The Unsealing of Daniel’s Prophecy

            It is during this period of renewed interest in the Scriptures that a young Baptist farmer by the name of William Miller (1782-1849) published a series of articles in the Baptist weekly - “Vermont Telegraph” on the prophecies of Daniel. He used a simple set of rules to unravel the great themes of prophecy, namely,

            His study of Daniel chapter 8 led him to believe that the cleansing of the sanctuary, which was to take place at the end of the 2300-year period, referred to the cleansing of the earth from sin. He concluded that Christ would return at the close of this prophetic time, and using the day-year principle, calculated that this event would take place in 1843. It is then that the “spiritual sanctuary”, the church, would be cleansed.

            Miller rejected the popular interpretations of the day and reintroduced the old Protestant Christ-centered interpretation, which saw the followers of Jesus at the heart of the end-time prophecies. He stressed the pre-millennial return of Christ and, based on the time prophecy of Daniel 8, eventually set a definite date for this event, namely October 22, 1844. As a consequence, he, together with some 100,000 others were expelled from their churches. The believers in the imminent advent of Christ came from all denominations and included at least 200 ministers from prominent Protestant churches.

            Drawing from the parable of the ten virgins, (Matthew 25:1-13) the message became known as the “midnight cry”, the return of the bridegroom. There was a return to primitive godliness, as the various groups of advent believers awaited the return of the Lord.

            History tells us that Jesus did not return to this earth in 1844. Those that eagerly awaited His return were greatly disappointed, an event which became known as the “great disappointment”. Many were disillusioned and left the movement. Those that clung to their experience were ridiculed and became objects of scorn.

            Once before in the history of the church had there been such a disappointment. The followers of Christ had with great expectation awaited His coronation as the Messiah in Jerusalem. They had hailed Him as their king and thrown palm branches before His feet, (John 12:13) but instead of a coronation, they had to witness a crucifixion. Their disappointment was real, and many lost their faith. Even the disciples were filled with fear and hid themselves “for fear of the Jews”. (John 20:19) On the road to Emmaus, two followers of Jesus were contemplating these sad events (Luke 24:13-53) when Jesus joined them and...

...beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  Luke 24:27 NKJV

            As in the case of the disappointment in Christ’s time, the disappointment of 1844 led to ardent study of the Scriptures and assimilation of truths uncovered by the reformation. Those associated with the advent movement that remained after 1844 considered themselves as “the remnant church” or simply “the remnant”. The prophecies of Daniel were re-examined and a number of believers discovered that the books of Hebrews and Revelation are full of references to a sanctuary in heaven.  The great doctrine of the sanctuary, its type and antitype (See An Advocate for Our Time) was rediscovered and the role of Jesus as our High Priest and sacrificial lamb were understood in its setting. The Typology of the Jewish feasts and their meaning and fulfillment were also uncovered. Together with this tremendous breakthrough in understanding came the realization of what the day of atonement stood for in type, and what its relevance was in terms of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary or the commencement of the judgment in heaven. The standard of judgment, the law, and its significance was also understood in its relationship to the plan of salvation. The ancient wall of truth that had served as a bulwark against evil, was being rebuilt as Isaiah had prophesied:

And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. Isaiah 58:12

The Law and the Sabbath were rediscovered and the relationship between law and grace was placed in a right setting. The commandments of God and faith in Jesus Christ became pillars on which the faith of the remnant rested.

            In Revelation 12, John describes the attributes of the last generation of believers before the return of Christ.

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17

            Out of the ashes of the Millerite movement grew the Seventh-day Adventist Church. By 1848, a doctrinal platform existed incorporating the great truths uncovered by the reformation. The basic principles of prophetic interpretation as held by the emerging church were the cumulative prophetic views of the church of the centuries. They adopted, coordinated, and continued reforms that had been lost in the sands of time. Doctrinal landmarks of the movement were grounded on the Scriptural teaching regarding:

The second coming of Christ   The binding claims of the seventh-day Sabbath   The third angel’s message in relation to the first and second angel’s messages   The ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary   The non-immortality of the soul

At the Right Time

The judgment hour message which was proclaimed by the Millerite movement was not the final message of warning, but a commencement of the “restoration of all things”. In Revelation 14, John describes the judgment hour message, as given by an angel who said in 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. Revelation 14:7

This message is, however, followed by two further messages, namely the proclamation of the fall of Babylon, and the warning against allegiance to the beast and his image.

            The expulsion of advent believers from the established churches led these pioneers to believe that the refusal of these churches to accept the warning of God meant that they had fallen in the eyes of God. The refusal of light leads to darkness (Isaiah 5:20; Jeremiah 13:16) whereas the acceptance of God’s Word brings light:

The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.  Psalm 119:130 NKJV

They associated this fall with the fall of Babylon, as proclaimed by the second angel. (Revelation 14:8) It was, however, only after the great disappointment that the message of the third angel began to be understood.

            The third angel’s message is the final message of warning to an apostate world. It is filled with power and deep spiritual truths. As its significance came to be understood, the symbolism and prophetic import of the entire book of Revelation was unfolded. The prophecy of Revelation 10, in particular, was associated with the unfolding of the message and the experience of the advent believers.

            In Revelation 10, a mighty angel is depicted having a little book open in his hand. He cries with a loud voice as when a lion roareth (verse 3) and in the midst of the sound of seven thunders, John hears a voice from heaven saying:

...seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered and write them not. Revelation 10:4

            A book (or scroll) that is open and a reference to information that is sealed can only be a reference to a sealed book (or prophecy) which must now be opened or unsealed. Scripture must be its own expositor and in this regard only the prophecy of Daniel (the 2300-day prophecy) was a sealed prophecy that would be opened at the “time of the end” or after the 1260-day period which brings us to 1798. At precisely the right time (after 1798), the Millerite movement proclaimed the message of judgment as a consequence of the unraveling of the prophecy of Daniel. The message was sweet, but turned to bitter disappointment when Christ did not return in 1844.

            The 2300-day prophecy is the longest time prophecy in the Bible, and no prophetic time is given thereafter. The statement by the angel in Revelation 10:6 that “there should be time no longer” can be seen as a reference to the prophecy of Daniel which brings us to the end of prophetic time. John is also given the instruction to eat the scroll, (verse 9) which is sweet in his mouth but turns bitter in his stomach.  (verse 10). To eat the scroll is to internalize it, make it one’s own, to understand it.

Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts. Jeremiah 15:16

The sweetness was a joyful expectation that the understanding of the word elicited, whereas the bitterness reflects the disappointment experienced by wrong application. The advent believers had expected the return of Christ - but He had not come. They thought the last message of warning had been given - but it had not. In Revelation 10:11, the instruction is given:

And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”   Revelation 10:11 NKJV

            The word “again” is of significance. They thought they were finished with prophesying, but they had to prophecy again. Moreover, the message to be prophesied again was to be a worldwide message that was to reach all the peoples and nations of the entire world.

            What was the all-important message that God wanted proclaimed to the entire world? It is the three angels’ messages recorded in Revelation 14 where the instruction is given once again that the message must go to all peoples on the face of the earth.

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth - to every nation, tribe, tongue and people ... Revelation 14:6 NKJV

At the right time, God raised up a people who came from all denominations (a remnant) to preach the gospel in its fullness, “the everlasting gospel”, to the whole world. This is the remnant that the dragon would persecute at the end of time, those:

which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17

         Here are brought to the fore the attributes of this remnant which rouse the ire of Satan, obedience to God’s commandments and the testimonies of Jesus Christ. The Reformation had restored faith in the merits of Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation, but the importance of the law and obedience to God as well as the significance of the High Priestly ministry of Jesus were largely misunderstood. The fullness of the gospel and ministry of Jesus, together with the prophetic chain of events from the fall to final restoration, were truths which were to be proclaimed in the final hours of probation by a remnant responding to the call of grace. To this end, the testimony of Jesus or the spirit of prophecy was restored to assist in the unraveling of truth (see God’s Guiding Gift).

And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, See that you do it not! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10 NKJV

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by Professor Walter J. Veith Phd.