“Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:4, KJV).

ABSTRACT

Daniel’s prayer over Jerusalem’s seventy-year desolation unlocked the seventy-week prophecy and remains heaven’s pattern for the sealed company today.

WHY DOES PROPHECY DEMAND PRAYER?

True prophetic study never ends with the printed page; it descends always to the knees in earnest prayer. Daniel discovered this principle when in the first year of Darius he wrote, “I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:2, KJV). The years he counted issued from a stern earlier verdict: “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (Jeremiah 25:11, KJV). Yet to that long judgment was bound a tender promise: “For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10, KJV). Knowing the time did not lull the prophet into ease, for he himself records, “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes” (Daniel 9:3, KJV). The prophetic messenger affirms this very lesson when she writes, “Daniel’s example of prayer and confession is given for our instruction and encouragement…. With fasting and contrition he sought the Lord, confessing his own sins and the sins of the people” (That I May Know Him, Ellen G. White, p. 271). Ezra showed the same broken posture when, at the evening sacrifice, he “fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God” (Ezra 9:5, KJV); and Nehemiah, hearing of the breach, sat down and wept, mourning “certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4, KJV). We must read Scripture with the same urgency, refusing to treat unfulfilled prophecy as spectator’s diagram. The page must drive the praying heart, or the time will pass and find the church unprepared.

Prophecy reveals divine time, but its purpose is always to call out a divine response from the heart of God’s people. The Lord told Habakkuk plainly, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it” (Habakkuk 2:2, KJV); the writing was given that the runner might hasten. Through Amos the same voice declared, “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7, KJV), so the unveiling itself is a summons. The Apocalypse opens with the blessing, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Revelation 1:3, KJV). Peter strengthened the same conviction when he urged, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV). To Daniel himself the angel said the prophetic book would be sealed: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4, KJV); to the same prophet was added, “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end” (Daniel 12:9, KJV). The prophetic pen counsels that the unsealing of these closed words must produce a sanctified life, not idle curiosity. Through inspired counsel we are told that fulfilled prophecy must drive the saint to deeper preparation, not to public boasting.

Daniel’s posture stands in living contrast to the passive expectation that haunts much modern religion in waiting times. The exiles before him had once mourned correctly, for the psalmist remembered, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137:1, KJV). Jerusalem herself had become the sermon Jeremiah lamented, “How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow!” (Lamentations 1:1, KJV); the answer to such desolation began only when the people would say, “Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD” (Lamentations 3:40, KJV). Joel summoned the same response with thunder: “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning” (Joel 2:12, KJV). James in the New Testament repeated the burden in plainer accents: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:8, KJV). The covenant promise itself bound returning to renewing: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV). In The Sanctified Life we read, “Daniel’s heart turns with intense longing to the desolate sanctuary of God. He knows that its prosperity can be restored only as Israel shall repent” (The Sanctified Life, Ellen G. White, p. 47). The prophet does not assume the calendar will save him; he labors with God until the calendar bears its promised fruit.

Reformers in every age have followed this same pattern, for the Spirit teaches the same lesson in different generations. Nehemiah, hearing of Jerusalem’s broken walls, prayed, “I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments” (Nehemiah 1:5, KJV). Ezra confessed for himself and the captives, “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens” (Ezra 9:6, KJV). Young Josiah, hearing the recovered Law, did the same, for it is written, “And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes” (2 Kings 22:11, KJV). After defeat at Ai, Joshua “fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel” (Joshua 7:6, KJV); and at Mizpeh Israel “gathered together, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD” (1 Samuel 7:6, KJV). Even pagan Nineveh chose the same path, when at Jonah’s preaching “the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them” (Jonah 3:5, KJV). The inspired pen draws repeated attention to these patterns, urging the church to learn from each historical revival. Pioneer writer Uriah Smith argued in Daniel and the Revelation that genuine prophetic understanding has always produced a corresponding revival of practical piety.

Today’s church faces its own desolations, and must pray accordingly with the same intensity that lifted ancient walls from rubble. Lamentation still rises with the cry, “Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach” (Lamentations 5:1, KJV); the same chapter ends with the plea, “Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21, KJV). The psalmist asks for the very things the Reform Movement asks for now: “Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine” (Psalm 80:14, KJV). Isaiah’s hunger likewise burns: “Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence” (Isaiah 64:1, KJV). The same prophet probed heaven with the cry, “Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength?” (Isaiah 63:15, KJV). The psalmist binds personal pleading to corporate hope: “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come” (Psalm 102:13, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the Lord still listens for groans like those of His ancient servants. The remnant must pray with that pleading voice that brings heaven into earth’s controversy.

This article therefore traces Daniel’s burden as a working model for the last-day remnant of God’s covenant people. The promise to Daniel still stands open: “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days” (Daniel 12:13, KJV). The companion promise gleams above the page: “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3, KJV). The Apocalypse speaks of the same company in the last great test: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12, KJV). Christ Himself warned the watching disciples, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is” (Mark 13:33, KJV). The apostolic writers carried the same urgency: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us” (Hebrews 12:1, KJV); and again, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13, KJV). The inspired pen has long pressed home the lesson that prophecy properly studied always produces a sanctified life and a praying spirit. The chapters that follow open Daniel’s burden so that we may carry it ourselves into the final crisis.

WHAT MOVED DANIEL TO HIS KNEES?

Daniel found the prophetic timeline preserved in Jeremiah’s writings during the troubled first year of Darius the Mede. The setting is given clearly: “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans” (Daniel 9:1, KJV). Jeremiah had once written to the captives, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11, KJV); the prophet had read those words and treasured them. The same passage continued, “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you” (Jeremiah 29:12, KJV); a praying Daniel understood that the promised return required a praying people. The promise added the searching condition, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13, KJV); the heart of the seeker was already engaged. The same chapter assured, “And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity” (Jeremiah 29:14, KJV); the path home would close as quickly as it had opened if intercession failed. Even the political backdrop spoke God’s voice, for “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain” (Daniel 5:30, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are reminded that Daniel did not study in idle scholarship, but as a watchman waiting for the morning of return.

Daniel measured the years carefully and saw that the time of return was very near at hand. He understood that the people had earned their long captivity, for he confessed, “O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day” (Daniel 9:7, KJV). The Chronicler had set the count plainly: “To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years” (2 Chronicles 36:21, KJV). The fulfillment came on schedule, for the same writer recorded, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia” (2 Chronicles 36:22, KJV). Ezra’s narrative repeats the same arithmetic of grace: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom” (Ezra 1:1, KJV). The proclamation read, “Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah” (Ezra 1:2, KJV). The royal call invited every willing exile, “Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:3, KJV). The prophetic messenger marvels that God’s timeline never fails, even when the human heart seems unprepared.

Knowledge of the appointed time stirred Daniel not to ease but to deeper, more pleading intercession. He confessed openly the people’s failure: “O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee” (Daniel 9:8, KJV). He never lost sight of mercy: “To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him” (Daniel 9:9, KJV). He named the cause of the long exile: “Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets” (Daniel 9:10, KJV). He did not pretend the captivity was undeserved: “Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God” (Daniel 9:11, KJV). He pressed home the gravity of the judgment: “And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil” (Daniel 9:12, KJV). He cited the warning Scriptures to God’s own face: “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth” (Daniel 9:13, KJV). The inspired pen affirms, “Daniel’s example of prayer and confession is given for our instruction and encouragement…. With fasting and contrition he sought the Lord, confessing his own sins and the sins of the people” (That I May Know Him, Ellen G. White, p. 271).

Daniel identified fully with the people, though personally innocent of the gross sins he confessed in their name. The pattern reaches back to Isaiah’s vision of the suffering Servant: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6, KJV). Isaiah himself had cried, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5, KJV). Paul carried the same intercessory burden when he wrote, “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3, KJV). Moses had pleaded earlier, “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Exodus 32:32, KJV). The apostolic command holds the same weight: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, KJV). Even at the brink of judgment, Moses cried, “Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)” (Numbers 14:13, KJV). Sr. White affirms that this kind of identifying intercession is the very pulse of true reform, drawing the heart of God toward His struggling people.

Daniel’s was a corporate confession that owned the nation’s failures without minimizing or excusing them in any way. The Law had long required this very practice, for it commanded, “If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me” (Leviticus 26:40, KJV). The same pattern appears in the duty to make full restitution: “Then they shall confess their sin which they have done” (Numbers 5:7, KJV). Nehemiah’s revival included corporate confession: “And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers” (Nehemiah 9:2, KJV). The same prayer continued, “Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly” (Nehemiah 9:33, KJV). At Ezra’s reform a great congregation gathered to confess, for it is written, “Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore” (Ezra 10:1, KJV). Daniel’s prayer climbed the same ladder: “And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand” (Daniel 9:15, KJV). The inspired pen repeatedly insists that genuine corporate confession opens the channels of heaven’s restoring grace.

This intercessory pattern teaches the modern remnant a lesson the Reform Movement dare not forget in its present labors. Paul commanded, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1, KJV). He named the rulers and the people: “For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:2, KJV). He grounded the duty in heaven’s pleasure: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour” (1 Timothy 2:3, KJV). The reach of the prayer is universal: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4, KJV). The apostle binds intercession to spiritual armor: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18, KJV). Christ Himself, our great example, “is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that no Bible worker, no minister, and no church can fulfill its calling unless this Danielic pulse beats steadily within.

HOW DOES CONFESSION OPEN HEAVEN?

True confession is the key that unlocks the windows of heaven’s stored mercy upon a humbled and waiting people. The promise is unmistakable: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13, KJV). David’s testimony proves the principle in personal experience: “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5, KJV). The apostolic gospel preserves the same gracious offer: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, KJV). The warning side stands as firmly: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18, KJV). Solomon teaches in plain proverbial form, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Proverbs 28:9, KJV). The same wisdom fixes it: “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight” (Proverbs 15:8, KJV). In Steps to Christ we are told, “Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness” (Steps to Christ, Ellen G. White). Confession therefore is not a religious gesture; it is the door upon which heaven’s mercy finally swings open.

Daniel’s prayer modeled the kind of wholehearted, pleading confession that disarms heaven’s reluctance and engages divine compassion. He addressed his God reverently: “And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments” (Daniel 9:4, KJV). He owned plain rebellion: “We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments” (Daniel 9:5, KJV). He admitted refusal to listen: “Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land” (Daniel 9:6, KJV). He vindicated God’s righteousness in judgment: “Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice” (Daniel 9:14, KJV). He bound his appeal to the holy place: “Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake” (Daniel 9:17, KJV). He pleaded only mercy, never merit: “O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies” (Daniel 9:18, KJV). In That I May Know Him we read, “Daniel makes no plea on the ground of his own goodness, but he says: ‘O my God, incline thine ear, and hear… for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies’” (That I May Know Him, Ellen G. White, p. 271).

Genuine confession requires owning the sin in clear language, without comparison, without excuse, and without softening of any kind. The psalmist sings the proper posture: “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (Psalm 51:3-4, KJV). David lays bare his entire condition: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5, KJV). The promise of a renewed heart follows the broken heart: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10, KJV). The same penitent rests in mercy alone: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17, KJV). Isaiah heard the same tender invitation: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit” (Isaiah 57:15, KJV). The gospel command echoes still: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19, KJV). Sr. White underscores in The Sanctified Life that genuine spiritual prosperity returns only as God’s people repent of every cherished evil, and in Steps to Christ that broken-hearted conviction is the very evidence the Spirit is at work upon the soul.

Hidden sin walls heaven shut, while confessed sin opens the gates that mercy already stands behind, ready to swing wide. Isaiah declares the diagnosis: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2, KJV). Achan’s secret theft once stayed Israel’s hosts at Ai, for the verdict came, “Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing” (Joshua 7:11, KJV). The cure prescribed was open confession: “And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him” (Joshua 7:19, KJV). The disease threatens the church still, for it is written, “Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope” (Isaiah 5:18, KJV). The remedy is unchanged: “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil” (Isaiah 1:16, KJV). The promise stands fast: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that no spiritual blessing can flow into a heart still defended against the truth of its own sin.

Confession is corporate as well as personal, and the church must own the sins of the body before God will heal the body’s wounds. The post-exilic prayer at Nehemiah 9 holds the pattern: “Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee” (Nehemiah 9:32, KJV). The law required leaders to bear this office: “And ye shall make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land” (Ezra 10:11, KJV). The prophets pressed the duty unrelentingly: “Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice” (Micah 6:1, KJV). They named what God required: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8, KJV). The shepherds were warned, “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:1, KJV). The promise to the contrite remained firm: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you” (Ezekiel 36:25, KJV). The inspired pen affirms repeatedly that the corporate body of believers must humble itself together when the Spirit calls.

True confession leads always to obedience, the visible proof that repentance has finished its inward work in a soul. John the Baptist’s preaching set the standard: “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” (Matthew 3:8, KJV). Peter on Pentecost preached the same connection: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38, KJV). Paul reasoned with Agrippa, “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20, KJV). The apostolic charge holds the same standard: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14, KJV). Solomon counsels still, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, KJV). The covenant is kept by the obedient: “And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you” (Leviticus 20:8, KJV). Sr. White presses repeatedly that the confession that does not change the life has not yet reached the deepest place where Christ alone can dwell.

WHO BREAKS THE SEAL OF UNDERSTANDING?

Heaven sent Gabriel in swift and personal answer to Daniel’s burdened, broken-hearted prayer that evening in Babylon. The narrative records, “And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God” (Daniel 9:20, KJV). The interruption was holy and welcome, for the prophet writes, “Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation” (Daniel 9:21, KJV). Gabriel’s first words framed the whole vision: “And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding” (Daniel 9:22, KJV). The angel pointed back to Daniel’s praying: “At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision” (Daniel 9:23, KJV). The same Gabriel had already appeared in chapter 8, for it is written, “And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision” (Daniel 8:16, KJV). The same heavenly visitor had once given understanding to Zacharias: “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings” (Luke 1:19, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that prayer in earth opens commerce with heaven, and that no sincere supplication is ever lost or disregarded.

Gabriel came to complete the unfinished work of the vision recorded in the eighth chapter of Daniel’s prophetic book. That earlier vision had ended with the prophet’s collapse, for it is written, “And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it” (Daniel 8:27, KJV). The 2300 days had been declared but not interpreted: “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed” (Daniel 8:14, KJV). The ram and the he-goat had been identified to the prophet plainly: “The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king” (Daniel 8:20-21, KJV). The little horn had stood out fearfully, for it is written, “Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down” (Daniel 8:11, KJV). Yet the time element had remained sealed at chapter’s end. The horn-power’s blasphemous reach had been further described in Daniel’s earlier night vision: “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time” (Daniel 7:25, KJV). The same little horn had been first introduced as a rising power: “I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots” (Daniel 7:8, KJV). The two visions are bound by the same angel and the same theme, for the sanctuary stands at the heart of both. Pioneer writer Uriah Smith argues in Daniel and the Revelation that no sound interpretation of Daniel 9 may be undertaken apart from Daniel 8.

The 2300-day prophecy could not be unsealed without the explanatory key of the seventy weeks fitted into the lock. The relationship is preserved in the very vocabulary, for the Hebrew word translated “determined” in Daniel 9:24 means literally “cut off,” pointing back to a longer period from which it is severed. The earlier statement had been, “How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?” (Daniel 8:13, KJV); the answer of 2300 days followed at once. The longer prophecy had to anchor somewhere in calendar time. The key is supplied in the angel’s later announcement: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times” (Daniel 9:25, KJV). The decree gave a starting date, and prophetic time fastened itself to history. Habakkuk had already counseled patience with such time periods: “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Habakkuk 2:3, KJV). Peter speaks of the same prophetic certainty: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20, KJV). The very arrival of Christ depended upon such heavenly arithmetic, for He came preaching, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15, KJV). Paul fastens the same fulfillment to a fixed schedule: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4, KJV). The pioneer writer S. N. Haskell often pressed home that the seventy weeks form the indispensable bridge between the prophetic clock and the calendar of nations.

The angel’s announced mission was to give understanding, not to manufacture revelation Daniel had not already received. Gabriel’s purpose was to grant skill and understanding to a man already wrestling with the written Word. Wisdom from above is therefore offered to those who already labor at the page. Solomon assures the seeker, “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6, KJV). The pattern is reflected in Jeremiah’s own counsel: “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3, KJV). The Lord opens His secrets to the searching: “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant” (Psalm 25:14, KJV). Wisdom is granted to the praying: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5, KJV). The Spirit is the great teacher of every truth: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things” (John 14:26, KJV). The same Spirit will glorify Christ: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that no Bible student opens the Word in earnest prayer without finding heavenly help made ready for the search.

Daniel’s prayer became the appointed door through which the seventy-week revelation was carried to him from the very throne of God. The angel testified that at the beginning of Daniel’s supplications the heavenly commandment had already gone forth, so the answer began the moment the human prayer began. The same instant relationship between prayer and answer is preserved elsewhere: “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24, KJV). The psalmist binds the same truth in song: “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come” (Psalm 65:2, KJV). Christ promises again, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matthew 7:7, KJV). The promise expands: “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:8, KJV). The doctrine is reinforced still: “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight” (1 John 3:22, KJV). The principle is universal: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1 John 5:14, KJV). The inspired pen records that Heaven’s most precious truths are given to those who pray earnestly for understanding while studying the Word with reverence.

The lesson stands firm for every Bible worker, every minister, and every searching student of prophetic truth in this last hour. The principle is the same in every age: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV). Paul charges the Colossians, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2, KJV). He commands the Romans, “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer” (Romans 12:12, KJV). He counsels the Philippians, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6, KJV). The Hebrews are urged, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16, KJV). James reminds the church, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16, KJV). The prophetic messenger affirms in many writings that no Bible study is more fruitful than that which is undertaken on the knees, and that the same heavenly pen that wrote the Scripture stands ready to make its meaning plain to the bowed seeker.

WHAT ARE THE SEVENTY WEEKS?

The angel introduced a precisely defined time period of seventy weeks fitted to the people and the holy city. The grand statement opens, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” (Daniel 9:24, KJV). The verb “determined” carries the sense of being measured off or cut from a larger unit. The Spirit had elsewhere taught the principle of measuring out a future, for it is written, “My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me” (Psalm 31:15, KJV). Solomon affirms, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, KJV). The Lord declared through Isaiah, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:10, KJV). The Almighty governs the calendar of nations: “And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings” (Daniel 2:21, KJV). The Spirit of inspired counsel testifies through Daniel that the times of all peoples are reckoned by the great Watchman: “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones” (Daniel 4:17, KJV). The promise of an appointed and immovable schedule undergirds every prophetic word.

The day-for-year principle unlocks the prophetic week and opens its true reach across centuries of redemption. The principle was first laid down at Kadesh-barnea: “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years” (Numbers 14:34, KJV). The same principle was given to Ezekiel: “For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 4:5, KJV). The Lord underlined the rule: “And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year” (Ezekiel 4:6, KJV). Time itself bears witness to the divine arithmetic: “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night” (Psalm 90:4, KJV). Peter draws the same lesson: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8, KJV). Symbolic reckoning is consistent with the Apocalypse: “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth” (Revelation 11:3, KJV). The pioneer writer J. N. Andrews demonstrated at length that this hermeneutic is required for any consistent reading of Daniel and the Apocalypse together.

Six glorious purposes summarize the work to be accomplished within the seventy weeks of the angelic announcement. The first three address the problem of sin: to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity. Isaiah spoke of the same finished work: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4, KJV). He adds, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, KJV). The next three purposes address the gospel’s positive answer: to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Jeremiah promised the righteousness: “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:6, KJV). Paul confirms its arrival: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, KJV). The anointing pointed to the dedication of the heavenly sanctuary: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24, KJV). Of the cross’s crowning achievement it is written, “It is finished” (John 19:30, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that these six purposes are fulfilled only in the person and the priestly work of Jesus Christ.

The seventy weeks are cut off from the longer 2300-day prophecy and serve as a shorter, intersecting unit of measure. The Hebrew verb in Daniel 9:24 carries this idea of severing from a larger length. The Lord measures out times with deliberate precision: “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion” (Jeremiah 10:12, KJV). His sovereignty extends over all events: “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26, KJV). The pre-incarnate Christ Himself had moved through the centuries, and is described in our High Priest who “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15, KJV). The seventy weeks anchor the longer prophecy in calendar history. Paul speaks of God’s sovereignty over time: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans 11:36, KJV). The Apocalypse holds the same conviction: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8, KJV). The Hebrews remind us that the seasons of grace pass swiftly: “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37, KJV). Sr. White draws on this truth, writing in The Great Controversy that “The seventy weeks… were to pertain especially to the Jews…. Taking this as the starting point, there was perfect harmony in the application of all the events” (The Great Controversy, Ellen G. White, p. 410).

The pioneers harmonized this interpretation across the Reform Movement and built their entire prophetic position upon it. Uriah Smith in Daniel and the Revelation tied each phrase of Daniel 9:24 to the Messiah’s redemptive work. Hiram Edson, Crosier, and Hahn carried the sanctuary truth from Daniel 8:14 forward to its proper conclusion. The Lord had promised understanding in due season: “For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great” (Psalm 25:11, KJV). The same Psalm continues, “What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose” (Psalm 25:12, KJV). The Spirit of truth led the early Adventists carefully through these hard questions, fulfilling the promise that “the meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way” (Psalm 25:9, KJV). They joined personal prayer with deep study, mindful of the counsel, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17, KJV). They anticipated the unsealing of the prophetic word: “For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him” (1 Corinthians 15:27, KJV). They also rested in the assurance, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that these patient laborers received light because they sought truth above tradition.

The seventy-week prophecy carries lessons for the modern remnant that no chronological table can ever exhaust. The promise to the patient student remains, “Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies” (Psalm 69:16, KJV). The Lord still calls, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23, KJV). The same psalmist asks, “And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:24, KJV). The Lord invites every Bible worker to pray, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18, KJV). The promise stands, “This Book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein” (Joshua 1:8, KJV). The covenant promise undergirds the whole work: “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6, KJV). The inspired pen reminds us that the same God who counted out 490 years counts also the days of our preparation.

WHEN DID COMMANDMENT GO FORTH?

The starting point of the seventy-week prophecy lies in a specific decree to restore and to build Jerusalem. The angel had announced the trigger plainly when he spoke of the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem. Three royal decrees in this period must be examined together. The first came from Cyrus, who was raised up by the Lord: “That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid” (Isaiah 44:28, KJV). The same prophecy named the king centuries before his birth: “Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings” (Isaiah 45:1, KJV). The second decree came from Darius the Persian, recorded in Ezra: “Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon” (Ezra 6:1, KJV). His decree confirmed the temple’s rebuilding: “And let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid” (Ezra 6:3, KJV). The temple was completed: “And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king” (Ezra 6:15, KJV). Yet the city walls remained desolate. Only Artaxerxes’ seventh-year decree fulfilled the angel’s specification of restoring and building Jerusalem itself, for that monarch later authorized that “the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3, KJV) be repaired in fulness. Through inspired counsel we are told that prophecy and history agree perfectly when the right key is applied to the lock.

Artaxerxes’ decree in his seventh year, 457 BC, supplied the precise date the prophecy required for its anchor. Ezra writes, “This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given” (Ezra 7:6, KJV). The text places the journey clearly: “And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king” (Ezra 7:7, KJV). The decree is described in the same record: “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments” (Ezra 7:10, KJV). The royal letter quoted the king’s own authority: “Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time” (Ezra 7:12, KJV). The decree authorized restoration: “And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him” (Ezra 7:26, KJV). Ezra closed his account with thanks: “Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 7:27, KJV). Sr. White testifies that the seventy weeks beginning in 457 BC and ending in AD 34 form the only solid base from which the longer 2300-year prophecy may be reckoned.

Ezra 7 contains the full content of the decree, including the authority for governance, judgment, and worship at Jerusalem. The king released those who would go: “I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee” (Ezra 7:13, KJV). The mission carried inquiry and instruction in the law of God: “Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors, to enquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand” (Ezra 7:14, KJV). Royal funds attended the work: “And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counsellors have freely offered unto the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 7:15, KJV). Civic structure was authorized: “And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not” (Ezra 7:25, KJV). The king commanded fearless application of the law to his realm. The promise of supply continued to the temple: “And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure house” (Ezra 7:20, KJV). The chronicler concludes, “And let it be done diligently for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?” (Ezra 7:23, KJV). The pioneer J. N. Andrews carefully demonstrated that this seventh-year decree alone meets the prophetic specification.

Astronomical and historical data confirm 457 BC as the year Artaxerxes’ decree took effect for Ezra’s mission. The historian’s craft and the heavens themselves agree, fulfilling the testimony, “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:5, KJV). The arithmetic of the prophecy then yields AD 27 for the appearance of Messiah the Prince. The Lord had said long before, “He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God” (Psalm 98:3, KJV). Time itself answered to the divine schedule: “The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof” (Psalm 50:1, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms that prophetic reckoning never errs and that secular history is providentially preserved to demonstrate the harmony. The promise still rings, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” (Psalm 89:34, KJV). The earth itself stands witness: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1, KJV). The Almighty rules the calendar of nations: “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names” (Psalm 147:4, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the 457 BC date stands fixed by both Scripture and history, leaving the prophetic chain intact.

The angel forewarned that the street and the wall of Jerusalem would be built again in troublous times of opposition and trial. Nehemiah’s record proves this very experience, for it is written, “And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters” (Nehemiah 10:28, KJV). The opposition was real: “But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews” (Nehemiah 4:1, KJV). The threat extended to violence: “And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it” (Nehemiah 4:8, KJV). The builders responded by mingling labor with prayer, holding sword and trowel together. The narrative describes them: “They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon” (Nehemiah 4:17, KJV). Yet faith prevailed: “So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days” (Nehemiah 6:15, KJV). The pioneer writers point out that this same pattern is mirrored in every reform movement, where opposition rises in proportion to fidelity. The Lord’s promise stood firm: “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:6, KJV).

The 457 BC anchor steadies the whole prophetic chain that reaches from the first decree to the close of the great Day of Atonement. The angel had set the start: from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem. The end of seventy weeks fell in AD 34, marking the close of probation for the Jewish nation. The 2300 days then continued for an additional 1810 years, terminating in 1844. Habakkuk’s promise is therefore vindicated by literal fulfillment: “And the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever” (Micah 4:7, KJV). The remnant reads its own calling in this confirmed timeline: “For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction” (Isaiah 10:25, KJV). The Lord has fixed the times: “For the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18, KJV). The same prophet sings, “O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 136:26, KJV). The covenant of grace is still upheld: “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee” (Isaiah 54:10, KJV). The Spirit has set the seal: “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Corinthians 1:20, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the 457 BC anchor remains the safe and unmoved foundation upon which the entire investigative judgment doctrine securely rests.

WHO IS MESSIAH THE PRINCE?

The title “Messiah” means “the Anointed,” and it is filled completely by Jesus of Nazareth alone in all human history. The Hebrew Scriptures had long anticipated the Anointed: “The LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed” (1 Samuel 2:10, KJV). The psalmist wrote of His coronation: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed” (Psalm 2:2, KJV). The same psalm continues, “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Psalm 2:6, KJV); the next verse declares the divine sonship, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” (Psalm 2:7, KJV). David saw the Anointed reigning in righteousness: “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows” (Psalm 45:7, KJV). Isaiah heard the Anointed Himself speak, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek” (Isaiah 61:1, KJV). The prophetic pen leaves no doubt that this Anointed is the Christ of the gospel and the long-promised Saviour of mankind.

The 69 weeks reach precisely to AD 27, the year of Christ’s baptism and public anointing for ministry. From 457 BC, sixty-nine prophetic weeks of seven years each yield 483 years, terminating in the autumn of AD 27. Luke records the historical setting: “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee” (Luke 3:1, KJV). The same chapter introduces John’s ministry: “And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Luke 3:3, KJV). Jesus came to John and was baptized: “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened” (Luke 3:21, KJV). The Spirit descended visibly: “And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22, KJV). The age of Jesus is also given: “And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph” (Luke 3:23, KJV). Peter later summarized the moment: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” (Acts 10:38, KJV). Pioneer Uriah Smith devotes pages of Daniel and the Revelation to demonstrating that this anointing perfectly matches the close of the 69 weeks.

Christ’s anointing at Jordan was His official messianic commissioning to begin the 70th week of redemptive labor on earth. The voice from heaven was His Father’s authentication: “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, KJV). The Spirit’s descent was His enduement with power for service: “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him” (Matthew 3:16, KJV). His first public sermon claimed Isaiah’s prophecy: “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written” (Luke 4:17, KJV). He read aloud Isaiah’s announcement and added, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21, KJV). His ministry was Spirit-empowered from the start: “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about” (Luke 4:14, KJV). His own claim to messiahship was unmistakable: “The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he” (John 4:25-26, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that this anointing fulfilled the prophecy and inaugurated the gospel age in fulness.

The Hebrew prophets had sketched this anointed Saviour with such detail that no honest reader could miss the convergence. Micah named the birthplace: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2, KJV). Isaiah named the virgin birth: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, KJV). Isaiah described the Child’s titles: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6, KJV). Zechariah painted the entry into Jerusalem: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9, KJV). Malachi spoke of His sudden coming to the temple: “And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1, KJV). The same Malachi also named His forerunner: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Malachi 4:5, KJV). The pen of inspiration confirms that the prophetic threads converged unmistakably upon Jesus of Nazareth.

John the Baptist confirmed the prophetic timing publicly when he pointed his disciples to the appointed Lamb of God. He testified, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29, KJV). He bore witness without ambiguity: “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God” (John 1:34, KJV). His mission was to prepare the way: “This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me” (John 1:30, KJV). He confessed his own subordinate place: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30, KJV). His preaching insisted on practical reform: “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father” (Luke 3:8, KJV). His message reached every class: “And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none” (Luke 3:10-11, KJV). Sr. White writes of John’s role and prophetic authority across her published works, affirming that his faithful identification of Christ inaugurated the most sacred ministry the world has ever witnessed.

The pioneers of the Reform Movement grounded their identification of Christ as Messiah firmly in this seventy-week prophecy. They built their entire understanding of the harmony between the prophetic and astronomical reckoning upon the careful study of Daniel 9. Pioneer writer J. N. Andrews wrote extensively in the early Adventist papers on the chronological harmony. Uriah Smith argued the same harmony in many published volumes. Their evidence rested upon the inspired testimony itself: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10, KJV). The prophet Daniel himself was called “greatly beloved”: “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent” (Daniel 10:11, KJV). The cherubim’s announcement still rings: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11, KJV). The shepherds heard the multitude proclaim, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14, KJV). The prophetess Anna spoke of him “to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38, KJV). The aged Simeon declared, “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation” (Luke 2:30, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the same prophecy that authenticated Christ to the first generation authenticates Him still to the remnant who study its lines today.

WHY WAS MESSIAH CUT OFF?

In the midst of the seventieth week, Messiah was cut off, but not for Himself, in the supreme sacrifice of redemption. The angel had announced this with sober precision: “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:26, KJV). The prophecy then specified the central act: “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27, KJV). Three and one-half years from the autumn of AD 27 brings us to the Passover of AD 31, the very date of the crucifixion. Isaiah had foretold the cause and reason: “He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken” (Isaiah 53:8, KJV). The same prophet had foretold His grave: “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth” (Isaiah 53:9, KJV). The Hebrews remind us that this once-for-all sacrifice secured eternal redemption, for “By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:12, KJV). The same epistle teaches the inevitability of His death: “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator” (Hebrews 9:16, KJV). The cross stood at the center of Daniel’s prophecy and at the center of all human history.

The cross fulfilled the six purposes of Daniel 9:24 in one finished and unrepeatable act of divine love. By His death He finished the transgression and made an end of sins: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24, KJV). He made reconciliation for iniquity: “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20, KJV). He brought in everlasting righteousness: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4, KJV). He sealed up the vision and prophecy by validating their fulfillment: “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John” (Matthew 11:13, KJV). His resurrection inaugurated the priesthood that anointed the most Holy: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, KJV). His blood opened a new and living way: “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:20, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that no greater work was ever wrought for the salvation of mankind, and no greater theme deserves our daily reflection.

The cross brought the typical sanctuary services to fulfillment and rendered them no longer effective for the saving of souls. The Lamb of God had at last appeared, replacing every shadowy lamb at the altar of burnt offering. The lambs daily slain had pointed forward: “Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually” (Exodus 29:38, KJV). The Passover lamb had foretold the same: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats” (Exodus 12:5, KJV). The priest had ministered with blood: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11, KJV). Christ’s blood is the greater fulfillment: “For the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ” (Hebrews 9:13-14, KJV). His finished work voided every animal substitute: “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4, KJV). The earthly sanctuary system therefore drew to its proper close: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me” (Hebrews 10:5, KJV). The pioneer writers are unanimous in their affirmation that the cross terminated the typical Levitical service in a single decisive moment.

The veil of the temple was rent at His death, signaling that the typical service had been forever superseded. Matthew records the supernatural event with awe: “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent” (Matthew 27:51, KJV). The hand of God Himself had torn the curtain from above. Mark adds the same detail: “And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Mark 15:38, KJV). Luke’s witness completes the chorus: “And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst” (Luke 23:45, KJV). The Hebrews then unfolded the meaning: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19, KJV). The author urges the saints to draw near: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22, KJV). And he adds the steadying assurance, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” (Hebrews 10:23, KJV). The inspired pen reminds the believer that the rent veil signaled the decisive shift from earthly type to heavenly antitype.

Christ confirmed the covenant with many for one week, beginning in AD 27 and extending to AD 34. His personal ministry covered three and a half years and reached to AD 31. The remaining three and a half years were carried by the apostolic ministry to the Jewish nation. The disciples preached Christ first to the household of Israel: “He came unto his own, and his own received not him” (John 1:11, KJV). They obeyed Christ’s order: “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6, KJV). Yet within the apostolic preaching, the universal scope was already implicit: “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7, KJV). The stoning of Stephen marked the transition: “And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul” (Acts 7:58, KJV). Stephen’s dying prayer rang out: “And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:60, KJV). Persecution scattered the believers, and the gospel began moving outward: “And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles” (Acts 8:1, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the close of the seventy weeks marked the close of the special probation granted to the Jewish nation as a body.

The cross becomes our personal anchor and hope, drawing the praying remnant ever closer to its central truth. Paul affirmed his determined focus: “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2, KJV). He gloried in nothing else: “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14, KJV). He proclaimed without shame: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, KJV). The cross is the ground of our boldness: “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9, KJV). It is our hope of glory: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27, KJV). It is our high priestly access: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession” (Hebrews 4:14, KJV). The pen of inspiration calls the church to behold the cross daily, that the sanctuary truth and the seventy weeks may exalt the Saviour above every competing message.

WHAT COVENANT DID HE CONFIRM?

The covenant that Messiah confirmed is the everlasting covenant of grace, sealed by His blood at Calvary. The author of Hebrews names its eternity: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 13:20, KJV). The Lord had promised it through Jeremiah long before the cross: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31, KJV). He described its provisions plainly: “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33, KJV). The same chapter promises forgiveness: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34, KJV). Christ Himself spoke of this covenant on the night of His betrayal: “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28, KJV). The covenant rests on a better mediator: “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Hebrews 8:6, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that this covenant unites the believer to Christ in obedient love.

The covenant has always been the same in essence, though varying in administration through the centuries of redemption history. God promised salvation to Adam in the garden: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15, KJV). He repeated it to Abraham: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” (Genesis 22:18, KJV). He renewed it at Sinai: “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine” (Exodus 19:5, KJV). David sang of its permanence: “For he is the LORD our God: he is mindful of his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations” (1 Chronicles 16:14-15, KJV). Through Isaiah He repeated it: “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David” (Isaiah 55:3, KJV). The Galatians were taught the same continuity: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Galatians 3:16, KJV). The pioneer writer E. J. Waggoner argued in his classic studies that the gospel is everlasting because the covenant is everlasting.

The covenant rests entirely upon Christ’s finished sacrifice and is ratified by His shed blood at Calvary. The author of Hebrews lays out the principle of the mediator-testator: “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15, KJV). The same epistle declares, “For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth” (Hebrews 9:17, KJV). The pattern was foreshadowed at Sinai with sprinkled blood: “For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people” (Hebrews 9:19, KJV). The conclusion is unmistakable: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22, KJV). Christ entered His superior priesthood by His own blood: “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building” (Hebrews 9:11, KJV). His blood speaks better things: “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24, KJV). The pioneer writer A. T. Jones often pressed this same emphasis upon the Reform Movement.

Confirming the covenant means firmly establishing it, ratifying its terms, and giving it perpetual force in the conscience. Christ sealed the covenant by His personal ministry, His sacrificial death, and His resurrection. He is the very surety of the covenant: “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament” (Hebrews 7:22, KJV). His priesthood is unchangeable: “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood” (Hebrews 7:24, KJV). His perfection answers every demand of the covenant: “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26, KJV). Believers find their access through Him: “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17, KJV). His ministry is rooted in compassion: “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18, KJV). The covenant’s strength is His own faithfulness: “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the same Christ who confirmed the covenant by His blood now confirms it daily in the heart of every yielded believer.

The covenant unites Old and New Testaments seamlessly, weaving one continuous story of grace from Genesis to Revelation. The Lord declared through Jeremiah, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3, KJV). Hosea expressed the same passion: “I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them” (Hosea 11:4, KJV). The new covenant promises hearts of flesh: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26, KJV). The Spirit fulfills the law within: “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27, KJV). The Apocalypse promises eternal communion: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them” (Revelation 21:3, KJV). The covenant culminates in resurrection: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4, KJV). The pen of inspiration sees the entire Bible as a single unfolding of this covenant of love.

The remnant today must rest entirely upon this same covenant of grace and proclaim it without compromise to a perishing world. Paul affirms its sufficiency for the believer: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24, KJV). The same apostle adds, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3:25, KJV). The covenant’s conditions are met by Christ alone: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1, KJV). The believer’s standing is unshakable: “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:11, KJV). The Spirit assures the heart: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15, KJV). Nothing can separate the believer from this covenant: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come” (Romans 8:38, KJV). The pioneer writers held that this same covenant is the strength of the third angel’s message and the heart of the Reform Movement’s witness.

WHY DOES THE SANCTUARY MATTER?

The sanctuary stands at the very heart of all Bible truth and unifies the message of redemption from Eden to glory. The Lord commanded its construction in the wilderness: “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8, KJV). The pattern was given by direct revelation: “According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it” (Exodus 25:9, KJV). The mercy seat was the meeting place: “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony” (Exodus 25:22, KJV). The structure had two apartments, divided by the inner veil: “And the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy” (Exodus 26:33, KJV). The priests ministered daily: “And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it” (Exodus 30:7, KJV). The whole structure declared the divine intention to dwell with His people: “And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God” (Exodus 29:45, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the sanctuary is the central pillar of present truth.

The earthly sanctuary was an exact copy of the heavenly original revealed to Moses in the mountain. Hebrews tells us this with no ambiguity: “Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount” (Hebrews 8:5, KJV). The truer tabernacle stands above: “A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man” (Hebrews 8:2, KJV). Christ is its appointed priest: “For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer” (Hebrews 8:3, KJV). His ministry is heavenly, not earthly: “For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law” (Hebrews 8:4, KJV). The ascended Saviour was crowned in glory: “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Hebrews 8:1, KJV). The Apocalypse confirms the heavenly throne: “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament” (Revelation 11:19, KJV). Pioneer writer J. N. Loughborough emphasized that the heavenly sanctuary is no metaphor but a real location and ministry.

The Day of Atonement typified the investigative judgment, the closing work of Christ’s high-priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. Leviticus describes the day in solemn language: “For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD” (Leviticus 16:30, KJV). The ritual centered upon the Most Holy Place: “And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar” (Leviticus 16:33, KJV). The blood was applied to the mercy seat: “And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel” (Leviticus 16:19, KJV). It was a yearly statute: “And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year” (Leviticus 16:34, KJV). The day required strict afflicting of soul: “It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever” (Leviticus 16:31, KJV). Those who failed to participate were cut off: “For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people” (Leviticus 23:29, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the antitypical day of atonement began in 1844 and continues yet.

In the autumn of 1844 the heavenly sanctuary began to be cleansed, fulfilling Daniel 8:14 with prophetic exactness. The 2300 days had reached their close. The pioneers, having endured the disappointment, searched the Scriptures and were led to the truth. The Lord had encouraged Daniel’s longing: “O Daniel, fear not: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard” (Daniel 10:12, KJV). The same chapter records: “Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia” (Daniel 10:20, KJV). The Ancient of days appeared in vision: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire” (Daniel 7:9, KJV). The court was assembled: “The judgment was set, and the books were opened” (Daniel 7:10, KJV). One like the Son of man approached: “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” (Daniel 7:13, KJV). To Him was given everlasting dominion: “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” (Daniel 7:14, KJV). The pioneers received the truth of Christ’s entrance to the Most Holy as the great key to all that followed.

The investigative judgment vindicates God before the universe and clears the names of those who have trusted in Christ. The Apocalypse records the heavenly proclamation: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6, KJV). The angel’s announcement is solemn: “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” (Revelation 14:7, KJV). The judgment works in perfect harmony with mercy: “He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion” (Psalm 111:4, KJV). His works are reliable: “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure” (Psalm 111:7, KJV). His covenant stands firm: “He hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name” (Psalm 111:9, KJV). Solomon affirms the principle: “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14, KJV). The pioneer writers wove this truth into the very fabric of the Reform Movement’s three angels’ message.

The remnant today must love the sanctuary truth as the lifeline that anchors hope and integrity in the closing crisis. The high priest still ministers, ever living to make intercession for those that come unto God by Him. He shall appear the second time without sin: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28, KJV). The believer is encouraged to draw near: “Having an high priest over the house of God” (Hebrews 10:21, KJV). The promise of confidence stands: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward” (Hebrews 10:35, KJV). Patience is required: “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:36, KJV). The just live by faith: “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38, KJV). The believer presses on with full assurance: “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the sanctuary in heaven, with its ministering High Priest, is the great anchor of God’s last-day people.

WHAT MAKES SIN SO DESOLATING?

Sin is the transgression of God’s holy and unchangeable law, which expresses His perfect character of love. John defines it precisely: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4, KJV). The apostle adds, “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin” (1 John 3:5, KJV). Paul confirms the same definition: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7, KJV). The law is holy in every requirement: “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12, KJV). The same apostle declares the law’s spiritual nature: “For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin” (Romans 7:14, KJV). The psalmist sang of its perfection: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7, KJV). Sin is therefore not a matter of cultural taste but of cosmic rebellion against the Creator’s will. Through inspired counsel we are told that sin is the great desolator and the ruin of every soul who clings to it.

Sin separates the soul from God and erects a wall between heaven’s mercy and the human heart. The diagnosis stands clear: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, KJV). The same apostle explains its wages: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23, KJV). Sin entered through Adam: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12, KJV). It rules where it is allowed: “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21, KJV). Sin enslaves: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (John 8:34, KJV). Sin blinds: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4, KJV). The pen of inspiration testifies repeatedly that nothing else has wrought such desolation in human experience.

The desolation of Jerusalem in Daniel’s day reflects the larger devastation that sin produces in every nation, family, and soul. The prophet Jeremiah described the city in mourning: “Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission” (Lamentations 3:49, KJV). He had said earlier, “My liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people” (Lamentations 2:11, KJV). The cause was clear: “For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom” (Lamentations 4:6, KJV). Joel testified to a similar agricultural ruin: “That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten” (Joel 1:4, KJV). The same prophet called for fasting: “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD” (Joel 1:14, KJV). Yet the Lord promised restoration: “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25, KJV). The pioneers saw in such desolations a reminder that sin’s wages are real, but that grace can rebuild even the most ruined heart.

Sin defies the sanctuary system itself by despising the very provision God has made for atonement. Hebrews warns of trampling Christ underfoot: “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29, KJV). The willful sinner has no further sacrifice: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26, KJV). What remains is only judgment: “But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:27, KJV). The same epistle warns against falling into the hands of God: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31, KJV). Esau’s profane example warns the saints: “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright” (Hebrews 12:16, KJV). His remorse came too late: “For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears” (Hebrews 12:17, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that sin’s hardening progress can quench the Spirit’s voice altogether.

Yet grace abounds where sin abounded, and the gospel meets every desolation with restoring love. Paul declares the principle: “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20, KJV). The gospel extends to the chief of sinners: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15, KJV). Christ came for the very purpose: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10, KJV). The Lord is patient: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, KJV). The invitation remains open: “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17, KJV). The Spirit pleads with every conscience: “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms that no soul has ever turned from sin to Christ and been refused, and no penitent has ever knocked at heaven’s door in vain.

The remnant must hate sin as God hates it and forsake it as Daniel forsook the iniquities of his fathers in his prayer. Solomon counsels, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate” (Proverbs 8:13, KJV). The Lord declares His own hatred: “For I, the LORD, love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering” (Isaiah 61:8, KJV). Paul commands a clean break: “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good” (Romans 12:9, KJV). The believer must put off the old: “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22, KJV). And put on the new: “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24, KJV). The believer must mortify earthly desires: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that no half-hearted attachment to sin can survive in the heart of one who would stand in the great day of His coming.

HOW DOES MERCY MEET JUDGMENT?

At the cross of Christ, mercy and judgment met in perfect and eternal harmony, and the universe beheld a settled answer to sin. The psalmist had foreseen the meeting: “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10, KJV). The same Psalm continues, “Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven” (Psalm 85:11, KJV). The cross satisfied the demands of the law: “That he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26, KJV). Justice was honored, and mercy was magnified at the same moment. The cross became the center of universal interest: “And, having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15, KJV). The cross dethroned the prince of this world: “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31, KJV). It exalted the Saviour over every foe: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the cross is the only place where mercy and judgment may meet without conflict.

God’s character is the eternal union of love and law, mercy and justice, in one undivided perfection of being. John declares Him love itself: “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:8, KJV). The same apostle adds, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9, KJV). And again, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10, KJV). The Lord proclaimed His own name to Moses: “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6, KJV). Yet the same name continues, “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:7, KJV). David sang of the union: “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 118:1, KJV). Pioneer writer A. T. Jones often preached upon the harmony of every divine attribute in Christ.

God’s judgments are always true and righteous, never harsh or unjust, even when they fall heavily upon obstinate sin. The Apocalypse confirms the verdict: “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments” (Revelation 16:7, KJV). Paul adds his own awe: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33, KJV). The psalmist sang the same: “Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments” (Psalm 119:137, KJV). Solomon affirms, “Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD” (Proverbs 29:26, KJV). The same theme runs through Nehemiah’s prayer, which acknowledges that God’s covenant with Abraham was founded on a faithful heart: “And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites” (Nehemiah 9:8, KJV). The Lord is righteous in all His ways: “The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works” (Psalm 145:17, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that no one will be saved or lost without an unshakable, righteous verdict.

Mercy gives time for repentance, and divine longsuffering postpones judgment that the wicked may turn and live. The Lord declares His preference: “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23, KJV). And again He insists, “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye” (Ezekiel 18:32, KJV). The longsuffering of God before the Flood is the great example: “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:3, KJV). Peter recalls it: “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing” (1 Peter 3:20, KJV). The Lord’s mercy is great: “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him” (Psalm 103:11, KJV). Thus David sang, “For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14, KJV). Sr. White writes throughout her standard works that the time still granted to mankind is the gift of unmerited mercy.

Probation closes when mercy is despised, and judgment then falls upon those who refuse the appointed way of escape. The Lord warned through Solomon, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Proverbs 29:1, KJV). The seven last plagues fall upon those who refuse: “And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles” (Revelation 15:6, KJV). The temple is filled with smoke: “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled” (Revelation 15:8, KJV). The first vial is poured: “And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image” (Revelation 16:2, KJV). Paul warns that today is the only day: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2, KJV). Hebrews echoes the urgency: “To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that probation’s close is irrevocable, and no plea will then avail.

The remnant must plead mercy upon their knees and walk in righteousness in the open day, joining Daniel’s pattern. The psalmist sings of the Lord’s everlasting goodness, calling every generation to thankful praise. He prays, “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee” (Psalm 86:5, KJV). David seeks renewal: “Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy” (Psalm 86:1, KJV). The Lord delights in showing mercy: “For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks” (Psalm 18:27, KJV). The promise stands ever: “O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 136:2, KJV). The Lord’s faithful love rules in covenant: “Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 136:23, KJV). The redeemed sing: “And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 136:24, KJV). The pen of inspiration calls every soul to plead mercy and forsake all evil, that the same compassion that answered Daniel may now answer them.

WHEN HABAKKUK CRIED, WHO HEARD?

Habakkuk cried out against the violence of Judah and the apparent silence of God in the face of national sin. He opened with a complaint: “O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!” (Habakkuk 1:2, KJV). He charged the times with corruption: “Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention” (Habakkuk 1:3, KJV). The law had become slack: “Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth” (Habakkuk 1:4, KJV). The prophet asked the Lord plain questions and waited: “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved” (Habakkuk 2:1, KJV). The Lord answered with a vision and a promise: “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14, KJV). The Lord called every nation to silence: “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20, KJV). The pioneer commentators saw in Habakkuk’s prayer a parallel to the prayers of every later reformer.

The vision given to Habakkuk was for an appointed time, even when present trouble seemed to delay heaven’s reply. The Lord told him to write the vision on tablets that the runner might read it. He bade him wait for the fulfillment, with the assurance the time would surely come. The same prophet sang in his closing prayer: “O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2, KJV). He recalled the divine majesty: “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise” (Habakkuk 3:3, KJV). The earth trembled at His presence: “He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting” (Habakkuk 3:6, KJV). Yet faith remained the prophet’s posture: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat” (Habakkuk 3:17, KJV). And he triumphed: “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Habakkuk 3:18, KJV). The Lord became his strength: “The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places” (Habakkuk 3:19, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the same God who answered Habakkuk answers the praying remnant today.

Habakkuk and Daniel are kindred souls in prophetic prayer, both interceding when the wicked seemed to triumph and the righteous to languish. They each grieved over the chastening of the people. They each sought the Lord’s mercy through honest confession. The psalmist captures the same grief: “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?” (Psalm 42:3, KJV). The same psalmist hopes again: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance” (Psalm 42:5, KJV). David sought refuge in remembrance: “Therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar” (Psalm 42:6, KJV). He pleaded: “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles” (Psalm 43:3, KJV). The Lord became his exceeding joy: “Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God” (Psalm 43:4, KJV). His soul still pants for God: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God” (Psalm 42:1, KJV). The pioneer writers held that this same earnestness must mark the praying remnant in every generation. The same hunger to see God act on behalf of His people unites Habakkuk, Daniel, and every faithful soul in the closing days.

God’s silence is never neglect, only providential timing on the part of the all-wise Father of lights. Job learned this in extremity: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him” (Job 13:15, KJV). His confidence rested upon ultimate vindication: “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25, KJV). David was sustained by the same principle: “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1, KJV). And again, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings” (Psalm 40:2, KJV). The psalmist meditated on the Lord’s mercy: “Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD” (Psalm 40:3, KJV). His longings were known above: “Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee” (Psalm 38:9, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that no prayer is ever wasted, no tear is ever forgotten, and no sigh of the saint is unheeded by heaven.

Habakkuk’s faith principle is the gospel of every age, the immovable ground of the believer’s life with God. The verse stands as the cornerstone: “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4, KJV). The Lord rebukes proud self-confidence and exalts humble dependence. Paul cites this very text three times in the New Testament: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17, KJV). The Galatians read the same truth: “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11, KJV). Faith is then defined: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, KJV). And it is foundational: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, KJV). Paul writes that righteousness comes by believing: “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5, KJV). The pioneer writer E. J. Waggoner pressed this principle of justification by faith with great clarity in the late 1880s.

The Reform Movement is built upon this same justifying faith and proclaims it as the everlasting gospel of the third angel. Paul defines the work of faith: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6, KJV). The same epistle exalts the cross: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20, KJV). The believer’s standing rests in faith: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16, KJV). The Apocalypse names this same faith in the description of the remnant: “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, KJV). The Lord declares of His soon return, “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (Revelation 22:7, KJV). The Lord gives the same charge: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that this living faith is the very heartbeat of the Reform Movement’s witness.

CAN THE JUST LIVE BY FAITH?

Faith is more than mental assent to historical truth, for it is the active surrender of the heart to a living Saviour. James warns that mere belief is not enough: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19, KJV). The same apostle adds, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20, KJV). True faith works: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?” (James 2:21, KJV). Faith and works are joined: “Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” (James 2:22, KJV). Abraham’s faith was reckoned for righteousness: “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God” (James 2:23, KJV). The conclusion follows: “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James 2:24, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the faith that does not change the life has not yet reached the place where Christ alone can dwell.

Faith trusts God through every trial and walks in obedience even when reason cannot trace His hand. Abraham’s whole life illustrates the principle: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8, KJV). Sarah’s faith was rewarded: “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11, KJV). Moses chose suffering with God’s people: “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25, KJV). He esteemed the reproach of Christ: “Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward” (Hebrews 11:26, KJV). The walls of Jericho fell by faith: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days” (Hebrews 11:30, KJV). Rahab’s faith saved her: “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace” (Hebrews 11:31, KJV). The pioneer writers held up these examples as the pattern of every believer’s pilgrimage.

Faith receives the promises of God and clings to them when circumstances seem to contradict their fulfillment. Paul reminds the Romans of Abraham’s tested faith: “Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be” (Romans 4:18, KJV). His body and Sarah’s were beyond natural strength: “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb” (Romans 4:19, KJV). He never wavered: “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:20, KJV). He was fully persuaded: “And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform” (Romans 4:21, KJV). Therefore his faith was counted: “And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:22, KJV). The promise extends to all believers: “Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him” (Romans 4:23, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the believer’s faith finds in every promise of God a sufficient anchor for the soul.

Faith is itself the gift of God, given through the gospel and nurtured by His Spirit in every yielded heart. Paul writes, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8, KJV). The same apostle adds, “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9, KJV). The believer is God’s workmanship: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, KJV). Faith comes through hearing: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17, KJV). The Spirit applies the truth: “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20, KJV). And again, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, KJV). The pioneer writer A. T. Jones argued that faith itself, like every other gift of grace, has Christ for its origin and Christ for its object.

Faith and obedience are inseparable, for true faith always produces fruit and never remains dormant in the heart. Paul speaks of the obedience of faith: “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name” (Romans 1:5, KJV). The Lord requires obedience: “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9, KJV). True love expresses itself in keeping His commandments: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15, KJV). The Saviour adds, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21, KJV). Christ Himself was an example: “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8, KJV). Peter writes of Christians as the elect: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that no one can claim to live by faith who refuses to walk in the obedience that faith always produces.

Faith is the victory that overcomes the world, and the saints triumph by clinging steadfastly to the Saviour through every trial. John testifies, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4, KJV). The same apostle defines the overcomer: “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5, KJV). The Saviour speaks to every overcoming saint: “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10, KJV). The promise is to him that overcometh: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7, KJV). And again: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life” (Revelation 3:5, KJV). The Lord calls the church to victory: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms repeatedly that no enemy can prevail against the soul that lives by such faith.

WHY REJECT HUMAN MERIT?

Salvation is by grace alone and never rests upon the merit of human achievement, ceremony, or character. Paul lays the foundation of the gospel: “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith” (Romans 3:27, KJV). The same apostle adds the conclusion: “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28, KJV). To Titus he writes plainly: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5, KJV). Paul refuses to frustrate grace: “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Galatians 2:21, KJV). His own ambition was not personal righteousness: “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3:9, KJV). Grace and works are incompatible foundations: “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace” (Romans 11:6, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the believer must lay every claim of human goodness in the dust before the cross of Christ.

All human righteousness is corrupted by sin and falls infinitely short of the divine standard. Isaiah confesses for the whole nation: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6, KJV). Jeremiah diagnoses the human heart: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV). Solomon confirms the universal verdict: “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20, KJV). The psalmist had said the same: “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3, KJV). Paul gathers the testimony of Scripture: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10, KJV). And again: “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips” (Romans 3:13, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms that no soul will ever see heaven on the strength of personal goodness, however refined or earnest.

Self-righteousness is the great deceiver and the deadliest enemy of the gospel in every age. Christ exposed it through the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee prayed boastfully: “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican” (Luke 18:11, KJV). The publican’s prayer was very different: “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13, KJV). The Saviour gave the verdict: “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:14, KJV). Isaiah warns of self-deception: “Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day” (Isaiah 65:5, KJV). Solomon names it bluntly: “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness” (Proverbs 30:12, KJV). Paul lamented his nation’s loss: “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:3, KJV). The pioneer writers held that self-righteousness, more than any other sin, has emptied the church of its power.

Christ alone is the believer’s righteousness, perfect, imputed, imparted, and sufficient for every demand of the law. Paul teaches the Corinthians: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30, KJV). His own ambition was singular: “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Philippians 3:8, KJV). The apostle declares the foundation of the believer’s standing: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19, KJV). Paul applies the same truth: “But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:24, KJV). The resurrection sealed the work: “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25, KJV). The believer is accepted in the Beloved: “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that nothing less than Christ Himself, made unto us righteousness, will avail in the great day of His appearing.

Faith excludes all boasting and lays the soul empty before the throne of mercy. Paul shows that even Abraham had no ground for self-glory: “For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God” (Romans 4:2, KJV). The patriarch’s standing rested on belief: “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3, KJV). His standing was not earned but reckoned: “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt” (Romans 4:4, KJV). Those who seek to be justified by works fall from grace: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4, KJV). There is no other Saviour: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, KJV). The Lord guards His own glory: “That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:29, KJV). The pioneer writer E. J. Waggoner exposed the legal fiction of self-justification with a clarity that has marked the Reform Movement ever since.

The remnant rests entirely in the imputed righteousness of Christ and refuses every other foundation. Paul writes that Christ has redeemed us from the curse: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Galatians 3:13, KJV). The blessing of Abraham extends to the believer: “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14, KJV). Scripture has shut up all under sin: “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Galatians 3:22, KJV). The law became a tutor leading to Christ: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24, KJV). The believer becomes a new creature: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV). The Spirit’s fruit is the evidence: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith” (Galatians 5:22, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the righteousness of Christ, received by faith and lived by His Spirit, is the only garment that will fit the saint at the marriage of the Lamb.

WHO STANDS LIKE DANIEL TODAY?

Daniel is the abiding pattern of faithful witness in Babylon and the prototype of the closing remnant. The prophet’s character is named in heaven: “Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness” (Ezekiel 14:20, KJV). The Lord praises his integrity: “Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee” (Ezekiel 28:3, KJV). His resolve from youth was firm: “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8, KJV). The Lord gave him favor: “Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs” (Daniel 1:9, KJV). The result was conspicuous: “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17, KJV). His standing was confirmed: “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm” (Daniel 1:20, KJV). The pen of inspiration calls every Adventist to imitate Daniel’s quiet, unwavering loyalty in the modern Babylon.

Daniel feared God more than men, more than Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace and more than Darius’s lions’ den. When the writing of Cyrus’s later law forbade prayer, his answer was not silence but constancy. The narrative is plain: “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10, KJV). His enemies were waiting: “Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God” (Daniel 6:11, KJV). The king was distressed: “Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him” (Daniel 6:14, KJV). The decree was executed: “Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee” (Daniel 6:16, KJV). The deliverance was complete: “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, I have done no hurt” (Daniel 6:22, KJV). The result was a public testimony: “I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever” (Daniel 6:26, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the closing remnant will face such tests and find a similar deliverance from heaven.

The three Hebrews kept the faith in the furnace and showed the world a courage drawn from the throne of God. The image was set up: “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon” (Daniel 3:1, KJV). The decree commanded all to worship: “That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up” (Daniel 3:5, KJV). The threat was death by fire: “And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:6, KJV). Their answer was peerless: “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king” (Daniel 3:17, KJV). They added the supreme clause of faith: “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:18, KJV). The Son of God walked with them: “Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:25, KJV). The pioneer commentators saw in this a foreshadowing of the saints’ victory under the threatened death decree.

The closing remnant will be tested similarly when image-worship and a death decree once more confront the people of God. The Apocalypse describes the second beast: “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed” (Revelation 13:15, KJV). The mark is enforced commercially: “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:17, KJV). The number is identified: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six” (Revelation 13:18, KJV). The third angel’s solemn warning is heard: “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand” (Revelation 14:9, KJV). The warning continues: “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb” (Revelation 14:10, KJV). The patience of the saints is then revealed amid the smoke of torment: “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Revelation 14:11, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the very issues that confronted the three Hebrews and Daniel will confront the saints again at the close.

Faithfulness in small things prepares the soul for the great trials of the closing crisis. The Saviour declared the principle: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10, KJV). He continued: “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” (Luke 16:11, KJV). And again: “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” (Luke 16:12, KJV). The parable of the talents teaches the same: “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21, KJV). The unfaithful servant met a different verdict: “Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed” (Matthew 25:26, KJV). The Saviour adds, “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath” (Matthew 25:29, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms that no soul will be ready for the death decree who has not been faithful in private prayer, daily duty, and quiet integrity.

Daniel’s example calls every Adventist to a similar fidelity in private devotion, public testimony, and bodily discipline. He prayed morning, noon, and evening throughout his long life. He searched the Scriptures with diligent reverence. He refused the king’s defiling food and chose the simpler diet. He honored the Lord in every secret thought and every public deed. The psalmist sings the principle: “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart” (Psalm 119:2, KJV). And he adds: “They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways” (Psalm 119:3, KJV). The same psalmist writes: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9, KJV). And he resolves: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11, KJV). He commits the way: “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments” (Psalm 119:10, KJV). And he loves the law: “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97, KJV). The pioneer writer S. N. Haskell counseled the church to study the book of Daniel until its principles were inwrought into the very fiber of the soul.

WHAT IS THE SEAL OF GOD?

The seal of God is the divine sign of His authority over the saints, distinguishing them as His own peculiar people. The Apocalypse describes the sealing work: “And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea” (Revelation 7:2, KJV). The command halts judgment: “Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads” (Revelation 7:3, KJV). The number of the sealed is given: “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel” (Revelation 7:4, KJV). The Lamb stands with them on Mount Zion: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1, KJV). They are without guile: “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God” (Revelation 14:5, KJV). They follow the Lamb everywhere: “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Revelation 14:4, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the seal of God includes both an outward sign and an inward work, a sealed character and a Sabbath rest.

A legal seal must contain three identifying marks: the name of the lawgiver, his title, and the territory of his rule. Only the fourth commandment supplies these in the heart of the Decalogue. The commandment reads: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8, KJV). It continues: “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work” (Exodus 20:9, KJV). It identifies the lawgiver: “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates” (Exodus 20:10, KJV). It states the title and territory: “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:11, KJV). Only the Creator may give such a sign: “For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:18, KJV). The Sabbath was made for man: “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27, KJV). The pioneer writer J. N. Andrews demonstrated with overwhelming Scripture and history that the Sabbath alone bears the threefold seal of the divine name.

The Sabbath has been the sign of God’s covenant with His people from creation onward, and remains the seal in the closing crisis. Genesis records the original institution: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (Genesis 2:1, KJV). The Lord rested: “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made” (Genesis 2:2, KJV). The day was sanctified at creation: “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:3, KJV). It was given as a sign at Sinai: “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant” (Exodus 31:16, KJV). The same statute affirms: “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:17, KJV). It will continue in the new earth: “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain” (Isaiah 66:22, KJV). The pen of inspiration teaches that this same Sabbath is the seal of the living God in the closing message.

The Sabbath issue is the testing truth at the close, distinguishing the people of God from the worshipers of the beast. The third angel’s warning concerns this very controversy. The Lord declared through Ezekiel: “Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them” (Ezekiel 20:12, KJV). The same prophet repeats: “And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God” (Ezekiel 20:20, KJV). Israel was to call the Sabbath a delight: “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words” (Isaiah 58:13, KJV). The promise to the obedient is great: “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah 58:14, KJV). The man who keeps the Sabbath is blessed: “Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil” (Isaiah 56:2, KJV). The strangers who join shall not be excluded: “Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant” (Isaiah 56:6, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the seventh-day Sabbath will be the great testing point in the final controversy.

The seal of God is also the inward work of the Spirit, settling the saints into the truth so that they cannot be moved. Paul names the Spirit’s witness: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13, KJV). The Spirit is the earnest: “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:14, KJV). The same apostle warns against grieving Him: “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30, KJV). Christ Himself was sealed: “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed” (John 6:27, KJV). The Spirit assures: “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God” (2 Corinthians 1:21, KJV). And the same passage continues: “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22, KJV). The pioneer writers held that the outward seal of the Sabbath and the inward seal of the Spirit are one work in the heart of the consecrated believer.

The remnant must be sealed before probation closes, and the work of preparation must not be deferred. The seal is given before the four winds are loosed: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree” (Revelation 7:1, KJV). The Lord declared through Malachi: “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name” (Malachi 3:16, KJV). The book records every faithful name: “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him” (Malachi 3:17, KJV). Then will be seen the difference: “Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not” (Malachi 3:18, KJV). The Lord remembers His own: “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall” (Malachi 4:2, KJV). The book of remembrance gathers all: “Whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms that the sealing work is now in progress and that no saint should rest until the Spirit’s witness is settled within.

WHO ARE THE 144,000?

The 144,000 are the firstfruits of the closing harvest, the saints who pass through the time of trouble without seeing death. The Apocalypse names them: “And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth” (Revelation 14:3, KJV). The harvest of the earth is then ripe: “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” (Revelation 14:14, KJV). The angel cries to the harvester: “And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe” (Revelation 14:15, KJV). The reaping then occurs: “And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped” (Revelation 14:16, KJV). The same chapter closes with the vintage: “And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God” (Revelation 14:19, KJV). The angel calls forth the harvester: “And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe” (Revelation 14:18, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the 144,000 are gathered out of the great body of professed believers as the wheat is separated from the tares.

The 144,000 have the Father’s name written in their foreheads, the seal of God’s character imprinted on heart and life. They are the company of overcomers: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (Revelation 21:7, KJV). They are the citizens of the Holy City: “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:10, KJV). The city has twelve foundations: “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:14, KJV). The light of the city is the Lamb: “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (Revelation 21:23, KJV). They serve and reign: “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5, KJV). They drink of the river: “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1, KJV). The pioneer writer Uriah Smith taught that the 144,000 represent a literal, distinct company sealed in this final generation.

The 144,000 come out of the great tribulation having washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. The great multitude is described in companion vision: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands” (Revelation 7:9, KJV). They cry with a loud voice: “And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” (Revelation 7:10, KJV). The elder explains: “And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14, KJV). They serve before the throne day and night: “Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them” (Revelation 7:15, KJV). They suffer no want: “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat” (Revelation 7:16, KJV). The Lamb feeds them: “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelation 7:17, KJV). The pen of inspiration teaches that the great multitude and the 144,000 together comprise the redeemed of all ages, but that the 144,000 are specifically the last generation translated without seeing death.

Their character is reflected in faithful integrity, in the absence of guile, and in unwavering devotion to the Lamb. Zephaniah’s prophecy describes such a remnant: “The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid” (Zephaniah 3:13, KJV). The Lord rejoices over them: “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17, KJV). They are gathered as choice grain: “At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD” (Zephaniah 3:20, KJV). Their lives reflect the Bridegroom’s purity: “For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called” (Isaiah 54:5, KJV). They wear the garment of salvation: “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10, KJV). And the Lord covenants their continuance: “For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations” (Isaiah 61:11, KJV). The pioneer writer S. N. Haskell taught that the 144,000 will reflect the very image of Jesus by the time the latter rain falls.

The 144,000 sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb, the great victory anthem of the redeemed. The Apocalypse describes the scene: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God” (Revelation 15:2, KJV). They sing the song with rapture: “And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints” (Revelation 15:3, KJV). They glorify His holiness: “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest” (Revelation 15:4, KJV). The original song of Moses celebrates deliverance: “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Exodus 15:2, KJV). And again: “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11, KJV). And: “Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation” (Exodus 15:13, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that this song will arise spontaneously from the lips of those who have lived through the time of trouble and seen the Lamb in His glory.

The remnant aspires to be among this number, not for personal exaltation but for the privilege of standing with the Lamb. The Apocalypse describes the saints’ final position: “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27, KJV). The throne is the great center: “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him” (Revelation 22:3, KJV). The redeemed see His face: “And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4, KJV). The Saviour declares Himself the bright and morning star: “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and the morning star” (Revelation 22:16, KJV). The promise of reward stands firm: “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12, KJV). The closing call rings out: “Blessed 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” (Revelation 22:14, KJV). The pen of inspiration calls every reader to make haste, lest he be found at last among those who hear the words, “I never knew you.”

HOW DOES LOVE DISCIPLINE US?

God disciplines those whom He loves, training His children through trial that they may share in His holiness. The Hebrews letter sets forth the principle: “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him” (Hebrews 12:5, KJV). The author continues: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Hebrews 12:6, KJV). Endurance is the path of true sonship: “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” (Hebrews 12:7, KJV). The fatherless are those without correction: “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (Hebrews 12:8, KJV). The result is the holiness of God: “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10, KJV). The harvest follows: “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that every trial sent by heaven is a measured stroke of love designed to perfect the believer’s character.

Israel’s seventy years of captivity was itself a discipline of love, designed to wean the nation from idolatry and restore covenant faithfulness. The Lord had warned through Moses long before: “And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee” (Deuteronomy 30:1, KJV). The Lord had promised restoration: “And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul” (Deuteronomy 30:2, KJV). The Lord pledges to circumcise the heart: “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live” (Deuteronomy 30:6, KJV). Solomon had foreseen the captivity in his temple prayer: “If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near” (1 Kings 8:46, KJV). He prayed for restoration on confession: “Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness” (1 Kings 8:47, KJV). And he asked the Lord to hear: “Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause” (1 Kings 8:49, KJV). The pen of inspiration teaches that the same Lord who sent the chastening of the seventy years sends every chastening of the saints with mercy in His hand.

The fiery trial proves the genuineness of faith and refines the believer as silver in the furnace. Peter writes to the persecuted: “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations” (1 Peter 1:6, KJV). The trial reveals the precious metal: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7, KJV). The believer rejoices: “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8, KJV). The end of faith follows: “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:9, KJV). The same apostle adds, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (1 Peter 4:12, KJV). And he counsels rejoicing: “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:13, KJV). The pioneer writers held that the closing time of trouble is the fiery trial that prepares the saints for translation.

Job’s example reveals the discipline of suffering and the Lord’s hidden hand of love behind every painful providence. The patriarch’s faith remained: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21, KJV). He refused to charge God foolishly: “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:22, KJV). His wife’s counsel did not break him: “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die” (Job 2:9, KJV). His answer was steadfast: “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10, KJV). His faith deepened in trial: “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10, KJV). The Lord’s hand was always upon him: “My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined” (Job 23:11, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms that no soul is ever permitted to suffer needlessly, and every tear of the saint is recorded in heaven’s book.

Paul learned contentment in every trial and counted his afflictions but light when measured against eternal glory. The apostle’s testimony rings out: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11, KJV). He had known both extremes: “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:12, KJV). His secret was strength in Christ: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13, KJV). His confidence rested in heavenly accounting: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18, KJV). He counted his afflictions light: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17, KJV). His gaze was fixed beyond the visible: “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the believer who learns Paul’s lesson will pass through the time of trouble singing.

The remnant must welcome divine correction as the proof of sonship and the means of preparation for translation. The Lord’s method is gentle: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19, KJV). The invitation follows: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20, KJV). The Saviour’s counsel to Laodicea is plain: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17, KJV). His remedy is offered: “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see” (Revelation 3:18, KJV). The promise to overcomers stands: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:22, KJV). And the Saviour’s earlier word remains: “I know thy works” (Revelation 3:15, KJV). The pioneer writers wrote much of the Laodicean condition and the necessity of welcoming the True Witness’s reproof.

WHY DOES GOD STILL WAIT?

The Lord delays His return out of mercy, that none should perish but that all should come to repentance. Peter answers the scoffers of every age: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts” (2 Peter 3:3, KJV). The scoffers question: “And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:4, KJV). They forget the flood: “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water” (2 Peter 3:5, KJV). The world that was is overflowed: “Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (2 Peter 3:6, KJV). The present heavens and earth are reserved: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7, KJV). The day of the Lord will surely come: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are in it shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the delay is not slackness but the longsuffering of love.

God’s longsuffering reaches all generations, calling sinners to repentance through every age and dispensation. Paul writes to the Romans: “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, KJV). The hardened heart treasures up wrath: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5, KJV). The Lord rewards each according to his deeds: “Who will render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6, KJV). The righteous receive eternal life: “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life” (Romans 2:7, KJV). The unrighteous receive their portion: “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath” (Romans 2:8, KJV). God shows no partiality: “For there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms that every soul has been given opportunity, and the Lord delays only that more might enter the ark of safety.

The bridegroom tarried while the ten virgins slept, and the parable warns the church of every age. The Saviour told it plainly: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom” (Matthew 25:1, KJV). Their character differed: “And five of them were wise, and five were foolish” (Matthew 25:2, KJV). The foolish lacked oil: “They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them” (Matthew 25:3, KJV). The wise were prepared: “But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps” (Matthew 25:4, KJV). The bridegroom delayed: “While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept” (Matthew 25:5, KJV). The midnight cry awoke them: “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6, KJV). Pioneer writer J. N. Loughborough taught that the tarrying of the bridegroom corresponds to the disappointment of 1844 and the call to a deeper preparation that followed.

The harvest principle requires patient waiting, for grain ripens slowly under the providential dews of heaven. James counsels: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain” (James 5:7, KJV). Believers are to settle their hearts: “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:8, KJV). They are not to grumble: “Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door” (James 5:9, KJV). The prophets are examples of patience: “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience” (James 5:10, KJV). Endurance is blessed: “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11, KJV). And again: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the latter rain will fall when the saints are ripened in Christlike character, and not a moment before.

The everlasting gospel must reach every nation, kindred, and tongue before the end can come. The Saviour said it on Olivet: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14, KJV). The same chapter speaks of false christs: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24, KJV). The signs would surround the close: “For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (Matthew 24:28, KJV). The heavenly signs follow: “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” (Matthew 24:29, KJV). Then the sign of the Son of man appears: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30, KJV). The angels gather the elect: “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31, KJV). Pioneer writer J. N. Andrews labored across continents to fulfill this very mission of the third angel.

The remnant hastens the day by holy living, by faithful witness, and by earnest intercession in the Spirit. Peter exhorts the believers: “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Peter 3:11, KJV). They look for and hasten the day: “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:12, KJV). The new creation is the believer’s hope: “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13, KJV). They are to be diligent: “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (2 Peter 3:14, KJV). They count the longsuffering as salvation: “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you” (2 Peter 3:15, KJV). They grow in grace: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms that the church may by holy living abbreviate the long delay and bring nearer the morning.

WHAT MUST WE DO NOW?

The first work for every soul is humble repentance and honest confession of every cherished sin. The Saviour’s first message was simple: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17, KJV). The Lord spoke through Hosea: “Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips” (Hosea 14:2, KJV). The Lord promises to heal: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4, KJV). The believer is to forsake the way of the wicked: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7, KJV). The Lord’s thoughts are higher: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8, KJV). His word accomplishes: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that genuine repentance is wrought by the Spirit and produces a changed life.

The believer must give himself to earnest prayer in private, in the family, and in the congregation. The psalmist directs the heart: “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8, KJV). And again: “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation” (Psalm 62:1, KJV). The same psalmist sings: “He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved” (Psalm 62:2, KJV). The Lord delights in the upright prayer: “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God” (Psalm 62:7, KJV). The believer must wait silently: “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him” (Psalm 62:5, KJV). Power belongs to God: “Power belongeth unto God” (Psalm 62:11, KJV). The pen of inspiration affirms that the prayer of faith finds an open audience-chamber in the heavens.

The believer must search the Scriptures daily, comparing line upon line and storing the word in the heart. The Saviour declared their authority: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39, KJV). The Bereans were commended: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11, KJV). Paul charged Timothy: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). The Scriptures are inspired throughout: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16, KJV). They equip the believer fully: “That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17, KJV). The same epistle warns of departing teachers: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3, KJV). The pioneer writer S. N. Haskell would walk for miles in his old age to share the printed page with hungry souls.

The believer must keep all the commandments of God, including the seventh-day Sabbath, with cheerful obedience. John defines love: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3, KJV). Solomon concludes: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, KJV). Moses urged the same loyalty: “For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off” (Deuteronomy 30:11, KJV). The Lord declared at Sinai: “And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone” (Deuteronomy 4:13, KJV). Moses warned, “Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Deuteronomy 4:6, KJV). The same chapter cautions, “Take heed unto thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life” (Deuteronomy 4:9, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that no soul has come into harmony with the gospel who has not come into harmony with the law.

The believer must witness to others by life, by lip, and by literature, sharing the everlasting gospel. The Saviour gave the great commission: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19, KJV). He continued: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:20, KJV). The same charge appears in Mark: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15, KJV). The Lord adds the seal of acceptance: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16, KJV). Paul testifies of his own commission: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16, KJV). The believer must let the light shine: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, KJV). The pioneer writer A. T. Jones spoke of the gospel as God’s power working unto every yielded heart.

The believer must consecrate body and soul to God, presenting himself as a living sacrifice. Paul writes the Romans: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1, KJV). The believer is to be transformed: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2, KJV). The body itself is a temple: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19, KJV). The believer must glorify God in body: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20, KJV). Whatever is done is done unto Him: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31, KJV). The believer must press on toward the prize: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that body and soul together must be presented in cheerful service to the Master who bought us with His blood.

CAN WE STAND IN OUR LOT?

The promise of standing in his lot at the end of the days was given to Daniel personally and stretches in its meaning to every faithful saint. The angel had shown him the closing crisis: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1, KJV). Earlier the angel had encouraged him: “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” (Daniel 12:8, KJV). The answer pointed forward: “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand” (Daniel 12:10, KJV). The blessing rests upon the watcher: “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days” (Daniel 12:12, KJV). The number of the years was specified: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days” (Daniel 12:11, KJV). The Lord swore by His own name: “And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever” (Daniel 12:7, KJV). The pioneer writer Uriah Smith showed that these prophetic numbers find their full expression in the fulfilling experience of the saints today.

The wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever. The promise glows brightly through the close of Daniel’s vision. The wise are those who teach knowledge and lead souls to righteousness through patient labor. The Saviour announced: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, KJV). The mission of the Son was redemption: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17, KJV). Belief leads to no condemnation: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18, KJV). The light has come: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19, KJV). The honest soul comes to the light: “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:21, KJV). And the psalmist sings of the harvest: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 126:5, KJV). The pen of inspiration teaches that those who win souls in this final hour will shine with peculiar luster in the kingdom of glory.

Standing in the lot at the end of the days requires patient endurance through every trial of the closing crisis. The Saviour said to His disciples: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22, KJV). The same word is repeated on the Mount of Olives: “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Mark 13:13, KJV). The disciples are warned of approaching trial: “And they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake” (Luke 21:12, KJV). The Saviour assures them: “And it shall turn to you for a testimony” (Luke 21:13, KJV). And He counsels them not to fret: “Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer” (Luke 21:14, KJV). For He will give them a mouth: “For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist” (Luke 21:15, KJV). Through inspired counsel we are told that the same Saviour who promised endurance to His first disciples will give the same grace to His last.

The sealed company will see the King in His beauty and stand at last upon the sea of glass. Isaiah promised: “Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off” (Isaiah 33:17, KJV). The Lord Himself comes for them: “For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be” (Psalm 37:10, KJV). The meek inherit the earth: “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Psalm 37:11, KJV). The righteous shall flourish: “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever” (Psalm 37:29, KJV). Their steps are ordered: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way” (Psalm 37:23, KJV). When they fall they are upheld: “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand” (Psalm 37:24, KJV). The pioneer writers anticipated the coming of the King with a longing that animated their every printed page.

The new earth is the final inheritance of the saints, where righteousness dwells eternally without curse or sorrow. Isaiah described the new creation: “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17, KJV). Joy fills the city: “But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy” (Isaiah 65:18, KJV). The Lord shall rejoice in His people: “And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying” (Isaiah 65:19, KJV). The redeemed shall build and inhabit: “And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them” (Isaiah 65:21, KJV). They shall not labor in vain: “They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them” (Isaiah 65:23, KJV). The wolf and lamb feed together: “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 65:25, KJV). The pen of inspiration assures every believer that the new earth promise will be the joyful possession of all who endure.

Daniel’s standing in his lot at the end of the days is the closing benediction upon every believer who reads this book in faith. The aged prophet sealed his work and closed his eyes in confidence. The Lord pronounced the final blessing: “Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13, KJV). The same Apocalypse names the watching saint: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15, KJV). The marriage supper is announced: “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9, KJV). The first resurrection is glorious: “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6, KJV). The new Jerusalem descends: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2, KJV). And the Lord Himself promises: “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5, KJV). The pen of inspiration closes the matter with hope, declaring that the same God who answered Daniel’s prayer will answer ours, and the same Saviour who confirmed the covenant by His blood will confirm us blameless until the day of His appearing. May we, like Daniel, stand in our lot at the end of the days. Amen.

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12, KJV).

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SELF-REFLECTION

How can the community in personal devotional life delve deeper into these prophetic truths allowing them to shape character and priorities?

How can the community adapt these complex themes to be understandable and relevant to diverse audiences from seasoned members to new seekers without compromising theological accuracy?

What are the most common misconceptions about these topics in the community and how can the community gently but effectively correct them using Scripture and the writings of Sr. White?

In what practical ways can local congregations and individual members become more vibrant beacons of truth and hope living out the reality of Christ’s soon return and God’s ultimate victory over evil?

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