1841 William Miller Evidence from Scripture & History - A2Z.org

Brv. 1. %.3.
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand,
aud the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the an*
%Is of the seven churches; and the seven candlesticks which
ou sawest are the seven churches.
IT has generally been believed that the seven churches
to whom the angel instructed John to write, were seven
different and distinct churches in Asia, and by almost
all of our commentators at the present day are understood
to mean seven literal churches. But your speaker
is forced, from thc reasons which will hereafter be produced,
to believe that these seven churches of Asia are
to be understood in a figurative sense, alluding to seven
periods of the church militant, during the Christian dispensation,
down to the first resurrection, and the commencing
of the glorious reign of Christ on the earth, commonly
called !l'he Nillennium If this view of the subject
should prove to be the correct exposition of the text, how
important and interesting is the subject to us who live in
the last stage of the church! Then we who live at this
day, are particularly, and solemnly and aw ully, admonished
in what is said by Christ to the churc i of the Laodieeam,
that church corresponding with our stage of'
the church immediately previous to the commencing of
the millennia1 glory; and how necessary that we should
know that these admonitions do most deeply concern us !
This view of the subject will then claim our first attention.
Were the seven churches used as a figure of
the whole ChrMan dispensation, or were they not I