"And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many".Mt.24:3-5.
The Second Coming of Christ remains the main event yet to transpire here on planet earth. The hope of believers throughout the ages, looking for "a better resurrection". But Christ warned that one of the signs of the last days is DECEPTION! He said, "Take heed that no man deceive you", and "many shall come in my name...and shall deceive many". Therefore everyone seeking salvation, must base their faith and expectations on thus saith the Lord, "rightly dividing the word of truth", because God's word is truth. Jn.17:17.
A Worldwide Deception
One William Miller, founder of the Advent Movement, perpetrated one of the greatest deceptions that ever took place. Miller and his associates founded a worldwide movement based on an erroneous interpretation of Daniel's prophecies, concluding that Christ would return in 1844. While it may be argued that it was merely a mistake, the fact is that no prophet or apostle of Christ ever pronounced such heresy that resulted in so much people being misled.
Jesus gave an explicit warning, he said "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only". Mt.24:36. Surely Miller should have known that. But did the Advent Movement set a day and hour in 1844 for the coming of Christ? Yes it did. Listen to this quotation from "The Great Controversy" by Ellen G. White. Chapter 20 Pg.330 3rd para. "With unspeakable desire those who had received the message watched for the coming of their Saviour. The time when they expected to meet him was at hand. They approached this hour with a calm solemnity. They rested in sweet communion with God, and earnest of the peace that was to be theirs in the bright hereafter. None who experienced this hope and trust can forget those precious hours of waiting. For some weeks preceeding the time, worldly business was for the most part laid aside. The sincere believers carefully examined every thought and emotion of their hearts as if upon their death beds and in a few hours to close their eyes upon earthly scenes". End of quote, emphasis mine.
It is evident that "for some weeks preceeding the time" all other business was put in abeyance and as the hour drew near "they approached with a calm solemnity". Was that error, miscalculation, misunderstanding or deception? Dear reader the answer is clear, it was all of those things and therefore deception.
The word deceive means: to mislead to disappoint or to cause to err. Deception means: deceiving or illusion. Deceive is the verb and deception is the noun. Well, Jesus did not come, so they were misled.
BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS
How did Miller arrive at the year 1844? An examination of this reveals other deceptions. The prophet Daniel said in Dan. 8:14; "And he said unto me, unto two thousand, three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed". Miller joined this prophecy with Dan.9:24 where it says "seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy".
Here is how he reasoned. This quotation is from the "Great Controversy" by E.G. White, Chap. 18:Pg. 290 1st para..."Seventy weeks, representing Four Hundred and Ninety (490) years, are declared by the angel to be cut off as specially pertaining to the Jews. But from what were they cut off? As the 2300 days, was the only period of time mentioned in Chap. 8, it must be the period from which the seventy weeks were cut off; the seventy weeks must therefore be apart of the 2300 days, and the two periods must begin together. The seventy weeks were declared by the angel to date from the going forth of the commandment, if this could be found, then the starting point for the great period of the 2300 days would be ascertained. In the seventh chapter of Ezra the decree is found. Verses 12-26. In its completest form it was issued by Artaxerxes, King of Persia, 457 B.C... "The decree of Artaxerxes went into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C." End of Quote.
Pg. 288 part of last Para. of the Great Controversy, "...he [Miller] saw that the period of 2300 prophetic days, or literal years, would extend far beyond the close of the Jewish dispensation. Miller accepted the generally received view that in the Christian age the earth is the sanctuary, and he therefore understood that the cleansing of the sanctuary foretold in Dan.8:14 represented the purification of the earth by fire at the second coming of Christ". End of Quote.
When Christ did not come, the error of the false prophet was made obvious. This then seemingly good conclusion by Miller started a worldwide movement, where thousands were ready to meet Christ in 1844. They did not take heed of deception; they were all deceived. For his part, Miller probably was a sincere man; nevertheless his error caused a world wide deception to take place. Even now this error continues to be excused by the teaching of the "Investigative Judgement" doctrine.
WHAT IS THE PROPER MEANING OF THESE PROPHECIES?
Daniel saw in a vision, that he was by the river of Ulai, when he saw a ram with two horns one higher than the other stand before the river. The ram was pushing westward and northward and southward. Dan.8:1-4. Then he saw a he goat that "came from the west on the face of the whole earth and touched not the ground; and the he goat had a notable horn between his eyes". This he goat smote the ram and brake his two horns and cast him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none to deliver the ram. Dan. 8:5-7.
"The he goat waxed very great and when he was strong, the great horn was broken: and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them [the four] came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great even to the host of heaven and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground and stamped upon them. Yea he magnified himself even to the Prince of the Host, and by him the daily sacrifice (Num.28:3, Ex.29:38) was taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down". Dan.8:8-11.
It is clear that this prophecy was speaking about a power that would remove or prevent the daily sacrifice from being offered. We would come to the time period later, but let us first interpret this prophecy, and what better way than the bible way. Notice verses 20 & 21. "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the King of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king".
Bible scholars agree that the great horn between the eyes of the he goat was representing Alexander the great, the first ruler of the third world empire known in history as the Grecian or Macedonian empire. Some call it; Greco-Macedonian Empire. This is the empire that took over from the Medes and Persians or the Medo-Persian Empire.
This prophecy was already given in Dan.2 and Dan.7 but repeated here to show the work of the exceeding great horn. Notice verse 22. "Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, (compare verse 8) four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." History proves that this took place. After the death of Alexander, four of his leading generals divided the kingdom among themselves: - Lysimachus, Ptolemy, Selucus and Cassander.
The little horn out of one of the four, which waxed exceeding great (v.9) is the king of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences that stood up.v.23. Let's read verses 23-25. "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark sentences shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and practice and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also shall he cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of Princes; but he shall be broken without hand".
Now who is this little horn that came out of one of the four sub-divisions of Alexander's empire and became exceeding great, and took away the daily sacrifice from the sanctuary? Who is this that destroyed the mighty and the holy people, the Jews? Let's find out.
THE LITTLE HORN THAT BECAME EXCEEDING GREAT
This little horn is not Rome as some erroneously teach. This one is a man; a king called Antiochus the Illustrious (Epiphanes) the younger son of Antiochus the Great. This Antiochus Epiphanes is sometimes referred to as Antiochus IV.
In the historical account recorded in 1Machabees 1:1-10 it says "Now it came to pass after that Alexander the son of Phillip, the Macedonian, who first reigned in Greece, coming out of the land of Cethim, (Chittim) had overthrown Darius King of the Persians and Medes: He fought many battles and took the strongholds of all and slew the Kings of the earth. And the earth was quiet before him.... And Alexander reigned twelve years: and he died. And his servants made themselves Kings everyone in his place. And they all put crowns upon themselves after his death, and their sons after them many years and evils were multiplied in the earth." Verse 11 "And there came out of them a wicked root, Antiochus the Illustrious, the son of King Antiochus who had been a hostage at Rome: and he reigned in the hundred and thirty-seventh year of the Kingdom of the Greeks".
"After ravaging Egypt, Antiochus went to Jerusalem with a great multitude".V.23. "And he proudly entered into the Sanctuary... " V.39, "And they shed innocent blood round about the sanctuary and defiled the holy place".
V.41. "Her sanctuary was desolate...." V.57. "On the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, (Chisleu) in the hundred and forty-fifth year, king Antiochus set up the abominable idol of desolation upon the altar of God". (defilement of temple).
THE CLEANSING
All this filth was cleaned up by the exploits of Judas called Machabeus, one of five sons of Mathathias grandson of a priest called Simeon. 1Macc. 4:36. "Then Judas, and his brethren said: Behold our enemies are discomfited: let us go up now to cleanse the holy places and to repair them,"v.41 "Then Judas appointed men to fight against them that were in the castle till they had cleansed the holy places"; and in v.53 "And they offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of holocausts (altar of burnt offering) which they had made."
THE DAILY SACRIFICE
The daily sacrifice was commanded thus in Num.28:3, 4. "And thou shall say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the Lord, two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even" ...compare Ex.29:38 & 39.
This daily sacrifice was to be offered, regardless to what day of the week, even on the Sabbath. Kindling fire on the Sabbath was wrong see Ex. 35:3 but the priests kindled fire for this purpose and were blameless. See Mt. 12:5.
This then was the sacrifice that was to be taken away for two thousand three hundred days by that little horn that became exceedingly great. Dan. 8:14. If the sanctuary was to be cleansed after two thousand three hundred days then it must have been defiled during those days. It has been proven that Antiochus did defile the Sanctuary and Judas called Machabeus cleansed it. To apply the principle in Eze. 4:6. a day for a year to this prophecy is wrong, because this was a daily occurrence that was involved; every morning and evening of every day. Two thousand three hundred days work out to be about six [6] years and fourteen [14] days using three hundred and sixty days [360] a year as in bible times.
BACK TO MILLERS ARGUMENT
No where in the bible does it say that the world is the sanctuary nor does it say that there were daily sacrifices taking place in the heavenly sanctuary, which was taken away and defiled for 2300 days. Then if not, how can the cleansing of the sanctuary in this prophecy refer to the heavenly sanctuary? It does not. But this explanation was arrived at as a means of explaining the obvious deception to make it look credible.
The commandment that went forth in 457 B.C in fulfillment of Dan. 9:25-27 was long before Antiochus Epiphanes, and long before the warring exploits of the sons of Mathathias, which occurred between 167-134 B.C. See Dan.11:32-33. In Dan.11, there is another prophecy that is linked to Dan.8 with other intricate happenings during the reign of the Medo- Persian and Grecian Kingdoms, but Dan. 9:24-27 was for Daniel's people the Jews (Israelites).
ATTEMPTING TO EXPLAIN THE DECEPTION
Quoting from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith Pg. 665 2nd para... "When Christ did not come in 1844, the entire Adventist body was thrown into more or less confusion. Many gave up the movement entirely. More concluded that the argument on the time was wrong, and immediately endeavoured to readjust the prophetic periods, and set a new time for the Lord to come, a work which they have continued more or less to the present time, fixing a new date as each one passed. A few searched closely and candidly for the cause of the mistake... they... saw that a mistake had been made in their understanding of the sanctuary by which error the disappointment could be explained... They found in the scriptures clear evidence that the sanctuary referred to was the temple in heaven, which Paul calls the sanctuary". End of quote.
Could you believe this? You do not explain why you made a deception; you repent and turn from it. But there was no repentance, instead we find this surprising comparison.
Quoting "The Great Controversy" by E.G.White Pg. 311 3rd Para. "Like the first disciples William Miller and his associates did not themselves fully comprehend the import of the message which they bore. Errors that had been long established in the church prevented them from arriving at a correct interpretation of an important point in the prophecy. Therefore though they proclaimed the message which God had committed to them to be given to the world, yet through a misapprehension of its meaning they suffered disappointment."
Isn't that incredible? Classifying Miller with the disciples? Which of the disciples ever preached a deception and afterward had to turn back to look for an explanation to excuse the deception? Interestingly enough, this false teaching took another twist. It is taught that in 1844, there began in heaven what is called an Investigative Judgement. Father forgive them.
Dear reader, if you are one already deceived by the movement of 1844, here is your chance to get out. The true church cannot be founded on a deception. If the foundation is deceptive, what about the building? You be the judge.
The church that Jesus built [Mt.16: 18] and purchased with his own blood [Acts 20:28], was existing long before 1844 and it is still existing today. It is called twelve times in the New Testament the Church of God. Its founder was not William Miller or any other carnal man, but the founder was the Son of God. It was not built on a deception but on THE ROCK! That's why it still exists. It is the Pillar and ground of the truth 1Tim.3:15. It has been and still is the only true protestant church.
It was never a Sunday keeping church and it rejects all the doctrines, teachings and practices of the Roman Church. Thank you Jesus! It preaches against Beast Worship, and keeps the commandments of God and has the faith of Jesus. Rev. 14:12. "He that hath an ear, Let him hear what the Spirit sayeth"....
JEREMIAH 7 - SELF-DECEPTION AND MINGLED RELIGION
It is time for the watchmen to blow the trumpet: destruction is all around us and Christ is pleading that we should amend our ways. It is only when we walk fully in the word of YHWH we will be able to receive of His manifold blessings, therefore let us take heed to the word of YHWH, to obey is much better than to sacrifice.
Urgent Prayer Request
I am asking everyone to say a prayer for my friend Ben. He suffered a stroke which paralyzed one side of this body. He was then diagnosed with Lupus. The doctors then found a tumor in his brain. He's in pretty bad shape, but I know God will see him through. Please say a prayer for Ben.
Urgent Prayer Request
We are requesting for all to keep Bro. Patrick, Sis. Sephora, Bro. Defoe, and Sis. Defoe in prayer. They are very sick and are in great need of our prayers. Whenever you have a chance, please just bow your head and mention these lovely brethren that God will work his miraculous mercy and their healing will their life long testimony.
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