¤[Theme music]¤
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¤[Theme music]¤
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>>John Bradshaw:
Thanks for joining me.
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I'm John Bradshaw
from It Is Written,
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and this is 500, our
look at the Reformation.
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We're looking back in time
on the impact of the Reformation
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500 years ago,
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and we're
looking into the future.
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What is there left to be
done in bringing the Reformation
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to a conclusion?
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In a few moments,
our program, entitled
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"Tell It To The World."
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The Reformation has
shifted to the United States,
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and truth is marching on.
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My special guest in
this program is Dr. Jud Lake.
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He's a professor of
preaching and Adventist studies
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at Southern
Adventist University. Dr. Lake,
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thanks for joining me.
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>>Dr. Lake: My pleasure.
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>>John: We're gonna
look at a fascinating figure
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in this program,
"Tell It To The World."
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His name, William Miller.
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What kind of man
was William Miller?
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Dr. Lake: The
answer to that, of course,
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depends on what period of
his life you're talking about.
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Uh, as a young child,
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he was very
religious and, uh, very, um,
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obedient to his parents.
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Then as he grew
into the teenage years,
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he became very rebellious.
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Then into adulthood,
he was a very patriotic,
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um, very committed to whatever
cause he involved himself.
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And then as he
grew into adulthood,
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he, he went through a
period of, of nonbelief,
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ugh, uh, secular years,
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and then he was
converted to Christ.
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And during those
years he was very earnest.
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Uh, he tended to be moody.
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Um, once he realized the truth
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that Jesus was
coming in his lifetime,
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that thrilled his soul,
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so he was full of joy over
the second coming of Christ.
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But as he presented his
message to the multitudes
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and he got criticized,
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he tended to be
somewhat moody about that,
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and there were times
where he was up and down.
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But in general,
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William Miller was a
happy person to be around.
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In fact, audiences
called him Father Miller
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because he showed
compassion for his audiences.
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>>John: It sounds like, uh, uh,
uh, a human sort of a person.
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Dr. Lake: Very much so.
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>>John: And certainly one of
the most significant figures,
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a very significant figure
in American religious history.
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William Miller.
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You can visit his home,
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his adult home, the
William Miller Farm.
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It's in Low Hampton, New York,
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about this far from
the border with Vermont.
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It's a beautiful
place, a heritage site now,
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for it was at that farm,
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the William Miller
Farm in New York State,
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that some
significant things took place.
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William Miller
was a man who heralded
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the second
coming of Jesus Christ.
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Now, as we'll find out in
some depth in a moment when we,
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together, travel to upstate
New York and other places,
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William Miller wasn't
always right about everything.
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You'll learn some
things about William Miller.
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This was a man who believed that
the Bible was the Word of God.
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He believed the
Bible should be studied,
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to the extent that
he studied the Bible
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expecting to be able
to understand the message
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of the Bible for him.
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To a great degree, he does, but
he's not right about everything,
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and he makes a
couple of crucial mistakes
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which ultimately
prove to be our blessing.
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So the William Miller
story talks about a man
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who was a Bible student,
wasn't right about everything,
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and it shows us that
even when you make mistakes,
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God can bring great things out
of your own personal misfortune
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or, uh, inaccuracy.
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The William Miller Farm
is a beautiful spot today,
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and were you to visit it, you'd
find some fascinating things.
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The house is preserved much as
it was in William Miller's day.
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You enter into the very room
in which William Miller stood
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and prayed and watched
and waited on October the 22nd
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in 1844 as he anticipated
the return of Jesus Christ.
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He stood looking
towards the eastern sky,
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wondering if in just a moment
he might see his Lord a-coming.
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Now, prior to
this, long before 1844,
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William Miller burrowed into
the Bible with an earnest desire
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to understand God's
message, uh, for him.
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He felt a
burning almost compulsion
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that he ought to share
the message that he felt
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God had placed upon his heart.
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And he did a sort
of a deal with God.
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He said to God,
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"I'll preach the message
should somebody ask me to.
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I'll share my insights
should an invitation come."
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Moments after he
had prayed that prayer,
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there was a knock at the door.
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And of course, the
young man was there to ask
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William Miller to
come to his family's church
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and share his insights,
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indicating that even before
Miller had prayed the prayer,
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the messenger was on
his way from his home
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about 16 or so miles away.
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What Miller did then was,
he left the young man standing,
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walked out of his house
to a nearby grove of trees.
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We'll take you to that
grove of trees in just a moment.
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For me, that grove of
trees is enormously significant.
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That's where
William Miller prayed.
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Now, it's not thought
that any of the actual trees
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there today were there in 1844.
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They've been replaced.
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The forest has been, well
the grove has been replenished.
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But it's there, among
those silent watchers,
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those silent witnesses,
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that William
Miller, a humble man,
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a simple man, poured
out his heart to God.
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"Must I go?
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Shall I go?
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Lord, release me
from this burden.
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I don't want to preach."
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They say, "Into the
trees went a farmer,
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and out came a preacher."
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And William Miller's preaching
was significant and influential.
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Had a dramatic
effect on the world.
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Right near the
William Miller Farm homestead
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is Ascension Rock.
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We'll take you to
Ascension Rock in this program.
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And a literal stone
throw from Ascension Rock
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is the William Miller Chapel,
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which became and
Advent Movement church.
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Miller never
did give up his hope
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in the second coming of Jesus,
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even though Jesus
did not return in 1843,
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when he first
thought Jesus would return,
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in 1844, the date
calculated later, October 22,
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the date presented by
a man named Samuel Snow.
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There's a lot to cover.
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This is important.
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Look at it in the overall
stream of the Reformation.
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God gave truth to the world.
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The truth was obscured.
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Out of the
darkness the light shone.
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The in Europe, the
Reformation burned bright.
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The Counter-Reformation
blanketed the Reformation,
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but that truth made its way
from Europe to North America,
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to what would
become these United States,
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where here God's
message would be proclaimed.
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It would prosper.
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And ultimately
from these shores,
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it would be taken to the world.
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In just a moment,
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we go to the
William Miller Farm on 500.
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We'll be right back.
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¤[Music]¤
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It's undoubtedly the
world's great superpower,
00:09:05.54\00:09:07.84
the United States of America.
00:09:07.88\00:09:09.41
But what of it's
role in earth's last days?
00:09:09.44\00:09:12.85
Does Bible prophecy speak of
the United States of America?
00:09:12.88\00:09:17.52
Find out by
receiving our free gift,
00:09:17.55\00:09:19.55
The United States
in Bible Prophecy.
00:09:19.59\00:09:21.69
Call us on 800-253-3000,
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or visit us online
at itiswritten.com.
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Or you can write to
the address on your screen.
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I'd like you to
receive our free offer,
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The United States
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00:09:32.60\00:09:35.67
And thank you for
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00:09:35.70\00:09:38.14
exists due to the gracious
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00:09:38.17\00:09:42.74
It's your kindness that makes
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00:09:45.18\00:09:48.82
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Our number is 800-253-3000,
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and our web
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00:10:02.06\00:10:05.20
¤[Music]¤
00:10:05.60\00:10:18.48
With the arrival of the
pilgrims here on the shores
00:10:18.51\00:10:21.02
of what would become known
as the United States of America,
00:10:21.05\00:10:23.69
the focus of the
Protestant Reformation
00:10:23.72\00:10:26.15
and its call for a
return to the Bible
00:10:26.19\00:10:28.42
as the Christian's
supreme authority began to shift
00:10:28.46\00:10:31.83
from the Old World to the New.
00:10:31.86\00:10:34.40
Thousands braved the often
treacherous journey across the
00:10:34.46\00:10:37.37
Atlantic Ocean during
the 17th and 18th centuries
00:10:37.40\00:10:40.47
in search of a
refuge for freedom.
00:10:40.50\00:10:43.57
In Europe, even in England,
00:10:43.61\00:10:45.21
the pendulum of
power swung back and forth
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for decades between
those who wanted to protect
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religious freedom and
those who wanted to curtail it.
00:10:51.31\00:10:55.22
More and more,
00:10:55.25\00:10:56.82
it was recognized that a new
country with a new philosophy
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of government would
be needed as a haven
00:11:01.19\00:11:04.06
for those wishing to
hold and share their faith
00:11:04.09\00:11:07.50
in accord with the
dictates of conscience.
00:11:07.50\00:11:09.50
¤[Music and horses galloping]¤
00:11:09.60\00:11:14.84
With America's
achievement of independence
00:11:14.87\00:11:16.57
from Great Britain in 1783,
00:11:16.60\00:11:19.34
a series of events opened
the way for an even clearer
00:11:19.37\00:11:22.41
understanding of the Bible,
00:11:22.44\00:11:24.45
and in
particular Bible prophecy.
00:11:24.48\00:11:28.02
The French
Revolution, which began in 1789,
00:11:28.05\00:11:31.75
saw the people of France rise up
against not only the monarchy,
00:11:31.79\00:11:35.72
but also the Church.
00:11:35.76\00:11:39.33
There was an attempt
to overthrow the Bible
00:11:39.36\00:11:42.03
and Christianity altogether.
00:11:42.06\00:11:43.63
The cry of the
revolutionaries was,
00:11:43.67\00:11:46.40
"Crush the wretch."
00:11:46.43\00:11:48.30
And the wretch that they
were referring to was Jesus.
00:11:48.34\00:11:54.64
The Bible had been rejected,
neglected, ignored so long.
00:11:54.68\00:11:58.58
The principles of the
Protestant Reformation
00:11:58.61\00:12:01.25
had been rejected by a church
00:12:01.28\00:12:04.35
that was
unwilling to be reformed.
00:12:04.39\00:12:06.65
France's brief
experiment with atheism,
00:12:06.69\00:12:11.39
instead of
getting rid of the Bible
00:12:11.43\00:12:13.70
or the message of Christianity,
00:12:13.73\00:12:15.56
led more people than ever before
to be interested in God's Word.
00:12:15.60\00:12:19.47
In the early years
of the 19th century,
00:12:19.50\00:12:22.47
Bible societies
sprang up around the world.
00:12:22.50\00:12:25.51
Interest spread
in the prophecies
00:12:25.54\00:12:27.21
of Daniel and Revelation.
00:12:27.24\00:12:29.08
The way would be open
for yet another reformer,
00:12:29.11\00:12:31.31
this one from the United States,
00:12:31.35\00:12:34.22
to call the attention of
the world to the Word of God.
00:12:34.25\00:12:37.25
That man was William Miller.
00:12:37.29\00:12:40.09
He was born in 1782,
00:12:40.12\00:12:43.09
the same year as
Martin Van Buren,
00:12:43.12\00:12:45.19
who would become the eighth
President of the United States.
00:12:45.23\00:12:48.70
When Miller was
born in Pittsfield
00:12:48.73\00:12:50.27
in western Massachusetts,
00:12:50.30\00:12:52.20
the Revolutionary
War was in full swing.
00:12:52.23\00:12:55.10
George Washington became
the nation's first President,
00:12:55.14\00:12:58.07
just days before William
Miller's seventh birthday.
00:12:58.11\00:13:02.01
Like so many other reformers,
00:13:02.04\00:13:04.15
poverty and hardship
shaped his character.
00:13:04.18\00:13:07.52
His father had served as a
captain in the Continental Army
00:13:07.55\00:13:10.22
during the American Revolution.
00:13:10.25\00:13:12.59
Many of his
father's struggles and trials
00:13:12.62\00:13:14.76
made a big
impression on young William.
00:13:14.79\00:13:17.49
His mother was a
woman of integrity
00:13:17.53\00:13:19.23
with deep religious convictions.
00:13:19.26\00:13:21.90
Miller was a strong young
man, and he was intelligent.
00:13:21.93\00:13:26.00
He wasn't able
to attend college,
00:13:26.03\00:13:27.70
pretty typical
for people of his era,
00:13:27.74\00:13:29.80
but he did enjoy
books and he learned a lot
00:13:29.84\00:13:31.84
from his own studies.
00:13:31.87\00:13:33.64
He was raised a Baptist,
00:13:33.68\00:13:35.64
but in his early 20s he
began to read the writings
00:13:35.68\00:13:38.25
of Thomas Paine and
Voltaire and Ethan Allen,
00:13:38.28\00:13:41.82
and he became a deist.
00:13:41.85\00:13:44.92
He believed in God,
00:13:44.95\00:13:46.82
but he didn't believe
that God intervened directly
00:13:46.86\00:13:50.19
in the lives of human beings.
00:13:50.23\00:13:52.79
But that view
would be challenged.
00:13:52.83\00:13:55.06
While serving in the military,
00:13:55.10\00:13:56.43
a bomb exploded just two
feet from where he was standing.
00:13:56.46\00:14:00.64
Three of his men were injured.
00:14:00.67\00:14:02.77
One was killed.
00:14:02.80\00:14:04.21
But Miller
miraculously escaped unscathed.
00:14:04.24\00:14:07.91
After that, the improbable
victory over the British,
00:14:07.94\00:14:11.21
and Miller began to
wonder whether or not
00:14:11.25\00:14:13.58
God had
something to do with that.
00:14:13.62\00:14:16.55
After his time in the military,
00:14:16.58\00:14:18.19
William Miller
moved here to this farm
00:14:18.22\00:14:20.49
near the Adirondack Mountains,
00:14:20.52\00:14:21.89
just outside of
Whitehall in eastern New York,
00:14:21.92\00:14:25.56
close to the
border with Vermont.
00:14:25.59\00:14:28.00
Farm life wasn't
easy in the early 1800s.
00:14:28.03\00:14:31.53
There was no
mechanized farm equipment,
00:14:31.57\00:14:33.60
no central heat in the home.
00:14:33.64\00:14:35.84
William and his wife
Lucy and their five children
00:14:35.87\00:14:39.01
would have to survive
off what the farm produced.
00:14:39.04\00:14:41.71
And back at home,
00:14:43.98\00:14:45.45
Miller opened the Bible
for the first time in his life
00:14:45.48\00:14:49.12
to learn for himself what
the Scriptures actually taught.
00:14:49.15\00:14:53.22
It wasn't long
before he met Jesus.
00:14:53.25\00:14:56.29
Later, he wrote
of this experience,
00:14:56.32\00:14:59.06
"I saw that the
Bible did bring to view
00:14:59.09\00:15:01.73
such a Savior as I needed,
00:15:01.76\00:15:04.53
and I was perplexed to
find how an uninspired book
00:15:04.57\00:15:08.54
should develop
principles so perfectly
00:15:08.57\00:15:11.14
adapted to the
wants of a fallen world.
00:15:11.17\00:15:14.91
I was constrained to
admit that the Scriptures
00:15:14.94\00:15:17.88
must be a revelation from God.
00:15:17.91\00:15:20.85
They became my
delight, and in Jesus,
00:15:20.88\00:15:24.22
I found a friend.
00:15:24.25\00:15:26.92
I lost all taste for
other reading and applied my
00:15:26.96\00:15:30.33
heart to get wisdom from God."
00:15:30.36\00:15:33.06
The more he read
and studied the Bible,
00:15:33.09\00:15:35.86
the more
fascinating it became to him.
00:15:35.90\00:15:37.90
Now, he was an
independent thinker,
00:15:37.93\00:15:40.44
William Miller, and he rejected
a number of the commonly
00:15:40.47\00:15:43.64
held beliefs of his day.
00:15:43.67\00:15:45.67
He didn't believe
that the whole world
00:15:45.71\00:15:47.64
would be converted to Christ,
00:15:47.68\00:15:49.08
nor did he believe there'd be
1,000 years of peace on earth.
00:15:49.11\00:15:52.71
Miller believed
that the return of Jesus
00:15:52.75\00:15:54.85
would be personal and literal,
00:15:54.88\00:15:57.19
and that God would not
set up his kingdom on Earth
00:15:57.22\00:16:00.16
until after Christ's return.
00:16:00.19\00:16:03.73
He came to the
conclusion that all of Scripture
00:16:03.76\00:16:05.73
should be considered
before reaching a conclusion
00:16:05.76\00:16:08.20
about any Bible teaching.
00:16:08.23\00:16:10.43
As the Apostle Paul wrote,
00:16:10.47\00:16:12.13
"All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God,
00:16:12.17\00:16:15.17
and is profitable for doctrine,
00:16:15.20\00:16:17.11
for reproof,
00:16:17.14\00:16:17.84
for correction,
00:16:17.87\00:16:19.74
for instruction
in righteousness,"
00:16:19.77\00:16:21.38
2 Timothy 3:16.
00:16:21.41\00:16:24.45
He believed the Bible to
be truly the Word of God,
00:16:24.48\00:16:27.75
not just a collection of
personal religious opinions.
00:16:27.78\00:16:30.29
"Knowing this first,
00:16:30.32\00:16:32.52
that no
prophecy of the Scripture
00:16:32.55\00:16:34.79
is of any
private interpretation,
00:16:34.82\00:16:36.96
for prophecy never
came by the will of man,
00:16:36.99\00:16:41.53
but holy men of
God spoke as they were
00:16:41.56\00:16:43.83
moved by the Holy Spirit."
00:16:43.87\00:16:46.40
Miller believed that the Bible
00:16:46.43\00:16:47.90
was inspired by the
Holy Spirit, and therefore,
00:16:47.94\00:16:50.71
comparing one passage
of the Bible with another
00:16:50.74\00:16:53.91
would lead you to a
correct understanding.
00:16:53.94\00:16:56.98
It was these principles
for interpreting the Bible
00:16:57.01\00:16:59.11
that led William
Miller to shake up the world,
00:16:59.15\00:17:02.12
especially when it
came to Bible prophecy.
00:17:02.15\00:17:05.59
Miller believed that by
00:17:05.62\00:17:06.72
carefully studying the
prophetic symbols in the Bible,
00:17:06.76\00:17:09.52
he could arrive at a
correct understanding
00:17:09.56\00:17:11.69
of what those
symbols represented.
00:17:11.73\00:17:13.60
I'll be right back with more.
00:17:13.63\00:17:15.93
¤[Music]¤
00:17:15.96\00:17:21.07
It's undoubtedly the
world's great superpower,
00:17:22.40\00:17:24.74
the United States of America.
00:17:24.77\00:17:26.84
But what of it's
role in Earth's last days?
00:17:26.88\00:17:29.74
Does Bible prophecy speak of
the United States of America?
00:17:29.78\00:17:34.35
Find out by
receiving our free gift,
00:17:34.38\00:17:36.38
The United States
in Bible Prophecy.
00:17:36.42\00:17:38.52
Call us on 800-253-3000,
00:17:38.55\00:17:41.46
or visit us online
at itiswritten.com.
00:17:41.49\00:17:45.16
Or you can write to
the address on your screen.
00:17:45.19\00:17:47.30
I'd like you to
receive our free offer,
00:17:47.30\00:17:49.43
The United States
in Bible Prophecy.
00:17:49.46\00:17:52.10
Thanks for joining
me on It Is Written.
00:17:53.17\00:17:55.07
William Miller was a Baptist
farmer who studied his Bible,
00:17:55.10\00:17:59.21
and he arrived at
conclusions that shook up
00:17:59.24\00:18:02.54
the United States of America.
00:18:02.58\00:18:04.75
As he read the Bible,
00:18:04.78\00:18:06.05
he was tempted to
ignore the time periods
00:18:06.08\00:18:09.05
found in Bible prophecy.
00:18:09.08\00:18:10.55
But the more he read,
the more convicted he became
00:18:10.59\00:18:13.96
that these were periods that
he really needed to understand.
00:18:13.99\00:18:17.73
And the one to which
his mind kept returning
00:18:17.76\00:18:20.20
was Daniel 8,
verse 14, which says,
00:18:20.23\00:18:23.60
"Unto 2,300 days, then shall
the sanctuary be cleansed."
00:18:23.63\00:18:28.97
As he tried to
understand this verse,
00:18:29.00\00:18:30.84
Miller followed the
principle that the Bible
00:18:30.87\00:18:33.34
is to be its own interpreter.
00:18:33.38\00:18:34.81
He'd discovered from a
reading elsewhere in the Bible
00:18:34.84\00:18:38.05
that a day in Bible
prophecy represents a year.
00:18:38.08\00:18:43.28
He found that in
Numbers 14, verse 34,
00:18:43.32\00:18:45.52
Ezekiel 4:6, and other places.
00:18:45.55\00:18:48.79
And when he went
over to Daniel chapter 9
00:18:48.82\00:18:50.89
and he read the
70 weeks prophecy
00:18:50.93\00:18:53.33
that references
Jesus' first coming,
00:18:53.36\00:18:56.40
Miller was
amazed by what he found.
00:18:56.43\00:18:59.60
Here's that prophecy.
00:18:59.63\00:19:01.00
"Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people
00:19:01.04\00:19:03.07
and upon thy holy city,
to finish the transgression
00:19:03.10\00:19:07.04
and to make an end of sins,
00:19:07.08\00:19:08.71
and to make
reconciliation for iniquity,
00:19:08.74\00:19:11.28
and to bring in
everlasting righteousness,
00:19:11.31\00:19:13.82
and to seal up the
vision and prophecy,
00:19:13.85\00:19:16.32
and to anoint the Most Holy.
00:19:16.35\00:19:18.52
Know, therefore, and understand
that from the going forth
00:19:18.55\00:19:21.22
of the commandment to
restore and to build Jerusalem,
00:19:21.26\00:19:24.86
unto Messiah the Prince,
00:19:24.89\00:19:26.66
shall be seven weeks and
threescore and two weeks.
00:19:26.70\00:19:30.20
The streets shall be
built again, and the wall,
00:19:30.23\00:19:32.73
even in troublous times.
00:19:32.77\00:19:34.20
And after threescore and two
weeks shall Messiah be cut off,
00:19:34.24\00:19:40.21
but not for himself.
00:19:40.24\00:19:42.14
And the people of the
prince that shall come
00:19:42.18\00:19:44.25
shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary,
00:19:44.28\00:19:46.45
and the end thereof
shall be with a flood,
00:19:46.48\00:19:49.18
and unto the end of the
war desolations are determined.
00:19:49.22\00:19:53.89
And he shall confirm the
covenant with many for one week,
00:19:53.92\00:19:57.59
and in the midst of the week
he shall cause the sacrifice
00:19:57.63\00:20:00.33
and the oblation to cease,
00:20:00.36\00:20:02.53
and for the
overspreading of abominations
00:20:02.56\00:20:04.53
he shall make it desolate,
00:20:04.57\00:20:06.07
even until the consummation,
00:20:06.10\00:20:07.50
and that determined shall
be poured upon the desolate."
00:20:07.54\00:20:12.27
Now, that's quite a passage,
00:20:12.31\00:20:14.04
and Miller was determined
to get to the bottom of it.
00:20:14.08\00:20:18.11
Consider what
the passage contains:
00:20:18.15\00:20:19.71
a time period
allotted to Israel, 70 weeks,
00:20:19.75\00:20:23.85
a commandment to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem,
00:20:23.89\00:20:27.22
the coming of
Messiah the Prince.
00:20:27.26\00:20:29.42
That's Jesus, his first coming.
00:20:29.46\00:20:32.69
Messiah being
cut off or executed,
00:20:32.73\00:20:36.06
a covenant being
confirmed for a week,
00:20:36.10\00:20:39.43
the end of sacrifice
and offering, and more.
00:20:39.47\00:20:43.47
The popular
theory in Miller's day
00:20:43.51\00:20:45.44
was that the sanctuary
referenced in Daniel 8:14
00:20:45.47\00:20:49.11
represented the Earth,
00:20:49.14\00:20:51.91
so Miller decided that
the cleansing of the sanctuary
00:20:51.95\00:20:54.78
would be when the
earth was cleansed by fire
00:20:54.82\00:20:57.95
when Jesus returned.
00:20:57.99\00:20:59.62
And then there was this
time period, 2,300 days.
00:20:59.65\00:21:05.46
Using the principle of
prophetic interpretation
00:21:05.49\00:21:07.96
that taught that a day
represents a year in prophecy,
00:21:07.96\00:21:11.87
Miller considered these
2,300 days to be 2,300 years.
00:21:11.90\00:21:18.77
The decree that provided the
starting point for this prophecy
00:21:18.81\00:21:22.18
Miller found in Ezra chapter 7,
00:21:22.21\00:21:25.35
the decree issued by the
Medo-Persian king Artaxerxes,
00:21:25.38\00:21:29.28
permitting Israel to
rebuild the temple in Jerusalem
00:21:29.32\00:21:32.49
and reorder society there.
00:21:32.52\00:21:35.52
Knowing this,
00:21:35.56\00:21:37.33
it wouldn't be hard for Miller
to work out the particulars
00:21:37.36\00:21:40.10
of this prophecy.
00:21:40.13\00:21:41.86
So here's what
Miller discovered.
00:21:41.90\00:21:44.23
The decree was
issued in the year 457 BC.
00:21:44.27\00:21:48.27
Add 2,300 years to that,
and you get to the year 1843.
00:21:48.30\00:21:54.64
Miller was thrilled.
00:21:54.68\00:21:57.28
He'd figured out that Jesus
was going to return to the Earth
00:21:57.31\00:22:01.32
in just 25 years.
00:22:01.35\00:22:03.82
Miller wrote, "I was thus
brought to the solemn conclusion
00:22:03.85\00:22:08.42
that in about 25
years from that time, 1818,
00:22:08.46\00:22:12.29
all the affairs of our present
state would be wound up."
00:22:12.33\00:22:16.43
The farmer, the
former military man,
00:22:16.46\00:22:19.63
had made an
astonishing discovery.
00:22:19.67\00:22:21.80
Jesus was coming back to
the earth, and he knew when.
00:22:21.84\00:22:27.18
He described the
experience in these words.
00:22:27.21\00:22:29.88
"I need not speak of
the joy that filled my heart
00:22:29.91\00:22:32.88
in view of the
delightful prospect,
00:22:32.91\00:22:35.68
nor of the ardent
longings of my soul
00:22:35.72\00:22:38.75
for a participation in
the joys of the redeemed.
00:22:38.79\00:22:42.29
The Bible was
now to me a new book.
00:22:42.32\00:22:44.93
It was indeed a feast of reason.
00:22:44.96\00:22:48.16
All that was dark, mystical, or
obscure to me in its teachings
00:22:48.20\00:22:53.87
had been dissipated in my
mind before the clear light
00:22:53.90\00:22:57.21
that now dawned
from its sacred pages,
00:22:57.24\00:23:00.61
and oh, how bright and
glorious the truth appeared."
00:23:00.64\00:23:05.01
And then came the conviction
that he should tell others
00:23:05.05\00:23:08.12
what he'd learned.
00:23:08.15\00:23:09.72
An inner voice
seemed to drive him
00:23:09.75\00:23:12.02
to go and tell it to the world.
00:23:12.05\00:23:15.12
He shared his
views in private studies
00:23:15.16\00:23:17.03
and in
conversations with others,
00:23:17.06\00:23:18.59
but he wasn't in any hurry at
all to make them known publicly.
00:23:18.63\00:23:22.36
After all, he was
no public speaker.
00:23:22.40\00:23:25.33
He was 50 years old and had
no formal theological training.
00:23:25.37\00:23:29.40
For nine years, he
resisted the commission
00:23:29.44\00:23:32.84
that God was
pressing upon his heart.
00:23:32.87\00:23:35.38
Finally, he put God to the test.
00:23:36.11\00:23:38.75
He told God in prayer that if he
received an invitation to speak,
00:23:38.78\00:23:44.19
he would take
this as Heaven's sign
00:23:44.22\00:23:46.45
that he was to
share his findings.
00:23:46.49\00:23:49.89
As it happened,
00:23:49.92\00:23:51.26
an invitation was on its
way to him at that very moment.
00:23:51.29\00:23:55.03
A young man had traveled
16 miles to the Miller farm
00:23:55.06\00:23:58.60
with a message from his
father in Dresden, New York.
00:23:58.63\00:24:02.40
There wouldn't be any preaching
in their church the next day.
00:24:02.44\00:24:04.87
Instead, they wanted William
Miller to talk to the people
00:24:04.91\00:24:09.44
on the subject of the
second coming of Jesus.
00:24:09.48\00:24:12.78
Miller was shocked and angry
00:24:12.81\00:24:16.22
that he'd made
that promise to God,
00:24:16.25\00:24:18.89
but he didn't
give the boy an answer.
00:24:18.92\00:24:20.46
Instead, he left his
house and he came here
00:24:20.49\00:24:24.06
to this very grove of trees,
00:24:24.09\00:24:25.99
where he spent about
an hour talking with God,
00:24:26.03\00:24:28.50
trying to get out of the
commitment that he just made.
00:24:28.53\00:24:31.83
But Miller
couldn't break his covenant.
00:24:31.87\00:24:33.80
Instead, he went
back to the house,
00:24:33.84\00:24:36.57
where the boy was still waiting.
00:24:36.60\00:24:37.91
And they later
journeyed together to Dresden,
00:24:37.94\00:24:40.84
a journey which
took them about an hour,
00:24:40.88\00:24:43.51
which means the boy
had left his home to come
00:24:43.55\00:24:47.52
and invite Miller
to speak before Miller
00:24:47.55\00:24:50.09
had made his pledge to God.
00:24:50.12\00:24:54.39
It was later said that Miller
came into the woods a farmer,
00:24:54.42\00:24:57.63
and he went out a preacher.
00:24:57.66\00:25:00.70
That presentation
was so well received,
00:25:00.73\00:25:03.10
he was asked to stay in Dresden
and preach throughout the week.
00:25:03.13\00:25:07.44
When he returned home,
00:25:07.47\00:25:09.00
there was a letter
inviting him to speak in
00:25:09.04\00:25:10.81
Poultney, Vermont.
00:25:10.84\00:25:12.77
And so it went.
00:25:12.81\00:25:14.18
Over the next 13 years, William
Miller would average almost
00:25:14.21\00:25:17.95
270 speaking
appointments a year.
00:25:17.98\00:25:22.08
While the common people
received Miller's message
00:25:22.12\00:25:24.45
enthusiastically,
00:25:24.49\00:25:26.25
the popular religious leaders
weren't impressed at all.
00:25:26.29\00:25:30.09
Most of what
they wrote, preached,
00:25:30.13\00:25:31.89
or published about
Miller's message was negative.
00:25:31.93\00:25:35.66
In fact, the time came when
00:25:35.70\00:25:37.67
many who accepted the teachings
of Miller and his associates
00:25:37.70\00:25:41.60
would be thrown out of
many of the mainline churches.
00:25:41.64\00:25:45.44
But like Martin
Luther and other reformers,
00:25:45.47\00:25:47.41
William Miller simply
challenged his critics
00:25:47.44\00:25:49.81
to show him his
error from the Bible.
00:25:49.84\00:25:52.58
The thing was, when people
listened to what Miller said
00:25:52.61\00:25:55.62
and they looked into the Bible,
00:25:55.65\00:25:57.55
everything seemed to add up.
00:25:57.59\00:25:59.12
It appeared that
Miller was right.
00:25:59.15\00:26:01.16
The 2,300 days were
definitely 2,300 years.
00:26:01.19\00:26:05.06
Miller had made that clear.
00:26:05.09\00:26:06.86
The decree, Ezra chapter
7 made that clear, 457 BC.
00:26:06.90\00:26:13.17
After that, simply
a question of math.
00:26:13.20\00:26:16.24
Daniel 8:14 had said,
00:26:16.27\00:26:17.61
"Unto 2,300 days, then shall
the sanctuary be cleansed."
00:26:17.64\00:26:22.64
What else could it mean?
00:26:22.68\00:26:24.21
Jesus was coming back, and
he was coming back in 1843.
00:26:24.25\00:26:30.92
Except for one small thing.
00:26:30.95\00:26:33.49
I'll be right back with more.
00:26:33.52\00:26:34.99
¤[Music]¤
00:26:35.02\00:26:40.23
>>Announcer:: In Matthew
4:4, the Word of God says,
00:26:43.26\00:26:45.67
"It is written,
00:26:45.70\00:26:46.74
'Man shall not
live by bread alone,
00:26:46.77\00:26:48.60
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:26:48.64\00:26:52.74
Every Word is a one-minute
Bible-based daily devotional
00:26:52.77\00:26:55.98
presented by
Pastor John Bradshaw
00:26:56.01\00:26:57.78
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:26:57.81\00:27:01.42
Look for Every Word
on selected networks,
00:27:01.45\00:27:04.69
or watch it online
everyday on our website,
00:27:04.72\00:27:06.22
itiswritten.com.
00:27:06.25\00:27:08.56
Receive a daily spiritual boost.
00:27:08.59\00:27:10.73
Watch Every Word.
00:27:10.76\00:27:12.13
You'll be glad you did.
00:27:12.16\00:27:16.50
¤[Music]¤
00:27:17.07\00:27:22.44
>>John: Abbott and Costello,
00:27:22.47\00:27:24.17
Jordan and Pippen,
00:27:24.21\00:27:25.64
Wilbur Wright
and Orville Wright,
00:27:25.67\00:27:27.48
Simon and Garfunkel.
00:27:27.51\00:27:29.18
Now, pardon my
somewhat trivial examples here,
00:27:29.21\00:27:31.18
but the point is
one that you know well.
00:27:31.21\00:27:32.85
Often, someone is prominent
or achieves in large part
00:27:32.88\00:27:36.12
because of the
help of another person.
00:27:36.15\00:27:38.12
The Protestant Reformation was
the most significant religious
00:27:38.15\00:27:40.59
and you could
say political event
00:27:40.62\00:27:41.96
of the last thousand years.
00:27:41.99\00:27:43.86
And while we
think of Martin Luther
00:27:43.89\00:27:45.19
as the architect
of the Reformation,
00:27:45.23\00:27:47.23
Luther likely
wouldn't have been Luther
00:27:47.30\00:27:48.73
without Philipp Melanchthon.
00:27:48.76\00:27:50.80
Melanchthon was a giant
intellect, a theologian,
00:27:50.83\00:27:53.03
and he collaborated with Luther.
00:27:53.07\00:27:54.84
He made Luther better,
00:27:54.87\00:27:56.60
like Aaron and Hur
holding up Moses' hands.
00:27:56.64\00:27:59.14
Exodus 17, verse 12 says,
00:27:59.17\00:28:01.24
"And Aaron and Hur
stayed up his hands,
00:28:01.28\00:28:03.68
the one on the one side,
the other on the other side."
00:28:03.71\00:28:06.45
Whose hands can
you hold up today?
00:28:06.48\00:28:08.48
God might be looking to
00:28:08.52\00:28:09.62
you to bring out the
best in someone else.
00:28:09.65\00:28:12.29
I'm John Bradshaw
from It Is Written.
00:28:12.32\00:28:13.96
Let's live today by every word.
00:28:13.99\00:28:15.99
Thanks for joining
me on It Is Written.
00:28:17.63\00:28:20.20
William Miller,
00:28:20.23\00:28:21.40
a Baptist farmer from a
small town in New York State,
00:28:21.43\00:28:24.10
had discovered an
amazing message in the Bible.
00:28:24.13\00:28:28.04
His careful study of
God's Word had proven
00:28:28.07\00:28:31.77
that Jesus was coming
back to the earth in 1843.
00:28:31.81\00:28:37.01
But as you know,
00:28:37.05\00:28:38.55
Jesus didn't come back in 1843.
00:28:38.58\00:28:42.25
Well, after that
massive disappointment,
00:28:42.28\00:28:44.89
somebody figured out why.
00:28:44.92\00:28:47.39
You see, they'd forgotten
that there was no year zero.
00:28:47.42\00:28:51.29
If you start at minus-five
and you count to plus-five,
00:28:51.33\00:28:54.20
that's a difference of 10.
00:28:54.20\00:28:56.70
But if you start at 5
BC and you go to 5 AD,
00:28:56.73\00:29:00.74
that's a difference of nine
because there's no year zero.
00:29:00.77\00:29:06.21
You go from 1 BC to 1 AD.
00:29:06.24\00:29:10.18
Of course! Jesus
wasn't coming back in 1843.
00:29:10.21\00:29:15.48
He was coming back in 1844.
00:29:15.52\00:29:18.62
Miller's followers were
called Millerites and Adventists
00:29:18.65\00:29:22.76
because of their belief in
the imminent advent of Jesus.
00:29:22.79\00:29:26.13
By the summer of 1844,
00:29:26.16\00:29:28.03
this Advent
movement built to its climax.
00:29:28.06\00:29:31.47
In August, a man by
the name of Samuel Snow
00:29:31.50\00:29:34.77
addressed a Millerite gathering
and showed from his study
00:29:34.80\00:29:38.34
of Scripture and the
ancient Jewish Day of Atonement
00:29:38.37\00:29:41.74
that the 10th day
of the seventh month,
00:29:41.78\00:29:44.08
the annual Day of Atonement,
00:29:44.11\00:29:46.35
would fall in 1844
on the 22nd of October.
00:29:46.38\00:29:52.42
This prediction gave
even stronger momentum
00:29:52.45\00:29:54.86
to the movement.
00:29:54.89\00:29:56.06
The preachers
continued to preach,
00:29:56.09\00:29:57.96
and literature explaining
the prophecies of the Bible
00:29:57.99\00:30:00.93
and the time periods in question
were circulated far and wide.
00:30:00.96\00:30:05.53
One of the prominent
leaders of the movement,
00:30:05.57\00:30:07.37
Charles Fitch, died of pneumonia
00:30:07.40\00:30:10.27
after baptizing
believers in the Ohio River.
00:30:10.31\00:30:13.04
Even though the
weather was severely cold,
00:30:13.07\00:30:14.94
he refused to turn anyone away.
00:30:14.98\00:30:17.81
He died just 10 days before
Jesus was expected to return,
00:30:17.85\00:30:21.62
but his family didn't mourn.
00:30:21.65\00:30:24.12
They believed that
they'd be seeing him again,
00:30:24.15\00:30:26.45
that his body would
come up out of the grave
00:30:26.49\00:30:28.92
in just a few more days.
00:30:28.96\00:30:31.43
At last, the
appointed day arrived.
00:30:31.46\00:30:34.30
Some believers left
their crops unharvested.
00:30:34.30\00:30:37.67
One shop owner in Philadelphia
00:30:37.70\00:30:39.40
left a sign in
his window that said,
00:30:39.43\00:30:41.90
"This shop is closed in
honor of the King of Kings,
00:30:41.94\00:30:45.57
who will appear
the 22nd of October.
00:30:45.61\00:30:48.24
Get ready, friends, to
crown Him Lord of all."
00:30:48.28\00:30:52.68
But as the day got longer,
00:30:52.71\00:30:54.68
these faithful believers
00:30:54.72\00:30:55.92
realized that
Jesus might not return.
00:30:55.95\00:30:59.59
When midnight arrived,
00:30:59.62\00:31:01.29
the disappointment of
the Millerites was intense.
00:31:01.32\00:31:05.56
The prophecy found in Revelation
chapter 10 was fulfilled.
00:31:05.59\00:31:09.53
"And I went to the
angel and said to him,
00:31:09.56\00:31:12.10
'Give me the little book.'
00:31:12.13\00:31:13.97
And he said to
me, 'Take and eat it,
00:31:14.00\00:31:16.81
and it will make
your stomach bitter,
00:31:16.84\00:31:19.04
but it will be as sweet
as honey in your mouth.'
00:31:19.07\00:31:22.31
And I took the little book out
of the angel's hand and ate it,
00:31:22.34\00:31:26.28
and it was as sweet
as honey in my mouth,
00:31:26.31\00:31:29.05
but when I had eaten it,
my stomach became bitter,"
00:31:29.08\00:31:33.56
Revelation 10:9 and 10.
00:31:33.59\00:31:36.79
Descendants of people
who lived here at the time
00:31:36.83\00:31:39.39
say that some Millerite
believers gathered right here,
00:31:39.43\00:31:42.90
on what today is
known as Ascension Rock,
00:31:42.93\00:31:45.90
and waited here
for Jesus to come.
00:31:45.93\00:31:49.04
If that's true, their
journey home that night
00:31:49.07\00:31:52.11
would have been very difficult.
00:31:52.14\00:31:55.84
Imagine believing that
you were going to farewell
00:31:55.88\00:31:57.71
your friends and neighbors.
00:31:57.75\00:31:59.05
You'd never see them again,
many of whom had ridiculed you
00:31:59.08\00:32:02.28
for believing that
Jesus was gonna come back.
00:32:02.32\00:32:05.09
Now you'd have to face them.
00:32:05.12\00:32:07.02
They'd mock you again
00:32:07.06\00:32:07.96
because you are here
on this earth at all.
00:32:07.99\00:32:11.36
Imagine believing that
you are gonna go to heaven,
00:32:11.39\00:32:14.20
and then discovering that
heaven would have to wait.
00:32:14.20\00:32:18.47
And of course, all of this
begs some difficult questions.
00:32:18.50\00:32:24.17
So how could William Miller,
a faithful Baptist preacher,
00:32:24.21\00:32:27.11
possibly get it so wrong?
00:32:27.14\00:32:29.24
After all, the Bible
says that no one knows
00:32:29.28\00:32:31.41
the day or the
hour of Jesus' return.
00:32:31.45\00:32:33.38
Well, it's good to remember
that William Miller himself
00:32:33.42\00:32:36.38
never set a date,
00:32:36.42\00:32:37.62
but one of his followers did
circle a day on the calendar.
00:32:37.65\00:32:42.39
Well, keep this in mind.
00:32:42.42\00:32:44.56
Even Jesus' followers
sometimes made mistakes.
00:32:44.59\00:32:47.83
Jesus told them as plainly as he
could that he was going to die,
00:32:47.86\00:32:50.77
and they just couldn't
understand what he was saying.
00:32:50.80\00:32:53.74
When Jesus died,
their hopes died with them.
00:32:53.77\00:32:57.81
But out of that
brutal disappointment,
00:32:57.84\00:32:59.71
Jesus brought great things,
00:32:59.74\00:33:01.11
and he brought good
things out of the Millerites'
00:33:01.14\00:33:03.65
disappointment too.
00:33:03.68\00:33:05.41
If Miller could be so
wrong about something so basic,
00:33:05.45\00:33:09.12
didn't that make him a
deceiver, a false Messiah?
00:33:09.15\00:33:13.59
Well, no, no more
than the followers of Jesus
00:33:13.62\00:33:16.99
were false prophets.
00:33:17.03\00:33:19.06
Miller was just
wrong about a key point.
00:33:19.09\00:33:23.53
Could Miller's error
00:33:23.57\00:33:24.60
have jeopardized the
faith of his followers?
00:33:24.63\00:33:27.67
Well, that's possible,
00:33:27.70\00:33:28.80
but this is a reminder
to us, that a person's faith
00:33:28.84\00:33:31.31
must be individual,
personal, based on the Bible,
00:33:31.34\00:33:36.21
and not on the say-so
of another human being.
00:33:36.24\00:33:39.05
God achieved some great
things through William Miller.
00:33:39.08\00:33:42.82
Thousands of
people were directed
00:33:42.85\00:33:44.45
to the study of the Bible,
00:33:44.49\00:33:45.55
in particular
the Bible's teaching
00:33:45.59\00:33:48.19
about the
second coming of Jesus.
00:33:48.22\00:33:49.86
The second coming
was a neglected teaching
00:33:49.89\00:33:52.53
in Christianity,
00:33:52.56\00:33:53.90
and Miller shone a spotlight
on the Bible's teaching
00:33:53.93\00:33:56.63
that Jesus was indeed
soon to return to this earth.
00:33:56.67\00:34:00.47
Today, that
teaching is widely believed.
00:34:00.50\00:34:03.07
Few in
Christianity are not Adventists.
00:34:03.10\00:34:06.37
Most Christians today
believe in the advent of Jesus,
00:34:06.41\00:34:09.78
and many believe
it will happen soon.
00:34:09.81\00:34:12.48
For that, William
Miller is largely to credit.
00:34:12.51\00:34:16.69
Revelation 10, which speaks
of the bitter disappointment,
00:34:16.72\00:34:19.25
goes on to say,
00:34:19.29\00:34:21.29
"Thou must prophecy
again before many peoples
00:34:21.32\00:34:25.39
and nations and tongues and
kings," Revelation 10, verse 11.
00:34:25.43\00:34:30.33
And since Miller's time,
00:34:30.37\00:34:32.93
the church has
been prophesying again.
00:34:32.97\00:34:36.20
The news has gone to the world
that Jesus is coming back soon,
00:34:36.24\00:34:39.94
that everybody can
be ready for that day
00:34:39.97\00:34:42.28
through faith in Jesus Christ,
00:34:42.31\00:34:44.85
and that the Bible
is the rule of faith
00:34:44.88\00:34:47.32
and practice for all believers.
00:34:47.35\00:34:50.49
William Miller
continued to preach,
00:34:50.52\00:34:52.89
he continued to believe,
00:34:52.92\00:34:54.02
and he
continued to trust in God.
00:34:54.06\00:34:56.66
He died in 1849
at the age of 67,
00:34:56.69\00:35:01.00
and he's buried right here.
00:35:01.03\00:35:05.37
Soon the Protestant
Reformation will be completed.
00:35:05.40\00:35:08.70
Soon the words of
Jesus will be fulfilled,
00:35:08.74\00:35:10.67
those words spoken in Matthew
24, verse 14, when Jesus said,
00:35:10.71\00:35:15.21
"This gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached
00:35:15.24\00:35:17.35
in all the world for a
witness to all nations,
00:35:17.38\00:35:21.18
and then shall the end come."
00:35:21.22\00:35:22.88
¤[Music]¤
00:35:22.92\00:35:28.49
I'm John Bradshaw
from It Is Written,
00:35:29.96\00:35:32.23
inviting you to join me for 500,
00:35:32.26\00:35:35.90
nine programs
produced by It Is Written,
00:35:35.93\00:35:38.17
taking you deep
into the Reformation.
00:35:38.20\00:35:41.30
This is the 500th anniversary
00:35:41.34\00:35:43.77
of the beginning
of the Reformation,
00:35:43.81\00:35:45.51
when Martin Luther
nailed his 95 Theses
00:35:45.54\00:35:47.98
to the door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:35:48.01\00:35:50.88
We'll take you to
Wittenberg and to Belgium,
00:35:50.91\00:35:53.08
to England,
00:35:53.11\00:35:53.88
to Ireland,
00:35:53.92\00:35:55.45
to Rome,
00:35:55.48\00:35:56.32
to the Vatican City,
00:35:56.35\00:35:57.55
and introduce you to the people
who created the Reformation,
00:35:57.59\00:36:00.62
who pushed the
Reformation forward.
00:36:00.66\00:36:02.69
We'll take you to
sites all throughout Europe
00:36:02.72\00:36:04.66
where the Reformers
lived and in some cases died.
00:36:04.69\00:36:07.50
We'll bring you
back to the United States
00:36:07.50\00:36:09.13
and take you to a little
farm in upstate New York,
00:36:09.16\00:36:12.13
and show you how God
spread the Reformation here.
00:36:12.17\00:36:15.07
Don't miss 500.
00:36:15.10\00:36:17.17
You can own the
500 series on DVD.
00:36:17.21\00:36:20.18
Call us on 888-664-5573,
00:36:20.21\00:36:24.88
or visit us online
at itiswritten.shop.
00:36:24.91\00:36:29.72
Welcome back to 500.
00:36:31.92\00:36:33.49
I'm John Bradshaw
from It Is Written.
00:36:33.52\00:36:36.29
We've seen Tell It to the
World, the William Miller Story,
00:36:36.32\00:36:39.83
his contribution to the
forward momentum of Bible truth
00:36:39.86\00:36:43.26
in preparation for the
return of Jesus Christ.
00:36:43.30\00:36:46.37
Someone who knows a little bit
about the William Miller story
00:36:46.40\00:36:49.20
is Dr. Jud Lake.
00:36:49.24\00:36:50.34
He's a professor of preaching
and Adventist studies at
00:36:50.37\00:36:53.58
Southern Adventist University.
00:36:53.61\00:36:55.51
Dr. Lake, again,
thanks for joining me.
00:36:55.54\00:36:57.05
Who was William Miller?
00:36:57.08\00:36:58.65
Introduce us to this man?
00:36:58.68\00:36:59.88
What was he, was he really like?
00:36:59.91\00:37:02.48
>>Dr. Lake: He's most known as
a revivalist in the 19th century
00:37:02.52\00:37:06.25
before the Civil War,
00:37:06.29\00:37:07.36
uh, in the, during the Civil,
00:37:07.39\00:37:08.66
pre-Civil War
years, I should say.
00:37:08.69\00:37:10.79
And, uh, he
spawned a major movement
00:37:10.83\00:37:12.99
called the Millerite movement
00:37:13.03\00:37:14.46
that focused on the
soon return of Jesus,
00:37:14.46\00:37:17.17
and he's most known for that.
00:37:17.20\00:37:18.53
>>John: What was,
00:37:18.57\00:37:20.10
what was the world
of William Miller like?
00:37:20.14\00:37:22.80
He was preaching, you know,
back there in the 1840s, 1830s.
00:37:22.84\00:37:29.34
What was life like then?
00:37:29.38\00:37:30.91
>>Dr. Lake: Mm-hmm.
00:37:30.95\00:37:31.61
>>John: Much different to today.
00:37:31.65\00:37:33.08
>>Dr. Lake: That was a
period in American history.
00:37:33.11\00:37:35.55
It was, you could
say it was about 30,
00:37:35.58\00:37:39.25
40 years from the Revolution,
00:37:39.29\00:37:40.79
and about another 30
years to the Civil War.
00:37:40.82\00:37:44.39
And Americans had just
finished the War of 1812,
00:37:44.43\00:37:48.76
and they were now a part
of the family of nations.
00:37:48.80\00:37:52.37
And that set the tone for those,
what we call antebellum years,
00:37:52.40\00:37:56.17
the years before the war.
00:37:56.20\00:37:58.21
And it was a time
where the common man was able
00:37:58.24\00:38:01.28
to make his own decisions
and decide for himself.
00:38:01.31\00:38:04.55
Uh, Andrew Jackson was the
President during the 1830s,
00:38:04.58\00:38:08.25
and historians call
that a Jacksonian period,
00:38:08.28\00:38:12.75
where the focus
was on the common man.
00:38:12.79\00:38:14.46
And Miller was
pretty much a Jacksonian man
00:38:14.49\00:38:16.59
because his whole focus was
on what the individual can do,
00:38:16.62\00:38:21.83
and that became
important in his preaching.
00:38:21.86\00:38:24.13
So it was a period of
great optimism in America.
00:38:24.17\00:38:27.87
>>John: Miller's
spiritual journey, it,
00:38:27.90\00:38:31.37
it didn't really
travel in a straight line,
00:38:31.41\00:38:34.14
and he got into
something called deism.
00:38:34.18\00:38:36.68
So can you unpack
that for us a little bit?
00:38:36.71\00:38:38.61
>>Dr. Lake: Yes, and that
was pretty much a part of, uh,
00:38:38.65\00:38:40.58
of, uh, America in that era,
00:38:40.62\00:38:42.25
that deism is a
movement that flourished out of
00:38:42.28\00:38:45.59
the French
Revolution in the 18th century
00:38:45.62\00:38:48.46
and spilled over into the
19th century into America.
00:38:48.49\00:38:51.03
And a lot of Americans
were getting into deism.
00:38:51.06\00:38:53.66
And shortly after William
Miller got married in 1803,
00:38:53.70\00:38:58.53
moved to Poultney, New York.
00:38:58.57\00:39:00.34
And he had a
religious upbringing,
00:39:00.37\00:39:02.80
but he'd been struggling
with spiritual issues.
00:39:02.84\00:39:05.57
And some friends
put into his hands
00:39:05.61\00:39:10.65
the philosophical writings
of, of Voltaire and Hume
00:39:10.68\00:39:14.25
and Thomas Paine,
these well-known deists.
00:39:14.28\00:39:18.42
And these guys were what
we would call hard deists,
00:39:18.45\00:39:21.56
particularly Thomas Paine,
that there is a supreme being,
00:39:21.59\00:39:26.29
but there's, he has no
interaction with human beings,
00:39:26.33\00:39:30.17
and he left the
earth to run on its own.
00:39:30.20\00:39:31.93
And reason was
most important for them,
00:39:31.97\00:39:34.30
so there was no personal
revelation in the Bible.
00:39:34.34\00:39:36.34
There was no personal Savior.
00:39:36.37\00:39:37.94
And Miller began
to read this material,
00:39:37.97\00:39:39.81
and it seemed to
fit his state of mind,
00:39:39.84\00:39:42.28
struggling with his
Christian upbringing.
00:39:42.31\00:39:44.08
And he pretty much
swallowed it and became a deist,
00:39:44.11\00:39:48.52
and remained so
for about 12 years.
00:39:48.55\00:39:51.05
And there are
different versions of deism.
00:39:51.09\00:39:52.85
You've got warm
deism and cold deism.
00:39:52.89\00:39:55.09
Thomas Paine, some of
the originators then of it,
00:39:55.12\00:39:58.56
were cold deists.
00:39:58.59\00:39:59.79
But Miller, he was
more of a warm deist.
00:39:59.83\00:40:02.56
He could not reject the
idea that there's an afterlife,
00:40:02.60\00:40:06.10
whereas cold deists do.
00:40:06.13\00:40:08.30
And he also believed that God
00:40:08.34\00:40:09.84
was more involved
with human affairs.
00:40:09.87\00:40:11.74
>>John: And he
served in the military.
00:40:11.77\00:40:13.91
>>Dr. Lake: Yes, he
rose to the rank of captain,
00:40:13.94\00:40:16.85
uh, in the military.
00:40:16.88\00:40:18.11
And at the
Battle of Plattsburgh,
00:40:18.15\00:40:20.95
in the concluding
battle to the War of 1812,
00:40:20.98\00:40:23.65
where the British came to
the Americans at Lake Champlain
00:40:23.69\00:40:27.36
in overwhelming
force, it did appear,
00:40:27.39\00:40:29.79
it appeared that the
Americans had no chance.
00:40:29.82\00:40:32.59
And Miller describes that.
00:40:32.63\00:40:33.90
Let me read to you
what he said about that.
00:40:33.93\00:40:36.20
He's describing,
uh, that, that battle.
00:40:36.23\00:40:38.67
And he says, "At the
commencement of the battle,
00:40:38.70\00:40:40.90
we looked upon our own
defeat as almost certain,
00:40:40.94\00:40:43.84
and yet we were victorious.
00:40:43.87\00:40:45.77
So surprising a
result against such odds
00:40:45.81\00:40:48.38
did seem to me like the work
of a mightier power than man."
00:40:48.41\00:40:52.98
So again, as I
said, he was a warm deist.
00:40:53.01\00:40:56.05
He's acknowledging that,
00:40:56.08\00:40:58.35
that God does intervene
in the affairs of humans.
00:40:58.39\00:41:02.32
And Miller even had shells
explode right next to him.
00:41:02.36\00:41:05.86
>>John: Almost killed.
00:41:05.89\00:41:07.13
>>Dr. Lake: And his friends die.
00:41:07.20\00:41:08.50
>>Dr. Lake: But not touch him.
00:41:08.53\00:41:09.66
And he thought, "Is there
some providence for my life?
00:41:09.70\00:41:12.87
Is the divine being actually
intervening in this situation?"
00:41:12.90\00:41:17.11
So his experience
in the war caused him
00:41:17.14\00:41:21.88
to question his deism.
00:41:21.91\00:41:23.75
>>John: Somehow he segues
from deism to faith in God.
00:41:23.78\00:41:30.12
How'd he make that leap?
00:41:30.15\00:41:32.42
>>Dr. Lake: He was already
transitioning away from deism.
00:41:32.45\00:41:36.02
The war finished.
00:41:36.06\00:41:37.69
He continued to ponder
that, that final battle.
00:41:37.73\00:41:40.06
And he moved to Low Hampton,
New York with his family.
00:41:40.10\00:41:43.73
He had children.
00:41:43.77\00:41:45.03
And during that period,
00:41:45.07\00:41:46.10
he continued to wrestle
with some of these things.
00:41:46.13\00:41:48.04
It became a time, uh,
when you read his memoirs,
00:41:48.07\00:41:50.94
of a great
personal spiritual struggle.
00:41:50.97\00:41:53.84
He vacillated
between warm Christianity
00:41:53.88\00:41:57.18
or hot Christianity and
warm deism, back and forth.
00:41:57.21\00:42:00.95
And let me read to you
another statement he made
00:42:00.98\00:42:05.89
that is most interesting.
00:42:05.92\00:42:07.02
This depicts the
struggle in the man's mind.
00:42:07.06\00:42:12.76
"Annihilation was a
cold and chilling thought,
00:42:12.79\00:42:15.80
and accountability was
sure destruction to all.
00:42:15.83\00:42:18.53
The heavens were
as brass over my head,
00:42:18.57\00:42:20.80
and the earth is
iron under my feet.
00:42:20.84\00:42:23.30
Eternity, what was it?
00:42:23.34\00:42:25.34
And death, why was it?"
00:42:25.37\00:42:27.31
Now, deists were really
into reason and using the mind,
00:42:27.34\00:42:31.58
and in this next paragraph
you can see the struggle
00:42:31.61\00:42:35.35
in his mind as he's going
back and forth with reason
00:42:35.38\00:42:37.89
regarding
Christian faith and deism.
00:42:37.92\00:42:40.99
"The more I reasoned,
00:42:41.02\00:42:42.32
the further I was
from demonstration.
00:42:42.36\00:42:44.49
The more I thought,
00:42:44.53\00:42:45.39
the more scattered
were my conclusions.
00:42:45.43\00:42:47.23
I tried to stop thinking,
00:42:47.30\00:42:48.53
but my thoughts
would not be controlled."
00:42:48.56\00:42:51.03
Here's a man struggling.
00:42:51.07\00:42:52.20
>>John: Yeah, for sure.
00:42:52.23\00:42:53.34
>>Dr. Lake: "I was
truly wretched and did not
00:42:53.37\00:42:55.17
understand that cause.
00:42:55.20\00:42:56.24
I murmured and complained,
but knew not of whom.
00:42:56.27\00:42:59.67
I knew that there was a wrong,
00:42:59.71\00:43:01.61
but knew not how or
where to find the right.
00:43:01.64\00:43:04.45
I mourned, but without hope."
00:43:04.48\00:43:07.48
Now, during this time
he was attending church.
00:43:07.52\00:43:10.32
>>John: Without hope.
00:43:10.35\00:43:11.49
>>Dr. Lake: Without hope.
00:43:11.52\00:43:12.15
>>John: Interesting.
00:43:12.19\00:43:12.99
>>Dr. Lake: He
wasn't a Christian,
00:43:13.02\00:43:14.16
wasn't a full believer,
00:43:14.19\00:43:15.29
but he was attending, and
this made his mother happy.
00:43:15.32\00:43:17.73
He would sit in church,
00:43:17.76\00:43:18.86
and he complained to his
mother about some of the deacons
00:43:18.89\00:43:24.37
who read the sermons
when the pastor was absent.
00:43:24.40\00:43:27.00
They murdered the
King's English, so to speak.
00:43:27.04\00:43:29.17
And he was quite articulate,
and, uh, he's mentioned,
00:43:29.20\00:43:32.14
"You know, if I
could read the sermon,
00:43:32.17\00:43:34.48
I could do a good job."
00:43:34.51\00:43:35.71
>>John: And interesting too,
the sermon was a read affair.
00:43:35.74\00:43:38.08
>>Dr. Lake: Yes.
00:43:38.11\00:43:39.15
In this case, the
pastors had several churches,
00:43:39.18\00:43:40.75
and when they traveled away,
00:43:40.78\00:43:42.45
they had the deacons
read printed sermons.
00:43:42.48\00:43:44.92
And so because of
his mother's influence,
00:43:44.95\00:43:47.96
Miller got trapped
into reading sermons,
00:43:47.99\00:43:50.26
and so he did that for a while.
00:43:50.29\00:43:51.69
Now, that brings us to 1816.
00:43:51.73\00:43:55.16
They had a, uh, celebration
of the Battle of Plattsburgh,
00:43:55.20\00:43:58.80
and then that
next Sunday, of course,
00:43:58.83\00:44:00.54
Miller was
involved in that as captain.
00:44:00.57\00:44:02.54
And the next
Sunday he was in church,
00:44:02.57\00:44:05.21
and he was asked
to read the sermon.
00:44:05.24\00:44:07.88
The sermon was
about parental duties.
00:44:07.91\00:44:10.41
"Train up a child in
the way that he will go,
00:44:10.45\00:44:11.81
and when he's old he
will not depart from it."
00:44:11.85\00:44:13.21
It was based on
that verse in Proverbs.
00:44:13.25\00:44:14.88
And Miller had young children,
00:44:14.92\00:44:19.09
and he was reading
through this sermon,
00:44:19.12\00:44:21.66
and conviction overwhelmed
him and he broke down and wept.
00:44:21.69\00:44:26.16
He wept so hard, he
couldn't finish the sermon.
00:44:26.19\00:44:29.36
Of course, the congregation
was sympathetic, and, uh,
00:44:29.40\00:44:33.07
that was a turning point
that did something in his heart.
00:44:33.10\00:44:36.37
>>John: Somehow, the Holy
Spirit was speaking to him.
00:44:36.40\00:44:38.44
>>Dr. Lake: As he
thought about his children,
00:44:38.47\00:44:39.97
and he thought about
God and his deistic ideas,
00:44:40.01\00:44:43.61
they didn't seem to work right.
00:44:43.65\00:44:46.25
And so he writes,
00:44:46.28\00:44:47.38
and I've got to share
this with you in his own words.
00:44:47.42\00:44:49.85
"Suddenly," he says,
00:44:49.88\00:44:52.29
"the character of a Savior was
vividly impressed upon my mind.
00:44:52.32\00:44:56.52
It seemed that there might be a
being so good and compassionate
00:44:56.56\00:45:00.66
as to himself atone
for our transgressions,
00:45:00.70\00:45:03.63
and thereby save us from
suffering the penalty of sin.
00:45:03.67\00:45:06.53
I immediately felt how
lovely such a being must be,
00:45:06.57\00:45:09.14
and imagined that I could
cast myself into the arms of,
00:45:09.17\00:45:12.11
and trust in the
mercy of, such a one."
00:45:12.14\00:45:14.11
So he's processing this.
00:45:14.14\00:45:15.51
He realizes, "There is a Savior.
00:45:15.54\00:45:17.61
This is wonderful."
00:45:17.65\00:45:18.85
But then his
deistic ideas kick back in.
00:45:18.88\00:45:21.92
And so he writes,
"But the question arose,
00:45:21.95\00:45:25.65
how can it be proved
that such a being does exist?
00:45:25.69\00:45:28.96
Aside from the Bible,
00:45:28.99\00:45:30.29
I found I could get no evidence
00:45:30.33\00:45:31.96
of the existence
of such a Savior,
00:45:31.99\00:45:33.83
or even of a future state.
00:45:33.86\00:45:35.73
I felt that to
believe in such a Savior
00:45:35.76\00:45:38.07
without evidence would
be visionary and extreme."
00:45:38.10\00:45:41.27
So again, he's,
he's going back and forth
00:45:41.30\00:45:43.77
with his past deism
and the idea of a Savior.
00:45:43.81\00:45:47.78
And then he says, "I
saw that the Bible..."
00:45:47.81\00:45:51.51
So evidently he's
going back and forth,
00:45:51.55\00:45:53.08
and then he
concludes, "I saw that the Bible
00:45:53.11\00:45:55.82
did bring to view just
such a Savior as I needed,
00:45:55.85\00:45:59.49
and I was perplexed to
find how an uninspired book
00:45:59.52\00:46:02.36
should develop
principles so perfectly adapted
00:46:02.39\00:46:04.66
to the wants of a fallen world."
00:46:04.69\00:46:06.19
And so he's describing
for us that reasoning process
00:46:06.23\00:46:10.37
after this emotional
experience in the sermon.
00:46:10.40\00:46:13.40
And then finally he
comes to the resolution.
00:46:13.44\00:46:17.51
He says, "I was constrained
to admit that the Scriptures
00:46:17.54\00:46:21.78
must be a revelation from God.
00:46:21.81\00:46:23.85
They became my delight,
00:46:23.88\00:46:25.78
and in Jesus, I found a friend."
00:46:25.81\00:46:29.02
William Miller became
a friend of Jesus Christ.
00:46:29.05\00:46:32.15
>>John: I think
that's really important too,
00:46:32.19\00:46:33.69
because when we think
about William Miller's
00:46:33.72\00:46:36.86
great contribution
to theological thought,
00:46:36.89\00:46:39.06
the 2,300 days, I understand
that was God's contribution
00:46:39.09\00:46:43.23
through Daniel,
00:46:43.26\00:46:44.30
but Miller really
brought that to the forefront.
00:46:44.33\00:46:46.94
It's possible to think of
Miller as a mathematician or as,
00:46:46.97\00:46:50.01
uh, an academic, but he didn't
think about it that way at all.
00:46:50.04\00:46:53.34
His relationship to
God was that as, of a,
00:46:53.38\00:46:55.44
of a friend with a friend.
00:46:55.48\00:46:56.95
That's really significant.
00:46:56.98\00:46:58.81
>>Dr. Lake: In fact, um,
during his years of preaching,
00:46:58.85\00:47:02.02
once he began preaching in 1831
00:47:02.05\00:47:04.05
and up through
the '30s and '40s,
00:47:04.09\00:47:06.52
Miller was very methodical
in going through the prophecies
00:47:06.55\00:47:11.49
and the calculations,
00:47:11.53\00:47:12.53
but he always sought
to bring people to Jesus.
00:47:12.56\00:47:15.83
And it's been
rightly said, I think,
00:47:15.86\00:47:18.43
and concluded by
researchers that William Miller
00:47:18.47\00:47:21.00
brought more people to a
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ
00:47:21.04\00:47:24.17
than he did to a
knowledge of his calculations.
00:47:24.21\00:47:26.34
>>John: Uh, that's interesting
and very significant.
00:47:26.37\00:47:29.24
Now, this might be rather
difficult for you to answer
00:47:29.28\00:47:31.71
because I don't
think you were there,
00:47:31.75\00:47:32.98
and neither was I.
00:47:33.01\00:47:33.65
I don't know anyone who was.
00:47:33.68\00:47:34.78
But you're a
teacher of preaching.
00:47:34.82\00:47:37.65
So why do, why
do you imagine you,
00:47:37.69\00:47:39.22
you've studied
Miller, his messages,
00:47:39.25\00:47:41.42
the results of his preaching.
00:47:41.46\00:47:43.63
What kind of
preacher was William Miller,
00:47:43.66\00:47:45.16
do you think?
00:47:45.19\00:47:46.26
I don't mean was he good or bad.
00:47:46.29\00:47:47.60
He was obviously very effective.
00:47:47.60\00:47:49.80
Was he an animated speaker?
00:47:49.83\00:47:51.87
Did he stand dead still
with a solemn look on his face?
00:47:51.90\00:47:55.10
How did he
relate to congregations,
00:47:55.14\00:47:56.77
as far as you know, and
what was his preaching method
00:47:56.81\00:47:59.67
or his preaching style?
00:47:59.71\00:48:01.84
>>Dr. Lake: Based on testimonies
of people who heard him preach,
00:48:01.88\00:48:04.95
he, he was a, a loud,
boisterous type of preacher,
00:48:04.98\00:48:09.68
but he was straightforward
00:48:09.72\00:48:10.79
and his sermons
convicted people to the core.
00:48:10.82\00:48:13.76
He gave such overwhelming
evidence for his conclusions.
00:48:13.79\00:48:18.46
His research was evident.
00:48:18.49\00:48:20.06
He would just have
the Bible and expound.
00:48:20.10\00:48:22.63
But there were times where he
got really feisty and powerful.
00:48:22.66\00:48:26.87
Now, this is a vivid description
of the second coming,
00:48:26.90\00:48:29.20
the heartthrob
of William Miller.
00:48:29.24\00:48:33.11
"Soon, very soon, God
will arise in his anger,
00:48:33.14\00:48:35.88
and the vine of the
earth will be reaped.
00:48:35.91\00:48:38.01
See, see, the angel
with his sharp sickle
00:48:38.05\00:48:40.35
is about to take the field.
00:48:40.38\00:48:41.92
Se yonder trembling victim fall
before his pestilential breath.
00:48:41.95\00:48:45.32
High and low, rich and poor,
00:48:45.35\00:48:46.79
trembling and falling
before the appalling grave,
00:48:46.82\00:48:49.42
the dreadful cholera.
00:48:49.46\00:48:50.33
Hark!
00:48:50.36\00:48:51.43
Hear those dreadful
bellowings of the angry nations.
00:48:51.46\00:48:53.56
It is the presage or
horrid and terrific war.
00:48:53.60\00:48:56.06
Look! Look again!"
00:48:56.10\00:48:57.37
See what he's doing.
00:48:57.40\00:48:58.00
He's painting the picture.
00:48:58.03\00:48:59.50
He's alarming his audience and
setting them up for the hope.
00:48:59.53\00:49:03.64
"Look!
00:49:03.67\00:49:04.31
Look again!
00:49:04.34\00:49:05.44
See crowns and kings and
kingdoms tumbling to the dust.
00:49:05.47\00:49:07.81
See lords and nobles,
00:49:07.84\00:49:08.91
captains and mighty men,
00:49:08.94\00:49:09.98
all arming for the
bloody demon fight.
00:49:10.01\00:49:12.11
See the carnivorous fowls
fly screaming through the air.
00:49:12.15\00:49:14.72
See!
00:49:14.75\00:49:15.38
See these signs!
00:49:15.42\00:49:16.35
Behold, the heavens
grow black with clouds."
00:49:16.38\00:49:18.32
See, he's reaching the climax.
00:49:18.35\00:49:19.62
"The sun has veiled himself.
00:49:19.65\00:49:21.32
The moon, pale and
stricken, hangs in mid-air.
00:49:21.36\00:49:24.03
The hell descends.
00:49:24.06\00:49:25.09
The seven thunders
utter their loud voice.
00:49:25.13\00:49:27.60
The lightnings
send their vivid gleams
00:49:27.66\00:49:29.53
of sulfurous flame abroad.
00:49:29.56\00:49:31.00
And the great city
of the nations falls
00:49:31.03\00:49:32.90
to rise no more
forever and ever.
00:49:32.93\00:49:34.67
At this dread moment, look!
00:49:34.70\00:49:36.40
Look!
00:49:36.44\00:49:37.07
Oh, look and see!"
00:49:37.11\00:49:38.04
And now he comes
to the highlight,
00:49:38.07\00:49:40.14
to the grand consummation
of the appearance of Christ.
00:49:40.18\00:49:43.45
"At this dread moment, look!
00:49:43.48\00:49:45.21
What means that ray of light?
00:49:45.25\00:49:47.05
The clouds have burst asunder.
00:49:47.08\00:49:48.88
The heavens appear.
00:49:48.92\00:49:49.92
The great white
throne is in sight.
00:49:49.95\00:49:52.02
Amazement fills
the universe with awe.
00:49:52.05\00:49:53.96
He comes! He comes!
00:49:53.99\00:49:55.29
Behold, the Savior comes!
00:49:55.32\00:49:57.06
Lift up your heads, ye saints.
00:49:57.09\00:49:58.59
He comes! He comes! He comes!"
00:49:58.63\00:50:01.63
So while Miller could be
very logical and methodical,
00:50:01.66\00:50:04.70
he was also emotional.
00:50:04.73\00:50:05.83
>>John: Magnificent.
00:50:05.87\00:50:06.94
You can imagine how
stirring that had to have been.
00:50:06.97\00:50:09.57
Back with more from 500,
00:50:09.60\00:50:11.04
the William Miller story,
00:50:11.07\00:50:12.27
and Dr. Jud Lake
in just a moment.
00:50:12.31\00:50:14.21
¤[Music]¤
00:50:14.24\00:50:19.88
I'm John Bradshaw
from It Is Written,
00:50:21.82\00:50:23.85
inviting you to join me for 500,
00:50:23.89\00:50:27.56
nine programs
produced by It Is Written,
00:50:27.59\00:50:29.82
taking you deep
into the Reformation.
00:50:29.86\00:50:32.89
This is the 500th anniversary
00:50:32.93\00:50:35.33
of the beginning
of the Reformation,
00:50:35.36\00:50:37.03
when Martin Luther
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00:50:37.07\00:50:39.53
to the door of the Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
00:50:39.57\00:50:42.40
We'll take you to
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00:50:42.44\00:50:44.64
to England,
00:50:44.67\00:50:45.47
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00:50:45.51\00:50:47.01
to Rome,
00:50:47.04\00:50:47.88
to the Vatican City,
00:50:47.91\00:50:49.11
and introduce you to the people
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00:50:49.14\00:50:52.11
who pushed the
Reformation forward.
00:50:52.15\00:50:54.12
We'll take you to
sites all throughout Europe
00:50:54.15\00:50:56.08
where the Reformers
lived and in some cases died.
00:50:56.12\00:50:58.92
We'll bring you
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00:50:58.95\00:51:00.66
and take you to a little
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00:51:00.69\00:51:03.73
and show you how God
spread the Reformation here.
00:51:03.76\00:51:06.66
Don't miss 500.
00:51:06.70\00:51:08.73
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00:51:11.80\00:51:16.44
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It's undoubtedly the
world's great superpower,
00:52:02.08\00:52:04.45
the United States of America.
00:52:04.49\00:52:06.05
But what of it's
role in earth's last days?
00:52:06.09\00:52:09.46
Does Bible prophecy speak of
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00:52:09.49\00:52:14.13
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Welcome back to 500.
00:53:02.54\00:53:04.21
I'm John Bradshaw
from It Is Written.
00:53:04.25\00:53:06.11
My guest is Dr.
Jud Lake, professor at
00:53:06.15\00:53:09.32
Southern Adventist University.
00:53:09.35\00:53:10.92
We've been discussing
William Miller, Dr. Lake.
00:53:10.95\00:53:13.82
He was a
reformer, really, wasn't he?
00:53:13.86\00:53:15.42
Not in the
classical sense, like Luther.
00:53:15.46\00:53:17.53
He wasn't, wasn't fighting
the same fights as Zwingli
00:53:17.56\00:53:20.80
or Calvin or Farel, certainly.
00:53:20.83\00:53:23.20
But this was a man who took the
religious thought of the day,
00:53:23.23\00:53:25.93
turned it upside down, and
urged Christianity forward.
00:53:25.97\00:53:30.04
>>Dr. Lake: Yes.
00:53:30.07\00:53:31.31
Everybody thought that Christ
was coming after the Millennium,
00:53:31.34\00:53:33.58
so there was no
sense of urgency,
00:53:33.61\00:53:34.94
but Miller turned that around
and was counterculture and said,
00:53:34.98\00:53:38.61
"No, Jesus is coming now. He's
coming before the Millennium."
00:53:38.65\00:53:42.92
But Miller, yes,
he was a reformer,
00:53:42.95\00:53:44.75
countercultural in his ideas.
00:53:44.79\00:53:47.76
But what I find
interesting, John,
00:53:47.79\00:53:49.36
is that there are some parallels
of William Miller's message
00:53:49.39\00:53:52.73
with the Protestant Reformers.
00:53:52.76\00:53:54.00
>>John: Let's look at that.
00:53:54.00\00:53:54.60
>>Dr. Lake: First of all,
00:53:54.63\00:53:56.46
I find four
connections, four parallels.
00:53:56.50\00:53:58.97
First of all,
Miller taught the Bible.
00:53:59.00\00:54:03.37
That connects with the
battle cry of the Reformation,
00:54:03.41\00:54:06.01
sola scriptura.
00:54:06.04\00:54:07.04
>>John: Sure.
00:54:07.08\00:54:08.24
>>Dr. Lake: Secondly, another
parallel I see is the, uh,
00:54:08.28\00:54:12.11
a major theme
in the Reformation,
00:54:12.15\00:54:13.78
the, the Latin sola fide, faith
alone, faith alone in Christ.
00:54:13.82\00:54:18.59
Salvation comes
through Jesus alone.
00:54:18.62\00:54:20.99
Miller, as you remember
from his conversion, he said,
00:54:21.02\00:54:25.19
"In Jesus, I found a friend."
00:54:25.23\00:54:26.70
>>John: I found a friend.
00:54:26.73\00:54:27.83
>>Dr. Lake: He, while he
talked about the prophecies,
00:54:27.86\00:54:29.46
he talked about Jesus,
00:54:29.50\00:54:30.83
and he believed that salvation
came by knowing Christ alone.
00:54:30.87\00:54:35.27
You have this parallel with the,
00:54:35.30\00:54:36.91
uh, the Reformation
emphasis on Scripture
00:54:36.94\00:54:39.21
and the emphasis on Christ.
00:54:39.24\00:54:41.84
But also, there's
something else very interesting.
00:54:41.88\00:54:43.51
You remember the
priesthood of believers?
00:54:43.55\00:54:45.11
>>John: Sure.
00:54:45.15\00:54:45.81
>>Dr. Lake: In the Reformation.
00:54:45.85\00:54:46.85
>>Dr. Lake: Well,
Miller believed his message
00:54:46.88\00:54:49.25
was for the common man.
00:54:49.28\00:54:50.99
He sai- uh, uh, he
said, "I have no vision."
00:54:51.02\00:54:53.82
This is not
coming from a vision.
00:54:53.86\00:54:56.02
He says everybody can
decide for themselves.
00:54:56.06\00:55:00.40
So he presented a clear
message, and he told people,
00:55:00.43\00:55:03.53
"You go and study
this out for yourself."
00:55:03.57\00:55:05.73
That was his belief,
00:55:05.77\00:55:07.20
and people could come
to their own conclusions.
00:55:07.24\00:55:09.40
That's a reflection of
the priesthood of believers.
00:55:09.44\00:55:12.34
>>John: Sure.
00:55:12.37\00:55:13.44
>>Dr. Lake: That you
don't have to go to a prophet
00:55:13.48\00:55:14.61
or to a priest or
even trust in the clergy.
00:55:14.64\00:55:17.15
You can study the
Bible for yourself
00:55:17.18\00:55:19.25
and come to your own conclusions
about what God is telling you.
00:55:19.28\00:55:21.92
>>John: Amen.
00:55:21.95\00:55:22.85
>>Dr. Lake: Miller
believed that they would
00:55:22.88\00:55:23.99
come to his conclusions
because it was so reasonable,
00:55:24.02\00:55:26.39
so logical.
00:55:26.42\00:55:27.62
And finally, a, a, a strong
connection with the Reformation
00:55:27.66\00:55:31.13
is Miller's historicism.
00:55:31.16\00:55:33.23
You know the
Protestant Reformers,
00:55:33.26\00:55:35.80
namely Luther and Calvin,
00:55:35.83\00:55:38.53
they approached the prophecies
of Daniel and Revelation from,
00:55:38.57\00:55:41.44
from a
perspective of historicism.
00:55:41.47\00:55:43.17
That's the, the
method of interpretation
00:55:43.20\00:55:45.77
of the historic
Christian Church,
00:55:45.81\00:55:47.44
that the prophetic prophecies
began the day of the prophet,
00:55:47.48\00:55:50.91
and as history unfolded
the prophecies were fulfilled.
00:55:50.95\00:55:54.32
Not all in the
future like futurism,
00:55:54.35\00:55:56.85
or in the past like preterism,
00:55:56.89\00:55:58.39
but what I like to
call present prophecy.
00:55:58.42\00:56:01.72
It was fulfilled
down through history.
00:56:01.76\00:56:04.23
And Miller
taught the same thing.
00:56:04.26\00:56:05.56
The Reformers,
Luther and Calvin,
00:56:05.59\00:56:08.13
understood the Beast's
power of Daniel and Revelation
00:56:08.16\00:56:11.70
to be fulfilled in the papacy.
00:56:11.73\00:56:13.40
Well, William Miller
taught the same thing.
00:56:13.44\00:56:15.50
So there you have a clear
connection with the method
00:56:15.54\00:56:18.84
of
interpretation in the Reformers.
00:56:18.87\00:56:21.51
So in these ways, I see, uh,
00:56:21.54\00:56:24.18
some parallels
in William Miller,
00:56:24.21\00:56:26.51
his message, to the Reformation.
00:56:26.55\00:56:28.12
>>John: He was
certainly carrying forward
00:56:28.15\00:56:29.72
the legacy of the Reformation.
00:56:29.75\00:56:31.09
>>Dr. Lake: Without question.
00:56:31.12\00:56:31.75
>>John: One final question.
00:56:31.79\00:56:33.66
William Miller's
legacy to us today.
00:56:33.69\00:56:36.26
What, what's the legacy?
00:56:36.29\00:56:37.26
What does he leave for
us Christians down here
00:56:37.29\00:56:39.23
in the end of time?
00:56:39.26\00:56:40.36
>>Dr. Lake: Well, I
think first of all, um,
00:56:40.40\00:56:42.06
spiritually speaking,
00:56:42.10\00:56:43.53
he leaves us the legacy
of the premillennial return
00:56:43.57\00:56:47.24
of Christ and urgency.
00:56:47.27\00:56:49.70
That's what I get
from Miller is urgency,
00:56:49.74\00:56:52.17
that Christ is coming soon.
00:56:52.21\00:56:54.18
And tangibly speaking, um,
00:56:54.21\00:56:57.11
the right after
the disappointment,
00:56:57.15\00:57:00.55
you had
fragmentation of the Millerites,
00:57:00.58\00:57:03.39
but there was one particular
group that didn't really gain
00:57:03.42\00:57:06.45
visibility until
several years later.
00:57:06.49\00:57:09.12
And this group
eventually adopted ideas
00:57:09.16\00:57:11.63
such as the
Sabbath and sleep in death,
00:57:11.66\00:57:14.96
and they pulled together
a unique doctrinal package.
00:57:15.00\00:57:17.60
And for a while they,
00:57:17.63\00:57:18.90
they understood themselves
as Sabbatarian Adventists.
00:57:18.93\00:57:23.07
In 1848 to 1850,
00:57:23.10\00:57:25.57
they held a series of
conferences on the Sabbath.
00:57:25.61\00:57:28.58
They called them
Sabbath conferences,
00:57:28.61\00:57:30.85
and that's where they hammered
out their doctrinal package.
00:57:30.88\00:57:33.55
And these were
the pioneers of the
00:57:33.58\00:57:35.28
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:57:35.32\00:57:36.48
And then during the 1850s,
they focused on organization,
00:57:36.52\00:57:40.36
pulling their ideas together,
00:57:40.39\00:57:41.62
more advanced
doctrinal understanding.
00:57:41.66\00:57:43.36
By the time you get to
the Civil War, in fact,
00:57:43.39\00:57:45.49
right in the middle of the
Civil War between the battle,
00:57:45.53\00:57:47.73
two big battles of
Chancellorsville in 1863
00:57:47.76\00:57:50.27
and Gettysburg,
00:57:50.30\00:57:52.53
the Sabbatarian Adventists
00:57:52.57\00:57:54.14
established the
General Conference
00:57:54.17\00:57:55.47
of Seventh-day Adventists.
00:57:55.50\00:57:56.71
Well, that group
has continued to grow,
00:57:56.74\00:57:58.74
and now here in 2017,
00:57:58.77\00:58:00.74
by the time we get to 2020,
00:58:00.78\00:58:04.25
Seventh-day
Adventism will probably surpass
00:58:04.28\00:58:06.78
the mark of 20 million members.
00:58:06.82\00:58:08.55
We continue to preach the soon,
imminent return of Jesus Christ.
00:58:08.58\00:58:14.19
Seventh-day Adventists place
a lot of emphasis on Miller.
00:58:14.22\00:58:18.69
We are his legacy.
00:58:18.73\00:58:19.69
>>John: Dr. Jud Lake,
thank you so very much.
00:58:19.73\00:58:22.70
It's been outstanding.
00:58:22.73\00:58:23.40
>>Dr. Lake: My pleasure.
00:58:23.43\00:58:24.70
>>John: I appreciate it greatly.
00:58:24.73\00:58:26.07
And thank you for joining us.
00:58:26.10\00:58:26.87
We have one more program in 500.
00:58:26.90\00:58:28.57
That's program number
nine, finishing the Reformation.
00:58:28.60\00:58:32.41
My guest in that program
will be Elder Ted Wilson.
00:58:32.44\00:58:35.41
I hope you won't miss it.
00:58:35.44\00:58:37.55
Let's pray
together before we conclude.
00:58:37.58\00:58:38.91
Let's pray now.
00:58:38.95\00:58:39.65
Our Father in heaven,
00:58:39.68\00:58:42.18
we stand on the
shoulders of those men and women
00:58:42.22\00:58:44.29
of great faith who
have come before us.
00:58:44.32\00:58:45.99
We're like relay
runners who take the baton
00:58:46.02\00:58:48.76
from the runner who ran before.
00:58:48.79\00:58:50.96
And I pray that as
we possess the faith
00:58:50.99\00:58:54.00
once delivered to the saints,
00:58:54.03\00:58:55.16
that it would
burn in our hearts,
00:58:55.20\00:58:56.63
brightly in our lives,
00:58:56.67\00:58:58.17
that we'd be so
enthusiastic about your word,
00:58:58.20\00:59:00.94
so in love with your Son,
00:59:00.97\00:59:02.60
our Savior Jesus,
00:59:02.64\00:59:03.74
that we would want to see
Him shared with everybody.
00:59:03.77\00:59:07.14
Give us grace to be
about your business.
00:59:07.18\00:59:09.44
And Lord,
00:59:09.48\00:59:10.78
let us carry forward
the torch of the Reformation
00:59:10.81\00:59:13.11
to Earth's remotest bounds,
00:59:13.15\00:59:14.98
lifting up the Bible,
faith in Jesus Christ,
00:59:15.02\00:59:19.29
that soon we can see
Jesus return to take us home.
00:59:19.32\00:59:23.32
We thank you,
00:59:23.36\00:59:23.99
we praise you,
00:59:24.03\00:59:24.66
and we pray in Jesus' name,
00:59:24.69\00:59:26.80
Amen.
00:59:26.83\00:59:28.80
Looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:59:28.83\00:59:30.63
So glad you've
joined us this time.
00:59:30.67\00:59:33.57
Until then, remember,
00:59:33.60\00:59:34.87
"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:59:34.90\00:59:37.84
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:59:37.87\00:59:41.41
¤[Theme music]¤
00:59:41.44\00:59:56.46