Did All Those Bible Readers Get It Wrong?

by
Lynn Ridenhour
December 31^st, 1999

This is the last day of a millennium. Of all the days in a millennium, one date stands out above all others—1844. In terms of prophetic dates, 1844 was the Big One. Even the Baha’i faith marks it. The Seventh Day Adventists mark it.

So what happened? The world did not come to an end, and everyone went home disappointed. But wait a minute—the date was correct, its significance once again had been missed…like a thief in the night.

1844 was not the end of the world, but it signaled the restoration of the sanctuary.

"…Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days (2300 years) then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." --Daniel 8:13,14

No, 1844 was not the end of the world. However, while all those people were climbing their hills and selling their worldly possessions, looking to the heavens in expectation of the end, the ancient prophecy was being fulfilled under their noses—right on schedule in the state of Illinois, in a town called Nauvoo, and in a tiny jailhouse called Carthage.

2300 years later the prophecy came true.

Almost 2,000 years earlier, devout Bible readers missed the first coming of Christ because it took place in a lowly stable and not with armies of angels. This time they missed the final restoration of his kingdom in preparation for his second coming—because it took place in the middle of Illinois and once more the armies of angels were invisible to all save a few.

In 1844 Joseph Smith, the prophet of the restoration, completed his mortal mission. He sealed his testimony with his blood. Like all those other martyrs spoken of in Revelation, he was slain for the Word of God. All he had ever said was what he had seen with his own eyes, and they killed him for it.

After thousands of years when prophecy had ceased, the church was once more ready to fulfill the will of the Lord. And after thousands of years of there being no temple—or worse, a polluted temple—the rights were at last restored.

The sanctuary had been cleansed.

The rights of the temple had been restored.

The prophecy was fulfilled.

Parley P. Pratt had a hint…

 

 

"…Are there any Millerites here who have been setting a time for the Son of Man to come?… O ye Millerites, ye made a great mistake; you thought the first thing was the coming of the Lord in power and great glory; you were going to have him come immediately, without any kingdom to come to, without a forerunner in the shape of a Prophet, but just by men guessing, and predicting, and remarking, and commenting on the prophecies; but so far as the coming of the Lord being the first thing you knew, you will "begin to see these things come to pass, and then know that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand" and we have to be born again or we cannot see it. People hear of "Joe Smith," as he is called, of the Book of Mormon, of angels coming from heaven again; of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; of modern Prophets and Apostles, and martyrs, and they think, "what under heaven does all this mean, we have no reason to look for anything of the sort, but we expect the Lord here every minute." They have no idea of a modern Prophet; of angels visiting the earth in the latter times; of modern inspiration; of a modern Church that will hearken to the voice of a Prophet in all things that he shall say unto them; it is all new to them, they are astonished, and say, "what does it mean, I wonder what is this Mormonism coming to?" The Lord will never come until he has organized his kingdom on the earth, and prepared his people by sending a messenger to prepare the way before him; that messenger has come, and the man that delivered it has been slain, namely, Joseph Smith, and by the instrumentality of that messenger, here sit the Apostles and Prophets, ordained to hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven. If the people had read the Scriptures they would have been looking for all this, if they had not listened to a set of blind guides, who have hired out for money to tell them the Scriptures mean something else." Oct. 7, 1855 Delivered in SLC

"…O ye Millerites, ye made a great mistake…."

Did all those Bible readers get it wrong?

Have we let this millennium slip by and missed the greatest of all dates—barring the birth of Christ?

I hope not.

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