[Page 49 missing] errors of any kind, it becomes us to exchange them for truth immediately, and have our faith stand not in the wisdom, sympathies, or power of men, which always bring confusion, darkness, and death; but is the wisdom, sympathies, and power of God, which always feed on living truth,—the fruits of which are perfect union, light, and life. It also begets within us an ardent desire to hear the Word of God so explained and defended, that it shall become what God has intended it should be, a ‘terror to the powers of darkness, and praise to those who walk in the light.’
God’s Word has not lost its force in the least, it is now as it ever has been, a sharp reprover of all those who on the hand, draw back, throwing away the force of truth, because of errors which may have been connected with it, and of those on the other and who press the Scriptures from their true import and meaning to produce ordinances, the observance of which bring a research the causes of God. Now it seems to me, the truth lies between the two extremes, and that a wilfulness to press on [original illegible] of the two, will ‘drown men in perdition.’ But God will let the true light shine, and none can hinder, and every [original illegible] seeker after truth, will assuredly find it, as there is a God in heaven. May God pour upon us a spirit of prayer and supplication, for light and, wisdom, to guide us safely through this ‘hour of temptation’ and trial, to the coming of our Lord and King. W. H. E. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.1
Portland, April 9, 1845.
From the Day star.
SSSe
The above is the heading of an article in the Morning Watch of April 3rd, and signed J. V. Himes, in which he says: JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.2
‘We here beg leave, in all kindness, to say to our brethren, that there is danger of being too hasty in our movement, relating to the cause of God. We need patience; and if we differ, let us be kind, and forbearing, and grudge not one against another, for, “the Judge standeth before the door.” But, at the same time, in all faithfulness to God, we are obliged to dissent from some movements and sentiments, that have [original illegible] advocated, of late among us. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.3
1st The movement of Dr Gorgas: in which he pretended to be inspired, to give the precise hour of the Lord’s Advent; and also, to direct the Advent congregation to go out of the cities at that time, or, in case of a refusal to do so, that they would perish! We were shocked with it at the time, and are so still. Such pretensions, we regard but little short of blasphemy. Yet, in some places, many embraced his views, and carried it out, in all its extravagance. Among these, our respected sister C. S. M., a former writer in this paper, was one of the most active! And, when she knew that it was an imposition, by the failure of all he had said, through his pretended inspiration, instead of acknowledging it, and condemning the whole matter, as a humble Christian should, she sent us a communication, in which she attempted, to mix up this impious Gorgas movement with the 7th month revival, as a Divine whole! This, be it known to all our good friends abroad, was the principal reason, why we could not publish her communication, which she has recently sent to the Voice of Truth, and other papers, entitled the “Retrospect of the Seventh Month.” Sister M. owes the Advent cause, if not the church, and world, a confession, of the sore evils of that movement, in which she took so conspicuous a part, against the remonstrances of Bro. Litch, and others, and by which the Advent cause in Philadelphia, received its heaviest blow. It gives us pain, to be obliged to bring out this fact before our friends But, at this peculiar time of our trial, when prejudice is being raised to its height, against the Watch, sister M. has taken occasion to do her part of the work, by representing that we had shut out her article, on the 7th month, as though our opposition to that movement was the cause of its rejections. But the fact was otherwise—it was in consequence of the Gorgas movement, which we considered a deception. He was either deceived himself, or he meant to deceive others;—we would hope, the former was the case. It was no part of the Advent doctrine.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.4
So far as the affair of ‘Dr. Gorgas’ is concerned, I have nothing to do with it; although the very arguments adduced by Bro. Himes in a former article upholding the correctness of the seventh month preaching, might go for toward justifying Dr. Gorgas. The faith of ‘Abraham’ and ‘Jonah’ were appropriately applied; and now if any body suffered in being led away by ‘the vision of Dr. Gorgas’ it was the individuals themselves. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.5
I was in Philadelphia at the time the friends left the city; and although I could not see the force of their arguments for leaving as they did, yet I have never been able to see that they lost any thing in thus brining their faith to such a test. Indeed when I saw how ‘exceedingly mad’ the children of the wicked one were at the movement, I have sometimes (aside from the pretended vision) almost regretted that I did not go with them. I should not like, at any rate, to be found condemning a body of people whose every breath was prayer and praise, and whose faith was fixed ‘without a doubt’ upon the appearing of Christ on that day. Before we condemn the movement, we ought to show the great sin of proclaiming ‘the hour’ and the perfect innocency of preaching the day. Let us be wise, brethren, and leave this matter, for the ‘great day of God,’ now just upon us, to unfold. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.6
The clause in the above extract which I think conveys a wrong impression, much to the injury of our beloved sister Minor, is the following. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.7
‘She sent us a communication, in which she attempted to mix up the impious Gorgas movement with the seventh month revival, as a Divine whole!!’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.8
The article here referred to may be found in another column of this paper, [the Day Star,] with sister Minor’s more recent introductory remarks. I had not designed to publish it, because Advent believers in this western section knew little or nothing of these matters, and I did not wish to trouble them with the unpleasant differences that only concerned the friends at the East. I now publish it from a sense of duty, because the papers that contain it are not circulated to any considerable extent in this section, while nearly, if not quite all the renders of the Watch [original illegible]. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.9
It is a sore thing to aim such a blow at the Christian rectitude of one ‘whose fame is in all the churches.’ To do any thing calculated to take away the confidence of brethren in the piety and integrity of an individual merely for a difference of thought upon a specified movement, is unscriptural—ungenerous, and unkind. Our readers will examine sister Minor’s article for themselves, and if I am wrong in thinking an improper impression conveyed in Bro. Himes’ remarks, I hope to find forgiveness. It looked to me like wounding a dear child of God and from my full soul I must speak; and I have tried to do it as tenderly as possible. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.10
There are other things in the address in question, savoring more of the spirit of proscription than I had ever expected to see among Advent believers. For instance, the idea that our work with the world and nominal church is done, is set down to be more ‘horrible’ than ‘Infidelity.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.11
The idea of the Bridegroom having come, and the door being shut, has been ably argued on both sides of the question in the Advent Herald. Bro. Himes must have been satisfied that there was some strength of argument upon the affirmative of this question, or he would not have admitted the debate into his paper. But Bro. H. has furnished us with the arguments, and, like all other debates, both sides have gained their friends, and both their opposers. I must candidly say, that from every evidence I can obtain; the great mass of Advent believers in this section, are inclined to the belief that Bro. Hale has the strength of Scripture argument on his side; yet they have no quarrel with those that favor Bliss’s view. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.12
We have never issued a ‘bull extraordinary’ against them because hey would not believe with us: and had we been disposed so to [original illegible] we have no one west of the Alleghanies that we consider sufficiently authorized to do it. We have not pronounced them worse than infidels, or said to them, ‘Does infidelity teach any thing as horrible as this?’ Before our dear brother went so [original illegible] he should have shown us wherein it was wrong to withdraw entirely, our ‘sympathies’ from ‘a wicked world, and a corrupt, apostate, world-loving church,’ as he and all the rest of us did on the 10th day of the seventh month. Surely, if we were honest, we then believed our work with them was done. Bro. H. should then have given us a ‘thus saith the Lord’ for going back and joining our sympathies with them. When this was done, and we still remained obstinate, he should then have reproved us ‘in the spirit of meekness,’ and thus converted us from ‘the error of our way.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 50.13
Again, I never did expect to see the time when one of these hold champions on Zion’s walls, would lay aside the ‘Sword of the Sprit’ long enough to appeal to the sympathies of his brethren in language like this: JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.1
‘As a brother,—as a fellow-laborer—who has done something in this blessed cause—we do entreat our dear brethren to pause, before they go further.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.2
Now let us put the best construction upon this ‘Word to the Advent Brethren.’ All must admit that Bro. Himes’s almost unparalleled labors, have exposed him to a class of trials to which most of us are strangers. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.3
Many heresies are springing up around him which we know little of at the West. We have prayed for him, and hoped that he would not be goaded to use the rod. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.4
But since it is so, I for one, am glad he has used it upon sister Minor, and Bro. Snow. This expression may be thought strange; but I am glad, because it has fallen upon those that will not writhe under it, but casting to heaven ‘their steadfast eye,’ will still pursue ‘the even tenor of their way’—never halting long enough either to ‘define’ or ‘occupy’ a ‘position,’ but moving one in the path of life will soon gain an eternal reward. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.5
Bro. Show may have done wrong, but as there are two sides to the story of sister Minor, there may be another side to [original illegible] said of Bro. Snow. 2Bro. Jacobs may rest assured that there is another side. We have been accused falsely. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.6
O brethren, let us learn lessons of wisdom from the Word of God and the circumstances around us! These things must needs be, for the Scriptures cannot be broken. Let us he exceedingly careful to do our, own duty, [original illegible] attempt to middle with the work of the great [original illegible] dividing the Sheep from the Goats.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.7
SSSe
Notwithstanding the Lord has strengthened us from time to time with rays of light from the “little while,” we could never fully understand its import, until we saw the time, the day of Christ’s visible coming. To us it now seems perfectly plan; we get its length. In the 7th chapter of John, we find the Savior at a feast of tabernacles. He came up in the midst of the feast, and before the last great day, probably the 21st, he [original illegible] in verses 33, 34, “Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go to him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me, and where I am, thither ye cannot come.” The feast of tabernacles was in the 7th month, and at the next passover, on the 14th day of the 1st month he was crucified. His ‘little while,’ then, extended from the 7th month to the feast of the Passover; or then he was crucified, and rose the 3rd day. Though he showed himself to his disciples, to the Jews he showed himself no more. In the 16th chapter, while conversing with his disciples, he says, verse 16, “A little while and ye shall not see me; again a little while and ye shall see me; because I go to my Father.” The disciples could not understand this second “little while,” until the Savior showed that it was spoken in proverbs, or [original illegible], i.e. the first little while was a likeness of the second. He also shows that in this [original illegible] little while, the saints will [original illegible] and lament, but the world shall rejoice, and thus they have done. We are also shown the form of prayer, for this last little while, verses 23-28; which form of prayer [original illegible] no Mediator. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.8
As in the former little while the Jews should seek and not find him, so in the last little while, the world and [original illegible] Church shall seek and not find, for the door is shut. This last little while is the one of which Paul speaks, Hebrews 10:35-39. “For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, (on the 10th day of the 7th month which will is our sanctification, Hebrews 10:9, 10,) ye might receive the promise; for yet a little while and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.’ He (Christ) in the character of Bridegroom has, to the saints, tarried, but came to the marriage in the [original illegible] month, from which it is a little while to the passover, when he (the King who comes to the earth,) shall come and not tarry. This too is Bro. James’ time of patience, from the early to the latter [original illegible]. O that our patience may endure to the end. See James 5:7, 8. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.9
Again, Paul presents this little while in Hebrews 12:25, 29. While referring to the promise of God in regard to shaking the earth, he says, ‘And this word yet once more, signifieth the [original illegible] moving of those things that are shaken, as of things that [original illegible] made, etc. The words, yet once more, in connection with the shaking of the earth, occur no where but in Haggai; hence from Haggai 2:6, the Apostle must have quoted. Haggai [original illegible] in the 21st day of the 7th month, and said! ‘Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.’ There can be no doubt but the Savior had his eye on this same little while, when he said, ‘Again, a little while,’ etc. One says ‘again,’ the other ‘once more,’ which to us is the same expression. As the earth was shaken, at the end of the first little while, on the day of the Passover, when Jesus suffered, so, at the end of the second, or the day of the Passover, when he comes to ‘rule the nations a rod of iron,’ shall all things be shaken that are made. This shaking is the great earthquake. Revelation 11:19, at which time the dead in Christ shall all rise.—Hope of Israel! JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.10
[original illegible] Believing that your paper is a means in the hands of the Lord of giving meat in due season, I send you the enclosed small donation ($5,) to assist you in preparing the same. Permit me to say a few things to you concerning my feelings in regard to the door being shut. When I first heard of it I could not hear the idea; but I love the truth, and I desired to [original illegible] was us God [original illegible] not [original illegible] to it, but must say amen to what God thinks fit to do. When you came to this city I was glad, and I went to hear you, and I was very much blest whilst hearing it explained. Before I had heard you, I had almost concluded that if the door was shut I was shut out; but when I heard the matter fully explained I saw that it was of God, and I believe I am shut in; for Jesus says, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me. I believe the Lord sent you to this city with that message, and I was blest whilst receiving it, which is an evident proof to me that it has proved the savour of life to my soul, and [original illegible]—nay I believe in a very days to see the New Jerusalem, then Lamb’s wife, descending from God out of heaven, and that I shall be caught up to meet the Lord the air. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.11
Your brother in expectation of soon seeing Him who said, ‘Do not sound a trumpet before thee as the Pharisees do.’
Philadelphia, April 16.
SSSe
A terrible fire was raging in Dismal Swamp, Virginia, at the last accounts; another in the woods near Harrisburg; another on some of the mountains in Schuylkill county; and several very ruinous fire have been raging in the woods in different parts of New Jersey, but they have produced no rain. Meantime, the earth is parched, vegetation checked, and all business of agriculture injuriously affected. The sun, on Saturday evening, went down red and lurid, and seemed to be quenched in a thick base, impervious to light, rather than to sink beneath the horizon; and the moon, which was half full, hung in the heavens, only visible in the its dull, copper-colored appearance, but so benefit of every reflecting beam, as to cast no shadow, where not a cloud intercepted its light. Here and there a JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.12
“[original illegible] lone star diffused an anguished light,” JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.13
and altogether, the evening presented one of those scenes at while poets aim, when describing some great compulsions, whose portents are seen in the heavens above, and are felt in the earth beneath, and the waters under the earth—worse, far worse, than the wild deformity of a storm. Such a scene seems to excite feelings of indescribable awe; and in gazing at the planets, that appear to retain their place, without discharging their office, we feel a wish for action, for change, for some out-burst, some wild uproar of the elements, to rouse us either to preventive action or, at least, to definite fear. Rather than such a quiet, chilling fearful gloom, one would prefer the alternative, where JUBST April 24, 1845, page 51.14
“Storms rock the sky, afflicted oceans roar,
And sanguine billows dye the shadowing shore.”
Phil. Gazette. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.1
SSSe
Ah, loving God come once; I wait continually for that day, when early in the morning (in the spring, the day and night are alike long) I see a very clear morning sky. For I think, that swiftly out of morning redness will turn to a thick black cloud, out of which will issue three flashes of lightning, afterwards there will come a clap, and in a moment will strike all on a (original illegible) heaven and earth. The name of the Lord be praised, who hath taught us to sigh and yearn after that day, and in truth we ought to desire the speedy approach thereof, in Popedom they are all afraid thereof, as they sing, That day is a day of wrath, etc. I hope, truly, that day is not far off. Christ saith, at that time, he shall scarcely find faith on the earth, let us make our account, and we shall truly find, that we have the Gospel only in a corner; Asia and Africa have it not, the Gospel is not preached in Europe, in Greece, Italy, Hungary, Spain, France, England, nor in Poland, etc. And sure I am, that this little corner where it is, (the House of Saxony) will not hinder the coming of the last day of judgment. It is come already, so far as to the white horse in the Revelations, the world cannot stand long, the Lord deliver us from evil. Amen. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.2
About the time of Easter in April, when they least of all feared the rain, Pharaoh was destroyed in the Red Sea, and the nation of Israel [original illegible] again [original illegible] world was created, of the same time the year was changed, and Christ arose again, and the world renewed: even so (happily) will the last day come about the same time, I am of opinion, after or about Easter, when the year is at the finest and fairest, early at the rising of the sun (as at Sodom and Gomorrah,) the element will be gloomy with earthquakes and thunderings about an hour or little longer, then the secure people shall say, Look thou fool, has never heard it thunder? JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.3
Luther’s Familiar Discourses, or Table-Talk. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.4
THE JUBILEE STANDARD JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.5
‘Lift up a Standard for the People.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.6
NEW YORK, THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 1845 JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.7
We re-publish this week, from the second No of the Standard, the article with the caption ‘And the door was shut.’ We do this because it embodies, in a condensed form, some of the reasons of our faith and hope; and there may be many who will receive this number who did not receive No. 2. Let it be read with prayer and close attention. S. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.8
SSSe
The great question which now agitates the minds of a certain class of ‘Adventists,’ appears to be this:—‘Is the door shut?’ The position which we have taken—not without the very best of reasons—and which, in the strength of Israel’s God, we feel fully able to defend, is ‘a stone of stumbling and rock to offence to both the houses of Israel.’ But, blessed be the name of God, we find it to be a rock on which we can firmly stand and never be shaken. None will fall who do not stumble at that stone. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.9
But let this position be tested by unerring Word of God. If it shall abide that test, let it be received by the ‘little flock;’ but if not, let it be rejected. Of one thing we may be sure:—the sheep of Christ’s fold will hear the voice of the ‘good Shepherd,’ and they will follow him. But a stranger they will not follow: for they do not know his voice. Let us follow, then, when, Jesus leads. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.10
We will examine, then, some of the proofs contained in ‘the testimony of Jesus,’ which is ‘the Spirit of Prophecy,’ and in the law of Moses, which we are commanded to remember: for the Lord says, Isaiah 8:16, ‘Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.’ Again he says, v. 20, ‘To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. And who are they that have no light in them?—the 19th verse shows us plainly who they are: ‘And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter (i.e. mesmerizers,); should not a people seek unto their God? Do any seek to such?—Beware of their teachings—there is no light in them. Their lamps have gone out. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.11
In the parable of the virgins our Lord shows us clearly that the wise virgins and the foolish moved together till the Bridegroom came to the marriage and the door was shut. After that a wall of separation, and that closed door, were found to exist between the two classes. No distinction was apparent between them till they all began to feel the searching power of the midnight cry. Then the foolish being aroused from their sleep, and seeing the condition of their lamps, and their destitution of oil, began to call upon the wise for sympathy and aid, but were wisely directed to go to them that sell, and buy for themselves. The oil which the wise took in their vessels in the anointing of the Holy Ghost. See 1 John 2:20, 27; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:15, 17; 6:19, 20: 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 4. They who are thus the temple of God, and who possess the wisdom that cometh from above, would not give foolish counsel. When the cry was made, therefore, it was possible for the foolish virgins to obtain oil, had they applied immediately to the right source. But ah! their folly still clung to them. God’s [original illegible] Proverbs 27:22. ‘Though bray a fool in a [original illegible], wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.’ Thus it was with the foolish virgins. Instead of heeding the counsel of the wise and going to them that sold, they went to them that could not sell. Instead of asking of God in faith and humility for the gift of the Holy Spirit and receiving it liberally, they, in they folly, went to other sources: some to commentaries, some to their own spirit and understanding, and some to mesmerizers. And if they called on God, it was not in faith but wavering; and James says, ‘Let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.’ But had they asked of God aright they could have received it. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.12
Our Lord tells us that ‘while they went to buy, the Bridegroom came; and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut.’ Is this coming of the Bridegroom to the wedding, the appearing of our Lord as the King of glory? This is an important question, inasmuch as it involves the very point at issue. If we can answer this question, the point will be decided; for it is when the Bridegroom comes to the wedding, that the door is shut. Now let us turn to Luke 12:35, 36: ‘Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourself unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.’ It is perfectly evident that if we are to wait for our Lord’s return from the wedding, the marriage must take place before his coming to earth. Consequently the door is shut before. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.13
But what is the marriage? Is it a literal wedding, or a figure? All agree that it is merely a figure. But what does it represent? Surely no one will dissent from us in saying that it represents a union effected between Jesus Christ the Bridegroom and his Bride. But what is the Bride? Let God’s blessed Book answer the question. Revelation 21:9, 10, ‘And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven form God.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 52.14
Did the angel fulfil his promise? If he did, when he showed the great city to John, he showed him the Bride. Therefore the Bride, the Lamb’s wife, is the New Jerusalem. Any man who does not see this glorious truth, is in a most fearful state—in darkness until now. But blessed are those eyes that see, and those ears that hear. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.1
But there are some among us, whose wisdom is that of this world, which is foolishness with God, who would like to have us believe that great city to be simply a figure of the church. Let us examine this a moment. If the Bride is a figure of the city—(as it certainly is)—and the city is a figure of the church—then the Bride is but the figure of a figure—the shadow of a shads! Such phantasies may do for those who would figure away our glorious inheritance; but they will not do for those who receive the kingdom of heaven as little children. No, no. They shall inherit substance. ‘God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city,’ Hebrews 11:16. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.2
It is written that ‘they which be of faith, the same are blessed with faithful Abraham.’ But for what did Abraham look by faith? Paul tells us, Hebrews 11:10, ‘For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.’ Did Abraham look for a church? But now let our brother Paul tell us more about this city. See Galatians 4:26, ‘But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.’ Is the church above? O! no. Captive Zion is in the dust. The most of God’s people are sleeping in their graves. True there are a few who have ascended on high. Enoch is there, and Moses, and Elijah, and those that rose form the dead with Jesus. But these do not constitute the new Jerusalem, our mother. And if all the great multitude of saints, that are sleeping in the dust of the earth, were now above, they could not be our mother;—they are our brethren, The church is not the mother of itself! JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.3
Again, we read in Isaiah 26:2. ‘Open ye the gates, that the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may entering. See also Rev. [original illegible]. 14, are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.’ Does any one perceive in these passages the least evidence that ‘the city,’ into which the righteous nation, that have kept God’s commandments and his truth, are to enter, is the church? JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.4
But enough. We see clearly what is the Bride, and what is her locality. She is above—in the heavens; and will descend with the Kings, her husband, shortly, to receive all her children. See Isaiah 49:18, ‘As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all; as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.’ It is thus that she will be fully adorned as a bride for her husband. The fine linen with which she will be arrayed, is the righteousness of the righteous nation, who will enter her gates and walk her golden streets. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.5
Now can the Bridegroom and Bride descend to receive the children of the bridechamber, before they are united in wedlock? In other words; can Jesus come with power and glory as a king, and bring with him the holy city, the capital of his kingdom, and receive his people to himself, and into the house prepared for them, before he has entered and taken possession of it himself? It is perfectly evident he cannot. He must be crowned and take full possession of his glorious place, and then he will be ready, on his part, to descend form heaven, to gather his ransomed ones home. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.6
As the marriage, therefore, in the parable, is designed to represent the union of Jesus with the New Jerusalem above, we see that the wedding must necessarily take place before he comes in glory as a king; and when he comes to earth, he comes from the wedding, and not to it. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.7
But some will object that the church is in many places in the writings of the apostle Paul, spoken of as a bride. To this we answer, that in the first coming of Christ a union was effected between himself and his church, which is represented as marriage. The relation of husband and wife has subsisted between them ever since. And all who have been truly converted to the faith of Christ have been joined with him in wedlock. See Ephesians 5:22-32. Notice particularly verses 31, 32; ‘For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the church’ Paul quotes the words of Adam in the garden of Eden when the woman was first presented to him; plainly showing that the union of the man and woman was a figure or type of the union of Christ and the Church. He also, says, in verse 30, ‘For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones,’ as Adam said concerning the woman,’ ‘This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.’ We see, therefore, that the marriage, in the parable of the virgins, cannot be the union of Christ with his church, but must be his receiving the kingdom. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.8
In Matthew 24:30, the Lord says, ‘they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.’ Must he not have received the power and glory before he comes? But again, in chap 25:31, he says, ‘When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.’ Does any one sit on a throne unless he be a king? Certainly not. Accordingly he says in verse 34, ‘Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you form the foundation of the world.’ So we see that when our blessed Lord comes to the salvation of his waiting people, he comes a King, and has a kingdom to bestow, and not as Bridegroom, to receive the kingdom. Daniel saw in vision our Lord in the act of receiving the kingdom, Daniel 7:13, 14, ‘I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.’ Daniel says, he came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of Days.’ Jesus says, ‘the Bridegroom [original illegible] came to the earth, And it is certain that he could not thus come at the point where Daniel saw him: for when he does come to earth, it is, as we have already seen, with power and great glary; whereas Daniel saw the kingly power and glory given him. This was while the Ancient of Days (i.e. God the Father) was sitting in judgment. Therefore the judgment of the living and the dead must precede the appearing of the Son of man to execute judgment. God the Father first decides upon the character and destiny of all, both living and dead. As proof of this, see Psalm 1:6; Revelation 20:12. During the time of this process of judgment the Son of man mounts the ear of glory, and comes before his Father and the vast multitude of angels that minister unto him and stand before him, and there confesses the names of all who are not ashamed to confess him before men. The Father hears with an approving smile, and, the reconciliation being complete, the Father gives the kingdom to his Son, and gives him ‘authority to execute judgment also because he is the Son of man.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.9
The beloved John, when caught away in vision, in the Isle of Patmos, saw our blessed. Lord at a point subsequent to this, and before his descent form heaven; Revelation 14:14, ‘And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.’ At the point where John saw him he had received the kingly power, as is evident form the crown upon his head. And yet he had not reaped the harvest of the earth. It follows, therefore, that our blessed Lord ceases to act in the character of High Priest according to the type of the Levitical priesthood, and assumes the crown, and the sceptre, and the Melchizedec priesthood, before he comes in glory to take his people home. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.10
The completion of the great work of reconciliation, or atonement must necessarily be on the 10th day of the 7the month. It is not possible, in the nature of the case, that it should be otherwise. We cannot suppose that God would lay a special stress upon the definite time for the observance of the type, if it were not to be regarded in the antitype. This would be a most gross absurdity. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 53.11
It would be making the sign greater than the thing signified, and regarding the shadow as of more importance than the substance which cast the shadow—But God was very particular in regard to time in the shadow or type; see Leviticus 23:4, 37. Every thing was to be observed in its season—every thing upon its day. Time was, therefore. in the law, a very important point; and must be strictly regarded in its fulfilment. And in Matthew 5:17, 18, our Lord declares that his first coming was not to destroy or nullify the law; but, on the contrary, till the passing away of heaven and earth, not one jot or tittle of the law should fail of its fulfilment. It was on the tenth day of seventh month the Levitical high priest finished the atonement at his coming out of the most holy place, by putting the sins of all Israel upon the scapegoat which bore them away into a land of separation; see Leviticus 10:1. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 54.1
The Levitical high priest was a type of Jesus our great High Priest—the most holy place, a type of heaven itself, to which Christ ascended, to appear in the presence of God for us—the coming of the high priest out of the holy place, a type of the coming of Jesus out of the ‘third heaven’ to the New Jerusalem in the second heaven—and the bearing away of sins by the scape goat, a type of the blotting out of all the sins of God’s people when the ‘time of refreshing’ came from the presence of the Lord; see Acts 3:19. It is utterly impossible for these things to be accomplished at any other time than on the tenth day of the seventh month, without making the Law of God a nullity, and Jesus Christ a liar. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 54.2
We have formerly supposed that when our great High Priest should come out of the most holy place, he must necessarily come to earth. But this was a mistake. The Levitical high priest completed the atonement after he came out. Now had Jesus come to the earth at his coming out of the third heaven, he must have completed the reconciliation, in the antitype, on earth. But the Apostle Paul declares in Hebrews 8:4, ‘For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest.’ It follows, therefore, that the atonement must be finished by Christ before his descent from heaven to earth. This [original illegible] 23. After Aaron had done presenting the offerings, he lifted up his hand and blessed the people, and came down; and Moses and Aaron went into the TABERNACLE of the congregation,’ which was a type of New Jerusalem, the TABERNACLE of God, which is to be with men; see Ezekiel 37:27; Revelation 21:3. It seems as clear to us as the light of the sun at moon day, that our Lord must leave the Holy of holies on the TENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 54.3
On the same day the jubilee trumpet always to be blown; see Leviticus 25:8, 9. This was in the forty-ninth year, as is evident from the fact that the fiftieth year was to be hallowed; see verse 10. In the year of Jubilee the land was not to be sown or reaped—those who were in captivity were to go free—the land was restored to the original proprietors—and every man returned to his family and to his possession. Surely we have in this a most perfect type of the glorious Jubilee—the year of God’s redeemed—when the captives of Zion will all go free, and the righteous shall inherit the land, at the gathering of the ‘WHOLE FAMILY,’ in heaven and upon the earth, and “the redemption of the purchased possession.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 54.4
As the Jubilee trumpet was sounded in the forth-ninth year, and the redemption followed in the fiftieth year,—so in antitype, our Lord must cause the last trumpet of alarm to sound throughout the land in the year preceding the redemption of Zion. And as our glorious King is coming in 1845, the Jubilee trumpet was blown on the tenth day of the seventh month in 1844. Is not the atonement finished then? Most certainly. For God’s law declares that the trumpet shall be sounded IN THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 54.5
What follows? It follows that the mystical body of Christ is complete—the last member has been added to it. The seventh angel has begun to sound his trumpet, and the mystery of God is finished. The Master of the house has risen up and shut to the door. The Bridegroom has come to the wedding—AND THE DOOR IS SHUT. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 54.6
In the parable of the marriage of the king’s son, in Matthew 22. We find the guests are all collected together in some place, and undergo an examination, preparatory to their sitting down to supper: see verses 10-14. The king comes in to see the guests; and finding among them a man who has not on a wedding garment—commands that he be bound and cast into outer darkness. Where are the guests at the time of this examination? In the guest-chamber. Surely this is not in the kingdom. None will ascend to meet the coming King, and then be cast out. Consequently the guests go into a place or position represented in parable by a guest-chamber—the door is shut—and the examination takes place, before Jesus comes and the guests sit down to the supper of the Lamb. S. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 54.7
SSSe
Dear Bro. Snow:—A few days since I sat down and wrote a few lines, requesting you to send me a copy of your paper; and, while the letter was on the way to the post-office, a little bundle came to hand, and on opening it, behold! two papers, with this heavenly title at their head, ‘the Jubilee Standard.’ Little thought of receiving the paper so soon after sending for it, but, praise the Lord! He is on the side of truth; and truth must and will prevail. Our Father is at the helm, and he cares for his children still; and blessed be his name, the way is opened for his poor, despised, and tried people, to have ‘meat in due season.’ It has been kept from them, until many, no doubt, have become faint and worn and weary; but that God who fed the prophet Daniel in the lion’s den, and sent Elijah food by the ravens, will feed the ‘poor of the flock.’ No doubt some good brother sent, or directed you to send me, this little Messenger, to comfort my soul; and oh may God reward the brother from whose hand it came,—and he surely will, for he has promised to reward every one according as their work shall be; and the time of reward is close at hand. Glory to God in the highest. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 54.8
Although the dear children have been in a state of severe trial [original illegible], yet our great Leader has gently led us through the fiery trial, and has often said, ‘Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed; I am now thy God and will still give thee aid. The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.’ Yes, we have felt we have done the will of God in proclaiming the coming of the Lord, and we are now in the time of trial—time of patience—the little while—the quickly, etc. But how long that would be we could not tell; and the winds have blown—the storms have beat—the waves have run high—the floods have come and beat upon our house: but it cannot fall ‘for it is built upon a ROCK,’ and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. We had faith beyond a doubt that Christ would come on the 10th day of 7th month, and proclaimed ‘Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.’ The voice was of God. We obeyed, and expected to have seen him. He did not come as we expected,—and why we could not tell. We knew we had done the will of God in proclaiming it, and were disappointed, but had no confession to make; at least, some have had none to make. Some have confessed it was an error. Well, let every one confess what they please—my confession is this: That I have need of patience to wait and receive the promise; that I am a pilgrim and a stranger in this world; that here I have no abiding or continuing city, but am seeking one to come, whose maker and builder is God,—and that after the manner which some call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers. This is all I have felt to confess—excepting that I met with the greatest disappointment I ever realized. I have often looked into the parable of the ten virgins to see where I was; I knew the foolish had gone to buy oil, and therefore supposed we were waiting for the Bridegroom while they were gone to buy. I did believe the one sitting on the white cloud, like unto the Son of Man, had reaped the earth; I did believe, beyond a doubt, there was the sign o f the Son of Man in heaven, and the tribes of the earth had mourned. And here I would just say that Bro. Hill’s article in the Voice of Truth fed my soul; believing these things were so, I often thought why does he tarry so long. At length I learnt from the types that the Jubilee trump sounded then, and we should be released in the fiftieth year. Here I have been patiently waiting for deliverance, studying the Bible for myself, living by my own faith—and have had sweet communion with the Lord even in this time of trial. At length I heard a voice from the East saying, ‘while they went to buy the Bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.’ What meaneth this? I listened, and saw it was the voice of the good Shepherd. I marched boldly up; I searched God’s holy Word to see if these things were so. I looked upon the past, and a glorious light broke into my soul; my heart was filled with the love of God; and with joy I could exclaim, Surely the Bridegroom came when we said he would, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and he door was shut. Yes, Glory to God! I now see where I am,—I am in the guest-chamber with my loins girl shout, and my light burning, waiting the return of my Lord from the wedding. This makes all our trials plain. This light shines gloriously; it leads into the kingdom; the next thing is the marriage-supper of the Lamb; the table is spread—he is now saying to the guests, Come, for all things are now ready: the Spirit and the Bride say come. Shall we go? Yes, gladly, my Lord; my soul now longs to go where I shall fully know the glories of my Savior: and as I pass along I’ll sing the pilgrim’s song, I hope to live forever. I do not mourn that there is no Mediating Jesus; no, I rejoice that he has been crowned King. Hallelujah! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth; let us be glad and rejoice, for the Marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife hath made herself ready. The kingdoms of this world evermore have become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and now he reigns; and in a few days he will rule the nations with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. All glory to God! my soul is happy in view of it; my trials are almost over. Hallelujah! I shall soon meet all my dear brethren and sisters in the kingdom. I do thank the good Lord that Bro. Hale was permitted to publish his views in the Herald, which were the first I had on the subject of the Marriage, and it was meat to my hungry soul. Praise the Lord forever; God is good to his fainting children; he has sent two of his servants here to administer to us this portion of his truth, and light keeps coming; truth is prevailing, and man cannot stop it. The Hope of Israel I have lately received, which is a welcome messenger; the letters from the brethren and sisters do fill my soul, and soon, if faithful, I shall meet them. Oh, ye heralds of the cross ye are blowing for the last time; this trumpet will gather the children; this gale will waft you home. Oh, ye Peters, ye are feeding the sheep and the lambs for the last time; be sure you are found giving meat to the household when the Master comes. O, my dear brethren and sisters, Jerusalem’s warfare is accomplished—you are having your last trials, offering your last prayers; and oh, let your prayers go up like holy incense, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. My heart responds, Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus. Ye little lambs of my Redeemer; ye who feed in pastures green, follow, follow Christ, your leader; ever let your light be seen; ever mind and love each other; shun the path that leads to woe; travel in the way together. So farewell. Brethren, I must go Your sister, expecting to meet you in the New Jerusalem City, to partake of the Marriage Supper on the 14th day of the first month. Abigail Mussey. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 54.9
SSSe
Dear Brn. Snow and Matthias:—I am pleased to know that you do not regard our past history as a delusion, or produced by mesmeric influences. As well may a man undertake to prove to me that there is no Spirit of God, as to prove that we have not been guided by it in the main, since we first took our lamps to go out and meet the Bridegroom in ‘43. Such is a fearful position to me: I prefer holding fast that which I have, that no man take my crown. I believe with you that our past experience, especially the movement last autumn, which was the fulfilment of the type, was designed of God to accomplish a work that was to decide the destiny of thousands, for eternity. That work I understand was then accomplished. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 55.1
I have now become fully satisfied that our great High Priest has ceased his mediation for the world—that he closed the work typified by the daily ministrations previous to the 10th day of the 7th month, and on that day went into the holiest of all,. presenting his blood once for all for those who had accepted of his mediation at that time. Yes every soul, whose affliction answers to the type, was then atoned for; and although they may not at that time have had so much joy as other expressed, if they have not [original illegible] wilfully since that time, they need no new sacrifice, but may come to the Father as expressed in John 16:26, 27, “At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” Dear brethren, the position which we occupy is a fearful, yet glorious one. Those who keep their loins girded about and their lights burning a few days more will meet their glorious Lord returning from the wedding, and hail him with songs of everlasting joy. But who may abide the day of his coming? JUBST April 24, 1845, page 55.2
The type of the atonement, the jubilee trump, etc., having been accomplished last autumn, I see clearly where we have been since, and what has been our work, viz., praying for Christ to come, while the angel has been offering incense from his golden censer, (see Revelation 8:1-8,) which is the antitype of the multitude gathered about the tabernacle, or temple, during the time of [original illegible] (see Luke 1:8-10,) engaged in prayer, anxiously looking for the high priest to appear. The appearing of our great High Priest, I have no doubt, will very soon occur. We have now entered what I regard as the commencement of the great jubilee to Abraham and all his seed; and I cannot doubt but they will soon return ‘from the land of the enemy’ to their everlasting possessions. The present moon is, in my mind, the most probable time; but should it extend a little beyond, there would be no failure in the type, as I view it. I am well assured it will not extend for. No, the tried hosts of Israel will soon be redeemed. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 55.3
I wish to say that I have no fellowship for that position which supposes God is doing a great work among those churches that have became a cage for every unclean and hateful bird in consequence of rejecting his truth. I should as soon suppose that Christ would have rejected his disciples, and poured out the Spirit upon his murderers, and chosen them to be his witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea, and the uttermost parts of the earth, as to suppose any such thing. And indeed, did I so believe, to be consistent, I should have to return to the bosom of that old mother, and engage with her in that work. Neither have I much faith in those who have backed off from the track, and with shame gone and made their acknowledgments to an apostate church and scoffing world. No, no; they had better go to God and confess their want of faithfulness to him. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 55.4
Yours, hoping to be found contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, until its glorious object shall appear. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 55.5
Troy, April 17, 1845. G. W. PEAVEY.
SSSe
Dear Bro. Snow:—My soul is filled with praise and thanks-giving to our blessed Lord for leading me in the present truth. Truly I have had a dark time since the 7th month, and while the dear brethren—on my right and on my left—have given up their confidence in that message, and have attributed it to a mesmeric influence, and the work of man, I have stood firm in the faith that it was of God, and never regretted doing what I did,—in believing and preaching so positively, that the Bridegroom would come on the 10thday of the 7th month. I had been out for upwards of a year before that, preaching ‘43, and during the tarrying time, and the Lord cleared my way until the midnight cry had been fully made. Then I felt my work was done. My zeal for an ungodly world was abated, and I immediately retired from the walls to my home. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 55.6
About the 1st of February last our dear Bro. Pickands came from the West, to tell us in Philadelphia our present position, and truly it was delightful to see how eager those were, who had not cast away their confidence in the 7th month, to receive light from God’s Word.—Bro. P. proved conclusively that the seventh trumpet had sounded, the midnight cry was made, and the Bridegroom came to the wedding; and it was now our duty to stand with our loins girded and our lights burning, waiting for him to come from the wedding. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 55.7
Shortly after that the Lord directed your course to that city, and truly your visit was hailed with joy by those who were truly waiting for the coming of the King of kings. I believe, brother, your message brought more joy and glory with it than the midnight cry itself. Praise the Lord for giving us the truth that the door is shut. I feel it to be a purifying and cleansing truth, and, emphatically, the end of our faith. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.1
I soon left, in company with Bro. Port, to give the household meat in due season. We have visited the brethren in Lancaster, Mount Joy, Middletown, etc. Our labors have been blessed, and the Lord has opened our way, and the dear children of the kingdom have received the message with joy. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.2
We have visited Dr. Gorgas, the individual you have heard and read so much about; and instead of finding a wild, fanciful, imaginary man, we found him indeed blessed,—an Israelite indeed—a self-sacrificing follower of Christ, and one whose reputation as a Christian, for the last 16 years, has stood very high in the estimation of those who know him. As far as I have been acquainted with him, I believe him to be a man not easily excited. While hearing him relate the exercise of his mind concerning his vision, I am led to believe it was of God, and not imagination. He is strong in the expectation of seeing the Lord this month. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.3
I know not, my dear brother, whether time will last for you to receive this letter; but my faith is strong of meeting you, with the little flock, in our Father’s kingdom, on the 14th day of the first month. Yours, waiting for deliverance, JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.4
Middletown, Pa., April 18, 1845. Thos. Allen.
SSSe
Dear Bro. Miller.—Your letter in the Herald of the 6th inst. has been to us the occasion of both surprise and grief. Your allusions to your labors and sufferings with your early and choice friends, in the late ‘campaign,’ we appreciate; but the following passage we can neither appreciate, nor apply in the direction you aim at,—it fills us with amazement. It seems impossible they should emanate from Low Hampton. The following is the passage we refer to: JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.5
Among the many pious who had taken sides with us on the question in dispute, there were some of those uneasy, ever-changing, unstable, insubordinate and self-exalted spirits, who stood ready to jump on and ride into notice and power, the moment they saw how the case would go. These kind of spirits have always seized the reins of government, are never satisfied with their present position, and will change every new moon. There are many of this class among us, if not of us, at the present time, who are trying to lead away followers after them. It is a peculiar time. The greatest variety of fanciful interpretations of Scripture that was ever heard, is now being presented by new luminaries in every direction—reflecting their rays of light and heat. And some of these are wandering stars, and some emit only a twilight.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.6
Uneasy—ever-changing—unstable—insubordinate, and self-exalted spirits—fond of power—will change every moon—unstable souls sure enough—wandering stars. And these epithets you intend to apply to the conductors of the Jubilee Standard. Have you read our papers? Have you seen a passage in them to justify the above paragraph. Will you not look at your own letters therein published; and especially the one in our last, and then say if its conductors and correspondents do not agree with their doctrines in every important particular? To apply ‘fickleness—change, and ambition to your humble junior brethren, who are going straight forward in the path of truth in which, under God, you placed our feet,—who are stedfastly contending for ‘the faith once delivered to the saints,’—whose avowed object is to justify God in our experience, and to exhort the saints ‘To hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering,’ and to not even suspect their experience. Do you not see, dear brother, we are the very persons who are taking heed to your own exhortation to ‘hold fast,’ to ‘wait patiently, to ‘go forward;’ while you can not be ignorant that those on whose behalf you have written the present letter, have CERTAINLY GONE BACK—AND THEY AVOW IT. While your ‘fickle brethren—that change every moon,’ are resolved they will not follow them, but will go forward in the ‘path of the just that shines more and more unto the perfect day.’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.7
Surely, brother, you have misapplied those epithets. Our practice does not justify your more than insinuations. But your former friends are in truth the offenders. Bro. Storrs says we preached a lie; Bro. Himes says we were mistaken in the chronology; and Bro. Litch says the same thing; neither of whom admit the position you take in your letter, published in the last Standard, that the prophetic numbers ended in 1844. They say that if they had ended the Lord would have then come; and they denounce all explanation of our position, as being fanciful. The consistent position for all such is to go with Bro. Storrs. There is no medium between his position, or the position taken by us,—that it was the will of God we should preach ‘43 as the time for the ‘Vision to speak’ that was not to lie,—and was to be written so plain that ‘he that reads might run.’ And we are admonished that if he tarry, beyond the speaking of the vision, to wait. And then it is expressly stated that ‘the vision was for an appointed time.’ Daniel’s vision was to be ‘sealed until the time of the end,’—and then it was to be understood; Habakkuk was to speak. So you see what was to happen at the end of the times. There were to be voices, trumpets, angels, thunder and lightnings, earthquakes, and the like alarming developments, to arouse the world, and to sanctify the children of the kingdom. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.8
So we have heard the vision speak—peal after peal, and message after message. See Revelation 14. for these successive messages,—‘Fear God and give glory to him;’ ‘Come out of her my people.’ ‘Receive not the mark of the beast and his image in thy forehead or hand.’ Here we came to a stand—lost our time at the expiring of the 10th day of the 7th month—when the exhortation of Habakkuk became appropriate, ‘Though he tarry wait for him;’ and the opposite, ‘For yet a little while [after the end] and he that shall come will come and will not tarry.’ This time suits a place in the 12th verse, after our experience in ‘43 and the 10th day of the 7th month, and the messages in this chapter: ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.’ Here you see a peculiar people in suspense—and an anxious waiting, for a while not knowing what to do or what to say. But the vision has to speak again: ‘Thou must prophesy before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings;’ 13th verse, ‘And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them.’ Here the dead saints are blessed—are blessed from the time the saints are in this suspense and trial. Why blessed? Because here the living saints begin to be interested in the resurrection of the dead,—they begin to weep with Rachael, and to enter into the complaint of the dry bones, and, like Ezekiel, to pray ‘O! winds, blow upon these slain that they may live.’ They join in the cry of the martyrs, whose blood is under the altar: ‘How long, oh Lord, Holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?’ JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.9
Thus the vision is speaking. And now is the time for the saints to cry out to him that sits on the white cloud, ‘Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ And soon we will see the end of the vision, and it will be ‘God coming from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran,’ etc. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.10
With God’s blessing we will not change, but will go forward from truth to truth, add then from glory to glory, and so on, in the scale of everlasting perfection. May we soon meet in glory, Amen. B. Matthias. JUBST April 24, 1845, page 56.11
[CD-ROM Editor’s Note: Vol. 8-10 are missing.]