The Great Awakening
A great religious awakening under the proclamation of Christ's soon coming is foretold in the prophecy of the first angel's message of Revelation 14. An angel is seen flying "in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." "With a loud voice" he proclaims the message: "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters" Verses 6, 7.
The message of salvation has been preached in all ages; but this message is a part of the gospel which could be proclaimed only in the last days, for only then would it be true that the hour of judgment had come. The
prophecies present a succession of events leading down to the opening of the judgment. This is especially true of the book of Daniel. But that part of his prophecy which related to the last days, Daniel was bidden to close up and seal "to the time of the end." Not till we reach this time could a message concerning the judgment be proclaimed, based on a fulfillment of these prophecies.
The apostle Paul warned the church not to look for the coming of Christ in his day. Not till after the great apostacy, and the long period of the reign of the "man of sin," can we look for the advent of our Lord. The "man of sin," which also is styled "the mystery of iniquity," "the son of perdition," and "that wicked," represents the papacy, which as foretold in prophecy, was to maintain its supremacy for 1260 years. This period ended in 1798. The coming of Christ could not take place before that time. Paul covers with his caution the whole of the Christian dispensation down to the year 1798. It is this side of that time that the message of Christ's second coming is to be proclaimed.
No such message has ever been given in past ages. Paul, as we have seen, did not preach it; he pointed his brethren into the then far-distant future for the coming of the Lord. The Reformers did not proclaim it. Martin Luther placed the judgment about 300 years into the future from his day. But since 1798 the book of Daniel has been unsealed, knowledge of the prophecies has increased, and many have pro-claimed the message of the judgment near.
Many sought the Lord with repentance and humiliation. All classes flocked to the Adventist meetings. The presence of holy angels was felt in these assemblies, and many were daily added to the believers. The most humble and devoted in the churches were usually the first to receive the message. Angels of God were watching with the deepest interest the result of the warning.
With unspeakable desire those who had received the message watched for the coming of their Savior. The time when they expected to meet Him was at hand. They approached this hour with a calm solemnity. None who experienced this hope and trust can forget those precious hours of waiting.
God designed to prove His people. His hand covered a mistake in the reckoning
of the prophetic periods. The time of expectation passed, and Christ did not appear for the deliverance of His people. Those who with sincere faith and love had looked for their Savior, experienced a bitter disappointment.
"And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." Revelation 10:10
Yet the purposes of God were being accomplished, He was testing the hearts of those who professed to be waiting for His appearing. There were among them many who had been actuated by no higher motive than fear. They were among the first to ridicule the sorrow of the true believers.
But Jesus and all the heavenly host looked with love and sympathy upon the tried and faithful yet disappointed ones. Could the veil separating the visible from the invisible world have been swept back, angels would have been seen drawing near to these steadfast souls and shielding them from the shafts of Satan.
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