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"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shall raise up the foundations of many generations; thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach,the restorer of paths to dwell in."-Isaiah 58:12(KJV).
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ighteen forty-four, for Seventh-Day Adventist this is a watershed year in our history.
However,the movement that took root that autumn actually began at the dawn of human era,in the garden of Eden.First,Adam and Eve were Sabbath keepers. Then after the fall,and it became necessary for them to have a Savior,they became "Adventists,"and according to the Spirit of Prophecy,with each son born to them,they looked for the promised Deliverer.So it was that down through time,the descendants of Adam and Eve looked longingly for the promised One.The Sabbath also was kept continually,unbroken by the antedelluvian line.
The experiences of ancient Israel are to us a lesson. Living in the final hours of Earth's history,the Seventh-Day Adventist Church,must endure,living off the "faith of our Fathers." Lets take a trip back about 150 years ago.Its the story of two men and one woman.
The year is 1831,the setting the farm home of a military captain turned farmer. His nephew arrives with an earnest message,"Uncle you are to preach in our church this Sunday!" Thus began the ministry of William Miller...From his private studies on the second advent,blossomed the movement that would come to bear his name.Early on in life,Miller had abandoned his childhood faith and adopted the belief in deism,which teaches that every object animate and inanimate alike were God. It was while he was on a quest for spiritual insight that Scripture began to reveal itself to him,and he stumbled on the prophecy in Daniel 8,concerning the cleansing of the Sanctuary. From his studies,he correctly discovered that the prophetic dates would end in the autumn of 1844. But he incorrectly understood what the end result would be.
The year is 1836,young Ellen Harmon is walking home from school when a small rock sails her way,striking it unintended victim,right square on the bridge of the nose. for the next 3 1/2 years she laid in bed incapacitated. But the Almighty had a work for her to do.Wiliam Miller came to Portland,Maine in 1840,at the conclusion of the meetings,young Ellen responded to the appeals and was converted. The handful of believers who remained following 1844 would need her.
The autumn of 1844 had come and gone,the few who had not given up the faith continued to meet,study and pray for guidance.During one such prayer session,seventeen year old Ellen received her first vision.It narrated the story of the "Advent People",traveling towards heaven. Guided by the light of present truth,they moved steadily forward. But some would disregard the light given them,loose their footing and fall back into the world. This vision(see Early Writings),was the first of many which would help the fledgling movement to organize.In the summer of 1846,Ellen married James White a young elder who had been a vital,vibrant member in the movement. That autumn they were introduced to the Bible Sabbath,which brings us to our final pioneer.
Captain Joseph Bates as a young man was fascinated with the sea,so it was no surprise that he would leave home and join himself to his first love. He was known for his course language and crude manners. So it would come as a surprise,that when Providence intervened and literally dropped the truths of the Sabbath in his lap that he would accept it. reluctantly at first,but soon he took to it,or rather it took to him. He dedicated the rest of his life to preaching on the Sabbath and on temperance.He published a tract entitled ,"The Perpetual Sabbath",in early 1846 the Whites read this and eventual met with Captain Bates. Sister White at first did not see the importance of keeping the Sabbath,but in vision she saw..."The Fourth Commandment in the very center of [the Law] with a soft halo of light encircling it."
From their humble beginings in Battle Creek Michigan,to being one of the fastest growing Denominations,embracing over 210 nations and over 100 languages and dialects,the "people of the book,"have come a long way.
Many people today look at Adventists and say many things against them. There are those who would look to 1844 ridicule us for time-setting.They point to the Great Disappointment and present it as reason why our church cannot be the "true church," as we declare it to be. But in the heart of the Apocalypse there is a prophecy that predicts the disappointment,and what was to come afterwards. Read it in Revelation 10:1-11. The Millerites(followers of William Miller),had with joy,received the message of the little book(Daniel especially the eight chgapter),this was the sweetness.But disappointment would come.This was the bitter after taste. But those who held on,continued to preach Christ,and indeed the Adventist message. have been presented before many nations and kings.Little did that group gathered on ascenssion rock,that cold autumn night in 1844,know the 23rd day of August would find them,discouraged and deeply bitter.
Yet how blessed the world is today to count among its numbers ten million Seventh-day Adventists.
NEXT MONTHS LETTER:" A WORLD WIDE WARNING"
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