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“‘In all my labors,’ said Miller, ‘I never had the desire or thought to establish any separate interest from that of existing denominations, or to benefit one at the expense of another. I thought to benefit all. . . . My whole object was a desire to convert souls to God,to notify the world of a coming judgment, and to induce my fellow men to make that preparation of heart which will enable them to meet their God in peace’” (The Great Controversy,p. 375).
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew 25:1-13King James Version (KJV)
25 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Revelation 14:6-8King James Version (KJV)
6 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,
7 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.
8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Illustration;
On August 6, 2001, the leaders of the United States intelligence services gathered in the office of
then-President George W. Bush for the presidential daily briefing. Each day the president of the United States—the same practice happens in other countries—receives an important briefing on threat developments that have the potential to affect the nation’s national security. On August 6, 2001, that morning’s presidential daily briefing was titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” Here’s some of what it said: “Clandestine, foreign government, and media reports indicate bin Laden since 1997 has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the U.S. Bin Laden implied in U.S. television interviews in 1997 and 1998 that his followers would follow the example of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and ‘bring the fighting to America.’” A few paragraphs later the report noted: “We have not been able to corroborate some of the more sensational threat reporting, such as that from a service in 1998 saying that bin Laden wanted to hijack a U.S. aircraft to gain the release of ‘Blind Sheikh’ Omar Abdel Rahman and other U.S.-held extremists. Nevertheless, FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.” Many people have wondered what happened in the White House after this briefing, what happened in the days leading up to September 11, 2001. What we do know is that on that fateful day, the predicted events eclipsed their warnings.
(Source: www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLTICS/04/10/
august6.memo/), accessed September 26, 2013. You
can also Google “April 10, 2004, Presidential Daily
Briefing.”
Bridge of The Story;
Warnings are important, some more so than others, as was the case with the September 11 tragedy. God never inflicts a punishment without first warning us about the error of our ways. In fact, the Bible says that God is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance”
(2 Peter 3:9, NKJV).
The Millerites, led by the Holy Spirit, set about delivering the “Midnight Cry” of God’s judgment and Jesus’ soon return. Many heard the call to repentance, but countless others simply disregarded it.
This week’s Into the Story Scripture is one story in two parts. The parable of the ten virgins was used by Jesus to urge His disciples, then and now, to be ready for His return. Inherent in the story is the dichotomy that some will be ready and others will not. This tension is the great tension of life on earth as we await the second coming of Jesus. Some will hear the call to prepare to meet their Lord while others will not. This parable was part of a central impetus that led the Millerites to proclaim the imminent return of Christ. The call “Behold the Bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet Him” was the rallying cry of the movement. The urgency with which believers in the Advent movement delivered this message was seen by the speed with which the movement caught on and swept across America. God has entrusted His last-day church with a similar message. The Advent believers were disappointed when Jesus didn’t come, just as the disciples were disappointed when the Man whom they thought would save them from Roman oppression was crucified. But they completed the work given them. The second part of Into the Story for this week, Revelation 14:6-8, represents part of the message that we, members of God’s last-day remnant, must give. Use the following as more teachable passages that relate to today’s story: Ezekiel 12:21-28; Hebrews 10:35-39; Luke 19:40; Leviticus 16:29-34.
1. Why they set a date. Why did the Advent movement believers fixate on October 22, 1844, as the day when Christ would come? How could they overlook Scriptures that clearly state that no one, not even Jesus, knows the exact date of Christ’s return (Matthew 24:36)? Ellen White comments: “Though no man knoweth the day nor the hour of His coming, we are instructed and required to know when it is near. We are further taught that to disregard His warning, and refuse or neglect to know when His advent is near, will be as fatal for us as it was for those who lived in the days of Noah not to know when the flood was coming” (The Great Controversy, p. 371). This was the spirit in which the Advent believers searched the Scriptures. They wanted to be keen on the time when Jesus would return, and so should we. They studied the prophecies of Daniel 7–9 and arrived at the October 1844 date. They were mistaken only in the event that would occur on that date. Some who have no intention of changing their lives dismiss the signs of Jesus’ return. To them it represents attempts at date-setting, and they use this as an excuse to reject truth.
2. What the early Advent movement missed. It is easy to laugh at the seeming naiveté of those in the Advent movement who looked for Jesus to come on October 22, 1844, but this belief was based on the Jewish sanctuary service in which the high priest would cleanse the sanctuary on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month (Leviticus 16:29-34). The believers coupled this understanding with God’s pronouncement to Daniel that in 2,300 days (years) the sanctuary would be cleansed (Daniel 8:14). This 2300- day/year period began when King Artaxerxes gave the command to rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25) in 457 B.C. Add 2,300 years to autumn 457 B.C.—counting down, of course—and you’ll get the year A.D. 1843. But, remember, the sanctuary was cleansed on the tenth day of the seventh month, and since the decree to rebuild went out in the autumn of 457 B.C., the prophecy leads directly to the autumn of 1844. (For a more complete explanation of the prophecy see The Great Controversy, pp. 409-411.) The tenth day of the seventh Jewish month that year fell on October 22, 1844. What the Advent believers did not know was that on this date Christ was not coming to make an end of sin and save the righteous. His role in mediating for humanity was changing. Jesus was going into the Most Holy Place to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary and His people of all sin once and for all, just as the earthly high priest would do each year. But before Jesus can complete the cleansing forever, He must examine the record of all humanity to determine who is worthy of this final work of sealing. At this time some will be sealed, while others will be marked. This investigative judgment began with the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary on October 22, 1844.
3. The Remnant. God has always had a remnant group of people who remain faithful to Him through wars, calamities, privation, and loss. When Israel went into Assyrian and Babylonian exile, a remnant remained faithful to God. After the death of Jesus, a remnant waited for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. After the persecution of the 1260-year period of the Dark Ages, a remnant group of believers protested the corruption in the Roman Church and cast it off. The early Protestants were part of God’s remnant. But the Protestants stagnated in their work of reformation, holding on to beliefs that were not biblical. From among them God called a remnant to proclaim a clear end-time message to a doomed planet. Seventh-day Adventists are a part of that remnant. What is the remnant’s mission today? The book of Revelation clearly states that it is to proclaim the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12, which will bring a “full and final restoration of the gospel truth” (Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . , p. 163).
Summary of our Bible lesson this week:
William Miller and the early Adventists had been faithful to a God-inspired calling. They proclaimed the message that Jesus, the Bridegroom, was soon to appear and all needed to be ready to meet Him. At the time when this message of warning was delivered, it swept the land. Many joined the movement. But soon Satan brought an air of fanaticism into the work, leading many church leaders to disregard the deep searching truths of the Advent message and forbidding their membership to attend the meetings. When their hopes were dashed, many of the Advent believers gave up the faith, but many went back to the Bible, searching earnestly for truth, for some explanation from God to illumine the 2300-day prophecy. Their perseverance was rewarded, as we’ll study next week.
