Said Enoch: "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints." (Jude 14.) This prophecy by Enoch is not the second coming of Christ in the clouds, for when He shall appear in glory He comes not "with His saints," but rather for His saints. Neither could it be of His coming with his saints on the other side of the millennium, for in such a case it could not have been a message to the antediluvian world. It would have been improper and without object, or lesson to that people, if Enoch should have preached to the world Christ's third coming before preaching His second coming for His saints. What then?
Enoch prophesied of the coming of the Lord to His temple in the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary with His saints in figure (not bodily) for the investigative judgment to blot out their sins, of which event Malachi the prophet refers: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: And the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, Whom ye delight in: behold He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." (Mal. 3:1-3.) "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: even the messenger of the covenant." The messenger is not the Lord Himself, but note that he is the one who shall prepare the way for the Lord. He is called the "messenger of the covenant" (agreement or promise). Since the Scripture is for the last days, this messenger of promise can be no other than the one whom the Lord has promised: "Behold, I will send you Elilah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." (Mal. 4:5.)
The Lord came to His temple in the most holy place in 1844 for the judgment of the dead, which was a fulfillment of Daniel 7:9, 10. Malachi refers to the judgment for the living, which is of the same events (judgment). For the prophet says: "But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for... he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: And shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." (Mal. 3:2, 3.) As the dead cannot be purified, or offer gifts, it is evident that it is the purification of the church, for "He shall purify the sons of Levi" -- the priests -- the 144,000. Furthermore the Lord says: "I will send my messenger," and as no messenger can be sent to the dead, it must be a message to the living.
Coming back to the prophecy by Enoch: "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints." The word "thousands" being in plural, does not reveal the number of saints that come with Him. But if the word "ten thousands," have no numerical definition of any kind, then the word "ten," would be vain repetition and foreign to the Scriptures. Therefore, we must look for a symbolical definition of the word. The number "ten," has the same meaning as the "ten virgins" of Matthew 25, denoting universal (the church as a body). Thus it symbolically apprehends the saints collectively -- all the saved from Adam to the end. Therefore, the prophecy by Enoch commenced its fulfillment in 1844, at which time "the Lord came with the names and records of those who are sleeping in the grave, and when the investigation of the dead is finished, then He comes with the names of the living saints. First with the 144,000, and afterward with the "great multitude of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues." (Rev. 7:9.) Therefore, the complete fulfillment of the prophetic words, "Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints," shall be realized at the close of probation. Of this coming of the Lord (for the dead) William Miller was the messenger, and the message of Elijah the prophet -- the messenger of the covenant -- is the forerunner for His coming with the living saints, both of the same event -- the judgment.
In "The Great Controversy," p. 426, referring to Christ's second advent, part of Jude 14 is quoted with Jude 15, to complete the sentence with the word "cometh;" that part of the verse "with ten thousands of His saints," apply to His coming to the temple before the "Ancient of days." The word "cometh" from Jude 14, with Jude 15, is applied to His second advent, the same as Zechariah 13:6. Verse (6) is applied to Christ's second coming and verse (7) to His crucifixion. Also note that the comment is on Jude 15, about the judgments upon the wicked and not to the saints.
True, Enoch prophesied of the anti-typical day of atonement (our time), but if his message was without significance to the world before the flood, then his preaching would have been merely ostentatious. Therefore, what is true of his message now, was also true to the antediluvians; and if this statement is correct, there must be a perfect comparison of the world then, with the one now. The preaching of Enoch was followed by the preaching of Noah. While the ancient world did not have a perfect understanding of the coming of the Saviour, they too, like the present generation, were looking and waiting for Him who was to redeem them from sin and death, and to reinstate them in the garden of Eden. With their lips they professed a great longing for Him Whom they expected to see in His glory, but their attitude toward the glad news in the message by Enoch: "Behold the Lord cometh," brought to the surface that which was in their hearts. As it was generally expected that the Lord would come at that particular time, and as Enoch had not been given the light as to the manner of His coming, he proclaimed his message in Perfect harmony with the popular view of that generation. Now the question is, what made them reject the message so long as its proclamation was in harmony with their expectations and they could not refute its truth? This question can be answered by the experience of John the Baptist.
"John did not fully understand the nature of the Messiah's kingdom. He looked for Israel to be delivered from her national foes; but the coming of the King in righteousness, and the establishment of Israel as a holy nation, was the great object of his hope." -- "The Desire of Ages," p. 103.
It would have been unreasonable and an injustice to the chosen people of God if He should have left them in darkness concerning the time of the most important event of all church history -- the coming of Christ. That part of the long prophetic period of the 2300 days (years) of Daniel 8:14, which pertained to the Jewish nation; namely, the seventy weeks, or 490 years, they perfectly understood, for: "It was well known that the seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy, covering the Messiah's advent, were nearly ended; and all were eager to share in that era of national glory which was then expected." -- "The Desire of Ages," p. 133.
Light had been shining to the Jewish nation, and they were well informed of Him (to whom they had expended millions of dollars in sacrifices, and hundreds of years in ceremonial services), the time He should come, and the nature of His kingdom. As the rulers of the nation had fallen under sin they despised the corrections by the prophets. Thus the character of the then expected kingdom was misinterpreted, but the time they rightly understood and nationally accepted. As John had not been given light on what was to transpire after the Anointed One should come, he proclaimed the message in perfect harmony with the popular idea of the prophetic time, and of the coming kingdom. Now, since there was no controversy between the teachings of John the Baptist and the rulers of Israel, what made them reject his message?
"In the natural order of things, the son of Zecharias should have been educated for the priesthood. But the training of the rabbinical schools would have unfitted him for his work. God did not send him to the teachers of theology to learn how to interpret the Scriptures. He called him to the desert, that he might learn of nature, and nature's God.
"It was a lonely region where he found his home, in the midst of barren hills, wild ravines, and rocky caves. But it was his choice to forego the enjoyments and luxuries of life for the stern discipline of the wilderness." -- "The Desire of Ages," p. 101.
As the Scribes and Pharisees said of Christ and the apostles: We will not have these ignorant men reign over us, they poured the same accusations against John, and this was the undermining of their eternal welfare. Their second stumbling block came as "John's singular appearance carried the minds of his hearers back to the ancient seers. In his manner and dress he resembled the prophet Elijah. With the spirit and power of Elijah he denounced the national corruption, and rebuked the prevailing sins.... As a symbol of cleansing from sin, he baptized them in the waters of Jordan. Thus by a significant object-lesson he declared that those who claimed to be the chosen people of God were defiled by sin, and that without purification of heart and life they could have no part in the Messiah's kingdom.... John declared to the teachers of Israel that their pride, selfishness, and cruelty showed them to be a generation of vipers, a deadly curse to the people, rather than the children of just and obedient Abraham." -- "The Desire of Ages," pp. 104-106.
Thus the forerunner of Christ did, for he saw his people deceived, self-satisfied, and asleep in their sins. He longed to rouse them to a holier life. God does not send messengers to flatter the sinner. He delivers no message of peace to lull the unsanctified into fatal security. Because John warned his people of the danger and the doom of his nation, they hated him the more.
Now, what made the antediluvian world reject the message by Enoch? Enoch's message to the Old world was in like manner in perfect harmony with the popular acceptance of the "coming of the Lord", but as his work carried the same rebuke as that of John the Baptist, he also incurred the displeasure of his people. By turning from the message of salvation that was to blot out their sins (Enoch's prophecy of the judgment), they placed themselves under greater condemnation. By rejecting the only means for their salvation, they cut themselves loose from the Power that upholds all things, and thereby invited the terrible flood.
God, not willing that any should perish, commanded Noah to declare the danger before-hand, and provide means and facilities for those who wished to escape the ruin. But as they turned down the message by Enoch they did likewise with the message by Noah. As these messages were inspired by the Holy Spirit, they sinned against Him; therefore, it shall never be forgiven them.
Thus the message by William Miller was a fulfillment of Enoch's prophecy -- also a duplicate. If this is correct, there must be a perfect comparison of one with the other. As Enoch did not fully understand the manner of the "coming of the Lord," and John the Baptist the character of the Kingdom that was to be set up, just so Miller misinterpreted the "cleansing of the sanctuary," and proclaimed the coming of the Lord to earth instead of to the Most Holy place. If some should charge Miller with being a false prophet, they may likewise accuse Enoch and John. Such blind and hasty conclusions is an attempt to overthrow the whole Bible.
Now the question arises, Why did God allow His servants to remain in darkness as to what was to transpire at the end of their message? There are several reasons. Enoch's and Miller's messages were similar to the forerunner of the first advent of Christ. John's message was to prepare the way of the Lord's coming, and not to explain the nature of His kingdom. So it was with Miller and Enoch. The second reason. -- Had John been given light that Christ's kingdom was not of this world, it would have brought about extreme internal friction with his nation. Therefore, such a debatable question would have overthrown his work and rendered useless the message for His people. But as there was no argument as to what he taught his hearers it left the sin-blinded leaders of Israel without an excuse. Had they accepted his message, and repented of their sins, it would have opened their spiritual eyesight, and the arrival of the Anointed One would have enlightened the rest of the way.
In Miller's time Christendom was no less ignorant of the sanctuary question than the Jewish nation was of Christ's kingdom. Therefore, had Miller been given light concerning the place to which Christ was to come at the end of the 2300 days; namely, to the Most Holy place for the judgment of the saints, his message would have brought forth many arguments and idle discussions. Thus the time and proclamation of the prophetic period would have been neglected, and his efforts frustrated. But in the manner he proclaimed his message he gave them no occasion for dispute, and as the enemies of God could not contradict his interpretation of the Scriptures, and refused to be interested in what he taught, it left them without excuse.
Thus the second angel's message of Revelation 14:8, was proclaimed immediately after the disappointment, Saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen." That is, the world in 1844 fell in the same manner as the one before the flood. The present world is called Babylon, because the kingdom of Babylon is the immediate one after the flood. Thus Babylon became the mother of the nations.
Our world stands at this present time in the same place as the one before the flood. The Old World was condemned by rejecting the message in its type, and the New in the anti-type. Note how remarkable the concidences: After the proclamation of the glad news (the coming of the Lord by Enoch) was flatly ignored by the Old world and the preparation neglected, Noah declared the end of the world in his generation. The message by Miller was followed by identically the same declaration as that of Noah, as it was announced after 1844, "The end of the world in this generation."
As it was understood that Christ was to come to earth on the expected date, and the teaching remained uncontradicted that the return of the long expected Son of God was at hand, it should have been profoundly interesting to those who claimed the name of Christ as their only Saviour and Redeemer. If the praises which they proclaimed with their lips were also in their hearts, they would have gladly accepted the good news and made all possible preparation for the most glorious event in all history. But as they refused to be interested, they ridiculed, and flatly rejected it all -- showing their true character and thus marking themselves as goats. Since the most exalted and promising news of celestial glory was rejected, and the messenger unappreciated in both cases (Old and Modern worlds), it is positive that whatever truth is presented, regardless of its magnitude of glory, these scoffers of today will not believe, and will thus bring condemnation upon themselves.
As God declared the danger to the Old world by the preaching of Noah in one generation, just so has He forewarned the world of its end in this generation. As provision was made before the flood for those who wished to escape the ruin, just so He has provided means and facilities for all who wish to evade the doom that confronts our world. Not to enter into an ark built by the hands of man, No, no, that was only a figure; but into "many mansions" prepared by the Lord himself; not into an ark floating over mad waters; but into mansions resting on foundations of precious stones. The dreaded flood is a type of the dark millennium. As God's faithful people were saved then, so shall they be saved now; but the sinner now, shall perish as the sinner then.
If the flood is a type of the millennium, and the generation that perished then a type of the generation now living, then the number of days employed in the destruction of the Old world must be considered with the destruction of this present world.
"And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. And the flood was forty days upon the earth, And the waters increased, and bear up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days." (Gen. 7:1, 4, 5, 7, 10-12, 17, 24.)
"And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass at the end of the forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove, which returned not again unto him any more. And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee." (Gen. 8:3, 5-13, 15, 16.)
After faithful Noah had sounded the warning to his generation and had completed the building of the ark, God commanded His servant to enter into it seven days before the rain had begun. As he, and all that were to go into the ark entered the wonderful boat that rested upon dry land with no seeming evidence that it would ever have a chance to float, the Lord closed the door.
Six days passed without any apparent sign of a flood, but in the end of the seventh day, the pouring rain from above and the gushing fountains from beneath dashed against each other, and Noah's prediction commenced its dreadful fulfillment in the devastation of the land. As the waters from above and the fountains from beneath covered the surface of the earth fifteen cubits upward, and destroyed every living thing by the end of the forty days and forty nights, they suddenly ceased from terror to calmness, from fury to peace, as though satisfied with the accomplishment of victory over rebellion against truth and righteousness. For one hundred and ten days they neither increased nor decreased, but held their level by a miracle. When the total of one hundred and fifty seven days were fulfilled from the day Noah entered the ark, they began to abate; that is, the fountains of the deep opened their mouths to swallow them down in the bowels of the earth.
Now we go back to clear the apparent Scriptural complication in recording the duration of the flood and the confinement in the ark. "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." (Gen. 7:11.) The second month and the seventeenth day of the month was the date of the solar year according to the antediluvian calendar when the raging flood began its violent rush against every living thing upon the earth. The same indignation of nature vehemently continued forty days, and when it had reached its climax and wiped out the inhabitants it suddenly quieted down. Adding forty days to the foregoing date would show that the rain ceased on the twenty-seventh day of the third month. "And the ark rested [quieted] in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat." (Genesis 8:4.)
Therefore, from the day the rain started to the day the ark rested, (not on the ground but from drifting) was exactly five months. The same is recorded in Gen. 8:3, "And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated." This fact proves that the antediluvian monthly calendar consisted of thirty days to a month (5 x 30 = 150).
"And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen." (Gen. 8:5.) That is, from the day the waters were abated to the day the mountains appeared, there were seventy-four days. (13) to complete the seventh month, (30) in the eighth, (30) in the ninth, and (1) day from the tenth month = 74 in all.
"And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth." (Gen. 8:13.) That is, from the day the mountain tops had appeared to the day the waters returned to their proper place, there were ninety days -- (29) to complete the tenth month, (30) in the eleventh, (30) in the twelfth, and (1) day from the first month of the commencement of the new year, making a total of ninety days.
The following record will give us the number of days to dry the earth's surface and solidify from the effects of the waters: "And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried." (Gen. 8:14.) Therefore, the earth had dried in the space of fifty-six days from the day the waters were taken away -- (29) days to complete the first month, and (27) from the second month, making a total of (56) days.
The following is a summary and a grand total of days: (40) while raining, 110 to the time they began to subside, 164 days for the waters to recede in the bowels of the earth, and (56) for the earth to dry, making a total of 370 days; and seven before the flood had started, reaching a grand total of 377 days -- twelve months and seventeen days in all (30 days to the month).
Certainly no one would suppose that this arrangement of the flood with fixed number of days to each act was thoughtlessly devised by a just and all wise God. Why should Noah and his family with all the living creatures that went into the ark be shut in seven days before the rain began? It would have been unwise and cruel on the part of God, also costly to Noah, and burdensome to all the inmates of the ark in prolonging their captivity if it had no object lesson for future generations. Why consume forty days to flood the earth while He could have done it in much less time? Why lengthen the captivity of His creatures in the ark, by restraining the liberty of the waters in their downward course, and compel them to keep their elevation fifteen cubits upward for 110 days? Or why not more or less? Why should He cause the waters to rise upward in forty days, and consume 164 (over four times as long) in going down? Is it not contrary to nature?
The earth had been under water for over ten months, and as the rushing torrents from underneath had violently inverted the form of the earth on their upward course, it had become one slimy mass of mud. But after the waters had descended into the lower lands, and in the bowels of the earth, He caused the earth to dry in but fifty-six days. Everything God did in connection with the flood was contrary to nature and to human judgment or reason. Unquestionably, it was thus devised for an object lesson for those upon whom the end of the world is come.
The following will not only prove that what has been said is correct, but it will also show that the closing of the door of the ark seven days before the destruction by the flood had begun, is a type representing the time from the close of probation to the commencement of the plagues. It will further prove that the rain of forty days and forty nights is a type of the destruction of the wicked in the plagues. The 110 days (after the rain had stopped and before the waters were abated) is a time-type of the wicked, both during the millennium and for one hundred years after. Also that the clearing of the earth from the waters is a type of the destruction of the wicked by fire (the second death) after the millennium, and the fifty-six days in which the earth was dried is a type of the cooling of the earth after its purification from sin and sinners.
As the above stated types are symbols of six different periodic events dealing with days, months and years, depending on the incident, their true meaning cannot be deciphered by comparison, neither would such method prove anything in this case, nor yet show Omnipotence in devising the type. Therefore, their true meaning is to be found by multiplication with Biblical numbers of special meaning to fit the incident and broaden the view. Also the lesson derived by such methods must prove correct and in perfect harmony from every angle one may figure; thus one thing proves another.
Therefore, we shall first consider the seven days (from the time Noah entered the ark to the commencement of the flood) of which we stated to be the type of the time between the close of probation and the commencement of the plagues. The method to be used in disclosing the length of time in the said period is also to indicate that human probation, and the completeness of the gospel proclamation has closed. The only fitting Biblical number that can be used to describe such incidents as well as to reveal the number of days from one event to the other, would be number seven. Therefore, we must multiply the type with the Biblical number of completeness. Thus, 7 x 7 = 49 days from the close of probation to the commencement of the plagues. Therefore, the falling of the plagues should be a signal to the wicked that they are lost! O, how great the disappointment to them, who, like the antediluvians hope to be saved, but find themselves lost.
A computation of like manner was employed to define the year of jubilee. Said the Lord: "And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years." (Lev. 25:8.) The fiftieth year while the land rested being also a type of the millennium (showing that the land shall keep a Sabbath-rest), a like computation is used. Therefore, at the beginning of the thousand years is the commencement of the jubilee in its anti-type. And as the land was returned to the lawful owners in the typical year of jubilee, just so it will be in the anti-typical -- returned to the saints. "Thy people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified." (Isa. 60:21.)
The next number and event to deal with is the typical forty days and forty nights while it rained, in comparison with the anti-typical (the destruction of the wicked in the time of the plagues and to the second coming of Christ). The ruin of the wicked being world-wide we must multiply the type with a number signifying universal, so as to prove that the destruction shall include the four points of the compass. It has been previously proven that ten is the only fitting number; therefore, 40 x 10 = 400, thus bringing the total of 449 days, or one and one fourth years (15 months) from the close of probation to the coming of Christ to take His saints. This fact will be proven from another angle in connection with another study.
Since the two sections of the flood (7 x 7 = 49 and 10 x 40 = 400 days) bring us to the end of the world, then the third section (the 110 days while the waters kept their elevation fifteen cubits upward or from the time the rain ceased to when the waters abated) must be applied to the millennium. It also being universal, we are again obliged to multiply number ten with the type, 110 x 10 = 1100. The millennium being 1000 years long, and 100 years on the other side of it (after the resurrection of the wicked to their final destruction, see "The Shepherd's Rod," Vol. 1, p. 164), making a total of 1100 years. This proves that the 1100 days derived by our multiplication are prophetic (a day for a year). Thus the remaining typical days of the deluge while the waters were on the decrease and the earth was clearing herself from the flood, must apply to the final destruction of the wicked and of the purification of the earth by fire.
Therefore, the typical number of days are literally applicable as the flood was, and as follows: From the day the waters were abated to when the tops of the mountains appeared, there were seventy four days, and ninety more until they all cleared away, making a total of 164; in which time the wicked and their works are burned to ashes. (Mal. 4:1.)
The remaining fifty six days (while the earth was drying) apply to the time the earth is cooling off, and as Noah went out from the ark, just so the saints shall walk out from the Holy City and possess the earth for ever and ever. "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Hitherto is the end of the matter." (Dan. 7:27, 28.)
It is certain that nothing could fit so perfectly by accident. But think of such marvelous foresight in devising a wonder of this kind which could reveal by a living picture the future for thousands of years! Are not such evidences as these a token of love divine toward fallen beings! Gratitude swells from our hearts, words fail us, we can only exclaim with the Psalmist: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments." (Psa. 119:105, 106.)
It is not only wonderful to invent a lamp throwing out a light of such amazing candlepower but it is also astonishing how our God can conceal His marvels from the eyes of wise and prudent men. Then in His own time He sets them upon high hills by which He is able to light the pathway of the searcher for truth, and by its glaring power blindfold the sight of the wicked. "Therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall." (Hosea 4:14.) "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." (Psa. 97:11.)
Our God could have spoken to us direct by prophets as in times past, but it would have been impossible to transmit as much light to one generation. Neither could we comprehend its meaning as we can by these examples or symbols. Also knowing the great deception, unbelief and doubts of high minded men that were to arise, He has placed these marvels in the Bible to expose error and reveal truth, thus overthrowing the enemy of mankind; also leaving the hypocrites and the unbelievers without an excuse.
As every living thing perished in the time of the flood that was outside of the ark, just so in the dark millennium every living thing shall return to dust, except the devil and his angels. Though men are teaching a millennium of peace, their doctrine shall come to naught, and they shall lie down in sorrow except they repent.
Our God commanded Noah with his family, beasts, fowls and creeping things to enter in the ark on preparation day -- Friday. "In the selfsame day entered Noah...as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in" as the Sabbath drew on, being the tenth day of the second month. (Gen. 7:13, 16.) Seven days later, or at the beginning of the following Sabbath, being the seventeenth day of the month, "all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened" and it rained upon the earth forty days and forty nights. The rain ceased on the twenty seventh day of the third month, and the fourth day of the week -- Wednesday at sunset. There is a remarkable coincidence between the flood and the passover week; also in connection with the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Therefore, this divine providence is worthy of our earnest consideration. The Israelites were commanded to take the passover lamb apart from the flock on the tenth day of the first month, and were to kill it on the fourteenth day of the same month at even. (Ex. 12:3, 6.)
As Christ was crucified, buried, and resurrected within the passover week, the weekly cycle and the monthly calendar coincide as follows: The tenth day in which the lamb was to be taken from the flock, fell on the seventh-day Sabbath that year; which coincided with the day of the week and the month of Noah's first day of confinement in the ark. In the end of the fourteenth day of the month after Christ had observed the feast of the passover lamb, He was taken before the priests; died on Friday the sixteenth day of the month, was buried at the commencement of the seventeenth (Sabbath), which coincides with the commencement of the flood,and was resurrected on the eighteenth -- Sunday. As He ascended on high forty days afterwards, it fell on Thursday the twenty seventh day of the second month; being the same day of the week, as that which followed the forty days of rain. Our previous explanation showed that the day following the forty days of rain, depicted in type, the end of the world, being followed with the departure of the saints from the earth.
We may not presume that God had brought about these coincidences without an object in view. As the ceasing of the rain is a time type of the end of this world, so the ascension of Christ with those who were resurrected with Him, is a type of the ascension of the saints at the coming of the Lord. It also reveals that His coming would be on Wednesday, and the train of glory shall depart for the Heaven of heavens on Thursday. Again we are told that it would take the saints seven days to ascend to the throne of God, and that we shall rest a Sabbath on one of the planets while on the way. From this it is evident that Christ shall come in the middle of the week. So again we find that one thing proves another. Such close calculations of the schedule of events that are soon to transpire, make it evident that the end of all things is at hand, otherwise the information would not as yet have been submitted.
This light being transmitted by marvels of typical events, is a clear manifestation that there is a type for every incident of vital interest to the church of God, which are the only positive proofs and clear explanations of divine providences. As there is no type for that which is false, teachers of theories without a typical representation for their claims of so-called Bible truths, and those who believe in them, are as the blind leading the blind. The types are worked out to expose the error and reveal the truth. The honest ones will shun the devil by embracing the facts, and by walking in the light.
The passover lamb being separated from the flock on the tenth day, coincides with the separation of the righteous from the wicked in the antediluvian world. The day of Christ's burial coincides with the day of the commencement of the flood, also with the commencement of the plagues; and His ascension with the day after the rain ceased, also with the end of the world and the translation of the saints. These coincidences are perfect with the day of the week and of the month, but the one is a month earlier in the season than the other; the passover being in the first month, and the flood in the second. It has been explained that the passover is a type of the close of probation for the church, (see page 216-218) and the closing of the ark a type of the closing of probation for the world. Therefore, there are thirty typical days between one close of probation and the other. If we were given light on how to decipher these typical (30) days it seems it would reveal the exact number of years from the fulfillment of Ezekiel nine (Passover), to the final close of probation. This fact perhaps will not be made known until after the work of the gospel has closed. For a brief summary of the flood in type and anti-type, we draw the reader's attention to the chart on page
The closing work for the church is signified by the "first" month, and the harvest for the world by the "second" month. As one truth reveals another, our attention is turned to Joel 2:23, 28, 29: "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit." Note that the "rain" comes first and the pouring out of His spirit afterwards. Therefore, the rain is one thing, and the pouring out of the spirit is another.
By the "rain" is represented great light on the Word of God that is to ripen the harvest and lighten the world with its glory -- the angel of Revelation 18:1. The pouring out of the Spirit is the power that is to descend upon God's servants to carry on the work represented by the former and latter rain. "And upon all flesh" is the Spirit that is to convince the honest in heart of the truth and bring them into the church, of which Pentecost was a type. "And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil" -- represents a great harvest of souls that shall be garnered in by the result of the "rain" and the "Spirit." (Joel 2:24.)
The "rain" falls in the "first month," that is, the month by which the closing work for the church is represented -- the sealing time of the 144,000. Therefore, in that period of time (before Ezekiel Nine) a great light is to be revealed. It is remarkable to note the perfect grammatical order of the words at the time of their application, clearly dividing the Word of truth as though it were written just at the time the prophetic words are revealed.
"For He hath given you the former rain moderately" is the light of truth that is characterized by the former rain which must have fallen previous to the time of the latter rain. Therefore, the former rain is none other than the writings of the "Spirit of Prophecy." Further proof of this will be given in another chapter.
But note that the falling of the former rain is repeated with the latter rain: "And He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month." Therefore the former rain (Spirit of Prophecy) falls the second time -- revealed more fully in the time of the "latter rain" -- the first time independent of the latter rain, and the second time associated with the latter in the "first month" (preceding Ezekiel Nine). The meaning is, the truth recorded in the writings of the "Spirit of Prophecy" was not fully understood until the time of the latter rain. Thus the former rain comes again with the latter rain, and this is what brings about the "Loud Cry."
Another remarkable fact as it appears on the chart is the crime committed by Cain in slaying his brother Abel. These being the first two brothers and the first quarrel over religion, also the first murder in the human family, it certainly must hold out a lesson of great importance.
According to the law of the Bible the priesthood was to be made up from the first born of every family. Thus, by the rights of the law, Cain was the priest. The Lord himself stated this fact as He spoke to Cain saying: "And unto thee shall be his desire [margin, subject], and thou shall rule over him." (Gen. 4:7.) Therefore, these two men represent two classes of people. Since this fact cannot be denied, Cain must represent a class of leadership (priests), and Abel the true church membership. It was Cain who rebelled against God by presenting a false sacrifice, and because Abel obeyed and worshiped in the manner prescribed by the Creator, he incurred the displeasure of his elder brother.
If the statement that Cain and Abel represent two classes of people is correct, then the same must be proven by historical facts. We stated that Cain who typified the leadership persecuted him who typifies the true membership. Thus every section of God's church has apostatized through unconsecrated leadership, and every message that called for reformation was like-wise, by them, thrown out of the church. In their blindness they were determined to keep the people ignorant of the truth and thus they persecuted the messengers and those who embraced the message and obeyed the truth. Therefore, necessity called forth one movement after another. How fearful the thought for those who bear this great responsibility! And how dangerous to the class who permit others to think and act for them! The class that accepts the decisions of others, whether for or against the truth, are deceived and robbed of eternal life, for they can have no experience of their own, no true conversion, no change of heart. My brethren: these words are not against you, for it is God speaking through His word of truth to save you from the bottomless pit. Will you not let Him work for you and for His people? Will you not be His sheep?