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Messenger of the Lord

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    New Picture of God

    This new picture of God, coupled with her deep conviction that Jesus was soon to come, was shared by her brother Robert. He reflected with her about what these fresh insights had done for them: “A tree is known by its fruits. What has this belief done for us? It has convinced us that we were not ready for the coming of the Lord; that we must become pure in heart, or we cannot meet our Saviour in peace. It has aroused us to seek for new strength and grace from God.MOL 49.8

    “What has it done for you, Ellen? Would you be what you are now if you had never heard the doctrine of Christ’s soon coming? What hope has it inspired in your heart; what peace, joy, and love has it given you? And for me it has done everything. I love Jesus, and all Christians. I love the prayer meeting. I find great joy in reading my Bible and in prayer.’” 39Spiritual Gifts 2:45.MOL 49.9

    Most probably, if Ellen had not had this self-authenticating relationship with her Lord, she would not have been prepared for the profound disappointment on October 22, 1844. She recalled: “It was a bitter disappointment that fell upon the little flock whose faith had been so strong and whose hope had been so high. But we were surprised that we felt so free in the Lord, and were so strongly sustained by His strength and grace.... We were disappointed, but not disheartened.” 40Spiritual Gifts 2:61.MOL 50.1

    Thus, in late 1844 Ellen was prepared for her unforeseen future. Fully mindful of her frail physical condition, captured by her new and compelling picture of God as her heavenly Friend, and focused on the consuming truth that Jesus was still coming soon, she was ready for her first vision. She had just turned 17.MOL 50.2

    But not all the Millerites thought alike after the Great Disappointment. Not all could say they were “disappointed but not disheartened.” On one hand, radical ideas generated radical behavior. Some former leaders, believing that Christ had indeed come spiritually, espoused “spiritual wifery,” whereby they renounced marriage and formed “spiritual” unions, devoid of sex, with new partners. Others, believing that the 1,000-year Sabbath had now begun, and to show their faith in what they believed, would do no more secular work. 41Schwarz, Light Bearers, p. 56. See p. 559MOL 50.3

    On the other hand, doctrinal differences began to separate Miller’s followers. 42See p. 134. They soon divided into at least four groups: (1) Those known as Evangelical Adventists eventually abandoned Miller’s prophetic teachings and were absorbed into other Protestant groups when it became evident that very little divided them; (2) Another group believed that the millennium was in the past, that the dead were now “sleeping,” awaiting the resurrection, and that the wicked would be annihilated. Eventually they became known as the Advent Christian Church, now the largest non-Sabbath keeping remnant of Millerite adventism; (3) Centered around Rochester, N.Y., another group saw the millennium as yet future wherein the Jews would return to Palestine. Firmly opposed to formal church organization, these “Age-to-Come” adventists never became strong and united.MOL 50.4

    (4) The fourth group became known as the “Sabbath and Shut-door” Adventists. Through prayer, Bible study, and divine confirmation they developed a rationale for the events that centered on October 22, 1844. This scattered group eventually found their unity and mission and went on to become Seventh-day Adventists, the largest of the Millerite bodies today. They believed that something had happened on October 22, but what? 43Spiritual Gifts 2:56-58.MOL 50.5

    God understood their pain and confusion, just as He understood those two dejected disciples trudging to Emmaus with “sad faces” (Luke 24:17) after the crucifixion. Jesus did not let His disheartened disciples sink without an explanation 2,000 years ago—and He did not forget His believers in late 1844.MOL 50.6

    And so He made His presence felt that December morning in 1844, when a small group of Adventist women in Portland, Maine joined themselves in prayer and Bible study—reaching out to God and to each other for encouragement and understanding. The emaciated Ellen had been staying at the Haines home for a few days, giving her mother some much needed rest. Her physician and friends had given her up to die of consumption. While they were praying, this seventeen-year-old teenager became lost to her surroundings, and God gave her the kind of encouragement that those troubled believers desperately needed. Thus began a seventy-year ministry that became more significant as the years went by. 44Spiritual Gifts 2:55, 56; Maxwell, Tell It to the World, p. 58.; Spiritual Gifts 2:30, 31; J. N. Loughborough, The Great Second Advent Movement (GSAM) (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1905), p. 202MOL 50.7

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