Adventism. What is it? For what purpose has it come into existence and how did it get started? This page will answer these questions.
“Seventh-day Adventists have been chosen by God as a peculiar people… He has made them his representatives and has called them to be ambassadors for Him in the last work of salvation. The greatest wealth of truth ever entrusted to mortals, the most fearful warnings ever sent by God to man, to be given to the world.”
7T 138
“Seventh-day Adventists have been given a work of the most solemn import—the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention.”
9T 19
“And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. “
Daniel 8:14
IS YOUR HOUSE BUILT UPON THE ROCK OR SAND?
“And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.“
Rev 10:10, 11
“The stone [which] the builders refused is become the head [stone] of the corner.”
Ps 118:22
“And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner [stone];”
Eph 2:20
“The God of heaven saw it fit to establish the Advent movement on a solid foundation of truth. This foundation included a correct understanding of who He is.”
{J. S. White, The Day Star, January 24, 1846}
“God has given us as a foundation for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth.”
{1SM 161.1}
“We have our Bibles. We have our experience, attested to by the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit. We have a truth that admits of no compromise.”
{1 SM Pg. 204-205}
Here, the focal point of our history continues… & begins…
OCTOBER 22, 1844
How to determine the foundational date of Adventism, October 22, 1844
Truth is progressive. This video was presented in 2015 and the presenter was new to understanding the feasts. There are a couple of statements that need to be clarified/ corrected:
1) 9:10 on timeline: New moon is NOT the black moon silhouette, it is the 1st re-appearing of the crescent. (2 Ki 4:23; H2320)
2) 19:50 on timeline: Wave sheaf is NOT waved on the 8th day, but on the 3rd day from Passover. (Lev 23:11; 2 Sam 21:9; Josh 5:10-12)
The main point of the video is to encourage us to study to enable us to explain October 22, 1844 from the Bible to those who ask. We must study prayerfully & diligently by the aid of the Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth.
As far as Don stating that NASA confirms October 22, 1844 is interesting, however, we need to always be careful in using implements (charts, calendars, science etc.) produced by man since there can be errors in other things that NASA teaches.
The Midnight Cry Vision
“But the path of the just [is] as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
Prov 4:18
At this point, small cords were let down from the top of the pure white wall, which we eagerly grasped, to aid us in keeping our balance upon the path. As we traveled, the cord moved along with us. The path finally became so narrow that we concluded that we could travel more safely without our shoes; so we slipped them from our feet, and went on some distance without them. Soon it was decided that we could travel more safely without our stockings; these were removed, and we journeyed on with bare feet. {RH January 12, 1869, par. 5}
The green cord represented faith to my mind, and the beauty and simplicity of trusting in God began to dawn upon my soul. {LS 36.1}
THE NARROW PATHWAY-
ADVENT HYMN
1. We are on that narrow pathway
Leading to our home above;
Marching forward, ever upward,
Filled with hope and filled with love.
Though the clouds may rise and thicken
From the darkness down below,
They can never overcome us
While we press toward the goal.
2. There’s a light that shines behind us,
It is called the Midnight Cry;
When the chosen, faithful virgins
Rose to see their Lord draw nigh.
They put on the wedding garment,
Made a perfect sacrifice;
Had the union Jesus prayed for,
They will walk with Him in white.
3. When we’re weak, confused and weary,
Jesus lifts His glorious arm;
Sends us messages of comfort,
Sends us messages to warn.
Still His Spirit urges, “Onward!
Do not stumble in the way.
Jesus walked this path before you,
And it leads to endless day.”
4. Now the struggle is before us,
The resistance unto blood;
Jacob’s trouble, Armageddon,
Horses bridles crest the flood.
Grasp the cord of faith completely,
Now a voice cries, “It is done!”
Swing across death’s yawning chasm,
And eternity’s begun.
The above vision in Early Writings has interesting aspects of EGW’s first vision. She states the light of the “Midnight Cry” shown all along the path up to the heavenly city, and she saw people fall off the path at whatever point in time they rejected the Midnight Cry, and the light went out for them leaving their “feet in perfect darkness” just before they fell.
So what in the “Midnight Cry” message did they reject? Well, we have to look at the “Midnight Cry” message to know what entails the message. Samuel S. Snow was the preacher who brought the message that started the Midnight Cry at the Exeter, New Hampshire camp meeting from Aug. 12-17, 1844.
What did SS Snow preach to get the people so excited that they began to proclaim the Midnight Cry that he published just before Oct. 22, 1844?
His sermon had five points:
INTRODUCTION.
Understanding of the time (close of probation/ judgment; Dan 11:45-12:1) of our visitation prior to the 2nd Coming.
1) The 6000 years.
(precisely pinpoints the timing of the prophecies accurately)
2) The “Seven Times”.
(aka the 2520/ understanding of the “judgment“)
3) The 2300 days.
(brings to the final judgment [atonement] beginning on Oct 22, 1844)
4) The Seventy Weeks.
(birth, work, death and resurrection of Christ fulfilled as anti-type as predicted in types; which was calculated by the barley and NOT the vernal equinox, bringing us to the 7th month [October] and NOT to the Romish 6th month of September)
5) The Types.
(7th day weekly Sabbath feast and the annual feasts)
SS Snow’s message is the Midnight Cry, and EGW said if we reject any part of that message then we “fall off the path into the dark and wicked world below”.
The Midnight Cry is also one of our WAYMARKS according to our pioneers. Please see Captain Joseph Bate’s list of WAYMARKS (the 5th waymark) at the end of this page.
The TRUE Midnight Cry by Don Frost
My First Vision
It was not long after the passing of the time, in 1844, that my first vision was given me. I was visiting Mrs. Haines at Portland, a dear sister in Christ, whose heart was knit with mine; five of us, all women, were kneeling quietly at the family altar. While we were praying, the power of God came upon me as I had never felt it before. {CET 57.1}
I seemed to be surrounded with light, and to be rising higher and higher from the earth. I turned to look for the advent people in the world, but could not find them, when a voice said to me, “Look again, and look a little higher.” At this, I raised my eyes, and saw a straight and narrow path, cast up high above the world. On this path the advent people were traveling to the city which was at the farther end of the path. They had a bright light set up behind them at the beginning of the path, which an angel told me was the “midnight cry.” [See Matthew 25:6.] This light shone all along the path, and gave light for their feet, so that they might not stumble. {CET 57.2}
If they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them to the city, they were safe. But soon some grew weary, and said the city was a great way off, and they expected to have entered it before. Then Jesus would encourage them by raising His glorious right arm, and from His arm came a light which waved over the advent band, and they shouted “Alleluia!” Others rashly denied the light behind them, and said that it was not God that had led them out so far. The light behind them went out, leaving their feet in perfect darkness, and they stumbled and lost sight of the mark and of Jesus, and fell off the path down into the dark and wicked world below. {CET 57.3}
While I was praying at the family altar, the Holy Ghost fell upon me, and I seemed to be rising higher and higher, far above the dark world. I turned to look for the Advent people in the world, but could not find them, when a voice said to me, “Look again, and look a little higher.” At this I raised my eyes, and saw a straight and narrow path, cast up high above the world. On this path the Advent people were traveling to the city, which was at the farther end of the path. They had a bright light set up behind them at the beginning of the path, which an angel told me was the MIDNIGHT CRY. This light shone all along the path and gave light for their feet so that they might not stumble. If they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them to the city, they were safe. But soon some grew weary, and said the city was a great way off, and they expected to have entered it before. Then Jesus would encourage them by raising His glorious right arm, and from His arm came a light which waved over the Advent band, and they shouted, “Alleluia!” Others rashly denied the light behind them and said that it was not God that had led them out so far. The light behind them went out, leaving their feet in perfect darkness, and they stumbled and lost sight of the mark and of Jesus, and fell off the path down into the dark and wicked world below. Soon we heard the voice of God like many waters, which gave us the day and hour of Jesus’ coming. The living saints, 144,000 in number, knew and understood the voice, while the wicked thought it was thunder and an earthquake. When God spoke the time, He poured upon us the Holy Ghost, and our faces began to light up and shine with the glory of God, as Moses’ did when he came down from Mount Sinai. {EW 14.1}
THREE ANGEL’S MESSAGES AUDIO/LECTURE SERIES BY BILL CAVE
Samuel Snow’s Midnight Cry
An imperative document to understand for the last days
Five point message given (AUG 15) in the summer of 1844 at exeter, NH campmeeting (AUG 12-17). Message published Aug 22.
The True Midnight Cry, Vol. 1, No. 1 (August 22, 1844)
August 22, 1844
S. S. Snow
BEHOLD, THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH; GO YE OUT TO MEET HIM.
VOL. 1. Edited by S. S. SNOW, and published by E. HALL Jr.; Haverhill, Mass., Aug. 22, 1844. No. 1.
INTRODUCTION. —
( Understanding of the time (close of probation/ judgment; Dan 11:45-12:1) of our visitation prior to the 2nd Coming. )
Our blessed Lord and Master has promised that he will come again and receive his people to himself; that where he is, they may be also (John 14:3). The place where he and they are to dwell forever, is the New Jerusalem, that holy city, which God bath prepared for them, and which is to come down from God out of heaven (Rev 3:12; 21:2), and that New Earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (2Pet 3:12, 13). {August 22, 1844 SSS, TRMC 1.1}
Concerning the time (close of probation; Dan 12:1, “What time is here referred to? Not to the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven to find a people asleep (2nd Coming). No; but to His return from His ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, when He lays off His priestly attire and clothes Himself with garments of vengeance,” 2T 190-91) of that coming, he says, in Mark xiii. 32, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” It is thought by many, that this passage proves that men are never to know the time. But if it prove this, it likewise proves that the Son of God himself is never to know the time: for the passage declares precisely the same concerning him, that it does concerning angels and men. But can any person believe that our glorious Lord, to whom all power in heaven and earth is given, is, and will remain, ignorant of the time until the very moment that he comes to judge (close of probation; Dan 12:1) the world if not, then certainly this test can never prove that men may not be made to understand the time. An old English version of the passage reads, “But that day and hour no man maketh known, neither the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” This is the correct reading according to several of the ablest critics of the age. The word know is used here in the same sense as it is by Paul in 1 Cor. ii. 2. Paul well understood many other things, besides Christ and him crucified, but he determined to make known nothing else among them. So in the passage first quoted, it is declared that none but God the Father maketh known the day and hour, that is, the definite time of the second coming of his Son (coming to his temple/ judgment/ close of probation). And this necessarily implies that God makes the time known. The Old Testament contains the testimony of the Father concerning his Son, and concerning the time of both his first and second comings. Therefore the time is to be understood. See Dan. xii. 10, “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.” Rom. xv. 4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” It is by the teaching of his word, as we are led therein by the Holy Spirit, that we are to understand the time of the coming of our Glorious King. As further proof of this, see Dan. ix. 25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment, to restore and build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.” Mark i. 14, 15, “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying the time is fulfilled.” Luke xix. 43, 44, “For the day shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” 1 Pet. i. 9-11, “Searching what, or what manner of time the spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” Isa. xl. 1-5; Acts xvii. 30,31, “He hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness.” Ecc. iii. 17, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” Ecc. viii. 5-7, “Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing; and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.” Jer. viii. 6-9, “I hearkened and heard, but they spoke not aright; no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, what have I done I every one turned to his course as the horse rusheth into the battle. Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle, and crane, and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment (close of probation) of the lord. How do ye say, we are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken; lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them? Hosea ix. 7-9, “The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it. The prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad.” Rom, xiii. 11-14, “And that knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of steep. {August 22, 1844 SSS, TRMC 1.2}
1) The Six Thousand Years. —
(precisely pinpoints the timing of the prophecies accurately)
The period of time allotted for this world, in its present state, is 6000 years, at the termination of which commences the great millennial Sabbath, spoken of in Rev. xx, and which will be ushered in by the personal appearing of Christ and the first Resurrection; see Isa. xlvi. 9, 10; Gen. ii. 1-3; Heb. iv. 4-9; Isa. xi. 10; 2 Pet. iii. 8. According to Usher’s chronology, which is commonly received, the Christian Era commenced in the year of the world 4004; but Usher has lost in the time of the judges 153 years. From the division of the Land of Canaan to the beginning of Samuel’s administration, he gives but 295 years: whereas Paul, in Acts xiii. 20, gives us “about the space of 450.” From the book of Judges we obtain 430 years, and Josephus gives us IS more for the elders and anarchy, before any judge ruled; this added to 430 make 448 which agrees with Paul, supposing him to have spoken in round numbers. The difference between this time and that given by Usher is 153 years, and should be added to the age of the world, making for the commencement of the Christian era 4157, or, in other words, 4156 and a fraction had passed at the supposed point of the birth of Christ. Deducting this from 6000 years, the remainder is 1843 and a fraction. Therefore the period will end within A. D. 1844. {August 22, 1844 SSS, TRMC 1.3}
~continued below
2) The Seven Times of the Gentiles. —
(aka the 2520/ understanding of the “judgment“)
The seven times of Gentile domination over the church of God, spoken of in Lev. x xvi., began with the breaking of the pride of their power. at the captivity of Manasseh, king of Judah, B. C. 677. See Isa. x. 5-12. Jer. xv. 3-9; Jet. 1. 17; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 9-11. This is the date assigned by all chronologers for that event. The seven prophetic times amount to 2520 years. As proof of this, see Rev, xii 6, 14, where 3 1-2 times are equivalent to 1260 years. A time therefore consists of 360 solar years, which multiplied by 7, make 2520. Had this period commenced with the first day of B. C. 677 it would have terminated with the first day of A. D. 1844, for 677 full years on one hand, and 1843 on the other, make 2520 complete years. It has been supposed that the period would end in A. D. 1643. But as a part of B. C. 677 is left out, a corresponding part of A. D. 1844 must be taken in to make the period complete. It must have been in autumn that Manasseh was taken captive. As proof of this, see Hosea v. 5; Isa. vii. 8; Isa. x. 11. Hosea declares that Ephraim and Israel shall fall, and that Judah also shall fall with them; Isaiah represents the king of Assyria as threatening to do to Jerusalem as he had done to Samaria; therefore the final carrying away of the ten tribes was before the invasion of Judah, and in the same year. The prophecy of Isa. vii. 8, is correctly dated B. C. 742; 65 years from that point bring us to B. C. 677. In that year was the final breaking of Ephraim, that it should not be a people. The history of this we find in 2 Kings, xvii. chapt. Kings did not go forth on their warlike expeditions in autumn or winter, but in spring or summer. Therefore in spring or summer of B. C. 677, Esarhaddon, and the Assyrians commenced removing the remnant of the ten tribes out of the cities of Samaria; and when they had accomplished this, they brought foreigners and placed them in their stead, to inhabit those cities. Having performed this work, which necessarily occupied some months, they were then ready to invade Judah. So that in the autumn of B. C. 677 they took the city of Jerusalem, and bound her king with fetters and carried him to Babylon. From that time 2520 years reach to the autumn of A. D. 1844. Then the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled, the dispensation of the fullness of times will come, the Redeemer will come to Zion, and all Israel shall be saved. {August 22, 1844 SSS, TRMC 2.1}
3) The 2300 Days. —
(brings to the final judgment [atonement] beginning on Oct 22, 1844)
The 2300 days of Dan. viii. 14, are given as the length of the vision contained in that chapter. The Ram is Medo Persia, the Goat is Grecia, and the little horn which waxed exceeding great is Rome. From the 2nd and 7th chapters of Dan. we learn that Rome will come to its end when the Ancient of days comes, the judgment is set, the Son of man comes in the clouds of heaven, and the God of heaven sets up an eternal kingdom. Therefore the 2300 days, which extend to the time when the exceeding great horn is to be “broken without hands,” and to the last end of the indignation” are so many years, and expire at the coming of Jesus in the Clouds of Glory. The period commenced with the 70 weeks of Dan. ix. 24, which are determined or cut off and constitute apart of the 2300 days. They must therefore commence together. From verse 25, we learn that they begin at the going forth of the commandment or decree to restore and to build Jerusalem. The point of time from which to reckon, must be either when the decree was first issued or when it was carried into execution; it could not be the former, because the decree embraces all that was decreed by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. See Isa. xliv. 23; Isa. xlv. 13; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23; Ezra i. 14; Ezra vi. 1-15; Ezra vii. The decree embraces three grand objects: the building of the Temple, the restoring of the Jewish Commonwealth, and the building of the street and wall. Now had the 70 weeks, which amount to 490 years, commenced with the first issuing of the decree, B. C. 536, they would have ended B. C. 46; but 69 weeks were to extend to the manifestation of Messiah the Prince, and the 70th, or last week, covers the time of his crucifixion; we must therefore of necessity reckon from the other point, that is, the promulgation and execution of the decree in Judea. From Ezra vii. 8, 9, we learn that Ezra began to go up on the first day of the first month, and arrived at Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, in the 7th year of Artaxerxes, B. C. 457. Having arrived at Jerusalem, he appointed magistrates and judges, and restored the Jewish Commonwealth, under the protection of the king of Persia, as he was fully authorized to do by the decree of Artaxerxes. This necessarily required some little time, and brings us to the point when, the restoring having been effected, the building of the street and wall commenced. The 70 weeks are divided into three parts: 7 weeks, 62 weeks, and 1 week-see Dan. ix. 25. The connexion shows that the 7 weeks were allotted for the building of the street and wall. They therefore commenced when they begin to build, in the autumn of B. C. 457; from that point 2300 years reach to the autumn of A. D. 1844. {August 22, 1844 SSS, TRMC 2.2}
CONTINUED BELOW~
CLICK ON CHART TO PRINT
4) The Seventy Weeks. —
(birth, work, death and resurrection of Christ fulfilled as anti-type as predicted in types; which was calculated by the barley and NOT the vernal equinox, bringing us to the 7th month [October] and NOT to the Romish 6th month of September)
The 69 weeks extend to the manifestation of the Messiah. It has been thought by many that this was at his baptism, but this is a mistake; as fully appears from John i. 19-34. There we learn, that after the baptism of Christ, he was not known to the Jews as the Messiah; John says, verse 26, “There standeth one among you whom ye know not;” and in verse 33, 34, he declares that he knew him not, till he saw the Spirit descending and remaining on him at his baptism, which was previous to his giving this testimony. There is no proof that any one save John saw the Spirit thus descending. This proof therefore that Jesus was the Messiah, was given to none but John, unless it was given to others in John’s testimony. But the testimony of John was not sufficient fully to establish the point; for Jesus declares, John v. 33, 34, 11 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man ” In verse 36, Christ says, 11 But I have greater Witness than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.” The miracles of Christ proved him to be the Messiah; but even his own testimony without those miracles was not sufficient to establish the point, as is evident from verse 21: ,If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.” The miracles of Christ publicly wrought, did not commence till after John was put in prison–see Mat. xi. 2-6; Luke vii. 19-23 The prophecy of Dan. ix. 25 concerning the 69 weeks, was intended for the whole Jewish nation; and they were condemned because they understood it not. In Luke xix. 43, 44, we find our Lord denouncing upon them the most awful judgments because they knew not the time of their visitation. The prophecy was plain, and they should have heeded it. Our Saviour, also told them plainly when the period ended, saying, “The time is fulfilled .” See Mark i. 14, 15; Matt. iv. 12, 17; Acts x. 37; thus we see that the 69 weeks ended, and the 70th week began, soon after John’s imprisonment. John began his ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar–see Luke iii. 1-3. The administration of Tiberius began, according to the united testimony of chronologers, in Aug., A. D. 12. Fourteen years from that point, extend to Aug. A. D. 26, when his 15th year began. The ministry of John, therefore, commenced in the latter part of A. D. 26. From Luke iii. 21, we learn that after John had been baptizing for some time, Jesus came and was baptized; and verse 23 informs us that at that time he was not far from 30 years of age. It is astronomically proved that our Saviour was born four years before the Christian era. The proof is this. About the year 527, Dionysius Exigus, a Roman monk. fixed the beginning of the Christian era -n the year of the Julian period 4713. This reckoning has been followed to the present time. But Josephus, in his Antiquities, Book 17, chapt. 6, mentions particularly an eclipse of the moon, which occurred a short time before the death or Herod; and the astronomical tables prove this eclipse to have been on the 13th of March, in the year of the Julian period 4710. Our Lord was born some months previous to this; for after his birth Herod sought to destroy his life, and Joseph, being warned by the angel of the Lord in a dream, took the young child and his mother, and went into Egypt, where he remained till after Herod’s death–see Matt. ii. 13-15. The latest point, therefore, that we can fix upon for the birth of Christ, is near the close of the year 4709, just four years earlier than the point of time given by Dionysius for the commencement of the Christian era. Consequently, Jesus was 30 years of age near the close of A. D. 26, and at his baptism was a little more than 30. Soon after this, as is evident from John ii. 11-13, there was a passover. This, being the first Passover after the beginning of John’s baptism, must have been in the spring of A. D. 27. After this Jesus had his interview with Nicodemus and taught him concerning regeneration–see John iii. 1-21. In verse 22 we are informed that Jesus returned, after these things, in to the land of Judea, where he tarried and baptized. As he had previously been in Jerusalem at the Passover–see John ii. 23–and now returned into Judea, he must have been absent from that land between these two points of time. This necessarily brings us down to the summer or autumn of A.D. 27. But “John was not yet cast into prison”–see John iii. 24. We are therefore compelled to place the point of time at which Jesus began the proclamation of the gospel in Galilee, in the autumn of A. D. 27. Here ended the 69 weeks, and here began the week, during which the covenant was confirmed–see Dan. ix. 27. In the midst of the week Jesus caused the sacrifice and the oblation to cease by offering himself as a Lamb, without spot, to God upon the cross. The Hebrew word translated “midst,” is by the Lexicon defined, “half, half part, middle, midst.” The week was divided into two halves, and the event which was thus to divide it was the death of’ Christ. This event took place, according to Dr. Hales, one of the ablest and best chronologers in the spring of A. D. 31. Ferguson has placed it in A D. 33; but in order to prove he assumes the Rabbinical mode of reckoning the year, which is not correct. They commence the year with the new in moon in March; but the Caraites with the new moon in April. The word Caraite signifies “one perfect in the law.” These accuse the Rabbins of having departed from the law, and conformed to the customs of the heathen; and the charge is just, as they regulate their year by the vernal equinox, in imitation of the Romans; whereas the law says nothing of the vernal equinox; but required, on the 16th day of the first month, the offering of the first fruits of the barley harvest. But if the year be commenced according to the Rabbins with the new moon in March, the barley harvest could not possibly be ripe in 16 days from that time. The Caraites are therefore undoubtedly correct. Now our Lord was crucified on the day of the Passover, as is evident from John xviii. 28. It was likewise the day before the Sabbath, as is proved by John xix. 31. According to the Rabbinical reckoning, the Passover occurred on the day before the Sabbath in A. D. 33, and not for several years before and after. But according to the Caraite reckoning, the Passover occurred on that day in A. D. 31. Therefore that was the year of the crucifixion. The covenant was confirmed half a week by Christ, and the other half by his apostles–see Heb. ii. 3, 4: “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own will?” The covenant which was confirmed is the new covenant, i. e. the gospel. To Confirm it signifies to establish it on a firm foundation. The foundation of the gospel, is Jesus and the resurrection–see Acts xvii 18; 1 Cor. iii. 9-11; Eph. ii. 20. The gospel was established on this foundation by testimony, accompanied by miracles. as those proofs which were indispensably necessary. But John performed no miracles–see John x. 41, therefore John’s ministry formed no part of the confirmation. God wrought through Christ in those mighty works, for half the week, and through the apostles the other half, who had a special work assigned to them, and for which they were duly qualified, and that was to testify concerning the works and Resurrection of our Lord–see Luke i. 2; John xv. 27; Luke xxiv. 48; Acts i. 8, 21, 22; ii. 32; iii. 15; x. 36, 42; 1 John i 1, 3. All these witnesses save one were regularly called and qualified, having been with Christ from the beginning of his ministry, after the imprisonment of John. But when Paul was converted, and received his dispensation of the gospel to the gentiles, a special witness was called upon the stand. {August 22, 1844 SSS, TRMC 2.3}
CONTINUED BELOW~
“Prior to the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt, the new year began in the autumn; but when the Lord brought the Israelites out from Egyptian bondage, in the month Abib, or Nisan, He said, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” The month Abib corresponds with the last of March and the first of April.”
{CIS 94.1} Haskell
“There were three annual assemblies of all Israel for worship at the sanctuary. Exodus 23:14-16. Shiloh was for a time the place of these gatherings; but Jerusalem afterward became the center of the nation’s worship, and here the tribes convened for the solemn feasts… The first of these festivals, the Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, occurred in Abib, the first month of the Jewish year, corresponding to the last of March and the beginning of April. The cold of winter was past, the latter rain had ended, and all nature rejoiced in the freshness and beauty of the springtime. The grass was green on the hills and valleys, and wild flowers everywhere brightened the fields. The moon, now approaching the full, made the evenings delightful. It was the season so beautifully pictured by the sacred singer:”
{PP 537.1, 3} Ellen White
According to above quotes from Sister White and Haskell, the time corresponding to Passover which the month of Abib starts at the soonest, at the “last of March“. Which is to say the last days of March would be the soonest that Abib could begin since barley is never ripe in Jerusalem in the month of March! Also Samuel Snow states above in his “Midnight Cry” paper, that if the new moon is too early in March (ie 16th <— barley cannot be ripe by “last of March”), then the Passover, corresponding to the new year, has to commence in April, not March.
In the records of a traveler to the Holy Land in the 1840’s, that the Millerites referenced; according to the traveler, no barley was ready for harvest anywhere in the whole country in March!
September 3, 1857 UrSe, ARSH 137.13-15; 138.10
ALSO SEE LETTER BELOW FROM ISRAELI OFFICIAL IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE REGARDING RIPENING OF BARLEY (AFTER SAMUEL SNOW’S DOCUMENT BELOW)
These all testified to the one glorious, fundamental fact, that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. Gal. 1. 10-12; 1 Cor. xv, 1-9. It was not with the apostles a matter of faith that Christ had risen, but a matter of knowledge. They had seen, handled, and conversed with him, they had eaten and drunken with him after his resurrection, and had received from him a command to testify to these things. By so doing they confirmed the covenant, or, in other words, established the gospel, upon the resurrection (first fruits) of Christ, which is the foundation of the faith and hope of all God’s children. But this testimony alone was not sufficient to establish the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead. Therefore we are told, Mark xvi. 20, “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by signs following.” See also Heb. ii. 3, 4. When the last witness, that is Paul, had been called, and had given his testimony, confirmed by miracles, the gospel as a divine system of faith, hope, and love was established on its true foundation; in other words, the covenant was confirmed. Paul was converted in the autumn of A. D. 34. As Jesus Christ was crucified in the midst or middle of the week, and on the day of the Passover, which was the fourteenth day of the first month, it follows that the week began in the 7th month of A. D. 27, and ended in the 7th month of A. D. 34. This was the termination of the seventy weeks. From that point, 1810 years remained to the end of the 2300 days. And from the 7th month of A. D. 34, 1810 years extend to the 7th month of A. D. 1844. {August 22, 1844 SSS, TRMC 3.1} (italics added)
CONTINUED BELOW~Samuel Snow’s Midnight Cry continues below
“Christ arose from the dead as the first fruits of those that slept. He was the antitype of the wave sheaf, and His resurrection took place on the very day when the wave sheaf was to be presented before the Lord. For more than a thousand years this symbolic ceremony had been performed. From the harvest fields the first heads of ripened grain were gathered, and when the people went up to Jerusalem to the Passover, the sheaf of first fruits was waved as a thank offering before the Lord. Not until this was presented could the sickle be put to the grain, and it be gathered into sheaves. The sheaf dedicated to God represented the harvest. So Christ the first fruits represented the great spiritual harvest to be gathered for the kingdom of God. His resurrection is the type and pledge of the resurrection of all the righteous dead. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14.
{DA 785.4}
“These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time. On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which for fifteen long centuries the Passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passover with His disciples, instituted that feast which was to commemorate His own death as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” That same night He was taken by wicked hands to be crucified and slain. And as the antitype of the wave sheaf our Lord was raised from the dead on the third day, “the first fruits of them that slept,” a sample of all the resurrected just, whose “vile body” shall be changed, and “fashioned like unto His glorious body.” Verse 20; Philippians 3:21.
{GC 399.3}
“Thy dead [men] shall live, [together with] my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew [is as] the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.”
Isa 26:19
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