany, particularly in the South among the Moravians.
The Message in Germany and Russia
An English writer, Mourant Brock, informs us that “in Wurtemberg there was a Christian colony numbering hundreds, who looked for the speedy advent of Christ.” The doctrine was proclaimed in other parts of Germany by Hengstenberg, at that time said to be the most talented theologian in Germany.
In the Review and Herald of Dec. 13, 1892, Pastor L. R. Conradi of Germany says:— “Bengel, in Germany, kindled the love for the appearing of our Lord in many a heart, which led thousands to study the prophetic word as never before. . . . The light shone in Germany, and publications showing the application of the twenty-three hundred days were circulated there. A religious awakening followed, especially in Wurtemburg, and as persecution arose, hundreds of families went to Southern Russia, and there spread it among their own countrymen who had moved there many years before. As the pastors closed their churches, with very few exceptions they would hold their ‘stunden,’ or ‘hour’ of meetings, in private houses, and hundreds were converted. Even at that time the Sabbath was103discussed among them, but no one making a start, it was smothered. A Russian farmer was converted in the ‘stunden,’ and then began the same work among the Russians. This finally led to the great ‘Stundist’ movement of the present day, whose influence extends to the most distant corner of Siberia and the Trans-Caucassus.”
In the Review and Herald of July 31, 1891, is a statement from Pastor Conradi respecting Brother Schäche of Australia, who, at the time of which he speaks, was a resident of Silesia, and labored a part of the time in the interest of the home mission of Father Gosner, a noted German evangelist divine. From Brother Schäche he gives the following respecting Kelber’s book:—
“After 1836, or when Bengel’s Computation had expired, there appeared in the Schweidnitz county paper a notice from the bookstore of Mr. Sommerfeldt there, concerning a book from L. Henry Kelber, concerning the great and glad events which were to take place in the years 1843 and 1844. The exact title of the book I do not remember. We procured the said book, and read it with a number of interested persons, with locked doors, in the year 1839-40. The book showed from Daniel, and the Revelation, and Matthew 24, that the end was at hand, and had also a table of computation, showing how the above date was reached.”
The Message in Great Britain
In an English publication entitled “The Millennium,” it is stated that “seven hundred ministers of the Church of England were raising the cry of the return of the Redeemer.” Among some of the most talented ministers of the time were those who proclaimed the advent doctrine in England from 1840 to 1844. Of these we will mention the names of Bickersteth, Birks, Brooks, Brock, Habershon, Plyn, Fremantle, Nathan Lord, McNeil, Winters, Cummings, J. A. McCaul, D. D., Dr. Nisbett, Rev. A. Dallas, M. A. [in his book, “Look to Jerusalem,” page 114, he applies the parable of104Matthew 24 to this generation], Burgess, Routon, Gunner, Barker, Bonham, Dealtry, etc.
The Message in Holland
The doctrine of the second advent was proclaimed in Holland by Hentzepeter, said to have been, at that time, the ablest minister in that country. He was keeper of the Royal Museum at The Hague, under the appointment of the king. He says of himself, in a letter written to the editor of the Midnight Cry, in June, 1844, that his attention was first called to the subject by a very impressive dream. He investigated the Scriptures on the subject, and in the year 1830 published a pamphlet setting forth the doctrine. In 1841 he published another pamphlet on the end of the world. In the same letter he says the first information he received in regard to William Miller and others who were proclaiming publicly the doctrine of the near approach of Christ, was in 1842, by conversing with a man who came to Holland from America.
The Message in Tartary
As early as 1821 the doctrine of the Lord’s coming was believed and taught in Tartary. About this time an Irish missionary was sent to that country, and a Tartar priest put the question to him, “When will Christ come the second time?” He made answer that he knew nothing at all about it, whereupon the priest expressed great surprise at such an answer from a missionary who had come to teach them the doctrines of the Bible, and remarked that he thought “everybody might know that who had a Bible.” The priest then gave his views, stating that he thought Christ would come about A. D. 1844. This fact is found in the Irish Magazine, 1821.
The Message in America, India, and on the Continent
In “Advent Tracts,” Vol. II, page 135, 1844, Mourant Brock of England says:—
“It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the near return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of warning raised, but also in America, India, and on the continent of Europe. In America, about three hundred ministers of the word are thus preaching ‘this gospel of the kingdom;’ whilst in this country, about seven hundred of the Church of England are raising the same cry.”
To Every Seaport on Earth
E. R. Pinney, of Seneca Falls, N. Y., a devoted Baptist minister who gave his life to the proclamation of the advent doctrine, in his “Exposition of Matthew 24,” pages 8, 9, said:—
“As early as 1842, second advent publications had been sent to every missionary station in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, both sides of the Rocky Mountains. . . . The commanders of our vessels and the sailors tell us that they touch at no port where they find this proclamation has not preceded them, and frequent inquiries respecting it are made of them.”