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Prophecies Fulfilled
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time and accomplished the work which God designed to accomplish
by them.
The world had been expecting that if Christ did not appear, Ad-
ventism would be given up. But while many yielded their faith there
were some who stood firm. The fruits of the advent movement, the
spirit of heart searching, of renouncing of the world and reformation
of life, testified that it was of God. They dared not deny that the Holy
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Spirit had witnessed to the preaching of the second advent. They
could detect no error in the prophetic periods. Their opponents had
not succeeded in overthrowing their prophetic interpretation. They
could not consent to renounce positions reached through earnest,
prayerful study of the Scriptures, by minds enlightened by the Spirit
of God and hearts burning with its living power, and which had stood
firm against learning and eloquence.
Adventists believed that God had led them to give the warning
of the judgment. “It has,” they declared, “tested the hearts of all who
heard it, ... so that those who will examine their own hearts, may
know on which side ... they would have been found, had the Lord
then come—whether they would have exclaimed, ‘Lo! this is our
God, we have waited for him, and he will save us;’ or whether they
would have called to the rocks and mountains to fall on them to hide
them from the face of him that sitteth in the throne!
The feelings of those who still believed that God had led are
expressed in the words of William Miller: “My hope in the coming
of Christ is as strong as ever. I have done only what, after years of
solemn consideration, I felt it my duty to do.” “Many thousands, to
all human appearance, have been made to study the Scriptures by
the preaching of the time; and by that means, through faith and the
sprinkling of the blood of Christ, have been reconciled to God.
Belief Maintained
God’s Spirit still abode with those who did not rashly deny the
light they had received and denounce the advent movement. “Cast
not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense
of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done
2
The Advent Herald and Signs of the Times Reporter, vol. 8, no. 14 (Nov. 13, 1844).
3
Bliss, pp. 256, 255, 277, 280, 281.