Origin and History of Seventh-day Adventists, Vol. 3

418 Pages·2013·12.27 MB·English

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Origin and History
of
Seventh-day Adventists
VOLUME THREE
FRONTISPIECE
PAINTING BY HARRY ANDERSON(cid:9) © 1944, BY REVIEW AND HERALD
The sands of time are running out as Christ reminds His rem-
nant people of the great commission given to His disciples before
His ascension: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel
to every creature." "And, lo, I am with you alway."

Origin and History
of
Seventh-day Adventists
A revision of the books Captains of the Host
and Christ's Last Legion
VOLUME THREE
by
Arthur Whitefield Spalding
REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
WASHINGTON, D.C.
COPYRIGHT © 1962 BY THE
REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 62-15140
(OFFSET IN U.S.A.)
CONTENTS
Chapter (cid:9) Page
1. A Century of Power (cid:9) 7
2. The Great Conference (cid:9) 19
3. College in the Country (cid:9) 47
4. Removal of Headquarters (cid:9) 66
5. Multitude of Counselors (cid:9) 82
6. Far Lands and Near (cid:9) 93
7. The Youth Movement (cid:9) 116
8. Dealing With Apostasy (cid:9) 130
9. Medical Evangelism (cid:9) 145
10. Founding Rural Institutions (cid:9) 168
11. Ingathering for Missions (cid:9) 187
12. Home Training the Basic Education (cid:9) 196
13. Working With Juniors (cid:9) 207
14. Literature Evangelism (cid:9) 219
15. A More Excellent Ministry (cid:9) 243
16. Last Days of God's Messenger (cid:9) 269
17. English America (cid:9) 287
18. Ministering to Minorities (cid:9) 311
19. European Countries (cid:9) 333
20. Australasia (cid:9) 359
Bibliography (cid:9) 400
Index (cid:9) 405
5

CHAPTER 1
A CENTURY OF POWER
T
WO and a half millenniums ago a prophet beloved of
God stood by the great river Tigris, in the land of the
Persian Empire, and saw a vision of time to its end.
Gaunt and fasting and prayerful for three full weeks, seeking
to know the mysteries in visions before vouchsafed to him,
he had come out of the city to meditate, in the midst of the
works of God, upon the fate of his people and of nations
and of the race. A retinue of companions and servants sur-
rounded and followed him, for he was also president of the
king's council; yet he walked alone, for his thoughts were
beyond their thoughts, and he went to an audience where
men of lesser mold might not intrude.
Then he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there
stood as it seemed a man clothed in white linen, with a girdle
of gold about his loins. His body glowed amber as the topaz,
his face was dazzling as the lightnings, his eyes were stars of
fire, and his voice was as the sound of mighty waters.
None but Daniel saw this vision; for a great quaking fell
upon the men who were with him, and they fled to hide
themselves. But Daniel stood, and steadfastly beheld, and felt
his comeliness depart as the dust, while his strength oozed
out of him until he sank to the ground in a deep faint, yet
hearing the sound of the voice of the Almighty.
Then came another, Gabriel, who stands in the presence
of God; and he laid his hand upon the prostrate prophet, and
set him up on his hands and knees. And he said to
him, "0 Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words
that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am
I now sent." Then the man Daniel stood trembling.
"Fear not, Daniel. I have come to make thee understand
what shall befall thy people in the latter days. There shall
7
± PAINTING BY WILLIAM HEASLIP(cid:9) © 1959, BY REVIEW AND HERALD
Within the span of a lifetime an amazing increase in modern
inventions has outmoded the civilization of only a century ago.
This scientific progress is a sign of fulfilling prophecy heralding
the soon return of Christ to this earth.
8(cid:9) Origin and History
be years, and generations, and centuries, and millenniums,
for the vision is long. Yet shall it come to its end, when
Michael, thy great prince, shall stand up, and thy people shall
be delivered."
The man Daniel bowed his head and was dumb, for there
was left in him no strength to speak. Then one in the like-
ness of the sons of men came and touched his lips, and he
murmured in weakness. And yet again the angel came and
touched him, and he was revived, and he said, "Let my Lord
speak; for thou hast strengthened me."
Then before the seer was unrolled the great scroll of
prophecy, which generation by generation and age by age
should become the history of the world. Three kings yet to be
in Persia, then the mighty conqueror from Macedonia and
Greece. And after his kingdom should be broken, four in its
place. Then the kings of the South and the kings of the
North. And the Romans. And that far dim galaxy of king-
doms and principalities and powers out of the forests and
morasses of a yet savage continent. And last, across vast seas,
in distant time, a giant of the West.'
In all this welter of world politics the eye of the prophet
held to the central theme: the salvation, welfare, and final
triumph of God's people. For this people, changing as it
might from age to age in complexion, in understanding, in
immediate mission, kept nevertheless the vital fire of kinship
with the Divine. And this people makes on earth the nucleus
and the living cell, through all of time, of that universal
realm of eternity, the kingdom of God.
In the end of his vision it was said to Daniel, "But thou,
O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the
time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
shall be increased." Not until the time of the end, twenty-
three centuries later, was the seal broken, and the contents
and meanings of the prophecies of Daniel were made clear.
"Knowledge shall be increased." As in a pyrotechnic dis-
play of human intelligence, the vision closes with this pre-
A Century of Power (cid:9) 9
view of the modern burst of science: Knowledge, first of all,
of the divine oracles, of the plan of salvation, of the love
of God; for without this all other knowledge, all scientific
achievement, all inventions of men, would be purposeless
and self-destructive. Then knowledge also of man, the
sciences of his physical being, of his mentality, of the mean-
ing of his history. And knowledge of the physical world out-
side of man but focusing upon his existence and his career—
sciences of handicraft, of transportation, of communication;
sciences of physics, of chemistry, of dynamics; sciences of
biology and medicine and microcosms and the universe.
This prophecy we see being fulfilled. The increase of
knowledge in our time is without precedent.
As the time of the end approached, God poured forth His
Spirit upon chosen men, enlightening their minds with refer-
ence to His purposes and plan. He guided men who pressed
beyond the curtain of the Old World and discovered great
continents wherein to build governments of liberty. He gave
knowledge to men who sought to improve the conditions of
their fellow men, lightening their burdens, increasing their
means of communication and transportation, multiplying a
thousandfold their means of spreading the truth. The Bible
was read in the common tongue, and reached toward that
day when it should be distributed over all the earth. The
sacred oracles were better understood, their ancient mysteries
gradually unfolded. The ministry of Christ was more fully
revealed, and the blessed hope of His coming brightened
toward the dawn.
On the other hand, seeking to checkmate this movement
for righteousness, the devil turned many a discovery from its
beneficent purpose to his hateful design. He made slaves of
men, filling the New World with theta beyond all precedent
in the Old. He used the press in the dissemination of evil.
He caught the labor-saving devices and made them the instru-
ments of numbing monotony and virtual slavery. He thrust
forth his hand and took the inventions of science to his foul