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>>John Bradshaw: With the
arrival of the Pilgrims here
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on the shores of
what would become known as
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the United States of America,
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the focus of the
Protestant Reformation
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and its call for a
return to the Bible
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as the
Christian's supreme authority
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began to shift from
the Old World to the New.
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Thousands braved the
often treacherous journey
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across the Atlantic
Ocean during the 17th
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and 18th centuries in
search of a refuge for freedom.
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In Europe, even in England,
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the pendulum of power
swung back and forth for decades
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between those who wanted
to protect religious freedom
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and those who
wanted to curtail it.
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More and more, it was
recognized that a new country
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with a new philosophy of
government would be needed
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as a haven for those wishing
to hold and share their faith
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in accord with the
dictates of conscience.
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¤[Music]¤
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[Horses galloping,
men fighting in battle]
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With America's achievement of
independence from Great Britain
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in 1783, a series of
events opened the way
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for an even clearer
understanding of the Bible,
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and in
particular, Bible prophecy.
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The French
Revolution, which began in 1789,
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saw the people of France rise
up against not only the monarchy
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but also the church.
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There was an attempt
to overthrow the Bible
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and Christianity altogether.
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The cry of the revolutionaries
was "Crush the wretch."
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And the wretch that they
were referring to was Jesus.
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The Bible had been rejected,
neglected, ignored so long.
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The principles of the
Protestant Reformation
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had been rejected by a church
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that was
unwilling to be reformed.
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France's brief
experiment with atheism,
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instead of
getting rid of the Bible
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or the message of Christianity,
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led more people than ever before
to be interested in God's Word.
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In the early years
of the 19th century,
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Bible societies
sprang up around the world.
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Interest spread
in the prophecies
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of Daniel and Revelation.
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The way would be open
for yet another reformer,
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this one from the United States,
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to call the attention of
the world to the Word of God.
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That man was William Miller.
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He was born in 1782,
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the same year as
Martin Van Buren,
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who would become the eighth
president of the United States.
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When Miller was
born in Pittsfield
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in western Massachusetts,
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the Revolutionary
War was in full swing.
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George Washington became
the nation's first president,
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just days before William
Miller's seventh birthday.
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Like so many other reformers,
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poverty and hardship
shaped his character.
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His father had served as a
captain in the Continental Army
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during the American Revolution.
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Many of his
father's struggles and trials
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made a big
impression on young William.
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His mother was a
woman of integrity
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with deep religious convictions.
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Miller was a strong young
man, and he was intelligent.
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He wasn't able
to attend college--
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pretty typical for
people of his era--
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but he did enjoy books,
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and he learned a lot
from his own studies.
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He was raised a Baptist,
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but in his early 20s he
began to read the writings
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of Thomas Paine and
Voltaire and Ethan Allen,
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and he became a deist.
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He believed in God,
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but he didn't believe
that God intervened directly
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in the lives of human beings.
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But that view
would be challenged.
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While serving in the military,
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a bomb exploded just two
feet from where he was standing.
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Three of his men were injured.
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One was killed.
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But Miller
miraculously escaped unscathed.
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Add to that the improbable
victory over the British,
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and Miller began to
wonder whether or not
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God had
something to do with that.
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After his time in the military,
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William Miller
moved here to this farm
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near the Adirondack Mountains,
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just outside of
Whitehall in eastern New York,
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close to the
border with Vermont.
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Farm life wasn't
easy in the early 1800s.
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There was no
mechanized farm equipment,
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no central heat in the home.
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William and his wife
Lucy and their five children
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would have to survive
off what the farm produced.
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And back at home,
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Miller opened the Bible
for the first time in his life
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to learn for himself what
the Scriptures actually taught.
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It wasn't long
before he met Jesus.
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Later, he wrote
of this experience:
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"I saw that the
Bible did bring to view
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such a Savior as I needed;
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and I was perplexed to
find how an uninspired book
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should develop
principles so perfectly adapted
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to the wants of a fallen world.
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I was constrained to
admit that the...Scriptures
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must be a revelation from God.
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They became my delight,
and in Jesus I found a friend.
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I lost all taste
for other reading
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and applied my heart
to get wisdom from God."
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The more he read
and studied the Bible,
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the more
fascinating it became to him.
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Now, he was an independent
thinker, William Miller,
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and he rejected a number
of the commonly-held beliefs
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of his day.
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He didn't believe
that the whole world
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would be converted to Christ,
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nor did he believe there'd be
1,000 years of peace on earth.
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Miller believed
that the return of Jesus
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would be personal and literal,
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and that God would not
set up His kingdom on earth
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until after Christ's return.
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He came to the
conclusion that all of Scripture
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should be considered
before reaching a conclusion
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about any Bible teaching.
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As the Apostle Paul wrote,
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"All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God,
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and is profitable for doctrine,
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for reproof, for correction,
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for instruction
in righteousness"
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(2 Timothy 3:16).
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He believed the Bible to
be truly the Word of God,
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not just a collection of
personal religious opinions.
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"Knowing this first,
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that no
prophecy of the Scripture
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is of any
private interpretation,
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for prophecy never
came by the will of man,
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but holy men of God
spoke as they were moved
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by the Holy Spirit."
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Miller believed that the Bible
was inspired by the Holy Spirit,
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and therefore comparing
one passage of the Bible
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with another would lead
you to a correct understanding.
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It was these principles
for interpreting the Bible
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that led William
Miller to shake up the world,
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especially when it
came to Bible prophecy.
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Miller believed that
by carefully studying
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the prophetic
symbols in the Bible,
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he could arrive at a
correct understanding
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of what those
symbols represented.
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I'll be right back with more.
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¤[Music]¤
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>>John: It's undoubtedly
the world's great superpower:
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the United States of America.
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But what of its role
in earth's last days?
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Does Bible prophecy speak of
the United States of America?
00:07:43.02\00:07:47.60
Find out by
receiving our free gift,
00:07:47.60\00:07:49.60
"The United States
in Bible Prophecy."
00:07:49.63\00:07:51.73
Call us on 800-253-3000,
00:07:51.77\00:07:54.67
or visit us online
at itiswritten.com.
00:07:54.70\00:07:58.37
Or you can write to
the address on your screen.
00:07:58.41\00:08:00.74
I'd like you to
receive our free offer,
00:08:00.78\00:08:02.91
"The United States
in Bible Prophecy."
00:08:02.94\00:08:05.41
>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
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William Miller was a Baptist
farmer who studied his Bible,
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and he arrived at
conclusions that shook up
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the United States of America.
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As he read the Bible,
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he was tempted to
ignore the time periods
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found in Bible prophecy.
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But the more he read,
the more convicted he became
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that these were periods that
he really needed to understand.
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And the one to which
his mind kept returning
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was Daniel 8,
verse 14, which says,
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"Unto two thousand
three hundred days;
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then shall the
sanctuary be cleansed."
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As he tried to
understand this verse,
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Miller followed the
principle that the Bible
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is to be its own interpreter.
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He'd discovered from a
reading elsewhere in the Bible
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that a day in Bible
prophecy represents a year.
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He found that in Numbers
14, verse 34, Ezekiel 4:6,
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and other places.
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And when he went
over to Daniel chapter 9,
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and he read the
70 weeks prophecy
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that references
Jesus' first coming,
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Miller was
amazed by what he found.
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Here's that prophecy:
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"Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people
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and upon thy holy city,
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to finish the transgression,
and to make an end of sins,
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and to make
reconciliation for iniquity,
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and to bring in
everlasting righteousness,
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and to seal up the
vision and prophecy,
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and to anoint the Most Holy.
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Know therefore and understand,
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that from the going forth
of the commandment to restore
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and to build Jerusalem
unto Messiah the Prince
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shall be seven weeks,
and threescore and two weeks:
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the street shall be
built again, and the wall,
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even in troublous times.
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And after threescore and two
weeks shall Messiah be cut off,
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but not for Himself:
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and the people of the
prince that shall come
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shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary;
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and the end thereof
shall be with a flood,
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and unto the end of the
war desolations are determined.
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And he shall confirm the
covenant with many for one week:
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and in the midst of the week
he shall cause the sacrifice
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and the oblation to cease,
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and for the
overspreading of abominations
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he shall make it desolate,
even until the consummation,
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and that determined shall
be poured upon the desolate."
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Now, that's quite a passage,
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and Miller was determined
to get to the bottom of it.
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Consider what
the passage contains:
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a time period
allotted to Israel--70 weeks--
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a commandment to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem,
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the coming of
Messiah the Prince--
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that's Jesus, His first coming--
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Messiah being
"cut off," or executed,
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a covenant being
confirmed for a week,
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the end of sacrifice
and offering, and more.
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The popular
theory in Miller's day
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was that the sanctuary
referenced in Daniel 8:14
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represented the earth,
00:11:02.32\00:11:05.09
so Miller decided that
the cleansing of the sanctuary
00:11:05.13\00:11:08.43
would be when the
earth was cleansed by fire
00:11:08.46\00:11:11.50
when Jesus returned.
00:11:11.53\00:11:13.34
And then there was this
time period: 2,300 days.
00:11:13.37\00:11:18.47
Using the principle of
prophetic interpretation
00:11:18.51\00:11:20.98
that taught that a day
represents a year in prophecy,
00:11:21.01\00:11:24.91
Miller considered these
2,300 days to be 2,300 years.
00:11:24.95\00:11:31.82
The decree that provided the
starting point for this prophecy
00:11:31.85\00:11:35.22
Miller found in Ezra chapter 7,
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the decree issued by the
Medo-Persian king Artaxerxes,
00:11:38.43\00:11:42.30
permitting Israel to
rebuild the temple in Jerusalem
00:11:42.33\00:11:46.00
and reorder society there.
00:11:46.03\00:11:48.54
Knowing this,
00:11:48.57\00:11:50.34
it wouldn't be hard for Miller
to work out the particulars
00:11:50.37\00:11:53.11
of this prophecy.
00:11:53.14\00:11:54.91
So here's what
Miller discovered.
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The decree was
issued in the year 457 BC.
00:11:57.31\00:12:01.38
Add 2,300 years to that,
and you get to the year 1843.
00:12:01.42\00:12:07.76
Miller was thrilled.
00:12:07.79\00:12:10.39
He'd figured out that Jesus
was going to return to the earth
00:12:10.43\00:12:14.36
in just 25 years.
00:12:14.36\00:12:16.77
Miller wrote,
00:12:16.80\00:12:17.83
"I was thus brought...
to the solemn conclusion,
00:12:17.87\00:12:21.37
that in about twenty-five
years from that time (1818)
00:12:21.40\00:12:25.24
all the affairs of our present
state would be wound up."
00:12:25.27\00:12:29.41
The farmer, the
former military man,
00:12:29.44\00:12:32.61
had made an
astonishing discovery:
00:12:32.65\00:12:35.42
Jesus was coming back to
the earth, and he knew when.
00:12:35.45\00:12:40.16
He described the
experience in these words:
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"I need not speak of
the joy that filled my heart
00:12:42.89\00:12:45.86
in view of the
delightful prospect,
00:12:45.89\00:12:48.63
nor of the ardent
longings of my soul
00:12:48.66\00:12:51.70
for a participation in
the joys of the redeemed.
00:12:51.73\00:12:55.24
The Bible was now
to me a new book...
00:12:55.27\00:12:57.87
It was indeed a feast of reason;
00:12:57.91\00:13:01.51
all that was dark, mystical, or
obscure to me in its teachings,
00:13:01.54\00:13:06.92
had been dissipated in my
mind before the clear light
00:13:06.95\00:13:10.25
that now dawned
from its sacred pages,
00:13:10.29\00:13:13.59
and oh, how bright and
glorious the truth appeared!"
00:13:13.62\00:13:17.39
And then came the conviction
that he should tell others
00:13:17.43\00:13:21.13
what he'd learned.
00:13:21.16\00:13:22.60
An inner voice
seemed to drive him
00:13:22.63\00:13:24.90
to "go and tell
it to the world."
00:13:24.93\00:13:28.00
He shared his
views in private studies
00:13:28.04\00:13:29.97
and in
conversations with others,
00:13:30.01\00:13:31.81
but he wasn't in any hurry at
all to make them known publicly.
00:13:31.84\00:13:35.64
After all, he was
no public speaker.
00:13:35.68\00:13:38.25
He was 50 years old and had
no formal theological training.
00:13:38.28\00:13:42.32
For nine years, he
resisted the commission
00:13:42.35\00:13:45.75
that God was
pressing upon his heart.
00:13:45.79\00:13:48.29
Finally, he put God to the test.
00:13:49.02\00:13:51.66
He told God in prayer that if he
received an invitation to speak,
00:13:51.69\00:13:57.07
he would take
this as heaven's sign
00:13:57.10\00:13:59.83
that he was to
share his findings.
00:13:59.87\00:14:02.84
As it happened,
00:14:02.87\00:14:04.21
an invitation was on its
way to him at that very moment.
00:14:04.24\00:14:08.01
A young man had traveled
16 miles to the Miller farm
00:14:08.04\00:14:11.68
with a message from his
father in Dresden, New York.
00:14:11.71\00:14:15.25
There wouldn't be any preaching
in their church the next day.
00:14:15.28\00:14:17.95
Instead, they wanted William
Miller to talk to the people
00:14:17.99\00:14:22.29
on the subject of the
Second Coming of Jesus.
00:14:22.32\00:14:25.63
Miller was shocked and angry
00:14:25.66\00:14:29.03
that he'd made
that promise to God,
00:14:29.06\00:14:31.70
but he didn't
give the boy an answer.
00:14:31.73\00:14:33.67
Instead, he left his
house, and he came here
00:14:33.70\00:14:36.94
to this very grove of trees,
00:14:36.97\00:14:38.81
where he spent about
an hour talking with God,
00:14:38.84\00:14:41.34
trying to get out of the
commitment that he just made.
00:14:41.38\00:14:44.68
But Miller
couldn't break his covenant.
00:14:44.71\00:14:46.65
Instead, he went
back to the house,
00:14:46.68\00:14:49.42
where the boy was still waiting,
00:14:49.45\00:14:51.19
and they later
journeyed together to Dresden,
00:14:51.22\00:14:53.69
a journey which
took them about an hour,
00:14:53.72\00:14:56.59
which means the
boy had left his home
00:14:56.62\00:15:00.23
to come and
invite Miller to speak
00:15:00.26\00:15:02.36
before Miller had
made his pledge to God.
00:15:02.40\00:15:07.27
It was later said that Miller
came into the woods a farmer,
00:15:07.30\00:15:11.14
and he went out a preacher.
00:15:11.17\00:15:13.51
That presentation
was so well-received,
00:15:13.54\00:15:15.88
he was asked to stay in Dresden
and preach throughout the week.
00:15:15.91\00:15:20.22
When he returned home,
00:15:20.25\00:15:21.78
there was a letter inviting him
to speak in Poultney, Vermont.
00:15:21.82\00:15:25.55
And so it went.
00:15:25.59\00:15:26.96
Over the next 13 years,
William Miller would average
00:15:26.99\00:15:30.23
almost 270 speaking
appointments a year.
00:15:30.26\00:15:34.66
While the common people
received Miller's message
00:15:34.73\00:15:37.20
enthusiastically,
00:15:37.23\00:15:39.00
the popular religious leaders
weren't impressed at all.
00:15:39.03\00:15:42.84
Most of what
they wrote, preached,
00:15:42.87\00:15:44.64
or published about
Miller's message was negative.
00:15:44.67\00:15:48.44
In fact, the time
came when many who accepted
00:15:48.48\00:15:51.61
the teachings of
Miller and his associates
00:15:51.65\00:15:54.02
would be thrown out of
many of the mainline churches.
00:15:54.05\00:15:58.22
But like Martin
Luther and other reformers,
00:15:58.25\00:16:00.26
William Miller simply
challenged his critics
00:16:00.29\00:16:02.76
to show him his
error from the Bible.
00:16:02.79\00:16:05.89
The thing was, when people
listened to what Miller said
00:16:05.93\00:16:08.43
and then looked into the Bible,
everything seemed to add up.
00:16:08.46\00:16:11.93
It appeared that
Miller was right.
00:16:11.97\00:16:13.90
The 2,300 days were
definitely 2,300 years.
00:16:13.94\00:16:17.74
Miller had made that clear.
00:16:17.77\00:16:20.18
The decree? Ezra chapter
7 made that clear: 457 BC.
00:16:20.21\00:16:25.88
After that, simply
a question of math.
00:16:25.91\00:16:28.95
Daniel 8:14 had said,
00:16:28.98\00:16:30.32
"Unto 2,300 days, then shall
the sanctuary be cleansed."
00:16:30.35\00:16:35.36
What else could it mean?
00:16:35.39\00:16:36.93
Jesus was coming back, and
He was coming back in 1843.
00:16:36.96\00:16:43.60
Except for one small thing.
00:16:43.63\00:16:46.17
I'll be right back with more.
00:16:46.20\00:16:47.67
¤[Music]¤
00:16:47.70\00:16:52.97
¤[Music]¤
00:16:54.04\00:16:55.94
>>Announcer: In Matthew
4:4, the Word of God says,
00:16:55.98\00:16:58.61
"It is written,
00:16:58.65\00:16:59.45
'Man shall not
live by bread alone,
00:16:59.48\00:17:01.82
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:17:01.85\00:17:05.52
"Every Word" is a one-minute
Bible-based daily devotional
00:17:05.55\00:17:08.76
presented by
Pastor John Bradshaw
00:17:08.79\00:17:10.89
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:17:10.93\00:17:14.10
Look for "Every
Word" on selected networks,
00:17:14.13\00:17:16.83
or watch it online
every day on our website:
00:17:16.87\00:17:18.83
itiswritten.com.
00:17:18.87\00:17:21.17
Receive a daily spiritual boost.
00:17:21.20\00:17:23.34
Watch "Every Word."
00:17:23.37\00:17:24.74
You'll be glad you did.
00:17:24.77\00:17:29.14
¤["Every Word" theme music]¤
00:17:29.71\00:17:35.08
>>John Bradshaw:
Abbott and Costello,
00:17:35.12\00:17:36.82
Jordan and Pippen,
00:17:36.85\00:17:38.29
Wilbur Wright
and Orville Wright,
00:17:38.32\00:17:40.12
Simon and Garfunkel.
00:17:40.16\00:17:41.82
Now, pardon my
somewhat trivial examples here,
00:17:41.86\00:17:43.83
but the point is
one that you know well.
00:17:43.86\00:17:45.63
Often, someone is prominent
or achieves in large part
00:17:45.66\00:17:48.90
because of the
help of another person.
00:17:48.93\00:17:50.73
The Protestant Reformation was
the most significant religious,
00:17:50.77\00:17:53.20
and you could say political,
00:17:53.23\00:17:54.54
event of the
last thousand years.
00:17:54.57\00:17:56.47
And while we
think of Martin Luther
00:17:56.50\00:17:57.81
as the architect
of the Reformation,
00:17:57.84\00:17:59.87
Luther likely
wouldn't have been Luther
00:17:59.91\00:18:01.44
without Philipp Melanchthon.
00:18:01.48\00:18:03.51
Melanchthon was a giant
intellect, a theologian,
00:18:03.55\00:18:05.75
and he collaborated with Luther.
00:18:05.78\00:18:07.55
He made Luther better,
00:18:07.58\00:18:09.32
like Aaron and Hur
holding up Moses' hands.
00:18:09.35\00:18:11.85
Exodus 17, verse 12 says,
00:18:11.89\00:18:13.89
"And Aaron and Hur
stayed up his hands,
00:18:13.92\00:18:16.26
the one on the one side,
the other on the other side."
00:18:16.29\00:18:19.03
Whose hands can
you hold up today?
00:18:19.06\00:18:21.03
God might be looking to
you to bring out the best
00:18:21.06\00:18:23.77
in someone else.
00:18:23.80\00:18:24.83
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written.
00:18:24.87\00:18:26.50
Let's live today by every word.
00:18:26.53\00:18:28.54
>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
00:18:30.17\00:18:32.74
William Miller,
00:18:32.77\00:18:33.98
a Baptist farmer from a
small town in New York state,
00:18:34.01\00:18:36.68
had discovered an
amazing message in the Bible.
00:18:36.71\00:18:40.62
His careful study of
God's Word had proven
00:18:40.65\00:18:44.35
that Jesus was coming
back to the earth in 1843.
00:18:44.39\00:18:49.59
But as you know,
00:18:49.62\00:18:51.13
Jesus didn't come back in 1843.
00:18:51.16\00:18:54.83
Well, after that
massive disappointment,
00:18:54.83\00:18:57.43
somebody figured out why.
00:18:57.47\00:18:59.93
You see, they'd forgotten
that there was no year zero.
00:19:00.04\00:19:03.91
If you start at minus five
and you count to plus five,
00:19:03.94\00:19:06.81
that's a difference of 10.
00:19:06.84\00:19:09.34
But if you start at 5
BC and you go to 5 AD,
00:19:09.38\00:19:13.31
that's a difference of nine
because there's no year zero.
00:19:13.35\00:19:18.72
You go from 1 BC to 1 AD.
00:19:18.75\00:19:22.69
Of course, Jesus
wasn't coming back in 1843.
00:19:22.72\00:19:27.96
He was coming back in 1844.
00:19:28.00\00:19:30.53
Miller's followers were
called Millerites and Adventists
00:19:31.13\00:19:35.24
because of their belief in
the imminent advent of Jesus.
00:19:35.27\00:19:38.61
By the summer of 1844,
00:19:38.64\00:19:40.68
this Advent
movement built to its climax.
00:19:40.71\00:19:43.98
In August, a man by
the name of Samuel Snow
00:19:44.01\00:19:47.28
addressed a Millerite gathering
and showed from his study
00:19:47.32\00:19:50.85
of Scripture and the
ancient Jewish Day of Atonement
00:19:50.89\00:19:54.26
that the tenth day
of the seventh month,
00:19:54.29\00:19:56.59
the annual Day of Atonement,
00:19:56.62\00:19:58.86
would fall in 1844
on the 22nd of October.
00:19:58.89\00:20:04.90
This prediction gave
even stronger momentum
00:20:04.93\00:20:07.34
to the movement.
00:20:07.37\00:20:08.54
The preachers
continued to preach,
00:20:08.57\00:20:10.44
and literature explaining
the prophecies of the Bible
00:20:10.47\00:20:13.41
and the time periods in question
were circulated far and wide.
00:20:13.44\00:20:18.05
One of the prominent
leaders of the movement,
00:20:18.08\00:20:19.88
Charles Fitch, died of pneumonia
00:20:19.91\00:20:22.78
after baptizing
believers in the Ohio River.
00:20:22.82\00:20:25.55
Even though the
weather was severely cold,
00:20:25.59\00:20:27.46
he refused to turn anyone away.
00:20:27.49\00:20:30.33
He died just 10 days before
Jesus was expected to return,
00:20:30.36\00:20:34.10
but his family didn't mourn.
00:20:34.13\00:20:36.60
They believed that
they'd be seeing him again,
00:20:36.63\00:20:38.93
that his body would
come up out of the grave
00:20:38.97\00:20:41.40
in just a few more days.
00:20:41.44\00:20:43.91
At last, the
appointed day arrived.
00:20:43.94\00:20:46.78
Some believers left
their crops unharvested.
00:20:46.81\00:20:50.18
One shop owner in Philadelphia
00:20:50.21\00:20:51.91
left a sign in
his window that said,
00:20:51.95\00:20:54.42
"This shop is closed in
honor of the King of Kings,
00:20:54.45\00:20:58.09
who will appear
the 22nd of October.
00:20:58.12\00:21:00.82
Get ready, friends, to
crown Him Lord of all."
00:21:00.86\00:21:05.26
But as the day got longer,
00:21:05.29\00:21:07.23
these faithful
believers realized that
00:21:07.30\00:21:09.26
Jesus might not return.
00:21:09.30\00:21:12.13
When midnight arrived,
00:21:12.17\00:21:13.77
the disappointment of
the Millerites was intense.
00:21:13.80\00:21:17.97
The prophecy found in Revelation
chapter 10 was fulfilled.
00:21:18.01\00:21:21.98
"And I went to the
angel and said to him,
00:21:22.01\00:21:24.55
'Give me the little book.'
00:21:24.58\00:21:26.41
And he said to
me, 'Take and eat it;
00:21:26.45\00:21:29.25
and it will make
your stomach bitter,
00:21:29.28\00:21:31.49
but it will be as sweet
as honey in your mouth.'
00:21:31.52\00:21:34.76
And I took the little book out
of the angel's hand and ate it,
00:21:34.79\00:21:38.73
and it was as sweet
as honey in my mouth.
00:21:38.76\00:21:41.46
But when I had eaten it,
my stomach became bitter."
00:21:41.50\00:21:45.97
Revelation 10:9 and 10.
00:21:46.00\00:21:49.20
Descendants of people
who lived here at the time
00:21:49.24\00:21:51.81
say that some Millerite
believers gathered right here,
00:21:51.84\00:21:55.34
on what today is
known as Ascension Rock,
00:21:55.38\00:21:58.35
and waited here
for Jesus to come.
00:21:58.38\00:22:01.55
If that's true, their
journey home that night
00:22:01.58\00:22:04.62
would have been very difficult.
00:22:04.65\00:22:08.36
Imagine believing
that you were going
00:22:08.39\00:22:09.69
to farewell your
friends and neighbors.
00:22:09.72\00:22:11.56
You'd never see them again,
many of whom had ridiculed you
00:22:11.59\00:22:14.63
for believing that
Jesus was gonna come back.
00:22:14.66\00:22:17.43
Now you'd have to face them.
00:22:17.47\00:22:19.37
They'd mock you again
00:22:19.40\00:22:20.34
because you are here
on this earth at all.
00:22:20.37\00:22:23.71
Imagine believing that
you are going to go to heaven,
00:22:23.74\00:22:26.54
and then discovering that
heaven would have to wait.
00:22:26.57\00:22:30.85
And of course, all of this
begs some difficult questions.
00:22:30.88\00:22:34.02
¤[Music]¤
00:22:34.05\00:22:36.55
So how could William Miller,
a faithful Baptist preacher,
00:22:36.58\00:22:39.49
possibly get it so wrong?
00:22:39.52\00:22:41.62
After all, the Bible
says that no one knows
00:22:41.66\00:22:43.79
the day or the
hour of Jesus' return.
00:22:43.83\00:22:46.23
Well, it's good to remember
that William Miller himself
00:22:46.26\00:22:48.73
never set a date,
00:22:48.76\00:22:49.96
but one of his followers did
circle a day on the calendar.
00:22:50.00\00:22:54.74
Well, keep this in mind.
00:22:54.77\00:22:56.91
Even Jesus' followers
sometimes made mistakes.
00:22:56.94\00:23:00.24
Jesus told them as plainly as He
could that He was going to die,
00:23:00.28\00:23:03.21
and they just couldn't
understand what He was saying.
00:23:03.24\00:23:06.18
When Jesus died,
their hopes died with Him.
00:23:06.21\00:23:10.25
But out of that
brutal disappointment,
00:23:10.29\00:23:12.15
Jesus brought great things,
00:23:12.19\00:23:14.12
and He brought good things
00:23:14.16\00:23:15.29
out of the
Millerite disappointment, too.
00:23:15.32\00:23:17.73
If Miller could be so
wrong about something so basic,
00:23:17.76\00:23:21.40
didn't that make him a
deceiver, a false messiah?
00:23:21.43\00:23:25.87
Well, no.
00:23:25.90\00:23:27.74
No more than the followers
of Jesus were false prophets.
00:23:27.77\00:23:31.34
Miller was just
wrong about a key point.
00:23:31.37\00:23:35.84
Could Miller's
error have jeopardized
00:23:35.88\00:23:37.85
the faith of his followers?
00:23:37.88\00:23:39.98
Well, that's possible,
but this is a reminder to us,
00:23:40.02\00:23:42.78
that a person's faith
must be individual, personal,
00:23:42.82\00:23:46.19
based on the Bible,
00:23:46.22\00:23:48.52
and not on the say-so
of another human being.
00:23:48.56\00:23:51.36
God achieved some great
things through William Miller.
00:23:51.39\00:23:55.10
Thousands of people
were directed to the study
00:23:55.13\00:23:57.33
of the Bible, in
particular the Bible's teaching
00:23:57.37\00:24:00.67
about the
Second Coming of Jesus.
00:24:00.70\00:24:02.20
The Second Coming
was a neglected teaching
00:24:02.24\00:24:04.87
in Christianity,
00:24:04.91\00:24:06.24
and Miller shone a spotlight
on the Bible's teaching
00:24:06.27\00:24:09.01
that Jesus was indeed
soon to return to this earth.
00:24:09.04\00:24:12.78
Today, that
teaching is widely believed.
00:24:12.81\00:24:15.32
Few in
Christianity are not Adventists.
00:24:15.35\00:24:18.62
Most Christians today
believe in the Advent of Jesus,
00:24:18.65\00:24:22.02
and many believe
it will happen soon.
00:24:22.06\00:24:24.73
For that, William
Miller is largely to credit.
00:24:24.76\00:24:28.90
Revelation 10, which speaks
of the bitter disappointment,
00:24:28.93\00:24:31.47
goes on to say,
00:24:31.50\00:24:33.50
"Thou must prophesy
again before many peoples
00:24:33.54\00:24:37.61
and nations and
tongues and kings."
00:24:37.64\00:24:40.78
Revelation 10, verse 11.
00:24:40.81\00:24:43.11
And since Miller's time,
00:24:43.14\00:24:45.18
the church has
been prophesying again.
00:24:45.21\00:24:48.45
The news has gone to the world
that Jesus is coming back soon,
00:24:48.48\00:24:52.69
that everybody can
be ready for that day
00:24:52.72\00:24:54.69
through faith in Jesus Christ,
00:24:54.72\00:24:57.09
and that the Bible is the
rule of faith and practice
00:24:57.13\00:25:00.66
for all believers.
00:25:00.70\00:25:02.76
William Miller
continued to preach,
00:25:02.80\00:25:05.17
he continued to believe,
00:25:05.20\00:25:06.50
and he
continued to trust in God.
00:25:06.53\00:25:08.94
He died in 1849
at the age of 67,
00:25:08.97\00:25:13.98
and he's buried right here.
00:25:14.01\00:25:17.55
Soon the Protestant
Reformation will be completed.
00:25:17.58\00:25:20.88
Soon the words of
Jesus will be fulfilled,
00:25:20.92\00:25:22.85
those words spoken in Matthew
24, verse 14, when Jesus said,
00:25:22.88\00:25:26.65
"This gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached
00:25:26.69\00:25:28.89
in all the world for a
witness to all nations.
00:25:28.92\00:25:32.79
And then shall the end come."
00:25:32.83\00:25:34.86
¤[Music]¤
00:25:34.93\00:25:40.07
>>John: I'm John
Bradshaw from It Is Written,
00:25:41.60\00:25:43.84
inviting you to
join me for "500,"
00:25:43.87\00:25:47.54
nine programs
produced by It Is Written,
00:25:47.58\00:25:49.81
taking you deep
into the Reformation.
00:25:49.84\00:25:52.81
This is the 500th anniversary
00:25:52.85\00:25:55.42
of the beginning
of the Reformation,
00:25:55.45\00:25:57.09
when Martin Luther
nailed his Ninety-Five Theses
00:25:57.12\00:25:59.55
to the door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:25:59.59\00:26:02.49
We'll take you to Wittenberg,
00:26:02.52\00:26:03.76
and to Belgium, to
England, to Ireland,
00:26:03.79\00:26:07.20
to Rome, to the Vatican City,
00:26:07.23\00:26:09.23
and introduce you to the people
who created the Reformation,
00:26:09.26\00:26:12.30
who pushed the
Reformation forward.
00:26:12.33\00:26:14.17
We'll take you to
sites all throughout Europe
00:26:14.20\00:26:16.24
where the Reformers
lived and, in some cases, died.
00:26:16.27\00:26:19.04
We'll bring you
back to the United States
00:26:19.07\00:26:20.64
and take you to a little
farm in upstate New York,
00:26:20.68\00:26:23.61
and show you how God
spread the Reformation here.
00:26:23.65\00:26:26.55
Don't miss "500."
00:26:26.58\00:26:28.72
You can own the
"500" series on DVD.
00:26:28.75\00:26:31.72
Call us on 888-664-5573,
00:26:31.75\00:26:36.42
or visit us online
at itiswritten.shop.
00:26:36.46\00:26:41.16
>>John Bradshaw:
Let's pray together.
00:26:42.03\00:26:44.00
Our Father in heaven,
00:26:44.03\00:26:45.10
we thank You in
the name of Jesus
00:26:45.13\00:26:47.17
that You've raised up
men and women of faith
00:26:47.20\00:26:49.07
to inspire us, to guide us,
00:26:49.10\00:26:51.51
to urge us forward.
00:26:51.54\00:26:54.08
We thank You that in
spite of the failings of some,
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in spite of their
foibles or mistakes,
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You still work.
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We thank You that You
raised up William Miller
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to call us to the great truth
that Jesus is coming again soon.
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Grant that we'd be ready for
that day through faith in Jesus.
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Live Your life in us,
fill us with Your Holy Spirit,
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and let our lives be
filled with the joy of knowing
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that, one day soon,
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we will be with You forever.
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We pray with John,
who wrote Revelation,
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when he said, "Even
so, come, Lord Jesus."
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And we pray in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Thanks so much for joining me.
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I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
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Until then, remember:
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"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
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but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
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¤[Theme music]¤
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