1917_The_Finished_Mystery_Text

The foregoing is Pastor Russell's last expressionon the subject of chronology; and we believe thatit was designed to be of great value to the Lord'speople at this hour. "The Apostles, the Prophetsand the angels all desired and sought earnestly toknow what time the Spirit of God indicatedthrough the Prophets. And this interest on thepart of His children is ever pleasing to God. Hecalled the inquiring Daniel greatly beloved, andanswered his inquiry so far as was consistentwith His Plan. Such inquiry should not beregarded as an improper prying into the secretsof God. God would have us quickly discern theTruth as it becomes due." (B 17.)"Let none, then, of the truly consecrated undervaluethese prophetic time-evidences, whichwere designed to guide our words and deeds inthe early dawn of the Millennial Day. Theseprophetic time-proofs were largely God's meansof drawing the attention of the writer morecarefully to other features of the Divine Plan."—B31.Daniel "understood by books" (Jeremiah'sprophecy) the length of the great captivity of thechildren of Israel. (Dan. 9:2.) At Christ's FirstAdvent there was but one time-prophecy callingattention to that event (Dan. 9:24— 27). yet allthe people "were in expectation" of it. (Luke3:15.) In the year 1190 the good monk Joachimdeclared that the Papal system was Antichrist,that the history of mankind is divided into threeages, and that in the year 1260 the Papacy wouldgive way to a new system in which the wholeworld would be "one vast monastery." "In 1260the Council of Aries pronounced all followers ofFM60Joachim heretics." His application of the correctprinciple, "a year for a day," made in the verydepths of the Dark Ages, is one of the mostpathetic incidents in the history of mankind; buthis study of time-prophecy brought him peaceand joy of heart. He was an opponent of theprevailing " doctrine of the Trinity."