The Marriage

Notes

Read "Great Controversy," chapter 21.

1. The last of the three signs in the sun, moon, and stars took place in 1833. The Saviour says that when we have seen all these things, we may know that He is near; so when the church know that He is near, they go out to meet Him. Having carried the minds of His disciples down to that time, He says, "Then shall the kingdom," etc. It was at this very time that William Miller and others began to preach the second coming of Christ as near at hand; and in 1844 they went out to meet the Bridegroom.

2. In ancient times the capital city represented the whole kingdom. When a new king took possession of it, and was crowned, wedding festivities were celebrated. Thus when the New Jerusalem is prepared as a bride, Christ's work as a high priest being finished, the marriage ceremony takes place. The bride, the capital city of the new earth, which stands for all the kingdoms of the world, is given to Christ, the Bridegroom.

3. It could not be said that the Bridegroom "tarried" unless He was expected at a certain time, no more than we could say a train tarries unless there is a specified time for arrival; but when this time passes, and no train appears, we say, "The train tarries."

4. "They all slumbered and slept"—one class in unconcern and abandonment of their faith, the other class patiently waiting till clearer light should be given.

5. "In the summer of 1844, midway between the time when it had been first thought that the 2,300 days would end, and the autumn of the same year, to which it was afterward found that they extended, the message was proclaimed in the very words of the scripture, 'Behold, the Bridegroom cometh.'"—Great Controversy, page 398. See also "Early Writings" ("Spiritual Gifts"), pp. 102, 103. "The cause of this sudden arousing was the discovery that the great prophetic period of 2,300 days (years) of Dan. 8:14 did not end in the spring of 1844, but would extend to the autumn of that year. . . . At the same time the relation between the type and the antitype relating to the cleansing of the sanctuary was partially seen. And as in the type the sanctuary was cleansed on the tenth day of the seventh month of the Jewish year, that point in the autumn of 1844 was accordingly fixed upon."—Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation, under Rev. 14:6-12. As the Jewish year began with the first new moon after the vernal equinox, the seventh month began October 12, and the tenth day of that month fell on October 22.

6. In ancient times the master of ceremonies provided each guest with a wedding-garment, and a little time was given to array himself. The Lord gives each of us the robe of Christ's righteousness, and a little time in which to clothe ourselves. Then the master of ceremonies came in to see if each were properly arrayed before going in to the wedding. The Lord, since 1844, has been examining the guests, and when the case of every one has been decided, then those who are found ready will go in to the marriage; the door will be shut; the foolish virgins will knock in vain, because the Lord does not know them. Let us now become acquainted with God.