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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?
00:07:42.82\00:07:47.40
Find out by
receiving our free gift,
00:07:47.40\00:07:49.40
"The United States
in Bible Prophecy."
00:07:49.43\00:07:51.53
Call us on 800-253-3000,
00:07:51.57\00:07:54.47
or visit us online
at itiswritten.com.
00:07:54.50\00:07:58.17
Or you can write to
the address on your screen.
00:07:58.21\00:08:00.54
I'd like you to
receive our free offer,
00:08:00.58\00:08:02.71
"The United States
in Bible Prophecy."
00:08:02.74\00:08:05.21
>>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,
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so Miller decided that
the cleansing of the sanctuary
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would be when the
earth was cleansed by fire
00:11:08.26\00:11:11.30
when Jesus returned.
00:11:11.33\00:11:13.13
And then there was this
time period: 2,300 days.
00:11:13.17\00:11:18.27
Using the principle of
prophetic interpretation
00:11:18.31\00:11:20.78
that taught that a day
represents a year in prophecy,
00:11:20.81\00:11:24.71
Miller considered these
2,300 days to be 2,300 years.
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The decree that provided the
starting point for this prophecy
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Miller found in Ezra chapter 7,
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the decree issued by the
Medo-Persian king Artaxerxes,
00:11:38.23\00:11:42.10
permitting Israel to
rebuild the temple in Jerusalem
00:11:42.13\00:11:45.80
and reorder society there.
00:11:45.83\00:11:48.34
Knowing this,
00:11:48.37\00:11:50.14
it wouldn't be hard for Miller
to work out the particulars
00:11:50.17\00:11:52.91
of this prophecy.
00:11:52.94\00:11:54.71
So here's what
Miller discovered.
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The decree was
issued in the year 457 BC.
00:11:57.11\00:12:01.18
Add 2,300 years to that,
and you get to the year 1843.
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Miller was thrilled.
00:12:07.59\00:12:10.19
He'd figured out that Jesus
was going to return to the earth
00:12:10.23\00:12:14.13
in just 25 years.
00:12:14.20\00:12:16.56
Miller wrote,
00:12:16.60\00:12:17.63
"I was thus brought...
to the solemn conclusion,
00:12:17.67\00:12:21.17
that in about twenty-five
years from that time (1818)
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all the affairs of our present
state would be wound up."
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The farmer, the
former military man,
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had made an
astonishing discovery:
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Jesus was coming back to
the earth, and he knew when.
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He described the
experience in these words:
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"I need not speak of
the joy that filled my heart
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in view of the
delightful prospect,
00:12:45.69\00:12:48.43
nor of the ardent
longings of my soul
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for a participation in
the joys of the redeemed.
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The Bible was now
to me a new book...
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It was indeed a feast of reason;
00:12:57.71\00:13:01.31
all that was dark, mystical, or
obscure to me in its teachings,
00:13:01.34\00:13:06.72
had been dissipated in my
mind before the clear light
00:13:06.75\00:13:10.05
that now dawned
from its sacred pages,
00:13:10.09\00:13:13.39
and oh, how bright and
glorious the truth appeared!"
00:13:13.42\00:13:17.19
And then came the conviction
that he should tell others
00:13:17.23\00:13:20.96
what he'd learned.
00:13:20.96\00:13:22.40
An inner voice
seemed to drive him
00:13:22.43\00:13:24.70
to "go and tell
it to the world."
00:13:24.73\00:13:27.80
He shared his
views in private studies
00:13:27.84\00:13:29.77
and in
conversations with others,
00:13:29.80\00:13:31.61
but he wasn't in any hurry at
all to make them known publicly.
00:13:31.64\00:13:35.44
After all, he was
no public speaker.
00:13:35.48\00:13:38.05
He was 50 years old and had
no formal theological training.
00:13:38.08\00:13:42.12
For nine years, he
resisted the commission
00:13:42.15\00:13:45.55
that God was
pressing upon his heart.
00:13:45.59\00:13:48.09
Finally, he put God to the test.
00:13:48.82\00:13:51.46
He told God in prayer that if he
received an invitation to speak,
00:13:51.49\00:13:56.87
he would take
this as heaven's sign
00:13:56.90\00:13:59.63
that he was to
share his findings.
00:13:59.67\00:14:02.64
As it happened,
00:14:02.67\00:14:04.01
an invitation was on its
way to him at that very moment.
00:14:04.04\00:14:07.81
A young man had traveled
16 miles to the Miller farm
00:14:07.84\00:14:11.48
with a message from his
father in Dresden, New York.
00:14:11.51\00:14:15.05
There wouldn't be any preaching
in their church the next day.
00:14:15.08\00:14:17.75
Instead, they wanted William
Miller to talk to the people
00:14:17.79\00:14:22.09
on the subject of the
Second Coming of Jesus.
00:14:22.12\00:14:25.43
Miller was shocked and angry
00:14:25.46\00:14:28.83
that he'd made
that promise to God,
00:14:28.86\00:14:31.50
but he didn't
give the boy an answer.
00:14:31.53\00:14:33.47
Instead, he left his
house, and he came here
00:14:33.50\00:14:36.74
to this very grove of trees,
00:14:36.77\00:14:38.61
where he spent about
an hour talking with God,
00:14:38.64\00:14:41.14
trying to get out of the
commitment that he just made.
00:14:41.18\00:14:44.48
But Miller
couldn't break his covenant.
00:14:44.51\00:14:46.45
Instead, he went
back to the house,
00:14:46.48\00:14:49.22
where the boy was still waiting,
00:14:49.25\00:14:50.99
and they later
journeyed together to Dresden,
00:14:51.02\00:14:53.49
a journey which
took them about an hour,
00:14:53.52\00:14:56.39
which means the
boy had left his home
00:14:56.42\00:14:59.96
to come and
invite Miller to speak
00:15:00.06\00:15:02.16
before Miller had
made his pledge to God.
00:15:02.20\00:15:07.07
It was later said that Miller
came into the woods a farmer,
00:15:07.10\00:15:10.94
and he went out a preacher.
00:15:10.97\00:15:13.31
That presentation
was so well-received,
00:15:13.34\00:15:15.68
he was asked to stay in Dresden
and preach throughout the week.
00:15:15.71\00:15:20.02
When he returned home,
00:15:20.05\00:15:21.58
there was a letter inviting him
to speak in Poultney, Vermont.
00:15:21.62\00:15:25.35
And so it went.
00:15:25.39\00:15:26.76
Over the next 13 years,
William Miller would average
00:15:26.79\00:15:30.03
almost 270 speaking
appointments a year.
00:15:30.06\00:15:34.46
While the common people
received Miller's message
00:15:34.50\00:15:37.00
enthusiastically,
00:15:37.03\00:15:38.80
the popular religious leaders
weren't impressed at all.
00:15:38.83\00:15:42.64
Most of what
they wrote, preached,
00:15:42.67\00:15:44.44
or published about
Miller's message was negative.
00:15:44.47\00:15:48.24
In fact, the time
came when many who accepted
00:15:48.28\00:15:51.41
the teachings of
Miller and his associates
00:15:51.45\00:15:53.82
would be thrown out of
many of the mainline churches.
00:15:53.85\00:15:58.02
But like Martin
Luther and other reformers,
00:15:58.05\00:16:00.06
William Miller simply
challenged his critics
00:16:00.09\00:16:02.56
to show him his
error from the Bible.
00:16:02.59\00:16:05.69
The thing was, when people
listened to what Miller said
00:16:05.73\00:16:08.23
and then looked into the Bible,
everything seemed to add up.
00:16:08.26\00:16:11.73
It appeared that
Miller was right.
00:16:11.77\00:16:13.70
The 2,300 days were
definitely 2,300 years.
00:16:13.74\00:16:17.54
Miller had made that clear.
00:16:17.57\00:16:19.97
The decree? Ezra chapter
7 made that clear: 457 BC.
00:16:20.01\00:16:25.68
After that, simply
a question of math.
00:16:25.71\00:16:28.75
Daniel 8:14 had said,
00:16:28.78\00:16:30.12
"Unto 2,300 days, then shall
the sanctuary be cleansed."
00:16:30.15\00:16:35.16
What else could it mean?
00:16:35.19\00:16:36.73
Jesus was coming back, and
He was coming back in 1843.
00:16:36.76\00:16:43.40
Except for one small thing.
00:16:43.43\00:16:45.97
I'll be right back with more.
00:16:46.00\00:16:47.47
¤[Music]¤
00:16:47.50\00:16:52.77
¤[Music]¤
00:16:53.84\00:16:55.74
>>Announcer: In Matthew
4:4, the Word of God says,
00:16:55.78\00:16:58.41
"It is written,
00:16:58.45\00:16:59.25
'Man shall not
live by bread alone,
00:16:59.28\00:17:01.62
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:17:01.65\00:17:05.32
"Every Word" is a one-minute
Bible-based daily devotional
00:17:05.35\00:17:08.56
presented by
Pastor John Bradshaw
00:17:08.59\00:17:10.69
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:17:10.73\00:17:13.93
Look for "Every
Word" on selected networks,
00:17:13.96\00:17:16.63
or watch it online
every day on our website:
00:17:16.67\00:17:18.63
itiswritten.com.
00:17:18.67\00:17:20.97
Receive a daily spiritual boost.
00:17:21.00\00:17:23.14
Watch "Every Word."
00:17:23.17\00:17:24.54
You'll be glad you did.
00:17:24.57\00:17:28.94
¤["Every Word" theme music]¤
00:17:29.51\00:17:34.88
>>John Bradshaw:
Abbott and Costello,
00:17:34.92\00:17:36.62
Jordan and Pippen,
00:17:36.65\00:17:38.09
Wilbur Wright
and Orville Wright,
00:17:38.12\00:17:39.92
Simon and Garfunkel.
00:17:39.95\00:17:41.62
Now, pardon my
somewhat trivial examples here,
00:17:41.66\00:17:43.63
but the point is
one that you know well.
00:17:43.66\00:17:45.43
Often, someone is prominent
or achieves in large part
00:17:45.46\00:17:48.70
because of the
help of another person.
00:17:48.73\00:17:50.53
The Protestant Reformation was
the most significant religious,
00:17:50.57\00:17:53.00
and you could say political,
00:17:53.03\00:17:54.34
event of the
last thousand years.
00:17:54.37\00:17:56.27
And while we
think of Martin Luther
00:17:56.30\00:17:57.61
as the architect
of the Reformation,
00:17:57.64\00:17:59.67
Luther likely
wouldn't have been Luther
00:17:59.71\00:18:01.24
without Philipp Melanchthon.
00:18:01.28\00:18:03.31
Melanchthon was a giant
intellect, a theologian,
00:18:03.35\00:18:05.55
and he collaborated with Luther.
00:18:05.58\00:18:07.35
He made Luther better,
00:18:07.38\00:18:09.12
like Aaron and Hur
holding up Moses' hands.
00:18:09.15\00:18:11.65
Exodus 17, verse 12 says,
00:18:11.69\00:18:13.69
"And Aaron and Hur
stayed up his hands,
00:18:13.72\00:18:16.06
the one on the one side,
the other on the other side."
00:18:16.09\00:18:18.83
Whose hands can
you hold up today?
00:18:18.86\00:18:20.86
God might be looking to
you to bring out the best
00:18:20.90\00:18:23.57
in someone else.
00:18:23.60\00:18:24.63
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written.
00:18:24.67\00:18:26.30
Let's live today by every word.
00:18:26.33\00:18:28.34
>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
00:18:29.97\00:18:32.54
William Miller,
00:18:32.57\00:18:33.78
a Baptist farmer from a
small town in New York state,
00:18:33.81\00:18:36.48
had discovered an
amazing message in the Bible.
00:18:36.51\00:18:40.42
His careful study of
God's Word had proven
00:18:40.45\00:18:44.15
that Jesus was coming
back to the earth in 1843.
00:18:44.19\00:18:49.39
But as you know,
00:18:49.42\00:18:50.93
Jesus didn't come back in 1843.
00:18:50.96\00:18:54.60
Well, after that
massive disappointment,
00:18:54.63\00:18:57.23
somebody figured out why.
00:18:57.27\00:18:59.73
You see, they'd forgotten
that there was no year zero.
00:18:59.77\00:19:03.71
If you start at minus five
and you count to plus five,
00:19:03.74\00:19:06.61
that's a difference of 10.
00:19:06.64\00:19:09.14
But if you start at 5
BC and you go to 5 AD,
00:19:09.18\00:19:13.11
that's a difference of nine
because there's no year zero.
00:19:13.15\00:19:18.52
You go from 1 BC to 1 AD.
00:19:18.55\00:19:22.49
Of course, Jesus
wasn't coming back in 1843.
00:19:22.52\00:19:27.76
He was coming back in 1844.
00:19:27.83\00:19:30.33
Miller's followers were
called Millerites and Adventists
00:19:30.93\00:19:35.04
because of their belief in
the imminent advent of Jesus.
00:19:35.07\00:19:38.41
By the summer of 1844,
00:19:38.44\00:19:40.48
this Advent
movement built to its climax.
00:19:40.51\00:19:43.78
In August, a man by
the name of Samuel Snow
00:19:43.81\00:19:47.08
addressed a Millerite gathering
and showed from his study
00:19:47.12\00:19:50.65
of Scripture and the
ancient Jewish Day of Atonement
00:19:50.69\00:19:54.06
that the tenth day
of the seventh month,
00:19:54.09\00:19:56.39
the annual Day of Atonement,
00:19:56.42\00:19:58.66
would fall in 1844
on the 22nd of October.
00:19:58.69\00:20:04.70
This prediction gave
even stronger momentum
00:20:04.73\00:20:07.14
to the movement.
00:20:07.17\00:20:08.34
The preachers
continued to preach,
00:20:08.37\00:20:10.24
and literature explaining
the prophecies of the Bible
00:20:10.27\00:20:13.21
and the time periods in question
were circulated far and wide.
00:20:13.24\00:20:17.85
One of the prominent
leaders of the movement,
00:20:17.88\00:20:19.68
Charles Fitch, died of pneumonia
00:20:19.71\00:20:22.58
after baptizing
believers in the Ohio River.
00:20:22.62\00:20:25.35
Even though the
weather was severely cold,
00:20:25.39\00:20:27.26
he refused to turn anyone away.
00:20:27.29\00:20:30.13
He died just 10 days before
Jesus was expected to return,
00:20:30.16\00:20:33.93
but his family didn't mourn.
00:20:33.96\00:20:36.40
They believed that
they'd be seeing him again,
00:20:36.43\00:20:38.73
that his body would
come up out of the grave
00:20:38.77\00:20:41.20
in just a few more days.
00:20:41.24\00:20:43.71
At last, the
appointed day arrived.
00:20:43.74\00:20:46.57
Some believers left
their crops unharvested.
00:20:46.61\00:20:49.98
One shop owner in Philadelphia
00:20:50.01\00:20:51.71
left a sign in
his window that said,
00:20:51.75\00:20:54.22
"This shop is closed in
honor of the King of Kings,
00:20:54.25\00:20:57.89
who will appear
the 22nd of October.
00:20:57.92\00:21:00.62
Get ready, friends, to
crown Him Lord of all."
00:21:00.66\00:21:05.06
But as the day got longer,
00:21:05.09\00:21:07.03
these faithful
believers realized that
00:21:07.10\00:21:09.06
Jesus might not return.
00:21:09.10\00:21:11.93
When midnight arrived,
00:21:11.97\00:21:13.57
the disappointment of
the Millerites was intense.
00:21:13.60\00:21:17.77
The prophecy found in Revelation
chapter 10 was fulfilled.
00:21:17.81\00:21:21.78
"And I went to the
angel and said to him,
00:21:21.81\00:21:24.35
'Give me the little book.'
00:21:24.38\00:21:26.21
And he said to
me, 'Take and eat it;
00:21:26.25\00:21:29.05
and it will make
your stomach bitter,
00:21:29.08\00:21:31.29
but it will be as sweet
as honey in your mouth.'
00:21:31.32\00:21:34.56
And I took the little book out
of the angel's hand and ate it,
00:21:34.59\00:21:38.53
and it was as sweet
as honey in my mouth.
00:21:38.56\00:21:41.26
But when I had eaten it,
my stomach became bitter."
00:21:41.30\00:21:45.77
Revelation 10:9 and 10.
00:21:45.80\00:21:49.00
Descendants of people
who lived here at the time
00:21:49.04\00:21:51.61
say that some Millerite
believers gathered right here,
00:21:51.64\00:21:55.14
on what today is
known as Ascension Rock,
00:21:55.18\00:21:58.15
and waited here
for Jesus to come.
00:21:58.18\00:22:01.35
If that's true, their
journey home that night
00:22:01.38\00:22:04.42
would have been very difficult.
00:22:04.45\00:22:08.16
Imagine believing
that you were going
00:22:08.19\00:22:09.49
to farewell your
friends and neighbors.
00:22:09.52\00:22:11.36
You'd never see them again,
many of whom had ridiculed you
00:22:11.39\00:22:14.46
for believing that
Jesus was gonna come back.
00:22:14.46\00:22:17.23
Now you'd have to face them.
00:22:17.27\00:22:19.17
They'd mock you again
00:22:19.20\00:22:20.14
because you are here
on this earth at all.
00:22:20.17\00:22:23.51
Imagine believing that
you are going to go to heaven,
00:22:23.54\00:22:26.34
and then discovering that
heaven would have to wait.
00:22:26.37\00:22:30.65
And of course, all of this
begs some difficult questions.
00:22:30.68\00:22:33.82
¤[Music]¤
00:22:33.85\00:22:36.35
So how could William Miller,
a faithful Baptist preacher,
00:22:36.38\00:22:39.29
possibly get it so wrong?
00:22:39.32\00:22:41.42
After all, the Bible
says that no one knows
00:22:41.46\00:22:43.59
the day or the
hour of Jesus' return.
00:22:43.63\00:22:46.03
Well, it's good to remember
that William Miller himself
00:22:46.06\00:22:48.53
never set a date,
00:22:48.56\00:22:49.76
but one of his followers did
circle a day on the calendar.
00:22:49.80\00:22:54.54
Well, keep this in mind.
00:22:54.57\00:22:56.71
Even Jesus' followers
sometimes made mistakes.
00:22:56.74\00:23:00.04
Jesus told them as plainly as He
could that He was going to die,
00:23:00.08\00:23:03.01
and they just couldn't
understand what He was saying.
00:23:03.04\00:23:05.98
When Jesus died,
their hopes died with Him.
00:23:06.01\00:23:10.05
But out of that
brutal disappointment,
00:23:10.09\00:23:11.95
Jesus brought great things,
00:23:11.99\00:23:13.92
and He brought good things
00:23:13.96\00:23:15.09
out of the
Millerite disappointment, too.
00:23:15.12\00:23:17.53
If Miller could be so
wrong about something so basic,
00:23:17.56\00:23:21.20
didn't that make him a
deceiver, a false messiah?
00:23:21.23\00:23:25.67
Well, no.
00:23:25.70\00:23:27.54
No more than the followers
of Jesus were false prophets.
00:23:27.57\00:23:31.14
Miller was just
wrong about a key point.
00:23:31.17\00:23:35.64
Could Miller's
error have jeopardized
00:23:35.68\00:23:37.65
the faith of his followers?
00:23:37.68\00:23:39.78
Well, that's possible,
but this is a reminder to us,
00:23:39.81\00:23:42.58
that a person's faith
must be individual, personal,
00:23:42.62\00:23:45.99
based on the Bible,
00:23:46.02\00:23:48.32
and not on the say-so
of another human being.
00:23:48.36\00:23:51.16
God achieved some great
things through William Miller.
00:23:51.19\00:23:54.93
Thousands of people
were directed to the study
00:23:54.93\00:23:57.13
of the Bible, in
particular the Bible's teaching
00:23:57.17\00:24:00.47
about the
Second Coming of Jesus.
00:24:00.50\00:24:02.00
The Second Coming
was a neglected teaching
00:24:02.04\00:24:04.67
in Christianity,
00:24:04.71\00:24:06.04
and Miller shone a spotlight
on the Bible's teaching
00:24:06.07\00:24:08.81
that Jesus was indeed
soon to return to this earth.
00:24:08.84\00:24:12.58
Today, that
teaching is widely believed.
00:24:12.61\00:24:15.12
Few in
Christianity are not Adventists.
00:24:15.15\00:24:18.42
Most Christians today
believe in the Advent of Jesus,
00:24:18.45\00:24:21.82
and many believe
it will happen soon.
00:24:21.86\00:24:24.53
For that, William
Miller is largely to credit.
00:24:24.56\00:24:28.70
Revelation 10, which speaks
of the bitter disappointment,
00:24:28.73\00:24:31.27
goes on to say,
00:24:31.30\00:24:33.30
"Thou must prophesy
again before many peoples
00:24:33.34\00:24:37.41
and nations and
tongues and kings."
00:24:37.44\00:24:40.58
Revelation 10, verse 11.
00:24:40.61\00:24:42.91
And since Miller's time,
00:24:42.94\00:24:44.98
the church has
been prophesying again.
00:24:45.01\00:24:48.25
The news has gone to the world
that Jesus is coming back soon,
00:24:48.28\00:24:52.49
that everybody can
be ready for that day
00:24:52.52\00:24:54.49
through faith in Jesus Christ,
00:24:54.52\00:24:56.89
and that the Bible is the
rule of faith and practice
00:24:56.93\00:25:00.46
for all believers.
00:25:00.50\00:25:02.56
William Miller
continued to preach,
00:25:02.60\00:25:04.97
he continued to believe,
00:25:05.00\00:25:06.30
and he
continued to trust in God.
00:25:06.33\00:25:08.74
He died in 1849
at the age of 67,
00:25:08.77\00:25:13.78
and he's buried right here.
00:25:13.81\00:25:17.35
Soon the Protestant
Reformation will be completed.
00:25:17.38\00:25:20.68
Soon the words of
Jesus will be fulfilled,
00:25:20.72\00:25:22.65
those words spoken in Matthew
24, verse 14, when Jesus said,
00:25:22.68\00:25:26.45
"This gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached
00:25:26.49\00:25:28.69
in all the world for a
witness to all nations.
00:25:28.72\00:25:32.59
And then shall the end come."
00:25:32.63\00:25:34.66
¤[Music]¤
00:25:34.73\00:25:39.87
>>John: I'm John
Bradshaw from It Is Written,
00:25:41.40\00:25:43.64
inviting you to
join me for "500,"
00:25:43.67\00:25:47.34
nine programs
produced by It Is Written,
00:25:47.38\00:25:49.61
taking you deep
into the Reformation.
00:25:49.64\00:25:52.61
This is the 500th anniversary
00:25:52.65\00:25:55.22
of the beginning
of the Reformation,
00:25:55.25\00:25:56.89
when Martin Luther
nailed his Ninety-Five Theses
00:25:56.92\00:25:59.35
to the door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:25:59.39\00:26:02.29
We'll take you to Wittenberg,
00:26:02.32\00:26:03.56
and to Belgium, to
England, to Ireland,
00:26:03.59\00:26:07.00
to Rome, to the Vatican City,
00:26:07.03\00:26:09.03
and introduce you to the people
who created the Reformation,
00:26:09.06\00:26:12.10
who pushed the
Reformation forward.
00:26:12.13\00:26:13.97
We'll take you to
sites all throughout Europe
00:26:14.00\00:26:16.04
where the Reformers
lived and, in some cases, died.
00:26:16.07\00:26:18.84
We'll bring you
back to the United States
00:26:18.87\00:26:20.44
and take you to a little
farm in upstate New York,
00:26:20.48\00:26:23.41
and show you how God
spread the Reformation here.
00:26:23.45\00:26:26.35
Don't miss "500."
00:26:26.38\00:26:28.52
You can own the
"500" series on DVD.
00:26:28.55\00:26:31.52
Call us on 888-664-5573,
00:26:31.55\00:26:36.22
or visit us online
at itiswritten.shop.
00:26:36.26\00:26:40.96
>>John Bradshaw:
Let's pray together.
00:26:41.83\00:26:43.80
Our Father in heaven,
00:26:43.83\00:26:44.90
we thank You in
the name of Jesus
00:26:44.93\00:26:46.97
that You've raised up
men and women of faith
00:26:47.00\00:26:48.87
to inspire us, to guide us,
00:26:48.90\00:26:51.31
to urge us forward.
00:26:51.34\00:26:53.88
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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