Testimonies for the Church Vol 1 - Lansing SDA Church

52 Testimonies for the Church Volume 1[52][53]or vacillating, quietly deserted the cause. I thought, If Christ had surelycome, what would have become of those weak and changing ones?They professed to love and long for the coming of Jesus; but when Hefailed to appear, they seemed greatly relieved, and went back to a stateof carelessness and disregard of true religion.We were perplexed and disappointed, yet did not renounce ourfaith. Many still clung to the hope that Jesus would not long delay Hiscoming; the word of the Lord was sure, it could not fail. We felt thatwe had done our duty, we had lived up to our precious faith; we weredisappointed, but not discouraged. The signs of the times denoted thatthe end of all things was at hand; we must watch and hold ourselves inreadiness for the coming of the Master at any time. We must wait withhope and trust, not neglecting the assembling of ourselves together forinstruction, encouragement, and comfort, that our light might shineforth into the darkness of the world.Calculation of the time was so simple and plain that even childrencould understand it. From the date of the decree of the king of Persia,found in Ezra 7, which was given in 457 before Christ, the 2300 yearsof Daniel 8:14must terminate with 1843. Accordingly we lookedto the end of this year for the coming of the Lord. We were sadlydisappointed when the year entirely passed away and the Saviour hadnot come.It was not at first perceived that if the decree did not go forth at thebeginning of the year 457 B.C., the 2300 years would not be completedat the close of 1843. But it was ascertained that the decree was givennear the close of the year 457 B.C., and therefore the prophetic periodmust reach to the fall of the year 1844. Therefore the vision of timedid not tarry, though it had seemed to do so. We learned to rest uponthe language of the prophet. “For the vision is yet for an appointedtime, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait forit; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”God tested and proved His people by the passing of the time in1843. The mistake made in reckoning the prophetic periods was not atonce discovered even by learned men who opposed the views of thosewho were looking for Christ’s coming. Scholars declared that Mr.Miller was right in his calculation of the time, though they disputedhim in regard to the event that would crown that period. But they, and