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The
Heart of Our Movement
On the weekend of October
22, 2004, the entire Atlantic Union staff
as well as several conference officers
went to Low Hampton in upstate New York
to visit the William Miller Farm. This
relatively secluded place is considered
by many to be the birthplace of the Adventist
Movement—where it all began 160
years ago this past October 22. There
we learned that that infamous day in
history was not so much the Great Disappointment
as it was the Great Anticipation. The
pioneers knew something was going to
happen. They studied the prophecies.
Well, something did happen. It wasn't
the return of Christ as had been expected
(thus October 23 was a real disappointment).
But something else, unseen by human eyes
and untouched by human hands, was happening.
As we visited the William
Miller home and the chapel, we were once
again moved by the awesome thought that
the Adventist church is a prophetic movement.
It started on time, right at the end
of the great apocalyptic prophecy of
Daniel 8:14: "Unto two thousand three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary
be cleansed." This time period lasted from 457 BC to the Fall of 1844
AD.
At the end of this time period, the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary was
to begin. What is this cleansing, you ask? It is a cleansing to take place
through Christ's work of judgement (investigative judgement) in the heavenly
temple, leading to the final resolution of the sin problem.
Meanwhile here on earth, God was raising up a movement of restoration and reform
whose goal was to prepare the whole world for the soon coming of Christ in
glory. This preparation was to be done through the proclamation of the three
angels' messages of Revelation 14:6-12.
The Adventist Movement then was inaugurated by God Himself right at the end
of the 2300 day prophesy and at the beginning of the time of the end. The sanctuary
message, then, is a key Adventist doctrine. It gives self-identity and precise
timing to the Adventist Movement, its message and mission. This message is
not only a timely message but an urgent message. It's a warning message that
would rescue men and women, boys and girls from the tombs of vice, selfishness,
false worship, and sin.
There were several groups
that started around that time in 1844
including the Seventh Day Baptists which
today number just around 30,000. Today,
Seventh-day Adventists number 14 million worldwide. What made the difference?
The Sanctuary message— its significance and implications regarding the closing scenes
of this world's history. Do you understand the meaning of the prophecies and
the serious implication of the Day of Atonement? Our pioneers did. After many
excavations into the Word of God and digging for truth with prayer and soul-searching
honesty, they figured it out—after October 22, 1844. Have you?
Do you know what you believe?
As a young fellow growing up, there's a song that never left my mind. The words
go something like this:
"Have
you heard of the Advent church of God,
How she is moving according to prophecy.
For the Word is her teacher,
And the Lord is her leader,
Have you heard of the Advent church"
All of the doctrines of the Bible are
rooted in the sanctuary message like
spokes in a wheel. The hub of the wheel
is the sanctuary with Christ as High
Priest and Mediator as its center. Truly,
Christ is the heart of the sanctuary
and the heart of all the truths that
emanate from the sanctuary.
These truths of God's Word regarding the Cross, Salvation, the Atonement, the
Prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, the Seventh-day Sabbath, the State of
the Dead, Tithing, Baptism, the Second Coming, and others will continue to
shine in brilliant and magnificent splendor as we wind down the meandering
boulevards of the 21st century to the end of time.
Won't you join your brothers and sisters in heralding the Good News of Christ
in the Heavenly Sanctuary during 2005 and until He comes. Donald
G. King is president of the Atlantic Union
Conference and chairman of the Atlantic
Union College Board of Trustees.
Atlantic Union GLEANER
February 2005
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